Ethics of Human Gene Therapy :: Science Genetics Papers

Ethics of Human Gene Therapy Gene therapy is a technique which has developed in the wake of recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology. It is a process which results in the correction of a genetic disorder by the addition of a piece or fragment of DNA into the genetic material of a living, functioning cell. A mere thirty years ago this concept belonged to the realm of the human imagination made manifest in the works of science fiction. Today it belongs to the realm of the human imagination made manifest in the works of science, period. It is mind boggling to try to comprehend the far reaching effects of gene therapy. How is it affecting society? Who will benefit from its use? Should it be used at all? Should research continue? How do we answer all of these questions? The answers are not readily available, nor are they black and white, but an attempt at finding some solutions must be made. Before exploring this line of thought further, a basic understanding of the technical aspects of gene therapy is essential. Technical Aspects Although the highly technical aspects of human gene therapy are somewhat complex, the basic concept is very straight forward. The goal of gene therapy is to correct mistakes that have occurred within the genetic material, or DNA, of the living cell. In very simple terms, DNA is often thought of as the "language" of the biological functioning of organisms. This language is organized by letters (nucleotide pairs), words (codons), sentences (genes), and books (genomes). Before being able to repair the damaged or defective genetic material, the location of the gene or genes causing the dysfunction in the individual must be determined. Over the last fifty years or so, scientists have made a great amount of progress in this area, including the development of techniques which allow for the controlled manipulation and replication of specific segments of the human genome. These types of techniques have come to be known as recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology and have allowed scientists to analyze functions of genes which are not necessarily directly expressed at the phenotypic level. This is done by "cutting out" or excising a particular segment of DNA of interest from the genetic material of an individual and inserting it into a bacterial plasmid (a tiny ring of DNA in addition to the normal chromosomal material found within the cells of bacteria).

Theres No Defense for Affluenza Essay -- The Affluenza Defense

"The Affluenza Defense: Judge Rules Rich Kid’s Rich Kid-ness Makes Him Not Liable for Deadly Drunk Driving Accident" -- Madison Gray, Time.com The relationship between motive and consequence is a complex one, and is made even more debatable when context becomes involved. Throughout our judicial history, the line between responsibility and exemption remains razor-thin in its subjectivity. If a woman murders her husband, but was abused by him for years, why is this considered different from a murder where the perpetrator wasn’t abused? We take these mitigating factors into account in court, but they present a unique problem. How much and which extenuating circumstances are enough to change the conviction? Precedents are continually being set as new mental conditions are discovered or gain new validity, so we must be able to discern the difference between defenses that are legitimate, and the Twinkie defenses. Twinkie defenses are those, which carry no reasonable justification for diminishing the mental capacity of the defendant. The ambiguity of what we know of the mind creates this conflict, so it is important t hat we consider the context with care. A new defense known as ‘Affluenza’ was very recently introduced into this family of mitigating factors. Affluenza claims that when an individual grows up in or is subjected to an affluent environment where the real world is shielded from them, they are unable to make the connection between their actions and their consequences. Affluenza says that the access to an excess of all the things money can buy comes at the expense of all the things money cannot buy. With the absence of even the most basic role modeling of the relationship between cause and... ...l Of Behavioral & Applied Management 11.3 (2010): 232-248. Academic Search Premier. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. Hobson, Jeremy. "The ‘Affluenza’ Defense." Here Now RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. . "Weekday Schedule." Newport Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. . Lunther, Suniya, and Shawn Latendresse. "Children of the Affluent: Challenges to Well Being." Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. . de Graaf, J., Wann, D., Naylor, T. H., & Horsey, D. (2001). Affluenza: The all-consuming epidemic. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Whitely, Jason. "Sentence given to Teen in Deadly Drunk Driving Crash Spurs Backlash." WFAA Wfaa.com. ABC, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

The Internal Action Of Hamlet :: essays research papers

The Internal 'Action'; of Hamlet   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people have emotional ups and downs, it is human nature, everybody has to go through a time of depression and happiness at one point or another. In this play, Hamlet is going through a time of depression. Many people can relate to Hamlet because everybody has struggles. In this play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, much of the action is internal. The conflict in this play is fought inside of a young prince named Hamlet. He finds out that his father was murdered and he has to decide within himself whether or not to seek revenge. Hamlet is always putting himself down for not taking action earlier. Many times Hamlet comes out with a soliloquy that puts himself down. Hamlet has many troubles, because he has thought of committing suicide. It shows in the play that many things are bothering him, because of his erratic behaviour. Many times in this play, Hamlet portrays his struggle internally, that prevents him from acting on his tasks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hamlet is struggling inside of himself whether the ghost was a good spirit or evil one. Hamlet debates within himself whether or not to kill Claudius and seek revenge. Because of his uncertainty Hamlet had the players put on a play to catch Claudius' reaction. Example of this is when Hamlet says   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hamlet: The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King';. [Act II, Scene ii, line 616-617] Hamlet saw a good opportunity to run Claudius through when he was confessing his sins. Hamlet decides not to because Claudius was repenting. If he killed him Hamlet would send him to heaven and would not be damned like Hamlet's father. That is another internal struggle to delay killing Claudius. Hamlet has thought everything through before he acts. Hamlet makes sure that the things he does will not fail and that he has to do it right the first time through.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hamlet struggles with the idea of taking his own life. It is because there are so many things bothering Hamlet. Hamlet has to seek revenge for his dead father, but Hamlet has to think and consider every factor before he follows through, because of this flaw he puts himself down for not killing Claudius earlier. Hamlet compares himself to the young Fortinbras. He says, how come Fortinbras can lead an army in to Poland to retrieve land and he cannot kill his stepfather. Both young princes don't have a father, how come Fortinbras knows what he wants to do and Hamlet does not.

Are Computers a Hindrance?

Write about the following topic:Some people consider computers to be more of a hindrance than a help. Others believe that they have greatly increased human potential. How could computers be considered a hindrance? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience. Write at least 250 words. Look at the words or phrases in capitals. Correct your version where necessary. It is easy to understand why some people believe that computers are more of a hindrance than a help. Operations such as obtaining a refund or changing a ticket tend to be fairly straightforward without the aid of a computer, yet once one is involved, the process can become time-consuming, complex and prone to errors. In an office environment, it can sometimes seem that for every hour saved by computers, at least set of problems caused by a system malfunction. Another consideration is that, over-enthusiastic use of computers in the home has the potential to divert large amounts of free time away from activities such as socialising, tasking exercise or having dinner with your family. Spending a lot of leisure time looking at a computer monitor screen could perhaps achieving other goals in life, such as being healthy and socially integrated. However, it would be simplistic to assert that computers have a generally negative impact. There have been enormous advences in communications, medicine, design, education and numerous fields of human endeavour. Nowadays, virtually the entire sum of human knowledge is as far away as the nearest internet point. Computers have brought about a profound change in the way most people inthe developed world live. (Although it should not be forgotten that the majority of the inhabitants of this planet have never so much as touched a computer keyboard. ) The benefits of computers undoubtedly outweigh the disadventages. The question is not whethercomputers help or hinder, but whether people always use their huge potential in a sensible and responsible way?

Is the Job in Fast-Food Restaurant Exploitative Essay

Exploitation is a term to describe person that are being mistreated. Karl Marx used it to explain the relationship between the capitalists and workers. It is claim that the value of a product is depended by how much labor has paid on it such as time, energy or ideas. Therefore the price of a product minus the cost and energy to produce a product or other sufficient usages should be equal to what a worker can earn. However, as the workers own nothing but their labor, they could only sell their labor to capitalists who own all other kinds of resources. Marx defined the value that capitalists take away from the workers as surplus value. It should be fair between â€Å"sellers† and â€Å"buyers†, but the capitalists refuse to pay a suitable amount of reward. In order to gain more profit, the capitalists would try as hard as they can to increase the surplus value, and lead to exploitation. In the paragraph below, I will first start with reason why Hong Kong fast food workers being exploited. Second I will focus on the current situation of exploitations in Hong Kong fast food restaurant. In addition, I will express my opinion on the implantation of minimum wage. It could only improve the situation of workers but could not solve the problem of exploitation. Reason for being exploited Workers in fast food shop is being exploited mainly because of the supply of workers is far more than the demand of job opportunities. In general, the jobs in fast food restaurant are independent to the education level. It is because most of the job opportunities in fast food restaurants are being simplified and divided clearly. With the aid of machines, almost everyone could do the job well; no specific skills are needed in fast food restaurants. Therefore this kind of jobs will depend much more on social skills such as communicate with customers, meaning that this kind of jobs is widely open to different types of people. In 2007, there are approximately 32,100 fast food restaurant employee, compare with unemployment workers of age group between 20 to 50, which is over 100,000 in 2007. It is obvious that the supply of potential workers is far more than the job opportunities. Since the workers lack of bargaining power, it means capitalists could heavily exploit and extract the surplus value from workers. In order to earn a living or at least subsidies the family, workers have no choice but to accept the offer from capitalists. Exploitation in Hong Kong fast food restaurant There are two sectors for capitalists to exploit the labors, first is low wage and long working hour , another would be on cutting employee welfare, and these two kinds of exploitations are common in fast food restaurant. It is terrified that the first aspect, low wage and long working hour, is a kind of norm in fast food industry. In before minimum wage launched, the average wage of fast food restaurant workers is extremely low, most of the fast food restaurant offer the workers with less than $20 per hour. Besides pay for a low wage to workers, long working hour and mechanized steps in the fast food industry also reflect exploitation on the workers. As the capitalists treat labor as a product, they want to use this product to gain profit as much and fast as it can. On one hand they reduce the wage of workers, on the other hand the want to increase the rate of getting reward. They therefore encourage their workers to work overtime. Since the wages are too low that workers can not even earn a living for their family, they must need to work longer to fulfill the needs. The research conducted by HKCTU in 2006 showed that the maximum working hour for fast food shop workers may up to 10 hours per day, but still they not earn enough for their family. Overtime working had already been proved that would lead to greater chance of getting heart attack. Capitalists sacrifice the lives of their workers to gain profits, which is created by workers. Exploitation can also be found on welfare. If there is a contract relationship between employer and employee, both of them should be protected by laws. However, the laws in Hong Kong show that it is unbalance. The laws protect the employer more than that of employee and it also leads to exploitation. There are some cases that the capitalists avoid to pay for the employee welfare that a workers should have by using loopholes in the laws. The current labor laws stated that for all employees that continuously working for 4 weeks and each of the weeks working for not less than 18 hours, he or she will be protected by the law and can enjoy the employee welfare. However, this law comes with a lot of loopholes that let the capitalists have room to avoid paying employee welfare, like force the workers stop working every 3 weeks. It becomes a characteristic in fast food industry because of its unbalance between supply and demand. The working hours of this kind of â€Å"short-term† workers may equal to long-term workers, but the worker will never receive the benefits form the welfare. This make the whole thing legal and the exploitation may continue. Some extreme cases even show that capitalists may act illegally to exploit the employee welfare. In 2009, the motorbike couriers from McDonald were discovered that they had forced to be self-employ, meaning that they do not have any paid holiday, insurance or any other employee welfare. It is rather on the edge but since the current labor laws is not strict enough to protect the employee and rather or not the company is abusing the self-employ scheme is hard to be proved, the problem still remain unsolvable. Implantation of minimum wage The minimum wage law could reduce the level of exploitation, but capitalists could develop new methods to exploit the workers. According the findings of HKCTU, the wage of fast food restaurant workers after the launched of minimum wage has been increased for 20% to 50%. It is also glad that some of the fast food restaurants such as Cafe de Coral and Fairwood paid for the dinning hours and provide paid holidays to their workers which are previously do not. They are good news for the workers, but when comparing to the current situation, it could only solve part of the problem of low wage, but the law still not protecting the welfare of workers, current labor laws still rely on â€Å"4-18 scheme†. In addition, in order to maintain the profits to balance the increase in wage, some of the fast food restaurants implant new machines to their fast food restaurants. It increases the rate of trading, meanings the rate of getting reward increase. Although the capitalists claim that the new machines will not cause any dismiss of workers, new machines further simplified the process in fast food restaurants. Lower the skills level for fast food restaurant jobs indicate that the bargaining power of workers will not increase but further slide down. The set up of minimum wage provide an index for capitalists to exploit. Now they can not reduce the wage of workers, but instead they exploit the workers with brand new ways. The form of exploitation has been change but does not mean that exploitation has disappeared. Conclusion In Hong Kong, the supply of labor is far more than the demand, causes the powerless situation of workers. In order to earn for their families, they could only be exploited. Minimum wage improves the current situation of labor, but could not solve the problem. The only way that balance the relationship between capitalist and workers, may rely on create new laws. If we need to solve the problem, the implant of minimum wage is the first step only.

12 Years a Slave Essay

The plot of the book Twelve Years A Slave is the reflection of the author's own life experience. The uniqueness of Northup’s book lies in the fact that unlike other slave narrated books; a man who was born free wrote this novel. All other slave narrators had been born into slavery. Dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe and introduced as â€Å"Another Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin,† Northup's book was published in 1853, less than a year after his liberation.The significance of Northup’s experiences of being a slave described in the book is hard to deny. People who read this book can virtually see the world through the eyes of a person that got locked away into a cage of slavery, a person that was cut off from society and normal life of a free man. Can we possibly imagine how this person must have felt like? We should not doubt what Solomon Northup went through when he found himself in a situation when he was not free anymore.It is obvious that the whole story and the port rayal of slavery acquires an entirely different perspective than if it had been written by a narrator who was born into slavery and passed through stages of his childhood and adolescence wearing a stamp of being someone's property. The most harrowing moment from Northup’s brilliant and painful Twelve Years A Slave is when slave master, Edwin Epps, is questioning his slave girl and mistress, Patsy, about her whereabouts the previous afternoon.When Patsy returns, she reveals that she was at a neighbor’s plantation, trying to get a bar of soap, but he refuses to listen. Epps does not believe her and orders her undressed, tied to a tree and beaten. Epps forces Platt to whip her repeatedly, but becomes frustrated, snatches the whip and whales on her himself. In my opinion, this was the most touching; yet disturbing section of the book. I cannot imagine how devastated Platt felt having to whip his best friend and then watch helplessly as she suffered.Because it was so violen t and graphic it was almost impossible for me to read this section of the novel. Northup trusted that Armsby would mail a letter to Northup's family for him, but instead Armsby told Epps about Northup’s letter so that he could get him into trouble. Obviously Armsby did not have the intention of helping Northup and he was trying to cajole Epps. He is described as a man who came to the plantation looking to fill the position of overseer but was reduced to labor with the slaves.In an effort to better his role on the plantation, he revealed Northup's secret to Epps. Instead of giving the letter to Armsby, Northup should have mailed the letter himself. By mailing it himself, he could assure that no one would find out about the letter and he would not have had to suffer through ten years of enslavement. He would have had to have someone cover for him, however, this would not be as bad as having Epps find out, knowing how harsh the consequences would be.Northup is first sold to the infamous Washington-based slave trader James H.Burch, who brutally whips him for protesting that he is a free man. He is purchased by a fair-minded but feeble master named Ford. Northup writes that there never was a kinder, candid, Christian man. Northup is then sold in the winter of 1842 to John Tibeats, a quick-tempered carpenter to whom Ford had become indebted. Unlike Ford, Tibeats was never satisfied and he worked his slaves from earliest dawn until late at night. Lastly, Tibeats sells Northup to Edwin Epps, a repulsive and coarse cotton planter whom Northup describes as lacking any redeeming qualities.Religion appears in 12 Years a Slave in its conservative theme as an eloquent technology that slave owners use to persuade their slaves to be obedient. We see Epps, for instance, preaching to his slaves and verbally underlining a Bible verse emphasizing weakness. This scene also portrays the limitations of this analysis by showing the disconnect between discourse and power. The s laves are not moved to serve by Epps’s readings, but by practice of physical and psychological violence.Race and religion merge to become a highly effective mechanism for solidifying dignity by asserting the corruptness of outside bodies. A reader will obtain some sense of what it meant to be owned by another human being, what it meant to be considered a piece of property that could be bought and sold, an object whose sole purpose and function was to make life more comfortable for the master and his family. Readers will also be able to gain insight into the fact that despite the general cruelty, black people consciously struggled to maintain their dignity, humanity, and their moral and cultural integrity.The book of Solomon Northup gave me a chance to go beyond what we learn in history books, taking me into the human story of slavery. Our country is founded on a system of institutional racism, and slavery is among the strongest examples of this reality. This is a hard truth t o accept while at the same time enjoying the freedoms our country offers. 12 Years a Slave showed me human dignity and beauty in the face of extreme oppression. That story of slavery, not the stories of land ownership and wealth, should become the narrative of what our country stands for.

The Red Wheelbarrow Analysis

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens. The Red Wheelbarrow Summary Our speaker reflects on how important a certain red wheelbarrow is. This wheelbarrow is wet from a recent rain, and there happen to be white chickens hanging out with the wheelbarrow. The End. The Red Wheelbarrow Summary Line 1 so much depends * Our speaker doesn't say â€Å"much depends† or â€Å"things depend† or â€Å"I depend,† he says â€Å"so much depends. † That â€Å"so† makes us feel the gravity of the situation. It's as though our speaker really wants and needs to drive the point home. The verb â€Å"depends† is a strong one too, and one that suggest a that whatever is being depended upon is a pretty big deal. Line 2 upon * â€Å"Upon† – what a pretty preposition. And an important one too. So important, in fact, that it gets its very own line. * Visually (o n the page) the first line of the poem (which is way longer than this line) actually looks like it's resting upon the â€Å"upon† of line two. The first line  depends  upon this second line. Hehe. Line 3 a red wheel * A brand new couplet. We're dying to know what â€Å"so much† depends upon – drum roll, please. So much depends upon â€Å"a red wheel. † * A red wheel?We haven't seen too many red wheels in our days. * The use of the word â€Å"red† really gets our imaginations going, for some reason. We hear the word â€Å"red† all the time, but for some reason, this color really sticks out in this poem. Why do you think that is? Line 4 barrow * Oh! It's a red â€Å"wheelbarrow,† not a red wheel. Our speaker just chose to split the word â€Å"wheel† and â€Å"barrow† up and didn't put a dash between them. * By splitting up the two pieces of this word, our speaker makes us think about the fact that a wheelbarrow is comp osed of two distinct parts: the wheel and the barrow (the part you load stuff into).In some ways, we feel like this couplet looks like a wheelbarrow. * OK, now that we've figured out what â€Å"so much† depends upon, we're dying to know what kinds of things depend upon a red wheelbarrow. Um, dirt could depend upon a wheelbarrow. Six-year-olds who like to be pushed around in wheelbarrows could depend upon a wheelbarrow. A person who likes to do heavy gardening could depend upon a wheelbarrow. * What else could depend upon a wheelbarrow? It might help to do some research on wheelbarrows. Apparently, they've been around for almost 2,500 years and were invented in Ancient Greece. Why is it important that this particular wheelbarrow is â€Å"red†? The redness factor seems to play a huge part in just how cool this wheelbarrow is. Line 5 glazed with rain * A new couplet! * The word â€Å"glazed† makes us think of a shiny, glossy, glassy surface. Our wheelbarrow is spar kly from the rain. * Who left this VIP wheelbarrow out in the rain? Talk about neglect. If we owned a red wheelbarrow upon which much depended, we would take better care of it. * But the idea that it is â€Å"glazed with rain† makes us think that it looks pretty snappy. Line 6 water Again, we have a one-word line, making it seem like the first line of this couplet (line 5)  depends  upon this section line. * Again, our speaker decides to split up the word â€Å"rainwater† into its equal parts: â€Å"rain† and â€Å"water. † Why would he do this? Perhaps to remind us that rain is composed of water? Line 7 beside the white * A new couplet! Here, we're introduced to yet another snappy preposition: â€Å"beside. † * We're given some more information about where our red wheelbarrow is and about the things around it. Apparently, our red wheelbarrow is standing beside something white. Talk about one colorful poem. We see the color â€Å"white† all the time in our daily lives, but there's something special about this â€Å"white,† just as there is something special about the wheelbarrow's â€Å"red. † These colors are sticking out in our minds. Line 8 chickens * The wheelbarrow is not alone! Thank heavens. There are chickens to hang out with. * We think it is interesting that the speaker refers to these chickens as â€Å"the white chickens† and not as â€Å"some white chickens† or â€Å"the chickens. † He wants to describe them very carefully and very precisely. These are some special chickens. Again, the second line of this couplet looks (visually) as though it were holding up or supporting the first line, emphasizing the idea that so much depends upon the wheelbarrow. * Are these chickens part of the â€Å"so much† that depends upon the red wheelbarrow? What kind of relationship do you think these chickens have with said wheelbarrow? In a Station of the Metro|   | by  Ezra Po und| | The apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough. | | | | | In a Station of the Metro Summary A man sees a bunch of faces in the subway and thinks they look like flowers on a tree branch. In a Station of the Metro† Summary Line 1 The apparition of these faces in the crowd; * The poet is watching faces appear in a crowded metro (subway) station. * You wouldn’t know it only from reading the poem, but we’re in Paris, which means that everyone looks really nice. * The poet is trying to get us to see things from his perspective, and the word â€Å"apparition† suggests that the faces are becoming visible to him very suddenly and probably disappearing just as fast. They almost look like ghosts. If you’ve ever been in a crowded subway, then you’re probably familiar with this phenomenon. By calling them â€Å"these faces,† he puts us right there in the metro station, as if he were pointing his finger and saying, â €Å"Look! † * The station must be pretty full, because there is a â€Å"crowd. † Line 2 Petals on a wet, black bough. * Although he doesn’t say so, the words â€Å"looks like† are implicit at the start of this line. The faces in the crowd â€Å"look like† flower petals on a â€Å"wet, black bough. † * A â€Å"bough† is a big tree branch, and the word, in case you’re wondering, is pronounced â€Å"bow,† as in â€Å"take a bow. † * When is a tree branch wet and black?Probably at night, after the rain. A Paris subway, on the other hand, is always wet and black. * Now, we’re going out on a limb here (pun! ), but he may be seeing the faces reflected in a puddle over black asphalt. Or it could just be a more general sense of wetness. At any rate, the faces in the subway are being compared to flowers on a tree branch. * Another fact to keep in mind is that Japan is famous for its beautiful flowering trees, and con sidering that this poem is written in Japanese  haiku  style . . . well, heck, he might just be thinking of a Japanese tree. HelenBY  H. D. All Greece hates the still eyes in the white face, the lustre as of olives where she stands, and the white hands. All Greece reviles the wan face when she smiles, hating it deeper still when it grows wan and white, remembering past enchantments and past ills. Greece sees unmoved, God’s daughter, born of love, the beauty of cool feet and slenderest knees, could love indeed the maid, only if she were laid, white ash amid funereal cypresses. Summary: The narrator praises  Helen  for her beauty, which he compares to a ship bringing a â€Å"weary, wayworn wanderer† to his home.Her classic beauty has reminded him of ancient times, and he watches her stand like a statue while holding a stone lamp. Analysis: In â€Å"To Helen,† first published in 1831 and revised in later years, Poe displays an early interest in the theme of female beauty to which his later works often return. He wrote this poem in honor of Jane Stith Stanard, the mother of his childhood friend Rob, although he later wrote a different, longer poem of the same name to Sarah Helen Whitman. Jane Stanard had recently died, and, through his writing, Poe sought to thank her for acting as a second mother to him.The Helen of the 1831 poem embodies a classic beauty and poise, and by using Jane Stanard as the inspiration, Poe celebrated the latter woman as one of his earliest loves. Although Poe never explained why he changed Jane Stanard's name to Helen in the poem, one possible interpretation is that he intended to connect her to the famed Helen of Troy, who sparked the Trojan War of Homer's  Iliad  because of her beauty. The remainder of the poem shows a definite classical influence, with Poe's elevated diction and his direct references to â€Å"the glory that was Greece† and â€Å"the grandeur that was Rome. He also praises Hel en's beauty by describing her â€Å"hyacinth hair† and â€Å"classic face,† details that are associated with ancient standards of the female ideal. If Poe indeed intended for the name â€Å"Helen† to refer to Helen of Troy, then he has given his character high praise indeed. Along with the ambiguity of Helen's name, the identity of the narrator is also in question, as he does not have a name or much of a physical presence. He refers to himself as the alliterative â€Å"weary, wayworn wanderer† who has returned home, drawn to Helen's alluring and comforting hearth.Poe may have intended the narrator to be a direct reflection of himself, who as a boy felt more welcome in Jane Stanard's house than in other environments. At the same time, he may have sought to depict the narrator as an archetypal man, who like all other men found a nurturing source in a woman's home. Otherwise, the narrator might be akin to a victorious Greek warrior who, like Homer's Odysseus , has returned from some struggle overseas. The role of the female in â€Å"To Helen† is multifaceted.In one sense, Helen guards the home hearth in the traditional domestic role of caregiver while displaying a faithful attachment that recalls the idealized love of  Annabel Lee  in Poe's eponymous 1849 poem. Simultaneously, Helen is the protagonist's guide and inspiration who brings him back from the lonely seas, and her depiction as â€Å"statue-like† with an â€Å"agate lamp† characterizes her as steadfast and dependable. Finally, there are mentions of Naiads, or ancient Greek water nymphs, and Psyche, the mythological woman who represents the soul and who marries Eros, the god of love.These twin allusions emphasize the concordance between Helen's outer and inner beauty. As is typical with many of Poe's poems, the rhythm and rhyme scheme of â€Å"To Helen† is irregular but musical in sound. The poem consists of three stanzas of five lines each, where the end rhyme of the first stanza is ABABB, that of the second is ABABA, and that of the third is ABBAB. Poe uses soothing, positive words and rhythms to create a fitting tone and atmosphere for the poem. His concluding image is that of light, with a â€Å"brilliant window niche† and the agate lamp suggesting the glowing of the â€Å"Holy Land,† for which Helen is the beacon.