Saturday, August 31, 2019

The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 4 WAKING UP

TIME PASSES. EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE. EVEN when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly, in strange lurches and dragging lulls, but pass it does. Even for me. CHARLIE'S FIST CAME DOWN ON THE TABLE. â€Å"THAT'S IT, Bella! I'm sending you home.† I looked up from my cereal, which I was pondering rather than eating, and stared at Charlie in shock. I hadn't been following the conversationactually, I hadn't been aware that we were having a conversationand I wasn't sure what he meant. â€Å"I am home,† I mumbled, confused. â€Å"I'm sending you to Renee, to Jacksonville,† he clarified. Charlie watched with exasperation as I slowly grasped the meaning of his words. â€Å"What did I do?† I felt my face crumple. It was so unfair. My behavior had been above reproach for the past four months. After that first week, which neither of us ever mentioned, I hadn't missed a day of school or work. My grades were perfect. I never broke curfewI never went anywhere from which to break curfew in the first place. I only very rarely served leftovers. Charlie was scowling. â€Å"You didn't do anything. That's the problem. You never do anything.† â€Å"You want me to get into trouble?† I wondered, my eyebrows pulling together in mystification. I made an effort to pay attention. It wasn't easy. I was so used to tuning everything out, my ears felt stopped up. â€Å"Trouble would be better than this this moping around all the time!† That stung a bit. I'd been careful to avoid all forms of moroseness, moping included. â€Å"I am not moping around.† â€Å"Wrong word,† he grudgingly conceded. â€Å"Moping would be betterthat would be doing something. You're just lifeless, Bella. I think that's the word I want.† This accusation struck home. I sighed and tried to put some animation into my response. â€Å"I'm sorry, Dad.† My apology sounded a little flat, even to me. I'd thought I'd been fooling him. Keeping Charlie from suffering was the whole point of all this effort. How depressing to think that the effort had been wasted. â€Å"I don't want you to apologize.† I sighed. â€Å"Then tell me what you do want me to do.† â€Å"Bella,† he hesitated, scrutinizing my reaction to his next words. â€Å"Honey, you're not the first person to go through this kind of thing, you know.† â€Å"I know that.† My accompanying grimace was limp and unimpressive. â€Å"Listen, honey. I think thatthat maybe you need some help.† â€Å"Help?† He paused, searching for the words again. â€Å"When your mother left,† he began, frowning, â€Å"and took you with her.† He inhaled deeply. â€Å"Well, that was a really bad time for me.† â€Å"I know, Dad,† I mumbled. â€Å"But I handled it,† he pointed out. â€Å"Honey, you're not handling it. I waited, I hoped it would get better.† He stared at me and I looked down quickly. â€Å"I think we both know it's not getting better.† â€Å"I'mfine.† He ignored me. â€Å"Maybe, well, maybe if you talked to someone about it. A professional.† â€Å"You want me to see a shrink?† My voice was a shade sharper as I realized what he was getting at. â€Å"Maybe it would help.† â€Å"And maybe it wouldn't help one little bit.† I didn't know much about psychoanalysis, but I was pretty sure that it didn't work unless the subject was relatively honest. Sure, I could tell the truthif I wanted to spend the rest of my life in a padded cell. He examined my obstinate expression, and switched to another line of attack. â€Å"It's beyond me, Bella. Maybe your mother† â€Å"Look,† I said in a flat voice. â€Å"I'll go out tonight, if you want. I'll call Jess or Angela.† â€Å"That's not what I want,† he argued, frustrated. â€Å"I don't think I can live through seeing you try harder. I've never seen anyone trying so hard. It hurts to watch.† I pretended to be dense, looking down at the table. â€Å"I don't understand, Dad. First you're mad because I'm not doing anything, and then you say you don't want me to go out.† â€Å"I want you to be happyno, not even that much. I just want you not to be miserable. I think you'll have a better chance if you get out of Forks.† My eyes flashed up with the first small spark of feeling I'd had in too long to contemplate. â€Å"I'm not leaving,† I said. â€Å"Why not?† he demanded. â€Å"I'm in my last semester of schoolit would screw everything up.† â€Å"You're a good studentyou'll figure it out.† â€Å"I don't want to crowd Mom and Phil.† â€Å"Your mother's been dying to have you back.† â€Å"Florida is too hot.† His fist came down on the table again. â€Å"We both know what's really going on here, Bella, and it's not good for you.† He took a deep breath. â€Å"It's been months. No calls, no letters, no contact. You can't keep waitingforhim.† I glowered at him. The heat almost, but not quite, reached my face. It had been a long time since I'd blushed with any emotion. This whole subject was utterly forbidden, as he was well aware. â€Å"I'm not waiting for anything. I don't expect anything,† I said in a low monotone. â€Å"Bella,† Charlie began, his voice thick. â€Å"I have to get to school,† I interrupted, standing up and yanking my untouched breakfast from the table. I dumped my bowl in the sink without pausing to wash it out. I couldn't deal with any more conversation. â€Å"I'll make plans with Jessica,† I called over my shoulder as I strapped on my school bag, not meeting his eyes. â€Å"Maybe I won't be home for dinner. We'll go to Port Angeles and watch a movie.† I was out the front door before he could react. In my haste to get away from Charlie, I ended up being one of the first ones to school. The plus side was that I got a really good parking spot. The downside was that I had free time on my hands, and I tried to avoid free time at all costs. Quickly, before I could start thinking about Charlie's accusations, I pulled out my Calculus book. I flipped it open to the section we should be starting today, and tried to make sense of it. Reading math was even worse than listening to it, but I was getting better at it. In the last several months, I'd spent ten times the amount of time on Calculus than I'd ever spent on math before. As a result, I was managing to keep in the range of a low A. I knew Mr. Varner felt my improvement was all due to his superior teaching methods. And if that made him happy, I wasn't going to burst his bubble. I forced myself to keep at it until the parking lot was full, and I ended up rushing to English. We were working on Animal Farm, an easy subject matter. I didn't mind communism; it was a welcome change from the exhausting romances that made up most of the curriculum. I settled into my seat, pleased by the distraction of Mr. Berty's lecture. Time moved easily while I was in school. The bell rang all too soon. I started repacking my bag. â€Å"Bella?† I recognized Mike's voice, and I knew what his next words would be before he said them. â€Å"Are you working tomorrow?† I looked up. He was leaning across the aisle with an anxious expression. Every Friday he asked me the same question. Never mind that I hadn't taken so much as a sick day. Well, with one exception, months ago. But he had no reason to look at me with such concern. I was a model employee. â€Å"Tomorrow is Saturday, isn't it?† I said. Having just had it pointed out to me by Charlie, I realized how lifeless my voice really sounded. â€Å"Yeah, it is,† he agreed. â€Å"See you in Spanish.† He waved once before turning his back. He didn't bother walking me to class anymore. I trudged off to Calculus with a grim expression. This was the class where I sat next to Jessica. It had been weeks, maybe months, since Jess had even greeted me when I passed her in the hall. I knew I had offended her with my antisocial behavior, and she was sulking. It wasn't going to be easy to talk to her nowespecially to ask her to do me a favor. I weighed my options carefully as I loitered outside the classroom, procrastinating. I wasn't about to face Charlie again without some kind of social interaction to report. I knew I couldn't lie, though the thought of driving to Port Angeles and back alonebeing sure my odometer reflected the correct mileage, just in case he checkedwas very tempting. Jessica's mom was the biggest gossip in town, and Charlie was bound to run into Mrs. Stanley sooner rather than later. When he did, he would no doubt mention the trip. Lying was out. With a sigh, I shoved the door open. Mr. Varner gave me a dark lookhe'd already started the lecture. I hurried to my seat. Jessica didn't look up as I sat next to her. I was glad that I had fifty minutes to mentally prepare myself. This class flew by even faster than English. A small part of that speed was due to my goody-goody preparation this morning in the truckbut mostly it stemmed from the fact that time always sped up when I was looking forward to something unpleasant. I grimaced when Mr. Varner dismissed the class five minutes early. He smiled like he was being nice. â€Å"Jess?† My nose wrinkled as I cringed, waiting for her to turn on me. She twisted in her seat to face me, eyeing me incredulously. â€Å"Are you talking to me, Bella?† â€Å"Of course.† I widened my eyes to suggest innocence. â€Å"What? Do you need help with Calculus?† Her tone was a tad sour. â€Å"No.† I shook my head. â€Å"Actually, I wanted to know if you would go to the movies with me tonight? I really need a girls' night out.† The words sounded stiff, like badly delivered lines, and she looked suspicious. â€Å"Why are you asking me?† she asked, still unfriendly. â€Å"You're the first person I think of when I want girl time.† I smiled, and I hoped the smile looked genuine. It was probably true. She was at least the first person I thought of when I wanted to avoid Charlie. It amounted to the same thing. She seemed a little mollified. â€Å"Well, I don't know.† â€Å"Do you have plans?† â€Å"No I guess I can go with you. What do you want to see?† â€Å"I'm not sure what's playing,† I hedged. This was the tricky part. I racked my brain for a cluehadn't I heard someone talk about a movie recently? Seen a poster? â€Å"How about that one with the female president?† She looked at me oddly. â€Å"Bella, that one's been out of the theater forever.† â€Å"Oh.† I frowned. â€Å"Is there anything you'd like to see?† Jessica's natural bubbliness started to leak out in spite of herself as she thought out loud. â€Å"Well, there's that new romantic comedy that's getting great reviews. I want to see that one. And my dad just saw Dead End and he really liked it.† I grasped at the promising title. â€Å"What's that one about?† â€Å"Zombies or something. He said it was the scariest thing he'd seen in years.† â€Å"That sounds perfect.† I'd rather deal with real zombies than watch a romance. â€Å"Okay.† She seemed surprised by my response. I tried to remember if I liked scary movies, but I wasn't sure. â€Å"Do you want me to pick you up after school?† she offered. â€Å"Sure.† Jessica smiled at me with tentative friendliness before she left. My answering smile was just a little late, but I thought that she saw it. The rest of the day passed quickly, my thoughts focused on planning for tonight. I knew from experience that once I got Jessica talking, I would be able to get away with a few mumbled responses at the appropriate moments. Only minimal interaction would be required. The thick haze that blurred my days now was sometimes confusing. I was surprised when I found myself in my room, not clearly remembering the drive home from school or even opening the front door. But that didn't matter. Losing track of time was the most I asked from life. I didn't fight the haze as I turned to my closet. The numbness was more essential in some places than in others. I barely registered what I was looking at as I slid the door aside to reveal the pile of rubbish on the left side of my closet, under the clothes I never wore. My eyes did not stray toward the black garbage bag that held my present from that last birthday, did not see the shape of the stereo where it strained against the black plastic; I didn't think of the bloody mess my nails had been when I'd finished clawing it out of the dashboard. I yanked the old purse I rarely used off the nail it hung from, and shoved the door shut. Just then I heard a horn honking. I swiftly traded my wallet from my schoolbag into the purse. I was in a hurry, as if rushing would somehow make the night pass more quickly. I glanced at myself in the hall mirror before I opened the door, arranging my features carefully into a smile and trying to hold them there. â€Å"Thanks for coming with me tonight,† I told Jess as I climbed into the passenger seat, trying to infuse my tone with gratitude. It had been a while since I'd really thought about what I was saying to anyone besides Charlie. Jess was harder. I wasn't sure which were the right emotions to fake. â€Å"Sure. So, what brought this on?† Jess wondered as she drove down my street. â€Å"Brought what on?† â€Å"Why did you suddenly decide to go out?† It sounded like she changed her question halfway through. I shrugged. â€Å"Just needed a change.† I recognized the song on the radio then, and quickly reached for the dial. â€Å"Do you mind?† I asked. â€Å"No, go ahead.† I scanned through the stations until I found one that was harmless. I peeked at Jess's expression as the new music filled the car. Her eyes squinted. â€Å"Since when do you listen to rap?† â€Å"I don't know,† I said. â€Å"A while.† â€Å"You like this?† she asked doubtfully. â€Å"Sure.† It would be much too hard to interact with Jessica normally if I had to work to tune out the music, too. I nodded my head, hoping I was in time with the beat. â€Å"Okay† She stared out the windshield with wide eyes. â€Å"So what's up with you and Mike these days?† I asked quickly. â€Å"You see him more than I do.† The question hadn't started her talking like I'd hoped it would. â€Å"It's hard to talk at work,† I mumbled, and then I tried again. â€Å"Have you been out with anyone lately?† â€Å"Not really. I go out with Conner sometimes. I went out with Eric two weeks ago.† She rolled her eyes, and I sensed a long story. I clutched at the opportunity. â€Å"Eric Yorkie? Who asked who?† She groaned, getting more animated. â€Å"He did, of course! I couldn't think of a nice way to say no.† â€Å"Where did he take you?† I demanded, knowing she would interpret my eagerness as interest. â€Å"Tell me all about it.† She launched into her tale, and I settled into my seat, more comfortable now. I paid strict attention, murmuring in sympathy and gasping in horror as called for. When she was finished with her Eric story, she continued into a Conner comparison without any prodding. The movie was playing early, so Jess thought we should hit the twilight showing and eat later. I was happy to go along with whatever she wanted; after all, I was getting what I wantedCharlie off my back. I kept Jess talking through the previews, so I could ignore them more easily. But I got nervous when the movie started. A young couple was walking along a beach, swinging hands and discussing their mutual affection with gooey falseness. I resisted the urge to cover my ears and start humming. I had not bargained for a romance. â€Å"I thought we picked the zombie movie,† I hissed to Jessica. â€Å"This is the zombie movie.† â€Å"Then why isn't anyone getting eaten?† I asked desperately. She looked at me with wide eyes that were almost alarmed. â€Å"I'm sure that part's coming,† she whispered. â€Å"I'm getting popcorn. Do you want any?† â€Å"No, thanks.† Someone shushed us from behind. I took my time at the concession counter, watching the clock and debating what percentage of a ninety-minute movie could be spent on romantic exposition. I decided ten minutes was more than enough, but I paused just inside the theater doors to be sure. I could hear horrified screams blaring from the speakers, so I knew I'd waited long enough. â€Å"You missed everything,† Jess murmured when I slid back into my seat. â€Å"Almost everyone is a zombie now.† â€Å"Long line.† I offered her some popcorn. She took a handful. The rest of the movie was comprised of gruesome zombie attacks and endless screaming from the handful of people left alive, their numbers dwindling quickly. I would have thought there was nothing in that to disturb me. But I felt uneasy, and I wasn't sure why at first. It wasn't until almost the very end, as I watched a haggard zombie shambling after the last shrieking survivor, that I realized what the problem was. The scene kept cutting between the horrified face of the heroine, and the dead, emotionless face of her pursuer, back and forth as it closed the distance. And I realized which one resembled me the most. I stood up. â€Å"Where are you going? There's, like, two minutes left,† Jess hissed. â€Å"I need a drink,† I muttered as I raced for the exit. I sat down on the bench outside the theater door and tried very hard not to think of the irony. But it was ironic, all things considered, that, in the end, I would wind up as a zombie. I hadn't seen that one coming. Not that I hadn't dreamed of becoming a mythical monster oncejust never a grotesque, animated corpse. I shook my head to dislodge that train of thought, feeling panicky. I couldn't afford to think about what I'd once dreamed of. It was depressing to realize that I wasn't the heroine anymore, that my story was over. Jessica came out of the theater doors and hesitated, probably wondering where the best place was to search for me. When she saw me, she looked relieved, but only for a moment. Then she looked irritated. â€Å"Was the movie too scary for you?† she wondered. â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed. â€Å"I guess I'm just a coward.† â€Å"That's funny.† She frowned. â€Å"I didn't think you were scaredI was screaming all the time, but I didn't hear you scream once. So I didn't know why you left.† I shrugged. â€Å"Just scared.† She relaxed a little. â€Å"That was the scariest movie I think I've ever seen. I'll bet we're going to have nightmares tonight.† â€Å"No doubt about that,† I said, trying to keep my voice normal. It was inevitable that I would have nightmares, but they wouldn't be about zombies. Her eyes flashed to my face and away. Maybe I hadn't succeeded with the normal voice. â€Å"Where do you want to eat?† Jess asked. â€Å"I don't care.† â€Å"Okay.† Jess started talking about the male lead in the movie as we walked. I nodded as she gushed over his hotness, unable to remember seeing a non-zombie man at all. I didn't watch where Jessica was leading me. I was only vaguely aware that it was dark and quieter now. It took me longer than it should have to realize why it was quiet. Jessica had stopped babbling. I looked at her apologetically, hoping I hadn't hurt her feelings. Jessica wasn't looking at me. Her face was tense; she stared straight ahead and walked fast. As I watched, her eyes darted quickly to the right, across the road, and back again. I glanced around myself for the first time. We were on a short stretch of unlit sidewalk. The little shops lining the street were all locked up for the night, windows black. Half a block ahead, the streetlights started up again, and I could see, farther down, the bright golden arches of the McDonald's she was heading for. Across the street there was one open business. The windows were covered from inside and there were neon signs, advertisements for different brands of beer, glowing in front of them. The biggest sign, in brilliant green, was the name of the barOne-Eyed Pete's. I wondered if there was some pirate theme not visible from outside. The metal door was propped open; it was dimly lit inside, and the low murmur of many voices and the sound of ice clinking in glasses floated across the street. Lounging against the wall beside the door were four men. I glanced back at Jessica. Her eyes were fixed on the path ahead and she moved briskly. She didn't look frightenedjust wary, trying to not attract attention to herself. I paused without thinking, looking back at the four men with a strong sense of dj vu. This was a different road, a different night, but the scene was so much the same. One of them was even short and dark. As I stopped and turned toward them, that one looked up in interest. I stared back at him, frozen on the sidewalk. â€Å"Bella?† Jess whispered. â€Å"What are you doing?† I shook my head, not sure myself. â€Å"I think I know them† I muttered. What was I doing? I should be running from this memory as fast as I could, blocking the image of the four lounging men from my mind, protecting myself with the numbness I couldn't function without. Why was I stepping, dazed, into the street? It seemed too coincidental that I should be in Port Angeles with Jessica, on a dark street even. My eyes focused on the short one, trying to match the features to my memory of the man who had threatened me that night almost a year ago. I wondered if there was any way I would recognize the man, if it was really him. That particular part of that particular evening was just a blur. My body remembered it better than my mind did; the tension in my legs as I tried to decide whether to run or to stand my ground, the dryness in my throat as I struggled to build a decent scream, the tight stretch of skin across my knuckles as I clenched my hands into fists, the chills on the back of my neck when the dark-haired man called me â€Å"sugar.† There was an indefinite, implied kind of menace to these men that had nothing to do with that other night. It sprung from the fact that they were strangers, and it was dark here, and they outnumbered usnothing more specific than that. But it was enough that Jessica's voice cracked in panic as she called after me. â€Å"Bella, come on!† I ignored her, walking slowly forward without ever making the conscious decision to move my feet. I didn't understand why, but the nebulous threat the men presented drew me toward them. It was a senseless impulse, but I hadn't felt any kind of impulse in so long I followed it. Something unfamiliar beat through my veins. Adrenaline, I realized, long absent from my system, drumming my pulse faster and fighting against the lack of sensation. It was strangewhy the adrenaline when there was no fear? It was almost as if it were an echo of the last time I'd stood like this, on a dark street in Port Angeles with strangers. I saw no reason for fear. I couldn't imagine anything in the world that there was left to be afraid of, not physically at least. One of the few advantages of losing everything. I was halfway across the street when Jess caught up to me and grabbed my arm. â€Å"Bella! You can't go in a bar!† she hissed. â€Å"I'm not going in,† I said absently, shaking her hand off. â€Å"I just want to see something† â€Å"Are you crazy?† she whispered. â€Å"Are you suicidal?† That question caught my attention, and my eyes focused on her. â€Å"No, I'm not.† My voice sounded defensive, but it was true. I wasn't suicidal. Even in the beginning, when death unquestionably would have been a relief, I didn't consider it. I owed too much to Charlie. I felt too responsible for Renee. I had to think of them. And I'd made a promise not to do anything stupid or reckless. For all those reasons, I was still breathing. Remembering that promise. I felt a twinge of guilt. but what I was doing fight now didn't really count. It wasn't like I was taking a blade to my wrists. Jess's eyes were round, her mouth hung open. Her question about suicide had been rhetorical, I realized too late. â€Å"Go eat,† I encouraged her, waving toward the fast food. I didn't like the way she looked at me. â€Å"I'll catch up in a minute.† I turned away from her, back to the men who were watching us with amused, curious eyes. â€Å"Bella, stop this right now!† My muscles locked into place, froze me where I stood. Because it wasn't Jessica's voice that rebuked me now. It was a furious voice, a familiar voice, a beautiful voicesoft like velvet even though it was irate. It was his voiceI was exceptionally careful not to think his nameand I was surprised that the sound of it did not knock me to my knees, did not curl me onto the pavement in a torture of loss. But there was no pain, none at all. In the instant that I heard his voice, everything was very clear. Like my head had suddenly surfaced out of some dark pool. I was more aware of everythingsight, sound, the feel of the cold air that I hadn't noticed was blowing sharply against my face, the smells coming from the open bar door. I looked around myself in shock. â€Å"Go back to Jessica,† the lovely voice ordered, still angry. â€Å"You promisednothing stupid.† I was alone. Jessica stood a few feet from me, staring at me with frightened eyes. Against the wall, the strangers watched, confused, wondering what I was doing, standing there motionless in the middle of the street. I shook my head, trying to understand. I knew he wasn't there, and yet, he felt improbably close, close for the first time since since the end. The anger in his voice was concern, the same anger that was once very familiarsomething I hadn't heard in what felt like a lifetime. â€Å"Keep your promise.† The voice was slipping away, as if the volume was being turned down on a radio. I began to suspect that I was having some kind of hallucination. Triggered, no doubt, by the memorythe deja vu, the strange familiarity of the situation. I ran through the possibilities quickly in my head. Option one: I was crazy. That was the layman's term for people who heard voices in their heads. Possible. Option two: My subconscious mind was giving me what it thought I wanted. This was wish fulfillmenta momentary relief from pain by embracing the incorrect idea that he cared whether I lived or died. Projecting what he would have said if A) he were here, and B) he would be in any way bothered by something bad happening to me. Probable. I could see no option three, so I hoped it was the second option and this was just my subconscious running amuck, rather than something I would need to be hospitalized for. My reaction was hardly sane, thoughI was grateful. The sound of his voice was something that I'd feared I was losing, and so, more than anything else, I felt overwhelming gratitude that my unconscious mind had held onto that sound better than my conscious one had. I was not allowed to think of him. That was something I tried to be very strict about. Of course I slipped; I was only human. But I was getting better, and so the pain was something I could avoid for days at a time now. The tradeoff was the never-ending numbness. Between pain and nothing, I'd chosen nothing. I waited for the pain now. I was not numbmy senses felt unusually intense after so many months of the hazebut the normal pain held off. The only ache was the disappointment that his voice was fading. There was a second of choice. The wise thing would be to run away from this potentially destructiveand certainly mentally unstabledevelopment. It would be stupid to encourage hallucinations. But his voice was fading. I took another step forward, testing. â€Å"Bella, turn around,† he growled. I sighed in relief. The anger was what I wanted to hearfalse, fabricated evidence that he cared, a dubious gift from my subconscious. Very few seconds had passed while I sorted this all out. My little audience watched, curious. It probably looked like I was just dithering over whether or not I was going to approach them. How could they guess that I was standing there enjoying an unexpected moment of insanity? â€Å"Hi,† one of the men called, his tone both confident and a bit sarcastic. He was fair-skinned and fair-haired, and he stood with the assurance of someone who thought of himself as quite good-looking. I couldn't tell whether he was or not. I was prejudiced. The voice in my head answered with an exquisite snarl. I smiled, and the confident man seemed to take that as encouragement. â€Å"Can I help you with something? You look lost.† He grinned and winked. I stepped carefully over the gutter, running with water that was black in the darkness. â€Å"No. I'm not lost.† Now that I was closerand my eyes felt oddly in focusI analyzed the short, dark man's face. It was not familiar in any way. I suffered a curious sensation of disappointment that this was not the terrible man who had tried to hurt me almost a year ago. The voice in my head was quiet now. The short man noticed my stare. â€Å"Can I buy you a drink?† he offered, nervous, seeming flattered that I'd singled him out to stare at. â€Å"I'm too young,† I answered automatically. He was baffledwondering why I had approached them. I felt compelled to explain. â€Å"From across the street, you looked like someone I knew. Sorry, my mistake.† The threat that had pulled me across the street had evaporated. These were not the dangerous men I remembered. They were probably nice guys. Safe. I lost interest. â€Å"That's okay,† the confident blonde said. â€Å"Stay and hang out with us.† â€Å"Thanks, but I can't.† Jessica was hesitating in the middle of the street, her eyes wide with outrage and betrayal. â€Å"Oh, just a few minutes.† I shook my head, and turned to rejoin Jessica. â€Å"Let's go eat,† I suggested, barely glancing at her. Though I appeared to be, for the moment, freed of the zombie abstraction, I was just as distant. My mind was preoccupied. The safe, numb deadness did not come back, and I got more anxious with every minute that passed without its return. â€Å"What were you thinking?† Jessica snapped. â€Å"You don't know themthey could have been psychopaths!† I shrugged, wishing she would let it go. â€Å"I just thought I knew the one guy.† â€Å"You are so odd, Bella Swan. I feel like I don't know who you are.† â€Å"Sorry.† I didn't know what else to say to that. We walked to McDonald's in silence. I'd bet that she was wishing we'd taken her car instead of walking the short distance from the theater, so that she could use the drive-through. She was just as anxious now for this evening to be over as I had been from the beginning. I tried to start a conversation a few times while we ate, but Jessica was not cooperative. I must have really offended her. When we go back in the car, she tuned the stereo back to her favorite station and turned the volume too loud to allow easy conversation. I didn't have to struggle as hard as usual to ignore the music. Even though my mind, for once, was not carefully numb and empty, I had too much to think about to hear the lyrics. I waited for the numbness to return, or the pain. Because the pain must be coming. I'd broken my personal rules. Instead of shying away from the memories, I'd walked forward and greeted them. I'd heard his voice, so clearly, in my head. That was going to cost me, I was sure of it. Especially if I couldn't reclaim the haze to protect myself. I felt too alert, and that frightened me. But relief was still the strongest emotion in my bodyrelief that came from the very core of my being. As much as I struggled not to think of him, I did not struggle to forget. I worriedlate in the night, when the exhaustion of sleep deprivation broke down my defensesthat it was all slipping away. That my mind was a sieve, and I would someday not be able to remember the precise color of his eyes, the feel of his cool skin, or the texture of his voice. I could not think of them, but I must remember them. Because there was just one thing that I had to believe to be able to liveI had to know that he existed. That was all. Everything else I could endure. So long as he existed. That's why I was more trapped in Forks than I ever had been before, why I'd fought with Charlie when he suggested a change. Honestly, it shouldn't matter; no one was ever coming back here. But if I were to go to Jacksonville, or anywhere else bright and unfamiliar, how could I be sure he was real? In a place where I could never imagine him, the conviction might fade and that I could not live through. Forbidden to remember, terrified to forget; it was a hard line to walk. I was surprised when Jessica stopped the car in front of my house. The ride had not taken long, but, short as it seemed, I wouldn't have thought that Jessica could go that long without speaking. â€Å"Thanks for going out with me, Jess,† I said as I opened my door. â€Å"That wasfun.† I hoped that fun was the appropriate word. â€Å"Sure,† she muttered. â€Å"I'm sorry about after the movie.† â€Å"Whatever, Bella.† She glared out the windshield instead of looking at me. She seemed to be growing angrier rather than getting over it. â€Å"See you Monday?† â€Å"Yeah. Bye.† I gave up and shut the door. She drove away, still without looking at me. I'd forgotten her by the time I was inside. Charlie was waiting for me in the middle of the hall, his arms folded tight over his chest with his hands balled into fists. â€Å"Hey, Dad,† I said absentmindedly as I ducked around Charlie, heading for the stairs. I'd been thinking about him for too long, and I wanted to be upstairs before it caught up with me. â€Å"Where have you been?† Charlie demanded. I looked at my dad, surprised. â€Å"I went to a movie in Port Angeles with Jessica. Like I told you this morning.† â€Å"Humph,† he grunted. â€Å"Is that okay?† He studied my face, his eyes widening as if he saw something unexpected. â€Å"Yeah, that's fine. Did you havefun?† â€Å"Sure,† I said. â€Å"We watched zombies eat people. It was great.† His eyes narrowed. â€Å"‘Night, Dad.† He let me pass. I hurried to my room. I lay in my bed a few minutes later, resigned as the pain finally made its appearance. It was a crippling thing, this sensation that a huge hole had been punched through my chest, excising my most vital organs and leaving ragged, unhealed gashes around the edges that continued to throb and bleed despite the passage of time. Rationally, I knew my lungs must still be intact, yet I gasped for air and my head spun like my efforts yielded me nothing. My heart must have been beating, too, but I couldn't hear the sound of my pulse in my ears; my hands felt blue with cold. I curled inward, hugging my ribs to hold myself together. I scrambled for my numbness, my denial, but it evaded me. And yet, I found I could survive. I was alert, I felt the painthe aching loss that radiated out from my chest, sending wracking waves of hurt through my limbs and headbut it was manageable. I could live through it. It didn't feel like the pain had weakened over time, rather that I'd grown strong enough to bear it. Whatever it was that had happened tonightand whether it was the zombies, the adrenaline, or the hallucinations that were responsibleit had woken me up. For the first time in a long time, I didn't know what to expect in the morning.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Summary Of A Visit Of Grandmother

Chill's uncle, trades a horse for a chair. His grandmother even rides the horse and the horse almost loses control, which she thinks that Is amusing and a funny experience. Then, she asks Charles, Chic's father, if he remembers how tired they are. However, Charles is not present when his mother rides the horse and complains that she loves his rather more than him, because of their skin color differences.He yells, â€Å"If GAL and I did something wrong, you'd beat me first†¦ But if I wanted you to do something with me, you were always too busy. † Charlie's mother thinks she may have treated them differently, but thinks Charles is smarter to understand that. Charles returns to his room. Meanwhile, GAL, his brother, who is eager to meet with Charles, comes back. In the article, † A Visit to Grandmother†, which was published in the Dancer on theShore in 1964, William Melvin Kelley writes about Chic's experience of visiting his grandmother with his father. The stor y begins with Chic's father expressing an interest in attending a class reunion. The decision to visit Chic's grandmother is casual and unplanned, although they have not seen each other for thirty years. Upon visit. During their dinner, his grandmother tells a story about how GAL, Chic's uncle, almost loses control, which she thinks that is amusing and a funny experience. Then,

The South American Country Economics Essay

IntroductionThis paper is concerned with the economic consideration of one of the South American states and analyzes the impact of an economic concern on that peculiar South American state that has been chosen and identifies the tendency of the economic concern with in specified part on the footing of informations sets accumulate from the beginning. The south American states has major impact on American economic system and the economic concern of one of an of import state raise our organic structure of cognition sing the economic tendency in that peculiar state and its impact on overall economic system every bit good.South American StateThe economic system of South America consists of 12 states with three districts and comprise of 6 % of population in the universe. I have choose Brazil among other South American states as Brazil is the largest South American state and Brazil is one of the fastest turning economic systems of the universe. It is ranked at 5th topographic point in the universe sing population and geographical part and fifth largest economic system sing GDP in the universe. The economic concern of Brazil is efficaciously contributes to universe economic system and interesting tendency of economic system can be seen. ( Abreu, 2005 ) .Economic ConcernAmong four economic concern including GDP, measures of specific Goods and services gross Domestic Product & A ; Acirc ; ( GDP ) , and unemployment rising prices I have selected rising prices. Inflation is an of import economic concern that will consequence the economic system in great extend and rising prices rate of a state economic system is an of import index for a state growing prospective. Inflation means rise in the general monetary value degree of the state and loss the existent value of money as fewer trade goods will purchase with each extra unit of currency. Inflation straight associate to the economic productiveness and has positive and negative both consequence on economic system as it create economic uncertainness which may deter salvaging and investing. High monetary values of general trade goods and billboard will be its largest disadvantage. In positive sense it may promote not pecuniary investing. But the rising prices rate demands to be control in order to prolong state economic system.Inflation tendency in BrazilThe rising prices rate in Brazil is fluctuating over the old ages. No consistent tendency can be seen in the rising prices rate Acs past twelvemonth informations support this premise. Harmonizing to the informations displayed by ( IPCA ) in 2002 the rising prices rate was 12.53 % that is rather high rate. Then the diminishing tendency of rising prices rate can be seen in Brazil economic system as 9.3 % in 2003, 7.6 % in 2004, 5.69 % in 2005, and 3.14 % in 2006 that is least in this decennary. Then the little increasing t endency can be seen in rate of rising prices. 4.46 % can be seen in 2007 and 5.91 in 2008. The fluctuating tendency can be seen in this scope in coming old ages every bit good. ( Inflation Statistical tabular array )Statistical TableInflation ( IPCA )200212.53 %20039.30 %20047.60 %20055.69 %20063.14 %20074.46 %20085.91 %Past two old ages Inflation TrendPast two old ages monthly rising prices rate tendency can be seen from this graph that shows the monthly frequence of the rising prices rate. The graph bars shows the tendency of rising prices from twelvemonth 2011 that is 6.01 % . The increasing incline can be seen from March, 2011 up to October, 2011. Inflation rate at the month of October is the highest that is 7.31 % . Then the control execution on rising prices increasing tendency can be seen from 7.31 % to the deep low rate at 4.92 % in July, 2012 that is complemented to Brazil economic system. The upward Trent at semi one-year bases can be seen in Brazil economic system. The la st recorded rising prices rate of 6.15 % that is rather high. Brazil authorities mark rising prices rate is 4.5 % with the asset and subtraction tolerance border of 2 % in it. The high rising prices tendency is of import consideration for the authorities as increasing rising prices rate impact the economic system in deep roots and do the investing and salvaging hard. Peoples buying power will be effected that will consequence their criterion of life and indulge the poorness degree in the state as trade goods will be hard to buy with even more money in manus because due to rising prices state will lose its existent money value. ( De Paiva Abreu, 2005 ) .Harmonizing to IBGE study it is recorded from 1980 the Brazil rising prices tendency has gone through assorted fluctuations. Historical information shows norm of 411.8 % Brazil rising prices rate that reached at highest rate of rising prices of 6821.3 % in April 1990 that was the highest rate for all clip. The low rising prices rate o f 1.7 per centum was found in December 1998. The step used to cipher rising prices is consumer monetary value index. Brazil of import part in consumer monetary value index are baccy, nutrient and intoxicant that covers 31 % of entire, 15 per centum by conveyance sector and communicating carries 5 % . . ( Brazil Inflation Rate )Statistical Evidence comparing assorted states rising prices rateInflation Rate of assorted states is demoing the Brazil high rate of rising prices as comparison to other states except India that has the rising prices Rate o f 6.62. An increasing tendency is rather endangering for Brazilian authorities for economic growing and required close consideration to command the rate in hereafter in order to stabilise the economic system. Top Economy Last Previous Highest Lowest Unit of measurement Mention Frequency ChartAustralia2.20 2.00 23.90 -1.30 Percentage Dec/2012 QuarterlyBrazil6.15 5.84 6821.31 1.65 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyCanada0.50 0.80 21.60 -17.80 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyChina2.00 2.50 28.40 -2.20 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyEuro Area2.00 2.20 5.00 -0.70 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyFrance1.20 1.30 18.80 -0.70 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyGermany1.70 2.00 11.40 -7.63 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyIndia6.62 7.18 34.68 -11.31 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyDutch east indies4.57 4.30 82.40 -1.17 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyItaly2.20 2.31 25.64 -2.44 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyJapan-0.10 -0.20 25.00 -2.52 Percentage Dec/2012 MonthlyNew Zealand0.90 0.80 44.00 -15.30 Percentage Dec/2012 QuarterlySoviet union7.10 6.60 2333.30 3.60 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlySouth Korea1.50 1.40 32.51 0.17 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlySpain2.68 2.87 28.43 -1.37 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlySwitzerland-0.30 -0.40 11.92 -1.37 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyTurkey7.31 6.16 138.71 -4.01 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyUnited Kingdom2.70 2.70 8.50 0.50 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyUnited States1.60 1.70 23.70 -15.80 Percentage Jan/2013 MonthlyDecisionThe Inflation rate and economic stableness are closely related to one another and required near concern in order to stabilise the economic system. Brazil increasing tendency provide the threatening for its hereafter concerns and shows that the authorities demand to closely see this government in order to stabilise the economic system and to accomplish the economical growing in the universe.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Laukemia Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Laukemia - Term Paper Example This factor does not help the normal blood cells to carry out their work. Leukemia begins in the bone marrow and later spreads throughout the body. Mostly, a bone marrow test is carried out to identify leukemia. Both adults and children can develop this disease. â€Å"Although leukemia often is thought to be a childhood disease, in fact, the disease strikes 10 times as many adults as children.† (Leukemia Facts & Figures, n.d.) Though exact reason for a person to develop leukemia is not known, many significant clinical trials have been done on the development of Leukemia. Every year, around 250,000 people are being identified to have developed leukemia and over 200,000 of them die (Vogt, 2010). The treatment methods for this disease are surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy. Though there are many tests to diagnose leukemia, the diagnosis itself may be delayed due to delayed symptoms or symptoms which resemble other conditions. The diagnosis of leukemia may vary acco rding to the kind of leukemia that has developed in a person. Statistics say that â€Å"in the United States about 2,000 children and 27,000 adults are diagnosed each year with leukemia† (Leukemia Information, 2011). Survival rates have increased considerably in the years before due to improvements in treatment. Symptoms of this disease may not be noticeable many times, particularly in chronic leukemia, but people may get symptoms like tiredness, inexplicable weight loss, and fever at times. Other symptoms of leukemia like headaches, joint pain, and pain in the belly due to enlarged spleen may also be noticed. Types of Leukemia Leukemia has been divided into various groups. Leukemia is a term covering four forms of diseases of the blood and bone marrow. These include â€Å"acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia†. These two types of leukemia progress rapidly while the other two types, â€Å"the chronic lymphocytic leukemia and chronic myelogenous leu kemia, progress slowly† (Leukemia, n.d.). Acute leukemia exemplifies swift increase of immature blood cells. Instant and necessary treatment is required in acute leukemia due to this fast development and growth of the abnormal cells. The acute form of leukemia is most common in children. Chronic leukemia is found in those that progress relatively slow when compared to acute forms. The chronic leukemia cells are abnormal white blood cells that take many months or years to progress. The cells are produced much more in number than normal cells. Chronic leukemia is monitored for a certain amount of time before initializing treatment so as to make sure the maximum usefulness of therapy. This form of leukemia is more often found in elderly people but occurs in any age. Leukemia is further divided into various types (What is Leukemia? What causes Leukemia, 2009): 1. Acute lymphocytic leukemia: This form of leukemia is more common in young children. This disease is also found in older people who are 65 years and above. The standard treatment for this type would be chemotherapy and radiation. The rate of survival is 85% in children and 50% in adults. 2. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia: This is most frequently found in adults over 55 years of age. This type is seldom found in children. The rate of survival is five years and is found in adults. It is not curable. 3. Acute myelogenous leukemia: This form is more easily found in adults than children and in men than women.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Fukuyama's End of History and the Muslim World Research Paper

Fukuyama's End of History and the Muslim World - Research Paper Example The modern materialistic living style of the western world will influence the third world countries like a giant storm giving them no chance to think about an alternate, peaceful living style. Everybody will wear western clothing, eat their food and follow their lifestyle. Two decades after the book had been written we can now see most of his views have come true. There is a long queue covering three streets in China to buy the new iPhone which will be released in the US the day after. People in Korea alter their children’s tongue at a young age, so that they can speak better English and the most closed markets like India extend a red carpet welcome to Foreign Direct Investment, which comes from west, not from any developing country like Thailand or Indonesia. By far, the one and only people trying to resist these changes are the Islamists. They shoot the girl who wants to learn to read, write and barricade themselves from all scientific advantages in the name of religion. Who is right Fukuyama or the Islamists? In course of time, History will prove both wrong (Lal, 2006). Fukuyama’s theory states that capitalism which started to triumph at the death of communism, in the end of cold war will establish a ‘universal consumer culture’2 which will sweep down the ethical entities ingrained deeply in every individual. This is exactly what we see today. Education is no more a way to hone a skill. It is marks earned to secure a job with high earnings which in turn helps in buying ample things feeding the consumerism. So is it really the end of all indigenous ideologies which had been passed on from one generation to another. Not exactly because every ideology will keep evolving to some other form and liberal democracy is no exception (Marks, n.d.). Liberal democracy which simply evolved from communism based democracy eliminating its flaws and frays, will evolve into something better in the near future. Liberalism and Democracy themselves do n ot go hand in hand. There are several third world countries which struggle to use liberalism to their economic benefit. As Karl Marx stated, they will realize sooner or later, capitalism will lead to overproduction, low cost, scanty wages and unemployment doing more harm than good in the long run.3 They will start looking for alternate ideologies automatically leading to a better form of government and economic management. History proved aristocracy and communism cannot succeed. Likewise it will prove liberal democracy will also dwindle in some point of time in this 21st century (Marx & Engels, 1848). Do Islamists Have the Answer? Is Islamic idealism the core answer for an alternate ideology opposing liberal democracy? The answer is most certainly no because, evolution should lead to something which is better than the previous methods. But, Islamic ideologies force people to go back to the primitive living condition. Of course too much of sweet is bad for health. The available medic ine might have lots of side effects. But, a new alternate medicine or an ancient medicine which will cure the disease should be invented or revived, instead of banning the usage of sweets completely from life. Do the Islamists agree with it? Mainstream Islamic people do agree with it hundred percent. Karshidshak who worked in Iraq with the Muslim soldiers admits they are like any modern American youngsters longing for the latest model mobile and waiting to

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Research Proposal - Essay Example As the free trade agreement was signed by the United States and Cambodia within WTO (World Trade Organization), the country became the â€Å"favorite† supplier of brand clothes for American shopping malls. However, the situation is rather grave as Cambodian workers (with mainly women from rural areas being among them) face inadequate and extremely poor working conditions as well as low wages. Most workers have to live on only 3 dollars a day, working hard in unfavorable factory conditions (Tolson, 2014). It is also remarkable that almost a half of a day wage has to be spent for meal. Thus, seeking to save money, Cambodian workers often share meals, that eventually leads to malnutrition and fainting (Tolson, 2014). Fainting has affected about 4000 factory workers in the recent years, with cases of mass fainting in the workplace. This concerning fact couldn’t go unattended as faintings were caused by hunger, heat, poor ventilation, long working days and inhalation of chem ical substances for fabric processing. Considering the abundant evidences, one can easily conclude that labor rights are blatantly violated in Cambodia, violations were so numerous that last months of 2013 and first part of 2014 brought workers’ strikes and protests in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh with demands to increase wage. Garment industry workers are paid beyond the subsistent minimum wage. The situation went far enough for the government to deploy police for suppression of protests leaving several people dead and numerous of them wounded. Moreover, this summer, several lethal cases were reported with women fainting in the workplace and then dying. Labor unions try to promote their demands of minimum wage increase so that workers can afford adequate existence. Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), an organization advocating for human and labor rights, tries to convince main brands having their capacities in Cambodia to implement the program of free meals for workers

Monday, August 26, 2019

Essay due in Asian Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Due in Asian Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - Essay Example The Asian collection of Art works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art contains a large number of Art works from Asian countries. It is renowned for its collection of Chinese and Indian Art works displayed. Thesis statement: From the perspective of a viewer, discussion on the basic differences between Chinese and Indian art and analysis of a piece of art to unearth its history, the artist’s motives and expression. The Asian collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art includes a wide range of Art works from different cultures from Asia. The collection includes gifts from philanthropists who collected different types of Art works from different cultures in Asia. Besides, the collection covers the 4000 year history of Asian Art. Some important differences between the Chinese and Indian art objects which represent the Asian Art are mentioned below. The Chinese collection includes Calligraphy and painting which represent its rich tradition of Art. Carol Michaelson and Jane Portal opine that: â€Å"Chinese painting is quite different from brightly coloured Western oil painting† (Michaelson and Portal 8) the tradition of painting in China is entirely different from Western form of oil painting. Besides, the Art works represent the history of different dynasties that ruled over China for centuries. For instance, the work ‘Model of a watchtower’ represents the Eastern Han dynasty in ancient China. But the Indian collection is different from Chinese works. The difference from Chinese Art can be seen in the usage of colors, medium and theme. The favorite medium of Indian Artists includes paper and cloth. For instance, the work ‘Mahavira Sitting at the Top of the Universe: Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript, 15th century’ is in paper. The favorite theme of Indian artists includes stories from sacred te xts. In addition, red is a dominant color in Indian Art works. But the favorite colors

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Causes and Effects on Global Economy Research Paper

Causes and Effects on Global Economy - Research Paper Example The spate of events undermined the confidence of the investors impacting the global financial markets. With the tightening of the credit norms, there was a slowdown in the economies worldwide. It is argued that the government and Federal banks could have avoided this situation had they acted on time. Critics put the blame on the regulatory practices of the government and credit rating agencies. The latter failed to assess the risk associated with the mortgage-based financial products. As a result of the high ratings given to these securities, they were passed on to the investors easily. A hike in the interest rate led to widespread delinquency on the home loans and early foreclosures. This increased the supply of houses thereby putting a downward pressure on their prices. The rise in the rates of delinquencies due to the steep housing installments eroded the value of the mortgage-based securities. Surplus liquidity and low rates of interest created conditions of easy credit and contributed to a housing boom. There was a considerable increase in the homeownership rates in the country most of which was comprised of the subprime mortgage. During this time credit was extended to the borrowers with a bad credit history. The installments on these loans were low initially but with the rest of the interest rates, the monthly installments of the borrowers also increased substantially. Meanwhile, the steep rise in the house price and credit created a building boom. The rise in the rate of foreclosure together with the surplus unsold houses caused a steep fall in the housing prices in the US. Another reason that contributed to the rise in the home loan delinquency was the quality of credit. Enticed by earning higher transaction fees the lenders failed to check the creditworthiness of the borrower and in the process extended credit to the high-risk segment.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Usage Of IT Tools In Organization Research Paper

Usage Of IT Tools In Organization - Research Paper Example Organizations such as Farmers Insurance and Travellers Insurance recently have benefited on a major part with the technique of outsourcing their IT and BPO sector. These successful companies seemed to have partitioned core processes and other back-end processes that are of least importance for outsourcing. Organizations have moved beyond initial stages of outsourcing only the back-end processes and they have adopted outsourcing the core development which produced a statistics report of 40% increment in productivity and high efficiency in cost of labor. On a contrary, companies like CCC Information services in source or import people as a solution to reduce the incurring cost that is at a hidden level. This finds a way to control a company's taxes and decisions on outsourcing and insourcing are made based on the business goals of each company. On the analysis made, it is found that the manufacturing companies prefer more of insourcing labors from China or from remote areas in the north where employment is less. Companies can make a straightforward decision to choose insourcing or the other depending on the business requirement. It is also clear that insourcing requires a lot of effort and manpower to train a team and match them to the skill set in a short period of time but on a large duration inclusive of the cutting down cost of labor, and then this is the best way adopted by companies to enhance their profit and productivity. In outsourcing, we get a more powerful and skilled team in a short period. This was considered more expensive and used by larger organizations earlier. Rapid growth of the IT industries such as TCS, CTS, Accenture and IBM is mainly due to migration of industries from undertaking the core process all by themselves with less manpower and resources to distributing the process among few trusted partners which is less time consuming and effective availability of resources. At a reduced cost, work can be smartly insourced too. It is found that companies with major growth and productivity have adopted these strategies only after a thorough analysis of which organization or people should be insourced or outsourced.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Organizations such as Rackspace have started building their own cloud spaces where they can share secure data and make it private. The traditional approach of disk spaces has been removed from the stage and the big picture is all about web. Most of the data and information that organizations use are through web. They emerge obtaining permissions and spaces from providers with such cloud options to make their organizational data much

Friday, August 23, 2019

Food Conflict in the World Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Food Conflict in the World - Research Paper Example In addition, intensive subdivision of land has made it very hard for these people to produce enough food to support their family (Runge, 2003). The subdivision of land has created more conflicts as there are no documents that were used during land adjudication. Family wrangles have therefore slowed the production process. This is affecting the level of food security in the society. With the increasing levels of globalization resulting from liberalization of markets, efficient flow of information, and integration of economies, the conflicts of interest in the global market has increased tremendously. The multinational companies have shifted their attention towards the agricultural sector as a way of diversifying their source of revenues. This is to reduce the risks and uncertainties associated with focusing on a single product. However, majority of these firms have no interest of the people at hand. Instead, they venture in agriculture in order to make immense profits at the expense of poor farmers. They have therefore leased large tracks of land which have the potential to produce enough foods for the population. They then plant cash crops such as flowers which fetch high prices in the global market. They go ahead and hire a lot of employees who have the necessary skills and experience to produce food for the population (Labonte, 2009). This aspect is negativel y affecting the agricultural sector. Globalization has led to the liberalization of market, an aspect that has a major impact on food security in the world.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Why only Thailand had not been under colonial rules Research Paper

Why only Thailand had not been under colonial rules - Research Paper Example European aspiration for trade and consumption, creation empires and exploitation of the slave labour has produced an immense impact on many regions of the world. Whereas Spain was a pioneer in conquest and colonial expansion forcing American aboriginal population out in order to take their place and plant the new religion, other European empires took up the baton in this direction of development. The most powerful colonial empires were the Netherlands, Russian Empire, France and Great Britain. Seeking to gain control over as many beneficial territories as possible, the empires kept on spreading their influence across the New World, Africa and Asia. As the world had seen the first wave of decolonization at the turn of the 19th century when the territories of the New World won their independence weakening Spain as the colonial empire, other colonists set their eyes on the countries of the Old World, territories of South Africa, India and Southeast Asia in particular. The history of the Southeast Asian region was marked by the colonial rule and forced interaction between regional governors and the foreign powers that came to conquer and exploit the territories economically. Naturally, the origins of the colonialism policy lay in the cradle of Western civilization, in Europe. Whereas the main colonists of the region were France and Great Britain, the Southeastern colonies included Burma, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and East Timor (Ingkhaninan). The beginning if expansion took place in the 16th century when Spain began invasive war against the Philippines conquering the islands and maintaining control over them until 1898. Indochina, in its turn, became an arena for French aggressive expansion with Vietnam and Cambodia being colonized and turned into the so-called Indochinese Union. Later, in 1893, French colonists conquered Laos. Therefore, almost the

Philosophy of Healthcare Essay Example for Free

Philosophy of Healthcare Essay This paper analyzes seven view points on the topic of Philosophy of Healthcare. The seven view points are blended into this paper by discussing what factors highly influenced my decision to choose healthcare as my set profession in life. Also discussing the Nature of Mankind, stating a few qualities that are highly important in our society and give examples of how it is used in our everyday life. This paper will further discuss the Brokenness of Mankind and what I believe are my most important qualities that I will be able to bring into the medical field. Discuss different ways how handle conflict and stress that can someday lead to â€Å"burnout† in healthcare. Along the topic of talking about the Brokenness of Mankind, I will debate if there is a difference between healing and curing. Last, I will altercate the Value of Mankind and in what ways this could be appropriate for faith to play a part in giving care in healthcare. Keywords: none. Philosophy of Healthcare Final Project Seven Points of Philosophy of Healthcare Back when I was a young child in elementary school, my first grade teacher asked me and all my other classmates, â€Å"What do you want to be when you grow up?! One girl said a private eye investigator; a boy who played on the peewee football team for our city said he wanted to be the quarterback of any NFL team. When it was finally my turn to say what I wish to do for the rest of my life, I said I wanted to be a professional ice skater! I came to realize six years later that that was never going to be my reality and I had to think about what really would interest me. One good quality everyone said I obtained was caring for others and how I always am the first to aid someone in need. I spent most of my time in the hospital visiting my grandmother and I always thought it was amazing to see the doctors rush to a patient or watch the nurses do their rounds. I told my mother I wanted to work in the hospital as a volunteer and she said I should so I did and I fell even more in love. Seeing all of the things going on in the hospital influenced me to really pursue this profession. What also influenced me was seeing how my pediatrician cared for other kids and was always taking good care of not only myself, but others as well. In this profession people need to possess very important virtues. Some of my personal virtues are dedication, caring, and also integrity. I believe that being dedicated is a cogent virtue to have in general, but specifically as a healthcare professional. While working in the medical field you have to give time and effort to your patients and show them that you care as well. Caring would have to be another virtue that I portray and that is also very good to have. For example, if you have a patient that has been there for a long period of time, you have to show them that you care and put yourself in their position. Philosophy of Healthcare Final Project You have to show that you care, because if you don’t things will only be negative and later on will become complicated and stressful. Integrity is a very strong virtue that anyone can have because it shows that you can be trusted and that you are a very honest person. Nowadays, they have a system called HIPAA, which is used in hospitals nationwide. HIPAA is used for patient confidentiality and is an agreement that you will not discuss why a patient in there in the hospital and what is wrong with them with anyone else. This is why I believe everyone needs to have integrity. Discussion There is a plethora of ways that my top three virtues could be demonstrated. To start off, we will talk about dedication. Dedication can be shown in the medical field by setting aside time to get certain tasks done by a specific time or day. For example, if a nurse has to clean up after a patient, they have to set aside time to aid them and also be dedicated to doing it, along with that, they have to care for the patient while doing this specific task. Caring is another one of my top virtues. Caring is shown in many ways in this specific field. For example, caring for a patient while they are in the hospitality suite is extremely nice. When I did my volunteer service back in Orlando Regional Medical Center, I spent most of my time in the hospitality suite making sure every patient waiting to return home was doing okay and assisting them get into their cars and giving them anything while they waited patiently to leave. Also, integrity is highly demonstrated in healthcare. As I have stated earlier in this paper, HIPAA is a very good example of how integrity can be shown in healthcare. Philosophy of Healthcare In addition, what I believe would be my important qualities that I can bring to healthcare as a professional would have to be my ability to be loyal and true to everyone including my co-workers, the patients, and of course myself. To me, loyalty and being trustworthy are the biggest qualities that anyone can pertain in life because without it, no one can depend on you to accomplish things or to confine things either. Today in the field of healthcare, there are many cases that are conflicting and stressful. Many people try to climb their way out of this by doing numerous of strategies to get themselves out. The best thing to do is to focus on the positive and try to think of ways to make things better. Do not try to blame others for wrong doings and try not to say the first things that comes to mind in a bad situation because that only makes things worse. â€Å"In the hospital or any medical setting, you will be faced with problems and challenges almost every day. † (www. zinearticles. com). Also, building a strong communication with your colleagues can become a great advantage and can cause less burnout in the field. â€Å"Another important way to combat stress is to sharpen ones communication skills. † (www. fdu. edu). everything nowadays is communicated via e-mail, pager, text, or even social networks to try and get into contact with one another. If you have to talk to someone about a problem, simply approach them and talk face to face and not try to chase down a text or e-mail to have proof of something you said. Discussion Many people say that there is an antithesis between healing and curing. In my opinion I believe that they are both different. â€Å"Healing is a natural process and is within the power of everyone. Curing, which is what doctors are called upon to do, usually consists of an Philosophy of Healthcare Final Project external treatment; medication or surgery is used to mask or eliminate symptoms. † (www. beliefnet. com). Healing is done by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It takes time for this to happen and it takes a lot of faith to make it possible. On the otherhand, you can show up to a physician’s office or the hospital and say â€Å"Take the pain away! † and it will be gone within the hour thanks to technology today. With healing, you need to have a very positive mind set and pray to our Father in heaven to cure us with his tender loving care, instead of depending on society to cure us. â€Å"The first step is having the intention to heal, to come back into balance. † (www. stepsonthepath. com).

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Is Othello a Victim or Villain?

Is Othello a Victim or Villain? This is a play about Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army. He is the ultimate villain in this play as opposed to Iago, the high ranking soldier. Most would agree as a matter of fact that Iago is undoubtedly the villain of this tragic story. In order to perceive this, a superficial assessment of the two main characters in the play; Othello and Iago, should be made. The art of analysis on its own rejects the simple easy explanations but rather deals in the complex and mystifying facts. Although Iago is the natural nuisance and thus the obvious bad guy, his destiny is to create the tragedy that this play later becomes. A lengthy consideration in addition to an open mind will show the truth of the matter. Othello is the actual villain. Even though he initially lacks any malicious thoughts and ideas, he eventually gets to become a murderer due to emotionally untrustworthy and jealousy. As you read the play it is not common to associate Othello with such descriptive words as conceited, though he is in every sense of the word. As the plot unfolds it is already clear that Othello is going to fall from grace in a huge way and his undoing will be his insatiable ego. He knows his abilities as a great warrior and his superb sword wielding abilities. His prowess on the battle field raised his ranks to the brim of the military defenses of Venice city. He gained his lofty status due to his expertise as a military officer and with that came his conceit. When Iago tells him of the threats from Brabantio, he says, Let him do his spite: My services which I have done the signiory shall out-tongue his complaints (1509). He walks with an air of over confidence depicting tones of arrogance in saying that no one has the authority to accuse is reputation. And to add on to that he shows his lofty opinion, as lofty as it can be, by saying, I fetch my life and being from men of royal siege (1509). His head is swelling with the status and importance given to him by the men of power in the city of Venice. He starts to think he is infallible, great and unfaultable, thus weakening him to the crucial insights of his enemies as to what they should do to discredit Othello from grace, the Moor already changes with my poison: dangerous conceits are in their natures poisons (1555). Whilst Iago reveals his detailed plot, we come to discover another vice possessed by Othello, he has a jealous mind. This comes as a result of insecurities of his colour, his education and his age. I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that clamberers have, for I am declined into the vale of years (1553). Othellos jealousy is fed by the aforementioned insecurities. He says, As he (Cassio) shall smile, Othello shall go mad; and his unbookish jealousy must construe poor Cassios smiles, gestures, and light behavior quite in the wrong (1569). Iago therefore only has to create an opportunity for Othellos jealousy to initiate his downfall. Finally, we take note of his emotional dishonesty. As soon as Iago plants his thoughts, Othellos head and heart quickly fills up with contempt and bitterness. He openly confesses his love for Desdemona but he is easily convinced otherwise by Iago due to his dishonest nature meaning he was not being truthful about his love for Desdemona. He says, If she be false, O then Heavn mocks itself: Ill not believe it (1554), This makes him sound like a passionate man yet afterwards gets mad and discredits Emilia as a simple bawd. (1557) since she says the Desdemona is faithful to him. This illustrates his love being no more that a sad illusion, simply an obsession to say the least. His emotional untruthfulness is connected to all his other vices and feeds of them creating a dangerous monster out on a once adorable and admirable man. However as much as Othello is the villain of the story, at more than one instance he has appeared to look like the victim as well. He appears to be a victim of his society and seems as though Iago toys with his irritable nature at his pleasure. Othello seems to be very gullible and at times very distant from the truth. He is innocent to the working mayhems and mischievous plans Iago comes up with. Othello loses his tempers easily as a child does when frustrated and Iago knew how to play with his shaky ego that amounted due to the thought that his wife is heating on him. And of course that is blatant lie. All the grace and gentleness that was Desdemona was easily mistaken for flirtations to the unsuspecting Othello. His uncontrollable temper and the proof caused the untimely death of his ever faithful wife. His reaction was like that of a child whose favorite toy had been snatched away. His anger does not even give him the time to listen to her side of the story and refuses to listen to her pleas of innocence. Though he has an evil side to him, Othello had turned into an insane state of mind and one could actually state that he might not have realized what he was doing until it was a little bit too late. While Othello might have some virtuous attributes, there is no doubt that his emotional dishonesty, jealousy and conceit all sum up to make him the ultimate villain of this Shakespearian classic play. In the end it is the unwitting prophecy Iago makes that comes true, O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on; that cuckold lives in bliss Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger; But, O, what damned minutes tells he oer Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!(1550). Yes, Iago should be the villain, but we hugely expect this of him, and he therefore lives up to just what we would expect.. The true bad guy, who gives this play its twist is Othello the disingenuous, suspicious and the proud Moor of Venice. Isolation of Elements: General Principles and Processes Isolation of Elements: General Principles and Processes Introduction to Metallurgy Our planet earth is a vast source of elements which are distributed in its crust, water bodies and atmosphere. Out of these elements nearly 80 per cent are metals which occur either in the combined state or in free state (called motive state). Metals occurring in free state are copper, silver, gold and platinum group metals. Not only metals some non-metals also occur in the free state, such as, carbon, sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen and group 18 elements (the noble gases). Apart from metals and non-metals some elements occur as metalloids which show both the properties of metals and non-metals. Metalloid silicon is the backbone of electronic industry and solar cells. Distribution of elements in the above three categories in shown in the periodic Table (Fig. 6.1, Ref www.wikipedia.org) Fig. 6.1 Some most abundant elements in the combined form as solutes are: In earth crust In sea water O, Si, Al, Fe, Cl-, Na+, SO42- Ca, Na, K and Mg MG2+, Ca2+ and K+ Some life supporting metals are iron, calcium and magnesium. Chlorophyll, a compound of magnesium, is responsible for the photosynthesis process in releasing oxygen. General principles of metallurgy For any application of a metal it has to be produced in a pure state. Here lies the importance or metallurgy. Metallurgy involves the initial purification and concentration of the ore and its subsequent reduction to metal. Minerals and ores Naturally occurring sources of metals are called minerals which are generally contaminated with impurities such as days and siliceous matter. A mineral which is rich in the metal compound and which can be used to extract metal economically is termed as an ore. Thus, all ores are minerals but all minerals are not ores. The impurities which are generally present in ores are called gangue. Following is the list of some important ores of a few metals: Metal Ore Chemical composition Iron (Fe) Photograph of metals Iron pyrites Hematite Magnetite FeS2 Fe2O3 Fe3O4 Aluminium (Al) Photograph of metals Bauxite Cryolite Al2O3 . 2H2O Na3 Al F6 Copper (Cu) Photograph of metals Copper pyrites Cuprite Malachite (Green) Cu Fe S2 Cu2O CuCO3 . Cu(OH)2 Photograph of metals Zinc (Zn) Calamine Zinc blende Zincite ZnCO3 ZnS ZnO From the above list of ores and also from literature (www.wikipedia.org) You will find that metals generally occur as: Oxides Sulphides Carbonates Halides Silicates Steps in the extraction of metals Concentration of ore Reduction of ore (Chemical reduction or electrochemical reduction) Refining of metal Concentration of ore Ores are usually contaminated with sand and clay minerals called gangue. Therefore, the first step to obtain the metal from the ore is to remove as much gangue as possible. To do so the ore is crushed to fine particles and subjected to the following methods of concentration: Hydraulic washing Magnetic Separation Froth flotation method Hydraulic washing Hydraulic washing is done with an upward flow of water. In this process lighter gangue particles are washed away leaving behind the desired heavy are particles. Magnetic separation This method is based on the different magnetic behavior of gangue particles and the ore. The conclutration of ore is done by putting the dried crushed ore on a conveyor belt moving around a powerful magnetic roller. In this way the ore is separated from the gangue particles. As an example, magnetite is ferromagnetic and on (Fe3O4). Passing over a magnetic roller it gets carried away and made free from non-magnetic gangue. Froth Flotation This method is designed for the concentration of sulphide ores. The method is based on the relative density of gangue particles and ore particles. Either of two can be made to float on the aqueous surface with air bubbles and be collected. This is achieved by adding some chemical compounds in water. The arrangement is shown is Fig. 6. Air is blown with pressure to create froth which engulphes either the gangue or ore particles. Following compounds: Frothers: Synthetic detergents, pine, oil, eucalyptus oil or coal tar. Collectors: X anthates . These impart water repellent properties to the surface of the ore particles to be floated. Froth Stabilisers: Cresols and aniline. Depressants: Sodium cyanide. The purpose of a depressant is to make ineffective one component of the mixed ore. For example, from a mixture of ZnS (sphalerite) and PbS (galena) ZnS is NaCNwhile heavier PbS particles float on the surface. Leaching Leaching is extration of an active ingradient of the low grade ore. This is done by dissolving the desired component in a suitable chemical solution.[ Example Are: Leaching of low grade carbonate and oxide ores of copper by dilute sulphuric acid: CuCO3(S) + H2SO4(aq) → CuSO4(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l) CuO(S) + H2SO4(aq) → CuSO4(aq) + H2O(l) Leaching of amphoteric arebauxide (Al2O3) with hot aqueous sodium hydroxide when impurities such as Fe2O3 and silicates remain Al2O3(S) + 2NaOH(aq) + 3H2O(l) 2Na[Al(OH)4] aq Na [Al (OH)4] is converted to pure Al2O3 by passing CO2 gas and heating the product Al(OH)3: Na[Al(OH)4](aq)+CO2(g) → Al(OH)3(S) + NaHCO3(aq) Al(OH)3(S) Al2O3(S) + 3H2O(g) Leaching of gold and silver with aqueous sodium cyanide solution in the presence of air: 4 Au(S) + 8NaCN(aq) + O2(g) + 2H2O(l) → 4Na[Au(CN)2](aq) + 4NaOH(aq) Ag(S) + 8NaCH(aq) + O2(g) + 2H2O(l) → 4Na[AgKN)2](aq) + 4NaOH(aq) The respective metals can be obtained by adding zinc which is a more electropositive metal than either gold or silver: 2Na [Au(CN)2](aq) + Zn(S) → Na2 [Zn(CN)4](aq) + 2 Au (S) Conversion of ore to oxide Metals used in huge amounts generally occur as sulphides, oxides or carbonates. For sulphide and carbonate ores it is necessary to convert them into oxide forms prior to their reduction to metals. This conversion is necessary due to the following reason: Availability of a less costly reducing agent The reducing agent should not interact chemically with the metal produced. Availability of a suitable furnace. The production of metal should be cost effective. Fewer impurities There is hardly a reducing agent which meets all the above requirements. Electropositive metals such as magnesium, calcium and aluminium can be used for the chemical reduction of oxide ores. These metals can not be used for the large scale production of less electropositive metals because of their high cost. However, carbon as coke fits well as a reducing agent within the above listed parameters. Its oxide, carbon monoxide is also a very good reducing agent. The efficacy of carbon monoxide as a reducing agent increases with the increase in temperature. One serious drawback of coke is that it reacts with many transition metals and some non-transition metals at higher temperatures to form carbides. However, carbon as coke and carbon monoxide remain the two versatile reducing agents for iron ores. For carbon to be used as a reducing agent the sulphide or carbonate ores have to be converted into their respective oxide forms. Carbon does not reduce sulphide ores to give metals. To find out the reason consider the following two reduction reactions: 2MS (S) + C(S) 2M (l or S) + CS2(g) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.(i) (sulphide form) MO (S) + C (S) M (l or S) + CO (g) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (ii) (Oxide form) For these two reduction reactions by carbon the Gibbs energy of the reaction should be negative. This can happen only when à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G for CS2 will be more negative than à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G for MS (first reaction); and for the second reaction à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G for CO should be more negative than à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G for MO. Thermodynamically the first reaction where CS2 is formed is not feasible, but the record reaction is feasible. It may be noted that CS2 is very much less stable than CO gas. Therefore, the sulphide ores are first converted into the oxide form before reducing them with coke. This is done by heating the sulphide ores in the presence of roasting the sulphide ors is that a by-product sulphur dioxide (SO2) is obtained which is used to manufacture sulphuric acid. To get the ores into their respective oxide forms following processes are used: Calcination Calcination is heating the ores in the absence of air. This method is used for the carbonate, hydroxide and hydrated ores CaCO3(S) CaO(S) + CO2(g) (calcite) MgCO3. CaCO3(S) MgO(S) + CaO(S) + 2CO2(g) (Dolomite) CuCO3. Cu(OH)2(S) 2CuO(S) + CO2(g) + H2O(g) (Malachite) Calcination is generally done is a reverberatory furnace (Fig. 6. Ref www.wikipedia.org). This process makes the ore process and easily workable. Roasting Roasting is heating the ores in the presence of air. This is done mainly for sulphide ores: 2 Fe S2 (S) + 5O2(g) → 2FeO(S) + 2SO2(g) (iron pyrite) 2Cu2S(S) + 3O2(g) → 2Cu2O(S) + 2SO2(g) (copper glance) 2ZuS(S) + 3O2(g) → 2PbO(S) + 2SO2(g) (Galena) Roasting is done in reverberatory furnace (Fig. 6.4 Fef. www.wikipedia.org) Roasting also removes volatile impurities like sulphur, arsenic and phosphorus as their volatile oxides: S(S) + O2 (g) → SO2(g) 4AS(S) + 3O2(g) → 2AS2O3(g) P4(S) + 5O2(g) → P4O10(g) Student Activity 1 Metals used in an ordinary filament bulb Draw the figure or an ordinary bulb Label various metals used in it Give reason as to why tungsten metal is used as the filament Student Worksheets Student Worksheet 1 Which metal is liquid at room temperature Aluminium Lead Mercury Zinc Leaching is generally used for the following ores of metals Lead Copper Iron Aluminium In Aluminium-thermite process the reducing agent used is Carbon Hydrogen Aluminium Sodium Heating of ores in the absence of air is known as Roasting Calcination Leaching Bensemerization Froth flotation process is used to concentrate the following ore Halide Silicates Sulphide carbonate how do metals occur in nature by virtue of their reactivity giving chemical equations describe the process of calcinations and roasting, respectively. Why are sulphide ores roasted to their oxide forms before their reduction with coke? Describe the principle of leaching with suitable examples. Describe the principle of froth flotation process. How is PbS ore concentration ewhen it is contaminated with ZnS? SUMMARY S. No. Description Ore A mineral with high concentration of metal compound which is used to extract metal profitably. Occurrence of metals in nature Oxides Sulphides Carbonates Silicates Gangue Undesired materials present in ore. Metallurgy Process of isolation of metals from ores involving the steps: Concentration of ore Reduction of ore to metal Purification of metal Concentration of ore Magnetic Froth floatation (for sulphide ores) Leaching Leaching Extraction with a suitable solvent for low grade ores. Calcinations Heating of ores (carbonate or hydroxide) in the absence of air. Roasting Heating of ores (sulphide ores) in the presence of air. Smelting Industrial reduction process to obtain metal from ore. Reducing agents used in smelting Hydrogen Carbon as coke Aluminium (In Alumino-thermite process Air Electrolytic Refining of crude metal Liquation Cupellation Besemerization (known as oxidative refining) Vapour phase (van Arkel and de Boer, and Mond processes). Zone refining (for silicon) Hydrometallurgy Electrolytic Ellingham diagrams Curves of Gibbs energy vs temperature. Used to select a suitable reducing agent. LOW CHART 1. 2. Classification of ores on the basis of the metal compounds Concentration of ores on the basis of their chemical nature 3. 4. Reduction of ore to get the metal choosing a suitable reducing agent Purification of crude metal based on the nature of impurities present Crossword A mineral having high concentration of a metal compound. ORE Heating or ore in the absence of air. CALCINATIONS Heating of ore in the presence of air. ROASTING Valuable by-product during roasting. SO2 gas Extraction of low grade ores. LEACHING Concentration of ore by proving air bubbles. FROTH FLOTATION A furnace used for the smelting of iron ore. BLAST FURNACE Process of reduction of metal oxides by aluminium. ALUMINO-THERMITE PROCESS Process used to obtain very high pure silicon. ZONE REFINING Carbon monoxide is used to purify nickel. MONDS PROCESS Zirconium tetraiodide (Zrl4) vapours are decomposed on heated tungsten filament. ARKEL-DE BOER PROCSS Sodium is obtained by passing electric current in molten sodium chloride. ELECTROLYTIC REDUCTION ADDITIONAL RESOURCE LINKS www.wikipedia.org Reduction of ore to crude metal By using the process of reduction, roasted or calcined ores are converted to crude metal. Different reducing agents are used depending upon the reaction between the metal oxide and the reducing agent. Reduction with carbon : FeZO3, CuO, ZuO, SuO2, PbO etc. Reduction with Aluminium : FeZO3, Cr2O3, Mn3O4, TiO2 etc. Reduction with Magnesium : B2O3, TiCl4, etc Reduction with hydrogen : WO3, MOO3, GeO2, CO3O4 etc Reduction with CO : Fe2O4, FeZO3, PbO, CuO Electrolytic reduction : Electrolyzing of oxides, hydroxides or chlorides in fused state. Smelting : This is a process in which oxide of a metal is mixed with coke and a suitable flux. The mixture is heated to a high temperature in a blast furnace. Iron, Copper, Zinc and tin can be obtained by this process. Carbon is a good reducing agent below 983K where as above this temperature CO acts as reducing agent. ZnO(S) + C(S) Zn(S) + CO(g) Zincite + 2C(S) Sn(S) + 2CO(g) Cassitesite Pondered anthracite Fe2 + 3C(S) 2Fe(S) + 3CO(g) Haemetite CuO(S) + C(S) Cu(S) + CO(g) A flux is a substance which is added to roated or calcined ore during smelting to remove the non-fusible impurities of metallic oxides, silica, and silicates etc. During smelting flux combines with the non-fusible impurity to convert it into fusible material called slag. The slag being light float over the molten metal from where it is removed. Flux is of two types: Acidic flux SiO2 : Basic flux Lime stone (CaCO3) and Magnetite (MgCO3) SiO2 + MgCO3 MgSio3 + SiO2 + CaCO3 CaSiO3 + Hydrometallurgy : Copper, Silver and gold are extracted by this process. The process is based on the principle that more electropositive metal can displace less electro positive metal from its salt solution. The one is treated with such seagents that the metal forms a soluble compound. On adding more electropositive metal to the solution, the less electropositive metal present in the solution is precipitated. Example: Extraction of Copper : Malachite ore is roasted and oxide formed is dissolved in sulphuric acid. On adding scrap iron to the solution, copper is precipitated. Cu(OH)2 . CuC → 2CuO(S) + H2O(P) + C CuO(S) + H2S → CuS + CuS + Fe(S) → Cu(S) + FeS Extraction of silver : ore is dissolved in NaCN solution and air is blown followed by addition of Zinc turnings. Silver is precipitated. Ag2S + 4NaCN → 2Na[Ag(CN)2] + Na2S 2Na [Ag(CN)2] + Zn → Na2 [Zn(CN)4] + 2Ag Solution Acid flux used to remove basic impurities Basic flux used to remove acidic impurities Reduction with hydrogen :Some of he metal oxides (mostly transition metals) can react with carbon at high temperatures to give metal carbides which resist further oxidation. Oxides of these metal, are better reduced by hydrogen gas. i.e. WO3 + 3H2 W + 3H2O(g) MOO3 + 3H2 Mo + 3H2O(g) GeO2 + 2H2 Ge + 2H2O(g) CO3O4 + 4H2 3Co + 2H2O(g) Using H2(G), metals are obtained in small scale as hydrogen is highly explosive. Aluminium reduction method: This method is also called Alumino-thermite process. Some of the metal oxides cannot be reduced by carbon as affinity of oxygen for the metal is more than for carbon, also, metal may form carbide at high temperature. Such metallic oxides are reduced by using aluminium powder. The reaction is initiated by the using barium per oxide and a small piece of Mg ribbon. Fig. Cr2 + 2Al(S) 2Cr(P) + Al2 Fe2 + 2Al(S) 2Fe(P) + Al2 3Mn3 + 8Al(s) 9Mn(P) +4Al2 Function of BaO2 is to provide oxygen to magnesium when lot of heat is volved which initiates the thermite process. Air reduction : Sulphide ores of less electro positive metals such as Hg, Pb and Cu etc are heated in air to partially convert the ore into oxide which then reacts with the remaining sulphide in absence of air to give the metal and SO2 gas. 2HgS(S) +3 2HgO + 2S 2HgO(S) +HgS(S) 3Hg + S Reaction on p-5 This process may also be called ante reduction process. 2PbS + 3O2 2PbO + 2S 2Pbu + PbS 3Pb + S 2Cu2S + 3O2 2Cu20 + 2S 2Cu20 + Cu2S 6Cu + S Reduction by Electrolysis : The oxides of highly electropositive metals of group I, II and Al element of group etc cannot temperatures and these can form carbides. These metals are obtained by electrolysis of their oxides, hydroxides or chlorides in fused state. To lower the fusion temperatures or to increase the conductivity or both a small amount of other salt is added. The metal is liberated at cathode. Sodium metal is obtained by electrolysis of fused mixture of Nacl and Cacl2 (downs process) or by electrolysis of fused sodium hydroxide (Costners process). Nacl → Na+ + cl- Fused At anode cl- → Cl + e- Cl + cl → c At Cathode Na+ + e- → Na(l) Aluminium metal is obtained by electrolysis of fused mixture of alumina and Gyolite (Na3[Al F6]) Na3 Al → 3Na F(P) + Al Al →Al3+ + 3F- At anode F- → F + e- F+F → F2(a) 2A+ 6 → 4Al + 3O2(g) At cathode Al3+ + 3e- → A(l) Anode gets cosseted by oxygen liberated during electrolysis, which needs replacement from time to time. Refining of metals: Metals obtained by any of the reduction method except electrolytic reduction contains impurities. Refining of metals is process where by undesired impurities present in the metals are removed. Different refining processes may be applied depending upon the nature of the metal and nature of impurities. Name of the Process Metal to be refined Liquation Low melting metals like Sn, Pb, Bi and Hq etc. Cupellation Silver containing lead. (Impure silver containing lead is heated in cupel made of bone ash or cement and a blast of air is passed over the molten mass. The impurities are oxidized and removed with the blast of air) Bessemerisation Fe and Cu Vapour phase refining There are two methods Monds process Impure Ni is heated with CO(g)at 323K when volatile Ni (CO)4is formed. These vapours of Ni(VO)4are passed into another chamber maintained at 306K when Ni (CO)4decomposes to pure Ni which gets deposited on small Ni balls kept in the chamber and carbon-monoxide gas is rejected. Ni(S)+4CO(g)Ni(CO)4Ni(S)+ 4CO(g) Van Arkel Process Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Th, B are refined by this method. Impure metal is heated with I2, producing volatile T1I4,, ZrI4or BI3. These vapours are passed over electrically heated filament of Tungsten. The vapours decompose, metal gets deposited over the filament and iodine liberated is . Ti(S)+ 2TiTi(s) + 2 Zr(S)+ 2ZnZr(s) + 2 2B(S)+ 32B→ 2B(s) + 3 Zone refining Highly pure silicon or gernanium required for making semi-conductors are refined by this method. The impure rod of silicon or germanium is surrounded by a heating cir-l which can move from one end to another. The heater is allowed to move in one particular direction. As the heater moves away, the metal capitalizes and impurities move along the direction of the movement of the heater. The process is repeated a number of times when a small portion of the rod gets purified. The end portion of the rod having high concentration of impurities can be cut and disconded. Electrolytic refining Most of the metals like copper, silver, gold, aluminium, lead etc are refined by this process. The impure metal is made the anode and a thin sheet of pure metal is made a cathode. The electrolytic solution consists generally of an aqueous solution of a salt containing some acid or a complex of the metal. Purification of Copper Anode Impure copper Cathode Thin sheets of pure copper Electrolyte An aqueous solution of copper sulphate containing some H2SO4. Purification of Silver Anode: Impure silver Cathode: Thin sheet of pure Ag Electrolyte An aqueous solution of ASNO3containing HNO3. Pb Anode: Impure metal Cathode: Sheet of pure lead Electrolyte A solution of PbS1F6containing 8-10 of H2S1F6. Purification of Sn Anode: Impure Tin Cathode: A sheet of pure tin metal Electrolyte An aqueous solution of SNSO4containing H2S1F6. Thermodynamics of Metallurgical process: The metals are extracted when their oxides are heated with carbon or other metal and by thermal decomposition. For any spontaneous reaction, the Gibbs anergy change à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G must be negative at a particular temperature. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H Tà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  S à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H is enthal by change during the reaction, T is the absolute temperature and change during the reaction, T is the absolute temperature and à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  S is the entropy change during the reaction. The reaction will processed only when à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G is negative. For reaction where à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H is negative and à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  S is positive. The reaction proceeds even at low temperatures. Theoretically, it is possible to decompose all metal oxides if sufficiently high temperature is attainable but oxides of Ag, An and Hg are the only oxides which can be decomposed at easily attainable temperatures. Hence these metals are obtained by thermal decomposition of their oxides. The choice of reducing agent to obtain the metal from its oxide depends upon the change in Gibbs energy à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G. The plot of Gibbs energy change versus temperature is called. Ellingham disgram: There diagrams can be drawn for different compounds such as oxides, sulphides, halides etc. using these diagrams one can make a choice of reducing agent and the corresponding temperature at which, the reaction becomes feasible. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G for the reaction is -ve. Some salient features of Ellingham diagram are: The slope for metal to metal oxide is upward as Gibbs energy change decreases with increase of temperature. The all follow a straight line unless they melt or vaporize. When change in entropy is large, the slope of line also changes for example the Hg-HgO line changes slope at 629K when mercury brills and similarly Mg-MgO changes slope at 1393K. When temperature is increased, the graph crossed the line à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G=0 at a particular temperature. Below this temperature, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G being negative, oxide is stable where as above this temperature à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G is positive and the oxide become unstable. Thus it should decompose into metal and oxygen. In a number of reduction processes, one metal is used to reduce the oxide of the other metal. Any metal can reduce the oxide or the another metal which lie above it in Ellingham diagram. Ellingham diagrams give an indication whether the reaction is possible or not. These graphs do not predict the kinetics of the reaction. This is a major limitation of Ellingham diagrams. Ellingham diagram of carbon: Carbon reacts with oxygen to give two oxides C(S) + O2(g) → CO2(g) 2C(S) + O2(g) → 2CO(g) Carbon monoxide can further react with oxygen to give carbon dioxide. 2CO(g) + O2(g) → 2CO2(g) When carbon changes to carbon dioxide, change in entropy (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  S) is very small and à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G hardly shows changes with increasing temperature. The graph of à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G against T is almost horizontal. When carbon changes to carbon monoxide, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  S is positive and à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G becomes more negative with increasing temperature. As a result, the line shows downward slope. The two lines for carbon to carbon-dioxide and carbon to carbon monoxide cross at 983K. below this temperature formation of CO2 is favoured whereas above this temperatures formation of CO is preferred. Ellingham diagram of metal sulphide : Some metals occur in nature as sulphides, such as ZnS, CuS and PbS. The reaction for the reduction of these sulphides with carbon is highly 2MS(S) + C(S) → 2M(S) + CS2(g) unfavourable energetically because of the instability of carbon disulphide. It being an endothermic reaction, sulphide ores are roasted to oxides and their reduced into metals.