Comparison of Child Characters in Salingers Teddy and A Perfect Day for Bananafish free essay sample

J. D. Salinger’s Nine Stories there are many tales centered on children, who are often depicted as a symbol of hope and connected with the values that stand in contrast to the ones typical of the adults corrupted by materialism. In my essay, I would like to concentrate on the portrayal of children in â€Å"A Perfect Day for Bananafish† and â€Å"Teddy†. Even though the way these characters are depicted is similar, a child protagonist in each of the stories is representative of different things. While Sibyl can be seen as a prototype of a childlike innocence, purity and simplicity, Teddy can hardly be considered a prototypical innocent child. Despite the simplicity of Sibyl’s thinking, her presence and behavior help the reader draw many complex conclusions about the main adult in the story â€Å"A Perfect Day For Bananafish†, Seymour Glass. Having many abilities and experiences but still being a child at the same time, Teddy also provides us with an in depth understanding of the adult world. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Child Characters in Salingers Teddy and A Perfect Day for Bananafish or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In my essay, I would therefore like to contrast and compare the things the children stand for and represent, and the way they provide us with the illumination of the motives and values of the adult world. The fact that Sibyl Carpenter can be seen as a representative of a pure innocence has a profound impact on the development of â€Å"A Perfect Day for Bananafish†. The certainty that Sibyl is a pure child character is encouraged by the use of the color blue in several parts of the story that is, next to the color white, known to represent innocence and purity. When Seymour first sees Sybil, he says: â€Å"That’s a fine bathing suit you have on. If there is one thing I like, it’s a blue bathing suit. (Salinger 12) Even though in reality it is not blue but yellow, through this single reference, the innocence of a child seems to be pointed out by Seymour. Almost as soon as Sybil is introduced, it is made obvious that she is characterized by the simplicity typical of children of her age. She seems to ingeniously believe basically everything that is told to her and this is the reason why she accepts the existence of a Bananafish without a doubt when Seymour Glass tell s her about it: â€Å"Sybil, I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We’ll see if we can catch a Bananafish† (Salinger 13). Towards the end of the interaction between Seymour and Sibyl, Seymour â€Å"picked up one of Sybil’s wet feet, which were drooping over the end of the float, and kissed the arch† (Salinger 17). She responded with a sharp â€Å"hey! †, but other than that, she did not react at all. In the sample of a few lines, it is shown that Sybil still has the traits of personality typically found in children. When they are offended, they generally do not stay upset for a long time, much the same as how Sybil immediately forgives Seymour. In spite of being one of the main characters of the story, it is clear that she is still a little girl, with all the traits that come with that age. Teddy, the main character in J. D. Salinger’s short story of the same name, is very different from Sybil Carpenter in that he can hardly be considered child like. One can say that he stands somewhere between a child and an adult. Being ten years old, he has obviously retained some of the youthful innocence but because of his abilities, experiences and experience, he cannot be seen as fully innocent. Teddy is a child prodigy, he can predict the future, and remembers instances from his previous lives believing in reincarnation. While he can be considered blessed to possess all of these abilities, it is also a curse to be ten years old and have to suffer through this. At one point, Teddy says: â€Å"It will either happen today or February 14th 1958, when I am 16. † (Salinger 182) He is most likely referring to the day that he will die, being capable of knowing this information because of the abilities that set him apart from the world. Moreover, he has intelligence that puts him in the same class or even higher as most adults, so he cannot be expected to have all of the innocence that comes with his youthful nature. Therefore, it can be said that Teddy has only half of his innocence, while the other half has disappeared due to his abilities and experiences that also led to the loss of simplicity that can be found in Sibyl, who comes across as a simple, naive child. The one trait of personality that Teddy and Sibyl share is the kindness. The kindness is evidence in both, Sibyl’s treatment of Seymour and Teddy’s behavior. When Teddys sister tells the young boy that he â€Å"is the stupidest person [she] ever met† (176), Teddy kindly defends and reassures the young boy. In his journal it is discovered that all Teddy writes about are small kind acts that he wishes to do for other people: he wants to find and wear his father’s dog tags because he thinks it will â€Å"please him;† he wants to write a condolence letter to someone who is ill, and he wishes to be â€Å"nicer to [the] librarian† (180-1). Sybil’s presence and behavior lea ds one to many conclusions about the main adult in the story, Seymour Glass. Seymour’s motives and values are clearly and concisely revealed through interaction with Sybil. Again, the color blue is used to show innocence. When Seymour takes off his robe to go in the water, it is discovered that â€Å"his shoulders were white and narrow, and his trunks were royal blue† (Saliger 13). Even by his name (Seymour – see more), it is suggested that he is much closer to the nature of a child than to the materialistic adult world, he sees in life much more than they do. In addition to the royal blue swim trunks, interaction between these Sybil and Seymour leads to a further illumination of Seymour’s nature. It is suggested in the story that Seymour is probably suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, yet one would never know that based off of his experience with Sybil. In the interaction with her, he simply seems to be a kind man willing to make the child happy: â€Å"Seymour only treats Sybil with kindness and attention. His interaction with Sybil offers insight into the end of the story. Seymour longs for something that is pure and innocent after his traumatic war experience. He does not fit in the current society, and remains separated from those his own age, including his own wife. (McCoppin 4) When Sybil asks him if he has read Little Black Sambo, he responds by saying â€Å"It’s very funny you ask me that, it so happens I just finished reading it last night. What did you think of it? † (Salinger 14) Seymour seems naturally talented in his dealings with children, which can, in fact, be considered as a sign of innocence, as in order to be able to relate to the i nnocence and purity of a child, it is a must that that person has at least a little innocence of their own. Again, this trait of his personality is only shown through his interactions with Sybil. Through Teddy’s interactions with adults, J. D. Salinger also effectively depicts the motives and values of the adult world. The professor to whom Teddy tells his story is, like in a case of â€Å"Perfect Day For Bananafish†, depicted in contrast to other materialistic adults including Teddy’s parents. He listens intently to Teddy and wishes to learn from him. Through their conversation, we learn that Teddy is a genius who can see into his past lives and into the future. He criticizes the adult world claiming that the adults think that they have all the knowledge and that they are everything, but in reality they are not. To exemplify this point, Teddy uses the example of the elephant, through the method of emptying out the mind: â€Å"I’d try to show [the children] how to find out who they are, not just what their names are and things like that†¦I guess even before that, I’d get them to empty out everything that their parents and everybody ever told them. I mean even if their parents just told them that an elephant’s big, I’d make them empty that out. An elephant is only big when it is next to something else- a dog or a lady, for example. I wouldn’t even tell them that an elephant had a trunk. I might show them an elephant, if I had one handy, but I’d let them just walk up to the elephant not knowing anything more about it than the elephant knew about them. † (Salinger 195) Teddy is basically calling the adult world’s knowledge false, as he seems to be of the opinion that they do not really know anything at all, they just believe things to be true. When somebody first learns about elephants, they are just told that the elephant is big, and that person blindly accepts it, which Teddy considers a huge problem in the society because nobody is actually learning anything as they just believe what people tell them. The proper way to learn is to experience, Teddy has those experiences because he remembers his past lives but the adults of the world do not have that ability. Therefore, Teddy’s abilities and experiences shape the reader’s understanding of the adult world’s lack of knowledge. Along with proving Seymour’s innocence, Sybil’s presence and behavior also shows the reader what Seymour thinks about material possession and greed. When Sybil asks what a Bananafish is, she prompts Seymour to respond by saying: â€Å"Well, [the Bananafish] swim into a hole were there’s a lot of bananas. They’re very ordinary looking fish when they swim in. But once they get in, they behave like pigs. Why, I’ve known some Bananafish to swim into a banana hole and eat as many as 78 bananas. Naturally, after that they’re so fat that they can’t get out of the hole again. † (Salinger 16) This conversation with Sybil is concealing what Seymour thinks about the world of material want: He believes that the world is filled with greedy people who never have enough and always want more. A literary critic J. F. Cotter claims that Seymour relates the tale about the Bananafish to Sybil as a lesson, possibly even a warning: â€Å"Sybil is a receptive child, [she] has yet to taste the avarice that fills most grown-up lives, she†¦can turn away from the spoon held out to her. † (Cotter 88) The characters in the story that are clearly depicted as dwelling too much on material needs involve Seymour’s girlfriend Muriel, Muriels mother, and Sibyl’s mother Mrs. Carpenter with their shallow talk of clothes and fashion. Just like bananafish gorge on bananas, they â€Å"gorge† on material things. Having returned from war, Seymour struggles to get involved in this society that is dominated by materialism and greed. In his friends Seymour he only meets apathy and ignorance. He most likely carries some complicated emotions in him and in this society, he can find neither the way to express them, nor someone to share the emotions with. Therefore, Seymour can identify with Sibyl, the pure and innocent child that is not yet burdened with the materialism and consumerism. Though the world of adults within this story is portrayed as either trite or fearful, Sybil’s world is light and innocent. † (McCoppin 3) However, by Seymour’s account, it is suggested that greed and gluttony will always come back to them, and almost always lead to a downfall. Once the bananafish eat too many bananas, they cannot get out of the hole and end up dying there. Again, Seymour’s view of the societ y is only known because of his relationship with Sybil and her youthfulness. â€Å"Salinger’s depiction of children serves to illuminate the tainted adult world Seymour cannot reenter. (McCoppin 3) The story ends tragically with Seymour’s suicide â€Å"that leaves a lasting message for the reader with its contradiction of a simple, pleasant moment with a child, and Seymour’s fatal belief that he is too damaged to ever reenter this life of innocence again. †The metaphor of the fish eating the bananas in â€Å"A Perfect Day For Bananafish† is equivalent to mankind eating the apple of knowledge. While the bananafish are unable to leave the hole, mankind is unable to eliminate the preconcieved notions that it obtained from the apple. Teddy believes that the only way to change and fix it is to completely empty out one’s mind claiming that this is the only path to enlightenment: â€Å"You know the apple that Adam ate in the Garden of Eden, referred to in the Bible? You know what was in that apple? Logic. Logic and intellectual stuff. That was all that was in it. So- this is my point- what you have to do is vomit it up if you want to see things as they really are. † (Salinger 191) When Teddy says one has to â€Å"vomit it up†, he is referring to getting rid of all the previously held notions, and essentially starting over. He believes that this is the only way to the possibility of living a true life without succumbing to the materialistic pressures that society already places on us. It may be painful and uncomfortable, much like vomiting, but it is the only way life can be better. However, concerning the ending of â€Å"Teddy†, â€Å"the question remains if readers should take Teddy’s teachings as Salinger’s genuine message to help the people of the modern era to find meaning in life, or if Teddy’s tragic end represents Salinger’s acknowledgement that Teddy’s vision of life cannot and perhaps should not exist in present reality. (McCoppin 7) It is interesting how Salinger phrases â€Å"Teddy† because it is the last story in Nine Stories, and it focuses on emptying out, but in the first story, â€Å"A Perfect Day for Bananafish†, Salinger focuses on filling up. Both stories are a commentary on the materialism of the adult world, but â€Å"Teddyà ¢â‚¬  seems to be different in the aspect that it actually tells how one can fix this materialism, rather than just telling what it will do to people, like in â€Å"A Perfect Day for Bananafish†. However, one has to take into consideration the tragic ending of â€Å"Teddy† discussed above. The reader would not know any of the aspects depicted above had it not been for the interactions between children and adults that characterize these two stories. Even though Sybil Carpenter and Teddy McArdle are each innocent in their own way, they are similar in that Salinger uses them, and their youthfulness and innocence, to seamlessly build the stories off of each other and illuminate the motives and values of the adult world. WORKS CITED: Cotter, J. F. â€Å"A Source for Seymour’s Suicide: Rilke’s Voices and Salinger’s Nine Storiesâ€Å". Papers on Language and Literature, Vol. 25, No. 1(1989): 83-98. McCoppin, Rachel Season: War, Children and Altruism in J. D. Salinger’s Nine Stories. Akademeia, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2011). lt;http://www. akademeia. ca/index. php/main/article/viewArticle/ea0102/18gt; Salinger, J. D. Nine Stories. Toronto : Bantam, 1986.

Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar Essay Example

Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar Paper What were the reasons for the rise and fall of Julius Caesar? Changes within the structure of the Roman army set the early stage of the rise of Julius Caesar to power within the Roman Empire. The republican army of the early days was founded on the â€Å"Servian† constitution. The army was the army of the state; citizens served in it according to their wealth and were called to arms when needed. In the third century this began to change as campaigns increased in duration and moved farther and farther from the boundaries of Rome itself. Further there was a growing resistance of wealthy citizens to take part in military service. In 107 BC Marius instituted reforms lowering the requirements of military service to include members of the lower classes. This voluntary service helped to augment the compulsory service required of more wealthy citizens. Volunteers flocked to the army due in part to the troubled economic situation within the republic that had plagued the lower class for many years. Army service provided payment for service, a share of booty, and an allocation of land upon completion of service. These reforms led to the creation of a professional army with soldiers who served many years, often in the same unit, led by the same commander. This in turn created a great deal of loyalty between the Legions and their respective commanders, loyalty that superseded that between the republic and her citizens. Political infighting was also instrumental in the rise of Caesar. Marius had been embroiled in an ongoing political struggle with forces allied with Sulla. We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer While Marius was engaged in a military campaign in Asia against the king of Pontus in 88 BC, Sulla who had been stripped of his authority in Asia by senatorial decree marched on Rome with his legions. Sulla forced the senate to banish Marius, who had managed to escape to Campania. Marius was captured at Minturnae but managed to escape again finally reaching Africa, where his old soldiers had been allocated lands due to Marius’s influence. Marius eventually returned to Rome, Sulla was absent in Asia facing the Mithridates allowing Marius’s supporters to gain power in the senate. Marius marched his forces into Rome and assaulted the city forcing the senate to lift his banishment and declare Sulla a public enemy. On January 1, 86, Cinna and Marius took the consulship by the 17th Marius was dead of pleurisy. Sulla regained power after the death of Marius and the republic was plunged once again into civil war. Attempting to regain control of Rome, Sulla and his forces faced a senatorial army at Brindisi in 83. Fighting lasted through the summer and fall of 82 at a cost of 50-70 thousand dead in the two armies and another 3000 prisoners executed by Sulla. Sulla further carried out a purge of Rome’s ruling elites. The forced removal and often execution of political rivals in the senate allowed Sulla to refill those positions with his own men. Sulla used this to begin the process of establishing a dictatorship without time limits. Beyond the power of dictator Sulla had himself presented as â€Å"Felix†, the leader blessed by the gods. This was the first use in Roman history of a divinity used for the personal ambition of an imperator. Sulla abdicated his position in 80 and died by the year 78 at the age of sixty. The actions of Sulla set the stage for the creation of a powerful dictator who would wield almost unlimited power of the Roman state. In the year 60, Gaius Julius Caesar returned from a successful governorship in the Spanish province, Caesar was anxious to hold both a triumph and the consulship of 59. The senate refused his request to stand in absentia, to declare his candidature. At the same time Pompey and Crassus were being shut out of senatorial proceedings as well. The three men Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus put their differences aside and formed a political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. It was a private and at first secret alliance later secured by the marriage of Pompey to Caesars daughter, Julia. They enlisted the tribune Publis Clodius in 58 to act as their agent in the senate. With his assistance they were able to push through a number of laws, including some that provided free grain to the citizens of Rome and forced their rival Cicero from Rome by outlawing anyone who had executed a Roman citizen without benefit of a trial. The year 58 also marked the year Caesar left Rome to take the governorship of Transalpine Gaul. Soon after Pompey was politically attacked by enemies in the senate and was forced to take refuge in his home for several months. By 56 the Triumvirate seemed to be falling apart, the three met at Luca in April of 56 and managed to patch up their differences, agreeing that Pompey and Crassus would be consuls in 55. The alliance dissolved not long after with the death of Julia and then Crassus being killed in battle in Mesopotamia. By 53 violence and disorder ruled the streets of Rome, things were so bad that the consular elections that year were postponed. In 52 the Senate-house was burned to the ground and Pompey was declared sole consul. Relations between the former allies became increasingly strained and both began to gird for war. In late 50 Caesar’s agent at Rome, tribune Marcus Scribonius Curio, forced the senate to a vote requiring both he and Pompey to disarm, only 22 senators opposed but they were able to secure a tribune’s veto. In January of 49 one of the tribunes, Marcus Antonius, forced the consuls to read a letter from Caesar agreeing to the earlier disarmament proposal. The consuls, with the support of Pompey refused to allow a vote, but proposed that Caesar be named a public enemy; the measure passed but was vetoed by Antonius. On January 7th, Antonius was warned to leave the senate, which then issued its ultimate decree (naming Caesar an enemy of the state). Caesar instead of running marched his army from Ravenna south to Ariminum, in doing so he crossed the Rubicon River, the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy. It was an open act of war. Caesar began his overthrow of the Roman republic by decisively attacking Pompey’s forces and forcing him to retreat to Greece. Having no fleet, Caesar moved his forces into Spain were he defeated the forces loyal to Pompey in three months. Moving into Greece Caesar defeated Pompey at Pharsalus in 48. Pompey fled to Egypt where he was executed on the orders of King Ptolemy. Caesar followed into Egypt and was captivated by the daughter of the king Cleopatra. In October 48 unbeknownst to Caesar, he was appointed in Rome as dictator for a year. In early 46 Caesar pushed into North Africa where the last remnants of Pompey’s forces were located. During the siege of Thapsus, Pompey’s army was annihilated. News of his latest victory was relayed to Rome and the senate appointed him dictator for ten years. Caesar installed Cleopatra in his house on the Janiculum, together with her infant son Caesarion rumored to be Caesars child. His campaigns finally brought him back to Spain where he finally defeated the last remnants of Pompey’s army under the command of Pompey’s sons. Caesar then returned to Rome where he spent the remainder of his life. From 48-44 BC Caesar enacted many reforms that were intended to relieve debts and reign in the extravagances practiced many of the patrician members of the government. He greatly increased the size of the senate and the number of magistrates; he also began a publics program that included a new forum, a basilica, and public library. Caesar also planned the creation of no fewer than 20 new colonies mostly in Spain and North Africa. New methods of taxation were established in the provinces, the new system assessed a fixed land tax replacing the older exactions of the publicans. Caesar further encouraged Roman colonization of the provinces and opened up citizenship to provincials. In 44 preparations were being implemented to strengthen Rome’s north-eastern frontier by attacking the Dacian king Burebistas, this action was to be a preliminary actions toward ultimately invading Parthia itself. Caesar expected to be away from Rome for three years during this action. A few days prior to his departure on the Ides of March, 44 he was cut down in front of the senate-house, at the foot of Pompey’s statue. Caesar had become too powerful and threatened the wealth and might of Rome’s political elite. His authority ultimately rested on the devotion of his soldiers who showed greater fealty to Caesar than to Rome. Many feared he was working toward being crowned king, and were frightened by his being venerated as a god by some. One can only guess at Caesars ultimate ambitions. A man of noble birth he rose from relative obscurity to the pinnacle of power within the Roman republic only to be the master of its destruction. Caesar’s legacy spawned the Imperial era of Roman history, many who would follow in Caesar’s footstep would take the title of Caesar as their own. Works cited: Marcel Le Glay, et. al. , A History of Rome (Malden: Blackwell, 2005. ) pg. 133-139

The Sucessful Developement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Essay Example

The Sucessful Developement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Essay Example The Sucessful Developement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Essay The Sucessful Developement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Essay To start off this essay, try painting a picture about a certain neighborhood. This neighborhood does not have any overarching governing body, nor is there a single overarching security force. In short, this neighborhood’s residents are left to fend for themselves. Assuming that there has been an unfortunate event in the neighborhood, whereby one house was broken into by some thieves, what could possibly be the reaction of the residents in that community? Will they seek to protect their own homes and not bother to care about their neighbors? Will they protect their homes and be malicious of their neighbors, thinking they could have been conspirators to the crime? Or will they work together and cooperate in one collective effort to solve the case and to protect themselves? This is an analogous picture of what the international realm may look like for scholars and the questions posted are classic questions that theories of International Relations seek to shed light into. In an international world that is ruled by anarchy, it has been a classic notion that states are left to fend for themselves. In this scenario, security of states is of great importance, if not the outright priority. As international events unfold, different scholars seek to explain the various international phenomena by choosing a theoretical framework that will best explain and account for the phenomenon they choose to account for Be that as it may, what this paper will aim to discuss is the recent development is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as an association of states, by using the pertinent theoretical frameworks in the discipline of International Relations.   The first part will discuss a brief introduction of the Shanghai Cooperation and what are the recent developments pertaining to it, while the second part of the paper will discuss briefly what theories in International Relations exist that may be of use to the discussion of the recent events in SCO. Using the chosen theories, this paper will discuss how the core tenets of such theories can possibly explain the recent developments in the SCO for example, using a certain theory, why would a certain actor in the SCO story act this way and what were the interests of that actor etcetera. A lot of international organizations exist in status quo. The reasons for their establishment may vary from one case to another. And for scholars, it is interesting to take a look at this phenomenon in the context of the emerging new world order. With the end of the Cold War, it is interesting to observe how states and other emerging world players will configure themselves. In line with recent developments, the formation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is worthy of scholarly attention. Upon its formation on June 15 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has six permanent members: the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation (Brummer, 2007). It is an international organization through its founding members that cover about three fifths of Eurasia (GlobalSecurity.org, 2007). This organization or association of states, though fairly young compared to other international organizations has turned out to be an influential political, economic and security international player (Brummer, 2007). The SCO had a predecessor and it was called, the Shanghai Five mechanism, which came from the five of the, now, six members’ (except the Republic of Uzbekistan) effort to further disarmament in the border regions and to strengthen confidence-building (GlobalSecurity.org, 2007). Upon the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions and the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions by these five member states, what started off as an annual meeting of their leaders ended up to be a regular practice (GlobalSecurity.org, 2007). The coverage of their agenda soon expanded to talk about cooperation in various areas like politics, security, diplomacy and economics, and then later on extended the membership to Uzbekistan (GlobalSecurity.org, 2007). When asked in why Uzbekistan wanted to join the organization, the reply of President Karimov indicated that the primary reason was to protect the country from any possible aggressive move by the SCO (Nich ol, 2005). The Declaration on the Establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization gave birth to the organization as it is known now (GlobalSecurity.org, 2007). Recently, however, there have been some developments in the SCO and some issues have risen from these developments. Firstly, the inclusion of other states to the membership of the SCO has caught the attention of a lot of scholars and players in the international field, not so much as a reaction to its expansion but to the profile of the members that wish to be included.   Iran, as a very controversial country in terms of its relationship with the rest of the world visvis the United States of America, has been subjected to a series of deliberation (Brummer, 2007). The question of whether it will be granted membership in the SCO is something that has interested the keen observers of international relations. The main concern was what would be implications of Iran’s inclusion to the six-member association and consequently, how would the United States of America react to this inclusion. Secondly, post 9/11, the evaluation of the policies and reaction of the Shanghai Cooperation O rganization towards perceived (or otherwise) terrorist threats in their region, is something that the United States of America has concerned itself with (Nichol, 2005). The next section of this paper will juxtapose these recent events with the literature in International Relations- focusing on pertinent theories in the discipline that can explain the milestones in the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and using a comparative approach in discussing them. While it is not true that international phenomenon may only be explained by either realism or idealism, it is interesting to juxtapose discussions of different international events using the two because of the contrasts in their basic assumptions and tenets. Before this paper further discusses the developments in the SCO, it would first help to have a quick overview of the premises of each of these two theories, as these will be the tools to help understand and hopefully explain what transpired in these milestones and why they were so. Realism, as espoused by scholars like E.H. Carr, asserts that states are the main actors in world politics and that their interests lie in the pursuit of power at the expense of others (Mearsheimer, 2005). In a way, it more or less follows the logic of a zero-sum game, whereby one player’s gain is another player’s loss. The implication of this in policymaking is that decision-makers will most likely base their decisions on power calculations, as opposed to that of Idealism which focuses on the moral dimension and on liberal ideas for decision-making considerations (Mearsheimer, 2005). One of the canons of idealism, and most often cited by other scholars, is that of Immanuel Kant’s Perpetual Peace, whereby he asserts how states should act towards each other to achieve peace and prevent war (Kant, 1975). Writers, like Herz, argue that idealists believe that it is an imperative to change the world and champion the realization of a world turning into a secure global community- that would entail states abiding by international law and observing respect and recognition of each other (Hacke and Puglierin, 2007). The inception of the SCO may be seen as an idealist characterization of what international cooperation can do, whereby states seek to cooperate with each other to achieve a common goal. As stated earlier, when the SCO was established, the initial intent was to push the disarmament of the states in the border areas and to strengthen confidence-building. These reasons are liberal in nature- disarmament is antithetical to the realist push that states should be wary of other states and should protect themselves at any cost, and confidence-building is founded on trust and cooperation among partner states. While its inception is liberal in intent, as the time progresses, the developments in the SCO soon lend to realist assumptions. When it expanded membership, the intention of the new member (and even those seeking membership in status quo) may be contended to have realist bearings. As stated above, when Uzbekistan sought membership, it was not for cooperation nor was it based on trust on other states but, instead, it was to ensure its own safety by establishing ties with China and the other states in the SCO. But the annexation of Uzbekistan is not the only development that lends to realist assumptions. Lately, Iran sought membership to the SCO as well, although it was not granted, there stands a chance that it can happen (Brummer, 2007). From a geopolitical perspective, Iran’s inclusion would have been a political statement saying that between the West and Iran, China and Russia would have taken the side of Iran (Brummer, 2007). This scenario can lend to realist assumptions by focusing on the intention of Iran to gain allies, against a perceived threat and clearly this puts security above all other concerns. It can also lend to liberal assumptions by focusing on the fact that Iran has chosen to be part of a collective effort in dealing with adversaries, as opposed to a unilateral aggressive approach that will more probably lead to war and heightened conflict . The intention of China on forwarding the SCO agenda can also be explained using realism. There have been writings that talk about China’s effort to gain influence in its regional area and the intention behind the formation of the SCO may well be subsumed under this. In fact, there have been assertions that China has had the intention of challenging the unipolar order by taking on the leadership position of a anti-hegemonic coalition against the United States of America (Foot, 2006). Foot further stresses that China may well be building up its military and economic capabilities to challenge the USA (Foot, 2006). Taken from this angle, this obviously lends to realist assumptions of China using a formation of an international institution to forward its own interest- that is, to secure itself and to gain power by challenging the strength of the leading international player. But it can also be explained in a realist point of view, by showing how this is China’s way to achiev e a level of security for itself, but at the same time, it may also be a form of cooperating with the international community. Terrorism being a global problem has also been addressed by the SCO by having its members hold anti-terrorist exercises to promote common security and to gain economic benefits as well (Foot, 2006). Taken from this context, it is logical to say that the SCO has acted in favor of liberal ideas of forwarding collective cooperation. China being one of the torchbearers of the SCO has also coursed cooperation through economic ties with the United States (Langlois and Langlois, 1996). Fighting against terrorism by joining forces with other states lends to liberal ideas of aiming for peace and preventing war, even if it sounds moralistic, and forwarding causes for global security through collective action. But just as the previous discussions, the actions of China towards terrorism may also lend to realist assumptions. One particular example is in reference to the efforts of the United States of America in its fight against terrorism. Post-September 11, the members of the Shanghai Cooperati on Organization did not have a collective response to the proposal of the United States, but instead its members acted individually (Nichol, 2005). This proves the realist argument that states, despite the existence of international institutions, will still act selfishly and in favor of its own national interests. It is obvious that China did not want to lend a hand to this specific United States policy, although it was willing to cooperate with its members in dealing with terrorism in their regional area. China’s definition of its national interests, in this context, was to ensure that terrorism does not thrive in its region, and yet not give the United States the leverage to dictate or influence its policies toward security. This shows how there can be an interplay in the way realism and idealism explains a certain international phenomenon. The next question is, how does this make sense and does this not mean that one of the two theories may lose its ability to explain things if the other can explain it the same phenomenon with equal validity? In seeking to explain political phenomenon, one can use theories as tools to help account for such events. In doing so, scholars may fall to the trap of focusing too much on dichotomies the North and South, Realism and Liberalism. While mutual exclusivity increases the validity of a theory (or a school of thought, for that matter) to distinguish it from other existing theories, this does not necessarily mean that the truth of the other is the shadow of the doubt for the other. In fact, if theories are made to help us explain political phenomenon, then perhaps it pays to have a more comprehensive picture by using the lens of various theories to account for an event. Does realism and liberalism really have to be categorized as contrasts or is it possible that they can complement each other? Lucian Ashworth even asserts that the debate between these two schools of thought may have never existed, as the liberals’ (often called â€Å"idealists† by later realist writers call them) writings were not really addressed properly by realists (Ashworth, 2006). This is not to point out that liberalism has lost its capacity to explain, but what Ashworth is pointing out, is the fact that the line establishing this dichotomy is not absolute, and hence, may be blurred. There have been points raised by writers like Joseph Nye Jr.,that lend to the idea that perhaps the two can complement each other. He argues that in cases when mutual interests or a possibility in the future may suggest that there are plenty of benefits to be had for cooperating, states may actually adopt new strategies in their quest to forward their interests (Nye, 1988). This point may be used to explain why the members of the SCO chose to cooperate in their fight against terrorism in their own region, but chose not to cooperate as a group with the United States of America. This is so, because states and the associations they form can define their interests differently and their interests can also change (Nye, 1988). In this example, what happened was what the other theory cannot account for; the other can shed light to. Realism cannot fully explain how states define their interests and how these interests change, but liberalism can answer that by pushing forward the concept of co llective security, albeit this term needs more discussion as to how it can be operationalized (Nye, 1988). To be blunt about it, the true value of theories being able to explain political phenomenon rests not solely on the exclusivity of their explanations, but on the comprehensiveness of its account. Following Hacke and Puglierin’s   point, the realism in its absolute form can only offer a naked struggle for power, and hence any sound political thought must have elements of both utopia and reality (Hacke and Puglierin, 2007). To have a more comprehensive account of why members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization behaved in certain ways, in certain points in time, one must go beyond the dichotomy of what is considered realist and idealist. Instead, it pays to keep in mind that using relevant aspects of theories (as tools) can help paint a more comprehensive picture that will help account for the explanation of a political phenomenon. REFERENCES Ashworth, Lucian M. â€Å"Where are the idealists in interwar International Relations?† Review of International Studies Vol.32, No. 2 (2006): 291-308. Brummer, Matthew. â€Å"The Shanghai Cooperation Organization.† Journal of International Affairs 60 (2007): 185-199. Foot, Rosemary. â€Å"Chinese strategies in a US-hegemonic global order: accommodating and hedging.† International Affairs Vol.82,   No.1 (2006): 77-94. GlobalSecurity. â€Å"Shanghai Cooperation Organization.† Military. 2007. 15 Oct. 2007 globalsecurity.org/military/world/int/sco.htm . Hacke Christian and Jana Puglierin. â€Å"John H. Herz: Balancing Utopia and Reality.† International Relations Vol.21, No.3 (2007): 367–382. Kant, Immanuel. â€Å"Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch 1975†. 2007. 15 Oct 2007 mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/kant/kant1.htm Langlois, Catherine and Jean-Pierre P. Langlois. â€Å"Rationality in International Relations: A Game-Theoretic and Empirical Study of the US-China Case.† World Politics Vol.48 (1996): 358–90. Mearsheimer, John J. â€Å"E.H. Carr vs. Idealism: The Battle Rages On.† International Relations   Vol.19, No.2 (2005): 139-152. Nichol, Jim. â€Å"Central Asia’s Security: Issues and Implications for U.S. interests.† CRS Report for Congress. (2005): 1-49. Nye, Joseph S. Jr. â€Å"Review: Neorealism and Neoliberalism.† World Politics Vol. 40, No. 2. (1988): 235-251.

The Wright Brothers Make the First Flight

The Wright Brothers Make the First Flight At 10:35 a.m. on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright flew the Flyer for 12 seconds over 120 feet of the ground. This flight, conducted on Kill Devil Hill just outside of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, was the very first flight by a manned, controlled, heavier-than-air aircraft that flew under its own power. In other words, it was the first flight of an airplane. Who Were the Wright Brothers? Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) and Orville Wright (1871-1948) were brothers who ran both a printing shop and a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. The skills they learned from working on printing presses and bicycles were invaluable in trying to design and build a working airplane. Although the brothers interest in flight had stemmed from a small helicopter toy from their childhood, they didnt begin experimenting with aeronautics until 1899, when Wilbur was 32 and Orville was 28. Wilbur and Orville began by studying aeronautical books, then talked with civil engineers. Next, they built kites. Wing Warping Wilbur and Orville Wright studied the designs and accomplishments of other experimenters but soon realized that no one had yet found a way to control aircraft while in the air. By studiously observing birds in flight, the Wright brothers came up with the concept of wing warping.​ Wing warping allowed the pilot to control the roll of the plane (horizontal movement) by raising or lowering flaps located along the planes wingtips. For instance, by raising up one flap and lowering the other, the plane would then begin to bank (turn). The Wright brothers tested their ideas using kites and then, in 1900, built their first glider. Testing at Kitty Hawk Needing a place that had regular winds, hills, and sand (to provide a soft landing), the Wright brothers selected Kitty Hawk in North Carolina to conduct their tests. Wilbur and Orville Wright took their glider into the Kill Devil Hills, located just south of Kitty Hawk, and flew it. However, the glider did not do as well as they had hoped. In 1901, they built another glider and tested it, but it too did not work well. Realizing that the problem was in the experimental data they had used from others, they decided to conduct their own experiments. To do so, they went back to Dayton, Ohio and built a small wind tunnel. With the information gained from their own experiments in the wind tunnel, Wilbur and Orville built another glider in 1902. This one, when tested, did exactly what the Wrights expected. Wilbur and Orville Wright had successfully solved the problem of control in flight. Next, they needed to build an aircraft that had both control and motorized power. The Wright Brothers Build the Flyer The Wrights needed an engine that would be powerful enough to lift a plane from the ground, but not weigh it down significantly. After contacting a number of engine manufacturers and not finding any engines light enough for their task, the Wrights realized that in order to get an engine with the specifications they needed, they must design and build their own. While the Wilbur and Orville Wright designed the engine, it was the clever and able Charlie Taylor, a machinist who worked with the Wright brothers in their bicycle shop, who built it carefully crafting each individual, unique piece. With little experience working with engines, the three men managed to put together a 4-cylinder, 8 horsepower, gasoline engine that weighed 152 pounds in just six weeks. However, after some testing, the engine block cracked. It took another two months to make a new one, but this time, the engine had a whopping 12 horsepower. Another engineering struggle was determining the shape and size of the propellers. Orville and Wilbur would constantly discuss the intricacies of their engineering problems. Although they hoped to find solutions in nautical engineering books, they ultimately discovered their own answers through trial, error, and lots of discussion. When the engine was completed and the two propellers created, Wilbur and Orville placed these into their newly built, 21-foot long, spruce-and-ash framed Flyer. With the finished product weighing 605 pounds, the Wright brothers hoped that the motor would be strong enough to lift the plane. It was time to test their new, controlled, motorized aircraft. The December 14, 1903 Test Wilbur and Orville Wright traveled to Kitty Hawk in September 1903. Technical difficulties and weather problems delayed the first test until December 14, 1903. Wilbur and Orville flipped a coin to see who would get to make the first test flight and Wilbur won. However, there wasnt enough wind that day, so the Wright brothers took the Flyer up to a hill and flew it. Although it did take flight, it crashed at the end and needed a couple days to repair. Nothing definitive was gained from this flight since the Flyer had taken off from a hill. The First Flight at Kitty Hawk On December 17, 1903, the Flyer was fixed and ready to go. The weather was cold and windy, with winds reported around 20 to 27 miles per hour. The brothers tried to wait until the weather improved but by 10 a.m. it had not, so they decided to try a flight anyway. The two brothers, plus several helpers, set up the 60-foot monorail track that helped keep the Flyer in line for lift-off. Since Wilbur had won the coin toss on December 14,  it was Orvilles turn to pilot. Orville  clambered onto the Flyer, laying flat on his tummy on the middle of the bottom wing. The biplane, which had a 40-foot 4-inch wingspan, was ready to go. At 10:35 a.m. the Flyer started off with Orville as pilot and Wilbur running along the right side, holding onto the lower wing to help stabilize the plane. Around 40 feet along the track, the Flyer took flight, staying in the air for 12 seconds and traveling 120 feet from liftoff. They had done it. They had made the very first flight with a manned, controlled, powered, heavier-than-air aircraft. Three More Flights That Day The men were excited about their triumph but they were not done for the day. They went back inside to warm up by a fire and then went back outside for three more flights. The fourth and final flight proved their best. During that last flight, Wilbur piloted the Flyer for 59 seconds over 852 feet. After the fourth test flight, a strong gust of wind blew the Flyer over, making it tumble and breaking it so severely that it would never be flown again.   After Kitty Hawk Over the next several years, the Wright Brothers would continue perfecting their airplane designs but would suffer a major setback in 1908 when they were involved in the first fatal airplane crash. In this crash, Orville Wright was severely injured but  passenger Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge died. Four years later, having recently returned from a six-month trip to Europe for business, Wilbur Wright became ill with typhoid fever. Wilbur never recovered, passing away on May 30, 1912, at the age of 45. Orville Wright continued to fly for the next six years, making daring stunts and setting speed records, stopping only when aches left over from his 1908 crash would no longer let him fly. Over the next three decades, Orville kept busy continuing scientific research, making public appearances, and battling lawsuits. He lived long enough to witness the historic flights of great aviators such as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart as well as recognize the  important roles that planes played in World War I and World War II. On January 30, 1948, Orville Wright died at age 77 of a massive heart attack.

Diversity in Your Company or Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diversity in Your Company or Organization - Essay Example My organization is one of the many beginning to actively promote diversity education and awareness in the workplace. Ideally, every person should be treated equally when it comes to getting a job, advancing in their career, and being treated fairly in the workplace. Realistically, this is often not the case (Workplace Diversity for African, Hispanic (Latino), and Asian Americans, 2004). According to Gingrich, many times the "talents and skills of [diverse] persons often go unrecognized" (2000, p. 14). My organization makes it a point to recognize everyones abilities and talents across a variety of orientations and to give credit where it is due. We hire and promote people of all different races, cultures, backgrounds, sexual orientations, and people with special needs, as well as others who can contribute specific skills and talents to the organization. My company is proof that "diversity contributes to the bottom line by making it easier to retain good employees, lowering costs by d eveloping skills in-house, and developing a reputation that helps attract new employees" (Corporate Culture and Diversity, 2004). It is a privilege to be a part of a company that comes very close to truly defining the phrase melting pot, a locality in which a blending of races, peoples or cultures takes place (Random House Websters Dictionary, 1998). Although it is admirable that we, as an organization, are so aware of diversity in the workplace and continue promoting it, diversity is not always easy for every individual in the organization to appreciate. Yes, our employees do value and embrace the differences of those around them. However, it has become apparent to me in this organization that diversity can also have an adverse affect within an organization. I am finding that although we are a diverse group of people, we also tend to segregate

A discussion by Lanston Hughes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A discussion by Lanston Hughes - Essay Example families and kids now of their own but it is amplified by the awkwardness of their chance meeting in the busy park in early autumn after years of no communication, each hurrying on the way home before dark. The autumn season signifies the progression towards a time of darkness and coldness, the season of winter. This also somehow conveys the message of being in the sunset or twilight of their lives already, in middle age and soon into retirement age. The exuberance of their youth had been gone and each of them is now weighed down by their respective marital and familial responsibilities. Their sense of loss is further emphasized by the loss of time, if only they could turn back the clock and go back to their younger days when they were the best of lovers. Both of them are now a bit old, although Mary is older than Bill, since she is the elder of the two. The setting of the story is unfailingly very depressing, shown by the metaphors of fallen autumn leaves from the trees, â€Å"fell without wind.† The time of day was â€Å"autumn dusk† which is â€Å"nearly sunset† already; a few more minutes and it would be dark as night sets in. It was â€Å"cold.† Figures of speech used, such as metaphors and euphemisms symbolize the regrets of not having pursued their dreams; both are now in the autumn of their lives (Hughes, 2002, p.

Technological Applications within Human resource Essay Example for Free

Technological Applications within Human resource Essay Human resource department is moving from the traditional way of doing things that is remote and inefficient to a more modern way through computerization that comes with great benefits and surpasses the traditional methods. A computerized system can be termed as eHR which simply means the use of predictable, web and voice innovations to enhance firm’s dealings, organization and process performance. It is therefore prudent for the CEO of the company to embrace such a modern system for efficiency in the firm in order to enhance the human resource services, in order to reduce operational costs, to improve the relationship between the management and the entire staff, to meet customer demands and to offer quality services to its customers and the staff. Technological applications within HR department have various benefits that include the following: with computerized systems the human resource department can develop a viable information strategy that will lead to increase in accessing the relevant information. Another benefit is that of achieving consistent and streamlined processes. This leads to a good and organized system that ensures that the laid down procedures are harmonized to be applicable to all and without confusion. The other benefits come up through the acquisition of the right information for those who need it to make correct decisions thus avoiding risks and losses that come up from guesswork. Also with technological application the management has the opportunity to achieve and maintain a superior internal profile for human resource that leads to achieving the goals and objective of the organization as stipulated by the mission and the vision of the company. (Hal and Dianna, 2005) However, such technological innovations have their own drawbacks and therefore needing the CEO’s attention; such problems include lack of understanding of the system developed using advanced technologies. There is need for the organization to incur extra funds to manage the advancement and also train those working to be better and efficient in utilizing the new technology. Another problem comes up due to inadequate coding of information that is arrived at when there is poor setting of the structures used to code. The middle level managers and supervisors may also bring a problem by holding and maintaining information that may help both the workers and the company at large. This comes when the managers do not have easy access to the system and a lot of manual that holds them . Lack of clarity of responsibilities for getting information on how the system can be used can also cause a great harm thus needing responsibilities to be well specified to correct the problem Research has shown that there is need to come up with a good computerized system for efficiency in the HR department to ensure that there is ease of managing the human resource. Such systems will include: holding personal details about the individuals workers that will include skills, qualification, career history, leave and absence records. Another system will include the production of reports which summarize diverse aspects of this information. It will also hold particulars about employees’ jobs which include things like their job grades, job description, role classification and pay and their benefits. It will also be of value to the company if the CEO ensures that there is information on recruitment and training administration. The computerized system in the company should also be able to provide information by recording and analyzing absence, labour turnover and attendance that helps management to make decisions on individual workers. It should be able to do job evaluation of the workers. For reward management and human resource planning, it will need a sophisticated system that will be in a position to support strategic decision making. (James, 2002) Provision of linkages to the internet is also a part of computerized system which will ease the function of the management of the company and can be of help in instances where the companies do recruitments and other things through the internet. There will be pitfalls that will automatically come from computerization that will not be received well by the affected in general. This are for instance the need for all the personal details about individuals can be tricky to workers since the management can base it in making decisions about them that may be of negative impact. Those being retrenched for instance will be sorted according to the information on qualification academically rather than experience In the event where the accessibility of workers information is not well protected, it can find way to people who can use it against persons who are the bearers of the said information and it becomes very dangerous to the workers. The personal details that must be handled with privacy include: medical history and discipline, employees qualifications, absence, special skills and competence e. t. c must be kept very private. Some top managers may take advantage and misuse the available information to mistreat those that are vulnerable and result to even others deciding to leave the organization while others will be affected psychologically and lead to reduced labour turnover. Some workers inaccessibility and familiarity with technology will make them feel inferior and will not take into account their various responsibilities and needs thus affecting them in the way they perform their duties. (Hal and Dianna, 2005) Best plan for the CEO The CEO must adopt the modern computerized technology to be in a position to be efficient and more organized for the success of the company. The CEO must establish the current need and also the future needs of the business and also analyze everything that results from information system that will be designed. It will require the company to ensure that the systems developed will be well customized to better serve the company and the whole population at large and it can be in a position to hold all the information of workers and avoid information overload so as to be integrated and also give maximum output for the benefit of the company. There is a need to come up with a good statement of all the requirements to make the computerization a success. Taking into consideration the business requirements, the CEO must identify the best options to tackle the problem while at the same time being strategic to realize the business goals set by the company. The CEO must support it by giving financial support after evaluation and analysis and then go ahead to buy the needed facilities. (James, 2002) The system should be in a position to get direct input at source to be able to get the data that is vital for the basis of decision making. It should solve the problems that were experienced there before and help the line managers by giving them information in an easy understandable manner. The system designed must not only help deal with the management information system but should also handle the administrative processes well. The CEO must ensure that they acquire the best technical infrastructure to support the program well. They will include the following; Application Service Provider (ASP) It will help the administration to do its administrative role well through a proper. Smaller or medium sized organizations rely on ASP in outsourcing the burden of running the system. ASP will help the company very much since the number of workers is around 200 HR/corporate intranet It is an electronic system that is networked therefore enabling all the available information to be communicated to departments and the centers that require the information within the organization. The available information that can be relayed comprises HR policies’, links that can be of help to the management to interface with other workers directly with HR applications and make changes or enquiries that can give assistance when required. B2E portal The organization can utilize this system that can help the human resource department by providing it with a single intranet screen that can make the company to collect information on the workers and give the workers and the people ready access to it. Human resource information system It is very important for the CEO to have a human resource information system that helping managing the HR processes and include important data that include, payroll systems, reward and performance management, recruitment e. t. c (Hal and Dianna, 2005) Conclusion It has been proved globally that modern organizations can only succeed when they are equipped with modern computerized system that can help the management of human resource for the growth and success of firms. The CEO has no choice but embrace the modern way that is easily manageable and less costly in the long run. With a number that is between 180 to 200 workers ‘keeping the file system to store information for the whole population can be quite hectic and also expensive since it will require a good number of workers to work in the human resource department to serve the company and the workers. Information required from files takes a very long time to be accessed unlike in the computerized system that is fast and efficient and can be made to perform multi-tasks and handle I perfectly unlike the use of workers who can only give attention to only one chore at a time. The company will now be in a position to assist give crucial information for better management and also handle issues related to their payments and also administer pay reviews, job evaluation e. t. c for the success of the company. (James, 2002)