The Sweet Hereafter Essay Example

The Sweet Hereafter Essay The Sweet Hereafter – Essay Outline Losing a loved one is hard for any and every one, and coping with the loss is a big mission. In the Sweet Hereafter- a novel by Russell Banks- after a terrible bus crash occurs, resulting in the death of 14 children, many of the town’s people isolate themselves due to their loss and grief. Through the many different narrators, the author of this book shows how grief affects different people in different ways. One of the people affected by this tragic accident, Billy Ansel (also one of the narrators), copes with the loss by becoming an alcoholic.He doesn’t take anyone’s sympathy and stays in his home. Tragedy is inevitable; it affects all human beings at one point or another. Russell Banks illustrates this universal truth brilliantly in The Sweet Hereafter. Bank’s characters, Billy Ansel, Nicole Burnell and Dolores Driscoll all face tragedy, and all gain insight into themselves. However, not all characters react to tragedy consistently. To some this is beneficial, although to others this is the greatest tragedy of all.Billy Ansel deals with tragedy consistently throughout the entirety of the novel. However, his consistent coping methods leave him hopeless and alone. We will write a custom essay sample on The Sweet Hereafter specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Sweet Hereafter specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Sweet Hereafter specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Ansel experiences death and terror at the age of nineteen while fighting in Vietnam. He believes that because terrible things had happened to him while at war, it was impossible for terrible things to happen to him now. Unfortunately, Billy is quite mistaken, as he loses his wife, Lydia to cancer, and then eventually his children to a tragic bus accident.

Examining the International Sy essays

Examining the International Sy essays In The Anarchical Society, Hedley Bull concludes that the international system is best understood as his theorized international society. Yet while he substantiates his argument with a plethora of historical examples and the fallacies of earlier presumptions, his analysis fails to address the roles of the largely undeveloped, destitute nations and relies nearly entirely on what he perceives as the goals of interstate relationships. Through a careful investigation of the core motives that drive state action, international anarchy not Bulls international society emerges as the most viable portrait of the international system. According to the argument Hedley Bull develops in the earlier part of The Anarchical Society, security against violence, observance of agreements, and stability of property are the three elementary, primary, and universal goals of society. Order and international order are then understood as a recurrent pattern of human conduct that preserves these goals of social life (Bull, 4-7). For Bull, states are the collective agents charged with the protection and furtherance of the interests of their population and its values, and the key ingredient for world peace (Bull, 8, 13, 17). He perceives an international society as the expression of international order, as it constitutes a society of states and is a possible result for any group of states that shares coherent goals. An international society then forms a system in the sense that the behaviour of each of the states is a necessary factor in the perception and analysis of the others, and the states are expected to perform cert ain duties beyond their narrow scope of self-interest. While Bull certainly appears to present a convincing and logical thesis, his argument draws glaring concerns. First, his three goals of society are merely goals that are cherished by those who are satisfied with the existing scheme of the world...

High Classical and Hellenistic Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

High Classical and Hellenistic Art - Essay Example This was the era of the Peloponnesian war, Athenian democracy, and the Persian threat. But regardless of these factors, or perhaps because of them, Greek Culture experienced an artistic revolution. Statues, for instance, became much more utilized in temples and decoration and to make public statements. These statues came in a variety of forms, from funeral statuary in graveyards to the Parthenon and the Statue of Zeus. This funeral statuary often depicted actual deceased people, thus making the graveyards a much more emotionally charged place. For example, Fragment of a Marble Grave Stele of a Woman, shows that these funeral statues were not works made to tell stories or inspire, but to elicit reverence through simplicity (MetMuseum.org) Thousands of other statues dotted the landscape, filling the homes of the wealthy or adorning the streets, depicting revered figures of Greek mythology. The artistic tradition, still developing, also came to accept nude statues of women in the High C lassical era (Stokstad). Friezes also became much more used, to decorate temples for instance. They required precision and planning to maintain structural soundness while chipping away the marble perfectly, and thus fostered the development of expert artisans. In all, the Classical period was one where Greek culture was still developing and defining itself at home, and the art of the time followed that. It was a time of new artistic advancements, and an increase in the dedication of Greek society to art. The Hellenistic period was ushered in by Greece’s new place in the world. Alexander the Great had increased the Greek Empire all the way to the fringes of India. But this did not only spread Greek Culture, it also spurred the often forgotten effect of war- the conquered had serious influences on the culture of the conqueror. Now that the Greeks had contacted and governed from people all around their world, there was a dialogue opened up, and artistic influences came along wit h those interactions. Greek art was changed greatly by all these new sways, with each culture, be it the Egyptian or Indian or Persian, inputting their own flavor into Greek art. But, again, this movement was not distinct from the High Classical period. It was merely the natural progression of artistic order, brought upon by new influences in society. Greek art still was obsessed with statuary. But the subjects of the statuary developed. No longer was it only acceptable to depict mythical models of perfection, now it was artistically acceptable to make a statue of a normal person, imperfect. With this, the wealthy Greeks did not have to decorate their homes with statues of only Greek gods and goddesses and mythical figures, but could now include statues of themselves and their family and friends in the mix. But this is not to say that the mythical statuary ceased to exist- for this is most definitely not the case. In fact, much more attention began being paid to the mythological sta tuary, and some of the most well known works, like Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and Laocoon and His Sons, were from the Hellenistic period. These statues depicted mythical figures in emotionally charged situations. Their countenance had advanced from the austerity in the High Classical Era to highly realistic and expressioned. In general, these statues

Business - building trust in the e-business Essay

Business - building trust in the e-business - Essay Example 3. Customer care: a presence of an organized customer care plan is necessary; providing services to customers efficiently related to information about produced, transaction and even about what Edward Entrepreneur is about. 4. Why to trust us- Trust in literature: a well defined but brief reasons of trust have to be mention in the website, including reasons why to trust the company. And an overlook of tutorial of the software in the website will also attract customers trust and interest both. As in ecommerce the main objective for the literature is persuade and satisfy the customer which will bring trust. (PROquest, 2011) With the objective to understand how trust is formed in commercial relational exchanges that take place within electronic environments, our review of the literature identified a number of works that provided the necessary theoretical background to aid our endeavors towards filling this gap 5. Quality of product: when a brief overlook of the tutorial will be provided on the site the customers will be able see the basic features of the software. And this will also lead people to trust the product. 6. Privacy Policy : the another prior reason over which people become reluctant in trusting e commerce sites is the reason that they are not comfortable to give there private information on internet. So to make a strong privacy policy the following points are needed to be added: b. Verified by visa: use verified by visa statement for a proof that the company is verified by visa banks and the information which customers will provide will not be missed used but will only be used for transaction of money. d. SSL certificate: Secure socket layer is an authorized protocol built specially for ecommerce. This assures and protects personal data of the customers used in transactions. A certificate of SSL will completely assure the customers to rely over the site. (TechGenix Ltd., 2011) The site with SSL certificate will ensure the customers that their

Poverty in America Essay Example for Free

Poverty in America Essay Poverty is a disturbing but significant global concern. Just as it is for millions of other people all over the globe, poverty is occurring in America. Over the past decades, income disparity is ascending, in addition to the number of communities that failed to keep up with the national economic standard. Although poverty is present everywhere, it is more serious in developing countries, wherein one in every five person lives on not more than $1 for each day, which is the threshold being applied by the World Bank to classify poverty. The unrelenting problem of poverty is a multifaceted one that embraces individuals and communities who, without their fault, find themselves powerless to manage in this information-intensive and constantly developing world. For the majority Americans, poverty implies destitution, or the lack of ability to provide the family with reasonable shelter, clothing, and nutritious food. Despite the fact that material destitution does exist in America, it is relatively confined in severity and scope. To be aware of poverty in America, it is necessary to observe several statistics, as well as to observe the actual living conditions of the persons that are considered poor by the government. Overview of Poverty in America A large numbers of the country’s population live at or below the threshold of poverty, which means payment of bills every month and financing for the essentials, consisting of shelter, clothing, and food, not counting access to health care and a number of simple comforts is a constant struggle. According to estimates in 2003, roughly 25 percent of counties in the United States had low rates of workforce participation, soaring rates of unemployment, high reliance on government transfer expenditures, and incomes that is lower than one-half of the national average or less for each person. The Census Bureau classifies poverty as a family of three earning not more than $14,680, and not more than $9,393 for a worker without any dependent (Blanco, 2004). According to the 2003 statistics of the Census Bureau, almost 36 million Americans lived in poverty, which is 1.3 million more in 2002. Since 2000, the country has experienced an increase of 4.4 million people who lives in poverty (Blanco, 2004). According to a survey, the present American families are experiencing worse living conditions than they have in the previous years, as 10 percent of all families or approximately 7.6 million families in 2003 lived in poverty, which is an enormous ascend from the previous years (Blanco, 2004). In 2005, the registration of the United States Census Bureau of poor individuals in the country totaled to approximately 37 million poor Americans (Rector Johnson, 2004). Therefore, there is one in every eight Americans that is struggling with inconceivable poverty. These millions of Americans are asserted to be deficient of the necessary clothing, shelter, and enough money for the food, as well as being forced to live in unpleasant conditions (Rector Johnson, 2004). Common Factors of Poverty In the concluding half of the 20th century, the three factors that are generally offered to explain movements of poverty in the United States are changes in family structure, economic inequality, and income growth. If the average per-capita incomes are increased, such as increasing wages and employment, then it is expected that poverty will generally decline. Nevertheless, economic inequality can take the edge off the overall constructive impact of income growth if lower-income workforce and unemployed citizens do not benefit from the fruits of such development. On the other hand, changes in the family structure, primarily the ever-increasing number of families headed by female may be linked with higher rates of poverty for the reason that such families are more expected to be poor and are more economically vulnerable. I. Economic Equality Certainly, the country has made several enhancements over the intervening decades in terms of the overall minimum living standard as measured through material conditions. Yet the living conditions of the poor individuals are severely different from that of families and individuals who take advantage of various degree of economic security as measured through income levels that provide unstressed and comfortable situations. The escalation in the number of poor individuals and families in the country ought to provide the government various apprehension, but even more upsetting is the increasing difference between the underprivileged and wealthy in America. In the previous decades, compensation for more affluent Americans has considerably ascended, stimulated by increase in stock options, bonuses, salaries and other rewards. However, the compensation provided for millions of lower-wage workforces dropped off; and in fact, a number of them have even lost their jobs (Blanco, 2004). Therefore, this factor has prevented the advantages of economic growth from being equally drawn out. Moreover, in 2005, non-Hispanic white men, not less than 25 years of age, holding only high-school qualification have $35,679 median income; whereas women within the same age group, need a degree in college in order to obtain a comparable median income (Spriggs, 2007). The outcome is that the households headed by female are harmed by the major earnings gap, which has a poverty rate of 31.1 percent in contrast to their male-headed household counterparts, which only had a 13.4 percent poverty rate (Spriggs, 2007). In 2005, poverty for women is excessively elevated than men, which is14.1 percent in contrast to 11.1 (Spriggs, 2007). The disparity reflects unrelenting gaps in earnings between male and female workers. At the same time, since 1959 the median income of white males with a family of five has been higher than the poverty line, but for women with a family of three, it was only in 1990 that their median income broke beyond the poverty line (Spriggs, 2007). Further, notwithstanding the progressive structure of benefit procedure in Social Security benefits, the constant gap is best reflected in disparities in poverty among the elderly, where the lifetime earnings of women suggest they have lower assets than men. II. Family Structure Higher rates of poverty among women have generally been contributed to the changes in family structure. The percentage of families headed by single female with children rapidly rose over the previous decades of the 20th century, which reached 26.5 percent in 1995 from only 11.5 percent of all families with children in 1970; with higher rates for Hispanics and blacks. At the start of year 2003, roughly 26.1 percent of the entire families with children in the country were headed by single woman. A number of such families do not obtain any or adequate child support from the absent fathers of the children. It is suggested in one study that if fathers married the destitute mothers of their children, approximately three-quarters of the single-parents would instantly be elevated outside poverty status (Rector Johnson, 2004). Obviously, two parents in a household generally earn more than single-parent. The burden of receiving enough income to raise dependent children outside poverty additionally confronts women who are the single head of the family, as well as getting and paying for child care concurrently with their work and management of the household without help. Since this hazard confronted by women of serving non-working dependents as well as their efforts in looking after their elderly parents is not distributed by society, women who head such families are expected to obtain lower levels of education, therefore, resulting to their lower earnings. Aside from the fact that women are more expected to earn significantly less than men with similar qualifications, mothers have a tendency to accumulate less experience than other workers. III. Income Growth Poverty is associated with the lack of sufficient income, so the core problem therefore is the compensation for the workers. Among the poor, only 11.4 percent or 2.9 million jobs around the clock is available for the whole year (Spriggs, 2007). This sector of the population is further directly impaired by minimum-wage laws that have hindered costs of living. This setback is particularly severe for poverty stricken American-Hispanics and American-Asians, where 18 percent of them worked year-round for full time (Spriggs, 2007). There are several reasons why numerous people lack the income to overcome poverty. For instance, people do not work or if they work, they do not earn sufficient amount of money. Whether in good or bad economic times, the ordinary poor family with children exerts only 800 hours of work throughout a year or 16 hours of work for each week (Rector Johnson, 2004). Evidently, almost 75 percent of poor children would be lifted outside certified poverty status if work is provided in every family, that would increase the work hours to 2,000 for every year or comparable to 40 hours for each week all through the year (Rector Johnson, 2004). In 2005, approximately 61 percent underprivileged families have no less than one worker; and of twice-poor families, 71 percent have no less than one worker. In view of the 1990s record job creation, the number of poor but working people declined to 8.5 million in 2000 from 10.1 million in 1993. In short, America is capable of dealing with poverty. But there have been vast stubborn concerns that have lodged the face of poverty. Mounting disparity in the labor market has increased the share of the working age poor citizens, and the unsympathetic federal minimum-wage laws that have amplified the numbers of poor people working year-round for full-time. In a country with a per capita Gross Domestic Product is exceeding the poverty line for a family of four, it is atrocious that there are still more than 12 million poverty stricken American children, and nearly 3 million people work around the clock, for one whole year who are still finding it hard to make ends meet. Facts Concerning the American Poor Sector Based on the American’s accepted definition of poverty, only a small number of the 37 million individuals fit the poor description, contrary to what the Census Bureau classified. Despite the fact that real material destitution undoubtedly does take place, it is limited in severity and scope. A number of America’s underprivileged lives in material conditions that would be considered as well-off or comfortable some generations ago. The following are information obtained from different government reports regarding people classified as poor by the Census Bureau: 1. Roughly 46 percent of the entire poor households actually own their individual houses (Rector Johnson, 2004). The typical house owned by persons identified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with a garage, one-and-a-half baths, with at least a patio or porch. 2. About 76 percent of underprivileged families have air conditioning in their houses (Rector Johnson, 2004). By comparison, merely 36 percent of the entire population of the United States benefited from air conditioning 3 decades ago. 3. Only 6 percent of the underprivileged families are considered overcrowded, and not less than two-thirds of them have extra two rooms for every person (Rector Johnson, 2004). 4. The typical poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Athens, Vienna, London, Paris, and other cities all over Europe (Rector Johnson, 2004). 5. Practically three-quarters of poor families own an automobile, while 30 percent own at least two automobiles (Rector Johnson, 2004). 6. Approximately 97 percent of poor households own at least one colored television, while half of the said percentage has at least two colored televisions (Rector Johnson, 2004). 7. Roughly 78 percent own DVD or VCR players, while 62 percent have satellite or cable television reception (Rector Johnson, 2004). 8. Around 73 percent of the poor households have microwave ovens, one-third owns an automatic dishwasher, and over half own a stereo system (Rector Johnson, 2004). Further, as a group, America’s poor are far from being constantly malnourished. In fact poor children have usual protein intakes of 100 percent beyond the medically suggested levels and consume more meat than children of higher-income do (Rector Johnson, 2004). Nevertheless, despite the fact that in general the poor are well-nourished, there are still several poor families who experience short-term distress due to food deficiencies. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, although most of the time the hunger is temporary, still 2.6 percent of poor children and 13 percent of poor families experience food shortage sometime during the year (Rector Johnson, 2004). Approximately 89 percent of the poor account sufficient food to eat to their families, at the same time only 2 percent says they often do not have adequate food to eat (Rector Johnson, 2004). Conclusion / Recommendations Following the United States government classification of poverty, the typical poor American people have a living standard far superior as compared to what the public envisions. Nevertheless, the typical poor person’s living conditions should not be taken to suggest that every poor American lives devoid of hardship. Millions of Americans are still continually struggling to hang on, making tough choices between housing, hunger and health care for their families. Economic inequality, income growth, and changes in family structure without doubt affected poverty trends over the latter half of the 20th century. Poverty in America can be readily reduced, if parents are provided with sufficient hours of work and if fathers are at all times present with their families. Although marriage and work are unyielding ladders away from poverty, the country’s welfare system uncooperatively continues to be unsympathetic to both. Foremost programs such as Medicaid, public housing, and food stamps keep on reprimanding marriage and rewarding idleness. Therefore, if welfare could be turned around to uphold marriage and work, the remaining number of poor family would quickly decrease. Further, as a matter of course, the United States has employed over the years job creation and economic growth to trim down poverty, but at present situation the courses are consequential only to the extent that inequality on wages is reduced. Poor people are generally not victims of themselves, but of appalling economic policies along with obstructions to opportunity. Since work generates income, it is important therefore that the government must provide a great increase in available working hours in different labor sectors for the poor. Along with the work opportunities, it is also important to eliminate economic inequalities based on gender, age, economic status, and many others in order to provide higher wages and higher incomes to the underprivileged sectors of the country. America is a nation with one of the most productive and strongest economies in the world. As such, the country must exert a continuing effort to fully utilize the abundance and therefore eliminate the country ’s alarming poverty rate.

A & P - John Updike :: essays research papers

A & P takes place in a community inland that is sandy, yet near the coast. It starts out in the supermarket in which three girls in bathing suits walk in. One of these girls catches the eye of Sammy, which is working at the supermarket, Queenie. â€Å"The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece. She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs.† Sammy sees these girls and wants to be like them, free in a sense. As time goes on the girls finally get what they wanted and decided to check-out. They make there way to Sammy’s register where there comes Sammy’s manager, Lengel, to complain to the girls about their dress attire. Sammy's feelings for Queenie changes when he hears her voice. Her voice is normal and he has built this romantic image of her in his mind. Hearing her voice and realizing she is a normal person, (that happens to be wealthy) slightly changes his feelings for her. It brings him back to reality a little. â€Å"Her voice kind of startled me, the way voices do when you see the people first, coming out so flat and dumb yet kind of tony, too, the way it ticked over "pick up" and "snacks." All of a sudden I slid right down her voice into her living room.† Sammy feels as if he has no chance to get noticed by her unless he does something out of the ordinary. So after she is done arguing with Lengel, Sammy decides to stand up for her and quit his job in hopes that she will notice him. The girls, and who'd blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say "I quit" to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they'll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero. They keep right on going, into the electric eye; the door flies open and they flicker across the lot to their car, Queenie and Plaid and Big Tall Goony-Goony (not that as raw material she was so bad), leaving me with Lengel and a kink in his eyebrow. As this is happening Sammy starts to see the stupidity of what he just did, but still quits since he already stated it he might as well do it.

A Brothers Murder

Anthony Tooke Turner English 80 September 2, 2012 â€Å"A Brother’s Murder† A Brother’s Murder† by Brent Staples is about two brothers that grew up together. Staples left his hometown for ten years to better himself. Staples later came to find out his brother was killed by his best friend over a girl. I understand why he made that decision because it was either he leave or end up dead. Brent Staples left his home to achieve success. In order for Staples to achieve success he felt like he needed to leave home.Staples didn’t want his past to affect who he was trying to become. As he said in the essay â€Å"I added a psychological dimension to the physical distance that I had already achieved I rarely visited my hometown† (Staples 361). Staples thought that if he could add this dimension to his life then he would be able to help his brother out. I understand why he wanted to block out his past. Some of the people I’ve hung out with did thi ngs I disagreed with.I had to lose connections with them to better myself. Staples wanted to leave his hometown to achieve success in his life. He wanted to better himself. I understand why Staples did what he did, it was either him staying at his hometown or he move to better himself to help his little brother. I can connect to this essay because I had to make sacrifices hanging out with the kids in the neighborhood to brighten my future. It is important to me because we seem to let our past affect our future.