A Comprehensive Study of Jonas Salk Essay -- Biography

A remembrance in La Jolla, California, presents, â€Å"Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.† The memorial commemorates the great virologist Jonas Salk (Salk.edu). Although many recognize Salk as the man who effectuated the eradication of polio, he also contributed to a vast amount of medical research. A comprehensive study of Jonas Salk includes his young life, early career, work with poliomyelitis, and later career and life. Daniel and Dora Press Salk became the parents of Jonas Salk on October 28, 1914. Daniel, a women’s garment designer, provided his new family with a small apartment in Manhattan (Bankston 11). As the eldest Salk received his mother’s imperishable attention. When Salk was two, the first great polio infection in the United States commenced; the concentration was most severe in New York City, home of the Salks (Hargrove 8-9). No mother was more cautious than Dora Salk. While both parents were relatively uneducated, they highly valued education. Mrs. Salk kept Jonas inside not only to protect him from feared diseases, but also to satisfy his curiosity and promote learning. She supplied Salk with literature and logical problems throughout his childhood (Barter 16-18). Salk entered free, yet prestigious Townsend Harris High School at the age of Farless 2 twelve and then graduated three years later (Bankston 13-14). He refused his mother’s preference of rabbinical school and decided to major in pre-law at the City College of New York to become a congressman (Kluger 27). After enjoying himself in science classes, he decided to switch to pre-med and become a researcher (Barter 20). He graduated in 1934 and entered the New York University School of Me... ...inoculated with Salk's vaccine. The rate of infection of poliomyelitis was eighty-six percent less than in 1954 (Carter 351). Salk began working on the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. The institute would be a haven for scientists, philosophers, and artists. The work there focused on both cancer and AIDS research (Bankston 43). Salk spent most of his life in the laboratory rather than with his wife and three sons. Donna and Jonas Salk split in 1968. He later married Francoise Gilot in 1970. He also wrote four books during the 1970s (Barter 90-91). He continued working diligently until his death by congestive heart failure on June 23, 1995. Salk had the imagination, dreams, and courage to tackle several of the most prominent issues in the United States. His ambitions and successes will live on through the thousands of lives he saved.

Meaning of life †Existentialism Essay

? Throughout the story, Grendel is trying to find the meaning of life. He is trying to understand the purpose of living, and was looking for something to steer him in the right direction. In Chapter five, when Grendel finally meets the dragon, he finally believes that he has found the meaning of life. Grendel begins his life by being an existentialist. He was basically alone when he was young, and was left to figure out the world around him with no help. It was confusing to him, and that is how he developed the idea of existentialism. He believed that he alone existed. Existentialism stresses freedom of choice, and he had the power to do whatever he wanted to do, so it made sense. He eventually realizes that he does not control the world when he says, â€Å"I think, trying to suck in breath, and all that I do not see is useless, void. (Pg. 29)† After coming to this realization, Grendel looks for a different meaning to life. He then listens to the Shaper, who tells lies to make the Danes feel better about themselves and have a meaning to life. As much as he wants to believe the Shaper and live his life according to what he says, Grendel felt too ashamed believing in lies to do so. He decided that he would rather be an outcast if that was what it took to find the truth. He believed that he had found truth after talking to the dragon. The dragon is a nihilist. He sees no purpose in life. He claims to know everything, â€Å"the beginning, the present, and the end. (Pg. 62)† His basis behind nihilism is that everything eventually comes to an end, even himself. He thinks that there is no point in trying to better mankind because in the end it won’t matter. In the dragon’s mind, we are all fighting a lost cause, and there so there is no point in trying. He puts down humans, and especially the Shaper. He says that the shaper is just giving the Danes an illusion, and does not know any more than they do. The only important thing for the dragon is finding gold. The dragon tells all of this to Grendel, who is at first skeptical of what he is hearing. He began to take the dragon more seriously when the dragon says that humans needed him in order to think and scheme and that Grendel caused humans to have science and religion. This gave Grendel the identity that he had been looking for: â€Å"I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings. (Pg. 80)† Grendel became on board with nihilism. He now became â€Å"enraged† when he heard the Shaper tell his lies and felt like he was giving the Danes a purpose when he killed them, which only caused him to kill more. Grendel thought that he had found his purpose in life, although it ended up leading to his death. His belief in nihilism made him not stop killing, and also believe that he was important to the Danes. He believed that him killing Beowulf would be good for the Danes, and that is why he tried to kill him. Beowulf ended up killing Grendel. Had Grendel changed his views he would not have gotten killed by Beowulf and everyone would have been better off.

Roman And Greek Gods Essay example - 1482 Words

Roman and Greek Gods It has been known that the Romans and the Greeks have had many interactions with each other, whether it would be due to trading or just plain traveling, the stories of their myths have crossed each other in one way or another. This is may be the reason why there are many similarities between Greek and Roman Mythology. Even though a Greek god or goddess may have a different name in Roman Mythology they still performed similar tasks and were worshiped for similar reasons. I will compare and contrast Greek gods with their Roman equivalences to see how similar they truly are to each other. Probably the most famous Greek god, Zeus, was the god of all gods. Born to Cronus and Rhea, he was the ruler of the sky, and had†¦show more content†¦From the sources I have read about Juno, she seems more like a goddess that always helped the humans. Humans would offer her sacrifices so that she could help them with marriage, birth, protection, or finances. Hera seems too engulfed in her husb and’s affairs rather than helping humans that would praise her. Ares, the child of Zeus and Hera, was the god of war. He was usually seen or portrayed to be fully armed and ready for battle and very eager fight or go to war. Although he was never married, he had many children with several goddesses and mortal women. Almost all of his children by mortal women were of a violent nature. Mars on the other hand, was the Roman god of agriculture and war. He was thought to be the second most important god after Jupiter. He was in charge of military activities and farming. It was believed that the month March was named after Mars, and was also the first month of the Roman calendar. March was considered to be the month when agriculture was high and when most people engaged in war. Ares seems to be a very angry and active god as opposed to Mars that seems to be calmer. Ares is always prepared for battle and is always looking for a reason, like an instigator where Mars looks over the ag riculture and the military to make sure that they are able to defend Rome, like a defender. Even though Mars was also the god of war, it would seem that he would rather prevent warShow MoreRelatedGreek and Roman Gods 1375 Words   |  6 Pagesheroes, gods and goddesses to explain natural events. (Leonard, â€Å"Mythology†). In mythology, most stories are connected and explain another myth, (Stapleton 42). According to the article â€Å"Roman Gods†, the twelve greatest gods and goddess of Rome were parallel to the twelve Olympian gods in Greek Mythology. Many of the Roman gods were believed to have been involved in founding Rome (â€Å"Roman gods†). The Greek god, Zeus was King and father of all the gods and the sky (â€Å"Principal Greek and Roman Gods†). Read MoreThe Similarities Of The Greek Gods And The Roman Gods718 Words   |  3 Pages Did you know that the Greek gods and the Roman gods are quite similar. The purpose of Mythology was to help explain everyday things like weather, death, love, etc. With Mythology there had to be gods that ruled and controlled those events. The Greeks developed their gods that were said to live on Mt. Olympus. The Romans also developed gods, whose name has have been incorporated into a lot of things, such as the names of the planets. Although the Romans developed gods, they took a significant amountRead MoreRoman And Greek War Gods1292 Words   |  6 PagesRoman and Greek War Gods It is a common misconception that Roman and Greek mythology is the same thing, but with different names. This starts in the origin of Roman mythology. When the Romans took over the Greeks they allowed them to keep their beliefs and customs. These beliefs spread to the Romans that lived nearby. When the Romans learned about these gods, they became the main gods of Rome with different names and personalities. (Ancient Civilizations through the Renaissance, p.332) However,Read MoreThe Gods Of Greek And Roman Mythology1006 Words   |  5 PagesMany say that the gods of Greek and Roman mythology find their origin to the days of Noah — and I would argue — the time of the Canaanites some 3500 plus years ago. In these stories, we find all sorts of beings that are part human and part divine (gods). Is it just one more coincidence that The Bible teaches that The Antichrist will head up a ten-nation kingdom made up from the old Roman Empire? That The Antichrist himself will even tually become part human and part angel when Satan comes into himRead MoreThe Gods Of Greek And Roman Mythology Essay1940 Words   |  8 Pages However, the involvement of the gods goes much farther than just what is described in Choephori and Eumenides. From the events of the Trojan War, to the system of honor that demands that Orestes avenge his father, the gods were the directors of all of the action. The gods of Greek and Roman mythology are portrayed in very human terms. They are fallible, temperamental, and equally prone to anger or happiness toward their human subjects. In these myths, the gods are constantly interacting with theirRead MoreDifferences and Similarities of Greek and Roman Gods1714 Words   |  7 Pages Mythological gods are a subject that has fascinated many for centuries. Some of the more popular gods are the Greek gods and t he Roman gods. On many occasions people have confused the gods of these two ancient civilizations. For instance when a person thinks of the goddess of love they may think of Venus or Aphrodite and think that they are one and the same. They are not though, Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and Venus her Roman counter part. When thinking of the God of Love, CupidRead MoreSimilarities and Differences between Greek and Roman Gods1010 Words   |  5 Pageswondered where things in our everyday lives get their names from? Well the an swer could be from Greek or Roman gods. So many things are indeed named after the gods. Like the car company Mercury or the shoe company Nike. There are many gods in both mythologies but this essay will talk about 12 of them, six gods from Greek mythology and six gods from Roman mythology. Each god will have their own corresponding god from the other mythology. Although they might be from different mythologies in essence theyRead MoreComparing Roman And Greek Mythology1354 Words   |  6 Pages Roman Vs. Greek Mythology Roman and Greek mythology are full of complexities. Much of Greek and Roman everyday life revolved around these myths. Many similarities are obvious between Roman and Greek mythology because the Romans borrowed a significant amount of their myths and gods from the Greeks. Although Roman and Greek mythology have a few components in common, they also have many various aspects that cause differences in their cultures. First of all; values, morals, traditionsRead MoreGreek And Roman Mythology881 Words   |  4 PagesGreek and Roman Mythology Since the dawn of time, different societies have worshiped gods, believing in their power and being afraid of their fury. People have prayed and made sacrifices in order to achieve the gods mercy and generosity. They believed that, if the gods are in good mood, they will provide people with good weather conditions for growing crops. People needed explanations for different natural phenomena, such as rain, drought, lightning, thunder and earthquake. So, ancient people believedRead MoreGreek and Roman Culture Essay examples1240 Words   |  5 PagesGreek and Roman culture, although similar, are very different and interesting. Since the Romans adopted culture from the Greeks, many traditions are the same. When the Romans conquered the Hellenistic cities, they became fascinated with the idea of a Greek style of doing things. All things Greek were now considered popular. This is how much of the Greek way of life made its way into the Roman society. The first part of culture that the Romans adopted was the Greek art. Scores of Greek paintings