Compare/Contrast of Bram Stokers Dracula and Polidoris...

Comparison and Contrast of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Polidori’s The Vampyre While Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Polidori’s The Vampyre share some minor details, mostly regarding the basics of vampires and the location and date in which the stories take place, the majority of the stories differ greatly. The Vampyre was published almost a hundred years earlier, so it is easy to see how some details of that story can be seen in Dracula. Bram Stoker no doubt must have used The Vampyre as an influence, but only as an influence, as his story has its own unique details regarding characters and plot. I will discuss how the stories of The Vampyre and Dracula begin in a similar fashion, and then explain how there are key differences in narration,†¦show more content†¦The journal entries also give a very personal view of the events unfolding, and the reader reads the lines often times as if they were written as the events unfold, for example in Harker’s final journal entry before escaping the castle he writes: â€Å"As I write this there is in the passage below a sound of many tramping feet and the crash of weights being set down heavily, doubtless the boxes, with their freight of earth.† (Stoker, pg. 44) This gives the reader a very unique perspective, as if it were true events that had actually happened. The book also incorporates news stories of various events occurring during the time of the story, as it demonstrates how the events in the story affect not only the lives of the main characters but those throughout the land as well. This also gives it a level of realism as well. A second difference lies with the key characters in the story. The main character of The Vampyre is Aubrey, who is shown as a moral and brave man, with no real flaws to show, and despite taking an oath of silence, still does everything in his power to stop Lord Ruthven. In this case, the main character is also the hero. Aubrey’s heroic nature is displayed in the story during the attack which wounds Lord Ruthven: â€Å"Lo rd Ruthven and Aubrey, imitating their example, retired for a moment behind the sheltering turn of theShow MoreRelatedThe Fiction Genre Of Gothic Fiction1963 Words   |  8 PagesIn the following piece I discuss the figure of the vampire, especially Brian Stoker’s Victorian original version of Dracula, but also contemporary examples such as Lestat and Louis of Anne Rice’s â€Å"Interview with the Vampire†. In addition to the figure of the vampire, I will address the Otherness of Stephen King’s Carrie, who possesses the supernatural power of telekinesis and telepathy. This form of Otherness is in contrast to the vampire subtler and easily neglected. To support my arguments, I am

Why magnesium is used in Grignard reactions Free Essays

Grignard Reagents were discovered by Victor Grignard in 1900. They are classically formed by reacting magnesium turnings with alkyl halide in ether or THF solvents, to form solutions of alkylmagnesium halide. The atmosphere must be moisture –free and inert and magnesium must be of high purity. We will write a custom essay sample on Why magnesium is used in Grignard reactions? or any similar topic only for you Order Now   Magnesium is usually covered with a coating of magnesium oxide, so an activation agent like Iodine or Dibromoethane is added. They can also be formed from by when an organolithium compound reacts with a magnesium halide In organic chemistry C-C bond is one of the most important bonds. To make these C-C bonds organometallics such as organolithiums, Grignard reagents and carbonyl compounds are used. Grignard reagents are our first source of carbanions (anions of carbon). The polarity of a covalent bond between two different elements is determined by electronegativity. The more electronegative an element is, the more it attracts the electron density in the bond. Hence, the greater the difference in electronegativity, the more polarized a bond becomes. In the extreme case of complete polarization, the covalent bond ceases to exit and is replaced by electrostatic attractions between ions of opposite charge. The reactivity of the carbonyl groups is due to the polarization of the carbon-oxygen bond toward the more electronegative oxygen. For e.g. – Polarity inside a Formaldehyde molecule Thus organometallic reagents act as nucleophiles towards the electrophilic carbonyl group. In organolithium compounds and Grignard reagents, the key bond is polarized in the opposite direction, towards the carbon – making carbon a nucleophilic centre. This is true for most organometallics because, metals like Li, Na, K, Mg, ca, Al, Cu, Zn etc. all have lower electronegativity than carbon. Also, the alkali metals (Li, Na, K etc.) and the alkaline earth metals (Mg and Ca, together with Zn) are good reducing agents, the former being stronger than the latter.   Hence, these can be used to make organometallic reagents with carbon. The alkyl magnesium halides are called Grignard Reagents after the French chemist, Victor Grignard, who discovered them. The other metals mentioned above react in a similar manner, but the Li Mg are the most widely used. Feature Article Relative Rates:  Free-Radical Bromination These reactions are substitution reactions, but they cannot be classified as nucleophilic substitutions, as in the reactions above. Because the functional carbon atom has been reduced, the polarity of the resulting functional group is inverted (the original electrophilic carbon becomes nucleophilic). This change, shown below, makes alkyl lithium and Grignard reagents unique and useful reactants in synthesis. Reactions of organolithium and Grignard reagents reflect the nucleophilic character of the functional carbon in these compounds. The nucleophilic carbon of these reagents also bonds readily with electrophiles such as iodine and carbon dioxide (fifth equation). The polarity of the carbon-oxygen double bonds of CO2 makes the carbon atom electrophilic, shown by the formula in the shaded box, so the nucleophilic carbon of the Grignard reagent bonds to this site. Carbon has in consequence an unshared electron pair. Such a carbon would be a very strong base, much stronger than needed to take an H+ from water to generate the weaker base OH-. A practical consequence of this is that Grignard reagents must be kept dry, away from even the slightest traces of moisture, lest they be destroyed by reaction with water. Works Cited Clayden, greeves, Warden and Wothers, â€Å"Organic Chemistry†, Oxford University press,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2001, ISBN 0-19-850346-6 http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/haloalkanes/grignard.html How to cite Why magnesium is used in Grignard reactions?, Essay examples

Near Death Experience free essay sample

It’s occasionally said that human beings are the only creatures who are aware of their own death, but is this actually true? The term death is often used lightly and has been made into something of an unimportant subject. Fact of the matter is that many of us don’t want to think about death, we live in a death denying culture. Few individuals truly grasp the concept of death and how it can distort the lives of the people it comes in contact with. I was among the naive until right before my senior year of High School. I lived a life where I wasn’t worried about the future let alone death; I was worried about the present and what I had now. It started with a girl and ended with a trip down a flight of stairs. My near death experience has tremendously changed the way I live and perceive life, thus defining who I am. Now before I tell you the exact moment of what happen, I have to tell you what lead up to one of the most monumental events of my life. It was breezy but cool early-morning, my parents were bringing me to church to go to a camp in the Adirondacks for a few days. My mom and dad helped me bring my bags to the building and said their final good byes. I approached the church, opening the double doors which revealed a group of my friends talking, laughing, and being excited just as all young kids who are about to go away do. I was chatting with a few of my friends when all of a sudden an announcement came on saying â€Å"Hello kids ggoooooooddddd morning! We know you are all excited to get on way to the camp site but before we do, we need you all to go upstairs to have your bags checked! So me and my friends grabbed our things and proceeded upstairs and continued our excited behavior upstairs. They brought us into the teen center where we waited to leave. There it happened, there I met her, and there I fell in love at first sight. This is where I met the woman who is my girlfriend now for 3 years. When I seen her it was like seeing a woman for a first time. Her beauty seemed like a picture of perfection; her hair was a rich shade of ebony and he r eyes I just drowned in, becoming lost in the beautiful mahogany sea that was her eyes. My boys asked â€Å"Hey man what are you looking at like that?! † and when they looked they too were caught in the tractor beam of her beauty. When I came back around I remembered something and that something was her father who was here on the trip and his name was Mr. Jason! Mr. Jason was a man of great size, to me at the moment he looked like the hulk from the comic book, just without the green skin. Now I’ve known Mr. Jason for little while now as he was my father’s friend, but you know when you’re looking at a man’s daughter, the perception of that man becomes different! I overheard Mr. Jason in a conversation about his daughter. Man: â€Å"So is that’s your daughter with you? † Mr. Jason: â€Å"Yes that is my pride and joy, she only comes to be with me for the Summer! † Man: â€Å"That’s really good man† Mr. Jason: â€Å"Yeah but I see some boys looking at her they better watch themselves! † I became scared, but then she came near me, that’s when all the fear I had turned to confidence. I approached her and talked to her. As we were talking she offered me some gum and that is when I tried to be manly and said â€Å"I don’t believe in girls giving men things† and from that point on we were connected. Fast forward to after the camp. We gave each other our numbers and decided to go the State Fair that was coming up together. I was so excited, I couldn’t think of anything else; until my boss called and gave me my work schedule. All I could think of is â€Å"I can’t go to work, I’m going to go to the State Fair with her. I tried rescheduling with her, but found out that she was leaving the next day early in the morning. I had no choice, a woman like this might not come around again and this was my last time for me to be around her. So I did what any sane man would do I lied to my boss! I told him my family was encountering issues with a flight back home and that I wouldn’t be able to make to work. I proceed to go to the State Fair and have one of the best days of my life unaware what the next day held for me. The next day after having the best day of my life began the longest and most terrifying day of my life. I awoke the next day to my younger brother telling me my mom wanted me. I didn’t question why my mom wanted me, I just began grabbing some clothes to throw on and race up the stairs. I slowly approach the stairs to my parents’ bedroom where I begin to ponder why she wanted me. I turn the corner to see my mom doing her hair. She looked at me through the mirror and she said â€Å"So Dante here’s a funny story your dad just told me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I began to question why she wanted to tell me about a story my dad told her but I continue to listen. She continues by saying â€Å"He drove to Tim Horton’s for breakfast today! † then it hit me â€Å"I was busted!! † She finished the story and then asked why Dante would you do that and she began tell me all this stuff, but for some reason I couldn’t hear it. All I could hear was my thoughts of how I messed up big time, how I was going to lose my job, how I disappointed my parents, and most importantly how I screwed up my life. Suddenly, I began to feel weak and light headed. Next thing I know I blacked out down the stairs. After I blacked out my mom turned around to see me falling back steadily and raced to grab me, but she wasn’t fast enough. As I tumbled down the stairs, my head began bashing against the concrete walls with jagged points all the way until my head met the wooden floor, where I was laid out unconscious. My mom took a second to gather herself after just seeing her son fall down a flight of stairs and now laying out life less in front of her eyes. She came running down the stairs to me as my brothers raced to see what happened. They were met with their mother holding their older brother looking almost dead. They ran in dismay from the scene they just witness to under their bed and outside. My mom called 911 stumbling over her words trying to explain that her son needs help. Soon the ambulance arrived and they loaded me into the ambulance. I always seen ambulances driving past us but never once did I imagine me being in one. I began to come to consciousness in the ambulance. I blinked my eyes but I was still in the darkness I couldn’t escape it, I started trying to get up and yelling for my mom, my dad, anyone who could hear me. I could hear the ambulance man say to mom â€Å"You must calm him! † I heard my mom begin to cry and say â€Å"I am here† then my father said â€Å"I’m here too, what’s going on man? † I told them â€Å"I can’t see anything and I am very scared! † and then I timidly asked â€Å"Am I going to die? All of a sudden the ambulance medic got silent and I could only hear my mom grieving quietly. My father told me â€Å"To just relax†, so I did. I awoke from time to time to hear the people moving me from room to room on the stretcher. Last thing I remember hear was doctors and nurse around me talking to one another about the serious head i njury I received. I awoke slowly getting my vision back to see family and friends surrounding my hospital bed. For a moment, I just sat hoping that everything I just experience was a nightmare but I realized it wasn’t and that I almost died. Everyone began to ask me if I was feeling alright and I slowly tried to get out my bed, when a doctor came running to tell me to stay put and that he would be back. My family just came by me and held me, letting me know everything was ok. The doctor came back and began testing me making sure everything was ok with me. The doctor said â€Å"Dante we just wanted to let you know besides receiving a concussion that you are okay and that luckily the concussion was minor and you will see a therapist for a few months to help any side effects that come with a concussion. For me all I heard was that I was alive and that was all that mattered. From that point on I learned stairs were dangerous but also that I must reevaluate myself and what I stand for and what legacy I will leave in this world when I part. I made it my goal and dream that I would use this one life I have in this world to impact it and the people on here for the better, trying never to disappoint anyone ever again.