Discussing the Chrysanthemums Essay example -- English Literature

Discussing the Chrysanthemums In studying the various schools of criticism and using them to decipher the inner workings of novels, short stories, and poems, it becomes apparent that they all share a common factor: a theme. The theme of a story is the general idea or insight, which is revealed by the entire story (Kennedy, 195). Although there are many themes that seem to be similar, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to find to stories with identical themes. Two stories with similar themes, however, are "The Chrysanthemums," by John Steinbeck, and "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These two stories show the damage caused by male domination in the past. The short story "The Chrysanthemums" gives insight into the life of its author; John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. The locale of the story is of key resemblance to the Salinas in which Steinbeck was born and bread. "Salinas was a typical American small town, [differing] only in location and a few distinctive features" (McCarthy 3). The story begins by displaying the setting: "The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and the rest of the world." Though this does not directly illustrate the theme, the setting plays a role in building Elisa Allen's "prison." The main protagonist in "The Chrysanthemums," Elisa Allen, is a mid-aged housewife who also has a passion for growing chrysanthemums. This passion expressed in the planting of these flowers brings out the suppressed romance in her life. The fact that she is childless seems to have sublimated her motherly instincts to produce extraordinary flowers. Nevertheless, "the plants and flowers cannot compensate for t... ...nius soon tells Ophelia that she must seek out Hamlet. Much to her dismay, Hamlet rejects her, and this begins a downward spiral for Ophelia. She begins acting in a depressed fashion, and everyone begins to think she has gone mad. Unfortunately, all the negative light placed upon Ophelia leads to her death. It is not certain whether she was murdered or whether she in fact committed suicide, but she came to a tragic end by drowning. The events in "Hamlet" and "The Chrysanthemums," though different in appearance show a very similar topic. The problem of male dominance is shown in both situations to devastate the emotions of the women. In showing respect and obedience for the male characters, the females are in fact hurting themselves. This theme of male dominance destroying the psyche of women has been, and will continue to be a major theme in literature.

Valley Region of the Appalachian Mountains Essay -- Karst Region Virgi

Valley Region of the Appalachian Mountains and Subsequent Karst Regions in the State of Virginia This map which appears on page 402 of Process Geomorphology (1995), written by Dale F. Ritter, Craig R. Kochel, and Jerry R. Miller, serves as the basis of my report on the formation of the Appalachian Mountains and its subsequent karst regions in along the Atlantic side of the United States particularly in the state of Virginia. The shaded areas represent generalized karst regions throughout the United States. The state of Virginia is divided into five major physiological regions based on similar landscapes and relatively static climates, each region being as diverse as the next. From the east to west they are respectively named, the Tidewater which stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the fall line, the Piedmont which lies east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains which exclusively extends to the eastern Appalachian Mountains, and finally the Ridge and Valley region of the Appalachian Mountain chain. In this paper I will pay particular attention to the formation of the Appalachian Mountains and the subsequent karst regions in the western part of the state. â€Å"Ordovician mountain building events in eastern North America are collectively termed Tactonic Orogeny (Stanley, 318).† In short, there were three such orogenic events that helped form the current-day Appalachian Mountains. This was the first of three orogenic episodes occurred when Laurentia, the North American craton, part of the continental crust, collided with the Iapetus which is composed of oceanic crust. The resulting impact caused mountains to rise up in the east. Over thousands of years, through the process of physical and chemi... ...Ridge and Valley Province of the Virginian landscape. Hartley, 2003 Works Cited Hartley, Ralph. Memorial Day Cave. 2003. Montgomery, Carla W. Environmental Geology 6th Edition. Northern Illinois University. McGraw Hill. New York. 2003. Patterson, J.H. North America 9th Edition. Oxford University Press. .New York, 1994 Skyline Caverns. Virginia, USA. Regions of Virginia. 2005. Ritter, F. Dale, Kochel, R. Craig, Miller R. Jerry. Process Geomorphology 3rd Edition. Wm. C. Brown Publishers. Boston. 1995. Stanley, Steven M. Earth System History 2nd Edition. John Hopkins University. W.H. Freeman & Co. New York, 2005 Topographic Map of Virginia. National Geographic Data Center.

Internet Essay

I don’t agree if the internet give more good than harm influence, as we could see nowadays teenager or child had been contaminated by lots of negatives in internet, they become more lazy to study, do homework, and they also wasted their time mostly on internet. Some negatives are like Porn and social networking, porn have make them become wild and misunderstood about sex they just get bad influence of porn that keep disturbing their minds. In Social networking we could hear nowadays that people were killed, and divorce because of social networking like they use this for acquaintance with strangers and they are cheating through social networking,Other case is when they meet each other then that stranger is not a good person and he / she was killed. Thats why from this we could see that internets give fatal influence. I dun really want to know what my friends are doing every minute. I know of students who tweet almost every second of their lives. Gosh, dun they have better things to do? Grab a book and read! Bryan on January 30, 2012 at 1:11 pm said: Everything really only depends on the person using the internet. If they are wise, they will use it for what they need it for and will not affect them in real life in any way at all. There are some cases about cyber bullying and that some people have committed suicide. I think those are the dumb people who did that as the internet is only just a virtual thing and it should not affect them in any way. So there is more good than harm in using the internet in my opinion as you can search almost anything on the internet. If only everyone is as mature as you ! Sent from my BlackBerry ® powered by Sinyal Kuat INDOSAT 3. Internet is just like soil of fertility. If you planted something bad,you won’t get away from it and you will take care of it until it grow and it determines you that you like that kind of plant. Plant of evil. Neverthless, when you plant a good seed it will grow and benefictial to you as well. The point is when you have internet, the magnifying glass that can search the whole world ,whether it is bad or good is in your hand. Just a question of what you use it for.

How does Steinbeck prepare us for the tragic ending in ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

Steinbeck prepares us for the tragic ending in ‘of mice and men’ right the way through the book. Lenny is the focus of all bad things to come and is a central character in the novel. First up there was the incident in ‘Weed’ where Lenny ‘stroked a woman’s red dress’ and she accused Lenny of raping her. This shows they make a habit of running away from places and people when Lenny often gets into trouble. ‘an you ain’t gonna do no bad things like you did in weed neither’. ‘they run us outta weed’. Those things show situations for the future and also show the dire situation they are in at the present, they are fugitives with Lenny committing the crimes and George helping him to get away because of their solid companionship in which both are each others only companions. The situation in weed also shows that Lenny likes stroking anything and anyone that is soft and once he has hold of someone or an it he can’t let go. This is also shown with the mice where Lenny ‘pets’ them too hard. ‘uh-uh jus a dead mouse’. He doesn’t seem to fully understand the value of life nor regret his murders. This is not because he is malicious but because he is in fact ‘mentally ill’. His strength is beyond his control and this can create very dangerous situations for him and others around him, maybe even for-seeing murder here. The pup’s yet another example, this animal is also part of Lenny’s worrying fetish, here it is shown that he is too dangerous for even bigger animals in chapter five where he kills a pup. Lenny shows violence here towards the pups which he seems to love and have affection for, he thinks if the pup had not died (through no fault of it’s own) then George would’ve let him tend the rabbits and everything would be smiley again. All Lenny cares about is the rabbits and this predicts that maybe Lenny will do something destructive with the rabbits welfare In mind because he cares about them that much. ‘I’ll break their (anyone) god damn necks if they touch the rabbits he says defensively showing aggression. The bad mood Lenny is in sets him up to be calmed down by someone/something. Unfortunately this somebody/something appears to be Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife is another central character in the preparation of an ‘all tears’ ending, she messes things for everybody and everything, ‘I knew she’d do us in the end’ George says resignedly after her death. She doesn’t show any sign of stopping when she on her role of misery-making and it all leads up to a climax of some sort, and ending maybe to all the pain and suffering each and everybody is going through, putting their minds at rest. Curley’s wife flirts as a meaning of talking to normal people, this is because she has not talked to other females and has not obtained any other skill so far in her short life, the men don’t like her and thinks shes a tart because of this but still find her attractive and Lenny is no different in this respect, ‘she’s purty’ (pretty) he says with delight while looking at her body up and down, listening to her tender voice and looking at her silky hair, instantly she becomes an obvious unintentional target for Lenny’s animals like affections and the antics what go with this along with her ‘red dress’ and ‘red mule feathers’ which also attracts Lenny. When Curley’s wife soothes Lenny and calms him down she doesn’t know what she’s letting herself in for, she thinks he’s a harmless ‘dum-dum’. She talks to him in the first place because she is lonely and in return for listening to her Curley’s wife lets Lenny stroke her hair which in turn triggers Lenny’s ‘can’t let go approach’ and he eventually kills her. We almost knew this was going to happen before it did because it resembles the weed incident too closely. Lenny had done a ‘really bad thing’ George says. A mistake of the highest degree. The death of a human being had occurred. After this George doesn’t even consider them going on the run together, here Steinbeck spells out the end of Lenny’s life indefinitely. George knows that Lenny can’t get away with it and says ‘we can’t let him get away with it this time’ showing what’s coming up next. Lenny’s death is now inevitable, George doesn’t want Lenny to get hunted down and ‘lynched’ like a wild animal but wants Lenny to die painlessly and dignified. This calls for Gorge to take control as anyway Lenny’s death is inevitable George decides to kill Lenny himself, humanely. Candy’s dog also showed signs of what happened to people who had no use in the ranch-place of work and it got shot just like Lenny would later be. If anything was learnt by the shooting of Lenny’s dog then it would have to be not to let a stranger kill someone who you care about. George deliberately took Carlson’s Luger as he set out of to kill Lenny himself. Steinbeck also uses the scenery to prepare us for the death of Lenny, the surrounding are beautiful, day turns to dusk and everything is moving along swiftly. The wind picks up in the background and a heron takes off this signifies an event is about to take place. The reader always knew that Lenny would die at the brush because that’s the place where he would go when he got in trouble and that’s how George would find him. George sensed it was going to be needed early on in the novel again preparing us for the ending. In the end the cards mapped out the future in a sad way, while George was playing ‘solitaire’ which again signifies their loneliness playing a one man game, Lenny picks up a card and asks why the card looks the same both ways up. George replies ‘that’s jus the way they make em’. He is saying that you can’t change what is inevitable just like Lenny’s impending doom. It is ironic that Lenny asks this question and George gives the answer because that is exactly what happens in the end.

Imperialism AP World Paper Essay

Imperialism has been a driving force behind progress and advancement in the human race for centuries, however, it has also resulted in the destruction of a collection of weaker nations. European, as well as some Asian and American powers, has applied imperialism to their advantage. The states that they have imposed imperialism on have benefited from this occurrence. This is proven by multiple documents given. However, the indigenous peoples of these nations have faced violence and oppression. This is also proven by multiple documents. One will clearly see how both arguments are true after examining the following evidence. Often the imperialist nations benefited from their imperial practices, and so did the natives of these lands. An example of how this is true is seen in document two, which is an excerpt from an article by O.P Austin, â€Å"Does Colonization Pay?† in The Forum, 1900. Austin explains how the nations that have been imperialized (i.e. Africa, Latin America, and A sia) have benefited from this practice in several ways. â€Å"Progressive nations develop the territory by building roads, canals, railways, and telegraphs.† By giving these nations infrastructure, the progressive nations also allow the indigenous peoples to â€Å"†¦ establish schools and newspapers for the colonies and give these people the benefit of other blessings of civilization which they have not the means of creating themselves.† This idea is also shown in documents one, five, and seven. Document one is an excerpt from an article by Parker T. Moore in Imperialism and World Politics, 1926. It explains the vast economic benefits the imperialist nations received from imperial practices. Moore discusses the profits the exporters and merchants, as well as the bankers, and the military leaders have received. The article also briefly delves into how these economic gains aid the â€Å"inferior† nations as well. Along the same lines of the previous article cited, it goes into how the lesser nations received infrastructure such as roads, canals, and water transportation. In document five, a passage from a West African nationalist, Sekou Toure, 1962, it shows the benefits of both the homeland and the industrial lands. It is probing the idea of pro industrialization in Africa and explains how each side is benefiting. Lastly, Document seven exemplifies how indigenous and foreign peoples benefited from imperialism. â€Å"Englishmen†¦ have given the people of India the greatest human blessing – peace.† This shows how the  British established control over India and changed it for the better. India was introduced to modern infrastructure as well as a strong government. The British brought to India â€Å"†¦ an administration that is strong and efficient. They have f amed wise laws and have established courts of justice.† The Indians have clearly benefited from Britain and the British also have benefited, most famously in the vast opium trade. The trade of opium from India to China is a huge part of the economic gains seen by the British, as explained in the report, â€Å"Opium and the British Indian Empire: The Royal Commission of 1895† by John F. Richards. He states â€Å"British and Indian traders sold Indian opium to coastal Chinese traders. They, in turn smuggled this illegal but valuable product along the numerous rivers to inland markets.† Documents six and nine display quite similar arguments as to the ones previously stated. Document six, a statement by Cecil Rhodes, one of the wealthiest and most successful imperialists of the time, is explaining how he feels imperialism benefits both sides of it. He feels that Britannica should spread its influence worl wide, for they are the most superior race, and that they should fill up as much of the globe as possible. His vantage point on the situation is clearly biased. He is supporting imperialism, for he himself has also greatly benefited from it, and expresses this through what many today would call, racism. Document nine is a famous poem by Rudyard Kipling, titled â€Å"the White Man’s Burden† and also explains ideals eerily similar to that of Mr. Rhodes. He feels that it is the civic duty of the whites to civilize the indigenous population. Based on the preceding evidence, one can clearly see how imperialism benefited both the imperialists, and the natives. Although imperialism had its upside, there was a severe snag in this policy. The policy of imperialism caused oppression and violence in the nations it was imposed upon. This is shown in multiple documents given. One example of this is seen in document three. This is a political cartoon titled, â€Å"Learning civilized ways is hard work†. It shows a white military leader sitting in a carriage being pulled by two workers, one being Asian, and the other an African. This is clearly depicting the exploitation of native labor by the imperialists. This obviously does not benefit the indigenous population. The same idea is displayed in documents eight and twelve being  a political cartoon and an excerpt from a report respectively. The political cartoon depicts an African native being put into a piece of machinery, with gold flowing out. There is also a priest standing next to this machine. The African in the machine represents all of the natives being exploited for their labor and the gold pouring out represents the resources that the imperialists reaped from the land. The priest is shown in order to deliver the fact that the powers imposed their religion upon the inhabitants. The report is of a dialogue by an African tribesman who is pleading with the white men to lessen the oppressive tactics they are practicing. The African justifies this by the fact that â€Å"†¦ we are dying fast. We are killed by the work you make us do†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The oppressors also created carnage in their wake. This is exemplified in documents four, ten, and eleven. The example of carnage spoken of that is perhaps supreme, is in document four. This is a West African verse, and it describes the horrors that African live through. â€Å"The white man killed my father†¦ the white man seduced my mother†¦ the white man burnt my brother beneath the noonday sun†¦Ã¢â‚¬  These lones explain how natives were murdered, raped, and forced into slavery. This author’s point of view was obviously one of anger and frustration. This is justifiable given the atrocities that have been committed against him and his family. Documents ten and eleven also display similar types of crimes as shown in the aforementioned example. Document thirteen is a statement made by an Englishman named J. A. Hobson explaining the reason why imperialism should not be employed. He believes that it is a depraved and self -serving policy that is oppressive and brute like. This author is clearly against imperialism because he feels it is not beneficial to the native population. Hobson’s point of view is clearly swayed, being so most definitely because he either feels sympathy towards the natives, or he himself has been wronged by the powers of imperialism. One type of document that would be advantageous to include in those that were given would be a population chart. This chart would illustrate the population numbers of locals before the wave of imperialism in certain regions, and then during, and then after. This would allow for the reader and the writer to gain an understanding of the true carnage caused by the imperialists with factual numbers and populations. â€Å"Imperialism is a progressive force for both the oppressors and oppressed.† This statement can be efficiently argued on both sides. The evidence given can effectively be used to argue either side. Different peoples have different perspectives on this topic, naturally because they have different point of views. Both faces of this debate are convincing to their side, as both use personal accounts, factual evidence, and first hand examples.

Hunter S. Thompson and American Counter culture Essay

Hunter S. Thompson and American Counter culture - Essay Example Thompson a representative of the American counter culture. This question is answered and information and current literature is presented to support the answer. Hunter Stockton Thompson was born in Louisville Kentucky in 1937. Thompson grew up in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood. and attended Louisville Male High School there and lived with his parents, Jack and Virginia and two brothers, Dawson and James. His father's death left the three boys to be brought up by their mother. Thompson's mother was a heavy drinker and Thompson experienced a troubled youth. He was a troubled boy and even had problems with the law at any early age. "Thompson's difficult youth, and its influence on his behavior and the development of his misanthropic worldview, has not received significant literary exploration." (Wikipedia 2005) It has been said of Hunter S. Thompson that he was a 'bad' influence of the best kind. Ernest Hemingway said a writer needs a BS detector and Thompson had one of the most finely tuned BS detectors of all time. Hunter continued to write until he took his own life in February of 2005. 193. He had several nicknames including Doctor, Gonzo and Raoul Duke. The name Raul Duke spawned from the character of Duke in Gary Trudeau's comic strip Doonesbury that was modeled after Thompson. Thompson changed the world of journalism and his unique and subjective style of writing was coined Gonzo journalism. In fact he is routinely mentioned with the age of new journalism due to his unique and abrasive style of writing. It is also extremely rare to see Thompson's name and not see it credited with American counterculture. There I nary an instance where you will see Thompson's name and not see Gonzo or counterculture. That is how influential and powerful his writing style was and how strong his messag es were conveyed in his writing through his writing style. Thompson had more than a unique and one of a kind writing style. His persona was eccentric and his trademark look was that he always had a cigarette holder in his mouth, with yellow/orange aviator glasses and Hawaiian shirts with khaki or camo pants. Everything about Thompson from his writing style to his character set him apart from everyone else. His biography describes him as "The American journalist". This is due largely to his contribution t American counterculture He was known as one of the best examples of "Gonzo" journalism because of His political and cultural criticism of the United States in the 1970s was largely a series of tales flowing from his eccentric personality and adventures. (Bookragsd.com 2005)It was after his troubled youth that he joined the Air Force, where the two major tendencies in his life were soon revealed: writing and outrageous behavior. (Bookrags.com 2005) Stationed in Florida, he became a sports reporter for the base newspaper. In 1958 he received a dishonorable discharge after an officer claimed his disregard for military dress and authority was having a bad influence on other airmen. After being fired from jobs with a small New York newspaper and TIME magazine, Thompson went to Puerto Rico and wrote briefly for a bowling magazine." (Wikipedia 2005) Thompson and everything he wrote epitomized American counterculture. "Thompson lived, wrote, and ultimately died of his own terms. " (Gaudette February

Case for Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case for Human Resource Management - Essay Example ion line itself represented threats to their physiological needs, such as demanding quality improvements and changes to how the work was conducted to meet new standards. In addition, their basic needs for security and belonging were being threatened by different cost-cutting efforts that could have, at the perceptual level, put them out of a job. These needs strongly influence whether they find value or self-confidence in their job roles, therefore issues of motivation needed to be addressed at the human resources level. People and their motivations are strongly connected to whether any structural or process changes meet with improved productivity, therefore they could not simply be dismissed. Employee needs will impact their dedication levels to meeting organizational goals or even, possibly, make them look for different work at another organization which could put high costs on the recruitment and retention budgets. At one company I worked for, there was a major project to improve the business resource planning software package so that inventory, purchasing, invoicing, and raw materials monitoring could be improved by a large margin. Technology in this case promised to eliminate all manual checks for inventory and also promised to reduce the amount of labor needed in the purchasing division. Throughout the entire project, which lasted about 18 months, workers were simply reminded that they needed to find other employment after the project was launched or try to find an opening in a different division through a bidding process. Instead of providing counseling services or trying to motivate employees to assist in the project development, the human resources angle was missing and workers kept trying to sabotage the new project to make sure it did not launch successfully. If the company had realized motivational needs in these soon-to-be-displaced employees, I believe the project would have been re ady for launch much faster than the 18 months it took to