The images depicted in my piece of hypnopedia are suggestive through the idea that money buys happiness, this idea is perpetuated by the scenes of illustrious wealth and are equated with power. The words “Need it not be thought, but only bought” illustrate societies apparent need to collect material possessions in an attempted substitute for true fundamental happiness. Although many people have exhibited the self-restraint needed in today’s consumer driven world, the great majority of humanity has become overly infatuated with the pursuit of money rather than the true pursuit of happiness. The pictures of extravagant cars, yachts, jewelry, and others show some of the stereotypical thing to “strive” for. This use of stereotypical wealth symbols helps to push the idea that monetary success is the only true form of contentment.

ATKM Dramatic Monologue

I am caught between what is right and what is wrong

Doing neither I bid a sirens song

Yet do the latter and my conscious broke

And the former labeled as a choke

It wasn’t to be this way when it begun

Three fathers yet as good as none

Crippled by allegiance to the crown

Being slowly yet silently dragged down

The years have flown since initiation

And now I do sit at this station

Of right and wrong, good and evil

Never governed by the steeple

But rather by the one who bought me

A petty sum brings me to a knee

For in a candid test a fate

The father I’ve been seeking now forsake

The straw that broke the camel’s back

Has hindered my accordance to this track

Of love I am indeed a victim

Stolen by the once trusted kingdom

Satan’s work is seldom scene

But rather manifested in a dream

Of years before my life was bore

Another bid adherence swore

Yet not to the same set of hands

Instead to a woman in different lands

To which my namesake has belonged

Indeed the servant had been wronged

So a quest embarked upon never conquered

Finding her a fallacy concurred

But in history we find ourselves repeated

Time is a force, not defeated

The same mistakes that came before

Indeed came knocking at my door

But in the end the past redone

And the king’s swan song has been sung

Taken not by mortal justice

But instead by a man always trusted

Vindication, yet not so sweet

For I too have taken the devil’s treat

In the end what’s done is done

Summarized not by simple pun

But by a spider and a twitch

Undone I’ve been by my own niche

College Essay

It has always been power that man has craved the most. More than love, money, earthly possessions, or happiness man yearns for power. It is an abstract concept not done justice by a dictionary definition or the mores of great men but rather by the touch of a hand and a beat of a heart, for power comes in all forms. “Vires, Artes, Mores” should not be read in its literal sense for that would little do it its proper homage, rather it should be viewed as a guiding principal in the lives of the common man, something to strive for, something to earn. As a derivative of power it should be seen; power in every sense of the word.

I claim not to have power over any man on this earth and nor do I desire it, rather I covet power in myself, for only through true belief in ones self can he ever hope to lead others. Vires is a quality I see a great deal of in myself. As a recipitant of Lee County’s “Do The Right Thing Award” I was publicly recognized for my contributions to the community, but it is not recognition that a person in the true embodiment of Vires strives for. Rather I found strength by visiting the poorest of the poor while in China. I had made the trek with hopes of meeting my newly adopted cousin and had instead encountered a myriad of life’s lessons all at once. One of these lessons was to learn to appreciate every moment we have on this earth because only too many, both foreign and local have felt the pain of loss, dereliction, and neglect.

Man is nothing without knowledge; this simple statement highlights the need for not only Vires but Artes as well. Intellectual pursuits cannot be limited to the concrete confines of a schoolhouse; they must be widespread and far-reaching. This is something I have always believed. Perhaps this unquenchable thirst for knowledge is what led me to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine over the summer of 2008 where I and my fellow scholars were treated to a up close and personal look into the present day medical profession in America. My cerebral search expanded upon my return when I enrolled in a class to become a Red Cross certified Lifeguard and first aid applicant, adding to my budding interest in the protection of the community.

Finally it is Mores we look upon to find the true strength of a man, his character. In my pursuit of Mores I have chosen consistently to lead by example, whether it be going far and beyond the necessary levels of community interaction, serving as president of my school’s “Fishing Club”, organizing the F.I.V.E. Freshmen Retreat, or contributing as a Student Ambassador for Bishop Verot High School I find that actions, not words define who we are. In the spirit of this belief I choose to think not on “Vires, Artes, Mores” as singular entities but rather as a united message of power that every man can achieve with an earnest drive to do what’s right.

A Game of Ease

It’s been rumored by a thousand men but touched the ears of none

Brighter, crisper, more antiseptic to hide our problems

Easier it would be to cower in the shadows while the armies of Allah rage

Smarter to relinquish hope and lay down arms against oppression

 

Brigades! Blasphemy! Brother!

In death we are equaled, in separation strengthened

It will come in your darkest hour and raise you to the highest mount

Fear not the end rather the beginning

 

Nature will triumph over all

The only hope is in the last real assurance

The only hope is in the one true promise

At the end you’ll face the deific gates or plunge the sirens call

 

Two ways out one way in

One departs with honor, one in disgrace

There can be no common ground in the true existence

We strive for victory; we strive for physical manifestation of joy

 

It is monetary happiness you seek to find, so pillage and plunder; your soul

Nothing in life is free of its celestial price tag

Trivial in the pursuit of life, yet like Egyptian cotton to the creator

Steal, cheat, lie; in the end it’s all a game

Long Day’s Journey Into Night Mini Research Paper

The setting of the story is as crucial to the overall ebb and flow of the work than any character, occurrence, or dialogue could ever be. Setting captures the reader not allowing he or she to break from the mental landscape being created deep inside their minds. Long Day’s Journey Into Night author Eugene O’Neill exemplifies the use of setting in his work as a vehicle to enhance his depiction of his characters, the plot, and the overall theme of the work. The setting in O’Neill’s work goes beyond just a place and a time and instead captivates the reader or listener in a complete soul body and mind experience that goes well beyond the realms of basic literature.

            O’Neill employs many setting scenarios in order to progress his characters throughout the play. The work takes place inside of the Tyrone family’s “summer home”. The “summer home” as it is called in the work is not a large dwelling and is often snubbed by Mary for its lack of size and quality. O’Neill employs the house under different pretense than anyone else using it as a symbol of the impermanent state of the Tyrone family. As the reader finds out through the work the family only frequents their summer home for a short time each year and throughout the remainder of the year stay in shoddy hotels across America. This temporary state of being also extends somewhat to the relationship between Mary and James Tyrone which has become strained even further due to James’ refusal to buy a more permanent residence for his family and become a permanent father and husband. Other setting factors are used by the author to advance and sculpt his characters, fog is one of the great setting devices used throughout all of literature and its use in the work is an integral part of the overall book. At periodic times throughout the work a fog will roll into the scene. This haze is extremely symbolic due to the fact that at most times the Tyrone family is in a mental haze themselves. Whether it be drug or alcohol induced, the stupor that the Tyrone’s often find themselves in essentially “fogs” their ability to see one another for who they truly are. Instead, the family is forced into bickering with the only people they love because of the inordinate amounts of stress and loneliness, which only perpetuates the overall feeling that each and every member of the Tyrone family is becoming lost in their own mental fog (which has been manifested in the work as a physical obstruction).

            The setting of this work not only influences the characters but the plot as well. Darkness is a reoccurring theme throughout the play and is coincidentally tied in directly with the setting in the work. Darkness begins to make its presence felt with the existence of fog but it is never truly catalyzed into a prominent setting figure until the day draws into the twilight hours. As night falls the Tyrone’s sit in almost complete darkness thanks to James’ refusal to “waste” money on electricity. The impending darkness is symbolic of how the entire family as a whole is now functioning. As the day has wore on the characters have become more and more aloof, some thanks to substances while others just from the stress of the day. While they sit in darkness some of the most profound moments in the play begin to happen. “The looming darkness acts as a decisive moment in the work as a whole and goes a long way in lamenting the overall fate of the Tyrone family…” notes John H. Raleigh in The Plays of Eugene O ‘Neill. Raleigh’s observations back a theory that O’Neill utilizes darkness to bring out the most primal emotions of his characters and to illustrate the true colors of James Tyrone who from this point in the work forward must be viewed as a contemptible and calculating man.

            It is clear that the setting of the play is crucial to both the development of characters and the exposition of the plot sequence but perhaps to none is it more vital than to the thematic development of the book. Although several themes exist in the work they all share common ground in the fact that the setting extenuates them. The most apparent thematic element being tied to the setting of the work is regret. All of the main characters show regret in a varying level of degree. Mary is overtaken by regret for almost the entirety of the play forcing her weak persona to turn to the use of drugs to compensate for her longing for a better life. O’Neill manifests this abstract idea into his setting without ever calling attention to it from the reader. Darkness and fog are both setting components that help to author the overall theme of regret through the play. The examples do not stop with Mary however; almost all of the Tyrone family is stricken by addiction to substances that help to disguise their real thoughts and feelings. Darkness and fog are used to show the inability for the family to “see through” the tribulations they face and instead their choice to turn inward and forsake their fellow kin. 

            Despite setting often being overlooked in the grand scheme of a work it is indeed one of the most critical components of any literary piece. Whether it be understated or glaringly obvious the setting put forth by Eugene O’Neill directly influences the characters, plot, and thematic elements of Long Day’s Journey Into Night. The masterful use of symbolic elements in the actual setting of the work causes them to go widely unnoticed by the untrained eye and thus, when caught add a greater dimension to the overall mystique of the piece itself. There is no question that without O’Neill’s expert use of setting components the overall meaning of the work would have been lost amongst the dialogue, instead Long Day’s Journey Into Night goes down in history as the greatest work of a legendary playwright.

 

Works Cited

• John Henry Raleigh. The Plays of Eugene O'Neill. Edition. 1. N.p.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1965.

Dickinson Poem

 

Senseless minds in silent freedom speak

Governed not by right or wrong

Led like sheep across the fields

Unaware of life’s true needs or wants

 

From birth blessed waters blind them

From there all secrets are to be revealed, upon penalty of scorn

Rationed to bread by the creator immaculate

Yet none ask why or beat the drum

 

Shadowed by Pilot’s last regret

The ten sentinels of alleged truth, yet who is truly bound

Allowed to scorn their fellow man through ignorance

Taught to love all, all taught not to love

 

So when Babylon may fall none do know

Led through the night by eternal light

How sure is paradise beyond the mount?

Fear is the great motivation