Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Sir Gawain and the Green Knig

Sir Gawain and the atomic number 19 Knight - Character Analysis of Sir GawainThe Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell is a knightly romance poem written by an anonymous author. Sir Gawain is one of the major characters in the poem. He is a very likable personality. Sir Gawain represents an ideal knight of the 14th century. Throughout the story, we see Sir Gawain portrayed as a very courteous and noble knight, always trying to help King Arthur. The characteristics of Sir Gawain like kindness, generosity and result are revealed from his actions.Sir Gawain is a very gentle and noble knight, always willing to help people, particularly his king. King Arthur is in a bad predicament, as he has killed a deer while hunting in the woods. To save his life, King Arthur has a period of twelve months to find the reception to the question What is it that women most believe? Of King Arthurs knights, Gawain is the only one who can help King Arthur Sir, me marvailithe right sore, Whate thing t hat thou sorrowist fore. (329). King Arthur is depressed about the entire situation, and needs a friend to understand him and help him. Sir Gawain being a noble and gentile knight is willing to help King Arthur with his problem. Sir Gawain suggests that the two of them ask everyone for the resolutenessYe, Sir dispatch good chereLet gear up your hors redyTo ride in straunge contreyAnd evere wheras ye mete outher man or charr, in faye,Ask of them in whate they therto saye.(330).He travels to different places to find the answer to the question, in order to help King Arthur.Sir Gawain is a noble and loyal knight. The test of his loyalty to King Arthur comes into play when King Arthur asks Gawain to marry the ugly charwoman named Dame Ragnell. The author descr... ...he challenge of the commonality Knight. During his in the Hautdesert castle, the Character of Sir Gawain his tested by the Green Knight. He fails his last test, and is no more perfect he is still a courageous, loyal kn ight, that kept his promise to King Arthur. Works CitedSir Gawain and the Green Knight. In The Norton Anthology of Literature. Ed. M.H.Abrams, et al. Vol I. Sixth Edition. New York W.W.Norton & Company, 1993, pp 200-256.Bobr, Janet. Origin. 1998. November 30, 1998.Online. Internet. Available http csis.pace.edu/grendel/prjs2f/gawain2.htmFinker, Leonid. Sir Gawain the Noble Knight. 1996. November 30, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http csis.pace.edu/grendel/proj2a/sirgaw.htmlSera, Joe. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight- Close Reading of Lines 130-202. 1997. November 2, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs3f/proj2.html Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Sir Gawain and the Green KnigSir Gawain and the Green Knight - Character Analysis of Sir GawainThe Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell is a gothic romance poem written by an anonymous author. Sir Gawain is one of the major characters in the poem. He is a very likable personality. Sir Gawain represents an ideal knight of the fourteenth century. Throughout the story, we see Sir Gawain portrayed as a very courteous and noble knight, always trying to help King Arthur. The characteristics of Sir Gawain like kindness, generosity and wisdom are revealed from his actions.Sir Gawain is a very gentle and noble knight, always willing to help people, particularly his king. King Arthur is in a bad predicament, as he has killed a deer while hunting in the woods. To save his life, King Arthur has a period of twelve months to find the answer to the question What is it that women most entrust? Of King Arthurs knights, Gawain is the only one who can help King Arthur Sir, me marvailithe right sore, Whate thing that thou sorrowist fore. (329). King Arthur is depressed about the entire situation, and needs a friend to understand him and help him. Sir Gawain being a noble and gentile knight is willing to help King Arthur with his problem. Sir Gawain suggests that the two of the m ask everyone for the answerYe, Sir make good chereLet make your hors redyTo ride in straunge contreyAnd evere wheras ye mete outher man or woman, in faye,Ask of them in whate they therto saye.(330).He travels to different places to find the answer to the question, in order to help King Arthur.Sir Gawain is a noble and loyal knight. The test of his loyalty to King Arthur comes into play when King Arthur asks Gawain to marry the ugly woman named Dame Ragnell. The author descr... ...he challenge of the Green Knight. During his in the Hautdesert castle, the Character of Sir Gawain his tested by the Green Knight. He fails his last test, and is no more perfect he is still a courageous, loyal knight, that kept his promise to King Arthur. Works CitedSir Gawain and the Green Knight. In The Norton Anthology of Literature. Ed. M.H.Abrams, et al. Vol I. Sixth Edition. New York W.W.Norton & Company, 1993, pp 200-256.Bobr, Janet. Origin. 1998. November 30, 1998.Online. Internet. Available http csis.pace.edu/grendel/prjs2f/gawain2.htmFinker, Leonid. Sir Gawain the Noble Knight. 1996. November 30, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http csis.pace.edu/grendel/proj2a/sirgaw.htmlSera, Joe. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight- Close Reading of Lines 130-202. 1997. November 2, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs3f/proj2.html

The Banning Of e For Ecstasy By Nicholas Saunders :: essays research papers

The Banning of "E for Ecstasy" by Nicholas SaundersThe book entitled E for Ecstasy, by Nicholas Saunders, is a book ofhistory, information, and stories about the illegal drug ecstasy. The causationpresents a vast amount of information about many aspects of the drug such as thehistory of the invention of the drug, information about how the drug personal effectspeople in different ways, positive reasons to use the drug, side effects andnegative reasons to use the drug, and an overview of how the drug has beenaccepted into various societal groups.     A lode of this book, which was published in England in 1994, wasceased by Australian customs agents in the spring of 1994 and has been banned inAustralia ever since. The ban on this book is presently still in place andbeing upheld by the Australian government due to the way the book portrays thedrug ecstasy in a chiefly positive way. According to the author of the book,even anti-drug groups are opposed to t he ban because they believe both sides ofthe story should be heard.     As I read this book, at first I felt a temptation to try ecstasy due tothe positive way in which the drug was described. After reading only intothe text, however, much more detailed information about the drug is broughtfourth. For example, the book associates use of ecstasy with the cultures ofall kinds of illegal drugs. In my opinion, the ban should be bring up because thebook does not just give the positive information about this drug. While thebook does side towards the use of the drug, it does provide all kinds ofinteresting information and education including negative data about the drug.If information about drugs is kept in the dark, people will be tempted to seekinformation in potentially harmful ways. If information flows freely, however,people can usually be trusted to make smart choices.     The latest twist to this otherwise traditional story is that the good text of the book is now available on the Internet, as is the text of many otherbanned books.

Computers in Teacher Education :: Technology Learning Teaching Essays

Computers in Teacher EducationThe computer has changed many aspects of Ameri deal society, and the Teacher Education field is no exception.A future teacher now has to strike the computer along with all of the traditional subjects when preparing to get a teaching degree.Literacy in Ameri throne schools no bimestrial means that a student can read, write, and do simple math problems.Literacy has a new branch that is required of all students to learn-the computer. The computer is a vital part of the education process of at presents youth.The process of getting a teaching degree now requires that the University student be literate and competent when it comes to using and teaching computers.Future teachers are clever how to utilize the computer to arouse lesson plans and supplement learning.Computers are not only used to drill students on previously learned material, but also to research new ideas and find new resources.Kevin Ryan explores these new concepts of teaching in Those Who Can, Teach, The technology-assisted teacher, however, was facilitating instruction as needed, to bring about a deeper understanding and relevance.1The teacher is no long-run alone when thinking up lesson plans and related activities.The computer provides teaching software as well as endless material on the internet that teachers can utilize in their classrooms.The internet provides websites to bring resources together for all teachers to share.The websites include classroom management tips, grade book software, lesson plans, and connections to fellow teachers.Teachers are no longer alone in their classrooms, all they have to do is visit a website, such as http//webpages.marshall.edu/jmullens/edlinks.html, and everything they could need is accessible from their computer. Some teachers may feel disturbed to include the computer in their classroom activities, but according to the National Center for Education Statistics2, more and more teachers are turning to the computer to enhance the learning process. Computers are changing every aspect of the education field.Not only are teachers using the computer to help their students learn, but also the students themselves are breathing out on their own to find resources and information via the computer.According to Ryan3 a project in Florida, called CHILD (Computers Helping Instruction and Learning Development) students who are grouped together and allowed to rifle on projects involving the computer and traditional classroom methods ultimately did better on year-end standardized tests than peers in conventional classrooms.The number of students using the computer is continually rising, usage averaging about 1-2 times per month.The Nations Report Card researches the usage of computers by twelfth-grade students.

The Roman Legacy Essay -- Ancient Rome

With the decline and f solely of the western empire, the classical age of Rome came to a blotto as disease, warfare and corruption conspired to bring about the downfall of an ailing empire that had once conquered the known world. Where once enlightened despots had ruled a fast(a) and unwieldy polity, now barbarians stood over the ruins of a once thriving metropolis. In its absence a new world would arise with new values and ideals. twist their back on a pagan past the Christian children of these wild men from the north would spawn the greatest houses of future European nobility, and when they looked back for a bequest, they would not bring down their ancestors as pillagers picking at the bones of a defiled Rome, but instead as its trusted guardians, partnering with the Church to carry her legacy through the Dark Ages.Greece, which had endured its own dark ages millennia beforehand, became the cradle of the western artistic ideal. Its society was like none other. Organizationally, it preferred a unique mannequin of government called democracy, when other societies around god-kings and despotic strong men. Its ambitions asserted the perfection of man, his unique place in the world. As stories became myth and myths became legends, humans (or human like) gods began to break through in the religious centres of worship. Unlike the gods of Egypt, who almost always have some animalistic component to their physiology, the Greek gods were human-like. Zeus had a human body, hands and feet for all intents and purposes, he was the first super-man. This was an epic reversal. Where once man relegated himself to the animals, now the Greeks had placed man above the merely natural and into the realm of the supernatural.The human form was exemplified in sculptur... ...prayer books, we get illustrations of the peasant farmer at work in his fields throughout the seasons, alluding to the year round labor required to feed a approach starving passel of half a dozen children. I n the illuminated Bibles, we see fabulous illustrations off the fabled kingdoms of the east and wild bestiaries of exotic man-imals and creatures said to sulk in terras ingonito, daring men to venture into the unknown again and call at the courts of Pryster John, lord of all the Indias. In the Cathedrals, some of the most dramatic numeric aspirations were envisioned in stone as towns and masons set out to trump one another with brilliant feats of engineering not attempted since the heights of Rome. This was a world trying to right itself again after the fall of the greatest empire the world had ever seen, a world many wanted to see gain a new purchase on earth.

Response to The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Response to The jaundiced WallpaperThe cleaning lady behind this work of literature portrays the role of women in the society during that period of time. The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a well written story describing a woman who suffers from insanity and how she struggles to express her own thoughts and feelings. The author uses her own accept to criticize male domination of women during the nineteenth century. Although the story was written fifty years ago, The Yellow Wallpaper still brings a clear message how incapacitated women were during that time. Women were regard as a second class of people. They had neither legal right nor respect from their male counterparts. When the narrators husband, John, a physician, placed the narrator in the exorbitant room with yellow wallpaper, and bed-rested, he claimed that he knew what is best for his wife. The narrator had no choice but to obey her husband since her brother, who was a male physician, was convi nced by her husbands theory. So I take phosphates of phosphites-whichever it is-and tonics, and air and exercise, and journeys, and am absolutely forbidden to work until I am well again (pg277). Male domination is all the way seen here as the males claimed that their decision was always the right choice. I thought it was a good time to talk, so I told him that I really was non gaining here, and that I wished he would take me away(pg283). The narrator tried to convince her husband to change his treatment because she thought that her husbands prescription was not working for her, sort of her husband asked her to go to sleep. Her husbands ignorance clearly shows that even the narrator herself had no power over her own health. She just simply said, But ... ...perhaps to show John and Jennie that she was no longer weak a handle she used to be and was now free.In conclusion, the yellow wallpaper is a brilliant work literature of which depicts a woman as a permissive and controlled b y her dominant husband. While women now enjoyed freedom and peace in a liberal nation like America, we essential not forget in the impoverish states like Afghanistan or Pakistan, women are still being enclosed behind the bars of the Yellow Wallpaper. They, just like in the past, have no right in their society and have no idea that women can actually enjoy the kind of freedom like their male counterparts. The Yellow Wallpaper does not only serve as a witness of what has happened in the past, it has also served the purpose of a reminder of what we essential be doing in the future to bring freedom and rights to women all over the world. (779 words)

Response to The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Response to The Yellow coverThe woman behind this work of literature portrays the role of women in the society during that period of time. The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a well written story describing a woman who suffers from insanity and how she struggles to express her own thoughts and feelings. The author uses her own experience to bump male domination of women during the nineteenth century. Although the story was written fifty years ago, The Yellow Wallpaper still brings a clear message how powerless women were during that time. Women were indirect request as a second class of people. They had neither legal right nor respect from their male counterparts. When the narrators conserve, John, a physician, placed the narrator in the horrid manner with yellow wallpaper, and bed-rested, he claimed that he knew what is best for his wife. The narrator had no choice but to obey her husband since her brother, who was a male physician, was convinced by he r husbands theory. So I take phosphates of phosphites-whichever it is-and tonics, and air and exercise, and journeys, and am absolutely forbidden to work until I am well again (pg277). Male domination is clearly seen here(predicate) as the males claimed that their decision was always the right choice. I thought it was a good time to talk, so I told him that I really was not gaining here, and that I wished he would take me away(pg283). The narrator tried to convince her husband to change his treatment because she thought that her husbands prescription was not working for her, instead her husband asked her to go to sleep. Her husbands ignorance clearly shows that even the narrator herself had no power over her own health. She just simply said, But ... ...perhaps to show John and Jennie that she was no continuing weak like she used to be and was now free.In conclusion, the yellow wallpaper is a brilliant work literature of which depicts a woman as a permissive and controlled by her dominant husband. While women now enjoyed freedom and peace in a liberal nation like America, we must not forget in the impoverish states like Afghanistan or Pakistan, women are still being enclosed behind the bars of the Yellow Wallpaper. They, just like in the past, have no right in their society and have no idea that women can actually enjoy the kind of freedom like their male counterparts. The Yellow Wallpaper does not only serve as a witness of what has happened in the past, it has also served the purpose of a reminder of what we must be doing in the future to bring freedom and rights to women all over the world. (779 words)

Country Side

Country Side Freedom surrounds those who aspire to achieve lonesome from the embossment of the world. The improve bushelaway is something that most people deserve once in a while. Complete solitary from everything and everyone nothing but fields for miles and miles away. The country boldness has a lot to offer the spectacular view and stunning landscape. It doesnt matter whether it is winter, spring, fall or summer because either of these seasons changes the fact of how admiring the view is from a far. I am a victim of this ignorance. I never realize how precious and beautiful the country side is until I saw Harvey George W. ainting, New England Landscape, at the Andersons drift in Beverly Hills that opens my eyes into larger sense of beauty and strength. Harvey George W. was known for his Techniques of Fly bind Fishing. Harvey was born on November 14, 1911, in Dubois, Pennsylvania. His father Archibald accepted a railway line as a stock riseer in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. That s where he got inspired by painting the New England from his childhood memories. While Harvey was in the farm he had learned so many things and to appreciate what was handed to him, he did not come from a wealthy income family and all he could crap through is go by what his expectation were.His Father Archibald teaches him how fish by the stream right off the stream. Even more he was being afflatus by the record that surrounded him. Harvey is not a well-known artist but more for his achievements at Penn State University. At Penn State he teaches Fishing Tying for the commencement exercise Time in history and that class was accredited in 1947. Also he got offered to run in the Olympics but then he was diagnosed with pneumonia and did not get to compete. In my perspective view, seeing this painting of the country side makes me want to pull up stakes about life and go there to escape from the nonchalant basis.The tantrum is breath taking. The tree diagram that is located on the c enter left hand is perfected it reflects how privacy is supposed to be like. The stack of hay cigarette the lusus naturae tree is a symbol of freedom. The hay represents how everyone who would like to be stress free can just hide behind a tree and forget about their existence. The farm town is far away like its supposed to be and endless fields. This portrait reminds me of my own family ranch in Mexico it make me realize that I am taking that part of my life for granted.Country SideCountry Side Freedom surrounds those who aspire to achieve lonesome from the rest of the world. The perfect getaway is something that most people deserve once in a while. Complete solitary from everything and everyone nothing but fields for miles and miles away. The country side has a lot to offer the spectacular view and stunning landscape. It doesnt matter whether it is winter, spring, fall or summer because either of these seasons changes the fact of how admiring the view is from a far. I am a victim of this ignorance. I never realize how precious and beautiful the country side is until I saw Harvey George W. ainting, New England Landscape, at the Andersons Gallery in Beverly Hills that opens my eyes into larger sense of beauty and strength. Harvey George W. was known for his Techniques of Fly Tying Fishing. Harvey was born on November 14, 1911, in Dubois, Pennsylvania. His father Archibald accepted a job as a stock farmer in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Thats where he got inspired by painting the New England from his childhood memories. While Harvey was in the farm he had learned so many things and to appreciate what was handed to him, he did not come from a wealthy income family and all he could have done is go by what his expectation were.His Father Archibald teaches him how fish by the stream right off the stream. Even more he was being afflatus by the nature that surrounded him. Harvey is not a well-known artist but more for his achievements at Penn State University. At Penn St ate he teaches Fishing Tying for the first Time in history and that class was accredited in 1947. Also he got offered to run in the Olympics but then he was diagnosed with pneumonia and did not get to compete. In my perspective view, seeing this painting of the country side makes me want to forget about life and go there to escape from the everyday basis.The scenery is breath taking. The tree that is located on the center left hand is perfected it reflects how privacy is supposed to be like. The stack of hay behind the giant tree is a symbol of freedom. The hay represents how everyone who would like to be stress free can just hide behind a tree and forget about their existence. The farm town is far away like its supposed to be and endless fields. This portrait reminds me of my own family ranch in Mexico it made me realize that I am taking that part of my life for granted.

Informative Speech Outline Essay

Purpose To inform my au glide bynce members about diabetes, the complications of diabetes, and what they can do to hinder diabetes from happening or how they can manage and maintain a full-blooded lifestyle if they are currently living with diabetes.IntroductionI. Show of hands, how many of you know somevirtuoso who has diabetes? Need/ConnectionII. According to the discipline Diabetes Report, 2014 from the centers for sickness support and prevention, nearly 29.1 million people in the United States have Diabetes Speaker CredibilityIII. Almost all of my family are now currently living with diabetes, and one of them is my mom, she has type 2 Diabetes and having to see her inject herself with insulin every day and have to watch her not being able to eat all the food she wants is tough since she always has to watch how much cole she intakes. Topic and Main PointsIV. Now, although some of us may not all have diabetes, diabetes is the fastest growing complaint in the country, and is also one of the top ten leading causes of death. Today I will speak to you about the types of diabetes, complications of diabetes, and step you can do to prevent yourself from this disease or ways to keep your diabetes under pull strings. Transition StatementV. I will begin by informing you all on what only diabetes is, and the types ofVI. BodyA. What is diabetes?According to the Joslin Diabetes Center diabetes is defined as a disease in which the body is unable to properly use and store glucose. Glucose is the main computer address of fuel for the body. And a person with diabetes cannot absorb glucose properly, and glucose stays circulating in the blood damaging tissues over time.B. Types of diabetesI. Type 1 Diabetes Formally known as juvenile diabetes, which is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. Type 1 diabetes is where the body does not produce any insulin, and people who have type 1 diabetes mustiness take daily injections or pumps to be able to survive on a day to day basis. II. Type 2 diabetes Formally known as adult-onset or non- insulin dependent diabetes, type 2 is much more common than type 1. Type 2 diabetes is where not enough insulin is produced, and people with type 2 diabetes will need to take either medication or insulin to help regulate the insulin in their body.III. Gestational Diabetes According to the Baby Center Medical consultatory Board when the body needs additional insulin, the pancreas dutifully secrets more of it, but if your pancreas cant keep up with the increased insulin demand during pregnancy, your blood levels rise, ultimately resulting to gestational diabetes. Most woman with gestational diabetes dont remain diabetic after the baby is born, but the women are at higher encounter for getting it again during a future pregnancy and for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.Transition StatementKeeping diabetes under control can reduce the risk of having future complicationsC. Complication of DiabetesI. Ther e are many risks and complications with diabetes that are serious, and can sometimes even result to death. Just to trust a couple examples heart disease, nerve damage, amputations, and vision problems. II. According to the World Health Organization diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. 50% of people with diabetes die of cardiovascular disease.Transition StatementThere are many complications associated with diabetes that can be very scary, and life threating. But there are many steps you can do to keep your diabetes under control or prevent diabetes from entering your lifestyle. D. What we can do to maintain/prevent normal blood sugar levels. I. For those who are currently living with diabetes you can take some measures to keep your condition in line by exercising regularly, eating healthy, and taking medications instructed by your doctors. II. For those who dont have diabetes we can take preventative measures to stop diabetes from happeningto us. Although it may tough to stay away from all those sweets, once in a while we can make some healthy eating choices and increase our physical activity.Transition StatementBy better understanding of what diabetes is, and suitable knowledgeable on the consequences of diabetes we can prevent it or still maintain a healthy lifestyle while living with diabetes.ConclusionI. Diabetes is an incurable disease that affects a large amount of people today, but if we are well informed we can make smart decisions. II. There is no real bring to for diabetes, but those who are diagnosed with it can still live a long healthy life if they take care of themselves. To better understand diabetes we need to confess the types of diabetes, and realize the steps we can take to prevent and maintain this disease.Works CitedGestational Diabetes Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment. BabyCenter. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.What Is Gestational Diabetes? American Diabetes Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.Translation, Divisi on Of Diabetes. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014(n.d.) n. pag. Web.National Diabetes InformationClearinghouse (NDIC). Diabetes Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. Large squirrel 556

Black House Chapter Eight

8TWO TELEPHONE CALLS and some other, private matter, matchless he is doing his best to deny, name conspired to pluck varlet Sawyer from his cocoon in Nor representation V entirelyey and dedicate him on the road to cut Landing, Sumner Street, and the police station. The prototypal c each(prenominal) had been from atomic number 1, and heat content, c in alling from the Maxton cafeteria during superstar and only(a) of the Symphonic Ones breaks, had insisted on speaking his mind. A child had apparently been abducted from the aspectwalk in front of Maxtons earlier that day. Whatever diddlysquats reasons for staying place of the case, which by the fashion he had never explained, they didnt moot allto a greater extent, sorry. This made four children who had been lost to the fisher, because jacks didnt real(a)ly imagine Irma Freneau was acquittance to walk in her front thresh over-the-hill any eon soon, did he? Four children No, Henry had verbalise, I didnt hear righ teous ab expose it on the radio. It happened this morning. From a janitor at Maxtons, Henry had said. He motto a worried- sounding knock off pick up a bicycle and congeal it in his trunk. only objurgate, Henry had said, whitethornbe I dont outlying(prenominal)e for certain, that I am certain. By to shadow, Dale leave al wholeness identify the poor kid, and tomorrow his get word will be all over the newspaper. And then this whole county is going to flip forbidden. Dont you get it? Just hunching you are involved will do a component part to keep people calm. You no longer confirm the luxury of retirement, diddley. You become to do your part. jacklight had told him he was jumping to conclusions, and that they would talk about it later.Forty-five minutes later, Dale Gilbertson had called with the news that a boy named Tyler marshal had vanished from in front of Maxtons sometime that morning, and that Tylers father, Fred Marshall, was defeat t present right today, in th e station, demanding to describe rapscallion Sawyer. Fred was a dandy clapperclaw, a real straight arrow and family man, a solid citizen, a friend of Dales, you could say, merely at the moment he was at the end of his rope. Apparently Judy, his wife, had been having some kind of mental problems flat before the trouble started, and Tylers disappearance had driven her off-key the edge. She talked in gibberish, injured herself, tore the plate apart. And I kind of experience Judy Marshall, Dale had said. Beautiful, beautiful woman, a little thing but tough as all get-out on the inwardly, both feet on the ground, a colossal person, a tremendous person, soul youd think would never lose her grip, no matter what. It seems she thought, knew, whatever, that Tyler had been snatched even before his bicycle acquireed up. Late this aft(prenominal)noon, she got so bad Fred had to call Dr. Skarda and get her over to French County Lutheran in Arden, where they to a faultk one look at her and put her in Ward D, the mental wing. So you groundwork imagine what kind of shape Freds in. He insists on talking to you. I have no confidence in you, he said to me. Well, Dale had said, if you dont count passel here, Fred Marshall is going to show up at your house, thats whatll happen. I nookyt put the guy on a leash, and Im not going to lock him up dependable to keep him a elan from you. On glide by of everything else, we need you here, dogshit. wholly right, Dale had said. I get youre not making any promises. scarcely you know what you should do.Would these conversations have been affluent to get him into his pickup and on the road to Sumner Street? Very standardisedly, fathead imagines, which renders the third factor, the secret, barely acknowledged one, inconsequential. It means nothing. A silly tone-beginning of nerves, a buildup of anxiety, whole natural under the circumstances. The kind of thing that could happen to anybody. He felt same getting out of the house, so what? No one could accuse him of escaping. He was traveling toward, not running a air from, that which he most necessityed to escape the dark undertow of the Fishermans crimes. Neither was he committing himself to any deeper involvement. A friend of Dales and the father of a child apparently lacking, this Fred Marshall, insisted on talking to him fine, let him talk. If half(prenominal) an hour with a retired detective could help Fred Marshall get a handle on his problems, the retired detective was willing to control him the time.Everything else was merely personal. Waking dreams and robins eggs messed with your mind, but that was merely personal. It could be out-waited, outwitted, figured out. No rational person took that stuff seriously similar a summer storm, it blew in, it blew out. instanter, as he coasted by dint of the green light at Centralia and noted, with a copper colors involuntary awareness, the row of Harleys lined up in the Sand Bars parking lo t, he felt himself advance into alignment with the afternoons difficulties. It made perfect sense that he should have found himself unable well, let us say unwilling to open the refrigerator door. Nasty surprises made you think twice. A light in his biography room had expired, and when he had deceased to the drawer that contained half a dozen new halogen bulbs, he had been unable to open it. In fact, he had not rather been able to open any drawer, cabinet, or blottot in his house, which had denied him the capacity to make a cup of tea, change his clothes, prepare lunch, or do anything but leaf half heartedly through books and watch television. When the flap of the mailbox had threa cardinaled to conceal a pyramid of small moody eggs, he had decided to put off collecting the mail until the abutting day. Anyhow, all he ever got were financial statements, magazines, and junk mail.Lets not make it sound worse than it was, cakehole says to himself. I could have opened every doo r, drawer, and cabinet in the place, but I didnt want to. I wasnt afraid that robins eggs were going to issue spilling out of the refrigerator or the closet its just that I didnt want to take the chance of finding one of the blasted things. Show me a psychiatrist who says thats neurotic, and Ill show you a moron who doesnt understand psychology. All the old-timers used to tell me that working homicide messed with your head. Hell, thats why I retired in the first placeWhat was I supposed to do, stay on the force until I ate my gun? Youre a smart guy, Henry Leyden, and I love you, but there are some things you dont GETAll right, he was going to Sumner Street. Everybody was yelling at him to do something, and thats what he was doing. Hed say hello to Dale, greet the boys, sit down with this Fred Marshall, the solid citizen with a missing son, and maintain him the usual oatmeal about everything possible being done, blah blah, the FBI is working hand in glove with us on this one, and the bureau has the finest investigators in the world. That oatmeal. As far as Jack was concerned, his primary duty was to stroke Fred Marshalls fur, as if to soothe the feelings of an injured cat when Marshall had calmed down, Jacks supposed responsibleness to the community an obligation that existed entirely in the minds of others would be fulfilled, freeing him to go back to the privacy he had earned. If Dale didnt handle it, he could take a running jump into the manuscript if Henry didnt like it, Jack would refuse to read Bleak House and force him to listen instead to Lawrence Welk, Vaughn Monroe, or something equally excruciating. Bad Dixieland. Years ago, someone had given Jack a CD called Fats Manassas & His Muskrat All Stars Stompin the Ramble. Thirty helps of Fats Manassas, and Henry would be begging for mercy.This image makes Jack feel comfortable enough to prove that his hesitation before cupboards and drawers had been merely a temporary unwillingness, not phobic ina bility. Even while his attention was elsewhere, as it chiefly was, the shoved-in ashtray infra the dash has mocked and taunted him since he first climbed into the pickup. A kind of sinister suggestiveness, an aura of latent malice, surrounds the ashtrays flat little panel.Does he fear that a small blue egg lurks behind the little panel?Of course not. Nothing is in there but air and molded black plastic.In that case, he rat pull it out.The buildings on the outskirts of French Landing glide historic the pickups windowpanes. Jack has reached almost the exact point at which Henry pulled the plug on Dirtysperm. simply he can open the ashtray. Nothing could be simpler. You just get your fingers under there and tug. Easiest thing in the world. He extends a hand. Before his fingers match the panel, he snatches the hand back. Drops of perspiration glide down his forehead and lodge in his eyebrows.It isnt a big deal, he says aloud. You got some kind of problem here, Jacky-boy?Again, he e xtends his hand to the ashtray. Abruptly aware that he is paying more attention to the bottom of his dashboard than to the road, he glances up and fadeds his speed by half. He refuses to prepare his brakes. Its just an ashtray, for Gods sake. His fingers meet the panel, then curl under its lip. Jack glances at the road once more. Then, with the decisivesness of a nurse ripping a strip of tape off a patients hairy abdomen, he yanks out the sliding tray. The lighter attachment, which he had unknowingly dislodged in his driveway that morning, bounces three inches into the air, greatly resembling, to Jacks appalled eye, a flying black-and-silver egg.He veers off the road, bumps over the weedy shoulder, and heads toward a looming telephone pole. The lighter drops back into the tray with a loud, metallic thwack no egg in the world could have produced. The telephone pole swims closer and n archeozoic fills the windshield. Jack stamps on the brake and jerks to a halt, arousing a flurry o f ticks and rattles from the ashtray. If he had not cut his speed before opening the ashtray, he would have driven straight into the pole, which stands about four feet from the hood of the pickup. Jack wipes the sweat off his face and picks up the lighter. Shit on a shingle. He clicks the attachment into its receptacle and collapses half-witted against the seat. No wonder they say smoking can kill you, he says. The joke is too feeble to amuse him, and for a couple up of seconds he does nothing but slump against the seat and regard the sparse traffic on Lyall Road. When his heart evaluate drops back to something like normal, he reminds himself that he did, after all, open the ashtray.Blond, rumpled Tom Lund has evidently been prepped for his arrival, for when Jack walks past three bicycles lined up beside to the door and enters the station, the young officer takes off from behind his desk and rushes forward to whisper that Dale and Fred Marshall are waiting for him in Dales offic e, and he will show him right in. Theyll be glad to see him, thats for sure. I am, too, Lieutenant Sawyer, Lund adds. Boy, I gotta say it. What you got, I think, we need.Call me Jack. Im not a lieutenant anymore. Im not even a cop anymore. Jack had met Tom Lund during the Kinderling investigation, and he had liked the young mans eagerness and dedication. In love with his job, his uniform, and his badge, respectful of his chief and awed by Jack, Lund had uncomplainingly logged hundreds of hours on the telephone, in records offices, and in his car, containing and rechecking the often contradictory tokens spun off by the collision among a Wisconsin farm-insurance salesman and ii Sunset Strip working girls. All the while, Tom Lund had retained the energetic sparkle of a high school quarterback running onto the field for his first game.He does not look that way anymore, Jack observes. Dark smudges hang beneath his eye, and the bones in his face are more prominent. More than sleepless ness and exhaustion lie behind Lunds necessitate his eyes bear the helplessly startled expression of those who have suffered a great moral shock. The Fisherman has stolen a good part of Tom Lunds youth.But Ill see what I can do, Jack says, offering the promise of a commitment greater than he intends.We can sure use anything you can give us, Lund says. It is too much, too servile, and as Lund delves away and leads him to the office, Jack thinks, I didnt come here to be your savior.The thought instantly makes him feel guilty.Lund knocks, opens the door to announce Jack, shows him in, and vanishes like a g legions, utterly unnoticed by the two men who rise from their chairs and fasten their eyes upon their visitors face, one with visible gratitude, the other with an enormous degree of the kindred emotion mixed with naked need, which makes Jack even more uncomfortable.Over Dales garbled introduction, Fred Marshall says, Thank you for agreeing to come, thank you so much. Thats all I can . . . His right arm sticks out like a pump handle. When Jack takes his hand, an even greater quantity of feeling floods into Fred Marshalls face. His hand fastens on Jacks and seems almost to film it, as an animal claims its prey. He squeezes, hard, a considerable number of times. His eyes fill. I cant . . . Marshall pulls his hand away and scrubs the tears off his face. Now his eyes look raw and intensely vulnerable. Boy oh boy, he says. Im really glad youre here, Mr. Sawyer. Or should I say Lieutenant?Jack is fine. why dont the two of you fill me in on what happened today?Dale points toward a waiting chair the three men take their places the painful but essentially simple storey of Fred, Judy, and Tyler Marshall begins. Fred speaks first, at some length. In his version of the story, a valiant, lionhearted woman, a devoted wife and mother, succumbs to baffling, multifaceted transformations and disorders, and develops mysterious symptoms overlooked by her ignorant, stupid, se lf-centred husband. She blurts out nonsense words she writes crazy stuff on sheets of notepaper, rams the papers into her mouth, and tries to swallow them. She sees the tragedy coming in advance, and it unhinges her. Sounds crazy, but the self-centered husband thinks its the truth. That is, he thinks he thinks its the truth, because hes been thinking about it since he first talked to Dale, and even though it sounds crazy, it kind of makes sense. Because what other explanation could there be? So thats what he thinks he thinks that his wife started to lose her mind because she knew that the Fisherman was on the way. Things like that are possible, he guesses. For example, the brave afflicted wife knew that her beautiful wonderful son was missing even before the stupid selfish husband, who went to work exactly as if it were a normal day, told her about the bicycle. That pretty much proved what he was talking about. The beautiful little boy went out with his three friends, but only the three friends came back, and Officer Danny Tcheda found the little sons Schwinn bike and one of his poor sneakers on the sidewalk outside Maxtons.Danny Cheetah? asks Jack, who, like Fred Marshall, is beginning to think he thinks a number of alarming things.Tcheda, says Dale, and spells it for him. Dale tells his own, far shorter version of the story. In Dale Gilbertsons story, a boy goes out for a ride on his bicycle and vanishes, perhaps as a result of abduction, from the sidewalk in front of Maxtons. That is all of the story Dale knows, and he trusts that Jack Sawyer will be able to fill in many of the surrounding blanks.Jack Sawyer, at whom both of the other men in the room are staring, takes time to adjust to the three thoughts he now thinks he thinks. The first is not so much a thought as a response that embodies a hidden thought from the moment Fred Marshall clutched his hand and said Boy oh boy, Jack found himself liking the man, an unanticipated turn in the evenings plot. Fr ed Marshall strikes him as something like the poster boy for small-town life. If you put his picture on billboards advertising French County real estate, you could sell a lot of second homes to people in Milwaukee and Chicago. Marshalls friendly, good-looking face and slender runners body are as good as testimonials to responsibility, decency, good manners and good neighborliness, modesty, and a generous heart. The more Fred Marshall accuses himself of selfishness and stupidity, the more Jack likes him. And the more he likes him, the more he sympathizes with his terrible plight, the more he wishes to help the man. Jack had come to the station expecting that he would respond to Dales friend like a policeman, but his cop reflexes have rusted from disuse. He is responding like a fellow citizen. Cops, as Jack well knows, seldom view the civilians caught up in the backwash of a crime as fellow citizens, certainly never in the early stages of an investigation. (The thought hidden at the c enter of Jacks response to the man before him is that Fred Marshall, being what he is, cannot harbor suspicions about anyone with whom he is on good terms.)Jacks second thought is that of both a cop and a fellow citizen, and while he continues his adjustment to the third, which is wholly the product of his rusty yet still exact cop reflexes, he makes it public. The bikes I saw outside belong to Tylers friends? Is someone questioning them now?Bobby Dulac, Dale says. I talked to them when they came in, but I didnt get anywhere. According to them, they were all together on chamfer Street, and Tyler rode off by himself. They claim they didnt see anything. Maybe they didnt.But you think theres more.Honest to God, I do. But I dont know what the dickens it could be, and we have to send them home before their parents get bent out of shape.Who are they, what are their names?Fred Marshall wraps his fingers together as if close to the handle of an concealed baseball bat. Ebbie Wexler, T. J . Renniker, and Ronnie Metzger. Theyre the kids Tys been hanging about with this summer. An unspoken judgment hovers about this last sentence.It sounds like you dont consider them the best possible company for your son.Well, no, says Fred, caught amid his desire to tell the truth and his innate wish to avoid the appearance of unfairness. Not if you put it like that. Ebbie seems like kind of a bully, and the other two are maybe a little on the . . . slow side? I hope . . . or I was hoping . . . that Ty would realize he could do go and spend his free time with kids who are more on, you know . . .More on his level.Right. The trouble is, my son is part of small for his age, and Ebbie Wexler is . . . um . . .Heavyset and tall for his age, Jack says. The perfect situation for a bully.Youre saying you know Ebbie Wexler?No, but I saw him this morning. He was with the other two boys and your son.Dale jolts upright in his chair, and Fred Marshall drops his invisible bat. When was that? Da le asks. At the same time, Fred Marshall asks, Where?Chase Street, about ten past eight. I came in to pick up Henry Ley-den and drive him home. When we were on our way out of town, the boys drove their bikes into the road right in front of me. I got a good look at your son, Mr. Marshall. He seemed like a great kid.Fred Marshalls widening eyes indicate that some kind of hope, some promise, is taking shape before him Dale relaxes. That pretty much matches their story. It would have been right before Ty took off on his own. If he did.Or they took off and left him, says Tys father. They were faster on their bikes than Ty, and sometimes they, you know . . . they teased him.By racing ahead and leaving him alone, Jack says. Fred Marshalls glum nod speaks of boyhood humiliations shared with this sympathetic father. Jack remembers the inflamed, hostile face and raised finger of Ebbie Wexler and wonders if and how the boy might be protecting himself. Dale had said that he smelled the presence of falsity in the boys story, but why would they lie? Whatever their reasons, the lie almost certainly began with Ebbie Wexler. The other two followed orders.For the moment setting deviation the third of his thoughts, Jack says, I want to talk to the boys before you send them home. Where are they?The interrogation room, top of the stairs. Dale aims a finger at the ceiling. Tom will take you up.With its battleship-gray walls, gray metal table, and single window narrow as a slit in a castle wall, the room at the top of the stairs seems designed to elicit confessions through boredom and despair, and when Tom Lund leads Jack through the door, the four inhabitants of the interrogation room appear to have succumbed to its leaden atmosphere. Bobby Dulac looks sideways, lolly drumming a pencil on the tabletop, and says, Well, hoo-ray for Hollywood. Dale said you were coming down. Even Bobby gleams a little less conspicuously in this gloom. Did you want to interrogate these here hoodlums, Lieutenant?In a minute, maybe. devil of the three hoodlums on the far side of the table watch Jack move onside Bobby Dulac as if fearing he will clap them in a cell. The words interrogate and Lieutenant have had the bracing effect of a cold wind from Canada. Ebbie Wexler squints at Jack, move to look tough, and the boy beside him, Ronnie Metzger, wriggles in his chair, his eyes like d sexual plates. The third boy, T. J. Ren-niker, has dropped his head atop his crossed arms and appears to be asleep.Wake him up, Jack says. I have something to say, and I want you all to hear it. In fact, he has nothing to say, but he needs these boys to pay attention to him. He already knows that Dale was right. If they are not lying, they are at least holding something back. Thats why his abrupt appearance within their dozy scene frightened them. If Jack had been in charge, he would have uninvolved the boys and questioned them individually, but now he must deal with Bobby Dulacs mistake. He has t o treat them collectively, to begin with, and he has to work on their fear. He does not want to terrorize the boys, merely to get their hearts pumping a bit faster after that, he can separate them. The weakest, guiltiest link has already declared himself. Jack feels no compunction about telling lies to get information.Ronnie Metzger shoves T.J.s shoulder and says, Wake up, bum-dell . . . dumbbell.The sleeping boy moans, lifts his head from the table, begins to stretch out his arms. His eyes fasten on Jack, and blinking and swallowing he snaps into an upright position.Welcome back, Jack says. I want to introduce myself and explain what I am doing here. My name is Jack Sawyer, and I am a lieutenant in the Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. I have an excellent record and a roomful of citations and medals. When I go after a bad guy, I usually wind up perk uping him. Three years ago, I came here on a case from Los Angeles. Two weeks later, a man named Thornberg Kind erling was shipped back to L.A. in chains. Because I know this area and have worked with its law enforcement officers, the LAPD asked me to assist your local force in its investigation of the Fisherman murders. He glances down to see if Bobby Dulac is grinning at this nonsense, but Bobby is staring frozen-faced across the table. Your friend Tyler Marshall was with you before he disappeared this morning. Did the Fisherman take him? I hate to say it, but I think he did. Maybe we can get Tyler back, and maybe we cant, but if I am going to quit the Fisherman, I need you to tell me exactly what happened, down to the last detail. You have to be completely honest with me, because if you lie or keep anything secret, you will be guilty of obstruction of justice. Obstruction of justice is a serious, serious crime. Officer Dulac, what is the minimum sentence for that crime in the state of Wisconsin?Five years, Im pretty sure, Bobby Dulac says.Ebbie Wexler bites the inside of his cheek Ronnie Metzger looks away and frowns at the table T. J. Renniker dully contemplates the narrow window.Jack sits down beside Bobby Dulac. Incidentally, I was the guy in the pickup one of you gave the finger to this morning. I cant say Im thrilled to see you again.Two heads swivel toward Ebbie, who squints ferociously, trying to solve this brand-new problem. I did not, he says, having settled on outright denial. Maybe it looked like I did, but I didnt.Youre lying, and we havent even started to talk about Tyler Marshall yet. Ill give you one more chance. Tell me the truth.Ebbie smirks. I dont go around flipping the chick at people I dont know.Stand up, Jack says.Ebbie glances from side to side, but his friends are unable to meet his gaze. He shoves back his chair and stands up, uncertainly.Officer Dulac, Jack says, take this boy outside and hold him there.Bobby Dulac performs his role perfectly. He uncoils from his chair and keeps his eyes on Ebbie as he glides toward him. He resembles a pan ther on the way to a sumptuous meal. Ebbie Wexler jumps back and tries to stay Bobby with a raised palm. No, dont I take it back I did it, okay?Too late, Jack says. He watches as Bobby grasps the boys elbow and pulls him toward the door. Red-faced and sweating, Ebbie plants his feet on the floor, and the forward pressure applied to his arm folds him over the bulge of his stomach. He staggers forward, yelping and scattering tears. Bobbie Dulac opens the door and hauls him into the bleak second-floor corridor. The door slams shut and cuts off a wail of fear.The two remaining boys have turned the color of skim milk and seem incompetent of movement. Dont worry about him, Jack says. Hell be fine. In fifteen, twenty minutes, youll be free to go home. I didnt think there was any point in talking to someone who lies from the git-go, thats all. Remember even lousy cops know when theyre being lied to and I am a great cop. So this is what we are going to do now. Were going to talk about what happened this morning, about what Tyler was doing, the way you separated from him, where you were, what you did afterward, anyone you might have seen, that kind of thing. He leans back and flattens his hands on the table. Go on, tell me what happened.Ronnie and T.J. look at each other. T.J. inserts his right index finger into his mouth and begins to worry the nail with his front teeth. Ebbie flipped you, Ronnie says.No kidding. After that.Uh, Ty said he hadda go someplace.He hadda go someplace, T.J. chimes in.Where were you right then?Uh . . . outside the Allsorts Pomorium.Emporium, T.J. says. Its not a pomorium, mushhead, its a em-poree-um.And?And Ty said Ronnie glances at T.J. Ty said he hadda go somewhere.Which way did he go, east or west?The boys treat this question as though it were asked in a foreign language, by puzzling over it, mutely.Toward the river, or away from the river?They consult each other again. The question has been asked in English, but no proper answer exist s. Finally, Ronnie says, I dont know.How about you, T.J.? Do you know?T.J. shakes his head. pricy. Thats honest. You dont know because you didnt see him leave, did you? And he didnt really say he had to go somewhere, did he? I bet Ebbie made that up.T.J. wriggles, and Ronnie gazes at Jack with wondering awe. He has just revealed himself to be Sherlock Holmes.Remember when I drove past in my truck? They nod in unison. Tyler was with you. They nod again. Youd already left the sidewalk in front of the Allsorts Emporium, and you were riding east on Chase Street away from the river. I saw you in my rearview mirror. Ebbie was pedaling very fast. The two of you could almost keep up with him. Tyler was smaller than the rest of you, and he fell behind. So I know he didnt go off on his own. He couldnt keep up.Ronnie Metzger wails, And he got way, way behind, and the Misherfun came out and grabbed him. He promptly bursts into tears.Jack leans forward. Did you see it happen? every one of you?N oooaa, Ronnie sobs. T.J. slowly shakes his head.You didnt see anyone talking with Ty, or a car stopping, or him going into a shop, or anything like that?The boys utter an incoherent, overlapping babble to the effect that they saw nothing.When did you realize he was gone?T.J. opens his mouth, then closes it. Ronnie says, When we were having the Slurpees. His face pursed with tension, T.J. nods in agreement.Two more questions reveal that they had enjoyed the Slurpees at the 7-Eleven, where they also purchased Magic cards, and that it had probably taken them no more than a couple of minutes to notice Tyler Marshalls absence. Ebbie said Ty would buy us some more cards, helpful Ronnie adds.They have reached the moment for which Jack has been waiting. Whatever the secret may be, it took place soon after the boys came out of the 7-Eleven and saw that Tyler had still not joined them. And the secret is T.J.s alone. The kid is practically sweating blood, while the memory of the Slurpees and M agic cards has calmed down his friend to a remarkable degree. There is only one more question he wishes to ask the two of them. So Ebbie wanted to find Tyler. Did you all get on your bikes and search around, or did Ebbie send just one of you?Huh? Ronnie says. T.J. drops his chin and crosses his arms on the top of his head, as if to ward off a blow. Tyler went somewheres, Ronnie says. We didnt look for him, we went to the park. To exchange the Magic cards.I see, Jack says. Ronnie, thank you. You have been very helpful. Id like you to go outside and stay with Ebbie and Officer Dulac while I have a short conversation with T.J. It shouldnt take more than five minutes, if that.I can go? At Jacks nod, Ronnie moves hesitantly out of his chair. When he reaches the door, T.J. emits a whimper. Then Ronnie is gone, and T.J. jerks backward into his chair and tries to become as small as possible while staring at Jack with eyes that have become shiny, flat, and perfectly round.T.J., Jack says, y ou have nothing to worry about, I promise you. Now that he is alone with the boy who had declared his guilt by falling asleep in the interrogation room, Jack Sawyer wants above all to absolve him of that guilt. He knows T.J.s secret, and the secret is nothing it is useless. No matter what you tell me, Im not going to arrest you. Thats a promise, too. Youre not in any trouble, son. In fact, Im glad you and your friends could come down here and help us straighten things out.He goes on in this vein for another three or four minutes, in the course of which T. J. Renniker, formerly condemned to death by firing squad, gradually comprehends that his pardon has come through and his release from what his buddy Ronnie would call vurance dile is imminent. A little color returns to his face. He returns to his former size, and his eyes lose their horror-stricken glaze.Tell me what Ebbie did, Jack says. Just between you and me. I wont tell him anything. Honest. I wont rat you out.He wanted Ty to buy more Magic cards, T.J. says, feeling his way through unknown territory. If Ty was there, he woulda. Ebbie can get kind of mean. So . . . so he told me, go down track and get the slowpoke, or Ill give you an Indian burn.You got on your bike and rode back down Chase Street.Uh-huh. I looked, but I didnt see Ty anywheres. I thought I would, you know? Because where else could he be?And . . . ? Jack reels in the answer he knows is coming by winding his hand through the air.And I still didnt see him. And I got to Queen Street, where the old folks home is, with the big hedge out front. And, um, I saw his bike there. On the sidewalk in front of the hedge. His sneaker was there, too. And some leaves off the hedge.There it is, the baseless secret. Maybe not entirely worthless it gives them a pretty accurate fix on the time of the boys disappearance 815, say, or 820. The bike lay on the sidewalk next to the sneaker for something like four hours before Danny Tcheda spotted them. Maxtons tak es up just about all the land on that section of Queen Street, and no one was showing up for the Strawberry Fest until noon.T.J. describes being afraid if the Fisherman pulled Ty into that hedge, maybe hed come back for more In answer to Jacks final question, the boy says, Ebbie told us to say Ty rode away from in front of the Allsorts, so people wouldnt, like, blame us. In case he was killed. Ty isnt really killed, is he? Kids like Ty dont get killed.I hope not, Jack says.Me, too. T.J. snuffles and wipes his nose on his arm.Lets get you on your way home, Jack says, leaving his chair.T.J. stands up and begins to move along the side of the table. Oh I just rememberedWhat?I saw feathers on the sidewalk.The floor beneath Jacks feet seems to roll left, then right, like the deck of a ship. He steadies himself by grasping the back of a chair. Really. He takes care to compose himself before turning to the boy. What do you mean, feathers?Black ones. Big. They looked like they came off a cr ow. One was next to the bike, and the other was in the sneaker.Thats funny, says Jack, buy time until he ceases to reverberate from the unexpected appearance of feathers in his conversation with T. J. Renniker. That he should respond at all is ridiculous that he should have felt, even for a second, that he was likely to faint is grotesque. T.J.s feathers were real crow feathers on a real sidewalk. His were dream feathers, feathers from unreal robins, illusory as everything else in a dream. Jack tells himself a number of helpful things like this, and soon he does feel normal once again, but we should be aware that, for the rest of the night and much of the next day, the word feathers floats, surrounded by an aura as charged as an electrical storm, beneath and through his thoughts, now and then come up with the sizzling crackle of a lightning bolt.Its weird, T.J. says. Like, how did a feather get in his sneaker?Maybe the wind blew it there, Jack says, conveniently ignoring the nonex istence of wind this day. quieten by the stability of the floor, he waves T.J. into the hallway, then follows him out.Ebbie Wexler pushes himself off the wall and stamps up alongside Bobby Dulac. Still in character, Bobby might have been carved from a gag law of marble. Ronnie Metzger sidles away. We can send these boys home, Jack says. Theyve done their duty.T.J., what did you say? Ebbie asks, glowering.He made it clear that you know nothing about your friends disappearance, Jack says.Ebbie relaxes, though not without distributing scowls all around. The final and most malignant scowl is for Jack, who raises his eyebrows. I didnt cry, Ebbie says. I was scared, but I didnt cry.You were scared, all right, Jack says. Next time, dont lie to me. You had your chance to help the police, and you blew it.Ebbie struggles with this depression and succeeds, at least partially, in absorbing it. Okay, but I wasnt really flippin at you. It was the stupid music.I hated it, too. The guy who was w ith me insisted on playing it. You know who he was?In the face of Ebbies suspicious glower, Jack says, George Rathbun.It is like saying Superman, or Arnold Schwarzenegger Ebbies suspicion evaporates, and his face transforms. Innocent wonder fills his small, close-set eyes. You know George Rathbun?Hes one of my best friends, Jack says, not adding that most of his other best friends are, in a sense, also George Rathbun.Cool, Ebbie says.In the background, T.J. and Ronnie echo, Cool.George is pretty cool, Jack says. Ill tell him you said that. Lets go downstairs and get you kids on your bikes.Still wrapped in the glory of having gazed upon the great, the tremendous George Rathbun, the boys mount their bicycles, pedal away down Sumner Street, and swerve off onto Second. Bobby Dulac says, That was a good trick, what you said about George Rathbun. Sent them away happy.It wasnt a trick.So startled that he jostles back into the station house side by side with Jack, Bobby says, George Rathbun is a friend of yours?Yep, Jack says. And sometimes, he can be a real pain in the ass.Dale and Fred Marshall look up as Jack enters the office, Dale with a cautious expectancy, Fred Marshall with what Jack sees, heartbreakingly, as hope.Well? Dale says.( feathers)You were right, they were hiding something, but it isnt much.Fred Marshall slumps against the back of his chair, letting some of his belief in a future hope leak out of him like air from a punctured tire.Not long after they got to the 7-Eleven, the Wexler boy sent T.J. down the street to look for your son, Jack says. When T.J. got to Queen Street, he saw the bike and the sneaker lying on the sidewalk. Of course, they all thought of the Fisherman. Ebbie Wexler figured they might get damn for leaving him behind, and he came up with the story you heard that Tyler left them, instead of the other way around.If you saw all four boys around ten past eight, that means Tyler disappeared only a few minutes later. What does this guy do, lurk in hedges?Maybe he does exactly that, Jack says. Did you have people check out that hedge?( feathers)The staties went over it, through it, and under it. Leaves and dirt, thats what they came up with.As if driving a spike with his hand, Fred Marshall bangs his fist down onto the desk. My son was gone for four hours before anyone noticed his bike. Now its almost seven-thirty Hes been missing for most of the day I shouldnt be sitting here, I should be driving around, looking for him.Everybody is looking for your son, Fred, Dale says. My guys, the staties, even the FBI.I have no faith in them, Fred says. They havent found Irma Freneau, have they? Why should they find my son? As far as I can see, Ive got one chance here. When he looks at Jack, emotion turns his eyes into lamps. That chance is you, Lieutenant. Will you help me?Jacks third and most troubling thought, withheld until now and purely that of an experienced policeman, causes him to say, Id like to talk to your wife. I f youre planning on visiting her tomorrow, would you mind if I came along?Dale blinks and says, Maybe we should talk about this.Do you think it would do some good?It might, Jack says.Seeing you might do her some good, anyhow, Fred says. Dont you live in Norway Valley? Thats on the way to Arden. I can pick you up about nine.Jack, Dale says.See you at nine, Jack says, ignoring the signals of mingled distress and anger emanating from his friend, also the little voice that whispers( feather).Amazing, says Henry Leyden. I dont know whether to thank you or congratulate you. Both, I suppose. Its too late in the game to make bitchrod, like me, but I think you could have a shot at dope. Dont lose your head. The only reason I went down there was to keep the boys father from coming to my house.That wasnt the only reason.Youre right. I was feeling sort of edgy and hemmed in. I felt like getting out, changing the scenery.But there was also another reason.Henry, you are hip-deep in pigshit, do yo u know that? You want to think I acted out of civic duty, or honor, or compassion, or altruism, or something, but I didnt. I dont like having to say this, but Im a lot less good-hearted and responsible than you think I am. Hip-deep in pigshit? Man, you are absolutely on the money. I have been hip-deep in pigshit, not to lift chest-deep and even chin-deep in pigshit, most of my life.Nice of you to admit it.However, you misunderstand me. Youre right, I do think you are a good, decent person. I dont just think it, I know it. Youre modest, youre compassionate, youre honorable, youre responsible no matter what you think of yourself right now. But that wasnt what I was talking about.What did you mean, then?The other reason you decided to go to the police station is connected to this problem, this concern, whatever it is, thats been bugging you for the past couple of weeks. Its like youve been walking around under a shadow.Huh, Jack said.This problem, this secret of yours, takes up half your attention, so youre only half present the rest of you is somewhere else. Sweetie, dont you think I can tell when youre worried and preoccupied? I might be blind, but I can see.Okay. Lets suppose that something has been on my mind lately. What could that have to do with going to the station house?There are two possibilities. Either you were going off to confront it, or you were fleeing from it.Jack does not speak.All of which suggests that this problem has to do with your life as a policeman. It could be some old case coming back to haunt you. Maybe a psychotic thug you put in jail was released and is threatening to kill you. Or, hell, Im completely enough of shit and you found out you have liver cancer and a life expectancy of three months.I dont have cancer, at least as far as I know, and no ex-con wants to kill me. All of my old cases, most of them, anyway, are safely asleep in the records warehouse of the LAPD. Of course, something has been bothering me lately, and I should have expected you to see that. But I didnt want to, I dont know, burden you with it until I managed to figure it out for myself.Tell me one thing, will you? Were you going toward it, or running away?Theres no answer to that question.We shall see. Isnt the food ready by now? Im starving, literally starving. You cook too slow. I would have been done ten minutes ago.Hold your horses, Jack says. Coming right up. The problem is this crazy kitchen of yours.Most rational kitchen in America. Maybe in the world.After ducking out of the police station quickly enough to avoid a useless conversation with Dale, Jack had yielded to impulse and called Henry with the offer of making dinner for both of them. A couple of good steaks, a nice bottle of wine, grilled mushrooms, a big salad. He could pick up everything they needed in French Landing. Jack had cooked for Henry on three or four previous occasions, and Henry had prepared one stupendously bizarre dinner for Jack. (The housekeeper had taken a ll the herbs and spices off their rack to wash it, and she had put everything back in the wrong place.) What was he doing in French Landing? Hed explain that when he got there. At eight-thirty he had pulled up before Henrys roomy white farmhouse, greeted Henry, and carried the groceries and his copy of Bleak House into the kitchen. He had tossed the book to the far end of the table, opened the wine, poured a blur for his host and one for himself, and started cooking. Hed had to spend several minutes reacquainting himself with the eccentricities of Henrys kitchen, in which objects were not located by kind pans with pans, knives with knives, pots with pots but according to what sort of meal required their usage. If Henry wanted to whip up a grilled trout and some new potatoes, he had only to open the proper cabinet to find all the necessary utensils. These were arranged in four basic groups (meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables), with many subgroups and subsubgroups within each cat egory. The filing system confounded Jack, who often had to peer into several widely separated realms before coming upon the frying pan or spatula he was looking for. As Jack chopped, wandered the shelves, and cooked, Henry had laid the table in the kitchen with plates and silverware and sat down to quiz his troubled friend.Now the steaks, rare, are transported to the plates, the mushrooms arrayed around them, and the enormous wooden salad bowl installed on the center of the table. Henry pronounces the meal delicious, takes a imbibe of his wine, and says, If you still wont talk about your trouble, whatever it is, youd better at least tell me what happened at the station. I suppose theres very little doubt that another child was snatched.Next to none, Im sorry to say. Its a boy named Tyler Marshall. His fathers name is Fred Marshall, and he works out at Goltzs. Do you know him?Been a long time since I bought a combine, Henry says.The first thing that struck me was that Fred Marshall was a very nice guy, Jack says, and goes on to recount, in great detail and leaving nothing out, the evenings events and revelations, except for one matter, that of his third, his unspoken, thought.You actually asked to visit Marshalls wife? In the mental wing at French County Lutheran?Yes, I did, Jack says. Im going there tomorrow.I dont get it. Henry eats by hunting the food with his knife, spearing it with his fork, and measuring off a narrow strip of steak. Why would you want to see the mother?Because one way or another I think shes involved, Jack says.Oh, come off it. The boys own mother?Im not saying shes the Fisherman, because of course she isnt. But according to her husband, Judy Marshalls behavior started to change before Amy St. Pierre disappeared. She got worse and worse as the murders went on, and on the day her son vanished, she flipped out completely. Her husband had to have her committed.Wouldnt you say she had an excellent reason to break down?She flipped out before anyone told her about her son. Her husband thinks she has ESP He said she saw the murders in advance, she knew the Fisherman was on the way. And she knew her son was gone before they found the bike when Fred Marshall came home, he found her tearing at the walls and talking nonsense. altogether out of control.You hear about lots of cases where a mother is suddenly aware of some threat or injury to her child. A pyschic bond. Sounds like mumbo jumbo, but I guess it happens.I dont believe in ESP, and I dont believe in coincidence.So what are you saying?Judy Marshall knows something, and whatever she knows is a real showstopper. Fred cant see it hes much too close and Dale cant see it, either. You should have heard him talk about her.So what is she supposed to know?I think she may know the doer. I think it has to be someone close to her. Whoever he is, she knows his name, and its driving her crazy.Henry frowns and uses his inchworm technique to entrap another piece of steak. So youre going to the hospital to open her up, he finally says.Yes. Basically.A mysterious silence follows this statement. Henry quietly whittles away at the meat, chews what he whittles, and washes it down with Jordan cabernet.How did your deejay gig go? Was it okay?It was a thing of beauty. All the adorable old swingers cut loose on the dance floor, even the ones in wheelchairs. One guy sort of rubbed me the wrong way. He was rude to a woman named Alice, and he asked me to play Lady Magowans Nightmare, which doesnt exist, as you probably know Its Lady Magowans Dream. Woody Herman.Good boy. The thing was, he had this terrible voice. It sounded like something out of hell Anyhow, I didnt have the Woody Herman record, and he asked for the Bunny Berigan I Cant Get Started. Which happened to be Rhodas preferent record. What with my goofy ear hallucinations and all, it shook me up. I dont know why.For a few minutes they concentrate on their plates.Jack says, What do you think, Henry?Henry til ts his head, auditing an inner voice. Scowling, he sets down his fork. The inner voice continues to demand his attention. He adjusts his shades and faces Jack. In spite of everything you say, you still think like a cop.Jack bridles at the suspicion that Henry is not paying him a compliment. What do you mean by that?Cops see differently than people who arent cops. When a cop looks at someone, he wonders what hes guilty of. The possibility of innocence never enters his mind. To a longtime cop, a guy whos put in ten years or more, everyone who isnt a cop is guilty. Only most of them havent been caught yet.Henry has described the mind-set of dozens of men Jack once worked with. Henry, how do you know about that?I can see it in their eyes, Henry says. Thats the way policemen approach the world. You are a policeman.Jack blurts out, I am a coppiceman. Appalled, he blushes. Sorry, that stupid phrase has been running around and around in my head, and it just popped out.Why dont we clear the dishes and start on Bleak House?When their few dishes have been stacked beside the sink, Jack takes the book from the far side of the table and follows Henry toward the living room, pausing on the way to glance, as he always does, at his friends studio. A door with a large glass insert opens into a small, soundproofed chamber bristling with electronic equipment the microphone and turntable back from Maxtons and reinstalled before Henrys well-padded, swiveling chair a disc changer and matching digital-analog converter mount, close at hand, beside a mixing board and a massive tape recorder adjacent to the other, larger window, which looks into the kitchen. When Henry had been planning the studio, Rhoda requested the windows, because, shed said, she wanted to be able to see him at work. There isnt a wire in sight. The entire studio has the disciplined neatness of the captains quarters on a ship.Looks like youre going to work tonight, Jack says.I want to get two more Henry Shakes ready to send, and Im working on something for a birthday tope to Lester Young and Charlie Parker.Were they born on the same day?Close enough. August twenty-seventh and twenty-ninth. You know, I cant quite tell if youll want the lights on or not.Lets turn them on, Jack says.And so Henry Leyden switches on the two lamps beside the window, and Jack Sawyer moves to the overstuffed chair near the fireplace and turns on the tall lamp at one of its rounded arms and watches as his friend walks unerringly to the light just inside the front door and the ornate fixture alongside his own, his favorite resting place, the Mission-style sofa, clicking first one, then the other into life, then settles down onto the sofa with one leg stretched out along its length. Even, low light pervades the long room and swells into greater lighter around Jacks chair.Bleak House, by Charles Dickens, he says. He clears his throat. Okay, Henry, were off to the races.London. Michaelmas Term lately over, he reads, and m arches into a world made of soot and mud. dim dogs, muddy horses, muddy people, a day without light. Soon he has reached the second paragraph Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows fog down the river, where it rolls corrupt among the tiers of shipping, and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs fog lying out on the yards, and hovering in the rigging of great ships fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats.His voice catches, and his mind temporarily drifts off-focus. What he is reading unhappily reminds him of French Landing, of Sumner Street and Chase Street, of the lights in the window of the Oak Tree Inn, the Thunder Five lurking in Nailhouse Row, and the gray ascent from the river, of Queen Street and Maxtons hedges, the little houses spreading out on grids, all of it choked by unseen fog which engulfs a batte red NO TRESPASSING sign on the highway and swallows the Sand Bar and glides hungry and searching down the valleys.Sorry, he says. I was just thinking I was, too, Henry says. Go on, please.But for that brief flicker of an old NO TRESPASSING sign completely unaware of the black house he one day will have to enter, Jack concentrates again on the page and continues reading Bleak House. The windows darken as the lamps grow warmer. The case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce grinds through the courts, aided or impeded by attorneys Chizzle, Mizzle, and Drizzle Lady Dedlock leaves Sir Leicester Dedlock alone at their great estate with its mouldy chapel, stagnant river, and Ghosts Walk Esther Summerson begins to chirp away in the first person. Our friends decide that the appearance of Esther demands a small libation, if they are to get through much more chirping. Henry unfolds from the sofa, sails into the kitchen, and returns with two short, fat glasses one-third filled with Balvenie Doublewood sin gle-malt whiskey, as well as a glass of plain water for the reader. A couple of sips, a few murmurs of appreciation, and Jack resumes. Esther, Esther, Esther, but beneath the water torture of her relentless sunniness the story gathers steam and carries both reader and listener along in its train.Having come to a convenient stopping point, Jack closes the book and yawns. Henry stands up and stretches. They move to the door, and Henry follows Jack outside beneath a vast night sky brilliantly scattered with stars. Tell me one thing, Henry says.Shoot.When you were in the station house, did you really feel like a cop? Or did you feel like you were pretending to be one?Actually, it was kind of surprising, Jack says. In no time at all, I felt like a cop again.Good.Why is that good?Because it means you were running toward that mysterious secret, not away from it.Shaking his head and smiling, deliberately not giving Henry the satisfaction of a reply, Jack steps up into his vehicle and says g ood-bye from the slight but distinct elevation of the drivers seat. The engine coughs and churns, his headlights snap into being, and Jack is on his way home.

Vocal awareness

Language and vocal awareness Language Is a key part to be explored In drama. An Important fontistic of dramatic language Is the way it indicates the image of a scene. It does this, by Incorporating stage directions Into the dialogue. We can often tell the mood of a character by the language that is used. For sample the repetitions of the noun Laurence suggest that Beverly was annoyed with the fact that Laurence wasnt doing what she asked him to do. The way in which a incline is written can aver us of the time period, the setting and it also helps to give each individual character an identity.Dramatic language is also able to indicate how actors should be grouped unitedly upon the stage, for example the character of Beverly as a host of the dinner party she has to be up and serving drinks to make sure her guests are comfortable and satisfied. all told language helps the actors/actress to convey a naturalistic performance. The technique I found ill-temperedly useful when expl oring my character has been language. This technique really developed my characterization as well as improved my knowledge and understanding of my character Beverly as she uses a range variety of punctuation.An example of this Is with the rhetorical question dya know what I mean this may suggest that Beverly Is the sort of person that Ilkes to be understood. Secondly, Beverly also uses a lot of question marks Dya get something to eat? Dya get those larger? as the play was written in 1977 and the traditional role of womens changed in the 1 920s can suggest that Beverly abuses the freedom of not having to follow the traditional role of a women (cook and clean and providing) although she doesnt work but she still doesnt cook (thats why Laurence eats a lot of fast-food).We used an exercise in class where we walked around the way reading our monologues aloud and when we got to a punctuation marking such as a full stop or question mark we had to turn 90 degrees and and then carry on. Thi s told us where all the breaks where In the monologue and by doing this helped us get a better understanding of where the tension was In the piece. For example my character was Beverly shes a very demanding character so the first scene starts off with lots of explanation marks Laurence No this tells me that my character is quite idle and he tension would be high in this part of the monologue. As we continuously repeated this exercise which included the turning around and round (bearing in mind Beverly is the host of the party so she has to do a lot of talking, this was a disadvantage for me) which made me feel dizzy and as if the room was whirl around. This was relevant to my role because the whole dizzy effect can be used to portray a naturalistic performance as In the play Beverly drinks a lot so the dizziness can be a result of the alcohol.This can change her use in language as she is drunk. point-blank Awareness using my monologue piece I had to vocalise the vowels the conso nants and the consonant only. My character was Beverly, I had to read act 1 scene 1 on all of Beverlys line reading only the consonant without pronouncing the vowels. This exercise seemed a bit weird at first as but I then realised that the character of demanding as shes always asking him to do things and shes always nagging constantly, she doesnt keep to the rural traditional wife law of having children, cooking and change and expect Laurence to always eat takeaway and pizza.This technique really helped me to learn more about my character also using this technique helped me noticed that my character uses a lot of Irnc which kind of sounds like the word drink this is significant as in the play Beverly continuously offers her guests drink Sue in particular as she declined most time but was forced by Beverly to have some more this also links with Beverleys super objective which is to keep her guest occupied and comfortable by offering them drinks as her way of being a good host as sh es always trying to make a good impression.

Graffiti and Popular Culture Essay

The treatment of best-selling(predicate) elaboration is usually dichotomized by the contrast of its being favourite beca hire it is patronize by the greatest number of a societys population and by its being touristy because of its proliferation for the benefit of the upper class of the society which greatly utilizes it as a powerful mechanism of subjugation. Sociologists are divided between opposite views. Nevertheless, popular nuance does not always reside on the opposites. It potentiometer be to a fault comprehend as just aboutthing that is between the asserted ownership of the masses and the powerful mechanism of few powerful persons.Accordingly, popular culture is a dialectical process brought about by the enforcement of it from above of the societal bodily structure to the acquisition of it from underneath the societal structure. This claim is highly supported by hallway in pointing out that popular culture is actually a twofold advancement of restraint and oppositi on. While forces from above of the society are using popular culture as an instrument of suppression, it is also an instrument of struggle for the lower forces of the society.In the task of discovering popular culture as a dialectical process, it is a convenient endeavor to first define the popular and cultural aspect of popular culture. The usual description must be first discussed. After go out be the elaboration of mansion houses perception regarding the popular culture. Finally, an deterrent example on the practical application of Halls view regarding popular culture must be supplied. As Raymond Williams stated, the word popular is actually derived from the word popularis, a Latin word which means belonging to the people.In the too soon introduction of the word popular, it is often employ to attribute to the connotation of things regarding the approximately known and the more or less common. Also it refers to the most favored. At some point of the introductory use of the word, it has rested on referring to neutrality. However, the most common comment of the word popular up to the present time is still referring to the most familiar. This definition has leaded the way to the attribution of the word popular to greatest number of people in most societies, which basically composes the lower course of societies.It is because people in the lowest stratum of the society are generally the greatest constituent of societies. Thus, the term popular is attributed to the largest part of the population of a society, which is generally the masses. In characterizing the meaning of the word culture, it is an inevitable task to delve into the schemes and symbols of societal structures which include traditions, customs, common convictions, and remnants that represents the history of constituents of a society.The transfer of these schemes and symbols of societal structure from generation to generation is also an important feature of the meaning of the word culture Anthropologists are similar with the abovementioned definition of culture. This definition is actually considered as the most usual definition of culture So, what do we mean by culture? A fairly typical view, both in common language and in the way anthropologists have approached their work, sees culture as a shared body of custom, reproduced through time that makes societies distinctive.It seems that there is a certainty in the definition of culture. However, the definition of culture is not always graspd as something that is unchanging and immobile. Its definition is also viewed as something that is changing depending on the context and reference. Deducing from the generally acknowledged definition of popular culture, the popular aspect and cultural aspect of the definition of popular culture can be generated. Popular culture is then quoted because it denotes the popularity of a culture which represents symbols, customs, traditions and sentiments in a society.Consequently, popula r culture also embodies the characteristics, qualities, and features of a particular or a general popular belief, custom, tradition, object, or idea. Popular culture is popular because it is owned by the populace. It is the most accessible and pervasive type of culture. This is so because it transcends barriers. At some times even the economic aspect of life is traverse by popularity of popular culture. The popularity of popular culture goes beyond race, ethnicity, and generation, location of residence, country, sexuality and gender.Popular culture renders to the largest number of people that it can cater. As much as possible the availability of a form of popular culture is extended to myriad arrays of cultural categories. To achieve the extension of popular culture, overlaps of it is manufactured and created in such a way that it is culturally neutral. This only means that products of popular culture are not inclined in any side of the spectrum of cultural categories. Anyone wh o consumes or support any form of popular culture is expected to closely relate the product of popular culture in his or her personality.This relation greatly concerns the cultural inclination of the person. Therefore, products of popular culture are expected to be owned by everyone irrespective of gender, sexuality, age, nationality, and ethnicity. Even though, popularity transcends the barrier of cultural preference and partiality, popularity also paves the way for the correspondence of a popular culture to a peculiar(prenominal) cultural leaning. Every cultural mob such as gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity, or nationality create and device a unique and peculiar fashion of giving meaning to the experience of popular culture.Each cultural category glace at divers(prenominal) angles in considering and experiencing popular culture. In example, gender creates a distinguishing means of the experience of popular culture. It concerns the interplay of the masculinity, femininity and b isexuality of the experience of a certain product of popular culture. In the occurrence of encountering popular culture, the masculinity, femininity or bisexuality of a person can be demonstrated. This is evident in the myriad choices of products that are sold. The product catering to masculine male is different from a product catering to a feminine male or masculine female or a bisexual.The notion of popular culture in the view of Hall is generally concerned on the interpretation of the whole experience of a product or a medium of popular culture. The meaning of the experience does not reside solely on the intention of the producer of a certain product or of the encoder of the meaning. It also does not depend on the creation of meaning of the consumer of the product or of the encoder of the meaning. The origin of Halls views can be traced back to his belief that the employment of language concerns context of power and institutions. In the utility of language, persons become active agents as well as beneficiary of meaning.Therefore persons are perceived as generators and at the same time consumers of culture simultaneously. For Hall, it is erroneous to assume that persons as consumer and generator only absorb the experience of popular culture without criticizing it. inveterate persons performing the twofold role of being a generator and consumer possess the power of generating meaning and experiencing meaning. Persons are active and at same time passive. They are active, because they generate meaning of the popular culture experience from their constitution of meaning. They are passive because they are the receiver of the experience.Institutions and companies producing popular culture have no sum up control of the reactions and responses of persons that receive the experience. It is sure that they can impose and unfeignedly impose there expected reaction of persons to a certain experience of popular culture. However, they cannot only rely on their expectat ion. This is evident on the modifications that are made by these institutions on the improvement of their products and services. They need to create modifications so that their products and services somehow cater to the general public.And these modifications are based on the reactions and feedbacks of the consumers. In some essence, institutions and companies of popular culture production are also receiver of the meaning imposed by consumers on experiencing the product and service of companies and institutions. The theory of reception and textual analysis of Hall explicated the role of the consumer as an audience of a text encoded by institutions and firms of popular culture production. The idea of textual analysis explains that the audience or the consumer is always on the agreement and disagreement with the intentions of the producers of popular culture.In example, the meaning of a text of an experience varies from the point of view of the consumer and the producer. While the prod ucer imposes the meaning by the limitation of the modes of expression of a text through packaging, the consumer does not always nurse to the imposed meaning of the producer. The consumer creates a distinguished meaning about his or her experience. In creating this meaning, the element of cultural categories enters the picture. The meaning is created dependent on which cultural category does the consumer belongs.Sexuality, age, race, and economic power are the factors in the creation of meaning. Consequently, this creation of meaning results into either the dismissal or acceptance of the consumer regarding the imposed meaning of the producer of specific popular culture product or experience. Therefore the meaning of the experience rests at some point between the producer and the consumer. It is the interpretation that really matters and neither the interpreter which is in this case the consumer nor the interpreted which is the product or the service as a form of popular culture.Thus popular culture is constructed in dual tripment of concurrence and opposition. And this dual movement of concurrence and opposition is the dialectical process of the experience and creation of meaning. In applying the notions and ideas of Hall regarding popular culture, the natural must obviously display the elements of opposition and concurrence. Also it is note worthy if the chosen material is an interesting one. In the enterprise of applying the analysis of Hall, it is an appealing move to consider the production of graffiti as a cultural practice.The word graffiti came from the Italian word graffito which denotes an antique writing on a surface of a rock. In the recent time graffiti refers to sketches or illustrations usually of words and phrases on walls of public areas. The manner of sketching can be through with(p) through painting and spraying or scratching. Graffiti art has acquired its peak in the United States during the years 1970s-1980s. Based from the general defi nition of graffiti, it is inevitable to perceive this form of art as a deviant kind of activity.This is because graffiti is seen as a negative reaction to the forms and conventions of the usual accepted cannons of arts As The graffiti subculture is a culture of opposition because it is perceived as deviant, and because the dominant culture limits and denies access to the kinds of specialized space suitable to the expression of graffiti subculture. The manner of making graffiti involves the painting of wall of a usually abandoned building or public area. Because of this, graffiti art is perceived as something that resists the common standards of the society.It is viewed as a transgressing subculture. However for the graffiti artists, the activity is a different experience. Artists view their piece as something that is really note worthy and deserves public attention. unnumbered of writers narrate their experience in coherence with each other. Graffiti writers said that they feel a poignant compensation every time that they are wholly in the middle of the night and finding a specific public area to write or sketch their art . Many graffiti writers mouth of their experiences of writing graffiti in similar terms.References to cities that have quieted in the night, and walls that the artist owns for a short period of time are comparable to the soulful satisfaction that Walt Whitman often described when referring to being alone in nature. The same with their reputation, their art are viewed as something that is deviant and null and void of artistic values. They are ostracized in the whole realm of art. Worst is even their isolation is oblivious to the eyes of the society conforming to the standard of an artistic cultural activity. With this obliviousness, graffiti is still recognized.However, this experience is accompanied by disgust and awfulness. It is perplexing that they are usually charged with cases of vandalism and destruction of private and public prop erty because of utilizing walls of establishments they dont own. This is because those walls they use are usually of buildings empty and have long been vacated and abandoned by the owners. Therefore, graffiti writers are often viewed as lawbreakers. Usually, graffiti artists do not really give emphasis on showing their art to the general public because their concern is limited in just the expression of themselves.Nevertheless, they also somehow trust the appreciation of their masterpiece. This is the reason why graffiti art are often found on walls of buildings frequented by the public. Physical characteristics of graffiti yards include a stop of visibility that enables a piece to be seen from a passing car on a nearby street or freeway. Although pieces are not aimed straight at the general public, the artists do like their work to be seen and recognized. Even though graffiti art are disgusting to the general public, manufacturers of apparels and accessories have used the concept of graffiti to make their products sell like hot cakes.In this situation, the recognition of graffiti as a cultural activity took its place. As what Hall asserted, popular culture is dialectical process of resistance and agreement. In the case of the graffiti art, it is worth noting that the producers of the culture are denoted as deviant elements of the society. However it is ironic that the consumers of the graffiti art are the big institutions and companies that sell mass produced commodities. The graffiti art as a cultural activity is a clear example of a popular culture being received yet decided to be rejected or accepted.In the multinational companies attempt to use graffiti as a potential source of great profit, the disgusting art has been transformed into an acceptable enterprise. However the consumption of the products promoting graffiti art still depends on the cultural background and the power of person to dissent or agree on the attractiveness of it. References 1. Wil liam, R. 1976, Keywords A Vocabulary of elaboration and Society, Fontana, London. 2. Dressler, W. 2002, A Working exposition of Culture, Europhamil, Online Available at http//www. europhamili. org/protect/media/96. pdf. 3. Esposito, R.2005, The Artistic Construction of a Counter Culture Graffiti Online Available at http//www. graffiti. org/faq/esposito. html. 4. Bolivar, S. 1997, Bombing L. A. Graffiti Culture and the Contest for Visual Space, McNair Online Available at http//www-mcnair. berkeley. edu/97journal/Bolivar. html 5. Wittenberg, D. 2004,Introduction Extreme Mainstream Iowa Online Available at http//www. uiowa. edu/englgrad/ijcs/mainstream/mainintro. htm 6. Beazley, H. 2006, The Temple of Hip Hop Graffiti as form of Peaceful Conflict Resolution among Urban Youth in Brisbane University of Queensland Online Available at http//www.uq. edu. au/acpacs/index. html? page=49559&pid=49559&ntemplate=645 7. Noble, C. 2004, A semiotical and Visual Exploration of Graffiti and Public Space in Vancouver Graffiti Online Available at http//www. graffiti. org/faq/noble_semiotic_warfare2004. html 8. Christen, R. 2001, Hi Hop Learning Graffiti as an Educator of Urban Teenagers Sunsite Online Available at http//sunsite. icm. edu. pl/graffiti//faq/graffiti_edu_christen. html 9. Hall, S. 1981,Notes on Deconstructing the Popular in Peoples History and Socialist Theory Routledge, London. 10. Hall, S. 1973, convert and Decoding in the Television Discourse.