Her First Ball Essay

My first impression of Leila simply from the first page of â€Å"Her First Ball,† was that she was an innocent girl that wasn’t completely satisfied with her current situation in life. Leila was portrayed as having a weak/inexperienced heart. For example, â€Å"†¦she couldn’t have helped crying because she was an only child, and no brother had ever said ‘Twig? ’ to her† (265), and for the fact that being different from the others bothered her. Despite her innocence and immaturity, she attempts to compose herself and act mature than she is capable of by â€Å"trying not to smile too much; she tried not to care† (265). Her life up to now wasn’t eventful or memorable in any way and she has a desire to cling onto the present/momentary excitement and not let go. â€Å"She would remember forever. It even gave her a pang to see her cousin Laurie throw away the wisps of tissue†¦as a keepsake, as a remembrance† (265), shows her emotions on how she wants to keep hold of every little detail of this first ball. I made the connection of this ball being her first in relation to not only the actual ball, but numerous ‘first times’ down her path of becoming mature. First time interacting with the opposite gender, feeling the lack of maturity amongst the other girls in the ladies’ room and first time in being hit in the head with reality, a frightening image from the fat man that Leila had never considered before, resulting in a somewhat loss of her previous innocence. I was able to relate to Leila’s situation of having missed out on the experiences of the ‘real world,’ such as the comparison between Leila and the Sheridan girls. Having lived in Abbotsford for my entire middle school life, I believe I missed out on experiences that I would have had if I lived out in the city (Surrey), seeing that Abbotsford is relatively an isolated/country city. Although I wasn’t as isolated as having the â€Å"nearest neighbor for fifteen miles† (265), I felt I could relate to Leila’s uncontrollable excitement that she felt while she was taking in her new surroundings. The impactful last sentence of the story, â€Å"She didn’t even recognize him again† (270), I found it almost eerie regarding the fact that it seemed like her memory was wiped blank. I questioned that even though her innocence was already long gone, whether that meant she would have to go through the same horrible process of being hit on the head by reality, as the first time she met the fat man and how she will be able to cope with the shock and sadness she feels every time. Throughout the reading, her style of writing, her word choices portrayed Leila’s perspective of her first ball in a magical/fantasy way. The presentation of a perfectly set up ball, â€Å"she clutched her fan, and gazing at the gleaming, golden floor, the azaleas, the lanterns, the stage at one end with its red carpet†¦how heavenly; how simply heavenly (267)! Every little detail was attractive and well suited to her fantastical desires. Leila was not yet revealed to the somewhat frightening reality that comes along with her magical world that is inevitable.

America (West Side Story) Essay

Introduction This document is the lyrics of the song America extracts from the movie West Side Story. This movie is a musical directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise in 1961. It sets in NY in the 50’s. It deals with a confrontation between two rival gangs : the Jets (american) and the Sharks (Portorican). It also deals with a love story between Tony and Maria. Their love story is based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as the two lovers belong to different groups. The song America was write by Stephen Sondheim and composed by Leonard Bernstein. During the scene, the portorican girls support the life in America whereas the portorican boys criticise it. To study this song, I’m going to present in a first part the life in Puerto Rico and then in a second part the life in the US. And to finish, in a third part, the boy’s intention. I – The life in Puerto Rico (l. 1 to l. 7) => The climate : There are a lot of hurricanes which destroy the houses and the plantations. It is also very hot, so hot that it must be difficult to work. => The working conditions : In Puerto Rico, they are waiting for jobs. A lot of people are unemployed or even if they have a job, they are low-paid and they have to borrow (emprunter) money from the banks. They are exploited and indebted. => The birth rate : The birth rate is very high. The portoricans are Catholic and they don’t know anything about the birth control or the means of contraception. There are more and more mouths to feed and more and more unemployment. Consequently, they have to emigrate, mainly to the US, in order to have a better life. It was easy for them to get the American citizenship because Puerto Rico depended on the USA. It is a negative image of Puerto Rico. Maria criticises it and yet she says â€Å"my heart’s devotion† (l. 1) but she is ironical. She prefers the life in the US and doesn’t care if P. Rico disappears because she says â€Å"let it sink back in the ocean†. II – The life in the US (l. 8 to l. 31) ? Girl’s opinion : The girls say that it’s a better life because there is more freedom (â€Å"free to be anything you choose†), you can become whoever you want. The life is more comfortable, you can have your own washing machine, and there is more space because you can have big and good apartments. There is no more unemployment because of the â€Å"industry boom† (l. 15) so there is more job opportunities, more chances to become someone socially. For the girls, the US are a land of freedom and pride. ? Boy’s opinion : For them, everywhere in America, they suffer from racial discrimination. At work because they can just access to low-paid jobs. In housing because their requests to have a house are refused. In the street and shops because of their skin colour and their accent. They have low-paid jobs and they can’t afford big apartments so they have to live in promiscuity (â€Å"twelve in a room in america†). Moreover they can’t afford clothes so the washing machine is useless (â€Å"what will you have, though, to keep clean†). The life in America isn’t as good as the girls say because it’s violent and dangerous (â€Å"organized crime in America†) and dirty (â€Å"everywhere grime in America†). The girls believe in the American dream whereas the boys are disillusioned and pessimistic. III – The boy’s intention (l. 32 to the end) The boys intends to (ont l’intention de) go back to San Juan in Puerto Rico because settling down in America didn’t bring any real changes. Moreover, they can’t stand the racial discrimination anymore. They expects to be cheerfully welcome in San Juan. Maria pretends not to care about it, she pretends not to be upset (contrariee). She has the last words with â€Å"Everyone there will have moved here† l35. She means that all the portoricans are sensible (senses) enough to understand that their future is in the US. Conclusion To conclude the life in the US and the life in Puerto Rico are confronted because of the situation. The girls support the America but the boys underline the fact that even if they found liberty and pride in the US, they are still confronted to poverty and they suffer from racism and violence. Maria conclude with the fact that all the portoricans in Puerto Rico would be in the US. However, I can understand that the boys don’t feel good in America and want go back to Puerto Rico because even if they will be poor, it’s their land. They should feel better with portoricans than with american. It’s up to them to make a choice but I think that their survival instinct will lead them to America because they will have more chance to succeed than in Puerto Rico.

A company organizational struc...

A company organizational structure is a guidance to all employees by laying out the official reporting relationships representing the workflow of the company and provide clarity on specific human resources management issues, such as managerial authority and to achieve the company goals George, J. (2005). A formal outline of a companys structure makes it easier to add new positions in the company, as well, providing a flexible and ready means for growth, hence, departments can work more efficiently and have more time focusing on productive tasks. The structure refers to both the formal and informal frameworks that shape how the business is operated. However, the management must select the most suitable structure for the organization as it is not a one size fits all decision. Implementation of a formal organizational structure can also differentiate small-business operations from large-business operations. (David, 2018). This report attempts to focus on the different type of structure (functional, divisional and network structures) undertaken for each type of different organization. However, there are also elements such as work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization, decentralization and formalization which contributes to build a positive organization behavior. Functional structure is set up so that each portion of the organization is grouped according to its purpose. The functional structure is more technical orientated hence it enhances productivity level in which the organization can identify the expertise in each department. The lower level hierarchy level also gets to play a role in their responsibility, thus employees will have job satisfaction (Kalliath, 2009). Work specialization is the key structure to the organization structure. Today we use the term work specializations or division of labor, which activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs. For example, Google company adopted work specialization element, employees are carefully recruited, and they are job match each employee according to their knowledge. However, this hinders the rapid growth of the organization due to their stringent hiring process. The employees are strongly driven by the corporate culture. The organization also creates motivation to the employees by reward system and job enlargement to make sure that the employee is well engaged in the organization (Steven.L.M, 2005). However, the drawbacks to a functional structure is that it could lead to higher dysfunctional conflict and poor communication between departments which can delay the decision making, inflexibility. This type of structure is only suitable for small organization with one product or service as management can oversee the work process efficiently and maximize the employees performance (Julie. D, 2018). Starbucks had rearranged their organisation structure to improve on customer satisfaction (Shultz, 2008). The functional structure of Starbucks company is centralization of various departments or functions within the organization. By adopting functional structure using departmentalization element (geographic) each region has individual reporting managers which receives a closer managerial support for geographic needs and therefore a clear chain of command is apparent. A high degree of flexibility was used in individual department in adjusting strategies and policies to fit into various market conditions. This allows the employees to communicate effectively within the departments (George, 2005). Thus, there is presence of empowerment for the employees to make their own decisions and this gives them a sense of belonging to the organization (Starbucks, 2018). Today, with the new organizational structure, Starbucks had successfully achieved customer satisfaction and reduncies of employees are also eliminated and hence created a tensed working environment during the change of the structure. individual teams are being centralized to create an infrastructure with span of control globally within the region and hence capability and effectiveness are improved. Management can also focus more on the employees and functional activities can be design for each individual employee so the mission and goal of the organization will be shared across the organisation (Shultz, 2008).

Antibiotic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Antibiotic - Essay Example Bacteria are microorganisms present in many water and soil habitats. These microorganisms are diverse in terms of shape, size and ability to cause infections. While many of bacteria species are non-infective, some strains cause infectious diseases including respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, anthrax and many others. Antibiotics are increasingly being used in agriculture to prevent and treat bacterial infections in livestock. Antibiotic agents are also being used in livestock feeds and water to prevent and control bacterial infections. This therefore suggests that different types of antibiotics are being given to healthy livestock. These drugs accumulate in the body, creating antibiotic residue that is eventually eliminated from the system if the drugs are discontinued. However, the increased use of antibiotics in livestock has raised concerns about growing bacterial resistance against these drugs. Current efforts in agriculture focus on producing healthier livestock. This trend has led to increased use of antibiotics to promote growth, fight infections and compensate for unsanitary rearing conditions. However, the accumulation of antibiotics in food animals (antibiotic residual) poses significant risk to humans. For instance, antibiotic overuse in livestock as been associated with increased antibiotic drug resistance in humans. This leads to high levels of the drug in the system of these animals. High concentrations of the drugs kill most of the bacterial strains in these animals, especially the strains that are sensitive to the particular drugs or drug combinations. However, the sustained exposure of bacteria to antibiotics leads to the selection of bacterial strains that have the capacity to withstand high drug levels. These bacterial strains develop resistance to the drug and their relative population exceeds that of the sensitive bacterial species. This is especially

Point of View Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Point of View - Essay Example The weather is so bright and white like an ocean. A sparrow comes flying from nowhere and rests at the branch of the bottlebrush tree. As it sits, the delicate branch slightly sways in the air with the impact of the sparrow’s weight and a bottlebrush flower falls down into my lap, as if it is a gift of nature to make my experience more memorable. The sparrow inflates its body filling air in its feathers to make a shield against the cold air of the atmosphere. I have never felt as close to and drawn toward the beauty and innocence of Mother Nature as I feel in these moments. My line of sight takes a 60 degree shift in the vertical plane as it moves from the sparrow up on the tree’s branch to the two girls holding hand in hand jumping their way up to the school over the road in front of me. Their sight takes me back to the time when I was their age and used to go to school with Lisa, my best friend and neighbor. They giggle as they pass by. Their laughter breaks the quiet ness and calmness of the surroundings and adds more life and pleasure to it. Soon after that, I hear the sound of bells approaching from a nearby Church, forming a soothing melody. It has been half an hour and the bus has not arrived yet. The fog in the air increases. My vision is obstructed by heavy mist in the air. I am red in the nose and finger tips and white in the face with cold. I seem to be catching flu. The fragrance of the pink roses and the bottlebrush that I enjoyed 30 minutes ago seems to be receding. I blow my nose but can’t really feel the friction of the tissue paper against my nose because of numbness. I throw the tissue paper away. I need another tissue paper but I have no more. I start feeling hungry as I have not had my breakfast since I got ready for the school in a hurry. I take the biscuits out of their pack in my bag, but they have become soggy and have absorbed moisture from the atmosphere. I miss the crunchiness of a dry biscuit and the

Big Tobacco Sues Feds over Graphic Warnings on Cigarette Labels Research Paper - 1

Big Tobacco Sues Feds over Graphic Warnings on Cigarette Labels - Research Paper Example cco has two distinct functions, one as a consumable article and the other as a revenue earner, which at times appears to secure conflicting official treatment" (Breed, 2011). To counter this thought that tobacco is injurious to health, major cigarette manufacturing companies spent millions of dollars. They found anti smoking campaign by the government just to malign the minds of the people since scientific research yet to establish the actual cause of death of a person. Any law or ordinance that prohibits the sale of cigarettes at this stage is unjustified. It backs the American jurisprudence a man or woman is â€Å"innocent until proven guilty† (Breed, 2011). Yet Scientists have to prove that tobacco smoke or any of its constituents in cigarette cause human disease. So far, the research and studies conducted to find out the real cause of death/damages on human body, comes to the conclusion that tobacco cannot be blamed as a solo reason for the death of a person but the weak immune system that vary from individual to individual effects the human body (Breed, 2011). The strong defense of the tobacco manufacturing companies is that they are contributing a lot in shape of taxes to the national exchequers imposed by the concerned state on tobacco products. Further this industry employees a large number of employees. In case of industry, failure there could be two pronged losses: a) loss of taxes that collects by the states b) unemployment. Any effort to undermine the industry would have devastating impact on the jobs of more than 400,000 workers associated with tobacco industry besides losing of jobs of another 300,000 employees of its allied industries. As far as revenue generation through sale of this product is concerned, smokers are contributing approximately ten billion dollars a year, which reflects the sizeable chunk towards total revenue of the United States of America (Breed, 2011). The biased advertisement comprised of pictures of those smokers who have

Biostatistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Biostatistics - Essay Example From our calculation, our odds ratio is skewed in nature and therefore it is not possible to make a direct calculation of the standard error. We have a 95% confidence level and the population odds ratio for heart disease associated with smokers lies within 1.21 (an increased odd of 1.21 fold) and 1.99 (an increased odd of 1.99) fold. When a confidence interval does not include the value of 1, we know that the odds of the measured outcome are different for both attributes even without a significance test. In this case, the confidence interval does not contain value 1.0, hence there is significant association between smoking and heart disease. The Odd’s ratio is 1.55, the smokers are having 1.55 times more risk of having heart disease on the other hand, the risk ratio is 1.2939, means for smokers there is 29.39% more chance to having risk of heart disease. Both the confidence intervals do not contain the value 1, hence the results of both Odd’s ratio and risk ratio are significant. Observe that for both Odd’s ratio and Risk ratio, the p value is 0, hence both the measures are equally significant. The odds ratio value is skewed and therefore it is not possible to directly calculate the standard error of the statistics. The no difference value for this statistics is 1 and therefore when a confidence interval includes the value of 1, we know that the odds of the measured outcome are the same even without a significance test. To evaluate the p value, we can use the chi-square approach but in this case, it is not appropriate therefore it would be proper to use Fisher’s exact solution. Odd’s ratio is preferred in case of a nested control study because it is an efficient method of analysis in terms of both time and cost. It also makes it possible to investigate a wide range of possible risk factors. Odd’s ratio is also particularly suitable to investigate rare diseases with a long induction period. Odd ratio is also preferred because it a