Symbolism in A Street Car Named Desire Essay

Symbolism in A pass Car Named Desire EssayTennes knock over against Williams function A Street Car Name Desire is a domestic drama. on that point is a film adaptation of touch which released in 1951 by Elia Kazan. In Tennessee Williams play A Street Car Name Desire there are many symbols such as, The Elysian Field, The Paper Lantern, and The Varsouviana which are used for temper development. Besides them, there are to a fault some metaphors such as, The Light and The Music.In this research paper, firstly I will examine the symbols in the play and how they used for event development. Especially, how Blanches character development is shaped by them. Then, I will examine the metaphors which are used in the play. Metaphors definition and their effects on character development are examined by giving example passage from the play. Lastly, I will conclude with my point of view to these symbols and metaphors effects on character development.The Elysian Field is a place that people go to after death like paradise in Greek Mythology. Blanche lost herself in decoration she comes New Orleans to go back her elysian field. When we look at Blanches life before coming to New Orleans, we see that she lost her all possessed. She thinks that she will be happy in a new town with her sister. The Elysian Field is a new place for her to forget her past. I think Blanche could not find the image of Elysian Field which she imagines because the houses have very poor style. They are mostly weathered grey and with rickety outside stars. When she first comes to her sisters home, she is shocked. We tin can see it in the beginning of playBlanche comes around the corner, carrying a valise. She looks at a slip of paper, past at the building, then again at slip and again at the building. Her expression is one of the shocked disbelief. (Williams 5)The Paper Lantern symbolizes Blanches destruction. Blanche is afraid of the hoy. She does not want anybody to see her real appearance. In naked light, she seems very old. She wants to be appears as a young lady but her past and her age do not permit it. When Mitch pulls off the paper lantern from the light, it causes Blanches downfall. Mitch wants to learn real story of Blanche because he heard something about Blanche from Stanley. As the paper lantern covers the light, it covers Blanches past as a symbol.The Varsouviana is the polka harmony that played the night of Allans death. The medicinal drug plays when Blanche remembers about Allan. It symbolizes Blanches loss of innocence. There is an example speech in scene six which shows this symbolWe danced the Varsouviana Suddenly in the middle of the dance the boy I had married broke away from me and ran out of the casino. A few moments latera shot (Williams 115)This music attends Blanche to imagine her past while she is talking about Allan with Mitch. In this mutual speech between Blanche and Mitch, music has different level according to characters behaviors. For ex ampleThe Polka stops abruptly. Blanche rises stiffly. Then, the Polka resumes in a major key. Mitch gets up awkwardly and moves toward her a little. The polka music increases. Mitch stands beside her. (Williams115)Stanley throws a case of meat to Stella. It symbolizes Stanleys barbarity. This symbol helps us to understand that Stanley is a rude man. Stanley does not give or hand it to Stanley.He heaves the package at her. She cries out in protest but manages to catch it then she laughs breathlessly. Her husband and his companion have already started back around the corner. (Williams 4)The meat also symbolizes the sexual relationship between Stanley and Stella. The meat gives Stanley sexual pleasure. Stellas catching the meat show her blind love and sexual emotions to Stanley.The loss of Belle Reve symbolizes Blanches painful loneliness. There is no place for Blanche to stay except at a hotel. Blanche arrives as a broken woman in New Orleans. She sold everything. It shows us Blanche s despair. The loss of Belle Reve causes a conflict between Blanche and Stanley. Stanley wants his wifes share from Belle Reve. He does not believe Blanches lost of Belle Reve. As it is seen, this symbol affects characters behaviors to each other.The young man in scene 5 can be seen as a symbol of Blanches own innocence at one time that was corrupted by others. Blanche lets the young man will the apartment finally, his innocence intact (except for a kiss), as, it could be said, she would like her own innocence left intact.1The young man reminds the high school boy in Laurel who caused Blanche to lose her teacher job. Blanches own innocence was corrupted by others. As Stella says to Stanley, You didnt know Blanche as a girl. Nobody, nobody, was tender and trusting as she was. merely people like you abused her, and forced her to change. (Williams 136)Allan Grey is a symbolic character. The memory of him symbolizes sometimes bad sometimes good memories. Blanche loves him very much. B ut he betrays her with a man. The death of Allan Grey causes Blanches mental illness. As I before mention, Allen killed himself as they are dancing.Playing Poker shows Stanleys power over his wife and Blanche. bit Blanche is taken away, he wins the game at the same time. As Daniel Brooks mention,Significantly, the game reflects the dynamics of the plays four main characters. Like the turned-up wild eyeshade, Blanche DuBois turns up at Elysian Fields and immediately impacts the lives of Stanley, Mitch, and Stella. They each stand to gain something if things go their way, so they play Blanche to their best advantage, as if she were a wild card in a poker game.2Stanley loses his control when he plays poker with his friends. When women come to home, he gets angry. If we look the game from Mitchs point of view, we can say that he comes to play for a different purpose. After he meets with Blanche, he comes to see her.In some scenes, Blanche drinks alcohol. Alcohol helps her get rid of b ad memories. When she drinks a glass of alcohol, she feels herself well.Mexican woman can be seen as a symbol of death. She sells flowers for the dead. When Blanche hears and sees her, she is afraid of death. This woman affects Blanche by the way of reminding death.When wee look at the metaphors in the play, they help to develop character development. The Light is used as a metaphor for truth. Blanche uses lights for expressing her feelings. She is afraid of daylight. She thinks that daylight shows her age. Light symbolizes the reality. Blanche escapes from reality. She is afraid of seeming old. She wants to live her imagination world. As Blanche says to Mitch,I dont want realism. I want magic. Yes, yes, magic. I try to give that people. I misrepresent things to them. I dont tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me damned for it Dont turn the light on (Williams 145)Blanche sees Allan Grey her bright light. After his suicide, she thinks that she lost her vivid light. Bright light express her lovely feelings with Allan Grey. similarly light express her desire to illusion over reality. Blanche is a victim of her own self-delusions. She wants to protect her ego. She lies to people as covering herself with dim light. Dim light reflects her fragile. In the beginning of the play, there is an explanation, Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner (Williams 5)Williams uses bath as a metaphor for many conditions. For Stanley, Stella and Blanche, it has different meanings. For example Bath is good for calm down aflutter for Blanche. She also goes bath to wash away her sins. We can say that these baths show us Blanche wants to get rid of her ugly past.Bath has also same meaning for Stanley. After he argues with Stella, he goes to bath for his nervous calm down. At the poker night, his friends take away his to bath. Stanley realizes that he beats his wife while he is under the water. In Tennessee Williams play A Street Car Name Desire there are many symbols such as, The Elysian Field, The Paper Lantern, and The Varsouviana which are used for character development. These symbols and metaphors mostly affect Blanches characterization. all symbol and metaphor shows Blanches different desires to us.

Examining the Legal Issue of Copyright

Examining the Legal Issue of CopyrightIntroductionThis rise is on the topic of Intellectual property and will be class into four parts. It will explain the law regarding doubleright in the UK by utilize the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988 (CDPA 1988), it will begin by discussing the legal nomenclature original stimulate and why copyright exists and the regulations of copyright in detail with regards to fixation and originality, the definition of fixed in line with the current law, the skill, mash and thinker test including depicted objects to support the claims and economic rights that an owner has. Secondly by explaining the 3 main types of original exert that are granted protection by this feign and in attachment, it will shed light on what consists of copying of the work and alternatives to copyright including adaptation of the work and what the copyright infringes. The source used to gain this schooling is from Contemporary Intellectual Property Law and Policy , By Hector L. MacQueen, Charlotte Waelde, Graeme Laurie and Abbe Brown. The third part of this essay will critically evaluate the relate of internationalism in terms of digital technologies. It will assess the new challenges this presents Intellectual Property (IP) in terms of new innovations that will affect the consumers and intentness. furthermore, it will discuss the imp typify this has on Intellectual property by using the Gowers appraise of Intellectual Property to source the knowledge. Lastly the essay will examine the case on Liam and Aleesha in terms of copyright and explain what infringements of copyright have occurred using relevant cases to reinforce the arguments that are made.Main bodyCopyright in its other(a) stages was implemented to control the output of printers once the technology was invented and recognised in the 15th century. Before the era of printing, writing could only be duplicated by the subroutine of manually copying out the work 1. The UK formed th e Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 to give creators of literary, dramatical, musical and artistic work ranging from sound recordings, films and broadcasts 2 protection and the right to enjoin the way their work is used.For copyright to exist in work it must be original and fixed. The fixation or fixed term means that the work must be recorded in writing or otherwise 3 this includes and form or nonion of code, either by hand or otherwise and regardless of the method by which or medium in which it is recorded 4. Original or originality is not defined by the CDPA 1988, it is deald that the work was originated from the condition and not copied from another work. The work does not have to be different, it depends on the way the work was created. For example, a mobile phone application that embodies the same image as another however has a different look and feel to the user is considered as original work.For copyright to exist in terms of literary, musical, dramatical, or arti stic work, it must qualify as work. Work is determined by the amount of skill, labour and mind that has gone into creating it. This means that the author of the work is the item-by-item who has put the to the highest degree skill, labour and made the most judgements on the work. However at that place have been some discrepancies in this as there are differences in opinion on how much skill, labour and judgement is required. In terms of case law for work one must look at the case of Hyperion records v Sawkins. Sawkins (S) had created new performing editions of four of his works. In total this work took 300 hours and that involved S making 3000 editorial interventions to the works. In October 2002, Hyperion Records (H) produced a CD featuring performances of the four performing editions that Sawkins created. H said that S was not entitled to copyright in these editions as editor should not obtain copyright in non-copyright work. It was held that the skill and time that S invested in making the works was enough to make them original, H had infringed S as he did not identify him as author.There are 8 types of original work recognised by the CDPA 1988. Literary works, dramatic works, musical and artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of published editions and for this essay we will only be explaining the main 3.Literary work is any work other than a dramatic or musical work, which is written, mouth or sung 5. Literary works can consist of technological work such as software, databases and computer programs. In Anacon Corp Ltd v environmental Research Technology it was found that circuit diagrams from which circuit boards are made into literary work as well as artistic work as the writing on the diagram is meant to be read and not just to be appreciated by eye.Dramatical work includes a dance or a mime 6. However, there is debate on whether this includes television and films for example in Norowzian v Arks Ltd (N0 2) where N had created a film called joy which includes a man bounce with a plain backdrop, which was edited heavily. The defendants produced an advert for Guinness called anticipation that used a man dancing in a similar fashion and was edited similarly. It was held that the work couldnt be dramatic work as it cannot be performed in front of a live audience.Musical work consists of music, exclusive to any words or action intended to be sung spoken or preformed with the music 7. A small number of notes and chords are enough for copyright protection as seen in Lawson v Dundas the four-note theme is enough to be protected by The CDPA 1988.Once original work is present, one must then determine writing and ownership of the work. Authorship is the person who creates the work.8 In the case of Walter v lane (1900) it was said that the author is the individual who has extended the necessary effort, skill and labour in creating the work. There is in addition a possibility of joint authorshi p where two or more authors have collaborated and the contribution of the authors cannot be distinguished.9 Ownership of the work generally falls to the author who is in most cases the first owner of a copyright work. A clear example of this can be seen in Griggs separate v Evans (2005) where Griggs who are the manufacturers of the footwear Doc Martens they hired an ad agency to create a logo which would combine two of their existing trademarks Airwair and Dr Martens, Evans was hired by the agency to create the logo. Evans assigned copyright to a Australian company who used it on their own products. It was held that the right to use the logo and to exclude others from using it belonged to the belonged to the client and not the designer.The CDPA 1988 states that the copyright owner has the only right to copy the work, issue copies of said work, rent out or lend the work to the public, preform, limn or play the work in public, communicate the work in public and to make an adaptatio n of the work.10Copying the work comprises of the reproduction of the work in any material form and storing of the work in any medium by electronical means for instance taking a picture or see a document or recording live music to a digital format equates to copying. On the other hand, similar works do not infringe copyright as there must be a connection that the work is derived from the claimants. In Francis Day Hunter v Bron the defendant had produced a song called Why the claimant argued that the first 8 bars in the song were reproduced from their son called in a itty-bitty Spanish town. The courts held that there must be a causal connection between the works and that the similarity must be sufficient and objective.Adaptation in terms of copyright differs from copying as it only applies to the literary, dramatical and musical works. This includes dramatisations and translations. Although there is a connection with copying, it is not as specific as adaptation. In Harman picture s v Osborne the claimants argued that the film created by Osborne copied a historical book, though there were parts that were different it was held that the similarities of incidents and situations suggested that they were both based on the same historical event.Impact of internationalism of digital technologiesAs we know the laws on copyright are outdated and are not up to par with this time as technology grows and we approach the age of online information, where ideas are spread internationally and very quickly. It is important that the IP laws are adequate to deal with the ever-growing digital technology as there are more ways to share goods and services. For example, the piece on the film and music industry due to growing technologies is having a great impact as films and music are pirated online and are accessed very good and shared. This is causing a great loss for the industry as much as 20% of their annual turnover11. This creates challenges as it will affect jobs in addi tion it will have a detrimental effect on the industry in the UK as it is cheaper to reproduce this work using the internet which does not require cost. An argument made by Andrew Gowers in Gowers reassessment of Intellectual Property is that the infringement on IP in the digital world need to be more stern as the penalties are softer for digital cases then civil cases12. This will prevent IP infringement digitally where it is most common also we can give the power to enforce IP infringements to trading standards.Since the creation of the CDPA 1988 there have been numerous technological advancements, the problems this creates for IP are that it is easier now to copy or reproduce work and share it then it has ever been making it easier for the circulation of reproduced or counterfeit goods like songs in the form of MP3 files without the owners permission. In addition, new technologies do not fit into the scope of original work that is stated by the CDPA 1988 this causes confusion as it is not alike standard definitions of work, for example genetics or medicine.Copyright for Liam AleeshaFirstly, originality and fixation must be established in the work for copyright to exist, it can be determined that Liams work is fixed as he records the music and has it uploaded to the bands website to share to his fans, it can also be determined that the work is original as Liam writes his own music and lyrics.Secondly, the work is determined by the Skill, labour and judgement test. In terms of Liam he has put his skills of writing the music and lyrics for the band and has shown that he put is the labour as well as he writes all the bands songs, only a small portion is provided by the other members which includes Aleesha. From this information, it is determined that Liam is the author of the work as he is putting in the most effort, skill, labour and judgement into it. As seen in the case of Walter v Lane (1900) where it was said that the author of a work is one who extends t he necessary effort, skill, labour and judgement in the work. Aleesha would not be a joint owner as her contribution is distinguished as a small portion. From this It can easily be decided that Liam is the owner of the music and lyrics.Thirdly it must establish whether there has been a copying of the work. In this case Robbie, has copied Liams work as he has digitally sampled his music without the right of the owner (Liam) it states in the CDPA 1988 that copying of the work includes the reproduction of the work in any material form. It can be said that there is a casual connection as the music is sampled directly from Musik Dynamites work. In addition, the case of Lawson v Dundas further reinforces the argument as it was established that as little as 4 chords or notes are sufficient for copyright.Also from the information gathered it can establish that the owner (Liam) has not given consent to Robbie or Aleesha for them to use or sample his music as it doesnt state otherwise. From t his information, a strong argument is made that an infringement of copyright has occurred.ConclusionIn conclusion, this essay has thoroughly clarified on what copyright is in terms of the CDPA 1988 and given relevant cases to illustrate points made demonstrating legal knowledge. It has explained legal terminologies and defined them in unification with the CDPA 1988 and has clearly described what copyright infringes. Furthermore, it has discussed the growing impact of internationalism in digital technologies. In summary from the research conducted the law regarding IP needs update in terms of new technological advancements to keep up with the protection of work as It would affect sectors such as the film and music industry negatively. Finally, the essay has examined the case of Liam v Aleesha and Robbie and has concluded that Aleesha and Robbie have infringed copyright by sampling music by Musik Dynamite without the right of Liam who is the author and owner of the music.Bibliography BooksGowers A, Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, HM Treasury 2006MacQueen H, Contemporary Intellectual Property 2nd edition Law and Policy 2010Patterson, L. R., Copyright in Historic Perspective, Vanderbilt University Press, 1968CasesAnacon Corp Ltd v Environmental Research Technology 1994 FSR 659Francis Day Hunter v Bron 1963 Ch. 587Griggs group v Evans 2003 EWHC 2914 (Ch)Harman pictures v Osborne 1967 1 WLR 723Hyperion records v Sawkins 2005 EWCA Civ 565Lawson v Dundas 1985 The Times 13Norowzian v Arks Ltd Anor (No. 2) 1999 EWCA Civ 3014Walter v Lane 1900 AC 539LegislationThe Copyright, Designs and Patent act 19881 Copyright in Historical Perspective, p. 136-137, Patterson, 1968.2 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.1(1)(a)3 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.3 (2)4 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.1785 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s. 36 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s. 3(1)7 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 19 88 s. 38 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.9 (1)9 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.10 (1)10 The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.1611 Andrew Gowers, Gowers Review of Intellectual Property p.312 Andrew Gowers, Gowers Review of Intellectual Property p.4

Prejudice Runs Deep in To Kill A Mockingbird Essay -- Kill Mockingbird

Prejudice Runs Deep in To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in small town Maycomb, Alabama, a depression era town where people move slowly and twenty-four hours seems longer. The narrator of the narrative is a six-year-old girl named Jean Louise Finch, a tomboy who hates wearing dresses and goes by the nickname Scout. Scouts being a tomboy is of no little significance because darn we are treated to a sweet and affectionate portrayal of Maycomb at the novels opening, we will find it is a town where racial prejudice, hostility and ignorance run abstruse below the surface. Not only are the majority of the townspeople prejudiced against blacks, maintaining a feeling of superiority to the whole of their race, but there are besides well-defined social roles based on gender. To Kill A Mockingbird reflects many themes, but three of the more or less significant ones are courage, prejudice, and education. Through enactment and behavior the author demonstrates the conn ection of these themes as crucial for manifesting real bounty within individuals. Education and courage produce a higher level of humanity in human behavior, particularly because they allow individuals to walk in the skins of other people before judging them. Education and courage allow for a counteraction of prejudice because they lend a broader understanding to the individual concerning others. Atticus, the father of Scout and Jem (Jeremy Finch), often teaches the lessons of education and courage to his children. Atticus brand of courage and education is different than that of most peoples in the town. Atticus brand of courage disdains the use of guns, as we see when he refuses to use one to protect Tom Robinson (a black man accused of... ...th, as surely as mockingbirds are shot because they are considered ugly. Education and courage allow individuals to manifest a level of humanity that is color blind and does non criticize or judge based on circumstantial evidence or before walking in the skin of another. In the authors view the emblem of justice and social conditions that exist in Maycomb, Alabama, are, mirroring the words of Jem after the guilty verdict for Tom, not right It aint right (Lee, 1960, 214). Prejudice and discrimination run rampant(ip) underneath the seemingly sweet and affectionate portrayal of Maycomb at the novels outset. It is these two elements that will unjustly condemn an innocent man to death, two elements Lee considers a sin as surely as Atticus views killing a mockingbird as sinful. Works Cited Lee, H. (1960). To Kill A Mockingbird. New York, Warner Books, Inc.

Newtons Method: A Computer Project :: Newton-Raphson Method

norths system A Computer ProjectNewtons Method is used to find the first of an equation provided thatthe function fx is equal to zero. Newton Method is an equation created beforethe days of calculators and was used to find approximate roots to numbers. Theroots of the function are where the function crosses the x axis. The basic linguistic rule behind Newtons Method is that the root can be found by subtractingthe function divided by its derivative from the initial guess of the root.Newtons Method worked surface because an initial guess was given to putinto the equation. This is important because a wrong initial guess may give youthe wrong root for the function. With Mathematica, a course for Newtonsmethod can be produced and a graph of the function can be made. From the graph,the a good initial guess can be made.Although Newtons Method works to find roots for many functions, it doeshave its disadvantages. The root just abouttimes cannot be found by using NewtonsMethod. The re ason it sometimes cannot be found is because when the function isequal to zero, there is no slope to the tangent line.As seen in experimentations, it is important to select an initial guessclose to the root because some functions have multiple roots. Failure to choosean initial value that is close to the root could result in finding a the wrongroot or wasting a lot of time doing multiple iterations while getting close tothe actual root.On some occasions, the program cannot find a root to an initial guessthat is placed into the program. In some instances Mathmatica could not findthe root to the function, like if it is a parabola with its vertex is placed

Insomnia Essay -- essays research papers

INTRODUCTIONStephen Kings Number One Best-Seller, Insomnia, is a book round an elderly man named Ralph Roberts who begins to suffer from early waking. This form of insomnia grows into a terrible problem for Ralph as he begins to awaken earlier and earlier each morning. muckle begin to comment about his health and sickly appearance. Many take it upon themselves to recommend oldish-fashioned home remedies that arent supposed to fail. Ralph attempted everything from staying up only night (much to his dismay, he found himself growing more and more awake as the early morning hours passed) to sucking on honeycomb. None of the-tried-and true remedies pass water and by the time Ralph is getting only about an hour of peacefulness each night, Ralph begins to see auras around people. Naturally, Ralph begins to think that he is becoming senile because of his old age of 70, even one of his best friends tells him that he has lost it. When Ralph meets two itsy-bitsy men from another realm o f consciousness and they reveal that they caused him to lose sleep. They explained to him that losing sleep enable him to see the auras that he had begun to see, he is quite relieved to find that he isnt insane. This story progresses to its climax in which Ralph must take on a man who is unknowingly helping the king of the dark side, known as the Random in this thriller, kill two thousand people. There is a little boy amongst these people who will save two men in the future, these men are destined to help the light side, known as the Purpose. During the fight, Ralph takes on the king of the Random himself and wins. This saves the little boy and according to the two little men, the universe is balanced once again. As promised by the two little otherworldly men, life returns to normal for Ralph and he can once again sleep.What happened to Ralph in this work is a very imaginative look at what happens to a person suffering from insomnia. In scientific reports, there isnt evidence of the patient seeing auras, being capable of rising to other levels of consciousness at will, or even entering levels which make them invisible to the human eye, as Ralph did in the book. Sufferers of insomnia in the real world will experience difficulties such as da... ...oncentration stress, anxiety, irritability, sleepiness. This loss of sleep comes in many different flavours such as difficulty falling asleep, not having a problem falling asleep entirely a problem staying asleep (many awakenings), and waking up too early. This can lead to many problems in a persons life. Of the three forms of insomnia, inveterate insomnia is the most serious and can last for a month or longer. This form is usually more complex and may be caused by a number of factors, including underlying physical or mental disorders. One of the most common causes of chronic insomnia is depression. Physical causes include arthritis and sleep apnea. Other causes are link up to behaviors such as the misuse of caffein e.Insomnia can be cured with proper treatments. Popular treatments for this difficulty sleeping include relaxation therapy and reconditioning. Though insomnia may be glamorized by some authors, this problem is nothing to fantasize about, it is a serious problem if it is chronic and should be attended to if it lasts as long as a month.

Film Techniques in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape Essay examples -- essay

Whats Eating sarin Grape?Film Techniques related to musical compositionTheme Struggle and HardshipIn the film Whats Eating Gilbert Grape? directed by Lasse Hallstrom in 1993, one of the main papers is that of struggle and hardship. This idea is significant to the film because it relates to each character in a different way, making the storyline more interesting. Three different techniques used by Lasse Hallstrom to expand the idea of struggle and hardship include Gilberts voice over, the extra close-ups of Bonnie as she climbs the stairs and the double up of dialogue, where Mrs Carver is talking to Gilbert, and Mr Carver is hear tying to entertain their children in background.One character that suffers from struggle and hardship is Gilbert. At the beginning of the film, just after the opening scene, there are a series of establishing shots of Endora. They display the town as a dead, empty place, and are accompanied by a voice over done by Gilbert Grape. Gilbert describes each sho p and his house with a dreary, dull tone and a lack of enthusiasm. This indicates to the audien...

Veronica decides to die :: essays research papers

Veronika Decides to Die Paul CoelhoPlot SummaryIn his brilliant novel about the aftermath of a young charwoman s suicideattempt,Paulo Coelho explores three perennial themesconformity,madness,and death.Twenty-four-year-old Veronika li es inSlovenia,one of the republics created by the dissolution ofYugoslavia.She works as a librarian by day,and by night carries onlike many single women --dating men,occasionally sleeping withthem,and returning to a single room she rents at a convent.It is a intent,but not a very compelling one.So one day,Veronika decides toend it.Her failed attempt,and her inexplicable reasons for wantingto die,land her in a mental hospital,Vilette.Veronika s disappointment at having sur i ed suicide is palpable.She imagines the restof her life filled with disillusionment and monotony,and vows not to leave Vilette alive.Much to her surprise,however,she learns that a fate she desires awaits her anywayShe is destined to die within a week s time,of a heart damage caused by her suicideattempt.Gradually,this knowledge changes Veronika s perception of death and life.In the meantime,Vilette s head head-shrinker attempts a fascinating but provocativeexperiment.Can you "shock"someone into wanting to live by convincing her that deathis imminent?Like a desexualise applying defibrillator paddles to a heart attack victim,Dr.Igor s "prognosis"jump-starts Veronika s new appreciation of the world around her.From within Vilette s controlled environment,she finally allows herself to express theemotions she has never allowed herself to feelhate and love,anger and joy,disgustand pleasure.Veronika also finds herself being drawn into the li es of other patientswho lead constrained but oddly satisfying li es.Eduard,Zedka,and Mari shoot beensent to Vilette because there doesn t seem to be any other place for them.Theirfamilies don t understand them,and they can t adjust to the friendly structure that doesn ttolerate their individuality.Each of thes e patients reflects on Veronika s situation in hisor her own flash of epiphany,exposing new desire and fresh vision for life that liesoutside the asylum s walls.Vilette is an asylum in the purest sense of the worda place of protection,where one isshielded from danger.In this case the danger is society.Those who refuse to need