Addisons Disease - Hypocortisolism Essay Example for Free

Addisons Disease Hypocortisolism Essay Addison’s disease, also known as Hypocortisolism, is a disorder in which your adrenal glands produce too little cortisol and often insufficient levels of aldosterone. (Mayo) Addison’s disease is usually caused by a destruction of the adrenal cortex which produces two important steroid hormones, cortisol and aldosterone. Cortisol mobilizes nutrients, modifies bodily responses to inflammation, stimulates the rise in blood sugar levels in the liver, and controls the amount of water in the body. Aldosterone regulates the salt and water levels which affect blood pressure and blood volume. Hpathy) in the United State, 40-60 people out of every 1 million will have Addison’s disease. (WebMD) Some risk factors for Addisons disease include autoimmune diseases such as: Chronic thyroiditis, Dermatis herpetiformis, Graves disease, Hypoparathyroidism, Hypopituitarism, Myasthenia gravis, Pernicious anemia, Testicular dysfunction, Type I diabetes, and Vitiligo. (A. D. A. M. ) The symptoms of Addison ’s disease usually begin gradually. Some characteristics of the disease are chronic fatigue, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, and unusual weight loss. See more: Homeless satire essay About fifty percent of the time, one will notice nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Other more serious symptoms include low blood pressure that falls further when standing, causing dizziness or fainting, and skin changes with areas of hyperpigmentation, or dark tanning, covering exposed and nonexposed parts of the body. (MedicineNet. com) Your doctor may suspect you of having Addisons disease from your medical history and physical examination and if blood tests show high potassium, low sodium, and high levels of certain types of white blood cells. If your doctor does suspect Addisons disease, you will have another blood test to determine your cortisol level. If necessary, X-rays, such as a CT scan or MRI, can also be used to determine damages to the adrenal glands. (WebMD) Since Addisons disease is caused by the lack of cortisol and aldosterone, the treatment is to replace these with similar steroids. Cortisol is usually replaced orally by hydrocortisone or cortisone acetate divided into morning and afternoon doses. Aldosterone is replaced by an aldosterone-like synthetic steroid, fludrocortisone tablets given once daily. Since Addisons disease is a chronic condition, daily replacement of medication can never be stopped. Patients with Addisons disease should also be taught to treat minor illnesses with extra salt, fluids and extra hydrocortisone. This is especially important if fever, vomiting or diarrhea is present. (Margulies) Some complications may occur if you take too little or too much adrenal hormone supplement. (Memorial Healthcare System) These complications include Hypoglycaemia and adrenal crisis. NHS Choices) Some homeopathic remedies proven to work for this disease include Thuja, Natrum muriaticum, Belladonna, Calcarea carbonica, Iodine, and Phosphorus. But the most homeopathic of all of these remedies is Arsenicum. (Hpathy) But the prognosis for patients with Addison’s disease who are appropriately treated with hydrocortisone and aldosterone is excellent. These patients can expect to enjoy a normal lifespan. Without treatment, or with substandard treatment, patients are always at risk of developing Addisonian crisis which can be fatal. You should call your health care provider if: you are unable to keep your medication down due to vomiting, you have stress such as infection, injury, trauma, or dehydration, your weight increases over a short period of time, your ankles begin to swell, or you develop other new symptoms. (A. D. A. M. Inc. ) There are, sad to say, no guidelines for preventing Addisons disease. But if you think you are at risk, you should talk to your doctor before it’s too late. (Baptist Health Systems) Addison’s disease can become serious and life threatening, so you should stay alert of signs and see a physician annually.

The Presidency Of George W Bush Politics Essay

The Presidency Of George W Bush Politics Essay George W. Bush ran for presidency in the year 2000 and termed himself a passionate conservative. With reference to foreign policy he heavily criticized the actions of Al Gore in sending U.S troops for peace-keeping missions that he deemed were not vital to national interest. However, at the same time he was pushing for more funding for the Pentagon and was seen calling for more action and tougher posture against rogue countries such as Iraq and North Korea. One of the goals in the bush presidency was to accelerate progress on deregulating industry and implementing tax reductions in an attempt to weaken the federal government thus strengthening the conservative agenda. The administration relied on executive authority to relax the workplace as well as the environmental regulations. He sought to affect the fiscal, strength of the Treasury and other areas of the government that were most vulnerable politically. The effect of this was powerful as the tax cuts distributed government benefits to Americans, rich and wealthy, which constituted a core part of the Republican coalition. Bush reflected in his practices the policies used by former republican presidents, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. The policies involved placing politically motivated administrators with vested interests in important positions. These administrators were unsympathetic to the programs they managed and thus were ruthless when doing their work. The attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11 2001 offered Bush an opportunity to establish his political credibility, to reassert presidential leadership and to defend the interests of the United States. Through the event of the United States bombing in 9/11, Bush pushed aggressively for the use of executive-centered national security programs. Such programs involved the expansion of interrogation techniques including torture, which broke the national precedent and ignored international laws on detainee treatment. After the 9/11 event Bush announced an all-out war on terrorism and ordered the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. As the United States entered recession in 2007, the bush administration through the enactment of several economic programs took a more direct control of the United States economy in an attempt to preserve the countrys financial system. These policies included among others implementing a 170 billion economic stimulus package which aimed at sending tax rebate checks to Americans and providing tax breaks for struggling businesses. However, the policies were ill-equipped to deal with the looming financial crisis in what is termed to be the longest recession after World War 2 in history. The Presidency of Barrack Obama Obama, within his first 100 days set up to gather up support for his economic stimulus package otherwise known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. He further put through Congress the expanded State Health Insurance program. Furthermore, his administration was able to put into law the Ledbetter law which requires equal pay for women in all sectors. The obama administration is also credited with legislating health care reforms. This was done through winning the approval of the congress on a budget resolution regarding the matter. In his campaign and since Obama has heavily criticized the bush administration for ignoring the situation there and focusing too much on Iraq. At the onset of his campaign, Obama promised to withdraw all United States troops from Iraq, within 16 months, though he has laxed on this view, his actions seem to be more anti-war and catious. Analysts have commented that Obamas view on United States emphasis being on Afghanistan as a politically correct stand on the issue. Moreover, the Obama administration broke supported the United Nations declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity and relaxed the enforcement on marijuana laws. It also lifted the ban on embryonic stem research put in place since the Bush administration. Obama also ordered the closure of the Guatanamo bay detention camp in Cuba which was notorious for the infringement of human and detainee rights. Comparison of the two presidents with the federalists and anti-federalists views When comparing the presidencies of the Bush and Obama administrations against the federalists and anti-federalist views it is significant to deem what these citizens based their views on. The Anti-federalists were of the opinion, at the time of founding, that Congress and the executive b ranch of the government wielded too much power. They were also of the opinion that vthe constitution gave too much national power at the expense of the state governments. Additionally they were displeased by the lack of a bill of human rights within the constitution. The federalists, on the other hand responded that the powers were separated into three autonomous branches protected the rights of the people. Each branch was in fact representing a different aspect of the people and as all three were equal, there was fair say among all the branches and thus equity among the people. With this perspective in mind, we can now compare the two presidents. Former president Bush was largely conservative and this was evident through the socio-economic problems that his administrations actions caused. Thus it can be seen that he would largely fit in with the anti-federalist group. Furthermore, his actions to weaken the federal government so as to strengthen the conservative side of the government wing show that he is more anti-federalist than a federalist. President Obama, however, would more fit in with the federalist group. His actions largely bordering on developing policies that benefit all Americans equally show a federalist nature. His call to strengthen the federal government and his actions of abandoning the Bush administration policies further reinforce this fact. Though it can be seen that through his action, President Obama is setting into the mold of a federalist it is still too young in his presidential term to conclude on the issue. Conclusion Though neither president exactly fits into the mould of either federalists or anti-federalists, it can be summarized that through their actions during their term of presidency, George. W. Bush was more of an anti-federalist and President elect Barrack Obama more of a federalist.

Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening and Mammograms

Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening and Mammograms Abstract The mammography screening recommendations have been ambiguous and disagree with suggesting institute to institute.   Thus, it is up to women to make choices about mammogram inspection based on their personal health beliefs.   This paper explores 6 published articles that report results from various research conducted on women with an average risk of breast cancer. These studies examined the connection between observed benefits and alleged barriers to mammography and compliance with mammography screening in women age 40 and older and among minorities.   It also discusses the latest findings and guidelines according to the American Cancer Society.   Other articles discuss their reviews to support mammogram screening for women under 50, a systemic review of the benefits and harms of breast cancer screening and factors that influence breast cancer screening in Asian countries. Introduction Currently, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and one of the chief causes of death worldwide. (Oeffinger,Fontham, Etzioni, et al.)   According to the American Cancer Society 2015, it is the leading contributor to cancer mortality in women aged 40 to 55.   Several risk factors increase the likelihood of the disease occurring.   These factors include: (1) aging, (2) personal history of breast cancer, (3) family history of breast cancer, (4) history of benign breast disease, (5) menarche younger than 12 years, (6) nulliparous, or a first child after age 30, (7) higher education or socioeconomic level, (8) obesity and/or high fats diets, (9) menopause after age 50, (10) lengthy exposure to cyclic estrogen and (11) environment exposure (American Cancer Society, 2015).   The cause of breast cancer is still unspecified, yet these risk factors are known to play a part in the risk of developing this disease.   Essentially all women can be considered at risk.   No successful cure or preventative methods exist, and early recognition offers the best opportunity for decreasing morbidity and mortality. Literature Review The first article that I reviewed is titled â€Å"Benefits and Harms of Breast Cancer Screening, A Systemic Review†.   According to Myers, et al., mortality from breast cancer has declined substantially since the 1970’s, a drop attributable to both the accessibility of screening methods, particularly mammography, and better-quality treatment of more advanced cancer.   This literature pointed out that, although there has been stable evidence that screening with mammography reduces breast cancer mortality, there are a number of possible harms, including false-positive results, which result in both needless biopsies and added distress and anxiety associated to the potential diagnosis of cancer.   In addition, screening may lead to over diagnosis of cancers that may not have become life-threatening.   With their investigation in the meta-analyses of RTCs (randomized clinical trials) that stratified by age, screening women younger than 50 years was constantly associated with a statistically significant reduction in breast cancer mortality of approximately 15% while screening women 50 years or older was linked with slightly greater mortality reduction (14-23%).   In general, based on their research, they have concluded that â€Å"regular screening with mammography in women 40 years or older at average risk of breast cancer reduces breast cancer mortality over at least 13 years of follow-up, but there is uncertainty about the magnitude of this association, particularly in the context of current practice in the United States.† In summary, this review concluded that among women of all ages at average risk of breast cancer, screening was related with a reduction in breast cancer mortality of approximately 20%, although there was ambiguity about quantitative estimates of the association of different breast cancer screening strategies in the United States.   These findings and the related uncertainty should be considered when making suggestions based on judgments about the balance of benefits and harms of breast cancer screening. (Myers et al. 2015). Mammography can pinpoint tumors too small to be detected by palpitation of the breast by the woman or her health care provider.   Early detection of breast cancer in women improves the possibility of successful treatment and thus cuts morbidity and mortality from the disease (American Cancer Society, 2015).   Yet, there still exists an observable lack of compliance with the recommended screening guidelines.   According to an article in the Journal of the American College of Radiology by Monticciolo, et al. (2015), they pointed out that previous to the presentation of widespread mammographic screening in the mid-1980s, the mortality rate from breast cancer in the US had stayed unaffected for more than 4 decades.   From 1990, the fatality rate has fallen by at least 38%.   Considerably, this change is recognized to prompt detection with mammography.   In this next article, Miranda-Diaz, et al. (2016) studied the Hispanics Puerto Rican subjects, inner-city women and determinants of breast cancer screening and suggested that women with low incomes and education were less likely to partake in mammography.   Lack of submission of breast cancer screening tests is more prevalent among minorities.   They added that Hispanic women are less likely to receive a Physician’s recommendation for breast cancer screening, therefore, it was the primary reason for not doing a mammogram.   Other barriers for lack of compliance among Hispanic women and Latinas living in California are lack of health insurance, age, usual source of care, having a busy schedule, fear, cost and feeling uncomfortable during the procedure. In conclusion, the authors of this article did a study that was limited by the small sample size and may not be generalizable to the entire population of the island. In order to improve compliance as well as educating health care providers about the importance of referral, a tailored health education interventions directed to describe the nature and benefit of cancer screening test needed to be put in place. Similarly, another article stated that early detection of breast cancer, while the tumor is still small and localized, provides the opportunity for the most effective treatment. (Mandelblatt, Armetta, Yabroff, et al.) According to the American Cancer Society 2015, detection guidelines recommended that women with an average risk of breast cancer should undergo regular screening mammography starting at age 45 years.   Women aged 45- 54 years should be inspected annually and women 55 years and older should changeover to biennial screening or have the opportunity to begin annual screening between the ages of 40 and 44 years.   The suggested outcome of the guideline would result in earlier detection because breast cancers found by mammography in women in their forties are smaller and more treatable than those found by self-breast exam or clinical breast exam.   Consequently, earlier detection by mammography could save lives. According to an article by Kathy Boltz, Ph.D. (2013), amid the 609 definite breast cancer deaths, 29% were including women who had been screened with mammography, while 71% were among unscreened women.   In tally, her investigation found that of all breast cancer deaths, only 13% happened in women aged 70 years or older, but 50% occurred in women under 50 years old. Her studies were done to support mammogram screening for women under age 50.   In the meantime, Dr. Cady, MD, Professor of Surgery of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and his teammates set out to deliver complete information on the value of mammography screening through a technique called â€Å"failure analysis†.   Such evaluations look backward from the time of death to determine the connections at diagnosis, rather than looking forward from the start of a study.   Only one other failure analysis related to cancer has been published to date.   In this evaluation, invasive breast cancers analyzed at Partners HealthCare hospitals in Boston between 1990 and 1999 were followed through 2007.   Facts for the study comprised demographics, mammography use, surgical and pathology reports, and recurrence and death dates.   The article also stated that the study showed a dramatic shift in survival from breast cancer associated with the introduction of screening.   In 1969, half of the women diagnosed with breast cancer had died by 12.5 years after diagnosis.   Between the women with aggressive breast cancer in this review who were spotted between 1990 and 1999, only 9.3% had expired.   â€Å"This is a remarkable achievement, and the fact that 71% of the women who died were women who were not participating in screening clearly supports the importance of early detection,† said co-author Daniel Kopans, MD, also of Harvard Medical School. The study of the â€Å"perception of breast cancer risk and screening effectiveness† was studied by Black, Nease, & Tosteson (1995).   The purpose of the study was to determine how women 40-50 years of age perceive their risk of breast cancer and the effectiveness of screening and how these perceptions compare with estimates derived from epidemiologic studies of breast cancer incidence and randomized clinical trials of screening. A random sample of 200 women, age 40-50 years old who had no history of breast cancer was chosen through the computerized medical records of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.   Thirty-nine percent had an annual family income of $50,000 to $100,000, and 62% had at least a college education.   The subjects received the questionnaire in the mail which asked questions pertaining to breast cancer risk and screening effectiveness.   Seventy-three percent responded with a complete questionnaire.   The results showed that the women overestimated their probability of dying of breast cancer within ten years by more than twenty times.   When asked about their relative risk reduction from breast cancer screening, they overestimated by six times.   These results are based on assuming a 10% relative risk reduction from cancer screening.   Eighty-eight percent of the subjects agreed that the benefits to screening mammography outweighed the barriers.   The generalizability of this study is very limited because of this population is better educated and of higher income than the general U.S. population of women of the same age range.   Also, the subjects’ breast cancer risk was not precisely known, and the effectiveness of modern screening mammography is unknown.   The limitations also include the questionnaire which has not been previously tested.    The last article is a literature review of â€Å"factors influencing breast cancer screening in Asian countries.†Ã‚   Studies done by Ahmadian and Samah (2012), found that breast cancer arises in the younger age group of Asian women, 40 to 49 years old compared to the other Western counterparts, where the peak prevalence is realized between 50 to 59 years.   According to multiple sources and authors, in Singapore, Malaysia, Iran, Thailand, Pakistan, and Arab women in Palestine, more than half of new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women below the age of 50 years and in advanced stages III or IV.     Schwartz et al. (2008), discovered that breast cancer screening activities among Asian women living in their native country are low and mammography screening in Middle Eastern countries are also low.   Analyses of the information have shown that only 23% of Turkish people testified having at least one mammogram.   Fewer women about 10.3% in the United Arab Emirates had mammography, which was attributed to poor knowledge of breast cancer screening and infrequent offering of screening by healthcare workers (Schwartz et al., 2008)   In conclusion of this article, the authors stated that in order to improve women’s participation in breast cancer prevention programs/ screenings, especially among the at-risk subgroup, the intervention strategies should be tailored to their knowledge and socio-demographic factor.   The approaches accepted should also take into account the women’s emotional and ethnic matters in order to support lifelong mammography screening practice for Asian people which is based on hypothetical interventions. In addition, healthcare professionals working with Asian women should cautiously tackle the misapprehensions such as worry about mammogram devices and fatalism. (Ahmadian & Samah, 2012) Conclusion In summary, after reading and reviewing the 6 related articles pertaining to breast cancer and mammogram screening for women under 50, I have concluded that there are both pros and cons, benefits and harms, perceived benefits and alleged barriers, and compliance factors that affect women worldwide. Breast cancer has claimed millions of lives throughout the world and women should be encouraged to be mindful of and to consider their family history and medical history with a physician to determine if early detection is a warrant.   If the woman has an average risk of developing breast cancer, the American Cancer Society supports a discussion of screening around the age of 40 years.   According to the guideline, ACS recommends that women be provided with information about risk factors, risk reduction, and the benefits, limitations, and harms associated with mammography screening.   While it is recognized that there is a balance of risks and benefits to the mammogram, women should be provided with guidance so that they can make the best choice about when to start and stop screening and how frequently to be screened for breast cancer.   So, if you or your loved ones have an average risk of breast cancer and over 40 years old, would you prefer to have a checkup once a year or once every two years?   This is rather a personal choice but with early detection, the benefit of mammogram will prove to outweigh the risk and could possibly save your life. References Ahmadian, M and Samah, A.(2012) A Literature Review of Factors Influencing Breast Cancer Screening in Asian Countries.Life Sci J 2012;9(2):585-594.   (ISSN: 1097-8135).   http://www.lifesciencesite.com.   Accessed January 16, 2018 Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis (version 1.2015).   National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/breast-screening.pdfAccessed January 16, 2018. Mandelblatt, JS, Cronin, KA, Bailey, S, et al. (2009) Breast Cancer Working Group of Cancer   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network.   Effects of mammography screening under different screening schedules: model estimates of potential benefits and harms. Ann Intern. Med. 2009;15(10):738-747. Mandeltblatt, JS, Armatta, C, Yabroff, R, Liang, W, Lawrence, W. (2004) Descriptive Review of the Literature on Breast Cancer Outcomes: 1990 Through 2000. JNCI Monographs, Volume 2004, Issue 33, 1 October 2004, Pages 8-44. https://academic.oup.com/jncimono/article/2004/33/8/933605Accessed January 17, 2018. Oeffinger, KC, Fontham, ETH, Etzioni, R, et al. (2015). Breast Cancer Screening for Women at average risk: 2015 Guideline Update from the American Cancer Society. Jama.2015. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.12783. https://provimaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/JAMA-Network-_-JAMA-_-Breast-Cancer-Screening-for-Women-at-Average-Risk_-20.pdfAccessed January 17, 2018. Schwartz, LM, Woloshin, S, Sox, HC, Fischloff, B, Welch, HG.(2000) US Women’s Attitudes to False Positive Mammography Results and Detection of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ:   Cross Sectional Survey. BMJ. 2000;320 (7250): 1635-1640. http://www.bmj.com/content/320/7250/1635.Accessed January 20, 2018

Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Fanfiction :: Show TV Television Buffy Fans Essays

Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Fanfiction Buffy The Vampire Slayer has broken many barriers in its seven-year stint, creating new genres and enabling innovation in a previously barren area of television. The largest leap the show has taken though, has been in the way it has embraced its fandom, creating a symbiotic relationship between Buffy the show and Buffy the fanfiction. Not only does Buffy fanfiction seize upon unexplored areas and inconsistencies inherent in the text, these forays are often paid homage to by the show, and in some cases, even made part of the canon itself. Ideas and fantasies created by the fans can impact upon the show in a way that has never been seen before. For those who are not familiar with what fanfiction is, it essentially refers to fan-authored texts written around characters, scenarios or elements from pre-existing sources, usually television shows or films, although the list can include such varied sources as bands, cartoon, books, poems or games. It used to be the exclusive preserve of zines or mailing lists, but with the advent of the internet, fanfiction has become easy to find and easy to publish. The internet has essentially brought a show like Buffy to a point that it took Star Trek years to build up to. For example, if you were to type in the words 'Buffy' and 'Fanfiction' in the Google search engine, you would come up with about 77,000 hits. With the advent of internet access to fan-authored works, it has become much easier for fanfiction authors and readers to conceal their identities. However, it still functions as a community, complete with mailing lists, fanfiction challenges and internet zines. There is no longer a n eat divide between the producers and consumers from years ago. Now fans can be both. Fanfiction has been regarded in the past by theorists like Henry Jenkins as a scribbling in the margins, a form of textual poaching. This often created an antagonistic relationship between the owners of the text and the fans that consumed them. Rather than simply reading the text and producing meanings in the way that the author had intended, fans not only scribble their ideas in the margin, they rewrite large slabs of the original to articulate their own meanings. These practices either resulted in the outrage of Lucasfilm or the tolerance of other shows. Buffy has reversed this process, turning the fans into authors and allowing them to not only play with any aspect of the show, but also to influence the direction of the narrative itself.

Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown a

Nathaniel Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter Many American writers have scrutinized religion through their works of literature, however none had the enthusiasm of Nathaniel Hawthorne. A handful of Hawthorne's works are clear critiques of seventeenth century Puritan society in New England. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter illustrate his assessment by showing internal battles within characters, hypocrisy in religious figures, atypical punishment for crimes, and accenting women's roles in Puritan society. Firstly, Hawthorne's literature often stresses internal battles in main characters. In both Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter, these battles are between morals and sin (both past and future). In Young Goodman Brown, Brown goes into the woods and meets Satan. Satan, in the form of Brown's deceased grandfather, asks the weary Brown to take his staff. The staff "bore the likeness of a great black snake... almost be seen to twist and wriggle... like a living serpent" (Hawthorne 1237). The comparison of the strangers' staff as a snake is very reminiscent of the Bible's story of Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God made" (Genesis 3:1) and as we know Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree and succumbed to the serpent's temptation. However, unlike Eve, Brown did not take the serpent-like staff because he knew he was being tested. Goodman Brown was also ethically confronted when he sees his wife, Faith, among a group of high standing community and church members in a circle of religious converts who plan to switch to Satanism. Seeing his adored wife ready to worshi... ...en upstanding, moral individuals, yet it appears that Hawthorne wants to show us examples of those who were not unblemished. Works Cited Angell, Robert. Free Society and Moral Crisis. The University of Michigan Press, 1965. Hall, Lawrence. Hawthorne: Critic of Society. Gloucester: Yale University Press, 1966. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Scarlet Letter." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1998. 1331-1447. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1998. 1236-1245. Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House. 1988. Reis, Elizabeth. DAMNED WOMEN: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England. New York: Cornell University Press, 1997. Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown a Nathaniel Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter Many American writers have scrutinized religion through their works of literature, however none had the enthusiasm of Nathaniel Hawthorne. A handful of Hawthorne's works are clear critiques of seventeenth century Puritan society in New England. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter illustrate his assessment by showing internal battles within characters, hypocrisy in religious figures, atypical punishment for crimes, and accenting women's roles in Puritan society. Firstly, Hawthorne's literature often stresses internal battles in main characters. In both Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter, these battles are between morals and sin (both past and future). In Young Goodman Brown, Brown goes into the woods and meets Satan. Satan, in the form of Brown's deceased grandfather, asks the weary Brown to take his staff. The staff "bore the likeness of a great black snake... almost be seen to twist and wriggle... like a living serpent" (Hawthorne 1237). The comparison of the strangers' staff as a snake is very reminiscent of the Bible's story of Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God made" (Genesis 3:1) and as we know Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree and succumbed to the serpent's temptation. However, unlike Eve, Brown did not take the serpent-like staff because he knew he was being tested. Goodman Brown was also ethically confronted when he sees his wife, Faith, among a group of high standing community and church members in a circle of religious converts who plan to switch to Satanism. Seeing his adored wife ready to worshi... ...en upstanding, moral individuals, yet it appears that Hawthorne wants to show us examples of those who were not unblemished. Works Cited Angell, Robert. Free Society and Moral Crisis. The University of Michigan Press, 1965. Hall, Lawrence. Hawthorne: Critic of Society. Gloucester: Yale University Press, 1966. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Scarlet Letter." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1998. 1331-1447. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1998. 1236-1245. Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House. 1988. Reis, Elizabeth. DAMNED WOMEN: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England. New York: Cornell University Press, 1997.

Bureau of Correction Essay

Corrections in the Philippines started during pre-colonial times when the task was community-based. It was only during the Spanish regime that an organized corrective service was made operational. The main penitentiary was the Old Bilibid Prison at Oroquieta Street in Manila which was established in 1847. It was formally opened on April 10, 1986 by a Royal Decree. About four years later, on August 21, 1870, the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City was established to confine Muslim rebels and recalcitrant political prisoners opposed to the Spanish rule. The facility which faced the Jolo Sea had Spanish-inspired dormitories and was originally set on a 1,414-hectare sprawling estate. When the Americans took over in the 1900s, the Bureau of Prisons was created under the Reorganization Act of 1905 (Act No. 1407 dated November 1, 1905) as an agency under the Department of Commerce and Police. It also paved the way for the re-establishment of San Ramon Prison in 1907, which was destroyed in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. It placed under the auspices of the Bureau of Prisons and started receiving prisoners from Mindanao. Before the reconstruction of San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm, the Americans established in 1904 the Luhit Penal settlement (now Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm) on a vast reservation of 28,072 hectares. It would reach a total land area of 40,000 hectares in the late 1950s. It was located on the western most part of the archipelago far from the main town to confine incorrigibles with the hope of rehabilitation. The area was expanded to 41,007 hectares by virtue of Executive Order No. 67 issued by Governor Newton Gilbert on October 15, 1912. Other penal colonies were established during the American regime. On November 27, 1929, the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City was created under Act No. 3579 while the Davao Penal colony in S outhern Mindanao was opened on January 21, 1932 under Act No. 3732. The CIW was founded to provide separate facilities for women offenders. To date, there are two Correctional Institutions for Women, the one mentioned in Mandaluyong and the other one is located in Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Dujali, Davao Del Norte. Owing to the increasing number of committals to the old Bilibid Prison in Manila, the New Bilibid Prison was established in 1935 in the southern suburb of Muntinlupa City. The old prison was transformed into a receiving center and a storage facility for farm produce from the colonies. It was later abandoned and is now under the jurisdiction of the Public Estates Authority. After the American regime, two more penal institutions were established. These were the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro under proclamation No. 72 issued on September 26, 1954 and Leyte Regional Prison under proclamation No. 1101 issued on January 16, 1973. The Bureau of Prisons was renamed Bureau of Corrections under the New Administrative Code of 1987 and Presidential Proclamation No. 495 issued on November 22, 1987. It is one of the attached agencies of the Department of Justice. The Bureau of Corrections presently has seven satellite prisons, namely; the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro, the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte, the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City and the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Dujali, Panabo, Davao Del Norte. Of these prison satellites, the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City as the Central Office serves as the main penitentiary as the Central office is also located in there. As of August 2012, the total population of prisoners confined in all satellites of the BuCor is 20,000. It is at this juncture, that handling, managing and taking care of the records of these inmates are of complex types of work which have to be performed by the competent personnel assigned at the â€Å"Inmate Document and Processing Division.†

A Game of Thrones Chapter Fifteen

Sansa Eddard Stark had left before dawn, Septa Mordane informed Sansa as they broke their fast. â€Å"The king sent for him. Another hunt, I do believe. There are still wild aurochs in these lands, I am told.† â€Å"I've never seen an aurochs,† Sansa said, feeding a piece of bacon to Lady under the table. The direwolf took it from her hand, as delicate as a queen. Septa Mordane sniffed in disapproval. â€Å"A noble lady does not feed dogs at her table,† she said, breaking off another piece of comb and letting the honey drip down onto her bread. â€Å"She's not a dog, she's a direwolf,† Sansa pointed out as Lady licked her fingers with a rough tongue. â€Å"Anyway, Father said we could keep them with us if we want.† The septa was not appeased. â€Å"You're a good girl, Sansa, but I do vow, when it comes to that creature you're as willful as your sister Arya.† She scowled. â€Å"And where is Arya this morning?† â€Å"She wasn't hungry,† Sansa said, knowing full well that her sister had probably stolen down to the kitchen hours ago and wheedled a breakfast out of some cook's boy. â€Å"Do remind her to dress nicely today. The grey velvet, perhaps. We are all invited to ride with the queen and Princess Myrcella in the royal wheelhouse, and we must look our best.† Sansa already looked her best. She had brushed out her long auburn hair until it shone, and picked her nicest blue silks. She had been looking forward to today for more than a week. It was a great honor to ride with the queen, and besides, Prince Joffrey might be there. Her betrothed. Just thinking it made her feel a strange fluttering inside, even though they were not to marry for years and years. Sansa did not really know Joffrey yet, but she was already in love with him. He was all she ever dreamt her prince should be, tall and handsome and strong, with hair like gold. She treasured every chance to spend time with him, few as they were. The only thing that scared her about today was Arya. Arya had a way of ruining everything. You never knew what she would do. â€Å"I'll tell her,† Sansa said uncertainly, â€Å"but she'll dress the way she always does.† She hoped it wouldn't be too embarrassing. â€Å"May I be excused?† â€Å"You may.† Septa Mordane helped herself to more bread and honey, and Sansa slid from the bench. Lady followed at her heels as she ran from the inn's common room. Outside, she stood for a moment amidst the shouts and curses and the creak of wooden wheels as the men broke down the tents and pavilions and loaded the wagons for another day's march. The inn was a sprawling three-story structure of pale stone, the biggest that Sansa had ever seen, but even so, it had accommodations for less than a third of the king's party, which had swollen to more than four hundred with the addition of her father's household and the freeriders who had joined them on the road. She found Arya on the banks of the Trident, trying to hold Nymeria still while she brushed dried mud from her fur. The direwolf was not enjoying the process. Arya was wearing the same riding leathers she had worn yesterday and the day before. â€Å"You better put on something pretty,† Sansa told her. â€Å"Septa Mordane said so. We're traveling in the queen's wheelhouse with Princess Myrcella today.† â€Å"I'm not,† Arya said, trying to brush a tangle out of Nymeria's matted grey fur. â€Å"Mycah and I are going to ride upstream and look for rubies at the ford.† â€Å"Rubies,† Sansa said, lost. â€Å"What rubies?† Arya gave her a look like she was so stupid. â€Å"Rhaegar's rubies. This is where King Robert killed him and won the crown.† Sansa regarded her scrawny little sister in disbelief. â€Å"You can't look for rubies, the princess is expecting us. The queen invited us both.† â€Å"I don't care,† Arya said. â€Å"The wheelhouse doesn't even have windows, you can't see a thing.† â€Å"What could you want to see?† Sansa said, annoyed. She had been thrilled by the invitation, and her stupid sister was going to ruin everything, just as she'd feared. â€Å"It's all just fields and farms and holdfasts.† â€Å"It is not,† Arya said stubbornly. â€Å"If you came with us sometimes, you'd see.† â€Å"I hate riding,† Sansa said fervently. â€Å"All it does is get you soiled and dusty and sore.† Arya shrugged. â€Å"Hold still,† she snapped at Nymeria, â€Å"I'm not hurting you.† Then to Sansa she said, â€Å"When we were crossing the Neck, I counted thirty-six flowers I never saw before, and Mycah showed me a lizard-lion.† Sansa shuddered. They had been twelve days crossing the Neck, rumbling down a crooked causeway through an endless black bog, and she had hated every moment of it. The air had been damp and clammy, the causeway so narrow they could not even make proper camp at night, they had to stop right on the kingsroad. Dense thickets of half-drowned trees pressed close around them, branches dripping with curtains of pale fungus. Huge flowers bloomed in the mud and floated on pools of stagnant water, but if you were stupid enough to leave the causeway to pluck them, there were quicksands waiting to suck you down, and snakes watching from the trees, and lizard-lions floating half-submerged in the water, like black logs with eyes and teeth. None of which stopped Arya, of course. One day she came back grinning her horsey grin, her hair all tangled and her clothes covered in mud, clutching a raggedy bunch of purple and green flowers for Father. Sansa kept hoping he would tell Arya to behave herself and act like the highborn lady she was supposed to be, but he never did, he only hugged her and thanked her for the flowers. That just made her worse. Then it turned out the purple flowers were called poison kisses, and Arya got a rash on her arms. Sansa would have thought that might have taught her a lesson, but Arya laughed about it, and the next day she rubbed mud all over her arms like some ignorant bog woman just because her friend Mycah told her it would stop the itching. She had bruises on her arms and shoulders too, dark purple welts and faded green-and-yellow splotches, Sansa had seen them when her sister undressed for sleep. How she had gotten those only the seven gods knew. Arya was still going on, brushing out Nymeria's tangles and chattering about things she'd seen on the trek south. â€Å"Last week we found this haunted watchtower, and the day before we chased a herd of wild horses. You should have seen them run when they caught a scent of Nymeria.† The wolf wriggled in her grasp and Arya scolded her. â€Å"Stop that, I have to do the other side, you're all muddy.† â€Å"You're not supposed to leave the column,† Sansa reminded her. â€Å"Father said so.† Arya shrugged. â€Å"I didn't go far. Anyway, Nymeria was with me the whole time. I don't always go off, either. Sometimes it's fun just to ride along with the wagons and talk to people.† Sansa knew all about the sorts of people Arya liked to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and naked children, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friends with anybody. This Mycah was the worst; a butcher's boy, thirteen and wild, he slept in the meat wagon and smelled of the slaughtering block. Just the sight of him was enough to make Sansa feel sick, but Arya seemed to prefer his company to hers. Sansa was running out of patience now. â€Å"You have to come with me,† she told her sister firmly. â€Å"You can't refuse the queen. Septa Mordane will expect you.† Arya ignored her. She gave a hard yank with the brush. Nymeria growled and spun away, affronted. â€Å"Come back here!† â€Å"There's going to be lemon cakes and tea,† Sansa went on, all adult and reasonable. Lady brushed against her leg. Sansa scratched her ears the way she liked, and Lady sat beside her on her haunches, watching Arya chase Nymeria. â€Å"Why would you want to ride a smelly old horse and get all sore and sweaty when you could recline on feather pillows and eat cakes with the queen?† â€Å"I don't like the queen,† Arya said casually. Sansa sucked in her breath, shocked that even Arya would say such a thing, but her sister prattled on, heedless. â€Å"She won't even let me bring Nymeria.† She thrust the brush under her belt and stalked her wolf. Nymeria watched her approach warily. â€Å"A royal wheelhouse is no place for a wolf,† Sansa said. â€Å"And Princess Myrcella is afraid of them, you know that.† â€Å"Myrcella is a little baby.† Arya grabbed Nymeria around her neck, but the moment she pulled out the brush again the direwolf wriggled free and bounded off. Frustrated, Arya threw down the brush. â€Å"Bad wolf!† she shouted. Sansa couldn't help but smile a little. The kennelmaster once told her that an animal takes after its master. She gave Lady a quick little hug. Lady licked her cheek. Sansa giggled. Arya heard and whirled around, glaring. â€Å"I don't care what you say, I'm going out riding.† Her long horsey face got the stubborn look that meant she was going to do something willful. â€Å"Gods be true, Arya, sometimes you act like such a child,† Sansa said. â€Å"I'll go by myself then. It will be ever so much nicer that way. Lady and I will eat all the lemon cakes and just have the best time without you.† She turned to walk off, but Arya shouted after her, â€Å"They won't let you bring Lady either.† She was gone before Sansa could think of a reply, chasing Nymeria along the river. Alone and humiliated, Sansa took the long way back to the inn, where she knew Septa Mordane would be waiting. Lady padded quietly by her side. She was almost in tears. All she wanted was for things to be nice and pretty, the way they were in the songs. Why couldn't Arya be sweet and delicate and kind, like Princess Myrcella? She would have liked a sister like that. Sansa could never understand how two sisters, born only two years apart, could be so different. It would have been easier if Arya had been a bastard, like their half brother Jon. She even looked like Jon, with the long face and brown hair of the Starks, and nothing of their lady mother in her face or her coloring. And Jon's mother had been common, or so people whispered. Once, when she was littler, Sansa had even asked Mother if perhaps there hadn't been some mistake. Perhaps the grumkins had stolen her real sister. But Mother had only laughed and said no, Arya was her daughter and Sansa's trueborn sister, blood of their blood. Sansa could not think why Mother would want to lie about it, so she supposed it had to be true. As she neared the center of camp, her distress was quickly forgotten. A crowd had gathered around the queen's wheelhouse. Sansa heard excited voices buzzing like a hive of bees. The doors had been thrown open, she saw, and the queen stood at the top of the wooden steps, smiling down at someone. She heard her saying, â€Å"The council does us great honor, my good lords.† â€Å"What's happening?† she asked a squire she knew. â€Å"The council sent riders from King's Landing to escort us the rest of the way,† he told her. â€Å"An honor guard for the king.† Anxious to see, Sansa let Lady clear a path through the crowd. People moved aside hastily for the direwolf. When she got closer, she saw two knights kneeling before the queen, in armor so fine and gorgeous that it made her blink. One knight wore an intricate suit of white enameled scales, brilliant as a field of new-fallen snow, with silver chasings and clasps that glittered in the sun. When he removed his helm, Sansa saw that he was an old man with hair as pale as his armor, yet he seemed strong and graceful for all that. From his shoulders hung the pure white cloak of the Kingsguard. His companion was a man near twenty whose armor was steel plate of a deep forest-green. He was the handsomest man Sansa had ever set eyes upon; tall and powerfully made, with jet-black hair that fell to his shoulders and framed a clean-shaven face, and laughing green eyes to match his armor. Cradled under one arm was an antlered helm, its magnificent rack shimmering in gold. At first Sansa did not notice the third stranger. He did not kneel with the others. He stood to one side, beside their horses, a gaunt grim man who watched the proceedings in silence. His face was pockmarked and beardless, with deepset eyes and hollow cheeks. Though he was not an old man, only a few wisps of hair remained to him, sprouting above his ears, but those he had grown long as a woman's. His armor was iron-grey chainmail over layers of boiled leather, plain and unadorned, and it spoke of age and hard use. Above his right shoulder the stained leather hilt of the blade strapped to his back was visible; a two-handed greatsword, too long to be worn at his side. â€Å"The king is gone hunting, but I know he will be pleased to see you when he returns,† the queen was saying to the two knights who knelt before her, but Sansa could not take her eyes off the third man. He seemed to feel the weight of her gaze. Slowly he turned his head. Lady growled. A terror as overwhelming as anything Sansa Stark had ever felt filled her suddenly. She stepped backward and bumped into someone. Strong hands grasped her by the shoulders, and for a moment Sansa thought it was her father, but when she turned, it was the burned face of Sandor Clegane looking down at her, his mouth twisted in a terrible mockery of a smile. â€Å"You are shaking, girl,† he said, his voice rasping. â€Å"Do I frighten you so much?† He did, and had since she had first laid eyes on the ruin that fire had made of his face, though it seemed to her now that he was not half so terrifying as the other. Still, Sansa wrenched away from him, and the Hound laughed, and Lady moved between them, rumbling a warning. Sansa dropped to her knees to wrap her arms around the wolf. They were all gathered around gaping, she could feel their eyes on her, and here and there she heard muttered comments and titters of laughter. â€Å"A wolf,† a man said, and someone else said, â€Å"Seven hells, that's a direwolf,† and the first man said, â€Å"What's it doing in camp?† and the Hound's rasping voice replied, â€Å"The Starks use them for wet nurses,† and Sansa realized that the two stranger knights were looking down on her and Lady, swords in their hands, and then she was frightened again, and ashamed. Tears filled her eyes. She heard the queen say, â€Å"Joffrey, go to her.† And her prince was there. â€Å"Leave her alone,† Joffrey said. He stood over her, beautiful in blue wool and black leather, his golden curls shining in the sun like a crown. He gave her his hand, drew her to her feet. â€Å"What is it, sweet lady? Why are you afraid? No one will hurt you. Put away your swords, all of you. The wolf is her little pet, that's all.† He looked at Sandor Clegane. â€Å"And you, dog, away with you, you're scaring my betrothed.† The Hound, ever faithful, bowed and slid away quietly through the press. Sansa struggled to steady herself. She felt like such a fool. She was a Stark of Winterfell, a noble lady, and someday she would be a queen. â€Å"It was not him, my sweet prince,† she tried to explain. â€Å"It was the other one.† The two stranger knights exchanged a look. â€Å"Payne?† chuckled the young man in the green armor. The older man in white spoke to Sansa gently. â€Å"Ofttimes Ser Ilyn frightens me as well, sweet lady. He has a fearsome aspect.† â€Å"As well he should.† The queen had descended from the wheelhouse. The spectators parted to make way for her. â€Å"If the wicked do not fear the Mng's Justice, you have put the wrong man in the office.† Sansa finally found her words. â€Å"Then surely you have chosen the right one, Your Grace,† she said, and a gale of laughter erupted all around her. â€Å"Well spoken, child,† said the old man in white. â€Å"As befits the daughter of Eddard Stark. I am honored to know you, however irregular the manner of our meeting. I am Ser Barristan Selmy, of the Kingsguard.† He bowed. Sansa knew the name, and now the courtesies that Septa Mordane had taught her over the years came back to her. â€Å"The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard,† she said, â€Å"and councillor to Robert our king and to Aerys Targaryen before him. The honor is mine, good knight. Even in the far north, the singers praise the deeds of Barristan the Bold.† The green knight laughed again. â€Å"Barristan the Old, you mean. Don't flatter him too sweetly, child, he thinks overmuch of himself already.† He smiled at her. â€Å"Now, wolf girl, if you can put a name to me as well, then I must concede that you are truly our Hand's daughter.† Joffrey stiffened beside her. â€Å"Have a care how you address my betrothed.† â€Å"I can answer,† Sansa said quickly, to quell her prince's anger. She smiled at the green knight. â€Å"Your helmet bears golden antlers, my lord. The stag is the sigil of the royal House. King Robert has two brothers. By your extreme youth, you can only be Renly Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and councillor to the king, and so I name you.† Ser Barristan chuckled. â€Å"By his extreme youth, he can only be a prancing jackanapes, and so I name him.† There was general laughter, led by Lord Renly himself. The tension of a few moments ago was gone, and Sansa was beginning to feel comfortable . . . until Ser Ilyn Payne shouldered two men aside, and stood before her, unsmiling. He did not say a word. Lady bared her teeth and began to growl, a low rumble full of menace, but this time Sansa silenced the wolf with a gentle hand to the head. â€Å"I am sorry if I offended you, Ser Ilyn,† she said. She waited for an answer, but none came. As the headsman looked at her, his pale colorless eyes seemed to strip the clothes away from her, and then the skin, leaving her soul naked before him. Still silent, he turned and walked away. Sansa did not understand. She looked at her prince. â€Å"Did I say something wrong, Your Grace? Why will he not speak to me?† â€Å"Ser Ilyn has not been feeling talkative these past fourteen years,† Lord Renly commented with a sly smile. Joffrey gave his uncle a look of pure loathing, then took Sansa's hands in his own. â€Å"Aerys Targaryen had his tongue ripped out with hot pincers.† â€Å"He speaks most eloquently with his sword, however,† the queen said, â€Å"and his devotion to our realm is unquestioned.† Then she smiled graciously and said, â€Å"Sansa, the good councillors and I must speak together until the king returns with your father. I fear we shall have to postpone your day with Myrcella. Please give your sweet sister my apologies. Joffrey, perhaps you would be so kind as to entertain our guest today.† â€Å"It would be my pleasure, Mother,† Joffrey said very formally. He took her by the arm and led her away from the wheelhouse, and Sansa's spirits took flight. A whole day with her prince! She gazed at Joffrey worshipfully. He was so gallant, she thought. The way he had rescued her from Ser Ilyn and the Hound, why, it was almost like the songs, like the time Serwyn of the Mirror Shield saved the Princess Daeryssa from the giants, or Prince Aemon the Dragonknight championing Queen Naerys's honor against evil Ser Morgil's slanders. The touch of Joffrey's hand on her sleeve made her heart beat faster. â€Å"What would you like to do?† Be with you, Sansa thought, but she said, â€Å"Whatever you'd like to do, my prince.† Jofftey reflected a moment. â€Å"We could go riding.† â€Å"Oh, I love riding,† Sansa said. Joffrey glanced back at Lady, who was following at their heels. â€Å"Your wolf is liable to frighten the horses, and my dog seems to frighten you. Let us leave them both behind and set off on our own, what do you say?† Sansa hesitated. â€Å"If you like,† she said uncertainly. â€Å"I suppose I could tie Lady up.† She did not quite understand, though. â€Å"I didn't know you had a dog . . . â€Å" Joffrey laughed. â€Å"He's my mother's dog, in truth. She has set him to guard me, and so he does.† â€Å"You mean the Hound,† she said. She wanted to hit herself for being so slow. Her prince would never love her if she seemed stupid. â€Å"Is it safe to leave him behind?† Prince Joffrey looked annoyed that she would even ask. â€Å"Have no fear, lady. I am almost a man grown, and I don't fight with wood like your brothers. All I need is this.† He drew his sword and showed it to her; a longsword adroitly shrunken to suit a boy of twelve, gleaming blue steel, castle-forged and double-edged, with a leather grip and a lion's-head pommel in gold. Sansa exclaimed over it admiringly, and Joffrey looked pleased. â€Å"I call it Lion's Tooth,† he said. And so they left her direwolf and his bodyguard behind them, while they ranged east along the north bank of the Trident with no company save Lion's Tooth. It was a glorious day, a magical day. The air was warm and heavy with the scent of flowers, and the woods here had a gentle beauty that Sansa had never seen in the north. Prince Joffrey's mount was a blood bay courser, swift as the wind, and he rode it with reckless abandon, so fast that Sansa was hard-pressed to keep up on her mare. It was a day for adventures. They explored the caves by the riverbank, and tracked a shadowcat to its lair, and when they grew hungry, Joffrey found a holdfast by its smoke and told them to fetch food and wine for their prince and his lady. They dined on trout fresh from the river, and Sansa drank more wine than she had ever drunk before. â€Å"My father only lets us have one cup, and only at feasts,† she confessed to her prince. â€Å"My betrothed can drink as much as she wants,† Joffrey said, refilling her cup. They went more slowly after they had eaten. Joffrey sang for her as they rode, his voice high and sweet and pure. Sansa was a little dizzy from the wine. â€Å"Shouldn't we be starting back?† she asked. â€Å"Soon,† Joffrey said. â€Å"The battleground is right up ahead, where the river bends. That was where my father killed Rhaegar Targaryen, you know. He smashed in his chest, crunch, right through the armor.† Joffrey swung an imaginary warhammer to show her how it was done. â€Å"Then my uncle Jaime killed old Aerys, and my father was king. What's that sound?† Sansa heard it too, floating through the woods, a kind of wooden clattering, snack snack snack. â€Å"I don't know,† she said. It made her nervous, though. â€Å"Joffrey, let's go back.† â€Å"I want to see what it is.† Joffrey turned his horse in the direction of the sounds, and Sansa had no choice but to follow. The noises grew louder and more distinct, the clack of wood on wood, and as they grew closer they heard heavy breathing as well, and now and then a grunt. â€Å"Someone's there,† Sansa said anxiously. She found herself thinking of Lady, wishing the direwolf was with her. â€Å"You're safe with me.† Joffrey drew his Lion's Tooth from its sheath. The sound of steel on leather made her tremble. â€Å"This way,† he said, riding through a stand of trees. Beyond, in a clearing overlooking the river, they came upon a boy and a girl playing at knights. Their swords were wooden sticks, broom handles from the look of them, and they were rushing across the grass, swinging at each other lustily. The boy was years older, a head taller, and much stronger, and he was pressing the attack. The girl, a scrawny thing in soiled leathers, was dodging and managing to get her stick in the way of most of the boy's blows, but not all. When she tried to lunge at him, he caught her stick with his own, swept it aside, and slid his wood down hard on her fingers. She cried out and lost her weapon. Prince Joffrey laughed. The boy looked around, wide-eyed and startled, and dropped his stick in the grass. The girl glared at them, sucking on her knuckles to take the sting out, and Sansa was horrified. â€Å"Arya?† she called out incredulously. â€Å"Go away,† Arya shouted back at them, angry tears in her eyes. â€Å"What are you doing here? Leave us alone.† Joffrey glanced from Arya to Sansa and back again. â€Å"Your sister?† She nodded, blushing. Joffrey examined the boy, an ungainly lad with a coarse, freckled face and thick red hair. â€Å"And who are you, boy?† he asked in a commanding tone that took no notice of the fact that the other was a year his senior. â€Å"Mycah,† the boy muttered. He recognized the prince and averted his eyes. â€Å"M'lord.† â€Å"He's the butcher's boy,† Sansa said. â€Å"He's my friend,† Arya said sharply. â€Å"You leave him alone.† â€Å"A butcher's boy who wants to be a knight, is it?† Joffrey swung down from his mount, sword in hand. â€Å"Pick up your sword, butcher's boy,† he said, his eyes bright with amusement. â€Å"Let us see how good you are.† Mycah stood there, frozen with fear. Joffrey walked toward him. â€Å"Go on, pick it up. Or do you only fight little girls?† â€Å"She ast me to, m'lord,† Mycah said. â€Å"She ast me to.† Sansa had only to glance at Arya and see the flush on her sister's face to know the boy was telling the truth, but Joffrey was in no mood to listen. The wine had made him wild. â€Å"Are you going to pick up your sword?† Mycah shook his head. â€Å"It's only a stick, m'lord. It's not no sword, it's only a stick.† â€Å"And you're only a butcher's boy, and no knight.† Joffrey lifted Lion's Tooth and laid its point on Mycah's cheek below the eye, as the butcher's boy stood trembling. â€Å"That was my lady's sister you were hitting, do you know that?† A bright bud of blood blossomed where his sword pressed into Mycah's flesh, and a slow red line trickled down the boy's cheek. â€Å"Stop it!† Arya screamed. She grabbed up her fallen stick. Sansa was afraid. â€Å"Arya, you stay out of this.† â€Å"I won't hurt him . . . much,† Prince Joffrey told Arya, never taking his eyes off the butcher's boy. Arya went for him. Sansa slid off her mare, but she was too slow. Arya swung with both hands. There was a loud crack as the wood split against the back of the prince's head, and then everything happened at once before Sansa's horrified eyes. Joffrey staggered and whirled around, roaring curses. Mycah ran for the trees as fast as his legs would take him. Arya swung at the prince again, but this time Joffrey caught the blow on Lion's Tooth and sent her broken stick flying from her hands. The back of his head was all bloody and his eyes were on fire. Sansa was shrieking, â€Å"No, no, stop it, stop it, both of you, you're spoiling it,† but no one was listening. Arya scooped up a rock and hurled it at Joffrey's head. She hit his horse instead, and the blood bay reared and went galloping off after Mycah. â€Å"Stop it, don't, stop it!† Sansa screamed. Joffrey slashed at Arya with his sword, screaming obscenities, terrible words, filthy words. Arya darted back, frightened now, but Joffrey follo wed, hounding her toward the woods, backing her up against a tree. Sansa didn't know what to do. She watched helplessly, almost blind from her tears. Then a grey blur flashed past her, and suddenly Nymeria was there, leaping, jaws closing around Joffrey's sword arm. The steel fell from his fingers as the wolf knocked him off his feet, and they rolled in the grass, the wolf snarling and ripping at him, the prince shrieking in pain. â€Å"Get it off,† he screamed. â€Å"Get it off!† Arya's voice cracked like a whip. â€Å"Nymeria!† The direwolf let go of Joffrey and moved to Arya's side. The prince lay in the grass, whimpering, cradling his mangled arm. His shirt was soaked in blood. Arya said, â€Å"She didn't hurt you . . . much.† She picked up Lion's Tooth where it had fallen, and stood over him, holding the sword with both hands. Jofftey made a scared whimpery sound as he looked up at her. â€Å"No,† he said, â€Å"don't hurt me. I'll tell my mother.† â€Å"You leave him alone!† Sansa screamed at her sister. Arya whirled and heaved the sword into the air, putting her whole body into the throw. The blue steel flashed in the sun as the sword spun out over the river. It hit the water and vanished with a splash. Joffrey moaned. Arya ran off to her horse, Nymeria loping at her heels. After they had gone, Sansa went to Prince Joffrey. His eyes were closed in pain, his breath ragged. Sansa knelt beside him. â€Å"Joffrey,† she sobbed. â€Å"Oh, look what they did, look what they did. My poor prince. Don't be afraid. I'll ride to the holdfast and bring help for you.† Tenderly she reached out and brushed back his soft blond hair. His eyes snapped open and looked at her, and there was nothing but loathing there, nothing but the vilest contempt. â€Å"Then go,† he spit at her. â€Å"And don't touch me.†