African Short Story + Questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

African Short Story + Questions - Coursework Example At the end of the story, the young boy walks to the bend of the river and forces himself to vomit the handful of grapes he has consumed. This is symbolic of his loss of innocence with regard to the grandfather whom he has hitherto idolized and loved wholeheartedly. The dates, which the boy considers to rightfully belong to Masood, have been given to the boy by his grandfather. They have come to signify the payment of a debt. This leaves a bad taste in the sensitive boy’s mouth. He vomits the dates to distance himself from his grandfather’s actions. The boy, in the innocence of his youth, takes things at face value. He obviously adores and idolizes his grandfather, considering him to be a â€Å"giant† among men. His sense of identity is centered round the mosque and in relation to his grandfather – the approval of the imam and that of his grandfather are equally important to him. He is a lover of nature, and empathizes with Masood’s concern for the date trees. He is sympathetic to the poor man’s plight. The grandfather is an avaricious, ruthless man, whose rise in social position has been at the cost of his humanity. He is obviously a powerful man in the community. His hypocrisy is evident in his reciting of his prayers and his approval of his grandson’s knowledge of the Koran, while simultaneously holding Masood in the vice of debt. He considers land to be the symbol of power and determinedly covets the little Masood still owns. He is jealous of Masood’s inherited wealth. Masood is a man who loves the land which he has inherited. His concern for nature is evident in his admonition to the boy, â€Å"Be careful you dont cut the heart of the palm.† Despite being helpless to overcome the debt and poverty, he sings and laughs and takes delight in life. His attachment to his ancestral land is deep, and is not just in terms of material

Business Law exam 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Law exam 1 - Essay Example Various studies have shown that most people do not have sufficient knowledge about employment law; as a result they are disadvantaged in the employment environment especially in an event of dispute (Moran 13). Also, most people in the workforce do not understand their rights and in most cases act against their own self interest based on insufficient information. Jill Johansen’s scenario is one of many others that demonstrate how employees may be short-changed or disadvantaged in an event of dispute between the employers and employees. The scenario presented aptly shows that Johansen was short- changed and it is imperative that she seek damages and remedies. In search of remedies and damages, Johansen must prove labor and employment laws relating to her situation. This is crucial because US state and federal labor and employment laws provides for employee’s rights and how employer and employee should relate, as well as the appropriate manner of terminating their relationship and remedies and damages involved. Besides, Johansen must prove some elements of proof relating to her situation. It is advisable that the plaintiff must prove elements of proof so as to win suits (Moran 55). Since Johansen seeks to be awarded remedies and damages she must prove the following elements: the defendant (employer) did not originally or subsequently divulge the full description of the job; the defendant, in a calculative manner included client escort service as part of her job after two months of the plaintiff contract; the additional job requirement is told to her without seeking her approval regarding that job requirement. Each of these elements raises concerns on the veering off from the fundamental elements of the written contract between Johansen and her employer, a situation that seems to act against the interest of Johansen but

Teen Pregnancy Essay Example for Free

Teen Pregnancy Essay Media does not give a realistic image of Teen Pregnancy In the United States, teenage pregnancy has become a common occurrence with three out of ten girls getting pregnant before the age of twenty (Dooley). Most young teenagers feel as if conception will never come from their scandalous deeds but, in fact, it happens more often than what they think. The increasing media coverage on television programming, such as 16 and Pregnant and the movie, Juno, is showing the young adolescents, it is okay to be pregnant. The series 16 and Pregnant and the movie Juno, are both based upon teenagers getting pregnant and going through the television reality of having a child. Both the television show and move are examples of the Medias image of teen pregnancy. Some individuals believe that these shows and movies are not a realistic image of pregnancy. Television Media is not showing the real emotional aspects of putting a baby up for adoption, they are not showing the struggles a single mother actually goes through and they are portraying baby bumps as if they were fashion accessory. In the television series 16 and Pregnant, one of the teenagers decides to give their baby up for adoption. In the series, the media doesn’t provide the viewers with a twenty-four-seven base image, of her going through each of the steps, to give up the baby. What they show is different clips of the teenager, which provide some of her experience. People believe that this show, 16 and Pregnant, has given young teenagers who are sexually active and are not using protection, a good reality check. That is not what they are doing though, what they are doing is showing it is okay to just give up their child as a way out, showing it is easy to just give up their child and live happily ever after. Even in the movie Juno, the main star becomes pregnant and at first wants to do an abortion but then quickly changes her mind and decides to give the baby up for adoption, when being in the abortion clinic was more like being in a tattoo parlor. The teenage girl, in the movie, looks in a newspaper and finds a random family, with no emotions at all; and decides that is the family her baby is going to. â€Å"You realize it [Juno] is just a superior romantic comedy that bears no relationship to reality† (Horin). Giving up a baby for adoption is a lot harder than it has been shown on television. My friend went through giving her daughter up for adoption; she was also a teen mother. Not once did her experience look anything like the show 16 and Pregnant or the movie Juno, that is because, her experience was reality. During her pregnancy, she had a hard time juggling school and going to and from Dr Appointments. My friend’s family wasn’t supportive of her decisions, like the families on television. She was actually in the pregnancy alone, the father of the baby was not there for moral support, nor was her family there. She had to provide DNA testing to find the father of the baby to make sure he would sign off all rights to her daughter, and then she had to pick out a family that the adoption clinic provided. Adoption is an all out emotional experience, not once does a young individual feel no emotions, to such a enormous life changing decision. Once the decision is decided and the paper work is complete, there is no going back. Another reason that television media doesn’t show a realistic image of teen pregnancy is because they mislead what a single mother is. When a young individual is still in high school and they get pregnant there is no guarantee that they will still be allowed to attend the high school they are currently going to. As a single parent, they will need to have a high school diploma, that way they can get a career, to be able to support a child alone. Now a day, even with no college education it is simply hard to find a good job. As a single parent there is no proof that their child’s father or child’s mother will play the role they are supposed to. In my personal situation I got pregnant at the age of 18 and I had my daughter when I was 19 years old; I didn’t get my GED until I was 20 years old. As a single mother it is the hardest job I believe I will have to face. When I was pregnant I watched the movie Juno and the show 16 and Pregnant, I thought being a parent was going to be easy. When my daughter was 4months, her father took himself out of our lives. I do not have any information on his whereabouts. I filed child support, believing that he would have to pay, I was wrong. Being a single mother isn’t as easy as it is described on television. Where a single mother files child support and two weeks later they are receiving payments from the father. I have been fighting with child support for over a year to get my child’s father to pay child support. Every situation is not going to be like reality television where everything works out perfectly and everyone lives happily ever after. There is going to be hard times about relationships, money, and family issues. Life, they [teens] need to know, is no Hollywood movie (Horin). Baby bumps have become a huge trend in fashion news. When attending a store and standing in the checkout line, individuals usually see magazines like, â€Å"OK! † and â€Å"People,† gossiping about who is pregnant and about their baby bump. Media provides an image of pregnancy as a fashion accessory because they constantly talk about who is pregnant and how beautiful they are with a baby bump. When young adolescents see the media image of pregnancy they believe that being pregnant is just a way to become beautiful and famous. For example, the television series, 16 and Pregnant gives young adolescent the image of baby bumps being a fashion accessory. The television series 16 and pregnant is about six pregnant teenagers who go through every day struggles, during pregnancy and even after they have had the baby. This show is supposed to make young adolescents become more aware of what they will have to go through if they become pregnant. Little does the media know, the image that a young individual gets is, they can become pregnant and become famous. Jill Palomo explained in an article: â€Å"I have witnessed adolescent girls saying statements like â€Å"If only I was pregnant, I could be famous† or â€Å"MTV doesnt make having a baby as a teenager look too hard. † It is sad that instead of the initial goal, being to show teenagers the harsh reality of pregnancy, it has now turned glamorous. † Despite how anyone feels on the concern, teen pregnancy has multiple consequences that the television media does not portray. Adoption is an answer to get their way out of not raising a child but doesn’t mean they will be emotionally okay with their decision the rest of their life. Even if a teenager decides they are going to keep the baby, there is no guarantee the father or family will be there to help raise that child and they will then have to learn to be a single mother. A young individual should not get pregnant just because it is a fashion trend with the media. I wouldn’t be the one to believe that television is a great way to get an image of the experience of being a parent. I have watched the television shows and movies about teen pregnancies, I am convinced they have everything handed them, and the meida puts off that it is okay to be a teenage mom. My knowledge comes from the real life version of being a young single mother.

Mekong River Upstream Privileges And Downstream Threat Environmental Sciences Essay

Mekong River Upstream Privileges And Downstream Threat Environmental Sciences Essay The Mekong River (Langcang Jiang) is located in Southeast Asia, and it is considered as the seventh largest river in the world in terms of discharge and the tenth longest river in terms of length. Its origin is at Tibet Plateau, Yunnan Province, China, then flowing 4200 kilometers through Myanmar, Laos PDR, Thailand, Cambodia, and finally through the extensive delta in Vietnam into South China Sea. The Mekong basin contains full of natural resources including fishes and other aquatic diversities living in that region. The body of river is divided into two parts. First, the upstream part includes its origin in Tibet Plateau belongs to China and Myanmar and the downstream part is belonging to Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The study reported that the Mekong River would benefit to hydropower production, expansion of irrigated land, reduction of the threat of flooding in the delta region, natural resources and the extension of navigability of the river as far as northern Laos. Th e catchment is resource rich and is represented as largely under-utilized. It also lies with a geopolitical region that benefit to riparian states in terms of politic, economic and environment development. Given this, the Mekong stands out as one of Southeast Asias most pressing and large scale resource and environmental management concerns. Moreover, the riparian states importantly depend on the Mekong River due to its abundance of resources; as a result, they ultimately formed a committee to maintain Mekong river regime. That is Mekong Committee in 1957. From this time, the principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedure specifically concerns with development of Mekongs resource have been maintained and changed through this regime. Inter-state conflict vis-à  -vis the use of the Mekong Rivers water resources emerged for the first time in the early 1990s. The dispute was employed as leverage in a disagreement between Thailand and Vietnam over the fair and equitable utilizat ion of the Mekongs water resources. At a deeper level, it reflected broader concern regarding strategic shifts throughout Southeast Asia and in Thai-Vietnamese relation following the peaceful conclusion of the cold war. The device of the committee is to coordinate the lower Mekong basin (Mekong Committee) and designed to facilitate the use of the Mekongs resource since 1957. In 1995, a new arrangement was established that Mekong River Commission (MRC) was renewed to deal with the management or the issues of sovereignty, non-interference and condition of interdependent. The Mekong River Commission consists of the lower basin countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Moreover, among the riparian states of Mekong basin, China is the most upstream country and a political and economic superpower in the region. China has often been considered to exhibit unilateral behavior toward the lower Mekong River riparian. MRC is not the only institution in the Mekong Basin, many oth er mechanisms such as the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) which includes China as a major partner was agreed to establish in 1992. The sub-region is covering 2.30 million square kilometers and feeds around 250 million head of total population. There are four international rivers within this sub-region, namely, the Greater Mekong River, Irrawady River, Yuanjiang-Honghe (Red) River and Nujiang-Salween River. All of the four rivers flow from Yunnan Province into respective Mainland Southeast Asian Countries. Among them, the three rivers of Mekong, Irrawady and Yuanjiang-Honghe are with great potentials for water transport development. These rivers could become water passage and transport network connecting Chinas Yunnan Province with the five Mainland Southeast Asian countries by joint cooperation and development. In following section, I will explain the main issue in Mekong River Basin Upstream privilege, downstream threat, and some mechanisms to deal with this complex issue. Upstream Threat The upstream countries are considered as China, Myanmar and Lao PDR in Mekong River Basin. They claim resources and development in their occupied areas in upper Mekong Basin. As a matter of fact, most of the riparian states try to extract as much as benefits as they can such as dam development, hydro power plan, energy project and navigation or passageway since the Mekong River is regarded as one of the mainly rich in resources for those purposes. Therefore, the country put much attention on development in Mekong Region. Of course, among the upstream states and all the riparian countries, China emerges as the most powerful state, and it is also the super power in the world in term of economy and more likely in the future the military super power. The industrialization of Chinas economy from agriculture base, it needs many factors to improve its economy such as electricity as the main part, raw materials, transportation, tradeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Moreover, as a strong economy in Mekong reg ion, China acts unilaterally in relation to development of dam. China adopted two approaches to ASEAN countries especially in Mekong River Basin. Beside this, it projected many plans for dam development to transfer energy to Chinese industries consumption and navigation. The first approach is non-cooperation, meaning it develops its own plans by itself without negotiation with other sovereign countries in Mekong River region. However, the downstream see it as a threat because the development might change the natural flow of river. Sometimes, it may cause the serious flood in rainy season and drought in dry season in the lower countries such as Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Therefore, the downstream countries try to get China in negotiation in order to make better use of Mekong River resource and sustainable development in that area. In 1970, Chinese planners began planning a scheme of the mainstream of upper Mekong in Yunnan involving 7-8 dams which can produce the capacity of 15, 550 KW or 17% of Chinas project on power demands (Pech SokhemKengo Sunada, 2008). The second approach is that China has implemented the active engagement with Mekong river shareholders as well as the ASEAN members. It sees the advantages of cooperating with ASEAN countries particularly the downstream countries including Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. In November 2001, Chinese Premier Zhu Rong Ji provided $5 millon for major shoals, rapids, and reefs along the 331 Km Mekong River stretch from China-Myanmar border to Luang Prabang. In addition, China provided fund as well as the technical assistance to downstream for dam development or hydro power plan. Therefore, China plays an active role in investment in regional energy trade in downstream countries. In 2005, Chinese Premier, Wen Jia Bao, promised at 2nd GMS summit, China would like to cooperate with other Mekong members for future energy development and dam plans, and he also laid out Chinas plan for Common prosperity with each other in Mekong region. It tries to foster mutual trust, treat each other with sinc erity to calm down the downstream countries perception to China. All in all, even though China has cooperatively with other upstream and downstream countries, it still serves as China interest in term economy and power. The main threats to downstream are as following (i) dredging of river bed in the upper Langcang Mekong for improving the commercial navigation; (ii) large scale dam plans in Yunnan, China and ambitious dam development; (iii) Cambodias concern over flooding from the flood control measures along Vietnam -Cambodia border; and (iv) Vietnams grave concern over flooding and dry season low flow in the Mekong Delta due to the upstream development and so on. Downstream Impact Previous section, I have mentioned the Chinas acting in international relation with ASEAN states especially in Mekong River Basin. China usually use it sole power to develop many dam projects in order to develop its economy since it now needs much electricity for factories and water to connect from Yunnan province to South East Asia countries. Therefore, China makes change the natural flow of water in Mekong river basin. On the other side, downstream countries including Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are affected by hydropower plant in Mekong basin. Particularly the most affected ones are Cambodia and Vietnam for they are located in lowest part of Mekong River. However, I would like to focus on overall threat to downstream states and effect of water management in Cambodia as a result of upstream unilaterally adopted project on those areas in their country. Actually, countries in downstream states are living in the complex ecosystem. As the Mekong River serves water resources and natural resources and benefit to roughly 60 million people, the people are accordingly affected by eight large dams in Yunnan province, China. More importantly, most of the dam projects of China do not have environmental impact assessment. Sometimes, the negative impacts do not need hundred years to see the environmental deterioration. For instance, hydropower project, Xiaowan, was started in December 2001 and expected to finish in 2012. This dam development is at 292 meter height and considered as the highest dam project in the world; however, the impact on Lao PDR is that it will meet flood in the dry season. Another case in Vietnam, it will cause the serious flooding in Southern part of province. Moreover, the large dam project not only causes the flooding in downstream countries, but also they many incur other crises including ecosystem, aquatic diversities, climate change, uncontrollable flooding, food scarcity, prolong floods and droughts, decrease sedimentation biodivers ities, deforestation, land clearance. Now lets look at some particular impact as following: Destruction of fish and fisheries: flooded in dry season will seriously damage the fish-feeding. Impact on agriculture: 80% of rice production in lower Mekong basin depends on water, silt, nutrient provided by seasonal flooding of Mekong. Flood in dry season will erode and decrease sediment and it affects long-term agricultural yield. IV. Cambodia Challenge: Water Management in Cambodia After getting familiar with upstream and downstream problem, I will elaborate more on Cambodia case. Cambodia is located in downstream countries among riparian states in Mekong River Basin. This location can either give opportunities for Cambodia or threaten the water management in Cambodia. In fact, 85% of agricultural activities in Cambodia, depends on Mekong River flowing from upper stream countries. The benefits which Cambodia can get are that due to potential situation it can absorb many resources such as fish and other aquatic biodiversities that move from upper stream because of changing of water management in those countries. Prior to explaining the water system and challenges that Cambodia face, I would like to describe about brief background of Cambodia. Cambodia is situation in South East Asia and located in latitude between 10o and 15o in North and Longitude between 102o and 108o in East. It covers roughly 181,035 km2 in territory and has total population around 14 million people dispersed in 24 province and 4 cities. The people mostly gather in city of Phnom Penh due to the fact that it is the economic, politic, cultural city of Cambodia. Among total population, 71% are farmers, 21% are employed in service sector and 8% works for industrial sector. Since most of population are doing agricultural activities; therefore, it needs high and systematic water supply to operate this field. The question is that where can Cambodia access the water for supplying its agricultural activities. In fact, Cambodia can access the water from two main sources such as from Mekong River and Great Lake ( Tonle Sap) located in center of the country. During the wet season, water will flood the surrounding areas and especially the water supply from Mekong River Delta and Tonle Sap all in all will direct to Great Lake; as a result, it will lead to the flood. Whenever there is a flood, it will bring the tilt and nutrition to the soil which was flood; therefore, it is useful for agriculture and cultivation. In addition, due to the fact that Cambodia highly depends on water supply from Mekong River; the changes in water flow in Mekong River Basin will accordingly damage the agricultural and cultivating area in Lower Mekong River especially in Cambodia since the 85% of the flow of river is situated in Cambodia. Moreover, there are many causes that can damage to the water supply in Cambodia. First of all, the upper stream countries such as China, Myanmar and Lao PDR developed 14 hydropower plans which can get generate the capacity of 222,600 MW. Since the Upper stream countries developing their dam project particularly in China, it may block the flow the water to run the engine to produce the fulfill the dam process; there will incur irregular flow of water; as a result, the fish resources will decrease due to alternation of ecosystem. Moreover, people will usually depend on fisheries will lack of fish, therefore, their income will accordingly lower. Furthermore, in mid-2006 downstream states agreed to develop 11 dam projects comprising of 2 in Lao PDR, 2 for Thailand, and 2 for Cambodia. As a result of the developing the plans for dam projects for hydropower plans to generate the electricity for local consumption, it is seriously affects the livelihood in Mekong river. That can reduce the quantity of fish supply particular in Cambodia. All in all, due to the plan of dam projects in both of upper and lower stream in Mekong River Basin, the suffer will likely affect the livelihood and species. V. Solution to the problem: Suggestion to the use of GMS As I have mentioned in the previous section about the challenges of downstream of Mekong Basin especially Cambodia which is one of the large stake country in Mekong River Basin, in this section, I will introduce some proposed solutions which suggested by countries in Mekong River as well as external superpower countries call for water protection since the world will be facing the water security in the future if there are not enough mechanisms to manage it. Therefore, in order to make sustainable consumption of Mekong River, every involving state has responsibility to cooperatively work with all the members in Greater Mekong River. If there are not suitable methods or system to control the effective use of Mekong River, it may be in one day damaged, and it will cause serious catastrophe among riparian states particularly downstream countries namely Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam such as flooding in rain season and disastrous drought in dry season in low areas of Mekong Basin. In order to cope with this problem, there are many mechanisms to deal with this issue ranging from strengthening of the role of Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) to the newly established of Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI). In 1992, the concept of Greater Mekong Sub-region was proposed by Asian development bank (ADB) for promoting all involvement of all member states in Mekong River including China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. This regional cooperation is partitioned to promote building relationship among riparian states of Mekong River for express idea platform, negotiation platform, and sharing information platform. It facilitates the cross-boundary negotiation since every member has to share the idea when they want to develop the plant in Mekong Basin. If there is not information sharing from each state; therefore, the state will cause damage of water usage in Mekong River as the fisheries stock availability inside the Mekong River. To this instance, the cooperation is very useful and necessary because state can receive information and take action in prevent the crisis from happening. Thats why it is deemed necessary to strengthen the role of GMS. Beside this, the GMS can includ e all member states especially China which is the most upper stream of the basin since China formerly act unilaterally on its dam projects and power plants in upper stream, which can cause serious damage to lower stream of water use and fisheries stock. Moreover, the effective mechanisms are being used for dealing with any kinds of issue regarding the Mekong River. In brief, we will see the sharing information in regional cooperation will help strengthen the make use of water as well as the resources in Mekong River too. Following the establishment of regional cooperation, Greater Mekong Sub-region, the states in low basin also try to build firm relationship for effective use of the river and help each other for any necessary skill and ability building. In 1995, the states such as Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam initiated the Mekong River Commission (MRC) for regional economic cooperation. In the MRC, each member tries to work together for better use in Mekong River. Moreover, they conduct the meeting every year in order to share the idea and information in term of power plant development and other dam projects that may affect the water flow to lower delta of the river. Furthermore, each member every year meet each other to strengthen more relationship and study on dam project from upper level to lower level of Mekong River. MRC is very useful in term of regional cooperation since 1995 because the states regard as an effective commission for sharing idea in term of water use in the basin. Moreover, in 2009, the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for creating the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) in Waters Day. This creation aims at promoting more tied relationship among member states. There has been much regional cooperation in order to make better use and sustainable development of water and resource in the Mekong River because if there is no maintenance or cooperative work, we will meet the crisis in the future. In conclusion, upstream states lead to many effects on downstream countries in terms of economic, politic, and environment. Therefore, downstream ones call for regional integration among riparian states along Mekong River. Moreover, Mekong River Committee plays significant role in coordinating and promoting cooperation in Mekong River Basin. Many referendums and treaties have been signed in order to ensure the sustainable use of resources and benefits. In addition, Greater Mekong River embraces China to negotiation and cooperation. We will see the role of GMS to solving the internal conflict in Mekong River.

The Story I Was Made To Tell :: Personal Narrative Depression Papers

The Story I Was Made To Tell This is the story that I am made to tell. I have written pages and pages of other tales, dancing legends and laughing mysteries, choking secrets that fell away from me the minute they dripped on to the page. But I have always, it seems, been working around this one core subject, the one that eludes me and presses in on me at the same time. You see, I think that in the end, we all have one true tale to tell, to tell well, to tell with all the truth and simplicity, honor and respect that it deserves. And that story will live inside of us forever, praying to be let out. But it isn’t easy to unravel the chapters of your one story. For me, it is still quite impossible, but it is time that I try. Nothing I will ever write can approach truth until this story is told. And perhaps it is my job to try. The story — it is my mother’s. And therefore, mine. It is built of nothing less than miracles and tragedy. It is nothing more than the story of one person. It is the only thing that makes me cry, in the deepest pocket of myself, because it is an untold, unfinished story of the highest importance. The story actually sings in me every time I breathe in, breathe out, every time my eyes lift to see the air and its tingly life, every time my hip aches or my hands sing, or my cheeks puff up in sickness or cold. But no matter its majestic significance, its indelible mark on my life, I still have never been able to tell it. That is the hole I am trying to fill. 1994, spring, a school day. My father, for some reason, drove me back from school one day. This was very unusual, since my father spent more than half his time in England during those years, and a great deal of time in other countries, as well, all as part of his job. He was rarely around, and when he was, he certainly wasn’t picking me up from school or anything else. Either way, he drove me home on this particular day, and as we approached the driveway, almost at our house, he told me an interesting piece of news. The Story I Was Made To Tell :: Personal Narrative Depression Papers The Story I Was Made To Tell This is the story that I am made to tell. I have written pages and pages of other tales, dancing legends and laughing mysteries, choking secrets that fell away from me the minute they dripped on to the page. But I have always, it seems, been working around this one core subject, the one that eludes me and presses in on me at the same time. You see, I think that in the end, we all have one true tale to tell, to tell well, to tell with all the truth and simplicity, honor and respect that it deserves. And that story will live inside of us forever, praying to be let out. But it isn’t easy to unravel the chapters of your one story. For me, it is still quite impossible, but it is time that I try. Nothing I will ever write can approach truth until this story is told. And perhaps it is my job to try. The story — it is my mother’s. And therefore, mine. It is built of nothing less than miracles and tragedy. It is nothing more than the story of one person. It is the only thing that makes me cry, in the deepest pocket of myself, because it is an untold, unfinished story of the highest importance. The story actually sings in me every time I breathe in, breathe out, every time my eyes lift to see the air and its tingly life, every time my hip aches or my hands sing, or my cheeks puff up in sickness or cold. But no matter its majestic significance, its indelible mark on my life, I still have never been able to tell it. That is the hole I am trying to fill. 1994, spring, a school day. My father, for some reason, drove me back from school one day. This was very unusual, since my father spent more than half his time in England during those years, and a great deal of time in other countries, as well, all as part of his job. He was rarely around, and when he was, he certainly wasn’t picking me up from school or anything else. Either way, he drove me home on this particular day, and as we approached the driveway, almost at our house, he told me an interesting piece of news.

Gainsborough, A Story of a Painter and an Era Essay -- essays papers

Gainsborough, A Story of a Painter and an Era To be able to appraise the originality of eighteenth century English art, one must recognize its importance in history. A great painter to research is Thomas Gainsborough. His artwork was an important aspect of the art community of the middle seventeen hundreds. His paintings seem to bring brightness and color to a period in art that needed his creative boost. His combination of portrait paintings along with beautiful landscapes was not recognized in his time, but would be recognized as remarkable later in history. Thomas Gainsborough was born in 1727 in the town of Sudbury in Suffolk (Internet 1). He grew up as the son of a woodworking father and his mother was a teacher. He had 7 brothers and sisters, with whom he attended school until he was thirteen. He traveled to London and worked for a Silversmith. While there he saw many painters, he enjoyed it and began painting himself. It was impressive that he began painting without any formal academic lessons (Woodall 11). In spite of that his work was very astonishing and he published his first sketches in 1747. He was greatly influenced by the great painter Sir Anthony Van Dyck before he decided that it was time for him to leave the silversmith’s shop (Internet 2). He married and had two daughters, his love for painting continued on. His love for painting landscapes brought great paintings, but these were not popular enough to earn a living. He had to paint portraits to keep an income. Gainsborough’s combination of both po rtrait style painting and landscape painting was to give him a large contribution to his era of painters. Up until this point in time, paintings were usually face shots or occasionally full body sho... ... may seem confusing, but with just a little conversation with it should have all the details figured out. Art is History. Bibliography: Sources Woodall, Mary. Gainsborough. London: Phoenix House Limited, 1949. Internet sources 1 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jgainsborough.htm 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 2 http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/04854.html 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 3 http://acker.cwrl.utexas.edu/~scoggins/britishprojects/eighteenth/economy.html 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 4 http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/gainsborough/ 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 5 http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/4F/04F02000.htm?z=1&pg=2&br=1 6 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 7 http://tetrad.stanford.edu/hm/HorseNMusket.html 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. Gainsborough, A Story of a Painter and an Era Essay -- essays papers Gainsborough, A Story of a Painter and an Era To be able to appraise the originality of eighteenth century English art, one must recognize its importance in history. A great painter to research is Thomas Gainsborough. His artwork was an important aspect of the art community of the middle seventeen hundreds. His paintings seem to bring brightness and color to a period in art that needed his creative boost. His combination of portrait paintings along with beautiful landscapes was not recognized in his time, but would be recognized as remarkable later in history. Thomas Gainsborough was born in 1727 in the town of Sudbury in Suffolk (Internet 1). He grew up as the son of a woodworking father and his mother was a teacher. He had 7 brothers and sisters, with whom he attended school until he was thirteen. He traveled to London and worked for a Silversmith. While there he saw many painters, he enjoyed it and began painting himself. It was impressive that he began painting without any formal academic lessons (Woodall 11). In spite of that his work was very astonishing and he published his first sketches in 1747. He was greatly influenced by the great painter Sir Anthony Van Dyck before he decided that it was time for him to leave the silversmith’s shop (Internet 2). He married and had two daughters, his love for painting continued on. His love for painting landscapes brought great paintings, but these were not popular enough to earn a living. He had to paint portraits to keep an income. Gainsborough’s combination of both po rtrait style painting and landscape painting was to give him a large contribution to his era of painters. Up until this point in time, paintings were usually face shots or occasionally full body sho... ... may seem confusing, but with just a little conversation with it should have all the details figured out. Art is History. Bibliography: Sources Woodall, Mary. Gainsborough. London: Phoenix House Limited, 1949. Internet sources 1 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jgainsborough.htm 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 2 http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/04854.html 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 3 http://acker.cwrl.utexas.edu/~scoggins/britishprojects/eighteenth/economy.html 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 4 http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/gainsborough/ 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 5 http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/4F/04F02000.htm?z=1&pg=2&br=1 6 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999. 7 http://tetrad.stanford.edu/hm/HorseNMusket.html 8 December, 1999. 12 December, 1999.

Loves Song, with Two Goldfish Essay

In the poem, â€Å"(love song, with two goldfish)† by Grace Chua, the author describes the evolution of a young romance between two goldfish with its consequential rise and fall using imagery and metaphors. From the title we can automatically understand what the poem will be about and the parenthesis give an image of the shape of the fishbowl, creating a setting. The title is not capitalized because it is not just a statement, but is in fact part of a story that is constantly evolving and has many aspects. Upon the first stanza, we immediately get the impression of unrequited love. In the first sentence, â€Å"he’s a drifter, always floating around her, he has nowhere else to go,† we meet the two characters, him and her, and we encounter a lot of water imagery with words such as â€Å"drifter† and â€Å"floating†. These words however give off the impression that he’s alone and would be lost without her to follow. As if she’s his everything. We get the impression though that his love for her is not returned when Chua says, â€Å"he wishes she would sing, not much, just the scales.† The reader can understand from the word â€Å"wishes† that her singing is not something often received and because he doesn’t even want her to sing much, we can infer that his attention towards her is not reciprocated. However, I do not think that the fish is necessarily bitter about the circumstances because he uses humor when he says that he wishes she would â€Å"give him the fish eye† or â€Å"sing just the scales.† Because the characters are fish, the light-hearted metaphors offset the melancholy first sentence of unrequited love. Transitioning to the second stanza, we again see this fishbowl imagery. Just as the first stanza was in parenthesis, so is the second one, but now the reader gets the impression that the fish are in separate fishbowls when Chua says, â€Å"Bounded by rounded walls she makes fish eyes and kissy lips at him.† The word â€Å"bounded† gives the impression that she is trapped and being kept away from him, but we also learn that the feelings felt by the male goldfish are now felt by her as well. We also get a fun, flirtatious feel from this stanza which hints at a budding relationship. In response to him, she â€Å"makes fish eyes†¦kissy lips†¦darts behind pebbles.† I find the darting to be flirtatious because it hints at the caution she feels towards this new love, but as even pebbles are too small for a goldfish to hide behind, it shows her tentative openness towards the budding romance. Finally at the end of the stanza it says she â€Å"swallows his charms, hook, line and sinker.† The metaphor for the fishing line imagery again adds humor, but it also alerts the reader that she has completely fallen in love with him – an idea that progresses into the third stanza. Throughout the third stanza, we come across a certain ambiguity about whether the two goldfish are actually separate from one another. No longer are the two fish only referred to as â€Å"he† and â€Å"she† but by the end they’ve become a â€Å"they†. Both fish are also referred to within the same parenthetical statement which hasn’t occurred before this point. Unfortunately, they remained trapped in the bowl, and words such as â€Å"could† and â€Å"would† are scattered throughout the entire stanza. Depicting images of what the two would do if they could escape. One of the activities he describes is, â€Å"he would take her to the ocean, they could count the waves.† I think that this phrase describes his feelings towards the relationship very well. Because he’s with her and her company is all that matters to him, he doesn’t need to go out and have lavish experiences. He says that, â€Å"in the submarine silence, they would share their deepest secrets.† The consonance here with the â€Å"s† sound helps progress their seclusion from the rest of the the world along with the depth of their love with words such as â€Å"submarine† and â€Å"deepest†. The stanza ends with a simile stating that they would â€Å"dive for pearls like stars†. I think that the simile could have a much deeper meaning than them just diving to the bottom of the ocean. While the phrase could be seen as their love growing stronger and deeper, I see it as almost the opposite because of the constant usage of the words would and could in the stanza. The use of the heavens in love poems often give off the impression that love is infinite, but here they can’t reach the heavens as they are trapped within the bowl. Their entrapment symbolizes the lack of growth in their relationship and how they have not been able to move past the initial flirtatiousness of new love. By the fourth stanza we have reached the end of the relationship, and it becomes apparent that the fish could be metaphors for a human relationship. The goldfish could’ve been chosen to represent actual human beings because of the simplicity associated with a goldfish’s character and the similarly simplistic relationship. The stanza opens with her ending the relationship, and fish-related death imagery becomes common with phrases such as â€Å"belly-up†, â€Å"sinks like a fish† and â€Å"drowns†. While in previous stanzas, the fish imagery added a humorous note, here they add a much darker tone where the dead-fish imagery becomes metaphoric to the death of the relationship. The reader can infer that the ex-lovers were in fact humans when Chua says, â€Å"He drinks like a stone. Drowns these sorrows, stares emptily through glass.† The word drown here might not be relating to the actual act of drowning, but to the act of getting drunk and possibly drowning his sorrows in liquor. As he â€Å"stares emptily through the glass,† the glass could symbolize both the fishbowl and the end of his drink, and the loneliness that would accompany both. Finally in the last stanza, we learn as to why the couple broke up, and the use of parenthesis plays a major role in exhibiting their distance- as if they’re in two separate fishbowls once again. This stanza is the shortest, and it goes, â€Å"(the reason, she said/ she wanted)/(and he could not give)/ a life/beyond the/ (bowl).† Here we see the two separate sides, and how she left him because she felt trapped within the relationship. This theme of entrapment is noticeable throughout the entire poem with the fishbowl imagery, along her desire to escape with the words â€Å"would† and â€Å"could†. When lines 26-27 don’t use the parenthesis, it shows her dream of exploration and moving past the known realms of the fishbowl. The break-up was her escape from the binding fishbowl, and her ensuing freedom from the confining relationship. Throughout the poem, Chua described the evolution of a relationship from the bubbly excitement and tentativeness of new love, to its downfall from confinement and resulting break-up with emotions ranging from sorrow to freedom. Real human emotions are expressed through those of goldfish to express the simplicity of their relationship and to create a metaphor through the entrapment they must feel within the bowl.