Katherine Mansfield Essay Example for Free

Katherine Mansfield Essay She was born in 1888 in Wellington, a town labeled â€Å"the empire city† by its white inhabitants, who modeled themselves on British life and relished their city’s bourgeois respectability. [1] At an early age, Mansfield witnessed the disjuncture between the colonial and the native, or Maori, ways of life, prompting her to criticize the treatment of the Maoris in several diary entries and short stories. [2] Mansfield’s biographer, Angela Smith, writes: â€Å"It was her childhood experience of living in a society where one way of life was imposed on another, and did not quite fit in† that sharpened her modernist impulse to focus on moments of â€Å"disruption† or encounters with â€Å"strange or disturbing† aspects of life. [3] Her feelings of disjuncture were accentuated when she arrived in Britain in 1903 to attend Queen’s College. In many respects, Mansfield remained a lifelong outsider, a traveler between two seemingly similar yet profoundly different worlds. After briefly returning to New Zealand in 1906, she moved back to Europe in 1908, living and writing in England and parts of continental Europe. Until her premature death from tuberculosis at the age of 34, Mansfield remained in Europe, leading a Bohemian, unconventional way of life. The Domestic Picturesque Mansfield’s short story â€Å"Prelude† is set in New Zealand and dramatizes the disjunctures of colonial life through an account of the Burnell family’s move from Wellington to a country village. The story takes its title from Wordsworth’s seminal poem, â€Å"The Prelude,† the first version of which was completed in 1805, which casts the poet as a traveler and chronicles the â€Å"growth of a poet’s mind. †[4] Although the Burnell family moves a mere â€Å"six miles† from town, the move is not inconsequential; it enacts a break with their previous way of life and alerts the family members to the various discontinuities in their lives. Beneath the veneer of the Burnells’ harmonious domestic life are faint undercurrents of aggression and unhappiness. The haunting specter of a mysterious aloe plant and a slaughtered duck in their well-manicured yard suggests that the family’s awfully nice new home conceals moments of brutality and ignorance toward another way of life that was suppressed and denied. [5] As I will propose, these two incidents echo the aesthetic concept of the sublime, as they encapsulate a mysterious power that awes its beholders and cannot be fully contained within their picturesque home. Through her subtle, dream-like prose, Mansfield deploys traditional aesthetic conventions like the picturesque while simultaneously transfiguring, subverting, and reinventing them in a modernist context. The concept of the picturesque was first defined by its originator, William Gilpin, an 18th century artist and clergyman, as â€Å"that kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture. †[6] Thus, a scene or representation is beautiful when it echoes an already-established, artistic conception of beauty, revealing the self-reinforcing way in which art creates the standard of beauty for both art and life. Mansfield presents these picturesque moments in order to demystify them and reveal the suppression and violence they contain. In addition to â€Å"Prelude,† her stories â€Å"Garden Party† and â€Å"Bliss† dramatize the transformation and inversion of picturesque moments of bourgeois life and domestic harmony. While she seems to exhibit a certain attachment to these standard aesthetic forms, Mansfield subtly interrogates many of these conventions in a strikingly modernist way. Through her childhood in a colony, Mansfield also became attuned to the violence and inequalities of colonialism. As Angela Smith suggests, her early writings demonstrate a keen sensitivity towards a repressed history of brutality and duplicity. [7] In her 1912 short story â€Å"How Pearl Button Was Kidnapped,† she questions and overturns the perspective of the colonialist, whose vantage point historically trumps that of the native. The deliberate ambivalence of the word â€Å"kidnapping† dramatizes the conflict between the colonist’s perspective and Pearl’s joyful, eye-opening experiences during her abduction. In a similar way, empire dramatized for Mansfield the way that a picturesque, bourgeois household could suppress alternative perspectives. The Sublime In â€Å"Prelude,† the mysterious, sublime aloe plant disrupts the pleasant domesticity of the Burnell household. Their well-manicured yard with its tennis lawn, garden, and orchard also contains a wild, unseemly side—â€Å"this was the frightening side, and no garden at all. †[8] This â€Å"side† contains the aloe plant, which exerts a mysterious, enthralling power over its awed beholders. In its resemblance to the ocean, the aloe assumes the characteristics of the sublime: â€Å"the high grassy bank on which the aloe rested rose up like a wave, and the aloe seemed to ride upon it like a shop with the oars lifted. Bright moonlight hung upon the lifted oars like water, and on the green wave glittered the dew. †[9] For many writers and poets, the ocean was a manifestation of the sublime because of its unfathomable power and scale that awed and humbled its observers. The aloe’s strikingly physiological effect on its viewers recalls Edmund Burke’s sublime, which overpowers its observer and reinforces the limitations of human reason and control. In his famous treatise on the sublime, Burke writes: â€Å"greatness of dimension, vastness of extent or quantity† is a powerful cause of the sublime, as it embodies the violent and overpowering forces of nature. [10] In a similar vein, the child, Kezia Burnell’s first impression upon seeing the â€Å"fat swelling plant with its cruel leaves and fleshy stem† is one of awe and wonder. [11] In this case, the sublimity of the aloe plant disrupts and challenges the domestic picturesque as it defies mastery, categorization, and traditional notions of beauty. In its resistance to categorization and control, the sublime embodies the part of the ungovernable landscape that the Burnell family cannot domesticate and the picturesque cannot frame. As a result, in â€Å"Prelude,† the magnitude of the sublime interrupts and fractures the tranquil surface of the picturesque by exposing the unfathomable depths beneath it. The colonial backdrop of the Burnells’ yard also contributes to the mysterious, occult power of the aloe. This unruly part of their property hints toward a landscape that eludes domestication and serves as a constant reminder that the Burnell family is living in a land that is not quite theirs and cannot be fully tamed. [12] At the age of 19, Mansfield wrote that the New Zealand bush outside of the cities is â€Å"all so gigantic and tragic—and even in the bright sunlight it is so passionately secret. †[13] For Mansfield, the bush embodies the history of a people whose lives have been interrupted and displaced by European settlers. [14] After wars, brutal colonial practices, and European diseases had devastated the local Maori population, the bush became a haunting monument to their presence. As the Burnell family settles down to sleep on the first night in their new home, â€Å"far away in the bush there sounded a harsh rapid chatter: â€Å"Ha-ha-ha†¦ Ha-ha-ha. †[15] In her subtle way, Mansfield unveils the voices of those whose perspectives are excluded from this portrait of nocturnal domestic harmony. In a similar way, the aloe plant exudes an unfathomable history that is beyond the time and place of the Burnells. Even its age—implied by the fact that it flowers â€Å"once every hundred years†Ã¢â‚¬â€suggests that the aloe exists on a different scale than its human beholders. [16] In its ancient, superhuman scale, the aloe gestures towards the â€Å"gigantic,† indicating a subtle, but implicitly threatening power within, or in proximity of the home. The aloe is a kind of lacuna in the imperial landscape of New Zealand, whose power threatens the colonial household and its control over the landscape. [17] By disrupting and encroaching upon the ostensibly safe domestic sphere, the aloe also echoes the â€Å"unheimlich,† or uncanny, an aesthetic concept explored by Sigmund Freud in his 1919 essay, â€Å"The Uncanny. † The uncanny becomes, in part, an invasive force violating the sacred, domestic sphere and hearkens back to a previously repressed or hidden impulse: â€Å"The uncanny is something which ought to have remained hidden but has come to light. †[18] In â€Å"Prelude,† the aloe is initially depicted as a threatening force that â€Å"might have had claws instead of roots. The curving leaves seemed to be hiding something. †[19] Positioned within the safe space of their property, the aloe is a menacing, ungovernable force that seems to encroach upon it. The plant becomes part of the repressed history of the landscape—a history that is only apparent to Kezia, her mother Linda Burnell, and her grandmother Mrs. Fairfield, who are attuned to the forces below the surface of the picturesque exterior. Violent Underpinnings Beneath many of Mansfield’s picturesque domestic scenes are moments of violence and rupture. In â€Å"Garden Party,† for instance, a poor man falls to his death during the preparations for a much-anticipated social gathering of the wealthy Sheridan family, undermining the convivial spirit of the occasion. In â€Å"Prelude,† Pat, the handyman, slaughters a duck while the children watch with grotesque enthrallment as it waddles for a few steps after being decapitated. â€Å"The crowning wonder† of the dead duck walking hearkens back to Burke’s sublime, which is experienced in â€Å"Prelude† within the confines of the private residence. [20] The sublimity of this apparent defiance of the properties of death acts as a dramatic external force imposing on the observers’ intellect and reason in a profoundly Burkian way. But later that night, when the duck is placed in front of the patriarch, Stanley Burnell, â€Å"it did not look as if it had ever had a head. †[21] The duck’s picturesque dressing—â€Å"its legs tied together with a piece of string and a wreath of little balls of stuffing round it†Ã¢â‚¬â€conceals its violent death. [22] In a similar way, the â€Å"awfully nice† picturesque house is imposed upon the landscape, as if it had never been any other way. [23] Through reconfiguration and transformation, a new imperial order conceals the fact that an older order once lay beneath it. In both cases, the picturesque functions as a way of naturalizing the violent order of domination. As Pat’s golden earrings distract Kezia from her grief over the duck’s death, the duck’s pretty garnish conceals its â€Å"basted resignation. †[24] There is no such thing as a pure aesthetics, Mansfield seems to suggest, as each serene moment is implicated in some act of violence, brutality, or suppression. In â€Å"Prelude,† the good-natured Pat disrupts a pre-existing picturesque scene in which ducks â€Å"preen their dazzling breasts† amidst the pools and â€Å"bushes of yellow flowers and blackberries. †[25] Tellingly, the duck pond contains a bridge, a typical feature of the picturesque that reconciles or bridges the gap between different aspects of the scenery. In this way, the Burnell family’s cultivation of the land by planting and slaughtering ducks disrupts another underlying order. Their unquestioning appropriation of this pre-existing order mirrors the way colonial life disrupted and undermined the indigenous Maori life. Juxtaposing two picturesque scenes that interrupt and conflict with one another, Mansfield questions and unravels the conventional image of the picturesque. This interplay of various conflicting aesthetic orders constitutes part of Mansfield’s modernist style, in which aesthetic forms are ruptured, fragmented, and overturned. As the yard’s landscape bears traces of the Maori past, so the quiet harmony of the Burnells’ domesticity is underscored by deep, unspoken tensions and an animosity that hints at the uncanny. In fact, the only character who expresses any contentment is Stanley, who reflects, â€Å"By God, he was a perfect fool to feel as happy as this! †[26] Yet even he shudders upon entering his new driveway, as â€Å"a sort of panic overtook Burnell whenever he approached near home. †[27] Beneath this veneer of marital bliss and familial harmony, his wife Linda occasionally ignores her children and expresses hatred towards her husband and his aggressive sexuality: â€Å"there were times when he was frightening—really frightening. When she screamed at the top of her voice, ‘You are killing me. ’†[28] Meanwhile Stanley and Beryl, Linda’s sister, seem to have a flirtatious, indecent relationship: â€Å"Only last night when he was reading the paper her false self had stood beside him and leaned against his shoulder on purpose. Hadn’t she put her hand over his†¦ so that he should see how white her hand was beside his brown one. †[29] Dramatizing these dynamics, Mansfield suggests that a â€Å"happy† household outside of town is not as â€Å"dirt cheap† as Stanley boasts; it comes at the cost of servitude, sexual aggression, and a ravaged Maori landscape. [30] Through these layers, which Mansfield subtly strips off one at a time, she artfully exposes the way that an existing political and aesthetic order is not what it seems to be or how it has always been. Her short stories are fraught with their own tensions; while exposing the picturesque as false and absurd, she nevertheless draws on its conventional associations. Similarly, her subtle attempts to question colonial power are embedded in a seemingly idealized portrait of colonial life. Mansfield creates a seemingly beautiful or normal image, such as the happy family in â€Å"Prelude,† â€Å"Bliss,† or â€Å"Garden Party,† and then slowly challenges it through a subtle counter-narrative. In this way, her deployment of modernist techniques is less pronounced than that of James Joyce and her other modernist contemporaries. Just as she challenges aesthetic conventions, Mansfield unravels the reader’s ideas about her own stories by presenting a seemingly beautiful, transparent narrative that is haunted by tensions, lacunae, and opacity. Like the headless walking duck, these fictions of transparency and harmony quickly collapse upon closer inspection.

Prohibition of Fast Food Essay Example for Free

Prohibition of Fast Food Essay Nowadays, one of the biggest industries in the whole world today is fast food chains, lots of cities around the world are full of fast food restaurants more than ever. Therefore, a lot of people eat fast food because it’s cheap, especially during this moment of crisis that were facing. So, would it be productive if such food was banned? There are some advantages and disadvantages about banning fast food restaurants because of various reasons. Let’s look into it and see for ourselves if it is really worth the while. On the one hand, if new fast food restaurant openings are banned, I think that it might not have much of an effect. However, it would be more productive for the city to provide incentives for supermarkets in order to make healthy food within reach of local residents. Moreover, almost everybody is aware that these fast food chains serve menus with a high calorie content and, consequently, this causes problems of obesity, heart diseases, diabetes and other heart related issues. On the other hand, as I said previously, a lot of people eat this kind of food because it is cheap or because the lack of time to cook at home that they have. Furthermore, fast food chains are improving their menus by releasing lower calorie food. What we cannot do is to forbid people from going to these places to eat or suddenly prohibit selling this kind of food in the supermarkets. If people want to eat fast food it is up to them, however they should be aware of the problems eating this junk food implies. As a conclusion, I would say that people cannot ban something that is widely accepted and patronized. Maybe a recommendation can be made but still, fast food chains are too much powerful, so it would be impossible to ban them especially when money is a primary concern.

Linguistics Essays William Labov

Linguistics Essays William Labov William Labov’s narrative analysis differs from some of the earlier approaches in that his method focuses on oral narrative instead of written text. William Labov’s narrative analysis differs from some of the earlier approaches in that his method focuses on oral narrative instead of written text. Earlier linguists, such as Ferdinand de Saussure, believed in a structural approach. This meant that language had to be approached as a fixed, clearly defined set of symbols, which furthermore had to be studied in isolation. However, later linguists, among them Uriel Weinrich, Labov’s mentor, believed that the structural approach failed to assist us in understanding â€Å"the transition of a language from state to state† (Labov 1972:xv). Labov’s focus has been to study language as it is spoken, as a fluid and constantly changing dynamic. Most of Labov’s model of narrative analysis is based on his belief that â€Å"one cannot understand the development of a language change apart from the social life of the community in which it occurs† (1972:3). He feels strongly that observing and recording sound changes is not enough to understand the process of change—that one has to view that change within the context of the community in which it is being made, as it is being made. Using this theory, he carefully chose communities where he felt he could do this most effectively. He conducted the first of several in-depth studies in Martha’s Vineyard, a small, closed island community located in Dukes County, Massachusetts. Labov saw Martha’s Vineyard as an ideal study site primarily because it was very self-contained. In addition, it was physically isolated, located three miles from the mainland. For his next series of studies, Labov selected parts of New York City. One particular area he focused on in the New York City study focused on Black English as it was used in certain parts of the city, specifically Harlem. Although Harlem did not have geographical distance from New York the way Martha’s Vineyard did from Massachusetts, racial and socioeconomic boundaries made it an isolated community in its own way. The main points of Labov’s model were first published in 1972 in an essay entitled â€Å"The Transformation of Experience in Narrative Syntax.† In this essay Labov introduces and explains what he sees as the six main parts of a narrative. He discusses each part as a tool which we can use to analyze narrative patterns, to help recognize recurring themes and ideas. The six main parts of Labov’s model are: abstract; orientation; complicating action; evaluation; resolution; and coda. It is not necessary that all six of these be present in every narrative; for example, some narratives will not have an abstract, while others may not have a coda. Additionally, these components need not appear in a specific order, and each may be present in a variety of ways—these factors are also considered in the final analysis. Labov uses the term â€Å"abstract† to refer to the introductory part of the narrative. This may be, literally, an â€Å"abstract,† or a brief summary of the events; or it may be simply a line or two that will spark the reader’s interest. The role of the abstract is to attract the listener’s interest, and to get the listener to want to hear the rest of the story. The next stage is called â€Å"orientation.† During this phase the speaker gives the listener information about the setting of the story. For example, the speaker will introduce and describe the people or characters who will interact in the story, as well the setting (the place the action occurs) and the time frame. For the story to be valid and understandable to the reader, it is essential that he or she be informed of the time and place in which the narrative unfolds. Following orientation is the â€Å"complicating action.† This refers to the actual events of the narrative, the occurrences that move it ahead. Complicating actions may be physical actions. They may be also be statements spoken aloud, or they may be thought acts â€Å"Evaluation† refers to the point, or reason, the narrative is being told, and it can be done in a number of ways. â€Å"Evaluations† may be specifically and clearly stated, or they may be implied. â€Å"Internal† evaluations are those revealed while the story is taking place, while â€Å"external† evaluations take place outside the immediate action of the story (for example, after the story is told). Another evaluation technique is the â€Å"embedded evaluation.† This can be an explanation offered by one of the people in the story, or by the storyteller directly. In addition, it may also be an event in the story. Following this is what Labov calls the â€Å"result† or â€Å"resolution†: this, basically, is the conclusion. At this point the narrator indicates that the story has come to a close, that a final action has occurred. Finally, there may be a â€Å"coda.† By â€Å"coda† Labov means that the narrator points out the relevance of the story by connecting it with every-day life, or with other events or actions that fall outside the story frame. The coda does not always have to be present. It may also be present without being explicitly stated. One of the issues to be discussed concerning Labov’s model for narrative analysis is the method of data collection, since â€Å"the means used to gather the data interfere with the data to be gathered† (Labov 1972:43). The interview itself may be considered â€Å"public speech.† However, even within this realm, there are other conditions to be considered. For example, does the relationship of the interviewer to the interviewee affect the latter’s speech patterns? Does the use of a recording device affect the interviewee’s choice of words, perhaps make word selection more formal than it ordinarily would be? One way of monitoring this is to compare the subject’s speech patterns during the course of the interview with his or her speech patterns outside the interview setting. For example, the interviewer could also observe the subject while he or she is relaxed with peers or family members in a less formal setting. Labov’s model has strongly influenced language studies since its introduction in 1972, and it continues to be influential in additional settings. With the widespread growth of the internet, we now have a new, informal sort of communication.   Linguist Michael Toolan suggests that Labov’s model is a useful tool in the analysis of internet writing. Internet writing is often less formal than academic or other types of writing, but more structured than spoken language. Thus, Labov’s model remains effective today. As language itself continues to grow and change, it is quite probable that Labov’s model will grow to accommodate that change, and to continue to be a useful tool in years to come. REFERENCES Labov, William (1972) Socioloinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Toolan, Michael (1988) Narrative: A Critical Linguistic Introduction London: Routledge.

Phantom of the Opera Essay -- essays research papers

Phantom of the Opera   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel, Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux, we are introduced to a character known to everyone as the mysterious Opera Ghost. His character in this book is very complex. Although the Opera Ghost is very ugly physically and mentally, through his actions, we can find much beauty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the masked ball we are given, what the reader believes at the time, a very good physical description of the Opera Ghost. At the masked ball the Opera Ghost does a perfect job imitating death. â€Å"The Grim Reaper himself must have posed for it,† the on looking crowd would comment. But the hideous thing that he wears upon his head is, in fact, only a mask. What he hides underneath the mask is more wretched than anything imaginable to men. The Opera Ghost was, â€Å"Made up entirely of death,†(138). He was so disgustingly ugly that, â€Å"his mother would never let him kiss her, she would throw his mask at him and run away,†(263). Poor Erik’s life knows nothing but ugliness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We see more of the Opera Ghost’s ugliness when we read of the Persians description of the Opera Ghost’s love of torture. Before the Opera, Erik designs torture chambers for a little sultana in Persia. His design was just a small room with six walls, with each wall being a mirror. There is also a tree with a Punjab Lasso. The Opera Ghost’s idea of torture was not so much physical pain, but a tortur...

Antimicrobial Drug Sensitivity Testing Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Antimicrobial sensitivity testing is important clinically because the proper selection of an antimicrobial drug in the treatment of a bacterial infection is ideally based on the knowledge of the sensitivities of the infecting organism. In this laboratory exercise you will be working within a group performing a commonly used test that is designed to determine whether or not an isolated organism is able to be treated using a specific antimicrobial drug. The procedure is called sensitivity testing. This testing method allows clinicians to obtain information needed in order to make an informed and concise decision in reference to the antimicrobial drug usage. Methods and Materials   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Materials being used in this test include: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6 Mueller-Hinton agar plates †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  14 cartridges of antimicrobial drugs †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  three automatic dispensers †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  two 1mL pipettes and pipette pump †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  broth culture of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  spreading rod soaking in ethanol †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  two forceps soaking in ethanol †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  marking pen †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ruler †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  antimicrobial sensitivity chart To start off this lab you will 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Label the plates wit...

The Extended Allegory in The Power and The Glory Essay -- Power and Th

The Extended Allegory in The Power and The Glory      Ã‚  Ã‚   Graham Greene pieced together The Power and the Glory from his own personal memoirs in 1940 after a three-year trip to Mexico.   Drawing from his own observations of a small town torn between the anti-religious laws of the secular government and the people's religious beliefs, Greene created the story of a Catholic priest being pursued by the police to illustrate the conflicting relationship between the church and state (Greene 2-4).   Greene used his experiences in Mexico to create an extended allegory that illustrates the conflict between the two world views and, in turn, reveals his own values and philosophy.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Drawing from his experience in Mexico, Greene developed a "whiskey priest," a character introduced to Greene by a friend in Mexico in a story of a drunken priest that christened a child by the wrong name, to embody the religious world view.   The priest, who remains nameless throughout the novel to emphasize his allegorical role, is less an individual than a symbol of the "Church [and] of the cumulative wisdom of the past, in short, of Western Humanism" (DeVitis 89).   The priest, however, is seen as a traitor to the state and to his religion.   The last Catholic priest in a secular Mexican state, the priest's photograph is hung next to that of a notorious American gangster on the wall of the police office.   The priest's tendency towards gin, cowardliness, and his moral weakness make him a traitor to his faith and religious order.  Ã‚   On the allegorical level of the novel, the priest's flight from the police is seen as a "flight from God" and away from becom ing a saint (DeVitis 90).   Refusing to accept his destiny of being captured by the police and becom... ...ce into paradise" (Hynes 67).   Only after the priest's execution is the lieutenant forced to realize his own emptiness and does Greene reveal his religious compassion.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Although often criticized for being "chiefly Roman Catholic," The Power and the Glory masterfully illustrates the intense conflict between the secular and religious world views (Hynes 70).   By developing complex allegorical characters, Graham Greene achieves an almost myth-like quality.       Works Cited: Allot, Kenneth and Miriam Farris, The Art of Graham Greene. New York:   Russell & Russell, 1951. DeVitis, A. A., Graham Greene.   New York: Twayne Publishers, 1964. Greene, Graham, The Power and the Glory.   New York: The Viking Press, 1940. Hynes, Samuel ed.,   Graham Greene: A Collection of Critical Essays.  Ã‚   Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1973.

An argument in favor of abortion supporting a womans right to freedom Essay

Is there ever a case, when one person’s religious preference should be allowed to encroach on another person’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Today many American’s justify their intrusion by siting Articles and Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.   In particular, they speak of the freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, etc.   It seems as though the freedoms are only valuable when everyone shares the same beliefs, morals, and values.   But are these freedoms also guaranteed for those whose values may not be the same as the majority?   As American’s is it not possible to differ and hold different beliefs in pursuit of liberty?   What makes one person’s beliefs more valuable under the constitution than another person? A lot of people do not support abortion because they believe it is killing baby. When most abortions occur, which in the first trimester â€Å"†¦a cluster of cells or a less than half ounce fetus is not anywhere close to a definition of an actual baby.† (4) Scientists use the term fetus and not a baby because a baby â€Å"†¦could be born and survive outside the mother’s womb†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (4) and a fetus could not. A fetus is nowhere near ready to live outside the mother’s womb and â€Å" There is no real functioning brain, therefore no real humanity.† (4) So in reality abortions do not terminate babies, they terminate a fetus that could not survive outside the mother’s womb. Another reason people are not for abortion is that of religious beliefs. Some believe that terminating any form of life in the mother’s womb is wrong no matter the reason and â€Å"Those religiously opposed to abortion in the first two trimesters are free not to have them.†(9) Just because abortion is legal does not mean people are going to be forced to go out and participate in them. Abortion being legal does not impose on anyone’s rights or make anyone do anything they do not want to do. Therefore, if abortion goes against someone’s religious beliefs they are free not to go and get one. People who do not want abortion legalized talk about how it goes against their religion but what about the religion of the woman partaking in the abortion? Not everyone has the same beliefs or sees things the same as others. By trying to make abortion illegal it infringes on citizens rights. If â€Å"†¦my brothers and sisters in the United Church of Christ, who do not see the bible they way you see it, are free to make their own choices†¦ isn’t that freedom of religion too?† (9) People cannot talk about how abortion imposes on the pro-choices religion without talking about the religious freedom of the woman undergoing the procedure. If a woman’s beliefs tell her to do what is best for her The last topic is how making abortion illegal will take away a woman’s right by forcing her to stay pregnant. There are various reasons why a woman chooses to have an abortion. Whether it is because the woman is not ready for kids emotionally or financially, the baby was produced by rape or incest, or she simply just may not want kids and etc.   For people who are pro-choice â€Å"†¦ If your side ever wins, then my daughter and her daughter will be forced to stay pregnant, when their life circumstances†¦ would be much better served if they could safely terminate the fetus†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (7) So for people out there who are wanting abortion to illegal, in a sense, they want a woman to be forced to be pregnant even if that is not what is best for the woman. If abortion stays legal â€Å" we haven’t forced your daughter or her daughter after her, to do anything against their will.† (7) By keeping abortion legal no one’s rights will be infringed on a nd no one is forced to do anything they do not want to do. The same cannot be said if abortion was made illegal. In conclusion, abortions do not terminate babies it terminates fetuses. If abortion goes against someone’s religious beliefs they are free not to have them but do not forget about the religious freedom of the woman undergoing the abortion. People who do not support abortion will never be forced to do something against their will whether its legal or illegal but making abortion illegal will force a woman to stay pregnant against their will. These were just a few reasons why I think abortion should stay legal.