Role Of Hrm And The Problems Business Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3451 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? In this proposal I will try my utmost to give a brief introduction of my intended research, along with its keys elements, structure and complete design. I have decided to broaden my research on Human Resource Management, in a particularly targeted area. The importance of the Recruitment and Selection Process which is very vital for any organizations success and a failure in this area might lead up to poor job performance in the future. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Role Of Hrm And The Problems Business Essay" essay for you Create order This project is about to identify to get to an appropriate resolution of the Problems faced by HR Managers when going through the process of Recruitment and Selection. I have focused on the particular problem for instance, to determine the need for the vacancy, job description, and person specification, selection of right means of advertising, a proper wholesome procedure to follow for instance the reliability and validity. In order to look into the problems faced by HR Managers, I would as for the first step, will try to address/ define HR, the role of the H R manager and the whole process of recruitment and selection, will also use different methodology like work sample, graphology, assessment centres, face -to-face interviews. Define the problems with current recruitment and selection and how and in what way they effect on the organisations and their efficiency and productivity. I would present the best solutions like use of performance based and competency based approaches for the determination of a criteria to provide with best results for recruitment and selection. Afterwards I will delve in more depth with more insight; in particular i would address and highlight the problems and issues related to the selection and recruitment. Objective Human Resource Management is not entirely a new field/branch of study in any way, it might not have been called so but in fact it has played its role quiet importantly with its essential elements in all forms and shapes. but as we see that now it has been given and gaining more importance around the globe. In the past few decades the organisations has realised the importance of learning new methods to enhance the efficiency of their employees, on an individual level and as well as on a whole or a group. By adopting new techniques and methods they recruiters have made a remarkable results so far which not only enhanced their skills and capabilities to pick the right people for right jobs but also gave a boost to make the organization ns more efficient and productive for which they have been assigned the task of recruitment .Overall objective of my thesis is to highlight the significance and challenges faced by the HR managers by addressing a few main questions in general. Justification for the Project (why) Human Resource Management is an exclusively important function of any business or organisation irrespective of their corporate nature or strategies. Now in todays modern world, employees or workforce is becoming increasingly diverse and organizations are trying injecting more and more techniques in order to maximize the efficiency of its different employees. Human Resource Managers are now becoming frontline key players from the old school sideline player and playing a significant part in organization building. Organizations are nowadays relying much more on their managers than they used to in old days to hunt out such people who can get the job done and of course, put the company on the list of more profitable organizations. Human Resources have always been playing an integral or central part to organizations but their strategic importance is growing bigger and bigger in todays knowledge-based corporate world like never before. An organizations success increasingly depends on the information, skills, professionalism and abilities of its employees to perform in accordance with the job descriptions they have been hired for and how well they can use their employees for the achievement of corporate goals, maximization of shareholders capital. This project will help in trying to understand the problems faced by corporate organizations, where they have a large number of diverse forces in action within the perfectly competitive environment with firms having no bargain power especially where there corporate activities are not as strong as required, and how I have to look into this issue and analyse it to present a practically possible way out is what more important and significant to explain. It becomes a lot easier to find solutions when you develop an in depth understanding of the problem concerned and the causes related to it. Research Questions I would like to touch the following core issues and questions during my research and will aim at the core issues related to it. I would also try to explain in detail What is Human Resource Management is and its elements? What is the role of HRM Managers in the contemporary business organisations? What are the main or core issues related to the Selection and Recruitments and problems arising out of this and commonly faced by the HRM Managers? Literature Review There is a huge range and variety of material available on the subject which I have chosen for my dissertation. Books, e-books, articles and journals are available on the selected aforesaid subject and its particular areas of interest. In writing down my report I will try to refer to all the sources mentioned above as much as possible and would try to make the most of the resources and all helping materials available for in depth knowledge of the area of subject chosen Human Resource Management There are number of ways to explain the term Human Resources Management, but in the broadly speaking we can say that HRM is an organizations most valued assets consisting of people who work for it and contribute to the company on both an individual and collective basis. Human Resource Management is the strategic and logical way to look after them and their interests in a way that organization could bear more fruit of their performance and to make it more beneficial in corporate rivals. The main features of HRM are: To achieve a fit between the business and the H R, by emphasizing, more on it and the strategic management of its people. A comprehensives and consistent approach to the provision of mutually supporting employment policies and practices, i.e. the development of integrated HR policies and practices. The importance placed on gaining commitment to the organizations mission and values-it is commitment oriented. The treatment of people as assets rather than cos ts as they are regarded as a source of competitive advantage as human capital to be invested in through the provision of learning and development opportunities. The performance and delivery of HRM as a line management responsibility. HRM aims to help the organization to achieve success through people. As Ulrich and Lake (1990) remark, HRM systems can be the source of organizational capabilities that allow firms to learn and capitalize on new opportunities. HRM is concerned with both meeting human capital requirement and the development of process capabilities, in other words, the ability to get things done effectively. The Role of Human Resource Manager The personnel or HR managers work is directly related to the employees. It involves recruiting and training them, conveying the managements expectations, pay-roll, justifying managements actions, seeking to modify management actions that could produce unwelcome employee response and satisfying employees work related needs. Although HR is a management function, HR interests are different to traditional management interests, in the sense that the interests evolve around the employees, and when not able to understand and articulate them, it becomes ineffective. (M. Malcolm, J. Tricia). In broader sense we can say that the role of an HR Manager includes following duties: Finding employees Training employees Arranging payments Explaining management expectations Justifying management actions Satisfying employees work-related needs Dealing with employees problems Seeking to modify managements actions Enhancing motivation, commitment and job engagement Recruitment and Selection The importance of the recruitment and selection process is vital for organization success, and a failure in this area can lead to poor future job performance. As organizations respond to economical and technological pressures, job roles can also change, and this needs to also be taken into account. The process of staff recruitment and selection is complex, and HR functions, as described above, are in place to maximize chances of success. (Nankervis, Compton McCarthy, 1999, p190) Theories of Recruitment Recruitment Strategies 1. Objective theory 2. Subjective theory 3. Critical Contact theory Types of Recruitment There are two types recruitment in Human Resource Management, i.e. internal and external. This means that a person already employed by the firm can fill a vacancy or an outsider can be appointed. Internal recruitment External recruitment Problem likely to be faced by Human Resource manager Companies and human resource professionals have made great inroads and improvements in the area of recruitment and selection over the years. It is surprising, however, by the recurring problems that plague many recruitment and selection processes time and cost inefficiencies, low validity and reliability, high turnover and high potential for grievances and litigation. Despite this mountain of problems, too many companies and organizations continue to rely on these ineffective and potentially damaging practices to fill vacancies. Before beginning to learn about Performance-based Selection, its important to understand some of the problems with current selection practices. Credentials and years of work experience do not ensure success on the job Too many interviews, too many delays Grievances, complaints, termination and turnover Job Description Person Specification Problems with current advertisement Reference checking Reliability Validity Research design Research design gives out a blue print of whole the dissertation that shows how and in what pattern will be the dissertation. It gives a broader view to develop the understanding of the research. It joins the different elements and links together so that the whole dissertation makes sense. In my research is over all a qualitative approach, which includes different kinds of methods for collecting, analysing, formulisation and interpreting the data and information. My research will be in the following manners:- Research In this step I will try to gather information on the topic of role HRM and problems faced by the HR Managers. HRM is a very vast subject and there are huge numbers of resources available but I will confine myself only to the particular question that I will address. But to get the right and relevant information I will try to refer to the available resources as much as possible, i.e. books, publish articles, journals, news papers and internet. Both Primary Data and Secondary data would be used to achieve the objectives of the research. For gather primary data, I will prefer to do face to face interview as it is easier for me to gather relevant information related to my research objectives. Furthermore, the main purpose of choosing primary data method is to put some fresh and up to date information in the dissertation instead of using just secondary data information. I would like to know the current issues and solutions related to my research problem. On the other hand, for secondary data collection, I will prefer to gather information from a case study. At the end, I would like to compare and contrast the information gathered through primary and secondary data collection to finalize and to find a possible solution for the research problem. From this way, I will find an up to date solution for my research problem. Moreover, I would like to give some suggestions as well for future research relating to my research problem. Secondary Data Collection:  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€š For Secondary Research Method, data collection will be completed through library based research to investigate that how the role of project manager is affected by the changes surrounding an organization and issues that affect the progress of the organization that will be done by a case study that has been written in the past to sum up a conclusion. In defining the case study method, academics have laid emphasis on it being a method to investigate contemporary phenomena in real life context and the use of multiple sources of evidence to gain such evidence (see Yin 2003 and Schramm ( 1971). For the purpose, the information will be gathered from different databases. Secondary data will be derived from books, articles, journals and magazines. The secondary data would also be ascertained from the following sources: Ayton Library, UMSIT, Journal Articles and Databases like Emerald, Pro-quest, and Business Resources Premier. Justification for Case Study for Secondary Data Collection: The researcher has some advantages due to which the researcher has preferred to use case study like it makes the researcher in a position to efficiently investigate and understand all the issues and obstacles faced by project manager in real particle life and to analyze the companies. Qualitative methods such as the outcome-matrix and histograms will be used. Quantitative statistical tests will also be use to confirm the impact of identified factors on case outcomes. After gathering data from Questioner (Primary Research), I will analyze and compare it with information gained earlier through library research i.e. case study (Secondary Research) to conclude my research objectives and to provide possible solutions for the current problems faced by project managers. Formulate Questioner: For Primary Research Method, after digging the information from different sources, I will make a questioner that contains question relevant to my dissertation that contains around 30 to 50 questions for the HRM Managers. These questions will address the overall role of HRM and the question that will identify current problems faced by the HRM Managers for selection and recruitment of employees. Furthermore, for the purpose, I would like to take face to face interview to the participant because it is more suitable to the research problem. Face-to- Face Interview: A face to face interview is a very commonly used process of selecting the right candidate. It gives management a better option to meet the candidate and ask questions and hear the arguments given by the candidate for his selection and competence for the job. An interview works out in a way that candidate comes in front of the interviewer or panel of judges. Judges then ask question directly from the candidate and form their judgment on the suitability of candidate for the job. In most of the interviews, candidates are not informed about interview decision. First board interview all the candidates, then after consulting each other make any decision. An interview is always considered to be more suitable because both interviewer and interview have a chance to talk about their suitability about the job. In this stage, the panel can assess the various areas of knowledge and competency will be assessed, areas such as including teamwork, leadership potential, communication skills, problem solving, lateral thinking and decision-making ability. Apart from that we can say that interviews can be of two types which are as follows. Informal Interview Formal Interview Informal Interview: In some of the organizations employers call the applicant for an informal interview. These interviews are very helpful in exchange of information concerning about the candidates previous gained work experience and knowledge. Apart from that it also helps the applicants to know about the organization and get to know the role and nature of job. It should be noted here that informal interviews has no effect on the selection decision of the candidates. Formal Interviews: Formal interviews are those which affect the selection decision of the candidate. In these interviews, candidates come in front of the selection board and reply to the question asked by the panel. The whole purpose of the interview is to see and access the suitability of the candidate. Justification for Interview for Primary Data Collection: There are many advantages for choosing face to face interview for the research problem. The main purpose of face-t-face (or direct) interviews are that the researcher could clarify its questions quite easily and he/she could easy explain the question properly to the participant during interview meeting. It saves time as well as compare to email questionnaire responses. Furthermore, another bit advantage for choosing face to face interview is that the researcher could get any discomfort through body language of the participant from where it could be judged weather the person is answering right or wrong. From body language of the participant, it will become easy for the researcher to get the right information related to the research problem which could not be possible to detect from a telephone interview or from any email questionnaire responses. Moreover, face-to-face interview guides and supports the interviewee to gather the desired results in short period of time from the partici pant. Therefore, from this kind of interview, the research could judge the feelings and expressions of the participant that weather the respondent is replying truth or not. Limitations of the face to face interview: There are many limitations and disadvantages as well of the face to face interview like the respondent might feel uncomfortable and uneasy to reply to the questions at the moment of interview. To get time for interview is another problem as well for the researcher as it is a big problem to get time for the meeting. So the researcher could get problem of having meeting with the participant. Moreover, another main disadvantage of the face-to-face interview is that there could occur the geographically limitations as well depends on the survey either it is to be carried out nationally or internationally. Analysing Data It is the third step of my dissertation, the data gathered through questioner, I will analyse and compare it with the information gained earlier through a lab-research. I will analyse the data as I am going on right track or not. I will find out that whether the gathered information is relevant to my dissertation objectives or not? Identify Issues After having both bookish and empirical knowledge, I will identify the issues highlighted in text and problems and flaws faced by the HRM Managers and try to compare the difference. Suggest a Solution This will be going to be the last concluding part of my dissertation where at the end I will try to provide a possible solution for the current problems faced. I will try to suggest more related topics for further future research as well to my dissertation problem. Problems and  ethical issues Problems and ethical issues are part of any research, especially when research includes more of qualitative data, interviews or survey forms. In my research I can face several problems relating to my project in general and specific, i.e. most important obstacle is making and drafting survey form, which can identify the problems faced by HRM Managers relating to selection and recruitment. Then second problem I might face is to convert the qualitative data into quantitative form. It is important because different firms or organisations have different resources. So I will have to confine my research into small, medium and large organisation. This discrimination is important because problems faced by a small business organisation are different from a large organisation. Ethical issues are also of great importance and need to be carefully considered while doing research. Ethical issues may come across at any stage and place. Especially while doing any interview. The respondent will p rovide the required information easily when he/she feels comfort with the interviewer. Therefore, I will definitely keep the ethical issues in my mind. I will make sure the participant that the gathered information will be kept saved to me and will not be shared to any other purposes except my dissertation. It is a very wide topic so I need to carry out the research to cover this topic and I can face the problem like race against the time. I will try my best to overcome the time problem and for the purpose I did make the timetable as shown below:- Plan or timetable Below is the time table, week wise that plots when I will do major elements of the project.   Through-out these activities, I will do the writing of my report simultaneously in order to save my time and convenient. Some students may find it easy to write a rough draft while doing the major elements but whereas I find is a little hard. My timetable defining the various major activities with the time are as follows. 1-3rdWeek: I will gather all relevant information from available resources. 3-6th Week: I will formulate questioner with the help of teacher and distribute. 6-8th Week: I will analyse the gathered information and will make a comparison. 8-11th Week: I will identify issues will propose a Solution. 12-14th Week: I will cross do checks with Lecturer. 15th Week: I will submit my final dissertation in university to my supervisor.

Death Penalty The Cruelty of Capital Punishment Essay

The Cruelty of Capital Punishment Capital punishment is the legal infliction the death penalty. It is obviously the most severe form of criminal punishment. (Bedau1) Capital punishment is a controversial way of dealing with violent criminals. The main alternative to the death penalty is life in prison. Capital punishment has been around for thousands of years as a means of eradicating criminals. A giant debate started between supporters and opposers of execution, over the morality and effectiveness of the death penalty. The supporters claim that if you take a life you should pay with your life or an eye for an eye. Opposers of the death penalty bring up the chance of sentencing the innocent and how the death penalty is†¦show more content†¦Cesare Beccaria wrote On Crimes and Punishment, a book criticizing torture and the death penalty, in 1764. Cesare drove many other philosophers, like Voltaire and Jerry Bentham, to question the validity of using capital punishment. (Bedau2) Contrary to what some may believ e the process of sentencing a defendant is a very arduous and time-taking ordeal. After he has been arrested as the suspect of a crime the defendant will either tried in a state or federal court system. The lowest court that a litigant can be sent to is the Court of General jurisdiction (state level) or the US District Courts (federal level). Any time in the trial the defense may choose to appeal. Even if a suspect is sentenced to a crime the case may be appealed for a variety of reasons. The defendants lawyer could claim that the defendants rights were violated when he was arrested, that the defendant received an unfair trial, or new evidence that could prove the defendants innocence has surfaced. (Guernsey,16) Next the appeal is taken to the Intermediate Appellate Courts (state) or the US Courts of Appeals (federal) who will decide if the trial court has erred in some way. If the appeal is granted In the state court system the appellate will be sent to the State Supreme Court, or in the federal system, to the supreme. From the State Supreme Court the case may be appealed again to the Supreme Court. Once the case has reached the supreme court the verdict is final. (Guernsey,15) This monotonousShow MoreRelatedCapital Punishment : An Unnecessary Practice1630 Words   |  7 PagesCapital Punishment: an Unnecessary Practice I. Introduction The debate of whether the capital punishment is morally and politically appropriate has historical origins. The practice of capital punishment in America started when British settlers discovered the new world and created the first American colonies. Despite of the practice of the death penalty being ancient, capitals crimes have changed over time. 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To Kill A Mockingbird Chapter Summaries Free Essays

Chapter 2-3 Dill goes back to his hometown.. ]em and scout have first day of skool ms. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill A Mockingbird Chapter Summaries or any similar topic only for you Order Now Caroline tries to give money to Walter Cunningham for lunch but he never has lunch he’s supa poor scout gets in trouble for being able to read and write then burris ewell makes ms. Caroline cry scout wants to drop outta skool but makes a compromise wit atticus that she will go to skool if they keep reading everynight. Chapter 4 Scout thinks something is missing and school wasn’t really in her future. She finds 2 pieces of gum near the Radley property but Jem makes her spit it out then the next day they find two pennies and keep them†¦ Scout and Calpurnia are getting along. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose meanest old lady ever. Jem roles scout down the road ina tire she falls out and Jem acts tuff and gets the tire out off boo’s yard then they play Boo Radley (reinactment) Jem says boo radly is dead but that makes scout nervous because she knows he isnt Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Chapter 5 Dill purposed to Scout then forgot about it a little later in the summer. Dill and Jem excluded Scout. Scout became closer to Ms. Maudie Atkinson. (Widow Scout describes as chameleon lady, hates her house and gardens. ) Scout and Ms. Maudie talk about the Bible. The 3 kids try to dangle a fishing pole with a note on it saying come out to Boo Radley, but Atticus gets mad. Chapter 6 It is the last day Dill is in Maycomb, and at night they decide to try to catch a glimpse of Boo Radley, but they see a shadow and run away. While they are running, Scout trips and makes a gunshot noise (or Boo shoots not sure) they try to meet at a tree near school but Jem’s pants get stuck on a fence and have to lie to the adults that he lost them in strip poker to Dill. During the night he goes and gets them even though Scout tells him not too. Chapter 7 Scout is now in 2nd grade and Jem tells her that the night he went back to Radley Place for his pants, they had been sewed messily and folded like someone knew he would come back. They also found a ball of grey string in the hiding spot they discovered. The next day they found 2 pieces of soap with images carved in the shape of a boy a other in a crude dress. They realize the images carved in are themselves. They are trying to figure out who did it. Two weeks later they find a whole pack of gum. Four days later they found a broken pocket watch with an aluminum knife. They write a thank-you note to the giver, but Nathan Radley had cemented in the whole saying it was dying but it was really healthy. Chapter 8 Scout says her and Jem haven’t been obeying their dad, Atticus. Mrs. Radley died but no one really cared. It snows for the first time and Scout is scared because she’s never seen snow. They have a snow day and no one but them seems to like the snow. They make a large snow man filled with dirt because they don’t have much snow. Ms. Maudie’s house catches on fire along with Ms. Rachel’s but only Ms. Maudie’s burns down. Somehow a mysterious blanket appears around Scout’s shoulders. It is implied that Boo Radley put it there. Jem comes clean about all their secrets. They return Ms. Maudie’s hat and hedge clipper that they had borrowed to diguise the snowman. Chapter 9 Scout gets mad because Cecil Jacobs says Atticus defends blacks (in court). Scout keeps trying to get out of going to school. Atticus only tells her yes (he does defend a black) and his name is Tom Robinson (a good friend of Cal’s). He doesn’t want to tell Scout what the case is. He says he took the case to keep respect. Scout talks about Cousin Ike. Uncle Jack stays with them for a week and gives them air rifles. Then, they visit Finch’s landing for Christmas. Francis, her annoying cousin, also gives her trouble over Atticus taking Tom Robinson’s case. Chapter 10 Atticus is very old (50) unlike the childrens’ classmates. He has a â€Å"boring† Job. He never drinks or anything so he isn’t very inconspicous. Atticus says its a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is sing. Scout tries to shoot Ms. Maudie’s butt, so Atticus goes over to warn her. The kids go hunting and find Tim a hurt old dog, so they want to help him, but Cal calls around to warn people about the mad dog. The ops come and everyone locks themselves inside. Someone hands Atticus a gun to shoot the dog but he refuses. He ends up shooting the dog and his kids cannot believe he shot the dog. They find out that Atticus’ nickname was old one shot. Ms. Maudie tells the kids he gave up hunting because he thought god gave him an unfair advantage. Chapter 1 1 Jem and Scout hate Mrs. Dubose and think she keeps a pistol concealed, and they tried not to past her house. Atticus says Mrs. Dubose is old and sick and not to let her get to Jem. Jem and Scout go to town to buy himself a little steam engine and Scout a aton. But, Jem gets very mad when she says Atticus isn’t any better than the n*ggers he defends. Scout pulls him away. When they walk back home, Mrs. Dubose wasnt on the porch. Jem snatched her baton and ran through her yard and left only when he ruined all of her camellia flower bushes, he broke Scouts baton. Atticus gets mad at Jem for ruining Mrs. Dubose’s garden and makes him go apologize to her. Atticus says he couldn’t go to church if he didn’t take Tim Robinson’s case. Mrs. Dubose has Jem clean up her yard and says every saturday he has to work on her yard and every ay except Sundays tor a month ne nas to read to her. Scout describes ner as very ugly. While he was reading, she began to become distant (NOT in a good way). They ask if she is okay. Atticus tells Scout what a n*gger lover is. They realize that the alarm clock has been going off a little later each day. They finally finish all the reading and are very happy. Mrs. Dubose dies and Atticus brings a candy box home from her for Jem. Atticus wrote her will and she broke herself from her morphine addiction right before she died. She died free as the â€Å"mountain air† the box has a white camellia in it. He yells â€Å"Oh hell devil! Atticus wanted Jem to see how courageous she was and courage isn’t a man with a gun it is someone that knows they are going to lose but still goes through with whatever they are doing. Chapter 12 Jem is 12 and Scout realizes she shouldn’t bother him. Jem tells her to be a girl. Summer comes and Dill doesn’t come because he has a new father that he will be spending time with him. He st arts reading the paper and all that. Cal says the kids can go to church with her, they are excited. Everyone is respectful of the group, except for Lulu, who asks why Cal brought white kids to a n*gger church. No instruments or books inside, Just a wooden fan for everyone. Even though the kids have dimes, they take Cal’s. The priest introduces them and says, â€Å"you all know their father. † They count the money and say no one can leave until they have $10 to help Tim’s family. The priest says that Atticus was the church’s best friends. Cal tells Scout that Tim is in Jail for supposedly raping Mr. Ewell’s girl. Scout doesn’t know what a rape is. The kids find out that no one from the church can read and that Cal’s supposed birthday is on christmas. Cal worked on Finch’s Landing since she could ork and has always worked for the Finchs. Cal told the kids that she spoke like she was black with her neighbors at church so she wouldn’t be out of place. Chapter 13 Aunt Alexandra visits. Her and Atticus decided it would be good for Scout to have a feminine role model. Atticus comes back and tells the kids that he thinks it is a good idea for Auntie to live with them, but Scout knows it was Auntie’s idea. She became secretary to a Maycomb club. The town is so small and everyone married in it, so Scout says everyone looks alike. Auntie tells Atticus to do and he does tell the kids to live up to the Finch name. Scout and Jem feels like Atticus isn’t the same person, but he changes back because Aunt Alexandra told him to. Chapter 14 When Jem and Scout are going through town, people keep making comments and someone says something about rape, so when Atticus got home Scout asked him what rape was. Atticus says rape is â€Å"carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent. † She asks him why Cal wouldn’t tell her what rape was if that was all it was. Scout asks if she can go to Cal’s house, but Auntie sharply says no. Scout over hears Auntie saying they should get rid of Cal. Scout and Jem brawl but Atticus eparates them. Scout thinks there’s a snake under her bed but it turns out to be Dill. He hates his new father and tells them that a nearby farmer had been feeding him. Chapter 1 Dill scout and Jem follow atticus to town where they find him sitting in front of Tom robbinson’s Jail cell, he waited until a huge mob of people cam in one of the people being the cunningham father. Scout starts sauing things about mr. Cunningham’s son, and she gets the whole entire mob to leave tom alone without even realizing that she did so Chapter 16 The kids and Atticus go out in the night. In the morning Atticus says Braxton Underwood is a negro-hater, and Aunt Alexandra tells him not to say that infront of Cal, but Atticus says she probably knows and she also knows how much she means to them. Scout has noticed a change in Atticus over the past three days. They talk about how even though Mr. Cunningham was ready to kill Atticus with the mob they are still friends and the mob people are still people otherwise Scout couldn’t have stopped them. Scout says when Walter comes back to school she’s going to kill him, but Atticus tells her NOT to. Atticus tells the kids not to go downtown that day. (NOTE: pg 218 good quote atticus’ parenting and profession) How to cite To Kill A Mockingbird Chapter Summaries, Papers To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter Summaries Free Essays To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter Summaries CH. 1 * The story begins with an injury: the narrator’s brother Jem got his arm broken when he was thirteen. * While the arm is never quite as good as new, it doesn’t interfere with Jem’s mad football skills, so he doesn’t care much. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter Summaries or any similar topic only for you Order Now * Years afterward, brother and narrator argue over where the story really starts: the narrator blames it on the Ewell family, while Jem (the older sibling by four years) puts the beginning at the summer they first met Dill. The flash-forward conversation continues: the narrator says that if you want to get technical about it, everything began with Andrew Jackson, whose actions led to their forefather Simon Finch settling where they did. * The flash-forward becomes a flashback: Simon Finch was a pious and miserly Englishman who left his home country to wander around America, before settling in Alabama with his accumulated wealth, his family, and his slaves. * Simon’s homestead was called Finch’s Landing, and was a mostly self-sufficient estate run by Simon’s male descendents, selling cotton to buy what the farm couldn’t produce itself. The wealth went away with the Civil War, but the tradition of living off the land at Finch’s Landing remained. * Th e current generation, however, has bucked the trend: Atticus, the narrator’s father, studied law in Montgomery, while his younger brother went all the way to Boston to become a doctor. * The only Finch left at the Landing is their sister Alexandra and her quiet, inactive husband. * After becoming a lawyer, Atticus returned to Maycomb, the county seat of Maycomb County, twenty miles from Finch’s landing. * Atticus saved his money to put his younger brother through med school. Atticus feels at home in Maycomb, not least because he’s related to nearly everyone in the town. * Out of the flashback, into the present-time of the story (which we already know the narrator’s actually remembering: hop over to â€Å"Point of View/Narrative Voice† if you want the 411 on that right now). * The narrator thinks about the Maycomb s/he (we don’t know which yet) knew: it’s not a happening place. Everyone moves slower than sweat, and there’s not m uch worth hurrying for, let alone much sense of what might be happening outside the county lines. The narrator lives on the town’s main residential drag with her brother Jem, her father Atticus, and their cook Calpurnia, who is a force to be reckoned with. * You may notice there’s no mom to be found: she died when the narrator was two, and the narrator doesn’t really remember her, though Jem does. * The story really gets underway the summer when the narrator is five going on six and Jem is nine going on ten. * This is the summer Dill arrives in Maycomb. * Their first meeting happens like this: Jem and the narrator are playing in their backyard, hear a noise next door, and go to check it out. The find a small boy, six going on seven but looking younger, who introduces himself as Charles Baker Harris and announces that he can read. * Charles Baker Harris says that people call him Dill, so we will too. * Dill tells the narrator and Jem a bit about himself: he’s from Meridian, Mississippi, but he’s spending the summer with his aunt, the young Finches’ next-door neighbor Miss Rachel. * Unlike the rural Finches, he’s had access to movie theatres, and so he regales them with the story of Dracula. * The narrator asks Dill about his father, who isn’t dead but also isn’t around. Dill gets a bit embarrassed about the dad question, so Jem tells his sibling to shut up. * Dill, Jem, and the narrator spend the summer acting out stories from the books they’ve read, over and over and over, until they start to get bored. * Dill comes to the rescue with a new idea: they can try to make Boo Radley come out. * The Radley Place is the haunted house of the neighborhood, complete with ghost: Boo Radley, who got in trouble with the law as a teenager and has been holed up in the house unseen ever since. The kids think his family might be keeping him prisoner. The house has quite the reputation with the neighborhood kids, who avoid it at all costs. * The narrator tells us a story about Boo that Jem got from Miss Stephanie Crawford, the neighborhood busybody: that Boo, then 33 years old, had been cutting out newspaper articles for his scrapbook when suddenly he stabbed the scissors into his father’s leg, then calmly went back to what he was doing. * After that B oo was locked up by the police briefly, and there was talk of sending him to an insane asylum, but he ended up back in the Radley Place. * Still after that, old Mr. Radley, Boo’s father, died, but he was soon replaced by Boo’s older brother Nathan, and nothing much changed at the Radley Place. * Rumor has it that Boo gets out at night and stalks around the neighborhood, but none of the kids has ever actually seen him. * Jem makes up horror stories about what Boo’s like (think a cross between a vampire and a zombie), but Dill still wants to see him. * Dill dares Jem to go knock on the Radleys’ door. * Jem tries to get out of it without showing he’s scared, but gives in when Dill says he doesn’t have to knock, just touch the door. Jem works up his nerve, dashes up to the house, slaps the door, and runs back at top speed without looking behind him. * The three children, after getting to safety on their own porch, look at the Radley Place, but all they see is the hint of an inside shutter moving. CH. 2 * The summer ends and Dill heads back home to Meridian. * The narrator looks forward to joining the kids at school for the first time instead of spying on them through a telescope like a pint-size stalker. * Jem takes the narrator to school, and explains that it’s different from home – and he doesn’t want his first-grade sibling cramping his fifth-grade style. The narrator’s teacher is a young woman by the name of Miss Caroline Fisher, who’s from North Alabama, otherwise known to the native Maycombians as Crazy Land. * Miss Caroline reads the class a story about cats, and seems blithely unaware that she’s already completely lost her audience, a bunch of farm kids whom the narrator says are â€Å"immune to imaginative literature† (2. 8). * Miss Caroline puts the alphabet up on the board, which all of the class already knows (most of them are starting first grade for the second time). Miss Caroline asks the narrator to read, and is not pleased that she’s already good at it. * Miss Caroline assumes, despite the narrator’s disagr eement, that Atticus has taught the narrator how to read, and decrees that these lessons must stop because Atticus isn’t a licensed teacher and therefore is doing his child more harm than good. * The narrator gets the impression that reading, which seems to come as naturally as breathing, is something like a sin when it’s done out of class. * Trying to stay out of further trouble, the narrator zones out till recess, then complains to Jem. Jem says that Miss Caroline is at the center of educational reform in the school, which he calls â€Å"the Dewey Decimal System† (2. 25). * This new system results in boring class time, so the narrator starts writing (in cursive) a letter to Dill. Miss Caroline makes the narrator stop, saying that first graders print, and cursive isn’t taught until third grade. * The narrator remembers that Calpurnia had passed rainy days by giving writing lessons. * Miss Caroline is halted in her inspection of her students’ lunch es by Walter Cunningham, who doesn’t have one. She tries to lend him a quarter for lunch, but he refuses to take it. * The narrator, whose name we now learn is Jean Louise, steps in, explaining to Miss Caroline that Walter is a Cunningham. * That explanation, crystal clear to Jean Louise, doesn’t mean much to Miss Caroline, so she explains further: the Cunninghams won’t take anything from anybody, preferring to get by on the little they have. * Flashback: Jean Louise knows about the Cunninghams because Walter’s father hired Atticus to sort out an entailment on his property, and paid for the service by barter rather than in cash. Back to the schoolroom present: Jean Louise wants to explain everything properly, but doesn’t have the ability, so she just says that Miss Caroline is making Walter ashamed by trying to lend him money he can’t pay back. * Miss Caroline cracks at this, and calls Jean Louise up to the front of the class, where she pats her hand with the ruler and makes her stand in the corner. * The class breaks out laughing when they realize that the ruler taps were supposed to be corporal punishment. * The bell rings and everyone leaves for lunch, with Miss Caroline collapsing with her head in her hands at her desk. How to cite To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter Summaries, Essay examples

The Progressive Era Essay Example For Students

The Progressive Era Essay The Progressive Era Essay The progressive era was a time of great change, the way people thought and what they did began to change quickly. Industry and business also changed a great deal in this era, with the many new inventions and strong businessmen things where rapidly changing. The progressive era lasted about 40 years, from 1879-1920. In 1879 Tomas Edison invented the electric light, I guess you could say he just lit the way for may other inventions that people made during this time period. The progressives where middle class people that where mostly composed of young people who wanted things to change, they believed that educating people was the best way to overcome a problem. They formed volunteer organizations that people would come to and they would educate them on what they thought the problem was with something. Some of the organizations I found where: (American Bar Association, U.S Chamber of Commerce, National Association for the advancement of Colored People, and many others. I think that they did this to increase the awareness of a problem and try to fight that problem with strength in numbers and educations, both are very strong weapons when tackling a problem. Muckraking was another way people got their point across, they would find out all the information that they could on a person and they would basically, just drag their good name thought the mud, telling the people about, the things that they might not know, the corrupt things and bad deals and kickbacks those types of things. A well known muckraker would be Ida Tarbell, She dragged John D. Rockefellers name thought the mud, exposing bad trust and how he was a ruthless business man, Another muckraker was Upton Sinclair, He wrote a book, to show the American people how bad, the food was, and how disgusting it was, a famous quote of his was I aimed for the peoples hearts and I hit them right in the stomach, making reference to how gross the book really was. Teddy Roosevelt was a very strong influence during the progressive era; He used his power a president to get what he wanted as a progressive. He helped things like the pure food and drug act pass, and used the Sherman Antitrust act to dissolve Carnegies Monopoly. He was a very strong leader and was not about to be pushed around, so it was very good to have him as president during the Progressive era when some are fighting for the new and some are fighting for the old. The city and state reforms, where to stops powerful figures like boss Tweed who was very corrupt and, had everyone in the city in his back pocket. They Reformed so that their wouldnt be just a boss, (a person that made every decision), they made it so the people had to stand behind him on his decisions, their needed to be a vote on all laws that where passed, and all people could try to pass laws with enough peoples support. Also with the reform, workmans compensation became, now if people where hurt to the point they couldnt work, they would be compensated until they could come back. Education was a very big thing to the progressives; they believed that an educated person could handle any problem. They pushed for more women to go to college and for more children to start school. The progressives believe that by putting large numbers of children in school they will soon have and enlightened population. Womens rights where fought for during the progressive era. Women began to hold steady jobs, Even though the jobs where the ones that where the least paying, and the ones with the least opportunity. Macbeth Essay Summary Not all reform movements are successful in making an actual change, however even if a significant change isnt made their message is still shared with the public. Reform group leaders are usually involved in the government and have a strong charisma, which helps them convey their message. Jesse Louis Jackson is one of Americas strongest political figures. Over the past three decades he has played a major role in just about every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, and economic and social justice. Reverend Jackson has been called the conscience of the nation and the great unifier, challenging America to establish just and humane priorities, and bringing people together on .

Mozarts Symphony No. 28 in C Major, Part III (Menuetto Allegreto)

Classical music has always been popular. Not every person understands its beauty and meaning, however, I believe that it can influence on every person it its particular way, no matter whether you like it or not. Recently, I had a great opportunity to see the concert at the Nightingale Concert Hall. It was performed by the Reno Chamber Orchestra conducted by Theodore Kuchar. The orchestra performed Mozart’s Symphonies. I was greatly impressed by the concert.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 in C Major, Part III (Menuetto: Allegreto) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, I have chosen the Symphony No. 28 in C Major, part III (Menuetto: Allegreto) for my respond as I liked it the most. The Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 in C Major, part III (Menuetto: Allegreto) is one of the most impressive musical compositions I have ever heard, it is calm and energetic at the same time, and it makes you feel as if you went into the 17th century. As I have already mentioned, the concert was devoted to the music by Mozart. I have heard many compositions by Wolfgang Mozart, and I consider him one of the most talented and unique composers of all times. His music is wonderful, magic, and mysterious. It can be tender, energetic, romantic and joyful. For example, such work as â€Å"The Requiem† which is his most famous and impressive work. Actually, I have never heard the Symphony No. 28 in C Major before, but I am glad that I had a chance to hear this wonderful â€Å"piece of Art† as I really got a real pleasure. So, the Symphony No. 28 in C Major, part III (Menuetto: Allegreto) was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart approximately in 1774. It was the last piece of his â€Å"Salzburg series†. Few words should be mentioned about the à ©poque when the work was created. This period is called the Classical period in Western music. Usually, the classical music includes all works written from the 16th to the 19th century, however, a true classical period is between the years 1730 and 1820. It is marked by works of such great composers as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven and Antonio Salieri. The music of the classical period was much â€Å"lighter† than the music of the previous Baroque period. As M. Tevfik Dorak writes in the article â€Å"Classical (Period) Music†, the characteristic features of this period were â€Å"slow harmonic rhythm, primary triads, appoggiaturas, frequent cadences, clear articulation, variety in orchestral texture, varying dynamics, independence of orchestral sections, tenor registry of the bassoon, double woodwind (including clarinets)† (n. pg.).Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At first, the Classical music took some features from the Baroque music. But l ater, it adopted its unique style, format and form. According to the book by Kerman and Tomlinson, â€Å"a four-movement format dominated Classical instrumental genres. The internal structures of important Classical forms associated with the four-movement plan: sonata form, theme and variations, minuet form, rondo form† (76). All these features can be found in the compositions written by Mozart, the most influential composer of the period. He lived a short life, but he managed to create music that will live forever. Mozart was a very talented child. He started performing before European royalty when he was 5. His first teacher was his father Leopold. But it was Bach who had the greatest influence on the Mozart’s development as the composer, â€Å"Bach introduced Wolfgang to the world of the opera and the symphony, treating the boy as the colleague†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Melograni and Cochrane 20). Bach’s music was filled with symbolism and â€Å"harmonic innovationsâ €  of the period, but the music of his pupil was not so radical. It was very charming, had a natural flow and was filled with different emotions: humor, sorrow, joy that can interweave or go separately. The composer created the most successful operas and symphonies ever. Mozart was one of the first composers who started creating symphonies. It was a â€Å"musical genre that just began to gain acceptance† and it was Mozart, who â€Å"succeeded in producing compositions of high quality in a new genre† (Melograni and Cochrane 22). One of such â€Å"perfect compositions† is Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 in C Major, part III (Menuetto: Allegreto). The symphony is arranged in the traditional classical symphonic form: Allegro vivace, Andante cantabile in F major, Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio, and Molto Allegro. The sonata is filled with contrasts and it is rather extraverted. It begins with the themes of symphony, but the second part of the trio is more acce ntuated and expressive. I guess, it is incorporated and modified with Allegretto. The characteristic feature of the symphony is the â€Å"five-voice fugato† that are aimed to present fife symphonic themes of the composition. In the third part, they are used in order to combine themes together. The motifs are joined in the â€Å"fugal cola†. The third part is characterized by classical harmony and â€Å"tender† melody that rises and falls through the composition. As for me, I was charmed with the music. I believe that it is a special ability to know to listen to the classical music and I am glad that I develop this ability. So, the piece was very exciting and I was fascinated with the rhythm and dynamics of the melody and with the contrast of strong and light musical waves.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 in C Major, Part III (Menuetto: Allegreto) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Symphony No. 28 in C Major, part III (Menuetto: Allegreto) is one of the greatest orchestra compositions. It is a marvelous work of the Classical period. It still captures attention of many people and evokes wonderful feeling of delight with the music. Works Cited Dorak, M.Tevfik. â€Å"Classical (Period) Music†. About.com, 5 Apr. 2008, Web. Melograni, Piero, and Lydia G. Cochrane. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. This essay on Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 in C Major, Part III (Menuetto: Allegreto) was written and submitted by user Sierra V. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Fractals Essays - Fractals, Fractal, Benoit Mandelbrot, Free Essays

Fractals Essays - Fractals, Fractal, Benoit Mandelbrot, Free Essays Fractals Fractals Review The videotape Fractals was narrated by a writer of science fiction, R.C. Clark, who is the creator of 2001 Space Odessy. Individuals interviewed, experts on the subject included professor Stuart, Dr. Michael Barnsley, Steven Hawkins, author of A Brief History in Time, and creator of the Mandelbrot set, Dr. Benoit Mandlebrot. These men introduced us to their insight of fractals, provided people with much new and fascinating information on this obscure topic, and left the audience with questioning minds. The scientists and experts reporting on fractals gave detailed descriptions of these images. They explained that a fractal is based on simple principles, rather than complicated components, and it was not discovered until the era of modern computers. A fractal is an image comprised of the equation Z z +c, which was formulated by Dr. Mandlebrot. This equation is defined by coordinates and positions on a plane that locate a spot. Fractals are images that are the same all over and their changing patterns can be magnified unlimited times. The patterns and bright colors change regularly and are very consistent. With continuous magnification, a baby Mandlebrot set can be found in every image. Fractals are fragmented; they are fractional images that we are surprisingly accustomed to. These images can be observed in objects we see every day, specifically in nature. From the edges and appearances of clouds, trees, rocks, ferns, and flowers, the fine structure and resemblence of fractals is obvious. Certain objects are examples of the entire fractal, including the Mandela, a religious symbol, stained glass designs in many church windows, the sculpture of Buddha, paintings and the design of blood vessels. It is understood that the fractal can be perceived, but what purpose does it serve? And this is what the scientists are still researching, the actual application of fractals. Fractal dimensions are applied primarily through data, making them a major tool in descriptive science and engineering. The military and NASA also have a use for fractals, which compress data for less difficult transmission to satellites in space. Fractals make pictures of leaves in collages and can reconstruct colorful and precise details of a magnified image. Other than these examples, fractals are presently useless to the common person. However, experts will soon be developing new devices to utilize, but it is practically certain that it will take some time for them to really figure out the fractal.

Law for business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Law for business - Essay Example Dickman, however, stated that there is a requirement of proximity between the claimant and the defendant (Caparo Industries Place v. Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605). Foreseeability alone is not enough to create a duty of care (Hill v. Chief Constable of West Yorkshire [1989] AC 53, 60). Thus, under the Donaghue test, a duty of care would be established. Donoghue concerned a decomposed snail in the claimants ginger beer. Initially, there was held to not be a duty of care, as there was not a proximity between the claimant and the shopkeeper, as the claimant did not purchase the ginger beer. However, the Donoghue court decided that the shopkeeper did owe a duty of care to the woman, as it was reasonably foreseeable that she would be harmed by having snail in her drink, and she would have been considered to be a â€Å"neighbor† (Donoghue v. Stevenson, p. 580). Thus, under Donoghue, there would be sufficient proximity between the claimant, Jeff, and Rodney to establish a duty of care. Just as in the Donoghue case, there was not a special relationship between the parties, yet the harm was reasonably foreseeable – it was reasonably foreseeable that, if one drinks and drives, an accident may occur. Jeff would be considered to be a â€Å"neighbor† in the loose sense of the term, in that the loose sense of the term would describe a â€Å"neighbor† as anybody who would be reasonably foreseeably harmed by the defendants actions. Therefore, under Donoghue, the first element, duty, is established. Next, did Rodney breach that duty? In other words, did he act as a reasonable man would act? (Blyth v. Company Proprietors of the Birmingham Water Works (1856) 11 Ex Ch 781). This is the objective test for whether or not a breach occurred. At first glance, it would seem that Rodney did not act reasonably – he drank and drove. And, there was some indication that the vehicle might have been unsafe, as it was described as â€Å"rather old.† Therefore,

Competitive Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Competitive Strategy - Essay Example South African Breweries had acquired Miller Brewing Company in 2002 and had become SABMiller. The third task is to explain the implications of its current strategic position for the future of SABMiller. Finally the paper will recommend the strategies that South African Breweries (and SABMiller) should follow in the coming years. South African Breweries was started in 1895 mainly to cater to the growing mining population in Johannesburg, what is now South Africa. Throughout the existence of the company, it has recorded consistent growth through entry into new markets and acquisitions. The company could also survive the turbulent period of the two World Wars and the eventual abolition of apartheid. In 1962, the company found a new domestic market segment when the government lifted a long lasting prohibition of alcohol consumption by blacks. The company had also entered into other diverse fields such as safety matches, glass making, hospitality, gaming, and textiles. The company also followed its strategic plans by rapidly expanding into Eastern Europe and other developing economies in Asia like China and India. It has presence in markets located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America and Europe. SABMiller has more than 200 types or brands of beer and employees nearly 60,000 by the parent company alone. Its breakup of revenue according to markets and type of business is given below. Competitive Strategy: According to the famous management theorist and author, Michael Porter every large organization will have two sets of strategies. One is for expansion of its business referred to as competitive strategy and the other for the survival and growth of the organization as a whole referred to as corporate strategy. (Porter 1998, 117). Competitive strategy is easy to conceive in the mind but difficult to define, because of the sheer diversity in different forms of businesses, markets and the type of leadership or

Case study - holden australia - Marketing and Survey Research

- holden australia - Marketing and Survey Research - Case Study Example ative technologies to their car models or introduce a completely different product range so as to attract more of the Australian consumers towards their brand? Rationale: The major managerial problem was rapid failures in the new product development. Holden should have tried to determine the reason behind the failures of its new product developments. The company did not aim to understand the changing needs of the consumer market but focused only on profit growth which led to such an erroneous managerial decision. The new product development is a strategy that is adopted by a company when it intends to enter into new market with existing products. Customers nowadays focus on more on quality and new technology based products. The problem that resulted from the management’s decision was quitting the Australian market which somewhere was coincided with Holden’s failure in the local market. The flagship product of Holden was Commodore whose sales fell down by 9%. The vehicle manufacturing company was producing those cars that were not demanded by the consumers anymore. Commodore which had hit high sales three years ago was declini ng on the sales growth. Though the vehicle market was booming the locally made cars by Holden was failing miserable. The traditional small cars had hit high sales in the financial year but the locally made cars by Holden had seen a slump down in sales. The company was manufacturing different kind of products without being concerned of what was actually the demand of the Australian market. Then because of the problem faced by Holden the management decided to leave the Australian market. Holden’s key goals were to be the market leader of the vehicle manufacturing industry through the range of products it offered. Its aim was to acquire more of market share than to really understand what kind of modifications its product line required so as to support the changing consumer demand. The new product development strategy is adopted to sustain

Catcher In Rye: Obsession On Childhood

Catcher In Rye: Obsession On Childhood In the novel The in the Rye, J.D. Salinger creates a fictional character, Holden, who refuses to grow up and preserve his innocence because he is obsessed on childhood. Holden chooses to be stuck between the innocent world of childhood and the complex world of adulthood. For instance, Holden detailed his two siblings, Allie and Phoebe, as if he idolizes them because of their youth. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles in his life because he cant accept the responsibilities and consequences tied to adulthood. Holden Caulfield is a 16-year old boy who refuses to accept the responsibilities of an adult. So, Holden refuses to grow up and act matured. For example, in the beginning of the novel the readers were informed about Holdens expulsion from Pencey Prep School. However, Holden is more afraid of what his parents reaction will be and afraid of facing the consequences of his expulsion. So, he refuses to go home and confront his parents. He says, I didnt want to go home or anything till they got it and thoroughly digested it and all (51). This shows the immature side of Holden. Instead of explaining to his family why he flunked school, he chooses not to because he thought that his mother will be hysterical to him, My mother gets very hysterical (51). Asides from being immature, Holden is also afraid of talking to people close to him because he is afraid of something inappropriate theyll say about him. This explains his lack of interaction with Jane Gallagher, the girl Holden spent with one summer, the only reason why I didnt do it [calling Jane] was because I wasnt in the mood (63). His lack of interaction with the people he knew makes him interact with the people he doesnt know. Like when he talked to a cab driver about the ducks in the lagoon and ask where they go during winter, You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? (60). Even though its a nonsense question, he still asked the driver about the ducks. He thinks that the cab driver, or any random people, would not judge him which gives him the courage to talk randomly and to lie to random people. Holden lies most of the time to get someones attention. This is one way Holden shows transition towards adulthood. Even if Holden chooses to stay in the world of innocence, his thoughts and actions show some transition to adulthood. For example in chapter 13 when the elevator boy offers Holden a prostitute girl, he says yes and acts like he had slept with someone else before. However he says that he is still a virgin , If you want to know the truth, Im a virgin (92), and when he comes pretty close to doing it with a girl and she says stop he stops, she keeps telling you to stop, The problem with me is, I stop (92). This shows a transition of Holdens sexual desire; however, he struggles dealing with it. Another example of Holden is stuck between the childhood and adulthood world is when he is in the lavender room. When he sees the three ladies at the next table, he gives them an old eye a little bit (69). When Holden finally meet them, he told them that he just saw Gary Cooper, the movie star, on the other side of the floor (74). His actions show that he is trying to impress the three ladies like an adult man by giving them old eye glances and impressing them by lying. At the end of the chapter, after hanging out with the three girls, they left Holden with the bill to pay, I think they shouldve at least offered to pay for the drinks they had before I joined them (75). Due to his innocence and being a trying hard social climber, he ends up being the stupid one and easy to trick with. Another example is Holdens concern towards the ducks in the lagoon. He says I was thinking about the lagoon in Central Park, down near Central Park South. I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go. I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over. I wondered of some guy came in a truck and took them to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away (13). The ducks symbolizes Holden. He is wondering where hes going to go in his life especially when things get icy and frozen. He is wondering if there will be some one to guide him or if he will just fly away. The lagoon, on the other hand, symbolizes his life. In Chapter 20, when he finds the lagoon he says it was pretty frozen and partly not frozen (154). The transition of lake from frozen to not frozen is like Holdens transition from childhood to adulthood. The frozen part shows that Holden hates changes. For instance, when Holden is in the Museum of Natural History he says that he likes the museum because it never changes, the only thing that change is you, Nobodyd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you (121). Just like his obsession, he doesnt want to change and stays as a child to preserve his innocence. He sees his siblings as his inspiration for his obsession. Throughout the novel, Holden always describes his sibling as nice, responsible, smart children. This gives the reader another reason of Holdens obsession of preserving his innocence. He sees innocence through his siblings. In chapter 5, Holden describes Allie, his dead little brother, as fifty times as intelligent (38) than him. He exaggerates that Allies is so smart. In chapter 10, Holden describes Phoebe as a little kid so pretty and smart (67). He also convinces the readers that the readers would like her (67). This shows a reason why he wanted to stay like a child is to be like by everyone. Holden convinces the reader that both of his siblings are smart and everyone likes them. In Chapter 23, Holdens mother gave Phoebe a goodnight kiss and said goodnight to her. All of a sudden, Holden started to cry, Then, all of a sudden, I started to cry (179). This gives the readers an idea that one reason why he wanted to preserve innocence is he wanted to feel to be love and to feel the car e of his love ones especially from his mother that he never felt before. He idolizes Allie and Phoebe because his parents give them so much attention, love and care. For Allie, they always visit his grave, my parents go out quite frequently and stick a bunch of flowers on old Allies grave (155), and because Holden have a lousy childhood (1), he his jealous of his siblings because they get the attention, care, and love from their parents that hes been longing for so long. However, his treatment towards his siblings, and children, doesnt influence his jealousy. In fact, he wanted to be the catcher in the rye to protect them from adulthood. Due to Holdens obsession in preserving innocence, Holden chooses to be the catcher in the rye (173). He wanted to catch the children, who are playing in a field of rye, from falling off the cliff. The field of rye symbolizes the childhood world, a world that is full of children playing, while the cliff symbolizes adulthood. Holden doesnt want the children to struggle in life, like he is dealing with. He wanted children to stay children and preserve their innocence because he doesnt want them to fall in the corrupted and complicated world of adulthood. In chapter 25, Holden tries to erase the Fuck you word written in the wall of an elementary school, but I rubbed it out anyway, though. (201). Holden tries to protect the children from reading the swear word that could poison their mind. The red hunting hat is another symbolism of innocence in the novel. Holden always wear the red hunting hat to protect himself from the hunter, the society. He gave the hunting hat to Phoebe, she took of f my red hunting hat the one I gave her (207), to protect her from the society. He wanted Phoebe to have her innocence as long as she needed it. Erasing the swear on the wall and protecting Phoebe from the society are Holdens ways of protecting the children from jumping off the cliff. However, at the end of the novel, Holden learns to let go of his obsession. When Holden and Phoebe visit the zoo, they see a carrousel which Holden usually ride when he was younger. But this time Holden decided not ride the carrousel, instead, he decided to seat down and watch Phoebe ride the carrousel, I went over and sat down on this bench, and she went and got on the carrousel (221). This shows that finally Holden let go of his childish desire of preserving the innocence and being a child as long as he could be. Holden also stops his ambition of being the catcher in the rye when he sees the children reaching out for the gold ring in the carrousel. He says if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, that fall off (211). This shows that Holden finally given up from saving the kids from falling to adulthood. The gold ring symbolizes adulthood, which Holden didnt do anything to stop the children from reaching it. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is obsessed in preserving his innocence. Holden cannot accept the responsibilities and consequences associated with adulthood. He tries to run away from the people he knew and focuses his attentions to the people he did not know. Holden is stuck between the world of innocence and the world of adulthood. Without even noticing it, he tries to act and think like an adult. Holden is also jealous of his two little siblings because they get most of the attention, care, and love of their parents that he has never felt before. He wanted to preserve his innocence to feel the love from his parents that he has been longing for so long. Due to his obsession of preserving his innocence, he wishes to be the catcher in the rye to protect the children from falling off the cliff. He finds the adult world corrupted and poisonous. However, in the end of the novel, Holden finally let go of his obsession and decided to act as an adult. Even though he struggles in his life and finds adulthood complicates, corrupted, and poisonous he decided to come out of his box to evolve, explore, and experience what the world could offer.

Comets Essay -- Astronomy Essays Space Outer

Comets   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have you ever looked up in the sky and seen a little ball creeping by? If so, did you wonder what it was? That little ball is called a comet. Comets are small, fragile, and irregularly shaped. Most are composed of frozen gas. However, some are composed of frozen gas and non-volatile grains. They usually follow very strict paths around the sun. Comets become most visible when they cross the sun. This also applies to people who view comets with telescopes. When a comet gets near the sun it becomes very visible because the sun's radiation starts to sublime its volatile gases, which, in turn, blow away small bits of the little solid material the comet has.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another feature of a comet is a long tail. This is caused by materials breaking off and expanding. They expand into an enormous escaping atmosphere called the coma. This becomes at least the size of our planet. With the comet going so fast, these materials are forced behind the comet, forming a long tail of dust and gas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Comets are cold bodies. We see them only because the gases they are composed of glow in the sunlight. All comets are regular family members of the solar system family. They are bound by gravity to a strict path around the solar system. Scientists believe that all comets were formed of material, originally in the outer part of the solar system, which did not become incorporated into planets. This material is from when the planets just started forming. This makes comets an extremely interesting topic to scientists who are studying the history of the solar system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In comparison to planets, comets are very small. They can be anywhere from 750 meters (or less) to 20 kilometers in diameter. However, lately, scientists have been finding proof that there are comets 300 kilometers in diameter or greater.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Comets are still compared to the planets, though. Planets usually follow the shape of a sphere. Most planets are fat at the equator. Comets come in all different shapes and sizes. Most evidence that science has revealed says that comets are extremely fragile. A comet is so poorly structured that it is like a loose snowball--it can be pulled apart with one's own bare hands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Comets have very awkward rotation periods. They are very oblong. When comets reach their aphelion they are usually near Jupiter or even sometimes Ne... ... is expected to reach its closed point to the sun. At this time it will also be most visible because the sun reflects off the tail of the comet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It will come .914 astronomical units from the sun. This is not all that close to the sun considering the fact that some comets have run into the sun and others have skimmed the surface of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although the comet will be closest to the sun on April 1, it will be closest to the earth on March 23, 1997. Some people have been saying that the comet will hit earth and cause human extinction, just like the dinosaurs. The fact is, however, THE COMET WILL NOT HIT EARTH. The closest it will come is 120 million miles away from the earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people are saying that the comet is going to Be huge, and others say it will be small. We will never know though because we can not see the nucleus of a comet. The part of the comet we see is the tail. The tail of a comet can be over 10,000 kilometers long.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In all, comets, the history of comets, and comets waiting to be discovered is very interesting. I think that one day we will get to see the nucleus of a comet, and be able to watch comets form in the Oort Cloud.

Class Meditation

Gishin Tokiwo defined meditation as the science of knowing oneself. Samadhi or Dhyana are the means to reach a void within the self. The purpose of meditation is to identify our true nature. The aim of meditation is to remove obstacles of ignorance from our path of life. Meditation in class was an enchanting experience. It was difficult to sit still and not think about anything even for five minutes. Meditation improved with practice and constant efforts said the readings in the book. Those persons who had been practicing regular meditation had expressed the benefits of Dhyana. The procedure of meditation involved sitting on the floor with legs crossed in a squatting position. The posture was supposed to be straight and the head straight also. The eyes were supposed to be closed. The hands were to rest on the two knees. Palms upwards and forefingers of each hand to touch the thumb as shown in all the statues of the Buddha in meditation. It was difficult to close eyes and focus on the self. There were constant distractions of sound and breathing. There was a temptation of looking at other class mates. The eyes wanted to open after short intervals. Constant effort could finally give an experience of some short span of silence from all directions. The void was reached after about an hour or so of concentration on the self. The thoughts interfered with the focus on the self. They wandered from person to person. They kept moving from the past to the present to the future events of life. Insignificant people, places and incidents of life came before the eyes when closed for meditation. Trivial matters floated up in the mind and quickly swept out of the mind also. Faces of known and unknown people, class mates, girls and boys in and around, at parties, in the college canteen and in the apartment intruded the mind for no reasons at all. Sensations of hunger, craving for shopping, items on sale, dress in the window, make up, home, family, members, sad events and happy moments created a mixture of thoughts and feelings in the mind when it was trying to meditate. The effort to meditate became difficult because of all these thoughts entering the space of mind. Concentration was impossible and it showed how we are totally occupied with matters which are not important throughout our lives where as meditation showed the way to take charge of our lives for a positive cause of progress of the self and not to waste it in trivial matters that we give so much importance in every day life. The aim of meditation can be achieved if we can focus on the self. Reach a void within. Ponder in that empty space every day. And awaken to the meaning and purpose of our life on earth. Meditation is the means of understanding our true self. It is the way to remove our ignorance of our own self. It is the way to identify what we want; we should do in life in order to achieve our true aims in this birth. Meditation is the source, the cause and the effect of understanding our true self. Of removing the causes of our suffering and also of working towards a happy state of mind where our surroundings will cease to have control and effect over us. The experience of meditation lead to the understanding of writings by Gishin Tokiwo, Zen views of suffering exactly as it showed how we suffer for unimportant things in life only because of our ignorance of the self, we do not know what we want and so we seek what is not what we wanted in the whole life. Assignment two- Individual Meditation Individual Meditation offered more tranquillity than classroom meditation. I found a quiet place in the area. I sat in the lotus position as per the instructions for posture of meditation. I took the necessary steps to be able to have a meditation without any disturbance from my surroundings. I found individual meditation more effective than classroom meditation where I was conscious of myself and also aware that there were others watching me in the class. Thoughts of unwanted issues intruded my peace of mind. I shunned them aside so as to reach a state of total peace. I tried to achieve a status of void in my mind. I made attempts to stay in that hollow space for as much time as I could. The empty space inside, the state of thoughtlessness and the amount of energy I felt because of that short span of void gave me a feeling of happiness like never before. Meditation in isolation gave me a chance to meet my inner self. It offered me a place of privacy I had never ever realised before. The focus on this empty space gave me an opportunity of knowing myself, getting introduced to the person I was and to learn about the person I was, in this emptiness. For a few minutes I had no thoughts of others but about my self only. Other people, their behaviour and the events around me did not matter but I was alone and very happy to be alone without anyone to bother me about any matter except the one that mattered to me most. To know more of my self. I felt as though I was learning something without the need of books. It made me feel more confident about myself. Meditation gave me an insight about my inner strengths, my weaknesses, and my struggle to please others for no apparent reasons, my fears of failure and my feelings of insecurity in the society. Individual Meditation made me feel as though I was embodied with all the powers of survival in life. I felt better about my self. I got the courage to face my peers. I was not afraid of my results in the exams. I was not feeling any fear for my failure and I could realise that these were only temporary phases of my life. I felt that I was not the only one feeling like this and meditation opened the doors to inner doors of more important issues of self than just appearance, money or results in exams. Individual Meditation as related to the teachings of the Zen, made me understand that we are the creators of our own sufferings. We are the ones who create our own problems. That we are the ones who are the cause of our own suffering. The reason of our suffering is none other than ignorance of our own true self. Individual Meditation can unfold this mystery and lead us to awareness and knowledge which in turn would lead us to true nature of all human beings. That of supreme peace, freedom and fearlessness from all miseries of life. Meditation alone can lead us to the path leading to cessation of suffering. Meditation can open our minds and hearts to the knowledge that there are only four noble truths in life. They are desire, sin, evil and awakening of the self. One who can achieve victory over these four truths has reached nirvana, salvation in life. It is through Meditation that awakening is possible. Awakening lead to emancipation of ignorance. Ignorance lead to cessation of suffering and this end of suffering lead to the ultimate aim of Nirvana of all souls according to the Zen teachings of Buddhism. We are all born to achieve nirvana from this cycle of death and birth as per the teachings of the Zen. Assignment 3- Eat without company, arouse consciousness. Solitude and isolation from near and dear ones helped to remove clutter from daily life. We should endeavour to live with our self for some time of the day. Solitude helped me to connect to myself physically and mentally when I was without the company of friends. A simple activity like eating alone gave me so much information about my self and my behaviour that I had not realised before. It was as though I had never known myself at all. From the time I remember I was always surrounded by people at all times. Fearing to be left out of the crowd meant being lost to me. But after class meditation and individual meditation my perceptions had changed. I was eating alone and I was feeling very comfortable with myself without the company of all the familiar people. Food never meant so important to me, it was only a means of filling up the stomach so I could carry on the whole day. But it meant so much more when I was having it alone. It meant important to me what I was consuming as it was a source of energy not just a matter of gobbling up contents. I had never paid so much attention to what I was eating, how it tasted, what it was made of, who made it, what could have been the process of making it and who all must have been involved in its making. The depth of these questions came up to me only because I was eating alone. I was doing one thing at a time. I was fully focussed on it without the distractions of music, other people, without the serials or games on television. I was absorbed in the one activity of eating and it somehow gave me immense peace to do so. There was no disturbance of any sound while I sat and ate alone. I was looking at the food before me. I could smell the flavour of its ingredients. I could feel the taste without having put it in my mouth. I could feel the actual pleasure of consuming it and identify the sound my fork and knife made when I was cutting it into pieces and finally eating the small morsels of the dish. I was living the moment and understanding every aspect of it in total solitude. It was lesson in details of the present moment and I realised the importance of living in it with full concentration rather than trying to do too many things at the same time. The experience of eating alone gave me a powerful realisation of how much there is to every action that we perform every day a million times of our lives and yet are not aware of it. The experience gave me an awakening that I took everything important for granted and I wasted my time doing things that were not really so beneficial to my ultimate mental and physical growth and spiritual development like gobbling up food, watching too much television, keeping my ears filled with mp3 music all the time, keeping myself occupied with friends and their talks the whole day, browsing the internet for world wide information while I remained ignorant about my own self amidst so called technology, the pressure of studies and the company of my peers around me all the time. Eating alone was no different than meditation. It clarified the readings of the Zen and Buddhism as it taught me that self concentration or Dhyana is the ultimate aim of reaching a state of perfect bliss. Self concentration was the means of achieving focus on the self. According to the Zen teachings of Buddhism, Samadhi is the way of connecting to the self within and this connection is the source of all energy to accomplish all tasks of importance to an individual self. The experience of eating alone, in solitude and in total peace opened the door to yet another realisation of self concentration and its welfare on human beings as a whole. Assignment four- Washing dishes, alone. Washing dishes was a mundane chore of daily life. There was nothing so special about it. I would never have given it so much importance until I had the experience of eating alone. The immense pleasure and knowledge I gained by the previous experience inspired me to try to do things all by myself alone. I tried to pay attention to every little detail in the most ordinary situations like washing dishes. I had never realised that there was so much significance to doing simple errands in life. But I got a strange insight into myself that every fraction of a moment spent in total concentration lead to freedom from it and liberated me from my own ignorance. A person who has attained freedom from worldliness is the tathagatha according to the Zen view of suffering. I had not thought that small things mattered so much to the wellbeing of a person and that they lead to the ultimate emancipation of our deeds. Washing dishes all alone, without the accompaniment of any artificial sound of music, but the flowing of water from the tap. I had kept the television off so there was neither sight nor sound of television but I had total focus on the froth of soap in the sink. I watched my own hands move in beautiful systematic movements over the dirty dishes as though I was watching wonderful scenery from a window. The bubbles of soap created colours from no where and it seemed like magic to see them vanish one by one under the water. I saw the glass plates getting cleaned one by one and I could see the sparkle on them after washing. I saw my own fingers move over them as though they were not my own. I was so engrossed in the effort that I had no other vision but that of my hands, the water, sink, soap and the dishes. I heard no other sound but that of the water flowing out of the tap, the subtle sound of soap and its bubbles and the clink of glass dishes which sounded better than any node of any musical instrument I had ever heard. I saw all this as though I was watching from a distance. I was aloof and I did not feel the presence of my own hands on my body. I was totally involved in the activity which made me realise the power of truth to the self. Nothing else mattered but my activity that very moment. Everything looked beautiful even though it was nothing very extraordinary. I was at peace and I felt happy like never before. I had not felt like that in the best of moments with my friends in the best of parties I had ever attended. Washing dishes opened my inner eyes. Like the teachings of the Zen and view of suffering, I could feel the presence of an inner beauty in every little thing around me. I could sense a pride and pure pleasure in my simple actions. I could feel at peace with myself. I was totally free from pressures of performing my actions and the consequences it would bring upon me. True to the teachings of Buddhism in the Zen and view of suffering, I felt as though I had been liberated from my ignorance of false pride – the ego. By doing simple actions with dignity gave me a feeling of self esteem. It liberated my false notion that washing dishes was an ugly unimportant boring action forced upon me by others or by demands of time when I lived alone. Just like the Maya represented unawakened beings, not free from worldliness, the womb as the source of self afflicting passions, I felt as though I was born again. I was out of the womb of my inhibitions. I was born as a free minded person who had the power to break off from suffering. Washing dishes was a suffering till that day but it became a task of beauty, marvel and synchrony of my own body movements. My own hands and fingers gave me the feeling of capabilities of creating beautiful moments in my own life. Assignment five- un employed, un occupied, at attention in a Mall. Meditation awakened an insight into different types of self awareness. The technique of concentration could be practiced amidst crowds of strangers. The concepts of meditation can be practiced even when in a fully crowded area. And that self awareness was possible even while standing was another lesson I learnt from this exercise with relation to the teachings of the Zen and Buddhism. I walked to the nearby Mall. The shops were flooded with people as it was a Sunday. There was brisk activity of people shopping, eating, and moving around with little children. There were a lot of sound, different types but loud and noisy atmosphere in the Mall. I stood there alone. Isolated. I looked absolutely different that any person present in the shopping place. I was not moving. I had no shopping to do. I had no aim of meeting any one and I was all alone. Even in a crowd of people, I was all alone. I stood in the middle of everyone. They pushed me aside to make way to move. They said things to me while they did so. But I stood there undisturbed. Aloof. Un attached and un employed to any of the activities that would make me a part of the scene. I did not pretend to be a part of the world as I stood there in the Mall. I tried to connect to my inner self. It was a weird feeling at first. I could see that people gave me strange looks. But I was steadfast in my intentions of meditation while standing. I cut off all the sounds one by one with my inner self. I aligned my focus from the outside to the inside. I was in the same busy Mall but I was alone. I could feel the peace within. I had reached the void space that I was looking for. The people who touched me to make way did not affect me. Their words did not touch me or make me angry at all. They did not exist. I was standing there alone. All by myself. In total peace and tranquillity. Like a Tathagatha. In Samadhi. In Dhyana. The teachings of the Zen in his writings about suffering and Buddhism became very clear to me now. The teachings that we created our own surroundings by our ignorance and that we ourselves gave rise to our own suffering as per the teachings of the Zen became evident to me as I stood there in the Mall alone by myself surrounded by strangers and noise. I realised that the exterior did not matter as long as we stayed connected to our true self. What others say or do does not matter as long as we are true to our inner self. Being honest to the moment of the time was the lesson I learnt. The outside worlds was just an illusion created by our own minds where as the true self was always guiding us to the finer goals of life was the relevance of this experience to the readings in Zen, View of suffering. I had learnt to de socialise from the world. I was not afraid of being alone anymore. I was at peace with myself. I was not restless and self conscious as I stood alone in the Mall. I did not have to give vent to my stressed up or suppressed emotions through body language of moving uncomfortably. I was stronger than before. Least nervous of my identity and I had accepted what and who I was. I was not feeling engrossed by what others thought about me. I was focussed on my self. My inner space gave me freedom and security like no other person or place could ever give me before. The teachings of the Zen were true word to word after my experience of standing alone in the busy Mall. Assignment six- ride in an Elevator. The ride in an elevator is nothing unusual at all. To think that such an event could impart lessons of spirituality was absurd to me until I had begun to study Buddhism. I entered the elevator like always but this time I entered and did not turn my self towards the others in side the lift. I looked at the blank metal wall of the elevator. I could feel the strange looks the people around me gave me as I stood unlike them. I could feel their bodies against mine at some time. I could see them giving me funny looks as they entered and walked out at their floors. But I kept my posture and my back towards them just as I was supposed to. The experience in the Mall had given me enough courage to stand up to be an isolated individual who could not be affected by anyone or anything around him. I stood there until I had reached the bottom floor. I could sense the emptiness of the elevator as each one walked out of it. I could feel that there was no one in it. Then I turned and walked out of the elevator after everyone else had gone. I was self conscious for a few minutes and I could feel the pressure of being the focus of attention in the elevator for the first few minutes. But I soon recovered from my self consciousness as I awakened myself to the teachings of the Zen to suffering. Self concentration was the key to all freedom of existence I realised. I brought it to my realisation again and once the awakening had entered my mind I was at perfect harmony with myself with the other people who occupied the elevator with me. I was devoid of their presence. I felt bold inside me. I could sense the gravitation pull of the elevator going down. I could feel the presence of men and women inside the elevator without having to see them. I did not feel the urge to look around any more. I was not self conscious of my back to them. Their stares at me did not disturb me. I did not get affected by their back glances at me even though I could see with my back towards them. It was as though I had an eye on my back. I felt the sense of vision without my eyes. I could see without actually looking and I could feel without touching. I did not feel any presence of their bodies against mine but still I had a sense of presence like a living person. My awareness of my self had distinguished the difference of being self conscious and of being conscious of the self. I had attained the basic knowledge of the self. I felt so liberated to be away from people even when I was a part of them. I felt absolutely free. I felt happy. I felt fearless that nothing could touch me and that no one could bother me if I was aware of my own inner self. I realised that meditation was possible even in a standing position. I realised that I could find peace even when there was noise around me. I could understand that the others did not make a difference to my life and actions. And that they were not important at all. I was important. The self within me was of utmost importance and the true self was that mattered not the one people saw standing facing the blank wall of the elevator. My experience related to the teaching of the Zen that I was listening to the ultimate truth without relying on any other, anything without any form. That I was my true self alone. That my suffering was none other than the one I had given opportunity to and that I was in absolute state of happiness or without suffering if I could attain the void inside me. Assignment seven- the world of cruelty and selfish behaviour. The television news channels projected news of child abuse by a single mother. The newspaper story on the front page gave pictures of a young baby thrown out of the window by his own mother in a fit of rage. These two stories are just a few among other crime and violence that has risen in the world in the past few decades. The quality of human beings has deteriorated in modern lives. No one thinks of any one else but is focussed on the self. This self focus in not the same as promoted by the Zen and his view on suffering. Many people misinterpret the self with the ego and many practice the indulgence in their own self under the name of self focus. But Zen made it clear that the self attached to the four noble truths could never attain the real inner self and could never achieve a state of bliss or emancipation of suffering from meditations. I meditated on the event of the mother throwing her nine month old baby out of her tenth floor apartment window because he was crying and she could not handle him alone. I had focussed on the scene as I had read it in the newspaper. I reached the inner space of quietude and could see the event as though it was happening before my very own eyes. I could feel the body of the cuddly baby. I could see the shabby state in which the twenty-one year old mother lived on the tenth floor of a shanty tower. I could see that there was nothing to eat and drink for the mother. She was uneducated. She was jobless. She had no support. She had no one who claimed to be the father of her baby. The baby was starving and crying out to express his need. The mother had had a fight with her new boy friend and was upset that he had not helped her with money. She was angry at her own affairs and suffering and had lost control over her self. She had had none before also. She had lived up to satisfy her four truths, of desire, sin, and evil and had never found opportunity to awaken to her inner self. The young mother did not know what she was doing. His actions were mixed up with her past and future. Her present was out of control as he could not identify her present. She repeated the mistakes of her past by letting her present go astray. The baby was only living up to its survival needs but the mother could not cope with the demand of time. She had not identified with her true self and was engrossed in selfish aims in life so this led her to end her suffering by doing another evil deed to add up to the others she had always done. The baby was not in a position to govern his thoughts and actions as the mother is Maya who is totally responsible for the suffering or well being of her child until he is grown up enough to have his own thoughts and mind. This event played before my eyes when I meditated and it clearly awakened me to how ignorance of truth lead to misery of human beings. The perpetrator was behaving in a normal fashion of an ignorant un awakened person. She did not know what was true about her own self. She had not tried to connect to her inner self in order to identify her root cause of misery. She gave extraordinary importance to actions of short lived pleasures which had no ultimate welfare for human beings. I put myself in the shoes of the Perpetrator and I found that it was not so abnormal for her to be cruel to her child. On the basis that she herself had been raised in a similar unkind manner. The fact that society did not give her opportunity of learning about the finer virtues of human beings like compassion, honesty and truthfulness lead her to behave in a base manner un fit for human with a high intellectual capacity. The teachings of Buddhism, Zen and views of suffering enlighten this very basis of human behaviour and how it lead to suffering and misery. When analysed the story gives perspective of how the past catches up with the present and if not handled with knowledge lead to a worse future for the same human being. But on the other hand an individual who had been brought up with teachings of Buddhism or high values of life in his childhood would not react to a situation in this manner at all. A self aware person would concentrate on the situation and fulfil his responsibilities as a mother instead of shunning them like this mother did. A person grown up with meditation and self focus would firstly never get involved in short term bodily pleasures of creating babies without providing for them. The true essence of mother had been violated by this mother who aimed at satisfying her worldly pleasures all her life. She was devoid of any connection to her own self. She had no sense of direction to her life. Her aims were not aimed at her well being so she eventually created nothing but suffering for her self . She was the cause of her misery and she did nothing to elevate herself from it. The teachings of the Zen could have had a positive effect on her. People like her would rise above suffering and could contribute towards a superior self if they knew about the teachings of Buddhism. Assignment 8 – Act of compassion. There were so many destitute I had seen every day. They had failed to arouse my compassion any more. I was totally un aware of their presence and I felt un attached to their misery. The teachings of Buddhism and the practice of meditation gave rise to the sensitive aspects of my own self. I could feel the tingling of fresh breeze when I walked to college. I could hear the sounds of birds and bees through the park. I could see the people who lived in underprivileged circumstances in the same surroundings as I lived in my plush apartment on the 14 floor. They had never mattered to me for so long but meditation had awakened my finer senses and I had decided to reach out to them one day. It was Christmas time and I had planned a party at my apartment for all my friends. I had saved up enough money for the event. A week before Christmas I saw a child from this shanty town asking me for some money. I had asked him why and he had told me that he wanted to buy a new pair of socks for his little baby brother as he did not have any to keep him warm. This information had awakened me to the fact that I should rise above myself. I should rise above the four truths of the noble path. I decided to cut down my party by half the expense and donated the remaining money for the whole family of this little boy. I took him to a nearby sale with me and bought woollens for his baby brother, mother, father and the little boy. His face was overjoyed and for the first time I felt a strong sense of joy like never before. The connection to my inner self had become stronger. I did not feel the need to associate with the people who I wanted to help. They did not have to known to me nor related to me at all. Compassion was within us but we had to reach out to it by deep insight only possible through meditation. â€Å"If you realise that whatever you do, or however you are, ultimately fails to hold good, then what you do, you do† is the essence learnt from the Zen views of suffering and tenets of Buddhism. One had to rise above his own self, forget his physical form, his own identity with respect to others and only then humans could achieve freedom from misery. The teachings illustrated this realisation when I did what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. I had no connection with these people and yet they became a part of my life. I could feel happy by my actions and the same actions could have brought me misery once upon a time. The Zen teaching made me realise that we truly governed our misery and that we only could relieve ourselves from it. Compassion was a virtue that did not need special learning. We were imbibed with it and that we did not need to have extraordinary resources to perform acts of compassion. There were ample opportunities to acts of kindness if we were aware of our capability to do so. We could be kind to any one on the street without having to go out of our ways to help him or her in her time of need. The amount of positivity we earned by performing acts of kindness only strengthened the teachings of the Zen and his views of suffering in our daily life. It was possible to apply these teachings in every step of our day if only we were aware of our inner selves and if we connected to the source of origin of all energy within us. Assignment ten- give up something for the welfare of the planet. The very basis of Buddhism and its teachings is non violence, truth, acceptance and surrender of the self to the self and to the universe. The aim of Buddhism is to help every human being achieve nirvana. The goal of Buddhism teachings is to attain Samadhi or to reach a state of total bliss, emptiness through self realisation. To renounce ignorance and awaken to the understanding of the self as a part of the universe. The modern humans have used their brain power to enhance technology into our daily lives so much so that we are not aware of our total dependence on it everyday. We have destroyed tiny creatures inhabiting this planet with us to build empires of magnitude over the destruction of natural resources of the earth like mountains, rivers, sea and air, All these contradict the teachings of Buddhism. I decided to make my contribution to earth by planting more trees in and around my area whenever I saw deforestation for new buildings in the locality. I made sure I planted trees and shrubs that grew naturally in that area so that I could conserve the tiny species of insects, animals and birds that lived on these wild herbs. I did not want to beautify it with plants from the nursery but I wanted to preserve the natural foliage for saving the lives of all those who depended on it. I sacrificed my entertainment funds to buy trees and plant them nearby. I spent my time of partying on week ends to look after these trees instead. Every new leaf on the plants would revive my faith in my self. This action gave me confidence on how we could save the planet with small individual efforts rather than talk big and plan big for the government system to execute in the state. I have realised that when actions arise out of inner inspiration there is no sacrifice in them. There is absolutely no feeling of being deprived of neither time nor money when you are involved in an action which originated from your mind and heart for a noble cause you believed in. The money I spent to buy the trees did not pinch me a bit. I did not miss not seeing those movies and those outings with friends. I was nourished by an extra inner energy which boosted me for more such actions above my own self. The week end hours I sacrificed with my friends did not feel like a sacrifice but gave me immense satisfaction in the end of the day. I realised how much I could do to better the lives of all around me not just for my self but for the betterment of all. I learnt so much about environment I had never learnt through the internet. Physical work gave me good physique and I saved up the money I spent on gymnasiums instead. This activity in turn gave me an appetite for food so I cooked good meals and had sumptuous food instead of fast food junk I used to eat before. My overall health improved to an extent never before so how could I ever call this a sacrifice? I realised that the inner self was the source of well being. Not harming others and thinking of others gave rise to inner potential. I awakened to the fact that I had the capacity and the capability to do anything all alone. I understood that others did not create my misery. I felt free as I realised I had the power to create my own happiness. Meditation opened up inner doors to the treasures of human qualities that are hidden in each one of us. The Zen view of suffering unfolded all the ignorance I had about my problems. The teachings of Buddhism taught me to live free, fearless and with peace even if I was in the middle of a shopping mall, a crowded elevator or a class full of boisterous peers. I could still find my own space of perfect peace and tranquillity in the same world. I could connect to my inner self to be able to reach out to the universe in return.