(Martini 3). The man who is now known throughout the world for his revolutionary artistic talent died in his brother Theo's arms, little known or appreciated in his own time (Barnes 17). Van Gogh's suicide marked the

end of a life-long struggle with mental illness and depression that affected every aspect of his personal and social life. His unpredictable, sometimes even violent mental and emotional states led to a life of loneliness and

isolation, preventing van Gogh from achieving much recognition or success in his own lifetime. Much of van Gogh's inner pain is reflected in his paintings, especially in his own self-portraits. In fact, the fluctuations in

van Gogh's mental state and mood due to his mental illness directly influenced his choice of color schemes and facial expressions in his self-portraits. His Self-Portrait painted in 1887 reflects van Gogh's mental

excitement and optimistic energy during this very productive period of his life. In contrast, Van Gogh's 1889 Self-Portrait was painted during hi

The summer of 1920 was sweltering and it was even hotter due to Charles Ponzi and his perceived financial wizardry. Immigrants from all over the East Coast joined the Bostonians in coughing up millions of dollars to double their money in three months by investing in Ponzi's postal reply coupon scheme. With income from his venture growing exponentially, Ponzi invested in the good life for himself. He bought a $500,000 home outside of Boston with central heat and air conditioning and a heated swimming pool. He also spent nearly the equivalent of the cost of his home on furnishings. Ponzi also brought his mother, Emelda, over from Italy via first class ocean liner, donated $100,000 to a local orphanage, and hired a publicity agent, William McMasters, to help with handling the onslaught of notoriety. Ponzi, out for revenge, even bought the Poole Shipping company where he once worked solely to fire his former boss. Nevertheless, with every dollar he brought in, the mountain of debt he owed his investors kept growing.

I wrote a man in Spain regarding the proposed magazine and in reply received an international exchange coupon which I was to exchange for American postage stamps with which to send a copy of the publication. The coupon in Spain cost the equivalent of about one-cent in American money, I got six cents in stamps for the coupon here. Then I investigated the rates of exchange in other countries. I tried it in a small way first. It worked. The first month $1,000 became $15,000. I began letting in my friends. First, I accepted deposits on my note, payable in ninety days, for $150 for each $100 received. Though promised in ninety days I have been paying in forty-five days.

Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 at Groot Zundert, a village in Dutch Brabant. He was the eldest son of a Protestant clergyman named Theodorus van Gogh, and his mother's name was Anna Cornelia

In 1889, during his first stay in the asylum of St. Remy, van Gogh painted another self-portrait that captures his melancholy feelings of isolation and loneliness (Crispino 38). In contrast to his self-portrait of 1887, van Gogh here appears gaunt and tired, pale and drained of energy. In the painting van Gogh peers at the viewer holding a painter's palette and brushes. He wears a dark blue cape over a white shirt. The background is a deep, almost purplish, blue, and van Gogh's hair, beard and moustache are painted in more muted tones than in his 1887 self- portrait, with greater emphasis on yellow than orange tones. The overall effect is one of sadness and ill health. Van Gogh describes himself in this portrait as being "as pale as the devil" (Crispino 37). His face is gaunt and indeed "pale," and his eyes have a haunted, almost weary look. Surely this is a reflection of van Gogh's mental state at the time. The yellow tones of van Gogh's beard and hair also give one the impression of weakness. His eyes communicate a great sadness to the viewer, a sign of "feverish tension, the sign of a desperate internal struggle which is brought out into the open" (Martini 6). Van Gogh used color, facial expression, and technique to once again communicate his mental state to the viewer. This time, the message is one of pain and loneliness. As Taschen writes:

Throughout history, the swindler has financially plagued society. Whether it is the get rich quick scheme or the carnival worker's impossible challenge, people have been cheated out of uncountable sums of money. In the 1920's a man named Victor Ludsig, posing as a French official, sold the Eiffel Tower to a gullible scrap ironworker for $50,000. Even today con artists are thriving using the Internet to borrow from Peter to pay Paul. This is a scheme made famous by a crook so successful that his name now graces the age-old fraud, the Ponzi scheme. Webster's Dictionary defines Ponzi Scheme as

This court appearance found Ponzi relaxed and cheerful. Hands casually in pockets, he nodded to friends. Po

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 6291
Approximate Pages = 25 (250 words per page double spaced)