Twilight is not literary genius Essay Example for Free

Twilight is not literary genius Essay What defines a â€Å"bad book†? Most people can identify what they liked about a book: the characters were believable or the writing was beautiful or the plot was striking, etc†¦; however, when asking someone what they did not like about a â€Å"bad book†, they can scarcely put their finger on it. Presented in this essay is a definition for a â€Å"good book† upon which three books (The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer) will be examined and determined as â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad†. A good book can be defined with the use of three basic concepts: plot, prose and character development. The plot is essential. If the plot of a novel is lacking, almost assuredly all other points will follow. Prose, the wording and grammar of the novel, is the first contact the reader has with your novel. If the prose is bad, the likelihood that someone will want to read the book (or be able to read the book) decreases. Character development may be the single most important aspect of a novel. The characters and their decisions are what ultimately drive a story. If a character is dull, unlikeable and or even not relatable, the book will most assuredly be bad. These are not the only methods to judge a book, but they are usually the aspects a reader will be looking at first and foremost. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown is one of the highest selling books in the 21st Century. It has been translated into numerous languages and has had a film adaptation; however, it is also ridiculed by many as being a bad book. The book, being a mystery, is packed full of action. There are clues to be solved, puzzles to solve and a whole society full of mysteries to crack. The plot is interesting and Brown puts in a number of twists that keep the reader guessing and reading; although, there have been a number of critics on Brown’s bestseller being historically and scientifically inaccurate. The prose used in The DaVinci Code is so lacking that it is almost comical. Brown, despite being a bestselling author, does not seem to grasp grammar or fluidity sentence structure. The first page in the novel demonstrates this: A voice spoke, chillingly close. â€Å"Do not move. † On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly. Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils (Brown, 2). â€Å"Chillingly close† denotes that the speaker is close directly behind or whispering into ones ear. Only a few sentences down, Brown reveals that his version of â€Å"chillingly close† is fifteen feet away. Also, when one is frozen they do not turn their head. If the curator was truly frozen, his head would not be turning. Also, it is impossible to see the skin, hair and eye color of a silhouette – a silhouette is a black figure with no apparent qualities, it is a black shadow. The character development in The DaVinci Code is also lacking. The main characters, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveau are likeable enough. We learn some of their background and history, but other than that they remain mysteries. The villains in this story are all one-dimensional. They are all connected to the Catholic Church or some sort of secret society and none have anything other than tainted motives at best. Most of the other characters were written stereotypically: the British lord turned evil, the evil Albino, etc†¦ The DaVinci Code, although a suspenseful page-turner, was a poorly written book. The plot was full of twists and turns that kept the readers’ attention, but was full of inaccuracies. The prose was dreadful at best. The character development was nearly non-existent, relying on stereotyping rather than explanation. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is a post-apocalyptic novel in which the entire human race, with the exception of one man (Robert Neville), has turned into a vampire. He spends his days staking vampires and his nights barricaded in his house waiting for the sun to rise. This book has inspired more than one movie adaptation. The action scenes are remarkable in the way they are described. The simple clarity of what is going on while the vampires are banging on the walls and defenses of Neville’s house at the beginning of the book sets the tone for the rest: â€Å"He sat in the living room, trying to read. He’d made himself a whiskey and soda at his small bar and he held the cold glass as he read a physiology text. From the speaker from over the hallway door, the music from Schoenberg was playing loudly† (Matheson, 12). The plot of this book seems simple at first: Neville is the last man on Earth who is not infected and he kills the beings that are. This book is character-driven rather than plot-driven. The prose of this novel has a flowing simplicity to it. Matheson does not need to use flowery wording or beautiful metaphors. â€Å"The sky was darkening and it was getting chilly. He looked up and down Cimmaron Street, the cool breeze ruffling his blonde hair. That’s what was wrong with these cloudy days; you never knew when they were coming† (Matheson, 12). His manner of writing brings a depth to the story and helps sets the tone of the post-apocalyptic world. He doesn’t need to compare the sky to anything or the breeze. He writes the way the main character’s world would seem: simple and dark. Neville eats, sleeps, hides and kills vampires. The character development for I Am Legend is remarkable. In the beginning, the reader sympathizes with Neville. What would it be like to be in a world by yourself? Fighting to survive every moment? As the book continues, the reader watches as Neville slowly becomes different, turning into a monster himself. I Am Legend is a good book. The action is detailed, the prose is simplistic but useful, the plot is character-driven and the character development for the main character is enthralling. I Am Legend is anything but a bad book. It seems as though vampires always make a comeback. They were present in I Am Legend, written in 1954, and they appear again in the recent phenomenon of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Twilight is the first of a four book saga about a family of â€Å"vegetarian† vampires (vampires who feed only on animals rather than humans) and the human girl that a member of the family falls in love with. The plot for Twilight is filled with cliches: the basic Romeo and Juliet love story, a forbidden love. The idea of a vampire who does not feed on human beings – Anne Rice, for instance, had a similar idea. A misfit high school teenage girl with a strange ability (brain-dead-ness? ) happens more times than not. Most people love a good love story, which is essentially what Twilight thrives for, the love between the hero (Edward Cullen) and the heroine (Bella Swan). The prose used in Twilight is not literary genius by any means. There are numerous repeated adjectives, descriptions of Edward that are also repetitive for example: â€Å"His skin, white despite the faint flush from yesterday’s hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface† (Meyer, 260). There are numerous times in the novel when Edward’s skin is described as diamond-like the way it shines. It is written simplistically, but as it is a teenage, love-struck girl who is narrating it, perhaps too flowery of words would seem out of character and strange. The character development in Twilight is limited. This could be because the story is written from a first-person perspective, limiting the reader to know only what Bella knows. Bella, as a character, is well-defined. She isn’t comfortable in her own skin, she is clumsy and smart. Edward, however, seems to have more mood swings than a teenager, despite his age of well over a century old. In fact, he sums his whole personality up in one sentence: â€Å"How easily frustrated I am† (Meyer, 265). The high school teenagers Bella is friends with are stereotypical at best; Charlie Swan is exactly what you would expect from a small-town sheriff, there is very little learned about the Cullen Family (although that does come later in the series) and the villains James, Laurent and Victoria are one-dimensional. They seem to be after one thing and one thing only: blood. Twilight has a predictable plot, limiting and repetitive prose and inadequate character development in her full cast of characters. By the definitions set out by this essay, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is a poorly written, bad book. In conclusion, out of the three books examined in this essay: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, the only book that can truly be identified as a good book is Matheson’s I Am Legend; however, all three books have been phenomenon’s, selling millions world-wide in a multitude of languages and all have had silver screen adaptations. Despite what who says these books are good or bad, the general public are frantic about them regardless. Works Cited Brown, Dan. The DaVinci Code. New York: Random House, 2003. Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1997. Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005.

The Tower Of London Essay -- essays research papers

The Tower of London The Tower of London, the oldest fortified palace in Europe, was built by William the Conqueror in the late 1000's. It has served as a fortress, prison, palace, and the final resting-place of many people ("Tower of London" Encarta 1). Its history is full of amazing and horrific stories of life and death. To truly appreciate this magnificent group of structures a look must be taken into its history through it's architecture, uses, and those held in the prisons and dungeons. The Tower Of London is not actually one tower, it is a group of 13 towers located on 7.5 hectares of land known as Tower Hill ("Tower of London" Encarta 1). To the south of the tower is the Thames Rivers, which used to feed a moat that was drained in 1830. The general shape of the tower is a square with two lines of defensive walls surrounding it. The outer wall is defended by six towers on the river face, and there are two semi-circular bastions at the northeast and northwest corners (Tower of London Virtual Tour 3). The original tower, also known as the White Tower, is flanked by four turrets (Encarta 1). By looking carefully at the architecture of the tower you can see the painstaking workmanship put into every little detail. The group of thirteen towers collectively known as the Tower of London has five areas, which are especially interesting. One such tower was...

Ethical Issue in Public Health Essay

1. Ethical Leadership in the Hospital Business Due to the critical relevance of the healthcare service for the society, it is important for the organizations and institutions involved in this field to develop their operational system, administrative approaches, and patient care strategies to address effectively and efficiently the healthcare service needs of the community. Important in these institutions is the organizational aspect of their operation wherein the role of leadership becomes a critical material as this manifest as the key element in the ethical nature of their group. Indeed, leadership is important in the hospital institution as this serve as the focal point of the ethical nature and ideal identity of their organization. The leadership characteristics each hospital institution respectively defines their service and their ethical nature. Significantly, the leadership character needed in healthcare institutions is mainly based on their classification organized based on their facilities, potential, and ability to extend particular healthcare service. In relation to their classification, it is important for the organization to develop leadership principles and ethical values towards their purpose of providing healthcare service. In this aspect, the leadership characteristics of each hospital must be towards achieving success in the ethical purpose of their organization, maximizing their potential for effective service, and extending their services in their community. These elements must be fully integrated and must be effectively manifested by the leaders of the hospital organization for them to be able to influence and direct their institution towards the achievement of these missions. Developing the approach in the leadership system of a healthcare organization is often considered as a critical matter particularly the approach that will be taken by the leaders in influencing the entire organization. In motivating the personnel of the hospital towards their ethical agenda, it is important for the leaders to affect the views and ideology of its people through personally manifesting the values they wish to promote. An approach particular to this is â€Å"servant leadership† in which the leaders manifest the values of humility and humbleness in their actions thus, enabling them to lead their group through examples. In general, this approach is mainly means being the values that they wish to promote whereas through perception, the organization will be motivated to follow their leader’s example. Indeed, through applying this leadership strategy in uplifting the ethical values of the hospital organization, the institutions can become effective healthcare service medium addressing the need of the people for better health and better life. The ethical system by which hospital leadership is based actually outlines the needed level of relationship that doctors and other health staff should have with the patients that they are attending to. The level of involvement that they are allowed to have with their patients is usually broken down through the different ethical principles that the said industry applies in the system. 2. Contemporary Neuroscience and the Notion of Freedom The aspect of neuroscience primarily relates to the determination and the analysis of behavioral development of the human being based on the physiological and biological nature of the brain in the human body. In this field, scientists try to explain and understand how human behavior and its characteristics are developed from the complex development of the brain structure from its basic origin of single-celled to the complex formation of the human body. During the past, this field has been limited by numerous hindrances namely the boundaries in the current technological capacity. However, in the present, recent technological advancement with the numerous studies and efforts in this field brought about new discoveries and advances in the scientific field of neuroscience. Among the recent advances in this field formulation of the procedural approach in researching brain characteristics and activities in its fundamental structure wherein scientists are not able to explore the relationship and possibilities in genetic influence with the behavioral development. With the experimentation procedures in animals and the technological advances that allow molecular reconfiguration, neuroscientists are now able to explore the influence of genetic altercation with neurological and behavioral characteristics. In application, this recent advancement paved the way for greater possibilities wherein scientist hope on curing neurological problems and detrimental behavioral problems and retardation during the initial development of the brain. With more research, scientist can learn how to determine and stop possible brain and psychological problems during the fetal development of the human body thus negating its unfortunate consequences in the future. With this possibility, the choice of living a healthy physiological and psychological life can be made possible and available for the every human being, which will be significantly assured even during his or her fetal development. In addition, positive traits and characteristics can be enhanced in each generation influencing the development of the society for the better towards the future. Ethical matters in this part of the medical aspect of development involves the consideration that practitioners place on the capabilities of the patient to decide for their own medications or the process of healing that they are likely to accept in such serious cases of neuro-medication.

The War On Poverty And Poverty - 1149 Words

The War on Poverty Poverty in the United States would appear to be an oxymoron. Considering the United States of America is one of the most prolific economies in today’s global market. However, according to the US Census Bureau forty-seven million Americans live in poverty today. â€Å"Poverty condemns millions of people throughout the world to live in deplorable and inhuman conditions. These people are trapped in a cycle of poverty, living in places offering little protection from the rain, wind, and cold† (George 671). Despite poverty being a major problem within the boarders of the United States, American government disperses over fifty billion dollars to relieve similar situations in third world countries. A more logical allocation of resources would be to address the problem right here at home rather than blindly giving to the poor of the rest of the world. Fifty-two years ago in 1964 United States President Lyndon Johnson declared War on Poverty in his State of the Union Address saying â€Å"â€Å"This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America. Our objective is total victory.† This declaration of war marked the beginning of a campaign that sparked many anti-poverty programs. These programs include the Economic Opportunity Act, Head Start, Community Action Program, and Job Corps. Johnson targeted the â€Å"causes† of poverty rather than the mere â€Å"consequences† of it. Since the War on Poverty took effect in the US the quality of life andShow MoreRelatedThe War On Poverty And Poverty1290 Words   |  6 PagesStates is in an â€Å"unconditional war† on poverty in America. Fifty-two years later the United States taxpayers have spent over twenty-two trillion dollars on anti-poverty programs. Although the poverty rate has decreased tremendously poverty is still an issue as of today. Poverty refers to the condition where people’s basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met. Poverty is separated into two categories; absolute poverty, and relative poverty. Absolute poverty measures the number of peopleRead MoreWar On Poverty And Poverty1662 Words   |  7 Pagesyou can recall, war on poverty was declared more than 50 years ago. Yet, more than 46 million Americans continue to live in poverty. Thus, with bipartisan support, policies and programs have been passed by the various administrations making a significant impact on reducing poverty, but not winning the battle. Poverty is a concerning matter that must be nationally recognized given the fact that the issues and obstacles faced by the impoverished are the root cause of constant poverty among communitiesRead MoreWar on Poverty1156 Words   |  5 PagesWar on Poverty I believe poverty is a big social issue in America. 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