A Journal of Undergraduate Research at
East Carolina University Volume 7, Fall 2023
The Lookout: A Journal of Undergraduate Research at East Carolina University
Volume 12, Issue 1
Copyright 2023 © Department of English, East Carolina University ISSN(Print) 2372-580X ISSN(Online) 2372-5834 Contact The Lookout at: lookout@ecu.edu For more information, visit us at our website: www.ecu.edu/lookout
Editing Team
Communications Team: Emma Wood, Shatiece Starks, Skyler Oty, Vicki Mass Design Team: Dayton Lynch, Katie McGahey Editorial Team: Abby Trzepacz, Bailey Nipper, Ethan Moseley, Kimberly Cusack Management Team: Benjamin Lewis, Breanna Sapp, David Locklear, Jamel Jones, Michael Harris Marketing Team: Anna Hancock, Desirae Reno, Kaylynn Bui, Keni Orourke Managing Editor: Dr. Donna Kain
A Note from the Editors The Lookout is an interdisciplinary undergraduate journal of writing from students at ECU. The writing samples are
reviewed, edited, and compiled in an academic journal which reflect the topics and studies that students here at ECU are engaged in. This year, we have compiled many different works from multiple fields of study, ranging from science to creative writing to the arts. As always, this edition of the Lookout features a cover designed by staff, a carefully selected layout and a website created specifically for the journal. We received many submissions for our 2023 edition which our staff was tasked with carefully reading and reviewing. Of these submissions, we valued those that were relevant to student life and learning today, and that stood out as original works written with creativity and intention. With a special focus on highlighting the individuality of each author who trusted us with their work, we compiled the 2023 edition to display some of the best our university has to offer in the fields we study. Each submission reflects the hard work and creativity that ECU students have to offer. We, The Lookout staff, are very honored to have the chance to work with these authors to publish a journal that represents our university and the hard work they all put into each piece. We hope to work with each one of them again very soon.
Sincerely,
The Lookout Team at ECU
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Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... 0 An Explosion of Racial Violence – Wilmington, 1898 ........................................................................ 1 Problems with North Carolina Teacher Pay: Unionization and the Solution to Years of Inequity .... 5 Ineffective State Regulation for the Opioid Crisis ............................................................................ 11 Observations of the Geology of the Hot Springs Window Region ................................................... 19 Observations of the Late Paleozoic Rocky Mount Intrusive Suite .................................................. 31 Perspectives ......................................................................................................................................... 35 Everywhere All at Once: Justifying Neurodivergence and Age in Action Cinema ............................ 37 Femininity, Freedom, Family, and Resistance in The History of Mary Prince and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ................................................................................................................................... 43 Hozier: The Taste of Love and Abuse ............................................................................................... 47 “It’s not that simple. With the Joker, it never is.” Othello and The Dark Knight ............................. 51 Maritime Metal: A Brief Introduction to the Development of Ironclads During the United States Civil War ........................................................................................................................................... 57 Racial and Gender Disparities in Migraine Care .............................................................................. 63 Radium Girls: The Deadly Clock ....................................................................................................... 67 At the Altar ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Cerulean Skies .................................................................................................................................... 1 Cooties ............................................................................................................................................... 1 Cosmic Expiry ..................................................................................................................................... 1 How To Be A Woman ......................................................................................................................... 1 Saturday Morning .............................................................................................................................. 1 Future Hopes...................................................................................................................................... 1 Lady Justice ........................................................................................................................................ 1
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An Explosion of Racial Violence – Wilmington, 1898 Mason Miller An Explosion of Racial Violence – Wilmington, 1898 November 10th, 1898, was a turning point in North Carolina history when a group of armed vigilantes overthrew a legitimately elected government and massacred multiple black individuals (Umfleet, 2006, p. 5). The aftermath of this event affects people even today, especially black youth (Roland & Swan, 1965). However, the weight of this event is ignored even in education standards (Ward & Buchanan, 2021).
Description of the Artifact A black-and-white picture taken by Henry Crongeburg captures the event (Umfleet, 2006, p. 151; Library of Congress, 1898). The picture, which is one of a 5picture montage located on the Library of Congress website, is titled The Wrecked ‘Record’ building and group of vigilantes (Library of Congress, 1898). In the forefront of the photograph is a large group of people which gathered for the picture. Directly behind them is the remainder of the Daily Record building (Library of Congress, 1898). The top floor of the two-story rectangular-shaped building is mostly burnt down so that only the back part of the wooden frame remains. The first floor of the building is mostly intact from the outside, though the picture shows that the interior of it is charred from the view of the thin windows surrounding the building (Library of Congress, 1898). According to the state report commissioned by the state of North Carolina in 2006, the photograph of the event was taken by Henry Crongeburg and the authors of the report retrieved it from New Hanover Public Library (Umfleet, 2006, p. 151). A copy of this picture is also available through the Library of Congress (Library of Congress, 1898). This picture represents a major event in a time of many changes for the area.
The period in which this took place was before the Civil Rights Movement, but Wilmington was still a progressive area. This progressiveness was uncommon for the time (Kirshenbaum, 1998, pp. 7-8).
Historical Context In 1898, the economy of Wilmington was favorable to its population, including black-owned businesses such as the Daily Record, which was able to profit from subscriptions to the newspaper (Zucchino, 2020, p. 50). Aside from private businesses, multiple highranking black individuals in government and private capacities thrived throughout the city (Umfleet, 2006, p. 6). This progressiveness in equality was made possible due to voting registration becoming less restrictive in North Carolina following reconstruction, and the Republicans taking a majority within the government (Kirshenbaum, 1998, pp. 7-8). Despite all the progressive strides that the city of Wilmington had made, inequalities were still present. On average, black individuals had lower-paying jobs than their white counterparts (Umfleet, 2006, p. 483). The education of black students was also limited in comparison to their white counterparts (Zucchino, 2020, p. 54). Black students could attend up to sixth grade while white students could attend up to twelfth grade (Zucchino, 2020, p. 54). These inequalities, though present, were becoming smaller and smaller up until the Democrats launched a massive white supremacy campaign, using and targeting newspapers (Umfleet, 2006, p. 5). Democrats, using their influence in newspapers, started a campaign that targeted black people claiming that they were hurting white women (Kirshenbaum, 1998, p. 9). The newspapers repeatedly posted stories about how white women were in trouble. This rhetoric caused a massive upset amongst white males (Kirshenbaum, 1998, pp. 9-13). Any small act a black man did to a white woman – intentional or not – was
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exaggerated and used in this campaign (Kirshenbaum, 1998, pp. 9-13). A major player in this campaign was the News & Observer, which the state-commissioned report officially named as a big player in the spread of these stories (Umfleet, 2006, p. 5). Multiple pieces of propaganda were posted throughout this campaign to raise the ire of their white audience (Kirshenbaum, 1998 & News & Observer, 2006). One popular propaganda post from the News & Observer depicts a giant foot labeled “The Negro” crushing a figure labeled “White Man” (News & Observer, 2006, p. 7). Another piece of propaganda shows tears falling from the “Goddess of Democracy” as she tries to run away from a chain and ball labeled “NEGRO RULE” (Kirshenbaum, 1998, p. 17). There is another piece of propaganda published by the News & Observer showing a devil-like figure with “Negro Rule” written across its wings appearing to terrorize the figures below it (News & Observer, 2006, p. 7). These pieces of propaganda encouraged many white citizens to vote to elect Democratic candidates (Umfleet, 2006, p. 107). Threats and intimidation tactics from white supremacists were used on the November 8th, 1898, election to deter black individuals from voting (Umfleet, 2006, p. 107). On August 18th, 1898, Alex Manly, editor for the Daily Record, published an article consisting of counterclaims to the reports done by newspapers such as the News & Observer. This article put Manly as a direct target of white supremacists, which would become apparent on November 10th (Umfleet, 2006, p. 116). The actual event of November 10th, 1898 is described by Umfleet as a group of armed vigilantes overthrowing a legitimately elected government (2006, p. 6). The coup as it would later be known to become started by burning down the Daily Record newspaper building at 9 am on November 10th (Davidson, n.d.). The armed group then traveled north from the building (Davidson, n.d.). Along the way, the group killed several people (Umfleet, 2006, p. 181). The exact number of people killed is not known due to inconclusive record keeping (Umfleet, 2006, p. 181). Martial law was declared in Wilmington to attempt to quell the mob (Davidson, n.d.). However, the government response to the mob was a failure on all levels and was not effective in calming the armed group (Umfleet, 2006, p. 5).
During and after the initial massacre, multiple businesspeople were “banished” from the city of Wilmington (Davidson, n.d.). One of these banished individuals included Alex Manly the person who had written the Daily Record article that caused so much outrage amongst white supremacists (Ward & Buchanan, 2021). Multiple African Americans and white Republicans were banished from the city, escaped to keep their life, or both (Umfleet, 2006, p. 181). Quickly, the individuals who had been banished from the city were replaced by white supremacists (Davidson, n.d.). The Republicans in government positions who had been banished were replaced by Democrats (Davidson, n.d.). As Democrats took control of the government throughout Wilmington and greater North Carolina, swift changes were made (Kirshenbaum, 1998, p. 27). In Wilmington, government positions had been replaced with white supremacists. The first of these to be affected were firefighters and police, which were released by Democratic leaders and members (Umfleet, 2006, p. 181). To look at the impact, and to remember the legacy of the event, a group in Wilmington was established named “The Centennial Foundation” (McLaurin, 2000). The goal of this group was to come up with a way to remember this event this event in a productive manner (McLaurin, 2000). However, this group did come up with some issues when discussing the possibility of reparations, as many people wanted reparations to be given out, but governmental support would be lost if they mentioned it. In the end, they chose to not do reparations. The issues faced by this group show how speculative people are about remembering events such as the Wilmington Massacre. (McLaurin, 2000). Even a debate as small as what to call the event stirs up debate, since the connotation of different names implies different meanings. Until 2010, the November 10th event was often referred to as a “race riot” (Ward & Buchanan, 2021). Many activist groups argued that this connotation was not making the event out to be what it was. Therefore, in 2010, the name of it in most research from then on was changed to “coup d’état” or “massacre” (Ward & Buchanan, 2021). On average, both before and after the massacre, the average black individual made less than their white counterparts due to lower-paying jobs (Umfleet, 2006,
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p. 483). Additionally, despite the widespread banishment of black individuals, no property tax evidence records show a significant amount of property being stolen from black individuals in New Hanover County (Umfleet, 2006, p. 6). After 1898, most of this property remained owned by the previous owners (Umfleet, 2006, p. 6). These property records do not necessarily show that black individuals were not oppressed by this, just that their property was not taken in the legal sense despite being banished from the city. Even though these factors need to be considered, it cannot be said that the remainder of the black and Republican population in New Hanover County was not affected. The white supremacy campaign most definitely impacted the education of black families. This can be proven by a study done in 1965 that dives into the average IQ of black students and their white counterparts in the Wilmington area. This study went on to show that the average IQ of white students was 99.55, while the average IQ of their black counterparts was only 81.24 (Roland & Swan, 1965, p. 21).
Conclusion The picture of the Daily Record building housed at the Library of Congress is an important artifact to show November 10th’s significant impact on American history. This event, despite its importance in the country’s history, is not talked about a lot. The event of November 10th is powerful, but the usage of the “white woman in danger” claims are not unique to this trope, as would be shown by an event to later take place in Mississippi. In 1955, an African American boy named Emmett Till was accused of cat-calling a woman. Despite no evidence of this, he was kidnapped and attacked by multiple white men and violently beaten to death (Pool, 2015). Even though the men admitted to the crime, they were let free (Pool, 2015).
The point is these events continued even after November 10th, 1898. Part of the problem is that these events are not covered enough. The state of North Carolina does not have the Wilmington massacre as a required subject to cover in North Carolina history and is just referred to as an optional “conflict” to discuss (Ward & Buchanan, 2021). Even this event was not added as optional until recently and was omitted all together from the education standards (Ward & Buchanan, 2021). North Carolina is not alone in this: Other states such as Florida and Oklahoma omit events in their history such as the Wilmington Massacre from their standards as well (Ward & Buchanan, 2021). A common adage states that failure to learn and understand history will cause it to repeat itself. The photograph in the Library of Congress does not just represent a violent uprising. Rather, it represents a part of American history that the education system has failed to cover, and that has had lasting impact on the community of New Hanover County and the greater state of North Carolina. These uncomfortable topics must be covered. Omitting these topics is not history, it is storytelling.
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References Davidson, J. D. (n.d.). Wilmington massacre and coup d’état of 1898 - timeline of events. NHCGOV. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://nhcgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=5 a4f5757e4904fb8bef6db842c1ff7c3 Kirshenbaum, A. M. (1998). "The vampire that hovers over North Carolina: Gender, white supremacy, and the Wilmington race riot of 1898.” Southern Cultures, 4(3), 6. McLaurin, M. A. (2000). Commemorating Wilmington's Racial Violence of 1898 From Individual to Collective Memory. Southern Cultures, 6(4), 35. Pool, H. (2015). Mourning Emmett Till. Law, Culture and the Humanities, 11(3), 414-444. https://doi.org/10.1177/1743872112440235 Roland, H. M., & Swan, D. A. (1965). Race, psychology and education: Wilmington, North Carolina. Mankind Quarterly, 6(1), 19. Umfleet, L. W. (2006). 1898 race riot report. North Carolina. 1898 Race Riot Commission. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p249901coll22/id/5335 Ward, C. F., & Buchanan, L. B. (2021). Memorializing whiteness in state standards and local history: A critical sociohistorical consciousness analysis of the coup of 1898 and southern racial violence. Whiteness and Education (Print).
Wilmington, N.C. race riot; montage of 5 photos: 1 Alfred M. Waddell; 2 Manhattan Park, where shooting took place; 3 4th and Harnet, where first Negroes fell; 4 E.G. Parmalee, new chief of police 5 The wrecked "Record" building and group of vigilantes. , 1898. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006680061/
Zucchino, D. (2020). Wilmington's lie: the murderous coup of 1898 and the rise of white supremacy. First edition. Atlantic Monthly Press.
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Problems with North Carolina Teacher Pay: Unionization and the Solution to Years of Inequity Kyle Parker Introduction In what world does 80.8 cents equal a dollar? This is the reality that teachers have dealt with in their profession for many years. According to the Economic Policy Institute, public high school educators in the United States earned 19.2% less than other collegiateeducated workers. This issue is extremely prevalent in the state of North Carolina. Many factors contribute to the issues of teacher pay in North Carolina, such as cost of living, and place of residence heavily contribute to the disproportionate gap in pay. North Carolina is a non-unionized state. Many of the issues with teacher pay stem from the lack of teacher unions. To fix this current flaw in teacher pay, I propose that North Carolina legislators ratify the right-to-work law and make North Carolina a unionized state so that teacher unions can lobby to accommodate for teachers in North Carolina public schools. North Carolina is weak in terms of teacher pay. While the projected average salary is $54,000, there is an air of misinformation and hyperbole in that statement. The main issues present within North Carolina’s legislation of teacher pay are the lack of master’s and doctoral benefits and the lack of compensation for experienced educators. Due to these issues, I suggest North Carolina become unionized and abolish the right-towork laws. Unionization has proven to help teachers establish teacher pay unions in other states and diminish the gap between the top 10%. With the rapid decrease in teacher retention, these issues must be taken seriously to continue educating the younger generation.
North Carolina Wage Weakness As a state, North Carolina is trailing in teacher pay and teacher benefits. One of the leading factors is that
North Carolina is a non-unionized state. According to Lichtenstein’s State of the Union: A Century of American Labor, "States with labor unions work to improve conditions for workers that promote individual, family, and community well-being" (Hagedorn et al. 2016, p.989-995). “Only 3.1 percent of the employed population of North Carolina are members of unions” (Stacker, 2021). The reason for this is North Carolina is a right-to-work state. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, “A "right-to-work" state is a state that has enacted legislation that guarantees that no individual can be forced as a condition of employment to join or pay dues or fees to a labor union.” Justia, a website specializing in legal information retrieval, stresses that right to work doctrines allow employees to have the choice of membership, but also in turn “prevents union security between employers and unions.” This lack of security is one of the leading causes for low union membership in North Carolina. The lack of security pushing residents of North Carolina away from unions is inadvertently taking them away from benefits of improved working conditions, higher pay, job security, and reduced discrimination in the workplace.
Teacher Salary in North Carolina In North Carolina, teachers make an average of about $54,000 a year (Pogarcic, 2021). According to ZipRecruiter, “the average salary in North Carolina is $54,247 a year.” Typically, most state employees are paid on payment plans. These payment plans outline a minimum and maximum salary with different levels of knowledge outlining the increased salaries (North Carolina Office of Human Resources, 2018). Instead of aligning teacher wages on the same scale, teacher wages in North Carolina are based on a salary schedule. According to the Del Norte Unified School District:
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A salary schedule (also known as a pay scale) is a system that determines how much an employee is to be paid as a wage or salary, based on one or more factors such as the employee's level, rank, etc.
This schedule has teacher salaries starting at 35,000 with their first year of teaching. These salaries continue to grow with each year of experience, ultimately leaving teachers with twenty-five or more years of experience at $52,000. These salaries can be bolstered with master's or doctorate degrees but only amount to about $5,200-7,700 more annually. Master's and doctorate degrees are very expensive. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of a master's degree is about $66,340; doctorate degrees are about $114,300 (Hanson, 2021). More specifically, master's degrees in education are about $55,200, and doctoral degrees clock in at around $86,298 (Hanson, 2021). With North Carolina teacher pay, the cost of a higher education degree is about double or triple the compensation they receive. Due to these numbers, many teachers are falsely led to teach in North Carolina with a promise of a salary higher than the scheduled pay indicates. North Carolina promotes an average salary of $54,000, and puts our state in a position where the majority of teachers are paid about $2,000 under the average of the state. We can solve the issues of underpaid educators and below average state pay by becoming a unionized state. Becoming a unionized state would allow for teacher unions to appropriately advocate for higher teacher pay and ultimately call out North Carolina legislation for their inconsistency in presented salary information.
Non-Union States vs. Union States, Cost of Living and Effect on Teacher Pay Cost of Living is a vital factor in teacher pay among states. According to the Consumer Price Index (2022), “the average yearly spending on all consumer units was $61,334.” There is a stark contrast between states with established labor unions and those whose laws are right-to-work. According to the indexes posted by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, the cost-of-living index in non-Unionized states is about 5% less than the national average or about $58,268 annually. The cost of living in the Unionized states is
about 1.6% above the national average or about $62,315 annually. The cost of living may be higher in the unionized states, but they also have a higher average teacher pay. According to the salaries posted by the National
Figure 1: Bachelor’s Degree Salary Schedule Monthly 12 Monthly Salary Installments
Annual Salary
$3,500 $3,600 $3,700 $3,800 $3,900 $4,000 $4,100 $4,200 $4,300 $4,400 $4,500 $4,600 $4,700 $4,800 $4,900 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000
$2,916.67 $3,000.00 $3,083.33 $3,166.67 $3,250.00 $3,333.33 $3,416.67 $3,500.00 $3,583.33 $3,666.67 $3,750.00 $3,833.33 $3,916.67 $4,000.00 $4,083.33 $4,166.67 $4,166.67 $4,166.67 $4,166.67 $4,166.67 $4,166.67 $4,166.67 $4,166.67 $4,166.67 $4,166.67
$35,000 $36,000 $37,000 $38,000 $39,000 $40,000 $41,000 $42,000 $43,000 $44,000 $45,000 $46,000 $47,000 $48,000 $49,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000
$5,200
$4,333.33
$52,000
Education Association, during the 2018-2019 school year, on average, teacher pay in unionized states was $63,726, while non-unionized states averaged $54,015.
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North Carolina Cost of Living and Benefits of Unionizing
to earn 5 to 12 percent more than those who are not covered (Eberts, 2007, pg. 181)." If North Carolina becomes a union state, the education system could see more benefits. Unions help to solve disparities between wage gaps as it helps establish income equality. Figure 2 showcases the number of labor unions and the share of income going to the top 10%. As union membership increased, less income went to those in a higher income bracket, and as union membership decreased, more income went to those in the top 10%.
As a right-to work-state, North Carolina has a lower cost of living than many unionized states. According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, North Carolina is ranked 25th in the overall cost of living. With a standard deviation of roughly 3.8 percent, the majority of North Carolina communities of Living in Major Cities in North Carolina have living costs that Figure are close1:to Cost the national average. Using statistics from the United States Census Bureau, Figure 1 showcases the major cities and their Fox Channel 8 computed the wage that would position percentages above or below the average cost of living. an individual in the top 20% of North Carolinians. Based on these numbers, it is reasonable to conclude 110.00% 105.14% 105.14%104.59% 104.44% 104.31% 102.18% 101.62% 105.00% 101.78% 98.32% 96.57% 100.00% 95.83%93.88% 95.50% 95.21% 95.00% 90.00% 85.00% 80.00% 75.00% 70.00% 65.00% 60.00%
Cost of Living %
North Carolina could benefit from having teacher unions due to the lower cost of living. The higher teacher salaries in union-based states are due to collective bargaining from labor unions. In an article by William H. Baugh and Joe A. Stone, they "find that teachers covered by collective bargaining [unions] tend
Figure 2: Income Inequality
that civilians would need to earn $263,026 each year to be in the top 10%. (Martichoux, 2021). The top 10% of earners earn almost 80% more than the average teacher salary of $54,000. Figure 2 depicts how labor unions can assist in balancing this data. Unions help guard against wage theft, which is defined as “to be paid an effective hourly rate that is below the minimum wage” (Bivens, et al 2017). This costs workers over $15 billion a year and pushes many families below the poverty line. Unions have ensured that lower-paid occupations provide a living wage. Substitute teachers and teacher assistants are underpaid in relation to the value of their contributions in the classroom. According to ZipRecruiter, substitute teachers and teacher assistants earn between $9 and $15 per hour. These earnings are significantly lower than the living wage of $17 per hour. Unions advocate for these educators to have a higher wage so that
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they may continue helping full-time teachers in the classroom. Legislation in North Carolina should allow unions to operate because of how they fix salaries for those with lower incomes and adjust the disproportionate disparity between those with higher earnings.
Fixing the Current System Teacher pay has been a longstanding issue in the state of North Carolina. The largest problems that plague teacher pay in North Carolina include a lack of remuneration for highly educated and experienced instructors. This exacerbates the income disparity that educators experience compared to the average working
person. To fight this, North Carolina legislation should eliminate the right to work doctrine and try to restore unions across the state to assist teachers. The advantages of teachers joining a union include preventing wage theft, raising pay for substitutes, assistants, and full-time instructors, ensuring job security, and—most significantly—giving teachers the voice they have long yearned for. North Carolina legislation failed teachers by revoking their voice of change, and ultimately resulted in the disparities in pay most teachers see today. Establishing unions will give North Carolina teachers a voice again, allowing them to continue to educate the next generation for years to come.
References: 23, F. S. • A. (2021, April 23). Unions help reduce disparities and strengthen our democracy. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/unions-help-reduce-disparities-and-strengthen-our-democracy/ Baugh, W. H., & Stone, J. A. (1982). Teachers, Unions, and Wages in the 1970s: Unionism Now Pays. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 35(3), 368–376. https://doi.org/10.2307/2522816 Baugh, W. H., & Stone, J. A. (1982). Teachers, Unions, and Wages in the 1970s: Unionism Now Pays. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 35(3), 368–376. https://doi.org/10.2307/2522816 Cost of living data series. Cost of Living Data Series | Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. (n.d.). https://meric.mo.gov/data/cost-living-data-series Average salary in North Carolina $54,247 (Oct 22) ziprecruiter. (n.d.). https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/--in-North-Carolina Del Norte Unified School District. (n.d.). Human Resources / Salary Schedules. https://www.dnusd.org/Page/226 Eberts, R. W. (2007). Teachers unions and student performance: Help or hindrance? The Future of Children, 17(1), 175– 200. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2007.0001 Employee resources. NC Office of Human Resources. (n.d.). https://oshr.nc.gov/ Collective bargaining: AFL-CIO. AFL. (n.d.). https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do/empower-workers/collective-bargaining Financial & Business Services, NC Department of Public Instruction. (2022, July 1). Fiscal year 2021 - 2022 North Carolina Public School Continuation ... - NC. https://www.dpi.nc.gov/media/12399/download?attachment Hagedorn, J., Paras, C. A., Greenwich, H., & Hagopian, A. (2016). The Role of Labor Unions in Creating Working Conditions That Promote Public Health. American journal of public health, 106(6), 989–995. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303138.
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Justia Law. (2022, October 18). "Right-to-Work" and Union Dues. Justia. https://www.justia.com/employment/unions/right-to-work-and-union-dues/ Martichoux, A. (2021, December 9). Here's what it takes to be considered 'rich' in Charlotte and Raleigh. FOX8 WGHP. https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/heres-what-it-takes-to-be-considered-rich-in-charlotte-and-raleigh/ Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. (n.d.). Composite of Living Index. Cost of Living Data Series | Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. National Education Association. (n.d.). Average Salaries of Public School Teachers. Teacher salaries by State. https://dcjobsource.com/teachersalaries.html NCTQ Collective Bargaining map. National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). (2019, January). https://www.nctq.org/contract-database/collectiveBargaining# Salary.com. (2022, October 27). Cost of living calculator: Cost of living in North Carolina. Salary.com. https://www.salary.com/research/cost-of-living/nc#locationdesc Society for Human Resource Management. (n.d.). What is a “right-to-work” state? https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/whatisa “right-to-work”state.aspx Stacker. (2021, October 11). North Carolina is the #2 Least Unionized State. Stacker. https://stacker.com/northcarolina/north-carolina-2-least-unionized-state TEACH. (n.d.). North Carolina teacher salary (what you need to know): Teach North Carolina. TEACH.org. https://northcarolina.teach.org/salary-benefits#references Thomson, F. (2022, September 2). The frightening cost of living in the U.S: A price index review. Open Access Government. https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/the-frightening-cost-of-living-in-the-u-s-a-price-indexreview/142843/ https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf Hanson, Melanie. “Average Cost of a Master's Degree” EducationData.org, October 11, 2021, https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-a-masters-degree
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Ineffective State Regulation for the Opioid Crisis Morgan Spohn Abstract The opioid crisis continues to ravish the United States with individuals, families, and society affected by the harm of the magic drug. Opioids were the popular drug that was considered the prescription that was going to cure the world of pain and suffering. However, opioids have done the opposite, causing more harm than benefit. Pain is a major health concern in the United States and affects many people, so there needs to be a solution to pain management that does not cause harm. Opioid overdoses are continuing to increase due to prescription opioids, which should be controlled. Physicians are also not prescribing alternatives to patients before opioids, which is due to a lack of education and insurance companies supporting alternatives. Lastly, the opioid crisis is costing society and patients billions of dollars each year. The opioid crisis could be under control if the current state regulations were effective.
Introduction Pain is a universal sensation and something everyone experiences in their lifetime. Pain affects the individual's quality of life, mental health, work responsibilities, and finances, along with physical functioning. A study conducted in 2012 “estimated that 126.1 million adults in the United States suffer from pain.”1 The most common categories of pain reported in the United States are severe headaches or migraines, neck pain, and lower back pain. According to a survey by the National Center for Health Statistics in 2016, for Americans older than 18 years old, 15.3% experienced severe headaches or migraines, 14.9% experienced neck pain, and 28.4% experienced lower back pain.1 In addition, these three common causes of pain have been found to “affect more Americans than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined.”1 Therefore, pain is a major health concern in the United States and ultimately the root of the opioid crisis.
Types of Pain Pain is classified in different ways by describing the duration, location, and intensity of pain. However, the two main types of pain are acute and chronic pain. The first, acute pain, is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “a physiologic response to noxious stimuli that can become pathologic.”2 Acute pain is classified as a “sudden in onset and time-limited,” which can last for one to three months.2 Acute pain is usually “the result of an identifiable cause, such as surgery, acute illness, trauma, labor and childbirth, medical procedures, and cancer or cancer treatment.”1 Acute pain is usually easier to control and goes away over time. However, if not treated appropriately and allowed to fester, it can become chronic pain. Next, chronic pain is considered more difficult to treat because chronic pain is more complex and lasts longer. The CDC defines the duration and severity of chronic pain as “having pain on most days or every day during the past three months that limited life or work activities.”2 Since chronic pain is more severe and lasts longer, it will lead to more issues with a patient’s physical and mental well-being. For example, in 2019, the CDC reported that “approximately one in five U.S. adults [have] chronic pain.”2 Overall, the population with chronic pain is continuing to grow and more people need solutions for pain management. Background of Opioids Over the years, opioids have been used to provide pain relief to individuals with moderate to severe pain. Opioids work by attacking the pain receptors in the body, which then relieves pain. Opioid prescriptions are “commercially available in oral, intravenous, transdermal, intranasal, epidural, and intrathecal preparations, which contributes to their clinical utility.”1 However, with the effectiveness of opioids to relieve pain, there comes an addiction to the drug, which leads to the harm of needing more and overdosing. To continue, the opioid crisis is a growing concern in the United States. The opioid crisis began in the 1990s when overdoses began to increase.
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Therefore, in 1998, “the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) of the United States released guidelines for the use of controlled substances for the treatment of pain.”1 After these guidelines were set in place, the opioid crisis settled until 2013 when there was an increase in the number of overdoses due to synthetic opioids, like fentanyl. Therefore, regulations and guidelines have been set into place to help protect the population from the danger of opioids, but the crisis continues.
To continue, previously in 2019, the CDC reported, “Among persons age 12 years [and older] in the United States, 9.7 million reported misuse of prescription opioids during the past year.”2 Along with this report, the individuals were asked why they misused the opioid prescription, which showed that “64.6% reported the main reason for their most recent misuse was to ‘relieve physical pain’ compared with 11.3% to ‘feel good or get high’ and 2.3% ‘because I am hooked or have to have it.’”2
Issue The United States is facing a major public health crisis with the fatality of opioid prescriptions. For example, “every day, more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids, either self-inflicted or unintentional.3” However, there is a need for individuals with pain to receive treatments to manage the pain. Therefore, this thesis covers that state regulations are not effective in controlling the opioid crisis because there are still increases in prescription opioid misuse, there are alternatives that are underutilized, and the opioid crisis causes a major economic burden.
To continue, a study done in 2017 on Drug and Alcohol Dependence found a correlation between a higher rate of opioid overdoses when the deceased had a prescription. This study found that in 79.2% of selfinflicted and 75.6% of unintentional opioid overdoses, “decedents had a prescription within one year of death.”4 Lastly, North Carolina experienced a 178% increase in deaths from prescription opioids.5 Therefore, prescription opioid misuse is leading to a higher number of overdoses due to opioids.
Increase in Prescription Opioid Misuse Current state regulations are not effective in controlling the opioid crisis due to an increase in prescription opioid misuse. For example, even though opioids are considered commonly misused prescriptions, “in 2020, approximately 143 million opioid prescriptions were dispensed from pharmacies in the United States.”2 With the increase in opioid prescriptions, there is also an increase in opioid overdoses, both from illicit and prescription opioids. Increased Opioid Prescription Misuse A major concern in the opioid crisis is the misuse of prescription opioids because the number of prescriptions should be easy to control. To begin, prescription opioid drugs are being “increasingly prescribed at higher dosages and for longer durations.”2 Along with the increase in dosages, there has been a drastic increase in the number of opioid prescriptions in the United States. For example, between the years 1999 and 2010, “in the United States, opioid prescribing increased fourfold.”2 This increase in opioid prescriptions was “paralleled by an approximately fourfold increase in overdose deaths involving prescription opioids during the same period.”2
Increased Opioid Overdoses To continue, over the past several years, both self-inflicted and unintentional overdoses due to opioids have continued to increase. For example, between the years 2000 and 2014, “drug overdose death increased from 6.2 to 14.7 deaths per 100,000 population,” which is more than double the number of overdoses.3 For this same period, North Carolina experienced an increase in self-inflicted and unintentional opioid overdoses. Self-inflicted overdoses “increased from 1.6 to 2.1 deaths per 100,000 population,” and unintentional opioid overdoses “increased from 3.9 to 10.4 deaths per 100,000 population.”3 Unintentional overdoses should be much lower than self-inflicted overdoses with proper dosage regulations and patient education on the risks of opioid prescriptions. In addition, in North Carolina, “there were more than 1,100 opioid-related deaths in 2015, [which is] a 73% increase from 2005.”5 Again, there is an increase in the number of overdoses without regulations in place to control the prescription of opioids. Social and Demographic Factors to Increased Opioid Misuses Like most healthcare-related concerns, there are social and demographic factors that play a role in the increase in opioid misuse. Some factors are age, race, gender, and geography. To begin, for age, most chronic pain is experienced in older people. Therefore,
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“the average age of self-inflicted overdose decedents was 50.3 years old,” which is much younger than expected.4 However, middle-aged people may not want to tolerate chronic pain for the rest of their lives, so they look for solutions. In addition, gender plays a role in the misuse of opioids because of the difference in the care between males and females. Women are often seen as dramatic and are not taken seriously in medicine, which can lead to “inadequate pain management.”2 Therefore, “women have higher opioid prescription fill rates than men” because women are moved through the system without consideration of alternatives to pain management.2 In 2012, out of the 1250 overdoses analyzed by a Drug and Alcohol Dependence study, 64.3% of the self-inflicted overdoses were females.4 Another factor related to increased opioid prescriptions is race. Again from the 2012 Drug and Alcohol Dependence study, 90.3% of the 1250 selfinflicted overdoses analyzed were from whites.4 Another study by the CDC stated that “Black and Hispanic patients are less likely than White patients to receive analgesia for acute pain.”2 Also, “Black patients received prescription opioids at lower dosages” than whites because black patients are more likely to receive regular office visits, which allows for the proper regulation of the drugs.2 Lastly, the largest factor that has contributed to increased opioid misuse is geographic disparities. For many rural or medically underserved areas, options for medical treatment are limited and less available. For example, the CDC found that “adults living in rural areas are more likely to be prescribed opioids for chronic nonmalignant pain than adults living in nonrural areas” because of the cost of alternatives and the limited availability.2 Rural communities have limited options for the treatment of moderate to severe pain, so they must rely on opioids to control the pain of the population. In addition, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture performed a study that found “between 1999 and 2015, opioid death rates in rural areas have quadrupled among those 18-to-25-year-olds.”3 Rural areas need to have options for treatment to reduce the increase in overdoses in rural areas. Overall, social and demographic factors play a major role in the misuse of prescription opioids. Alternatives
To begin, state regulations are not effective in controlling the opioid crisis because there are alternatives that are not being utilized. For a while, pain seemed to only have one answer, opioids. However, in many cases, patients could have received “a full range of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments for pain care.”2 Furthermore, opioids are no longer recommended as the first type of treatment for pain because opioids are considered to be equivalent or have a smaller effect on pain compared to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids have higher long-term risks.2 Also, opioids are “associated with increased risk for discontinuation because of gastrointestinal adverse events, somnolence, dizziness, and pruritus,” compared to other pain relief treatments.2 For example, a study done by the CDC in 2022 found that non-opioid treatments are just as effective for acute, subacute, and chronic pain as opioids because there was no mean difference in pain improvement.2 Overall, non-opioid treatments are just as effective in treatment as opioid treatments. Non-Pharmacological Alternatives The first recommended alternative to opioid treatment is non-pharmacologic, which is therapies that do not involve drugs or medications. The nonpharmacological treatments for pain improvement and function are therapies that show improvement for at least one month after being performed. For example, “the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends non-pharmacologic treatment with superficial heat, massage, acupuncture, or spinal manipulation as a cornerstone of treatment for acute low back pain.”2 Lastly, exercise, such as “aerobic, aquatic, or resistance exercises for people with chronic pain,” is recommended as a non-pharmacological treatment.2 Low-impact exercise can build muscles to support the body and cause weight loss which may be putting too much pressure on the body and causing pain. Pharmacological Alternatives The second alternative to opioids is different kinds of pharmacological drugs. In the study conducted by the CDC, research supports the claim that nonopioid pharmacologics are just as effective in pain management as opioids. For example, in 2022, the CDC analyzed research that found “for musculoskeletal
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injuries such as sprains, whiplash, and muscle strains, topical NSAIDs provided the greatest benefit-harm ratio, followed by oral NSAIDs or acetaminophen with or without diclofenac.”2 For other kinds of acute pain, such as surgical dental pain, kidney stone pain, and low back pain, “NSAIDs have been found to be more effective than opioids.”2 In addition, for the treatment of episodic migraines, the combination of “NSAIDs, antiemetics, dihydroergotamine, calcitonin generelated peptide antagonists (gepants), and lasmiditan are associated with improved pain and function.”2 Lastly, for chronic pain, the use of “acetaminophen, NSAIDs, and selected antidepressants and anticonvulsants” were shown to be effective in reducing the chronic pain.2 Overall, many combinations of drugs that are safer for patients are just as effective in pain management as opioids. Barriers to Alternatives The non-opioid alternatives are seen as safe but are still effective when it comes to pain management. However, multiple factors play a role in non-opioid options being inaccessible, “such as inadequate clinician education, training, and guidance; unconscious bias; a shortage of pain management specialists; insufficient access to treatment modalities such as behavioral therapy; insurance coverage and reimbursement policies; and lack of clarity about the evidence supporting different pain treatments.”2 However, the biggest issue is that insurance companies will not cover these alternatives because these treatments are seen as expensive and unnecessary. If insurance companies were willing to pay for alternatives to pain management, then the insurance companies would pay less money for opioid use disorder and overdoses.
Costs of the Opioid Crisis State regulations are not effective in controlling the opioid crisis because the costs outweigh the benefits. There are different types of costs associated with the use of opioids and overdoses. The costs are to society, to the patient, loss of productivity, and loss of quality of life. The only way to help control these costs is to have more regulations on the prescription of opioids and educate physicians on managing opioid use disorder.
Costs to Society The cost of opioid overdoses does not just affect the individual who has suffered, but also society. For example, in 2011, the cost of chronic pain was “from $560 to $635 billion in annual direct medical costs, lost productivity, and disability.”2 The cost of chronic pain is more than that of cancer at “$243 billion per year” and heart disease at “$309 billion per year.”6 To continue, another cost is the misuse of prescription opioids. In 2018, the CDC concluded: “that the economic burden of prescription opioid misuse in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, and addiction treatment.”3 Lastly, the overall costs to society due to opioid misuse “totaled $1,020.7 billion” in 2017 with “slightly more than onehalf of the cost associated with fatal overdoses.”8 Costs to Patient Even though society must face the costs of the opioid crisis, the patient bears the most due to medical costs, loss of productivity, and loss of quality of life. A study done on the economic burden of the opioid crisis found that “the monthly health care costs began increasing five months before the incident of opioid abuse,” which is the same pattern for cancer and other serious conditions.6 If physicians can routinely check up on patients and monitor the number of times the patient comes to the office, physicians may be able to recognize opioid use disorder sooner and prevent overdoses. In addition, this study found that “opioid abusers generate an average of $14,810 in excess costs to payers in the six months before and after the initial abuse episode.”6 Therefore, physicians need to be trained to recognize opioid use disorder. To continue, another cost to patients is the loss of productivity. The patient is no longer able to work as effectively as before developing an opioid use disorder, which leads to missed workdays and lost wages. For example, the American Journal of Managed Care published a study that found that “this lost productivity has been estimated to cost several hundred billion dollars annually”, including “$11.6 billion to $12.7 billion” in missed work days, “$95.2 billion to $96.5 billion” in hours of work lost, and “190.6 billion to $226.3 billion” in wages lost.1 Lastly, one of the major costs for the patient is the decreased quality of life. The original goal of opioids was to improve the quality of life for individuals who were experiencing moderate to severe pain.
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However, in 2017, a Drug and Alcohol Dependence study examined the economic burden of the opioid crisis and found that decreased quality of life amounted to 85% of the total economic burden.7 Therefore, “the value of reduced quality of life from opioid use disorder was $390 billion and life lost to opioid overdose was $480.7 billion.”7 If proper regulations are set into place, patients could get the help they need.
Discussion Proper Use of Opioids Overall, the opioid crisis is not showing any signs of slowing down and is continuing to take a toll on the United States society. However, with proper patient education and physician regulation, opioids can be used for certain situations, like “severe traumatic injuries including crush injuries and burns, invasive surgeries typically associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain, and other severe acute pain.”2 In these cases, the CDC recommends that physicians “prescribe immediate-release opioids at the lowest effective dose and for no longer than the expected duration of pain.”2 Opioid treatments should be combined with non-pharmacologic options to help the patient manage the pain without opioid use. Lastly, physicians should take caution when increasing the dosage or duration of the use of opioids. Maintaining smaller doses for shorter amounts of time will decrease the risk of opioid use disorder. Solutions to the Opioid Crisis The best solution to slow and eventually stop the opioid crisis would be to have states regulate the prescription of opioids, including the appropriate dosage and durations. However, most people do not like that much government control, and many times there is not much agreement with policies. Therefore, solutions are needed to control the opioid crisis within the medical community. First, physicians need to be properly trained on how to educate patients on the use and misuse of opioids and why prescriptions may be short and at low dosages. Also, physicians should be aware of the risks of opioids and use them appropriately. Pain management can be difficult to solve, but physicians should begin with other treatments before prescribing opioids. Opioids should be considered a last resort to pain management. Next, physicians should be trained in the trends of opioid use disorder. If physicians are properly prescribing opioids
to patients, there should be a decrease in the number of opioid use disorders. To continue, the government has taken some action and should continue to help aid in the opioid crisis. For example, “in 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required new safety labeling changes for extended-release and long-acting opioids.”2 These safety labels require the box warning of “risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death.”2 These labels were added to immediate-release opioids in 2016.2 Warning labels are another way to educate the patient on the risks associated with opioids. In addition, about half of all the states have passed laws “limiting the initial opioid prescriptions for acute pain to a less than a 7-day supply.”2 Therefore, there is recognition that opioid use should be limited and controlled by physicians. Lastly, physicians should always analyze the benefits and risks with the patients before prescription opioids.
Conclusion Overall, state regulations are not effective in controlling the opioid crisis because there is still an increase in opioid prescription misuse, the alternatives to opioids are not being utilized, and there is a major economic burden with the opioid crisis. Opioids provide a great source of pain management, but the risks do not outweigh the harms. A study in the American Journal of Managed Care stated that “despite the benefits that prescription opioids offer in acute pain management, the use, abuse, and overuse of these agents has contributed to significant health and economic burdens for patients, their families, and society.”1 Therefore, the continued use of prescription opioids is increasing the harm to both society and the individual and needs to be controlled.
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References Hagemeier NE. “Introduction to the Opioid Epidemic: The Economic Burden on the Healthcare System and Impact on Quality of Life.” The American Journal of Managed Care. 2018; 24 (10): S200-S206. https://cdn.sanity.io/files/0vv8moc6/ajmc/90ec39917de9a28b89e2831cd0d93dcd320b008d.pdf/AJMC_A CE0094_05_2018_Opioids__Article01.pdf Dowell D, Ragan KR, Jones CM, Baldwin GT, Chou R. “CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain – United States, 2022.” MMWR Recommendation and Reports. 2022; 71 (3): 1-95. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.rr7103a1. Shipley A. “Opioid Crisis Affects All Americans, Rural and Urban.” U.S. Department of Agriculture website. August 3, 2021. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/01/11/opioid-crisis-affects-all-americans-rural-and-urban. Accessed November 30, 2022. Austin AE, Proescholdbell SK, Crepage KE, Asbun A. “Characteristics of self-inflicted drug overdose deaths in North Carolina.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence: An International Journal on Biomedical and Psychosocial Approaches. 2017; 181: 44-49. https://www.clinicalkey.com/#!/content/playContent/1-s2.0S0376871617304969?returnurl=https:%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS037687161 7304969%3Fshowall%3Dtrue&referrer= Porter F. “County-by-County Figures: The Opioid Crisis in North Carolina”. NC Gov. Cooper Website. May 16, 2017. https://governor.nc.gov/news/county-county-figures-opioid-crisis-north-carolina. Accessed November 30, 2022 Kirson NY, Scarpati LM, Enloe CJ, Dincer AP, Birnbaum HG, Mayne TJ. “The Economic Burden of Opioid Abuse: Updated Findings.” Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy. 2017; 23 (4): 427-445. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2017.16265 Florence C, Luo F, Rice K. “The Economic Burden of Opioid Use Disorder and Fatal Opioid Overdose in the United States, 2017.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence: An International Journal on Biomedical and Psychosocial Approaches. 2021; 218: 108350. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108350 Luo F, Li M, Florence C. “State-Level Economic COsts of Opioid Use Disorder and Fatal Opioid Overdose - United States, 2017.” CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2021; 70 (15): 541-546. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7015a1 Pergolizzi J, Magnusson P, LeQuang J, Breve F, Taylor R, Wollmuth C, & Varrassi G. “Can NSAIDs and acetaminophen effectively replace opioid treatment options for acute pain?” Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy. 2021; 22 (9), 1119-1126. doi:10.1080/14656566.2021.1901885 Webster L, Grabois M. “Current Regulations Related to Opioid Prescribing.” The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation. 2015; 7 (11S): S236-S247. doi:10.1016/j.pmrj.2015.08.011
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Chandler R, Villani J, Clarke T, McCance-Katz E, Volkow N. “Addressing Opioid Overdose Deaths: The Vision for the Healing Communities Study.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal. 2020; 217. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108329 Coussens N, Sittampalam G, Jonson S, Hall M, Gorby H, Tamiz A, McManus O, Felder CC, Rasmussen K. “The Opioid Crisis and the Future of Addition and Pain Therapeutics.” Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 2019; 371 (2): 396-408. doi: 10.1124/jpet.119.259408
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Observations of the Geology of the Hot Springs Window Region Oceana Apolllo Abstract This scientific research paper is based on observations made in the Hot Springs Window Region of North Carolina of the Mesoproterozoic (1.6-1 Ma) through Cambrian age (541-485.4 Ma) rocks located there. The Appalachian Mountains has a geological window in the Hot Springs region, exposing different metamorphic sedimentary rock units to the surface of the Earth. The Hot Springs window exists due to the thrust faulting in the Appalachian Mountain area originating back to the Taconic (440 Ma) and Alleghenian progenies (299-251 Ma), in which the Appalachian Mountains were formed. The erosion of the rock units on the surface were likely caused by a body of moving water, evident in the Honaker formation’s limestone deposits. Observations made at outcrops in a field book during a field trip to the Hot Springs Region, confirm that mylonite had been found in an outcrop near the Meadow Fork River (Fig.6). Mylonite is indicative of fault activity in the area since its appearance is created by the metamorphosing of rock during tectonic activity and is evident in some crystalline complex and Snowbird formation rocks. The outcrops studied during the research trip were either igneous metamorphic or sedimentary metamorphic in nature and most of them had specific evidential features of metamorphic rock such as crystalline structure or banded and foliated texture. The igneous metamorphic rocks of the outcrops had visible minerals such as k-feldspar, pyroxene, micas, epidote, chlorite, and quartz, with colors like pink, black, grey, and tan. The sedimentary metamorphic rocks were observed to have things like micas, quartz, fine-grained textures, flakiness, and tan to brown colors. Through these observations, hypotheses were made about which rock unit each outcrop belonged to. It is notable in appearance and mineralogy, that the rock units exposed at the Rocky
Mount Window Region, are metamorphosed rock, dating back 1.2 billion years ago, placed there by the Taconic Orogeny (440 Ma), Alleghenian orogeny (299251 Ma), and further faulting, in what is now the Appalachian Mountain area. .Introduction This scientific research paper is based on observations made in the Hot Springs Window Region of North Carolina of the Mesoproterozoic (1.6-1 Ma) through Cambrian age (541-485.4 Ma) rocks located there, during a weekend long research camping trip. A geologic window is an erosional hole in a sheet of older rock that has been pushed on top of younger rock in a thrust fault. A thrust fault is a break in the Earth’s crust, in which older rock is pushed on top of younger rock. is The Hot Springs Window Region, the area studied for this report, is a 10.4-mile-long, 6.4-milewide window revealing older rock on top of younger rock that traveled there through extensive thrust faulting of four different thrust sheets. The rock near the thrust faults are monetized and fractured in a way that is indicative of fault activity in the rock. Mylonite is a metamorphic rock containing fine-grained bands resulting from the metamorphosing and recrystallization of the rock. The textural appearance of mylonite is extremely indicative of fault activity in the area since its appearance is created by faulting. Two of the thrust sheets are made of granitoids and are adjacent to each other. These thrust sheets include Paleozoic (541-251.9 Ma) carbonate rocks in which there are clastic, metamorphic, and granitic rocks underneath it. In the Hot Springs Window, different rock units that comprise the window region, are available to view and study, listed from oldest to youngest, including, the Basement Crystalline Complex, Snowbird Formation, Sand suck Formation, Unicoi Formation, Hampton Formation, Erwin Formation, Shady Dolomite, Rome Formation, and Honaker Limestone (Oriel 1951). The purpose of this research paper is to outline the topics of the geological window in the Hot Springs Window region, the singular rock units that exist within this window, the geologic history of the region based on personal observations made and the work of previous geologists focusing on tectonic activity and progenies, and regional Appalachian geological history.
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Rock units Basement Complex: The basement complex or Crystalline complex is Pre-Cambrian, formed 4.6 Ma, and characterized by granitoid that has been turned into sericite (sericitized) and hydrothermally introduced to epidote (epitomized), mylonite, and pegmatitic textured rocks. The Brushy Mountain thrust sheet is present in the pre-Cambrian crystalline rocks. Overlying the Brushy Mountain thrust sheet rocks, are pre-Cambrian crystalline rocks which are partly monetized, called the Meadow Fork thrust sheet. A thrust fault called the Rector Branch thrust fault goes through the Hot Springs region, this fault contains traces of the Meadow Fork thrust sheet, meaning the Rector Branch thrust fault may be on top of the Meadow Fork thrust sheet. Outcrops observed along U.S. Highway 25-70 in Oriel (1951), were interpreted to have pre-Cambrian Crystalline rocks overlying rocks from the Snowbird formation on a fault through much of the formations. The mylonite in the Hot Springs area was formed by the micro brecciation of the preCambrian Crystalline complex and Snowbird formation rocks, and in most cases, it is difficult to distinguish whether it is mylonite from the pre-Cambrian Crystalline or Snowbird rocks (Oriel, 1951). Since mylonite is a large characteristic of the crystalline complex, it can be inferred that its deposition was based around the thrust faults that are in the rock unit. According to field notes taken during the observation of an outcrop of the pre-Cambrian Crystalline complex, the rock seemed to be metamorphic sedimentary with folding in the bedding and some sort of faulting present. The outside is pink but orange, black, tan, and blue on the inside, with obvious inclusions of biotite, quarts, and k-feldspar minerals. Snowbird Formation: On top of a presumed unconformity following the Basement complex material, the Snowbird formation is in a clastic group of unknown age and is about 1500-4600 feet thick. It is characterized by quartzites interbedded in pebble shapes, with vitreous luster, and felspathic minerals, the calcareous, micaceous, and arkose sandstones, shale rock, siltstone, slate, and mylonite. The Brushy Mountain thrust sheet is located partly in the Snowbird formation, and the Meadow Fork thrust sheet, which consists of primarily monetized pre-Cambrian crystalline rock, overlies the Snowbird formations
thrust sheet. The Snowbird formation is found under the pre-Cambrian Crystalline complex rocks in certain areas where a fault is located, since Snowbird rocks are younger than the pre-Cambrian Crystalline rocks, the inferred deposition can be that a thrust fault caused the pre-Cambrian Crystalline rocks to be shoved on top of the Snowbird rocks during faulting. This is where the monetization happens and it becomes difficult to discern which rock unit the mylonite is from (Oriel, 1951). According to field notes taken during the observation of an outcrop of the Snowbird formation, the rock appeared to be metamorphic sedimentary rock that had been recrystallized into some sort of sandstone. It had a fine grain to varying grain size and flaky texture with an orange, black, grey, and white color. There were large bedding planes and indications of a fault between the pre-Cambrian crystalline complex and Snowbird formation. It is an ancient passive sediment deposit and therefore turbidites, or deposits from underwater landslides, may be visible in some areas. Sand suck Formation: The Sand suck formation is of the clastic group of unknown age and has a thickness of about 700 feet. It is characterized by dark green to blue-green slate, shale, and siltstone with sandy grey bands and slaty black bands extending through the fine-grained rock, it contains conglomerates as well as limestone lenses, and cleavage seems to be developed the best in Sand suck formation rock compared to the other rock units. Inferred deposition includes a fault appearing to travel northwest to southwest goes through the Unicoi formation, with an identifiable presence in the contact between the northeast Unicoi conglomerate beds, and the Sand suck slate beds on the southwest side (Oriel, 1951). According to field notes taken during the observation of an outcrop of the Sand suck formation, the rock looked to be metamorphic sedimentary with a fine-grained and flaking texture. It had grey and orange colors with slaty cleavage that had been deformed in the fabric, along with veins of quartz running through the rock. Unicoi Formation: Lying atop a presumed unconformity of the Sand suck formation rock, the Unicoi formation is in a clastic group of the lower Cambrian series in the Early Cambrian, 541-485.4 Ma, and is about 14002600 feet thick. It is characterized by quartzite with vitreous luster and the coarse-grained texture of feldspathic minerals, conglomerates with slate
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inclusions, slate itself, siltstone, and micaceous sandstones. Inferred deposition includes a fault ranging from northwest to southwest trails through the Unicoi formation, with an identifiable presence where the lower Unicoi conglomerate beds meet the Sand suck slate southwest of it (Oriel, 1951). According to field notes taken during the observation of an outcrop of the Unicoi formation, the rock was a poorly sorted, coarsegrained pebble conglomerate with 10 cm pebbles, and bands of larger pebbles of more medium sizes, all red, orange, and brown in color. The rock had vertical bedding and an angular unconformity with quartz veins throughout. Hampton Formation: The Hampton formation is in the clastic group of the lower Cambrian series in the early Cambrian, 541-485.4 Ma, and has three specific layers of rock, often called “the Hampton sandwich.” The oldest layer in the Hampton formation is lower shale at an approximate 210-380 feet in thickness, characterized with dark green siltstone, sandy and silty shale, and argillaceous shale, interbedded together. The middle part of the Hampton sandwich, is the middle quartzite layer at 500-750 feet thick, characterized by quartzite with medium to coarse grained felspathic minerals cross bedded with quartzite; vitreous in luster, and beds of pebble. The youngest and top layer of the Hampton formation is the upper shale layer that is about 200-300 feet thick. It is characterized by dark green siltstone, alternating with thin beds of quartzite and silty and sandy shale. A fault going northwest from the southwestern end of Deer Park Mountain is the inferred deposition considering the sudden offset of the Hampton formation, which is particularly identifiable in in the middle quartzite layer (Oriel, 1951). According to field notes taken during the observation of an outcrop of the Hampton formation, the rock seemed to have varying lithology with coarse sandstone and feldspar. It had vertical bedding in which skolions burrows, a common trace fossil ichnogenus, can be found, however it was not observed in the field notes. Erwin Formation: The Erwin formation is a part of the clastic group of the lower Cambrian series in the early Cambrian, 541-485.4 Ma, and is at maximum, 1,975 feet thick. It is characterized by dark green siltstone, silty and sandy shale, quartzites of the white vitreous and purple ferruginous variety, topped off with calcareous siltstone. In the upper quartzites of the Erwin formation, evidence of a fault is present, acting
as the top of the Hampton formation’s fault that ranged from the southwest to the northwest part of the Deer Park Mountain and the inferred deposition of the Erwin formation. According to Oriel (1951), an area of upper Erwin strata is exposed on U.S. Highway 25-70, which has been observed as anticlinal, but may be an upsidedown syncline if the rocks beds are overturned. However, across Spring Creek, Shady Dolomite rocks are present in a continuous string of outcrops along the steep shoreline slope of sediment, the bluffs of Spring Creek, which is indicative of a normal anticline, rather than an upside-down syncline, either of which would determine in which way they were formed and deposited (Oriel, 1951). According to field notes taken during the observation of an outcrop of the Erwin formation, the rock was located next to the French Broad River, down from Asheville, and was a wall of tan and black quartzite with vertical bedding. It’s parent rock seems to have been metamorphic sandstone. Shady Dolomite: Shady dolomite is part of the early Cambrian period, 541-485.4 Ma, and is about 17002100 feet thick. It is characterized by blue grey, lightgrey, and white dolomite interbedded with limestone, under of which lies fine-grained and very fine-grained clastic rocks in some areas. Along the east bank of the French Broad River, there are exposures of Shady dolomite that show folds that may have been formed because of drag along the fault surface, which can be the inferred deposition (Oriel, 1951). According to field notes taken during the observation of an outcrop of Shady dolomite, “The Shady Formation,” was located on River Road, along the French Broad River, the rock appeared to be a brown and grey color with vertical bedding. Rome Formation: The Rome formation came to be at the end of the early Cambrian and continued into the beginning of the middle Cambrian period, 541-485.4 Ma. It is one of the more recent formations and so the thickness of this formation is unknown. It is characterized by red and brown siltstone and shale with interbedded green shale and light grey to blue grey dolomite. The Rome formation has a series of highly contorted and intricate bands with a plethora of different magnitudes ranging from just inches to over tens of feet. The way that the folds have resulted makes it difficult to determine the relation of them to the structural features of the surrounding area, however the bands are interbedded with Shady
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dolomite beds, this is all indicative of some sort of depositional folding with Shady dolomite and may be the way the Rome formation was deposited (Oriel, 1951). The Rome formation was not observed in the field notes on the camping trip to the Hot Springs region. Honaker Formation: The Honaker formation is part of the middle Cambrian period, 541-485.4 Ma, and is the youngest unit that has been discovered, also with an unknown thickness as of today. It is characterized by white, grey, and blue-grey limestones with a thin layer of silt and shale that have banded chert nodules. The Hampton formation has horizontal rock beds in which there is an anticline in the beds. However, according to Oriel (1951), the beds in this anticline are upside down, making this anticline an upside-down syncline (Oriel 1951). The overturning of a fold can happen through the shortening and extension of tectonic plates, the inferred deposition of the Honaker formation is the extensive folding of layers during the middle Cambrian period. The Honaker formation was not observed in the field notes on the camping trip to the Hot Springs region.
Regional Geologic History Around 1.2-1 billion years ago, the supercontinent Rodina formed because of the Grevilia Orogeny that occurred worldwide during the time. For about 300 My, Rodina stayed together until about 7.50 Ma when it began rifting apart in western and north-eastern North America. The rifting of Rodina along the southerncentral Appalachian margin, occurring at about 565 Ma, had basins that deposited the Ocoee Supergroup. The Ocoee Supergroup is a group of Terrigenous clastic sedimentary rocks that are coarse textured and poorly sorted, this supergroup was deposited in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia. The Ocoee Supergroup has three groups. The Snowbird group, the Great Smoky group, and the Walden Creek group. The Snowbird group lies on top of the Grevilia basement with basal sandstones, quartz arenite and arkose sandstone laying on top as well as a politic unit. A politic unit is a clay dominated and fine-grained sedimentary protolith. The Great Smoky group is made up of deep-water greywacke, polite, cleaner sedimentary rocks, quartz conglomerate with sandstone, granite, shale, dolomite, and limestone.
Most of the thickness of the supergroup is in the Great Smoky group and it is faulted on top of the Snowbird group. The Walden Creek group overlies the Great Smoky group and contains banded chlorite-sericite slate with limestone, shale, and sandstone. At about 73.5 Ma, a phenomenon called failed rifting occurred in the southern and central Appalachians. Failed rifts are the result of continental rifting that never rifted to the point of a full break-up. This failed rift caused the creation of a plutonic volcanic suite, different rocks in Grandfather Mountain and the Mount Rogers formation, and the Robertson River igneous complex in Virginia (Hatcher, 2005). Beginning 1.2-1 billion years ago, the deposition that occurred in North Carolina of the Ocoee Supergroup, deposited the beginnings of what is now the Hot Springs region in the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains formed because of the tectonic activity in the region, along the pre-Cambrian continental margin of eastern North America, following the breakup of the supercontinent Rodina. The tectonic events that occurred began in the Ordovician period (485.4-443.8 Ma) of the Paleozoic era and ended late into the Paleozoic era. These events created metamorphic rock from sedimentary rock during folding. Metamorphism of the rock in the Appalachian Mountains occurred 510-460 Ma during the Taconic orogeny. Metamorphic zones of the southern and central Appalachians can be demonstrated by a figure (Fig.5) cited from Hatcher (1987), representing spots of greenschist facies metamorphism, anchylose metamorphism, amphibolite facies metamorphism, and zones of Paleozoic facies metamorphism. The metamorphic rock present throughout the Appalachians is evident of extensive faulting and tectonic activity. The Alleghenian orogeny, a mountainbuilding event that occurred in the Permian Period (299-251 Ma), is what ultimately created the Appalachian Mountains that is seen today. The faults observed in the southern and central Appalachians are major tectonic boundaries that go through the crystalline complex rock. In the crystalline complex, deformation of the rock can be observed near the faults that run through it from the Blue Ridge and Inner Piedmont region into the distal flanks. Mylonite, evidence of fault activity based on the certitude that it is a metamorphic rock containing fine-grained bands resulting from the metamorphosing and recrystallization of the rock, is evident in the Brevard
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fault zone, resulting from the earlier metamorphosing events of the Southern Appalachians (Hatcher, 1987). Based on observations made in field notes taken during the field trip to the Hot Springs region of North Carolina, Mylonite is observed in an outcrop on the south side of Meadow Fork Road along the Meadow Fork River (Fig.6). Interpretations were made about the Runyon region during a hike in which outcrops were observed and strike and dip data were collected. These interpretations were turned into a hypothesis about where on a geological map (Fig.1.) and cross-sectional map (Fig.3) might the different rock units be located. The entire geological region of the Appalachian Mountains is a result of large-scale tectonic activity and metamorphism that began at least 1 billion years ago on the supercontinent Rodina.
Hot Springs Window Region Geologic History The Hot Springs Window Region of North Carolina of the Mesoproterozoic (1.6-1 Ma) through Cambrian age (541-485.4 Ma), located in the Appalachian Mountains, spanning around 50 square miles, in western Madison County, North Carolina. Different rock units that comprise the window region, are listed from oldest to youngest; the Basement Crystalline Complex, Snowbird Formation, Sand suck Formation, Unicoi Formation, Hampton Formation, Erwin Formation, Shady Dolomite, Rome Formation, and Honaker Limestone (Fig.2). The Hot Springs window is one of the only exposures of southeastern Paleozoic carbonate rocks under which lies clastic, metamorphic rocks, and granitoids. The window is demonstrated by a cross sectional map (Fig.4) and is surrounded by four different thrust faults and thrust sheets, Oriel (1951), believes that the thrust sheet between the sedimentary and crystalline rocks is a thrust fault, which means there are two major structural units inside the window itself. One of the thrust sheets is called the Mine Ridge thrust fault, which is the best evident in the area, and separates the Snowbird Formation, Sand suck formation, and Unicoi formations outside of the window, from the younger rock units inside the Hot Springs window. Another thrust sheet is the Del Rio thrust sheet, in which Unicoi, Sand suck, and Snowbird rock units are found, as well as all units up to the Rome formation. Overlying the Del Rio sheet, the Brushy Mountain thrust sheet also
frames the Hot Springs window, containing preCambrian crystalline rocks and the Snowbird formation rocks. Small parts of the Meadow Fork thrust sheet are shown in the southern part of the Hot Springs window only, however, it consists of partly mylonized, preCambrian crystalline rocks that overlie the Brushy Mountain thrust sheet and the Snowbird formation inside the window. The Rector Branch thrust fault goes for about a mile through the southern central part of the window in which pre-Cambrian crystalline rocks are lying above Snowbird rocks through most of the fault. The Rector Branch thrust sheet is the hanging wall of the thrust fault and is mostly pre-Cambrian crystalline rocks that stack on top of the Meadow Fork and Del Rio thrust sheets, and Snowbird rocks in the southernmost area of the Hot Springs window. Many of the structural features of the window are based on the thrusting that occurred in the area. There are mylonite planes parallel to the trends of the thrust surfaces, caused by those thrust surfaces moving, and cleavage planes also resulted from the forceful movements of the thrust faults. Mineralization is related to the presence of thrust faults, whether they are geographical or genetic. The deformation in the window is dated to have been created after the deposition of Honaker limestone or at least sometime after the middle Cambrian period (Oriel, 1951). Thrusting in southern Appalachia is originated from the Alleghenian orogeny, a mountain-building event that created the Appalachian Mountains observed today, occurring in the Permian Period (299-251 Ma). Even though all these rock units originate over 1 billion years ago, the Crystalline complex is dated back to the preCambrian and lies beneath the Snowbird and Sand suck formations with an unknown age. On top of the Sand suck formation is the Unicoi, Hampton, Erwin, and Shady formations of the early Cambrian. The youngest units, Honaker limestone, on top of the Rome formation, is of the middle Cambrian and has an unknown thickness because they are still being deposited and eroded. The Taconic orogeny created the original metamorphic properties in the rocks, along with the Alleghenian orogeny, that brought these formations together to create the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains now has a geological window in the Hot Springs region, exposing these rock units to Earth’s surface. The Hot Springs window exists due to a thrust fault, however, the
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French Broad River in which the outcrops were not far from, or some other type of fast-moving body of water may have caused the erosion. This is especially evidential in the Honaker formation’s limestone deposits. Summary: Evidence of extensive large-scale metamorphosing of rock units exists in the Hot Springs Window Region of North Carolina near Asheville. The Appalachian Mountains were formed by two progenies, the Taconic and Alleghenian, in of which occurred this extensive and large-scale metamorphosing. The tectonic activity in the area, consisting of multiple thrust faults, lead to the creation of the Hot Springs window where the Earth’s surface was eroded by rivers and streams that trail through it. The erosion of the window exposed the following rock units listed from oldest to youngest, the Basement Crystalline Complex, Snowbird Formation, Sand suck Formation, Unicoi Formation, Hampton Formation, Erwin Formation, Shady Dolomite, Rome Formation, and Honaker Limestone. These formations can be viewed in outcrops along the French Broad River and other locations in the Hot Springs Window Region where the surface has been eroded. The recent deposition of limestone in the youngest unit, the Honaker formation, is indicative of erosion via quickmoving water across the Appalachians, which is why it
makes sense that the eroded outcrops can be viewed somewhere next to a body of water. Mylonite is extremely indicative of fault activity in the area since its appearance is created by faulting and is evident in some crystalline complex and Snowbird formation rocks. The mylonite in the Hot Springs area was formed by the micro brecciation of the pre-Cambrian Crystalline complex and Snowbird formation rocks originating from the supercontinent Rodina, around 1 billion years ago. Observations made at outcrops in a field book during a field trip to the Hot Springs Region, confirm the theory, as mylonite had been found in an outcrop near the Meadow Fork River (Fig.6). The Honaker Formation had not been observed during this field trip, so the Honaker limestone deposit has not been confirmed. It is notable however in appearance and mineralogy, that the rock units exposed at the Rocky Mount Window Region, are metamorphosed rock, dating back to 1.2 billion years ago, placed there through a series of tectonic events and progenies in what is now the Appalachian Mountain area.
References Hatcher, R D. “Southern and Central Appalachians.” Encyclopedia of Geology, 2005. Hatcher, Robert D. “TECTONICS OF THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL APPALACHIAN INTERNIDES.” 1987. Oriel, Steven S. “Structure of the Hot Springs Window, Madison County, North Carolina.” American Journal of Science, Jan. 1951.
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Figures
Figure 1. Geologic Map of the Runyon Region: This geologic map is a bird’s eye view of the Runion Region of the Appalachian Mountains, based on field observations made during the field trip to the Hot Springs Window Region, demonstrating the rock units; the Basement complex (pre-Cambrian crystalline complex), the Snowbird formation, the Sandsuck formation, the Unicoi formation, and the Hampton formation. Confirmed and approximated contacts as well as transitional material, thrust faults, anticlines, and synclines can be located on the map as well as strike and dip data collected at each outcrop observed in the Runion Region on this map.
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Figure 2. Stratigraphic Column of the Sedimentary Rock Units in the Hot Springs Window Region: This stratigraphic column is a side view of the rock units; the Basement complex (pre-Cambrian crystalline complex), Snowbird formation, Sand suck formation, Unicoi formation, Hampton formation (Includes: lower shale, middle quartzite, and upper shale), Erwin formation, Shady dolomite, Rome formation, and Honaker limestone.
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Figure 3. Cross Section Through My Runion Region Geologic Map: This cross section is a side view of what the rock units in the Geologic Map of the Runion Region (Fig.1) from A-A’ might look like, based on field observations made during the field trip to the Hot Springs Window Region. The cross section shows rock units; the Basement complex (pre-Cambrian crystalline complex), the Snowbird formation, the Sandsuck formation, the Unicoi formation, and the Hampton formation. Confirmed and approximated contacts as well as, thrust faults, anticlines, and synclines can be located on the map as well as strike and dip data collected at each outcrop observed in the Runion Region on this map.
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Figure 4. Cross Section Through Regional Geologic Map of Hot Springs
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Figure 5. Metamorphic Zones of southern and central Appalachians: Shows locations of spots of greenschist facies metamorphism, anchizone metamorphism, amphibolite facies metamorphism, and zones of Paleozoic facies metamorphism.
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Figure 6. Based on observations made in field notes taken during the field trip to the Hot Springs region of North Carolina, Mylonite is observed in an outcrop on the south side of Meadow Fork Road along the Meadow Fork River.
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Observations of the Late Paleozoic Rocky Mount Intrusive Suite Oceana Apollo Abstract The late Paleozoic Rocky Mount intrusive suite, located in Rocky Mount, in the east Piedmont region of North Carolina, is made up of granitoids containing biotite and hornblende minerals, as well as quartz and kfeldspar. These granitoids were created during the metamorphosing of volcanic rock during first, the Taconic orogeny 450 million years ago in the late Ordovician, and then in the Alleghenian orogeny, 299251 million years ago during the Permian period in the late Paleozoic Era, following a volcanic event sometime in the pre-Cambrian. Biotite, hornblende, quartz, and potassium feldspar make up the granitic pluton in the Appalachian Mountains. This research paper delves into the mineralogy and petrology of fossilized magma chambers visible at the surface of the Earth in Rocky Mount and discusses the biotite and hornblende present in the samples taken from the field site. The Earth Materials and Resources course took a field trip to the Tar River in the Rocky Mount area in early October of 2022 and observed the granitic pluton that protrudes the surface of the Earth there. Samples were taken from this field site and studied in the lab. The density of these samples was taken using their mass and volume, resulted by the water displacement method. Thin sections were also taken from these samples and observed under a microscope, with biotite and hornblende minerals as the main focus. The rock samples from the late Paleozoic Rocky Mount intrusive suite are true granites with biotite and hornblende inclusions surrounded by k-feldspar and quartz. The formation of the minerals in the granitic pluton are directly correlated with the conditions relevant to the timeline of the granite’s creation.
Introduction The nature of this research paper is based on a field trip taken to the late Paleozoic Rocky Mount intrusive suite, located in Rocky Mount, in the east Piedmont
region of North Carolina. This paper will focus primarily on the mineralogy and petrologic evolution of the granitic pluton on the Tar River Fall Line. The granitic pluton is an Alleghenian pluton, in which biotite and hornblende granites are commonly found (Coler, 1997). A Pluton is an intrusive igneous body that forms when magma cools and solidifies underground, creating a fossilized magma chamber that can be observed today. The pluton is specifically Alleghenian in origin as it lies in the Appalachian Mountains, where the Alleghenian orogeny occurred 299-251 million years ago during the Permian period in the late Paleozoic Era. This paper explains the hypothesis that the late Paleozoic Rocky Mount intrusive suite is made up of granites containing biotite and hornblende minerals. The mineralogy and petrologic evolution observed in the granitic pluton in the Rocky Mount area is an important piece to the puzzle that is the history of the Earth, the more data collected and analyzed from places like the pluton in Rocky Mount, the more complete the story of Earth’s evolution is.
Results To identify a rock sample as a granite, the density may be taken and used as an identification tool. Granites have a general density of about 2.7-2.8, In the research conducted during class, sample rock 3 had a density of 2.61 g/cm3 (Fig 1.), and sample rock 2 also had a density of 2.61 g/cm3 (Fig 3). Among the rocks found in the late Paleozoic Rocky Mount intrusive suite, there are primarily biotite and hornblende minerals that can either be found in separate granites or together in the same granite. When thin sections of a rock are observed under a microscope, it is easier to identify the specific minerals present. Data can be collected and analyzed using the microscopes polarized light and cross polarized light (XPL). By spinning the samples under each light, it can be observed how the minerals change color and pattern under either light. The way
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Figure 2 Sample Rock 3: A demonstration of a granite containing biotite.
that the colors and patterns change can be a way to identify specific minerals present in the thin section. Biotite is a type of mica found in igneous and metamorphic rocks and fall under a variety of sheet silicate minerals. The chemical composition for biotite is K(Mg,Fe)3(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2. Biotite in a granite can best be represented by sample rock 3 (Fig.1) and the thin section taken from sample rock 3, observed under the microscope in cross polarized light (Fig. 2). The biotite pictured in figure 2 appears isotropic and hexagonal under a microscope (Fig. 2), and the vitreous
Figure 3. Sample Rock 2: A demonstration of a granite containing hornblende.
Figure 3 Sample 3 Thin Section in XPL: A demonstration of biotite under a microscope.
luster of biotite shows itself in the perfect cleavage faces as it is able to break into thin, black and brown transparent sheets (King, 2005 ‘Biotite’). Biotite shows up in granite as shiny black specks scattered throughout the rock that shine and shift when moved around in the light (Fig. 1). Hornblende is a dark amphibole mineral, also commonly found in igneous and metamorphic rocks, and are classified as double-chain inosilicates. The chemical composition for hornblende is (Ca,Na)2-
Figure 4. Sample 2 Thin Section in XPL: A demonstration of hornblende under a microscope.
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(Mg,Fe,Al)5(Si,Al)8O22(OH,F)2. Hornblende can best be represented in a granite by sample rock 2 (Fig. 3) and sample rock 2’s thin section, observed under cross polarized light (Fig. 4). The hornblende pictured in figure 4 is monoclinic in crystal structure under a microscope and has two planes of excellent cleavage, in which angles intersect at approximately 56 and 124 degrees, and it has an elongate habit, meaning it is a long and slender prismatic crystal. Hornblende can be identified in granite by its dark color and two directions of cleavage (Fig. 3) (King, 2005 ‘Hornblende’). 3
Discussion The late Paleozoic Rocky Mount intrusive suite is located in the Eastern Carolina volcanic slate belt, an area of low-grade metamorphosed volcanic rock which was placed there by volcanic eruption at some point in time during the pre-Cambrian period. Volcanic islands formed an arc in the area with multitudes of lava flows and scattered explosive volcanic material around itself (Seaman, 2006). Currently, there is a fault zone about 20 km below the piedmont region of North Carolina that reflects seismic waves. The fault has a hanging wall that moved west, over a large area of unknown rocks, coming to the surface as multitudes of thrusts throughout the Appalachian Mountains. (Rogers, 2022). The rocks in the volcanic slate belt were most likely deformed during the Taconic Orogeny around 450 million years ago, which then caused region-wide folding, turning it to the northwest. That theory leads to what is known about the Alleghenian Orogeny. About 299-251 million years ago, the Alleghenian Orogeny happened during the Permian period of the late Paleozoic Era, which brought the granitic pluton studied, over to the Appalachian Mountains during the large-scale refolding of the rock. After the Alleghenian Orogeny, the volcanic slate belt began to erode quickly, revealing a new fall line, and the late Paleozoic granitic pluton to the Rocky Mount area that has been studied for this research paper (Lawrence, 1987). The definition of a fall line is a line of erosion between two areas. In this case, a plutonic intrusive body can be found on the Tar River Fall Line located between the Piedmont region’s crystalline rocks and the coastal plains (Fowlkes, 2006). The granitic pluton is uncovered at this fall line due to the rapid erosion caused by the creation of the
Tar River fall line after the Alleghenian Orogeny occurred. Granite is formed in place underground while molten rock is cooling, the speed of the cooling process results in smaller or larger mineral crystals. The slower the molten rock cools, the larger the minerals inside of it will be. It is known that the late Paleozoic Rocky Mount intrusive suite studied is granitic in nature, based on the tested densities of rock samples provided to students from the pluton, and that quartz and kfeldspar are the most abundant minerals in these granites. Sample rock 3 had a density of 2.61 g/cm3 (Fig 1.), and sample rock 2 also had a density of 2.61 g/cm3 (Fig 3). The densities of both sample rock 3 and sample rock 2 are less dense than the general density of a granitoid by only 0.09 g/cm3 each, close to the general density of granite at about 2.7-2.8. Biotite is a silicate and is considered a rock-forming mineral because it is commonly found in an array of different kinds of igneous and metamorphic rocks (Helmenstine, 2020). It is formed under 24 km in depth and at temperatures higher than 320 ℃ (UK Essays, 2015), and in most occurrences, the biotite was formed due to clay-rich sedimentary rocks being buried deep enough to metamorphose into biotite. Biotite is usually reabsorbed into volcanic rock when the pressure is too low for it to be stable in the magma, but it is copious in intrusive rock at a high enough pressure (Sandatlas, 2022). Hornblende is another very common rockforming mineral that can also be formed under little condition restraints, forming at around 500-650 ℃, and being able to form either on the surface due to the cooling of lava, or under the Earth’s surface with the addition of pressure and heat (Zook, Dalton, et al, 2017). A granite containing both biotite and hornblende could form given the conditions of the environment at the time of formation, the late Paleozoic Era, in what is now, Rocky Mount.
Conclusion A granite containing both biotite and hornblende could have formed in the late Paleozoic given that there had been some sort of volcanic activity in the past and that the conditions created in the Taconic and Alleghenian orogenies metamorphosed the volcanic rock to a point in which it then cooled underground, creating granite containing biotite and hornblende, that is viewable in the Rocky Mount area today. The samples taken from
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conclusion is made that the late Paleozoic Rocky Mount intrusive suite is made up of granites containing biotite and hornblende minerals.
References: Coler, David G. “Nd and Sr Isotopic Constraints on the Source of Alleghanian Granites in the Raleigh Metamorphic Belt and Eastern Slate Belt, Southern Appalachians, U.S.A. .” Chemical Geology 134, ELSEVIER, 1997, file:///C:/Users/Oceana/Downloads/ColerEtAl_NdSrRaleighGranites_1997.pdf. Fowlkes, Jim. “Fall Line.” NCpedia, 2006, https://www.ncpedia.org/fall-line. Helmenstine, Anne Marie. “Biotite Mineral Geology and Uses.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 16 Jan. 2020, https://www.thoughtco.com/biotite-geology-and-uses-4169309. King, Hobart M. “Biotite.” Geology.com, 2005, https://geology.com/minerals/biotite.shtml. King, Hobart M. “Hornblende.” Geology.com, 2005, https://geology.com/minerals/hornblende.shtml. Lawrence, David P. “Regional Geology of The Rocky Mount Area, North Carolina.” Geological Excursions in Virginia and North Carolina, Mar. 1987. Rogers, John J.W. “The Carolina Slate Belt.” Sandatlas. “Biotite.” Sandatlas, https://www.sandatlas.org/biotite/. Seaman, Jean H. “Slate Belt.” NCpedia, 2006, https://www.ncpedia.org/slatebelt#:~:text=The%20Carolina%20Slate%20Belt%20refers,general%20southwest%20to%20northeast%20 direction. UK Essays. “The Formation of Biotite Mica Biology Essay.” UK Essays, UK Essays, Jan. 2015, https://www.ukessays.com/essays/biology/the-formation-of-biotite-mica-biology-essay.php. Zook, Dalton, et al. “Hornblende.” GEO143 Mineral Webpages, 2017, https://sites.google.com/site/geo143mineralwebpages/hornblende.
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Perspectives o Everything Everywhere All at Once: Justifying Neurodivergence and Age in Action Cinema - Benjamin Lewis o Femininity, Freedom, Family, and Resistance in The History of Mary Prince and Incidents in the Life of of a Slave Girl - Anna Roche o Hozier: The Taste of Love and Abuse - Kaiden M. Kinder o “It’s not that simple. With the Joker, it never is.” Othello and The Dark Knight - Arthur D. Schupbach o Maritime Metal: A Brief Introduction to the Development of Ironclads During the United States Civil War - Billy F. Gordon, Jr. o Racial and Gender Disparities in Migraine Care - Bailey Nipper o Radium Girls: The Deadly Clock - Stephanie Batayiannis
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Everywhere All at Once:
Justifying Neurodivergence and Age in Action Cinema Benjamin Lewis As a whole, 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once (EEAAO) was an absolute bombshell of a blockbuster. With a sweep of the Academy Awards, the triumphant return of former child actor Ke Huy Quan to the silver screen, and an inventive take on the pop-culture zeitgeist of our time, that being the multiverse, the film would be notable just for the metatextual narratives revolving around it. Yet never does the film lose itself, despite the reverence it has for lead actress Michelle Yeoh’s filmography or the freneticism of its direction. Rather, the metanarratives—the tales within the creation of this film—improve upon the story told. Through juxtaposition of its characters and the actors who play them, EEAAO provides an optimistic and hopeful perspective on Hong Kong-style martial arts cinema via Waymond (Quan) and Evelyn’s age and immigrant status, as well as Evelyn’s undiagnosed ADHD. Through the intersectionality of these two protagonists, EEAAO shows a future action cinema scene where, specifically, neurodivergence and age can be accepted and celebrated. EEAAO’s relationship with neurodivergence is a fascinating anecdote as well as an example of how the real world impacts the themes of the film and lives of its characters. The story goes that Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert—colloquially known as “The Daniels”—went into the creation of EEAAO wanting “to make a movie about chaos” (qtd. in Nguyen), a vision that is well-represented in the editing style of the film. Evelyn’s experience with her mind being jerked around the infinite multiverse and thus being unable to summon the attention for mundane tasks such as her and Waymond’s meeting with the tax auditor. That
specific segment of the film drew the eye of many people who have experience with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, otherwise known as ADHD. Namely, though these people couldn’t claim to have the capability to interface with the minds of alternate selves, they could recognize immediately that Evelyn’s predicament at the office—as well as some background clues, like Waymond’s explanation of Evelyn’s confusion of work and recreational expenses (Kwan and Scheibert)—were telltale signs of ADHD. They were not the first to see this comparison; initial concerns about treating Evelyn’s potential neurodivergence well on-screen had prompted the Daniels to do their own research. Before long, Kwan had found such resonance between his own experiences and the symptoms list that led him to think “Oh, my god, I think I have ADHD” (qtd. in Nguyen). The portrayed symptoms were so exact that it unintentionally led one of the writers to realize their own neurodivergence. The impact of this revelation had profound effects on the direction of the movie itself. Through Kwan’s response to Nguyen bringing up the ADHD link as well as the people who feel seen by the portrayal of neurodivergence, he not only offers some words of explanation and comfort, but simultaneously a key factor of Evelyn’s character: the intersectionality of her identities as an immigrant as well as a woman. He says, “it makes sense if you do have ADHD and weren’t diagnosed because Asian immigrants don’t care about that stuff…also, women historically have been way underdiagnosed because they weren’t expressing their ADHD in the same way that men were or boys were” (qtd. In Nguyen). This interaction between minority identities is the crux of what Crenshaw coined as intersectionality—the idea that “many of our social justice problems like racism and sexism are often overlapping, creating multiple levels of social injustice.” This is what Kwan proposes to Nguyen as an explanation for her own lack of diagnosis, as well as conveniently allegorical for Evelyn’s experiences. Evelyn’s experiences mark onto that proposal almost exactly: a first-generation immigrant woman who constantly disappointed her father and never had the time to get diagnosed or even the knowledge to know she needed diagnosis. She had already been dealt a bad hand that would compound over time until she risks being audited at the start of the film. Under this
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reading of the film, Evelyn’s affinity for verse-jumping takes on alternative meaning. Early on, her confusion and distress are palpable, with the lack of structure and chaos in her new worldview all but paralyzing her until she has to act. Not only does Kwan identify with the idea that stability is essential for neurodivergent people and that in the absence of it “we fall apart” (qtd. In Nguyen), but the early frustration of being unable to activate the trigger to initiate a jump falls within the paradigms of neurodivergent adults at college according to an article by Shmulsky, where neurodivergent students possess a centralized, overpowering sense of their own weakness and a readiness to disclose those weaknesses (36). However, upon cracking the proverbial code to versejumping, Evelyn becomes a formidable combatant and easy improviser, mirroring the skills that neurodivergent individuals had claimed for themselves: “hyperfocus, attention to detail, good memory, and creativity.” (Shmulsky 36). Each of these skills are expressed in Yeoh’s many action scenes: a singleminded determination to get through to her daughter reads as hyperfocus, good memory and attention to detail factoring in with a split-second decision to verse jump into hot dog finger-world to gain expert foot mobility, and creativity in just about every sort of combat she participates in, though special mention goes out to pulling on a blind alternate self in order to learn to maneuver and fight without vision. Despite the intersectionality of her identities as a woman and as an immigrant, she leverages her neurodivergence into powerful strengths despite the weaknesses which are shown in the forefront. Another example of the Daniels’s lives informing the form of the movie arises in Evelyn’s status as a mother to an adult child. Kwan is quick to point out that the matriarch in an Asian-American or Asian immigrant household is “a gravity…because they’re the ones who are holding it all together.” This recognition of that strength is part of why the movie became, in Kwan’s words, “a movie about our moms” (qtd. In Nguyen). Although the strength of motherhood is a powerful one and a main driving force behind the plot of EEAAO, Hong Kong action cinema has a more common and archetypal female character in what Yip calls “the Woman Warrior Figure” (82). Defined as “powerful women who fight men as equals”, characters such as
Michelle Yeoh’s Yu Xiulian exercise “independence not often associated with women” (Yip 82). In yet another example of real life informing the plot, Yeoh’s own past playing those roles proves Evelyn a combination of those two powerful female archetypes: the mother and the women warrior figure. In her very first successful verse-jump, the universe where she is a movie star makes heavy use of real-life footage of Yeoh’s own career (Kwan and Scheinert). This is more than a reference and homage to Yeoh’s past: Evelyn is portrayed as Yeoh, and the Evelyn of the universe we follow for most of the plot becomes Yeoh as well through living out those alternate experiences and gaining her hard-earned skills. Thus, the woman warrior figure and the gravitational matriarch synthesize into one character. Unfortunately, despite the apparent breach of gender barriers proposed by the mere thought of the woman warrior figure, Yip also identifies “contradictory meanings that both reflect and help shape the contesting gender discourses in society” which exist within these female characters (82). These characters have a rough time existing and reading as more than female copies of male martial arts heroes without “replicating the dominant norms of masculinity and thus turning them into a stable origin or foundation” (Yip 86). In this regard, Evelyn falls somewhat into these trappings, though not for long. Alpha Waymond acts as a mentor early in the movie, explaining the mechanisms of the film’s science fiction elements as well as the backstory of antagonist Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu), the alternate universe version of Evelyn’s daughter Joy. He acts as a reliable ally in Evelyn’s time of need and as an object of her affection, juxtaposed with the mild-mannered Waymond of her universe. A common stumbling point of any attempt to read the Hong Kong-style woman warrior figure as a progressive icon is the concern of if they can maintain agency over the course of their film. Such a place is where 1967’s The Golden Swallow, where the titular female protagonist is reduced “to an essential but passive narrative figure—a figure to be fought over rather than one who fights” (Yip 85). With chaos as emphasized as it is within this film, Evelyn is caught off guard for most of it, needing to be pulled back in by Alpha Waymond. Once he dies at Tupaki’s hand, the movie hits its darkest hour, with Evelyn nearly succumbing to the pull of nihilism and Tupaki’s
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Everything Bagel. Within this theoretical framework, Evelyn’s own agency has been tied to Alpha Waymond and the removal of his character from the story leaves her aimless. Waymond is what ends up pulling Evelyn back from the brink as well, though not in a combative manner. Through his optimism and altruism in the face of the cold, unforgiving multiverse, he finds joy in the mundanities and silly parts of life, as well as his love with Evelyn—expressing joy for every part of their relationship, even the “laundry and taxes” (Kwan and Scheibert). From that same framework, he imparts agency back into Evelyn through his philosophy. Though love and agency seem to be at odds when considering the possible characterization of the woman warrior figure, Evelyn’s own experiences as a wife and mother lets love empower her. In this way, the intersection of her identity as a mother and as an Asian immigrant are an asset: they drive her to fight through the crowd to save her Joy. Evelyn’s status as a mother also implies and enforces another part of her characterization, that being age. While Hollywood actors traditionally age very well, Michelle Yeoh is 60 years old, and has been acting in movies for nearly 40 years. Ke Huy Quan started acting 40 years ago as well, though stopped for a time as he got older before deciding to return in 2018 following a showing of Crazy Rich Asians (Neumann). Although their actual ages are not directly stated in the film, Joy being an adult confirms that Evelyn and Waymond could be anywhere from mid-forties to mid-sixties in years. The traditional action film—and the physicality required to participate in a Hong Kong-style flick—is not so kind to that age and the potential frailty it brings with it. According to Evans, the 1980s style hard-body action movie—the kind characterized by the heavily built and martial arts-trained leading actors—was “no genre for old men” (26). While obvious muscle mass would not contribute to the themes of EEAAO, the physical component of Hong Kong action cinema does mirror said requirements. Hong Kong’s signature style of action emphasizes “the graceful sensuality of bodily movement”, though not to the detriment of the violence-focused elements (Tasker qtd. in Yip). EEAAO spares no focus on the physical exactitudes of its characters when it comes to action scenes; Even Alpha
Gong Gong comes equipped with a robot suit to make his action scenes possible. In a genre such as the martial arts movie, the focus is always on the skill of the practitioner, allowing them to overcome enemies through more than raw strength. Compared to contemporary action films that also draw from Hong Kong style cinema such as John Wick (2014), where as much time is dedicated to showing the protagonist being worn down by the constant conflict around him and thus exacerbates his retirement, there is no such limitation shown to Evelyn, Waymond, or any of the verse-jumpers. In short, age is not something that directly informs the conflict, in defiance of reboots for hard-body action films with a propensity to display “ageless aging” (Evans 33). Where the common action movie starring an actor who made their start in the 80s would focus, at least in part, on them growing past their own failing body to prove they are every bit as capable as they once were, Yeoh and Quan’s history is significant not in what they used to accomplish, but in informing the audience of their characters via metanarratives. While technically true that Quan was acting in action cinema in the 80s, his more notable roles were in The Goonies (1985) and his debut in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) in child roles. Following these, every role he was offered was for Asian stereotype characters, leading him to retire from acting from age 13 until his role in EEAAO (Neumann). While he would remain around the action movie scene in various roles for some time after, it is undeniable the effect that prejudice and stereotypes had upon a promising actor. Even then, Quan’s own optimism could beat through the emotional pigeonhole which Hollywood had tried to square him into: his return was the result of Crazy Rich Asians and the film’s success convincing him that Hollywood had changed for the better (Neumann). Although the movie seems to initially cast Waymond in a similarly narrow character, simply aged up as the owner of a laundromat, the early scenes of Alpha Waymond and the bittersweet melancholy of CEO Waymond display the range Quan possesses. In the context of Quan’s own experiences, Waymond’s skill and universe-mending optimism serve as an allegory for his own story: A man with strength and skill no one expects and never once grows jaded over his disadvantageous position.
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This is ultimately the point that Kwan and Scheinert make with EEAAO: the power of optimism in the face of a cold, unloving universe. Through the lens of intersectionality, as well as compared to every alternate universe in which there is a version of Evelyn, the one the film follows is one against stacked odds. Just as much as there are many universes where Evelyn succeeds despite her compound status as a neurodivergent immigrant mother, the one that is hers is the one where she never fully could, trying to run a business rarely populated by much other than Asian immigrants, struggling with letting her daughter grow into her own person, and misfiling taxes and nearly being arrested by the IRS. Waymond is the key to all of this: a character in the same boat, one who has “been on this earth just as many days as [Evelyn]” (Kwan and Scheinert). Through Waymond, we see an appreciation for smaller things yet no less the drive to save the multiverse and his and Evelyn’s daughter compared to this movie’s female lead. Despite the situation of the world and their lives, their jobs, who disapproves of them and who wants to put them down, Evelyn and Waymond always have a choice: they can embrace “the nihilism bagel” and with it the crushing weight of all of reality upon one person or they can accept its opposite, the googly eye, the ability to see humor and love when there seems to be none (Neumann).
this movie—the writers and directors, yes, but the actors as well. Michelle Yeoh’s celebrated past is reflected in Evelyn’s movie star reality and brings with it a powerful feminine force which modern action films and martial arts movies cannot compare to. Ke Huy Quan’s experiences struggling to find a place in the film industry past the stereotypes and not behind a camera informs the proposed method of struggle against a reality that gives no handouts, that being one of optimism and happiness despite infinite universal indifference. Kwan and Scheinert brought a love and respect for action movies and their own mothers and decided to merge the ideas together, creating a character who fights for love, not competing with others for affections but seeks to lift her own daughter away from suicidal nihilism. Quan specifically brings a lifetime of experiences with neurodivergence that informs the plot as well as becomes a vital tool in Evelyn’s struggles. Together, the creators crafted an impassioned argument against succumbing to the pressure of life and society. The intersectionality of Evelyn places her at a disadvantage from the start, but she makes the choice not to let that hopelessness consume her. In these recent years of increasing civil unrest and uncertainty, humanity could learn a thing or two from her.
To say that Kwan and Scheinert put their all into this film is an understatement. Everyone put their all into
Works Cited Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw.” Youtube. Uploaded by TED, 7 December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akOe5-UsQ2o Evans, Nicola. "NO GENRE FOR OLD MEN? THE POLITICS OF AGING AND THE MALE ACTION HERO." Canadian Journal of Film Studies, vol. 24, no. 1, 2015, pp. 25-44,105. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/nogenre-old-men-politics-aging-male-action-hero/docview/1735314018/se-2. Neumann, Mikey. “Why people love EEAAO.” Youtube, uploaded by Movies with Mikey, 3 September 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OHqndua1Bg
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Nguyen, Hanh. “The Daniels on the ADHD Theory of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ Paper Cuts and Butts.” Salon, 17 April 2022, https://www.salon.com/2022/04/17/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-daniels-adhd/ Shmulsky, Solvegi. "Just Try Harder." Liberal Education, vol. 108, no. 1, 2022, pp. 30. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/just-try-harder/docview/2642612879/se-2. Yip, Man-Fung. "The Difficulty of Difference: Rethinking the Woman Warrior Figure in Hong Kong Martial Arts Cinema." Chinese Literature Today, vol. 3, no. 1, 2013, pp. 82-87,5. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarlyjournals/difficulty-difference-rethinking-woman-warrior/docview/1535661435/se-2.
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Femininity, Freedom, Family, and Resistance in The
History of Mary Prince and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Anna Roche The genre of American slave narratives is an incredibly rich and diverse tradition, yet the majority of slave narratives were written by men (Alonzo 119). Mary Prince, a woman born enslaved in Bermuda around the year 1788, was sold from enslaver to enslaver throughout her young life, and once she travelled to England with the Wood family, she left her enslavers and began to live as a free woman. Though she was free, she had left her husband and family behind in the West Indies, but could not return to them, because despite being free by English law, if she were to go back to Antigua, she would have become the chattel of the Woods again (Prince 262). Her narrative, The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave. Related by Herself, published in 1831, was the first autobiographical slave narrative to be published by a woman. It was dictated to a local white woman and edited by her employer, a Mr. Thomas Pringle (Prince 229). Then, thirty years later, Harriet Jacobs published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself in 1861. Harriet Jacobs was born around 1813 in Edenton, North Carolina. She was born enslaved, and by the time that she was 12 years old, she became the property of Dr. Flint (really called James Norcom), a “crafty” (Jacobs 436) man, who attempted to sexually assault Jacobs for years after she turned fifteen. To escape this, Jacobs ran away, hiding under the roof pitch of her free grandmother’s house. In this rudimentarily built room that was nine by seven feet, and only 3 feet tall, she passed seven years, waiting until it was safe to escape to the North (Alonzo 120). Jacobs fled to New York after an opportunity was secured for her, and she moved across New York and New England to avoid Dr. Flint and other Southerners who might expose her as an escaped slave once the Fugitive Slave Act went into effect in 1850, but was
reunited with her children, brother, and many other friends from North Carolina once she reached the North. As women experiencing slavery, Mary Prince and Harriet Jacobs have many similarities in their narratives, such as the feminine perspective through which they write and the theme of resistance in their narratives; however, perhaps due to difference in location and time period, Prince and Jacobs express their ideas of freedom in different ways, while they also address their readers in different manners. The History of Mary Prince and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl are similar in many regards, the most apparent of which being their shared feminine perspective. The lens through which they view the world as enslaved women is very similar, transcending time and place. For instance, both women focus extensively on the relationships between themselves and other women. Prince and Jacobs both feel love for their first mistresses, that they were both enslaved by until the age of twelve. Prince had a very positive opinion of Mrs. Williams, her first enslaver, and it seems as if the abuse that Captain Williams subjected them both to strengthened this bond (Prince 232). Prince remarked that she “was truly attached to her, and, next to [Prince’s] own mother, loved [Mrs. Williams] better than any creature in the world” (Prince 232). In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs reflects a similar sentiment towards her first mistress. Jacobs noted that her first mistress was “so kind to [her] that [Jacobs] was always glad to do her bidding, and proud to labor for her as much as [Jacobs’] young years would permit” (Jacobs 415). Though the relationship between Prince and Jacobs and the women that enslaved them was one clearly subject to the hierarchy of enslavement, the kind treatment that they
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received was a positive influence, allowing the enslaved girls to form a bond with the wives of their enslavers. Both women also had strong connections with fellow enslaved women. Mary Prince had such a relationship with Hetty, a woman that was enslaved with her by Mr. I—, Prince felt so much affection for her that she called Hetty “aunt” (Prince 239). Prince describes Hetty as “tasked to the utmost” (Prince 239) by the I— family and subjected to physical abuse frequently. A particularly cruel beating caused Hetty to go into premature labor, which she never fully recovered from. Hetty died soon after, and Prince “cried very much for her death” (Prince 240). In Jacobs’ case, the enslaved people that she mentions most are family members, and when living in the Flint household, her Aunt Nancy was a “kind, good aunt” (Jacobs 420) to Jacobs, and provided some form of caring and protection to her while she was avoiding the predatory advances of Dr. Flint. Nancy was also given much work, yet still was able to find time to help Jacobs. Though both of these women are described as having been tasked with an exorbitant amount of work, they were still able to create bonds with Prince and Jacobs that surpassed the barriers to fellowship caused by enslavement. In This History of Mary Prince and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the authors chose to emphasize the relationships that they had with the women around them, though they both experienced romantic relationships with men in their lifetimes, but had those relationships disrupted by their enslavement. Mary Prince married a free Black man without her enslavers’ permission, which angered them exceedingly. Though she knew that it should have been a happy time in her life, she recognized that “her marriage stands second to her obligation to serve her mistress” (Schroeder 39). She left her husband to travel to England with the Woods but expressed to readers her pain in not being able to go back to Antigua to be with him as a free woman. Harriet Jacobs was never married as an enslaved woman, but she did describe her first love, and how their marriage was denied by Dr. Flint. Like Prince, Jacobs’ prospective husband was a free man from the area, and her ability to marry depended upon Flint’s willingness to sell her. In this context, both women’s status as property is highlighted especially poignantly. Not only did their owners control their labor through their enslavement, but also personal choices that should be subject to the individual. For enslaved
women, marriage becomes not only a contract, but a transaction; love is not secure until they are free, and even when they are, in Prince’s case, enslavers may continue to exert what control they still have to prevent husband and wife from coming together (Prince 262). The men that Prince and Jacobs loved are not an area of emphasis within their narratives but provide a unique insight into the enslaved woman’s experience. The bonds that enslaved women formed with those around them, both Black and white, illustrate the depth of feeling that these women had for those around them, despite the trauma that they often faced. Sexual abuse at the hands of white men was an all-too-common aspect of enslavement that many Black women faced. Both Prince and Jacobs write about abuse that their enslavers subjected them to, which was quite different than the abuse described by men in their narratives. The History of Mary Prince does not explicitly mention sexual abuse, but Prince does describe being “stripped naked” (Prince 239) before being flogged or beaten, and Mr. D—‘s “ugly fashion” (Prince 249) of forcing Prince to wash him in a tub. Prince leaves it to the reader to infer the degree to which the abuse was sexual in nature, something that is often debated (Schroeder 40). It is generally thought that the constraints of morality and propriety were what prevented Prince from further explicating the full extent of the abuse that she faced, but what is left unsaid looms over the reader, forcing them to confront it. Jacobs was forced to undergo sexual abuse as well, though her narrative is comparatively unambiguous in her descriptions of what Dr. Flint subjected her to. He constantly “whisper[ed] foul words in [her] ear” (Jacobs 436), attempted to force her to sleep in his bedchamber, and even schemed to build her a cabin so that she would be without anyone to protect her (Jacobs 441, 463). Jacobs did her best to avoid this abuse, even choosing to have children with a local white man, Mr. Sands, in hopes that Dr. Flint would be angry enough to sell her to him (Schroeder 43). This choice, Jacobs admits, may seem immoral or unchristian to her readers, but she consequently implores readers to realize that had she been free, she would not have been in such a position at all (Li 18), and that she “tried hard to preserve [her] self-respect; but [she] was struggling alone in the powerful grasp of the demon Slavery; and the monster proved too strong
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for [her]” (Jacobs 464). Jacobs finally runs away to prevent her children from being used as leverage by Dr. Flint to coerce her into sexual acts, “a double motive of survival as well as revenge” (Alonzo121). Though Prince and Jacobs relate their experience with sexual abuse in different ways, there is no question that it was central to the lives of enslaved women across any area in which chattel slavery was practiced. Both Prince and Jacobs also highlight a theme of resistance in their works. They aim to make it clear to readers that enslaved people were not at all content in their situation, contrary to the mythos of slavery believed by many white people in the Americas and England alike. Though they were not able to take the physical, more obvious, routes of resistance that readers in the twenty-first century might be familiar with, they both resisted in their own ways. In her narrative, Prince defied her enslavers almost constantly. When she was severely beaten after Hetty’s death, Prince ran away to her mother, effectively setting the first limit on the amount of abuse that she would tolerate from the I— family (Prince 242). Following this, she asserted her independence, resisting the dehumanization of enslavement in small ways by earning her own money, joining a church and marrying a free man (Prince 251-255), using the “inner freedom” (Martin) that she developed to stand up to her enslavers. On several occasions, Prince directly confronted her enslavers. For example, when Mr. Wood threatened to send her back to Antigua, Prince replied that she “would willingly go back, if he would let me purchase my own freedom” (Prince 257). Similarly, Harriet Jacobs set a limit on how much abuse she would tolerate at the hands of Dr. Flint. She was not often physically assaulted by Dr. Flint, but when she came to him asking to be allowed to marry a local free Black man, he struck her. When he tells her that he could kill her if he so chose, she replies that “you have tried to kill me, and I wish you had; but you have no right to do as you like with me” (Prince 449). Though she realizes that she has no legal rights to her own body, she decides for herself what she, as a human being, has the right to reject, asserting ownership over herself, however small it may be. Despite the many similarities between Mary Prince and Harriet Jacobs, there are several areas in which their narratives differ. One point of contrast is the ways in which Prince and Jacobs view freedom and choose to
direct readers for action. On the one hand, Mary Prince got her freedom easily because it was as simple as leaving her enslavers once she travelled to England with them. On the other, however, she was forced to leave her husband and everyone that she knew behind, and if she were to return to the Caribbean, she would subject herself to enslavement once again. This causes her to speak of freedom in a conditional manner. Though she was technically free, at the end of her narrative she remarked that she lives “in the hope that God will find a way to give [her] [her] liberty” (Prince 262). She was unable to view herself as fully free because she was prevented from living the life that she sought. Harriet Jacobs had a much more difficult time initially gaining her freedom, hiding in the aforementioned storage “room” for seven full years, and once in the North, constantly living in fear of recapture due to the Fugitive Slave Act. She notes the “strange incongruity” (Jacobs 606) that forced her to be subject to slave laws in a free state. Despite this though, she does gain her legal freedom. Being officially emancipated meant that she no longer had to worry about such things, but she did not forget those left behind in enslavement. Prince and Jacobs also speak to their audience in different ways. Mary Prince’s narrative is galvanizing, calling for readers to “never leave off to pray God and call loud to the great King of England, til all the poor Blacks be given free, and slavery done up for evermore” (Prince 263). She asks her audience to join the antislavery cause and expresses her disbelief that “English people can go out into the West Indies in act in such a beastly manner” (Prince 262). She brings her cause directly to the audience, using her story to establish her authority to ask such a thing of the readers. In Jacobs’ narrative, she takes a more passive approach. She is very direct and values telling her readers the whole truth of her life story, saying that she has “promised to tell [readers] the truth, and [she] will do it honestly, let it cost [her] what it may” (Jacobs 463). This candor accompanies her very detailed descriptions of her experiences enslaved by the Flint family, but aside from these assertions of her veracity and expressions of frustration with the institution of enslavement, she does not plead for the audience to take direct action from her narrative in the way that Prince does.
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The History of Mary Prince and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl are often compared by scholars because they were both written by women, and the parallels are fascinating. Though the women were from different regions and were enslaved at different times, their perspectives as women reflect remarkably similar things. The emphasis that they both placed on feminine relationships elucidates the bonds that enslaved women formed with each other and with other women while their comparatively brief remembrance of the men that they loved evokes a sense of tragedy, an affecting testimony to the lack of ownership that these women had over not only their own bodies, but of their ability to love and be loved. Prince and Jacobs also weave a theme of resistance throughout their narratives. Prince utilized many different forms of defiance in order to reclaim her personhood from her enslavers such as temporarily running away, earning her own money, and getting married without the permission of her enslaver. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs stands up to Dr. Flint, asserting her sense of self and refusing to be subjected to Flint’s sexual predation beyond his lewd words. Both of these women developed a strong sense of self, in direct opposition to the intended dehumanization of chattel
slavery. Though the life and narratives of Mary Prince and Harriet Jacobs are similar in many ways, they also contrast each other in many ways. Both authors ruminate on what it means to be free, and how their own freedom fits into this view. Prince’s idea of freedom is very conditional due to the limbo she is in while living in England. She calls for her English readers to end enslavement to eliminate this purgatorial freedom that she and others like her are forced to endure after enslavement in the West Indies. Jacobs, however, as an enslaved person in the United States, experiences freedom differently. Though hers is also conditional as a result of the Fugitive Slave Act, she ends her narrative after her legal emancipation. At the end of Jacobs’ narrative, she muses on the death of her grandmother and the difficulties of family ties due to enslavement but leaving readers with a last image of full-fledge freedom is a far different tone than that of Prince’s last pages that encompass her call for readers to act against slavery. Overall, The History of Mary Prince and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl are classics in the slave narrative genre, and though there are many points of comparison between the two, each held immeasurable value at the time of their publication and continue to do so in the present day.
Works Cited: Alonzo, Andrea Starr. “A Study of Two Women’s Slave Narratives: ‘Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl’ and ‘The History of Mary Prince.’” Women’s Studies Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 3/4, 1989, pp. 118–22, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40003101. Accessed 23 Apr. 2022. Jacobs, Harriet. “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Written by Herself.” The Classic Slave Narratives, edited by Henry Louis Gates, Signet Classics, 2002, pp. 405-617. LI, STEPHANIE. “Motherhood as Resistance in Harriet Jacobs’s <em>Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl</Em>.” Legacy, vol. 23, no. 1, 2006, pp. 14–29, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25684492. Accessed 23 Apr. 2022. Martin, Dyanne. “Island Squalls of Indignation: The Rhetoric of Freedom in The History of Mary Prince.” CEA Critic, vol. 79 no. 3, 2017, p. 309-315. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/cea.2017.0029. Prince, Mary. “The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave. Related by Herself.” The Classic Slave Narratives, edited by Henry Louis Gates, Signet Classics, 2002, pp. 227–298. Schroeder, Elizabeth R. “Anger, Sentimentality, And The Female Slave Experience : Harriet Jacobs, Harriet E. Wilson, Hannah Crafts, And Mary Prince.” Lehigh Preserve Institutional Repository, 2003, pp. 1–65.
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Hozier: The Taste of Love and Abuse Kaiden M. Kinder Music is a very powerful device that can be used to evoke emotion and comment on our society. It is a tool that indie folk singer Andrew Hozier is artfully familiar with. Born in Ireland in 1990, Hozier picked up an interest in songwriting when he was 15, and his career was slow movinguntil he released “Take Me to Church” in 2013, which encouraged the creation of his first debut album, sharing his moniker, “Hozier.” Before his first major success, he had been involved with several different musical groups and organizations such as the Trinity Orchestra and a choral ensemble, Anuna. After branching away to pursue a soloist career, Hozier took inspiration from his background, environment, and social problems when writing songs for “Hozier.” Several of his songs reference the Irish landscape he grew up around such as the Wicklow hills and the Blanket Bogs. His songs also speak on harmful church culture and other societal issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, homophobia, and rape. He uses the culmination of his experiences to create something that a very diverse audience can relate to and gives his listeners something to chew on more often than not. “Hozier” has quite a broad theme, but the overall tone can be conveyed by one of his lyrics, “somewhere between love and abuse.” The first song of Hozier, “Take Me To Church” was written in response to a federal law signed by Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, banning “gay propaganda” in June of 2013. While the music video that goes with this song devotes most of its attention to this conflict, the lyrics themselves focus more on how Catholic church systems often make their followers feel like sinners or impure for things that are completely natural such as sexuality and sexual orientation. Hozier stated that the Catholic church “undermines the human experience” by telling people who and how to love, and that this song is about reclaiming humanity through “acts of love” (CBC News 2015). Lyrics in the song such as “I should’ve worshipped her sooner,” referring to his partner, demean the church's credibility, then “I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies” and “That's a fine-looking high horse” mocks the alleged “lies” it
preaches (Hozier, n.d). He calls out the church's hypocrisy in the last-mentioned lyric and says that he would much rather worship his partner, comparing her to a pagan goddess of the sun as a form of deification, because she makes him feel pure and accepted, unlike the church who claims they’re born sinners who must repent. Many of the other songs on this album also have religious meaning, but the most notable of them are “Foreigners God” and “Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene.” These songs contribute to the main theme, “somewhere between love and abuse” in a more subtle way. They are still very important in that they convey the great spectrum the theme applies to. With this group, Hozier explains to us how religion and the subsequent culture created is a form of love but as its traditionally conditional, it can cause an immense amount of harm to its followers, and even those who are not themselves religious. How the inability to adhere to a church's rules, “absolutes”, can cause them to harm themselves in an attempt to find acceptance, or even encourage others to harm them, whether physically or mentally. The second group of songs is much more extensive than the previous. I've set them apart from the others because they all include heavy idealism and its effects on a person. The majority of them also present the narrator as having some sort of infatuation with an individual or idea. “Jackie and Wilson” is about a narrator who is in a bar, donning a persona, when a woman approaches him and completely sees through him. At that moment he begins to fantasize about what their life could be like together. Once again, we see a narrator's deification of the “love interest” with the lyric “Me and my Isis growing black irises in the sunshine.” Isis refers to the Egyptian goddess, often depicted as the ideal wife or mother. The “irises” he imagines them growing together ties in with the next lyric, “every version of me and dead and buried in the yard outside” which suggests a rebirth of sorts after he gets rid of all the personas he “killed” because he feels as though he can be himself with this woman, despite not truly knowing her. The fantasy ends with the lyrics, “cut
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clean from the dream with my mind reset, looking up from the cigarette, she's already left”, when she leaves after a supposed one-night stand. “From Eden” is very similar to this song, just from the perspective of the devil. This song focuses on the love interest's innocence and how it reminds the narrator of what he used to be before he fell from heaven. “From Eden” makes an interesting use of juxtaposition that echos the contrast between the sinner and saint, such as the pairing of the words “wholesome, lonesome,” “tragic, magic,” and “broken, hoping” together. “Someone New” and “It Will Come Back” both address the “love interest” directly, telling them things they should already know. “Someone New” is about how the narrator looks for acceptance and love in every person he meets, finding perfections and fixating on them. Ironically, he hates this tendency, cringing away from it as its “sinful,” but he just wants to feel something to escape his negative feelings. In “It Will Come Back,” Hozier compares his narrator to a dog, repeating the phrase “don't feed it, it will come back,” and “don't look at it with no intention to keep it.” This song is a plea for mercy as the narrator begs the “love interest” to not spare him any kindness if she doesn’t intend to commit to him because if she does, he will become attached. Unfortunately, the woman doesn’t listen and referencing Pavlov's dog experiment, says “it can't be unlearned, I've known the warmth of your doorways”, inferring that he’s latched on and plans to stay. All of these songs contribute in their own special way but generally speaking, these songs tell their audience through storytelling how infatuation or tastes of love can make you feel more accepted, whole, or “human”, but they also have the capacity to tear you apart if you put too much into them, as in the conclusion of “Jackie and Wilson” where the woman leaves or “From Eden” where she rejects the snake. By submitting to his infatuations, he feels free but also subjects himself to the grief that comes with a fantasy ending. The next songs are grouped because while they also include idealism, they all relate to death in one way or another. Starting with the less extreme of the three, “Work Song” starts out describing how he misses his baby so much he can't eat anything, referring to lovesickness, and playing with words like “sweet” and
“toothache” to emphasize that point. He describes how his love for her is so powerful and great that “no grave can hold [his] body down, [he’ll] crawl home to her,”, suggesting that not God himself could separate him from his partner. He would reject Heaven and his religion for her, another common theme in the album. Now, “Like Real People Do” and “In a Week” are the most gruesome of the songs, and they're inspired by the Irish Bogs and the Wicklow Hills, respectively. “Like Real People Do” is based on something common in Ireland called “bog bodies” which are bodies of people buried, whether intentionally or from falling in, in Irish wetlands (Claddagh 2015). “In a Week” is about a couple lying in the Wicklow hills, a place famous for being a dump site for bodies and considering staying there to decompose together. Both songs romanticize death and the idea of becoming one with the earth and forgetting their pasts to be with each other. Lastly, Hozier has a few songs about social conflicts. To be Alone criticizes rape culture, namely songs like “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke that very nearly advocate taking advantage of women or borderline assaulting them. “Sedated” and a previously mentioned song, “Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene” are both about drug and alcohol abuse. Cherry Wine is about domestic abuse. Like the songs in the previous paragraph did, these songs romanticize harmful things purposely, showing us how even though something may feel good, it can destroy you. In all these songs, in varying degrees, Hozier illustrates the fine line and dichotomy between love and abuse through metaphors, allegory, analogies, irony, and more. He also makes his other ideals very clear, such as his criticism of church's prejudiced beliefs, and the perils of idealizing. The lesson Hozier intends for his audience to take away is that he believes people should commit violent acts of love and life but remember to distinguish these things from dangerous lookalikes such as obsession and a total disregard for consequence.
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Works Cited CBC News: The National. (2015, February 20). Hozier explains take me to Church Song and video | excerpt. YouTube. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8udW2pkPFIU Claddagh Design. (2015, July 2). Ireland’s Bog Bodies. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://www.claddaghdesign.com/blogs/irish-interest/ireland-bog-bodies Hozier, A. (n.d.). Hozier - Hozier Album Lyrics - Full Album. Lyrics on Demand. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.lyricsondemand.com/h/hozierlyrics/hozieralbumlyrics.html
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“It’s not that simple. With the Joker, it never is.” Othello and The Dark Knight Arthur D. Schupbach Abstract Two characters often compared for their deviousness and pure chaotic evil are Iago of William Shakespeare's Othello and the Joker in Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight. But such a comparison, though apt, is incomplete. This essay additionally argues that Nolan's The Dark Knight is a far more direct adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello than it seems to be at face value, with both works exploring themes of human agency, societal structures, and the role of chance. The eponymous Dark Knight is in fact a shade of Othello, with Batman and Harvey Dent representing two sides of the same coin. Through this construction, the essay delves into the characters of Othello/Batman/Dent and Iago/Joker, highlighting their roles as avatars of human order and chaos. The essay also draws parallels between the opening scenes of The Dark Knight and Othello, suggesting that both follow similar narrative structures and thematic roles. Finally, the essay argues that Shakespeare and Nolan resolve their stories incompletely, leaving the audience with lingering anxieties. Ultimately, the essay argues that The Dark Knight is a postmodern adaptation of Othello, incorporating various elements of the play, which serve to intensify already present postmodern themes. The character of Iago, in Shakespeare’s play Othello, is commonly compared to The Joker, specifically the version depicted in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. While accurate, this comparison often overshadows a deeper and more compelling truth: that The Dark Knight is a superheroic adaptation of Othello that incorporates multiple elements of the play. The story of Othello is broadly repurposed to comment on post-9/11 American anxiety, a transliteration which serves to intensify already present postmodern themes skeptical of human agency and society in the face of chaos and chance. Furthermore, The Dark Knight does this by constructing a figurative shade of Othello. This eponymous dark knight, opposite of Othello’s
traditional white knight, is represented as a BatmanOthello character who is conjoined to a Dent-Othello character, viz. two sides of the same coin. This further stresses the themes of Janus-like duality inherent in the play, represented by the character Iago. By analyzing The Dark Knight through this lens, the messaging of Othello becomes clearer, and the characters of Othello and Iago are further clarified. Their roles as avatars of human order versus human chaos come to the fore, as does the way in which both falter before the element of chance and the nihilistic postmodern oblivion of societal structures being rendered meaningless and powerless. Finally, both stories resolve in nebulous fashion: while both present counter-arguments against the Joker and Iago, they nevertheless leave lingering doubts that cannot be easily dismissed. An initial reading of The Dark Knight suggests that Batman occupies a Cassio-like role, with Harvey Dent serving as the sole Othello. The primary rebuke is that Batman, unlike Cassio, is genuinely in love with Rachel, our Desdemona parallel, as stated by Batman “you once told me that if the day came when I was finished… we’d be together” (The Dark Knight 1:09:04-:12). Secondly, the two characters are interlinked in a way suggesting that neither is subservient (as Cassio is to Othello) but rather interjoined—the same character, in essence, or two sides of one character concept. Supporting this is a repeated discussion throughout the movie: “…what if Harvey Dent is the caped crusader?” (20:26-21:28) which is first stated as a joke during a dinner segment, and then echoed by Joker to Batman: “…for a while I thought you really were Dent, the way you threw yourself after her—” (1:29:35-39). Additionally, the opening scenes of the film establish a parallel, as both Batman and Harvey Dent follow the same narrative pattern: they directly confront criminals, they dismantle the guns of said criminals (symbolically depowering them) and then they meet with police officer Jim Gordon on matters of their crusade against
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crime. Both characters are seen as heroic and largerthan-life in their deeds and reputation (7:30-17:55). In this case, they are both Othello, but represent different sides: in Harvey Dent’s case a day-dwelling socially acceptable white knight, and in Batman’s case a shadow-dwelling outsider dark knight. These scenes, in particular, parallel Othello’s own journey in the opening acts of Othello when he is confronted by Brabantio and his men, but nevertheless negotiates a non-violent resolution. A parallel can be drawn to the actions of Batman and Harvey Dent, as Othello says: “keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them. Good signior, you shall more command with years Than with your weapons” (Shakespeare 1.2.61-63) which successfully prevents violence by sword in similar fashion to how both Harvey Dent and Batman destroy the guns of criminals and non-lethally dispatch their foes. Othello is then able to exonerate himself before the Venetian Duke from accusations by Brabantio by relying on his good character, deeds, and the stories he wooed Desdemona with, “wherein I spoke of most disastrous chances, / Of moving accidents by flood and field, / Of hair-breadth ‘scapes i’ th’ imminent deadly breach,” (1.3.135-137). Considering that the opening segments of Othello, Batman, and Harvey Dent’s stories begin with focus on their enemies (the Joker, Iago) and then to the establishment of their heroic character in a specific order (conquering enemies with de-escalatory techniques, meeting with legitimate authority, reflecting on their great deeds and reputation) suggests a similar narrative purpose and role. An additional parallel can be drawn through the role of their love interests, in Othello’s case Desdemona, and in Batman and Harvey Dent’s case, the character of Rachel Dawes. The Joker plays on Batman and Harvey Dent’s love for Rachel, creating a no-win situation in which the ‘shade of Othello,’ that is Batman, must choose between saving his Dent-Othello aspect, or his Desdemona (The Dark Knight 1:29:53-1:35:35). Though Batman chooses to save Rachel (his Desdemona) it is revealed that the Joker has tricked him, anticipating Batman’s choice and reversing the location of Dent-Othello and Rachel. Batman’s choice has symbolic ramifications, choosing love (Rachel) over ideals such as justice and honor (Harvey Dent) which, given the joint Othello construction Batman and Harvey Dent create together, represents a loss of virtue and a
step away from justice for both. Consequently, Rachel perishes, and Dent-Othello is permanently scarred, driven towards madness, tasking Batman-Othello to do what is right: stop Dent-Othello. Batman does so in a scene reminiscent of suicide, as Dent-Othello shoots Batman-Othello, and then Batman-Othello tackles Dent-Othello off a fatal height, sending him to his death (2:18:40-2:20:22). Similarly, Othello is driven mad by Iago, who plays on Othello’s insecurities, racial anxieties, and pride as a man. Othello is finally manipulated by Iago into killing Desdemona to preserve his own honor. However, Othello later regains his sanity through Cassio’s assistance, realizing what Iago has done to him. He then decides to kill himself, as it is the only way (in his eyes) to reclaim his honor, while entreating Cassio and others to “speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate, / Nor set down aught in malice. / Then you must speak,” (Shakespeare 5.2.359-361). Cassio’s role in restoring Othello’s sanity mirrors Jim Gordon’s voice of reason, heard by Batman-Othello and wrestled with (to some effect) by Dent-Othello. His desire to be spoken of as he truly is—in a way that will help to exonerate his character by revealing Iago’s schemes—is mirrored in the ending of The Dark Knight, in which Batman shoulders the crimes committed by Harvey Dent, thus preserving the latter’s stellar heroic reputation (The Dark Knight 2:22:00-2:22:50). Batman-Othello redeems the Dent-Othello aspect, preserving the material white knight, isolating the crime to the realm of the masked and mythic, namely the Joker and Batman, as opposed to the more human Harvey Dent. Similarly, Othello endeavors to redeem himself by committing suicide. Having regained his sanity and dignity, he tells a story stressing his former heroic nature, explaining how he dealt with “…a malignant and a turbaned Turk / [who had] beat a Venetian and traduced the state,” (Shakespeare 5.2.369-370). While telling this story, he aligns himself both with his past self, who “…took by the throat the circumcised dog [the turbaned Turk], / And smote him” (371-372) restoring order to Venice, but he also aligns himself with the “turbaned Turk” by committing suicide immediately after telling the story, embodying both the bringer of justice and the criminal to whom justice is done, embracing a dualistic nature akin to the final confrontation between Batman-Othello and Dent-Othello. The inability of both Harvey Dent and Othello to resist the machinations of Joker and Iago,
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respectively, represents the fragility of notions such as honor and justice. Mere moments after lamenting Desdemona’s death in the final act, Othello remarks that he is “an honourable murderer, if you will; / For nought I did in hate, but all in honour” (303-304) which illustrates how easily his honor was manipulated and ultimately destroyed by Iago, revealed by the contradictory nature of an “honourable murderer.” Similarly, in the final scenes of The Dark Knight, Dent remarks to Batman “you thought we could be decent men, in an indecent time” (2:18:00-2:18:05). Despite the defeat of Iago and the Joker, concepts such as honor and decency are lost, and heroic figures are rendered broken or disparaged. No amount of heroic character can endure the decaying touch of the central antagonists, who only had to set events in motion, as both Harvey Dent and Othello ultimately fall to darkness through their own actions. This calls into question the resiliency of such heroic qualities in the face of characters that represent chaos and the destruction of common societal values. Other structural parallels emerge between the two works. Othello begins with the establishment of Iago’s manipulations of Roderigo—taking money from him for services that will never truly be rendered—as well as showcasing Iago’s hatred of Othello and Cassio (Shakespeare 1.1). Similarly, The Dark Knight begins with the Joker robbing a mob-controlled bank, manipulating and betraying his henchmen, and establishing an early parasitic partnership: the chaotic element of the Joker in league with the conventional criminal element of the mob (The Dark Knight 1:106:23). Roderigo’s character fulfills a similar role to the plethora of mob characters within The Dark Knight: both are conventional, scheming enemies to Othello (and therefore, Batman and Harvey Dent) who are impotent and unable to conquer their foe without employing Joker’s chaotic help, to which they pay a high price. This parallel continues: the Joker ultimately kills (or arranges to be killed) the heads of the mob groups, seizing control (The Dark Knight 30:00-31:25, 1:43:01-1:44:08) and Iago kills Roderigo once he is no longer of use (Shakespeare 5.1). Both Roderigo and the various mob bosses represent conventional power structures. Both man-made bases of power are symbolically dismantled by Iago and the Joker by the end of their associated stories. Indeed, societal constructs are repeatedly destroyed by these
antagonists: Iago cares nothing for the military he belongs to, or the rules of lending and borrowing with Roderigo, and similarly, the Joker undermines both the police and the mob, using their own rules against them. Iago’s role within the military appears born of convenience, and his motivations for attacking Othello continuously change throughout the play: “The native act and figure of my heart / In compliment extern, ‘tis not long after / But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at. I am not what I am” (1.1.64-67). Iago’s changing justifications for attacking Othello are mirrored by the Joker’s personal refrain, “you know how I got these scars?” (The Dark Knight 30:08-30:10) which serves as a reoccurring prelude to his changing origin stories. The Joker’s ever-changing origin is akin to Iago’s nebulous past and his shifting, unclear reasons for wanting to destroy Othello. The chaotic nature of their motivations and their personal backgrounds is echoed in their reliance on luck as an element of their plans: it is pure chance that violent weather destroys the Turkish fleet (Shakespeare 2.1) which permits Iago’s schemes to begin, a series of events which ultimately allows the handkerchief to be taken by Emilia (3.3) and plant the seeds of Othello’s downfall. Reliance on chance, born forth from the Joker, infects Harvey Dent: his coin, which is heads on both ends, is scorched on one side by Joker’s schemes, turning a previously certain result into a true 50/50, which Harvey adopts as a token of vengeance following a conversation with the Joker (The Dark Knight 1:48:00-1:50:27) in contrast to what Harvey previously believed, having once said “I make my own luck” (14:21-14:27) in reference to his coin with two heads and his ownership of his fate. Both the Joker and Iago use chance and chaos as entropic forces, degrading the rule of law and the conventional structure of Gotham City and Venice, respectively. Through their actions, both question the stability and even the point of human meaning and organization, and if such concepts and structures can ever resist the chaos both Iago and Joker represent. Another parallel can be drawn between Cassio and Jim Gordon. Cassio, a loyal ally to Othello, is reinterpreted as Jim Gordon, a loyal ally to Batman and Harvey Dent. Despite this similarity, there are distinct differences: due to the reconfiguration of the Desdemona cuckoldry plot (remade as the Joker playing on Batman’s love of Rachel to drive Harvey Dent to madness), this Cassio—
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Jim Gordon—remains stalwart, his reputation unblemished. Nevertheless, Gordon is tormented by Harvey Dent when Dent transforms into the fallen, mad state of Othello, represented as his alternate persona, Two Face (The Dark Knight 2:15:10-2:17:50). The omission of Iago manipulating Othello into believing Cassio had stolen Desdemona from him appears to break the parallel between Gordon and Cassio, at first glance. However, important elements still link them: Jim Gordon is shot by one of Joker’s henchmen yet survives owing to his bulletproof vest (01:01:1901:02:55) just as Cassio is stabbed by Roderigo (at Iago’s bidding) yet survives owing to his armor “But that my coat is better than thou know’st” (Shakespeare 5.1.25). Cassio is ultimately left in a position of power and responsibility in Cyprus, just as Jim Gordon (initially lieutenant, then police commissioner) is left in charge symbolically of Gotham City due to the demise of Harvey Dent, the vilification of Batman, and Gordon having the final words of the movie. Finally, Gordon (due to the Joker’s trickery) is the one dispatched to rescue Rachel (Dent’s Desdemona) and fails to do so. His failure to save her is a major source of Harvey Dent’s aggression towards him and the primary reason Gordon is menaced by Dent, mirroring the animosity Othello feels for Cassio. The primary difference lies in its placement in the narrative: Othello resents Cassio prior to Desdemona’s death, and Dent in contrast resents Gordon after Rachel’s death. The reconfiguration of the plot of Othello into a story about a man in a bat suit fighting an insane clown serves to connect a broader, modern audience to a classic play in a way in which a direct adaptation could not. On a surface level, the connection between Iago and Joker is easily understood. Both are agents of chaos seeking to destroy a heroic individual, and are willing to undermine a broad array of societal structures to do so. Both, ultimately, stand for nothing, and seek to inflict harm. But the deeper connection between Batman, Harvey Dent and Othello is not easily understood. However, their role as heroic bastions of order that ultimately fall apart in the face of chaos is best comprehended when the context of the story is understood by the audience. In the case of The Dark Knight, the general audience of 2008 knew Batman and his genre trappings quite well. In an effort to raise the stakes, the familiar character of the Joker was elevated from a clown-themed mobster into a
superpowered terrorist who represents entropy and chaos. His role is not merely to oppose Batman, but to stress the fallibility of established institutions and singular leaders. This theme exists strongly within the play Othello, represented by Othello himself and how he stands for honor and leadership, and the way in which Iago, who does not care for any societal ideals, is able destroy him. Thus, The Dark Knight connects modern audiences to some of the strongest themes of Othello, and does so in a way that is easily understood by utilizing the superheroic genre and its trappings, while violating them at the same time. The Dark Knight released in 2008, and the choice to make Joker a terrorist deliberately played on American anxieties about lawless outsiders who seemingly seek only to destroy their way of life. It also plays on the impact terrorism had on the decay of American ideals of morality, decency, and honor, as government institutions turned to increasingly concerning tactics during the post-9/11 War on Terror. Institutions on both sides of the law, from the police and military, to criminal organizations, all share a similar style of leadership—it is telling that Othello’s cast is organized by military and governmental ranks, and that the police and mob in The Dark Knight are organized in a similar structure. Nevertheless, they all fall prey to Iago and the Joker. It speaks to the fragility of human social constructs, and if human laws, ideals, rules and organizations are robust enough to handle a threat that disregards them all. However, counter-points emerge in both the play and film. “More fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea,” (Shakespeare 5.2.381) says Lodovico in regards to Iago’s carnage, and yet Lodovico is simply wrong. As terrifying as Iago might be, he only destroyed one man and caused the death of a handful of characters. By contrast, a harsh storm utterly destroyed the Turkish fleet. In The Dark Knight, the Joker leaves a trail of blood, but Gotham City is ultimately still inspired by its white knight Harvey Dent. Likewise, Commissioner Gordon—Gotham City’s most honest cop—is left in a position of authority, in a similar vein to Cassio, who is also left in-charge and is an honest man able to learn from experience. Chillingly, however, the destruction of Harvey Dent and Othello stand as the greatest tragedies in their respective stories, and neither story offers solace: in both cases, Iago and the Joker have simply won. The tragedy goes beyond the loss of life,
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because the truth is that “the Joker took the best of us and tore him down” (The Dark Knight 2:21:15-2:21:20). Cassio expresses a similar sentiment about Othello in his closing remarks: “for he was great of heart” (Shakespeare 5.2.375) despite all that Othello had done. The Dark Knight reflects the themes within Othello, among them the idea. But the tragedy is not just personal. It resonates greater, because it represents the loss of “the best of us.” The downfall of a white knight or a peerless military hero suggests that no one is beyond the call of chaos. That the Joker and Iago leave the story having achieved their goals sits
unwell with the audience, alongside the knowledge there can be no saving the Othello or Harvey Dent that once existed. This deconstruction of a champion of order at the hands of an agent of chaos calls in to question the strength and stability of society’s shared belief in order, honor, and justice, and even the notion of the hero. If the best of us can fall, what hope do the rest of us have? As Harvey Dent himself says, “you either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” (The Dark Knight 20:3420:38).
Works Cited The Dark Knight. Directed by Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008. Shakespeare, William. Othello: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition (Volume 7) (Deluxe, Student ed.). SparkNotes, 2020.
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Maritime Metal: A Brief Introduction to the Development of Ironclads During the United States Civil War Billy F. Gordon, Jr. As the smoke cleared from the opening volleys of the American Civil War in 1861, the Confederate States Navy found itself with only one warship and no discernible fighting force to battle against its northern foe (Campbell, 2009). Upon his appointment as Secretary of the Confederate Navy, Stephen R. Mallory made every effort to secure funds to purchase or produce iron-armored ships in hopes of dispersing or breaking the Union blockades of Confederate ports (Still, 1961). Mallory’s efforts birthed the Confederate ironclad the C.S.S. Virginia – born of the burned hull of the U.S.S. Merrimac —– a ship that would bring down the deadliest attack on the U.S. Navy until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 80 years later (Still, 1961). Eventually, the C.S.S Virginia would start an American seaborne arms race, thrusting our nation from the fires of the Civil War to a modern seagoing and armored navy (Sprout, 1939).
Description of the Artifact One artifact that gives detailed accounts of these events is Confederate Naval Constructor John L. Porter’s Naval architectural notebook (Porter, 1860). This small leather-bound journal, aged and torn from use and time, is approximately the size of a new pack of index cards and is bound on one long side with all 234 numbered pages filled with hand-written notes and hand-drawn illustrations detailing information needed by prospective naval constructor candidates as they prepared for their final examinations (Porter, 1860). Porter used this information to prepare not only for his future as a naval constructor but also for the development of ironclad ships for the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War between the years 1861 and 1865 (Porter, 1860). Porter’s notebook, along with other naval constructorrelated items and drawings, as well as genealogical items of the Porter family circa 1860-1936, were loaned (original items and materials) and gifted (scans
and photocopies) by Mr. and Mrs. John H. P. Williams of Greenville, North Carolina, to East Carolina University’s Joyner Library North Carolina Special Collection (Dembo, 2012). All loaned items were returned to the Williams family in 2012, though high-resolution scans remain in the collection (Dembo, 2012).
Historical Context John Luke Porter began writing in this notebook long before he officially passed his final exams at Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, and gained employment as a naval constructor in 1859 (Porter, 1860). Porter’s notebook began as a word-for-word copy of a treatise on steam propulsion long used by naval constructor candidates in the lead up to their schooling and final examinations (Porter, 1860). This personal study guide would not only turn into an idea book for what would later become the Confederate Navy’s ironclad program but also house a personal diary. This diary detailed Porter’s first-hand account of the battle between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia, as well as a harrowing personal account of the final days of the Civil War (Porter, 1860). Porter would come full circle in not only his career as a naval constructor but also as a native Virginian. He started his career in the United States Navy, resigning to work during the war for the Confederate States Navy. After the war he returned to the maritime industry in the Norfolk, Virginia, area (Dembo, 2012). His time with the Confederate States Navy would see him rise to Chief Naval Constructor.. However, he would finish the war without rank and having all personal holdings seized on account of his dedication to both his home state of Virginia and the seditious Confederate government during the Civil War (Porter, 1860). With the fracture of the United States leading to the formation of the Confederate States of America, the
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now split government was quick to consolidate power, resources, and military manning with the greatest preponderance of assets and hardware being consolidated in the industrialized northern states (Still, 1961). This consolidation was hauntingly real regarding all the Confederate States Navy now lacked (Underwood, 2005). Its newly installed Secretary, Stephen R. Mallory, knew the uphill battle he faced in quickly organizing his department for war (Underwood, 2005). Secretary Mallory’s first task was to organize a Navy with one outdated steamship and the burned-out hull of another, a significant inventory of high-ranking officers unassignable to seagoing billets, and a government keenly focused on a ground-based war (Simpson, 2001). Coupled with a regional lack of significant industry ready to support en masse military buildup (Eaton, 1961), the Confederate States faced many challenges from the Mississippi to the Atlantic that would plague the Rebel Republic from succession through the final days of the war (Still, 1985). Despite the challenges, Secretary Mallory set to work in establishing the Confederate Navy with his efforts focused on addressing the massive industrialization disparity between the Union and Confederacy (Underwood, 2005). Knowing the capabilities of Union production facilities and what they brought to bear in terms of shipbuilding and armament, Secretary Mallory instead focused on the more modern idea of overmatch in terms of naval matériel (Button, 2017). He wanted bigger, stronger, and faster platforms, weapons, and/or highly skilled and motivated personnel for maritime domination from the first strike on Union forces (Button, 2017). Mallory applied a combination of raid and guerilla warfare tactics made famous throughout the American homeland during the preceding wars (Still, 1961). Secretary Mallory’s fourfold plan for the Confederate Navy was laid out in the following: 1.
Send out commerce raiders to destroy the enemy’s mercantile marine.
2. Build ironclad vessels in Southern shipyards for defensive purposes. 3. Obtain by purchase or construction abroad armored ships capable of fighting on the open seas. 4. Employ new weapons and techniques of warfare (Underwood, 2005, p. 169).
As seen in two, arguably three, of Secretary Mallory’s top plans for the Confederate Navy, the ironclad and armored warships were key to the success of his naval doctrine (Garrison, 1995). These plans would see John L. Porter implement his ideas for an ironclad on the hull of the former U.S.S. Merrimac, a screw frigate capable of propulsion via both sail and propeller, which was burned to the waterline by evacuating Union troops as they left Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, during the onset of the Civil War (Campbell, 2009). The U.S.S. Merrimac would be reborn an ironclad, the C.S.S. Virginia, an ironclad that began a maritime arms race parallel to the United States bloody Civil War (Simpson, 2001). The C.S.S. Virginia was not a traditional “keel-up” design as most ships were, as she was built atop what remained of the former U.S.S. Merrimac (Campbell, 2009). The ship maintained much of what was below the waterline of common steam frigates of the time, though from the waterline above, she was an entirely different ship (Campbell, 2009). While the C.S.S. Virginia was a a leap forward in warship technology, the ship is still historically seen as a mid-step in terms of actual battleships (Still, 1985). She is of “casemate style”: her cannons – often paired – were not in turrets but along floors of an armored and sloped citadel structure, much akin to former ships of the line though now armored with plate iron for protection from enemy fire (Baxter, 1933). Though originally envisioned as a harbor defense vessel alone (Porter, 1860), the C.S.S. Virginia not only took to sea but also took to action in several engagements, one of which is forever etched into naval memory: The Battle of Hampton Roads (Baxter, 1933). On March 8, 1862, the C.S.S. Virginia made her wartime debut despite being incomplete and still having workmen onboard (Campbell, 2009). The C.S.S. Virginia, along with a five ship Confederate battle group consisting of the Raleigh (then Virginia’s tender), the Patrick the Henry, the Jamestown, and the Teaser, approached Union vessels and engaged in close action (Campbell, 2009). The C.S.S. Virginia first attacked the U.S.S. Cumberland, a traditional all-wood sailing vessel, and after an opening broadside barrage of cannon fire, rammed the U.S.S, Cumberland’s forward starboard bow – the combined cannon and collision damage caused her to quickly sink (Campbell, 2009). The C.S.S Virginia, also damaged from the ramming but still in
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the fight, now turned her sights on the U.S.S. Congress, whose captain had run her aground in hopes of finding refuge from the “The Rebel Monster” in the shallows (Porter, 1860). Despite the shallows, the C.S.S. Virginia closed enough distance to engage the Congress and the two exchanged fire for over an hour. The Congress finally surrendered after sustaining heavy damage and losses (Porter, 1860). Notwithstanding good terms of surrender on behalf of the captains of the C.S.S. Virginia and the Congress, a Union shore battery fired on the C.S.S. Virginia Union Sailors were evacuating from the Congress (Campbell, 2009). This egregious breach of war protocol and maritime decorum enraged the C.S.S. Virginia’s captain, Commodore Franklin Buchanan, who then ordered the C.S.S. Virginia’s cannon to open fire on the Congress with “hot shot” – small shot projectiles preheated then fired from cannon to ignite sails and wood of sailing vessels – to set her ablaze (Campbell, 2009). The use of “hot shot” was extremely effective and lethal as the Congress was alight and many injured Sailors had to be abandoned onboard (Campbell, 2009). The C.S.S. Virginia followed this attack with a light attack on the U.S.S. Minnesota, Although the U.S.S. Minnesota had taken the same grounding gamble as the Congress, thanks to luck and distance, she as saved and only suffered minimal damage from Virginia’s attacks (Campbell, 2009). While the C.S.S. Virginia retired for the evening in hopes of an early morning return to finish off the Union blockaders, the Congress burned throughout the night (Porter, 1860). The fire and smoke wafting from the battle as a warning of what “The Rebel Monster” was capable of and just what the Union Navy was facing (Porter, 1860). The C.S.S. Virginia had suffered serious, though not crippling, damage from the day’s battles. Her boilers were down to half efficiency, armor plating was loose, an anchor was lost, antipersonnel/anti-boarding howitzers were gone, two of her broadside cannons were out of commission, her cutters and ram were out of commission, and from her ramming of Cumberland at the opening of the battle, she had a significant leak in her forward bow – all this and she was still ready to fight (Porter, 1860). However, the next day on March 9, the Union introduced a monster of their own: the U.S.S. Monitor
(Still, 1988). The Monitor was an entirely different ironclad than the C.S.S. Virginia. She was designed from “keel-up” as an ironclad in hasty response to the Confederate program and was also not of casemate design. Instead the U.S.S. Monitor was equipped with a rotating, turreted, two-gun system, mounted atop a low and wide-bodied ship with limited freeboard and very little draft at only 10’6” (compared to that of 21’ of draft of the C.S.S. Virginia) (Roberts, 1999). As the world was introduced to maritime ironclad battle, so too was the American populace, with onlookers ashore witnessing these two ships fight for hours with no clear victor (Porter, 1860). Both the C.S.S. Virginia and the U.S.S. Monitor fired upon one another for over three hours during their meeting, often at point blank range, only inflicting minimal damage before retiring after both captains were wounded from sprawl or shrapnel (Porter, 1860). This victor-less battle led the Confederacy to continue to build ironclads of bigger or differing degrees despite lacking the industrialization to support such efforts (Garrison, 1995) Likewise, the Union churned out Monitor-class ironclads, ready to stand toe-to-toe with whatever the south could produce (Roberts, 1999). To the world, however, the message of this battle was resoundingly clear; the days of wood and sail were over, and a new era of steam and steel was officially here as foreign powers. Chiefly France, and Great Britain — the latter of who both already had some semblance of ironclad or armored ship programs — canceled all orders for wooden ships of sail or steam frigates and instead diverted funds to armored and steel ships (Baxter, 1933).
Conclusion The Confederacy was officially defeated three years after the Battle of Hampton Roads as General Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate Army at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, with the final surrender coming just over a month afterward, on May 26, 1865 (Porter, 1860). Although reunification was not immediate, it did come with time and thankfully, so too did the combination of technological achievements from the former warring sides (Kemp, 2002). The advancements made during the Civil War would not only propel the war machines used by the Union and Confederacy, but they would go far into the future,
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helping to spawn advancements and modernizations in the reformed United States Navy (Weber, 1969). These advancements would give rise to the Great White Fleet of the early 20th Century – as the battleships flew the flag around the globe as a symbol of America naval
power (Weber, 1969). This span of less than 50 years displayed the sea power America was capable of when unified and working together towards a common goal — a goal forward, from the sea — all thanks to maritime metal (Sprout & Sprout, 1939).
References: Baxter, J. P. (1933). The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship. Harvard University Press. Button, R. W. (2017). Thinking Constructively about Overmatch. RAND Corporation. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://www.rand.org/blog/2017/03/thinking-constructivelyabout-overmatch.html Campbell, R. T. (2009). Ironclad down: USS Merrimack-CSS Virginia from construction to destruction. Civil War History, 55(3), 417-419. Dembo, J. (2012). John Luke Porter papers. John Luke Porter papers - manuscript collection #850. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/0850?q=John+Luke+porter Eaton, C. (1961). The Growth of Southern Civilization, 1790-1860. [1st ed.]. Harper, 1961. Garrison, E. G. (1995). Three ironclad warships—The archaeology of industrial process and historical myth. Historical Archaeology, 29(4), 26–38. Kemp, P. (2002). The History of Ships. Barnes & Noble Books. Porter, J. L. (1860). John L. Porter's naval architectural notebook. ECU Digital Collections, Greenville, NC, United States. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/3578.92. Roberts, W. H. (1999). "The name of Ericsson": Political engineering in the union ironclad program, 1861-1863. The Journal of Military History, 63(4), 823. Simson, J. W. (2001). Naval strategies of the Civil War: Confederate innovations and federal opportunism. Cumberland House. Sprout, H., & Sprout, M. T. (1939). The rise of American naval power, 1776-1918. Princeton University Press. Still, W. N. (1961). Confederate naval strategy: The ironclad. The Journal of Southern History,
27(3), 330-343. https://doi.org/10.2307/2205212 Still, W. N. (1985). Iron afloat: The Story of the Confederate Armorclads. University of South Carolina Press.
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Still, W. N. (1988). Monitor builders: a historical study of the principal firms and individuals involved in the construction of USS Monitor. National Maritime Initiative, Division of History, National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior. Underwood, R. L. (2005). Stephen Russell Mallory: a biography of the Confederate Navy secretary and United States senator. McFarland & Co. Webber, R. H. (1969). Monitors of the U.S. Navy, 1861-1937. Navy History and Heritage Command.
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Racial and Gender Disparities in Migraine Care Bailey Nipper People of all ages, ethnicities, and genders suffer from migraines. It is perceived by most people as though all migraines have a set list of symptoms with a set-instone procedure for how to treat them, but that’s not always the case. While most of the studied symptoms of a typical migraine are experienced by cisgender men, racial minorities and women are often left out of the conversation. There is hardly any research that has taken place to study the symptoms of migraines on women, transgender individuals, nor racial minorities despite many instances recorded of their symptoms being worse than the average recorded symptoms. The lack of a better understanding of migraines in racial minorities and women is causing an unfair gap in medical aid. Racial minorities and women end up suffering more and far worse because medical professionals either don’t understand their specific symptoms or won’t take these groups as seriously in their complaints. To provide proper care for everyone suffering from migraines, we must begin by fully researching migraine symptoms across all races and genders. Migraines are headaches that are more extreme than average and cause throbbing or pulsing pain, causing one to become nauseous, possibly vomit, and cause sensitivity to certain lights and sounds. There are no parameters for who can develop migraines. This includes children, teenagers, women, men, and any person of any race, or sexual orientation. The typical migraine has some warning signs before reaching full effect such as food cravings, neckz stiffness, increased urination, etc. Other people might experience aura changes. Examples of this are stabbing pains, seeing spots or stars, difficulty speaking, vision loss, weakness or numbness only in certain parts of the body, and more. A typical migraine “attack” lasts between 4-72 hours and the amount of time along with the intensity ranges from person to person (Migraine par. 1). All of the information as provided by the Mayo Clinic are what has been the set-in-stone symptoms generalized throughout all groups of people, but the symptoms presented only favor cisgender men, as opposed to
people of color, women, and transgender women, since that is the group most research has been conducted on. The damage done by this generalization of symptoms can be detrimental to groups outside the majority, thus creating a possible bias that can affect the quality of care certain racial minorities and women receive. Bias in healthcare has been an issue for as long as healthcare has been implemented into society, whether intentional or not. All doctors, researchers, and medical professionals alike have had some form of bias in their field, perpetuating the issue of quality of care based on race, gender, sexuality, wealth status, etc. While bias is not desired in the healthcare profession, it is an unavoidable and natural human response to make sense of one’s surroundings. As Dr. Jasmine Marcelin, founding member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America stated, “Nevertheless, unconscious bias still influences all human interactions [13]. The ability to rapidly categorize every person or thing we encounter is thought to be an evolutionary development to ensure survival; early ancestors needed to decide quickly whether a person, animal, or situation they encountered was likely to be friendly or dangerous [20].” The reason this can be so detrimental is due to the fact that these biases can lead to manifesting negative attitudes and behaviors towards patients, causing many symptoms to get overlooked. Overlooking symptoms can lead to these patients not receiving the highest quality care, meaning their symptoms could go on for far longer than needed or worsen without proper treatment. Bias in healthcare also prevents more research from being conducted on the symptoms and causes of migraines pertaining to women and patients of color, continuing the lower quality of care being received by these groups. While migraines hold no boundaries to whom they can affect, there is still not enough being done to fully research the extent of how migraines affect all kinds of people and how to give the best care to every individual. Though women may make up half of the entire human population, women are still under researched and not
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properly cared for in the realm of migraine care. While both cisgender men and cisgender women share similar symptoms of migraines, there is some key contrast that makes a significant difference in the potential quality of care. Cisgender women are more likely to experience migraines on a regular basis as well as at a higher intensity (Nunez par. 1). Another factor that weighs heavily into the intensity of migraines in cisgender women are the added effects of the menstrual cycle, specifically called Menstrual Migraine. Menstrual Migraines are intense headaches that take place during a woman’s menstrual cycle and can continue every month. The symptoms are, “frequently more debilitating with longer duration, higher recurrence rate and lower response rate to acute treatment (Akirov par. 8).” Even though Menstrual Migraines are far more intense and frequent, there is still limited research being done on how to prevent these pains or provide a long term treatment. This goes to show how research conducted on migraine symptoms and treatment still only appears to favor cisgender men all the while cisgender women are struggling far worse on average. While cisgender women are suffering from the unfair effects of migraine care, transgender women are also severely under researched and often ignored in the conversation. The research being done on transgender men and women is next to none. The reason this is a concern in the medical field is because this raises more questions about migraines as a whole such as how testosterone levels affect the severity of migraine, whether or not testosterone could be used as a pain level treatment option, or if testosterone could be used to reduce the frequency of migraines. These unanswered questions are due to a lack of understanding of how fluctuating hormones affect the nervous system as a whole (Nunez par. 3). Migraine research as well as most medical research in general favors cisgender men and women, leaving out people who identify as another gender not assigned to them at birth, and how certain medical conditions affect them. In order to create a fair and accurate system of care for migraines, medical researchers need to consider unique treatment plans for all genders, not just the gender in the majority.
Another large issue in migraine care is how race plays into the quality of care received by a patient. Racial issues in healthcare have always been prevalent in society and migraine care is no different. Though migraines in African Americans are more common than any other racial or ethnic group, migraine treatment services are often less taken advantage of. This could be due to the fact that African Americans are more likely misdiagnosed, lower quality of care is more commonly reported as well as patient-doctor mistrust, and lower quality medication is more often prescribed (Charleston and Burke pg. 877). “Moreover, the burden of migraine is increased in AA (African Americans): Migraine is more frequent, more severe, more likely to become chronic and associated with more depression and lower quality of life compared to NHW (NonHispanic Whites) (8,9). Given that, when treated, AA appears to respond to medications as well as NHW (9,10), high quality treatment may reduce these disparities.” If there is going to be a change in the way medical professionals combat bias and disparities against racial minorities in migraine care, there has to be a change in the way research is conducted in order to provide a more accurate set of symptoms and treatment plans specific to racial minorities. In order to provide better care for cisgender women, transgender women, and racial minorities suffering from migraines, more research has to be conducted on the symptoms and causes of migraines unique to those groups of people. Migraines affect more than just the cisgender men most research is conducted on, but bias continues to prevent more research from being done and perpetuates the lower quality of medical treatment on women and racial minorities currently occurring worldwide. Cisgender women often suffer from a completely different type of migraine called menstrual migraine, transgender women hardly have any information on how hormones affect their migraines, and people of color often suffer from much stronger migraine symptoms than their white counterparts, yet efficient medical research is still not being conducted to give better treatment to these groups of people. By providing more research for women and racial minorities, migraine care can only get better for all kinds of individuals.
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Works Cited Akirov, A. (2022, August 08). Menstrual migraine: Revisiting the relationship between hormonal events and Migraine. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.neurologyadvisor.com/topics/migraine-andheadache/menstrual-migraine-revisiting-the-relationship-between-hormonal-events-and-migraine/ Befus, D. R., Irby, M. B., Coeytaux, R. R., & Penzien, D. B. (2018, October 5). A Critical Exploration of Migraine as a Health Disparity: The Imperative of an Equity-Oriented, Intersectional Approach [Scholarly project]. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from file:///C:/Users/baile/Downloads/Befus%20et%20al%202018%20A_Critical_Exploration_of_Migr.pdf Charleston, L., IV. (2017, May 24). Do racial/ethnic disparities exist in recommended migraine treatments in US ambulatory care? [Scholarly project]. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from file:///C:/Users/baile/Downloads/Charleston%20&%20Burke%202017%20Do%20racial%20ethinic%20di sparities%20exist%20in%20recommended%20migraine%20tx%20.pdf Charleston, L., IV. (2021, April). Headache Disparities in African-Americans in the United States: A Narrative Review [Scholarly project]. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from file:///C:/Users/baile/Downloads/Charlston%202021%20HA%20Disparities%20in%20AA%20in%20the% 20US%20A%20Narrative%20Review.pdf FitzGerald, C., & Hurst, S. (2017). Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: A systematic review [Scholarly project]. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from file:///C:/Users/baile/Downloads/Fitzgerald%20&%20Hurtz%202017%20Implicit%20Bias%20in%20Heal thcare.pdf Marcelin, J. R., Siraj, D. S., Victor, R., Kotadia, S., & Maldonado, Y. A. (n.d.). The Impact of Unconscious Bias in Healthcare: How to Recognize and Mitigate It [Scholarly project]. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from file:///C:/Users/baile/Downloads/Marcelin%202019%20Unconscious%20Bias%20in%20HC.pdf Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2021, July 2). Migraine. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/migraine-headache/symptoms-causes/syc20360201#:~:text=A%20migraine%20is%20a%20headache,sensitivity%20to%20light%20and%20sound. Nicholson, R. A., Rooney, M., Vo, K., O'Laughlin, E., & Gordon, M. (2006, February 10). Migraine Care Among Different Ethnicities: Do Disparities Exist? [Scholarly project]. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from file:///C:/Users/baile/Downloads/Nicholson%20et%20al%202006%20Migraine%20Care%20Among%20 Different%20Ethnicities.pdf Nunez, K. (2022, June 22). Why is there a gender disparity in migraine? SELF. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://www.self.com/story/women-and-migraine
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Radium Girls: The Deadly Clock Stephanie Batayiannis During the beginning of the 20th century, the dangers of radium were unknown. People admired it for the glow in the dark aspect it had. People believed radium emitted healing power (Gott, 1998). Its popularity grew, “It was a craze, no other word for it. The element was dubbed ‘liquid sunshine’” (Moore, 2018). People idolized the element and businesses falsely advertised radium to be in their products to increase sales (Moore, 2018). The increase in popularity of radium infused products caused the growth of factories and the demand of workers needed (Gott, 1998). Three major factories under the Waterbury Clock Company opened and dial painters created many gadgets including the New Haven Tip Top Traveler clock by using radium infused paint (Graebner, 1998). But the workers paid a high price for this fad: These women became known as the “Radium Girls” when over 50 women gained suspicious illness and died by 1927 (Hersher, 2014).
Description of the Artifact The National Museum of American History (1964) is the location of the New Haven Tip Top Traveler clock. The museum’s website provided several images of artifacts from the radium girls incident including two clocks, one wristwatch, and one advertisement clipping for the X-Ray alarm clock. The New Haven Tip Top Traveler clock is one of the artifacts that provides a glimpse into the tragic events of the radium poisonings that killed many dial painters in the early 1900s. The artifact is an analog clock that has a small inset dial that shows the intended time the alarm clock will ring. It is small and has an octagonal shape. It is made from metal and has two feet at the bottom with a winding knob at the top. The clock contains painted numbers that were brushed on with radium infused paint. Between the numbers and the clock hands is a thin octagon with the words “Tip Top Traveler”. These words sit above the center of the hands. Below the hands, the inset dial sits. The hands are also metal plated like the outside of the clock (National Museum of American History, n.d.)
The National Museum of American History (1964) possesses the analog clock; it is in good shape, there is minute decolorization within the clock that is causing the white background to gain a yellowish hue, and the metal is rusting around the edges, but overall, very well kept.
Historical Context The New Haven Tip Top Traveler clock was a gift from the New Haven Clock Company to the National Museum of American History Behring Center that resides in Washington, D.C. (National Museum of American History, n.d.). The Tip Top Traveler alarm clock was one of the few artifacts left from the tragic events of the radium poisonings that took place in the Waterbury Clock Company factories in New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut during the early 1920s (National Museum of American History, n.d.). The effects from the radium poisonings lasted through the 1930s and continued for the many dial painters who suffered from radium poisoning. These women suffered tremendously, and the radium exposure ultimately led to their deaths (Gott, 1998). Radium was discovered in 1898 by Pierre and Marie Curie, who were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1903 (History.com Editors, 2010). Their findings were seen as a miracle substance, salesmen advertised the element to “extend people’s lives, pump up their sex drive and make women more beautiful” (Hersher, 2014). Towards the 1910s, the element began to be used in prescriptions and gained the reputation of health-giving (Cunningham, 1992). Doctors used radium to treat many illness and diseases including colds and cancer (Hersher, 2014). As time went on, the popularity of radium increased because it was an ingredient in paint for watches, dials, and gauges (RadTown, 2022). The need for more workers to produce these products caused the percent of women in the labor workforce grow to 20 percent (Women’s Bureau, n.d.).
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In the early 1920s, an advertisement stated that the Illinois Waterbury Clock Company “requires the services of several girls for studio work. Ideal location and surrounding. Unusually clean and attractive work. Good pay while learning” (Balkansky, 2019). Many women during this time were interested in finding a well-paying, safe, factory job; and this advertisement offered that. Most women, particularly teens, at this time only made 12 dollars an hour in unsafe, filthy factories (Cunningham, 1992). In comparison to the other factories, dial painters in the Waterbury Clock Company factories were ranked in the top 5 percent of highest female wage-earners in America (Moore, 2018). These women were tasked to paint clock dials with radium infused paint and the majority created 50 to 200 clocks a day. (Ramirez, 2019, p. 2). Based on the number of clocks they made per week determined the amount they got paid (Ramirez, 2019, p. 2). The annual salary was over $2,000 which is approximately $30,000 today, an extraordinary amount for women during this time. (Moore, 2018). The women were taught to do “lip-pointing,” a tactic that made their dial numbers precise. Each woman took her brush and created a fine point by using the corner of her mouth (Gott, 1998). By doing this technique a dozen of times during their shifts, the women ingested large quantities of radium (Gott, 1998). Lip-pointing was stopped in 1927; however, many workers had already died and suffered countless diseases before that date (Graebner, 1998, p. 587). The glow-in-thedark effect of the radium excited the women; however, many were still wary about ingesting it (Moore, 2018). A skeptical factory worker named Mae asked her boss “Does this stuff hurt you?” but, was informed the radium paint was nothing to worry about and that its exposure was good for them (Moore, 2018). After this, many of the girls had fun with the paint by painting their clothing, fingernails, and teeth, unaware they were absorbing toxins into their systems (Gott, 1998). After years of exposure, the dial painters began suffering from negative side effects, “Miss Dunne’s bones had slowly decalcified from the action of the radium solution used in painting the dials” (“Girl dies from radium,” 1927). Radium brought on numerous painful side effects including cancers, mouth sores, ulcers, cataracts, deterioration of bones, and death (Versant Physics, 2022). By 1927, there were more than 50 deaths attributed to radium poisoning caused
by exposure in the factories (Hersher, 2014). The publication, The Evening Star, wrote the article “Doomed Mother dies” about a mother in her midthirties: “She succumbed to a strange strength-sapping malady she claimed she contracted while painting the luminous faces of watches and clocks for the Radium Dial Co” (Balkansky, 2019). After the noticeable repercussions of exposing workers to radium, radium companies were still in business (Graebner, 1998, p. 588). However, after the many deaths of the dial painters, the public, the workers, and their families began to get angry. The horrific pain these women were put through was unthinkable. In the article “One of Mae’s friends from the studio, Josephine P., was bedridden for 40 years and broke bones when turning over on her mattress…Josephine lost her sight from working with radium” (Ramirez, 2019, p. 2). The situation was unsettling, leading many women to sue the company for damages, the first being filed in New Jersey (Balkansky, 2019). As more and more dial painters began to acquire many unusual illnesses, scientists started to ask why. In 1923, was the first time that radium was suspected to be the leading cause of these illnesses due to Martin Szamatolski; a state Department of Labor chemist (Cunningham, 1992). When news reached the company, corporate tried to hide it. One member of the board stated, “the small amount of radium used in the dial painting could not be harmful” (Cunningham, 1992). As deaths continued to occur, doctors couldn’t overlook the strange illnesses that affected the workers. Dr. Harrison S. Martland, a medical examiner, was not going to let it. He had examined many of the dial workers who had died; and in 1925, Dr. Martland met with the New York Pathological Society and presented evidence of the radium poisonings (Cunningham, 1992). This event began when five former employees from New Jersey filed a suit in 1927 (Balkansky, 2019). Later Illinois, another state affected from the radium poisonings, had another five former employees file a suit in 1934 (Moore, 2018). With one last attempt, the victims in New Jersey and Illinois each persued the court with a request of $50,000 a piece, which amounted to $500,000 in total for damages (Moore, 2018). The victims were all declining in health due to their exposure to radium. Many believed they would die before the court trials
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ended. After seeing the dial painters’ conditions, the public was astonished and sided with the women. One messenger stated, “Edgar Allan Poe in all his weird stories never utilized a theme more harrowing than that of death by radium” (Cunningham, 1992). The media and the public were all in disarray, and the news spread nationally. Marie Curie telegraphed publicly her sympathy for the individuals affected by the radium poisonings due to her unknowing knowledge of the element’s side effects (Cunningham, 1992). Later Marie Curie was a victim of her own discovery and died in 1934 due to her exposure to radium (History.com Editors, 2010). After months of fighting, a settlement was made between the radium girls and New Jersey. The victims gained $10,000 immediately after the trials ended, and each year following that they got $600 until their deaths (Cunningham, 1992). They also earned lifetime medical coverage and had all the legal fees paid for (Cunningham, 1992). Unfortunately, most of the women affected by the radium poisonings did not live long enough to sue and get justice. After the suits were filed many of the plaintiffs died. Finally in 1978, all U.S. radium dial factories were closed; and when the last factory closed, its radiation levels were 1,666 times higher than normal, which was extremely unsafe (Moore, 2018).
Conclusion Many women were treated wrongfully after the distressing pain they had endured, and many died before justice was served. Their exposure to radium slowly deteriorated their bodies because the paint on the New Haven Tip Top Traveler clock turned deadly. Unfortunately, deceptive advertising is still happening today: New products get falsely advertised as health saving, but lead to the opposite. An example of this today is electronic cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes were originally advertised as better alternatives to tobacco cigarettes (Martinelli, 2022). The attractive qualities like flavors led many teenagers to take part in it and has caused dozens hospitalized with damaged lungs, in comas, and even dead (Martinelli, 2022). Likewise, the dial painters were told that radium was harmless; and these workers ended up dying. With proper cautiousness this could have been prevented and the workers lives would not have been at risk due to their exposure to radium. The new finding of radium and its glow-in-the-dark hue in the 1900s and the flavorful electronic cigarettes today gave excitement to many, but ultimately led to tragedies because of ignorance and false advertisement about the products.
References: Balkansky, A. (2019, March 19). Radium girls: Living dead women. Library of Congress Blogs. https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2019/03/radium-girls-living-dead-women/ Cunningham, J. T. (1992). The radium girls. Business Journal of New Jersey, 9(9), 42. Girl dies from radium: Victim had been employed in watch factory painting dials. (1927, January 28). New York Times. Gott, P. (1998, December). ‘Radium girl’ painters suffered from exposure: [Final Edition]. The Commercial Appeal Graebner, W. (1998). Radium girls, corporate buys. Reviews in American History 26(3), 587-592. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/29016 Hersher, R. (2014, December). Mae Keane, one of the last ‘radium girls’, dies at 107. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2014/12/28/373510029/saved-by-a-bad-taste-one-of-the-last-radium-girls-dies-at107
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History.com Editors. (2010, February). Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium. A&E Television Networks. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/curies-isolate-radium Martinelli, K. (2022, December). Teen Vaping: what you need to know. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/teen-vaping-what-you-need-to-know Moore, K. (2018, March). The radium girls: The dark story of America’s shining women. Sourcebooks, Incorporated. National Museum of American History. (n.d.) Radium girls, 1917-1935. https://americanhistory.si.edu/girlhood/work/radium-girls RadTown. (2022, July). About radioactivity in Antiques: clock, watches, and dials. United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/radtown/radioactivity-antiques Ramirez, A. (2019, November). A visit with one of the last “radium girls.” MRS Bulletin, 44(11), 903-904. https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2019.278 Versant Physics. (2022, July). What the radium girls taught us about radiation safety. Versant Medical Physics and Radiation Safety. https://www.versantphysics.com/2022/07/29/what-the-radium-girls-taught-us-aboutradiation-safety/ Women’s Bureau. (n.d.) An Overview 1920-2021. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/about/history
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Creative Writing o At the Altar – Morgan Lowe o Cerulean Skies – Claire StCyr o Cooties - Abby Trzepacz o Cosmic Expiry – Ray Harris o How To Be A Woman – Ava Engler o Saturday Morning – Bailey Nipper
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At the Altar Morgan Lowe I don’t know how long I sat
What was there to be said in the presence of a casket?
After the funeral had ended
It was sealed to its fate
The dust became one with my clothes
An otherworldly epilogue, if you will
As if I melded into the scenery
But I couldn't see who was being mourned
How long would I have stayed, I wonder
The glint from the sun
Had he not entered
Obscured the picture sitting on top of it
He said not a word to me
Recollection evaded me
Just sat down at the piano to my left
Perched on the tip of my tongue
I wanted to say something,
And yet,
Anything
I forgot their name
Scream, shout, cry
That was,
But I didn’t
Until I looked back
How could I? We were in church
In the first pew, I saw myself
Although, looking back
I was sitting there, much younger
I’m not sure if it was some divine intervention
A memory long forgotten
Or of my own accord
Playing in the dirt, sticks, and stones
That I did not talk that day
Mud on my face
He played a melody that ghosted my memory
A bright smile shining through it all
Reminding me of days long past
Behind her was me again, a little older
A single lifeline tethering me to this reality
Laughing with friends
Perhaps he was an angel of sorts
I used to be so familiar with
Maybe an apparition
As the pews went forward, so did she
But I know I heard the song
Snapshots of my life then filled the room
I felt it reverberate in my chest
Younger, older,
Finally, I rose from my seat
Jubilant, crestfallen,
But I did not approach him
Inquisitive, apathetic,
Rather, I ascended the stairway
The emotions ebbed and flowed
Stopping at the podium
As my past sprawled in front of me
Nothing was written at the stand
A vastness of emotions resurfaced
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Accompanying the memories
Smiling just slightly wider now
That I had lost the meaning to
Eyes gazing in somber sincerity
Flickers of youth fading in and out
The rose in her hand
Closed off to me before now
Almost seemed to glow
I tried to make sense of it all,
A specter of luminance,
To think,
Shining under the light that they preach
To feel,
I’ll never forget that sight
To remember-
Just when I thought I could reach out As she had done to me
When suddenly, it all stopped
The hem began to recede in on itself
I couldn’t see the faces
White specks where fabric once was
His playing slowed
Leaving the ground to join the dust
As all looked to the aisle
Dancing in the sunlight
Dressed in white, glinting in the sun,
Her body disappeared along with the dress
There was the bride
Her smile unwavering
She strode towards me with grace
Her arm still outstretched
Peering downward just slightly
It ate away at her neck
A polite hint of a smile
Leaving me with the image of her face
An unreadable emotion was hidden behind her veil
An imprint of an image
Trailing behind her flowing dress
Once promised
I felt frozen where I stood
To them
As if fate locked me upon that alter
Eventually,
Some reasoning I unconsciously understood
All that was left was her hand
Yet could never put my finger on
Until it faded too
I pondered for what felt like
The rose dropped to the ground
A lifetime
Laying still
Fixated on the bride in front of me
A silent statement
However, just a few paces before the steps
Flawless
She paused
If it ever was
It seemed time itself was at a standstill
Once again, I found myself moving
Before she raised one hand to me
I descended from the alter
And as she lifted her head to face me
My fingers snaked around the stem
I saw it was myself
The thorns prodded my flesh
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Subtle pain completing the metamorphism Reminding me of the life I have to life I don’t remember if he was still there But I sat back down I stared at that rose
I may have been a bridesmaid But I’ll never be a bride
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Cerulean Skies Claire StCyr She was met with the wind upon her arrival. The billowing clouds above her, with so much above them and below. They swept across the seascape, going to places she only dreamed she could. Marie could only stand there on the cliffs, watching otters play below her, and seagulls swoop through the cerulean skies. What she did have, was her toes planted into the sandy cliffs. The sand was a deep reddish hue. Legend had it that it was forever stained by the blood of the invaders. Marie of course believed it. There were only so many things a girl from an island can believe, but in her island, she can always trust. It only made sense. For, if there were skies so wide and oceans so vast, there could only be so many other places to be. On a good day, Marie could feel the rays of sunlight on this cliff. She could tell the directions of a compass just by the wind and see the gracious humpback whales in the distance, leaping through the waters and leaving huge ripples in the water when they went under. On the bad days, her stepfather beat her. There was an alcohol bottle smashed into puzzle pieces across the driveway, and her mother was nowhere to be found. But those were the bad days. And today was a good day to be a Marie on the island. She stood there on the steep cliffs and hummed a soft melody. Fourteen-year-old Marie had never attended school. As far as the county was concerned, there was no Marie. Sometimes, even to her own mother, there was no Marie. Maybe she had labored for twelve hours to push out a gust of wind. She didn’t even recall giving birth to Marie. Of course, when she leaned into the wind and let it envelop her. Allowing the breath that left her lungs to join the wind that swept across the grassy cliff. Her ageless air came out in the form of song. The young Marie, a spirit twinkling so bright, yet so small. Like a reflection in the mirror, catching her eye before the sun sets, all too soon. Her hair is dark, keeping her in stark contrast to the bright world around her. Marie hated to cut her hair, but it just happened sometimes. Sometimes, Frank, the stepfather, would pull out scissors and hold her down. He said it made her look “more mature.” No one could argue that. She didn’t look fourteen when her hair was in a shoulder-length bob. Maybe it made Frank feel better about the way he looked at her. He never touched, and Marie thanked her lucky stars that he kept himself within the law in that way. Maybe it would change when she turned eighteen. For now, fourteen. For now, fourteen and looking out over the cliffs. Always Marie, never the same innocent child as the first time. Every time she went home, a piece of her porcelain innocence was chipped away. No one cared, only the skies. The skies seemed to feel wrath in her pain. Dark storm clouds rolled over the jagged cliffs, running towards the small two-bedroom house down the dirt road. The winds would get sharp and it seemed like the island grew jaded with her. The years that she had stood against the wind, feet planted into the ground like a tree, washed over her as she inhaled the salty ocean air. Her mind was made up. In her mind, she saw how Frank looked at her, in a way he hadn’t looked at her mother in quite some time. He was watching, waiting, preying on her. She wasn’t of age yet, but in her gut, she knew that she only had a few years before she was trapped under him and his gaze. Marie would shudder at the thought if she had the capacity to feel any more horror about it. A missing father, a distraught mother, a deranged stepfather, and an endangered daughter. The imperfect family that no one saw.
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This time would be different. This time there was a packed backpack under her bed. This time there was a letter from her father in her pocket. A letter with a blue wax seal and a theme of guilt. Guilt was better than the yellowed tint to Frank’s teeth as he grinned wolfishly at his young stepdaughter. This time there was a return address on the letter. Not like the other times. While it broke her heart to leave her cliffs and seagulls, and to wave farewell to the whales as they crested over the waves, she knew that a piece of this place would stay with her. She took out the polaroid camera from her jacket. With one simple click and then the small whirring sound, this place would be locked into lesser memoriam. Her mother wouldn’t even notice she was gone. Her mother would notice when Frank began to search for her. Her mother would notice once she sobered up. If ever. Dread piled up high in her heart. Once the picture was printed, she had to leave, or else she never would. She gave the place one last look before turning on her heel and running home. She knew that if the skies roared to life with her pain, they would follow her wherever the return address took her. Time slowed as she entered the house. The television was on, playing some soccer game over and over again. The smell of mildew was prevalent, making Marie’s eye twitch whenever she entered. She hoped he didn’t notice her arrival. “Marie?” he called; voice hoarse. “Marie, is that you?” She could almost smell his breath from her bedroom. “Yes.” “Okay, don’t go anywhere. We are having dinner in an hour or two if your mother ever comes back.” He was coughing every few words. She smelled the cigarette he was lighting and nodded to herself. “Will do.” Knowing damn well she was about to hop out of the window and walk a mile to the train station. She opened her backpack and slid the polaroid into her folded-up t-shirts. She was wearing blue jeans, worn out on the knees, and a plain red shirt. As Marie gripped her backpack, she heard the television turn off. She needed to be quick. The panic in her head translated quickly to her actions. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and unlocked the window. She opened the glass pane and unceremoniously crawled out the window. As she did this, her bedroom door was opened. Just her luck. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Frank was seething. His crooked yellowing teeth were pulled into a snarl as she turned to run. It wasn’t even a minute before Frank was launching himself out the front door after her. She clutched the letter from her father and propelled herself forward, jumping over fallen trees and puddles in her path, Frank always three steps behind her. If he got any closer, he could easily grab onto her bag and pull her backward. She gripped the leaning oak tree in her path and used it to push her forward. At this point, Frank dove toward her and closed a large, calloused hand around her ankle. She fell face-first into the sandy soil, spitting out sand and dirt for a few seconds after her fall. Digging her fingers into the soft earth beneath her, Marie pulled herself up. In the fall, Frank was still sprawled out a few inches behind her. Quickly, Marie gripped the lifted root of the tree nearest to her and launched back into a run. ground.
The alcohol must have caught up to Frank because he was slow to rise from his corpse-like position on the
Marie was still coughing up bits of sand and lifted the bottom of her shirt to wipe off her tongue. She ducked behind a large boulder to gather herself. The sound of Frank’s footsteps was distant enough that she could clear her throat and retie her shoe. As the sound of him grew nearer, she quickly and silently raced towards the train station.
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It was another mile or so until she would reach the station, but she could hear the train coming into the station and smell the bitter stench of locomotive smoke. The trees were growing sparse, and the grass was softer the closer she got. Though she stopped every few minutes to catch her breath, she had never had to run so far or so fast in her life but seemed to manage to stay ahead of Frank. After what felt like hours of weaving through trees and tall grass, she saw the train station. She noticed as she ran up to the bustling train station, that the smell of salt was fading. She was at least three miles from the shore now and had never felt more lost. She ducked between groups of people and made her way up to the ticket booth. Marie was quite aware that she looked crazy. A disheveled girl from the middle of nowhere with frizzy hair and sweat-stained clothes, with patches of dirt visible on them. She had brought thirty dollars, enough to buy a ticket to the other side of the state, where her father lived, in the mountains. She slammed her money on the desk and demanded one ticket. The worker handed her the ticket, and with that, she made a mad dash for the train. Marie’s heart pounded excitedly as the conductor stamped her ticket and let her on. It wasn’t until she sat in her seat that she saw a very angry Frank harassing the worker at the ticket window. She watched as he threw a punch over the counter, and missed, sending the young man working the desk into a panic. He then turned and looked at the train. Her veins turned to ice as he locked eyes with her and pointed at her, through the window. She flinched, nearly forgetting about the layers of glass and metal that stood as a barrier between her and Frank. As he stormed towards the train car, it felt like her confidence in this plan was being peeled back, like a tangerine. He seemed like a nearly unrecognizable maniac at this moment. From the way he was behaving, it confirmed her suspicions about how he must think of her. He launched himself toward the conductor, who barred the door. “My daughter is on there!” he yelled. He was tearing up, and his face was going crimson. The conductor seemed to falter for just a moment, before shaking his head. “Sir, I’ll have to ask you to buy a ticket before you may enter this car.” He sounded solid, though Marie only heard the muffled yelling. “This train car is for passengers who have paid for their ticket. If your daughter were on this train, you should have accompanied her.” Marie’s heart went still. She watched as Frank left the conductor and walked towards the front of the train. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt the worn-down fabric of the seat she sat on. She smelled the stale, yet musty, air of the train car. The man across the aisle from her was reading a newspaper, she couldn’t read it very easily though. The words all blurred together. She ran her fingers over the seams in the seat. The stitching along the sides was coming loose in one spot. Quickly moving on from that place in the stitching, hoping to manifest for herself, a steady journey and leave behind the unwinding of her past. Marie heard the ruckus up front, the other passengers were whispering among themselves. There was talk of the strange man who tried to get onboard without a ticket and some passengers wonder if there really is a daughter on board. There is an uneasy atmosphere in the train car, as people shift in their seats, wary of the man who appeared to be only moments from unraveling. Marie shuddered. The train began to move. She should have cared that Frank was looking for her. Any good stepdaughter would. But she wasn’t a good stepdaughter, and he wasn’t a good stepfather.
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As the train began to go faster and faster, bit by bit, she looked back out the window and noticed Frank chasing the train. A few other passengers grew distressed by the sight of it. “Who is that unsightly man chasing the train?” one passenger whispered to his wife. They had their faces pressed against the glass, gripping one another's hands with worry. Marie tried not to let the other passengers see her worry as Frank followed the train. He soon was right up on the train, pulling himself onto the caboose platform. There was a scream as Frank pounded on the door of the train car. He was yelling, pointing into the car. Marie’s heart dropped. Now that he was on the train, it all felt as though it had been for naught. Fighting hard to get to the train station, getting the ticket, and leaving everything she knew behind, just for Frank to catch her anyway. Someone called for the conductor, and he came running. He stood at the door. “Sir, I told you that you may not come aboard the train with no ticket.” Frank’s response to this was to, of course, scream. “How dare you keep me from my child? Do you know who I am?” “You’re a drunk, that’s who you are. If you were anyone of importance, you would have just bought a ticket,” the conductor yelled back. Marie barely even knew who Frank was outside of an unemployed bum on her mom’s couch. The conductor shoved the door open, and Frank’s fist went flying almost instantly. The conductor, in an act of self-defense, shoved Frank backward. This sent him flying off the back of the train. The conductor, along with every passenger nearby, watched in horror as blood flowed from Frank's head. Marie looked away, knowing what was about the happen. He had just bashed his head in on a train spike. She closed her eyes for a minute, opened them, and looked again to find him gone. She blocked out the sound of the passengers around her, who had been watching the whole ordeal. Her heart stopped in her chest, while she had hated him with every bit of her being, she hadn’t wished this on him. Though, in her view, the world was better off. One less bad husband to worry about in the world. Marie thought of how her mother would come home from work at the hospital to an empty house. She would return to the smell of old cigarettes and an open bedroom window. The front door would be unlatched. She likely wouldn’t hear about Frank’s body, crumpled on the tracks, for days. She would never hear where Marie went off to. Probably wouldn’t care. Someone ran up to the front of the train and told the operator of the situation. By the time they had stopped, there was no evidence of Frank’s body, and his body was miles away, so they got back on the train and filed the report. After that was all through, they went back on their way. She smiled widely and looked out the window. The skies looked brighter, and the trees looked greener. She watched happily as the seagulls swooped around the train station, and the sand faded and changed to rich soil. Though she had never left the seaside, she was on top of the world. As the train rode further inland, the trees became fuller and livelier, not rooted in sandy soil with nothing but ocean spray to survive. Clean mountain air, and river water to keep them hydrated and strong. Strong tall evergreen trees, with prickly pines along their branches, not sparse and dry like the trees along the shore. The remainder of her train ride was filled with restful sleep, for the first time in years, and eating pretzels from the bottom of her bag. She got off the train, with nothing but the backpack and the letter in her hand, but she knew at the very least, she could grow out her hair now.
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Cooties Abby Trzepacz In second grade, boys had cooties. If you touched one, even accidentally, the reaction from your friends could be compared to the end of the world. You and your girlfriends stayed on one side of the playground, while the boys played on the other. The boys would be wrestling in the mud, throwing a football back and forth, or aggressively playing foursquare. You and your girls would be making fairy houses, playing home, fighting over which one of you guys had to be the dad. If you got stuck playing a boy, you would play halfheartedly, counting down the minutes until you got to be the mom or the daughter. In fifth grade, holding hands with a boy didn’t give you cooties. It made you their girlfriend. Times were very simple then. You bonded with a boy over which comic book or playground structure was best. Dork Diaries or Diary of a Wimpy Kid? The spider or the monkey bars? You had something to talk about. It was innocent conversation, but it was a good conversation. You got to know a boy. You learned what he liked and disliked. There was no pressure then, you just simply got to know someone. In middle school, having a boy to dance with during “Stairway to Heaven” made you cool. The song is ridiculously long and by the time it was over, your hands would be clammy considering the fact you just danced with a boy. You would rather be with your friends, making fun of other “couples” dancing, but you’re too nice to say no. Your friends surround you, crazy grins on their faces, snapping photos of you with the flash on like the paparazzi. You blush and tell them to stop, but deep down you want him to hug you or maybe even kiss you, but that might even be too far. In high school, you want to get rid of your prude status before you go to college. Growing up in a small town you only had so many options, so creating a real connection with a boy was unlikely. But the pressure that was put on you, mostly pressure that you put on yourself, weighed you down like a rock tied to your ankle. You still tried though. But most conversations would be at one in the morning starting with a “you up?” The boy is in your gold block math class, and he seems nice enough. You’ll reply with a question like “how was your day” but his response will be along the lines of “good, what are you wearing rn ;)”. You don’t understand why it’s so hard to have a real conversation, when they used to come so naturally to you as a child. In college, you can’t be a virgin. But you also can’t be a whore. If you don’t dance with the sweaty man, who reeks of body odor and booze, you’re a prude. You’re at a club, why are you even there if your end goal isn’t to go home with a man? But don’t go home with too many men because that will make you a whore. Just a girl who’s desperate and has nothing better to do with her time. You are seen as just a body, nothing more. You will wish you were a child again, where you made genuine connections with a boy. Whether it was over a book or your favorite playground structure, you wish conversation would come as easily as it did then. You wish boys didn’t care about what you looked like or how many bodies you’ve had. You wish that you were back on that playground, surrounded by your closest friends, trying not to get cooties.
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Cosmic Expiry Ray Harris
Cosmic Expiry As I gaze into a gloomy sky I reminisce upon days past When the sky was bright And I knew they would last But hours turn to days For those days I would seek Stars fading out Quickly, quietly turning weak Not a glimpse of what used to be I stare up, hopeful as I were Knowing full well that what I see In the sky, is darkness within me
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How To Be A Woman Ava Engler Do your hair. Paint your nails. Moisturize. Dress up. Don’t keep your legs crossed or else you’re a bore, but don’t leave them wide open my god you're not a whore.Your dress is so loose and long what a prude, but don’t dress so short and tight you’re almost nude! Be a lady. You're too skinny you need to eat more oh you're too large you need to eat less and workout more forget dessert eat a salad. God she looks like a skeleton, that's invalid. She looks so sick someone give her a burger, maybe that’ll do the trick. Men like girls with meat on the bone, not a stick. Slim your waist and thicken your thighs, you HAVE to be the perfect size. Cover up, leave some to the imagination, show some skin less is obviously more. If you wear that out and decide to flaunt it, the men will assume you obviously want it. “You’re asking for it”. You’re wearing too much makeup, that's unnatural oh but don't grow hair there that's unfathomable. Wax your brows. Don’t overdress, you're doing too much. Wow you're underdressed don't you want to impress? Don't be a hoe you have to be pure...but also a pro. You have to be tight or else you're not right. That's not ladylike. Sit up straight, don't ever slouch. Be a lady. Sit still. Look pretty. Oh and don't worry about that unequal pay, you’ll make a fantastic wife someday. Oh you don't want kids? That's a shame...you will one day. Be a lady. Look up to the ladies who pose and edit, you have to look the same to give yourself credit. You can scroll and scroll but you'll never feel whole. These double standards just burn holes. Holes in your image, heart, brain and even your soul. It’s impossible to be both so be what you want. If you try to be “perfect” you’re signing up for a haunt. Being your true self is the gold medal you need to win, don't fit the mold and settle into your skin. The skin you were born with, the skin that protects your precious body. Don’t let an app decide your worth; it's not a map that will bring you forth. They say be a lady...I say be a woman. Walk the streets with your head held high, don't ever let your confidence die. Look in your mirror and affirm your beauty. Show up and show out. That should be your duty. Believe in yourself more than anyone ever has in your life, don't take anyone's judgment or even their strife. Do NOT think your beauty doesn’t exist if you can't check off an impossible list. Do everything you want and be all that you can, not for me, but for you. Be Yourself..be a Woman.
Saturday Morning Bailey Nipper She was tired of screaming at him, and he wasn’t listening anyway, so she picked up the bat and his laptop, and marched her way out to the backyard in the hopes that maybe he would finally grasp the extent of what he had done. As he rushed out the backdoor, shouting at her to stop, she placed his laptop down onto the tree stump near their children’s swing set and began to strike. His petrified screams were completely muffled out over her blind rage as keys, glass, and screws flew right by her head, and scattered across the grass. He ran up to her, surrounded by all the wreckage of the rage he created, and began screaming once more. When all was said and done, he told her to fuck off, clean up the mess, and that she better buy him a new one the next day. She stood there dumbfounded as he stormed away, realizing he had no remorse, no care, no sympathy for what he had done, as if he wasn’t a grown man with a wife, kids, and a home, and as if that girl in his chat room wasn’t only twelve years old.
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Student Fine Arts o Future Hopes – Kaiden Kinder o Lady Justice – Steven Brewer
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The Lookout
Future Hopes Kaiden Kinder
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The Lookout
Lady Justice – Steven Brewer
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Looking out for our students, empowering their voices. Lookout@ecu.edu