Energy security and energy securitization Essay

Energy security and energy securitization - Essay Example The inequality in regard to the energy sources available has caused severe conflicts among states worldwide, a phenomenon which was made particularly clear since the 1970s, the period of ‘oil shock’ (Bhattacharyya 2011, p.463). The above conflicts have led to the increase of risks in relation to the management of energy. Energy security has become a critical issue for all countries around the world; countries, which have developed strategic alliances within the international community, have been able to respond more effectively to the needs of energy security; for example, the case of the European Union (Checchi, Behrens, and Egenhofer 2009). The various aspects of energy security, as related to the energy securitization, are examined in this paper. The review of the literature published in the specific field proved that it is rather difficult for countries to meet all the requirements of energy security; moreover, energy security has been often used for promoting other interests, especially for serving the economic interests of individuals or institutions. The management of energy security should be based on the relevant principles and rules established by the international community. 2. Energy security and energy securitization 2.1 Energy security – characteristics and role Different approaches have been used in the literature in order to explain the context of energy security. In accordance with Tufa (2008) energy security can be described as ‘a reliable supply of energy at a sustainable cost’ (Tufa 2008, p.6). It seems that cost and reliability are two critical factors for defining energy security within the international community. This fact is verified through the definition of energy security given by Muller-Kraenner (2008); in accordance with the above definition, the energy security is considered as ‘the provision of reasonably priced, reliable and environmentally friendly energy’ (Muller-Kraenner 2008, p.4 ). It is noted that the term energy security may incorporate different elements in countries worldwide. For instance, in countries that are major oil producers, energy security reflects the ability of these countries ‘to maintain the security of demand’ (Tufa 2008, p.6). From a similar point of view, the term energy security can be used in order to describe the efforts of a nation to keep the price of its energy – related products low. On the other hand, Sovacool (2011) notes that energy security is related to the ability of a country to respond to its energy needs, so that: a) no problem would appear in regard to the survival of the specific nation (Sovacool 2011, p.78), b) the welfare of the country would not be threatened (Sovacool 2011, p.78), even if the characteristics of threat in the above case are not clearly described and c) the risks in regard to the management of energy sources within a country are minimized (Sovacool 2011, p.78). It is clear that the efforts to promote energy security are not standardized in countries worldwide. There are countries that consider energy security as a need justifying the development of severe conflicts; other countries seek for

Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare - Essay Example It is actually surprising but for many people today, reading Shakespeare's language can actually cause them quite a bit of confusion, and some people get truly frustrated at this because they want to be able to properly understand the works and the motives of Shakespeare in general, however, it should be known that this is an incredibly popular problem, and also that it is one which can be particularly easily fixed. Basically what needs to happen is that the readers of today's world need to be able to develop the skills that are needed for untangling unusual sentence structure and problems of the like - these are actually not as much problems as they are facts; we have been taught to read and write a certain way and so when we go to read or look or convey something that is different - in this case older - than what we were taught with, then we obviously have troubles, but this should really be expected. Anyone and everyone can truly understand how to gain these necessary skills, howe ver it is sure to take more time for some than for others. Also, remember that even those who are skilled with the reading of unusual sentence structures, even they may have trouble or some sort of difficulty with Shakespeare's words. In regards to the matter of how he structured the language of characters of differing status in order to be convey differences, such as differences in regards to gender, class, and political faction, for instance; there are actually many key points that need to be made in regards to how he structured the language of each character. Basically, the language of Shakespeare's poems, like that of poetry as a whole in general, is typically both highly compressed and highly structured, and yet when you finally realize the true point that is being made, it can be surprisingly simple; for instance we can start with Scene One, where the act opens with some of the men of the Capulet clan who are meeting on the street with men of the Montague clan, and then a brawl erupts. During this brawl, citizens begin to join in and fight, and then the heads of the houses of both Capulet and Montague come upon the scene, and then finally the Prince of the City arrives. Basically, particularly in regards to the conversation in this scene, the dramatic purpose that was given by Shakespeare was to introduce the fact that the families are bound together by an ancient blood feud that has grown to a lethal hatred; the way in which he makes each family speak different shows how he purposely structures the language of the different characters in order to show their personal differences; we see from the way the Montague's and the Capulet's speak that they are different. The Montague's are clearly considered as being of lower class and of lesser political faction and dramatic function, especially when compared in place to the Capulet's. As well, there is an enormous difference between the languages of the two genders in Romeo and Juliet; even without the prologue informing who of who is speaking at each time you would easily be able to tell who it was, and what their gender was; Shakespeare's writing is incredibly and autonomous in that he never wavers

What is a myth Essay Example for Free

What is a myth Essay It is a traditional story based on ancient beliefs of different communities and having supernatural explanations of facts or natural phenomena. The mythical story is related to religious beliefs, for that reason, has a ritual character, ie presents invariable elements and is distinguished by its durability. The purpose of myth is not to entertain, as with the story, but to explain the meaning of life. So there are certain subjects such as the origin of man and the universe, which are treated in the myths of all cultures. The myth responds to a particular way of seeing the world and to explain the phenomena that exist in it. Unlike science, which gives rational and logical explanations to these phenomena, the myth gives explanations mà ³gicas and somewhat fantastic. For this reason, events occur absurd myths, magic solutions exist and appear fabulous characters. The fact that different communities have similar concerns led to the creation of myths about the same phenomena in different cultures. In the myth of Phaeton these aspects are reflected in the following manner: Phenomenon: The origin of deserts and of the black race. Made fantastic: Phaeton driving the chariot of the sun to prove its divine origin. Universality: The phenomenon, how it is explained and the characters are repeated with some different characteristics in myths of other communities. Classification of myths beind coded contents: Cosmogenic: explain the creation of the world. Theogonic: explain the origin of the gods.   Antropogà ³nicos: explain the appearance of man Etiological: explain political, religious and social. Morales: Explain ethical principles opposites like good and evil, angels and demons. Features According to Mircea Eliade, myth is a sacred story that chronicles an event that happened during primeval time, in which the world had not yet stood. The events of the periodically recurring nature are explained as a result of the events narrated in the myth (for example, in Greek mythology the cycle of seasons is explained from the abduction of Persephone). However, not all myths refer to a time first also can address occurring after the origin, but distinguished by their importance and the changes they brought. In the view of Claude Levi-Strauss, structuralist anthropologist, every myth has three characteristics: †¢ This is an existential question concerning the creation of the earth, death, birth and the like. †¢ consists of irreconcilable opposites: creation vs destruction, life against death, gods against men or good vs. evil. †¢ provides the reconciliation of these poles in order to avert our anguish. For its part, the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski argued that no important aspect of life that is alien to the myth. Therefore, there are religious myths (such as the birth of the gods), politicians (such as the founding of Rome) or on particular issues (why corn became the main food of a people, as with the pre-Hispanic peoples of Mexico ). For Malinowski fundamental myths are narratives, while responding to the basic questions of human existence: reason to exist, because of what surrounds it, between otras.Malinowski also clarified that the myth of the order of beliefs and if it is an explanation, not a rational explanation, but cultural. Function of Myth Functions are multiple myths. However, in general, can accept three essential functions: explanatory and pragmatic meaning. The explanatory function refers to the myths explain, justify or develop the origin, purpose and because of some aspect of social or individual, for example, the Greek myth that tells how the world originated from Chaos or Genesis that says the birth of the woman from the rib of a man. The pragmatic function of myth implies that myths are the basis of certain social structures and actions as well, a myth can make a genealogical line and determine who can govern or not. With this feature, specify and justify myths why a situation is in a certain way and not another. The role of meaning refers to that myths are not just stories that provide explanations or political justifications also provide a comfort, calm life goal or individuals, so it is with myths that speak of death, suffering or victory therefore, the myths are stories away from the person, but function a s a handle existential, a motive, according to the American psychoanalyst, Rollo May. The three functions are usually combined steadily. Types of Myths We distinguish several kinds of myths: †¢ cosmogonic myths: attempt to explain the creation of the world. Are the most universally widespread and there is a greater amount. Often, lies the origin of the earth in a primordial ocean. Sometimes, a race of giants, like the Titans, plays a crucial role in this creation, in this case, such giants, which are usually demigods, are the first people on earth. †¢ Myths theogonic: tell the origin of the gods. For example, Athena comes armed from the head of Zeus. †¢ anthropogenic Myths: narrating the appearance of human beings, who can be created from any material, alive (a plant, an animal) or inert (dust, mud, clay, etc..). The gods taught to live on earth. Usually linked to the cosmogonic myths. †¢ Myths etiological explain the origin of beings, things, techniques and institutions. †¢ moral Myths: explain the existence of good and evil. †¢ Foundational Myths: tell how the cities were founded by the will of the gods. An example is the founding of Rome by two twins, Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf. †¢ Myths eschatological: announce the future, the end of the world. They still have wide audience. These myths include two major classes, depending on the element that causes the destruction of the world: water or fire. They are often linked to astrology. The imminent end is announced by a higher frequency of eclipses, earthquakes, and all sorts of natural disasters that terrorize humans. The classic example is the Apocalypse, considered as such by Bertrand Russell.1 Reading literal, allegorical and symbolic While myths appear to have been originally proposed as literally true stories, the dialectic between the worlds mythical explanation and philosophical and scientific development has favored non-literal readings of myth, according to which they should not be subject to belief, but interpretation. Thus the allegorical reading of myths, born in Greece in the Hellenistic period, proposes to interpret the gods as personifications of natural elements. This commitment finds its continuation in later theories, such as widespread in the nineteenth century by Max Mà ¼ller, whereby myths stories stem from misunderstood about the sun, which has been personified, becoming an anthropomorphic (the hero or sun god). Reading symbolic believes the myth contains accurate content, but not on what is apparently, but on the mental contents of its creators and users. Thus, the myth about a god instituted the week to create the world in seven days contains truthful about how society divided the time it was created and which divisions between the inanimate and the animate, the different types of animals and man etc.. Myths also contain useful guidelines for behavior: role models or avoid all known stories with which to relate individual experiences. Modern studies on the myth fall into three basic positions: †¢ the functionalist, developed by the anthropologist Malinowski examines what myths are used in everyday life (behavior reinforcement, argument from authority, etc.). †¢ structuralist, initiated by Levi-Strauss, examines the construction of myths locating contrary or complementary elements that appear in it and how they are related; †¢ the symbolism, which has classical references in Jung, Bachelard and Gilbert Durand, believes that the key element of the myth is a symbol, a tangible item but full of resonance or significance that refers to archetypal contents of the human psyche. (An example is the Child archetype Elder, contradictory figure who appears as a character in appearance or behavior longtime child-like Merlin or a baby or child who is capable of speaking and endowed with vast knowledge, typical of an old-the baby Jesus lecturing to doctors.) Difference between myth and other stories Often myth is often confused with other types of stories as tales, fables and legends. However, are not equal. There are several differences between myth and folk tale: while the stories are presented as fictions, myths are presented as true stories. Function also varies: the myth is essentially etiological (clear how they came to a certain situation, why the sea is salty or man is mortal, for example), while the values ​​transmitted folktale (better skill than strength, good always has its reward, the impostor is always open, etc..). In addition, the plot of the stories is usually simple, while myths are part of a complex, in which each story is connected with the other by recurrent characters, places, etc.. (So, for example, the story of Jason is related to myths about Heracles, as this is one of the Argonauts). The fables myths differ from the characters (those fables are animals human conduct the myths, gods, heroes and monsters) and by function (fables contain a moral message, which usually appears at the end collected of them as moral, while myths are etiological). As for the legends, are presented, as well as myths, like true stories and often have a causal role (used, for example, to explain how a lineage came to power, which underpins its political legitimacy), but Unlike myths, happening in real time, historic places recognized by the listener or reader, and often with real actors (cf. the legends of Charlemagne or El Cid). The same pattern may appear in a myth, a story or legend, depending on how you present the story (true or fictional) and what your role (etiological, educational, entertainment ). Thus, noted how the plot of the Oedipus myth reappears in the medieval legend of Judas Iscariot makes a murderer of his father who marries without knowing his mother.

History of statistics and its significance

History of statistics and its significance History of Statistics and its Significance Statistics is a relatively new subject, which branched from Probability Theory and is widely used in areas such as Economics and Astrology. It is a logic and methodology to measure uncertainty and it is used to do inferences on these uncertainties (Stigler, 1986). The history of Statistics can be firstly traced back to the 1600s. John Graunt (1620-1674) could be considered as the pioneer of statistics and as the author of the first book regarding statistics. He published Natural and Political observations on the Bills of Mortality in 1662 whereby he was studying the plague outbreak in London at the time requested by the King. Graunt was asked to come up with a system that would allow them to detect threats of further outbreaks, by keeping records of mortality and causes of death and making an estimation of the population. By forming the life table, Graunt discovered that statistically, the ratio of male to females are almost equal. Then in 1666, he collected data and started to exami ne life expectancies. All of this was fundamental as he was arguably the first to create a condensed life table from large data and was able to do some analysis on it. In addition, this is widely used in life insurance today, showing the importance and significance of Graunts work (Verduin, 2009). Another reason why this is significant is because of his ability in demonstrating the value of data collection (Stigler, 1986). Then in 1693, Edmond Halley extended Graunts ideas and formed the first mortality table that statistically made the relationship between age and death rates. Again, this is used in life insurance (Verduin, 2009). Another contributor to the formation of statistics is Abraham De Moivre (1667-1823). He was the first person to identify the properties of the normal curve and in 1711, introduced the notion of statistical independence (Verduin, 2009). In 1724, De Moivre studied mortality statistics and laid down foundations of the theory of annuities, inspired by the work of Halley. This is significant as annuities are widely used in the Finance industry today, in particular, when forming actuarial tables in life insurance. De Moivre then went on to talk about the idea of the normal distribution which can be used to approximate the binomial distribution (OConnor and Robertson, 2004). William Playfair (1759-1823) was the person who invented statistical graphics, which included the line graph and the bar graph chart in 1786 and the pie chart in 1801. He believed that charts were a better way to represent data and he was driven to this invention by a lack of data. This was a milestone as these graphical representations are used everywhere today, the most notable being the time-series graph, which is a graph containing many data points measured at successive uniform intervals over a period of time. These graphs can be used to examine data such as shares, and could be used to predict future data (Robyn 1978). Adolphe Quetlet (1796-1874) was the first person to apply probability and statistics to Social Sciences in 1835. He was interested in studying about human characteristics and suggested that the law of errors, which are commonly used in Astronomy, could be applied when studying people and through this, assumptions or predictions could be in regards to physical features and intellectual features of a person. Through Quetlets studies, he discovered that the distribution of certain characteristics when he made a diagram of it was in a shape of a bell curve. This was a significant discovery as Quetlet later went on to form properties of the normal distribution curve, which is a vital concept in Statistics today. Using this concept of average man, Quetlet used this to examine other social issues such as crime rates and marriage rates. He is also well known for the coming up with a formula called the Quetlet Index, or more commonly known as Body Mass Index, which is an indication or measure for obesity. This is still used today and you could find out your BMI by calculating. If you get an index of more than 30, it means the person is officially obese (OConnor and Robertson, 2006). Other members who made little but significance contributions to Statistics are Carl Gauss and Florence Nightingale. Gauss was the first person who played around with the least squares estimation method when he was interested in astronomy and attempted to predict the position of a planet. He later proved this method by assuming the errors are normally distributed. The method of least squares is widely used today, in Astronomy for example, in order to minimise the error and improve the accuracy of results or calculations (OConnor and Robertson, 1996). It was also the most commonly used method before 1827 when trying to combine inconsistent equations (Stigler, 1986). Nightingale was inspired by Quetlets work on statistical graphics and produced a chart detailing the deaths of soldiers where she worked. She later went on to analyse that state and care of medical facilities in India. This was significant as Nightingale applied statistics to health problems and this led to the improvement of medical healthcare. Her important works were recognised as became the first female to be a member of the Royal Statistical Society (Cohen, 1984). One of the greatest contributors was Francis Galton (1822-1911) who helped create a statistical revolution which laid foundations for future statisticians like Karl Pearson and Charles Spearman (Stigler, 1986). He was related to Charles Darwin and had many interests, such as Eugenics and Anthropology. He came up with a number of vital concepts, including the regression, standard deviation and correlation, which came about when Galton was studying sweet peas. He discovered that the successive sweet peas were of different sizes but regressed towards the mean size and the distribution of their parents (Gavan Tredoux, 2007). He later went on to work with the idea of correlation when he was studying the heights of parents and the parents children when they reach adulthood, where he made a diagram of his findings and found an obvious correlation between the two. He then performed a few other experiments and came to the conclusion that the index of the correlation was an indication to the d egree in which the two variables were related to one another. His studies were significant as they are all fundamental in Statistics today and these methods are used in many areas for data analysis, especially with extracting meaningful information between different factors (OConnor and Robertson, 2003). The History of Statistics: The Measurement of Uncertainty before 1900 Stephen M Stigelr Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, March 1, 1990 p1, 4, 40, 266 http://www.leidenuniv.nl/fsw/verduin/stathist/stathist.htm A short History of Probability and Statistics Kees Verduin Last Updated: March 2009 Last Accessed: 02/04/2010 http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/De_Moivre.html The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive Article by: J J OConnor and E F Robertson Copyright June 2004 Last Accessed: 05/04/2010 The American Statistician Volume: 32, No: 1 Quantitative graphics in statistics: A brief history James R. Beniger and Dorothy L. Robyn p1-11 http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Quetelet.html The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive Article by: J J OConnor and E F Robertson Copyright August 2006 Last Accessed: 06/04/2010 http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Gauss.html The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive Article by: J J OConnor and E F Robertson Copyright December 1996 Last Accessed: 06/04/2010 Scientific American 250 Florence Nightingale I. Bernard Cohen March 1984, p128-37/p98-107depending on country of sale http://galton.org/ Francis Galton Edited and Maintained by: Gavan Tredoux Last Updated: 12/11/07 (according to the update in News section) Last Accessed: 07/04/2010 http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Galton.html The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive Article by: J J OConnor and E F Robertson Copyright October 2003 Last Accessed: 07/04/2010

Web 2.0 versus Pedagogy :: Technology, Voice Thread

Web 2.0 is an advance technology which many people used for communication such as blogs, social networking, entertainment and gaining of information about specific issue, events and people. It facilitates an interactive and collaborative application, user centered design and developing World Wide Web (Rad, 2007). This system is not originally intended for teaching a learning purpose but previously some educators was attracted to use this as an educational tool. (Peltier, 2009) Voice thread Integration of literacy and technology is very helpful for learners to fully understand the specific information and as well as in the side of educators that will improve their teaching strategy through adaptability of voice thread. Considering the advancement of the technologies and the knowledge of each educator and the willingness of the learners this progress will not be impossible to achieve as desired. Contributories in making the voice thread effective to the users depending on their capabilities to adapt the process of spreading information and interaction towards feedback mechanism will surely be manageable to which all queries are given that of enough attention. Voice Thread is an online tool which is not originally intended as a classroom tool but in 2008, Burden made a study in which Voice Thread can be used as an educational tool for enhancement of teaching and student learning. This kind of online application showcases a new designed learning tool that engages students to be motivated in exploring and gaining knowledge through video collaborative conversation, images, power point, and audio files. Voice Thread has the ability to securely accommodate learners not only to become readers but to become participants also. (Freyer, 2008) Voice Thread allows interaction within the user and the participants thru exchanging of comments by oral or textual. This application also allows privacy of documents being posted for which you can choose only the audiences or participants which can view your post. To attract learners to be more interested, Voice Thread also allows images or videos to be posted for a better presentation (Anderson, 2010). For better audio comments, Lofton (2008) suggested the usage of Audacity which is a free downloadable application that allows editing and volume adjustments. Another suggestion is to use a better quality microphone (Lofton, 2008). Voice Thread might pose an accessibility problem for those students with low bandwidth. In addition, viewing the application on a mobile phone can be difficult because it employs Flash to deliver content. Web 2.0 versus Pedagogy :: Technology, Voice Thread Web 2.0 is an advance technology which many people used for communication such as blogs, social networking, entertainment and gaining of information about specific issue, events and people. It facilitates an interactive and collaborative application, user centered design and developing World Wide Web (Rad, 2007). This system is not originally intended for teaching a learning purpose but previously some educators was attracted to use this as an educational tool. (Peltier, 2009) Voice thread Integration of literacy and technology is very helpful for learners to fully understand the specific information and as well as in the side of educators that will improve their teaching strategy through adaptability of voice thread. Considering the advancement of the technologies and the knowledge of each educator and the willingness of the learners this progress will not be impossible to achieve as desired. Contributories in making the voice thread effective to the users depending on their capabilities to adapt the process of spreading information and interaction towards feedback mechanism will surely be manageable to which all queries are given that of enough attention. Voice Thread is an online tool which is not originally intended as a classroom tool but in 2008, Burden made a study in which Voice Thread can be used as an educational tool for enhancement of teaching and student learning. This kind of online application showcases a new designed learning tool that engages students to be motivated in exploring and gaining knowledge through video collaborative conversation, images, power point, and audio files. Voice Thread has the ability to securely accommodate learners not only to become readers but to become participants also. (Freyer, 2008) Voice Thread allows interaction within the user and the participants thru exchanging of comments by oral or textual. This application also allows privacy of documents being posted for which you can choose only the audiences or participants which can view your post. To attract learners to be more interested, Voice Thread also allows images or videos to be posted for a better presentation (Anderson, 2010). For better audio comments, Lofton (2008) suggested the usage of Audacity which is a free downloadable application that allows editing and volume adjustments. Another suggestion is to use a better quality microphone (Lofton, 2008). Voice Thread might pose an accessibility problem for those students with low bandwidth. In addition, viewing the application on a mobile phone can be difficult because it employs Flash to deliver content.

san jose :: essays research papers

sometimes in each persons life there is a turning point, a point in time when a revelation is reaveled to you. If you cannot see this revelation sometimes your vision may be clouded over by a voice that may or may not be your own. In the novel, many people are telling san jose to stop listening tom his own voice and folow them. But he knows that is wrong. At Polemarchus' house, Socrates discusses old age with Cephalus, Polemarchus' aging father. Cephalus says that old age is really not as bad as people say it is; if you're a moderate and contented person, your virtue makes old age pleasant. Socrates notes that some would say that it is Cephalus' wealth that makes old age bearable for him. Cephalus says that this is not true, wealth can help someone be virtuous, but it isn't the deciding factor. Cephalus defines just behavior as paying one's debts and speaking truthfully, and notes that wealth does help in these things. Socrates questions Cephalus' definition of just behavior, but before they can discuss it Cephalus leaves, leaving his argument to Polemarchus. Polemarchus defends his father's definition, saying that justice is giving each what is owed to him--treating friends well, and enemies badly. Socrates finds numerous problems with this definition. First is that, since people are sometimes mistaken about who their friends are, it appears to endorse treating bad people well and vice versa. Second is that, since injustice breeds injustice, it says that it is the job of the just person to create injustice. Just as Polemarchus agrees that his initial definition is incorrect, Thrasymachus, another guest at the house, roars into the conversation; he announces, with some pomp, that "justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger." In all cities, the rulers enact laws that are in their own best interests, and these laws are declared just, and so clearly justice is always at the service of the powerful.

Edgar Allen Poe Essay

In the two short texts The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell Tale Heart written by Edgar Allan Poe, the important settings are where both of the victims are entrapped and also the time midnight, which is also when both of the murders are committed. This was important because Poe wanted to show the readers the fascination of 19th century’s phobia of being buried alive and the horror of the darkness which contributes to the gothic nature of these stories. The Cask of Amontillado is set in an unnamed European city and about Montresor, the narrator taking a deadly revenge on his friend Fortunato who he claimed to have insulted him. The Tell Tale heart is told from an unnamed narrator point of view, who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a ‘vulture eye’. In the Cask of Amontillado, the story began at around dusk during a carnival season. But this location suddenly jumped, as Fortunato was lured back to Montresor’s house and into the catacomb. The readers can see the obvious antithesis as the carnival alludes to happiness, life and the joyful social interactions and the catacomb symbolises evil, darkness and death. ‘Passed through long walls of piled skeletons†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘Moisture trickle among the bones.’, ‘walls lined with human remains†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ These repeated hints of the bones lining the catacomb walls foreshadow the story’s descent into the underworld and Fortunato walking to his death. The catacomb is a metaphor for a huge deathly tomb which was ironic as Fortunato was walled up here at the end of the catacomb in the recess. It was truly Fortunato’s last resting place. In The Tell Tale Heart, the murder also happened at midnight. ‘Every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept. ‘ Poe has chosen this witching hour time as it is the dead of the night where people are scared of the deathly evilness and the horror of it. And through the use of first person narration in both stories, the readers see the twisted logic of the killers which revealed their insanity. Although the readers have doubts about the narrator, they are also intrigued at this insight of a madman. ‘First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs†¦took up three planks from the flooring†¦and deposited†¦ ‘ This apathetic tone of describing grotesque acts showed the readers that the narrator has no empathy; he is removed from the acts and is a cold blooded killer. From these two stylistic techniques used by Poe, the readers can see the notion of madness of the mind. The narrator was psychotic and disturbed, he believed he was ‘vexed’ by the evil eye and eventually lost his grip on reality. Poe’s based both of these stories around the time at midnight, the ‘witching hour’. This was important because this is an ancient European folktale. It was believed at this time of the night supernatural creatures such as witches, demons and ghosts are thought to be at their most powerful and also black magic at its most effective. ‘†¦because Death in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ this clearly shows the old man’s fear of the dark and how he linked the darkness and death together. Readers can easily relate to this fear of the dark hours as we feel uneasy in the dark and difficult to see which often causes a skewed perception. In The Cask of Amontillado, Poe clearly showed Fortunato being buried alive. ‘†¦I laid the second tier and the third and the fourth. ‘The idea of being buried alive was a concern at Poe’s time when he was writing these stories. During the 17th century, many premature burials occurred. Over 140 cases of premature burials were recorded and 10 cases in which bodies were dissected accidentally before death. This idea was important in The Tell Tale Heart also, near the end, when the narrator became paranoid. He kept hearing a distinctive ringing in his ear which leaded him to his confession. ‘Tear up the planks†¦it is the beating of his hideous heart.’ This showed the notion of being buried alive as he believed the old man was still alive, with his heart beating underneath the floorboard. In conclusion, the important settings of the two stories were the ‘witching hour’ time and where the victims were murdered. This helped the readers understand the important ideas of the 17th century phobia of being buried alive and also the superstitions and people’s uneasy feeling about the witching hour. One major difference between the two stories is that there are two settings within the story of The Cask of Amontillado while in The Tell Tale Heart, there were just one. This showed the readers the vast contrast between life and death and how easily Fortunato was tricked into the darkness and to his death. But nevertheless Poe has successfully utilised the darkness and the silence of the night in capturing the readers’ attention and interests.