Essay Grief and Bereavement in The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye has been described, analyzed, rebuffed, and critiqued over the years. Each writer expresses a different point of view: It is a story reflecting teen-agers talk--thoughts-emotions--actions; or angst. I believe it is an adults reflection of his own unresolved grief and bereavements. That adult is the author, J.D. Salinger. He uses his main character, Holden, as the voice to vent the psychological misery he will not expose -or admit to. If there are 785 instances of profanity in the book, I contend there are well over a hundred scenes where Holden used the word depressed. DAmbrosio presents this same thought saying, It should be obvious by now that I dont see The Catcher in the Rye as†¦show more content†¦He believes that there is something in Salingers own life that is being portrayed through the character Holden. Ambrosio does not believe that this is a coming-of-age, or the anxious life of a teen-ager story. Instead, he believes the story is a search for a disturbing and extreme loss of identity. The book is, he claims, All about suicide and silence(31). I found Ambrosios correlations to be very telling and supportive of my thesis. Early in Salingers life, he faced one the cultural illnesses widespread in the North Eastern states of America. It was the virulent disease of anti-Semitism. Salinger lived in New York City, where he was raised as the son of Jewish parents. The 1920s and 1930s were a time in America when Anti-Semitism was written into the policies of many institutions. His heritage automatically deprived him from attending the best colleges: Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth. He was prevented from belonging to certain social clubs, from certain professions, and from the rank of officer in the U. S. Military. Reporters and editors, trying to interview Salinger about his early life, ran into a prickly silent wall. Margaret, his daughter reveals why. During the Depression and World War 11, from 1939 to 1945, anti Semitism was at its peak. Jews met a wall of discrimination at colleges, clubs, and career opportunities. Prior to 1948, it was not uncommonShow MoreRelatedCharacteristics Of Holden Caulfield1716 Words   |  7 Pages‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is a classic novel set in the 1950’s. Holden Caulfield is a young 16 year old boy walking through life, hardships, and criticism towards life. Throughout Holden’s story, his odd behavior is displayed in a manner which opens the readers’ eyes to an entirely new persona. One that sees the worst in everything, one that doesn’t see the reality of things, a mind unable to decipher the beauty which the world holds within. Through his behavior and thoughts, the reader is led to

Dyslexi A Learning Disability Characterized By Difficulty

Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by difficulty in reading fluently, as well as comprehending what is read, even in the absence of any other disabilities and with a normal IQ. There are several categories in which individuals with dyslexia may have trouble, such as language skills, phonological decoding and awareness, verbal comprehension, rapid naming, processing, and auditory short-term memory. One factor that stands out with dyslexia and one that causes a lot of controversy is the definition. These can include symptoms-based definitions, other problems that lead to literacy difficulties, and a working definition agreed upon by the Health Council of the Netherlands, which states â€Å" Dyslexia is present when the automatization of word identification (reading) and/or spelling does not develop or does so very incompletely or with great difficulty.† (Smythe, 2011) This definition provides a broad explanation that does not touch on specific causes and avoids any stigmatizing language in order to better serve those affected with dyslexia. The etiology of dyslexia is vast and varied. Although the fact that it is neurological is well-known, several causes can be attributed to it, such as environmental, cognitive, behavioral, and biological reasons. Dyslexia can also be acquired, which means it can appear later in life. Because of this, there are debates within the scientific community, with research being performed such as brain scans and other procedures to

A New Framework For Managing Change

Question: Discuss about a Report on A New Framework For Managing Change? Answer: In the year 2003, on the 18th of July, the cabin crews of British Airways called out a 24 hours strike. This strike was known as the Wildcat strike, where almost 10,000 passengers suffered from this strike at the Heathrow Airport in London. Interestingly the trade unions was not involved in this strike; but 250 cabin crew walked out, during a peak holiday season. The situation became so worse that the British Airways (BA) had to call the police and also have to set up a tent outside the airport. For this incident, the BA was deeply criticized, especially by the American passengers who were flying to the United States that day. After 24 hours on Saturday, the cabin crew returned to work but the effect of the strike was still there. On the 21st of July, that is on the Monday BA reported that over 1,000 passengers had canceled their services, as a result of this crime. The BA faced a set back because of this strike; it face a loss almost 40 million pounds. This loss was faced at post 9/ 11 era when major events like the Iraq war and the SARs attacks were taking place in the world. The BA later declared they have lost almost 100,000 customers. There was a dispute between the BA management and the cabin crews because the BA introduced a new electronic clock in the system; this was introduced to record the attendance of the cabin crew; to record the time when they come in for the work and the time when they leave the workplace. The staff, on the other hand, did not accept this system because they thought with this new system the managers were now given the power to manipulate both their shifts and the work. BA again thought that it will modernize the whole system and improve the efficient staffs as well as the resources. Things were not so, the result of this modernization was loss or cut of many cabin crews. Almost 13,000 cabin crews lost their job and the BA always suffered because of the shortage of ground staff. According to some writers, workers felt that they were not given enough respect for the work done by them. The result of this new system was the strike held by the cabin crew on July 18. The BA on the 23rd of Jul y has a conversation with the unions and agreed to the 3% hike in the salary of the workers, and delayed the swipe card operational system till the 1st of September. According to Bergin (2015), a change in the organizational sector will affect or influence four different parts of an organization. The four different parts are structured, strategy, technology, and employee. Thus when an organizational leader is taking a decision to bring in a change, then the leader has to be very careful. Most of the time, most of the employees could not take the change in an organizational sector in a positive way because it was not communicated to them properly. There is an improvement in the communication says in the last few years, and thus now it has become easier for the organizations to communicate with their employees in the proper way. The organizational leaders should be able to convince the employees that the organizational change will enhance their skill; this will encourage the employees to accept the change in the organizational sector in a positive way. In this case, BA introduces the transformational change to compete in the present business enviro nment, and their words were not communicated in the right way to the cabin crews. According to Keenan (2005), managers in an organization often ignore those people who could bring in the relevant and innovative change in an organization, at the local level. These people can go beyond their job criteria and work for the organizations. Organizational changes in an organization will be accepted by the employees if three things are in balance. These three things are strong teamwork, leadership, and the bureaucratic system. The business environment is hyper-competitive; thus Palmer and Dunford are of the opinion that most of the time these sectors have the structural changes to cope up in this competitive market. The organizational sector most of the time, regard the changes as reorientation transformation that will help them to cope in this competitive business environment. Changes on the other hand in the organizational sector should regard it as robust transformation; that will bring in equilibrium between the management and employees. This equilibrium was not there between the cabin crews and the management of the BA. References Oakland, J.S. Tanner, S.J. (2007) 'A New Framework For Managing Change', TQM Magazine, 19 (6), pp.572-589, [Online]. Keenan, H. (2005). 'The hard side of change management'. Managing organizational change: a multiple perspective approach. (2009). . Werkman, R. (2010). Reinventing Organization Development: How a Sensemaking Perspective Can Enrich OD Theories and Interventions. Journal of Change Management, 10(4), pp.421-438.

Suicidal Mind Essays - Borderline Personality Disorder,

Suicidal Mind I havent read any books on suicide before. So I thought this book was pretty interesting and it gave me a lot of good information on suicide. This book made me realize that there are many commonalities between suicidal people. The states that the common emotion in suicide is hopelessness-helplessness. Dr. Shneidman concludes that the best way to understanding suicide is not through the study of the brain structure, nor study of social statistics and mental disease, but through the study of human emotions. Dr. Shneidman believes that those persons who commit suicide do so to either put a side or to stop unbearable psychological pain, due to the constant frustration for important psychological needs. The psychological needs that Dr. Shneidam mentions, were first described by Henry A Murray in Explorations in Personality (1938). According to Dr. Shneidman, suicides are partially part to one of the five number of frustrated psychological needs: (1) prevented love, acceptance, and belonging: (2) fractured control, and predictability: (3) assaulted self-image and avoidance or shame: (4) ruptured key relationships and attendant grief: (5) excessive anger, rage and hostility. Suicide isnt so much a factor of the psychological needs but frustration caused by basic needs for that person to function. In general a therapists or psychotherapists goal. Is to recognize a suicidal patients needs. So the therapist can help the patient see the other alternatives instead of suicide. Dr. Shneidman uses three cases from the files of a UCLA thanatologist. That showed, that killing ones self is not easy. The first case is about a lady called Ariel Page 2 Wilson, who chose self-immolation, but survived with really bad burns on her body. Ariels central need was succorance, the need to be taken care of, loved and succored. In the second case is a lady called Beatrice, who wrote out her life story while she was Dr. Shneidmans patient. Her method of suicide was knives and starvation. She was a very different case to Ariel Wilson. Beatrice had a great need for order, sanctuary, and a world that she could depend on, but what mostly showed of her intense need was how she was born with fear and anxiety. For example she would reject other people before they might possibly reject her. Its still unclear whether she has stopped her attempts at suicide. Castro the third patient was unable to speak since he had no more face after attempting to blow his brains out. Castro suffered from constriction, isolation, confused logic, and profound hopelessness. All three cases had different psychological needs and helped me understand why basic needs for peo ple are so important. I found that this book was interesting. I thought book was kinda sad at times cause some of the cases that were shown and the people wrote was depressing. But to honest I wish I did a report that I could relate more to me. Cause Ive never thought of committing and dont know anyone suicidal or who has already committed suicide. But this book did let me have a different perspective on suicidal people. This book answered my questions on suicide. Why do people commit suicide? Suicidal people usually are suffering from emotional problems. The frustration of psychological needs is what leads them to killing themselves. The book also said that everyone at least once in their lives thought about committing suicide. Book Reports

OfficeMax Corporate Description

Introduction The purpose of this essay is to describe the background of OfficeMax, Inc., financial statements, organizational structure, industry overview, and overall performance of this company.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on OfficeMax Corporate Description specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Company and Industry Description OfficeMax is a diversified company and the pioneer of retail office products industry, which serves the pubic and private sector for the office supplies, paper, print, document services, and technological solution with high integrity, accountability, and corporate social responsibility through 29,000 associates all over the USA; in addition, it establishes several subsidiaries with 1,000 stores in the US and Mexico (OMX, Inc. 1). The performance of the office-supply retail industry is very significant to the manufacturers as they directly linked with the quick unstable demand, while the secto r generated profit of US$ 151.5 million with sales revenue US$ 7.6 billion in 2011, but the industry has been suffering from a declining profit from 2.6% to 2.0% during 2006 to 2011 (IBISWorld 4). History of firm OfficeMax started its journey in 1931 in the name of Boise Cascade Corporation; in 2003, it acquired OfficeMax, Inc. that provided the company to double its office products supply chain in the US market and the company bannered as OfficeMax; at the same time, it registered in NYSE and established headquarter in Naperville, Illinois (OMX, Inc. 1). In 2004, the company diversified its business from manufacturing to independent office products distribution channels for different technology based office supplies; in 2006, it brought remarkable changes at the management and shifted headquarters with strategic plan that rescued the company from the serious impact of global financial crisis and the company introduced five-year growth plan in 2010. Ownership and Stockholders of Company ZACKS (6) pointed out that OfficeMax Inc. has already listed company in the New York Stock Exchange, and it has aligned with 94% Institutional Ownership, 1 % Insider Ownership with US$ 696 million of market capitalization and 87 millions of outstanding shares while its Mexican outlets operated through 51% joint venture. The debt equity scenario of the company is as followsAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Figure 1: Equity and Debt Position of OMX Source: Modified from Morningstar, Inc. (1) The current equity owners of the company is as – Figure 2: Current Equity Owner Source: Modified from Morningstar, Inc. (1)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on OfficeMax Corporate Description specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Morningstar, Inc. (1) reported that the stockholders of the OfficeMax are Franklin Balance Sheet Investment Fund, Thornburg Value, CREF Stock, and Fidelity Value and so on while Countryman (1) pointed out that the share of the company is significantly undervalued and they think to break-up or realize their full investment, such threatening trend of investors have generated huge challenges. Financial Condition: Past, Present, Trends According to the Yahoo Finance (1), share price of OfficeMax experienced extreme growth in the stock market at the initial stage, and the share price of this company decreased in 2008 and it was below $2 at that time though the position developed steadily; however, the following figure shows the historical stock price of OfficeMax for three stock exchanges – Figure 3: Historical stock price performance of OfficeMax from 2008 to 2011 Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Key variables 1997 ($ million) 1998 ($ million) 1999 ($ million) Sales Revenue 3.765.444 4,337.768 4,842.698 Gross profit 870.36 973.23 1,111.543 Net Income 89.6 2 48.62 10.041 EPS 0.72 0.39 0.09 Table 1: Key financial variables of OfficeMax Source: Self generated from O’Malley (14)Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More O’Malley (20) pointed out that the performance of this company deteriorated from the fiscal 2000 and the earning per share declined as well; however, the present performance of the company is satisfactory, but it must have to consider global financial crisis to hold stable position in the future. Analysis of financial statements and performance The operating costs of this company had not increased significantly, but the net income fluctuated dramatically, for instance, net income attributable to OfficeMax was $34.894 million, $71.155 million and $ 0.667 million for 2011, 2010 and 2009 accordingly; the following tables show key financial statistics and operating expenses for OfficeMax – Key variables 2011 ($ million) 2010 ($ million) 2009 ($ million) Sales Revenue 7,121.167 7,150.007 7,212.050 Gross profit 1,809.18 1,849.652 1,737.598 Total Assets 4,069.275 4,078.93 4,069.531 Total Liabilities 3,468.359 3,428.918 3,566.335 Total cash flows from investing activities (69.373) (87.338) 2.822 Table 2: Key Financial Variables of OfficeMax Source: self-generated from OfficeMax (74-78) and Yahoo Finance (1) Variables 2011 ($ million) 2010 ($ million) 2009 ($ million) Cost of sales 5,311.99 5,300.36 5,474.45 Operating, selling, and general and administrative expenses 1,690.97 1,689.13 1,674.71 Asset impairments 11.20 10.98 17.612 Other operating expenses 20.53 3.077 49.30 Table 3: Total operating expenses of OfficeMax Source: Self generated from OfficeMax (78) and OMX, Inc. (1) Performance and Soundness in Comparison to Industry/ Competitors The presence of strong competitors in office-supply retail industry is one of the main threats for OfficeMax while the market position of the competitors is outstanding and it has both direct and indirect competitors those offer similar services, for example, local and international office goods markets are extremely and increasingly competitive (Yahoo Finance and OfficeMax 35). Accor ding to the figure 2, the performance of this company was not enough sound considering the performance of the competitors because it generated about $40 million profits in 2011 while Office Depot earned approximately $80.95 million and Staples, Inc. generated more than $917 million; however, the following figure demonstrates direct competitor comparison among the major competitors – Figure 4: Direct Competitor Comparison among Office Depot, Inc., Staples, Inc. WMT, and industry (Specialty Retail, Other) Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Figure 5: Comparison of stock price performance between OfficeMax and Staples, Inc. for the last five years Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Figure 6: Comparison of stock price performance between OfficeMax and Office Depot, Inc. for the last five years Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Many small companies are offering similar products and many others are trying to produce innovative products using modern technology, which can change the customer behavior and in crease market demand; moreover, the existing large companies are not the only threatening aspect for OfficeMax, but prospective new entrants can also cause of competitive challenges in the free market economy. Industry Type: Manufacturing/ Service In 2010, Sales revenue from manufacturing was US$ 3,634.2 million and from retailing US$ 3,515.8 million while the consolidated sales revenue was US$ 7,150.0, this data illustrated that the contribution of Manufacturing was 51% and the rest 49% earning from retailing; thus, the company has both attributes of manufacturing and service; at the same time, it is labor intensive (OMX, Inc. 6). Organization and Structure The Chief Executive Officer named Ravichandra Saligram is responsible to control all departments; in addition, the vice-president and Chief Diversity Officer are accountable to maintain the OfficeMax Diversity Council to prepare various reports and improve operational performance by implementing strategic plan. Figure 7: Organi zational Structure 2012 of OfficeMax Source: Official Board (1) Diversification The company is extremely diversified company, for instance, it has retail segment, contract section and so on – Figure 8: Sales from different segment Source: OfficeMax (5) Centralization The top management and board members are responsible to exercise decision-making power, which demonstrates that OfficeMax is following centralized organizational structure (Barney Hesterley 135). Compensation Policies According to the annual report 2011 of OfficeMax, Executive Vice-President Steve Parsons is responsible for all aspects related with compensation and benefits; however, compensation committee designs salary structure for the employees, directors and other board members. On the other hand, OfficeMax (1) reported that salary of the directors is competitive, non-employee directors obtain a form of long-term equity reimbursement, but non-employee board members merely receive salary for their boa rd service; however, it fails to ensure high compensation and benefits to attract and retain qualified associates. The following figure shows information related with equity compensation plan – Figure 9: Equity Compensation Plan Information Source: OfficeMax (117) Management Controls The management of OfficeMax is committed to control the company and review the performance of the Company by maintaining ethical codes with integrity, the regulations and conducts for the board member, and legal provisions of national and international markets; however, Ethisphere Institute awarded this company for quality leadership in ethical business practices (OfficeMax 1). Types of Organizational Structure OfficeMax is following hierarchical or formal organizational chart to control the company; in addition, OfficeMax is highly differentiated in its own industry, which influences the company to maintain several common functional departments to operate the business, for instance, legal d epartment, merchandising, supply chain, diversity management and human resource department; however, the subsequent figure shows a simple organizational of OfficeMax- Figure 10: Organizational Chart of OfficeMax Source: OfficeMax (1) Works Cited Barney, Jay. Hesterley, William. Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage. London: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print. Countryman, Andrew. Major shareholder seeks sale or breakup of OfficeMax Inc. 2005. Web. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-03-12/business/0503120309_1_officemax-capital-partners-k-capital. IBISWorld. 2011. Office Stationery Manufacturing in the US. PDF file. 02 November 2012. http://www.texastrade.org/resources/documents/doc_download/507-office-stationery-manufacturing-in-the-us-industry-report. Morningstar, Inc. OfficeMax Inc OMX. 2012. Web. http://investors.morningstar.com/ownership/shareholders-overview.html?t=OMX. OfficeMax. Annual Report 2011 of OfficeMax. 2011. Web. http://investor.officemax.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=851 71p=irol-reportsannual. OfficeMax. Corporate Governance of OfficeMax. 2012. Web. http://investor.officemax.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=85171p=irol-govguidelines#2. OfficeMax. Organizational Chart of OfficeMax. 2012. Web. http://about.officemax.com/csr2007/working+organizational+structure.html. Official Board. Organizational Structure 2012 of OfficeMax. 2012. Web. http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/officemax. O’Malley, Judge. 2000. In re OfficeMax, Inc. Securities Litigation. PDF file. 02 November 2012. http://securities.stanford.edu/1015/OMX00/2001427_r01c_0002432.pdf. OMX, Inc. Company Facts. 2012. Web. http://about.officemax.com/html/officemax_company_facts.shtml. OMX, Inc. OfficeMax Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Financial Results. 2012. Web. http://investor.officemax.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=85171p=irol-finnewsArticleID=1529468highlight=. OMX, Inc. 2009. OfficeMax’s Living Values 2008, Corporate Social Responsibility Report. PDF file. 02 November 2012. http:// about.officemax.com/csr2009/downloads/OMX_CSR_Report_08.pdf. OMX, Inc. 2011. OfficeMax’s Fact Sheet 11. PDF file. 02 November 2012. https://www.eandi.org/PDF/OfficeMax_Difference_5.11.pdf. Yahoo Finance. Comparison of stock price performance between OfficeMax and Office Depot, Inc. for the last 5 years. 2012. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5ys=OMXl=onz=lq=lc=ODPql=1. Yahoo Finance. Comparison of stock price performance between OfficeMax and Staples, Inc. for the last 5 years. 2012. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5ys=OMXl=onz=lq=lc=SPLSql=1. Yahoo Finance. Direct Competitor Comparison. 2012. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=OMX+Competitors. ZACKS. 2012. OfficeMax Incorporated. PDF file. 02 November 2012. http://www.zacks.com/ZER/zer_get_pdf.php?r=Z921561t=OMXid=23723. This essay on OfficeMax Corporate Description was written and submitted by user Natasha M. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Essay Example

Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Essay Example Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Essay Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Essay Essay Topic: The Scarlet Letter Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Symbols in the Scarlet Letter The use of symbolism is the use of a symbol, which is the representation of something else (Fromm 122). A symbol is used to mean something else apart from the one that has obviously been described. Symbols are often used to describe the inner experiences to the outside world. The same symbol could mean different things in various contexts, and should therefore be carefully interpreted to suit the circumstances. A symbol can be an object or action that has additional meaning that is identifiable to a person. Symbolism requires seeking of a deeper meaning to a description in order to understand the intended meaning. The life of a human being is full of symbolism whether intended or accidental (Birkerts 125). We often use signs to signify various aspects of our lives and to communicate. For example, we use a handshake as a sign of peace. The writer of the scarlet letter successfully makes use of symbolism in his work. The first symbol used is Hester, pearl’s mother who is seen as a sinner by the community. She is viewed as a disgrace to the community for committing adultery and is punished for her sins after a public humiliation. The torture she undergoes during this period symbolizes the struggles that people undergo in their lives due to their moral choices. It represents the consequences of choices that are inconsistent with the society’s norms. She was ridiculed by the society for her actions, which lowers her self-esteem and her self-worth. This represents the stigmatization in the society that people who have made immoral choices undergo. After enduring her punishment, she transforms from a lifeless woman to a strong woman. She is finally set free from the oppression. This shows that been a sinner is a temporary condition that can be changed. The writer uses her as a symbol of a sinner who makes mistakes, learns from them and finally changes her behavior. Dimmesdale is also used symbolically. In the text, he is a sinner just like Hester, but unlike Hester, he does not confess to his sins and instead shies away from the truth. He comfortably goes about his duties as a reverend as if nothing had happened, and does not help Hester when she is tortured for not revealing the man who had made her pregnant. The public views him as holy while inside he is the opposite of that. The society is sometimes judgmental and fails to see a person for who he is and instead judges him depending on his outward appearance and image. This portrays him as a symbol of hypocrisy for acting like the holy person he is not. Finally, he decides to confront his sins and admits to being the father of pearl. Dimmesdale is a symbol of guilt, where he tries to fight the guilt, but it eventually wins him over and makes him confess his sins. He is also portrayed as a hypocrite who eventually comes clean and gains inner peace in doing so. The scarlet letter is used as a symbol with different meanings in various contexts. Initially, the letter was used to mean adultery in reference to Hester’s adulterous actions. It represents the suffering she was subjected to by the society. The scarlet A on her dress hides Hester’s heart just like her life; the pain and sufferings are hidden by her sinful action. Here, the scarlet A is used to represent the shame Hester’s actions had brought her. This was a way of punishing her by constantly reminding of her sins and reminding the society of the consequences of adultery. It is also meant to signify the guilt of Hester and her identity as an abomination. At the death of the governor, the community sees the scarlet letter in the sky as a sign that he was becoming an angel while to Dimmesdale it reminded him of his sins. Later on, when Hester starts visiting the homes of people in sorrow, the meaning of the letter changed to mean ‘able’. This is symbol ic of the society’s changing view on Hester as she picks up the pieces of her life after they had been shattered by her sins. This symbolizes the changes in the society’s perspective that is influenced by changes in the behavior of individuals. This means that the actions of a person are a determinant of how the society views him. Pearl is a complex character used symbolically in the text. She is like the scarlet letter only that she is a living human being. Just as the letter serves as a constant reminder to Hester of her sins, Pearl is also a reminder to her mother and to the society of the sins committed by her mother. This represents the permanent consequences of human actions that cannot be reversed and one has to live with them forever. Pearl is viewed as a product of evil by the community, and their opinion does not change like it did in relation to Hester (Hawthorne 5). This shows that the community most likely judges an individual on a sin committed once or a long time ago. Despite pearl been the symbol of her mother’s sins, she says Pearl is her source of joy. She also represents the passion that resulted from that sin. This is the symbolic meaning that good can come from evil. Instead of Hester viewing pearl as a curse, she sees her as a blessing to her. This shows that people can turn their problems into opportunities to make themselves stronger and better. It could also be interpreted as focusing on the positive aspects of a situation instead of complaining of one’s problems. Pearl enjoys the life in the forest since she feels free and happy there unlike in the puritan community. She is also set free by the confession of her father’s sins. This is symbolic that the acceptance of one’s sins sets him free from guilt and gives him peace. Chillingworth is used by the writer as a symbol of revenge. His strength and enthusiasm represents the strong emotion of revenge that is out of human control. He is compared to a snake, which symbolizes the evil that revenge possesses. Chillingworth makes the community start mistrusting Pearl, which shows the raging fire of revenge that consumes people regardless of their personalities. Dimmesdale suffers due to the torture caused by Chillingworth. This shows that the power of revenge is exceptionally strong, dangerous and destructive to the parties involved. Pearl warns her mother against associating with Chillingworth. This could be interpreted to mean that Pearl was warning her mother against been consumed by the strong force of revenge since it was a force of evil. After Dimmesdale’s confession of his sin, chilling lost his strength and withered. This is symbolic that revenge is killed by good actions since it is by itself evil. Light and color are used as symbols in the text, in their various contexts. The opposites of the two are used to represent good and evil. When pearl’s parents meet in the forest, the sky is covered in some form of gray covering, and the forest is described as black and dense. This represents the guilt weighing in their conscience and the evil sin they committed. Sunshine is seen to flicker in the forest as a representation of hope of redemption from their sinful nature. This symbolizes the hope for the alienated people in the society who have been tortured continuously for their mistakes. Pearl tells her mother that the sun would not shine on her if she was still sinful and she therefore needed to repent. This symbolizes that a sinner can only change after accepting his sins. Eventually, the sun shines on Hester after she sets her hair free. This shows that there is hope for the couple after the torture they had been subjected. This is also a sign of freedom for the oppressed after they let their troubles go. The sunshine is also a sign of nature’s approval of good actions. Darkness was used to describe jail where Hester underwent a lot of torture as punishment. The puritans at this time wore gray hats representing the sorrow of the community. Nighttime is the moment of concealment of the truth by Dimmesdale. His confession is made at noon when the sun is bright. The use of noon is symbolic of the revelation and exposure that he is exposed to by his confession. It is also symbolic of a line between good and evil since his confession makes him a better person but other people may focus on his wrongdoings. The community is associated with dull colors such as grey and black which is a representation of their sorrow. The setting in the text is symbolic. The group of people who are consistently watching the development of the story represents the rigid rules and regulation governing the community, which cannot be changed. The forest represents the natural world governed by the laws of nature, which are more humane than those of the land. The forest is also a representation of a moral ground that Hester goes into after her sinful nature. The brook is a border for the two worlds, which pearl refuses to cross. The writer has successfully used symbolism to communicate various messages about the life of a human being in a society. The scarlet letter is a short story with a lot of information. Symbolism gas been used to simplify the message into short words. The various interpretations of a particular symbol are proofs of the richness of information that the text carries. Therefore, the use of symbolism is evidently helpful in writing to help the reader view the text in a broad perspective and relate the text to real life situations. Fromm, Erich. The Nature of Symbolic Language. Class Handout: English 101. Cerro Coso Community College, 2010. 2l -26. Print. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlett Letter. London: Dent Sons, 1971. Print. Birkerts P. Sven. Literature: The Evolving Canon. Class Handout: English 101. Cerro Coso Community College, 1995. l25 -27. Print.

Did Edward Snowden do more good or harm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Did Edward Snowden do more good or harm - Essay Example he security and peace of the Britain and other populations in the west, then the Snowden leaks have been devastating and have caused a lot of harm (Scruton 2013; Whitehead, Hope and Swinford 2013). On the other hand, there are those who say that the Snowden leaks have done worlds of good. One, the leaks have awakened the American public to the reality of the massive, pervasive and unauthorized intrusions into their privacy by government. Such awareness has in turn caused many Americans to speak out and spark a debate into extent of civil liberties and the right to privacy on the one hand and the need of government to secure its well-being and the safety and peace of the general population through the conscious trespassing of those liberties on the other (Desilver 2014; Newport 2013). On balance, this paper argues that Snowden’s actions have both had done harm and good A nuanced consideration of the arguments from both sides of the debate tell us that the consequences of his ac tions are complex. The underlying issues of personal freedoms and civil liberties versus government policing and surveillance in pursuit of securing the peace has ever been a source of tension in a rich and never-ending tug and pull dynamic between these opposing forces (Mirkinson 2013; Scherer 2013). On the one hand we have legal experts opining that the surveillance programs and tools used by the NSA and counterpart agencies in other countries are in essence necessary evils in a world where terrorists have access to the same technologies, and where those programs and tools have aided in the suppression and arrest of terrorists and their activities (Omand 2014; Johnson et al. 2014). 9/11 is being highlighted in discussions of how such surveillance programs have averted potential recurrences of such an event moving forward from that catastrophe, in an argument in support of the general view that by compromising such activities to detect and prevent 9/11 events, Snowden has terribly