J.d. Salinger Essay -- essays research papers

Born on January 1, 1919, Jerome David Salinger was to become one of America’s greatest contemporary authors. In 1938 Salinger briefly attended Ursinus College in Pennsylvania where he wrote a column, "Skipped Diploma," which featured movie reviews for his college newspaper. Salinger made his writing debut when he published his first short story, "The Young Folks," in Whit Burnett’s Story magazine (French, xiii). He was paid only twenty-five dollars. In 1939, at the age of 20, Salinger had not acquired any readers. He later enrolled in a creative writing class at Columbia University. Salinger was very much interested in becoming an actor and a playwright, which was quite odd because he would later in life become a recluse (Wenke, 3). Salinger adjusted his writing style to fit the literary marketplace. He was writing for money and began writing for magazines like Good Housekeeping and Mademoiselle. Many of Salinger’s characters have unique chara cter traits. "Salinger presents a number of stories that consider characters who become involved in degrading, often phony social contexts," states a major critic (Wenke, 7). These characters are often young and have experienced a lot of emotional turmoil. They have been rejected by society and mainly categorized as "misfits." This alienation of the personality is often viewed as a sign of weakness by society when in fact the outcasts ultimately gain strength from their experiences as shown in Nine Stories, The Catcher in the Rye, and Franny and Zooey. Salinger is telling a tale of the human condition in its reality through his novels. Nine Stories is a collection of short stories of people who are uncertain of the next path to take in life. They are lonely, needy, and searching for love. One of these stories, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," is the story of a young couple who try to understand their life together and the true meaning of love. Seymour Gl ass has just been released from the Army Hospital and he is unable to adjust to life with his "crass wife Muriel amidst the lavish and vulgar atmosphere of their post-war second honeymoon" (Gwynn & Blotner, 19). It has often been called "the loveless tunnel of love." Salinger portrays Muriel in the first part of the story as superficial. ... ...at lead us to believe that life has leading characters and minor characters, important details and unimportant details, beginnings, middles, ends" (Bryfonski, 521). Many critics acclaim that Nine Stories and The Catcher in The Rye are Salinger’s most famous and important works (Bryfonski, 521). The Glass family saga starting in Nine Stories and continuing in and ending in Franny and Zooey shows how the lack of love and the influence of society can lead to destruction unless you find enough inner strength to rise above it. Many of Salinger’s characters are connected to other fictional characters by other authors. In The Catcher in The Rye, the young Holden Caulfield is compared by critics to Huckleberry Finn: He has a colloquialism as marked as Huck’s†¦Like Huck, Holden is neither comical or misanthrope. He is an observer. Unlike Huck, he makes judgements by the dozen, but these are not to be taken seriously; they are concepts (Lomazoff, 7). Holden i s also compared to Hamlet but to a lesser degree; they are both not totally in the minds. The majority of Salinger’s characters learn from being alienated. Through learning this one aspect, they gain strength from it to move on.

Analysis of Song Lyrics

Song lyrics: looking through the window of cultural texts†¦ If you took the time to listen to the lyrics of a song instead of mumbling uselessly to the catchy melody, you’d notice that some bands and musical artists are informing their audience of present-time themes and issues. In today’s society, song lyrics can be used effectively to find fault with many dominant values and attitudes, somewhat protesting against social issues and the preconceived ideas that stand tall on the stage of democracy.This is why song lyrics should be considered one of the most important cultural texts of the modern age. The songs Sunday Bloody Sunday by the band U2 and Hurricane by artist Bob Dylan substantiate ideas of equality and â€Å"justice for all†, encouraging the listener to take a look at their own values and attitudes surrounding the issues presented†¦ would the listener react differently if it were their life or integrity at stake? The song Sunday Bloody Sunday is one of U2’s most political songs.It describes the terror experienced by an observer of the conflicts in Northern Ireland, particularly the Bloody Sunday incident in Derry where British soldiers shot and killed unarmed civil rights protestor in 1972, presenting themes of unity, ignorance and indifference. Meanwhile, Bob Dylan’s protest song Hurricane tells the story of the imprisonment of celebrated boxer Rubin â€Å"Hurricane† Carter, who was falsely accused of a triple murder in New Jersey, America during the mid 1960s.The song lyric explores themes of injustice, racism and discrimination, enlightening listeners about the corruption that swarmed the democratic American legal system at the time. You know, without realising it, the song you downloaded from iTunes the other day could quite possibly be criticising certain values and attitudes in society. The song Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 supports the argument that song lyrics should be considered one of the mo st important cultural texts of the modern age.Throughout the song lyric, the theme of unity blossoms and grows, travelling deeper into the abyss of society’s struggle to stand together. This is seen at the beginning of the song in the first verse â€Å"‘cause tonight†¦ we can be as one† accompanied by a military style drumbeat. Here, the chance to join together as â€Å"one† and make a difference is being offered to the listener, while the choice of instruments is symbolic to a â€Å"call to arms†.We’re asked to open our eyes and witness the struggle and pain that the people of Northern Ireland experienced during the early seventies, when their lives were torn apart by the bullets of British soldiers, â€Å"Broken bottles under children’s feet† and â€Å"Bodies strewn across the dead end street†. The repetition of â€Å"cause tonight†¦ we can be as one† is successful in evoking a defiant and hopeful respo nse from the listener. I also feel that the imagery created by â€Å"Broken bottles†¦bodies strewn†¦dead end†¦Ã¢â‚¬  plants a seed of lifelessness and futility in the listener’s mind.The listener is therefore encouraged to rise up and fight against the hopeless situation described in the song. Meanwhile, the song lyric Hurricane by Bob Dylan investigates the injustice that surrounded Rubin Carter and 1960s America. Being trapped in a nightmare of injustice is a very dark place to be. Loneliness and helplessness are your only friends when everyone remains blind to the truth. Bob Dylan’s Hurricane is a song lyric that explores this theme of injustice in 1960s New Jersey, where a common scenario was put to the ultimate test: the word of a white man against the word of a black man.The song is informing us of Rubin Carter’s false murder conviction, told in a somewhat story-like fashion. Bob Dylan presents the entire American legal system as corrupt a nd unethical, displayed in the ninth verse â€Å"All of Rubin’s cards were marked in advance† and â€Å"The trial was a pig-circus he never had a chance†. As well as creating emphasis through rhyme, these two lines are highly emotive, and encourage the listener to feel pity and empathy for Rubin Carter and others that may have been a victim of corruption.As a listener who lives in the twenty-first century, where cases of legal dishonesty and fraud are quite rare, I find myself sympathising with Rubin Carter and resenting the heartless and ignorant attitude possessed by 1960s America and society. In retrospect, I am extremely grateful that a fair and just trial is now available to everyone, regardless of skin colour. When the song comes to an end, the image painted in the listener’s mind is that of injustice and tyranny, encouraging social change in the area of legality. Nonetheless, U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday presents the ignorance and indifference of society in times of great need.It seems that a sad face served with â€Å"what a tragedy† and seasoned with taste of genuine sincerity is our best response when the TV screen shows an image of dead bodies strewn across a dead end street†¦ U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday is a protest song that provides a dominant reading, investigating the ignorant and indifferent attitude exhibited by society towards the Bloody Sunday incident in Northern Ireland. A quote from the text highlights the 1970s unawareness of this event, and other acts of conflict across the world, â€Å"And today the millions cry, We eat and drink while tomorrow they die†.As well as making use of a hyperbole, these two lines are very effective in criticising the lack of care that society has for anyone but themselves, and as a result, depicts us as arrogant and self-righteous. Because we can’t empathise with the people of Derry who experienced a freakish nightmare unknown to us, all we can do is store it at the back of our minds and wait in anticipation for the next episode of Home and Away†¦ From my point of view, there is little we can do when events such as this arise and take us by surprise.But, if society joins together in unity instead of finding refuge in the popular TV station of ignorance, then hearing those cries and feeding those mouths will become a reality. However, if we’re going to join together as one, then racism and discrimination need to be a thing of the past, as explored in Bob Dylan’s Hurricane. Racism and discrimination are two themes that refuse to leave the realms of today’s society. Their defiant and unfaltering attitude must be commended, but not encouraged, as displayed in Bob Dylan’s Hurricane.The song lyric is successful in condemning the negative, judicious and cultured beliefs possessed by society that all black men are criminals and murderers. These motifs must be stopped in their tracks, and banished f rom society†¦ The song lyric enlightens the listener of the racism and discrimination that occurred in New Jersey at the time, and reminds us that we have only taken a few steps along the path of equality since then.Within Hurricane, the extreme inequity displayed by the American police during the sixties is being crudely criticised, displayed in the seventh verse â€Å"We want to put his arse in stir, We want to pin this triple murder on him†. Here, the listener receives the impression that the police (â€Å"we†) are hiding something, and regardless of who committed the crime, are determined to see Carter behind bars. Based on my morals, I believe that every person, male or female, black or white, should be treated fairly and qually. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the judge at Rubin Carter’s trial. The atmosphere created in the text is that of corrupt defiance and mere narrow-mindedness, and the effect is overwhelming: I have the urge to stand up and say à ¢â‚¬Å"Hey! What you’re doing is wrong†¦! † If only I had the power to change the path of history†¦ For all those out there who believe that song lyrics are just another form of entertainment, think again. Should song lyrics be considered one of the most important cultural texts of all time?The way in which they approach certain themes and issues as well as investigate society’s values, beliefs and attitudes is incredible – therefore the answer is yes. When you look at U2’s protest song Sunday Bloody Sunday, a range of themes including unity, ignorance and indifference are presented. Throughout the song, the image of helplessness is promoted, encouraging the listener to fight for unity. Also, the song criticises society for being ignorant to the death and heartache that was rife in 1970s Ireland at the time of the Bloody Sunday incident.It highlights our failure to empathise, and are portrayed as uncaring and therefore urged to put a stop t o world conflict. Meanwhile, themes of injustice, racism and discrimination are explored in Bob Dylan’s song Hurricane. The corruption of the American legal system is the motif in this song, presenting the police, judges and jury as dishonest and unethical. The listener is positioned to respond in a sympathetic way towards Rubin Carter, and feel resentment in regard to the so-called democratic legal system.Overall, we are encouraged to accept our differences and stand together as one, moving in the direction of social change in the courts. Finally, songs are extremely successful in exploring themes and issues that are relevant to today’s society, as they provide the chance to criticise and/or encourage social change regarding our values, beliefs and attitudes. â€Å"Democracy doesn’t rule the world. You’d better get that in your head; this world is ruled by violence, but I guess that’s better left unsaid. † Bob Dylan

Emperor Tewodros Analysis Essay

Tayo Shonubi IB1 History 28/9/2012 Emperor Tewodros of Ethiopia Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia’s rise to power began in 1845 with a meticulous rule which to his oppositions favor, ended in dismal failure and led him to commit suicide in 1858, after thirteen years of power. Tewodros was the heir-apparent to emperor Tewodros I, his father’s throne, but after his father’s death, he became the adopted son of his half-brother. He grew to be an accomplished soldier and leader and was then allotted governor of Qwara by the nominal then king of kings, Ras Ali who had ruled since 1832.Tewodros was the leader responsible for reviving the concept of king of kings, and after reforms to his army, he made a determined and driven submission for king of kings. After Tewodros made the realization of his absolute power, he carried out expeditions against Gojjam province where he defeated Biru Goshu in the Ethiopian battle of Taquosha not long after, in 1855, he defeated the provi nce of Tigre was crowned emperor Tewodros II, by Abu Salama, the head of the church of Ethiopia.Tewodros made one of his most grave and major expeditions of his rule in 1856 when he battled against the Wallo Galla and thoroughly thrashed the Muslim community, shamelessly and filled with pride, he moved on to occupy the province of Shewa where he captured an eleven year old boy known was heir-apparent to the throne of Sahle Mariam, the boy later became known as emperor Manelik. Tewodros responded very favorably to European approaches, ‘expecting not their protection and imperialism but assistance in getting technology and arms’.One of his earliest European contacts was Britain. Through his association with the British sprouted a friendship with two Englishmen, Yohannes Bell and Walter Plowdon who were part of the protestant German missionaries. On his journey to eastern Ethiopia, Plowdon was killed, upon hearing this news, Tewodros chose to ‘vent’ by organiz ing an expedition that unfortunately and ironically killed his other good friend, Yohannes Bell. To take over from Plowdon was a man by the names of Duncan Cameron, Tewodros and Cameron did not get along as much as he did with Plowdon.There was a lack of initiative and enthusiasm coming from Cameron’s end. In 1862, seeing as he had an established relationship with the British, Tewodros wrote to Queen Victoria, the then ruler of Great Britain, concerning the setup of an Ethiopian embassy in Britain. Tewodros never received a reply from Her Majesty, and it was assumed that the letter was either overlooked intentionally or failed to reach her. As does every leader, Tewodros came across challenges during his reign.The nobility i. e. the upper class were previously not required to pay taxes, however after Tewodros came into the power, they were required to, this change in the system set the aristocracy against him. Furious about this new obligation, they held riots between 1855 an d 1861, these rebellions were brutally suppressed by his soldiers who looted and massacred their captives. One may try to control another in order for them to convert/conform to their beliefs such that there is less rebellion.Although Tewodros was a believer of the Christian faith, he confiscated church property and land and abolished privileges of the clergy, for his personal gain and in advantage of his new found glory and power. The Ethiopian church leaders began to preach against Tewodros making him lose the support of the majority of Ethiopians. Tewodros was a proud man with a lust for power, one of the largest mistakes he made during his power was his amendment to the law of the church. Ethiopia was a predominantly Christian state, and before Tewodros’ rule, any church within the nation was not required to pay tax.After he came into power, Tewodros felt as though there was not enough tax and he wanted more money coming to him, with this in mind, he lifted this law and m ade it so that churches were required to pay tax and through this, he was indeed getting more money, but simultaneously getting less support. All these events, occurrences and people in one way or another contributed to the rise and fall of Tewodros. However his ways of self-praise, egotistic ways and pride led him to his own defeat.

Police Functions Essay

I think police officers are a good help for the communities they serve. Police is necessary in each city to prevent crimes and bring peace to citizens, so they can live in a safe place and knowing that they are protected of the criminals. . The reality of policing is that the police play an extremely complex role in today’s society. This role involves many different tasks. People think that they are always fighting criminals and risking their life in bad situations but as Walker described in his article â€Å"Police and Society† (2001) â€Å"Many studies of police work document the complexity of the police role. The Police Services Study (PSS), for example, examined 26,418 calls for service to the police in three metropolitan areas. As the data in Table 1-1 indicate, only 19 percent of the calls involve crime, and only 2 percent of the total involves violent crime† they spent most of their time in patrolling the city and watching for over speed cars. Every city h as a police department for a purpose and the most important role of the police is to help maintain peace, enforce the laws of the land, protect the people from criminals, and to help ensure the safety of the citizens. Also police officers are important to the government to be protected it against society. They contribute to social control through both law enforcement and order maintenance responsibilities. There are a lot of functions that police should continue to do like prevent and control conduct widely recognized as threatening to life and property, identify problems that have the potential for becoming more serious problems, create and maintain a feeling of security in the community, promote and preserve public order, and help people who are in danger of physical harm, such as the victims of violent attack. These functions are very important to the communities because crimes are increasing day by day  and without the help of police officers there will be chaos in the society and people would not be safe. Although police officers have many different kind of functions and they need to do it, not all functions are that important. They should spend less time in answer calls that are not for criminal purposes like people calling 911 because their neighbor has loud music or bothers them, watching all day for over speed cars, with no lights or plates, and they do not have to abuse the ir power when searching for a guy that is suspicious. They should devote most of their time patrolling the city searching for suspicious people, helping people in need, and maintaining the public order. There are factors that influence the functions of some police officers like their inexperience in the field work, their fear to confront dangerous criminals and get injured, the budget of their police department, or their low salary that make them think they do not have to risk their lives and work harder. There is no doubt that we need the police because they play an important role in our society and without them we could not have freedom. Reference Walker, S. (2001). Police in America. Chapter one: Police and Society. Retrieved from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/007241497x/39793/samplech01.pdf

Sociological Imagination-the Sociological Big Picture

Sociological Imagination-â€Å"The Sociological Big Picture† C. Wright Mills wanted people to know that outside of ourselves and our personal problems, we are being shaped by the external forces that surround us in society. Whether people are aware of it or not, they are being influenced by society and its factors. The location in which one lives, the nation’s current economic standing, government affiliation, and more are all effecting people in some way.When living in a broadened social experience where things are all interconnected to one another, it has the power and potential of influencing our human behaviors and impulses that are not internally inherited as Mills suggests, but rather shaped by society. The location where a person lives helps bring meaning and shape the ideas of social acceptabilities. For example, in the Amazon basin of South America the Yanomamo Indians see very differently than people of America.This primitive tribe find normalcy among hallucin ogenic yopo trips, villages where peoples attire are loin cloths, and a society composed of hunters and gatherers. Whereas Americans who are surrounded by urbanization, consumerism, materialism and so on may find the Yanomamo way of living off-putting. Also, the nations economy can affect citizens like after keeping 350,000 students out of school for seven days, teachers in Chicago are ending their strike after some negotiation.The Chicago Teachers Union battling for their rights about their job security, teacher abilities, salary raises, and more. Union president, Karen Lewis, after not being able to reach compromise the first time a few days prior, has now settled on an official contract. Though the near from perfect contract still needs ratification, union members agree â€Å"It was time to end the strike† said Lewis who’s rights to petition and peacefully assembly helped union members and the Chicago’s delegates reach a settlement.Chinese artist, internet bl ogger, and activist, Ai Weiwei was detained by the Chinese government after trying to find the names of the thousands of victims lost in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake; which authorities were refusing to give out to civilians. This only fueled his dislike of the Chinese government, which he had a tendency to expose in his blogs and artwork. In China where the internet is monitored heavily by the state, unlike other places around the world, often Weiwei’s political opinions of China’s autocracy became censored.After three months of detention, Weiwei was released on bail. When society can influence people, one must be willing to pull themselves away from a narcissistic point of view and adapt to a perspective where you are able to evaluate the â€Å"sociological big picture†. Building a sociological imagination can create within oneself the ability to truly see what others see and why people act the way they do whether it be stone age indians, claimant mobs, or dissi dent artists: we are all shaped by society.

Behavior Change Plan to Prevent Coronary Heart Disease

Behavior Change Plan to Prevent Coronary Heart Disease Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle Behavior to Prevent a Reoccurrence of Coronary Heart Disease James J. Speen Introduction Justification for choosing the health behavior I am a 57 year old male, diagnosed with diabetes mellitus II, and cardiovascular disease stemming from atherosclerosis. In March of 2006, I experienced an acute angina pectoris attack while testing for a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do. The angina attack led to an emergency department visit at a local health facility and ultimately culminated in a quadruple coronary artery bypass graph (CABG). My healthcare providers are continually stressing the importance of making healthy choices and maintaining a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent a reoccurrence of coronary heart disease (CHD). Further, supporting my physician’s opinion, Ferris, Kline, and Bourdage (2012) state that â€Å"biopsychosocial health displayed no direct relationship to CHD risk, but positively predicted a healthier lifestyle. A healthier lifestyle was related to lower levels of CHD risk.† Over the past 6 months, I have strayed from my regimen of healthy eating and daily exercise and am beginning to feel the negative effects of weight gain, sore joints, and decreased endurance during physical activity. It is now behavior modification time. This will be accomplished by discontinuing my current unhealthy behaviors and resuming a healthy lifestyle consisting of a regimen of eating heart healthy foods and exercise. Justification for the behavior change plan I used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model, as outlined in our textbook, Health Psychology A Biopsychosocial Approach (Straub, 2012) to evaluate my current behavior. First, I determined that continuing my behavior would eventually lead to another CABG or even worse my death. Secondly, after considering my doctor’s views regarding CHD prevention through lifestyle modification; I chose to comply with my healthcare provider’s advice. And finally, I rea lized that I am the only one who can manage my controllable health risk factors. Method Materials and Procedure I monitored my pre-change caloric intake, blood glucose, and physical exercise levels for seven days. My caloric intake and amount of exercise was recorded using the MyFitnessPal mobile application. Blood glucose levels were measured each day with a OneTouch Ultra 2 blood glucose meter. Glucose measurements were performed twice each day at 6:00a.m. and at 10:00p.m.. This data was used to establish my base line cardiac healthy lifestyle compliance. After this period, I enacted a behavior change plan to regain control over my controllable cardiac health risk factors. I added the use of a H o Medics model KS-701 digital dietary scale to accurately measure my food portions and increased the amount of water that I consumed daily. Additionally, 1 hour of cardiovascular and strength training exercises was added to the daily regimen. Caloric intake and exercise activity were recor ded using the MyFitnessPal mobile application and blood glucose was measured with the OneTouch Ultra 2 blood glucose meter. Nutritional data consisting of caloric intake, carbohydrates, fat, protein, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, and fiber from the MyFitnessPal application along with blood glucose data, was imported into an Excel spread sheet for data comparison and analysis. Average daily values for each category were computed for both the pre-behavior change and behavior change periods.

Ikea case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ikea case study - Essay Example Competitive priorities are directly linked to the performance of any business. The IKEA Company is involved with manufacturing of household items across the world. As a manufacturing company, IKEA has divided its competitive priorities into the following elements; cost or price, quality, innovation, flexibility and delivery. Under cost, the IKEA Company is able to pick a price of any prospective product and calculate what the product would cost. The company involves all its experts in design, product developers and purchasers to make the price choice. IKEA also ensures that there is quality in all the manufactured products.2 This is ensured by maintaining the usual suppliers of raw materials, for instance, the Romania factory. The products are also produced with Keen Corporation with suppliers. Innovation has also seen the company develop better products for their consumers. IKEA’s products are designed and produced by the best personnel of the company. This has led to increased convenience in the use of their products in addition to more sales for the company. IKEA’s design and manufacturing process is also flexible. This means that they are able to accommodate any necessary changes to products in any phase of production up to the distribution level. The company was able to change the design of various tables to ease transport. Moreover, the design of the mug was changed three times to fit the packaging in order to ensure more sales. Finally, IKEA’s delivery system is efficient in all aspects of adding value to consumers. The company ensures that the correct numbers of goods are delivered to the right stores and at the required time.3 These priorities explain the success that IKEA Company has enjoyed for a long time. The nature and dynamism of today’s global market requires new products to ensure survival in business while maintaining the market share. IKEA understands this thus there is always an