Struggle for Free

Struggle for Freedom Essay In the short story Flight by Doris Lessing and Dubliners: An Encounter by James Joyce, have many of the same literary techniques employed through the themes and imagery. Thematically, these two short stories are very similar because they both are about youth growing up which leads to escape or freedom during the childhood and adolescence years. Lessings story is about a grandfather who is possessive of his granddaughter and does not want her grow-up. Because of this, he tries to control her because he does not want to be alone, and most importantly because this was his last granddaughter out of four to mature. As for Joyces story, it is mainly about the relationship between Father Butler and the boys, where the boys are faced with boredom at school and are spurred by excitement found in magazine stories about the American Wild West, two young boys skip school to take a trip to The Pigeon-house. Their school boy lark and youthful egocentricism are destroyed by an encounter with an aging pervert who tells them that boys were too young to have sweethearts. In addition, both of the authors use descriptive words to create imagery, which also shows how the two stories are similar. Some examples of descriptive imagery from Flight are: and Dubliners: An Encounter is It will become apparent that this is what these stories are about when evidence is provided by referring to the each story to support these statements in the text. Similarly, the themes in both short stories illustrate flight in one case and freedom in another, during their adolescence years of the characters. This shows how the characters move on to live their life in Flight or the transition from boys to men (bigger boys) in Dubliners: An Encouter. An example of this is in Flight, when the grandfather disapproves of the granddaughter (Alice) going out with the postmasters son (Steven). With this, he runs to his daughter (Lucy) and argues that Alice is just a young girl and that she needs to stop Alice from making a mistake. On the other hand, the grandfather is the one who has made the mistake with all the watching over her, he has overlooked that she is a young woman who has fallen in love. The dialog that shows his unease at her growing up and making new life changes is below: Lucy, he said urgently. Lucy . . . Well, what is it now? Shes in the garden with Steven. Now you just sit down and have your tea. He stumped his feet alternatively, thump, thump, on the hollow wooden floor and shouted: Shell marry him. Im telling you, shell be marrying him next! pg. 386 In addition, the age of Alice is brought up, which shows that Alice is in her adolescent years and is ready to take flight. This is found when the grandfather says: Shes eighteen. Eighteen!. A similar situation occurred in Dubliners: An Encounter is when the narrator (one of the boys) says the following: The adventures related in the literature of the Wild West were remote from my nature but, at least, they opened doors of escape. The summer holidays were near at hand when I made up my mind to break out of the weariness of school life for one day at least. It is known that the story took place in their childhood years going on to their adolescent years, because the quote shows that the boys are growing up since they did not charge the younger boys. This shows that they were also growing up. As quoted in the story: Mahony began to play the Indian as soon as we were out of public sight. He chased a crowd of ragged girls, brandishing his unloaded catapult and, when two ragged boys began, out of chivalry, to fling stones at us, he proposed that we should charge them. I objected that the boys were too small, and so we walked on, the ragged troop screaming after us Swaddlers! Swaddlers! thinking that we were Protestants because Mahony, who was dark-complexioned, wore the silver badge of a cricket club in his cap. Part of this that made this so effective was the imagery. Another similarity is the imagery, and through the literary techniques, the authors utilized. From beginning to end, there are many examples of imagery; nonetheless, not all will be mentioned. With Lessings story, one can read a description that she has used and easily visualize what she is talking about. In the introduction, she describes the dovecote and it is birds with the words: tall wire-netted shelf on stilts, young plump-bodied bird, cold coral claws. Later on, there is a description of Steven thought of by the grandfather, which quotes: red-handed, red-throated, violent-bodied youth. At the end of the story, she describes the sky and the land in the eyes of the grandfather with the words: cloud of shining birds, shrill cleaving of wings, dark ploughed land, darker belts of trees, bright folds of grass, and cloud of motes of dust. As for Joyces story, he gives detailed descriptions of imagery of the day of the adventure. One scene that has several descriptions of imagery used the words: long grass, mild sunny morning, frail canvas shoes, tramload of business people, tall trees, little light green leaves. Joyce also describes Dublins commerce area as: curls of woolly smoke, brown fishing fleet, big white sailing vessel. Effective Transition Sentence Linking Ideas: Main Points connected to thesis: Back up the text referencing to story What causes these similarities and/or differences? What effect (or cost) do they have on the subjects? On society? What do the similarities and/or differences show about your subjects? About society? Concluding, This should make it a very suitable story for young people preparing for exams: Alices situation will be one that you face now or will face soon. How do you feel about this prospect? Is it scary, or exciting or both? Leaving home and becoming independent are things which most people face sooner or later.

The Importance Of Employees In An Organization Marketing Essay

The Importance Of Employees In An Organization Marketing Essay The article focuses on the importance of employees in an organization. The categorization of employees as the most valuable asset of an organization has been proclaimed by many marketing, human resource and other business experts. However, it is just a claim and no concrete measures are taken to harvest this invaluable asset. Companies focus on the four Ps of marketing strategy, rather than the role of employees in delivering customer satisfaction. This article advocates the concept of the fifth P, which is not packaging or public relations but rather people-power. The article focuses on the importance of an organizations workforce in marketing strategy. The author touches on general marketing concepts covered by great authors such as Kotler and Levitt and builds upon them with relation to the human resources of an organization. In the academic context, the article is a practical approach to internal marketing and covers the concept of including the 5th P in the marketing mix. From an industrial context, the theoretical concepts covered stress the implementation of these concepts in the industry. The author reiterates the importance of refraining from platitudes and instilling the value of employees with regards to customer service at all levels of the organization. From a scholarly point of view, the article builds on attempts to include people power by authors such as Parkinson (1988), Gross et al. (1993), Rafiq and Ahmed (2000) and Judd himself in 1987 and 2001. The difference between this article and others is that it focuses on people powe r as an integral part of the marketing mix over all sectors in an economy whereas other articles focused on its role in specific industries or the importance of employees in internal marketing. An organization needs customers to survive and be profitable and customers are looking for value. Marketing persuades the customer that value is to be found in a specific organizations product or service thus an organization has two main marketing objectives which are to satisfy customers and to provide customers with a differentiated product that holds value for them. An introduction of marketing mix in the article explains that it is the combination of price, promotion, placement and most importantly product that an organization develops to attract and satisfy customers. The marketing mix elements must provide an offering that holds value for customers and substantially differentiates the offering from competitors. According to Levitt (1986), marketing is basically about getting the customer and this customer orientation defines all aspects of marketing strategy. The article bases its argument for the 5th P firstly on this concept of customer orientation which is the cornerstone of marketing principles. The second concept is the role of employees in differentiating and delivering value. Kotler (2000) mentions employees as a differentiating element for organizations. According to him, an organization consisting of qualified, courteous and helpful staff is automatically differentiated from a competitor who does not have a customer-oriented staff. According to the author, most business authors mention the employees as the most important asset of an organization (Freeman, 1993; Shoniwa and Gilmore, 1996; Peak, 1997; Business Week, 2000). This assertion by various authors has not had any real impact on the way organizations consider their human resources Although motivational theories have changes from a more scientific to humanistic approach and managers of every organization claim in their annual reports that their employees are the driving force, or they are invaluable but implementation of these assertions in strategies and organizational behavior has been lacking. Thus the central idea of the article is that the main aims of marketing which are delivering value to customers through differentiation and achieving customer satisfaction are attainable through the organizations employees. The organization cannot be fully customer oriented until its employees are focused on creating and delivering value to the customers. Employees at all levels of the organization should be committed to the customer and that is the only way an organization can be fully customer oriented. Accordingly, it is vital that employees be included in the marketing strategy as the fifth P. The author proposes that people-power be included in the marketing mix as employees are as important in differentiating and delivering value to the customer as price, product, placement and promotion. In explaining this orientation towards people-power, the article explores the marketing ideas of differentiation and the marketing mix which are the basis of marketing strategy. An organization can differentiate its product offering through product, design, style, name, logo, packaging, features, store location, availability, branding, goodwill and personal touch (Chamberlin, 1965). But the core concept is perceived differentiation in the mind of the customer, thus differentiation is only effective if it is perceived by the customer to add value to the product (Kotler 1986). Thus, on this basis of differentiation the organization can attract customers and satisfy them. The marketing mix denotes elements of marketing strategy and product development that can be modified by the organization. These elements represent the augmented product or service offering to the customer and can be differentiated to suit the customers needs. Price, place, promotion and product are widely accepted as the four Ps (McCarthy, 1960). However Kotler (1986) the marketing Guru, suggested that public relations should be a part of the marketing mix as did Mindak and Fine (1981). Political power has also been suggested as a marketing mix variable (Kotler, 1986) whereas Wind (1986) asserted there were 11 Ps in the marketing mix. However, recently the concept of relationship marketing has been pushed forward as a replacement for the marketing mix (Groà ¶nroos, 1994). Although, relationship marketing has gained prominence it does not compromise the significance of the marketing mix; according to the author. In fact, it is another concept of marketing that requires the harvestin g of human resource to develop relationships and thus deliver value to the customer. The inclusion of people-power was first discussed by the author in previous articles with regards to field sales in B2B marketing (Judd, 1986) and with regards to non-profit organizations (Judd, 2001). With reference to industrial and manufacturing concerns it was included in the marketing mix by Gross et al. (1993) and to small businesses by Parkinson (1988). Although, it has been discussed by many other scholars (Christopher et al., 1993; Harris, 1999), recently people power has ignited more interest with regards to organizations across all sectors of the economy. The strengths of the article are that it clearly states the concepts of marketing and its aim to introduce people-power in the marketing. It clearly refers to many previous articles and books about marketing and makes an informed leap into the stretching of the marketing mix. The conclusions derived in the article, are easy for the reader and the student to grasp as there is a logical progression from one concept to another. The concept of employees as a major force that determines the success and failure of an organization is not a new one, however mostly it is just a statement with no real actions by marketers or managers to instill it in their strategies; this article correctly identifies and criticizes this and provides a real workable path to employee involvement in creating value for the customer. It does not focus on the customer relations employees or the board of directors; rather it covers all employees that work in an organization whether or not they directly or indirectly influence the marketing strategy. The author believes that every employee influences the customer through his performance whether directly or indirectly. The main weakness of the article is that though it advocates the importance of employees in a marketing concept; he does not put forth details about how different employees can affect the organization. The author does not use any primary research. The author states many sources but only focus on major concepts from Levitt (1969). The article does not bring any major new conclusions to the marketing world except for the employee matrix and how different employee roles should change due to the induction of people power. The research methodology the article follows is usage of secondary research. A wide variety of sources and references have been incorporated from the books and journals. The author covers different perspectives of the marketing mix and differentiation. He considers different views of employees. In detail, he discusses Levitts theories and Rafiq and Ahmeds summary on internal marketing. The author has not conducted surveys and studies himself although he has build upon concepts and ideas from his older articles in 1987 and 2001; both dealt with people power in specific types of organizations. The author has chosen to specific examples in his article for the implementation of people power in the marketing mix. One is an industrial setting and the other a non-profit organization. In each organization there are different levels of contact with the customers and different levels of involvement with the design and execution of the marketing mix. The most involved in both areas are the contactors which would include marketing management, sales people, customer service, design engineers and so on. Influencers are involved in the marketing mix but have little chance of customer interaction; they include RD, senior management and process engineers. Modifiers have high customer contact but no involvement in the marketing mix and include receptionists, credit and billing departments. Isolateds are not involved in either of the two areas and examples include Human resources, accounts payable and personnel department. In a nonprofit organization the situation is slightly different as most employees are customer oriented and involved in the marketing mix. Volunteers in a nonprofit organization make up a major part of the people and are an integral part of the organization. Thus the major finding of the article is that as people power becomes the 5th P; the management needs to develop a strategy for the contactors, modifiers, influencers and most importantly the isolateds. The strategy of managing people in the organization to develop a customer oriented approach is found in many articles about internal marketing. Piercy (1995) states that views of performance diverge amongst internal and external markets and employees may perceive service to be high quality but customers may be of a differing opinion thus even employees not in contact with the customer should be aware of the customers needs and priorities and an analysis of divergence between external and internal market should be carried out. Internal barriers may be recognized and should be the basis of the internal marketing strategy and thus the gap between the external and internal market should be closed. Rashid and Ahmed (2000) in their article focus on the three step implementation of internal marketing. Firstly employees should be treated as customers and thus the second step involves marketing techniques to be used to move the employees to a more customer oriented approach. Thirdly, strategi es should be developed create awareness about the employees role in the organization and its strategy and change management should be undertaken. Another approach to managing people power is that the CEO should be responsible for directing the organization into a more customer oriented approach (Levitt, 1969). Webster (1988) agrees with this concept of the CEO being the guiding force for commitment to marketing strategy. This article however, takes a different approach by dividing employees into categories based on the level of involvement in the marketing mix and customer contact as mentioned previously. The article proposes different strategies for different types of employees and claims this will be more effective than a blanket approach. As contactors and influencers may already be customer oriented but modifiers and isolates may need different strategies to develop customer orientation and focus on the bigger picture. The article outlines a management process as a result of the analysis which details the desired strategies and outcomes for specific types of employees. Contactors are directly involved in the marketing strategy and have high probability of contact with the customers; thus it is vital that the organization firstly hires qualified people who understand the customer. The contactors should be experts in their field, highly motivated and have in depth knowledge about the organizations customers. As they are the designers of the marketing mix, if their focus is on customer satisfaction, so will be the strategies they design. Modifiers should be effective communicators, and frequent communication training should be carried out. As the modifiers have customer contact but are not involved in marketing strategy. They should be thoroughly educated with regards to the customers value to the organization, the marketing strategies and the customers needs. Modifiers need to be reminded regularly o f the bigger picture and customer focus, as a rude receptionist can entirely change the customers perception of an organization. Influencers are the driving force behind the marketing strategy, thus they should be knowledgeable about the market and be able to judge things from a customers point of view. In order to increase their customer orientation they should be evaluated on customer orientation based standards. As they lack contact with the customer, programs should be implemented that enable them to interact with customers directly. Isolateds have no contact with the customer and are not involved in the marketing mix such as accountants, HR department, and operations and so on. They are the support staff and carry out organizational activities that enable service to the customer. However, these employees are focused on the organization and processes and have no sense of serving the customer. Thus they should be made aware of the customers and their needs. Methods such as writte n, audio and visual materials should be used to present the customer, the marketing strategy and their contribution to satisfying the customer. Regular inter department events can be held to make them feel a part of the organization and learn more about its strategy and goals. The processes explained in the article are useful for the academic community for the development of a human resource oriented marketing strategy. The concepts of differentiation and marketing may mention people in the organization but for students to realize the importance of people in the success of an organization is vital. Marketing strategies that focus on customer orientation and differentiation through employees may be just as successful as forming strategies based on branding or product features. This focus is useful for practitioners as well, as organizations need to actualize the potential of their employees. As commitment to the customer is not a part of motivational strategies, management needs to develop their own strategies to develop customer orientation through internal marketing. For marketers to develop a customer oriented approach in the organization, formalizing people power and developing and implementing strategies to harness this power is vital. Critique of the Judd article The article provides many references and sources however it lacks substantial evidence to back up the claim of people power. It is a conceptual paper that does not focus on practical examples and studies which detracts from the message. The author could have created a greater impact on the reader by providing results of surveys and researches or conducting studies himself. Although the paper cites many relevant respected sources it does not provide concrete support for the authors stance. The article is focused and to the point; and the diagrams are clear and simple. However, one feels that the article should have given generic examples rather than focusing on non profit and manufacturing organizations as the purpose of the article is people power across all sectors. The topic that Judd covers has been a source of debate in recent years. Human resources have gained importance and their value and input has been recognized in the academic world as well as in firms. The marketing mix has also been analyzed and criticized by many scholars as being too limited and many authors have proposed different elements to be added; as Kotler (1987) did in his books Principles of Marketing and Marketing Management. Although many authors promote human resources as an integral part of marketing, they often take different approaches. As Piercy (1995) in his article on internal marketing states that views of performance diverge amongst internal and external markets and employees may perceive service to be high quality but customers may be of a differing opinion thus even employees not in contact with the customer should be aware of the customers needs and priorities and an analysis of divergence between external and internal market should be carried out. Internal barriers that are identified should be the basis of the internal marketing strategy and thus the gap between the external and internal market should be closed. He focuses on identifying customers and suppliers within the organization. He also emphasizes the importance of employees views to be aligned with customer views just as Judd focuses on the employees being customer oriented even if not in contact with the customer. The proposal of 7 Ps by Rafiq and Ahmed (1995) in a generic marketing mix also proposes the inclusion of participants in the mix. Other Ps that they propose are physical training and process. The article is very different from Judds as it focuses on all aspects of the marketing mix rather than only people. The article focuses on a 7P vs 4P idea, and presents surveys and primary research which represent acceptance of the 7P framework. Another major difference is that participants means suppliers and customers as well and not only employees. The similarities include the focus on training and a customer focus throughout the organization; as it is vital for participants to create synergy and be aware of each others needs. As Judd focuses on the importance of people within the organization as an element of the marketing mix; Rashid and Ahmed focus on the entire marketing mix with participants as an integral element. It provides the Boom and Bitner framework which considers all human actor s as participants and as an element of the marketing mix. An article by Gronroos (1997) about relationship marketing focuses on the simplicity of the 4P framework and how it cannot apply to current organizations. It focuses on how relationship building with customers is of utmost importance and it is the foundation of marketing. This involves employees as being the force that enable the organization to build long term mutually beneficial relationships with customers. This is similar to Judds theme of the element of people power and their importance in providing service to the customer. Judd focuses on the marketing mix and Gronroos dismisses the marketing mix. But the element of employees being the basis of all services and marketing is common among the articles although the approach is different. According the article marketing attracts and persuades the customer and relationship marketing makes promises and builds trust. Judds article also focuses on customer orientation and building relationships but through internal marketing and the ma rketing mix. In his paper, Marketing Redefined; Gronroos (1990) covers the limitations of the marketing mix and its ignorance of customer relations. This article focuses on development of customer relations being more important than the 4 Ps just as Judd stresses the importance of people power as another P. However, the two papers reach the same conclusions from different points of views; customer orientation and relationship building is achieved through employee focus and commitment. Chris Lane (1988) wrote a paper on putting people first in the marketing mix. Lane (1988) focuses on the importance of the service giver in the marketing mix. He states that the service giver is the utmost important marketing factor as services are intangible and more emotional. He does not focus on a generic marketing mix, rather on the service industry. Although, caring for people and harnessing human resources is considered as vital to marketing, he does not focus on all the employees as being vital like Judd does. As Judd covers the generic marketing mix and focuses on customer orientation throughout the organization; Lane focuses only on the service industry and the service provider as being important. Judds article does not present a unique approach to the marketing mix and does not provide unique solutions as well, but it actively focuses on all employees of an organization. The articles strength is that it covers all types of human resources and their addition to the marketing mix, rather than just the influencers and contactors. The main weakness is the lack of primary research and statistical results that would have helped Judd in further persuading the reader about his assertions. Evaluation The article brings up an interesting view of employees and how to develop customer orientation in them. Although the importance of employees and HR is a common subject, this article develops a marketing perspective on employees. It proposes that for all types of organizations, the marketing mix should include people-power as the fifth element and thus strategies should be developed for employees to achieve customer orientation at all levels of the organization. The author builds up on his previous article on the same topic and thus it is not an entirely new concept. The strategies that the article proposes may achieve customer orientation in the organization, but it seems unlikely that the support staff and receptionists can be convinced to value the marketing strategy of the organization and customer focus as much as contactors and influencers. The article has a limited focus on the marketing mix; which has been criticized for being outdated. It does not focus on the relevance of re lationship marketing to people power and customer orientation. Judd touches on internal marketing but does not incorporate it in his views of employee and management roles. The article provides new roles for employees and new management responses based on the inclusion of the 5th P and customer orientation; however it might be difficult for marketers to convince other managers to implement these strategies unless there is high level commitment from the top. Thus, the initiative should be taken from the very top in order for customer orientation to take root at every level of the organization.

BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS :: essays research papers

The battle of New Orleans was a significant battle in the war of 1812. It was a crushing defeat for the British, increased patriotism, and Andrew Jackson emerged an American hero. The United States acquired the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, thereby gaining control of the Mississippi River, and its watershed at the golf of Mexico. The U.S. government realized how important this was and its potential of becoming a great trading post. By 1812 this area called New Orleans grew as expected in size and importance. In peace it was a commercial outlet and trading center of the western United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The British chose to attack the Americans from the north by way of Isle aux Pois in the mouth of the Pearl River because this was the only only stable water they had found that ships could ride and anchor. When hearing that the british where coming this way, Lieutenant Thomas Ap Catesby Jones and his five gunboats went to try and Barackade the Rigolets trying to make sure they wouldn’t enter. His 185 men and 23 guns awaited the British. At 10:30 on December 14th 1814 three columns of British ships, 42 to 45, armed with 43 guns and 1,200 under the command of Captain Lockyer met the American blockade. Fierce fighting began and the British had finally captured the five American boats. Losses were 17 British and 6 Americans killed, 77 British and 35 Americans wounded. This gave Gerneral Andrew Jackson six days more to improve his defenses. The British at the very beginning of the war had demolished almost all of Jacksons sea power. Jackson only had the Carolina , Louisiana, and one gunboat left.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Jackson heard of the attack on Jones’ ships on December 15 he issued crises orders to forces nearby. One General by the name of Coffee received orders from Jackson stating â€Å"You must not sleep until you reach me or arrive withink striking distance.† The next day Jackson placed New Orleans under Martial Law. When General Coffee received his orders he immediately gathered his 1250 men and where off to help Jackson. Each man brought with him a hunting knife and long rifle. The Tenessee brigade commanded by Major General William Caroll arrived on 21st December. Only one in ten of them had a firearm.

Abigail Adams: Influential Wife of President John Adams :: Biography Biographies Essays

Abigail Adams: Influential Wife of President John Adams Abigail Adams was a unique women because she had an education and an interest in politics. She learned how to read and write and enjoyed poems most. She was also very resourceful by helping her husband on difficult problems. Abigail was born on November 11 on the Julian calendar, or November 22 on the modern Gregorian calendar. Abigail had two sisters named Mary and Elizabeth or Betsy. She had one brother named William or Billy. Abigail's name was originally Abigail Smith. Each baby was baptized on the first Sabbath of its life and was recorded in their parish records. Abigail live in a comfortable house. When Abigail was sixteen, her father added a wing that was bigger than the original building to make room for the children, servants, and visitors. When I say servants it means that they were probably slaves but were called servants to avoid the dehumanizing effect that the word 'slave' can mean. Their house was a sight of luxury in the eyes of the common folk in the parish. Though they lived well, the Smiths had no fortune. Abigail's father often worked with his own hands, planting corn and potatoes, gathering hay, sowing barley, or making sure that his sheep received proper care. Abigail, with the help of her family grew a very religious bond between each other and a long lasting friendship. Abigail never went to a real school because of poor health. So, she learned at home. Her father's library was not big, but she still went to it to read books. Abigail's favorite books were novels by Samuel Richardson. Abigail's father knew John Adams by working with him and she grew rather close to him starting a wedding. This now made her name Abigail Adams. Their wedding was held on October 25, 1764, a month before her twentieth birthday. John was a lawyer and very often was not at home due to court cases he had to attend to. When Abigail was pregnant with her first son, John was only at home for eight out of the nine months. The baby was born on a hot day on the morning of July 14, 1765. The baby's name was 'Abigail', but was called Nabby. She was with her parents when she had the baby. Shortly after, she was again pregnant. Abigail Adams: Influential Wife of President John Adams :: Biography Biographies Essays Abigail Adams: Influential Wife of President John Adams Abigail Adams was a unique women because she had an education and an interest in politics. She learned how to read and write and enjoyed poems most. She was also very resourceful by helping her husband on difficult problems. Abigail was born on November 11 on the Julian calendar, or November 22 on the modern Gregorian calendar. Abigail had two sisters named Mary and Elizabeth or Betsy. She had one brother named William or Billy. Abigail's name was originally Abigail Smith. Each baby was baptized on the first Sabbath of its life and was recorded in their parish records. Abigail live in a comfortable house. When Abigail was sixteen, her father added a wing that was bigger than the original building to make room for the children, servants, and visitors. When I say servants it means that they were probably slaves but were called servants to avoid the dehumanizing effect that the word 'slave' can mean. Their house was a sight of luxury in the eyes of the common folk in the parish. Though they lived well, the Smiths had no fortune. Abigail's father often worked with his own hands, planting corn and potatoes, gathering hay, sowing barley, or making sure that his sheep received proper care. Abigail, with the help of her family grew a very religious bond between each other and a long lasting friendship. Abigail never went to a real school because of poor health. So, she learned at home. Her father's library was not big, but she still went to it to read books. Abigail's favorite books were novels by Samuel Richardson. Abigail's father knew John Adams by working with him and she grew rather close to him starting a wedding. This now made her name Abigail Adams. Their wedding was held on October 25, 1764, a month before her twentieth birthday. John was a lawyer and very often was not at home due to court cases he had to attend to. When Abigail was pregnant with her first son, John was only at home for eight out of the nine months. The baby was born on a hot day on the morning of July 14, 1765. The baby's name was 'Abigail', but was called Nabby. She was with her parents when she had the baby. Shortly after, she was again pregnant.

Mythology Of Indian Dance :: essays research papers

Like many Indian arts, Indian dance also has its root in religion. Without the religious and cultural background of India, the growth and beauty of Indian dance is not possible. In ‘Natya Shastra’, there is a small story about the origin of Indian dance. According to Hindu mythology, dance first existed in heaven. There was always a constant conflict between the Asuras and the Devas for wealth and power. The Devas were tired of the Asuras’ greediness and jealousy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was during this long period of tedium that all the Devas approached Lord Indra too find good ways and means of entertainment. Lord Indra, who was also tired of the Asuras, approached Lord Brahma (believed to be the creator of the Universe) and asked him to help them. They made a request to Lord Brahma that this method of entertainment should be pleasing to both the eye as well as the ear, and that it should be enjoyed by the masses of both higher and lower classes. Lord Brahma gave a long thought to the request of Lord Indra and finally decided to help them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lord Brahma went into a state of deep meditation. He called to mind the four Vedas. Vedas are the earliest scriptures of the Hindus. He distilled the essence from each of the Vedas. From ‘Rigveda’, he derived the words, from ‘Sama Veda’, he derived the music, from ‘Yojurve Veda’, the code of gesture and from ‘Atherva Veda’, the element of sentiment or flavor. He blended all of these ingredients and added his own divine genious. Thus, he created an entirely new activity. Brahma named this activity ‘Natya’, which was later renamed ‘Natya Veda’.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brahma had simply created a technique, but someone was needed for putting it into practice. Lord Brahma sought the cooperation of Bharat, a trusted sage. Bharat, with the help of his sons, started working. Vishvakarma, the supreme architect of heaven, then created a splendid theater in the hall of India’s court for the performance. Bharat told Brahma that certain characters of the dance sequences could only be performed by women. Brahma solved the problem by creating twenty-three beautiful ‘Apsaras’.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of the preparations were made accordingly, and for the very first time, the art of ‘Natya’ was performed before an audience of Devas and Asuras. In this Natya, the Devas were portrayed as victorious and the Asuras as losers. The Asuras (demons) got angry and rose in protest and threatened even worse consequences.

“A Rose For Emily” by Willam Failkner Essay

In the story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner, the use of foreshadowing is used truly conspicuously. To foreshadow is to provide advanced indications to a future event or discovery.. The extremely strong dank scent about Ms. Emily’s house, the second floor of this residence being locked and the discovery of the iron grey hair, all are strong foreshadowing incidents that achieve this surprising and strong but also believable ending. Faulkner use of foreshadowing is used ingeniously to achieve a shocking and powerful yet certain ending Ms. Emily lived in a white, square, seventies style house that is now rundown, un maintained, rotting and decaying. The inside of the house was said to smell like â€Å"dust and disuse – a close, dank smell.† Yet the scent smelt by 3 different neighbors was stronger than this, the stench was so rotten that it traveled into neighboring homes. As one neighbor complained and described the smell she said â€Å"†¦ they were not surprised when the smell developed. It was another link between the gross, teeming world and the high and mighty Griersons.† Faulkner was trying to develop a scent so strong that it could only be that of a dead body. As Ms. Emily’s husband, Homer Barron had gone unseen ever since they were married, it foreshadows to the discovery of his dead body in the house. The foreshadowing helps to bring certainty and believability to the ending of this story. Ms. Emily was occasionally seen through windows in her home sometimes on the second floor and sometimes on the main floor. As Ms. Emily grew old she started only to be seen on the main floor of her house, not ever on the second. People who would watch the house said â€Å"†¦she had evidently shut up the top floor of the house†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Faulkner wanted to make the reader wonder why the second floor was locked and not used. What could Ms. Emily be trying to hide? This is a development in the foreshadowing of the scent in the house, as this foreshadows the discovery of Homer Barron’s dead body locked away, upstairs in Ms. Emily’s house. Again this foreshadowing strengthens the certainty and believability to the ending of this story. As Ms. Emily grew old, her hair turned gray. Her hair was described as â€Å"pepper-and-salt-iron-gray.† The eventual death of Ms. Emily would end the  mystery of her life that all of the society had once wondered about. After her funeral and her burial, the town’s people broke down the locked upstairs door. Found was the deceased and decaying body of Homer Barron, but more closely on the pillow beside where his body laid, an indentation of a head and some strands of hair. The hair was shockingly described as â€Å"†¦a long strand of iron-gray hair.† All of Faulkner’s foreshadowing lead to this point, where the story came together. This hair foreshadows the untold part of the story, where Ms. Emily had kept Homer Barron’s body after he had died and had been sleeping with the body. This foreshadowing is extremely strong and serious as it is un-realistic in our ‘normal’ society. Through the helpful foreshadowing events that lead to a strong and serious example, one can see how the use of foreshadowing brings about a cunning and serious yet a truthful ending. The use of foreshadowing can have a strong impact on story’s and novel’s it can change predictions, alter thoughts on characters and could leave an impression on the reader. In today’s ‘normal’ society this discovery in the story would mostly be seen as a weariness, but to the ‘macabre’ society this story may have been interpreted differently and would possibly appear normal to them.

Argument Essay

The following passage comes from â€Å"The Common Life,† a 1994 essay by the American writer Scott Russell Sanders. Read the passage carefully and then write an essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies Sanders’ ideas about the relationship between the individual and society in the United States. Use specific evidence to support your position. A woman who recently moved from Los Angeles to Bloomington [Indiana] told me that she would not be able to stay here long, because she was already beginning to recognize people in the grocery stores, on the sidewalks, in the library. Being surrounded by familiar faces made her nervous, after years in a city where she could range about anonymously. Every traveler knows the sense of liberation that comes from journeying to a place where nobody expects anything of you. Everyone who has gone to college knows the exhilaration of slipping away from the watchful eyes of Mom and Dad. We all need seasons of withdrawal from responsibility. But if we make a career of being unaccountable, we have lost something essential to our humanity, and we may well become a burden or a threat to those around us. A community can support a number of people who are just passing through, or who care about no one’s needs but their own; the greater the proportion of such people, however, the more vulnerabl e the community, until eventually it breaks down†¦.Taking part in the common life means dwelling in a web of relationships, the many threads tugging at you while also holding you upright. PITFALL ONE: not understanding the task or the directions Make sure that you read the passage correctly and understand your task. Don’t get caught up in tangential issues. Figure out what Sanders’s central thesis is. This student had trouble understanding the issue: For example, when people get caught doing something wrong and they don’t want to admit to their mistakes, they sometimes think of a lie, which is a defense mechanism people use when in trouble. Who hasn’t lied at some time  in their lives? The guilt will haunt the lady in the passage who moved to Bloomington, tearing up everything in her life from inside then out. The example about the woman from Bloomington is not the central issue in this prompt—it is an example Sanders is giving to make his point. An EXAMPLE WILL NOT BE THE CLAIM, it will illustrate the claim. So, to determine the claim think about what point the example supports. PITFALL TWO: merely paraphrasing the passage If your whole essay consists of explaining what Sanders is saying in this passage, you will not score above a five out of nine. Resist the temptation to tell what the entire passage is saying. The readers know what the passage says. {This mistake seems especially common when the argument prompt is longer.} Refer to the claim of the passage in as few words as possible. Unlike the rhetorical analysis, you do not need to quote long sections of the passage—this eats up time and accomplishes very little. Your job here is to figure out and clarify what the central issue is and then to defend, challenge, or qualify that issue. In this passage, Sanders writes about the relationship between the individual and society. He talks about a lady that moved from Los Angeles to Bloomington, Indiana. She says she would not be able to stay long because she was already beginning to recognize people. Sanders writes that the lady gets nervous when she is recognized. She liked not being known and not having to get involved in that society. Sanders says that a couple of people like this help society run, but if there were too many, society would collapse. Society depends on some people to interact so that it can keep going. {If this were only the introduction, and the student followed up with an assertion that defended, challenged, or qualified Sanders’s assertion, this paragraph would be acceptable, although it’s not necessary to paraphrase this much. But when a paraphrase is your whole essay, you’re looking at a low score.} PITFALL THREE: not taking a definite stand This is one of the most common errors students make. You must have a definite opinion and state that opinion unequivocally, even if you are qualifying. And even if you don’t really have that opinion in real life. Sanders describes the relationship between the individual and society as a contrast. The individual is nervous around a too-familiar society. A society feels threatened by a great number of individuals that are unfamiliar. In a big city, most people become accustomed to unknown people because of the large population. However, in a small town where everybody knows everybody else, a newcomer might be seen as a threat to their way of life. In a small community, most people have their familiar routines. For the traveler, though, it is still a new opportunity for the community. The unknown traveler may be thought of as an alteration to their everyday routine. The essay above discusses the workings of a small town and a big city and makes some interesting observations about the contrast. The writer, however, never takes a definite stand on whether or not it is healthy to remove oneself completely from society. On the other hand, this writer takes a definite stand and backs it up with appropriate evidence: Sanders says that â€Å"we all need seasons of withdrawal from responsibility.† There are times when people need to forget about what others expect from them and do only what they feel is needed. (concession) While Sanders’s statements are true, people cannot live a responsibility-dodging life forever. He feels that if people are to do so, â€Å"We will have lost something essential to our humanity.† If everyone were to give up their responsibilities and do only what was best for themselves, then society would not function. Organizations would fall apart because people would no longer be able to work together. Eventually our entire government would break down and the nation would erupt into total chaos. The more careless people a community has, â€Å"the more vulnerable† the community becomes. Thus, people must learn to take responsibility for themselves rather than dodge  it. (assertion) PITFALL FOUR: using inappropriate or weak evidence to support your position The strength of your essay is in direct correlation to the strength of your evidence. Weak or inappropriate evidence will produce a weak paper and a low score. The readers are looking for writers who can write logically and reasonably, who can evaluate and analyze someone else’s argument, and who can find the best evidence to convince someone of their position. This student’s evidence has to do with crime rates: A small town culture is often seen as boring and old-fashioned, but it is just as important to our nation as any of the modern big cities. In New York City people have that opportunity to wander the city anonymously. Perhaps that is the reason why crime rates are so much higher in larger cities. People are far less likely to behave badly if people they know are watching them. This constant concern of others judging you is perhaps more beneficial than some may have you believe. It can get quite nerve-wracking to always be under watch, but those that watch you also come to your aid in times of need. For example, when you go out of town you can ask your ever-watchful neighbors to keep an eye on your house for peace of mind. If everyone went around with a total disregard for others, society would break down and the world would become a terrible almost primal place. This student effectively supports his position by reasoning that knowing someone is watching you may deter crime. He concedes (another way to reason logically) that it is bothersome to â€Å"always be under watch,† but those who watch you also watch over you. PITFALL FIVE: writing aN analysis of the passage instead of aN ARGUMENT Your job is not to analyze the way Sanders writes. Your job is to write an argument. Read the prompt. Sanders’s use of diction reveals his negative attitude toward wanderers†¦. Sanders uses a word with negative connotations when describing the twisting threads†¦. Sanders was accurate when he said  the many threads tug, yet hold one another upright. His metaphor identified individual lives as threads. The metaphor makes the reader reflect to a special blanket or person that brought them comfort, evoking emotional reactions.