Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Can war ever be justified? Essay

This question is not that easy to answer. Many philosophers, politicians or just ordinary people in the past and in the present try to come up with an answer, but there is no simple answer to this question such as â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no†. The answer depends on an individual. Some people like Ruth Heing say _†Countries went to war because they believed that they could achieve more through war than by a diplomatic negotiation†_. Some people like Bo Bennett say _†Diplomacy is more than saying or doing the right things at the right time, it is avoiding saying or doing the wrong things at any time†._ War brings nothing to the country but damage and destruction. Government is not the only one who is affected by the war. War takes away lives of so many innocent people. More than 1068 000 people died in the battle of Somme. The weaponry is not cheap, millions are wasted on them. In 1898 when Kaiser Wilhelm II announced his intention to built a powerful German navy, Britain raised first class war ship – Dreadnought against Germans. They spent millions on building the ship, instead of spending the money on the ship construction it would be more effective to spend money on more social issues. Than the conflict between Germany and Britain would have been avoided and at the same time some social needs would be satisfied as well. When it comes to self defense, war is just necessary. The reason why Georgia still exists today is because when Turkey invaded Georgia in 10th, 11th century Georgia was constrained to defend its self. Georgia wasn’t the one who started the conflict. If Georgia would not have defended itself from the invaders (who were mostly from Muslim countries), today the country would have been a part of turkey or other neighboring country. War can be necessary in order to get independency or freedom for example There is no short answer to the question if the war can ever be justified it depends on the situation in which the country is in and it depends on the individual, how does a person view the affects of the war on the country. Everything in the world has both positive and negative aspects including War. Can war ever be justified? Essay War is an inevitable part of the history of humankind. Unlike natural happenings, war is an action of people inflicted of other people. This issue has raised ethical problems, which are still problematic till today. War is by common sense evil, but can it ever be less evil? There are a number of varying options when discussing the issue of a ‘justifiable war’. Some people argue that war is always justifiable while others argue that it can never be. Some maintain that due to human conditions, war is inevitable. Can it ever be morally justifiable to use force so as to preserve values within a society such as justice, peace and freedom? The Pacifists argue that war is never morally justifies, while others argue that war at times is justifiable, and therefore they produce what one may call the ‘just war tradition’. The just war tradition represents a fund of practical moral insight based on a reflection on actual problems as these have occurred in different historical contexts. The moral insights and practices that make up the tradition reflect the judgments and experience of people coming from a wide range of cultural institutions. Unjustly causing harm to someone is never justified, and is referred to as an absolute moral obligation. An absolute moral obligation therefore refers to an obligation which has priority over all other moral obligations. On the other hand, to inflict harm which may or may not be justified can be referred to as prima facie moral obligation. A prima facie moral obligation is an obligation which has a strong moral reason supporting it. However such obligation may be overridden under special circumstances, like self-defense. Therefore it is ethically correct to harm someone else in order to protect yourself and others. The ‘just war tradition’ provides three fundamental moral reminders. The use of force is sometimes necessary to preserve values that would otherwise be lost. Any resort to force and the application to forceful means have to be subjected to an intentionality of justification and restraint, and the means and techniques of war should serve the legitimate moral aims of the employment force. Can war be ethically justifiable? Two sets of rules have been developed to assess when choosing violence can be justified, as well as to set limits on the amount of force. These two sets of rules are referred to as jus ad bellum, which is the right to war, and jus in Bello, which is the right in war. Jus ad bellu m refers to whether the  option to use force in a particular situation is justified, while jus in Bello refers to whether the type of force is to be justified. There are conditions in both jus ad bellum and in jus in Bello. The conditions in jus in Bello are proportionality of specific tactics and the immunity of non-combatants. The killing of innocent people during war is a criminal and who do it will be punished. The conditions in jus ad bellum are that there must be a legitimate authority and the need for a declaration of war (from the legitimate authority itself). There have to be a Just Cause, for example to defend human life; no one can start a war without a reason. In a just war there have to be right intentions. One can kill others to stop them from attacking his country. There have to be reasonable hope of success; you only declare a war with the hope of winning. Courage is to refuse to obey orders which are inhumane and to know when you need to stop (surrender). War has to be the last resort and one has to try and avoid it when possible. The last but not least is proportionality of the whole enterprise. There is the need to calculate the beneficial and harmful results. There have to be more positive results than negative ones. Thomas Aquinas held that a war can only be justified if three conditions are satisfied. The war must be legally declared by a public authority that is legitimately authorized to commit a people to war; the war must be declared by someone who can be entrusted with the care of the common good and a legal authority to declare a war. The war must be pursued for a morally just cause, like self-defense or to take something which is yours back; it isn’t right to engage in a war against a nation that has done nothing to deserve it. Those who are engaged in fighting a war must have a rightful intention; they must intend only to achieve the just end and must not be provoked. Some conditions are added to those of Aquinas by those who use the just war theory to evaluate the morality of war and of the weapons of war. They added that the war must be fought only as a last resort; so if there is another way of achieving one’s just end, the war will not be just. There must be a reasonable hope of success. The war must be aimed to produce more good than harm, and it is wrong to use methods of warfare that cause more injuries and deaths than necessary. Therefore as to conclude, one must say that war has its rules and they should be followed. To declare a war one must have the right intention and a reasonable hope of success, and it must be fought only when  nothing else can be done to achieve the results desired.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Succubus Revealed Chapter 14

Seth shot up from the chair, face filled with hurt and fury. It was surreal. For a moment, he looked like a stranger . . . and yet, he also looked like everyone I'd ever known. Everyone I'd loved. Everyone I'd hurt. â€Å"You,† he exclaimed, striding toward me. â€Å"How could you do that to me? How could you do that to me?† I had never heard Seth yell like that. I cringed against my chair, too stunned to react. Meanwhile, Hugh seemed to come to life. He had been as shocked by Seth's initial reaction as me, particularly since Hugh understood even less than I did about what was going on. He was still undoubtedly confused, but some instinct spurred him to action when he saw Seth advance. I didn't think Seth would've hurt me, but he was kind of scary just then. Hugh grabbed a hold of Seth's arm. â€Å"Whoa, whoa,† said Hugh. â€Å"Easy there. Everyone calm down.† Roman likewise seemed to suddenly realize something was wrong here. He'd been so excited by the developments, his face aglow as all his theories fell into place. Now events were moving in a direction he hadn't foreseen. He rose, mirroring Hugh's fighter's stance. Only, Roman was doing it defensively, coming to stand in front of me, in case Seth broke Hugh's hold. That didn't seem very likely. The imp was strong. â€Å"How could you do that to me?† repeated Seth, voice still roaring with fury. â€Å"I trusted you! I trusted you and I loved you!† I had witnessed all of this unfolding but hadn't dared allow myself to really and truly accept it. I had seen the impossible. I had seen Seth relive the lives of men he hadn't known – men he couldn't have known – walking back through the centuries of my long existence. Some voice inside of me kept saying, No, no, this isn't happening. This can't be real. It's some trick of Hell's. I was working hard not to process what I'd heard because processing it meant accepting it. But with those last words, Seth penetrated something inside of my numb self. He broke through, and I snapped. â€Å"I didn't! I didn't do anything to you!† I cried. I had to peer around Roman to meet Seth's eyes and almost wished I hadn't. They were cold. So terribly cold and hurt. â€Å"You cheated on me,† said Seth, straining against Hugh. â€Å"Cheated on me with my best friend. . . .† Yet, even as he spoke, I could see him falter. The feelings he'd felt as Kyriakos were real, but he was examining it now as Seth Mortensen. The mixed realities were confusing him. It was understandable. They confused me. â€Å"Seth,† I said desperately. â€Å"I didn't do that to you. Think about it. I love you. I love you so much.† Seth stopped struggling, though Hugh didn't relinquish his grip. Seth's features were still filled with hurt and confusion. â€Å"Not to me . . . to him. But I am him. I'm all of them.† Seth closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What had been reasonable and clear under hypnosis was becoming more difficult to grasp. â€Å"How? How is that possible?† â€Å"Past lives,† said Roman. â€Å"You're right. You were all of them. You lived all of those lives, long before you were born into this one.† â€Å"Reincarnation? That . . . that's impossible,† said Seth. â€Å"Is it?† asked Roman, regaining some of his confidence now that the situation was no longer escalating. â€Å"How do you know? Do you have a direct line into the way the universe works?† â€Å"So, wait . . . what about you guys?† asked Seth. â€Å"Are Heaven and Hell not real?† â€Å"Oh,† said Hugh wryly, â€Å"they're real.† â€Å"All of it is real,† said Roman. â€Å"And vastly more complex than any faulty human system can understand.† He turned to me, expression softening. I must have looked terrified. â€Å"What Seth saw . . . what he lived through. You knew all of them, didn't you? All of those identities?† I focused on Roman, afraid I'd lose my nerve if I looked at Seth again. I nodded. â€Å"Yes . . . they were all people . . . all men I knew in my life.† Hugh frowned. â€Å"How is that possible? I can get on board with reincarnation. I've seen enough to believe it can happen. But him always being reborn around you? You running into him – what was it, ten times? That's statistically impossible.† â€Å"The things we're dealing with aren't really governed by statistics and probability,† said Roman. â€Å"There are other forces at work here, forces that guide his rebirth. It was part of his contract, the deal you made as Kyriakos. What can you tell us about it?† â€Å"I don't know what you're talking about. . . . I don't remember . . . I . . .† Seth shook his head, the anger returning. â€Å"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Let me go. I need to get out of here. I need to get away from her!† â€Å"Seth . . .† I said. â€Å"But you're the key!† exclaimed Roman. â€Å"The key to unlocking Georgina's problems. You're the other contract, the one Erik was talking about. You're tied to her, tied to everything that's been going on with her.† â€Å"I don't care,† said Seth. He seemed to just barely be able to keep his emotions in check. â€Å"I don't care about your various and sundry plots! Do you have any idea what I just saw? What I just went through? I'm still not even sure I understand any of it! I don't understand who I am! All I know is her – and what she did to me.† â€Å"Seth,† I tried again. Or should I address him as Kyriakos? I didn't know. â€Å"Please . . . I love you. I've always loved you. What happened . . . it was . . . it was an accident. . . .† The look Seth gave me was dark and wary. â€Å"It sure didn't seem like an accident when I walked in on you.† â€Å"I never meant to . . .† â€Å"To rip my heart out?† he cried. â€Å"To destroy my world? My life?† â€Å"Roman,† said Hugh carefully. â€Å"Maybe we should give him some time to process this.† â€Å"We don't have time,† said Roman. â€Å"Hell can move fast – especially if they find out what we know. If we're going to save Georgina – â€Å" â€Å"I don't care!† said Seth again, this time with more vehemence. â€Å"I don't care what happens to any of you, and I certainly don't care about what happens to her. It's probably less than she deserves.† â€Å"She didn't do anything to you,† said Roman. â€Å"She's been a pretty solid girlfriend, from what I've seen.† â€Å"Seth,† I pleaded, knowing Roman wasn't quite getting it yet. â€Å"I . . . I'm sorry. It was a long time ago.† My words were terribly, terribly inadequate, but Seth was tapping into things I'd forced myself to block out – because they were too painful. â€Å"For you, maybe,† said Seth. â€Å"It happened over the course of centuries. One life for you. But for me . . . whatever you guys did with the hypnosis, it's all here now. All of those lives . . . those memories. Here in my head at the same time. It didn't happen ‘a long time ago' for me. It's like it just happened yesterday! All those feelings, all that pain . . .† â€Å"It'll fade,† said Hugh, not sounding as though he was certain. â€Å"What you regressed through is still fresh, and you weren't brought out of the trance properly. Give it time. Or . . . if you want, I can put you back under and make you forget this.† â€Å"And forget her?† demanded Seth. â€Å"So I can forget what a faithless, conniving bitch she's been to me?† â€Å"Seth . . .† I could feel tears forming in my eyes. â€Å"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. If I could take it back, I would.† â€Å"Which part?† he asked. â€Å"The part where you proved our marriage meant nothing to you? Or the countless other times you lied to me and broke my heart? Do you have any idea how I feel? What it feels like to be experiencing all of that at the same time? Maybe you've moved past it all and don't care anymore, but it's real for me!† â€Å"It is for me too. I . . . I love you.† They were the only words I managed to get out, and they still weren't enough. Where was all my usual glib charm? My ability to talk my way out of anything? I was still too choked up on my emotions, still reeling from the fact that looking into Seth's eyes meant looking into the eyes of every man I'd ever loved. I wanted to convince him how sorry I was and explain that having a long life hadn't dulled the feelings inside me. If anything, it had only provided more time for those feelings to sink in and punish me. I wanted to explain to him how I'd felt during that first transgression and how it had been a poor reaction to feelings I didn't know how to process as a scared young woman. I wanted to explain that most of my actions since then, especially the times I'd pushed away other lovers, had been weak attempts at protecting them. There was so much I wanted to say, but I just didn't have the words – or courage – to get any of it out. So, I remained silent, and the tears spilled out of my eyes. Seth took a deep breath, forcing. â€Å"Let me go, Hugh. I won't hurt her. I don't want anything to do with her. I just want to go home. I need to get out of here.† â€Å"Don't,† said Roman. â€Å"We need him. We need more answers, so that we can understand the contracts.† â€Å"Hugh, let him go.† I barely recognized the voice as my own. Roman looked at me incredulously. â€Å"We need him,† he repeated. â€Å"He's done enough,† I said flatly. In my head, Seth's words echoed: I don't want anything to do with her. â€Å"We've done enough to him.† When nobody reacted, I met Hugh's gaze squarely. â€Å"Do it. Let him go.† Hugh glanced between Roman and me and then made a decision. Still keeping hold of Seth's arm, Hugh steered him away from us and walked him to the door. Roman made more protests and took a few steps toward them, but I remained frozen where I was. I didn't look behind me, not even when I heard the door slam. Hugh returned, and Roman slumped back into his chair, sighing with frustration. â€Å"Well,† he said. â€Å"Once he calms down, we'll get him back and talk things out.† â€Å"I don't think he's going to calm down,† I said, staring off at nothing. I don't want anything to do with her. â€Å"He's just in shock,† said Roman. I didn't answer. Roman didn't know. Roman didn't understand the full scope of our history together. He hadn't seen Kyriakos's face after my betrayal, the grief that had been so deep it had nearly driven him to suicide. That was part of why I'd become a succubus, using my soul to purchase peace for him in the form of forgetfulness. It was the only way to save him. But if he remembered everything now, if he really was Kyriakos reborn . . . then, no. He wasn't â€Å"just in shock.† I had done a terrible, terrible thing to him, and his outrage wasn't unfounded. A shiver ran through me as I thought about the instant connection I'd had with Seth, the feeling like I'd always known him. It was because I had always known him. Life after life. I'd always felt like we were bound into something greater than ourselves . . . and we were. Something great and terrible. Hugh dragged up a chair and sat across from me. He caught hold of one of my hands. â€Å"Sweetie, I swear to you, I had no clue any of that would happen.† I gave him a halfhearted squeeze back. â€Å"What . . . what did you think would happen?† Hugh glanced at Roman. â€Å"He asked me if I could hypnotize Seth and attempt some past life regression. I had no idea what it was for. Fuck, I had no idea it would really work, let alone walk us through nine emotionally damaged lives. Ten, since we now seemed to have fucked up this one.† I felt hollow inside, hollow and aching. I turned to Roman, astonished I could manage any sort of reasonable discussion when my world had just been destroyed. â€Å"How did you know it would happen? How did you figure all of this out?† â€Å"I only figured some of it out,† said Roman. â€Å"It was actually your stupid Santa stuff that tipped me off. About how that guy was worried about Santa being in two places at once?† He scoffed and raked a hand through his hair. â€Å"I started thinking about how everyone says your contract is fine and how Erik had mentioned a second contract. We'd already deduced Hell wanted you and Seth apart, but why? And I thought, what if it's like the Santa thing? There's nothing wrong with your contract or Seth's in and of themselves, but together, something goes wrong.† â€Å"How did you even know Seth had a contract?† asked Hugh. â€Å"Well, that's the thing. I didn't. And since Seth had never mentioned it before, it seemed he didn't know he had one either. And how could that be? I started thinking maybe it was because he hadn't made the contract in this life. I thought maybe Hell had a long game going on with him across lives, and hence . . . the hypnosis.† â€Å"Jesus Christ,† said Hugh, shaking his head. â€Å"You made a fuckload of deductions there.† â€Å"And they were right,† said Roman. â€Å"Georgina and Seth both have contracts with Hell. And those contracts don't work together.† â€Å"Why not?† I asked. That zealous gleam was back in Roman's eye. â€Å"What were we able to deduce about Seth's contract? What did he get?† The only thing I'd deduced was that Seth was never going to speak to me again. When I refused to answer, Hugh obligingly played student to Roman's teacher. â€Å"He got ten lives instead of one. The gift of reincarnation.† â€Å"Why?† asked Roman. â€Å"To find Georgina,† said Hugh. He paused, and I guessed he was replaying what Seth had described. â€Å"It sounds like he died in that first life, and when the time came for his soul to move on, he was aware of missing her. I'm guessing Hell wouldn't have gotten his soul then, so they made the deal to give him nine more chances to find Georgina and be reunited with her.† â€Å"He did find me,† I said flatly. â€Å"Over and over.† Betrayal after betrayal. â€Å"Yes,† said Roman. â€Å"And you were drawn to him without even realizing it. He certainly seemed to fit your dreamy artistic type each time. But you never made it work out.† â€Å"Which Hell was probably hoping for,† said Hugh. The imp in him was coming out, puzzling over how a contract like this would have been designed. â€Å"Hell has to be fair, but they always want an advantage. So, they probably went into the deal thinking a guy hoping to make amends with his soul mate could never do it if she was a succubus. Seth – or whoever – certainly didn't know that. He only knew that he was supposed to have forgotten her.† He thought about it a few moments more. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with that, though. That's hedging your bets on a contract. There's no violation.† â€Å"You're right,† said Roman. â€Å"And that's not the problem.† He focused back on me. â€Å"What was your deal? What was your contract for becoming a succubus?† â€Å"You already know it,† I said wearily. I was tired of the scheming and fallout. I want to crawl off, curl up in my bed, and sleep for the next five centuries. I wanted to renegotiate my contract and have my memory and heart purged of all pain. â€Å"Humor me,† he said. â€Å"Just tell me the basics again. The deal Niphon made with you.† â€Å"Roman, leave her alone,† said Hugh. I waved him off. â€Å"Fine. I sold my soul and became a succubus in exchange for everyone I knew as a mortal forgetting about me.† Roman looked so supremely satisfied and triumphant that I wanted to punch him just then. He nodded to Hugh. â€Å"And tell me Seth's again, to the best of your guessing.† â€Å"At a guess? He gets to live ten lives, all of which will put him near her, giving him the chance to find her and make amends with her. Hell gets his soul at the end of the tenth life.† â€Å"And why did Seth make the deal?† prompted Roman, practically trembling with excitement. â€Å"Because he remembered that – † Hugh cut himself off, eyes widening. â€Å"Exactly,† said Roman. He shook me in his excitement when I didn't react right away. â€Å"Don't you get it? Your contracts contradict each other! In fact, Seth's should never have even been written! He remembered you. He knew that you were gone from his life.† â€Å"He knew his ‘soul mate' was gone,† I said bitterly. â€Å"I don't think he remembered specifics. You saw how much trouble he had.† Roman shook his head. â€Å"Doesn't matter. I'm guessing your contract specifies forgetting you entirely. He remembered. By that happening, Hell violated your contract. Then, they wrote an impossible contract for him, claiming he'd have the chance to reunite with you – which again, implies a degree of remembering you.† â€Å"We don't know that exactly,† warned Hugh. â€Å"We haven't seen the contract and didn't get all the details from him. I couldn't follow if he got anything for patching things up with her or not.† â€Å"We know enough,† said Roman. â€Å"Seth wanted to be reunited with her and make amends. For that to happen, it would contradict Georgina's contract – specifying he forget her.† â€Å"I'd want to see the wording,† said Hugh. â€Å"I'm not trying to dash your hopes. I just know how these things work.† â€Å"Fair enough,† said Roman. â€Å"But can you deny that when Seth called her ‘Letha' last month, that was most definitely in violation of her contract? He remembered. Not consciously. But some part of him, deep inside, remembered her.† My thoughts were still moving sluggishly, but something clicked into place. â€Å"The transfer . . . the transfer came through the morning after I told Jerome about Seth calling me Letha.† â€Å"Yes,† said Roman. â€Å"That's why things were mucked up with it. I guarantee my dear father has always known about your contracts and has accepted them grudgingly, especially if Seth's contract allows for you two to keep running into each other. But, when you told the gang about the name, Jerome had a serious problem. He recognized the violation and tattled to his superiors as fast as he could, making them panic and act quickly – too quickly – to get you out of here.† â€Å"But . . . it already happened. Seth remembered. The violation took place,† I said, scarcely able to believe it. â€Å"It's like a tree in the woods,† remarked Hugh. â€Å"It only happens if they're called on it. Neither you nor Seth would have known about the contracts or any violation. You were oblivious. Jerome needed to keep it that way, get you guys apart and kill any chance of you figuring out what had happened.† â€Å"Hence the Vegas dream job,† said Roman. â€Å"It's like we talked about before. Forbidding you guys to be together would've drawn too much attention. A run-of-the-mill transfer, however, would've seemed like business as usual – if not for the screwup. Hell was so anxious to get it going that they sent you the memo before Jerome had a chance to meet with you. I guarantee everything you saw in Vegas was thrown together on a day's notice.† I drew my hand back from Hugh's and buried my face in my palm. â€Å"Oh God.† Roman patted my shoulder in a way that was probably supposed to be comforting but mostly made me grit my teeth. â€Å"God's not the one you've got to look to right now. Do you realize what you've got here, Georgina? A once in a millennium opportunity to thwart Hell! You can challenge them, call your contract into dispute. And Seth's. All you need to do is talk to him, get the exact details of – â€Å" I jumped up from my chair, finally giving way to all my own grief and fury. â€Å"No! Didn't you see his face? Didn't you hear him? He won't talk to me! Not now, not ever. And don't say he's just in shock again,† I warned, seeing Roman about to speak. â€Å"You don't know what I did, what it was like for him . . . back then. There's a reason I made him forget! He's not going to forgive me for this. Never. He didn't then and isn't going to now. Oh Lord. Why did we have to do this? Why did we have to make him remember? We should've just let him forget. . . . Everything was fine. . . .† My frantic pacing led me over to the living room window, where I drew back the curtains. It was late in the day now, the sunset turning the clouds orange. â€Å"Fine?† asked Roman, coming to stand beside me. â€Å"Hell was creating elaborate ploys to separate you and cover their asses! And they were killing his sister-in-law to do it. That is not fine. You and Seth have done nothing but play into Hell's hands all these centuries. Over and over, you find each other and lose each other, you bicker and fight, throw it all away on mistrust and lack of communication. Are you going to let that continue? Especially when they didn't even give you what you were promised?† I rested my cheek against the glass, taking comfort in the coolness, refusing to listen to Roman's logic. â€Å"But Seth didn't remember until we made him.† â€Å"Not true. He remembered before that,† said Roman. â€Å"On his own, when he called you Letha. That's how this all started. Nothing we did here changed that.† â€Å"He hates me,† I said, fully aware of how whiny I sounded. Roman didn't try to deny it. â€Å"People forgive.† I scoffed. â€Å"Do they?† â€Å"They do,† said Hugh, coming to stand on my other side. â€Å"Seth must have – or whomever he used to be. Your husband. Why else would he have made that bargain in the first place to find you?† â€Å"Because he didn't remember what I'd done,† I said. I met Hugh's eyes. â€Å"He only knew that I was missing from his life.† â€Å"You answered your own question, sweetie. His love for you was stronger than his hate, if he was able to remember the one and not the other.† I wanted to argue with that but didn't know how. â€Å"I can't . . . I can't face him. You don't know what this is like. It's . . .† My lifelong fear? My greatest sin? â€Å"I just can't.† â€Å"We need to know about the rest of his contract,† said Roman. â€Å"We need all the details if we're going to see this through.† Hugh sniffed. â€Å"You keep saying ‘we,' but somehow I don't see you being the one filing the paperwork with Hell to challenge her contract.† When Roman didn't answer, Hugh added, â€Å"Which, by my estimate, we don't need any more of Seth's information for. We already have enough to question her contract's integrity.† â€Å"Question its integrity?† exclaimed Roman. â€Å"We have enough evidence to blow it wide open.† There was that metaphor again. Roman loved the dramatic. â€Å"Hell failed to hold up their end of the bargain. They told you they'd make everyone forget. Obviously, they didn't.† â€Å"It may not be quite that simple. Hell will question what you call evidence,† said Hugh. â€Å"But it can be done, right?† asked Roman. â€Å"You know how to do it – to file the necessary paperwork?† â€Å"Well, I've never done it before,† said Hugh. â€Å"Jesus. I don't know anyone who's done it.† I dragged my gaze from the window. â€Å"Don't,† I told Hugh. â€Å"It's not worth it. You don't know anyone who's done it because no imp who values his job or his life would ever try to get a contract revoked. I don't want you doing that for me.† â€Å"Hugh,† said Roman, looking over me like I wasn't even there. â€Å"You could free her. You could get her soul back for her. You could end this life she has – sleeping with strangers for eternity.† â€Å"Stop it,† I snapped. â€Å"Stop trying to guilt him into it. I made this choice. No one tricked me into being a succubus. They told me what it entailed and what I'd get.† â€Å"And you didn't get it,† said Hugh quietly. â€Å"It doesn't matter,† I said. If I didn't have Seth, one form of Hell was as bad as another. â€Å"I would do it for you,† said Hugh. â€Å"I'll file the paperwork. Maybe you knew what you were getting into, but that doesn't mean you don't have the right to change your mind – especially if you were played. If you want it, I'll help you do it.† â€Å"Why?† I asked, recalling all the times Hugh had become uneasy whenever we'd talked of challenging the status quo. â€Å"Why would you risk it?† â€Å"Because you're my friend,† Hugh said, his lips twisting into a bitter half smile. â€Å"And that still means something to me. Besides, give your pal Hugh some credit here. I might be able to pull this off with minimal punishment for myself.† A strange feeling welled within my chest, tight at first and then loosening. This day had become one impossible thing after another. Somehow, hearing Hugh say it made it more real. I was so used to Roman's ideas and dreams for undermining Hell that at times, it was easy to ignore them. But to hear Hugh saying this might actually work . . . I swallowed, feeling more tears were on the way. â€Å"I can't even imagine that. A world where I don't belong to Hell. I don't know what my life would look like.† â€Å"Like anything you want it to,† said Hugh, wrapping me in a hug. Behind me, I heard Roman sigh. â€Å"Well. I'll settle for one contract blowing up in Hell's face. I mean, Seth was already Hell-bound anyways, wasn't he? With or without any of this?† I winced. It was true. Seth's soul – once so bright and shining – had darkened when he cheated on Maddie with me. He'd come to my bed out of love but had still felt guilty over what he'd done. The mark of sin had tainted his soul enough that were he to die right now, Seth would go to Hell. Hugh cleared his throat and let go of me, suddenly looking uncomfortable. â€Å"It's funny you mention that. . . .† â€Å"Why?† I asked. â€Å"I hadn't seen him in a while and nearly didn't notice . . . but today when he was here, his soul . . .† Hugh shook his head. â€Å"I don't know what all he's done, but it's lightened. It's not the spotlight it used to be, but something's changed. Enough of the taint's gone now that I don't think he's marked for Hell anymore.† â€Å"Except, he is because of his contract,† I realized. â€Å"That was the price for all those lives. It doesn't matter how good he is.† I felt my legs grow weak again and had to struggle to stay up. Seth had redeemed himself for his sin. How? Probably through the sacrifices he'd made for his family. He'd given up the things he loved most for them – writing, even me. It was a remarkable feat, something few humans were able to rebound from. Usually, those who were damned stayed damned. But it didn't matter. Seth's soul could shine like a supernova and he would still go to Hell, because it was the same soul he'd had as Kyriakos, the one that had made the bargain to come and find me. â€Å"We don't know for sure,† I said. â€Å"He didn't make it clear if he definitely signed his soul over or if there was a wager, like he'd get to keep it if he made amends with me.† â€Å"Which doesn't really seem like it's going to happen at the moment,† said Roman. â€Å"So either way, he's damned.† â€Å"Unless we can break his contract too,† I said. â€Å"And we need his help for it.† Hugh gave me a sympathetic look. â€Å"Do you want me to try to talk to him?† I had hated myself for what I'd done to Kyriakos all those years ago, hated myself so much that I'd paid the ultimate price to be wiped from his memory. And after seeing the look in Seth's eyes earlier . . . well, honestly, if given the chance, I might very well have asked to be erased again. I couldn't stand seeing that hate, that disappointment in the eyes of someone I'd loved. I'd hurt him. I'd let him down. I wanted to hide and never see him again because if I faced him, I would have to face the failings within myself. That had always been a problem for me, I realized. I hated confrontation – especially when I was the one at fault. I'd continually run away from that my entire life. I forced a weak smile for Hugh, who stood there offering me a cowardly way out. No, I decided. If we were going to get Seth's help, it would be better coming from me. Would he talk to me? I didn't know, but I had to try. For nothing else would I have risked facing that hate and sorrow again . . . but for Seth's soul, I would. â€Å"I'll go to him,† I said.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Cath Kidston Limited company- Critically review that role of Essay

Cath Kidston Limited company- Critically review that role of enterprise in the social and economic development of a region. Include a comparison of different cultural contexts - Essay Example ording to the performance review estimates; the growth value that they have added in the United Kingdom economy is around 49.8 percent (Wang & Altinay 2012, 8). SMEs also contribute a great deal to larger companies, by providing vital resources and completing business functions that bigger enterprises are unable to complete. Such companies are better able to attract and train new talent to develop innovative products that are better targeted towards the needs of their local communities. However, these enterprises face a number of challenges as they are often overlooked by the policy makers. Information regarding them is often scarce; support and policy targeted to their needs are also a great challenge (Bravo-Biosca & Westlake 2009, Par 1). Many businesses start up as one’s person idea and the creator in most cases is often an entrepreneur who spots a gap in the market or an opportunity that they can engage in business. The entrepreneur will, therefore, seize the opportunity and start a business to fill the gap and will grow to a large enterprise with proper support and management (Barnes & Haskel 2002, par 1). With the a few exceptions, most of the world’s largest companies all started as small business enterprises and through the supportive economy, access to the right people and capital turn to become global corporations. In regards to this, this paper discuss the Cath Kidston limited company that started as a small sized enterprise and over the years the company has grown to be recognized as a global brand. The paper will analyze the company’s products, its targeted social class, growth and productivity, societal impact as well as its role in the social and economic development of the region. Cath Kidston Limited is a business of home furnishing retail shops that are located in England under the designer Cath Kidson, who opened her first shop in 1994 in London. The enterprise was opened as a small enterprise that initially used to sell hand embroidered

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Khomeini vs. the International Community Research Paper

Khomeini vs. the International Community - Research Paper Example The consequences and the overall aftermath of the crisis shall be evaluated. This paper is being carried out in order to establish a clear understanding of the US-Iran relations, especially during Khomeini rule and after the Iran hostage crisis. Iranian Revolution The Iranian revolution involves the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Demonstrations and protests were started in October 1977 mostly against what was viewed by the people as the oppressive and corrupt regime of Pahlavi (Kurzman, 2004). These protests escalated into a widespread civil disturbance leading into January 1978. These strikes severely compromised the stability of the country and culminated in the exile of Pahlavi by January of 1979 (Kurzman, 2004). Two weeks later, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran and the regime of Pahlavi collapsed a month after Khomeini’s return. After a few months, a referendum was held and resulted in the establishment of the Islamic Rep ublic under Khomeini’s Supreme Leadership (Kurzman, 2004). ...His ideas, however, were largely objected to by the international community, especially in the face of human rights violations and other actions which were against international human rights and related laws. Khomeini was in exile before the revolution broke out, and when he finally returned to Iran, it was to a victorious revolution and to the highest political seat in Iran. He was lauded as a political and religious leader. Even if he was not involved directly in the revolution, he was a major part of it (Moin, 2000). His letters and messages spurred the revolutionary ideals of the Iranians who were not faring well under American-supported Shah Pavlavi. Khomeini, in other words, represented a leader for Iran who was committed to the revolutionary ideas, which the people were clamoring for (Chauvel, 1979). Hostage crisis background Before the US-supported Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979, Iran relations and the US were more or less diplomatic (Christopher and Mosk, 2007). At that point, the US considered itself an ally of Iran and the Shah. President Carter was especially expressive of his support for the Shah, even if in actuality, the latter was highly disfavored by the people (Scott, 2000). The revolution by the people against the Shah eventually led to the unseating of the Shah. The US persisted in its support for Shah Pavlavi by allowing him entry into the US for cancer treatment. However this backfired on the U.S. at it led to strong anti-American sentiments from the people of Iran who wanted the Shah to be returned to their country to face trial for his crimes against his people (Scott, 2000).

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Business Plan for a Wellness and Recovery Center for Deinstitutianal Dissertation

Business Plan for a Wellness and Recovery Center for Deinstitutianal Individuals - Dissertation Example Adult Day Treatment Programs in community health care centers may offer such interventions. McQueeney (1996) investigated the effects of hospitalization as opposed to day treatment programs and found that staying in mental health hospitals for a prolonged period of time promoted dependent behaviors and decreased functionality of the patients. On the contrary, day treatment programs not only exposed patients to community life but also enabled patients such as those with schizophrenia and active psychosis to productively participate in the interventions, become more independent and achieve community living skills. The medical model of adult day health care offers skilled therapeutic services from nurses, therapists, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, geriatric physicians and others (National Care Planning Council, 2012). For nurse-led community-based health centers, psychiatric evaluations, medication management, monitoring for side effects, medication education, and symptom management training are provided by the nurse practitioner and done on each patient in conjunction with the consulting psychiatrist and with assistance by the nursing staff. Adult day care providers with this kind of model are assisted by the Medicaid system by receiving payments for services under special Medicaid programs or under Medicaid waiver programs for home care. Such services intend to rehabilitate patients towards recovery while ensuring their health and wellness. Adult day care keeps patients active and engaged while they learn skills for reintegration into the community setting (National Care Planning Council, 2012). Studies have shown that community-based health centers catering to the mentally ill have been effective in reducing re-hospitalization rates and success in employment especially when the patients participate in multifamily group treatments (McFarlane et al., 1996). Similar findings came out of a study by Kuipers (1996) indicating that day treatment interve ntions were effective in helping schizophrenics manage and reduce their overall symptoms most especially when treatments are combined with family therapy. Nursing Care Nursing care at the community level has shown much positive outcomes for patients with mental illness, providing them with a better quality of life. Community nurses are adept in identifying changes in the behavior or symptoms of patients and in implementing strategies involving â€Å"screening, assistance with medications, monitoring for changes over time, referral and, perhaps, psychotherapies like counselling† (Thomson et al., 2008, p. 1420). Most of the time, only qualified mental health professionals like psychologists, psychiatrists, or even mental health nurses can conduct mental health assessment. However, community nurses may screen for the possibility of mental illness to be referred to qualified assessors. Flaskerud (2010) reports that the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, a physicians group, encourages e xpanded roles for Nurse Practitioners. One evidence of this is their recommendation to remove legal and reimbursement barriers that prevent nurse practitioners from delivering primary care service and to include them in multidisciplinary teams of primary care providers (Josiah Macy Foundation, 2010). Indeed, the

Friday, July 26, 2019

What was the most valuable thing that you learned in BUS656 this term Essay

What was the most valuable thing that you learned in BUS656 this term - Essay Example This concept provides numerous ways to create market segments that can be used to leverage business potential. The highlighted point is that of defensible market segments, which would actually help in capturing market share for a large as well as small business. The defensible market segments not only create business but also sideline competition from others in the industry. Creation of defensible market segments allows a particular business to stay on the top until competitors surpass the defensible segments with better products and/or customers’ needs change. Defensible segments can be of value with the positioning strategy of the business, especially in weak market segments. Understanding customers’ buying behavior and needs help in creating defensible segments. In addition, customer behavior in terms of frequency of purchase, attitude towards a particular product and a new product of the same brand can be advantageous to creation of defensible market strategy. Positioning strategy of products aimed at defensible segments provides opportunity to increase market share of new products. Greater product differentiation and an established brand automatically increase purchase size of customers, but cannot create defensible segments. This module highlighted the significance of defensible segments and acquiring market share as well as identifying market segments that can be used to find a slot for a particular product. Understanding markets will also help in designing products to meet the market/customer demands, which may be used for positioning the products. Once the market and customer needs are identified, it becomes simpler to find positioning strategies accordingly. It is difficult to capture greater market share of products that create defensible segments. Here, a strong positioning strategy would be of great value for the business. Positioning strategy helps in putting

John stuart mill (for history of psychology class) Essay

John stuart mill (for history of psychology class) - Essay Example He left Scotland four years later and went to London. James Stuart's London life has been divided into three periods: that of struggle - 1802-1819, the period of his most successful works - 1819- 1829 and the last one, from 1830 to his death, in 1836, when he both enjoyed fame and had been made Head Examiner in the India House. As to his inner life, some features are to be noticed: the negativist attitude towards religion, the strength of character, the critical and analytical spirit - "there is nothing which such a spirit will not analyze, nothing which it will not dare to comprehend" (Courtney, 1888, p.20), the rationality, lack of imagination and sympathy. Rationality and strength of character are to be seen both in his personal life, in his relationship with his children and friends, deprived of all emotion and feeling, and in his literary works. And it's according to the principles of pure logic that his son, John Stuart Mill was educated. We find an important amount of data concerning John Stuart Mill's life in his own autobiography. In the first chapter of his own book, before starting with the presentation of his childhood and early education, Mill states the reasons of his writing this work: "I do not for a moment imagine that any part of what I h... tory, it may be useful that there should be some record of an education which was unusual and remarkable, and which, whatever else it may have done, has proved how much more than is commonly supposed may be taught, and will taught, in those early years which, in the common modes of what is called instruction, are little better than wasted. It has also seemed to me that in an age of transition in opinions, there may be somewhat both of interest and of benefit in noting the successive phases of any mind which was always pressing forward, equally ready to learn and to unlearn either from its own thoughts or from those of others. But a motive which weighs more with me than either of these, is a desire to make acknowledgment of the debts which my intellectual and moral development owes to other persons; some of them of recognized eminence, others less known than they deserve to be, and the one to whom most of all is due, one whom the world had no opportunity of knowing." (Mill, 1944, p.1) As we can see, from the very beginning, John Stuart Mill states the influence that others had on his own development. From the following pages we find out, in the context of the presentation of his first years of life, who these others were. Born on the 20th of May, 1806, the English philosopher started learning Greek when he was three years old. In his book, this piece of information is presented as told by others, as he himself doesn't remember when he took his first Greek class. He reads Greek masterpieces: Herodotus, Socrates, Diogenes Laertius and Plato's writings and, when he is eight years old, he starts learning Latin. It's also during his early childhood that he learns arithmetic but most of his time is occupied with the reading of books - mostly history books. The child makes

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Health Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Psychology - Essay Example In its true sense health psychology encompasses clinical health psychology, public health psychology, community health psychology and critical health psychology (Marks, 2005). In the present scenario psychology finds its way in medical and physiological aspects, contributing to innovation in thoughts in terms of health and care facilities. The thought further gained strength from the acknowledgment of genetic predisposition along with behavior of the individuals encompassing ability to combat stress, beliefs of the individual about staying healthy, the positive attitude towards life and the kind of lifestyle an individual is leading. All these paradigms are essential in deciphering the nature of individual and the ability to combat disease of any critical condition. Along with these characteristics, social conditions like the attitude of family members, relationships in family, financial conditions, cultural and traditional values an individual possesses, the kind of co-operation an individual seeks from the social set up, the grooming of individual and the perception of the individual for life. All these are essential for the comprehensive understanding about the health psychology which is concerned with behavior of the individual and the kind of medication an individual is taking. Two major issues that emerged in understanding health psychology are- the extent to which the healing is explicit (the placebo problem) and the echelon to which they are executed (the adherence to regimen) (Blackwell, 1976). It is evident that most of the reimbursement of medications could not be procured as they are not performed to their completion. It is essential that the patient adhere to the treatment regimen. Since 1973 research is being carried out to establish the factors serving as stumbling blocks in the path of adherence to treatment regimen. Theories have been formulated to overcome these hurdles and

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Position paper 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Position paper 1 - Assignment Example Biologists hold that human embryos are human beings at an early stage of development. For Yelena and Yury, although the pregnancy was accidental, the mere fact that they are members of the human species dictate that they have the moral responsibility to facilitate rather than retard the internally directed development of the persisting human being. Whereas George and Lee (2005) claim that human beings are capable of consciousness and experience that empowers them to make greater claims than human embryos, such a claim is flawed and fallacious. Firstly, during the embryonic stage, our conscious and personality were already fully formed since character is shaped at this early stage. As such, we were not human non-persons but human persons with all the psychological attributes. The mere fact that human embryos lack experience does not reduce it to a nonperson. We possessed intrinsic worth and human dignity since then, a factor that gives the embryo the right to grow and develop. This di gnity is not dependent on inadvertent attributes such as IQ, age, size, or skin color but is rather intrinsic due to the entities we are. Hence, while Yelena and Yury undertook significant measures to prevent the abortion, but it still occurred, it is unethical to terminate the life of the developing individual. It must be accorded the respect and dignity that it deserves since we also want to be treated with respect and dignity; it is not a ‘lesser’ human being. Honourably, Callahan (1986) strives to condemn those who justify abortion by claiming that the fetus is a biological parasite that continuously takes resources from a female’s body. Evidently, this is a pro-choice feminist argument that overly exaggerates the fact that during the 9-month period, the mother’s energies and whole life will be actively involved in the development of the embryo to a baby. Callahan (1986) understands that such a

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Juvinile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Juvinile - Essay Example These people are taken to regular courts and if need be are jailed after justice has been reached as per the rules of the land. On the other hand, if the offender is below 18 years of age, a different set of rules apply. These persons are tried under juvenile law where the goal is to rehabilitate rather than punish the minors for crimes done. This will be the focus of this discussion and this paper will look at various issues as pertains to a juvenile case The People v. Eric S. Considering juvenile case number A125758 of the people as the plaintiff and Eric S. as the defendant/appellant, there are a number of issues that arise. This case arose when the appellant, 17 year old Eric together with his two teenage companions attacked a 44 year old man. During the attack, the appellant hit the victim in the head with a two by four resulting in severe injuries. These injuries included a gash in the head that required seven staples, a fractured cheekbone resulting to swelling of the face, a contusion on his right forearm and a sprained knee and torn ligaments (Justia US Law, 2). In addition to this, the victim suffered a black eye and severe swelling of the knee and forearm. Being a member of the Kaiser family foundation, the victim received extensive medical treatment at a Kaiser facility. After the court hearing, the appellant was declared a ward of the juvenile court when he admitted to a felony assault count of using force likely to cause great bodily injury. The decision of the court was to release him but put him on home probation under a number of conditions (Justia US Law, 2). In addition to these conditions, he was required to pay direct victim restitution. In the restitution hearing, the district attorney asked the court to include the cost of the victim’s treatment at the Kaiser Foundation. This amounted to $51,270.06 which included $48, 619.90 for the cost incurred at the Kaiser Family plus an additional $2,650.16 for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the victim. According to People v. Duong (2010) 180 Cal.App.4th 1533 (Duong), the court held that victim restitution ordered against adult offenders under Penal Code section 1202.4 may include amounts billed for medical services provided by a health maintenance organization (Findlaw, 5).As a result of this decision, there were a number of legal questions that arose, first of all, the question of having to pay for the cost of all the treatment that the victim received at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Would it not be fair enough if the appellant only covered the victim’s out of-pocket expenses? This is from reasoning that the victim was a member of the Kaiser HMO and thus would not have to pay for the medical services that he received from the institution. Another question that arose was the fact that direct restitution should be limited to the economic losses a victim occurs as a result of an attack and should not include medical expenses that the victim did not pay for per sonally. PART 2 In defense of the ordered restitution amount that was to include the medical care provided by the Kaiser Foundation, one critical question was answered by the case. This was the fact that ordering restitution for a victim in a juvenile case was to serve three functions which include, to rehabilitate the defender, to prevent future delinquent behavior and finally to make the victim whole by compensating him for the economic loss

Monday, July 22, 2019

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four Essay Example for Free

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four Essay George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel which presents an exagerated version of a totalitarian regime which not only controlled everything but which also could not be removed by any means. Orwell’s novel drew attention, back in 1949 when the novel was published, upon how this world would look like if a totalitarian regime would truly take over. My aim for this essay is to analyze Orwell’s novel with respect to the marxist elements present in the novel and also to illustrate their impact upon the protagonist’s feelings. Marxism and especially Stalinism are present in Orwell’s novel through certain elements: countinuous surveillance, control of the mind, the cult of personality and a supposed â€Å"equality† between the Party’s members. Isaac Asimov, in his essay Review of 1984, considers Orwell as a writer with not much of an imagination, accusing him of not developing in the novel the actual communist actions which were happening in reality. â€Å"Orwell imagines Great Britain to have gone through a revolution similar to the Russian Revolution and to have gone through all the stages that Soviet development did. He can think of almost no variations on the theme. I believe, though, that Orwell was an extraordinary visionary who pictured a society chained in nothing but governmental controll, a society which cannot be defeated. A communist concept presented in the novel is that of the powerless individual and of the high disregard the Party had for individualism. Everybody must form a group with everybody – this is the recipe for power, according to any communism regime. In 1984, history is continuously rewritten and in this way, the population’s memories are restricted only to what appears in the remaining articles after rewriting; it can be seen as another way of mind control. Winston himself discovers that most of what the Party states is lies and towards the end of the novel, when Oceania suddenly becomes enemies with Eastasia, the country with which it had been allies all along, everybody is forced to conceive that they have â€Å"always been at war with Eastasia. Ramesh K. writes in his essay Socio-Cultural Matrix in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four that â€Å"history is constantly rewritten to suit the current goals of the Party. Only the destruction of human memory will make it possible. Hence the Ministry of Truth (Minitru) modifies history perpetually to the tune of the ideals of the Party†. As a result of the rewriting of history is the loss of memories. Nobody remembers how life looked like â€Å"before† Big Brother, and yet nobody seems to find it as disturbing as Winston does. He barely remembers his family, and he suspects that most of his memories are only a product of his imagination. He has problems recalling maternal love; he sometimes feels guilty for his parents’ disappearance and he constantly regrets his childhood behavior. When regarding history, the only existing proof or better said, evidence, of such distant civilizations, ones before Big Brother, is written in censored books, created by the Party itself, with carefully selected details which attempt to illustrate how life is much better in the year of 1984, with the Ingsoc regime, then before the totalitarian era. Truth is continuously distorted and it can be regarded as close to extinction, since nobody has a correct notion of what is or is not true, anymore. Memories are vague and the ones vivid are imposed, influenced by the Party. The loss of memories the whole society experiences may also be a result of the continuous flow of new information which constantly contradicts the old one and which, in its turn, is recreated over and over again. The process of rewriting history is described in 1984: â€Å"This process of continuous alteration was applied not only to newspapers, but to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, films, sound-tracks, cartoons, photographs to every kind of literature or documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance† (Orwell, Part 1, Chapter 4, p. 1). The cult of personality has a huge influence on Orwell’s dystopia, as on any other totalitarian society. Big Brother has been associated by the critics with Stalin, while his political enemy, another alleged founder of the Party, Emmanuel Goldstein, was seen as the correspondent of Trotsky, Stalin’s enemy in the power struggle from the 1920s. Like Trotsky, Goldstein was deported and excluded from the Party. According to Isaac Asimov, Orwell’s â€Å"enemy was Stalin, and at the time that 1984 was published, Stalin ad ruled the Soviet Union in a ribbreaking bear hug for twenty-five years, had survived a terrible war in which his nation suffered enormous losses and yet was now stronger than ever. To Orwell, it must have seemed that neither time nor fortune could budge Stalin, but that he would live on forever with ever increasing strength. And that was how Orwell pictured Big Brother†. Big Brother is regarded as immortal, the is no evidence of his actual existence, and even O’Brien hints to the fact that Big Brother is nothing more than the embodiment of the Party. In the fictional book written by Goldstein he states that â€Å"Nobody has ever seen Big Brother. He is a face on the hoardings, a voice on the telescreen. We may be reasonably sure that he will never die, and there is already considerable uncertainty as to when he was born. Big Brother is the guise in which the Party chooses to exhibit itself to the world† (Orwell, Part 2, Chapter 9, p. 262). Big Brother was everywhere: â€Å"On coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters, and on the wrappings of a cigarette packet everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed—no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull† (Orwell, Part 1, Chapter 2, p. 34). In such a strict society, Winston attempts rebelling against the Party and also falling in love. Once he meets Julia, his double life takes form and he finds himself in a continuous seek for freedom. The relationship between Winston and Julia is, of course, sentenced to permanent influences on behalf of the Party. They attempt to rebell against it but their rebellion is nothing but a narrowed one, with no actual influence upon the Party. In a world where everything, with no exception, has been adapted to completely new rules, where history is continuously modified and the truth is contorsed over and over again, not even love or friendship remain the same. Winston and Julia are supposed to be in love and moreover, they are supposed to be not only friends, but allies in their fight against the system, but in 1984, in this parallel version of totalitarianism Orwell created, friendship and love would always be darkened by the other’s real identity. An example for how love is reduced can be found in the episode when Julia attempts to dress up for Winston, when renting the room above the antiquities shop, a room which does not have a telescreen. She hardly manages to become feminin by using a very bad smelling perfume – which brings about awful memories to Winston – and by wearing ugly – and yet different from the Party’s uniform – clothes. It seems like no one has the ability of being romantic any longer, and even more important, no one has the means of being so. In 1984, no possible love relationship can be imagined and the idea of making love is something strictly forbidden, because making love – and this is something the Party knows very well – makes people happy, and when people are happy, they no longer care for every bad thing that happens in their every day life in the context of a totalitarian society. Julia explained to Winston the Party’s conception: â€Å"When you make love you’re using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don’t give a damn for anything. They can’t bear you to feel like that. They want you to be bursting with energy all the time. All this marching up and down and cheering and waving flags is simply sex gone sour. If you’re happy inside yourself, why should you get excited about Big Brother and the Three-Year Plans and the Two Minutes Hate and all the rest of their bloody rot? † (Orwell, Part 2, Chapter 3, p. 167). In the eyes of the Party, there’s no such thing as love or friendship, and even the existing feelings can only be pointed towards Big Brother, the totalitarian leader who can only be seen on the posters all over the city, which show Big Brother’s portrait and a terrifying slogan: â€Å"Big Brother is watching you†. According to Isaac Asimov â€Å"the great Orwellian contribution to future technology is that the television set is two-way, and that the people who are forced to hear and see the television screen can themselves be heard and seen at all times and are under constant supervision even while sleeping or in the bathroom. Hence, the meaning of the phrase Big Brother is watching you. † Love, as already discussed, is distorted, reduced to physical needs (not even physical pleasure). But, as it is easy to notice, throughout the novel, love remains the Party’s greatest enemy against which they are already fighting through manipulating the children – yet only achieving the destruction of parental love. I consider that children betraying their parents are a symbol and nonetheless, an illustration of what Orwell may have imagined about future generations who will do everything for the Party’s sake – even betray their own mothers and fathers. In my opinion, children when regarded as a symbol, are supposed to â€Å"bring the change into the world†. In 1984 they are the reversed, the opposite version of this concept: children will not change anything, from their point of view, the totalitarian society must and will remain as it is, with few corrections here and there in the history books, when actions and facts begin to contradict with others. â€Å"Nearly all children nowadays were horrible [ ] they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it. ]All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State, against foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals. It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children† (Orwell, Chapter 2, p. 31). As a conclusion, 1984 emphasizes not only on the impact of a totalitarian regime upon the society, but also on its impact upon the individual’s soul, feelings and thoughts. Winston and Julia’s rebellion may be described as an abstract one, because they do not really achieve anything. Oliver Substance, in his essay The Tendency of Man: Nineteen Eighty-Four, states that â€Å"to truly be a rebel, all of ones actions need to be rebellious, not just the ones involving the basic human urges. Rebels need plans, or else they end up the same way as every other would-be rebel: in Room 101. † The impact upon the reader has no limit, since the novel leaves so much space for interpretation and continuation. Finally, I would like to end my essay with the following quote from the novel: â€Å"If you can FEEL that staying human is worth while, even when it can’t have any result whatever, you’ve beaten them† (Orwell, Part 2, Chapter 7, p. 210).