Thursday, October 10, 2019
Living in Families Essay
How does the average person view the common family? In the picture of â€Å"a happy family†on commercials, conflict and hatred are replaced with sweetness and adoration – qualities that are apparent on the family members’ smiling faces. Pure happy days are simply not realistic. In real life, families have good reason to frown occasionally, which leads to a statement by the author Willa Cather about a family relationship. She comments that the seed of the family conflict is from the clash of each members’ individual personality, or identity. As one builds own identity, there is no choice but to struggle for appealing his or her ego to other family members; even though they are a family who is supposed to understand and concede to one another, ideally speaking. Cather also says that family members pursue the sense of security from mutual existence, and they want to eschew from the restraint and infringe on individual privacy at the same time.    Three works of literature which support Willa Cather’s idea about family relationships are: â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing†by Tillie Olsen, â€Å"Two Kinds†by Amy Tan, and â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†by James Baldwin. Through the eyes of these characters, we can see how the development of identity causes conflicts between family members. Ironically, they continue to pull away from each other even though they need each other. We should explore how the characters get over the â€Å"tragic necessity†(Cather 107-120).            Though the main conflict in â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing†doesn’t seem to appear on the surface the author shows that the conflict occurs inside narrator’s mind. When the narrator has Emily, her daughter, she â€Å"is nineteen and it is the pre-relief, pre-WPA world of the depression†(341). Living in the new era as a nineteen-year-old single mother, she has to confront her new identity. In other words, there is a struggle between two identities inside her, as an individual who tries to survive in tough circumstance and as a mother who tries to love her daughter. As she confesses that she â€Å"was a distracted mother†(345), her unstable identity does not allow her to take superior care of Emily. This is the situation which Cather referred to as a â€Å"double life†(107-120). The narrator has suffered from â€Å"the real life that stamps the faces and gives character to the voices of our friends†(Cather 107-120).            In laborious circumstances, her only family, Emily, is the reason why she is still alive, but also the burden from which she wants to escape. This is shown in â€Å"what was in my face when I looked at her,†the scene in which she realizes her frown face at her daughter saying â€Å"there were all the acts of love†(341). Because of her desperate fate, the narrator unconsciously tries â€Å"pulling away from†her daughter even though she â€Å"seeks†to feel (Cather 107-120) maternal affection for Emily. This irony is represented by Cather’s idea of â€Å"the tragic necessity of human life†(107-120).            At the end of the story, the narrator shows her will to finish the conflict she has endured. According to Emily who never believed herself to be special, finds her identity and path, which concludes with her mother lightening the pressure about being a role of breeder by â€Å"letting her be†(345).            Contrary to â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing,†the main conflict between family members in â€Å"Two Kinds†is revealed clearly; it is about the relationship between a mother and daughter. The peculiarity of this story is that the basis of the conflict is a clash of two different cultures, which can be interpreted as a clash of two identities; the Chinese mother who wants â€Å"obedient daughter†and the Americanized daughter, named Mei, who wants to â€Å"follow her own heart†(353). Her mother’s wishful thinking is clear on this quote; â€Å"you can be anything you want to be†(346), which means actually â€Å"you can be anything I want you to be.†This attitude is very different from the mother’s attitude in â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing.†On contrary to â€Å"letting her be†(345), Mei’s mother keeps pushing her daughter to do what she wants, not what her daughter wants – this is Mei’s mother’s personality. Mei’s response is:  â€Å"I won’t be what I’m not†(348). As a result, the conflict in this story is caused by the clash of individual identities, as Cather describes.            Moreover, the trouble reaches a peak at their quarrel following the piano recital. In this scene, Mei pretends to â€Å"pull away†(Cather 107-120) from her mother by saying â€Å"the magic words†(353). What Mei says was not from the bottom of her heart: it could be seen when Mei gets the piano as â€Å"a sign of forgiveness†(353), she â€Å"feels proud, as if it were a shiny trophy†(354). In other words, she cannot deny that she misses her family even though she wants to get away from them. After all, the daughter seeks to get out of the â€Å"tragic necessity†(Cather 107-120) by realizing that the two piano pieces â€Å"pleading child†and â€Å"perfectly contented†(354) is one song, which means that the pleading child has become perfectly contented.            Compared to the other two works above, the conflict in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†occurs between a sibling relationship, not between parent and child relationship as in the preceding examples. The origin of the conflict is the same; the clash of identities. At the beginning of the story, the fact that the narrator, Sonny’s brother, gets Sonny’s news from the newspaper shows that the relationship between two brothers is not secure; their relationship as a family has already been â€Å"pulled away†(Cather 107-120). The reason why they have been separated from each other for a long time was the lack of comprehension of the other’s individual personality. To overcome â€Å"the darkness outside†(384), which describes the discrimination in that era, both brother have to develop their identities which helps them as they endure hardships. Unfortunately, the identities they developed are very different; the narrator is practical and conservative, and Sonny is emotional and unconventional.            The clash of the identities has divided the brothers and causes Sonny to pursue â€Å"escaping, running away, and trying to break the net†(Cather 107-120) which leads to his addiction to heroin. In fact, Sonny â€Å"had always been a good boy†(377) as a member of the family. In his subconscious, he had â€Å"another secret, passionate and intense†(Cather 107-120). Though the narrator tries to care for Sonny in order to fulfill the promise made to his mother, He cannot understand Sonny’s â€Å"another†(Cather 107-120) aspect. This conflict is the reason why they keep pulling away each other.            Nevertheless, at the end of story, they get back together with perfect comprehension. Listening to Sonny’s play, the narrator â€Å"understands, at last†(398), his brother’s identity and why they were pulling away from each other; he realizes that the root of the conflict the brothers had was not because of Sonny’s rebellion but of his own misunderstanding of the suffering Sonny has endured. The brothers prepare to overcome the â€Å"tragic necessity,†which initially separated them, with â€Å"a Scotch and milk†(399) in the end.            In conclusion, through the analysis of the three works of literature, Willa Cather’s idea of â€Å"the double life†and â€Å"tragic necessity of human relationship†(107-120) can be seen as a universal theme in various stories. The development of identity causes the conflicts between family members, and the irony is that they continue to pull away from each other even though they need each. In Cather’s view, family members have a chance to overcome the conflicts they have had, as demonstrated by the narrator of â€Å"I Stand Here Ironing,†Mei from â€Å"Two Kinds,†and Sonny’s brother from â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†. Each character gets the better of his or her own conflicts to a certain extent. As they should; families are supposed to stick together. References Cather, Willa. â€Å"Katherine Mansfield.† Willa Cather on Writing. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1988. 107-120. Schilb, John, and Clifford, John. Making Literature Matter. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006 Â
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL EDUCATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL EDUCATION - Essay Example Usage of incentives and rewards for student and teacher motivation, special programmes for backlog students and higher involvement of community and parents are also important for developing positive self concept among the aboriginal students. Research based school improvement projects like CTF (Creating The Future) developed by Northwest Regional Educational Library, U.S.A have to be implemented for better learning process in aboriginal students in Australia. The teaching process involves more flexibility while delivering the message to aboriginal students. With the change in time, the necessity of aboriginal students will vary and hence it should allow the education in more flexible manner by incorporating new principles. By adding diversified aspects like student self concept, rural and urban mix up, cultural and social aspects, effective audio-video aids, and student specific needs these strategies would certainly help the teacher of indigenous students to deliver a better job. Similarly, the encouragement given to the teachers in the form of incentives and selection of experienced and native teachers enhance the efficiency of teaching aboriginal students in Australia. Moreover, these strategies will provide a wider platform for teachers of indigenous students in understanding the needs and problems of students and formulating contextual class room teaching methods and hence they will be successful in generating positive educational e xperience among aboriginal communities in Australia. FN 1: Kathleen Cotton. 1993. Building Positive Student Self-Concept. Stevenson-Carson School District. Stevenson, Washington. North West Regional Educational Library. http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/7/snap25.html. FN 2: Lester Irabinna. 2001. Rigney Building Stronger Communities: Indigenous Australian Rights In Education and Language. Voice of the
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Indigenous People of Australia. Does Australia Need a Treaty Essay
Indigenous People of Australia. Does Australia Need a Treaty - Essay Example Furthermore, the paper also describes Victorian Charter and what it means for the indigenous people. Australia lacks a formal treaty with its indigenous and non-indigenous people which have been a goal for all councils that are planning to give human rights to these people. However, little or no concerns have been shown by the governing bodies of how the treaty should be accommodated with the constitution of Australia to protect the rights of indigenous and non-indigenous people (Broome, 2010). Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders and other indigenous groups in Australia are the original dwellers of the Australian continent that has been living since 50,000 years. Great diversity is found between different communities in Australia which have different culture altogether. They have different languages and customs and are further divided into local communities that have more diversity in its form. But when the European settlement took place, they did not consider the rights of people th at were originally the inhabitants of the country (Bartlett, 2002). Many people suggest that it would be unwise to form a treaty between aboriginal people because of their demands that would unlikely to be fulfilled. The indigenous people of Australia launched a book entitled ‘Treaty: Let’s get it right’ which was targeted at white people living in Australia and were trying to persuade them they need more than a treaty and reconciliation. The Aborigines have claimed to form a State which is ruled by their community setting up as a ‘Black State’ (Windschuttle, 2001). The book represented that they wanted to negotiate for the self government which seemed impossible for government to fulfil their demands. In Aboriginal politics, the people have always claimed for a separate nation but the main focus of their demand is the sovereignty of indigenous people. Many scholars do not agree with Aboriginal ideology because the whites have now outnumbered the ind igenous people communities and now they have the right to rule in the country. The demands have forced many legal problems in the country (Hinton et al., 2008). Australia has never had a formal agreement on the treaty of indigenous people because Aboriginal have always been portrayed in the light of having no civilized pattern of living or government. The history has shown one sided relationship without covering the story of Aboriginals. They were termed as native savages by misleading people and make bad impressions in the mind of white people which developed hatred amongst them without realizing the truth. Indigenous people were completely overlooked by Australian justice and they did not consider them as relevant parties to compete with their rights. A treaty would eventually recognize and protect their rights that would lead to prosperous Australia (Langton, 2006). A treaty would be a final settlement between indigenous and non-indigenous people of Australia which would make thi ngs calm and would not give rise to civil war. The treaty is the best way for Aboriginal people to advance their cause for their freedom but before that a preliminary policy is needed that could give basic rights to indigenous people. The treaty is the central vision of Aboriginal people and it is an opportunity for them to brighten their future. These people would very far to achieve their vision which they have written many years before. It would
Monday, October 7, 2019
Should We lease or buy a car Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Should We lease or buy a car - Essay Example The total costs incurred in the three options analyzed form the basis of the choice preferred. As can be seen from the analysis, the buying option based on the chosen parameters and values is better considering especially if a higher deposit is given. It is recommended that one buys the car by paying a higher deposit amount. Should we lease or buy a car? This is the managerial question that the company seeks to answer. Buying or leasing is a very familiar question in the present age. In the United States, leasing accounted for close to 42 percent of the total new cars purchased in 2000. It is important to note that the number is increasing at a considerable rate. It is estimated that more cars that are new will be leased in the future. Leasing is defined as the process renting for a particular period or amount of time. As a result, the individual pays only a portion of the item value and not its total value. Majority of the automobiles are leased and the lease generally lasts for 2 to 5 years. The individual or the organization puts up the initial security deposit and it is generally a one to two months advance lease expense (Royale Management Services, 2001). There are several benefits of buying or leasing a car. Benefits to buying include lack of restrictions as to how many miles per year the car can be driven, the car can be sold because it has some residual value, and the absence of insurance issues linked to premature termination. Other benefits include that the car be treated in any way the individual or the company wishes this were because there are no turn-in issues associated with the residual value. If an investment type loan like home equity is utilized to finance the purchase of the car, the interest charges can be deducted on the individual’s or the company’s tax return (Royale Management Services, 2001). Benefits to leasing
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Indonesian Islamic Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Indonesian Islamic Law - Essay Example I felt peeved at the manner in which a lady is being shoved out of a hotel lobby, where she was having conversation with two of her lady friend, and the male colleagues standing nearby kept laughing and booing at them. Nobody thought it fit to reason out with the police officials that they are not doing anything illegal in the hotel lobby. What is more troubling is, what message is being sent out about Islamic laws by such an action?3. Identify cultural values specific to your own culture that impacted upon how you reacted/responded to this article. My culture has given me the values and teaching which do not allow ill-treatment of the female members of the society for the simple reason that they are born as female. Equality in the society is the norm as far as I’ve learnt. I sincerely feel that laws are meant to protect the humanity and not to torture them in the name of religion.4. Analyze how ethnocentricity can impact the way in which you reacted to this article.Ethn ocentricity implies that an individual tends to focus more on the specific ethnic group he or she belongs to. In general it can be considered as a normal human tendency, but in this case we have a nation which has to take care of so many issues at home for development of its citizens, reconstruction of the infrastructure destroyed during the Tsunami disaster, political issues etc. But focus is being given to the age old Shariah laws instead. When a port city it raises doubts about the capability of the government to take the nation ahead.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Compare themes and make connections in 3 stories Essay
Compare themes and make connections in 3 stories - Essay Example In Updike’s story, Sammy is an immature and romantic daredevil who can recklessly decides to quit his job in order to draw the attention of Quinee the leader of the girls in weird dress. Again though Steinbeck’s protagonist Elisa Allen is intelligent, enthusiastic and business-minded, she shows the signs of immature perception of the world through her romantic fascination for a hobo life. In a similar manner, Alice’s protagonist Dee’s self contradictory immaturity lies in the fact that though she shows significant awareness of her community culture and heritage, the way how she wants to preserve it will ultimately eradicate it. Therefore, it can be assumed that though all of the protagonists apparently seem to brilliant, smart and intelligent, they are romantically immature. In Updike’s story, because of his sarcastic remarks for the coworkers and his masterful narration, Sammy seems to be quite smart and intelligent. The ways how he behaves with th e girls and how he reacts to the manager’s pragmatic advice to them necessarily reveal that he is romantically immature. Being a teenager, Sammy can do anything to attract the girls in bikinis who come to his store. Indeed, a romantic and heroic attitude towards the opposite sex drives his behavior. When in response to the manager’s warning, Quinee says that her mother asks her â€Å"to pick up a jar of herring snacks†(Updike), Sammy can easily â€Å"slid right down her voice into her living room†(Updike). He conjures up an imaginary aristocratic world wheret her parents and others in â€Å"ice-cream coats and bow ties†are â€Å"picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big plate†and drinking the â€Å"color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them†(Updike). Sammy’s rich and figurative narration necessarily shows that he is quite intelligent. But it also reveals that he is hungry for such luxury. But Sammy canno t perceive the stern reality which lies beneath this luxurious facade of life. As a result, He, hungry for this luxurious life, loudly declares to quit his job in protest against the manager’s decision. So he hopes that Quinee will notice his heroism. But in contradiction to his expectations, they do not stop and â€Å"watch†¦.their unsuspected hero†(Updike). His limited experience fails him to perceive the reality that lies beyond romantic appearance of the world. Like Sammy’s hollow smartness, Dee Johnson seems to be quite smart. She has changed her name to â€Å"Wangaro†in order to protest against the culture and people who once oppressed her ancestors, as she says, â€Å"I couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.†(Walker) Obviously, it is a wise decision on her part. It shows that she is aware of her ‘self’ and of her culture. Indeed, Mama also pursues the same of having a respectable identi ty in the white dominated which once has enslaved her ancestors mercilessly. She dreams of talking with the white man looking in his eye. This dream of Mama to look in the eye of a white man necessarily propounds that she is also aware of her African American cultural identity, as she says, â€Å"Who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye?†(Walker) Even though both Mama’s and Dee’s goals are same, Dee vehemently opposes Mama. The way she wants to keep her cultural identity will eradicate the culture itself in the long run. She does not want to use the quilts in her
Friday, October 4, 2019
Chipotle Grill Essay Example for Free
Chipotle Grill Essay Chipotle Mexican Grill is a chain of restaurants specializing in San Francisco burritos and tacos since it’s inception in 1993. Chipotle is known for chunky guacamole, large burritos, and assembly line production that provides high quality food served with the speed of fast food. Its â€Å"Food with Integrity†motto represents the pride it has in providing wholesome ingredients. The company presently uses 100% naturally raised chicken and pork, meaning the animals were raised in a humane way and never given antibiotics or hormones. Chipotle currently operates 862 restaurants in 33 states and plans to open 120-130 new restaurants in 2009 (Chipotle, 2009). A major challenge is finding new restaurant sites that will provide an adequate customer base and enable continued growth. Chipotle has historically operated on miniscule advertising budgets, but will take a more aggressive stance in the near future. Mark Crumpacker was appointed the company’s first Chief Marketing Officer this past year, and promises to bring new energy and a fresh perspective to enhance Chipotle’s marketing posture. An evaluation of the company’s internal strengths, weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats served as the foundation for this strategic analysis and marketing plan. The plan focuses on Chipotle’s growth strategy and suggests ways in which it can build on existing customer relations by increasing the quality of their dining experience. The company will also aggressively seek to develop new markets in order to sustain growth and strengthen shareholder value over time.
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