Elizabeth Essay -- essays papers

Elizabeth The 1998 movie â€Å"Elizabeth,† directed by Shekhar Kapur, from a script by Michael Hirst, is a historical epic that takes place during and after the mid-16th-century period when England’s Princess Elizabeth was nearly eliminated by her half-sister, Queen Mary. It portrays the events of Mary’s death, Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne, and the struggles and events that she must overcome in order to preserve the strength of the English Monarchy, and establish Protestantism as the chief English religion. She must also maintain her stability and safety as a female ruler in a male-dominated society. The movie is beautifully made, with eloquent and realistic costumes, and prominent actors, and it successfully turns an important historical period into a riveting drama filled with action and romance. However, looking at â€Å"Elizabeth† from a historical standpoint, it is lacking in terms of accuracy. The chronological events in the movie do not follow with the historical events, and instances that happened over many years are crammed into a short period of time. Also, many events are exaggerated, or even completely made up in order to add to the dramatic appeal of the movie. Despite these flaws, â€Å"Elizabeth† does correctly relate the main aspects of Queen Elizabeth I’s rule. Elizabeth was born in 1533, the daughter of the infamous Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was three, her mother was beheaded for treason and adultery, and Parliament declared her marriage to Henry invalid, which made Elizabeth illegitimate. Her chances of ever ascending the throne were again thwarted by the birth of Edward, the son of Henry and his third wife. When Edward, a Protestant, died in 1553, his older half-sister, Mary, a Catholic, took the throne. Mary always held bitter feelings toward Elizabeth because Anne Boleyn treated Catherine of Aragon, Mary‘s mother, badly. To avoid angering Mary, Elizabeth â€Å"conformed outwardly to Catholicism,† but she secretly hoped and plotted to restore Protestantism. She was briefly locked up in the Tower of London, and was almost executed. The movie begins with the execution of three Protestant activists, ordered by Mary, illustrating her hatred and intolerance for Protestants. In order to avoid angering Mary, â€Å"Elizabeth continually had to proclaim her pious distaste for heresy.†(Jagger) In the movie, Mary ... ...o about two hours, and make these two hours interesting. To do so, facts had to be manipulated in order to make the movie more interesting and easy to follow. Important characters were omitted, conspiracies grouped together, and people were misrepresented. Elizabeth was portrayed as a happy and fun-loving young woman, when historians describe her as a somewhat cold-hearted woman who shared her father’s nasty temper. The filmmakers turned the history into a drama that has the essential characteristics of any entertaining movie: suspense, good guys and bad guys, and a riveting love story. They were not attempting to make an accurate documentary of Elizabethan England, but a dramatized interpretation of it that would be enjoyable to viewers, and provoke interest in the Elizabethan era. Bibliography: Hartl, John. Movie Review: ‘Elizabeth’ is unstuffy historical epic, stirring up overlooked British history† November 20. McCaffrey, Wallace, Susan Doran, Chris Haigh, and Norman Jones. Ridley, Jasper. The Shrewdness of Virtue . London: Viking Penguin Inc, 1987 Encyclopedia Britannica 1999-2000 Elizabeth I. Crown Copyright, 1997, 1998, 1999.

Multiple Sclerosis Essay -- Health Medical Medicine Essays

Multiple Sclerosis The primary objective of this paper is to raise fundamental questions in regards to multiple sclerosis, and to explore possibilities that attempt to answer these inquiries. Second, the prospective outcome is to provide a solid knowledge base for which my peers may begin to understand the relationship between multiple sclerosis and neurobiology and behavior. The first question to address in the general schema of this essay is: What is Multiple Sclerosis? Multiple Sclerosis also commonly referred to as MS is considered an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The key to understanding MS is to recognize its relationship to the human immune system. The immune system is an intricate network of specialized cells and organs that defends the body against attacks by foreign agents also known as antigens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. To the contrary, in the case of multiple sclerosis, the connection between the immune system and the body is interrupted when the immune system identifies itself, particularly the white matter of the central nervous system as a foreign body, and consequently destroys the myelin. The myelin is a fatty tissue composed of rich protein and lipids that protect and insulate the nerve fibers, which serve to carry out electrical impulses. The central nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves; thusly MS affects several areas of the human anatomy. Multiple Sclerosis could be described as the loss of myelin in multiple locations throughout the body, which then exposes the nerve fibers and leaves scaring called sclerosis. The next question that should be addressed is: What are the principal functions of myelin? In... ...of living with this disease, instead of at its mercy. First, one needs to acknowledge the existence of the disease. Second, an individual should allow time to process the idea of living with the disease. Third, one should become an active agent in fighting the disease by becoming informed. Fourth, a person should be willing to make adjustments, which may alter one's lifestyle. In conclusion an individual should not be afraid of multiple sclerosis, but dare to live a fulfilling life. Bibliography 1)http://www.nationalmssociety.org 2)http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/multiple_sclerosis.htm 3)http://www.undestandingms.com/ms/articles/cognitive.asp For further information check out 4)http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_ 5)http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nfs/NewsPrint/ 6)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

Book Of Job: Suffering Essay -- essays research papers

Book of Job: Suffering The book of Job 1:3, in The New Oxford Annonated Bible, states "Job was the greatest man among all in the East." He was a faithful servant of God, he owned thousands of animals, and had many servants and friends. Job had a very large family with seven sons and three daughters. Why was Job chosen to suffer and receive punishment at the hands of the Lord one may ask? The major themes in the book describe the ways Job deals with suffering and despair the Lord handed him. How one deals with despair and suffering is what makes a person who he or she is. The Lord is not a stranger to suffering. Psalms 69:33-36, states â€Å"The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. Let heaven and earth praise him. The seas and all that move in them. For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it; the children of his servants will inherit it; and those who love his name will dwell there.† God does not intentionally inflict despair and heartache on his believers for no reason at all. I think the despair we experience, and how we deal with it, is a test to show our true selves. The Lord does not make us suffer because of what we have done. Through suffering, we become better people and grow as an individual. You find your identity through terrible experiences. I have dealt with serious heartache and do believe that I have grown from it...

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Twenty-One

â€Å"What's taking so long?† Bonnie asked, bouncing on the bal s of her feet. â€Å"Stop being so hyper,† Meredith said absently, craning her neck to see over the crowd outside McAl ister. There was some kind of bottleneck by the entrance to the dorm that was slowing everyone down. She shivered in her thin top; it was starting to get cold at night. â€Å"Security's at the door,† Bonnie said as they got closer to the entrance. â€Å"Are they carding people to get in?† Her voice was shril with outrage. â€Å"They're just checking that you have a student ID,† someone in the crowd told her, â€Å"to make sure you're not a crazed kil er from off campus.† â€Å"Yeah,† his friend said. â€Å"Only on-campus kil ers al owed.† A couple of people laughed nervously. Bonnie fel silent, biting her lip, and Meredith shivered again, this time for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold. When they final y got to the front of the line, the security guards glanced quickly at their IDs and waved them through. Inside, it was crowded and music was pumping, but no one real y seemed to be in a partying mood. People stood in smal groups, talking in undertones and glancing around nervously. The presence of the security guards had reminded everyone of the danger lurking unseen on campus. Anyone could be responsible, even someone in the room at that very moment. As she thought about that, Meredith's view of the room shifted, the other students around her changing from innocent to sinister. That curly-headed frat boy in the corner – was he eyeing his pretty companion with something more than simple lust? The faces of strangers twisted viciously, and Meredith took a deep breath, calming herself until everyone looked normal again. Samantha was coming toward her, a red plastic cup in her hand. â€Å"Here,† she said, handing Meredith a soda. â€Å"Everyone's on edge tonight, it's creepy. We'd better stay alert and not drink,† she said, already on the same wavelength as Meredith. Bonnie squeezed Meredith's arm in fareWelland took off into the crowd to look for Zander. Meredith sipped her drink and warily eyed the strangers surrounding her. Despite the general malaise hanging over the party, some people were so wrapped up in each other that they were managing to have a good time anyway. She watched a couple kiss, as ful y focused on each other as if there was no one else in the world who mattered. They weren't worrying about the attacks and disappearances on campus, and Meredith found herself feeling a sharp pang of envy. She missed Alaric, missed him with a bone-deep longing that stayed with her, even when she wasn't consciously thinking about him. â€Å"The kil er could be right here at this party,† Samantha said unhappily. â€Å"Shouldn't we be able to sense something? How can we protect anyone if we don't know who we're up against?† â€Å"I know,† said Meredith. The crowd parted, and she saw a face she hadn't expected: Stefan, leaning against the far wal . His eyes lit up when he saw her, and he glanced past her with a hopeful half smile already forming on his lips. Poor guy. No matter what Meredith thought about Elena's decision to take a break – and, for the record, Meredith thought that Elena was doing the right thing; her entanglement with both Salvatore brothers meant that they had al been heading for trouble – she couldn't help pitying him. Stefan had the look of someone who was experiencing the same sharp pang of loneliness and desire as Meredith did when she thought of Alaric. It must be worse for him, because Elena was so close and because she chose to separate herself from him against his wishes. â€Å"Excuse me for a second,† she said to Samantha, and went to Stefan. He greeted her politely and asked about her classes and her hunter training, although she could tel that he was burning to talk about Elena. He had such good manners, always. â€Å"She's not here yet, but she's definitely coming,† she told him, interrupting one of his pleasantries. â€Å"She had something to do first.† His face bloomed into a smile of grateful relief, and then he frowned. â€Å"Elena's coming here alone?† he asked. â€Å"After al the attacks?† â€Å"No,† Meredith reassured him. She hadn't thought of this, and she didn't think she should tel him Elena was with Damon. â€Å"She's with other people,† she settled for saying and was glad that her answer seemed to satisfy him. Meredith sipped her drink and hoped grimly that Elena had the sense not to bring Damon to the party. Matt spotted Chloe from across the room. Tonight was the night, he decided. Enough playing around, enough exchanging glances and gentle, platonic hugs and hand squeezes. He wanted to know if she felt the same way he did, if she felt like maybe there was something between them worth exploring. She was talking to someone, a guy he recognized from Vitale, and her curly brown hair shone softly in the light from overhead. There was so much life in Chloe: the way she laughed, the way she listened to what the guy was saying, attentive and involved, her face focused. Matt wanted to kiss her, more than anything. So he started working his way across the room toward her, nodding at people he knew as he passed them. He didn't want to look too uncool and eager, not like he was making a beeline for her, but he didn't want to stop and lose her in the crowd, either. Matt. Matt jerked as if he'd been stung as the silent greeting hit him. Twisting around to see where it was coming from, he found Stefan standing right behind him and frowned irritably at him. He hated when Stefan got into his head like that. â€Å"You could have just said hi,† he told Stefan, as mildly as he could. â€Å"You know, out loud.† Stefan ducked his head apologetical y, his cheeks flushing. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said. â€Å"That was rude of me, but I just wanted to get your attention. It's so loud in here.† He gestured around, and Matt wondered, as he sometimes had before, how the life of a modern teenager seemed to the vampire. Stefan had experienced more than Matt probably ever would, but the loud rock music and the press of bodies al around him seemed to make him uncomfortable, showing the cracks in his disguise as someone young. He tried hard, for Elena's sake, Matt knew. â€Å"I'm waiting for Elena,† Stefan said. â€Å"Have you seen her?† The lines of his face were anxious, and, just like that, Matt's picture of Stefan as someone too old, too out of place here, snapped. Stefan looked achingly young, lonely and worried. â€Å"Yeah,† Matt said. â€Å"I just saw her at the library. She said she was coming here later.† He bit his tongue to keep from adding that he'd seen her there with Damon, of al people. Matt wasn't quite sure what was going on between Elena and the brothers, but he figured Stefan didn't need to know that Elena and Damon were together. â€Å"I'm supposed to be staying away from her,† Stefan confided sadly. â€Å"She feels like she's coming between Damon and me, and she wants some time for us al to work things out before the two of us can be together again.† He glanced up at Matt, almost beseechingly. â€Å"But I thought since there are so many people here, it isn't like we'd be alone.† Matt took a swal ow of his beer, his mind working furiously. Now he knew he'd been right not to mention that Damon and Elena had been together. What game was Elena playing now? It was a shock, too, to realize how far out of the loop he'd gotten. When did al this happen? Since Christopher's death, he'd been avoiding his friends, spending so much time focused on the Vitale Society that he missed this big development in their lives. What else was he missing? Stefan was stil looking at him as if he was seeking some kind of approval, and Matt rubbed the back of his neck thoughtful y, then offered, â€Å"You should talk to her. Let her know how unhappy you are without her. Love is worth taking the chance.† As Stefan nodded, considering, Matt's eyes sought out Chloe in the crowd again. The guy she'd been talking to was gone, and she was alone for the moment, biting her lip as she looked around the room. Matt was about to excuse himself and head toward her when another voice spoke in his ear. â€Å"Hi, Matt, how's it going?† Ethan came up beside him, his golden brown eyes focused on Matt's. Matt felt himself straightening up and pul ing back his shoulders, trying to look loyal and honorable, a promising candidate, everything the Vitale wanted him to be. Matt saw this reaction to Ethan in the other pledges as Well: whatever Ethan wanted them to be or do, they wanted, too. Some people were just natural leaders, he guessed. They chatted for a minute, not about the Vitale Society, of course, not in front of Stefan, but simple friendly stuff about footbal and classes and the music that was playing, and then Ethan turned the warmth of his smile on Stefan. â€Å"Oh, uh, Ethan Crane, Stefan Salvatore,† Matt introduced them, adding, â€Å"Stefan and I went to high school together.† Stefan and Ethan started making conversation, and Matt looked for Chloe again. She wasn't in the last place he had seen her, and he started to panic, until he found her again in the crowd, moving to the music. â€Å"I can't help noticing just a slight accent, Stefan,† Ethan was saying. â€Å"Are you from Italy original y?† Stefan smiled shyly. â€Å"Most people don't hear it anymore,† he said. â€Å"My brother and I, we left Italy a long time ago.† â€Å"Oh, does your brother go here, too?† Ethan asked, and Matt decided the two of them seemed happy enough together and that it was okay for him to leave now. â€Å"I'l catch up with you guys later,† he said. Taking another swal ow of beer, Matt strode through the crowd, straight toward Chloe. Her eyes were shining, her dimples were showing, and he knew the time was right. Like he had told Stefan, love was worth taking the chance.

Aboriginal Inequality

Social Inequality with Canadian Aboriginals SOC 300 Dr. Kelly Train Milica Rados 500460778 Different ethnic backgrounds immigrate to Canada making it a very multicultural society. Immigrants coming to Canada have made it progress to a more multicultural society, making other nations believe that this is the case, however this does not include native societies that have been living in Canada for the longest period of time. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Aboriginals live in Canada.This paper argues that aboriginals in Canada are not treated with the same equality as non-aboriginals livening in Canada, even though Canada is known as a multicultural society. By studying the history of Aboriginal settlement in Canada and understanding their connection to the land there is a better understanding of why taking over their land is a social issue. By taking over their land their sense of connection to nature was taken away which was a big part of the Aboriginal culture. This cause d educational inequality and also the inequality they face within their workplace and the wages they receive.By studying history, their culture, education and their current economic state it becomes more clear why this is a social issue in Canada and how that takes away from the multiculturalism Canada is known for. Aboriginals, which include first nations people, were the first people of Canada however, the treatment they receive today shows otherwise. Aboriginal treaties, Westphalia Treaty of 1648, that were established in Canada in the mid-seventeenth century were used to â€Å"harmonize discovery and conquest principles† (Frideres, 2000).The land that Aboriginals occupied was more than just land to them, they felt a connection with Mother Nature and they established roles in their families that helped them create a working community. Without even trying to understand how Aboriginals felt about their treaties and their land the British Common Law abolished Aboriginal land and tenure (Frideres, 2000). The British came into Canada stronger, with weapons and technology that the Aboriginals did not know about or ever see and when they took over their land they had nothing they could do or say about it.The Aboriginal had no choice but to cooperate and let the land that they felt strong connections to be taken over. Losing a sense of connection to the land and having to watch one of the most important parts of their community being taken over cause further problems for the Aboriginal people. Due to the problems faced with settlement of British into Canada, Aboriginals have not had the same independence they had when they were living in Canada alone, they don’t receive the same equality or freedom.According to symbolic internationalists the identity of a person cannot be determined without understanding the historical context of what the individual is born into. â€Å"Socialization theory† argues that individuals are born into groups and learn their culture and what they learn goes on to the next generations (Frideres, 2008). If a person born into Aboriginal social groups, their understanding of who they are comes from the group they are born into. Their parents teach them about the land and help them develop the same connection to nature that they feel.Aboriginal identity emerges from Aboriginal groups that are shaped by their sense of location (Frideres, 2008). Aboriginals have a strong connection to their land and nature around them and that is what they teach the next generation as stated before. Aboriginal people are the original occupants of the territory known as Canada and as such possess a special relationship to this space (Mills, 2006), and even though this is the case it does not mean that Aboriginals need to own all of Canada and all the land should be considered there.However, the land that they did occupy and did have should be left as is because their connection to the land is important to them. But that is not the case. Aboriginal people are an ethnicity abstracted from their distinct history and relationship to the land and to newcomers (Mills, 2006). They no longer get to own their land but at the same time they have to watch their land being taken over. Over time this sense of group, or community disappears. Generations can no longer teach younger generations about the importance of nature and therefore the history is slowly lost.Since they lost their history and their connection to the land a lot of other parts of their culture and their beliefs was taken away as well. The main issue faced was losing a sense of their culture. Canada being a multicultural society, allows for all people to practice their culture and they have the freedom to believe what they want. The aboriginals lost that right when their land was taken over. It was lost because they no longer owned their nature and it was taken over by technology and architecture, making them less united with the forest and the land that they lived in.By taking over the land they were also forced to have to change their education. In schools they were no longer allowed to learn Aboriginal culture. In 2002 by studying Canadian schools it was said that as many as 30 percent of elementary students and 40 percent of high school students did not speak even a little of their Native tongues (Schissel, 2002). The reason that this is the case can be because Aboriginal families stopped practicing their culture and heritage at home therefore distancing the children from understanding where they came from.That is not because they no longer wanted their kids to know the traditions or history of their ancestry, but it was simply because they lost the connection they had. After being forced to stop practicing aboriginal culture when the British settlement fist happened, they had to learn a new culture and therefore it was slowly lost sine it was forbidden. Therefore the main reason that such high numbers of Aboriginal s tudents do not speak their native language is because the educational system in Canada fails to recognize and incorporate indigenous knowledge (Schissel, 2002).Since it would be hard to incorporate all cultures existing in Canada it is acceptable that the language is not practiced in schools. However aboriginals play such an important role in Canadian history their culture should be incorporated in the schools more, especially in history classes involving in Canada. Some may argue that other cultures are not incorporated into the mainstream school system, but aboriginals are the main settlers of Canada and therefore they should be recognized and taught about. Others argue that there are alternative schools that will study traditional cultures.However according to Schisel (2002) this achievement of education would be laughable and would not be considered for a higher level of education such as continuing to university. Therefore they are forced to study the mainstream system if they wish to have a future in the Canada employment wise. Not only did the Aboriginals sacrifice their language and culture, they often also encounter the additional hindrances of racism, prejudice, poverty, violence, and underemployment (Schissel, 2002) Underemployment that Aboriginals face is a serious social issue in Canada.The reason that this can be seen as a serious social issue is because Aboriginal peoples were titled as one of the four economically disadvantaged target groups in Canada in the Employment Equity Act 1995 (Maxim, 2001). This means that the Aboriginals cause overall views of Canada to go down. They can affect the overall economy in Canada because this means they suffer from poverty and unemployment bringing Canada down as a nation. The creation of the Indian in 1985 did not do any help with creating Aboriginals as equals and this party is suffering to this day.Act Registered Aboriginal people in Canada are more likely than any other culture in Canada to be unemploye d. They also have a lower education achievement and are considered more likely to be unemployed than anyone else in Canada (White, 2003). It is not just registered aboriginals that are suffering economically it is also the non-registered aboriginals as well. Overall all Aboriginal Canadians are disadvantaged when compared with the non-Aboriginal Canadian population. The amount of disadvantage, is measured by the characteristics of income we are examining, differs for the different categories of Aboriginal peoples (Maxim, 2001).The earnings of Aboriginal people is 10. 4 percent lower than non-aboriginal people in Canada (Maxim, 2001). Thinking about all the different cultures in Canada that number is high compared to the rest of the Canadian citizens. Aboriginal people, mainly concerning women are employed in low paying jobs and also are in less stable jobs (Mills, 2006). There are two main reasons that this is the case according the Mills (2006). The first reason he gives us is that Canadians limit the number of jobs offered for aboriginals.They limit the jobs that they are giving to women for example, therefore resulting in lower paid jobs. The second reason according to Mills (2006) is by putting Canadians in less desirable jobs. This causes a disadvantage for them and it creates segregation. Therefore by limiting their jobs to less desirable jobs they are being treated with inequality and suffer from segregation. The employment rates and unemployment rates suggest that Aboriginals in Canada are way more disadvantage and therefore signifying that Canada is not as multicultural as we believe it to be.In conclusion, it is apparent that Aboriginals are facing sociologically related problems living in Canada. Canada portrays itself as a multicultural society and even though the acceptance of immigrants has progressed a high amount in the years, what is ignored is the aboriginal societies that first settled in Canada. Being the first nations people of Canada the recognition they receive should be much higher. Their history should be brought into schools and the be taught to not only Aboriginals but also other Canadian students because it is an important part of Canadian history.The language should not have been eliminated in the past and just like other cultures they should have received the same treatment being allowed to own their own land, and study their culture. If Aboriginal history was to be taught would create a better sense of acceptance for Aboriginal people and it would help them not forget their culture and their connection to the land. Not only should the history of Aboriginals be taught more, but their acceptance in the work place should be improved.The amount of jobs offered should be higher and the wages they receive should reflect the wages of the rest of Canadians. This would cause Canada to progress into the multicultural society they strive to be. This would cause other cultures to feel more of an acceptance and statisti c wise Canada would progress as well. Based on the history of Aboriginals, their culture, the mainstream school system and employment rates; aboriginals are suffering from inequality and it does impact Canada as a society. References Frideres, James S. 2000.Aboriginal Tenure in the Constitution of Canada. Canadian Ethnic Studies. 32. 2:140. Frideres, James S. 2008. Aboriginal Identity in the Canadian Context. The Canadian Journal of Narrative Studies. 28. 2:313-342 Maxim P, White P, Beavon D, Whitehead P. 2001. Dispersion and polarization of income among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. 38. 4:465-476. Mills, Suzanne E. 2006. Segregation of Women and Aboriginal People Within Canada’s Forest Sector by Industry and Occupation.The Canadian Journal of Narrative Studies. 26. 1:147-171. Schissel B, Wotherspoon T, Friesen J. 2002. The legacy of school for Aboriginal people: education, oppression, and emancipation. Canadian Et hnic Studies. 34. 2:129-131 Vivian J. 2006. With Good Intentions: Euro-Canadian and Aboriginal Relations in Colonial Canada. Canadian Ethnic Studies. 38. 2:181-183 White J, Maxim P, Gyimah S. 2003. Labour Force Activity of Women in Canada: A Comparative Analysis of Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Women. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. 40. 4:391-415.

Child Support Enforcement: One Law Does Not Fit All

Single parents are becoming the norm these days and the government has stepped in to assist these custodial parents to make things fair. It takes two people to make a child so it seems only fair that two people support the child financially, right? I am a single mother. My daughter’s father, Donnie, and I were never married and weren’t together at the time of her birth. He wasn’t around to sign the birth certificate so I had to go through DFS to fill paperwork out to get support payments from him after our daughter (Nathalia) was born. When I filled out the CSE (Child Support Enforcement) paperwork the case was being handled by a caseworker in Jefferson City, MO. I gave the caseworker Donnie’s address about four months after our daughter’s birth. Nothing was done and I assumed they were having trouble getting hold of him. When Nathalia was five years old my case was moved to a caseworker in Columbia who called and got the information from me again and I received paternity paperwork within the month. The way it works is the noncustodial parent only has to pay from the time the paperwork showing paternity was sent. I had tried to contact Nathalia’s father to start visitation. He came around for one hour a week for about two months then just stopped. He paid the arrearage for support payments after facing criminal charges for non-payment of support payments, and being threatened with a year in jail if the support was not paid. I feel no sympathy. Now he is back to not making the payments. On the other hand I have a friend (Jessica, fictional name) who has a five year old daughter (Hannah, fictional name) whose father has been in and out of jail for child support non-payment. He has a relationship with Hannah and has care of her fifty percent of the time. The government wants to put him back in jail for arrearage on Hannah and two of his other children. Jessica has lost her health insurance due to not signing papers that would have him arrested. With these two cases the fathers are very different. One is an absentee father who quits jobs to avoid paying his support payments, the other a father who is very much in his child’s life and is a positive influence. Both fathers are being treated equally in the eyes of the State. But which father deserves the jail time? In an article by Jeff Minerd, â€Å"A Kinder, Gentler Look at ‘Deadbeat Dads’,† he states â€Å"In 1950, about 20% of children lived apart from their father; that figure is now approaching 50%† (8). This article was printed in 1999 so the percentage of children not living with their father has likely increased. The increase is due to many reasons. Some of the reasons may include death, divorce, and never-married couples. With the number of children who do not live with their fathers rising it only stands to reason that the number of cases the CSE (Child Support Enforcement) is handling is increasing as well. According to the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Child Support Enforcement, one of their goals is â€Å". . . to emphasize that children need to have both parents in their lives. . . † (Handbook). If this is true then why is the father who is a positive influence and is present in his child’s life having to deal with the possibility of going back to jail for past child support non-payment, but the father who wants nothing to do with his daughter and doesn’t pay his child support as ordered gets off with a slap on the wrist? Child support enforcement should look more in depth at each case before taking actions against a non-custodial father. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Child Support Enforcement states â€Å"Although the function of the CSE program is to collect and distribute child support payments, throughout the Handbook [sic]we hope to give the message that children fare best when both parents play an active, supportive role in their lives† (1). The government claims that the actions they take against non-custodial parents are to assist in getting families to work together to make children’s lives better. But according to Jeff Minerd, â€Å"Government enforcement of child support can have the effect of separating fathers from their children† (8). Minerd also states that it is more supported to go after the â€Å"low-income† fathers because it gets the mothers off of State welfare monies. With â€Å"middle-class† mothers it isn’t so supported to go after the fathers because it doesn’t help the State with the amount of money being paid out because they aren’t on welfare (8). So is their mission to help keep families connected or is it to get the money back that they are giving to the low-income families? The first reason CSE should handle these cases case by case is that if actions are taken that cause the father to be resentful it could harm the relationship between the parents and the child. Actions taken by the state can come between the custodial mother and the non-custodial parent. As Cindy Elmore states in her article â€Å"On and On, Over and Over: The Gender War in Child Support Enforcement Court,† â€Å"We’re all crowded together waiting for the courtroom doors to be unlocked, but the women don’t talk to the men, and the men ignore the women† (397). The line of communication between the parents is destroyed by feelings of resentment and arguments that arise from court dates and state demands. Arguments between the parents also harm the child. Even if the parents do not argue in front of the child, the child will still feel the tension and know something is wrong. Feelings of resentment toward being forced to do something may also disturb the relationship between father and child. If the father is arguing about how much to pay and how often with the mother it may cause the father to stop coming around the child. In my situation Nathalia’s dad, Donnie, got upset about the amount and when I couldn’t change it he just cut all contact. The way his support amount was determined was a paper was filled out on the amount of money it took to raise Nathalia. Then the amount I made and the amount he made were taken into consideration. Since I made more my percentage of responsibility was larger. Then they take the percentage left to raise her after subtracting mine and he is responsible for that. So there was nothing I could do to request they lower the payments. We had many arguments relating to this. Another was that he was afraid the State would go after property that he owned. According to the Handbook on Child Support Enforcement liens can be placed on property the non-custodial parent owns in the county (26) and can also take State and Federal Income Tax refunds to pay back child support (29). So it could happen but not if he pays his support payments on a regular basis. When I kept refusing to ask if his payments could be lowered he stopped calling Nathalia and stopped coming to visit her. Second, if a father is active in a child’s life and is a positive influence leniency should be given. Pushing a father to make payments higher than he can make then sending him to jail until it is paid, when he is active in the child’s life, will only harm the child. In â€Å"Child Support Enforcement and Father Involvement for Children in Never-Married Mother. Families† Chien-Chung Huang states, â€Å"Although there are no studies on changes in father-child contact for children in never-married mother families over time, studies find that about one-third of children saw their fathers at least once a month but another third of children had no contact at all with their fathers† (99). If there are such big chunks of the population receiving child support that have similar situations with the non-custodial parent, shouldn’t the different types have different ways of handling the cases? A father that is helping his child with homework every other week shouldn’t be held to the same treatment as a father who has no contact with his child by his own choice. Speaking from experience, I know that if I my daughter’s father was involved in my daughter’s life in a positive way and they had a healthy relationship I would not mind so much if there was a payment missed here or there. A child’s life can be so much fuller with positive influences from both the mother and the father figures in their lives. Third, if the system states that they are trying to get fathers more active in the child’s life through child support enforcement then if they don’t see what is going on before ordering something to be done, they won’t succeed. Jeff Minerd does not think that child support should not be enforced, â€Å"However, the harsh treatment of low-income fathers may make them hostile and resentful of the mothers, children, and government authority† (8). If a low-income father is ordered to pay what the CSE considers to be fair what happens if the father isn’t even making enough to make the payments? Is he to be held to the same standards as a father that keeps quitting his job to avoid making his payments? What if the father gets remarried? According to Hans and Coleman in the article â€Å"The Experiences of Remarried Stepfathers Who Pay Child Support,† â€Å"Remarriage magnified feelings of disempowerment and introduced additional complexities to existing child support arrangements† (613). When fathers remarry it adds more financial responsibility, especially if they have more kids in the new marriage or if there are stepchildren in the marriage. When the Child Support Enforcement Agency takes harsh actions against non-custodial parents it starts a chain of events that can destroy the relationship between the parents. The resentment the father feels for being forced to comply with what the state orders can cause a rift between the father and the custodial mother. In cases like mine it may have caused a rift so large that my daughter may never see her father again. She doesn’t understand why her father doesn’t come and see her any more. A couple of months ago she made up a reason of her own, it was because he was sick. Just last week a new reason came up. She told me he died and that is why he doesn’t come over anymore. I don’t know where she got this but I do know that it is her way of dealing with her feelings. I don’t know what to tell her when she says this. If I tell her that he is alive what reason do I give her when she then asks why he doesn’t see her anymore? Perhaps if the enforcement of the child support was handled differently she would still have a father that was active in her life.

Alice in Wonderland Essay

Alice in Wonderland is a very imaginative book written mainly for children, but adults can also enjoy it. The big theme through the whole book is growth and how people change from being a kid to eventually growing into an adult. The whole mystery of not knowing who you are and being confused about your position in life. The biggest example of growing is when Alice eats the cake and that makes her grow larger, and when she drinks the liquid that makes her shrink. The point when she starts to wonder about her identity is when she starts to think about home and where she really is. Another point is when people ask her who she is and she is not able to explain herself. Growth is definitely one of the biggest themes in Alice in Wonderland. The book tells about how Alice goes through many different experiences with all the different characters. The first sign of growth is when Alice needs to shrink down because she wants to go through the little door into the garden. She realizes that she left the key on the big table so she eats the cake to grow bigger again to get it. She then grows too big which foreshadows that there will be more confusion when it comes to size and how big Alice is supposed to be throughout the story. â€Å"Well, I’ll eat it, and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door; so either way I’ll get into to the garden† (p. 19). This shows that she’s not very sure about which size she should be while she’s in Wonderland and that she doesn’t understand what is happening around her as she only focuses on getting into the garden that looks beautiful from outside the door. The big moment when Alice understands that she doesn’t know who she is anymore is when she meets the Caterpillar. The Caterpillar asks her who she is and she can’t get herself to explain it. â€Å"I-I hardly know, sir, just at present – at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then† (p. 54). Alice explains how she feels like she has lost her identity and doesn’t know if she is still the same person as when she got up the same morning. She says she can’t remember things she used to know so well For example, the rhyme she knew, â€Å"how doth the little bee†. Alice in Wonderland is a well-written story about a little girl going through an exciting experience where she grows, meets different characteristics then what she is used to and it focuses a lot on identity. Alice experiences growing when she eats the cake and drinks the potion. She doesn’t know how to explain who she is to the characters asking her which makes her very frustrated as she is used to being in control of herself. Alice goes through a big experience and learns a lot and I think she might even have got a better view of who she really is by being in Wonderland.