How My Stories Were Written Essay

Have u ever read a story where you were related to or change your life? In the short story by Bulosan, he uses a few literary elements such as setting, and irony to show how someone’s life can be change by a storyteller. In the following, I will explain what is the role of the Apo Lacay in this short story and how he has helped the author to overcome in the new world. In the beginning of the story â€Å" It is true there are mountains which are green all the year round bordering the northside of the province of Pangasinan, my own native province, in the island of Luzon†, Bulosan uses setting to let us know where the story takes place; he also give us details on how it looks like. This place is so important to him because he was born and raised here; his childhood was not as greater as his adult life but he gain so many anecdotes about it. The people that lived in the village were attached to the past centuries and a lot of things have been said from one generation to another. There was a man who had lived more than anyone else in the village; he is a storyteller that comes from a mysterious dwelling in the mountains and start telling his tales to the children and adults. Repentantly, he became friend with Apo Lacay (the storyteller), and learned from his tales even if they were not true. The boy (the author) thought that there were wisdom from his tales and he wanted to remember what kind of people lived in the village when he moves to the land far away. We sometimes do not pay attention to what or whom we listen to, we do not realize that we can learn a lot from books or simple short stories and gain the greatest wisdom ever; no matter where we go, in this case the author went to America, nothing cannot take the knowledge from you. The boy has also learned that there is more fear among the man than in the night forest full of beast, birds, the trees, storm and tempests. â€Å"In the savage heart of man there dwells the greatest fear among the living†.

Chinese History: The Han Dynasty Essay

The Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Bang in 206 BCE. He came of peasant stock and rose to power slowly from being a petty government official to the role of emperor. Liu Bang ruled China for eleven years with felicity and wisdom. He was intelligent and sought to win over the elder statesmen by promising to eliminate all the harsh laws of the Qin government. His experience as the â€Å"neighborhood head† (Hansen 114) had given him the opportunity to be familiar with the legal system of the Qin Dynasty and he made full use of this knowledge to establish a rule of prosperity and leave a long line of rulers who ruled for four hundred years in China. This paper will discuss such themes as have emerged from the research done of the Han Dynasty and will be divided into sections each dealing with one theme at a time. State and Succession: The state of China that Liu Bang wrested from the Qin ruler was in turmoil with several intrigues being hatched by the court officials against the cruelty of the Qin ruler. The rebels wanted to place the first son of the emperor to the throne but Liu Bang was able to defeat the rebels and ascended the throne as the founder of the Han dynasty. He used both stratagem and skill to either defeat his rivals or win them over with promises of sweeping changes in the administration and the legal system. The extent of his empire was divided between his nine brothers and one hundred and fifty loyal followers. The only region that was under direct control of the emperor was the western part of the empire with its capital at Changan and comprised about one-third of the total empire. His rule from 206- 195 BCE was not without troubles. He had to spend a lot of his time trying to suppress rebellions in different parts of his empire and at this time China was invaded several times by the powerful Xiongnu tribe. After being defeated by them Liu Bang concluded a humiliating treaty with the shanyu, leader of the Xiongnu, by which he had to grant equal status to the Xiongnu people and marry the Chinese Princess to the shanyu. As a result of this diplomatic gesture the Xiongnu people promised to leave China alone and not invade them any further. Liu Bang was followed by his fifteen year old son Huidi to the throne, who ruled for seven years from 195- 188 BCE. After his death the reigns of the kingdom was taken over by the widow of Liu Bang, Empress Lu who ruled in the name of Han dynasty for eight years between 188 and 180 BCE. She placed minor princes to the throne and ruled as their guardian and was able to bring peace and stability to the empire. After the death of Empress Lu intrigue again raised its head and senior court officials placed the son of Liu Bang’s concubine who was a puppet in their hands. The descendants of Liu Bang’s relative continued to rule two thirds of China while the Han Dynasty was directly in charge of only a third of the entire empire. Emperor Wu ascended the throne at the age of fifteen in 140 BCE. For the first few years of his reign he was under the control of his grandmother, the dowager Empress Dou and his uncle who was his chancellor. However, from 131 BCE, after the death of the chancellor, Emperor Wu took full charge of his kingdom and established an empire based on the principles of Confucius. He is credited with having extended the Han Empire in the southern districts and continued to maintain diplomatic relations with the Xiongnu people by paying them annuity in keeping with the treaty signed by Liu Bang. Emperor Wu was a follower of Dong Zhongshu, a student of Confucianism and under his influence established Confucian schools in every district. Emperor Wu strengthened the bureaucracy and curtailed the powers of the regional rulers who had been given kingdoms by Liu Bang (Hansen 127). He ruled as a despot with unlimited powers until his death in 87 BCE. He dissolved the position of the Chancellor and promoted his step brother-in-law to the position of regent who put minor princes on the throne and ruled in their name, thus weakening the power and influence of the Han dynasty. The influence of the Han dynasty was later restored by the support of some powerful consort families to which it remained beholden. The consort families wanted to marry their daughters to the emperor in the hope of becoming regents of minor princes and ruling in their names. One of the notable emperors of the later Han dynasty was Emperor Huan, who ruled from 146-168 A. D. Emperor Huan threw the yoke of dominance by the consort family by hatching a plot against them with the help of eunuchs. He managed to break free of the consort family’s stranglehold but set a precedence of encouragement of the eunuchs that did not augur well for the Han dynasty. The last of the Han rulers was a puppet ruler who had to abdicate and thus bring about the end of the Han dynasty in 220 A. D. Administration: Liu Bang had established some good norms of governance that were refined and made more effective by some of the other prominent Han emperors. The administration was carried out at two levels, the central government and the local governments. There were three major divisions of the central government; collection of taxes, maintaining the army and overseeing the work of the government officials. The three divisions of the local governments were later modified to include; registering population, collecting taxes, maintaining waterways, dispensing justice and recommending educated men for government positions. After becoming emperor, Liu Bang distributed his kingdom between his nine brothers and sons and gave them the titles of kings and named a hundred and fifty men from the nobility, marquis and gave them portions of the kingdom as well. These later became the regional kingdoms of China. The land directly under the control of the emperor was divided into one hundred commanderies which were further divided into one hundred and fifty counties. Under Emperor Wu the inheritance of land laws were changed and the land was divided equally between all the sons of the Emperor and did not go only to the eldest son after his death. He also altered the practice of appointing sons of the noble families to high official positions and started the practice of appointing his own nominated officials to government positions. The land revenue had been fixed at one fifteenth by Liu Bang and it was later reduced to one thirtieth by later emperors. However, with the introduction of reforms and establishment of schools and Confucian institutions Emperor Wu realized that the land revenue collected from taxes was not enough to finance his reform projects. So he issues government monopolies on salt and iron. The society under Han dynasty was divided broadly into two categories; the land owners and the slaves. The structure was not rigid and the emperor had the power to strip a land owner or noble of his land and powers and a slave could buy his freedom and become elevated in social stature. There was great disparity of wealth in the Han society. The rulers used to make grants of land to nobles who gradually made them very powerful and corrupt. They stopped paying land revenue and the revenue dropped considerably so that the emperor had to limit the size of the land holding and number of slaves in 7 BCE. The later Han rulers were able to hold on to their position of power and rule with the help of a few powerful consort families. They dare not challenge their power and gave in to most of their demands. In the third and fourth centuries of Han rule eunuchs became very powerful after the Han Emperor Huan enlisted their support to overthrow the yoke of the noble families and they played an important role in court intrigues. Crime and punishment: Liu Bang became familiar with the legal system of the Qin dynasty as a neighborhood head and realized that though the main tenets of law and justice in the Qin dynasty were good, some of the punishments meted out were harsh and barbaric. It was with a promise to change these laws that he was able to come into power in 206 BCE. Eventually, he ended up modifying some of the laws and relaxing punitive corporal punishments like beheading. Since he had to depend a lot on the support of the rich and noble families, members of these families were almost exempt from corporal punishment. Most offenders could get away with paying a huge fine or being confined to rigorous labor like masonry for men and pounding grains foe women were the most common punishments. More severe offenses were awarded amputation of a limb or cutting off of the nose. Shaving off the head and beard and tattooing were considered severe enough punishments for lesser crimes. In keeping with Laozi’s teachings, law was considered to be â€Å"the way† that emperors were supposed to rule their empire. Everyone was considered to be equal in the eyes of law. But in reality it remained a guideline and was not always implemented, the rich people usually got less rigorous punishments could pay their way out of serving punishment sentences. There was no law or power to curb the powers of the ruler. The framework for a good legal system was present and rulers like Emperor Wu made use of the law to curb the rising clout of the nobility. Role of women and eunuchs: Chinese society was male dominated and the position of women was not very enviable. The birth of a girl child was not very welcome. According to Ban Zhao, who was the scholarly and brilliant sister of court historian, Ban Gu, there were three things that had to be performed when a girl was born. The infant needed to be kept under the bed indicating that her position was lowly and weak. She would be given a potsherd to play with reminding her that she needed to work hard all her life and that the announcement of a girl child to the ancestors needed to be accompanied with an offering to remind the child that she was born to serve them. She mentions four virtues that women should practice; â€Å"womanly virtue, womanly words, womanly bearing and womanly work† (Hansen 139). Women were mostly relegated to the chores of cooking, sewing and weaving and hardly ever had the opportunity to voice their opinions. Ban Zhao advocated the education of women. She preached that both men and women must understand their respective duties and work together to make the marriage work well. She agreed that women must do the household chores but not be ignorant and serve as a slave. She must not be manhandled and treated badly and she should not argue as well. It was a poor man’s bad luck to have a daughter while the rich families could afford daughters and used them to their advantage by marrying them to emperors or nobility. Though the general condition of women in China was not encouraging there have been some powerful empresses like dowager Empress Dou who ruled in the name of the Han dynasty and brought peace and stability to the kingdom. The instances of the dowager empresses and that of Ban Zhao are examples of how women could break out of stereotypical roles if they wanted to. The Emperor had harems full of women concubines. Emperor Huan was said to have six thousand women in his harem. As the Han dynasty’s rule extended to the third or the fourth centuries the role of eunuchs became very important in the kingdoms. The eunuchs were usually kept along with womenfolk in the imperial households and played a part in the court intrigues. Like the women dowager empresses they would usually place a minor prince on the throne and rule in their names as their regents. It was during the reign of Emperor Huan that the eunuchs became very powerful because the Emperor hatched a coup to overthrow the influential consort families with the help of the eunuchs. A bitter conflict between the eunuchs and the consort families ensued only to be put down by General Cao Cao when he became regent. Philosophy and Society: Liu Bang was respectful of Confucian thought and philosophy but was not slavish to it. For example he did not allow personal ties to come between him and his ambitions (Hansen115). The Huang –Lao school of thought founded on the teachings of Laozi and Huang commended their teachings in the books, The Way and Integrity Classic and The Classic of Law. These books gave guidance in various aspects of life and living. However, they could not check the power of a ruler who did not abide by its laws and where there was poor governance. These teachings were contrary to what Confucians believed and taught Emperor Wu was greatly under the influence of Dong Zhongshu, who believed that the emperor was the link between heaven and his subjects. When Emperor Wu came to power he established Confucian academies in all the districts in order to centralize its power. As the Huang-Lao philosophy was contradictory to the Confucian philosophy Emperor Wu enforced the closure of these schools and established Confucian schools in every district. Emperor Wu was the first to establish the Confucian canon by had Confucian school of thought and institutions in all the counties. He believed in the Confucian principle that if a ruler ruled his kingdom well heaven would support him and if there were poor governance then the he would incur the wrath of the heavens and his kingdom would be afflicted with floods, droughts and other natural calamities. The tombs of the marquis of Mawangdui and his family bear testament to the Han dynasty’s belief in afterlife. It also demonstrates that people had two kinds of souls – one was the superior spirit soul or hun that was free to travel to the land of the immortals and the other the inferior body soul or po which had to reside in the tomb and if not taken care of in its tomb, it may have to travel to the netherworld. The tomb had to be supplied with replicas of gold and bronze coins, lacquer vessels, ceramics and bamboo suitcases. The food items that can be assumed to have been presented to Lady Dai, the wife of the marquis, are meat dishes and beer. The scenes depicted within the tomb provide an insight into their ideas of afterlife. The top section depicts two gods of destiny who keep records of the individual’s life and the moon and sun with their residents and the Queen Mother of the West. From the above study we see that the various themes that emerged during the course of Chinese history have shaped the philosophical and political destiny of China. The present day Chinese beliefs can trace their roots in this period of history. That history of a nation or people is dynamic and sustainable is borne out by the fact that many of the Chinese institutions and policies were shaped by the values and laws of the Han dynasty.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Sixtyeight

There was a door ahead of her, tiny with distance, but even from afar, she saw that it was painted red. She walked faster, and her bare feet left bloody footprints on the stone. â€Å"You don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† She saw sunlight on the Dothraki sea, the living plain, rich with the smells of earth and death. Wind stirred the grasses, and they rippled like water. Drogo held her in strong arms, and his hand stroked her sex and opened her and woke that sweet wetness that was his alone, and the stars smiled down on them, stars in a daylight sky. â€Å"Home,† she whispered as he entered her and filled her with his seed, but suddenly the stars were gone, and across the blue sky swept the great wings, and the world took flame. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† Ser Jorah’s face was drawn and sorrowful. â€Å"Rhaegar was the last dragon,† he told her. He warmed translucent hands over a glowing brazier where stone eggs smouldered red as coals. One moment he was there and the next he was fading, his flesh colorless, less substantial than the wind. â€Å"The last dragon,† he whispered, thin as a wisp, and was gone. She felt the dark behind her, and the red door seemed farther away than ever. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† Viserys stood before her, screaming. â€Å"The dragon does not beg, slut. You do not command the dragon. I am the dragon, and I will be crowned.† The molten gold trickled down his face like wax, burning deep channels in his flesh. â€Å"I am the dragon and I will be crowned!† he shrieked, and his fingers snapped like snakes, biting at her nipples, pinching, twisting, even as his eyes burst and ran like jelly down seared and blackened cheeks. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" The red door was so far ahead of her, and she could feel the icy breath behind, sweeping up on her. If it caught her she would die a death that was more than death, howling forever alone in the darkness. She began to run. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" She could feel the heat inside her, a terrible burning in her womb. Her son was tall and proud, with Drogo’s copper skin and her own silver-gold hair, violet eyes shaped like almonds. And he smiled for her and began to lift his hand toward hers, but when he opened his mouth the fire poured out. She saw his heart burning through his chest, and in an instant he was gone, consumed like a moth by a candle, turned to ash. She wept for her child, the promise of a sweet mouth on her breast, but her tears turned to steam as they touched her skin. † . . . want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire. They had hair of silver and hair of gold and hair of platinum white, and their eyes were opal and amethyst, tourmaline and jade. â€Å"Faster,† they cried, â€Å"faster, faster.† She raced, her feet melting the stone wherever they touched. â€Å"Faster!† the ghosts cried as one, and she screamed and threw herself forward. A great knife of pain ripped down her back, and she felt her skin tear open and smelled the stench of burning blood and saw the shadow of wings. And Daenerys Targaryen flew. † . . . wake the dragon . . . â€Å" The door loomed before her, the red door, so close, so close, the hall was a blur around her, the cold receding behind. And now the stone was gone and she flew across the Dothraki sea, high and higher, the green rippling beneath, and all that lived and breathed fled in terror from the shadow of her wings. She could smell home, she could see it, there, just beyond that door, green fields and great stone houses and arms to keep her warm, there. She threw open the door. † . . . the dragon . . . â€Å" And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. â€Å"The last dragon,† Ser Jorah’s voice whispered faintly. â€Å"The last, the last.† Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own. After that, for a long time, there was only the pain, the fire within her, and the whisperings of stars. She woke to the taste of ashes. â€Å"No,† she moaned, â€Å"no, please.† â€Å"Khaleesi?† Jhiqui hovered over her, a frightened doe. The tent was drenched in shadow, still and close. Flakes of ash drifted upward from a brazier, and Dany followed them with her eyes through the smoke hole above. Flying, she thought. I had wings, I was flying. But it was only a dream. â€Å"Help me,† she whispered, struggling to rise. â€Å"Bring me . . . † Her voice was raw as a wound, and she could not think what she wanted. Why did she hurt so much? It was as if her body had been torn to pieces and remade from the scraps. â€Å"I want . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes, Khaleesi.† Quick as that Jhiqui was gone, bolting from the tent, shouting. Dany needed . . . something . . . someone . . . what? It was important, she knew. It was the only thing in the world that mattered. She rolled onto her side and got an elbow under her, fighting the blanket tangled about her legs. It was so hard to move. The world swam dizzily. I have to . . . They found her on the carpet, crawling toward her dragon eggs. Ser Jorah Mormont lifted her in his arms and carried her back to her sleeping silks, while she struggled feebly against him. Over his shoulder she saw her three handmaids, Jhogo with his little wisp of mustache, and the flat broad face of Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"I must,† she tried to tell them, â€Å"I have to . . . â€Å" † . . . sleep, Princess,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"No,† Dany said. â€Å"Please. Please.† â€Å"Yes.† He covered her with silk, though she was burning. â€Å"Sleep and grow strong again, Khaleesi. Come back to us.† And then Mirri Maz Duur was there, the maegi, tipping a cup against her lips. She tasted sour milk, and something else, something thick and bitter. Warm liquid ran down her chin. Somehow she swallowed. The tent grew dimmer, and sleep took her again. This time she did not dream. She floated, serene and at peace, on a black sea that knew no shore. After a time—a night, a day, a year, she could not say—she woke again. The tent was dark, its silken walls flapping like wings when the wind gusted outside. This time Dany did not attempt to rise. â€Å"Irri,† she called, â€Å"Jhiqui. Doreah.† They were there at once. â€Å"My throat is dry,† she said, â€Å"so dry,† and they brought her water. It was warm and flat, yet Dany drank it eagerly, and sent Jhiqui for more. Irri dampened a soft cloth and stroked her brow. â€Å"I have been sick,† Dany said. The Dothraki girl nodded. â€Å"How long?† The cloth was soothing, but Irri seemed so sad, it frightened her. â€Å"Long,† she whispered. When Jhiqui returned with more water, Mirri Maz Duur came with her, eyes heavy from sleep. â€Å"Drink,† she said, lifting Dany’s head to the cup once more, but this time it was only wine. Sweet, sweet wine. Dany drank, and lay back, listening to the soft sound of her own br eathing. She could feel the heaviness in her limbs, as sleep crept in to fill her up once more. â€Å"Bring me . . . † she murmured, her voice slurred and drowsy. â€Å"Bring . . . I want to hold . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† the maegi asked. â€Å"What is it you wish, Khaleesi?† â€Å"Bring me . . . egg . . . dragon’s egg . . . please . . . † Her lashes turned to lead, and she was too weary to hold them up. When she woke the third time, a shaft of golden sunlight was pouring through the smoke hole of the tent, and her arms were wrapped around a dragon’s egg. It was the pale one, its scales the color of butter cream, veined with whorls of gold and bronze, and Dany could feel the heat of it. Beneath her bedsilks, a fine sheen of perspiration covered her bare skin. Dragondew, she thought. Her fingers trailed lightly across the surface of the shell, tracing the wisps of gold, and deep in the stone she felt something twist and stretch in response. It did not frighten her. All her fear was gone, burned away. Dany touched her brow. Under the film of sweat, her skin was cool to the touch, her fever gone. She made herself sit. There was a moment of dizziness, and the deep ache between her thighs. Yet she felt strong. Her maids came running at the sound of her voice. â€Å"Water,† she told them, â€Å"a flagon of water, cold as you can find it. And fruit, I think. Dates.† â€Å"As you say, Khaleesi.† â€Å"I want Ser Jorah,† she said, standing. Jhiqui brought a sandsilk robe and draped it over her shoulders. â€Å"And a warm bath, and Mirri Maz Duur, and . . . † Memory came back to her all at once, and she faltered. â€Å"Khal Drogo,† she forced herself to say, watching their faces with dread. â€Å"Is hemdash?† â€Å"The khal lives,† Irri answered quietly . . . yet Dany saw a darkness in her eyes when she said the words, and no sooner had she spoken than she rushed away to fetch water. She turned to Doreah. â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"I . . . I shall bring Ser Jorah,† the Lysene girl said, bowing her head and fleeing the tent. Jhiqui would have run as well, but Dany caught her by the wrist and held her captive. â€Å"What is it? I must know. Drogo . . . and my child.† Why had she not remembered the child until now? â€Å"My son . . . Rhaego . . . where is he? I want him.† Her handmaid lowered her eyes. â€Å"The boy . . . he did not live, Khaleesi.† Her voice was a frightened whisper. Dany released her wrist. My son is dead, she thought as Jhiqui left the tent. She had known somehow. She had known since she woke the first time to Jhiqui’s tears. No, she had known before she woke. Her dream came back to her, sudden and vivid, and she remembered the tall man with the copper skin and long silver-gold braid, bursting into flame. She should weep, she knew, yet her eyes were dry as ash. She had wept in her dream, and the tears had turned to steam on her cheeks. All the grief has been burned out of me, she told herself. She felt sad, and yet . . . she could feel Rhaego receding from her, as if he had never been. Ser Jorah and Mirri Maz Duur entered a few moments later, and found Dany standing over the other dragon’s eggs, the two still in their chest. It seemed to her that they felt as hot as the one she had slept with, which was passing strange. â€Å"Ser Jorah, come here,† she said. She took his hand and placed it on the black egg with the scarlet swirls. â€Å"What do you feel?† â€Å"Shell, hard as rock.† The knight was wary. â€Å"Scales.† â€Å"Heat?† â€Å"No. Cold stone.† He took his hand away. â€Å"Princess, are you well? Should you be up, weak as you are?† â€Å"Weak? I am strong, Jorah.† To please him, she reclined on a pile of cushions. â€Å"Tell me how my child died.† â€Å"He never lived, my princess. The women say . . . † He faltered, and Dany saw how the flesh hung loose on him, and the way he limped when he moved. â€Å"Tell me. Tell me what the women say.† He turned his face away. His eyes were haunted. â€Å"They say the child was . . . â€Å" She waited, but Ser Jorah could not say it. His face grew dark with shame. He looked half a corpse himself. â€Å"Monstrous,† Mirri Maz Duur finished for him. The knight was a powerful man, yet Dany understood in that moment that the maegi was stronger, and crueler, and infinitely more dangerous. â€Å"Twisted. I drew him forth myself. He was scaled like a lizard, blind, with the stub of a tail and small leather wings like the wings of a bat. When I touched him, the flesh sloughed off the bone, and inside he was full of graveworms and the stink of corruption. He had been dead for years.† Darkness, Dany thought. The terrible darkness sweeping up behind to devour her. If she looked back she was lost. â€Å"My son was alive and strong when Ser Jorah carried me into this tent,† she said. â€Å"I could feel him kicking, fighting to be born.† â€Å"That may be as it may be,† answered Mirri Maz Duur, â€Å"yet the creature that came forth from your womb was as I said. Death was in that tent, Khaleesi.† â€Å"Only shadows,† Ser Jorah husked, but Dany could hear the doubt in his voice. â€Å"I saw, maegi. I saw you, alone, dancing with the shadows. â€Å" â€Å"The grave casts long shadows, Iron Lord,† Mirri said. â€Å"Long and dark, and in the end no light can hold them back.† Ser Jorah had killed her son, Dany knew. He had done what he did for love and loyalty, yet he had carried her into a place no living man should go and fed her baby to the darkness. He knew it too; the grey face, the hollow eyes, the limp. â€Å"The shadows have touched you too, Ser Jorah,† she told him. The knight made no reply. Dany turned to the godswife. â€Å"You warned me that only death could pay for life. I thought you meant the horse.† â€Å"No,† Mirri Maz Duur said. â€Å"That was a lie you told yourself. You knew the price.† Had she? Had she? If I look back I am lost. â€Å"The price was paid,† Dany said. â€Å"The horse, my child, Quaro and Qotho, Haggo and Cohollo. The price was paid and paid and paid.† She rose from her cushions. â€Å"Where is Khal Drogo? Show him to me, godswife, maegi, bloodmage, whatever you are. Show me Khal Drogo. Show me what I bought with my son’s life.† â€Å"As you command, Khaleesi,† the old woman said. â€Å"Come, I will take you to him.† Dany was weaker than she knew. Ser Jorah slipped an arm around her and helped her stand. â€Å"Time enough for this later, my princess,† he said quietly. â€Å"I would see him now, Ser Jorah.† After the dimness of the tent, the world outside was blinding bright. The sun burned like molten gold, and the land was seared and empty. Her handmaids waited with fruit and wine and water, and Jhogo moved close to help Ser Jorah support her. Aggo and Rakharo stood behind. The glare of sun on sand made it hard to see more, until Dany raised her hand to shade her eyes. She saw the ashes of a fire, a few score horses milling listlessly and searching for a bite of grass, a scattering of tents and bedrolls. A small crowd of children had gathered to watch her, and beyond she glimpsed women going about their work, and withered old men staring at the flat blue sky with tired eyes, swatting feebly at bloodflies. A count might show a hundred people, no more. Where the other forty thousand had made their camp, only the wind and dust lived now. â€Å"Drogo’s khalasar is gone,† she said. â€Å"A khal who cannot ride is no khal,† said Jhogo. â€Å"The Dothraki follow only the strong,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"I am sorry, my princess. There was no way to hold them. Ko Pono left first, naming himself Khal Pono, and many followed him. Jhaqo was not long to do the same. The rest slipped away night by night, in large bands and small. There are a dozen new khalasars on the Dothraki sea, where once there was only Drogo’s.† â€Å"The old remain,† said Aggo. â€Å"The frightened, the weak, and the sick. And we who swore. We remain.† â€Å"They took Khal Drogo’s herds, Khaleesi,† Rakharo said. â€Å"We were too few to stop them. It is the right of the strong to take from the weak. They took many slaves as well, the khal’s and yours, yet they left some few.† â€Å"Eroeh?† asked Dany, remembering the frightened child she had saved outside the city of the Lamb Men. â€Å"Mago seized her, who is Khal Jhaqo’s bloodrider now,† said Jhogo. â€Å"He mounted her high and low and gave her to his khal, and Jhaqo gave her to his other bloodriders. They were six. When they were done with her, they cut her throat.† â€Å"It was her fate, Khaleesi,† said Aggo. If I look back I am lost. â€Å"It was a cruel fate,† Dany said, â€Å"yet not so cruel as Mago’s will be. I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear it by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh.† The Dothraki exchanged uncertain glances. â€Å"Khaleesi, † the handmaid Irri explained, as if to a child, â€Å"Jhaqo is a khal now, with twenty thousand riders at his back.† She lifted her head. â€Å"And I am Daenerys Stormhorn, Daenerys of House Targaryen, of the blood of Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel and old Valyria before them. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you, these men will die screaming. Now bring me to Khal Drogo.† He was lying on the bare red earth, staring up at the sun. A dozen bloodflies had settled on his body, though he did not seem to feel them. Dany brushed them away and knelt beside him. His eyes were wide open but did not see, and she knew at once that he was blind. When she whispered his name, he did not seem to hear. The wound on his breast was as healed as it would ever be, the scar that covered it grey and red and hideous. â€Å"Why is he out here alone, in the sun?† she asked them. â€Å"He seems to like the warmth, Princess,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"His eyes follow the sun, though he does not see it. He can walk after a fashion. He will go where you lead him, but no farther. He will eat if you put food in his mouth, drink if you dribble water on his lips.† Dany kissed her sun-and-stars gently on the brow, and stood to face Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"Your spells are costly, maegi.† â€Å"He lives,† said Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"You asked for life. You paid for life.† â€Å"This is not life, for one who was as Drogo was. His life was laughter, and meat roasting over a firepit, and a horse between his legs. His life was an arakh in his hand and his bells ringing in his hair as he rode to meet an enemy. His life was his bloodriders, and me, and the son I was to give him.† Mirri Maz Duur made no reply. â€Å"When will he be as he was?† Dany demanded. â€Å"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,† said Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before.† Dany gestured at Ser Jorah and the others. â€Å"Leave us. I would speak with this maegi alone.† Mormont and the Dothraki withdrew. â€Å"You knew,† Dany said when they were gone. She ached, inside and out, but her fury gave her strength. â€Å"You knew what I was buying, and you knew the price, and yet you let me pay it.† â€Å"It was wrong of them to burn my temple,† the heavy, flat-nosed woman said placidly. â€Å"That angered the Great Shepherd.† â€Å"This was no god’s work,† Dany said coldly. If I look back I am lost. â€Å"You cheated me. You murdered my child within me.† â€Å"The stallion who mounts the world will burn no cities now. His khalasar shall trample no nations into dust.† â€Å"I spoke for you,† she said, anguished. â€Å"I saved you.† â€Å"Saved me?† The Lhazareen woman spat. â€Å"Three riders had taken me, not as a man takes a woman but from behind, as a dog takes a bitch. The fourth was in me when you rode past. How then did you save me? I saw my god’s house burn, where I had healed good men beyond counting. My home they burned as well, and in the street I saw piles of heads. I saw the head of a baker who made my bread. I saw the head of a boy I had saved from deadeye fever, only three moons past. I heard children crying as the riders drove them off with their whips. Tell me again what you saved.† â€Å"Your life.† Mirri Maz Duur laughed cruelly. â€Å"Look to your khal and see what life is worth, when all the rest is gone.† Dany called out for the men of her khas and bid them take Mirri Maz Duur and bind her hand and foot, but the maegi smiled at her as they carried her off, as if they shared a secret. A word, and Dany could have her head off . . . yet then what would she have? A head? If life was worthless, what was death? They led Khal Drogo back to her tent, and Dany commanded them to fill a tub, and this time there was no blood in the water. She bathed him herself, washing the dirt and the dust from his arms and chest, cleaning his face with a soft cloth, soaping his long black hair and combing the knots and tangles from it till it shone again as she remembered. It was well past dark before she was done, and Dany was exhausted. She stopped for drink and food, but it was all she could do to nibble at a fig and keep down a mouthful of water. Sleep would have been a release, but she had slept enough . . . too long, in truth. She owed this night to Drogo, for all the nights that had been, and yet might be. The memory of their first ride was with her when she led him out into the darkness, for the Dothraki believed that all things of importance in a man’s life must be done beneath the open sky. She told herself that there were powers stronger than hatred, and spells older and truer than any the maegi had learned in Asshai. The night was black and moonless, but overhead a million stars burned bright. She took that for an omen. No soft blanket of grass welcomed them here, only the hard dusty ground, bare and strewn with stones. No trees stirred in the wind, and there was no stream to soothe her fears with the gentle music of water. Dany told herself that the stars would be enough. â€Å"Remember, Drogo,† she whispered. â€Å"Remember our first ride together, the day we wed. Remember the night we made Rhaego, with the khalasar all around us and your eyes on my face. Remember how cool and clean the water was in the Womb of the World. Remember, my sun-and-stars. Remember, and come back to me.† The birth had left her too raw and torn to take him inside of her, as she would have wanted, but Doreah had taught her other ways. Dany used her hands, her mouth, her breasts. She raked him with her nails and covered him with kisses and whispered and prayed and told him stories, and by the end she had bathed him with her tears. Yet Drogo did not feel, or speak, or rise. And when the bleak dawn broke over an empty horizon, Dany knew that he was truly lost to her. â€Å"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,† she said sadly. â€Å"When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When my womb quickens again, and I bear a living child. Then you will return, my sun-and-stars, and not before.† Never, the darkness cried, never never never. Inside the tent Dany found a cushion, soft silk stuffed with feathers. She clutched it to her breasts as she walked back out to Drogo, to her sun-and-stars. If I look back I am lost. It hurt even to walk, and she wanted to sleep, to sleep and not to dream. She knelt, kissed Drogo on the lips, and pressed the cushion down across his face. A Game of Thrones Chapter Sixtyeight There was a door ahead of her, tiny with distance, but even from afar, she saw that it was painted red. She walked faster, and her bare feet left bloody footprints on the stone. â€Å"You don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† She saw sunlight on the Dothraki sea, the living plain, rich with the smells of earth and death. Wind stirred the grasses, and they rippled like water. Drogo held her in strong arms, and his hand stroked her sex and opened her and woke that sweet wetness that was his alone, and the stars smiled down on them, stars in a daylight sky. â€Å"Home,† she whispered as he entered her and filled her with his seed, but suddenly the stars were gone, and across the blue sky swept the great wings, and the world took flame. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† Ser Jorah’s face was drawn and sorrowful. â€Å"Rhaegar was the last dragon,† he told her. He warmed translucent hands over a glowing brazier where stone eggs smouldered red as coals. One moment he was there and the next he was fading, his flesh colorless, less substantial than the wind. â€Å"The last dragon,† he whispered, thin as a wisp, and was gone. She felt the dark behind her, and the red door seemed farther away than ever. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?† Viserys stood before her, screaming. â€Å"The dragon does not beg, slut. You do not command the dragon. I am the dragon, and I will be crowned.† The molten gold trickled down his face like wax, burning deep channels in his flesh. â€Å"I am the dragon and I will be crowned!† he shrieked, and his fingers snapped like snakes, biting at her nipples, pinching, twisting, even as his eyes burst and ran like jelly down seared and blackened cheeks. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" The red door was so far ahead of her, and she could feel the icy breath behind, sweeping up on her. If it caught her she would die a death that was more than death, howling forever alone in the darkness. She began to run. † . . . don’t want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" She could feel the heat inside her, a terrible burning in her womb. Her son was tall and proud, with Drogo’s copper skin and her own silver-gold hair, violet eyes shaped like almonds. And he smiled for her and began to lift his hand toward hers, but when he opened his mouth the fire poured out. She saw his heart burning through his chest, and in an instant he was gone, consumed like a moth by a candle, turned to ash. She wept for her child, the promise of a sweet mouth on her breast, but her tears turned to steam as they touched her skin. † . . . want to wake the dragon . . . â€Å" Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire. They had hair of silver and hair of gold and hair of platinum white, and their eyes were opal and amethyst, tourmaline and jade. â€Å"Faster,† they cried, â€Å"faster, faster.† She raced, her feet melting the stone wherever they touched. â€Å"Faster!† the ghosts cried as one, and she screamed and threw herself forward. A great knife of pain ripped down her back, and she felt her skin tear open and smelled the stench of burning blood and saw the shadow of wings. And Daenerys Targaryen flew. † . . . wake the dragon . . . â€Å" The door loomed before her, the red door, so close, so close, the hall was a blur around her, the cold receding behind. And now the stone was gone and she flew across the Dothraki sea, high and higher, the green rippling beneath, and all that lived and breathed fled in terror from the shadow of her wings. She could smell home, she could see it, there, just beyond that door, green fields and great stone houses and arms to keep her warm, there. She threw open the door. † . . . the dragon . . . â€Å" And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. â€Å"The last dragon,† Ser Jorah’s voice whispered faintly. â€Å"The last, the last.† Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own. After that, for a long time, there was only the pain, the fire within her, and the whisperings of stars. She woke to the taste of ashes. â€Å"No,† she moaned, â€Å"no, please.† â€Å"Khaleesi?† Jhiqui hovered over her, a frightened doe. The tent was drenched in shadow, still and close. Flakes of ash drifted upward from a brazier, and Dany followed them with her eyes through the smoke hole above. Flying, she thought. I had wings, I was flying. But it was only a dream. â€Å"Help me,† she whispered, struggling to rise. â€Å"Bring me . . . † Her voice was raw as a wound, and she could not think what she wanted. Why did she hurt so much? It was as if her body had been torn to pieces and remade from the scraps. â€Å"I want . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes, Khaleesi.† Quick as that Jhiqui was gone, bolting from the tent, shouting. Dany needed . . . something . . . someone . . . what? It was important, she knew. It was the only thing in the world that mattered. She rolled onto her side and got an elbow under her, fighting the blanket tangled about her legs. It was so hard to move. The world swam dizzily. I have to . . . They found her on the carpet, crawling toward her dragon eggs. Ser Jorah Mormont lifted her in his arms and carried her back to her sleeping silks, while she struggled feebly against him. Over his shoulder she saw her three handmaids, Jhogo with his little wisp of mustache, and the flat broad face of Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"I must,† she tried to tell them, â€Å"I have to . . . â€Å" † . . . sleep, Princess,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"No,† Dany said. â€Å"Please. Please.† â€Å"Yes.† He covered her with silk, though she was burning. â€Å"Sleep and grow strong again, Khaleesi. Come back to us.† And then Mirri Maz Duur was there, the maegi, tipping a cup against her lips. She tasted sour milk, and something else, something thick and bitter. Warm liquid ran down her chin. Somehow she swallowed. The tent grew dimmer, and sleep took her again. This time she did not dream. She floated, serene and at peace, on a black sea that knew no shore. After a time—a night, a day, a year, she could not say—she woke again. The tent was dark, its silken walls flapping like wings when the wind gusted outside. This time Dany did not attempt to rise. â€Å"Irri,† she called, â€Å"Jhiqui. Doreah.† They were there at once. â€Å"My throat is dry,† she said, â€Å"so dry,† and they brought her water. It was warm and flat, yet Dany drank it eagerly, and sent Jhiqui for more. Irri dampened a soft cloth and stroked her brow. â€Å"I have been sick,† Dany said. The Dothraki girl nodded. â€Å"How long?† The cloth was soothing, but Irri seemed so sad, it frightened her. â€Å"Long,† she whispered. When Jhiqui returned with more water, Mirri Maz Duur came with her, eyes heavy from sleep. â€Å"Drink,† she said, lifting Dany’s head to the cup once more, but this time it was only wine. Sweet, sweet wine. Dany drank, and lay back, listening to the soft sound of her own br eathing. She could feel the heaviness in her limbs, as sleep crept in to fill her up once more. â€Å"Bring me . . . † she murmured, her voice slurred and drowsy. â€Å"Bring . . . I want to hold . . . â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† the maegi asked. â€Å"What is it you wish, Khaleesi?† â€Å"Bring me . . . egg . . . dragon’s egg . . . please . . . † Her lashes turned to lead, and she was too weary to hold them up. When she woke the third time, a shaft of golden sunlight was pouring through the smoke hole of the tent, and her arms were wrapped around a dragon’s egg. It was the pale one, its scales the color of butter cream, veined with whorls of gold and bronze, and Dany could feel the heat of it. Beneath her bedsilks, a fine sheen of perspiration covered her bare skin. Dragondew, she thought. Her fingers trailed lightly across the surface of the shell, tracing the wisps of gold, and deep in the stone she felt something twist and stretch in response. It did not frighten her. All her fear was gone, burned away. Dany touched her brow. Under the film of sweat, her skin was cool to the touch, her fever gone. She made herself sit. There was a moment of dizziness, and the deep ache between her thighs. Yet she felt strong. Her maids came running at the sound of her voice. â€Å"Water,† she told them, â€Å"a flagon of water, cold as you can find it. And fruit, I think. Dates.† â€Å"As you say, Khaleesi.† â€Å"I want Ser Jorah,† she said, standing. Jhiqui brought a sandsilk robe and draped it over her shoulders. â€Å"And a warm bath, and Mirri Maz Duur, and . . . † Memory came back to her all at once, and she faltered. â€Å"Khal Drogo,† she forced herself to say, watching their faces with dread. â€Å"Is hemdash?† â€Å"The khal lives,† Irri answered quietly . . . yet Dany saw a darkness in her eyes when she said the words, and no sooner had she spoken than she rushed away to fetch water. She turned to Doreah. â€Å"Tell me.† â€Å"I . . . I shall bring Ser Jorah,† the Lysene girl said, bowing her head and fleeing the tent. Jhiqui would have run as well, but Dany caught her by the wrist and held her captive. â€Å"What is it? I must know. Drogo . . . and my child.† Why had she not remembered the child until now? â€Å"My son . . . Rhaego . . . where is he? I want him.† Her handmaid lowered her eyes. â€Å"The boy . . . he did not live, Khaleesi.† Her voice was a frightened whisper. Dany released her wrist. My son is dead, she thought as Jhiqui left the tent. She had known somehow. She had known since she woke the first time to Jhiqui’s tears. No, she had known before she woke. Her dream came back to her, sudden and vivid, and she remembered the tall man with the copper skin and long silver-gold braid, bursting into flame. She should weep, she knew, yet her eyes were dry as ash. She had wept in her dream, and the tears had turned to steam on her cheeks. All the grief has been burned out of me, she told herself. She felt sad, and yet . . . she could feel Rhaego receding from her, as if he had never been. Ser Jorah and Mirri Maz Duur entered a few moments later, and found Dany standing over the other dragon’s eggs, the two still in their chest. It seemed to her that they felt as hot as the one she had slept with, which was passing strange. â€Å"Ser Jorah, come here,† she said. She took his hand and placed it on the black egg with the scarlet swirls. â€Å"What do you feel?† â€Å"Shell, hard as rock.† The knight was wary. â€Å"Scales.† â€Å"Heat?† â€Å"No. Cold stone.† He took his hand away. â€Å"Princess, are you well? Should you be up, weak as you are?† â€Å"Weak? I am strong, Jorah.† To please him, she reclined on a pile of cushions. â€Å"Tell me how my child died.† â€Å"He never lived, my princess. The women say . . . † He faltered, and Dany saw how the flesh hung loose on him, and the way he limped when he moved. â€Å"Tell me. Tell me what the women say.† He turned his face away. His eyes were haunted. â€Å"They say the child was . . . â€Å" She waited, but Ser Jorah could not say it. His face grew dark with shame. He looked half a corpse himself. â€Å"Monstrous,† Mirri Maz Duur finished for him. The knight was a powerful man, yet Dany understood in that moment that the maegi was stronger, and crueler, and infinitely more dangerous. â€Å"Twisted. I drew him forth myself. He was scaled like a lizard, blind, with the stub of a tail and small leather wings like the wings of a bat. When I touched him, the flesh sloughed off the bone, and inside he was full of graveworms and the stink of corruption. He had been dead for years.† Darkness, Dany thought. The terrible darkness sweeping up behind to devour her. If she looked back she was lost. â€Å"My son was alive and strong when Ser Jorah carried me into this tent,† she said. â€Å"I could feel him kicking, fighting to be born.† â€Å"That may be as it may be,† answered Mirri Maz Duur, â€Å"yet the creature that came forth from your womb was as I said. Death was in that tent, Khaleesi.† â€Å"Only shadows,† Ser Jorah husked, but Dany could hear the doubt in his voice. â€Å"I saw, maegi. I saw you, alone, dancing with the shadows. â€Å" â€Å"The grave casts long shadows, Iron Lord,† Mirri said. â€Å"Long and dark, and in the end no light can hold them back.† Ser Jorah had killed her son, Dany knew. He had done what he did for love and loyalty, yet he had carried her into a place no living man should go and fed her baby to the darkness. He knew it too; the grey face, the hollow eyes, the limp. â€Å"The shadows have touched you too, Ser Jorah,† she told him. The knight made no reply. Dany turned to the godswife. â€Å"You warned me that only death could pay for life. I thought you meant the horse.† â€Å"No,† Mirri Maz Duur said. â€Å"That was a lie you told yourself. You knew the price.† Had she? Had she? If I look back I am lost. â€Å"The price was paid,† Dany said. â€Å"The horse, my child, Quaro and Qotho, Haggo and Cohollo. The price was paid and paid and paid.† She rose from her cushions. â€Å"Where is Khal Drogo? Show him to me, godswife, maegi, bloodmage, whatever you are. Show me Khal Drogo. Show me what I bought with my son’s life.† â€Å"As you command, Khaleesi,† the old woman said. â€Å"Come, I will take you to him.† Dany was weaker than she knew. Ser Jorah slipped an arm around her and helped her stand. â€Å"Time enough for this later, my princess,† he said quietly. â€Å"I would see him now, Ser Jorah.† After the dimness of the tent, the world outside was blinding bright. The sun burned like molten gold, and the land was seared and empty. Her handmaids waited with fruit and wine and water, and Jhogo moved close to help Ser Jorah support her. Aggo and Rakharo stood behind. The glare of sun on sand made it hard to see more, until Dany raised her hand to shade her eyes. She saw the ashes of a fire, a few score horses milling listlessly and searching for a bite of grass, a scattering of tents and bedrolls. A small crowd of children had gathered to watch her, and beyond she glimpsed women going about their work, and withered old men staring at the flat blue sky with tired eyes, swatting feebly at bloodflies. A count might show a hundred people, no more. Where the other forty thousand had made their camp, only the wind and dust lived now. â€Å"Drogo’s khalasar is gone,† she said. â€Å"A khal who cannot ride is no khal,† said Jhogo. â€Å"The Dothraki follow only the strong,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"I am sorry, my princess. There was no way to hold them. Ko Pono left first, naming himself Khal Pono, and many followed him. Jhaqo was not long to do the same. The rest slipped away night by night, in large bands and small. There are a dozen new khalasars on the Dothraki sea, where once there was only Drogo’s.† â€Å"The old remain,† said Aggo. â€Å"The frightened, the weak, and the sick. And we who swore. We remain.† â€Å"They took Khal Drogo’s herds, Khaleesi,† Rakharo said. â€Å"We were too few to stop them. It is the right of the strong to take from the weak. They took many slaves as well, the khal’s and yours, yet they left some few.† â€Å"Eroeh?† asked Dany, remembering the frightened child she had saved outside the city of the Lamb Men. â€Å"Mago seized her, who is Khal Jhaqo’s bloodrider now,† said Jhogo. â€Å"He mounted her high and low and gave her to his khal, and Jhaqo gave her to his other bloodriders. They were six. When they were done with her, they cut her throat.† â€Å"It was her fate, Khaleesi,† said Aggo. If I look back I am lost. â€Å"It was a cruel fate,† Dany said, â€Å"yet not so cruel as Mago’s will be. I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear it by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh.† The Dothraki exchanged uncertain glances. â€Å"Khaleesi, † the handmaid Irri explained, as if to a child, â€Å"Jhaqo is a khal now, with twenty thousand riders at his back.† She lifted her head. â€Å"And I am Daenerys Stormhorn, Daenerys of House Targaryen, of the blood of Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel and old Valyria before them. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you, these men will die screaming. Now bring me to Khal Drogo.† He was lying on the bare red earth, staring up at the sun. A dozen bloodflies had settled on his body, though he did not seem to feel them. Dany brushed them away and knelt beside him. His eyes were wide open but did not see, and she knew at once that he was blind. When she whispered his name, he did not seem to hear. The wound on his breast was as healed as it would ever be, the scar that covered it grey and red and hideous. â€Å"Why is he out here alone, in the sun?† she asked them. â€Å"He seems to like the warmth, Princess,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"His eyes follow the sun, though he does not see it. He can walk after a fashion. He will go where you lead him, but no farther. He will eat if you put food in his mouth, drink if you dribble water on his lips.† Dany kissed her sun-and-stars gently on the brow, and stood to face Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"Your spells are costly, maegi.† â€Å"He lives,† said Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"You asked for life. You paid for life.† â€Å"This is not life, for one who was as Drogo was. His life was laughter, and meat roasting over a firepit, and a horse between his legs. His life was an arakh in his hand and his bells ringing in his hair as he rode to meet an enemy. His life was his bloodriders, and me, and the son I was to give him.† Mirri Maz Duur made no reply. â€Å"When will he be as he was?† Dany demanded. â€Å"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,† said Mirri Maz Duur. â€Å"When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before.† Dany gestured at Ser Jorah and the others. â€Å"Leave us. I would speak with this maegi alone.† Mormont and the Dothraki withdrew. â€Å"You knew,† Dany said when they were gone. She ached, inside and out, but her fury gave her strength. â€Å"You knew what I was buying, and you knew the price, and yet you let me pay it.† â€Å"It was wrong of them to burn my temple,† the heavy, flat-nosed woman said placidly. â€Å"That angered the Great Shepherd.† â€Å"This was no god’s work,† Dany said coldly. If I look back I am lost. â€Å"You cheated me. You murdered my child within me.† â€Å"The stallion who mounts the world will burn no cities now. His khalasar shall trample no nations into dust.† â€Å"I spoke for you,† she said, anguished. â€Å"I saved you.† â€Å"Saved me?† The Lhazareen woman spat. â€Å"Three riders had taken me, not as a man takes a woman but from behind, as a dog takes a bitch. The fourth was in me when you rode past. How then did you save me? I saw my god’s house burn, where I had healed good men beyond counting. My home they burned as well, and in the street I saw piles of heads. I saw the head of a baker who made my bread. I saw the head of a boy I had saved from deadeye fever, only three moons past. I heard children crying as the riders drove them off with their whips. Tell me again what you saved.† â€Å"Your life.† Mirri Maz Duur laughed cruelly. â€Å"Look to your khal and see what life is worth, when all the rest is gone.† Dany called out for the men of her khas and bid them take Mirri Maz Duur and bind her hand and foot, but the maegi smiled at her as they carried her off, as if they shared a secret. A word, and Dany could have her head off . . . yet then what would she have? A head? If life was worthless, what was death? They led Khal Drogo back to her tent, and Dany commanded them to fill a tub, and this time there was no blood in the water. She bathed him herself, washing the dirt and the dust from his arms and chest, cleaning his face with a soft cloth, soaping his long black hair and combing the knots and tangles from it till it shone again as she remembered. It was well past dark before she was done, and Dany was exhausted. She stopped for drink and food, but it was all she could do to nibble at a fig and keep down a mouthful of water. Sleep would have been a release, but she had slept enough . . . too long, in truth. She owed this night to Drogo, for all the nights that had been, and yet might be. The memory of their first ride was with her when she led him out into the darkness, for the Dothraki believed that all things of importance in a man’s life must be done beneath the open sky. She told herself that there were powers stronger than hatred, and spells older and truer than any the maegi had learned in Asshai. The night was black and moonless, but overhead a million stars burned bright. She took that for an omen. No soft blanket of grass welcomed them here, only the hard dusty ground, bare and strewn with stones. No trees stirred in the wind, and there was no stream to soothe her fears with the gentle music of water. Dany told herself that the stars would be enough. â€Å"Remember, Drogo,† she whispered. â€Å"Remember our first ride together, the day we wed. Remember the night we made Rhaego, with the khalasar all around us and your eyes on my face. Remember how cool and clean the water was in the Womb of the World. Remember, my sun-and-stars. Remember, and come back to me.† The birth had left her too raw and torn to take him inside of her, as she would have wanted, but Doreah had taught her other ways. Dany used her hands, her mouth, her breasts. She raked him with her nails and covered him with kisses and whispered and prayed and told him stories, and by the end she had bathed him with her tears. Yet Drogo did not feel, or speak, or rise. And when the bleak dawn broke over an empty horizon, Dany knew that he was truly lost to her. â€Å"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east,† she said sadly. â€Å"When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When my womb quickens again, and I bear a living child. Then you will return, my sun-and-stars, and not before.† Never, the darkness cried, never never never. Inside the tent Dany found a cushion, soft silk stuffed with feathers. She clutched it to her breasts as she walked back out to Drogo, to her sun-and-stars. If I look back I am lost. It hurt even to walk, and she wanted to sleep, to sleep and not to dream. She knelt, kissed Drogo on the lips, and pressed the cushion down across his face.

Lebanese Security Issues and Solutions - Syrian Involvement Essay

Lebanese Security Issues and Solutions - Syrian Involvement - Essay Example Other groups that worsen the complication are the participation of the Libyans, Iraqis, Americans and the Russians ("The Lebanese War", 2005). The 15-years war in Lebanon (1975-1990) has begun from the disputes and political clash since the colonial period. One of the factors that aggravated the war was the conflict between the Christian and the Muslim. Added to these are the nearness of the country to Syria, the political revolutions and many other events in Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The growing Arab Nationalism and Socialism in the perspective of the Cold War are the other contributing factors to the conflict in Lebanon. Also included were the trouble between Arab and Israeli, the revolution in Iran and the Palestinian terrorism. To complete the list, the Black September in Jordan, Islamic fundamentalism, and the war between Iran and Iraq are the rest of these factors. The war brought countless of victims. More than 100,000 people were killed and almost 100,000 persons were injured and added to this were the thousands who lost their limbs resulting from the explosion of land mines. More than 900,0 00 innocent civilians were dislocated. More than double of this number migrated to other countries to keep away from the trouble. The Lebanese war can be divided into a number of periods. The outburst of the war was in the middle of 1970s then in late 1970s came the intrusion of the Syrian together with the Israeli. It was then followed by the intensification of the war between the PLO and the Israeli that occurred in early 80s. The invasion of Israeli in 1982 and the involvement of the multinationals were the added factors to the conflict which happened after was the resolution of the Syrian occupation ("History of Lebanon", 2006). Large contingent of Syrian Army was remained in Lebanon as early as 1976. Although the war has ended, the Syrian keeps a total of 14,000 soldiers to maintain the peace and order in the country. With their presence and involvement in Lebanese political affairs, the major political decisions are mostly made in Damascus ("Young in the Arab World: Lebanon", 2005). At first, the Syrian's presence in Lebanon is supported by America for more than 30 years together with the Israelis they favored the stay of the Syrian forces to keep the control of the 300,000 Palestinian refugees in the country. At present, the continuous stay of Syrian troops and its domination to the internal affairs of Lebanon is becoming the concern of U.S. President Bush (Fisk, 2005). Growing number of Lebanese are becoming displeased in long stay of the Syrian troops in the country. The Christians are believed to be the most affected group in the peace and security situation. The presence of checkpoints can be noticed in many parts of the country. Large posters of former President Hafez Assad can be seen everywhere. Spies or undercover agents who are dispersed anywhere brought fear to the people. The Lebanese Government is largely influenced by the Syrian particularly in their major decision making and political exercises. Tension are felt during election, the officials to be elected should be endorsed by Syria. It was only until last year

Open Door Policy US & China, Roosevelt Era Research Paper

Open Door Policy US & China, Roosevelt Era - Research Paper Example To add to this, after the Russians were replaced by the Japanese at the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the United States heavily demanded the concordance to the principles of the Open Door Policy upon Manchuria (Sugita, 3-20). The Open Door Policy had gone through a plentiful that explains many about the imposition of the American policy of free trade and open market towards the strong economies in Asia. However, this also reveals some problems that the policy’s principles and ideological stand had encountered during its time in China. Hence, this paper will argue that the Open Door Policy during Theodore Roosevelt’s regime had encountered conflicting disputes upon its implementation in China. It will first explain a brief background to the Open Door Policy’s birth. It will then narrate the developments that led to the fortification of the Open Door Policy before and during Roosevelt’s era. In relation to this, it will discuss the problems that the policy had encountered during its imposition upon the Chinese economy. ... Their conquest of the Western Frontier urged them to expand their power towards the Eastern Frontier. The United States based their eastern expansion in the desire to bring education and religion to the greater Pacific. More importantly, the purpose of commerce was the primary mover of the expansionist theory. With trade in the minds of these expansionists, the Americans saw China as its potential â€Å"partner† in the Eastern Frontier (Israel, 7-9). James W. Bashford, a Chinese historian, stated that, â€Å"the Chinese themselves, in breaking away from an ancient civilization can readily be led to accept a western, Christian, Protestant civilization.† (Israel, 9). At this stage in history, the Americans saw the potential contained within the huge realm of the Chinese. It can be implied that the superior nature of the United States government had already recognized the advanced Chinese civilization. Hence, the justification for an expansion in the Eastern Frontier can b e seen through the nation’s decisions. In this way, the Open Door Policy was a concrete manifestation of what the American wanted for their eastern conquest. An important catalyst to the implementation of the Open Door Policy in China can also be evidenced in one of the United States’ most useful expansionist doctrines at that time – the theory of Mahanism. Mahanism, formulated by Alfred Mahan, decreed that the might of a nation can be seen through its power in naval forces. With relations to the eastern expansionist desires of the United States, its government was aimed at the procedure of a gunboat diplomacy where China would be submitted under the might of America’s sea power (Israel,

Management Seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management Seminar - Essay Example ial scandals from the leading companies such as –the Enrons, Worldcoms, Adelphia and Tyco’s over spending as well as distortion of accounting statements. SOX stipulate that there should be several checks and balances in the companies to provide accurate financial record to the public. Financial officers are required to provide accurate financial statements that should be monitored by both internal and external auditors. For that reason, they are held accountable for their actions; and lest there be any incorrect financial information, and then they are liable for high fines and imprisonment. This act very important to both the public and the companies as well, this is through establishing a more energetic shareholder’s environment. The common public has more confidence that organizations will not swindle their money as they are subject to federal regulations. It is due to this reason the firm financial officials have opted to submit accurate financial statements. As required by this act, any unethical actions in the organization should be punished; employees, therefore, have been encouraged to report any wrong doings in the organization because it is the same act that will defend them. However, The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been challenged by a number of negative aspects. Many companies have decided not to go public as they do not need to be SOX compliant if they are privately held. Once this Act was passed, many companies have become privately held, and some public companies have also removed their names from the stock exchange list. Moreover, the exercise has also proved to be very expensive; the cost involved in hiring the qualified accounting, legal, and technology expertise to support maintaining accurate records of the organizations’ financial statements is high. In addition, the maintenance fee that is required for this act has really squeezed the bottom-line profits of many organizations; as some mid-size companies are unable to afford the fee

Skip navigation links BFS 3440-07B BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FOR FIRE Essay - 2

Skip navigation links BFS 3440-07B BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FOR FIRE PROTECTION (BFS3440-07B) - Essay Example Bearing walls hold or bears the load of the structure; the load of the structure is transferred to the bearing wall from the floor joists and the roof rafters. Nonbearing walls are non load bearing support elements that serves the function of supporting the weight of itself and they do not bear or hold the load of the structure and they are generally used for partitioning an area in a building. As a result of the function of the bearing wall in a building, its failure can result in the catastrophic collapse of the building it supports, whereas the collapse of the non-bearing wall has little or no effect on the structure of the building as they only support their own weight and do not hold the weight of the building in any form. A fire fighter in fighting a fire must devise a tactic to identify the load-bearing walls and be aware of the dangers that are associated with the failure of the bearing walls (Wallace, 2001). A non-bearing wall is easier to build than bearing walls, a fire fighter must be aware of the fact that non-bearing wall are more likely to be destroyed by fire and could cause the spread of fire; hence they must try to first quench fire from non-bearing walls in the event of an outbreak to prevent the spread of fire and make sure that fire do not spread to the bearing walls as its collapse would bring about a catastrophic destruction of the

Account standardization, IFRS and US GAAP Essay

Account standardization, IFRS and US GAAP - Essay Example The general purpose of the financial statement is to be prepared in accordance with the international accounting standards. The need of the accounting standards emerges because auditors and financial analyst are generally confronted with problems of accounting like biasedness, misinterpretation, inaccuracy and ambiguity. To minimize these kinds of errors a set of accounting standards was developed which was universally accepted and recognized. Without these accounting standards each and every business entity had to develop their own business standards which would make it impossible to compare the financial information with other business organizations. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are accounting principles and standards formulated by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) which is situated in London. These established accounting standards are ideally applicable equally to all the organizations worldwide. During 1973- 2000, the international accountin g standards were formulated by the predecessor organization of the IASB formerly known as International Accounting Committee (IAC) (Beke, 2011). Since April 2001, the accounting standards set by IASB are taken into consideration. ... A financial report of high and genuine quality improves their understanding and makes them better informed and also reduces their risk of trading (Beke, 2011) 3) IFRS helps in eliminating most of the financial adjustments that the financial analyst have made historically in order to make the company financial statements comparable internationally (Beke, 2011) 4) IFRS provides reduced information costs and information risk to potential investors (Beke, 2011). Before March, 2008 the US listed foreign issuers of securities were required to prepare financial statements with respect to the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) or include reconciliation to US GAAP as a part of the financial statement reporting (Liu, 2011). This step became a prerequisite in the United States of America (USA) because of lack of widely accepted high quality accounting standards. Most of the foreign institutional investors file their annual reports on form 20-F which incorporates reconciliatio n. This reconciliation is often viewed as an unnecessary and expensive step by the foreign issuers of security (Liu, 2011). The European Union, New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange have allowed the Securities Exchange Commission of USA to allow foreign companies to use the IFRS to list on the US stock markets without the reconciliation or compliance with the US GAAP accounting principles. This was done as IFRS is considered a high quality accounting standards although there are some significant differences between the IFRS and US GAAP accounting standards. However, the investors need to be informed the differences between the IFRS and US GAAP accounting standards for

Practicum Project Methodology and Evaluation Term Paper

Practicum Project Methodology and Evaluation - Term Paper Example have the capacity to create an implementation plan for purposeful rounding, bedside reporting, and multidisciplinary rounding in order to improve patients experiences and help staff develop their leadership competencies and abilities. In terms of objectives, the learner will be able to apply nursing theories and relevant research in creating an implementation plan for best practices at the end of the practicum project. Secondly, this project is geared towards helping the learner acquire the ability to identify and analyze leadership approaches used in managing multidisciplinary groups. At the end of this project, the learner will also have the capacity to apply best practices in nursing in order to drive performance. For the first objective, I will seek the help of my preceptor and nurse leader in my department to identify best practices related to nursing operations that are currently been used in managing the team. I will also interview members of the team in regards to which best practices they think are relevant and have achieved positive results. One of the best practice been used to facilitate purposeful rounding and bedside reporting that I will focus on is open communication. For the second objective, I will work in cahoots with a multidisciplinary team consisting of an array of specialized personnel such as nurses, nurse leaders, and physicians during rounds. I will be an active member of the team in order to virtually identify how the team leader manages the multidisciplinary team. For the third objective, I will take in consideration the identified best practices such as open communication used to facilitate nursing operations as well as leadership approaches identified through observ ation and adopt them in my nursing practice during this practicum project. To achieve the third objective, I will also be actively engaged during rounding in order to have a practical experience on how best practices are implemented in practice. In evaluating my practicum

Comparison between SAP system and Microsoft Dynamics Research Paper

Comparison between SAP system and Microsoft Dynamics - Research Paper Example Additionally, the majority of business organizations adopts ERP solutions offered by SAP Corporation. In view of the fact these systems are costly and are designed to be used for large size business organizations therefore it is assumed that they are not suitable for small and medium-size business organizations (Park & Lee, 2006; Khaleel & Sulaiman, 2013). In this scenario, Microsoft a giant organization of IT industry has introduced some enterprise resource planning systems known as Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning business solution software which provides an excellent support and wonderful capabilities to business organizations by allowing them to be more creative and allows them to acclimatize as they develop, at the same time as providing the insight they need to act in response rapidly in an ever-changing business environment (Microsoft1, 2013). ... This comparison will be on the basis of cash flow management function. SAP’s ERP System SAP ERP Central Component (or simply ECC) is one of the well-known assets of SAP Corporation. Basically, it is an ERP application (enterprise resource planning software) that is composed of a large number of modules that provide the business organizations with a great deal of control over their major business procedures. In this scenario, these modules are designed in a way that they are able to communicate with each other with the purpose of creating and maintaining a completely integrated system that offers superior performance to almost every client inside a broad range of industry areas. However, the management of business operations using SAP ECC applications can be challenging because of the risk that appears due to transformation of direct fundamental information and procedures, however the significance of counting through these types of systems and the advantages of a flourishing/in tegrated ERP application are too important. In view of the fact that it integrates a large number of modules for a variety of purposes such as financials (FI), sales and distribution (SD), material management (MM), human capital management (HCM), and a number of others, that’s why SAP ECC is one of the most attractive choices for the majority of business organizations (CIPHER Business Solutions, 2013; SAP1, 2013; F5 Networks, Inc., 2013). In addition, SAP ECC business system solutions can be an excellent option for those business organizations that are in search of a complete, integrated industry application to have full control over their

Methods Which Writers Use to Develop Their Style Essay Example for Free

Methods Which Writers Use to Develop Their Style Essay Explore the methods which writers use to develop the ways in which their characters see and understand their own worlds in Pride and Prejudice and The Yellow Wallpaper Austen first published ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in 1813 the novella touches on several themes such as prejudice, first impressions and pride; themes that individually define the main characters. Charlotte Perkin Gilman an American writer first published ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ in 1892, the novella touches upon attitudes in the nineteenth century towards women’s physical and mental health. Writers tend to contrast characters hoping to intrigue the readers in the variation of characterisation. Throughout this essay I will illustrates the ways in which characters see and understand their own worlds through ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkin Gilman. Darcy is the character most often associated with pride and Elizabeth Bennett with prejudice. Ironically the novel was originally called ‘First Impressions’ an aspect Darcy seems to lack originally. Understanding the world can be perceived in many different aspects; literally or figuratively. The protagonists; Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy capture our attention from the beginning of the novel. Austen is able to contradict the patriarchal society that existed in the nineteenth century, as she builds Elizabeth to be rational, strong and independent. Women were mainly seen in this time to entertain yet Elizabeth did not carry these traits. Her perspective of the world was different to how her mother saw her future, she rejects two men of which rank highly on the social ladder proposal towards her. Ironically she ends the novel marrying the wealthiest of them all. Whereas, Darcy originally is not fond of Elizabeth ‘She is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me’ his second glance at her changes his judgement he describes her eyes to be. Darcy emits a character full of pride and arrogance qualities that seemed typical from a man of his status. The Yellow Wallpaper; the narrator sets an omniscient tone on the novella, it is written in first person narrative, for example ‘I’ this allows the readers to feel somewhat emotional attraction, towards the onset of the novella. The novella is a paradox; the narrator loses touch with the outer world, as she comes to a greater understanding of the inner reality of her life. It dwells upon a controversial issue; postnatal depression an illness that has become more common in our patriarchal society. ‘Pride and  Prejudice’; Jane Austen effectively portrays the way characters can understand and see things, in a literal as well as metaphorical aspect. Ironically the protagonist; Elizabeth Bennet believes to have the greatest understanding of people yet she falls short when she fails to understand Wickam. Initially losing some of her pride ‘I who have prided myself on my discernment†¦ how humiliating is this discovery’ she realises that she is a bad judge of character. Though Elizabeth constantly reminds us of her understanding of characters she clearly in occasions see’s things differently. In addition, the narrator in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ suffers from postnatal depression, however still manages to cope, because her source of relief is self-expressed through her creative and imaginative outlook on her depression. Her husband; John believes her depression to be a ‘temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency’. This quotation clearly suggests John relies more on his medical education than his wife’s feelings and opinions, he neglects her consultation on her illness, he just accepts the fact that he is not going to listen to her. Evidence of this is shown â€Å"You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do?†. This quotation further suggests there lack of communication in the relationship, John has trapped her in this room ‘for her health’ she describes he r room, to be ‘horrid’ however because he is a high standing doctor which is initiated in the beginning of the novella, she believes him. He trusts that the â€Å"illness† of hers is simply a nervous condition, which would easily be cured with lots of rest and very little intellectual time hence. Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy a main character in the novella arrives at Longbourn, originally the Bennets are fond of him ‘Darcy was clever. He was at the same time haughty, reserved and fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting.. he was continually giving offence’ there thoughts of him had quickly changed. Austen builds him to be a character we become greatly fond of as we witness his beliefs towards Elizabeth’s family he is straight forward in that matter rude yet honest. However we grow knowledge of his action in the break-up of Jane and Mr Bingley, he was wrong about Jane’s feelings and in this he lacks the ability to understand what happens behind a situation. Lady Catherine, who possesses wealth and social standing, is condescending, although her manner is seen by some as entirely proper and even admirable. She is a fixed character of exaggerated  propensities, in her case representing the extremes of snobbish and pride and prejudice. Prejudice seems to be a theme that exists within all the characters, the hunger to wed into a wealthy family this touches on pride another theme that commonly exists. Austen conveys Lady Catherine to be the wicked witch, she is strong willed and values status her beliefs are traditional. The scene where Elizabeth is invited to her home she undermines her and disapproves of her family with her snide comments. Darcy ‘looked a little ashamed of his ill-breeding’ he is offended by her lack of manners, especially towards Elizabeth, and later, courts her disapproval by marrying Elizabeth in spite of her objections. Lady Catherine indicates her understanding of her own world to be fairly clear, she believes highly in the social hierarchy and isn’t the least fond of mixing beneath her class. Overall, the two major themes of Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice are summed up in the title. The first aspect can be traced in the actions and statements of the work’s entire major and many of its minor characters. Austen and Charlotte share the comparison of misunderstood characters, the narrator in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and Darcy in ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Though 80% of Austens novel is dialogue this only seems to intrigues the readers more, suggesting that the characters appear to need to express themselves through writing, a reason may be because they feel they will able to justify themselves; Darcy and Elizabeth’s typical romance may have not blossomed if not for this. To conclude the themes that existed within both novellas were boldly effective.

Culture and Special Education Essay Example for Free

Culture and Special Education Essay In this paper we concern ourselves with the ways in which schools in general and special education procedures in particular tend to not be successful for those of our students who are from a different culture. (While we focus on Canadian Aboriginals, we also extend our thinking to those children who come from different races, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, etc. ) We outline the stories that have brought us to this place. We then go on to suggest that the adoption of different understandings and approaches could lead to the academic success of children from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds. We conclude with some direction for change. In this paper we, two white educators, concern ourselves with the education of those students of Aboriginal descent who are seen by the school system as special. Our concerns are based on the stories we use to understand ourselves and our actions stories of mistold history, socio-political issues, racism, the misuse of science and the ways those stories disadvantage those who are different. Our hope is that we can begin to explore different more hopeful and empowering stories. There are many reasons to be concerned about the existing state of special education, particularly with our Aboriginal students. Currently the following are common; 1. Our special education classes are top-heavy with Aboriginal and disadvantaged students. 2. We tend to focus on the deficits in other children rather than on the possibilities. We could embrace the position of William Glasser (1986): we choose to be whom and what we, and others, believe we are. [1] 3. We do not concern ourselves with the differences brought to school by children from other than the dominant culture. [2] 4. We are asking all small school children to do the pretty much the same thing at pretty much the same time and to meet some arbitrary standard of what they should or should not be able to do. We act despite current research concerning physiology and early childhood experience, which suggests that children are not ready for the same task at the same time. 5. The tests that we give children to determine the reasons for failure at school tasks are fallible and culturally insensitive and subjective. 6. A label tends to freeze a child in the definition attached to the label. 7. We have a tendency to blame the victim or to blame the social background rather than look at ways we can change. Clearly we need to find another way of viewing children and their learning. We are hoping to uncover stories that currently mediate, impair and colonize our special education practices, thereby beginning a dialogue concerning alternative stories of strength, knowing and power. Stories that Get in the Way History Stories Malia Kaniaupuni (2005) tells us how archeologists and historians have accepted a theory of accidental migration from Polynesia to the Hawaiian Islands to explain a 2200-mile voyage on the open seas. This in spite of evidence to the contrary, which makes it clear that the early Polynesian explorers did indeed have the sophisticated system of navigation needed for a planned and successful voyage. Malia Kaniaupuni’s point is that the assumption of a people with no learning, no culture, no anything but maybe good luck, made it possible for colonizers to take on in their own minds the mantle of rescuer. Iseke-Barnes (2005) is also concerned about the misrepresentation of Indigenous history and science. She wants us to challenge those assumptions that the colonizers found a people in need of saving from their own ignorance. Paulo Freire (1971, 1997) has spent many years studying the impact of oppression on the colonized. In the name of saving a backward people from themselves the colonizers were able to perpetuate acts of cultural genocide and worse. The use of this story continues to impact on how the dominant cultures act out their oppression. History is written by the winner, therefore we need to be highly critical of the history we read. While more blatant misrepresentations of the history of Canada are beginning to disappear, the whole story of colonization is not being told or written or disseminated. Instead, we are still trying to save lost Aboriginal souls. History stories mediate, impair and colonize special education practice, which we will illustrate by describing a socio-political and a scientific rigor story. A Socio-Political Story This is a story of the purpose of education. We suppose schools are places where children are educated. But what are children educated to do or be? Gitlin (2005) gives a disturbing answer to this question: [Public education is] not intended to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence †¦Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim †¦is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States†¦ and that is its aim everywhere else. (p. 22) Many may disagree with this disturbing answer, suggesting that school graduates, for the most part, go on to become productive citizens. But citizenry becomes problematic when referring to Aboriginal peoples – it seems clear that, for the most part, people of Aboriginal heritage do not go on to become productive citizens within the dominant culture. A lack of successful citizenry by Aboriginal peoples seems to justify special education programs that are top heavy with Aboriginal students. But success is politicized. Skovsmose (2005) outlines how schools practice both classic[3] and progressive[4] racism. Such practice allows us as educators not to have to take any responsibility for the failure of the child, as clearly the child brings the cause for his or her weak performance into school. Therefore: Many deficiency theories (theories of the deprived child) follow the approach of racism in explaining away the socio-political dimension of school performances, by privatizing and personalizing the causes of such performance. (p. 5) So: The epistemic interpretation of learning obstacle is not the only one possible. However, processes of exclusion in education can be dressed up in such a way that their political dimension becomes hidden and ignored. It could appear that exclusion is not imposed on students. Instead, exclusion may appear as a consequence of some students so-called low achievement. (p. 4) He goes on to say that this leads to a particular way of organizing teaching/learning processes in ways that prevent students from acting like learners. In other words our story leads to actions that support the story. A Scientific Story A scientifically rigorous story dominates special education practice. The story, in brief, is that learning disability can be attributed to biological and environmental factors. Current models of abnormality are often based on the premise that a person will have a biological disposition toward a disorder, but that the presence of a disorder will also depend on environmental factors (Wortman, Loftus, Weaver, 1999). Brain function consists of biological processes involving genetic tendencies, chemical levels and electrical activity. Normal brain function can be delineated according to normal biological processes. In other words, we assume that learning disability is at least partially caused by excessive deviation from a normal range of biological processes. These biological processes can be measured in terms of genetic profiles, chemical levels (e. g. , hormones found in blood) and electrical levels in the brain. Hence, it is assumed that learning disability can be measured using physiological properties of the brain. These ideas are supported by a dominant scientific culture, where scientific evidence generates facts that cannot be refuted. Special education for children of Aboriginal heritage has been colonized by this scientific rigor story. In schools, we identify learning disabilities as follows: A teacher identifies a student who appears to be struggling, and refers the student to a team of specialists. The specialist tests, diagnoses, labels and sets out a remediation program. The teacher implements the program. It seems like a perfectly reasonable system of trying to help those with disabilities, based on scientifically rigorous knowledge. But the story is flawed in three ways. First, the story of scientific rigor is told by a dominant culture. The colonizers write the books of knowledge, thereby attempting to establish without doubt what is true and what evidence is required to make a truth claim. Culturally laden epistemology certainty invades special education. For example, based on research literature generated by the dominant scientific culture, there is currently little scientific evidence to support a biological cause or disposition for most disorders of the brain (Wortman, et. al. , 1999). It is assumed that biological roots exist that accurately captures a disability label. There is no scientific rigor in labels. The assumptions have pervaded special education and are taken as scientific fact. This is a writing of special education knowledge by colonizers. Second, this scientific rigor story is based on behaviour and biology, while special education practice is based solely on behavior. Teachers, resource teachers, special education consultants and school psychologists base their labels on observing behaviour. Medical technologies are not used to detect genetic make-up, chemical levels or electrical activity in the brain, generating a diagnosis based on deviations from a normal range. We assume that our interpretation of behavior correctly identifies mental disability. But as we are caught inside stories that get in the way, we should not accept our interpretations of behaviour without question. Third, this scientific rigor story is enacted in contradictory ways. To see the contradiction, we need to set the stage by describing physiological and behavioural evidence generated by scientific research. Studies of the physiology of the forebrain and hindbrain have shown that the slow processing of learning cannot occur during a moment of fear (Kalat, 1988). Based on this physiological evidence, educators might wonder about school and classroom environment. If a child is afraid, or afraid to learn, then they will not learn. Researchers have found connections between emotional states and learning (Zimbardo Gerrig, 1996). Evidence of a connection between learning and emotion is accumulating to such an extent that there is a branch of psychological and educational research concerning emotional intelligence (EQ). For example, researchers have found correlations between EQ and ability to learn (Goleman, 1998). It is concluded that emotions should be nurtured as part of intellectual growth. Moving from physiology to behaviour, psychologists have found evidence to support a strong connection between emotion and behaviour. Notable among this research is Glasser’s (1986) claim that as learners we need to have the mental image of ourselves doing that task, we need to know we can do it. For children if we firmly believe that a child could do something and bring them to the same belief, then learning previously thought impossible takes place. We suspect other teachers, based on their personal experiences, have similar beliefs concerning the potential of children to learn. Coupling the physiological and behavioural evidence above suggests that a label is as much responsible for a child’s learning success as any other biological or environmental factor. The stage has been sent for noticing a contradiction in the scientific rigor story within special education. We are colonized to believe the scientific truth that disability is biological and behavioural. Hence, we label disability in hopes of solving the problem. But the same scientific culture generates the truth that labeling at least partially causes the behaviors associated with a disability. We label behaviour, not noticing that our stories mediate, impair and colonize our interpretations of behaviour. Conceptualizing Change There is no doubt in our minds that we are working with the best of intentions. We are not setting out to further disadvantage those who come to us from already established positions of disadvantage impoverished backgrounds, different cultures, stressed families. We are doing the best we can with the knowledge and resources we have. What gets in our way is lack of imagination. We assume that the way we do things is the way to do things. We may be comfortable with some tinkering. But we see ourselves as educated people who are neither racist nor biased, and who are working in a good system, but with damaged and/or deficient people – this story concludes that systemic changes are not required. We have a rigid educational system that states that success is measured in yearly doses and in each of those years students are expected to master a particular body of knowledge. It is an expected linear progression to success. Certain cultural imperatives are in place so that children from the dominant culture will more likely be successful. If you are not successful you are treated. The process of treatment takes away from your sense of competence as a learner, particularly in the school setting. Here we want to become specific. The focus of this paper is on the teaching of Aboriginal learners, and what stops us from being successful. The linear model used in our factory model schools gets in our way. The assumption that we have the one right way gets in our way. History gets in our way. Racism gets in our way. Scientism gets in our way. We are not noticing alternative stories. Previously we wrote (Betts Bailey, in press) about using a different metaphor for education, one that was not linear. We suggested that we use the metaphor of fractal geometry (and all that means in terms of quantum mechanics and chaos theory). In fractal geometry the smallest part is a reflection of the whole. For example a twig is really a little tree. In Aboriginal cosmology the basic unit is the Medicine Wheel, by definition a circular model so nothing is more important than anything else, all is of equal value. Each member of the community is an essential part of the whole. Earth, flora, fauna, human are all part of the circle of life required for existence. Education was a part of the whole, an on-going component of life (Courtney, 1986, Graveline, 1998, Regnier, 1995). We illustrated that a non-linear and holistic story of education was tell-able within ultra-modern Western thinking and within the ancient wisdom of Aboriginal cosmologies. We saw with alternative stories. To see education for children, all of whom are special, rather than special education, as non-linear and holistic seems a place to begin. We also see that a starting part is not enough to catalyze change. It is clear to us that the foreground must be that Aboriginal peoples have been and are oppressed and colonized. We do not need to go into the history of the subjugation of an entire race practiced over the years by the European colonizers. We all know the steps that were taken to destroy any vestige of the civilization that was in place at the time of contact. We get confused as to what to do about it now. After all, it was our ancestors, not us. [5] We see what we are doing now in schools as an extension of that destructive process. Our governments are slowly beginning to allow for the full participation of Aboriginals in our world. But in many small and highly destructive ways we continue to contribute to the marginalization of that population. The world of special education is one place where we continue to do so. Knowing that a high proportion of the identified special population is Aboriginal, we continue to act as we always have, even in the face of evidence that the actions we take are not effective. Paulo Freire (1971) suggests that it takes several generations for a culture to overcome the impact of oppression. Certainly we can see the truth of that statement as we watch many colonized peoples re-learn how to care for and govern themselves. In Canada, Aboriginal peoples are slowly, and over generations, learning how to be who they are, and to be successful in both cultures. This will not happen quickly, but it will happen surely. In the meantime there is no question that our Aboriginal population is dealing with serious problems and some of those impact on the ability of their children to learn, especially using the mores of another culture. Our typical reaction as white educators is to want the Aboriginals to change. All would be right if only kids would come to school and on time. All would be well if their parents would stop drinking. All would be well if so much money wasnt being squandered on band council trips to Las Vegas. All of which may be factual, but does not excuse us from doing what we can to better the situation for the special children. The current reality of an oppressed population does not give us the right to blame the victim. Rather, as Skovsmose points out: †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"meanings of learning,† â€Å"meanings for students,† and â€Å"each students meaning production† must be investigated and interpreted with reference to the dispositions of the student (including their background and foreground). Meaning production takes place in terms of what the students see as their opportunities, including motives, perspectives, hope and aspirations (p. 8). Therefore in conceptualizing change we of the dominant culture need to place that conceptualization in hands other than ours, in the hands of those who know and honour their unique history and ways of being, who can best find the organic ways of empowering themselves and their children. Having said that we do have some notions of what white educators can do. 1. Overcome our own racism. Get facts and information. Use our intelligence and face ourselves. 2. Accept the conditions. Things are as they are. Oppression has happened. It will take, according to the Bible and past experience, seven generations for the sins of the fathers to be expiated. In the meantime we have been given the task of teaching the children of oppression. What changes can we make to be more successful at that task? 3. Resist labels. Resist the push to find something wrong with the victim, rather change how we do things, how we approach the task. 4. Give our special kids the confidence to learn. Teachers are in positions of authority. Children really do think we know what we are talking about. If we consistently make it clear to children that they are capable of succeeding at the tasks we give them, sooner or later they will believe us. But first we have to genuinely believe that what we say is true. We cannot be faking it. From there we need to practice power-with rather than power-over. [6] 5. Thus we give our special kids the power to learn. We work with them so that they are taking charge of their own learning; we give them agency. This is a difficult task for us to undertake. It means giving up some control, it means not taking the linear approach that gives us comfort and assurance through its familiarity. But difficult is not impossible. 6. Above all be patient. We are not going to get it perfect ever, but we will get better at working with rather than doing to, and the students will get better at taking responsibility and determining what they need to be successful. [7] 7. Then celebrate when a child tells you that they can finally do it because no one ever told them they could before. Maybe the best suggestion we found came from a Native Hawaiian educator, a member of a population that is also dealing with the fall-out of oppression. Malia Kaniaupuni (2005) strongly advocates for using the heritage and knowledge of the children’s culture: As others before me have done, I end by calling for a new framework that brings to the fore Native Hawaiian strengths that have been too long misinterpreted, misrecognised, and undervalued. (p. 32). In his work he makes a convincing argument for strengths-based education, for using a structure that by definition builds on the knowledge and strengths the children bring into the classroom and at the same time begins to change the socio-political conditions. First lets be clear that by strengths based, I do not mean glossing over problems in favour of a rosy picture. Strengths-based research, in my view, begins with the premise of creating social change. In contrast to the expert-driven, top-down approach assumed by deficit models, it means treating the subjects of study as actors within multi-layered contexts and employing the multiple strengths of individuals, families and communities to overcome or prevent difficulties. It is also about empowerment, where the purpose of strengths-based research and evaluation is to benefit the people involved in the study by giving them voice, insight, and political power. †¦ As such it means empowering communities. (p. 35) It would seem obvious that such could be done here for those children who are the fruits of colonial oppression. The work of understanding, telling different stories and taking action continues. Conclusion We are not naive. We know that the process of labeling is the result of the need for funding. We know that with classrooms of more than 20 that kind of individual attention is very difficult. We know that you will be surrounded by administrators, other teachers, parents, even the special children who will tell you to get the testing done and treatment program in place. We know that in the process of de-colonization the oppressed can take on the qualities of the oppressor. But we can become resistors, working with a sure knowledge that we know what doesnt work and that it is way past time to try something radically different. It is clear that the past hundred years or so of schooling directed at Aboriginals has not been a big success. Indeed rather than educating Aboriginals to be successful in the dominant culture, we have an abysmal history of abuse and cultural genocide through education. Many of the abuses of the past are in the past. However, with kindness and deep concern we are using the special education system to continue to marginalize and discredit a large number of Aboriginal children[8]. We are suggesting that maybe things could be better. References Bishop, A. (2002). Becoming an ally: Breaking the cycle of oppression. Fernwood Publishing; Halifax Bloom, B. (1981). All our children learning: A primer for parents, teachers and other educators. McGraw-Hill: New York. Courtney, R. (1986). Island of remorse: Amerindian education in the contemporary world. Curriculum Inquiry, 16(1), pp. 43-65. Freire, P. (1971). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Herder and Herder: New York Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of Freedom. Rowman Littlefield: New York. Gitlin, A. (2005). Inquiry, imagination, and the search for a deep politic. Educational Researcher 34 (3), pp. 15-24. Glasser, W. (1986). Control theory in the classroom. Harper and Rowe: New York. Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York. Bantam Books. Graveline, F. J. (1998). Circle works: Transforming Eurocentric consciousness:Halifax: Fernwood. Iseke-Barnes. J. (2005). Misrepresentation of Indigenous history and science: Public broadcasting, the internet, and education. Discourses: studies on the cultural politics of education 26 (2), pp. 149-165. Kalat, J. (1988). Biological psychology (3rd. ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Malia Kanaiaupuni, S. (2005). Kakalai Ku Kanaka: A call for strengths-based approaches from a Native Hawaiian perspective. Educational Researcher 34(5), pp. 32-37 Regnier, R. (1995). The sacred circle: An Aboriginal approach to healing education at an Urban high school. In M. Battiste J. Barman (Eds. ), First nations Education: The Circle Unfolds (pp. 313-330. (Vancouver: UBC Press) Skovsmose, O. (2005), Foregrounds and politics of learning obstacles. For the learning of mathematics 25 (1), pp. 4-10. Wortman,C. , Loftus, E. , Weaver, C. (1999). Psychology (5th ed. ). New York: Harper Collins College. Zimbardo, P. Gerrig, R. (1996). Psychology and life. New York: Harper Collins College. [1] Bloom (1981) believes that the intellectual potential of all students is pretty much the same. The difference is in history. Malia Kaniaupuni (2005) is concerned that if you focus on a deficit-based approach to education then you often miss the expertise that exists in communities and families, viewing instead outside experts as the only ones capable of fixing our problems. [2] Including Aboriginal, Black, Hispanic, recent immigrants and the poor. [3] Classic racism assumes that the obstacles to learning are to be found in the child. [4] Progressive racism assumes that any weakness in the child is the result of social background. [5] In July 2005, the descendants of the colonizer who razed an Indian village at Clyaquot Sound returned to the village to apologize for the deeds of their forefathers. [6] Anne Bishop in Becoming an Ally: Breaking the Cycle of Oppression (2002), explicates the difference between power-over and power-with, although we tend to think the concept is somewhat self-explanatory [7] Children also fall into the patterns of self-excuse – I have already been told that I cant read so why would I work at it. Dont you know I cant do that. [8] We do believe that this is the case with all children designated special needs. We may not have the answers but we are pretty clear that we do have a considerable problem that we are not prepared to look at squarely.