Romeo and Juliet, and War Poetry Comparison Paper

How well does Baz Lurhmann’s adaptation if the script show the theme of conflict? I think Baz Lurhmann’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet strongly shows the theme of conflict throughout the entire film, in which it is retold for the modern viewers.Baz Lurhmann shows at the start of the film two sky high building with ‘Montague’ and ‘Capulet’ in bold lettering at the top, this shows how the two families have a lot of rivalry, such as in the business world of today’s society which a lot of people can relate to also the fact they are both nearly at a war about something nobody knows anything about ‘Ancient grudge‘, I think this is the base point of the build up of conflict in the film. Lurhmann also used quite modern weapons such as guns and drugs which I think is easier for people to understand, as it is up to date which world today.In nearly every shot in the film there is a gun which shows the amount of tension and rivalry betw een everyone and how this leads into the conflicts. Also Lurhmann choose to represent the different houses in the form of gangs which a lot of people now days can understand in a sense which there is always a lot of conflict to protect yourself and your family name. I think Lurhmann has achieved exactly this in Act 1 Scene 1. The conflict shown in this scene is incredible in a way in which it is brought up how something very small can lead into something big and cause a lot of damage and disruption.

Five-Point Linguistic Star: A Linguistic Approach Essay

We’ve allowed a natural approach to language instruction to dominate our schools, hoping our English learners †¨Ã¢â‚¬Å"will just figure it out.† (SCOE, 2009) This approach suggested by Kevin Clark proposes that teachers explicitly teach ELL by giving them a set of skills. Teacher will have to teach students not just vocabulary, but the sound system of language, the words and their word parts and meanings, and also rules for structuring sentences grammatically. Teaching students from this perspective can support a deeper understanding of the language. When the concept is thoroughly supported by background knowledge, explanation as to why, activities that strengthen skills, and consistency in lesson structure that follows this pattern, students are more likely to understand the concept and create a platform from which to launch higher level thinking and conclusions on following concepts and content area. Students learn more efficiently when they have prior knowledge o n a presented concept. If the student can link content to a concept that they gained from previous knowledge on from their own unique background or culture, it will inevitably spark interest in that subject area. By sparking interest the teacher is now adding value to the lesson. Since students synonymize interest with value, the teacher would prove effective. Now a sense of purpose has now been infused into the lesson, and the student/students may begin to contribute more. (NCREL, 1990) This approach is rather intriguing, and teachers should be trained in linguistics prior to teaching ELLs. I would learn the subparts of linguistics via a course: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. By learning each subpart in-depth, I can better compose lesson plans and activities that explore those areas for the ELLs to better benefit. Understanding the mechanics of a language is just as important as understanding the language itself, for both teachers and  students. The concept of prior knowledge should not be limited to the students but teachers should utilize this concept for their own effective instruction. If teachers have prior knowledge of the subparts of the English language, as well as knowledge of the diverse cultures he/she is instructing can help the teacher create and blend a comprehensive and student-inclusive lesson plan and curriculum. Prior knowledge influences how the teacher and students interact with the learning materials as both individuals and a group. (Kujawa and Huske, 1995) Prior knowledge assists in segue of appropriate instruction and retention, because it is a foundation from which to build from and facilitates the idea of making sense of the educational experience. As the students are learning from the linguistic perspective, especially under syntax and semantics, students would be primed for grammatical instruction, also. As they learn how, where and when to use appropriate vocabulary, I will insert instruction on main grammatical principles and rules and branch off into further instruction where applicable. I would try to make sound non-confusing connections with the native language grammatical principles, so there is a prior knowledge foundation established in that arena as well. I would also have a grammar day in the middle of the week to review prior concepts and morph new grammar lessons into the lesson plan and utilize formative assessment strategies to see what needs to be reviewed and further defined. References Kujawa, S., & Huske, L. (1995). The Strategic Teaching and Reading Project guidebook (Rev. ed.). Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Restructuring to promote learning in America’s schools, videoconference #2: The thinking curriculum. (1990). Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Sonoma County Office of Education. (2009) Structuring language instruction to advance stalled English learners. Aiming High Resource. Retrieved September 16 2014.

Market Structures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Market Structures - Essay Example There are many firms. Each firm owns a percentage of the total market share. Furthermore, products are differentiated in pricing strategies, style, brand name, advertisement, and packaging. Here are no barriers to entry and exit. Monopoly There is a single seller such that the industry and firm are synonymous. Monopoly markets have unique services and products that do not have close substitutes. The firm in a monopoly market is the price maker and has considerable control over the price as it can control the supply of the product. Monopoly markets have barriers to entry and exit. Oligopoly There few large firms with each firm considerate of their rivals’ decisions and reactions to its decisions regarding output, advertising, and prices. Products in an oligopoly market are differentiated. There are barriers to entry in this market due to the requirement of huge capital investments and economies of scales. Demand Perfect Competition Individual firms in a perfectly competitive ma rket view their demand as perfectly elastic that is a horizontal line at the market price level. However, the industry demand curve is not perfectly elastic. The demand curve is perfectly elastic for individual firms because they are price takers regardless of the quantities they produce. This explains why the demand curve for firms in a competitive market is a horizontal line at the market price. Monopolistic The demand curve of firms in a monopolistic market is highly elastic, but not perfectly elastic.

Cross-cultural,moral, ethic, and environmental issues of hospitality Essay

Cross-cultural,moral, ethic, and environmental issues of hospitality organization - Essay Example The forms are in relation to the hospital and physician, and each occurs at different integration stages. Hospital leadership often uses the stakeholders’ capability of management to understand, analyze and transact business in order to achieve the required goals for cooperates wellbeing. Internal and external stakeholders’ interests can be identified and managed by understanding the organization’s engagements, analysis, management, influences and partnership. Health system views the management of organizational culture as an important part of reforms today. The latest reforms in United Kingdom were based on major cultural transformation on the organization that should be secured on considerations of procedural and structural changes. This will help in the delivery of the required improvements in performance and quality services. Key factors that impede change of culture across a wide range of sectors include inappropriate leadership, professional allegiances and external stakeholders imposing constraints. There are effects that come with subcultural diversity and lack of ownership mentality. Cultural competency is important for potential strategy in eliminating ethnic or racial disparity and increase quality in the health care sector. The approach has taken varies depending on the influential sphere, goal and mission. Cultural competence has a multilevel nature in line with the key informants. Stakeholders are mainly interested in the organizational basis of the hospital. This is pivotal as it help in management of hospitals in order to maintain a good profitable organization. â€Å"Stake holders are mainly interested in the economic progress of the health facilities.† (Maybery & Nicewander, 103-119) The aspect revolves around creating employment training programs and zoning regulations. They are interested in social change, in efforts of racial harmony improvement. Involving workers in decision making

Business policy & strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business policy & strategy - Case Study Example McDonald should also consider adding healthy options. For instance, they should focus on healthy fruit juices instead of Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Deals in their menus right now offer the standard cold drink along with Fries and burgers. The restaurant should consider offering fresh juices in their deals also. McDonalds should launch a campaign focusing on the steps it has taken to combat environmental claims against the company. An image of caring company should be developed and fostered in such campaigns. Consumers are aware of what McDonalds is offering in terms of product, now the campaign should focus on what the company offers in terms of emotional value. McDonald should open more of its McCafes and expand these cafes internationally. McDonald’s has a strategy of aligning its product with the local tastes and culture of the country in which they expand. Considering this, McDonald should pursue the same strategy when opening its cafes in other regions. For instance, in India, breakfast consists of chutneys along with the main breakfast. McDonald should therefore offer chutney in its breakfast menu in India. McDonald should continue expanding into new geographical regions and adapt menus to serve the local tastes of the consumers. It should focus on eating as a family by offering a wide range of products such as baked potatoes along with fried potatoes. The organization chart illustrates the divisional structure. Divisional structures are usually organized based on geographic areas, markets or products (Phillips and Gully, 2011). In the case of McDonalds, the division is based on geographic area with each division responsible for their own area. In this structure, it is easy to evaluate which regions are most profitable and this makes accountability easier. Marketing, Finance, Human Resource are separate divisions that help develop a unitary policy for the company in terms of their marketing, finance and human resource

The Financial Crises and The Collapse of the Lehman Brothers - ABD Essay

The Financial Crises and The Collapse of the Lehman Brothers - ABD - Essay Example The role of governments and that of economic theories had an equal amount of role to play in the control and monitoring function and the predictive ability and risk measurement respectively. The study of such indicators helps to understand and appreciate the importance of non financial factors as a cause of the recent financial crisis that shook the entire world (Kotz, 2009). The aftermath of the great financial crisis helps us to reflect upon the shocks experienced by the policy landscape and government policies and greed of bankers and the plight of the taxpayers. This has brought to focus, the need for enhancement of the role of the government in regulating and controlling the systems of the market from the inadequacies and the excesses. Also linked with these issues is the problem with moral hazards. The role of moral hazard has been identified to be central to the causes of the recent crisis and the learning from the controversy that can be drawn (Engelen et al., 2008). A moral hazard can be clearly defined as the responsibility of one party towards the interest of the other but where the interests of the former attain priority. For example, a person sells a financial product to the other but chooses only those funds for sale which provide him with the highest bonuses but might not hold any interest of the buyer. The risks associated with it are mutually borne by the seller and the buyer. The subprime was a typical example for the moral hazard theory where gains and social losses were privatized (Godechot, 2008). Financial risk management failures were caused primarily due to the ignorance of the systematic interaction between the different risk elements of the process. There were modeling errors that were based on the assumption of normal markets and ignored abnormal market situations. Such practice made the financial risk management system more prone to crisis rather than being less exposed. Credit default swaps and collateralized debt

Air pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Air pollution - Essay Example From this research it is clear that air pollution has become a major environmental health problem affecting both developed and developing countries throughout the world. The consequence has been that air pollution is causing human health problems as well as damage to vegetation, crops, wildlife, materials, buildings and even the climate. In the U.S., the largest sources of air pollution, in order of importance, are: 1) transportation, mainly automobiles and trucks; 2) electric power plants that bum coal or oil; and 3) industry, for which the major sources include steel mills, metal smelters, oil refineries, and paper mills. The most common air pollution problem resulting from these emission sources is ground-level ozone (O3), According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), non-attainment of EPA requirements for O3 is the most common air pollution problem facing large cities in the U.S. It is estimated that, 160 million people in the U.S. lived in areas that are in non-attainment of healthful O3 levels (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD]. In the past, efforts to reduce air pollution have consisted primarily of "command and control" programs that involve enforcement of government regulations designed to reduce toxic emissions. Such programs have proven highly effective in reducing industrial, point source pollution and causing auto manufacturers to produce cleaner burning automobiles.... The stratospheric level of the earth's atmosphere lies directly above the troposphere, which extends from sea level to approximately 8-9 miles above the earth's surface. It is in the troposphere that nearly all forms of life on earth reside. Within the stratosphere lies a highly concentrated level of ozone, commonly referred to as the ozone layer. The highest concentrations of O3 within the stratosphere occur between 11-15 miles above the earth's surface. This stratospheric ozone layer is essential to the maintenance of life on earth, protecting the earth's inhabitants from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation (Buchholz 1). Thus, free of human interference, the stratospheric ozone layer is continually maintaining a dynamic equilibrium between ozone production and ozone destruction that maintains the earth's protective ozone layer. While O3 also occurs naturally in very small amounts at ground level in the troposphere, in urban areas throughout the U.S., tropospheric O3 levels are rising to unhealthful levels (Buchholz 1). In affected urban areas, O3 air pollution reaches its highest level between the months of May and September when temperatures are high and sunlight abundant. O3 forms at ground level when volatile organic compounds (VOC's) combine with nitrogen dioxides (NOx) in the presence of heat and light (Buchholz 1). NOx is formed via the burning of fossil fuels at high temperatures, and is the primary precursor to O3, NOx and VOC's, are emitted into the air by motor vehicles, electrical power plants and other industrial plants. Because the O3 molecule is highly reactive, it acts as a powerful oxidant. Consequently, ground-level ozone negatively affects human

Biotechnology Aplications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biotechnology Aplications - Essay Example Oral vaccines are the most likely solution used due to rising incidents of diseases in undeveloped countries; where by costs are extreme to extensive immunization. Hereditarily engineered food crops, oftenly fruits or vegetables, which are planned to transmit antigenic proteins arising from transferable pathogens which activates an immune response when injected. A good illustration is patient –specific vaccine for cancer treatment. Tobacco plants with RNA arising from duplicated malignant B-cells are used to make an anti-lymphoma immunization. The resulting protein is utilised in vaccinating the victim as well as boosting their immunity system apart from the cancer (Wozniak & McHugen, 2012). Antibiotics-Sometimes, plants are utilised in production of antibiotics for animal use as well as human use. Using plants to manufacture antibiotics for human beings is less costly due to large production from plants against unit of fermentation, easiness in purification, in addition to reduced danger of contamination as compared to using culture media together with mammalian cells (Wozniak & McHugen, 2012). Flowers-Aesthetic application for example uses transfer techniques as well as gene recognition to improve the smell, size, colour and other flower features. Likewise, other ornamental plants like trees and shrubs have been improved through biotech. Some enhancements such as these resemble those done to crops, for instance improving cold confrontation of a tropical plant to make it adapt to northern gardens (Gaisford & Hobbs, 2001). Production of biofuels-Agriculture as an industry generally plays a key role in the biofuels sector. Genetic engineering as well as enzyme optimization methods are used to come up with more quality feedstock for more effective change as well as advanced BTU outputs from the fuel products. Thus energy-dense and high-yielding crops can reduce relative costs related with transportation and harvesting, leading to fuel products of high

Kudler Fine Foods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kudler Fine Foods - Research Paper Example This provides opportunity for the company to concentrate on the segments and provide the products and services which were not adequately provided. Marketing research will also give the company a vision to identify the groups in need of their products and services. These demographic groups can be recognized by age, gender and locations, which will have made it easy for the serving company to provide their services and products (Pride and Ferrell 2012). Another important factor, which is the main reason of running a business, is the increase in profits from the sales of products and services. Marketing research will increase the profits of the company since the company will find a way of increasing profit margins by either producing certain products or selling the products to different demographic segmentations. Furthermore, it will provide the company with a vision on what are the impacts of increase in the prices of the different products and services. Marketing research will make a company sell more of its products and services, since the company will identify which place needs certain products and services, the likes and the dislike of the customers and the change in consumer patterns (Pride and Ferrell 2012). ... Question 2 From an analysis on the current research conducted, it is evident that Kudler Fine Foods should also conduct research on the packaging of their products, which will be done by the organization to make the products more presentable to the consumers. An organization can do this by looking for the best and low cost ways of packaging the produce (Kotler et al, 2008). The store can also conduct a motivational research, which can be done by knowing or finding the reasons behind the buying of certain products by the consumers and what prompts them to buy or ignore other products. Kudler Fine Foods should also conduct research on the foreign markets if it is to provide some of its products to international markets (Kerin, Hartley and Rudelius, 2012). They can do so by knowing what the needs in the internationals are, and markets in which competition is already operating in order for it not find a way of venturing into the international market. The company could also conduct an ext ensive research on product brand names and the ways it could affect the consumers and the competitors. Additionally, the company can conduct research on related products for them to ascertain the relationships between these products and the products currently offered (Kotler et al, 2008). This should be supplemented by conducting market research on competing companies, which will provide them with decisions on what to use on their marketing plans. Kudler Fine Foods can also conduct market research about the distribution channels of different products, which will give them a greater chance to discover the best distribution channel for the products and in turns beat the competitors’ ways of distributing its

Lesson on Crime Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Lesson on Crime - Assignment Example Expected Proceedings of the Class: When the class begins, the students will probably be stiff and very wary of the teacher. They will be reluctant to open up and communicate. There will be some students who will try and open up and enhance communication. The teacher will initially react to the exuberant students and then gradually ask leading questions to gradually do away with the inhibitions of the class. It is the teacher's responsibility to ask leading questions to the non responsive students so that all round class participation is assured. The warmer should comprise general interaction with the students. Once the attention of the class is ensured the teacher can then proceed with the next part of the lesson where it is introduced and the students are asked to mention the one major hazards in the Universities of the USA. This will hopefully elicit the word crime or shooting or terrorist activity. This dialogue should increase confidence of students. Of course there will further comments like tutorials or rampant sex or night life or many other words which have no link with the topic. The Teacher has to steer the response of the students to relevant discussion. The Teacher hones down on the word crime and pronounces it deliberately and writes it on the board. T then asks SS to give words which sound like Crime If above activity doesn't elicit any target class T asks class 'Why don't you take each alphabet and try and form a word that sounds like Crime T-SS, SS-T S-T T-S S-T T-SS SS-T To expose SS to Lexical items. This will hopefully elicit the word crime or shooting or terrorist activity. This dialogue should increase confidence of SS. To allow the word CRIME to play on the minds of the class To elicit words like dime, mime, rhyme, lime, grime etc. from other members of the class. Hopefully this will give the above words PRE-TEACH VOCABULARY 5 T shows appendix A - Flash Cards Tells them that all words may not spell similar but they sound similar T-SS To ensure that SS is introduced to every word used PRESENTATION 10 mins T writes sentences on board, using each of the words (See Appendix B) Brief chorus of material from board, T corrects if necessary. Individual drilling of similar examples, varying subject of sentences T-SS SS-T To provide the meaning of each of the words To check pronunciation and to provide the opportunity for group members to practice the phrases together to gain confidence. Gauges SS level of appreciation of the usage of the different words CONTROLLED PRACTICE 10mins T divides SS into pairs and instructs them to complete matching activity in appendix C T monitors SS feedback to T with answers, T corrects any serious problems and answers any queries T-SS, SS SS-T Consolidates knowledge of form and function within a less demanding exercise. To check understanding of instructions. To ensure that exercise is being carried out correctly and that no-one is confused at this early stage. To ensure that any problems are corrected. GUIDED PRACTICE 10 MINS T plays the tape Appendix D and asks SS to repeat after every word together in a chorus and then individually at random T corrects each student as and when necessary T-SS SS-T - SS To reinforce knowledge, to give SS the opportunity to practice phonetics in an exercise that becomes gradually more difficult to provide a verbal record of structure and to allow SS to work without fear of

Responses to Modernism Essay Example for Free

Responses to Modernism Essay a) How does Levin characterize the art of the Modern era? List the various terms and phrases she uses to describe the Modern period. Levin characterizes the art of the Modern era with terms such as: style, form, scientific, experimental, method, logic, technological, purity, clarity, order, idealistic, optimistic, ideological, reductive, austere, puritanical, elitist, dogmatic, brutal, competitive, individualistic, materialistic, formal, abstract, repetitive, flattening, ordering, and literal. Levin characterizes the art of the Modern era with phrases such as: â€Å"style-the invention of sets of forms-was a preoccupation of Modernism, as was originality. The Tradition of the New, Harold Rosenberg called it† â€Å"Modern art was scientific. It was based on faith in the technological future, on belief in progress and objective truth. It was experimental: the creation of new forms was its task† â€Å"It longed for perfection and demanded purity, clarity, order. And it denied everything else, especially the past: idealistic, ideological and optimistic, Modernism was predicated on the glorious future, the new and improved. Like technology, it was based all along on the inventions of man-made forms, or, as Meyer Schapiro has said, â€Å"a thing made rather than a scene represented. † â€Å"Conceptualism came out of the closet; and art became documentation. In a sense, it was the ultimate godlike act of Modernism: creating a work out of nothing. In another sense, it was obvious that something was over,† â€Å"Modernism, toward the end of its reign, came to be seen as reductive and austere. Its purity came to seen puritanical. It was in the terminology in a word, Formalism which implied not only the logical structures of Modernist invention but also the structures of rigid adherence of established forms. â€Å"There is no other democracy than the respect for forms†, one of the new French philosophers, Bernard-Henry Levy, has remarked. Like democracy, Modernist art is now being reinterpreted in terms of its insistence on forms and laws rather than in terms of liberty and freedom. The Modernist vision may have had democratic aims a progressive emancipation of the individual from authority in an age of unlimited possibilities, as Schapiro has notedbut in practice it was elitist: the public never understood abstract art. It was as specialized as modern science. And emphasis on structure rather than substance is what we came to see in it. Like science, Modernist art has begun to seem dogmatic and brutal. † â€Å"competitive and individualistic, it saw everything in terms of risk. Like capitalism, it was materialistic. From its collage scraps and fur-lined teacup to its laden brushstrokes, I-beams, and Campbell’s soupcans, modernist art insisted increasingly on being an object in a world of objects. What started as radical physicality turned into commodity; the desire for newness led to a voracious appetite for novelty. † â€Å"the artist as godlike Creator was the leitmotif of Modernism† b) How does Levin characterize the art of Postmodernism? List the various terms and phrases she uses to describe the Postmodern period. Levin characterizes the art of Postmodernism with terms such as: hybrid impurity, illusionistic theatricality, narrative insinuations, counterrevolutionary contradictions, disillusionment, distrust, survival, natural substances, ongoing processes, photographic images, language, real-time systems, nature, demolition, natural, temporality, psychological, narrational, personal, lifelike contexts, subjective facts, subversive, protesting, impure, quotes, scavenges, ransacks, recycles, synthesis, confession, fiction, irony, whimsy, disbelief, intimate, metamorphosis. Levin characterizes the art of Postmoderism with phrases like: â€Å"Style has become a voluntary option, to be scavenged and recycled, to be quoted, paraphrased, parodied to be used as a language† â€Å"It could be argued that the precise moment of its demise was signaled a few months earlier by the revelation of Duchamp’s Etant Donnes with all its hybrid impurity, illusionistic theatricality, narrative insinuations, and counterrevolutionary contradictions opening a peephole into the magical natural world as if predicting the concerns of postmodern art. † â€Å"Returning materials to their natural stage, subjecting them to natural forces, sending art back to the land or internalizing it within the body, they were evidence that time and/or place were becoming crucial, clearing the way for the psychological and the narrational, for personal content, lifelike contexts, and subjective facts. The feeling against style and objectivity proved more subversive than the antipathy toward objects and form: post-modernism arose out of Conceptualist premises that art is information -while protesting its Modernist aridity. † â€Å"Post-modernism is impure. It knows about shortages. It knows about inflation and devaluation. It is aware of the increased cost of objects. And so it quotes, scavenges, ransacks, recycles the past. Its method is synthesis rather than analysis. It is style-free and free-style. Playful and full of doubt, it denies nothing. Tolerant of ambiguity, contradiction, complexity, incoherence, it is eccentrically inclusive. It mimics life, accepts awkwardness and crudity, takes an amateur stance. Structured by time rather than form, concerned with context instead of style, it uses memory, research, confession, fiction with irony, whimsy, and disbelief. Subjective and intimate, it blurs the boundaries between the world and the self. It is about identity and behavior† â€Å"perhaps we should look to the self-awareness movements that became popular during the ‘70s for a terminology appropriate to the new art: based not on scientific reason and logic and the pretense of objectivity but on presence, subjective experience, behavior, on a weird kind of therapeutic revelation in which it is not necessary to believe or understand it is enough if it works. † c) What are the main points of contrast Levin describes between the art of the two periods? The main points of contrast between modernism and postmodernism that Levin describes are: style as preoccupation vs. style as option, purity vs. hybrid impurity, man-made vs. the natural, adherence to forms vs. the tolerance of ambiguity, godlike vs. lifelike, objective vs. subjective, idealistic vs. realistic, and progressive understanding vs. the cyclical understanding. d) What symbols does Levin suggest would serve as iconic images for the two periods? For modernism, the grid is the suggested iconic image. For post-modernism, the map is the suggested iconic image. e) Now, identify two of the art movements discussed by Levin. Find a representative artist who participated in each movement and has at least one artwork illustrated in your textbook. Write a compare-contrast between the two artworks. One of the art movements and representative artists should be identified by Levin as Modern, the other as Postmodern. Dadism: Rauschenberg-Bed(1955) Pop Art: Andy Warhol-Marilyn Monroe f) Start by identifying the two artists and their artworks as fully as possible. Rauschenberg was an American artist who became famous during the transition from abstract-expressionism to pop-art. He is famous for his white, black and red paintings. With his white paintings, he sought to reduce painting to its essential nature so that the possibility of pure experience could be created and appreciated. With his black paintings, Rauschenberg mixed paper with newspaper to create the effect of appearance and disappearance. With his red paintings, Rauschenberg created what would be fore-runners of his combine series. They used complex materials so that the surface was disturbed from the impression of being flat or two-dimensional. Certainly a transitional painter, he worked within the gap between modernism and post-modernism. Through mistakes he developed his imaginative creativity into meaningful formations that explored new ways and mediums of creating art, by processes like photography, silk-screen, and multimedia juxtaposition. g) Describe both works in detail Rauschenberg’s artwork, Bed(1955) was created with Rauschenberg covered a shallow wooden frame with a worn quilt, that is alternately splashed and splattered with paint. While it uses everyday materials and can be said to celebrate them by transforming them from something disposable to something that is to be preserved, it is also a Dada-esque assertion of anti-art. f) Andrew Warhol was a prominent figure in the pop-art movement who was known for his diverse friends and came up with the concept of â€Å"fifteen-minutes of fame. † A celebrity in his own right, he is characteristically known for his paintings of luminaries like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. When he switched to silk-screen, Andrew Warhol minimized his own hand so much as he tried to follow his intention to be â€Å"a machine. † His silk-screen was made serially and mass-produced the mass-produced, including the iconic Campbell’s Soup Can. Shot in 1968, by a fringe member of his Factory Scene ‘clique,’ Warhol barely survived and spent much of his later life as a more subdued â€Å"business-artist. † A man who loved plastic, Warhol also aspired to be plastic, at once superficial and commercial but also in possession of an odd aura of glamour. g) Andy Warhol’s artwork, â€Å"Marilyn,† was created so that it could personify mass-production and the glamorous aura of ‘celebrity. ’ Warhol accomplished this with his stenciling technique where ink and paint was applied to silk-screen images. An effect that was also realized was that of two disparities. In â€Å"Marilyn† the public image and the private image are attached but wrestle against each other so that both have a characteristic of ambiguity and not quite holding very well. h) How are they Similar? They incorporate different mediums, and deal with disparities. They both wrestle with the private and the public. â€Å"Bed† turns a private item into a public presentation and â€Å"Marilyn† deals with the clash between the private person and the public personification. i) How are they Different? â€Å"Bed† deals more with the ordinary and the relatively mundane. â€Å"Marilyn† deals with the exceptional and the aura of celebrity. â€Å"Bed† appears to have been created quite carelessly, â€Å"Marilyn† appears to have been created deliberately. â€Å"Bed† somehow congeals and appears finished although in a more careless kind of way. â€Å"Marilyn† seems somehow undone and there is the feeling that a missing element should be there. It feels unfinished and never quite complete. j) Finally, do they seem to illustrate Levin’s points about Modernism and Postmodernism—or not? Yes, they do seem to. â€Å"Bed† deals with the man-made, the quilt is a man-made object that is also a machine-made object. â€Å"Marilyn† has a strange kind of living existence as it deals with the natural, the organic, as well as, the complex human form in all its frailty. There is a quality of decomposition to it that makes it very odd but makes it portray the organic in a strong way. â€Å"Bed† is godlike because it does create something out of nothing. It turns what is â€Å"nothing,† an old quilt, into something quite extraordinary, so extraordinary that it will be displayed in museums as a monument of sorts. â€Å"Marilyn† is deeply personal and subjective, it is an intimate rendering of someone who lived who cannot really be known except through subjective interpretations. â€Å"Bed† is much more elitist and it takes a lot of erudite clarifications before a lot of people can ‘get it. ’ â€Å"Marilyn† is not incorporative of any great interplay of the theoretical and can be appreciated much more easily because it deals with such popular content matter.

Investigation of Police Brutality and problems behind it

Investigation of Police Brutality and problems behind it Law enforcement has established to be an important part in modern day society. The law enforcer more commonly known as the police officer has the primary functions to fight crime and maintain the peace in an effective and efficient manner. Over the last decades the role of the law enforcer has evolved which has provided researchers the opportunity to explore and study the nature of policing by the utilization of specific models. Most researchers have identified a trend in the increased number of cases related to police brutality which are generally blamed for the presence of highly regarded values that exist within the law enforcement culture. This culture believes that force is justified because it should be able to protect the rights of innocent civilians. In todays law enforcement culture criminals are profiled by their colour, race, age, religion, social status and their ethnicity this increases the like hood of innocent members of the public to become potential targets of the police force. International and domestic outrage was expressed over the Abner Louima case in 1997, which involved the wrongful arrest and torture of a Haitian immigrant by local police officers. The exposition of the case will utilize Deontology as the framework for understanding the ethical dilemma that is present in the Abner Louima case. This essay will also seek to analyze ethical problems that are present identifying deontology as the ethical theory to evaluate the problems. Inherent ethical problem and dilemma in the case Every modern day society has law enforcement forming an integral part of the everyday life. Researchers have identified that the nature of the policing is made up of particular models. The most discussed model is the crime fighter that sees every criminal to be the enemy (Dudley, 2001). The police officer is deemed as the protectors of the citizens by enforcing the law. An equally discussed model is the emergency operator model this model describes the police officer as the person who must respond to an emergency situation, whilst enforcing the law in the given situation, such as a drink driving offence. A less discussed model is the social peacekeeper model which investigates and resolves the root causes of criminal behavior, this model aims to provide an explanation of the law enforcement institution and how it operators with multiply expectations, roles and responsibilities. A commonly discussed model which is highlighted in most modern day movies is the social enforcer model which justifies the use of intimidation and exploitation techniques to achieve the objectives of the law enforcement institution. In the case of Abner Louima it is evident that the ethical dilemma is the portrayal of the police officers in question, the crime fighter model is by far the greatest influential model within the law enforcement institution and has created a strong cultural acceptance dictating that criminals are dealt with harshly. Hence introducing an ethical dilemma with the Abner Louima case. Deontological Ethics Deontology believes that human beings act in an ethical manner if they have the motivation and appeal from a higher source (Salzmann, 1995). This empowers the individual to feel needed and powerful within the society. Deontology provides an explanation of ethics to be based on regulations and rules that are established within society (Beauchamp, 1991). This implies that ones actions are deemed to be morally acceptable if the reason is based on social, legal and political legislation that exists within the society. Within these ethical regions obeying these legislations provides evidence that the actions of individuals are acceptable. The police brutality in the Abner Louima case highlights the threat that police brutality poses against the stability of society because it fosters a climate of hostility towards criminals and suspects. This in turn leads to the retributive justice approach to every criminal offence and offender. It is considered this retributive justice approach will inhibit the ability for the law enforcement institution to effectively fight crime. Deontology can be successfully used to identify and assess the nature of the problem. Police officers have created their own sub culture that is identified with specific values and ideals. These ideals legitimize the application of coercion and intimidation against criminal suspects. Deontology would take the view that police actions are immoral in nature because they go against established rules and regulations. They violate the civil liberties of human beings by creating distrust and suspicion towards them. Analysis The police have an institutional culture which comprises of diverse values and attitudes. This culture contains hazards that lead to an alternative code of conduct among police officers. This culture influences the operating procedures for police personnel in society. The common elements of this culture have been closely associated with belligerency, violence, and aggression (Dudley, 2001). The introduction of new police officers does not influence this sub culture and they can only flourish through proper education from senior police officers. These officers outline the code of conduct towards criminal elements which is essential to adhere in order for new officers to survive in their new environment. The individual gender, race, social status and ethnicity play a critical role in shaping police officers attitudes and notions (Bayley, 2005). The institutional culture perceives minorities as being a threat to police authority. Any acts of disrespect for police authority by minorities are responded with a harsh approach. Excessive use of force becomes legitimized in order to punish the criminals. In the case of Abner Louima, Justin Volpe was the police officer who assaulted Abner Louima and charged him with various false offenses. Abner Louima was arrested and placed into police custody and repeatedly beaten and tortured by a number of police officers. Deontology would argue that such acts are not justified. The current US legal system places a number of restrictions on police behavior. This is done in order to safeguard the interests of the individual. The institutional culture tends to perceive the due process as a mechanism that safeguards the criminals. Hence the application of force is justified against minorities who are in accordance with the stereotypes of criminals. Justin Volpe and the other police officers were justified according to the institutional culture to resort to physical and psychological abuse against the victim. Such actions according to deontology would be ethically not permitted due to several reasons. Some duties are universal according to the ethical system like the right to protect innocent people (Delattre, 2004). It focuses on the nature of actions rather than determining the implications. Hence it is essential that the police act as guardians of innocent people. They cannot apply excessive force again st suspects because it is based upon their stereotypes and perceptions. Deontology also uses the intrinsic values of specific actions in order to determine their ethical nature. In addition the Abner Louima case demonstrates the justification of deception and fraud against criminal offenders. This is because police work is deemed to be a dangerous and hazardous environment in which loyalty and dedication supersede the legal concerns and processes (Delattre, 2004). Acts of misconduct perpetrated by officers are tolerated with a strict code of loyalty. Anyone who resists such a code faces severe implications by other police officers. The police culture is often believed to have a set of core values that help to shape its identity. A large number of police officers perceive the general public with distrust and apprehension. Hence stereotypes influence police officers to initiate brutal actions against people who might not have perpetrated an offense (DeSantis, 2002). The general public is defined as dishonest. Force is an important component of police culture because it is defined in terms of defensive purposes. A perceived threat means that police officers can apply force in order to safeguard their interests (Johnson, 2004). This threat can not necessarily be a physical danger to the officer but it can involve suspicious or uncooperative behaviors and actions. Force is used because it serves to implement the law in an efficient and effective manner. In addition, it helps to restore the dignity and respect of police officers (Johnson, 2004). It is considered to be a lesson to criminal offenders and perpetrators who have broken the law. Some police officers consider themselves to be the victims because of their low pay, poor working conditions, and legal policies. These variables help to create a victim complex which can be countered only by adhering to a set of alternative rules and regulations. Some police officers believe that criminals do not deserve access t o civil liberties. Hence force is legitimized because the general public will eventually seek to support the police departments. These officers believe that law abiding citizens do not need to be victims of their actions. The Louima case demonstrates that none of the actions by the police officers were morally defensible or good. Deontology argues that certain actions are ethical because they are based upon prohibitions. Hence the brutal assault on Louima was not justified because it was based upon mere suspicion and stereotypes. However deontology does not apply a moral absolutism in its principles and approaches. The use of force against hardcore criminals like rapists, pedophiles, and drug traffickers would be necessary in certain circumstances. In addition, if force was applied for self defense then the police officer would be perfectly justified in using it. Police discretion has often been identified as a mechanism that can be abused in several ways. Their ability to make deci sions is enhanced through this process because it helps them to respond to specific situations. Hence deontology would legitimize the police brutality in the Louima case. The police officers acted using their own discretionary abilities when they targeted the offender (Johnson, 2004). The moral actions were perfectly in line with this line of reasoning. This is due to the fact that the officers were assaulted during the scuffle at the bar. Hence the natural reaction would be to act against suspected offenders to uphold the honor and dignity of the police officers. Conclusion Police brutality has been a major problem in the United States as demonstrated by the Louima case of 1997. A major ethical dilemma was the frequent misuse of police powers against criminal offenders. Often police brutality occurs because of the pervasive nature of institutional culture. The occupational hazards associated with policing legitimize the frequent application of force against suspects. These suspects can be declared criminals if they belong to specific stereotypes and profiles of the police officers. Many police officers use force as a means to uphold their dignity and esteem. They believe that disobedience to the law is tantamount to challenge to the authority of the police officers. Some police officers believe that they are victimized by excessive public interference and poor working conditions. Hence force becomes legitimized against criminals while protecting the rights of innocent people. Deontology is an ethical system that believes in the appropriate nature of rul es and regulations. Hence a higher moral imperative is used in order to justify ethical principles. Deontological ethics in the above case would argue that the actions of police officers were not justified. They went against the due process and rule of law. In addition, they were based upon suspicion and apprehension as the police officers needed to respond to public attacks. However an alternative explanation would be that the officers were under stress since they were in the middle of a fight. Hence the application of force could be justified because they were acting on their own discretion.

Essay on the Failure of Language in Malcolm and On the Road

The Failure of Language in Malcolm and On the Road        Ã‚  Ã‚   John Clellon Holmes in his essay "The Philosophy of the Beat Generation" characterized his young contemporaries as deeply spiritual; to him, the very eccentricity of the fifties with their characteristic sexual promiscuity, drug addiction, petty criminality, and heterodox forms of self-expression was an attempt to assert one's individuality in the atmosphere of pervasive conformity of that Golden Age. And judging by the literature of this era from the distance of four decades one might conclude that incessant search for one's true self was, indeed, what this time was all about. The shaping of identity of a young protagonist (or its failure) is the dominant motif of the two outstanding works of the period--James Purdy's Malcolm and Jack Kerouac's On the Road, published in 1959 and 1957 correspondingly; their central characters, Dean Moriarty and Malcolm, severed from the primal source of identity--their fathers, are on a quest to regain the touch with that most fundamenta l aspect of their individuality. Defining oneself in relationship to language is an essential part of this quest. There is a certain magnetism about Malcolm and Dean that wins over hobos, billionaires, chanteuses, and bohemians alike; but whatever the nature of their charm might be, it is not linguistic. Indeed, both Malcolm and Dean are at odds with standard English. Malcolm's verbal innocence makes him a foreigner to any circle he finds himself in; the pattern corruption in the novel, therefore, requires that his mentors introduce him to the vocabulary which stands for yet another aspect of the wickedness they are to "break him in." This is an arduous task, given the extent to which Malcolm is a... ...y appropriated, were the heroes of the generation (Krupat 407). Purdy's novel, on the other hand, denies his Everyman a father, humanity its God, and the world any meaning.       Works cited Adams, Stephen D. James Purdy. London: Vision, 1976. Holmes, John C. "The Philosophy of the Beat Generation." On the Road. Text and Criticism. By Jack Kerouac. Ed. Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. 367-79. Kerouac, Jack. On the road. Ed. Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. Krupat, Arnold. "Dean Moriarty as Saintly Hero." On the Road. Text and Criticism. By Jack Kerouac. Ed. Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. 397-411. Lorch, Thomas M. "Purdy's Malcolm: A Unique Vision of Radical Emptiness." Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature. 6 (1965): 204-13. Purdy, James. Malcolm. London, New York: Serpent's Tail, 1994.      

Pitiful Human Condition Exposed in Endgame, Dumbwaiter, and The Horse D

The Pitiful Human Condition Exposed in Endgame, Dumbwaiter, and The Horse Dealer's Daughter      Ã‚   The three stories, The Endgame (Beckett), The Dumbwaiter (Pinter), and The Horse Dealer's Daughter (Lawrence) all deal with the themes of repression, repetition, and breakdowns in communication. The stories show us the subjectivity of language and exemplify the complexities of the human condition.    Samuel Beckett arrived on earth in Ireland on Good Friday, April 13, 1906. He then spent the rest of his life wanting to be somewhere else. Beckett's life was one of silence, solitude, and depression. He felt he did not belong in this world and he was disenchanted with societal convention and the hum-drum existence that was everyday life. He lived in Paris for awhile and became good friends with James Joyce, another Irish writer disenchanted with conventional ways of life.    Becketts works reflect his complex views of language, silence, and the ineffectual capacity of both to convey human thought. In Beckett's ideology, "Language is useless" and "he creates a mythical universe peopled by lonely creatures who struggle vainly to express the inexpressible. His characters exist in a terrible dreamlike vacuum, overcome by an overwhelming sense of bewilderment and grief, grotesquely attempting some form of communication, then crawling on, endlessly."    Beckett's short story, The Endgame, is about four people in an underground room waiting for death. The end of the world has apparently happened and they have survived in what is presumed to be a bomb shelter. Two of the characters live in trash cans. These two characters are the parents of our main character, Hamm, who is himself confined to a whe... ...he unconscious is the soul and all action should be from instinct. That is a scary thought!    Works Cited Beckett, Samuel. "The Endgame", (online) http://samuel-beckett.net Pinter, Harold. "The Dumb Waiter", The Caretaker and The Dumb Waiter, Grove Press, Inc., New York, 1965 Lawrence, D.H. "The Horse Dealer's Daughter", (online) "Samuel Beckett", (online) http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc7.htm "Harold Pinter", (online) http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc28.html Cliff Notes. "Harold Pinter - The Dumb Waiter"(online) Prentice Hall, (online) http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_guth_disclit_3/0,5308,342140-,00.html Nigel Harrison, Eastwood and D H Lawrence, (online) http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/nigel_h/dhl.htm Randall Albright, "The Horse Dealer's Daughter", (online) http://clik.to/rananim/   

Li and Change :: Confucianism Essays

Li and Change ABSTRACT: In this paper I ask the question of how change is effected in the li practices of a fundamentally conservative society. I begin with a description of how li functions in society ideally and actually, arguing that they play a crucial role in society as the medium through which the Confucian objectives (the perfection of the self, the establishment of order within one’s family, and the restoration and preservation of social order) are realized. The character of li suggests that li practices be evaluated in terms of their efficacy in realizing the Confucian objectives, for which participation in li is both necessary and sufficient. Yet, these objectives transcend li practices, allowing individuals to evaluate li practices in terms of their efficacy in realizing Confucian objectives in the face of changing concerns and circumstances, and thereby affect the relevant changes in li practices. It is an adequate understanding of what the Confucian objectives entail and the st ructure of the situations one finds oneself in that inform evaluation of existing li practices. However, changes in li practices take place vis-a-vis a conservative attitude towards inherited social conventions, and it is this conservative attitude that provides stability and continuity despite flux. Changes in li practices are therefore gradual, and do not disrupt social order. 1. Introduction This essay is an attempt to understand the concept of li (commonly translated by commentators as "rituals", "rites", "customs", or "conventions") — as elucidated in the Analects — within the context of social change. Particular attention will be paid to how the Confucian understands li practices to function in a society, and how changes in li practices are effected. Thus, in what follows, I shall take seriously the notion of Confucianism as a practicable way of life. I take the concept of li (as it occurs in the Analects) to refer to the social conventions governing various aspects of human conduct (Analects, 1.12, 2.3, 2.5, 3.19, 4.13, 11.26, 12.1). As I understand it, li functions primarily as a social regulator in the realisation of the Confucian objectives — namely, the perfection of the self, the establishment of order within one’s family (which the Confucian understood as the basic unit of a society), and the restoration and preservation of social order. Each li practice consists of a set of actions, with detailed descriptions regarding one’s attire, stance, and expressions (Book 10). Participation in li involves the skilful execution of the set of actions demanded by each li practice, accompanied by the appropriate dispositions and attitudes.

Chapter 10 The Marauder’s Map

Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. He didn't argue or complain, but he wouldn't let her throw away the shattered remnants of his Nimbus Two Thousand. He knew he was being stupid, knew that the Nimbus was beyond repair, but Harry couldn't help it; he felt as though he'd lost one of his best friends. He had a stream of visitors, all intent on cheering him up. Hagrid sent him a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages, and Ginny Weasley, blushing furiously, turned up with a get-well card she had made herself, which sang shrilly unless Harry kept it shut under his bowl of fruit. The Gryffindor team visited again on Sunday morning, this time accompanied by Wood, who told Harry (in a hollow, dead sort of voice) that he didn't blame him in the slightest. Ron and Hermione left Harry's bedside only at night. But nothing anyone said or did could make Harry feel any better, because they knew only half of what was troubling him. He hadn't told anyone about the Grim, not even Ron and Hermione, because he knew Ron would panic and Hermione would scoff. The fact remained, however, that it had now appeared twice, and both appearances had been followed by near-fatal accidents; the first time, he had nearly been run over by the Knight Bus; the second, fallen fifty feet from his broomstick. Was the Grim going to haunt him until he actually died? Was he going to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder for the beast? And then there were the Dementors. Harry felt sick and humiliated every time he thought of them. Everyone said the Dementors were horrible, but no one else collapsed every time they went near one. No one else heard echoes in their head of their dying parents. Because Harry knew who that screaming voice belonged to now. He had heard her words, heard them over and over again during the night hours in the hospital wing while he lay awake, staring at the strips of moonlight on the ceiling. When the Dementors approached him, he heard the last moments of his mother's life, her attempts to protect him, Harry, from Lord Voldemort, and Voldemort's laughter before he murdered her†¦Harry dozed fitfully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted hands and petrified pleading, jerking awake to dwell again on his mother's voice. It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Monday, where he was forced to think about other things, even if he had to endure Draco Malfoy's taunting. Malfoy was almost beside himself with glee at Gryffindor's defeat. He had finally taken off his bandages, and celebrated having the full use of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Harry falling off his broom. Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing Dementor imitations across the dungeon; Ron finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him in the face and caused Snape to take fifty points from Gryffindor. â€Å"If Snape's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skiving off,† said Ron as they headed toward Lupin's classroom after lunch. â€Å"Check who's in there, Hermione.† Hermione peered around the classroom door. â€Å"It's okay!† Professor Lupin was back at work. It certainly looked as though he had been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely on him and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes; nevertheless, he smiled at the class as they took their seats, and they burst at once into an explosion of complaints about Snape's behavior while Lupin had been ill. â€Å"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?† â€Å"We don't know anything about werewolves –â€Å" â€Å"– two rolls of parchment!† â€Å"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?† Lupin asked, frowning slightly. The babble broke out again. â€Å"Yes, but he said we were really behind –â€Å" â€Å"– he wouldn't listen –â€Å" â€Å"– two rolls of parchment!† Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on every face. â€Å"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay.† â€Å"Oh no,† said Hermione, looking very disappointed. â€Å"I've already finished it!† They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought along a glass box containing a Hinkypunk, a little one-legged creature who looked as though he were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and harmless looking. â€Å"Lures travelers into bogs,† said Professor Lupin as they took notes. â€Å"You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops ahead — people follow the light — then –â€Å" The Hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the glass. When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and headed for the door, Harry among them, but — â€Å"Wait a moment, Harry,† Lupin called. â€Å"I'd like a word.† Harry doubled back and watched Professor Lupin covering the Hinkypunk's box with a cloth. â€Å"I heard about the match,† said Lupin, turning back to his desk and starting to pile books into his briefcase, â€Å"and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"The tree smashed it to bits.† Lupin sighed. â€Å"They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance.† â€Å"Did you hear about the Dementors too?† said Harry with difficulty. Lupin looked at him quickly. â€Å"Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time†¦furious at his refusal to let them inside the grounds†¦I suppose they were the reason you fell?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry. He hesitated, and then the question he had to ask burst from him before he could stop himself. â€Å"Why? Why do they affect me like that? Am I just –?† â€Å"It has nothing to do with weakness,† said Professor Lupin sharply, as though he had read Harry's mind. â€Å"The Dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have.† A ray of wintry sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminating Lupin's gray hairs and the lines on his young face. â€Å"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself — soul-less and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that happened to you, Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to feel ashamed of.† â€Å"When they get near me –† Harry stared at Lupin's desk, his throat tight. â€Å"I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum.† Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though to grip Harry's shoulder, but thought better of it. There was a moment's silence, then — â€Å"Why did they have to come to the match?† said Harry bitterly. â€Å"They're getting hungry,† said Lupin coolly, shutting his briefcase with a snap. â€Å"Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up†¦I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch field. All that excitement†¦emotions running high†¦it was their idea of a feast.† â€Å"Azkaban must be terrible,† Harry muttered. Lupin nodded grimly. â€Å"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheery thought. Most of them go mad within weeks.† â€Å"But Sirius Black escaped from them,† Harry said slowly. â€Å"He got away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop quickly to catch it. â€Å"Yes,† he said, straightening up, â€Å"Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible†¦Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You made that Dementor on the train back off,† said Harry suddenly. â€Å"There are — certain defenses one can use,† said Lupin. â€Å"But there was only one Dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist.† â€Å"What defenses?† said Harry at once. â€Å"Can you teach me?† â€Å"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting Dementors, Harry — quite the contrary†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But if the Dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them –â€Å" Lupin looked into Harry's determined face, hesitated, then said, â€Å"Well†¦all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill.† ****** What with the promise of anti-Dementor lessons from Lupin, the thought that he might never have to hear his mother's death again, and the fact that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match at the end of November, Harry's mood took a definite upturn. Gryffindor were not out of the running after all, although they could not afford to lose another match. Wood became repossessed of his manic energy, and worked his team as hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December. Harry saw no hint of a Dementor within the grounds. Dumbledore's anger seemed to be keeping them at their stations at the entrances. Two weeks before the end of the term, the sky lightened suddenly to a dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle, there was a buzz of Christmas in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. The students were all happily discussing their plans for the holidays. Both Ron and Hermione had decided to remain at Hogwarts, and though Ron said it was because he couldn't stand two weeks with Percy, and Hermione insisted she needed to use the library, Harry wasn't fooled; they were doing it to keep him company, and he was very grateful. To everyone's delight except Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term. â€Å"We can do all our Christmas shopping there!† said Hermione. â€Å"Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!† Resigned to the fact that he would be the only third year staying behind again, Harry borrowed a copy of Which Broomstick from Wood, and decided to spend the day reading up on the different makes. He had been riding one of the school brooms at team practice, an ancient Shooting Star, which was very slow and jerky; he definitely needed a new broom of his own. On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry bid good-bye to Ron and Hermione, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the marble staircase alone, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet. â€Å"Psst — Harry!† He turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at him from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch. â€Å"What are you doing?† said Harry curiously. â€Å"How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?† â€Å"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go,† said Fred, with a mysterious wink. â€Å"Come in here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue. Harry followed Fred and George inside. George closed the door quietly and then turned, beaming, to look at Harry. â€Å"Early Christmas present for you, Harry,† he said. Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it. Harry, suspecting one of Fred and George's jokes, stared at it. â€Å"What's that supposed to be?† â€Å"This, Harry, is the secret of our success,† said George, patting the parchment fondly. â€Å"It's a wrench, giving it to you,† said Fred, â€Å"but we decided last night, your need's greater than ours.† â€Å"Anyway, we know it by heart,† said George. â€Å"We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore.† â€Å"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?† said Harry. â€Å"A bit of old parchment!† said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Harry had mortally offended him. â€Å"Explain, George.† â€Å"Well†¦when we were in our first year, Harry — young, carefree, and innocent –â€Å" Harry snorted. He doubted whether Fred and George had ever been innocent. â€Å"?C well, more innocent than we are now — we got into a spot of bother with Filch.† â€Å"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason –â€Å" â€Å"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual –â€Å" â€Å"– detention –â€Å" â€Å"– disembowelment –â€Å" â€Å"– and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous.† â€Å"Don't tell me –† said Harry, starting to grin. â€Å"Well, what would you've done?† said Fred. â€Å"George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed — this.† â€Å"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know,† said George. â€Å"We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it.† â€Å"And you know how to work it?† â€Å"Oh yes,† said Fred, smirking. â€Å"This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school.† â€Å"You're winding me up,† said Harry, looking at the ragged old bit of parchment. â€Å"Oh, are we?† said George. He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, â€Å"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.† And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed: Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing. Astounded, Harry bent over it. A labeled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study; the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris, was prowling the second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy room. And as Harry's eyes traveled up and down the familiar corridors, he noticed something else. This map showed a set of passages he had never entered. And many of them seemed to lead — â€Å"Right into Hogsmeade,† said Fred, tracing one of them with his finger. â€Å"There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four† — he pointed them out — â€Å"but we're sure we're the only ones who know about these. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in — completely blocked. And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the entrance. But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump.† â€Å"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs,† sighed George, patting the heading of the map. â€Å"We owe them so much.† â€Å"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers,† said Fred solemnly. â€Å"Right,† said George briskly. â€Å"Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it –â€Å" â€Å"– or anyone can read it,† Fred said warningly. â€Å"Just tap it again and say, â€Å"Mischief managed!† And it'll go blank.† â€Å"So, young Harry,† said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, â€Å"mind you behave yourself.† â€Å"See you in Honeydukes,† said George, winking. They left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way. Harry stood there, gazing at the miraculous map. He watched the tiny ink Mrs. Norris turn left and pause to sniff at something on the floor. If Filch really didn't know†¦he wouldn't have to pass the Dementors at all†¦. But even as he stood there, flooded with excitement, something Harry had once heard Mr. Weasley say came floating out of his memory. Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain. This map was one of those dangerous magical objects Mr. Weasley had been warning against†¦Aids for Magical Mischief Makers†¦but then, Harry reasoned, he only wanted to use it to get into Hogsmeade, it wasn't as though he wanted to steal anything or attack anyone†¦and Fred and George had been using it for years without anything horrible happening†¦ Harry traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger. Then, quite suddenly, as though following orders, he rolled up the map, stuffed it inside his robes, and hurried to the door of the classroom. He opened it a couple of inches. There was no one outside. Very carefully, he edged out of the room and behind the statue of the one-eyed witch. What did he have to do? He pulled out the map again and saw to his astonishment, that a new ink figure had appeared upon it, labeled ‘Harry Potter'. This figure was standing exactly where the real Harry was standing, about halfway down the third-floor corridor. Harry watched carefully. His little Ink self appeared to be tapping the witch with his minute wand. Harry quickly took out his real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened. He looked back at the map. The tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to his figure. The word inside said, ‘Dissendium.' â€Å"Dissendium!† Harry whispered, tapping the stone witch again. At once, the statue's hump opened wide enough to admit a fairly thin person. Harry glanced quickly up and down the corridor, then tucked the map away again, hoisted himself into the hole headfirst, and pushed himself forward. He slid a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide, then landed on cold, damp earth. He stood up, looking around. It was pitch dark. He held up his wand, muttered, â€Å"Lumos!† and saw that he was in a very narrow, low, earthy passageway. He raised the map, tapped it with the tip of his wand, and muttered, â€Å"Mischief managed!† The map went blank at once. He folded it carefully, tucked it inside his robes, then, heart beating fast, both excited and apprehensive, he set off. The passage twisted and turned, more like the burrow of a giant rabbit than anything else. Harry hurried along it, stumbling now and then on the uneven floor, holding his wand out in front of him. It took ages, but Harry had the thought of Honeydukes to sustain him. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise. Panting, Harry sped up, his face hot, his feet very cold. Ten minutes later, he came to the foot of some worn stone steps, which rose out of sight above him. Careful not to make any noise, Harry began to climb. A hundred steps, two hundred steps, he lost count as he climbed, watching his feet†¦then, without warning, his head hit something hard. It seemed to be a trapdoor. Harry stood there, massaging the top of his head, listening. He couldn't hear any sounds above him. Very slowly, he pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge. He was in a cellar, which was full of wooden crates and boxes. Harry climbed out of the trapdoor and replaced it — it blended so perfectly with the dusty floor that it was impossible to tell it was there. Harry crept slowly toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs. Now he could definitely hear voices, not to mention the tinkle of a bell and the opening and shutting of a door. Wondering what he ought to do, he suddenly heard a door open much closer at hand; somebody was about to come downstairs. â€Å"And get another box of Jelly Slugs, dear, they've nearly cleaned us out –† said a woman's voice. A pair of feet was coming down the staircase. Harry leapt behind an enormous crate and waited for the footsteps to pass. He heard the man shifting boxes against the opposite wall. He might not get another chance — Quickly and silently, Harry dodged out from his hiding place and climbed the stairs; looking back, he saw an enormous backside and shiny bald head, buried in a box. Harry reached the door at the top of the stairs, slipped through it, and found himself behind the counter of Honeydukes — he ducked, crept sideways, and then straightened up. Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that no one looked twice at Harry. He edged among them, looking around, and suppressed a laugh as he imagined the look that would spread over Dudley's piggy face if he could see where Harry was now. There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbet balls that Ron had mentioned; along yet another wall were ‘Special Effects' — sweets: Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-colored bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps (‘breathe fire for your friends!'), Ice Mice (‘hear your teeth chatter and squeak!'), peppermint creams shaped like toads (‘hop realistically in the stomach!'), fragile sugar-spun quills, and exploding bonbons. Harry squeezed himself through a crowd of sixth years and saw a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop (UNUSUAL TASTES). Ron and Hermione were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavored lollipops. Harry sneaked up behind them. â€Å"Ugh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I expect,† Hermione was saying. â€Å"How about these?† said Ron, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose. â€Å"Definitely not,† said Harry. Ron nearly dropped the jar. â€Å"Harry!† squealed Hermione. â€Å"What are you doing here? How — how did you –?† â€Å"Wow!† said Ron, looking very impressed, â€Å"you've learned to Apparate!† â€Å"‘Course I haven't,† said Harry. He dropped his voice so that none of the sixth years could hear him and told them all about the Marauder's Map. â€Å"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!† said Ron, outraged. â€Å"I'm their brother!† â€Å"But Harry isn't going to keep it!† said Hermione, as though the idea were ludicrous. â€Å"He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?† â€Å"No, I'm not!† said Harry. â€Å"Are you mad?† said Ron, goggling at Hermione. â€Å"Hand in something that good?† â€Å"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!† â€Å"But what about Sirius Black?† Hermione hissed. â€Å"He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!† â€Å"He can't be getting in through a passage,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"There are seven secret tunnels on the map, right? Fred and George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And of the other three — one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it. One of them's got the Whomping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I just came through — well — it's really hard to see the entrance to it down in the cellar — so unless he knew it was there –â€Å" Harry hesitated. What if Black did know the passage was there? Ron, however, cleared his throat significantly, and pointed to a notice pasted on the inside of the sweetshop door. BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC Customers are reminded that until further notice, Dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade every night after sundown. This measure has been put in place for the safety of Hogsmeade residents and will be lifted upon the recapture of Sirius Black. It is therefore advisable that you complete your shopping well before nightfall. Merry Christmas! â€Å"See?† said Ron quietly. â€Å"I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with Dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live over the shop!† â€Å"Yes, but — but –† Heroine seemed to be struggling to find another problem. â€Å"Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. He hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet — what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?† â€Å"He'd have a job spotting Harry in this,† said Ron, nodding through the mullioned windows at the thick, swirling snow. â€Å"Come on, Hermione, it's Christmas. Harry deserves a break.† Hermione bit her lip, looking extremely worried. â€Å"Are you going to report me?† Harry asked her, grinning. â€Å"Oh — of course not — but honestly, Harry –â€Å" â€Å"Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry?† said Ron, grabbing him and leading him over to their barrel. â€Å"And the Jelly Slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven — it burnt a hole right through my tongue. I remember Mum walloping him with her broomstick.† Ron stared broodingly into the Acid Pop box. â€Å"Reckon Fred'd take a bite of Cockroach Cluster if I told him they were peanuts?† When Ron and Hermione had paid for all their sweets, the three of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside. Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees. Harry shivered; unlike the other two, he didn't have his cloak. They headed up the street, heads bowed against the wind, Ron and Hermione shouting through their scarves. â€Å"That's the post office –â€Å" â€Å"Zonko's is up there –â€Å" â€Å"We could go up to the Shrieking Shack –â€Å" â€Å"Tell you what,† said Ron, his teeth chattering, â€Å"shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?† Harry was more than willing; the wind was fierce and his hands were freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were entering the tiny inn. It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks up at the bar. â€Å"That's Madam Rosmerta,† said Ron. â€Å"I'll get the drinks, shall I?† he added, going slightly red. Harry and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot butterbeer. â€Å"Merry Christmas!† he said happily, raising his tankard. Harry drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside. A sudden breeze ruffled his hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had opened again. Harry looked over the rim of his tankard and choked. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak — Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on the top of Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table. Dripping with butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Harry clutched his empty tankard and watched the teachers' and Fudge's feet move toward the bar, pause, then turn and walk right toward him. Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, â€Å"Mobiliarbus!† The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view. Staring through the dense lower branches, Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back from the table right beside theirs, then heard the grunts and sighs of the teachers and minister as they sat down. Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoise high heels, and heard a woman's voice. â€Å"A small gillywater –â€Å" â€Å"Mine,† said Professor McGonagall's voice. â€Å"Four pints of mulled mead –â€Å" â€Å"Ta, Rosmerta,† said Hagrid. â€Å"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella –â€Å" â€Å"Mmm!† said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips. â€Å"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister.† â€Å"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear,† said Fudge's voice. â€Å"Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well, thank you very much, Minister.† Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back again. His heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat. Why hadn't it occurred to him that this was the last weekend of term for the teachers too? And how long were they going to sit there? He needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if he wanted to return to school tonight †¦ Hermione's leg gave a nervous twitch next to him. â€Å"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?† came Madam Rosmerta's voice. Harry saw the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his chair as though he were checking for eavesdroppers. Then he said in a quiet voice, â€Å"What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?† â€Å"I did hear a rumor,† admitted Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?† said Professor McGonagall exasperatedly. â€Å"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?† whispered Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"I'm sure of it,† said Fudge shortly. â€Å"You know that the Dementors have searched the whole village twice?† said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. â€Å"Scared all my customers away†¦It's very bad for business, Minister.† â€Å"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do,† said Fudge uncomfortably. â€Å"Necessary precaution†¦ unfortunate, but there you are†¦I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore — he won't let them inside the castle grounds.† â€Å"I should think not,† said Professor McGonagall sharply. â€Å"How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?† â€Å"Hear, hear!† squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were dangling a foot from the ground. â€Å"All the same,† demurred Fudge, â€Å"they are here to protect you all from something much worse†¦We all know what Black's capable of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it,† said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. â€Å"Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought†¦I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead.† â€Å"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta,† said Fudge gruffly. â€Å"The worst he did isn't widely known.† â€Å"The worst?† said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity. â€Å"Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?† â€Å"I certainly do,† said Fudge. â€Å"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?† â€Å"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta,† murmured Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Do you remember who his best friend was?† â€Å"Naturally,† said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. â€Å"Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here — ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!† Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him. â€Å"Precisely,† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course — exceptionally bright, in fact — but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers –â€Å" â€Å"I dunno,† chuckled Hagrid. â€Å"Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money.† â€Å"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!† chimed in Professor Flitwick. â€Å"Inseparable!† â€Å"Of course they were,† said Fudge. â€Å"Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him.† â€Å"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?† whispered Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Worse even than that, m'dear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. â€Å"Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm.† â€Å"How does that work?† said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat. â€Å"An immensely complex spell,† he said squeakily, â€Å"involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find — unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!† â€Å"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?† whispered Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Naturally,† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself†¦and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself.† â€Å"He suspected Black?† gasped Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements,† said Professor McGonagall darkly. â€Å"Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who.† â€Å"But James Potter insisted on using Black?† â€Å"He did,† said Fudge heavily. â€Å"And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed –â€Å" â€Å"Black betrayed them?† breathed Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it –â€Å" â€Å"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!† Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet. â€Å"Shh!† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"I met him!† growled Hagrid. â€Å"I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead†¦an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!† Hagrid roared. â€Å"Hagrid, please!† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Keep your voice down!† â€Å"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, â€Å"Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him –† Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. â€Å"I won't need it anymore,† he says. â€Å"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him. â€Å"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to em anymore†¦Ã¢â‚¬  A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta said with some satisfaction, â€Å"But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!† â€Å"Alas, if only we had,† said Fudge bitterly. â€Å"It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew — another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself.† â€Å"Pettigrew†¦that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?† said Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter,† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I — how I regret that now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold. â€Å"There, now, Minerva,† said Fudge kindly, â€Å"Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses — Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later — told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, ‘Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens†¦.† Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, â€Å"Stupid boy†¦foolish boy†¦he was always hopeless at dueling†¦should have left it to the Ministry †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't've messed around with wands — I'd ‘ve ripped him limb — from — limb,† Hagrid growled. â€Å"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid,† said Fudge sharply. â€Å"Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I — I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him†¦a heap of bloodstained robes and a few — a few fragments –â€Å" Fudge's voice stopped abruptly. There was the sound of five noses being blown. â€Å"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta,† said Fudge thickly. â€Å"Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's been in Azkaban ever since.† Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh. â€Å"Is it true he's mad, Minister?† â€Å"I wish I could say that he was,† said Fudge slowly. â€Å"I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man — cruel†¦ pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them†¦but I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored — asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the Dementors seemed to be having on him — and he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night.† â€Å"But what do you think he's broken out to do?† said Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?† â€Å"I daresay that is his — er — eventual plan,† said Fudge evasively. â€Å"But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing†¦but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their glass. â€Å"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle,† said Professor McGonagall. One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosmerta's glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the teachers had disappeared. â€Å"Harry?† Ron's and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They were both staring at him, lost for words.