MENU COMPARISON ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MENU COMPARISON ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example The food items that may be conventionally prepared are seafood, entrà ©e foods, salads, soup, vegetarian meals, pasta, pizzas, sandwiches, and specialties. The food items that may be convenience are appetizers and risottos because they are mostly ordered as per the customers’ requests as additional accompaniments to the main course meals. The Villa Blanca Restaurant is a tad more expensive than the Quartino Restaurant. For instance, the cheapest salad at Villa Blanca is the char-grilled chicken salad at 15 dollars while the most expensive salad at Quartino is the Tuscan kale salad at only 9 dollars. The purchasing system of chicken is 4.5 dollars per pound at the store, which is more expensive than kale at 2 dollars at the groceries in market value, which creates the cost difference. Similarly, the most expensive pasta meal at Quartino is the linguine with clams at 12.50 dollars. The ingredients include clams with pinot grigio wine, red chili, and extra virgin olive oil, with red or white sauce. The most costly pasta meal at Villa Blanca is the penne and tiger prawns at 24 dollars. The ingredients are tiger prawns with peppery tomatoes, basil, garlic, and ground red pepper. The linguine costs 24 dollars per 12-ounce packet and clams cost 5.99 dollars per pound, while the penne costs 12 dollars per 16-ounce packet and tiger prawns costs 14 dollars per 500g packet, hence the differing contribution margins of prices from the two

The Effects of the Cold War in Asia Essay Example for Free

The Effects of the Cold War in Asia Essay The cold war was the name given to the economic, political, military and ideological rivalry that took place between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and their allies after World War II. The two powers never directly engaged in military action because both had nuclear weapons that if used, would have had devastating consequences for both sides. Alternatively, proxy wars were fought. A proxy war results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting one another and is typically initiated by a power that does not itself participate. The Korean and Vietnam wars are two examples of proxy wars because the U. S. and the Soviet Union did not engage each other however, Soviet attempts to spread and unify both Korea and Vietnam under communist rule prompted intervention either by the United States and/or by their allies. Another example of communist expansionism is the Malayan emergency that lasted from 1948-1960 which resulted in a guerrilla insurgency committed to an independent communist Malaya. These three events were just a few effects of the cold war in Asia. This essay will discuss each event individually and in more detail and attempt to convince readers that the Korean and Vietnam wars and the Malayan emergency were the direct results of Soviet attempts to expand communist rule in Asia and the United States and their allies’ policy of preventing and containing such moves. The Korean War The Japanese occupation of Korea ended after 35 years when they surrendered to both Soviet and American forces in 1945. The plan for the future of Korea was to hold free and fair elections and establish a democratic Korean government. In the meantime, the Soviets and the Americans agreed to occupy the country as a trusteeship. Korea was then divided at the 38th parallel- the U. S. occupied the South and the Soviets occupied the North. In 1948, two separate governments were established the Democratic People’s Republic under communist rule in the North, and the Republic of Korea in the South. Sunday June 25th 1950, North Korea began its attack on South Korea (with the support of the Soviet Union) starting with a 90-minute artillery barrage and then a full invasion of North Korean tanks and infantry across the 38th parallel into South Korea. The United Nations quickly condemned the invasion and insisted the North stop their advance and retreat. When it was evident that the North was not complying with this demand, President Truman, on June 27th authorized the United States Navy and Air Force to support South Korea. The U. N. gave the United States the authority to choose the supreme commander who would lead the allied mission. President Truman chose General Douglas MacArthur who was experienced and considered an American war hero. On June 28th, three days after the invasion Seoul, the South Korean capital was taken over by the North Korean forces. On June 30th, President Truman commissioned the use of American troops in South Korea. Ultimately, 16 member nations would contribute forces to the mission of repelling the North Koreans. During the first weeks of the war, the communist North took Seoul and continued their invasion Southward with little difficulty. The South Korean army and U. N. forces were pushed back to Busan – an area located at the southeastern most tip of Korea. On September 15th 1950, MacArthur launched a daring but necessary allied counteroffensive involving about 70,000 troops at Inchon. This purpose of this landing was twofold – first, catch the North Koreans off guard and second, disrupt both communications and supply lines. Now at a disadvantage upon success of MacArthur’s counteroffensive, the North Koreans began to retreat. This allowed the â€Å"cornered† South Korean army and U. N. forces at Busan to march north and meet up with the other U. N. forces. By early October 1950, all U. N. forces were together at the 38th parallel. Although it appeared that the Korean mission was a success, the war was far from over. Approved by both the U. N. nd the Joint Chiefs of Staff, South Korean troops and U. N. forces crossed the 38th parallel into North Korea. The People’s Republic of China warned U. N. troops that if they crossed the 38th parallel, they would enter the war. MacArthur however, reassures President Truman who is apprehensive over the news that they would not enter the war. However, on November 23rd 1950, about 200,000 Chinese troops crossed the Yalu River and attacked U. N. forces prompting a bold retreat and an immediate withdraw of troops. By December 24th 1950, the navy evacuated approximately 100,000 U.  N. and South Korean troops and roughly as many refugees. General Matthew B. Ridgeway replaced General Walton Walker who died at the end of December 1950. His deployment began Christmas day and he commenced the rebuilding of the Eighth Army. Seoul, which had been recaptured by U. N. forces in October, was abandoned in early January 1951. Nevertheless, by March 27th 1951, the Eighth Army took back Seoul and reached the 38th parallel. In November 1952, the United Nations changed their policy towards the war and approved a defensive strategy. However, the war entered a deadlock both politically and militarily. In January 1953, Dwight Eisenhower succeeded Harry Truman as President of the United States. Determined to resolve the deadlock and end the Korean War, he threatened to use nuclear weapons against China if they did not agree to a peaceful solution. Finally, after three years of conflict, an armistice was signed on July 27th 1953. Casualties were high for all parties involved – an estimated 33,741 Americans killed in action and 103,284 wounded. South Korean numbers are much higher – 59,000 killed in action and 291,000 wounded. U. N. orces that include Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand lost 1,263 and 4,817 wounded. Remaining U. N. forces including Belgium, Columbia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey suffered 1,800 killed in action and 7,000 wounded. North Korean and Chinese casualties are not clear, but estimates are 500,000 killed and 1,000,000 wounded. With the support of both the Soviet Union and China, North Korea invaded South Korea for the purpose of overthrowing the government, taking control of the South and unifying the entire peninsula under communist rule. However, this strategy failed because the international community responded. Unfortunately, the war did not settle the dispute of unification and effects of this are still felt today in both North and South Korea. Although it is difficult to determine the winner, if any, of this war, it is clear that the response of both the United Nations and United States was to contain the spread of communism. Perhaps, the only party that could claim victory is the Chinese. Chinese forces were successful in forcing allied troops out of North Korea and across the 38th parallel. China would now play a significant role in the future peace talks. The Vietnam War The French had formerly occupied Vietnam prior to 1940 when Japan invaded parts of the country. Now, Vietnam had to foreign occupiers – the French and the Japanese. In August 1945, Japan surrendered to allied forces. This gave Vietnamese nationalists led by Ho Chi Minh the opportunity to proclaim the independence of Vietnam. However, the French were determined to regain control of the country. This led to a bloody war between the Vietnamese nationalists and the French in November 1945. The most troubling for the United States was that the Vietnamese nationalists, the Viet Minh, was a communist movement. Nevertheless, it was not until 1950, when the Soviet Union and China recognized the Viet Minh that confirmed American suspicions, revealing Ho Chi Minh, in secretary of state Dean Achesons words, â€Å"in his true colors as the mortal enemy of native independence in Indochina. † A concern among US officials was that US interests were at stake if Vietnam became a communist country. Therefore, in 1950, the US provided monetary assistance to the French effort in Vietnam. Nevertheless, in 1954, France withdrew from Vietnam after a significant defeat at Dien Bien Phu. In July 1954, an agreement was reached at the Geneva conference that temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh would control the North and forces such as the United States who aided the French would control the south. The agreement also called for national elections to be held by July 1956 to reunite the country under one government. The United States however, disagreed and refused to accept the agreement worried the Communists would win and unite Vietnam under communism. If Vietnam became communist, it was believed among US officials that surrounding countries would also become communist – this was known as the domino theory. Therefore, with the help of the United States, elections were carried out but only in South Vietnam. June 18, 1954 Ngo Dinh Diem was elected as the first president of South Vietnam backed by the United States. However by 1960, many Vietnamese began feeling oppressed by Diems leadership and organized the National Liberation Front (NFL) also known as the Viet Cong that would fight against both the South Vietnamese government and United States forces. When Lyndon Johnson became president in November 1963 following John F. Kennedys assassination, he began sending aid to the newly formed government. On August 2, 1964, two US warships were attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats in international waters known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident. In response, Johnson asked Congress for the authority to do whatever it took to withstand any further attacks from the North Vietnamese against US forces. Congress approved Johnsons request with the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. Only after Johnson was re-elected as president in November 1964 did he intensify the war in Vietnam. In early 1965 Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam and in March 1965 ordered large numbers of US military troops to South Vietnam. Johnsons intention was not to achieve victory but for the US forces to strengthen South Vietnams defenses until they were able to assume responsibility. By the summer of 1965, 90,000 US troops were in Vietnam. Nevertheless, General Westmoreland, the US commander in Vietnam would ask Johnson for another 150,000 troops. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara recommended sending 100,000 additional US troops to Vietnam. Johnson would approve McNamara’s recommendation. Despite the US military buildup, the Viet Cong were well supplied and dedicated fighters. They were also more familiar with the jungles of Vietnam than the US was – this gave the Viet Cong a huge advantage. They attacked in ambushes, set up booby-traps and moved around underground tunnels. General Westmoreland would again request more US troops that Johnson approved. Between 1966 and 1967, US forces serving in Vietnam rose drastically from 190,000 to 535,000. On January 30, 1968, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong orchestrated a surprise attack on South Vietnamese cities and towns known as the Tet offensive. † It is estimated that 67,000 Viet Cong took part in the offensive. An estimated 40,000 were killed. The US was able to regain the cities and towns lost in the offensive. Although this was a US victory, it proved to the president and the American people that the enemy was better equipped and more powerful than previously believed. After the Tet Offensive and growing disapproval of the war at home, Johnson decided not to escalate the war any further. In January 1969, Richard Nixon became president of the United States. Nixon was favorable among the American people for his promises to de-escalate and end the Vietnam War. US troop withdrawals began in the summer of 1969. However, it was not until January 27, 1973 that a peace treaty was finally reached. Nixon suspended all military operations in Vietnam and the remaining US troops left in March 1973. Fighting however would continue between the North Vietnamese and the South Vietnamese until April 30, 1975 when South Vietnam surrendered to the North. On July 2, 1976, Vietnam was reunified under a communist government. Vietnam was a war the US felt compelled to fight. The US thought if Vietnam was overthrown and became communist that it would be only a matter of time until surrounding countries would fall victim to communism. However, after a ten-year commitment in Vietnam, the US was unable to achieve victory. Why? The US forces were fighting in unfamiliar jungles whereas the Viet Cong were well adapted. The Viet Cong were also well supplied by both China and the Soviet Union. The US could not halt the flow of supplies and replacement fighters without the possibility of bringing either China and/or the Soviet Union into the war. Viet Cong used ambushes and booby traps against unsuspecting US troops. Nuclear weapons were out of the question as that would have definitely led to prompt and severe retaliation from probably both China and the Soviet Union. Unpopularity at home in America along with anti-war and civil rights protests eventually led to the ending of US involvement in Vietnam. Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960  On December 8, 1941, the Japanese invaded Malaya, which was under British rule at the time. Although British forces fought hard against the invaders, large numbers of Japanese troops eventually forced the British to retreat and surrender in early February 1942. The Japanese occupation of Malaya lasted from 1942 to 1945 when they surrendered to allied forces at the end of World War II. Malaya was now faced with restoring a civil government and initiating a new constitution. However, the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), led by Chin Peng opposed this idea. Between 1945 and 1948, the CPM had accumulated thousands of communist fighters that were trained in jungle warfare by the British to fight against the Japanese occupation. In June 1948, the 12-year unrest began when Communist Terrorists (CTs) killed three British rubber planters. The Communist Party of Malaya then departed to rural areas and organized the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA). They began a campaign of terror involving executing, mutilating and tormenting British and Native people aimed to panic the civilians. Britain repeatedly requested the assistance of the United States, but was turned down. Therefore, Britain stood alone against the threat in Malaya. In the fall of 1950, 50,000 British troops were sent to Malaya. The plan of action for dealing with the current crisis was defensive: to protect all targets of economic importance. However, there were insufficient amount of soldiers to properly deal with the country’s challenges, so more were transferred in from the Kings African Rifles, the Guards Brigade and the Royal Marines. The Director of Operations in Malaya, General Sir Harold Briggs, came up with a resolution known as â€Å"the Briggs plan,† which was to isolate the insurgents from their supporters. Under the plan, 500,000 rural Malayans and 400,000 Chinese were forced to relocate into guarded camps known as New Villages. At first, people were angry about the new arrangement however, with improved living conditions in the camps, monetary aid and given ownership of their property; they changed their initial perspective to that of happiness and satisfaction. Sir Henry Gurney, the British High Commissioner was ambushed and assassinated by the MNLA in 1951. This was a turning point in the war because the assassination has been defined as the reason the Malayans renounced the MNLA campaign. Lieutenant-General Sir Gerald Templer succeeded Sir Henry Gurney. He was a strict and robust soldier. He called for instant actions to grant Chinese ethnic citizens the right to vote. He advanced the development of the Malayan Army. He also improved the intelligence network (Special Branch). The MNLA were allowed remission by the Malayan government in 1955 as a means of ending the emergency peacefully, but many rejected because the terms were limited in nature. Chin Peng and Tunku Abdul Rahman, the father of Malayan independence entered into negotiations. The negotiations deteriorated when Tunku turned down Peng’s requests. As a result, the aggression proceeded more intensely but by this time, it was apparent that the MNLA’s goal of a communist Malaya proved unsuccessful. Malaya acquired independence in August 1957 but the emergency would not be conclusively over until 1960. By the end of the emergency, 6,710 insurgents had been killed with another 1,287 captured; 2,702 insurgents surrendered and another 500 gave themselves up. Malayan security forces including police suffered 1,345 casualties with another 519 commonwealth personnel lost; civilian losses were 2,478 with 810 others missing. The emergency is estimated to have cost the British government between ? 520 million and ? 700 million. Malaya is the only successful battle of the entire Cold War. Why? The MNLA consisted of about only 8,000 insurgents. There was little outside support and British General Harold Briggs quickly implemented a resolution that isolated the insurgents from the general population. Britain gained the support of the population when they provided aid and other support. The British also wanted Malay to be an independent state whereas an MNLA overthrow would suggest a potential â€Å"puppet state† of the Soviet Union and/or China.

Jurassic Park :: essays research papers

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton is a riveting piece of science fiction. Most of the story takes place on an island off the Pacific side of Costa Rica. A deciduous rain forest inhabits most of the island. An eccentric old man named John Hammond leases the whole island to create a frightening dinosaur amusement park, using real dinosaurs. Within this jungle setting, Michael Crichton’s engrossing, believable characters bring the story to life with quick action, intense dialogue and scientific questions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Hammond’s amusement park is dedicated to making live dinosaur specimens available to view to the paying public by genetically splicing prehistoric DNA. To test out his park and prove to investors it is safe and real, he invites two paleontologists, Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler, his two grandchildren, Tim and Lex, and a mathematician, Ian Malcolm. While the guests are on a tour of the dinosaurs, a greedy self, obsessed computer programmer named Dennis Nedry shuts the security and power off using a trap door he built into his computer code, in order to steal valuable embryos of the dinosaurs in the park. While trying to flee from the park to deliver the embryos to a competing genetics company, Nedry comes across a few dilophosaurs, who have escaped, because along with security, the electric fences (to harbor the animals) has been shut off. The dilophosaurs leisurely kill Nedry by first spitting him in the eye with poisonous spit to make him blind, and th en devouring him. Meanwhile, the guests are attacked by an escaped tyrannosaur. Throughout the last half of the book, Hammond and his assistants try to re-establish electric power, while Grant and Hammond’s two grandchildren fight and outsmart dinosaurs to make it back to the main headquarters. In the end, Hammond dies from a dinosaur attack, along with seven other island visitors. His employees and guests are taken in to Costa Rican custody. A herd of velociraptors escapes from the island and the Costa Rican government kills the remaining dinosaurs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alan Grant is a very important character for the story. He is a paleontologist that shows three strong good qualities during his journey back to the control room., which are that he is a problem solver, an intelligent person and caring individual. Grant is in his mid-forties. He is an outdoor oriented person, wearing tennis shoes and jeans, even when teaching at universities. One of his qualities is that he is a problem solver.

Consequence of Self Deception

The consequence of self-deception can be disastrous. Self-deception can be defined as a misconception that is favoured to the person who holds it. In an attempt to justify ones behaviour, we often, unknowingly, gloss over or even alter the truth of our past, in order to escape the feelings of guilt, embarrassment, shame, or even to protect the people around us. However, consequently, the act of self-deception can be disastrous, not only for the delinquent, but also for those around them.This is continuously depicted in Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar named Desire, as the protagonist, Blanche Dubois, spins a web of deceitful lies to escape the painful truth of her past. It isn’t only Blanche, however, that find them self a victim of their own self -deception, struggling to free themselves from the strong hold, eventually leading to their disastrous downfall. On the other hand however, as self-deception can be extremely dangerous in certain cases, it can also help a ssist in delaying/preventing disasters from occurring.As such, the act of self-deception can leave ever lasting damage, whilst, for some, preventing it, as they attempt to protect the ones they love. Remembering the past, may often be a painful and traumatic experience, as unpleasant events are recalled. As such, certain individuals may tend to try to fabricate these past events, in order to steer clear of shame or embarrassment, and escape the harsh blows of reality. In Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar named Desire, the protagonist, Blanche Dubois, is depicted in a manner where she comes across as a deceitful liar as she only tells what ‘ought to be the truth’.Blanche is somewhat ashamed of her traumatic past and the ancestor’s epic fornications lead to the loss of the family home in Belle Reve, as well as Blanche, searching for love and affection in strangers. Blanches deception to herself and the people around her, lead to her ultimate tragic downf all as she doesn’t search for realism, she wants magic in her life. Throughout the course of the play, Blanche is convinced and has deceived herself, but not the people around her, and as the light is shun over and her unpleasant past is brought to light, Blanche spirals down, consequently leading to her downfall.In certain circumstances, an individual may attempt to supress or repress an event if it is possibly distasteful to their current reality. By choosing to supress a fraction of the truth in the event, one may hope to simply continue on living in their current reality, forcing themselves to believe what they hope to be real. In Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar names Desire, Stella Kowalski decides to repress her thoughts, when her sister Blanche Dubois informed her of how she was raped by Stella’s husband Stanley.Stella believes that if she does chose to believe what her sister has told her about her husband, Stella cannot continue living in her curr ent reality with Stanley Kowalski. Stella however, decided to continue living a life, with the man she loves whilst having to make her own truth of the story she was told by her sister Blanche. Although, through the act of self-deception, Stella manages to continue on, living the life she loves, with the man that she loves, steering clear of the disaster she may have otherwise faced.

The Beauty of the Fictional World in Nabokov’s Bend Sinister

Since the writer himself claims that Bend Sinister is neither â€Å"serious fiction† nor â€Å"literature of social comment,† I will refrain from making something out of nothing (for, though Nabokov does this through his fiction, I would not wish to offend him, even if he cannot socially comment on my offense, just as Karl Marx perhaps disliked the ruin of his own piece). Rather, I shall make the argument that literature to Nabokov is like beauty to life. It is not the story that matters, but instead â€Å"it is for the sake of the pages about David and his father that the book was written and should be read† (xiv).Hence, let us examine what makes Nabokov’s novel so beautiful: What begins as â€Å"An oblong puddle inset in the coarse asphalt† transforms into Padukgrad, a fictional and totalitarian state somewhere in Europe that hosts two men of differing philosophies yet similar power (1). Krug, the protagonist, immediately surfaces as a danger to t he Ekwilist society, which Paduk rules as dictator. Although there is a tendency to classify Padukgrad as a dystopia, one must note that Nabokov was highly critical of â€Å"Orwell’s cliches,† calling him a â€Å"mediocre English [writer]† (2).Nabokov argues that he is â€Å"neither a didacticist nor an allegorizer,† both of which could describe Orwell’s anti-totalitarian voice in 1984 (2). Rather, Vladamir Nabokov’s first American novel, Bend Sinister, presents his fictional dictatorship not as an entity on a path to Armageddon, but as a metaphorical chess game, wherein the main character can be interpreted as the White King and the antagonist as the Black King. Eventually, Krug learns that he is in fact playing a live game of chess, and that—ironically—he is the White King in an Armageddon-style chess match for his life. For Krug, a philosopher and professor, there is no draw.Nabokov conscientiously places Krug in Padukgrad, for it is with precision that chess players both set and move their pieces. Whereas a king piece is safest in its initial location, beside the queen and behind a row of pawns, Bend Sinister begins with Krug’s observing â€Å"a fancy footprint filled to the brim with quicksilver . . . from a hospital window† (1-2). Nabokov details a rather wonderful scene of a puddle in November. Beauty, I argue, and the hospital are places of sanctuary, a place where one can reflect on â€Å"the beating of [his] loving heart† (xiv). The beauty ends, however.It becomes known that â€Å"the operation has not been successful and [Krug’s] wife will die† (2). In the first chapter, to alight on the metaphor of chess, Krug essentially loses his queen and is subsequently forced to play the rest of the game without what is generally the most powerful piece. Also, it is interesting that he loses his queen in the first person. Throughout most of the novel, Krug is written in the third-person-omniscient voice, and only when the writer intends to remind the reader that Bend Sinister is not a contemporary novel, that it is truly an apocryphal work meant for beauty, does he switch his point of view.Perhaps, Nabokov is presenting the dramatic moment (of the chess game) through Krug’s (the king’s) eyes to convey the move’s gravity. However, Nabokov again shifts to the first person perspective on the second to last page, just after â€Å"another and better bullet hit† Krug (240). In this sense, Nabokov utilizes the third person to communicate his story and the first person to denote the loss of White’s two most important pieces—the King and queen, respectively. It is also this style that categorizes Bend Sinister as post-post-modernism literature, for Nabokov clarifies that, â€Å"among the chaos of written and rewritten pages . . a big moth was clinging with furry feet† to his [the metafictional writer’s ] window (240). Moreover, I shall use this style to make my own points: Orwell’s dystopic world is made real—Nabokov’s world is made fictionally.This is the greatest distinction between the two books. Bend Sinister remains very much a board of pieces that move according to the novelist. And his characters, in turn, are â€Å"absurd images† and â€Å"illusions† both to himself and â€Å"to Krug† (xiv). In essence, the writer is calling the shots—the balls and strikes, and they ‘ain’t nothing till he calls them. By this, Nabokov creates Padukgrad, and in it, Krug and Paduk. Interestingly, Padukgrad’s Ekwilist philosophy of the everyman wishes to create a homogenous, clone-like society wherein each individual is equal and outliers are either integrated or removed. This society, like many totalitarian states, seeks unity through similarity. Thus, Nabokov presents Krug as the counterpart to Paduk—White King versu s Black King, good versus evil. For example, Adam Krug is depicted as a â€Å"philosopher . . . ith untidy, dusty, or faintly grizzled locks . . . suggestive of the uncouth chess master or of the morose composer, but more intelligent† and Paduk as someone who â€Å"never got over superficial neatness† (46, 80). This is important not only because of Nabokov’s explicit metaphor, but also because the Ekwilist philosophy preaches â€Å"a remoulding of human individuals in conformity with a well-balanced pattern,† the opposite philosophy of Krug [and Nabokov]. The duality is thusly created by Nabokov through philosophy—another ironic attribute.One pleasure of the book, as the writer would agree, is the humor. For instance, Paduk institutes â€Å"the Party of the Average Man as based on Skotoma’s book,† which argues that â€Å"a certain computable amount of human consciousness [is] distributed throughout the population of the world† and that â€Å"the proudest intellect and the humblest stupidity depended entirely upon the degree of â€Å"world consciousness† (75-76). In this, I find that philosophy kills philosophy, king kills king, and the entire purpose of this book arises.That is, if the sake of the pages are for David and his father (Krug), then the genesis of the Ekwilist philosophy and of Padukgrad are highly significant. David is, after all, killed by both. Nabokov includes in Bend Sinister, after describing the origins of Ekwilism, that Skotoma â€Å"omitted to define both the practical method to be pursued and the kind of person or persons responsible for planning and directing the process† (76). I find this quite humorous for several reasons other than those listed afore. First, Paduk breaks Nabokov’s first rule.Paduk not only takes Skotoma’s book to be â€Å"serious literature,† but then he also misinterprets it. To note, this is why I refrain in my introductory p aragraph from making something out of nothing and why I mention Marx, whose philosophy like Skotoma’s is essentially ruined by a lesser, more common man. It is also a reason perhaps for Nabokov’s distaste of George Orwell. Second, it is ironic that the â€Å"kind of person† who instills this philosophy in Paduk is actually Krug, for Krug drives Paduk in their youth to this uniform extreme.On page 36, for example, Nabokov reveals that Paduk, â€Å"the Ruler, colloquially known as the toad, had been a schoolmate† of Krug’s. Then later, on page 50, Krug reveals to his scholarly peers at the University that he â€Å"was something of a bully† and â€Å"used to trip [Paduk] up and sit upon his face . . . every blessed day for about five school years. † This treatment of Paduk eventually leads him to favor the Ekwilist philosophy and form a totalitarian state. It also leads the reader to understand Krug’s and Paduk’s duality, t heir chess match, and the way in which the White King is losing.Moreover, on the topic of irony and humor (which is beautiful), Bend Sinister is a reflection of Nabokov. One might draw comparison to heraldry whereby the novel derives its name. A sinister is in fact a colored band running from the upper right side of a shield to the lower left side; its opposite is the bend sinister, which runs from left top to right bottom. In the novel, Paduk represents the bend sinister of the shield and Krug represents the sinister, in that the Ekwilist philosophy (the extreme of socialism if you will) is a sinister (evil) bend to the left.Also worthwhile to point out is the name of the shield’s surface—the field. A chess match is a battle of kings and pawns on a battlefield. I make my final and daring argument here, as I still wish not to make something out of nothing, but I wish more to make something rather than nothing: Adam Krug is the metaphorical bend sinister to Nabokov. For instance, Adam Krug is â€Å"a non-smoker,† whereas Nabokov admits that his â€Å"daily consumption of cigarettes had reached the four-package mark† (36, xi). Also, the voice of the novel switches between the writer’s conscious thoughts and Krug’s story.In this way, Krug is Nabokov and Nabokov is Krug, but they are not entirely the same. They are the duality of the writer. Just as the protagonist is the king of the book, so too is the novelist. But because Krug is the non-conscientious half, at least in reality, he is the bend sinister of what is good. Literature is often taken out of context or made to be something out of nothing, and Nabokov hated this fact. I have drawn references to Orwell throughout because he, to the abhorrence of Nabokov, wrote in protest to leftist totalitarian states.By doing this, Orwell is upholding the greatest mistake of making something out of nothing because all totalitarian states, like Padukgrad with Ekwilism, take liter ature or philosophy out of context, and thus, to make a story from nothing results in nothing. Nabokov, a man of true genius, does not present Krug as one. For, although Krug is the greatest thinker in his own world, the fictional world is not real. The fictional world is merely aesthetics for the ‘real world. ’ And the sake of his presentation is merely for â€Å"David and his father,† Nabokov’s beautiful creations.