Beneath the Hunger Games

Kate Raffety 22nd of May, 2012 BENEATH THE HUNGER GAMES The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is an insightful allegory set in a post-apocalyptic future. Through a gripping plot and intriguing characters along with rich intertextuality, symbolism and themes, she raises concerns and gives her opinion on issues in our communities and governments, taking many to the extreme to reinforce her message, while keeping it a fast passed fictional story. Government control of people is the most prominent theme in The Hunger Games, as it is featured throughout the novel in a variety of ways.Propaganda, censorship, inequitable distribution of wealth, and manipulation are some of the many ways in which the Capitol controls people. All the wealth and resources flow to the Capitol and it is in control of everything. It uses propaganda and censorship to influence and direct public opinion, and the only information the districts receive is from the Capitol. The government broadcasts are compulsory viewi ng and all of it is extremely biased and misleading.Sometimes half the truth is just as effective as a lie, with the capitol only selecting parts of the information to release, in this way it is easy to guide people’s opinions. This technique is used on the districts, with all of the information they receive, and on the people from the Capitol, with the information they receive about the districts. Together the districts could easily overthrow the Capitol, so it is important that they be kept weak and separated. The most important of the Capitol’s strategies for gaining and maintaining power, however, is the age-old technique of divide and conquer.It involves breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually are isolated and weak. The Capitol has absolute power over the districts, which is ultimately demonstrated by the games themselves. â€Å"Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch- this is the Capito l’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. [ ] To make it humiliating as well as torturous, the Capitol requires us to treat the Hunger Games as a festivity, a sporting event pitting every district against the others. (pg 22) The districts are battling starvation, while the capitol lives in luxury with anything they want at their disposal. At first glance the novel and our society seem quite different, but in reality there are many similarities. Whereas extreme inequity and class separation are noticeable in the novel, they are also prominent throughout the world, with great disparity in standards of living among and within countries. The Games are enjoyed as reality television for the people of the Capitol.Their acceptance of it as entertainment, and their lack of compassion towards the tributes is an example of voyeurism and desensitisation. These are two challenges that younger generations face with technology giving them access to television, the internet, video games and movies. They are becoming faster paced and increasingly violent and explicit and emotional responses can become dampened. Reality television is becoming common with people living vicariously through the drama and becoming detached from reality. The standards of humanity in this novel are quite low.There are key aspects of the novel, however, that show that human beings are essentially good when left to their own devices. After her father died, Katniss had to provide for her mother and younger sister. Katniss was searching for any morsel of sustenance to bring home to her family one night around the bakery when Peeta’s mother yelled at her to move on. Peeta, seeing her situation, let two loaves fall onto the coals of the oven and was punished for his carelessness. When he was told to feed them to the pigs, he instead slipped them to Katniss.The next day they caught each other’s eyes and when she looked away her eyes fell on a dandelion, which reminded h er of how her father taught her to live off the land and thus she realised how she would support her family. Peeta saved Katniss and she felt this was a debt she owed him that may never be repaid. He wasn’t obligated to help her, in fact he could have been penalized for it; he did simply because it was the right thing to do. Katniss cares about her family more than anything, especially her little sister.But against all odds her sister is chosen for reaping, and Katniss, driven wild with fear, volunteers to take her place. â€Å"In District 12, where the word tribute is pretty much synonymous where the word corpse, volunteers are all but extinct† (pg 27). Katniss believes certain death now awaits her in the arena, but knows that the loss of her sister would be far worse. While in the arena, Katniss meets Rue, the tribute from district 11 and the two form an alliance. Katniss protects and helps her as best she can, giving her food and her precious sleeping bag while she carries the majority of the responsibility.Rue can give little to Katniss for her to truly benefit from their partnership, however Katniss sees that Rue, the youngest of all the tributes, is vulnerable and does her best to keep her safe from harm, even if it means putting herself in danger. When Rue dies Katniss shows great respect for her and district 11. Katniss then finds Peeta, who has been severely injured and begins to nurse him back to health. He is too weak to sustain himself so Katniss takes on the full responsibility of providing for him, dressing his wounds and taking the majority of the night watches.It would have been much easier for Katniss to leave Peeta and escape up a tree where she feels secure, but despite this she does all she can to help him. She risks her life to save his when she goes to get the medicine and would have died if Thresh, the male tribute from district 11 hadn’t felt the need to repay the debt of helping Rue. Thus, both Thresh and Katniss s aved someone in a last-man-standing battle. This shows that they see themselves as more than just a pawn in the Capitol’s games, they never loose touch with their humanity.Inhumanity is portrayed in many ways in the novel including the Capitol making minors fight to the death, making previous victors mentor them, and inequitable distribution of wealth. In selecting minors as tributes, the Capitol’s message was plain, â€Å"look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you† (pg 22). Taking children who are hardly considered old enough to fend for themselves and putting them in this position is inhumane on many levels.The Capitol sustains power by fear, granting minimal rights to district citizens, no freedom of speech, and harsh punishments for disobeying their many strict rules. They treat their people as chattels who exist only for their benefit. Whereas this them e has been exaggerated in the novel, it still has parallels to our society. There are many ways in which governments treat their people and how the people treat one another that Collins has commented on with The Hunger Games. The novel teaches us that the tyranny of a cruel and powerful government is a threat for which we must always remain vigilant.Collins raises concerns about the path that society is travelling down with her novel. In some ways The Hunger Games is a warning, the message simply being that society should never end up like the one in the novel. Throughout her novel Collins comments on government control, inequity, class separation, reality television, humanity, inhumanity and the path that society has taken. She has taken many of the themes in her novel to the extreme, but this only makes what she has to say stronger. Collins, S. 2009. The Hunger Games, Scholastic, London. 454 pg.

Paypal

Papal is a kind of financial instrument that connects the plastic, credit card or any bank account with a user account on the system, which makes it possible at any moment to replenish their balance in the system, to make any payments, withdraw money. 1. 0 The history of success Papal – is the largest electronic money system in the world designed to make payments on the Internet. Papal is making it possible for users to make their money into your account using a mobile phone connected to the Internet.In 1998, Max Levin, Luke Noses, and Peter Thiele founded the company Continuity, whose task was o develop cryptographic applications that might be used in the implementation of electronic payment transactions using mobile phones. This project is interested in several investors – Deutsche Bank, which has invested in the project, is $ 1. 5 million, and Monika Ventures – they implemented an infusion of $ 3 million. In 1999, Leon Musk founded the company X. Com Corporati on, which was engaged in a variety of financial services on the Internet.Considering the needs of the market, the developers of the company is mainly focused on the creation of an electronic moment system via e-mail. In November 1999 there was a merger of the two companies – X. Com Corporation and Continuity, resulting in a new company – Papal Ink. Officially, the company Papal launched Just over a year – in February 2000, the site was set up Papal. Com Here is some strategic ways which Papal use to got success in business: Active and intelligent campaign, which promotes the benefits of electronic payment system Papal became to the fact that a large number of investors, among which were the major U. S. Ankhs, interested in the project. As a exult, the development of e- money system Papal has invested 23 million dollars, and the rapid development of the Internet has played into the hands of the founders of the company – a large number of users of the syste m who appreciate the convenience of this form of transaction. Within six months of the payment system Papal enjoyed a half million people, the turnover amounted to two million dollars, and more than one million of the world of auctions used this system for their monetary transactions. Registration has opened Papal convenience and new opportunities for different market participants.At the same time the system was introduced improvements – was possible to invest Papal, and receive monthly dividends. In February 2002, the U. S. Stock market, Papal will put shares at $ 900 million. And in 2006, the electronic payment system Papal was awarded the â€Å"Best Financial Site A year later, the system had available for users of Papal in Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Astrakhan. In 2008, Papal has released a card Papal Top Up, which allowed the system to attract a new range of customers and has made it possible to provide services in off-line mode.Papal become famous revolution in the oral of information technology, as allowed to make payments instantly even with a regular mobile phone. In order to send or receive money, do not need to do anything to make out – enough to activate and send a message Today, the remarkable system Papal – the undisputed leader in its sector and so far no one service does not attract the same number of customers as the project. Papal is licensed agencies that monitor and regulate the activities of all financial institutions in the U. S. , so the system has a certain impact on the entire sector.All electronic user accounts are ensured, are denominated in U. S. Currency, money is in the bank Wells Fargo. It is also important that the system is constantly evolving – many famous people say this is what the Internet as the main factor of popularity. Thus, the service now supports not only the U. S. Currency , but such different currencies , the Euro , Australian dollar , Canadian dollar , pound sterling, Chinese Yuan , the Japanese yen , the Hungarian forint , the Hong Kong dollar , the Danish and Czech crown , the Polish zloty , New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar , the Norwegian crone , the Swiss bank and theSwedish Akron . Also among the benefits of the famous service Papal, which determine its relevance , it is worth noting , such as the maximum ease of use , user- friendly interface, international, multilingual and multi-currency , the ability of mobile payments, the maximum level of safety , insurance funds. Implementation of transactions in multiple currencies at the same time In the Papal system created function â€Å"Working with different currencies† to facilitate payments between foreign parties. Papal offers exchange rates, competitive exchange rates relative to other client services.The most current information on exchange rates based on the â€Å"interbrain exchange rates† Inter-bank exchange rates are established in the course of currency trading in a global network of more than 1,000 banks, and the channels are not available to customers or retailers. Customers can use these courses are for reference purposes, but should not rely on the inter-bank exchange rates in transactions where the conversion takes place. For current rates contact your local financial institution or an exchange office or see the course, reflected in your transaction Papal. 3. 0 Papal – increasing to globalizationThe online payment system Papal has announced the beginning of its work on the market at once, and 87 new states. Therefore, the list of countries with which operates Papal increased to 190. List of new countries includes countries such as : Albania , Algeria , Angola , Antigen and Barbuda , Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belize , Benign , Bhutan , Bolivia, Bosnia and Herringbone , Bulgaria , Burning Fast , Burundi , Cambodia , Chad , Colombia , Cosmos , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Republic of the Congo , Cook Islands , Outside , Dominica , El Salvador , R eiterate , Ethiopia , FareIslands, Gabon , Gambia , Greenland , Grenade , Guatemala , Guiana , Guiana- Bissau , Guyana , Honduras, Astrakhan , Kenya , Jackrabbit, Kuwait, Gyrations , Laos , Lesotho , Madagascar , Malawi , Mali , Marshall Islands , Mauritania , Micronesia , Mongolia , Morocco , Macaque , Naira , Nepal , Nicaragua , Niger , Nine, Norfolk Island , Oman , Papal , Panama , Papua Papua New Guiana, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , San Marino , SAA Tome and Principle , Saudi Arabia , Senegal , Seychelles , Sierra Leone , Somalia , Sir Lankan, Surname,Scabbard and Ian Mane , Swaziland , Atkinson , Tanzania , Transmittal , Tuba , Uganda , Vaunt , Vatican City , Yemen and Zambia . Adding support for new languages will primarily Spanish- , French- and Chinese- speaking users to avoid a certain kind of confusion when making online purchases. Customers using the web browser on one of these three languages , with the first site visit will be p rompt to translate it into the language of their browser. We are very excited about our expansion into new markets around the world, as well as adding the ability to view our website in three ewe languages. Recent innovation allows users to directly in 46 countries and work with us in their own language. This will help make both internal and international payments easier and safer for millions of customers around the world, â€Å"commented innovation Dana Stalled (Dana Stalled), senior vice president of Papal. Add that to the moment Papal has 143 million user accounts worldwide.In the first quarter of 2007, the volume of payments through Papal amounted to more than $ 11 billion. Http://ahead. Org/archives/ahead_archive/may-Junco/0066. HTML Globalization in e-commerce: Papal arrives in Russia November 1, the international online payment system Papal starts working with Russian rubles. This information is contained in the text of the amendments to the â€Å"User Agreement† and † Privacy Policy Ð’Â » Papal. As the portal Moneys. Our, document, in particular, establishes an equivalent charged for transactions through Papal commissions in Russian rubles.Thus, the fixed charge for domestic payments in foreign currency will be 10 rubles, and for incompetents between users from different countries – only 2 of the ruble. The maximum size of the Commission for Mass Payments in Russia and around the world is set at 240 rubles and 1,400 rubles, respectively. The fee for â€Å"greenbacks† will be 64 rubles. For active users Papal, freelancers, online stores and services especially relevant is the question of the possibility of withdrawing from a purse in the Papal account in a Russian bank. Confirmed information on this matter until it has none.Back in April 2012, Papal will filed documents with the CAB to create a non-bank credit organizations ( Nags), but still do not know at what stage the approval of documents . Optimistic predictions th at the withdrawal of funds to the accounts of Russian banks will be available simultaneously with the upcoming November 1 changes can neither confirm nor deny. On the one hand, of course, the arrival of Papal will make an additional stimulus to the development of e- commerce in Russia at the expense of the same eBay and foreign online stores often provide more favorable conditions for buyers.On the other hand, many experts and members of the Russian market of e-commerce users to predict the outflow popular now in the country of online payment service to Papal. The undoubted advantage for Runner is to increase the level of confidence of taxpayers to payments on the internet and projected in connection with the introduction of market growth Papal e- commerce in general, Russia 4. 0 Do you use Papal? Yes, of course I use.And here are the reasons why I choose Papal Because, Papal is the easiest and safest method of payment, which will save you the headache and confusion can quickly buil d a successful positive feedback. Once the client has paid for the goods, Papal immediately, within a few seconds sends you an email notification that the money is credited to the account. Nice to wake up in the morning, open the email and see the yawning so dear words – muff got Cash!!! † Papal is enjoyed by people from 190 countries. What else is good Papal to me?Do you have the money in the account, which will allow you to get a debit card fast enough! If the situation is such that you cannot use a credit card relative, and get a debit card there is no possibility of that is not available even hundreds of dollars, which would be put in a bank account, Papal will take you Just a cool way out of the situation. After 60 days of opening a Papal account and the money is transferred o this account from trading on eBay, make an application for obtaining card. Debit card Papal allows you to pay for goods and services both online and in real life.You can open one of the three types of accounts on Papal: Personal Accounts, Premier Accounts, Business Accounts. Open the Premier Account, as in the Personal there are many limitations, such as the owners of Personal Accounts debit card is not entitled. In the case of Premier Accounts you will have a good prospect of a debit card, and a little later, and credit cards. When you send money to the Premier Account, then you will not be taking fee. If you sold it on eBay and either you received money on account, Papal will take with you a small fee.According to statistics, about 78 % of the visitors are eBay's Papal account. Buyers who do not have such an account could send me a check or Money Order, but I deliberately refuse this. I refuse it for one reason; I want to live in peace. The fact is that, the letters sent checks. Sometimes the letters are delayed, buyers are nervous, you're too worried. I cannot force you to use your example predominantly Papal for billing the customer, each with its own head on his ho lders, but I cannot resist the Board: I am very happy with Palsy's service. 5. Conclusion If briefly conclude, today, the remarkable system Papal – the undisputed leader in its sector and so far no one service does not attract the same number of customers as the project. Also among the benefits of the famous service Papal, which determine its relevance , it is worth noting , such as the maximum ease of use , user-friendly interface , international, multilingual and multi-currency , the ability of mobile payments , the maximum level of safety , insurance funds. And that the company is irking without stopping in many countries to satisfy their customers.Example for innovation is mobile wallet: Papal is ready to accelerate their adoption by the insertion of additional services designed to give consumers a reason to use the Papal wallet into several categories and merchants to give a reason to consider adding another method of payment. If Papal has several features, so why don't use it? My choice is Papal. 6. 0 Reference World Wide Web HTTPS://www. Papal-media. Com/ http://www. Freelancer. Mix/page. PH? P=info/terms HTTPS://www. Papal-media. Com/history

Nonverbal communication questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nonverbal communication questions - Assignment Example With respect to the tests and results to prove the linkage and correlation between verbal and non-verbal forms of communication, the authors reveal how these two separate forms were analyzed both side by side and apart from one another and then the results compared as a means of being able to infer what the true impacts of these can be. 8. These perceptions that are utilized, according to Knapp, include all of the human senses, and a great deal of emphasis upon the visual interpretation of nonverbal forms of communication. a) as such, naturally, designed, and manipulated environments in which such interactions and communications take place can have a profound level of impact with regards to the take-away information that an individual is able to glean. Due to the conflicting and differentiated cues that an individual would receive in each of these, the ultimate wording and intent could be identical in each of these three situations; however, the understanding could be entirely differ ent. b) Ultimately, influenced perception by setting up a false archectural construct as a means of focusing attention, the listeniner/viewer is able to distance themselves from some of the distractions that might otherwise capture their attenion at the scene. For this very reason, news crews and cameramen attempt to stage a scene so that the ultimate focus can be on the individual providing the information and not on the scene itself; unless otherwise warranted. 9. People tend to orient towards time as an environmental feature due to the fact that the changing rate of culture and understanding sets continual new precedents that must be engaged in a different way depending upon the time that is represented. Monochronic refers to only one â€Å"time† being represented at a single instance; whereas polychronic represents several times being represented. Likewise, Gonzales and Zimbardo referenced 7 different time zones dealing with the way in which individuals integrated with ne w information. Interestingly, even though these time zones can be understood as unique vantage points from dissimilar groups, a noted level of overlap was discovered with respect to the way that individual integrated with information. 10. Territoriality, personal space, and conversational sdistance, as well as seating arrangements and patterns, has to do with the geometry and actual geographic relationship that the speaker has to the audience. As such, these factors impact heavily upon the way in which information is understood and the rate at hwhich a level of comfort can be provided to the speaker/audience. 11. A sense of territoriality can vary and change depending upon the cultural makeup of the audience and/or the speaker. As such, a level of sensitivity to the unique needs and expecations of different groups is required prior to seeking to plan the way in which territoriality will be evidenced within a specific space. 12. Contextual factors such as a sense of fear or friendshi p, the overall level of perceived reception, and/or a litany of other factors impact upon the level and extent to which territoriality is perceived and a sense of threat or invitation is understood. 13. Seating arrangements

Dicussion questions Modular 7 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dicussion questions Modular 7 - Assignment Example Because of this, several measures have been set to balance these somewhat conflicting values. When the patient’s mental competence is in question, the patient’s rational ability (the ability to make sound decisions) will be examined. Secondly, the medical staff will have to ascertain the patient’s performance competence (whether or not the patient is able to make decisions and to perform skills in a manner that is commensurate with specific external standards). Physicians may also analyze the patient’s reflective competence, as a way of determining the patient’s ability to formulate and evaluate his or her own internal values and standards in relation to his actions and decisions. When the absence of mental competence is obvious, it becomes inevitable that the patient’s next of kin is involved. It is the next of kin that is to append his or her signature in order to authorize medical intervention. At times, the standpoint taken by the patient may be weighed against the gravity of his or her medical condition. For instance, physicians cannot just honor a tetraplegic patient’s whimsical request to be disconnected from the ventilator (McLean, 2009). Coma is a medical state characterized by unarousable unresponsiveness. In this state, the patient is not aware of both self and surroundings. Though a coma persists for at least an hour, comatose patients begin to come around after 2-4 weeks. A patient may progress from being comatose to being vegetative. On the other hand, when a patient opens his or her eyes without being aware of self and the environment, he or she is in a vegetative state. This means that the vegetative state acts as a transition to further recovery. When four weeks elapse without the patient having recovered, the patient is said to be in a persistent vegetative state. When six months elapse since the onset of the vegetative state, the patient is considered to be in a permanent vegetative state. When a patient is still in a

Social Media Individual Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Social Media Individual Assignment - Essay Example It is away to communicate with people, share feelings, photos, knowledge, politics, hobbies, lifestyles and other interests. Social networking enables individuals to stay connected with each other irrespective of geographical distances, culture, bindings etc. Thus social networking work as an online community. An access to social networking sites enables one to socialize. However, as every technology has pros and cons, social networking also possesses positive and negatives with it. Yes, I do have social networking site. I have an account on Facebook. It allows me to establish new relationships, reunite with friends and other relatives and strengthen relations. My friends with common interests come on the common platform, i.e. Facebook and can share their thoughts and ideas to march ahead. Social networking facilitates free messaging, gaming, invitations, blogging, sharing events, photos, help either related to some personal matter such as health or some meaningful advice. We share our views, frame opinion and concerns. Yes, I would not like to share my personal pictures, videos and important files on social network sites as they may be accessed from any corner of the world and could be used/ misused. Hence, I take care while uploading anything on my social network sites. As social media enables its users to access the information uploaded on the social networking sites from any corner of the world it poses numerous problems. The companies must set policies on regulation of social media use which should be amended from time to time especially in the discussions what to share through social networking sites and where to stop else facility like social media network will do more destruction than good Social networking sites as other computing sites are prone to the attacks of hackers, they may inject malicious codes into most popular social networking sites, either through advertisements or through third-party apps. Numerous

The role of information systems management Essay

The role of information systems management - Essay Example The information collected from several resources gathers, and processes the same under the auspices of top executives in order to convert the collected information into a meaningful output. In olden days these complicated processes required manual labor; whereas with the evolution of information technology, human efforts have been replaced by technologically developed information systems. According to Ward (1995), the evolution of improved technologies changed and eliminated some aspects of traditional information processing which forced management to develop new processes in order to match with the recent technology (p.1). Hence, there arises a need of giving specific attention to the management of information systems. Even though newly introduced information systems increased the authenticity of business performance, the top executives who were dealing with them had no accurate knowledge about its operations. Issues like organizational resistance to change, vendor selection, maintenance costs etc are to be dealt with due care in order to attain the anticipated outcome of ISM (McFarlan, 2003). If the information are gathered and processed in a wrong way, the management will not be able to interpret the actual facts and thereby it would lead to business failure. Hence, the information systems management (ISM) aims to coordinate various information processes efficient ly and flawlessly in order to attain the long-term objectives of a business. For instance, we take the case of a car manufacturing firm (say Hyundai) in order to substantiate the mission and goals of an information systems management. The Hyundai has a well developed information system for the formulation of suitable business strategies. The company requires right time information on market trends in car models, satisfactory price level for customers, and ultra modern facilities. Similarly, a market forecast on the basis of the acquired data

Publicly-listed companies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Publicly-listed companies - Essay Example Business organizations are formed and nurtured by individuals; therefore, the norms are a reflection of the character patterns of the proprietors. The acts of a defiant worker will result, depending on his/her target, lead to either productivity loss, sabotage property, show no respect for others or anti-social to colleagues. Out of the society’s desire to have and regulate ethical behaviors, jurisdictions have developed and enacted into law ethical guidelines that inform decisions. Unethical behaviors have been defined in federal law to include invasion of privacy, theft, embezzlement, fraud, price fixing and incomplete disclosures. All organizations are bound by the rules intended not only to punish, but to encourage companies to prevent violations (Zschietzschmann 25). There are three influences in ethical decision-making; intensity, moral development and ethical principles. Ethical intensity is the degree of concern people hold about ethical issues encompassing magnitude of consequences, social consensus, probability of effect, temporal immediacy, proximity of effect and concentration of effect. Ethical principles are a sum-total of long-term interests, personal virtue, religious injunctions, government regulations, utilitarian benefits, individual rights and distributive justice in guiding the process of decision-making. In enforcing and preserving ethical behavior, a company must have code of ethics that all employees must abide by whether inside or outside the workplace. The code of ethics informs, from the onset, how employees are hired to ensure that the employee personal interest conforms to that of the organization. Ethics are further transmitted through continuous training as the law is not static. When faced with an ethical issue to deci de, individual needs to identify the problem as a first step. The next step is to identify the extent of the effect it causes followed by why it came to happen. One has to explore the

The Federal Registers Executive Order in Public policy Essay

The Federal Registers Executive Order in Public policy - Essay Example The president quoted a number of cases where the discussions on the security issues about Somalia were evident (Obama, 2010). These include the resolutions by United Nations Security Council, which took place between the year 2001 and 2009. The president also quoted the resolutions on US national security and policies on foreign affairs affecting the State, which took place in May 2009 (Obama, 2010). The orders concurred with the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) that dealt with sanctions to specific persons of USA who violated the US foreign-based business procedures. The main target group in this sanction included the following: individuals collaborating with pirates and armed robbers along Somalia coast and those who arm the pirates (Obama, 2010). The order also applies to those threatening the 2008 Djibouti Agreement and Transitional Federal Institutions including African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and any other threatening persons to peacekeeping missions and humanitarian groups in Somalia (Obama, 2010). Any person who involves himself in offering military training or supplying destructive equipments to the pirates could face seizing of his property in or out of USA (Obama, 2010). The implementation of the order took place immediately the president signed the law. The congress received a letter from the president’s office and made a clarification of the order to the treasury for implementation (Obama, 2010). The report of the order reached OFAC, which issued the list of the affected people to the media houses. The order received a boost from the media housed who announced that the law was in effect immediately after the president’s signature. The media also made the blacklisted list public (Obama, 2010). The order generated confusion among insurance companies and shipping industries. This is because most of the shipping companies have insured their

Poem and Short Story Essay Example for Free

Poem and Short Story Essay Mill of the Gods (Estrella Alfon) Among us who lived in Espeleta – that street that I love, about whose people I keep telling tales – among us, I say, there was one named Martha, and she was the daughter of Pio and Engracia. To all of us, life must seem like a road given us to travel, and it is up to Fate, that convenient blunderer, whether, that road be broad and unwinding, or whether it shall be a tortuous lane, its path a hard and twisted mat of dust and stones. And each road, whether lane or avenue, shall have its own landmarks, that only the traveller soul shall recognize and remember, and remembering, continue the journey again. To Martha, the gods gave this for a first memory: a first scar. She was a girl of twelve, and in every way she was but a child. A rather dull child, who always lagged behind the others of her age, whether in study or in play. Life had been so far a question of staying more years in a grade than the others, of being told she would have to apply herself a little harder if she didn’t want the infants catching up with her. But that was so dismal thing. She had gotten a little bit used to being always behind. To always being the biggest girl in her class. Even in play there was some part of her that never managed to take too great a part – she was so content if they always made her â€Å"it† in a game of tag, if only they would let her play. And when she had dolls, she was eager to lend them to other girls, if they would only include her in the fascinating games she could not play alone. This was she, then. Her hair hung in pigtails each side of her face, and already it irked a little to have her dresses too short. She could not help in her mother’s kitchen, and could be trusted to keep her room clean, but she was not ready for the thing her mother told her one night when she was awakened from sleep. It was a sleep untroubled by dreams, then all of a sudden there was an uproar in the house, and she could hear her mother’s frenzied sobbing, and it was not sobbing that held as much of sorrow as it did of anger. She lay still for a while, thinking perhaps she was dreaming, until she could hear her father’s grunted answers to the half – understood things her mother was mouthing at him. Then there were sounds that was clearly the sound of two bodies struggling in terrible fury with each other. She stood up, and like a child, cried into the night. Mother? She wailed the word, in her panic finding a little relief in her own wailing, Mother? And she heard her mother’s voice call her, panting out, saying, Martha, come quickly, come into this room! Martha got up and stood at the door of the room, hesitating about opening it, until her mother, the part of a terrible grasp, said Martha! So Martha pushed in the door, and found her mother and her father locked in an embrace n which both of them struggled and panted and had almost no breath left for words. Martha stood wide – eyed and frightened, not knowing what to do, just standing there, even though she had seen what it was they struggled for. A kitchen knife, blade held upwards in her mother’s hand. Her arms were pinioned to her sides by her husband, but her wild eyes, the frenzy with which she stamped her feet on his feet, and kicked him in the shins, and tried to bite him with her teeth, these were more terrible than the glint of that shining blade. It was her father who spoke to her saying urgently, Martha, reach for her knife, take it away. Yet Martha stood there and did not comprehend until her mother spoke, saying No, no; Martha, your father deserves to be killed. Then it was Martha who realized what she was to do, and slowly, hesitantly, she went near them, her fear of both of them in this terrible anger they now presented making her almost too afraid to reach up for the knife. But reach up she did, and with her child’s fingers, put her mother’s away from the weapon. And when she had it in her hands she did not know what to do with it, except look at it. It wasn’t a very sharp knife, but its blade was clean, and its hilt firm. And so she looked at it, until her father said. Throw it out of the window, Martha and without thinking, she went to a window, opened a casement and threw it away. Then her father released her mother, and once her mother had gotten her arms free, she swung back her hand, and wordlessly, slapped him; slapped him once, twice, three times, alternating with her hands, on alternate cheeks, until her father said. That’s enough, Engracia. And saying so, he took her hands in his, led her resisting to the bed, and made her sit down. And Martha was too young to wonder that her father, who was a big man, should have surrendered to the repeated slapping from her mother who was a very small frail woman. Her father said, â€Å"Aren’t you ashamed now Martha has seen? † And immediately her mother screamed to him, â€Å"Ashamed? Me, ashamed? I’ll tell Martha about you! † Her father looked at Martha still standing dumbly by the window out of which she had thrown the knife, and said, â€Å"No, Aciang, she is just a child. † And to her: â€Å"Martha, go back to bed. † But now her mother jumped up from the bed, and clutched at Martha, and brought her to bed with her. And deliberately without looking at Martha’s father, she said, Martha you are not too young to know. And so, the words falling from her lips with a terrible quiet, she told Martha. The words that were strange to her ears, Martha heard them, and listened to them, and looked from her mother to her father, and without knowing it, wetting her cheeks with her tears that fell. And then her mother stopped talking, and looking at her husband, she spat on him, and Martha saw the saliva spatter on the front of the dark shirt he wore. She watched while her father strode over them, and slowly, also deliberately, slapped her mother on the cheek. Martha watched his open palm as he did it, and felt the blow as though it had been she who had been hit. Then her father strode out of the room, saying nothing, leaving them alone. When her father had gone, Martha’s mother began to cry, saying brokenly to Martha, â€Å"It is that woman, that woman! † And making excuses to Martha for her father, saying it was never completely the man’s fault. And Martha listened bewildered, because this was so different from the venomous words her mother had told her while her father was in the room. And then her mother, still weeping, directed her to look for her father and Martha went out of the room. Her father was not in the house. The night was very dark as she peered out of the windows to see is she could find him outside, but he was nowhere. So she went back to her mother, and told her she could not find her father. Her mother cried silently, the tears coursing down her cheeks, and her sobs tearing through her throat. Martha cried with her, and caressed her mother’s back with her hands, but she had no words to offer, nothing to say. When her mother at last was able to talk again, she told Martha to go back to bed. But it wasn’t the child that entered who went out of that room. And yet the terror of that night was not so great because it was only a terror half – understood. It wasn’t until she was eighteen, that the hurt of that night was invested with its full measure. For when she was eighteen, she fell in love. She was a girl of placid appearance, in her eyes the dreaming stolid night of the unawakened. She still was slow to learn, still not prone to brilliance. And when she fell in love she chose the brightest boy of her limited acquaintance to fall in love with. He was slightly older than herself, a little too handsome, a trifle too given to laughter. Espeleta did not like him; he was too different from the other young me n on the street. But Martha loved him. You could see that in the way she looked at him, the way she listened to him. Martha’s pigtails had lengthened. She now wore her braids coiled on the top of her head like a coronet, and it went well with the placid features, the rather full figure. She was easily one of our prettier maidens. It was well that she was not too brilliant. That she did not have any too modern ideas. The air of shyness, the awkward lack of sparkling conversation suited her Madonna – like face and calm. And her seriousness with love was also part of the calm waiting nature. It did not enter her head that there are such things as play, and a game. And a man’s eagerness for sport. And so when she noticed that his attentions seemed to be wandering, even after he had admitted to a lot of people that they were engaged, she asked him, with the eager desperation of the inexperienced, about their marriage. He laughed at her. Laughed gently, teasingly, saying they could not get married for a long time yet; he must repay his parents first for all that they had done for him. He must first be sure to be able to afford the things she deserved. Well turned phrases he said his excuses with. Charming little evasions. And if she did not see through them while he spoke them, his frequent absences, where his visits had been as a habit; his excuses to stay away when once no amount of sending him off could make him stay away; these but made her see. And understand. And then the way neighbours will, they tried to be kind to her. For they could see her heart was breaking and they tried to say sweet things to her, things like her being far too good for him. And then they heard that he had married. Another girl. And they saw her grief, and thought it strange that a girl should grieve over an undeserving lover or so. She lost a little of the plumpness that was one of her charms. And into her eyes crept a hurt look to replace the dreaming. And Espeleta, with all the good people, strove to be even kinder to her. Watched her grief and pitied her. And told her that whatever mistakes she had committed to make her grieve so, to make her suffer so, they understood and forgave. And they did not blame her. But now that she had learned her lesson, she must beware. She knew her own father as much as they knew about him. And it was in the Fates that his sins must be paid for. If not by himself, then by whom but she who was begotten by him? So, didn’t she see? How careful she should be? Because you could, they said it to her gently, kindly, cruelly, because she could if she were careful, turn aside the vengeance of the implacable fates. And she believed them kind although she hated their suspicions. She believed them kind, and so she started, then, to hate her father. And that night long ago came back to her, and she wished she had not thrown that knife away. Espeleta saw Martha turn religious. More religious than Iya Andia and Iya Nesia, who were old and saw death coming close, and wanted to be assured of the easing of the gates of heaven. Espeleta approved. Because Espeleta did not know what she prayed for. Because they saw only the downcast eyes under the light veil, the coil of shining hair as it bowed over the communion rail. Yet Martha’s mother and father still lived together. They never had separated. Even after that night, when she was twelve years old and frightened, and she had called for him and looked for him and not found him. The next day he had come back, and between her mother and him there was a silence. They slept in the same bed, and spent the nights in the same room, and yet Martha and Espeleta knew he had another bed, another chamber. Espeleta praised Martha’s mother for being so patient. After Martha had fallen in love, when she began hating her father truly then also she began despising her mother. You did not know it to look at Martha. For her coil of braided hair was still there, and the shy way of speaking, and the charming awkwardness at conversation. And Martha made up her earlier lack of lustre by shining in her class now. She was eighteen and not through high school yet. But she made up for it by graduating with high honours. Espeleta clapped its hands when she graduated. Gave her flowers. Her mother and father were there, too. And they were proud. And to look at Martha, you would think she was proud too, if a little too shy still. Martha studied nursing. And started having visitors in her mother’s house again. Doctors this time. Older men, to whom her gravity of manner appealed, and the innate good sense that seemed so patient in her quiet demeanour. Espeleta was now rather proud of Martha. She seemed everything a girl should be, and they cited her as an example of what religion could do. Lift you out of the shadow of your inheritance. For look at Martha. See how different she is from what should be her father’s daughter. But what they did not know was that all of these doctors Martha had to choose someone slightly older than the rest. And where the girl of eighteen that she had been almost a child unschooled, now she was a woman wise and wary. Where the other nurses knew this doctor only as someone who did not like their dances as much as the younger ones, who did not speak as lightly, as flippantly of love as the younger ones, Martha knew why he didn’t. Between the two of them there had been, form the very start, a quick lifting of the pulse, an immediate quickening of the breath. From the very start. And where he could have concealed the secrets of life, he chose the very first time they were able to talk to each other, to tell her that he was not free. He had a wife, and whether he loved her or not, whether she was unfaithful to him or not, which she was, there had been the irrevocable ceremony to bind them, to always make his love for any other woman, if he ever fell in love again, something that must be hidden, something that might not see light. She was a woman now, Martha was. Wise and wary. But there is no wisdom, no weariness against love. Not the kind of deep love she knew she bore him. And as even she him, she found within herself the old deep – abiding secret hate. Against her father. Against the laws of man and church. Against the very fates that seemed rejoiced in making her pay for a sin she had not committed. She now learned of bitterness. Because she could not help thinking of that night, long ago, when her mother had sat on the bed, and in deliberate words told her just what kind of a father she had. It had been as though her mother had shifted on to her unwilling, unready shoulders the burden of the sorrows, the goad of the grief. Espeleta, that was so quick to censure, and to condemn; even Espeleta had taken the situation in Martha’s house as something that could not be helped. And as long as there was no open strife, Espeleta made excuses for a thing that, they said, had been designed by Fate. Martha’s father came home. Acted, on the surface, the good husband. And since he was married to Martha’s mother, so must Martha’s mother bear it, and welcome him home again. Because she would rather he came home, then went to the other one, wouldn’t she? Espeleta cited heavenly rewards. For Martha’s mother. And Martha went to church regularly, and was a good nurse. And still called her father, Father. You have heard that one of course, about the mill of the gods, how they â€Å"grind exceedingly fine, and grind exceedingly slow. † Espeleta hadn’t heard that one, nor had Martha. But Espeleta of course would have a more winded version of it. Anyhow, one day at the hospital, Martha was attendant nurse at an emergency case. A man had been shot. There were three bullets through his chest, but he was still alive. Martha laughed queerly to herself, saying I must be dreaming, I am imagining that man has my father’s face. It was the doctor she loved who was in charge. With a queer dreaming feeling, she raised her eyes to meet his, and was shocked to see him drop his gaze, and over his face steal a twist as of pain, as of pity. They were instantly their efficient selves again, cloaking themselves in the impersonal masks of physician and nurse. It was as if he who lay there beneath their instruments and their probing fingers was any man, the way it could be any man. Not her father. But all while, training and discipline unavailing. Martha said to herself, but it is my father. He died on the table. He never gained consciousness. Martha drew the sheet over his face and form. And watched as they wheeled him out of the room. She still had the instruments to put away and the room to put in order. But this did not take long and when she went out into the corridor, she found her mother weeping beside the shrouded form on the wheeled table. There was a policeman beside her awkwardly trying with gruff words to console the little woman over her loss. Beside the policeman stood also the doctor, who passed an arm around the shoulder of Martha’s mother, saying simply, we tried to save him. Martha joined them, knowing that she should be in tears, yet finding that she had none to shed. It would ease the tightness within her, would loosen the hard knot in her heart to cry. But you cannot summon tears when you feel no grief, and the pain you feel is not of sorrow but of the cruel justness of things. She could not even put her arms around her weeping mother. When the doctor told her that she would be excused from duty the rest of the day, that he would arrange it for her, she did not thank him. She did not say anything for indeed she no longer had any words, nor any emotions that required speech. Or should be given speech. For one cannot say, how right! How just! When one’s father has just died. Her mother and she took a taxi together to accompany the hearse that took her father home. There was a crowd awaiting them. Espeleta in tears. Espeleta crying condolence and opprobrium in the same breath. It was from them – their good neighbours, their kind neighbours – that Martha learned how â€Å"God’s justice had overtaken the sinner. † Colon is not as intimate as Espeleta. For it is a long street and broad street. But where the railroad crosses it, the houses group together in intimate warmth and neighbourly closeness and its families live each other’s lives almost as meddlingly as Espeleta does. And is as avid for scandals as Espeleta is. Among the people in Martha’s house were some from Colon. And it was they who supplied the grimmer details, the more lucid picture. In that other woman’s house – and Martha did not even know the other woman’s name there had existed the stalemate state of affairs that had existed in Martha’s house. Only where in Martha’s house it had been a wife who was patient, in that other woman’s house it had been the husband who had bided his time. And yet the neighbours had thought he had not cared. For indeed he had seemed like a man blind and deaf, and if he raised his voice against his wife, it was not so they could hear it. Yet today, he had come home, after he had said he was going away somewhere. And had come upon Martha’s father in the house, and had, without saying anything, taken out his revolver, and shot at him. Martha heard all these. And thought you know often life seems like an old – fashioned melodrama, guns and all. And yet the gun had not gone off. It had jammed, and Martha’s father had been able to run. And running, even as he seemed far enough from the house to be safe, the gun in the husband’s hand had come right again. The man had gone out in the street, aimed at the fleeing figure. That explained why the bullets had gone in through his back and out through his chest. They said that the street was spattered with blood and where he fell, there was a pool of gory red. The killer had surrendered himself at once. But everyone knew he would not pay with his life he had taken. For the woman was his wife and he had come upon them in his own home. Martha stayed with the kind condolers only a while. She left her mother for them to comfort as best as they could. They would have praises like â€Å"The good God knows best;† they would have words like, â€Å"Your grief is ended, let your other grief commence. † She went to look at her father lying well arranged now in his bier. Already in spite of the manner of his death, there were flowers for him. Death had left no glare in the eyes that the doctor at the hospital had mercifully closed, over the features lingered no evidence of pain. And Martha said, Death was kind to you. In Martha’s room there hung a crucifix. Upon the crossed wood was the agonized Christ, His eyes soft and deep and tender, even in his agony. But as Martha knelt, and lighted her candles, and prayed, in her eyes was no softness, and on her lips no words appealing for pity for him who had died. There was only the glitter of a justice meted out at last, and the thankfulness for a punishment fulfilled. So she gave thanks, very fervent thanks. For now, she hoped, she would cease to pay.

Foreign Direct Investment in China in last 10 years Essay Example for Free

Foreign Direct Investment in China in last 10 years Essay Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a long-term investment by a foreign investor and is considered a key component of national development strategies across all countries over the globe. This type of investment boosts the economic growth of a country through its positive impact on the country’s domestic capital, productivity, and employment statistics. FDI is the lifeblood of a growing economy that provides the host country benefits of increased labor standards and skills, transfer of new technology and innovative ideas, improved infrastructure and conducive business environment. It is a leading source of external financing. Countries that have stable market conditions coupled with high productivity, low costs of labor, effective government policies and adequate infrastructure facilities are considered to be the most favored destinations for foreign investment companies. Liberalization of economies has opened doors for many countries into the emerging markets of the developing nations such as China and India. The Chinese Economy The Chinese economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It has emerged from being an economy with virtually no foreign investment in the late 1970s to a country that attracts one of the largest amounts of foreign investment from investors across the globe. The increasing openness of the Chinese economy to foreign direct investment has contributed immensely to its exceptional growth and development. The increase in foreign direct investment in China has contributed to higher investment, and growth in productivity, greater employment opportunities, and a dynamic export sector. China is one of the most populous countries in the world with more than 1. 3 billion people with an annual growth rate of 0. 8%. It has taken adequate measures to curb its rising population figures and this has made a positive impact on its growth rate. The population density is approximately 136 persons per square kilometer with most of the people (almost 60 percent) living in rural areas. Life expectancy is also higher in this country than most developing nations across the globe. The country also has high literacy rate of 91 percent. The Chinese economy witnessed a slow but dramatic growth over the past twenty years. It has transformed from a poor economy with relatively low per capita income to the world’s fastest growing economy. The Chinese economy has emerged as a market-oriented economy that has become a dominant figure in world trade. The country has increased its interaction with international economy that has resulted in increased foreign trade and gross national product (GNP). The Chinese economy grew at 11. 4 percent in the year 2007. As per the FDI Confidence Index compiled by A. T. Kearney in the year 2005, China hold the first position followed by India and United States. China is currently the world’s fourth largest economy and it has expanded by at least 10 percent annually in the last four years. Foreign direct investment in China rose by 4. 5 percent in the year 2006 to approximately US$ 63 billion. The country’s foreign currency reserves are the world’s largest and primarily derived from the trade surplus that rose to almost US$ 177. 5 billion in the year 2006. FDI investment trend in the past 10 years Foreign direct investment sector in China has spelled success over the past ten years. It has increased from a mere US$ 19 billion in the year 1990 to more than US$ 700 billion in the year 2007. A glance at the capital and financial account item’s surplus in the past few years reveal that the foreign direct investment has made great contributions to the foreign exchange reserve accumulation. Besides this the FDI has a stabilizing influence on the country’s economy. This is largely due to the long-term commitment that FDI stands for while establishing foreign affiliates. Most developing countries hence are adopting policy reforms to attract more foreign investment into the country. China has accounted for more than one-third of the gross FDI flows to all emerging markets over the past decade. Despite the weakening of the global markets in the recent years, China has remained an essentially fast growing economy. The country’s capital inflows have been dominated by FDI that has made significant contribution to stabilizing the economy along with other associated benefits such as technological transfers and increasing managerial expertise. In 2007 the overall FDI inflows into China totaled US$ 82. 7 billion that is a 13. 8 percent increase from the previous year figures. The total number of deals dropped by almost 8 percent in the year 2006 from 44,019 in the year 2005 to 41,485 in the 2006. The increasing appreciation of the local currency renminbi during the period and the subsequent impact on the market was responsible for this drop. The year 2007 saw only 37,888 foreign investment deals, a drop of 8. 7 percent from the previous year figures. But the value of the FDI was significantly larger than the previous statistics. Wholly foreign-owned enterprises represented almost 78 percent of all foreign investments followed by equity joint ventures and contractual joint ventures. Continuous foreign capital inflow has rendered the Chinese economy the prime position in global context in terms of attracting foreign investment. The country accounts for an investment of foreign capital funds totaling US$ 8589 million by 5136 new foreign corporations between the period January to February 2006. The major sources of FDI in China are Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Among other investors the prominent countries are United States, Taiwan, Cayman Islands, Western Samoa, and Mauritius. These top ten countries together account for 87. 2 percent of total FDI inflows into China. The manufacturing sector accounted for nearly 57. 7 percent totaling US$ 40. 1 billion of the total FDI inflows in the year 2006 followed by 11. 9 percent equivalent to US$ 8. 2 billion in the real estate sector. Other prominent sectors that reflect increasing foreign investment are leasing and business services (US$ 4. 2 billion), transport (US$ 2. 0 billion), wholesale and retailing (US$ 1. 8 billion). Low cost of manufacturing, increasingly wealthy consumer market comprising of 1. 3 billion people are attracting larger number of foreign companies to establish their outlets in China. The large-scale investment by foreign investors has helped in pushing the nation’s foreign currency reserves to almost US$ 1. 2 trillion that is quite high by global standards. The FDI outflow of China received significant attention in the year 2007 due to the creation of People’s Republic of China’s sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corp. and several other high profile investments and acquisitions. China Investment Corp. purchased a stake of US$ 3 billion in Blackstone and 9. 9 percent stake of Morgan Stanley worth US$ 5 billion in the year 2006. The statistics of the total FDI outflow in the year 2006 reveal a total figure of US$ 21. 2 billion that is an increase of nearly 73 percent over the previous year figures. The State owned enterprises accounted for almost 86 percent of this total FDI outflow. The FDI outflow in the country is spread across 172 destinations across the world. The largest share of the FDI outflow from China is received by Latin America followed by Asia, Cayman Islands, and Hong Kong. The prime regional sources of China’s overseas investments are Guangdong, Shanghai, Shandong, Jiangsu, Fujian, Hainan, Hebei, and Beijing. Balance of Payments trend in the past 10 years Over the last ten years China’s Balance of Payments (BOP) kept its current and capital accounts in surplus constantly. The annual total scale of BOP accounts’ increased by 31. 6 percent during the period 1984 – 2004 when foreign reserves increased from US$ 0. 054 trillion to US$ 1. 91. In the first half of the year 2005, the BOP raised to US$ 1. 14 trillion that is an increase of 25. 3 percent over the previous year figures. There is a complimentary relationship between the growth of FDI and international trades. The trades and foreign investment have immense impact on the position of balance of payment, in terms of growth in international business activities. Source: International Financial Statistics July 2007, International Monetary Fund The changes in economic policies adopted and implemented by the Chinese government have made tremendous impact on its trade and balance of payments. The opening of the economy and its gradual move towards a market-oriented economy has made significant impact on the trade balances and foreign funds inflow into the country. A look at the balance of payments figures indicates that the current account surpluses and foreign direct investment have remained important contributors to accumulation of foreign exchange reserves in China. The trade surplus widened to over 177 billion dollars in 2006 to 262 billion dollars in the year 2007. The Government of China is planning to stimulate imports and streamline exports in the coming years. GDP and Inflation Trend in China GDP has shown a healthy growth trend over the past decade in China. Individuals have become richer with annual GDP rising from US$ 8,440 billion in the year 1998 to US$ 24,661 billion in the year 2007. The real GDP growth in the year 2007 was 11. 4 percent raised from 11. 1 percent in the year 2006. The 11. 4 percent GDP growth rate is the highest for China in the last 13 years and it is expected that the GDP will grow 10 percent in the forthcoming year. The economic growth in China was expected to slow down in the year 2007 due to the global market slump. However the rising oil prices across the globe has not made much of an impact so far on the Chinese economy due to the huge amounts of foreign investment in the country. But Chinese economy being more dependent on international trade will face a slow down eventually. Economists predict that the rising consumption pattern will have a slow down impact on the GDP growth rate in the year 2008. It is expected that the Chinese exports will slow down from 26 percent in the year 2007 to 19 percent in 2008. This is mainly accountable to the weakening global market demand and cuts in export rebates. A look at the inflation in China reveals a steadily growing curve. Inflation reached a high of 4. 8 percent in the year 2007 from 1. 5 percent in the year 2006. The rising inflation has reached the peak within the decade. It is expected that the inflation will continue to rise in the forthcoming years with percentage rising to more than 7 in the year 2008. The rising global price of oil has made significant impact on the market prices of goods and commodities in China. This has led to rising consumer oil prices and food prices, and producer price index. Inflation has spread to the service sector as well indicating rising cost of labor in the country. The consumer price index rose by 4. 5 percent in the urban areas and by 5. 4 percent in the rural areas in the year 2007. The rise in inflation is mainly attributed to increased food prices and housing sector. This is becoming a matter of concern for the Chinese economy since the escalating prices can have a negative impact on the overall economic growth. The Chinese government is trying to control inflation adopting strict monetary and trade regulations. Unemployment trend The per capita disposable income was 13,786 yuan in the year 2007 that is a growth of 17. 2 percent from over the previous year figure of 11,759 yuan. The rural per capita disposable income was 4140 yuan in the year 2007 that is a growth of almost 15. 4 percent over the previous year figure of 3587 yuan. The employment figures also raised in the past few years steadily both in the urban and rural sectors. The number of employed people in urban areas reached 12. 04 million people in the year 2007 an increase of 200,000 people over the previous year statistics. China has generated almost 51 million jobs in the past five years in the urban areas. Statistics reveal that there are about 20 million new job seekers in the country every year and the economy is able to provide approximately 12 million jobs per year. Government efforts are directed towards generating more jobs. The country has implemented active employment policies since the year 2002 that has increased the number of employed people from 8. 4 million to 12. 04 million in the last year. Impact of FDI on the Chinese Economy The past few years has witnessed the emerging of China’s economy as the most successful in the world utilizing the inflow of foreign direct investment towards its economic development. The key driving force towards this economic mobilization is the opening up of the Chinese economy to foreign trade and investment. The opening of the economy with subsequent rise in foreign direct investment has contributed immensely to its exceptional growth and development. The foreign direct investment has made a positive impact on the country’s balance of payments. Besides this the impact has been favorable on the country’s GDP growth rate. It has not only raised GDP growth by adding to capital formation but also has contributed to higher GDP growth through its effect on total productivity. The establishment of foreign funded enterprises has directly contributed to the GDP growth an introduction of new technologies and management skills. The growth in industrial establishments and service sector has created new employment opportunities and this is seen as a significant contributor to economic development in China. Moreover, the foreign direct investment has assisted in establishing a highly competitive manufacturing sector in the country. This has contributed immensely to the rising exports and the country’s participation in world trade. References: 1. Foreign Direct Investment in China: International Monetary Fund, 2002 http://www. imf. org/external/pubs/ft/pdp/2002/pdp03. pdf accessed on 9th April, 2008 2. The US-China Business Council – Forecast 2008 China’s Economy http://uschina. org/public/documents/2008/02/2008-china-economy. pdf accessed on 9th April, 2008 3. ADB: China’s GDP to grow 10% in 08, inflation at 5. 5% http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/china/2008-04/02/content_6587641. htm accessed on 9th April, 2008 4. Chinese Inflation hits highest level in more than a decade, Feb 20, 2008 http://www. iht. com/articles/2008/02/19/business/yuan. php accessed on 9th April, 2008 5. National Bureau of Statistics of China http://www. stats. gov. cn/english/statisticaldata/yearlydata/ accessed on 9th April, 2008

Their Eyes Were Watching God | Analysis

Their Eyes Were Watching God | Analysis Hurstons â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† presents several themes such as speech and silence, love and marriage, and finally gender roles. Zora Neale Hurston does an outstanding job of instituting what men such as Joe Starks believed were the standard roles for the African American female. Hurston pertinently described Janie through her relationship with Joe, the metaphoric value of the mule, and her dialogue as a woman of strength, not concerned with the ideals of her white female counterparts, sitting up on a high chair and overlooking the world. Janie desired a greater purpose. In Hurstons â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God†, men and women inhabit separate roles. Not only are the women portrayed as the more fragile sex, Hurston essentially defines them by their relationships to and with the men. Thus, marriage is paramount in this story. The message sent here is that women can and do only obtain power through marrying powerful or, at least, motivated men. By the use of tradition, women are limited to the confines of positions of piteousness, passiveness, domesticity, and of course as sexual objectivity. The men consistently silence the womens voices, limit their actions with proprietary notions and insult their appearance and sexuality. In contrasts, when the women exhibit any traditionally male characteristics such as authority, intelligence or ambition, men deem them as unattractive and masculine. The male characters set out to prove to their peers that they are masculine by showing their wives who is in charge. This was not always due to personal desire, but also by society and at large as well as environmental pressures. The author immediately introduces the female perspective. In â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God†, Hurston celebrates Janie as an artist that enriches Eatonville and details her self-discovery. Without delay, on first page of the book, Hurston substantiates the contrast between men and women by initiating Janies quest to reach fruition of her own dreams and presaging the female quest theme throughout the remainder of the novel. Now, women forget all those things they dont want to remember, and remember everything they dont want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly (Their Eyes Were Watching 1). As a Black woman, Janie asserts herself beyond expectation and the persistence that she consistently shows characterizes her unrelenting quest for true love—the kind she dreamed of as a child. She is aware of her status in society, but is unwavering in her determination to disregard it. Anyone or anything attempting to encumber Janie from her mission for happiness annoys her. â€Å"So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he dont tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see, opines Janies grandmother in an attempt to justify the marriage that she has arranged for her granddaughter† (Their Eyes Were Watching 14). The excerpt founds the presence of the substandard status of women in this culture, a status that Janie must reverse, in some way, in order to surface as a heroine. Despite this obstacle, Janie refuses deterrence from attaining her dream. In â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God†, Zora Neale Hurston reveals the importance of gender roles and their place in African American culture during the 1930s. In Chapter 6, Hurston displays the importance males exhibiting superiority their female partners and their attempts to force them into roles of subservience. In this chapter, Joe Starks attempts push Janie into a passive role by hushing her in conversations, physically abusing her in their home, and handling her as an item in his possession. The author establishes this early in the novel to serve as a catalyst for Janie to make the decision that her personal growth and development as a strong woman will only materialize when she escapes the mold into which Joe has forced her. Hurston exhibits that Janie should be allowed to have the right to do what white women do on a constant basis; perch on high stools on their porches while relaxing. â€Å"Everybody was having fun at the mule-baiting. All but Janie† (Their Eyes Were Watching 56) demonstrates the way Joe stresses that Janie give the impression that she is living the white womans dream of relaxing at home and being civilized, as that is the role dictated by her gender and because it promotes the his portrayal as a powerful leader of the town. Even when Janie pleads, â€Å"Taint nothin so important Ah got tuh do tuhday, Jody. How come Ah cant go long wid you tug de draggin-out?† (Their Eyes Were Watching 60) confirms her desire to abandon the preset, generalized roles of gender that women faced during this period. Janie wishes to forge her own path and do what brings her personal satisfaction as a woman and not what the perception of contentment is for all women. Janies idea of pleasure, ho wever, is not present in the old-fashioned roles that the women of the 1930s were expected to accept. Later in the chapter, we read, â€Å"Here he was just pouring honor all over her; building a high chair for her to sit in and overlook the world and she here pouting over it!† (Their Eyes Were Watching 62). Joe does not seem to grasp that satisfying Janie does not include giving her a life that mimics that of a white womans. Instead, Janie would rather immerse herself into her own culture, celebrating the essentials that are intrinsic to being a black woman. Unfortunately, Joe either cannot or will not fulfill this for her, thus she elects to entertain the company of Tea Cake, who seems to gain happiness from partaking in lifes simpler pleasures, such as singing, storytelling, dancing and fishing—including Janie in his activities. All the way through the novel, we continue to witness the outward display of the superiority that men feel over women. If their spouses do not obey or follow the strict roles of gender, it is commonplace for them to endure beatings, not unlike the mule in chapter six. Even something as small as an undesirable meal, could result in physical abuse. Many men believe that women are in need of guidance in every aspect of their lives, needing instructions for basic tasks on a consistent basis. This sentiment solidifies the belief of the male gender that their sex is greater and superior over women. Many men feel that women are completely ignorant and need men to tell them what to do all of the time; a sentiment that adds fuel to them feeling their gender is greater to their female counterpart. In chapter six Janie objects, â€Å"You sho loves to tell me whut to do, but Ah cant tell you nothin Ah see!† He responds, â€Å"Dats ‘cause you need tellin, It would be pitiful if Ah didnt. Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho dont think none theirselves† (Their Eyes Were Watching 71). Here, Joe alludes that women have brainpower akin to a chicken or clumsy cow and that they should embrace their roles as the lesser mate. Eventually, Janie escapes her traditional female mold of speaking only when spoken to and obeying mindlessly. She finally finds her voice at the end of chapter six when she says to Joe, â€Å"Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks to and talks His inside business. He told me how surprised He was†¦and how surprised yall is goin tuh be if you ever find out you dont know half as much ‘bout us as you think you do. Its so easy to make yoself out God Almighty when you aint got nothin tuh strain against but women and chickens† (Their Eyes Were Watching 75). Janie communicating with Joe in this fashion serves to inform Joe that she believes that God speaks to both sexes equally. She is standing up to the leader of the town. Janie wants Joe to understand that he is not the god of the town because she too can be in touch with God. In addition, she wants Joe to know that she is aware that his gender does not make him a supreme being over her or any woman. This marks a both an evolution and revolution for Janie as a character. We now begin to see her inner thoughts. She is now prepared to battle for her equality and liberation. By the chapters conclusion, we witness a woman refusing to allow men to continue to silence and demanding equal treatment. Janies metamorphosis from a passive woman to one wishing to take an active role in shaping the rights and duties of the female gender is established. â€Å"She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janies first dream was dead, so she became a woman† (Their Eyes Were Watching 24). No longer afraid to challenge her grandmothers staunch expectations, Janie realizes that her grandmothers archaic views of the role of women as pathetic and weak beings with the inability to survive without male protection—even with the absence of love in the relationship, represent boundaries on her full potential. She loathed her grandmother. â€Å"†¦ Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon† (Their Eyes Were Watching 85-86). Still, Janie is undaunted and follows her to follow her instincts, including leaving her first husband and marrying her second one, in the absence of a divorce. â€Å"Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good† (Their Eyes Were Watching 31). The blather and gossip that permeates her small town when she takes a younger man and leaves with him, after being left a widow following the death of her second husband, does not hinder her path even slightly. The happiness she finds in her relationship with Tea Cake is that much sweeter as she has made the decision to go through it alone. Janies moment of personal triumph is â€Å"Discovering the two things everybodys got to do fuh theyselves,† (Their Eyes Were Watching 183). â€Å"They got tuh go tuh God, and they got to find out about livin fuh theyselves,† are the sentiments Janie shares at the end of her journey (Their Eyes 183). Hurston has depicted a female character as an evolving heroine, an architect of her own destiny, and one who has a full grasp on navigating the voyage to self-awareness. Says Mary Helen Washington in the Foreword of Their Eyes Were Watching God, â€Å"†¦for most Black women readers discovering Their Eyes for the first time, what was most compelling was the figure of Janie Crawford powerful, articulate, self-reliant, and radically different from any woman character they had ever before encountered in literature. Janie Crawford is defiant; she defies men, but most importantly, she defies our own preconceived notions of what the role of an African-American woman should be in modern literature.† The definitions and roles of gender for both male and female characters were clear in the 1930s. Janie is symbolic of many women today in her refusal to accept the preconceptions about her duties and abilities. In the 21st century, the majority of men have learned, though some reluctantly, to accept and appreciate the equal abilities and thoughts of modern women and Hurston had the foresight to give women a voice that had previously been silent in literature.

Ethics in the Development of the Global Environment: Perception of Those in Power :: Essays Papers

Ethics in the Development of the Global Environment: Perception of Those in Power The mid-twentieth century was a powerful and revolutionary time in the history of the United States of America. It marked the beginning of the United States’ transition from a country that was built and perpetuated on biases and discrimination to a nation that was being inspired by and began to adopt new ideas of equality and social justice. During this period of time, various concerned individuals came together to form a variety of groups and organizations that committed themselves to bringing about these newly proposed social changes. These groups strove to make America aware of the social injustices that were, and to some extent, still are present in its society. Moreover these organizations made it of utmost priority to take the necessary measures to exterminate these injustices. These groups, while all striving for civil rights often had different fundamental ideas and beliefs as to what was the most beneficial set of circumstances for black Americans. This aspect of the Civil Rights Movement has proven to be the most problematic and consequently, has caused an immense amount of turmoil and disunity not only between white and black Americans but between people of the same race and ethnicity as well. Throughout history, it has proven to be a fact that power is a threat to power. In this, I mean that people who manage to acquire even the slightest amount of power are a threat to those who have established themselves in a position of power. Thus, those who are in these positions of power attempt to retain this power by depriving others of it. Slave masters, for example, deprived their slaves of the powers of knowledge and music in order to keep them ignorant and unable to communicate over distances, understand much vital information, or band together to overturn the established hierarchy of power. Furthermore, those slaves who rebelled, disobeyed, or challenged the slave master’s power were severely beaten, maimed, or killed; while those that took part in more subtle forms of disobedience, such as â€Å"accidentally† breaking farming utensils or failing to meet their quotas of work were often overlooked or perhaps slightly punished. While to simply disobey as th e passive aggressive slaves did was seen as unacceptable; the slaves that ran away or attempted murder on their masters acted in a new revolutionary manner. Ethics in the Development of the Global Environment: Perception of Those in Power :: Essays Papers Ethics in the Development of the Global Environment: Perception of Those in Power The mid-twentieth century was a powerful and revolutionary time in the history of the United States of America. It marked the beginning of the United States’ transition from a country that was built and perpetuated on biases and discrimination to a nation that was being inspired by and began to adopt new ideas of equality and social justice. During this period of time, various concerned individuals came together to form a variety of groups and organizations that committed themselves to bringing about these newly proposed social changes. These groups strove to make America aware of the social injustices that were, and to some extent, still are present in its society. Moreover these organizations made it of utmost priority to take the necessary measures to exterminate these injustices. These groups, while all striving for civil rights often had different fundamental ideas and beliefs as to what was the most beneficial set of circumstances for black Americans. This aspect of the Civil Rights Movement has proven to be the most problematic and consequently, has caused an immense amount of turmoil and disunity not only between white and black Americans but between people of the same race and ethnicity as well. Throughout history, it has proven to be a fact that power is a threat to power. In this, I mean that people who manage to acquire even the slightest amount of power are a threat to those who have established themselves in a position of power. Thus, those who are in these positions of power attempt to retain this power by depriving others of it. Slave masters, for example, deprived their slaves of the powers of knowledge and music in order to keep them ignorant and unable to communicate over distances, understand much vital information, or band together to overturn the established hierarchy of power. Furthermore, those slaves who rebelled, disobeyed, or challenged the slave master’s power were severely beaten, maimed, or killed; while those that took part in more subtle forms of disobedience, such as â€Å"accidentally† breaking farming utensils or failing to meet their quotas of work were often overlooked or perhaps slightly punished. While to simply disobey as th e passive aggressive slaves did was seen as unacceptable; the slaves that ran away or attempted murder on their masters acted in a new revolutionary manner.

research Essay --

An intense research into the structural, physical and transport properties of perovskite manganites with the general formula of R1-xAxMnO3 (where R-rare earth element like La, Pr, Nd, Sm, and A - divalent element like Sr, Ca, Ba, and Pb) has been of recent interest due to colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) discovery[1-3].Attempts have been made to control the effective of one electron band width which primarily governs the magnetic and transport properties of the manganites through doping at the R and A sites[4-6]. In view of the complexity of the manganites, the knowledge on the relationship between the metal–insulator (MI) transition and ferromagnetic (FM)–paramagnetic (PM) transition in CMR manganite perovskites is ever increasing due to its potential applications [7-9]. The metallic properties of doped manganites such as La1-xSrxMnO3 (LSMO) with large band width are explained employing the double exchange (DE) theory [10-13]. It is inferred from the above studies that the narrow band width is not alone responsible for the observed MI transition and CMR in manganites like La1-xCaxM...

A Streetcar Named Desire

Williams also reinforces his implied themes with many motifs and symbols, such as music, drunkenness, and bathing. Towards the end of scene three, Blanche turns on the radio and â€Å"waltzes to the music with romantic gestures [while Mitch imitates] like a dancing bear† (57). Because Blanche is accustomed to her insanity, which is represented by the Varsouviana Polka, she is able to move along with the music fine while Mitch, who is accustomed to reality (and has primitive traits), is unable to gracefully match Blanche’s movements and grace. Not only does the Polka music represent Blanche’s descent into insanity, but also tends to appear at moments when she is in a state of panic. Secondly, drunkenness is a major symbol throughout the play. Stanley states that â€Å"[one thing that] belongs on a poker table [is] whiskey† while Blanche lies and says â€Å"[she isn’t] accustomed to having more than one drink† (54). Stanley and the men seem to drink for social reasons, and they sometimes end up becoming violent or barbaric. Blanche, however, seems to drink in an almost anti-social manner while keeping it a secret, and the results of her drunkenness usually end up causing her to deceive herself. Although the author never states the illness that Blanche is eventually diagnosed with, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a guide used by modern day psychologists to classify types of mental disorders, would classify her as a paranoid schizophrenic. In addition to music and drunkenness, bathing also is an important symbol that is implanted into the play, which is evident when Stanley becomes violent and his friends bath him with â€Å"the water . . on full tilt [and later] comes out of the bathroom [and] breaks into sobs† (59). Because he was violent (and drunk), Stanley’s friends cleanse him of his bad actions with water. He then comes out of the bathroom afterwards and feels regretful, calling out to his love and wanting to be forgiven. Throughout the history of the world and its culture, men and women have had gender-based roles in society which usually portrays men as being primitive and lacking emotion while portraying women as being more delicate and fragile. Such depictions can be seen in a work of Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, which is based on a woman’s false beliefs that slowly lead her into a descent of insanity. Throughout scene three, many subtle cues embedded into Tennessee’s work, which include lighting, stage directions, colors and more are used to help portray the traits of certain characters and especially Blanche Du Bois’ inability to overcome reality. In conclusion, Tennessee Williams uses many motifs and symbols in his works of literature, with A Streetcar Named Desire being a very prime example. You can read also  Similarities and Conflicts in † a Streetcar Named Desire† Primitiveness and fantasy’s inability to overcome reality are represented in many things including lighting, music, colors, drinking, and even bathing. Tennessee Williams uses setting, lighting, and costumes to reinforce theme by describing the setting and events in the rawest and most articulate manner, which gives readers a detailed and symbolic image of the content in scene three including the primitiveness of men and fantasy’s inability to overcome reality. When the author first describes the setting, he states that the men are â€Å"at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the primary colors† (45). Because the men are very up-front and â€Å"coarse,† Tennessee reinforces the theme of the primitive and the primal by describing the physique and status of the men at the poker table. He also compares them to the primary colors, which helps back up the description of their rawness and vigor. Secondly, Tennessee Williams uses lighting to help give the readers more insight on the novel. For example, when Mitch and Blanche are together in the room, she tells him to â€Å"put [the new lamp shade she just bought] over [a] light bulb† (55). Although Blanche lets many people see her in daylight, she only allows Mitch to see her in dimly-lit areas and even lies to him about many things including her age because she likes him and doesn’t want him to discover her slowly fading beauty. The theme being inferred here, fantasy’s inability to overcome reality, is also represented by Blanche’s past haunting her due to the death of her husband, the loss of her Old Southern family estate, and her dismissal from work due to an improper affair with a student. Lastly, the themes of both the primitive/primal and Blanches inability to overcome reality are represented in the author’s choice of costume assignment, which is evident when Blanche is dressing and â€Å"stands in her pink silk brassiere and white skirt in the light through the portieres† (51). Unlike the men in the novel, who are portrayed in colors that are raw and primary, the absence of primitiveness is shown in the many descriptions of Blanche’s pastel-colored clothing. The silhouette that also appears as Blanche stands in the light of the portieres also helps create the foundation of Blanche’s fantasy world (the darkness of the silhouette) that is enclosed and trapped by reality (the light around her). A Streetcar Named Desire A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the most famous and noted plays in American history. The play was written by Tennessee Williams and won him the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Spoto, 1997).The main characters of the story, Blanche DuBois, Stanley Kowalski and Stella Kowalski represent the social and personal conflicts of post-war American society. One of the most interesting elements in the play that contributed to the success of the play is the manner by which each of the character’s perspectives and illusions are used to bring insight to the reality.Naturalism was depicted in the play by incorporating existing social conditions, language and through references to events, personalities and issues. This is evident in the backgrounds and demeanors of characters and in the manner of their interactions. Another factor that represents naturalist elements to the play is the use of developing sciences and issues into the story such as Stella’s nervous condition, Stanleyâ₠¬â„¢s involvement with the growing violence and vice of the city and   Blanche's rape and nervous breakdown.Another use of naturalism in the play is seen in the lack of dramatic role reversals among the characters and instead the characters are portrayed as individuals simply with lives that can go beyond their ability to control (Williams & Miller, 2004).Another factor that has contributed to the appeal of the play was because of the ease of reference with audience. The main reason for this is the realism of the characters. Blanche’s situation of having to leave the South was a common to the era as economics became an issue in the region. Stella represented common issues regarding rights and independence being raised for women.Stanley represented the stiff challenges of the city which requires aggressiveness and dominance. Though the characters are representations of social segments, Williams gave them their individual idiosyncrasies and vulnerabilities which made persons to the audience.ReferencesSpoto, Donald (1997). The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams. Chicago: Da Capo PublishingWilliams, Tennessee and Miller, Arthur (2004). A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation.  

Monotony in Elisa’s life Essay

Many people in our modern society lead monotonous lives; in other words they follow a routine and have little or no excitement in their lives. Sometimes we fool ourselves by believing that a monotonous life is happy life, but it does not work the same way for every person. Leading a monotonous life can be very harmful to one’s well being and those around us. In the short story â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† by John Steinbeck we see a person who finds herself in this situation, following a daily routine without much change in it. When a person realizes that they have been living a boring life they start to feel dissatisfied with what they have accomplished, act on impulse and even resort to different activities in an attempt to escape from reality. It often happens that people neglect themselves and do not do anything to satisfy their inner desires which later turn into regret. Regret is the effect that comes from not doing that which you want to do, not realizing your dreams or even from making the wrong decision. If a person strictly follows a routine it happens that they refuse to relax or have fun because it can affect their work or lives. These people are followed by a feeling of unaccomplishment which can lead to sorrow and sadness. The problem is that you start repeating this cycle that does not really benefit your health, it may benefit others and improve your work or studies but you always have to take into consideration your well being. Regret is a very powerful emotion and can carry on for years if a person is not careful it can gravely affect their state of mind and create many complexes. In â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† the character of Elisa is a perfect example of someone who leads a monotonous life. Elisa is tired of her life because she feels tired of the same issues every day, caring for her garden being a wife and even dealing with an awkward husband. Elisa regrets not living a more exciting life. In the story, the traveling handyman when talking with Elisa asks her for some chrysanthemums seeds and a very interesting conversation comes up. Elisa tries to explain to him how to care for the chrysanthemums by explaining the feeling of how you do it, but they interpret the explanation as something sexual. Elisa gets aroused by the conversation and tries to touch the man’s leg in the heat, but resists herself in the end. This leaves me to think that maybe she feels unsatisfied in her marriage, she desires something, regrets not having this exciting life. By using the same example we can also relate the situation to how living in this monotony can make a person act on impulse. To act on impulse is to give in to your deepest desires, to follow your urges; it is the drive for what we do. This impulsive behavior surfaces from the situation, since Elisa cannot hold her desire she breaks down and almost does something she might have regretted later on. Jane Atkinson states, â€Å"When a man you’ve never met before suddenly gives you flowers don’t be alarmed — he’s only acting on Impulse† (Atkinson). What I’m trying to say is that acting on impulse is like taking a risk. What we have in the quote is basically that, the man is probably nervous and thinking that the woman will not accept them or feel harassed, but he takes a risk, acts on impulse, without completely thinking about the consequences of his actions. Many people live an entire life by acting on impulse without thinking about the consequences, but it is a fact that sometimes you could end up with a very complicated situation. Sometimes acting on impulse is not bad, but you cannot go over the top, there needs to be a balance between the two. Elisa, for a single moment, acted according to what her body wanted, but at the last moment realized that what she was going to do might have caused big problems later on. Basically acting on impulse is not exactly a bad thing, but in Elisa’s case, where the impulses come out of regret, it is a very severe problem. If you act on impulse you will not just cause harm to yourself, but to those around you too. The human being when cornered in a situation tends to look for an easy way to get out of this situation; this is the meaning of escaping from reality. The easy way out may be an efficient one, but in the long run may end up being the worst since it is the most dangerous for your health. Elisa’s monotonous live creates the perfect situation to make a person desire to escape. To escape from reality one uses an activity or an object which aids the person to create a more comfortable scenario. Many people use drugs to escape from reality, alcohol is one of the most common since it makes you see everything in a different way. Elisa is already mentally affected due to her dull, monotonous life and to make it worst the traveling handyman reminds her that her life will probably be the same until her death. By analyzing Elisa’s behavior from the story we can infer that she has been using the chrysanthemums garden as a way to bury in all her feelings and hide all her sadness, but nearing the end of the story when Elisa and her husband are on their way to the restaurant she asks if they could buy some wine, her second attempt to escape from reality. Elisa wants to use alcohol to escape from the sadness she was feeling; we can also assume that from this point on Elisa might develop a drinking problem due to the constant use of alcohol to alleviate the sadness. Escaping from reality might ease the pain inside one’s heart, but it cannot resolve any problems. Also there is also the fact that Elisa is living in a rather sexist society. Ott, Jim states, â€Å"It’s the enigmatic tale of a woman named Elisa who loves her husband, but is fenced in by geography and circumstances in a man’s world†. In the quote we basically have a summary of the story, but we mainly focus in the part where it says â€Å"in a man’s world† meaning that Elisa is being seen as weak and defenseless and treated as inferior. If a person constantly escapes from reality and never confronts his problems they will just make things worst since the problems will pile up and become even more complicated. In the end it just goes back to the same saying that everything in excess can be deadly. Leading a monotonous life can be harmful to a person’s well being. Monotony makes people feel dissatisfied, makes them act illogically and can even throw them into a deep depression. But there are also people who believe that it does not cause harm and that it can even be good for your health. Leading a monotonous life does not physically injure anyone and as long as a person does not take it to extreme measures then it does not cause any harm. There is also the fact that nobody has died because of monotony and it is not even a disease. However there are many factors that can make this seemingly normal way of life a deadly one. Even if it is not a disease it acts like one by obstructing your way of thinking, affect your judgment and more. It is true that as long as you do not do anything extreme then it will not cause much harm, but the problem is that not everyone understands this, most people just take it to the extreme or just do not do anything at all. Of course monotony cannot kill a person, but it can drive one into suicide easily since there are many people with weak minds and hearts who get overtaken by the feeling and do rash things without taking everything into account. In other words although monotony is not a deadly disease it can be harmful because it works it affects the weakest part of the body which is the mind. To live on a routine may sound like a completely normal and healthy activity, but, like everything, if you surpass a certain limit it can have the exact opposite meaning and effects on a person’s life. Once you put the facts in monotony can cause great harm like in Elisa’s case, but it can have the exact opposite effect too. Gregory J. Palmerino states, â€Å"In the end, both husband and wife bear responsibility and suffer for their seemingly childless and sexless marriage; the punishment, however, appears to be meted out unfairly† (Palmerino). This one quote basically sums up everything I want say about the story. Elisa and her husband are only making their problems worst and have many regrets and secrets or rather untold opinions of one another that are yet to be said aloud. The only real problem in all of this is the fact that their punishment really is being meted out unfairly since Elisa is getting the short end of the stick because she is being oppressed by her status as a woman and because of the fact that even though she is extremely unhappy she cannot do anything about it. The thing about Elisa’s lifestyle is that one thing leads to another, since she is living a monotonous life she regrets not doing many things and thus tends to act on impulse to try and accomplish these unfulfilled desires and lastly since she cannot fulfill these desires she resorts to the use of other objects to ease the pain in her heart. The saddest part of everything that is happening to Elisa is that she herself is making things worse for her and her husband. Works Cited Atkinson, Jane. â€Å"Policeman just can’t Help Acting on Impulse.† News of the World: 53. May 23 2010. ProQuest Central. Web. 19 Oct. 2012 . Ott, Jim. â€Å"This Valley Life: Livermore to Read and Celebrate Steinbeck.† Oakland TribuneJan 07 2010. ProQuest Central. Web. 19 Oct. 2012 . Palmerino, Gregory J. â€Å"Steinbeck’s THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS.† The Explicator 62.3 (2004): 164-7. ProQuest Central. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.