The Hypocrisy of Humanity Depicted in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbir

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, has many stories from Scouts’ little town in Alabama that teaches the reader the good and bad sides of the human being. When all these come together, the result is this fantastic novel. One of the stories that stand out is the one when Mrs. Gates and Cecil Jacobs have a conversation in the classroom. They talk about Adolph Hitler and the malicious things he did to the Jewish people. Mrs. Gates tries to tell her students that what he did was wrong in a very firm tone of voice. At this point in the story, the reader feels anger for everything the Nazis did. However, the main point of this passage is to make the reader realize how two-faced Mrs. Gates is. In this novel, Harper Lee implies that humanity should be less hypocritical. When Cecil Jacobs makes his presentation about Adolph Hitler, Mrs. Gates comments about it. She teaches the children in her classroom that what this man did was very wrong since he killed many Jews just because he did not like them. Nevertheless, the reader finds this very paradoxical for the reason that she does not have respect for black-colored-people. Mrs. Gates does not seem to understand the bad example that she is providing to the children she is teaching to. Her hypocrisy does not help to fulfill her role as teacher: to teach and provide the skills and principles children will have to use later in life. The author of this novel has given the reader this story to symbolize the hypocrisy that one finds in today’s society, to show that sometimes and most of the time, the human beings talk a lot but do not look at their own actions or execute what they are teaching. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird shows so many characteristics of today’s society. Among thes... ...ould be more honest and less hypocritical. An individual who is a great example of this is Al Gore, the Oscar-Winner for his documentary â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth†. He tells audiences the way they should live and how they should manage their life-styles to help save the environment mean while he is riding in style and waists twelve times more electric energy compared to an average family in a year. Harper Lee has used the narrative point of view, characterization and irony to develop a more dramatic effect of hypocrisy between Mrs. Gates and black-colored-people. It is very unfortunate that there are people like Mrs. Gates and Mr. Al Gore in today’s world. For this reason, every individual should strive to be better as a person to make their community a better place to live in and to provide an appropriate example to those who will live in it in the next generations.

Final Project 1960 Time Capsule Essay

After receiving a very intriguing call from my colleagues, about a great time capsule find, I made my immediate departure for a little place we call the Red Zone previously known as Colorado. As I arrive I help my colleagues to unearth a time capsule from the period of the 1960s. We carefully opened the capsule that had intrigued us all so much to find five articles inside that told a great story of our past and of the decade beginning in 1960. The following is a summary of my findings within the capsule. The first of the five articles contained within the capsule was The Berlin Wall of 1961, also known as â€Å"The Iron Curtain†. This wall once more than 30 miles of barbed wire was a barrier between the Communist East Germany and the Democratic West Germany, became a series of concrete walls up to fifteen feet high, 96 miles long and guarded by towers armed with guards. After WWII Germany was split into four zones, three controlled by France, Britain, and The United States, and the other one by The Soviet Union; the Berlin Wall was constructed to separate the zone (East Germany) that was controlled by the Soviet Union from the zones (West Germany) controlled by France, Britain and the United States. It was here at the Berlin Wall that John F. Kennedy gave one of his memorable speeches, â€Å"There are many people in the world who really don’t understand, or say they don’t, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to B erlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass’sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.† The construction and demolition of the Berlin Wall(1989-90) are important milestones of the Cold War. The second item found in the capsule was the March on Washington of 1963. Attended by some 250,000 people, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation’s capital, and one of the first to have extensive television coverage (Ross, 2007). The stated demands of the march were the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation; the elimination of racial segregation in public schools; protection for demonstrators against police brutality; a major public-works program to provide jobs; the passage of a law prohibiting racial discrimination in public and private hiring; a $2 an hour minimum wage; and self-government for the District of Columbia, which had a black majority (Ross,2007). Demanding jobs and freedom from the nation’s capital this march successfully pressured the Kennedy administration to initiate a civil rights bill in Congress. This is also when Martin Luther King gave his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech. Although it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that the demands of the march were met, it was a major point in the peaceful war for civil and equal rights for all Americans. Without this peaceful demonstration the civil rights movement could have been pushed even further back in its effort for an equal nation. The effects of this event can still be seen today as we are now seen as American rather than white and black or rich or poor. The third item discovered in the capsule was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. On this day President Kennedy accompanied by his wife, John Connelly and his wife Nellie rode in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas, TX. It was during this ride that President Kennedy was shot around 12:30 pm the driver then rushed the President to Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:00pm. This horrible travesty shook America for years to come. News of the assassination changed the source of news from then on. Until this point newspapers had been the main source of news, until the assassination which brought on the longest uninterrupted television broadcast to date. The assassination also stuck fear in the African-Americans that the assassination would put a halt to the progress for civil rights. However, the assassination seemed to spur the civil rights movement which resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Lyndon Johnson. The assassination also changed the way the secret service operates today. Although during those times the President  was freer to move around openly, now secret service agents keep the president more secure and his availability limited. It is also thought that had the president not been assassinated the Vietnam War would have ended and many of our troops would not have died. The assassination opens up the possibility of â€Å"what if?†, and fueled conspiracy theorist for many, many years to come. This showed the weakness of American by its own hand. The fourth item in the capsule was the moon landing in 1969. July 16, 9:32am three astronauts (Neil Armstong, Buzz Aldridge, and Michael Collins) sit waiting for launch permission. By 9:44am they are in Earth orbit, July 20 at 10:56pm Neil Armstrong takes his first step on the moon. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: â€Å"That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.† (htt5). This was proof of great technological advancement and completion of the challenge set forth by President Kennedy over nine years ago. Project Apollo took on a life of its own over the years and left an important legacy to both the nation and the proponents of space exploration. Its success was enormously significant, coming at a time when American society was in crisis (htt6). This event showed the world and Americans everywhere that The United States was still the ultimate power by demonstrating to the world what the United States could achieve. The moon landing changed the way we viewed the Earth as they pointed a small portable camera toward Earth, showing just how small and fragile the planet really is in the scheme of the universe. The samples taken and brought back from the moon landing opened up knew scientific testing and led the way to multiple other moon landings and advancing our knowledge of space itself. The last item in the intriguing capsule was the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. This was a three day concert at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in the town of Bethel. More than half a million people came together – united in a message of peace, openness and cultural expression – and demonstrated how a generation could be heard (htt7) Woodstock is committed to living by its principles – we believe in universal human rights, ethical business practices, unfettered creative expression, free trade, the loving care of our planet, the power of the individual to make a difference, and the  overwhelming impact of communities to act as agents of peaceful change (htt7). However, the festival involved music (rock ‘n roll), drugs, sex and nudity. This festival came at a time when American had been through hard times. With the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the assassination of Martin Luther King the United States was tired and weary. The peaceful concert changed the way music was marketed from then on, now knowing that fans were willing to give up popular amenities to have sight of the musicians they loved. The change on music and pop culture of the time was historic. In 1969, rock critic Ellen Sander appraised the immediate impact of the Festival this way: â€Å"No longer can the magical multicolored phenomenon of pop culture be overlooked or underrated. It’s happening everywhere, but now it has happened in one place at one time so hugely that it was indeed historic †¦. The audience was a much bigger story than the groups. It was major entertainment news that the line-up of talent was of such magnificence and magnitude (thirty-one acts, nineteen of which were colossal) †¦. These were, however, the least significant events of what happened over the Woodstock weekend. What happened was that the largest number of people ever assembled for any event other than a war lived together, intimately and meaningfully and with such natural good cheer that they turned on not only everyone surrounding them but the mass media, and, by extension, millions of others, young and old, particularly many elements hostile to the manifestations and ignorant of the substance of pop culture.† (htt8). This change in pop culture has left an undying footprint on the history of the world with its new found music, art and literary styles. It is clear after examining and researching the incredible articles within the time capsule that the 1960 era was an extreme time of change for the American people. This decade in our history so full of such life changing events not only in the United States but also in other countries that rely on support from the United States. Its story shows our ability to adapt to ever changing situations around us and the resilience of the American people. Whether it is fighting Communism, the loss of a great leader, fighting for our rights, landing on the moon, or expressing or freedom in culture we are a strong nation and when faced with a great challenge we answer that challenge with a great success. Although many have been lost  along the way as a whole we stand one nation, united. References (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tenfactsabout.co.uk/0003berlinwall.htm (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_march_on_washington_for_jobs_and_freedom/ (n.d.). Retrieved from â€Å"Civil Rights March on Washington (History, Facts, Martin Luther King Jr.) | Infoplease.com.† Infoplease. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/john-f-kennedy-assassination-racial-equality-jfk (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11_40th.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://history.nasa.gov/ap11-35ann/legacy.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.woodstock.com/ (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.woodstockpreservation.org/SignificanceStatement.htm http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1867.html. (n.d.).

Karl Landsteiner and the Discovery of the Major Blood Types

Austrian physician and immunologist Karl Landsteiner (June 14, 1868 — June 26, 1943) is most noted for his discovery of the major blood types and developing a system for blood typing. This discovery made it possible to determine blood compatibility for safe blood transfusions. Fast Facts: Karl Landsteiner Born: June 14, 1868, in Vienna, AustriaDied: June 26, 1943, in New York, New YorkParents Names: Leopold and Fanny Hess LandsteinerSpouse: Helen Wlasto (m. 1916)Child: Ernst Karl LandsteinerEducation: University of Vienna (M.D.)Key Accomplishments: Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1930) Early Years Karl Landsteiner was born in Vienna, Austria in 1868, to Fanny and Leopold Landsteiner. His father was a popular journalist and Viennese newspaper publisher and editor. The death of Karls father, when he was only six years of age, resulted in the development of an even closer relationship between Karl and his mother. Young Karl was always interested in science and mathematics and was an honor student during his primary and secondary school years. In 1885, he began studying medicine at the University of Vienna and earned an M.D. in 1891. While at the University of Vienna, Landsteiner became very interested in blood chemistry. Upon earning his M.D., he spent the next five years doing biochemical research in laboratories of well known European scientists, one of whom was Emil Fischer, an organic chemist who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1902) for his research on carbohydrates, specifically sugars. Career and Research Dr. Landsteiner returned to Vienna in 1896 to continue to study medicine at Vienna General Hospital. He became an assistant to Max von Gruber at the Hygiene Institute, where he studied antibodies and immunity. Von Gruber had developed a blood test to identify the bacteria responsible for typhoid and contended that chemical signals on the bacteria were being recognized by antibodies in the blood. Landsteiners interest in antibody studies and immunology continued to develop as a result of working with Von Gruber. In 1898, Landsteiner became assistant to Anton Weichselbaum at the Institute of Pathological Anatomy. For the next ten years, he conducted research in the areas of serology, microbiology, and anatomy. During this time, Landsteiner made his famous discovery of blood groups and developed a system for classifying human blood. Discovery of the Blood Groups Dr. Landsteiners investigations of interactions between red blood cells (RBCs) and serum of different people were initially noted in 1900. He observed the agglutination, or clumping together, of red blood cells when mixed with animal blood or other human blood. While Landsteiner was not the first to make these observations, he is credited with being the first to explain the biological processes behind the reaction. Landsteiner performed experiments testing red blood cells against serum from the same patient as well as serum from different patients. He noted that a patients RBCs did not agglutinate in the presence of their own serum. He also identified different patterns of reactivity and categorized them into three groups: A, B, and C. Landsteiner observed that when the RBCs from group A were mixed with serum from group B, the cells in group A clumped together. The same was true when RBCs from group B were mixed with serum from group A. The blood cells of group C did not react to serum from either groups A or B. However, the serum from group C caused agglutination in RBCs from both groups A and B. This image shows agglutination (clumping) of type A red blood cells when mixed with ANTI-A serum. No clumping occurs when mixed with ANTI-B serum.   Ed Reschke/Photolibrary/Getty Images Landsteiner determined that blood groups A and B have different types of agglutinogens, or antigens, on the surface of their red blood cells. They also have different antibodies (anti-A, anti-B) present in their blood serum. A student of Landsteiners later identified an AB blood group that reacted with both A and B antibodies. Landsteiners discovery became the basis for the ABO blood grouping system (as the name of group C was later changed to type O). Landsteiners work laid the foundation for our understanding of blood groupings. Cells from blood type A have A antigens on the cell surfaces and B antibodies in the serum, while cells from type B have B antigens on the cell surfaces and A antibodies in the serum. When type A RBCs contact serum from type B, A antibodies present in B serum bind to A antigens on the blood cell surfaces. This binding causes the cells to clump together. Antibodies in the serum identify the blood cells as foreign and initiate an immune response to neutralize the threat. A similar reaction occurs when type B RBCs contact serum from type A containing B antibodies. Blood type O has no antigens on the blood cell surfaces and do not react with serum from either types A or B. Blood type O does have both A and B antibodies in the serum and thus reacts with RBCs from both A and B groups. Landsteiners work made blood typing possible for safe blood transfusions. His findings were published in the Central European Journal of Medicine, Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, in 1901. He received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1930) for this life saving accomplishment. In 1923, Landsteiner made additional blood grouping discoveries while working in New York at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. He helped to identify blood groups M, N, and P, which were initially used in paternity testing. In 1940, Landsteiner and Alexander Wiener discovered the Rh factor blood group, named for research conducted with rhesus monkeys. The presence of the Rh factor on blood cells indicates an Rh positive (Rh) type. The absence of the Rh factor indicates an Rh negative (Rh-) type. This discovery provided a means for Rh blood type matching to prevent incompatibility reactions during transfusions.   Death and Legacy   Karl Landsteiners contribution to medicine extended beyond blood groupings. In 1906, he developed a technique for the identification of the bacterium (T. pallidum) that causes syphilis using dark-field microscopy. His work with poliomyelitis (polio virus) lead to the discovery of its mechanism of action and development of a diagnostic blood test for the virus. In addition, Landsteiners research on small molecules called haptens helped to elucidate their involvement in the immune response and the production of antibodies. These molecules ramp up immune responses to antigens and induce hypersensitivity reactions. Landsteiner continued researching blood groups after retiring from the Rockefeller Institute in 1939. He would later change his focus to the study of malignant tumors in an attempt to find a cure for his wife, Helen Wlasto (m. 1916), who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Karl Landsteiner suffered a heart attack while in his laboratory and died a couple of days later on June 26, 1943. Sources Durand, Joel K., and Monte S. Willis. Karl Landsteiner, MD: Transfusion Medicine. Laboratory Medicine, vol. 41, no. 1, 2010, pp. 53–55., doi:10.1309/lm0miclh4gg3qndc.  Erkes, Dan A., and Senthamil R. Selvan. Hapten-Induced Contact Hypersensitivity, Autoimmune Reactions, and Tumor Regression: Plausibility of Mediating Antitumor Immunity. Journal of Immunology Research, vol. 2014, 2014, pp. 1–28., doi:10.1155/2014/175265.  Karl Landsteiner – Biographical. Nobelprize.org, Nobel Media AB, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1930/landsteiner/biographical/.