The importance of reading Essay Example for Free

The importance of reading Essay Reading has at all times and in all ages been a source of knowledge, of happiness, of pleasure and even moral courage. In todays world with so much more to know and to learn and also the need for a conscious effort to conquer the divisive forces, the importance of reading has increased. In the olden days if reading was not cultivated or encouraged, there was a substitute for it in the religious sermon and in the oral tradition. The practice of telling stories at bed time compensated to some extent for the lack of reading. In the nineteenth century Victorian households used to get together for an hour or so in the evenings and listen to books being read aloud. But today we not only read, we also want to read more and more and catch up with the events taking place around us. The various courses and classes being conducted in rapid reading support this belief. A person who is widely read is able to mix with others: he is a better conversationalist than those who do not read. He can stand his ground. Reading broadens the vision. it is in a way a substitute for travel. It is not possible to travel as much as one would like to and reading can fill in the gap created by the lack of travel. Reading, as Bacon wrote in his essay. Of Studies. maketh a full man: conference a ready man: and writing an exact man. Thus a widely-read man is a better conversationalist and is able to see the other point of view. Literature is a form of art which can cross barriers and if one does not know the language in which a piece of literature is written, one is willing sometimes to learn the language. Even if one does not learn a  language one reads the literary work in translation. This contributes to the growth of understanding and tolerance amongst people. Reading also helps one to see the present in relation to the past and the future, and thus develop a historical perspective. Care is needed to ensure that reading does not become a substitute for real life. The moment one ceases to enjoy the ordinary pleasures and happiness of life and is content to enjoy them vicariously through fictional and historical representations, one loses all the benefits of reading and loses contact with life. With the cinema and television taking up a great deal of attention of children, teenagers and even adults, the habit of serious reading is dying out. People are content to read abridged versions. see films, go through illustrated comics and be content. But just as reading should not become a substitute for the joy of living or drive out the other forms of entertainment, other substitutes should not be accepted for the pleasure of reading which lies in the act itself. One may be selective, may be discriminating but no one can afford to shut himself off from this rich and ever-growing world of literature.

Textual Analysis of Epic of Gilgamesh and Book of Genesis of the Holy B

A Textual Analysis of Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh The stories of the floods found in both Gilgamesh and Genesis contain many striking similarities that are inevitably beyond mere coincidence. One could surmise that both of these stories might have a basis in common historical occurrence. However, despite the fact that both of these works discuss a common topic, the portrayal of this event is quite different. Like identical twins raised in different cultures, the expressions of these works are products of their environment. The focus of this analysis is on Genesis (chapter 7) and Gilgamesh (lines 1 - 25). These two different passages will be analyzed to relate each document and how the author's worldview shapes his account of the flood. First we shall examine the background of text so that we might understand how the culture and society had an impact on the works. The story of Gilgamesh supposedly started to take form around the year 2500 B.C., but was not written down until about 1300 B.C. The epic was passed down and developed in oral form for approximately one thousand years. As a result, the story must have changed drastically from the original, until it was finally written down on Sumerian clay tablets. The Old Testament of the Bible, which includes the Book of Genesis, was also passed down through oral tradition before the Hebrews wrote it down from 1000-300 B.C. Both of these documents express the religious attitudes of these people as their story of the creation of the world and of humankind unfolds. So let's look at how these two selected passages allude to the nature of the works as they each give account of the great flood that kills all of mankind. The author of Gilgamesh portrays ... ...a "stupor of despair went up to heaven" and "even the gods were terrified and the flood, they fled to the highest heaven." This apparently shows that the society in which Gilgamesh was written had little faith in the ability of the gods to control their anger or their own powers. It is this lack of faith, which contributes to the morose undertones of this epic. Through analyzing passages from both works, one can see how the author's environment and worldview has helped to shape the style and mood of each text. Both texts share a common event although told through different cultures. Even more, the unique perspectives of this tale help to develop the whole ambience of each document. Eac author unknowingly leaks valuable insight about his time and culture into his account to be locked in time for thousands of years. Now that's something real special. Â  

Attitude Theories – Essay

Attitude Theories Attitudes are our positive and negative evaluation of a situation or object. Attitudes can be divided into three distinct components the cognitive, affective and the behavioral. They may take the form of the implicit attitude, explicit attitude and the dual attitude. The components of attitudes are the cognitive which helps people structure the world to make sense to them, the affective which helps people cope with emotional conflicts and the behavior helps people achieve rewards and gain approval from others. One way that attitudes can be formed is through the classical conditioning theory. Classical conditioning is â€Å"learning through association when a neutral conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally produces an emotional response† (Franzoi 2010,p. 157). Classical Conditioning is the affective component of attitudes. An example of classical conditioning would be â€Å"the soft click of the switch that turns on a noisy bathroom fan would have little effect on your behavior. After the click a conditioned has been paired with a loud noise an unconditioned on several occasions you might begin to react to the click alone conditioned response† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 161). Another example would be the famous study the dogs salivating at the saw or smelled food but not tasted it. Then they salivated at the sight the person bringing the food. Classical conditioning can be very useful in helping in the learning in shaping attitudes to protect us from overcoming certain fears in life and also help acquire aversion to certain foods. Classical conditioning is a gradual process. Using this conditioning can help shape, form different attitudes in many of life situations. Classical conditioning of attitudes occurs below the level of conscious awareness. The other very influential way to shape attitude is the Operant conditioning form of learning. Through the behavioral component (Franzoi, 2010, p. 158). The Operant conditioning is a type of learning attitudes in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement maintain, changed and weaken if ollowed by punishment through consequences. Operant conditioning occurs when some action towards an object is rewarded or reinforced. Doing this enough times, the subject will do probably repeat it in the future. Also if behavior is not rewarded or is punished then future actions are less likely to occur. An example of a positive operant conditioning would be related to basic biological needs. Positive reinforcement include food when you are angry and conditioned rein forces include money, status, trophies and praises from others. When we hear† you must clean your room before you watch TV† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 172). This can shape a person’s attitude. A negative example of this â€Å"stimuli, other subway riders are moving away to escape the stench of a person’s cologne† (Bacon and Kalsher, 2008, p. 173). When people ride in the future they will remember that person and avoid them. This would definitely shape one’s attitude towards this person. Doing well will help shape attitude about eating habits. Since, they did not have a good experience with bad situations that will also shape attitudes. We can use the operant conditioning in teaching techniques such as learning computers, aggressive driving, traffic safety and all goal oriented tasks. In conclusion we have discussed how attitudes can take form. They shape through the implicit attitude form which is activated automatically from our memory or through the explicit attitude which is consciously held. These attitudes are seen in classical, operant conditioning. References Bacon, R. and Kalsher, M, (2008). Psychology: From Science to Practice 2nd Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon Franoi, S. (2010). Social Psychology 5th Ed.

A Brief Look at Iran - 865 Words

The first thing to find was some basic information about Iran. I found out that Iran is located in southwestern Asia. Iran is 1,648,000 square kilometers and extends 2,250 kilometers, which is slightly bigger than Alaska. Iran’s estimated population for 2015 is 81,422,000. The language for Iran is Persian, Arabic words, or dialects of Turkish. The climate in Iran is hot summers and cold winters across the plateau (Iran, Encyclopedia). Spring starts on the Persian New Year’s day. The temperature for the capital in January averages from 7 degrees Fahrenheit to a high of 45 degrees. In July averages from 72 degrees 99 degrees. Throughout the year, they get 40 to 60 inches of rainfall. The plateau doesn’t exceed 12 inches of rainfall. The erosion causes desertification (Iran, Encyclopedia). The second thing I wanted to learn was what happened in Iran’s history. I discovered that Medes and Persians occupied Iran in the 1500s BC. The Persian King nam ed Cyrus overthrew Medes. The Russians and the British fought for economic control during the Qajar Dynasty. On January 16, 1979, the Shah and his family fled Iran. On November 4, 1979, revolutionary militants invaded the United States embassy in Tehran. On January 20, 1981, 52 American Hostages were released ending 444 clays in imprisonment (Iran, Info). Iran only released the hostages after their demands were met. Iran wanted the U.S. to stay out of their business and all damage claims made by the United States beShow MoreRelatedPersepolis Essay820 Words   |  4 Pagesmarginalized, excluded or silenced within the text? Another interpretation of the word within suggests we look at how one character silences another character in a text. For example: How are secularists silenced by the Islamic Revolutionists in Persepolis? The autobiographical graphic novel, Persepolis written by Marjane Satrapi opens up with the chapter The Veil, in 1980 in Iran, when the revolution has began. 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