Inside the Clinton White House Essay Example for Free

Inside the Clinton White House Essay The book â€Å"The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House† (1995) written by Bob Woodward keeps an eye Bill Clintons activities on a day-to-day basis, and most often than not on a minute-by-minute account starting from the period Clinton made a decision to run for president by way of telling the story of his campaign, the election, and Clinton’s first year in office as President. The book deals with the time from late August in the year 1991to early 1994. Almost two-thirds of the book covers the planning, writing, and eventual passing of Bill Clinton’s economic policy, which is considered to be the â€Å"heart† or â€Å"core† of his presidential campaign in the year 1992. Meanwhile, I personally think that the heart of Woodward’s book is about the synergetic activities of the First Couple – Bill and Hillary . This activities include their collaboration and partnership with their advisers and friends, their interpersonal relationship, their power, skill and capability to have an influnce on Congressmen, and also their failure to adapt and adjust to the way of living in Washington. In writing this book, the author interviewed and reinterviewed over 250 individuals. Sometimes, Woodward carried out 20 interviews with 10 sources to document and record a single meeting or a decision made. According to Woodward, in majority of these interviews, he had an agreement with his sources that he will withhold their identity. Nevertheless, in a lot of instances, the readers of the book could easily recognize these sources. Aside from conducting Woodward also obtained information from diaries, schedules, meeting notes, transcripts, and memoranda. I think that most likely, the greatest surprise of the book is the degree to which the people or the sources gave their private papers and opinions to Woodward. In fact, a lot of those people who are close to the First Couple offered exceedingly candid, and oftentimes condescending evaluation of Bill and Hillary. Upon reading the book, as I have said earlier, I think that the topic of the book is Bill Clinton’s first year in office and his effort mainly to pass an economic plan. However, I also think that his effort also includes NAFTA and Health Care. As I can remember, President Clinton had promised three main things as far as his economic plan was concerned. These things are first, to cut the deficit; second, to cut middle class taxes and third, to reinvest in social programs for the working and middle classes. Nevertheless, they swiftly discarded the tax cut and the spending programs ensured afterward, so all they had left was a strategy to cut $500 Billion from the country’s deficit for a period of five years. This brought about a big gap and discord among the inner circles of the Administration. According to the book, on the one hand were the deficit hawks and on the other hand were the people who wanted to stress tax cuts and spending programs. In the meantime, according to Woodward, somewhere in the middle, leaning one way or another, was President Bill Clinton. Despite the fact that the author discloses in detail what a lot of people know, which is the reality that Bill has a temper and has the capacity to be enraged at people, Woodward likewise portrays Bill as a man who is sincerely concerened regarding what has occurred to the middle class people and a man who honestly desires to fulfill his promises made during his campaign and help the people. Moreover, in his book, the author depicts Bill as a hard-working and intelligent President who might have a hard time coming up with a decision, yet wishes to attain what he thinks and feels will enable America to become a safer, better, and more secure nation. In this book, Woodward has also portrayed a somewhat convincing and believable picture of Bill Clinton at work as President. Nevertheless, he also showed a not-so-pretty picture of Bill Clinton. For instance, Woodward has shwin that Bill Clinton tends to vacinate, even though Bill’s uncertainty to act in a powerful and straightforward way is an outcome of thinking too much. Hence, it is in this part that Woodward paints a positive image of Hillary. According to Woodward, she thinks that the burden of implementing the Administration policies was too much on her husband and she also thought that a lot of senior officials in the Administration and on the staff were stopping short of full preparation. In his book, Woodward also disclosed some of Hillary’s thoughts about Bill. According to the book, Hillary said that her husband was such a complex person. She also said that no one had described the whole personality of Bill because people kept attempting to chop Bill into little pieces. She further said that her husband confused people because his manner produced dissonance. Woodward has kind words for Hillary in this book. Obviously, it can be gleaned that Woodward spent several hours with Hillary and was extremely impressed with her. In his book, Woodward regards Hillary to be Bill’s most significant adviser. Woodwards thinks that Hillary is a considerate and compasionate woman because she is eager on doing things that she thought would be best for America. Woodward said that oftentimes, Hillary thought of the thousands of people they had seen and met during their campaign rallies and trips and rallies and she thought and felt that she and Bill had a responsibility to deal with these people’s and the country’s concerns. In terms of the style in writing thr book, Woodward’s book is well-written and interesting and offers a postive and favorable impression and account of Bill Clinton’s work as President. I even think that the book could convince or persuade some Republicans to vote fo Democrats in the next election for President. In reading this book, the reader will observe that Woodward made a novelistic approach to a political issue because as stated earlier, Wordward was able to show that he obtained information from a variety of sources including getting insider information. I think that the purpose of the book is to show that Woodward has unique access to the inner councils of government, and to show the reader an exciting glimpse of the typically unknown process of governing. I believe that through his work, Woodward was able to show that in his own subtle way, he is capable of creating an indictment of centralized political power. I think that â€Å"The Agenda† is a good example of this method of Woodward. Nevertheless, I also think that there is a problem with the author’s failure to take into account larger concepts and ideas. Since the author’s viewpoint is somewhat narrow, since sometimes he is looking down into the details, he tends to miss the big picture. I think that the big picture is how insignificant Clinton’s bill was. Moreover, the author mainly centered on Bill’s failures but doesnt put the appropriate emphasis on the plan’s conclusion: President Clinton got his economic plan passed eventually despite of the odds against him and numerous gaffes, a budget that could be considered as equally important as the 1981 Reagan plan, was passed. Lastly, I think that Woodward must have done o a better job explaining how hard and complex it is to get things accomplished and fulfilled in Washington, particularly legislation that is viewed as damaging well-established and ingrained interests and introduced by a freshman administration. # Reference Woodward,B. (1995). The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House. Pocket.

The opening sequence of the Simpsons Essay Example for Free

The opening sequence of the Simpsons Essay Analyse the opening sequence of the Simpsons. How does the opening sequence appeal to a variety of age groups? Is this a successful title sequence? Matt Groening changed television forever when he brought animation back to primetime with this immortal nuclear family. It was first screened on 14th January 1990 and it has become one of the worlds most famous cartoon as it always captured a regular audience of 24 million each week. It has also established itself as an award-winning international pop culture phenomenon. It is the longest-running sitcom of all time and it is also one of the most literate television programs on the air. It contains many references to subject matter and scholars from various academic fields. It also contains over a hundred instances of mathematic ranging from arithmetic to geometry to calculus. Most episodes of The Simpsons contain significant math that relates to material we normally cover in our classes. The programmer is also an ideal source of fun. The show is funny with bad language and offensive things! At the opening sequence the Simpsons appear out of clouds, and then it shows us Homer in the Nuclear Power Plant and after that throws the little piece of fuel out of the car on his way home. Secondly it shows us Bart writing on the skating board and when bill rings he jumps out of the school skating on air and then crosses the traffic. Thirdly it shows us the mother, Marge Simpson doing her shopping and it also shows us that Maggie got scanned. After that Lisa Simpson comes up in her music class playing her saxophone and also she got kicked out of the class. The sequence ends in a funny way as the whole family sets on sofa watching T.V. The town of Springfield is full of places that the Simpsons family go and which most of the scenes occur. The Nuclear Power Plant is where Homer Simpson works in as the safety inspector. The school where Bart Simpson does his detention and writes silly quotes on the board with the chalk, For example: No one wants to hear about my sciatica, I cant see dead people, I did not win the Nobel Fart Prize, I have neither been there nor done that, etc The music store is where Lisa goes and looks for some music equipment as she is fascinated by music equipments and musicians. She is also in the school music team and a saxophonist. T.V store in which Bart like to miss around as he is known as a naughty boy! The shopping centre which Marge Simpson goes with Maggie does her shopping for her family and buys food We learn that Homer works in a nuclear power station in which he makes radioactive metals. He drops it while he was on his way home which means that he is careless and stupid! He nearly got ran over by a car which means he is clumsy and got a slow reflex action. We also learn that he is a slacker who is completely unqualified for his job. We also learn that he is a pig when it comes to food!! Marge Simpson doesnt appear a lot in the opening sequence as she only appears twice. First time is when she was shopping with little Maggie and funnily Maggie got scanned. The second time she appeared was when the whole family gathered around the sofa to watch T.V. which means that she is a good mother and she is looking after her familys needs. Bart Simpson is simply a rule breaker, he always gets in trouble and he stays at school to do detention and he writes some silly words on the board, e.g. I will not encourage others to fly, I will not fake my way through life, I will not sell my kidney on eBay. He also appears when he was skating, and when he crossed the street and almost got hit by a car. He is a poor student who enjoys comic books and television and hates girls. Lisa Simpson only appeared once when she was playing her saxophone in the band and she didnt follow the note and so she got sent off. So she is kind of a role breaker as well but she is not as bad as her brother! She can be described as an excellent student who is completely the opposite of Bart except they both enjoy violent cartoons. The cartoon shows the family always gets in little arguments. It also shows that its impossible to be good all the time. E.g. when theyre eating at home they use no table manners and when they go to church they try to be like normal families. There are also times in the show when they change from comedy and give a meaningful message about family values, or friendship, etc.. There are also some funny situations where they cant take the correct action at the beginning of the problem but they manage to get through it by the end of the show. Here is a little description of each character of the Simpsons family: Homer Simpson is a man who can only be described in one word overachieving. For a man with no brain, athletic, logical, social, or any other kind of skills, he has done a lot, including having three successful kids, a loving wife, and a steady job as the safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. He is also an alcoholic!!! Marge Simpson is the glue that holds the Simpsons together. Without her continuous cleaning, scrubbing, mopping, the family would fall apart. Marge is always there to keep her husband in check, motivate Bart, cheer up Lisa, and just keep Maggie satisfied. She is very proud of her husband and she also has strong relations with her sisters. Bart Simpson is, first and foremost, a rebel. He is well-known across the city as a troublemaker and an underachiever, calling in prank calls, working in burlesque houses, etc However he got a sense of humour as he always cracking jokes and always up for an adventure. Lisa Simpson is straight student, a brilliant saxophonist, and an amateur philosopher. She is full of great thoughts and talents. She is always happy with herself. She is only 8; however she cant wait for collage. Maggie Simpson is a silent staple in the Simpsons family. She is always seen with the family, never speaking, but always secretly thinking. Bart Simpson writes on the blackboard. The writing changes every title sequence and it actually shows us what Bart does in his everyday life. E.g. I will not sell my kidney on e-bay, this quote tells us that Bart tried to sell his kidney on the Internet. The opening sequence also tells us that Bart is usually misunderstood. Wrongly pegged as an underachiever and troublemaker as he is always in detention. It also tells us that he is careless and doesnt care about his life or doesnt look out for dangerous things such as when he crossed the road and almost got hit by a car, this is also tells us that he is a bit stupid!! Homer Simpson was doing his little experiment on the Nuclear Power Plant with the radioactive piece of fuel and then it went in his hood and then he throws it out of the car. This tells us that he only cares about food because when teatime came he left his job in a hurry and that piece of fuel went in his hood and then he didnt recognise that it was a radioactive thing when he threw it out of the car window which tells us that he is very careless. We also saw Lisa in the music class playing her saxophone and she the teacher sent her out because she didnt follow the note and went on playing her own note, the funny bit was when she kept on playing with the saxophone after the teacher sent her off. It sounded like she was just trying to get the teachers off. Another funny situation when Marge Simpson was shopping and Maggie wondered off and got scanned by the machine and then she suddenly appeared at one of the bags on the trolley. And finally when the whole family sat on the sofa watching T.V which shows us how important T.V is in their life. Its also funny when they were rushing to sit on the sofa and then they crashed and fell on the floor I think the opening sequence suits every age-group. E.g. when Bart Simpson was in detention and he was writing his quotes on the blackboard I will not sell my kidney on eBay, they are laughing at me, not with me, garlic gum is not funny, I will not Xerox my butt, I will not do that thing with my tongue all these things appeal to the teen-agers in which it grabs the people in my age group to watch The Simpsons. Another example, little kids like 3-6 years old might like Maggie Simpson as she does some funny moves, like when she wandered of her mum, or when she feeds the dog. She also wandered the town of Springfield all by herself, and shes shot Springfields richest man because he attempted to steal her lollipop!!! She also tries to walk without falling which the younger kids might like to see. Here comes the most interesting part of all, the Simpson cartoon was also very successful in grabbing the eldest attention. The Simpsons makes the family sit on the sofa together watching the Simpson which rarely happens in our lives as older people usually watch shows and films which younger children dont see. and they dont watch cartoons either. However Matt Groening had the ability to make a cartoon which parents like to watch. Families and older people like to watch the Simpsons because it discusses problems in our lives sometimes and it shows us the argument between the family and how they solve it. It also shows us the father telling something to his son like giving him advice; he is also very funny and sometimes cracks jokes and acts funnily. Also Mr. Groening was successful to make something to show that the mothers always play the most important part in the family. Therefore he created the perfect character of all, the mother, Marge Simpson; she is like the glue that holds the Simpsons together. Without her constant cleaning, scrubbing, mopping, and gentle nagging the family would fall apart. Marge always keeps her husband in check, motivate Bart, cheer up Lisa or keep Maggi satisfied. She stands up against cartoon violence and she can also be trusted in taking ethical decisions.

Understanding The Key Characteristics Of A Profession

Understanding The Key Characteristics Of A Profession A profession means a group of people that are specialised in a particular occupation. For example, an individual that is a doctor can be specialised in children, therefore their occupation would be called paediatricians. Profession consists of professionals that have the same interest, skills based on theoretical knowledge. Therefore it is important that professionals should have extensive period of education to influence the competency of their profession. Hodson and Sullivan (2005, p. 258) implies that profession is a high status and knowledge-based occupation that is characterised by the Hallmarks of a profession. The hallmarks of profession suggest profession is split into 4 main components that are based on abstract, specialized knowledge, autonomy, Authority over subordinate occupational groups and a certain degree of altruism. Specialized knowledge consists of theoretical, practical and techniques. The theoretical knowledge would focus on theoretical guidelines as to what is expected by professionals. In relations to social work, theoretical knowledge is a crucial element to their profession as putting theory into practice; it helps socials workers develop to think critically and analytically. Oke (2008) suggest that one way of linking theory into practice is known as issue-based approach to learning (IBL). IBL encourages meaningful learning as for example, processing information from a source can help encourages a reflexive process of thinking as it explore further on about ideas and speculate in ways you can put the theories into practice. By means of social workers applying the IBL effectively, it would enhance social workers to work proactively as they would be capable of empowering strategies support the needs and wishes of the service users. The competence of knowledge is a key to profession as Payne (2005 p. 185) suggests professionalism, associated with increasing organisation alongside increasing knowledge and power. Therefore, this may link to entry of qualification, the higher the qualification the more competent on their understanding of putting theories into practice. Learning new information constantly develops the self-knowledge and enables to go in-depth of understanding. Harris (2003 pp.133-4) argued that social work training helps social workers become a competent and accountable professionals. This may be a combination of educational institution and social work agencies. The Central Council for Education and Training in Social work (CCETSW) supported the training scheme financially through the central government. Before the mid-1980s when the CCETSW introduced the certificate in Social Services (CSS), the tendency was students that obtained the CSS were more likely to become social workers. Higham (2006, p. 16) argued that this meant people that worked within social care didnt fit in with the framework with social workers in the 1970s. This is because obtaining the qualification became demanding between social work and social care, therefore the CCETSW was worried if there was suitable amount of training resources available for social care staff that was desired to become a qualified social worker. Corresponding to Horner (2009 p.94 -5), he signifi ed that since the emergence of the Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) in 1989 there has been an increase of social workers. This could relate to the discontinued of the CSS qualification in 1992 ended and the start of training courses including worked-based vocational qualification emerged such as National Vocational Qualification (NVQs). In 1992 the National Standards for Training and Development introduced the Worked-based vocational qualification which was made with a difference as there was no set curriculum, specified programmes or examination- it was assessment based. Before there were social care workers that were already employed but did not achieve a formal qualification as it was not regarded at that time. Higham (2006) argued that statistics shows in the year 2000 around 80% of the workforce didnt not obtain a qualification or had qualification that was not related to their occupation. This shows there was lack of competency within social care professions which may have compe lled issues associated with inadequacy of reporting and recording procedures, maintaining confidentiality, accuracy of information and taking into account of the current policies and procedures. The DipSW does not exist any longer; people that are training to become social workers would now need The Social Work degree course to become a qualified social worker. Primarily, the formalisation of training based on social work emerged from social care. Traditionally, society viewed social work and social care as a synonymous profession. Steadily social work had developed recognition in relation to their profession which had gained them distinctive characteristics than the social care profession. However, both professions overlap each other and form a relationship together to facilitate people with their quality of life. Autonomy is another part of a profession according to the four hallmarks. It is common that professionals have a tendency to control their own affairs based on their professional skills and knowledge. Social work values autonomy in terms of decision making. For example, social workers may demand autonomy in terms of building a relationship with the service users more than the heavy caseloads they may encounter as the inequitable caseloads can prevent social workers from tackling effectively the issues that may lead to risk upon service users. Roe (2006, p.15) report emphasises with social workers because he argues that they are constrained by line management arrangements that require escalation of decision making up a chain of command in order to manage budgets or risk. This argues that social workers are refrained from professional autonomy as the result of pressure of their line management; this suggest that line managements main priority in terms of decision making is to insure a ppropriate decision making takes place (taking into consideration manageable budgets and the prevention against risk towards service user). Others may argue that there is lack of professional autonomy within social work because of the restriction from the public and within the service demands. Social workers are perceived as authorised professionals that are entitled to autonomous decision making in order to meet the needs of service users; Harkness and Kadushin (2002, p 468) suggest that professional autonomy is about having responsibilities to themselves and the services they offer. Therefore, if there was a deficiency of autonomy within the social workers, this would strongly broad services and social workers would consequently feel greater pressure from the public and other agencies of delivering their full potential due to the boundaries of what they may encounter. An issue that may arise for a social worker is it acceptable to follow their instinct to protect and meet the need s of the service user, even though it may be unacceptable within the rules and regulations of the profession. Sustaining autonomy in a social work profession is imperative as it promotes social workers to actively engage with other multi- agency professionals which would boost their self-confidence and helped them reach their full potential. In relation to a degree of altruism, there are codes of ethics for professionals within any occupation that are put in place for professionals to seek guidance through competency, practice and acknowledging the complexity of situations. In other words, it is recognised as a systematic framework as to what is ethically acceptable. On the other hand, code of ethics within professionals offers guidance for every believable situation, which means it can be perceived as generic and not the use of specific rules. Despite the codes of ethics being generic, it plays a role for the social work provision. The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) introduced the codes of ethics for social work, values and principles that established the five main key principles such as human dignity and worth, social justice, service to humanity, integrity and competence; they were put in place to ensure that in relations to conflicts and disclosure is honest, fair and accurate. Also to make sure profess ionals are compliant with the legislations and regulations. Despite, codes of ethics can be misinterpreted or ignored by professionals; not only may the risk of disciplinary action, but this as a result put the service users at risk. However, it is important within the social work profession for social workers to make mature decision as well as understanding and taking into account the value of issues that social workers may face. It is crucial for professionals to adopt the knowledge and skills gained through experience and qualifications in order transfer the skills achieved to help promote new roles and approaches to meeting the needs of the service users. Within a profession there are codes of practice which is expected by employees to follow and put into practice; it usually consists of the outlines of behaviour. The significance of the codes of practice would ensure high standards of their job roles are being met. This would not only benefit the profession as a whole but also the employees, employers and the wider society. Comparison to the social work profession, they have a similar concept as a range of organisations had been put in place to ensure that it promotes high standards within the profession. To maintain the assurance, regulation within the service (including education and training) and matters of misconduct was a high priority according to the UK government. These organisations included The Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2000 (SCIE), The Commission for Social Care Inspection, 2004 (CSCI), The General Social Care Council, 2003 (GSCC) and Skills for Care this was known as the big four Horner (2009, p 118). Each of regulation has their own purpose to ensure high standards of care were priority. The SCIE main responsibility is to ensure that social care professionals are able to identify and widen knowledge about good practice such as guidance and developing professional standards. The CSCI main duty is ensure that inspection and monitoring services within the health and social care services were affirmative quality of protecting service users or patients from potential risk of the service users or patients needs. Moreover, The GSCC regulates social workers including social care professionals by situating them onto a register. The register ensures only professionals with the required qualification and adhered the occupational standards are genuine to working with service users especially the vulnerable. Furthermore, the Skills for Care regulate the training processes within the social sector. This may include developing qualifications and assessing the social sector training needs to ensure co mpetency within knowledge is constant throughout the training that is supplied to the social care and social work professionals. Overall, the regulatory frameworks may have different missions but they all form a relationship that supports and promotes quality standards to the staffs, services and training within the social care provision. Regulations are important within a profession to ensure professionals are fulfilling the roles satisfactory and sensitively according to the public interest. It is important that the Social work profession should be able to identify when the standards are to some extent failing, it should take instant action as it is their responsibility as a profession to take the leading role in professional governance. This will prevent drastic dilemmas which can damage the profession status. To conclude, to an extent social work can be said to be a professional as compare to a profession with a social work profession there are similarities. In relation to knowledge, the social work professionals would have some degree of theoretical knowledge. For example, according to Payne the power of professionalism involves the competence through knowledge. This may argue that social workers who obtained a social work degree would have higher qualification alongside increasing knowledge and authority as they more understanding of putting theoretical claims into practice. In relation to training profession require training to keep up to date with current skills, legislations and knowledge so that they can provide a better service to their clients. Social work profession has a history of different approaches to training and development to a point of needed a degree instead of a diploma to become a social worker. Professional autonomy within profession is about professionals dealing wi th their own affairs. Corresponding, social work is between decision-making and taking into consideration ethical views as to what is acceptable. To a degree of altruism professionals would seek guidance through competency, experiences and understanding complexity of dilemmas. This concept is the same factor for a social work profession as social workers would need to follow their code of practice coherently. To ensure that the profession is meeting the codes of practice, regulation is maintained through organisations including the SCIE, CSCI, GSCC and Skills for care. In general, social work can be recognised as a profession. Furthermore, throughout the years Social work profession reputation has been damage to extent as qualified social workers leaving the profession as they feel it is demanding profession.

Peace Education :: Essays Papers

Peace Education Peace is not a new concept. People have been studying peace ever since there was conflict, loss, and the realization that we take peaceful times for granted. Peace education, as in peace taught in schools, on the other hand, has been forming mostly over the past three decades. There are several aspects of peace education that are essential knowledge when going to teach peace. In order for peace education to happen the teacher needs to take into consideration the child’s personal history, the environment provided for learning, definitions of peace, the criticism of peace education, the rationale for peace education, the skills, knowledge, and attitudes it aims to develop, and how it relates to the general peace movement. Peace research began as a response to World War II and the publics concern about a nuclear war. It started as a social science that looked at the problems of war in a systematic way as well as the quest for peace. These studies began in France at the Insititute Francais de Polaemologie and in a few graduate programs in the United States, such as Stanford, Northwestern and Yale. It focused primarily on foreign policy changes in a hope to prevent a World War III. The critics agreed that there needed to be peace research, but they believed it needed to be broadened. As it stood, peace research consisted of researching conflict not peace, and problems not the solutions. Over time these criticisms grew until the 1960s when they were coupled with the Third World Liberation movements, which created small scale revolutions and mounted up to the Indochina war. This was a turning point in peace research. Researchers began focusing on â€Å"positive peace† instead of reactionary peace. I n 1966, John Galtung established the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO). Shortly after the establishment of PRIO, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) opened. These institutes remain to this day reputable and thoroughly used by scholars. In the United States, the peace research movement was taking form through colleges by publishing scholarly journals, such as the Journal of Conflict Resolution at Swarthmore College. The end of the 1960s marked another shift in peace research. â€Å"We must gather together all the elements of this new world and organize tem into a science of peace.† (Montessori, 31) Peace science, as it was now deemed, was shifting from physical violence and war towards structural violence, such as capitalism, racism, colonialism, and imperialism.

Crying Souls in The Slave Dancer :: Slave Dancer Essays

Crying Souls in The Slave Dancer It all began in the cold month of January, 1840, in a town familiar to many; New Orleans. Fog laid a heavy blanket on the streets and alleyways of the city. Rain steadily engulfed the seaside locality, and the sound of drunken riverboat men and the slaves celebrating their terrible festivities surrounded the area. New Orleans was the location where Jessie Bollier lived, and 'tis the place where he was captured on that dark January evening. Jessie then found himself aboard The Moonlight, the slaver with its towering sails and masts, cabins and storage space under the deck. For these were places where Jessie had to 'dance the slaves' and where the captain and crew would spend many weeks living in fear of the slaves, of each other, and of getting caught. The story then briefly took the ship's crew and captain to Whydah in the Bight of Benin, the rugged coasts of Africa, where the multitudes of slaves were captured and mistreated. They then made their way across the Atlantic once again to land in the Gulf of Mexico. The Moonlight was anchored there and stayed because it was here where the ship submerged. Two passengers then washed up to the shores of Mississippi where Jessie and Ras meet Daniel, their soon to be friend. Finally, the story concludes in the place it began...the clamoring streets of New Orleans. The Slave Dancer is written in first person point of view, through Jessie's eyes, and projects a depressing, melancholy mood. It is the tragic song of the slaves. The hero of the story is the thirteen year old boy, Jessie Bollier. "He's a fearful runt," comments Captain Cawthorne. He is brought on board the slaver to make the slaves dance, to keep them healthy. Jessie innocent and does not fully understand his purpose. "My life h ad turned upside down. My friend was a man who pressganged me. I disliked the man who befriended me." Jessie does not realize what is going on within him. He does not realize that these men, these women, and children are slaves...are owned. He does not perceive the cruel treatment of the slaves, but does not know why. Jessie himself puts it best, "My stomach rebelled." The antagonist is surprisingly Jessie, but after the voyage. He went through many changes after the excursion. "At first, I made a promise to myself: I would do nothing that was connected with the use of slaves.

hermes essay :: essays research papers

John smith  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Homeric Hymn Essay In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, the author give his audience a parable showing that through forgiveness and communication, two people can settle an argument and remain close friends.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning of the story, Hermes plots to steal his half-brother’s cattle. He carries out his deed, working carefully to conceal the identity of the thief. When he got home, he climbed into his cradle and acted like a feeble baby. His mother, Maia, saw the young child and let him know that she knew he had been up to no good. Hermes assured her that he was to be the God of thievery and that he would win honor and riches for them both among the Olympian gods. Apollo, after figuring out who the true thief was accused Hermes of the crime. Since Hermes would not admit to it, Apollo sought justice from their father Zeus. He took the child before the great god and enlightened him of his side of the story. Zeus then asked the infant what he had to say and the young one again lied about his involvement of the case. Zeus satisfies Apollo by telling Hermes to lead them to the cattle. Hermes was pleased because it appeared that he had escaped punishment from the g reat God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Hermes led Apollo to his cattle, the two reconcile their differences. Hermes picked up the lyre that he had made from the tortoise and played a song so well that Apollo exclaimed that he would give fifty cows for Hermes skill at playing the instrument. In exchange for the skill, Apollo promised Hermes that he would become the messenger of the gods and that he and his mother would have prominence among the immortals.

Whats Eating Gilbert Grape

In my opinion the three main themes are marginalization, tolerance of difference and the urban/rural divide. Gilbert’s mother is obese and his brother, Arnie, has a brain disorder. However, Arnie is more accepted by the town and is not frowned upon like his mother. His mum has not left the house in seven years because of how ashamed she is of herself. She says so to Gilbert: ‘I know what a burden I am. I know that you are ashamed of me. I never meant to be like this. I never wanted to be a joke. † At the beginning of the film Gilbert is ashamed of his mother and describes her as a â€Å"beached whale. His view changes towards the end of the film when his mother goes to get Arnie from the police station. When she dies he wants to make sure that she is not a â€Å"joke. † So instead of people lifting her out with a crane he burns the house down. There is a clear urban/ rural divide. Gilbert works in a very small grocery store called Lamson’s Grocery an d just outside Endora there is a huge supermarket called FoodLand. At the beginning of the film he says â€Å"Lamson’s Grocery is where I work and miles out of town on the interstate, there’s Foodland†¦. where everyone else shops. Gilbert is trapped in Endora because of his responsibilities; his whole family counts on him. Whenever they need something done they always call him, even with all his responsibilities his family are constantly telling him to â€Å"do better. † It is very clear he wants to leave Endora because he says at the beginning of the film that his older brother managed to â€Å"get away, † at this point he sounds disappointed that he didn’t manage to get away. Endora is very small, the streets are never busy and nothing exciting ever happens. According to Gilbert, â€Å"Living in Endora is like dancing to no music. † Whats Eating Gilbert Grape In my opinion the three main themes are marginalization, tolerance of difference and the urban/rural divide. Gilbert’s mother is obese and his brother, Arnie, has a brain disorder. However, Arnie is more accepted by the town and is not frowned upon like his mother. His mum has not left the house in seven years because of how ashamed she is of herself. She says so to Gilbert: ‘I know what a burden I am. I know that you are ashamed of me. I never meant to be like this. I never wanted to be a joke. † At the beginning of the film Gilbert is ashamed of his mother and describes her as a â€Å"beached whale. His view changes towards the end of the film when his mother goes to get Arnie from the police station. When she dies he wants to make sure that she is not a â€Å"joke. † So instead of people lifting her out with a crane he burns the house down. There is a clear urban/ rural divide. Gilbert works in a very small grocery store called Lamson’s Grocery an d just outside Endora there is a huge supermarket called FoodLand. At the beginning of the film he says â€Å"Lamson’s Grocery is where I work and miles out of town on the interstate, there’s Foodland†¦. where everyone else shops. Gilbert is trapped in Endora because of his responsibilities; his whole family counts on him. Whenever they need something done they always call him, even with all his responsibilities his family are constantly telling him to â€Å"do better. † It is very clear he wants to leave Endora because he says at the beginning of the film that his older brother managed to â€Å"get away, † at this point he sounds disappointed that he didn’t manage to get away. Endora is very small, the streets are never busy and nothing exciting ever happens. According to Gilbert, â€Å"Living in Endora is like dancing to no music. †