Does the technological revolution change the basic rules of media Essay

Does the technological revolution change the basic rules of media economics - Essay Example In order to understand the impact of technology on media economics in cultural industries, it is essential to understand the concept of cultural industry (Albarran & Dimmick, 1996, 48). Cultural industry can defined as that industry that incorporates different types of medium including television, music, print media along with art and architecture. From research, it is evident that this industry has adopted technology. The developments and growth of mass media in the cultural industry created foundations for media economics. The concept of media economics first emerged in the fifties(Albarran, 2002, 32). The cultural industries played an important role in offering the main fundamentals for investigating and analyzing the economics of media. â€Å"Content providers, offering information and entertainment, became the suppliers, whereas consumers and advertisers formed the demand side of the market. Furthermore, various regulatory agencies (e.g., Federal Communications Commission [FCC] , Federal Trade Commission, and other government entities) affected macroeconomic market conditions, and the relationship among suppliers in various industries created microeconomic market conditions† (Albarran, 2002, 115). During the fifties, the emergence of media economics became the subject of study of several micro and macro economists. For instance, Rau concentrated on studying the competition between newspapers, Steiner studied the competition in the radio industry and Reddaway studied the economics of several newspaper firms (Albarran, 2002, 201). The initial studies related to television and cultural industry sought to understand the structure of the market and the competition it had with other forms of medium(Albarran & Dimmick, 1996, 48). Furthermore, it concentrated on studying the influence of technology on revenues. In the same

Reigh by Elizabeth I Essay Example for Free

Reigh by Elizabeth I Essay By 1571, Elizabeth I had solved most of her internal and external problems that she had faced at the beginning of her reign? Assess the validity of this view In 1558 Elizabeth inherited a throne encumbered with various internal and external problems, due to the actions in previous reigns of the ‘little Tudors’. Internal problems referred to predicaments occurring in England and personal issues with the monarch, e.g. the religious settlement of Catholicism in Mary Tudors reign and rebellions posed a significant problem of domestic policy at the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign. External problems refereed to dilemmas occurring outside of England, e.g. Mary’s loss of Calais in 1558 produced the external possibility of French invasion during Elizabeth’s reign. Along with debasement of the coinage and inflationary pressures, it is evident that Elizabeth was presented with formidable problems at the beginning of her reign. The first major internal problem faced by Elizabeth at the start of her reign was her gender. The idea of a female monarch met hostility in Tudor England and Elizabeth was faced with criticism by the Protestant preacher John Knox who wrote ‘to promote a woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any realm, nation or city is repugnant by nature and a insult to God.’ However Elizabeth overcame the issue of her gender in her appointment of administrators and management of political matters. Immediately after coming to the throne, Elizabeth successfully established her royal and political authority by appointing William Cecil as her principle secretary, a successful partnership in government which lasted 40 years. Elizabeth then appointed Thomas Parry as controller of the household and Robert Dudley as Master of the Horse. The appointment of her friends and supporters highlight that Elizabeth overcame her internal problem of her gender as Elizabeth had successfully established her authority, despite being a female queen she was supported by influentia l male figures, thus advocating to Tudor England that the her reign will not suffer from political instability as Edward VI and Mary I reigns did. Elizabeth was intelligent in not making any further appointments as it made political sense to keep speculation alive of Mary’s councillors being reappointed, a political motive that worked for Elizabeth as 9 of Mary councillors assured Elizabeth of their loyalty. Elizabeth then went on to reduce the number of privy councillors from 39 to 19, 10 of who had served Mary, and Elizabeth kept nobles such as the Earl of Winchester  who had long political experience and had shown his excellence as an exchequer. Reducing the number of privy councillors allowed policy making to be more efficient and created a form of collective responsibility and corporate decision making within the council, thus Elizabeth had solved the internal problem of her gender as her changes to the privy council also meant that no individual could exert huge amounts of influence over her and the fixed membership assured Elizabeth of the councillors loyalty, a issue which caused the downfall of Somerset in Edw ard VI’s reign. Thus this supports John Guys interpretation of Elizabeth that she ‘controlled her own policy more than any other Tudor’ and her ‘instinct to power was infallible’ Elizabeth further solved the issue of her gender by maintaining good relations with Parliament, Elizabeth managed some issues under royal prerogative and allowed all member of the privy council to play a role in the management of Parliament, especially Cecil who played a important role in the deliberations of the commons with C.Maccafrey describing Cecil as a ‘crowns manager of political business.’ The election of the speaker under Elizabeth’s was a strong political motive as it benefited the crown in enjoying management of the House of Commons. Thus Elizabeth had succeeded in maintaining a strong parliament; supported by John Guy view ‘legislative business was properly directed.’ Elizabeth further overcame her internal problem by using public relations to influence her political authority. At her coronation on the 15TH January Elizabeth was welcomed as Deborah ‘the judge and restorer of Israel’. To be likened to an influential female is evidence that Elizabeth overcame the issue of her gender at the beginning of her reign, as it highlights the public’s acceptance of her as Queen. However it is debated by a minority of revisionists that Elizabeth did not solve the internal problem of her gender at the beginning of her reign. This is due to the fact that during Elizabeth’s 45 year reign, Parliament only met for a total of 3 years, and 11 out of 13 parliamentary sessions were to ask for revenue. Thus this enforces the view that Elizabeth was unable to work with parliament, supported by the excessive use of royal prerogative over issues Elizabeth did not wish to discuss. It is further argued that Elizabeth did not solve the issue of her gender as she was over ruled by Cecil on many occasions, for example Cecil threatened to resign in 1560 if Engl and did not support him in Scottish policy. The issue of Bishop  Oglethorpe not elevating the host during Elizabeth’s coronation mass is further indication of the unsolved problems which were existent at the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign. However I believe that Elizabeth did overcome the issue of her gender, as unlike previous monarchs, Elizabeth was never threatened to be overpowered by one of her administrators, and according to her tutor Roger Ascham ‘her mind had no womanly weakness, her perseverance is equal to that of a man’, thus this interpretation supports the fact that Elizabeth overcame the issue of her gender due to her abilities of choosing first rate advisors and having the remarkable gift of winning the devotion of the public. A further internal problem faced by Elizabeth at the start of her reign was the religious settlement after 1558. The legal status of the church had not been altered with the death of Queen Mary thus meaning that the English church remained in communion with th e Church of Rome, however Elizabeth was protestant. Thus Elizabeth solved the internal problem of religion through the introduction of the 1559 religious settlement. The act embraced two sets of parliament, the Act of Supremacy 1559 and the Act of Uniformity 1559. The Act of Supremacy restored the royal supremacy of the church which had been removed under Mary, the act replied heresy laws which had been revived under Mary and re-established communion in both kinds. The act further defined Elizabeth to be ‘Supreme Governor’ and not Supreme Head of the church, reflecting the assumption that only God could be head of the church. The act of Uniformity specified the use of a single Book of Common Prayer, specified that ‘ornaments of the church and of the ministers thereof’ should be those that were there I the second year of the reign of Edward VI and the act further laid down a punishment of a shilling for not attending church. The 1559 religious settlement also enforced the 1559 injunctions, which were a set of rules about the conduct of church services and the government of the church issued in the Queens name as the Supreme Governor. The first injunction stressed the ‘suppression of superstition’ (catholic practises such as candles). Thus the 1559 religious settlement highlight how Elizabeth overcame the issue of religion as there was a now uniformed principles of church services. Elizabeth overcame the issue of many bishops resigning due to not being able to take the Oath of Supremacy by appointing 27 new bishops, many of whom had opposed Mary’s religious policies and would support Elizabeth in the House of Lords.  The appointment of Matthew Parker as archbishop of Canterbury was a conscious strategy to reshape the hierarchy of England and further evidence that Elizabeth overcame the religious issue left by Mary. Elizabeth’s dislike of clerical marriage and prevention of musical culture in cathedrals and catholic colleges highlights the extent to which Elizabeth created a erastian nature of the church. Although it is argued that Elizabeth did not successfully resolve the internal issue of religion as according to historians such as Peter Lake the religious settlement had a two speed view, Elizabeth’s view that the settlement was final and complete and then the view of bishops that the settlement was simply a interim arrangement and full scale reform needed to be implemented. The religious settlement was not seen final by many historians as Neale argues that the Queen was conscious of the dangerous political situation with France, and therefore used the 1559 religious settlement to gain parliamentary confirmation of royal supremacy and delay any other significant changes in her reign. The puritan challenges to the settlement are further evidence of the religious settlement not being successful. The vestments controversy occurred due to failure of the convocation of Canterbury 1563 to secure reform, thus many bishops decided they did not wish to follow the rules of clerical dr ess outlined in the Act of Uniformity as they believed the albs and copes to be ‘popish’ and ‘superstitious’. Thus the Queen summoned Parker to enforce the rules, thus Parker threatened to remove preaching licences of anyone that did not obey and in 1566 issued the ‘Advertisements’. However 37 clergymen refused to sign and were deprived of their posts, this conflict expresses that Elizabeth did not solve the issue of religion as it highlighted that the Queen could not enforce her will in all respects and highlighted fundamental issues in the relationship of the Crown and the Church. However Elizabeth succeeded in her religious settlement and overcame her internal problem, she wished not to make ‘windows into men’s souls’ and thus allowed the survival of Catholics. An external problem faced by Elizabeth at the start of her reign was the issue of her marriage and succession. When Elizabeth inherited the throne in 1558, it was assumed that she would marry a prince and continue the Tudor line, as failure to marry would bring around a troubled succession. There were a number of suitors for Elizabeth, arguably her favourite being Robert Dudley of whom she arguably had a  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœemotional dependency’ on, however the suspicious death of his wife Amy led to the marriage never occurring, which pleased Cecil who was horrified at the prospect of his own power and influence being eroded. Thus Elizabeth chose not to marry and not to choose a successor, however she overcame the internal problem of this. By remaining unmarried, her authority remained undiminished and Elizabeth maximized the diplomatic advantages from the prolonged marriage negotiations. She used marriage talks as a form of foreign policy, e.g. marriage talks with the Habsburgs minimised the possible Catholic backlash to her Religious Settlement, and she gained financial benefits from Eric of Sweden. Not naming a successor also had benefits for Elizabeth, as it avoided any factions arising in the privy council and any unnecessary competitions for influence and power, as Elizabeth once commented ‘if my successor were known to the world, I would never esteem my state to be safe†. Although it can be argued that as Elizabeth died the virgin queen, she did not solve the issue of her marriage and succession due to never being married. As Elizabeth did not produce her own natural protestant heir, Elizabeth faced real threats from Mary Queen of Scots. Many English Catholics supported Mary’s claim to the throne and when Mary arrived in England there were several plots to dethrone or assassinate Elizabeth including the Ridolfi, Throckmorton and Babington plots. Although after Elizabeth’s death, James Stewart inherited the throne in a unchallenged succession, thus Elizabeth had solved the problem. The issue of foreign policy was Elizabeth’s biggest external problem during her reign. Elizabeth had inherited the throne at a time where finances were weak, with Sir John Mason declaring ‘our state can no longer bear these wars’. Thus Elizabeth wanted to secure Calais and conclude peace with the Scottish Queen as Elizabeth commented that â €˜the greatest burden of these wars resteth uponth Scotland’. Thus Elizabeth resolved issues of foreign policy in her reign by the signing of the Chaetae Cambersis in 1559 which brought peace along England, Scotland, France and Spain, France would retain Calais for eight years and then would be returned to England providing England had kept peace. However external problems of foreign policy occurred again after the death of Henry II who was succeeded by his son Francis who was married to Mary Queen of Scots. This led to a strong guise faction in France who sought to make Scotland an instrument of French policy making.. Thus England was  faced with the threat of invasion from Scotland and France. However Elizabeth resolved this issue by sending the Navy to the firth of forth to block French reinforcements from landing and sending an army to Leith where the bulk of the French force were situated. Elizabeth’s intervention meant the siege failed, and in 1560 the Treaty of Edinburgh was signed which forced Mary Queen of Scots to recognise E lizabeth as Queen and effectively weakened the Franco-Scottish alliance. Elizabeth had also succeeded in foreign policy with Spain as she avoided having a civil war with Spain, the policy of harassment by taking money from Spanish ships in Cornwell and Devon strengthened England’s finances. However it can be argued that Elizabeth did not solve the issue of foreign policy, Anglo Spanish and Anglo Dutch relations came to a halt after the Spanish harassments meaning that loyalty with Phillip had disintegrated thus Phillip began to support plots against Elizabeth such as the Ridolfi plot and the 1569 Northern Rebellion. Although I believe Elizabeth did solve her external problem to a small extent, as relations were improved but would still be another 14 years until Elizabeth could feel secure from threats to English stability. Thus at the end of her 45 year long reign, it is concrete to state that Elizabeth did successfully conquer most of her external and internal problems she faced at the beginning of her reign. Known as the ‘Golden Age’ by many historians Elizabeth was able to establish a secure Church of England and her reign also saw significant expansion overseas. Great explorers were encouraged such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sir John Hawkins. She achieved an excellent reputation as a good and wise ruler, who was truly loved by her people she was highly accomplished in the art of rhetoric and Public Relations Queen Elizabeth I surrounded herself with highly intelligent and loyal advisors such as Sir William Cecil, Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir Robert Cecil who gave her sound political advice and unlike the reigns of Edward and Mary, Elizabeth was able to expand overseas. Thus the internal and external problems at the beginning of reign soon became insignificant hurdles for the great queen, whose monarch is still described by historians today to be the greatest monarch in England.

Alphonse Mucha Art Style Overview

Alphonse Mucha Art Style Overview Alphonse Mucha is best known for his luxurious poster and product designs, which encapsulate the Art Nouveau style. Interest in his work was revived in 1980 when it was shown at an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. Alphonse Mucha was born in South Moravia. In 1882 he started to earn a living by painting portraits in Mikulov. The following year Count Khuen commissioned Mucha to decorate his castle at Emmahof and his brother Count Egon Belasi became his patron. He was educated at the Munich Academy of Arts and at the Acadà ©mie Julian in Paris and after completing work for Count Khuen began work as an illustrator in 1889. His first work was a theatre magazine entitled Le Costume au Theatre and in it his first drawing of Sarah Bernhardt as Cleopatra appeared in 1890. By 1895 he had signed a six year contract with Bernardt to produce stage and costume designs as well as posters. At the same time Mucha joined the Salon des Cent, a Symbolist group that included Bonnard, Mallarmà © and Toulouse-Lautrec. He designed a poster for their 20th exhibition in 1896 and the next year he exhibited many of his works at this exhibition as well as at his own one-man show at the Topic Gallery in Prague. Between 1903 and 1922 Alphonse Mucha made four visits to the United States where his work proved particularly successful. Charles Richard Crane, a Chicago industrialist and Slavophile, agreed to finance Muchas series of 20 huge paintings entitled Slav Epic (1909-1928). He continued to work on a number of projects, however, including the design of new postage stamps for Czechoslovakia in 1918 and producing a number of posters and designs for public buildings besides the Slav Epic for example, Allegory of Prague (1911) for the Prague Town Hall. He completed the full cycle of the Slav Epic finally in 1928 and it was exhibited at the Trade Fair Palace. Just three years later he was commissioned to produce a stained-glass window for the St. Vitus Cathedral, then in 1938 embarked on yet another mammoth project involving a triptych, The Age of Wisdom, The Age of Love and The Age of Reason. Sadly they were never completed as he died in 1939. For the Slavs, the plastic arts are a common striving towards a symbolic manifestation a taste for symbols is part of the inheritance of all Slavs That is why the language of symbols is the surest way to communicate our feelings to our brother Slavs. Alphonse Mucha. Alfons Mucha was born in Southern Moravia on July 24, 1860. At the age of seventeen the artist left his home, to work as a painter of stage decorations at the Vienna Ringtheater. When there was a fire at the theater, Mucha lost his job. He found new employment at the Vienese castle with Count Khuen, who became his patron and sent him to the Munich art academy a few years later. From there, Alfons Mucha went on to Paris in 1887 to continue his studies at the Acadà ©mie Julian and then at the Acadà ©mie Colarossi. Due to a lack of financial support from Khuen, however, the student was forced to leave the academy and earn a living as an illustrator. During this time he produced a large number of sketches and drawings. These were studies for illustrations, which were later published in Figaro illustrà ©, Petit Parisien illustrà © and other journals. This early work and the prints for illustrated books like L ´Ãƒ ©là ©fant blanc by Judith Gauthier, at which Alfons Mucha worked during this time, still reflect the usual academic historic style of the time. By coincidence, thanks to an employer of Lemercier printers, Mucha was commissioned to design a poster for Sarah Bernhardt in 1894. This provided the launchpad for Muchas future success and importance as an influencial designer of French Art Nouveau. Sarah Bernhardt was impressed by the artists work. From then on, the famous actress not only had Mucha design her posters but also her costumes and stages. The public also liked Muchas works very much and he became a famous, widely talked about and celebrated master almost over night. Around 1900 Alfons Mucha reached the peak of his fame. Muchas theoretical theses Documents Dà ©coratives and Figures Dà ©coratives influenced the applied art of the time significantly. From now on, people talk about Mucha style whose typical elements like the arabesque hair and the aureole surrounding the female profile, were often copied. In 1900 Alfons Mucha took part in the Paris World Exposition, evoking general attention with his wall decorations in Bosnia and Herzegovinas pavilion. In 1904 Alfons Mucha went to America, where he produced wall decorations, stages settings and portraits during a prolonged stay in New York. Alongside he taught drawing and compostition at the Chicago Art Institute. After Muchas return to his home country, shortly before World War I, he dedicated considerable time to lithographic work. Then he became increasingly occupied by a series of 20 pictures entitled Là ©popà ©e Slave, the Slavian Epos. Mucha finished the large format continuation (6 x 8m) of the decoration of the Bosnian pavilion in 1928 and donated it to the city of Prague. Alfons Mucha died in Prague shortly before the invasion of Czechoslovakia by German troops on July 14, 1939. Alphonse Mucha with his decorative posters has become a kind of trademark and synonym for the Art Nouveau movement. In the sixties his poster reproductions had a revival and were popular again among the flower-power and hippie generation. The images on this page are link-sensitive and take you to other articles or web sites in which you might be interested. Alphonse Mucha his Academic Training Alfons Maria Mucha was born in Ivancice, a small provincial town in the Czech Republic. He started his artistic career as an autodidact. Alfons Mucha had a vocational training in stage decorations in Vienna from 1879 to 1881. In the evening he attended a class in drawing. After a few occasional commissions for decorative paintings, he went to Munich in Southern Bavaria. Here he studied at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts from 1885 until 1887. After Munich, Mucha moved to the mecca of arts, Paris. Here he studied with different teachers. He lived in modest conditions and could survive with small commissions for book and newspaper illustrations. For a short period he shared a studio with Paul Gauguin. The Breakthrough In December 1894 Mucha became famous with a commission for a poster for the actress Sarah Bernard. Sarah Bernard was a celebrity of her time. His poster design for the play Gismonda became a sensation in Paris. Sarah Bernhard was delighted. He received an exclusive contract for six consecutive years by the actress. In the following years, he not only designed all her posters, but her theater decorations and costumes as well. From now on the artist was swamped with commissions for all kind of commercial print advertising. His Style By this time Mucha had developed his own personal style characterized by art nouveau elements, tender colors and bycantine decorative elements. And all these elements were ranked around images of fairy like young women with long hair and splendid, refined costumes. In the coming years, this type of female images should become his trademark. Mucha used lithography as the printing technique for his posters. The posters are usually signed in the block. Some of his posters were produced as sets like The Four Seasons. Complete sets count among the most searched for of his works. Public Recognition for Alphonse Mucha In 1890 the artist had his first one man show in Paris with 448 works on display. His art work was not confined to the printing media. He designed tissues, stamps and even bank bills. In 1900 he received a commission by the Austrian government to decorate the Austrian pavilion for the World Fair in Paris of 1900. He became also active in designing jewelry. Between 1904 and 1921 Mucha traveled frequently to the United States. He took commissions in the US and taught art at art academies in New York and Chicago. In 1939 the German Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia. The popularity of the artist made him a number one target for the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police. He was arrested, interrogated and realeased. Shortly afterwards, Alphonse Maria Mucha died on July 14, 1939 in Prague. The city of Prague has dedicated an Alphonse Mucha Museum to the artist.

Examining Greed in The Rocking Horse Winner Essay -- Book Reviews Gree

Examining Greed in The Rocking Horse Winner In "The Rocking Horse Winner" D. H. Lawrence tells us about the traumatic downfall of an upper middle class family struggling to maintain appearances through habitual overspending. Both the parents with common jobs and "expensive tastes" (pg.646) exploit all their resources to give their family the best; however, it was only to retain their high status in the society. "The Rocking Horse Winner" depicts a common demon we all face; greed, society's need for more possessions and money often drives people to do drastic things.The magnificently decorated house had always been haunted by the unspoken phrase, "there must be more money" (pg.646). "Nobody said it aloud. Just as no one says: We are breathing! In spite of the fact that breath is coming and going all the time." (pg.647) "They heard it at Christmas, when the expensive and splendid toys filled the nursery. Behind the shinning modern rocking-horse, behind the smart dolls house, a voice would start whispering: There must be more mon ey!"(pg.646).The house cried with pain as it pitie...

Is Harry Potter evil? Essay

The answer to this most controversial book and movie series is a no. Harry Potter books were all about the fight between evil and good. It did a lot of wonders and spectacular creativity on ways of entertaining a child’s imagination by magic tricks and spells. Just like when we hire magicians and entertainers on kiddies birthday parties. Today’s technology after all is about yesterday’s magic like Merlin and science fiction semi horror stories of the Underworld. The fight for censorship deals with everything about the concept of witchcraft, violence, satanism and deception. Matrix prove to be violent also and deceptive of the real world. True to its word, the only perceived danger is fantasy. Kids are kids and they fantasize often. Observe how they conduct their games and play at home. One can see that they are all pure fantasies. Can we not give them the freedom to exercise what is appropriate to their age without banning books because of the claim of distorting fantasy from reality? Even mere comic books of super heroes and Xmen were created out of fantasy. Shall we ban them then because of scientific fantasy of Xmen mutation? (Bloom 1999). Parents of course have every right to participate in any group and in any legal way to promote the welfare and education of their kids. And yes, they can definitely take a fight to banning books in relation to this protection concept. Both schools and parents shall have a face-to-face discussion with the topic on hand. No one shall dictate the other. It shall all be based on reason and the practicality of the subject being fought upon. Taking on a kid’s story too seriously could be hazardous to society. Witches, wizards, sorcery, and spells have long been in the category of children’s literature. The use of magic potions and spells has long been engaged in the story of Alice in the Wonderland and Snow White. The only difference is that Harry Potter movies seem to be the rage at present costing us more to buying books and DVD’s for our kids. The creativity is just exemplary. The sounds and the way they do their magic are just fantastic. It is never a sin to admire creativity nor is it a sin to express appreciation. There was never a quantitative study of the effects of Harry Potter’s movies and books on children. There was never a quantitative measure of negative implications on behavior by those who admire the cultural phenomenon chronology of manipulation of evil and its consequence. Talking about voices and banning, then parents do promote the culture of criticizing exploring fantasies and curbing creativity in movie productions and children’s skills to emulate their feelings to good stories. After all, shaping of a child’s behavior is seen to stem from his family context and environment. That means more on dealing with people attitudes and witnessing to assessing what parents teach and not from entertainment and media except for the very delicate condition of being mentally impaired. Parental guidance is the primordial concern of culture development and values teaching. Kids do know they are just plain movies not to be taken seriously. References Bloom, J. (1999, October 22). Is Harry Potter evil? New York Times. p. Op-Ed.

Ordinary People essays

Ordinary People essays The novel Ordinary People explores how the heart and mind recover from afflictive losses. The author Judith Guest depicts how a tragedy can change lives drastically and even tear families apart. This novel illustrates how people deal with such emotional stresses differently, healing slowly but surely. The death of Jordan Jarrett affected the Jarrett family greatly. Calvin, his father, was one who dealt with the situation the best. He had been orphaned at a young age, so he had already dealt with the loss of his mother. When he was eleven, he learned the association of the word loss with death (pg. 49). He was more understanding and cooperative with his family that mourned. He knew the things that would comfort them, just as he had once needed comfort in his life. The death had a different impact on the mother, Beth. She went into what seemed like a state of denial. She hid her feelings from everyone and kept trying to give the impression that nothing happened and nothing was wrong. Cal once noticed this about his about his wife Beth before they had separated, there is an addiction here; to secrecy; to a private core within herself that is so much deeper than he ever imagined it to be (pg. 253). The death changed the way the once happily married couple acted towards each other; so much that they could no longer stand living with each other. Still, there was clearly still a strong bond between them. Conrads life took a turn for the worse after the loss of his brother. He was so overwhelmed with the feeling of depression, guilt, and loss that he tried to commit suicide. Luckily he survived and spent the next year trying to recover in a hospital. He thought to himself on Christmas day, only a year and a half, still it is a long time to discover that you are still in shock, still the infant stages of recovery (pg. 124). Eventually he went back to school, had a g ...