Birth Control Through the Times Essay -- Contraceptives, Birth Control

The idea of men and women having control of their familial future is nothing new. In fact, the use of contraception dates back to ancient Egyptian times. Despite the controversy that often surrounds the use of birth control, history shows that the need for pregnancy prevention existed even before most modern religions were established. This paper will cover the colorful history of what we now know as birth control, through the centuries and up to modern times. Hopefully, this can give the audience a good idea about how necessary this concept is, and to look at the idea of controlling your destiny with objectivity. Beginning in ancient times, people saw a need to control the amount of children that they may have. One civilization in particular, the ancient Egyptians, had novel approaches to birth control. Drawings found from the time, around 3000 B.C., depicted men wearing condom like devices. This civilization also had what is called a pessary, which is an object or mixture that is inserted into the vagina to block or kill sperm. Some of their mixtures may have included pebbles, crocodile dung, or even rock salt. The Egyptians also used sea sponges drenched in lemon juice; much like a woman today might use a sponge with a spermicidal. The Egyptians weren’t the only ancient civilization to utilize birth control methods; the ancient Greeks used a method of post coital birth control. This method was employed when the couple was done with sexual intercourse, and the woman was to squat and apply pressure to the abdomen to rid the vagina of semen. Yet another approach from within the same ti me period was that of Aristotle, who recommended that women â€Å"anoint that part of the womb in which the seed falls† with olive oil, cedar oil, or f... ...e or not to have children. This is a pattern that will no doubt persist in the future as long as laws allow it. With that said, hopefully some insight can be gained by learning about the history of birth control, and perhaps it can demystify this taboo that no one wants to talk about. Works Cited Clemmitt, Maricia. "Controversies of Women's Access to Birth Control." Women's Health 2006. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Feb. 2012 Cornblatt, Johanna. "The History of Birth Control." Newsweek - National News, World News, Business, Health, Technology, Entertainment, and More - Newsweek. Newsweek, 2009. Web. 18 Feb. 2012. "Religious Views on Birth Control." Wikipedia. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. http://www.wikipedia.org. Stacey, Dawn. â€Å"What Do Religions Say About Birth Control and Family Planning?† About.Com 2011. www.about.com. Web. 5 March. 2012.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Essay

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: What do you learn about Maggie from the way Tennessee Williams has presented her so far?  The character Margaret is married to Brick, the son of Big Daddy. They live together in Big Daddy’s house, along with his wife, Big Mama. We, as readers learn a lot about her character from the way she speaks, by what is said about her and by the stage directions. We also gain a good insight into her relationships with the people around her. Margaret’s relationship with Brick comes across as quite bizarre. His lack of interest in what she has to say gives the impression that he doesn’t care and also shows a slight lack of respect. For example, when Brick replies to Maggie’s first line in the play, he says â€Å"Wha’d you say, Maggie?†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The stage directions prior to his response read â€Å"A tone of politely feigned interest, masking indifference or worse.† Other stage directions describing his attitude to Maggie’s statements share the same negativity; such as â€Å"Without interest.†, â€Å"Wryly†, â€Å"Absent mindedly†, â€Å"Dreamily†, followed by sarcastic comments. We also get the impression that Brick doesn’t find his wife as attractive as other men do. On page twenty-one, Maggie says â€Å"Way he always drops his eyes down my body when I’m talkin’ to him, drops his eyes to my boobs an’ licks his old chops!† The fact that she’s telling her husband how other men show interest in her comes across as a subtle hint to her husband that perhaps he should appreciate her more. Almost reassuring herself, as well as him that she’s an attractive woman. Brick’s response however doesn’t seem like the reply she was looking for. He describes her â€Å"talk† as disgusting. There’s also a sense of insecurity on Maggie’s front. When she catches Brick staring at her, she asks him continuously what he’s thinking when he stares at her like that. On page twenty-five, Maggie says â€Å"†¦I wish you would lose your looks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is a particular strange request to make of one’s partner. It makes readers assume she doesn’t want to be attracted to Brick any longer. This assumption is soon backed up with further lines on page twenty-eight when the couple talk of the â€Å"conditions† Maggie has to follow in order for Brick to continue living with her. They also refer to their bedroom as a cage, giving the sense of entrapment. Margaret’s relationship with Mae seems strained and false. Maggie’s continuous insulting of Mae’s children gives the impression that they don’t get along particularly well. The topic of children in Maggie and Brick’s relationship also seems awkward. Mae seems to take a patronising tone with Margaret on page twenty-nine when she says â€Å"Maggie, honey, if you had children of your own you’d know how funny that is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It seems that Mae is well aware of Maggie’s envy towards her for having children and likes to bring it up from time to time. Margaret often refers to Big Daddy when she’s attempting to make Brick jealous. When she was talking of the man who was looking her up and down, she was talking of Big Daddy, Brick’s father. She uses him as an example of a man who gives her attention to try and get Brick to do the same. She also talks of Big Daddy not getting along with Gooper, Brick’s brother or Mae. On page twenty, she says â€Å"Big Daddy dotes on you honey. And he can’t stand Brother Man and Brother Man’s wife†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Big Daddy is also supposed to be dying of cancer, therefore there’s a lot of talk of who will be getting the large share of his will. Margaret is obviously very aware of her sexuality. On the first page of the play, a stage direction says â€Å"She steps out of her dress, stands in a slip of ivory satin lace.† She also cares a lot about her appearance and what Brick thinks of her. I feel this because of her asking Brick what he thinks of her when he looks at her and because of stage directions such as â€Å"She adjusts the angle of a magnifying mirror to straighten an eyelash†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her relationship with her husband seems one sided and cruel. It seems as thought she wants children and a happy marriage like her sister in law however it’s made obvious that Brick doesn’t share the same passion. We know from the continuous talk of Big Daddy’s will that she has dreams of being rich. So far, Williams has made Maggie seem like a desperate, hurt character that covers her pain up with her loud personality.

The Battle Of The Pacific War - 1708 Words

The Pacific War was a period during World War II that was fought in pacific Asian islands, southeast Asia, and China. The Pacific War was important to the shaping of American history because it established our allies, showed how strong our military is, even when fighting overseas, and drastically improved our economy. World War II spanned over 5 years, 1939 to 1945. WWII was the largest spread war, including 100 million people located in almost 30 different countries. World War II was a very brutal war, many bombings took place, Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing 129,000 alone. The Holocaust also carried very high death tolls in Europe. WWII was the most violent and deadly war in world history with an estimated total 45 million to 80 million†¦show more content†¦This was a surprise attack on America, Japan wanted to hit America so hard that they were in no place to fight and would then only be left to negotiate free reign of Asian countries for Japan in order to gain more and mo re power. This plan ultimately back-fired. The U.S. had not officially been at war anywhere in the world, so the attack on Pearl Harbor added America into the fast-growing world war. As well as the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain, China, and Australia all declared war against Japan. Nazi Germany and Italy declared war against the United States following Japan, and the world was officially at war. When the United States entered the war, resources needed to be created back in America to keep up with the supply and demand overseas. Jobs opened up all over America to make things needed for the war. Women were also called on to work in factories to assist the demand needed by soldiers. World War II improved the economy while most other wars caused the economy to decline. After the war ended, Many Americans were extremely worried that the hard times of the Great Depression might follow World War II as it did the first World War. But, in response to long awaited consu mer demand, the United States economy saw impressive, strong economic growth during the following years after the world war. The nation s gross national product grew from approximately $200,000,000 in