Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Essay Example for Free

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Essay â€Å"Many people called her the American Queen. † (Mattern) Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was by far the most iconic fashion figure of the 1960’s. She shaped fashion especially for women in her own time, but more than just being a significant influence on how women dressed in the 1960’s her style has transcended the boundaries of time and the modern women even looks to her on matters of fashion. Jackie, as she was fondly called, did not remain as a potent fashion figure only in the 60’s but continued to shape the fashion industry worldwide, even after her days of glory as the First Lady of America. The influence of Jackies style can still be seen now on the catwalks, every designer shows a look inspired by her. She was very classic, but with a modern twist. (Reuters) Nevertheless, it would be presumptuous to just make this conclusion without looking at how this lady was able to change the way women dress. Jackie was highly instrumental in the fashion scene of the 60’s as well as in modern eras because she instilled a sense of courage into fashion, she equated fashion with personality, and she pioneered the concept that simplicity was in fact stylish, elegant and fashionable. The baroque and almost boisterous fashion sense of women in the 60’s were a basis for Jackie’s influence in making women bolder and more unique in their choice of clothing. Note that during this period discreet strain between American and French relations, and despite of this, Jackie rose above the rest and refused to be influenced by this. Oleg Cassini, Jackie’s designer, â€Å"created her wardrobe for the 1961 inauguration. Jackie told him she wanted to dress as if Jack were President of France. Jacobs) While this remark may be considered as un-patriotic at that time, it simply shows how Jackie chose to ignore political and social constructs in delivering her message of fashion. She was also known for quite radical fashion decisions such as when she â€Å"kicked off a craze for the one-shoulder dress, encouraged women to ditch their high, pointy heels, endorsed chain belts, oversized sunglasses, and YSL midi skirts. † (Mathai) All these changes in the way women dress all speak of the boldness Jackie which was what women of the time wanted to acquire. Fashion was almost secondary to women of this period; what were more important to them were the decisiveness, innovation, and courage that riddled decision making among the feminine gender. For instance, â€Å"Jackie had been forced by her public role into wearing hats, as called for by formal protocol†¦She made fashion history, however, by choosing to wear the hat tipped to the back of her head rather than straight on top. (CAVF) This is an illustration of how Jackie set the example for women to remain undaunted by male dominated policies and so take flight; she did this in a language that all women would easily understand – fashion. Jackie was never one to follow what was ‘in’ during the moment because she believed in the value of individualism and unique style. Her penchant for seeking what was most comfortable to her was the best indication that she was not about to sacrifice her comfort for trendiness, and this worked for her as a result. â€Å"Trends and fads never dictated Jackies fashion choices†¦she had the courage of her convictions to reject it if she didnt feel it was right for her. Flaherty) Her courage in fashion rubbed off on all women of the time and even on the modern woman and to this day, people will remember how she breathed new life into the American fashion scene even making the industry more competitive when compared to its global rivals. â€Å"At that time, most high fashion clothes were made in Europe. However, the first lady decided to promote American designers. † (Mattern) Jackie also exercised her influence over women of the 60’s and on today’s fashionable female by showing that clothing was not everything and that what one wore was in fact a reflection of one’s personality. Jackie understood the power of clothing and image and used it to reflect the internationalism of the Kennedy Administration and the promise of the 1960s. † (Leight) So, Jackie always made sure that what she wore made a statement, if not about her, at least about the country she was in. Nevertheless, she also insisted that it was not really the clothing that one wore that made the person, rather, this was just the extension of the ideals and principles that a particular person stood for. As much as Jackie loved fashion, she was much more than the clothes she wore. Although appearances clearly counted, how she lived her life mattered most. † (Flaherty) Jackie was not the kind of person who would as she pleased while compromising the image of her family and of her husband’s administration. Through her many women all around the world realized how important it was for a person to use fashion as a means of conveying a message either about oneself or about the society that he/she was in, but more importantly about one’s beliefs and convictions. Jackie chose clothes that played to both her athletic sensibility and her Vassar-educated, Francophile refinement, notes Bowles. †(Tauber) This meant that Jackie was always on top of her style, that her outfit almost usually reflected not the designer, not the luxury of the attire, but the sensibilities and the principles of the wearer. This had to mean wearing clothes that were not only practical but also simple and Jackie did not destroy the concept of simplicity in the process, in fact, she even re-invented simplicity at a time when artistic expression was at its noisiest. Jackie had left her legacy on the woman of the 60’s as well as on contemporary fashion trends by making women see that simplicity can in fact be fashionable, stylish and elegant. Her passion for simplicity â€Å"took America out of the staid and conservative 1950s and into the world of classy international elegance. † (Leight) Jackie knew what it meant to make an impression and she believed that a lasting impression was possible even with the simplest white dress. She knew that she did not have to be overly verbose about her dressing styles to make people want to turn and have a second look. Her clothes were informed with an understated modern elegance, characterized by cleanliness, solid colors, and ease of movement. † (Leight) So again, one sees here that Jackie found convenience in simplicity in that other than being overly numbered, her fashion sense was fluid and responsive to the needs of the contemporary woman. Nothing went wrong with fashion when Jackie was in the limelight because her style was almost a nude expression of the feminine psyche. â€Å"Years before she became Jackie O, Kennedy was a first lady with impeccable style. (Shih) Simplicity, however, did not come without a price because appearing simple meant that she had to carefully plan her wardrobe so that she achieved the kind of impression that she wanted to get; and so for Jackie, fashion was never unintentional, it was always a conscious effort like poetry and literature; â€Å"Jackie put an enormous amount of work into appearing effortlessly elegant. † We look at her and think, How simple! â€Å"says Hubert de Givenchy†¦But it was deliberate. She was very conscious of her style, her body, her face. (Tauber) A woman of the 90’s can look at Jackie and like the woman of the 60’s still say that she was in fact right in deciding to look simple amid the fame and glory that she was in because it was this simplicity in her fashion sense that gave her authority over the world of fashion and a healthy appreciation for the elegance that came with a piece of clothing. Jackie was nevertheless quite innovative as she always believed that simplicity could be expressed in a thousand different ways, and even with this ironic contradiction, women of the 60’s were able to identify with the effortlessness of Jackie’s fashion. It is this that transcended the trends of the 60’s and began a whole new movement in contemporary dressing, now even known as Jackie O fashion. Jackie was aware that she was changing the world of fashion little by little and building a monument to the element of feminism that is almost non-existent to the opposite sex. So, to date, the world fondly recalls â€Å"the elegant simplicity of Jacqueline Kennedys style that would come to influence fashion all over the world. † (CAVF) It is not always that a woman is able to change the world by being herself; but the fact remains that Jackie sparked a revolution or more appropriately a renaissance in how women dressed in the 60’s and in the new millennia. Of course, some would say that fashion is just a small piece of the bigger picture depicting world shattering issues but how comforting it is to have someone slink back once in a while and remember that there is nothing that one does not have that one can give to the world. Making a difference means having that difference initiated within oneself and through fashion Jackie was able to make this bold and courageous statement. History will forever remember Jackie as the woman who was able to put policy into fashion; as the women who through her humility and respect for the female persona was able to take the fashion of the 60’s and the contemporary era and mold it to perfection by making women understand that fashion meant courage and conviction, that fashion was an extension of oneself, and that fashion does not need to be loud and un-moderated for it to be elegant, fashionable, and more importantly, stylish.

Personal Narrative- A Preventable Death Essay -- Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- A Preventable Death He looks at his watch and realizes that he has to leave now before he gets yelled at due to missing the 12:00 curfew. Upon my cousin Sean's arrival home, he begged his mom for an extended curfew, after all he was the star of the 19991 homecoming football game at Royalton high school, he should have been able to stay out later. After losing this fight with rather stubborn mom, and her giving him a stern "Sean I am not going over this again, it is late and I would like you to live until morning, so you need to go downstairs and get some sleep." he hung his head and went downstairs. Sean decided to be rebellious and ignore the part where his mother said to go to bed. After deciding that his mom and dad were finally asleep and wouldn't hear his truck start, he crawled out of his window and returned to the party. His parents were suddenly awoken by a loud knocking. Unfortunately it was not Sean. It was a Police Officer from their town, "Are you the parents of a mister Sean Schmidt?" "Yes," Sean's parents paused as they knew what was soon to come "we are his parents, officer, how can we help you?" "I am afraid that your son has been injured in a car accident and I need you to come to the hospital with me." "Sean is downstairs sleeping, I watched him go down there when he came home last night," Anne said and then spun around and ran downstairs, in an attempt to prove the Police Officer wrong "Allen, he is gone!" She shouted back up the stairs in disbelief and horror. They then went to the hospital hoping that they would get to hug him, hold him, and make him better. It didn't hit them until they were in the morgue identifying the body of their dead son, they were never going to be able to ho... ..., you know I'll make it home just fine' after fighting with him for about 20 minutes, I told him to leave." We both just sat there and cried. Her crying was all due to how much she missed him, and so was most of mine. The rest of my tears came from the fact that one of the biggest influences in my life killed himself for one night of fun, and free beer. I had learned after that, that no matter how much people laughed at you for being the "designated dumb ass" at all of our high school parties, that it was well worth it. If only one person had taken his keys, or stayed sober and drove Sean home, I wouldn't be writing this paper on his death, I would be writing it on how he always made us laugh when he would lip sync to all of those Ray Stevens’ songs, and how the family gatherings could never start without him. Was that one night of fun and free beer really worth it? Personal Narrative- A Preventable Death Essay -- Personal Narrative Personal Narrative- A Preventable Death He looks at his watch and realizes that he has to leave now before he gets yelled at due to missing the 12:00 curfew. Upon my cousin Sean's arrival home, he begged his mom for an extended curfew, after all he was the star of the 19991 homecoming football game at Royalton high school, he should have been able to stay out later. After losing this fight with rather stubborn mom, and her giving him a stern "Sean I am not going over this again, it is late and I would like you to live until morning, so you need to go downstairs and get some sleep." he hung his head and went downstairs. Sean decided to be rebellious and ignore the part where his mother said to go to bed. After deciding that his mom and dad were finally asleep and wouldn't hear his truck start, he crawled out of his window and returned to the party. His parents were suddenly awoken by a loud knocking. Unfortunately it was not Sean. It was a Police Officer from their town, "Are you the parents of a mister Sean Schmidt?" "Yes," Sean's parents paused as they knew what was soon to come "we are his parents, officer, how can we help you?" "I am afraid that your son has been injured in a car accident and I need you to come to the hospital with me." "Sean is downstairs sleeping, I watched him go down there when he came home last night," Anne said and then spun around and ran downstairs, in an attempt to prove the Police Officer wrong "Allen, he is gone!" She shouted back up the stairs in disbelief and horror. They then went to the hospital hoping that they would get to hug him, hold him, and make him better. It didn't hit them until they were in the morgue identifying the body of their dead son, they were never going to be able to ho... ..., you know I'll make it home just fine' after fighting with him for about 20 minutes, I told him to leave." We both just sat there and cried. Her crying was all due to how much she missed him, and so was most of mine. The rest of my tears came from the fact that one of the biggest influences in my life killed himself for one night of fun, and free beer. I had learned after that, that no matter how much people laughed at you for being the "designated dumb ass" at all of our high school parties, that it was well worth it. If only one person had taken his keys, or stayed sober and drove Sean home, I wouldn't be writing this paper on his death, I would be writing it on how he always made us laugh when he would lip sync to all of those Ray Stevens’ songs, and how the family gatherings could never start without him. Was that one night of fun and free beer really worth it?

A Case for the Legitimate Use of Marijuana

It is normal for people to feel that rules are meant to forbid. When one goes out for a short drive for instance, he or she would encounter a lot of rules to observe – speed-limits, stop-lights, pedestrian lanes, no right or left turn signals, among many others.But it is also not wrong to think that rules, while they forbid certain things to be done, are actually meant to regulate. This means that laws exists not really to stop people from doing what they so desire. Instead, they are there to regulate so that the people can live in a decent and harmonious society.Currently, the use of marijuana is forbidden by a lot of world governments, the United States included. And it is normally accepted that such prohibition stems from the desire to implement peace and order in the society. We all know for a fact that marijuana is a type of drug that, when smoked, can elicit certain psychological and physical effects.People who smoke marijuana experience a feeling of being high – i.e., they feel a sensation characterized by being relaxed or pacified, or being a dreamy or semi-conscious state. Marijuana can make a person lose control as well. This is why, many authorities have forbidden its cultivation and possession, because its use can make a person do certain things he or she do not want to.Be that as it may, I still would like to argue that authorities must start looking at the possibility of legitimizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.The Benefits of Marijuana Use for Medical PurposesThe use of marijuana, as mentioned, can bring about certain psychological effects. And many authorities fear that, if left unchecked, its widespread use can lead people to commit heinous crimes such as gang-wars, robbery, rape and even homicide.But in their desire to regulate the use of marijuana, in view of the noble purpose of maintaining peace and quiet within the society, many authorities have also undermined the benefits which can be gained from its use. Spec ifically, these governments are overlooking the fact that marijuana can help doctors, and all those attending to the medical needs of the patients, administer helpful ways to effectively address pain management.The hospital is a place where sick persons are treated. Most often than not, these treatments come with a very high price – i.e., these persons have to deal with the pain that comes with having to be treated with their illnesses. In a manner of speaking, doctors and medical practitioners are tasked not only with the duty to cure their patients’ sickness, but also to make sure that patients can tolerate the cure which would be given to them.There are certain cures – for instance, surgeries – which are accompanied with intolerable pain. This is why, pain management is an essential part of medical practice.In view of such need, I have reasons to think that governments can start looking into the possibility of allowing the legitimate use of marijuana, if only doctors and nurses can be helped in addressing pain management issues. Since marijuana can make a people less conscious of their bodily sensation, a dose of which can help patients deal with the pain of certain medical cures. This is especially true after surgeries.When a patient undergoes surgery, the aftermath can be very stressful. He or she needs to put up with the grimacing pain that comes with the medical procedure. And there are even times when, because of the intense pain, patients get to be traumatized because of the intense pain that comes with their operation.The use of anesthesia to address this pain issues is a common practice in the medical field. But because any high dosage giving out of anesthesia can seriously affect bodily functions, many doctors opt to use it quite sparingly. They would rather have the patients bear their post-procedure pain, than give them medicines which can seriously impede their normal physiological functions.

A Comparison of House of Usher, Bierces Beyond the Wall,...

Parallels in Poes House of Usher and Bierces Beyond the Wall, Poe’s The Black Cat and Bierces John Mortonsons Funeral, and in M.S. Found in a Bottle by Poe and Three and One are One by Bierce. When one decides to become an author, one can not help being influenced by his predecessors, causing some of ones work to reflect and echo the predecessors. Such is the case between Ambrose Bierce and his predecessor, Edgar Allen Poe. Excluding the obvious fact that both Poes and Bierces short stories show an attraction for death in its many forms, depictions of mental deteriorations, supernatural happenings, and ghostly manifestations, there are other similarities and parallels. Examples of them appear in Poes short story Fall†¦show more content†¦Bierce must have had this image in mind when he had his narrator arrive on a stormy night filled with incessant rain. The narrator in Bierces story tells the reader that the dwelling, a rather ugly one, apparently, stood in the center of its grounds, which as nearly as I could make out in the gloom were destitute of either flowers or grass. Three or four trees, writhing and moaning in the torment of the tempest, appeared to be try ing to escape from their dismal environment... in the window of [the house] was the only visible light. Something in the appearance of the place made me shudder, a performance that may have been assisted by a rill of rain water down my back as I scuttled to cover in the doorway. Even though, in The Fall of the House of Usher Poe is more verbose in describing the land and how it makes the narrator feel, the images and the mood are nearly the same. The only difference in the opening was the fact that in Beyond the Wall the storm had already started, and the storm in all its wrath did not really start until the narrator was inside the house. Not only is the setting of Beyond the Wall similar to House of Usher, but also certain descriptions of the childhood friend is also similar. Bierce wrote that the friend, Mohun Dampier, came from one of the oldest and most aristocratic families, and Poe had also said that the friend, Roderick Usher, had an ancient lineage. Both Poes