“Everyday Use” by Walker Essay

Although I enjoyed â€Å"Everyday Use† by Walker, I did not find the first person point of view to be as effective as I would have liked it to be. By writing the story from mama’s point of view Walker denies the reader a chance to gain insight to how the other characters are feeling about the situation. The story tends to give the reader a bias opinion of the events that occur in the story. I believe that if Walker had used an omniscient point of view instead of a first person point of view the story would have been a lot more effective. Mama had a very bias opinion of Dee and by using her point of view for the story the reader may adopt her opinion. But had Walker used an omniscient point of view the reader could have gained insight into Dee’s thoughts and feelings. With the gained insight the reader would be given the chance to form his or her own opinion of Dee. Further insight into Dee’s thoughts and feelings would explain to the reader why Dee acts so superior to Mama and Maggie. The reader would get an idea of whether she really did feel superior or if she was trying to hide her true feelings. An omniscient point of view would also give the reader insight into Maggie’s thoughts and feelings. Being a younger sister myself I couldn’t help but wonder how Maggie felt about her sister. Mama gives the impression that Maggie feels about Dee the same way she does. With an omniscient point of view the reader would know whether or not this is true. When given more personal insight into characters I find that I feel more empathy towards them and enjoy the story more. It makes it more memorable and meaningful for me.

Woman Hollering Creed

Morgan Sneed ENGL2006 Sandra Cisneros is an American writer best known for her first novel The House on Mango Street and her subsequent short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. Her work experiments with literary forms and investigates emerging subject positions, which Cisneros herself attributes to growing up in a context of cultural hybridity and economic inequality that endowed her with unique stories to tell.Cisneros's early life provided many experiences she would later draw on as a writer: â€Å"born in Chicago, the child of a Mexican father and a Mexican American mother, Cisneros spent parts of her childhood in Texas and Mexico (1130). † Cisneros's work deals with the formation of Chicana identity, exploring the challenges of finding herself caught between Mexican and American cultures, facing the misogynist attitudes present in both these cultures, and experiencing poverty. For her insightful social critique and powerful prose style, Cisneros has achieved recognition far beyond Chicano and Latino communities.Using her position as an educator and writer, she began â€Å"to champion Chicana feminism, especially as this movement combines cultural issues with women’s concerns (1131)†. In Woman Hollering Creek, Cisneros â€Å"cultivates a sense of warmth and naive humor for her protagonists, qualities that are evident in introductory parts (1130). † This short story collection deals with the issues that young women faced. â€Å"What remains constant is the author’s view that by romanticizing sexual relations women cooperate with a male view that can be oppressive, even physically destructive†¦Ciseneros is ‘caught between here and there’.Yet ‘here’ and ‘there’ are not as dichotomous as young versus old, female versus male, or Mexico versus the United States (1130). † Woman Hollering Creek is a tale of tragedy and triumph. The story, told from the third person, begins by showing us the foreknowledge our protagonist Cleofilas’s father held concerning her fate. â€Å"†¦ Already did he divine the morning his daughter would raise her hand over her eyes, look south, and dream of returning to the chores that never ended, six good-for-nothing brothers, and one old man’s complaints (1131). Cleofilas is preparing to marry a Texas man, Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez. If a critic were to take into account, external historical and social considerations when interpreting Sandra Cisneros's â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek†, his initial natural prejudice might be to view the modern Untied States more likely to provide women liberation from oppressive masculinity than Mexico. However, a closer reading of â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek† reveals the opposite true in this case. The U. S. own, which Cleofilas moves with her new husband, casts a distorted mirror image of the town from whence she came. This juxtaposition in the se tting, as well as the characters, symbols, and point of view, all combine to amass their weight toward one conclusion: life in the United States is less liberating for the Mexican woman than life in Mexico. The United States town, steeped in masculinity, is evidenced by the symbolism of the setting as well as by the characters. The primary character that takes an active part in Cleofilas's life, her husband, is masculine.Across the street is Maximiliano, so macho that he â€Å"was said to have killed his wife in an ice-house brawl† (1136). There is no feminine identity for Cleofilas to relate to in her neighbors; Dolores is no longer a mother and Soledad is no longer a wife. Dolores's garden, rather than being tranquil and feminine, serves to reinforce masculine dominance by showing the â€Å"red cockscombs, fringed and bleeding a thick menstrual color† (1133) foreshadow the abuse that would soon leave Cleofilas's lip split open so that it â€Å"bled an orchid of bloo d† (1134).The town has a city hall, an image of masculine rule, outside of which rests a large bronze pecan. In effect, it is a brass nut, an obviously masculine symbol for which the town possesses a â€Å"silly pride† (1135). Each of these components of setting and character has their feminine mirror in the Mexican town, which is therefore more hospitable to women. The primary character who takes a part in Cleofilas's life there is her father who seems to have taken over the mothering role of Cleofilas's deceased mother, making a promise, â€Å"I am your father I will never abandon you† (1131).All of her neighbors are women, and all have a sense of identity. â€Å"In the town where she grew up, there isn’t much to do except accompany the aunts and godmothers to the house of one or the other to play cards (1131). † Instead of a city hall, the town has a town center, which implies not masculine competition and rule but feminine cooperation. Instead o f a bronze pecan outside of the city hall, there is a â€Å"leafy zocalo in the center of town† (1135), suggesting fertility and femininity.In addition to providing a contrast between the feminine and the masculine, the relative setting of the towns also create a contrast between independence and dependence, â€Å"because the towns in the U. S. are built so that you have to depend on husbands†(1135). In the church in Mexico she could meet with other women and engage in â€Å"huddled whispering† (1135), but in the United States â€Å"the whispering begins at sunset at the icehouse instead† and she must sit â€Å"mute beside their conversation† (1135).TV and cinema are both readily available to Cleofilas in Mexico, but in Seguin, she has no TV, and can only glimpse a â€Å"few episodes† of her telenovela at Soledad's house. Even her one solid contact with a world outside her own, her book, is thrown by her husband â€Å"from across the roomâ €  (1136). Not only does the Mexican town provide more opportunities for independent action than the U. S. town, but it also provides alternatives for dependency. In Mexico, Cleofilas can depend on her father, brothers, aunts, and godmothers.In the United States, however, she has no such option, as the doctor says, â€Å"her family's all in Mexico† (1138). These contrasts between the dependence on the masculine necessitated by the U. S. town and the independence, or at least the variety of dependencies, afforded by the Mexican town become clearer as the story progresses. Initially, the narrator's point of view expresses a feeling of limitation in the Mexican town: In the town where she grew up, there is not very much to do except accompany the aunts and godmothers to the house of one or the other to play cards.Or walk to the cinema to see this week's film again, speckled and with one hair quivering annoyingly on the screen. Or to the center of town to order a milk shake th at will appear in a day and a half as a pimple on her backside. Or to the girlfriend's house to watch the latest telenovela episode and try to copy the way the women comb their hair, wear there makeup (1131). The language of this passage makes the town appear dull and limiting until compared with the language of a similar passage describing the northern town. â€Å"There is no place to go.Unless one counts the neighbor ladies. Soledad on one side, Dolores on the other. Or the creek† (1136). By contrasting these passages, we can see the narrator's point of view. The Mexican town is not limited compared to the United States town. There are variety of options. The narrator's point of view becomes abundantly clear as Cleofilas crosses Woman Hollering Creek on her way home to Mexico. Initially, the point of view is negative. When moving to her new home with her husband, Cleofilas wants to know whether â€Å"the woman has hollered from anger or pain† (1133).Crossing that riv er to her new home is like crossing into a world of both anger and pain. However, leaving that world, and crossing the river returning to her father endows Cleofilas with a fresh perspective. Her companion hollers when they cross the river, but not in either anger or pain. She hollers â€Å"like Tarzan† (1138). Cleofilas had expected â€Å"pain or rage, perhaps, but not a hoot like the one Felice had just let go† (1139). Therefore, â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek†, becomes a triumphant return to a home of peace and love and an escape from what her father had known all along.

Family Concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Family Concept - Essay Example Legitimization of children born is of course a universal criterion of marriage. Another factor related to the subject marriage is 'legal paternity'. Dr. Edmund Leach in Europe is of the opinion that no definition could be found that would apply to all the institutions which is commonly accepted as marriage. He referred to ten classes of rights which are related with the word marriage. He is flexible in his approach and states "we ought to feel free to call 'marriage' any institution which fulfils any one or more of the selected criteria". Dr. Leach cites the case of Nayar, the Kerala person in Kerala community. His marriage is not accepted as traditional marriage but a "relationship of perpetual affinity" between linked lineages" (Gough 1955a). The ritual husbands of Nayar girls had no obligation to the brides after the ritual was over. The ritual wife also has no obligation except observing pollution rites at death of the ritual husband... The children born to the woman after marriage have no notion of paternity. . The marriage was basically exogamous with matrilineage character having allegiance to the family of head of the village which might be patrilineal Nayar... Such traditional scattered groups all over the world lost the cohesion of tradition later but kept together by thin thread of kinship. What is the actual family scenario in the western world today The institution of marriage is present but the divorce rate remained as high as 50%. The rate of marriage is coming down and the system of co-habitation started in which men and women live together without marriage. The status of family in this new system is very weak... Couples who once might have wed and then divorced now are not marrying at all. Co-habitation is never good for children because it increases family instability. Cohabiting couples have twice the break up rate of married couples only because there is no family bond between the couples. 40% of children in USA come under this fold of loose family set up. 8.1% of US coupled household are made of unmarried but heterosexual partners. The percentage of children who grow with both biological parents is the lowest at 63%. The divorce rate in USA being one of the highest the family status in this country is the weakest with the highest rate of solo parenting. In this type of a weak family concept and social scenario any university would remain confused about promotion of a well-defined family set up. Therefore my concept of a family set up would be one where there is unity, love and peace among all the family members to promote the objective of everybody's life. Generation has due recognition in any society and family but not from the marginal point of view as it was earlier...We often hear about generation gap. The emergence of global generation that started in 1960s has world wide repercussions today with major development in new electronic communication and international consciousness. The future generation will be uniquely influenced by web technology with the introduction of social networking services like MySpace, social bookmaking sites like Yahoo's del.icio.us, and peer to peer social networks like the blogosphere and the cell phones... Today the word

Written Assignment 3 - Bank of America Corporation

Written 3 - Bank of America Corporation - Assignment Example Purchasing countrywide financial and Merrill lynch can be termed as an unwise decision taken by the company (Richard, 2013) as they did this while the economy faced a financial crisis. Therefore, the company failed to make sound decisions relating to its operations. Bank of America serves as the largest consumer bank in the United States of America. It has a large number of members, both locally and internationally. Being a global company allows it to reach a wider group of customers, thus increasing its competitiveness. More to these, the company deals with a multiple of activities. The activities include consumer and small business banking, corporate banking, credit cards, mortgage lending, and asset management. The various activities contribute to the success of the company as losses in one segment can be countered by profits in another sector. More to this, the law suit against the company exposes it to negative publicity, which may lead to greater losses of the company. The bank also faces a financial shortage, which makes the running of the organization difficult. According to the company’s balance sheet for this period, the company experienced a decrease in its cash resources by $12912 million, its fixed assets dropped by $1194 million, while the noncurrent assets increased by $42804 million. The debtors of the company increased by $3708 million. This shows that the company’s operations became worse from 2009 to 2010. More to these, the liabilities of the company grew by $44806 million, thus depicting financial difficulties for the company. In terms of shareholding, the number of preference shares reduced by more than half within this period, but the ordinary shareholding increased marginally. However, the company received a decline in the amount of total equity from 2009 to 2010. Given the need to retain, and attract more customers to the company, the bank should focus on promoting the convenience of

Ockham Technologies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ockham Technologies - Research Paper Example It would be hectic to get each board member engaged at a single place for meeting and equal participation of board members in company’s interest would be overseen (Sargeant & Jay, 2009). On the contrary, by keeping a small board of directors there will be unity and a sense of ownership and serving common purpose would be developed within the board team. The work will be performed smoothly and efficiently and organizational goals will be accomplished speedily without any bureaucracy being involved (Council on Foundations, 2010). 2. Before making a fund-raising decision, Ockham will need to consider certain factors such as the size of the board and the role played by each board member. Size of the board of directors would depend on the potential investor’s approach towards the control of equity in the company. The size of the board will also clarify the level of involvement of each member of the board in Ockham’s affairs (Martinelli, 2013). Then comes the intangibl e attributes that Ockham will need to define before defining board of directors. ... rmance at their current organizations will also be assessed in order to project the financial value that each board member will be adding to Ockham Technologies (Altenburg, 2011). 3. At some point of time, tension between strategic business partners is destined to emerge due to a shift in approach towards business and bringing changes in the organizational structure or operational structure (Jamieson, Eklund, & Meekin, 2012). If I were to play the role of Jim Triandiflou and reduce tensions between me and Mike Meisenheimer, I would select different conflict management strategies to resolve the issue in Ockham’s greater interest. First of all, I would have started to consult Mike in important decisions regarding the future and present of Ockham as an accommodating strategy. Than adopting an avoiding strategy would allow me to ignore petty issues and integrate my ideas into functions after collaborating and reaching a compromised agreement with Mike. In this manner, it will be a win-win situation for both Mike and me as both of us will be giving up elements of our position to implement an acceptable solution. If all of that wouldn’t have worked in resolving tensions between me and Mike, I could adopt competing strategy of conflict management which would require me to remind Mike about his percentage of equity in the company and that I, being 50% equity holder in the company, have the upper hand in decision making (Dotingney, 2013). 4. The best option available to Ockham to develop systems for IBM in the given time period is to hire system developers and ask them to work in-house. This would be beneficial as it will lower the costs involved in the system development and enable Ockham to use the hired team for future projects. This would also reduce costs involved in

History of Pennsylvania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History of Pennsylvania - Essay Example Prior to the entry of the Europeans into the new territories, the state was home to indigenous Indian tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian linguistic origins like the Delawares, Shawnees, Susquehannocks, Eries and other unidentified tribes.2 During 1638-1655, it was the The Swedes who made settlements in Wilmington, Delaware area. The Dutch followed when they seized from the Swedes important trading posts in 1655. In 1664, the English assumed authority over the area gaining much control of the Delaware region in the name of the Duke of York.3 In the ensuing sections of the paper, the relevant periods in Pennsylvanian history would be discussed. The discourse will also focus on the founding of the State and how it shaped the future Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania, as mentioned earlier was the site of a major event in US history, the Declaration of Independence. In the months before the declaration, the state struggled with opponents to autonomy because gaining autonomy would mean the disruption of political and economic life as the Pennsylvanians knew and a death knell to the new State Constitution. Archeologists thought that the first inhabitants of the land that would later be known as Pennsylvania were inhabited by paleo-Indians who were nomadic and hunter-gatherers, and preferred to live in groups of twenty to thirty.4 Archeological evidences indicated that the early inhabitant used stone impediments. The Meadowcroft Rockshelter archeological site in Pennsylvania revealed that there were inhabitants in the area as early as 16,000 years ago.5 Before the first Europeans set foot on Pennsylvania, the Lenni Lenape or Delawares lived in the northern and southern parts of the Delaware Valley.6 On the west, the northern Susquehanna Valley was home to Iroquoian-speaking tribes.7 The Susquehannocks, on the other hand occupied the Lancaster Valley and conducted trade along the Great Minguas Path.8 By the time the Europeans arrived,

SOCIOLOGY OF MENTAL HEALTH and ILLNESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SOCIOLOGY OF MENTAL HEALTH and ILLNESS - Essay Example While such labels are applicable to a small fraction of patients, a majority of them are â€Å"normal† individuals by common standards. Their disorders and disturbances only affect their concentration, cognition and efficiency. Yet, they get ostracized for their condition. The mainstream media plays a significant role in spreading such misconceptions among the citizenry. As a matter of statistic, crime rates among the mentally disturbed are quite similar to that of the control group (Angermeyer, 2004). Yet, the media portrays them as people prone to violent and antisocial behavior. For example, â€Å"Mental illness also has not received the sensitive media coverage that other illnesses have been given. We are surrounded by stereotypes, popular movies talk about killers who are "psychos" and news coverage of mental illness only when it related to violence. We also often hear the causal use of terms like "lunatic" or "crazy," along with jokes about the mentally ill. These representations and the use of discriminatory language distort the public’s view and reinforce inaccuracies about mental illness.† (Schulze, 2003) It is not an even keel with all types of afflictions. Some of them like schizophrenia are subject to more ridicule and stigma than say depression. People affected with this condition are portrayed as â€Å"psychos†, â€Å"whackos†, â€Å"nut balls†, etc. While disorders like depression don’t attract such treatment as a result of widespread awareness about anti-depressants within the mainstream media (Kelly, 2007). There are other negative consequences to such stigma. For one thing, many people shy away from getting proper treatment for their conditions on fear of being ridiculed and disparaged. They also develop unreasonable fears of abandonment by their family and friends once the illness comes to light