Brain Development Essay Example for Free

Brain Development Essay At birth there are about 100 billion brain cells produced and they are beginning to connect with each other. At the first week of age, brain development starts with conception. It is important to reach the age of an infant and practice the ten principals. In the early years, young brains produce almost twice as many synapses as they will need. By age two, the number of synapses a toddler has is similar to that of an adult. By three the child has twice as many synapses as an adult. The infant brain develops through the interaction with the world around, especially the interaction with adults. At the first few months, an infant cannot response to praise or punishment. Emerging research on brain development indicates that the degree for responsive care giving that children receive as infants and toddlers positively affects the connections between neurons in the brain (Brain Cells), and the architecture of the brain itself. The first three years of life are the period of growth in all areas of a baby’s development. Consistent, responsive relationships enable infants and toddlers to develop secure attachments. Infants and Toddlers develop knowing and understanding by perceiving experiences directly with the senses. For infants to acquire the ability to comprehend this sensory information they must b able to distinguish between the familiar and the unknown; later they will begin to consider, to formulate, and to form mental images in this process of experiencing and clarifying the environment. Infants begin by exploring the world with their bodies. They internalize what they take in through their senses and display it in their physical movements. Infants gather vital information through such simple acts as mouthing, grasping, and reaching. The knowing process also involves language abilities. As young children use their senses to experience the world, they need labels to categorize and remember these experiences. By creating these labels, children increase their ability to communicate and begin to control their own behavior. These expanded abilities give young children additional opportunities to understand the world (Infant, Toddlers, and Caregiver Ninth Edition). Recent brain research supports the goal of building a total person instead of concentrating on cognitive development alone. Providing a rich environment with interesting things to do is desirable and stimulates cognitive development. But that does not work without working on physical, social, and emotional development at the same time. What make differences are the day-to-day living, the relationships, the experiences, the diapering, the feedings, the toilet training, and the free play and exploration that contribute to intellectual development. Early experiences matter, and shape brain architecture. Advances in brain research have provided great insight into how young children’s experiences have profound impact on genetic predispositions and thereby share the processes that determine whether their brains will have adaptations or maladaptations for later learning, memory, reasoning, executive functioning, expressing a full range of positive and negative emotions, socialization, behavior control and lifelong health. The thrust of this element is to close the gap between what we have learned and what we do with infants and toddlers. Experiences that prepare the developing brain to function optimally include having warm, nurturing, attentive social interactions and conscientiously buffering young children from the adverse impact of toxic stress. Lack of these kinds of experiences can have devastating, long-term effects on brain development including cognitive functioning and social-emotional competencies. For example, unpredictable or chaotic routines or lack of consistent caregivers may jeopardize children’s foundation for identity development or self regulation, or few language experiences, toys, and opportunities to explore impede the development of neural connections and pathways that facilitate learning (Essential elements of Quality-Infant-toddler Program). To deliver high quality care giving, adults need to understand and recognize key developmental processes that help them understand and support infants and toddlers. Since this essential element explicitly identifies knowledge about key developmental processes threats to them as a factor in quality infant-toddler program, three terms are defined as important pieces of a wider knowledge base about brain development that informs practice: serve and return, executive functioning and toxic stress. Serve and return is the interaction between young children and their parents and caregiver is a key to healthy brain development. It helps to create neural connections that build later cognitive and emotional skills. Executive functioning represents the cognitive skills that enable a child to focus on, hold, and think about information, filter distractions; and divert their attention to something new. The foundation for executive functioning is laid in infancy and is facilitated through early experiences. Acquiring the early building blocks of (executive functioning) skills is one of the most important and challenging tasks of the early childhood years. Toxic stress is defined as strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity without adequate adult support. Toxic stress disrupts brain development. While some experience with manageable stress is important for healthy development, prolonged, uninterrupted, overwhelming stress; toxic stress without the buffering relationships a child needs, can result in damaged, weakened systems and brain architecture that can have negative long-term effect (Essential Elements of Quality-Infant-Toddler Program). Environments make a difference in brain development. Environments that provide proper nutrition and regularly scheduled periods of sleep and physical activity consistently promote warm, nurturing, attentive social interaction; and conscientiously buffer young children from the adverse impacts of toxic stress. Lack of adequate nutrition, physical activity, appropriate sensory stimulation or social-emotional developmental experiences disrupt brain architecture and can have a decisively negative Impact on future development (Essential Elements of Quality-Infant-Toddler Program). Finding about the impact of early experiences on brain development highlight the importance of intervening early with highly stressed infants and toddlers and their families. Infants and children who are rarely spoken to, who are exposed to few toys, and who have little opportunity to explore and experiment with their environment may fail to fully develop the neural connections and path ways that facilitate later learning. Despite their normal genetic endowment, these children are at a significant intellectual disadvantage and are likely to require costly special education or other remedial services when they enter school. Fortunately, intervention programs that start working with children and their families at birth or even prenatally can help prevent this tragic loss of potential. While high-quality infant and toddler programs are not necessarily intervention programs. When caregiver and parenting practices are grounded in knowledge of early brain development, caregivers and parents are much more effective in providing experiences that facilitate optimal development including strong brain architecture (Essential element of Quality-Infant-Toddler Program).

Regulating Manipulative Advertisements

Regulating Manipulative Advertisements Should subtle manipulation advertisements be regulated by the government? Introduction In view of the fact that mass media develop into mass media, companies have obviously utilized this ways of communications to allow a huge numeral of people to be acquainted with their products. There is not anything faulty with that, as it let’s pioneering concepts and ideas to be shared with others. On the other hand, as the years have evolved, the style of techniques and methods of advertising has been sophisticated, alluring and influential and even generating needs and consumerism where there has been nothing before, or turning lavishness into necessities. The major and commanding industry, the advertising industry, employs in misleading subliminal advertising which the majority us are ignorant of. By means of subliminal techniques, by detouring our unconscious mind, advertisers strike into the susceptibility adjacent to our unconscious mind, controlling and influencing us in a lot of ways. So main question arises does government should implement actions to regulate such subtle manipulation? The significance of advertising is progressively on the increase in contemporary society. While the social communication media themselves have huge influence all over the place, so does advertising, by means of media as its medium, is an invasive, commanding power shaping behavior and attitudes in todays world. Advertising can deceive its function as a resource of information by parody and by withholding pertinent data. Occasionally, too, the media’s information function can be undermined by pressure of advertisers upon programs or publications not to care for of questions that may prove awkward or not convenient. More often, despite the fact that, advertising is utilized not merely to inform other than to motivate and persuade — to induce people to take action in definite ways: acquire definite products or services, support definite institutions, and similar to. [Ayanwale, A. B., Alimi, T. Ayanbimipe, M. A. (2005).]This is where particular subtle manipulation can take place. A great deal of advertising expressed at children in fact tries to make use of their suggestibility and credulity, in the expectation that they will place pressure on their parents to acquire merchandises of no actual gain to them.[ Moore, S.E. (2004), ] Advertising similar to this affronts in opposition to the rights and dignity of both parents and children; it encroaches upon the relationship of parent-child and seeks out to influence it to its individual base ends. As well, a few of the moderately little advertising directed specially to the elderly or culturally deprived seems designed to participate upon thei r frights consequently as to influence them to assign a few of their restricted resources to goods or services of questioning value. Advertisers make use of subliminal techniques to manipulate the 2nd and 3rd consciousness level. They mark the consumers desires and fears; manipulate them in ways on no account considered likely. Advertisers On the other hand, provide to the customer on the cognizant level a neutral, safe, logically engaging ad to appease the resistance of consumers to subliminal marketing. While glancing in the course of an ad, the normal consumer block-reads paras and hardly notices an ad that they have appear several times. This is prime time in subliminal response since the conscious mind is indifferent in the potentially unpleasant subliminal matter. [Brooke, Roger. ]There are soft drinks advertisements of naked women in floating ice cubes. Also there are subliminal messages being flickered in theaters informing people to eat popcorn and drink soda It is apparent that by pattering into the unconscious mind of consumers devoid of their understanding, the advertisers are appealing in misleading practices. It is as well an invasion of privacy. However, is this lawful? The reply is no. There are many legislation that forbid advertisers from utilizing subliminal messages in their advertisements. The Sec 5 of Federal Trade Commission Act forbids unjust or deceptive practices or acts in interstate commerce. They as well assert they have prime responsibility for ruling of advertising in US. Subliminal are intrinsically misleading since the customer does not distinguish them at a standard level of consciousness, and consequently is specified no choice whether to recognize or decline the message, as is the instance with normal advertising. ATF seizes that this kind of advertising method is forged and deceptive, and is forbidden by law. The Supreme Court For several years, apprehended that the wide government powers to regulate commerce incorporated the â€Å"minor power† to limit commercial communication1 the Court in Valentine (1942) case , held that the First Amendment does not safeguard â€Å"solely commercial advertising.† This outlook was functional when the courts uphold the prohibition of broadcast cigarettes advertising, on the other hand, in the mid-1970s this view begin to change as the Court nullify more than a few state rulings influencing advertising of products and services for instance pharmaceutical drugs and abortion providers The majority states as well have laws typically in the structure of deceptive practices statutes or consumer fraud that control advertising. State or local officers beneath these laws, can seek out injunctions in opposition to illicit ads and take lawful action to obtain repayment to consumers. A few laws offer for criminal penalties jail and fines but proceedings of criminal for false advertising are uncommon except if fraud is engaged.[ Bagwell, Kyle.] The difficulty in this legal battle is not legislation, sadly. It is the evidence. Since of its temperament, subliminal messages are almost unfeasible to establish. How do you establish to the judge in the Diet Coke there is a naked woman? How do you establish to the judges there are blaring faces concealed ice cubes? In this system of legal, you cannot establish. The proof would be deemed circumstantial. Advertisers would certainly rebuff any such activity and assert that if you gaze into something long adequate, you will position it. The majority substantial proof is yearly spending billions on research and subliminal advertising by these advertisers. Conclusion Advertisers have got a solid hold on our everyday lives. Half of their controlling influence can be trailed to their employ of subliminal advertising. They take benefit of the susceptibility in our subconscious brains. By means of the most recent computer technology, they have supreme resources to influence each picture to target a precise weakness in us. The needs of government regulations are essential in modern day as this subliminal advertising unconsciously attack our minds and intrude our privacy. References Ayanwale, A. B., Alimi, T. Ayanbimipe, M. A. (2005). The Influence of Advertising on Consumer Brand Preference. Journal of Social Science, 10(1), 9-16. Bagwell, Kyle. â€Å"The Economic Analysis of Advertising.† In Handbook of Industrial Organization, vol. 3, edited by M. Armstrong and R. Porter. Amsterdam: North-Holland, forthcoming 2005. Brooke, Roger. Pathways into the Jungian World: Phenomenology and Analytical Psychology. New York: Routledge, 2000. Moore, S.E. (2004), â€Å"Children and changing world of advertisements†, Journal of Business Ethics, 52: 161-167

Dragons In America :: essays research papers

Dragons in America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Monsters or dragons in present day America are feared .Monsters in America consist of politicians, celebrities, and criminals. In America they are portrayed through media, television, and movies. Monsters in America are feared but can also be seen as a source of entertainment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Media and entertainment create most of the fear in Americans. In the news we hear of shooting, killings, and rapes everyday. The media always gives a very in depth look a each incident to satisfy the audiences every wonder. Entertainment on the other hand enhances these modern day monsters in movies and television. Movies about serial killers such as â€Å"Natural Born Killers†, â€Å"Seven† â€Å" The Stand†, and â€Å"Silence of the Lambs† strike fear in to the hearts of millions of Americans all too often. This creates people to fear monsters in reality more than ever because Hollywood makes monsters as scary as possible. The television is another source of violence in the world. It seems that every shows on TV has to do with some kind of terrible murder. Shows like â€Å"New York Undercover† always end up with a seen where someone is shot to death. This makes the viewer perceive society as a place too dangerous to live in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A very obvious monster in America is a criminal. Americans fear burglars, rapists, and killers in their own cities and states. They are feared because their victims are people like themselves and are victimized in very familiar places to the average American. That is why people protect themselves with security systems and weapons. Criminals are feared mainly because their victims are random. People never feel completely safe knowing that they may be the next victim.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Besides fear of monsters that pose physical threats, there are monsters in politics that scare people as well. Corrupt politicians are feared because of past and foreign politicians that have caused unfair, and painful treatment of the people they represent. That is why all candidates for office are thoroughly examined to make sure that they can be trusted. And every time a politician makes a mistake or something negative is said about him or her people panic and fear that the person that represent them could end up harming them instead of representing them in their best interest. Incidents in the past that have caused great turmoil in politics is Watergate, and Communism in foreign countries such as Germany and Russia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some celebrities scare Americans because they are seen as hero's or idols in the films, or events they are in. O.J. Simpson is a monster because he was a legend and a hero of all football fans.

Essay --

The formula for baking soda is NaHCO3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate_).The chemical formula for vinegar is CH3COOH (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid). The chemical formula for the reaction is NaHCO3 + CH3COOH => CaCO3 + 2NaCl + H2O + CO2. The calcium atom from the calcium chloride molecule forms a new bond with the carbon trioxide form the sodium bicarbonate. This creates one of the product calcium carbonate, which is a covalent bond (https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070328160450AAVglRs). The two chlorine atoms left from the calcium chloride molecule is bonded with the sodium atom in the sodium bicarbonate to create sodium chloride, an ionic bond (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/molecule/nacl.html). The left over atoms are two hydrogen atoms, three oxygen atoms, and one carbon atom. The two hydrogens form the water molecule with an oxygen atom, and ionic bond (comp book). Then all that is left is the carbon and the other two oxygen atoms. These three form the CO2 that is released. Below is a picture summarizing most of this paragraph. How would you give models or examples of any reaction? Well, in terms of 3D models, you should make sure that all the atoms in the product are equal to the number atoms in the reactants when they are combined. No atom is lost or created during the reaction. The same requirements go for writing an equation, as shown in the photo above. you can also write a formula for the product. Something that you must remember is that the metal reactant always comes first. The non metal reactant comes in second, and it usually end in -ide. (http://www.deltacollege.edu/emp/preedy/Handouts/Nomenclature%20Handout.pdf) Last, but not least, the easiest way to show a r... ... when a reaction happened and how to make it happen faster, but do you know to identify the reactants and the products, and how did it bonded? in terms of acid or base, you can use a pH meter or even some pH paper. After you use them, compare the color you get to the scale that should be included. You can also look at the formula for the product to find the reactants, telling you what is in it. The elements on the periodic table are organized based on the number of electron rings and valence electrons, which determine if they will bond and with what. The element carbon has biggest number of bonds, which is four. Carbon can be covalently bonded, meaning sharing electrons with another element, like in the calcium carbonate. Carbon can also be an ionically bonded, meaning the opposite charges of non metal ions and metal ions attract, like in sodium chloride. (comp book)

John Staurt Mill - Electronic Democracy :: essays research papers

There is no difficulty in showing that the ideally best form of government is that in which the sovereignty, or supreme controlling power in the last resort, is vested in the entire aggregate of the community; every citizen not only having a voice in the exercise of that ultimate sovereignty, but being, at least occasionally, called on to take an active part in the government, by the personal discharge of some public function, local or general John Stuart Mill agreed that democracy was the form of government that could best secure the happiness of all. But the end is not just well-being, as earlier utilitarians argued, though it is that. The end that recommends it is the tendency to foster self-development and individuality. Representative government, is particular, he defended as that form which best encourages individuality. It leads people to take a more active and intelligent participation in society. It provides moral training and encourages the development of natural human sympathies. The result is the habit of looking at social questions from an impersonal perspective rather than that of self-interest. But Mill's defense of democracy was much qualified. To be sure, he was, like the earlier utilitarians, sympathetic to the fall of the ancient regime and to the ends of the French Revolution. He strove to liberalize the press still severely bound by an absurd libel law that excluded effective social criticism. But infl uenced by Coleridge he had come to see that there were virtues in social systems, even out-dated ones, else why would not have survived so long. He therefore came to appreciate the conservative arguments that unrestrained freedom is dangerous. Mill argued, reasonably on utilitarian grounds, that social institutions need to be adapted to the time and place where they operate. He even suggests that, since people must be properly fit if democracy is to function well, a despotic form of government, if well-run with this aim in mind, might prepare its people for the exercise of responsibilities of a free electorate. In his thinking about how best to administer a state as a whole, Mill argued that the best administration was one that relied upon professional skills. In a representative democracy, if you can control the majority, then you can control everyone. Like other tyrannies, the tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly, held in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of the public authorities.

Essay on ”Race, Class, Violence and Denial: Mass Murder and the Pathologies of Privilege” by Tim Wise Essay

Often when racial inequality and discrimination is being discussed, we get to think of terms such as â€Å"white privilege† and American history with the Civil Rights Act in 1964. But we think of it, mainly as history. And that, according to Tim Wise, an anti-racism activist and American writer, is the biggest self-deception of the modern American world. Throughout an article posted on his own webpage, concerning school shootings, Tim Wise discusses the general American attitude towards this relatively new phenomenon in American society. With the use of especially pathos Wise argues that the most concerning thing about these events is how society is handling them afterwards. The problem is, according to Wise, that white people tell themselves ‘white lies’, and therefore never think that such actions could be taking place in their communities. He claims that there’s a reason why this happens in the outwardly ordinary societies. It’s because the people, trying to maintain at certain surface of innocence, refuse to see the signs of trouble, even when it’s going on before their very eyes. He wants us to take responsibility and stop excluding some parts of society from the â€Å"danger-zone† just because they look bucolic and normal on the outside and almost in the form of a provocative scolding he explains what damages these ‘white lies’ can do – not only to people of color, but to white people as well. Tim Wise wrote this article 3 days after the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, where the 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot 20 pupils and 6 staff members. Without any further explanation Wise starts out his article, and from the very beginning he makes sure that the reader is attentive: â€Å"The senselessness alone would have been sufficient†(p.8 l. 7). We immediately sense the dramatic tone just as we also quite quickly understand the author’s profound personal concern about this issue. The title indicates what is to come; yet it is not very specific and it does not deal with school shootings as an issue at all. It gives us an idea of the author’s personal fight against racism which is also reflected in the article and probably all of his writing. Wise uses heavy vocabulary in the title and he continues to do so in the rest of the article. His ethos is strengthened by his use of language. The language is rather difficult, and the fact that he leaves out almost all explanatory references, â€Å"For the right, it’s the culture of poverty, or perhaps some specific aspect of â€Å"black culture†(†¦)(p.11.l138) shows that he expects his readers to have a certain amount of knowledge about politics and society. Even though the language contains many complex sentences and has many intellectual references, it still maintains a natural and easy-to-read flow. As mentioned before, he uses pathos a lot in his argumentation. When attempting to persuade the reader, he is mainly focusing his arguments on emotions. But he is no pleaser, though. He tries to speak to our guilty conscience, and it becomes clear which reaction he wants. â€Å"There is dysfunction and pathology and general awfulness where some of the beautiful people too reside? Yes precious, yes indeed.†(p.9 ll.47-48) His tone is extremely provocative and ironic, but we never doubt the seriousness of this matter to him. Actually this only indicates the importance of the subject and the author’s character appears very passionate. Maybe to the extent that he fails to remain objective – but then again, was that ever his purpose? His use of irony gives him more options too. It makes it easier for the reader to accept some of his quite exaggerated statements. The fact that the article is published on Wise’s own webpage called: www.timwise.org is quite crucial to the way it appears. The author has created the webpage for himself and the purpose of it is to be the platform for his views on different matters. The ones who visit his webpage and read his articles have this in mind from the beginning. Also they must be interested in him in some way or another. His main claim, that the school shootings is a result of the surroundings, works absolutely fine. When he refers to the general weapon availability in the United States, he backs up his ground with facts for the first time in his article, â€Å"(†¦)we should know by now that with 280 million guns in circulation, they can’t all be tucked into the waistbands of young black men who reside somewhere else(†¦)(s.9 ll.61-62) He is surprised that people act surprised. Also, he criticizes white people for thinking that the only ones who can’t control weapons are the poor and colored ones. He uses the topic â€Å"School shootings† to raise a debate about a still ongoing racial discrimination in the US. It seems intelligent of him to choose this topic, since the horror of it is something almost everyone more or less agree on, since it is something everyone wants to end. He claims that the only way to ever set a stop to this madness is for the communities to take responsibility. All these arguments connect in a fine way, but his use of rebuttal does almost not exist. If the article had been for at newspaper or anything else with more critical readers of more dissimilar opinions, he would need that to seem less subjective. Wise has a clear purpose with this article. And at most points, he succeeds in persuading the reader. He wants us to wake up. He wants society to wake up from its conscious sleep and take some responsibility. So, who are the enemies? And who can be the heroes? According to Tim Wise we as a society plays both of the parts.

Literary criticism Essay

Literature represents a language or a people: culture and tradition. But, literature is more important than just a historical or cultural writing. Literature introduces us to new worlds of experience. We learn from books and literature; we enjoy the triumphs and the tragedies of poems, stories, and plays; and we may even grow through our literary journey with books. In conclusion, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it. We may interpret the author’s message. However we interpret literature, there is still an artistic quality to the works. Literature is important to us because it speaks to us, it is both universal and individual, and in many ways it affects us, for the better. When some people think of the word â€Å"Literature† they think of books like, Walden, Old man and the Sea, Tom Sawyer, Great Expectations, or Moby Dick. These are what some call â€Å"the classics. † While these few books are indeed literature do we subconsciously judge other books based on the styling’s of these few? People believe that the true meaning of â€Å"Literature,† is a literary work in which the readers mind is opened to new concepts and ideals. For a writing to be called â€Å"Literature† it doesn’t have to be considered a â€Å"Classic† nor does it need to follow the same construct as these so called â€Å"Classics†. The book, 11/23/63, is much more of a form of â€Å"Literature† than A Tale of Two Cities. Based solely on the fact that in the Stephen King novel, he places the thought of, â€Å"What if? † into your mind.. Whereas, â€Å"A Tale of Two Cities†, depicts the plight of the French peasantry in the years leading up to the revolution, as opposed to opening your mind. While A Tale of Two Cities, shows you what life was like in those times. Stephen King shows you an alternate universe in which there was but one change, and how that one change affects how history takes its course. When the author helps your mind, explore worlds of endless possibility, or sheds light on a new way to perceive things. That is when the author has created a â€Å"True† work of literary merit. The thing about the term, â€Å"Literature†, is that it doesn’t have just one meaning. Literature is comprised of many things, but while Webster definition of â€Å"Literature† is, â€Å"the production of literary work especially as an occupation. † The â€Å"True† meaning is open to interpretation, meaning that one person’s definition of the word may be completely different than another person’s definition. This is both the great and horrid thing about the term. When scholars classify writing as literature, they often consider it a book or writing that has stood the test of time and despite its age it has surpassed many other great works through history by receiving merit from the scholars, based on their description of the word, influential. You may agree that it should be considered a piece of â€Å"Literature†, if it has done this, and you would be right, but what if it was a great piece of literary art that didn’t become a best seller? And thus was cast into the abyss to be forgotten until stumbled across one day by a mind ready to take in what the author wanted to say. Would you consider it â€Å"Literature? † Or would you just leave it in the abyss because it never became a best seller? Take Moby Dick for example, it is considered to be one of the Great American Novels and a treasure of world literature. However, it never received enough credit to title it a â€Å"Best seller. †One literary work, also helps define my idea of the word Literature, is The Hobbit by J. R. R Tolkien. The reason I consider this a piece of â€Å"Literature† is because of the amount of imagery Tolkien uses to bring his world to life in the imagination of the reader. In this excerpt from that book, he describes every thought of the characters and his use of imagery helps create the scene in the mind of the reader. â€Å"The dark came into the room from the little window that opened in the side of The Hill; the firelight flickered-it was April-and still they played on, while the shadow of Gandalf’s beard wagged against the wall. The dark filled all the room, and the fire died down, and the shadows were lost, and still they played on. And suddenly first one and then another began to sing as they played, deep-throated singing of the dwarves in the deep places of their ancient homes; and this is like a fragment of their song, if it can be like their song without their music. † (The Hobbit, Page 15) Tolkien’s powerful use of imagery in that passage painted a clear picture of what happens while the dwarves sing. However, Splatterpunk also uses powerful imagery to paint pictures. The key difference between the imagery used Splatterpunk and the imagery used in The Hobbit, is how the imagery is used. In the novel, The Cipher, which combined intensely poetic language and lavish grotesqueries, the author, uses imagery to place the pictures into the mind of the reader using powerful and descriptive words. As opposed to Tolkien, who draws upon the reader’s imagination with basic descriptions to help create a sketch in his mind. Now, many would not consider this a form of â€Å"Literature† due to the lack of personal connection between the story and the reader. However, I consider this book, and even this passage alone, to be a form of â€Å"Literature† solely because it opens my mind to a new world full of adventure and intrigue, while keeping the reader glued to the book during the time he reads. Imagery is a powerful tool for both the author and the reader, for if the author isn’t clear with his use of imagery it breaks the reader’s attention and allows him to be lost within the story, and not in a good way. Tolkien also uses diction to place an image into the readers mind, and he does this in such a way the reader begins to sing the song in his own head. Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day, To claim our long-forgotten gold. Goblets they carved there for themselves And harps of gold; where no man delves There lay they long, and many a song Was sung unheard by men or elves. The pines were roaring on the height, The winds were moaning in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread; The trees like torches blazed with light (The Hobbit, Page 16) Literature is important to us because it speaks to us, it is both universal and individual, and in many ways it affects us, for the better. In ways we sometimes may never understand. Ultimately, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it. We may interpret the author’s message in one way, while someone else finds the message a different way. In this way we see how the definition of â€Å"Literature,† is subjective to both the readers own interpretation, and the overall meaning of the work. Because even when it is ugly, literature is beautiful. Sources Cited Tolkien, John R. R. The Hobbit. N. p. : George Allen & Unwin, 1937. 15. Web.