Monday, September 30, 2019

Elements of Literature Essay

Many literature students are expected to be familiar with the basic terms listed below (and discussed in more depth in your text). Keep this study guide with your text. At the beginning of each reading assignment, write the elements of literature pertaining to the particular type of literature at the beginning of the short story or poem. After reading, define them in your text for class discussion, quizzes, and test preparation. To understand literature, it is necessary that you ask yourself certain questions, such as â€Å"what is the theme of this story? † or â€Å"why does the author use this particular type of imagery? † You are not necessarily reading for pleasure–although it is sincerely hoped you will derive pleasure from your assignments–but for the development of critical analysis skills, so observe the author’s style and intent carefully. Short Stories/Novel Theme–The idea or point of a story formulated as a generalization. In American literature, several themes are evident which reflect and define our society. The dominant ones might be innocence/experience, life/death, appearance/reality, free will/fate, madness/sanity, love/hate, society/individual, known/unknown. Themes may have a single, instead of a dual nature as well. The theme of a story may be a mid-life crisis, or imagination, or the duality of humankind (contradictions). Character–Imaginary people created by the writer. Perhaps the most important element of literature. †¢ Protagonist–Major character at the center of the story. †¢ Antagonist–A character or force that opposes the protagonist. †¢ Minor character–0ften provides support and illuminates the protagonist. †¢ Static character–A character who remains the same. †¢ Dynamic character–A character who changes in some important way. †¢ Characterization–The means by which writers reveal character. †¢ Explicit Judgment–Narrator gives facts and interpretive comment. †¢ Implied Judgment–Narrator gives description; reader make the judgment. Look for: Connections, links, and clues between and about characters. Ask yourself what the function and significance of each character is. Make this determination based upon the character’s history, what the reader is told (and not told), and what other characters say about themselves and others. Plot–The arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story. Causality–One event occurs because of another event. †¢ Foreshadowing–A suggestion of what is going to happen. †¢ Suspense–A sense of worry established by the author. †¢ Conflict–Struggle between opposing forces. †¢ Exposition–Background information regarding the setting, characters, plot. †¢ Complication or Rising Action–Intensification of conflict. †¢ Crisis–Turning point; moment of great tension that fixes the action. †¢ Resolution/Denouement–The way the story turns out. Structure–The design or form of the completed action. Often provides clues to character and action. Can even philosophically mirror the author’s intentions, especially if it is unusual. Look for: Repeated elements in action, gesture, dialogue, description, as well as shifts in direction, focus, time, place, etc. Setting–The place or location of the action, the setting provides the historical and cultural context for characters. It often can symbolize the emotional state of characters. Point of View–Again, the point of view can sometimes indirectly establish the author’s intentions. Point of view pertains to who tells the story and how it is told. †¢ Narrator–The person telling the story. †¢ First-person–Narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge/vision. †¢ Objective–Narrator is unnamed/unidentified (a detached observer). Does not assume character’s perspective and is not a character in the story. The narrator reports on events and lets the reader supply the meaning. †¢ Omniscient–All-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives). The narrator takes us into the character and can evaluate a character for the reader (editorial omniscience). When a narrator allows the reader to make his or her own judgments from the action of the characters themselves, it is called neutral omniscience. †¢ Limited omniscient–All-knowing narrator about one or two characters, but not all. Language and Style–Style is the verbal identity of a writer, oftentimes based on the author’s use of diction (word choice) and syntax (the order of words in a sentence). A writer’s use of language reveals his or her tone, or the attitude toward the subject matter. Irony–A contrast or discrepancy between one thing and another. †¢ Verbal irony–We understand the opposite of what the speaker says. †¢ Irony of Circumstance or Situational Irony–When one event is expected to occur but the opposite happens. A discrepancy between what seems to be and what is. †¢ Dramatic Irony–Discrepancy between what characters know and what readers know. †¢ Ironic Vision–An overall tone of irony that pervades a work, suggesting how the writer views the characters. Poetry Allegory–A form of narrative in which people, places, and events seem to have hidden meanings. Often a retelling of an older story. Connotation–The implied meaning of a word. Denotation–The dictionary definition of a word. Diction–Word choice and usage (for example, formal vs. informal), as determined by considerations of audience and purpose. Figurative Language–The use of words to suggest meanings beyond the literal. There are a number of figures of speech. Some of the more common ones are: †¢ Metaphor–Making a comparison between unlike things without the use of a verbal clue (such as â€Å"like† or â€Å"as†). †¢ Simile–Making a comparison between unlike things, using â€Å"like† or â€Å"as†. †¢ Hyperbole–Exaggeration †¢ Personification–Endowing inanimate objects with human characteristics Imagery–A concrete representation of a sense impression, a feeling, or an idea which appeals to one or more of our senses. Look for a pattern of imagery. †¢ Tactile imagery–sense of touch. †¢ Aural imagery–sense of hearing. †¢ Olfactory imagery–sense of smell. †¢ Visual imagery–sense of sight. †¢ Gustatory imagery–sense of taste. Rhythm and Meter–Rhythm is the pulse or beat in a line of poetry, the regular recurrence of an accent or stress. Meter is the measure or patterned count of a poetry line (a count of the stresses we feel in a poem’s rhythm). The unit of poetic meter in English is called a â€Å"foot,† a unit of measure consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables. Ask yourself how the rhythm and meter affects the tone and meaning. Sound–Do the words rhyme? Is there alliteration (repetition of consonants) or assonance (repetition of vowels)? How does this affect the tone? Structure–The pattern of organization of a poem. For example, a sonnet is a 14-line poem usually written in iambic pentameter. Because the sonnet is strictly constrained, it is considered a closed or fixed form. An open or free form is a poem in which the author uses a looser form, or perhaps one of his or her own invention. It is not necessarily formless. Symbolism–When objects or actions mean more than themselves. Syntax–Sentence structure and word order. Voice: Speaker and Tone–The voice that conveys the poem’s tone; its implied attitude toward its subject. Elements of Literature. Literature is a reflection of the society. A writer appeals to our feelings, emotions through various elements of literature, such as plot, character, theme, etc. Read more to know about the elements of literature. We can summarize literature in the words of Ezra Pound that great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree. Every race has its own literature, for example, English literature, American literature, German literature, etc. Various types of literaturesuch as story, novel and drama delight us through the elements of literature. In literature, theme is important to reveal the story. An author depicts the ups and downs of the protagonist with the help of characterization. The story progresses through various plots. There are prologues and epilogues in Shakespearean drama. Facts on Elements of Literature: Elements of literature denote the things that are used to make up a work of literature. There are different types and forms of literature. They are novel, drama, poetry, biography, non-fictional prose, essay, epic and short story. All these types of literature have some elements. To complete a piece of literature, a writer, dramatist or a novelist need to use certain elements like plot, character, theme, etc. However, elements of fiction and elements of drama differ from elements of poetry. These elements are discussed below: Elements of Fiction and Drama : Literary types such as fiction; drama and short story have some elements. These include †¢ Plot †¢ Character †¢ Setting †¢ Theme †¢ Structure †¢ Point of view †¢ Conflict †¢ Diction †¢ Foreshadowing Plot: Plot is the serial arrangement of incidents, ideas or events. In literature, the plot encompasses all the incidents and provides aesthetic pleasure. The story of the novel progresses through various plots and conflicts. Plots of dramas are divided into â€Å"Acts† and â€Å"Scenes†. Drama has five essential parts. These are: †¢ Introduction of the story where the characters and setting are introduced †¢ Rising action †¢ Climax †¢ Falling action †¢ Denouement Playwrights use dialogue to develop their plots. They reveal information about their characters such as their background and personality. Character: Character plays a pivotal role in a drama, novel, short story and all kinds of narratives. In drama, character reflects the personality of the protagonist and other related characters. The method of conveying information about characters in art is called characterization. Characters can be fictional or based on real, historical entities. It can be human, supernatural, mythical, divine, animal or personifications of an abstraction. There are round characters, flat characters, stereotypical stock characters, etc. In Marlowe’s drama â€Å"The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus†, Faustus is the main character of the play. Setting: It refers to geographical location of the story, time period, daily lifestyle of the characters and climate of the story. In a novel, the setting plays an important role. In short stories, sometimes it plays an important role, while for others it is not. Settings of literary forms have been changing according to theme of the literary piece, for example, Shakespeare’s tragedies and comedies have the setting of palaces, castles whereas modern and post-modern dramas have setting of houses of common people. There were supernatural elements in earlier literature and nowadays absurdity rules the literature. Setting can take place in a house, school, castle, forest, hospital or anywhere that the writers want to extend their scenes. Theme: Theme is another prime element of literature, which contains the central idea of all literary forms such as a novel, drama and short story. It reflects innocence, experience, life, death, reality, fate, madness, sanity, love, society, individual, etc. Thus, it reflects the society as a whole, for example, the theme of Hardy’s novel â€Å"The Mayor of Casterbridge† reflects the role of fate in our life. Likewise, in a drama, theme represents the brief idea of the drama. Structure: Structure is another important element of a drama, novel or short story. In dramas, there are plots and subplots. These also are divided into acts and scenes. Here the contrasting subplots give the main plot an additional perspective. Likewise, novels have different chapters and scenes. Point of view: Point of view is another element of the narrative, through which a writer tells the story. Authors use first-person point of view or third-person point of view. First-person point of view indicates that the main character is telling the story, whereas the third-person point of view directs that the narrator is telling the story. A novel can be written in the first-person narrative, third-person narrative, omniscient point of view, limited omniscient point of view, stream of consciousness and objective point of view. These points of view play an important role in the distinct structure of the story or a play. Conflict: Be it a short story, drama or novel, conflict is the essential element of all these literary forms. A plot becomes interesting and intriguing when it has its share of inbuilt conflict and twists. Conflict can be internal conflict or external. It can take place between two men, between the character and his psychology, between the character and circumstances or between character and society. Use of language or diction: Diction is another essential element of drama. A playwright exhibits the thoughts of characters through dialogue. â€Å"Dialogue† has come from the Greek word â€Å"dialogosa† which means â€Å"conversation†. Shakespeare used this to portray the thoughts, emotions and feelings of the character. This also provides clues to their background and personalities. Diction also helps in advancing the plot. Greek philosophers like Aristotle used dialogue as the best way to instruct their students. Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is another important element of literature that is applied as hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story. It creates suspense and encourages the reader to go on and find out more about the event that is being foreshadowed. Foreshadowing is used to make a narrative more authentic. Elements of Poetry : Poetry is literature in a metrical form. However, free-verse became the popular style towards the modern and post modern age. Like fiction, it may not have plots, setting, etc, yet it has a structured method of writing. There are various kinds of poetry such as ballad, sonnet, etc. All these forms have some elements such as style, theme, rhyme, rhythm, metaphor, etc. that are described below: Style: Style refers to the way the poem is written. Poems are written in various styles, such as free verse, ballad, sonnet, etc. , which have different meters and number of stanzas. Symbol: Symbol represents the idea and thought of the poem. It can be an object, person, situation or action. For example, a national flag is the symbol of that nation. Theme: Like other forms of literature, poetry has a theme of its own. Theme contains the message, point of view and idea of the poem. Imagery: Imagery is another important element that a poet often uses in poems that appeal to our senses. In the age of modernism, T. S. Eliot used images of urban life in his poems. Wordsworth used nature as poetic images in his poems. Rhyme and rhythm: Rhyme is an element that is often used in poetry. It’s a recurrence of an accented sound or sounds in a piece of literature. Poets and lyricists use this device in various ways to rhyme within a verse. There is internal rhyme, cross rhyme, random rhyme and mixed rhyme. It gives the poem flow and rhythm. It contains the syllables in a poem. Every poem has a rhythm in it. It’s about how the words resonate with each other, how the words flow when they are linked with one another in a poem. Meter: This is an important rhythmic structure of poetry. It is described as sequence of feet, each foot being a specific series of syllable types – such as stressed/unstressed and makes the poetry more melodious. Alliteration: Alliteration is another element used in poetry for the sound effect. It indicates two or more words with same repetition of initial letter, for example, â€Å"dressy daffodils†. Here the sound of the letter ‘d’ is repeated. Simile: A simile is a figure of speech used for comparison in the poetry with the words ‘like’ or ‘as’, for example, â€Å"as black as coal†. Metaphor: Metaphor is used in poetry to make an implicit comparison. Unlike simile, here the comparison is implied, for example, ‘Her laughter, a babbling brook’. Onomatopoeia: This is one important element of poetry, which refers to words that sound like their meaning, for example, buzz, moo and paw. Element of literature includes all the elements that are essential to create a piece of literature. These elements help a writer to create splendid poetry, superb drama and soul-touching novel. These elements are used to form the structure of a literary piece. | |

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Hamlet †historical and political context Essay

The political and religious upheavals before and after the death of Henry VIII had left their mark on the people of England. The King had done previous un-heard of things: He had divorced two wives and had had two executed. In the brief reigns which followed, persecution, first of the Catholics and then of Protestants, split family allegiances and brought very real danger – of imprisonment, torture, even execution. Claimants for the thrown jockeyed for position. Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 the first successor to her father, Henry Viii had been his young son Edward, ten years of age. As he was still very much under age, he had to ‘rule’ through Regents. They persisted with the Protestant reforms instituted by his father after his break with the Roman Catholic. Edward died six years after coming to the throne. He was succeeded by his half-sister Mary (Tudor), who died childless after five years as Queen. She had tried to reinstate Roman Catholicism as the state religion. Elizabeth, Mary’s half sister, although not considered a legitimate heir to the throne, became Queen in 1558 and ruled for 45 years. Although she had been brought up as a Protestant she understood that in view of the recent religious upheaval some compromises some compromises had to be made. The country needed stability and a strong ruler. Her life had been in danger before she became Queen and there were the inevitable conspiracies to usurp her position. The tragic figurehead of one of these and the object of Elizabeth’s suspicion and jealousy for many years was Mary, Queen of Scots; Elizabeth at first kept her under arrest but eventually had her executed in 1587. Late in her reign, in 1601, the Earl of Essex, formerly her favorite, made his bid for power. He failed in his attempt to cause a popular up rising, was imprisoned and executed. It is not difficult to trace this atmosphere of suspicion and treachery in Hamlet, nor the reassuring promise to royalty contained in the suggestion at the end of the play that strong and humane rule will be reasserted. There were also serious threats from abroad. In 1588 Phillip II of Spain sent the Armada, a large fleet of ships, sailing up the Channel in an attempt to conquer England by force. Another foreign threat was marriage. Elizabeth constantly resisted attempts by her counselors to contract any politically advantageous marriage and she died unmarried, naming James, her Scottish cousin, already established for many years as King in Scotland, as her successor. Social and Context Elizabeth I built on the foundations laid by her father and grandfather until her power, the power of the Crown, was almost unquestioned. To help achieve the security which she and the country, needed it was important to encourage an articulate and educated aristocracy. Education and in particular classical scholarship assumed a fresh importance. In the grammar schools – it is assumed that Shakespeare attended the Stratford Grammar school- Latin Language and literature were studied; prose and verse, composition, rhetoric, orations and declamations. Much was learnt by heart and in the upper school Greek was added. Shakespeare’s knowledge of the classical theatre, poetry and legend is evident throughout his whole body of work. How does this relate to Hamlet? The Player’s speech, which Hamlet has remembered, is part of the Dido and Aeneas story, the sack of Troy and the slaying of King Priam. Also, Hamlet and Horatio have been fellow-students at the University of Wittenberg. The others, to address the ghost, call upon Horatio. Hamlet clearly wanted to return to Wittenberg, to turn his back on the whole situation at the castle, and possibly to become a perpetual student and scholar – until his father demands the revenge which he is unfitted to deliver. Exploration There was vitality; a fresh interest in foreign countries in the sixteenth century and exploration by sea had led to an increase in foreign trade. European foreign countries hardly seemed far away. Laertes lives very happily in Paris, away from his father’s influence. Hamlet is casually packed off by his uncle to a planned death in England. There was an extension of experience and an opening up to fresh influences, which included a new vocabulary of classical and foreign words. Printed books and pamphlets circulated more widely, so that information was more easily obtained. The Elizabethan age was establishing a feeling of national community and confidence. At the same time an increase in prosperity and a raising standard of living for many. This prosperity was also reflected in the newly built theatres and the audiences who flocked to entertainments of all kinds This is not to say that dissent and uneasiness did not exist. There will still disputes over religion and new ideas can be worrying as well as exciting. Persecution of religious minorities of the mainland caused a large influx of refugees from France and the Netherlands. It is also important to remember that some of the ‘entertainments’ mentioned above were public executions. Bloodthirsty pastimes such as bull- and bear- baiting were popular. The streets were filthy and away from the main thoroughfares, in the poorer parts of the city, they resembled open sewers and rubbish dumps. The plague, spread by black rats, struck in 1592 when it ravaged the city for two years, and again in 1603, wiping out whole families and forcing those Londoners who could afford to do so to flee to the country. Theatres and all public places of entertainment were closed down. This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level Hamlet section.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The Naturalist and Christian answers to Foundation Worldview Questions Assignment

The Naturalist and Christian answers to Foundation Worldview Questions - Assignment Example When first studying a worldview, it is often helpful to review a variety of definitions for that belief system. Each author brings a different emphasis, providing a fuller understanding of that worldview. Naturalism is the belief that nature is all there is. There is nothing outside of nature, or if there is, it is unknowable. All phenomena, whether physical, biological, psychological, or even spiritual, can be completely explained by laws of nature. God, in this metaphysical system, is inherently a product of human imagination, and therefore a relic from prescientific times, when humans knew no better than to attribute to a supernatural being their own existence and that of everything else they encountered (Johnson, n.d.). In contrast, the question is answered with a resounding "Yes" by someone with a Biblical worldview. Unlike the naturalist who says that matter is eternal, the Christian says that only God is eternal and all matter was created by God. The idea that there is no God has significant impact on the naturalists ethics. If there is no God, then there is no objective, external standard for ethics. There is no way to objectively define right and wrong outside of mankind. Since there is no standard for ethics outside of mankind, ethics are defined by ones culture and society.

Friday, September 27, 2019

The bloody revenge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The bloody revenge - Essay Example 67). Body The Music Lesson, This is Your Brain on Music Most times music education is introduced to students when they are still very young at home and when they get to primary and secondary schools they are introduced to music through being given opportunities of participating in school choirs, bands and orchestras which increases their urge to learn more concerning music education. Due to the fact that music education is very essential, it is usually included as part of the school curriculum and other musical classes are also observed to be important and very effective in the educational life of a student (Wooten, p. 47). When students reach at the University level they are also introduced to music as part of the humanities and arts programs and those who perform well are even credits for their effort of taking the course of music which they are given as history of music or just any other course that appreciate music and focuses on learning different styles of music and listening t o music. In the university music lessons take very many different forms and these are such as music psychology, ethnomusicology, philosophy of education and music education historiography among other forms. Although music education has been in existence for a very long time, it still continues taking place in the modern world in very many forms including individualized forms and in community forms that entails introducing music styles from different parts of the world such as westernized music and African music which is non-western cultured. Even those people who have basic elements of music still find it important to have a private class with a music teacher who has some musical knowledge higher than theirs. Amateurs in music find it important to take musical classes just to increase the knowledge that they have in music and this means that they want to continue their music lives having reached the intermediate level of music techniques. Music education is one of the courses that h ave been very effective as in the development education because since its existence it has covered all the aspect of education and it has been very effective to both young students and adults in the society. Music & Attitude The main reason behind music lesson is to create a positive attitude towards music in the schools and the society at large through showing people its importance. Generally, many people have a positive attitude towards music at large and this is because it has a tendency of sticking into their memories for a while and this is the reason as to why many people will continue listening to specific types of songs continuously without getting tired or bored with it. People form their attitudes by either becoming fanatics or by becoming extremists and this means that they can either know how to sing or they can just love someone who sings the type of music that they like. The effect that music has on human beings is relative since there are very many genres of music in the society and this means that people chose the kind of music they want to listen and this is only according to their taste (Wooten, p. 111). Music & Motivation One of the most powerful ways that a good composer of soundtracks plays with a person’s or people’s emotions is through introducing a very good piece of music in

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Business Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Ethics - Research Paper Example In order to gets acceptance from the government as well as the bodies controlling policies and laws, organizations have to accept and follow certain rules and regulations and maintain certain standards in the work process. A collaborative study of these regulations, laws and issues can be termed as business ethics. Ethics is always concerned with the moral judgment of business. Every business or organization expects to be in the good books of the government as well as regulatory bodies. Decisions in an organization are taken by higher management but these decisions are always influenced by the culture of the company as well as the external environment in which the company operates. Involving in ethical process might seem difficult and lead to cutting down of short-term profits, but it is very essential for a successful and sustainable long term growth of the organization (Chang, 2011). Companies can significantly benefit from positive corporate social responsibility and ethical behav ior; Customers are attracted to the products and services of the firm, thus, profits and sales get a boost. Employee perception towards the organization becomes positive and loyalty increases. Thus, there is a decrease in labor turnover and overall increase in productivity. As a result of the positive perception growing popularity of the organization, skilled talents are attracted and recruitment costs are reduced significantly. The share price of the company increases and investors are constantly attracted and business is always in growth phase. TOYOTA COMPANY Toyota is one of the largest automaker in the world, headquartered at Toyota, Japan. In terms of revenue, Toyota is the eleventh largest corporation worldwide. The company was founded in 1927 and deals with the manufacturing and production of commercial vehicles, automobiles, engines and motorcycles (Toyota, 2013a). Apart from global leadership in vehicle manufacturing, the company is known for its participation in ecological campaigns and sustainable environment issues. The company believes in theory and practice of sustainable development. Toyota practices total quality management in all its operations. The objectives are to least impact the environment. For creating a sustainable environment, the company has established a plantation programes (Toyota, 2013e). Apart from this, the company is involved in many ecological campaigns and environmental management programes. The organization has been awarded with various awards such as Green Awards (Toyota, 2013d). ETHICS AT TOYOTA Toyota is one of the well recognized conglomerates worldwide. It is imperative that the organization maintains a record of all its transactions and business acts. In this regards, proper maintenance of ethical behavior in the organization is critically important. Quality and ethics are the benchmark for the sustainability of the organization as well as growth and development of the supply chain and other important department of To yota (Toyota, 2013b). Both play a crucial role in the strategic plan of the company. Since it is a vehicle manufacturing company, safety of the consumers will be the top-most priority while designing and manufacturing products. On a broader term, the business ethics for the company can be applied in three major areas; designing and man

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

What actions might be taken by governments to reduce or limit price Essay

What actions might be taken by governments to reduce or limit price fluctuations of your commodity (Coffee) - Essay Example As a result, the farmers will not be able to make a profit and will end up running in a danger of going out of business. The government, therefore, intervenes and attempts to raise the prices or try to affect the farmer revenue. A good example of this intervention is through subsidy or negative taxation. In these cases, the farmers receive extra payments from the government. An example is in the coffee industry. Alternative solutions include government involvement to buy the products in the open market causing an increase in demand until the commodity prices get to the desired level. Alternatively, the supply of the commodities are curtailed by quotas where only certain farmers are allowed to grow a certain crop, and there are limits on how many products can be produced i.e. sugar, coffee, tobacco. Price controls can be imposed to limit the maximum and minimum prices that can be charged for a certain product. However, it has serious consequences causing a decrease in production as it will not be profitable to produce as many products as they are demanded because of the low prices causing a shortage of the commodity. Farmers generally face price fluctuation of coffee product prices. This is so because coffee products that are produced by one farmer are equivalent to a similar product of the same grade that is produced by another farmer. Farmers are, therefore, considered to be price takers as they can sell all their products at any market price but have no individual bargaining power for their products to raise their prices. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that there is stability in the global market prices of the agricultural products (Mohan 2007). Supply management programs, and agricultural policies in the past have helped in maintaining production around the demand to ensure that farmers do not produce an oversupply that can lead to prices collapse of their products. A number of strategies

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Archetypal and mythic patterns in the Titanic Movie Review

Archetypal and mythic patterns in the Titanic - Movie Review Example The Titanic was released in 1997 and became one of the most celebrated motion pictures to have been made. It was honored with four Golden Globe awards besides the Producer Guild of America Award and Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director being prominent amongst countless more nominations and awards.This paper shall highlight the archetypal and mythic patterns in the movie that contributed to the exponential success that the movie attained (.The titanic constituted of a lengthy cast which comprised of actors and actresses playing the characters of fictional characters on the ship as well as a few who represented the real people who were present on the ship. Notable leads in the cast included Leonardo Di Caprio as a fictional character who is a penniless man with nothing to lose and lives life as it comes forth, Kate Winslet as a fictional character who a young girl belonging to the upper class and has the fervor to break free of the hassles of a rich life but lacks the courage to d o so, Billy Zane as fianc to Kate Winslet's character, Frances Fisher as Kate Winslet's character's widowed mother, Victor Garber as Thomas Andrews Junior who was in reality present on the ship when it sailed and was the ship's builder, as well as Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill and Bill Paxton playing fictional characters as well. However, it was the fact of knowing that a few of the members of the cast had actually once existed and had been involved in the actions shown in the movie that was the reason for the continuous attention that the movie captured.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Shear Testing in Made Ground Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Shear Testing in Made Ground - Essay Example otechnicians and construction firms to determine the usability of Made Ground through the estimation of its strength and necessary properties (Bouazza et al., 1997). Made ground can be easily found all around us: they could be in the form of sandy, silt, clay and loamy soil (Bouazza et al., 1997). Shear Testing is a standardized laboratory test that has been used to detect the mechanical properties of Made ground, most especially its tensile strength (Woodward, 2005). Such a test is helpful in determining the usability of the ground and outlining the soil’s harmful contents that may make construction works on the ground impossible. In this case, serious consideration is given to the environmental impact of soil properties: how does the environment is affected by the constituents of a soil? Are there some harmful objects in the soil, for instance in brownfield and other abandoned property? (Geltman, 2000). Shear Testing of Made Ground can be simply carried out by using the Direct Shear Test (Das, 2008). Information about the standard reference, test expectations, equipment, test procedures, test data and analysis are provided as follows: Being the commonest method of discovering the tensile strength of soils, Direct Shear Test could help to estimate the angle of internal friction (Hillel, 1998). When plotting the shear stress against the horizontal displacement, the maximum, shear stress can be obtained. Therefore, after carrying out several vertical-confining stresses, it is possible to plot the maximum shear stress against the vertical confining stresses for each of the tests produced. Then a straight-line approximation of Mohr-Coulomb failure envelope curve could be drawn (Parry, 1995). And the shear strength of the soils under investigation could be estimated using the formula below: ix. I started the motor with chosen speed so that the rate of shearing is at a selected constant rate, and take the horizontal displacement gauge, vertical displacement gauge

Sunday, September 22, 2019

How occupational status, intergenerational mobility and social network Essay

How occupational status, intergenerational mobility and social network affects individual's status attainment - Essay Example There are different factors which are responsible for status attainment. Some of them are occupational status, intergenerational mobility and social network. Depending on the positioning of the individual with respect to these factors, the status attainment of an individual is determined. This paper studies some of the likely effects of these three factors on the individual's attainment of his status. In studying the concept of social attainment, human capital theory, theories on discrimination and the status attainment models have been used. According to Dr.Pretty Lam (2000) Human capital theory explains the differences in social and economic positions on the basis of factors like, education, work experience and on the job training. Besides the human capital, the concepts of social capital and cultural capital will also be used. "The educational and occupational status attainment process links socio-economic status and mental ability to educational and occupational attainment by means of intervening social psychological variables, including academic performance, the influence of significant others and educational and occupational aspirations." (William H. Sewell, Archibald O. Haller, George W. Ohlendorf 1970) Many analysts even today will substantiate the statement of Blau & Duncan (1967) that "occupational status summarizes much of what matters in the system of inequality". While this fully applies to modern societies, it is even more true for historically observed societies. Occupational position has been the most prominent indicator of social inequality in the past, even more than it is today. Thus by subscribing to the social inequality, the status attainment is more than influenced by an individual's occupational standing and its relevance to his societal status. The occupational position this assumes an important position in the status attainment of an individual. 3.0 Intergenerational Mobility and Status Attainment: For quite some time, the influence of family background on the adult children's economic outcomes has been the focus of research economists. Most of the studies are based on the model developed by Becker and Tomes (1986). In the model, the altruism of the parents is assumed to be of great importance and the parents care about their children's welfare. Parents through heredity like generic traits, cognitive ability and through family environments like family connections pass on endowments to their children. As per Anh Nguyen and Haile Getinet (2003) in addition, parents can influence the economic outcomes of their children by purportedly investing in their children human capital. Because of market imperfections, some parents cannot invest in their children's education at the optimum points, which leads to persistence across generations in economic status, and the poor remains poor. Thus intergenerational mobility of income and earnings has a clear impact on the status attainment of an individual. Apart from the income and earnings, educational attainment and occupational linkage across generatio

Saturday, September 21, 2019

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Essay Example for Free

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Essay One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest published in 1962 is a fiction novel by Ken Kesey. The novel is set in an Oregon asylum and serves as a study of the institutional practice and the human mind. Its curious approach lays the foundation for a discussion concerning truth, as not each event described by the narrator is possible truth in the book’s reality, such an evaluation is made by the reader. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is the creation of both the personal experiences of the author, Ken Kesey, and the particular culture in which it was written. Kesey developed the novel as he attended Stanford University as a graduate student in their Creative Writing program as the winner of a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. The novel was partly inspired by Kesey’s part-time job as an orderly in a Palo Alto veterans’ hospital. It was moreover as a student at Stanford where Kesey started participating in experiments for the psychology department that involved the exercise of LSD. This use of LSD had driven Kesey to have hallucinations while working as an orderly. Kesey imagine seeing a large Indian mopping the flooring of the hospital; this hallucination prompted Kesey to include the character Chief Bromden as the novel’s narrator. â€Å"What is the character of Bromden? How he regain his sanity? † A tall, half-Indian patient in the ward, Chief Bromden is the patient who has been considered the longest in the institution. Even though others believe that he is deaf and mute, Chief Bromden instead prefer not to speak, originally for the reason that others ignored him and then out of fear of Nurse Ratched. Chief Bromden is said to be the narrator of the novel. With the aid of McMurphy, he started to speak once more and reassert himself against Nurse Ratched and her workers. Chief Bromden speaks to McMurphy and sooner overcomes his schizophrenia throughout his influence, distinguishing himself for the physical giant and mistreated man he has always been. Chief Bromden’s background has had an intense impact on his character. Society never treated him with the respect every person deserved, and not being competent to face up to it, he was forced into hiding out in a mental institution. The abandon from society all through his life turned the Chief into a paranoid, unconfident and reserved man. The reader gets a quick look of Chief Bromden’s paranoia in the start of the novel. General Discussion The One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest novel in some sense structures a bridge between the bohemian beatnik movements of the 1950s and the 1960s counterculture movement. Kesey was significantly motivated by the beatnik culture around Stanford, and in the novel Kesey deals with a number of themes that would be important in the counterculture movement, as well as notions of freedom from repressive authority and a more liberated observation of sexuality. Kesey himself became an extremely influential counterculture figure as piece of the Merry Pranksters. Chief Bromden is a half American Indian. His father was a chief named Tee Ah Millatoona, which referred as The-pine-that-stands-tallest-on-the-mountain. That is why he is capable of using the title chief. He took on his mother’s last name of Bromden. He spent his growing up stage in the Columbian gorge. The chief is massive and tall and would appear very unapproachable and threatening to those who meet him. He was committed to the hospital institution and has been there for longer than anybody else, for over 15 years. Chief Bromden was put in there after World War two. The chief was an electricians assistant in a training camp prior to the army shipped him off to Germany. It is possibly due to working with electronics and the added tension of going to war that has led the chief to have such a harmful preoccupation with electronics. The chief has led everybody in the hospital, both staff and patients to think he is deaf and dumb. As a young child he was for all time ignored, by fellow students and adults, this could have been for the reason that he was so strange looking, being half American Indian and appearing so big and threatening yet being quite shy. I had to keep acting deaf if I wanted to hear at all Chief Bromden said. He felt abandoned by his peers all through life and so as an adult decided that as people acted like he was invisible he might as well vanish, It wasnt me that started acting deaf, it was people that first started acting like I was too dumb to hear or see or say anything at all Chief Bromden said. So acting to be deaf and dumb was most likely a defense mechanism. For him, his silence is also exceptionally potent. As he is capable to hear all that went on in the meetings where the doctors and nurses talk about the future of the patients. The doctors and nurses dont hesitate to declare anything in front of him for the reason that they assume he cant hear. Chief Bromden said They dont bother not talking out loud about their hate secrets when Im nearby because they think Im deaf and dumb. The process and experiences that Chief Bromden has to go through in order to regain his sanity is discussed below. In the first chapter, Kesey sets up the formation of the mental institution where the novel takes place. The authority figure is obviously Nurse Ratched, as yet known merely as Big Nurse, a woman whose character seems hardly human. Kesey makes the whole thing about Nurse Ratched mechanical and automated, such as her robotic movements and accurate speech. She is a representation of bureaucracy and authority in general. Conversely, even within this first chapter there are signs that behind this apparently inhuman facade there is some great instability. Chief Bromden appears to believe that Nurse Ratched is ready to snap at the black boys at any minute, and her big breasts, the one absurd part of her appearance, illustrate that she is unable of fully separating herself from typical human characteristics. The black boys, the workers at the institution, serve Nurse Ratched out of terror; on the other hand, their most well-known characteristic is an absolute hatred for all around them. Unlike Nurse Ratched, they are cruel, if only for the reason Nurse Ratched is incapable of feeling any satisfaction from the pain she inflicts. This makes them a more immediate threat to patients such as Chief Bromden, but also more at risk. They go through from the same human failings that Nurse Ratched has concealed. Even though Chief Bromden is the narrator of the tale, his descriptions cannot be entirely trusted. He is clearly unreliable, as shown when he hallucinates the Air Raid and the fog machine. The fog symbolizes Bromden’s own mental clarity; it will reappear whenever Chief Bromden turn into less stable and recede every time he becomes more coherent. It is significant that Chief Bromden is silent, for he stands for the more passive elements of society that submit to authority which is Nurse Ratched. In chapter three having illustrates the support staff of the hospital, Chief Bromden turns to the patients who occupy the institution. The majority of the patients are Acutes, meaning that they have the likelihood for rehabilitation and release, but Bromden makes the significant point that they also have the risk of becoming worse for the reason of their stay at the hospital, as established by Ruckly and Ellis. Kesey makes obvious the lines of disagreement between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched signifies rules and order, while McMurphy symbolizes anarchy and disobedience. Yet a more significant characteristic that McMurphy displays is showmanship. In this chapter he grasps for attention, acting like a politician on a campaign stop. This trait will cause McMurphy to be an easy target for those in the institution, mainly Nurse Ratched. Chief Bromden releases the critique of the mental institution in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to a bigger societal critique. The social criticism of the events in the novel generally entails the idea that the institution is a microcosm for the entire society, but Kesey moreover makes the precise connection between the institution and other societal organizations. The mental institution is intended to repair damage done by schools, churches and families, however operates under the similar conditions as these organizations and hence suffers the same problems. In chapter six Chief Bromden’s suggestion that Nurse Ratched can direct the clocks at the ward show that Chief Bromden is frequently unreliable as a narrator, but nonetheless remains constant with Ratched’s domineering and controlling personality. Harding, the president of the patients’ council and a college graduate, continues to serve as an expository device; it is he who gives details to McMurphy the causes for various events at the institution, such as the music. Kesey establishes another contrast between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched in this chapter. His confrontation with Nurse Pilbow, one of Ratched’s nurses, underscores that Ratched signifies sexuality, as compared to the passionless and reserved Nurse Ratched. In chapter seven, this chapter once again serves to demonstrate that Chief Bromden is an unreliable narrator. Even though several of the details of his observation are true, others are mainly fantasy; Bromden worries that the workers are using the Vegetables for terrible experiments and will do the same to him. On the other hand, Kesey makes it unquestionably clear that Bromden is having a hallucination in this chapter when Mr. Turkle, the night watchman, wakes him. In chapter twelve Kesey demonstrates these chapters in short succession. Two of these include little more than a paragraph. This serves to show the disjointed nature of Chief Bromden’s observations. He presents only short glimpses of events that transpire in the institution, none of which include any great importance. The most significant point that Chief Bromden makes is that the ‘insanity’ as illustrated by the fog is a comfort for the patients. It permits them to recede from the complexities of reality that McMurphy wants them to face. In chapter fifteen Kesey uses Chief Bromden mainly as a narrator who illustrates external conditions, and hardly gives insight into Chief Bromden’s own psychology. On the other hand, in this chapter Kesey gives several indication of the origin of Chief Bromden’s psychological problems. Bromden relates the imaginary ‘fog machine’ of the mental institution to the fog that surrounded him throughout wartime. This point out that Chief Bromden probably suffers from shell-shock caused by his war experience, and it is this shell-shock which driven him to lose his grip on sanity. Kesey in addition gives a similar psychological deconstruction of Billy Bibbit. The beginning of Billy Bibbit’s problems leads to a strict Freudian interpretation. He is the creation of a domineering mother who controls his all action, as well as deciding which woman is suitable for him to marry. That the first word Billy Bibbit stuttered was ‘mama’ is an obvious indication that she is the cause of his problems. His mother’s obvious collaboration with Nurse Ratched is additional evidence that Billy’s mother is the cause of most of his troubles. McMurphy assumes the part of a revolutionary in this chapter. When he rebels against Nurse Ratched by breaking from the recognized schedule to watch the World Series, McMurphy at last abandons the rules and regulations of the ward. This rebellion take place, though, only after it is obvious that McMurphy cannot take part in the apparently democratic system that Nurse Ratched controls. This is a significant point, for it reveals that McMurphy is not a casual anarchist bent on breaking down any system of governance, but rather a man driven to rebellion by an unjust system around him. Even though Nurse Ratched’s claim that the vote is democratic, her vote consists the Chronics, who have no capability to make a rational choice required of voting. This guarantees that Nurse Ratched can keep the status quo, despite the clear support for McMurphy. When McMurphy shatters from his schedule to watch the World Series, he makes an ultimate break from the ‘government’ of Nurse Ratched. It is a revolutionary measure on the level of the institution. The vote for the World Series is a defining moment for Chief Bromden, for it is the first point through which he reasserts himself as a functioning person. He does this in the course of his vote for McMurphy, the first ultimate, responsive action that Chief Bromden takes throughout the novel, and continues this pattern when he unites with McMurphy and the other Acutes in the protest against Nurse Ratched. This underscores a foremost theme of the novel, the importance of rational choice. It is the capability to choose that determines one’s status as a rational human being. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in a very important sense centers on the conflict between McMurphy, who characterizes this capability for choice, and Nurse Ratched, who does not permit persons to determine decisions for themselves. In chapter sixteen the fog that Chief Bromden declares to see is a symbol of his incoherence and incapacity to assert himself, therefore when Bromden makes the decision to join the other men in dispute of Nurse Ratched, the fog vanish. This decision comes at a cost, on the other hand; by making choices Chief Bromden becomes susceptible, as he realizes. He loses the protection of the fog for the privileges of human choice. Chief Bromden’s choice to present himself once again as deaf and dumb is a strategic move that serves both himself and, for the narrative intentions of the story, Kesey. Bromden uses the perception that he is deaf and dumb as a scheme to deflect harassment by the black boys, but this perception also permits Chief Bromden access to circumstances such as the staff meeting that would usually remain secretive. Kesey grants Bromden access to the staff meeting to gives better insight into both Nurse Ratched and the perceptions of McMurphy. In chapter seventeen Kesey demonstrates the change in Chief Bromden in this chapter, when the character awakes and watches the dog outside the window. This shows that Chief Bromden is now more aware of the outside world. He can conceive of existence outside of the institution, as he could not before. McMurphy is the primary cause of this change. In chapter twenty four Chief Bromden’s stories about his childhood reveal that he, like Harding and Billy Bibbit, undergoes to some degree from a domineering female figure. Like Billy Bibbit, Chief Bromden is frightened by his mother, whom he describes as â€Å"twice as tall† as his father, who was himself a big man. Chief Bromden point out that his mother dominated both him and his father, causal to the problems that both faced. It is from his father that Chief Bromden developed the thought of the Combine. The story that Chief Bromden tells McMurphy supplies a huge deal to a psychological analysis of the character. He appears to be deaf and dumb mainly for the reason that he has been frightened by others around him, whether heartless inspectors or his domineering mother. However Chief Bromden reasserts himself once McMurphy proves him some degree of kindness and respect. Chief Bromden is possibly the best example that Kesey provides of the beneficial effect that McMurphy has on the patients in the institution. Kesey indicates later even when McMurphy discusses the control panel in the tub room. He gives Chief Bromden the thought that he might be able to raise the control panel and throw it all the way through the window, permitting an escape. The one question that remains is what will induce Chief Bromden to carry out this action. In chapter twenty seven Nurse Ratched does achieve a victory over McMurphy in this chapter, but whatsoever victory she has will be short-term. The shock treatment does not radically affect Chief Bromden; he rapidly regains a sense of lucidity subsequently and returns to rationality. More significantly, the nurse who treats McMurphy’s wounds makes the significant point that other nurses are contradicted to Nurse Ratched’s behavior. Even though Nurse Ratched keeps a tight grip on her specific ward, she is susceptible within the very institutional structure she uses against her patients. In chapter Twenty-Nine the final chapter of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest culminates in a pyrrhic triumph for Nurse Ratched but a final triumph for the martyred McMurphy. The argument between the two characters aligns on sexual lines, as set up by the disagreement between Nurse Ratched and Billy Bibbit that instantaneously precedes it. McMurphy’s attack on Nurse Ratched results an exact exposing of the Big Nurse. Once again the sexual connotations are tough, for when he attacks her he reveals her breasts, the one sign of her femininity. This also relates back to Harding’s previous suggestion that sex is the cure for Nurse Ratched; this chapter demonstrates that, if it is not the cure, it is surely a potent weapon against her. The outcome of this fight, nevertheless, is the final dehumanization of Nurse Ratched. When she proceeds to the ward, she is incapable of speaking and hence has lost a foremost sign of humanity. This neatly parallels Chief Bromden, who in the path of the novel recovers his voice and his humanity. McMurphy apparently loses his battle against Nurse Ratched when she commands a lobotomy for him, but the victory is hollow; she loses power over the ward as the other patients free themselves of her grip and willingly leave the hospital. This moreover fits in well with the Christian symbolism of the novel; even though McMurphy dies for his reason, his disciples leave the hospital to live in accordance to his teachings. They achieve the strength and the liberty to make independent choices that McMurphy proposed. Chief Bromden best exemplifies this. Throughout the course of the novel he has regained his voice, and he makes the ultimate step in the direction of self-realization at the novel’s end. By moving the control panel, Chief Bromden fulfills McMurphy’s desires and reasserts himself as a member of society.

Friday, September 20, 2019

History of Democracy and Human Rights

History of Democracy and Human Rights This essay is going to be about some of the philosophers whose thoughts about democracy and human rights affected the declaration of human rights, and also about the deceleration itself. The first evidence of Human rights were given by Cyrus the great around 539 BC. After conquering Babylon he had the Cyrus cylinder created stating that he overthrew the old king and that he had greatly improved the lives of Babylonians. This is considered to be one of the first human rights charters as it is said that Cyrus freed slaves and said that every one should have freedom of religion. Whether it was put into action scholars disagree about, some say it is propaganda to win the hearts of his newly conquered city. Nonetheless he was the first leader to have those ideas. Democracy means people rule in Greek and ancient Greece is considered to be the home of democracy. But only a few select were allowed to vote. Is that really people rule? Plato was sceptic to people rule and thought that people were not to be trusted with power as they are easily swayed by strong leaders. In Platos masterpiece The Republic he suggests many different types of government and today it would not be a good manual for a good government as Plato strived for an utopian society. The governments suggested in The Republic do not resemble modern republics and constitutional monarchies. But some dictatorships can resemble Platos Utopia. Plato however suggested that women and men should have equal rights which is very relevant to human rights. Aristotle, unlike Plato, was not concerned with creating a perfect society. He wanted to improve the existing one. However he was, like Plato also sceptical towards democracy or mob rule. In Aristotles ideal state an Enlightened king would rule alongside the help of an Educated Aristocracy and a Popular Assembly that respected the rule of law. This idea resembles the current U.S. Model. Aristotle however believed that it was the womans role to obey as it was for the mans to command. Other philosophers are John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, we can clearly see similarities between their ideas, and how our modern society is formed. Thomas Hobbes believed that: Each man must be contented with so much liberty against other men as he would allow other men against himself , that is similar to the golden rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself. Hobbes lived in the time when the English civil war took place, he believed that humans are greedy and evil. John Locke on the other hand, believed that people are good and tolerant. He said that: People are free to do whatever they want as long as they do not damage someone elses: life, health, liberty or possessions. He also believed that : Everyone must agree to hand over power to one central authority whose job it is to impose the law and severely punish law-breakers. John Locke had a more optimistic view on mankind whilst Thomas Hobbes had a more negative view on man. Hobbes would compare man to beasts except for one difference, man was always competing for honour and dignity: Are continually in competition for honour and dignity (Leviathan, XVII, p.111) These philosophers may not have directly affected the democracy we have today, but with their ideas they are sure to have influenced many other thinkers in helping to create the government we have today. It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. Winston Churchill. The universal declaration of human rights was born on December 10, 1958 and is not a legally binding document. It was not made legally binding because if it was then no countries would have adopted it. As it is today the countries that want to make it legal can only do so by incorporating it into the constitution. Article one and two can be seen as the foundation blocks of the human rights. They are negative rights because they restrict people from discrimination. The articles state that: everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration. The main point of the two articles is that everyone are equal and free without any form of discrimination. The ideas about equality between men and women can be found in Platos ideas about equality women should be treated equally with men Articles 3, 4 and 5 state that everybody should be secure and free and that nobody should be denied their security and freedom. The problem with these articles is that they are very vague and can be interpreted differently by each country. A topic that is widely discussed is abortion, the declaration of human rights clearly state that everyone has the right to live. But when does that right take action? When the child is conceived or when the child is born? Article 26 discusses the issue of education. It goes back to the foundation blocks saying that everyone has the equal right to education no matter what sex, race or nationality. It also says that the guardians have the authority to the education for their child, until they come of legal age. The right to education can be seen in Jeremy Benthams ideas, he called for right to education for all Article 17 talks about the right to own property and not to be deprived of it without any concrete evidence. This right could be based on John Lockes idea about property and profit: private ownership of property and profit meaning that no government or state has the right to claim your property and profit. Article 21 consists of positive rights that give you the right to affect the choice of government. It gives you the right to vote no matter sex or race and to do so anonymously and free of cost. Jeremy Bentham believed in voting rights for working men and women. Thomas Hobbes and the natural law tradition by norberto bobbio 1993 i think and translated by Daniela Gobetti

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay --

PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY Patient Confidentiality is where a patient's medical information should be kept confidential. This concept can even be dated back to the Hippocratic Oath. When a patient goes to see his or her doctor, that patient expects to have his or her information kept confidential. They trust the medical practitioner to keep the information between them and related medical practitioners. For instance, you do not want people to find out about a disease you have and you to be affected by their knowledge of this.This establishment of trust along with medical ethical guidelines dictates this to be a duty for the doctors. Also, a person’s medical laws are meant to be kept confidential and not to be shared with anyone as dictated by law. This law is known as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). There are many instances where a medical practitioner can release this information without your consent, but none of these reasons should benefit the physician in any way. When you buy health insurance, you need to authorize the release of medical records to the...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Television Quiz Show Scandals of the 1950s Essay -- TV Game Shows

An Examination of Television Quiz Show Scandals of the 1950s One of the greatest captivators of public interest in the 1950s was the emerging quiz game show on television. The public, naively trustful, fell in love with television game shows. People found them to be new, exciting, and similar to the captivating radio quiz shows so popular before television's advent. Some game shows were developed primarily for laughs, while others were played for prizes or large sums of money. These game shows were so popular that at their peak, twenty-two of them were concurrently on the air. They varied in format from the basic question and answer type to the naming of popular musical tunes. Public familiarity with the general structure of the quizzes, coupled with the strikingly high stakes, precipitated extreme interest in these shows, and led to the unbelievable popularity of successful returning contestants (Anderson, 9). Virtually everyone with a television set in their home tuned in weekly to their favorite game shows in the interest of seeing the cont estants, with whom they identified more and more as the weeks went by, succeed in the quiz games. The popularity of quiz games was staggering. In August of 1955 approximately 32 million television sets and 47,560,000 viewers, almost one third of the nation, tuned in to see The $64,000 Question (Anderson, 8). By 1958, no one was laughing anymore. Grabbing the attention of the public even more than the shows themselves were the scandals which emerged around them. The public's naive trust had evolved into suspicious cynicism because it had learned that many of the shows were rigged. As can be imagined, this caused great disgust among viewers. The supposed winners, for whom Americans had ro... ...rd University Press, 1994. "Remarks made during 'Quiz Show and the Future of Television'." Annenberg Washington Program. http://www.annenberg.nwu.edu/pubs/quiz/remarks.htm (3/11/97). "Quiz Show: Television Betrayals Past... and Present?" Annenberg Washington Program. http://www.annenberg.nwu.edu/pubs/quiz/quiz.htm (3/11/97). Stone, J. and T. Yohn. Prime Time and Misdemeanors: Investigating the 1950s TV Quiz Scandal -- A D.A.'s Account. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1992. "Television in the 1950s." http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv50.htm (3/11/97). "Quiz Shows of the 1950s." http://www.fiftiesweb.com/quizshow.htm (7/10/97 [added by PL]) "The Winning Answer." http://www.film.com/filma/reviews/quickrev.idc?REV=965 (3/11/97). Tuchman, Gaye. The TV Establishment: Programming for Power and Profit. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., l971.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Son of the Revolution

Liana was born into a family where his father was a devote communist reporter and his mother who was accused of being part of a non-communist rightist group called the Hundred Flowers. The Hundred Flowers wanted to purify the communism that currently existed in China by finding faults in the existing communist regime. Lings mother did not criticize at first because her she had her job because of the Communist party and loved the party as a result. Mao Sedona, chairman of China, wanted to win the support of intellectuals so her leaders insisted he come up with three â€Å"out of duty', she came up with three which drastically changed her life.From then, the Hundred Flowers Movement changed to the Anti- Rightist Movement in an effort to extract people who did not believe in the communist way. Because their actions were against communism and a revolution was trying to be avoided, they sent anyone associated with the Hundred Flowers to a re-education camp to bring them back in favor of the communist party. Politics played such a large part in the Chinese society that people were tricked into criticizing the party and punished. Lings mother was separated from Liana and his family and sent to another part of China for her different political beliefs.Not only was Liana separated from his mother for her non-communist ways, he was bullied and shunned in school because everyone thought he was non-communist like his mother. Human relationships are also affected with the actions of his father. Due her beliefs, she lost her rank in the police as well as a dramatic cut in her salary. Lings father had to divorce his wife because he wanted to save the rest of his family by being punished with her by association. It is apparent that politics had such an impact on citizens that the relationship between Lining's father and mother could be so disgraceful that it led to a divorce.It broke â€Å"ties among his family, essentially ruining his mother's life and holding back the rest of the family in contributing to the Revolution†l. During the revolution when China closed all schools and Liana was unable to continue his education in college. But after the revolution, China reopened schools and Hen took his opportunity to continue his education. But upon his return to school, â€Å"he is shocked at the inability of students to rationalize freely. The school seemed to be almost exactly the same as when Liana had attended school so many years earlier.Lings visit showed the power that the education system has on youth, and how easily shaped those individuals can be from such a young age†2. Liana describes the behavior of university students and how the war between political parties affected their ability to express themselves in fear of punishment. It is evident that throughout Liana Hangs upbringing, politics was involved in his life in a way that would tear his family apart as well as open his eyes about the insanity that unionism brought to him. Hi s upbringing had made him believe that the world was out to get him.He portrays his childhood in a way that depicts himself as the bad guy in society. â€Å"l had been the victim of political movements since the age of three, first through my mother, then through my father, and now through an absurd coincidence in my own affairs. Society hated me. It turned me into an outcast and a thief†3 Liana feels that due to the chain of unfortunate events that society hates him. He grew up in an era where there were many political parties that actively sought out to make their ideology a reality.Due to the many conflicting ideas, Lings human relationships fell victim to the punishments that were not technically his own. The transformation that Liana Hen experienced from his childhood to his adulthood shows that politics affect human relationships. Through his series of events, it can be seen in his memoir The Son of the Revolution how his human relationships were affected such as the ca se with his mother who was banished and exiled from his family due to conflicting political beliefs.It can also be seen how politics affects human legislations by the actions of his devote communist father who divorced his wife in order to save his family from the punishments that would be implemented upon his wife. Apart from the consequences of his family political affiliation, Liana noted the affects of a particular political reign it had on growing kids in the education system. The imprint the many political movements had on Liana caused him to realize how destroyed his life is and convinced him that the world was against him. Politics is such a powerful concept that it is constantly affecting our lives and the lives of our neighbors.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Drexel University Dining

James Kirwan and Joey Mannarino John Borczon English 102 2/28/13 Drexel Dining Not Meeting Basic Needs As any college student knows, the quality of a school’s dining hall is extremely important. To be successful as students, it is an absolute must that a student is strong and healthy. One of the keys to being strong and healthy is a healthy and balanced diet, filled with a variety of foods. At Drexel, we are being deprived of this necessity. While we do have a dining hall that is open for most of our day, actually eating there is an issue. For all freshmen at Drexel, a dining plan is required.There are three different traditional meal plans, ranging from a hefty $1,830 to $1,915. All three traditional plans revolve around the Handshumacher Dining Center. The custom meal plans also provide various options, but in the end, focus around the Handshumacher Dining Center as well. The meal plans are outrageously expensive; however, considering the tuition most students are paying, th is is not the issue. The issue is the quality of food in the dining hall. It is one matter for students not to enjoy the food that they eat, but even more of a concern when the food they are eating is unsafe to be eaten.Just in the last few weeks, at least 10 people have been bed ridden for days due to, what they believe, to be food poisoning from the Handshumacher Dining Center. This is a major problem. Once a person has contracted a food-borne illness, participating in academics and/or extracurricular activities becomes nearly impossible, affecting students’ lives and grades severely. With students potentially in danger of becoming sick and being affected in their academics, this is more than just disliking the dining hall. The Handschumacher Dining Center is not clean by any means at all.After eating there a few times, occurrences such as finding a single black hair in our mashed potatoes and flakes of crude in our drinks became a regular ordeal. When trying to get soda fr om the soda machine there would be various particles coming from the machine itself. Once it comes out of the dirty machine, it will then go into one of the glass cups provided by the dining center. These are rarely cleaned properly and there always spots and other residue on them (see below). [pic] This is also a major problem with the utensils and even the plates.There is simply no excuse for this, as we are paying a good amount of money for the dining hall. The entire dining hall environment is a disgrace. Upon entering the dining hall, you are lead down a flight of stairs into a dull gray basement with next to no natural lighting. The area where the food is prepared for the student’s is not visible, and based on the food that is served, probably for good reason. Once our tray is filled with whatever sub-par food they have prepared for us, we are to go into a very poorly designed seating area. The eating environment is far from pleasant.Half the challenge is finding a tabl e that is clean enough to eat at, as the tables are not regularly cleaned off when students leave them. One could argue that it is the students’ responsibility to keep the tables clean, but this is simply illogical. If there are people being paid to clean the tables, a student is not going to go out of their way in making sure their area is cleaned. The lack of cleanliness of the dining center extends beyond the seating area. If what we see out in the seating area is bad, what goes on behind the scenes is even worse.In a December 2010 Pennsylvania Food Code inspection, there were â€Å"mouse feces found in the kitchens and storage areas, fruit flies observed underneath a self-serve beverage station and lack of a dedicated sink for mop-water disposal, among other violations† (Strauss). The Triangle, Drexel’s newspaper, has various accounts recorded about the Handschumacher Dining Center, one of which includes a student seeing a live mouse running around. In these conditions, it is just about impossible for any food prepared to possibly be sanitary.This January, The Triangle published another article that discusses students receiving food poisoning and even the norovirus from the Handschumacher Dining Terrace. Norovirus is a highly contagious virus usually transmitted through undercooked food and occasionally direct contact with an infected person. The student who contracted the norovirus ended up being sent to the ER. In the Drexel Facebook group there are posts weekly that complain about food poisoning or stomach aches caused from this dining hall. One of those students is Maggie Heath-Bourne.She â€Å"personally know[s] a good deal of people who have gotten sick† from this dining center. She was unable to attend her Wednesday classes. Maggie also positive that the dining center caused her illness â€Å"because [she] had been really rushed at the beginning of the week and only had time to go [to the Hans] on Monday and Tuesday, [an d she] got sick on Wednesday. † Since the university basically requires its freshman to eat at this dining hall, something needs to be done. There is no reason students should be scared for their health by eating at their own dining hall.The issues above are absolutely unacceptable for our dining hall, but in actuality, these are issues faced by quite a few dining halls around the country. In examining the various dining halls that have had problems there seems to be one common thread- the food production company Sodexo. We asked friends of ours how satisfied they were with their dining halls. Those who were happy with their dining halls went to schools that did not have Sodexo. Most of these students’ dining halls were controlled by Aramark. In further research, it became apparent that Sodexo is the root of our problems at Drexel.The same types of problems that we had at Drexel were faced by students at Fordham University, who also contracts Sodexo. An excerpt of the i nspection read: â€Å"The inspections unearthed evidence of mice, roaches and improper storage of food, shortcomings that placed Fordham eateries in the lowest grade bracket† (Ram Online). This is concerning not only for Fordham students but for any school that allows Sodexo to control its dining environment. The case at Fordham got so out of hand that the dining hall was required to be shut down for a little while. Once it was finally opened back up, the tudents decided to hold a protest. However, this protest got them absolutely nowhere. At Drexel, there has to be a solution that we can execute to get a decent selection of food in our dining hall. At Fordham University, the method of a protest failed, as Sodexo still stayed as the school’s main food supplier. Sodexo claims on its website that it has a board of students that overview it’s dining services. This board of students does not have a representative from Drexel University on it. If we had some input ab out our dining hall through this board, maybe there would be some action taken.Another solution we could execute is introducing a board of various students that oversees and works with the kitchen staff to make sure the meals are both well prepared and well varied. These students would need to be Drexel students who frequent the dining hall. By being on this board, they will receive no benefits towards their dining hall plans or anything of the sorts. It would be a totally transparent board also. This way, students would have an outlet to go to to complain about the problems in this dining hall. The way it is set up now, it is extremely hard to get a meeting with anyone in the dining hall.For the purpose of this paper we attempted to set up a meeting with the director of residential living on campus. It took us about an entire month to schedule a meeting with this man. For a campus environment that can be fair to all, the food staff needs to be much more accessible. It is ridiculous that we have to wait so long for a meeting with someone who can make a change for us. This student board could supervise Sodexo until its contract with Drexel University is over. However, as soon as possible getting Sodexo out of Drexel’s dining hall would be ideal.This company has proven time and time again throughout the country that it cannot maintain a dining environment. Sure, it can provide food, but not good or safe food. This student leadership board could take a look at other food companies that are doing a better job satisfying both students’ needs and also pass health inspections. Drexel has decent dining options outside of the dining hall. There is a second dining option, accessible only through our dining dollars which is kept fairly clean. The food choices are from chains across the country. The election of food is not the best, but at least it is kept clean. This would probably not be the direction for our dining hall to go in. Drexel has a faculty dini ng hall, run by Sodexo, which is treated in a different manner entirely then the Handschumacher Dining Center. Why should the students be getting second rate food when they are paying for a meal plan? Also, Drexel just received a large scale grant that is going to a renovation project for the area outside of the main building. With this money, Drexel could have begun production on a dining hall run by the 12th Street Caterers, also a Drexel company.With so many possible solutions why do we allow Drexel to continue to feed us the same dirty and poorly made food? We have to find some sort of way to make sure that Drexel implements the student’s opinions into choosing a new plan and direction for its dining hall. To start, we must set up some sort of board for students to voice their opinions directly to Sodexo. From there, we must see what we can do to get Sodexo out, and using this same board of students, create a new solution that pleases all students and also follows health standards. No matter what we do, we cannot keep going in the manner that we are going.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Preserving Water is Preserving Life Essay

There are various resources that the Earth provides its inhabitants, but the most important natural resource is water. However, despite the fact that water is an irreplaceable natural resource, humans tend to abuse without knowing the implications. It is necessary to save water not only because it is a very manageable resource (Padmavathy & Malarvizhi, 2006), but also because of the fact that water provides life to every living thing on Earth. Without it, life cannot be sustained: humans can survive weeks without food, but without water, they will only be able to survive for a few days. Apart from this, water also sustains the growth of life in forests, jungles which are the habitats of other species. Unfortunately, as much as the world would like to believe that nature’s resources would last forever, such is not possible. Water is a finite source, and only about 0. 024% of all the water resources in the world is accessible, while the rest of the world’s water supply consists of oceans and inaccessible freshwater in the deep earth (Dauvergne, 2005). Humans, animals, and plant life will not be able to subsist without water; plant life would not be able to grow, and animals which eat plants will not have any food supply. These animals will deplete in numbers, they will devastate the food chain and bigger animals which eat these animals will also lose their food supply. If animals continue to thin in numbers, they would eventually become endangered, and unfortunately, it is possible that they may become instinct. In order to preserve life on Earth, every individual should have the initiative to save water. There is a need to educate people of the implications of losing freshwater on Earth, for the first step to understanding would be education. If people pitch in and do their part for the preservation of water, life on Earth may have a chance in subsisting for generations. References Dauvergne, P. (2005). Handbook of global environmental politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgas Publishing Limited. Padmavathy, S. & Malarvizhi. (2006). Conservation of protected water resource in household. In G. Chandrakumar & N. Mukundan, Water resource management: Thrust and

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Analysis of “Uphill” by Christina Rossetti Essay

â€Å"Uphill† by Christina Rossetti is an allegory about life and death. Rossetti is considered one of the finest religious poets of her time and her many spiritual beliefs are conveyed in her poem â€Å"Uphill†. H.B. de Groot said, â€Å"Undeniably, her strong lyric gifts are often held in check by her moral and theological scruples† (Groot). The dialogue style Rossetti uses mimics the parables told by Jesus in The Bible. In â€Å"Overview of Christina (Georgina) Rossetti† one author stated that during her adult life, Rossetti turned down two marriage proposals, due to her strong religious convictions. Instead of marrying, she used her convictions to script eloquent poetry that reaffirms faith for the faithful and provides faith for the hopeless. Rossetti’s use of metaphors, symbols, and biblical allusions in â€Å"Uphill† conveys the idea of life and death and represents the difficult journey to salvation and the promise of eternal life in heaven. In â€Å"Uphill,† Rossetti uses metaphors to invite the reader to draw comparisons between one’s journey through life, death, and eternal rest. The first question and answer the speaker mentions is a metaphor to depict the road being traveled, conveying that it is difficult and long, much like life: â€Å"Does the road wind up-hill all the way?/Yes, to the very end† (Rossetti 1-2). In lines five and seven the speaker develops the metaphor of night and darkness to mean death: â€Å"But is there for the night a resting-place?/May not the darkness hide it from my face† (5/7)? The speaker seems doubtful and unsure about the process of death and provokes the speaker to ask questions about the after-life. Assurance of such a place is found in line eight when the inn is used as a metaphor to describe heave, a place that: â€Å"You cannot miss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (8). The author uses symbols to assist the reader by evoking a deeper subconscious meaning of one’s uphill trek towards heaven. The title of the poem â€Å"Uphill† serves as a symbol for the difficulties encountered along the speaker’s journey. In lines six and eight the words _roof_ and _inn_ are symbols for the security felt, â€Å"†¦when the slow dark hours begin./You cannot miss that inn† (6/8). Rossetti uses the word _bed_ in lines fifteen and sixteen to  represent the final resting place for those seeking eternal life in heaven: â€Å"Will there be beds for me and all who seek?/Yea, beds for all who come (15-16). Beds invoke feelings of comfort and warmth and peace. The speaker hopes to find the same comfort and peace in heaven with an eternal place to sleep. The Biblical allusions Rossetti uses in the poem help the reader understand what happens after death. Matthew 7:14 explains that the path to salvation will be difficult and long and is referenced in line three when the speaker asks how long the day’s journey will take: â€Å"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it† (_New International Version_, Matthew. 7.14). In the Bible, Christ teaches that there are two ways; right and wrong, good and evil. The road to the narrow gate is not only constricted, but also uphill. It is a struggle and often not the easy way, which is why only few endure it. But it is the only path that will lead you to eternal life. All other ways may be easier, but lead to destruction. In lines eleven and twelve, the speaker receives assurance that by knocking, the doors will be open at the end of the journey, a Biblical allusion to Matthew 7:7. This verse states that if one asks, seeks, and knocks that the door will be open: â€Å"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened† (Matthew 7.7). In John 14:2 Jesus comforts his twelve disciples by saying: â€Å"There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come get you, so that you will always be with me where I am† (John 14.2). This verse serves as a point of reference to lines fifteen and sixteen in the poem: â€Å"Will there be beds for me and all who seek?/Yea, beds for all who come† (15-16). Christians believe that there is a dwelling-place in which devout believing souls would abide forever. Believers gain comfort in knowing that He has already prepared such a special p lace that is vast and sufficient in room for all his people. Rossetti’s poem is a beautiful illustration of ones journey through life as illustrated by the questions the speaker asks throughout the poem. In the  beginning the speaker is anxious about the journey that lies ahead and asks: â€Å"Does the road wind up-hill all the way† (1), but by the end of the poem the speaker is peaceful and assured about the final resting place: â€Å"Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak† (13)? Rossetti links one’s journey to life, death, and eternity by using metaphors throughout the text. Symbols are layered throughout the text to assist the reader with identifying heaven. Rossetti’s use of Biblical allusions allow the reader to grasps what eternity will be like for those that believe and stay the course of the _uphill_ journey. The difficult life and death decisions made along the journey towards salvation and eternity in heaven are made evident throughout the poem with the use of metaphors, symbols, and Biblical allusions. Works Cited â€Å"Christina Rossetti.† _Contemporary Authors Online_. Detroit: Gale, 2006. _Literature Resource_ _Center_. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. _English Standard Version_. Bible Gateway. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Rossetti, Christina. â€Å"Uphill.† _Literature; An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing_. Seventh Edition. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013.

Part Two Chapter VI

VI ‘The fuck have you done to your face? Come off the bike again?' asked Fats. ‘No,' said Andrew. ‘Si-Pie hit me. I was trying to tell the stupid cunt he'd got it wrong about Fairbrother.' He and his father had been in the woodshed, filling the baskets that sat on either side of the wood-burner in the sitting room. Simon had hit Andrew around the head with a log, knocking him into the pile of wood, grazing his acne-covered cheek. D'you think you know more about what goes on than I do, you spotty little shit? If I hear you've breathed a word of what goes on in this house – I haven't – I'll fucking skin you alive, d'you hear me? How do you know Fairbrother wasn't on the fiddle too, eh? And the other fucker was the only one dumb enough to get caught? And then, whether out of pride or defiance, or because his fantasies of easy money had taken too strong a hold on his imagination to become dislodged by facts, Simon had sent in his application forms. Humiliation, for which the whole family would surely pay, was a certainty. Sabotage. Andrew brooded on the word. He wanted to bring his father crashing down from the heights to which his dreams of easy money had raised him, and he wanted to do it, if at all possible (for he preferred glory without death), in such a way that Simon would never know whose manoeuvrings had brought his ambitions to rubble. He confided in nobody, not even Fats. He told Fats nearly everything, but the few omissions were the vast topics, the ones that occupied nearly all his interior space. It was one thing to sit in Fats' room with hard-ons and look up ‘girl-on-girl action' on the internet: quite another to confess how obsessively he pondered ways of engaging Gaia Bawden in conversation. Likewise, it was easy to sit in the Cubby Hole and call his father a cunt, but never would he have told how Simon's rages turned his hands cold and his stomach queasy. But then came the hour that changed everything. It started with nothing more than a yearning for nicotine and beauty. The rain had passed off at last, and the pale spring sun shone brightly on the fish-scale dirt on the school-bus windows as it jerked and lurched through the narrow streets of Pagford. Andrew was sitting near the back, unable to see Gaia, who was hemmed in at the front by Sukhvinder and the fatherless Fairbrother girls, newly returned to school. He had barely seen Gaia all day and faced a barren evening with only stale Facebook pictures to console him. As the bus approached Hope Street, it struck Andrew that neither of his parents was at home to notice his absence. Three cigarettes that Fats had given him resided in his inside pocket; and Gaia was getting up, holding tightly to the bar on the back of the seat, readying herself to descend, still talking to Sukhvinder Jawanda. Why not? Why not? So he got up too, swung his bag over his shoulder, and when the bus stopped walked briskly up the aisle after the two girls as they got out. ‘See you at home,' he threw out to a startled Paul as he passed. He reached the sunny pavement and the bus rumbled away. Lighting up, he watched Gaia and Sukhvinder over the top of his cupped hands. They were not heading towards Gaia's house in Hope Street, but ambling up towards the Square. Smoking and scowling slightly in unconscious imitation of the most unself-conscious person he knew – Fats – Andrew followed them, his eyes feasting on Gaia's copper-brown hair as it bounced on her shoulder blades, the swing of her skirt as her hips swayed beneath it. The two girls slowed down as they approached the Square, advancing towards Mollison and Lowe, which had the most impressive fa;ade of them all: blue and gold lettering across the front and four hanging baskets. Andrew hung back. The girls paused to examine a small white sign pasted to the window of the new cafe, then disappeared into the delicatessen. Andrew walked once around the Square, past the Black Canon and the George Hotel, and stopped at the sign. It was a hand-lettered advertisement for weekend staff. Hyperconscious of his acne, which was particularly virulent at the moment, he knocked out the end of his cigarette, put the long stub back into his pocket and followed Gaia and Sukhvinder inside. The girls were standing beside a little table piled high with boxed oatcakes and crackers, watching the enormous man in the deerstalker behind the counter talking to an elderly customer. Gaia looked around when the bell over the door tinkled. ‘Hi,' Andrew said, his mouth dry. ‘Hi,' she replied. Blinded by his own daring, Andrew walked nearer, and the school bag over his shoulder bumped into the revolving stand of guides to Pagford and Traditional West Country Cooking. He seized the stand and steadied it, then hastily lowered his bag. ‘You after a job?' Gaia asked him quietly, in her miraculous London accent. ‘Yeah,' he said. ‘You?' She nodded. ‘Flag it up on the suggestion page, Eddie,' Howard was booming at the customer. ‘Post it on the website, and I'll get it on the agenda for you. Pagford Parish Council – all one word – dot co, dot UK, slash, Suggestion Page. Or follow the link. Pagford †¦' He reiterated slowly, as the man pulled out paper and a pen with a quivering hand ‘†¦ Parish †¦' Howard's eyes flicked over the three teenagers waiting quietly beside the savoury biscuits. They were wearing the half-hearted uniform of Winterdown, which permitted so much laxity and variation that it was barely a uniform at all (unlike that of St Anne's, which comprised a neat tartan skirt and a blazer). For all that, the white girl was stunning; a precision-cut diamond set off by the plain Jawanda daughter, whose name Howard did not know, and a mouse-haired boy with violently erupted skin. The customer creaked out of the shop, the bell tinkled. ‘Can I help you?' Howard asked, his eyes on Gaia. ‘Yeah,' she said, moving forwards. ‘Um. About the jobs.' She pointed at the small sign in the window. ‘Ah, yes,' said Howard, beaming. His new weekend waiter had let him down a few days previously; thrown over the cafe for Yarvil and a supermarket job. ‘Yes, yes. Fancy waitressing, do you? We're offering minimum wage – nine to half-past five, Saturdays – twelve to half-past five, Sundays. Opening two weeks from today; training provided. How old are you, my love?' She was perfect, perfect, exactly what he had been imagining: fresh-faced and curvy; he could just imagine her in a figure-hugging black dress with a lace-edged white apron. He would teach her to use the till, and show her around the stockroom; there would be a bit of banter, and perhaps a little bonus on days when the takings were up. Howard sidled out from behind the counter and, ignoring Sukhvinder and Andrew, took Gaia by the upper arm, and led her through the arch in the dividing wall. There were no tables and chairs there yet, but the counter had been installed and so had a tiled black and cream mural on the wall behind it, which showed the Square in Yesteryear. Crinolined women and men in top hats swarmed everywhere; a brougham carriage had drawn up outside a clearly marked Mollison and Lowe, and beside it was the little cafe, The Copper Kettle. The artist had improvised an ornamental pump instead of the war memorial. Andrew and Sukhvinder were left behind, awkward and vaguely antagonistic to each other. ‘Yes? Can I help you?' A stooping woman with a jet-black bouffant had emerged from out of a back room. Andrew and Sukhvinder muttered that they were waiting, and then Howard and Gaia reappeared in the archway. When he saw Maureen, Howard dropped Gaia's arm, which he had been holding absent-mindedly while he explained to her what a waitress's duties would be. ‘I might have found us some more help for the Kettle, Mo,' he said. ‘Oh, yes?' said Maureen, switching her hungry gaze to Gaia. ‘Have you got experience?' But Howard boomed over her, telling Gaia all about the delicatessen and how he liked to think it was a bit of a Pagford institution, a bit of a landmark. ‘Thirty-five years, it's been,' said Howard, with a majestic disdain of his own mural. ‘The young lady's new to town, Mo,' he added. ‘And you two are after jobs as well, are you?' Maureen asked Sukhvinder and Andrew. Sukhvinder shook her head; Andrew made an equivocal movement with his shoulders; but Gaia said, with her eyes on the girl, ‘Go on. You said you might.' Howard considered Sukhvinder, who would most certainly not appear to advantage in a tight black dress and frilly apron; but his fertile and flexible mind was firing in all directions. A compliment to her father – something of a hold over her mother – an unasked favour granted; there were matters beyond the purely aesthetic that ought, perhaps, to be considered here. ‘Well, if we get the business we're expecting, we could probably do with two,' he said, scratching his chins with his eyes on Sukhvinder, who had blushed unattractively. ‘I don't †¦' she said, but Gaia urged her. ‘Go on. Together.' Sukhvinder was flushed, and her eyes were watering. ‘I †¦' ‘Go on,' whispered Gaia. ‘I †¦ all right.' ‘We'll give you a trial, then, Miss Jawanda,' said Howard. Doused in fear, Sukhvinder could hardly breathe. What would her mother say? ‘And I suppose you're wanting to be potboy, are you?' Howard boomed at Andrew. Potboy? ‘It's heavy lifting we need, my friend,' said Howard, while Andrew blinked at him nonplussed: he had only read the large type at the top of the sign. ‘Pallets into the stockroom, crates of milk up from the cellar and rubbish bagged up at the back. Proper manual labour. Do you think you can handle that?' ‘Yeah,' said Andrew. Would he be there when Gaia was there? That was all that mattered. ‘We'll need you early. Eight o'clock, probably. We'll say eight till three, and see how it goes. Trial period of two weeks.' ‘Yeah, fine,' said Andrew. ‘What's your name?' When Howard heard it, he raised his eyebrows. ‘Is your father Simon? Simon Price?' ‘Yeah.' Andrew was unnerved. Nobody knew who his father was, usually. Howard told the two girls to come back on Sunday afternoon, when the till was to be delivered, and he would be at liberty to instruct them; then, though he showed an inclination to keep Gaia in conversation, a customer entered, and the teenagers took their chance to slip outside. Andrew could think of nothing to say once they found themselves on the other side of the tinkling glass door; but before he could marshal his thoughts, Gaia threw him a careless ‘bye', and walked away with Sukhvinder. Andrew lit up the second of Fats' three fags (this was no time for a half-smoked stub), which gave him an excuse to remain stationary while he watched her walk away into the lengthening shadows. ‘Why do they call him â€Å"Peanut†, that boy?' Gaia asked Sukhvinder, once they were out of earshot of Andrew. ‘He's allergic,' said Sukhvinder. She was horrified at the prospect of telling Parminder what she had done. Her voice sounded like somebody else's. ‘He nearly died at St Thomas's; somebody gave him one hidden in a marshmallow.' ‘Oh,' said Gaia. ‘I thought it might be because he had a tiny dick.' She laughed, and so did Sukhvinder, forcing herself, as though jokes about penises were all she heard, day in, day out. Andrew saw them both glance back at him as they laughed, and knew that they were talking about him. The giggling might be a hopeful sign; he knew that much about girls, anyway. Grinning at nothing but the cooling air, he walked off, school bag over his shoulder, cigarette in his hand, across the Square towards Church Row, and thence to forty minutes of steep climbing up out of town to Hilltop House. The hedgerows were ghostly pale with white blossom in the dusk, blackthorn blooming on either side of him, celandine fringing the lane with tiny, glossy heart-shaped leaves. The smell of the flowers, the deep pleasure of the cigarette and the promise of weekends with Gaia; everything blended together into a glorious symphony of elation and beauty as Andrew puffed up the hill. The next time Simon said ‘got a job, Pizza Face?' he would be able to say ‘yes'. He was going to be Gaia Bawden's weekend workmate. And, to cap it all, he knew at last exactly how he might plunge an anonymous dagger straight between his father's shoulder blades.