A Land Rembered by Patrick D. Smith Essay -- essays research papers

The novel, A Land Remembered, is the epic saga of three generations of MacIveys. The novel begins with a flash back, from the last generation MacIvey, Sol. Sol was a real estate tycoon in Miami and the surrounding areas. He has chosen to give up his life in Miami to live his last hours in the cabin in Punta Rassa , Florida; the cabin his grandfather had built. Thus, the three generations of MacIveys in Florida ends. The first generation of MacIveys consisted of the father and husband, Tobias, the mother and wife, Emma, and their young son, Zech. The family had decided to escape the pressures of the Civil War in their native Georgia, and move to the scrub of Northern Florida. The MacIveys experience many troubles and learn many new things during their stay in the scrub, such as meeting Indians, that will turn out to influence their life greatly. Other experiences included Tobias being recruited by Marshall Adler to drive cattle to the confederate troops and also being recruited to chop trees to build walls of defense for the confederate forces. During the excursion to chop down trees, confederate deserters raided Emma and Zech and burned down their house. Tobias and Emma made the decision that the war was getting to close to the scrub, and that moving South would be a good idea. The MacIvey clan packed up their wagon and headed south along the St. John’s and Kissimmee rivers and settled in a hammock along the Kissimmee river. In Kissimmee is where Tobias begins his empire that turns the family into one of the wealthiest families in Florida. In the swamps of Florida, wild cows live and Tobias tries his best to capture these cows and make a drive, but without horses and dogs, Tobias makes little headway in his project. In the woods one day, Skillet, a freed slave, was found. Skillet agreed to stay on with the MacIveys and help them start their empire. Dogs and a marshtackie were given to the MacIveys by their Indian friends they helped in the scrub. The MacIveys now popped cows out of the swamp and their first drive to Punta Rassa ended in a disaster with all the cows being lost to a great flood. The determined MacIveys never looked back and gathered another heard and the whole clan drove the cows to Punta Rassa. In Punta Rassa, the cows were sold for fifteen dollars a head and the MacIvey empire begins. Also on this first trip, Hendry, the cattle buyer,... ... they too can experience the life of a Florida Cracker turned millionaire family of Florida. Throughout all three generations of MacIveys, all of the MacIvey men lose a woman who is so close to them and all of them realize once they are gone, that they didn’t do enough for their loved one, when they easily could have. Tobias had three trunks full of Spanish gold, and all he did for Emma was buy her a cook stove. Zech had even more trunks of Spanish gold, and he never took Glenda on the trips to the far away places she wanted to go. Sol had a multimillion acre vegetable business and owned half of Miami, and he never married Bonnie, yet, when he lost her, he missed her like his wife. I believe that Smith is trying to make us realize that you shouldn’t take for granted what you have, when they do so much for you. These lessons are ageless, and can be applied to today’s society as well as to the first ever society. A Land Remembered is a novel that truly is the epitome of a saga, that spans the trials and tribulations of three generations of the MacIvey fami ly as they enter Florida as a family destined to start a better life and die out as one of the wealthiest families in Florida.

A Modern Anachronism

Authors have their own unique style to develop different tones and themes, and there are countless ways each author conveys his or her theme in the story. Kurt Vonnegut is an esteemed author of many well-known novels. He is also known for his collection of short stories known as Welcome to the Monkey House. One of the short stories called â€Å"All the King's Horses† displays a perfect setting of suspense, and how the effects of war erode soldiers and their families. To do this, Vonnegut uses a satirical tone with hints of unusual playful expressions; by doing so, he lets readers know that many sacrifices are at times necessary in order to protect loved ones, just Vonnegut's character Pi Ying says, â€Å"a chess game can very rarely be won . . . without sacrifices. The theme is that people shouldn't rely on their own individual talents and social status to get themselves past obstacles in the path to their goal. Kurt Vonnegut creates his theme with the aid of the satirical tone in the story â€Å"All the King's Horses†. Vonnegut is implying that there needs to be a point where people use their own unique abilities to enhance what they do for a living. The reason Vonnegut used a game of chess, instead a game of checkers, is for the immense magnitude of possible choices a person can make in the game of life. Every person has his or hers own style, making it so each player in the Miguel 2 game of chess must learn quickly the style of the other person. This concept of adapting rapidly to the opponent is the basic theme Vonnegut clearly wants to convey in the story. Characters in Vonnegut's short stories have a unique role, especially in his story â€Å"All the King's Horses†. There are two main characters that develop the tone of sarcasm and cynicism. Colonel Kelly and Pi Ying are two leaders of their own respective groups armed to play a game of chess, which symbolizes two armies in battle. Although Pi Ying uses life-sized chess pieces, Colonel Kelly's family and the soldiers under his command must listen to the colonel's orders like pawns. Pi Ying's second in command is Major Barzov, who makes a point, † He'll learn to be a pawn yet . . . It's and Oriental skill Americans could do well to learn for the days ahead, eh? † (99). This quote adds a satirical tone as Kelly is continually losing soldiers literally. Vonnegut chose this tone because he wanted to criticize the lack of respect some people have towards international cultures or at least the misunderstanding. All the King's Horses† brings the concept of reality to the reader's attention. Vonnegut wants to make sure his readers of future generations don't take family and their prized possessions for granted. Work is a must as technology advances to engulf the â€Å"archaic† ways of doing tasks. But some tasks require the archaic work ethic in order to master the task such as in the classic game of chess. Like Colonel Kelly and Pi Ying, people must work efficiently to earn possessions and a loving family.

Diabetes insipidus Free Essay Example, 1500 words

This is normally caused by some sort of renal disease or an ADH malfunction (Colorado State, 2011). II Diagnosis The patient usually presents to his physician with the symptoms of extreme thirst, due to the body’s inability to retain water. He or she will also complain of excessive urination, for a person with diabetes Insipidus can produce as much as three liters of urine a day. Diabetes Insipidus can also be an underlying cause of bedwetting, especially in children. With these â€Å"red flags†, the doctor has at least three tests at his disposal to diagnose the condition. The first is the simple urinalysis. The patient goes to the lab, urinates in a specimen cup and the liquid is analyzed. Not only is the specimen visually examined for color (Lighter color means higher water content)) but it is also critiqued for the amount of salt and waste products versus a like amount of pure distilled water. Again, the less salt and other ingredients that are present in urine, the greater the chance that Diabetes Insipidus is a likely aspect. We will write a custom essay sample on Diabetes insipidus or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Of the two more complicated tests for the disease, the first is the fluid (water) deprivation test. The physician has the patient stop all fluid intake for a time period (usually two or three hours) prior to the test. His weight (before and after the deprivation) is examined, as is the volume of urine output during the procedure. Normally a urinalysis is performed before and after the deprivation so that the two samples can be compared. One health concern of this test is children and pregnant women, for doctors would be concerned if this patient lost more than five per cent of their body weight during the test. The deprivation test is especially helpful in determining whether Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus is the diagnosis, for the doctor will normally also order ADH tests (Mayo, 2012). In reference to pregnant women, there is another more rare form of Diabetes Insipidus, the Gestational variety, also known as Gestagenic DI. If at all, this normally occurs in the third (last) trimester and is caused by the demands of the pregnancy on the body. It is often genetic and if it has happened once, Gestagenic Diabetes Insipidus will reoccur in future pregnancies. Bedwetting is also common with the condition, based upon other factors in the body. The â€Å"Good† news for this is the condition is temporary, ceasing to exist around six weeks postpartum. Also the fetus is seldom harmed (WebMD, 2012). Genetics often plays a major role in Diabetes Insipidus and the physician will often ask the patient to provide him with a genetic screening, as a family history of polyuria can give the doctor a clearer diagnosis.