A,merican Colonies Essay -- essays research papers

The Early American colonies We have been one nation for so long that it is hard to imagine a major difference between the thirteen original colonies. After all a quick glance at a map of these thirteen original colonies will tell you that they all where established along the East Coast and where most generally located on a river or body of water. What is strange about this is just how different each of these separate areas of settlement turned out to be. After all they where located relatively close to one another and should have had adequate communication available to them by the numerous water channels close at hand. So why was there such a huge difference in the way that they developed? The two most contrasting of these would have to be the Puritans and other religious groups that chose to settle in the New England region, and the colonies founded for profit in the Chesapeake Bay region. If you look closely at these two concentrations of people you will see that they have great differences in their religion, government, family, economics and the very geography that they where established in. These differences coupled with a very different reason for journeying to the New World helped to form two very unique cultures that exist to some extent today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the major differences between the colonies of the Chesapeake Bay region and the New England colonies is in their view on religion. The very reason that the Pilgrims journeyed to this new land was to escape religious persecution and set up a haven for people of their faith. In contrast the colonies of the Chesapeake Bay region where established by people who where looking for fame and fortune rather than spiritual enlightenment. This fundamental difference is one of the major reasons that these colonies developed so differently. People in the New England colonies generally knew their neighbors because they worked and prayed with them. In a Chesapeake region so dependent on the cash crop of tobacco, plantations served to separate the people and slow the process of socialization. Although church attendance was required in both the New England colonies and some of the Chesapeake Bay colonies it was enforced for much different reasons. The New England colonists where very concerned with education and spirituality while generally those colonists in the Chesapeake Bay colony whe... ...used natural resources at this time, the difference is that the colonists in the New England colonies took the greatest advantage of this.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While there are undoubtedly a number of similarities between the Chesapeake Bay colonies and the New England colonies their original purposes for being here set them on different paths from the moment that they set foot in the New World. It should also be said that not only the people’s disposition has an affect on the direction of the society, you must also take into account the geography of the region. The differences between the Chesapeake colonies and the New England colonies are numerous and varied. However if all of the colonies established in the new world had the same culture it is far less likely that our ancestors would have been as successful in their bid to change the way civilization operates. They accomplished this with the American Revolution, which relied heavily on different characteristics from each of the thirteen colonies and has been more than successful in blending the very different values and beliefs of the Chesapeake Bay colonies an d the New England colonies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Life of Pi †Significance of Color Essay

A woman once said, â€Å"There is no life without color. † This is just the case with the main character of â€Å"The Life of Pi†, Pi Patel. Pi is a cast away on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a tiger, an orangutan, a hyena and a zebra. There is one color that was mentioned multiple times throughout the story, the color orange. In the novel â€Å"Life of Pi† by Yann Martel, this color is used as a symbol for hope and survival. To hope means to wish for something with expectations of its fulfillment. Pi’s case is a pristine example of hoping for something. He has many instances when he gains hope throughout the novel, including building a raft, landing on the island, or even finding the food in the locker of the lifeboat. The most important, is the hope Pi is given through his companion on the lifeboat, Richard Parker, a four hundred and fifty pound Royal Bengal tiger. Being the color orange, the tiger becomes an example of hope throughout the book. Pi realizes, to keep himself, Richard Parker, and the will to survive alive, he must tame the tiger. â€Å"I had to tame him. It was at that moment that I realized this necessity. It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me. We were, literally and figuratively, in the same boat. We would live–or we would die–together. † (Martel, 164) Keeping Richard Parker alive would allow Pi to constantly remember that he is not the only one suffering and he has someone there for him, whether he can answer or not. Although Pi has many reasons to be hopeful, the author gives the reader reasons as well. Prior to the scene of the sinking of the Tsimtsum, an interviewer and reporter that is talking to Pi about the sinking of the ship describes visiting Pi later in life at his home in Canada. He meets Pi’s family and mentions that Pi’s daughter, Usha, holds an orange cat. â€Å"Leaning against the sofa in the living room, looking up at me bashfully, is a little brown girl, pretty in pink, very much at home. She’s holding an orange cat in her arms. † (92) This scene guarantees the reader that the end result of the story and Pi’s life will be not total tragedy. Pi has a life where he has been successful and has children of his own. While in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Pi’s only goal was to survive. Items on the boat and religion truly gave him this will to survive, and Pi was more capable of surviving with them in his presence. While on the lifeboat, Pi has an orange life jacket with an orange whistle, an orange buoy, a bright orange tarpaulin, and a four hundred and fifty pound Bengal Tiger. Pi is thrown on the lifeboat by Chinese men with a life jacket already on him. â€Å"One of the men interrupted me by thrusting a life jacket into my arms and shouting something in Chinese. I noticed an orange whistle dangling from the life jacket. (105) The life jacket is used by Pi in constructing a raft to have a safe place away from Richard Parker, and the whistle is used by taming the large tiger. He utilizes his bright orange survival equipment to stay alive and keep away from Richard Parker. For most of the voyage they take on the lifeboat, Richard Parker remains under the tarpaulin, even from the beginning. After Pi is pushed overboard into the lifeboat, he says â€Å"I couldnâ⠂¬â„¢t see Richard Parker. He wasn’t on the tarpaulin or on a bench. He was at the bottom of the boat. † (106) Richard Parker having orange fur, is a symbol of survival. He keeps Pi alert and continuously reminds him of his situation. Religion played a big part of Pi’s life, and he prayed three times a day every day while he was on the boat. His family’s religion is Hinduism, and orange is the color of the second Hindu chakra, which are believed to be centers of the body from which a person can collect energy in the religion. Throughout his entire journey, he was always in contact with something that was the color orange, and that is why it becomes a symbol of survival. Every item and detail of his trip aids him in survival, and is part of the outcome of him being rescued. The color orange will always be remembered by Pi and readers as the color of hope and survival. The color gives readers hope for Pi and gives Pi the will to survive because of the possessions that are that color. The items Pi has on the boat all aid in his miraculous survival, just as Richard Parker and the religions he practices provides a measure of emotional support. These help the young boy maintain hope in this horrific tragedy. But above all, the orange color of survival and hope will always be known as the color that kept him alive.

Finding the Secrets of the World Chirstoper Columbus

From when he was a little by, Christopher Columbus always yearned to know the secrets of the world. His parents were Domenico and Susanna, who both came from families of weavers and wool carders. Christopher also had two brothers and one sister. Their names were Giacomo, Bartholomew, and Bianchinetta. Their whole family were devoted Catholics. Christopher’s family worshipped frequently at church, even though they were a hard-working family. The kids did not have proper education. They went to a guild school to learn the basics: arithmetic, reading, and writing. Columbus’s father went to sea to sell his cloth. Christopher was about fourteen when he started to assist his father on business trips. At this time, the world started to open up for Christopher. From when he first started to assist his dad, he took notes on how the sea changed colors and the patterns of the winds and currents. He soon became aware of the virtues and the risks of navigation. Christopher Columbus grew up to be a well-mannered young man. The experiences he had when sailing with his father and large convoys, made him a very skilled mariner. At every new place he was at, he took notes not only on navigation but climate as well. It was said that he had remarkable senses of sight, smell, and hearing. On one expedition he had taken, he stayed there for many months defending off Turkish attacks, off the islands of Chios. His ship was attacked a year after that voyage, by French pirates lying in wait. In