Essay --

Until the mid 1900’s the knowledge that the world had of chimpanzees was so little. People thought chimpanzees were simple mammals that were not unique in anyways. Researchers were only able to study the chimpanzees in laboratory environments. This type of research led to little information. Scientists realized the best way to learn more was to go live with them. Finally a young lady, Jane Goodall, spent more than 30 years in Africa living with these animals. On April 3, 1934 Jane was born and still continues to live today. Jane grew up in London, England, but then spent more than 30 years in Africa studying chimpanzees. One toy that Jane received one Christmas had changed her life forever. One Christmas she had received a stuffed animal, a chimpanzee, and immediately fell in love with chimpanzees. Jane would do research on chimpanzees every day for a long time until she was twelve. At age twelve she invented a society that helped animals and she would let anyone join in to help. She got through grade school and graduated high school in 1952. Jane and her family could not afford for her to go to college. Instead of Jane going to college she got a job as a waitress and worked as a secretary at Oxford University. In 1956 Jane was invited by a friend to come to Kenya and stay on their farm with them. She had lived with them for about five years and then got asked to go to the Gombe forest to study the chimpanzees. Jane had started her research in the Gombe forest in the 1960’s. The people that had sent Jane said she was not allowed to go by herself, so Jane brought her mother. They had started at the top of a mountain and slowly moved down to observe the chimpanzees from every point of view. Jane would put bananas out o... ...e to know about the chimpanzees and her experience. If Jane had never spent more than thirty years in Africa doing all this hard work for chimpanzees, chimpanzees would be extinct or endangered. Little information would be known, and people would still think chimpanzees were just simple mammals. Instead, Jane did this all for the world and environment. She found out plenty of information and brought that knowledge back to share with the world. Jane found out that these animals were so unique and so very humanlike. She is a very hard worker and puts in so much effort in all she does. She has a great experience with animals and can work great with them. This is why researchers chose Jane to study chimpanzees and do all this hard work for the people. Jane encourages everyone that they can change the world in anyway and wants people to follow in her footsteps.

Human Genome Essay

Human cloning involves the creation of a copy of a human cell or tissue that is genetically identical. The major types of human cloning include reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2009). Therapeutic cloning involves the use of cells from an adult to be used in medicine while reproductive cloning involves making cloned human beings. Cloning has been done on both animals and plants. When done on plants it has been used to raise genetically modified crops. Gene therapy can occur in two forms somatic gene therapy and germline gene therapy. Somatic gene therapy involves removing cells from the patient and adding cloned genes to cells using a viral vector. The cells are amplified and those that have taken up the cloned gene are taken up. The transformed cells are then taken back into the patient (see figure 1). Some of the problems associated with this procedure include transgene integration and immune response killing the viral vector which may be marked as an intruder by the body’s immune system. The procedure has been used in many clinical trials, mainly for treating cancer. The Adeno associated virus is commonly used in this case as it does not cause an immune response, it has the ability to enter non-dividing cells and it integrates into a particular location in the genome of its host (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2009). Germline gene therapy is different from somatic therapy in that the newly introduced gene is incorporated into all of the cells in the animal’s body. This includes the germline that gives rise to gametes. The change that has occurred in the process is passed on to the next generation. To produce a transgenic animal, the embryo stem cells could be modified which is done by isolating stem cells and culturing them, adding DNA to cultured cells and selecting the transformed cells (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2009). Once selected, the transformed cells are injected into an early embryo and the embryo is implanted into the female. This produces mosaics in which some cells have different genotypes. Heterozygotes are mated to produce homozygous individuals which are in turn mated to produce a transgenic strain (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2009). A transgenic animal could also be produced by direct DNA injection where the transgene is injected directly into the male pronucleus before the male and female have fused (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2009). The injected DNA integrates into a chromosome and the injected zygote is then implanted into a foster mother (see figure 2). In the figure the baby mouse has the transgene in every cell in its body. Its expression depends on where the chromosome is integrated. Nowadays, however it is possible to have targeted gene insertion in some cases. Some of the medical applications of transgenic animals and plants include the production of model systems for the study of human disease for example where a certain gene product is lacking or where a certain gene has been over expressed or where there is a gene variant. An example of this the use of transplanted human stem cells by NIH scientists to improve the repair of bone injuries in rats (Guldberg, 2010). Standardization of such a treatment it offers a possible alternative to bone grafting operations. One of the successes of stem cell transplants has been seen in the successful attempts of new hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) in reversing sickle cell anemia in children (Rodgers et al, 2009). Other applications include the production of medically important proteins, the production of vaccines and production of tissues and organs for transplantation. Transgenic plants are also used to improve crops. In spite of these advantages, the issue of cloning still remains controversial.

Chapter 3 The Knight Bus

Harry was several streets away before he collapsed onto a low wall in Magnolia Crescent, panting from the effort of dragging his trunk. He sat quite still, anger still surging through him, listening to the frantic thumping of his heart. But after ten minutes alone in the dark street, a new emotion overtook him: panic. Whichever way he looked at it, he had never been in a worse fix. He was stranded, quite alone, in the dark Muggle world, with absolutely nowhere to go. And the worst of it was, he had just done serious magic, which meant that he was almost certainly expelled from Hogwarts. He had broken the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry so badly, he was surprised Ministry of Magic representatives weren't swooping down on him where he sat. Harry shivered and looked up and down Magnolia Crescent. What, was going to happen to him? Would he be arrested, or would he simply be outlawed from the wizarding world? He thought of Ron and Hermione, and his heart sank even lower. Harry was sure that, criminal or not, Ron and Hermione would want to help him now, but they were both abroad, and with Hedwig gone, he had no means of contacting them. He didn't have any Muggle money, either. There was a little wizard gold in the money bag at the bottom of his trunk, but the rest of the fortune his parents had left him was stored in a vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in London. He'd never be able to drag his trunk all the way to London. Unless†¦ He looked down at his wand, which he was still clutching in his hand. If he was already expelled (his heart was. now thumping painfully fast), a bit more magic couldn't hurt. He had the Invisibility Cloak he had inherited from his father — what if he bewitched the trunk to make it feather-light, tied it to his broomstick, covered himself in the cloak, and flew to London? Then he could get the rest of his money out of his vault and†¦begin his life as an outcast. It was a horrible prospect, but he couldn't sit on this wall forever, or he'd find himself trying to explain to Muggle police why he was out in the dead of night with a trunk full of spell books and a broomstick. Harry opened his trunk again and pushed the contents aside, looking for the Invisibility Cloak — but before he had found it, he straightened up suddenly, looking around him once more. A funny prickling on the back of his neck had made Harry feel he was being watched, but the street appeared to be deserted, and no lights shone from any of the large square houses. He bent over his trunk again, but almost immediately stood up once more, his hand clenched on his wand. He had sensed rather than heard it: someone or something was standing in the narrow gap between the garage and the fence behind him. Harry squinted at the black alleyway. If only it would move, then he'd know whether it was just a stray cat or — something else. â€Å"Lumos,† Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand, almost dazzling him. He held it high over his head, and the pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage door gleamed, and between them Harry saw, quite distinctly, the hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes. Harry stepped backward. His legs hit his trunk and he tripped. His wand flew out of his hand as he flung out an arm to break his fall, and he landed, hard, in the gutter. There was a deafening BANG, and Harry threw up his hands to shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light†¦ With a yell, he rolled back onto the pavement, just in time. A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt exactly where Harry had just been lying. They belonged, as Harry saw when he raised his head, to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled The Knight Bus. For a split second, Harry wondered if he had been knocked silly by his fall. Then a conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of the bus and began to speak loudly to the night. â€Å"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve–â€Å" The conductor stopped abruptly. He had just caught sight of Harry, who was still sitting on the ground. Harry snatched up his wand again and scrambled to his feet. Close up, he saw that Stan Shunpike was only a few years older than he was, eighteen or nineteen at most, with large, protruding ears and quite a few pimples. â€Å"What were you doin' down there?† said Stan, dropping his professional manner. â€Å"Fell over,† said Harry. â€Å"‘Choo fall over for?† sniggered Stan. â€Å"I didn't do it on purpose,† said Harry, annoyed. One of the knees in his jeans was torn, and the hand he had thrown out to break his fall was bleeding. He suddenly remembered why he had fallen over and turned around quickly to stare at the alleyway between the garage and fence. The Knight Bus's headlamps were flooding it with light, and it was empty. â€Å"‘Choo lookin' at?† said Stan. â€Å"There was a big black thing,† said Harry, pointing uncertainly into the gap. â€Å"Like a dog†¦but massive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked around at Stan, whose mouth was slightly open. With a feeling of unease, Harry saw Stan's eyes move to the scar on Harry's forehead. â€Å"Woss that on your ‘ead?† said Stan abruptly. â€Å"Nothing,† said Harry quickly, flattening his hair over his scar. If the Ministry of Magic was looking for him, he didn't want to make it too easy for them. â€Å"Woss your name?† Stan persisted. â€Å"Neville Longbottom,† said Harry, saying the first name that came into his head. â€Å"So — so this bus,† he went on quickly, hoping to distract Stan, â€Å"did you say it goes anywhere?† â€Å"Yep,† said Stan proudly, â€Å"anywhere you like, ‘long it's on land. Can't do nuffink underwater. â€Å"Ere,† he said, looking suspicious again, â€Å"you did flag us down, dincha? Stuck out your wand ‘and, dincha?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"Listen, how much would it be to get to London?† â€Å"Eleven Sickles,† said Stan, â€Å"but for firteen you get ‘ot chocolate, and for fifteen you get an ‘ot-water bottle an' a toofbrush in the color of your choice.† Harry rummaged once more in his trunk, extracted his money bag, and shoved some gold into Stan's hand. He and Stan then lifted his trunk, with Hedwig's cage balanced on top, up the steps of the bus. There were no seats; instead, half a dozen brass bedsteads stood beside the curtained windows. Candles were burning in brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wood-paneled walls. A tiny wizard in a nightcap at the rear of the bus muttered, â€Å"Not now, thanks, I'm pickling some slugs† and rolled over in his sleep. â€Å"You ‘ave this one,† Stan whispered, shoving Harry's trunk under the bed right behind the driver, who was sitting in an armchair in front of the steering wheel. â€Å"This is our driver, Ernie Prang. This is Neville Longbottom, Ern.† Ernie Prang, an elderly wizard wearing very thick glasses, nodded to Harry, who nervously flattened his bangs again and sat down on his bed. â€Å"Take ‘er away, Ern,† said Stan, sitting down in the armchair next to Ernie's. There was another tremendous BANG, and the next moment Harry found himself flat on his bed, thrown backward by the speed of the Knight Bus. Pulling himself up, Harry stared out of the dark window and saw that they were now bowling along a completely different street. Stan was watching Harry's stunned face with great enjoyment. â€Å"This is where we was before you flagged us down,† he said. â€Å"Where are we, Ern? Somewhere in Wales?† â€Å"Ar,† said Ernie. â€Å"How come the Muggles don't hear the bus?† said Harry. â€Å"Them!† said Stan contemptuously. â€Å"Don' listen properly, do they? Don' look properly either. Never notice nuffink, they don'.† â€Å"Best go wake up Madam Marsh, Stan,† said Ern. â€Å"We'll be in Abergavenny in a minute.† Stan passed Harry's bed and disappeared up a narrow wooden staircase. Harry was still looking out of the window, feeling increasingly nervous. Ernie didn't seem to have mastered the use of a steering wheel. The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement, but it didn't hit anything; lines of lampposts, mailboxes, and trash cans jumped out of its way as it approached and back into position once it had passed. Stan came back downstairs, followed by a faintly green witch wrapped in a traveling cloak. â€Å"‘Ere you go, Madam Marsh,† said Stan happily as Ern stamped on the brake and the beds slid a foot or so toward the front of the bus. Madam Marsh clamped a handkerchief to her mouth and tottered down the steps. Stan threw her bag out after her and rammed the doors shut; there was another loud BANG, and they were thundering down a narrow country lane, trees leaping out of the way. Harry wouldn't have been able to sleep even if he had been traveling on a bus that didn't keep banging loudly and jumping a hundred miles at a time. His stomach churned as he fell back to wondering what was going to happen to him, and whether the Dursleys had managed to get Aunt Marge off the ceiling yet. Stan had unfurled a copy of the Daily Prophet and was now reading with his tongue between his teeth. A large photograph of a sunken-faced man with long, matted hair blinked slowly at Harry from the front page. He looked strangely familiar. â€Å"That man!† Harry said, forgetting his troubles for a moment. â€Å"He was on the Muggle news!† Stanley turned to the front page and chuckled. â€Å"Sirius Black,† he said, nodding. â€Å"‘Course ‘e was on the Muggle news, Neville. Where you been?† He gave a superior sort of chuckle at the blank look on Harry's face, removed the front page, and handed it to Harry. â€Å"You oughta read the papers more, Neville.† Harry held the paper up to the candlelight and read: BLACK STILL AT LARGE Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today. â€Å"We are doing all we can to recapture Black,† said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, â€Å"and we beg the magical community to remain calm.† Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis. â€Å"Well, really, I had to, don't you know,† said an irritable Fudge. â€Å"Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it — who'd believe him if he did?† While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse. Harry looked into the shadowed eyes of Sirius Black, the only part of the sunken face that seemed alive. Harry had never met a vampire, but he had seen pictures of them in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one. â€Å"Scary-lookin' fing, inee?† said Stan, who had been watching Harry read. â€Å"He murdered thirteen people?† said Harry, handing the page back to Stan, â€Å"with one curse?† â€Å"Yep,† said Stan, â€Å"in front of witnesses an' all. Broad daylight. Big trouble it caused, dinnit, Ern?† â€Å"Ar,† said Ern darkly. Stan swiveled in his armchair, his hands on the back, the better to look at Harry. â€Å"Black woz a big supporter of You-Know-‘Oo,† he said. â€Å"What, Voldemort?† said Harry, without thinking. Even Stan's pimples went white; Ern jerked the steering wheel so hard that a whole farmhouse had to jump aside to avoid the bus. â€Å"You outta your tree?† yelped Stan. â€Å"‘Choo say ‘is name for?† â€Å"Sorry,† said Harry hastily. â€Å"Sorry, I — I forgot –â€Å" â€Å"Forgot!† said Stan weakly. â€Å"Blimey, my ‘eart's goin' that fast†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"So — so Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?† Harry prompted apologetically. â€Å"Yeah,† said Stan, still rubbing his chest. â€Å"Yeah, that's right. Very close to You-Know-‘Oo, they say†¦anyway, when little ‘Arry Potter got the better of You-Know-‘Oo† — Harry nervously flattened his bangs down again — â€Å"all You-Know-‘Oo's supporters was tracked down, wasn't they, Ern? Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-Know-‘Oo gone, and they came quiet. But not Sirius Black. I ‘eard he thought ‘e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-‘Oo ‘ad taken over. â€Å"Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of Muggles an' Black took out ‘is wand and ‘e blasted ‘alf the street apart, an' a wizard got it, an' so did a dozen Muggles what got in the way. ‘Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?† Stan continued in a dramatic whisper. â€Å"What?† said Harry. â€Å"Laughed,† said Stan. â€Å"Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, ‘e went wiv em quiet as anyfink, still laughing ‘is ‘ead off. ‘Cos ‘e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?† â€Å"If he weren't when he went to Azkaban, he will be now,† said Ern in his slow voice. â€Å"I'd blow meself up before I set foot in that place. Serves him right, mind you†¦after what he did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"They ‘ad a job coverin' it up, din' they, Ern?† Stan said. â€Å"‘Ole street blown up an' all them Muggles dead. What was it they said ‘ad ‘appened, Ern?† â€Å"Gas explosion,† grunted Ernie. â€Å"An' now ‘e's out,† said Stan, examining the newspaper picture of Black's gaunt face again. â€Å"Never been a breakout from Azkaban before, ‘as there, Ern? Beats me ‘ow ‘e did it. Frightenin', eh? Mind, I don't fancy ‘is chances against them Azkaban guards, eh, Ern?† Ernie suddenly shivered. â€Å"Talk about summat else, Stan, there's a good lad. Them Azkaban guards give me the collywobbles.† Stan put the paper away reluctantly, and Harry leaned against the window of the Knight Bus, feeling worse than ever. He couldn't help imagining what Stan might be telling his passengers in a few nights' time. â€Å"‘Ear about that ‘Arry Potter? Blew up ‘is aunt! We ‘ad ‘im ‘ere on the Knight Bus, di'n't we, Ern? ‘E was tryin' to run for it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He, Harry, had broken wizard law just like Sirius Black. Was inflating Aunt Marge bad enough to land him in Azkaban? Harry didn't know anything about the wizard prison, though everyone he'd ever heard speak of it did so in the same fearful tone. Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, had spent two months there only last year. Harry wouldn't soon forget the look of terror on Hagrid's face when he had been told where he was going, and Hagrid was one of the bravest people Harry knew. The Knight Bus rolled through the darkness, scattering bushes and wastebaskets, telephone booths and trees, and Harry lay, restless and miserable, on his feather bed. After a while, Stan remembered that Harry had paid for hot chocolate, but poured it all over Harry's pillow when the bus moved abruptly from Anglesea to Aberdeen. One by one, wizards and witches in dressing gowns and slippers descended from the upper floors to leave the bus. They all looked very pleased to go. Finally, Harry was the only passenger left. â€Å"Right then, Neville,† said Stan, clapping his hands, â€Å"whereabouts in London?† â€Å"Diagon Alley,† said Harry. â€Å"Righto,† said Stan. â€Å"‘Old tight, then.† BANG. They were thundering along Charing Cross Road. Harry sat up and watched buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of the Knight Bus's way. The sky was getting a little lighter. He would lie low for a couple of hours, go to Gringotts the moment it opened, then set off — where, he didn't know. Ern slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a small and shabby-looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron, behind which lay the magical entrance to Diagon Alley. â€Å"Thanks,† Harry said to Ern. He jumped down the steps and helped Stan lower his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto the pavement. â€Å"Well,† said Harry. â€Å"‘Bye then!† But Stan wasn't paying attention. Still standing in the doorway to the bus) he was goggling at the shadowy entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. â€Å"There you are, Harry,† said a voice. Before Harry could turn, he felt a hand on his shoulder. At the same time, Stan shouted, â€Å"Blimey! Ern, come ‘ere! Come ‘ere!† Harry looked up at the owner of the hand on his shoulder and felt a bucketful of ice cascade into his stomach — he had walked right into Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself. Stan leapt onto the pavement beside them. â€Å"What didja call Neville, Minister?† he said excitedly. Fudge, a portly little man in a long, pinstriped cloak, looked cold and exhausted. â€Å"Neville?† he repeated, frowning. â€Å"This is Harry Potter.† â€Å"I knew it!† Stan shouted gleefully. â€Å"Ern! Ern! Guess ‘oo Neville is, Ern! ‘E's ‘Arry Potter! I can see ‘is scar!† â€Å"Yes,† said Fudge testily, â€Å"well, I'm very glad the Knight Bus picked Harry up, but he and I need to step inside the Leaky Cauldron now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fudge increased the pressure on Harry's shoulder, and Harry found himself being steered inside the pub. A stooping figure bearing a lantern appeared through the door behind the bar. It was Tom, the wizened, toothless landlord. â€Å"You've got him, Minister!† said Tom. â€Å"Will you be wanting anything? Beer? Brandy?† â€Å"Perhaps a pot of tea,† said Fudge, who still hadn't let go of Harry. There was a loud scraping and puffing from behind them, and Stan and Ern appeared, carrying Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage and looking around excitedly. â€Å"‘Ow come you di'n't tell us ‘oo you are, eh, Neville?† said Stan, beaming at Harry, while Ernie's owlish face peered interestedly over Stan's shoulder. â€Å"And a private parlor, please, Tom,† said Fudge pointedly. â€Å"‘Bye,† Harry said miserably to Stan and Ern as Tom beckoned Fudge toward the passage that led from the bar. â€Å"‘Bye, Neville!† called Stan. Fudge marched Harry along the narrow passage after Tom's lantern, and then into a small parlor. Tom clicked his fingers, a fire burst into life in the grate, and he bowed himself out of the room. â€Å"Sit down, Harry,† said Fudge, indicating a chair by the fire. Harry sat down, feeling goose bumps rising up his arms despite the glow of the fire. Fudge took off his pinstriped cloak and tossed it aside, then hitched up the trousers of his bottle-green suit and sat down opposite Harry. â€Å"I am Cornelius Fudge, Harry. The Minister of Magic.† Harry already knew this, of course; he had seen Fudge once before, but as he had been wearing his father's Invisibility Cloak at the time, Fudge wasn't to know that. Tom the innkeeper reappeared, wearing an apron over his nightshirt and bearing a tray of tea and crumpets. He placed the tray on a table between Fudge and Harry and left the parlor, closing the door behind him. â€Å"Well, Harry,† said Fudge, pouring out tea, â€Å"you've had us all in a right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that! I'd started to think†¦but you're safe, and that's what matters.† Fudge buttered himself a crumpet and pushed the plate toward Harry. â€Å"Eat, Harry, you look dead on your feet. Now then†¦You will be pleased to hear that we have dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Miss Marjorie Dursley. Two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department were dispatched to Privet Drive a few hours ago. Miss Dursley has been punctured and her memory has been modified. She has no recollection of the incident at all. So that's that, and no harm done.† Fudge smiled at Harry over the rim of his teacup, rather like an uncle surveying a favorite nephew. Harry, who couldn't believe his ears, opened his mouth to speak, couldn't think of anything to say, and closed it again. â€Å"Ah, you're worrying about the reaction of your aunt and uncle?† said Fudge. â€Å"Well, I won't deny that they are extremely angry, Harry, but they are prepared to take you back next summer as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays.† Harry unstuck his throat. â€Å"I always stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays,† he said, â€Å"and I don't ever want to go back to Privet Drive.† â€Å"Now, now, I'm sure you'll feel differently once you've calmed down,† said Fudge in a worried tone. â€Å"They are your family, after all, and I'm sure you are fond of each other — er — very deep down.† It didn't occur to Harry to put Fudge right. He was still waiting to hear what was going to happen to him now. â€Å"So all that remains,† said Fudge, now buttering himself a second crumpet, â€Å"is to decide where you're going to spend the last two weeks of your vacation. I suggest you take a room here at the Leaky Cauldron and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Hang on,† blurted Harry. â€Å"What about my punishment?† Fudge blinked. â€Å"Punishment?† â€Å"I broke the law!† Harry said. â€Å"The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry!† â€Å"Oh, my dear boy, we're not going to punish you for a little thing like that!† cried Fudge, waving his crumpet impatiently. â€Å"It was an accident! We don't send people to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts!† But this didn't tally at all with Harry's past dealings with the Ministry of Magic. â€Å"Last year, I got an official warning just because a house-elf smashed a pudding in my uncle's house!† he told Fudge, frowning. â€Å"The Ministry of Magic said I'd be expelled from Hogwarts if there was any more magic there!† Unless Harry's eyes were deceiving him, Fudge was suddenly looking awkward. â€Å"Circumstances change, Harry†¦We have to take into account†¦in the present climate†¦Surely you don't want to be expelled?† â€Å"Of course I don't,† said Harry. â€Å"Well then, what's all the fuss about?† laughed Fudge. â€Å"Now, have a crumpet, Harry, while I go and see if Tom's got a room for you.† Fudge strode out of the parlor and Harry stared after him. There was something extremely odd going on. Why had Fudge been waiting for him at the Leaky Cauldron, if not to punish him for what he'd done? And now Harry came to think of it, surely it wasn't usual for the Minister of Magic himself to get involved in matters of underage magic? Fudge came back, accompanied by Tom the innkeeper. â€Å"Room eleven's free, Harry,† said Fudge. â€Å"I think you'll be very comfortable. just one thing, and I'm sure you'll understand†¦I don't want you wandering off into Muggle London, all right? Keep to Diagon Alley. And you're to be back here before dark each night. Sure you'll understand. Tom will be keeping an eye on you for me.† â€Å"Okay,† said Harry slowly, â€Å"but why?† â€Å"Don't want to lose you again, do we?† said Fudge with a hearty laugh. â€Å"No, no†¦best we know where you are†¦I mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fudge cleared his throat loudly and picked up his pinstriped cloak. â€Å"Well, I'll be off, plenty to do, you know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Have you had any luck with Black yet?† Harry asked. Fudge's finger slipped on the silver fastenings of his cloak. â€Å"What's that? Oh, you've heard – well, no, not yet, but it's only a matter of time. The Azkaban guards have never yet failed†¦and they are angrier than I've ever seen them.† Fudge shuddered slightly. â€Å"So, I'll say good-bye.† He held out his hand and Harry, shaking it, had a sudden idea. â€Å"Er — Minister? Can I ask you something?† â€Å"Certainly,† said Fudge with a smile. â€Å"Well, third years at Hogwarts are allowed to visit Hogsmeade, but my aunt and uncle didn't sign the permission form. D'you think you could –?† Fudge was looking uncomfortable. â€Å"Ah,† he said. â€Å"No, no, I'm very sorry, Harry, but as I'm not your parent or guardian –â€Å" â€Å"But you're the Minister of Magic,† said Harry eagerly. â€Å"If you gave me permission†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No, I'm sorry, Harry, but rules are rules,† said Fudge flatly. â€Å"Perhaps you'll be able to visit Hogsmeade next year. In fact, I think it's best if you don't†¦yes†¦well, I'll be off. Enjoy your stay, Harry.† And with a last smile and shake of Harry's hand, Fudge left the room. Tom now moved forward, beaming at Harry. â€Å"If you'll follow me, Mr. Potter,† he said, â€Å"I've already taken your things up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry followed Tom up a handsome wooden staircase to a door with a brass number eleven on it, which Tom unlocked and opened for him. Inside was a very comfortable-looking bed, some highly polished oak furniture, a cheerfully crackling fire and, perched on top of the wardrobe — â€Å"Hedwig!† Harry gasped. The snowy owl clicked her beak and fluttered down onto Harry's arm. â€Å"Very smart owl you've got there,† chuckled Tom. â€Å"Arrived about five minutes after you did. If there's anything you need, Mr. Potter, don't hesitate to ask.† He gave another bow and left. Harry sat on his bed for a long time, absentmindedly stroking Hedwig. The sky outside the window was changing rapidly from deep, velvety blue to cold, steely gray and then, slowly, to pink shot with gold. Harry could hardly believe that he'd left Privet Drive only a few hours ago, that he wasn't expelled, and that he was now facing two completely Dursley-free weeks. â€Å"It's been a very weird night, Hedwig,† he yawned. And without even removing his glasses, he slumped back onto his pillows and fell asleep.

Foreign Born American Writers Essay

American literature has changed and evolved from the early colonial days to develop characteristics that are unique and which identify it from other literary works. Several writers have contributed to the development of American literature. Some of these writers immigrated into the United States and their works were accepted into the American literary canon. Some of the notable foreign born American writers include Vladimir Nabokov, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and CzesA‚aw MiA‚osz (Czeslaw Milosz). Vladimir Nabokov was born in Russia in 1899 and moved to the United States in 1940 together with his family. Nabokov produced both fiction and non-fiction works including novels, short stories, drama, poetry, and some translations. Among his works is his 13th novel titled Pnin published in 1957 and built around the life of a Russian professor who moves into the US as a refugee and the challenges that the professor encounters in a new world (Boyd 271-287). Isaac Singer was a Jewish American author born in Poland and was the 1978 Nobel Prize winner in literature. Among his many collections is Gimpel the Fool and other Stories published in 1960. It has twelve short stories with a mix of contemporary and folk legend aspects and heavily based on Jewish life in Poland (Kirkus). Born in 1911 Poland, Czeslaw Milosz became an American citizen in 1970. Milosz is known for his poetry, essays, prose, and translations. He was the Nobel Prize winner in 1980 for his literary works. His A Magic Mountain poem reflects his personal experiences of living in Berkeley, CA (Kirkus). The three writers have received various recognitions for their contribution to the American literature. Each of the writers has written about his life experiences in the US depicting the differences and the challenges of adapting to a new world. References Boyd, Brian. Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1991. Kirkus Rev. of Bells in Winter by Czeslaw Milosz. New York, NY: Ecco Press (1978). 2010. 5 May 2010. < http://books. google. co. ke/books? id=THVhAAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions> Kirkus Rev. of Gimpel the Fool and other Stories by Isaac Singer. New York, NY: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. (1960). 2010. 5 May 2010. < http://books. google. co. ke/books? id=yZJnPwAACAAJ&dq=isaac+bashevis+singer+gimpel+the+fool&source=gbs_book_other_versions>

Resolving Conflicts at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Resolving Conflicts at Work - Essay Example This paper is a review targeted at analyzing the following statement: â€Å"Taking off masks and revealing hidden emotions†.   Hiding emotions can very often lead to a build-up of anger, or also make an individual lie or avoid the truth.   Doing this distorts the behavior of an individual, and an individual may even begin to believe that this â€Å"mask† is, in fact, really who he or she is.   Hiding emotions can result in several unsatisfactory actions.   One of these actions is known as â€Å"blowing up,† what this, in fact, means, is that anger has been allowed to build up within the individual, and then something sets the individual off, and everything that has been hidden comes out at once.   When the anger comes out, it may often be lashing out at something that really did not seem to be a serious concern in the first place, which may confuse the individual that is actually the target of the anger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another concept brought up in th e chapter is â€Å"Behaviors that Trigger Anger.†Ã‚   For many, anger can be difficult to understand because many do not often understand what the true source of that anger was. Responding logically to anger can sometimes make anger even worse.   Therefore, in a working environment, it may be important to bring a team together if somebody has become angry, and try to figure out what is not working for everybody.   Meetings like this can often be helpful because they can establish ground rules.

Greek Ethnic Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Greek Ethnic Identity - Essay Example In world history, Greeks are one of the most prominent groups of people owing to their huge contribution to ancient civilization. With the constant reference to these people in antiquity’s historical, literary, philosophical, and architectural involvement, it becomes interesting to know who the Greeks through a deeper look at their ethnic identity. Starting at their first reference to themselves as Greeks which sets them apart to other groups, it should be noted that their ethnic identity has evolved through the different historical events and transitions that they went through. Thus, this paper will look at Greek identity during the antiquity and modern times.In the eyes of a Westerner, the term Greek is used to refer to any speaker of the Greek language regardless of their origin. Thus, Greek refer to either Mycenaean, Byzantian, and modern Greek recognizing that all these groups speak the same language amidst their time of existence. However, Greeks are very much particular about their racial purity denying the existence of â€Å"ethnological adulteration.† This very strong sense of racial purity is important to all the Greeks and is repeatedly communicated to all the non-Greeks. According to Shea (1997), â€Å"the Greek insistence on ethnological purity for its people is not unusual among expressions of nationalism.† Starting from the ancient Greeks, there has been this awareness and insistence that Greeks are homogenous without the influence or presence of cultural minorities. It goes strongly with the assertion of the Greeks of their lofty heritage and their perception of other ethnicities as being inferior. Thus, ethnic awareness of Greeks is centered on their belief of racial purity. In fact â€Å"Modern Greek identity is based on an unshakable conviction that the Greek State is ethnically homogenous. This belief ... has entailed repeated and official denial of the existence of minorities which are not of 'pure' Hellenic originâ₠¬ .

Compare the cultural revolution called for in the Futurist Manifesto Essay

Compare the cultural revolution called for in the Futurist Manifesto with the political revolution of the Plan of Potosi - Essay Example The Plan of San Luis Potosi, on the other hand, is a statement made by Francisco Madero, a leader of the political opposition in Mexico when the country was under the grip of a dictator, Porfirio Diaz. In the statement, Madero explicitly expressed the necessity of a revolution that would oust the dictator and establish a truly democratic government. Although both authors apparently wrote their respective pieces to promote revolutions, they do have significant differences in terms social analysis, objectives, methods, and perspectives. The fact that one is essentially cultural, while the other is political, is already a major factor in the difference between the two. Before Marinetti explained the concepts he is promoting in the Manifesto, he made an effort to first express his sentiments regarding the realities in Italian society then. It is apparent that he had nothing but harsh criticisms for the people’s continuing reverence of items of antiquity. He believes that people sh ould no longer adulate anything that is a remnant of a bygone era because this only tends to obstruct the rapid pace of development. He writes: â€Å"what is the use of looking behind at the moment when we must open the mysterious shutters of the impossible?† (Marinetti) However, Marinetti clearly goes to the extreme, when he considers that humane concepts are also outmoded. Clearly, this cultural revolution that he proposes is radical in a sense that it essentially seeks the eradication of what has been considered characteristically human: compassion. In place of love and compassion, which Marinetti believes are traits that can only be attributed to the weaknesses of humans, are hatred and violence. In explaining his agenda, Marinetti points out that all things that symbolize so-called glories of the past, including cemeteries and museums, should be destroyed so that futurism can be advanced. He asserts that â€Å"daily visits to museums, libraries and academies (those ceme teries of wasted effort, calvaries of crucified dreams, registers of false starts) is for artists what prolonged supervision by the parents is for intelligent young men, drunk with their own talent and ambition.† (Marinetti) In order to achieve what he envisions, Marinetti endorses the use of violence or war. For him, total destruction of the old through the use of violent force is the prerequisite to the realization of futurism. Madero, on the other hand, puts forward the idea of launching a political revolution against the Diaz dictatorship in his country, Mexico. Madero expounds the bases of the revolution in the article Plan of San Luis Potosi. The Mexican people have suffered much under the undemocratic rule of the current regime. Their basic civil and political rights have been violated many times, the most glaring example of which is the anomalous election results that led to the failed attempt of Madero to take the presidency. Madero denounces the Diaz promise of achie ving peace without democracy. He writes that it is â€Å"a peace full of shame for the Mexican nation, because its basis is not law, but force; because its object is not the aggrandizement and prosperity of the country, but to enrich a small group who, abusing their influence, have converted the public charges into fountains of exclusively personal benefit, unscrupulously