Odysseus’ Search for Purpose in Homers Odyssey Essay -- Odyssey essay

Odysseus’ Search for Purpose in The Odyssey   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a wayfarer in life, The Odyssey focuses on life’s greater purpose through the fulfillment of destiny, perseverance, and loyalty. These three themes recur continuously throughout Odysseus’ journey, molding life’s greater vision. Odysseus comes to understand his purpose in life by remaining true to these major themes as he faces and conquers each obstacle in his journey. The overarching theme of The Odyssey is the belief that man cannot escape the destiny which has been preordained for him by the gods. Destiny plays a vital role in the survival of Odysseus throughout his adventures. As Odysseus languishes on the island of Calypso, Hermes commands her to free Odysseus in order for the will of Zeus to be carried out, "This is the man whom Zeus now bids you send away, and quickly too, for it is not ordained that he shall perish far from friends; it is his lot to see his friends once more and reach his high roofed house and native land" (47). It is evident that Zeus does not want his predetermined plans for Odysseus to be altered by any being, mortal or god, and will not allow anything to stand in the way of the destiny he has set out for Odysseus. Although no mortal can escape his destiny, it is the more heroic mortals that attract the attention for (better or worse) of the gods. Odysseus’ bravery in battle fascinated the gods, causing them to take a special interest in him. During Odysseus’ trip to the underworld, he meets with Hercules who relates to the special notice that the gods have taken in Odysseus, " high-born son of Laertes, ready Odysseus, so you, poor man, work out a cruel task such as I once endured when in the sunlight, I was the son of Kronian Zeus, yet I... ...he heroic figure in Greek literature by living out the destiny that the gods set out for him. Works Cited and Consulted Bloom, Harold ,   Homer's Odyssey: Edited and with an Introduction, NY, Chelsea House 1988 Crane, Gregory , Calypso: Backgrounds and Conventions of the Odyssey,   Frankfurt, Athenaeum 1988 Griffin, Jasper, Homer: The Odyssey   Cambridge UP 1987 Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Murnaghan, Sheila,   Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey, Princeton UP 1987 Peradotto, John , Man in the Middle Voice: Name and Narration in the Odyssey, Princeton UP 1990 Thalmann, William G., The Odyssey : an epic of return. New York : Twayne Publishers. PA4167 .T45 1992 Tracy, Stephen V., The story of the Odyssey. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1990.   PA4167 .T7 1990

Health Care System of Taiwan and the United States

Health Care Systems of Taiwan and the United States Health care is one of the most essential foundations for any citizenship in any country since whether it is effective or not, it definitely affects the standard of living and the life expectancy of a country. According to Johnson and Stoskopf (2009), â€Å"A health system as described by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the sum total of all the organizations, institutions, and resources whose primary purpose is to improve health,† (p. 3). Therefore, to positively improve a nation, having an effective ealth care system is crucial.Being recognized as one of the powerful countries in the world, the United States has a great shape of health care programs; however, sometimes it is inaccessible to some of the citizens. On the contrary, as a small country, Taiwan is famous for its health care system although there are still defective parts existing in the current system. To compare the differences of health care systems in Tai wan and the United States, we can observe the three major aspects: ownership, cost, and quality. First of all, Taiwan and the United States have different types of ownership in the health care systems.Thus, Taiwan owns a single-payer system, which is run by the government, forcing everyone to Join it and pay. Because of this policy, the coverage of health care is close to 99 percent (Underwood, 2009). In this country, the government-run system covers prevention, primary care, hospitalization, Chinese massage, acupuncture, traditional herbal medicine, mental health care, dental, vision, and long-term care. Unlike Taiwan, the United States possesses several types of ublic and private funding systems: Medicare and Medicaid are the two main public funded plans for Americans.There is also abundance of private insurance companies for people to choose, but they usually have a long list of pre-existing conditions, which restricts many patients since they are unable to receive health care in surance. Although the United States contains public and private programs, nearly 15. 6 percent of Americans had no health insurance in 2003, (Samuel D. , 2010). Secondly, the cost of health care for Taiwanese and Americans is divergent. Thus, Taiwan spends approximately 6 percent of G. D. P. on health care while the United State spends about 16 percent of G.D. P. (Seth B. , 2009, p. 1). Moreover, in Taiwan, people merely have to pay small amount of money set by the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) for each medical service received, and the BNHI will cover the rest of the payment (Taiwan Health Care Reform Foundation, 2010). As a result, no one in Taiwan goes bankrupt due to the medical bill. Unlike Taiwanese, a lot of Americans undergo bankruptcy since they cannot afford their medical bills. Finally, the quality of health care in Taiwan is not the same as that in the United to turn to.Moreover, there is no waiting time for patients which highly enhances the effectiveness o f health care. The competition between public and private hospitals improves the quality. Furthermore, every Taiwanese who is under the coverage has a Smart Card: an electronic health record, which is required for patient to bring along when seeing a doctor. The nurses would scan the card and all the medical record of that patient would appear clearly. It is a paperless system that improves treatment nd reduces redundant process of paperwork.Different from Taiwan, the insurance companies in the United States limit the patients in what doctors and hospitals they can go to, and it is necessary to set up an appointment in advance. In conclusion, it should be underscored that the ownership of health care systems plays an important role for a country because it might affect the entire system. The cost determines whether or not the citizens of the country are able to pay for the bills. The overall quality is a critical aspect of health care system since it ight either directly or indirect ly influence a patient's well-being.It is quite difficult for me to conclude which one of the health care systems is more effective due to the fact that Taiwan and the United States are distinctive in many ways, such as population and country size. Nevertheless, there are still several aspects that the United States can learn from Taiwan: for instance, studying other nations' health care system. Before deciding on a health care system, the experts in Taiwan carried out research on several successful countries' programs and eventually established its wn in 1995.

The History of Inequality in the United States - 1111 Words

The level of inequality has been drastically reduced over, but it still exists today even though it may not be as obvious. One crucial turning point in the history of inequality is the time of slavery. This is when inequality could not have been higher because non-white people, especially African-Americans, had virtually no rights at all. A turning point on the opposite side of this spectrum would be the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and ‘60s. This is the time when segregation was outlawed, eliminating a large portion of racial discrimination and inequality in the United States. Even though the Civil Rights Movement helped the situation of inequality tremendously, racial inequality still exists, and there are no laws enforcing it, so it cannot be seen as clearly. Today, even though it cannot be seen as clearly, white people are likely to be accepted into a job or school over a non-white person. Also, whites are probably going to receive a better education than non- whites. Class is a defined as â€Å"people in similar social and economic positions, who have similar opportunities in life, and who would benefit by the same kinds of government policies† (Manza, Arum, Haney, 2013, p. 237). Different classes from the chapter are the upper, middle, and lower classes. A person’s class is normally defined by their wealth. Someone in the upper class is likely going to have more wealth and will have much better life opportunities. Someone in the middle class would likely be ofShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Article The American Ideal 964 Words   |  4 PagesVasi Papadopulos Mr. Lofaro 20 American History September 28, 2015 The American Ideal As expressed in the constitution, the United States has not lived up to the ideal of equality. Economic inequality has surged into a greater issue over the past several years. Gender inequality is something that has began to reduce in the US ever since the 1900s. 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