Canterville Ghost Chapter 1 Summary Essay

When Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American Minister, bought Canterville Chase, every one told him he was doing a very foolish thing, as there was no doubt at all that the place was haunted. Indeed, Lord Canterville himself, who was a man of the most punctilious honour, had felt it his duty to mention the fact to Mr. Otis when they came to discuss terms. ‘We have not cared to live in the place ourselves,’ said Lord Canterville, ‘since my grand-aunt, the Dowager Duchess of Bolton, was frightened into a fit, from which she never really recovered, by two skeleton hands being placed on her shoulders as she was dressing for dinner, and I feel bound to tell you, Mr. Otis, that the ghost has been seen by several living members of my family, as well as by the rector of the parish, the Rev. Augustus Dampier, who is a Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. After the unfortunate accident to the Duchess, none of our younger servants would stay with us, and Lady Canterville often got very little sleep at night, in consequence of the mysterious noises that came from the corridor and the library.’ ‘My Lord,’ answered the Minister, ‘I will take the furniture and the ghost at a valuation. I come from a modern country, where we have everything that money can buy; and with all our spry young fellows painting the Old World red, and carrying off your best actors and prima-donnas, I reckon that if there were such a thing as a ghost in Europe, we’d have it at home in a very short time in one of our public museums, or on the road as a show.’ ‘I fear that the ghost exists,’ said Lord Canterville, smiling, ‘though it may have resisted the overtures of your enterprising impresarios. It has been well known for three centuries, since 1584 in fact, and always makes its appearance before the death of any member of our family.’ ‘Well, so does the family doctor for that matter, Lord Canterville. But there is no such thing, sir, as a ghost, and I guess the laws of Nature are not going to be suspended for the British aristocracy.’ ‘You are certainly very natural in America,’ answered Lord Canterville, who did not quite understand Mr. Otis’ last observation, ‘and if you don’t mind a ghost in the house, it is all right. Only you must remember I warned you.’ A few weeks after this, the purchase was concluded, and at the close of the season the Minister and his family went down to Canterville Chase. Mrs. Otis, who, as Miss Lucretia R. Tappan, of West 53rd Street, had been a celebrated New York belle, was now a very handsome, middle-aged woman, with fine eyes, and a superb profile. Many American ladies on leaving their native land adopt an appearance of chronic ill-health, under the impression that it is a form of European refinement, but Mrs. Otis had never fallen into this error. She had a magnificent constitution, and a really wonderful amount of animal spirits. Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we have really ev erything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language. Their eldest son, christened Washington by his parents in a moment of patriotism, which he never ceased to regret, was a fair-haired, rather good-looking young man, who had qualified himself for American diplomacy by leading the German at the Newport Casino for three successive seasons, and even in London was well known as an excellent dancer. Gardenias and the peerage were his only weaknesses. Otherwise he was extremely sensible. Miss Virginia E. Otis was a little girl of fifteen, lithe and lovely as a fawn, and with a fine freedom in her large blue eyes. She was a wonderful amazon, and had once raced old Lord Bilton on her pony twice round the park, winning by a length and a half, just in front of the Achilles statue, to the huge delight of the young Duke of Cheshire, who proposed for her on the spot, and was sent back to Eton that very night by his guardians, in floods of tears. After Virginia came the twins, who were usually called ‘The Stars and Stripes,’ as they we re always getting swished. They were delightful boys, and with the exception of the worthy Minister the only true republicans of the family. As Canterville Chase is seven miles from Ascot, the nearest railway station, Mr. Otis had telegraphed for a waggonette to meet them, and they started on their drive in high spirits. It was a lovely July evening, and the air was delicate with the scent of the pinewoods. Now and then they heard a wood pigeon brooding over its own sweet voice, or saw, deep in the rustling fern, the burnished breast of the pheasant. Little squirrels peered at them from the beech-trees as they went by, and the rabbits scudded away through the brushwood and over the mossy knolls, with their white tails in the air. As they entered the avenue of Canterville Chase, however, the sky became suddenly overcast with clouds, a curious stillness seemed to hold the atmosphere, a great flight of rooks passed silently over their heads, and, before they reached the house, some big drops of rain had fallen. S tanding on the steps to receive them was an old woman, neatly dressed in black silk, with a white cap and apron. This was Mrs. Umney, the housekeeper, whom Mrs. Otis, at Lady Canterville’s earnest request, had consented to keep on in her former position. She made them each a low curtsey as they alighted, and said in a quaint, old-fashioned manner,’I bid you welcome to Canterville Chase.’ Following her, they passed through the fine Tudor hall into the library, a long, low room, panelled in black oak, at the end of which was a large stained-glass window. Here they found tea laid out for them, and, after taking off their wraps, they sat down and began to look round, while Mrs. Umney waited on them. Suddenly Mrs. Otis caught sight of a dull red stain on the floor just by the fireplace and, quite unconscious of what it really signified, said to Mrs. Umney, I am afraid something has been spilt there. ‘Yes, madam,’ replied the old housekeeper in a low voice, ‘blood has been spilt on that spot.’ ‘How horrid,’ cried Mrs. Otis; ‘I don’t at all care for bloodstains in a sitting-room. It must be removed at once.’ The old woman smiled, and answered in the same low, mysterious voice, ‘It is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, who was murdered on that very spot by her own husband, Sir Simon de Canterville, in 1575. Sir Simon survived her nine years, and disappeared suddenly under very mysterious circumstances. His body has never been discovered, but his guilty spirit still haunts the Chase. The blood-stain has been much admired by tourists and others, and cannot be removed.’ ‘That is all nonsense,’ cried Washington Otis; ‘Pinkerton’s Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent will clean it up in no time,’ and before the terrified housekeeper could interfere he had fallen upon his knees, and was rapidly scouring the floor with a small stick of what looked like a black cosmetic. In a few moments no trace of the blood-stain could be seen. ‘I knew Pinkerton would do it,’ he exclaimed triumphantly, as he looked round at his admiring family; but no sooner had he said these words than a terrible flash of lightning lit up the sombre room, a fearful peal of thunder made them all start to their feet, and Mrs. Umney fainted. ‘What a monstrous climate!’ said the American Minister calmly, as he lit a long cheroot. ‘I guess the ol d country is so over-populated that they have not enough decent weather for everybody. I have always been of opinion that emigration is the only thing for England. ‘My dear Hiram,’ cried Mrs. Otis, ‘what can we do with a woman who faints?’ ‘Charge it to her like breakages,’ answered the Minister; ‘she won’t faint after that;’ and in a few moments Mrs. Umney certainly came to. There was no doubt, however, that she was extremely upset, and she sternly warned Mr. Otis to beware of some trouble coming to the house. ‘I have seen things with my own eyes, sir,’ she said,’that would make any Christian’s hair stand on end, and many and many a night I have not closed my eyes in sleep for the awful things that are done here.’ Mr. Otis, however, and his wife warmly assured the honest soul that they were not afraid of ghosts, and, after invoking the blessings of Providence on her new master and mistress, and making arrangements for an increase of salary, the old housekeeper tottered off to her own room. FROM: Wikisource. Excerpt from The Canterville Ghost, by Oscar Wilde. 1- Try and find as many words as you can from the â€Å"ghost / supernatural† semantic field: any word or phrase that has the same root or that is related to it. Organize your findings in a grid. Ghost semantic field Reality / down-to-earth semantic field 2- Write their translations, explain the differences of meaning. 3- Try and find the meaning of the following words / phrases: Foolish Punctilius Duty Unfortunate To reckon For that matter Purchase Refinement Worthy 4- Use them in a sentence. 5- What could a â€Å"fawn† be? (In the saying: â€Å"lovely as a fawn†) 6- Discuss with a partner what you know about Oscar Wilde. Write a short summary of what you both know. 7- Using the title, guess what the story might be about. Which type of story do you expect it to be? 8- Imagine a story. Be creative! 9- Prepare 6 guesses: what do you think the story is going to deal with? 10- Prepare 6 questions to which you would like to find an answer in the first chapter. 11- Write 10 words you expect to find in the extract. 12- Imagine a short summary of the story using these words. 13- Discuss it with your partner. Read the first paragraph of the story and answer the following questions: 1- What do we learn at the beginning of the story? 2- List all the information you are given about the main characters. 3- What do the following expressions refer to? â€Å"The Stars and Stripes† The Minister â€Å"She† won’t faint after that (end of the chapter). The old housekeeper 4- Can you infer the meaning and word-class (for instance adjective, noun, verb, preposition†¦) of the following words & phrases? Indeed Aristocracy Middle-aged Ill-health 5- Compare the description of the British Aristocracy (Lord Canterville) with that of the modern Americans. 6- What can you infer from these descriptions & their reactions? 7- Write 10 key-words you read. 8- Write a short summary of the story using those words and some connectors. (at least 5) 9- Check if you found the words you thought might appear in the text and tick the correct ones. 10- Try and answer your questions. 11- Prepare 6 more questions (& the answers to your questions) to ask your friends. 12- Pick out 5 verbs from the text and describe their forms (tense, active or passive voice†¦) and decide why this particular tense was chosen. Answer the following questions: 1- Who will be the main characters in your opinion? 2- What do you learn about them? (Draw a grid.) Character Actions Personality Interesting facts 3- Where does the story unfold? When? 4- What is the excerpt really about? 5- Did you enjoy it or not? Why? 6- Which type of short story is it? 7- In which ways is it different from usual ghost stories? 8- What must have been the author’s goal? 9- Do you think the story is a success? Why (not)? 10- Let’s list the key phrases & words from the text: (To be learnt for next lesson): To do a very foolish thing There was no doubt that†¦ To be haunted Duty To discuss terms Skeleton Mysterious noises To get very little sleep at night Furniture To be enterprising To warn someone Otherwise 11- Add some which you did not know. (at least 3) 1- Write a summary of the first chapter. 2- Write a story using the title â€Å"The (name of your school) ghost†. It must be a mock ghost story, a parody. The best story (the most interesting, the most creative, the funniest†¦.) will be selected by the class. 3- Make a poster about Oscar Wilde. 4- Prepare a talk on Oscar Wilde’s main novels, plays, short stories. 5- Learn the vocabulary. 6- Imagine a sequel to the story (the following chapters). 7- Imagine another title for the story. 8- Which type of stories do you enjoy most? Why? 9- Sum up your favourite story for the class. Try and find as many words as you can from the â€Å"ghost / supernatural† semantic field: any word or phrase that has the same root or that is related to it. Ghost semantic field Reality / down-to-earth semantic field Haunted Frightened into a fit Skeleton Ghost Several living members of my family Unfortunate accident Mysterious noises 1584 Makes its appearance before the death of any member of our family Curious stillness Red stain Blood has been spilt Guilty spirit To discuss terms As she was dressing for dinner Got very little sleep at night â€Å"that is all nonsense† Try and find the meaning of the following words / phrases: Foolish (= stupid) fool (noun) + -ish (ïÆ'   adjective) = adjective Punctilius (=Strictly attentive to minute details of form in action or conduct. See synonyms at meticulous/ Precise; scrupulous.) = adjective Duty (= what you are supposed to do) = noun Unfortunate ( = Characterized by undeserved bad luck; unlucky / Causing misfortune; disastrous) Un- (prefix) + fortune (noun) + -ate (ïÆ'   adjective) = adjective To reckon (=To consider as being; regard as / To think or assume.) Verb (informal) For that matter (=as far as that is concerned) = phrase (preposition + quantifier + noun) Purchase (= something you buy) = noun Refinement (= 1. The act of refining. 2. The result of refining; an improvement or elaboration. 3. The state or quality of being refined; cultivation, as in manners or taste. 4. A keen or precise phrasing; a subtle distinction.) = noun (to refine, verb + suffix –ment ïÆ'   noun) Worthy ( = 1. Having worth, merit, or value; useful or valuable. 2. Honorable; admirable: a worthy fellow. 3. Having sufficient worth; deserving: worthy to be revered; worthy of acclaim.) = worth (noun) + suffix –y (ïÆ'   adjective) = adjective. Use them in a sentence. This was a very foolish reaction! Paul has always been extremely punctilius in all matters. This is your duty. You don’t have a choice. This unfortunate accident proved that the house was not safe at all. I reckon I saw the ghost this morning. I don’t believe in ghosts myself for that matter. What a lovely purchase! One of his best qualities is the refinement of his language. He is not worthy of you! What could a â€Å"fawn† be? Like the deer and the stag, the fawn exercised great power over the early Celtic imagination. The Eacute;rainn King Lugaid Laà ­gde pursued a fawn, probably a divine personification of Ireland itself. Aige and Sadb were transformed into fawns. Donn mac Midir used yet another woman transformed into a fawn to lure Fionn mac Cumhaill and his men. But some fawns are male, like Fionn’s son Oisà ­n, whose name is still the Irish word for fawn. The fawn appears to be an antecedent of the stag in the Perceval legend. (Adapted from answer.com) Discuss with a partner what you know about Oscar Wilde. Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest. As the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years hard labour after being convicted of â€Å"gross indecency† with other men. After Wilde was released from prison he set sail for Dieppe by the night ferry. He never returned to Ireland or Britain Adapted from: Wikipedia. Using the title, guess what the story might be about. Which type of story do you expect it to be? It will certainly be a ghost story, a gothic story. Prepare 6 guesses: what do you think the story is going to deal with? (Use modals!!!) It might be about †¦ This story may deal with a cranky old ghost. It could tell the story of a †¦ Prepare 6 questions to which you would like to find an answer in the first chapter. Is the ghost scary? How do the inhabitants feel about it? What is going to happen to the main characters? What did the ghost to be forced to haunt a house? What can he do to rest in peace at long last? Who represents evil, who represents good? Write 10 words you expect to find in the extract. To haunt, to be haunted, to be scared to death, to scream, to howl, to be afraid, to run away, to hide, to moan, to cry. Imagine a short summary of the story using these words. There was once a huge haunted castle in which the inhabitants kept being scared to death by a moaning ghost who kept rattling his chains & howling at night. The poor inhabitants kept crying, screaming, running away from him but there was no escaping him so they had to hide and then to move out at last. Read the first paragraph of the story and answer the following questions: What do we learn at the beginning of the story? (1st paragraph) 2 characters are introduced: Mr Hiram Otis, an American Minister who has bought Canterville Chase and Lord canterville, an English aristocrat. Lord Canterville has told Mr Otis that the place was haunted. List all the information you are given about the main characters. Mr Otis is American. Lord Canterville is English and an aristocrat. He is a man of most punctilius honour and does not hide from his buyer that the castle is haunted. What do the following expressions refer to? â€Å"The Stars and Stripes† (= the twins) The Minister (= Mr Otis) â€Å"She† won’t faint after that (end of the chapter). (= Mrs Umney) The old housekeeper (= Mrs Umney) Can you infer the meaning and word-class (for instance adjective, noun, verb, preposition†¦) of the following words & phrases? Indeed (link-word) 1. Without a doubt; certainly: very cold indeed; was indeed grateful. 2. In fact; in reality: felt sure I’d win, and indeed I did. Aristocracy (noun, aristocrat + suffix –y) 1. A hereditary ruling class; nobility. 2. a. Government by a ruling class. b. A state or country having this form of government. 3. a. Government by the citizens deemed to be best qualified to lead. b. A state having such a government. 4. A group or class considered superior to others. Middle-aged (noun + verb + -ed, ïÆ'   adjective) Of or relating to middle age: middle-aged parents; middle-aged interests. Ill-health (adjective + noun ïÆ'   noun) Poor health; sickness. Compare the description of the British Aristocracy (Lord Canterville) with that of the modern Americans. What can you infer from these descriptions & their reactions? Lord Canterville is a man of punctilius honor whereas Mr Otis mocks the English and is quite derogatory when he mentions that money can buy anything, that the Americans would have bought ghosts if there were such things. Write 10 key-words you read. Ghost, haunted, skeleton, nonsense, to faint, honest soul, frightened, modern country, old-fashioned, be scared. Write a short summary of the story using those words and some connectors. Canterville Chase is haunted by a ghost who had been scaring the British aristocracy for 300 years when it was bought by an American Minister who keeps comparing America, a modern country to Great Britain, an old-fashioned nation. Moreover, Mr. Otis is not afraid of the ghost. On the contrary, he doubts its existence. It’s nonsense according to his son, Washington. Later in the chapter his son even goes so far as removing a blood stain and that makes the old housekeeper, an honest soul, faint. She is afraid of the ghost and of skeletons. Pick out 5 verbs from the text and describe their forms (tense, active or passive voice†¦) and decide why this particular tense was chosen. â€Å"When Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American Minister, bought Canterville Chase† = past simple, used for a finished time. â€Å"every one told him he was doing a very foolish thing† = past continuous, used for a finished time but when we insist on the activity, its duration, when we give our opinion on the sentence (when we comment upon it). â€Å"We have not cared to live in the place ourselves† = present perfect, used when there is a connection with the present time, with â€Å"now† (indeed, nobody is living now at Canterville Chase, it’s still true). â€Å"lady canterville often got very little sleep at night† = past simple, used for a finished time + narrative tense. â€Å"I fear that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  = present simple, â€Å"fear†: you fear when you say it (then the present simple is used). Answer the following questions: Who will be the main characters in your opinion? Mr. Otis & his family (Washington seems quite enterprising), the ghost. What do you learn about them? (Draw a grid.) Character Actions Personality Interesting facts Mr. Otis Talks about America in a very proud way Insulting (without meaning to), proud Does not believe in ghosts Washington Removes the blood stain practical Is trying to defeat the ghost from the start Lord Canterville Tells Mr. otis about the ghost Frank, kind Tries to warn the family Where does the story unfold? When? In Great Britain, at the end of the 19th century (1584 + 300 = 1884). What is the excerpt really about? It’s about American & British values. Money vs tradition. Which type of short story is it? It is the parody of a ghost story. In which ways is it different from usual ghost stories? There’s a gothic castle but the new owners are not scared to death. They even doubt the ghost’s existence! What must have been the author’s goal? Criticism. Write a summary of the first chapter. ïÆ'   Mr. Otis, an American Minister, buys a property in England called Canterville Chase, against the advice of his friends and the owner himself, Lord Canterville, who assures him that it is haunted. Lord Canterville’s family has chosen not to live there because of the ghost. His grandaunt never recovered from her fright caused by two skeleton hands grabbing her shoulders. Mr. Otis says that he does not believe there is such a thing as a ghost, and says he will take the house and the ghost if it does indeed come with it. Lord Canterville replies that the ghost’s existence has been well known since 1584, and always appears before the death of a member of his family. A few weeks later, when the purchase is complete, the family moves into Canterville Chase. Mr. Otis is accompanied by his wife, who is a good-looking woman of good health, and their four children. The eldest is a son named Washington, a handsome, sensible young man who is also good at dancing. Virginia is the only daughter, and is fifteen years old. She is â€Å"lithe and lovely† and an accomplished rider. She even beat the young Duke of Cheshire in a race, and he was so impressed by her he proposed to her. The youngest children are the twins, otherwise known as the â€Å"stars and stripes† because they are always being switched for their mischievousness. The Otises have a lovely drive to their new property, seeing squirrels, rabbits and birds along the way. However, as they approach Canterville Chase, the sky becomes dark, and everything is very still. The housekeeper, Mrs. Umney, greets them and tells them about the bloodstain on the library floor when asked by Mrs. Otis. She tells them that the stain mysteriously cannot be removed, and is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville who was murdered there by here husband, Sir Simon, in 1575. Sir Simon lived for another nine years, but then mysteriously disappeared. His body was never found, but his ghost haunts the house. Washington says her story is nonsense, and proceeds to remove the stain with stain remover. There is a clap of thunder and Mrs. Umney faints. When she awakes, Mrs. Umney warns the Otis’ to be wary because she has seen the truth of the ghost’s existence, and has spent many sleepless nights in the house. All of the Otises, however, state that they are not afraid of ghosts. (From Bookrags.com).

Critical analysis of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson Essay

Overall Shirley Jackson discusses the movement of the setting, the unusual foreshadowing, and the outermost symbolism in â€Å"The Lottery† to give an overall point of view of the story. Even though a small village made seem peaceful, and a good place to raise a family, it is not always what it seems to be. The reader is about to enter a world with ritualistic ceremony and religious orthodoxy in â€Å"The Lottery.† The Lottery takes place on a clear and sunny summer morning around June 27 in a small village with about three hundred villagers gathering together in the central square for the annual lottery. As a child Shirley Jackson was interested in writing; she won a poetry prize at age twelve, and in high school she keeps a diary to record her writing progress. In 1937 she entered Syracuse University, where she published stories in the student literary magazine. Despite her busy life as a wife and a mother of four children, she wrote every day on a disciplined schedule. â€Å"The Lottery† is one of Jackson’s best-known works. In â€Å"The Lottery† Shirley Jackson will discusses the movement of the setting, unusual foreshadowing and outermost symbolism to give us an overall point of view from the story. When one thinks of a lottery, one imagines winning a large sum of money. Shirley Jackson uses the setting in â€Å"The Lottery† to foreshadow an ironic ending. The peaceful and tranquil town described in this story has an annual lottery every June 27 early part of 1800’s in a small village with 300 people (456). Setting is to describe time and place of the story. The story occurs â€Å"around ten o’clock† (456). This is an unusual time because in most towns all the adults would be working during mid-morning. In the lottery an ironic ending is also foretold by the town’s setting being described as one of normalcy. The town square is described as being â€Å"between the post office and the bank† (456). Every normal town has these buildings, which are essential for day-to-day functioning. Throughout the story little parts of setting are being told, to give a clearer picture for a better understanding of the story. Jackson foreshadows a surprise ending. Foreshadowing is to hint of something  that would follow with the story. As the story continues the reader is told that school has let out for the summer, and yet the â€Å"feeling of liberty sits uneasily with the children† (456), which is strange, for no normal kid would be anything less than ecstatic over summer break. Finally, the children are said to be building â€Å"a pile of stones in one corner of the square† (456), which is a very strange game for children to play. All of these hints indicate that something strange and unexpected is going to happen, and they all will make sense once we discuss the story’s final outcome. Symbolism is also a strong element of the story. The introduction of the black box carried by Mr. Summer (456) is a key turning point showing symbolism, which is anything in a story that represents something else, giving the awful ominous answers to all those foreshadowing hints. When the black box is brought in, it’s said to be a tradition that no one liked to upset. The villagers kept their distance from the box, as though they feared it (461). More and more the town’s peculiarity begins to become apparent. For an example, the names of certain residents hit at the irony and unfavorable events to come. From the author’s extravagant detailing of the town, one would expect this â€Å"lottery† to be a chance for one lucky family to win some money. Instead, the winner’s â€Å"prize† is death-by stoning In the story Tessie won the prize when Bill, her husband, forced the paper out of her hand (461). The portrayal of the residents at the end of th e story is disturbing–they go about killing the â€Å"winner† ritualistically, trying to â€Å"finish quickly.† (461). They show no empathy at all–they’re simply following an ancient ritual. Overall Shirley Jackson discusses the movement of the setting, the unusual foreshadowing, and the outermost symbolism in â€Å"The Lottery.† The lesson in this story hits pretty hard. The Lottery’s relationship to real life is that sometimes we are presented with traditions that have been adhered to for as long as anyone can remember, and we forget the reason these customs were created in the first place. The problem is that circumstances can change and make these traditions outdated, useless, and even harmful. Overall the main point of the story is that ignorant and indulgent believers can bring death to an innocent person, so therefore we must re-evaluate our traditions;  otherwise we’re just letting ourselves be stoned.

Provisional Measures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Provisional Measures - Assignment Example Provisional measures in international arbitration can be dictated for the purpose of: a) Preserving the legitimate rights of the requesting party before the decision on the merits of the case (Interim Award ICC 8786). b) Ensuring the security of amount incurred in dispute in the arbitration process. c) To preserve or inspect any property that relates to rage dispute in the arbitration process. d) Provisional injection of a receiver. e) Any other provisional measure that the Court deem otherwise. Ordering a party to provide security (Charles Construction Co v Derderiamn). Question 24 In cases of urgency, the arbitral tribunal may, upon application of a party, order provisional measure, as it deem necessary. Such normally happens when preservation of evidence or assets is the primary goal. Ideally, arbitral tribunal has such provision to prevent other courts from supping the powers of arbitral teams. Lastly, tribunal always consults with parties before ordering interim measures but sometimes they may not if parties fail to agree. Question 25 a) In the Van Uden Case of 1998, European Court had to determine whether the provisional measure was necessary for Brussels Convention while arbitration was pending in Netherlands. b) Yes. The statement is relevant because it provides a platform that discourages courts from supping the powers of the arbitral tribunal, an occurrence that can significantly influence the outcome of the arbitration process. In other words, the courts can only issue provisional measures when the tribunal cannot do so.

Debt Financing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Debt Financing - Essay Example The debt finance concept and its relevance will be explained in detail to understand its importance and develop the knowledge. Along with this, the cost of agency will be focused with the conflicts that rise during the structuring of debt finance. Subsequently, the benefits of debt financing over the agency conflicts will be discussed to know its relevance in financing in recent times. There are several arguments related to the firms’ debt financing that reflects whether the capital market is imperfect or not. There are other factors within the firms such as managers try to avoid high debt ratios to safeguard their interests in the firm (Myers, 1976). Every firm needs to borrow money for the business in short or long run and there are options such as equity, debt and others. It is important for the firms to decide the structure of finance that provides benefit. Conceptual Relevance Debt Financing Debt financing is one of the strategies which the firms employ for borrowing from the investors or lenders with a contract that the repayment will be made within a stipulated time period with certain interest (Reference for Business, 2011). The firms borrow money for raising funds for working capital or for the motive of capital expenditure through the financial instrument such as selling bonds, notes bills and others to institutional and individual investors and lenders. The institutional and individual investors and lenders become the creditors of the firms and promise that the amount and interest on the debt will be paid by the firms within the specified future date (Investopedia, 2011). The payment of debts and dividend are different. The interest and the principal amount/payments upon the debts are firm’s obligations, whereas the dividend payments are not obligations for the firms. The shareholders of the firms are not entitled legally for the dividends but the bondholders, bill holders and other financial debt instrument holders are entitled legally for the principal and interest amount from the firms (Lecture 3). According to the trade-off model the firms should issue debts as long as the marginal benefit is greater than the marginal cost. In the general financing structuring of the firms the high-tax rate firms should apply more debt than low-tax rate firms (Graham, 2008). Relationship among bankruptcy costs, agency costs and taxes is illustrated below: Source: (Pearson Education, 2004). Through the debt financing, the principal and interest that are paid are treated as expenses and thus get deducted from the business income taxes in certain cases. This allows reducing the cost through the debt financing option. Cost of Agency The agency cost is an increase of cost of debt. This happens when there are conflicts between the management and shareholders. Due to the increase in the agency-cost problems, the bondholders and other financial debt instrument holders impose certain restrictions on the firms through bond indentures. T he investors and lenders of the debt financing are aware of the fact that management is controlling their money and there are high probabilities of ‘principal-agent’ problems in the firms. Due to these two reasons the debt holders put certain restrictions or financial constrains upon the use of their money (Investopedia, 20

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Building and Sustaining Strong Talent Pipeline - Essay Example Implementation of essential principles is essential to bring a positive change in the organizational structure as well as in the employees' performance. Some of the main objectives for the application of principles include understanding the employees’ nature, understanding the organizational culture, developing effective leaders, developing productive teams, and increasing employee productivity. There are five main types of behaviors included in the organizational behavior literature. The types of behaviors include organizational citizenship, task performance, joining and staying with the organization, counterproductive work behaviors, and maintaining work attendance. All these types of behaviors are of significant importance for the success of an organization. Studying organizational behavior is extremely necessary for managers to increase productivity of their respective companies and organizations. The study not only makes an employee know his/her importance in the organiza tion as an employee but also helps him/her develop some key characteristics and behaviors that an employee requires to progress in the professional life. Managers of the organizations must be able to recognize the unique perspectives of their employees in order to manage a better working relationship with the employees. The knowledge of organizational behavior

The Role of Nationalism in Castros Regime in Cuba Essay

The Role of Nationalism in Castros Regime in Cuba - Essay Example In this regard, nationalism is better understood as the identification of people to a nation. It is the notion that people from the same nation share similar interests and values particular only to themselves. It is however of important to note that people use nationalism in different ways and have different ideologies regarding the whole subject. Castro arose to power in 1959 after leading a nationalist revolution that overthrew the previous government. He attempted to manifest nationalism through two ways i.e. socialism and communism. From the analysis and review of various literatures, I therefore argue that nationalism in Cuba was a repression to support Castro’s government. Role of nationalism in Castro’s reign Before he came into power, Castro was viewed as a nationalist and this saw him lead a revolution that brought him into power through support from various nationalists. This move was however not supported by the U.S because they did not want a charismatic nationalist like Castro to lead Cuba. In any case, the United States had a lot of vested interest in the country and needed a leader they could manipulate, certainly not Castro . Castro came up with an ideology of getting people to work for the benefit of all and not just individuals. During his reign, he valued national land and he did positive work for the people. This was seen when he bought back foreign owned land that was Cuban. He allowed Cuba to be run by its people. Through this, he garnered a lot of support from the masses. However, he later changed and became a communist when he integrated with the Soviet Union which put this imposition on him. This changed the notion of nationalism and it is from this perspective he used the nationalist ideology as a way of suppressing people. However he continued gaining much support from the people even as his regime became more despotic. Nationalism was one of the core elements in Castro’s platform. His core punch line was ‘with Fidel everything, against Fidel Nothing’2. In this case, those who opposed him were viewed as enemies of the state and had no place in Cuba. This propelled people to be in support of him even if his ideologies were unfavorable. No one among his elites questioned his role as a demonstration of nationalism. He used a manifestation of culture in nationalism by announcing to upper and middle classes that he shared their cultural and ideological prejudices. This was a form of communism whereby this people were to continue enjoying their employment as well as other benefits if they were in support of him. He moved to nationalize Cuba schools, industries and hospitals. This was a way of imposing communist tendencies into the country. This in essence was to have control over this institutions keeping in mind that these people could support him and not oppose him in order for their institutions to succeed. However, many people faced many challenges such as the scarcity of jobs in the country. Because of the great economic hardships, the workers were less likely to oppose him. This therefore justifies that nationalism was a form of repression. He used nat ionalism to counter policies that were against his regime. An example of such policy was the economic Embargo from the United States which wanted to see him out of power but he got support out of nationalism because of the notion that a sovereign society was not to get interference from other states. Because the United States had opposed him as a result of his communist ties, they did not get support from the people hence he continued to reign. He used unfriendly policies from the U.S in order to stir up nationalism hence convincing a lot of Cubans. This again was a repression on the ideology of nationalism. H

Ground Segment and Earth Station Engineering for Satellite Coursework

Ground Segment and Earth Station Engineering for Satellite Communications - Coursework Example Satellite communication is a form of wireless media in which the free space is used for communication. One important advantage of such media is that a large geographical area can be covered without actually carrying out the physical wired networking. Such a communication with the help of satellites is possible when the signal is sent from ground stations to the satellites placed in geostationary orbits, which in turn sends the signal back to another ground station/s located in different city, country or region depending upon the placement and alignment of the satellite. The ground based infrastructure plays a crucial role in this transmission process. The earth station closely monitors the movement of the satellite and keeps sending the signals to it. The signal are received by the transponder and then sent back. A number of commercial and domestic applications are now dependant on the satellite communication. With emerging technologies, standards, and protocols the usage of satellit e communication in transmission, broadcasting and internet is also becoming cost effective. During this training I learned about the fundamentals of ground segment and earth station and how the satellite communication has evolved over the years from being a commercial facility with huge dish 30 m diameter antennas to small sized rooftop 0.6 m dish antenna for receiving DTH broadcasts. This has effectively made it possible even for the ordinary consumers to make use of satellite communication. Satellites can provide communication and broadcast coverage even to places like valleys, dense forests, mountains and difficult terrains where it is not possible to erect communication towers or dig channels for communication lines. All this can be provided at practically no extra costs. What we require is a receiving dish antenna with other gadgets used at other similar places. Satellites can

Transportation effect on climate change Term Paper

Transportation effect on climate change - Term Paper Example These include technological improvement, use of energy efficient fuels, management of demand for vehicles and use of renewable fuels as well as alternative sources of fuels. Greenhouse gases  such as carbondioaxide  are responsible for global warming that responsible for climate change. Although transport industry is not responsible for all greenhouse gas emission, it is among the industries consuming the largest amount of fossil fuels in the U.S. (Ryley & Chapman, 2012). "Fossil fuels are the main source of carbon dioxide" and other greenhouse gases. Transport industry affects other sectors such as agriculture, construction, mining, education and commerce among others (U. S. Department of Transportation, 2012). Therefore, policy decisions taken by the government or other agencies to regulate transport industry affect the operations of other sectors and individuals. Climate change has been described as variations of average weather conditions recorded over a long period in a particular region or across the globe (U. S. Department of Transportation, 2012). The issue of climate change has received much attention in the recent past with various nations convening conferences to establish a lasting solution to the menace of climate change. The policy makers have developed various strategies to address the issue, but there is little which has been done in terms of policy implementations (Asariotis & Benamara, 2012). The issue of global warming is of significant global concern because the effects are felt across the globe rather than in a discriminate geographical region. Greenhouse gases are the main causes of global warming thus resulting to climate change. The main greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere include nitrous oxide (1.5%), carbon dioxide (95%), methane (0.1%) and hydrofluorocarbons (3.4%) (U. S. Department of Transportation, 2012). The sources of greenhouse gases include natural and human activities. However, human activities are the

The Role of the Hospitality Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Role of the Hospitality Manager - Essay Example Hence the managers of the hotel or resort needs to ensure that proper customer services are provided for the long term success of the hotel or resort (Nasution and Mavondo, 2008). In order to understand the disparity of both roles in the professional context, it is significant to know about their basic roles. A leader is an influential personality who is capable to inspire people to follow his footsteps. A leader has a higher degree of convincing and persuasive qualities, which can make people act accordingly (O?Gorman, 2008). The leader has the power and potential to influence large masses if the right leadership qualties are demonstarted. The leaders are of different types and if the audience is convinced, the leader can bring about major chnages in the area of operations. Leadership is about establishing a concrete and clear vision, sharing your viewpoint with others and your co-workers so that they follow your outlook willingly. A leader can see the problems and the goals that ot hers usually don’t focus on or may be no one else wants to tackle. It’s only the leader that pays attention to the difficulties and objective with single minded determination (Academia21, 2010). Leaders may devise out of the box solutions duw to their creativeness in working around problems and this ability may not be possessed by others. Leadership also involves the coordination and balancing of the different interests of all the co-workers and stakeholders. The stakeholders and shareholders of the business are important entities that need tobe given careful consideration as their interest in the success and profitability of the business should be intact so that desired results can be obtained. This challenging task can be successfully carried out by the leader. A leader is supposed to provide information, knowledge and ways to actualise the vision that he carries along. This vision needs to be clear, consistent and without any biasness or doubt so that all the organi sation staff and the shareholders of the firm know the main aim of the organisation's operations. Leadership is necessitated in times of crisis and it is very crucial when creativity is required to deal with the situation (Bit Rebels, 2013). As far as relation of management and leadership is concerned; they both go hand in hand. It would not be wrong to call both of the roles as two sides of the same coin. Although they are not the same but they go together. Many of the times they are considered the same thing. One is incomplete without the other. A manager is supposed to plan, organise and coordinate whereas a leader is there to inspire and motivate. A manager needs to demonstrate consistency and discipline while conducting all the tasks. The manager needs to ensure that all employees are performing their job roles in a systematic mode and following the right direction of achieving the goals. A leader does not require any managerial position whereas a manager can be a true manager even if he has the leadership qualities in him (Tepeci and Bartlett, 2002). A leader is diverted more towrads the influential part rather than gaining a position in the organisation. To make it concise, some points describing a leader and manager are mentioned below Manager maintains, the leader develops and initiates. Manager pays attention on work procedures, the leader focuses on employees. Manager imitates,

A Filipino Dish Called Kare-Kare Essay Example for Free

A Filipino Dish Called Kare-Kare Essay In general, Filipinos are known to be food lovers. This results in varieties of recipes that were either borrowed or produced. And among these is one of the most popular Filipino dishes named â€Å"Kare-kare†. But why â€Å"Kare-kare†? What does it possess that others are lacking? Well, to know the reason behind this, let me bring you to the colourful world of â€Å"Kare-kare† dish. From a far, you can feel the heat coming from the pot as the pork leg bathes itself in hot water. It is showered with salt and vetsin. Now, as the pork leg softens and feels comfortable inside, a cup of red, thick atsuete starts to flow around it. And looking like a painter’s colour palette, the golden ground peanut and white ground rice mixed with the river of atsuete, covering the entire pot surface. The tub then becomes more attractive and vivid, catching the attention of Mr. Green string beans, Ms. Banana bud, the leafy chinese cabbage, and the ever elegant purple eggplant to jump over. â€Å"Plok†¦ plok†¦ plok†, you can hear as the nutritious vegetables dive inside the world of â€Å"Kare-kare†. So pleasurable! But wait, there’s more. Accompanying this delicious and beautiful dish is a cup of bagoong embellished with chopped liempo. The tenderness of liempo and saltiness of bagoong perfectly match the â€Å"Kare-kare† recipe which will surely leave you asking for more. Satisfying right? Indeed this popular Filipino cuisine is very nutritious and more colourful. It is original and will not only feed your mind and your stomach, but will also wake up your love for the Philippines. Try to share it with others, perhaps to your family or friends, and I’m sure they will feel exactly the same way as you and I do even while just reading this essay. So what are you waiting for? Stop imagining and start cooking your â€Å"Kare-kare†.

Father Involvement in Child Welfare Services

Father Involvement in Child Welfare Services Substance addicted fathers fail to provide a safe environment that focuses on the needs of their children. While inebriated, fathers may believe they are being attentive to their children, while in reality, they tend to act on their own feelings and disregard their children’s needs and become unpredictable. Sometimes a substance addicted father will have periods of presence and periods of absence from his child’s life. At one moment, he may provide his child with security, and another, he may inflict fear. Paternal substance abuse undermines the ability to give adequate care to children and overall, the ability to support his family. Fathers with a drug addiction are judged to be irresponsible and deemed incompetent as parents. The wives of these men are implicitly left with the responsibility to care for their children with some help from child welfare services. Although, fathers exist in the lives of women and children involved with child welfare authorities, they are rarely seen by the child welfare professionals themselves. Substance abusing men tend to avoid social services due to lack of paternal responsibility, cross gender communication, and hyper-masculinity. In the article â€Å"Engaging Fathers in Child Welfare Services: A Narrative Review of Recent Research Evidence†, Social Workers Nina Maxwell, Jonathan Scourfield, Brid Featherstone, Sally Holland, and Richard Tolman found that only thirty-three percent of mothers identified the father when asked (163). Fathers are reluctant in participating in social cases, therefore may threaten the mothers to leave them out of it. Mothers may withhold the father’s identify out of fear about letting the father know that child welfare services are involved, fear that the father may be incarcerated, and fear of the father’s reaction, especially in cases involving domestic violence. These fears reinforce the idea that women are subordinate to men. Since she is fearful of her child’s father to be able to reveal his identity, the mother cannot receive the much needed, proper assistance from her social case worker. Even if the mother were to reveal the identity of her children ’s father, it is likely for him to evade contact from child welfare. Fathers avoid contact with child welfare staff. In a focus group study, Maxwell and her colleagues found that these fathers had a wide range of explanations for the avoidance. These included fear that they cannot be good fathers for their children, fear that the involvement with the child welfare system will worsen their problems with the criminal justice system, fear that relationships with current partners not related to the child would be affected, and a perception that the system is not there to help them (164). The concerns expressed by these fathers are a prime example that substance-abusing fathers are selfish because they are only interested in fulfilling their own desires, rather than meeting their children’s needs. Social policy makers have been trying to involve fathers more in their children’s lives by increasing child support payments, but it is done so in the best interest of the child. Over the past few years, social policy makers have made an effort to increase the participation of fathers in their children’s lives, by providing child support to the children’s mother. The income of a father, who is not living with his children, can by affected by child support obligations in several ways. For example, if a father recently received an additional income of five hundred dollars a month, his child support payments might increase by one-hundred and twenty-five dollars (Lerman 69). Increased incomes have higher taxes and when combined with increased child support orders, it lowers a fathers’ profit each month, causing them to reduce their work effect. It is found that rigorous enforcement by the child support system could cause fathers to shift from formal to informal or underground work, which makes it more difficult for the government to track true income. Child welfare professionals acknowledge that some fathers are committed to their children, many others are not. In her study â€Å"Child Welfare Professional’s Experiences in Engaging Fathers in Services†, Professor Mahasin F. Saleh found that sixty percent of substances abusing men associated in social services cases lack paternal responsibility (126). The lack of father responsibility includes father absence, denial of paternity, alcohol or drug abuse, blaming the mother, incarceration for various reasons, and maltreatment. One child welfare professional recalls, â€Å"They don’t believe. They took the paternity test and then it’s ‘I want a blood test’. And some of them disappear because they feel like they’re not the father. That’s hard, too, getting them engaged when they don’t want to believe† (Saleh 126). This example exemplifies a lack of father responsibility. Substance addicted men deny responsibilities tha t come with paternal identity, because they view the responsibilities as a burden, and often want nothing to do with it. This father figure is self-absorbed, abusive, and driven by addiction and carelessness. Child Welfare Professionals have shared that fathers who neglect their children are found to be more verbally abusive and threatening during counseling (Saleh 127). Fathers view social counseling as a vehicle for women to process their emotions and that â€Å"strong† men do not attend counseling. Hyper-masculinity causes a man to maintain a rigid gender role script (Guerrero 137). The hyper-masculine man is prepared to challenge any real or imagined taunts from other men with violence. Men have a high sense of pride when it comes to his manhood. In 2013, the National Association of Social Workers conducted a membership workforce study and reported that eighty-two percent of social workers working full time were female (Whitaker Arrington 9). Since a majority of social workers are female, a father is reluctant to comply and subject to the words of a woman. Masculine fathers do not like to hear something from women, and they may get angry when working with female social workers , because they feel like women are trying to tell them what to do. A hyper-masculine man’s attitudes towards women are usually those of sexual or physical subjugation. A female social worker from Saleh’s case study recalls multiple times that she had to deal with male clients who had expressed romantic interests in her (130). Experiences similar to these make it difficult for female case workers to deal with a situation professionally. There are many instances when the social worker is confronted with a father that has not only has neglected his kids through his ignorance. Most of the time, they never admit they are at fault. Fathers exist in the lives of women and children involved with child welfare authorities, and yet, they are rarely seen by child welfare. These fathers are seen as deviant, dangerous, irresponsible and irrelevant, and even further, how absence in child welfare is inevitably linked to blaming mothers. In failing to work with fathers, child welfare ignores potential risks and assets for both mothers and children. Social workers are encouraged to focus on mothers as being the protective parent, whereas fathers are considered as risks and damage potential, due to neglect, abuse, and substance addiction. In the article â€Å"Manufacturing Ghost Fathers: the Paradox of Father Presence and Absence in Child Welfare†, Leslie Brown, Marilyn Callahan, Susan Strega, Christopher Walmsley, and Lena Dominelli reveals that over sixty percent of fathers associated with child welfare are identified as a risk to children and are not contacted. Similarly, fifty percent of these men were not conta cted when they were considered ricks to the mothers (26). Mothers are responsible for the care and protection of children even when they are victims of domestic violence. Child welfare holds mothers responsible for monitoring the behavior of the men in the children’s lives, essentially contracting out the surveillance of men to mothers (Chuang 457). They are expected to fill the role of both parents and further expected to mediate the relationships between children and fathers, as well as between fathers, and professionals. While inebriated, a father may believe he is performing his fatherly duties to the best of his abilities, but in reality he is oblivious to what is happening in the environment around him, including his children. The appearance of a social worker at his home is detrimental to his mental state as a father. In a way, he may view it as insulting. The father may not realize the dangers that he put his children in as a result of his negligence. The father is too proud to realize his mistakes and may want to blame outside sources. Unfortunately, this results in an agitated and distraught way of thinking, which could result in more negligence and abuse to their families (Burrus et al. 212). Substance abusing fathers often lose custody of their children. With help from social services, mothers are able to collect child support from their children’s fathers. Since a majority of social workers are female, males feel like their manhood is undermined when they speak to these women. These fathers try to avoid any instances of conference with social workers, because they feel it may affect their life that is unassociated through relations with the child. This shows how selfish and incompetent substance-abusing fathers are. Mothers are subordinate to fathers due to fears of reactions of the fathers finding out the involvement of social services (Brodie et al. 36). Many substance abusing fathers are invisible when it comes to their children. The lack of insight to his own problems causes a father to become invisible to himself and his child’s needs. If a man cannot handle his own feelings and problems, there is no chance he will be able to handle and resolve a child’s or be able to see his development. In the state of intoxication, fathers become self-absorbed and forgetful about what happens in the world around them. Substance abusing fathers are associated as being neglecting, abusive, destruction, and often insignificant. Fathers struggle to fulfill the role of the ideal role model to his children.

The Political History of Italy Essays -- History of Italy Essays

The political history of Italy is quite extensive. The Greeks were the first to settle in Italy and established colonies in the southern part of the country and in Sicily. There was not a sense of political reality as much as there was a civilization (Windows on Italy- History). While the Greeks controlled the south the Gauls, or Celtic people, ruled the north and the Po Valley. But the most important group to settle in Italy was the Etruscans. Because of their advanced civilization, the Etruscans were the only ones to establish political and cultural ideas before the Roman Empire (Windows on Italy- History). At the end of the Etruscans rule, Rome began a unification of Italy and established Latin to be the general language (Defusco). By 6th century BC, the city of Rome came into power. During this growing power, Rome began fighting other civilizations to expand its territory. Amongst these populations was Rome’s long time friend Carthage. Rome soon became greedy and made war on Carthage in the Second Punic War (Defusco). The Punic Wars lead Rome to gain territories along the Mediterranean basin. At the end of the Third Punic War, Rome defeated Carthage and became the major Mediterranean military power (Windows on Italy- History). In all of Rome’s defeats, Greece was the most significant. The Romans adopted Greek customs and ideas as their own. This changed the society of Rome by developing a new culture and way of thinking. The Roman Empire was soon developed by the ideas of Augustus, leading to a more democratic way of governing. The Empire created an expansion of Roman civilization by its leaders conquering other civilizations. The Empire ruled for many years under many different Emperors. During this time there was a mixture of rule between a hereditary Emperor and a Senate. With the fall of the Empire after the death of Theodosius, Italy was then attack from neighboring civilizations in the north and west. These invasions soon lead to the rising of power in individual city-states (Defusco). The citizens of the cities abolished the ideas of feudalism and searched for their own identity. Their searching lead to violent acts amongst themselves in determining who should govern, but despite the fighting, each city contributed greatly to the economy and helped to raise the cultural energy of Rome (Defusco). By the year 1861, a unified Italy was... ...e the beginning of its unification, Italy has battled with the differences of the north and south. It will take a long time to achieve economic stability in the south, but one that must be reached in order to increase the economic growth for the whole country. With its strong nationalistic views, Italy is well on its way to achieving its goals. Works Cited CIA-World Factbook-Italy. 2001. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/it.html (26 Nov. 2001). Defusco. Italy-Culture and History. 2001. http://www.defusco.ch/en2_italy.html (26 Nov. 2001). Electric Library. Columbia University Press: 2001. http://www.encyclopedia.com/articlesnews/06518.html (26 Nov. 2001). Embassy of Italy in the United States. Washington D.C.: 2001. http://www.italyemb.org (26 Nov. 2001). U.S. Department of State. 2001. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn/index.cfm?docid=4033 (26 Nov. 2001). Windows on Italy-the Constitution. Italian National Research Council: 2001. http://www.mi.cnr.it/WOI/deagosti/constitu/const1.html (26 Nov. 2001). Windows on Italy-the History. Italian National Research Council: 2001. http://www.mi.cnr.it/WOI/deagosti/history/tribes.html (26 Nov. 2001).

Stephen Cranes The Open Boat and Jack Londons To Build A Fire Essay

Stephen Crane's The Open Boat and Jack London's To Build A Fire Stephen Crane’s short story, â€Å"The Open Boat† speaks directly to Jack London’s own story, â€Å"To Build A Fire† in their applications of naturalism and views on humanity. Both writers are pessimistic in their views of humanity and are acutely aware of the natural world. The representations of their characters show humans who believe that they are strong and can ably survive, but these characters many times overestimate themselves which can lead to an understanding of their own mortality as they face down death. In â€Å"To Build A Fire†, the main conflict throughout is man versus nature although it would be inaccurate to say that nature goes out of its way to assault the man. The fact of the matter is, nature would be just as cold without the man's presence regardless of him being there .The environment as a whole is completely indifferent to the man, as it frequently is in naturalist literature. The bitter environment does not aid him in any way, and it will not notice if he perishes. In the same way, the dog does not care about the man, only about itself. Ironically enough though, as the man was dying he was getting upset toward the dog because of its natural warmth, the instincts that it had, and its survival skills and those were the elements that the man lacked for survival. It is ironic that the man had to die in order to find out that man's fragile body cannot survive in nature's harsh elements, regardless of a human’s natural over-confidence and psychological strength. The protagonist of the story, who is purposely not given a name, as the idea that the environment will determine his fate rather than his free will. The Man is forced to accept that he is not invinc... ...nd they are simply along for the ride. Stephen Crane’s â€Å"The Open Boat† and â€Å"To Build a Fire† by Jack London are both naturalistic tales that portray the universe as a somewhat indifferent being that could not care less for the any of the men in either story. The irony is biting, yet completely subverts the ideals and values that humanity generally holds of being superior and invincible in the world. Works Cited Gurian, Jay. "The Romantic Necessity in Literary Naturalism: Jack London." American Literature: 112-20. Print. London, Jack. "To Build a Fire, by Jack London." The World of Jack London 2012 ®. Web. 02 May 2012. . Pizer, Donald. "Jack London's "To Build a Fire": How Not to Read Naturalist Fiction." Philosophy and Literature 34.1 (2010): 218-27. Project Muse. Web. 1 May 2012. .

Ancient Greeces Obsession with Beauty Essay -- Ancient Greece Essays

Ancient Greece was one of the most important civilizations in the history of mankind. Ancient Greece spanned thousands of years, beginning in 1100 BC and ending with the end of the Hellenistic period in 146 BC. Ancient Greece made many contributions to the modern world, such as language, politics, philosophy, science, art, architecture, beauty, and much more. Beauty now a days is in most cases considered as how pretty something looks on the outside. Most people these days look at outer beauty rather than inner beauty. Beauty in ancient Greece is different than beauty now in many different ways. In ancient Greece, beauty can be defined in many things. Beauty in family, art, architecture, sculpture, and literature shows all the many definitions of beauty in ancient Greece. Family was important in ancient Greece. â€Å"The ancient Greeks had a society of Patriarchy and Misogyny† (Katz 71). Patriarchy is a society where the father had supreme authority over the family. Misogyny meant that the women were worthless. Women would usually get married at a very young age of around twelve to sixteen years old. Most women did not have a choice of whom to marry and instead their father, uncle, or brother chose for her. The richer the woman was the earlier she got married, but the poor woman got married at a bit higher age. They did not have the authority to do many things that men did. They were not able to go to the Olympics, the streets of the city, or even sometimes the marketplace. If they ever went anywhere they usually went to weddings and funerals and religious ceremonies, or to visit other women. Since they stayed in their houses for long periods of time they were usually in charge of the house when it comes to cleaning or or... ...aic Period, Archaic ‘patriarchy’ and high sexual culture in Classical Athens. Kats, Marilyn. â€Å"Ideology and ‘The Status of Women’ in Ancient Greece.† History and Theory, Beiheft 31: History and Feminist Theory. Vol. 31. Blackwell Publishing for Wesleyan University. 1992. 70-97. This chapter of the book focuses on the status of women in ancient Greece in comparison to the eighteenth through twentieth century. Levin, Saul. â€Å"Love and the Hero of the Iliad.† Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. Vol. 80. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1949. 37-49. In this chapter it talks about the Iliad and what the Greeks point of view is over the Iliad. Plato. The Allegory of the Cave. This piece of literature is written by Plato and in it Plato explains through the use of many metaphors what it is to become the philosopher king.

Light And Darkness Essay

As the sun rises, birds begin to sing the joy of light and as the day ends, the birds fly back into the darkness of night. The darkness of our lives is often transformed by the delusion of light. In James Baldwin’s essay, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† the title itself sets up an irony that is explored throughout. The name â€Å"Sonny,† when read, sounds like â€Å"Sunny,† meaning brightness, light and hope. The word â€Å"Blues† presents the reader images of night, darkness and sadness. The darkness represents the reality of life on the streets of Harlem, a community living in an environment where there is no escape from the reality of drugs and crime. The dreadful nature of the streets lures adolescents to use drugs as a means of escaping the darkness of their lives. The main character, Sonny, a struggling Jazz musician, finds himself addicted to heroin as a way of unleashing creativity and artistic ability within him. Using music as a means of crea ting structure in his life, Sonny attempts to step into the light, a life without drugs. Coping with the light and darkness of siblings can be one of life’s most exhausting challenges as they grow-up and struggle to form their own identities. The different images of light and darkness serve as the abstract framework for Baldwin’s essay. This imagery is first viewed when the narrator, Sonny’s older brother, thinks about Sonny’s fate in the dark subway. â€Å"I stared at it in the swinging light of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside†(270). The â€Å"swinging lights of the subway car† allows him to read about Sonny’s arrest, while the â€Å"darkness roared outside.† This allows the narrator to realize that he has to find a way to absorb and live with this new understanding of Sonny as an addict and as a blues musician. The darkness is the representation of the community of Harlem, where like the passengers on the subway, the community is trapped in their surroundings by economic, social, or physical barriers. The dreadful life of darkness has overwhelmed everyone and everything living in Harlem. The narrator, an algebra teacher, is fearful for his students who are falling into a life of crime and drugs. The harsh realties of the street have abandoned the light from the faces of his brother and his students. â€Å"These boys, now, were living as we’d been living then, they were growing up  with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities. They were filled with rage. All they really knew were two dark nesses, the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness, and in which they now, vindictively, dreamed, at once more together than they were at any other time, and more alone†(271). This illustrates how darkness has engulfed the lives of the children without them realizing it. In addition, the misdirection of the movies has kept these boys from achieving and doing anything with their lives. The community of Harlem, filled with disaster, is following the dull path of previous generations. As Sonny and his brother return to the streets of their youth, they recognize the similarities between their childhood and the lives of the children who are growing up in the hostile community of Harlem. The vivid description by the narrator describes how over the course of time the neighborhood has not changed for the better, yet for the worse. He describes how â€Å"most of the houses in which we had grown up had vanished, as had the stores from which we had stolen, the basements in which we had first tried sex, the rooftops from which we had hurled tin cans and bricks. But houses exactly like the houses of our past yet dominated by landscape, boys exactly like the boys we once had been found themselves smothering in these houses, came down into the streets for light and air and found themselves encircled by disaster†(275). This shows how the children, seeking to escape from the darkness of their houses, fled into the streets for refuge. However, the children only found more darkness creeping around in their community. Darkness can be fearful and soothing. â€Å"The night is creeping up outside, but nobody knows it yet. You can see the darkness growing against the windowpanes and you hear the street noises every now and again but it’s real quiet in the room. For a moment nobody’s talking, but every face looks darkening, like the sky outside. Everyone is looking at something a child can’t see. For a minute they’ve forgotten the children. Maybe somebody got a kid in his lap and is absent-mindedly stroking the kid’s hair. The silence, the darkness coming, and the darkness in the faces frighten the child  obscurely. He hopes that the hand which strokes his forehead will never stop-will never die. But something deep and watchful in the child knows that this is bound to end, is already ending. And when the light fills the room, the child is filled with darkness. The darkness outside is what the old folks have been talking about. It’s what they’ve come from. It’s what they endure. The child knows that they won’t talk any more because he knows too much about what’s happened to them, he’ll know too much too soon, about what’s going to happen to him† (277). The light is a consciousness of the dark and reality. With the light comes the understanding of the world for the child lying in his mother’s lap. Although the child may want to learn the truth, by doing so he exposes himself to the world and looses part of his innocence and childhood. Therefore, the child may wish to remain in darkness. The images of light and darkness, which serve as truth and reality, are used to show the struggle between Sonny and the narrator. The narrator recalls a story his mother once told him about an uncle whom a car of drunken white men killed. The narrator’s father â€Å"never in his life seen anything as dark as that road after the lights of that car had gone away†(279). The narrator’s father so depressed by the incident that he â€Å"never did get right again. Till the day he died he weren’t sure but that every white man he saw was the man that killed his brother†(279). The story serves as a lesson for the narrator to â€Å"hold on to your brother and don’t let him fall, no matter what it looks like is happening to him and no matter how evil you gets with him† (279). In the story, this significant event alters the narrator’s responsibilities as an older brother. With this new responsibility comes the burden of raising his younger b rother, Sonny. However, when the narrator confronts Sonny to discuss his future, he refuses to accept his brother’s goal of becoming a jazz musician. After going through many hardship and pain, the narrator eventually realizes that â€Å"Sonny was at that piano playing for his life†(283). The narrator accepts Sonny’s life as a musician when he accompanies him to a nightclub in order to hear him perform. Within the nightclub, there is a struggle between light and darkness. As Sonny and the rest of his quartet wait to go on  stage, his brother notices that â€Å"the light from the bandstand spilled just a little short of them and, watching them laughing and gesturing and moving about, I had the feeling that they, nevertheless, were being most careful not to step into the circle of light too suddenly; that if they moved into the light too suddenly, without thinking, they would perish in flame†(290). This indicates that, to embrace the truth and gain awareness too fast is painful and devastating. As Sonny plays the piano, the older leader of the band, Creole, leads him into the light, into the water. â€Å"He w anted Sonny to leave the shoreline and strike out for deep water. He was Sonny’s witness that deep water and drowning were not the same thing-he had been there, and he knew. And while Creole listened, Sonny moved, deep within, exactly like someone in torment. Creole wasn’t trying any longer to get Sonny in the water. He was wishing him Godspeed† (291-292). Creole is helping Sonny to unleash his artistic ability not through drugs, but through the emotion of pain and suffering. Music is a way of creating order in a disordered world and the narrator sees that musicians are trying to â€Å"find new ways to make us listen. For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness† (291). The daily struggles of life are all the same for everyone, yet the manner in which it is confronted and dealt with is different. Within this consciousness of reality, there is peace and hope that makes the darkness and life worth living. The two brothers, the narrator and Sonny, deal with the harsh realities of their daily lives and are surrounded by a world full of shadows and light. Together they face the inescapable and all encompassing darkness that had plagued their lives. Using music as a form of communication, the brothers are able to overcome their differences and create order in their disordered life. The painful realization of the truth has enabled them to redirect their lives and rebuild on a relationship tarnished by drugs and poverty.

Franzosenbusch Heritage Project Essay

Literature plays an important role in enlightening individuals regarding the situation of their society. These written works substantially help an individual to know more about his or her history. This function of literary works is very essential because knowing an individual’s history will serve as a basis for him or her to understand the present and plans things for the future. In relation to this, literary works is also a form of expression. This is an outlet or a channel for authors to voice out their opinion about things and even reveals their own personal feelings. In doing so, these authors are given the opportunity to make a commentary about the society during the particular time that they lived and even analyzed past events and make their predictions about the future. Nevertheless, the most vital contribution that these literary works has is the way which they could inform the readers of different things and events that happened, are happening, and will likely to happen. In relation to these, there are indeed notable authors that have tremendously contributed in enlightening the general public about important subjects and pressing issues that are taking place in the society. More so, it is indeed very admirable especially for some authors who were able to capture the concerns during their time but was able to write it in a way that transcends the boundary of time. These kinds of literary pieces can be regarded as something that is still applicable during the present time because the issues that they tackled, as well as the lessons obtained from it, are still very helpful in addressing the problems of today. Being the case, it can be said that American poets and authors have played an important role in contributing to the society. It is the main objective of this paper to discuss the importance of authors and poets specifically during the mid-1800s. In doing so, the succeeding paragraphs will elaborate on the life and works of Laura Ingalls Wilder, an example of a notable author that indeed tremendously contributed to the development of literature during her time. Moreover, the paper will also analyze the way she was able to share something to her readers that they might have not known without her works. It will highlight the most dominant information or lesson that she has imparted and how these affected the lives of other people. Moreover, an analysis will also be done regarding her importance during her lifetime and the present time, as well as how her works will be perceived in the near future. The United States of America during the Mid-1800s During the mid-1800s, the United States of America experienced numerous challenges especially with the geographic expansion of the country. The United States during this time was expanding especially with the inclusion of Texas and the other territories that were obtained because of the war that they had with Mexico. Because of these, many settlers rushed through the west in order to escape the conflict that was taking place. Furthermore, slavery was still a continuing source of controversy that attributed to the domestic division of the country. The annexation of Texas and other territories because of the war with Mexico is largely attributed to a neatly expressed vision that even sounded like a religious mission. The main driving force of the Americans in expanding their territory is due to the Manifest Destiny. This is a belief of the Americans that they are destined and divinely ordained by God to expand their territories in North America. However, not all people agreed or supported this mission that the people from United States believed that they have. This disagreement had been most observable with the citizens of the territories that they annexed, as well as other people that were disadvantageously affected by the conflict in the acquisition of these territories. Nevertheless, the most controversial issue that the Americans have to deal with was slavery. African Americans experienced discrimination and inhumane treatment during this time; they were regarded as mere commodities or objects that were used for production. This was quite observable through the Fugitive Slave Act. The United States Congress passed this law in 1850 which stipulated that runaway slaves should be returned to their masters. This was regarded as the most controversial act that was implemented by the American government during that time. As such, it further heightened the division against the Northern and Southern states of the country. In connection to this, some Americans also perceived this act as a way that could further strengthen the power of the slaveholding south. It is important that the situation during the mid-1800s is given due consideration because this can serve as a guide in order to understand the frame of thinking of the people during this time. In relation to this, this will also aid in determining whether the American authors were able to give due attention to the pressing issues at that specific period. Moreover, this will be used as a basis on how they were able to help address the situation through the written works that they have done. Contribution of American Authors in the Mid-1800s The American authors have played an important part in emphasizing the problems of the American society during the mid-1800s. It is because of their written works that they were able to open the eyes of most of the American citizens, as well as other people in the world. This could be exemplified by the famous work of Harriet Beecher Stowe entitled â€Å"Uncle Tom’s Cabin. † This novel was able to give due emphasis to the situation of the African American slaves especially in the southern part of the United States. Stowe was able to provide vivid images of the inequality and inhumane treatments that the African American slaves experienced through the way that she narrated the events and of her story and the feelings of the characters that she created. This novel was deeply affecting as it moves its readers to realize the ill-fated lives of these slaves. It is through Stowe’s novel that she paved the way for other people to feel a sense of empathy by putting themselves in the place of these slaves. In connection to these, Laura Ingalls Wilder is also among the most notable writers that contributed to the awareness of the public regarding the male unrest and female patience of pioneers in the mid-1800s. She also focused on the peculiar American spirit and sense of independence that Americans have during that time. One of the unique characteristics of this author is the fact that she was able to make her stories known to young people because she specializes in making children books. She also used her childhood experiences in order to make her stories mirror the real situation of the society during her younger days. By doing so, she was able to influence and touch the lives of other people especially in fostering good values to children. The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder To be able to clearly understand the motivation of Laura Ingalls Wilder that aided her in making remarkable literary pieces, it is essential that the story of her life is given due consideration. Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867 in Wisconsin. She was the second of the five children of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake. During her growing years, she and her family constantly moved throughout the mid-west. Wilder was a bright child but she was not given the chance to receive quality education because of the isolated places that their family usually went to. She also had to deal with their financial problems wherein sometimes she had to stop school in order to earn money. Nevertheless, they eventually stayed in De Smet, Dakota Territory. This is where she attended school on a regular basis and she even worked as a seamstress and teacher. Afterwards, she married a homesteader by the name of Almanzo James Wilder. She had two children with him, the popular novelist, journalist and political theorist Rose Wilder Lane and a son who died immediately after birth. Laura Ingalls Wilder was able to live the real life of American pioneers because they had to survive by using only the small amount of resources that they earned together with their knowledge and experience. Because of this, they learned how to grow and hunt for foods, as well as build their house and other tools that they need. Laura Ingalls Wilder experienced how it is to grow up in the frontier during the late 1800s. This life experience that she had motivated her to write a historical fiction series for children called the â€Å"Little House. † The series of books that she created were published during the 1930’s. Her written works were able to boost her popularity as she was regarded as a renowned writer during her time; and even up to the present time, her books are still popular and never got out of print. Wilder has an exceptional writing skills that captures the interests of both children and adults. Throughout the years, this author has been able to narrate important and interesting subjects that dealt with her experiences as a frontier girl. Some of the situations that she described involve â€Å"wonderful and heartbreaking times, the poverty and the plenty, the western trails and homesteading issues, and the simple ways of life of an ordinary family who showed great love and tenacity during their years together in the American prairie. † Even though the books that Wilder wrote are considered as fictional, she was able to give true accounts of what it was like to live and survive on the frontier during that period in America. The stories that she created were also characterized by its appeal to all ages, as her books are applicable to all people who want a simple story about a loving family as well as those that are interested by the pioneer times. Written Works of Laura Ingalls Wilder Knowing the basic and important information about the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder is not enough. It is also necessary that the some of the books that she wrote are analyzed in order to clearly see how she depicted her experiences as a frontier girl and the pioneer life that she lived. In doing so, a book that she wrote entitled â€Å"Little House on the Prairie† will be analyzed. The story unfolded with the decision of Pa Ingalls to sell their house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and move to the Indian Territory that is near Independence, Kansas. Pa Ingalls decision was influenced by the stories that he heard about the land there, which would be opened to settlement by homesteaders. Wilder narrated the way they adopted to their new environment. Pa Ingalls was responsible in building their house wherein he made the roof and floor, as well as dig the well with his own bare hands. The other members of the family also learned to grow and hunt for their own food. On the latter part of the book, the family acquired a terrible disease, which were referred to as â€Å"Fever ‘n’ Ague† that is commonly known today as malaria. The family was able to recover through the help of their neighbor who took care of them. During the spring, the family started planting, which marked the beginnings of their small farm. However, at the last part of the book, the family was informed that they have to leave the land because settling there is illegal. Pa Ingalls decided to leave the land before the Army forces them to do so. The story that Laura Ingalls Wilder narrated in this children book is actually a reflection of the real life experiences that she had during her younger years. In this story, it is seen how the family risked their usual life in the Big Woods of Wisconsin in order to look for better opportunities in the Indian Territory. The process of establishing a new life in this new land aided the family to use their resourcefulness by building their own house. In relation to this, they also learned how to sustain their everyday needs through their own efforts. However, like in most situations when the family was already gaining grounds with their new environment, things started to go against them especially when the family got sick because of malaria. In connection to this, when they are already beginning to build their small farm another unfortunate event happened. They found out that they were illegal settlers in that land and they have to vacate the area or be forced to do so. The fate of the characters in this children book is not fictitious because it reflects the real situation of the American people during the mid-1800s, the same time as Wilder’s childhood days. The unfortunate situation that has befallen the family at the end of the story highlights the fate of people who are living in the frontiers especially during the time when territorial conflict and border disputes are very observable. The territorial expansion of the United States brought about this conflict in some areas of the country that adversely affected the people. Their situation is similar to that of the Ingalls family whose dream of starting their own farm was shattered. The discussions above clearly show that the American authors of the mid-1800s are important and Laura Ingalls Wilder is an evident proof of it. Wilder’s children books paved the way for the general public, especially the young ones, to be enlightened with the pioneer life of an American family as well as the hardships that is involved in being a frontier girl. Being the case, American authors like Laura Ingalls Wilder indeed, played an important role in informing the people about the status of the society. It is through her literary pieces like these that paved the way for people to realize and become aware of the social issues and concerns that plagued the society during that particular period. BIBLIOGRAPHY Miller, John E. Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder. Missouri: University of Missouri, 1998. â€Å"What was America Like in the Mid-1880s? † Franzosenbusch Heritage Project, (2003). Database on-line. Available from, http://www. franzosenbuschheritageproject. org /Histories/US_Background /America%20in%20the%20mid-1800%27s. htm. Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. , 1963.

Operation Gomorrah Essay

â€Å"Operation Gomorrah† Ingram recalls her childhood experiences of war within her home city of Hamburg, Germany. The writing techniques and detailed descriptions within the autobiographical narrative reflect Ingram’s sensitive nature and the emotional link she has to her childhood because of this traumatic event. â€Å"I was eight years old and a respectful, obedient child. But one day in late July my mother asked me to do something and I disobeyed her, and I shall be forever glad that I did.†(Marione Ingram 123) Usually a boy who is only 8 years old should be naughty and mischievous. However, at the beginning of the story, the author tells us that he was thought to be a respectful, obedient child by others. The plot that Ingram does not want to sent his baby sister Renate to his cousin’s apartment (123) indicate that Ingram has his own thoughts, has his likes and dislikes. But he is so sensitive that he cares too much about what others think. He loves his mother, he does not willing to let her down. So, although he does not want to go outside from within, he tried (123). We can imagine that how much joy and pleasure of childhood he has lost to force himself to live up to this reputation to be respectful and obedient. This is too cruel to this little boy. But he was thrilled to be outdoors (123). At that moment, there must have been an intense internal conflict in his heart. On the one hand, he does not willing to destroy his reputation to be obedient as well as let his mother down, but on the other hand, he cannot manage to overcome his internal fears. After a struggle, he turned back and then began to hurry to home (123). When he thought back to the whole story, he found that if he had followed his mother’s direction to carry his baby sister to his cousin’s apartment and he himself stayed there, he would not have experienced the great disaster: the Operation Gomorrah. For the obedient child, he regrets for his whole life for that only one resist. His sensitive makes him a person who always thinks too much. That he always considers the feelings of others, regrets the past and be worried about the future makes him a shilly-shally and inner-turmoiled person. Ingram states â€Å"I pulled mother away from the stove, tugging first one limp arm and then the other. I managed to get her head and a shoulder into the  dining room†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (124) â€Å"I was sitting on the floor with her head in my lap, trying to think what to do, when coming from the bottom of the stairwell where I’d left the pram I could hear the faint sounds of my baby sister’s whimpering†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (124) â€Å"There were no air raids to disturb us, though I woke up often to see if she was still unconscious†¦ † (125). When his mother was ill, the 8-year-old lithe boy took the responsibility of taking care of his mother and his baby sister. His behavior described in this part gave me the feeling of unreal. He took care of his mother and baby sister so carefully that he can even hear the faint sounds of his baby sister’s whimpering from the bottom of the stairwell. He was worried about his mother and baby sister and tomorrow’s l ife, so he woke up often during that night. It is totally not like a little boy’s behavior. All of these plots indicate that Ingram has subtle nerves. He is sensitive to environment. â€Å"I looked at mother and I understood† (Marione Ingram 125). What did this little boy understand from two adults’ conversation? At first reading I do not understand what he got. But then I understood that Inge was reluctant to help them during that desperate situation. From Inge’s talk, emotion and action, he and his mother understood the key point. He is so smart and sensitive to things. His sensitivity inspires his thinking. He is good at observation and analysis. I have to admire the little boy’s understanding. But the little boy did not show any unhappiness or lose his temper about his cousin’s attitude. He was so quiet just keep his thought in his mind. As for the disaster, Marion Ingram used abundant detail description to show the chaos scene. He describes his former playmate like this â€Å"She was holding her favorite doll, holding it tight and turning slightly away as if she feared I might try to snatch it from her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (127). The description showed a girl’s behavior in desperate situation vividly. There are also many environmental descriptions during the bombing. â€Å"A false dawn lit the southeastern sky, rouging mother’s cheeks and painting the walls of buildings on our side of the street a lurid red†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (128). At one point between life and death, Ingram still have one part of his heart concerning his mothers’ emotion and remember forever. When he was in his mother’s arm, he was observing how other people trying to survive. â€Å"Then a woman carrying  an infant came running down the street along the same route we had taken. She was followed by a young man dressed in the khaki shorts and shirt of a Hitler Youth. I thought they must be fleeting from a bomb shelter that had been damaged, possibly the one mother had been heading for when we first left our apartment building†¦ † (131). There are abundant psychological and action descriptions. â€Å"I thought they must be fleeting from a bomb shelter that had been damaged†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (131). â€Å"I thought his difficulty might be the hot wind roaring down the avenue in front of us and almost expected to see him lifted up as he ran†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (131). â€Å"I thought I could hear their screams and ducked down into the crater with my eyes closed and my hands oter my ears.† (131). â€Å"When it seemed that I was about to suffocate, I pulled the blanket away and stuck up my head†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (131-132). â€Å"When I closed my eyes it felt as if we were lying between railroad tracks while an endless train rumbled over us so swiftly†¦Ã¢â ‚¬  (132). All these descriptions are so fine, specific and smooth that almost give us a movie picture. Sensitive and delicate as he is, he is able to remember every single detail, every change in emotion, every piece of his thought. In conclusion, Marione Ingram concludes abundant detail descriptions in this essay that even gave readers the feeling that this story is not his own story. In this way, the author shaped a sensitive character from different point of view. And because of his sensitive nature, he is also a shilly-shally person who always suffers intense inner struggle, he is a good thinker and observer which made him a good writer, he is a very kind person who would consider for others at every minutes.