Exaggeration of Despair in Sherman Alexies Reservation Blues Essay

Exaggeration of Despair in Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues Gloria Bird realizes that for generations Native Americans have had drinking problems, and she also realizes that it is difficult for â€Å"native writers to accurately represent our communities without exploiting them.†(G. Bird) However, Bird criticizes Alexie of embellishing or exaggerating the Native Americans’ despair. Alexie cannot ignore the alcohol situation when describing Native American culture, but Alexie does not need to make alcoholism a common trait amongst almost every ‘Indian’ on the reservation and other reservations. Bird’s statement concerning Alexie’s embellishment of Native American despair due to alcoholism is an accurate interpretation of Reservation Blues. In Reservation Blues, almost every Native American is an alcoholic. Two of the main characters, Victor and Junior, spend all of their money on booze and get wasted on a regular basis. â€Å"After the tavern had closed, Junior and Victor climbed into the water truck and passed out.†(p.24) It is reasonable for there to be a few drunks, but Alexie introduces or makes references to too many Indians who either lost everything or their lives because of alcohol. When Thomas’ father Samuel is introduced he is drunk, and Alexie explains that this is normal, for â€Å"Thomas†¦had lost count of the number of times he’d saved his father†¦ Once, a month, he bailed his father out of jail for drunk and disorderly behavior.†(p.95) Even though Thomas didn’t drink,...

Gothic Art and Architecture

Gothic art and architecture played a very important role in the appearance of medieval times. The approximate time frame of the Gothic stage began in 1125, preceding the Romanesque period. Gothic art was first considered very ugly and was believed that barbarians were only capable of making such pieces. So, the name gothic meaning ghost was given to this time period. Now in the 20th century people think Gothic art is beautiful and admire it greatly. The First Methodist church in Notate by Red Barrel is a Gothic church.While looking at the church you take note of the pointed arches. This is a feature that began in the Gothic time period, and replaced rounded arches of the Romanesque period. Pointed arches are on every window and on the frame of the door. Inside you can see a simple barrel vaulting system. Another feature of Gothic art that The First Methodist Church has is the wonderful stain glass windows. They were very long and told a religious story. The stain glass allows the wal ls to be thinner and let a nice color filled light in.This light fills the church, and back then would be one of the only systems of light. The most dominant feature of Gothic architecture is the size, or height of the church. They believed that the higher the church the better, because they were closer to heaven. Some even contained towers so they could be closer to heaven. The one in Notate is very tall and has a very high ceiling. The ground plan for the church is in a cross, Just like medieval times. Inside the church is very complex along with the high ceilings.There are no painting, but the columns are highly decorated and complex. The First Methodist Church in Notate has many Gothic features, but is missing some characteristics. It does not have flying buttresses, or a rose window, which were strong Gothic traits. Also there were no windows on the east end where the sun rises. Alters were mainly put on the eat end, so when the sun rose it would fill the alter with light. Goth ic architecture is very beautiful, and the town of Notate is very lucky to have such a marvelous Gothic church in its town.

What Is Fire Made Of Chemical Composition

What is fire made of?  You know that it generates heat and light, but have you ever wondered about its chemical composition or state of matter? Chemical Composition of Fire Fire is the result of a chemical reaction  called combustion. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are produced. Flames consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen, and nitrogen. State of Matter of Fire In a candle flame or small fire, most of the matter in a flame consists of hot gases. A very hot fire releases enough energy to ionize the gaseous atoms, forming the state of matter called plasma. Examples of flames that contain plasma include those produced by plasma torches and the thermite reaction. Why Fire Is Hot Fire emits heat and light because the chemical reaction that produces flames is exothermic. In other words, combustion releases more energy than is needed to ignite or sustain it. In order for combustion to occur and flames to form, three things must be present: fuel, oxygen, and energy (usually in the form of heat). Once energy starts the reaction, it continues so long as fuel and oxygen are present. Reference On Fire, Adobe Flash-based science tutorial from the NOVA television series.