Monday, November 25, 2019

Skyscraper essays

Skyscraper essays When we look outside, we see the world as a very visual place, with many aspects that change what we see. In our cities, the skylines are transformed by towering building touching the sky. The places we live are transformed into works of art, trying to appeal to anybody who sets their eyes upon it, while maintaining a purpose. The world we live in was transformed around the turn of the 20th century. Architect Louis Sullivan, through intuition and innovation, and his prominence in his field, has become the keystone in shaping modern architecture. To achieve what Sullivan did, he had to have the successful early career he had. His background in architecture runs rather shallow, only completing one year of architecture studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then another year at the prestigious art school Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. What accelerated Sullivan was his incorporation with natural plant life and modern theory towards buildings. He partnered with Dankmar Adler to create Sullivan Chicago was the epicenter to a change that is felt today. The Auditorium was one of Sullivans greatest and earliest works, but it was just a beginning. The facade was heavily decorated, as was the interior, yet, Sullivan still established an outstanding purposeful building, achieving design with function. The influence spread, as later architect William Van Alen used decorative intuition with efficient use with the design of the Chrysler Building in New York City. As Sullivans work spread to other cities, the effect was just as great. The Wainwright Building in St. Louis set the norm for taller buildings of present day. The bottom two stories were left relatively undecorated, and set apart from the rest o the building. It was the space for retail outlets of all kinds. The upper seven stories were office floors, while the exterior was heavily decorated with intricate designs and patterns. It...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Describe the UK carbon reduction strategy, trends and the contextual Literature review

Describe the UK carbon reduction strategy, trends and the contextual issues that are forcing carbon reduction - Literature review Example UK policy: Recent years have seen a significant increase in the U.K legislation’s focus towards reduction in carbon emissions. A number of government departments across U.K have seen adopt and implement greener processes and equipment to help reduce carbon emissions. In 2008, the UK Climate Change Act proposed a target regarding the reduction in carbon emission levels of the country. Through the Act the government obtained its first target for the year 2020 in which the government has taken upon itself to reduce carbon emissions by at least 34%. Along with a short term target the Act also has provided the British government with a long term target for the year 2050 where its target of carbon reduction is 80% (DWP, 2013). The Act provided the basis for a number of legislations such as the CRC EES (CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme), which makes it mandatory for each and every sector to purchase a certain amount of carbon allowances every year (DWP, 2013). In addition to this, the go vernment has made it compulsory for all government departments to adhere to the carbon reduction targets that have been provided to them. These targets are in terms of energy consumption, transportation as well as in terms of solid and water waste (DWP, 2013). The table below shows the sources of carbon dioxide emissions, within U.K, in metric tonnes since 1995. Finally in order to promote the idea of carbon reduction all buildings that cover an area of at least 1000 square meters and provide public access are legally bound to procure a DEC (Display Energy Certificate). DEC rates each building between a scale of A and G with A representing a building with the lowest amount of carbon emissions and G representing a building with the highest amount of carbon emissions (DWP, 2013). Year Energy Supply Transport Business Residential Other 1990 241 120 113 79 39 1995 210 120 107 81 36 2000 203 125 107 87 31 2005 216 129 97 84 27 2008 213 125 90 80 23 2009 190 121 79 75 17 2010 195 119 79 8 7 18 2011 182 117 76 66 17 2012 192 116 79 74 18 Source: (Department of Energy and Climate, 2013) Climate change: Climate change is a phenomenon that leads to a significant change in the temperature of Earth over a period of time. Climate change occurs due to numerous factors for example natural phenomenon such as a variation in solar radiation that hits the earth increase the temperature of the planet. However, over the past few years’ human activities have also contributed to the increase in the overall temperature of the globe. These factors are have collectively been categorized under the heading of global warming (Houghton, 2004). Global warming in its basic terms is the steady increase in earth’s temperature mainly due to the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons and other pollutants. Due to the increase in greenhouse gases the past few years have been the warmest over a period of hundred years. The effects of global warming are not just re lated to the overall temperature of the planet, but can cause a wide range of physical as well as social impacts (Oxlade, 2003). Experts believe that

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Microsoft Analysis Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Microsoft Analysis - Term Paper Example The purpose of this paper is to analyze the operations of Microsoft using a variety of business analytic tools Mission, Vision, Stakeholders The mission statement of Microsoft Corporation is â€Å"Our mission and values are to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential† (Microsoft, 2011). As a public company the firm’s actions must comply with the best interest of a variety of stakeholder groups. Some of the stakeholders that Microsoft must respond too are the shareholders, employees, board of directors, executive management team, suppliers, lenders, community, and the government. The company has tremendous aspirations and visions for the future. â€Å"At Microsoft, we believe the most engaging digital experiences will grow out of the combination of four things: smart devices, cloud-based services, natural forms of interaction between people and technology, and finally, people’s imaginations† (Microsoft, 2011). Five forces of Competition The threat of new entrants in the software industry is high. There are thousands of software companies in the marketplace. It is possible that one of these companies might be able to develop a new operating system to compete directly with Microsoft. In the gaming segment it seems as if the industry operates as an oligopoly with Sony and Nintendo being the only competitors. It takes billions of dollars and years of research to develop a new gaming console. The bargaining power of suppliers is low. Microsoft can take advantage of economies of scale to get better prices from suppliers. The bargaining power of buyers is medium low. Buyers are willing to pay the market price for software despite its relative high prices. The buyer power increases during certain seasons such as Christmas. The threat of substitute is medium. In terms of operating system I would classify the buyer power as low due to the lack of real substitute despite the existence of Linux and Mac computer s. In the gaming industry substitute are medium since there are only two competitors. The rivalry among firms competing in the industry is high. Due to the intense competition companies have to spend a lot of money on marketing. SWOT One of the strengths of Microsoft is its strong economic position and history of outstanding financial performance. The company’s equity is considered a blue chip stock. The company generated in 2011 sales of $69.94 billion. During the past five years the sales of the company have increased by 36.81%. The net income of the firm in 2011 was $23,150 billion. In comparison of the previous year the net income of the company increased by an outstanding margin of 23.40%. The market capitalization of Microsoft is $216.19 billion. The net margin of the firm in 2011 was 33%. The average net margin in the software industry is a mere 1.9% (Dun & Bradstreet, 2011). The net margin of Microsoft was 17.36 times higher than the industry average in 2010. The divi dend yield of the company was 3.10%. A second strength of Microsoft is the brand value of the company. Microsoft has the leader software industry largely due to the superior design of its operating systems programs. The current version of the Operating system Microsoft is selling is Windows 7. The customers of computers visualize Microsoft as the top brand in the industry. Due to the preference of customers for Windows product the majority of new computers come equipped with Microsoft operating systems. Another strength

Monday, November 18, 2019

Environmental Forces Affecting B&Q In The UK Essay

Environmental Forces Affecting B&Q In The UK - Essay Example Current paper focuses on the performance of a major competitor of UK’s home improvement retail industry: B&Q. The particular organization has achieved to acquire a large share of the particular market, as analyzed below. Still, concerns exist in regard to the firm’s ability to keep its profitability high in the long term. The firm’s macro environment has been reviewed and evaluated using an appropriate strategic management tool, the PESTEL analysis. At the same time, an internal micro analysis has taken place for checking the potentials of the organization to manage risks related to its daily operations and to stabilize its profitability. It has been made clear that the power of B&Q to achieve a long term growth cannot be guaranteed, especially since the UK economy is not stabilized. A strategy is proposed for helping the organization to face the external forces related to the particular market and to respond to the needs of its changing environment.In order to u nderstand the environmental forces that affect B&Q it would be necessary to understand the characteristics of these forces, as they are related to the operations of the particular organization. In general, the term macro-environment is used for describing a firm’s â€Å"external forces and agencies† (Reynolds and Lancaste 2012, p.32). The most popular strategic tool for evaluating a firm’s macro environment is PESTEL analysis (Cunningham and Harney 2012). ... The most popular strategic tool for evaluating a firm’s macro environment is PESTEL analysis (Cunningham and Harney 2012). When using PESTEL analysis for explaining a firm’s macro environment it should be necessary to take into consideration the following fact: not all parts of this framework will equally influence the relationship between the firm and its external environment (Cunningham and Harney 2012). Reference can be made to the following example: for pharmaceutical firms patents will have a key importance for measuring these firms’ potentials to face their external forces (Cunningham and Harney 2012). In the case of firms operating in the services industry emphasis should be given on demographics, as a factor that will influence the relationship between these firms and their external environment (Cunningham and Harney 2012). The PESTEL analysis refers to the macro environment of organizations. It should be noted that the particular framework helps to ident ify the factors that affect â€Å"the whole economy and not only a particular organization† (Bowhill 2008, p.331). In the context of the PESTEL analysis the macro environment of B&Q could be analyzed as follows: a) Political; the political environment of UK is quite stable. The current government has tried to enhance the stability of the economy by keeping inflation low, at least compared to other countries (Wood 2011). It should be noted that no threats seem to exist for potential turbulences in the UK political sector (Wood 2011). As a result, B&Q would not be threatened by the specific element, i.e. the political framework, of its macro environment. Still, the challenges that the

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Teacher Leadership as a Catalyst for Change

Teacher Leadership as a Catalyst for Change Ankrum, R. J. (2016). Utilizing Teacher Leadership as a Catalyst for Change in Schools. Journal  of Educational Issues, 2(1), 151-165. doi:10.5296/jei.v2i1.9154 School leaders are continually attempting to discover alternative approaches to use and investigate teacher leadership potential in their schools. Teacher leaders will go well beyond their general obligations as an educator, and are the kind of teachers that fall under the theme of conceivably taking on added duties that will enhance the school community. This study takes the opportunity to look at approaches to use connections between teacher leaders and school leaders, keeping in mind that the end goal is to get the most output from the school staff. By injecting shared administration in the school group, duty and responsibility turns into a common belief that can be used as a catalyst for change throughout the school community. (Ankrum, 2016) The researcher of this study expected the following to come from their research: a) The results to conclude teacher leaders play an important role in changing the climate of a school; b) Teacher leader professional development is impactful to the teaching staff; c) Teacher leaders provide valuable guidance and support to the teaching staff; d) Teacher leaders increase the level of rigor provided by the teaching staff; and e) Teacher leader led professional development does in fact improve instruction in schools. (Ankrum, 2016) The research done for this study was completed as a Google Forms survey, which provides users with data collection, along with an analysis of the data collected. The survey was comprised of five questions fixated on teacher leadership, its role in culture change, enhancing professional development, and establishing professional learning groups that enhance educational practice. (Ankrum, 2016) When it came to the outcomes and findings of this particular study, the researcher concluded that teacher leaders are catalysts for change in schools. This research digs into exactly how significant teacher leaders are to the process of progress and change in school. The article explained that teacher leaders frequently go unacknowledged in light of the fact that they dont have titles, but titles do not make their impact any less important. Question number one examined the role that teacher leaders play in enacting change in the culture of schools. 90% of participants profoundly concurred that teacher leaders assume an instrumental part in changing the culture and way of life at a school. Question number two analyzed the effect of teacher driven professional development and its impact. 75.5% of participants profoundly concurred that teacher leader professional development is important to the educating staff. Question number three measured whether or not teacher leaders have direction and support to whatever is left to the educating staff. 93% of participants profoundly concurred that teacher leaders give direction and support to whatever remains of the educating staff. Question number four reviewed whether of not teacher leaders increase the level of thoroughness in classrooms.   70% of participants profoundly concurred that teacher leaders increase the thoroughness in classrooms. Question number five looked at whether or not educator driven peer observations were important. 90% of participants highly concurred that teacher leader driven peer observations were impactful to the educating staff. (Ankrum, 2016) Much like the teachers who were surveyed for the study in this article, I believe that teachers have the ability to play an instrumental role in changing the culture of a school. I also believe that teacher led professional development can greatly impact a school and can be very meaningful to the teaching staff, as I have been asked to lead a professional development session this school year, and have really enjoyed my teacher colleagues lead professional development session this school year as well. I agree with the survey participants that teacher leaders not only provide guidance and support to the rest of the teaching staff, but increase the rigor in classrooms as well. I also believe that teacher leader led peer observations can be tremendously beneficial to teaching staffs. In my current teaching situation, there are actually only three classrooms in our entire school, so weve essentially all taken on teacher leader positions, each focusing on our own strengths to share with th e other teachers in our school. This article left me curious as to how this study would turn out if it were to be done nationwide, instead of the few teachers selected by the researcher for this study.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The First World War (WWI) :: World War 1 I One

World War 1 World War 1 was called â€Å"The Great War†, â€Å"The war to end all wars†, and â€Å"The first modern war†. It had many causes and a few repercussions and I will describe them in detail. The most widely known reason for the start of World War1 was the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinad of Austria-Hungary in the Serbian capital of Sarajevo. The ArchDuke was there to talk to the Serbian leaders about peace in the Balkan Peninsula. After a Serbian was arrested for the assassination Austria-Hungary pulled out of the peace talks and declared war on Serbia. Germany who was allied with Austria-Hungary also declared war on Serbia. Russia who was allied with Serbia had to declare war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. When Germany invaded France and Belgium, Great Britain declared war on Germany. World War 1 had begun. As the German Chancellor, Bethmann-Hollweg said, â€Å"Once the dice are cast nothing can stop them.† Indeed once the dice were cast on World War 1 nothing stopped them until 22 million people had died. Besides the assassination of the archduke there were four other reasons for the start of WW1. 1. Militarism- the building of large armies. All the nations in Europe at that time were engaged in what today could only be called an arms race. As soon as one nation built a new weapon, all the others followed suit. 2. Alliance System- The building of alliances to strengthen the borders of a country. In theses alliances if one country went to war all the other countries in the alliance were forced to go to war also. 3. Imperialism- The practice of colonizing other lands by large European nations. 4.Nationalism- The feeling of Patriotism in a country that makes it compete with all other counties in the area in all areas. In my opinion WW1 was an unnecessary global conflict in which 22 million people needlessly lost their lives. I think that this conflict could have be prevented or stopped in 2 ways. One if the Serbian leaders had more closely guarded the car that carried Archduke Ferdinad. If the assassin had not been able to get near the car perhaps the

Monday, November 11, 2019

Child Mental Health Factors Essay

The child mental health factors are comprised of: sensory integration, emotional regulation, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Disorder (ODD) and Autism (Michigan Non Profit Association, 2002, p. 6). The children who have been diagnosed as sensitive or under-reactive to all of its five senses are perceived to be easily distracted and are displaying other challenging behaviors such as impulsiveness and problem of proper transition in between certain events (Nelson, 1999 as cited from Michigan Non Profit Association, 2002, p. 6). Other children are unable to regulate their emotions as such they are more prone to emotional outbursts whenever they are frustrated or is angry with someone (Murphy, Eisenberg and Fabes, 1999, as cited from Michigan Non Profit Association, 2002, p. 6). On the other hand, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) is perceived to be more often present in male children rather than their female counterparts. However, the prevalence of ADHD is hard to recognize because of the usual connotation that children are naturally difficult to deal with most specially during their early stages of development. As such, there is a need to seek the help of psychiatrists and psychologists in order to properly address such a concern (Barreda-Hanson and Kilham, 1997 as cited from Michigan Non Profit Association, 2002, p. 6). The Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is often times found in children who manifest high rates of problematic behaviors. Albeit, it should be noted that since difficult behaviors in juxtaposition with hyperactivity are hard to recognize due to its close resemblance to ADHD (Speltz, McClellan and DeKleyen, 1999 as cited from Michigan Non Profit Association, 2002, p. 6). Children with Autism have difficulties communicating with other people. In other cases, some of them could be virtually unaware of other people surrounding them. Autism usually appears during the age of three and has an incidence of 1 every 500 children (National, 1998 as cited from Michigan Non Profit Association, 2002, p. 6).

Saturday, November 9, 2019

External marketing environment Essay Example

External marketing environment Essay Example External marketing environment Paper External marketing environment Paper Marketing environment is that which is external to he marketing management function, largely uncontrollable, potentially relevant to marketing decision making and changing or constraining in nature. The marketing environment is more important to management today than ever before, this is both because the rate of environmental change has increased and because there are more types of important environmental changes. The rate of environmental change should be remembered that all of the development experienced by humankind has occurred within a mere moment of history. New types of environmental change have come to the forefront, economic factors go to the core business activity and satirically they have always been important to marketing management. The word Environment is associated with our physical environment such as air quality, water pollution, solid waste disposal and natural resource conservation. An organization operates within an external environment that it generally cannot control. At the same time, marketing and non- marketing resources exist within the organization that generally can be controlled by its executives. The external marketing environment consists of social, demographic, economic, technological, political and legal, and competitive variables. Marketers generally cannot control the elements of the external environment. Instead, they must understand how the external environment is changing and the impact of that change on the target market. Then marketing managers can create a marketing mix to effectively meet the needs of target customers. Within the external environment, social factors are perhaps the most difficult for marketers to anticipate. Several major social trends are currently shaping marketing strategies. First, people of all ages have a broader range of interests, defying traditional consumer profiles. Second, changing gender oleos are bringing more women into the workforce and increasing the number of men who shop. Third, a greater number of dual-career families have created demand for time-saving goods and services. The social or cultural forces refers to the structure and dynamics of individuals and groups and their behavior, believes, thought patterns and lifestyles, friendship and many of this trends goes a long way to affect your marketing operations. Demographic trends Today, several basic demographic patterns are influencing marketing mixes. Because the population is growing at a slower rate, marketers can no longer Ely on profits from generally expanding markets. Marketers are also faced with increasingly experienced consumers among the younger generations such as toupees and teens. And because the population is also growing older, marketers are offering more products that appeal to middle-aged and elderly markets. Demography refers to study of people, such as their age, sex, marital status, occupation, family size. Though, demography is uncontrollable because you cannot control the sex, age, marital status in your external environment, but accurate forecast of it goes a long way to enabling you as a racketeer forecast future trend and consumptions of your product. Economic conditions The 2007-2013 recessions has drastically reduced the spending power of many people. During a time of inflation, marketers generally attempt to maintain level pricing to avoid losing customer brand loyalty. During times of recession, many marketers maintain or reduce prices to counter the effects of decreased demand; they also concentrate on increasing production efficiency and improving customer service. The economic environment is a significant force that affects the marketing activities of just about any organization. A marketing program is affected especially by economic factors as the current and anticipated stage of the business cycle, as well as inflation and interest rates. Inflation a rise in prices of goods and services represents inflation. When prices rise at a faster rate than personal incomes, consumer buying power declines. Inflation rates affect government policies, consumer psychology and also marketing programs. Interest rates when interest rates are high, for instance, consumers tend not to make long-term purchases such as housing. Some marketers offer below-market interest rates as a rumination device to increase business. Monitoring new technology is essential to keeping up with competitors in todays marketing environment. The United States excels in basic research and, in recent years, has dramatically improved its track record in applied research. Innovation is increasingly becoming a global process. Without innovation, the companies cant compete in global markets. Technology post much challenges to marketers, it affects the kind of product that you as a marketer can Offer, For instance, technology have changed products like typewriting machines into a more proficient computer systems. We cannot stop the advancement of technology, but we can learn to adapt to it changes. All marketing activities are subject to state and federal laws and the rulings of regulatory agencies. Marketers are responsible for remaining aware of and abiding by such regulations. Many laws, including privacy laws, have been passed to protect the consumer as well. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration are the three federal agencies most involved in regulating marketing activities. The government policies refers to the laws and legality hat guilds the land, they go a long way to affect your business operations as a marketer. For instance, government restriction on the importation of a particular product might hinder the marketers playing in that particular field. Competition Competition refers to the numbers of similar competitive product brands marketers in your industry, their size and market capitalizations. As a marketer might not have direct influence On them, but its important that you monitor their activities, and then design effective strategies using your controllable variables. Competitors actions affect the ability of the business o make profits, because competitors will continually seek to gain an advantage over each other, by differentiating their product and service, and by seeking to provide better value for money. Three types of competition: credit cards. Substitute products satisfy the same need. Example growing numbers of homeowners have been choosing wood flooring instead of carpeting, causing carpet sales to stagnate. Every company a rival for the customers limited buying power. Hence, skilful marketer constantly monitors al aspects of competitors marketing activities, their products, pricing, distribution systems and promotional programs. CONCLUSION The element of the marketing environment involves factors that for the most part are beyond the control of the company. Thus the company adapt to these factors. It is important to observe how the environment changes so that a firm can adapt its strategies appropriately. The environmental system is the natural system in which life takes place. Increasingly businesses have become aware of the relationship between their economic activity for example making odds and services for profits and the effect that this has on the environmental system. The external environment of marketing is comprises of those uncontrollable forces outside of your organization. These forces that can influence your business are uncontrollable because you do not have any control over them, but yet, you can respond and adapt to their treats and influences with your controllable mix element from your internal environment. However, it should be noted that while an external environmental force affect one business. It may create an opportunity to another business. So as a marketer need be on look out to forecasting Seibel changes in external environment and also to design effective strategies on how to adapt the business to it.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Ups and Downs of Left and Right

The Ups and Downs of Left and Right The Ups and Downs of â€Å"Left† and â€Å"Right† The Ups and Downs of â€Å"Left† and â€Å"Right† By Mark Nichol Left has gotten a bad rap throughout history. Because of overwhelming majority of people are right-handed (most estimates are in the range of 85 to 90 percent), left-handedness has come to be associated with weakness the word left itself is descended from an Old English word meaning â€Å"weak.† Left-handedness was therefore until recently often seen as undesirable, and even well into the twentieth century, parents and teachers often forced left-handed children to use their right hand for writing, eating, and other basic activities. Even now, â€Å"a left-handed compliment† (also described as â€Å"a backhanded compliment†), refers to an ostensibly positive comment that is explicitly or implicitly an insult. Idioms that employ left to describe an undesirable or unusual situation include â€Å"two left feet,† referring to a clumsy dancer, and â€Å"out of left field,† meaning an unexpected comment or idea. (The latter, however, is not necessarily derogatory.) We also use left to refer to something that remains behind as a result of deliberate action or accidental oversight. Another common idiom with a negative connotation, one using this sense of left, is â€Å"left a lot to be desired.† The equivalents of left in other languages have similarly pejorative meanings. Gauche, the French word for left, also means â€Å"tactless, crude, socially inept† in English as well as French. The opposite, droit, is the root word of maladroit, which means â€Å"incompetent, inept, unsuitable.† (English has adopted and adapted that term as adroit literally, â€Å"to the right,† and meaning â€Å"appropriate† as well as maladroit.) Sinister, from the Latin word for â€Å"on the left,† came to be associated with inauspicious or unlucky events, and was borrowed by French and later English to mean â€Å"evil.† In heraldry, it refers to the right-hand side of a coat of arms (the left-hand side from the point of view of the bearer of a shield, from which the coat of arms derived), opposite the dexter, or right, side. From the Latin element dextr-, meaning â€Å"on the right,† borrowed into English as dexter, we also get the adjective dexterous, meaning â€Å"clever, skillful.† Right itself means â€Å"good, correct,† and that’s the originally connotation when referring to the right hand it’s the correct one to use. Among the many idioms suggesting the positive connotation are â€Å"right-hand man† and â€Å"the right stuff.† (The use of right and leftto refer to political ideology, each often capitalized when referring to adherents as a collective, came from the revolutionary era in France: The conservative party in the National Assembly called itself the Droit, the â€Å"right† party. The liberal faction, in opposition, came to be referred to as the â€Å"left.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire YouPeace of Mind and A Piece of One's Mind5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words

Monday, November 4, 2019

McCann, Let The Great World Spin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

McCann, Let The Great World Spin - Essay Example In the opening lines of the novel itself, there is a blunt reference to the twin tower attack, and the first view of the novelist’s fictional world that the reader gets, is the people in the New York city streets, watching upwards, tilting their heads, which has a premonition-like resemblance to the images that were flashed on television, years later, when the twin towers fell. Corrigan’s blind faith is the ideology that sets the tone of the novel. So it becomes easy for one of the protagonists (Corrigan’s brother) to say that â€Å"he never rejected the world† (McCann, 20). Such a conforming posture before the vices and miseries of the world is also in conformity with the way, America handled the ‘war on terrorism’. The hope expressed in the novel had no connection with the realities of the people of Afghanistan or Iraq. What happened in the twin tower incident was repeated by America a million times in these countries, which took away the mo ral right of the nation to preach hope and peace. And in the novel, whenever the war is mentioned, the propagator of the war is explicitly absent, as if war was a natural disaster. This is why the novelist, in almost all his sentences, makes war the grammatical ‘subject’, and not the object of action by another subject. For example, one of the narrators is heard to say, â€Å"the war kicked in, and she got all messed up in it† (McCann, 49). When one of the protagonists says, â€Å"this was not the America that I expected†, he was referring to the dark ghettos of South Bronx, but by placing, Corrigan, the Christ look alike, in those ghettos, a virtual kind of solution is offered by the novel (McCann, 32). Throughout the book, one is reminded that though reaching out to the victims is a good deed, preventing victimization is far more difficult a task, of which every one wants to shed responsibility. The puritan approach of the novelist is evident from the

Saturday, November 2, 2019

The Life of Langston Hughes and his use of Religion, Rite of Passage, Research Paper

The Life of Langston Hughes and his use of Religion, Rite of Passage, and Family in his short stories - Research Paper Example Because of racism, he provided a remarkable authority on the black all through the US in the era referred to as the Harlem Renaissance. He was among the most inexhaustible and most recognized black poets of the renaissance. He was among the few that broke the barriers that several artists had achieved before. His articulation not only endorsed African American civilization, but also endeavoured to bring notice the predicament of African American anguishing from injustice and oppression (Baraceros, 118). In his book essay, salvation Hughes retells an experience concerning religion. He narrates that, he was salvaged from sin, when he was turning thirteen, but was not truly saved. This experience affected how he dealt with situations in religion in the future. The start of the story has a tone that excites the reader and makes them inquisitive and hopeful. However, eventually the tone disappoints the readers making them culpable and non-believers. A restoration that gains thrust for day s is a climatic flat line for Langston leaving him an agnostic. His aunt tells a curious Langston that, grand things will occur at revitalization, at the cathedral of his Auntie Reed. He is told that he will experience an incredible feeling within and will be delivered. Had this before from others and does not deem it right to question his aunt. He is hopeful that, at the revival, Jesus will call children. The children are called up, and he takes a pew on the bench waiting for Jesus to reveal himself. He waits for a long time, but Jesus never appears. There are only two children left on the bench and the other child decides he will meet Jesus to end things but a hopeful Langston waits (Baraceros, 234). Langston is disillusioned that Jesus did not come to assist him when all eyes were focused on him. This made to lie to his aunt that he had seen when he cried that night out of disappointment. He has heard several people older people discuss what happens when one goes to Jesus. This m ade to be hopeful, curios and excited, but at the end, the complete opposite is the outcome. These two extremes lead to Langston to be a non-believer. Another Hughes’ significant story is â€Å"Thank you Ma’m.† This story is about an elderly woman walking alone in the dark when suddenly a boy attempts to grab her purse. Nonetheless, during the effort, he loses his steadiness and slides on the pavement and the annoyed woman picks him up and teaches him a thorough lesson. She takes the boy to her home so that he could wash his face and have a pleasant e meal, before she hands him some money to buy blue suede shoes he has always wished for a long time. This story appears to be written around the 1930s when racism was a prodigious topic in the southern states, during those times numerous African Americans had problems looking for a job. During this period, many blacks had to fight for their freedom. From Rogers' perception, children went through a rough period as we ll during that era. He is dirty and frail and a street rogue. He depicts the life of many children of that time. Mrs Washington Jones, the elderly woman sympathises with Roger even though he tries to steal from her. She depicts a different side of the poor neighbourhood; a sturdy woman who depicts kindness to a stranger one would not expect her to be bothered. Many children in poor neighbourhoods had little to go home to,