Fantastic Literature Essay Example for Free

Fantastic Literature Essay Fantasy is a product of our subconscious minds. Just like the stories of the past, fantastic literature tries to give its messages with an indirectly way for making an impact to our subconscious minds. In other words, Fantastic literature is a genre of fiction that uses imagination, magic, supernatural elements such as ghosts, harpies, trolls, mermaids, nymphs, vampires, centaurs, personifications, allegories and unrealistic elements as its primary plot element, theme or setting. Many fantastic works includes an imaginary world where magic and fantastic creatures are common. The best known and successful English work for the genre is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings triology. But there are lots of successful works and famous writers of the genre such as Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and H.P. Lovecraft’s collection of stories about Cthulhu Mythos. The fantastic literature starts with the bed time stories in childhood such as fairy tales or folk tales to give instructions. We can say, it has a special appealing to children because of its didactic nature for giving moral lessons. Moreover, the children are too young to know the difference between real and the fantasy. Much of these folk tales comes from the times of Middle Ages where the place storytelling has an importance. This importance changed by the time due to technological advancements because rational progress decreased the amount of these stories. It happens to everyone when you grow up, the advancement of rational progress can decrease your superstitious beliefs and imagination. But using the middle age as setting, establishes a perfect base for fantastic stories because of the lack of technology, dogmatic thoughts and the importance of storytelling. Therefore even in our time, the fantastic works uses the middle age as its setting and much of the works in fantastic literature takes place in Middle age. When we come to its origin, in western culture, the origin of the fantastic literature depends on the mythic stories. But if we specifically give a document name for the genre, then we can say its origin comes from the stories of Homer The Iliad and The Odyssey. In eastern culture, this origin comes from Arabian Nights. The iliad and odyssey gives us the definition of the genre in the first place because of its contents. In case of Odyssesy, it includes gods, monsters such as centaurs, Cyclops or witches and wizards. And there is also a quest in the story as its plot. Odysseus tries to return to his home at Ithaca but he is not allowed by Poseidon because of his insults such as killing his cyclop son and claiming that he won the troy with only his own mind tricks. It is quiet similar to the stories of the Arthurian Romance such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because of their usage of quest as framework. Same thing is in use in the case of LOTR. As a characteristic of the genre, there is always a quest in a fantastic work. Many of them include a universe as their setting look alike Middle ages because it is easy to create stories when you created the universe. There are also some common themes of the genre such as Good vs. Evil, Deceived heroes, making a sacrifice for saving the earth, journey to unknown etc.. All of these elements are in Fantastic literature to give lessons. The sign of a Fantast ic work is the inclusion of fantastic elements, a self-coherent setting as a universe to take place in and the inspirations from the mythology or folk stories. It gives a freedom of expression to author for explaining a rational sense within a supernatural framework. Therefore it may confuse the reader but there is always a message in these fantastic stories. It starts with the fairy tales in childhood. Fairy tale: Fairy tales a stories that contains a message and has an appealing to children for giving instructions with an indirectly style and by showing example through the story. Fairy tales aims to give moral lessons to its audience. Therefore, it is the first tutor of the mankind. They may include elves, dwarves, fairies, giants, ogres, trolls, goblins, mermaids, witches and wizards. There is always an adventure or a quest in these stories. But they are different than the legends in essence because there may be a truth behind the legends. Ancient Greeks are often accepted the legends as real events and told their stories for centuries but they didn’t the same thing for the folk tales. There is always a certain pattern in these fa iry tales, all of them starts with same word Once upon a time for implying that the story takes place in an unknown time. There is also a happy conclusion at the end of these stories such as â€Å"they lived happily ever after†. They can be found in oral or literary form but it is hard to trace their origins. Many of them may appear in different cultures with variations. Much of them appeals to adults but they are often associated  with children. There are some collectors of these folktales such as Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. Folklorists have classified the fairy tales with various ways. Among them Vlademir Propp is one of the most notable with his Morphology of the Tale. Vladamir Propp was a Russian folklorist scholar who analyzed the framework of Russian folk tale and published his analysis with name of Morphology of the Folktale in 1928. In his work, he divided fairy tale into sections and through these sections he tried to define the series of sequences within a fairy tale. To him, a fairy tale usually starts with an initial situation. And right after that there are 31 different se quences with different functions. He used this method to analyze the frame work of the Russian folk tales. Propp’s morphology is an exemplar for the analysis. In this type, the structural organization of a folkloristic text follows a chronological order as linear. Therefore, we can see if the tale has all of these elements from A to Z. Also we can give a name to those sequences. A tale usually starts with an initial situation such as with the enumeration of the family or the brief introduction of the hero. And after this point there are 31 sequences. Absentation: In this part, a member of the family leaves the home such as a prince may leave home to go for a journey by leaving his wife back. This absentation can also be someone’s death or going for a walk, fishing..Interdiction: In this point, the instruction comes to the hero such as don’t change your way, don’t talk with stranger, take care of your little brother to preparing a base for the further calamity. Violation: A counter action happens against to interdiction such as hero often violates this limitatio n and leaves the right way, talks with strangers. At this point a new person enters the story. And it could be a dragon, wolf, witch or a stepmother as a villain. Reconnaissance: Villain makes an attempt to find something. Villain is in search of something valuable or information such as the location of the children, wolf’s aim to find the goal of Little Red Cap by questioning her. Delivery: Villain receives a directly information to his questions. The wolf learns the house of the grandmother. Trick: The villain makes a persuasion. It is an attempt to trick his victim in order to take possession for his victim. Dragon turns into a golden goat, the witch turns into an old beggar and tries to give poisonous apple, wolf tries to act like grandmother by wearing her clothes. Complicity: The victim accepts the deception and helps  his enemy without knowing. Princess accepts the apple, The wolf acts like grandmother and little red cap could not recognize it. Villainy or lack of something: The villain causes harm or injury such as princess falls into a sleep after taking a bite from the apple, the wolf devours the little red cap as a result o f violation of the interdiction. One member of the family is in lack of something or desires to have something. The Prince intends to search for his bride, A magical agent is needed to wake someone up, huntsman tries to find a prey Mediation: the hero enters into tale with a quest or he is dispatched. The prince appears and decides to go for a journey to the tower of sleeping beauty, the huntsman appear hearing the snores of the wolf by thinking that there must be something wrong. Beginning counteraction: The hero sees the situation and decides to do something, the huntsman sees the belly of the wolf and thinks that he devoured them, the prince hears the story of sleeping beauty. Departure: the hero leaves home to make a counterattack. First function of the donor: A donor appears and meets with the hero or greets him for testing him to give some kind of a magical agent. The hero’s reaction: hero gives an answer to donor such as making a help to him, showing mercy, completes a service, learns some tactics, The hero receives the magical agent: he receives some kind of a power to defeat to evil. The transference between two kingdoms: The hero is transferred from one place to another to whereabouts an object or search. The hero flies through air on a bird, or travels on a boat. Struggle: The hero and the villain fights to get something for themselves. Branded: the hero receives a wound during the fight. Victory: the villain is beaten during the open battle or loses the game of cards. Liquidation: The initial misfortune resolved, spell casts off, captives freed Return: the hero returns to his home Pursuit: The some kind of evil pursues the hero and tries to kill him Rescue: the hero is rescued from the pursuit, an obstacle may delay the pursuer, the hero hides or saves his life from the pursuer. Unrecognized arrival: hero returns his home but no one recognizes him just like in the case of  Odysseus. False claims: A false hero appears and presents unfounded claims. DIFFICULT TASK: Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks); SOLUTION: Task is resolved; RECOGNITION: Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her); EXPOSURE: False hero or villain is exposed; TRANSFIGURATION: Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc.); PUNISHMENT: Villain is punished; WEDDING: Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted). Grimm Brothers were two unusual German scholars, linguists, academicians and great philologists that lived in the 19th century. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two brothers and these brothers were nationalists and intended to collect the old Germanic stories and publish them to show the universality of German language. They were very interested with the Germanic folklore tales and dedicated rest of their lives to collect these tales. Therefore they collected stories and folk tales from the country and represented a pure form of national literature and culture. They established a kind of methodology for recording and collecting these folk tales and later on it became a basis for the folklore studies. They published their first collection of Germanic stories, and folk tales in 1812 with the name of Children’s and Housholde Tales. Their stories, includes the all details of German language and Germanic cultural identity. Their works translated into more than 100 languages. The most important and famous stories of them are Rapunzel, The Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, The Frog Prince and Little Red Cap. Little Red Cap Little red cap is a Germanic folk tale that published by Grimm brothers in their story collection known as Children’s and Household Tales in 1812. It is the 26t1h story of this story collection. It tells the story of a sweet but not obedience girl known as little red cap because of her famous Red Hood. But behind the background of the story, it is a story about grow up by leaving the naà ¯ve thoughts behind. It is a story that questions the curiosity of the children and urges them to leave these thoughts and get mature by following rules. By using the big bad wolf as a villain, it gives  us a message that don’t be so naà ¯ve, these fine gentlemen are nothing but greedy wolfs and they are so hungry for using your naivety for their own sexual purposes. So, follow your rules and don’t ever change your way. It can be interpreted as a moral tale, to give a message such as don’t talk with sexual predators. After the brief presentation of the characters, the story starts with an absentation in which the grandmother is sick. So her mother gives her a bucket and says bring this to grandma and don’t leave the path or you might break the glass. This is our interdiction and our quest. But she doesn’t listen to her mother, a counter action (violation) happens against to interdiction and wolf makes an entrance to story. The wolf questions the little red cap, this is our reconnaissance. And she answers all its questions with a naivety and describes the way that goes to her grandma. (delivery). The wolf goes there devours grandma and takes place of her (trick). She comes to house and accepts its trick without knowing what it is (complicity). And wolf devours her as result of her wrong actions (Villainy harm). Some versions of the story like Charles Perrault version ends in here but Grimm version continues. The huntsman makes an entrance to story (mediation). And he decides to free grandma and little red cap(beginning of counter reaction). He cuts the bell of wolf with a scissor and saves them both. This is the rebirth of Little red cap as a mature (Struggle, branding, victory, liquidation ). In any case, it is a story of puberty rite in which the red cap born again as an adult woman and learns how to act against to odds. After that point she doesn’t cares about the other childish things. The advancement of her rational progress is ending her childhood. The Frog King- Iron Heinrich The frog king is the first story of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm which they published it in their folk tale collection known as Children and Household Tales. The frog king is all about the glimmers of emotional life where they are developing in the first place, the childhood. It is story about sexual awakening in human beings, its acceptance and maturation process in human beings. There are some symbols in the story such as the frog, the princess and the Golden ball. The frog is the symbol of production and fertility and it is connected with witchcraft. Princess is the symbol of purified aspect of human soul and the golden ball is the symbol of perfection. The princes  in this story, is so beautiful, even more beautiful than sun that is explains her relationship and her desires towards to golden ball. When she lost the ball, she grieves at not only her ball but also grieves over her loss of innocence. She thinks that she will not be the whole again. But the only thing that can make her whole again is an ugly frog. She likes herself and this situation represents her narcissistic psyche. In the story, the princess increasingly becomes more anxious, angry and full of fear with the idea of marrying with a frog. She is not yet ready for the marriage. As the frog comes closer to her, she becomes more disgusted. This is also gives us her idea about awakening of sex throughout the puberty. But actually she becomes more a person while the frog comes closer to her. The father in this story is responsible for the marriage of the princess and he commands her to keep her word. Her actions are all under her id and there is a need for the development of super ego in her personality. Therefore, the responsible conscience of King helps to development of superego in child’s mind for bringing happiness, love and marriage to her life. And to become whole again, she finally decides to throw it against to wall by taking all the risks to gain her independence. This moment of violence is a painful experience but it is necessary. By doing so, she transcends her anxiety and hatred into a love. She becomes more a person by developing identity and her ugly frog turns into a handsome prince in her eyes. Snow White The story of Snow white is a Germanic Folktale that published in 1812 by Grimm brothers in their Collection of stories known as Children’s and Household Tales as the 53rd story. It is a story about the cycle of life as can be seen from the color symbolism of the story. But it also increases the theme of maturation process of a girl through some tests. It is a very common theme which can be found in the stories of Grimm brothers maybe because of the fact that their informants were woman or to put an emphasis on marriage for representing its importance in a feudal and patriarchal German society. Who knows? Anyway most of their stories are including these themes of Marriage, maturation, loss of innocence, growing up and including these damsels in distress as main characters. And in most of their stories the true love comes after the defeat of self-love as reward of maturation. Story starts with a queen’s wish to have a baby like white as snow, red as  blood and black as wood. It is a kind of symbolism of life that represents the natural cycle of life in which after every death a life starts to its lifetime. As a result snow white represents this natural cycle, she is the personification of this cycle. As soon as she born, her mother dies in order to give a birth to her. And that is also another emphasis that given to represent this cycle. After this point her unconcerned king father marries with another woman who is wicked. The unconcerned personality of King, although there is no king in the story, represents the feudal European perspective of seeing women as object. The personality of stepmother is another issue; she is the personification of immatureness. It is clear that she has failed in her personality development to have an identity. Therefore, she has only the self-interest just like the princess in The Frog King or Iron Heinrich. Therefore she plays her role to prevent Snow White for reaching her age because of her envy, pride and hatred. She orders to huntsman to kill her but he spares instead of killing her. He spares her because of potential status as a woman and bringer of new life. Therefore, the existence of huntsman also is a foreshadowing for the union of the opposite forces such as man and woman. In the story she deceives Snow White for three times and each times represents another aspect of life just like the color symbolism. In the first with a lace to prevent breath (White) which represents the spiritual matureness, second with a comb (Black) to represent the physical matureness and in the last with a red apple (red) to represent death or blood for establishing a basis for the death of childhood and the rebirth of as mature woman. Sleeping in a glass coffin also supports this idea of rebirth as a mature woman. Glass coffin represents the being in a woman’s womb. In essence, the witchcraft of queen was nothing but a test. After completing all these tests she becomes a mature woman and young prince appears as a reward. She marries with him. Therefore, completing these tests is essential in human life and story tries to put an emphasis especially to this aspect of life. The real love comes with maturation and with the sacrifice of childhood, it is necessary to get a real identity. And the time of union puts an end to the efforts of retarding powers with the hot iron shoes. The queen dies as dancing for celebrating the rhythmic cycle of life and death. All in all, Snow white is a story that explains the nature of creation, how something new comes into being through the  repetition of same cycle of transformation which is necessary in a traditional society. Cinderella The story of Cinderella is a European folk tale which published in 1812 by Grimm Brothers as the 21st story in their collection of Folk tales known as Children’s and Household Tales. It was also published by Charles Perrault in 1697. The Grimm version of the story is a dark version because it doesn’t include a fairy mother, pumpkin that turns into a carriage, animals that turns into henchmen. In Grimm version there is a Grant tree and talking pigeons. There is forgiveness in Perrault’s story for stepsisters but Grimm version there is a punishment for sisters in which stepsisters are blinded by pigeons. It is a story about an orphaned girl and it focusses on her rising into higher status and redeeming with happiness through hard work, suffer and marriage. Then again, the story gives us the patriarchal perspective of marriage and its importance by showing a poor girl’s struggling for rising into power and changing her status within this hierarchical society. The story can be interpreted from so many perspectives such as sociological, Freudian, feminism. But its theme is simple, young women can be saved by wealthy men. The golden slipper in the story stands there as a symbol of perfectness or perfect life. The story narrates the recovery process of a poor girl’s after an early wound such as loss of her mother. It is a process of person’s redeem and reaching happiness through hard working. Therefor the story represents a persons search for identity and self-esteem. The tale opens with an initial situation and the narration of characters as usual but then suddenly a member of the family leaves the family as it happened in the case of mother. Interdiction also comes in this moment, the mother tells her daughter right before her death, remain pious and good only then our dear god will protect you. After a time later, her ignorant father marries again and evil stepmother and stepsisters appears as villain to start their devilish deeds. She loses her social status and starts to live her life as a maid in the kitchen. Throughout the story she keeps her dignity against to all evil deeds of th e sisters and as a result her donor appears in the form of pigeons and grant tree. The donor offers her dreams to her and also through these it tries to test her. Eventually she passes all her tests by remaining pious and takes care of the wicked  step family. As a result, her foot fits to slippery shoe as an embodiment of perfectness. The story ends with a happy ending. There are different explanations of the story. We can think the slippery as the woman and we can think the foot as the man and their union as the perfect union of man and woman. From this point of view, story is about a woman’s search for sexual fulfillment. We can also look at it with a sociological perspective. Then we can say, it is about a woman’s struggle for rising into power within a patriarchal society through marriage. Prince choses Cinderella because her foots are tiny while sisters not. Her foots are tiny because she is coming from an upper class unlike them, but she loses her social status. In the end of the story, she manages to replace her social status through marriage and redeems with life. It is also a good role model for feminism for showing how young girls and women should not be. Cinderella is a kind, pious and passive girl. She can’t make stand for herself. She is waiting a prince for herself to rescue her from the misery and all of her actions are against to feminist ideas. Modern woman is expected to be more assertive in order to survive in the world but she can’t. Instead of that she is acting more pious by thinking that her dignity will save her. And this situation is giving us a sociological insight about the feudal European society. Enter Sandman Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was a German Romantic writer, critic, musician and composer who opened his eyes to earth in 1776. He was famous with his works of horror and fantasy fiction. He is the author of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, on which famous The Nutcracker ballet based. In 1816, he composed one of his fantastic, horror stories which known as â€Å"The Sandman† and published it in 1817 within short story collection, known as â€Å"The Night Pieces†. The sandman is story about a childhood trauma that in the form of letters. It starts a bizarre and horrifying childhood story about a creature known as Sandman. The first letter is from Nathanael to Lothar. According to Nathanael, The sandman is a creature of night who is visiting unsleeping children and bleeding them with his sands to steal their eyes for feeding his own children on the moon. Scary isn’t it? This story becomes an obsession for him. And one night he plans to spy it and hides himself t o his father’s room. In there he sees Coppelius, a lawyer and one of his father’s associates and he catches him and desires to burn his eyes. But his father  stands against for him. Nathanael becomes ill and his father dies after a while in an experiment while working with Coppelius. The Coppelius disappears. Nathanael becomes a student and meets with an optician known as Coppola and buys a Spy-glass from him. Through this spy-glass he sees Olympia, an automaton created by Spalanzani and Coppola. And he loves this automaton unreasonably. But two men falls into an argument and Coppolla takes the eyes of automaton and throws them to Nathanael. This event reminds Nathanael the argument between his father and Coppelius. And Nathanael falls into a state of sanity. After recovering his mind, he goes directly to Clara to marry with her. While spending time with her, he suddenly sees Coppelius and goes insane. He tries to kill clara, but her brother saves him. Unfortunately he jumps off from the tower and dies. The uncanny is a concept in human psychology that means something extraordinary familiar and not familiar at the same time. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who wrote about this concept in his The Uncanny and published it in 1919. He tried to analyze this concept by using Hoffmann’s The Sandman because of its extraordinary content. According the Freud, the uncanny is the mar k of the returning repressed memory. For Freud, the reason of the uncanny in this story is the fear of losing eyes. He associates the idea of losing eyes with the fear of castration and he suggests the story of Oedipus as his example. He argued that the most appropriate punishment of Oedipus’ crimes was the castration yet this showed on the stage in the form of losing eyes. Coppelius is Nathanael’s hatred against of his father for his castration and he interferes his all relationships which he both loves and hates. After this bad experience, he represses all his bad memories and forgets what happened in the past. With the reanimation of first shocking scene (losing of one’s eyes) in the second scene, he once again remembers everything but also loses his mind. This is the uncanny of the story which reminds his past. Coppola and Spalanzini are nothing but the representation of his father’s sides and Olympia which they made together is the personification of Nathaniel’s feminine attitude towards his father in his infancy. It is his doppelganger. That is why Nathaniel confronts Olympia as a person and loves it with a narcissistic kind of senseless love. It is a natural situation which he created after his castration because of being unable to love. As a result, he realizes this truth with the reappearance of Coppelius  once again while looking through the spy-glass. Looking through the glass is a kind of rationalization process. Nathaniel tries to explain all these events with the imagination until his usage of glass. And in each time when he use it, he loses his mind because of confronting with the sober truth.

Beh 225 Assignment Diagnosis and Treatment Essay Example for Free

Beh 225 Assignment Diagnosis and Treatment Essay Assignment: Diagnosis and Treatment Beh 225 July 10, 2011 Assignment: Diagnosis and Treatment According to the American Psychiatric Association, there is a fifteen percent prevalence of mental disorders in the United States. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive, is a mental disorder. Symptoms of bipolar disorder include extreme highs and extreme lows with periods of normal mood in between. Manic symptoms are being extremely active, talkative, distractible, unlimited hopes with no follow through, aggression, hostility, and violence. Depressive symptoms are feeling overwhelmed and worthless, loss of interest, insomnia, loss of concentration, and suicidal thoughts. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. Roughly, 29,000 people commit suicide each year. Bipolar Disorder can create marital and occupational problems as well as financial dismay. Mood disorders are thought to be caused by nature and nurture. Biological factors that may lead to a bipolar episode are chemical imbalances in the brain, hormonal imbalances, and inherited traits. Physiological factors that may lead to a bipolar episode include maladaptive cognitive distortions. The text defines this as â€Å"an illogical and maladaptive response to early negative life events that leads to feelings of incompetence and worthlessness that are reactivated whenever a new situation arises that resembles the original events. † (Morris and Maisto,2005) Studies suggest that women are two to three times more likely to have a mood disorder than men. Being diagnosed with bipolar disorder is a lifelong and reoccurring illness. There are different types of bipolar disorder. The symptoms of bipolar I are severe mood swings from manic to depressive that lasts at least seven days. Bipolar II occurs when mood swings are less manic, or hypomania, and shift back to depressive. When one’s symptoms are not determined to be either of these the disorder is called bipolar disorder not otherwise specified. These symptoms are not as fierce as the I and II characterization. Cyclothymiacs is a mild form of bipolar disorder. These milder forms of symptoms continue to shift over the course of two or more years. When a person has four or more episodes a year they are referred to as a rapid cycler. Although the onset of this disorder usually occurs in the twenties and thirties some children are also diagnosed. Children are more likely to be diagnosed early if they have two parents with the disorder. The child’s odds increase up to seventy-five percent in some cases. Many bipolar patients self medicate with drugs and alcohol. This action can trigger or prolong the symptoms. Bipolar disorder patients are at a higher risk for many diseases. These diseases include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, migraines, and thyroid disease. When one suspects they have bipolar disorder, a doctor needs to be consulted. The doctor will perform a physical examination, interview the patient, and order testing. There is no test for bipolar disorder but these tests will rule out other ailments. After reviewing all tests and lab reports a mental health evaluation will be preformed. Family history will be taken as well as interviewing the family of said patient. Bipolar patients tend to seek help in the depressive state rather than the manic state. This disorder is treated with medications and psychotherapies. Over the course of treatment, several medicines may be tested. The first choice of treatment is a mood stabilizer. The FDA approved lithium in the 70’s for treatment of mania. In 1995, the FDA in treating mania approved depakote. Recently, the FDA in treating bipolar disorder approved an anticonvulsive medication. Anti convulsive medicines are lamictal, neurontin, topomax, and trileptal. Atypical antipsychotic, or second generation, medicines are also used occasionally. These medicines are zyprexa, abilify, seroquel, risperdal, and geodon. These medications relieve sudden and severe mania symptoms. Anti depressants are used in treating the depressive side of bipolar disorder. Prozac, paxil, Zoloft, and wellbutrin are all examples of anti depressants. Mild side effects to medicines include headache, rashes, and heartburn. These side effects usually go away as one get used to taking the medicine. Serious side effects can occur, as with any medicine, such as tardive dyskinesia. This is uncontrollable muscle movement, usually around the mouth, that needs to be discussed with a doctor. In addition to medication, psychotherapy is recommended. These therapies include cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and social rhythm therapy.

Challenges in Countering Terrorism

Challenges in Countering Terrorism â€Å"What are the roles and the limitations of US intelligence community in countering terrorist threats? â€Å" Maitha Yousif Mohammed EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Knowledge investigation tries to give vital data in a convenient way to help policymakers from the president on down settle on better choices. The data and judgments must be related to what policymakers need to know however not skewed to bolster a specific strategy result. In actuality, this is a greater amount of a workmanship than a science, particularly on the grounds that the way and method for most successfully illuminating the president and other senior policymakers changes with the inclinations and working style of every new organization. The Intelligence Community (IC) is a gathering of Executive Branch offices and associations that work independently and together to take part in knowledge exercises that are important for the behavior of remote relations and the security of the national security of the United States. The IC is driven by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), who is the pioneer of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and whose commitment is to arrange the other 16 IC parts considering information clients necessities. INTRODUCTION THE EXPIRATION OF THE COLD WAR creates it consistent and critical to dissect the central segments of U.S. national security plan. It will be surprising if the associations, strategies, and process that by and large served the country well in the midst of the Cold War ensured to fix similarly in an enormously changed worldwide setting. On occasion, exciting modification in what the United States prepares and how it does it strength be named for; in others, significantly all the additional unassuming alteration could well do. Despite once no alteration is obliged or charming, it will be imperative to exhibit this to an open and Congress commonly eager to extra resources committed to national security or use every one of them the all the more effectively and capably. The Council on Foreign Relations Task Force happening the Future of U.S. Learning stayed made in mid-1995 with the inspiration driving studying the prerequisite for understanding in the post-Cold War world then in what way the U.S. government must go about meeting it. All Task Force people comprehended that this objective was a moving target given the movements now in advance all through the knowledge aggregate, the game plan of another Director of Central Intelligence, the vicinity of the Aspin-Brown Commission on the Parts and Competences of the United States Intellect Community, and order being recruited by the House and Senate boards depended with oversight. The goal of the Task Force is to add to those tries and accomplish a extra taught open reasonable talk over the destiny of U.S. learning. Mission Our essential mission is to gather and pass on the fundamental data the president and individuals from the policymaking, law authorization, and military groups require to execute their delegated obligations Overview of the Intelligence Community The U.S. Knowledge Community Consist of 17 organizations is a huge, complex structure, sorted out and worked in accordance with a large number of laws, official requests, arrangements, and mandates. Parts of its association and operation are examined in point of interest inside the group of this report. The motivation behind the accompanying examination is to give a generally, really distorted, photograph of the Community and how it functions, and to serve as a basis for those new to the subject. The fundamental piece of knowledge is not difficult to get it. It is to give propitious, material information to U.S. policymakers, chiefs, and warfighters. Completing this mission incorporates tasking, social affair, changing, exploring, and scattering knowledge, for the most part implied as the information cycle. The Role of Intelligence The parts and missions of knowledge are not static. They are influenced by changes on the planet, in innovation, and in the Governments requirements. Every President must choose where knowledge organizations ought to think their endeavors. The Commission sees four utilitarian parts for knowledge offices gathering, investigation, incognito activity, and counterintelligence-and also various missions regarding giving substantive backing to specific administrative capacities. There are complexities in each of the utilitarian parts, however secret activity (i.e., operations to impact conditions in different nations without the inclusion of the United States being recognized or obvious) remains the most disputable. The Commission presumes that an ability to lead clandestine activities ought to be kept up to furnish the President with a choice shy of military activity when discretion alone cant carry out the employment. Backing to U.S. strategy, military operations and protection arranging ought to keep on constituting the primary missions of the Intelligence Community. Countering illegal exercises abroad which undermine U.S. intrigues, including terrorism, opiates trafficking, expansion of weapons of mass pulverization, and worldwide composed wrongdoing are additionally progressively critical missions. The increment in the accessibility of openly accessible data may allow some lessening in the present level of push to dissect the economies of different nations. The Commission emphatically underpins the present arrangement precluding insight offices from taking part in mechanical secret activities, i.e., utilizing furtive intends to get data from remote business firms for the advantage of a U.S. contender. It is suitable, on the other hand, for insight organizations to answer to perceptive authorities at the Departments of State and/or Commerce confirmation of unreasonable exchange works on being embraced by or with the learning of different governments to the drawback of U.S. firms. Backing to law requirement and administrative organizations is a real mission however asks for such bolster must be thoroughly assessed to guarantee that insight offices have the capacity to make a helpful commitment. The Commission likewise sees the procurement of backing to U.S. offices concerned with natural and wellbeing issues outside the United States as a true blue, though restricted, mission. Limitations Requirements in the knowledge bunchs (IC) load of assertion staff destroy the aptitude to center the extent to which the eight nonmilitary faculty IC segments -the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Office Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and six fragments inside the Sections of Energy, Homeland Security, , State, Justice and the Treasury- -usage these staff. The IC Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) behaviors a yearly load of focus agreement workforce that fuses info on the number and costs of these staff. Regardless, GAO perceived different requirements in the stock that through and through most extreme the likeness, precision, and reliability of the info reported by the consistent resident IC parts all in all. Foreign Intelligence on Terrorist Threats The unfathomable and complex understanding gathering all collect information. Associations diversely have limits for gathering, examination, or both. Info is directed to the National Counterterrorism Center, which reports to the DNI. Sure counter-understanding workplaces to secure military forces are by and large assembled limits named Counter intelligence Force Protection Source Operations (CFSO). These are the report to military levels of initiative for straight support, yet sort out unfriendly doings through the NCS. Each noteworthy military organization has a counter-information limit: U.S. Outfitted drive Counter Intelligence, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI),and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), once before (NIS). NCIS serves the US Marine Corps. NOTE: The U.S. Marine Corps furthermore has Counterintelligence/Tactical HUMINT assets (CI/HUMINT). There is in like manner a sweeping Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA). Internal Security and Police Private counter-knowledge are fundamentally below Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a law prerequisite organization. The FBI and CIA together work the National Counterterrorism Center, despite the way that the CIA is not allowable to do field operations inside the US. The clue office for violence law necessity is the FBI, despite the way that different components of the Section of Homeland Security may give reinforce. There is the test of what affiliations, laws, and teachings are noteworthy to security against an extensive variety of violence in ones own specific country. Development organizations, once in the past below the United States Migration and Naturalization Service (INS) traded from the Department of Justice to the Department of Homeland Security in March 2003. The association of development organizations, counting enduring home, naturalization, shelter, and distinctive limits transformed into the commitment of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), existed only for a brief time before altering to its available designation, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The analytical and approval limits (numbering examinations, removing, and knowledge) were united by U.S. Conventions operators, the Federal Protective Service, then the Federal Air Marshal Service, to make U.S. Movement and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The periphery components of the INS, which fused the Border Patrol close by INS Inspectors, were solidified with U.S. Customs Inspectors into the as of late made U.S. Conventions and Border Protection (CBP). Conclusion Counter terrorism is a often as possible synonymous with state wrongdoing. This state wrongdoing is quite much greater number of genuine then the brutality that is supposedly terrorism being countered. Counter terrorism is likewise often counter gainful in term of its expressed point of anticipation on the grounds that is support the kind of viciousness by non-state performs that draws in the mark terrorism smugness over state roughness is not defended by historical backdrop of counter terrorism. State, through the military police and knowledge and security administrations have gigantic ability to constrain and dispense roughness. It is not amazing than that state wrongdoings masked as counter terrorism are in charge of human enduring on a more prominent scale then the savagery by non-state performing artists that is named terrorism

Children At Work :: Essays Papers

Children At Work Autonomy, Responsibility and Child Labor-Introduction and Conclusion Child labor has recently become a very touchy subject throughout the world. Well known corporations and clothing and sporting goods distributors that have for decades been taking advantage of cheap labor in third world countries are seeing their names and images tarnished by allegations of child labor practices and obscene working conditions. Child labor is nothing new to the world. It has been a part of almost every society in recorded history. From ancient times, children have been a part of the economic survival of their families, particularly in industries like the farming and crafting industries. What remains confusing is the exact definition that separates child labor from just children doing work. Child labor is meant to define unfair, abusive work whereas work is an important part of the sculpting of most children. There is no question in society that some forms of labor are acceptable and some are not. Children may work without being abused and in many countries and even some American cultures, it is both necessary and integral that children perform some laborious duties. The line between work and child labor is most commonly drawn where normal tasks are replaced with exploitative tasks and children are expected to do things that go well beyond the borders of inhumane. An example of this overstepping the boundaries is the following text taken from an actual court case in 1833 following an investigation into the practice of child labor during the British industrial revolution: "Have you ever been employed in a factory? --Yes" "At what age did you first go to work in one? --Eight" "How long did you continue in the occupation? --Four years" "Will you state the hours of labour at the period when you first went to the factory, in ordinary times? --From 6 in the morning to 8 at night." "Fourteen hours? --yes" "With what intervals for refreshment and rest? -- An hour at noon." "When Trade was brisk what were your hours?--From 5 in the morning to 9 in the evening" "Sixteen hours? --Yes" "With what intervals at dinner? --An hour" "During those long hours of labor could you be punctual, how did you awake?-- I seldom did awake spontaneously; I was most generally awoke or lifted out of bed, sometimes asleep, by my parents.

Herbal Medicine Essay -- essays research papers

Herbal medicine is the extraction of herbs or plants which have a medicinal value in treating illnesses and diseases (Brody 1). A herb is known as a plant that does not have a woody stem and usually dies back at the end of each growing season. It is also known as a "natural" drug because they are derived from nature. This is unlike pharmaceutical drugs, which are synthesized from chemicals. Herbal medicine dates back a very long time. More than 4,000 years ago, the Chinese emperor Qien Nong put a book together, or a herbal, of different medicinal plants (O’ Sullivan 2). It contained descriptions of more than 300 plants. Some of these plants are still used today. The Sumerians, at the same time recorded prescriptions on clay tablets. Also, the Egyptians recorded their information regarding medicine on rolls of papyrus. A very famous papyrus is the Ebers Papyrus, which includes specific information on how to use different plants (Brody 1). The Greeks and Romans learned about herbal medicine from these early civilizations. They also recorded them in books. We know of these works because they are translated into Arabic. Monks in Europe studied and grew plants for medicinal use. They translated the Arabic and that helped them with the plants. The first drugstores were in Baghdad (which is present day Iraq) in the 9th century (Smith 1). In the 13th century, major trade of herbs and spices occurred in London. Since there were no standards, bad quality herbs and wrong substitutes were often sold. Carolus Linneaus introduced the binomial system of plant nomenclature in 1753 (O’Sullivan 1). This helped identify plants scientifically, which helped to avoid mistakes between different plants. Many drugs commonly used today are of herbal origin. About one-quarter of the prescription drugs distributed by pharmacies in the United States contain at least one ingredient derived from plant material. Today, everyone from health care consumers to providers are learning about natural options to help with being healthy. â€Å"Herbalists, or individuals who use herbal remedies to alleviate pain, are on the rise in the United States† (Tremmel 1). In 1995, a survey was taken with about 600 physicians across the count... ...umerous kinds of herbal medicines available today. The best way of getting you money’s worth is by asking for the most popular one. This isn’t the only step, but also ask for any clinical trials, consult your doctor, and/or the company of the product. This way you can get the most effective product and be safe at the same time. I think that this new era of using natural herbal medicine is great and I support it greatly. Trying something new for a change is good. Even though some kinds of herbal medicine can produce harmful effects, many of the others are good. The only problem I see is that the Food and Drug Administration didn’t make it a requirement for the makers to submit studies on the drugs. Therefore, maybe sellers can make specific claims about preventing a disease even though it isn’t true. So if the FDA starts testing the medicines and helps separate the good from the bad then everything will be great. Thus, herbal medicine is medicine made from different parts of plants. They have become very popular in modern times. Some of these herbal medicines can be helpful while others can be harmful.

Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - The Necessary Madness of

The Necessary Madness of Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a complex play, filled with layers of meaning. These are often revealed through the madness of the characters and the theme of madness throughout the play. Although Hamlet and Ophelia are the only characters thought to be so afflicted, the reactions of other characters to this madness mirrors their own preoccupations.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When one refers to madness in Hamlet, most would think of Hamlet's madness, or at least that that he was pretending to possess. Although Ophelia does go insane and ultimately commits suicide, the central lunacy of the play revolves around Hamlet himself. Hamlet's plan to act mad is completely unexplained. It is safe to assume that he is pretending to be mad so he can get away with saying and doing things that would not ordinarily be tolerated. Also, if people think that he was crazy, they would not pay any attention to him in his plot to kill Claudius and avenge his father's death. This plan backfires though, because his family and friends bend over backwards to find the cause of his madness.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every main character in Hamlet seems to have their own conjectures as to why Hamlet is acting so out of character. One obvious reason is the mourning of his father's death. In addition to this, though, they all have personal ideas of varying merit. Claudius thinks that Hamlet has some kind of secret cause for the sudden change in his personality. Gertrude believes that along with being upset about the death of his father, Hamlet is tormented by the fact that she married Claudius. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe that he is hurt, for his ambitions have been squashed. Not only does his uncle... ...thers. Ophelia's insanity is very different from Hamlet's and quite straightforward. She does not need to ponder very hard before she decidessuicide is a much better option than life has ever been.      The madness in Hamlet sets up nearly all of the play. The main character, Hamlet, is believed to be crazy by all, except Horatio who knows Hamlet's reasoning behind the insanity. All of the characters decide on their own guesses as to what is plaguing Hamlet. This is interesting because all of their hypotheses are based on the things that most worried them.    Sources Pennington, Michael. "Madness as the Only Safe Haven." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of "Hamlet": A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Norton Critical Ed. New York: Norton. 1992.   

Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 11

The next few hours were the worst of Phil's life. First and foremost was his mother. As soon as shewalked in, Phil's priorities changed from wanting herto comfort him to wanting to comfort her. And ofcourse there wasn't any comfort. All he could do was hold on to her. It's too cruel, he thought dimly. There ought to be a way to tell her. But she would never believe it, andif she did, she'd be in danger,too†¦. Eventually the paramedics did come, but only afterDr. Franklin had arrived. â€Å"I called him,† James said to Phil during one ofthe interludes when Phil's mom was crying on Cliff. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"To keep things simple. In this state, doctors can issue a death certificate if they've seen you withinthe last twenty days and they know the cause ofdeath. We don't want any hospitals or coroners.† Phil shook his head. â€Å"Why? What's your problemwith hospitals?† â€Å"My problem,† James said in a clipped, distinctvoice. â€Å"is that in hospitals they do autopsies.† Phil froze. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. â€Å"And in funeral homes they do embalming. Whichis why I need to be around when they come to pick up the body. I need to influence their minds not toembalm her, or sew her lips shut, or-â€Å" Phil bolted for the bathroom and was sick. Hehated James again. But nobody took Poppy to the hospital; and Dr.Franklin didn't mention an autopsy. He just heldPhil's mother's hand and spoke quietly about how these things could happen suddenly, and how at leastPoppy had been spared any pain. â€Å"But she was so much better today,† Phil's motherwhispered through tears. â€Å"Oh, my baby, my baby.She'd been getting worse, but today she was better. â€Å" â€Å"It happens like that sometimes,† Dr. Franklinsaid. â€Å"It's almost as if they rally for a last burst of life.† â€Å"But I wasn'ttherefor her,† Phil's mom said, andnow there weren't any tears, just the terrible gratingsound of guilt. â€Å"She was alone when she died.† Phil said, â€Å"She was asleep. She just went to sleepand never woke up. If you look at her, you can seehow peaceful it was.† He kept saying things like that, and so did Cliff andso did the doctor, and eventually the paramedicswent away. And sometime after that, while hismother was sitting on Poppy's bed and stroking herhair, the people from the mortuary came. â€Å"Just give me a few minutes,† Phil's mother said, dry-eyed and pale. â€Å"I need a few minutes alonewith her.† The mortuary men sat awkwardly in the family room, and James stared at them. Phil knew what wasgoing on. James was fixing in their minds the factthat there was to be no embalming. â€Å"Religious reasons, is that it?† one of the men saidto Cliff, breaking a long silence. Cliff stared at him, eyebrows coming together.†What are you talking about?† The man nodded. â€Å"I understand. It's no problem.† Phil understood, too. Whatever the man was hearing, it wasn't what Cliff was saying. â€Å"The only thing is, you'll want to have the viewingright away,† the other man said to Cliff. â€Å"Or else a closed casket.† â€Å"Yes, it was unexpected,† Cliff said, his facestraightening out. â€Å"It's been a very short illness.† So nowhewasn't hearing what the men were saying. Phil looked at James and saw sweat trickling down his face. Clearly it was a struggle to controlthree minds at once. At last Cliff went in and got Phil's mother. He ledher to the master bedroom to keep her from seeing what happened next. What happened was that the two men went into- Poppy's room with a body bag and a gurney. Whenthey came out, there was a small, delicate hump in the bag. Phil felt himself losing rationality again. He wantedto knock things down. He wanted to run a marathonto get away. Instead, his knees started to buckle and his visiongrayed out. Hard arms held him up, led him to a chair. â€Å"Hangon,† James said. â€Å"Just a few more minutes. It's al most over.† Right then Phil could almost forgive him for being a bloodsucking monster. It was very late that night when everyone finallywent to bed. To bed, not to sleep. Phil was one solid ache of misery from his throat down to his feet, andhe lay awake with the light on until the sun came up. The funeral home was like a Victorian mansion,and the room Poppy was in was filled with flowersand people. Poppy herself was in a white casket with gold fittings, and from far away she looked as if shewere sleeping. Phil didn't like to look at her. He looked insteadat the visitors who kept coming in and filling theviewing room and the dozens of wooden pews. He'd never realized how many people loved Poppy. â€Å"She was so full of life,† her English teacher said. â€Å"I can't believe she's gone,† a guy from Phil's football team said. â€Å"I'll never forget her,† one of her friends said,crying. Phil wore a dark suit and stood with his motherand Cliff. It was like a receiving line for a wedding.His mother kept saying, â€Å"Thank you for coming,†and hugging people. The people went over and touched the casket gently and cried. And in the process of greeting so many mourners,something strange happened. Phil got drawn in. Thereality of Poppy's death was so real that all the vampire stuff began to seem like a dream. Bit by bit, hestarted to believe the story he was acting out. After all, everybody else was so sure. Poppy hadgotten cancer, and now she was dead. Vampires were just superstition. James didn't come to the viewing.- Poppy was dreaming. She was walking by the ocean with James. It waswarm and she could smell salt and her feet were wetand sandy. She was wearing a new bathing suit, thekind that changes color when it gets wet. She hoped James would notice the suit, but he didn't say anything about it. Then she realized he was wearing a mask. That was strange, because he was going to get avery weirdtan with most of his face covered up. â€Å"Shouldn't you take that off?† she said, thinkinghe might need help. â€Å"I wear it for my health,† James said-only itwasn't James's voice. Poppy was shocked. She reached out and pulledthe mask away. It wasn't James. It was a boy with ash blond hair,even lighter than Phil's. Why hadn't she noticed hishair earlier? His eyes were green-and then they were blue. â€Å"Who are you?† Poppy demanded. She was afraid. â€Å"That would be telling.† He smiled. His eyes wereviolet. Then he lifted his hand, and she saw that hewas holding a poppy. At least, it was shaped like apoppy, but it was black. He caressed hercheek withthe flower. â€Å"Just remember,† hesaid, still smiling whimsically.†Bad magic happens.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Bad magic happens,† he said and turned andwalked away. She found herself holding the poppy.He didn't ‘leave any footprints in the sand. Poppy was alone and the ocean was roaring. Clouds were gathering overhead. She wanted towake up now, but she couldn't, and she was aloneand scared. She dropped the flower as anguish surged through her. â€Å"James!† Phil sat up in bed, heart pounding. God, what had that been? Something like ashout in Poppy's voice. I'm hallucinating. Which wasn't surprising. It was Monday, the dayof Poppy's funeral. In-Phil glanced at the clockabout four hours he had to be at the church. Nowonder he was dreaming about her. But she had sounded so scared†¦. Phil put the thought out of his mind. It wasn'teven hard. He'd convinced himself that Poppy wasdead, and dead people didn't shout. At the funeral, though, Phil got a shock. His fatherwas there. He was even wearing something resembling a suit, although the jacket didn't match thetrousers and his tie was askew. â€Å"I came as soon as I heard†¦.† â€Å"Well, wherewere you?† Phil's mother said, thefine lines of strain showing around her eyes, the way they always did when she had to deal with Phil's father. â€Å"Backpacking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Nexttime, I swear, I'll leave an address. I'll check my messages†¦.He began to cry. Phil's mom didn't sayanything else. She just reached for him, and Phil'sheart twisted at the way they clung to each other. He knew his dad was irresponsible and hopelesslybehind in child support and flaky and a failure. But nobody had ever loved Poppy more. Right then, Philcouldn't disapprove of him, not even with Cliff standing there for comparison. The shock came when his dad turned to Phil beforethe service. â€Å"You know, she came to me last night,† he said in a low voice. â€Å"Her spirit, I mean. She visited me.† Phil looked at him. This was the kind of weird statement that had brought on the divorce. His fatherhad always talked about peculiar dreams and seeingthings that weren't there. Not to mention collecting articles about astrology, numerology, and UFOs. â€Å"I didn't see her, but I heard her calling. I just wishshe hadn't sounded so frightened. Don't tell yourmother, but I got the feeling she's not at rest.† Heput his hands over his face. Phil felt every hair on the back of his neck standup. But the spooky feeling was drowned almost immediately in the sheer grief of the funeral. In hearingthings like â€Å"Poppy will live on forever in our heartsand memories.† A silver hearse led the way to ForestPark cemetery, and everyone stood in the June sunshine as the minister said some last words overPoppy's casket. By the time Phil had to put a rose on the casket, he was shaking. It was a terrible time. Two of Poppy's girlfriendscollapsed in near-hysterical sobs. Phillip's motherdoubled over and had to be led away from the casket.There was no time to think-then or at the potluckat Phil's house afterward. But it was at the house that Phil's two worlds collided. In the middle of all the milling confusion, hesaw James. He didn't know what to do. James didn't fit intowhat was going on here. Phil had half a mind togo over and tell him to get out, that the sick jokewas over. Before he could do anything, James walked up and said under his breath, â€Å"Be ready at eleven o'clock tonight.† Phil was jolted. â€Å"For what?† â€Å"Just be ready, okay? And have some of Poppy'sclothes with you. Whatever won't be missed.† Phil didn't say anything, and James gave him an exasperated sideways look. â€Å"We have to get her out,stupid. Or did you wantto leave her there?† Crash. That was the sound of worlds colliding. For a moment Phil was spinning in space with his feeton neither one. Then with the normal world in shards around him, he leaned against a wall and whispered, â€Å"I can't. Ican't do it. You're crazy.† â€Å"You're the one who's crazy. You're acting like itnever happened. And you have to help, because I can't do it alone. She's going to be disoriented at first, like a sleepwalker. She'llneed you.† That galvanized Phil. He jerked to stand up straightand whispered, â€Å"Did you hear her last night?† James looked away. â€Å"She wasn't awake. She was just dreaming.† â€Å"How could we hear her from so far away? Evenmy dadheard it. Listen.† He grabbed James by thelapel of his jacket. â€Å"Are you sure she's okay?† â€Å"A minute ago you were convinced she was dead and gone. Now you want guarantees that she's fine. Well, I can't give you any.† He stared Phil down with eyes as cold as gray ice. â€Å"I've never done this before, all right? I'm just going by the book. And there are always things that can go wrong.But,†he said terselywhen Phil opened his mouth, â€Å"the one thing I doknow is that if we leave her where she is, she's goingto have a very unpleasant awakening. Get it?† Phil's hand unclenched slowly and he let go of thejacket. â€Å"Yeah. I'm sorry. I just can't believe any ofthis.† He looked up to see that James's expressionhad softened slightly. â€Å"But if she was yelling last night, then she was alive then, right?† â€Å"And strong,† James said. â€Å"I've never known a stronger telepath. She's really going to be something.† Phil tried not to picture what. Of course, Jameswas a vampire, and he looked perfectly normalmost of the time. But Phil's mind kept throwing outpictures of Poppy as a Hollywood monster. Red eyes,chalky skin, and dripping teeth. If she came out like that, he'd try to love her. Butpart of him might want to get a stake. Forest Park cemetery was completely.different at night. The darkness seemed very thick. There was a sign on the iron gate that said, â€Å"No visitors after sunset,† but the gate itself was open. I don't want to be here, Phil thought. James drove down the single lane road that curvedaround the cemetery and parked underneath a hugeand ancient gingko tree. â€Å"What if somebody sees us? Don't they have aguard or something?† â€Å"They have a night watchman. He's asleep. I tookcare of it before I picked you up.† James got out andbegan unloading an amazing amount of equipmentfrom the backseat of the Integra. Two heavy duty flashlights. A crowbar. Some old boards. A couple of tarps. And two brand-new shovels. â€Å"Help me carry this stuff.† â€Å"What's it allfor?†But Phil helped. Gravelcrunched under his feet as he followed James on oneof the little winding paths. They went up some weathered wooden stairs and down the other sideand then they were in Toyland. That was what somebody at the funeral had calledit. Phil had overheard two business friends of Cliff'stalking about it. It was a section of the cemetery where mostly kids were buried. You could tell without even looking at the headstones because therewere teddy bears and things on the graves. Poppy's grave was right on the edge of Toyland. Itdidn't have a headstone yet, of course. There was only a green plastic marker. James dumped his armload on the grass and thenknelt to examine the ground with a flashlight. Phil stood silently, looking around the cemetery.He was still scared, partly with the normal fear that they'd get caught before they got finished, and partlywith the supernatural fear that they wouldn't.Theonly sounds were crickets and distant traffic. Treebranches and bushes moved gently in the wind. â€Å"Okay,† James said. â€Å"First we've got to peel this sod off.† â€Å"Huh?† Phil hadn't even thought about why therewas already grass on the new grave. But of course itwas sod. James had found the edge of one strip and was rolling it up like a carpet. Phil found another edge. The strips were about sixfeet long by one and a half feet wide. They wereheavy, but it wasn't too hard to roll them up and off the foot of the grave. â€Å"Leave 'em there. We've got to put them on againafterward,† James grunted. â€Å"We don't want it to lookas if this place has been disturbed.† A light went on for Phil.†That'swhy the tarpsand stuff.† â€Å"Yeah. A little mess won't be suspicious. But if weleave dirt scattered everywhere, somebody's going towonder.† James laid the boards around the perimeterof the grave, then spread the tarps on either side.Phil helped him straighten them. What was left where the sod had been was fresh,loamy soil. Phil positioned aflashlight and picked upa shovel. I don't believe I'm doing this, he thought. But he was doing it. And as long as all he thoughtabout was the physical work, the job of digging a hole in the ground, he was okay. He concentrated on that and stepped on the shovel. It went straight into the dirt, with no resistance. It was easy to spade up one shovelful of dirt and drop it onto the tarp. But by about the thirtieth shovelful,he was getting tired. â€Å"This is insane. We need a backhoe,† he said, wiping his forehead. â€Å"You can rest if you want,† James said coolly. Phil understood. James was the backhoe. He wasstronger than anyone Phil had ever seen. He pitchedup shovelful after shovelful of dirt without even straining. He made it look like fun. â€Å"Whydon't we have you on any. of the teams atschool?† Phil said, leaning heavily on his shovel. â€Å"I prefer individual sports. Like wrestling,† Jamessaid and grinned, just for a moment, up at Phil. It was the kind of locker-room remark that couldn't be misunderstood from one guy to another. He meantwrestling with, for instance, Jacklyn and Michaela. And, just at that particular moment, Phil couldn't help grinning back. He couldn't summon up anyrighteous disapproval. Even with James, it took a long time to dig thehole. It was wider than Phil would have thought necessary. When his shovel finallychunkedon somethingsolid, he found out why. â€Å"It's the vault,† James said. â€Å"Whatvault?† â€Å"The burial vault. They put the coffin inside it so it doesn't get crushed if the ground collapses. Get outand hand me the crowbar.† Phil climbed out of the hole and gave him thecrowbar. He could see the vault now. It was made ofunfinished concrete and he guessed that it was just a rectangular box with a lid. James was prying thelid off with the crowbar. â€Å"There,† James said, with an explosive grunt as he lifted the lid and slid it, by degrees, behind the concrete box. That was why the hole was so wide, toaccommodate the lid on one side and James on theother. And now, looking straight down into the hole, Philcould see the casket. A huge spray of slightly crushedyellow roses was on top. James was breathing hard, but Phil didn't think itwas with exertion. His own lungs felt as if they werebeing squeezed flat, and his heart was thudding hardenough to shake his body. â€Å"Oh, God,† he said quietly and with no particular emphasis. James looked up. â€Å"Yeah. This is it.† He pushed theroses down toward the foot of the casket. Then, inwhat seemed like slow motion to Phillip, he began unfastening latches on the casket's side. When they were unfastened, he paused for just aninstant, both hands flat on the smooth surface of thecasket. Then he lifted the upper panel, and Phillip could see what was inside.