Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Three Free Essays

There is no real way to describe rape. Sex with Kiyo or Dorian, the men I loved†¦well, I could have described that for hours in exquisite detail. I could have elaborated on the way they stroked my hair or the way their lips touched my skin. We will write a custom essay sample on Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Three or any similar topic only for you Order Now Even with Dean-my cheating bastard ex-sex had still had its share of affection and joy, back when things had been good between us. There was none of that with Leith. Well, not on my part, at least. And I think that’s what made it especially bad. For him, with his crazy infatuation, it really was an act of love. He visited me often over the next few days, and each time he took me against my will, he’d tell me he loved me and attempt some sort of gentleness and affection. The horrible part was, I couldn’t even resist that. It barely required any force on his part to make me submit. Honestly, I wished it had been violent. I wished he’d been cruel and brutal. I’d spent my life in fights, dealing with pain and blows. There would have been something comfortingly familiar about that, like it was just another battle for me. The twisted love he showed for me during each act of rape, however†¦well, that made it harder to bear. In that time, I only saw Art once. Abigail checked on me a number of times, and I learned that it was she who mixed the nightshade, though Leith had taught her the recipe. Cariena was the one I saw the most. She seemed to have been installed as the live-in maid and occasional sex toy for visiting guys. When I arrived, there had been three other gentry girls, but Isanna-the one I’d heard mentioned that first day-left shortly. She was very pretty, and Abigail seemed particularly happy at the price she’d gotten for her. The other two were stunning as well, and they seemed to glumly accept that their time would come. They faced it without much emotion or protest, like condemned criminals going to the gallows. Mostly, their faces were like pieces of a dream. I was kept so heavily drugged that my moments of clarity were few-though the drugs never made me forget what Leith did. None of the other girls had to be drugged; the iron was enough for them. Cariena told me, however, that when other women had required the nightshade, they hadn’t taken nearly as much as me. Art and Abigail were too afraid of me getting loose, so they gave it to me more frequently than usual. â€Å"When will you know?† Leith demanded one day. He had just arrived and stood outside my room, arguing with Abigail. The door was ajar. â€Å"I thought you people had the ability to tell this kind of thing.† â€Å"We can,† snapped Abigail. â€Å"But not this soon. You’ve probably got to wait at least two weeks. Besides, you don’t seem to mind passing the time that much.† The sneer in her voice came through loud and clear. I made a mental note to choke the life out of that bitch. Leith, however, didn’t sound so happy. â€Å"Two weeks is a long time. I need to bring her back pregnant before anyone finds her! They’re looking for her. She has powerful allies. Her people are loyal, and both the Oak King and the Willow Queen have taken up the search.† Dorian’s dedication didn’t surprise me, and knowing he was working to find me gave me the first hope I’d had in a while. But Maiwenn, too? Had that been Kiyo’s doing? Or truly her own kindness? â€Å"I don’t care about your tree-based monarchs,† said Abigail impatiently. â€Å"Nobody would think to look for her here.† â€Å"She suspected before. She told others. Someone could scry for her.† â€Å"They won’t find her. Scrying won’t work. Not with the wards here. Now why don’t you stop whining and just get in there and do your business so this won’t be a problem. She’s almost due for her next dose.† I decided wringing her neck wasn’t slow and painful enough. Yet, their words had given me a lot to think about. There was a search on, enough of one that Leith feared discovery. Her mentioning the wards had reminded me of when I’d sent Volusian here. Volusian†¦there was an option I hadn’t considered yet. I could summon Volusian to me and have him warn the others. The wards were a problem. He couldn’t break them on his own, but if I was calling him, the ties that bound us would be enough to pull him through. If I could muster the energy to do it. The iron and nightshade affected the gentry part of my magic. My shamanic powers, the ones I’d used for years, were tied into my strength and will-which I didn’t have a lot of lately. That being said, I felt more coherent now than I had in a while-which was still pretty addled. Abigail had said it was almost time for my next dose. I had to imagine the further from the dose I got, the more its effects would dim. Cariena had said most people didn’t take as much, which probably meant the nightshade would still stay in my system awhile. But if I could reach a point when its effects were lessened†¦ My brainstorming was halted as Leith entered. Consternation from his argument with Abigail showed on his face, but it soon transformed to a smile when he saw me. â€Å"Eugenie†¦you look so pretty today.† Yes, yes, I’d heard it all before. I was so beautiful, so amazing, a jewel among women that he loved so much. His words irritated me as much as insults would have. I’d been put in an ivory damask dress today, which gave me sickening bridal associations. He looked me over, and his admiration again changed to a frown. I was lying on the bed, one hand cuffed to the headboard. â€Å"What’s this?† he asked. â€Å"Why did they do that?† â€Å"I was a smartass to Abigail. This was her punishment.† His face darkened further as he sat on the bed. â€Å"I don’t like that†¦don’t like her doing that. But, Eugenie, you have to admit you bring it on yourself†¦.† Oh, Leith. He was so lucky I could barely lift my free arm, or I would have punched that pretty face of his. He peered at me intently. â€Å"You have to get pregnant soon.† â€Å"It’s not something I can really control,† I said. Well, I could have controlled not getting pregnant if I was still on the pill. I hadn’t taken it in†¦how many days? Three? Four? I wasn’t sure how long I’d been here. I knew all the stats, though, about women who’d gotten pregnant from just missing one pill†¦. He sighed and began unlacing the bodice of my dress. â€Å"We’ll just have to keep trying then. If we just wait a little while afterward, I can do it twice today.† Oh, how fucking lovely. I wanted to explain that it wouldn’t matter how many times he did it, not if I wasn’t ovulating. That kind of science was lost on him, I knew, alleged genius or no. As far as most gentry were concerned, sex equaled babies, end of story. â€Å"Once it’s done, we can go home. We’ll get married, and you won’t have to be restrained like this anymore. You can move freely and use your magic.† I decided not to mention that if we did that, the first thing I’d do with my magic was make sure I was a widow. â€Å"Things’ll be good then,† he said, moving his body over mine. â€Å"I promise. I love you so much†¦.† I didn’t need any nightshade to make me feel numb after Leith left. He’d held good to his word to have sex twice, and I was slowly reaching that point where it just didn’t matter. I couldn’t feel anything. My body wasn’t even attached to my consciousness. It was like my mind existed elsewhere, dreaming or, occasionally, plotting my revenge through the drugged haze. I thought of anything I could-anything that wasn’t the violation of my body-while he was on top of me. Usually, I imagined it was happening to someone else and not me. That made it easier to bear until after he left, when the ache inside reminded me that it had indeed been me. Cariena and another girl arrived shortly thereafter to give me my next dose of nightshade. I couldn’t recall the other girl’s name, though not for lack of caring. It was just the way my brain worked lately. She was extremely pretty, with curly black hair and sky blue eyes that reminded me of Ysabel’s. Abigail occasionally let the girls administer the nightshade, confident enough in her hold over them to do it. And her confidence was well-founded. I’d tried before to talk them out of it, but their fear of her was too great. This time, I merely attempted a delay. â€Å"Wait,† I said, as they leaned over. It looked like the black-haired girl was going to hold me down while Cariena poured. â€Å"Let me just talk to you for a minute.† Cariena immediately grew nervous. â€Å"Your majesty, we can’t†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sometimes I found her use of my title endearing. Other times, I thought it was a joke, considering my present situation. â€Å"Just a minute. That’s all.† â€Å"Let her,† said the other girl. I flashed her a grateful smile. â€Å"What’s your name again?† â€Å"Markelle.† It sounded familiar. Markelle. I would remember this time. I wanted to treat her as a person, not an object. â€Å"Look, I just want to know about the nightshade. How often do I take it?† â€Å"Every six hours,† said Cariena, still clearly worried about this delay. â€Å"That’s twice as often as they usually give it,† added Markelle. And with those words, I saw the slightest flash of bitterness in her eyes, the first I’d seen in any girl. I wondered then if she was one of the other â€Å"difficult† ones that Cariena had described, one who had to be drugged as well and eventually subdued. â€Å"Is there any way†¦is there any way you guys could, like, dilute it?† There it was, the big question. Cariena gasped, but Markelle readily answered. â€Å"No, your majesty. Abigail makes it herself and makes sure we come straight here. There’s no opportunity.† â€Å"Where? Where does she make it?† â€Å"In the kitchen. She has the ingredients set aside and makes a fresh batch every day.† â€Å"What else is in it? Aside from the nightshade?† Markelle looked at Cariena expectantly. Cariena gulped, and it took her several seconds to answer. She rattled off a list of herbs, some of which I knew, some of which were unfamiliar. They probably had different names in the Otherworld. â€Å"Do Abigail and Art ever eat here? Like, do they cook? Is their kitchen stocked?† Markelle nodded. â€Å"But we never prepare the food-it’s always them.† She was quick-minded; she’d probably thought I was going to suggest poison. Not a bad idea, really. â€Å"Are there any ingredients in the nightshade mix that look like other herbs they might have in the kitchen?† Both girls looked confused. â€Å"I’ve seen no other herbs,† said Cariena. â€Å"You have freedom of the house.† I knew most girls stayed in the basement, though. â€Å"The next time they’re not around, go through the cupboards. If their kitchen’s stocked, they must have a spice rack.† A knock sounded at the door. â€Å"What’s taking so long?† Abigail called. â€Å"See if any spices look like the ones in the potion,† I hissed as the doorknob turned. â€Å"Swap them.† Abigail entered just as Markelle held me down. Cariena poured while Abigail watched with a critical eye. â€Å"You’re too slow,† snapped the shaman. â€Å"She needs this regularly.† Both girls groveled, bowing their heads deferentially. â€Å"Forgive us,† said Cariena. I knew her contrition wasn’t faked. â€Å"It won’t happen again.† Abigail rolled her eyes. â€Å"Stupid girls. I’ll have to do it myself next time.† The instant effect that damned potion always had began to run through me. The familiar blackness swept over me, and I slept. Another day went by. Leith â€Å"visited,† and the girls apparently hadn’t taken my advice on the nightshade because my six-hour cycle repeated as usual. Abigail usually came with one of the girls now, apparently not trusting them anymore. Art came once as well, and a few caustic comments from me earned me another cuffed hand. I began to understand the roles they played. Both participated in the brokering and sale of the girls. Art helped Leith’s men catch the girls and offered his home-the one I’d once thought too large for a guy like him-as their prison. Abigail seemed to handle the day-to-day affairs of taking care of the girls, and it occurred to me one day that those handcuffs at her place hadn’t been part of anything kinky. They’d been part of her arsenal for this hellhole, and I suspected the trip to see her â€Å"sister† that day had probably been to deliver some poor girl to her new owner. I cringed at what that car ride must have been like. For a gentry to be surrounded in all that metal and technology†¦it would have been awful for her. Leith was getting dressed after one of his conjugal visits one day. I was close enough to my next nightshade dose that I was able to shoot him looks of contempt-ones he didn’t notice. He seemed particularly excited. â€Å"It’s been a week,† he said. â€Å"One more week, and Abigail says we can test to see if you’re carrying my child.† He pressed a kiss to my forehead. â€Å"I can feel it, Eugenie. I know we’ve done it.† There was no â€Å"we† in sexual assault, but again, I found it easier just to remain silent lately. It usually made him leave that much more quickly, which then left me alone with my thoughts and my aching body. Sometimes after he visited, my body would feel so violated and dirty that I’d hate it. Then I’d remember that none of this was the fault of my body or me. It was Leith. Shortly after his departure that day, Abigail and Markelle came in with my next dose. I’d heard talk that Markelle had a buyer. Her days really were numbered now, and I felt bad for her, this girl who’d once fought back against her captors. I was so used to the nightshade by now that they almost didn’t need to hold me down anymore to force me to take it. It was a bit disheartening that I felt that way now and wondered if I too was on my way to that sad resignation everyone else had. The two of them left, and I lay there, waiting for the unconsciousness that always followed. It usually lasted an hour or so before I came to and lived in my fuzzy state until the next dose. Sure enough, I started to feel a little tingly†¦but no sleepiness followed. I lay there, scarcely daring to breathe. After falling drearily into a strict regimen, any sort of change was a shock to my system. I waited and waited. No unconsciousness. My blurry, addled state didn’t disappear, but it didn’t get any worse than when I was due for my next dose. Holy shit. One of them had done it. One of those girls had swapped out the nightshade tincture’s ingredients. Who? I would have wagered money on Markelle over timid Cariena. Markelle occasionally had that rebellious spark in her eyes, despite her docile behavior, and her impending sale would be serious motivation. She was from the Thorn Land too-my subject. Sometimes I got the feeling that she truly believed her queen could get her out of this. But did I? I still didn’t know if I could get myself out of this. My weapons were long since gone, and I didn’t think I had the strength to launch a physical attack on Abigail or Art. My door was kept locked, so there was no prowling for me. Gingerly, I sat up. The world shifted as usual, but again, not like it normally would have post-potion. What to do with this freedom? I had no guarantees my next dose wouldn’t be the usual stuff. That gave me six hours, and the further that time progressed, the better shape I’d be in. I would have given anything for a clock or even a glimpse of the sun. I needed to track the time, waiting until the last possible moment for my strength to be at its peak. It looked like I’d have to wing it and hope my guess was right. For a moment, panic washed over me. There seemed no obvious options, and I didn’t know how fast the potion would let up. Anyone could walk right in at any time. Leith could come in. Leith†¦With some of that fuzziness gone from my head, the memories of what he’d done to me came through more sharply, and my fear grew- No! I swiftly ordered myself not to think about any of that. Not Leith. Not overwhelming odds. I needed to think only of escape, and for that, I needed to start with small details. I’d been good today-no bindings. And with the nightshade, no one felt the need to give me iron bracelets like the girls. That meant no blocking of my magic, short of the potion. Somehow, I doubted I’d have the power in six hours to blow this place up with a mini-hurricane. What did that leave me? Hopefully physical stamina†¦and with it†¦my shamanic powers? Now the countdown began. The minutes were agony, particularly since I had no way to count them. At first, I just attempted general counting in my head, but that grew tedious. I had nothing to do but wait and gauge my own body’s recovery. And recover it did. Oh, I was a long way from being able to kick anyone’s ass, but my wits grew a little clearer. Standing and moving didn’t hurt much either. Finally, I decided it was now or never. I had to take my gamble. Maybe it was well before the six hours, but I couldn’t risk going over. It would have been easier with my wand, candles, and other accoutrements. What I had to do wasn’t impossible, though. I turned off the lights, plunging me into darkness, and sat on the bed cross-legged. â€Å"Volusian,† I said softly. â€Å"By the ties that bind, I summon you to come to me and obey my commands.† Weak as I was, I felt my will go out, stretching beyond the worlds to my minion. At first, I thought it was useless-then, I felt it. The slightest twitching of our bond. I gritted my teeth, drawing all the strength I could. â€Å"I summon you,† I growled. â€Å"Obey me and come.† For a moment, I thought I’d failed. Then, a coldness filled the room, and red eyes burned before me. Seeing them in the blackness was too scary, and I stumbled up to turn the lights back on. â€Å"My mistress returns,† he said. â€Å"Or rather, I return to my mistress.† I didn’t need to see the slight curling of the spirit’s lips to know my hold on him was tenuous. It was like a fragile string of silk, ready to snap at any moment. Bringing him here, through those worlds, had sapped more of me than I thought imaginable. I still held him, but for the first time in the years I’d enslaved him, the full realization of just how powerful-and dangerous-he was hit me. â€Å"I have tasks for you,† I said sternly. I could show no weakness. He took a few steps toward me. â€Å"My mistress is bold to say so. You can barely maintain the bond between us as it is.† â€Å"I can hold this bond until the end of time. Now, you will obey me.† And almost before I saw what was happening, his clawed hands were around my neck-cold, cold. So cold that they burned. â€Å"I have waited for this for so long,† he hissed. â€Å"So long for you to weaken so that I may finally kill you and make you suffer the way you have tormented me these years, enslaving me and sending me to do your menial errands.† I couldn’t even manage a scream, not with the way his hands were cutting off my air. I could only manage something that was half-grunt and half-gasp. Desperately, desperately, I fought him mentally. I was one of the most powerful shamans in the world. I could control wayward spirits. I could enslave them easily. I’d once had a host of them. I could fight this. â€Å"You will feel pain like you have never dreamed possible,† he continued. â€Å"You will beg for death, beg for dismemberment†¦for even that would be easier than the agony I will inflict on you.† Everyone had warned me so many times about keeping Volusian. What if your control slips? they had all asked. Dorian had even offered to help banish him to the Underworld for good. I had laughed the worries off. I was strong. Even after a battle like I’d had with the fire demons, maintaining that link to Volusian was practically subconscious. But now†¦now, this was different. â€Å"You are losing it-the bonds are nearly broken. In a few heartbeats, your control will be gone†¦.† No! I couldn’t speak a response, but the words in my mind burned. I would not lose this. I would not lose control of him. Wrenching up the last scraps of my strength was like ripping my own heart out. You will obey me! Back off! The world started to sparkle as my air grew less and less, and then-he did back off. His eyes blazed with malice. He’d been so, so close, and we both knew it. My control now was still a tenuous thing, and I had to hope I would recover my strength soon and solidify my grasp. â€Å"You will obey me,† I said in a thin voice. â€Å"You will not harm me.† â€Å"As my mistress commands.† But I could tell from his voice that he didn’t believe this would last, that he was biding his time. Meanwhile, I was running out of time to decide what to do, not only because I didn’t know if he’d break free again but also because Abigail could be here at any moment. My initial instinct was to tell him to simply get me out of here. But if that command took the last of my strength, he could easily kill me once we were out. And even if I made it out, what about the girls? I couldn’t rescue them on my own. How long until Markelle disappeared? No, I needed to kick Volusian out of the house. If I didn’t summon him back, those wards would keep me safe. I needed to send him for help, and that choice had to be a wise one. â€Å"Leave this house. Go to Dorian,† I said. I drew upon that fleeting strength of mine to enforce the order. â€Å"I command you. Go to Dorian and tell him where I’m at. Exactly where I’m at.† I could have sent him to Kiyo. Kiyo knew where this house was. But if the effort of these commands was enough to finally shatter my hold on Volusian, Dorian might be able to bind him back. It would be better than Volusian running loose. That, of course, depended on whether my order was strong enough to even get Volusian to Dorian to deliver the message. My first command had been to get Volusian out of the house and keep me behind the wards. If that was all I could manage, Volusian would no longer be bound to obey. He has to, I thought desperately. He has to get to Dorian†¦. â€Å"Go!† I ordered harshly. â€Å"As you command.† Volusian vanished, eyes narrowed, confident our bond was about to break. As soon as he was gone, I fell onto the bed, nearly ready to pass out. Would it work? Or had I just broken the last fragments of our bond? I was too afraid to reach out and test the link. I didn’t have the strength. The door suddenly unlocked. Nightshade time. With a sickening thought, I realized that if it was the original kind, I would almost certainly lose that control of Volusian. If it was Markelle’s decoy, I could hold onto my strength. Abigail entered, a cup in hand and Markelle in her wake. The gentry girl’s eyes were down, her whole posture meek. I bit my lip at their approach, waiting to see what my future held. How to cite Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Three, Essay examples

Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Three Free Essays

There is no real way to describe rape. Sex with Kiyo or Dorian, the men I loved†¦well, I could have described that for hours in exquisite detail. I could have elaborated on the way they stroked my hair or the way their lips touched my skin. We will write a custom essay sample on Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Three or any similar topic only for you Order Now Even with Dean-my cheating bastard ex-sex had still had its share of affection and joy, back when things had been good between us. There was none of that with Leith. Well, not on my part, at least. And I think that’s what made it especially bad. For him, with his crazy infatuation, it really was an act of love. He visited me often over the next few days, and each time he took me against my will, he’d tell me he loved me and attempt some sort of gentleness and affection. The horrible part was, I couldn’t even resist that. It barely required any force on his part to make me submit. Honestly, I wished it had been violent. I wished he’d been cruel and brutal. I’d spent my life in fights, dealing with pain and blows. There would have been something comfortingly familiar about that, like it was just another battle for me. The twisted love he showed for me during each act of rape, however†¦well, that made it harder to bear. In that time, I only saw Art once. Abigail checked on me a number of times, and I learned that it was she who mixed the nightshade, though Leith had taught her the recipe. Cariena was the one I saw the most. She seemed to have been installed as the live-in maid and occasional sex toy for visiting guys. When I arrived, there had been three other gentry girls, but Isanna-the one I’d heard mentioned that first day-left shortly. She was very pretty, and Abigail seemed particularly happy at the price she’d gotten for her. The other two were stunning as well, and they seemed to glumly accept that their time would come. They faced it without much emotion or protest, like condemned criminals going to the gallows. Mostly, their faces were like pieces of a dream. I was kept so heavily drugged that my moments of clarity were few-though the drugs never made me forget what Leith did. None of the other girls had to be drugged; the iron was enough for them. Cariena told me, however, that when other women had required the nightshade, they hadn’t taken nearly as much as me. Art and Abigail were too afraid of me getting loose, so they gave it to me more frequently than usual. â€Å"When will you know?† Leith demanded one day. He had just arrived and stood outside my room, arguing with Abigail. The door was ajar. â€Å"I thought you people had the ability to tell this kind of thing.† â€Å"We can,† snapped Abigail. â€Å"But not this soon. You’ve probably got to wait at least two weeks. Besides, you don’t seem to mind passing the time that much.† The sneer in her voice came through loud and clear. I made a mental note to choke the life out of that bitch. Leith, however, didn’t sound so happy. â€Å"Two weeks is a long time. I need to bring her back pregnant before anyone finds her! They’re looking for her. She has powerful allies. Her people are loyal, and both the Oak King and the Willow Queen have taken up the search.† Dorian’s dedication didn’t surprise me, and knowing he was working to find me gave me the first hope I’d had in a while. But Maiwenn, too? Had that been Kiyo’s doing? Or truly her own kindness? â€Å"I don’t care about your tree-based monarchs,† said Abigail impatiently. â€Å"Nobody would think to look for her here.† â€Å"She suspected before. She told others. Someone could scry for her.† â€Å"They won’t find her. Scrying won’t work. Not with the wards here. Now why don’t you stop whining and just get in there and do your business so this won’t be a problem. She’s almost due for her next dose.† I decided wringing her neck wasn’t slow and painful enough. Yet, their words had given me a lot to think about. There was a search on, enough of one that Leith feared discovery. Her mentioning the wards had reminded me of when I’d sent Volusian here. Volusian†¦there was an option I hadn’t considered yet. I could summon Volusian to me and have him warn the others. The wards were a problem. He couldn’t break them on his own, but if I was calling him, the ties that bound us would be enough to pull him through. If I could muster the energy to do it. The iron and nightshade affected the gentry part of my magic. My shamanic powers, the ones I’d used for years, were tied into my strength and will-which I didn’t have a lot of lately. That being said, I felt more coherent now than I had in a while-which was still pretty addled. Abigail had said it was almost time for my next dose. I had to imagine the further from the dose I got, the more its effects would dim. Cariena had said most people didn’t take as much, which probably meant the nightshade would still stay in my system awhile. But if I could reach a point when its effects were lessened†¦ My brainstorming was halted as Leith entered. Consternation from his argument with Abigail showed on his face, but it soon transformed to a smile when he saw me. â€Å"Eugenie†¦you look so pretty today.† Yes, yes, I’d heard it all before. I was so beautiful, so amazing, a jewel among women that he loved so much. His words irritated me as much as insults would have. I’d been put in an ivory damask dress today, which gave me sickening bridal associations. He looked me over, and his admiration again changed to a frown. I was lying on the bed, one hand cuffed to the headboard. â€Å"What’s this?† he asked. â€Å"Why did they do that?† â€Å"I was a smartass to Abigail. This was her punishment.† His face darkened further as he sat on the bed. â€Å"I don’t like that†¦don’t like her doing that. But, Eugenie, you have to admit you bring it on yourself†¦.† Oh, Leith. He was so lucky I could barely lift my free arm, or I would have punched that pretty face of his. He peered at me intently. â€Å"You have to get pregnant soon.† â€Å"It’s not something I can really control,† I said. Well, I could have controlled not getting pregnant if I was still on the pill. I hadn’t taken it in†¦how many days? Three? Four? I wasn’t sure how long I’d been here. I knew all the stats, though, about women who’d gotten pregnant from just missing one pill†¦. He sighed and began unlacing the bodice of my dress. â€Å"We’ll just have to keep trying then. If we just wait a little while afterward, I can do it twice today.† Oh, how fucking lovely. I wanted to explain that it wouldn’t matter how many times he did it, not if I wasn’t ovulating. That kind of science was lost on him, I knew, alleged genius or no. As far as most gentry were concerned, sex equaled babies, end of story. â€Å"Once it’s done, we can go home. We’ll get married, and you won’t have to be restrained like this anymore. You can move freely and use your magic.† I decided not to mention that if we did that, the first thing I’d do with my magic was make sure I was a widow. â€Å"Things’ll be good then,† he said, moving his body over mine. â€Å"I promise. I love you so much†¦.† I didn’t need any nightshade to make me feel numb after Leith left. He’d held good to his word to have sex twice, and I was slowly reaching that point where it just didn’t matter. I couldn’t feel anything. My body wasn’t even attached to my consciousness. It was like my mind existed elsewhere, dreaming or, occasionally, plotting my revenge through the drugged haze. I thought of anything I could-anything that wasn’t the violation of my body-while he was on top of me. Usually, I imagined it was happening to someone else and not me. That made it easier to bear until after he left, when the ache inside reminded me that it had indeed been me. Cariena and another girl arrived shortly thereafter to give me my next dose of nightshade. I couldn’t recall the other girl’s name, though not for lack of caring. It was just the way my brain worked lately. She was extremely pretty, with curly black hair and sky blue eyes that reminded me of Ysabel’s. Abigail occasionally let the girls administer the nightshade, confident enough in her hold over them to do it. And her confidence was well-founded. I’d tried before to talk them out of it, but their fear of her was too great. This time, I merely attempted a delay. â€Å"Wait,† I said, as they leaned over. It looked like the black-haired girl was going to hold me down while Cariena poured. â€Å"Let me just talk to you for a minute.† Cariena immediately grew nervous. â€Å"Your majesty, we can’t†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sometimes I found her use of my title endearing. Other times, I thought it was a joke, considering my present situation. â€Å"Just a minute. That’s all.† â€Å"Let her,† said the other girl. I flashed her a grateful smile. â€Å"What’s your name again?† â€Å"Markelle.† It sounded familiar. Markelle. I would remember this time. I wanted to treat her as a person, not an object. â€Å"Look, I just want to know about the nightshade. How often do I take it?† â€Å"Every six hours,† said Cariena, still clearly worried about this delay. â€Å"That’s twice as often as they usually give it,† added Markelle. And with those words, I saw the slightest flash of bitterness in her eyes, the first I’d seen in any girl. I wondered then if she was one of the other â€Å"difficult† ones that Cariena had described, one who had to be drugged as well and eventually subdued. â€Å"Is there any way†¦is there any way you guys could, like, dilute it?† There it was, the big question. Cariena gasped, but Markelle readily answered. â€Å"No, your majesty. Abigail makes it herself and makes sure we come straight here. There’s no opportunity.† â€Å"Where? Where does she make it?† â€Å"In the kitchen. She has the ingredients set aside and makes a fresh batch every day.† â€Å"What else is in it? Aside from the nightshade?† Markelle looked at Cariena expectantly. Cariena gulped, and it took her several seconds to answer. She rattled off a list of herbs, some of which I knew, some of which were unfamiliar. They probably had different names in the Otherworld. â€Å"Do Abigail and Art ever eat here? Like, do they cook? Is their kitchen stocked?† Markelle nodded. â€Å"But we never prepare the food-it’s always them.† She was quick-minded; she’d probably thought I was going to suggest poison. Not a bad idea, really. â€Å"Are there any ingredients in the nightshade mix that look like other herbs they might have in the kitchen?† Both girls looked confused. â€Å"I’ve seen no other herbs,† said Cariena. â€Å"You have freedom of the house.† I knew most girls stayed in the basement, though. â€Å"The next time they’re not around, go through the cupboards. If their kitchen’s stocked, they must have a spice rack.† A knock sounded at the door. â€Å"What’s taking so long?† Abigail called. â€Å"See if any spices look like the ones in the potion,† I hissed as the doorknob turned. â€Å"Swap them.† Abigail entered just as Markelle held me down. Cariena poured while Abigail watched with a critical eye. â€Å"You’re too slow,† snapped the shaman. â€Å"She needs this regularly.† Both girls groveled, bowing their heads deferentially. â€Å"Forgive us,† said Cariena. I knew her contrition wasn’t faked. â€Å"It won’t happen again.† Abigail rolled her eyes. â€Å"Stupid girls. I’ll have to do it myself next time.† The instant effect that damned potion always had began to run through me. The familiar blackness swept over me, and I slept. Another day went by. Leith â€Å"visited,† and the girls apparently hadn’t taken my advice on the nightshade because my six-hour cycle repeated as usual. Abigail usually came with one of the girls now, apparently not trusting them anymore. Art came once as well, and a few caustic comments from me earned me another cuffed hand. I began to understand the roles they played. Both participated in the brokering and sale of the girls. Art helped Leith’s men catch the girls and offered his home-the one I’d once thought too large for a guy like him-as their prison. Abigail seemed to handle the day-to-day affairs of taking care of the girls, and it occurred to me one day that those handcuffs at her place hadn’t been part of anything kinky. They’d been part of her arsenal for this hellhole, and I suspected the trip to see her â€Å"sister† that day had probably been to deliver some poor girl to her new owner. I cringed at what that car ride must have been like. For a gentry to be surrounded in all that metal and technology†¦it would have been awful for her. Leith was getting dressed after one of his conjugal visits one day. I was close enough to my next nightshade dose that I was able to shoot him looks of contempt-ones he didn’t notice. He seemed particularly excited. â€Å"It’s been a week,† he said. â€Å"One more week, and Abigail says we can test to see if you’re carrying my child.† He pressed a kiss to my forehead. â€Å"I can feel it, Eugenie. I know we’ve done it.† There was no â€Å"we† in sexual assault, but again, I found it easier just to remain silent lately. It usually made him leave that much more quickly, which then left me alone with my thoughts and my aching body. Sometimes after he visited, my body would feel so violated and dirty that I’d hate it. Then I’d remember that none of this was the fault of my body or me. It was Leith. Shortly after his departure that day, Abigail and Markelle came in with my next dose. I’d heard talk that Markelle had a buyer. Her days really were numbered now, and I felt bad for her, this girl who’d once fought back against her captors. I was so used to the nightshade by now that they almost didn’t need to hold me down anymore to force me to take it. It was a bit disheartening that I felt that way now and wondered if I too was on my way to that sad resignation everyone else had. The two of them left, and I lay there, waiting for the unconsciousness that always followed. It usually lasted an hour or so before I came to and lived in my fuzzy state until the next dose. Sure enough, I started to feel a little tingly†¦but no sleepiness followed. I lay there, scarcely daring to breathe. After falling drearily into a strict regimen, any sort of change was a shock to my system. I waited and waited. No unconsciousness. My blurry, addled state didn’t disappear, but it didn’t get any worse than when I was due for my next dose. Holy shit. One of them had done it. One of those girls had swapped out the nightshade tincture’s ingredients. Who? I would have wagered money on Markelle over timid Cariena. Markelle occasionally had that rebellious spark in her eyes, despite her docile behavior, and her impending sale would be serious motivation. She was from the Thorn Land too-my subject. Sometimes I got the feeling that she truly believed her queen could get her out of this. But did I? I still didn’t know if I could get myself out of this. My weapons were long since gone, and I didn’t think I had the strength to launch a physical attack on Abigail or Art. My door was kept locked, so there was no prowling for me. Gingerly, I sat up. The world shifted as usual, but again, not like it normally would have post-potion. What to do with this freedom? I had no guarantees my next dose wouldn’t be the usual stuff. That gave me six hours, and the further that time progressed, the better shape I’d be in. I would have given anything for a clock or even a glimpse of the sun. I needed to track the time, waiting until the last possible moment for my strength to be at its peak. It looked like I’d have to wing it and hope my guess was right. For a moment, panic washed over me. There seemed no obvious options, and I didn’t know how fast the potion would let up. Anyone could walk right in at any time. Leith could come in. Leith†¦With some of that fuzziness gone from my head, the memories of what he’d done to me came through more sharply, and my fear grew- No! I swiftly ordered myself not to think about any of that. Not Leith. Not overwhelming odds. I needed to think only of escape, and for that, I needed to start with small details. I’d been good today-no bindings. And with the nightshade, no one felt the need to give me iron bracelets like the girls. That meant no blocking of my magic, short of the potion. Somehow, I doubted I’d have the power in six hours to blow this place up with a mini-hurricane. What did that leave me? Hopefully physical stamina†¦and with it†¦my shamanic powers? Now the countdown began. The minutes were agony, particularly since I had no way to count them. At first, I just attempted general counting in my head, but that grew tedious. I had nothing to do but wait and gauge my own body’s recovery. And recover it did. Oh, I was a long way from being able to kick anyone’s ass, but my wits grew a little clearer. Standing and moving didn’t hurt much either. Finally, I decided it was now or never. I had to take my gamble. Maybe it was well before the six hours, but I couldn’t risk going over. It would have been easier with my wand, candles, and other accoutrements. What I had to do wasn’t impossible, though. I turned off the lights, plunging me into darkness, and sat on the bed cross-legged. â€Å"Volusian,† I said softly. â€Å"By the ties that bind, I summon you to come to me and obey my commands.† Weak as I was, I felt my will go out, stretching beyond the worlds to my minion. At first, I thought it was useless-then, I felt it. The slightest twitching of our bond. I gritted my teeth, drawing all the strength I could. â€Å"I summon you,† I growled. â€Å"Obey me and come.† For a moment, I thought I’d failed. Then, a coldness filled the room, and red eyes burned before me. Seeing them in the blackness was too scary, and I stumbled up to turn the lights back on. â€Å"My mistress returns,† he said. â€Å"Or rather, I return to my mistress.† I didn’t need to see the slight curling of the spirit’s lips to know my hold on him was tenuous. It was like a fragile string of silk, ready to snap at any moment. Bringing him here, through those worlds, had sapped more of me than I thought imaginable. I still held him, but for the first time in the years I’d enslaved him, the full realization of just how powerful-and dangerous-he was hit me. â€Å"I have tasks for you,† I said sternly. I could show no weakness. He took a few steps toward me. â€Å"My mistress is bold to say so. You can barely maintain the bond between us as it is.† â€Å"I can hold this bond until the end of time. Now, you will obey me.† And almost before I saw what was happening, his clawed hands were around my neck-cold, cold. So cold that they burned. â€Å"I have waited for this for so long,† he hissed. â€Å"So long for you to weaken so that I may finally kill you and make you suffer the way you have tormented me these years, enslaving me and sending me to do your menial errands.† I couldn’t even manage a scream, not with the way his hands were cutting off my air. I could only manage something that was half-grunt and half-gasp. Desperately, desperately, I fought him mentally. I was one of the most powerful shamans in the world. I could control wayward spirits. I could enslave them easily. I’d once had a host of them. I could fight this. â€Å"You will feel pain like you have never dreamed possible,† he continued. â€Å"You will beg for death, beg for dismemberment†¦for even that would be easier than the agony I will inflict on you.† Everyone had warned me so many times about keeping Volusian. What if your control slips? they had all asked. Dorian had even offered to help banish him to the Underworld for good. I had laughed the worries off. I was strong. Even after a battle like I’d had with the fire demons, maintaining that link to Volusian was practically subconscious. But now†¦now, this was different. â€Å"You are losing it-the bonds are nearly broken. In a few heartbeats, your control will be gone†¦.† No! I couldn’t speak a response, but the words in my mind burned. I would not lose this. I would not lose control of him. Wrenching up the last scraps of my strength was like ripping my own heart out. You will obey me! Back off! The world started to sparkle as my air grew less and less, and then-he did back off. His eyes blazed with malice. He’d been so, so close, and we both knew it. My control now was still a tenuous thing, and I had to hope I would recover my strength soon and solidify my grasp. â€Å"You will obey me,† I said in a thin voice. â€Å"You will not harm me.† â€Å"As my mistress commands.† But I could tell from his voice that he didn’t believe this would last, that he was biding his time. Meanwhile, I was running out of time to decide what to do, not only because I didn’t know if he’d break free again but also because Abigail could be here at any moment. My initial instinct was to tell him to simply get me out of here. But if that command took the last of my strength, he could easily kill me once we were out. And even if I made it out, what about the girls? I couldn’t rescue them on my own. How long until Markelle disappeared? No, I needed to kick Volusian out of the house. If I didn’t summon him back, those wards would keep me safe. I needed to send him for help, and that choice had to be a wise one. â€Å"Leave this house. Go to Dorian,† I said. I drew upon that fleeting strength of mine to enforce the order. â€Å"I command you. Go to Dorian and tell him where I’m at. Exactly where I’m at.† I could have sent him to Kiyo. Kiyo knew where this house was. But if the effort of these commands was enough to finally shatter my hold on Volusian, Dorian might be able to bind him back. It would be better than Volusian running loose. That, of course, depended on whether my order was strong enough to even get Volusian to Dorian to deliver the message. My first command had been to get Volusian out of the house and keep me behind the wards. If that was all I could manage, Volusian would no longer be bound to obey. He has to, I thought desperately. He has to get to Dorian†¦. â€Å"Go!† I ordered harshly. â€Å"As you command.† Volusian vanished, eyes narrowed, confident our bond was about to break. As soon as he was gone, I fell onto the bed, nearly ready to pass out. Would it work? Or had I just broken the last fragments of our bond? I was too afraid to reach out and test the link. I didn’t have the strength. The door suddenly unlocked. Nightshade time. With a sickening thought, I realized that if it was the original kind, I would almost certainly lose that control of Volusian. If it was Markelle’s decoy, I could hold onto my strength. Abigail entered, a cup in hand and Markelle in her wake. The gentry girl’s eyes were down, her whole posture meek. I bit my lip at their approach, waiting to see what my future held. How to cite Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Three, Essay examples

Teaching Proposal Promotion

Question: Complete the "Community Teaching Work Plan Proposal." After completing the teaching proposal, review the teaching plan with a community health and public health provider in your local community. Answer: Overview of the work Plan of Bio-terrorism in a nutshell The topic theme: Bio-terrorism Specific signature of the lessons: Health Promotion in Community and Society Manner of deliverance: Blend of lectures, online session, clinical session Two hours lecture per week, clinical session (Curran, Ned and Winkleby, 2013) Competency in Community Health Care There are several agents of bio-terrorism. Community teaching is a novel task that includes both indirect and direct activities that facilitate the overall health outcomes. The Baccalaureate programs mainly facilitate diversity of options in nursing practice which is schematically forested to aid the graduates to accomplish The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (AACN, 2008). There are a wide variety of characterizations of the particular practice and these are practice experiences, learning opportunities, strategies, clinical activities etc. The board of directors in AACN has formed a respective RN-BSN task force to scrutinize the opportunity for practical and academic experiences for the enrolled students in RN-BSN curriculum. The courses are responsible for both illustration of direct and indirect care practices linked to the health care service (Elwell, 2015). Respective students gather knowledge regarding the community health promotion concerning bio-terrorism within the society and how the designed framework can be applied for ensuring the better health care to the service provider. The population based health care system is illustrated in the lecture session. The community nursing is an essential component of the national community health services. It involves the district nurses, health visitors, pediatric and mental health surveillance nurses. They have to recognize any kind of physical disabilities in individuals and provide sufficient care in community and social health care set up. Next, we must come to point that, what are the responsibilities and task to be performed by nurses. Mainly, the task performed by them is for example that delivering emergency and common medicines for common disorders and sufferings. They should also provide general medicines and intravenous antibiotics and common wound healing medicines (Greenwald, 2003). Trained nurses and experienced health care professionals are mediators of this type of purpose for those who are affected to bio terrorism. They perform the task regarding the co-operation with patients and the families in such a way the proper information about service framework and care management settings in a hospital or community health service center will be reached to the public affected from bio-terrorism. This can also be in the form of anthrax virus that is used for the given purpose. Apart from the other sectors of health care providing system, the social and community segment has been focused to repetitive re-modulation. The community sector is very much significant for acquiring modification in its care and services that we want to cope up with the contemporary and upcoming challenges in front of the health care service and system. They are an indispensible factor in an endeavor to give community co-operative care, individual and person-centered care as well as targeting towards the overall improvement in public health services and finally the reduction in hospital admission as soon as possible. More than a few numbers of high-priority and effective government policies have been developed in such that the better health care would be provided with a rapid and emergency action. Purpose The proper training about the community health care delivering is the prime importance of the course work regarding bioterrorism. The aim and objective of this respective course study is to give proper training and instructions about how the community health care can be assured by health care professionals as well as the newly graduate nurses (Montgomery and Johnson, 2015). Proposed Outcome Particular teaching objective Learners have profusely engaged themselves in the course work. Preface to the course work, the attendees having no idea about the community health care plans, standardized outcome and basic schematic on the subject matter (Zandee et al., 2013) The trainer should introduce the respective lesson with utmost effort to cope up with student needs. The pre-determined learning format is used and some referred text books are read for knowledge gathering (Oudshoorn et al., 2013). Proposed teaching plan Learning aspiration Evaluation of activity Learning mode Organization comprehension Identification of the organizational facts about the factors affecting bioterrorism Literature review on Community health service on bioterrorism Epidemiological database Community health as a social policy- past and the future aspects Key aspects in re-modernization Public health service implementation Regulations and Legislations set by Government directive Quizzes and interactive session Discussion board Case study on community health issues- a certain disease outbreak in country Specialty assessment on community health lessons Group discussion and interaction Solving problem workbook Thorough reading and understanding journal articles and review papers Lecture notes Appliance Implementing community health study in bioterrorism Assessment of health protection aspects, practical and clinical excellence guidelines, understanding communal and personal belief Evidence based data on Health promotional strategy and Application of evidence based data to improvise the service policy Measuring quality to ensure better health care service Key aspects for policy improvement program Quizzes and interactive session Discussion board Drawbacks of the policy standards and legislation Approach to re-construct the policy standard Paper on community health examination Group discussions Field Survey on community health issues Exercise on community health assessment Exercise on community health evaluation Integration Consideration of social and communal health care issues and threats Prevalence rate of different diseases in the community Principles of nursing care Clinical judgment and decision making skills Community health issues and vulnerable disease and virus identification with bioterrorism (Simpson, 2012) Quizzes and interactive session Discussion board Promotional strategy for ensuring better health care management for vulnerable disease conditions Group discussion and interaction Exercise on community health and vulnerable disease control management Individual Assessment Self-assessment as a community nursing staff Social integrity advocating Health promotional strategy- personal beliefs and views in the population Behavioral and social intervention- key role of community health service Discussion board Learning assortment Group discussion and interaction Personal assessment test Service and Care Demonstration on personal ability as a service provider Advocating social justice Health promotional strategy- personal beliefs and views in the population Behavioral and social intervention- key role of community health service Improvement of health educationprogram for special community health issues Poster session Discussion board Group discussion and interaction Exercise and evaluation Lesson on learning techniques Self-learning procedure Understanding policy plans on community health Discussion board Improvement of health educationprogram for special community health issues Group discussion and interaction Exercise and evaluation Expected Outcome Community peoples are the main service user in the health care service system provided by the health care professionals concerning bioterrorism. In response to the nursing education sufficiency, the expected outcome would be observed and the better health care system is formulated. The disease suffering and rapid treatment and curing are forested as an overall outcome and response to the proper implementation of the training program. The student response is also important for nursing education program. The respective and contemporary changes are required to facilitate the indicative responsive manners (Sarker and Joarder, 2012). Reference List Curran, N., Ned, J. and Winkleby, M. (2013). Engaging Students in Community Health: A Public Health Advocacy Curriculum. Health Promotion Practice, 15(2), pp.271-280. Elwell, J. (2015). Practical Health Promotion. Journal of Christian Nursing, 32(3), pp.174-178. Greenwald, B. (2003). Health Fairs. Gastroenterology Nursing, 26(5), pp.191-194. Montgomery, M. and Johnson, P. (2015). Increasing Nursing Students' Knowledge of Health Promotion Through Community Engagement. Pedagogy in Health Promotion. Oudshoorn, A., Ward-Griffin, C., Poland, B., Berman, H. and Forchuk, C. (2013). Community Health Promotion With People Who Are Experiencing Homelessness. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 30(1), pp.28-41. Sarker, M. and Joarder, T. (2012). Intersectoral collaboration: a novel path to promote community health promotion. Global Health Promotion, 19(4), pp.7-8. Zandee, G., Bossenbroek, D., Slager, D. and Gordon, B. (2013). Teams of Community Health Workers and Nursing Students Effect Health Promotion of Underserved Urban Neighborhoods. Public Health Nursing, 30(5), pp.439-447.

Applying a sociological theory to the movie The Truman Show

Applying a sociological theory to the movie The Truman Show Movie Summary The Truman Show is a drama film that captures the basic principles of the social structure at the beginning of life besides helping us to uncover the origin of the prevailing social interactions or socialization mechanisms in the contemporary world. The movie revolves around the life of Truman Burbank who has been in front of live cameras since before he was born without noticing.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Applying a sociological theory to the movie ‘The Truman Show’ specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Through hidden cameras that capture Truman’s day-to-day activities around the clock, Christof who is the executive producer intends to show the world the real emotions and behavior of Truman when exposed to various unique situations. Here, Christof controls Truman’s life through setting up an artificial hometown in which Truman’s neighbors include the show’s cre w members. Moreover, Truman’s sense of reality is obscured by the false reality created by Christof through news reports and advertisements aimed at making Truman stay at home. Despite that Christof has succeeded to some extent in controlling some aspects of Truman’s life, there is evidence to show that Truman is capable of exploring certain truths in his social life such as falling in love outside the intended circle. Here, Truman falls in love with Sylvia despite that the producer wanted him to marry Meryl. To break this unintended love, the producer removes Sylvia from the set but Truman continues to love her even when married to Meryl. Therefore, Sylvia forms the out-group that is set to free Truman from his false world. Subsequently, at age 30, Truman demonstrates the importance of self-consciousness in an individual’s life. Here, Truman discovers some aspects of his life such as spotlights appearing at night (artificial darkness) and the discussions of oth er crew members regarding The Truman Show, which might have led him to uncover certain truths about his life. However, the producer achieves to conceal the truth by advertising that an airplane had one of its landing lights dislodged. On the other hand, the growing skepticism in Truman leads to his marriage to Meryl breaking up since she was under intense pressure to convince him that his false life was real. Furthermore, his plans to leave Seahaven (the artificial hometown) were frustrated by different incidents such as bus breakdowns, massive traffic jams, absence of flight tickets, a nuclear meltdown, and finally a forest fire. All these events are meant to instill fear in Truman in order for the show to continue.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, Christof’s attempts to bring back Truman’s father who was supposedly dead in a fishing trip (in ord er to make Truman fear the water) do not bear any fruits in terms of stopping Truman from leaving the town. Instead, Truman decides to isolate himself from the crew, and one day he manages to escape using a boat. An artificial storm meant to scare him from leaving does not do much since Truman overcomes his fear of water to reach the EXIT, which marks the end of false life and the beginning of a new reality with Sylvia’s camp. Movie Analysis In their quest to explain the nature and attributes of the social structure, many sociologists attempt to look at the permanent association between things, which is thought to originate in the life before the evolution of any life form (Hinkle 130). Here, the sociologists note that the primordial theory attempts to explain the origin of society, which is a form of social organization with a definite structure. As a result, since the primordial theory relates to the origin of permanent association in the society, then it follows that the p rimordial social structure was present before the appearance of humankind. Accordingly, the movie ‘The Truman Show’ captures the nature and characteristics of the social structure relative to the Primordial theory. Here, just like at the beginning of the show where we meet Truman unaware of his false world, many early theorists construed the social structure from the perspective of physical and biological sciences. Thus, the social structure was treated just like any other physical structure, which resembles a machine or device used to equilibrate different forces. Here, an organism (viewed as a structural model) is regarded to as a system of activities, which achieve interdependence through influencing one another, and thus they can adjust, adapt, and work together relative to the prevailing conditions (Hinkle 132). This form of primordial structure and permanent association can be likened to the show’s actors and crew whose activities were aimed at controlling Truman’s life by following the producer’s instructions, and thus they did achieve to manipulate different aspects of Truman’s life. However, the structure provided by the ancient sociologists reflects a mechanical equilibrium, which cannot exist in the contemporary social environment whereby conditions are bound to change relative to different internal and external factors (Kimmel and Aronson 33). Thus, contemporary sociology looks at the social structure as comprising of an organic equilibrium, which is characterized by openness, external factors, internal factors, accessibility, and change.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Applying a sociological theory to the movie ‘The Truman Show’ specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Subsequently, the modern day sociology has it that the creation of the society relies on the ability of institutions (units of the social structure) to exhibit an organ ic or moving equilibrium, which enables them to adjust, adapt, and change relative to both internal and external forces. This is thus the equilibrium exhibited by Truman during the 30th year of the show whereby he begins to adjust the way he used to view his life, and as a result manages to uncover certain truths in his artificial life. Conversely, other sociologists view the contemporary social structure as consisting of variable systems (that is, organisms and societies) whose internal mechanisms allow them to attain a partial equilibrium, which cannot be perfected due to the presence of external factors (Kimmel and Aronson 34). Here, it is worth noting that despite Truman uncovering certain truths in his false life using his own internal mechanisms, he fails to discover the whole truth since the existence of the radio and television advertisements serves to conceal the truth. To this end, it is certain that the organic equilibrium forms the basic model through which the primordia l social structure illustrated in ‘The Truman Show’ is generated. Thus, the change process associated with such moving equilibriums can only be construed as arising from the ability of the systems (individual persons) involved to make conscious choices, and exhibit some degree of intentionality. As a result, the basic contemporary social structure should be characterized by social identity; social desires, ends, interests, objectives, and purposes; social organization or structuring; social rules and values that underlie social welfare and norms; social solidarity, integration, and cohesion; and finally, processes that enable the members of the society to adjust to various unique situations (Hinkle 135). Relative to these features and characteristics of the society, many theorists note that the primordial social structure originates from the earliest human species, which were grouped into self-sufficient units meant to give rise to later generations exhibiting common mo des of life that change with time and conditions just like Truman’s life in the show. Thus, the primordial theory is based on the assumption that the society has an adaptive mechanism, which presents the human organisms with various opportunities and hindrances relative to the ability to satisfy their needs and wants in different situations (Hinkle 139). Thus, through persistent association with the hindrances and opportunities in the social set-up, human organisms achieve social identity.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is true to the fact that Truman was able to construe certain things in his life that were not adding up after taking a closer look at the behaviors of other residents of Seahaven, and comparing them to the contents of the show, which was entirely about his life. Accordingly, it is a fact that social and public awareness are centered on the ability of an individual becoming aware of other people’s ideas or thoughts and vice versa. Moreover, through coordinated interaction and understanding the needs and desires of other members of the society, an individual’s personal needs, desires, and purposes in life can be satisfied (Kimmel and Aronson 45). This is the case when Truman defies the pre-determined external factors in the show by falling in love with an extra. Moreover, the act of removing Sylvia from the picture marks the beginning of Truman’s quest to satisfy his desires through exploring different aspects of his false life, which will eventually lead him to the point of uncovering the truth about his life. Overall, the foregoing discussions show that a certain degree of social organization and structuring is required in order for the human members of the society to satisfy their desires, needs, and purposes through coordinated interactions and association with one another. However, sometimes a natural conflict of interest may exist between the internal mechanisms of an individual and the external forces that comprise different opportunities and hindrances brought forth by the social surroundings. And thus, it is up to each and every member of the society to develop adaptive behaviors that fit into the pre-existing conditions, which determine whether or not one will satisfy his or her needs, desires, and purposes in life. Hinkle, Roscoe C. Founding theory of American sociology, 1881-1915. USA: Routledge Kegan Paul Ltd, 2008. Print. Kimmel, Michael and Aronson, Amy. Sociology now. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print.

The Effects of Abuse essays

The Effects of Abuse essays There is no substitute for blood. Volunteer donors are the only source of blood for patients in need of lifesaving transfusions. Donating blood is a safe, simple way to make a difference for people in your community. In this way, each blood donation provided by a donor can help to save several people's lives. The Blood Donor Benefit ProgramThe Blood Donor Benefit Program is one of the ways that LifeSouth Community Blood Centers gives back to our donors and donor groups. Under this program, LifeSouth helps defray the cost of blood components for patients covered under our plan. When a patient covered by our plan receives a blood transfusion, LifeSouth pays for the non-insured portion of the 'processing fee' (covers cost of recruiting, drawing, testing, storing and distributing the blood) that is charged to the patient for all units of blood components. LifeSouth's coverage extends to transfusions at any hospital in the United States. For more information on the Blood Donor Benefit Program, please call your local branch of LifeSouth Community Blood Centers. Find details and contact information on your local branch at Regions and Donor Centers. Donating blood is believed to aid the rejuvenation of red blood cells and can help reduce the risk of heart disease, especially in men. It also helps to control blood iron levels, which is important for older men. There may be a little sting when the needle is inserted, but there should be no pain during the donation. Donors are served refreshments and encouraged to stay in the donor chair for a short time after donating. Occasional light-headedness may occur, especially if a donor leaves the chair before having a short rest, or uses alcohol or tobacco products soon after the donation. Giving blood is one of the best gifts you can give to another human being. But, you may not know that it's good for you too. Not only will you feel good knowing you'v ...

Medical Report for Pancreatitis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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