Wednesday, March 18, 2020

The Bounty Trilogy essays

The Bounty Trilogy essays In 1932, Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall became best-selling authors with the publication of Mutiny on the Bounty. This story and its sequels are based upon the true story of mutiny and subsequent happenings on board an English naval vessel in the late 1700's. All of the accounts in this book have a historical basis but are pure fiction. The authors followed their successful first novel with the sequels,Men Against the Sea (1934) and Pitcairn's Island (1934). Mutiny on the Bounty gives the unforgettable historic account of the voyage of His Majesty's Ship Bounty in 1788 1789, and Fletcher Christian's mutiny against the captain of the Bounty Captain Bligh. Before the Bounty disappears into the South Pacific those who choose not to sail with Christian and his crew are left on Tahiti, where they enjoy a brief stay before being captured and returned to England for court martial. Men Against the Sea is the epic story of the nineteen loyal men who, with Captain Bligh at the helm, are set adrift in the Bounty's twenty three foot whaling launch. (p.303-305) To this day their 3600-mile voyage remains one of the greatest feats of courage and adventure on the open ocean. The third and final sensational book in this trilogy is, Pitcarin's Island, records the brave journey and fate of Christian, the mutineers, and a few Tahitians who find on the loneliest island in the Pacific Ocean. There they live out a tragedy of murder, betrayal vengeance, and drunkenness, leaving only one Englishman alive, Alexander Smith, to restore the peace, which he does by using the principles taught in the Bounty's bible.(p.685) These classic stories tell of exciting sea adventures, the pleasant and simple life of the pacific islands, and of romantic love stories between sailors and Tahitian girls. Many moral lessons are also taught in this book. And finally of power struggles in which good ultimately triumphs o ...

Monday, March 2, 2020

Differences Between the Words Device and Devise

Differences Between the Words 'Device' and 'Devise' The words device are devise are commonly confusedprobably because they sound similar and their meanings are related. However, device and devise are two different parts of speech. Definitions The noun device means an object, a gadget, or a piece of equipment made for some special purpose. The verb devise means to plan, invent, or form in ones mind. Examples A smartphone can be a handy device for avoiding work.The sink is a magnificent device: it fills with water, holds it awhile, and then, when the drain is released, it empties.(George Carlin,  Napalm Silly Putty. Hyperion, 2001)We need to devise new solutions to old problems.Scientists at the University of Bologna in Italy have  devised a hand-held device  that, when passed over the body, identifies different resonations of body tissues in response to a fluctuating frequency of microwaves.(The Science of Anti-Aging Medicine, ed. by R. Klatz and R. Goldman. American Academy of Anti-Aging Med, 2003) Usage Note A device is a machine or tool; to devise means to invent or concoct something. (To devise one must be wise. Will ones device work on ice?) The stable hand would like to devise a device that cleans up after the horses. (Phineas J. Caruthers,  Style Circumstance: The Gentlepersons Guide to Good Grammar. Adams Media, 2012) Idiom Alert: "Left to Our Own Devices" When were left to our own devices we use the learning-by-doing method. Left to our own devices means theres no one looking over our shoulder in front of whom we feel embarrassed if we fail.(Roger C. Schank,  Making Minds Less Well Educated Than Our Own. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2004)Have you received the message by now that our emotions dont treat us well when it comes to managing our money? Left to our own devices, we tend to do stupid things with our money.(A.J. Monte and Rick Swope,  The Market Guys Five Points for Trading Success. Wiley, 2011) Practice Exercise (a) We must _____ a way to rescue Lassie from the well. (b) Maybe a _____ involving pulleys and kittens will work. (c) My father, in the  firefly-rife backyard  of my first home, lights a bundle of little firecrackers and darts dramatically back, and we all stand around in an awed circle, at what we hope is a safe distance, as the _____ twists and jumps and shouts its furious, frustrated noise.(John Updike, The Fourth of July, 1991) (d) You can imagine, Watson, with what eagerness I endeavored to piece together our scientific findings and to _____ some common thread on which they might all  hang.(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual, 1893) Answers to Practice Exercise (a) We must  devise  a way to rescue Lassie from the well.(b) Maybe a  device  involving pulleys and kittens will work. (c) My father, in the  firefly-rife backyard  of my first home, lights a bundle of little firecrackers and darts dramatically back, and we all stand around in an awed circle, at what we hope is a safe distance, as the  device  twists and jumps and shouts its furious, frustrated noise.(John Updike, The Fourth of July,  1991) (d) You can imagine, Watson, with what eagerness I endeavored to piece together our scientific findings and to  devise  some common thread on which they might all  hang.(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual, 1893)