The birds :: essays research papers

In the course of this film we see Melanie develop as a person through confronting the things she fears. Melanie confronts many fears through the course of the film and grows as a person as the film progresses. She goes through a lot in the film and the story implies that she has found herself by the end of the film. The story is of course a thriller but behind the thriller is Melanie’s journey. Melanie’s journey is very quick. She was extremely immature and lost at the beginning of the film and is some what grown up by the end. At the start of the film Melanie was very immature and lost. She is very rich and seems to want to do something with her life. She apparently spends time with charity and other activities of the sort. She is a prankster who apparently went skinny dipping in a fountain at Rome. She also wants to teach a miner bird lewd saying to give to her linguistic aunt. She must be very lost and has no direction in life. Through this film she gains a little more maturity. Melanie gains more maturity through the film. She acts like a lost little rich kid at the beginning and through the film she begins to show a little more maturity and self respect. She begins to see who she really is under all the confidence and pranks. She is needed in the film and she needs that responsibility to become a woman. She gains more responsibility and she becomes a woman, at last. The bird attacks give that catalyst that is needed to start her to become a responsible grown up. She needs the birds to let her become the friend of Cathy, the friend of Lydia and the girlfriend of Mitch. She needs the birds to let her become a protector and a great friend of Annie. She becomes a great person because of the love she shows for the family.

Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress and Swift’s A Tale of a Tub

Although the two pieces express different themes, the allegory entitled The Pilgrim’s Progress, written in 1678 by John Bunyan, and the work A Tale of a Tub, published in 1704, but written earlier by Jonathan Swift have some striking similarities. The most notable similarity is the theme of a journey through life and through Christianity, and the many aspects of the lives of the protagonists. The Pilgrim’s Progress chronicles the adventures of Christian, as he tries to find his way from the city of destruction (the world) to the celestial city, where everything is perfect (heaven), which rests atop Mount Zion.This piece expresses themes of Christianity, and how certain aspects of the religion may help to overcome particular temptations and troubles in the world. Christian, as he travels, has a great burden, which weighs him down, because he had read â€Å"the book in his hand,† (the Bible) which helped keep him out of Tophet, the miserable place (hell). Particula r characters that Christian encounters after he has set out play different roles, and some try to get him to remain sinful, and adopt the ways of the city of destruction (such as the two men he encountered just after setting out on his journey, named Obstinate and Pliable.These men of the world, the city of destruction, represent the weaker qualities of Christian, who is always somewhat tempted to stay in the city of destruction, and forego the path to the celestial city. Through Christian’s travels, which undoubtedly represent the righteous path of life, everyone he encounters offers some form of temptation, whether it be good- leading him to the wicket gate, or bad, trying to keep him in the city of destruction. At the end of his story, Christian arrives in the celestial city.The second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress details the story of his wife, Christiana, and their sons, who have similar, worldly experiences. Also in her story are metaphorically named characters who seek to persuade Christiana one way or another, and they represent the evils of the world and the righteousness of heaven. Jonathan Swift’s A Tale of a Tub also chronicles the lives of Christians (three brothers, who represent main branches of Christianity) but it must be said that the work is quite satirical.In the story are three brothers named Peter (who represents the saint of the same name), Martin (named for Martin Luther), and Jack (who represents John Calvin). Peter’s story marks the chronicles of the Roman Catholic Church, while Martin represents the Church of England, and Jack, the major Protestant sects. In the story, each brother inherited a coat, that had certain features on it, representing features of their religion, and they were told not to alter the coats, but all they do is change them.This represents people who have altered the church or its practices for personal gain. The brothers in the story represent a basic theme that was prevalent in soci ety at the time, which was the celebration of modernization and secularism over classic religion. And this is what connects the two pieces. In each work, the protagonists are provided with temptations that seek to alter or even minimize classic religion, for the sake of different individuals’ worldly gains.But in each allegory were numerous other metaphors and allusions, which represented myths or other stories that helped to explain the writer’s direction in each story. â€Å"A considerable, but by no means the largest or ablest, portion of the work is occupied by an account of the quarrels of the churches, told in the famous story of three brothers, Peter, Martin and Jack,† says an exert from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.â€Å"representing Roman Catholics, Anglicans and puritans; of the coat bequeathed to them by their father, whose will, explaining the proper mode of wearing it, they first interpreted each in his own way, and then , after many ingenious evasions of it, locked up in a strong box; and of their subsequent quarrels concerning the will and its significance. Throughout, the brothers act in accordance with the doctrine that beings which the world calls clothes are, in reality, rational creatures or men, and that, in short, we see nothing but the clothes and hear nothing but them.† Swift also included in the work the superficial nature of many religious figures. The clothes the characters wore were always being altered, representing manmade changes in the religions, but they also demonstrate that people may show their religion to others first (by â€Å"wearing,† or sporting it) without even being faithful or an obedient participant in the religion. In the satire, Swift seems to side with the original Martin Luther, who was infuriated with the church as it sold â€Å"forgiveness† to sinners. This feature of the church was acquired, and not historically or cardinally supported.It on ly served to improve monetary gain for men of the church, which is much of what happens in A Tale of a Tub. And in Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, the temptations and worldly desires that the characters are confronted with represent the world’s secular impact on the church. The church was always changing, as men of the church felt they could utilize it, and exploit its sovereignty for personal gain, which is what the various metaphorically-named characters that Christian and Christiana encountered were trying to do.Swift and Bunyan’s subliminal criticism of the church and its practices, which were always straying from its ideals, is the greatest similarity between the two highly-metaphorical works that seek to criticize the downsides of religious practice. But the two works also encourage the righteous aspects of reverence. They make very obvious the ways in which religion can be exploited for basic secular gains, and in doing so, by having the character s that exhibit those poor traits somehow villains, the authors signify how one is to correctly remain reverent.In Bunyan’s work, he makes Biblical sin a reality, which physically burdens man when he is righteous enough to recognize that he has erred, and gone against his religion’s teachings. â€Å"As I walk'd through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certainplace where was a Den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a Dream,† Bunyan wrote of Christian at the beginning of his allegory. â€Å"I dreamed, and behold I saw a Man cloathed with Rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a Book in his hand, and a great Burden upon his back.I looked, and saw him open the Book, and read therein; and as he read, he wept and trembled; and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying What shall I do? † This is how he sets the stage for the story about a righteous man who is forced to survive in a land of evils and temptations, which seek to destroy his reverence. â€Å"Then Christian fell down at his foot as dead, crying, Wo is me, for I am undone: At the sight of which, Evangelist caught him by the right hand, saying, All manner of sin and blasphemies shall be forgiven unto men; be not faithless, but believing.Then did Christian again a little revive, and stood up trembling, as at first, before Evangelist,† Bunyan wrote in Pilgrim’s Progress, demonstrating how righteousness and reverence to religion, not necessarily to the secular church, can save man and lead him out of evil. This character, Evangelist, represents a truly righteous man of the church, who in every way demonstrates the how to apply the religion’s teachings, and how to refrain from evil.â€Å"The wits of the present age being so very numerous and penetrating,† Swift writes of his own enterprise in writing A Tale of a Tub in the work’s preface, à ¢â‚¬Å"it seems the grandees of Church and State begin to fall under horrible apprehensions lest these gentlemen, during the intervals of a long peace, should find leisure to pick holes in the weak sides of religion. † This notifies his intentions in writing the satire, which was criticizing particular religious practices, which are actually nothing more than exploitations of the original religion.Swift, throughout the work, openly criticizes any change in the three church’s, represented by the characters of the work, as changes only exist as features of the church that stray from the original teachings of the religion. Although Swift’s and Bunyan’s pieces are different, they both satirically chronicle the adventures of characters who are supposed to (but in Swift’s case, they do not) adhere to religious ideals without falling into sin by realizing religion’s secular adaptation.Each work makes clear that the church should remain stable, and th at people who wish to lead a fulfilling life should adhere to reverent practices, and give up irreverent activities and temptations. And in demonstrating how this is done by chronicling the stories of people who struggle between secular and religious lifestyles, Swift and Bunyan have openly criticized some of the church’s (of their times) exploitations of religious teachings for basic secular gains, and how the different sects of Christianity should be uniform in teachings. Works Cited Bacon, Earnest W. John Bunyan: Pilgrim and Dreamer. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids, MI, 1983., p. 65 George, Timothy and Dockery, David S. Baptist Theologians. Broadman Press: Nashville, TN, 1990, p. 26. Sir Walter Scott (ed. ), The works of Jonathan Swift D. D. , Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin: containing additional letters, tracts, and poems, not hitherto published. With notes, and a life of the author. 19 vols. (Edinburgh: printed for Archibald Constable and Co. ; White, Cochrane, and Co. , a nd Gale, Curtis, and Fenner, London; and John Cumming, Dublin 1814). Webster, C. M. Swift's Tale of a Tub compared with Earlier Satires of the Puritans. Proceedings of the Modern Language Association 47/1 (March 1932) 171–178.

Public Schools Segregation Essay

I was recently struck by one of the political cartoons in the SacramentoBee newspaper, which presented an image comparison of drinking fountains in two schools. It quickly reminded me of the racist Jim Crow laws from the 1880s-1960s and how racial segregation existed almost everywhere in the United States at that time. However, I realize that this cartoon doesn’t portray the concept of racial segregation with a Jim Crow joke, but it makes a commentary on social segregation among public schools in the United States today. I slowly realized that all American public schools are not the same due to funding. The huge difference exists in the public school system because their funding is associated with local property taxes. If a school is located in an affluent area with wealthier residents who pay high property taxes, schools will receive more funding (School Funding 1). Do you think this system is fair? If I ask affluent parents, they probably would answer that they pay high property taxes, so their money should go straight to nourish public schools in their areas. Meanwhile, if I were to ask parents in low socioeconomic areas, they would say that funds should be distributed from the state and not by the county, which would help in reducing the inequality between schools. Although sharing funds is not fair for many affluent people who pay more taxes, we should encourage state governments to aid the poorer schools more because it helps to reduce poverty and prevent crimes in lower income neighborhoods. The first reason that poorer schools should get more funds is to reduce poverty. People in low-income areas might not get the direct effect from school funding, but in the future, their kids will be benefited greatly. For those in the low income bracket, education can be a legitimate way to help them climb out of poverty. However, in reality, most of these poorer schools today are still not treated equally as their richer counterparts. Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune reporter reviewed the vast difference between two public schools in the Chicago area to illustrate this point. The first school, Taft Elementary School in Lockport can’t offer students any arts, language or technology classes because of the limited budget available. Meanwhile, Rondout Elementary School, near Lake Forest, offers language programs such as Spanish in every grade including kindergarten. Most students use laptops in the class, and they can enjoy band and chorus classes. They can choose to study various art, drama and dance as well (Black 1). If poor children had the same opportunity as their counterparts, imagine the growth it could represent to them educational. If they enjoyed studying, they could move on to obtain higher education by attending to colleges, meaning better-paying jobs. Therefore, funds should be available for all people. Young minds deserve the opportunity to choose the programs that they want to study. They should be able to study art and any other subject, as they desire to, regardless of how much property tax their parents pay. In general, I believe that a good education is the foundation that can pave the way to a better quality of life. Aside from reducing poverty, preventing crimes is another reason that poorer schools should receive more funds. Crimes in lower income areas derive from being unable to sustain a decent living. These types of crimes can be directly connected to a lack of education and opportunity. Geoffrey Wodtke, a sociologist at the University of Michigan, mentions in his article that kids in poor neighborhood have less chance to graduate from high school (Wodtke 1). He also states: Poor neighborhoods are isolated and racially segregated, with none of the quality schools, day care, grocery stores, pharmacies, and parks that can help promote a child’s development and academic achievement; and they are disproportionately smoggy, crime-ridden and dilapidated. All of these factors, the researchers note, have been linked to poor performance in school, often culminating in dropouts. (1) Wodtke claims that poor neighborhoods affect school performance, and this can impact a child’s learning directly. Some children quit the schools because they have no interest in schooling. Dropping out is and having no high school diploma will limit a job opportunities. When they are not qualified for many jobs, they can’t escape the pitfalls of poverty. Therefore, some of them end up finding illegal ways to make money while others affiliate themselves with gangs (Wodtke 2). This is the reason why school is so important, because it is a good place to start children on equal footing educationally with the chance to better themselves in the future. However, schools in low-income areas still need more funds to afford having a variety of programs such as language, art and sports. Schools also need to be able to hire and retain qualified teachers. Moreover, every school should be able to afford sport programs, which is a good physical outlet for youthful energy and encourages good health and teamwork. Art programs should also be available because they provide an outlet to express creativity. A wider variety of activities and educational alternatives can create brighter and more promising futures if given the opportunities. These children can become doctors, football players or artists in the future as long as they get a fair amount of support from the beginning. It’s difficult to change the living environment in poorer neighborhoods, but we can start by improving the school system to reshape the future of that community. Some people think that pouring money into poor schools is wasteful. They believe the reason schools become poorly performing ones is because they are full of under-achieving students who lack interest in the curriculum. Even if some schools get more funds, it will not change anything. It’s like treating symptoms, but not starting at the root of the problem. They believe that the government should provide more funding to schools with higher achieving students who potentially will become successful contributing members of the community. In other words, the state government should invest in the right schools and students. However, I believe this thought to be completely wrong. People who believe this will never know the potential of students in lower-income schools unless they are given a fair and equal opportunity to succeed. If poorer schools receive more funding, they will be able to provide better facilities and a stronger variety in the curriculum. These factors would increase the chances that we see more students grow into productive and successful adults despite coming from lower class surroundings. When every school has the same resources and variety of programs available to their youths, political cartoons like this one will be a thing of the past because the educational system’s inequalities will no longer be a joke. We should call for action on the funding to reform poorer schools because education can help in reducing poverty and crimes in these neighborhoods. Although affluent parents who work harder and pay more property taxes might oppose an idea of distributed funding to poor schools, they should think about economic consequences. If a gap between rich schools and poor schools is still expanding, how can the children of today become responsible adults in the future? If this country is the land of freedom and opportunity for everyone, I should hope that schools would be the first place to start by giving equal opportunities to all children. Poorer schools should receive equal opportunities like those of the children in wealthier communities. Schools should be a sacred place where all children of any social standing are afforded the same opportunities of unlimited educational growth. The more we see children shine in their youth, the more likely they will rise up to become successful in the future and this will help strengthen the future of the United States’ socially and economically.

Criminal Justices Ethics Essay

A few months ago, a woman was brutally raped, beaten and left for dead. Since the attack she remains in a coma. This case has risen to national prominence as an example of how today’s youth no longer respects fundamental social values, television and video game violence has desensitized young men to the consequences of crimes such as assault and rape, and as a demonstration of the inability of the police to keep the streets safe for law-abiding citizens. My partner and I work in the criminal justice system as police officers and handle most of the homicide cases in our area. The publicity from this crime has placed our police department under pressure to send someone to trial for this crime immediately. A gang of young men were spotted in the areas where the victim was found assaulting and threatening people that were passing by. Two members of the gang were arrested. The two members are both male and 14 years of age that both have previous records of robbery and assault. Our obligation as police officers is to follow the policy and ethical standards of our police department and the law, which states, minors must be informed of their legal right to have their parents present during the interrogation and to use videotape during important interviews. However, my partner has pushed his ethical obligation aside and interviews both of the minors while deciding not to contact their parents or tape the interrogation. When I confront him about the policy’s that did not take place he tells me not to worry about it that both minors are guilty as sin and we can close the case. His actions are unethical and don’t not follow the policy of prosecuting the guilty, respecting the rights of the accused, and creating a safe community. Ethics is crucial in decisions involving discretion, force, and due process, because criminal justice professionals can be tempted to abuse their powers (Felkins, 1987). I report this to my supervisor only for him to tell me to trust my partner and go to trial. Both suspects are arrested and bound for trial. Bail is denied. I do not feel good about proceeding with this. The organizational culture represented by my supervisor gives the answer to my partners’ behavior. The supervisor plays a large role in defining organizational culture by his actions and leadership. Both my supervisor and my partner have decided to use â€Å"moral relativism† which is the ethical premise â€Å"that decisions about right and wrong are purely personal and subjective and according to it, whatever anyone claims to be morally acceptable is morally acceptable, at least for that person. They have not thought about the consequences of their actions and how they may be beneficial or harmful from the result. In order to do so one must analyze the issues and make judgments by studying the details of the case, identifying the relevant criteria, determining possible course of action, and deciding which action is most ethical. I will choose to detach myself from the case. I cannot afford to lose my job by not following the legal or ethical standards. Laws have penalties when cases are violated and these penalties can be very severe if you violate legal norms. I believe that both my partner and supervisor have violated legal norms as well as ethical standards. References Felkenes, G. (1987). â€Å"Ethics in the Graduate Criminal Justice Curriculum.† Teaching Philosophy 10(1): 23–26. Ruggiero, V. R. (2008). Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues (Seventh ed.). New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill.

Inflation Control by Government of UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Inflation Control by Government of UK - Essay Example This heaving inflation delayed diverted central banks plus stalled them from lessening interest rates to assist in relieving the credit crunch. In spite of all of the above during January, the depression was expected. The predictions for 2009 are bleak: Alistair Darling declared of late that the government had misjudged the severity of it. On the other hand, a more positive school of reflection says that the nastiest of the depression perhaps might be over. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my professor for all the support, assistance and advice all along. I would also like to thank my family and friends, who also encouraged me and motivated me at every step. This report helped get into the crux of the issue, i was also able to analyze the situation from the government and the Publics perspective. The world economy has been considerably exaggerated by the monetary crisis plus analysis are the nastiest given that the Great Depression. Already, the largest developed countries, notably those where the crisis originated, have entered into recession. Drop over to the supplementary countries was primarily minute; however a lot of bussing economies are currently facing it tough. The suppositions regarding a decoupling of these economies have without a doubt demonstrated off beam. 1.1 The emergent countries: These emerging countries too are facing the influences of the calamity, which will interrupt moreover in a lot cases overturn the accomplishment of the Millennium Development purposes, together with the civilized work for all. This is of fastidious concern provided that, even during the pre calamity phase, the development outlines within specific areas, particularly within the United Kingdom, making way towards the insignificant decline within poverty. The civilized living also working state of affairs still remain out of acess for a lot of individuals .Most significantly, the crisis has made it right through the valid economy by resources of three equally strengthening diffusion channels, explicitly: the restricted accessibility of credit for the working capital, trade funding and feasible investments within the real economy , implying the credit crunch ; vigilant cost decisions, leaning towards the minor side of the yield, service and costs, in turn distressing assurance amongst th e customers and

Role of high frequency trading in modern financial markets Essay

Role of high frequency trading in modern financial markets - Essay Example High Frequency Trading or HFT used propriety trading strategies which allow traders and firms to conclude transactions within the micro-seconds. With the help of sophisticated computer algorithms as well as other tools positions can be easily taken and closed within seconds or less than a second to take advantage of the smallest movements in the prices of the securities. HFT firms are not only market makers but they offer critical liquidity to the market also. In 2000, the overall volume of HFT was relatively low however, during the recent years, it witnessed an explosive growth. Firms are increasingly relying on HFT to gain required advantage as well as to remain ahead of the competition. The closely guarded algorithms process large volume of data at really rapid speed and offer cost advantage while having smaller portfolio holding periods. Though the overall number of firms using HFT is relatively low however, the overall volume of trade showed erratic trends with rapid increase as well as decrease in the overall trading activity. This paper will discuss and describe what High Frequency Trading is and will further elaborate on the role of HFT in modern financial markets. Modern financial Markets Financial Markets are still under the stress of financial meltdown which started during 2007-2008. With massive breakdown of banks and other financial institutions, the crisis exposed the overall vulnerable nature of the modern financial markets and created an uncertainty over the ability of modern markets to function properly and effectively. Though the major impact of the financial crisis is over however, financial markets are still under the stress. In such an environment, regulatory bodies have developed rules and regulations which did not allow firms to take on the speculative positions and implement proper risk management systems in place. The importance of new parameters of risk became significant specially in the wake of the recent financial crisis wherein reg ulatory bodies became relatively more conscious in terms of erratic behavior of financial services firms. (Aldridge, 24) It is also critical to note that the financial markets have grown more complicated over the period of time. The sheer size and volume of the transactions, the use of information technology as well as development of sophisticated trading and valuation models added more complexity to the overall markets. Despite the fact that the markets operate on the basis of the perfect market hypothesis and all the subsequent theory has been developed on this promise, it is still important to note that many imperfections exist in markets allowing market makers and investors to take advantage of such opportunities. There has been a relentless improvement and development of modern technology which will continue to dominate the present and future of the financial markets at the global level. The development of new technologies has actually created new opportunities which human trad ers may not be able to spot as well as execute. As such, modern financial institutions tend to focus on combining the power of human insight with the speed and efficiency of the modern

Discussion board #14 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion board #14 - Coursework Example It has struck some parts of the world more than others have. For instance, it has been reported in Fallon Nevada that lies within Carson desert. With a population of about 8000 people, stretching 16 Km from Reno, it reported cases of Dustin Gross in 1996. The illness attacked children between the age of 4-9 and they died after three months. The cancer spread in the town within a span of a few weeks. Cancer has been a threat in Fallon for a long time. Recently, 17 children were diagnosed from cancer with many parents reporting similar cases of leukemia (Williams, 2008). CHN has various options at its disposal to help curb this epidemic once there is an outbreak. Basing on ‘IPREPARE’ model whose initials stand for some of the sources of cancer, NHC has established various techniques to help it curb the situation. This essay examines the roles and activities of CHN from a three dimensional perspective that can help protect the people from contracting cancer. According to Sheppard, Speakman, Ridenour, & Witten (2008), many people are ignorant of the causes of cancer. Therefore, educating the mass on the causes of the disease, risk reduction, and follow-up activities would be the best action (2007). This can increase awareness on the symptoms of cancer. Secondly, it may help provide immunization against future infections among healthy children. Thirdly, primary cancer prevention can help in warning residents of hazardous places. Primary cancer prevention can also help CHN carry out investigations on some of the theories explaining the phenomenon of the causative agents of cancer in Fallon Nevada. This will help identify the various causes of the cancer. For instance, it may help investigate whether the environmental conditions and genetics lead to development of cancer. CHN may also recommend the American military base in the town to compensate affected groups who have fallen victims of cancer because of their