The Supernatural in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider Essay -- Lovecraft

The Supernatural in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider One of H.P. Lovecraft’s many short stories, â€Å"The Outsider† has been praised since its publication as his most profound and meaningful. This story has been interpreted many different ways, varying from an autobiography of Lovecraft himself to several different philosophical analyses. One such interpretation, by Dirk Mosig compares the plot and settings of â€Å"The Outsider† to Lovecraft’s own doubtful views of religion and an afterlife. Mosig supports his interpretation with many facts from the story, I believe he pinpoints one very possible meaning of the story. His argument successfully uses the plot and details to convince the reader that his hypothesis is correct. In order to understand Mosig’s interpretation, one must first understand â€Å"The Outsider† and its general themes, from an unbiased viewpoint. The story begins with the narrator explaining his origins. He, a nameless creature, tells of his environment: a dark, decaying castle amid an â€Å"endless forest† of high, lightless trees. (Lovecraft) He has never seen light, nor a single living human being. He lives among crypts lined with decomposing bones and rats. He never mentions eating, but lives alone, with only the thousands of books that the castle holds as a mental way to escape from the boredom of his prison-like home. Everything he know has come from his reading of the â€Å"antique books† that line the walls of his castle. (Lovecraft) There is no escape from his world save one tall tower which seems to reach above the soaring treetops. He explains that he had once tried to escape through the forest, but became scared in the endless woods and returned before he became lost. He has... ... It seems strange that H.P. Lovecraft, who made his fortune from stories about the supernatural, would be seen as not believing in the subject which made him famous. This may subtract from Mosig’s arguments. Also, other sources suggest that this should be read as a horror story; not just for the people who saw the outsider, but also for himself, when he realized his own fate and past. Dirk Mosig’s arguments are convincing however, and his interpretation makes good sense with the complex story that is â€Å"The Outsider.† Works Cited Lovecraft, Howard Phillips. â€Å"The Outsider.† H.P. Lovecraft Library. 1921. 6 Nov. 2002 . Mosig, Dirk W. â€Å"The Four Faces of The Outsider.† Discovering H.P. Lovecraft. Ed. Darrell Schweitzer. Mercer Island, Washington: Starmont House, 1987. 6754

Compassion International Speech Outline

Bridgette Woodcock Prof. Roche THE 113 Speech 21 February 2013 Compassion International: Child Sponsorship Introduction (Play video) 1 (Provide two statistics) Did you ever think you could change the life story of the weak and vulnerable? Well, you can! Today, I want to share with you the importance of what you can do to change a child’s story. 2 Today, many children are living in poverty and exploitation. Many of those places are within the 26 poorest countries that Compassion International serves. Compassion is well known and used by celebrities and other national foundations. 4 Compassion uses a holistic method of child development 5 An average person can minimize and eliminate the exploitation and poverty through the organization Compassion International. Child sponsorship lifts children out of poverty/exploitation. 1 Fox News. com reported, â€Å"In Brazil’s poorest regions, mothers, many of whom are stuck in the sex trade, often push their own daughter’s i nto the business at age 12 or younger to increase the family’s meager income† (para. ). 2 Compassion Serves in 26 Developing Countries, â€Å"19 were placed in the â€Å"Tier 2 category† (â€Å"governments who don’t fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)† (para. 3-4). 3 â€Å"Compassion International takes a long-term strategy by tackling the underlying issues that make child enslavement possible. Prevention through education, care and nurture is how we (Compassion) work to protect all of the 1. 2 million children we (Compassion) serve around the world† (para. ). Is child sponsorship with Compassion real/legitimate? 1 Yes! Compassion is independently audited by several agencies including Charity Navigator 4 star ranking for 11 consecutive years, Chronicle of Philanthropy’s â€Å"Top Rated Charity-#23 on Top 400 list†, Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, Forbes ranks it as #15 on its Largest Cha rities List, and Non-Profit Times ranks Compassion as #30 on its Top 100 List. 2 Been in Business since 1952. Sponsors may visit their children, write letters, send cards and give extra above the sponsorship, which 100% of donation goes directly to that child and his/her family. Over 87% of $38. 00 sponsorship donation goes to the child & child’s center to provide school fees, books, educational materials, clothing, food, health care, counseling, and activities. Holistic method of child development 1 Child Survival Program (Birth to age 2 and mothers) Begins when a mother is still pregnant, provides nutrition, medical assistance, parental education, and social support for both mothers and caregivers to help them succeed the first few years of the child’s life. 2 Child Sponsorship Program (Age 2-10-new registrations- existing children to age 18) 1 Sponsorship is a unique way for one person to have a life-changing effort on poverty around the world by sponsoring a child in poverty. 3 Complementary Interventions (All ages- operations, flooding, mosquito nets, water) Divided into two areas: Supplemental development activites (medical, nutritional, and educational assistance, AIDS prevention, Malaria prevention) and Program Enhancement Activities (disaster response, water projects, income-generating activities, and infrastructure development). 4 Leadership Development Program (college students) 1 Gives students the opportunity to develop their gifts and become skilled professionals and leaders of influence in their churches, communities, and nations. Conclusion- Partnering with Compassion is Affordable and Makes a Difference! $38. 00 per month per child 2 Extra Donations Optional (Birthdays, Christmas, Family Gift) (no more than $1,000 per year, $2,000 in graduation year). 3 Forms a personal relationship with child 4 Limits child exposure to human slavery and poverty. Works Cited Compassion International. (2012). compassion. com. http://www. compassio n. com/child-development-model. htm Hanlon, Mark. (2011). The new slavery—human trafficking. FoxNews. com. Retrieved February 20, 2013. www. foxnews. com/opinion/2011/09/15/new-slavery-human-trafficking.

Teaching Personal Space to Children With Disabilities

Children with disabilities, especially children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, have difficulty understanding and appropriately using personal space.  Its importance is significant since many of these young people when they reach adolescence, become particularly vulnerable to assault or predation because they are unaware of the social and emotional boundaries that are important in the general public.   Deep Pressure Some Children with ASD are what we call deep pressure, and they seek as much sensory input as they can get.  They will throw their arms around not only significant adults in their lives but sometimes to complete strangers.  I worked 5 years ago as a volunteer at a camp at Torino Ranch, maintained by the Torino Foundation.  Ã‚  When my camper came off the bus he threw his arms around me (we had never met,) and I ticked off deep pressure kid, which led to four days of success.  I used that sensory need to keep him calm and appropriate.  Still, these students need to learn appropriate interaction.   The Science of Personal Space Proximics, or the science of personal space, explores how we as humans and as social and ethnic groups use the space around us.  Research has found that in a typical person the amygdala responds negatively to the invasion of personal space.  Research has not been definitive on the effect of population density on the size of personal space, as reported by anthropologists, but this writer has experienced it.  In Paris, in 1985, I attended a concert at the Place de Concord.  There were somewhere in the range of 50 to 60 thousand people there.  Someone started to push at the outside (Word was out that they were thugs [clouchards].)  Amazingly, after several minutes of chanting Assis! Assis! (sit down) we sat down.  Probably a couple of thousand people.  I looked at an American Friend and said: In America, we would have had a fist fight. This, of course, is why its important for special education students to understand personal space.  Students with autism may resist everyone entering their personal space, but all too often their amygdala is not firing when someone comes into their space, and we know they cant understand another persons desire for personal space.   There are three things needed to help them learn this: A metaphor that can help them understand personal space.Modeling to show how we use personal space andExplicit instruction in the use of personal space.   The Metaphor: The Magic Bubble Typical children and typical human beings are able to write their own meta-narrative, the story of their life.  Face it, when a woman gets married she often has a lifetime of plans dancing in her head about the perfect wedding (or her mothers dream.)  Children with disabilities, especially children with autism spectrum disorders, are unable to write those meta-narratives.  That is why Social Stories (TM) or Social Narratives (my name) are so powerful.  They use visual images, a story and often the childs own name.  I will be changing the name in the original document for the children I will use it with. I created the social narrative, Jeffies Magic Bubble, to support students with autism spectrum disorders.  It uses the metaphor a magic bubble to define the invisible space around each of us that is also called personal space.  Children with disabilities love to play with bubbles, so using it as a metaphor will provide a visible understanding of what that space is like.   Modeling Once the model is established by reading the book, make a game of magic bubbles.  Have children spin and identify the edge of their bubbles (arms length is a good compromise between intimate and familiar personal space.) Practice welcoming others into their magic bubbles by putting hands out and greeting others with a handshake. Hi, Im Jeffie.  Nice to meet you.   Make a game of Magical Bubbles by giving students clickers and having others come as close as they can without stepping inside another childs personal bubble.  The student in their Magic Bubble will click when they think the other student or students enter their bubble. Explicit Instruction Read the book Jeffies Magic Bubble aloud as a group.  If students need individual instruction (so they are better at paying attention to personal space) you will want to read it to those students over and over again.   After reading each page, have students practice:  when you get to crossing arms and hands on hips, have them practice.  When you read about Jeffie saying NO!  practice saying NO!  Practice asking friends for a hug.   Be sure that you recognize students who respect each others personal space.  You might want each child to have a magic bubble chart.  Hand out stickers or stars for each time you catch them asking to enter another childs space, or asking another student politely to move outside of their personal space.