My Best Friend, the Homeless Man Essay Example for Free

My Best Friend, the Homeless Man Essay Buddha once said, â€Å"Instead of judging a man by his appearance, look inside their heart, and read what it is their soul wrote. † I was raised in a family, which at times, could be very judgmental of people. My family lived in an upper-class neighborhood where there was no poverty or homelessness. My parents made sure my brother and I had all the best clothes, the newest cell phones and laptops, they spent a lot of money sending us to the best schools on the east coast, our education was very important to them. We both had tutors for different subjects, and my parents required us to take lessons three times a week, on the instrument of our choice. As it would turn out though, the greatest lesson I have ever learned, and the greatest friendship I have ever known, would come from a homeless man and his dog. Although I didn’t know it when I met him, knowing Brent would give me something more valuable than any earthly possession, it would make me a better person. The summer following my senior year of high school was a hectic confusing time in my life. I went from living in a small quiet suburban neighborhood in New Jersey my whole life, to moving to a big, noisy city in Arizona, 3000 miles away from home. It was my first time being on my own away from my family, especially in a place so far from where I lived my whole life. I went from having my parents taking care of me my whole life, to suddenly having to take care of myself. I’ll never forget how hot it was, summers in New Jersey rarely ever reach over 95 degrees, and that is only on the hottest days of the year. Unlike New Jersey, the first summer I spent in Arizona reached over 125 degrees. It was one of those excruciatingly hot days the day that I met Brent. August was coming to an end, and school was about to start. I had orientation all day and I was exhausted. On my way home from orientation, I realized I needed cigarettes, and since I didn’t know my way around the area very well I stopped at the first place I saw. It was a little liquor store on the corner of 31st Avenue. I pulled into the parking lot and parked my car, that was the first time I saw them. A homeless man was sitting on the curb outside the store, his dog sprawled out nearby in a more shaded area of the parking lot. The dog seemed to be in better shape than its master was. She was a healthy red-nose pit bull, with a beautiful, full coat of fur. The man on the other hand looked dirty like he hadn’t showered in weeks. His clothes were filthy, as was his matted hair, and he looked like he hadn’t eaten in just about as long as he hadn’t showered. As I passed the pit bull to go into the store I noticed that she was wearing shoes on both her back paws. I would later find out that she had been paralyzed in both hind legs during a procedure to get her fixed. Without those special shoes, she would not have been able to walk at all. While I was in the store buying my merchandise, I thought to myself how hot it was outside. I wondered to myself when the last time the dog had eaten was. The homeless, dirty looking man, didn’t look like he had any money to feed himself, never mind his dog, so I bought some dog food and chips for them. I remember thinking to myself, â€Å"What kind of person lives like that? Who would ever be out in public looking so filthy? † I knew nothing about this man, yet I judged him at the time, on appearance alone. As I paid for my items I was feeling a little nervous about approaching the man. He was homeless after all, and I didn’t want to get robbed. When I returned outside to give the homeless man the food I had bought for him, his dog approached me and wagged her tail. He thanked me, and threw the can of dog food I had just bought to the dog. To my surprise she picked up the can, and carrying it in her mouth, she walked back to her spot in the shade. I introduced myself, and told him I was new to the area, he said his name was Brent, and the red-nose pit bull was Little Girl. We said our good-byes, and I started on my walk back to my apartment. Since I was new in Arizona, I didn’t know anyone. I felt really lonely and depressed a lot of the time, and I desperately missed home. Over the next six months, I would see Brent and Little girl almost every day on my walk home from school. I would stop and say hi frequently. Our conversations became longer and longer as the months went on, and eventually Brent became my best friend. I found out that he was in the Navy for 8 years before he got hurt overseas. He started to drink a lot after his injury, and that is why he was homeless, he couldn’t stop drinking. He was from back east like I was; his only family in Arizona was Little Girl. I was right about one thing when I met him, he took better care of her then he did himself. We talked about everything and anything for hours, sometimes he would come over and shower and eat, although he didn’t like to do that too much, he had too much pride. I trusted him, and he never did anything to betray that trust. He always encouraged me to stay in school. He would tell me to stay on the right course in life, because one day you’ll wake up, and you’re not 21 anymore, your old, and you haven’t accomplished even half of what you set out to accomplish so many years before. I had the privilege of having Brent and Little Girl in my life for three wonderful years. A couple weeks before Easter, in 2011, Brent caught pneumonia. I called 911 when I saw how sick he was getting, and they took him to the hospital. I sat with him all that night. Brent slipped into a coma early the next morning, and two days after Easter, he was gone. Little Girl passed away only a week after her best friend. Even though I lost the best friend I have ever known, I am thankful for the lessons Brent and Little girl taught me. Never now is there a time I see a homeless man and judge him by his look, I started instead to judge ones soul.

The Long Trail :: Essays Papers

The Long Trail GRAPH The Long Trail, â€Å"Vermont’s footpath in the wilderness†, is the oldest long distance hiking trail in the U.S.. The Long Trail was conceived on the peak of Stratton Mountain in southern Vermont by James P. Taylor (1872-1949) as he waited for a thick fog to lift. On March 11, 1910 twenty-three people met in Burlington and founded the Green Mountain Club, and the Long Trail was on it’s way to becoming real. Work began on the trail in the Mt. Mansfield (highest peak in Vermont at 4383’) and Camel’s Hump areas, and connected the two by the end of 1912. Within only the first decade of the Green Mountain Club’s existence members had cleared over 200 miles of trail and provided 44 overnight sleeping accommodations. Of these, 14 were huts and shelters raised by the GMC. The final link of trail was cut to the Canadian border in 1930. The GMC celebrated its 21st birthday and the completion of the Long Trail with a chorus of flares erupting from mountaintops all along the spine of the Green Mountains. In 1931 the GMC trustees approved the hiring of a paid Long Trail Patrol under the leadership of Roy O. Buchanan. This group worked on trail maintenance and the construction and repair of shelters and huts along the trail. During this time the GMC also brought strong opposition to the proposed Green Mountain Parkway, a scenic highway cutting across the length of the Green Mountain range. Shelter construction increased during the period between 1950 and 1960, responding to growth in traffic on the trail. In 1958 the club was also instrumental in stopping an army plan to erect a missile communications tower on the Chin of Mt. Mansfield. Between 1966 and 1975 the GMC responded to new pressures caused by traffic by removing dumps from campsites, initiating â€Å"carry in- carry out† policies, education on responsible trail use and stationing of caretakers at the most high use areas and summits.

Comparing and contrasting of the artwork produced during two different artistic periods

In this assignment I am going to be comparing and contrasting the artworks from two artists both from different artistic periods. I have chosen to analyse works from Gustave Courbet and Auguste Renoir both from the Realist and Impressionist movements. Hailed as the pioneer of the Realist movement Gustave Courbet set an unprecedented artistic movement which caused a lot of controversy amongst all it artists.This movement embodied and represented the everyday norm as we know it, our own lives and realities caught on canvas or in this case the realities experienced by the artist Gustave Courbet. Realism was unprecedented and controversial in the sense that it broke away from the norm which was for centuries mainly depicting popular, religious figures however Courbet’s ideologies were for artists to portray only what they can see or has lived, depicting everyday scenes and events.Coming from a harsh environment, Gustaves earlier life was in the small town of Ornans in France were Courbet was born into a lower/ working class. His depictions of his realities can be seen through many works including â€Å"Burial at Ornans 1850†. One painting that embodies realism is entitled â€Å"The Stone Breakers†. This painting merely depicts to figures a boy and a man absorbed in their tedious repetitive work of crushing stones to make road.This controversy surrounding this piece was immense as it depicted two figures carrying out the most miserable tedious tasks one could do however this is the harsh reality they live and the reality Courbet is trying to convey to the viewer. We are unable to see the figures faces as the boy has his back facing the viewer and the man wearing a hat however this gives a sense of the figures shame and somewhat unimportance that we can’t even look at their faces because of the nature of their reality and how they go about earning their money.In comparison to Realism, Impressionism shares the same characteristics in terms of depicting reality. Many Impressionist artists works including â€Å"Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette† or â€Å"La Loge† Auguste Renoir as well as â€Å"Woman with a Parasol† by Claude Monet are all depictions of the artists realities and general normal activities or social gatherings. The breaking from the norm seemed to be continued with the Impressionists by also literally painting what they saw, adopting this new way ofobservational painting which meant artists left their studios and began to paint outside. In relation to Courbets paintings the Impressionists depicted everyday scenes which were observed by the artists themselves at the adopting this new age of artistic movements. Impressionist pieces such as â€Å"La Loge† by Auguste Renoir depict a female figure in her most realist but glamorous form.It is somewhat realist in the sense that there is a lot of attention to the detail of the fabric, the figures dress is a velvety texture it gives the viewer a sense of they can almost feel the texture. Her face and hair are painted in the most natural form. â€Å"Impression Sunrise† by Claude Monet is the piece in which the whole Impressionist movement received its name from. The Impressionists were seen as radicals depicting a new Industrial revolution the way they saw it in reality.It is evident throughout most Impressionist works the use of visible, sketchy brush strokes merely creating â€Å"impressions† of the subject that they are trying to depict. The use of colour and light was revolutionary through this period as certain theories were vital to follow in order to achieve the desired effect. For instance the use of complimentary colours playing off each other to create a more intense piece, shadows merely being shades of colours from where they are cast as well as the thickness of the paint etc all were important factors.In contrast to works such as â€Å"The Stone Breakers†, Impressionist pieces are s omewhat depicted differently. For instance the brush strokes shown in pieces such as â€Å" Woman with a Parasol 1875† the brushstrokes short and sketchy and go with the flow of the subject matter as brushstrokes are meant to depict movement within the piece, something that Courbets was unable to portray but instead his seemed to depicted a never ending slow movement in time because of the repetitive hard labour shown in the piece.The visible brushstrokes also in some ways depict emotion in the sense that quickly faster sketchier brushstrokes may imply a certain emotion the artist was going through in order to create those marks were as shorter strokes may imply a more slight attention to detail. The colour shining from the back of the female figure gives great light and shadow to the piece.Hints of yellows and greens are visible on the female figures dress while touches of blues and pinks are visible as shadows on the field. In conclusion I have managed to compare and contra st some artworks from two different artistic periods and have managed to identify and explain most of the characteristics. The similarities with both Realist and Impressionist movements were apparent within the subject matter of the artworks.Breaking from the norm like this was unprecedented and these artists were seen as radicals changing the ancient teachings of art and adopting their own rules to fit their ideologies. The differences mainly spanned in which the way different artists portrayed their work. Within realist pieces such as â€Å"The Stone Breakers† attention to detail was apparent as the poor figures clothes were ruff and rugged merely the harshness of their everyday job.Impressionist pieces such as â€Å"Woman with a Parasol† weren’t so much focused on every aspect of the figures attire, facial features etc but more on creating this moment of strolling through the field, whilst capturing movement and emotion. These were just depicted with brush st rokes and as mere impressions of the real thing. The subject matter from most Impressionist and Realist artists where just depictions of their reality which in a sense in comparison together makes them similar movements in terms of subject matter.

Introduction. Analysing And Comparing The Gothic Elements

INTRODUCTION ANALYSING and comparing the Gothic elements between Poe s The Tell Tale Heart and Wilde s The Canterville Ghost Ghost The soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit imagined, usually as a vague, shadowy or evanescent form, as wandering among or haunting living persons. A disembodied soul; especially : the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness. A false image in a photographic negative or on a television screen caused especially by reflection. The Gothic And Literature The gothic novel refer to stories that have combination of elements from horror and romanticism.The gothic novel have the elements like supernatural events ,or even that†¦show more content†¦He kill the man just because of his â€Å"evil eyes† but after killing he feel guilty . Wilde’s The Cantervilla ghost â€Å" The cantervilla ghost â€Å" is a short story by Oscar wilde ,it was the first of wilde’s story that was published . The story is about a family who shifted to a castle which was haunted by the ghost of a nobleman , who killed his wife amd was starved to death by wife’s brother. The ghost story as a genre Ghost story belong to the genre of horror literature and give the purpose of scaring the reader and situations that cause horror or fear. After reading in my opinion the main theme are death ,evil and ancient prophecies . It is a horror story and horror stories was born in 19th century because at that time there was interest for the fantastic and supernatural elements in the circle as the intellectual. The literature of 18th and 19th century introduce us from the gothic revival. What ghost is †¦. The main character of the ghost stories is the ghost of course. It is a legendary being. It is an incorporeal presence that is usually covered by a bed sheet or without head; it produces a clang noise and sometimes is surrounded by a strange light. Other features are the appearances during the night and in isolate places (castles or roads). The word ghost in the past meant supernatural appearance, but now it has the meaning of the appearance of a died person. This is an element