Monday, December 30, 2019

Give Your Child a Chance at Life - 667 Words

Abortion is one of the many topics that everyone has an opinion about. Whether you are for or against it everyone has an opinion about it. In our society it is a huge controversial issue that everyone is dealing with on a religious, personal or political aspect. Even though it was declared that abortion is a fundamental right in 1973 there is still debate about it on many different levels. Countless religious affiliations are against it, saying that unborn babies are human beings at the moment of conception, and have the right to life. Catholics are one of the biggest groups that is against abortion; it is in their belief that life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death. In their eyes abortion is morally because it is taking the life of an innocent human being, born or unborn. Whether a human being is five or fifty or even one day old there should be respect for human life. If someone decides to kills a twenty year old girl it is considered murder. Unlike Cathol ics, many people do not look at abortion as murder, but as a way to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Catholics believe that murder is sinful and immoral and that an unborn child should have the option to live and not be murder by it’s own mother. Abortion also defies the sixth commandment from God that states â€Å"Thou shalt not kill†. No matter what the circumstances are an innocent human being was conceived and nobody should have the right to take that unborn child’s life away. Many young girlsShow MoreRelatedEssay on Pro and Cons of Abortion658 Words   |  3 Pagesnothing of it to go to the clinic as many as five times in their life to have an abortion. A con against abortion is the nagging thought that a woman went to a clinic, had an abortion, and thus the world was prevented from seeing the birth of the only person capable of attaining a leadership role and initiating a peace accord between warring factions in the Middle East, thus preventing decades of strife and murder. A stable home life is not a guarantee of talent, and illegitimate children haveRead MoreExamples Of Persuasive Speech On Adoption882 Words   |  4 Pagesto be at in life, and then there’s some of us who aren’t quite there yet. Imagine meeting that special someone, fall in love, and get married. Now you and your spouse decide that your ready to start a family. After multiple times of trying and help with many medications prescribed by your doctor or specialist th ere is still no children. You become discouraged and start to feel like your marriage is being strained because of stress and pressure to get pregnant. A few years pass but your constantlyRead MoreShould LBTG Adoption Be Allowed? Essay788 Words   |  4 Pagesit gives orphans a chance to feel what it is like to be in a loving family, it gives parents that are either sterile or barren to have children of their own, and it gives many people a great chance to be in the type of family that many people are so happily in. Maybe someone that you know might be adopted; maybe you were adopted, now just think if adoption was illegal. Many people feel like it should be illegal. So allow me to announce my first reason why adoption should be allowed. It gives orphansRead MoreStrict And Well Rounded Parenting1137 Words   |  5 PagesHave you ever thought of why your parents treat you the way they do? Many parents treat their kids differently. There really isn’t a correct way of parentin g, it’s mostly based on the parent’s own opinion on how parenting should be handled. There are plenty of different parents out there such as strict parents, laid back parents, or even ones that just flat out don’t care what their child does or says. Strict and well-rounded parenting are some of the better options at your disposal. When kids grow upRead MoreAbortion Is Not The Only Option983 Words   |  4 Pagescircumstances their life is still precious, and important. If a woman doesn’t think that she could keep a baby because of how they were conceived, abortion is not the only option. The woman could have her baby adopted whether through an agency, or done privately with parents she could get to know personally. If the mother decides to have her baby adopted then she has a lot of options to decide from, somewhere if in a few years when she knows she’s ready she can have the choice to get to know her child. TheseRead MoreAbortion is Murder Essay 1424 Words   |  6 PagesAnthony are against abortion. Susan B. Anthony was an American civil rights leader in the 19th century (â€Å"Susan B. Anthony†). Many people were against the idea of abortion until the 19th century. A lot of states felt that, even though in the womb, the child still has rights in this world. Around the 1960’s is when people started supporting abortions. They wanted it to be legalized even though they very well knew the dangers of having abortions. Some religions as well were for abortion, such as the JewishRead More Adopted Children Should Know T Essay562 Words   |  3 Pages â€Å"Giving birth is like pulling your lower lip over your head† -Carol Lucawikz When a mother gives birth to her child it is the ultimate bonding experience. And when a mother gives her child up for adoption, it is a selfless act for the child’s best interests, but not a painless one. Every parent that is involved in an adoption arrangement will wonder and worry about their child for many days of many years. Curiosity is powerful, and it is not uncommon to long to be reunited with one’s own fleshRead MoreThe Risks of In Vitro Fertilization Essay1091 Words   |  5 PagesHow much are couples willing to risk in order conceiving a child? Is In-vitro fertilization worth the risk of your child being stillborn, or having birth defects? There are many Pros and Cons on this topic. For many couples dream’s that have been vanished with the possibility of having a child of its own blood, IVF might be worth the risk. Although you do have a risk of running into this problem, how likely is it for your child to encounter them. Invitro fertilization is an effective means ofRead MoreThe Effects Of Abortion On Women s Body1090 Words   |  5 Pagesabortions as a form of some type of birth control. Abortion isn’t just a small matter it’s a great matter it’s the difference in life and death literally. This procedure was legalized in the 1973 Supreme Court cases of Roe vs. Wade, and Doe vs. Boston. The harmful effects of abortions on a women body Its many things that can happen during and after the procedure that can ruin your body physically. You may even start to get an infection or obtain a bladder injury from the abortion you received the symptomsRead MoreAbortion vs Adoption Comparative Essay1090 Words   |  5 Pages What are your thoughts on abortion and adoption? Is one better than the other? Many Americans will say that adoption and abortion are the same, and it does not matter which one is chosen, because at the end of the day, the child is still gone. I disagree. Abortion is senseless when adoption is a much better option for someone in an unwanted pregnancy. Some comparisons of abortions and adoptions exist. Abortions and adoptions are both considered as giving up the child. An abortion is

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Piaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development - 1132 Words

Psychologist Jean Piaget was the first to make a study surrounding the theory of cognitive development. The interesting thing about Piaget’s way of studying was that he was more concerned about how children’s thoughts got to the answer in relation to their IQ rather than simply their ability to answer a question correctly. The cognitive development theory detailed observational studies of cognition in children by a series of tests, which furthermore revealed different cognitive abilities. Before Piaget’s study, it was assumed that because children are younger, they are less competent thinks than that of adults. However, test results showed that it was actually quite opposite; young children simply think in remarkably different ways than adults. â€Å"According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and knowledge is based,† (McLeod). What made his theory so much different than his colleagues is that Piaget focused on three aspects: strictly children, development rather than learning, and discrete stages of development marked by qualitative differences rather than a gradual increase. The main goal of this was to explain the process in which infants and children develop into an individual who can reason and think using hypotheses. â€Å"[It] was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience. Children construct anShow MoreRelatedPiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1289 Words   |  6 Pagesare many great cognitive theorists, but the one that comes to mind is a development psychologist by the name of Jean Piaget. One of his prized declaration was in 1934, where he declared that education is capable of saving our society from collapsing whether its violent or gradual. Piaget had a key effect on education and psychology, and because of that effect he made many contributions to learning and to cognition. One of most important contribution was a model that was made by Piaget. This modelRead MorePiaget s Cognitive Development Theory1077 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Piaget (1957), cognitive development was a continuous restructuring of mental processes due to varied situations and experiencing the world and maturing biologically. His view of cognitive development would have us look inside a child’s head and glimpse the inborn process of change that thinking goes through. â€Å"He was mainly interested in the biological influences on â€Å"how we come to know’† (Huitt and Hummel, 2003). Piaget’s views helps us to have appropriate expectations about children’sRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1813 Words   |  8 Pages ECH-130 Sociocultural Tables LLlllll Cognitive Development Definition Examples of Application of Concept Strategies to Support and/or Assess Learning Birth to Age 5/Pre-K Piaget Sensorimotor stage: :the first stage Piaget uses to define cognitive development. During this period, infants are busy discovering relationships between their bodies and the environment. Researchers have discovered that infants have relatively well developed sensory abilities An infant who recently learned how to rollRead MorePiaget s Cognitive Theory And Cognitive Development1494 Words   |  6 Pages 1) Examine how Piaget’s cognitive theory can help to explain the child’s behavior. Piaget confirms â€Å"Each cognitive stage represents a fundamentally new psychological reorganization resulting from maturation of new functions and abilities† (as in Greene, 2009, p.144). The case Vignette describes Victors’ stages of development through Piaget’s stages of cognitive development as exhibited behavior that occurred during the sensorimotor, preoperational, as established areas. Victor experienced a normalRead MorePiaget s Theory On Cognitive Development1449 Words   |  6 Pagesstrengths and weaknesses of Piaget’s theory on cognitive development. It will focus on Piaget’s work highlighting positive attributes and how they’re being applied in modern day and also delve on key limitations of the theory. Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who was interested on why children would give similar but wrong answers in an intelligence test (Vidal, 1994). Based on his observations, he concluded that children undergo sequential cognitive d evelopment patterns which occur in defined stagesRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development969 Words   |  4 Pages20th century, the development of psychology is constantly expanding. Erikson and Piaget are two of the ealier well known theorist, both being significant in the field. Their belief s are outlined in Piaget s Cognitive Development Theory and Erikson s Psychosocial Development Theory. These theories, both similar and different, have a certain significance as the stages are outlined.Erikson and Piaget were similar in their careers and made huge progressions in child development and education. WithRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1519 Words   |  7 Pagesrelates to both Piaget and Vygotskian theories in the sense that they describe how the child s mind develops through different forms of stimuli that occur during early childhood. Piaget s theory focuses mainly on things such as; how children think; how the world around them is perceived and how th e newly found information is explained through the language they use. Vygotsky s theory however differs as the effects of different forms of social interaction occur in cognitive development such as; internalisation;Read MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1111 Words   |  5 PagesPiaget’s theory of cognitive development Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was based around his belief that children will develop their intelligence through a series of stages: Sensorimotor (birth – 2yrs), Preoperational (2-7yrs), Concrete Operational (7-11yrs) and Formal Operational (11+). He believed these stages to be invariant, the same stages taking place in a fixed order, and universal, the same for every child regardless of their background or culture. (McLeod, 2015) Piaget believedRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development Essay1790 Words   |  8 PagesCognitive developmental theories provide a framework for understanding about how children act and perceive the world. However, every theory has both strengths and weaknesses. A certain theory may explain one aspect of cognitive development very well, but poorly address or completely ignore other aspects that are just as important. Two well known theories of cognitive development are Piaget’s stage theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. As I plan to be a pediatric nurse, these two theories willRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development1325 Words   |  6 PagesJean Piaget developed a systematic study of cognitive development. He conducted a theory that all children are born with a basic mental structure. He felt that their mental structure is genetically inherited and their learning evolved from subsequent learning and knowledge. Piaget’s theory is differ ent from other theories and he was the first to study a child’s learning by using a systematic study of cognitive development. His theory was only concerning the learning of children, their development

Friday, December 13, 2019

Night World Secret Vampire Chapter 8 Free Essays

string(103) " what do you eat for a midnight snack\?† Phil asked, his green eyes somber and almost childlike\." When the Jetta turned into the parking lot of a7-Eleven, James smiled. There was a nice isolatedarea behind the store, and it was getting dark. He drove his own car around back, then got out to watch the store entrance. We will write a custom essay sample on Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 8 or any similar topic only for you Order Now When Phil came outwith a bag, he sprang on him from behind. Phil yelled and fought, dropping the bag. It didn’tmatter. The sun had gone down and James’s powerwas at full strength. He dragged Phil to the back of the store and put him facing the wall beside a Dumpster. The classicpolice frisking position. â€Å"I’m going to let go now,† he said. â€Å"Don’t try torun away. That would be a mistake.† Phil went tense and motionless at the sound of hisvoice. â€Å"I don’twantto run away. I want to smash your face in, Rasmussen.† â€Å"Go ahead and try.† James was going to add,Makemy night, but he reconsidered. He let go of Phil, who turned around and regarded him with utter loathing. â€Å"What’s the matter? Run out of girls to jump?† hesaid, breathing hard. James gritted his teeth. Trading insults wasn’t going to do any good, but he could already tell it was going to be hard to keep his temper. Phil had that effect on him. â€Å"I didn’t bring you out here to fight.I brought you to ask you something. Do you care about Poppy?† Phil said, â€Å"I’ll take stupid questions for five hundred, Alex,† and loosened his shoulder as if gettingready for a punch. â€Å"Because if you do, you’ll get her to talk to me.You were the one who convinced her not to see me,and now you’ve got to convince her that shehastosee me.† Phil looked around the parking lot, as if calling for somebody to witness this insanity. James spoke slowly and dearly, enunciating eachword. â€Å"There is something I can do to help her.† â€Å"Because you’re Don Juan, right? You’re gonna heal her with your love.† The words were flippant,but Phil’s voice was shaky with sheer hatred. Not just hatred for James, but for a universe that would givePoppy cancer. â€Å"No. You’ve got it completely wrong. Look, youthink I was making out with her, or trifling with her affections or whatever. That’s not what was going onat all. I let you think that because I was tired ofgetting the third degree from you-and because Ididn’t want you to know what we weredoing.† â€Å"Sure, sure,† Phil said in a voice filled with equal measures of sarcasm and contempt. â€Å"So whatwereyou doing? Drugs?† James had learned something from his first encounter with Poppy in the hospital. Show and tellshould be done in that order. This time he didn’t sayanything; he just grabbed Phil by the hair and jerked his head back. There was only a single light behind the store, butit was enough togive Phil a good view of the baredfangs looming over him. And it was more thanenough for James, with his night vision, to see Phillip’s green eyesdilate as he stared. Phillip yelled, then went limp. Not with fear, James knew. He wasn’t a coward.With the shock of disbelief turning to belief. Phillip swore. â€Å"You’rea †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Right.† James let him go. Phil almost lost his balance. He grabbed at theDumpster for support. â€Å"I don’t believe it.† â€Å"Yes, you do,† James said. He hadn’t retracted hisfangs, and he knew that hiseyes were shining silver.Philhadto believe it with James standing right infront of him. Phil apparently had the same idea. He was staringat James as if he wanted to look away, but couldn’t.The color had drained out of his face, and he keptswallowing as if he were going to be sick. â€Å"God,† he said finally. â€Å"I knew there was something wrong with you. Weird wrong. I could neverfigure out why you gave me the creeps. So this is it.† I disgust him, James realized. It’s not just hatred anymore. He thinks I’m less than human. It didn’t augur well for the rest of James’s plan. â€Å"Now do you understand how I can help Poppy?† Phil shook his head slowly. He was leaning againstthe wall, one hand still on the Dumpster. James felt impatience rise in his chest. â€Å"Poppy hasa disease. Vampires don’t get diseases. Do you needa road map?† Phillip’s expression said he did. â€Å"If,†James said through his teeth, â€Å"I exchangeenough blood with Poppy to turn her into a vampire,she won’t have cancer anymore. Every cell in herbody will change and she’ll end up a perfect specimen: flawless, disease-free. She’ll have powers thathumans don’t even dream of. And, incidentally,she’ll be immortal.† There was a long, long silence as James watchedthis sink in with Phillip. Phil’s thoughts were toojumbled and kaleidoscopic for James to make anything of them, but Phil’s eyes got wider and his facemore ashen. At last Phil said, â€Å"You can’t do that to her.† It was thewayhe said it. Not as if he were protesting an idea because it was too radical, too new.Not the knee-jerk overreaction that Poppy had had. He said it with absolute conviction and utmost horror. As if James were threatening to steal Poppy’ssoul. â€Å"It’s the only way to save herlife,†James said. Phil shook his head slowly again, eyes huge andtrancelike. â€Å"No. No. She wouldn’t want it. Not atthat cost.† â€Å"What cost?† James was more than impatientnow, he was defensive and exasperated. If he’d realized that this was going to turn into a philosophical debate, he would have picked somewhere less public.As it was, he had to keep all his senses on the alertfor possible intruders. Phil let go of the Dumpster and stood on his owntwo feet. There was fear mixed with the horror in his eyes, but he faced James squarely. â€Å"It’s just-there are some things that humansthink are more important than just staying alive,† hesaid. â€Å"You’ll find that out.† I don’t believe this, James thought. He sounds likea junior space captain talking to the alien invadersin a B movie.You won’tfind Earth peoplequitethe easymark you imagine. Aloud, he said, â€Å"Are you nuts? Look, Phil, I wasborn in San Francisco. I’m not some bug-eyed monster from Alpha Centauri. I eat Wheaties forbreakfast.† â€Å"And what do you eat for a midnight snack?† Phil asked, his green eyes somber and almost childlike. â€Å"Or are the fangs just for decoration?† Walked right into that one, James’s brain told him.He looked away. â€Å"Okay. Touch?. There are somedifferences. I never said I was a human. But I’m notsome kind of-â€Å" â€Å"If you’re not a monster, then I don’t knowwhat is.† Don’t kill him, James counseled himself frantically.You have toconvincehim. â€Å"Phil, we’re not like what you see at the movies. We’re not all-powerful. We can’t dematerialize through walls or travel through time, and we don’t need to kill to feed. We’re not evil, at least not all of us. We’re not damned.† â€Å"You’re unnatural,† Phillip said softly, and James could feel that he meant it from his heart. â€Å"You’rewrong. Youshouldn’t exist.† â€Å"Because we’re higher up on the food chain thanyou?† â€Å"Because people weren’t meant to †¦feed †¦ on other people.† James didn’t say that his people didn’t think ofPhillip’s people as people. He said, â€Å"We only do whatwe have to do to survive. And Poppy’s already agreed.† Phillip froze. â€Å"No. She wouldn’t want to becomelike you.† â€Å"She wants to stay a!ive—or at least, she did, before she got mad at me. Now she’s just irrationalbecause she hasn’t got enough of my blood in her tofinish changing her. Thanks to you.† He paused, then said deliberately, â€Å"Have you ever seen a three-weekold corpse, Phil? Because that’swhat she’s going to become if I don’t get to her.† Phil’s face twisted. He whirled around and slammed a fist into the metal side of the Dumpster.†Don’t you think I know that?I’ve been living withthat since Monday night.† James stood still, heart pounding. Feeling the anguish Phil was giving off and the pain of Phil’s injured hand. It was several seconds before he was ableto saycalmly,†And you think that’s better than whatI can give her?† â€Å"It’s lousy. It stinks. But, yes, it’s better than turning into something that hunts people. Thatusespeo ple. That’s why all the girlfriends, isn’t it?† Once again, James couldn’t answer right away.Phil’s problem, he was realizing, was that Phil wasfar too smart for his own good. He thought too much.†Yeah. That’s why all the girlfriends,† he said at last,tiredly. Trying not to see this from Phil’s point of view. â€Å"Just tell me one thing, Rasmussen.†Phillip straightened and looked him dead in the eye. â€Å"Didyou†-he stopped and swallowed-â€Å"feed on Poppybefore she got sick?† â€Å"No.† Phil let out his breath. â€Å"That’s good. Because if you had,I’d have killed you.† James believed him. He was much stronger than Phil, much faster, and he’d never been afraid of ahuman before. But just at that moment he had nodoubt that Phil would somehow have found a way to do it. â€Å"Look, there’s something you don’t understand,†he said. â€Å"Poppy did want this, and it’s something we’ve already started. She’s only just beginning tochange; if she dies now, she won’t become a vampire.But she might not die all thee way, either. She couldend up a walking corpse. A zombie, you know?Mindless. Body rotting, but immortal.† Phil’s mouth quivered with revulsion. â€Å"You’re justsaying that to scare me.† James looked away. â€Å"I’ve seen it happen.† â€Å"I don’t believe you.† â€Å"I’ve seen it firsthand!†Dimly James realized hewas yelling and that he’d grabbed Phil by the shirtfront. He was out of control-and he didn’t care.†I’ve seen it happen to somebodyIcared about, allright?† And then, because Phil was still shaking his head:†I was only four years old and I had a nanny. Allthe rich kids in San Francisco have nannies. Shewas human.† â€Å"Let go,† Phil muttered, pulling at James’s wrist.He was breathing hard-he didn’t want to hear this. â€Å"I was crazy about her. She gave me everythingmy mom didn’t. Love, attention-she was never too busy. I called her Miss Emma.† â€Å"Let go.† â€Å"But my parents thought I was too attached to her.So they took me on a little vacation-and they didn’tlet me feed. Not for three days. By the time they brought me back, I was starving. Then they sent MissEmma up to put me to bed.† Phil had stopped fighting now. He stood with hishead bowed and turned to one side so he wouldn’thave to look at James. James threw his words at theaverted face. â€Å"I was only four. I couldn’t stop myself. And the thing is, I wanted to. If you’d asked me who I’d rather have die, me or Miss Emma, I’d’ve said me. But when you’re starving, you lose control. So I fed on her, and all the time I was crying and trying to stop. And when I finally could stop, I knew it wastoo late.† There was a pause. James suddenly realized that his fingers were locked in anagonizingcramp. He letgo of Phil’s shirt slowly. Phil said nothing. â€Å"She was just lying there on the floor. I thought,wait, if I give her my own blood she’ll be a vampire, and everything will be okay.† He wasn’t yelling anymore. He wasn’t even really speaking to Phillip, butstaring out into the dark parking lot. â€Å"So I cut myselfand let the blood run into her mouth. She swallowedsome of it before my parents came up and stoppedme. But not enough.† A longer pause-and James remembered why hewas telling the story. He looked at Phillip. â€Å"She died that night but not all the way. The twodifferent kinds of blood were fighting inside her. Soby morning she was walking around again-but shewasn’t Miss Emma anymore. She drooled and her skin was gray and her eyes were flat like a corpse’s.And when she started to-rot-my dad took her out to Inverness and buried her. He killed her first.† Bilerose in James’s throat and he added almost in a whisper, â€Å"I hope he killed her first.† Phil slowly turned around to look at him. For thefirst time that evening, there was something otherthan horror and fear in his face. Something like pity, James thought. James took a deep breath. After thirteen years of silence he’d finally told the storyto Phillip North,of all people. But it was no good wondering aboutthe absurdity. He had a point to drive home. â€Å"So take my advice. If you don’t convince Poppyto see me, make sure they don’t do an autopsy onher. You don’t want her walking around without herinternal organs. And have a wooden stake ready forthe time when you can’t stand to look at heranymore.† The pity was gone from Phil’s eyes. His mouth wasa hard, trembling line. â€Å"We won’t let her turn into†¦ some kind of halfalive abomination,† he said. â€Å"Or a vampire, either. I’m sorry about what happened to your Miss Emma,but it doesn’t change anything.† â€Å"Poppyshould be the one to decide-â€Å" But Phillip had reached his limit, and now he was simply shaking his head. â€Å"Just keep away from my sister,† he said. â€Å"That’s all I want. If you do, I’ll leaveyou alone. And if you don’t-â€Å" â€Å"What?† â€Å"I’m going to tell everybody in El Camino what you are. I’m going to call the police and the mayorand I’m going to stand in the middle of the streetand yell it.† James felt his hands go icy cold. What Phil didn’t realize was that he’d just made it James’s duty to killhim. It wasn’t just that any human who stumbled onNight World secrets had to die, but that one activelythreatening to tellabout the Night World had to die immediately, no questions asked, no mercy given. Suddenly James was so tired he couldn’t seestraight. â€Å"Get out of here, Phil,† he said in a voice drainedof emotion and vitality both. â€Å"Now. And if you reallywant to protect Poppy, you won’t tell anybody anything. Because they’ll trace it back and find out thatPoppy knows the secrets, too. And then they’ll killher-after bringing her in for questioning. It won’tbe fun.† â€Å"Who’re ‘they’? Your parents?† â€Å"The Night People. We’re all around you, Phil.Anybody you know could be one-including themayor. So keep your mouth shut.† Phillip looked at him through narrowed eyes. Thenhe turned and walked to the front of the store. James couldn’t remember when he’d felt so empty. Everything he’d done had turned out wrong. Poppywas now in more kinds of danger than he couldcount. And Phillip North thought he was unnatural andevil. What Phil didn’t know was that most of thetime James thought the same thing. Phillip got halfway home before he rememberedthat he’d dropped the bag with Poppy’s cranberryjuice and wild cherry Popsicles. Poppy had hardly eaten in the last two days, and when she did get hungry, it was for something weird. No-somethingred,he realized as he paid for a second time at the 7-Eleven. He felt a sick lurch in his stomach. Everything she wanted lately was redand at least semiliquid. Did Poppy realize that herself? He studied her when he went into her bedroom togive her a Popsicle. Poppy spent most of the time inbed now. And she was so pale and still.. Her green eyes werethe only alive thing about her. They dominated herface, glittering with an almost savage awareness. Cliff and Phil’s mother were talking about gettinground-the-clock nurses to be with her. â€Å"Don’t like the Popsicle?† Phil asked, dragging achair to sit beside her bed. Poppy was eyeing the thing with distaste. She tooka tiny lick and grimaced. Phillip watched her. Another lick. Then she put the Popsicle into anempty plastic cup on her nightstand. â€Å"I don’t know †¦ I just don’t feel hungry,† she said, leaning backagainst the pillows. â€Å"Sorry you had to go out fornothing.† â€Å"No problem.† God, she looks sick, Phil thought.†Is there anything else I can do for you?† Eyes shut, Poppy shook her head. A very smallmotion. â€Å"You’re a good brother,† she said distantly. She used to be so alive, Phil thought. Dad calledher Kilowatt or Eveready. She used to radiateenergy. Without in the least meaning to, he found himself saying, â€Å"I saw James Rasmussen today.† Poppy stiffened. Her hands on the bedspreadformed not fists, but claws. â€Å"He’d better keep awayfrom here!† There was something subtly wrong about her reaction. Something not-Poppy. Poppy could get fierce,sure, but Phil had never heard that animal tone inher voice before. A picture flashed through Phil’s mind. A creaturefromNight of the Living Dead,walking even though its intestines were spilling out. A living corpse likeJames’s Miss Emma. Was that really what would happen if Poppy diedright now? Was she that much changed already? â€Å"I’ll scratch his eyes out if he comes around here,†Poppy said, her fingers working on the spread like acat kneading. â€Å"Poppy-he told me the truth about what hereally is.† Strangely, Poppy had no reaction. â€Å"He’s scum,†she said. â€Å"He’s a reptile.† Something about her voice made Phillip’s fleshcreep. â€Å"And I told him you would never want to become something like that.† â€Å"I wouldn’t,† Poppy said shortly. â€Å"Not if it meanthanging around withhimfor eternity. I don’t want to see him ever again.† Phil stared at her for a long moment. Then heleaned back and shut his eyes, one thumb jammedagainst his temple where the ache was worst. Not just subtly wrong. He didn’t want to believe it, but Poppy wasstrange.Irrational. And now thathe thought about it, she’d been getting stranger everyhour since James had been thrown out. So maybe she was in some eerie in-between state. Not a human and not a vampire. And not able tothink dearly. Just as James had said. Poppy should be the one to decide. There was something he had to ask her. â€Å"Poppy?† He waited until she looked at him, her green eyes large and unblinking. â€Å"When we talked,James said that you’d agreed to let him-change you.Before you got mad at him. Is that right?† Poppy’s eyebrows lifted. â€Å"I’m mad at him,† sheconfirmed, as if this was the only part of the questionshe’d processed. â€Å"And you know why I like you?Because you’ve always hated him. Now we bothhate him.† Phil thought for a moment, then spoke carefully. â€Å"Okay. But when youweren’tmad at him, back then,did you want to turn into-what he is?† Suddenly a gleam of rationality showed in Poppy’s eyes. â€Å"I just didn’t want to die, â€Å"she said. â€Å"I was so scared-and I wanted to live. If the doctors could doanything for me, I’d try that. But they can’t.† Shewas sitting up now, staring into space as if she saw something terrible there. â€Å"You don’t know what itfeels like to know you’re going to die,† shewhispered. Waves of chills washed over Phillip. No, he didn’tknow that, but he did know-he could suddenly picture vividly-what it was going to be like forhimafter Poppy died. How empty the world was going tobe without her. For a long time they both sat in silence. Then Poppy fell back onto the pillows again. Phillipcould see pastel blue smudges under her eyes, as ifthe conversation had exhausted her. â€Å"I don’tthinkitmatters,† she said in a faint but frighteningly cheerfulvoice. â€Å"I’m not going to die anyway. Doctors don’t know everything.† So that’s how she’s dealing with it,Phillipthought.Total denial. He had all the information he needed, though. He had a clear view of the situation. And he knew whathe had to do now. â€Å"I’ll leave so you can get some rest,† he said to Poppy, and patted her hand. It felt very cool andfragile, full of tiny bones like a bird’s wing. â€Å"Seeyou later.† He slipped out of the house without telling anyone where he was going. Once on the road, he drovevery fast. It only took ten minutes to reach the apart ment building. He’d never been to James’s apartment before. James answered the door with a cold, â€Å"What areyou doing here?† â€Å"Can I come in? I’ve got something to say.† James stood back expressionlessly to let him in. The â€Å"place was roomy and bare. There was a singlechairbeside a very cluttered table, an equally clut tered desk, and a square unbeautiful couch. Cardboard boxes full of books and CDs were stacked inthe corners. A door led to a spartan bedroom. â€Å"What do you want?† â€Å"First of all, I have to explain something. I knowyou can’t help being what you are-but I can’t helphow I feel about it, either. You can’t change, andneither can I. I need you to understand that from the beginning.† James crossed his arms over his chest, wary anddefiant. â€Å"You can skip the lecture.† â€Å"I just need to make sure you understand, okay?†Ã¢â‚¬ What do youwant,Phil?† Phil swallowed. It took two or three tries before he could get the words out past the blockage of hispride. â€Å"I want you to help my sister.† How to cite Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 8, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

An Analysis of a View from the Bridge free essay sample

The focus on Eddie is evidence that he is an important character and that is the one that has most interactions with the other characters. Eddie and Catherine are having a conversation in the house when he returns from work. From the enthusiastic manner in which Catherine greets Eddie, we know that they share a close relationship. Later, we also see the two characters having a conversation with each other that also alludes to the closeness that they share. The content of the conversation that Eddie and Catherine have seem banal and unimportant. However, the manner in which they express their thoughts, especially for Eddie, allows us to have a closer peek at what they truly think and how they truly feel. This also creates a sense of suspense and prepares the audience of the later events in Miller’s plot. From the conversation, a sense of curiosity is piqued in the audience as they are subtly made aware that Eddie and Catherine do not share a completely innocent relationship. On the surface, Eddie seems like a paternal figure who is chiding his young niece about the coquettish manner of her dressing. He tells Catherine that her skirt is too short and the way she walks gives him â€Å"the willies†. This is not a casual remark that Eddie makes. Instead, he harps on it and even when his disapproval causes Catherine obvious distress, he does not stop. Eddie is extremely overprotective over his niece and this conversation is an example of his overprotectiveness. This, coupled with his saying that he does not like the idea of Catherine growing up and finding a job, hints at the unnatural feelings that Eddie harbours towards Catherine. However, at the same time, Eddie seems opposed or even unaware about his feelings for Catherine. For Catherine and Eddie, the high-heeled shoes that she wears and the way she walks is a symbol of womanhood and sex. In her new skirt and shoes, Catherine has been on the receiving on of much attention from men around the community. Catherine appears to be basking in the glow of the attention but her uncle, on the other hand, is disapproving. However, his feelings about it do not seem to only be about fatherly overprotectiveness. There is also a hint of jealousy that Catherine, who is on the cusp of womanhood, may be attracting and attracted to other men. Eddie has made his disapproval of the high heels very clear so later in the play, every time Catherine puts them on; it is a symbol of rebellion towards her uncle. Eddie is controlling of Catherine and wants to keep her pure and innocent. He is worried that the high heels, which will make her look attractive, will lead to her going out with a man and leaving the house. The high heels threaten Eddie and to him, they are dangerous. On the other hand, Catherine is very aware of the effect the high heels has on men and she enjoys the power that they give her. This seemingly minor disagreement the two characters have over the high heels is a foreshadowing of the breakdown of the relationship later when Catherine really does leave to be with Rodolpho. It is also significant that the conversation about Catherine’s blossoming sexuality takes place just before Beatrice’s cousins arrive as it is an indication of a turning point in the play. The new look that Catherine sports is not just symbolic of Eddie’s fear of losing his niece. He is also scared to face his repressed incestuous feelings for his niece as she slowly and more obviously grows to become a woman. Later in the play, after being serenaded by Rodolfo, Catherine is asked to remove her shoes by Eddie. Eddie is so aware of the power of Catherine’s high heels because he experiences their effect first-hand. Eddie calls Catherine â€Å"kid†, an affectionate term. He also tells her she like â€Å"a baby† and that she should be more reserved. Besides showing how desperate he is to keep his niece’s innocence, it also shows that he is trying to conceal his true feelings for her. Catherine is upset by her uncle’s disapproval of her clothes as she wants support from him. Later, when she finds a job, she is again met with disapproval by Eddie. Throughout the extract, the characters were in the house but in different rooms. Eddie and Catherine were together whereas Beatrice was in the kitchen. During their conversation, besides the manner in which they converse, their physical interactions also show that they are close. When talking, Catherine sits and stands near Eddie and even at one point, takes his arm. This, juxtaposed with Beatrice’s physical absence in the room, highlights the awkwardness in the relationship between the three characters. Catherine, like Beatrice, is not a well-developed character. The females are quiet characters who are normally in the background. This is especially so for Beatrice. Catherine, despite being more vocal at the beginning of the play, is still rather meek, submissive and naive. On the other hand, Beatrice is usually in the kitchen. However, the latter seems like a stronger character. She is willing to address the impotence in the relationship between her husband and her and even encourages Catherine to grow into her womanhood. Regardless, both women constantly seek approval from Eddie and as characters, do not have much impact on the play besides just pushing the plot along. Works Cited: Miller Arthur, ed. A View from the Bridge. Penguin Books: Penguin Group 1977. Print.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

The Glass Menagerie A Study In Symbolism Essays (1550 words)

The Glass Menagerie: A Study In Symbolism In the drama, The Glass Menagerie (1945), Tennessee Williams reflects upon personalexperiences he and his family encountered during the Depression of the 1930's. As a lower classfamily, the characters are placed in the slums of St. Louis in 1935. The protagonist, Tom Wingfield,is the narrator and Williams' surrogate. Living with his mother and sister, Tom supports them byworking in a shoe manufacturing warehouse. He should feel lucky to have this job; however, hedespises his work and dreams of leaving to become a Merchant Marine. Unhappy with what life hasdealt him, Tom strives for adventure and longs to turn his back on his responsibilities. His mother,Amanda Wingfield, abandoned by her husband almost sixteen years ago, tries to keep her familytogether through tough times. Although her love and hopes for her children are sincere, heroverbearing and outspoken nature often hurts them. Laura, Tom's sister, suffers from neuroses. She has trouble separating fantasy from reality. Without the ability to function in the outside world,Laura becomes a liability to both Tom and Amanda. The gentleman caller, Jim O'Connor, is afriend of Tom's from the warehouse. He is an ambitious young man, who strives for the AmericanDream through hard work and optimism. Jim offers the Wingfields hope for the future: Tom: He is the most realistic character in the play, being an emissary from aworld of reality that we were somehow set apart from. But since I have apoet's weakness for symbols, I am using this character also as a symbol; he is the long- delayed but always expected something that we live for (23). Williams gives the reader many emblems throughout the play; there are three of them are especiallyinteresting. The unicorn symbolizes Laura's uniqueness, the picture of Mr. Wingfield represents hisstrong influence on his deserted family, and Malvolio's coffin trick signifies Tom's suffocatinglifestyle. The unicorn is a symbolic representation of ways that Laura is unique or unusual . The first facetof the unicorn, its horn, refers to ways that Laura is an unusual person, such as in her may escapemechanisms. Laura's escape devices include her glass menagerie, listening to records on theVictrola, and visiting the park and zoo. Laura identifies with her glass menagerie because she hastrouble identifying with the real world, the pieces are small and delicate, just as she is. The Victrolais a reminder of Mr. Wingfield; Laura often plays records to avoid the present and thinks pleasantlyabout the times she had with her father. When Laura stopped going to Rubicam's Business College,she would spend many of her days at the zoo or park. She was a nature lover and thought of theseplaces as very peaceful and beautiful, a sharp contrast to her real life. The fragility of the unicorn, itssecond part, recalls Laura's delicate psychological condition. Laura's emotional problems causedmany difficulties in her life. While in high school, Laura was very self-conscious about the brace shehad to wear, as evidenced in the following passage: Laura: I had that brace on my leg -- it clumped so loud! Jim: I never heard any clumping. Laura: To me it sounded like -- thunder! Jim: Well, well, well, I never even noticed. Laura: And everybody was seated before I came in. I had to walk in front of all those people. Myseat was in the back row. I had to go clumping all the way up the aisle with everyone watching! Jim: You shouldn't have been self-conscious. Laura: I know, but I was (93). Laura suffered all the way through high school. Unfortunately, she scored poorly on her finalexaminations and dropped out of school. After such a failure, her fragile self-esteem dropped fromlow to almost non-existent, and she could not face going back. Six years later, with pressure fromher mother, Laura took another stab at education. She enrolled at Rubicam's Business College. However, Laura only made it to the first test. As the test began, she vomited on the floor and had tobe carri ed to the bathroom. Laura never returned to school, and once again her fragile emotions gotthe best of her. The transparency of the unicorn, its final facet, represents the fact that Laura'sproblems are easily apparent to anyone who cares to notice them. This is best seen

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Using Accents on French Capitals

Using Accents on French Capitals You may have heard that capital letters are not supposed to be accented. This may be good advice, but, really, whether to use  accents  on French capital letters is entirely up to you. Most of the time they are not essential, and so most French speakers do not add them. In publishing, they have not been added either ever since Vogue magazine decided about 20 years ago that they were too small to be read in print and detracted from clarity and good design; much of the publishing world agreed and followed suit. That said, there are actually two instances when you should always use accents on capital letters: Avoid Embarrassing Misunderstandings or Mistakes Look at what happens when  an advertisement for  biscuits salà ©s (salted crackers) is written in all caps:  BISCUITS SALES, a LOL-worthy mistake that means dirty crackers. Yum!  Its so much clearer to write BISCUITS SALÉS, nest-ce pas? There are plenty of  examples of French homographs like the case above, words that are spelled alike (or almost alike) but mean different things, where failing to add an accent or accents could lead  to embarrassing results. Consider haler (to haul in) versus hà ¢ler (to tan); arrià ©rà © (backward) versus arrià ¨re (backlog); and interne (internal) versus internà © (an inmate in a mental hospital), to name a few. Proper Nouns: The Name of a Company or a Person. Its important to show respect to organizations and people by spelling their names correctly, as well as to make sure that the person who reads the name knows how it should be spelled. If you dont write the accent when the name is in all caps, your reader may not realize that there is an accent when that individual sits down later to write a letter to the person or organization in question. What the  Acadà ©mie Franà §aise Says Some people argue that it just makes more sense  to always use  accents on capital letters in French. And the august  Acadà ©mie franà §aise  agrees: On ne peut que dà ©plorer que lusage des accents sur les majuscules soit flottant. On observe dans les textes manuscrits une tendance certaine lomission des accents. En typographie, parfois, certains suppriment tous les accents sur les capitales sous prà ©texte de modernisme, en fait pour rà ©duire les frais de composition. Il convient cependant dobserver quen franà §ais, laccent a pleine valeur orthographique. Son absence ralentit la lecture, fait hà ©siter sur la prononciation, et peut mà ªme induire en erreur. Il en va de mà ªme pour le trà ©ma et la cà ©dille. On veille donc, en bonne typographie, utiliser systà ©matiquement les capitales accentuà ©es, y compris la prà ©position  ,  comme le font bien sà »r tous les dictionnaires, commencer par le  Dictionnaire de lAcadà ©mie franà §aise, ou les grammaires, comme  Le  Bon Usage  de Grevisse, mais aussi lImprimerie nationale, la Bibliothà ¨que de la Plà ©iade, etc. Quant aux textes manuscrits ou dactylographià ©s, il est à ©vident que leurs auteurs, dans un souci de clartà © et de correction, auraient tout intà ©rà ªt suivre à ©galement cette rà ¨gle.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

MBA in Finance Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MBA in Finance - Personal Statement Example Like most other individuals of my age, I had been directed towards completing tasks mechanically. Little had I known that I had been drawn towards engineering. However, to my disappointment, I could not make it to Embry Riddle University as I could not clear the engineering exam for that. Nevertheless, I was determined to move forward in life. Behind an ardent reader, I had been inspired by Einstein’s quote of playing the ‘game’ of life better than anyone else. Considering that it was now time to chart my career path, I decided to enhance my knowledge of finance. In doing so, I came across reading several books such as articles in the Economist magazine. Even though I could not make much sense out of them at that time, they were instrumental in my success at university later on. This eventually led me to studying Finance at UT in the USA where I developed interest in the subject in a short frame of time. During this period, I greatly improved my analytical, writin g and numerical skills. From making investment decisions to solving managerial problems, the baggage I carried in this field was quite comprehensive. My experience at UT was further enhanced by my earlier diploma in English Language in Orlando which was my first step in to the diverse and multicultural world. Even though I had travelled to various places previously, such as Europe, North America, Africa and Asia for vacations, never had I encountered as a diverse a place as the U.S.A. This short educational experience  ­Ã‚ ­has developed my cross-communication skills which are necessary for survival for any profession in the modern workplace. Furthermore, my experience at UT as a Finance student has helped me relate finance with everyday life. Previously I perceived finance as a strictly specialized and confined domain. However, by studying the real-life applications of finance I was able to relate theory with practice. Most importantly, I could relate most of the concepts to the recent financial downturn which turned around the economies of most advanced nations such as U.K and U.S. I was able to understand how most economies work and how the public and government policies jointly determine the state of economy in most countries. Even though I still endeavor to understand complex financial models and theorems, I do not have much difficulty in understanding the conceptual content and application. In the contemporary age of advanced information systems, I believe the competitive advantage of a Finance professional does not lie in the reproduction of models or calculations but the conceptual analysis and interpretation of those in the context of real-life scenarios. Considering that I had been an out-station student studying in UT in U.S.A, I have gained insight into the demands of an academic and professional life. Since I was in-charge of everything and had to do everything on my own, I learnt to take my own initiatives and gradually became independent. The demanding commitments to academics further taught me how to organize my study schedule and in no time I learnt how to communicate with my peers. This also provided a tremendous platform for my personal growth as I learnt how to strike a balance between personal and academic life. I was much clearer regarding my goal (of pursuing a career in finance) and was determined to enhance my horizon of learning by taking a giant leap into a well-reputed college for my Masters. However, I

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

What is the Muslim Brotherhood and why is it so popular in Egypt Essay

What is the Muslim Brotherhood and why is it so popular in Egypt - Essay Example It is worth mentioning in this context that the notion of Muslim Brotherhood has its roots in Egypt where it was founded as a pan Islamic religious and social movement by a group of activist Islamic scholars and teachers in the 20th century. Historical evidences reveal that the movement had been quite popular not only in Egypt but all around the world integrating more than two million Islamic members from various Islamic countries. To be noted, the movement was founded by an imam and a school teacher named Hassan al-Banna. According to the founder of the movement, i.e. Imam Hassan al-Banna, the main idea behind the initiation of the movement was to encourage the Islamic nature to dominate, rather than to get dominated by others. Although many experts all over the world believe that the organisation does not appreciate violence, it has many a times found cruised to have its linkage with Islamic terrorism (Tadros, 2012, pp. 1-15). It is in this context that the leaders of the Muslim Br otherhood attempts to advise its loyal followers to rescue Jerusalem from the dominance of Palestine which indicates a strong influence of historic event on the religious as well as social customers of the Muslim community in Egypt. This particular aspect however have been criticised to ignite the sense of terrorism among the followers of the organisation. It is further viewed that the organisation seeks to spread its teachings and ideologies all across the globe so that they can gain maximum number of followers which will in turn strengthen their power and influence over the world politics which has further been criticised as an aggressive political move covered with religious and social intentions. Apparently, the organisation works in every section of the society which includes schools, universities and professional offices among others. This aspect concedes with the aim of the organisation which searches for commendable position in all aspects of life of the Islamic people with special emphasis on the Arabic countries (Tadros, 2012; Leiken & Brooke, 2007, pp. 107-121). Correspondingly, the aim of this paper is to discuss about the Muslim Brotherhood in detail with respect to its popularity in Egypt. Discussion The Muslim Brotherhood From a generalised perspective, Muslim Brotherhood is regarded as a social and religious organisation that has its presence in various Islamic and non-Islamic nations of the world. It seeks to operate and show its influence in various aspects of the day to day life of people belonging to the Islam community, integrating all the Muslim like-minded people from around the world to regain the historical identity and a respectful position of Muslim society in the modern world (Aldridge, 2013, pp. 1-75). However, the concept of Muslim Brotherhood has a broader dimension. In order to have an in depth understanding of the same a detailed study is required. Hasan al-Banna was the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt in th e year 1928. He not only acted as a leader of the religious as well as political movement but also worked as a guide to the Muslim community motivating his followers to regain the dominance and social respect in the world. The organisation can further be observed to have been built on the notion that by integrating the Muslim community people, referred as Muslim brothers, the organisation could effectively work towards strengthening the presence

Monday, November 18, 2019

Managing with Web 2.0 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing with Web 2.0 - Research Paper Example (Girrell, 2010) The application of Web 2.0 tools and applications can help companies and organizations in knowledge management, work coordination & decision making. Web 2.0 tools help companies manage knowledge, coordinate work and enhance decision making in a number of ways. Blogs, wikis and social networking help companies and their employees communicate and boost productivity. After all, blogs can provide information to users in a less formal way yet attainable form and grant readers the opportunities to respond to the writer, ask, questions, comment, etc. This interaction bridges the corporate users and the readers/customers or potential customers and builds relationships. (Johnston, 2010) Since Web 2.0 tools are user friendly, communication and knowledge creation are easy. For instance, for the workforce, wikis serve as a â€Å"blackboard† a space in which corporate workers and an increasingly mobile workforce can communicate with each other, formalize projects and the components thereof, document progress and do so in a less costly manner. After all, wikis, like most Web 2.0 tools contain costs. This is especially true since Web 2.0 tools do not require IT department implementation. (Johnston, 2010) Blogs, wikis and social networking tools solve the problem of individual emails, IMs and the creation of numerous emails conveying information, raising questions or documenting progress. Web 2.0 solves the problems of connection across a large company or department and provides the users with flexibility. It offers the manager or creator the opportunity to post the information and the other workers or users with 24 hour viewing from anywhere they can log into such platforms. For this reason, all parties have a sense of autonomy and connectedness despite virtual connectivity. Therefore companies could benefit from using Web 2.0 tools

Friday, November 15, 2019

McDonalds Company Overview

McDonalds Company Overview 1.0 Introduction McDonalds Company Overview McDonalds is a big corporation and international fast food restaurant around the world, it was founded by Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1937 in California, and 43 years later in December 1980, the global fast food restaurants had arrived in Malaysia (The Communications Department McDonalds Restaurants Ltd 1995). It gives a lot of advantage to McDonalds and opportunity to capture more shares and customers as the fast food trend in Malaysia still have the market to expand. Since 1982, McDonalds opened its first restaurant stated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It creates many job opportunities, especially in its headquarter which is having more than 8,000 local people and 120 support staffs being employed.( M.Azu, 2010) This report reviews McDonalds social performance, and how the McDonalds performance influencing to the society. Furthermore, it also shows the effective of stakeholders and the performance of company with regards to fulfilling needs within society. 2.0Social performance The corporate social performance consists of measurement in â€Å"how well the institution has translated its social goals into practice† (CGAP Workshop Paris 2004). It also known as corporate social responsibility (CSR), is define as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lord Holme and Richard Watts n,d.) There is another definition, CSR is about capacity building for sustainable livelihoods. It respects cultural differences and finds the business opportunities†¦.† (Ghana n,d.) For McDonalds, my own definition is that CSR is about how companies manage the business operation to produce an overall impact on society and creates a good impression to customers and stakeholders in order to making profits in ways of belief in welfare, and responsibility to take care of welfare benefits. In this section, we will discuss about how well the CSR and contribution of McDonalds in the society. 2.1Services provider technology improvement McDonalds provides customers extra services such as delivery order through phone and online, and also 24 hours service for people who look for quick meal during their night shift. (McDonalds n.d.) It gives a good aspect of economic arises as many household can purchase the fast foods in the convenience way. This will slightly increase the rate of consumption in Malaysia. Moreover, it helps to develop infrastructure especially telecommunication, intercommunication and so on, as nowadays people are lazy to go out having their meals, some of them are ordering their meals through internet rather than driving a car to buy foods. 2.2Environmental protection Environmental protection refers to â€Å"any activity to maintain or restore the quality of environmental media through preventing the emission of pollutants or reducing the presence of polluting substances in environmental media.† (Glossary of Environment Statistics, Studies in Methods 2001). In this case, McDonalds is announcing a plan to buy up $100 million in recycled construction materials for use in building and remodeling its fast-food restaurants. (John Holusha 1990), it is helping the recycling industry to reclaim those materials such as newspapers, cans and bottles. In addition, McDonalds also uses the recycling materials for packaging such as beverages, burgers and so on. However, the McDonalds recycling program is not only aimed to do like that, the company said the plastic items are also can reform into the useful items such as trays and buckets. (John Holusha 1990) Therefore, sometimes McDonalds will come out with their strategy such as using the recycle plastic items to make plastic glass as a free gift for customers who buy a set of meal. 3.0Impact of social performance As we know that McDonalds is a fast food restaurant, some people might not satisfy with their services or foods. This section will tell us the issues that McDonalds encountered. 3.1 Copyright and Patents Copyright is a â€Å"protection for original expression of ideas that we cannot copy from them who have registered†. (HJ Ventures International, Inc 2004) There are different functions between copyright and patent. For a thing to be patented it must be useful. Since we know that McDonalds is a big corporation, they had registered the copyright and patents, which mean people cannot use the similar name or product when forming a business. However, sometimes company may face the copyright and patents problem. For an example, there is hottest news in recent years, which contend about the copyrights of the company name, McDonalds v McCurry. McDonalds vigorously defends its trademarks against violations anywhere in the world†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Liam Jeory 2009) We can see that McDonalds strongly defends against their copyrights. However, McDonalds failed to sue McCurry for the copyrights, McCurry argued that their selling foods such as briyani rice, nasi lemak, while McDonalds sells fries, and burgers, etc. (Boey Wei Lyn, 2010) In this case, the court held that their style is use in different terms of presentation, get-up and targeted market, and the signboard for McCurry would not result in reasonable persons associating McCurry Restaurant with McDonalds. (Boey Wei Lyn 2010) In fact, McCurry offered to the customers are totally different from what McDonalds offered, and this shows that McCurry did not use â€Å"Mc† to name their food items served in his outlet. In conclusion, the court st ated that there was no proof in such circumstances, and eventually McDonalds leave to appeal to the court and awarded McCurry cost of RM10, 000. 3.2Nutrition Nowadays most customers concern in healthy foods. However, fast food is considered oily and bad for health, it will link to serious diseases such as heart disease, cancer, obesity and so on. McDonalds has no sufficient scientific evidence to prove that their food can be valuable part of a balance diet. Many people said that McDonalds are selling unhealthy products, for most people who practice to eat the healthiest possible food usually either cooks at home or have meal at the workplace to avoid taking fast food. (Helen and Dave) However, the situation is changing rapidly, many food industries has processed the unhealthy mass for food that it can used to replace fresh and healthy foods. This successful development had causes a serious problem in human health as now they currently sell to about 30 million people daily. (Helen and Dave) People start to rely on McDonalds fast food and dislike cooking at home as its convenience to all of them. Therefore, McDonalds has become the world largest threats for human health which people are concerning about. 3.3 Legal and Political Environment Malaysia is formally an Islamic nation as majority of its population comes from Muslim. McDonalds will have to bind with the Malaysia Law which is Syariat Law, it stated that all food served must be Halal. (M.Azu, 2010) It brings a lot of limitation to McDonalds food offered to Malaysia. In order to capture and making profit in this market, McDonalds have to cooperate in working with suppliers, authorities, local businesses and government throughout their international operations. As we know that McDonalds makes many offers such as beef, chicken, pork, fish meal around the world, McDonalds is forced to follow the law in Malaysia by serving the Halal food to gain Islam consumers confident which creates a good impression in Malaysia. Therefore, McDonalds must concern in the type of foods in Malaysia they offered, especially the total absence of pork products. 4.0Effective of Stakeholders Stakeholders can be defined as â€Å"individuals and groups who are affected by the activities of an organization†¦..†(Ian Worthington 2009). McDonalds stakeholders have the combination of Internal, Connected and External Stakeholders in Malaysia. This section shows only the analysis of the two elements of stakeholders as external shareholders take less effect in McDonalds organization. 4.1Internal Stakeholders Internal stakeholders includes both elements, which is managers and employees, this type of stakeholders will affect the day-to-day operations in McDonalds as their working performance will directly affects McDonalds business and the impression of the company. 4.1.1Managers In Malaysia, there is only one managing director, Azmir Jaafar, who is responsible to all the McDonalds restaurant in Malaysia. He is the one who works from low hierarchy level which is assistant manager, store manager, to high hierarchy level of operations consultant, market manager and director of operations. As a trainee manager, he said that the manager needs to understand the basics of cooking burgers and cleanliness in the kitchen at all times. (Sarah Chew 2009) Therefore, a manager must make sure that day-to-day operations are running smoothly and serving the foods and beverage constantly. Moreover, a stock manager also plays an important role which he has to make sure the ingredients are fresh and applicable. 4.1.2Employees For a trainee manager, he has to qualify the needs of employee in McDonalds operations. As McDonalds open for 24 operation hours, sometime they need to find someone who is fast learner and able to work in flexible hours. Therefore, the communications interact between employees is the important skills for a manager to manage the working schedule and so on. In addition, Azmir Jaafar said that he love his job because McDonalds has been rated for 10 best employers. (Sarah Chew 2009) McDonalds is also providing training to their employees in terms of management skill, customer service skills and so on so that employees positive attitude toward customers can bring positive image to the public. 4.2Connected Stakeholders Connected stakeholders cover groups such as shareholders, suppliers and customers, and are parties which invest or have dealings with the firm. (Ian Worthington 2009) These elements will strongly affect the financial performance of the company. 4.2.1 Customer In fact, customer is the key element for McDonalds to survive in the market. Sales levels increase or decrease directly affects the cash stream flow system and McDonalds stock listed in the market. 4.2.2 Shareholders and suppliers Supplier helps to maintain the McDonalds demands and to make sure that ingredient is fresh, as while as McDonalds can provide the best tasty food served to customers. On the other hand, â€Å"increasing of shareholders value will be best served†¦.† (Ian Worthington 2009) Company and shareholders will get profits if the company performs well and achieving success and financial well-being. 5.0 Conclusion In short, this report clearly shows that McDonalds business operations and the impacts of social performance within society, I believe the highlighted points are important to McDonalds to pay close attention and overcome it, and help to improve their performance while expanding the business to the market in near future. 6.0 Recommendation As we know that McDonalds fast food is considered oily and bad for health, I suggest that company should offer healthy foods such as sweet potato, vegetables salad meals to target the people who are vegetarians. Moreover, company should not only target the customers, it can cooperate with another company to form a new restaurant in order to fulfill the vegetarian or healthy needs, and response to any activity such environmental protection plan in the society. Reference List Boey Wei Lyn, 2010. McDonalds v McCurry. http://loyarburok.com/selected-judgments/a-comment-on-mcdonald-losing-its-trademark-battle-against-mccurry/ (accessed April 1, 2010). CGAP Workshop Paris CERISE coordinated. 2004. Power point slides. Retrieved from Cerise-microfinance publications Website: http://www.cerise-microfinance.org/publication/pdf/prog_spi2/15-11h15-Argidius-Kverhagen-definition.pdf (accessed March 31, 2010). HJ Ventures International, Inc. 2004. Copyright definition. Patent Glossary: Copyright.http://www.hjventures.com/patent/Copyright.html (accessed March 31, 2010). Glossary of Statistical Terms.2001. Environmental protection. http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=836 (accessed March 31, 2010). Helen and Dave, n.d. the issues introduction.http://www.mcspotlight.org/issues/intro.html (accessed April 1, 2010). Hes lovin it.2009.The Malaysian, May 31, Sarah Chew. http://www.mcdonalds.com.my/abtus/corpinfo/49.pdf (accessed April 2, 2010). Ian Worthington, 2009. Stakeholders and how they affect your business. http://www.simama.org/article/stakeholders-and-how-they-affect-your-business (accessed April 2, 2010). JohnHolusha, 1990. McDonalds Contribution to Recycling. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/18/business/mcdonald-s-contribution-to-recycling.html?pagewanted=1 (accessed April 1, 2010). Mallen Baker, n.d. Corporate Social Responsibility What does it mean? http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/definition.php (accessed April 7, 2010). M.Azu, 2010. McDonalds Malaysia Marketing Strategy. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/23688272/McDonals-Malaysia (accessed April 2, 2010). McDonalds, n.d. History: McDonalds in Malaysia. http://www.mcdonalds.com.my/abtus/corpinfo/history_msia.asp (accessed March 31, 2010). Royce Cheah and Bill Tarrant, 2009. McDonalds vs McCurry heads for Malaysia court again.http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5834EF20090904 (accessed April 1, 2010).

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Lanston hughes comparison of two poems Essay -- essays research papers

In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by the name of Langston Hughes. A well-known writer that still gets credit today for pomes like â€Å" Theme for English B† and â€Å"Let American be American Again.† â€Å"Theme for English B† and â€Å"Let American be American again† share some similar elements. These poems both written by Langston Hughes both explain about inequality. Theme for English B revolves around the separation of the black and white man; the differences within each race were segregation was at a high point. Let America be America again revolves around the concept that America is supposed to be the land of the free, but to another race or background; it’s a total opposite. (I guess that being colored doesn’t make me not like the other folks who are other races. - Theme for English B). ...

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The Blue Sword CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The next morning they left the Madamer Gate, to go back down the mountain as they had come. The little troop was less than half what it had been the morning before, and it moved more slowly, from weariness, wounds and †¦ a slight feeling of anticlimax, Harry thought. She had a foul headache. Every step Sungold took struck like a mallet behind her eyes, and her vision sparkled with it. â€Å"Does one always feel a bit lost, the day after a battle?† she asked Jack, who was riding somewhat stiffly at her side. Draco had suffered a cut over his poll, and the headpiece of the bridle was paddled with a bit of blue cloth. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"Even when you win.† They rode gently but steadily all that day. That evening Harry said to Kentarre: â€Å"You may leave now, if you wish, to go home. I – we're all grateful for your help. It's very likely we would not have held them off even long enough for – for Gonturan to drop the mountains on them, without you. And,† Harry said more hesitantly, â€Å"it is also good to find another friend and ally.† Kentarre smiled. She smiled much more easily now than she had when she and her archers first stepped out of the trees to pledge to Harimad-sol; and Harry didn't think it was only because the threat of the Northerners had been halted. â€Å"It is good to find a friend, lady, as you say, and it is ill to lose one too soon. We would follow you still, and see your king, and give you a little more glory at your return. I think perhaps we filanon have held alone in our woods too long; and without you, Harimad-sol, we would have no homes now to go back to. We were Damarians not so very long ago, and our fathers called Corlath's fathers king. We would go with you.† Four of her archers had materialized out of the firelight to stand beside her when she began to speak, and they nodded. One wore a white rag around his forehead, and it covered one eyebrow, which gave him a puzzled uncertain look; but there was no uncertainty in his sharp nod. Harry looked unhappily at her hands. â€Å"I – I'm not sure it would be wise of you to come to Corlath on my heels, calling me sol. I came here – left him and his army and his battle plans – expressly against his wishes, and I think it more than likely that I'm riding into trouble, as I choose to go back. I – er – applaud the idea that you should declare yourselves as Damarians again, but I – well – highly recommend that you make your own path to Corlath, without me.† Kentarre did not seem surprised by Harry's words; but then Terim or Senay must have told her the story. â€Å"Your Corlath I think is not a fool, and it would be foolish to treat with less than great honor the one who buried Thurra and thousands of his army. We will come with you, and if he turns you away, we will still come with you. You are welcome here,† Kentarre said with a wave of her hand and a faint musical clatter of the blue beads around her wrist. â€Å"You need not go into exile homeless.† Harry said nothing. She found that she was too tired to argue, and too grateful for their loyalty, for she was simply afraid of what she was returning to – afraid mainly because she realized how desperately she wanted to be able to go back. It was true, Corlath would be forced to honor her as the cause of Thurra's downfall, for he was no fool and he was a very honorable king; but she did not want him forced. â€Å"Very well,† she said at last; â€Å"let it be as you wish.† Kentarre bowed, a brief graceful sweep. â€Å"Thank you,† said Harry. â€Å"It is my honor to follow Harimad-sol,† said Kentarre. Jack smiled at Harry as she knelt down again by their fire, and was swarmed over by Narknon, who seemed in her own way to be as shaken by the mountains' falling as the human beings had been. â€Å"We cling to you like leeches,† he said, and she looked at him in surprise. â€Å"Or so I believe was the gist of your conversation just now.† Harry nodded. â€Å"So perhaps this is a good time to warn you that Richard and I and our lot are planning to come too – throw ourselves at the mercy of your Hill-king. There's nothing at home for us. And um – † he turned his hands over to warm the backs of them by the fire, and stared at his callused palms – â€Å"we'd like to.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"You'll only be able to talk us out of it with an extraordinary amount of effort, because any reason you may come up with we will immediately assume has to do with your praiseworthy desire to spare us pain or trouble, and we are quite selfishly set on riding east on your heels. And we none of us have the strength for protracted arguing anyway, yourself included. And I may be old and stiff and sore, but I'm wonderfully stubborn.† There was a pause. â€Å"Very well,† said Harry. Richard, at Jack's left hand, poked the fire with a stick. â€Å"That was easier than I was expecting,† he said. Jack smiled mysteriously. They came to Senay's village the next day, and they were met with a feast. Senay's father explained: â€Å"We felt the mountain fall three days ago, for the earth shook under us and ash blew over us. The air felt brighter afterward, and so we knew it had gone well for you.† â€Å"The dust was blue,† said Rilly. â€Å"And it is a three days' ride to the Gate from here, so we expected you,† the young woman, Rilly's mother and Senay's father's second wife, explained; and Senay's father, Nandam, said: â€Å"Hail to Harimad-sol, Wizard-Tamer, Hurler of Mountains.† â€Å"Oh dear,† said Harry in Homelander, and Jack snorted and coughed, and Richard demanded to be let in on the joke. But when the platters, heavy and steaming, were passed, she decided that fame had its advantages. She had not eaten so well since she had sat at the banquet that made her a Rider †¦ with Corlath †¦ The next morning, to her dismay, Nandam appeared with a tall black horse with one white foot. â€Å"I will come with you,† he said. â€Å"This leg has made me useless in battle, but I am not without honor, and Corlath knew me of old, for Senay is not the first to ride to the king of the City from my family and my mountain. I will ride in your train too, Wizard-Tamer.† Harry winced. â€Å"But – † It was her favorite word of late. â€Å"I know,† said Nandam. â€Å"Senay told me. It is why I will come.† They avoided the fort of the Outlander town, lying peacefully in the sun, untroubled by the tiresome tribal matters of the old Damarians. The Outlanders had known all along there were too few of the Hillfolk to make serious trouble; and if the earth had shivered slightly underfoot a few days ago, it must be that the mountains were not so old as they thought, and were still shifting and straining against their place upon the earth. Perhaps a little volcanic activity would crack a new vein of wealth, and the Aeel Mines would no longer be the only reason the Outlanders went into the Ramid Mountains. Jack looked rather broodingly toward the iron-bound wall inside which he had spent most of the last eighteen years. He caught Harry looking at him and said: â€Å"Anything there waiting for me is something on the order of ‘Confine yourself to quarters while we decide what to do with you – poor man, the desert was too much for him and he finally went bonkers.' I'm not going back.† Harry smiled faintly. â€Å"I botched it, you know. If I'd known what I was doing, I could have gone alone, quietly dropped half a mountain range where it would do the most good – â€Å" â€Å"And ridden off into a cloud, never to be heard of again,† said Jack. â€Å"I sometimes think the blind devotion – or the press of numbers – of your loyal followers is all that is sending you back to your king at all.† Harry stared unseeingly at the horizon of her beloved Hills, and she remembered Aerin's words, and that Dickie had called her back to this world just a little too soon. â€Å"Is he really such an ogre?† Jack went on. â€Å"Don't you want to go back?† Harry turned and looked back at the smudge on the golden-grey sands that was Istan. â€Å"No, he is not an ogre. And, yes, I want to go back – very much. That is why I am afraid.† Jack looked at her; she could feel his gaze on her, but she would not meet his eyes. The trip back, Harry thought unhappily less than three days later, seemed a lot shorter than the trip away; and this in spite of the fact that they were moving slowly for the sake of their wounded, who had resisted staying in Nandam's village to be healed and demanded to come with them. â€Å"They don't want to miss out on any of the fun,† Jack said apologetically, as if it were all his fault. â€Å"Fun?† she said, exasperated. â€Å"Your attitude is perhaps a little unnecessarily rigorous,† suggested Jack. Harry muttered something that was better not said aloud, and added, â€Å"They take honor and loyalty very seriously here, you know, you Damarian-mad Homelander.† Jack shrugged. â€Å"And if they throw us out on our collective ear – even that is fun of a sort, I believe.† He paused, and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. â€Å"But I'm afraid I have the same optimistic outlook as the rest of Harry's bandits.† Harry protested, â€Å"But I know more about it!† â€Å"Ignorance is bliss,† replied Jack. They had no difficulty finding their way to the camp of the Hill-king. Harry never thought about it, beyond the simple word â€Å"east.† But although â€Å"east† covers a great deal of territory, she had pointed Sungold's nose as surely as if she were a route-rider, covering the same path she had traveled for years. She wished now she weren't quite so accurate. She could see the king's tent looming in the twilight before them, the sunset fading behind them, and their long shadows beginning to dissolve in the ripples of the grey sand underfoot. She knew that they were marked by the king's guard, but no one hailed them. She could well believe that she and Sungold and Gonturan were immediately recognizable, but she was surprised that even if she were not to be taken prisoner on sight the very obvious presence of twelve armed Outlanders in her train was exciting no comment. Since she did not know what else to do, she rode reluctantly but directly to the king's tent; it rose from the center of the other tents, the black-and-white banner flying from its peak. Still no one stopped or questioned her; but several offered her silent hand greeting, the kind a king's Rider might expect, and this comforted her a little. But she wished she would see someone she knew well enough to talk to – Mathin or Innath by choice – to ask what sort of welcome she might expect. There was little sign that this army had fought a desperate battle against the odds only days before; and she suddenly realized that it had never occurred to her that Corlath might lose. She was learning to believe what the backs of her eyelids told her. The tents were all neatly and precisely pitched, and the horses she saw were sleek and fit. There was a hum of tension about the camp, though, which she could feel; the silence had a stretched quality to it, and those people she saw hurrying from tent to tent looked as though their errands might be about life and death. Sungold's steps fell too quickly. She saw no other Rider, and at the door to the king's tent she paused, and her company came up behind her, and fanned out into a little court around their captain. The gold-sashed guard saluted her, just as he had done half a year ago; she thought it was even the same man, although he looked much older, almost as old as she felt. She stayed in the saddle; she wanted to stay there forever; at very least it made her taller than a man on foot – even Corlath. What was she to say? â€Å"The prodigal has returned? The mutineer wishes to be reinstated? The subordinate, having gone to a great deal of trouble to prove her commander wrong, has come back and promises to be a good little subordinate hereafter, or at least until the next time?† Then Corlath put back his golden silk door and stood before her, and she stared down at him, and she could not have gotten out of the saddle then even if she had wanted to. She realized why, when her kelar had shown him to her in battle some days ago, she had not at first recognized him, that his sash was the wrong color. He was wearing her sash. â€Å"Hari,† he said; then â€Å"Harimad-sol,† as he walked to Sungold's side; stiffly he moved, she thought, and her heart failed her at the thought that he might have been wounded. She stared down at him still, and could not move, and then, shyly, he put his hand around her dusty leather ankle and said, carefully, â€Å"Harry.† She pulled her leg over the withers and slid down Sungold's shoulder as she had once slid down Fireheart's, and put her arms around her king and hugged him fiercely; and his arms closed around her and he murmured something, but her blood was ringing in her ears, and she could not hear what it was. It is not very comfortable, holding someone close who is wearing a sword and various unyielding bits of leather armor, and it is less comfortable yet if both parties are so accoutered. Harry and Corlath dropped their arms after a short time and looked at each other, and each distantly thought that the other one was wearing a rather silly smile, and Harry noticed that Corlath's eyes were the color of gold. â€Å"You are unhurt?† she said; her voice sounded tinny in her hot ears. â€Å"I am unhurt,† he said. â€Å"And you?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry, still looking at his golden eyes. â€Å"Or no. I am not hurt.† â€Å"I am glad,† her king said, and his voice was still low and shy, â€Å"to see you – here – and still – † he hesitated – â€Å"still of the Hills?† Harry took a deep breath. â€Å"I will be of the Hills till I die, but what are you going to do to me for going off like that? And it's not their fault,† she went on hurriedly, gesturing behind her, â€Å"but they would come with me even though I warned them how it was with me. Whatever you say, I will obey, but – what is it?† She stopped, for as she tried to make her apologies, or her amends, or whatever they were, she remembered that she and Corlath were not alone, and that she was a deserter. She looked up and around, but her company were only dark figures to her, dim in the fading light. â€Å"I will return to you your sash,† Corlath said, but his hands did not move to untie it from around his waist. â€Å"You should not have lost it – for I assume you lost it. If you had not, but flung it away deliberately, it would be a sign that you denied me, and Damar, and were making yourself an exile forever.† â€Å"Oh no,† said Harry, horrified; and the slightly foolish and uncertain smile on Corlath's face grew into a real smile, one unlike any Harry had ever seen on the Hill-king's face before. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"I hoped not.† Harry whispered: â€Å"You have done me much honor – since the beginning.† Corlath replied: â€Å"I did only what I must, for the kelar gave me no choice; but I – I came to believe in you, and I did not care what the kelar said.† â€Å"Did you believe in me then, when I rode away and left you, my king, and I a king's Rider, against your orders?† The smile faded, but his eyes were still bright yellow. â€Å"I did,† he said. â€Å"Luthe †¦ warned me you would do something mad – and I †¦ feared something else, for thus a man makes a fool of himself, and will not accept the wisdom the gods send him. I did not realize what Luthe had told me – I had forgotten what the kelar had told me – till you had gone.† â€Å"Something else?† said Harry. â€Å"What did you fear?† Her heart beat more rapidly as she waited for his reply, and she hoped he would ask her such a question, that she might answer it as her heart bade her. But Corlath looked around them. â€Å"The Outlanders you bring to my camp are not your escort home?† Harry shook her head violently. â€Å"They are my escort home only insofar as they would bear me company in my home, in the Hills, if you will have them.† â€Å"I will have them, and be honored,† said Corlath, and his eyes lingered on Jack, who sat Draco quietly between Richard and Terim, â€Å"they who stood at Madamer Gate and watched the mountain fall on Thurra. This tale they will tell, I hope, and tell often.† â€Å"And I hope I will never have to do anything like that again,† said Harry, and for a moment she could not see Corlath's yellow eyes, but a demon-thing that had once been human on a white stallion with the teeth of a leopard. Corlath looked down at the top of her bent head. â€Å"For you I hope that you do not either; the kelar strength is not a comfortable Gift. â€Å"I saw – I watched the mountain fall. I heard you call me and knew then who it was you faced – and thus why it was that I had not seen him before me: why we were able to throw the Northerners back, for all that they outnumbered us. They did not, I think, expect us to be so strong, or Thurra would not have divided his army as he did; for Thurra's demon blood had told him that only the demon Gifts are strong. â€Å"I was proud of you – and I was glad that it was I you called upon.† His voice died away to a murmur, but then he spoke loudly: â€Å"There is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, to Aerin and Tor, that we do not often see today, for there have been few women warriors of late, till Gonturan rode to battle again. But tradition is that a betrothed pair may exchange sashes, and thus they pledge their honor to each other, for all to see. I will return you your sash if you choose, for I have no right to wear it, as you have not granted me the right. But I have been honored to wear it, in my people's eyes, till you returned – for as I had had so little faith in you despite Luthe's words to me, so I decided to have faith that you would return, to the Hills and to me, and to hope that your answer might justify me.† Harry said clearly, that all might hear: â€Å"My king, I would far rather you kept my sash as you have kept it for me in faith while I was gone away from you, and gave me your sash to wear in its place. For my honor, and more than my honor, has been yours for months past, but I saw no more clearly than did you till I had parted from you, and knew then what it would cost me if I could not return. And more, I knew what it would cost me if I returned only to be a king's Rider.† Then a cheer went up from many throats, and not only from those of Harry's company; for many of the camp had gathered in the center court before the king's zotar to hear how this meeting would go, for they had seen Harimad-sol's sash around their king's waist, and those who remembered the tradition had told of it to those who did not. And there was no surprise, in those who had followed Harry or in those who had fought with Corlath, and there was much joy; and the echoes of those cheers must have come even to the city boundaries of the Outlander town called Istan, and the barred gate of the General Mundy. And the Outlanders who had followed Jack Dedham when he decided to follow the young Harry Crewe, who had become Harimad-sol and the Hill-king's Rider, and who did not know the Hill tongue, looked around them, and at the two tall figures before them standing beside the chestnut stallion, and they cheered too; and Jack, in a lull, said to them: â€Å"In case you would like to be sure what you're cheering, our Harry is going to marry this chap. He's the king, Corlath.† Under the cover of the shouting Corlath drew Harry closer to him and said: â€Å"I have loved you long, though at first I did not know it; but I knew it when I sent you into the Hills with Mathin and Tsornin for your teachers, for I saw then how I missed you. And when in the City I found that Narknon had followed you, I was jealous of a cat, who could go where she wished.† Harry said, softly, that only his ears might hear: â€Å"You might have spoken.† Corlath smiled wryly. â€Å"I was afraid to tell you, for I had stolen you from your people, and the awakening of your kelar might make you hate me, for she whose blood gave you the Gift left the Hills long ago. When you knew what it was that this heritage gave you, it might drive you back all the more strongly to your father's people, to a fate the Hills had no part of. The Gift is not a pleasant burden. â€Å"But when I saw you were gone I looked to the west, for I knew where you must be going, and I vowed that if we both lived, when we met again I would tell you that I loved you, and ask you to stand by me not as Rider but as queen; for suddenly it seemed worth the risk, and I could not bear it that you might never know.† Harry said: â€Å"I love you, and it has haunted me that for my disobedience I would be exiled, not from the people I have claimed as my own, though this were punishment enough, but from you that I loved best of anything and best of all. I think I knew you could not exile me, for the victory Gonturan had won for you and your Hills; but I knew that for you to have turned against me for leaving as I did, it would have been the bitterest exile, even if I sat at your left hand as Rider all my life.† It was Innath who grabbed her away at last and danced her around, for Innath had no dignity, and Corlath and Harry seemed able to ignore the tumult around them indefinitely. Then Jack took her away from him, and then she was embraced and knocked about and swung back and forth till she was dizzy; but she laughed and was happy, and thanked everyone who touched her. But there was one face in particular that she looked for and could not find, and its absence troubled her. At last they let her go to Corlath again, and her happiness was shaken for the face she could not find, and she seized his arm anxiously and said, â€Å"Where is Mathin?† Corlath, who had been dancing too, went very still. â€Å"He is not dead?† she said, and her voice rose till it broke; but when he shook his head it gave her no comfort. He took her hand in his and said, â€Å"Come,† and led her away, through the tents. Now she could see the traces of battle, for by lantern light she saw blood-stained gear and unidentifiable bits and tatters moving mournfully in the evening breeze, and some few people, bandaged, limping, or lying by campfires, gently tended by those who were unhurt. Corlath led her to a long low tent and drew her inside, and the smell of death struck her at once, although the figures lying on rugs and blankets and cushions were well cared for and cleanly bandaged, and their chests still rose and fell with breathing, and there were many nurses watching over them and bringing drink and thin invalid food. Corlath brought her to the far end of the narrow tent, and the figure there turned its head toward them. Harry threw herself on her knees, weeping, for here was Mathin. â€Å"I knew you would return,† said Mathin, and one hand moved a few inches to close weakly around Harry's; and Harry gulped and nodded, but still her tears flowed and she could not stop them. â€Å"And you will marry our king?† he went on, in what would have been a conversational tone if it had not been so faint, and Harry nodded again. â€Å"I wanted you to toast us at the wedding, my old friend and horse-breaker and teacher,† she said. Mathin smiled. â€Å"I leave my honor in good hands, best of daughters,† he said gently. â€Å"No,† said Harry, and while her tears still fell her voice gained strength. â€Å"No.† As she knelt, Gonturan dug a hole between her ribs, and she stood up impatiently and unbuckled her and let her fall; and as she bent down again a few of her tears fell on her own hand, and they were hot, scalding hot, and left red marks where they touched the skin; and she realized that her eyes and cheeks burned with them. She drew the blanket away from Mathin's chest and belly, where a long mortal wound oozed through its wrappings; the blood was almost black, and green-tinged, poisoned, and there was an unhealthy smell. â€Å"In Aerin's day,† murmured Harry, â€Å"kelar was good for things. It didn't only hurt things, and make trouble.† Corlath came to stand behind her. Mathin looked up at his king and said, â€Å"Aerin – â€Å" Harry felt Corlath's hands on her shoulders, and twisted where she knelt, and seized his hands. â€Å"Help me,† she said. â€Å"You helped me on that mountaintop. It was as though you held me up, held me by the shoulders as you did the first evening when I tasted the Water of Sight.† Her eyes, wide open, were going blind; it was like the golden war-rage, only worse; it would split her skin, she would wither and blacken in the heat of it. Corlath said, as if against his will, â€Å"Mathin fell, guarding me, while I was far away on a mountaintop; if it had not been for him, I would have had no body to return to.† Harry shivered and the heat plucked at her nerves and ate up her strength, and blindly she reached out one hand to touch Mathin, and her fingers touched the bare skin of his upper arm, and she felt him shudder, and his breath hissed between his teeth. Whatever it was thundered through her veins and filled her lungs and stomach, her hands and mouth; and she let go of Mathin and turned to the next bed, and scrabbled with the bedclothes, for she could see nothing but the golden storm and feel nothing but one of Corlath's hands tight in one of hers, and she touched the throat of the occupant of the pallet next to Mathin. She groped her way down the long length of that tent, stumbling, almost crawling but for Corlath, touching foreheads and hands and shoulders, and the nurses turned back the bedding, and the eyes of the dying looked into her blind eyes and hoped for her touch but feared it, and none but Corlath who were themselves whole came near enough even to brush the hem of her tunic, for it was hard just to breathe if she, with the power that was in her, was too near. The fire rose through her and crackled in her ears, so that she was deaf as well; but at last they came to the door, and Corlath led her out, her feeble feet not sure where they would find the earth with each step; and she felt the evening breeze, and the fire began to subside, reluctantly at first. But as it drained out of her, back to where it had come from, it took with it the marrow of her bones and the elastic of her muscles, for such was the fire's fuel, and she leaned against Corlath. He put his arms around her, and when the fire flickered at last and went out and she crumpled, he picked her up and carried her back to his zotar, and she lay in his arms as limp a burden as when he had put the sleep on her, the night he stole her from the Residency. Harry woke up feeling as if she had been sick for a year and was now approaching convalescence. She stared at the peaked roof of the zotar and slowly realized where she was. Even her thoughts were too weak to entertain the idea of moving. Narknon, by some extra feline sense, knew when she opened her eyes, and without moving from her sprawl across Harry's legs, began to purr. With the purr came Corlath, who had been sitting just beyond the curtain that had been hung by Harry's bed to give her peace from the comings and goings of the king's tent. He put back the curtain when he heard Narknon. He was himself weary, for much of the strength Harry had used the evening before was his; and he had not been able to sleep that night for watching her. He watched her sleeping, hoping only that she would awaken and still be Harry. His heart was in his mouth as he dropped down beside her. The look on his face brought Harry more strongly back to herself, and she sat shakily up; and he put an arm around her shoulders, and she was happy to rest her head against his chest and be silent. She did not want to ask, but she could not help herself, so at last she said: â€Å"Mathin?† His voice sounded deeper than ever with her ear against his chest when he spoke. â€Å"He will carry a handsome scar, but he will carry it lightly, and he will be strong enough to sit on Windrider when we leave this place to return to the City, in a few days' time; although his right arm still pains him somewhat, from the long raw burn near the shoulder, as though a fire had scorched him.† Harry remembered how she had known the fire was eating her, that it would leave nothing of her; and she opened her right hand, the hand that had touched Mathin. It looked as it always had, but for the small white mark across the palm, which was only two months old. â€Å"And the others?† â€Å"None will die, and while none is as quick to recover as Mathin, none either bears the mark of where Harimad-sol touched them.† â€Å"And – my people? Jack, and Kentarre, and those who follow them? And Nandam, and – and Richard? Have you met my brother Richard?† â€Å"Your Jack has introduced us.† Corlath had remembered Colonel Dedham when he saw him standing in the twilight behind Harry; remembered him as the one man who had seemed to listen to what Forloy said, and believe that the men of the Hills might be speaking the truth, even to Outlanders. It was that sight of the man who had offered the Hill-king his loyalty while standing on the Residency verandah that had given Corlath the courage to declare his love for Harry the night before. It had seemed a fine bold thing to him at the time to bind her sash around himself and wear it openly; it hadn't occurred to him till he saw her with her company at her back, and her pale eyes fixed on him with an expression he could not read, that it would force him to face her with it and what it meant immediately, whenever he saw her again – if he saw her again. It would doubtless have been kinder or more courteous – and less dangerous – to choose his time and place; and not make such a public display of it. But then, without the sash around his waist and his people watching eagerly for the outcome, it was so extremely possible that his courage would have failed him again, for all his noble words about risk-taking. All these things he would tell Harry later. â€Å"But Richard has the face of your family, though he has not the eyes, and I would have guessed who he must be.† â€Å"Jack would like better than anything in the world to ride a Hill horse.† Harry heard the beginning of his laugh far inside him before it burst out into the air; and she raised her head and looked inquiringly into his face. He shook his head at her and said, â€Å"My heart, your Jack shall have a hundred of our horses, and welcome,† and then he bent his head and kissed her, and she drew him down beside her. A few minutes later Narknon, with an offended growl, climbed off the bed and stalked away. Mathin was a trifle paler than usual when Corlath's army mounted and set their faces to the east, but he sat easily on Windrider and looked all around him as if reminding himself of what he thought he had lost; but most often he looked at Harimad-sol, riding at the king's right hand. The army moved slowly, for there were litters to carry, and they need not hurry. Even the desert sun overhead seemed glorious rather than relentless, and their king was to marry the damalur-sol who bore Gonturan the Blue Sword, and the Northerners had been defeated, at least for their time, and probably for their children's time, and perhaps even their grandchildren's; and Damar was still theirs. And it was as well also that the army was moving slowly for the sake of Jack Dedham and Richard Crewe, who were riding Hill horses, and finding Hill horsemanship a little more difficult than Harry had, and were dismayed at the idea of being able to stop a horse at full gallop simply by sitting down a little hard er in the saddle. Harry, when she was not with Corlath, rode circles around them and teased them and made Sungold do all sorts of fancy passes and turns, not really to annoy them but only because she could not contain herself for happiness. Sungold bucked and bounced till even Harry had to clutch at his mane to stay on – Jack had the temerity to laugh – and behaved not at all like a well-schooled war-horse, and seemed just as happy as she.