Raymond Carvers Cathedral Essay -- Raymond Carver Cathedral Literatur

Raymond Carver's Cathedral Raymond Carver utilizes his character of the husband, who is also the narrator, in his short story "Cathedral." From the beginning of the story the narrator has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, has a narrow mind, is detached emotionally from others, and is jealous of his wife's friendship with a blind man named Robert. He never connects with anyone emotionally until the end of this story. At the beginning of the story the husband is telling of a blind man coming to visit him and his wife. The narrator?s wife had worked for the blind man at one point. Since then they have maintained a strong friendship and keep in touch with tapes. The narrator talks about not looking forward to the blind man?s visit. The narrator, his wife, and the blind man spend the evening talking, but eventually the wife falls asleep. The narrator is uncomfortable about being left alone with a blind man. There is something about cathedrals on TV and the blind man asks the narrator to describe what a cathedral looks like. The narrator only describes physical things and so the blind man decides that they should try drawing one instead. As they draw the blind man and the narrator connect and a transformation in the narrator?s character takes place. Throughout the majority of the story Carver uses a variety of devices to portray the narrator negatively. One reason is that he lacks compassion. At the beginning of the story he says, "I wasn?t enthusiastic about his [the blind man?s] visit. He [the blind man] was no one I knew. And his [the blind man] being blind bothered me." The narrator also feels intimidated by his wife?s relationship with the blind man. When he is telling of her friendship with Robert h... ...r so long, after he stepped out of it he got uncomfortable and reverted back. Robert tells the narrator to find some heavy paper and pencils so they can draw a cathedral together. As they drew Robert tells the narrator to close his eyes. There was a connection made between Robert and the narrator and he says, "it was like nothing else in my life up to now." Robert tells him to open his eyes, but he doesn?t because he doesn?t want the experience to end. A transformation took place during the story and it is evident through the narrator?s character. In the beginning he was lacking in compassion, he was narrow minded, he was detached, he was jealous, and he was bitter. Carver used carefully chosen words to illustrate the narrator?s character and the change. Throughout the story his character undergoes a transformation into a more emotionally aware human being. Raymond Carver's Cathedral Essay -- Raymond Carver Cathedral Literatur Raymond Carver's Cathedral Raymond Carver utilizes his character of the husband, who is also the narrator, in his short story "Cathedral." From the beginning of the story the narrator has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, has a narrow mind, is detached emotionally from others, and is jealous of his wife's friendship with a blind man named Robert. He never connects with anyone emotionally until the end of this story. At the beginning of the story the husband is telling of a blind man coming to visit him and his wife. The narrator?s wife had worked for the blind man at one point. Since then they have maintained a strong friendship and keep in touch with tapes. The narrator talks about not looking forward to the blind man?s visit. The narrator, his wife, and the blind man spend the evening talking, but eventually the wife falls asleep. The narrator is uncomfortable about being left alone with a blind man. There is something about cathedrals on TV and the blind man asks the narrator to describe what a cathedral looks like. The narrator only describes physical things and so the blind man decides that they should try drawing one instead. As they draw the blind man and the narrator connect and a transformation in the narrator?s character takes place. Throughout the majority of the story Carver uses a variety of devices to portray the narrator negatively. One reason is that he lacks compassion. At the beginning of the story he says, "I wasn?t enthusiastic about his [the blind man?s] visit. He [the blind man] was no one I knew. And his [the blind man] being blind bothered me." The narrator also feels intimidated by his wife?s relationship with the blind man. When he is telling of her friendship with Robert h... ...r so long, after he stepped out of it he got uncomfortable and reverted back. Robert tells the narrator to find some heavy paper and pencils so they can draw a cathedral together. As they drew Robert tells the narrator to close his eyes. There was a connection made between Robert and the narrator and he says, "it was like nothing else in my life up to now." Robert tells him to open his eyes, but he doesn?t because he doesn?t want the experience to end. A transformation took place during the story and it is evident through the narrator?s character. In the beginning he was lacking in compassion, he was narrow minded, he was detached, he was jealous, and he was bitter. Carver used carefully chosen words to illustrate the narrator?s character and the change. Throughout the story his character undergoes a transformation into a more emotionally aware human being.

About the Writer Willy Russell :: Willy Russell Playwright biographies Essays

About the Writer Willy Russell William Russell was born in Whiston - just outside Liverpool, in 1947. At primary school he enjoyed reading, football and gardening, these were the only subjects he likes, but at secondary school he was consigned to the factory fodder D stream. It was in this surprising environment that he conceived the idea of being a writer. His only experience of factory work caused him to fail to obtain a printing apprenticeship, so his mother suggested he trained to be a women's hairdresser. He trained and worked as a women's hairdresser for five years, eventually running his own salon. After this he was seeking a career that would give him a greater opportunity and understanding of being a writer. He decided to become a student, having now passed O level English at night classes. No local education authority would give him a bursary, so he spent some time girder cleaning at Fords in order to fund his college O & A level studies. He only did this long enough so that he could afford the course; he spent no time extra doing this job as climbing up on dirty, oily girders was a very dangerous job which many of his colleagues were injured on. You can see in the play that Russell is commenting on society as Russell is almost like Rita, she lives near Liverpool with little education and works in a hairdresser, trying to get the opportunity to have choice by getting an education. During the play, Russell shows that the class system is a part of modern society and Rita wants to change classes, from working to middle, but has little education. She wants Equal opportunities in that the way that women are expected to have babies and stay at home all day, but in his play Rita breaks away from everyone else and gets an education and he shows in the play, how hard it really is to get an education and all the troubles that someone of a lower class has to go through to achieve there goals. I think that Russell wrote this play because he had a hard time in his own life, and he wanted to express to other people that you need to have a choice or you will begin to experience a feeling of being trapped in society. I think that Russell used humour in his play because it would make the audience watching the play understand the issues brought up. I think the play runs better as a comedy, with the humour aspects of the play rather than a more serious drama.

Is College Worth the Cost

Is College Worth The Cost? College is getting more and more expensive as the years go on. The question is; is it worth the cost? In three different articles, authors will tell you their opinion and give evidence behind their reasoning. Derek Thompson writes â€Å"What’s More Expensive than College? Not Going to College,’ Amy Phillips writes â€Å"Is college worth the money? † and Justin Pope writes â€Å"College Costs: New Research Weighs the True Value of a College Education. † First, author Derek Thompson’s main claim is there is still something more expensive than going to school, very often that is not going to school.Thompson uses data and charts as evidence to prove his theory of the cost of college. This makes it very affective to his article because there are detailed charts helping to prove his opinion essay writer fast. His purpose for writing his article is to make sure the people who don’t know that not attending college can make you suffer in the real world with your job. The intended audience for his article is the people who don’t plan on going to college because they need to see what mistake they are making. In the chart in the article it shows us the unemployment rates from people with a Doctoral degree to people who only had less than a high school diploma.Obviously the rates for people who had less than a high school diploma were over 12 times the amount of a Doctoral degree. He also states within the article that college grads earn more than 80% than people who don’t go to school period. That’s a staggering amount of money that’s could be earned but people don’t chose to take it. I believe his evidence definitely supports Thompson’s main claim. Next, Amy Phillip’s main claim is that education is not worth the cost because to many people have a degree. Phillips uses sources to give her evidence behind her main claim.She claims that the saying â€Å"sp end more money to achieve a better standard of living† is wrong. She states that yes going to college does earn you more money but you also have student loans to pay for. And also the extra money is not promised because due to a released report by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows that one in five porters and bellhops have college degrees. Phillip’s goes on to talk about how if we really do know what we want our career’s to be, instead of forking out loads of money at a four or more year college we can attend vocational schools.To get our degrees faster and only learn that particular study. I believe her evidence is not very affective because the evidence she gives does not give a reinsurance to do the things that she is writing about. She is intending her audience to be to the people who are wasting their money in four or more year colleges. Her purpose for writing this was to stop the lying to a whole generation by telling them that obtaining a college d egree will make life better. Finally, Justin Pope took a different direction then his fellow writers.His first claim is that the middle-class is getting particularly squeezed with student loans in the pursuit of one. And his second claim is that students from middle income families rack up more in student loan debt on an average than other. With his first claim he gives data to support his evidence. The unemployment rate for all four-year graduates is 4. 5%. For recent graduates, it’s 6. 8%. For recent graduates trying to work with only a high school diploma, it’s nearly 24%. These statistics show that not going to school gives you a higher unemployment rate than most graduates.With his second claim the evidence is that federal grant aid targets the low-income families. Meaning that the high-income families have no problem with paying their tuition fees and with low-income the government is helping them but for the middle class families they don’t have enough mo ney to pay their whole tuition but they also don’t get assistance. So by time graduation middle class families have more student loan debt than anyone. The purpose for Pope writing this is to let the middle class know that he understands where they are coming from.I believe his examples are very affective because his evidence shows who is doing more of the suffering. And finally his intended audience is to the middle-income families. In conclusion, my opinion on college be worth the cost is, that yes I believe college is definitely worth the cost. The author that I think had the strongest argument was Derek Thompson. His way of explaining his evidence made me understand more of his main claim. Going to college not only means a lot to my mom but it does to me too.Yes, Amy Phillips does have a point with her main claim; with what I want to do when I am older I could easily go to vocational school and earn my degree a lot faster than going to a four-year college. But I think job s would hire people who have the extra education than the people with little education. Becoming a nurse is my main priority, since it is in the medical field there is more competition for jobs. So having that higher degree and longer time in college shows that I am more dedicated to becoming a nurse and it also gets me paid more than the people who just went to vocational school.

Comparison of Points of View on the War in Afghanistan

Compare and Contrast The war in Afghanistan is a constant focus for debate. There are those who believe that the United States is still doing a worthy effort in Afghanistan and that it is essential for the U. S. to keep a military presence there. On the other hand, there are the people that believe the United States can no longer achieve its goals if it continues to use military force. Authors Melanie Barton Zoltan and C. Ames Cushman argue both for and against the war in Afghanistan and the benefits each scenario can produce.Both authors focus on the structure of Afghanistan’s government, the involvement of Taliban and Al Qaeda on Afghanistan soil, and the effects the United States involvement would have on the women of Afghanistan. Both Zoltan and Cushman point out in their papers that controlling Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, does not really effect the government of the country. Zoltan argues that even with the Taliban removed from power in Kabul, they still hold consi derable power in Afghanistan.With Afghanistan’s lack of centralized government, the Taliban easily entrenched in the southern part of the country and began to rebuild their forces. As the United States attention moved to Iraq after the Taliban were removed from Kabul, they were easily able to form a foothold in other parts of Afghanistan. Zoltan points out that if the Unites States does not stay involved militarily, the Taliban will be able to regroup not only in Afghanistan but also in Afghanistan’s neighbor, Pakistan.Given enough time, Zoltan believes that the Taliban and any Al Qaeda associated with it will gain access to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Cushman argues that since the original objective of removing the Taliban from power has been achieved, the use of military force is no longer needed. He sees the mission now to be more of an educational mission if the United States really wants to create a new system of government. In Cushman’s paper, he de scribes the war as a war on the sharia law instead of a war on terrorism and that is not a commendable war to fight in a military way.If the United States keeps using military force as a way to achieve reconstruction of the government, than the Afghan people are going to keep turning to someone who thinks like they do, which would be the Taliban. Again, both authors admit that the Taliban are still a threat living in the Afghanistan outer borders. Zoltan believes that with the Taliban still established in Afghanistan, the United States cannot withdraw militarily. The risk is too great that the Taliban will regain control of all of Afghanistan and that once the US and NATO leave, Afghanistan will once again become a safe haven for terrorist groups.Zoltan also says that if the Taliban are able to regain Afghanistan, the Taliban in Pakistan will become bolder and even unite to create an even larger terrorist threat in the region. This will give the terrorists a great place to build str ength and launch attacks at the US and its allies. Cushman argues that the form of government in Afghanistan needs to be decided by the people of that country and it cannot be something decided by the United States. Even if the Taliban regain control of Afghanistan, it should be at the choice of the people.If the Taliban do make a comeback and take control without the support of the people, Cushman believes that it will not last because the Taliban has been weakened enough that they will not be able to sustain themselves. In both papers, women’s rights are addressed. Zoltan uses a section of a report by Physicians for Human Rights to show just how badly the women are treated in Afghanistan. She also gives statistics and other facts about how the women in Afghanistan used to be treated prior to the Taliban.She uses these to show that the United States really is doing well in Afghanistan for women’s rights and if the US were to pull out now, all that would be undone. Cus hman agrees that Sharia law is a harsh system of justice and that it discriminates against women. However, he says that is the way that Afghanistan is ruled and that the United States has no right to go and try to change this. He claims ‘It is important to step back and realize, however, that what we see as just and fair is just that – a â€Å"Western† notion, colored by our history, faith, and values. even the United States has not made an official statement saying that they are in Afghanistan to bring back women’s rights, and Cushman believes that until they do, this is no excuse for the US to stay in Afghanistan. In each author’s paper, the same topics were discussed but two points of view were shown. Zoltan showed in her paper that she was in favor of the United States military staying in Afghanistan because it provided the security from future terrorist organizations from using it as training ground.She also believed that it is provides a bette r situation for the people living in Afghanistan. Cushman shows that he does not support the involvement of the United States military in Afghanistan. He argues that it is a waste of time, money, and lives to keep fighting for something that will not last. The US cannot establish a sound government there and even if they did, the people of Afghanistan should have a right to select their own government.

Restructuring Debt Essay

One appreciates the recommendation of providing information on restructuring debt to help the company combat its recent financial troubles. Even though the company is in the process of reorganizing one believes this information will help a company in reporting the restructuring of debt. One will provide information on the requirements of reporting debt on bonds, notes, and capital leases. In performing this one will also provide the journal entries one would need to record to restructure the company’s debt along with a comparison of the debt for the company’s current reporting. One will also provide valuable information on the company’s postemployment benefits. Requirements for Reporting Debt Long-term debts for a company are present obligations that consist of probable future sacrifices of economic benefit, which â€Å"are not payable within a year or within the operating cycle of the company† (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007, p. 672). Generally long-term debt consists of three categories, which are bonds payable, notes payable, and capital leases. In financial reporting one of the most controversial areas is the reporting of long-term debt because this debt impacts the cash flows of a company (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007, p. 691). The reporting requirements of the debt must be both substantive and informative to the investor. Some long-term debt such as bonds, notes, and others may need approval by the board of directors and stockholders before a company acquires the debt. Most long-term debt a company acquires has certain ovenants or restrictions within its agreement. This helps protect both the lender and borrower. A company must disclose the features along with any covenants or restrictions in the agreement of long-term debt in the financial statements or in the notes of the financial statements. This is only if the information provides an investor a more â€Å"complete understanding of the financial position of the company and the results of its operations† (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007, p. 672). Bonds Payable  Bonds basically represent a contract of a promise to pay at a maturity date a sum of money plus a specified rate of periodic interest on the maturity amount. Bonds can be either secured or unsecured. Secured bonds have some pledge of collateral that backs up the bond. An example of this type of bonds is a â€Å"mortgage bond secured by a claim on real estate† (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007, p. 673). Unsecured bonds are bonds that do not have any collateral attach to them. Most bonds carry a specific rate of interest whereas others are sold with an implied interest rate at a discount. One can convert some bonds into other securities. No matter what bond a company acquires the terms and conditions of the bond must be disclosed along with the covenants or restrictions on the bond. A company must also disclose any violation on the covenant or restrictions of the bond. In reporting bonds a company must report the bond at its face value â€Å"of its expected future cash flows, which consists of interest and principal† (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007, p. 675). The company amortizes any discount or premium of a bond over the life of the bond. This basically is reporting the bond at its face value less the unamortized discount or plus the unamortized premium. General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) requires a company to use the effective- interest method in determining the amortization of a discount or premium of a bond. A company reports the portion of the bond that matures within a year (current portion) as a current liability, and the remainder as a long-term liability on the balance sheet. Notes Payable Notes payable are generally an amount of money a company borrows with a romissory note. Long-term notes are similar and different from bonds in some ways. The similarity is notes payable also â€Å"have fixed maturity dates and carry either a stated or implicit interest rate† (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007, p. 685). The difference is notes payable are not easily tradable. A company reports notes payable in a similar fashion as it does bonds. In reporting a note payable a company records the note at its face value of its future interest and principal cash flows. The company amortizes any discount or premium of a note over its life. If a note has no-bearing interest rate the company should report the difference between the face value and the cash received as a discount on the note. This amount one amortizes over the life of the note to interest expense. Capital Leases A company may use capital leases to finance its acquisition of capital assets. In lease financing a company must met the criteria of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on capital leases. In this a company must record both a liability, and a related asset on its balance sheet. In reporting capital lease a company reports the lease at its present value of the minimum lease payments. The company allocates these lease payments using the effective interest method to interest expense. This allocation using the effective interest method reduces the lease liability of the company. A company regardless of the type of liability it has must report the interest rate, maturity date, current interest expense, and future interest and principles payments of the liability in its financial statements or notes. A company should also disclose any restrictions or covenants on these liabilities. In disclosing this debt a company should present the debt by major category.

Communicating effectively in obstetric emergencies Essay

Communicating effectively in obstetric emergencies - Essay Example The incompetent midwifery and lack of awareness can also contribute to the inadequate maternal facilities to the mother and the baby (Aljunid & Zwi, pp. 426-36, 1996). In many countries, specifically the Middle East and South Asian countries like India, Nepal, and Srilanka have low mortality rate that contributes to women preferring to give deliver in private or home by unofficial nurses or midwifery. The lack of awareness and proper maternal education can even result in serious healthcare problems to the mother and the child (Walsh, pp. 1-5, 2001). The intensive prenatal care facilitation in obstetric emergencies is highly regulated factor and there should be specific paramedical facilities available to manage such interventions such as forced or unwanted abortions complications, prolonged labor deliver, blood transfusion, and cesarean section. According to the estimates, 585,000 women die due to lack of effective communication by the skilled attendants and midwifery in pregnancy an d labor complications (WHO, pp. 20-42, 1996). The functional referral system of transporting midwifery services across the rural areas for stabilizing the obstetric emergencies and early diagnosis of complication in labor or pregnancies can resolve the mortality issues (O'Driscoll, pp. 39-41, 1994). The training of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and midwives can effectively contribute to the immense action in the state of emergency as professional health armors to the delivering woman (Foord, pp. 10-29, 1995). Role of Midwife in Obstetric Emergencies as an Effective Communicator A person who has specific training and skills to work with the paramedical staff in obstetric emergencies during pregnancy and labor is termed as midwife. They have responsibility to provide utmost care to the newborn infants and detection of complications in case of emergent labor, eradicate the barrier in communication between the patient and the medical staff, and educate the mother for any preventiv e measures in case of any complications (ICM, pp. 56-79, 2005). The midwifery is a significant key player in reducing the risk of maternal death and immediate postpartum period. The appropriate facilitation of midwifery education and training, referral system, and positive support system to maternity care have regulated the expertise areas of midwifery profession in effective and immediate actions during the labor and pregnancy emergencies (Hogan et al., pp. 1609-23, 2010). The striking death toll for maternal death is due to in effective life saving techniques particularly in hemorrhage, obstructed labor, unsafe caesarian section, and abortions. The skilled midwives can provide utmost diligent care in the absence of a medical practitioner particularly in rural areas or private births. It could also accommodate to sufficient medical environmental care to the mother and the baby before and after the labor (Ronsmans & Graham, pp. 1189-1200, 2006). The literature revealed that lack of

Epoch of Richelieu - Monarchial Intrigues Essay

Epoch of Richelieu - Monarchial Intrigues - Essay Example Louis XIV, undoubtedly, made a great contribution in strengthening the central authority of French monarchy. However, it was made a cakewalk for him in the light of what his predecessors, especially Richelieu had already accomplished. Still, he deserves to be complimented for his ability in reading quickly the invisible price tag attached to those who could challenge the absolutism that he envisaged and also for the shrewd, though unethical, strategies that he invented to pacify the aristocracy and to eliminate the remnants of feudal power if any. By the use of pensions and privileges as decoys, he created circumstances in which loyalty became an obligation. To weaken the members of the noble elite further, he addicted them to luxury and indulgence at the Palace of Versailles. That also drastically reduced the time they would spend in their own estates. It was ‘Sankin-kotai’ in disguise. It is just that the system of alternate attendance was formalized as ‘Sankin-k otai’ by the Tokugawa Shoguns whereby the feudal lords were required to spend at least half of their time in Edo, the capital of the Shogun empire (Beasly 272). Louis XIV is often praised in history for ‘recognizing talent’ because, during his reign, several high positions were filled with commoners. Though their credentials do not have to be doubted, it needs to be observed that he had a distinct advantage in having them there: they were easy to get rid of. A clear parallel between him and the Shogunate becomes apparent here if we recall how Ieyasu allowed outsiders to assume the position of vassals. Just as Louis XIV exercised control over the nobles by making them have to remain under his scrutiny, Ieyasu’s successors Hidetada and Iemitsu vigorously pursued the land reallocation strategy by which they could impose order on Japan’s feudal lords (Beasly 130). The system was justified on the basis that it would ensure ‘good governance’ while the actual rationale was the exercise of control.