Essays on Jacksons Lottery: Dangers of Blind Obedience Exposed

Dangers of Blind Obedience Exposed in The Lottery      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most of us obey every day without a thought. People follow company dress code, state and federal laws and the assumed rules of courtesy. Those who do disobey are usually frowned upon or possibly even reprimanded. But has it even occurred to you that in some cases, disobedience may be the better course to choose? In her speech "Group Minds," Doris Lessing discusses these dangers of obedience, which are demonstrated in Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery."    In "The Lottery," the villagers portray Lessing's observation that "it is the hardest thing in the world to maintain an individual dissident opinion, as a member of a group" (334). The villagers also show, in a rather dramatic fashion, how being a blind follower of a group can be dangerous. As Lessing points out "the majority will continue to insist and after a period of exasperation the minority will fall into line"(334). This very sentiment is an enormous part of the inherent dangers of obeying a group.    The group behavior in "The Lottery" w...

A Thousand Reasons to Smile Essay

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. Whether it is through pain or laughter, life has an interesting way of teaching people lessons of strength and growth. When life throws a difficult task in our paths, we all have the opportunity to grow and become better individuals. Through pain and sorrow I have learned to look at life with a new perspective. My life changed that dreadful day when I was faced with the shock and undeniable truth of my little brother’s death. It was the hot month of June, 2006. The days were getting hotter and hotter and every day the news reported the lack of rain and record high temperatures. I woke up that morning with an overwhelming feeling of joy from a dream that I had of being with God. I had a conversation with him, and all I remember was him telling me how great of a person I was and how much he loved me. That feeling of joy was suddenly interrupted by a phone call from my mom. It felt like my heart stopped beating even before the first words came out of her mouth, â€Å"Your brother was in a car accident last night and is in serious condition†, she said, her voice shaky. She couldn’t hold back the tears. My world stopped and a black cloud covered my sky. I can still remember the pain that I felt that day. The fear of losing my only brother immediately took over me, and hearing my mom’s weeping voice on the other end of the phone broke my heart that much more. The dawn broke and so did our hearts, as the news came of my brother’s passing. He was gone. Gone with the blink of an eye. I became angry at the world and especially at my little brother, who had made an unwise decision that night to go out drinking and driving. For months I went through a period of depression, denying myself of life, just as life had denied my brother of the rest of his. There is an appointment in every disappointment in our lives. This phrase was one of the main encouragements of my life at that time; and explains the overwhelming feeling of happiness that life is offering me right now. Seven years has gone by since my brother passed away, and ironically on the day that he would turn twenty seven years old, I decided to get my hair cut, which was getting uncomfortably long for my taste. I sat straight up in the seat and nervously waited for the woman to start buzzing away at my cut, I was nervous because my wife was at home, about to take the test to determine our future, perhaps forever. If it’s negative, she’ll just text me. If its positive. . . with that, my cell phone started vibrating violently in my jeans pocket. Startled, I answered it. â€Å"Hello?† I asked, even though I knew it was my wife. â€Å"We are pregnant!† she screamed excitedly. Needless to say, I ran out of that Super Cuts, all of a sudden not caring w hether my cut was long or short. I am going to be a father. No, I am going to be a daddy. The emotions are indescribable as I imagine my future son kicking a soccer ball towards me, or my future daughter insisting we have a tea party. The joy is overwhelming when I think of how the love my wife and I share will soon be multiplied the day our baby arrives. We spend countless moments discussing what we think our child will look like, and then we laugh the discussions away by saying â€Å"as long as he or she is healthy†, which sounded like a clichà © to us before we were expecting, but now is a concerning reality. But not even that could overshadow the happiness that we were experiencing as the new life was growing daily. The same day we found out, I called my mom’s house. She answered the phone on the first ring. Her tired and frail voice told the story of what our family had gone through 7 years before. I cleared my throat, anxious to deliver the news. â€Å"You’re going to be a grandmother!† I exclaimed. Her voice shook with tears, tears of unmistakable joy this time around. Her excitement spilled over the phone and I was overwhelmed with tears to be able to deliver the news: the news of a new life, especially to the woman that had given life to me. It is funny to me that the same tears that stream down our faces can come from tragedy but can also come from overwhelming happiness. I have experienced both, and believe that each and every one of us will at some point in our lives. It is how we allow those experiences to shape our perspectives that will vary from person to person. Life gave me a hundred reasons to cry that fateful day in June, and that’s exactly what I did. But I allowed the grieving process to teach me to never take a day of life in this world for granted. I learned to always tell those in my life that I love them, to never hold grudges, to live in peace, to see the best in people and all circumstances, and to look at the world with an appreciative attitude. I plan to share this perspective with my baby, who is due this coming September 2013. I will always tell him or her, â€Å"You are not only a hundred, but a million reasons to smile.†

What Is the Worlds Strongest Superacid

You may be thinking the acid in the alien blood in the popular movie is pretty far-fetched, but the truth is, theres is an acid that is even more corrosive! Learn about the words strongest superacid: fluoroantimonic acid.   Strongest Superacid The worlds strongest superacid is fluoroantimonic acid, HSbF6. It is formed by mixing hydrogen fluoride (HF) and antimony pentafluoride (SbF5). Various mixtures produce the superacid, but mixing equal ratios of the two acids produces the strongest superacid known to man. Properties of Fluoroantimonic Acid Superacid Rapidly and explosively decomposes upon contact with water. Because of this property, fluoroantimonic acid cannot be used in aqueous solution. It is only used in a solution of hydrofluoric acid.Evolves highly toxic vapors. As the temperature is increased, fluoroantimonic acid decomposes and generates hydrogen fluoride gas (hydrofluoric acid).Fluoroantimonic acid is 2Ãâ€"1019 (20 quintillion) times stronger than 100% sulfuric acid. Fluoroantimonic acid has a H0 (Hammett acidity function) value of -31.3.Dissolves glass and many other materials and protonates nearly all organic compounds (such as everything in your body). This acid is stores in PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) containers. What Is It Used For? If its so toxic and dangerous, why would anyone want to have fluoroantimonic acid? The answer lies in its extreme properties. Fluoroantimonic acid is used in chemical engineering and organic chemistry to protonate organic compounds, regardless of their solvent. For example, the acid can be used to remove H2 from isobutane and methane from neopentane. It is used as a catalyst for alkylations and acylations in petrochemistry. Superacids in general are used to synthesize and characterize carbocations. Reaction Between Hydrofluoric Acid and Antimony Pentafluoride The reaction between hydrogen fluoride and antimony pentrafluoride that forms fluoroantimonic acid is exothermic. HF SbF5 → H SbF6- The hydrogen ion (proton) attaches to the fluorine via a very weak dipolar bond. The weak bond accounts for the extreme acidity of fluoroantimonic acid, allowing the proton to jump between anion clusters. What Make Fluoroantimonic Acid a Superacid? A superacid is any acid that is stronger than pure sulfuric acid, H2SO4. By stronger, it means a superacid donates more protons or hydrogen ions in water or has a Hammet acidity function H0 lower than -12. The Hammet acidity function for fluorantimonic acid is H0 -28. Other Superacids Other superacids include the carborane superacids [e.g.,  H(CHB11Cl11)] and fluorosulfuric acid (HFSO3). The carborane superacids may be considered the worlds strongest solo acid, as fluoroantimonic acid is actually a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and antimony pentafluoride. Carborane has a pH value of -18. Unlike fluorosulfuric acid and fluoroantimonic acid, the carborane acids are so noncorrosive that they may be handled with bare skin. Teflon, the non-stick coating often found on cookware, may contain carborante. The carborane acids are also relatively uncommon, so its unlikely a chemistry student would encounter one of them. Strongest Superacid Key Takeaways A superacid has an acidity greater than that of pure sulfuric acid.The worlds strongest superacid is fluoroantimonic acid.Fluoroantimonic acid is a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and antimony pentafluoride.The carbonane superacids are the strongest solo acids. Sources Hall NF, Conant JB (1927). A Study of Superacid Solutions. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 49 (12): 3062ndash, 70. doi:10.1021/ja01411a010Herlem, Michel (1977). Are reactions in superacid media due to protons or to powerful oxidising species such as SO3 or SbF5?. Pure and Applied Chemistry. 49: 107–113. doi:10.1351/pac197749010107