An Introduction to Mark Rothko Essays

An Introduction to Mark Rothko Essays An Introduction to Mark Rothko Essay An Introduction to Mark Rothko Essay Encounters with Mark Rothkos Light red over black (1957) Mark Rothko, Light red over black 1957. In this essay I will explore Light red over black (1957) by Mark Rothko. Although apparently simple, infact shows a wonderfully complex process of thought and throughout this essay I will interpret and get a better understanding of Rothkos intention and meaning. Filled with shades of red, the upper part of the painting comes to create a strong opposition with the black area below it, itself encircled by a darker red. This painting consisting of three floating rectangles in various colour combinations, creates a sombre mood conducive to spiritual contemplation. With the use of Rothkos saturated colours the viewers are moved and as ones eye adjust to the light that the painting emits. The colour field, I feel, embraces the mind, and the palettes warm variety of tones mesmerises. Further analysing this painting, the two darker oblongs appear like two openings in the centre of the painting, creating a sense of freedom. Conveyed in this painting is a sense that the oblongs are two openings in the centre of the picture, as the two darker rectangles are much more prominent in relation to the red tones. When first encountering this piece I questionned perhaps whether these oblongs were openings or whether in fact they were floating on the surface. In many respects it reminded me of of a stained-glass windows, except that there is no pattern or decoration. However, through its title, Light red over black it seemed that perhaps Mark Rothko wanted the red to be more of a protrusive focus. However, with such contrasting colours it is definitely the black and dark blue that strick as the main aspect of this painting for me. On a chronological outlook, the shades from the upper half, the lighter red, move slowly downwards to a much darker colour. This could possibly be perceived as a means of human life, which has been said that Rothko tried to aim for TESHUVA, 2003:45 , the lighter red being an earlier life time ending with the black as the end of it evoking an endless enthrall. It is, in my belief, the energy that comes off this painting is a result of Rothkos spontaneity nd improvising. Like many of Rothkos work, Light red over Black made in 1957 was created on canvas using the material, oils. Rothkos techniques added further importance to the attraction of this piece. Rothko applied paint very thinly with sponges and cloths to avoid leaving any visible brushstrokes. (Auping, Karnes, Thistlewaite, 2002:286) Despite Rothko having the result of a controlled perspective, the edges of the rectangles are indistinct. The edges of the shapes are soft and blurred , and contributes to their ambiguity. It seems that rothko wanted us to think only about colours and the moods they create, not about himself. This concept demonstrates what Rothko aimed at, the aspect of colour-field painting. Light red over black takes the format of a pulsating rectangle with a vertical format, and is large in scale taking the dimensions of 2306 x 1527 x 38 mm. Rothko explained that the shapes in which he painted have no direct association with any particular visible experience, but in them one recognises the principles and passions or organisms. studio-international. co. uk/archive2/causey_1972_183_943a. sp Furthermore, the development of Rothkos work from surrealism to abstract interested me, interlinked with his change in the use of his colours over his artistic lifetime . After 1957, in which this painting was created, Rothkos choice of colours tended to adopt a darker palette using more darker browns and blacks, which can be emphasised in the contrasting colour of red and black in this painting. (Comparision between earlier works to his latter works) When first encountered with this painting, I believed that Rothkos work had moved away from more representational objects and moved more into the form of colour of abstract art. Although Rothkos use of colours, varying in only 2 shades of red, blue and black, they juxtapose together creating a deeper meaning to his paintings and questions the viewer to create their own theories on how to interpret the mood. Jacob Baal-Teshova wrote Rothko always resisted attempts to interpret his paintings. He was mainly concerned with the viewers experience TESHUVA, 2003: 7 , and in contrast to this, the independant wrote, Its too focused on the hit it will give its audience. It simply doesnt have enough world in it to be worthwhile art, enough complication, contingency, resistance, negotiation, argument – and abstract art can have these things as much as any other. THE INDEPENDANT: 2008 I first encountered Rothkos work at the Tate Modern gallery in London in 2008. When first examining his works, including other famous paintings such as Mural for End Wall it struck me as a simplistic style, yet with its luminous rectangles and saturated colour, a sense of mystery was conveyed in a modern era. Moreover, on cream idilic walls, Light red over black automatically illuminated from the walls in deep dark red, blues and blacks which led me to interpret his work as profoundly imbued with an emotional content that he articulated through a range of styles that had evolved from figurative to abstract. Furthermore, when examining this painting up close, the application of what seemed to be very thing layers of paint over each other, allowed the colours to radiate through, creating a sense of drama and light, despite the colours being much darker than others Id seen in the gallery. Suggested towards the latter part of his life, and through his means of depression, I first interpreted his work as a form of expression, which emplyed shimmering colour to convey a sense of spirtuality. However, after research it is perhaps more profound to say that this painting has a sense of depression with connotations of the red and black insinuating death, a mood of sadness, something Rothko was suffering from. HARRISON, 2003:230 The emphasis of his paintings are highlighted of course not only in colours but in its size. When visiting the Tate modern, it was the pure size of these images that drew me in,with a seperate room in which to display Rothkos work. Rothko I believe, intended his paintings to be seen up close so that the viewer could appreciate and be enveloped by the paintings colour aura. The function of such a large painting was perhaps precisely because he wanted to be very intimate and relate it to human life itself and to his audience. The feeling of such an overwhelming large piece of art not only inspired but led ways to interpret why this size had been used. If for example, Rothko had created these pieces on a smaller scale the simplistic outlook on them, I feel would have been lost. What struck me most about Light red over black was the difference in his early works. Rothko was known for his use of expressionist landscapes, genre scenes, and still lifes. However, it was soon emphasised that artists could not longer merely copy photos or images to due the ever expanding artistic changes. Redundant, Rothko, and many other artists discussed conceptual changes and with this promoted the idea of using colour as a means to establish a relationship between the artist and the viewers. This influence, occuring early in the 1950s, led artists like Rothko to begin painting an entire canvas one colour. Moreover, the influence of World War II led many European artists to emigrate to the United States, including those associated with the surrealist movement. Sharma, 2006:35 They were a major influence on Rothko who began to attempt to apply theories on the collective unconscious to his work, and he started to orient his art toward a more abstract style and bring his colours to darker tones. In my opinion it was the events occuring in World War II that evidently influenced abstract art and artists to experiment with exploring the connection between forms and colours. While the population visually saw colours simply on a canvas it was Rothkos eternal interest in the human figure, character and emotions which led him to express himself indivually. Rothko believed, â€Å"The most interesting painting is one that expresses more of what one thinks than of what one sees. (Breslin, 1993:261)

The Financial Crisis of 2008 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Financial Crisis of 2008 - Essay Example [Wisman &Barker, 2008]. An interesting and relatively new idea is put forth by James Livingston in his book "Their Great Depression and Ours," Challenge. He argues that the cause of the Great Depression in the 1930s was poor wage performance leading to large profits in search of few investment opportunities. In another article, Saving Private Savings, or, The God That Failed he discusses at length the plausible reasons reasons for the current economic crisis. While not blaming anyone in particular for the present economic crisis, he opines that economic growth is possible only through higher consumer demand and spending. This in turn requires higher savings. In his words, "economic growth has proceeded as a function of declining net investment for the last 90 years."As the sequence of events that should have been tax cuts, savings, investments by the government and higher job growth, higher wages and higher spending got mixed up, higher private savings from households and business firms were parked in the stock market, the speculative bubble had to burst, both in 1920s and now. 2) What are some of the similarities and differences between the current crisis and the one that launched the Great Depression The Great Depression of the 1930s was brought on by the crash of the Wall Street in September and October 1929.Stock prices tumbled by almost 50% in a matter of two months. The market had probably been overbought and had reached a peak before it came crashing down. The unpredictable stock markets that had been steadily rising for some time shed the excess fat and trimmed down considerably. Investors who had made good gains in stock markets the preceding years had borrowed from banks to invest more on the stock markets. When the markets crashed, there was panic all round. Banks were unable to recover debts, news of banks closing down spread and people wanted to withdraw all their savings. Banks were weary and wanted to sit on cash and stopped lending. This led to closure of the manufacturing units dependent on credit which in turn led to large scale unemployment. Finally the government took drastic steps to check the recession and the economy stopped declining. The similarities between the causes leading to the Great Depression and the economic situation seem to be the greed of human beings. Excess of anything is bad, especially greed. Rothschild is of the opinion that "herding" or the tendency to follow the crowd and "leveraging" or borrowing to make financial investments, were also common factors. In both the situations, greed fuelled people into higher borrowings and ultimately, they lost out on the capital too. In the 1930s, it was the greed of the common man that led to the Recession, while in 2008, it was the greed of the investment bankers and other financial wizards that led to the recession. Another similarity has been

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Assignment Example He will either be lenient towards all others out of guilt (as well as to avoid confrontations that might arise due to differences of opinion with those he reviews) or more strict with others to cover for Virginia’s incompetence. After all, the way he rated Virginia’s performance, makes it clear that his first priority is to avoid confrontation and the extra time and effort required to justify his below average rating, for which he would need to go through the records he had been able to collect. On the other hand, he might try to compensate his erroneous rating of Virginia’s performance by being overly harsh in his rating of other employees; especially the ones he thinks will take his ratings and comments without the ensuing emotional outburst that he is desperate to avoid, even at the cost of introducing stagnation of effort in the organization. Ans3. The most crucial mistake that Steve made in rating Virginia’s performance was the lack of around the year monitoring and frank discussions with Virginia about her performance level. Next, he compounded his mistake by letting his emotions and fear of facing a tough situation, get in the way of a truthful and fair evaluation that would have been of benefit to both, the organization and the job holder in the long run. Instead, Steve should have approached the appraisal process with total honesty and strength. Moreover, he should have had the wisdom to have open discussions with Virginia prior to the actual appraisal and encouraged her to recognize her shortcomings in order to improve herself. In this way he could have guided her throughout the year to make improvements in areas where she lagged, to contribute actual value to the organization. Ans4. The performance review conducted by Steve was biased and incorrect owing to his lack of proper effort and feelings about the employee.

Treatment of Schizophrenia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Treatment of Schizophrenia - Essay Example Disorganization of speech - It is a condition when person shows inconsistency in his speech. Usually this develops due to thinking disorder. Affected person can speak very fast or can frequently change topics in between sentences or can say sentences with words but no meaning (word salad). Genetic reasons, prenatal exposure to infections, social life style and some times use of drugs can develop schizophrenia. Two types of genetic disorders can be assigned with schizophrenia. One is deletion or duplication of copy number variant (i.e. very small DNA sequences) from genes responsible for the development of brain and neural signaling (Walsh et al. 2008). The other is some complex interaction of some unspecific genes through linkage i.e. when some genes co-occur then only their expressions develop the disorder (Owen et al. 2005). Early developments in neurological stages are considered to be most critical for the development of the disorder. Prenatal exposure to infection can be a major cause. Studies also have suggested that the pathology of development within uterus and development of the conditions are linked together (Brown, 2006). Socio-economic conditions can also become causes for schizophrenia. Generally these are racial discrimination, poverty, unemployment, poor living, experience of trauma in juvenile condition, relationship disorder in parents, etc (Mueser et al. 2004), (Selten et al. 2007). Drugs A huge number of Schizophrenics or similar type of patients remains under medication for a prolonged period. So, it is hard to analyze if use of drug causes schizophrenia or the use of drugs develops due to the disorder. A meta-analysis estimated that increase in the dose of cannabis could develop behavioral disorders like schizophrenia (Moore et al. 2007). Mechanism of schizophrenia Patho-physiological mechanism Many psychological researches have been conducted to determine the development of schizophrenia. Many psychological researches have been conducted to determine the development of schizophrenia. Schizophrenic conditions shows reduced thalamic neural number and volume of cortical gray matter. Reduction in cortical volume followed by early gestational

The Game Essay Example for Free

The Game Essay Every person has a different way of viewing success. In the movie â€Å"The Game†, each of the characters views success in their own specific and distinct ways. Nicholas has a more materialistic view of success contrasted by Conrad who lives a more easygoing life and Christine who is mostly a balance between the two. The various characters such as Nicholas, Conrad and Christine will achieve their success at the end of the movie, however each of them attain it in different ways. Nicholas Van Orton is the main character of the movie. At the beginning of the film, Nicholas appeared to be a very successful business man but lived in solitude. Divorced and alone, Nicholas now lived in a Mansion with his housekeeper, Elsa, as his only company. At this point of the movie, Nicholas seemed to perceive success as money. For his birthday, Nicholas is given by his brother a present to go to the CRS office and play a game. Once the game starts, he perceives his life as falling apart. His money is robbed form his bank account, his house is taken over by the CRS, and everywhere he went something mysterious happened to him. Nicholas saw success at this point as the survival of this horrible nightmare. With no money and anywhere to go, he decides to approach his ex wife for help. This might have been out of desperation, since he has not done such a thing in a long time. Parallel to this, he starts developing a relationship with Christine, a waitress in a restaurant which throughout the whole game will be there to help him. By the end of the movie, we see how Nicholas starts to realize how everyone surrounding him is a part of this â€Å"game† that wants to kill him. At this point he decides that the best thing is to kill himself since he has nothing to live for. Everything he had in life is gone. He throws himself from a building and surprisingly he lands on a giant air bag. This game was done by his brother Conrad as a birthday present. This whole nightmare instantly turned into happiness. Everything he just went through was a whole set up of a surprise party. He had not lost his house nor his money; everything was in-touch. After enduring through all the various games, Nicholas realizes that success does not only mean being a successful business person, but to be happy and have people that surround you. Throughout the movie, Christine appears to be an innocent person that coincidentally meets Nicholas. She helped Nicholas during the game to try to escape from the CRS agents, from people who wanted to kill him and also to try and get out of a solitary building. At the beginning, she helped Nicholas however, towards the end she played a role in robbing his bank account. At the end of the movie, we see how everything that has happened on the past couple of days, was a game. All of Nicholas possessions where intact and this was just all part of a game. By this time of the movie, we start realizing who the real Christine is. She is a woman whose goals of success are to make people happy. She achieves this goal by taking a job â€Å"the game† and go around the world in a mission to make other people happy. Christine’s view on success was through other people’s happiness. Conrad, Nicholas’ brother, has a unique personality. He was free-spirited, had a spontaneous character and wanted to live life to the fullest. He starts off the movie by saying how he fell asleep on the beach and when he woke up, he realized it was his brothers birthday. This scene of the movie gives us a sense of what character Conrad is. Even though he is not a successful businessman and does not have the same type of luxuries as his brother, he views his life to be a successful one. Conrad’s view on success was to live a happy carefree like free of any worries of having a set job or having any obligations. He has no interest in living the way his brother lived and even felt bad for him. This is why Conrad wanted Nicholas to participate in the game. He wanted Nicholas to open up his eyes of his unhappy life and appreciate other things apart from the materialistic ones. When the game is over Nicholas sees the value in trying to live a little bit more like Conrad, in not such a strict and orderly life without and personal relationships with other people. Nicholas, Christine and Conrad had very distinct views on success. On one hand Nicholas was all about the materialistic life, full of luxuries and a very successful business, yet with no personal relation. He ignores his ex-wife phone calls, does not have a good relationship with his brother and lives in a mansion with only his housekeeper Elsa. On the other hand, we have Christine and Conrad. Both of this characters view success in terms of happiness. Conrad is a free cared man that does not care about his money or any materialistic thing, he cared about the relationship with himself and how he felt about it. This is what made his happy. Christine, wanted to make people happy. She was part of the CRS agency who their job was to go around the world and make people happy. For me Christine is the most successful character. By doing the game and making people happy she achieves an internal happiness and a happiness for others. She not only succeeded in his work but also as a person. Although this three characters might seem they have nothing in common, we can see how all of them in one way or the other achieved their view of success. They where all successful in their own eyes. This movie demonstrates the perspectives of each individual when it comes to be successful.

Theory Of Orientalism And Disneys Aladdin Film Studies Essay

Theory Of Orientalism And Disneys Aladdin Film Studies Essay Using the concepts and theory of Orientalism from the lecture topic race and whiteness this essay will analyse the 1992 Disney film Aladdin. This essay will use the theory of Orientalism to analyse how Western culture depicts a constructed reality open the Eastern oriental body in order to promote an inferior East and a powerful West. This essay will first discuss what the concept and theory of Orientalism is before giving a brief synopsis of the movie Aladdin. This essay will then analysis the film Aladdin in relation to the constructed stereotypes that surround the oriental figure such as Western concepts of Eastern ideologies, physical appearance and the sexualising of the oriental figure. The concept of Orientalism can be described as the Wests objectifying and stereotyping of the East. What this means is Orientalism believes that western culture creates an identification of Eastern culture by assigning the East distinctive features and characteristics. These features and characteristics are assigned negative connotations, which are repeated through sources such as media until these negative connotations become the normalised way of seeing. Said suggests the stereotyping of Oriental representations functions to reduce the East to the status of inferior other of the West (Said, as cited in Pugliese, 2008, p.207). This essay uses the theory of Orientalism to analyse the film Aladdin and to deconstruct the Western themes of Orientalism imposed upon the Eastern other. The 1992 Disney film Aladdin is set in the ambiguous Middle Eastern city of Agribah. According to the Disneys website, the film follows the street-smart young thief protagonist Aladdin, as he pursues the beautiful Princess Jasmine, a liberated young lady who seeks to escape her present lifestyle. This plot is forwarded when the evil vizier, Jafar attempts to gain possession of a magical lamp in an attempt to rise to power, and decides he needs Aladdin a diamond in the rough (Disney, n.d.). We are able to see, even in the synopsis how Western media attempt to impose ideas upon Eastern figures. The Western protagonists are described as street-smart and beautiful and liberated, where as the Middle Eastern character of Jafar is described as evil. Western culture constructs and ideology of Eastern culture and beliefs and imposes these constructed ideas onto Eastern culture. From the beginning of the film there is an attempt at displaying the separation of ideologies between Eastern and Western cultures. With the people of the Middle Eastern city of Agrabah described as those who will cut off your ear if they dont like your face (Clements Musker, 1992). This description of the Eastern figure immediately imposes the idea of a barbaric individual and one other from normal society. It attempts to impose the idea that Eastern individuals carry a lack of morals and ethics. This is not the only imposed ideas on Eastern individuals, as later displayed in scenes with the antagonist characters Jafar and Gazeem. As Gazeem and Jafar attempt to enter Cave of Wonders the Western construction of the Eastern lack of morals is displayed. As Jafar asks Gazeem for the key to the cave Gazeem quips that he had to slit a few throats to get it (Clements Musker, 1992). This comment goes unrecognised by Jafar, and attempts to convey the Eastern individuals lack of compassion towards murder, and attempts to dehumanise the two Eastern characters. The Eastern character Gazeem then attempts to enter the Cave of Wonders, before moments later being engulfed by the mouth of the cave. The film has no sympathy for the Eastern villain and his death is shrugged off by the master villain Jafar stating Gazeem was obviously less than worthy (Clements Musker, 1992). The Western ideology is input through the films protagonist Aladdin. Aladdin encompasses the Western dream in his rags to riches story. Aladdin believes that he can one day make something of himself and be something of importance, an ideology which is seen as a goal in many Western societies. Throughout the film Aladdin must learn to be himself, and discovers the value of truth and honestly. Aladdins ideology of a life where he can be treated as an equal contrasts Jafars Eastern ideology that he can rise to power, and posses dominant control (Disney, n.d.). Jafars attempt at a rise to power'(Disney, n.d.) is symbolic of the Westerns fear of Eastern control, and inevitably Jafar/East must be stopped. In order to make the removal of the Eastern oriental figure favourable to audiences, the Eastern ideology is negatively constructed. Within the final scenes to prove Jafars difference and lack of morals Jafar is seen raising his hand to hit female protagonist Jasmine, an act condemned by many Western cultures. This act suggests the Easts lack of respect of women, and suggests an inferior and weak identity. In the film Aladdin the Western and Eastern characters do not only carry different ideologies but distinctively different appearances. Within the film the evil antagonist Jafar and henchmen Gazeem both carry the stereotypical Eastern appearance. The characters are both depicted as having darker skin, large noses and beards, and headdress which has become a characteristic associated with Middle Eastern appearance. These distinctive features as well as thick middle eastern accent become a signifier for the antagonists within the film. The characters such as the police and the man in the market place which threaten protagonists Aladdin and Jasmine both carry these characteristics. Within the film although the protagonists Aladdin and Jasmine are both intended to be of Eastern appearance they both carry American accents, and are lighter skinned than their Eastern counterparts. These characteristics allow the Western audience to accept these characters although they are also Eastern. Osuri suggests that whiteness emerges as a way of identifying groups of people associated with superiority (Osuri, 2008, p.199). What this means in terms of the film Aladdin is that the characters whiteness allows the audience to recognise subconsciously the superiority of these characters. This in turn positions these characters as the heroes and their whiteness allows the audience to support Aladdin and Jasmine, although they are also paradoxically Eastern. The gendered body also comes in to question when analysing the Oriental figure. As Pugliese suggests Orientalist discourses invariably represent the Orient as phallocentrically feminine contrasting the masculine West (2008, p.209). In Aladdin the oriental antagonist Jafar carries feminine attributes such as thin wrists, and it can be suggested his mannerisms carry that of a female. His use of large hand gestures is seen as inherently female, and his possession of jewellery carries female connotations. This characterising of the feminine oriental is intended to show the inferiority and weakness of the East in contrast to the masculine West. The masculine West is represented through the protagonist character of Aladdin, who contrasts the thin feminine oriental Jafar as the strong, muscular masculine West bounding through the streets of Agrabah. It should also be noted that throughout the film whilst all other males are seen wearing pants, Jafar the main Eastern antagonist is pictured wearing a long dress robe. The Middle Eastern appearance is much different from that of Western culture, and with Western Cultures very limited understanding of Middle Eastern culture the attempt at putting Jafar in a dress can be seen as a way of emasculating him as a male character. The emasculation of the male character also addresses his sexuality, and in the case of the oriental figure sexuality has always haunted its figuration. When examining the oriental figure, the sexualising of the oriental male accompanies its configuration. The Islamic male is displayed as the sexual deviant, indulging in a perverse form of sexual behaviour. In the film Aladdin the movies antagonist Jafar encompasses the characteristics of the sexualised oriental in the scene where he captures the female protagonist Jasmine. In this scene Jafar has the character Jasmine chained up, restricted in her movements. Her attire has now changed from her usual blue outfit to red, which can be seen as a symbol of Jafars ownership due to his trademark red attire throughout the movie. The movie also suggests Jafars sexual intent with Jasmine through scenes displayed at the beginning of the movie. Though subtle, Jasmines red outfit matches that of the suggested prostitutes which swoon over protagonist Aladdin as he bounds through the market place in his opening scene. By placing Jasmine in the same outfit the film suggests Jafars sexual intent, and the confinement from her chains suggests Jafar intends on keeping her as a sexual slave. This representation of the sexually frustrated oriental Jafar perpetuates the Western perspective that all Islamic men indulge in a perverse sexuality. As Puar and Rai suggest we often believe of the sexually frustrated Muslim men who are promised the heavenly reward of sixtyor even seventy virgins (2002, p.126). This representation of the sexualised oriental East perpetuates the difference and otherness which the West attempts to construct between East and West. The character Aladdin is representative of the Wests ideology of sexuality, and further constructs the idea of good Western sexuality, and evil East sexuality. In the opening scenes we see the masculine Aladdin running through the town of Agrabah being chased by the buffoonish Arab police. As he is doing so the audience is displayed a scene in which women are seen swooning over the young protagonist. Aladdin is seen talking to young women, as well as older women as he appears to effortlessly charm them with his Western charisma. Women are seen to be attracted to the analogy of the young Western male, initiating conversation in an attempt to be seen by him. This contrasts the Eastern Oriental male who is displays a perverse sexuality and must capture his female audience to gain attention. In conclusion when analysing the film Aladdin we are able to see how Orientalism affects the construction, and the reading of the film. While the film may first encompass the ideology of the rags to riches story, we are able to see that in order to further the Western protagonists story it must distort the Easts. This essay has displayed how Western culture enforces a constructed idea upon Eastern culture through constructing Western concepts of Eastern ideologies, physical appearance of the East and the sexualising of the oriental figure. These constructed ideas work to enforce the inferior East and the powerful West and create a cultural and racial hierarchy which works to promote the Wests cultural ideas.

No Need to Worry about Our Forests and Trees :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

No Need to Worry about Our Forests and Trees Trees have been with us since the beginning of time. We have been using its products for just as long. They have been used to fashion weapons, used as wheels, used for us to write with and to have something to write on. Most importantly they have been and continue to be used to provide shelter for us. I feel trees are an important resource for us and to stop using this important resource would be an injustice to society. Trees are there to be admired and to help our ecosystem survive but they are also there to provide for the things we need in life. An important example of how trees are helping people in extraordinary ways in by the use of tree products as cancer drugs. According to Sally Christensen, "taxol is created by using three one hundred year old pacific yew trees or roughly sixty pounds of bark." Taxol is very helpful in fighting ovarian cancer when conventional methods no longer work. This drug has been responsible for saving many lives (Christensen 552). Christensen herself was saved with this drug. Sallie Tillsdale calls Christensen very selfish for killing trees to help save herself. She says it is people versus trees. I feel it is life versus life. If a few trees have to be cut down so a person can go on living then this is a choice that I as a person am willing to make. No one is going to tell me that I cannot have a chance at life because a group of environmentalists say that is wrong. It is quoted by Walter T. Stace, "If a man's actions were wholly determined by chains of causes stretching back into the remote past, so that they could be predicted beforehand by a mind which knew all the causes, it was assumed that they could not in that case be free." One of the main needs of lumber is for building homes. This need skyrocketed after the 1950s. The need for new housing was tremendous and the need for lumber just kept growing. The need for lumber dramatically increased when people wanted shaker style roofs, wood flooring and wood siding (Robinson 25). Today things have changed slightly. Now we use vinyl siding for our homes. So that has helped a little. But we still need to frame a house so that it will stand up and at this point I do not know of anything else that will get the job done.