Pedophilia: An Ethical Inquiry
Originally a posting on BeliefNet’s U.S. Current Events board, this short persuasive piece attempts to garner awareness and understanding for pedophilia, as well as productive, level-headed discussion to improve the lot of all concerned parties.

  When Make-Believe Makes Reality: Pretending, Pretensions, and Pretenses as Vehicles of Disaster in Huckleberry Finn
A brief literary analysis essay exploring the adverse effects of evading reality. Huckleberry Finn serves as the mouthpiece for the unadulterated perspective of the child amidst the nonsensical trappings of the adult world. Mark Twain is the realist par excellence.

  A Day in the Life of...
For all you beautiful stalkers who wish to catch a glimpse of my daily life, welcome to my world!

  How to Use Big Words
Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for ... [drum roll] a tongue-in-cheek process analysis riot illuminating the fine art of intellectually-intimidating conversation. Needless to say, don’t try this in real life and don’t come whining to me if your girlfriend dumps you.

  The Merchant of Venice: The Art of Indiscriminate Manipulation
A literary essay analyzing how social strategy determines the socio-economic-political success of the various characters in William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” This is accomplished by evaluating and comparing the policies of different Christian majority figures, such as Portia and Bassanio, towards the minority Jewish population represented by Shylock.

  The Treaty of Versailles and Subsequent Hyperinflation in Germany: Finding the Culprit
An historical essay dealing with the period of hyperinflation during the early years of the Weimar Republic. The incident is traced to its short-term antebellum roots which prompted the German government to distribute voluminous amounts of paper currency. Reasons are explored for why, although capable from purely financial considerations, Germany could not fulfill the monetary provisions of the Versailles Treaty due to a variety of internal problems.

  Misconceptions and Confusions in Paleoanthropology
A collection of facts that overturn popular notions concerning human evolution and elucidate the real details behind the headlines. The presentation concerns itself with straightforward factual points such as discoveries and discoverers. Controversial subjects are not treated.

  The Ascent of Man
The revised version of the Dupont Challenge essay which I originally wrote in January of 2000. It is about a recently (1996) proposed theory for the origin of bipedalism by Lynne Isbell and Truman Young, which was published in the Journal of Human Evolution. You can view the original version under the Projects section.

Copyright ©2001-2003, Allegra H., all rights reserved. Please contact me via e-mail if you wish to reproduce this material.