The role of women in The Epic of Gilgamesh - 1552 Words

The role of women is a very important topic in The Epic of Gilgamesh, and various women are chosen to represent various aspects of the mesopotamian conception of women. In the ancient times males were inessential to the preservation of life. The Epic of Gilgamesh shows how the inability of males to give birth causes a sense of despair and alienation. While the representation of women might seem confusing at first with its wide range of traits, the epic tries to demonstrate all aspects of women, some are dominant in some ways. They are valuable advisors, and have variable attitudes regarding sexuality, they control mens decision in some ways and bring both death and immortality in mens lives. In this paper the female characters of†¦show more content†¦Inside, he meets Shamash who highly discourages him: You will never find the life for which you are looking. Though he takes pity on Gilgamesh, and so he sends him to Siduri. When he finds her, she sympathetically asks: Why is despair in your heart? He then tells her of his hope. She then replies: You will never find the life for which you are looking. Though she also takes pity on him, she tel ls Urshanabi to take him to Utnapishtim, the faraway hope of everlasting life. When he gets there, Utnapishtim also asks him: Why is despair in your heart? This time, he replies: The end of mortality has taken over Enkidu..His fate lies heavy upon me. Utnapishtim, aware that Gilgamesh is unable to face his reality, tries to make him understand: There is no permanence..It is only the nymph of the dragonfly, that sheds her larva and sees the sun in its glory. Metaphorically using the dragon fly, Utnapishtim clearly lets Gilgamesh know how the story ends. Males are not mortals, only females are. They do not possess the power that everlasting life brings, only females do. Therefore they cannot procreate, only females can. After all her explaining, he stubbornly sticks with his theory that there is some kind of hope that males can obtain mortality. Knowingly, Utnapishtim agrees to test Gilgamesh. She gives him the test of the seven loaves of bread. The loaves symbolized generations. Gilg amesh stays awake only for one loaf of bread,Show MoreRelatedThe Role Of Women In The Epic Of Gilgamesh1189 Words   |  5 Pages The Epic of Gilgamesh follows a tale of two brothers tasked with defeating an all-powerful beast, yet they aren’t the most important characters in this story. Without their wisdom and guidance, Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s journey would have ended a lot sooner, and Gilgamesh would have still rampaged in Uruk, never bringing peace to those who were below him. Aruru, Shamhat, Ninsun, Ishtar, Siduri, and Utanapishtim’s wife all contribute to Gilgamesh’s journey, and in the end, provide Gilgamesh with theRead More The Role of Women in The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay799 Words   |  4 Pagesstarts off with Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, who is one third man and two thirds god. This story is about a mans quest for immortality in addition to the importance of boundaries between the realms of animal, man and gods. Women symbolize the importance of locative boundaries in the text. These boundaries are set by the harlot Shamhat, Ishtar, Siduri, the tavern keeper, Ninsun and Utanapishtims wife. By giving women this role of wisdom and boundary enforcement, The Epic of Gilgamesh reflects how MesopotamianRead MoreEssay on The Role of Women in the Epic of Gilgamesh436 Words   |  2 PagesThe Role of the Women in the Epic of Gilgamesh Stories reflect and mirror culture. Some writers write about how things currently are in their own society and the position that certain people hold in that society. It is because of that kind of thought and style of writing that a reader can learn and in some ways better understand the hierarchical position of peoples in a society at a particular time in history. In ancient Mesopotamia, women had fewer privileges and rights then the men. DespiteRead MoreEssay about The Role of Women in the Epic of Gilgamesh1125 Words   |  5 PagesWhat if women ruled the world? The question does not seem so strange today as it may have back in 2500 B.C.E., an age when people tell stories of the Great King of Uruk--Gilgamesh. Although the story of â€Å"Gilgamesh† revolves around themes of masculinity and brotherhood--with its male prerogative, its composers develop several strong female characters which suggest women have great influence in a male-dominated, Mesopotamian society. The first female character that influences a man is the prostituteRead More Role of Women in The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay959 Words   |  4 Pages2700 years ago there lived a king by the name of Gilgamesh who ruled the city of Uruk in Mesopotamia now known to us as modern day Iraq. Parts of his life are written on clay tablets believed to be the oldest existing written story of a man’s life. (XI). â€Å"The epic of Gilgamesh†, is the story of his quest for eternal life. In this paper I will be writing about the influence that the women in his life have played in his quest. The women are, Shamhat, Ninsun, Ishtar, and, â€Å"The tavernRead MoreRoles Of Gilegosh And The Power Of Women In Gilgamesh1440 Words   |  6 Pagesmen over women varied greatly, with women typically being in the position of less power and influence. Although women seem to play a less apparent role, women are essential for both the continuation of life and the nurturing of the future, signifying that the power of women is very potent. The women of Gilgamesh are goddesses, priestesses and a variety of other roles, each with their own set of skills, guide Gilgamesh throughout the epic. Despite the perception of some scholars that the women of GilgameshRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh : The Struggle For Women1183 Words   |  5 PagesThe struggle for women to play a significant role in history can be traced from the ancient Mesopotamians to the 1900’s. There has been a continuous battle for women to gain equal rights legally and to be treated equally in all aspects of life. The Epic of Gilgamesh contains some of the oldest recorded accounts of the roles of women and their importance in a functional society. Women have been viewed as anything from goddesses to unwanted servants throughout history, regardless of a variety of changesRead MoreGender Inequality In Gilgamesh Essay1339 Words   |  6 Pageshas always been a gender inequality separating the roles and power of men from women. Most societies were patriarchal, emphasizing male dominance in society and directing women towards a more idle role so that they were more ornamental than influential. Through this gender division, women would take on the less powerful role as a nurturing mother, or caring wife over and over again in several ancient societies up to modern day societies. In Gilgamesh, male characters are emphasized much more thanRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh By William Shakespeare876 Words   |  4 Pagesstory, known as the world’s oldest written tale, is The Epic of Gil gamesh. This poem happens to be from that very time period in Mesopotamia and it clearly exhibits the values and views of the people from that era. It achieves this through Gilgamesh’s behavior at the beginning of the tale, the way in which women are perceived, and the heavy role played by the gods throughout the entirety of the epic. The first way in which The Epic of Gilgamesh succeeds in portraying the ideals and principles ofRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh By Andrew George And Monkey Essay1380 Words   |  6 Pagesexasperating. Women who express their sexual sides are viewed as loose, disrespectful to themselves, or despicable. People often forget that women can be powerful and sexual beings. Women in society, nowadays and even three thousand years ago have always dealt with these problems simply because they are not male. A woman could show complete class, intelligence, and ambition and portray herself to be a powerful or even sexual being and she would still be given a hard time. The Epic of Gilgamesh translated

Consequences of the Vietnam War Essay - 1157 Words

Consequences of the Vietnam War The ear in Vietnam had ended and on the 30th April 1975, the NLF took control of Saigon and renamed it Ho Chi Minh City. President Thieu resigned and fled the country. Vietnam became a united country and elections were held in 1976 (20 years late). The Domino theory continued into Laos and Cambodia but not Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Apart from this short term effect, there many short and long term effects on Vietnam once the Americans had left. There a similar range of social, economic and political effects on the United States. Vietnam had many issues to deal with in the immediate aftermath of the war. When the Americans left Vietnam,†¦show more content†¦800 000 children had been orphaned and 1 000 000 women had been made widows. There were also many personal tragedies such as Napalm which burned people by melting the flesh leaving permanent disfigurement. Americans later found that chemicals used in the war such as Agent Orange possibly led to deformities and genetic malfunctions, for example, children without eyes or twisted limbs or even miscarriages. Many American GIs had unknowingly fathered children. With the contempt the Vietnamese felt towards the Americans, these children were generally shunned and rejected. As all wars inevitably do, the Vietnamese war caused many illnesses and there was a lack of these medical supplies to treat after-effects of war in Vietnam. There were also many long term effects on the landscape. Bombing had caused huge craters and destroyed hundreds of villages. Industry had been destroyed. Forests were defoliated and crops destroyed. This resulted in soil erosion and flooding. The land was infertile for many years. Since Vietnams main industry was farming, the economy was ruined. Economic problems resulted. There was a shortage of raw materials, there was high unemployment (as the S V army was disbanded) farmers were forced to work on collective farms which they did not like. Additional problems in Vietnam still existed in theShow MoreRelatedGovernment Causes And Consequences Of The Vietnam War1487 Words   |  6 PagesThere were many causes of the Vietnam War, like government components and consequences that caused the Cold War. The causes of the Vietnam War were surrounded by the simple ideas held by America that communism was threatening to cover all over south-east Asia. Before World War Two, Vietnam had been part of the French Empire. Which was during the war, the country had been overpopulated by the Japanese race. When the Japanese retreated, the people of Vietnam took the opportunity to establish theirRead MoreThe Consequences Of The Vietnam War And The Pol Plot Genocide2659 Words   |  11 PagesOver last few decades Cambodia has faced the consequences of the Vietnam War and the Pol Plot genocide, which left the country economically despaired and nearly half of the population under twenty years old. Cambodia however attracts many visitors from across the world for its rich culture, fascinating temples and picturesque beaches. Unfortunately, Cambodia is also known for sexual tourism and in particular child sex tourism. The international community recognizes Cambodia’s trafficking epidemicRead MoreThe Vietnam War Has Far Reaching Consequences For The United States1710 Words   |  7 PagesFailure is a hard word, and no matter how you anal yze the Vietnam War, that is precisely what it was. The War was a personal failure on a national scale. From its covert commen- cements, through the bloodiest, most tenebrous days and determinately to the acrid end, this ten-year period of American history is a national disgrace. This research paper will deal with some of the more intriguing aspects and effects of this war. Since the Vietnam conflict made absolutely no sense politically, militarilyRead MoreCauses and Consequences of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu1481 Words   |  6 PagesCauses and consequences of the battle of Dien Bien Phu Examine the causes and consequences and consequences of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954, which affected the lives of the Vietnamese until the 1960s. Dien Bien Phu, 1954, was the final battle of the first Indo-China war. Lasting 55 days, the battle had French troops attempt to hold an armed camp against the Viet Minh, who greatly out-numbered them. Dien Bien Phu was situated in a valley in Northern Vietnam, surrounded by mountains. The FrenchRead MoreThe Vietnam War And The Cold War1494 Words   |  6 Pages When examining the Vietnam War you must first understand the involvement of the events surrounding the Cold War. The ‘Vietnam War’ as it is known is a product of the cold war era, by this I mean that events in the Cold War led to the US’s involvement and creation of issues causing the conflict. â€Å"The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the UnitedRead MoreCauses and Consequences of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu1475 Words   |  6 PagesCauses and consequences of the battle of Dien Bien Phu Examine the causes and consequences and consequences of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954, which affected the lives of the Vietnamese until the 1960s. Dien Bien Phu, 1954, was the final battle of the first Indo-China war. Lasting 55 days, the battle had French troops attempt to hold an armed camp against the Viet Minh, who greatly out-numbered them. Dien Bien Phu was situated in a valley in Northern Vietnam, surrounded by mountains. TheRead MoreThe Nature And Consequences Of Vietnam1576 Words   |  7 PagesThe nature and consequences of US involvement in Vietnam until 1968 are categorically characterised by Economic, Social, political and military linkages with the nation on both flanks of the demilitarised zone on the 17th parallel. The consequences associated, in regards to the United States escalation of involvement in economic, social, political and military relations in both South and North Vietnam, were substantial in the sense that the United States would ultimately shape a volatile politicalRead MoreUnited States Withdrawal From Vietnam Essay1142 Words   |  5 PagesUnited States Withdrawal From Vietnam America went to war in Vietnam with an aim of destroying the Vietcong to protect South Vietnam from Communism. America was against communism and they wanted to stop the spread of it. They did not achieve what they set out to do as they had many boundaries in their way. Events both inside and outside of Vietnam led to the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. I am going to be looking at the reasons as to why American troopsRead MoreThe Vietnam War1100 Words   |  5 PagesThe Vietnam War began on November 1st, 1955.Vietnam decided to have this war because since a very long time ago, Vietnam wished to have a government that was independent, since it has been for a long period of time, colonized first by China, then France and Japan. The United States started this war as a result of the Cold War. This war is caused by the belief that communism was going to expand through south-east Asia, which is not of great content for the United States, since they hold a capitalist

The Secret Circle The Power Chapter Four Free Essays

string(46) " the box with her fingers, but it was no use\." â€Å"Hey, watch out, Cassie,† Chris said, running into her as she stopped in her tracks. â€Å"What’s wrong?† â€Å"I just saw someone.† Cassie could feel how wide her eyes were as she stared into the crowd. We will write a custom essay sample on The Secret Circle: The Power Chapter Four or any similar topic only for you Order Now Portia had disappeared in a sea of bobbing heads. â€Å"A girl I knew this summer . . .† Her voice trailed off as her mind boggled at the task of explaining Portia to the Circle. But Adam had seen her too. â€Å"A witch hunter,† he said grimly. â€Å"The one whose brothers carried a gun. They’re seriously into it – not just as a hobby, but as an obsession.† â€Å"And they’ve come here?† Deborah scoffed. Cassie looked back and forth between the dark-haired girl and Adam; obviously witch-hunting was something these people had encountered before. â€Å"They ought to know better.† â€Å"Maybe it was a mistake – or an accident. Maybe her parents moved and she was just transferred here or something,† Laurel said, ever the optimist. Cassie shook her head. â€Å"Portia doesn’t make mistakes,† she murmured. â€Å"And I pity the accident that tries to happen to her. Adam, what are we going to do?† She was almost more upset by this than she had been by the knowledge that Black John was loose somewhere in New Salem. That terror was mind-numbing, too much to deal with rationally. Fear of Portia was more familiar, and Cassie felt herself being sucked toward an old pattern of helplessness. She’d never been able to deal with Portia; she came out of every encounter tongue-tied and humiliated, defeated. Cassie shut her eyes. I am not like that anymore. I won’t be like that, she thought. But dread churned in her stomach. â€Å"We’ll deal with her,† Adam was beginning bleakly when Doug leaned in, his tilted blue-green eyes sparkling. â€Å"Hey, she’s an enemy, right? Black John the Witch Dude said he wanted to help us destroy our enemies, right? So – â€Å" â€Å"Don’t even think about it,† Melanie cut in swiftly. â€Å"Don’t, Doug. I mean it.† Doug hunched his shoulders, but he looked at his twin sideways under his lashes. â€Å"Bad magic,† Chris muttered, staring into the distance. Cassie looked at Adam. â€Å"Never,† Adam said reassuringly. â€Å"Don’t worry, Cassie. Never.† Cassie was living with Diana now. â€Å"Obviously you can’t stay in that house alone,† Diana had said, and that afternoon she and Laurel and Melanie helped Cassie move her things. Adam and Deborah came too, for protection, pacing around the house restlessly, and most of the other Club members stopped by for one reason or another. Only Faye was conspicuously absent. No one had seen her since she’d disappeared from school. The house itself wasn’t too badly damaged, aside from the strange burned places on the floor and some of the doors. The official story, as decided on by the adults who’d come last night to take Cassie’s grandmother’s body away, was that there had been a fire and Mrs. Howard had been frightened into a heart attack. The Club hadn’t mentioned an intruder, and the police hadn’t even cordoned the house off. How the police thought a hardwood floor had caught fire in such a strange pattern, Cassie didn’t know. Nobody had asked her and she certainly wasn’t going down to the station to volunteer anything. The house seemed empty and echoing despite the Circle members bustling around it. There was an emptiness inside Cassie, too. She’d never have thought she would miss her grandmother so much – just a stooped old lady with coarse gray hair and a mole on her cheek. But those old eyes had seen a lot, and those knotted hands had been deft and kind. Her grandmother had known things, and she had always made Cassie feel better. â€Å"I wish I had a picture of her,† Cassie said softly. â€Å"My grandma.† Witches didn’t like being photographed, so she didn’t even have that. â€Å"She was a pretty cool old broad,† Deborah said, slinging a tote bag over one shoulder and picking up a cardboard box full of books and CDs. â€Å"You want anything else?† Cassie looked around the room. Yes, everything, she thought. She wanted her four-poster bed with the dusty-rose canopy and hangings, and her damask-upholstered chairs, and her solid mahogany chest that was just the color of Nick’s eyes. â€Å"That’s bombe, that chest of drawers there,† she told Deborah. â€Å"It was made here in Massachusetts, the only place in the colonies that produced that style.† â€Å"Yeah, I know,† Deborah said, unimpressed. â€Å"My house is full of it. It weighs a ton and you can’t take it. You want the stereo, or what?† â€Å"No, I can use Diana’s,† Cassie said sadly. She felt as if she were leaving her life behind. I’m only moving down the road, she reminded herself as Deborah left. â€Å"Cassie, if you want to stop by and see your mom this afternoon, it’s okay with Great-aunt Constance,† Melanie said, appearing in the doorway. â€Å"Any time before dinner.† Cassie nodded, feeling something twist in her chest. Her mother. Of course her mom was going to be all right; Melanie’s great-aunt was willing to take care of her, and it would be better for her to stay at Melanie’s house than to be taken – somewhere else. Say what you mean: an institution, she told herself fiercely. If the doctors saw her they’d want to put her in an institution or a hospital. But she doesn’t belong there, and she’s going to be just fine. She needs to rest a little, that’s all. â€Å"Thanks, Melanie,† she said. â€Å"I’ll come after we finish moving. It’s nice of your aunt to take care of her.† â€Å"With Great-aunt Constance it’s not so much nice; it’s duty,† Melanie said, turning to go. â€Å"Great-aunt Constance believes in doing your duty.† So do I, Cassie thought, pausing as she picked up a bundle of clothes from the bed. So do I. â€Å"I just thought of something – I’ll be down in a second,† she said. What she’d thought of was the hematite. One-handed, she opened the jewelry box on the dresser – and then stiffened. She stirred through the contents of the box with her fingers, but it was no use. You read "The Secret Circle: The Power Chapter Four" in category "Essay examples" The piece of hematite was gone. Panic swelled in Cassie’s throat. She’d kept meaning to do something about the stone, but now that it was out of her hands she realized how dangerous she thought it really was. This time, she told herself, you are not going to keep it a secret and worry and stew about it all by yourself. This time you’re going to do what you should have done in the beginning, which is tell Diana. Cassie went downstairs. Diana and Laurel were in the herb garden, salvaging things Laurel thought might be useful. Cassie squared her shoulders. â€Å"Diana,† she said, â€Å"I’ve got something to tell you.† Diana’s green eyes widened when Cassie explained about the hematite, how she’d found it, how she’d kept it a secret. No one had known about it except Deborah – and Faye. â€Å"And now it’s gone,† Cassie said. â€Å"I don’t think that means anything good.† â€Å"No,† Diana said slowly. â€Å"I’m sure it doesn’t. Cassie, don’t you see, when you were carrying the hematite, it affected you. It made you do things . . . were you wearing it at the Halloween dance when you tried to make Adam kiss you?† â€Å"I †¦ yes.† Cassie could feel the blood rising to her cheeks. â€Å"But, Diana – I wish I could say the hematite made me do that, but it didn’t. It was just me. I wanted to.† â€Å"Maybe, but I’ll bet you’d wanted to before and you didn’t actually do it. Hematite might not force you to do things against your will, but it makes it easier to give in to things you normally wouldn’t.† â€Å"Like onyx. Surrender to your shadow-self,† Cassie whispered. â€Å"Yes,† said Diana. â€Å"It must be one of us who has it; one of the Circle,† Cassie said. â€Å"Because I put it in the box this morning and nobody else has been by the house today. But which one of us?† Diana shook her head. Laurel grimaced. â€Å"I stick to plants,† she said. â€Å"They’re safer, as long as you respect them and know what you’re doing. They don’t influence you.† At Diana’s suggestion, the three of them searched Cassie’s room again. But the hematite was nowhere to be found. Cassie went to school on Thursday. It was strange to sit in her writing class and see life going on around her as usual. All these people – students counting the days until Thanksgiving vacation, teachers giving their lectures, the vice-principal walking through the halls and looking harried – had no idea what was loose in their community, just waiting to strike again. Of course, Cassie didn’t know exactly, either. What form was Black John going to take now? What would he look like when she saw him next? But she knew there was danger. Faye didn’t show up for English. Cassie had to stay after class to explain to Mr. Humphries why she’d been absent for two days. He was sympathetic and told her to take extra time for her next assignment, but it was hard to get away from him. Cassie was already late for algebra when she hurried into the third-floor bathroom. But once in a stall, she heard voices outside that made her freeze and forget the time. They were carrying on a conversation that had obviously been going for a while. â€Å"And then she was supposed to go back to California,† the first voice was saying. Cassie had heard it too many times not to recognize it. Portia. â€Å"But that was obviously a lie too, if it’s the same Cassie I knew.† â€Å"What did you say she looked like?† asked the other voice. A strident, contentious voice. Cassie recognized Sally Waltman. â€Å"Oh, she’s just a little nonentity. She’s completely average, average height, a little taller than you †¦Ã¢â‚¬  A throat-clearing sound from Sally. â€Å"Not that you’re short, of course. You’re – petite. Anyway, she’s got a fairly slim build, and everything about her is just ordinary: ordinary brownish hair, ordinary little face, ordinary clothes – not anything to write home about. Overall, she’s unutterably dreary – â€Å" â€Å"It’s not the same Cassie,† Sally interrupted curtly. â€Å"This one had every guy at Homecoming dance following her around with his tongue hanging out. Including 11151 boyfriend – and look where it got him. She looks ordinary at first, maybe, but there are all sorts of colors in her hair; it changes depending on the light. I’m serious. And I’m sure it’s just an act, but she’s the kind that looks all fragile and sweet, the kind guys are just dying to take care of – and then she starts ordering them around. And she gets away with it, probably because she opens those great big eyes and pretends she thinks she’s inadequate. The ‘Oh, I’m just the girl next door, but I’ll do my best’ routine – they lap it up.† Cassie opened her mouth indignantly, then closed it again. â€Å"And she’s got eyes to kill for,† Sally was going on bitterly. â€Å"Not the color, so much – they’re sort of grayish blue – but they’re so big and sincere it’s disgusting. They always look like they’re full of tears just ready to spill. Drives the guys crazy.† â€Å"It is the same girl,† Portia said positively. â€Å"Only when I knew her she had the sense not to flaunt herself. She knew her place then.† â€Å"Well, right now her place is with the most popular clique in school. They all think they’re so wonderful; they think they can do anything. Including kill people.† â€Å"Well, not anymore,† Portia said with satisfaction. â€Å"Things around here are about to change dramatically – for the better. You know, I’m glad my mom decided to move here after the divorce. I thought it would be terrible, but it’s all turning out for the best.† Cassie held herself carefully still. So Sally and Portia were joining forces. Now if they would just be so obliging as to describe a little of their plans†¦ But the sound of running water drowned out the next few sentences, and then she heard Sally say, â€Å"I’d better get to calculus. Want to meet for lunch?† â€Å"Yes, and I think you should come over to my house at Thanksgiving vacation,† Portia said. â€Å"I think you’ll like my brothers.† Cassie stood protectively surrounded by the rest of the Circle. It was Saturday and the burial was almost over. This wasn’t the old burying ground, the one which had been â€Å"vandalized† (that was the official story) the night her grandmother died. It was the modern cemetery where Kori had been buried. Modern in New Salem terms, that is: the oldest graves were from the 1800s. Cassie wondered why the parents killed by Black John in 1976 hadn’t been buried here. Maybe someone had felt the old graveyard was more appropriate. People were coming up to her, saying how sorry they were, asking about her mother. The official story on her mother was that she was in shock over the death of Cassie’s grandmother and too ill to come. Cassie told them her mother was going to be fine. Faye had showed up, to Cassie’s surprise. Her lacy black dress was beautiful, if a little too clinging to be appropriate at a funeral. Her red lips and nails were the only touches of color about her. â€Å"So sorry,† a familiar voice said coolly, and Cassie looked up to see Portia. Sally was right behind her; those two seemed joined at the hip these days. â€Å"What a surprise to see you here,† Portia added, her hazel eyes fixed on Cassie’s. Cassie remembered them; mean as snake’s eyes, she thought. They seemed to have a mesmerizing effect, and Cassie felt the crushing sense of helplessness start to descend. She fought it, and tried to speak, but Portia was going on. â€Å"I didn’t realize you had family up here. But maybe now that you don’t you’ll be going back to California . . . ?† â€Å"No, I’m staying.† To Cassie’s frustration, she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She’d come up with a devastatingly witty retort tonight, undoubtedly. But she wasn’t alone in New Salem. Adam said, â€Å"Cassie still has family here,† and moved to Cassie’s side. â€Å"Yeah, we’re all brothers. All life is, like, linked,† Chris said, coming up on Cassie’s other side. He stared at Portia out of his strange blue-green eyes. Doug joined him, grinning his mad grin. Portia blinked. Cassie had forgotten what the Henderson brothers looked like to people who didn’t know them. But Portia recovered quickly. â€Å"That’s right – they say all you people are related. Well, maybe someday soon you’ll meet my family.† She looked at Adam. â€Å"I’m sure they’d enjoy that.† She turned on her heel and walked away. Cassie and Adam exchanged a glance, but before they could say anything, Mr. Humphries had stepped up. â€Å"It’s been a beautiful service,† he told Cassie. â€Å"We’ll all miss your grandmother.† â€Å"Thank you,† Cassie said. She managed a smile for him; she liked Mr. Humphries, with his neat little salt-and-pepper beard and his sympathetic eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses. â€Å"It was nice of you to come.† â€Å"I hope your mother is feeling better soon,† said Mr. Humphries, and then he moved on. Ms. Lanning, Cassie’s American-history teacher, came up to talk then, but Cassie’s attention lingered on Mr. Humphries. A tall man with dark hair had joined him, and Cassie heard the rumble of a deep voice, followed by Mr. Humphries’s lighter, quicker tones. † – introduce me?† the dark man was saying. â€Å"Why, certainly,† Mr. Humphries said. He turned back to Cassie, bringing the dark man with him. â€Å"Cassie, I thought you might want to meet our new principal, Mr. Jack Brunswick. He’s interested in getting to know his students as soon as possible.† â€Å"That’s right,† the tall man said, in deep, pleasant tones. He reached out and took Cassie’s hand in a firm grip. His own hand was large and strong. She glanced down at it as she opened her mouth to say something polite, but then froze, paralyzed, feeling her heart pound like a trip-hammer while the blood drained out of her face. â€Å"I don’t think she’s feeling well – this must have been a long day – † Ms. Lanning was saying, but her voice seemed to come from a distance. She took hold of Cassie’s arm. But Cassie couldn’t let go of the dark man’s hand with its strong, well-made fingers. All she could see was the signet ring on his index finger, carved with a symbol that reminded her of the inscriptions on Diana’s silver bracelet – Faye’s silver bracelet now. The stone in the ring was black and reflective, with a metallic luster. It looked like hematite, but Cassie knew it wasn’t. It was a lodestone. Then, at last, Cassie looked up at the new principal, and she saw the face she’d seen during the skull ceremony in Diana’s garage. The face that had rushed at her, faster and faster, bigger and bigger, trying to escape from the crystal skull. A cruel, cold face. For an instant she seemed to see the crystal skull itself superimposed on the principal’s face, its bone structure clearly visible. The hollow eyes, the grinning teeth – Cassie swayed on her feet. Ms. Lanning was trying to support her; she could hear Adam’s alarmed voice, and Diana’s. But she could see nothing except the darkness of the new principal’s eyes. They were like glassy volcanic rock, like the ocean at midnight, like magnetite. They were swallowing her up. . . . Cassie. The voice was in her mind. Rushing blackness surrounded her and she fell. Darkness. She was on a ship – no, she wasn’t. She was fighting, struggling in icy water. Cassie clawed out, trying to get to the surface. She couldn’t see – â€Å"Take it easy! You’re safe. Cassie, it’s all right.† A wet cloth fell away from Cassie’s eyes. She was in Diana’s living room, lying on the couch. It was dim because the curtains were drawn and the lamps were off. Diana was leaning over her, and the long, silvery cascade of Diana’s hair was falling down like a shield between Cassie and the world. â€Å"Diana!† She clung to the other girl’s hand. â€Å"It’s all right. You’re okay. You’re okay.† Cassie let out her breath, leaning back against the couch, her eyes meeting Diana’s. â€Å"Jack Brunswick is Black John.† It was a flat statement. â€Å"I know,† Diana said grimly. â€Å"After you went down we all saw the ring. I don’t think he expected us to recognize him so fast.† â€Å"What happened? What did he do?† Cassie was envisioning chaos at the cemetery. â€Å"Not much. He left as we were carrying you to my car. Adam and Deborah went after him, but they weren’t obvious about it. They’re going to try to follow him. Nobody else – none of the adults – realized anything was wrong. They just figured you were exhausted. Mr. Humphries said maybe you’d better take some time off from school.† â€Å"Maybe we’d all better,† Cassie whispered. Her head was spinning. Black John in charge of the school. What in the name of God was he planning? â€Å"You said Adam went after him?† she asked, and Diana nodded. Cassie felt a pang of anxiety – and frustration. She wanted Adam here, so she could talk to him. She needed him†¦. â€Å"Hey, everything okay in there?† Chris and Doug were hanging in the doorway, as if it were a lady’s boudoir that they weren’t allowed inside of. â€Å"She’s all right,† Diana said. â€Å"You sure, Cassie?† Chris asked, venturing a few steps in. Cassie nodded wanly, then suddenly thought of Sally’s words in the bathroom. She’s the kind guys are just dying to take care of. That certainly wasn’t true . . . was it? Sally had warped everything; she’d had it all wrong. â€Å"Come on, you two, there’s double-fudge cake in the kitchen,† Diana said to the brothers. â€Å"Everybody in the neighborhood’s been dropping food off, and we need help eating it.† Cassie thought it was strange that Diana was leaving her, then she saw that Chris and Doug hadn’t been alone. Nick was standing in the hallway outside the living room. When Diana ushered the Henderson brothers out, he came in, walking slowly. â€Å"Uh †¦ hi, Nick,† Cassie said. He gave her an odd, fleeting smile and sat on the arm of the couch. His customary mask of stone was gone today. In the dim room, Cassie thought he looked a little tired, a little sad, but maybe that was only her imagination. â€Å"How’re you doing?† he said. â€Å"You had us scared for a minute there.† Nick, scared? Cassie didn’t believe it. â€Å"I’m fine, now,† she said, and then she tried to think of something else to say. It was the same as it had been with Portia: when she really needed it, her mind wouldn’t work. The silence stretched out. Nick was looking at the scrolls and flowers on the upholstery of the couch. â€Å"Cassie,† he said finally, â€Å"I’ve been meaning to talk to you.† â€Å"Oh, have you,† Cassie said faintly. She felt very strange; hot and embarrassed and at the same time weak. She didn’t want Nick to go on – but some part of her did. â€Å"I realize this isn’t exactly the perfect moment,† he said ironically, transferring his gaze to the wallpaper. â€Å"But the way things are going we may all be dead before the perfect moment comes.† Cassie opened her mouth, but no sound came out, and Nick was going on, relentlessly, inevitably, his voice low but perfectly audible. â€Å"I know you and Conant were pretty attached to each other,† he said. â€Å"And I know you thought a lot of him. I realize I’m hardly the perfect substitute – but like I said, the way things are going maybe it’s stupid to wait for perfection.† Suddenly he was looking directly at her and Cassie saw something in his mahogany eyes she’d never seen before. â€Å"So, Cassie, what do you think about it?† Nick said. â€Å"About you and me?† How to cite The Secret Circle: The Power Chapter Four, Essay examples