How to Write a History Term Paper with Pleasure

How to Write a History Term Paper with Pleasure A term paper is one of the most common formats you are going to deal with throughout your academic career in any subject, and history is not an exception. It presupposes a considerable amount of independent research to be carried out by the student, usually spread over a relatively long period – normally one is given an assignment at the beginning of the term and is supposed to hand in the results by its end. Its ubiquity means only one thing – that if you want to succeed in academia you should study how to deal with such tasks. Choosing a Topic for Your Term Paper This is the most difficult and the most important stage of your work, for you select the subject you are going to work with for the next semester. If you don’t want to spend this time researching something boring or desperately looking for relevant information on some obscure topic, you should approach it carefully. First of all, try to select a topic you are genuinely interested in and know a lot about: it will be both much easier in terms of gathering sources and writing and more rewarding as a process. However, it isn’t always possible – in this case it is perfectly okay to ask your teacher or professor for suggestions (sometimes you will be assigned a topic from the get-go and freed from all the agony of choosing) or selecting something that has a considerable body of literature you can use as sources. Once you’ve settled upon the general topic, narrow it down. You should maintain the balance between making the topic too specialized and risking having insufficient info to go by and leaving it too general and vague – in this case, you won’t have an opportunity to sufficiently analyze anything, and the paper will turn out shallow. Now that you’ve decided on what you are going to write about, try to formulate a historical question about your subject matter. It is very important – History is, first and foremost, an objective science that deals with facts, causes, effects and changes. The ethical and moral evaluation of the facts doesn’t belong to its domain, it is a subject of the theology of philosophy. Therefore, a question like â€Å"Was Julius Caesar a morally good man?† is not a historical question, while a question like â€Å"How did the assassination of Julius Caesar influence the history of Western Europe?† is valid. A good rule of a thumb is to look for questions dealing with causes, effects and changes without drawing attention to moral or emotional side of things. Here are some history term paper topics you can use as examples: Primary Reasons for Hitler’s Rise to Power; Rome and Carthage: How the Cultural Aspects of These Two Civilizations Determined the Outcome of The Punic Wars; Mongol Invasion and Its Role in the History of Europe; The Role Of Battle of Varna in Determining the Course of European History; The Reasons for Caribbean Missile Crisis. Preparatory Work Preliminary Research Ideally, you should already have at least a basic understanding of the topic you deal with. If you don’t, get a general source of information on the topic, preferably a recent one. If necessary, make changes to your topic based on the amount of info you’ve found. Preliminary Bibliography While you read and collect basic information, note the sources mentioned in the books and articles you study. Even if you don’t use all of them extensively in your work, the more titles you have in your bibliography, the better. Decide what kind of information you will need for your research and where you can obtain it. If you cannot immediately locate the sources of such data, don’t be afraid to ask. Your professor can recommend you where to begin; then there is always a reference librarian and other people who’ve written on similar topics in the past (or are writing right now). Ask around, be proactive in your search and you will find what you need. Make sure to prepare your questions carefully and be specific in your search – this drastically increases the likelihood of positive outcomes. Full Bibliography Some sources may crop up in the process of writing, sometimes quite unexpectedly, but at this point you should have already defined in what direction you are going to move and what the primary foundations of your paper are going to be. In addition to that, gathering up your bibliography before you start will allow you to further refine your question. You may find out that there is precious little info on the subject you intended to make the centerpiece of your paper and a lot more on a secondary point of interest. In this case, you may want to reorient your paper. If possible, don’t rely on a single source of information on any subject, try to find several sources corroborating each other’s evidence. Main Research After gathering your primary sources, it is time to do most of your research. Don’t get overenthusiastic, though – it is all too easy to get lost in details and keep on reading up on the topic, getting additional books through the bibliographies of the ones you’ve already went through. Usually it is done because you want to put off starting to actually write something. Make sure you set a limit after which you will not continue reading. Once you feel you have enough information, just stop it, and start writing. You will have an opportunity to do extra research later if necessary. Don’t forget to make notes throughout your research. Writing the Paper: History Term Paper Writing Tips from Our Agency Writers Title A term paper is a legitimate research assignment – it is more concerned with the facts than with catchy wording. Therefore, the only thing you should keep in mind when choosing the title is that you should make it as correct and consistent with the paper’s contents as possible. If you find yourself drifting from your original direction later on, return to the title and change it if necessary. Thesis Statement This is a preliminary outline where you define the major argument you are going to make in the paper. Don’t go into too much detail – simply delineate the general area of research, mention the main points and subpoints. Don’t worry if you have to change some of them in the course of work – it is only natural in a research assignment. Body Paragraphs You paper is likely to go through a number of iterations before you can finally submit a finished version. Most often, we talk about three drafts. First, or Rough Draft You start writing the first draft immediately when you have the minimal sufficient amount of information. So far, don’t worry if there are gaps left in your argumentation – simply mark down places that need additional elaboration and return to them later. The important thing, for now, is to start writing and find the framework around which you will build the rest of your paper. The longer you put actual writing off, the more difficult will it be to start. Don’t bother writing an introduction for now – such things are best left until much later when you have a very clear understanding of what your paper is about. For now, concentrate on the â€Å"meat† of your paper. Second Draft After you’ve finished the first draft, you should set it aside for a couple of days – at least if you have time enough for that. This interval will allow you to approach your paper more objectively. You will, most likely, discover a number of flaws: that you don’t offer enough argumentation to support your viewpoint, that your thesis changes in the process of writing, etc. It is normal and reflects your changing perspective on the subject matter – so don’t try to fight it and instead adapt the paper according to how your perception of the topic changes. Write another thesis statement for the paper, taking into account your experience when writing the rough draft. Ask yourself whether the paper structure you’ve adopted is as effective as you thought, whether your argumentation is sufficient, whether your starting idea still holds water. If at this point you find that something is lacking about the paper the way you built it so far, don’t hesitate to make fundamental changes in its structure – it is better to spend extra time and effort now than to get an insufficient grade later. Then write the second draft, correcting mistakes, making sure your arguments flow naturally and logically and there are no gaps in them. This doesn’t, of course, mean that you have to rewrite the paper in its entirety every time – you can achieve much the same effect by rearranging, editing and adding to the original draft. An important point is that you have to use topic sentences at the start of your paragraphs: that is, you should visually separate your arguments into paragraphs or groups of paragraphs and point out the argument you are about to make in the beginning of each such segment. Revision and Editing This can almost be considered the third draft. Although you aren’t supposed to make any drastic changes in your paper at this stage, it can still be considerably altered by the time you finish with it. What you have to do now is mostly ensure your paper both complies with the formal requirements of your educational institution and follows the best practices accepted in academia. Wording Check if you have been using any stylistically unacceptable words, structures or expressions. There shouldn’t be any slang or informal words, contractions and overly emotional expressions. Analyze sentence structures you’ve used and remove or alter poorly phrased ones. Replace passive voice and bulky noun constructions with active voice and verbal constructions where possible, but don’t do it mechanically – sometimes a forced replacement of this kind looks even more forced than the original, so follow your common sense. Remove repetitions. If you use split infinitives, check if they can be replaced (again, if you feel that in a particular case such a structure looks better, don’t go out of your way to eliminate it). Try to make your writing simpler. A 50-word sentence of 8-syllable words where you can do with 10 two-syllable words is a sign not of wit and knowledge but of pomposity and lack of anything important to say. Break up sentences, eliminate unnecessary words, look for shorter and simpler words when possible, avoid trying to look more intelligent than you feel. Logic Check if arguments logically connect with each other, if there are logical transitions between them. Reread the paper critically, asking yourself if each subsequent argument really follows from the preceding one and whether you provide sufficient proof. Spellchecking and proofreading Text processors make this task much easier than in the past, but there are still many opportunities to make mistakes. Here are some things you should check: â€Å"Then† and â€Å"than†; â€Å"Your† and â€Å"you’re†; â€Å"Their†, â€Å"they’re† and â€Å"there†; â€Å"Its† and â€Å"it’s†; â€Å"Assure† and â€Å"ensure†; â€Å"Principle† and â€Å"principal†; â€Å"Lose† and â€Å"Loose†; â€Å"Effect† and â€Å"affect†; â€Å"Weather† and â€Å"whether†. There are many other common mistakes, but these are probably the most ubiquitous. Check their meanings and usage in dictionaries and textbooks if you feel unsure. Formatting You should carefully study the style guide used by your educational institution before starting to write, but some mistakes are unavoidable. Take some time to reread the entire paper with it in front of you and check if you’ve done everything right. Pay special attention to quotations and bibliography. What Our Experts Say About History Term Paper Writing No matter how careful and attentive you are, your paper is your paper, and you are bound to take some things for granted. Another person will provide a completely new view of your work and will help uncover potential problems, so try to find somebody whom you can trust to read the paper attentively enough and provide valuable feedback. Somebody well-versed in history is best, but anybody will do in a pinch – even if they won’t be able to point out the factual mistakes, they still can notice errors in reasoning or structure.

Organizations on the Move Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Organizations on the Move - Essay Example Finally, the study will try to evaluate different remedies (like regulation of accounting/financial markets, regulation of incentives or regulation of punishment) to stop financial fraud. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Nortel Networks Corporation 4 Mechanisms to Align Managers with the Interests of Shareholders 7 Meltdown of Nortel More as a Failure of â€Å"People† 9 Why Do Businesspeople Keep Making the Same Mistake? 10 Remedies 11 Business Education 11 Regulation of Accounting/Financial Markets 11 Regulation of Incentives 11 Regulation of Punishment 12 Nortel Networks Corporation Nortel Networks Corporation is a well known telecommunication company. The company has its headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The company was founded by Charles Fleetford Sise Sr. in the year of 1882. The company has pioneered telecommunication boom in Canada during 1990s. Market capitalization of the company was more than $350 billion Canadian dollars in July 2000. Nortel account ed for more than 37 percent of the Toronto Stock Exchange during 1990s. The company offers various telecommunication services like wireless and broadband communications, global networking solutions etc. Share price of Nortel increased by 300% in the year 2000. The company has expanded business in North America rapidly. The company has revolutionized the concept of internet application in telecommunication industry. Market capitalization of the company has touched a record $398 billion in September 2000. The company has experienced a sudden fall in market capitalization during the year 2002. Market capitalization of the company slashed down to mere $5 billion in august 2002. The accounting system of the company has failed to produce a stable financial condition. Many top level corporate managers resigned during the tumultuous period. Government seized the trading in Nortel stock. Share price of the company was decreased by 335%. CEO of the company John Roth resigned in November, 2001 . Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against the company. The company is currently in liquidation phase. Factors that Contributed to the Rise and Fall of Nortel Reason for the Rise of Nortel can be summarized in following manner. Breakup of American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) has created an entry scope for small telecommunication companies. The market has suddenly become oligopolistic in nature. The telecommunication equipment market was dominated by Western Electric, an AT&T subsidiary before 90s. Nortel took the opportunity and entered in telecommunication equipment market. The company fulfilled the market demand with vast array of service mix like wireless and broadband communications, global networking solutions. Cellular market has achieved an outstanding growth during 1990s. Growth in cellular market automatically created a demand pool for telecommunication equipments. Demand for telecommunication services has increased by more than 50% during 1 990s. Nortel emerged as telecommunication service provider in the cellular market boom period. The company established itself as major supplier of telecommunication equipments. Nortel fulfilled the telecommunication equipment demand pool generated by cellular market. Personal computers were introduced by IBM and Macintosh during late 1980s. These two companies have revolutionized the concept of using computer in home. Customers using personal computer were well aware

Visual analysis on Hadrian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Visual analysis on Hadrian - Essay Example Prior to the analysis of the craftsmanship that constitutes the foundation of the bust carving, it may appear essential to recall via historical context, that Hadrian is widely known as one of the five good emperors who made tremendous impact on establishing the Pax Romana – the age of abundant peace and prosperity for the Roman Empire. Examining the image of the bust, one necessarily considers in critical thought that the carving technique must have been conducted in a manner that reflects such perspective especially in the order, symmetry, and projection of the head and facial characteristics. In the absence of its body, the marble from the Greek island of Thasos was constructed to possess a volume that exudes prominence, poise, authority, and general dignified look typical of a Roman emperor. As conjectured by the smooth curves, the bust sculptor may be claimed to have attempted a most refined approach in carving the cheek and lip areas to balance with the furrowed brows wh ich occur to be a sharp contrast to the smoothness of front surface and edge contour. These details manifest how Hadrian could have been viewed by his subjects as an emperor with the traits of gentle wisdom and fierce heroic character in order to address the demands of his civilization at the

Caring For The Elderly Essay

Caring For The Elderly Essay In general, society considers the elderly as persons above the ages of sixty or sixty-five. This is usually the beginning of old age as a person becomes less active in political, social and economic affairs. Though there are elderly persons who are in good health and active members of their communities, majority are the ones whose physical and mental functions are on the decline. Since they are not able to get along on their own, majority of the elderly persons require attention and care from their loved ones as well as friends. Consequently, psychologists use the term elderly care to refer to the personal as well as medical attention that this group of the population receives. It is evident that elderly care takes a variety of forms, ranging from personal care such as feeding and dressing, to medical attention. In addition, the care that a family chooses for its elderly persons will depend on their needs. This is because some of the elderly persons may still be in good health while others may be frail. Consequently, some of them may require home-based care while others may need specialized attention in a nursing home or in a hospital. Whatever the case, the elderly do need some form of care. In this study, I shall focus on the American culture and the Asian culture, and make comparisons between the two, in relation to the aspect of caring for the elderly. For the Asian culture, I shall examine the Japanese. In both United States of America and Japan, the number of elderly persons is on the increase. This means that both governments have to consider and put in place the best mechanisms to cater for this group of the population. Different communities accord the elderly different forms of care, depending on how their cultures dictate. The way a community perceives old age will therefore affect the manner in which it treats the elderly. The responsibility of caring for the elderly in Caucasian and Japanese cultures lies mainly with the woman, because these societies consider her as an innate caregiver due to her maternal abilities and instincts. However, this is also due to the fact that, over the years, the woman has fewer opportunities in the economic scene, and as a result, she remains at home most of the time to take care of her children and the elderly. On the other hand, when the woman is able to access the labor market, she finds herself in positions where she has to provide care for others. Most nurses, school and hospital matrons are women. However, in the above cultures, children also participate in elderly care, as a form of compensation for the nurture their parents gave them when they were young. The American society places a lot of emphasis on staying young. Consequently, as Samovar et. al. (2009) notes we find a culture that prefers youth to old age. (p.71). This negative perception of old age makes the young people avoid staying together with the elderly and caring for them. The older adult population rather than the young adults are the ones taking care of the elderly. This explains why some families in the United States give over their old relatives to nursing homes. This does not however mean that the young cut all their links with their elderly relatives. They do provide support and maintain contact with them. The nursing homes are an option for the elderly people who have no family or relatives to look after them at home. This is especially the case for those who are physically handicapped and require the help of another person to take care of them. Though the nursing homes have become the choice for most families with elderly relatives, they do have their limitations. Some of these institutions for the elderly have become money-making ventures, therefore reducing their emphasis on the needs of the elderly. Poor hygiene and lack of trained medical personnel and quality treatment as well as poor feeding programs are some of the problems the elderly face in these nursing homes. Moreover, placing the elderly in nursing homes limits their freedoms as they have to follow the stipulated program. They cannot choose when to feed, sleep, interact with their fellow housemates and cannot keep their belongings. However, nursing homes for the elderly still remain the option for most American families, as there has not been much success with home-based care. On a positive note, the elderly persons in American society have more groups of friends and neighbors whom they can go to for support, than the aged people in Japanese society. This means that the American elderly are likely to receive care from their friends and neighbors, apart from their immediate family members. However, the Americans usually tend to give special care to their elderly only after they learn that the latter are facing a medical problem. However, since the family is still the main caregiver for the elderly, some of the American families employ professional nurses to take care of their old at home, instead of sending them away to nursing homes. Another reason for this is that, institutions for taking care of the elderly are expensive, and some of these families are not able to afford them. Moreover, some families opt to take their elderly to day nursing institutions, where they receive care throughout the day and then return home in the evening. This is suitable for those people who are working and cannot stay with the elderly relatives during the day as they have to report to work. It is also convenient for working adults who cannot afford specialized care for their elderly ones, either at home or in a nursing institution. In some instances, the elderly person may be able to live in his or her own house, and may be strong enough not to require specialized attention and care. In such cases, the family members of such an elderly person find a house near other aged people, in areas where the amenities they need on a day-to-day basis are readily available. This form of elderly care appeals to the community and involves them in taking responsibility for this group of the population. On the economic front, some of the big corporate organizations have introduced benefit schemes for their employees, in order to help them in caring for their elderly relatives. This is because most companies want to avoid losses in production, due to having employees who have to work while at the same time take care of their elderly relatives. Some companies also provide home-based care services for the elderly, but as a profit-making venture. This however, has a negative side to it as these privatized services are costly and not many families are able to afford them. On the other hand, Asian culture of the Japanese has a positive perception of the elderly. It teaches the children to respect and care for the elderly. The Japanese consider the family as the prime caregiver for their elderly, and in this case, it is usually a female member of the family who carries out this duty. This is because the Japanese believe that it is not in order to take the elderly to a nursing home as this is equivalent to neglecting ones responsibility of taking care of ones parents. This also makes the Japanese families give the required care to their elderly relatives throughout their old age, rather than only when they are facing a health problem. In the case of aged people who are not related to the family, Japanese wives or their daughters are the ones who tend to give their elderly friends the care they need. Sometimes, the daughters-in-law also give care to the elderly, especially if the patient is female. However, if other friends and non relatives are living under the same roof with the elderly persons, they may provide the necessary care to the latter. This is in contrast to the case of the American elderly who receive care from their family as well as friends and neighbors. In Japan, the activity of giving care to the elderly is mainly as an act of duty, rather than voluntary will. The caregiver considers this act as one that he or she has to give, and in most cases, the Japanese wife will provide the elderly attention at her husbands request. The dependence of the Japanese elderly on their immediate family is also evident in the fact that most of them rely on their spouses and their children for financial support. Since the Japanese believe that giving the elderly care is a womans job, the men usually leave this task to their wives. However, though the Japanese men are away from home most of the time, they also contribute to elderly care by giving their spouses financial as well as emotional assistance. Again, by participating in looking after their children, they allow their wives to find time to take care of the elderly members of the family. Elderly care in Japan still remains largely in the hands of the family, especially for those who are not sickly and in need of specialized medical attention. However, caring for the elderly at home is no longer the only option, and families have begun taking the old to nursing homes. This is due to a number of reasons such as the aging of the family members providing the care as well as the increasing involvement of the Japanese women in formal training and employment. Moreover, Japanese families are not living in large numbers as they did in the past. However, the number of nursing homes for the elderly and professional caregivers is on the decrease because of the Japanese belief that it is the immediate family which bears the responsibility of taking care of their elderly relatives. The elderly who are in need of very little personal and health care remain at home, but get visits from personnel who attend to them. This happens either a few times a week or every day depending on the needs of the elderly person. Due to the rising demand for health caregivers for the elderly, Japan has sought the help of care personnel from the Philippines. These caregivers are more experienced and are willing to work at a low pay. Due to the increase in the elderly population, financial resources have not been enough to allow families to put their relatives under specialized care at home and in nursing institutions. It is due to this situation that hospitals in Japan have offered to accommodate the elderly who are in need of both personal as well as medical attention. This way, the elderly in Japan can access long-term care. Though on a small-scale, the Japanese elderly engage in volunteering programs where they offer services to the community and in turn, they receive personal as well as medical care. There are however some similarities in the aspects of elderly care in American and Japanese cultures. Care for the elderly is still one of the concerns of both the United States and Japanese governments, though they differ in their policies. America gives priority to provision of medical attention, pension for retirees and shelter, while the Japanese government came up with policies to put in place insurance for every citizen including the elderly, for a long-term period. In both countries, the increase in aging members of the population has put a lot of pressure on the medical as well as retirement schemes. However, technological advances in medicine have increased and they are being used to improve the life-expectancy levels of the American and Japanese aging populations. Again, since women are increasingly going into formal employment, the men in both countries are also becoming more and more involved in elderly care. In conclusion, due to lifestyle changes, many people have started living in smaller groups and families, and are also located far from each other. Consequently, caring for the elderly can no longer be the responsibility of the immediate family alone, but has to be a prerogative of governments, non governmental organizations as well as private institutions.

How Great Companies Think Differently

Strategic Management How Great Companies Think Differently Making money has long been the ultimate aim of a business. This capitalism vision has influenced the majority of corporations limit their goals in generating the highest profits and returns to owners, regardless the health and safety of employees, the environment, and general public. An institutional logic, therefore, has been raised by professor of Harvard Business School-Kanter. Unlike traditional practices, this logic addressed a successful company is a vehicle for enhancing societal welfares, rather than only a machine to make money.Not only can most well-established companies distribute sound returns to shareholders, but also build long-lasting institutions. In high-performing business, both institutional logic and economic logic are critical to operations and strategic decision making. There are six fields mentioned in the passage, which are a common collaborative purpose, a enduring focus, emotional engagement, partner ing with society, innovation, and self- organization-changing corporate and leadership behavior at all, as well as constructing the base of a solid and stable competitive advantage.Effective governance that ties the decisions of managers up with the interests of shareholders can help develop a competitive advantage. (Ireland, P. 250) The article, however, suggests a different way of governing the corporate, which I think is more comprehensive to develop a sustained institution. In order to ensure continuous returns, a company need to empower the employees, engage emotion, lead based on esteem, and contribute to related community. Corporate social responsibility, actually, should be internalized as the governance mechanism.As far as the business can offer, it is aimed at satisfying the needs of customers and continuous value creation. A company, therefore, should create an identity, which can reflect the standing values, for the people to recognize what it is and how it will achieve. For example in Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank has a non-profit educational institution called Hang Sang School of Commerce in Shatin. It is aimed at providing professional business education and to equip personnel with capability, solicitude, conscientiousness and creativity.It aligns the goals of Hang Seng Bank in pursuit of excellence for the customers and common good for Hong Kong society. It is wise for a business to focus on long term sustainable development by performing ethical roles to society. When Hang Seng Bank educates and nurtures the next generations, it can also benefits from recruitment of quality employees from Hang Sang School of Commerce. This secures the future development of Hang Seng Bank, which would keep going with its ultimate goals. The morale of the employees, indeed, is a key determined factor for a successful corporate.In Hang Sang School of Commerce, it is obvious that all teachers want to educate the best students—to get the more â€Å"A†s, s o that they can also be rewarded from promotion and bonus. Associated with social enterprise is also critical to build an enduring institution. Through demonstrating the company's commitment to furthering the development of the countries, the company can get supports from public and know more about the preferences of the residents. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), holds marathon races every year, demonstrating the core value of Hong Kong—diligence.Honestly, Standard Chartered has customized services with high efficiency and effectiveness. It has won numerous awards in Hong Kong and Asia, such as best employee engagement, bet retail bank and so on. It would probably the attributes of intensive involvement in social affairs. Extending the corporate social responsibility in a creative way can explore new business opportunities. There is annual Employee Volunteering Month in Standard Chartered to encourage the staff in taking part in any kind of volunteering services, such as drum event with special educational needs students at Shatin Public School.The interaction of corporate individuals with society can further institution-building goals by the way of expressing corporate values and producing valuable learning. By devolving authority and responsibility to employees, an institution can benefit from self-discipline of employees their own. When the jobs are controlled by themselves, employees are more willing to devote their greatest efforts to the company. As a result, the corporate can also gain from some fresh ideas and maximum fulfillment of employees.To conclude, this article is worth for reading that it proposed building an enduring institution, rather than a short-sighted profit-making machine. Success is accumulated from every drop of human effort. Laying the groundwork of social responsibility can reciprocally develop a sustained corporation. (Total: 726 words) Works Cited: Ireland, R. D. The Management of Strategy : Concepts. 9th ed. / R. Duan e Ireland, Robert E. Hoskisson, Michael A. Hitt. ed. Singapore]: South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. â€Å"How Great Companies Think Differently. †Ã‚  Harvard Business Review  89. 11 (2011): 66-78.Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Corporate Responsibility† Hang Seng Bank. n. d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. ;http://bank. hangseng. com/1/2/about-us/corporate-responsibility/corporate-responsibility; â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility – Hong Kong† Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited. n. d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. ;http://www. standardchartered. com. hk/sustainability/en/; â€Å"Standard Chartered drums up Employee Volunteering Month By Visiting Special Needs School † Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited. 8 May. 2012. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. ;http://www. standardchartered. com. hk/news/2012/press_20120509. pdf;

Symbolism in the Chrysanthemums

Aliya Grayman Professor Gulliksen English 131 (D8) 24 October 2012 Your Inner Chrysanthemum How many people sit down and think about what symbolizes their lives? A symbol is a person place or thing that suggests something other than its literal meaning. In John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† Elisa Allen lives on a ranch with her husband Henry in Salinas Valley. Henry is off talking to men about the livestock on the ranch while Elisa is tending to her garden. A tinker comes up to their yard and begins to talk to Elisa about his work and all of his travels.He tries to get Elisa to let him work, but she does not feel that she needs any work done. The tinker notices the garden of chrysanthemums, and tells Elisa that he knows a woman that wants to grow them. Elisa develops a short lived attraction to the tinker as she is offering him the flower and giving him careful instructions on taking care of them. Steinbeck uses symbolism throughout this short story. Things such as the wire fence around the garden, the changing of Elisa’s clothing, and the chrysanthemums themselves mean something beyond their literal meaning.Everyone has an item or person that symbolizes their life. Because the title of the short story is â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† the chrysanthemum is an obvious symbol. Elisa’s beautiful garden of chrysanthemums is very important to the story. They are Important because the chrysanthemums are Elisa, meaning they represent her throughout the story. The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s life. Like her they are unimportant to the men in her life. When the tinker asks her about the flowers Elisa brightens up. When Elisa offers a flower to the tinker, she offers herself as well.When the flowers are rejected it symbolizes society’s rejection to women being anything other than mothers and housekeepers. Both the Elisa and the chrysanthemums seem to be simply decorative, and add little importance to the world. The wire fence surrounding the garden of chrysanthemums shows how Elisa lives her life. Elisa lives a very guarded life. Elisa only tends to the garden inside the fence, never venturing out into the world of work on her ranch. Henry takes care of all of the business deals on the ranch. The fence represents the sheltered life Elisa has been living.The type of fence has significance as well. The wire fence shows that Elisa can look outside of her garden with ease; a wooden fence would keep everything out and in. Steinbeck gives great detail of Elisa’s clothing. In the beginning of the story she is wearing bulky gardening clothes and a man’s hat. After her conversation with the tinker, there is an abundant amount of detail as Elisa is preparing to go out to dinner with her husband. The description of what she chooses to wear shows her masculine persona becoming feminine.The sentence â€Å"When she had dried herself she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom and looked at her body†(247), shows her new found sexuality. Everything has more than one meaning. When an object is a symbol of something else the meaning becomes much more important. Steinbeck meant for his readers to see the true beauty of a chrysanthemum, and by having them symbolize the main character in the story he did just that. Showing inner beauty and strength gives an inanimate object life. Everything has an inner chrysanthemum.

Censorship Laws and Cultural Norms - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1843 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/05/29 Category Society Essay Level High school Topics: Censorship Essay Did you like this example? The 1960rs film, Psycho challenged censorship laws and cultural norms at the time of its release. Movies and film influence the perceptions and ideas of the mass culture, especially in America by portraying underlying attitudes and beliefs that the culture holds. Because of this, film has made itself an integral component of the culture by influencing it with the underlying themes which are already present but are often unspoken. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Censorship Laws and Cultural Norms" essay for you Create order While censorship was stricter in the past, the idea of censoring ideas and thoughts has and always will affect the society in which it takes place. While film has always held an important part in American culture, current trends in censorship have greatly changed the way in which films are produced and what their content really is. Pushing Censorship to Tell a Story Alfred Hitchcock was a respected director from the 1920rs into the late 50rs with many intricate films with large budgets such as Notorious in 1946 and Vertigo in 1958. His films were known for their stunning visuals and ingenious psychological plots. Therefore, Psycho came as such a shock in 1960 (Absolute Crime). In Hitchcockrs film, Psycho, there was a blatant push against censorship which was more of a statement to what censorship was becoming more than it was about having such content in his film. Hitchcock wanted to push limits and continue to pave the way for freedom of expression in film which was pointedly stifled at the time. We often see this when it comes to any expression which goes against the views of the general public or even more, the views of the government. Psycho was daring for its day, almost a joke from Hitchcock as he did everything which wasnt allowed or would be seen as obscene (Greenbaum). This sentiment from Hitchcock can be seen again in an interview he gave BBC Show Monitor in July 1964 where he talks about the film being taken too seriously and, in his eyes, it was rather amusing. The film was meant to be crazy and absurd, shocking but to the point of amusement for the audience (Brooks). Hitchcock was able to push aside all these restrictions with his masterpiece of misdirection, horror and ironic humor. This film provided many risque ideas as well as imagery which would have been very shocking for the time in which it was produced. The lead actress, Marion, is seen in lingerie as well as having a naked body double for her shower scene, although it is blurry, so no real nudity is seen. There is also blood on Marion as well as in the shower, but since the film is in black and white, it is not particularly gruesome (Psycho, Hitchcock). Transvestitism is also something which this film appeared to show through the antagonist, Norman, dressing up as his mother to kill his victims. While his dressing as his mother appears to me more of an illusion towards his dissociative identity disorder rather than transvestitism or being transgender, this is another key aspect of the film which was toeing the line in film production for its time as this was still seen as ?unacceptable in society. https://explorethearchive.com/alfred-hitchcock-and-the-making-of-psycho by equating cross-dressing with a form of mental illness so severe that its only logical manifestation is violence. https://thescatteredpelican.com/2018/04/29/we-are-all-in-our-private-traps-transphobia-in-hitchcocks-psycho/ Psycho was instrumental in pushing boundaries in film simply by being able to get past the censors for its time while still being full of provocative and risque content. The opening scene in which you see a shirtless man and lingerie clad woman in a bed was a definite test of the censorship regulations at the time. It took what had previously been only suggestive sexual undercurrents and made them absolutely upfront within seconds of the film beginning. This pushed the narrative on sexuality in films to come (Robb). Overall, Psycho was able to capture almost all the integral aspects of slasher films into one and push them without getting the film banned entirely. The claim of Psychors ability to capture the integral aspects of a slasher film is based somewhat on the fact that Psycho holds the title as the probable first slasher film to be produced, giving it the automatic advantage of setting the stage for what is known today at the hallmarks of a good slasher film. In other words, Psycho would have to capture the important aspects of a slasher film as it was creating the genre by its existence. Some of the hallmarks or traits of a slasher film are the type of killer as well as the violence. The killer is usually a man whose identity is concealed by a mask or costume which prevents the audience from seeing who he is until the culmination of the film. This is seen in Psycho through the hiding of Norman as the killer until the final scene. The violence is usually bloody it excess, often the killer hunts down and kills his victims with a knife or other sharp tool. Again, Psycho contained this trait almost exactly. Norman kills his victim with a knife, although there is no chase scene (Harris). Another integral aspect of most slasher films is the strong, leading heroine. Although slashers are often criticized for being misogynistic, theyre one of the few film genres that primarily feature strong, independent female leads. Psycho captured this through having Marion Crane as a strong lead character. The biggest way in which slasher films have changed this aspect has been by keeping the heroine or the final girl until the end of the film so that she can confront the killer (Harris). When Psycho was in the works, Alfred Hitchcock sent the script for Psycho to the MPAA but was required to remove profanity as well as tone back the implied incestuous relationship between the characters of Norman and his mother. Twenty or even ten years earlier, there is no way the MPAA would have allowed Hitchcock to commence production, but it was now the 1960s and the mindset of Production Code officials had shifted along with the cultural changes happening around them (Howell.) This shows the advancement and change in the film industry based off time alone, which changes peoplers views as to what is deemed acceptable. The change in societal ideals can be seen in Psychors rating. When the film was first released, it would have received a rating of R in accordance to MPAA guidelines. Today, the film hardly holds more than a PG rating as there a far more violent and grotesque films which are produced (Deseret News). In 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America set guidelines and rules for rating films. While these were not enforced by law, most public theaters would not show films without a rating. Ratings for films are almost an alternative for censorship in modern films because if something is to violent or explicit in a film, it will simply receive a higher rating before being shown in the theaters rather than being banned all together. These ratings provide a way for children and those who do not want to be exposed to certain content, to avoid said content and rather choose something which has been rated a ?safe or ?appropriate. Both of the changes within the MPAA influenced the remake of Psycho almost forty years later. Pushing Censorship to Get more Viewers In 1998, Psycho was remade by Gus Van Sant. This remake follows the original film quite closely when it comes to identical scenes and dialogue. While this 1998 remake follows the original in many aspects, the change in culture and censorship in the thirty-eight-year difference is visible. One of the biggest differences is in the way in which the famous shower scene is done. The original film does not show nudity outside of the form of a naked person through the steam, but the remake shows nudity. This shows the progressive changes which the film industry had undergone through the year. This is also characterized by the use of color during the shower scene which makes it more graphic and the blood more realistic (Psycho, Van Sant). The 1998 remake of the film stayed close to the storyline of the original while still pushing the censorship limits for its time by making scenes racier as well as more graphic. The 1960rs Psycho, while it did show a woman in lingerie, did not show excessive nudity or violence because this was not characteristic of the time. What has been the focus of censorship through the years has changed dramatically in many ways, especially in the United States. When film was first becoming a thing, the emphasis seemed to be primarily on censoring anything which was visually explicit, be it violence or sexual. There has been a cultural shift towards acceptance of the human body and sexuality on-screen which is in stark contrast to the years past in which it would have been obscene to even have a somewhat unclad person in a film. While the total prohibition and censorship of the human body is extreme, current films often exploit their ability to have these things on-screen and as a result, it almost comes off as degrading and offensive most often to women as they are so sexualized in film. Also, in the early day of film there were strict regulation on the voicing of opinions or making of jokes about figures in power, usually political figures or the church. This is the idea that censorship, which puts restrictions on what can said, written, or put into film, puts a damper on peoplers ability to express their thoughts and ideas and therefore, restricts their freedom of speech and expression. In Hitchcockrs film, Psycho, there was a blatant push against censorship which was more of a statement to what censorship was becoming more than it was about having such content in his film. Hitchcock wanted to push limits and continue to pave the way for freedom of expression in film which was pointedly stifled at the time. We often see this when it comes to any expression which goes against the views of the general public or even more, the views of the government. Things which are not   politically correct or go against societal norms are often discouraged. This is seen through the production of movies which are obscene or violent which are allowed or even encouraged to be shown in theaters while movies which hold political, moral, or religious ideas in the forefront are often passed over. This shift in censorship trends shows how far society has come since the days in which Psycho hit the screens. While it may seem very tame in todayrs ideals of what is extreme or risque in film, Psycho really created a sensation and stir which would be almost impossible to replicate in American society today because of the change in societal and moral ideals. Psychors pushing of boundaries and rules simultaneously pushed the next generation and the generation after to continue changing the narrative around film as an expression of ideas and art and changed American film forever.