The Presence of Darkness in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Essay

The Presence of Darkness in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues In the story Sonny's Blues the author, James Baldwin, uses the image of darkness quite frequently. He uses it first when the older brother (main character) talks about his younger brother Sonny. He says that when Sonny was younger his face was bright and open. He said that he didn't want to believe that he would ever see his "brother going down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out." Meaning he had gone from good (clean and innocent) to bad ( giving into drugs like so many of the other young people). The older brother then goes on to talk about his students and how they had limited possibilities stating that "all they really knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives, which was know closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness, and in which they now vindictively dreamed, at once more together than they were at any time and more alone." He believes that there is little opportunity for these kids to get out of the pretty much doomed future they have with drug addiction and crime being what it is in the city. There was one boy whistling through the "harsh, bright air," while the other boys were laughing in their unforgiving way. The brightness of this boys whistling could symbolise that some of them do get out and make something of themselves ( bright futures). The author then uses darkness to describe the faces of the adults on Sunday evenings after dinner when everyone is relaxing with their own thought's. "For a moment nobody's talking but every face looks darkening, like the sky outside...The silence, the darkness coming and the darkness in the faces frighten the child obscurel... ... way they are moving from the bad things all around them into the good, that is, the music. In this way they are in a way escaping from the darkness that is around them every day even if only for a short time. It's the only light they have. This is when the author uses the image of darkness for the last time. " For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness." This supports that their music is the only thing that is totally good in their lives. With all the violence and despair that is around them all of the time, music is the only way they can free themselves. Work Cited Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues." The Norton introduction to Fiction. 6th ed. Ed. Jerome Beaty. New York: Norton, 1996. 47-70.

My mobile phone

My mobile phone – the ‘phone 5. My mobile phone is called the Iphone 5 and it is producted by Apple. It costs $850 plus taxes. I tried using it over the weekend and thought it was fantastic. I have given it four stars. This was a gift which my mother gave me on my birthday. Firstly, mobile phones are one of the most popular tools in life. There are many benefits when I use my mobile phone. It Is famous for Its light and application software. Before that, I used to have another smartphone, but it was very heavy. Now, when I have my favourite mobile phone, I eel that It Is better than the old one.It Is quick and convenient for me to call, text and keep In touch with each other despite long distances. In addition, It can help me surf the Internet easily and simply. It also helps users to find Information online, check emails, look up new words any time and anywhere. After a busy day, I can entertain myself through playing games, listening to music and reading newspapers. Th erefore, after doing so, I think that It Is necessary for me to study well. Secondly, although it has many good features, it also has some bad aspects egarding colour and battery.The ‘phone 5 has two colours black and white. You do not have many choices when you buy it. I bought the white one, but I think it looks monotonous and boring. It also has a problem with its battery. You cannot use it longer than 8 hours without recharging it. Sometimes it does not have enough battery for me to use when I have emergency situations. In general, my mobile phone is not bad if it is being used wisely. People use smartphone like accessory. It makes peoples' lives more enjoyable. It is a great and common mobile phone nowadays.

Business Studies – Investigating three shops

The following assignment investigates people and work at three different stores. The first is Sainsbury's Savacentre, a hypermarket located in Beckton. Very wide ranges of items are sold here, not just groceries but clothes and technology too. I have also chosen two specialist shops, each selling a product available in the hypermarket. I have selected ‘The Card Shop' as one of my specialist shops. This is a store, local to my area, specialising in the sale of greetings cards, one of the products made available by the hypermarket. In addition to this, I have chosen Kashmir Store as a specialist shop. This small family run business specialises in the selling of halal meat and certain Asian foods. The Savacentre hypermarket has recently begun to sell some of these products in-store. The aim of this report is to address certain key ideas related to work and industry. This assignment hopes to demonstrate the key ideas in a work environment. The principal key ideas tackled in this project are listed below. 1) There is an important relationship between the level of technology and the nature of work. 2) Workers in different industries are interdependent and modern industry is characterised by specialisation. 3) The way in which industry is organised has an important effect on job satisfaction. Key idea number one suggests that certain types of work require higher levels of technology than other types of work. For example, I would expect office workers to use more technology in the way of photocopiers and computers than builders who use less technology such as cement mixers. Key idea number two suggests that workers from different industries are interdependent. That is to say, the computer manufacturing industry is dependent on the retail industry to sell its product. One cannot survive without the other. Furthermore, the key idea states that modern industry is characterised by specialisation. This means that industry today is specialised and specific or fills a niche. Overall, this key idea implies that because industries are very specific, they may be limited and therefore need to be interdependent. This is analogous to a newspaper and a newsagent. The production of a newspaper is a specialised industry as is the newsagent. Both however are interdependent as the paper cannot be sold without the newsagent and the newsagent will suffer financially without the newspaper. Finally, the third key idea suggests that job satisfaction is influenced by the way in which industry is organised. Job satisfaction is a term to describe how much a person enjoys their job and finds it fulfilling. Industry organisation can lead to poor or very good job satisfaction. This can affect workers quite drastically. For example, poor job satisfaction may lead to inefficient work and high employee turnover, which is not good for the company or industry. In order to find out if these hypotheses are true for the retail industry and more importantly, for the shops that I have chosen, I will carry out two methods of investigation, a questionnaire and general observation. By collecting data using a questionnaire, a large sample can be targeted and answers compared amongst respondents. Due to time restrictions and work place limitations, a structured interview will not be employed. Instead, a questionnaire will be used so that staff can respond in their own time. However, questionnaires are rather limited in the types of data they generate. Boredom in filling out the forms can also lead to falsified results. To combat this, I will directly observe workers. This technique allows for study of behaviour in the ‘natural setting'. The interaction between workers can be studied, as can the behaviour and attitude of individuals. In an ideal situation, I would use participant observation instead but as it is unrealistic to take up employment in order to join the workers, I will just observe as a customer. I will carry out direct observation by visiting the stores and making notes on employee behaviour. I will then obtain questionnaire information by ringing the stores in question for permission to carry out my research. Once this has been established, I will visit the shops and then distribute questionnaires amongst the staff. The research will be carried out in this order to prevent staff from changing their behaviour after filling in their questionnaires.

Civil Rights of a Fetus - Law, Philosophy and Religion

Civil Rights of a Fetus - Law, Philosophy and Religion The Roe majority ruling of 1973 holds that the government has a legitimate interest in protecting potential human life, but that this does not become a compelling state interestoverriding the womans Fourteenth Amendment right to privacy, and her subsequent right to terminate her pregnancyuntil the point of viability, then assessed at 24 weeks. The Supreme Court did not state that viability is or is not when a fetus becomes a person; just that this is the earliest point at which it can be proven that the fetus has the capacity to have a meaningful life as a person. The Planned Parenthood v. Casey Standard In the Casey ruling of 1992, the Court scaled back the viability standard from 24 weeks to 22 weeks. Casey also holds that the state may protect its profound interest in potential life so long as it does not do so in a way that has the intent or effect of posing an undue burden on the womans right to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability. In Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), the Supreme Court held that a ban on live intact DX (partial birth) abortions does not violate this standard. In Fetal Homicide Statutes Laws that treat the murder of a pregnant woman as a double murder arguably affirm fetal rights in a statutory manner. Because the attacker has no right to terminate the womans pregnancy against her will, it could be argued that the states interest in protecting potential life is unrestricted in cases of fetal homicide. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the matter of whether fetal homicide, on its own, may constitute grounds for capital punishment. Under International Law The only treaty that specifically grants rights to fetuses is the American Convention on Human Rights of 1969, signed by 24 Latin American countries, which states that human beings have rights beginning at the moment of conception. The United States is not a signatory to this treaty. The treaty does not require that signatories ban abortion, according to the most recent binding interpretation. In Philosophy Most philosophies of natural rights would hold that fetuses have rights when they become sentient or self-aware, which presumes a neurophysiological definition of personhood. Self-awareness as we generally understand it would require substantial neocortical development, which seems to occur at or near week 23. In the premodern era, self-awareness was most often presumed to occur at quickening, which generally takes place around the 20th week of pregnancy. In Religion Religious traditions holding that personhood rests in the presence of a non-physical soul differ with respect to the question of when the soul is implanted. Some traditions hold that this occurs at the moment of conception, but most hold that this occurs much later in the pregnancy, at or near quickening. Religious traditions that do not include belief in a soul do not generally tend to define fetal personhood in explicit terms. The Future of Fetal Rights The conundrum posed by abortion rests in the tension between a womans right to terminate her pregnancy and the potential rights of the potential human being. Medical technologies currently under development, such as fetal transplantation and artificial wombs, could one day eliminate this tension, deprecating abortion in favor of procedures that terminate the pregnancy without harming the fetus.

How to Plan a Traditional Chinese Wedding

How to Plan a Traditional Chinese Wedding While Chinese weddings have become infused with Western wedding traditions, most Chinese weddings maintain some traditional cultural elements. Do you want to know how to plan a traditional Chinese wedding? From the engagement to the ceremony, heres what you should know. 1. Plan the Perfect Engagement As in Western culture, before a wedding, there must first be an engagement. In the past, most Chinese families relied on arranged marriages, but today, the majority of couples find their own match and marry for love. However, some elements of a traditional Chinese  wedding engagement remain intact. For example, the grooms family will typically send a betrothal gift to the brides family, which typically includes food and cakes. These gifts help seal the engagement. In addition to betrothal gifts, both the bride and grooms family will consult a fortune teller whose role is to help the family determine if the couple is compatible for marriage. The fortune teller will use various things such as names, birth dates, and time of birth to analyze compatibility. If all goes well, the couple will set a date for their marriage. 2. Choose the Right Dress For many Chinese women, picking the perfect wedding gown actually means picking three dresses. The typical traditional dress is called a qipao, which has been worn in China since the 17th century. Most women will wear one red qipao, a white Western-style gown, and a third ball gown throughout the night. The dresses are changed throughout the reception after courses are served. Some brides will even opt for a fourth dress, which they wear as they are saying their goodbyes as guests depart the wedding. 3. Invite Guests Traditional  Chinese wedding invitations are typically red and placed within a red envelope. Unlike the red envelopes used to give gifts of money, wedding invitation envelopes are typically wider and longer. The text is usually written in gold, which is a symbol of wealth in Chinese culture. Like in Western culture, the invitation features important information about the celebration. However, invitations are sometimes only mailed or hand presented several weeks or days before the wedding, as opposed to many months. The double happiness character, shuÄ ngxÇ Ã‚  (é›™åâ€"Å") is often written somewhere on the invitation. 4. Choose Decor Decorations at a typical Chinese wedding are usually provided by the reception venue. The Chinese character for happiness is often hung upside down as a symbol for the arrival of happiness. In addition to Chinese symbols, decor may include lights, candles, and flowers similar to those youd find at a typical Western wedding. Venues will often have a stage where the bridge and groom stands before the reception begins and while toasts are being made. Guests are not invited to the exchanging of vows, so the reception is the first time they see the couple.

Discusses a topical or current issue in microeconomics Essay

Discusses a topical or current issue in microeconomics - Essay Example Microsoft Corporation recently launched its latest innovation of the surface tablet at Windows 8 launch event with the aim of competing Google Inc and Apple Inc that are currently the main players in the computing market (Desai 46). Microsoft is attempting to reinvent the Windows personal computer in a new format to challenge Apple’s iPAD. It has twice the amount of storage capacity as the iPAD and costs the same price. The 32 GB Surface costs $499 while the full-sized iPAD of 16GB costs the same price. During its launch, Panos Panay, the head of the project demonstrated the tablet features such as the ultra thin cover that doubles up as the key board. He also dropped it on the floor to demonstrate its durability (Benassy-Quere 48). The question is to whether this innovation will convince consumers in this highly challenging economic time. According to Temi Reller, the finance and marketing director of Windows, 40 million licences of Windows 8 licences were sold in the first month. However, according to NPD research, Windows PC sales have dropped despite the release of the surface tablet (Desai 48). The sales have dropped by 21% by the 21st of October 2012 as compared to the 11th of November the previous year. The demand for windows 8 has not been commendable at all as remarked Asus CFO David Chang. In fact, Microsoft has had to reduce its order for Windows 8 down from four million to two million. During the time of Windows 7, it accounted to about 83% of PC sales. Today, only 58% of windows buyers opt for Windows 8. Despite the discrepancies, most marketers have elicited faith in the sales of these tablets. IHS iSuppli predicts over one million sales of the surface tablets in the last quarter of this year. In fact, the firm estimates a 1.3 million sale. It is undoubtedly a tough way forward for Microsoft to gain ground in the tablet market (Neely 46). The law of demand is experienced in

Career and Technical Education Challenges in the 21st Century Research Paper

Career and Technical Education Challenges in the 21st Century - Research Paper Example The career of a person is interdependent upon the field and area of the technical education he or she opts to select and get higher education. High schools play an essential and vital role for the career guidance of the students. In addition, they have developed into central body of interest and awareness for the improvement and development of the learning of the students (Sunal &Â  Mutua, pp. 1-9). The potential expectations of providing of career and technical education at the advanced level in the schools have come under many grave arguments and discussions on regional, and country levels. However, several countries and government are becoming conscious and aware about the tasks and job that a high school performs in the development of the career and technical education for a student, therefore, the program of study are coming under reformation as a part of the curriculum. The focus and emphasis by the high schools are on to the broad range of professional occupations that are in high-demand in the industry and that are high-earning careers. In addition, many of the advanced level schools are provide the students with the opportunity of exposure to these wide ranged professions existing in the world of commerce (Kazis &Â  Jobs for the Future, Inc & Aspen Institute, pp. 10-15). It can come under adequate conclusion that the tendency and ability of attainment, accomplishments and achievements augments for those students who receive career and technical education and learning in their schools of advanced level. In addition, as they pass out with better grades in contrast to the students who do not get the opportunities to have such teaching (Kazis &Â  Jobs for the Future, Inc & Aspen Institute, 23-30). As discrimination especially with the immigrants and minorities is one of the major factors that come under the experience in the professional world, but with the career and technical training offered and obtainable to them will lead to