Martin Heidegger Biography free essay sample

The Man who would Create Being Martin Heidegger was born September 26th, 1889 in Messkirch, Germany and died on May 26, 1976 in his hometown. Martin was originally raised and educated in order to become a priest. His local church supported his schooling by scholarship in order that he may attend high school in Konstanz and further. Ironically, it was the pressuring support of the Catholic Church and the friends he later made during his schooling that eventually caused him to defect from the Church to pursue and become one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. After graduating from high school in 1909, he spent two weeks as a Jesuit novice, and then being discharged allegedly for health reasons, enrolled at Freiburg University to study theology. However, for reasons unknown, but most likely because of his lack of desire to become a priest, he broke off his studies in theology after only two years. Rather than theology, Heidegger focused his studies instead upon the fields of philosophy, mathematics, and natural sciences. During his remaining years of study at Freiburg, Heidegger worked with Edmund Huserll, a friend who would influence Heidegger’s later works and help start Heidegger’s rejection of Catholicism. He received his doctorate in philosophy in 1913. In 1915, Heidegger returned to Freiburg University to teach as assistant to Huserll. World War I briefly interrupted his work, as he was drafted into the military, but was dismissed after two months, again because of health reasons. Heidegger then began to work on his habilitation thesis in order to capture the chair of Catholic philosophy at Freiburg. In 1915, he was instead appointed Privatdozent, or lecturer. Then in 1917, Heidegger married Elfride Petri, with whom he had two sons and a daughter: Joerg, Hermann, and Erika, although he did have a notorious affair with his student and philosopher Hannah Arendt while teaching at the University of Marburg in the 1920s. Despite this, she never left him. Finally, Heidegger magnus opus was published in 1927, Being and Time, largely influenced by the work on phenomenology by his close friend Huserll, in addition to a few others such as Kant, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Dilthey. However, he considered one particular work to be the highest source of his inspiration, as he says, â€Å"‘[I] read Franz Brentano’s book entitled  On the Manifold Meaning of Being according to Aristotle. ’ By his own account, it was this work that inspired his life-long quest for the meaning of being (Korab-Karpowicz). Considered one of Heidegger’s greatest works, he earned recognition and fame for his questioning of Being. In 1929, he published three more works that further developed his own concept of phenomenological ontology, or the study of being. These were named What is Metaphysics? , On the Essence of Ground, and Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics. The 1930s and 1940s became a time when Heidegger’s practices called into question the legitimacy of his ontology, and this fact is still debated to this very day, and was also a critical turning point in his philosophy. For in 1933, Heidegger joined the Nazi party. Whether or not it was because he approved or he feared the Nazis like most people is unknown. He made ambiguous speeches that could either be interpreted as for the Nazi party or against them. He was appointed rector at Freiburg that same year yet resigned the next year. Yet because of his perceived support of the Nazi party (he never left the party even after he stopped giving speeches), after Germany lost the war, Heidegger was banned from teaching, a ban that was not lifted until 1949. In 1950, he was made Professor Emeritus. During this time interval, his work took a turn, becoming more systematic and obscure than his previous works. He began to write about the â€Å"essence of truth. † He also began to study and lecture on the works of one Friedrich Nietzsche, another German philosopher who believed God was dead. This officially marked Heidegger’s separation from the Catholic Church and his upbringing. During this period of time in which his work took a turn, he published what is considered his second best philosophical work in 1936, called Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning). Unlike Being and Time, which addresses the Dasein, which is the kind of being whose Being is an issue for it, such as humans, he reiterates the imperative need to abandon subjectivity from his earlier works, but he takes on a different ontology of Dasein, believing that his previous notion of Being links to his critique of subjectivity. As he explains in his Letter on Humanism: The adequate execution and completion of this other thinking that abandons subjectivity is surely made more difficult by the fact that in the publication of  Being and Time†¦ â€Å"Time and Being,† was held back†¦ Here everything is reversed. The division in question was held back because everything failed in the adequate saying of this turning and did not succeed with the help of the language of metaphysics†¦ This turning is not a change of standpoint from  Being and Time, but in it the thinking that was sought first arrives at the location of that dimension out of which Being and Time  is experienced, that is to say, experienced from the fundamental experience of the oblivion of Being. (Wheeler, citing Letter on Humanism, pp. 31–2) The Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning) was not actually published in Germany until 1989, after Heidegger’s death and at his request. Also a notable difference from his earlier works, most profoundly Being and Time, in Contributions to Philosophy, Heidegger drops his advocacy of the idea that Being can be represented truthfully using pseudo-scientific philosophical language, instead opting for the notion that it is correct to respond properly to Being in language. He is also famous for his critiques of technological thought, which is elaborated upon in Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning). Often confused with a criticism of technology, what Heidegger is really criticizing is our exploitation of technology as only an instrument invented to benefit a certain group of humans at the expense of others, having witnessed the atrocities of modern technology during both World Wars. This technological thought is an â€Å"us-them† dichotomy of who can kill whom faster, more efficiently, and with a greater magnitude. His later life becomes less eventful than his previous years, as he diverted more of his time to lectures than writing. All in all, Martin Heidegger wrote over 45 books, gave over 44 public lectures, and gave about 15 official private lectures throughout his lifetime. He also became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts at Berlin, member of the Academy of Sciences at Heidelberg, and member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. He was named Honorary Citizen of Messkirch in 1959 and won the Hebel Prize of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Before his death in 1976, he gave one of his final interviews in 1966, called Der Spiegel, translated as â€Å"Only God Can Save Us. † In this interview, he attempted to justify his political involvement during the Nazi years. He died before he could complete his final work, the Gesamtausgabe, an enormous anthology of all of his works. The project has been taken up by Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main and, though it is still not complete to this day, is expected to fill about 100 volumes. In conclusion, Heidegger’s work and his theory of Being were all results of those that supported him and his own drive for knowledge and fulfillment, for if it were not for his education and teaching experience thereafter, the world might have been deprived of one of the most ground-breaking philosophers of the 1900s and perhaps in history.

Socrates Trial Essays - Socratic Dialogues, Dialogues Of Plato

Socrates' Trial Socrates First Accusers and Athenian Law Of all confrontations in political philosophy, the biggest is the conflict between philosophy and politics. The problem remains making philosophy friendly to politics. The questioning of authoritative opinions is not easily accomplished nor is that realm of philosophy the pursuit of wisdom. Socrates was the instigator of the conflict. While the political element takes place within opinions about political life, Socrates asks the question What is the best regime and how should I live? Ancient thought is riddled with unknowns and can make no such statement as how should I live. The Socratic philosophy offers an alternative and prepares the way for the alternative of absolutes. This alternative is not without its faults. Socratic philosophy is plagued by a destructive element. It reduces the authoritative opinions about political life but replaces it with nothing. This is the vital stem from which the Apology of Socrates is written. Because of the stinging attack on Athenian life, and the opinions they revere so highly, Socrates is placed on trial for his life. The question now, becomes why and in what manner did Socrates refute the gods and is he guilty? Socrates, himself, speaks out against the charges by saying Socrates does injustice and is meddlesome, by investigating the things under the earth and the heavenly things, and by making the weaker the stronger and by teaching others these things. This is the charge of the old accusers. It is seen from an example in The Clouds. Strepsiades goes to Socrates in order to learn how to persuade his son by making the weaker speech the stronger. Why does Socrates remind the assembly about the old accusers? It appears improper for a man on trial to bring about his other 'crimes'. Aristophanes, in particular; is implicated by Socrates as an old accuser. For you yourselves used to see these things in the comedy of Aristophanes. The poets helped to shape Greek culture. Poetry was passed on and perpetuated the city where thought constantly 2 changed. Philosophy begins in debunking what the city thinks they know in order to refute the god. It is evident that Socrates is not interested in the gods. Socrates says, It is not part of the same man to believe in daimonian and divine things. Socrates is subtly admitting his guilt. Perhaps Socrates believes in gods, but if so, they are not the gods of the city. Socrates simply denies that he has had any part in celestial or subterranean inquiry - he simply speaks elsewhere. Socrates goes on to say that those who do are reported to be atheists. However, Socrates says, Zeus does not even exist. Socrates replaces Zeus with nature, the permanent and necessary things accessible to reason. This is an outrage to any Athenian. To deny the gods is to deny faith and ultimately the authoritarian opinions on which their politics is based. Why does Socrates think that he is being unjustly punished? Chaerophon had told Socrates that the Pythian Oracle had said that Socrates was the wisest man. Socrates admits, I am conscious that I am not wise, either much or little. Socrates wonders what the riddle is and sets out to refute the divination. This is a prime example of Socrates' impiousness as is his statement in The Clouds where he states we don't credit Gods. He is attempting to refute the god at Delphi. Socrates tries to aid his own defense by charging that what he does is in devotion to the god. Even now I still go around seeking and investigating in accordance with the god. Socrates makes this brash statement yet it is unfounded and untrue because it is not a divine order for Socrates to pursue this line of investigation. In opposition, Socrates asserts that the dominion did not oppose him. Socrates' impiety is not the only thing that resulted in his trial. Socrates was the gadfly 3 stinging the city of Athens. When Socrates proposes that the gods sent him on his quest, he set out to prove it wrong. In the process, he questioned the politicians and those reported to be wise. After finding that no one reported to be wise, was

The Incident At Bhopal Essays - Bhopal Disaster, Methyl Isocyanate

The Incident At Bhopal Essays - Bhopal Disaster, Methyl Isocyanate The Incident At Bhopal PURPOSE: To examine the events contributing to the tragedy at Bhopal, India and their repercussions and to draw conclusions based on these events. INTRODUCTION: What Happened at Bhopal? Reading newspaper and magazine articles written immediately following the events at Bhopal, it is apparent that it took some time for authorities to determine the causes of the industrial accident. Speculation seems to have run wild for a time following the accident. Drawing from later statistics and information seems to be a more reliable method of determining the most likely scenario. Where various alternate feasible possibilities have been presented, we will try to include the most likely. At approximately midnight on December 3, 1984, an unexpected chemical reaction took place in a Union Carbide of India Limited storage tank. The storage tank contained methyl isocyanate, (hereafter referred to as MIC) a toxic gas used in the process of a pesticide called Sevin.(1) As part of the distilling process there was an extremely high concentration of chloroform present. This caused corrosion of the tank. The tank being made of iron provided a catalyst for the reaction. A large amount of water was also introduced, approximately 120-240 gallons, which in combination with the chemical, generated enough heat to start the reaction. The runaway reaction released an uncontrollable amount of heat and this resulted in 30-40 tons of the gas being vaporized and spread over approximately 30 square miles, killing thousands of people and injuring hundreds of thousands.(2) The lack of information on MIC in 1984 made it a very toxic and difficult to control substance, according to Meryl H. Karol of the University of Pittsburghs Graduate School of Public Health. He says, Although nominally a liquid at room temperature, methyl isocyanate evaporates so quickly from an open container that it easily turns into a colorless, odorless highly flammable and reactive gas... I would hesitate having it in a laboratory. He also quotes the OHSA standard for exposure to MIC during an eight-hour day as 0.02 parts per million, far lower than what many Bhopal residents were exposed to.(3) THE HEALTH AFFECTS of exposure to MIC is disastrous. At low levels, MIC causes eyes to water and results in damage to the cornea. At higher concentrations, muscles constrict, and the bronchial passages have the equivalent of a severe asthma attack.(3) Most of the deaths in India were due to this. Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, Assistant Director of Public Health Practice at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, who went to Bhopal to render assistance, said, There was edema, substantial destruction...of alveolar walls, ... a ulcerative bronchiolus... among patients at the severely crowded hospitals.(4) Serious damage to the central nervous system after three to four weeks, including paralysis, and psychological problems have also been a result.(3) The long-term affects of MIC exposure are equally disastrous. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, at least 50,000 people are still suffering and new chronic cases of asthma keep showing up as the population ages and 39% of the surrounding population have some form of severe respiratory impairment.(5) Most of them will suffer for the rest of their lives.(6) It is a conservative estimate that 5 people die every week as a result of the Bhopal accident.(7) Another consideration is that in a social class that maintains a living through physical labor, inability to perform results in starvation.(8) Affects on women were profound. Out of 198 women living within 10 miles of the facility, 100 had abnormal uterine bleeding.(1,5) Of the local women who were pregnant before the accident, 43% miscarried and 14% of the babies carried to term died within a month. Socially, these women are considered unwanted by potential husbands because reproductive disorders are so commonplace that they are seen as sterile.(5) It is unknown whether chromosomal damage will affect future generations.(8) TOTAL EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT are not yet known. Approximately 1,600 animals died on the first and second days after the incident. This was a terrible environmental health risk. Eventually this problem was solved by digging a giant one-acre mass grave. There was also damage to some vegetation, animal and fish species, but not to others. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is studying this.(1) A VARIETY OF FAILURES were contributing factors in this lethal cloud of chemicals descending on the helpless, uninformed public. These failures include design failures, maintenance failures, operations failures, emergency response failures, communications failures, governmental failures and last but not least management failures. In 1982, a safety audit by the

150 Million Years of Snake Evolution

150 Million Years of Snake Evolution Considering how diverse they are todaynearly 500 genera comprising almost 3,000 named specieswe still know surprisingly little about the ultimate origin of snakes. Clearly, these cold-blooded, slithering, legless creatures evolved from four-legged reptilian ancestors, either small, burrowing, landbound lizards (the prevailing theory) or, just possibly, the family of  marine reptiles called mosasaurs that appeared in the earths seas around 100 million years ago. Piecing Together the Evolution of Snakes Why is snake evolution such an enduring mystery? A big part of the problem is that the vast majority of snakes are small, relatively fragile creatures, and their even smaller, even more fragile ancestors are represented in the fossil record by incomplete remains, mostly consisting of scattered vertebrae. Paleontologists have discovered putative snake fossils dating as far back as 150 million years, to the late Jurassic period, but the traces are so evanescent as to be practically useless. (Further complicating matters, snake-like amphibians called aistopods appear in the fossil record over 300 million years ago, the most notable genus being Ophiderpeton; these were completely unrelated to modern snakes.) Recently, though, solid fossil evidence has emerged for Eophis, a 10-inch-long middle Jurassic snake native to England. The Early Snakes of the Cretaceous Period Needless to say, the key event in snake evolution was the gradual withering away of these reptiles front and hind limbs. Creationists like to claim that there are no such transitional forms in the fossil record, but in the case of prehistoric snakes theyre dead wrong: paleontologists have identified no less than four separate genera, dating back to the Cretaceous period, that was equipped with stubby, vestigial hind legs. Oddly enough, three of these snakesEupodophis, Haasiophis, and Pachyrhachiswere discovered in the Middle East, not otherwise a hotbed of fossil activity, while a fourth, Najash, lived on the other side of the world, in South America. What do these two-legged ancestors reveal about snake evolution? Well, that answer is complicated by the fact that the Middle Eastern genera were discovered firstand, since they were found in geologic strata that were submerged in water a hundred million years ago, paleontologists took that as evidence  that snakes as a whole evolved from water-dwelling reptiles, most likely the sleek, fierce mosasaurs of the late Cretaceous period. Unfortunately, the South American Najash throws a monkey wrench into that theory: this two-legged snake was clearly terrestrial, and appears in the fossil record at roughly the same time as its Middle Eastern cousins. Today, the prevailing view is that snakes evolved from an as-yet-unidentified land-dwelling (and probably burrowing) lizard of the early Cretaceous period, most likely a type of lizard known as a varanid. Today, varanids are represented by monitor lizards (genus Varanus), the largest living lizards on earth. Oddly enough, then, prehistoric snakes may have been kissing cousins of the giant prehistoric monitor lizard Megalania, which measured about 25 feet from head to tail and weighed over two tons! The Giant Prehistoric Snakes of the Cenozoic Era Speaking of giant monitor lizards, some prehistoric snakes also attained gigantic sizes, though once again the fossil evidence can be frustratingly inconclusive. Until recently, the biggest prehistoric snake in the fossil record was the appropriately named Gigantophis, a late Eocene monster that measured about 33 feet from head to tail and weighed as much as half a ton. Technically, Gigantophis is classified as a madtsoiid snake, meaning it was closely related to the widespread genus Madtsoia. Unfortunately for Gigantophis fans, this prehistoric snake has been eclipsed in the record books by an even bigger genus with an even cooler name: the South American Titanoboa, which measured over 50 feet long and conceivably weighed as much as a ton. Oddly enough, Titanoboa dates from the middle Paleocene epoch, about five million years after the dinosaurs went extinct but millions of years before mammals evolved into giant sizes. The only logical conclusion is that this prehistoric snake preyed on equally huge prehistoric crocodiles, a scenario you can expect to see computer-simulated in some future TV special; it may also have occasionally crossed paths with the equally giant prehistoric turtle Carbonemys.

How stuff work Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How stuff work - Research Paper Example This invention came into the limelight immediately because it was the key in solving one of the biggest environmental challenges-Oil spills and was concept of bioremediation since no harmful chemicals or other products were employed. Oil spills always have a catastrophic effect on the marine ecosystem as well as those who depend on the marine ecosystem .such as birds, fishing industry and tourism industry. The toxic oil stuck to the bird’s feathers prohibiting them from flying and has serious effects on the marine life as well. Until the invention of these microbes the cost of cleaning up the oil was extremely high. Using techniques such as dispersants or mechanical skimming cost almost $7,350 per metric ton of oil. Often oil was spilled in the middle of the ocean where logistics posed a great problem and in most cases only a mere 20% of the oil spilled could be cleaned up. However the invention of these oil-eating microbes have been a boon to mankind since these microbes make the cleaning up process practical, rapid and environment friendly. Production of Oil eating Bacteria Oil especially crude oil is composed of hydrocarbons. Many bacteria and fungi have the natural capability of breaking down oil into carbon dioxide and water however none of the naturally occurring bacteria could degrade all the components. While working with microbes he recognized the fact that microbial metabolism could be used for the process of bioremediation. Recombinant DNA technology also known as RDT is the technology used by biotechnologists and genetic engineers to transfer DNA or genetic material from one cell to another with the help of vectors or carrying bodies such as plasmids. Certain bacterial strains already bore the gene which encodes for specialized enzymes. These specialized enzymes have the capability of degrading oil, nullifying their toxicity and turning them into harmless products. Using recombinant DNA technology, Professor isolated the genes from these micr obes and integrated them into the vector plasmid DNA machinery. These plasmids were then integrated into strains of Pseudomonas bacteria. These genetically engineered bacteria were now made capable of producing enzymes on their own which could degrade oil and render them harmless. Working principle The entire working principle of the oil degrading microbes is based on the study of enzymes. The enzymes help the bacteria in obtaining their carbon from the oils. Once these microbes are put into the water containing oil, their only source of carbon is the oil on the water surface. The bacteria which can produce oil-degrading enzymes start production and utilizes the degraded oil as its energy resource. Hydrocarbon degrading enzymes such as alkane hydroxylase, catechol dioxygense are some of the enzymes that are encoded by the genes of some naturally occurring oil0degrading bacteria and which have been genetically transferred into Pseudomonas strain enabling the latter to break down a wi de variety of oil components (Peixoto et al,2011, p.2). The bacteria proliferates at the site of oil spill since large quantities of carbon resource is available. Problems

The career of Mozart Wolfgang Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The career of Mozart Wolfgang - Research Paper Example In order to understand the value of orchestration for Mozart’s works it should be necessary to refer primarily to the characteristics of orchestration, as a technique used while performing music pieces with different requirements in terms of their performance environment. In its most common form, orchestration can be described as ‘the division of a musical composition among the instruments of an orchestra for artistic effects’. These effects are not standardized. For certain composers, such as Mozart, emphasis would be given on the sense of unity of the music piece. Other effects, such as the unexpected change on a music piece’s tone, could be also achieved using orchestration. The first concerns for the potential value of orchestration in regard to the performance of music works have appeared in the 18th century (Keefe 2003). During that period, the need for a technique for increasing the tone effects of music works was made clear. Instrumental effects could be used for securing a ‘grand tone, like a Pindaric one’, but up to a point.... e contribution of Mozart in the promotion of orchestration is made clear through the following fact: orchestration, as part of performing music works, was known by the late 18th century (Keefe 93). However, in the past, before Mozart, orchestration was related only to ‘wind instruments’ (Zaslaw 439). Mozart introduced orchestration as a technique for increasing the tone effects of a music piece by engaging all instruments of the orchestra, a practice that has been unknown by then (Zaslaw 439). Indeed, it was just in Paris Symphony of Mozart that the potentials of orchestration were full revealed. During the performance of the above work all instruments of the orchestra were employed for achieving unique, up to then, orchestral effects, such as the sense of ‘unity and of coloristic nuance’ (Zaslaw 439) in regard to all parts of a music piece. At this point, the following issue should be explored: which are the factors that influenced Mozart in choosing orches tration as a key technique for presenting his works to the public? In addition, it should be made clear at what level orchestration has been part of Mozart’s works. Finally, the key tools used by Mozart for promoting orchestration should be presented. Different factors tend to influence composers and performers when having to choose instruments that will be used in performing music works. For example, when composers were asked to develop music works for ‘a powerful person who loved to play a particular music instrument and wished to combine it with others’ (Honigsheim 98), the music work ordered needed to meet the following criterion: it should be based solely on ‘the combination of this instrument with others’ (Honigsheim 98). Mozart has responded to such requests developing music pieces based

Ernest Hemingway Essay Example for Free

Ernest Hemingway Essay Ernest Miller Hemingway was considered one of the great American authors of the 20th century. Hemingways unique style of writing set him apart from other authors of this time and of today. He influenced many generations of authors with his style of using powerful, precise words. He used few adjectives, simple verbs, and short sentences in his works. Hemingway believed that his writing should be based on knowledge that he had acquired on a particular subject through his own personal life. In a passage from Hemingways Death in the Afternoon, he wrote If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. This is in fact why Hemingway wrote most of his novels and stories in the first person point of view. Hemingway was also known for the dialogue he wrote between his characters. This allowed the reader to see his characters emotions and inner thoughts. Ernest Hemingways style challenged readers to look below the surface for the meaning of his words. This was known as the Iceberg Theory because the tip of an iceberg is the only visible portion above the sea while the largest part is far below the sea. The Hemingway hero, a male character who faces violence and destruction with courage, and the Hemingway code, unemotional behavior in difficult and dangerous situations, were also trademarks of Hemingways style. To better understand Ernest Hemingway as an author, one must first look at Hemingway as a person. Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899 in Illinois. As a young boy, Hemingway enjoyed hunting and fishing at the family cabin in rural Michigan. These outings allowed him to gain appreciation for Mother Nature, and to look for adventure in many parts of the world. This love of the outdoors was reflected in many of his writings, such as The Green Hills of Africa published in 1935. During Hemingways high school years, he was editor of the school newspaper. This was the beginning of his writing career. Shortly after graduation, Hemingway went into battle during World War I, where he was an ambulance driver. He became injured and returned to Illinois where he landed a job with the Toronto Star. He became a war correspondent, moved to Paris, and got the opportunity to interview many European political leaders, such as Mussolini. These two events influenced Hemingway to write his first best-seller, A Farewell to Arms, in 1929. Hemingways job, a reporter and journalist, required him to write short and to-the-point articles, which was how he wrote as an author. In 1929, this style of writing led Hemingway to write and publish his first work, Three Stories and Ten Poems. Hemingway the author was born. Ernest Hemingway was married four times. The first two marriages failed because Hemingway was unhappy, the third failed because his wife was unhappy, and the fourth continued until the end of Hemingways life. Hemingway never had a female as the main character in his works. In 1939, Hemingways father committed suicide after battling high blood pressure and diabetes for many years. The painful experience of his fathers death influenced the novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway moved to Cuba in 1945 where he wrote The Old Man and the Sea, a novel about an old fisherman who battled a giant marlin and the sea. This novel won Hemingway a Pulitzer Prize. In 1954, this novel also won Ernest Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature. He could not attend the ceremonies because of injuries he received in a near fatal plane crash. Hemingway was forced to move back to the United States in 1960 because of the communist movement led by Fidel Castro. Hemingways health began to deteriate. His injuries from the plane crash prevented him from enjoying his love for the outdoors and his love for writing. Hemingway sank into a state of depression and shot himself, just as his father had done some years earlier. Hemingway had several unfinished works, such as The Garden of Eden and A Moveable Feast, which were published to satisfy the reading public who longed for more of his great style of writing. Hills Like White Elephants and A Clean Well-Lighted Place were two short stories written by Ernest Hemingway during his career as an author. They both show Hemingways ability to entertain the reader with his short, simple well-known style, along with a bit of Hemingways personal beliefs and life. They are short on words, as a journalist would write, but not on the themes, that Hemingway the author wanted to convey to the reader. Hills Like White Elephants was a story about a girl and an American male who were discussing the fate of their unborn child. The story took place in a bar or cafe in Spain. Hemingway made the reader look for the true meaning of the story starting with the title by using symbolism. The story had nothing to do with hills or white elephants, but Hemingways choice of words and his use of dialogue between the two people soon guided the reader to realize that the title represented the real problem being dealt with by the girl and the American. The hills represented the two choices, or decisions, the girl had to make, either keep the baby alive in her womb or have an abortion. The hills might also have represented the difficulties of relationships. One hill is described as fields of grain and trees, or fertile, while the other is described as having no shade and no trees, or barren. The white elephant symbolized the mystery of what life had to offer, or something that nobody wantedthe baby. The dialogue used between the girl and the American showed the reader that the relationship was strained, Just because you say I wouldnt have doesnt prove anything. The American also tried to get the girl to see things his way by saying that the abortion he wanted her to have is perfectly simple. The story was typical of Hemingways Iceberg Theory. There was more going on in the story than just a conversation at a bar. The story was also a bit different from most of Hemingways other works. He seemed to have made the girl more superior than the male, more like a Hemingway hero, and also allowed her to display the Hemingway code, I feel fine. , even though she was faced with a big decision in her life-one that could change it no matter what she chose. A Clean Well-Lighted Place was a story about an old man, a young waiter, and an old waiter. This story also took place in a bar in some Spanish speaking country. The story dealt with the light inside the cafe and the darkness inside the old man. The cafe was a place the old man could escape the darkness, boredom, and nothingness-the Nada, of his life. It is well lit and represented a place the old man could seek comfort. Hemingway used this character to demonstrate that darkness, or death, awaits us all. Again, He used dialogue to let the reader see how the characters emotionally felt. The young waiter was aggravated by the old mans presence and said, I wish he would go home. Hemingway did not give the characters in this short story names because that was not necessary information for the reader. The reader only needed to feel the ideas in the story, Hemingway believed that it was not his name that was important but his words in his works. His concise wording gave the reader a chance to see his characters personalities. The young waiter stated that An old man is a nasty thing. which showed the reader that he had very little respect for the aging. During Hemingways final years, he resembled the old man in the cafe. Both were depressed and Hemingway wrote that he tried to commit suicide. The only difference between them was the old man did not succeed and Hemingway did. This story was also typical of his Iceberg Theory. There was much more going on in the bar than just people drinking. The old man also demonstrated the Hemingway hero and the Hemingway code. He faced death with courage and tried to show little or no emotion about his life ending. Many criticized Ernest Hemingway for his personal and sometimes less than perfect lifestyle, but very few critics can find fault in his literary works. They are works of a brilliant author who was very skilled at what he loved to dowrite. According to the July 7, 1999 issue of Time Magazine, Ernest Hemingway deserved the Nobel Prize for Literature and the trumpets of fame that went with this prestigious honor. He received this award for his best selling novel, The Old Man and the Sea. He broke the bounds of American writing, enriched U. S. Literature ?. and showed new ways to new generations of writers. He was only one of five other American born writers to receive this honor. It also stated that Hemingway wrote this novel over 200 times before he felt it was ready for publication and that perhaps he was his own best critic. The words Hemingway wrote were described as ?. an organic being of their own. Every syllable counts toward a stimulating, entrancing experience of magic and fibrous and athletic, colloquial and fresh, hard and clean. Ernest Hemingway was referred to as an artist and brilliant with whatever words he chose to paint with. Ernest Hemingway was a very interesting person and an enriching author. I enjoyed reading and studying the two short stories, Hills Like White Elephants and A Clean Well-Lighted Place. His style of using dialogue, symbolism, and concise wording made these works a challenge? but a challenge I liked. Hemingway worked timelessly to perfect his writing so that it could be appreciated by readers of all ages? even those of us who thought literature was not for them. Bibliography Ernest (Miller) Hemingway. DISCovering Authors. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center. Thomson Gale. 12 April 2007 http://galenet. galegroup. com/servlet/SRC Hunt, Douglas. The Riverside Anthology of Literature. Dallas: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. Kramer, Victor A. Hemingway, Ernest. World Book Online Reference Center. 2007. 12 April 2007. Kunitz, Stanley J. Twentieth Century Authors. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1955. Segall, Mary T. Portals. Philadelphia: Harcourt Brace College, 1999.