I thought it was the end Essay Example for Free

I thought it was the end Essay I thought it was the end. I watched my own son slowly; painfully pass away for a crime he didnt commit. I couldnt believe that it was happening. Why? I kept asking myself and I just couldnt find an answer. My head was spinning and I didnt know or for that matter care where I was. All I knew was that I just didnt want to be there. Ever since the death of my son I have been growing old quickly and without pause. Its like the death of my son has made me age so quickly. Due to this I have realised that I am coming to the end of my life and that is why I am writing this. It all started the day I joined the farm.. I was there working away milking a cow when from above I could sense this presence, it was like a sixth sense. I looked up to see that it was Farmer Lodge (my employer). He seemed as if he needed something, like he wanted me to give it to him. I enquired as to what he wanted. But then I looked closer at the expression on his face, it was clear now that it was company that he wanted. He picked me up and led me to his house. At first we were just talking and everything was fine although a little surreal but that was soon to change. Thinking about it he didnt take advantage of me as I would have said a few years back it just happened. We slept together and for the first time in my life I felt as if someone actually wanted me for who I was not just as some type of sex slave as the village thought I was as I had slept with this guy who then left me. I wasnt and never was going to be. Nine months after sleeping with Farmer Lodge I was having a baby and as I hadnt slept with anyone since it must have been his. This was the birth of many troubles and problems to come but it was also to be the start of something magical and enjoyable. I was to have many moments of happiness, which far out weigh the bad points. Later on in the year I was to hear of a woman called Gertrude moving into the village. She was to become Gertrude Lodge, Farmer Lodges (my loves) wife. I was really disheartened by this and started to think about what had happened only 12 months ago now. Farmer Lodge was the father of my child and yet he didnt once do anything to help me or support me through this time; and now he was marrying a woman of whom I didnt know as she was a land owner, like him whereas I wasnt so I couldnt marry him. I felt this was unfair as not only had he loved me but also he got me pregnant and now he doesnt want anything to do with me. Perhaps it is true what they all say about men not wanting children and if they get their lover pregnant then they leave them as there was neither a form of contraception or abortion back then. Life as a mother was hard and trying. The income I brought in was low enough but to add to matters I had to feed and cloth a baby. I eventually plucked up the courage to go and ask Farmer Lodge for a raise and gave him the reason for my asking. I thought that it was the least e could do for me after what he had put me through all that mental torment and physical pain. As I walked in to confront Mr Lodge I could sense the strong smell of perfume, which arose out of the door almost like someone was trapped within. I realised Gertrude must have been there but I still persisted on my quest for freedom from this man and for also the help I deserved. As I put my hand against the door it was warm but at the same time damp due to the years of rain pounding down upon it. It was a vast oak door of which I couldnt push open on my own so I found the knocker on the door and banged it. The sound rumbled long and low until I had heard some movement and the door was swung open as if to say in a mild dismay, WHAT? I was to say the least surprised at the reaction Farmer Lodge had to me when he opened the door. His mouth half open as if he wanted to speak but some invisible force was preventing it. He He Hello, he said as if scared of me. Why hello, I replied in a sort of comforting voice. He appeared worried about something although I wasnt sure what and from the look of him it seemed he didnt know either. He invited me in after having stood around on the doorstep just staring at me as if in disbelief. On entry I looked around for Gertrude. In the corner of the room an extremely beautiful but also concerned looking person sat. I assumed that this was Gertrude and so as a nice person I said hello and asked her name. She didnt reply so I just went about my business and asked Farmer Lodge about the rise. The strangest thing of all is he stood up once the question was put forward, said yes then walked out of the room in a type of trance as if he was under a spell of a spirit or something of that origin. As soon as he left Gertrude sprang up from the corner of the room making me jump. She landed on me as if in an almost upset but dominating way she asked me to look at her arm. At first I thought that she was crazy but then as she persisted with the question I said yes. She pulled the clothing back from the arm to reveal a really bad withered arm. This put me into a flash back in which I remembered a dream I had acquired the previous night. It was of me lying in bed when Gertrude entered my room. She was taunting me with her wedding band and eventually I had snapped and grabbed her by the arm and flung her to the ground. At first I believed it to be a bad dream but this proved that the theory wrong. I decided that as I had got what I came for I should leave if not to hide my identity from Gertrude. For the next few months I avoided all contact with Gertrude and led a separate life in isolation. I decided to go and visit the conjurer and see what he recommended for my vision. After a lot of promiscuous contemplation he invited me into his room in which I looked into this portal type place. Only I could see what I saw but the bits I did see I didnt want to see again. I would tell you but these are secrets that only I will know as thats how I want to keep it. As a member of the Antidisestablishmentarianisms club I believe firmly in not allowing people to find out and manipulate the secrets that I have hidden for so many years and for so many reasons. Anyway after the conjurer I carried on with my life as a milkmaid looking after my son and earning less than the total minimum wage. At about 17 18 years of age my son was usually out most nights with his mates from the local school. He was out with friends one night when after indulging in a few pints from the local tavern he and others wondered back home. Making enough noise to wake the dead they did something, which was to change not all but only my sons life. The group of friends accidentally set a hey rick on fire. They all scattered but my son (to drunk to walk) couldnt so when the authorities arrived they found him next to it. He was sentenced to death by hanging. This wouldnt normally have happened but at that point there was a lot of destruction to land and property around that area so there was a inevitably a person now to make an example of. After the death the farmers wife Gertrude died due to stress and the withered arm. I decided to go and live somewhere away from the village but later returned to my dead end job as a milkmaid. There was however a small annuity left to me (from Farmer Lodge who funnily enough wasnt seen in the village again presumed dead) but I declined as I only had myself to live for and nothing to motivate me. This is how I have spent the rest of my life doing what Im best at milking cows.

john w booth Essay -- essays research papers

A History of John Wilkes Booth   The name of John Wilkes Booth conjures up a picture of America's most infamous assassin, the killer of perhaps the greatest president of the United States. However, J. Wilkes Booth (as he was known professionally) led a very prominent life as an actor in the years preceding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This period of his life is often forgotten or overlooked. The Booth family name in the nineteenth century was strongly identified with the American theater scene; there was no greater name among American actors at this time. Junius Brutus Booth, Sr. came to the United States from England in 1821 and established the Booth name upon the American stage. He left his legacy to be carried by his sons Edwin, John Wilkes, and Junius Brutus, Jr. All of the Booth children but one, were born out of wedlock. John Wilkes Booth was born on May 10, 1838 in a log house. The family home was on property near Bel Air, Maryland, twenty-five miles south of the Mason-Dixon line. Elder brother Edwin supervised his younger brother's upbringing. Later Edwin and older sister Asia would write about their eccentric brother's behavior. Francis Wilson, who wrote a biography of Booth in 1929, stated that Booth opened his stage career in 1855 at the Charles Street Theatre in Baltimore and began performing on a regular basis two years later. Once Booth embarked upon his acting career, he wanted the comparisons between himself and his late father to cease. It was a common practice of theater companies to retain actors who would complement a touring, star figure. Booth eventually became one the these star figures, with stock companies for one and two week engagements. Often a different play was performed each night, requiring Booth to stay up studying his new role until dawn, when he would rise and make his way to the theater for rehearsal. Booth began his stock theater appearances in 1857 in Weatley's Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia (the center for theater in this country at the time). According to one biographer, Booth studied intently in Philadelphia, but author Gordon Samples writes that Booth's lack of confidence did not help his theatrical career. William S. Fredericks, the acting and stage manager at the Arch Street Theatre, said the new actor did not show promise as a great actor. This negative opinion was also held by other Philadelp... ... putting together an operation, purportedly with Dr. Mudd and others, to capture the President and transport him to Richmond. By capturing Lincoln they expected to force the federal government to return Confederate prisoners of war who were confined in Union prisons and then return them to fight Union forces. After nearly five months of intense planning, the attempt to capture the president took place on March 17, 1865. Mr. Lincoln, however, disappointed the would-be captors by changing his plans. Instead of visiting a hospital outside of Washington, President Lincoln attended a luncheon at the National Hotel. This was the hotel Booth used as his temporary home while in Washington, DC. Two weeks later, the long Union siege of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia ended. The Union Army marched in and Confederate forces under General Lee moved west. One week later, on April 9, 1865 General Lee was forced by General Grant to surrender. These Confederate failures, along with the failure of Booth's capture plot, apparently gave Booth the incentive to carry out his final fatal plan. Five days after General Lee's surrender, Booth assassinated Mr. Lincoln inside Ford's Theatre.

The French Constitution

France is a republic; the institutions of governance of France are defined by theconstitution, more specifically by the current constitution, being that of the Fifth Republic. The Constitution has been modified several times since the start of the Fifth Republic, most recently in July 2008, when the French â€Å"Congress† (A Joint convention of the two chambers of Parliament) approved – by 1 vote over the 60% majority required – constitutional changes proposed by President Sarkozy.The Fifth Republic: The fifth republic was established In 1958, and was largely the ork of General de Gaulle – Its first president, and Michel Debr © his prime minister. It has been amended 1 7 times. Though the French constitution Is parliamentary, It gave relatively extensive powers to the executive (President and Ministers) compared to other western democracies. The executive branch: The head of state and head of the executive is the President, elected by universal suffrage. Since May 201 2, France's president is Franqois Hollande.Originally, a president of the Fifth Republic was elected for a 7-year term (le septennat), renewable any number of times. Since 2002 the President has been elected for a 5- year term (le quinquennat). Since the passing of the 2008 Constitutional reform, the maximum number of terms a president can serve has been limited to two. The President, who is also supreme commander of the military, determines policy with the aid of his Council of Ministers (Conseil des ministres). The residence of the President of the French Republic is the Elys ©e Palace (le palais de l'Elys ©e) in Paris.The President appoints a prime minister (currently – 2012 – Jean-Marc Ayrault) , who forms a government. The residence of the French Prime Minister is at Matignon House (l'H ¶tel Matignon) in Paris. In theory ministers are chosen by the PM; in practice unless the President and the PM are from dfferent sides of the political spectru m (a system known as la cohabitation), PM and president work together to form a government. The President must approve the appointment of government ministers.The cabinet, le Consen des ministres, meets on a weekly basis, and Is presided over by the president. Ministers determine policy and put new legislation before Parliament In the form of bills (projets de 101); wlthln the framework of existing law, hey apply policy through decrees (d ©crets). The legislative branch: The French parliament Is made up of two houses or chambers. The lower and principal house of parliament is the Assembl ©e nationale, or national assembly: the elected by universal suffrage, in general elections ( ©lections l ©gislatives) that take place every five years.Senators are elected by â€Å"grand electors†, who are mostly other local elected representatives. The electoral system for parliamentary elections involves two rounds; a candidate can be elected on the first round by obtaining an abso lute majority of votes cast. The second round is a runoff between two or more candidates, usually two.. The Judicial branch: While the Minister of Justice, le Garde des Sceaux, has powers over the running of the Justice system and public prosecutors, the Judiciary is strongly independent of the executive and legislative branches.The official handbook of French civil law is theCode Civil. Promulgation of laws: New bills (projets de lot), proposed by government, and new pivate members bills (propositions de lot) must be approved by both chambers, before becoming law. However, by virtue of Article 49. of the French constitution, a government can override parliamentary opposition and pass a law without a parilimentary vote. This does not happen frequently, and in the framework of constitutional amendments, president Sarkozy curtailed the possibility of using 49. . Laws and decrees are promulgated when the official text is published in the Official Journal of the French Republic, le Jour nal Officiel. The Constitutional Council The Constitutional Council , le Conseil constitutionnel, exists to determine the constitutionality of new legislation or decrees. It has powers to strike down a bill efore it passes into law, if it is deemed unconstitutional, or to demand the withdrawal of decrees even after promulgation.The Council is made up of nine members, appointed (three each) by the President of the Republic, the leader of the National Assembly, and the leader of the Senate, plus all surviving former heads of state. Political parties; In 2012, France is governed by the Socialist Party and allies..

The Wife of Bath Essay - 587 Words

The Wife of Bath The Wife of Bath is the tale of an independent and headstrong woman. She strongly believes in the worth of every woman and that women should be dominant in their marriages. The Wife of Bath also directly speaks against strict religious claims for chastity and monogamy, using Biblical examples. These examples include Solomon to show that the Bible does not openly condemn all expressions of sexuality, even outside of marriage. The major characters of the Tale of the Wife of Bath are the old crone and Jankin (one of King Arthurs knights). Her Tale begins with a knight, Jankin, who when riding home one day found a maiden walking alone and raped her. This crime usually held the penalty of death, but the queen†¦show more content†¦The tale of the Wife of Bath has a fairy-tale structure. This structure is prevalent through the transformation of the old crone. The fairy-tale structure also exists when he kisses the old woman to turn her young. This Tale also has fable quali ties because of the moral at the end of the Tale. The Wife of Bath ends the Tale with its moral: let Christ grant all women submissive husbands who sexually satisfy their wives. This tale shows the old crones newfound beauty as a result of her independence and a physical display of her internal qualities. The theme of the Wife of Baths Tale is not female equality in marriage, but the power struggles between the husband and wife. She does not seek an equal partnership with a husband, but a situation in which she has control over her spouse. The Wife of Bath even indicates that it is only in a marriage where the wife has control over her husband, that true happiness can be attained. An example of this occurs when Jankin tries to show power over her and to reestablish her dominance she controls him through guilt. From this point, the Wife of Bath was the dominant partner in the marriage. The source of this Tale is Jeromes Adversus Jovinianum (Against Jovinian), in other words, pro-virginity. The following sections of Against Jovinian are used as sources for this Tale: Chastity Among Pagan Women, Theophrastus Golden Book of Marriage, and Why Men Should Not Marry. Another source of this Tale is theShow MoreRelatedThe Wife of Bath1145 Words   |  5 Pagesone of them is the story of the Wife of Bath, whose real name is Alisoun. From her appearance and behavior, to her political and religious views, there is much to tell about the Wife of Bath, for her prologue and tale are quite long. The Wife of Bath is a very interesting character. In addition to Alisoun as a person, her story is fascinating as well, with a surprising and compelling end to the story. (SparkNotes Editors) According to the story, the Wife of Bath has a very distinct appearanceRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath1531 Words   |  7 PagesHeaven knows whenever he wanted it- my belle chose-, thought he had beaten me in every bone†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (272) Even though her final husband had beaten her, because he was good in bed with her she felt she loved him the best of them all (272). Clearly, The Wife of Bath valued three things in her marriages, sex, power, and money. In her tale we find that power is an important role to women in marriage. A knight, after raping a women is spared by a queen (282) but in order to save his life, he has one year (283)Read MoreThe Wife of Bath1326 Words   |  6 Pagestheir journey. One of the travellers, the Wife of Bath shares her views on social relationships between men and women. The fourteenth century is viewed as having a patriarchal dominated society. However, the Wife of Bath, Alisoun, is a strong believer in female maistrie, control in the marriage. She b elieves in female supremacy over husbands in marriage, and does not feel they can be equal partners in the relationship. Through her prologue and tale the wife justifies the actions she and other womenRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath, By Chaucer Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesto explore the Wife of Bath, her character, appearance, and tale. For the purpose of establishing a correlation between; the perceptions of the other pilgrims, the Wife’s apparent nature, and the tone of her tale. Slade suggest that Chaucer intended the Wife as an ironic character (247). A perspective that is supported by Chaucer’s treatment of the Wife in her description and prologue. The Wife, unlike the other pilgrims who are identified by their occupations, is identified as a wife. Regardless ofRead MoreThe Wife of Bath, The Wife of Bath Prologue, and The General Prologue981 Words   |  4 PagesThe Wife of Bath, The Wife of Bath Prologue, and The General Prologue These selections from The Canterbury Tales best exemplify the ideals and traits of women (as portrayed by Chaucer). In, The Wife of Bath Prologue, the narrator brags of her sexual exploits as well as her prowess of controlling men. The narrator is quite forthright in her enjoyment of this manipulation; she comments on her technique of lying and predomination of men. The General Prologue further servesRead MoreThe Wife of Bath Essay947 Words   |  4 PagesThe Wife of Bath The Wife of Bath, one of the many characters in Chaucers The Canterbury Tales, is a feminist of the fourteenth century. Chaucer, in the General Prologue, describes her as promiscuous. The Wyf confirms this claim in the prologue to her tale, the longest in the book. An analysis of the General Prologue and the Wyfs Prologue reveals a direct relationship between the Wyf of Bathe and the characters in her tale, such as the knight, queen, and ugly woman. There is a directRead MoreAnalysis Of The Wife Of Bath 1660 Words   |  7 PagesThe Canterbury Fails: An Analysis of Misogyny in the Wife of Bath’s Tale At first glance, you wouldn’t think that the Wife of Bath’s tale is anything other than feminist. She is, undeniably, the only non-religious female character in The Canterbury Tales and therefore is the only character who is approached from a point of view that was generally uncommon. We don’t have many— or even any, as far as I’m aware— pieces of medieval literature written by or for women or with a main female protagonistRead MoreThe Wife of Bath Essay715 Words   |  3 PagesWife of Bath vs. Lady Gaga Geoffrey Chaucers, Wife of Bath, character in Canterbury Tales can be compared with todays modern pop icon Lady Gaga. Both woman share many similar qualities regarding their personality types and behavior. From the Fifteenth century to the Twenty- First, these women symbolize feminism and contradiction of societal norms. This essay will discuss the similarities and differences between Chaucers fictional character, the Wife of Bath, and Lady Gaga, one of this century’sRead MoreThe Wife of Bath Essay940 Words   |  4 Pagescorrupt and flat out crazy characters. However, The Wife of Bath is one character that stands out the most. She is a strong, sexual being who does not care about obeying the rules. The Wife of Bath speaks highly of herself when it comes to pleasing her man sexually and does not believe that when one marriage ends that is it; she believes that more opportunities open. She marries five men, four of them for money and one for love. The Wife of Bath is not perf ect in her tale but she keeps her audienceRead MoreEssay on The Wife of Bath1031 Words   |  5 PagesThe Wife of Bath Historical Background One of the most memorable pilgrims of The Canterbury Tales, as well as one of the most memorable women in literature, is the Wife of Bath. She is a lusty and domineering woman who is proud of and outspoken about her sexuality and believes that a woman should have sovereignty in a marriage (Norton 80). She is also extremely blunt and outspoken about her ideas and beliefs. Despite being a woman of the fourteenth century, her ideas, beliefs, and behavior