Preparing to Conduct Business Research 2 Essays - School Shooting

Preparing to Conduct Business Research 2 Essays - School Shooting Cristal Williams, Anthony Moreno, Alex Adkins, Kelvin Burford, Rocio Terry RES/351 Preparing to Conduct Business Research 2 Instructor: Said Nik-khah October 19, 2015 Schools Safety Over the past several years, the Department of Education as well all nationwide schools have faced several events of gun violence. Some of these events have included the active shooter massacres at Columbine High School, 1999, Rocori High School in 2003, Campbell County Comprehensive School in 2005, Orange High School 2006, Platte Canyon High School in 2006, West Nickel Mines Amish School in 2006, Virginia Tech 2007, Northern Illinois University, 2007, Chardon High School 20012, Sandy Hook Elementary School 2012, Santa Monica College, 2013, Arapaho High School, 2013, Reynolds High School 2014, Marysville-Pilchuck High School 2014, and at Florida State University Feb 2014. (USA Today, 2014) These are just some of the active shooting events going on around the Nation. The safety in schools has raised the questions of how to implement better systems to prevent incidents like those reported from happening. One of the issues that these schools faces is not having enough safety precautions in place and not possessing an established protocol to ensure the safety of each school. The protocols that schools should be implementing are things like an active shooter and lock down drills, metal and safety detectors, an assigned Resource Officers on site and mostly parent involvement. Research Questions Research questions are very important to guide our research and focus on the relevant information that supports our objectives. For our objective, we have come up with three questions to start out our research. 1) What is the rate of incidences that occur in the U.S. that apply to school safety? 2) What can we do to reduce the amount of shooting in our schools in the U.S.? 3) Will shooter drills play a role in reducing a number of injuries or casualties in a real life situation? Hypothesis and Variables Considered Although there has been talking about banning guns, there are too many ways to get a hold of one and in all actuality, they are not going to go away. Our question is now, how can we be protected? How can our children be protected? How can our schools and communities be protected? Going back some years, there weren't many instances where one would hear about school shootings. Nowadays, we do not stop hearing of them. School standards have risen so high that it has been causing a great deal of stress on the students and teachers as well. Students feel the pressure of having to succeed, please their parents, deal with being homesick, and everyday life that occurs. Some of these shootings that occur are from students that attend these schools, and they may feel like there is no other way. There needs to be more protection around school zones, communities should work closer together to help one another, there need to be more programs available for people who may be falling into such a de pression that they feel like killing others, and there need to be more "laws" or "guidelines" into being able to buy a gun and owning one. Ethical Considerations Considering laws and guidelines on buying weapons, ethically should we allow teachers to carry weapons in schools to protect the students? If so, what types of firearms would staff be allowed to carry or not allowed to carry? Would the weapons be his or her personal firearm or school-issued weapon? Would there be inspections conducted to ensure functionality of firearms? With this in mind, we need to ponder ethical considerations prior to preparing schools to allow firearms while preventing and managing situations of lost, misplaced, or stolen firearms. Allowing teachers to carry weapons creates the impression on the part of the student that he or she is in an unsafe environment and that it is necessary for people to protect him or her with firearms in the school. They should have the feeling that where they are studying and where they are with other children is a safe environment. And by carrying a gun, a teacher gives the wrong impression that it is not. A growing number of studies show a link between hidden biases and actual behavior. In other words, hidden biases can reveal themselves

Ted Sorensen on the Kennedy Style of Speech-Writing

Ted Sorensen on the Kennedy Style of Speech-Writing In his final book, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History (2008), Ted Sorensen offered a prediction: I have little doubt that, when my time comes, my obituary in the New York Times (misspelling my last name once again) will be captioned: Theodore Sorenson, Kennedy Speechwriter. On November 1, 2010, the Times got the spelling right: Theodore C. Sorensen, 82, Kennedy Counselor, Dies. And though Sorensen did serve as ​a counselor and alter ego to John F. Kennedy from January 1953 to November 22, 1963, Kennedy Speechwriter was indeed his defining role. A graduate of the University of Nebraskas law school, Sorensen arrived in Washington, D.C. unbelievably green, as he later admitted. I had no legislative experience, no political experience. Id never written a speech. Id hardly been out of Nebraska. Nevertheless, Sorensen was soon called on to help write Senator Kennedys Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage (1955). He went on to co-author some of the most memorable presidential speeches of the last century, including Kennedys inaugural address, the Ich bin ein Berliner speech, and the American University commencement address on peace. Though most historians agree that Sorensen was the primary author of these eloquent and influential speeches, Sorensen himself maintained that Kennedy was the true author. As he said to Robert Schlesinger, If a man in a high office speaks words which convey his principles and policies and ideas and hes willing to stand behind them and take whatever blame or therefore credit go with them, [the speech is] his (White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters, 2008). In Kennedy, a book published two years after the presidents assassination, Sorensen spelled out some of the distinctive qualities of the Kennedy style of speech-writing. Youd be hard-pressed to find a more sensible list of tips for speakers. While our own orations may not be quite as momentous as a presidents, many of Kennedys rhetorical strategies are worth emulating, regardless of the occasion or the size of the audience. So the next time you address your colleagues or classmates from the front of the room, keep these principles in mind. The Kennedy Style of Speech-Writing The Kennedy style of speech-writingour style, I am not reluctant to say, for he never pretended that he had time to prepare first drafts for all his speechesevolved gradually over the years. . . .We were not conscious of following the elaborate techniques later ascribed to these speeches by literary analysts. Neither of us had any special training in composition, linguistics or semantics. Our chief criterion was always audience comprehension and comfort, and this meant: (1) short speeches, short clauses and short words, wherever possible; (2) a series of points or propositions in numbered or logical sequence wherever appropriate; and (3) the construction of sentences, phrases and paragraphs in such a manner as to simplify, clarify and emphasize.The test of a text was not how it appeared to the eye, but how it sounded to the ear. His best paragraphs, when read aloud, often had a cadence not unlike blank verseindeed at times key words would rhyme. He was fond of alliterative sentences, not solely for reasons of rhetoric but to reinforce the audiences recollection of his reasoning. Sentences began, however incorrect some may have regarded it, with And or But whenever that simplified and shortened the text. His frequent use of dashes was of doubtful grammatical standingbut it simplified the delivery and even the publication of a speech in a manner no comma, parenthesis or semicolon could match.Words were regarded as tools of precision, to be chosen and applied with a craftsmans care to whatever the situation required. He liked to be exact. But if the situation required a certain vagueness, he would deliberately choose a word of varying interpretations rather than bury his imprecision in ponderous prose.For he disliked verbosity and pomposity in his own remarks as much as he disliked them in others. He wanted both his message and his language to be plain and unpretentious, but never patronizing. He wanted his major policy statements to be positive, specific and defi nite, avoiding the use of suggest, perhaps and possible alternatives for consideration. At the same time, his emphasis on a course of reasonrejecting the extremes of either sidehelped produce the parallel construction and use of contrasts with which he later became identified. He had a weakness for one unnecessary phrase: The harsh facts of the matter are . . .but with few other exceptions his sentences were lean and crisp. . . .He used little or no slang, dialect, legalistic terms, contractions, clichà ©s, elaborate metaphors or ornate figures of speech. He refused to be folksy or to include any phrase or image he considered corny, tasteless or trite. He rarely used words he considered hackneyed: humble, dynamic, glorious. He used none of the customary word fillers (e.g., And I say to you that is a legitimate question and here is my answer). And he did not hesitate to depart from strict rules of English usage when he thought adherence to them (e.g., Our agenda are long) would grat e on the listeners ear.No speech was more than 20 to 30 minutes in duration. They were all too short and too crowded with facts to permit any excess of generalities and sentimentalities. His texts wasted no words and his delivery wasted no time.(Theodore C. Sorensen, Kennedy. Harper Row, 1965. Reprinted in 2009 as Kennedy: The Classic Biography) To those who question the value of rhetoric, dismissing all political speeches as mere words or style over substance, Sorensen had an answer. Kennedys rhetoric when he was president turned out to be a key to his success, he told an interviewer in 2008. His mere words about Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba helped resolve the worst crisis the world has ever known without the U.S. having to fire a shot. Similarly, in a New York Times op-ed published two months before his death, Sorensen countered several myths about the Kennedy-Nixon debates, including the view that it was style over substance, with Kennedy winning on delivery and looks. In the first debate, Sorensen argued, there was far more substance and nuance than in what now passes for political debate in our increasingly commercialized, sound-bite Twitter-fied culture, in which extremist rhetoric requires presidents to respond to outrageous claims. To learn more about the rhetoric and oratory of John Kennedy and Ted Sorensen, have a look at Thurston Clarkes Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America, published by Henry Holt in 2004 and now available in a Penguin paperback.

Scope, potential and benefits of urban farming and its importance to Research Paper

Scope, potential and benefits of urban farming and its importance to local communities in US - Research Paper Example The food production has been declining; earth has been becoming a hotter place without adequate green cover; the quality of food available for people in general has been decreasing; and as more leisure got created, more and more human beings have been detached from physical labour resulting in lack of exercise and the emergence of new kinds of life style related diseases. These are only a few of the many problems faced by humans as they got distanced from nature and agriculture. The detachment from nature has thus kickstarted a process of decline in quality of life caused by its impact on food security, employment, carbon fixation, oxygen availability, mental happiness, relaxation, physical exercise, peace of mind received from nature, aesthetic appeal, fresh food, food traceability, pollution control, waste utilization, waste water utilization, waste-to-energy conversion, space availability and optimal utilization of available space. Pearson has categorised the benefits of urban far ming into three, namely, â€Å"social, economic, and environmental goods and services† (3). ... It can be said, the north and south represent two growth stages in human civilization but it is more important to note that in Southern cities, urban agriculture â€Å"plays a significant role in providing a measure of food security and income for a rapidly increasing urban population† (2). It has to be remembered that urban farming is not a newly introduced concept to cities but has been existing in all cities as vestiges of rural life until the development bandwagon erased it completely at least from the mega-cities. In this context, this paper envisages finding out the scope, potential and benefits of urban farming for the world in general and the US in particular. This investigation is carried out keeping in mind, urban agriculture is not a monolithic concept but include: Residual, often peri-urban broadacre farmland, small ‘community gardens’, personally managed allotments, home gardens, portions of parks that were previously planted entirely with amenity spe cies, fruit trees along roadside reserves, greenhouses, green roofs and green walls (Pearson, 3). In the backdrop of the huge â€Å"knowledge gap† that exists regarding the potential, methods and benefits of urban farming, this study envisages preparing a knowledge database on different aspects of the same (Pearson, Pearson, and Pearson, 9). Review of Literature The early ideas on urban farming as we know it was initiated during the era of New Deal, when â€Å"homesteads were organized as examples of how the country could benefit from a proliferation of semirural neighborhoods, where part-time farming on inexpensive but desirable land would encourage uplifting social functions and help establish a

Leadership Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership Plan - Essay Example In case of global teams, I would make them know each other through video chat. According to Love (2010), storming is the stage that involves members’ conflicts with each other and their resistance to tasks and team structure. â€Å"Typically during the Storming phase, conflict, dissention and difficulties arise† (Fran, 2010). At this stage, I would work towards resolution of conflicts between team members. In case of conventional teams, I would meet conflicting employees face-to-face in order to know their issues, as well as to resolve them. I would assign the roles and responsibilities to each team member considering their skills. In case of global teams, I would arrange a video conference in which I would invite all team members to know and resolve their cultural and personality conflicts. At this stage, members start thinking themselves as a team (Egeland, 2011). At this stage, I would develop a sense of cohesion between the team members of both conventional and global teams. In case of conventional teams, I would meet each team member personally to make him/her aware of his/her role in the achievement of goals and the way to meet the deadline. In case of global teams, I would contact all team members through video conference to make them aware of the ways to work in a collaborative manner and the ways to resolve personal and cultural conflicts that may arise between them at some time in future due to cultural differences. This is the stage when members, having their efficiencies developed, work toward the achievement of goals. â€Å"Group members begin to look outside of their domain in order to assist others on the team† (Waren, 2010). At this stage, I would continuously motivate both conventional and global teams to make them achieve the goals effectively and efficiently. To evaluate and motivate conventional team members, I would meet each member personally. However, to motivate global team

Differences between Pidgins and Creoles

Differences between Pidgins and Creoles Discuss some of the basic differences that characterize pidgins and creoles, based on your understanding of what is meant by the following quote: â€Å"Pidginisation is second language learning with restricted input, while creolisation was first language learning with restricted input.† (Mesthrie et al, 2009, p. 287) Pidgins are defined as a type of spoken communication with two or more languages. It has fundamental grammar and vocabulary. It is also meant to facilitate people who do not speak a common language. Lastly, it is not spoken as a native language. An example is the â€Å"Lingua Franca† which was first created among traders. This is called business language. They are created because traders come from different places and have different tongues; therefore a common language is formed. Creoles, on the other hand, refer to any pidgin language that becomes the first language in a speech community. A creole is â€Å"created† when the utterer of a pidgin language become gains a strong hold over utterers of another. This can be in the form of social or political hold over. Therefore, the pidgin language used in speech between these two groups may become the first language of the minority community. One such example is â€Å"Gullah (derived from English), spoken in the Sea Islands of the southeastern U.S.† http://www.reference.com/browse/creole Differences between Pidgins and Creoles: 1) Pidgin is a linguistic communication that comprised of components of two or more other languages and is used for communication among people. It can also be called business language. It is not a first language. Whereas, creole is a language that was at first a pidgin but has â€Å"transformed† and become a first language. 2) Structural difference: Creole languages have the â€Å"Subject Verb Object† word order whereas Pidgin can have any possible order. Also, reduplication is a common and general process in Creole languages but its very not very often found in Pidgins. 3) One important difference between Pidgins and Creoles is that pidgins do not have first language speakers while creoles do. However, this is not easy to make out because there are more and more extended pidgins beginning to acquire native speakers. Extended pidgins refer to when a pidgin becomes a creole. The cultural â€Å"side† of a pidgin usually defines this. This means that more pidgins are becoming first languages. 4) Another difference is that creoles may originate through abnormal transmissions but as children acquire them, they must, therefore, comply with the ‘blueprint of language that can also be referred to as how the language is going to constructed and formed. Blueprint here is comparable to how we relate to a blueprint of a house. However, for pidgins, as they are a result of a second language, although they have to be learnable by adults, they do not have to be acceptable by children. This means that pidgins do not have to comply with the ‘blueprint of language. Pidgins before they become accomplished languages in a community, are always second languages and usually after teenage. Explanation of quote: According to the definition, what Mesthrie et al meant when he said â€Å"Pidginisation is second language learning with restricted input† is that pidgins is not used as a first language. Following the definition laid out above, it is a language that is borne out of the contact between two different languages. As such, it has restricted contact as the contact between the speaker and the second language is not frequent. Also, it has been noted that pidgins are nothing close to the foreign language as it has only rudimentary grammar and vocabulary. As mentioned above, research has shown that all creole languages have the â€Å"Subject Verb Object† language rules whereas any possible order is allowed for pidgins. This means that while creole languages need to follow a given set of rules for word order, pidgins do not have to. Instead they can be formed in any way. For example, the pidgin â€Å"Ojibwe† has a free word order. This shows that pidgins is second language learning because learners do not follow a given set of language rules as the grammar is still not fixed and internalized. This goes to show as what Mesthrie has said; pidgins are essentially second language learning with restricted input from the native speakers of the second language themselves. The second part of the quote claims that creolization is first language learning with restricted input. As mentioned in the definition, through creolization, a pidgin becomes a language on its own. This language is then similar to non-creole languages in terms of grammatical and language rules. This claim stems from the crucial difference between creoles and pidgins the presence of native speakers and also a need to follow the â€Å"blueprint† of the foreign language. In creoles, the presence of native speakers now means that there are more interactions between both languages. Also, reduplication is a usual process in Creole languages but its rarely seen in pidgins. The repetition of a root to show â€Å"intensity, plurality, duration and frequency† shows that the second language learner has become more familiar with the foreign language. This implies that the learners are now almost on the same level as the native speakers in terms of familiarity with the first language and its grammar. This shows us that creoles are in effect first language learning. The need to now follow a blueprint of the foreign language and the added presence of native speakers means that creolization is in effect, a first language learning. To be a native speaker, one must be able to follow that languages linguistic rules. In creoles, we see that it is a requirement to follow the foreign languages rules. Thus, this tells us that the learning of creoles now assimilates to the foreign language as compared to pidgins. The later part of the second quote requires us to explain why there is still â€Å"restricted input†. The previous second language speakers who are now native speakers of the foreign language means that the people who still speak the foreign language as a second language now have immediate role models they can learn from. However, as these native speakers are still few in numbers, creoles are therefore said to be first language learning with restricted input.

Book report: Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Essay

In the 1930s Europe considered America a place of hope, opportunity and prosperity. It was believed to be the land where everyone was equal and successful, whilst also evading religion, political narrow-mindedness and outdated ideas of Europe. Various quotations illustrate the concept of the ‘American Dream.’ The people of America believed that freedom and equality would be gained if they fulfilled the American Dream. However, life for those Americans turned out to be very different, thus the failure of the American Dream. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.† Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 â€Å"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that ‘all men are created equal.’ That nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, shall not perish from the earth.† Abraham Lincoln In 1929 the stock market collapsed, hence the great depression and the start of John Steinbeck’s career. This was due to unemployment, strikes and wage cuts by modern society, which Steinbeck was at liberty to witness. Steinbeck was experienced with working on cattle and fruit ranches as a boy, which were severely effected by the depression. He could only sympathise and relate to the millions of people who were suffering. America was not a paradise but a place of anguish and despair. Steinbeck’s personal involvement with the struggle of the people, who depended on the soil for their livelihood, meant he could write a series of novels and short stories depicting the suffering. Such novels include The Pastures of Heaven about southern California farmers, In Dubious Battle concerning a strike with migratory fruit pickers, and one of the stories I am reporting on, Of Mice and Men (1937) about farm labourers yearning for a small farm of their own. Steinbeck’s most widely known novel, and the other book I am reporting on is The Grapes of Wrath (1939), an account of a migrating family to California. Steinbeck died in 1968 after he had received the Nobel Prize for literature, awarded to him in 1962, which he considered one of his greatest achievements. In the book Of Mice and Men, the outset begins in a romantic setting, familiarised by using poetic imagery, which is familiar to Steinbeck’s style. Steinbeck focuses on the river running through the Salinas Valley, south of Soledad. He then develops the description of the opening setting by commenting on trees on the valley side and mountains in the distance before the two main characters emerge from the woods, which expands the reader’s perception of where the story begins. Immediately the relationship between the two characters is apparent, as George is in charge and takes responsibility of his own actions and of his friend’s, Lennie. Lennie is incapable of his own well being, possibly being mentally handicapped, and relies on George to keep him safe from harm. It is clear that although George gets frustrated and occasionally angry with Lennie, because Lennie can’t always understand, he still has a warm, kind side to him, which is shown when he constantly protects Lennie, keeping him away from danger. Although Lennie does unintelligent things and forgets most things George tells him, the reader only feels pity for him. Lennie also feels self-pity when George has told him off, and uses guilt to soften George again. The two men are two in thousands of labourers all yearning for the same dream. They want to be content, which to Lennie and George means their own land and farm. The way in which they set out to achieve this is to get a job. They try to follow the American Dream, regardless of others who aim to dishearten their dreams, such as Crooks who believes he has seen hundreds of labourers who follow the same path as the Lennie and George. Their dreams of their own paradise fail to happen after Lennie accidentally kills the wife of a violent character, Curley. Lennie previously has killed mice and a dog after petting the fine hairs on their backs to hard. We later find out that the last town George and Lennie were in chased them out after Lennie accidentally frightened a girl, because he liked the feel of her dress. A similar incident happened with Curley’s wife when he feels her soft hair and accidentally breaks her neck. Curley and a group of men set out to kill Lennie for what he had done, George then joins them, so he isn’t involved for Lennie’s actions, of course he tries to persuade Curley not to kill Lennie. The climax of the story is when George can’t see any alternative apart from killing his best friend who has brought him so much trouble. In the book The Grapes of Wrath a family migrate to California, in an attempt to also follow the American Dream. Forced off the land, which the Joad family have lived on for generations, they travel across America with three hundred thousand other unemployed people, all seeking work in California seen as the ‘promise land.’ The story starts after Tom Joad, who appears at the beginning of the story to be the main character, has been put on parole. After Tom Joad has found his family again they set off to California. Along the way various obstacles and challenges force the family to be split up by the end of the story. Whether its death or abandonment the family is shortened to the strongest characters. Towards the end of the novel, the reader has shared the family’s journey, and understands each characters way of thinking and the relationship between each character. The reader also feels they can relate to the problems the family has over come, which helps the reader see the great depression of America through a suffering family’s eyes. In the first chapter of Of Mice and Men various paragraphs are devoted to the vivid description of both George and Lennie, which goes as far to describe how each individual walks. However, in The Grapes of Wrath there is no paragraphs devoted to the description of each character, instead the reader gradually makes an image of the characters from what they do, what the say and how they develop through the story. Steinbeck’s writing is done in such a way that the reader can instantly share the same emotions towards another character as the main characters. This is obvious when George is protecting Lennie from Curley in Of Men and Mice and when the menacing uniform and authority of the deputy sheriff intimidates Floyd in The Grapes of Wrath. â€Å"His eyes passed over the new men then he stopped. He glanced coldly at George and then at Lennie. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists.† † He wore riding breeches and laced boots. A heavy pistol holster hung on a cartridge belt around his waist. On his brown shirt a deputy sheriff’s star was pinned.† The way in which Steinbeck writes like this not only depicts the immoral and treacherous characters it also helps the reader understand what each character is thinking by sympathising with the characters. This was shown when Candy’s Sheepdog in Of Mice and Men is shot after Candy’s close work colleagues almost ‘gang up on’ him to have it killed for it’s own good. The reader sympathises with Candy when he looks around the room at each friend, trying to find hope that they agree with him, to keep the dog alive and after the gun fire is heard the reader sympathises with Candy’s mourning silence. â€Å"A shot sounded in the distance. The men looked quickly at the old man. Every head turned toward him. â€Å"For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling. Then he rolled slowly over and faced the wall and lay silent.† Steinbeck doesn’t use sympathy to portray the characters in The Grapes of Wrath as well. Although both Grandpa, Grandma and Rose of Sharon’s miscarried baby die there is too many other obstacles facing the family at the same time, so the reader doesn’t completely understand the family’s reaction to each death. In Of Mice and Men my most liked character is George. I have a great amount of respect for him for the amount of patience he has with Lennie, which I don’t think I could have myself. He also devotes most of his time to Lennie’s needs and well being, which I think is admirable. George is a small migrant ranch worker, with well-defined features, who has dreams of one day saving enough money to buy his own land, to be his own boss, which means he is not only ambitious but commendable. George has worked with Lennie since Lennie’s Aunt Clara died. George’s patience endures Lennie’s frequent mistakes, which prevent George from working toward his dream, and living life normally without being run out of the previous town. George’s constant yearning to live life normally contributes to George’s final actions to break his long companionship with Lennie, which result in the climax of the story when George kills Lennie. The main reason I like George is his ability to demonstrate various emotions, when he is dealing with Lennie. In Of Mice and Men George demonstrates anger, patience, sadness, pride and hope, to convey his relationship with Lennie. In The Grapes of Wrath my most favoured character was usually the main character. However, at the beginning of the story this would appear to be Tom Joad, who has just been put on parole, but towards the end of the story the mother of the family or Ma, had taken the main character’s role. Both these characters are strong characters, and are constantly working to the benefit and protection of the family during the journey to California. Tom Joad is a particular favourite character of mine due to his revolutionary ideas and actions he takes to ensure not only his family is safe but also the migrating workers, known as ‘Okies’ have work. This leads him into various fights and other conflicts he has to overcome, which make him the most heroic character in the story. His heroism leads him away from the family on his own political path for the justice of the workers. Ma is at the beginning on the story a weaker character than she is towards the end of the story. I think this is due to the obstacles and triumphs she endures along the journey. I have great admiration for Ma as she takes responsibility for the family at the end of the story, even though Pa is still with the family at the end and he was ‘head’ of the family at the beginning of the story. Tom Joad and Ma are the strongest characters in The Grapes of Wrath, and although Tom Joad is heroic and eventually follows his principles and beliefs of the rights each worker should have, I think Ma is the most liked character. Ma is driven from the extreme of living whilst also dealing with death in the family, which drives her to her own extremes and even violence. Ma has developed the most as a character through the story, which I admire the most. Both Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath are written in third person and written in the past tense, both with dialect which express the characters, and help the reader visualise and individualise each character in both books. Of Mice and Men uses far more descriptive writing than The Grapes of Wrath which I think is more necessary in a short story than a novel like The Grapes of Wrath. The descriptive writing is used to describe the setting and the characters movements and mannerisms, where as this isn’t needed as much in The Grapes of Wrath as the Steinbeck portrays this detail throughout the story, not all at the beginning. â€Å"For a moment the place was lifeless. And then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool. They walked in single file down the path, and even in the open one stayed behind the other†¦ The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He smiled and his full lips revealed great horse teeth.† In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck also uses various metaphors as sub-plots. When Carlson and the other labourers try to convince Candy to have his loyal dog killed, they make remarks about the dog, which George could relate to with Lennie. This subtlety is better understood when the reader finds out its George who kills, his ‘worthless dog’ at the end of the novel, who is actually Lennie. Carlson’s comments could also be interpreted as they were meant for George about Lennie. â€Å"†¦He ain’t no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself. Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?† When George is playing solitaire in the bunkhouse, he never invites Lennie because Lennie would never be able to understand the card game. This maybe interpreted as George wanting to be ‘solitaire’ without the burden of Lennie, which may foretell George’s final decision to be a solitary man. In The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck’s style of writing is different from the use of metaphors. He has sub-chapters, which occur in the book often to tell a separate story away from the family. These stories all have the same theme as that of the family’s story, but they are about how they effect the other Americans who aren’t migrating. These chapters show different ideas of the main story, and perceive the suffering of the unemployed differently, which to the reader is helpful to understand the issues raised by Steinbeck about the depression. One of these chapters is set in a Cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ en route to California, which is witness to all the passing migrants. The owners of the Cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ comment on the lack of business the migrants bring. However, the owners actually feel pity for the migrants and this is expressed when one of the owners sells a migrant some sweets for his children for a reduce price. Although when the owner is confronted about why she did that she tries to continue to comment on the migrants uselessness, when it is clear she doesn’t really believe what she says, she is just saying it for present company. I enjoyed both the books I read, because of the ideas, issues and principles behind Steinbeck’s themes. Each issue and problem the characters in each story had to over come were thought provoking, and I think I would have dealt with the problems in the same way. I think these books appeal to people with political knowledge and who like reading about people faced with difficulties. Although I liked both the books, for their political and human side I think I enjoyed the human aspects of the books more. Therefore I enjoyed The Grapes of Wrath more due to its involvement with the characters. The climax of Of Mice and Men wasn’t as effective as it could have been if the reader was more familiar to the relationship with George and Lennie, then the reader would have understood George’s difficulty of killing his best and closest companion. The Grapes of Wrath lets you know the characters, to a certain extent that when the story ends and the family hasn’t found happiness in California, the reader continues to think about if they ever will. I am sure to read The Grapes of Wrath again.

Characters Behaviors In OConnors Novel - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1495 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/06/10 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay Did you like this example? The story A Good Man Is Hard to Find, you look closely at the characters behaviors. Even though, the misfit is the main evil person in the story there is no telling how evil everyone else can be. The scene Im mostly concentrating on is between the grandmother and the misfit. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Characters Behaviors In OConnors Novel" essay for you Create order The grandmother considers the misfit to solid faith, about what makes a good person. The grandmother is considered, the loud mouth Christian of the family. The misfit plays God by eliminating the evils of the grandmotherrs family, while she tries to play along and says the misfit is another one of Gods children. Yes, the grandmother has her beliefs, but the misfit tries to persuade her that, faith requires observation in order to stand. After the grandmother dies in the story, she comes to the realization of salvation. While reading this short story, the grandmother comes upon the true meaning of belief and expands Christianity to the universe. (Teen Ink, 2017) There are many examples of symbolism in A Good Man Is Hard to Find. An example of religious symbolism was presented in the grandmotherrs speech. The grandmother would use religious references when speaking with the misfit and her family members. When the grandmother says pray, pray demonstrates how the grandmother deals with conflict in her lifetime. The grandmother explained to the misfit, if you pray, Jesus would help you. She demonstrates that Christianity would love beyond the misfitrs crimes. (Study Mode, 2011) Since the grandmother emphasizes the misfit to pray, she is criticized for being religious. The misfit and the grandmother, both live by moral codes. Moral codes are sets of beliefs and behaviors to live by what is reasonable. The grandmother has moral codes to try to make people become good. The misfit on the other hand, has consistent moral codes. By being a convicted criminal, he believes crimes are a punishment, but doesnt really matter in the end. The misfit challenges his religious beliefs and tries to figure out a way to follow them. Hers concluded being a religious person is pointless and wants to follow his own religion. In the story when the misfit murders the family, the grandmother plead for her life. She was certain the misfit would respect her moral code. The misfit in the story lacks moral guidance and questions the meaning of life. He carefully tries to find lesson within his actions. The misfit knows he isnt the greatest person in the world, but he does know there are people that are worse than him. The grandmotherrs moral code in the story, ends up falling apart the moment itrs challenged and the misfit views life the way he believes is right. The last moments of the grandmotherrs life, she notices the misfitrs strength and weaknesses. The misfit says that Jesus is the only one that ever raised the dead and sho uldnt have done it. It was also said from the misfit, If He did what He said, then its nothing for you to do but throw away everything and follow Him, and if He didnt, then its nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you canby killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness,. (OConnor 22) The author of A Good Man Is Hard to Find, places emphasis on people that have no Christian beliefs and finds interest in other things, then religion. He tries to get people reading this story, to experience real Christianity through symbolism throughout the entire story. He uses symbolism to describe how hard it is to find someone thatrs good. This was brought out by the grandmother in the story. People in the story that has the same religion as the grandmother, tend to worship her. She is the woman who is defined as a true Christian. The misfitrs behavior is used to take a toll on the grandmother to boost her faith. Although, seeing how the conversation goes between the grandmother and the misfit, you can tell the misfit has been through many struggles. By reading, you can see how the misfits mind works according to his behavior. In the story, the misfit is also used to represent the young generation when it comes down to being religious and the grandmother represents the old genera tion. What OConnor tries to do, is capture the power of faith in someoners life. A Good Man Is Hard to Find is one of those stories that can be viewed as a life lesson. Human beings will sometimes change as an individual or their opinions on a certain situation that we thought differently about. This conflicts the decisions we begin to make. The grandmother in the story explains her love for Christianity but doesnt pray whenever shers in a crisis. By questioning the power of God, it is obvious she isnt aware of her actions. You can tell in the story, that the grandmother thinks she has the right to judge greatness in others and wishes to tell them how to live their lives. When she was afraid of what would happen to her, she agreed with the misfit and then changes her mind about Jesus rising from the dead. At this point, the grandmother is confused about her beliefs of grace. The misfit was aware of Christianity and Jesus but doesnt believe anything until he sees it. (Study Mode, 2011) The grandmother did at some point have a moment of grace after the misfit questioning what Jesus has done before sacrificing his life. She then says to him Why youre one of my babies, Youre one of my own children!. The grandmother realized they are both the same person despite their sins and weaknesses. Even though grace settles on both of them, they both have the potential to be saved by God. Before the grandmother dies, grace was given to her along with the misfit. In the beginning going back to when the misfit says no pleasure but meanness in life, the misfit declares there is no pleasure in life at all. Killing the grandmother and her whole family, brought him nothing but happiness and joy. OConner made the misfit seem like a good man for connecting with the grandmother when having a conversation and killing her right away. A question that I ask is, what wouldve happened to the grandmother if she met the misfit before going on the trip? Would the misfit ever get caught for killin g the family? These are some questions I asked myself while reading this story. From the beginning of A Good Man Is Hard to Find, no one realized how it reflected to the ending. Towards the end of the story, the misfit says to himself She would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life. (OConnor 22) Instead of spreading the value of Christianity to others, the grandmother manipulates people for her own benefit. The only moment of grace was mainly towards the end of the story when the misfit holds the gun towards her. It seems the misfit kills the grandmother last, since she gave him a chance to explain his life. The misfit basically used and played the grandmother the entire time. He questioned her about his past, spoked about being a good person and obeying God. Every action the grandmother made, came at a price of her own life. The misfit also recognized a few things about the grandmother towards the end of the story. One is despite her religious beliefs, she conveys herself as a good woman and to the misfit she is not. He also recognized when facing death, the grandmother had the chance to become a good woman. At the end of this short story he realized if the grandmother could have lived her life at gunpoint, she could have gained compassion that she lacked. When I read this story, I didnt really expect for the grandmother to be so manipulating to her family. How can you be so religious and into Christianity, when you do bad things? The grandmother wasnt so different from the misfit after all. Yes, she was trying to get him to change his ways and was telling him to pray while going through problems, but she did not even pray herself. It seems to me the grandmother was never a family person. It also seems like she was trying to stay on the misfitrs good side, but in the end Im sure she didnt know she was going to die herself. Along with her family members. Being a Christian means to stick with that religion, to be good, praise God, be kind and do what is expected of you. I guess the misfit had a plan the entire time of the story. To get the grandmother where he wants her, entertain her, then kill her. He did just that.