World War One Poetry Essay Example

World War One Poetry Essay Compare and contrast the purpose and style of Wilfred Owens First World War poetry with the purpose and style of contemporary recruitment poems. The Ballad of Peace and War- Wilfred Owen Dulce et Decorum Est- Wilfred Owen Anthem for Doomed Youth- Wilfred Owen Whos for the Game?- Jessie Pope Fall In- Harold Begbie What passing bells for those who die as cattle? Wilfred Owen, Anthem for Doomed Youth Who wants a turn to himself in the show? Jessie Pope, Whos for the Game? We will write a custom essay sample on World War One Poetry specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on World War One Poetry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on World War One Poetry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The First World War began in 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was shot by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb student. As retribution for this, Austria-Hungary demanded that Serbia punished those involved with the shooting. The conflict escalated as the Austro-Hungarian government deemed that Serbia had not fulfilled this demand and declared war. The major European powers had joined the war within a few weeks due to complex international alliances. Thus the original war had become the first global military conflict; the Entente or Allied powers, the British Empire, Russia, France and eventually Italy ; America, against the Central powers, the Austro-Hungarian, German and Ottoman Empires. World War One is also described as the first modern war and is particularly noted for the use of trench warfare, which resulted in an estimated 8.3 million military casualties. When the war broke out in August 1914, Britain relied on a small professional force, differing from other European powers which had vast conscript armies. However, as the number of casualties grew and details of the soldiers harsh experiences in the French trenches reached the British public, men became reluctant to join the army. The reduction in volunteers led to the launch of a nationwide campaign by the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener. This campaign aimed to develop new armies made up of millions of volunteers. As part of the campaign, various newspapers published recruiting poems. These poems, combined with a nationwide poster operation, helped to create immense social pressure to join the army upon the nations young men. The recruiting poems were written by people, such as Jessie Pope, who had never experienced war and the poems catchy styles with simple rhyme schemes reflect their purpose of trying to encourage young men to join the war effort. The cheerful recruiting campaign, however, was a stark contrast to the harsh realities of trench warfare. Wilfred Owen drew on his horrific experiences in the war to write powerful anti-war poetry, with guidance from Siegfried Sassoon. Owen had been eager to join the army and was sent to France at the end of 1916; the horrors of battle quickly changed Owen and his writing. The sombre style of Owens poems reflected their purpose of illustrating the reality of war, contradi cting the pro-war campaign. This recruiting campaign, however, became unnecessary after conscription was introduced in 1916. Before his own experiences in battle, Owen was a supporter of the war, drafting the pro-war poem The Ballad of Peace and War. Owen was eager to volunteer for his country and left his teaching position in France to do so, telling his mother I now do most intensely want to fight. The following spring, Owen returned home a changed man, suffering from shell-shock. The Ballad of Peace and War is a stark contrast to Owens later poems, demonstrating how his experiences in the trenches changed his opinion of war. The Ballad of Peace and War has a simple ABAB rhyme scheme, as did the recruitment poetry, and a patriotic style. In this poem, Owen declared Oh meet it is and passing sweet to live at peace with others, but sweeter still and far more meet to die in war for brothers These lines illustrate Owens original belief that it is meet or fitting to die in order to save the soul of England. This was a belief that Owen later mocked, when he had returned from battle, in Dulce et Decorum Est. Dulce et Decorum Est, one of the best-known poems of the twentieth century, demonstrates Owens departure from his early writing style, demonstrated in The Ballad of Peace and War. The title of the poem, itself a mockery of Owens earlier work, originates from a poem by the Roman poet Horace. The phrase was much-quoted throughout the nineteenth century, when the British Empire was at its peak, particularly during the Boer War and at the start of World War One. The complete phrase, Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori., means It is sweet and fitting to die for your country. Owen refers to this phrase as the old Lie and uses it to attack the stay-at-home supporters of the war. The style of the poem is a contrast to the ballad style of Owens original poetry. Although Owen has continued to use the simple ABAB rhyme scheme, Dulce et Decorum Est displays Owens use of grammar and enjambment to give the poem a sense of disorientation, whilst also mocking the simple rhyme scheme used in recruit ment poetry such as Whos for the Game? by Jessie Pope, showing their inaccuracy to his audience. Owen also uses short sentences and capital letters in lines such as Gas! GAS! to convey the sense of panic he experienced in the trenches. Another technique employed by Owen in Dulce et Decorum Est is the use of sensory language to create graphic imagery. Lines such as Gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, conjure up horrific images in the mind of the reader. All of these techniques help Owen to achieve his purpose of expressing the horrors of trench warfare to the reader, thereby counteracting the effects of pro-war recruitment poetry. Dulce et Decorum Est was originally addressed directly to Jessie Pope, a poet and war enthusiast, who wrote poems such as Whos for the Game? in support of the recruitment campaign. Owen refers to Pope in the final lines of the poem as my friend and declares that Pope would not be so quick to encourage children to join the army if she had experienced life in the trenches. These lines are used by Owen to emphasise the fallacies of the recruitment cam paign, which was led by those without experience of trench warfare. Jessie Pope was a well-known journalist who helped the recruitment campaign by writing war poetry for the Daily Mail and the Daily Express. Her writing reflected popular attitudes within society during the First World War and Pope herself has become infamous after Owens reference to her in his first draft of Dulce et Decorum Est. Popes poem Whos for the Game? compares war to sport in order to achieve the purpose of recruitment poetry, which is to persuade men to join the army. Using lines such as Wholl toe the line for the signal to Go!? and colloquial language such as It wont be a picnic, Pope creates an informal, friendly style whilst building the comparison of war to sport. This implies that war is a trivial, fun pastime like sports, which adds persuasive clout to the poem, particularly as sports are a traditionally male activity. The friendly style of the poem also helps to achieve Popes purpose because the reader is more likely to trust the content of the poetry if they feel a b ond with the author. Popes use of language also contributes to this style. Popes choice of adverbs, such as eagerly, hold positive connotations which subconsciously imply to the reader that the war will be fun. This is a contrast to Owens choice of language in Dulce et Decorum Est and Anthem for Doomed Youth, where words hold negative connotations, thereby expressing the horrors of trench warfare. An example of this is Owens use of the word haunting with implications of death. Another technique used by Pope to achieve her purpose is the use of rhetorical questions, such as Wholl give his country a hand?, which force the reader to ask themselves these questions and doubt their opinions if they differ from those of the author. Additionally Popes simple ABAB rhyme scheme, contrasting to Owens ironic use of enjambment to twist this rhyme scheme in Dulce et Decorum Est, gives the poem a catchy style which mean the poem itself is more likely to remain in the readers mind and is therefore more likely to evade their conscious opinions and persuade them into Popes point of view. However, in Whos for the Game? Pope personifies England as a woman who needs help, referring to the country as she, which acts as a persuasive technique for men by stimulating their tribal instincts to protect females. Similarly, Owen uses the distress of women to instil emotion within the reader, in the line the pallor of girls brows in Anthem for Doomed Youth. Another of Owens poems, written with extensive assistance from Sassoon in the summer of 1917, is the Anthem for Doomed Youth. The purpose of this poem, as with all of Owens later work, was to express the horrors of trench warfare to the reader, thereby counteracting the effects of pro-war recruitment poetry and developing an attitude of opposition to war within the reader. In the Anthem for Doomed Youth, Owen compares the dehumanized casualties of the First World War to the formal funeral ceremonies of peacetime in the sad shires of Britain. Owen also employs animal imagery and rhetorical questions, What passing bells for those who die as cattle?, as persuasive techniques to imply that the deaths of soldiers are treated similarly to the slaughter of cattle. The rhetorical questions are used by Owen to make the reader question their preconceptions. Owen also uses juxtaposition within lines such as The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells. to reflect the contrast of traditional fu neral customs and the attitude towards death in times of war. This emphasises how life becomes devalued and people dehumanized during battle. This highlights the futility and illogic of war itself, thereby helping Owen to achieve his purpose. The sombre, sonnet style of Anthem for Doomed Youth also helps to achieve this purpose by reflecting the grave atmosphere of funerals. This reminds the reader of the high number of casualties caused by wars, helping to promote an anti-war attitude amongst Owens audience. Harold Begbies Fall In is another example of a recruitment poem which reflected popular social attitudes towards the First World War in the summer of 1914. It was published in The Daily Chronicle and quickly became incredibly popular, even being set to music and sung in music halls with both related posters and badges produced. The purpose of the poem itself was to encourage young men to join the war effort. Begbie uses repetition and rhetorical questions in lines such as What will you lack, sonny, what will you lack? to make the poem easy to remember and therefore persuasive. The rhetorical questions are used by Begbie to make the reader question any anti-war opinions they may possess. The use of rhetorical questions and the use of personal pronouns, such as you, also create a personal, friendly style for the poem. This friendly style, also employed by Jessie Pope in Whos for the Game?, is persuasive and helps to achieve Begbies purpose because the reader is more likely to trust the content of the poetry if they feel a bond with the author. In Fall In each verse has a different scenario, such as in far-off winter nights, to compare the results for those who fought in the war and those who did not. In each scenario the lads who come back are more successful so the plot of the poem helps achieve the poems purpose by implying that is Wrong not to fight in the war. Begbie also capitalizes right and wrong in the phrase And Right is smashed by Wrong? to personify them and displaying the choice in a simplified manner which removes any empathy for those who do not fight, produces pro-war emotions within the reader and achieving the purpose of recruitment poetry. This also contrasts with the timeline of Owens Dulce et Decorum Est, which describes only one scenario, not several, heightening the tension in each verse in order to build to a climax. Owen does this to sustain both the readers interest and their emotional involvement so his conclusion will be more effective and persuasive, expressing the harsh reality of trench warfare. Another similarity between the poetry of Owen and Begbie is their references to God, although both employ this technique for opposing reasons. In Fall In, Be gbie uses God to support his view that able men should go to war by showing it, and the war itself, to be morally correct by declaring that Britains call is Gods. In contrast, Owen uses implications of Gods role in the war to provide connotation with death in the line Shall shine the holy glimmers of their goodbyes, in his sonnet Anthem for Doomed Youth, to achieve his purpose of emphasising the brutality of the First World War. The recruitment poetry of Harold Begbie and Jessie Pope uses a friendly, informal style to achieve their purpose of encouraging men to volunteer for the army whilst Wilfred Owen uses a sombre style in his later works. Owen uses this style to achieve his purpose of counteracting the effects of recruitment poetry by expressing the horrors of trench warfare to the reader and developing an attitude of opposition to war within the reader. The different styles of the poetry reflects their contrasting purposes as the friendly style is used to display war in a positive light whereas the sombre style is used to express the harsh reality of trench warfare. However, both types of poetry, anti-war and pro-war, use rhetorical questions to force the reader to question any opposing opinions they may hold. In Fall In Begbie asks Is it naught to you if your country fall and Right is smashed by Wrong? and in Anthem for Doomed Youth Owen questions What passing bells for those who die as cattle? Both types of poetry also employ comparisons, albeit at opposite ends of the spectrum, where recruitment poets compare war to sport and anti-war poets compare traditional funerals with the miserable reality of trench warfare. To conclude, it is clear that Begbie, Pope and other recruitment poets employ persuasive techniques to achieve their purpose, as does Owen, although Owen had a contrasting purpose to the recruitment poets.

How to Clean Out Your Inbox in 5 Easy Steps

How to Clean Out Your Inbox in 5 Easy Steps We all start with the best of intentions: an empty inbox (except for our most current unread or action-required emails), and an array of carefully labeled file folders containing all the rest. But one busy week or month, and we spiral far beyond our own control- until we’re one of those people with 12,429 unread emails, or with page after page after page of unfiled, undeleted stuff  and no time to sit down and fix it.But clearing clutter is as important in your inbox as it is in your working space. So take an hour, turn off all distractions- maybe even the Internet!- and get the monster that is your email back in working order.Determine Who’s WhoStart by sorting your inbox by sender. This helps you get rid of page after page of newsletters and promotions you no longer need, plus it helps you weed out the unimportant and deletable emails from more important senders.Go IncognitoFor the purposes of this exercise, you’re not â€Å"checking your email.† No ma tter how quickly you can do it, resist the temptation to start replying to time-sensitive messages. There’ll be plenty of time for that. Flag the ones that require replies and move on.Find Your SystemNo one else’s organization system will work better for you than your own. Find a filing and labeling system that works best for you- and makes your job easier, not harder. If the idea of applying such a system retroactively is too daunting for you, you could always put everything not current into a folder labeled â€Å"BEFORE† and rely on search to call up older emails and start fresh.Be RuthlessPretend each email is a piece of physical mail, slowly piling up on top of your desk, and repeat: I don’t have to keep everything. Keeping a paper trail with important stuff is crucial, but just because you can keep and store a billion emails doesn’t mean you should. Free up disk and head space and hit delete whenever you can.Know Your TricksUsing your keyboard shortcuts (arrow keys, â€Å"shift,† â€Å"delete,† etc.) can make this process go much faster. Try finding a way to make the process go like lightning, rather than using your mouse to click on every email.

Choose two potential markets( construction related, such as railway or Essay

Choose two potential markets( construction related, such as railway or civil etc. ) for a contracting organisation to enter for - Essay Example Overall, construction advanced by 8% in the year 2010 and in the subsequent year by 2.8% (DKM Economic Consultants, 2009, P.15). Nevertheless, by the later part of the year 2011, the entire construction industry’s growth had started to become slow with a relative downturn in the year 2010. For instance, new construction orders in the year 2012 were below the preceding quarter’s level, by 8.5% (DKM Economic Consultants, 2009, P.17). At this time, the house construction sector, both public and private suffered a major blow, and only infrastructure construction showed slight signs of development, as the government made the attempt to keep the civil works running, through collaboration with private investors. This implies that, by the year 2012, the house construction segment had been surpassed by civil engineering in terms of performance and industry leadership. The United Kingdom’s construction industry is a major economic pillar, since it contributes about a tenth of Britain’s (GDP), provides work to approximately 1.4 million individuals and accrues revenue of about ?65 billion per year. This industry is also ranked among the world’s top ten industries, further emphasizing its significance and the wide array of opportunities it has for new engineering companies. Construction Market Sectors The United Kingdom building and engineering industry comprises of large and dominant companies, which operate along with smaller establishments. Competitive rivalry in the industry is slightly eased when companies diversify their operations into different sectors. Key among these sectors, are the house construction and civil engineering sectors, which are analyzed hereunder, for the purpose of advising a potential construction contractor (Greenhalgh and Squires, 2011, P.35). Civil Engineering Sector Civil Engineering, which encompasses public works like railway, highway and other infrastructure constructions, is UK’s building and const ruction industry’s largest segment. This sector accounts for approximately 52.9% of the overall value of the industry (Data Monitor. 2012, P.7). In 2012, the output from infrastructure construction amounted to ?14,181 million, whereas infrastructure maintenance stood at ?7,775m (Data Monitor. 2012, P.10). Division of the civil engineering sector into its sub-sectors indicates that, railways, roads, as well as, water and sewerage subdivisions represent the greatest infrastructure construction components, at 25%, 24% and 22% in that order (Data Monitor. 2012, P.16). In the duration running from 2007 to 2011, all the new civil engineering sub-sectors depicted relatively steady annual growth. For instance, the water and sewerage sub-sector depicted a 10% growth, the roads sub-division a growth of 9%, while the railway construction sub-sector was at 24% (Data Monitor. 2012, P.18). One of the principal leaders in this sector is Balfour Beatty. This renowned civil engineering compan y deals with construction, business investment and overall engineering services. Balfour Beatty offers its specialized services in complex structure, road, utility systems and rail construction, not only to the United Kingdom, but to the entire globe as well. The company’s operations cover the entire European region, the Americas, as well as, the Asia Pacific area. This

Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Accounting - Research Paper Example This chapter outlines the essence of harmony, and healthy working relations. It is crucial to note that, Dunlap has caused more harm than salubrious. Many companies remained ruined during and after Dunlap’s rein as executive officer (Hooper, 2003). For instance, the application of traditional and crooked ways of bookkeeping, workforce evisceration and executive butt- worship, which characterized Chainsaw’s career in the business world wallowed majority of the firms, which included Sunbeam. They were rendered bankruptcy and crippled (Byrne, 2001). Dunlap’s arrogance can be illustrated in a case where were he fires quarter of the salaried employees of Lilly Tulip. It is imperative to note that, Dunlap’s egomaniacal style and obsession with short-term performance ultimately led to his firing and charged with fraud. Later Dunlap pays millions of dollars to the shareholders and remains banned from heading any public company (Lasdun, 2001). This situation reveals how, work places have risen to become one of the unsafe places as not perceived (Hodas, 2006). It is evidenced by journalistic investigation of incidents that, marginalization, harassment and bullying by administrators are a norm to employees (Beresntain, 1995). In conclusion, Dunlap represented an era characterized by anger, betrayal, self-interest, lies and arrogance for instance, the case where Dunlap rewards the lawyer such that, the intended loyalty and commitment might remain

Information Policy and Governance Essay Example for Free

Information Policy and Governance Essay Besides the security loopholes and privacy demands from information providers and users, there are various issues that have drawn the attention of information management from the novice systems to advanced information management systems. Policies, in the management worlds have been used as guidelines against which certain safety frameworks are checked. In the information management sectors, policies are guidelines against which the integrity of information and its security can be formulated. Complexity  Whilst I have recognized that a governance copycat seems now to be undulating, I am reluctant to have a definite conclusion and certainly not in a gullible fashion. Instead, I believe that governing complexity of information is far from straightforward and, indeed, that governance malfunction in an organization is custom. Where there are not corporate strategies to guide information management, computer executives will be in risk when making long-term technology choices making it imperative for top-management executive and possibly shareholders to be involved in any decisions that involve governing of Information. The dangers of internal or external threats to a company’s data are becoming more complex as the profundity, extent of a company’s information expands hastily, and data is collective with business partners, suppliers, and customers. The complexities involved in the policy formulation process may be mainly sourced from the end users who may not always be agreeable to the draft policies and without adequate coordination, the process can collapse. Massive training programs, in-depth directives, guidelines and basic instructions, must all be considered as part of the policy formulation processes hence the complexity. Although the complexity of policy formulation may be in the initial stages, governance poses a challenge in the implementation phases. Information Policy Formulation of information management policies involves both the policy formulators and the information users. There is much coordination and interpretation needed. In many instances, there would be several drafts, approvals, debates and eventual releases. Though the information users may agree to the underlying policies on how they would create, have or gain access to, store, as well as dispose of information be it personal or business information, there may be numerous challenges to top management on how to govern and manage the long-term adherence to the formulated policies. Accountability procedures have to therefore be implemented to ensue that the policies agreed upon are not only implemented but adhered to. Policy Frame works. Besides the challenges involved in making agreeable terms upon which information management can be based, basic policies have to be formulated to guide all the stakeholders on the foundational frameworks of information integrity and security. In this case, the attention is then drawn to some basis questions: who makes the information management policies? How are the information management policies made? â€Å"Traditional organizational structure is crumbling under the weight of ever increasing egulations that drive greater accountability and transparency. Smart companies are on the forefront of building new and improved structures that support and enhance this new compliance environment, and best practices are emerging† (Atkinson Leandri, 2005, p. 37). The foundational frameworks upon which information management policies are formulated are key. Basic consideration, in this process, is given to the particular organizational needs as well as long-term goals. Both short-term as well as long-term organizational information needs have to also be evaluated, both Bookmark Privacy In any democratic society privacy is an essential human right. And now organizations are evolving in their thoughts about information privacy. More focus is being placed on the value it can deliver to an organization, and how it can contribute to enhanced and sustained stakeholder value. Most businesses are very particular about data privacy by making sure that certain data does not end up in wrong hands. As part of putting into practice this requests, the business logic section executes functions that make compulsory privacy rules which are a derivative from business rules and sources for government, industry and consumer privacy rules. Rules Traditionally, law and government policy have customary default rules for information policy, but for network environments and the information society the government is not solely responsible for making this rules. In any organization that shares data both internally and externally rules have to be put in place to govern who and when information can be accessed. And if the information is accessed there has to be certain checks and balances that make sure only the information required can be accessed. Linked Data Linked data is the aptitude of an organization to add one information set to another data set and use it for further relevance. This can be achieved by making some changes to the way information is presented to the public and some naming standards have to be implemented and followed. This is not a necessarily complex change that an organization needs to make but it will require alto of expertise, strategy planning and implementation. Places that offer information to public, such as libraries would benefit enormously from using linked data design. It means that they will stop spending time on data aggregation and start spending it on analysis and action of the already existing data. An example is linked data can be used in secure surroundings to help partners share personal, sensitive or profitable information on presentation and resources and help better target those in need or areas for improvement. Conclusion Not every organisation has setup an information management policy, and many carry out their business commendably without one. However, certain occurrences can occur and will alert such organisations to the necessity for one, however, and perpetually this will be at that dangerous ‘its too late’ moment. To avoid such kind of mishaps it is always good for organization to start planning on how they will manage there information and govern it within the company.

SING SING SING Essay -- Essays Papers

SING SING SING I used to always go over to my grandparent’s house and watch my grandfather go crazy over this â€Å"Jazz† music. He explained to me that it wasn’t Jazz unless it swung like the greats. I listened to a song â€Å"Sing Sing Sing† the other day from one of my Jazz collections that my grandpa gave to me and realized that their was so much energy and pizzazz in this music. He explained to me that it was all put together by a guy named Benny, and I understood why. Benny Goodman, born Benjamin David in 1909, one of twelve children, grew up in a Chicago ghetto with his family, who fled Russian anti-Semitism. Encouraged by his father, an immigrant tailor, to learn a musical instrument, Goodman took up the clarinet at a young age. From the start, he displayed an exceptional talent. Before he was in his teens, he had begun performing in public. He received his first true clarinet and musical training from a local synagogue, then continued practice through Hull House, a social-service agency for the under privileged children of the Chicago. The most important of his teachers, at the school, was Franz Schoeppe, a classical instructor from the Chicago Musical College who ignored jazz and stressed in his students the discipline and respect for classical music. After his father died, fourteen-year-old Benny helped support his family by playing at a Chicago neighborhood dance hall and working locally for two years. In 1925, Gil Rodin, who was then with the band led by Ben Pollack, heard him. Goodman was hired by Pollack, then working in California, and the following year made a triumphal return to Chicago as featured soloist with the band. Goodman remained with Pollack until 1929, when he became a much in-demand session musician in New York. When the band was between jobs, Goodman jammed with members of the Austin High Gang who introduced him to the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and the Dixieland clarinet style of Leon Rappolo. After his 17th birthday Benny made his first recording with Pollack's band with the tune, "He's the Last Word." Benny also played in the bands of leaders such as Red Nichols (from 1929 to 1931), Isham Jones, and Ted Lewis. During the early 30s Goodman played in bands led by Red Nichols, Ted Lewis, Sam Lanin and others. In 1934, Goodman led a dance band that performed regularly on the national radio show "Let'... ...ible, but included among others, Lionel Hampton, Harry James, Georgie Auld, Ziggy Ellman, Charlie Christian, Red Norvo, Fletcher Henderson, Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson, George Wettling, Pee Wee Irwin, Miff Mole, Roy Eldridge, Stan Getz, and Cootie Williams. "The Benny Goodman Story," a film made in 1955, depicted Benny Goodman's life, and Benny recorded the sound track for it. In the 1950s to the 1970s he made several overseas trips and played at selected engagements with a small band. One such trip was to Russia in 1962. In January 1978 he returned to Carnegie Hall to do a Concert. The tickets all sold out the first day. His last studio recordings were made in January 1986. References Collier, J. Benny Goodman and the Swing Era. New York: West Publishing Company, 1989 Connor, R. and Hicks, W. B. G. on the Record: A Bio-Discography of Benny Goodman. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 1969 Dance, S. The World of Swing. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Klauber, B. The World of Gene Krupa. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1991. Schuller, G. The Swing Era. New York: McGraw Hill, 1989. Stewart, R. Jazz Masters of the '30s. New York: W.W. Norton, 1972.

Medically Assisted Suicide

Medically Assisted Suicide Medically assisted suicide is an event in which a physician honors a patient’s request for a lethal dose of medication. It has become a very emotional and controversial issue for many in the United States. The only state legally allowing medically assisted suicide is Oregon since 1997. Although some feel it is unethical and morally wrong, medically assisted suicide should be legalized to patients who are terminally ill because it would relieve them from constant and unbearable physical and psychological pain in a respectable and painless way.Individuals in the United States have the freedom to make decisions concerning their life such as where they live, what they wear, who they marry, and occupation. Every individual is able to make a decision about his or her life whether good or bad. Everyone is ultimately in full control of his or her own life. By allowing someone to make choices freely regarding their life, the same should be allowed when regard ing their death. Some patients passively aggressively choose to end their lives by not continuing treatment or therapy for their disease.This emphasizes the theory that people can and should control their own lives. Patients choose to end their lives for various reasons: they fear the loss of their independence, which later results in becoming a burden to their family or friends; they want to die in a dignified way, and they also fear the thought of dying alone. Society should understand why an individual wouldn’t want to have to rely on a family member to take care of them.Knowing that eventually they won’t be able to do even the easiest daily tasks such as showering, eating, or walking alone, does put a heavy burden on whoever would be taking care of them. It is also reasonable to understand that patients don’t want to be remembered by how they were in their sick state. No one should have to go through seeing their loved one whither away to what isn’t e ven the person they were to begin with. It would provide much relief to families and loved ones to remember the patient in a healthy and normal condition.Medically assisted suicide shouldn’t be viewed as a selfish act like regular suicide, but as a dignified and painless way to end a life that would end in the near future regardless. Whether suicides are legal or not, they will occur, and it would be much better if they were brought into the open. Suffering is different then pain. Suffering normally encompasses physical and psychological deterioration for which there is no cure. While many believe taking a life away in any circumstances is immoral, death is a compassionate way to relieve unbearable suffering.When physicians are asked to help a patient into death, they have many responsibilities that come along with that request. Among these responsibilities are: providing valid information as to the terminal illness the patient is suffering, educating the patient as to what t heir final options may be, making the decision of whether or not to help the patient into death, and also if they do decide to help, providing the lethal dose of medication that will end the patient's life. Medically assisted suicide became very familiar to the public in 1990 when Dr.Jack Kevorkian helped to assist his first patient to death. Dr. Kevorkian had invented a machine that consisted of three bottles that were connected to an IV. When the patients were ready to start the process of dying, they turned on the machine in which a sedative was administed first to make them drift off to sleep. Following the sedative was the fatal ingredient potassium chloride. According to Kathlyn Gay, Dr. Kevorkian claimed that he had caused no death; he just helped with his patient's last civil rights.He believes that doctors that don't help assist their patients are like the Nazi doctors during World War 2, those who used experiments on the Jewish people (50-51). Dr. Kevorkian aided 43 patien ts to their death. He agreed to assist patients after thoroughly interviewing each patient and realizing there weren’t any other alternative methods for the patient to deter suffering. It was reported that Kevorkian's male patients had severe terminal illnesses that left them incapable of living, while the female patients suffered from breast cancer and other illnesses that are curable (Keenan 16).Kevorkian’s medical license was suspended and eventually taken away, and he stood trial for murder charges. Dr. Kevorkian was later placed in jail and then released by Judge Richard C. Kaufman who ruled the state’s ban of medically assisted suicide as unconstitutional. It was determined that Dr. Kevorkian’s charges be dismissed due to the basis of the quality of the patient's life, saying that the patient's life was â€Å"significantly impaired by a medical condition that was extremely unlikely to improve. † Kaufman also said that people have a constituti onal right to commit suicide. Worsnop, 405). According to Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, â€Å"‘Terminal disease† means an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgement, produce death within six (6) months† (2). The physician is also responsible for letting the patient know of any experimental drugs and any other treatments that may benefit the patient in any way. Another responsibility of the physician is to educate the patient as to what their final options may be.They are required to inform the patient about their diagnosis, the results of taking any medication that could be given, all alternatives that could be used to treat the patient, and also having the patient contact another physician to confirm the diagnosis (The Oregon Death with Dignity Act 3, hereafter known as The Oregon). It should be agreed that when a patient is left with no other alternatives or methods of survival, th ey should be allowed to decide if they want to end their own life.Physicians who aid in a patient’s request for aid shouldn’t be judged as immoral, but only as someone who has the means and education to help patients with their last request in life. It should also be taken into consideration that everyone has the freedom of choice. â€Å"Since there is no absolute legal, medical, or moral answer to the question of what constitutes a good or correct death in the face of a terminal illness, the power to make the decision about how someone dies can rest with only one individual–the person living in that particular body† (Shavelson 153).When patients are already faced with death due to a terminal illness, medically assisted suicide should be allowed so that they don’t have to go through any pain. Many terminal illnesses involve the decomposition of the brain, vital organs, and physical appearance. Patients normally tend to lose their mental activity su ch as memory and thinking also. It isn’t fair for a patient to have to go through that if they are not willing to. Not only for their mental and physical state of mind, but because of the cost. Patients shouldn’t be required to pay for medical treatment that only prolongs a life with poor quality.Society also shouldn’t blame a patient for not wanting to lie in a hospital bed and rely on a machine to do their breathing. That patient should be entitled to choose an easy and peaceful death. Patients who make the decision to end their life shouldn’t be viewed as doing something wrong because they are choosing to do something to help them. Decisions regarding time and circumstances are personal to each individual. A competent person should be able to choose. While many view the interest in preserving a life, the interest should deteriorate when the individual has a strong desire to end their life.In conclusion, medically assisted suicide should not be viewed a s ethically wrong. It should be viewed as a humane and graceful way for patients with no other alternatives to die. It prevents an individual who is terminally ill from feeling severe pain and deciding when and how they want to end their life. The suffering a patient goes through is incomprehensible to people who haven’t gone through it. Therefore it shouldn’t be decided by anyone but the individual going through it how long and how much suffering they endure. Bibliography Gay, Kathlyn.The Right To Die: Public Controversy, Private Matter. Brookfield, Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, 1993. Keenan, James F. The Case for Physician-Assisted Suicide? America. November 14, 1998. 14-19. Shavelson, Lonny. A Chosen Death: The Dying Confront Assisted Suicide. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. â€Å"The Oregon Death with Dignity Act. † Yahoo. January 16, 2000, http://www. islandnet. com/~deathnet/ergo_orlaw. html. Worsnop, Richard L. Assisted Suicide. C Q Researcher. Vo l. 2, No. 7, p. 145-168. Washington D. C. : Congressional Quarterly, Inc. , 1992.