High school's english programe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

High school's english programe - Essay Example As part of my high school syllabus, I studied English language and developed sound command over my reading, writing and verbal skills. However, today when I critically evaluate the effectiveness of the offered program, I strongly feel that the program lacked certain aspects which could have helped me in my later life. Assessment of program The program’s primary focus was on improving communication capabilities and reading and writing skills of students. The courses were mandatory and were offered in a single level with no optional variants for foreign students. As a result, it became a cause of stress for pupils and many students found it to be burdensome. I, being a foreign student, was also part of this group that found the course to be difficult. It is vital that students must like what they study and teachers must ensure to develop their interest in the subjects instead of forcing them to study for it. They must be given personal choices to select which subjects they find most interesting to study as part of high school program. English language is a diversified course and requires keenness and concentration of students in order to maximize learning. Lack of interest in the subject led many students to achieve bad grades and lose respect for it. Teachers and mentors should not have sole right to define what is significant for literacy of students; instead, electives must be offered and students can attend orientation sessions to decide whether they feel the need to choose the course. Moreover, mentors must provide fair guidance to students to assist them in comprehending how different choices will affect their development plans and which course shall suit them the best. Another shortcoming in this program pertained to the teaching styles of faculty members belonging to this discipline. They emphasized greatly on improving writing skills of students, which worked out effectively for many of them in classroom sessions and group activities. However, som e students faced obstacles when they were asked to write on own self. When writing tasks were given for homework, teachers expected the students to magically produce a perfect paper within tentative deadline. Ideally, teachers should conduct reading sessions in class while elaborating on context and meaning of text comprehensively. Additionally, there should be role-play acts and similar interactional activities based on content of English syllabus and textbooks. This would help students develop a structural understanding of the big picture, build images in mind and make connections and networks between different texts to fill the gaps. Despite of large sizes of batches, teachers ensured to pay individual attention to students who were weaker and needed more efforts from mentors. Monitoring was rigorous and strict and teachers were able to identify intellect of each student, tailoring teaching methods accordingly. However, cultural aspects were largely neglected by staff members. Th e school was one of the best institutes in the country and thus various students came in from different backgrounds, races and cultures. English language also represents a cultural study and is comprehended distinctly by different classes of students. There were no indications in the existing curriculum regarding the need for cultural diversity. As a result, students moved at different paces in studies with foreign students lagging behind.

Point of View Essay Example for Free

Point of View Essay The speaker of the story, who speaks as a first-person narrator, is not named. We may conclude that he has had a good deal of experience with small boats, and with the language of sailors. His concentration shifts in the course of the story. At first, he seems to be aware of all four men on the boat, collectively, and he makes observations that permit us to understand the ideas and responses of the men, who are linked in a virtual â€Å"brotherhood† because of their having been stranded on a tiny boat amid the high waves that are menacing their existence (paragraph 9). At about paragraph 49, however, the speaker shifts his concentration primarily to the correspondent, while he describes the other men more dramatically. Might we assume that at this point, Crane is merging the speaker of the story with his own voice, as nearly as we can determine it? Throughout, the speaker introduces some of his own ideas, and also, at times, speaks ironically. This accounts for some of the more humorous expressions in the story. Thus, the speaker comments wryly that the men, while rushing from the sinking ship to save themselves, â€Å"had forgotten to eat heartily† and therefore were now being weakened with hunger (paragraph 49). The speaker is in control of the tone of his descriptions, as when he points out that the human back, to a rower, is subject to innumerable and painful kinks and knots (paragraph 82). The speaker is also observant and philosophical, as when he comments that the four men at sea need to turn their heads to contemplate the â€Å"lonely and indifferent shore† (paragraph 206). The story’s final sentence, about the fact that the three surviving men can be â€Å"interpreters,† is suggestive of a good deal of thought and observation that could lead beyond the content of the story. Though the point of view is third-person limited-omniscient, Cranes merging of his thoughts with the narrators would not be as effective, not as dramatic, or objective, for it is this third-person distance that Crane feels would be most suitable for his idea that men are insignificant compared to the forces of nature, or nature itself. The point is driven home well with his particular point of view: another or different point of view would cloud his message and obscure his central theme: a different point of view would be too emotional, too fraught with survivability. The white heron is told from a third-person omniscient point-of-view, one that is aware of both Sylvia’s hopes and aspirations, and the hardships that she will encounter as she strives to achieve them. The constancy of the tree is noted from the very beginning with Sylvia’s recognition that â€Å"[in the] dark boughs [of the tree] he wind always, stirred, no matter how hot and still the air might be below † It is from this stillness that Sylvia begins her journey â€Å"with tingling eager blood† and apprehension of the point at which she must make â€Å"the dangerous pass from one tree to the other, [when] the great enterprise would really begin. † This image of making the transition from a smaller tree to a larger m ore dangerous one is a symbol of Sylvia leaving the realm of her early childhood to begin facing the challenges of becoming an adult. At first, â€Å"Sylvia felt her way uneasily,† but as she crosses trees and feels the support of the old pine, she becomes â€Å"his new dependent. † The pine is likened to â€Å"a great main mast to voyaging earth,† a simile which is followed by the author’s personification of the way in which it â€Å"h [olds] away the winds† to protect the â€Å"solitary gray-eyed child† just as a father would do. The narrative pace of the passage varies from being restrained and held back as Sylvia prepares for her adventure, to increasing in speed slightly once she changes trees, to finally reaching a climax once she reaches the top. It is this fast progression from her climbing and feelings of support from the tree to this climactic awakening that aids in communicating the true extent of Sylvia’s growth. The â€Å"spark of human spirit† that the tree’s â€Å"ponderous frame† helps to lift to the top quickly easily becomes â€Å"a pale star,† trembling and tired, but wholly triumphant. † Bierce tells An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge in three parts. Part I is in objective third-person point of view except for the last three paragraphs. In objective third-person narration, the storyteller observes events but cannot enter the mind of any character and disclose his or her thoughts. In the last three paragraphs of the Part I, the narration shifts to omniscient (all-knowing) third-person point of view in relation to Peyton Farquhar. This shift enables Bierce to take the reader inside Farquhars mind to demonstrate how emotional upheaval alters not only the way the mind interprets reality but also the way it perceives the passage of time. First, Farquhar mistakes the ticking of his watch for the tolling of a bell or the ring of an anvil struck by a hammer. Then, after Farquhar drops from the bridge at the moment of execution, he perceives a single second as lasting hours.

Karl Marx :: Biographies Philosophy Papers

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx was born on May 5, 1818, in the city of Trier in Prussia, now, Germany. He was one of seven children of Jewish Parents. His father was fairly liberal, taking part in demonstrations for a constitution for Prussia and reading such authors as Voltaire and Kant, known for their social commentary. His mother, Henrietta, was originally from Holland and never became a German at heart, not even learning to speak the language properly. Shortly before Karl Marx was born, his father converted the family to the Evangelical Established Church, Karl being baptized at the age of six. Marx attended high school in his home town (1830-1835) where several teachers and pupils were under suspicion of harboring liberal ideals. Marx himself seemed to be a devoted Christian with a "longing for self-sacrifice on behalf of humanity." In October of 1835, he started attendance at the University of Bonn, enrolling in non-socialistic-related classes like Greek and Roman mythology and the history of art. During this time, he spent a day in jail for being "drunk and disorderly-the only imprisonment he suffered" in the course of his life. The student culture at Bonn included, as a major part, being politically rebellious and Marx was involved, presiding over the Tavern Club and joining a club for poets that included some politically active students. However, he left Bonn after a year and enrolled at the University of Berlin to study law and philosophy. Marx's experience in Berlin was crucial to his introduction to Hegel's philosophy and to his "adherence to the Young Hegelians." Hegel's philosophy was crucial to the development of his own ideas and theories. Upon his first introduction to Hegel's beliefs, Marx felt a repugnance and wrote his father that when he felt sick, it was partially "from intense vexation at having to make an idol of a view [he] detested." The Hegelian doctrines exerted considerable pressure in the "revolutionary student culture" that Marx was immersed in, however, and Marx eventually joined a society called the Doctor Club, involved mainly in the "new literary and philosophical movement" who's chief figure was Bruno Bauer, a lecturer in theology who thought that the Gospels were not a record of History but that they came from "human fantasies arising from man's emotional needs" and he also hypothesized that Jesus had not existed as a person. Bauer was later dismissed from his position by the Prussian government. By 1841, Marx's studies were lacking and, at the suggestion of a friend, he submitted a

Dining Plan Proposal

Project 2 – Drexel Dining Plan Proposal As a freshmen and an international student at Drexel University, most of my free time is taken up in becoming accustomed to a new country, a new city, and to the culture of Drexel University. Despite attending an International private school back in Delhi and despite having traveled the world, it is only normal that I find the transition from living back home to living at Drexel University, a difficult one. Getting familiar with the system of being a college student in general is an added struggle.And at first though, most non-vegetarians may not take this into consideration due to a plentiful amount of non-vegetarian food available, but I can tell you from personal experience, food is one of the main factors contributing to homesickness. The day -to-day food available on Drexel’s campus is not varied or appetizing enough for vegetarians, especially international vegetarian students. Each student who purchases the meal plan can di ne at certain designated locations on campus.The available dining options on the Drexel University campus consist of the following: a mini cafe in the main building, Ross Commons Take 3, Creese Cafe, Chick-fil-a, Currito, Subway, Kelly Deli, Southern Tsunami Sushi, and Starbucks. This may sounds like many options, but that does not overlook quality, or the fact that vegetarians may not have as many options as those who eat meat. As Drexel has ascended in its rankings, so have the number of students from different states and different countries.This year itself, the percentage of international students at Drexel University went up about twenty-eight percent and is expected to grow next year. (Facts and Figures) A student that purchases any meal plans spends an average amount of around five thousand & two hundred dollars throughout his or her university education. A relatively large percentage of these students, whether from the states or international students, are vegetarian as one of the most frequently asked questions on Drexel’s dining website. Drexel Campus Dining) I myself know up to ten vegetarians in the freshmen year itself. The number one complaint I tend to hear, or coincidentally eavesdrop on, in the dining center is about the food. According to my survey these complaints are usually voiced by international students and sometimes by vegetarian, American citizens. I also concluded from my survey that those who dislike the food and live nearby do not feel the need to complain as homemade food and favorite restaurant visits with the parents are just a train ride away.I summarized my issues with the available dining service at Drexel by carrying out confidential surveys of a sample of students who eat at the Handschumacher Dining Center. Of course my survey was favorably given out to international students and it consisted of open-ended questions that cover a few valid issues I personally wanted to know more about. On an average, the survey revea led international students dissatisfaction with the amount of vegetarian or vegan food available at the Drexel dining locations.Although the survey revealed complaints students had about the staff, quality of food, and such, I chose to concentrate on the vegetarian food options. Students explicitly expressed their concern with the fact that vegan food was often confused with vegetarian food. A few students stated their issue with days where more of a variety of vegetarian food was made and other days where more vegan food was made, always more options of one over the other. Of course, non-vegetarian food always seems to be plentifully available.One student wrote on her survey, â€Å" although there is a pasta station that is vegetarian on the whole, the options are very limited. Vegetarians at the dining center can only eat pasta, on certain days very bland vegan wraps are available, and French fries, and the same vegetarian fried rice. â€Å" Another student said, â€Å" the pas sport section hardly ever has vegetarian or vegan food, which is sad because so many international students are vegetarian and we have to make do with salad and pasta every single day. To this I would like to add an observation I made at the Dining Center and Subway: most of the times, the staff uses the same gloves to touch vegetarian food as they do meat. This is very disturbing to me as I am vegetarian for religious reasons and cannot technically even have meat touched to my food. When I asked students about the other Dining options, Starbucks and the cafe in the main building were immediately opted out of consideration as â€Å"dining. † This leaves the unhealthy options of Ross Commons cheese Pizza and Chick-Fil-A fries. Two other options are Creese and Subway.The two of these are relatively healthier options, but again Subway has only one veggie patty. And Creese Cafe serves only two to three options for vegetarian paninis. But out of all the times I have been to Creese , they are out of one ingredient or the other, which limits the vegetarian options further. For example, when I asked for the Capri panini at Creese, I was told they were out of basil and hence, could not make that panini for me. Out of all the dining options Currito landed up being a favorite for vegetarians on my survey because of its many vegetarian varieties.Even though Currito is one stall that serves good vegetarian options, what about the rest? Vegetarian students I surveyed unanimously agree upon the conclusion that there is not enough variety out of the entire dining service on campus for vegetarian students. It think it is safe to say that a certain percentage of Drexel University students is dissatisfied with the vegetarian dining options on campus. I know I am. Yet, these students are paying for the dining services the same price as any non-vegetarian student. I propose a solution, or many solutions.Firstly, I think the staff should be educated on how to handle food for vegetarian or vegan students. For example, they should start with using different gloves and utensils for meat. Second, I believe the dining hall would be a good start for more vegetarian options as hundreds of students dine here each day. For example, the staff can make sure they do not compromise on the food for vegans or vegetarians. Both these categories should have a plentiful amount. Also, the passport section that serves international food can make sure they have one vegetarian alternative to each non-vegetarian dish they make.And the Asian food section can start searching into more feasible Asian recipes for both vegans and vegetarians. Coming to the options besides the dining center, it may be difficult to open more dining options on campus, so instead each service can find ways to increase its creativity and variety with vegetarian food. Currito can find more than just tofu to substitute meat, or they can cook the tofu in different ways and serve it. Chick-fil-A can look i nto making breakfast sandwiches. Subway can create more than just the veggie patty, or it can give more vegetable options to choose from.Ross Commons can start serving pizza with diverse vegetarian toppings. Such minor changes may go a long way. This idea may seem new, but it has been done before. Every time a fast food chain opens in different countries, it is altered to cater to the taste and customers of that country. I feel like Drexel should look into doing the same with its chains opened on campus as Drexel is an international University and the vegetarian population deserves first-rate food. (Vegetarian Subs & Different Countries, Different McDonalds) (A Picture of other Asian recipes that can be made)

Cannibalism: Crime or Survival? Essay

Cannibalism has gone through stages of acceptance to morally corrupt and unspeakable. When faced in a dire situation, such as isolation and deterioration of the mind and body, cannibalism becomes an option of survival. When people confess of their actions, is it fair for us to judge? What would a person do in that situation, and can one honestly punish another for survival of the fittest? Cannibalism dates back as far as the earliest signs of human life. By definition, cannibalism is â€Å"the eating of any species by another member of the same species,† (â€Å"Cannibalism†). Wolves, for example, will eat another wolf if there is no other form of nutrition to be found. This is an example of survival of the fittest, an instinct born unto all living creatures. Cannibalism is primitive in human nature, dating back to the Carib Indians of the West Indies. In the Arwakan language, â€Å"carib† literally translates to â€Å"cannibal.† The practice of eating human meat, whether in ritual or punishment, has been practiced in nearly every part of the world. The reason for cannibalistic behavior has varied among the people. Headhunters, for example, believed eating parts of a victim’s body would grant them magical powers. Some tribes ate criminals to punish them or gain revenge for the crime. Primitive rites commonly involved human sacrifice, and it was not uncommon for the sacrifice’s family to eat certain parts of the body. This practice is labeled â€Å"endocannibalism.† As time progressed, cannibalism went from common practice in the east to an unspeakable sin in the west. Cannibalism is most commonly practiced due to the result of extreme physical necessity in isolated surroundings. It has been justified as â€Å"a model of behavior in food processing as a response to nutritional stress,† (Ellis et al. 4) Essentially, cannibalism in such desperation comes down to practical logic. If one is starving, one eats what  is offered. Examples of this include survivors of a plane wreck stranded without food; boat wrecks on isolated islands; or, more commonly, families trapped in a snowstorm in any large mountain range. One of the most recent cases of cannibalism known is that of Andes flight disaster. In 1972, an Uruguayan rugby team, along with their family and friends, were on their way to Chile to compete when the plane crashed in the Andes mountain range. Several died in the initial crash, and more died due to the harsh conditions and injuries from the wreck. Ten days passed before the little bit of food that was rationed ran out. The group lived for two months before rescue came, and in that time they had committed the unspeakable act. As a group, the survivors agreed to turn to cannibalism and endocannibalism in order to survive. Out of the original forty-five, only sixteen came from the mountains alive because of their survival technique. This group had indulged in what is called survival cannibalism. Survival cannibalism is an innate form of survival that anthropologists believe exists in all humans. When the rugby team was faced with their dire situation, they indulged on their native instinct to satisfy nutritional need before abiding to the morals of society. When rescued, the team told reporters that it was a sort of communion; they ate as little as possible so as not to desecrate the dead. â€Å"Jesus gave the disciples His blood and His flesh at the Last Supper, so we were kept alive through Him,† explained one of the survivors when the press demanded an answer as to what they ate to stay alive (Stranded Gonzalo Arijon). The Uruguayan and Chilean publics accepted these survivors, even though the media slandered them and called them inhumane and cannibalistic. Another, perhaps more famous case of survival cannibalism is the story of the Donner Party. The Donner Party was a group of families being led west by brothers George and Jacob Donner in the winter of 1846-47. The unfortunate groups of pioneers were trapped in the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains because they did not foresee that they had set out too late in the year with too little provisions. The group traveled through the Great Plains, losing much of their cattle due to heat and starvation. As the group headed on, they left the warmth of the desert-like plains and entered the cold and snow of  the mountains. Their food supply dwindled as they tried to make a pass through the Sierra Nevada range, their remaining cattle became buried in the blizzard-like weather conditions, and many wagons had to be abandoned. The party set up camp in a valley, hoping to wait out the storm and continue on. The wait turned from a few days to weeks, then from weeks to months. The food supply ran out; leather books, oxen hide blankets, and tobacco became a daily meal. Relief parties were sent form California, but they could not take everyone at once. â€Å"If we do not find food, we will have to commence on the dead,† stated Tamsen Donner, wife of George Donner, when the first relief party came to take her oldest children out of the mountains (Burton 166). Tamsen was left with five children and her nieces and nephews to feed as well. The party ran out of oxen hides and leather to eat. The only way a mother was to keep her children alive was to feed them the only food source available. Careful not to choose their relatives, members of the Donner Party ate the only food source available: cadavers of those that had died. When reintroduced into the Californian society, the living members were shunned. Was it right of society to judge them so harshly? How could pioneers claim they would not do the same, when in reality it is more probable that they would? Louis Keseberg, the last member of the party to leave the mountains, was tried for murder. The public should not have demanded that that a survivor of such perils be ostracize d just for living. Another conflicting case is that of Alfred â€Å"Alferd† Packer, dubbed â€Å"Colorado’s Cannibal.† Packer was a mountain guide in 1873 Colorado. He was hired to take a group of men through Bingham Canyon, Utah. This expedition did not end as planned. As with the Donner Party, Packer had not realized that his company had set out too late and would lead to a fatal end. Many men turned around when they were rescued from the cold by a group of Indians, but five remained with Packer. The men set of, no heeding the warnings from the Indians. Sixty days after they left the campsite, only Packer emerged from the canyon. Questions arose to which Packer had no answer, so he lied. He told three versions of his story of survival, and only a few facts were found to be truth. Their food supply had run out and  the men agreed to eat whoever died from starvation. Shannon Bell had killed the four other men while Packer was searching for food. Packer killed Bell due to self-defense, and Packer did not resort to cannibalism until starvation overtook his guilt for the deaths of his men. Alfred Packer was called a murderer and sent to jail, even though he killed in self-defense. It was too quick of a decision to send this man, who was in a starved mindset, to a punishment in which he did not deserve. It is true that Packer was epileptic, and very possibly had several psychological problems, but that did not make him a killer. He was just trying to survive. Learned cannibalism is another category of cannibalistic behavior. It is when one is not driven by hunger to eat the flesh of another human. However, learned cannibalism is often thought of as the cause for Hannibal Lecter-style murders. Anthropologists deny that learned cannibalism is what such killers practiced; it is a method of ritualistic behavior that our human ancestors have passed down through generations. The Japanese army adopted such rituals during their last war. Why did the army commit such a primitive act? Some men state it was to bring to troop together, to give them nerves of steel, so to speak. Others claim it was to clear the taboo in case they ran out of food. Still, some say that it was because the soldiers wanted to gain the powers of the enemy, just as the headhunters had done so long ago. The Japanese military kept these cases filed away, not speaking of the ruthless acts the men committed. Now that the files have been uncovered, the question of whether or not this can be classified as a crime must be answered. With finding that answer comes more questions: Which men are right? Were they really starving, or were they just soulless beings? Was murder enacted to pursue this activity, or were the men already dead? So many questions arise that it is nearly impossible to have a clear, truthful answer as to whether this was a war crime or not. The psychological reason behind cannibalistic behavior ranges from starvation to perversion. â€Å"Cannibalism might be seen as the highest level of sexual perversion. This is closely related to the equally rare carving up of bodies, following sexual crimes and sadism,† state psychologists when asked if cannibalism can be considered a true crime, or if it is just a taboo of western culture (Capraro â€Å"Cannibalism is not a Crime†). Cannibalism isn’t listed as a crime;  the only trespasses a person can be tried for are manslaughter and rape. There is no sentencing to accompany the cutting up or eating of the body. Some people say that cannibalism should be labeled as murder. What if it was not murder that was committed? The custom of the sea dictates that, when a boat is crashed or stranded, survivors are to rely on the dead for food. There is no murder involved if the dead had come to be so due to natural causes. Society has become engrossed with stories of cannibals, murderers, and rapists. People gossip and read in depth about such crimes, feasting on the horrible tales which western culture has only read in stories from Edgar Allen Poe and the like. But what about when it happens in their own culture, to people on their own street? One name sticks out when cannibalism comes up: Armin Meiwes. The case of German native Meiwes is tricky because he could not be sentenced since cannibalism is rarely committed in today’s western culture and is not classified as a crime in Germany. Meiwes’s â€Å"victim,† Bernd Brandes, a man who was in a sexual relationship with Meiwes, had conceded to be killed and eaten by Meiwes. Meiwes could only be convicted for killing upon request and disturbing the peace of the dead (i.e. eating the body instead of burying it). Meiwes admits to being a true cannibal, and is acceptance of his branding as a murderer. But cannibalism does not always involve murder. Brandes consented to having part of him cut off and eaten, thus leaving him alive, and then later asked to be killed and consumed. Meiwes will be forever classified as psychotically disturbed and sexually perverse for his disposition on cannibalism. Society is unacceptable of cases such as Armin Meiwes simply because of the horrific act that is involved. The public demands stronger sentencing, or the death penalty as an eye-for-an-eye repayment. Cannibalism has been passed down through generations around the world, and as time has progressed it has become an ugly, horrible act. Yet, we are obsessed with learning about it. The famous book Hannibal by Thomas Harris spawned movies and general interest in the acts that the main character committed. Harris also gives the view of why cannibalism happens. Most cases of cannibalism occur from a deep psychological problem. Maybe the person who committed the act is  extreme obsessive-compulsive and cannot stand to have a mess; therefore, eating the body disposes of the mess and clears the act from the mind. As a child, the â€Å"cannibal† may not have had a strong relationship with their same sex parent and developed an over-dependent relationship with the opposite parent or a si bling. Such as Armin Meiwes, who had no apparent male figure in his life, consuming the flesh of someone he was close to was a way of keeping the person close to himself forever. As stated before, cannibalism can be seen as the highest level of sexual perversion, therefore many of Freud’s theories on oral fixation and sexual aggression can provide a possible explanation of the thought process of cannibalistic people. The perpetrator of the behavior is fixated on sexual pleasure resulting from the mouth. He or she enjoys the acts of sucking, biting, and chewing, often resulting in a need to have something constantly in his or her mouth. The way cannibalism fits in is that the act of eating another human is on a high level of sexual aggressiveness. The orally fixated person gets pleasure from eating another human, both sexually and orally. Many people who have been convicted of murder and the act of cannibalism have shown to eat those close to them. Either it is a companion, a lover, or a relative that is being consumed. The reasoning behind this is that the consumer wants to remain close to whomever it is for as long as possible, and when that person dies, the consumer sees eating them as a way of reincarnation because he or she is becoming a part of the consumer, thus their life continues. Obviously, this way of thinking is psychotically disturbing and when a person is convicted of such acts, they are put into an institution for the mentally disturbed. Can we send a person to jail for committing cannibalism even though they are psychologically unstable? Or do we take the risk of sending them to an institution to be â€Å"fixed,† and slowly reintroduce them to society? The world pretends to be blind of such acts and prefers to shut away those who do them. This is not taking care of the problem. Yes, the world o f the 1800s chose to shut their eyes against the survival techniques of the Donner Party, but that did not solve the issue of how to deal with the survivors. Survivors of such a tragic incident must slowly be reintroduced into the world. They should not feel that the world is an unsafe place just because they survived. People who willingly commit  cannibalism need to see the wrongs of what they did. On the other hand, people need to see why they did it in order to fully understand the reasoning. What the western culture claims is a taboo, the African culture deems it a ritualistic rite. Today, cannibalism has been turned into a sort of joke. In the cartoons, when two men are stranded on an island, one sees the other and imagines him as a big, juicy steak, thus invoking a chase of sorts. Is that not what happens when two people truly are stranded and starving? The custom of the sea states that when a boat is wrecked, the survivors must be willing to eat whatever is available, even if it is one another. Society does not realize that jokes, shows, and books influence the thoughts of everybody. Many times people will say in a joking matter that â€Å"he tasted just like chicken,† when referring to the eating of one another. In reality, people who make these jokes may someday be faced with the choice of living or dying, and the factor that will keep them alive is eating the person who â€Å"tastes just like chicken.† As disturbing as that thought may be, it is true. Humans’ first reaction in life or death situations is to preserve their own lives. When it comes to women in motherhood, they prefer to save their children’s lives first. If a family is faced with the obstacle of living or dying, such as the Donner Party families, their first choice is going to be to live. A mother wants her children to live, to experience life, even if that means do anything possible to survive. If the family must resort to cannibalism, is it a crime? Can the human race look dow n upon one another just for surviving? It would be ludicrous to believe that people should be abolished just because they chose to live instead of succumbing to death. When boiled down, Cannibalism is essentially only in two categories: survival cannibalism and learned cannibalism. The intrinsic side of modern Homo sapiens deals with survival cannibalism and justifies its cause. The moral side of the human brain cannot fathom the reasoning behind learned cannibalism. Why the ancestors began that tradition is a mystery. Was it first started from starvation? Did the first Homo sapiens not find food and decided to turn on one another? Or was it because of their belief in magic, the belief that humans contained magical powers and by digesting their flesh they absorbed the powers unto themselves? This mystery will remain unsolved, just as the mystery of who started the oral legends in Native American cultures. The reasoning behind society’s outlaws of cannibalism, either  survival or learned, is another mystery, yet it is one that can be solved. In native cultures, such as the Caribs, cannibalism was an everyday ordeal. As time progressed, people on the western hemisphere of the world chose to become more sophisticated. This involved the abolishing of all other cultural practices, from the clothes that were worn to the rituals that were participated in. Christianity was taught throughout the world, and cannibalism fell into the gray area of sins. Only anthropologists understood the need for converging into the act of survival cannibalism, and saw the importance of understanding why it was a ritual so long ago. The society that is shown cannibalistic behavior today is horrified by it because the behavior had not been practiced for so long that even the survival technique became unspeakable. Cannibalism started out as a ritual, a rite of sorts that was common to engage in. Then it moved into a state of survival, a technique only used when one is faced with death. Now, it is considered a perverse, revolting taboo that is blasphemed and blown out of proportion by media. Can one really take an opinion on this? Who can honestly, without a doubt, know for a fact that he or she would not turn to cannibalistic behavior when confronted with starvation? No one can give an honest answer to that question until they have been put in the situation. The brain switches from living by the standards of society to the survival instinct possessed by all living creatures. In all honesty, we are no different from the wolves that will eat a member of the pack in order to live. Works Cited Burton, Gabrielle. Impatient with Desire: The Lost Journal of Tamsen Donner. New York: Hyperion, 2010. â€Å"Cannibalism.† Compton’s by Encyclopedia Britannica. 2005 ed. Capraro, Ingo. â€Å"Cannibalism ‘not a crime.’† News24. 14 Dec 2002. Ellis, Meredith A.B. et al. â€Å"The Signature of Starvation: A Comparison of Bone Processing at a Chinese Encampment in Montana and the Donner Party Camp in California.† July 2010. U of Montana College of Arts and Sciences. Stranded: I’ve Come From A Plane That Crashed on the Mountains. Dir. Gonzalo Arijon. Pro. Gonzalo Arijon. 2007. Zeitgeist video, 2008. DVD.