The Alienation Of Gregor Sams The Bug Man - 1451 Words

Michael Gray 5/16/17 Intro to Literature: Fiction The Alienation of Gregor Samsa: the Bug Man Life can at times be an illusion that drops people into the deepest realms of the world. It can be an illusion so vivid and confusing that a person is seen by his or herself as nothing but an insect. This is the sad but real case for Gregor Samsa in the book, The Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka. Kafka delivers a story of a character, Gregor, who lives a tedious life. He is told as a man who cares for his family greatly, yet a man who lives in isolation. He works as a salesman for a boss he cannot stand, at a job he despises, yet he continues to work in order to support his mother, father, and sister. He has difficulties maintaining†¦show more content†¦The first step of Gregor’s alienation stemmed prior to his transformation into an insect. His work environment is an extremely dehumanization experience for him. His boss treats him awfully, and when Gregor missed the initial train he usually took to work, his mother and father were worried as to what do to. If he misses work they knew that he would be in extreme trouble with his boss. Kafka explains this situation as, â€Å"And even if he managed to catch the train, he couldn’t escape a dressing-down from the boss, for the attendant from work had been waiting at the five-o’clock train, and had long ago informed the boss that Gregor had missed it. He was the boss’s creature, stupid and spineless† (31, Kafka). Kafka describes Gregor as nothing but an insect floating around work, waiting to be stomped on by his boss. Gregor’s loathe for his work helps develop his isolation from the rest of the world, alienating him from his own body, into that of an insect. It becomes evident that Gregor hates his job, and especially his boss, when he first wakes up in the morning. Gregor thinks to himself, â€Å"If it wasn’t that I’ve held back on account of my parents, I’d have given in my notice long ago. Ià ¢â‚¬â„¢d have gone to the boss and told him what I thought outright, with feeling. It would make him fall off his desk† (30, Kafka). Gregor is sick and tired of working for his boss at the job

The Fukushima Nuclear Plant Free Essays

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was built in Okuma, Fukushima, to provide Japan with electricity. The plant consists of six nuclear reactors that were built during different times in the 1970s. The reactors were built close together primarily because finding a new location would make a new reactor very expensive, compared to the addition of a new reactor. We will write a custom essay sample on The Fukushima Nuclear Plant or any similar topic only for you Order Now The plant was constructed near the sea because nuclear plants consumes massive amount of waters just for its cooling needs and also for steam generation which then drives turbines that generate electricity. The various reactors serviced different companies and suppliers including General Electric, Toshiba, and Hitachi. On March 11th, 2011, an earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns and releases of radioactive materials. According to the International Business Times (Australia) â€Å"Fukushima is not the worst nuclear accident ever but it is the most complicated and the most dramatic disaster. † (IBT, 01) On April 2011 The Nuclear Institute rated the disaster a Level 7 â€Å"Major Accident† on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The International Nuclear Event Scale How the reactors were damaged An earthquake of magnitude 9. 0 on a Richter Scale initially damaged the reactors. According to the World Nuclear Association, reactor 4 had been de-fueled while reactors 5 and 6 were in cold shutdown for planned maintenance. Immediately after the earthquake, the remaining reactors 1-3 shut down automatically and emergency generators came online to power electronics and coolant systems. However, a tsunami rapidly followed the earthquake, flooding the low-lying rooms in which the emergency generators were housed. The flooded generators failed, cutting power to critical pumps, which must continuously circulate coolant water through a nuclear reactor for several days after being shut down in order to keep the plant from melting down. As the pumps stopped, the high radioactive decay produced in the first few days after the shutdown caused the reactors to overheat. The overheating led to the meltdown of the reactors. General Risks of Nuclear Plants Even without a natural disaster such as an earthquake followed by a tsunami, a Fukushima-like nuclear accident can occur at any nuclear power plant that relies on water for cooling. Nuclear power reactors today are fueled mostly with uranium, which undergoes a fission chain reaction, releasing heat and creating radioactive fission products, plutonium, and other transuranic elements. After a time, the concentration of chain-reacting isotopes drops to the point where the fuel is considered â€Å"spent† and has to be replaced with fresh fuel. The â€Å"spent† fuel has to be stored in pool basins allowing the heat and radiation level to decrease. After the fuel has cooled, it may be transferred to massive air-cooled dry casks for storage on-site or in a centralized facility. Unlike fossil fuels, nuclear power plants do not emit smoke, sodium dioxide, nitrogen oxide, or CO2 to the atmosphere. However, because of the use of Uranium, all nuclear power plants release radioactive waste, which stays radioactive from thousands of years and is therefore very dangerous. The typical method of storing nuclear waste is to house it in steel-lined concrete basins filled with water. The nuclear power industry’s leading innovators are currently considering alternatives such as moving the nuclear waste to off-site storage facilities, but this raises the problem of transporting the hazardous material. The escape of radioactive material from the nuclear reactor is very dangerous. Leakage can occur in the following situations: through small releases during routine plant operation, accidents in nuclear power plants, accidents in transporting radioactive materials, and escape of radioactive material from confinement systems. After the radioactive material escapes it could end up in our ecosystem via the atmosphere, the ground, or even the water. According to America on Radiation Alert: Japan Faces World’s Worst Nuclear Accident since Chernobyl as Experts Warn Fallout May Reach U. S. Japan’s nuclear disaster in 2011 caused several countries to reconsider their use of nuclear energy. Precautions that could have prevented the Disaster The original site for the Fukushima plant was a bluff 35 meters above sea level, but high costs prevented construction at this altitude. The plant had to be built on a rock to assure stability of land, so Kajima, the plant’s constructor , decided to lower the level of the bluff by 25 meters to reduce the cost of extra pipes to reach ground rock. However, Kajima did not take into consideration the possibility that a Tsunami could be higher than 10 meters. Lowering the height of the cliff was considered one of the main facts associated with the damage according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The tsunami caused water to flow into the nuclear plant, flooding the lower emergency generators with seawater, and causing the power supply to fail. The plant was built in a geographical location that is vulnerable to earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. An earthquake, categorized as 9. 0 on a Richter scale, caused a tsunami of magnitude 8. 9 Richter Scale. At the time the plant was built, theories regarding plate tectonics were relatively new. Had geologists and other scientists been more familiar with the causes of earthquakes, especially in that region, the plant might have been built on another, safer site. However, relocating the nuclear plant is the cost effective, time consuming, most locations have similar features because Japan is found on fault lines. The plants current existing location is conductive in helping cool the nuclear plants (water is taken from seas/rivers and circulated†¦ that’s why it was on the shore). The damaged reactors cut power to the critical pumps, which failed to circulate coolant water through the nuclear reactors for several days, allowing it to melt down. The high radioactive heat decay produced in the last few days of the disaster had to be cooled. At that point, only the prompt flooding of the reactors with seawater could have cooled the reactors quickly enough to prevent meltdown, but the decision to allow flooding was delayed because it would ruin the costly reactors permanently. Only after a long delay, the Japanese government ordered the reactors to be flooded with seawater. A meltdown could have been prevented if they had acted sooner. Alternatively, the disaster could have been prevented if the emergency generators were located in the upper levels of the plant. This would have prevented the flooding and kept the emergency generators in operation. If the generators had not been flooded with seawater the nuclear reactor could have maintained cooling operations and a nuclear meltdown could have been avoided. Finally, certain safety precautions could have prevented this type of disaster at Fukushima. One, properly trained personnel are, in my opinion the main issue to be addressed. The American Nuclear Society approved that unlike the United States, â€Å"Japan rarely tests the limits of the system and training of personnel† All which lacked training† (ANS, 02). Two, many structural and managerial precautions could have been implemented to protect against natural disasters; â€Å"there were serious problems with accident management and with risk communication and crisis communication† (ANS, 04). Most nuclear power plants nowadays practice these basics and have regulation checking’s and visiting taking place. Conclusion on Fukushima. One could make the argument that the nuclear reactor accidents could have been attributed to at least some level of human error. However, the consensus seems to be that the disaster was caused for the most part by the natural occurrence of the earthquake and tsunami. On October 12th, 2012, a Japanese Nuclear Plant Operator admitted on CNN for the first time that â€Å"TEPCO has failed to take stronger measures to prevent disasters. † Tokyo Electric Power Co. said in a statement that paying closer attention to better-trained employees, international standards and recommendations could have prevented the disaster. TEPCO’s president said to TEPCO’s press release that â€Å"these implementations could have saved us from the accident if we turn the clock back. ’’ Newly designed reactors For the past few years, nuclear plants have been undergoing an extensive process of redesign. Newly built reactors are designed more safely, so that they do not need electrical power to shut down safely; they are relying less on pumps and valves, and more on natural heat. In addition, advanced digital operation will do away with the requirement of a human controller for 72 hours, and the main core will remain cool because of a containment cooling system. According to the World Nuclear Association, â€Å"Additional safety measures have been installed at nuclear power plants nationwide since the accident under the government’s instructions. † Such measures include enhanced seawalls, additional backup power and cooling water sources, the storage of radioactive waste on dry land, and the development of better crisis management training. Nuclear power plants/stations are statistically safe because disasters rarely happen. However, when nuclear disasters happen they cause massive destruction. How to cite The Fukushima Nuclear Plant, Papers

Defects of Consent free essay sample

A defect of consent is a situation where a party’s declaration does not reflect his actual intent. This difference between declaration and intent may be caused by other parties,in order to make someone to form a contract with themselves. Fraud and Duress are this kind of defects. Roughly,fraud is deceiving someone by hiding certain facts or giving them a wrong impression/information in order to make them form a contract and duress is scaring or threatening someone to make them form a contract. If there is a difference between declaration and intent,which unintentionally resulted from the declarant,we can say there is an error. In some cases,both parties are mistaken about contract. Such defects are called â€Å"Collective Error†. In these situations,contract is formed by parties’ true intent,not according to their false statements. Error In the TCO article 30,the law states that â€Å"A party acting under an essential error when entering into a contract is not bound by it. † Interpreting this article,we can deduce that essentiality is a key concept,since unessential errors will not affect validity of the contract. Some aspects of essential error are specified in TCO,but law does not limit cases of essential error with those articles. Unwritten states of essential error are determined by the rules of good faith. Error may occur in several ways: Error in declaration In the TCO article 31 the law sets forth: An error is deemed particularly essential in the following cases 1-Where a party intended to conclude a contract different from that to which he consented. A wants to sell 100 kilos of olive oil to B,but during the formation of the contract, A inadvertently states that he wants to buy 100 kilos of olive oil and B agrees the offer. -Where a party has concluded a contract relating to a subject matter other than the subject matter he intended. A wants to buy E branded good,but during the formation of the contract he states he wants to buy F branded good by mistake and is not aware of it. 3-Where a party declared his intent to conclude the contract other than the whom he intended to. A wants to s end an offer via mail to B,but he writes a different adress and mail goes to C. C accepts the offer. 4-Where a party took a specific person into consideration as the other party in entering a contract but declared his intent to another. A is a nanny who wants to raise B’s child C,but during the formation of the contract she stated the name of B’s mentally deficient child D. A is mistaken about someone’s identity,not someone’s qualifications. Otherwise it would be error in motive,which shouldn’t be confused. 5- Where a party has promised to make a significantly greater performance or has accepted a promise of a significantly lesser consideration than he actually intended. Error in calculation of a simple nature do not affect the validity of the contract;but they should be corrected. A good should have 10. 000 dollars written on its label but accidently 1000 dollars is writtenon label. A buys the good for 1000 dollars. Error of Agents The law states in TCO article 33 that â€Å"Where an offer to enter into a contract has been incorrectly communicated by a Messenger,translator or other agents or by any means,the provisions governing error are applicable†. Error of agents are counted as error in declaration. Mistranslation,misinforming,changes in the text during telegraphing†¦ are examples of such errors. Error by Considering a Demeanour as Consent When a party’s action is considered as an offer or acceptance by another party,and the other party is right to consider this as such and forms the contract,contract will be valid. However mistaken party can put forward that he is mistaken and benefit from the provision of error in declaration. Texts signed without reading If a party signs a text without reading ,and is right to think that the text suits his intent,outcome is determined by the other party’s knowledge about this intent. If the other party knows or has to know that text does not suit signer’s intent,contract will not have been formed and thus there will not be any need for provisions of error. On the other hand,if the other party does not know or have to know the signer’s intent,contract will be formed,but signing party by proving that the error is essential,can benefit from provisions of error in declaration. Signature in Blank One of the parties agree to sign in blank first,then allow other party to constitute the contract. If this contract formed later on has contents which do not suit signing party’s actual intent,he can benefit from provisions of error. Error in Motive Error in motive is caused by an error in the formation of intent. On principle,error in motive is not essential. If there are conditions prescribed by the law,there is an essential error in motive. In TCO article 32,the law sets forth that â€Å"Error in motive is not deemed as essential unless the mistaken party deems the motive as necessary basis for the contract and it is valid regarding the business affairs in good faith. Yet this rule is not applicable unless the other party is aware of this motive† According to this article,error in motive is essential if the party deems this motive as necessary basis for the contact. This means the party is mistaken about a subject or qualifications of someone which affected his decision to form the contract. Error in material qualification,error in fact,error in legal status are examples of such mistakes. A wants to buy sculpor B’s statue but in fact the statue is a replica. In this situation there is error in material qualification. A thinks he is assigned to a job in another city,so he rents a house in that city. He made an error in fact. A purchases a land to build a house,but does not know construction is forbidden on this site. He is mistaken about land’s legal status. Also if other party is or has to be aware of the motive,error is deemed as essential. This should be determined in the present case. Avoidability In TCO art. 30 the law stipulates that â€Å"A party acting under an essential error when entering into a contract is not bound by it. † However this is limited by TCO art. 39. The contract will be valid if the mistaken party does not abolish the contract in a year,beginning from the moment he realises his error. Good Faith Rules in Error Right to avoid is also limited by the law. The law states in TCO art. 34 that â€Å"A person may not advance error in a manner in violation of good faith. In particular, the contract is considered to be concluded in a way that the party acting in error intended, in case the other party declares his consent to be bound by that contract. † Violation of good faith mentioned in the first subsection may be like this: A person learns that he made an essential error about a contract which he concluded years ago. He wants to use his right to avoid just to damage other party. In that case he will not be able to benefit from provisions of error since it is a violation of good faith. Second subsection of this provision is particularly important. I wish to give a case in this point,in order to better explain it: A wants to buy a kilo of fruit for 2 Liras,but he is mistaken and accepts B’s offer to buy a kilo for 3 Liras. Then A states his mistake to B,B immediately says he is ready to sell it for 2 Liras. In this situation A cannot put forward that he wants to nullify the contract,since he made an essential error. The contract is formed. Error by Negligence According to TCO art. 35 â€Å"A party acting in error is liable for any loss arising from the nullity of the agreement where the error is attributable to his own negligence. However, there is no compensation if the other party knew or should have known of the error. In the interests of equity, the Court may, not exceeding the benefit of standart performance, award further damages to the injured party. † The first subsection is about responsibility of parties’ actions before the formation of the contract (culpa in contrahendo). Even a slightest negligence in error results in culpa in contrahendo,and in such situations damages will be compensated. According to the second sentence of this subsection,there will not be any compensations if the other party knew or should have known of the error. But this provision is not applicable to error of declaration,since if the other party knew or should have known the error in declaration,contract is formed according to the declarant’s real intent. Yet if a party knows or has to know other party made an error in motive,mistaken party will not have to compensate any damages even if he abolishes the contract. Amount of the damage that will be compensated,is the damage that would not exist if the contract would not be formed. This kind of damage is â€Å"negative damage†. Benefit of the standart performance is named as â€Å"positive damage†. According to the second subsection,judge may decide further damages. This â€Å"further damage† is compensation of positive damage. Amount of positive damage that must be compensated may be some of the positive damage or all of the positive damage,determined by equity,but cannot exceed positive damage.