Like a good mystery? Love to see a detective put together clues to solve a crime? You may not realize it, but being a nurse is like being a detective. I compared what you need to be a detective with what you need to be a nurse and found these eight ways the two careers are similar:

1. Both must be knowledgeable

Detectives know their territory. They figure out how to get around, what type of soil is found where and when it rained. They can look at a person’s shoes or car tires and know where he has been.

Nurses’ territory is their patient. They must find out: Why is he here? What signs and symptoms do I need to watch for to prevent complications from his illness? What goals must he and I meet for him to get better?

2. Both need to cultivate an eye for detail

Detectives observe their surroundings carefully, even when they think there is nothing special to observe, because they never know what might end up being important to solve their case. Nurses observe even the littlest thing about a patient because they know every bit of information may make a difference in that patient’s care or recovery.

3. Both must learn to read people’s faces.

Detectives and Nurses watch body language and notice whether it seems natural and agrees with their words. Criminals might be lying to avoid incrimination. Patients might be hiding the truth because of embarrassment, lack of understanding or cultural beliefs. A patient may say he’s not in pain, but have facial grimacing.

4. Both get good at searching for information.

Detectives and nurses must know what they don’t know and know where to find it. Detectives go to the public record. Nurses go to the patient’s chart.

5. Both skillfully ask questions.

Detectives and Nurses get to the heart of a matter without putting somebody on their guard or making them unnecessarily uncomfortable.

6. Both document well

Detectives keep careful notes of what they find. Nurses know if they didn’t document what they did, as far as the world is concerned, they did not do it.

7. Both become techno-savvy

Detectives and Nurses know how to use a computer and find information via the internet.

8. Both value their team

Detectives and Nurses have trustworthy teams to back them up and help get the job done. Colleagues are important to solve the crime and give high quality care to patients. Neither profession can do it alone!

Both Nurses and Detectives must possess good observational and critical thinking skills to gather evidence, sort through facts and examine details to come to conclusions. Detectives solve crimes to get criminals off the streets. Nurses solve problems to prevent illness and to assist people recover from illness. So if you are a LPN or RN, feel free to start calling yourself a Nurse Detective.

Introduction

People have different specifications when it comes to choosing their friends. Some people like to have a lesser number of close friends while others prefer to have a wider circle of friends. When you have a wider friend circle, you tend to have shallow relations with them as you can’t devote more time towards each one to develop strong bonds. These preferences in effect show how diverse the mindsets of the people are and the efforts they put to keep their friendships intact. In this article, we would be looking at the 10 advantages of having a big circle of friends.

1. If you have a larger friends circle, you tend to get breaking news about things happening across the geographical barriers in no time.

2. You tend to stay informed on any topic that is of immediate interest to you. Only you need to contact the right person you know to get to the fine details about the things you wanted to know.

3. When you are on the move, you might get the information about the destination you want to go. This would help you to get ready in advance.

4. If you have a large number of friends, you can avail their hospitalities when you visit different places. Hence, larger the circle, the more chances are there for you to find suitable accommodation free of cost.

5. If you want to get some government services availed, you can seek the help of a friend from the concerned department. This is possible only when you have friends working in government departments in your circle of friends.

6. If you are absent for a day or two from the classes due to illness, you can seek the help of your friends to cover the topics covered in those days.

7. You can organize events with the help of your friends so that you get the required money and support for them.

8. During the bad times, you can count on your friends for moral support and seek some help from them. The transition through this lean period would be smooth if you have support from friends and relatives.

9. When any medical emergency occurs and you need financial support, you can count on your closely knit circle of friends to mobilize money. Of course, you can pay back the amount when you get some reprieve.

10. You can pool your vehicles for daily commutation to the office so that you can save money on transport. This can happen only when you have willing friends in the circle. Larger the circle, more likely you find a friend with such a mentality.

Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” (anonymously published in 1729) is a powerful political satire about the economic and social conditions of the poor in Ireland under British rule. The essay is rich with references to political events in England and Ireland in the 18th century. Swift takes ‘irony’ as the best weapon to attack on all kinds of vice and injustice prevailing in the society. Now we will see how Swift criticizes the society in his essay.

Before, entering into our discussion we are to know something the miserable condition of that Ireland. Actually the misfortune of Ireland begins when, in 1541, the Irish recognizes England’s Henry viii, a Protestant, as king of Ireland. The protestant landlords acquire almost ten percent of estates. Meanwhile, a law is enacted limiting the rights of Irish to hold government office, purchase, real estate and get education. Consequently, many of Irish flee away and those who remain live in poverty disease and starvation.

The essayist, at the very beginning of the essay, states the deplorable economic condition and social picture of Ireland under the British rule. As the author says:

“IT is a melancholly Object to those, who walk through this great Town, or travel in the Country; when they see the Streets, the Roads, and Cabbin-doors crowded with Beggars of the Female Sex, followed by three, four, or six Children, all in Rags, and importuning every Passenger for an Alms.”

Moreover, the author fears that, when the infants of these beggars grow up, “either turn Thieves for want of Work; or leave their dear Native Country, to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.”

This miserable situation is, in fact, resulted by the indifference of English administration and the oppression of landlords. Instead of solving the problem the British government shows a great carelessness to the repeated appeals to feed those hungry mouths.

Now, swift, as an English patriot finds out a “fair, cheap, and easy Method of making these Children sound and useful Members of the Commonwealth”. He wants to come with a proposal in such a manner, as he says:

“… as, instead of being a Charge upon their Parents, or the Parish, or wanting Food and Raiment for the rest of their Lives; they shall, on the contrary, contribute to the Feeding, and partly to the Cloathing, of many Thousands.”

Swift criticizes the authority by prospecting that this scheme “will prevent those voluntary Abortions, and that horrid Practice of Women murdering their Bastard Children” which is “too frequent among us”. His criticism towards the English administration becomes more clear when he doubts that, the poor innocent babies are killed “more to avoid the Expence than the Shame”. The author mocks the intellectuals and the policy makers of the time by proposing his grotesque proposal in the most formal manner with a great gravity. As the essayist comments:

“I SHALL now therefore humbly propose my own Thoughts; which I hope will not be liable to the least Objection.”

Now we will have a look on his proposal. In his proposal Swift suggests that a significant portion of Irish children should be slaughtered and their carcasses should be sold to the wealthy as well as landlords so that the poor parents can be economically benefited and get rid of the burden of the maintenance. The essayist criticizes the brutal mentality of the authority, as they never considered Irish as human being. To indicate their meanness, the essayist uses such words which are best suitable for the animal not for the human being. He uses the word, for example, ‘carcasses’, remains of dead animals dressed by butchers, to refer the remains of children prepared as meat.

Again, the essayist equates the oppressors with the butchers as they mercilessly snatch away the bread from the hand of the Irish children and rush them to the way of death. As the author says:

“…and Butchers we may be assured will not be wanting”

The essayist also criticizes the landlords for their aggressive attitude to the poor Irish. As Swift remarks:

“I GRANT this Food will be somewhat dear and therefore very proper for Landlords; who, as they have already devoured most of the Parents, seem to have the best Title to the Children.”

Swift stabs the authorities for their mistreatment to the Irish poor prospecting that, they will be very glad to eat human flesh as they have lost their sense.

“I could name a Country, which would be glad to eat up our whole Nation without it.”

The author also criticizes the fashionable ladies and the so called gentle folk of the society. As he says:

“THOSE who are more thrifty (as I must confess the Times require) may flay the Carcase; the Skin of which, artificially dressed, will make admirable Gloves for Ladies, and Summer Boots for fine Gentlemen.”

Swift, in order to criticize the society, ironically shows six benefit of the proposal.

Firstly: it will reduce the total number of Catholics, the enemy of the Protestants.

Secondly: the poor parents will get some money with which they can pay landlords rent.

Thirdly: the money will circulate among the Irish and increases national income.

Fourthly: the mothers will get rid of the charge of maintaining the children after the first year.

Fifthly: the empty taverns will be full with a huge number of customers.

Finally: it will be a great encouragement to marriage and increase the care and the tenderness of mother to their children.

Actually Swift’s proposal shocks every reader even the cruel barbarian can not think of such a cannibalistic idea of eating man’s flesh. Everyone with common sense can easily understand that out of extreme agony the essayist gives such suggestion. He wants to say beneath this proposal that government should take this proposal if they can not solve the problem immediately.

At the end of the essay, the bitter criticism is clear when the essayist terminates the proposal ensuring the readers that he has not least interest rather the public good of his country. As he says:

“I have no Children, by which I can propose to get a single penny; the youngest being nine Years old, and my Wife past Child-bearing.”

Swifts, by this easy, very successfully draws the attention of the authority as well as the readers. Robert Phiddian has written an essay entitled “Have You Eaten Yet” after reading this essay.

Some scholar argues that, “A Modest Proposal” is largely influenced by Tertullian’s “Apology”. James William Johnson points out the same central theme in both of the essay. Both of the essays are similar in their tone and the use of irony.

Last of all, it can be said that Jonathan Swift very successfully uses his mighty pen against the English oppressors by ridiculing their so called vanity as the writer knows that, the devil is brave in the face of threat, strong hearted before the tears and vulnerable only in the Achilles’ heel of his vanity.

Southern Gothic is an American subgenre of the Gothic style, which is probably most familiar to you from the Brontë sisters of Victorian England. (No, we’re not talking Hot Topic here.) Like its European progenitor, the Southern Gothic style relies heavily on the supernatural – only with less “O, Heathcliffe!” and more “Oh no, racism!” (Unlike Gothic novels, Southern Gothic novels are more interested in uncovering social crimes and injustices than being gloomy for gloomy’s sake.) Elements of the grotesque are also common to both genres, but can take the form of actual bodily gore or just extremely flawed characters that are somehow tolerable enough to remain interesting. (See also: “O, Heathcliffe!”)

William Faulkner is known to have been especially good with the Southern Gothic style, and many American children read his eerie and disgusting “A Rose for Emily” as early as junior high school. This short story, which starts with a funeral and ends with the discovery of a decades-old corpse, reminisces on the life of Miss Emily Grierson, the recently deceased town spinster. As it turns out, her dad was a bit overbearing, and though we don’t know if there was any abuse involved, let’s just say she didn’t exactly get to break her curfew until she was about 35. When the old man finally meets his maker, Emily refuses to admit he is dead or leave the house for three days – which wouldn’t be so creepy if his decaying body weren’t still in it.

The even creepier part, however, is that this isn’t the same corpse that turns up in Emily’s house at the end of the book; that one belonged to her once and short-term boyfriend, who wined her, dined her, and tried to bail on her a few years after her dad died. Boy did he pick the wrong woman. While Emily is clearly demented, her dad’s mistreatment and the resulting psychological damage nevertheless make her a sympathetic character. So sympathetic, in fact, that the townspeople help cover the murder by spreading lime around her house when it starts to smell. (WON’T you BE my NEIGH-BOR!) So let’s recap just how “A Rose for Emily” stacks up as a Southern Gothic novel. Death? Check. Injustice? Check. The grotesque? Double check. A scary shut-in with a mysterious past in a seemingly haunted house? Checkmate.

Now that we’ve got a sense of what the genre’s all about, let’s do a little comparison. One of America’s most widely-read and beloved Southern Gothic novels is To Kill a Mockingbird, which chronicles the timid childhood interactions of Scout and Jem Finch with the local social outcast, Boo Radley. This book may not strike you as particularly gothic, especially if you grew up wanting to befriend Jem and Scout (and possibly even Boo), or to have Atticus for a dad, but technically speaking, it fits. Let’s take a look at those criteria again.

1. The supernatural. Okay, so Mockingbird isn’t exactly supernatural, but narrated through the eyes of a terrified six-year old, it might as well be. Scary guy locked in his house for decades because he probably stabbed his dad in the leg with scissors? It ain’t natural, that’s for sure. The only thing keeping Boo from becoming a full-blown Emily Grierson is the fact that he isn’t hiding any bodies – that we know of.
2. Injustice. Boy howdy! Almost every character in the novel is at least somewhat racist, including our lovable narrator from time to time. The plot centers around the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man who is wrongly accused – and ultimately convicted – of raping a white woman – who concocted the story to hide her crush on Tom from an abusive father. When Tom tries to escape prison, he is shot no less than seventeen times. You know, just in case.
3. The grotesque. While To Kill a Mockingbird isn’t gory, some of its characters can be downright foul. Mrs. Dubose is a great example of a grotesque character; she’s a humorless old bigot with an unnecessarily possessive attitude toward her camellias, but since we later find out she’s trying to kick a nasty morphine addiction, we end up feeling kind of bad for her. Sometimes, a drug habit or an overbearing father is all it takes.

So while the two stories may seem very different at first glance, they share a particular combination of gothic elements that allows them to unglamorously explore social and cultural issues of the South – whether they be racism and bigotry or simply the outdatedness of the “Southern Belle” approach to dating. You decide which is scarier.