Summary Of The Kite Runner - 1036 Words

Zachary Koons Locklear Advanced English II 30 September 2015 Shi’a Vs. Sunni Culture Imagine yourself in a world where the place you grew up in, was turned to dust, rubble, and heaps of it’s former self. Imagine yourself in that world for a second. The Kite Runner is a novel about two friends, inseparable by friendship and blood but divided by religion class. In the novel, â€Å"The Kite Runner† there is a young man named Amir, a Sunni Muslim, and Hassan, his servant and friend, a Shi’a Muslim. The two shouldn’t be friends by the standards, but all they know is friendship. Everything says that Shiite’s and Sunnis shouldn’t be friends. But the two boys find happiness in their relationship. This is all about the two divisions and how they are the same and how they’re different. The Sunni consider themselves the more orthodox and traditional group of the two divisions. The word Sunni comes from Ahl al-Sunna, the people of the tradition. The tradition in this case refers to practices based on precedent or reports of the a ctions of the Prophet Muhammad and those close to him (BBC News). The Sunni division makes up roughly 80% of the Muslim population. The Sunni maintain that the Muslim community was to select the Prophet s successor (caliph) to lead (Patheos.com). Sunni life is guided by four schools of legal thought—Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, and Hanbali—each of which strives to develop practical applications of revelation and the Prophet s example (BBC News). The Sunni haveShow MoreRelatedSummary Of The Kite Runner 1196 Words   |  5 PagesNick St. Sauveur World Literature II 20 November 2015 Mrs. Hogan Kite Runner Essay Amir: Lost In Fear Over the duration of history, it has been shown that guilt not brought to light can do little in the name of personal redemption. Moreover, this is clearly connected with and related to Khaled Hosseini s fantastic novel The Kite Runner, one of which describes as well as shows the thoughts and actions of teens through the story s main character, Amir, and his many adventures as anRead MoreSummary Of The Kite Runner Essay997 Words   |  4 Pages The Kite Runner Theme Paper In the song â€Å"hello† by Adele she talks about how she wants meet to talk about everything in the past the makes her feel this guilt because the time away just didn t do enough she hasn t got over this feeling. Also in The Kite Runner, the character Baba experiences guilt so he does acts of kindness to redeem himself. No one knows why Baba did those acts of kindness till the end of the book because he thought no one would think of him the same way. In The Kite RunnerRead MoreSummary Of The Kite Runner 1388 Words   |  6 PagesPeace at Last: An Analysis of Forgiveness in The Kite Runner The human body is built to attack infections, cuts, bruises, or bacterial cells as a way to repair the damages caused. The human mind will not repair the damages by itself; it usually needs an outside source to heal. One outside source that could heal a mind is the act of forgiveness. It can put a guilty conscience at peace. In the novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir’s body could fix itself after the physical injuries AssefRead MoreSummary Of The Kite Runner 1269 Words   |  6 PagesThe Kite Runner is a very powerful book that deals with many complex political and personal problems. This book has changed and challenged many of my views on life. I also found this book very inspiring and I have gained a greater appreciation for the life I have in Canada. Firstly, the text communicated with me through emotions. For example, I felt sadness for Hassan because of the way society treats him as an unequal. In addition, I have learned many things from this novel such as the importanceRead MoreSummary Of The Kite Runner 957 Words   |  4 PagesI believe there were many instances of conflict in The Kite Runner revolving around Amir, the main character and narrator. He dealt with the struggle with himself for years after making Hassan and his father leave Amir’s home, He dealt with the struggle to win his father’s approval until his father died, and he struggled with God by the end of the book. In Khaled Hossenini’s novel, The Kite Runner, Amir struggles with conflict from a mistake and a hardship from his childhood which effects him theRead MoreSummary Of The Kite Runner 1423 Words   |  6 PagesThe Kite Runner starts off in 2001, with Amir thinking back to his childhood. He specifically remembers the year 1975, and the story begins. Amir was only a boy in 1975, living in Kabul, Afghanistan with his father, Baba. Baba had two servants who lived on the property, Ali and Hassan. Baba and Ali have known each other for a long t ime and are very close. Hassan and Amir are around the same age so they play together, but Amir doesn’t always like Hassan. Rahim Khan, a friend of Baba, is also aroundRead MoreSummary Of The Kite Runner 955 Words   |  4 Pagesboth from Afghanistan, Hassan is looked at as a mutt because he is Hazara. Through out the story the two boys are threatened by a group of older boys who constantly bully them both, but mostly towards Hassan for being a Hazara. The racism in the Kite Runner is serious and in a gruesome scene, one of the older boys Assef rapes Hassan to teach him a lesson. This scene not only sticks with the reader the rest of the story, but also with Amir who can’t shake off the fact that he ran away instead of helpingRead MoreKite Runner Essay899 Words   |  4 PagesGena Narcisco Mrs. Sharpe Honors English 10 10/11/12 The Kite Runner Do you know that Afghanis play a game where they fight with kites? The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini describes kite fights between local Afghani kids, regardless of their social status. The main characters in this story that come from a higher socioeconomic level are Baba, a lawyer from the Pashtun tribe, and his son Amir. The main characters in this story that come from the lower socioeconomic level are Ali, a servant fromRead MoreThe Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini1574 Words   |  7 PagesHosseini’s, The Kite Runner, is love. The Kite Runner follows Amir, the main character, finding redemption from a series of traumatic childhood events. Throughout the novel, the author uses many powerful symbols to represent the complexity of love that many experience in relationships. The use of the kite, the pomegranate tree, the slingshot, and the cleft lip all tie together to underscore a universal theme of love. To begin, the most explicit symbol present in the book is the kite. The kite representsRead MoreThe Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini977 Words   |  4 PagesFacts about the author Khaled Hosseini was born in March 4th, 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan and he is an Afghan-American novelist. He debuted in the year 2003 and released his book called â€Å"The Kite Runner†. The book opened to widespread critical acclaim and strong commercial success worldwide. And for this kind of novel he received Alex Award, Boeke Prize, ALA Notable Book and a lot of other prestigious awards. He has then authored several other books in his career. There was no turning back for Khaled

Essay on Short stories - 1134 Words

Essay nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The short stories â€Å"The Snows of Kilimanjaro† and â€Å"The Short Happy Life of Francis Mocomber† were both written by world renowned author Ernest Hemingway. The two stories are written completely unrelated to each other; however, both stories have vast similarities in the time and place in which they take place. Hemingway is a writer that is very methodical in his word choices. When reading these two stories a second time the reader finds considerable differences in the writing style the author uses in each story. To demonstrate, three sentences from each story will be compared and contrasted to show the differences in word usage, word connotation, and to find which story is written better. The initial pair†¦show more content†¦The word â€Å"plummeted† as defined in the American Heritage Dictionary â€Å"is to fall straight down; plunge†. The two words are close in meaning; however, â€Å"plummeted† is a better word for the sheer reason that the reader can directly visualize the vultures dive toward earth. When the word â€Å"plummeted† is heard a person thinks of plunging to death or fall at in incredible rate. â€Å"Plummeted† is much more dramatic and defining then the word â€Å"planed.† The word â€Å"Planned† could have various images connected with it. â€Å"Planed† leaves the reader too many options when visualizing the vultures decent to the ground. For example the reader might visualize the vulture gliding down to the ground or zigzagging to the ground. The word ‘Plummeted† is a better defined and more dramatic word. Making the sentence, â€Å"On the far bank of the stream Macomber could see, above the trees, vultures circling and plummeting down,† the better sentence of the two. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The next two sentences, â€Å"’You Bitch,’ he said,† from the â€Å"Snows of Kilimanjaro† and â€Å"’Why not let up on the bitchery just a little, Margot,’ Macomber said, cutting the eland steak and putting some mashed potato, gravy and carrot on the down-turned fork that tined through the piece of meat,† again have similarities. For example, in each sentence the husband is calling his wife a bitch of sorts; however, it is the use of this word that makes these sentencesShow MoreRelatedshort story1018 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Short Stories:  Ã‚  Characteristics †¢Short  - Can usually be read in one sitting. †¢Concise:  Ã‚  Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told.  Ã‚  This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot †¢Usually tries to leave behind a  single impression  or effect.  Ã‚  Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act. †¢Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing  personal experiences  and  prior knowledge  to the story. Four MajorRead MoreThe Short Stories Ideas For Writing A Short Story Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pageswriting a short story. Many a time, writers run out of these short story ideas upon exhausting their sources of short story ideas. If you are one of these writers, who have run out of short story ideas, and the deadline you have for coming up with a short story is running out, the short story writing prompts below will surely help you. Additionally, if you are being tormented by the blank Microsoft Word document staring at you because you are not able to come up with the best short story idea, youRead MoreShort Story1804 Words   |  8 PagesShort story: Definition and History. A  short story  like any other term does not have only one definition, it has many definitions, but all of them are similar in a general idea. According to The World Book Encyclopedia (1994, Vol. 12, L-354), â€Å"the short story is a short work of fiction that usually centers around a single incident. Because of its shorter length, the characters and situations are fewer and less complicated than those of a novel.† In the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s DictionaryRead MoreShort Stories648 Words   |  3 Pageswhat the title to the short story is. The short story theme I am going conduct on is â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber (1973). In this short story the literary elements being used is plot and symbols and the theme being full of distractions and disruption. The narrator is giving a third person point of view in sharing the thoughts of the characters. Walter Mitty the daydreamer is very humorous in the different plots of his dr ifting off. In the start of the story the plot, symbols,Read MoreShort Stories1125 Words   |  5 PagesThe themes of short stories are often relevant to real life? To what extent do you agree with this view? In the short stories â€Å"Miss Brill† and â€Å"Frau Brechenmacher attends a wedding† written by Katherine Mansfield, the themes which are relevant to real life in Miss Brill are isolation and appearance versus reality. Likewise Frau Brechenmacher suffers through isolation throughout the story and also male dominance is one of the major themes that are highlighted in the story. These themes areRead MoreShort Story and People1473 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Title: Story Of An Hour Author: Kate Chopin I. On The Elements / Literary Concepts The short story Story Of An Hour is all about the series of emotions that the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard showed to the readers. With the kind of plot of this short story, it actually refers to the moments that Mrs. Mallard knew that all this time, her husband was alive. For the symbol, I like the title of this short story because it actually symbolizes the time where Mrs. Mallard died with joy. And with thatRead MoreShort Story Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesA short story concentrates on creating a single dynamic effect and is limited in character and situation. It is a language of maximum yet economical effect. Every word must do a job, sometimes several jobs. Short stories are filled with numerous language and sound devices. These language and sound devices create a stronger image of the scenario or the characters within the text, which contribute to the overall pre-designed effect.As it is shown in the metaphor lipstick bleeding gently in CinnamonRead MoreRacism in the Short Stor ies1837 Words   |  7 PagesOften we read stories that tell stories of mixing the grouping may not always be what is legal or what people consider moral at the time. The things that you can learn from someone who is not like you is amazing if people took the time to consider this before judging someone the world as we know it would be a completely different place. The notion to overlook someone because they are not the same race, gender, creed, religion seems to be the way of the world for a long time. Racism is so prevalentRead MoreThe Idol Short Story1728 Words   |  7 PagesThe short stories â€Å"The Idol† by Adolfo Bioy Casares and â€Å"Axolotl† by Julio Cortà ¡zar address the notion of obsession, and the resulting harm that can come from it. Like all addictions, obsession makes one feel overwhelmed, as a single thought comes to continuously intruding our mind, causing the individual to not be able to ignore these thoughts. In â€Å"Axolotl†, the narr ator is drawn upon the axolotls at the Jardin des Plantes aquarium and his fascination towards the axolotls becomes an obsession. InRead MoreGothic Short Story1447 Words   |  6 Pages The End. In the short story, â€Å"Emma Barrett,† the reader follows a search party group searching for a missing girl named Emma deep in a forest in Oregon. The story follows through first person narration by a group member named Holden. This story would be considered a gothic short story because of its use of setting, theme, symbolism, and literary devices used to portray the horror of a missing six-year-old girl. Plot is the literal chronological development of the story, the sequence of events

Csr Assignment †Starbucks Free Essays

string(64) " maker and providing customers with more than what they expect\." | November 5, 2012| | Management 3031Y | [Ethics and Social REsponsibilities ]| Starbucks| Introduction Starbucks is one of the places to find the world’s best coffees. The first Starbucks opened over forty years ago, in Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle, Washington. The owners’ main philosophy was to provide customers with the world’s finest and richest coffee. We will write a custom essay sample on Csr Assignment – Starbucks or any similar topic only for you Order Now Over time, and endeavoring this ultimate philosophy, Starbucks expanded internationally and has more than 19000 stores around the world. The management of Starbucks has managed to improve their managerial process through location of their business, higher quality and better prices of their products. Although it is an expensive coffee store, the price of their product is based on the quality they supply. However, Starbucks is fully engaged in providing everything in an ethical manner. In this article, Howard (2011) explains that the most important thing to Starbucks is â€Å"the key to that culture is the belief that people are more important than profits† (Howard, 2011). This paper will discuss the procedures put in place to ensure ethical behavior, their ethic of business and their corporate social responsibility and will focus on assessing the company’s contribution to the community. Ethical issues As stated in Alec, Gonca Efe’s (2011) journal, â€Å"the evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the concept of Corporate Sustainability (CS) have converged resulting in a similar objective of achieving the balance between economic prosperity, social integrity and environmental responsibility† (Alec,et al. , 2011). CSR is the concept coined to describe how organizations now consider the welfare of the people by being responsible for the impact of their activities on all groups of people involved and affected by their business, (ie. their employees, customers, stakeholders). Many businesses have taken CSR very seriously that they have gone beyond â€Å"following laws†, and do more than being â€Å"responsible†. Starbucks is one of those corporations that fully engages in providing its stakeholders, its employees, the community more than necessary, and go beyond its responsibilities. One issue that Starbucks addressed and which stakeholders were being targeted was for the latter to have access and know how the company’s commitment and passion to improve the world and the ways which are demonstrating it. For example, Starbucks is committed to the environment, whether it’s regarding recycling, reducing water usage, thinking green or lowering its energy consumption (Starbucks, 2012). However, one of the main topics of Starbucks’s corporate ethics revolves around the climate change. Addressing climate change is a priority for Starbucks† (Starbucks, 2012). Since most of Starbucks coffee crops are outside of North America, mostly in the Third-world countries, Starbucks has implemented a climate change since 2004, which focuses on renewable energy, energy conservation, advocacy (Starbucks, 2012). One biggest step taken by Starbucks is reducing its gas emission. They conducted an inventory of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in 2011, using t he World Resources Institute/WBCSD Greenhouse Gas Protocol to find out where their energy is mostly consumed. More than 80 percent of their GHG emissions are attributable to energy used in stores, office, and roasting plants, they are now focused on energy conservation and purchase of renewable energy (Starbucks, 2012). Reducing emissions of tons of carbon dioxide makes a huge impact on the climate. By reusing energy in their coffee-roasting plants, or offices, Starbucks was able to reduce its GHG emissions by 2. 7% compared to their 2012 GHG emissions (Starbucks, 2012). Moreover, another issue that is important for stakeholders is to have access to all the reports, codes, ethics, social responsibilities actions endeavored by the corporation. Starbucks has also addressed that issue, and rather than attempt to address every issue in their annual report, they simply just conducted a materiality assessment to determine what topics are of most significance to their stakeholders and to Starbucks itself and publish everything online. In a letter addressed to the stakeholders, Howard Schultz (2011) explains the reasons of creating a report with the summary of all the positive aspects to the company, as well as how the company is doing with regards to their CSR. This focus on materiality helps not only the stakeholders, but also the hareholders with regards to how effectively the company is doing. And for example, letting stakeholders have access to the their progress regarding their environmental by publishing their Global Responsibilities Goal Progress report online, Starbucks is showing how effectively its doing. Codes of conduct Starbucks codes â€Å"Business Ethics and Compliance† and CSR are stated on their website, and is available to the public. They have also made the â€Å"Standards of Business Conduc†t book available, which facilitates legal compliance and ethical issues such as potential conflicts of interest (Starbucks, 2012). The main idea is that every person in the employ of Starbucks is to act ethically and report any unethical or questionable behavior by any person under the employ of Starbucks. Because everyone is equal at Starbucks, any unethical actions should be reported. They have provided the partners with communication channels, which allow them to report all type of issues or concerns (Starbucks, 2012). The communication channel is basically a webline with contact information of the Business Ethics and Compliance department (Starbucks, 2012. Starbucks Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz stated (2012) â€Å"Each of us is personally responsible for supporting our core values, which require compliance with the law as well as ethical conduct. We have issued the Standards of Business Conduct to restate our long standing commitment to uphold that responsibility and to provide guidance to our partners. † (2012). Starbucks mission statement and guiding principles are also stated on their website. Starbucks mission is â€Å"to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time†. What this means is that Starbucks is dedicated in delivering each person a unique experience with their coffee purchase. It’s a one-on-one experience that should not only make the customers day but also the barista’s day. Being a barista or a partner at Starbucks not only means making beverages and giving them to the customers, but it also means going beyond being a simple coffee maker and providing customers with more than what they expect. You read "Csr Assignment – Starbucks" in category "Essay examples" For example, during my time at Starbucks, I remember that each and every customers that came left with a smile, because all of us were trained to always put the customer on a pedestal and make them happy. If one customer comes back unsatisfied with the drink, without any questions asked, we take the drink back and remake a new one with no charge. I also remember one day, during my shift, an elderly lady came to buy a coffee and a mix of granola and yogurt. She stayed at the location to drink her coffee, then to finish her yogurt. Few minutes later, she came back to us and complained about how the granola tasted different and she wasn’t satisfied/happy with it. Even though she had half of it finished, we gave her another one, free of cost and let her go with a smile on her face. As the mission states, it is about one person, one cup at a time. This also describes Starbucks principles related to customers. â€Å"When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers – even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It’s really about human connection†. (2012) Starbucks also have other principles, either about their products, their shareholders, or their partners. Either way, they are dedicated in being an ethical corporation. As mentioned earlier, they have a report stating all their corporate social responsibilities and how they are doing. Here is a table of what Starbucks Mission Statement and Guiding principles are: STARBUCKS MISSION STATEMENT AND| GUIDING PRINCIPLES| To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest| coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising| principles as we grow. | The following six Guiding Principles will help us measure the| appropriateness of our decisions:| †¢ Provide a great work environment and treat each| other with respect and dignity. | †¢ Embrace diversity as an essential component in the| way we do business. | †¢ Apply the highest standards of excellence to the| purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee. †¢ Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of| the time. | †¢ Contribute positively to our communities and our| environment. | †¢ Recognize that profitability is essential to our| future success. | | Starbucks, by generally being omnipresent in the communities (whether doing communities work, making changes to how the business and centers operate†¦), aims to follow its principles, and encourage its partners and customers to do the same. Ethics in practice The corporation accounts for its ethical and social responsibilities, by either being involved in communities through different ways, or helping the society in general. As stated on their website, they make a difference in the society, in the environment, at the workplace, in the products†¦ â€Å"A good example of a corporate culture which focuses on quality and ethics is Starbucks. Starbucks has won a number of ethics awards and has been recognized as a role model of social responsibility. †(Academic journal 2010). This sentence summarizes what stakeholders and public think about Starbucks. Indeed, the corporation has made huge differences in the community by doing small gestures, but gestures that matter. As stated in their website, they â€Å"support farmers and their communities†. For example, they have established Farmer Support Centers in Costa Rica and Rwanda to provide local farmers with the resources and expertise that help lower the cost of production, reduce fungus infections, improve coffee quality and increase the yield of premium coffees (Starbucks, 2012). They have also set up something called the Starbucks Farmer Loan program. It aims to provide financial resources to cooperatives to fulfill their cash flow needs during harvest time, and to make infrastructure investments that result in better competitiveness (Starbucks, 2012). Their goal is to dispurse U. S $20 million to this program by 2015. Another example in respective to their ethical practice is regarding their kids cups. They recalled over 250,000 children’s plastic cups in the U. S. and Canada. â€Å"According to the report, once the cup is dropped, the colorful face on the cup can break off and leave small parts or sharp edges that can pose a choking or laceration hazard to young children† (2008). Also, by coming to the new communities, such as in the U,S where its experiencing a job crisis, Starbucks provides employment, as the only thing you need is a smile and willingness to provide excellent customer experience. The company first priority is taking care of the employees in its retail stores who communicate with and serve customers. Starbucks executives believe that by taking care of these employees, the company can provide long-term value to shareholders (Schultz ; Yang 1997). Trust is vital to all organizations and it expected that ethical leaders demonstra te behavioral consistency between words and actions; treat all employees fairly without violating human rights. † (2011). Starbucks has teamed up with the Opportunity Finance Network (OPN) to create new jobs for Americans. Transparency At Starbucks, transparency is important thus they have published their CSR report as part of their broader communications efforts to provide transparency on their activities and performance. This initiative not only makes their stakeholders happy but also provides everyone else, either its customers or employees, with what Starbucks is doing to be a socially and environmentally responsible company. This transparency should be the priority in all successful organizations has us customers need to know what is the company, that is technically part of our daily routine, doing for us. A clear apercu of their goals, mission statement and principles is necessary, because communities need to support only corporations that care and value ethics and social responsibility. But as mentioned, Starbucks is in all ways clear about their ethics, and as nothing is a mystery, they have published everything online. Overall assessment Starbucks is focused on being a fully ethical and a very philanthropic corporation. All their ethics, values, match Carrol’s definition of a Corporate Social Responsible corporation. As per Carrol, the social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that a society has of organizations at a given point in time (Michael Hopkins, p. 2. 2011). Although, like all other corporations, making profit is the most important, Starbucks doesn’t forget that it started as a small business that eventually and slowly expanded. Starbucks participates in many environmental and social programs around the world. The corporation is focused in providing communities with all types of benefits, such as jobs, good quality of coffee, good working conditions, improving its energy consumption. In general, the company is progressing towards better system and practices. For example, according to the published metrics on the environmental responsibility, the company has been able to reduce its energy consumption by 7. 5% in 2008-2011, purchased the equivalent of more than 50% of electricity used in their global company-owned stores worldwide in 2011, and decreased its water consumption by more than 17% since 2008. Starbucks’ goal by 2015 is to decrease water consumption by 25%, purchase renewable energy equivalent to 100% of the electricity used in their company-owned stores and reduce energy consumption by 25%. Conclusion We have studied about corporate responsibility, companies’ omnipresence in communities, in society and in our day-to-day routine. We have also studied how a company’s values and ethical decisions can make a significant difference in the way we perceive it. Applying what we learnt from class, Starbucks is implicitly ethical and follows all the norms and values of a social ethical company. Thought, a company is made of employees, it is very important to provide those employees with the company’s core values and explain them what it really means to work at that company. In Starbucks’s case, partners are all participating in making the company an ethical and socially responsible corporation. References Katrinli, A. , Gunay, G. , Mehmet E. (2011). The Convergence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Sustainability: Starbucks Corporation’s Practices. Cambridge: The Business Review. Moronke, S. (2012). Impact of Ethical Leadership on Employee Job Performance. Journal of Business and Social Science. Schultz, H. (2010). It’s Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles From a Life at Starbucks. Journal for Quality ; Participation;Vol. 33 Issue 1, p20, 1/3p. Academic journal. Starbucks. Retrieved from http://assets. starbucks. com/assets/4dd6216d0fd0400f8689eceba0497e04. pdf http://www. starbucks. com/about-us Starbucks Recall Mugs. Injury Prevention; Feb2008, Vol. 14 Issue 1, p70-70, 1/9p. article Ethics and Compliance Webline. Retrieved from https://businessconduct. eawebline. com/ Hopkins, M. (2011). Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility. MHC International. P. 2. article. Retrieved from http://mhcinternational. com/articles/definition-of-csr How to cite Csr Assignment – Starbucks, Essay examples

Folk Custom free essay sample

Chapter OneA General Introduction to Folk Customs 1. Folk customs: a definition Folk customs, or folk ways, comprise the part of cultural life that people of a country or nation have created, practiced and transmitted in their endeavors to satisfy their needs at various stages of their history and society. Deep-rooted in the cultural life of a community, folk customs are passed down from generation to generation in a temporal dimension and spread from one place to another in a spatial dimension. In the history of human society, folk customs have evolved from naught to existence, from simple to complex. In primitive society, a common folk custom was to eat animal flesh raw and drink its blood and to live in caves or hollows. With the development of society, the material life, the related organizational forms of social life, wedding ceremonies, funerals, and etiquettes came into being, and by and by they are established as folkways, or folk customs. We will write a custom essay sample on Folk Custom or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In China, for instance, chopsticks are used at meals, which is a Chinese folk custom. Northerners eating jiaozi and southerners eating rice cakes in Chinese New Year Festival, all people eating moon-cakes on Mid-Autumn Day and greeting each other with â€Å"Have you eaten? are all Chinese folk customs. Folk customs are shared and practiced by members of a nation in their daily life. There are folk customs governing the daily life of people, traditional festivals, various stages of life, as well as ideological aspects of social life. The various taboos in life are highly ideological. For example, the taboo against sweeping the floor from December 30 to January 2 on the Chinese lunar calendar resulted from the folk belief that this would affect the luck of wealth in the coming year. Some folk customs, as they originated from religious beliefs, carry a strong religious flavor by laying down rules for marriages, wedding funerals, and diet of believers. Every nation has some folk customs, ways of life or national styles that distinguish itself from other nations. People of that nation have a strong affection for these distinctive ways and recognize them as national symbols. Prevalent in a society with people hardly knowing them, folk customs apply to such matters as clothing, eating, living, transportation, decorum and etiquette, and manners of getting along with others. In this sense, folk customs are basic forms of national culture that may directly reflect and influence the material and spiritual life of a country or nation. 2. Characteristics of folk customs 1. 2. 1 Collectiveness The birth and transmission of folk customs is both social and collective. From the very beginning, their creation and development involve the participation of a group and reflect the mentality, linguistic and behavioral patterns of that group. For instance, the wedding ceremony is an activity attended by members of a particular group, as the would-be couple need win social recognition through this ceremony. . 2. 2 Regionality Geographical surroundings exert a strong influence over human life, thus the regionality of folk customs. Take for example the Mongolians in northern China. They used to be a nomadic people, and now animal husbandry is still their major concern, for the reason that the chief regions they inhabit are more suitable for animal husbandry in terms of na tural resources. The Hezhen people use dog-sledges and go for hunting and fishing, and the Oroqen people go hunting on horseback, all for the sake of their geographical surroundings. 1. 2. Transmissiveness and disseminativeness Folk customs are established through passing down from one generation to the next; they exist and disseminate in a certain area. The earlier they were created and the stronger functions they perform, the more areas the folk customs are disseminated to. The practice of giving New Year money to the young generation, for example, has been observed in all places year after year. 1. 2. 4 Relative stability and variability Once established, folk customs will become a stable part of life. The more stable a society, the more stable its folk customs. However, folk customs are liable to change with the development of society. Take for example the Chinese wedding ceremony. In the past, the Han people used jiaozi (old-fashioned sedan chair) to take the bride from her childhood home to the bridegroom’s house, but now they use cars. Stability contributes to the preservation of folk customs, and variability to their development. 3. Classification of Folk Customs Folk customs are numerous and complicated, and are developing day by day. It is universally acknowledged among researchers that folk customs fall into the following eight categories. . 3. 1 Folk customs of production Folk customs of production grow out of various production activities, including agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishing, handicraft industry, service industry, etc. In the history of human beings, these customs have played a role in ensuring production efficiency.

Jared Diamond versus Charles Mann on the Sophistication of Metalwork Essay Example

Jared Diamond versus Charles Mann on the Sophistication of Metalwork Essay Jared Diamonds theory in his book Guns, Germs and Steel states that the Europeans were able to conquer the Natives because of their favorable geography, a key factor that lent itself to the manufacturing of steel and which Charles Mann, author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, also discusses in detail.Both Diamond and Mann agree that the centuries of experience in making steel weaponry in Eurasia gave the Spanish conquistadors an advantage over the Natives in combat; however, Diamond claims that the Europeans had an upper hand because their metal work was more sophisticated, whereas the Natives were merely stuck in the bronze age, (3) for which he discredits their advancements in metal technology.On the contrary, Mann contends that the Natives metal work was more advanced than their European counterparts (3), and that the indigenous societies may not have had steel for weapons, but [they] did highly sophisticated work with other metals (3). Although Europeans had more experience in working with metal, and in developing different techniques in manufacturing metal that seemed more refined, Mann argues in 1491 that the Natives techniques and use for metal was not nearly as primitive as what Diamond presumes in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel.Diamond argues that the Europeans conquered the Natives because of superior metal technology. A close examination shows Manns argument that the Natives metal techniques undermines Diamonds argument that the Europeans had superior metal techniques. To understand the main differences between these two authors, one should examine the specific points before considering their different views on the specific metalworking techniques in the respective cultures.The Europeans had steel and Indians did not, which has led some researchers, Diamond among them, to argue that Indian metallurgy essentially [did not] exist (2). After all, they didnt have the steel axe, (1) Diamond says in the national geographic movie adapted from his book. The Europeans borrowed innovative techniques from steel manufacturers in the Fertile Crescent to build swords, or rapiers, and guns.Judging by his point of view, Diamond presumes that at the time of arrival of the Europeans the new world societies had just begun making bronze artifacts and had not started making iron (Diamond 259). Diamond stresses the crudeness of the Incas metalwork and the tools. He then contends that the Incas used metal for almost nothing useful (3). The term useful can have many implications, but in this case Diamonds definition of useful is using metal to make a device that is going to allow subjugation.Diamond believes that a culture should [seek] to optimize metals hardness, strength, toughness, and sharpness' to make weaponry (3). Diamonds research led him to believe that because the Natives had not developed lethal weapons made of optimize[d] (3) metal, the Natives were far inferior to the Europeans. Diamond discred its any advancements in Native metalwork because he believes that the Natives were not advanced, and only squandering their resources. In his book 1941, Mann believes that the Natives techniques in working the metal were far superior in comparison with the Europeans.He says that Incas metallurgy was as refined as European metallurgy, if not more, but it had such different goals that until recently scientists had not even recognized it as a technology (3). Mann explains the misconception that researchers, namely Diamond, are guilty of asserting: the fact that the Europeans used metal to conquer overshadowed the Natives advances, because they used metal for more practical things. Mann then says that unlike the Europeans, the Natives by contrast, valued plasticity, malleability, and toughness (2).Whereas the Europeans used metal as a symbol of wealth, power, and community affiliation (2), the Natives used it for practical tool making. It is important to look at the specific techniques involved in metalworking in the respective cultures to determine who, either Diamond or Mann, is more convincing. Diamonds account stated that European metalworkers created metal objects by pouring molten alloys into shaped molds (2). Diamond says that rapiers, represented a high point in a very sophisticated metalworking technology.There are many different qualities needed in a sword that the Europeans had to consider: First of all, the metal had to be hard enough to take a sharp edge, and that requires steel that is iron infused with carbon, and the more carbon one puts into the iron, then the harder the metal will be. But if it is too hard, then it will be brittle, and that would not work because when someone would hit someone else with his sword, then the sword would break (3). The Europeans also had to consider pliability as a factor, because an ability to bend and spring back into shape was important in combat (3).Diamond argued that it took centuries of experimentation for th e Spanish to perfect the techniques needed to make the deadly rapier, and he concluded that the budding metal mongers(Diamond 97) had nowhere near the experience necessary to build these kind of weapons. In contrast to Diamonds ideas about the use of metal, Mann argues that the Natives were far ahead of the Europeans when it came to working with the metal; and given the right resources, the Natives could have easily beaten the Europeans in combat.The Natives knew about the European technique of pouring molten alloys into shaped molds (2), but they vastly preferred to hammer metal into thin sheets, form the sheets around molds, and solder the results (2). The Incas employed metallurgical processes such as alloying, casting, cloisonni? , hammering, incrustation, inlay, repoussi? , riveting, smelting, and soldering (2). In 1941, Mann calls their work remarkable by any standard (Mann 143) and describes a bust he found that was less than an inch tall but made of twenty-two separate fasti diously joined gold plates.Mann believes that researchers underestimate the ingenuity that the Natives had in manipulating metal. It is evident that Mann is telling the reader not to disregard the advances made by the Natives in metal just because they are not innovative weapons. The natural inclination is to think in a broad sense that whoever wins the war has better technology. Especially since the Europeans were so outnumbered by the Incas, there had to be a reason why at such a disproportion in numbers the Europeans were able to conquer them.Mann argues that the Natives skills with metal were a cut above the Europeans, and that the Natives could have made better weapons than the Europeans if that is what they were trying to do. Europeans demonstrated expertise in making swords and whereas the Natives focused on more pragmatic applications of their resources. He warns the reader not lose sight of the fact that when the Europeans were pouring metal into molds, the Natives had alre ady accomplished this feat and had moved on to more sophisticated techniques.Both Diamond and Mann acknowledge that the Europeans used centuries of experience to manufacture steel to make deadly weapons. Diamonds contention that the Europeans were more advanced is more appealing to the reader because it is the more intuitive answer. The reader is naturally inclined to choose the Europeans as the superior workers in metal because of their exposure to other cultures advancements and favorable geography; however, Diamonds underestimation of the Natives takes away from his argument because he dismisses anthropological evidence.Diamond makes the point in his book that the there was no shortage of copper, tin, silver and gold in the mountains of the Andes, but then he disbelieves the Natives ability to find value in the metal and use it to their advantage. Manns argument is more convincing because he acknowledges and he gives specific examples that support his opinion that the Natives met alwork stressed functional and utilitarian design (2). What the issue eventually involves is what one views as technology.Clearly, Diamond is holding the Natives and colonists to a higher standard than the Europeans held many years ago and what Mann holds today. Mann says technology refers to any application of a systematic technique, method, or approach for practical purposes (3). He argues that colonial accounts suggest that Europeans then viewed technology in these broad termsand that they were impressed by what they saw in Native American hands; and that to the first European visitors, the encounter with Indians was much more like a meeting of equals than is commonly taught today (3).In summary, Diamond and Mann agree that the weaponry in Eurasia allowed the conquistadors to conquer the Inca; however, they are strongly divided in identifying which culture is more advanced as far as metal working techniques, in addition to the cultures main influences and uses of metallurgy. Mann believes that the Natives metalwork manifests a high degree of sophistication, and that the European efforts to come up with different techniques were not nearly as advanced.Diamond believes that the European techniques were more advanced, and he attributes this to the centuries of experience from the Fertile Crescent. Mann and Diamond both present convincing arguments, and it is difficult to determine who is more convincing, since both have valid points. The issue comes down to whether the Natives or the Europeans were more advanced in metalwork. Judging by both arguments, Manns case is more convincing because he provides great support by directly comparing the ways that each culture manipulated metal, which showed that the Natives had more advanced and sophisticated techniques.Literature Cited(1) www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/show/transcript2.html (2) www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_article_ancient_americans_charles_ mann_interview.htm(3) www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles /2005/09/04/Native_ingenuity/?page=full(4) http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/show/episode2.html(5) 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by: Charles C. Mann(6) Germs, Guns, and Steel by: Jared Diamond We will write a custom essay sample on Jared Diamond versus Charles Mann on the Sophistication of Metalwork specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jared Diamond versus Charles Mann on the Sophistication of Metalwork specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jared Diamond versus Charles Mann on the Sophistication of Metalwork specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Let it snow Essays

Let it snow Essays Let it snow Essay Let it snow Essay Let It Snow Critical Reading In the short story Let It Snow by David Seeders a mother of five children becomes overwhelmed when her time away from her children becomes interrupted when an unusual snow fall hits and delays school for a few days. After kicking her children out in the snow the mother then relies on alcohol and watching television to help her deal with her internal conflict she has been faced with. The children decide to use Amy, the youngest child, to lie in the middle of the road to attract a motorist to their situation. Shortly after the motorist was informed what had been going on, the mother trotted through the snow toward the children and brought them back home safely. David Steadiers use of tone is essential in making this story successful. The role of tone in this story causes the reader not to stop and think about the actual events that are taking place. When stopping and thinking about the actual events, an alcoholic mother kicking her children out, a father who spends his time at work instead of at home with his family, kids who try to murder one of their siblings Just to get back into he house, and neighbors who witness the situation and seem to be okay with it. When stopping and taking the time to think about the actual events it becomes a pretty scary situation to be in. Along with tone being essential in the story, the snow is important as well because it helps to distract the reader from what is actually going on. When I began reading this story, I was expecting a story about a funny childhood memory, or perhaps one of those strange occurrences in our daily lives about to be old to us through the prospective of a child, but this story caught me by surprise. I think the author of the story was trying to tell a story about something that was sad, without actually coming out and writing a sad story. In my opinion, the ending of the story was the most meaningful part. In the ending of the story we are shown a heartbreaking situation of young childrens unconditional love for their mother, with their forgiveness and acceptance. I really enjoyed this story and how surprising and unusual it was.

The American Mideast Leadership Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The American Mideast Leadership Network - Essay Example George W. Bush, in his second inaugural address, stressed that "it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world" (qtd. in Lowenkron, 2006: np). While these policies may sound familiar, almost boilerplate in some respects, it is the increasing interest in and overt support of many non-governmental organizations that merits attention. For instance, in his remarks to the American Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Barry F. Lowenkron, the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, stated, regarding President Bush's desire to end tyranny in the world, that "The work of NGOs is crucial to reaching that goal" (Lowenkron, 2006: np). It is this nuance, the interposition of non-governmental organizations, that indicates a growing trend in international relations. ... s; for example, they report and publicize facts otherwise not known about civil societies, they lobby and protest, and they sponsor educational conferences and debates. Non-governmental organizations deal with health issues, environmental concerns, education, humanitarian relief operations, and the protection of fundamental rights and liberties. They are, in short, free of many of the constraints faced by state actors and increasingly well-funded and supported. This trend, from a western perspective, has been emphasized by one leading scholar in the field: NGOs in this context appear as missionaries of the good word about the marriage of convenience between the free market and democratic elections, and the virtues of social democratic action in the spaces available within the power structure as opposed to direct action against it. In this context, the NGOs are enlisted by official development agencies (ODAs) and governments as partners in the process of "sustainable human development" and "good [democratic] governance"-as watchdogs of state deviancy, as interlocutors and participants in the formulation of public policy, and guarantors of its transparency to inhibit or prevent corruption and rentierism (Veltmeyer, 2005: 90). In the final analysis, non-governmental organizations are increasingly thought to be able to accomplish goals traditionally associated with more traditional state and multinational actors. One example of a non-governmental organization doing such work is the American Mideast Leadership Network. American Mideast Leadership Network Incorporated as a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under the Internal Revenue Code, the American Mideast Leadership Network is dedicated to the creation of educational and cultural exchanges (American

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides - Essay Example The parents were afraid of the girls’ independence, and showed signs that they wished for Victorian moralities for their daughters, for the parents were also afraid that the girls would capitalize on their budding sexuality. As these fears drove the parents to the drastic measures of virtually imprisoning the girls, and the girls’ suicide was probably a result of this decision, it can be said that the parents fears of letting the girls be independent and to experiment with boys were the key decisions that led to the girls’s suicides. Discussion One of the themes of the novel is the lack of independence of the girls, and the parents’ desperate attempt to subvert any sense of independence that the girls might have had. This is a theme that is found in the book and in life, for much has been written about how women should be weak, and docile, not strong and independent, and this apparently is what motivated the Lisbon parents. According to Simone De Beauvoir (1949) the appearance of femininity is one of docility, futility and weakness, and that â€Å"to please they must abdicate† (De Beauvoir, 1949, p. 353). This is shown by an examination of great novels, such as Little Women, The Last of the Mohicans and The Mill on the Floss. In each of these novels, the tomboyish, independent woman is pushed aside, romantically, by the protagonist boy. According to De Beauvoir, this is proof that passive, servile women are preferred to their independent sisters (De Beauvoir, 1949, p. 352). Alex de Tocqueville felt that women entered confining marriage, and that these women gave up their sense of independence â€Å"It may be said that she has learned by the use of her independence to surrender it without a struggle† (Faludi, 1991, p. 48). Another theme in the book is the tamping down of nascent sexuality. De Beauvoir contends that adolescent girls cope with the changes that are bestowed upon them by becoming the coquette, as they were i n childhood. They accomplish this by doing their makeup and hair, massaging her breasts to make them grow, and studying her smile in the mirror. This awakens an eroticism in the young girl and the young adolescent boy. However, for the adolescent boy, this awakening eroticism is a badge of honor – of â€Å"transcendence and power† (De Beauvoir, 1949, p. 349). For the adolescent girl, this awakening causes the girl to â€Å"retain a cast of shame† (De Beauvoir, 1949, p. 349). In other words, it is perfectly normal for a girl to want to become feminine and use her feminine wiles as she reaches puberty, and this was something that was denied by Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon, especially Mrs. Lisbon. At the same time, acting upon the newfound eroticism is a cause for censure. This is in line with the Lisbon’s parents’ beliefs about their daughters, for any hint of sexuality was extinguished before it could even come into fruition. The Lisbon parents made sure of this by not allowing the girls to go out with boys. There is every indication that the parents in The Virgin Suicides had these antiquated beliefs, that the girls should not have independence and should not realize their sexuality, despite the fact that the novel takes place during the early to mid 1970s. This was an era that was marked by change in the female situation – women were helping to forge anti-discrimination policies and policies regarding equal

The Effects of Cyberschools on Public Education Essay

The Effects of Cyberschools on Public Education - Essay Example When the Western Pennsylvania cyberschool opened in the 2000-01 school year, 525 grade 12 students were enrolled in it. In the 2001-2002 school year, 996 students were enrolled (KPMG Consulting, 2001). Indeed, demographic figures are a testament to the success of the Western Pennsylvania cyberschool for, not only are enrolment figures steadily n the increase but, an increasing number of students and parents are opting for cyberschool as a preferred alternative to public schooling, with the result being that that while 48% of the enrolled students are former home schoolers, 52% are former public school students from twelve south west region counties. Added to that, 27 of the enrolled students are classified as gifted' and 117 are special education needs students (KPMG Consulting, 2001). The implication here is that, within Western Pennsylvania at least, cyberschooling is emerging as a viable, valid and vital alternative to public schooling. Within the parameters of the outlined problem, the research shall attempt the determination of the impact of cyberschools on public education, with the focus being on Western Pennsylvania. 3 Definition of Key Terms The focus of this action research is well-defined and limited to the relationship between public schooling and cyberschooling, on the one hand, and the emergence of cyberschools as an alternative to both home and public schooling. The focus, as stated, allows for the identification of three key terms, those being cyberschools, public education and home schooling. Each of these terms shall now be defined in order to contextualize their usage in the... The focus of this action research is well-defined and limited to the relationship between public schooling and cyberschooling, on the one hand, and the emergence of cyberschools as an alternative to both home and public schooling. The research and data analysis carried out allows for the statement of a set of conclusions. The first of these is that the public school system is under tremendous strain, both because of increasing student populations and decreasing qualified teacher populations. The consequence of the aforementioned is the decreasing capacity for effective education and an ever dwindling ability to ensure the safety and security of students on school grounds and property. The stated has led many parents to turn to Homeschooling and, eventually, to cyberschools. As pertains to cyberschools, the research data allows for the conclusion that it is an effective, viable, vital and feasible alternative to both public education and Homeschooling. This paper makes a conclusion that given that no data was found on the actual effect that cyberschools have had on the public school system, it is difficult to present definitive conclusions regarding this relationship. Nevertheless, one may assume that cyberschools will be integrated into the public school system in due course, thereby relieving state and federal governments of a substantial percentage of the cost involved in the maintenance and running of public schools and allowing access to education for those who, for a variety of reasons, had no previous access. In other words, cyberschools will not function as a threat to public schools but as a support system.

The Absence Of Mr Glass English Literature Essay

The Absence Of Mr Glass English Literature Essay In May 29 1874, Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London, England. In 1887, He enrolls as a day student at St. Pauls Preparatory School and begins writing and sketching in journals. His time there was not outstanding like his writings. He lacked the capability to direct his attention to subjects that did not interest him. Physically he was a large and clumsy boy, and in athletics he won no distinction whatsoever (British Writers, 1983, Vol. 6, P.335-246). He was depressed, which triggered his thoughts of suicide. Though he was intelligent, his academic career was not going so well. However, he blossomed with his writing and with the encouragement of his friends. He enjoyed debating and journalism. In 1893 however, when he joined the Slade School of Art, he experimented with an Ouija board and became almost fascinated with diabolism. In 1895 Chesterton left University College without a degree and worked for the London Publisher Redway and T. Fisher Unwin (Gilbert Keith Chesterton-Biography and works). In 1899, war broke out against two small Dutch South African Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Chesterton had strong political interests (Biography: G K Chesterton, writer). Chesterton opposed this war, not because he was a pacifist, but because he thought that this was an unjust war. Chestertons liberalism was always a liberalism of belief in small unites. He hated imperialism and large units and the uniformity that imperialisms tyranny imposed upon people of different traditions. He was in violent reaction against the popular imperialism of the day (British Writers, 1983, Vol. 6, P.335-246). In 1896, he fell in love with a girl named Frances Blogg only to fin d him in a spiritual crisis in 1900. Then, in 1901 he married Frances Blogg, who pulled him out of his spiritual crisis. In 1901, he begins writing a regular Saturday column for Daily News, much to his journalisms delight. He was then asked to preach in 1905 at St. Pauls Church, along with entering a 30-year public debate with George Bernard Shaw (Chestertons Literary Life). He was officially received into the roman Catholic Church in 1922, but had been writing from a Roman Catholic point of view for a long time before that( G K Chesterton, Writer). Though he was a journalist, Chesterton wrote many fiction novels. He wrote books like the Father Brown Mystery novels, and the adventure story The Man Who Was Thursday. The tone of the story, as of every Chesterton story, is strongly affected by the exuberant style of the author (G K Chesterton, Writer). Chesterton was influenced by many people in his lifetime. In his childhood, when he was struggling, he surrounded himself with a group of friends. One of these friends would be recognized later in life as E.C. Bentley; who created a light verse known as the clerihew and helped formed the Junior Debating Club. He was also influenced by his family, which gave him his liberal nature concerning politics. His parents were Unitarian in religion; but that was something he did not inherit. However, his little brother Cecil joined the Roman Catholic Church in 1913 (Chestertons Literary Life). Unfortunately, just five years later in 1918, Cecil dies in war. The next year he traveled with his wife Frances to Jerusalem, the Continent, and North America. He fell gravely ill in 1914, which it is unknown to as whether it related to his death in 1936. He died the 14 of June in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. During his life he published 69 books and another ten of them would be published after his de ath (Chestertons Literary Life). Overview/Summary of Father Brown Mystery Stories: Mr. Glass This story is from a collection of the Father Brown Mystery Collection. The story begins with a scientist by the name of Orion Hood is reading a grand collection of novels. The novels whereabouts and identities were emphasized strongly in this story. The Doctor was suddenly interrupted by a disheveled man, stumbling over heavy load of luggage and an umbrella. It was Father Brown, the priest, who had come to see him. Father Brown then begins to explain the situation that he has come for advice on, because Dr. Hood has assisted criminologists and detectives in his career, because he was a genius in his department and in his studies. So Father Brown, a detective as well as a priest, came to him with a case. He asks for the help of the doctor to solve a case involving a young couple, Mr. Todhunter and Ms. MacNab. They are planning a wedding and the mother of Ms. MacNab is complaining about the profession of young Todd. She says that he spends hours in his room, talking to an unknown pers on named Mr. Glass, who is described as a tall dark stranger with a silk top hat on. The young man denies these accusations and says that his trade will be revealed before the wedding. The young woman suddenly interrupts the discussion, saying that Todd had been tied up and a murder could have occurred. Naturally, Father Brown and Dr. Hood rush to the seaside hotel and investigate the so called murder. What they find when they arrive is a man tied up with scarves on the floor, presumed to be Mr. Todd, of course. They examine the room intensely to understand the gravity of the situation, and find several key items. First, they discover two wineglasses on the table and then a smashed one on the floor. Then they also discover a sword with a drop of blood on the tip, along with a silk top hat, much too large for Mr. Todd, with no trace of hair inside of it. There were playing cards scattered across the floor as well. Dr. Hood deduces that the sword was the murder weapon of Mr. Glass, and the glasses on the floor were from their session together. The hat belonged to Mr. Glass, and he was evidently bald because there was no hair on his head and he was also elderly. He al so deduced that Todd could break free from his binds at any time, and that this was his cover up for killing Mr. Glass, who was evidently buried somewhere in the garden or stuffed up the chimney (Chesterton, Gilbert Keith). But when the clever man thinks he has solved the case, Todd begins laughing because of the accusations Dr. Hood placed on him. Father Brown then figures out the truth: Todd is really a magician. The hat was too big for him because it wasnt meant to be worn, it was meant for pulling rabbits out of. The glasses and the conversations between him and Mr. Glass were really Todd juggling and saying one, two, three, missed a glass, not Mr. Glass. The playing cards scattered all over the floor was him trying to perform card tricks. Lastly, the sword with blood was him trying to swallow swords and falling. As for the scarves, he was trying to perform a Houdini and escape from them successfully. Critical Analysis: Influences Throughout Chestertons childhood he wasnt athletic or popular. He had trouble academically, which I believe was the influence on the character Dr. Hood, who was extremely intelligent and at the end of the story, was dumbfounded because his deductions are wrong and Father Brown figured out the truth. When Chesterton went to college he struggled with skepticism and depression in 1893 and during this period he experimented with an Ouija board and grew fascinated with diabolism. (Gilbert Keith Chesterton) These events may have influenced his writing of Heretics or the mystery stories he wrote in collections called The Father Brown Mystery Stories, or the Wisdom of Father Brown. . Chestertons religion also came into play with his writings. He wrote many speeches for churches and books that often the character struggled for good morals and godly behavior. His novel, the man who was Thursday, was an anarchist named Thursday who struggled with his self and his religion. There is also a character named Sunday who is considered to resemble God in his characteristics. That was partly influenced by his experiments with the Ouija board and with his wife, Frances Blogg, who was a major part in pulling him out of his crisis (Gilbert Keith Chesterton). .Critical Analysis: Main Themes The main themes of Chestertons novels revolve mainly around religion and changing circumstances. In his novel, The Man Who was Thursday, the main theme of it is focused mainly on the character Sundays shifting perceptions of Sunday. The detective initially experiences a vague sense of evil in the presence of this godly figure, but is later replaced with respect for the man, who is thought to represent the human failure to completely fathom the paradoxes of life and nature (The Man Who Was Thursday). In his short story The Absence of Mr. Glass the themes that are evident are the changing circumstances. The circumstance changes drastically when Dr. Hood indicts the murder of the pseudo Mr. Glass on Todhunter, but the truth was ironically discovered by Father Brown when he points out the truth of the murder objects. His novel The Man Who was Thursdays theme also focused on spiritual struggle, something Chesterton himself also experienced during his years of college that he ended up dropping out of. Religion is a theme for most of his stories because of his own struggles with it, when he became fascinated with diabolism (Gilbert Keith Chesterton) and when he was writing from a Catholic point of view when he was accepted into the church in 1922 but in 1905 when he was asked to speak for the churchs behalf. Critical Analysis: Stylistic Devices All authors use some method of literary and stylistic device. G.K. Chesterton was no exception. In his story he incorporated many devices, such as similes. But if one took a volume of Chaucer or Shelley from that rank, its absence irritated the mind like a gap in a mans front teeth. (Chesterton, Gilbert K.). He used such devices like synesthesia, which is words describing different sensations. For example, in his story he uses heathen holiness (Chesterton, Gilbert K.). The effect of synesthesia is meant to be poetic and to provoke thoughts to the reader. Chesterton also uses rhetorical questions in his writing, such as Maggie MacNab and young Todhunter want to get married. Now, what can be more important than that? (Chesterton, Gilbert K.). The effect of a rhetorical question is the emphasis of the subject. Chesterton enjoys using a lot of allegories in his writing, for example in The Man Who Was Thursday. The suffering of the main character was contributed to Chesterton, who also suffered from depression during his college days at Slades Art School, and claimed afterwards that he wrote this book as a strange confirmation that goodness was at the heart of every aspect of the world. He also used aspects of the bible in this work, Sunday, the character that represented God, sits on a throne in front of the other members of the anarchists. His last words were, can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?, and that is the same question that Jesus asks James and John in Mark 10:38-39, because he wanted to challenge their commitment in becoming his disciples. Critical Analysis: Characters Since the Father Brown mystery stories were short stories, the characters were not as plentiful as are in longer stories. But the characters that are mentioned are Father Brown, Maggie MacNab, Mr. Todhunter, Dr. Orion Hood, and Mrs. MacNab. Father Brown was the detective, and he added to the story because he introduced the idea to the doctor and was demeaned somewhat by the presence of the scientist and logical sense of Dr. Hood. He seems rather disorganized, as well as not as intelligent as Dr. Orion Hood. Maggie MacNab did not add much to this thrilling short story except she was the one who informed the Father and doctor of her courters current situation. Mr. Todhunter was the innocent magician; he was practicing his tricks and was wrongly accused of murder by Dr. Hood. Dr. Hood was the brilliant scientist, who deduced a wrong persecution of Mr. Todd from a convincing set of clues. When the doctor was contradicted of his intelligent assumption it was rather of a shock to the reader because he was seemingly as intelligent as Sherlock Holmes. Lastly there is Mrs. MacNab, mother of Maggie MacNab, who misheard the mutterings of the magician as she nosed in on his room whilst he was practicing his magical arts alone. She interpreted ventriloquism and Mr. Todd saying missed a glass into a second person named Mr. Glass into the conversation with Mr. Todhunter. In the story, Maggie MacNabs mother overheard some conversations between Mr. Todhunter and the fictitious Mr. Glass. She hears Mr. Todd talk, then overhears a strange, high pitched voice. She assumes it to be another person, but is actually Mr. Todd practicing his ventriloquism, for he is a magician. Mr. Glass was rumored to be a tall, strange man in a silk top hat with a strange spectral quality to his presence. Such rumors were false, of course, because Mr. Glass was nothing more than misinterpreted dialect of the magician with himself. The point of Mr. Glass was that he was a made up character by the household to explain Mr. Toddhunters strange behavior as a reticent magician.

The Significance of ?Xenia? Essay -- essays research papers

The Significance of â€Å"Xenia† Ancient Greece is known for its beautiful theaters and its skilled poets. One of the most famous ones at that time and famous even now is Homer. Nobody knows who he actually is but the works that he has created are far more than magnificent. The Odyssey and The Iliad are two poems that turned into myths, have actually been accepted as part of the history of the Greeks. The Odyssey is a story about a hero from the Trojan War who struggles to get home to his family and when he finally does he faces the suitors who he fights and defeats with the help of the gods and his son who he hasn't seen for around twenty years. The gradual development of the plot, the actual, end of the book is easily noticed. A big role in that development plays hospitality or as Homer calls it the xenia. Odysseus' journey on his way back to his island Ithaca contains numerous details about hospitality and what it is to be a good or a bad host. His voyage is based on the kindness and the warmth of the people . There are gods and humans, and giants that do not appreciate the hero but he deals with them and we meet with the actual plot of the story, his homecoming. Warmth and kindness are presented within every visit described in the book. Homer draws a very good picture of how guests are welcomed, what entertainment they are given and the way they are send on their way. The picture is filled with kindness and warmth. We could say that the kind of hospitality presented in the book is hardly seen today. The different steps of welcoming some one are really interesting. The host is bathed and fed right after his arrival no matter who he is. Hosts do not really present the question that identifies their guest until later on, after he has been well rested and entertained. A great example of this is when Telemachos and Athene, in the body of Mentor, visit Nestor. When Nestor sees the two men he has never seen before he has a feast with his sons and companions. In the sight of the strangers they all stand up and greet them. The first thing that is done is to find a place for the two guests on the table and to feed them. â€Å"When they had satisfied their appetite and thirst, Nestor, the Gerenian charioteer, said: ‘Now that our visitors have eaten well, it is the right moment to put some questions to them and enquire who they are?†(Book#3line ... ...e, son, and servants they abuse for so long. "You dogs!’ he cried. ‘You never thought to see me back from troy. So you fleeced my household; you raped my maids; you courted my wife behind my back though I was alive- with no more fear of the gods in heaven than of the human vengeance that might come. One and all, your fate is sealed.†(Book #22, lines 35-40) These are the words of Odysseus, mad with the destruction the suitors have caused to his home. He kills them all, right before they are about to eat. He kills Antinous right when he is about to drink from the wine. The suitors do not deserve the food that is being served to them because of their cruelty towards the host ,the hostess and their disloyalty to him and Ithaca The Odyssey is a book that grabs its reader with its story about Odysseus and his final homecoming. There would be no homecoming or he would have been home too late to save his wife and son from the â€Å"arrogant " suitors if there was not the good hospitality of the people he visits. Everybody Odysseus meets on his way has helped the story progress by their bad or good hospitality. Therefore xenia plays a very significant role in the plot of the story.