Paradise of the Blind and Like Water for Chocolate Essay -- Compare and

A strong maternal bond is crucial in one’s life; however in both Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong and Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, the authors portray the distant relationship between the mother and the daughter as a tool to critique the ‘inhuman’ traditions imposed upon the family members in their respective societies. Though Houng’s and Esquivel’s novels are set in Vietnam and Mexico respectively, they assert that family traditions are unjust and forbid family members to pursue their own dreams, ambitions, and desires as portrayed by the two teenage protagonists and their mothers, who are obligated to sacrifice their own lives for others. In order to gain their freedom, the protagonists have to detach themselves from their oppressive, domineering mothers to break away from the undesirable family traditions in their culture. Early in Like Water for Chocolate, the reader is introduced to the abnormal mother-daughter relationship right away as Nacha, the family cook, â€Å"offers to take charge of feeding Tita† (Esquivel 6) after Mama Elena’s â€Å"milk dried up from the shock† (Esquivel 6) of her husband’s death. Moreover, Mama Elena arranges a marriage for Rosaura, Tita’s sister, to marry Tita’s true love Pedro, which develops Tita’s abhorrence towards her mother significantly. Tita’s hatred towards her mother is mostly due to the fact that she is prohibited from marrying under the tradition that the youngest daughter has to take care of her mother until she passes away; therefore, resulting in a widening gap between the two. Portraying Tita’s domain and realm as the kitchen underscores Esquivel’s complete condemnation of family traditions as she is ordered to cook in the kitchen at all times, preparing meals for he... ... family traditions because they are innocent and fragile compared to men, therefore dramatizing the effects of the ‘inhuman’ traditions. A maternal bond is a very crucial component of one’s life; therefore by disrupting the usual aspect of one’s life, the authors are sending their message in a strong manner. Furthermore, the ending of both novels imply a necessity for social improvement in their societies as the protagonists have to detach themselves from their repressive mothers, who represent the authorities of the old generation with their overbearing attitudes, in order to pursue their own dreams, whether it is for education, career, or love. After the protagonists break away from their mothers, Tita chases her love for Pedro and Hang leaves the country, abandoning all the traditional traditions, to continue with her college education and occupation in Russia.

Reward and Motivation Essay -- essays research papers

The purpose of this paper is to write about roles of reward systems in the 10th Security Forces Squadron (SFS) located at the United States Air Force Academy. I will discuss whether I believe in the current reward system and whether the reward system motivates employees to achieve the unit’s organization goals. Moreover, from my opinion, I will discus whether employees are satisfied with the current reward system and what I would do to improve the current system to make more effective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Currently, the 10th Security Forces Squadron has many reward systems in place. One of which is a 100 percent tuition assistance program (TA) for all active duty military members who attend college. Tuition assistance helps motivate all types of active duty military members to complete their college degree with hardly any out of pocket expenses to the military member. Even though the TA program is widely disseminated throughout the Air Force Academy, not many members in the 10 SFS take advantage of TA. Many of the members at the 10th SFS work 12 to 14 hour shifts and these shifts vary every week creating the issue of not having set days off, therefore, creating schedule conflicts. Moreover, when reading further into TA, what’s not widely disseminated is that there is a capitation for the cost of college that the government will pay. Beginning October 1, 2002, TA will be capitated at $3,400, meaning if an active duty military member uses the complete total of $3,400 in less than one year, that military member will have to find a way to pay for the rest of his or her college until the next fiscal year, which is from October to October. Many employees in the 10th SFS are young troops that live in the dorm. The question has been asked at dorm meeting why the troops do not take advantage of TA and the response that troops do not want to pay any out of pocket expense because they cannot afford books and tuition, has been overwhelming. The second reason for not going to college and using TA was shift work that most troops have to endure. Most of the troops flight chiefs will work with a school schedule; however, the flight chief cannot guarantee that the military member can be let off work to attend every class. Therefore, most troops feel that TA and college is too much trouble and do not want to bother with it. A second form of reward is fringe comp... ...A and complete a college program.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fringe benefit of time could not be better. Making recommendations on improving the system would be difficult at this point and time. Since, the program is new and working very well, it is very hard to say what would make the system work better. As of now, the people in the 10th SFS are showing better customer service base wide, increased work production, decreased stress on day-to-day issues and increase quality of work. Currently, I could not make any recommendations to make the system better.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout this paper we’ve discussed two different types of benefits that the 10th SFS offers to their employees, how these benefits work with the unit and how the reward affect the people in the unit. I have made recommendation on bettering one system but could not make any suggestions for the other. I hope this paper has been able to give the reader a clear understanding of the 10th SFS reward and motivation program that are offered. Reference   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martoccho, J. (2001). Employee Motivation and Compensation. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall.

Common Size Financial Statement Analysis Essay

When all the items of a financial statement are expressed on a common basis, it is known as a common-size financial statement. Common-sizing of balance sheet is done generally by expressing its all items as a percentage of its total assets or total equities. Similarly, income statement is common-sized when its all items are expressed as percentage of total sales. PROCEDURE OF COMMON SIZING In preparing common-size income statement, the following procedure is to be followed : †¢Total sales revenue or total revenue is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of cost or expenses is represented as a percentage of total revenue. †¢Profit or loss also shown as a percentage of revenue. Similarly, balance sheet is common-sized as follows : †¢Total of assets side or total of liability side is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of asset is expressed as percentage of total asset total of capital and liabilities. †¢Each item of the liability side is also expressed as a percentage of total assets or total of capital and liabilities. USEFULNESS OF COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS †¢Inter-firm comparison becomes more meaningful when financial statement of the firms under comparison is common-sized. †¢Common-size financial statement analysis is most suitable to evaluate the performance of a company over a period of time. †¢It is useful in understanding the relative importance of different sources of financing. †¢It helps the analyst to formulate hypothesis about the most efficient business model by means of effective inter-firm comparisons. †¢Common-size financial analysis can be used to compare a company’s financial data with industry norms or average. COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS When all the items of a financial statement are expressed on a common basis, it is known as a common-size financial statement. Common-sizing of balance sheet is done generally by expressing its all items as a percentage of its total assets or total equities. Similarly, income statement is common-sized when its all items are expressed as percentage of total sales. PROCEDURE OF COMMON SIZING In preparing common-size income statement, the following procedure is to be followed : †¢Total sales revenue or total revenue is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of cost or expenses is represented as a percentage of total revenue. †¢Profit or loss also shown as a percentage of revenue. Similarly, balance sheet is common-sized as follows : †¢Total of assets side or total of liability side is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of asset is expressed as percentage of total asset total of capital and liabilities. †¢Each item of the liability side is also expressed as a percentage of total assets or total of capital and liabilities. USEFULNESS OF COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS †¢Inter-firm comparison becomes more meaningful when financial statement of the firms under comparison is common-sized. †¢Common-size financial statement analysis is most suitable to evaluate the performance of a company over a period of time. †¢It is useful in understanding the relative importance of different sources of financing. †¢It helps the analyst to formulate hypothesis about the most efficient business model by means of effective inter-firm comparisons. †¢Common-size financial analysis can be used to compare a company’s financial data with industry norms or average.

In What way is the “war like moor” flawed? Essay

Trace the stages of his demise and the affect it has on characters and events in the drama. Othello is a play which conforms to the generic features of a tragedy, The entire drama is about Othello’s downfall, which is orchestrated by Iago. The fall of Othello throws the play into chaos and brings down the people around him. Othello is a man with a powerful position within the army, the high position is one of the features of a tragedy. The protagonist needs to have a position to lose. The flaw that is magnified to bring him down is jealousy, this is seized on by Iago who makes Othello’s fate unavoidable. Othello is blind to this inevitable demise that causes him to murder his wife and his close friend Cassio to die. Every tragic hero performs an act of hubris, Othello’s act is to kill Desdemona. Othello believes he has the right to kill her because she has gone against convention to make him a cuckold, as a man he believes he has power to. The peripertia is an important time in the play, Othello has been having good fortune up until he murders Desdemona. This is when Othello has his anagnorisis, he realises that she was innocent and he killed her unjustly. Following this discovery Othello’s fall from greatness begins, he is no longer respected and he loses his position in the army. The death of Othello restores the natural order of the play. Othello is introduced to the audience by other characters within the play. Iago undermines the audience’s view of Othello as a hero, he focuses on Othello’s race and sexuality to present Othello as negative. Iago uses lots of sexual imagery, talking about an â€Å"old black ram† and a â€Å"white ewe†. He sets up imagery of Othello being a violent man with an innocent girl. This also brings in symbols, the black represents the devil and evil whereas Desdemona is shown to be innocent and pure. Othello’s male sexuality is shown as negative and beast like. Iago is preoccupied with Othello’s sexuality, he is jealous of his strength, masculinity and heroism. Brabantio accuses Othello of practising â€Å"foul charms† on Desdemona, he cannot understand how his pure daughter would fall in love with the â€Å"lascivious moor†. Brabantio sees it as being against â€Å"all rules of nature†. He believes that because Othello is a black man in a white society that he cannot have a high class white lady. Throughout the play there is contrasting viewpoints. Othello is respected by the Duke and others within the army, they believe him to be a â€Å"valiant moor† but Iago sees Othello as â€Å"defective†. This shows how Othello really is, respected and how Iago is the only person to see Othello as evil. Iago is blinded by his desire for revenge. There are further contrasts within the play with Desdemona being pure and Bianca being a â€Å"strumpet†. This enhances Desdemona’s image of being pure and faithful. She remains two dimensional in the play, a woman of unquestioning virtue. Othello is flawed in many ways, he is jealous and of honour but it is pride that leads to his ultimate undoing. The jealousy is his most evident flaw. He is portrayed to be a â€Å"green eyed monster†. This has as emotional and physical effect, he is green with envy and it eats away at his mind but also it affects his body. He suffers from epilepsy due to the stress he receives as a result of his jealousy. When Othello finds himself to be a â€Å"cuckold† his pride is wounded and he needs to regain it somehow. In an attempt at regaining it he commits an act of hubris, namely murdering his wife, the â€Å"fair lady†. As her husband he sees himself to be better than her and to therefore have power over her. It is implied within the play that Othello’s belief of himself as higher Desdemona morally is impossible. This is achieved through pathos as the audience emphasises with Desdemona. In depicting Desdemona as â€Å"divine† the audience sees her as a perfect wife, therefore when her husband wrongly kills her, the audience feels sorry for her and condemnatory to Othello. The audience recognises Othello has been manipulated however their sympathies do not lie with him as a victim in the same way they perceive Desdemona. It is very easy for Iago to manipulate Othello, this is mainly due to his reputation as an â€Å"honest† man and Othello’s naivety. Othello is also worried because he is a black, â€Å"unbookish† man in a white upper-class society. He does not truly believe that Desdemona can love him because of this and doubts her true love for him but really she is loyal to her â€Å"master†. Othello could not stand back and qualify why she loved him, he is driven by his own love. He believes he loved â€Å"not wisely but too well†. As Iago is seen to be a man of â€Å"exceeding honesty† Othello has no reason to query the seeds of doubt Iago sows. Iago does not say that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, he just makes remarks and informs Othello of things that make him doubt it. Iago tells Othello of Cassio sneaking away so â€Å"guilt-like†. This is so it cannot come back to him with Othello saying Iago told him. Also Iago acts resistant to reveal information about Cassio, pretending to defend him but really casting more doubt on him. Iago says he would rather have his â€Å"tongue cut† from his mouth than to expose Cassio but really he is happy to do it but wants the situation to seem worse. Iago believes he is justified in what he is doing to Othello but there is no real evidence to this being true. He has two main reasons for his attempts at bringing down Othello, he believes he deserved the job which Cassio was given and he thinks that Othello slept with his wife. Iago’s belief that Othello slept with his wife comes from a rumour he heard but it is not supported with proof. Iago knows that is probably is not true but he uses it as an excuse anyway, he admits it is only â€Å"thought† that Othello has slept with his wife. Othello’s skin colour contributes to Iago’s reasons to bring down Othello, he sees him as undeserving of the rank because of his race and he does not believe it matters if a black man is brought down. Iago wanted Cassio’s job because it would mean that he would have power and Iago craves power. He is frustrated at being constantly overlooked within the army and having no authority. Iago is respected for his honesty but this is ironic be cause he is the complete opposite. He says, â€Å"I am not what I am†, admitting he is putting an act on to everyone so he can gain trust to lead Othello to his downfall. A lot of Iago’s plans are for â€Å"sport†, he enjoys to see people suffer, he wants to see people suffer because he feels rejected. Iago is not seen as a best friend but as someone trustworthy, this upsets him, leading to his need for revenge. Iago sees himself to be the master of himself, â€Å"I follow but myself†, he is completely in control of his actions and his surroundings, even at the end of the play when his plot has failed he is in control by refusing to reveal his plot. Lodovico represents Venetian society and is a relative of Desdemona so his views are key to the play. Lodovico plays the part of the chorus, he is detached from the main event and has a critical perspective on Othello’s actions. Lodovico arrives late in the play and therefore does not see everything that has happened, he meets Othello for the first time and does not see the â€Å"valiant moor† he expected but a â€Å"cruel moor†. He arrives in the court to see Othello slapping his wife and does not believe that this can be the same man that the senate call â€Å"all-in-all sufficient†. Lodovico believes he is â€Å"deceived† by Othello and the stories he has heard of him. Othello’s downfall has now become public. Lodovico’s appearance in the play also reminds the audience of what Desdemona gave up to be with Othello, this makes the audience believe that Othello is even more demonic for attacking and murdering Desdemona. Othello’s demise brings chaos to the army, with him dead and Cassio being dismissed only Iago is left. If Iago had not been found out then he would be in charge of the army which would be a disaster. He would lead with a corrupt power and he would be tyrannical. The Venetian society would fall if Iago were in charge due to his self-obsession. Desdemona’s suffering starts with the handkerchief, at this point Othello believes his suspicions of her are confirmed. The highpoint of her suffering comes when it becomes public. When he slaps her in public there is a realisation by everyone that Othello is changing. The slap brings high embarrassment to Desdemona. The unjustified suffering which Desdemona is receiving has an emotional and physical affect on her, she is so upset and bewildered by what Othello is accusing her of, she questions everything he says, confused and bewildered. Desdemona cannot bring herself to say what Othello accused her of because she finds it so disgusting. The physical effects of her suffering are the slap that she receives and her death. Othello is insecure about his race and this leads to his belief that he never truly deserved her. As Othello never honestly believed that he deserved Desdemona Iago easily took him in. He is deceived by Iago’s lies and tricks because he never believed that Desdemona loved him and he does not believe what she says because of it. If he were not so insecure he would listen to her and realise that she was honest all along. Othello asks for â€Å"proof† of her affair but what he really wants is proof of her love. He gave her the handkerchief as a token of his love and he has not received anything in return. Othello is blind to many things, not just his own weaknesses but Desdemona’s undying love for him. Othello has no understanding of his own weaknesses and how they can be manipulated. He is also blind to the true virtue of Desdemona, he sees her as perfect at the start, with not one flaw but by the end he calls her a â€Å"strumpet†. Othello cannot see Desdemona as anything other than perfect or evil, there is no middle ground in his mind. In his mind she is either a â€Å"fair lady† or a â€Å"strumpet†, he believes she is an icon for good with no possibility for weakness. Othello is more accepting of the negative points, this is due to his life of â€Å"slavery† and situations of â€Å"imminent deadly breach†. He can relate to negative problems but he does not have any experience of a good life. Othello’s poor judgement leads to him wrongly dismissing his best friend and believing a deceitful Iago. Othello believes all that Iago says but ignores what the other characters say. He poorly judges the situation. Emilia is the most grief stricken character following Desdemona’s death, she feels that she is partly to blame for Desdemona’s death. She feels this because it was her that stole the hanky and gave it away, if she had not then Desdemona may not have died. Emilia is very loyal to Desdemona, she pledges her loyalty to Desdemona. After the murder she tells Othello that Desdemona is â€Å"heavenly true† and would not cheat on him. Her true feelings begin to emerge, she calls Othello a â€Å"devil†, she no longer fears him because by committing murder he has lost all power. She believes Othello is as â€Å"ignorant as dirt† to fall for Iago’s plans. Iago tells Emilia to â€Å"charm† her tongue, he does not want her to talk because she can reveal him for what he is. She ignores his orders and chooses to stay loyal to her mistress, saying she is â€Å"bound to speak†. The loyalty she has for Desdemona is greater than that for her husband, she takes this so far as to be killed. Iago shows no remorse for what he has done, he remains resolute and chooses â€Å"never to speak a word†, by doing this he remains in control and stops the situation becoming worse. Lodovico condemns Iago on his actions, he and Gratiano vow to make Iago talk through â€Å"torments† and torture if that is what is necessary. They feel Iago has committed a crime against Venetian society bringing down its General and causing chaos within the army. Justice is reinstated when Othello kills himself, the audience is made to feel that as he took a life it is right that his should be taken. The characters condemn Othello as the fool that he is and that he is revealed to be a slave of his passions. Othello dies seeing himself to be the enemy, killing not himself but what he has become. He recognises his own damnation and welcomes it to equal the scales. Othello cannot control what he does, he cannot control his emotions. Iago is seen for what he really is, a â€Å"cunning† man with overpowering greed and jealousy. He is hungry for power and this is what leads to him bringing chaos and destruction to the Venetian society. With Cassio in charge of the army, order is restored, the society can get on as if it had not happened. The realisation Othello has of his flaws give the audience a sense of catharsis, the audience feel that now he knows of his mistakes he cannot do more wrong. He feels bad for what he has done and understands that killing himself is the only way to restore order. It is arguable that the play does not give a sense of catharsis because it is never shown that Iago is tortured. The audience never sees him being properly punished for the problems he has caused. Also Iago never repent of what he has done, he never understands the pandemonium he has brought to the Venetian society. Overall Othello is flawed in many ways, he is jealous, insecure and full of pride, This leads to his demise and the demise of the other characters within the play.

Sociology Bilingualism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sociology Bilingualism - Essay Example " Immigration has had a long history in the United States. For the most part, however, it was seldom treated dispassionately even when an attempt was made only to ascertain the pertinent facts and their reliability" (Smith & Edmonston, 1998) The option of bilingualism is not offered in the school system with the strength and emphasis that it should for children to become as knowledgeable of a different language, and understand the materials given in their native one. In some cases bilingualism as a class in a curriculum is considered as a transitional one with it's ultimate goal to push the student to choose just one language as primary and sole, for their examination, graduation and finally the end of their education. "In contrast to the Canadian context, bilingual education in the United States exists primarily as a means to aid the transition of immigrant and linguistic minority children into English" (Meyer & Fienberg, 1992.) Bilingualism then we see that goes beyond a mere program in a classroom on a school for an hour daily, it has become a moral issue. What are the consequences of this battle Who pays the consequences of this battle You would then have to analyze and question the real long-term effects on the children. Forced by their parents whom have immigrated to this country believing that their only opportunity for survival is to speak this new country's language perfect, thus by making them as far as possible from their countries of origin where so much hardship, poverty and lack of education was experienced. Having reached an average 6th grade, these parents come to this country to work manual jobs such as; waiting in restaurants, cleaning houses, construction jobs, hard labor, etc. they unawarely allow their culture; their past, their language and their country become buried in their memories making them stories of horrors passed along to their descendants. Is the government trying to hold on to an ideal Holding to an identity pure and untouched for centuries to come, and only scratches the surface of a language to apace its activists, its minority groups, yet not too subtle so that the purist who are against immigration, do not feel neglected by the system Bilingualism then has become a silent fight among those who believe America should remain the land of opportunities, the land dreamt and fought for by founding fathers such as Abraham Lincoln who believed in liberty, equality and welcomed the impoverished and uneducated to teach them and give them opportunities they do not have in their country. However these exact welcoming have then presented a hazard to the laws, the cohesiveness of the language and culture and the way of living, because this so called "Americanization" has been overwhelmingly time consuming and has left the country with overpopulated schools and undereducated students What has caused this bilingualism to rise in the United States of America and what have been the consequences of this, especially on the children in our educational system We must first trace the origin of bilingualism in schools, since the Bilingual Education Act in 1968 where it's ideal or purpose was to provide equal education and opportunities for those of minority language. The ideal being the assimilation of those who come from a different culture and education to the Americanized culture and education system. "Students must be able to understand what is presented to them in

Do moral rights protect author's creation from sampling Essay

Do moral rights protect author's creation from sampling - Essay Example This occurs particularly in the case of rap or hip hop music for example, where DJ’s repeat breaks from various songs and compile it together into a new recording2. Sampling of music is possible through the use of digital samplers which are pieces of musical hardware or computer programs which work on a digital computer and are designed to record specific bits and sequences of sound and through the judicious use of sound synthesizers and software, the fragmentation of musical notes and re-synthesis has been facilitated3. Instantaneous download of music poses a threat to the moral rights of an author because it undermines the very core of identification that is the basis for assignment of moral rights. In order to promote the incentive to create, it is necessary that an author’s skill and labour are recognized and upheld through the protection of the law. Creators of music have historically faced the threat of inequitable contracts with recording companies and sampling o nly allows further exploitation of their work without due economic compensation. Therefore the question that is posed in this proposal is to examine whether the existence of moral rights of an author as currently framed within the scope of a law are adequate to protect work from sampling and thereby losing their economic potential? The rights of an author are guaranteed under the Copyright, designs and Patents Act of 1988, which first came into force on August 1, 1988 and has been amended since, in 1990 and 1991 to incorporate the provisions of the European Convention of Human rights.4 The CDPA has also introduced the concept of moral rights to allow a creator to protect the artistic integrity of their works.5 The purpose behind providing copyright protection to an author is to provide the incentive to create by ensuring exclusivity in claiming the economic benefits that accrue from the performance or use of the creative work6. Where music is concerned in particular, the creation of

Level of Unemployment in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Level of Unemployment in UK - Essay Example This change will lead to a change in standards for living while supporting different needs for individuals. The basic definition of unemployment is when an individual doesn’t have a job and is nonworking. This definition leads the individual into a specific status that defines them as unemployed because they don’t hold a regular job and have inactivity in terms of finding a job. However, there are different measurements that are used for the unemployed because of the level of activity that is defined as well as the conditions in which different individuals are under. When looking at the overall idea of unemployment, it is defined by including anyone who is not performing a series of activities in the labor field or through a job. However, there are different levels that are included in this, specifically which is measured by the frequency in which one is unemployed as well as the basic structure that they rely on to receive monetary needs over a period of time (Brandolini, et al, 153, 2006). The structure of unemployment through the basic definition is defined by measurements that determine the frequency in which an individual is out of a job. This is defined first by an unemployment cell, which is divided by the amount of time one is out of a job as well as the frequency in which this occurs. This is also measured through the region in which one is in, specifically because it provides a comparison in the economic levels and demands for employment. The first measurement is known as seasonal unemployment, in which demands change based on labor intensive markets for each time frame. Most levels of employment that are offered seasonally include outdoor jobs and labor intensive options. The second type of unemployment is frictional, also referred to as demand – deficient unemployment. When the economy begins to emerge, temporary employment becomes available. This