World literature themes and critical analysis

¶ … bright lights lit up the streets at night just as brightly as the sun did during the day. The aroma of fried goods being sold from street vendors and the claustrophobic feeling of the millions of people walking the streets at once, made me realize that I had finally arrived in New York City. I was told that there is no place on Earth like New York City, and here I was, experiencing all of this for the first time. It was an unbelievably exciting moment in my life.

The journey to New York City had taken me a really long time. From the moment that I saw a picture of Times Square in a magazine, I knew that it was a place that I absolutely had to go to. For years I dreamt of traveling and enjoying the scenic pleasures that Manhattan had to offer. I would always come across this city on television or read about it in books, and all of this made New York City out to be a special place, one that needed to absolutely be visited. I made it my goal to do just that: travel to New York City. I was completely captured by its mystique appeal.

Although it was not going to be a trip across the world, it was another environment for me. This particular moment in my life stands out because it changed my perspective on what is possible. The hard work that I put in, made it possible to go. In order to get enough funds I had to continuously save extra cash, but it was all worth it in the end, and it really made me realize that once I set my mind on something, I know that I can accomplish it. It was as if the reward for all of my sacrifices in the end was my much anticipated trip to Times Square. I wanted to do it right.

Patience was a concept that I came to understand all too well while I was raising the money that I needed to travel. Going to New York City was something that I wanted to occur right away, but I needed to learn to wait until the time was right. I had to get everything in order so that I could relax during my trip to NYC. But once I got there, I saw that it had all been worth-while. Seeing the tall apartment buildings, the endless skyscrapers, and the urban setting confirmed my desire to be here.

The ambiance was one of freedom and possibilities. The positive, nonchalant attitude that every individual seemed to have there, was catching. I could tell who was a visitor and who was a native New Yorker. All visitors had bags upon bags of unnecessary cheap souvenirs and a camera permanently attached to their hands. However, the people who called New York their home, walked around with a sense of pride and confidence; it was as if nothing could touch them. I wanted desperately to also belong here, but I was clearly a visitor, right along with my bags upon bags of cheap souvenirs and my camera permanently attached to my hand.

By the time it was all over, I realized how much fun I had had. The possibilities seemed endless, and I now possessed an entirely new perspective on life. New York City represented so much more to me than any other place. It was a place of hope, of dreams, of great expectations. Being able to go to New York City after patiently anticipating my trip for what seemed to be an eternity, made me realize that if I put my mind toward something, anything is absolutely possible.

2.)

Technological and scientific advancement has completely altered the way people live in this world. As Mary Shelley expresses in her story "Frankenstein," there are ethical implications to the development of anything in the modern world. However simple an invention may be, there needs to be more thought into how it will affect other individuals on a wider scale. Nothing supports this notion better than the process of in Vitro Fertilization. Although it is a very progressive technological process, there are ethical responsibilities that have not completely been addressed. In this case, technology is one that is causing more complications than good.

Technology advancement means that the ability to answer moral and ethical questions have to be learned in order to view the importance of any technological contribution. As a child, it can be difficult to understand the origins of life. And it can become tricky for children to comprehend where it is that they come from, but the issue will increase tenfold when in Vitro Fertilization is involved (Klitzman 2010). As Klitzman states in his article, it can get difficult to explain to children that they are a byproduct of a whole lot of unnatural factors. What answer will be available to children who want to know who their parents are? There is the notion that children could be handled like adoption children are, but the case is that many times, more than two parties are involved (Saul 2009). Ethical boundaries may be crossed when understanding a child's need to know exactly how they were created.

Just as in the story "Frankenstein," it was demonstrated how another individual was formed, in Vitro Fertilization is the process by which test tube babies are formed (Russell 2010). It is a more advanced branch of what Shelley attempted to deal with in "Frankenstein." With this new technology we are manufacturing a human, without necessarily knowing how these children will end up. It could potentially be perfectly fine, but there is also the risk that these children will not turn out so well, just as was demonstrated in "Frankenstein," "I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on." Experiments always run the risk of going wrong. The ethical issue at hand with this new technology, is that it may be too advanced to stop and address the ethical repercussions of this. How will these alterations affect these children as adults? None of these issues have been thoroughly researched because the technology is so new. It however does pose ethical risks, just as Shelley would also acknowledge.

In Vitro Fertilization draws an even more defined social class line where only upper class individuals could afford this process. The ethical implications there go beyond affecting a single individual, but it will affect an entire society. There can be a problem when the only individuals who could afford this process can have the option of even "building" their own person from scratch (Sandel 2012). This concept however brings in to question the idea of a superior race being formed. Forming a superior race can occur if everything can be altered to get the child that you would want. With the ease of in Vitro Fertilization, a person can now literally choose what eye color and particular genes they want their children to have (Saul 2009). It can become an ethical issue when more "types" of children are wanted over others.