Death at midnight by Donald A. Cabana Essay Example for Free

Death at midnight by Donald A. Cabana Essay Death at midnight is the story of Donald Cabana of his encounters while working in a prison called Parchman Penitentiary which was located in Mississippi. When cabana first landed in Parchman, the prison was somewhat ‘human’ what with inmates being subjected to tasks such as planting cotton, vegetables and slaughtering the pigs and cows for their own consumption. On leaving Parchman a year later, Cabana returns as a warden only to find that it had been altered what with the crops now lacking and a new gas chamber put in place. We can tell that cabana is against the death penalty judging from his adamancy to enter the chamber for years. Moreover, we note Cabana’s efforts to visit the men on death row. He observed that all these men had one thing in common; a disadvantaged background. In his escapades, he cultivates a special friendship with one inmate named Connie Ray Evans whose crime was murdering a convenience store clerk. They manage to form a strong bond and through this, he is able to see just how humane Connie is judging from how sorry he is for his crime. In one instance, Cabana says, â€Å"Executions strip away the veneer or life for both the warden and the prisoner. Connie Ray Evans and I transcended our environment, and the roles in which we had been cast. The two of us had somehow managed to become real people to each other. There were no more titles or social barriers behind which either of us could hide. † However, their union is cut short when Connie is randomly chosen for execution by the state of Mississippi in a tide of anti-crime fervor. (Cabana A. , 1998) According to Cabana, death penalty is not the solution to getting rid of the roots of crime. He proposes first â€Å"examining the causes and consequences of the protracted warfare that our system of justice fosters and then proceed thereof depending on whether we find it palatable or not, even in the face of bitter contrary experiences. † He is of the belief that â€Å"every human being has a spark somewhere hidden in him that will make it possible for redemption and rehabilitation. †(Cabana A. , 1998) Clearly, the aim of this book is to oppose the death penalty and to show just how irrelevant it is in rooting out criminal behavior. The theme of friendship and disillusionment is well portrayed here. Cabana tries to demonstrate this using his relationship with Connie who he feels did not deserve to be executed. The author’s style in this book is both narrative and analytical because as much as he narrates his encounters and experiences in prison, he is also quick to analyze and form an opinion regarding the justice system. References: Cabana A. D. , (1998) Death at Midnight: The Confession of an Executioner. City: UPNE

The Power of Painting in Kate Chopins The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening Essays

The Power of Painting in Kate Chopin's The Awakening The Awakening by Kate Chopin displays the struggle a woman goes through in order to break the current status quo. In this novel, Edna Pontellier releases herself to her deepest yearnings, plunging into an immoral relationship that reawakens her long dormant desires, enflames her heart, and eventually blinds her to all else. As she goes through these changes Edna involves herself in many different activities. Painting becomes one of her favorite pastimes and her artwork often depicts an important person in her life. Her impulse to paint is driven by her current emotion; this would explain the passion inserted into each peace of art. Edna is fascinated by painting and attempts to sketch and paint her friends. She has the opportunity to paint Adele Ratignolle, a woman she claims to be as poised as a Madonna. "Never had that lady seemed a more tempting subject than at that moment, seated there like some sensuous Madonna, with the gleam of the fading day enriching her splendid color" (22). Edna attempts to capture the scene with Adele and replicate it on her sketch pad but falls short. "After surveying the sketch critically she drew a broad smudge of paint across its surface, and crumpled the paper between her hands" (22). Edna in this way is a bit of a perfectionist. She will not accept anything less than faultless. If it does not successfully capture the image in the way that she herself sees it, it is deplorable. Luckily this is a recently acquired outlet and she has accepted the fact that her art might not be as good as it can be. Edna throws away some of her sketches, claiming to be an amateur artis t. If she held herself to a higher degree of talent it would more difficult for her to accept these imperfections. This attitude towards her painting relates just as easily to her attitude regarding life. Towards the beginning of the novel, Edna is more passive about the way she is living, the same way she is passive about throwing out her sketches. As Edna describes her youth and distant life in Kentucky, she paints images in her mind. She desperately wants to paint them, but instead uses the paint of memories.

Corruption of Culture Essay

In Yukio Mishima’s â€Å"Swaddling Clothes† we see a great deal of symbolism portraying the corruption of the Japanese culture. The times are changing and with that change, culture is adapting to it. Some of the Japanese feel threatened and that the changes that are being made are corrupting their moral values. The story is told through Toshiko, a lonely and seemingly oppressed wife and mother. She shows how this corruption is leading to decay. The story depicts the corruption of Japanese culture by western modernization. Japanese culture is becoming more westernized, â€Å"unhomely with its Western-style furniture†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (366). The air of the room being unhomely because some Japanese thought that Western-style was corrupt. Toshiko’s husband is accepting these changes, â€Å"sitting there in his American-style suit, puffing at a cigarette† (366). The city they live in is changing as well, â€Å"dotted with bars and then by a theatre† (368). The park that Toshiko visits had also changed, â€Å"The paper lanterns that hung from wires between the trees had been put out; in their place electric light bulbs†¦that shone dully beneath the blossoms† (369). The word dully being used to show that western-style is dull and dreary. Violence is one of the concepts Toshiko relates to western culture. Toshiko believes western style is violent, â€Å"his frail body was wrapped in bloodstained newspapers† (367), showing the degradation of moral values in this westernized society. When Toshiko’s husband is sitting there talking with his friends he jokes about the incident and stating â€Å"I rescued our good rug†¦ (367), this showing that his mind is corrupt with the western culture because he did not care about the well being of the nurse and the blood did not faze him. The baby is a symbol of the violence in the western culture as well. The way the baby was born was out of wedlock, â€Å"Even if that baby should grow up in ignorance of the secret of his birth, he can never become a respectable citizen† (368). Toshiko worries that the baby â€Å"who has been sinned against† (368) may come in contact with her son one day and, â€Å"savagely stab him with a knife†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (368). All because the baby was born out  of wedlock, due to Western mod ernization, Toshiko thinks of him as violent and evil. Western culture is not only seen as violent but as polluted as well. Western-style is also polluting their society. While walking in the park Toshiko notices that the people â€Å"would automatically kick aside the empty bottles or crush the waste paper beneath their feet† (369). Waste pollution not only being the kind of pollution polluting their society but moral pollution as well. Toshiko sees a homeless man and wonders â€Å"was it one of those miserable drunks often to be seen sleeping in public places?† (369). The homeless man in the park is a symbol of the baby that will grow up to be in crime and poverty, though what is most significant is the way that he is dressed, â€Å"his khaki trousers had been slightly pulled up† (370), this showing that he is westernized just like Toshiko’s husband. Toshiko is saddened by this westernized lifestyle. This story shows through many elements the degradation of moral values in the modern westernized changes that are taking place. Through the moral changes, the violence of the western culture, and the pollution we have seen that Toshiko believes that her society is corrupt. There are many symbols showing these changes; through the baby, Toshiko’s husband, and through the homeless. She continually contemplates the loss of their moral values and is saddened. Ultimately this story is trying to depict the corruption of Japanese culture by western modernization.

The Chemistry of Baking Cookies

Baking cookies seems simple, especially if you cook pre-made cookie dough, but its really a set of chemical reactions. If your cookies never turn out perfect, understanding their chemistry may help improve your technique. Follow this classic chocolate chip cookie recipe and learn about the ingredients and the reactions that occur throughout the mixing and baking process. Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe 3/4 cup granulated sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11)3/4 cup brown sugar (caramelized sucrose)1 cup unsalted butter (a fat)1 large egg (consists of water, protein, fat, emulsifier, and albumin)1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for flavor)2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (contains gluten)1 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate,  NaHCO3, which is a weak base)1/2 teaspoon salt (NaCl)2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips Youll get the best results if you use room temperature eggs and butter. This helps the ingredients mix into the recipe more evenly and means your cookie dough will be room temperature and not cool when you put the cookies in the oven. The fat in the recipe affects the texture of the cookies and browns them, which influences flavor as well as color. Substituting a different fat in place of butter affects the flavor of the cookies and also the texture since other fats (lard, vegetable oil, margarine, etc.) have a different melting point from butter. If you use salted butter, its usually best to reduce the amount of added salt.Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Its important to preheat the oven because if you put the cookies in the oven and the temperature is too low, the dough can spread rather than firm up. This affects the thickness of the cookie, its texture, and how evenly it browns.Mix together the sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and eggs. Mostly, this is to blend the in gredients so the composition of the cookies will be uniform. For the most part, no chemical reaction occurs at this point. Mixing the sugars with the eggs dissolves some of the sugar in the water from the eggs, so the crystals wont be as large in the cookies. Brown sugar adds caramelized sugar flavor to the cookies. While it doesnt matter what color of eggs you use (white or brown), the size matters, just like measuring all of the other ingredients! If you substitute an egg from a different bird than a chicken, the recipe will work, but the flavor will be different. You dont want to over-mix the ingredients because beating eggs for too long affects the protein molecules in the egg white. Real vanilla and imitation vanilla (vanillin) contain the same flavor molecule, but real vanilla extract has a more complex flavor because of other molecules from the plant.Mix in the flour (a little at a time), baking soda, and salt. You can sift the ingredients together to make sure they are evenl y distributed, but sprinkling the salt and baking soda onto the mixture works too. The flour contains gluten, the protein that holds the cookies together, makes them a bit chewy and gives them their substance. Cake flour, bread flour, and self-rising flour could be substituted for all-purpose flour in a pinch, but arent ideal. The cake flour might produce fragile cookies with a finer crumb; the bread flour contains more gluten and could make the cookies tough or too chewy, and the self-rising flour already contains leavening agents that would make the cookies rise.  The baking soda is the ingredient that makes cookies rise. The salt is a flavoring, but also controls the rising of the cookies.Stir in the chocolate chips. This last to ensure the other ingredients are properly mixed and to avoid smashing the chips. The chocolate chips are flavoring. Dont like semi-sweet? Switch it out!Drop rounded teaspoons of the dough about two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. The size of the cookies matters! If you make the cookies too big or put them too close together, the interior of the cookie isnt dont by the time the bottom and edges brown. If the cookies are too small, they may not brown enough by the time the middle is done, giving you rock-hard cookies. Theres no need to grease the cookie sheet. While a light spritz of non-stick spray might not hurt, greasing the pan  adds fat to the cookies and affects how they brown and their texture.Bake the cookies 8 to 10 minutes or until they are light golden brown. Which rack you put the cookies on depends on your oven. Usually, the center rack is fine, but if your cookies tend to get too dark on the bottom, try moving them up one rack. The heating element in a conventional oven is on the bottom. The Baking Process If the ingredients are high quality, measured carefully, and mixed as they should be, chemical magic happens in the oven to make great cookies. Heating sodium bicarbonate causes it to decompose into water and carbon dioxide: 2NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 H2O CO2 Carbon dioxide gas and water vapor form the bubbles which make cookies rise. Rising doesnt just make cookies taller. It also opens up space to keep the cookie from becoming too dense. Salt slows down the decomposition of baking soda, so the bubbles dont get too big. This could lead to weak cookies or to cookies that fall flat when they come out of the oven. The heat works on the butter, egg yolk, and flour to change the shape of the molecules. The gluten in the flour forms a polymer mesh that works with the albumin protein from the egg white and the emulsifier lecithin from the egg yolk to form the dough and support the bubbles. Heat breaks the sucrose into the simple sugars glucose and fructose, giving each cookie a shiny, light brown crust. When you take the cookies out of the oven, the hot water gases in the cookie contract. The chemical changes that occurred during baking help the cookie keep its shape. This is why undercooked cookies (or other baked goods) fall in the center. After Baking If the cookies arent devoured immediately, the chemistry doesnt end with baking. The humidity of the surroundings affects cookies after they have cooled. If the air is very dry, moisture from the cookies escapes, making them hard. In a humid environment, cookies can absorb water vapor, making them soft. After cookies have completely cooled, they can be placed into a cookie jar or other container to keep them fresh and delicious.