Grapes Of Wrath Essays (780 words) - Literature, American Literature

Grapes Of Wrath John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California February 27th 1902. He was the third of four children and the only son of John Ernst Steinbeck II, manager of a flour mill, and Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, a former teacher. Steinbeck said of his youth, ("We were poor people with a hell of a lot of land which made us think we were rich people, even when we couldn't buy food and were patched.") Steinbeck used the area where he grew up as the setting for many of his stories. He attended Stanford University for a few years. He had to work to pay for his education, and sometimes took off one quarter to pay for the next. (He worked as a clerk in several stores, was a hand in a ranch, and even worked at the Spreckels Sugar Company where he gained knowledge of labor problems he would later write about in The Grapes of Wrath.) Other books by Steinbeck include Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat, and Cannery Row. He died in New York City on December 20th 1968. Sinrod 2 A constant theme in our story is the suffering of humans. As F.W. Watt says, (The primary impact of The Grapes of Wrath...is not to make us act, but to make us understand and share a human experience of suffering and resistance.) Steinbeck shows us that his characters, as well as all people must endure suffering as human beings. Humans suffer due to many factors. Religious suffering is one factor which is self imposed. (When we first see Casy he is explaining to Tom Joad how he left preaching, not merely because of the lusts that plagued him, but because religious faith as he knew it seemed to set up codes of behavior which denied human nature its proper and full expression) Religious suffering is perhaps epitomized in Jesus Christ, and Joseph Fontenrose believes the tragic character of Casey is believed to be the symbolic representation of Jesus Christ himself. (Jim Casy's initials are JC, and he retired to the wilderness to find spiritual truth and came forth to teach a new doctrine of love and good works...Casy sacrificed himself for others when he surrendered himself as the man who had struck a deputy Sinrod 3 at Hooverville...Tom told his mother, "I'm talking like Casy," after saying that he would be present everywhere, though unseen...) However the character of Jim Casy goes beyond Christ. While pondering sin and virtue, Casy comes to the enlightening conclusion that people cannot be judged "good" or "bad". ("Maybe it's just the way folks is...There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do. It's all part of the same thing. And some things folks do is nice, and some ain't nice, but that's as far as any man got a right to say.") Viewing the morality of individuals as dynamic, as opposed to static, provides tremendous freedom for characters such as Tom Jode. He is capable of many different actions throughout the story, including intimidation, guile, support, love, and even murder. Steinbeck wants to show that even a murderer still loves his mother. The mother after all, is holding his family together. (In all the families in crisis, the children look to the women for answers to their immediate survival: "What are we gonna do, Ma? Where are we going to go?") At one point in the story, Tom Jode considers leaving home rather than possibly Sinrod 4 endangering his family, however his mother reminds him that without his family, he has nothing. (There is no question that in this model the mother makes the most important contributions to the family stability.) Placing such importance on family values is not without reasons. Family is all the Jodes have to hold onto in the uncaring world in which they live. It is the only way they survive in the system which thrives on the exploitation of the poor. (The real power of Grapes of Wrath is the savage anger at the impersonal process that uproots men from the land and rapes it...) The best way for the Jodes to gain strength was through groups. Each time a fairly stable group or community was achieved, those in power attempted to destroy the group, effectively taking their strength away. Sylvia Jenkins Cook explains the theme of teamwork... (...a more positive characterization of group behavior emerged...where workers could acquire dignity, strength, and power, all inaccessible to the exploited and impotent individual.) Bibliography John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Penguin Books

Business Ownership Types Essays - Legal Entities, Free Essays

Business Ownership Types Essays - Legal Entities, Free Essays Business Ownership Types BUSINESSES It is known that commercial life is full of risk. Co-operation of people or small businesses constitutes big companies and businesses. Owning a business has lots of advantages and disadvantages. We can classify businesses in five basic categories. First of all, the easiest way to set up a business is sole trading. Everyone can start sole trading easily because it requires not so much investment and procedures. Stationers, grocers, bakers etc... can be good examples for sole trading. The owner of the business takes all profits and just responsible for his own business. He doesnt have to employ so many people, and it is easy to direct the company. If the company goes debt, he will be responsible for the debts and will be forced to pay them. Secondly, another and safer kind of business is partnerships. Partnerships require at least two people. A partnership is the division of responsibilities and cumulating of different skills. All partners invest money to establish company. Although money is power, capital is limited by investments of the partners. They share profits according to their percentage. If Company goes debt, all partners are responsible for them. Dramatically conflicts may occur between partners. Sometimes it results in ruin. The third kind of business is privet limited companies, which are owned by shareholders. Specific administrative procedures must be followed in order to establish such companies. It is more complicated and expensive to set up. Although all shareholders invest money, their capital is still limited but more than others. More people mean more skills and less responsibility. If the company goes debt, shareholders pay maximum they had invested. They do not lose their houses, cars, or planes, etc. They just lose their investment. That is the fact that, private limited companies have limited liability. Their accounts are open to the scrutiny by public. A private limited company takes Ltd. After its name. For instance, yksel ins. Ltd., Baytur Ltd. etc... Fourthly, public limited companies (plc) are also owned by shareholders. Public limited companies are more complicated and expensive to set up. Companies can increase their capital by selling shares. These shares are bought in stock markets; anybody can buy them easily. Sabanc, bankas, petkim are specific examples for public limited companies. Their accounts are open to the scrutiny by public. Finally, another big and strong kind is public companies. The government fully or jointly owns public companies. They have limited liabilities and are open to the scrutiny by public. A government can sell apart of the shares to increase capital. For instance, Turk Tekecom, TCDD (railways), Tekel are owned by government. In conclusion, there are five kinds of business from the smallest to the biggest. All of them have advantages and disadvantages. They bring money with risk. It is possible to earn lots of money in business area. Bibliography it

Report Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Report Plan - Assignment Example The recipient of this report is the various organizations, both governmental and NGOs, dealing with welfare funding. Identifying the problem was an easy task. According to government statistics, TANF program has 31% of white families, 33% black and 29% Hispanic. It is important to note that the aim of the program is to provide funds to needy families with a five-year limit on financial assistance. In fact, total welfare spending for the year ending 2010 reached an astounding $900 billion. The problem arises due to the fact that, even with the large amounts spent on assisting poor families, more families keep increasing systematically. To answer the questions, it is crucial to have access to the government archives on the target program (TANF). The public libraries with government, though few, are a good source of information. The internet is also an important resource for this research. I will have access to the national statistics databases. Journals and newspapers detailing the aspect of social welfare will be considered a resource. Kearns (2000) advices of the use of mixed methodology in answering research questions. Following Kearns’ advice, I will use observation and interview to answer the questions. The interview will be in form of a questionnaire directed at sampled TANF and the program supervisors. Since the research is personal, I intend to make unbiased observations and take note for further reference. The suggested course of action will be based on unprejudiced answers to the questions of research. Corcoran (2011) lays out a clear method of identifying loopholes in social affairs based on the failures of the system

Extended definition paper on Urbanization and the environment in Essay

Extended definition paper on Urbanization and the environment in arizona - Essay Example In being overburdened with several problems related to development, cities have to suffer from severe crisis situations. This paper will examine issues relative to urbanization and the environment in the state of Arizona. The city of Phoenix in Arizona will be analyzed in this context because it is amongst the world’s most swiftly urbanizing arid region. In being a region that is growing and developing rapidly, the Phoenix area faces immense risks of high levels of environmental, economic and social impacts, primarily because of the growth induced urban heat island (UHI) effects that characterize urbanization. Researchers have found in comparing the Phoenix region’s yearly minimum high temperatures with similar rural settings that the urban areas in the region have demonstrated much higher UHI effects, which obviously matches with the speed with which urbanization is increasing in the region. Urban development has also provided an excellent means to examine the significance of socio-ecological relationships. The speedy urbanization process in Phoenix and other parts of Arizona have impacted the diversity of plant species and composition of the community at regional levels. Diversity of plant species and their density is a factor of abiotic sorting characterized in non urban desert areas but certainly not in urban areas. Resea rchers have found that plant species are richer in deserts than in urban areas such as Phoenix in Arizona. A comprehensive perspective is created because of the complex and diverse relationship amongst environmental change and urbanization. There are varied interactions and interconnections in the conceptual framework dealing with this issue in terms of interactions between urbanization and the political, economic, cultural, social and biophysical aspects associated with environmental change. Cross temporal and cross spatial approaches have to be adopted in carrying out comparative studies.

Theories of Development Essay Example for Free

Theories of Development Essay Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) Piaget focuses on cognitive development; he was all about the child centred approach, he believed children are active learners and make sense of the world through their own experiences. Piaget believed that a child develops through a series of pre-determined stages to adulthood and said that a child needs to be at a specific stage of development to learn new concepts. His theory is concerned with the children rather than all learners and it focuses more on the development and not so much the learning which means this theory doesn’t really co-inside with learning of information and specific behaviours. Piaget influences current practise because the EYFS states that we need to have a balance of child initiated activities and children can be independent learners. We also have free flow within the setting which will highlight the child centred approach that Piaget believed in. He has also influenced the approach to managing children’s behaviour through looking at a child’s moral development through their point of view rather than an adult. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) Freud focuses on the psychoanalytical theory; he was particularly interested in the development of characteristics and personality. Freud believed we have an unconscious mind that is split into three parts and this this makes up our personality; the id, ego and superego. The id is where all our desires and needs come from and can be known as the selfish and passionate component of our personality e.g. a baby will cry and cry to be fed, not thinking of how tired their parent/carer may be. The ego is where we start to consider consequences of our actions and is known as the common sense part of our personalities e.g. if a child wants something but knows they have to ask nicely or wait patiently they will do so in order to meet their needs or desires. The superego is where we start to think about the moral requirements, if you have misbehaved your conscience will affect your ego and make you feel guilty, if you are being rewarded for something good, your ego-ideal will reward your ego with pride and confidence. Freud believed that with age these stages will develop in your personality. Freud influences current practise because we now think about the child’s wants and needs from their point of view. We wouldn’t take away a small child’s comforter because their id has made them believe they want it and need it, they would become very distressed if we did so. Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) Maslow had a humanist approach to his theory, his theory was about motivation and personality, he believed in a hierarchy of needs and these needs needed to met in order fulfil their potential or ‘self-actualisation’. He believed you would have to reach all previous levels of the pyramid to become a fulfilled person. Maslow believed motivation and personality are linked to our basic needs being met. He also believed that every person has the potential to become self-actualized however some factors can hinder progress i.e. a family’s income being affected through the parent losing their job would affect a few of the hierarchy points. Maslow influences current practise within the early years setting because the professionals need to think about the environment that is being created for the children as well as developing strong relationships. We need to try and meet the basic needs such as warmth, food, shelter and to form a good relationship we need to provide love, care and promote self-esteem. Albert Bandura (born 1925) Bandura has a social learning approach to his theory and this is another behaviourist approach. Bandura believes in conditioning through positive and negative reinforcement, and through observing people around you (observational learning). He believes that if one observes another person they will pick up and learn how to act in certain situations through modelling another person’s behaviour. Bandura’s behaviourist approach shows he does believe that not all observed actions will lead to a change in behaviour, if a child observes someone they may just take in the information rather than modelling what they have observed. Bandura influences current practise because we praise positive behaviour in order for children to do it again and ignore negative behaviour in hoping the children wouldn’t repeat it. We also act as good role models for the children to observe and copy our behaviour i.e. being polite with please and thank you, sharing and being kind to our friends. B. F Skinner (1904 – 1990) Skinner is known for developing the behaviourist approach but he also has the operant conditioning approach to his theory. He believed we would shape behaviour; we would promote desired behaviour with rewards such as stickers, praise, attention and treats, and positive reinforcement would help aid in learning. He also believed in reinforcing undesired behaviour with punishment in hoping this would stop children from repeating this behaviour. He also believes the rewards and reinforcement should be done in good time after the behaviour has occurred or it would not have the desired effect i.e. straight away, if delayed it may not register to the child what behaviour caused for this. The rewards and reinforcement shouldn’t be expected all the time so frequency needs to be considered, its best to not reward or reinforce every time, this would mean they wouldn’t expect it all the time and would constantly show wanted behaviour because unexpectedly they would receive a reward and would want this again. Skinner influences current practise because we have behaviour policies that families have to comply with. We also praise good behaviour and when a child achieves something we reward with stickers. We try to avoid undesired behaviour happening again by using punishments such as time out. John B. Watson (1878 – 1958) Watson was a behaviourist theorist; his theory is that classical conditioning offers a basic explanation of how a child can develop through learning by association, e.g. when the fire bell goes off, children will associate it with lining up. Some of his work was based on showing phobia’s and association, e.g. some children have a fear of needles because they associate this with the pain they felt before. Watson influences current practise because we now have routines and have set areas for certain activities, e.g. when we are sat at the red table this will be for arts and design. Social Pedagogy Social pedagogy is about the holistic wellbeing and education, it is a shared responsibility between parents and society as a whole. It develops children and young people’s knowledge of what is expected of them as an individual in society. It helps them gain skills in learning, coping with emotions and physical skills; it’s there to teach children and young people how to become a valued member of society. Social pedagogy has a hands on approach to the younger generation and believes that it is not just up to the parents to do all the upbringing but it is the society too. Social pedagogy influences current practise because the Eyfs states that we should work in partnership with the parents, we also have government run settings such as sure start and these other help to families who haven’t had the best start in life. All of the theorists have different approaches and views but all give something to the current practise that we work alongside with.

Legalization of Marijuana Essay -- Weed Drugs Illegal Essays Papers Ca

The Legalization of Marijuana   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana is a plant, known as cannabis sativa and cannabis indica, which contains a psychoactive chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The effects of THC include disruption of psychomotor behavior, short-term memory impairment, intoxication, stimulation of appetite, antinociceptive, and antiemetic activities. Marijuana, the Mexican name given to cannabis is a mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the plant. Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other preparations made from the same plant. Hemp is a form of cannabis, cannabis sativa L, which contains less than one percent THC; it is used to make clothing, paper, and building materials. Tobacco is smoked just like marijuana is smoked, rolled in paper or in a pipe. The only difference is that tobacco is legal and marijuana is illegal. The government spends billions each year on the war on drugs, yet it is still around. For people under the age of 21 it is much easier to get marijuana than it is to get alcohol. Although many primarily associate marijuana with its harmful side effects, in actuality there are many benefits from its use as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana was a large part of culture throughout the entire world, it has been around for thousands of years and still continues to grow. Hemp was a large help with early American settlers, the hollow stalk was used to make clothing, rope and paper. Hemp was used well before this though, the Chinese used it to make fishing nets and bow strings for their archers. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who are considered to be forefathers for America, both grew hemp. Benjamin Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. Early drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on paper that was made of hemp. During World War II, the US supply of hemp was cut off by the Japanese, and the US Army and the Department of Agriculture promoted the â€Å"Hemp for Victory† campaign, which encouraged farmers to grow hemp for the cause of the war. Hemp was also used in making sails and ropes for ships. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act prohibited the use, sale, and cultivation of marijuana and hemp in the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is said that marijuana is a â€Å"gateway† drug, and it will lead to harder drugs such as cocaine or heroin, though this is not a proven theory. â€Å"Over time, there has been... ...ke if they are dried and rolled up. The fight for the legalization of marijuana will continue until marijuana is finally legalized. Bibliography 1. de Zwart, W.M. et al, Key Data: Smoking, Drinking, Drug Use and Gambling Among Pupils Aged 10 Years and Older, Utrecht: Netherlands Institute on Alcohol and Drugs (1994). 2. Drug War Facts 3. Jones, R.T. et al, "Clinical Studies of Cannabis Tolerance and Dependence," Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 282:221-39 (1976). 4. National Survey Results on Drug Use, from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1993, Volume I, Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse (1994). 5. Preliminary Estimates From the 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1994). 6. Rubin, V., "Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis," pp 1-18 in S. Cohen and R.C. Stillman (eds), The Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, New York: Plenum Medical Book Company (1976). 7. State Prison Expidentures 8. US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," [Docket #86-22], (September 6, 1988), p. 57.

Organizational Culture Analysis Essay

Each organization has a different culture. The culture can help shape how an organization functions and has the potential to set it apart from the competition. There are three levels to culture: observable artifacts, espoused values, and enacted values (Baack, 2012). Each level plays a different part within an organization. State Farm Insurance is the larges mutual property and casualty insurance carrier in the United States. The company was founded over 90 years ago and has had plenty of time to develop their layers of culture. Observable artifacts are the outward viewable signs of an organization. Observable artifacts are viewed not only by the employees of the company but also by outsiders. State Farm has a various artifacts. The company has a recognizable logo and slogan, â€Å"Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there†. These have artifacts are recognizable in most households. On an internal level, yearly there are ceremonies that the company conducts to reinforce the feeling of family. Yearly the company holds Christmas in the Atrium where Santa comes for all of the employees and their families to visit. Annual Easter parties and Founder’s Day celebrations also encourage the neighborly atmosphere, keeping in line with the slogan. According to Baack (2012), espoused values are aspirational opposed to the actual outcome. The values set forth by the company are to act as a guide but are not always achievable. State Farm includes its values within the mission statement, â€Å"†¦quality service and relationships, mutual trust, integrity and financial strength† (State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 2013). The most recent value set by the company is to be remarkable. Employees not only need to strive to give remarkable service to the agents and the policyholders but also be remarkable in the interactions with fellow employees. The idea of providing remarkable service guides how employees are to work everyday. It defines the product being sold and the interaction with policyholders. The last layer of culture is enacted values. These values are the actual behaviors exhibited by the employees. Rick Darby of Safety Culture (2012) stated, â€Å"the enacted values of an organization†¦may be at a considerable distance from those proclaimed in official statements and public relations material†. In the case of State Farm and being â€Å"remarkable†, employees are having a hard time providing the remarkable service. Slow systems, being short handed, and a disconnect between operation employees and agents, contribute to less than remarkable service. These enacted values differ from what the company would like but not much has been done to rectify the situation. Darby (2012) believed if a great gap was found between enacted values of the employees and the espoused values of upper management, there could be confusion and dissatisfaction. The dissatisfaction found in employees can start to alter the observable artifacts of the company. The recognition of State Farm for being an admired company will stop being awarded if management does not address the enacted value of its employees. The three levels of culture contribute to how an organization is presented to the public. Observable artifacts, espoused values, and enacted values all supply a foundation for the organization’s culture. The culture of the organization is part of what defines their success and growth. State Farm is known as the good neighbor company but needs to address the enacted values of the employees in order to provide the remarkable experience it is striving for. References Baack, D. (2012). Organizational Behavior. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Darby, R. (2012, April). Pyramid Building. Safety Culture , pp. 52-55. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. (2013). State Farm. Retrieved February 25, 2013, from State Farm web site: www.statefarm.com