Didion Electric Charge and Santa Ana Winds free essay sample

Didion Text Analysis Essay In the essay, â€Å"Los Angeles Notebook†, Joan Didion outlines the uncontrollable effects of the Santa Ana winds. She conveys her views of the Santa Ana winds as a fierce force of nature by describing its effects on the residents and environment. The tone is very precise and vivid. The overall basis of the passage is how the Santa Ana Winds affects the natives. And it’s through her use of imagery, diction, syntax, and selection of detail that she expresses her view of the Santa Ana Winds. From the beginning of the passage, Didion tries to capture the attention of the readers through her usage of uneasy, negative diction throughout the stories. However in the second half of the passages, Didion expresses her views with scientific detail. An example of the scientific detail portray is when she describes the effect on the environment preceding the phenomenon. The quote is â€Å"the air carries an unusually high ratio of positive to negative ions. We will write a custom essay sample on Didion: Electric Charge and Santa Ana Winds or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She furthermore uses another quote to back up the scientific claim; the quote is â€Å"in any case the positive ions are there, and what an excess of positive ions does, in simplest terms, is make people unhappy. † These quotes show that Didion is able to express that the â€Å"Santa Ana Winds† have a profound effect on the environment scientifically. Secondly, In the â€Å"los Angeles Notebook†, Didion illustrates the negative imagery by establishing the winds with humanistic qualities. One example of the imagery is when Didion recalls a folk tale that she was told when she first moved to Los Angeles. The tale was that the native Indians would jump into the ocean in of â€Å"the Santa Ana. † The exact quote was, â€Å"†¦was living on an isolated beach, that the Indians would throw themselves into the sea when the bad wind blew†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This to me shows the psychological effect that came with wind. Just the sheer thought of people committing suicide cause of wind, was the icing on the cake; that the Santa Ana Winds are an evil force. This to me was a really good example of imagery because I could clearly picture the exact scene. In her essay, â€Å"Los Angeles Notebook† Joan Didion wants the reader to take away that the â€Å"Santa Ana Winds† are an unnatural force that affect people’s behaviors and environment (animals, weather and etc). It also emphasizes that the inevitable will come eventually, and how people will react to it. And it is through the diction and imagery, that we perceive that the Santa An winds are some kind of catastrophe that changes the entire quality of life.

Theres No Place Like Home Essay Example

Theres No Place Like Home Essay As a little girl growing up in a tiny Illinois farm town, I would often dream of moving to Chicago and becoming somebody completely different. When I finally arrived there after graduating from high school, I was absolutely overwhelmed. After a while, I discovered that while my location had changed, I was still that small town girl. Since that time I have asked myself: is home merely a state of mind? Is geography nothing more than a physical location? And, in the case of Christopher McCandless and Gerald Broflofski, can changing your identity be as easy as changing your zip code? I do not believe that to be the case. In fact, I find the opposite to be true. It is one’s experiences and morals that makes a person who they are. Location, ultimately, is just a backdrop. As a young man, Christopher McCandless is raised in an upper-middle class family in a metropolitan area on the East Coast. He is educated, athletic and well travelled. His family is part of the All-American culture of comfortable suburban homes, country clubs and higher education. His athleticism and education both play into his previous survival for four months in the Alaskan bush. We will write a custom essay sample on Theres No Place Like Home specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Theres No Place Like Home specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Theres No Place Like Home specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Similarly, South Park’s animated character Gerald Broflofski is living the typical American dream in his little part of the world. He resides in urban Colorado with his homemaker wife and two sons. Broflofski is part of the regular-Joe society of South Park. Both of these individuals have building blocks that have been laid that determine who they are by these experiences. Additionally, McCandless tries to push aside the morals of his upper middle class rearing and he turns his back on a financially secure future, but it is those very qualities that give him the tools and the belief to go out on his own. His studies in Anthropology and History in college help to develop his desire to live a less complicated nonmaterialistic, more virtuous lifestyle. This is the reason he journeys to the Alaskan wilderness. He tries so hard to change himself he creates and alternate identity and writes on the plywood window in the bus, â€Å"No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild. Alexander Supertramp† (Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, 291) It does not matter that he is not prepared for it. All that matters to him is that he gets away from everything he has every known. Correspondingly, Broflofski decides he wants to be â€Å"Part of the solution, not part of the problem† (Smug Alert! South Park). He gets a new ecologically sensible Hybrid vehicle which leads him to make the high-minded decision that the socially irresponsible people of Southpark no longer understand him. This ushers in his desire is to live amongst those who are more like him. When McCandless and Broflofski feel they are being poisoned by their existing lives, they both want to escape to a different zip code. By changing their physical location, they believed, they could change who they were. But, Home isn’t just a state of mind, geography is so much more than just a location and identity is alterable but it is also repairable. In the end it is nature that stops McCandless from being able to rejoin civilization when he realizes after almost four months on his own that what he really desires is to live life simply in the company of others. While the fictional Brofloski’s make it back to South Park Colorado thanks to the great smug storms, they once again find that they are home among those who are really most like them. In the manner of Dorothy and her tornado in the Wizard of OZ, both McCandless and the Broflofski’s discover that there really is no place like home. Krakauer, Jon. â€Å"Selections from Into the Wild. † The New Humanities Reader. Eds. Richard Miller Kurt Spellmeyer. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 286-306. Print â€Å"Smug Alert! † South Park. (Trey Parker Matt Stone). Comedy Partners. 29Mar. 2006 Television

Mothers Love Essays - Women And Death, Beloved, Slavery, Sethe

Mothers Love The idea of a ghost story or horror story has long since been introduced into the world of American literature starting in the late 18th century. These works played with the idea of life after death and its effects on the present. The term gothic or gothic horror has been used to describe this form of literature. The literary meaning of the gothic style of is hard to define, but to give it a simple meaning the gothic is when the supernatural encounters the natural. In the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison this form of the gothic is used. The story involves Sethe, an ex-slave, whom the ghost of her dead daughter haunts. The ghost of this novel is a two year old who is young in age, yet strong in power. The character Sethe, is based on the real life story of the slave Margaret Garner. On Jan. 28, 1856, Garner killed her two-year-old daughter rather than have her sent back to slavery due to the fugitive slave law. Garner was later found guilty and sent back to the plantation she fled in Mississippi. The story of Beloved delves into the most painful part of the African American heritage, slavery. The memory of this horrifying time is presented in what Morrison calls "rememory"-- actively making the past real in the present. The novel is set during the Reconstruction(1870-1890) which follows the Civil War and emancipation. Much of the characters' pain occurs as they themselves try to "reconstruct" their families, communities and their own sense of identity. While this novel has been compared many times to that of a slave narrative, Morrison chooses to use the gothic to tell her story. Yes this novel does use slave narrative form, but it explores a greater range with the gothic. Morrison chooses to use the gothic because it allows her to explore the true effects of her characters and their effects on each other. Beloved comes back to haunt not only Sethe but everyone around her. She feels that her life has been taken away from her and for that reason she wants to "suck" the life out of Sethe, Paul D, and Denver. The novel is broken into three major parts. As part one opens Morrison introduces the house with, "124 was spiteful. Full of baby's venom. The woman knew it and so did the children" (Morrison 3). Immediately the reader is thrown into this house with a ghost that is spiteful. The only surviving members of the family are Denver, the child Sethe was carrying in her escape to freedom, and Sethe. With the gothic, Morrison is able to show just how horrifying slavery and its effects are. Morrison goes into great detail to describe the horrors of Sweet Home and the people who lived there. As the reader hears of these effects the emotion is relased. Sethe describes one account saying " after I left you, those boys came in there and took my milk. That's what they come for. Held me down and took it." ( Morrison, 16) Paul D instantly gets rid of the horrifying presence that has consumed this house for so long, and up to this point had only been physical as red light. With this sense of relief Paul D, Sethe, and Denver go to the local fair. Later they return home to find a mystical woman who is referred to as "Beloved". Denver identifies the woman as the returned ghost in now human flesh and receives her as a sister. This is where the novel begins to take on its own existence. Beloved becomes the focus of everyone's attention. Beloved has both mental and physical difficulties. Parts of her body threaten to fall off; some teeth do fall out. She has a scar on her throat. Her infrequent speech is childish. Although apparently she is a stranger, Beloved knows intimate things about Sethe, one of which includes the lullaby that Sethe sang to her babies. Denver takes a great liking to Beloved. Having been isolated for so many years, Denver finally feels that she has a friend. Soon, however, she is frightened to discover that the spirit is covertly attacking Sethe. For example, while pretending to massage Sethe neck, Beloved tries to choke her. Paul D on the other hand, dislikes Beloved but finds her sexually irresistible. Under some kind of spell or conjure, he has sex with her. The presence of this ghost now in human form thus disrupts every relationship. With this "rebirth" of Beloved, Sethe

Here We Come Group Energizer Theatre Game

Here We Come Group Energizer Theatre Game Sometimes teachers and other group leaders need new ways to get students energized and loosened up for classes or rehearsals.  The activity below has been around awhile. It is called â€Å"Here We Come!† How You Play 1. Divide students into two groups. Groups may be as large as 10 to 12 students. 2. Teach students the following lines of dialogue: Group 1: â€Å"Here we come.†Group 2: â€Å"Where ya from?†Group 1: â€Å"New York.†Group 2: â€Å"What’s your trade?†Group 1: â€Å"Lemonade.† 3. Explain that Group 1 must discuss and agree upon a â€Å"trade†- a profession, job, or activity that they will all mime after they have responded with â€Å"Lemonade.† (Group 2 should not be within earshot of their discussion.) 4. Once Group 1 has chosen its â€Å"trade,† the members of Group 1 line up shoulder-to shoulder on one side of the playing area facing Group 2, also lined up shoulder-to-shoulder on the opposite side of the playing area. 5. Explain that Group 1 will begin the game by delivering the first line in unison (â€Å"Here we come†) and taking one step towards Group 2.  Group 2 delivers the second line (â€Å"Where ya from?†) in unison. 6. Group 1 then delivers the third line in unison (â€Å"New York†) and takes one more step towards Group 2. 7. Group 2 asks, â€Å"What’s your trade?† 8. Group 1 responds with â€Å"Lemonade† and then they begin miming their agreed-upon â€Å"trade.† 9. Group 2 observes and calls out guesses about the group’s â€Å"trade.† Group 1 continues miming until someone guesses correctly. When that happens, Group 1 must run back to their side of the playing area and Group 2 must chase them, trying to tag a member of Group 1. 10. Repeat with Group 2 deciding on a â€Å"trade† to mime and beginning the game with â€Å"Here we come.† 11. You can keep score of how many tags a group makes, but the game works without the element of competition. It’s just fun and it gets students moving and revved. Some Examples of â€Å"Trades† PhotographersFashion ModelsTalk Show HostsPoliticiansManicuristsBallet DancersPre-school TeachersStep DancersCheerleadersWeight LiftersHairdressersWeather Forecasters What Constitutes Success in This Theatre Game? Students must offer and accept ideas quickly. They must work together as an ensemble when they mime their â€Å"trade.† For example, if the group chooses Pre-school teachers, some group members may play the children that the teachers teach. The more precise the mime that the students perform, the more quickly the game will keep moving. Guideline and Tips Remind the members of Group 1 that their goal is to engage in mime – which requires silence. No dialogue, no sound effects, no reactions to the guesses that Group 2 makes until they hear a guess that is correct.Remind the members of Group 2 that when they go to tag a member of Group 1, they need to aim for a shoulder and tag lightly. The tag is not a slap or a slug.If noise level is a concern, you may want to establish a rule of no screaming or shouting during the chase.Requiring the chase to be performed in slow motion is another way to curb noise and lessen the chances of trips, falls, and overly rambunctious activity.

Business Etiquette and Elevator Pitch Activities Essay

Business Etiquette and Elevator Pitch Activities - Essay Example However, if the elevator pitch is a failure, the conversation will die just as the elevator ride stops. Successful business people are always prepared with their elevator pitch speech because they know that one missed shot will cost them quite a lot. (Mike Gunderloy, 2004). In the chosen airline industry, the concept of elevator pitch is very important. All employees of an airline serves as the company’s ambassadors because whatever they will communicate through their actions and words would actually help people create a positive or negative image of the airline in their minds (Chris Westfall, 2012). If a flight attendant does not treat a customer in a friendly and polite manner, it is likely that he will never travel with the same airline ever in his life and might also used the ‘word of mouth’ to discourage others. A flight attendant must always be prepared for an elevator pitch speech because every day or so he is interacting with people who are really interested in knowing about their experience, skills and association with the airline company. If a flight attendant is unable to communicate the elevator pitch speech to the other person, it is likely that his skills will be doubted because a flight attendant is assumed to be very confident, quick and rational. The elevator pitch speech of a flight attendant has to be very interesting, catchy and memorable. He first needs to identify his goal so that he knows where he is directing all his efforts. A very important step in the creation of an effective pitch is that you need to be aware of what you do, what kind of soft skills you possess and what you have learned from all the years you have served in the airline as a flight attendant. Once this step is accomplished, you need to select exactly what part of the identified information could be shared. This will help you define yourself in a

Gun control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gun control - Essay Example As the Second Amendment of the US Constitution states, â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.† (Gardner and Anderson, 232) Therefore, the constitution itself gives the citizens the right to own and carry firearms with them. The size and effectiveness of the weapon must have caused for its spread in the land. The excessive use of gun is a developing tendency among the people in America. The easy availability of gun in America, at present, causes for the increasing homicides, suicides, and other violence and crime in this state. This has led many to think on the gun control policies in America. But still a hot debate on gun rights and gun control is going on in the country. This essay tries to make a study on the disasters that happened in the society by the gun use and further, a research is done on the need for controlling the use of guns by the civilians. The thesi s statement is, ‘The increasing disasters in the American Society caused by gun-use and the need for gun control’. It is very clear that there are a number of problems that are arising day by day by the use of guns. Still it can be seen the government is reluctant to ban the use of guns, and it makes a person puzzled. The history of private ownership of guns in America stresses the need for guns. Both sides of gun control and gun rights are strong in America. The increasing mass killing at various schools and colleges using guns lead government to make new amendments in the constitution in order to control the use of guns by the civilians. Background and Historical Material /Definitions (Literature Review): America is considered to be the strongest nation in the world. It may be the only nation that has not made any control for the private use of guns. Gun was a need for every Americans to defend themselves from the natives of the land. â€Å"Despite their firearms, th e survival of the English colonies often appears highly improbable.† Further the possession of firearms by the settlers enabled â€Å"to arm their enemies with theoretically advanced European weaponry.† (Bellesiles, 112) After the threats were over by the natives in America gun was a mandatory to protect their land. The American government envisaged the need for private ownership of firearms by the civilians. This has led the possession of guns as a constitutional right for the people. It is very easy to purchase a gun in America. The Office of the Attorney General in California gives the procedure to possess a gun in the State as a simple procedure. The person must be 18 years of age to buy a rifle or shotgun. To buy a handgun a person must be 21 years of age and he or she should ‘possess an HSC plus successfully complete a safety demonstration with the handgun being purchased or should qualify for an HSC exemption.’ (Frequently Asked Questions) The spread of guns in America turned from self defense to mass destruction. If an analysis is done, it can be understood that ever since from the widespread of this deadly weapon, many causalities are being occurred day by day in America. The incident that happened in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, on April 16, 2007 showed the ferocious face of it. A student named Seung- Hui Cho murdered 32 people and attempted to murder 29

IT - Hydro-Quebec Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IT - Hydro-Quebec - Essay Example The changing climate has affected the hydro electric utilities to a great extent. It should be noted in this context that the hydro power generation tends to be more vulnerable to the changes in terms of climatic conditions than other sources including the thermal power station. For instance, hydro power project located near the sea-coast have often been noticed to be affected by the rise in the sea level. Again, dry weather conditions and reduced water level in the reservoirs have also affected its electricity production. Numbers of other climatic factors such as lightning, rise in temperature, icing and pollution have been the major uncontrollable threats faced by Hydro-Quebec. Furthermore, the organization has been unable to take the advantage of wind power as one of the best options of renewable energy (Hydro-Quebec, 2008). During 1990s, technology and business units’ efforts to control return on the invested capital for IT management has brought major changes in the way o f Hydro-Quebec. The SSC was held responsible for the IT related decisions. However, it was observed that it initiated changes only in terms of human resources due to departmental expansion taking place within the company. Those changes made by the SSC caused distortion both within the business units and within the IT divisions. Furthermore, the SSC was responsible for developing and implementing all the technological aspects of the given solution, optimizing technological performance and maintaining as well as executing the developed solutions. However, creating new challenges for the SSC as the IT division had to negotiate all of the technology budgets with each division separately following a more complex process. Consequentially, it was observed that Hydro-Quebec Distribution (HQD) spent more than $50 million on over 200 IT systems. However, it had no clear strategy or proper system plan that could be formally drawn up after its establishment. Many factors force the division to i nclude the IT related issues under its caption, such as the technological zeitgeist during the 1990s. Owing to such circumstances; there has been an urgent requirement to update the company’s legacy system as it was observed that the old system was more vulnerable to risk along with a high maintenance cost. Furthermore, there was a need to update its entire infrastructure related to mailing and printing of bills. The factors like managing the addresses of its customers were also identified as impossible to be maintained with the traditional system. Thus, there was an urgent need to modernize customer software application (Hydro-Quebec, 2008). Question 2: What changes would you suggest for Hydro-Quebec and why? Hydro-Quebec should concentrate more on developing its research programs in order to boast its human resource knowledge in terms of climate change and technological adaption. Hydro-Quebec must identify the areas that are sensitive towards climatic changes and other unco ntrollable risks. Its activities also must be directed towards managing water resources, transports, distributions, equipment designs, and annual production volumes along with environmental and financial considerations. It should also contribute for the development of wind power and increase in the supply from the existing power generating stations (Dube, Berner & Roy, 2007). Furthermore, the organization should promote recycling processes along with educating employees in terms of