Nature Imagery and the Life Cycle in Robert Frost’s The Wind and the Rain
In his poem “The Wind and the Rain,” Robert Frost develops a central theme, presenting a man’s reflection upon his life. As the man ages, he realizes that he spent much of his life worrying about his inevitable death instead of living his life to the fullest. The man expresses his desire to renew life at all costs; he would rather die living than spend the rest of his life concerning himself with death. Robert Frost’s theme in “The Wind and the Rain,” therefore, is that life should be lived, and one should not worry about his inevitable death, for he does not have the power to control death, only the way he lives his life. Frost uses images of nature throughout the poem to support his central theme.
In part I of “The Wind and the Rain,” the speaker discusses the fact that he is aging, and his death is undeniable. He realizes that he has “let [his focus on death] drive [him] deathward,” yet he has done little to change his focus. The man regrets that he spent much of his life “[singing] of death,” wishi...
The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is the result of years of research done by Skloot on an African American woman with cervical cancer named Henrietta Lacks. Cells from Lacks’ tumor are taken and experimented on without her knowledge. These cells, known as HeLa cells, are the first immortal human cells ever grown. The topic of HeLa cells is at the center of abundant controversial debates. Despite the fact that her cells are regarded as, “one of the most important advancements in the last hundred years” (4), little is actually known about the woman behind the cells. Skloot sets out on a mission to change this fact and share the story of the woman from whom the cells originate and her family as they deal with the effects these cells have on them.
The family first heard that Henrietta’s cells were alive and being sent around the world, twenty-two years after Henrietta’s death. After discovering that Henrietta’s cells were in circulation, the family began to blame John Hopkins for taking Henrietta’s cells without permission and commercializing the cells to make multi-million dollar industry, while her family was living in poverty without health insurance. The John Hopkins Hospital has made various statements stating that the hospital never received funds for the HeLa cells specifying that Gey donated all of his HeLa cells samples to fellow researchers. Therefore, the sole benefactors of the HeLa cells profits are the biotechnology companies, which sell vials of HeLa cells for up to ten thousand
In February 2010, author and journalist Rebecca Skloot published a book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," which included the stories surrounding the HeLa cell line as well as research into Henrietta Lacks' life. In 1951 a poor young black women, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer and at the time was treated in the “colored ward” or segregated division of Johns Hopkins Hospital. The procedure required samples of her cervix to be removed. Henrietta Lacks, the person who was the source of these cells was unaware of their removal. Her family was never informed about what had been accomplished with the use of her cells. The Lacks family has not received anything from the cell line to this day, although their mother’s cells have been bought and sold by many. This bestseller tells the stories of HeLa and traces the history of the cell while highlighting the ethical and legal issues of the research.
While doctors and scientists were making millions of dollars through HeLa research, Henrietta’s family was living in poverty. Lawrence Lacks, Henrietta’s firstborn child, says, “Hopkins say they gave them cells away, but they made millions! It’s not fair! She’s the most important person in the world and her family living in poverty. If our mother so important to science, why can’t we get health insurance?” (pg.168). Someone who disagrees with this standpoint may argue that scientists had been trying for years to develop the perfect culture medium and had a much more hands on experience with the cells (pg.35), therefore, they should be receiving the earnings from any outcomes the HeLa cells may produce. While the scientists were in fact the brains behind the scientific advances, the family should be acknowledged on behalf of Henrietta Lacks. These successes in science would not have been possible without the origin of the cells: Henrietta Lacks. For some of the family, the primary focus was not even the profit. “Since they gone ahead and taken her cells and they been so important for science, Deborah thought, least they can do is give her credit for it.” (pg. 197). Here, Deborah Lacks, Henrietta’s fourth born child, makes it clear that her primary concern is getting her mother the recognition that she deserves for her
The Battle of Agincourt, which took place on 25October1415, was one of the many battles fought during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453). The Hundred Years’ War was an ongoing dispute between English and French nations. One thing that caused a major dispute was the death of Charles IV, King of France, in 1328. When Charles IV died, he died with no heir to his thrown; a male heir at least. This left an opportunity for Edward III to seize control of the thrown since his mother was the sister of Charles IV. Shortly after, Charles VI claimed the thrown and began to try to consolidate power in France. Edward III, still feeling he was the rightful heir to the throne, laid siege to the French territory. Another factor that contributed to the break out of the Battle of Agincourt was the Treaty of Brétigny (1360). After John II was set free by the English, he ceded to Edward III Poitou, Aunis, Saintonge, Angoumois, Guienne, Gascony, Calais, and other areas. In 1373, France regained control of these areas. In 1415, Henry V took back control of the areas granted to the English by the Treaty of Brétigny.
HeLa cells were one of the greatest medical inventions that came about for the scientific field and yet the woman behind this medical feat is not fully remembered and honored. Her cells and tissue were taken away from her without consent and more than that, she was exploited for being black and not questioning what the doctor was doing. Her family suffered through countless years of agonizing pain in which they were misinformed about where and what her cells were being used for. Yes, HeLa cells changed the way we view medicine today, but only at the cost of creating one of the greatest controversies of owning ones body.
The first time, the author, Rebecca Skloot heard of Henrietta Lacks was during a biology class at a community college. "Everybody learns about these cells in basic biology, but what was unique about my situation was that my teacher actually knew Henrietta’s real name and that she was black" (Zielinski). This first initial encounter would begin the search for the unknown story behind the real woman, whose name no one had really heard of. Henrietta had cancerous cells taken from her that would be known as HeLa cells in science literature; the first human cells to reliably and proliferately be produced in a laboratory. These cells became one of the crucial research materials for health and genetic science studies (such as developing the polio vaccine, cloning. and gene mapping), the foundation of medical research and scientific discoveries worldwide. They were also the impotence to a great deal of controversy due to them being taken without the knowledge or consent of the donor or her family; "enduring nearly 60 years of anguish directly related to the success of the Hela cell line" as stated in a review by Norman Fost (87). He brought light to
The doctors didn't only take advantage of the Lacks family, they took advantage of whomever was intelligent enough to know that they were being fooled. Skloot wrote about a man named John Moore and how he was also being taken advantage of by the University of California to produce the Mo cell line. The Doctor found out that the man's tissue was very useful and he could make a large profit off of it. With that, the doctor kept asking the man to return for checkups after he was healthy so that he could harvest more tissue. The man eventually wised up and sued the doctor and the case went up to the Supreme Court and the court decided to rule on the side of the man. This was a ground-breaking case because people now had the ability to patent our cells for profit. This led to scientists and doctors being truthful with their patients about all aspects of surgeries whether they are large or small. When Henrietta's tissue from her cervix was taken the case was far from taking place, so she had no ownership of the cells once they were removed from her body. Had Henrietta had the ability to patent her cells before her death her family would be in a completely different position financially than they are
Often in the darkest time it is good to seek relief in the good of every situation. With the death of a Mother, Daughter, and contributing member in society, it may be hard to try and find any positivity to draw from. With the unfortunate and untimely death of Henrietta, came the opportunity of life to millions of others in society then, now, and for many years to come. The goal of medical research is to put society as a whole in a better place than it was at the day before. The use of HeLa cells in every developed country on the globe has made this objective much more achievable. The Lacks family led the way for the consent form being required for patients undergoing a medical procedure Although, there was no direct benefit to the family, raising many ethical considerations that must be
Catherine was born Sophia Augusta Frederika of Anhalt-Zerbst on April 21, 1729 in Stettin, then Germany, now Poland. Her father, Prince Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, was a high-ranking officer in the Prussian Army and a minor prince among the principalities in Germany. He married the much younger Princess Johanna of Holstein-Gottorp. Years before, Johanna's brother Karl August of Holstein-Gottorp had gone to Russia to marry the Princess Elizabeth Petrovna. However the Prince died of small pox, leaving Elizabeth heart-broken. Elizabeth's sister, Anna gave birth to a son named Peter Ulrich, however tragedy once again struck as Anna's died of tuberculosis three months after giving birth to Peter.
Robert Frost is regarded as one of the most distinguished American poets in the twentieth century. His work usually realistically describes the rural life in New England in the early twentieth century and conveys complex social and philosophical themes. But his personal life was plagued with grief and loss, which is also reflected in his poems and the dark energy distinguishes Robert Frost’s poems, frequently conveyed in the use of lexical words like dark and its derivatives or synonyms, woods, snow, night, and so on. (Su, Y)
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words,” Robert Frost once said. As is made fairly obvious by this quote, Frost was an adroit thinker. It seems like he spent much of his life thinking about the little things. He often pondered the meaning and symbolism of things he found in nature. Many readers find Robert Frost’s poems to be straightforward, yet his work contains deeper layers of complexity beneath the surface. His poems are not what they seem to be at first glance. These deeper layers of complexity can be clearly seen in his poems “The Road Not Taken”, “Fire and Ice”, and “Birches”.
In time of economic crisis the government has a choice to cut spending or increase spending for public goods and services. “In 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Rein- vestment Act, which authorized $787 billion in spending to promote job growth and bolster economic activity”(Stratmann/Okolski 3). John Maynard Keynes, an economist of 20th century, suggest that the government should run a deficit if it will create jobs and increase capital gain. This theory support the current stimulus package that has been introduce during President Obama’s term. Although the flaw with this concept is that it makes the assumption the government has done studies and understands which areas needs the funding the most and knows where it will be beneficial, realistically that is not true. “Federal spending is less likely to stimulate growth when it cannot accurately target the projects where it will be most productive” (Stratmann/Okolski 2). This can be seen because political figures will spend money where it directly supports their needs as well. For instance, the political figure would rather spend money to things that will yield a p...
The growing interest in cycling this is result in magazine coverage and the using of bikes and accessories in window displays that related to cycling.
Boepple, Paul. "Internet." The New Book of Knowledge. 34th ed. 20 vols. Chicago: Grolier Inc., 2000.