Voltaires Use Of Distortion - 1620 Words

Simi Singh Ms. Russell Humor and Satire (H) Sept. 20, 2017 Candide Essay Prompt: In questioning the value of literary realism, Flannery O Connor writes: I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe that it is the only way to make people see. Following your study of Candide, write an essay in which you examine Voltaire’s use of distortion; how is he using it and to what extent does he succeed in â€Å"mak[ing] people see†? In other words, how did Voltaire incorporate distortion in order to make his readers see or think about the world differently? Provide a focused claim with well-chosen textual evidence in support of your analysis. Voltaire uses the literary device of distortion throughout his†¦show more content†¦Candide s hyperbolic optimism is Voltaire’s way of jeering at the German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz. In the Leibniz’s theodicy (1710) he wrote that the world must be â€Å"the best of all possible Worlds† which is clearly where Pangloss’ statement comes from. Another dig is at John Locke who believed that the human brain is like a blank tablet, or tabularasa, on which the natural world produces the individual s understanding and beliefs. By having Candide be an example of a student who has no ideas of his own and acts like a tabularasa, Voltaire mocks the famous physician and member of the Royal Society. Another main character whose name conveys a multi-faceted is Cunegonde. Cunegonde’s name is from a German derivation of the word kuni which means family and Gund which means war. There were many famous German women with her name, but due to the interesting history of the German empress also known as Cunegunda, it is probable that the character’s name is an allusion to her. She married Duke Henry IV of Bavaria, who was the future Emperor Henry II. There are many interesting facts about her which include the fact that since their marriage was childless, a legend arose that she and the emperor had vowed perpetual virginity. Furthermore, combined with the fact that her name is a combination of two french words with Latin roots that have to do with genitalia the name becomes a type of pun, which is aShow MoreRelated A Comparison of a Hobbsian World and the World of Candide2234 Words   |  9 Pagesman is innately selfish and ambitious while Voltaires characters are not.   Perhaps some characters in Candide are driven through their misfortunes as a result of their avarice; however, this foible can not be ascribed as innately human. Instead, avarice, in the world of Candide, arises as a byproduct of the fallibility of man-made institutions (that is, religious and educational), which are the primary targets of Voltaires satire. Thus, the world of Candide, althoughRead MoreImpact of Science on Society38421 Words   |  154 Pagesmale, standing more or less upright, talking, and doing all the other things you’ve already recognized. What accomplishes that recognition job for you is your cognitive model. This is the construct, both experiential and genetic in origin, that you use to check up on all the separate bits of me and everything else you experience, mentally and physically, for identification purposes. You are using a recognition system made up of dedicated cells, each one firing in reaction to the one highly specificRead MoreImpact of Science on Society38427 Words   |  154 Pagesmale, standing more or less upright, talking, and doing all the other things you’ve already recognized. What accomplishes that recognition job for you is your cognitive model. This is the construct, both experiential and genetic in origin, that you use to check up on all the separate bits of me and everything else you experience, mentally and physically, for identification purposes. You are using a recognition system made up of dedicated cells, each one firing in reaction to the one highly specific

Early Judaism Messianic Claimants/Messianic Expectations...

A messiah is a rather ambiguous term. It mainly means an anointed one; usually a messiah is considered to be a son of David and would reestablish Israel to what it once was. Because messiahs are anointed ones they would typically be Jewish priests, prophets and kings. However, a Messiah can also be a warrior, or a man of peace. (CITE) A messiah was to reestablish unity among the Jewish people and navigate through the hardships and oppression that they went through during early Judaism and bring a sense of freedom and relief. An array of messianic claimants came forth during the two peaks of Jewish rebellion, the death of King Herod the Great and the first Jewish war against the Romans. The first search for a messiah started in the sixth†¦show more content†¦At this point the Jews believed a messiah would restore their unity and take away the Roman state of oppression. Among the different sects, each one had a different messianic expectation or none at all, the aristocratic Sadducees held no messianic expectations because they worried that a messianic claimant would instigate friction with the Romans, therefor ridding the Sadducees of their lifestyle. The Essenes predicted the coming of two messiahs, a priestly messiah and a Davidic King messiah. Many of the leaders that appeared as messianic claimants came forth with numerous and creative solutions to free the Jewish people from their social, political, and religious suffering. While some of these leaders revolted for an immediate change, others rebelled just to fulfill their given or claimed messianic role. Flavius Josephus is the main source of information for messianic claimants, although he wrote to defend Judaism, he is somewhat bias as a source of information because he is closer tied to Romans and Hellenization than he is Judaism. Josephus was born into a Sadducee family with close aristocratic roots and it is noted that he was extremely

Cocaine and New Melting Point free essay sample

The local anesthetic, benzocaine, was synthesized via the esterification of p-aminobenzoic acid with ethanol. The percent yield of crude product was determined to be 21% and the melting point was recorded at 86. 2 °C  ± 0. 2 °C, with a 6. 3% error from 92 °C, the literature melting point of pure benzocaine. The crude product was then recrystallized to improve the purity of benzocaine and 57. 4% was recovered. The new melting point range was measured at 89. 1 °C  ± 0. 3 °C, which has a 3. 15% error. The infrared spectrum of the recrystallized product was measured to further verify that the synthesized product was benzocaine. Introduction The discovery of benzocaine as a local anesthetic came out of necessity to find a replacement for other anesthetic compounds with high toxicity levels such as cocaine and similar synthetic drugs. Cocaine has been used for its pain relief and stimulant effects for centuries, specifically by the Amerindian population in the Peruvian Andes, in the form of chewing the coca leaf (Erythroxylon coca) (Pavia et al, 283). The pure crystalline tropane alkaloid and active component of the coca leaves, cocaine, was isolated in 1862, and was used as an anesthetic in surgical and dental procedures in the 1880’s (Pavia et al, 284). However, it was soon realized that the use of cocaine was not safe because the lethal dose was very close to the treatment dose and because of the toxic effects on the central nervous system, including addiction (McMaster University). As a result, scientists began to make substitute synthetic compounds similar in structure to cocaine, which consists of an aromatic residue, an intermediate chain, and a basic tertiary amino group, shown in figure 1. Figure 1: Structure of Cocaine (ChemWiki) All of the synthetic drugs that derived from the structure of cocaine had similar functional groups including an aromatic ring at one end, which is typically an ester of an aromatic acid, a basic tertiary amino group at the ther end (which increases the compound’s solubility in the injection solvent), and a central chain of atoms one to four units in length that connects the two ends (Pavia et al, 284). Benzocaine does not possess the tertiary amino group and thus is not used for injection, but only as a topical anesthetic. To synthesize an aromatic ether involves the esterification of a benzoic acid in the presence of acid. The benzoic acid is not reactive enough to undergo nucleophilic addition so a strong acid is requir ed to protonate the carbonyl oxygen, which gives it a positive charge, thus making the molecule more reactive. The tetrahedral intermediate then loses a water molecule to yield the ester product for an overall substitution of a hydroxide group (-OH) by an alkyl group (-OR) (McMurry, 796). The general mechanism for esterification is shown in figure 2. Figure 2: Mechanism of Esterification Reaction. 1. Protonation of carbonyl N? attack 2. Formation of good leaving group 3. Loss of water and another deprotonation forms the ester (Organic Chemistry Help) In this experiment, Ethyl p-aminobenzoate, or benzocaine, was synthesized by the esterification reaction mechanism of p-aminobenzoic acid and ethanol in the presence of sulfuric acid. The general reaction is shown in figure 3. Figure 3: Esterification of p-aminobenzoic Acid to Synthesize Benzocaine (ChemWiki) Experimental An analytic balance was used to measure 0. 1212g of p-aminobenzoic acid. The p-aminobenzoic was transferred to a 3mL conical vial along with 1. 2mL of absolute ethanol, and a magnetic spin vane was added to dissolve the solid. Next, 1. 0mL of concentrated sulfuric acid was added drop-wise to the vial while the solution was still being mixed by the spin vein, and a white precipitate formed in the vial. The mixture was then refluxed; a water cooled condenser was attached to the vial and the mixture was allowed to come to a gentle boil at 105 °C with constant stirring by the spin vein. After 70 minutes of reflux, the vial mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature and the contents were transferred via Pasteur pipette into a beaker with 3mL of water. Next, 1mL plus an additional 10 drops of 10% sodium carbonate was added drop-wise to the beaker until the solution reached a pH of 8. The precipitate formed (crude benzocaine product) was collected via vacuum filtration and washed with water during the transfer into the Hirsch funnel. The product was allowed to dry for one week after which the mass and melting point of the crystals were measured. The crude product was then recrystallized in a Craig tube over a warm water bath (60-70 °C) by adding methanol drop-wise until the solid completely dissolved. Eight drops of hot waster were then added to reform the precipitate, followed by subsequent addition of 15 methanol drops to re-dissolve the precipitate. The solution was then chilled in an ice bath and â€Å"seeded† with a spatula to induce crystallization. The recrystallized product was then collected via gravity filtration using an air vacuum to accelerate the process. An analytical balance was used to determine the mass of the purified product. The crystals were collected in two capillary tubes and a MelTemp device was used to measure the new melting point. A sample of crystals was run through the IR spectrometer to obtain the infrared spectra for the purified benzocaine product. The data and calculations sheets are attached to the report. Results and Discussion Ethyl p-aminobenzoate, or benzocaine, was synthesized via the esterification reaction mechanism of  ¬Ã‚ ¬p-aminobenzoic acid and ethanol in the presence of sulfuric acid. The mass of the crude benzocaine product was determined to be 0. 31g for a 21. 2% yield. The yield was very low but can be accounted for by the loss of crude product in the second week. The crystals were mistakenly first transferred into a conical vial before they were transferred into a Craig tube. The crude product was very fine and adhered to the walls of the conical vial so that not all of it was recovered. In addit ion, there was minimal loss of product during the various mixture transfers from container to container throughout the lab procedure. Yet another possibility for such low yield remains that the reaction did not proceed to completion. During the neutralization process, sodium carbonate was added until the pH was 8, however, it is likely that the pH was actually slightly less than that because a 100% color match of pH paper was not achieved, and addition of sodium carbonate may have been prematurely stopped. The melting point range for the crude benzocaine product was measured at 86. 2 °C  ± 0. 2 °C. There is a 6. 3% error from the literature melting point of pure benzocaine which has been established at 92 °C. The lower melting point implies that there were impurities present in the crude product. The crude product was then recrystallized in order to increase the purity of benzocaine and in the process only 0. 0178g or 57. 4% of the product was recovered. The new melting point range was determined to have a range of 89. 1 °C  ± 0. 3 °C, which only has a 3. 15% error based on the literature melting point of pure benzocaine. This lower percent error indicates that the recrystallization of crude benzocaine did have purifying effects on the product. Ultimately, the purifying effects outweigh the product loss during recrystallization because in this case, the product benzocaine, a topical anesthetic, is most effective in its pure state. The goal for this synthesis is to obtain pure benzocaine, thus one recrystallization step or more are an important part of the experimental procedure. In order to further characterize the synthesized benzocaine, an infrared spectrum was taken from a sample of the recrystallized product. The structure of benzocaine, shown in figure 4, has an amino group, an aromatic component, and an ester component. Figure 4: Structure of Ethyl p-aminobenzoate, or benzocaine (ChemWiki) As can be seen in the IR spectrum in figure 5, the functional groups are all present, indicting a successful synthesis of benzocaine. The amino group peaks between 3200-35000cm ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬-1, the strong aromatic C-H bonds show absorbance at approximately 3000cm-1, and the ester absorbs near 1700cm-1. A sample of the purified benzocaine was tested for its effectiveness as an anesthetic on the skin. A small amount was rubbed on the skin (top of hand). Next, several tests were performed including: addition of a drop of hot water to the treated area and to a non-treated area, addition of a drop of cold water to both areas, and slight poking with a pen on both the treated and untreated areas. It was determined that the benzocaine produced did have anesthetic properties because the sensations were less intense on the treated skin than on the untreated skin. The effects lasted for approximately five minutes. In conclusion, benzocaine was successfully synthesized, despite the low yield, in the esterification reaction of p-aminobenzoic acid and ethanol. The recrystallization procedure yielded more pure and more desirable benzocaine product, which can be seen by the higher melting range and further characterized by the IR spectrum.

The Ministers Black Veil Essays - The Ministers Black Veil, Veil

"The Minister's Black Veil" Sin is an issue that every human being has to deal with at one time or another in his or her lifetime. Sin is dealt with in many ways. Some people try to hide their sins, some try to push them aside and some try to deal with their sins in a more conventional way. The largest place for confessing sins in the world is the confessional booth at a church. People go to tell their sins, and feel cleansed afterwards. But what happens when a man who hears confessions day after day, sins himself. There is no confession booth for the man to go to. He must deal with his sin in his own way; a way that will leave him feeling cleansed. Mr. Hooper, in the parable, or short story, "The Minister's Black Veil" dawns a black veil to deal with his sins. The themes in the story that I chose to explore, were character, Mr. Hooper being a minister. And I also chose to talk about symbolism. The fact that Mr. Hooper's veil is black is symbolic. The shuddering corpse is also a symbol of Hooper's wrongdoing. When Mr. Hooper puts the black veil on, he is no longer Mr. Hooper; he is a man that everyone is a afraid of. His relationship with Elizabeth is ruined because of his unwillingness to remove the veil. She cannot accept the fact that the minister must go the rest of his life without revealing his true face. After his first sermon, he did not go to Old Squire Saunders table to bless the food, as he had done almost every Sunday since his settlement. As Hooper is dying, near the end of the story, he is alone and says, "...men avoided me, and women shown no pity and children screamed and fled..."(328), while others say he was "kind and loving, though unloved, a man apart from men"(327). The theme of symbolism is demonstrated numerous times throughout the book. The veil itself is symbolic. Hawthorne could have chosen numerous items that would have had less of an effect on the townspeople. But he chose a veil, a black veil nonetheless. Black is the color of death, the color worn at funerals to represent mourning, grievance, or sadness, and this adds to what Hawthorne is trying to say about Parson Hooper. Hawthorne even says "Earth, too, had on her Black Veil"(324). The veil covered his face, and by looking into someone's face and eyes, a lot can be determined about a person. In the story, Mr. Hooper uses the veil to represent the hiding of his sins. Hooper believed that people would wear their veils on Earth, and then they would be removed at a time when our souls will leave our bodies and our secrets will be revealed (Judgment Day), just as brides wear veils and then remove them at marriage. Another theme explored in the story is character. Hawthorne chose a minister to wear the black veil. It wasn't a sheriff or a farmer, but a minister. The character was very significant to his message. An ordinary person would probably not have been subjected to the scrutiny that the minister faced. The fact that the wearer was a minister portrays the fact that even the most spiritual mortal beings have impure thoughts, or have committed impure deeds. Such actions are expected from every other person in the community, but only the best is expected from the well-respected minister of the village. Finally, I think that the funeral held on the day that Hooper dons the black veil is very symbolic and may prove the point that Hooper really did have a secret sin that he was trying to hide, or conceal from the public. It seems ironic that Hooper starts wearing the veil on the same day as the funeral. Possibly the donning of the veil on that particular day had something to do with the death of the young lady, or Hopper had some type of relationship with the woman. In addition, Hooper's encounter with the corpse seemed quite unusual. While Hooper was bent over the body, "the veil hung straight down from his forehead, so that, if her eyelids