Muscle Building Essays

Muscle Building Essays Muscle Building Essay Muscle Building Essay LEGAL STUFF  © 2011 and Beyond, Elliott Hulse Mike Westerdal All Rights Reserved. International Copyright www. LeanHybridMuscle. com This publication is fully copyrighted and does not come with giveaway or resale rights. You may not sell or redistribute this report. It is reserved solely for paid members of LeanHybridMuscle. com. Copyright and illegal distribution violations will be prosecuted. This document has been watermarked with a digital GPS identification tag. NOTICE The information presented is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor is it a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. This publication is presented for information purposes, to increase the public knowledge of developments in the field of strength and conditioning. The program outlined herein should not be adopted without a consultation with your health professional. Use of the information provided is at the sole choice and risk of the reader. You must get your physician’s approval before beginning this or any other exercise or nutrition program. This information is not a prescription. Consult your doctor, nutritionist or dietician for further information. The information contained in this document will help you build muscle and burn fat as fast as possible. It utilizes methods and techniques that we fully explore within our Best Selling Lean Hybrid Muscle RELOAdEd system. Having said that enjoy the preview†¦ INTROduCINg Muscle shifTing DocTrine WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 3 The You don’t need to be a scientist to read this report. In fact my friend Elliott Hulse and I are not doctors with access to research facilities. We aren’t even trying to peddle any supplements if you can imagine that. We’re just two regular dudes that have stumbled upon a very fast way to build muscle and burn fat. The cool thing is, we both have tough skin. Often times people don’t agree with us and that is fine. The training methods and information we’re going to share with you can be considered controversial. Check em out and decide for yourself if you think this is something that can help you like it has helped so many others. In fact when Elliott and I first started talking about building muscle and burning fat at the same time over a year ago it was met with a lot of criticism from industry experts. As the results kept pouring in, many of these â€Å"experts† have now changed their tune and admitted that it is possible to both build and burn at the same time. Welcome to the bandwagon. Are you sick and tired of bulking up just to gain unwanted fat and the having to diet down just to lose hard earned strength and muscle? We sure are! There is a better way. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 4 We’re here to tell you that it is possible to tone and build your muscles while decreasing body fat. ? Think you can’t change your muscle fiber type? versus calories out? Think again. Sure you can. Think muscle building and fat burning is all about calories in ? Have you been brainwashed to think eating fats are bad for you and going to give you high cholesterol? Who Is This Report For? This is for anyone that wants to transform their physique by creating dense thick muscle while lowering body fat. This report was also written for those that are willing to break the rules and try something new and different. If you’re willing to keep an open mind and think for yourself this report is dedicated to you! We are going to refer to the process of both Building Muscle Burning Fat in the same training period as MUSCLE SHIFTING. MUSCLE SHIFTING is the process of transforming our physiques to be stronger and leaner with more endurance. MUSCLE SHIFTING is accomplished by focusing on three main strategies that we plan on covering in much more depth over the next week and a half. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 5 #1 Training: Using hybrid training to develop muscles with biologically superior capabilities. #2 Nutrition: We will rotate Nutrition Strategies To Keep The Body From Adapting #3 Hormones: Using the body’s traffic cops to our advantage Creed 1: Build Type III Super Muscles With greater Mitochondrial density Our bodies are made up of different types of muscle fibers. Type I fibers are known as ‘slow twitch’ fibers and have a high resistance to fatigue while Type II fibers are known as ‘fast twitch’ fibers and have a low resistance to fatigue. Slow twitch fibers support aerobic activities while fast twitch fibers are built for weightlifting and other activities that require short bursts of energy. Guys who are built with lots of Type I muscle fibers make great marathon runners but terrible weightlifters. Likewise, guys who are mostly made up of Type II fibers are ideally built to WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 6 ift weights but poorly suited for long-term aerobic activities such as long distance running. However, by applying certain scientific principles, it is possible to create hybrid super muscles that have the best characteristics of both Type I and Type II muscle fibers. To create these ‘hybrid super muscles’ we are reconfiguring Type I and Type II muscle fibers into a new variety of muscle fiber (Type III) that has endurance, strength and greater mitochondrial density. The greater the mitochondrial density, the more energy we have available for our muscles. Mitochondria are essentially the muscle cells’ powerhouses, taking nutrients, breaking them down and producing energy for the muscle cells. The form of energy used to power our cells is known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). When you increase the mitochondrial density of muscle fibers, you boost mitochondrial capacity to burn fat for conversion into ATP. This enhanced utilization of fat for energy brings about a process known as ‘muscle shifting,’ which results in stronger muscles, increased lean muscle mass and a decrease in body fat. Also, as part of the muscle shifting process, a key function of greater mitochondrial density is to increase the capacity of the Type II muscle fibers to resist fatigue, thereby pushing them towards conversion to hybrid super muscles. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 7 How do we do this? Read the next tactic. Creed 2: utilize Resistance Cardio One of the amazing qualities of super hybrid muscle fibers is that they utilize more fat for energy than ordinary muscle fibers. That’s great because one of our primary goals is to keep body fat to a minimum. Our other primary goal though is to build bigger, stronger muscles. Fortunately, muscle shifting- creating super hybrid muscles- provides the body a tremendous advantage for building lean mass. The advantage stems from the fact that Type III muscles have the best qualities of both Type I and Type II muscles- meaning that you have muscle fibers that are both strong and resistant to fatigue. Therefore, because these muscle fibers don’t behave like ordinary muscle fibers, they need to be trained using different techniques, approaches and strategies. Ordinary training techniques won’t produce the results we want. To build super hybrid muscles, you need to utilize a multi-faceted training approach that incorporates elements that would individually be used to train Type I and Type II muscle fibers. In other words, we need to combine training techniques used for ordinary muscle fibers in order to facilitate muscle shifting and WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 8 address the unique characteristics of the resulting Type III muscle fibers. And the best way to do that is to utilize a training approach that includes a strong emphasis on both resistance (weight) training and cardio at the same time. Traditional training strategies use one or the other- not both. Combining the two into a hybrid training strategy produces results far superior to those that you could achieve through ordinary weight training or cardio training alone. EXAMPLES Tabata Using Tabata means alternating 20 seconds of exercise with 10 seconds of rest, nonstop for 8 sets. Unlike HIIT we typically prescribe for conditioning, but similar in its fat burning effectiveness, this style of training can be adapted any exercise; dumbell presses, barbell rows, jumping rope, rowing, push ups, whatever! It’s painful, but the results are worth it! KB Swings The swing maximizes muscular endurance in the back and waist, is a great lower body strength builder and is a highly effective conditioning exercise. 1) The starting position of the Two Arm Kettlebell Swing is with the kettlebell on the ground in front of you, knees bent, your weight centered towards your heels and your back flat WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 9 2) Start the movement by hiking the kettlebell behind you and then drive your hips forward to propel the kettlebell through its arc. The movement is similar to performing a standing broad jump, but of course you stay in the same spot 3) Your arms are just hooks and the power comes from the movement of the hips and the muscles of the posterior chain ie, hamstrings, glutes, lower back. 4) Swing the kettlebell to about chest height. At the top of the movement breathe out whilst contracting your quads, glutes and your abs (by tilting your pelvis up). 5) Breathe in and hold your breath as you let the kettlebell free fall back between your legs so that it passes through your legs as high as possible (to keep the arc tight and to stop unnecessary ulling on your back). Aim for your groin and then get your groin out of the way by taking you hips back 6) Although different trainees will have varying amount of knee bend the important thing is that the hips go back and thrust forward and that the quads do not take over the exercise. You should feel the movement in your hamstrings. If your quads are instead fatiguing then you are not taking the hips back at the bottom of the movement. Kettlebell swings are a fantastic exercise for fitness and conditioning and to develop strength and power in the posterior chain. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 10 Barbell Complexes â€Å"Barbell Complexes† are one of the most challenging types of Hybrid Conditioning that I’ve ever done! A Barbell Complex is a series of 6 to 10 movements, with no rest between each movement. Basically, you’ll pick up a barbell or a pair of dumbbells and you won’t put the weight down until all movements are finished. These workouts will make you angry, mad, sick and sad†¦ then you will vomit. But they work like hell for getting you lean and jacked. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 11 HERE ARE TWo EXAMPLES: BAd ASS BARBELL CoMPLEX Overhead squat for 10 reps Hang clean for 10 reps Standing military press for 10 reps Bentover row for 10 reps Lunge for 10 reps on each leg Romanian deadlift for 20 reps Front squat for 10 reps Sprint 50 yards Cheat Curl to press for 10 reps Standing Front Plate Raise for 10 reps with each arm Forward lunge for 10 reps with each leg Bentover alternating row for 10 reps with each arm Reverse lunge with overhead press for 10 reps with each leg Romanian deadlift for 20 reps Sprint 50 yards For the barbell complex, start with an unloaded bar. When you can bang out the exercises with no problem, then add another 5 lb plate to each side of the bar and keep going! For the dumbbell complex, start with 10 25 lbs and go heavier as you get in better shape. BAd ASS duMBBELL CoMPLEX WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 12 Creed 3: Train Concurrently for Multiple goals For many years now ‘bulking and cutting’ has been the most widely used strategy for gaining mass and getting lean. Bulking is the process where you work out really hard, eat a lot and don’t do any cardio. The idea is to put your body into ‘mass building’ mode so that you get really big. But because you inevitably pack on excess fat along with the muscle, you then have to go through the cutting process to shed the unwanted fat. During the cutting phase you decrease your caloric intake and ramp up the amount of time you spend doing cardio. It sounds great in theory but in practice it doesn’t work so well. First, it’s not good for the body to be pushed along a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Second, when you’re in the cutting cycle, there’s no way to avoid muscle loss because of all the cardio you’re forced to do to get lean. You wind up going from fat but strong to lean but weak. And lastly, bulking and cutting can lead to insulin resistance, meaning that the body’s hormones become less effective at lowering blood sugar- resulting in more body fat and putting you at risk of developing serious health issues. The best way to approach this is to concurrently train to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 13 By using hybrid training and synergistic nutrition strategies this is entirely possible because instead of the ‘calories in calories burnt’ approach, you focus on manipulating the hormone systems- aka the ‘traffic cops’ that manage the body’s metabolism. Hybrid training is it at the heart of this strategy because by simultaneously incorporating both strength and endurance training, it works in harmony with the body’s natural systems, optimizing fat loss and mass gains. The nutrition approach focuses on the consumption of whole, unprocessed foods that include the proper balance of lean proteins, healthy fats and complex carbs combined with strategically-established periods of periods of negative energy balance. This systemic, hormone management approach allows you to simultaneously achieve your goals of building lean mass while cutting unwanted body fat. Creed 4: different Sources of Calories = different Results Instead of counting calories pay attention to the quality of your calories. It is important to note that not all calories are created equal. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 14 The truth is that different sources of calories will provide different results. Energy from the foods we eat comes from fats, carbohydrates and proteins- all of which are metabolized differently in the body. Additionally, within each of these categories there are metabolic distinctions as well. Saturated fats are not metabolized the same as unsaturated fats and complex carbs are metabolized differently than simple carbs. Because the hormonal response varies depending on the food source, these are important differences that you need to understand when planning your nutritional strategies. For example, the consumption of protein provokes a greater thermic effect than the consumption of carbs or fats. Thermic effect refers to the amount of energy the body uses to process food. The lower the thermic effect the easier it is for food to be turned into body fat. While proteins have the greatest thermic effect, saturated fats and simple carbs have the lowest. Now you know why consuming a 500-calorie donut is going to stimulate an entirely different hormonal response that getting that same 500 calories from organic chicken breast and steamed veggies. In fact the other day I read something that stood out to me in the WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 15 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferris. Way back in 1956, an interesting study was conducted by researchers Kekwick and Pawan. They compared three groups of persons on calorically equal diets of 90% fat, 90% carbs, 90% fat. Though the number of calories each group consumed every day was the same, as shown below, the outcomes were very different: ? 1000 calories at 90% fat = weight loss of . 9 lbs per day ? 1000 calories at 90% protein = weight loss of . 6 lbs per day ? 1000 calories at 90% carbs = . 24lbs of weight gain So you see that not only do you need to think about what foods you put into your mouth but also about the hormonal responses those foods will initiate and how they will impact your metabolism. Creed 5: Rotate Nutrition Strategies Our incredible ability to adapt is one of the human body’s most amazing qualities. Adaptability has not only been a key to our continued survival for thousands of years but it is also a cornerstone of the body’s optimal state of functionality. Our bodies get bored just like our minds do when faced with the same situations day in and day out. The mind doesn’t perform optimally when it’s bored and neither does the body. Actually, it’s just the opposite- our minds and our bodies function best when challenged and forced to adapt to new situations. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 16 In fact, adaptation is the whole basis of muscle growth and strength gains. When you lift weights, you are stressing the muscle cells. In reaction to this stress, the body ‘improves’ the muscle- making it bigger and stronger- so the next time you perform that same movement or exercise, there will be less ‘stress’ on the muscle. When it comes to nutrition, our bodies operate the same way. Our bodies obviously need energy to function- the energy we use is derived from the foods we eat. Maintaining the same nutritional strategy over and over for extended periods of time leads to diminishing returns because our bodies get accustomed to the same inputs every day. Essentially, you hit a plateau, just like you eventually do when you don’t vary your weight training routine. But switch things up and all of sudden you see quick results- until the body gets used to that change. Then you need to switch to something else to get results again. Regular rotation of nutritional strategies keeps the body’s hormonal systems from getting accustomed to a particular diet or nutrition approach. And since the hormonal systems are the body’s traffic cops, charged with managing metabolism, regularly switching things up optimizes fat loss, strength gains and increases in lean muscle mass. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 17 Creed 6: Fasting for Anabolic Fat Loss Fasting is the act of ‘willingly abstaining from food. ’ It has been practiced by humans for thousands of years. It is practiced for a variety of reasons including religion, as a form of protest as well as for health. A fast can be as short as just a few hours or could last up to a week or more. Though an ancient practice, fasting has recently stepped back into the spotlight due to its effectiveness as a technique for stimulating anabolic fat loss. Most people tend to think that fasting leads to rapid loss of muscle mass, leaving you gaunt and weaklooking. While that may be true for the ‘hardcore’ faster, for the strategic, occasional faster, that’s just not the case. In reality, strategic use of fasting can facilitate the loss of fat, without losing muscle mass (which is why it’s referred to as anabolic fat loss). This is possible because short, occasional periods of fasting activate a number of metabolic shifts in the body that signal the body to burn stored fat for energy. It is the frequent and longer-term periods of fasting that lead to loss of muscle mass, not just body fat. The hormonal shifts that we’re oncerned with begin shortly after the absorption of a meal is complete- typically between three and five hours after eating. For our purposes, the ideal period of fasting is from 3 up to 24 hours, WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 18 no longer than that. This is the ideal time period because the human body is naturally programmed to burn fat, not muscle, during brief periods of fasting. And since a reg ular, purposeful regimen of fasting is in tune with the ideal functioning of our hormonal regulatory systems it does not diminish performance either. As long as you don’t fast all the time but do it strategically, you can achieve some remarkable loss of unwanted body fat. Creed 7: Partitioning Helps You Build Muscle Burn Fat At The Same Time We’ve pointed out that hormones are the ‘traffic cops’ that direct the activities and responses that manage the body’s metabolic systems. We can have an impact on the way that hormones manage traffic in our body by manipulating factors such as diet, activity levels, weight training, sleeping, resting, managing stress levels and others. Influencing the hormonal traffic cops provides a measure of control over the operation of our metabolic systems. One particularly strong influence we can have is on how our hormonal traffic cops partition the energy our bodies use. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 19 When it comes to energy storage and usage, the body uses the same banks- fat, glycogen, muscle tissue or proteins- to deposit or withdraw energy. The process of managing where energy is deposited or withdrawn from is known as energy partitioning. Diet has an especially strong impact on the way our metabolic systems partition energy. Interestingly, evidence indicates that brief, strategic periods of under eating can manipulate the hormonal traffic cops to tell the body to partition energy to allow for the simultaneous building of muscle and burning fat. This is made possible in part because these controlled periods of under eating trigger the release of Growth Hormone. One of the key functions of Growth Hormone is to maintain growth and lean body mass during short periods of time when we don’t have access to food. This occurs because Growth Hormone mobilizes fat fuel energy to be redirected (partitioned) to protein synthesis (muscle growth). Our bodies are not designed to maintain muscle mass during extended periods of under eating- these situations trigger a survival response where the body is going to use anything and everything- including muscle- for fuel. But they are however, optimally designed to manage short, controlled periods of under eating, allowing us to convert excess body fat into lean muscle mass. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 20 Bonus Creed: Eat High Fat Meals to Promote Steroid Production Fats have gotten a really bad rap over the past 15-20 years. It seems like the day after food manufacturers figured out how to make ‘low-fat’ and ‘fat-free’ foods, the press started publishing stories about the dangers of fats, how they were responsible for the obesity epidemic and how bad they are for the body. But here we are 20 years later and Americans are fatter than ever before, despite all the low-fat and fat-free foods they’re eating. Seems like fats weren’t the culprit after all and in reality, it turns out that fats actually play an important role building bigger, stronger muscles. You know that the body produces steroid hormones (e. g. testosterone) that drive muscle growth and strength gains. The metabolic processes that trigger the production of steroid hormones are driven in large part by the foods we eat. Well, researchers have found that maintaining a low-fat, low-calorie diets appears to suppress the body’s production of steroid hormones. So cutting fats of your diet is not only a mostly ineffective strategy WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 21 for getting lean, but it’s also got some unwanted side effects such as reduced muscle mass and strength caused by diminished production of steroid hormones. Fortunately, we have a lot more knowledge today than we did in years past. And what we know today is that an occasional high fat meal is not just tasty and satisfying, but it promotes natural steroid production as well. Normally, when planning what foods to eat as part of your get lean/build muscle diet, you should choose healthy, unsaturated fats over saturated fats, which have a lower thermic effect and in general are less healthy. However, to really stimulate the production of steroid hormones, it’s perfectly acceptable- and recommended- to occasionally eat high fat foods such as a good juicy burger without being concerned about unsaturated versus saturated fat content. Do this from time to time and you’ll find that it’s good for both the mind and the body. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 22 What’s Next guys? We really hope you enjoyed this FREE Report and acquired some valuable information that will help you jumpstart your own transformation. When you build muscle and burn fat you become a new person, a new you. Just because this report was free, do not discount the information. A lot of people have already put these tips to the test. But we’re not done yet. If you enjoyed this report you’ll love this follow up Presentation we put together for you. Strange Methods To Incenerate â€Å"Spongy Fat Weight† Build Lean Muscle Tone 173% Faster leanhybridmuscle. com/free-presentation. php Stay Lean and Mean, Mike Elliott P. S. We’ve got a ton of new content and fun information coming at you over the few days. If you’re not on our email list you can register here to get notified about updates. WWW. LEANH YBRIDMUSCLE. COM 23 ABouT The AuThors My name is Mike Westerdal and many of you know me as the founder of one of the biggest weight lifting sites on the Web, CriticalBench. com. Here’s my story and how I got involved with this project. Like many of you I played sports in high school. I walked on the football team in college and played four years of D-IAA football. Keeping my body lean and strong during that period of my life wasn’t a problem. After all, we had practice, mandatory weight lifting sessions, morning running, and a very positive environment for keeping the body in an overall anabolic state. As the post-college years kept passing by, I found myself being less and less active. Don’t get me wrong, I found a new passion and started testing my merit in amateur powerlifting over the past few years; it has kept me really motivated and I do love the competition. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ something is missing. I’ve gotten a lot stronger but I’ve also gained over 25 lbs! It’s kind of embarrassing actually. Here I am preaching on the Internet and trying to help others stay fit and I go right ahead and pack on some unneeded pounds. Let me vent for a second. I’m 35 years young now and over the past few years I’ve felt like I’ve had to choose between being lean and WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 24 weak or strong and fat. I’m sick of the choice and I want it all. I want to be lean and strong at the same time, for good. I don’t want to bulk up and add muscle mass getting fat, just to lose it all when trying to drop the fat and acquire muscle definition. With Hybrid training you too will discover that you can take the best of several training styles and do them all concurrently. I have to admit at first I wanted to keep this information to myself because I was making such rapid gains when I combined this kind of training with some new â€Å"Hybrid Diet† strategies, but Elliott convinced me the right thing to do is bring this information to the forefront. I almost eel like it’s my responsibility to do so since I can reach so many people online. Besides, I remember what it used to feel like to be so confused with all the different routines and supplements when I was a teenager reading the muscle magazines. I don’t want anyone else to feel that way. Just do us one favor okay? We got kind of caught off guard by the popularity of all this. So please just be patient with us. Ell iott runs a gym called, Strength Camp where he trains athletes plus he has a wife and FOUR kids, so you can imagine his schedule is pretty full. Operating CriticalBench. om takes a huge amount of leg work on my part PLUS I’m actually expecting a baby with my wife Courtney in a couple months! Lots to do to get ready for that as well O WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 25 So we’ve both got a lot on our plate but we’ve both made the decision that we’re going to stay up late a few nights a week and do what it takes to continue sharing this journey with you. It’s humbling to get all the life changing emails and we both want to thank you for your interest and all the positive feedback. It really makes it all worthwhile. A lot of underground gyms across the country have implemented Lean Hybrid Muscle training. With your help over the past few months we’ve really made some exciting strides that you can read all about on the following web page: leanhybridmuscle. com/build-muscle. php Keep training hard, Mike WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 26 Who the heck is elliott hulse? Elliott was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up on Long Island. The oldest of four siblings and child to Belizian immigrants, Elliott has always been obsessed with health, fitness and becoming the strongest version of himself. As a child Elliott’s Uncle Elroy lived as a member of the Hulse household. Uncle Elroy was an ex-gymnast, a Black Belt in Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, a marathon runner, a bodybuilder and would become, later in life, a strength and conditioning coach. Elliott began training with Uncle Elroy, with his brothers, using bodyweight exercises and odd objects at the tender age of four. In high school, Uncle Elroy taught Elliott how to train with barbells, dumbbells and plyometrics. As a result Elliott earned an athletic scholarship to play football for a Division 1aa program. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Elliott studied Exercise Physiology in graduate school. Elliott has interned and studied under some of the best experts in the field of strength, health and fitness. Experts such as Paul Chek, Joe Kenn and Tom Mitchell have had a tremendous impact on Elliott’s training philosophies and convictions. WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 27 Why Should I Listen To Him? Today Elliott is the founder and owner of Strength Camp, a sports training facility in St. Petersburg Florida where he trains baseball, football, and high school wrestlers to get stronger and more explosive in their sports. Elliott is also a professional strongman, as well an author and publisher of over 50 books, audios and DVDs online. He is also the publisher of HulseStrength. com and he supports other strength, fitness and health experts in sharing their knowledge through his publishing company, Hulse Strength Publishing. We Saved The Best For Last! Click here to get our 2 Best Strategies for Building Muscle and Burning Fat! With These 2 unique Strategies You’ll Pack On dense Ripped Muscle By â€Å"SHIFTINg† Your Muscle Fiber Type Into A Biologically Superior Type III Hybrid Muscle That utilizes 173% More Fat For Energy! leanhybridmuscle. com/free-presentation. php WWW. LEANHYBRIDMUSCLE. COM 28

SMART Goals Essays

SMART Goals Essays SMART Goals Essay SMART Goals Essay My first goal it to earn an 85% or more for each of my classes by the end of the semester. I will be able to achieve this goal by doing my homework. Projects and all the necessary work that is assigned to me. In addition, I will study and reviewing material on a daily basis for a higher grade on exams, tests and quizzes and paying attention and participating to receive a high grade for my glasswork. Maintaining a good overall average in all of my classes throughout my school year will help me keep good GAP and to be accepted Into a good college or university. My second smart goal Is to Increase my class proclamation by the end of the school year. My goal Is to participated In group discussions and be prepared to share Information by doing the homework that Is given on a dally basis or taking notes to refer back on at least 3 times a day. By participating more In class, my glasswork grade will Increase and also raise my average for a particular class. My third goal is to improve my writing skills by the end of the year. This can be attained by expanding my vocabulary through different writing materials and learning new words daily and incorporating them into my everyday conversations. Also practicing different writing styles such as poetry and story writing can help me as well. In addition, reading several classics written by well known authors can teach me different writing techniques and improve my vocabulary. Having good writing skills will boost my confidence when writing and help make my written pieces more interesting to read.

Government shut down Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Government shut down - Essay Example Analysis Looking back to the controversy background, the United States constitution states and requires the United States Congress to pass the bills of government spending approval, and has the power granted by law to fund the entire United States budget. This means that if the congress fails to pass an approved budget by the end of a financial year, a funding gap that leads to government shutdown. Media revelations claim that the 2013 United States federal government’s shutdown is a result of Obama’s refusal to accept the republican demands that requested him to change or delay the Affordable Care Act, which began enrolling patients on October 1st (Weisman and Peters, 2013). However, Obama defended himself against the allegations and claimed that the house speaker John Boehner is the main person who triggered the shutdown. The blame game continues, and a Wednesday meeting held by Obama and the members of his house shifted the blame back to Obama by claiming that he ref used to negotiate leading to no breakthrough. According to Times, swampland dated October 6, another congress meeting took place and the house speaker John Boehner insisted that the chamber was lacking enough votes to pass a â€Å"clean† bill that would raise the debt ceiling (Weisman and Peters, 2013). He further argued that the bill would undergo a breakthrough if the two parties agreed hence; democrats have no choice but to make concession to the republicans, who hold out with an aim of using the government shutdown as a means of defunding or delaying the controversial Obama’s signature health-care-reform law. According to Boehner, the solution lays on the combined efforts of both rye democrats and the republicans because they can pass a measure to reopen and fund the government when the vote gets permission to come to the floor. This meant that the next steps needed to resolve the stalemate remains unclear. A deeper look into the government shutdown reveals that th is is not the usual spending battles. This is evident in the fact that the crisis emerged due to house republicans blocking the budget with an aim of killing or stripping all funding from Obama care (NA, 2013). In this case, they want the democrats to join the wagon of halting the president’s biggest achievement, yet the democrats are not willing to participate. As the stalemate continues, the deadline for a budget bill approached and at the same time, republicans were still holding back to their demands. This makes the government shutdown more critical because the problem does not lay on how to acquire funds but the dilemma is on how to unlock the locked heads between the republicans and the democrats (NA, 2013). As the stalemate continues, the situation of the citizens worsen everyday because at the moment, eight thousand non essential staff working for federal agencies are jobless, while 1.3 million others are required to work without pay. More so, non-urgent tasks are und er shelves until when a deal comes along (Watkins, 2013). The situation will definitely damage the economy, yet the law making process is under paralysis meaning that

Occupational Health and Safety (Hazards in the workplace) Essay

Occupational Health and Safety (Hazards in the workplace) - Essay Example This essay talks about the people employed in mining industries that have to take great precaution of their occupational health and safety. Often, there are many hazards, ranging from cuts, bruises, limbs and legs breakages among others in the work place that the workers report on daily basis. Many manufacturing industries are under pressure to carry out all the safety precautions, which would help their worker and, save them from the unexpected injuries. Notably, a lot of companies have adhered to the rules and have considerably minimised the injuries to their workers. In this report, I am going to outline the occupational health and safety in BPH Mining Company in Australia, with specific attention to hazardous machinery. Particularly, I have chosen hazardous machinery since mining employs heave and very dangerous machines that, often, terminate the lives of the workers. Sometimes, the workers sustain serious injuries, which make them bed ridden for a long time. Mining Companies sp end a lot of money in treating the workers from the injuries that they sustain during the work. Considering the case of BHP mining, a careful study revealed that the hazardous machinery contributes to most of the bruises and cuts that the workers sustain. Usually, the workers take certain risky moves that jeopardise their lives. Indeed, some of them do not take the ethical workplace culture as an important aspect of the organizational performance. The report also shows that the cultural factors are critical in driving the organisation to success. ... Finally it ends with a conclusion. Introduction In reality, the people employed in mining industries have to take great precaution of their occupational health and safety. Often, there are many hazards, ranging from cuts, bruises, limbs and legs breakages among others in the work place that the workers report on daily basis (Angle, 2004, p. 45). Many manufacturing industries are under pressure to carry out all the safety precautions, which would help their worker and, save them from the unexpected injuries. Notably, a lot of companies have adhered to the rules and have considerably minimised the injuries to their workers. In this report, I am going to outline the occupational health and safety in BPH Mining Company in Australia, with specific attention to hazardous machinery. Particularly, I have chosen hazardous machinery since mining employs heave and very dangerous machines that, often, terminate the lives of the workers. Sometimes, the workers sustain serious injuries, which make them bed ridden for a long time (Barry, 2008, p. 66). Mining Companies spend a lot of money in treating the workers from the injuries that they sustain during the work. Considering the case of BHP mining, a careful study revealed that the hazardous machinery contributes to most of the bruises and cuts that the workers sustain. Usually, the workers take certain risky moves that jeopardise their lives. Indeed, some of them do not take the ethical workplace culture as an important aspect of the organizational performance. The report also shows that the cultural factors are critical in driving the organisation to success (Erickson, 1996, p. 124).

The Debate Concerning The Age Of Sexual Consent Essay Example for Free

The Debate Concerning The Age Of Sexual Consent Essay This essay will illustrate the current laws regarding the age of sexual consent and will highlight the future plans, which the government are hoping to enforce and argument for and against these suggested laws. The current laws, which are enforced regarding the age of consent, are that boys have no age of consent and can therefore have sex at any age when they feel ready. But only if the girl is over 16 or else they will be breaking the law as girls and gay couples cannot have sex until they are 16 years old. Although many people feel that these laws are fine as they are and there is no need for change, the government believe that there are far to many people breaking these laws and that there is to many men/boys having sex with under 16 girls. The hopes to change this by tightening the current laws and introducing a male sexual age of consent of 16 and to include an extension of the laws to include more sex acts in public which is most likely to include including kissing. If these laws were to be broken the government are planning to put the offender on to the sex offenders list, which include rapists and pedos. The offender could also face which I think is a very harsh five-year prison sentence and all for what could have been an innocent kiss with your partner. A recent national survey Shows the while the current laws arent perfect they arent doing a bad job as it showed us that 33% of boys have had sex under the age of 16 and that only 25% of girl have, and this shows that the current laws are keeping at least two-thirds of boys from having illegal sex and three-quarters of girls and means that a larger percentage of teenagers are obeying the current laws and waiting until they have sex. Another survey was carried out by Bliss Magazine on its readers and showed that 32% of 12 to 17 year olds have had sex and that 83% of those reader were under 16 years old when they had sex, and that a what I though was an astonishing 12% of those readers were under 12 years old when the had sex. This survey completed by Bliss Magazine also tell us that 50% of it readers think that the current sexual consent laws are correct, but this is most properly sex mad teenagers who want the consent aged to be lowered not for the laws to be tightened. Although these figures do shows a slightly worrying percentage of under 16s having sex, and of course we would all like this figure to be lower; this amount of under 16s having sex isnt wholly due to kids and their choice to have sex as it is also undoubtedly fuelled by television and magazines. It has become more and more obvious that teenagers and now even younger kids are becoming sexualised and introduced to sexual idea a lot younger these days. This is best shown when we look in magazines, watch television and new fashions and we see idols such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera half naked or often dressed in way which gives their teenage fans the wrong impression of dress and act. A current argument which is a main point of the governments reasons for wanting to tighten the sexual consent laws is that they believe children need more protect than they are presently getting. This sudden desire to increase the protection of children is partly due to the increasing amount of pedos and rapist around but I think mainly because of the increase in popularity of the Internet and especially due to the increase in the amount of people using chat rooms. These concerns about using chat rooms is because of what some people call grooming often pedos pretend they are kids and gain trust of children and often arrange to meet up with them. Another argument is the amount of people who are having sex before they are 16, and also because a survey reveal that over 50% of girl regret having sex before they were legally allowed. The UKs current laws sit some roughly in the middle compared to other places, such as places like LA where the consent age is higher and places like Spain where the age is lower. At the moment LAs sexual consent age is 18 but people are still having sex a 17, and in Mali the sexual consent age is 16 and as in LA people are having sex when they are 17, Spains laws states that you have to be 13 to have sex and the average age for a person in Spain to have sex is strangely 19 years old for girls and 18 for boys. And finally in Chile the sexual consent age is 12 and the average person is having sex at around 14 or 15years old. The figures show that countries with a lower sexual consent age actually have a higher difference in the age you can have sex legally and the age people actually do. Arguments against the tightening of the sexual consent laws include the argument that the current laws doesnt stop people from having sex under the age of 16 so tightening the laws will most likely force little or no change and people will still break the law. As well as this point there is an argument that the current laws are thought to be fine as they stand, and that current laws offer a suffiencent amount of protection to children. Even now family planning centres, sex education teacher (school nurses) and any other authorities to do with sexual aspects in life tell us that alt of kids already find it hard to speak to parents or anyone about sex, and we are constantly hearing about pregnant teenagers leaving it to late before they told someone and ending up with no choice but to have a baby. This point, which is already at a bad enough state, is thought to become worse if the suggested laws pass and many fear that kids will become more detached and feel even less able to seek help of advise. This final point against the change is that the suggested laws are a muddle and all the law will do is criminalize younger people for doing something as unsubstantial as kissing. My view on this argument is that although teenagers I thin do need more protection from people like rapists and pedos the suggested rules are not the answer and are just punishing kids for what adults do. I believe the current laws provide a good template of which to follow by and the sexual consent age of 16 is accurate, as at this age the decision to have sex or not is up to you and you have reached an age and maturity where you can make the choice. I think that the suggested laws obviously have higher risks is broken and may have a little impact but there will still be teenagers who want to have sex and kiss etc and will, and all introducing these laws will do is criminalize young peoples for something a sinister as kissing. Away in which I think the current situation could be improved with out changing the laws is to improve sex education; by educating children at an earlier age, and making sex education lessons more frequent and more relevant to the students.

Mourning and Grief Essay -- Psychology

Sigmund Freud, born on May 8th, 1856, was the founder of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysts believed that human behavior, experience, and cognition were largely determined by irrational drives which were mostly unconscious. Freud further developed the mechanisms of repression and established a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and their respective psychoanalyst. Though psychoanalysts are not very common in our current day, other forms of psychotherapy have developed that employs diverging ideas, originating from Freud’s original thoughts and approach to studying the mind (Boeree). Freud went on to later synthesize a theory of what he believed happened during grief. According to his theory, we become emotionally attached to our loved ones by investing libido, or physical energy, in them. When these loved ones pass, we have a sense that we lost this energy, which he believes accounts for changes in our sensitivity. Under Freud’s theory, grieving consists of severing these emotional attachments by withdrawing our energetic investments (Watson). Though Freud’s view on death was fashioned centuries ago, it can still be clearly seen in various aspects/locations in modern time. Freud’s ideas which have become the backbone to the ‘six reconciliation needs for mourning’ are currently used as the basis for ritualistic tendencies of funerals, self-help books that are utilized within Hospice units in Hospitals, and self-help groups. The initial need to help the family acknowledge the reality of the death of a loved one is commonly carried out by funeral homes. Typically, death is acknowledged in two phases, the first dealing with acceptance in our mind and then within our hearts. Sigmund Freud b... ...e are supposed to do. Self-help groups attempt to fill bereaved ones lives with activities that may interest them in the hopes that these activates will either get their mind off the recent death or aid in helping the individual reinvent themselves. Works Cited Boeree, C. George. "Sigmund Freud." My Webspace Files. 2009. Web. . Smith, Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. "Supporting a Grieving Person." : Helping Others Through Grief and Loss. Jan. 2012. Web. . Watson, Donald E. "Apperception Theory of Grieving." Don Watson's Home Page. 12 Feb. 2005. Web. . Wolfelt, Alan D. "Why Is the Funeral Ritual Important?" 2007. Web.

Synthesis of Cinnamaldehyde from Benzaldehyde

Vidallon, Mark Louis P. Date Performed: February 20, 2012 CHEM44. 1 2LDate Submitted: March 12, 2012 MIXED-ALDOL CONDENSATION Synthesis of Cinnamaldehyde I. Introduction Cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic aldehyde or 3-phenyl-2-propenal is the major constituent of cinnamon oil, extracted from several species of Cinnamomum (C. verum, C. burmanii, C. cassia), under the family Lauraceae, a group of evergreen trees. Cinnamon bark (particularly C. verum) yields 0. 4-0. % oil, which contains 60-80% cinnamaldehyde, 4-5% sesquiterpenoids (? -humulene, ? -caryophyllene, limonene and others), eugenol, cinnamyl acetate, eugenol acetate, cinnamyl alcohol, methyl eugenol, benzaldehyde, benzyl benzoate, cuminaldehyde, monoterpenes (linalool, pinene, phellandrene and cymene), safrole and others (List and Horhammer; Masada; Ravindran qtd. from Khan and Abourashed, 2011). Isolation of cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon oil of Cinnamomum sp. ark, called â€Å"quills†, â€Å"quillings†, â€Å"feathering s† and â€Å"chips† depending on quality, was first done in 1834 by Dumas and Peligot (Attokaran, 2011). It has been proven that cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon oil has a very high potential in the pharmaceutical industry, aside from its well known role in the food preparation, specifically as spice, odorant and colorant. Several researches have proven the antimicrobial activity of cinnamaldehyde against Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus subtilis (Council of Europe, 2008).Also, cinnamaldehyde has been proven to inhibit microbial growth of opportunistic human pathogenic fungi, such as Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans and Rhizopus oligosporus, and various bacteria (Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, and others) (Khan and Abourashed, 2011). Several studies have also unraveled the hypoglycemic (insulin-like) and hypolipidemic properties of cinnamaldehyde since it can cause: elevated glucose oxidation and uptake, causing decrease in blood plasma glucose levels; decreased glycosylated hemoglobin, serum total cholesterol and riglyceride levels; increased plasma insulin, hepatic glycogen and high-density lipoprotein; and restored modified plasma enzyme concentrations to almost normal level (Babu, Prabuseenivasan and Ignacimuthu, 2006). Though effective approaches in the isolation of cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon oil from quills, low amounts of pure cinnamaldehyde can only be obtained from effective separation processes. Feature Article Relative Rates:  Free-Radical BrominationDue to this demarcation in the discovery and investigation of other potential medicinal and non-medicinal values of cinnamaldehyde, chemists have also developed synthetic procedures to obtain high amounts of pure cinnamaldehyde, one of which is the mixed aldol condensation of benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Mixed aldol condensation is a reaction of different aldehydes or ketones leading to the formation of aldols (? -hydroxyaldehydes) or ketols (? -hydroxyketones), accompanied by the removal of water to result finally to enals (? , ? -unsaturated aldehydes) or enones (? , ? -unsaturated ketones).Aldol additions are due to the reaction of enolate ions of carbonyl compounds (from the reaction of acidic ? -hydrogens of aldehydes and ketones with bases) with the electrophilic centers of other carbonyl compounds. Synthesized aldols and ketols can dehydrate spontaneously or can be dehydrated, especially when heated, to form enals an d enone, the final product(s) of aldol condensations (Moore and Langley, 2010). Possible side reactions were the Canizzarro reaction of benzaldehyde and the self-condensation of acetaldehyde. Minimization of the possibilities of the stated reactions was done by following a special scheme of procedure.Characterization tests that were done in to confirm the identity of the products are boiling point determination, reactions with nitric acid and with sodium bisulfite and derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. In the experiment conducted, the objectives of the author were as follows: 1. To synthesize cinnamaldehyde from the base-catalyzed mixed aldol condensation of benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde; and 2. To characterize the synthesized product using its boiling point, results of simple chemical tests and derivatization reactions, along with the determination of the elting points of the hydrazones and comparison of the hydrazones using their RGB values. II. Materials and Methods A. Reagents The following are the reagents were used in the experiment: Benzaldehyde Acetaldehyde 15% sodium hydroxide solution Sodium chloride 95 % ethanol solution 40% sodium bisulfite solution 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine Nitric acid Ice B. Apparatus and Equipment The following are the apparatus and equipment were used in the experiment: 50-mL round-bottom flask 50-mL beaker 10-mL graduated cylinder 10-mL pipet Pasteur pipet Micro distilling flask Test tubes Evaporating dish Thermometer Bunsen burnerMicroreflux Watch glass Iron ring Iron clamp Iron stand Separatory funnel Wire gauze Hot plate Electronic top loading balance Fisher-Johns melting point apparatus III. Schematic Diagrams C. Synthesis of Cinnamaldehyde (in round-bottom flask) 3. 06mL – cool in ice bath + 3. 00mL 15% NaOH + 0. 50mL dropwise with swirling + 3. 00mL 15% NaOH + 0. 50mL dropwise with swirling + 3. 00mL 15% NaOH + 0. 68mL dropwise with swirling – reflux for 10-15 minutes – cool to room te mperature – cool in ice bath – separate layers Organic layer , very minimal (in 10-mL graduated cylinder) Aqueous layer very minimal, unreactedH2O with Na+ and Cl- Measure amount and save for characterization discard D. Characterization 1. Boiling Point Determination Product (in distilling flask) – distill Note temperature at which liquid starts to boil 2. Reaction with Nitric Acid (Test for presence of benzene ring) 1-2 drops of test compound1 (in test tube) + 1-2 drops HNO3 Observe visible changes and temperature changes 3. Reaction with Sodium Bisulfite (Test for presence of carbonyl compounds) 4. 0mL 40% NaHSO3 + 1. 0mL ethanol – filter Residue Filtrate Save and label â€Å"alcoholic NaHSO3† 1-2 drops of test compound1 (in test tube) + 1-2 drops alcoholic NaHSO3Observe visible changes 4. Derivatization with 2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine 1-2 drops of test compound1 (in test tube) + 4. 0mL ethanol + 3. 0mL – filter – recrystallize usi ng 95% ethanol Colored hydrazone crystals Determine melting point and RGB values Compared appearance, melting points and RGB values with other hydrazones 5. Combustion Test 2-4 drops of test compound1 (in evaporating dish) – flame carefully using Bunsen burner flame Observe flammability, flame color and sootiness and compared with other test substances 1 Compounds to be tested are: cinnamaldehyde (product), benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde.IV. Data and Results Table 1. Observations on the synthesis of cinnamaldehyde. Reagent/Action Taken| Observations| Benzaldehyde| Clear, colorless, dense liquid| Acetaldehyde| Clear, colorless liquid| Sodium hydroxide| Colorless liquid| Benzaldehyde + NaOH| White mixture| Mixture + dropwise addition of acetaldehyde| Yellow oil (upper layer) and off-white lower layer| Reflux| Dark brown, opaque, viscous liquid mixture| Cooling| Formation of layers| Extraction:| | Organic layer| (Upper) Dark brown, opaque viscous liquid with cinnamon scent| Aqueo us layer| (Lower) Light brown, translucent liquid|Product| Dark brown, opaque viscous liquid with cinnamon scent| Table 2. Percent yield of the synthesis of cinnamaldehyde. Compound| Amount (mL)| Benzaldehyde| 3. 06| Acetaldehyde| 1. 68| Cinnamaldehyde:| | Theoretical| 3. 78| Experimental| 3. 46| % Yield| 91. 6 %| Table 3. Boiling points of compounds used and synthesized in the experiment. Compound| Boiling point (oC)| Benzaldehyde| 179| Acetaldehyde| 65-82| Cinnamaldehyde:| | Theoretical| 250-252| Experimental| Decomposed| Table 4. Results of the characterization tests of the product and reactants. Compound| Reaction with HNO3| Reaction with NaHSO3| Observations| (+/-)| Observations| (+/-)| Benzaldehyde| Yellow-orange liquid;Heat production | + | White precipitate | + | Acetaldehyde| Clear, colorless liquid (N. R. ) | – | White precipitate | + | Cinnamaldehyde| Two layers: opaque, dark brown (upper) and translucent, chocolate brown (lower) | + | Brown precipitate | + | Table 5. Results of the derivatization with 2,4-DNP. Compound| Observations| Melting point of hydrazone (oC)| Mean RGB Values (in hexadecimal)| | | Theoretical| Experimental| | Benzaldehyde| Orange yellow solids| 255. 25| 218| E7B01A| Acetaldehyde| Crimson red solids| 221. 6| 174| C75B34| Cinnamaldehyde| Red orange solids| 267. 76| Decomposed| AF6D21| Table 6. Observations on the combustion test of the reagents and the product. Compound| Flammability| Flame color| Sootiness| Benzaldehyde| Flammable| Orange| Sooty| Acetaldehyde| Moderately flammable| Blue| Very sooty| Cinnamaldehyde| Very flammable| Orange| Extremely sooty with black residue| Sample Calculations: V benzaldehyde = mol benzaldehyde ? MW benzaldehyde ? 1/? benzaldehyde V benzaldehyde = (0. 03 mol)(106. 12 g/mol)(1. 00 mL/1. 0415 g) V benzaldehyde = 3. 06 mL V acetaldehyde = mol acetaldehyde ?MW acetaldehyde ? 1/? acetaldehyde V acetaldehyde = (0. 03 mol)(44. 05 g/mol)(1. 00 mL/0. 788 g) V acetaldehyde = 1. 68 mL Theoretical yield = mol cinnamaldehyde ? MW cinnamaldehyde ? 1/? cinnamaldehyde Theoretical yield = (0. 03 mol)(132. 16 g/mol)(1. 00 mL/1. 05 g) Theoretical yield = 3. 776 mL %Yield = (3. 46 mL/3. 776 mL) ? 100% %Yield = 91. 6% Maximum loss by solvation V cinnamaldehyde = ? cinnamaldehyde ? solubility in H2O ? V water V cinnamaldehyde = (1. 00 mL/1. 05 g)(4. 09? 10-4 g/mL)[9. 00 mL+(0. 030 mol)(18. 016 g/mol)](1. 00 mL/g) V cinnamaldehyde = (1. 00 mL/1. 05 g) (4. 09? 0-4 g/mL)(9. 54 mL) V cinnamaldehyde = 3. 72? 10-3 mL %Loss by solvation = (V cinnamaldehyde lost/ Theoretical yield) ? 100% %Loss by solvation = (3. 72? 10-3 mL/3. 776 mL) ? 100% %Loss by solvation = 0. 098% V. Discussion Cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic aldehyde or 3-phenyl-2-propenal is the dominant component of cinnamon oil, extracted from several species of Cinnamomum (C. verum, C. burmanii, C. cassia), under the family Lauraceae, a group of evergreen trees. Cinnamon bark (particularly C. verum) yields 0. 4-0. 8% oil, which contains 6 0-80% cinnamaldehyde (List and Horhammer; Masada; Ravindran qtd. rom Khan and Abourashed, 2011), which was first isolated in 1834 by Dumas and Peligot (Attokaran, 2011). It has been proven that cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon oil has a very high potency in the field of medicine, aside from its well known role in the cooking and baking, specifically as spice, odorant and colorant. Several researches have explained and proven the anti-diabetic properties of cinnamaldehyde (Babu, Prabuseenivasan and Ignacimuthu, 2006); also, studies have shown the antimicrobial activity of cinnamaldehyde against Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus subtilis (Council of Europe, 2008).Cinnamaldehyde has been proven to inhibit microbial growth of opportunistic human pathogenic fungi and various bacteria (Khan and Abourashed, 2011). Though effective approaches in the isolation of cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon oil from quills, low amounts of pure cinnamaldehyde can only be obtained from effective separation proc esses. Due to this demarcation in the discovery and investigation of other potential medicinal and non-medicinal values of cinnamaldehyde, chemists have also developed synthetic procedures to obtain high amounts of pure cinnamaldehyde, one of which is the mixed aldol condensation of benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde.The synthesis of cinnamaldehyde through mixed-aldol condensation was done by mixing, in a cooled microreflux, benzaldehyde, portions of 15% sodium hydroxide solution and acetaldehyde, added in a dropwise manner, and then refluxing the mixture for 15-20 minutes. Isolation of the synthesized cinnamaldehyde was done simply by separating the water insoluble cinnamaldehyde layer from the aqueous layer. Aldol condensation is the reaction of aldehydes and/or ketones leading to the formation of ? -hydroxyaldehydes (aldols) or ? hydroxyketones (ketols), also known as the aldol addition, accompanied by the removal of water molecule (dehydration) from these compounds result finally to enals (? , ? -unsaturated aldehydes) or enones (? , ? -unsaturated ketones) (Moore and Langley, 2010; McMurry and Simanek, 2008; Fox and Whitesell, 2004). Aldol additions are due to the reaction of enolate ions of carbonyl compounds (from the reaction of acidic ? -hydrogen atoms of aldehydes and ketones with bases) with the electrophilic centers of other carbonyl compounds.Dehydration, which can be spontaneous due to formation of a more conjugated system or promoted by heating, then leads to the generation of the ? , ? -unsaturated carbonyl compounds as the final product of the aldol condensation (McMurry and Simanek, 2008; Fox and Whitesell, 2004). Aldol condensations can be classified as simple and mixed-(or cross-) aldol condensation. The difference between the two classifications is that simple aldol condensation utilizes only one aldehyde or ketone substrate while the mixed-aldol condensation uses two different carbonyl compounds as the substrate for the reaction (Fox and White sell, 2004).The mixed-aldol condensation was type of reaction employed in the experiment; however, simple aldol condensation, also known as self-condensation was one of the expected side reactions in the conducted study. The general equation for the synthesis of cinnamaldehyde was: The mechanism of the synthesis reaction can be proposed as: 6. Formation of ethenolate ion nucleophile 7. Aldol addition: Formation of 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanal 8. Dehydration: Formation of cinnamaldehyde The initial step done in the experiment was combining 3. 06 milliliter benzaldehyde with three 3. 0 milliliter portions of 15% sodium hydroxide with dropwise addition of 1. 68 milliliter acetaldehyde while swirling the mixture, which was in the microreflux, dipped in an ice bath. Benzaldehyde, followed by 3. 00-milliliter portion of 15% sodium hydroxide solution, was first put into the microreflux instead of the acetaldehyde to prevent acetaldehyde from undergoing self-condensation with the following ge neral equation: Compared to acetaldehyde, benzaldehyde has no 3 ? -hydrogen atoms, which can react with the nucleophile, hydroxide ions, to form a strong nucleophile, the ethenolate ion.Ethenolate ions can attack acetaldehyde instead of attacking benzaldehyde. Thus, benzaldehyde, which can remain as it is in sodium hydroxide, was put in first until the formation and attack of the nucleophile, which was formed right after acetaldehyde was dropped into the reaction mixture. The following is the mechanism of the self-condensation of acetaldehyde, which was minimized by the procedure carried out: Addition of 3. 00-milliliter portions of 15% sodium hydroxide solution, a dilute base, was done to compensate for the combination of benzaldehyde and sodium hydroxide, before adding acetaldehyde.Benzaldehyde reacts with strong, concentrated bases to form benzenecarboxylate and hydroxymethylbenzene; this is known as the Canizzarro reaction. Canizzarro reaction (mechanism shown below) was minimiz ed by the addition of the strong base in small portions, before adding the acetaldehyde, and using a dilute solution of it. Cooling of the mixture in ice bath was done to favor the reaction aldol condensation of benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde, a spontaneous reaction due to the higher degree of conjugation of the product, while disfavoring the self-condensation of acetaldehyde, a heat-requiring reaction (Fox and Whitesell, 2004).Dropwise addition of the enolizable compound, acetaldehyde, was performed to minimize the drastic formation of ethenolate ions while unreacted acetaldehyde molecules still exist in the mixture. The phenomenon was prevented since it would have entailed the self-condensation of acetaldehyde, which could have caused lower yield in the experiment since the reagent would have been consumed in the unnecessary reaction just stated. The microreflux was shaken while the mixture was still being prepared to distribute the ethenolate ions formed though the mixture for the m to react with the electrophile, benzaldehyde.This procedure was also done to minimize the possibility of the self-condensation of acetaldehyde since the ethenolate ions generated were expected to have reacted with benzaldehyde since they were distributed with the aid by shaking before the next drop of acetaldehyde came in contact with mixture. Furthermore, since the reaction mixture was cold, the reaction was expected to be slow; thus, shaking can compensate for the slow movement of molecules and ions in the mixture by somehow supplying the energy needed for the slow-moving benzaldehyde molecules and ethenolate ions to collide.Refluxing was done to: (1) react the still unreacted benzaldehyde molecules and ethenolate ions; and (2) promote the dehydration of the 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanal to finally form the 3-phenyl-2-propenal or the cinnamaldehyde. Refluxing intimately mixes substances by increasing the contact between the reactant particles through boiling and evaporation, follow ed by the condensation in the reflux condenser (due to the removal of heat by the cold water flowing in the condenser) and restoration of the synthesized compound and the little (expected) amount of the unreacted reagents on their original vessel (Mayo, Pike and Forbes, 2001).Refluxing the mixture was very advantageous to the conducted experiment since it ensured higher yield and faster dehydration of the 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanal, though the stated reaction was expected to be spontaneous due to the higher degree of conjugation of the product (3-phenyl-2-propenal) compared to the 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanal. The synthesized cinnamaldehyde was readily separable (solubility of cinnamaldehyde in water=4. 09? 10-4gram/milliliter) with the lower aqueous layer; however, cooling of the mixture was done first to decrease the solubility of the cinnamaldehyde to achieve higher recoverable amount of the product.Liquid-liquid extraction to recover the solvated cinnamaldehyde was not done since the maximum amount of solvated cinnamaldehyde was just 0. 098% of the theoretical yield (see Sample Calculations), thus the recovery of such little amount of product would be wasteful in terms of effort and reagents. Graduated cylinder was used directly as the receiver of the organic layer separated to determine right away the amount of synthesized cinnamaldehyde. The determination of the amount of product in this kind of manner was performed to minimize the loss of products due to the adherence of the very viscous product on the sides of different containers.The amount of the synthesized cinnamaldehyde was found to be 3. 46 milliliter, 91. 6% of the theoretical yield which was computed as 3. 776 milliliter. Possible sources of error in the experiment were: the losses of minimal amount of reagents due to their adherence on the sides of the Pasteur pipets and 50-milliliter beakers; and the losses of the synthesized cinnamaldehyde caused by its adhesion on the sides of the microreflux , surface of the boiling chip and the inside surface of the separatory, caused by the high viscosity of cinnamaldehyde.The lack of further purification process on the cinnamaldehyde, which could still contain traces of benzaldehyde, acetaldehyde and other side products, could also be a factor, leading to the incorrectness of the results of the experiment. The synthesized cinnamaldehyde was expected to be constituted of the cis- and trans- diastereomers; however, it was expected that the trans-isomer was the major component of the product. The reason for the claim was that higher possibility of existence of its trans-isomer-forming transition state conformation compared to the cis-isomer-forming transition state conformation.Elimination to a trans double bond from the staggered conformation of the 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanal transition state, wherein the carbonyl group and the phenyl group are in the anti position to minimize the steric effects on the molecule, was still favored, thou gh the carbonyl group is relatively small, compared to the energetically less stable gauche conformation (due to steric interactions of the carbonyl group and the large phenyl group) of the 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanal, which can cause the cis-isomer formation (Carey and Sundberg, 2001). (a)(b) Figure 1.Balls and sticks representation of 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanal in the conformations for the formation of (a) trans-cinnamaldehyde and (b) cis-cinnamaldehyde. Carbon 2 shadows carbon 3 to show the anti-conformation in (a) and the gauche conformation in (b) of the phenyl and the carbaldehyde groups. Further proof that the formation of the trans-cinnamaldehyde was favored in the reaction was the coplanar arrangement of the highly conjugated aldol condensation product. According to Fox and Whitesell (2004), extended conjugation of the benzene ring with the alkene double bond and carbon-oxygen double bond of the carbonyl group in the ? ? -unsaturated aldehyde product leads to the flat, copla nar arrangement of the product. The p orbital overlap of extensive ? system of the carbonyl group and the alkene is greatest as the ? systems arrange in a single plane, which leads to higher stability of the molecule in terms of the conjugation present. Having a flat product would cause the increased torsional strain on the molecule due to the very close distance of the carbonyl group and the benzene ring. Therefore, cis-benzaldehyde, given the stated situation, is highly unstable and is not preferentially formed over trans-benzaldehyde. (a) (b) Figure 2.Balls and sticks representation of (a) trans-cinnamaldehyde and (b) cis-cinnamaldehyde, viewed at different perspectives to show the differences in the flatness of the two molecules that contribute to their stabilities. Possible side reactions in the experiment conducted were the self-condensation of acetaldehyde and Canizzarro reaction as previously stated along with the preventive measures exercised to minimize their occurrence. S elf-condensation of acetaldehyde was expected to be greatly minimized by the procedure employed and the fact that it is energetically unfavorable, according to Fox and Whitesell (2004).Furthermore, even if the reaction took place, it would have been very minimal since it is a reversible reaction, which was competed with a more favorable reaction that is followed by an irreversible somehow spontaneous dehydration reaction. Depletion of the ethenolate ions (due to the consumption in the addition of benzaldehyde and ethenolate ions, then conversion of the intermediate to cinnamaldehyde) causes the competing self-addition of acetaldehyde to proceed backwards, forming back the acetaldehyde and ethenolate ions, which can be consumed in the aldol condensation of cinnamaldehyde and acetaldehyde.Simple distillation was done to determine the boiling point of the synthesized cinnamaldehyde; however, decomposition was observed in the middle of the procedure, causing the failure of the melting p oint determination attempt; but supported that it was possible that cinnamaldehyde. The observed decomposition can be attributed to the instability of cinnamaldehyde, usually denoted by thickening and decomposition, when exposed for a long time to air at elevated temperatures but lower than its boiling point (>70 °C) (Gholivand and Ahmadi, 2008).Decomposition of natural cinnamaldehyde, however, is not observable in baking and cooking due to the presence of eugenol impurities on cinnamon oil, which has antioxidative properties that protect cinnamaldehyde from heat-induced decomposition (â€Å"Cinnamaldehyde Content†). The chemical tests performed were reaction with nitric acid, formation of the sodium bisulfite addition complex and derivatization with 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine.Reaction with nitric acid is a test for the differentiation of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. Aromatic aldehydes undergo nitration with concentrated nitric acid under normal conditions. Positive t est results can are color changes and/or heat production. The general equation for the nitration of aromatic aldehydes is: Results of the reaction with nitric acid were shown in Table 4. Figure 3. Test results for the reaction of nitric acid with acetaldehyde (left), benzaldehyde (middle) and cinnamaldehyde (right).Positive test results were observed with benzaldehyde and with cinnamaldehyde by the production of colored mixtures, yellow and brown, respectively, accompanied by heat production as shown by the following specific mechanism: 1. Formation of nitrosonium ion 2. Electrophilic addition of the nitrosonium ion to the aromatic aldehyde (a) Cinnamaldehyde Ortho attack Para attack (b) Benzaldehyde (Meta attack) (c) Acetaldehyde Reaction with alcoholic sodium bisulfite solution is a confirmatory test for aldehydes and ketones, having the following reaction and mechanism: Mechanism:Results of the reaction of the compounds with alcoholic sodium bisulfite solution were listed in Tabl e 4. Positive results were observed with acetaldehyde, benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde, which were denoted by the formation of transparent accumulation which turned to white precipitate, white precipitate and brown precipitate, respectively. Figure 4. Test results of the reaction of alcoholic sodium bisulfite with cinnamaldehyde (left), benzaldehyde (middle) and acetaldehyde (right). Sodium bisulfite addition complexes were the observed precipitates of the following reactions:Derivatization with 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine was done to support the identity of the cinnamaldehyde by the determination of the melting point of the hydrazone formed in the derivatization since the boiling point of the cinnamaldehyde was impractical to measure given that it is relatively high and the product, being impure can undergo decomposition. Derivatization with 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine was performed by dissolving the test compound (cinnamaldehyde, acetaldehyde and benzaldehyde) in 4. 00 milliliter of ethanol and adding 3. 0 milliliter 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine solution. The formed precipitate was then filtered and then recrystallized using minimum amount of 95% ethanol solution. The general equation and the mechanism of the reaction can be proposed as: Mechanism: Results of the derivatization, with 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, were shown in Table 5. The following are the equations for the derivatization of each aldehyde with 2,4-DNP in the experiment: Colors of the derivatives obtained were qualitatively different due to the differences in their degrees of conjugation.Decomposition of the cinnamaldehyde hydrazone was observed, which hindered the determination of the melting point of the hydrazone. Deviations from theoretical melting point values of the two other hydrazones were observed on the experimental melting points gathered. The observed discrepancies maybe ascribed to the efficiency of the Fisher-Johns melting point apparatus and/or the quality of the reagents (benza ldehyde, acetaldehyde and 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine) used.To compensate for the failure in the melting point determination of the cinnamaldehyde hydrazone, the RGB (Red, Blue, Green) values or the web color keywords used by computer monitors to generate colors (McFarland, 2009), of the three hydrazones were determined and tested for significant differences using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Figure 5. Isolated and purified hydrazones of benzaldehyde (left), acetaldehyde (middle) and cinnamaldehyde (right). Mean RGB values obtained for cinnamaldehyde, acetaldehyde and benzaldehyde were shown in Table 5.Results of the Analysis of Variance revealed significantly differences among the red values and among the green values of the three hydrazones and no significant differences among the blue values of the hydrazones. Having significantly different values on at least one of the RGB values proves that the composition of the hydrazones was significantly different, thus implying that the p robable presence of benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde in the product was negligible and that cinnamaldehyde can be the compound present.Results of the combustion test were shown in Table 6. Combustion is a chemical reaction between a substance and oxygen that proceeds with the evolution with heat and light as flame (Stoker, 2009). It can be complete, where all of the substance totally undergoes combustion with carbon dioxide and water as the product (general) or incomplete, caused by several factors, which brings about carbon monoxide and elemental carbon formation (soot).Observed differences in the sootiness of acetaldehyde, benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde were due to the differences in the number of carbon atoms and the differences in the degrees of unsaturation of the molecules of each of the compounds. Incomplete combustion is generally observed in long chain hydrocarbons and other organic compounds given that oxygen is limited (Johnson, 1999; Macomber, 1996) since oxygen is consume d along with the carbon of the organic compound to produce carbon dioxide while hydrogen atoms are utilized, also along with oxygen, to produce water.Furthermore, unsaturated organic compounds (having as much carbon-carbon double bond) favors incomplete combustion since the number of carbon atoms is relatively higher than the number of hydrogen atoms; excess carbon atoms cannot be used up in the combustion process to produce carbon dioxide (when oxygen supply limited) and thus soot forms (Lister and Renshaw, 2000). It has been show in the balanced equations of the combustion each compound that cinnamaldehyde requires the highest amount of oxygen, followed by benzaldehyde and, lastly, by acetaldehyde.Given that, in the combustion test conducted, oxygen supply was almost uniform among the three, soot formation was predicted to be observed more prominently on cinnamaldehyde (product), followed by benzaldehyde and lastly by acetaldehyde due to the amount of carbon atoms and the relative number of unsaturations on each molecules. The same arrangement was also the experimental arrangement of the compounds with respect to the observed degrees of sootiness after the carried out combustion test.The structure of cinnamaldehyde was supported by the positive reaction of cinnamaldehyde with nitric acid and with alcoholic sodium bisulfite. Though it can be inferred that the detected compound can also be benzaldehyde, the cinnamaldehyde color (yellow to brown), viscosity and the cinnamon aroma of the compound (which are qualitatively different from the color, viscosity and odor of benzaldehyde), the characteristic decomposition of cinnamaldehyde below its boiling point and the results of the combustion test can be used as further evidence of the identity of the compound produced.Possible sources of error in the experiment were the quality of the reagents used, intervals of dropping acetaldehyde on the mixture, lack of further purification process, lack of more evident physic al and chemical characterization method for the product, efficiency of the melting point apparatus utilized and the storage of cinnamaldehyde product for too long prior to derivatization. I. Summary and ConclusionThe special synthesis experiment, entitled â€Å"Mixed-Aldol Condensation: Synthesis of Cinnamaldehyde†, was conducted to synthesize cinnamaldehyde from the base-catalyzed mixed aldol condensation of benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde; and characterize the synthesized product using its boiling point, results of simple chemical tests and derivatization reactions, along with the determination of the melting points of the hydrazones and comparison of the hydrazones using their RGB values.The synthesis of cinnamaldehyde through mixed-aldol condensation was done by mixing, in a cooled microreflux, benzaldehyde, portions of 15% sodium hydroxide solution and acetaldehyde, added in a dropwise manner, and then refluxing the mixture for 15-20 minutes. Isolation of the synthesized c innamaldehyde was done simply by separating the water insoluble cinnamaldehyde layer from the aqueous layer. Determination of the volume of the synthesized substance was then performed.Chemical test carried out were test for aromatic ring (reaction with nitric acid), test for aldehydes (reaction with alcoholic sodium bisulfite) and derivatization with 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine while the physical characterization test done were boiling point determination using simple distillation and melting point determination of the derivatized hydrazones. RGB values of the isolated and recrystallized hydrazones were obtained and tested for significant differences using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). It was shown that positive test results were exhibited by cinnamaldehyde and benzaldehyde in their reactions with nitric acid.It was also shown that positive test results were displayed by cinnamaldehyde, benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde in their reactions with alcoholic sodium bisulfite. The boiling po int of the isolated product and the melting point of the cinnamaldehyde hydrazone were not obtained due to the decomposition of the stated compound. However, RGB values of the hydrazones were obtained. Results of the Analysis of Variance of the RGB values of the hydrazones revealed significantly differences among the red values and among the green values and no significant differences among the blue values of the hydrazones.Based on the results, it can be concluded that that synthesized product was different from the starting materials and that it was possible that the product was cinnamaldehyde due to the highly colored hydrazone formed. Though chemical tests were successfully done, boiling point determination of the product and melting point determination of its hydrazone were unsuccessfully performed due to the decomposition of both product and its hydrazone; however, chemical tests done and physical properties exhibited by the compound were considerable as enough indicant of the identity of the compound.Based on the readily perceivable physical characteristics of the compound produced and the results of the chemical tests performed and observed, it can be concluded that the synthesized compound was genuinely cinnamaldehyde. Based on the results of the experiment, it was proven that cinnamaldehyde, constituted primarily of trans-cinnamaldehyde, with a percent yield of 91. 6%, was successfully synthesized using the described procedure of the student.Furthermore, the procedure constructed and performed was proven to have minimized the possible side reactions which could have impeded the yield, physical properties and authenticity of the executed chemical tests. Possible sources of error in the experiment were the quality of the reagents used, intervals of dropping acetaldehyde on the mixture, lack of further purification process, lack of more evident physical and chemical characterization method for the product, efficiency of the melting point apparatus utili zed and the storage of cinnamaldehyde product for too long rior to derivatization. II. References ABOURASHED EA and KHAN IA. 2011. Leung’s Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients: Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics. Germany: J. Wiley and Sons. ATTOKARAN M. 2011. Natural Food Flavors and Colorants. Germany: J. Wiley and Sons. BABU P, PRABUSEENIVASAN S and IGNACIMUTHU S. 2006. Cinnamaldehyde: A Potential Antidiabetic Agent. Phytomedicine. 1:15-22. CAREY FA and SUNDBERG RJ. 2001. Advanced Organic Chemistry Part B: Reactions and Synthesis. 4th Ed. USA: Plenum Publishers. COUNCIL OF EUROPE. 008. Natural Sources of Flavorings. France: Council of Europe. FOX MA and WHITESELL JK. 2004. Organic Chemistry. 3rd Ed. USA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. GHOLIVAND MB and AHMADI F. 2008. Simultaneous Determination of Trans-Cinnamaldehyde and Benzaldehyde in Different Real Samples by Differential Pulse Polarography and Study of Heat Stability of Trans-Cinnamaldehyde. Analytical Letters. 41: 3324-3341. JOHNSON W. 1999. Invitation to Organic Chemistry. USA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. LISTER T and RENSHAW J. 2000.Understanding Chemistry for Advanced Level. China: Nelson Thornes. MACOMBER R. 1996. Organic Chemistry. USA: University Science Books. MAYO D, PIKE R. and FORBES, D. 2001. Microscale Organic Laboratory: With Multistep and Multiscale Syntheses. USA: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. MCFARLAND, DS. 2009. CSS: The Missing Manual. 2nd Ed. USA: O’Reilly Media Inc. MCMURRY J and SIMANEK E. 2008. Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry. 6th Ed. Singapore: Thomson Learning. MOORE JT and LANGLEY RH. 2010. Organic Chemistry II for Dummies.USA: Wiley Publishing. STOKER S. 2009. General, Organic and Biological Chemistry. USA: Cengage Learning. â€Å"Cinnamaldehyde Content Foods Determined Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry†. Retrieved from APPENDIX A Randomly Selected RGB Values of Different Hydrazones Table 7. Sample RGB values of acetaldehyde, benzaldehyde and cinnamald ehyde hydrazones and their mean values. Sample No. Acetaldehyde| Benzaldehyde| Cinnamaldehyde| | Red| Green| Blue| Red| Green| Blue| Red| Green| Blue| 1| 202| 90| 52| 203| 168| 25| 185| 107| 22| 2| 189| 85| 50| 239| 170| 17| 173| 106| 53| 3| 195| 97| 58| 233| 185| 25| 185| 114| 22| 4| 206| 101| 54| 236| 171| 43| 174| 102| 18| 5| 199| 80| 40| 232| 176| 19| 173| 109| 37| 6| 201| 81| 57| 236| 181| 29| 174| 123| 40| 7| 201| 99| 59| 236| 179| 28| 170| 103| 24| 8| 198| 92| 42| 232| 178| 18| 164| 105| 45| Mean Values (decimal)| 199| 91| 52| 231| 176| 26| 175| 109| 33| Mean Values (hexadecimal)| C7| 5B| 34| E7| B0| 1A| AF| 6D| 21|APPENDIX B Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the RGB Values of the Hydrazones RED Source| DF| SS| MS| FC| FTAB| Treatment| 2| 12682. 75| 6341. 375| 90. 76086216| 3. 466800112| Error| 21| 1467. 25| 69. 86904762| | | Total| 23| 14150| | | | GREEN Source| DF| SS| MS| FC| FTAB| Treatment| 2| 32406. 08| 16203. 04| 328. 5193| 3. 4668| Error| 21| 1035. 75| 49. 32143| | | To tal| 23| 33441. 83| | | | BLUE Source| DF| SS| MS| FC| FTAB| Treatment| 2| 2888. 083| 1444. 042| 1. 039985| 3. 4668| Error| 21| 29158. 96| 1388. 522| | | Total| 23| 4899. 958| | | |

Discuss Hamlet’s attitude to death and the afterlife Essay

Hamlet a product of Shakespearean times has a different view on death, the afterlife and the divinity of the monarchy to any person today. Everyone in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era believed that there was an afterlife. Everyone believed in God, in witches, fairies and in ghosts. No one saw the dichotomy between their varied beliefs as we do today. Hamlet, as a result of the time in which he was raised, had a very complex attitude towards life and death. This was due to his religious beliefs and his basic morality. Although Hamlet has reasonably strong religious beliefs, he also lived life in the post- renaissance way. The Renaissance era said that there was, more to life than religion and although religion should not be discarded, other things should be considered. ‘Hamlet’ is a typical post-renaissance drama, with several plots interlacing frequently, to produce a complex composition giving meaning through contrast rather than unfolding each event in a single sequence. All the plots involve characters having to kill other characters for one reason or another. For example Claudius plots to kill Hamlet, and Hamlet plots to kill Claudius. It is through Hamlet’s turmoil about whether or not to kill Claudius that his views on religion and the supernatural appear. Although Hamlet wants to kill Claudius, he is prevented from doing so by his religious belief that God gives you life, therefore you have no right to take either your own life of that of another. This is also the reason why Hamlet cannot kill himself. When Hamlet sees Claudius trying to pray, he has a perfect opportunity to kill him but he does not, due once again to the contemporary beliefs about death and the afterlife. He believes that if he kills Claudius whilst he is praying his soul will go straight to Heaven even though he killed old Hamlet. Claudius’ prayers mean that he is in a state of perfect grace, with all his sins forgiven, so therefore, he will go to Heaven. Hamlet obviously does not want this. His father is forced to remain in purgatory and to suffer the misery of wandering the earth night after night because Claudius killed him while he was sleeping and unable to seek redemption. It is not surprising therefore, that Hamlet does not want his stepfather to have the happy ending his father never got. As John Russel Brown says: 1’Within ‘Hamlet’, Shakespeare has created a hero who is compelled instinctively to seek and exact revenge and yet lives in a world created by an all-seeing all powerful, and merciful God. ‘ When Hamlet kills Polonius, he sees himself as ‘Heavens scourge and minister’, as if his violent and instinctive reaction had been in accordance with Gods will. Such references together with various calls upon ‘God’ or ‘Heavenly powers’, remind an audience of secure moral judgements that call for repentance and mercy or for punishment. They mark the play as contemporary, not belonging to a pre-Christian Denmark, and ensure that Hamlet’s progress in revenge does not move him entirely from customary judgements even though he believes he could ‘drink hot blood’ and envisions evil spreading throughout the world. Therefore here Hamlet is showing that although he is a good Christian follower, he seeks revenge for the murder of his father. Laertes, another character to lose his father and his sister, who are both related to Hamlet in one way or another, deals with his feelings for seeking revenge in a very different way to Hamlet. Although at first Laertes believes that Claudius killed his father, his reaction to his father’s death differs greatly. Laertes does not care about morals very much: To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! ‘ He is prepared to go to Hell to get revenge for his father’s death. He then continues to say. ‘I dare damnation. To this point I stand. That both the worlds give to negligence, let come what comes; only I’ll be reveng’d, Most throughly for my father. Laertes is saying that he does not care what the consequences are, he will seek revenge even if he has to damn his soul to get it. Laertes decides that he will murder Hamlet, by poisoning the dagger he will be fighting him with. This, he knows, will definitely lead to Hamlets death. Laertes makes a decision and sticks with it, unlike Hamlet who is considered insane around the time he is thinking about killing Claudius. Hamlet is even considering taking his own life; therefore Laertes would appear to be the more stable of the two. However, much of Hamlet’s procrastination lies in the fact that he intellectualizes the moral issues involved in life and death, good and evil. Both characters end up with the same fate; death. Laertes behaves like a typical hero of a revenge tragedy, rushing headlong into revenge and his own death without pausing to weigh the consequences of his actions. When old Hamlet appears, Hamlet questions whether or not to believe it is his father. Hamlet is in a very emotional state, he is thinking of suicide due to his father’s death, and now he has appeared before him, it is little wonder that he is shaken up. Hamlet’s indecisiveness as to whether the ghost is really his father, is seen when he says ‘I’ll call thee Hamlet, King Father, royal Dane’, until he hears otherwise. He is wary because it was believed at the time that ghosts brought evil and were not good however, because the ghost so resembles his father and because Hamlet mourns him, he is prepared to believe that it is an honest ghost. The ghost confirms his identity, to Hamlet by saying ‘I am thy Father’s spirit, Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confin’d to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burn’t and purg’d away’. Once again, the audience learns something about Jacobean religious views and beliefs. Old Hamlet is telling us that due his being murdered so quickly, he did not have time to repent his sins, and therefore he is stuck in purgatory the place between Heaven and Hell until God forgives them. However Hamlet and Horatio are both men with high academic achievements, and both scholars, therefore it would be unlikely they would imagine such a thing. Both of them see the ghost on the battlement as do Barnado, Francisco and also Marcellus who sees its appearance as a sign that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Although Gertrude never sees the Ghost, its validity and existence is proven by the fact that both Hamlet and Horatio have seen it. 2 The fact that Gertrude has an inability to see the Ghost might suggest the fact that she had nothing to do with the murder of old Hamlet or that she is too insensitive to see it – an idea born out by her insensitively speedy marriage to Claudius. This also appears to be the case in MACBETH another of Shakespeare’s plays, in the banquet scene, when the guilty Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo but no one else does. As a result of the information Hamlet receives from his father about his death, and his mother’s behavior, Hamlet feels that life in Denmark is worthless. He feels now with the death of his father, and the incestuous he feels relationship between his mother and Claudius, that his life is also meaningless and worthless thus he discusses committing suicide. ‘O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew’. He then describes how distraught he is that his father was only dead a month when his mother got married to Claudius, and how he must ‘hold his tongue’. In spite of this he cannot kill himself because God gave him his life, therefore he has no right to take it. ‘The Everlasting ‘has’ ‘fixed / His canon gainst self-slaughter’.

Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander essays

Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander essays Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander is a mystery about Sir John Fielding in the mid 18th century. This story takes place in London and the main characters are Sir John Fielding and Jeremy Proctor. Fielding is well known in the area along with his brother Henry Fielding for being the founders of the Bow Street Runners police force. The Bow Street Runners is the very first police force in the London area and nobody has seen anything like it. Sir John is a high-ranking member in the courts and has a great reputation for giving stern punishments for crimes he knows have been committed and being sympathetic to lesser crimes. One twister to this story is that Sir John Fielding is blind yet he has an outstanding ability to solve crimes using all of his other senses. Early in the story Sir John Folding takes custody of a young boy named Jeremy Proctor. Jeremy is on the run because his father was stoned to death for the counterfeiting of money. Jeremy is captured in London and sent to the court with Sir John and he is soon released because Sir John sees that the young man has done nothing wrong. Sir John realizes that Jeremy Proctor can benefit him in his investigations by being his eyes in crimes scenes. While Jeremy becomes an orphan to the court a major incident happens. Lord Goodhope was found dead to what was believed to be suicide by a pistol. While Jeremy and Sir John were investigating the incident Jeremy tells Sir John a interesting observation that he saw at the scene. Jeremy told Sir John that when he was observing Lord Goodhope's corpse his hands were clean. In the time it was impossible for somebody to shoot a weapon without some sort of smoke leaving a stain on his or her hand and Sir John later demands an autopsy. Sir Joh ns hunch was right and the autopsy revealed that Sir John was actually poisoned. As the team investigates Lord Goodhope's life they find some revealing facts. They find out that he was extremel...

The Genre of Epic Literature and Poetry

The Genre of Epic Literature and Poetry Epic poetry, related to heroic poetry, is a narrative art form common to many ancient and modern societies. In some traditional circles, the term epic poetry is restricted to the Greek poet Homers works The Iliad and The Odyssey and, sometimes grudgingly, the Roman poet Virgils The Aeneid. However, beginning with the Greek philosopher Aristotle who collected barbarian epic poems, other scholars have recognized that similarly structured forms of poetry occur in many other cultures. Two related forms of narrative poetry are trickster tales that report activities of very clever disrupter beings, human and god-like both; and heroic epics, in which the heroes are ruling class, kings and the like. In epic poetry, the hero is an extraordinary but also an ordinary human being and although he may be flawed, he is always brave and valorous. Characteristics of Epic Poetry The characteristics of the Greek tradition of epic poetry are long-established and summarized below. Almost all of these characteristics can be found in epic poetry from societies well outside of the Greek or Roman world. The content of an epic poem always includes the glorious deeds of heroes (Klea andron in Greek), but not just those types of things- the Iliad included cattle raids as well.   All About the Hero There is always an underlying  ethos  that says that to be a hero is to always be the best person he (or she, but mainly he) can be, pre-eminent beyond all others, primarily physical and displayed in battle. In Greek epic tales, intellect is plain common sense, there are never tactical tricks or strategic ploys, but instead, the hero succeeds because of great valor, and the brave man never retreats. Homers greatest poems are about the heroic age, about the men who fought at Thebes and Troy (a. 1275–1175 BCE), events that took place about 400 years before Homer wrote the Illiad and Odyssey. Other cultures epic poems involve a similarly distant historic/legendary past. The powers of the heroes of epic poetry are human-based: the heroes are normal human beings who are cast on a large scale, and although gods are everywhere, they only act to support or in some cases thwart the hero. The tale has a believed historicity, which is to say the narrator is assumed to be the mouthpiece of the goddesses of poetry, the Muses, with no clear line between history and fantasy. Narrator and Function The tales are told in a mannerly composition: they are often formulaic in structure, with repeated conventions and phrases. Epic poetry is performed, either the bard sings or chants the poem and he is often accompanied by others who act out the scenes. In Greek and Latin epic poetry, the meter is strictly dactylic hexameter; and the normal assumption is that epic poetry is long, taking hours or even days to perform. The narrator has both objectivity and formality, he is seen by the audience as a pure narrator, who speaks in the third person and the past tense. The poet is thus the custodian of the past. In Greek society, the poets were itinerant who traveled throughout the region performing at festivals, rites of passage like funerals or weddings, or other ceremonies. The poem has a social function, to please or entertain an audience. It is both serious and moral in tone but it doesnt preach. Examples of Epic Poetry Mesopotamia: Epic of GilgameshGreek: The Iliad, The OdysseyRoman: The AeneidIndia: Loriki, Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, RamayanaGerman: The Ring of the Nibelung, RolandOstyak: The Song of the Golden HeroKhirghiz: SemeteyEnglish: Beowulf, Paradise LostAinu: Pon-ya-un-be, Kutune ShirkaGeorgia: The Knight in the PantherEast Africa: Bahima Praise PoemsMali: SundiataUganda: Runyankore Source:Hatto AT, editor. 1980. Traditions of Heroic and Epic Poetry. London: Modern Humanities Research Association.