Boldwoods Christmas party Essay Example for Free

Boldwoods Christmas party Essay Bathsheba Everdene is the main character in a Thomas Hardy novel called Far From the Madding Crowd. Which is set in Wessex. Bathshebas character is along with many other things decisive, brisk, vain, businesslike, and independent. However you see her evolve throughout the book, mainly as a result of her marriage to Frank Troy. At the beginning of the story Hardy seems to focus on her bad qualities, though you still see people wishing to be married to her. Some good qualities are shown as well like her thoughtful response to save Gabriels life. Her first fault is vanity. This trait is mentioned in chapter one, almost everything else follows on from this. Vanity affects the way she behaves in a powerful way. Her vanity makes her annoyed and angry at not attracting Boldwoods attention. When she meets Frank Troy he plays up to her vanity by paying her compliments and showing her flirtatious affection. By the end of the story she shows that she has grown out of or overcome her vanity. Instead of wanting to stand out and have everyone looking at her, at Boldwoods Christmas party, she dresses down and wants to merge into the background. You can also see she is not vain because when Boldwood praises her beauty the comments have no effect. Her life experiences have caused this change in her. The main life experience is her marriage to Frank Troy which affected her the most. She transforms from a confident character to a submissive and introverted figure she becomes less and less like her usual self. The first sign you see of independence is fairly near the beginning in chapter three, when we see her riding the horse. Instead of doing it the conventional ladylike way we see her lie flat on her back on top of the horses back. This could be showing her independence and unconventional behaviour, this would tie in with an independent spirit too wild. She likes to have independence so later on in the story when this is taken away from her we see her rely on Gabriel Oak. She always had her own independence, but when she got married she lost that independence and we see her seek advice and help from Gabriel Oak. At one point in the story she rejects Gabriels advice, but later on in chapter fifty four she asks for it. This shows a big change in her personality. She once would have done her own thing and maybe even sacked Gabriel for his advice whereas she now values both him and his opinion. Her independence continues to be shown throughout the rest if the story, even after her marriage to Frank Troy. Independence along with confidence is showed when she goes to the corn market and is the only woman there. Another characteristic shown is confidence with businesslike skills. An example of this would be when she takes it upon herself to sack her bailiff. I have formed a resolution to have no bailiff at all. Bathshebas confidence continues to be shown with her decision to pay the workers herself in chapter ten. Bathsheba has a lot of confidence in herself. In short I shall astonish you all. This is said shortly after her decision to have no bailiff when she is convincing the staff that she can manage. The speech shows her self-confidence shining and her belief in her own ability. Towards the end of the novel we see her find an even balance between the overconfidence which she showed through the beginning of the novel which made her appear full of herself, compared with when she had little or no confidence and relied on Frank Troy, to finally become a person who can cope on her own but realises she cannot do everything to the best of her ability without assistance. Before we see her lose her self confidence she shows she believes in herself by going to the Corn Market, making her the only woman present. One thing bothers Bathsheba; the fact that Boldwood is the only person who does not take notice of her. This lack of attention shows us how she craves to be the centre of attention; you could even go as far as calling her an attention seeker. She will do silly antics in an attempt to attract peoples attention. For example the Valentines Day card. Bathsheba tries to make herself popular with everyone especially men; this seems to be her biggest desire. In chapter thirteen she mischievously sends a Valentine card to Boldwood to attract his attention. This starts Bathshebas change. She wants people to notice her and does not sit around waiting she takes action for herself. The sending of the Valentines card shows her vain characteristic. A big characteristic she shows throughout is impulsiveness, she does things without thinking. The Valentines Day card is an example of this; another example of this earlier in the book is when she chases Gabriel Oak after he had been wrongly informed that many men wanted her hand in marriage; though she did not want to accept his proposal. She did not think that her actions would show this until after the conversation her and Gabriel had. Many of her actions are on impulse she doesnt think things through first. Later on however she takes time to think about Fannys grave and she decides to clean it up and replant the bulbs on it. This also shows she can be selfless. When Gabriel gives her advice early in the novel she decides she doesnt like what he has to say. She sacks him whilst she was angry and acting highly impulsively. This demonstrates how she doesnt want to face the truth even though she values his opinion; later in the novel after the drowning of Frank Troy she relents asking him for his thoughts.

A Study On Music Videos

A Study On Music Videos Music videos have a big impact on how the world is viewed today. Many videos disrespect women and portray them in a negative way. Most videos stereotyped race, womens body types, and skin color. These videos have influenced the younger generation lives and how they should act. Mainly all music videos teach the youth unhelpful information that they do not need to know in their everyday lives. Today individuals minds are twisted with images from songs, melodies, and lyrics in which music videos have influenced and made a big impact on peoples attitude and there lifestyles; these images shape the way people think in their everyday lives. Regardless of what an artist is singing or rapping about in their music video you will always see a sexual hint. Clearly you can see women being portrayed in music videos in sexual way this may not affect how you feel at first, but after seeing this happen over and over in different music videos may makes people treat women with less respect. How women are portrayed in this way comes with many consequences. Most rap videos today show sexually disapproving and harmful depictions and treatment of women, mainly women of color. Women are stereotyped in music videos because they are often portrayed as hypersexual, selfish, and amoral, examinations of music videos have publicized this. They are also portrayed as non-educated and very getable. By watching music videos people might bring to a close that the world is made up of light skin and white women. Disregarding the massive series of colors in between, a lot of women in music videos today are light skin, white, Asian, and Latina and it could be hard on women and young girls who dont like this. Their representation frequently overemphasizes their sexualized, physical looks and places them as attractive objects rather than active agents in the music videos. Most artists nowadays use light skin, Asians, and Latinos in their videos because they think they will lose viewers. These artists that havent used other races of women in their videos have already lost a lot of views because there are different races of women all over the world; people dont want to keep seeing the same thing over and over. Artist try to go with what they think everybody else would like to see instead of what they like. Women bodies today are very important to society. Television shows, movies, music videos, and magazines also play a big part in displaying women bodies in a negative way. These types of sources portray what the media thinks is the ideal of a perfect female body. Most men think that light skin women are the pretties, and that they have the curviest bodies and big behinds. There are also other women that have the same types of bodies, but they are rarely showcased in the videos. America needs to include women with different types of figures. By doing t his it would seriously expand the worlds thoughts and definition of what true beauty should look like. When women go out to clubs, or just out to have a good time men think that they can just walk up to them and grab them and say anything they want. Most women in music videos are always half naked, dancing in an inappropriate manner, and are insulted in different ways. By the women in these videos acting in this way it shows the world that all women are the same and they really are not, because most music videos have the same concept. So many music videos display these kinds of actions, and men dont realize that these videos are not real and they cant treat women with disrespect. The media have affected young girls today on becoming thinner. Half of Americans basic school students between the first and third grades are trying to become thinner. By the age of ten children are scared of being classified as overweight. Most young girls watch music videos and are influence that they are not beautiful, because there are always thin girls in the videos. When music videos showcase thin women all the time it makes young girls feel like they have to look a certain way. Young children shouldnt have to worry about problems like this at their age but people have forced so much on the youth and they become overwhelmed with these issues. Most music videos make women feel bad about the way they look, because of how the women look in them. The women in the videos are always skinny, white, Asian, or Latino anything but black, and if they are she is very light. What men fail to realize is that not all women look like this, and that they should put all types of women in their videos so viewers wont feel bad about their physical appearance. There are all different sizes, shapes, colors, and races of women, and to just limit the videos to certain races and skin color, and one body type makes women look at their self in a different way. It makes them wonder if men think that only women that look like this is beautiful than what about the rest of the women in the world, how do men look at them? The result that popular music has on children and young peoples behavior and emotions is a big concern today in society. Several of hip-hops well-known songs have influenced violence, drugs, alcohol, sex, disrespect for authority, and lack of respect for woman. The view and the result of musicvideomessages are important, as research has reported that it contacts to sexual messages, sexual stereotypes, and use of substances of violence in musicvideos might produce major changes in behaviors and attitudes of young viewers. There is a relationship between violence in music and the youth culture. For many young children and teenagers by listening to this music it creates an atmosphere that is harmful to their lives and education. Does violence in music videos cause violence in the youth culture? Yes it does because teenagers watch these music videos and act upon what they see. Most rappers make songs about using drugs and children look up to them and they imply that its okay to use drugs when really is not. Young children and teenagers in todays society are always looking for a role-model and some type of fashion to copy. A teenagers favorite types of music could be related to certain behaviors preformed in music videos. Children and teenagers rewinds songs and learn the lyrics. The youth culture will not become better into artists really think about who listens to their music and watches their videos the most, and think about what they are teaching the young people. When young girls watch music videos and see how women act and are disrespected over and over, most of them will grow up thinking that it is ok to let a men treat them with disrespect. What do boys think when they see these type of things displayed on television how women are portrayed as sex objects. Half of Boys that view music videos will grow up not caring about females feeling or how they treat them because most music videos show lack of respect for women. Children are losing their innocence from watching, listening, reading, and wearing the clothing they see in music videos. Parents shouldnt want their children studying violence, but with the technology today like headphones, and downloads they are unsure of what is going on. The mass media tells children that the artists in the music videos are not who they portray to be. African American females that spend more time watching music videos have a higher opportunity of drinking and having several sex partners, and more liable to test positive for marijuana. American teenagers use up about four and a half hours a day listening to music and studying music videos, According to American according to American Medical Association. 48% of Americans say violence in music should be regulated. In popular music parents are tired of suggestive, violent, lyrical content. There are so many music videos in the hip hop culture that stereotypes women in so many ways. In these videos women expose themselves in ways that you would never imagine. Nas feat. Braveheart Oochie Wally, Ludacris booty poppin, Jadakiss knock yourself out, 50 Cent disco inferno, and Nelly tip drill. Nellys video tip drill is the most degrading of women that I ever saw the lyrics and how the women carry themselves. Nellys music video Tip Drill really stereotypes women, in this video he says â€Å"I said it must be ya ass cause it aint ya faceI need a tipdrill, I need a tipdrill† (Nelly). This stereotypes that if a women has a big beheld than men really dont take their time to look at her face, they just want to see what her body looks like. A tip drill is another name for running a train on a girl in the video ali verse say â€Å"I said it aint no fun less we all get some I need a tipdrill, we need a tipdrill† â€Å"Now come on girl you know what we came here for Is You a tipdrill, we need a tipdrill† (Ali). The women in this video really dont care if they are being exposed â€Å"You lookin well in them shorts but they look better on the floor Cause yous a tipdrll, cause yous a tipdrill† ( Kyjuan). Women in this video are walking around Naked, letting the touch on them in any kind of way, touch on other women â€Å"Now ya see I want to let you ride but the rubber m ight slide Yous a tipdrill, girl you a tipdrill† (Murphy Lee). â€Å"Turn that ass up mama put that dip in ya back And let me tipdrill, just let me tipdrill† this videos degrade women and make other countrys look at us in a negative way. The girls in the video have a part and they say â€Å"It must be ya money, cause it aint ya faceYou a tipdrill, nigga you a tipdrill† â€Å"My apple bottom look right, I know you wanna bite Yous a tipdrill, I heard you was a tipdrill† I got you payin my bills and buyin automobiles Yous a tipdrill, nigga you a tipdrill â€Å"I know you a trick go spend that shit You old tipdrill, you monkeyass tipdrill â€Å". These videos degrade women and make other countrys look at us in a negative way; it makes men feel like they have power over women. Music videos in todays society have misled people to how the American culture should be viewed. Women are stereotyped all the time because other women want to expose their self in a negative way in music videos. If society try to put a stop to what going on in these videos there will be less valence, and abuse. If artist try to make music videos that are more positive, and stop putting stereotypes of women in their videos children would have someone to look up to. Sawa Kurotani, Learning what hip hops all about, December 16, 2008 Tuesday, http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=truerisb=21_T7909056810format=GNBFIsort=RELEVANCEstartDocNo=1resultsUrlKey=29_T7909056813cisb=22_T7909056812treeMax=truetreeWidth=0csi=145202docNo=16 Delilah Cummings,The Effects of Hip Hop Music on Todays Youth, 10/31/03, http://media.www.msuspokesman.com/media/storage/paper270/news/2003/10/31/Perspectives/The-Effects.Of.Hip.Hop.Music.On.Todays.Youth-547432.shtml Policy StatementImpact of Music, Music Lyrics, and Music Videos on Children and Youth. Pediatrics 124.5 (2009): 1488-1494. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Dec. 2009. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7hid=2sid=bf1584aa-9f34-4439-beb9-eb33944df1cc%40sessionmgr4bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9hAN=45407672 Peterson, Shani H., et al. Images of Sexual Stereotypes in Rap Videos and the Health of African American Female Adolescents. Journal of Womens Health (15409996) 16.8 (2007): 1157-1164. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Dec. 2009. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=13hid=2sid=bf1584aa-9f34-4439-beb9-eb33944df1cc%40sessionmgr4bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9hAN=27063114#db=a9hAN=27063114 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com, Portrayal of Women in Music Videos, All Rights Reserved http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/103197.html 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com, the Female Body, the Media, an, All Rights Reserved. http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/34603.html 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved, Lyrical Violence, http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/18773.html Joan Morgan (1999) sings of life in the USA, Boston New York, Sonia Maasik, and Jack Solomon Cheryl Wetzstein, Rap music perpetuates stereotypes of women, june 22, 2008 Sunday, http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=truerisb=21_T8067453482format=GNBFIsort=RELEVANCEstartDocNo=1resultsUrlKey=29_T8067453495cisb=22_T8067453494treeMax=truetreeWidth=0csi=8176docNo=11 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved. The Female Body, the Media, an, http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/34603.html Nelly, Tip Drill, 11/25/03, music video, September, 16, 2007 http://www.muvids.com/2725_video_nelly_tip_drill

The Importance of Religion to American Slaves Essay -- Exploratory Ess

The Importance of Religion to American Slaves Whether one notices or not, each person has the right to make choices concerning his or her life. Being able to make these decisions is a God-given right that vibrates in the heart of every human being who claims possession and mastery over his or her own self. However, for slaves, this concept did not exist, and they became the property of someone else with no place to call their own. For this reason, many slaves turned to religion to comfort them in their darkest hour, to help them gain the strength to continue in their struggles, and to hope that a day would come when they would rise above their condition to a better place. For slave-owners, the Bible became a place where the institution of slavery was justified, but for the slaves, Christianity became a symbol of redemption in which they envisioned a future free from bondage, and if earthly escape was not possible, their faith would be rewarded in the afterlife, securing them a home of their own in a free heaven. While many white slave owners discouraged slaves from learning the Bible for fear it would encourage slaves to seek freedom, slaves, nevertheless, felt the Bible was their source for obtaining earthly freedom; thus "their persistent hope for the future was tied to their faith in God." (Stammering Tongue, 57). Their convictions gave them the ounce of hope they needed to believe that there was a better life awaiting them. "The Spirit of the Lord allowed black slaves to transcend the horizon of their immediate experiences and to hope for a future in which they would be free." (Stammering Tongue, 60). In Frederick Douglass’ "Narrati... ...ome of his own in a free heaven. WORKS CITED Cut Loose Your Stammering Tongue: Black Theology in the Slave Narratives. Ed. D. Hopkins and G. Cummings. New York: Orbis Books, 1991. Douglass, Frederick. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1998. 1762-1813. Escott, Paul D. Slavery Remembered. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1979. Raboteau, Albert J. Slave Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. 2310-2356. Wilmore, Gayraud S. Black Religion and Black Radicalism. Garden City: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1972. The Importance of Religion to American Slaves Essay -- Exploratory Ess The Importance of Religion to American Slaves Whether one notices or not, each person has the right to make choices concerning his or her life. Being able to make these decisions is a God-given right that vibrates in the heart of every human being who claims possession and mastery over his or her own self. However, for slaves, this concept did not exist, and they became the property of someone else with no place to call their own. For this reason, many slaves turned to religion to comfort them in their darkest hour, to help them gain the strength to continue in their struggles, and to hope that a day would come when they would rise above their condition to a better place. For slave-owners, the Bible became a place where the institution of slavery was justified, but for the slaves, Christianity became a symbol of redemption in which they envisioned a future free from bondage, and if earthly escape was not possible, their faith would be rewarded in the afterlife, securing them a home of their own in a free heaven. While many white slave owners discouraged slaves from learning the Bible for fear it would encourage slaves to seek freedom, slaves, nevertheless, felt the Bible was their source for obtaining earthly freedom; thus "their persistent hope for the future was tied to their faith in God." (Stammering Tongue, 57). Their convictions gave them the ounce of hope they needed to believe that there was a better life awaiting them. "The Spirit of the Lord allowed black slaves to transcend the horizon of their immediate experiences and to hope for a future in which they would be free." (Stammering Tongue, 60). In Frederick Douglass’ "Narrati... ...ome of his own in a free heaven. WORKS CITED Cut Loose Your Stammering Tongue: Black Theology in the Slave Narratives. Ed. D. Hopkins and G. Cummings. New York: Orbis Books, 1991. Douglass, Frederick. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1998. 1762-1813. Escott, Paul D. Slavery Remembered. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1979. Raboteau, Albert J. Slave Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. 2310-2356. Wilmore, Gayraud S. Black Religion and Black Radicalism. Garden City: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1972.

Angelas Ashes: Analysis :: essays research papers

It is a common view that times for the Irish majority in the 1930's and 40's were very hard. Especially for the Irish Catholic families with the stereotypical drunken father, emotionally wrecked mother, kids running round her with her sore back from the next child ready too be born. In Angela's Ashes, Mc Court examines his childhood experiences, the tragedies, hardships, learning, all involved with growing up.One of the most interesting aspects of the writing in Angela's Ashes is how the text is written, from Mc Courts interpretation of the situation at his age he was at the time, the spelling and grammar also indicates that the child is writing, not the adult. This contributes immensely to the emotions and enjoyment evoked from reading the book. It also better describes how a child actually sees the things going around them, and what they may be thinking. Personally, sometimes is made me think for a while about how I interpreted things I saw when I was that age, and the fun I had b eing a 'kid' with my sister.McCourt describes his brothers and sister, even the ones that died and how much he enjoyed growing up with them, how they cared and loved for each other. Because of the appalling quarters they lived in and the lack of money and food there was terminal illnesses in the family which proved fatal to some of his siblings. Mc Court in his 'child-like' writing style describes how his siblings and he, interpret what's happened and how they see their parents reacting. Mc Court also analyses how his younger brother Malachy looks up to him and how much he takes Malachy under his 'wing' and takes care of him. Parenting is said to be one of the hardest tasks out there today, especially sole-parenting. Mc Court carefully examines his mother, how she copes with her drunken betrothed, how her cousins who married 'gentlemen' are constantly try to run her life, and how she acts as a woman. His father, the 'Irish drunk' who is constantly making him and his brother swear their lives for Ireland and singing Roddy Mc Corley and Kevin Barry after a night at the pub. How his father will tell him stories about old Irish folklore and get sacked from job after job.As Frank progresses into adolescence, he explores the feelings and changes he goes through.

Amd Vs. Intel :: essays research papers

AMD vs. Pentium   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A couple of years ago when Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) introduced it’s K5 microprocessor, the phrase “too little, too late'; was plastered across their name countless times. At that time, if anyone were to name an underdog to the Intel dominated microprocessor market, Cyrix with their dirt-cheap 5x86 processor would have been the favorite.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Intel had been the only processor that could handle day-to-day functions at reasonable speeds. Such simple tasks as word processing and calculations, then later gaming and educational work, the processors were unable to perform. The Pentium processor was introduced in 1994; no company could compete with Intel at this point. It took until 1997, for AMD to even be noticed, and then later in 1997 the AMD k6 series was introduced.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When AMD’s k6 was introduced to compete with the Pentium!! Processor, it fell short in all areas, except one-price. It was the cheapest micro-processing chip (chip) on the market. The downside to this chip is that it did not follow the same format as Intel chips. It needed a different motherboard, a socket-7 motherboard. This hurt AMD’s chances at the beginning, but in early 1998 they unveiled their mighty K6-2 processor. The K6-2 Processor was “bigger, better, and cheaper.'; The processor ran on a 100mhz bus, while Intel’s chips still ran on a 66mhz bus, this made AMD’s chip faster. It also was nearly 16% cheaper than any Intel based Pentium!! computer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The gaming community accepted the k6-2 with cautious, but open, arms. With their new SIMD-Enhanced (Single Instruction Multiple Data) 3Dnow! the graphics this processor were able to produce were amazing, for the time, due to the use of floating point intensive programs. With the new processor and their own design they were not only keeping up with the giant Intel, but they were innovating.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Intel answered back with its “SSE';, which was to be included in its Pentium!!! processors. This new enhancement was to push graphics acceleration twice as fast as AMD’s 3Dnow! could. When Intel prematurely released the Pentium!!! processor it fell short. Many people got chances to take the new P3 for a run, and they were barely faster than the similarly clocked AMD K6-2’s. Not only that, but they sold for over four times the price. When news of this reached the dealers and public, K6-2s sales had sky rocketed to 43.9 percent of the market, while Intel’s dropped to 40.

Ambiguous language Essay

Ambiguous language is often a cause for concern when employment contracts are involved, and this is clearly the situation outlined in â€Å"Case Study 9-1: Contract Interpretation. † 1. The most important point were I arbitrator, would be the intent of the Company regarding the involved provision. â€Å"The company stated that the double-time provision was added to the contract as a means of combating absenteeism during the week† (Carrell, M. , & Heavrin, C. J. D. , 2006, p. 445). Based on this statement, it is clear that the purpose of the provision focused on an employee’s being gone for the day, not late for the shift. (One must concede that the terms â€Å"tardy† and â€Å"absent† certainly have different meanings, and by the Company’s own admission, the involved provision focused on â€Å"absenteeism. †) Although failing to arrive on time is a form of absenteeism, it is a temporary, short-lived event, and in this case, was clearly unintentional and out of the employee’s control. Under the outlined circumstances, the grievant’s being 10 minutes late simply does not equate to his being absent. 2. Regardless of the arbitrator’s decision, no â€Å"effect† would be given to the bargain. The Case Study states, â€Å"there had been previous grievances on the same issue, but those arbitration awards were inconsistent† (p. 445). Therefore, a case-by-case analysis seems to be the rule. I do believe that denying the over-time would be dangerous to the long-term relations between the Company and the Union as it is obvious that the two sides clearly disagree on the meaning of this particular issue. Given the Union’s (i. e. the employee’s) position is that â€Å"reasonable tardiness† would be overlooked, a denial could result in walk-outs and/or strikes (p. 445). 3. Although the contract language is clear, an arbitrator should be involved because neither party agrees about the interpretation, the intent, or the common practice applied to the involved provision of the collective bargaining agreement. The Case Study states that â€Å"a meeting of the minds† was out of the question as the Union and the Company disagreed about what was contained in the collective bargaining agreement (p. 445). The difficulty seems to stem, in part, from â€Å"the parties [having] a different understanding during the negotiation process from the company’s current interpretation of the double-time section of the contract† (p. 445). The Union stated, â€Å"the company’s negotiator had agreed not to count reasonable tardiness against the double-time provision but had refused to change the language used in the contract† however, â€Å"the company’s negotiator [. . . ] stated that the very purpose of the double-time section was to allow for double-time pay only if there was no absenteeism in the previous week† (p. 445). The negotiator did recall a statement regarding â€Å"reasonable application,† but stated that it â€Å"was in response to a maintenance worker on the negotiating committee† and the negotiator recalled â€Å"in that situation, he would agree to apply a reasonable standard to maintenance workers for Sunday double-time following a tardiness on Saturday† due to the difference in weekend scheduling for the â€Å"25 maintenance workers† (p. 445). Neither version rings completely true: it seems unlikely that the Union would allow the Company to concede a point and then agree that no change be made to the language—a union simply has no reason to settle for a verbal agreement when a contract negotiation is underway. On the other hand, the negotiator recalls something along the lines of what the Union recalled being said, but the negotiator applies that statement to a special situation involving only the maintenance workers. Looking solely at this case, it is obvious that the employee neither intended nor could control the event that caused his tardiness. It might further be argued that arriving only 10 minutes late under the circumstances (i. e. being a passenger in a vehicle that sustained a flat tire), indicates a likelihood that had the flat not occurred, the grievant actually would have arrived to work early. Looking at this employee’s past record of tardiness (or lack thereof) might reveal the truth of his intentions that day. Given the facts presented and the difficulties raised, it is apparent that the contract language is ambiguous, and to avoid further/future confusion, frustration, and arbitration, an amendment and/or clarification to the contract language should be added during the next bargaining session, if not sooner. Reference Carrell, M. , & Heavrin, C. J. D. (2006). Case Study 9-1: Contract Interpretation. Labor relations an collective bargaining: Cases, practice, and law (8th ed. ). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. 445.

Monotony in Elisa’s life Essay

Many people in our modern society lead monotonous lives; in other words they follow a routine and have little or no excitement in their lives. Sometimes we fool ourselves by believing that a monotonous life is happy life, but it does not work the same way for every person. Leading a monotonous life can be very harmful to one’s well being and those around us. In the short story â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† by John Steinbeck we see a person who finds herself in this situation, following a daily routine without much change in it. When a person realizes that they have been living a boring life they start to feel dissatisfied with what they have accomplished, act on impulse and even resort to different activities in an attempt to escape from reality. It often happens that people neglect themselves and do not do anything to satisfy their inner desires which later turn into regret. Regret is the effect that comes from not doing that which you want to do, not realizing your dreams or even from making the wrong decision. If a person strictly follows a routine it happens that they refuse to relax or have fun because it can affect their work or lives. These people are followed by a feeling of unaccomplishment which can lead to sorrow and sadness. The problem is that you start repeating this cycle that does not really benefit your health, it may benefit others and improve your work or studies but you always have to take into consideration your well being. Regret is a very powerful emotion and can carry on for years if a person is not careful it can gravely affect their state of mind and create many complexes. In â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† the character of Elisa is a perfect example of someone who leads a monotonous life. Elisa is tired of her life because she feels tired of the same issues every day, caring for her garden being a wife and even dealing with an awkward husband. Elisa regrets not living a more exciting life. In the story, the traveling handyman when talking with Elisa asks her for some chrysanthemums seeds and a very interesting conversation comes up. Elisa tries to explain to him how to care for the chrysanthemums by explaining the feeling of how you do it, but they interpret the explanation as something sexual. Elisa gets aroused by the conversation and tries to touch the man’s leg in the heat, but resists herself in the end. This leaves me to think that maybe she feels unsatisfied in her marriage, she desires something, regrets not having this exciting life. By using the same example we can also relate the situation to how living in this monotony can make a person act on impulse. To act on impulse is to give in to your deepest desires, to follow your urges; it is the drive for what we do. This impulsive behavior surfaces from the situation, since Elisa cannot hold her desire she breaks down and almost does something she might have regretted later on. Jane Atkinson states, â€Å"When a man you’ve never met before suddenly gives you flowers don’t be alarmed — he’s only acting on Impulse† (Atkinson). What I’m trying to say is that acting on impulse is like taking a risk. What we have in the quote is basically that, the man is probably nervous and thinking that the woman will not accept them or feel harassed, but he takes a risk, acts on impulse, without completely thinking about the consequences of his actions. Many people live an entire life by acting on impulse without thinking about the consequences, but it is a fact that sometimes you could end up with a very complicated situation. Sometimes acting on impulse is not bad, but you cannot go over the top, there needs to be a balance between the two. Elisa, for a single moment, acted according to what her body wanted, but at the last moment realized that what she was going to do might have caused big problems later on. Basically acting on impulse is not exactly a bad thing, but in Elisa’s case, where the impulses come out of regret, it is a very severe problem. If you act on impulse you will not just cause harm to yourself, but to those around you too. The human being when cornered in a situation tends to look for an easy way to get out of this situation; this is the meaning of escaping from reality. The easy way out may be an efficient one, but in the long run may end up being the worst since it is the most dangerous for your health. Elisa’s monotonous live creates the perfect situation to make a person desire to escape. To escape from reality one uses an activity or an object which aids the person to create a more comfortable scenario. Many people use drugs to escape from reality, alcohol is one of the most common since it makes you see everything in a different way. Elisa is already mentally affected due to her dull, monotonous life and to make it worst the traveling handyman reminds her that her life will probably be the same until her death. By analyzing Elisa’s behavior from the story we can infer that she has been using the chrysanthemums garden as a way to bury in all her feelings and hide all her sadness, but nearing the end of the story when Elisa and her husband are on their way to the restaurant she asks if they could buy some wine, her second attempt to escape from reality. Elisa wants to use alcohol to escape from the sadness she was feeling; we can also assume that from this point on Elisa might develop a drinking problem due to the constant use of alcohol to alleviate the sadness. Escaping from reality might ease the pain inside one’s heart, but it cannot resolve any problems. Also there is also the fact that Elisa is living in a rather sexist society. Ott, Jim states, â€Å"It’s the enigmatic tale of a woman named Elisa who loves her husband, but is fenced in by geography and circumstances in a man’s world†. In the quote we basically have a summary of the story, but we mainly focus in the part where it says â€Å"in a man’s world† meaning that Elisa is being seen as weak and defenseless and treated as inferior. If a person constantly escapes from reality and never confronts his problems they will just make things worst since the problems will pile up and become even more complicated. In the end it just goes back to the same saying that everything in excess can be deadly. Leading a monotonous life can be harmful to a person’s well being. Monotony makes people feel dissatisfied, makes them act illogically and can even throw them into a deep depression. But there are also people who believe that it does not cause harm and that it can even be good for your health. Leading a monotonous life does not physically injure anyone and as long as a person does not take it to extreme measures then it does not cause any harm. There is also the fact that nobody has died because of monotony and it is not even a disease. However there are many factors that can make this seemingly normal way of life a deadly one. Even if it is not a disease it acts like one by obstructing your way of thinking, affect your judgment and more. It is true that as long as you do not do anything extreme then it will not cause much harm, but the problem is that not everyone understands this, most people just take it to the extreme or just do not do anything at all. Of course monotony cannot kill a person, but it can drive one into suicide easily since there are many people with weak minds and hearts who get overtaken by the feeling and do rash things without taking everything into account. In other words although monotony is not a deadly disease it can be harmful because it works it affects the weakest part of the body which is the mind. To live on a routine may sound like a completely normal and healthy activity, but, like everything, if you surpass a certain limit it can have the exact opposite meaning and effects on a person’s life. Once you put the facts in monotony can cause great harm like in Elisa’s case, but it can have the exact opposite effect too. Gregory J. Palmerino states, â€Å"In the end, both husband and wife bear responsibility and suffer for their seemingly childless and sexless marriage; the punishment, however, appears to be meted out unfairly† (Palmerino). This one quote basically sums up everything I want say about the story. Elisa and her husband are only making their problems worst and have many regrets and secrets or rather untold opinions of one another that are yet to be said aloud. The only real problem in all of this is the fact that their punishment really is being meted out unfairly since Elisa is getting the short end of the stick because she is being oppressed by her status as a woman and because of the fact that even though she is extremely unhappy she cannot do anything about it. The thing about Elisa’s lifestyle is that one thing leads to another, since she is living a monotonous life she regrets not doing many things and thus tends to act on impulse to try and accomplish these unfulfilled desires and lastly since she cannot fulfill these desires she resorts to the use of other objects to ease the pain in her heart. The saddest part of everything that is happening to Elisa is that she herself is making things worse for her and her husband. Works Cited Atkinson, Jane. â€Å"Policeman just can’t Help Acting on Impulse.† News of the World: 53. May 23 2010. ProQuest Central. Web. 19 Oct. 2012 . Ott, Jim. â€Å"This Valley Life: Livermore to Read and Celebrate Steinbeck.† Oakland TribuneJan 07 2010. ProQuest Central. Web. 19 Oct. 2012 . Palmerino, Gregory J. â€Å"Steinbeck’s THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS.† The Explicator 62.3 (2004): 164-7. ProQuest Central. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.