The Coffee Pot By John Coburn

A) Coffee originated in Yemen, Arabia where it was viewed as a religious beverage. Over time it spread to Mecca and Cairo, where it became a recreational drink to be drunk in a social manner in large coffee houses. It also became a popular substitute for alcohol, which was banned under Islam. Europeans traveling in the Middle East came upon coffee and coffeehouses and commented on their popularity. But it wasn’t until 1652, when an Armenian servant named Pasqua Rosee opened the first coffee house in London, that coffee transformed from a little known novelty into a wide spread phenomenon. When, in 1658, Cromwell died and public opinion swung in the favor of a new monarchy, coffee houses became central in political debates and commercial business. The trend quickly caught on and coffee houses became fashionable throughout Europe.

Coffee quickly became the drink of intellect and industry being known to sharpen the mind. Taverns were replaced with a more sophisticated meeting place, the coffeehouse. These “led to the establishment of scientific societies and financial institutions, the founding of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought.” [4]

“But, I 'm already resigned to this fate / Looking over my life, I recall / If it hadn 't been / for the loneliness / I 'd have no companion at all. ” This stanza from “Loneliness”, by Lora Colon evokes the negative impact a lonely fate has on a person. Words like “resigned” and “loneliness” establish a sense of depression and resignation. During the times of the Great Depression, many people felt similar feelings of melancholy and stoicism. Jobs were hard to come by, and realistic dreams of success were scarce. John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, allows readers to see the life of the Great Depression. The two main characters, George and Lennie, search for jobs, like many other migrant workers. They dream of owning their own land, however, Lennie’s habit of getting in trouble prevents their dream from being reality. After he accidentally causes more trouble at their new job, George is forced to kill him out of mercy. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck shows that even if one meticulously plans out the road to their American Dream, fate will inevitably intervene and lead one to desolation and loneliness.

The caffeine in coffee become an ethical increase over alcohol and have become a fashionable social beverage. It was interesting to see how it started off as this very exotic drink only for the upper class and then turned into what it is now. Coffee is a very fashionable drink that does not cost much that many have led their days with in today’s society.

Top students across the nation compete for the title of valedictorian each year, although very few actually receive it. Much to the detriment of the students, the competition can become sophomoric and pointless yet remaining intense and cut throat. In her article, “Best In Class”, Margaret Talbot conveys the message that the competition of valedictorian has unfavorable consequences through her use of diction and testimonies.

America’s answer for dealing with crime prevention is locking up adult offenders in correctional facilities with little rehabilitation for reentry into society. American response for crime prevention for juvenile’s offenders is the same strategy used against adult offenders taken juvenile offenders miles away from their environment and placed in adult like prisons.

Since the last time I wrote a journal, I had just finished Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Now, I started and finished Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and also started Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions. There are still sixty-six pages remaining in the novel. Fahrenheit 451 is about a man named Guy Montag living in a future in which books are outlawed. Guy is a fireman whose job it is to burn all remaining books currently located in his city. However, when Guy meets a strange girl living outside of his apartment, he becomes intrigued with what books have the power to do. Instead of following orders, Guy starts wondering why he is doing what he is told to do rather than just doing what he is told. Breakfast of Champions is a science fiction novel describing the lives of two strange men. One of these men is Kilgore Trout, an unheard of novelist who will soon become one of the most famous men in America. The other man in this story is Dwayne Hoover, a wealthy man who made his fortune off of speculation on the stock market. Despite his luxurious home and fantastic job, Dwayne will soon be appalled by Kilgore Trout’s idea that everyone around Dwayne is a robot. In both of these novels, change is an essential theme. In Fahrenheit 451, focus will be brought on the change of the world in which Guy resides, and also the change of Guy as a person, while in Breakfast of Champions, the focus of change is how much America has changed since 1973.

Persona, the aspect of someone 's character that is presented to or perceived by others. So for someone to adopt a persona is them putting their self in the shoes of another character to give off a specific perspective or view. Diane Gilliam Fisher uses this effectively in the poems found in her book “Kettle Bottom”. She places herself in the positions of both the children and wives of the coal workers, as well as the immigrants who worked the coal mine. She took the stance of the company owners and operators, and even the news reporters who spoke of the rebellion that was starting to take place. She uses this technique to persuade her audience to see the wrong that was happening in the coal mines. In comparison, the cut scene from the film “Matewan” that was written and directed by John Sayles takes the view point of the actual Union members and the conflicts that went on between the workers their selves. Both, these interpretations of what was going on in the coal mines of West Virginia, gives the audience the same perspective that the owners of the coal mines were the antagonist in the story. In addition to both “Kettle Bottom” and “Matewan”, the article “The Second Civil War: Remembering the Battle at Blair Mountain,” written by Alan Grayson (SpeakOut), also takes a bias stance against the mining company owners. Grayson portrays the mining owners to be crooked and wicked people, who had no remorse for the troubled environment that their workers struggle through

Coffee played a pivotal role in the scientific and “financial” revolution because the dissemination of scientific knowledge through London’s coffeehouses led to a series of lectures on mathematics and astronomy in coffeehouses and seamen and merchants realized that science could contribute to improvements in navigation, and hence to commercial success. Coffeehouses gave rise to new business models in the form of innumerable novel variations on insurance, lottery, or joint-stock schemes.

The Ugly Mug Coffee Company was founded in 1999 in Memphis, Tennessee by Tim Burleson and Mark Ottinger. The company started out as just a small local college hangout coffee shop that got their name in a unique way. Their local customers donated their old “ugly” coffee cups to Tim and Matt. Hence the name Ugly Mug Coffee (Smith, 2006). For three years Tim and Matt ran a profitable business but they soon realized that the true backbone of the company, the coffee growers were getting the short end of the stick and this just did not sit well with them. So they decided to close the coffee shop and focus on buying beans and roasting them straight from the coffee bean growers.

Everyone has someone they consider family. Sometimes people bond solely with their blood relatives, but more often than not we choose who we consider to be our family as we grow older. This happens most often when people find a spouse, but many also adopt children as their sons and daughters, peers as their brothers and sisters, and role model figures as aunts and uncles. The Bean Trees is written by Barbra Kingsolver and is set in the early 1980 's. It tells the story of a young woman named Taylor, and the life she builds in Tucson Arizona. Far from home, she meets many great people and finds a place where she belongs. Kingsolver shapes her message of the importance of families both blood and found through her use of character archetypes

Barbara Kingsolver wrote “Stone Soup” “which is taken from High Tide in Tucson: Essays for Now or Never, published in 1995”. Some views she conveys in her essay are these. Kingsolver explains that not all men are the prince that you fall in love with a “live happily ever after,” he may be very feminine and be more like a princess. On the other hand, you may have looked in your box of crayons. You pick out a color that your parents may not approve, even though you see the good of this person. She is very passionate in her writing. She shows a considerable amount of emotion. Which is not bad, this will make you think about your own relationship. It will also make you think of how you treat others. Therefore,

Almost everyone faces some kind of hardship in their lifetime; however, only specific people can rely on their spirits to help them survive. Perhaps one of the greatest hardships started in 1619 when the first African American slaves were brought to the US settlements. Millions of slaves were treated horribly, even more were brutally killed in many different ways. In the book, Copper Sun, Sharon Draper proves that only certain individuals are given the strength of spirit needed to endure the difficulties of life by comparing how some slaves survived the “death ship” and others did not, how some became pessimistic but Amari stayed faithful, and finally how the people of Fort Mose were living freely even though each individual faced tragedy

The Overshadowing Truth Multiple lies can easily turn any righteous act into a worthless one. In the popular novel Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin, the superficial eye might consider Mortenson a respectable and honorable man, but a deeper investigation proves otherwise. Mortenson paints himself as a hero in his book, Three Cups of Tea, but the truth of the matter exceeds his accomplishments as he deceptively tells exciting stories throughout his book, dishonorably extends his endeavors to glorify his own public image, and intentionally abuses the power he possesses in his charity.

Coffee has played a major role in the lives of many people around the world. “Yet, poetic as its taste may be, coffee’s history is rife with controversy and politics…[becoming a] creator of revolutionary sedition in Arab countries and in Europe” (Pendergrast xvi). After reading Uncommon Grounds, it is apparent that the history of coffee is intertwined with the aspects of the globalization process, the role of Multi-National Corporations, and global economic issues.