Speech - The Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

Speech The Meaning of Life Essay Is human life just a dream, from which we never really awake, as some great thinkers claim? Are we submerged by our feelings, by our loves and hates, by our ideas of good, bad, beautiful, and awful? Are we incapable of knowing beyond those ideas and feelings? Is the reality we know a reality imposed to us by nature? Are the reality and the meaning of life a creation of men, such as music, or love or colors? When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity that lies before and after it, when I consider the little space I fill and I see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am unaware, I rest frightened, and astonished, for there is no reason why I should be here rather than there. Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have this place and time have been ascribed to me? Love gives meaning to our lives as do friendship, or art or faith in God. These are factors of true happiness, of inner peace, of feelings of harmony, allowing meaning to our existence. But there is the other side. There is the cruelty of life, the pain, the evil, not to talk of death. When the Tsimtsum sank, not only was Pi shoved face to face with the unknown, but he also lost his family, the core of his human context. Instead, he had to try to survive. Life of Pi is a story about struggling to survive through seemingly insurmountable odds. Throughout the novel, characters are seeking the meaning of life. Pi abandons his lifelong vegetarianism and eats fish to sustain himself. Orange Juice, the peaceful orangutan, fights ferociously against the hyena. Even the severely wounded zebra battles to stay alive; his slow, painful struggle vividly illustrates the sheer strength of his life force. As Martel makes clear in his novel, living creatures will often do extraordinary, unexpected, and sometimes heroic things to survive. However, they will also do shameful and barbaric things if pressed. Exactly like humans. It is between these pendulums the positive, the one that gives happiness and meaning, and the negative that our lives are lived. And when we meditate about all that, we arrive at a diverse and disagreeing set of thoughts about the meaning and purpose of life. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time and attention. I hope I have clarified the thoughts of some, to be aware of the vast world we live in and the astounding beings we truly are. Speak to others of your thoughts and knowledge; I am sure they will be willing to listen.

William F. Mays Rising to the Occasion of Our Death Essay examples --

There are three key audiences of the text for William F. May's â€Å"Rising to the Occasion of Our Death.† The first audience, in this case, would be legislative organizations or lawmakers who have researched and studied similar cases regarding euthanasia. Since May was as an ethics professor at Southern Methodist University, his tone is decidedly intellectual. An uneducated individual would find it more difficult to read his essay; for example, in declarations such as â€Å"Advocates of active euthanasia appeal to the principle of patient autonomy,† May's syntax and tone is formal, informative, and utilizes heavy technical jargon (May 662). In other words, it is authoritative, and enables the audience to view him as a credible source due to his syntactical confidence. Other organizations, lobbyists, or lawmakers who are researching evidence on euthanasia would certainly benefit from reading his expert opinion on the matter. Moreover, his desire to develop a â€Å"ju dicious, regulated policy† is a certain acknowledgement that he is attempting to legally call for regulations on euthanasia (May 662). The second audience that May is appealing to are conservative Christians, who are distinctively pro-life. As his article was originally published in well-circulated The Christian Century magazine, addressing this audience exposes members of May's audience who are unfamiliar with euthanasia to its technicalities by debating morality. His tone is similar to that of a sermon; instead of utilizing scientific facts or statistics, May chooses to exclude a logos appeal in favor of an ethos objective. He preaches on moral values about life and death, mentioning that â€Å"the best death is not always the sudden death† (May 662). According to May, preparation... ...ploying strong technical terms and establishing an extrinsic ethos, and exercising sub-arguments that would only benefit numerous groups of people, May strongly achieves his strategy of argument through ethos in terms of rhetorical persuasion. Works Cited Agatucci, Cara. "Cora Agatucci's Toulmin-Style Analysis of May's Argument." WR 122 Course Home Page. N.p., 06 Jan. 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. May, William F. "Rising to the Occasion of our Death." The Christian Century Jul 11 1990: 662. ProQuest. Web. 31 Mar. 2014 "Opinion 2.21 – Euthanasia." Opinion 2.21 – Euthanasia. American Medical Association, June 1996. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Perelman, Chaà ¯m, and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca. Facts, Values, and Hierarchies, The New Rhetoric. N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF. The Stases and Other Rhetorical Concepts from Introduction to Academic Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer's fundamental needs, values, and orientation towards life are symbolized by the four astrological elements. Each person has their own unique balance of these four basic energies: fire (warmth, inspiration, enthusiasm), earth (practicality, realism, material interests), air (social and intellectual qualities), and water (emotional needs and feelings). Federer's â€Å"elemental make-up† is described below.Remember that most people are â€Å"unbalanced† or lopsided, and if Roger is lacking or deficient in a certain element (or elements), it simply means that he needs to consciously develop that particular aspect in order to appreciate and/or work harder in that dimension of life. Sometimes we overestimate the element that we are least endowed with, sensing it as a lack within ourselves, but more often we neglect or ignore it. The qualities described below will be reiterated and explained in more detail in the following pages.His life is likely to be full of e motional extremes, turbulence, joy and sorrow stemming from his own passionate nature and unpredictability. Roger Federer is impulsive and temperamental. For Roger, everything is intensely personal and colored by emotion. He may have difficulty viewing a situation from a detached, impartial or rational perspective, and he has little inclination to structure and order his life. However, fostering self-discipline, organization and focus is essential.Otherwise Roger Federer will be prone to extreme moodiness, alternating between lofty inspiration and despondency. At times, Roger Federer feels a great deal of internal pressure due to two of his dominant impulses which tend to conflict with one another. The desire for independence and freedom, the need for self-expression and ego recognition, and the urge to leave the past behind in order to propel himself into new experiences may clash with other, equally powerful needs – namely attachments to people and to the familiar, a compel ling urge for emotional closeness, and a desire for security.Balancing these two drives is a significant challenge for Federer. Even though his life may be less balanced and perhaps less stable than that of others, it is unlikely that Roger Federer would change it because he is very vibrant, sensitive and responsive to the ever-changing, dynamic quality of life. However, as you will read in the next chapter, Roger Federer has a sense of practical orientation and a certain down-to-earth approach, which helps to ground him somewhat.

The Differences Between Different Latin American Countries...

Hispanic’s in America, much like many other groups of immigrants, are not always welcomed when they arrive in the United States. They are often seen as inferior or as illegal. Many Americans believe that Hispanics should be deported and that they come to America to take their jobs away from them. Additionally, many Americans consider all Hispanics to be Mexican and fail to recognize the differences between different Latin American countries. In spontaneous situations, people may be quick to negatively judge another based on their appearance and their perceived stereotypes of a certain group of people. My boyfriend and his family, who were all born in Peru, invited me to the USA vs Peru soccer game. Peru and the USA’s records were tied, both having two wins and two losses. The result of the game would break the tie and put one team on top. His family has a very strong sense of Peruvian pride and so they were very happy and excited to be going to the game. It was a normal hot day in September when we arrived at the stadium. We wanted to get into the stadium as soon as possible and find our seats so that we could settle in and watch the players warm up. My boyfriend and his family were all wearing Peruvian jerseys and I was wearing a t-shirt that said Peru. The game began and everything was going normally. There were supporters of Peru and of the USA sitting around us. About 10 minutes into the second half of the game, three lady’s supporting the Peruvian team arrived to theShow MoreRelatedDifference Between Latin American Spanish1622 Words   |  7 Pagesfamiliar. The difference between Latin American Spanish (LAS) and Castilian Spanish (CS) is something that is increasingly prominent in the global Hispanic society. These differences lie in the grammatical, lexical and phonological features of the two variations of both the variant and the original form of the language. 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The difference relies that in the U.S., these European countries remained for a longer period of time, making the U.S. a multicultural country. According to the Guinness Book of World Reco rds, Queens, a major area of New York City is considered to be â€Å"the mostRead MoreThe Music Style Calle 13972 Words   |  4 Pagesinto their music is Reggaeton with a range of different Latin American genres. Reggaeton originated from Puerto Rico, it is a collaboration of Latin dancehall and rap. Unlike many rappers, this particular Latin American band uses their music to speak upon the current issues people are facing instead of the usual money sex and fame. From the name of the band â€Å"Calle 13† to their stage name is a form of expressing political and social issues in Latin Americans have to deal with. 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