1‚Mark&nbsp;Canada‚canada@sassette.uncp.edu‚Final exam‚199912030933‚1‚0‚You may use books, notes, the library, the Internet, my overviews on the online forum, and any other resource--except another  person--to write your response to this final exam.  If you refer to previous messages by other students on the online forum, you  should check additional resources to make sure that the information you find in these messages is accurate.  Whenever you  borrow someone else's idea--whether it comes from a book or the online forum--you must give this person credit through an  attributive phrase, such as "_A Handbook to Literature_ explains that . . ." or "Kim Walker writes in her essay 7 that . . ."  If  you use a source's exact words, you must put these words in quotation marks.  Failure to give credit to a source or to enclose  exact quotations in quotation marks is plagiarism and can result in your failing the exam.  The exam has two parts.  Please  number each part in your response.  While there is no time limit, I do not expect you to spend more than 2 hours writing your  response.  I don't want this exam to be an overwhelming assignment.  The deadline for posting your response is noon Friday,  December 10.  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.  Here is the exam: Part 1 (5 points): Choose one  of the following items: Cain, Abraham, Herod, Sodom, Sermon on the Mount, parable, epic, ballad, refrain, lyric, iambic  pentameter, imagery, narrative poem, metaphor, symbol, play, novel, Gothic, femme fatale, fiction.  Before you respond, please  check any posted responses to make sure that a classmate has not already written on this item.  Type this item in the subject  field of your message.  In the message field, type the item and identify it in 3-5 sentences.  Your identification should show that  you know what or who the item is and why it is important.  In the case of a person, character, or place, identify the work of  literature where it appears.  In the case of a literary term, define the term, illustrate it with an example, and explain how it lends  meaning to a work of literature.  Part 2 (10 points): Most of the literary works we have read this semester have addressed the  subject of evil.  In a clear, well-organized, detailed essay, explain how Henry James, Amy Tan, and at least two other writers  or literary works we have studied this semester treat the nature, causes, or consequences of evil.  Make sure that you cite  specific details and passages from the literature to defend and illustrate your points. 
2‚Jason&nbsp;Atkinson‚drlove316@yahoo.com‚Re: Final exam:  Part 1-Cain‚199912061252‚1‚1‚Cain was the son of Adam and Eve.  As we know, Cain killed his brother, Abel, because he was jealous that God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and not his.  This story is prominent in Hebrew Literature and is found in Genesis of the Bible.  (Part 2) Essay: 	There has been a common theme studied within certain works this semester.  The theme of evil has prevailed throughout this class.  Four example of this include The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, Othello by Shakespeare, and Adam and Eve taken from Hebrew Literature.  Many writers often use remarks to hint towards evil doings.  Some even make reference to the use of ghost or spirits.  Comments are often made throughout selections that begin to start evil thinking and/or actions.  One remark in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife is a superb example.  It states, “We must be willing to fight the Japanese even if we must sacrifice every last drop of our Han blood.”  By this comment, we infer that there is a need to react to the Japanese actions.  These thoughts present evil at its beginning stages.  Sometimes the evil is brought out by occurring to persons indirectly affected by the story.  Tan says that even in other countries, the Japanese are performing large bombing raids from aircraft and on the ground.  In The Turn of the Screw, ghosts are used to present evil.  This ghost appears before the governess, housekeeper, and children.  The children, however, refuse to acknowledge the presence of the two spirits, in spite that there are evil communications going on between the children and ghosts.  Evil can also be presented as a conspiracy of murder, as seen in Othello.  In Act Five, it is revealed that Lago killed Cassio.  This is also the point where Lago stabs Emilia.  While dying, Emilia reveals that Desdemona did not give the handkerchief to Cassio.  Finally, evil can be presented as deception as found in the story of Adam and Eve.  As we know, the serpent, or better known as Satan, deceives Eve into eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  She then shares the fruit with Adam and they then knew that they were naked.  Throughout these presentations of evil, all of the literary works listed above revealed aspects of this theme through its nature, causes, and/or consequences.
3‚Camille&nbsp;L.&nbsp;Goins‚1799bng@Carolina.net‚Re: Final exam:Part 1 Femme Fatale‚199912071633‚1‚1‚Final Exam Part 1: Femme Fatale:  According to The American Heritage Dictionary, "Femme Fatale is a seductive woman" (259).  Femme Fatale is a woman in which a man would find desirable, attractive, and irresistible.  This Femme Fatale (woman) could charm a man to do almost anything to get her way or things that she wanted just by using her body and looks to seduce a man.  An example of a Femme Fatale was used in the poem we read previously in this class titled "Lord Randall".  In Lord Randall’s case he met a seductive woman in which he fell madly in love with, but the woman was not at all what she seemed to be.  In the poem Lord Randall explains, "O I met wi my true-love;"  The true love that he met poisoned him after he feel in love with her in order to gain his possessions, money, and power.  This irresistible woman has poisoned Lord Randall with eels that she fried him in a pan to trick him to think that maybe she loved him and wanted to make him happy by making him a meal.  Lord Randall comes home to his mother after the Femme Fatale has poisoned him and tells his mother of the tragedy that his love has bestowed upon him.  Lord Randall leaves his possessions to his mother, brother, and sisters, but as for his true love he leaves her "Hell and Fire", for she is the cause of his pain and death.  The seduction of a woman (Femme Fatale) can be so strong that it can be the death of a man just like in the poem "Lord Randall". 
4‚Dianne&nbsp;Cichero‚dcichero@weblnk.net‚Re: Final exam: Part 1- Ballad‚199912081950‚1‚1‚Final Exam - Part 1  According to Encarta 99, a ballad is a short narrative folk song that concentrates on the most dramatic part of a story. The story moves to its conclusion by means of dialogue and a series of events. Ballads tend to omit all preliminary material and focus on the climatic scene. The story in a ballad is usually dramatic.  The ballad proved to be an excellent way to hand down historical stories. Some well-known ballads are On Top of Old Smokey, The Streets of Laredo, Lord Randall and Ode to Billy Joe.  The last created a stir in my teenage years as to the identification of what was thrown over the bridge.  The preliminary material is indeed omitted and the focus is primarily on the dramatic events on the Tallahatchie Bridge.    Final exam - Part 2 Henry James' The Turn of the Screw uses many typical introductions to ghost stories that include the darkness of night and a campfire to create an atmosphere of fear.  Initially, a man claims to possess the manuscript of a horrible ghost story that was given to him by a governess.  In the description of the manuscript, he builds up the suspense of the story; "Is in old, faded ink, and in the most beautiful hand"... "She has been dead these twenty years. She sent me the pages in question before she died."  As he reads the manuscript written by the governess, the story progresses where she describes apparitions and becomes convinced that her two charges see them although they deny it.  The primary nature of evil is the speculation of whether these events are actually occurring or if the governess is making up the tales or if (due to mental stress) she just thinks she is witness to them.  The exact cause of many situations including Miles' death is left in the mind of the reader and often our minds can create greater evil than can be written. Amy Tan's _The Kitchen God's Wife_ summons up thoughts of _Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl_.  Both Winnie and Linda were literal hostages by men in the culture in which they lived.  The nature of evil was the barbarity of these men and their lack of respect for women.  In both situations, the society in which they lived contributed to the negative situation; Linda due to slavery and Winnie due to Confucianism.  Linda feared losing her identity to her master while Winnie virtually had no identity (except as wife of Wen Fu) and was unsuccessful for many years in her efforts to free herself from her wimp of a husband.  The nature of evil in these two men is again evident in their lack of respect or caring for the children even if the children belonged to them.  This was evident in The Kitchen God's Wife when Yiku became very ill and Winnie went to Wen Fu for help.  When she told him of the child's illness and the possibility that she could die, he responded with "If she dies, I wouldn't care!"  He would not even allow the doctor to go examine the child.  How could he be so evil to his own child?  Both of these women lived in fear their entire lives, even up until they were notified of the death of these men.  In Othello, Iago proved to be an evil being.  He is often referred to as "Honest Iago" when the very opposite is true.  The nature of his evil is the manipulation of a sinless situation into the appearance of one of wrongdoing. An innocent meeting between Cassio and Desdemona was twisted by Iago to make Othello jealous.  Iago suggests the need for jealousy when he says, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on".  As Dr. Canada puts it in his overview, "Iago commits his foul deeds precisely because he can manipulate others' sense of reality".  In the end, the consequence of his evil manipulation is death, not only for himself but for others also.  
5‚Michelle&nbsp;S.&nbsp;Padgett‚ajtreus@carolina.net‚Re: Final exam‚199912082021‚1‚1‚Part One: Sermon on the Mount   The Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6, is the most famous of all our Lord’s teaching and the foundation for ethical conduct in the kingdom of God.  The Sermon on the Mount was destined to become the universal charter of ethics and higher ideals that have shaped the world’s moral principles.  The Sermon on the Mount reminds us of Moses and the Ten Commandments, which were delivered on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19, 3f).  At that time, God appeared in clouds and thunder; but in the Sermon on the Mount, God was present as a divine and human Being, Jesus Christ, to utter clearly the revelation for the new creation of mankind.  It opens with the Beatitudes which describe the character of a true disciple, and of the Christian who glorifies God. The Sermon instructs the Disciples and believers, to seek the true righteousness and informs them that their good works are for the glory of God, not for merit and fame.  Throughout the Sermon, one can conclude that the "THEME" of Jesus' sermon on the mount is: “THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN."  The Sermon on the Mount tells each person what qualities they should have, in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, and by having these qualities what blessings, they shall gain.  Perhaps we can better understand why those in the "kingdom of heaven" are truly called "BLESSED."  Certainly, the benefits of the kingdom outweigh anything this world has to offer, or any persecution it might inflict!  However, the "blessedness" is only for those who have the "characteristics" of ever-increasing measure.     Part Two:  Evil has been the topic of several works studied during this semester.  I choose to focus on Dante’s Inferno, Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife, Henry Gate’s Incident’s in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Shakespeare’s Othello.  Each author has there own way of depicting evil, manipulation, despair, and punishment.  In Canto V of Inferno, Paolo and Francesca shared the sin of lust. Francesca was a married woman who desired to be intimate with Paolo. Francesca’s husband killed them after he found them together. Their punishment in "hell" is to be attached together forever in the sexual act.  They were to have no rest or satisfaction. In life, it was their desire to be together, but in death, they wish to be apart.  In Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife we see the act of evil from the negative aspects of traditional Chinese culture; Confucianism  according to Confucianist thinking, the wife must always obey her husband and her mother-in-law, and the only people she has power over are her servants and her children.  Winnie did not fight for her rights against her husband Confucianism also hampered Winnie's attempts at running away.  The reason she put off running away so often was because there was no way she could survive on her own, not (ironically) without her husband. Only when she met Jimmy Louie for the second time in Shanghai did Winnie have any hope of escaping her horrible marriage.  In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, slavery shows its evil face.  Harriet Jacobs was in a constant battle for her freedom; not only from slavery, but also from Dr. Flint.  Harriet’s life was so miserable, that she even got pregnant with the hopes of being sold.  She prayed for her son to die, as well as herself, when that plot didn’t work.  He constantly reminded her of how much control he had over her life.  Her children could be sold, and she’d never see them again, or he’d threaten to kill them or her.  She lived in constant fear, and she knew that the only way her children would be safe was for her to try to escape and make a way for them, which she did.  Throughout Othello, Iago uses evil manipulation to get to Othello.  After Cassio is dismissed by Othello, he begs Desdemona to talk to her husband on his behalf.  Iago knows this but instead he tells Othello that, “Men should be what they seem; or those that not be, would they might seem none!”  Othello confided in Iago.  Iago on the other hand did all he could to make Othello believe that his wife was unfaithful, which lead to her death, at the hands of Othello.  Only then did Othello find out about that Desdemona was true, and that it was Iago who was the poison of the kingdom.  As Dr. Canada puts it in his overview, "Iago commits his foul deeds precisely because he can manipulate others' sense of reality". In the end, the consequence of his evil manipulation is death, not only for himself but for others also. 
6‚Kathy&nbsp;Owens‚kso@carolina.net‚Re: Final exam Part 1 Imagery‚199912082032‚1‚1‚Part 1 Imagery is a collection of words that invokes an image to the reader. Such as in, Edgar Allen Poe’s, The Fall of the House of Usher.  Poe graphically describes the house in a manner that the reader can visualize “I looked upon the scene…Upon the bleak wall-upon a few rank sedges…upon a few white trunks of decayed tree’s.” Without the use of imagery in this work, it would not have been as effective or stood the test of time. Part 2 Dante’s Inferno tells a story of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The evil discussed in this poem is hell. Hell is a pyramid that Dante progresses through.  Each level has all the vices one might experience in their life. Such as circle I for the unbaptised, circle IV violence, and circle IX traitor. Dante’s attempts to visually show what hell and purgatory are and the only way to achieve the level of paradise is to find salvation. In Shakespeare’s Othello, jealously, deception and revenge are the basis for this play. Othello is so overcome by his perceived infidelities of Desdemona that he will not listen to reason. His misconceptions cause him to kill Desdemona and only after her death does he realize that he is wrong. Amy Tan, The Kitchen God’s Wife, is a story with imagery thought out. It is a story of betrayal, friendship, loyalty and abuse. The life of a young girl in pre-communist china. Chinese culture dictates that the husband and the mother-in-law have the power over the wife. That power can be and usually is abusive. “He raised his fist”. Throughout years of abuse and oppression Winnie keeps her hopes of a better life and her dreams alive. She best says this “For many years when times were bad, I would take out a pair of silver chop sticks and hold them in my hand, the weight of the silver in my palm, solid and unbreakable, just like my hopes”. Henry James, The Turn of the Screw, is a short story about ghosts. It tells the story of a governess who cares for two children that she believes is possessed by the evil spirit of the late governess, Miss Jessel and Valet Peter Quint. Miles and Flora are the two children whom James describes “as a creature so charming…she was the most beautiful child I had ever seem.” And Miles as “the great glow of freshness, the same positive fragrance of purity.” A story of love,  betrayal and demonic possession. A very difficult story to read and follow. I didn’t like this story at all. I’m not sure I’ve got the point. 
7‚Robin&nbsp;Gilmore‚gilmore@weblnk.net‚Re: Final exam‚199912082304‚1‚1‚Final Exam - Part 1 -Fiction is something invented by the imagination or feigned which can be represented in any aspect of literature. This form of writing is exhibited in Henry James "The Turn of the Screw". This fictional ghost story tells the story of a governess that tries to save her two children from the ghosts of previous servants. The fiction of the story inspires us to believe, what we otherwise know is not true. There are no such things as ghosts but with this work we can use our imaginations to produce the entertainment of the book. Some people revel in psychological thrillers and often cannot put the book down until they read the last page. Fiction allows us the opportunity to escape everyday life and indulge in fantasy. Fiction is a great stress reliever and "The Turn of the Screw", written in 1898, has become one of the classical fictional ghost stories of our time. Part 2 -A common theme of evil has been part of the literary works we have studied in this semester. Examples of evil are portrayed in the books The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Linda Brent, and Inferno by Dante. The ghosts that influence the governess to believe that the children are possibly possessed by the ghost portray evil in "The Turn of the Screw". She sees the ghost of Peter Quint and believes that Miles also sees the apparition. She believes that the ghost has influenced Miles to hide her love letters and she becomes infuriated. Her anger causes her to shake Miles violently and ultimately causes his death. The reader is left to believe that the death of Miles has removed the possession of the ghost from his soul. Wen Fu portrays evil in his marriage to Winnie. Winnie is forced to surrender to the abuse of Wen Fu because of Chines culture. An example of this is when he threatened to divorce her and strip her of everything including her son. "You see you are divorced. Worth nothing. You have no husband. You have no home. You have no son." He made her get on her hands and knees and beg him not to divorce her. The type of treatment and power he held over Winnie, made Wen Fu an evil man. The consequences of evil is portrayed in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" as Linda is forced to withstand years of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse from her master, Dr. Flint. "She will become prematurely knowing in evil things. That which commands admiration in the white woman only hastens the degradation of the female slave". The fear of the repercussions prevents her from escaping until later in life. "The Inferno" is full of evil as Virgil leads Dante into the path of Hell and Purgatory. Evil is used as a tool or educational piece for the "spiritual development" of Dante. The trip brings Dante "out to see once more the stars." "Man must first descend in humility before he can raise himself to God." The evil presented to Dante brought him closer to God. Evil makes an impact in all of these literary works and captures the attention of the reader. 
8‚John-Paul&nbsp;Deaver‚jpdeaver@carolina.net‚Re: Final exam Part One‚199912090128‚1‚1‚Part 1: The Novel.  A novel is a literary piece of material that relates to its readers a large fictitious world that is full of many different and lively characters.  A novel gives its readers the opportunity to travel and explore places that they may not otherwise be able to discover.  It opens up a world where the reader can relax and let his or her imagination go free.  An example of a great American novel is Herman Melville's Moby Dick, a novel in which the reader has the opportunity to intervene in a great whaling story.  Without literature and the ability to create great novels the world would be a very dull environment.    Part 2: Evil has forever been around us in many forms and fashions. For many the easiest way to confront evil is to hide it or to ignore it.  Others confront evil by writing or telling a story.  This semester we have read several literary pieces dealing with evil.  Othello, a Shakespeare classic, was based on the evil of corruption.  We see in Othello how jealousy and betrayal lead to the death of many people.  It was the jealousy of Iago that lead him to betray himself, his wife and Othello.  This betrayal turned Othello against his wife which lead to the death of them both, and released so much evil in Iago that he not only killed himself, but his wife as well.  We then see in The Classic Slave Narratives by Harriet Jacobs how evil derails the lives of many people.  In this story the lives of many are affected, but the concentration is on a girl named Linda.  The evil that Linda has to endure is similar to that of many slaves in the 1800's.  The master is the symbol of evil in this story.  It is he that takes Linda away from her grandmother and other family members. It is also he that forces himself on her in inappropriate ways.  Linda, along with many slaves, was forced to live with the evil.  They had no way to rid the evil in their lives.  We then look at The Kitchen God's Life by Amy Tan.  In a way this is similar to The Classic Slave Narratives.  Although Winnie, the wife, is not a slave, her husband regards her as property.  Throughout the story Winnie is explaining to her daughter, Pearl, the hardships of growing up under Chinese tradition.  Pearl, who is of the new culture of equality, cannot understand the evil that Winnie encountered in her past. The evil erupts from Winnie's husband who treats Winnie like a slave and his own property.  Throughout the story Pearl begins to make sense of the life her mother encountered.  She realizes that it was the evil of her father that forced Winnie into, the life that she knew best.  Henry James's The Turn of the Screw is a story that I believed lead you to believe one thing, but may have had a totally different meaning.  Although a little hard for me to understand, I believe it was the governess that actually transpires the evilness in this story.  The evil appears to transpire through the children, as the governess believes they are communicating with the ghost.  At the end I believe it is the governess who has the evil in her as she has seen the white face of damnation and kills miles. 
9‚Camille&nbsp;L.&nbsp;Goins‚1799bng@Carolina.net‚Re: Re: Final exam Part 2‚199912092120‚1‚5‚Part II Throughout the semester we have read several stories about evil and the consequences of evil.  The story "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" and "The Kitchen God’s Wife" are very similar in the fact that they share the same evil.  The overbearing and controlling attitude that a man in those times and settings felt that they had over a woman and women in general.  In "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", not only the men were controlling, but so were the women (mistresses) as they were called.  One evil act that I focused on was the fact that young black slave girls were forced to nurse their mistresses baby neglecting their own hungry baby.  If they refused they were tortured or killed for disobeying their master and mistress.  The evil act was the fact that these (white) people thought so less of the (blacks) that they would let their babies starve and go mal-nutritioned just so their baby would not starve.  This was not only evil, but just down right cruel.  After all most of the  black slaves babies were basically their mistresses step child since most of their masters were the fathers of their babies.  In the "Kitchen God’s Wife", Winnie was controlled by her husband, as like the slaves ( by their masters) Winnie  was told by her husband that she was less than him and that she must obey him.  If she disobeyed she was beat.  She was told that she could only order the servants and then her husband was still in control.  If and when she  tried to run away her life was threatened.  In Winnie’s time woman were made to feel less than human just like the slaves.  In the story "Othello", the evil act portrayed here is someone wanting more power, being jealous and full of rage toward another human being.  Iago was the character who was this evil person.  He was so jealous of Othello that he lied and manipulated people in the story in order to gain power.  He persuaded Othello to believe that his wife was an unfaithful one.  Othello’s distrust in Desdemonia ate at him so that he could not let her live anymore.  Iago’s hate and evilness lead to the deaths of Desdemonia, Othello, Iago, and Iago’s wife.  The consequence was that if you do something evil and wrong you will pay.  Unfortunately in Desdemonia’s case she just paid.  In "Dante’s InFerno"  we are introduced to all different kinds of evil acts.  Adulterant, murders, brothers in fury for power over one another, gluttony, greed, lust, and just pure hate.  The consequences of all the evil acts committed in "Inferno" all ended in the same consequence death and an eternal life of Hell, which basically raps of all of these stories and life in general.  If you are an evil and cruel person who commits cruel intentional acts you are bound for Hell and the evil will be everlasting. 
10‚Attley&nbsp;Edwards‚Bsebalpla@aol.com‚Re: Final exam: Herod‚199912092120‚1‚1‚There are actually two Herods that need to be discussed in this writing.  The first Herod the Great, was king during the time of Jesus's birth.  Due to his dreams (which were seen as omens during this period) and his fears, he attempted to elimate Jesus as a threat to his rule by having all the male children under the age of two killed.  Jesus was able to escape due to a warning given to his father, Joseph.  The other was Herod Antipas, who was the ruler at the time of Jesus's death.  Both men were afraid of the stories foretelling of the King of the Jews.  They saw this as a threat to them and their dynasty. 
11‚Antonio&nbsp;Padgett‚ajtreus@carolina.net‚Re: Final exam‚199912092203‚1‚1‚Part One: Abraham   The story of Abraham if one of pure faith.  God told him to leave his family and go to the land of Canaan, which God had promised to give Abraham and his descendants, and God promised Abraham, age 75 and Sarah, age 66 that they would have children.  God always keeps His word. Many times, we start thinking that He does not, because we do not know when God will keep the promise. God's clock is different from ours. We mostly want everything to happen right now.  Well, after Abraham left home, on God's word, he did go to the land of Canaan and became very prosperous. He had many cattle and servants.  Sarah and Abraham still longed for their child.  After Hagar, Sarah’s maiden, gave birth to Ishmael, 13 years later, Abraham and Sarah were blessed with Isaac, when they were ninety and one hundred years old.  Sarah no longer wanted Hagar nor her son around and Abraham had them leave Canaan.  God told Abraham that he had to sacrifice his oldest son, which was Isaac.  Abraham knew that God had always kept his promises and that if he killed his son, God would bring him back to life.  Therefore, Abraham and Isaac went up to the place where the sacrifice was to take place, but before the knife could touch Isaac, God ordered Abraham to stop.  Abraham had past the test.  He believed in God and had total faith in him.  It is important to remember that we cannot know all of what God has in mind for us. If we just believe, and ask His help and act on His word, he will be there for us.     Part Two:  Evil In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is the image of evil.  He is manipulative, and more importantly he is a murderer.  It is because of Iago, that Othello, Desdemona, and Emilia die.  Iago’s greed and desire to be ruler, lead to his tricking Othello into believing that his wife was not true.  In Act three we see how Iago got Othello to hide as he spoke with Cassio about the lady he was with.  When she enters carrying a handkerchief. Othello is beside himself.  The handkerchief is the first gift Othello gave his bride, and it had been passed down from his mother to him.  This leads to the death of Desdemona, “ A guiltless death I die.”  It is only after she is dead that the truth finally is exposed.  In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, chapter 11, we see the devil eye of despiration.  Harriet Jacobs is the property of Dr. Flint, a man who shows no mercy, and little care for her.  He makes it a point to let Harriet know that she is nothing.  She comes up with a plot to get her master to get rid of her. She becomes pregnant and hopes to be sold. Instead of selling her, he keeps her. Just another form of domination that he had. As I stated in Essay 9, “The very incident of her pregnancy and how it comes to be shows the desperation of many female slaves; those being raped and tormented by their masters, looking for a way out”.  She at on point wishes that her son, who was ill would die.  That way he could be free.  She even wished that she would die.  But in the end, Harriet was glad that life won out, as she and her children became free.  In Henry James’, Turn of the Screw, ghosts are used to present evil. This apparition had made an appearance to a little boy, who would wake in terror, only to have his mother put him to sleep again, but before she had him asleep, she saw the ghost herself.  In Dante’s Inferno, Canto XXXII, greed is the evil.  We are faced with souls who killed for power or inheritance. Alessando and Napoleone killed each other over their inheritance. Their punishment would be freezing in Hell.         
12‚Tracy&nbsp;Naylor‚tanrn@aol.com‚Re: Final exam: Part 1 Sermon on the Mount‚199912092255‚1‚1‚The Sermon on the Mount is one of the stories in the Bible. This story deals with the episode where Jesus goes up on the mountain and discusses with the disciples and a crowd some of the important issues. In this he discusses, the Beatitudes, dealing with anger and the similes of salt and light.
13‚Tracy&nbsp;Naylor‚tanrn@aol.com‚Re: Final exam:Part 2‚199912092311‚1‚1‚In Amy Tan’s book- “The Kitchen Gods Wife”- Ms. Tan talks about Winnie and some of the hardships she has had. Because of her miserable life, Winnie, in her mind, has cause to do evil. As she explains to her daughter Pearl, her life with her husband Wen Fu was so horrid that every time she got pregnant she aborted the baby. She felt justified for the evil she was committing because she felt she loved the babies too much to bring them into such a horrible life. “I cried to myself, this is a sin—to give a baby such a bad life! Poor Danru. He trusted me. So I let those other babies die. In my heart, I was being kind.” In Henry James story- “The Turn of the Screw”- the nature of the evil was just that, the nature of evil. The visions of the ‘evil persons’ that had been the children’s caretakers prior to the female telling the story, attempted to “come for the children”. These two visions did evil in life as they were doing in death. They were trying to pull the children into their evil world. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe deals with the same issue. The nature of evil. The very torment the raven gave the man was evil in and of itself. This man was sad enough about his lost love without the raven continuing to add to his pain. The continual repetitive “Nevermore” made the man distressed. Another example of evil is “The Fall of the House of Usher”. This deals with the consequence of evil. The family Usher had been cursed many years ago. This eventually becomes their downfall until the forces of evil took over and killed Mr. Usher, his sister, and exploded his house. 
14‚Patrick&nbsp;Strickland‚stricklandp@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Final exam part 1, "SODOM"‚199912100101‚1‚1‚***PART-ONE*** Sodom, as mentioned in Genesis, chapter 19, was a place of sin and corruption of the inhabitants.  Sodom has been known as the city of punishment for breaking covenant with God; the city of distruction.  The city is important because of the importance of the wages of sin and exemption through God.  For example, even though Lot was not a perfect man God allowed him and his family to escape from the city without looking back, but instead his wife touned to look back and turned into a pillar of salt.  By this, it shows God shows no favor of person, but is a just God of opportunity.  It's all our choice.  That was my interpretation and explanation of Sodom.  
15‚Jon&nbsp;Hill‚Bseballpla@aol.com‚Re: Final exam part one- parable‚199912100243‚1‚1‚Parable consists of an allegory, a story that has meaning that is other than the literal one.  It holds a description of something under the image of something else.  In the case of a parable, the story points to something moral.  For example, the boy who cried wolf offers a meaning within the story that ends up pointing to something moral.  The boy had lied so many times that the people around him began to believe everything he said was a lie, which ended up when he finally told the truth, no one believed him and ended up hurting many people.
16‚Jon&nbsp;Hill‚Bseballpla@aol.com‚Re: Final exam part one- parable‚199912100244‚1‚1‚Parable consists of an allegory, a story that has meaning that is other than the literal one.  It holds a description of something under the image of something else.  In the case of a parable, the story points to something moral.  For example, the boy who cried wolf offers a meaning within the story that ends up pointing to something moral.  The boy had lied so many times that the people around him began to believe everything he said was a lie, which ended up when he finally told the truth, no one believed him and ended up hurting many people.
17‚Jon&nbsp;Hill‚Bseballpla@aol.com‚Re: Final exam part two‚199912100412‚1‚1‚In Henry James work “The Turn of the Screw,” James writes of the nature of evil through the use of campfire ghost telling.  He sets the mood where that the reader is drown in as one of the listeners in attendance.  James uses a classic line to set an evil tone to the story, “Nobody but, till now, has ever heard.”  Coming for the children where the once caretakers of them.  The evil caretakers attempted to comeback for the children.  The caretakers, as they did alive, try to bring the children to the same hell they were sentence to.  In Amy Tan’s story, “The Kitchen Gods Wife,” is about the relationship between a mother and a daughter.  It tells of the evil from a father and husband as well as the time period that caused a mother to act in such ways, for example, Winnie decided not to bear any more children and instead opted for adoption to keep them from the harshness of the world and her husband Wen Fu.  “I cried to myself, this is a sin—to give a baby such a bad life!  Poor Danru.  He trusted me.  So I let those other babies die.  In my heart, I was being kind.”  In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “Ligeia,” evil becomes through the fascination of one man with a beautiful women.  He loses his first love, Ligeia, to an illness.  Heart broken and lonely he would marry again, not out of love as well as without the haunting memory of his first love.  Without compassion for his second wife, she too becomes deathly ill.  As time came for her to pass on, the lifeless body arouse, bringing forth a haunting figure.  As it got closer, it revealed new physical attributes proving to be Ligiea.        Another one of Poe’s works, “The Masque of Red Death,”  is a story of a town’s clock that put it’s people under a trance as well as count down the time a group had left in this world.  Poe describes the clock in such a way that the reader can feel it’s evil throughout it’s structure.  “It pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and while the chimes of the clock yet rang.  It was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedated passed their hands over their brows as if in confused revery or meditation.”   
18‚Sheryl&nbsp;M.&nbsp;Gore‚cantay@weblnk.net‚Re: Final exam- Abraham‚199912100508‚1‚1‚Part 1-Abraham is a character found in the Bible in the Old Testament book of Genesis.  According to Encarta 97 he is known as a "biblical patriarch."  Abraham is known as a faithful servant of God and a very obedient man.   Perhaps one of the most widely known stories in the Bible comes from Genesis 22.  This discussion shows how God tested Abraham's faith by asking him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac.  Keeping in mind, Isaac was a child that Abraham and Sarah had waited many years for.  Faith and obedience indeed motivated him.  He bound Isaac and laid him on an altar. At the point of slaying Isaac, an angel of the Lord came to save Isaac.  Abraham sacrificed a lamb instead of his son.  This is important in that it teaches us obedience and how strong our faith should be.  You may read more of this story as I analyzed it in depth in Essay 1-Genesis.  Part 2-It is true we have studied evil this semester. In the Divine Comedy we know that Dante has not been a good person.  He is led through Hell and meets may sinners who are given punishments for crimes committed.  Contrapasso is known as punishment that fits the crime committed.  A perfect example of this, as I noted in essay 4, is Paolo and Francesca.  Their sin was lust.  They wanted to be together sexually even though it was forbidden.   Their punishment in Hell is to be stuck together sexually for eternity without rest or satisfaction.  While on earth this is what they wanted and now in Hell they are together…they would love to be apart!  A second evil book and play was Othello.  The one true evil person in this play is Iago.    He is the manipulator who uses people throughout the play to cause evil to occur.   In Act III, Scenes 3 and 4, we learn how something as innocent as a handkerchief can cause death.  Iago asks Othello about the handkerchief with strawberries on it.  Othello admits he gave such a gift to his wife, Desdemona.  Iago responds with this passage "I know not that; but such a handkerchief-I am sure it was your wife's-did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with."  This statement by Iago planted the seed of doubt that finally caused Othello to kill is wife, Desdemona.  She was innocent of adultery.  But due to Iago's schemes, manipulation of others, and betrayal, he completed the perfect evil success.  A third book is Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.   Linda has been abused for many years.  She has felt emotional, physical and sexual abuse as slave girl.  Many evils were found throughout this book.  Slaves were used to nurse their mistress's babies; slaves were used as sexual satisfaction for their masters, and were not treated with respect even though they were the backbone of most of the rich slave masters.  As I cited in essay 9, Mr. Flint made sure that Linda knew he was master in ALL respects.   She explains, "My master met me at every turn…reminding me to that I belonged to him and to submit to him."  This is unimaginable to us today.  The final book I read about evil was The Kitchens God Wife.   I did not enjoy this book in the least.  Winnie was under complete control by her husband.  According to Confucianism laws, the wife must always obey her husband and her mother-in-law.   Imagine having to obey your mother-in-law!  It was felt that women's opinions and rights were not worthy of thought.  I guess one of the most evil aspects of this book was the abortion.  I feel Winnie truly loved her children.  After Danru died, Winnie felt she could not have any more children to be subjected to her husband's cruel ways.  So, she got an abortion every time she got pregnant.  She explains to Pearl, "I cried to myself, this is a sin, to give a baby such a bad life!…So I let those babies die.  In my heart, I was being kind."  I have read these evil books this semester.  I'm beginning to worry about our society.  Some of the stories are true and some are fiction.  But we truly live in an evil world.  How do we protect our children?  
19‚Kim&nbsp;Walker‚kimrn@weblnk.net‚Re: Final exam‚199912101151‚1‚1‚Part I: A parable is a simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson.  The book of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, utilizes numerous parables to illustrate the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Matthew 19:23-24 says "Then Jesus said unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you. That a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kindom of heaven.  An again, I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."  The use of the parable creates a vivid picture of the difficulty a rich man will have getting into heaven.  The use of parables allows the reader to better understand the meaning of the story. Part II: The subject of evil has been prevalent in the majority of the readings this semester.  In Dante's "Inferno", Dante depicts an imaginary journey through hell with an eventual accent into heaven.  Contrapasso refers to the punishment that is justified for the committed sin.  During Dante's journey through hell he comes in contact with many people familiar to him.  Each one's punishment for the sins they committed on earth are similar or opposite of the actual sin.  For example, in Canto V, Paola and Francesca shared the sin of lust for each other.  They wanted each so bad in life.  When Francesca's husband discovered their evil affair, he killed them both.  As a just punishment in hell, they were attached together forever in a sexual act, never to get rest or become satisfied. In Shakespeare's Othello, Iago represents the evil traits of greed, jealousy, and racism. He befriended Othello and through lies and deception, convinced him that his wife, Desdemona, had been unfaithful. However, in the end, Iago was discovered and exposed for the evil villain he was. The act of Iago, subsequently leads to the death of Rodrigo, Othello, Desdemona and Emilia. Iago lives to suffer the repercussions of his lies and deciet. "To you, lord governer, remains the censure of the hellish villain, the time, the place , the torture. O, enforce it!". A lession to learn is that evil will not go unpunished. Henry James, author of "The Turn of the Screw", depicts evil in the sense that most people perceive evil. His evil takes the form of a ghost. Peter Quint is a man that, I perceive to be just as evil in life as he is in death. I felt  that he did horible things to both children, particulary Miles, After the new governess has seen Mr. Quint she questions Mrs. Goose about who he is. The governess describes him as "tall, active, erect...... but never...... no never! A gentlemen" Mrs. Goose agrees without hestitation that he is not and was not a gentleman. I felt as though Mr. Quint possessed the children when he was alive and continues to try to possess then in his death. The evil of the book leaves the reader wondering. We are informed of Mile's death, but we are not told of what becomes of Mr. Quint. Mrs. Goose, the governess, or Flora. "The Kitchen God's Wife" depicts evil differently. Usually when we think of evil, we think of demons, devils, and ghosts. Amy Tan's character, Winnie tells us the story of growing up in the Chinese culture. This culture perceives women as submissive and obedient to their husbands. A husband is not chosen because you "love" him but by how much of an "asset" he can be to the family. It is arranged by Winnie's father for her to marry Wen Fu. Winnie daydreams about how wonderful this marriage will be. "I sat quietly; trying to imagine Wen Fu as my husband. I saw myself running to meet him on the road . He was telling me I had pretty cheeks and he was giving me a love letter." Winnie's perception of marriage was not as she had thought. Wen Fu was physically and mentally abusive to her for her entire marriage. Evil can present itself in many forms not just the visible forms. Evil can exist in the minds and actions of an individual.  
20‚Patrick&nbsp;Strickland‚stricklandp@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Final exam "Part II"‚199912121525‚1‚1‚During the semester, our main focus was evil and the consequences thereof.  In the first section we studied, Genesis, in the 4th chapter, evil was expressed through Cain in committing the murder of his brother Abel.  In the Kitchen God's Wife, evil was also the main plot.  Wen Fu's evil way's were expressed to his wife and in many instances to others in different situations throughout the book.  In the Turn of the Screw, evil is used through two spirits in search of two children.  The main and best selection of the semester in which I would consider was Othello.  Evil, in the form of human actions, was out to destroy Othello and his wife Desdemonia.  To begin with, Cain's evil was expressed through violence in acts of jealousy and murder.  Even though all four of the stories have the same evil content in them, they also have some moral and punishment.  As I stated in part one, each and everyone must pay for sin.  The Lord punished Cain with unprosperous soil.  Cain prayed to the Lord that his punishment was unbearable, and God chanced his life with opportunity.  Cain took that chance and overcame evil.  In the book of, "The Kitchen God's Wife," Wen' Fu's evil personality was expressed through visual and verbal communication.  In Winnie's marriage to Wen Fu, examples of evil were a normal part of her life.   An example displayed by Wen Fu, was the morning he told Winnie she was not a good wife and  had no passion like the other women he knew.  Also, in the ninth month of her pregnancy the night her baby died, but believe to be killed by evil and bad luck when she dropped the scissors into the floor, Wen Fu stated, " At least it was not a boy," like it was alright for a girl to die.  Wen Fu was consumed by evil, it was not only towards his wife, but to everyone.  On the outskirts of town he yelled at strangers in the road calling them crickets and ants, telling them to get out of his way.  Evil in this story was indirectly the main character, not Winnie or Wen Fu.  Evil in, "The Turn of the Screw," was the quest and influence the ghost had for the two innocent children.  Even thought the governess thought the children could not be influenced by evil, they were.  Later on in the story, Miles was expelled from school for vulgar language and rude actions, perhaps due to the influence of the ghost.  Influences of evil had been bestowed upon Miles and I believe the ghost had intentions of carrying his soul with them.  At the end of the story, when the ghost of Mr. Quint was out side the window and suddenly disappeared, and miles had die at the same time, his spirits I believe were then pondering with the ghosts.  Evil in this circumstance had won.  Also in "Othello," evil through the actions of Iago making it seem that Desdimona had been cheating any lying to Othello, caused death to four characters in the story, three of them undeserving.  Evil can be the cause of many things, such as instances in this story when lying, deception, jealousy, and murder takes place.  When Iago placed the handkerchief of Desdemonia's, he didn't dislike her, he was plotting against Othello.  In the end evil caused multiple murders, and revealing the truth caused a suicide.  When the truth was revealed, it was all too late.  Evil can cause destruction of people without them even knowing it.  I don't believe the children in, "The Turn of the Screw," even knew what was happening to them.  I enjoyed reading and discussing the causes and nature of evil.  In all the stories, evil did it's best as a character to make itself known.  As we found out in these readings,  sometimes evil can and sometimes cannot be stopped.  
21‚josh&nbsp;potter‚uncpjp@aol.com‚Re: Final exam‚199912131518‚1‚1‚Part 1: A Metaphor  A metaphor, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicated comparison.  Simply, a metaphor is a literary term that describes a word or phrase that attempting to describe something that is not the literal meaning.  An example of a metaphor would be, “he was filled with the innocence of a child.”  A metaphor is important in literary works because it gives the reader a different and creative view on certain ideas within the work.  Looking at Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” we can see metaphors throughout, especially in the descriptions of the house itself.  Part 2:   Throughout this semester many literary works contained similar styles.  The subject of evil laced many of these works.  Looking at “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James, horror and all its elements can be found from the start of this ghost story.  From the images of the dead to the spirits taking over the bodies of the children, James is obviously trying to instill an atmosphere of evil.  The use of description also played an important role in showing evil.  The author describes the second spirit as “horror and evil: a woman in black, pale, and dreadful.”  This sentence alone embodies all the aspects of evil.  The choice of adjectives here is brilliant.  The descriptions provide the reader immediately an image of this spirit.  Although this story contains all the factors needed to be a model story of evil we should not take it as the only example.  Many other works supply their own twist as well.   In “The Kitchen God’s Wife,” Amy Tan does an excellent job in providing an alternate view of another aspect of evil.  Evil controls the story here too but it a different way.  In this story a woman has to live with the evil of being a slave to her husband.  Confucianism was this evil.  It tormented Winnie, the main character, with the evil of having no identity.  Along with this belief in Confucianism came a set behavior type of man.  Usually acts of abuse and belittling were a common practice.  This literary work is a prime example that shows a different sort of evil.  Whereas in “The Turn of the Screw” the evil was supernatural, in “The Kitchen God’s Wife” evil is a practical and excepted part of life and a tradition.  Truly I feel the real evil in this story was not the practiced belief but the product of that belief.  Although behaviors followed, I believe that the mental anguish that the husbands directly inflicted as well as the trauma Winnie put herself through was the real evil.  Winnie had not only to live the life she was born into but she had to live with the torture of not knowing when or if it would end.  Dante’s “Inferno” was yet another example of a literary work whose skeleton was created from evil.  Simply viewing it as evil though would be unjust.  It was nine levels of evil, nine levels of Hell.  Every aspect of evil could be found within these levels.  Every sin had its punishment.  Whereas with other works that possessed evil, Dante’s “inferno” was quite literal with its depiction.  Dante chose to bring the evil up close while other works used more similes, metaphors, and a third person view on it.  The readers of the “Inferno” could become one with the work while in the other stories mentioned the reader was simply reading it as a story.  The “Inferno” was another beautiful example of a different way to illustrate evil.  Looking at “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe, the nature of evil consumes this gothic story.  Initially evil was the most apparent in the description of the house itself.  Outside the house was falling apart and possessed a sense of death.  The inside was the same.  The interior, having not been kept up either,  was gothic due to the absence of light and sound.  Roderick Usher could not tolerate light or sound and this is why the house was always dark and gloomy.  The narrator, who is really Poe, makes it a point from the very start to the very end to use the tools of evil.  I believe the reader can see signs of evil upon the narrator’s first glimpse of the House of Usher.  With an apparent face superimposed on the water, along with the image of the house, a sense of horror and terror were manifested.  The author did this to decorate the story with gothicism.  The face was just another tool to bring out a feeling of evilness and the idea that the house itself was alive.  As the story ended so did the Ushers.  The story closed with the collapse of the house as well as the death of the Ushers.  We can best see Edgar Allen Poe’s genius of portraying evil in “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Overall, evil can be found throughout many works in many different ways.  Often it will come as a poem, legend, or even a simple child’s tale but sometimes the reader must get involved.  From page to page the reader must move with the story, make choices as the characters do, and in the end feel one with the material.  The literary works this semester did just that.  With their overpowering sense of evil the reader was able to stay with each work until the very end.  The reader continued to wonder how it would come to a close and finally stunned in disbelief when that time arrived.  Finally, I feel as though the works this semester were wonderful in helping the students better understand the subject of literature.