Love and Marriage in Gallants The Other Paris Essay -- Mavis Gallant

The Other Paris Love waxes timeless. It is passionate and forbidden and a true head rush. Marriage, on the other hand, is practical, safe, a ride up the socioeconomic ladder. In "The Other Paris," Mavis Gallant weaves the tale of Carol and Howard, a fictional couple who stand on the verge of a loveless marriage, to symbolize the misguided actions of the men and women in the reality of the 1950s, the story's setting. By employing stereotypical, ignorant, and altogether uninteresting characters, Gallant highlights the distinction between reality and imagination and through the mishaps and lack of passion in their courtship mockingly comments on society?s views of love and marriage. Gallant typecast both Carol and Howard as ordinary young people, and like typical human beings, both have faults and beliefs that follow the accepted practices of society. As all women of a certain point in life (if that certain point can be said as the age of ?twenty-two?), Carol frets incessantly over her age, being ?under the illusion? that very soon she would be ?so old? that no man could possibly want her. Here, Gallant ridicules the standards of age and beauty expected by society from women like Carol, a thing common even in a more open and accepting world like today?s. Like her peers throughout time, Carol is pressured not only by her friends or parents but also herself to get a man while she able to attract someone much more suitable than that ?medical student with no money.? Her vanity and fear of ending up old and alone embodies societal views toward spinsters as women pining away in some dingy corner. Likewise, Howard also has the same pride as men now. His sister?s caution and unwelcome prediction that he will soon be just ?a... ...and approval. In the end, readers are unsure whether to laugh or cry at the union of Carol and Howard, two people most undoubtedly not in love. Detailed character developments of the confused young adults combined with the brisk, businesslike tone used to describe this disastrous marriage effectively highlight the gap between marrying for love and marrying for ?reason.? As a piece written in the 1950s, when women still belonged to their husbands? households and marriages remained arranged for class and money?s sake, Gallant?s short story excerpt successfully utilizes fictional characters to point out a bigger picture: no human being ought to repress his or her own desires for love in exchange for just an adequate home and a tolerable spouse. May everyone find their own wild passions instead of merely settling for the security and banality of that ?Other Paris.?

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in In Country by Bobbi Ann Mason Essay

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in "In Country" by Bobbi Ann Mason Many Vietnam veterans suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. Typically, such individuals have flashbacks, dreams, and are constantly haunted by their war memories. The mental stress can lead to further complications, even physically injuring or paralyzing the human body. The book In Country by Bobbi Ann Mason portrays a prime example of such a victim. The difference? The subject is a seventeen-year-old girl in the early nineteen-eighties who never saw the war. Posttraumatic stress disorder affects an estimated 30.9% of male Vietnam veterans and 26.9% of female Vietnam veterans, according to a survey by the National Center for PTSD (National Center for PTSD Online). Of these, most have marital and social problems, high arrest rates, alcoholic dependencies, and in many cases drug addictions. These issues are brought on by the terrors, stress, and moral headaches caused by the acts, such as killing, that they were ordered to commit during their service. While others are only mildly affected and manage to lead semi normal lives, others are rendered useless, unable to hold jobs, start families, or participate as active members of society as they are constantly obsessing, whether consciously or not, about the war. In Mason’s book, there are prime examples of each. Emmett, the thirty something uncle of Sam, the main character, is the second type of victim. After moving back home to Hopewell after the war, he spent a few years causing mischief with his wild hippy friends. Eventually, they left, and with the ruckus, amusement, and gossip caused by their stunts, Emmett’s spirit also died, pushing him into an ever deepening low. He is unab... ...r, Department of Veteran Affairs. Updated 1 Sept. 2003. Accessed 12 April 2004. http://www.ncptsd.org/facts/general/fs_epidemioloical.html?printable=yes Krasteva, Yonka. â€Å"The South and the West in Bobbie Ann Mason’s In Country.† Rev. of In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason. Southern Literary Journal Spring 1994:26:2:77. Mason, Bobbie Ann. In Country. New York: Harper Collins 1985. Morrissey, Thomas J. â€Å"Mason’s In Country.† Rev. of In Country, by Bobbie Ann Mason. Explicator Fall 1991:50:62. O’Brien, Timothy D. â€Å"Oppositions in In Country.† Rev. of In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason. Critique: Winter 2000:47:2:175. Stewart, Matthew C. â€Å"Realism, Verisimilitude, and the Depiction of the Vietnam Veterans in In Country. Rev. of In Country, by Bobbie Ann Mason. Fourteen Landing Zones: Approaches to Vietnam War Literature. Ed. Jason, Philip K. p. 166

Opening Paragraphs for a “Heroes” Essay

A hero is defined as a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. People desire someone to admire at certain times to help lead and guide them. The many paths of life help to shape heroes. They can be found anywhere from a police officer to a football player. Everyday people will look for them for inspiration for themselves. Heroes push us to strive for more out of life while also helping us through tough times.Heroes are very important to our way of life and shape our view of life. People need heroes for three reasons: devastation, tragedy and losses. The devastation of an event can cause a person to need a hero, someone to look to for answers. When a person encounters a tragedy, they also try to look to someone as a solution for their problems. People encounter losses everyday and each day they seek guidance. In each of the above situations, persons yearn for a hero. Certain events in our life can have profound effects on us.A lot of t ime, it is from devastating events. Devastating events can be extremely disappointing and heart wrenching. Battling our way out of these events can truly show the heart of a person. Heroes shine in times such as these. They battle through the hardest of adversity and win. These adversities can range from the simple to the momentous. When devastation occurs, persons are in a hole, looking for a way out and find their shining hero at the end to help save them.This is where the heroes come in making for a great ending and promising future. Heroes in this situation are made through experience and knowledge of how hard such devastation can be. People then look to them to see how they got through it and can follow their example. When a disappointment occurs, persons need to know that there is hope, hope knowing that someone else overcame the same obstacle. We all encounter devastations but tragedies are encountered less often.

Contestable

Contestable 39†² Shreenaeconomics Is the airline market contestable? Definition Of contestability – when there are none or low barriers to entry for incumbent firms Where they Will be forced to keep prices competitive and profits low in the long term. Otherwise this Will encourage Other firms to enter into the market.There are roughly 20 airline companies based in the 0K market It iS a form Of an oligopolistic market and price is not always the determinant of demand but non price factors such as Inflight services and atmosphere. Is contestable Not contestable Low cost airlines as there are lower barriers to entry and exit as you can lease airplanes and reduce the set up costs. There are also no sunk costs If leased airplanes.This means that capital wont be lost when exiting the market High barriers to entry In terms of sunk costs and Infrastructural costs. Providing services costs a lot ot money (le first class cabins) There Is competition between companies so new tirms c an enter and make normal profits There are dominant tirms in the market, there will be brand loyalty which reduces contestability as new firms will have to compete on onprlce factors to gain loyal customers and to compete with other firms. an example being british airways and virgin: BA has a calm quiet in air craft experience and Virgin airlines offer a lively talk promoting atmosphere where even the airhostesses try and get conversations going) Access to the same level of technology. this means that the costs each firm take on from technological aspects such as inflight services and ways of booking are the same so it doesnt stop competition as there is no LISPS.The bigger firms can exploit economies of scale as they produce at lower average unit cost compared to new firms entering the market which do not have perfect information about cheap suppliers or bulk buy to get big discounts, the low cost airline market is more contestable than normal airlines use of the Internet to reduce distribution Costs Maximise the utilisation Of the aircraft assets Direct sell only Via the net Ticketless travel NO free airline food one kind of aircraft: commonality max'mlses efficiency in the recruitment and training of staff Predatory pricing can occur In the short which can drive away new firms, they reduce heir profits below average costs and cover with saved revenues till the new firms cannot make any profit and they exit the market.

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” rhetorical analysis Essay

How does the diction of a literary work help to convey the writer’s message? Is there a specific way it helps the author persuade you? Martin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† displays many forms of rhetorical strategies, language, and diction in order to help convey his message of â€Å"unjust† or â€Å"just† laws. The diction in this literary work is very important in aiding King to help convey his message. By appealing to pathos a lot, he creates a feeling of hope and despair for the reader to choose which is more prominent in the lives of African Americans. King wrote the â€Å"Letter† in response to the eight clergymen from Alabama who called his actions â€Å"untimely and unwise†. When he explains the reasons for him being in jail, King uses the argument that this injustice that was in Birmingham was everywhere and that people needed to do something about it. King’s diction, historical and biblical allusions, and rhetorical questions compose his eloquent diction in â€Å"Letter† that helps him show the importance non-violently fighting for rights. King used many historical allusions to exemplify his reasoning for the rights of his people. Similar to the beliefs of Thoreau, human laws may sometimes contradict the most basic rights given to man by a higher being. King supported his argument by stating, â€Å"We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ‘illegal.'† (210). These laws passed in Germany were man-made laws that contradicted higher laws and peoples’ religions. Even though the concentration camps were horrible and disgusting acts forced on the Jewish people, they can’t be condemned, legally, because they did not come into conflict with Germany’s laws. This example helped to show how the legality of an act can often be a threat to the lives of many people. By doing this, King forces the reader to consider which laws in their lives, whether they realize the seriousness of them, may be infringing on the basic rights of man. King’s use of religious figures shows the divinity of his position and also  appeals to pathos. Religion during this time was present in the lives of those who were being oppressed and were not being given their most basic rights. King was a minister who believed that the union that we are in with God should supersede any unjust laws that we feel are oppressive of our rights. He says, â€Å"Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without his hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.† (212). Here, King is claiming that we need to have faith in life and in the decisions we make. If anything is to be done about the conditions we are in, it is to be done through God and all that he does for us. Therefore, we must go through God in order to get the basic rights that we are worthy of. Also, by referencing Jesus a number of times in â€Å"Letter,† King appeals to pathos because it relates the most important person in many people’s religions and shows how he was a peaceful negotiator. This gave stability to the non-violent approach of the Civil Rights Movement. The use of rhetorical questions throughout King’s â€Å"Letter† are included to make the readers think about the reality of their situation. This simple method is very useful in this literary work because their location help to convey the seriousness of the situation to the reader. He supports his claim by saying, â€Å"Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?† (205). He uses many rhetorical questions like this to help make the reader think about the reality of the situation they are in. The use of this rhetorical strategy is very effective because it reveals an inevitable truth to the reader that must be interpreted by them. King explains his main concepts very clearly to help extend his position to the clergymen and make them understand his claims. In conclusion, King’s use of rhetorical questions, historical and biblical allusions, and appeal to pathos help him to amplify the seriousness of the oppression of his people. His rhetorical strategies used were very effective to the clergymen and many others who have had the opportunity to read it. It helps King directly state his argument so that his position is clearly stated and understood throughout the entirety of the essay. He uses very eloquent diction and rhetorical strategies to tie his main ideas together  and give him strong areas of support. Without the use of these strategies and many more found in the letter, King’s argument may not have been as strong as it is. By giving us specific examples of just and unjust, combined with the power of his diction, King is able to convey a powerful message about what he believes in. His historical and biblical allusions appeal to pathos and ethos by giving strong support to the examples that he had previously mentioned. So, we must understand and take note of King’s diction in order to prevent any human laws from coming into conflict with higher laws, we need to abolish those unjust laws and only follow those basic human laws given to us a birth. Works Cited King Jr., Martin Luther, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†. 50 Essay: A Portable Anthology. 4th Edition. Boston: Bedfort/St. Martin’s, 2011. 203-217 (Print).

Working Poor in America

Working to be Poor in America A single mother of three works two jobs at minimum wage can survive only if she takes advantage of food stamps and lives with a roommate to help pays the bills. This is the case with most of the â€Å"working poor† in America. In 2006, a family of four with one minimum-wage earner had a total income (including food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit) of $18,950, some $1,550 below the poverty line. America is one of the richest countries in the world and yet according to the US Census Bureau, in 2010 21 million of its population lived in working-poor families.This translates into nearly 9. 6 percent of all American families living below 100 percent of poverty have at least one family member working. How can this be? Some people believe that the workers are to blame; they believe that it is the workers’ lack of ambition and drive to better themselves that causes them to be in such dire conditions. While this might be true in very few cas es, I don’t believe that it paints the entire picture as to why there could be a â€Å"working poor† class in America.Despite what society may think, the â€Å"working poor† exists because they are subjected to minimum wage, insufficient hours, layoffs, lack of skills, expensive health care and childcare, and inadequate housing. Society throws so many curve balls at low-wage workers that it has become very nearly impossible for them to transcend their situations. One common misconception is that the answer to poverty is to get a job. We assume that if someone is hungry, it is because they are unemployed and are living on the streets. The reality is that over 49 million Americans are affected by hunger.Does this mean that they all are jobless and homeless? As the article â€Å"25 million depend on emergency food assistance† reports, about one-third of the adults between the ages of 18 and 65 needing emergency food-aid are employed. Thirty-six percent of al l families seeking assistance reported that at least one family member was working. As Michelle Conlin and Aaron Bernstein explain, today more than 28 million people, about a quarter of the workforce between the ages of 18 and 64, earn less than $9. 04 an hour, which translates into a full-time salary of $18,800 a year—the income that marks the federal poverty line for a family of four. â€Å"The Working Poor Are Not Getting By in America†) The Census Bureau lists that overall 63% of U. S. families below the federal poverty line have one or more workers. How is it that such a large percentage of the U. S. population can be considered as poor or hungry? Is it that all these people lack ambition or is it society that places the burden of poverty on these workers? The primary and main reason for the rut the â€Å"working poor† find themselves in is the minimum wage. While profits and productivity soar in today’s economy, the minimum wage hasn’t kept p ace with inflation.Opponents of a raise in the minimum wage often make dire predictions about supposed adverse impacts on employment rates and the economy. But study after study shows that there is simply  no  evidence that raising the minimum wage has led to higher unemployment, and there is substantial evidence that a responsible minimum wage increase does not affect employment rates at all. According to the New York Times editorial Board, if the minimum wage had kept pace with the rise in executive salaries since 1990, America’s poorest paid workers would be making more than $23 an hour.In 1956, the federal minimum wage was a dollar an hour; that same dollar when adjusted for inflation would be $10. 55 an hour in today's dollars, instead today the actual federal wage is $7. 25 and for tipped workers a dismal $2. 13. This amounts to about $1. 50 an hour less, in today’s money, than it did in 1968. In â€Å"Raising the minimum wage will reduce poverty† it s tates that even with a $7. 25-an-hour minimum wage, a family of five with a full-time, minimum-wage earner that receives food stamps and the refundable tax credits would fall $1,139 below the poverty line in 2009.In the past 30 years, Congress has passed legislation to increase the minimum wage exactly 3 times. With politicians and employers fighting furiously to keep this minimum wage down, low-wage workers are forced to work two, sometimes even three jobs in addition to depending on government handouts in order to barely get by. While their income is kept at a minimum, their expenses continue to soar: health care, child care, gas prices, housing, the list goes on. The cost of living has been constantly rising for years while the minimum wage lags behind. The number of people who lack health insurance is about 49. million. In 2010, the percentage of people who had health insurance through their employers fell to 55. 3% while 31% of Americans relied on the government for health insu rance. (Les Christie) However, while most children in families with a full-time minimum-wage worker are eligible for free or low-cost health insurance through Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, their parents are not. In fact, according to the Census data, in 25 states a parent in a three-person family with a full-time, minimum-wage job earns too much to qualify for Medicaid.As a result, about 41 percent of all parents with incomes below the poverty line were uninsured in 2005. In addition to this, many working poor families face significant childcare costs. According to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, in the median state in the 2004-2005 academic year, full-time infant care in a licensed child care center cost an average of $7,100 per year, while full-time care for preschoolers in a licensed child care center cost an average of $5,800.Without a child care subsidy, a family earning at or near the minimum wage is un likely to be able to afford such a tuition bill for one child, let alone two or more children. Housing cost burdens for poor families are often severe. Expenditures on public housing have fallen since the 1980s, and expansion of public rental subsidies came to a halt in the mid-1990s. Actual rents have to be less than 30% of one’s income to be considered ‘affordable’. Ehrenreich 201) Housing analyst Peter Dreier reports that 59% of poor renters, amounting to a total of 4. 4 million households, spend more than 50% of their income on shelter. (38) Nationwide, the average cost of a modest two-bedroom apartment in 2006 was $821 per month, or $9,852 per year, according to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). At this cost, rent and utilities consume nearly half (48 percent) of the income of a family of four at the poverty line. This calculation assumes that the family receives food stamps, the EITC and child tax credit. ) Rising rents are forcin g the low-wage workers into motels with fluctuating prices for the winter season and tourist seasons. By relying on the minimum wage, basic necessities such as health care and home-ownership have now become a luxury to the â€Å"working poor† – a distant dream that can never be realized. We would assume that there is adequate support for the â€Å"working poor† through government handouts, but even this system is flawed.Throughout the nation soup kitchens and food pantries are stretched beyond capacity, struggling and failing to meet new need, much of it from working people whose wages simply haven't kept up. Barbara Ehrenreich in her book Nickled and Dimed reveals through her own experience as a low-wage employee just how difficult it is to receive help from the government and charity organizations and how limited these options are. You would need to dedicate a significant amount of your time and energy to locate these options and even when you do manage to get in touch with the â€Å"right person† the help received can be useless.As a low-wage worker, where every hour of your time is money spent, devoting this amount of time to looking for government aid is a luxury as well. Therefore, they are prevented from receiving the little assistance available to them. Most of the time, they do not even qualify for welfare because of the low-wage paying job that they have, even though they desperately need the assistance. Therefore, who or what do we blame for the devastating conditions of the â€Å"working poor† in our society?If there was a clear cut answer to this question, then maybe this question would never need to be asked. We would just point a finger and work on getting the problem fixed. Society strips the â€Å"working poor† of their dignity, self-worth, self-respect and pride and leaves them naked to suffer these physically demanding, dead-end jobs where they are paid next to nothing and in the end, still condemned because they are thought of as lazy parasites that put a strain on society through their addictions and their insistence on reproducing in unfavorable circumstances.Society is quick to judge these individuals and disapprove of their actions when in reality it is society’s fault that these people must depend on such things as welfare in order to minimally survive. According to Furman and Parrot in â€Å"Raising the minimum wage will reduce poverty†, raising the minimum wage would be an important first step and a useful complement to public policies like the EITC, food stamps, and child care subsidies, which provide additional benefits and supports for low-income working families.They believe that a broader agenda is needed, however, to raise the prospects of low-wage workers and their families more significantly. Such an agenda would need to include additional income supports, help in obtaining the health care, child care, and housing that these families need but often cannot afford, and new opportunities to attend college or upgrade their skills so they can secure higher paying, more stable jobs. Works Cited â€Å"25 million depend on emergency food assistance. † Policy & Practice June 2006: 7.Academic OneFile. Web. 22 June 2012. Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of Labor. May 2012. Web. 21 June 2012. Christie, Les. â€Å"Number of people without health insurance climbs. † CNN Money. Cable News Network 2012. Web. 21 June 2012. Conlin, Michelle, and Aaron Bernstein. â€Å"The Working Poor Are Not Getting By in America. † Poverty. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"Working †¦ And Poor. † Business Week (31 May 2004). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 0 June 2012. Dreier, Peter. Why America’s Workers Can’t Pay the Rent. Dissent 47 (3). Summer 2000. Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New Yor k: Henry Holt and Co, 2001. Print. Furman, Jason, and Sharon Parrot. â€Å"Raising the Minimum Wage Will Reduce Poverty. † Poverty. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"A $7. 25 Minimum Wage Would Be a Useful Step in Helping Working Families Escape Poverty. † www. cbpp. org. 2007. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context.Web. 22 June 2012. Jeff Chapman. â€Å"Employment and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from Recent State Labor Trends,† Economic Policy Institute, 2004. And in one of the most compelling studies, David Card and Alan B. Krueger find that the 1992 New Jersey state minimum wage increase had no negative effect on employment in New Jersey’s fast-food industry. David Card and Alan Krueger, â€Å"Minimum Wages and Employment: A case study of the fast-food industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,† American Economic Review, vol. 4 (4), 772-793, 2004. Pimpare, Stephen. â€Å"Welfare Reform Has Increase d Poverty. † Poverty and Homelessness. Ed. Noel Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Rpt. from â€Å"Why Welfare Reform Has Failed. † ZNet. 2004. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 22 June 2012. RaisetheMinimumWage. com. National Employment Law Project. June 2012. Web. 21 June 21 2012. Rhoda Cohen, J. , Mabli, F. , Potter, Z. , Zhao. Hunger In America 2010. Feeding America. February 2010.

Acceptance of Local Product

Acceptance of Local Product Malaysia, with a population of around 27 million, is one of the most developed nations in Southeast Asia. About 61% of its population falls into the middle to upper income group of consumers with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita income of over US$6,000. The introduction of economic reforms through New Economic Policy (NEP) has produced some notable achievements such as the emergence of several successful domestic products with international competitiveness. Local brands such as Air Asia, PETRONAS, MAS and Selangor Pewter have reflected some successful stories of local entrepreneurs competing in the global markets. In the view of food product, the Malaysian food and beverage market is becoming more and more sophisticated and is supplied by both local and imported products. The strong economic growth in the late 80’s and early 90’s contributed to major changes in consumer purchases and consumption patterns. Malaysians living in urban areas are relatively brand con scious, and they prefer to shop in stores, which offer them convenience and good product selections. Malaysia has a large and growing food retail market that is supplied by local and imported products. Due to rising prosperity and higher education level, Malaysian consumers have become more difficult and demand higher quality for the goods that they purchased. Supermarkets and hypermarkets are mainly located in the major urban centers and are continuing to grow in numbers. Foreign-owned retailers operating locally include Tesco and Carrefour, Makro, Dairy Farms International (owns Giant), and Jaya Jusco. These retail stores provide good venues for imported products and access to the middle and high-income sophisticated consumers. Pressure is mounting for local retailers such as The Store to maintain competitive prices and carry a good variety of products in order to keep up with the international players. Malaysian government has tried to solve this problem that consumers should buy local product to stimulate the nation’s economy. Malaysian’s consumer have to change our attitude in believing that imported things are superior to local goods. We have locally-made goods which are of similar value and quality. Actually a significant number of goods sold overseas, items such as TV, radio, air-conditioner, VCR, shirt, shoe and automobile are made in Malaysia. We should build up a culture where we do not automatically think that imported goods are of superior goods over local goods. Many goods marketed under famous brand names such as Christian Dior, Piere Cardin, Levis, etc are actually made in Malaysia under OEM manufacturing. (Norman Rajen Abdullah, 2009) Malaysian appears to be more confident of local products, judging from their rising sales at Mydin stores nationwide. Demand for these products, ranging from food to handicrafts and textiles made by small businesses, has grown steadily since 2006. Sales of products made by small and medium enterpris es (SMEs) have more than tripled to RM55 million in 2009 from 2006 This is projected to grow by another 18 per cent to RM65 million this year and hit RM80 million in 2011. He said it was important for local entrepreneurs to build a strong foundation for their businesses in the local market before going international market.