An Epic Evaluation of Apocalypse Now Essay Example for Free

An Epic Evaluation of Apocalypse Now Essay In 1979, Francis Ford Coppola unleashed a film that reshaped the view of the American Vietnam war. The film was heralded as an epic of modern film. However, is it truly an epic or is that term become a widely used word for great works of cinema? Does Apocalypse Now contain the epic criteria of religion, a journey, a vast setting, a sense of supernatural and other key factors? The journey in Apocalypse Now is Captain Benjamin Willard’s mission to assassinate Army Colonel Walter Kurtz. The former Green Beret has deserted his command and now leads a rogue army of commandos and Montagnard, the indigenous people of the central highlands of Vietnam(Human Rights Watch). This film is also a journey into the darkness of the human soul. As Willard travels up the river he spends most of his time reading the Army’s dossier on the rogue Kurtz who has been deemed insane after his use of â€Å"unsound methods. † Willard tries to understand the actions of Kurtz, and as the film progresses, Willard experiences more and more of the absurdities and immorality of war that lead him to understand the villainous Kurtz. His understanding comes with his own decent into near madness. After he senselessly kills a peasant woman on a sampan Willard states, â€Å"It was the way we had over here of living with ourselves. We’d cut them in half with a machine gun and give them a Band-Aid. It was a lie— and the more I saw of them the more I hated lies. † These words sound as though they were uttered by the insane Kurtz. The setting for Apocalypse Now is the fictional Nung River(Milks). Most of the film takes place on a Navy river patrol boat (PBR) with a four-man crew. The captain, Chief, a military man who follows protocol to a â€Å"T†and feels personally responsible for the fate of his crew. He blames Willard for the predicament that they find themselves in. Clean is a seventeen-year-old mechanic from the South Bronx. He is symbolic of the young men that fought in Vietnam that were ignorant to the ways of war and only waste time waiting to end their service careers. Chef, a saucier from New Orleans, who emphatically does not want to be in this strange land and Lance, a California surfer, make up the rest of the crew. Lance and Chef’s use of rugs and placement in the primitive jungle help them withdraw from the war around them as the film proceeds(Milks). This is symbolic of how many of the drafted youth felt in Vietnam. The film begins in the Greek tradition of en medias res. It opens with captain Willard in an alcohol induced depressive state in a hotel room in Saigon in 1968. He already completed one tour of duty in Vietnam only to return home and be miserable with the confines of civilization. He states, â€Å"I was discharged from the army four years ago. I went home, wasted some time, bought a Mustang Mach 1, drove it a week. Then I re-upped for another tour. No, everything I love is here. † He has been irrecoverably changed by the war. He feels that the jungle is the only place he belongs and he cannot wait to get back in action, â€Å"Every minute I stay in this room I get weaker. And every minute Charlie squats in the bush he gets stronger. † The film does not follow all the guidelines of an Epic in the Greek sense. In the beginning, Willard does not invoke the muses and the only religion is the Montagnards belief in Kurtz as a god. The film contains no epic lists and the film is not divided into twenty-four books. The only division in the film could be seen in the different episodes the crew faces traveling up river. The first is the rendevous with Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore, commander of the Air Ninth Calvary. Then, the tiger attack in the jungle, the U. S. supply depot complete with Playboy Playmates, the French rubber plantation, the small sampan, and the ancient temple where Kurtz resides. Each event adds to the mayhem of the journey and creates a darker mood for the film. The narrator and protagonist of the film is Captain Willard. However, he is not the epic hero because he does not meet the criteria. He is male, and he does have a task to complete, but that is about his only heroic characteristics. First, in terms of strength, he does not possess outstanding physical strength, nor is he mentally strong. As a character is quite passive, everything he does is influenced by someone, or something else. When he takes the mission he says, â€Å"What the hell else was I gonna do? † On the PBR, he withdraws himself from the actions of the crew, and spends most of his time studying the file on Kurtz, trying to get into the mind of his target. This only puts him in a more detached state. At Kurtz’s compound he is swayed by the teachings of Kurtz and makes the audience ponder if he will indeed carry out his mission, or join Kurtz’s group. Lance, as well as the last assassin sent to kill Kurtz, did just that. Willard confesses â€Å"It was the strangest thing — I don’t know that I can explain it. Two of my men dead and all I could think of was whether Kurtz was dead too. That’s all I wanted: to see Kurtz, to hear Kurtz. † Kurtz actually helps make that decision for him. Kurtz is weary of his life as a demigod and is expecting, and actually welcoming his death. You came up my river — in that small boat. So simple. I always thought the final justice would come from the sky, like we did. You are the final justice, aren’t you? † In one episode, on a sampan, a small fishing boat, Willard shows his true moral state. When Clean opens fire killing several civilians in a botched search of the boat, Chief decides to t ake the lone survivor, a peasant woman, to a military base for medical attention. Willard, thinking only of his mission, kills the woman so that she will not impede his journey to assassinate Kurtz. This event causes the rest of the crew to turn on him and cast a dark shadow over Willard. When Chef asks, â€Å"When you kill cong, don’t you feel something? † Willard responds, â€Å"Sure, recoil I feel the recoil of my rifle. † This statement alone solidifies the fact that Willard is not a fundamentally good soul. The supernatural is an important element in any Epic. In Apocalypse Now, the supernatural pertains more to a detachment from reality than to a ghost, miraculous events, or the common notion of the supernatural. In this sense, the film is rife with the supernatural. First Kilgore’s calvary, the surfing calvary charge into battle listening to the â€Å"Ride of the Valkyries. † Kilgore boasts, â€Å"We’ll come in low, out of the rising sun, and about a mile out, we’ll put on the music Yeah, I use Wagner – scares the hell out of the slopes! My boys love it! † The music and the surfing are completely out of place in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam. However, this is just the first stop on the tour of mass mayhem. Later in the film, the PBR comes across the remains of a rubber plantation. This is a plantation run by the de Marais family, a hold over from the French colonization of Indochina. In the middle of a war zone, a family is trying to hold onto a piece of property in a country in which they are not natives. Several of their family members have given their lives for that property and they believe they have just as much as a claim to it than anyone else. Even when a family member makes a symbolic gesture that makes a statement about America’s involvement in Vietnam and cracks an egg, which represents Indochina, lets the egg white run out and exclaims, â€Å"White goes, yellow stays! † The symbolism is poignantly blunt. It is surreal that they even attempt to keep their property. Also, they try to maintain their heritage in speaking French and having a tradition plantation life without interference from the outside world. The scene, including the burial of Clean is rife with symbolism and detachment from reality. The boat heads further up river and reaches an outpost where American forces are testing Einstein’s theory of insanity. Einstein once said, â€Å"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. †(Moncur) Each night the Viet Cong bomb a bridge and each day the G. I. s rebuild it. All of the soldiers at this base are either scared or confused, those that are not, are high on drugs. The colored flares and tracer rounds add to the effects of the psychedelic drugs and the whole theater of battle is in total chaos. Finally, Kurtz’s compound is the scene of total lack of reality. Rotting corpses hang from the tress, and heads litter the ancient temple. The scene is surreal. A burnt out photo journalist exclaims how great Kurtz is, seemingly oblivious to the mayhem around him. The man himself is a larger than life omnipotent character. He remains in the shadows for almost every scene and quotes poetry from T. S. Eliot. He is the all powerful in this land even though he is gone over the edge mentally, spiritually, and physically. He is supernatural. The film as a whole doesn’t fit the standards of an epic in the Greek tradition. However, it is an awesome tale of a man’s journey into the physical unknown of a strange land that forces him to search inside himself for some form of morality in the difficult circumstances of war. Willard is a stranger in a strange land, even to himself.

Crohn’s Disease Essays -- Nursing Essays

Introduction with Statement of Purpose Crohn’s Disease is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Crohn’s disease is an acute and chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal track. The disease can also affect the surrounding bowel tissues. Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, but it is most common in the distal ileum and the ascending colon. The disease is characterized by periods of remission and exacerbation. The disease process begins with edema and thickening of the mucosa, and then ulcers begin to form on the inflamed mucosa. The affected areas are separated by healthy tissue. As the inflammation of the disease begins to spread into the peritoneum, abscesses, fistulas, and fissures can develop. As the disease advances, the intestinal wall begins to thicken, becomes fibrotic, and the intestinal lumen narrows. Signs and symptoms of Crohn’s disease can vary from mild to severe. They can also develop slowly or come on suddenly, without any warning. When Crohn†™s disease is in remission, signs and symptoms may be very mild or there may be none. When the disease is in an active state signs and symptoms may include: diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, ulcers, reduced appetite, occult blood, and weight loss. There are many different test and procedures that confirm the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, these include: blood tests, fecal occult blood test, magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography, double balloon endoscopy, capsule endoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, small bowel imaging, and barium enema (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). Impact on patients and patient care My father was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2010 at the age of 51 years. He currently does not smoke cigarettes, but has a hi... ...who is familiar with inflammatory bowel disease and the psychosocial difficulties that it can cause. â€Å"Although living with Crohn’s disease can be discouraging, research is ongoing and the outlook is brighter than it was a few years ago† (Mayo, p. 16, 2011). Works Cited Bare, B.G., Cheever, K.H., Hinkle, J.L., & Smeltzer, S.C. (2010). Brunner & suddarth’s textbook of medical- surgical nursing (12th ed. p. 1082-1088). Wolters Kluwer Health. Crohn's and colitis. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ccfa.org/what-are-crohns-and-colitis/what-is-crohns-disease/ Diseases and conditions crohn's disease. (2011, August 09). Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/crohns-disease/basics/definition/con-20032061 Inflammatory bowel disease. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.gastro.org/patient-center/digestive-conditions/inflammatory-bowel-disease Crohn’s Disease Essays -- Nursing Essays Introduction with Statement of Purpose Crohn’s Disease is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Crohn’s disease is an acute and chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal track. The disease can also affect the surrounding bowel tissues. Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, but it is most common in the distal ileum and the ascending colon. The disease is characterized by periods of remission and exacerbation. The disease process begins with edema and thickening of the mucosa, and then ulcers begin to form on the inflamed mucosa. The affected areas are separated by healthy tissue. As the inflammation of the disease begins to spread into the peritoneum, abscesses, fistulas, and fissures can develop. As the disease advances, the intestinal wall begins to thicken, becomes fibrotic, and the intestinal lumen narrows. Signs and symptoms of Crohn’s disease can vary from mild to severe. They can also develop slowly or come on suddenly, without any warning. When Crohn†™s disease is in remission, signs and symptoms may be very mild or there may be none. When the disease is in an active state signs and symptoms may include: diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, ulcers, reduced appetite, occult blood, and weight loss. There are many different test and procedures that confirm the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, these include: blood tests, fecal occult blood test, magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography, double balloon endoscopy, capsule endoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, small bowel imaging, and barium enema (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). Impact on patients and patient care My father was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2010 at the age of 51 years. He currently does not smoke cigarettes, but has a hi... ...who is familiar with inflammatory bowel disease and the psychosocial difficulties that it can cause. â€Å"Although living with Crohn’s disease can be discouraging, research is ongoing and the outlook is brighter than it was a few years ago† (Mayo, p. 16, 2011). Works Cited Bare, B.G., Cheever, K.H., Hinkle, J.L., & Smeltzer, S.C. (2010). Brunner & suddarth’s textbook of medical- surgical nursing (12th ed. p. 1082-1088). Wolters Kluwer Health. Crohn's and colitis. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ccfa.org/what-are-crohns-and-colitis/what-is-crohns-disease/ Diseases and conditions crohn's disease. (2011, August 09). Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/crohns-disease/basics/definition/con-20032061 Inflammatory bowel disease. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.gastro.org/patient-center/digestive-conditions/inflammatory-bowel-disease

Exceptional needs children Essay

Michael Michael, a five-year-old male, just diagnosed with hearing loss and a speech disorder, has not learned to speak properly and is working with a speech therapist three times a week. Michael does not show any progress in learning letters or numbers. His parents are worried that he might be labeled in school and not allowed to participate in regular classroom activities. Michael is scheduled to start kindergarten in a month and the school psychologist wants to test him to see if he should be placed in special education classes. After speaking with Michael’s parents, it is found that he is an only child and does not play with children in the neighborhood. Although, he has occasionally play dates, Michael struggles to make friends. Due to children not responding to Michael when he tries to talk to them, there is little contact, causing Michael to be socially immature. To begin a plan to help Michael with his learning and social skills, there must be an understanding to why he has a hearing disorder as well as seeking strategies to support him in school. Use the definition laid out in IDEA to describe Michael’s hearing disorder and the competency based individualized strategies for supporting him in a school setting. According to (Heward, 2013) p. 313, Michael is suffering from deafness. His hearing loss is so severe that he is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, which causes an effect on educational performance. Most special educators distinguish between children who are deaf and those who are hard of hearing. Michael is deaf and cannot use hearing to understand speech. If Michael was able to hear, he would be able to understanding and interpret speech without using any special device or techniques. Due to Michael’s deafness, a hearing aid, would not allow him to understand speech through the ears alone. Most deaf people use their vision as a primary sensory mode for learning and communication. Michael is unable to make friends and his  disabilities interfere with his social development. As a person that has worked with disabilities I feel that part of this is because he is an only child and when he has play dates Michael doesnâ €™t understand them completely and because of his hearing and language it is also because the people that come over the play have a hard time understanding him. It is possible that Michael is socially immature because he can’t be understood and is not at the age mentally as the rest of the children his age. I feel that if Michael had a sibling either younger or a couple years older he would have a better understanding of how to make friends because he would be around someone daily it would also help him to grow and become more mature. Since he is starting Kindergarten his year it would be great if he could get meet some of the kids earlier and make a friendship or play date with some class mates so he doesn’t get over whelmed as easy about the change. A hearing impairment can be considered a culture difference for Michael because he shares a language with other people that have this common issue and as he gets older social practices as well. Per our text many deaf people do not view themselves as disabled and consider hearing loss and inappropriate and demeaning term because it suggests a deficiency or pathology. It also refers to people in the individual way people who identify the Deaf culture prefer term such a teacher of the Deaf, school for the Deaf and the Deaf person (Hewa rd, W. L. 2013) Deaf culture is shared language (in the U.S. American Sign Language ASL) social practices, literature and beliefs of the Deaf community: members do not view deafness as a disability. One way that communication impacts â€Å"Deaf Culture is what individuals with disabilities identify with. As a professional we can help Michael bridge the social and culture gap to be able to interact more with his peers by insuring him that it is ok to make friends, and use the resources that he has been, his hearing aids if he has them are great to help with hearing to understand speech, because he is developed mainly through the auditory channel, even if it is delayed. As professionals we could give Michael step by step directions to follow and be able to do observation on Michael to measure his progress to date. As the professional working with Michael I would encourage him to wear his hearing aids if he has them and start a reward program for him for following the expected behavior, also remember to give him positive reinforcement, if he hears the positive reinforcement and the encouragement  and excitement in your actions then he will want to follow also because kids want to make their elder happy. As Michaels parents they could encourage play dates and interaction with other people his own age. If they are not planning on having any more children and Michael is going to remain an only child maybe the family can get some cousins to come and play on regular basis as well as children from around the neighborhood. Since he will be starting Kindergarten in a month the teacher in the class room could modify some of the learning lessons that she will teach to make them more on his level, also the teacher can communicate with all the others that are involved in the child’s life and come to a plan that is going to work for everyone and it can be used all around the board. All children that are exceptional need to be evaluated for their progress, I would have the teacher make some tally marks for the behavior for the day and let the child work towards a prize once that is completed I would ask the teacher to add the tally marks and make it so that it can be observed in a percentage for example out of 10 tries to hear and responds to the word that was said Michael will wear his hearing aids for 5 out of 10 trials, or 50% of the time if it is only 3 times out of the ten that Michael does this then it can be observed as 30 % of the time and it can be observed weekly and progress can be marked and measured to see what the progress would be. Also making use of all and any reinforcements that can be used will help the child to be successful. Since it is known that the child has a hearing problem it should be given out at first notice and then the child can sit up front in class and since most teachers have seating charts for their classroom it would not seem unusual for the child to be placed up front if others ask what the issue is later then it with consent the teacher can say something to make it known to the class, some children will tell anyway but as the teacher in the classroom she should encourage the other children in the classroom to interact with Michael so that he can be excited to go to school. And most important of all enjoy his learning and school experience. As we learned with Michael people that are deaf or blind lose some of the most important things in life and it is not an easy thing to overcome the person can live a wonderful life but needs the encouragement and support to do so. So for Michael our 5 year old male that is hearing impaired and has trouble with his speech with the help of all the resources that are available and  coaching Michael can grow to be a very smart male later in life. He will also learn to be respectful and his hearing and speech will improve. References Heward, W.L. (2013). Exceptional needs children (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Literacy Across Languages and Cultures Free Essay Example, 2000 words

This research tells that in the English language, there is evidence of differences in the stressing of syllables. Research into this language has highlighted that some words have their syllables stressed in the beginning, others in the center while others; the last syllable is the subject of stress. Experts in the analysis of language have identified the differing stressing of syllables as random. Linguists peering into the Arabic language highlight an evident difference in the stressing of the syllables. Arab speakers exhibit a regular stress of syllables. Since such regularity does not apply to the English language, learners are bound to face challenges. In one of the examples in English to illustrate the random nature of stressing syllables, the words yesterday and tomorrow are practical cases. In the word yesterday stress is on the first syllable. The stressing of syllables in tomorrow is different as the second syllable appears to be stressed tomorrow . Other researchers have also highlighted the common use of elusion in English a practice that involves the swallowing of sounds. This practice does not apply to the Arabic language. We will write a custom essay sample on Literacy Across Languages and Cultures or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Although Arabic has its unique, definite article, its use does not conform to the use of a definite article in English. Notably, there is a salient difference in the order of words, especially between the adjectives of nouns in English and Arabic.