Americas Vision Essay Example for Free

Americas Vision Essay Fame, wealth, freedom, and success. Every person desires a life where riches, glory, or freedom surround them. Numerous people consider this dream the American dream, however, is it truly possible to achieve? Even those various immigrants who travel a great distance to come to America to live their own American dream shortly become intemperate people. The idea of the American dream is not attainable because people in general are exceedingly paradoxical and are constantly left yearning for more in a variety of ways. In the heartfelt story America and Americans, Is the American Dream Even Possible, by John Steinbeck, he wrote, One of the generalities often noted about the Americans is that we are restless, a dissatisfied, a searching people (Steinbeck 1). I feel that Steinbeck conveys a great deal of truth about Americans and how we live our lives. We all aspire to have something and once we acquire it we become discontent and strive to have more. For instance, a man works his whole life to become someone or something he truly is not and once he gets there he realizes that he wants more and longs to become more. In truth we all do what we want to and are searching for the greatest, but nothing ever seems to be good enough in our dissatisfied lives. Immigrants from all over the world arrive in America to pursue their own American dream. Whether they come for religious freedom, education, or just to obtain better lives, they quickly strive for more and more even though they have accomplished their intended goals. After residing in America for years they overlook the ways of their homeland customs and become drawn to the lives of Americans even when it is in opposition to their original traditions. In numerous ways they somewhat become brainwashed by Americans who live their lives not in reality but in idealism, and they attempt to live their life like them as well. However, once they return to their homelands after believing they have obtained their goals, they cannot figure out why their families and friends no longer wish to speak to them. They have altered and become intemperate people resembling us Americans and have brought back terrible habits and ways to their homelands that their people have despised in their customs for several years. Americans are truly paradoxical people who say one thing and do another. We  are constantly contradicting ourselves and others and cannot comprehend why we are so unhappy. We make every effort to achieve happiness but nothing ever seems to be good enough. John Steinbeck expresses that our priorities are extremely wrong in this quote, Americans are remarkably kind and hospitable and open with both guests and strangers; yet they will make a wide circle around the man dying on the pavement. Fortunes are spent getting cats out of trees and dogs out of sewer pipes; but a girl screaming for help in the street draws only slammed doors, closed widows, and silence (Steinbeck 1). Steinbeck puts across a serious point and I boldly agree that we Americans have our priorities twisted around. Ultimately, Americans have a large number of adjustments they will have to carry out before they will ever be able to achieve their American dream and be content. We are so full of dissatisfaction and failure to stick with our goals. We tread on friends and family who get in the way of our so called American dream, and after we believe we have attained it we are not sure as to why we are so miserable. If Americans can take that further step to transform, the American dream may become possible. However, until then the American dream will merely be an idea, not a possibility. Works Cited: 1. Steinbeck, John. America and Americans, Is the American dream even possible.

The Elephant Vanishes Haruki Murakami Analysis

The Elephant Vanishes Haruki Murakami Analysis One of the major themes in this story is the idea of things being out of balance. This theme is established when the narrator tells the editor about the importance of unison in kitchen design, as he explains that, Even the most beautifully designed item dies if it is out of balance with its surroundings. The narrator goes on to put emphasis on balance between the environment and the creature that calls it home when he talks about witnessing the change in size of the elephant compared to its keeper. He explains that their size became equal, whether it was the keeper who grew or the elephant that shrank, or perhaps a bit of both. The narrator once again puts across the idea that things around me have lost their proper balance after the disappearance of the two. He is no longer able to take action on his own behalf, as he is haunted by a sense that the urban world is out of balance, and he feels that a kind of natural balance has broken down inside him. Linked to the theme of imbalance is the comparison between reality and appearances. The reporter that is covering the strange occurrence tries very hard to maintain the false impression that the elephant simply escaped, when the facts surrounding the whole thing points to none other than a supernatural vanishing. The narrator points out that this is indeed strange and continues to observe that all of the townspeople try to hide behind a similar guise of normality. This inconsistency between appearances and reality comes up again in the narrators job. He goes about his day as usual and maintains a no-nonsense professional approach even though he himself does not agree that a kitchen must have unity, or any of the other principles his company cites in order to sell the products. The narrator discovers that he cannot decide on the differences between reality and appearance, and while he questions his own perception, he suffers, once again, a sense of disorientation and confusion. Another concern of the story is how modern development has displaced the older, more traditional ways of life. The setting is a prosperous Tokyo suburb in the 1980s, when an economic boom was occurring in Japan. The construction of high-rise condominiums sets the events of the story in motion. These condos replace the old zoo, forcing the elephant to be relocating to a new elephant house. Thus, the keeper and his elephant become a symbol of former ways of life and sensitive relationships, which are being pushed aside by accommodation endeavors. Murakami lightly mocks the absurdity of modern life throughout the story, particularly when the narrator describes the towns reaction to the elephants disappearance. The reactions of various townspeople such as the mayor, a worried-looking mother, the police, Self-Defense Force troops, an anchor, and the reporter show how useless and illogical conventional urban responses can be. As the narrator puts it, the newspaper articles were all either pointless or off the mark. Police response is ridiculous and futile. In all, the absurd public response to the bizarre situation of a misplaced elephant shows, in almost a comic way, how urban mindset fails to imagine, much less comprehend, the implausible or intuitive. Throughout this story, the author reveals subtly that the removal of the old ways of life leaves the people feeling mixed-up. Murakami also puts emphasis on how the new ways create detachment and discomfort. For example, the narrator goes about his job as a public relations executive by abiding to the motto that things you cant sell dont count for much. In reality, he really does not believe this statement, he says it and uses it and it seems to confuse him, making him question his purpose in life. Just like some of the authors other characters, the narrator is single, a loner, and lives by himself with no obvious connections with friends or family. Due to this, he marvels at the connection between the elephant and its keeper, their closeness to one another. Subsequent to the elephants disappearance, the narrator feels low, more isolated, and alone than ever. Murakami uses the motif of water to reinforce readers awareness of disappearance or a sense of dissolution. The narrator, when discussing how the interest factor in the elephants disappearance faded after a few months had passed, states, Amid the endless surge and ebb of everyday life, interest in a missing elephant could not last forever, thus likening daily life to the eroding action of ocean tides. The water motif occurs again several paragraphs later, when the narrator compares summer memories to water flowing into the sewers and rivers, to be carried to the deep, dark ocean. Here too the water motif conveys a sense of things disappearing inevitably into a vast ocean. Since water can evaporate into air and is inherently unstable, this motif mirrors the vanishing, parallels the idea of impermanence, and suggests the narrators sense of being unsettled by a world out of balance. Murakami instills the image of rain into the reader in order to express a sense of gloom and/or sadness. The narrator exemplifies this as he describes the now empty elephant house, A few short months without its elephant had given the place an air of doom and desolation that hung there like a huge, oppressive rain cloud. Afterward, when he is talking to the editor, he mentions the presence of a quiet, dam rain, once again putting forth the existence of an unrelenting, corroding, and perturbing force. Their conversation starts to take a strange course at the mention of the elephant and afterwards the narrator makes a comparison with the melting ice in the editors drink to a tiny ocean current. With this image, it is possible that Murakami again creates an ambience of things dissolving in some sinister, enveloping force. In my opinion, Murakami did an amazing job embedding themes throughout his short story The Elephant Vanishes. He used his abstract writing to convey important societal messages like imbalance, perception, and the views of modern living. Murakami also made the story more personal by incorporating a first person stance. This single view enhanced the confusion. By using dialogue, his motifs, and his similes, Haruki Murakami kept the story enjoyable and readable, although it is sometimes hard to follow along. At the end of the story, it is difficult not to ask questions about the society portrayed in the book. I believe this is what the author was aiming for and I believe he succeeded. By asking questions about the story, the reader, in actuality, is asking questions about their own world.

Indias Economic Engagements with Sub-Saharan Africa

Indias Economic Engagements with Sub-Saharan Africa INTRODUCTION Africa till recent past quite easily qualified for the unceremonious category of â€Å"hopeless continent† that largely failed to provide basic services to their people that have non-existent or fragile government and are subjected to regular outside interference. Decades of impoverishment, factional feuds, power struggles, natural calamities, harsh living conditions and exploitative attitude of global powers ravaged most of the countries of Africa pushing them to bottom of the third world, incapable of sustaining themselves despite enormous wealth of natural resources. A lot has changed recently, wherein democracy has not only found its feet but also, strengthened manifolds leading to economic growth. There has been renewed interest of many powers, world over to engage with Africa as its equal partner, while boundaries of power take a new shape. This has its roots in ever increase in positive narrative of Africa. The history indicate a long and ancient account of indo-African relations[1], with Africa being a host to Indian Diaspora for a reasonably long time. Recent times have witnessed a new set of dynamics emerging in the form of rapid expansion of relations. In 2010/11 Indo-African trade reached USD 45 billion and is expected to grow beyond USD 75 billion by 2015[2]. While carrying out any study on Africa it will be important to understand the human scene with an attention toward a general review of the kinds of peoples and social organisations that are to be found in Africa. In societies, such as those of traditional sub- Saharan Africa, which have a fairly simple socio-economic structure, the various sectors of human life which are organised and from which stem a measure of established authority are more closely interwoven than in more complex societies[3]. Each area of life is more sensitive to change and to influences emanating from every other part. Human life is simpler, because its needs are fewer and the methods of satisfying them are more restricted and more sharply defined. The native Africans need to be contrasted with millions of Europeans, Indians and Syrians apart from sprinkling of people from all over the world. A special character emerges owing to the disparity which has been impacted by outside world on its original form. Hence it becomes imperative that any evaluation of present situation on the continent and particularly any planning for the future, regard the indigenous African and his traditional way of life and thought as a major factor in determining the facts and assessing the probable results of change. While US shifts its focus on Asia-Pacific region, China competes with all emerging powers for energy resources and markets for finished products apart from a big time engagement in infrastructure development. India’s growth, though not as spectacular as China, its capitalist interests are ambitious to extend their commercial reach. The pursuit for economic growth has superseded previous outlook of Indian foreign policy which has provided drive to the commercial ventures in newer avenues. Africa, as portrayed by ex Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as ‘a major growth pole of the world[4]’, can be viewed for new investment sites, export markets and capital accumulation for Indian-based interests[5]. The launch of Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM) as part of its â€Å"Focus Africa† initiative can be regarded as a stepping stone towards upsurge in economic activity[6]. The project initially targeted Ethiopia, Kenya and Mauritius with extension of lines of credit i n support of goods export to these countries. Engagement is the buzz word for today’s world and involves many dimensions, to include politics, trade and commerce, security, infrastructure, capacity and capability building etc. India continues to deploy troops in Peace keeping missions in Sudan as well as Democratic Republic of Congo under UN flag apart from provision of expert advice as part of defence cooperation to many countries such as Nigeria, Zambia, Lesotho and Botswana in development and transformation of their militaries. The western analysts have propounded many theories with respect to nature of Indian engagement with Africa; some see it as a supplier of investment and aid donor whereas others narrate ‘benign and nuanced approach; while it lacks in foreign reserves to compete with Chinese cheque book diplomacy and futility of economic munificence alone. Ian Taylor in his paper titled India’s rise in Africa questions if â€Å"India is a scrambler or a development partner†, a self interested actor bent on exploitation or one that aspires to some level of mutual benefit[7]. Amidst these analyses the most pertinent factor which needs to be seen is how African leaders seek to leverage Indian engagements. Thus politics comes to fore, which has two related dimensions, the competitive pursuit of private interests, and the determination of public policy. Observing the priority of African elites to accelerate efforts to improve the conditions, develop institutions and enabling infrastructure for overall growth, a discussed/researched approach for symbiotic relationship holds the key to any engagement. While addressing its national interests in the area, a holistic study of all possible areas of mutually beneficial engagements will add to focussed betterment of the region at large. The mutually beneficial engagements should allow a lasting impact in polity as well as common public of sub Saharan Africa that their true interests and future lie with India. The skilled yet jobless youth of India can find meaningful engagements in these countries contributing to th eir capacities while earning goodwill, friendship and favourable environment for enhanced engagements. The study seeks to analyse existing engagements of India with sub Saharan Africa in fields like economy, military, education etc. with examination of feasibilities to enhance the same, as the opportunities, which emerge in contemporary times in the backdrop of highly competitive world may not arrive/ relent in times to come. The study has been organised into various chapters as under:- (a)Chapter I: India’s Africa Policy in Contemporary Times. (b)Chapter II: India-Africa Security Cooperation and its Evolution. (c)Chapter III: Economic Situation in Sub Saharan Africa. (d)Chapter IV: India’s Initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa. (e)Chapter V: Indian Diaspora and its Contribution. (f)Chapter VI: Way Ahead. CHAPTER I INDIA’S AFRICA POLICY IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES Post independence, seventeen years of Nehruvian era witnessed non-alignment as the corner stone of India’s foreign policy. This was adopted primarily as a visionary policy based on idealism. The geography as well as fragile economic conditions acted as material reasons for following a policy of non alignment, which certain academicians view as a safe path to seek cooperation of big powers and prevent any power bloc from turning hostile, apart from Nehru’s strong conviction against balance of power, military alliances and rush to exhibit military power. India became extremely inward looking during Cold war era as it was marred by its domestic problems. Persistent levels of poverty, rising corruption and poor governance during 1970’s and 1980’s along with tumultuous neighbourhood tied India to sub-regional and national issues, overlooking African Continent as being irrelevant to its National interests. Post cold war the policy mandarins in Delhi were compelled to reshape its foreign policy, taking into account the new impulses of global arena. In addition, India’s growth rates have averaged at around 6% per annum since 1990’s, after taking off in 1980’s[8]. India’s pro-business strategy followed by liberalisation in early 1990’s along with refocus of Indian Companies to fresh markets and investment opportunities in regions having large Indian diasporas resulted in consolidation of old ties. Impressive growth rates allowed India to address its internal problems and fine tune its foreign policy with economic ambitions. After a detailed arrangement to send envoys to sub Saharan countries during 1996-97 as a mark of reaffirmation of India’s assurance to strengthening cooperation with these countries in a spirit of south-south partnership[9], the Government of India increased its involvement with African states further in 2003. This was followed with announcement of Indian Development Initiative. India is in drastic need of finding new suppliers of energy and other primary resources. For India to become a global power it must grow above 8 percent annually for at least two decades. The assured availability of energy will be a key factor. India despite its domestic production of oil and natural gas will still incrementally require additional resources of energy. India’s hydrocarbon import dependency has been predicted to rise from current 70 percent to almost 92 percent by 2030[10]. As true to any Nation, the continued growth of India depends on availability of raw materials for industrial production and energy sources to support industries. As per reports till 2009, India imported 70% of its oil requirements and provided heavy subsidies on domestic prices, leading to double digit inflation figures after being under 6%[11] for 13 years. India’s Africa policy has laid emphasis on expansion and diversification of supply sources and to that end Indian national oil co mpanies have purchased equity stakes in overseas oil and gas fields to ensure reserves and provide a boost to production capability. These include fields in Africa, Southeast Asia South, America and Caspian Sea region. Despite these efforts the majority imports arrive from Middle east where Indian companies struggle for direct access or investments[12]. The tilt in relations of immediate neighbours of India towards China, tensions with Pakistan, competition with China and demonstration of African partners as all weather friends during world wide sanctions post nuclear tests were the major motivators for India to reformulate its foreign policy. While India is seeking to be a more dominant power and credibility in global scene, it is increasingly relying on Southern backing. Objectives of Indian National interests appear to be fulfilled through newly identified means of â€Å"Aid†. On one hand India rejected foreign aid from most of its donors in 2003 to draw attention of world order to its self sufficiency in tackling its internal problems of poverty, corruption etc. and on the other hand to reflect its role as a new donor. India initiated its development assistance way beyond its immediate neighbours along with scaling up of diplomatic initiatives within Africa, increasing the number of Indian embassies in the continent. It a lso covered the regional divisions of Africa by creating three joint secretaries[13]. Historical and ideological linkages between India and African countries have been important factor, too.1950s witnessed south-south cooperation as a platform for struggle by former colonies for independence and greater autonomy. Bandung conference of 1955 brought together 29 Asian countries with Africa to promote cultural and economic cooperation in Asian-African region. Mutual interest and respect for national sovereignty was the basis of this conference. NAM came to being in 1961 and Group of 77 in 1964, which were viewed as anti hegemonic. India and China championed these movements and have been in competition to lead the representation of Southern states, since then. While China provided military assistance for liberation movements, India was assisted in anti- apartheid struggles in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Ideals of Mahatma Gandhi were integral to India’s foreign policy, who has been quoted to have said that â€Å"ideas and services will be drivers of commerce between India and Africa unlike Western exploiters busy in trading manufactured goods against raw materials†. This resulted in emergence of India’s philosophy of developmental assistance to Africa which culminated in creation of ITEC programme[14]. This placed training and capacity building ahead of financial assistance. During Delhi declaration of India-Africa Forum Summit in 2008 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, announced that: â€Å"The time has come to create a new architecture for our engagement in the 21st Century. We visualise a partnership that is anchored in the fundamental principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. Working together, the two billion people of India and Africa can set an example of fruitful cooperation in the developing world†[15]. The Indian policy makers identified the pre conditions of Western donors which was attached for a long time on any aid without aligning it with the aspect of developing the productive ‘supply side’ of economies. A model of developmental assistance with minimal conditions and respect for the national sovereignty worked out by Indian policy makers appeared to be more acceptable and less imposing. A new body for governing India’s outgoing development assistance, called development Partnership Administration (DPA) has been set up under the Economic Relations Division of MEA, which is just short of an â€Å"aid† agency. It is mandated to streamline administrative issues of entire process apart from assessing the effectiveness of credit lines that India is extending to its partners.[16] It primarily allowed African states to set terms of agreement and overall purpose of aid. In 2009, Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, announced his desire that:- â€Å"All would benefit if the world focused on increasing investment in Africa, and if Rwanda and the rest of the continent worked to establish more equitable international partnerships. A trade relationship built on this new approach would be more helpful in reaching what should be our common goal: sustainable development, mutual prosperity and respect†[17] Value and Sector based distribution of Lines of Credit   Source: Indian Development Cooperation Research at Centre for Policy Research India’s security concerns and contribution into stability of African security are also related issues with an aim to secure its National interests. Owing to deteriorating conditions of piracy at sea on West Africa and existent threat off the coast of African horn, there lies an opportunity to exercise its well espoused maritime doctrine published in 2004 and revised in 2009[18]. India’s experience in UN peace keeping missions especially in Africa has its origin in contributions to ensure stability of the region. There exists a framework for defence cooperation in the form of training teams to evolve better training programmes for the countries it is engaged with. India’s naval presence is largely restricted to anti piracy in the gulf region, but there exists a wider scope for enhanced engagement in operations as well as training with a broader aim of addressing strategically important Indian Ocean rim. Analysis What emerges from the study of evolution of India’s foreign policy with respect to Africa, is that the main drivers of India’s relations with Africa present a tricky mix of strategic, economic and political factors based on national interests of India with complex set of internally diverse actors and historically stated policy of non alignment generally understood as non interference, thus providing enough space for the other partners to have a say in engagements. In effect, India has sought to develop and pursue a strategic partnership simultaneously maintaining bilateral policy objectives. African relations are suggestive of being a conduit to India’s wider international objectives with a focus on improving trade as well as political conditions not only for itself but also developing nations at large employing its economic and political muscle. As part of revisionist approach India has pushed hard for reconfiguration of some of the institutions of global govern ance. African nations have been observed as useful allies in such ventures, as almost all of them have backed India in its bid for permanent seat in UN Security Council. The critics of the subject have highlighted certain specific issues with respect to hidden intent of India, incoherent policies, pitfalls in thought process by way of over reliance on nostalgia of Nehruvian era and over stretched MEA with limited staff to address a huge area and lack of decentralised agency to ensure correct and transparent implementation policies on ground. A relatively ad-hoc system of overseeing various policy issues have led to significant gaps in implementation of identified thematic areas. Though India’s private sector actors drive numerous commerce related agendas, businesses haven’t progressed based on the regional strengths against the backdrop of fragile security conditions. Issues of poor infrastructure, lack of access to finance for small traders and limited logistic support act as impediments that need to be addressed to harness unprecedented opportunities that emerge for Indian companies. The experts also point at pitfalls in public-privat e economic diplomacy approach to Africa largely due to poor coordination, lack of long term vision and enthusiasm to pursue apart from poor market intelligence. Despite provision of Lines of Credit commitments, in consonance with the principle of mutually beneficial development cooperation, engagement on economic affairs also should seek enhanced role and integration of Confederation of Indian industries, with pan-African mechanisms such as NEPAD (The New Partnership for Africa’s Development), AU (African Union) and AfDB (African Development Bank Group). As more and more oil imports are planned from traditional oil producing countries in Africa, security strategies need to be put into place in greater details. Countries like Nigeria which are one amongst the largest oil suppliers to India from Africa face internal as well as external security crisis. While groups like Boko Haram pose threats closer home to various oil producing infrastructure, emerging piracy in the west coast of Africa pose threat at sea. The scrounge of piracy has been addressed in a very limited manner by certain groupings like Economic community of West African States(ECOWAS), India’s capabilities in defence and familiarity with wide ranging security concerns can empower ECOWAS to address insecurity caused by rising piracy on the region. India needs to consider initiating economic diplomatic strategy including maritime defence cooperation and innovative infrastructural financing mechanism aimed to benefit local development in gas and oil producing countrie s in Africa while securing imports that could assist in India’s need for fuel. To sum up the analysis it is felt that India has tremendous potential and value to stimulate development and economic growth across Africa, but it has lacked to articulate a coherent Africa Policy which appeals Africans. In addition, more clarity needs to be brought into the actual agencies dealing with India’s development cooperation to Africa along with a vibrant spokesperson who clarifies any ambiguities which are perceived in daily discourse of business. A greater coordination of Indian private sector with African regional and continental governance frame works rather than bilateral engagements will bring better prospects. [1] Beri R, ‘India’s Africa policy in the post-Cold War era: an assessment’, Strategic Analysis 27: 2, 2003, p 216–32 [2] Noury V, ‘Trade levels grow by 400% in five years’, African Business, Jan. 2012, p. 35. [3] Peter FM Mc Ewwan and Sutcliffe Robert B, ‘The Study of Africa’, p 13. [4] Times of India, 24 May 2011. [5] Agrawal S, Emerging donors in international development assistance: the India case (Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, Partnership and Business Development Division, 2007), p.7 [6] Noury Valerie, ‘Trade levels grow by 400% in five years’, African Business, Jan 2012, Issue 382, p. 35. [7] Corkin L and Naidu S, ‘China and India in Africa: an introduction’, Review of African Political Economy 35: 1,2008, pp. 115–116. [8] Jenkins Edwards, 2006:2007 [9] En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_India#Africa, accessed on 03 Nov 2014. [10] Gupta Ranjit, Special Commentary, India and Gulf: Looking beyond Energy, Islam and the Diaspora, www.ipcs.org, accessed on 03 Nov 2014. [11] Mc Carthy Tom, Assessing China and India’s New Role in Africa, www.e-ir.info /2011/07/26, accessed on 03 Nov 2014 [12] Independent Statistics and Analysis by US Energy Information Administration, www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=in , accessed on 03 Nov 2014 [13] Mc Carthy Tom, Assessing China and India’s New Role in Africa, www.e-ir.info /2011/07/26, accessed on 03 Nov 2014 [14] 50 years of ITEC, www.mea.gov.in / uploads/PublicationDocs/24148_Revised_50yrs_of ITEC_brochure.pdf, accessed on 03 Nov 2014 [15] www.idsa.in, 9 April 2008, accessed on 04 Nov 2014 [16] www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/aid-from-india-coming-to-a-country-near-you/article 3859607.ece , accessed on 04 Nov 2014. [17] www.paulkagame.com/speeches_main_3.php, accessed on 04 Nov 2014 [18] Indian Maritime Doctrine release (release ID: 52223), Indian MoD, 28 August 2009, pib.nic.in /newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=52223, accessed 04 Nov 2014 ; News article titled â€Å"Maritime doctrine makes subtle changes in principles of war†, published in THE HINDU, on 30 Aug 2009, accessed on 04 Nov 2014 www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/maritime-doctrine-makes-subtle-changes-in-principle-of-war/article216179.ece

Cal Ripken :: essays research papers

The relationship that this book has with psychology is a very familiar one. One would not expect to look at this book with a psychological view, unless you look into the deeper meanings of Ripken and what his thought process is. The book allows you to see what a boy’s point of view of a family that grew up in a modest fashion, with baseball being prevalent throughout his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After reading the book and asking myself what Mr. Ripken was thinking during his life and the content of the book I find myself relating it to Psychology. You can see how Ripken developed into a player from his point of view and how he handled himself mentally. You can see how he his family, mostly his dad has influenced him throughout his younger days and all the way through his professional career. By reading of what his mind interpreted and the sights and sounds of the way he perceived things made this a highly psychological book. You can almost analyze Ripken by reading through the book and seeing first hand what he was thinking and personal details to what he thought was important.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The thesis of the book lies directly in the title. I remember reading through the whole book, wondering what the whole purpose in writing, or what was the motivation for the book other that to better understand the consecutive game streak that Ripken now holds. Doing the only thing that I know how to do. This simple statement is the thesis of the book. At first this is hard to believe, but the whole book describes it perfectly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While growing up Ripken only two things: baseball and traveling. Hard work and games were part of his life. Ripken learns at an early age that he is not rich, not specifically talented, but a hard worker. He takes this attitude and applies it to baseball, following the example of his father. The simple for reason, which is also the thesis, is because this is the only way that he knew how.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The treatment that Ripken gets is a very familiar one. He is the oldest of four children, so this automatically put him in leadership role. This derives from his father being gone so often playing in the extensive list of minor leagues that Cal Ripken Sr. played up and down the East Coast. Since his father was away many times, this put Jr.

Creative essay :: essays research papers

Year 12 Essay Creative It was a typical Friday night job, thirteen young teenagers wanting to head out to the city. I received a page to my taxi referring me to an address 127 Croft Rise Eltham, I quickly checked up the address and before I knew it I was in front of the house with thirteen guys giving me directions to where they wanted me to take them in the city. Luckily the city was quiet compared to most Friday nights in Melbourne. The guys directed me to chapel St South Yarra to a club called Chasers. I dropped the guys off doing the stock no meter on and pocketing the cash for myself which was around 30 dollars. Before I knew it I had to come back to the eastern suburbs, on Doncaster road and that’s where I came across a red BMW M3 convertible with 21inch chrome rims on it, this caught my attention and the next thing I saw was a bicycle in my windscreen shattering with the airbag puffing into my face my body Rowling around in the car whilst another body went through my windscreen landing in the back seat unconscious. The nurse walked in, I could barely hear her say my name. I saw my family readily available standing around me all with black eyes knowing that they have been waiting for me to wake up only to give me the worst news of my life. The doctor and the nurse and my whole family standing in one room watching me as they tell me that I was hit by a taxi two days ago and I have been paralysed from my hip down. From my distort anger I didn’t want myself to believe this had happened. The first month moved on and went into court to face the negligent reckless taxi driver. There was a great tension in the two groups and as he went up to face the judge he was also brought up for not turning the meter on in the taxi and that he stole money from the cab. He was done for one count for negligence and one count of reckless driving and was put away for a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 20 with no bail. As the taxi driver was taken away he said it was a beautiful BMW which I didn’t understand where that was coming from.

venonous snakes :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It all started about five years ago when my brother had gotten me a job at the zoo. My whole life I had never really been interested in snakes, I had always thought that they were useless and served no interest to me what so ever. My entire life I had always had a love for animals and wanted to go to vet nary school so I could always be around animals, so Harold had given me a chance to become a zoo keeper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I worked at the Scotch Plains Zoo for three and a half years before it was closed down do to lack of money. While I had worked there I had become to love snakes and thought that were amazing creatures. This love grew to where I started taking in snakes that people didn’t want as pets anymore so I would care for them. I started out with two constrictors one blood python and one red tailed boa. I still have both of these snake today the python is 7ft and ninety pounds and the boa is 5 feet and about fifty pounds. At first my parents were going to have a heart attack but they accept it now.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While I was working at the zoo I applied to take the test for caring for exotic and endangered animals. It had taken forever to get my permits and even with them it is still hard to purchase a lot of animals. When I moved out of my house and got my own place I wanted to start a breeding program for venomous snakes for other zoos in the country. I don’t sell my snakes to them I just donate them so other people can see and learn from them that they are not Satan’s creatures and are quite docile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first snake that I had purchased was a horned pit viper (which had taken me about 5 months to get. I had to hand build all my enclosures due to the fact that each snake needs different humidity, light and enclosure space. As time gone by I had gotten two more breeding pairs one russels viper and one death adder. The two vipers have a high potency of venom but nothing like the death adder, plus the death adder has one nasty attitude problem. The death adder is the third most venous snake in the world and if it did bite me I would only have 10 minutes to inject myself wit the anti-venom or I would be dead, and even with the anti serum I would still be hospitalized for some time.

Fast food †Obesity Essay

Obesity is an epidemic that is sweeping over the United States today. It’s affecting both adults and children. With the increase in fast food availability and a decrease in the time most Americans have to prepare nutritious meals at home, it’s obvious why more people are eating at fast food restaurants. Obesity is a growing problem in the United States and more and more children are being affected. But do uneducated families have the right to put the blame on fast food restaurants for the health issues they could easily prevent? I believe that we are taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity and that it is an individual’s responsibility to take the blame. While R. A. Ames â€Å"The Food Isn’t to Blame† and Richard Daynard â€Å"You Want Fries with That? † use different themes of blaming fast companies and individual decisions to underscore the effects of fast of food on America, the Rahul K. Parikh in â€Å"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Fats Kid† picks up the same theme, he blames advertisements for America’s Obesity. In the article, â€Å"Fast Food Isn’t to Blame? † R. A. Ames states that weight difficulties are the responsibility of the individuals and we should not blame the fast food industry or other biological and environmental causes. Human beings are individuals with the freedom to make their own choices. Nobody forces us to eat anything we do not want to. Choosing to eat fast food is all our own decision, and we put ourselves at risk for obesity. Obesity due to excessive consumption of fast food can only be blamed on our own actions. Fast food chains appear everywhere in today’s world. Home delivery of various foods is more accessible than ever before. These are common excuses when overweight people blame fast food industries for their bodies. Before reading these essays, I already had an opinion about fast food in my mind. I believed that if someone was overweight or obese, that it was no one’s fault but their own. In his essay, however â€Å"You Want Fries with That? † Richard Daynard explained why he believes that today’s fast food industry is largely responsible for the dramatic rise in obesity cases in both children and adults of America. Daynard discussed how the fast food industries played a large role in deceiving the public into buying their food. Daynard said that society needs to find a happy medium when dealing with the fast food industry, whether it be through lawsuits or some other action! Daynard also backed up his claim by using supporting statistics surrounding fast food and obesity in America over the years. Ames’s essay on the other hand used no statistics. He based his entire essay on personal opinion. His frequent use of the word â€Å"I† also made the essay less effective. Overall, Richard Daynard had a much more objective argument about fast food than R. A. Ames. Daynard used specific statistics, and facts about the fast food industry, and he kept himself out of the article for the most part. Daynard was very effective in making me believe his argument. Another essay I have compared R. A. Ames is with Rahul K. Parikh’s â€Å"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Fats Kid† . Both of these essays had strong opinions concerning who is to blame regarding obesity in America. The â€Å"Fast Food Isn’t to Blame† was more persuasive I thought because it placed the blame for the obesity problem on the individual person and what he/she put into their bodies not on the fast food industries. According to R. A. Ames, â€Å"Americans tend to drive to Burger King and order a Double Whopper with Cheese with a King size fries instead of driving to a supermarket and pick up some turkey and whole wheat bread† (326). They are obese because they make a choice to eat fast food themselves, not because fast food chains force them to stop by their restaurants to eat their food. Ames went on to say that instead of people taking responsibility for being obese they are blaming the fast food industry. Ames compared obesity to smoking. He made this comparison because both can be deadly and that in the end â€Å"you still have to put the cigarette in your mouth the same way you put a candy bar. After this Ames said that in the â€Å"land of the free† we are able to make our own decisions but with this freedom we as people have to be responsible for our decisions. Rahul Parikh said in his essay that â€Å"Parents need to take charge of what foods they’re buying and how they’re preparing those foods† (1). This statement is suggesting that instead of blaming fast food companies parents should control their children’s food buying habits. They should limit their television hours where they see all those advertisements that attract them to eat fast foods. Rahul said that companies use superstars, action heroes, cartoons to promote their products in the market that attracts people and mainly children’s. Rahul compared child advertisement to obesity and suggested that today children will see 40,000 advertisements in a year. In this huge number of advertisements, two third of those are for junk and fast food. Ames and Rahul were both arguing that it is our individual choices to eat fast food, so we should not blame companies who provide them. In our society, we are always looking for someone or something to blame for our problems. We seem to want to avoid taking responsibility for our actions and their consequences. Overall obesity has nothing to do with the fast food industry and genetics, but rather the choices. People should be encouraged to take personal responsibility for their actions and realize what they put into their mouths, and that how much exercise they do contributes to their health and well-being. When overweight people admit that they cause their own obesity, they can swiftly move away from being obese and recognize a healthy lifestyle. While in R. A. Ames â€Å"The Food Isn’t to Blame† and Richard Daynard â€Å"You Want Fries with That? † use different themes of blaming fast companies and individual decisions to underscore the effects of fast of food on America, One other hand Rahul K. Parikh â€Å" Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Fats Kid† has same theme has R. A. Ames essay, he blamed advertisements for America’s Obesity. I have discussed the Ame’s essay with my friends and family. Most of them are agreed with the essay but there were also some people who were disagreed. I eat very precisely, before eating anything I check calories and fat of the product I am going to eat.