The Culture Of The And The Tempest By William Shakespeare

The culture of a space has a powerful influence on the people inhabiting that space, an influence that alters inhabitants to varying degrees. Through the writings of Kant, Montaigne, and Shakespeare–in particular their works What is Enlightenment?, Of Cannibals, and The Tempest, respectively–this idea of cultural influence is able to take shape. Culture is something that all people carry with them, pieces of places and people they have known and groups to which they have been a member. The natural state of people is twisted by culture until there default worldview is changed as if looking through a bias lens. All people carry with them a view of normalcy that is a product of their environments. Montaigne presents this argument about culture’s creation of a bias lens in Of Cannibals. The reader is forced to acknowledge that a view of barbarism stems from what is unfamiliar. Cannibalism is not a norm of the reader’s culture, and as such the reader is forced to question why cannibalism appears so barbaric when compared with the atrocities of their own culture. The familiarity of the evil that is known is what makes that evil appear less barbaric. In reality, and as Montaigne helps his reader to see, the forms of torture that are familiar to the reader are no less indecent than the cannibalistic society, but the culture that practices cannibalism seems uncivilized because to the reader because cannibalism is something taboo in their culture. Societal structures and norm create aShow MoreRelatedComparing The Cultures of The Tempest and Ours in The Tempest by William Shakespeare894 Words   |  4 PagesComparing The Cultures of The Tempest and Ours in The Tempest b y William Shakespeare All men are created equal is one of the declarations that American culture is built on. This declaration means that all men no matter of race, religion, or creed are equals in the eyes of society, as well as the law. This was not always true in history, especially not in Shakespeares day and age. During this time, society had levels of classification where men were considered superior to other menRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1603 Words   |  7 PagesShakespeare’s play, The Tempest, power is manifested in several forms: the investigation of the power of love, the power of magic and illusion, or the power of nature. However, in The Tempest, power is most clearly defined as dominance. Throughout the play, there is a universal pursuit of dominance over other people, dominance over property, or dominance over cultural ideals. These pursuits of dominance are used in an attempt to further ones authority, and, ultimately, one’s life. In The Tempest, a motif ofRead More tempcolon Confronting Colonialism and Imperialism in Aime Cesaires A Tempest1403 Words   |  6 PagesColonialism in A Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚   A Tempest by Aime Cesaire is an attempt to confront and rewrite the idea of colonialism as presented in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.   He is successful at this attempt by changing the point of view of the story.   Cesaire transforms the characters and transposes the scenes to reveal Shakespeare’s Prospero as the exploitative European power and Caliban and Ariel as the exploited natives.   Cesaire’s A Tempest is an effective response to Shakespeare’s The Tempest because heRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1705 Words   |  7 PagesLiterature Mr. Nath 5 December 2014 The Tempest Written between 1610 and 1611, The Tempest by William Shakespeare is the final play penned by the famous Bard. The play portrays the illusory struggle of power and conscience through the character of Prospero and his egocentric motives. Politically, the play can be seen as an analysis of important political issues relevant to that of oppression and imperialistic tendencies of the time. Artistically, The Tempest emphasizes the nature of art, more prominentlyRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1351 Words   |  6 Pagescritique rank’s Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ as one of the most preeminent and descriptive plays addressing the role of colonial power and conquest in literature. One of Shakespeare’s last plays, ‘The Tempest’ explores the direct parallel between the working proletariats and wealthy bourgeois. Therefore the focuses of this paper are the implications of hegemony and class alienation, the commoditization of human subc lasses, and the commonalities with â€Å"The Tempest† and Shakespeare’s life. The analysisRead More Prospero in William Shakespeares The Tempest Essay1246 Words   |  5 PagesProspero in William Shakespeares The Tempest Prospero has long been read as one of Shakespeare’s most cherished and provocative protagonists. His timeless role in â€Å"The Tempest† has provided readers and critics with insights into many attributes of Shakespeare as a man, his works, and the political views that are personified in his play. The historical context of â€Å"The Tempest† is one that convincingly conveys the political views of the English people of his time, relating to the colonizationRead More A Comparison of Romantic Love in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night1505 Words   |  7 PagesNights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night In all of Shakespeares plays, there is a definitive style present, a style he perfected. From his very first play (The Comedy of Errors) to his very last (The Tempest), he uses unique symbolism and descriptive poetry to express and explain the actions and events he writes about. Twelfth Night, The Tempest and A Midsummer Nights Dream are all tragicomedies that epitomise the best use of the themes and ideology that Shakespeare puts forth. Read More Cultural Diversity in The Tempest Essay1654 Words   |  7 PagesCultural Diversity in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we look at Shakespeares atypically short play The Tempest, the character of Caliban represents a noble savage who is enslaved, exploited, and endowed with low-self esteem due to the ethnocentric views of those who encounter him.   In much the same way as the British originally exploited the Hindus or Americans exploited Native Americans, Caliban is considered the property of those who encounter him, solely because he is not of the same heritageRead MoreEssay about Discrimination Exposed in The Tempest1119 Words   |  5 PagesDiscrimination Exposed in The Tempest  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Within ‘The Tempest’ there are obvious social implications regarding the hierarchy, with the representations of characters such as Caliban, Prospero etc.   During Shakespeares time social classification was much more rigid than today and some members of society were considered superior to other members. Shakespeare attempts to provide an example of this rigid social structure. Shakespeare illustrates how superior men differentiated themselvesRead More Essay on the Importance of Language in The Tempest1326 Words   |  6 PagesThe Importance of Language in The Tempest      Ã‚   In discussing Derridas view of Western literature, Geoffrey Hartman writes that Western tradition has been marked . . . by a metaphysics of light, by the violence of light itself, from Apollonian cults to Cartesian philosophies. In the light of this emphatic light everything else appears obscure; especially the Hebraic development of aniconic writing and self-effacing commentary of textuality (xix). This point is well illustrated by the nature

The Lion King, Beauty And The Beast, And Sleeping Beauty

Historical children s tales have been the basis of every person’s childhood for years. These stories, however, do have original versions that should be analyzed when researching the true meanings of these children s stories. Walt Disney portrays children s tales as a simple, fun form of entertainment, but the original stories reveal the bigger truths, changes, and adversities of these children books. The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty are three of the many children s stories that have controversial backgrounds. No matter the time frame, these stories have their differences, but strangely enough have more than plenty similarities. Mid-1994, Walt Disney Pictures released what could arguably be one of the best animated features of all time, The Lion King. The original story however, was written by one of the most famous literary artists still to this day, William Shakespear. The work of Disney s The Lion King parallels none other than one of Shakesphear†™s most prized literary works, The Tragedy of Hamlet. The film shadows this work so closely, that the resemblances between the main characters themselves are wildly apparent. Even with a four hundred year gap these two stories resemble each other to a high degree and definitely make their mark on past and future generations. In The Lion King and in The Tragedy of Hamlet, both of the main families are royal and considered the highest in the land. Simba is the main character in The Lion King, he isShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of A Fable And Tortoise And The Hare 2287 Words   |  10 Pagesthat taught me a horrible life lessons verses the classic moral Aesop’s was intending us to learn. We commence with the movie The Lion King. The moral lesson that was portrayed by Walt Disney in this animal tale of a movie was: In order to be successful, sometimes people have got to die. We all know Simba was going to succeed his father, Mufasa, as the next Lion King. But fate rained down on poor little Simba when his dear old dad got trampled to death by a wildebeest stampede caused by the evilRead MoreAdverse Influence of Disney Movies on the Younger Generation2049 Words   |  9 Pagesportray these values. Many of the Disney Classics that our generation has grown to know and love have exposed children to many bad values. Classics such as: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Pocahontas display lessons not suitable for those of the younger years. In short, Disney movies have a bad influence on the younger generation by exposing them to subliminal messages, rac ist valuesRead MoreAll s Not Well And Land Of The Lion King 1450 Words   |  6 Pages In the article â€Å"All’s Not Well In Land Of â€Å"‘The Lion King’†, Lazarus discusses how the movie: â€Å"The Lion King† negatively portrays society to children by using racism, homophobia, and social inequality. In American culture, racism and homophobia are both very common and controversial. Discrimination in today’s society is not primarily associated This essay is not completely effective because children do not yet understand social concepts and she did not have enough reasons to back up some of herRead MoreAll s Not Well And The Land Of The Lion King 1452 Words   |  6 Pages In the article â€Å"All’s Not Well In The Land Of â€Å"‘The Lion King’†, Lazarus discusses how the movie: â€Å"The Lion King† negatively portrays a society to children by using racism, homophobia, and social inequality. In American culture, racism and homophobia are both very common and controversial. Discrimination in today’s society is not primarily associated This essay is not completely effective because children do not yet understand social concepts and she did not have enough reasons to back up some ofRead MoreWaking Sleeping Beauty : The Lion King Vs. Disney928 Words   |  4 Pageshurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it,† explains Rafiki, the wise baboon from The Lion King, to Simba, a young cub, in order to teach him a valuable lesson: to use other peoples’ mistakes to avoid making the same ones; when people reflect on their past and are willing to confront the mistakes head on, they can be very successful. Waking Sleeping Beauty, directed by Don Hahn, gives viewers an inside look from 1984 to 1994 when Disney reached the peak of â€Å"The DisneyRead MoreWaking Sleeping Beauty Analysis939 Words   |  4 Pageshurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it,† explains Rafiki, the wise baboon from The Lion King, to Simba, a young cub, in order to teach him a valuable lesson: to use other peoples’ mistakes to avoid making the same ones; when people reflect on their past and are willing to confront the mistakes head on, they can be very successful. Waking Sleeping Beauty, directed by Don Hahn, gives viewers an inside look from 1984 to 1994 when Disney reached the peak of â€Å"The DisneyRead MoreThe Correlation Between A Fable And The Ant And Tortoise1781 Words   |  8 Pagesat Disney movies that taught us horrible life lessons verses the classic moral Aesop’s was intending us to learn. Let’s start with by looking at the Lion King. I don’t really think Disney was trying to portray the message to be successful, sometimes people got to die. We all know Simba was going to succeed his father, Mufasa, as the next Lion King. But fate spit in poor little Simba s face, when his dear old dad got trampled to death by wildebeests. And we all know that Mufasa s death was reallyRead More Animal Influences in Paleolithic, Egyptian and Greek Art Essay1428 Words   |  6 PagesPaleolithic, Egyptian and Greek Art There are numerous ways in which animals have resonated within the human mind. Throughout history there have been representations ranging from the realistic, to myths, legends, symbols, and even horrific murderous beasts; at the same time providing fascinating perspectives of our own humanity. Various forms of art have conveyed ideas and concepts of animal’s intelligence, as well as behavior, from generation to generation. Animal art is used as a tool to makeRead MoreCharacteristics Of Disney Movies906 Words   |  4 Pagesentertaining for the younger audience even older audiences. Another example of talking non-humans is in the movie The Lion King - talking animals. They communicate just like humans do which makes the movie relatables and understandable for the younger audience which would be another factor how a movie is great. Last example for a non-human speaking movie is Beauty and The Beast. In this movie the beast and non-organic items talk. This makes the movie orginal, because after that other movies started copying andRead MoreHow Does Disney Movies Alter A Child s Perception1984 Words   |  8 Pagesfiction and not real life scenarios for young children. ` How does Disney Movies Alter a Child’s Perception What’s your favorite Disney movie? Walt Disney is well known for their animated children movies. From Beauty and The Beast to their most recent movie Princess and the Frog, many children grow up watching Disney movies. While watching these movies many people probably never thought of Disney movies as being stereotypical or racial, but as one continues their education

Adventures Of Huck Finn And History Essay Example For Students

Adventures Of Huck Finn And History Essay The world in which we live in now is much less oppressive than say the world lived in the middle of the 1800s. Up until the Civil War, the South depended on their peculiar institution of slavery, in order to be productive a successful. Most people believed slavery was not wrong, but those who thought otherwise seldom tried to alter it. In general if surrounded by oppressive environment, one does not usually try to make a difference in that world. This is because people are afraid to defend what is right against a whole mass of people who believe otherwise. Huck Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Billy Budd in Billy Budd, and Frederick Douglass in his autobiography all portray individuals who because of their good, innocent qualities go up against the oppression in their society. Living in an oppressive society does not always draw you to do the wrong thing you are still capable of generating change, whether it be for a certain individual or against a whole mass of people. Billy Budd starts off on the ship the Rights of Man, Melville obviously showing his intent in the naming of the first ship. This shows that on this ship where Billy wanted to be and chose to be he had rights. That he and the other crew had choices of what to do and how to be. Then along comes the British navy and decides that they are going to take Billy aboard their ship Power of War. This is when Billy is brought into an oppressive society. This is the navy and wartime during which rules must be followed as well as a lifestyle that must be followed. Billy is a poor innocent boy with a childish stutter. This stutter shows Billys humane side, a flaw, as well as leading you to the thinking that he has the innocence of a child. This stutter is connected to innocence because of its childish qualities. When most children begin speaking they have some sort of stutter, which usually goes away. The stutter parallels innocence because it is showing that you are just learning how to talk and dont really comprehend the correct way to make sounds, as you grow older you learn and the stutter disappears. Like innocence you are born with it, but as you grow older you usually are not portrayed as innocent any longer. Billy is like the premature kid who still has both his stutter and his innocence. Billy is introduced to many people aboard his new ship and is confronted by John Claggart. In this movie Claggart is the one who Billy must actually go up against. Being in an oppressive society and Claggart being the master Billy is forced to listen to Claggart. Although he tries to avoid him he is nevertheless confronted by him. Claggart and Billy are totally opposite in character. Claggart is an evil man who is out to get Billy whereas Billy is a sweet innocent young man who tries to help others. It is these two opposite traits that eventually lead to the death of both of these men. Billy tries to avoid Claggart because he has heard of his evil and does not want to deal with it. It is until he hears of Claggarts accusations that he is involved in a mutiny that he confronts him leading to the deathblow, which Billy delivers to Claggart. Captain Vere now holds a court to determine Billys consequences. Captain Vere is torn here between doing the right thing morally and doing the right thing legally, and in the end he realizes he has sworn to uphold the law and does just that. Billy did indeed kill a higher officer and according to the laws must be sentenced death. On the other hand, Billy was sticking up for himself. Captain Veres legal side wins the battle; Billy is condemned and hanged. Billys hanging meant a lot. It tore the officers among themselves, most saying Billy was justified in his actions therefore should not be punished to the extent of death. This makes a difference in the whole issue of oppression aboard this ship. We now know that the officers, while usually acting inhumane, actually do have a humane side and are capable of being in touch with that side when needed. Billy changes the society by killing Claggart because now no one aboard the ship will have to deal with his evilness again, although Billy and his goodness did not prevail in this oppressive society the lasting effects of his actions will. By killing Claggart he has forcefully removed all of the evil, except Squeek, aboard this ship. During the trial we are shown Captain Veres human side with his struggle to decide which is more important moral or legal. While most would agree that he should have gone with his moral side one realizes that Captain Vere is not evil. He is the medium between Billy who is the best end of good and Claggart who is as evil as it gets. When being hanged Billy yells out God bless Captain Vere, which shows until the end he was still good and makes Captain Vere feel awful, it was now too late to save poor Billy Budd. Billys doing this may have forever changed Captain Vere into making the right decision next time, one can only speculate. Billy was just a boy oppressed onto a ship that he didnt want to be on, but Frederick Douglass was born a black man in the south, a society raging with slavery. And like Fredierick Douglass he was living in an oppressive society and managed to initiate change among the oppressive society. Frederick Douglass was born a black man into pre-Civil war southern society. On January 1, 1834 his master, Master Thomas ordered Douglass, to go to a man named Covey. The Roses of Eyam by Don Taylor EssayHis sympathetic and hurtful side is shown when Buck dies later in the novel Huck cries because of how good Buck was to him before he died. Huck and Jim are both alike in that they are both superstitious. This is shown even before they run away when Huck goes to Jim in order for Jim to read his future through the hairball. The first real sign of human relationship on the raft trip is when Huck and Jim stay up all night talking, about moral issues in particular. During this time Huck tries to out reason Jim several times. Then there comes a fight in their friendship. When they are on the raft and they get stuck in fog and Jim falls asleep. When he is awakened Huck pretends they never got separated and that it was a dream on Jims part. When Jim finally realizes it is not a dream but in fact what really happened he gets very mad at Huck and calls him trash leading Huck to apologize. By Huck apologizing for this incident you see that Huck is beginning to look at Jim as a person because he would not apologize to just a piece of property, for property has no feelings and you would need not apologize to something that has no feelings. Huck also notes that Jim must be human to a level when he talks about his family. While Huck doesnt think it is right Jim wants to free his family because they are someone elses property, he still notices that Jim has a family and wants to be with them. The king and the duke are the people who push Jim to act more human than Huck thinks he is. This is because they push Jim to a point when he really starts to suffer. When Huck sees Jim suffering because of the duke and the king he realizes that Jim really is human. Jim says Dese is all I kin stan' showing that he cant take the king anymore. He doesnt think the duke is as bad as the king is. And the king and the duke are the two people who bring the raft trip to an end. After they sold Jim Huck thinks it would have been better for him to have returned him to Miss Watson in the beginning where he knew Jim would be treated better than at some other plantations. Huck knows that society would look down upon him for helping Jim to escape and while Huck realizes Jim is a human it does not change his view of blacks in general. When he tells Aunt Sally that nobody is hurt saying. Nom. Killed a nigger. This shows that while Huck has realized that Jim is not property, but human that it does no apply to all blacks, just to Jim. You understand that Huck sees Jim as a person especially since hell go to hell before he will betray Jim and turn him in. Huck is very surprised that Tom Sawyer is going to help free Jim, when in reality Tom already knew Jim was freed and was doing this stuff to a freed slave, while Jim gives up his freedom in order to help Tom when he gets shot in the leg. By this time Huck already knows of Jims humanness and that is why he tries to help him out of the Phelps plantation. Huck overcomes societys evilness towards blacks in one situation. Although he lives in a society who hates blacks he doesnt necessarily do the wrong thing because of what society says. While Jim got his freedom in the end because of Miss Watson freeing him Huck still tried to help him overcome the societys oppression against Jim. In all three of these instances Billy Budd, Frederick Douglass, and Huck Finn all try to overcome oppression of a society. In Budds case it was not a huge force such as slavery was in the south, but he still had to overcome his own local oppression. Budd killed the real evil on his ship allowing for a better lifestyle for the remaining crewmembers. He also brought reality and morality to a higher level for the officers and Captain Vere, which may have changed them forever and this would not happen again. In Douglass life he overcame oppression for himself and by doing that he tried to help all of those who were affected negatively by the institution of slavery. He ran away; thus, releasing himself from the oppressive nature of the south and after doing so he became an abolitionist trying to help others become like him and be freed. In Huck Finn Huck goes against all of what he knows in society to help Jim runaway. After finally realizing that Jim was human and that he should not give him back Huck does everything in his power to help Jim runaway. Hucks innocence and good heartedness show through even when society would judge him wrong. Huck overcame societys oppression towards blacks for himself because he realized that Jim was a person and not a piece of property. Oppressive societies still remain in todays world although not nearly as prevalent or as torturous as they were in the days of Billy, Frederick, Huck, and Jim. These characters can motivate one to show that you against a large oppressive society can, alone, make a difference. It may be only a small difference to one or two individuals, but any progress one can make is helpful.

Political corruption free essay sample

Many political leaders, especially in Africa, are known to engage in financial malpractice involving public funds meant for the communities they represent. The few people who run the resources of a country end up abusing the resources. These resources that are supposed to be channeled to develop infrastructure or educate the citizens end up being misused, misapplied or misappropriated by those entrusted to bring development. For example in Zambia, Constituent Development Funds (CDF) have been diverted by Members of Parliament to their personal use. There is no doubt that financial malpractice by leaders is a stumbling block to meaningful development in any country. One would not expect leaders in a democratic society like Zambia to embezzle funds meant for the welfare and development of their communities. According to Acemoglu and Robinson, this kind of behaviour by leaders is only possible in autocratic regimes. They argue that democracy makes this kind of theft difficult to accomplish and to conceal for two reasons. We will write a custom essay sample on Political corruption or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Firstly, the formal institutions of government such as the legislature constrain the behaviour of leaders. Secondly, popular participation in the process of government ensures that elected leaders are accountable to the citizenry. In a truly democratic society, there will be honesty, fairness, responsibility and accountability to and for each other (Djokoto and Chama: 2006). However, in most democratic societies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, leaders can misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds without the affected citizens raising any serious queries against the culprits. The citizens seem to be indifferent to such occurrences. Their silence or indifference could be a result of either not caring about what goes on around them politically or just being unaware of such things happening. This essay will attempt to explain why citizens do not raise any serious queries against their leaders when they misuse, misapply or misappropriate funds meant for their communities. This essay will begin by defining democracy and give the meanings of the words misuse, misapply and misappropriate. It will then try to explain why the affected citizens do not query their leaders when they abuse community funds. Finally, it will conclude. Democracy is a word with many meanings. Sir Stafford Cripps defines democracy as a system of government in which every adult citizen is equally free to express his or her views and desires upon all subjects in whatever way he or she wishes and to influence the majority of his fellow citizens to decide according to those views and to influence those desires. H. B. Mayo defines a democratic political system as one in which public policies are made on a majority basis by representatives subject to effective popular control at periodic elections which are conducted on the principle of political equality and under conditions of political freedom (Mahajan 1988:794). Democracy is usually understood as majority rule and the holding of regular elections. But if it has to work effectively, it must include active participation by all citizens and a conscious awareness of both rights and responsibilities (Mbewe 2012:16-17). According to the Macmillan English Dictionary, the word misuse means to use something in a wrong way or for the wrong purpose. To misapply is to use something in a wrong or illegal way. Misappropriation means to take for oneself money that one is responsible for but does not belong to them. One of the primary challenges of some democratic societies such as Zambia is the lack of leaders who vie for political office with the goal of serving the people, instead of themselves. During election campaigns, aspiring leaders give false information to people. They promise them of things they fail to give them after elections. This has been the tradition in the Zambian politics. Once voted for, the leaders become part of the rich while the poor Zambians remain cut off. They will invite rich people to dine with him at their newly acquired mansions while the poor who are the majority voters remain poor if not poorer. To host rich people, these politicians will need to have huge sums of money. They also need money to afford their newly acquired status. These people will shun the services in the country; they will send their children to private schools, or to schools abroad. They will seek medical advice outside the country and they will buy their clothes from outside the country. With the above behaviour little or no attention will be paid to improving the services they will never access or to improve the conditions of those who voted for them. Since most of the politicians in poor democratic societies have financially humble backgrounds, where do they get such monies? Records show that it is easy to steal public money in most African countries. The Auditor-General’s report on the Zambian government accounts shows how public funds have been stolen in Zambia. Weaknesses in accounting and revenue collection make it easier for public servants to steal huge sums of public money. At times, the money is not stolen but just misapplied. For example, a forensic audit of Solwezi District Council books by the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) for the financial year ending 31 December 2004 revealed glaring financial irregularities. The auditor’s report showed that the K168 million grant given to the municipal authority with instructions that 70 percent of the money be spent on social services went towards salaries, allowances for councilors and cell phones for chief officers. Only 25 percent of the money went towards social services (op cit Djokoto and Chama). An example of a case of misappropriation of public funds by a leader is one in which a former Defence Minister in the Chiluba administration was found guilty by the Lusaka High Court for using CDF for his campaign during the 2001 elections (ibid). The minister was never jailed but lost his ministerial appointment. Despite such rampant financial malpractices by leaders, the citizens who are deprived of the funds and other amenities fail to raise any serious queries against such leaders. In most cases, revelations about misuse or misappropriation of community funds have been largely driven by the private media. Sometimes, the greatest pressure on government leaders to be accountable for their actions has come from the international media and Western donors. Anti-corruption campaigners such as Transparency International (TI) and other interest groups have also been involved in the fight against abuse of public funds. Through their activism they try to amplify the weak voice of the poor citizens in keeping political leaders in check. However, this is not easy. The constant struggle by these interest groups to hold leaders accountable for their expenditure of public funds cannot be won without the greater involvement of the affected citizens (ibid). Unfortunately, citizens in these societies are just not angry enough. They seem not to care about what happens to the community funds meant to improve their livelihoods. Their indifference to financial malpractices by their leaders does not help the situations at all. As a matter of fact, it increases their already high levels of poverty and widens the gap between the rich and poor. To understand why affected citizens do not take any serious steps against their leaders when they embezzle public funds, there is need to understand the political awareness of the majority of citizens and their involvement in public issues, whether the political system gives a voice to the poor or not, and the way government agencies charged with the responsibility of handling such cases respond to citizens’ grievances. There are quite a number of reasons why citizens choose to keep quiet about the wrongs committed by their leaders. As we try to look at some of these reasons, there is need to understand that people have different levels of awareness with regard to what happens in their communities. There are those that are aware of the situation prevailing in their communities and those that are not. Those that are aware may try to voice their concerns through whatever means are available to them, but their voice will not be heard because it is not strong enough. The reason is that they are just a small minority of the affected citizenry. At times this is made worse by the fact that among this group there may be others who also benefit from the plunder of their community resources by way of receiving gifts or bribes from their community leaders. These will be unwilling to divulge any malpractice by their leaders because they fear losing their extra source of income, which is the bribes they receive to remain silent about the misuse, misappropriation or misapplication of community resources by the leaders. These may even try to protect such erring leaders by hiding whatever information they may know about such happenings to investigative agencies. The other group comprises those that are unaware or have just decided not to participate in such matters, and these are the majority. The majority of citizens are usually not well informed about public issues because of the general lack of information about such issues, especially about government spending policies. For example, in Zambia, there is no community involvement in the budgetary process at whatever level. At community level, there are no access points for ordinary citizens to participate in the budgetary process. The budgeting is done by officials and leaders. Participation of citizens in the budget process is inhibited by lack of access to information on both the national and community budget processes (http://info. worldbank. org/governance/wgi/index. asp). Although citizens may not play a direct role in the preparation process of the budget, they can contribute by fostering leaders’ accountability through positive engagement in monitoring of the implementation of the community projects. If the information about community projects being funded is readily available and understood by citizens, they can easily ask questions when planned projects are not implemented. Unfortunately, this does not happen even in some democratic societies. As a result, leaders continue to misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds and get away with it because citizens are not aware of the malpractices being committed by their leaders. This can be prevented or lessened by availing citizens with all the necessary information pertaining to projects planned in their communities and how the allotted funds are to be used. Another reason why affected citizens fail to complain against the financial malpractices committed by leaders in their communities is the negative or unfavourable response by government agencies and investigative agencies charged with responsibility to deal with such cases. It appears that the government or political statements are, in most cases, not matched by action. For example, in 2005, a former Health Ministry permanent secretary was accused by the Task Force on Economic Plunder of misusing public funds. As he had openly voiced his support for the President, the latter ordered the chief prosecutor to drop the case. However, the prosecutor refused and ultimately managed to secure a conviction (http://www. freedomhouse. org/template. cfm? ). What this implies is that the citizens lose confidence in the ability of the responsible government agencies to ably handle their complaints without undue influence from higher offices. There have also been cases, for instance in Zambia, where the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had given consent to prosecute some government officials but the government has interfered to protect the accused from being prosecuted. People accused of abusing public resources are allowed to remain members of the ruling party. Such inconsistencies erode the credibility of the government’s stance in fighting such vices and make citizens lose confidence in the government. As a result, citizens begin to feel that even if they complained very little or nothing at all would be done by the government to correct the situation. This is a good reason for citizens to keep quiet and not complain against their leaders when they misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds (ibid). In conclusion, it can be said that the citizens’ tendency to remain silent despite widespread acts of financial misconduct by the leaders is mainly due to fear by the affected citizens to lose the financial and material support they receive from the culprits because when leaders steal community funds, they bribe a few members of the community to buy their silence and loyalty. The other reasons are the lack of information pertaining to expenditure of public funds, and the unfavourable response by the responsible government agencies in handling issues of financial malpractice by leaders after receiving complaints from concerned citizens. In order for citizens to become willing, informed and effective participants in issues of democracy and good governance, they must be minimally taught to understand good governance and democratic principles and virtues and in the process begin to practice democracy and good governance themselves.

The Samurai History in Japan

The Samurai History in Japan Socio-economic Challenges that Kobushin Samurai Faced Samurai faced a number of challenges, which were both economic and social. In the 19th century, Samurai was the respected royal class of Japan. However, its power faded so fast due to the public mistrust. This was mainly because of the stagnation of income owing to the fact that the society was undergoing change.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Samurai History in Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Members of the Samurai were unable to achieve their economic interests because of poor returns and oppressive policies. The daimyos and the shogun could not increase taxes because rice farmers were reluctant to appreciate the role of the samurai in society. This affected the Samurai in the sense that the populace lost trust to an extent of refusing to submit taxes, which were in a form of food. The shift from agriculture as an economic activity to merchant trade affected many people since some individuals became poorer. They could not even sustain their families. This meant that they could not pay taxes to the Samurai. The daimyos had no option, but to increase tax rates for peasants. This complicated everything because the community experienced social disorder. The rates of crime went up because of frustrations. Katsu noted that the peasants threatened to organize demonstrations, forcing the Samurai to change the strategy as regards to adjusting the tax rates upwards (71). The social position of the Samurai and its economic chances were insidious, which resulted in the internal and external conflicts. This affected the existence of Kobushin because it was brought down. The royal class attained adequate power that placed it in the top position, with high culture and high social rank. This social position affected economic chances of the Samurai because the higher the social position, the better the chances for attaining high economic positi ons. Another challenge that faced the Samurai was the issue of change because the leadership could not handle change. The role of the peasant was always to provide foodstuff and offer taxes in a form of food. However, there was a new trend whereby the society was changing from agricultural society to the merchant society. The economic activity was changing because the community was adopting trade and quitting agriculture. Before the community changed its economic activity, merchants were viewed as the necessary evil because only unavailable products could be acquired from them. The society was growing at unprecedented rate because the challenges of urbanization were being felt for the first time.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More People had to shift from mechanistic societies to what were referred to as organic societies. This was not an easy task (Vaporis 33). The Samurai was not allowed to engage in trade or any other activity that would benefit it economically. The society had become complex since everything relied on economics meaning that those with economic power controlled everything in society. The Tokugawa laws stated that the Samurai had to offer guidance to the society, but not engaging in profit making activities. Merchants became very rich because the new social and economic trends favored them. Some peasants benefited directly from the new laws because they engaged in trading activities with the merchants. The power of the Kobushin Samurai was at risk because its social status did not allow it to engage in trade. The society was changing at the rate that few people had anticipated meaning that traditional ways of doing things could no longer hold. How Katsu Used or Abused his Status as a Samurai to Survive Katsu had to abuse his status to survive because the society was changing so fast. The new dynamics of society demanded that every person ad justs his or her views to conform to the new trends. During Katsu’s era, there was a tremendous growth of agricultural production. Moreover, the population grew at an alarming rate because there was a reported seventy percent growth. Tokugawa policies supported land reclamation, which supported agricultural production in various parts of the country. There was adequate peace because of the disarming of peasants and local leaders, which boosted development in various parts of the nation. It is reported that the land cultivated was increased by over one hundred percent meaning that there was surplus production. Katsu could not sit back and watch the changes taking place without getting involved. Tokugawa regime introduced the use of fertilizers and modern farming techniques that improved people’s living standards. Katsu could not be a part of the changes because of his status in society. He had to keep off from all economic activities that would make him rich. However, h e changed his position when he decided to be a thief because the book reports that he stole and lied to many people to achieve his interests in society. He allowed himself to mingle with people of all characters including beggars, thieves, priests, merchants, gamblers, and the holy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Samurai History in Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to the samurai culture, this was unacceptable because the member of the royal class was expected to conduct him or herself in the manner that befits their status. In other words, Katsu was willing to do virtually everything to ascend to a higher economic status, including spoiling his own reputation and that of his family. Instead of living in accordance to the culture of the Samurai, Katsu involved himself in activities that were contrary to the provisions of the traditional culture. For instance, he participated in producing goods th at would generate profit. This was not allowed because it was considered exploitation. Members of the ruling class were not expected to exploit the poor by disposing cheap goods at an exorbitant price (Yoda 89). Katsu posited that he engaged himself in the making of lanterns, care parts, and umbrellas. Moreover, he accepted to take up cheap jobs that were contrary to his culture such as car painting, gate keeping, and plastering. Katsu commented that he was willing to live in accordance with the provisions of the culture, but he would not be able to live a comfortable life. Living a pious life would not bring any greatness to his family hence he decided to engage in activities that contravened the culture. The Realities of the Urban Life Urbanization was one of factors that forced Katsu to readjust his view as regards to the traditional culture. The emergence of cities posed serious challenges to both the mighty and the working class. The city life presented new opportunities, as we ll as challenges to individuals. Katsu was forced to adopt a new way of life whereby he would interact with individuals perceived to be impure. Katsu lost greatly due to the emergence of the cities because he was always paid in fixed stipends, which were disbursed in terms of rice. The stipends were paid based on an individual’s social position in society. Urbanization contributed to the increase of prices of commodities, which was not commensurate to the increase in production. The new trends of the city demanded that people pay out their bills in monetary terms meaning that the samurai was to exchange the rice received with money. This would not be enough because the living costs had gone up yet taxpayers could no offer more taxes. The Samurai existed at the mercy of the moneychangers and the merchants who had taken over the economic systems of various towns, including Osaka and Edo.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the market, there was an unstable price for rice, meaning that moneychangers could decide the price at which they could buy the major product. The economy was growing so fast, yet the Samurai was not allowed to engage in farming and commerce. This was a challenge because the leadership of the city was becoming weaker and weaker while traders, who were ranked low socially, were the economic powerhouses. The emergence of the cities presented new challenges to the Samurai in a number of ways because they were forced to engage in activities that were forbidden culturally. Contacts between people were official meaning that individuals did not meet just to talk about the social problems. For instance, an individual needed an appointment with any of the merchants to discuss any issue. The role of the Samurai was diminishing because the city had complex challenges that demanded effective forms of administrations. For instance, the Samurai was expected to act as an example to other member s of society regarding morality. Other members of society would follow the ways of the Samurai in terms of observing cultural rules and regulations. Moreover, other forms of crimes emerged due to the urbanization, for instance, prostitution, muggings, kidnapping, and carjacking emerged as new forms of crimes that would not be prevented. Even the Samurai was not spared. Dilemma of the Low Ranking Samurai in the Tokugawa Regime The Samurai was expected to follow the culture that was so strict on its members, whereby each individual was supposed to keep off from activities that would hurt the members of society. During the Tokugawa regime, it was very difficult to convince people to live in accordance with the values of the Samurais culture because of the changes that were taking place in society. The changes were taking place rapidly. The Tokugawa regime tried to disseminate information regarding the life of the Samurai through promotion of education and increasing literacy. The Samur ai belonged to the royal class whose major aim was to defend the community during war. To the Samurai, death was considered normal because it was inevitable. To preserve unity in Japan, involvement of the Samurai was crucial because it was respected all over. It became extremely difficult to convince people to appreciate the role that the Samurai played in the Japanese society. This was the dilemma of governmental officials because they found it difficult to abolish the role of the Samurai. There was divided loyalty among government officials as regards to the role of the Samurai. Some believed that the Samurai had no role to play since its members had abandoned the fundamental ideals that characterized the royalty. Some Tokugawa officials noted that the Samurai motivated the soldiers because they were regarded as the highest family in the land. To be a good soldier, an individual had to forfeit all other things and concentrate on serving the nation. Therefore, the role of the Samur ai was important. Katsu, Kokichi. Musuis Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai. Tucson: The Univ. of Arizona Press, 1995. Print. Vaporis, Constantive. â€Å"To Edo and Back: Alternate Attendance and Japanese Culture in the Early Modern Period.† Journal of Japanese Studies, 23.1 (1997): 25–67. Print. Yoda, Tomiko. â€Å"A Roadmap to Millennial Japan.† South Atlantic Quarterly, 99.4 (2000): 629–668. Print.

A Beginners Guide to Delphi

A Beginners Guide to Delphi Our  Delphi Programming site proudly presents free online programming courses for (beginner) Delphi developers! Quick Launch Turbo Delphi Tutorial: For Novice and Non-ProgrammersThis series of tutorials is oriented to those who want to take their chance in the world of software development, it is designed to teach the complete beginner (read: non-programmer) how to become a programmer using Delphi.Delphi for BeginnersThis free online course is perfect for beginner developers as well as for those who want a broad overview of the art of programming Win32 applications with Borland Delphi. Focus on Delphi 6.Delphi Database Programming. You can take this as an Email CourseDevelopers will learn how to design, develop and test a database application using ADO with Delphi. This course focuses on the most common uses of ADO in a Delphi application: Connecting to a database using TADOConnection, work with Tables and Queries, handle database exception, create reports, etc.Learning Object Oriented Programming with DelphiExplore the true power of Delphi OOP: learn how to create your own classes, instantiate objects at runtime, use association, composition and other OOP topics. Using the TDBGrid componentContrary to most other Delphi data-aware controls, the DBGrid component has many nice features and is more powerful than you would have thought. The standard DBGrid does its job of displaying and manipulating records from a dataset in a tabular grid. However, there are many ways (and reasons) why you should consider customizing the look and feel of a DBGrid...Creating Custom ComponentsEverything about creating custom controls and components in Delphi. The ultimate source. From tutorials for starters to more advanced materials.Introduction to COM ProgrammingCOM stands for Component Object Model. It allows you to create COM objects that are not specific to any language, and in some cases, even platforms. For instance, COM objects can be ported to a Unix system. COM also allows you to create COM Objects that will be instantiated on a different machine across the world if you so desired.(Fast Forward to) Delphi for .NETHeres a series of articles designed with o ne goal in mind: to provide a quick and dirty introduction to the world of .NET programming with Delphi. If you are looking for what you need to know about Delphi for .NET - search no further! ASP.NET Web ProgrammingDevelopers will learn how to design, develop and debug ASP.Net web application using Borland Delphi for .Net. The chapters will cover the fundamental elements of creating Web applications (working with Web Forms, Web Services, and User Controls) using Delphi, including the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the Delphi for .Net language.Windows API (no VCL) SeriesThis free online course is perfect for intermediate Delphi developers as well as for those who want a broad overview of the art of Windows API programming with Borland Delphi.

What makes a fine story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What makes a fine story - Essay Example For example, the tone applied when questioning is different from the tone applied when complimenting. For example," did she say am handsome?" this tone is called rising tonal variation. Consider," tell her she is beautiful" this is falling tonal variation. Tonal variation helps in making the presentation of the story different by eliminating the monotony of only one tone. Characters in a story are crucial. Each story should contain characters with different roles assigned to them. They should be hand in hand with the theme of the story to avoid being outside the topic. A character can either be a human or an animal in the story. The importance of a character in the story is for the audience to relate to them. A character might have similar traits to someone you may know and so you learn the end results of having certain traits. It is because the purpose of having characters is to pass a certain message. For communication to take place there must be a medium enabling the exchange of ideas. In a story, language is a key factor of determining whether the story is interesting or not. The audience targets a story that is simple to understand and recall. They expectations of the reader or audience are to grasp each and every point that is within the story with ease. A good story should be simple for easy understanding. A real story is more captivating because it out of experience. It comprises the happenings in life. The audience pays more attention as some are in the same situation as the teller was and so expect to know how to deal with it. That creates interest in the story to the audience and the teller emphasis on key issues without any exaggerations. The main pain purpose of the audience is to learn and gain experience on dealing with issues faced in daily life. A good story should have conflicting ideas so that the conclusion is appropriate. Conflict in a story also enables the audience to participate in giving their ideas on the issue. This

An examination of forced marriages and its implications within the UK Dissertation - 1

An examination of forced marriages and its implications within the UK - Dissertation Example The significance of the topic, followed by the background and context are delineated to give emphasis on the emergence of the topic. Moreover, the literature review will be conducted so as to deliver the clear arguments, which will tend to stipulate implications under the last section. All of the contents in this paper will assist one to fathom the needs of alteration in a modern setting, and demand for growth especially by enforcing human rights mandates. 2.0 Aims 2.1. List of Aims To provide a background of forced marriage, in the absence of mainstream and commonalities that are happening in the contemporary setting today. To depict the current qualitative data of forced matrimony, so one can realise how the pace of growth has been sliding and giving birth into another bulk of detrimental concerns. To open the mind of the state that it is not the general welfare of the people that they are protecting if they focus on economic progress and development. 2.2 Interpretation of Aims Suc h aims are created to picture out the outcome of the contents of this paper. The first aim signifies that the paper will not only depict the nature of forced marriage as it has already been widely known, but also to provide the public that such notion has been claimed in different perspectives. The second aim shows the reality that such current record will make one ponder about what could the conduct be if consistent practice will be made. Lastly, the third aim will promote awareness to the public, especially to the state that forced marriage is something that can ruin the life of the people living in a particular nation that impedes social developments with its social policies that are unfounded with universal human rights. 2.3 Researcher’s Initial Ideas/Thoughts/Perspectives From the inception of the conduct of this paper, the researcher really thought that forced marriage has existed in the mainstream, and arrange marriage is different from it--which has been rectified. Ho wever, in the writer’s perspective, forced marriage was really detrimental, and it profoundly depicted violence against women, but did not classify it as a felony towards human rights. Generally, the writer believed that families resulting from forced matrimony can still be managed well, with love and care, especially when two persons begin to reside in one house. 2.4 Significance of the Topic The dearth of literature regarding the proliferating issues of forced marriage is an indication of delving into the topic deeper. For instance, a tiny notch of sociologists has been studying the issue, and their number depicts tolerance to the concern. To begin with the situation and the emerging victims, it is precise to know that the topic is far more than significant. When it comes to life and death situations, the public should commence on constructing resolutions rather than discussing the issue. However, because the issue has been neglected, educating first the public is the first phase before giving resolutions to the conduct. 3.0 Background and Context The issue is really set on the full consent and submission of oneself to be engaged in a conduct, which decisions involved are significant because it will dictate someone’s future. It has been an issue of threat or coercion, force, and dishonor, which one tries to escape from the reality just because someday or at this moment, he or she will tie with someone that is considerably a perfect stranger or an unwanted person. This should be the

The changes in Education Essay Example for Free

The changes in Education Essay This week it was announced by ministers that A levels and GCSE`s in secondary schools will be replaced by a Baccalaureate. Baccalaureate exams are already used in France, Germany and the United States of America. The government are hoping to start this system in September 2004. A Levels were first introduced in the 1950`s and GCSE`s were introduced when O levels were phased out in the 1980`s and have caused much discussion and many arguments by Head teachers and Education ministers during the last few years. The education secretary said that A Levels were too narrow and exclusive. If there is going to be an English version of the Baccalaureate it will make things far easier to study at universities abroad because they would understand the qualification that a student in Britain would achieve. Recently AS Levels have been introduced by many schools across the country. This has given a student the opportunity of choosing up to 5 subjects to study for one year and then dropping one or two of these subjects before continuing with the remaining ones. This gives the pupil a much broader education as they are not just studying for the same 3 subjects during the two years of studying. I am not sure if these exams have been a success because everyone moans about them as students have to take continuous examinations. Change at schools must always cause complaints because it is very hard after so many years to adjust to new rules. Heads of schools have to change the way their teachers educate the pupils, and new guidelines have to be carried out nationally. This must be very disruptive during the first couple of years for both students and pupils participating in this scheme, and after the fiasco this year with the marking of them, I do wonder if change is a good thing. Education is changing rapidly, and we will know by the end of the year if the Baccalaureate will definitely be in force. The Baccalaureate will include English, Maths, and Science and then students will be able to choose from a range of academic and practical courses. Work experience will be a must for anyone who takes the exam as will voluntary work. If the baccalaureate is introduced there will be fewer exams and more internal assessment. This will give a student much more of an all round education, and would be more varied on a day to day basis. This would make education much more original and personal, and could be tailor made for each individual pupil. This I am sure would make the normal school day far less boring. I would welcome an opportunity like this. I think every student should participate in voluntary work. This would give everyone a chance to help others and would save money for local councils, as it would have to employ less paid staff. The Baccalaureate will have to be accepted by all the Universities, in England and abroad, especially in Europe, and have the support from future employers, especially those in industry, otherwise this new exam will not work in Britain. It is yet to be decided what it will include. But it will change the way 14 to 19 year olds are taught. Ministers and Headmasters think that this is the most significant way forward and it will be the biggest change education has seen for years. There would be different levels of attainment. As yet they have not decided what these levels will be called but it is likely that they will be along the lines of foundation, intermediate and advanced. Mathematics, English and Science and Information Technology will be compulsory for GCSE and pupils will have to be educated in Sex Education, Physical Education and Religious Education. Pupils will also have to study citizenship. At fourteen years of age pupils will be free to drop many other subjects, which have been compulsory in the National Curriculum, including History, Geography, Art and Music. These subjects will now only be optional. College training will be offered locally on a one or two day a week basis. Day release would also be available to some pupils. With employers so that they could gain skills, which they would never be able to achieve at present at their school. It would also give a pupil the chance to decide if they enjoyed college, wanted to work or pursue a different field all together. I welcome this, and think that the more choices offered the better. If I personally cannot have these choices I hope my younger sister will be able to benefit from the new curriculum. There are big shortages of trained engineers, technicians, hairdressers and plumbers at present and by doing these new regimes of studying, pupils will have a much better chance of future employment. Many students are bored by school education and would welcome the chance to study something more vocational, and maybe this would keep them at school until 19 rather than leaving at 16 with very few qualifications and no prospects of a job. Also if a student enjoys his or her day release, a job might be offered there and then for the participating pupil, and the employer would then be obtaining an apprentice that knew what he was doing. On the other hand employers will only be able to offer a limited number of jobs and this may leave a large percentage of unemployed students with very few qualifications. These work related GCSEs would be renamed and would combine both academic studies and more practical work; they will be tried out across the country in various schools this coming September. Industry will benefit from this as many more students will be trained in the relevant work and not just fresh from a class without any experience. Another change on the way is the way that the league tables for exam results are calculated. It will show the difference between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils at each school. Each school throughout the country will then be awarded a grade from A to E depending on their excellence or their failures. This is meant to be much more understandable and will offer more information to parents choosing schools for their childrens future education. People need to know the correct facts, and by changing the tables slightly, this will offer just that. Before the league tables were started several years ago, it was virtually impossible to obtain information about how well or how badly pupils had faired in their exams at school. So in my opinion the tables have been a great help. Also by printing these tables in all the newspapers, it has been made everyone aware of the academic successes of schools around the country. This also has meant that everyone is aware of the schools that have done very badly academically and this has made the government enforce an improvement during a certain period of time, or they have threatened closure and/or a change of management. This must be good for education in the future. It can only improve schools especially those in disadvantaged areas, where expectations of pupil performance is low. Every student should be aware of poor teaching and academic successes and although it might not always be possible to enter the school of your choice, it will enforce better education at all schools around the country and hopefully the worst offenders will be greatly improved or shut down. All students whether in Independent Education or State Education should be offered the same curriculum with the choice of vocational subjects. Employers must welcome these changes as well. I have enjoyed my education, and am looking forward to furthering it, but would have preferred a much more varied curriculum. I have a job on a Saturday which has given me an insight into retail, and have secured work experience in a large organisation in the summer which will be very interesting for me. But although I know I want to study art I have no idea in which area I would like to continue and if I had been able to study in a more practical manner, maybe I would be more knowledgeable, and more able to progress in the appropriate area.

A Satire of Life as Performed by Monkeys Essay -- Literary Analysis, S

He was a visionary, an artist, an illusionist like no other: William Shakespeare. Shakespeare, a master at his craft, believed that â€Å"all the world’s a stage†; Ralph Ellison seems to agree. Ellison crafts a world in which the narrator of the Invisible Man learns through his experiences with performances and exile that true power can only be wielded by people uninhibited by the strict routines of society. The narrator is completely powerless and exiled from freedom in the theatre called school. He is the pride of the young black boys, bright and college-bound. His speech given at his high school about â€Å"social responsibility† is obviously well thought out and fleshed with purpose and meaning, but because of the shallow nature of the entire ceremony, he is mostly ignored (30). The crowd homes in on exactly what they want to hear. His rehearsed lines deteriorate into a reading from a crudely-made teleprompter that displays no more than three syllables at a time. His speech about the values of social harmony go mostly ignored or overlooked by the crowd until he makes a mistake and openly reveals his beliefs. His carefully dictated speech, filled with ideas of societal acceptance and â€Å"social equality,† is harshly criticized and undermined by the racist, white men who act as though they are friendly to the narrator, but turn vicious at the sign of such radical, free thinking from the black boy (31). At the front of the hall, he is exiled and alone while attempting to speak out for what he believes in. He learns that he’s â€Å"got to know [his] place at all times† with the white men (31). He understands that the whole ceremony is a farce and no one is actually there to listen to a young black boy speak. Nevertheless, he is forced to stand ... ...that people threw at him hoping that eventually they would just forget about him and leave him alone. He has then embraced the idea that now â€Å"on the lower frequencies, [he speaks] for [everyone]† (581). His exile to the underground has stripped him of his previous identity and possessions, but he emerges strong empowered by his invisibility. Ralph Ellison, in his novel Invisible Man provides a view of a character whose identity has been shaped by his experiences as an actor on the metaphorical stage of life and exile from various groups he’s been a part of. Through school, Brother Clifton’s Sambo doll, Rineheart, and his exile underground, the narrator has been able to shed his misconceptions about the world and grow into a person possessing both freedom and free thought in a society full of mindless drones that are enslaved by the systems that they are a part of.

Bloodlines Chapter Five

AND ON THAT NOTE, Rose left me so she could tell the others goodbye. Her words left me chilled. For half a second, I wanted to demand a reassessment of this mission. I wanted to insist that they send no less than a dozen guardians here with Jill, in the event her attackers came back. Soon, I dismissed that thought. One of the key parts of this plan working was simply not attracting attention. So long as her whereabouts were secret, Jill was safer if she blended in. A squadron of guardians would hardly be discreet and could attract notice from the larger Moroi community. We were doing the right thing. So long as no one knew we were here, all would be well. Surely if I told myself that often enough, it would become true. Yet why Rose's ominous statement? Why Eddie's presence? Had this mission really been bumped from â€Å"inconvenient† to â€Å"life-threatening†? Knowing how close Jill and Rose were, I kind of expected their goodbye to be more tearful. Instead, it was Adrian whom Jill had the most difficulty leaving. She flung herself at him in a giant hug, fingers clinging to his shirt. The young Moroi girl had remained quiet for most of the visit, simply watching the rest of us in that curious, nervous way of hers. The most I'd heard her talk was when Lee had tried to draw her out earlier. Her goodbye display seemed to surprise Adrian too, though the snarky look he'd worn on his face softened into something like affection as he awkwardly patted her shoulder. â€Å"There, there, Jailbait. I'll see you again soon.† â€Å"I wish you were coming with us,† she said in a small voice. He crooked her a grin. â€Å"No, you don't. Maybe the rest of them can get away with playing back-to-school, but I'd be thrown out on my first day. At least here, I won't corrupt anyone†¦ unless it's Clarence and his liquor cabinet.† â€Å"I'll be in touch,† promised Jill. His smile twitched, and he gave her a knowing look that was both amused and rueful. â€Å"So will I.† This small moment between them was odd. With his flippant, arrogant nature and her sweet shyness, they seemed like an unlikely pair of friends. Yet there was obvious affection between them. It didn't seem romantic but had a definite intensity I couldn't quite understand. I remembered the conversation I'd overheard between Abe and Adrian, where Abe had said it was imperative Adrian stay near Jill. Something told me there was a connection between that and what I was witnessing now, but I didn't have enough information to put it all together. I filed this mystery away for later. I was sad to leave Rose but glad that our departure meant parting ways with Abe and Keith. Abe left with his typically cryptic remarks and a knowing look for me that I didn't appreciate. I dropped Keith off at his place before going on to Amberwood, and he told me he'd keep me updated. Honestly, I wondered what exactly he had to update me on, since I was doing most of the work around here. As far as I could tell, he really had nothing to do except lounge around in his downtown apartment. Still, it was worth it to be rid of him. I never thought I'd be so happy to drive off with a vampire and a dhampir. Jill still seemed troubled during the car ride to the school. Eddie, sensing this, tried to soothe her. He peered back at her from the passenger seat. â€Å"We'll see Adrian soon.† â€Å"I know,† she said with a sigh. â€Å"And nothing else bad is going to happen. You're safe. They can't find you here.† â€Å"I know that too,† she said. â€Å"How bad was it?† I asked. â€Å"The attack, I mean. No one's getting into details.† Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eddie glance back at Jill again. â€Å"Bad enough,† he said grimly. â€Å"But everyone's okay now; that's what matters.† Neither of them said any more, and I quickly picked up on the hint that no more details would be forthcoming. They acted as though the attack had been no big deal, that it was done and over with, but they were being too evasive. Something had happened that I didn't know about – that the Alchemists likely didn't know about – something that they were working to keep secret. My guess was that it had to do with Adrian being here. He had mentioned an â€Å"obvious reason† for coming to Palm Springs, and then Abe had hinted at some ulterior motive that Adrian himself didn't know about. It was all kind of annoying, seeing as I was risking my life here. How did they expect me to adequately do my job if they insisted on making this a tangle of secrets? Alchemists dealt in secrets, and despite my rocky past, I was still Alchemist enough to resent being denied answers. Fortunately, I was also Alchemist enough to hunt those answers down myself. Of course, I knew grilling Jill and Eddie right away wasn't going to get me anywhere. I needed to play it friendly and get them to relax around me. They might not harbor the secret belief that humans were creatures of darkness, but that didn't mean they trusted me yet. I didn't blame them. After all, I certainly didn't trust them either. It was well into evening when we arrived at Amberwood. Keith and I had scoped out the school earlier, but Eddie and Jill took it in with wide eyes. Whereas Clarence's home had seemed old-fashioned, the school was bright and modern, consisting of stucco buildings that were so typical of California and southwest architecture. Palm trees skirted along lush green lawns. In the fading light, students were still strolling, in pairs and groups, along the many walking paths that wove throughout the grounds. We'd picked up fast food along the way, but the late hour meant Jill and I had to split from Eddie. At eighteen, with a car and â€Å"parental permission,† I had a lot of freedom to come and go, but I had to answer to curfew just like everyone else when night came. Eddie was uneasy about leaving Jill, particularly when he realized how far away from her he'd be. Amberwood Prep's sprawling grounds were divided into three campuses: East, West, and Central. East Campus housed the girls' dorm while West contained the boys'. Central, the largest of the three, was where the administrative, academic, and recreational facilities were. The campuses were about a mile apart from each other and served by a shuttle bus that ran throughout the day, though walking was always an option for those who could stand the heat. Eddie had to have known he couldn't stay in the girls' dorm, though I suspected that if he had his way, he would have slept at the foot of Jill's bed like a loyal dog. Watching the two of them was kind of amazing. I'd never observed a guardian-Moroi pairing before. When I'd been with Rose and Dimitri, they'd been simply trying to keep themselves alive – plus, they were both dhampirs. Now, I was finally able to see the system in action and understood why dhampirs trained so hard. You'd have to, to remain that vigilant. Even in the most mundane moments, Eddie always watched our surroundings. Nothing escaped his notice. â€Å"How good is the security system here?† he demanded when we stepped inside the girls' dorm. He'd insisted on seeing it before going to his own. The lobby was quiet at this hour, and only a couple of students wandered through with boxes and suitcases as they finished last-minute move-ins. They gave us curious looks as they passed, and I had to quell the knot of anxiety rising in me. Considering everything else going on for me, high school social life shouldn't scare me – but it did. The Alchemists didn't cover that in their lessons. â€Å"Security's good enough,† I said, keeping my voice low as I turned back to Eddie. â€Å"They aren't worried about vampire assassins, but they certainly want their students safe. I know there are security guards that patrol the grounds at night.† Eddie eyed the dorm matron, a stout, gray-haired woman who supervised the lobby from her desk. â€Å"Do you think she has any kind of combat training? Do you think she could subdue an intruder?† â€Å"I bet she could wrestle down a guy sneaking into a girl's room,† joked Jill. She rested a hand on his arm, making him jump. â€Å"Relax. This place is safe.† In some ways, Eddie's concern was comforting and made me feel secure. At the same time, I couldn't help but think again about why he was so watchful. He'd been there for the attack that no one would tell me about. He knew the threats because he'd seen them firsthand. If he was this on edge, even now, then how much danger were we still in? The Alchemists had led me to believe that once we were hidden here at Amberwood, all would be well and it would just become a waiting game. I'd had that very conversation with Rose and tried to convince her of the same. Eddie's attitude was concerning. The dorm room I shared with Jill was small by my standards. I'd always had my own room growing up and never had to worry about sharing space or closets. During my time in St. Petersburg, I'd even had my own apartment. Still, o ur one window had a sweeping view of the dorm's back courtyard. Everything inside the room was airy and bright, with maple-finished furniture that looked new: beds, desks, and dressers. I had no experience with dorm rooms – but I could only assume by Jill's reaction that we'd gotten a good one. She swore that the room was larger than the one she'd had at her Moroi school, St. Vladimir's Academy, and was quite happy. I half-wondered if she thought our room was big simply because we had so little to put in it. Neither of us had been able to do much packing with such swift departures. The furniture gave everything a warm, golden feel, but without personal decorations or other touches, the room could've come straight from a catalog. The dorm matron, Mrs. Weathers, had been astonished when she saw us and our minimal luggage. The girls I'd observed moving in earlier had arrived with cars packed to bursting. I hoped we didn't look suspicious. Jill paused to stare out the window as we got ready for bed. â€Å"It's so dry here,† she murmured, more to herself than me. â€Å"They keep the lawn green, but it's so strange not to feel the moisture in the air.† She glanced over at me sheepishly. â€Å"I'm a water user.† â€Å"I know,† I said, not sure what else to add. She was referring to the magical abilities all Moroi possessed. Each Moroi specialized in one of the elements, either the physical four – earth, air, water, and fire – or the more intangible and psychic element of spirit. Hardly anyone wielded that last one, though I'd heard Adrian was one of the few. If Jill couldn't access her magic easily, I wasn't going to be disappointed. Magic was one of those things, like the blood drinking, that served as a slap-in-the-face reminder that these people I was laughing and eating with were not human. If I wasn't still exhausted from the drive with Keith, I probably would've lain awake agonizing over the fact that I was sleeping close to a vampire. When I'd first met Rose, I hadn't even been able to stay in the same room with her. Our hectic escape together had changed that a little, and by the end, I'd been able to let my guard down. Now, some of that old fear came back in the darkness. Vampire, vampire. Sternly, I told myself it was just Jill. I had nothing to worry about. Eventually, fatigue triumphed fear, and I slept. When morning came, I couldn't help looking in the mirror to make sure I had no bite marks or other sign of vampire harm. When I'd finished, I immediately felt foolish. With the difficulty Jill was currently having waking up, it made no sense to imagine her sneaking up on me in the night. As it was, I had a hard time getting her out the door in time for orientation. She was groggy, with bloodshot eyes, and kept complaining about a headache. I guessed I didn't have to worry about nighttime attacks from my roommate. Nonetheless, she managed to get up and around. We left our dorm and found Eddie, gathering with other new students near a fountain on Central Campus. Most of the crowd appeared to be freshmen like Jill. Only a few were the same age as me and Eddie, and I was surprised to see him easily chatting with those around him. With how vigilant he'd been the day before, I would've expected him to be more on guard, less capable of normal social interaction – but he fit right in. As we walked up, however, I caught him glance around stealthily at his surroundings. He might be playing a student, like me – but he was still a dhampir. He was just telling us about how he hadn't met his roommate yet when a smiling guy with bright blue eyes and reddish hair strode up to them. â€Å"Hey there,† he said. Up close, I could see a smattering of freckles. â€Å"Are you Eddie Melrose?† â€Å"Yes, I'm – † Eddie had spun around with that guardian efficiency, ready to take on this potential threat. When he saw the newcomer, Eddie went perfectly still. His eyes widened slightly, and whatever he'd been about to say faded away. â€Å"I'm Micah Vallence. I'm your roommate – also your orientation leader.† He nodded toward the other mingling students and grinned. â€Å"But I wanted to come say hi first since I just got here this morning. My mom pushed our vacation to the limits.† Eddie was still staring at Micah as though he'd seen a ghost. I studied Micah too, wondering what I was missing. He seemed normal to me. Whatever was going on, Jill was also out of the loop because she was regarding Micah with a perfectly ordinary expression too, no alarm or surprise. â€Å"Nice to meet you,† said Eddie at last. â€Å"These are my, uh, sisters – Jill and Sydney.† Micah smiled at each of us in turn. He had a manner about him that made me feel easy, and I could see why he'd been drafted as an orientation leader. I wondered why Eddie was reacting so strangely. â€Å"What grades are you in?† he asked us. â€Å"Senior,† I said. Remembering the cover story, I added, â€Å"Eddie and I are twins.† â€Å"I'm a freshman,† said Jill. Looking over our â€Å"family,† I noticed that Eddie and I could probably pass for siblings pretty easily. Our coloring was similar, and of course, there was the fact that we both looked human. While a human wouldn't necessarily look at Jill and say â€Å"vampire!† she still possessed certain features that marked her as unusual. Her build and paleness were definite contrasts to me and Eddie. If Micah noticed the lack of family resemblance, he didn't let on. â€Å"Nervous about starting high school?† he asked Jill. She shook her head and smiled back. â€Å"I'm ready for the challenge.† â€Å"Well, if you need anything, let me know,† he said. â€Å"For now, I've gotta get this party started. Talk to you guys later.† From the way his attention focused solely on her, it was obvious that the â€Å"if you need anything† was directed at Jill, and her blush showed that she knew too. She smiled, holding his gaze a moment, and then looked away shyly. I would've found it cute, if not for the alarming prospect it presented. Jill was in a school full of humans. It was absolutely out of the question for her to date one, and guys like Micah couldn't be encouraged. Eddie didn't appear to care about the comment, but it seemed to be more because he was still troubled about Micah in general. Micah called our group to attention and began the orientation. The first part of it was simply a tour of the grounds. We followed him around, in and out of air conditioning, as he showed us the important buildings. He explained the shuttle system, and we rode it up to West Campus, which was almost a mirror of East. Boys and girls were allowed in each other's dorms, with limitations, and he explained those rules as well, which caused some grumbling. Recalling the formidable Mrs. Weathers, I felt sorry for any boy that tried to break her dorm rules. Both dorms had their own cafeterias, where any student was welcome to eat, and our orientation group had lunch while we were still on West Campus. Micah joined my â€Å"siblings† and me, going out of his way to talk to each of us. Eddie responded politely, nodding and asking questions, but his eyes still looked vaguely haunted. Jill was shy at first, but once Micah starting joking around with her, she eventually warmed up to him. How funny, I thought, that it was easier for Eddie and Jill to adapt to this situation than it was for me. They were in a strange environment, with a different race, but were still among familiar things, like cafeterias and lockers. They slipped right into the roles and procedures with no difficulty. Meanwhile, despite having traveled and lived all over the world, I felt out of place in what was for everyone else an ordinary setting. Regardless, it didn't take me long to figure out how the school ran. Alchemists were trained to observe and adapt, and even though school was foreign to me, I quickly picked up on the routine. I wasn't afraid to talk to people either – I was used to striking up conversations with strangers and explaining my way out of situations. One thing, however, I knew I would have to work on. â€Å"I heard her family might be moving to Anchorage.† We were at orientation lunch, and a couple of freshmen girls sitting near me were discussing a friend of theirs who hadn't shown up today. The other girl's eyes widened. â€Å"Seriously? I would die if I had to move there.† â€Å"I don't know,† I mused, moving my food around my plate. â€Å"With all the sun and UV rays here, it seems like Anchorage might actually provide a longer life span. You don't need as much sunblock, so it's a more economical choice as well.† I'd thought my comment was helpful, but when I looked up, I was met with gaping stares. It was obvious from the looks the girls were giving me that I probably couldn't have picked a weirder comment. â€Å"I guess I shouldn't say everything that comes to mind,† I murmured to Eddie. I was used to being direct in social situations, but it occurred to me that simply saying â€Å"Yeah, totally!† would've probably been the correct response. I'd had few friends my own age and was out of practice. Eddie grinned at me. â€Å"I don't know, sis. You're pretty entertaining as you are. Keep it up.† After lunch, our group returned to Central Campus, where we parted ways to meet with academic advisors and plan our class schedules. When I sat down with my advisor, a cheery young woman named Molly, I wasn't surprised to see that the Alchemists had sent along academic records from a fictitious school in South Dakota. They were even fairly consistent with what I had studied in my homeschooling. â€Å"Your grades and tests have placed you in our most advanced math and English classes,† Molly said. â€Å"If you do well in them, you can receive college credit.† Too bad there's no chance I'll get to go to college, I thought with a sigh. She flipped through a few pages in my file. â€Å"Now, I don't see any records of foreign language here. It's an Amberwood requirement that everyone learn at least one language.† Oops. The Alchemists had messed up there in faking my records. I'd actually studied a number of languages. My father had made sure I had lessons from an early age, since an Alchemist never knew where he or she might end up. Scanning Amberwood's list of offered languages, I hesitated and wondered if I should lie. Then I decided I really didn't want to sit through conjugations and tenses I'd already learned. â€Å"I already know all of these,† I told Molly. Molly regarded me skeptically. â€Å"All of these? There are five languages here.† I nodded and added helpfully, â€Å"But I only studied Japanese for two years. So I suppose I could learn more.† Molly still didn't seem to buy this. â€Å"Would you be willing to take proficiency tests?† And so, I ended up spending the rest of my afternoon laboring over foreign languages. It wasn't how I wanted to spend my day, but I supposed it would pay off later – the tests were a breeze. When I finally finished all five languages three hours later, Molly hurried me out to get fitted for my uniform. Most of the other new students had long gone through already, and she was concerned that I might have already missed the woman doing the fittings. I moved as fast as I could without running down the halls and nearly bumped into two girls rounding a corner. â€Å"Oh!† I exclaimed, feeling like an idiot. â€Å"I'm sorry – I'm late for my fitting – â€Å" One of them laughed good-naturedly. She was dark-skinned with an athletic build and wavy black hair. â€Å"Don't worry about it,† she said. â€Å"We just walked past the room. She's still there.† The other girl had blond hair a shade lighter than mine that she wore in a high ponytail. Both of them had the easy assurance of those who knew their way around this world. These weren't new students. â€Å"Mrs. Delaney always takes longer than she thinks she will with the fittings,† the blond girl said knowingly. â€Å"Every year, it's – † Her jaw dropped, her words freezing up for a few moments. â€Å"Where†¦ where did you get that?† I had no clue what she meant, but the other girl soon noticed and leaned closer to me. â€Å"That's amazing! Is that what they're doing this year?† â€Å"Your tattoo,† explained the blonde. I must have still looked clueless. â€Å"Where'd you get it?† â€Å"Oh. That.† My fingers absentmindedly touched my cheek. â€Å"In, um, South Dakota. Where I'm from.† Both girls looked disappointed. â€Å"I guess that's why I've never seen it,† said the dark-haired girl. â€Å"I thought Nevermore was doing something new.† â€Å"Nevermore?† I asked. The girls exchanged silent glances, and some message passed between them. â€Å"You're new, right? What's your name?† asked the blond girl. â€Å"I'm Julia. This is Kristin.† â€Å"Sydney,† I said, still mystified. Julia was smiling again. â€Å"Have lunch with us at East tomorrow, okay? We'll explain everything.† â€Å"Everything about what?† I asked. â€Å"It's a long story. Just get to Delaney for now,† added Kristin, starting to move away. â€Å"She'll stay late, but not forever.† When they were gone, I continued on my way – much more slowly – wondering what that had been about. Had I just made friends? I really wasn't sure how one went about it in a school like this, but that whole exchange had seemed pretty weird. Mrs. Delaney was just packing up when I arrived. â€Å"What size do you wear, dear?† she asked, catching sight of me in the doorway. â€Å"Two.† A number of articles were produced: skirts, pants, blouses, and sweaters. I doubted the sweaters would see much wear, unless a freak apocalyptic blizzard hit Palm Springs. Amberwood wasn't particularly fussy about which ensemble students wore, as long as it came from the approved pool of fashion. The colors were burgundy, dark gray, and white, which I actually thought looked kind of nice together. Watching me button a white blouse, Mrs. Delaney tsked, â€Å"I think you need a size four.† I froze mid-button. â€Å"I wear a two.† â€Å"Oh, yes, you can fit into them, but look at the arms and the skirt length. I think you'll be more comfortable in a four. Try these.† She handed over a new stack and then laughed. â€Å"Don't look so mortified, girl! A four's nothing. You're still a twig.† She patted her ample stomach. â€Å"We could fit three of you into my clothes!† Despite my many protests, I was still sent away with the size-four clothing. I rode back to my dorm, dejected, and found Jill lying on her bed and reading. She sat up at my arrival. â€Å"Hey, I wondered what had happened to you.† â€Å"Got delayed,† I said with a sigh. â€Å"Are you feeling better?† â€Å"Yeah. A lot.† Jill watched as I put away the uniforms. â€Å"They're pretty terrible, right? We didn't have uniforms at St. Vladimir's. It's going to be so boring wearing the same thing every day.† I didn't want to tell her that as an Alchemist, I might have worn an outfit like this anyway. â€Å"What size did you get?† I asked, to change the subject. I was kind of a glutton for punishment. â€Å"Two.† A twinge of annoyance shot through me as I hung my uniforms in the closet beside hers. I felt huge by comparison. How were all those Moroi so skinny? Genetics? Low-carb blood diet? Maybe it was just because they were all so tall. All I knew was that whenever I spent time around them, I felt frumpy and awkward and wanted to eat less. When I finished unpacking, Jill and I compared schedules. Not surprisingly, considering the difference in grades, we had almost nothing in common. The only thing we shared was a multi-grade PE class. All students were required to take it every semester, since fitness was considered part of a wellrounded student's experience. Maybe I could lose a few pounds and get back into my normal size. Jill smiled and handed my schedule back. â€Å"Eddie went and demanded to be in our PE class since it's pretty much the only one we could share. It conflicts with his Spanish class, though, and they wouldn't let him. I don't think he can handle going the whole school day without seeing that I'm alive. Oh, and Micah's with us in PE.† I'd stalked off to my bed, still irritated about the uniforms. Jill's words caught my attention. â€Å"Hey, do you know why Eddie seemed weirded out around Micah?† Jill shook her head. â€Å"No, I didn't get a chance to ask, but I noticed it too – especially at first. Later – while you were testing – and we were waiting for uniforms, Eddie seemed to chill out. A little. Every once in a while, I'd see him giving Micah a strange look, though.† â€Å"You don't think he thinks Micah's dangerous, do you?† Jill shrugged. â€Å"He didn't seem dangerous to me, but I'm no guardian. If Eddie did think he was some kind of threat, it seems like he'd be acting differently. More aggressive. He mostly seems nervous around Micah. Almost – but not quite – afraid. And that's weirdest of all because guardians never look scared. Not that Eddie's technically a guardian. But you know what I mean.† â€Å"I do,† I said, smiling despite my grumpy intentions. That cute, rambling nature cheered me up a little. â€Å"What do you mean Eddie's technically not a guardian? Isn't he assigned to protect you here?† â€Å"Yeah, he is,† said Jill, toying with one of her light brown curls. â€Å"But†¦ well, it's kind of weird. He got in some trouble with the guardians for helping Rose and for, um, killing a guy.† â€Å"He killed a Moroi that attacked Vasilisa, right?† It had come up at my interrogation. â€Å"Yeah,† said Jill, lost in her own memories. â€Å"It was self-defense – well, and defense of Lissa, but everyone was shocked at him killing a Moroi. Guardians aren't supposed to do that, but then, you know, Moroi aren't supposed to attack each other either. Anyway, he was put on suspension. No one knew what to do with him. When I got†¦ attacked, Eddie helped protect me. Later, Lissa said it was stupid to keep him off duty when he could be helpful and that considering Moroi were behind this attack too, she said everyone was going to have to get used to the idea of Moroi being the enemy. Hans – the guardian in charge at Court – finally agreed and sent Eddie here with me, but I think officially, Eddie's not restored yet. It's weird.† Jill had delivered the whole speech without pausing and now stopped to catch a breath. â€Å"Well, I'm sure it'll be sorted out,† I said, trying to be reassuring. â€Å"And it seems like he'll get points for keeping a princess alive.† Jill looked at me sharply. â€Å"I'm no princess.† I frowned and tried to remember the complexities of Moroi law. â€Å"The prince or princess is the oldest member of a family. Since Vasilisa's queen, the title rolls over to you, right?† â€Å"On paper,† said Jill, looking away. Her tone was hard to read, an odd mixture of what seemed like bitterness and sorrow. â€Å"I'm not a princess, not really. I'm just someone who happens to be related to the queen.† Jill's mother had briefly been mistress to Eric Dragomir, Vasilisa's father, and had kept Jill's existence a secret for years. It had only come out recently, and I'd played a big role in helping Rose track Jill down. With all the fallout in my own life, as well as the emphasis on Jill's safety, I hadn't spent much time wondering how she had adapted to her new status. That had to be a serious lifestyle change. â€Å"I'm sure there's more to it than that,† I said gently. I wondered if I was going to be spending a lot of time playing therapist to Jill during this assignment. The prospect of actually comforting a vampire still seemed so strange to me. â€Å"I mean, you're obviously important. Everyone's gone to a lot of trouble to keep you safe here.† â€Å"But is it for me?† asked Jill. â€Å"Or is it to help Lissa keep the throne? She's hardly spoken to me since she found out we were sisters.† This conversation was steering into uncomfortable waters, into interpersonal matters that I didn't really know how to deal with. I couldn't imagine being in either Vasilisa or Jill's place. The only thing I felt certain of was that it couldn't be easy for any of them. â€Å"I'm sure she cares about you,† I said, though not really sure at all. â€Å"But it's probably strange for her – especially with all the other changes in her life too. Give it time. Focus on the important things first – staying here and staying alive.† â€Å"You're right,† said Jill. She lay back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. â€Å"I'm nervous about tomorrow, about being around everyone, in classes all day. What if they notice? What if someone finds out the truth about me?† â€Å"You did fine at orientation,† I assured her. â€Å"Just don't show your fangs. And besides, I'm pretty good at convincing people they didn't see what they think they saw.† The grateful expression on her face reminded me uncomfortably of Zoe. They were so alike in many ways, shy and uncertain – yet intensely fierce and desperately wanting to prove themselves. I'd tried to protect Zoe – and only failed in her eyes. Now, being here for Jill made me feel conflicted. In some ways, I could make up for what I hadn't been able to do for Zoe. Yet even as I thought that, some inner voice kept saying, Jill is not your sister. She's a vampire. This is business. â€Å"Thanks, Sydney. I'm glad you're here.† She smiled, and the guilt only twisted further inside me. â€Å"You know, I'm kind of jealous of Adrian. He thinks it's so boring at Clarence's, but he doesn't have to worry about meeting new people or getting used to a new school. He just gets to hang out, watch TV, play pool with Lee, sleep in†¦ it sounds amazing.† She sighed. â€Å"I suppose,† I said, a little surprised at the detail. â€Å"How do you know all that? Have you†¦ have you talked to him since we left?† Even as I said that, the idea seemed unlikely. I'd been with her most of the day. The smile dropped from her face. â€Å"Oh no. I mean, I just figure that's what's going on. He mentioned some of it earlier, that's all. Sorry. I'm being melodramatic and rambling. Thanks for listening to me†¦ it really does make me feel better.† I smiled tightly and said nothing. I still couldn't get over the fact that I was starting to feel so warmly toward a vampire. First Rose, now Jill? It didn't matter how likable she was. I had to keep our relationship professional so that no Alchemist could accuse me of getting attached. Keith's words echoed in my head: vamp lover†¦ That's ridiculous, I thought. There was nothing wrong with being nice to those in my care. It was normal, a far cry from â€Å"getting too close† to them. Right? Pushing my worries aside, I concentrated on finishing unpacking and thinking about our new life here. I sincerely hoped tomorrow would go as smoothly as I'd assured Jill it would. Unfortunately, it didn't.