Curiosity is mankind’s rudimentary drive. Humans possess a natural desire for knowledge, craving to learn and understand. This is illustrated in David Macaulay’s novel Motel of the Mysteries when in the year 4022, Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist, finds himself at the bottom of a shaft, which he soon realizes is the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Howard Carson and Harriet Burton’s diary of artifacts from the twentieth century displays Macaulay’s theme that humans construct theories in the absence of answers, but often fall victim to inaccuracy. People have a tendency to overestimate the significance of unfamiliar, ordinary items and practices. For example, after Howard Carson stumbled upon the buried tomb, he and his team …show more content…
Near the beginning of the novel, Macaulay writes: “Evidence unearthed at several widely scattered sites indicates the entire continent was covered by a complex network of grey and black stripes” (Macaulay 10). Through this statement, the reader can easily recognize that Macaulay is referring to a system of highways. However, he continues to describe these highways through the perspective of those living in the year 4022, explaining: “Until the development of the high-altitude infrared draftsmanship, the intricacy of this network was unknown. Becauses the various patterns can only be fully appreciated from the air, the German scholar Heinrich Von Hooligan believes the stripes were planned either as landing strips for extraterrestrial craft or as coded messages from the inhabitants of the continent to their many powerful gods” (Macaulay 10). So, because of the mystery behind this network, Hooligan theorized through religion, generating a correlation between the highways and the “many powerful gods” of the inhabitants of Usa. This type of reasoning can also be seen in real life. For example, an article on ScienceDaily described a project led by a group of archaeologists from the British Museum and University of Leicester that revealed how the first generations of Europeans who arrived in the Americas engaged with native peoples and their spiritual beliefs. The article explained, “A large collection of …show more content…
For example, in Motel of the Mysteries, the effects of the archeological excavation on Carson are described as such: “Driven by an overwhelming sense of responsibility to the past along with a burning desire to contribute significantly to the future, Carson soon lost control of the present...His original schedule...soon gave way to the frenzied and exhausting pace of an eight-hour day...It was also said that during the day, Carson would chat quite freely with either or both of the skeletons, which, in one of his more lucid moments, he had nicknamed Dembones and Dozebones for quicker identification” (Macaulay 34). Carson, having just uncovered his first significant discovery as an archeologist, became absorbed in the thrill of the ancient findings. However, he was not the only archeologist to have been influenced by the excavation. Macaulay describes Burton’s experience as well, stating: “Not surprisingly, Harriet, too, began to feel the strain. In her only recorded outburst, she kicked her way into the lab and insisted that she be allowed to wear some of the priceless treasures” (Macaulay 36). It becomes clear that she, too, became consumed by the excitement encompassing the excavation. These two incidents clearly illustrate people’s tendencies to be absorbed by compelling
Throughout the book Tom Lewis goes back and forth between the good and bad that came about from building highways. While the paved roads connected our country, made travel time faster, provided recreation, and pushed the development of automobiles they also created more congestion and travel time, divided communities, and made us slaves to automobiles. The author is critical of the highways, but he does realize the great achievement it is in the building of America. Lewis said, “As much as we might dislike them, we cannot escape the fact that ...
The Allegory of the Cave has many parallels with The Truman Show. Initially, Truman is trapped in his own “cave”; a film set or fictional island known as Seahaven. Truman’s journey or ascension into the real world and into knowledge is similar to that of Plato’s cave dweller. In this paper, I will discuss these similarities along with the very intent of both of these works whose purpose is for us to question our own reality.
The University of Maryland has a rich history dating back to its founding in 1856 as the Maryland Agricultural College. Built between 1804 and 1812, The Rossborough Inn is the oldest building on campus today (Ghost Tour, 2). With its history, it is no surprise that the Inn has been a hotspot for ghost activity. Knowing that there have been numerous reports of ghosts at Rossborough, I visited the Inn to ask current employees at the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, located in Rossborough Inn, if they themselves had experienced anything bizarre or if they had known others who had. I entered the small office where three women were talking and with their permission asked about their experiences with ghosts at Rossborough. Upon asking my question, all three smiled, although shaking their head, they indicated they had not. However, they all had heard of the stories, and one of the women replied and told me to speak with the University Archivist. She told me that she has spoken with the archivist, and upon learning the stories, she said that she “got freaked out and really wanted to go home.”
middle of paper ... ... Our curiosity is what makes our interactions interesting and entertaining. As members of society, it is our innate ability to wander further than what we have in front of us. We want to impose our opinions on everything.
“Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.” (Magritte)
What drives a person past insanity? What drives an individual to feel no remorse, but rather a psychological relief in murderous acts? Consider all the different types of people on Earth as well as the lifestyles and situations these people are raised up in. As much as it’s desired to think the world is filled with people who carry no such thing as a bad bone in their bodies, that thought process is simple deception. The fact is that psychopaths and sociopaths hide among others in everyday environments - neighbors, teachers, family members, doctors, friends, or even the local mailman. Psychopaths are declared as people who suffer from a mental disorder causing aggression and abnormal behaviors such as their “lack of
According to the Oxford Dictionary; a serial killer is a person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern. They usually go through a cooling down period where there are no murders. Then start the killing spree back up again after the cooling down period. The killing spree usually doesn’t last more than a couple of years without the murderer being caught. And there is usually a victim type and killing style which leads to the killer being identified. This is the definition of a serial killer so why is it so commonly believed that this is a male dominated area. “However, if, as seems to be the case in many countries, the only
As children we are born with a natural curiosity that pulls us out into the world. Going out and experiencing new things, seeing different environments; like the first time you see the ocean or snow or the Grand Canyon, it adds to the world that we know and changes our perspective on it with each new thing. But if we reflect upon it and ask what is the ocean? Or what is it that gives us life and makes us so different from a rock. These are questions which cannot be easily answ...
Truth is constantly sought out in Fountain and Tomb. Our young narrator is often like a detective, listening attentively to conversations, making keen observations of situations, and seeking out answers to questions he doesn’t know. “The day is lovely but redolent with mystery,” our narrator says, identifying all the unknowns in the world around him (Mahfouz, 15).
A few times each year, our ears perk up when the news is turned on. On occasions there will be news about a murder of a young child or all the way to an old being. Murder is seen as a disgusting happening. Murder is seen as a disgusting hobby. Murder is pure disgust. Eyes fill with hatred when the picture of the serial killer is viewed. They are not human beings, they lack emotion and their eyes are filled with the desire to kill. With quick judgment, people don’t see what’s in the inside. All they see is an emotionless, cold blooded killer. What makes them do what they do? In no way is murder acceptable but there’s always a reason for it and the typical person fails to see what’s through the fog standing between him or herself and the killer. Humans are all born the same, and are shaped to be what they become. There’s always a past that is forgotten but in many cases it isn’t. Serial killers are in the wrong for taking lives from innocent people. Their actions are certainly not justified but they are misunderstood as people do not know what triggers their killing spree.
The story of the Fall of Man is known to many people not so much through the Bible as through John Milton's Paradise Lost. Milton's work presents a version that has become part of biblical custom, and to a certain degree aid in the understanding of the Creation and the Fall based on Milton's additions and explanations. The poem's monumental influence aside, Milton's unparalleled perspective has made Paradise Lost one of the most significant works that is relatable to his own era and the present. However, religion is not the only aspect that can be presented at a contemporary angle. By bringing in symbolic figures he invites allegorical interpretations that allow similarities to be made about community structure. Milton appeals to a modern audience by recognizing the structure of society throughout Paradise Lost. Today’s generation remains familiar with this societal component and its various interpretations.
Since the beginning of the human species, humans have possessed an undying curiosity with their entire existence and surroundings. These curious obsessions, including that of their environments and other living organisms, have never been as strong, remarkable and lasting as the curiosity we’ve had about ourselves both collectively and individually. Two anthropologists offer the valid idea that “it is probably fair to say, wherever literate civilizations came into contact with members of different societies, something like ethnographic writing occurred” (McGee, Warms, 2012). It also seems to be plausible, even looking as far back into the human origin and history as Homo neanderthalensis, that the first glimmer of curiosity occur. Of course Homo neanderthalensis would not be writing ethnographies detailing the emic and etic perspectives within and about a culture, but since they are believed to have lived in complex groups and would occasionally pass another group or merge with another group in passing it would seem reasonable to assume that a base curiosity must have been piqued. All ideas, whether valid or not, begin with a thought. The field of anthropology is a rich transformation and amalgamation of ideas, thoughts and theories evolving throughout time. The purpose of this essay is to summarize the development of anthropological theory from the late nineteenth century to the present twenty-first century.
Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, the BTK Killer. The names and assumed names of these cold-blooded serial killers are forever branded into the cognizance of people everywhere. This is mainly due to the mass media coverage, including newspapers, movies, television specials and books. This media coverage brought to light that these killers were, on the surface, normal, successful, attractive, productive members of society – that is, until the time that their heinous crimes came to be discovered.
Lastly, passage IX is found in Book 8. During this section, Adam and Eve had already partaken of the forbidden fruit. Shortly after tasting the fruit, Adam mentions that why something so delightful and pleasurable would be forbidden when it should be encouraged. Eating the fruit allowed them to become aware of their physical appearance. Adam and Eve began to cover themselves for they were ashamed. However, along with being ashamed, they become attracted to the appearance of the flesh. Never had Adam ever noticed the perfection of Eve’s body. Needless to say, they had sexual intercourse all night until they fell asleep.
When I was younger I couldn’t imagine going to a haunted house with my Uncle Jon, Aunt Sam, and my four cousins Khristian, Jazmine, Felicity, and Lizzie who seem to not be afraid of anything when you were eight years old. I can because it happened to me. It seemed like I was the only one nervous on the drive up to the terrifying haunted house. As we got closer and I could tell this was going to be an eventful night.