Hazel Essay Example for Free

Hazel Essay Hazel who worked for Fortune 500 Company for 15 years shows her loyalty and devotion in the company. It is surprising therefore why she was one of the chosen employees to be terminated by the new CEO to downsize the company. It is a question whether Hazel tried to ask the company why she was terminated despite the fact that she has been with the company in the long period of time. It is a need for her to know to fully understand the reasons. It might be even beneficial for her in long run to improve her weaknesses, flaws and mistakes if there are any. The rejection she’s receiving from her application in finding employment must be very hard for her. But her need of survival motivated her to try another line of job. It must be very challenging since she was used to office or paper works perhaps, from the company she previously worked to. Moving lawns, weeding gardens, and trimming shrubbery are all not an easy job. It requires so much energy, effort and perspiration. But Hazel perceived it optimistically believing that it will do her good in the long run. After 15 years being used to be governed and overshadowed by the company’s superiors, rules and policies, Hazel is now taking a different path. She can be more creative in this way in managing her life in terms of time management, communication with her clients, service price and all. Now everything is not routinary. In addition to this she can be more in touch with her clients thus creating opportunities to make friends and learn more. From being an employee, she now has her own business in accordance to her interest and creativity. She can creatively fashion her neighbor’s backyard. Her business will eventually give her opportunities to apply her learning’s from her previous job. It is not bad to make some switch in career at times especially with Hazel’s case after a number of years of building experience and gaining knowledge in one particular field or profession. However switching a career can be wonderful chance to identify some careers that match well with your skill set and personality. Hazel will learn to be flexible in the long run who can both explore blue and white collar jobs.

Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Introduction to Sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the study of aspects of societies, including cultural norms, the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society. Language is an important portion of identity and culture within many speech communities; also associated with members self-esteem; within these communities. Sociolinguists have structured a number of ways to categorize the languages within their status and social function domains such as vernacular. The specific concern of this paper is focusing on the significance and function evaluation of the vernacular (dialect, accent) and through the presentation used and by sociolinguistic-studies, it is intended to decide on the argument if the language change is lead by the implications, role models of media or not. Touching upon the concepts of vernaculars, dialects and diglossia is a good place to begin. The term vernacular has various meanings; but mostly refers to a language not standardized and not officially confirmed; which is used by local people. Generally, vernaculars are spread among communities living in a multilingual atmosphere where they have a different mother-language than the official language of their residence. For example; Afro-American English is a vernacular created among the group of people living in places where the standard American English was officially used; but had African languages as their mother-tonque. Standard languages, like the American English or the Received Pronunciation in Britain are classified as highly prestigious languages associated with educated; as compared to the people talking vernacular languages. Different from a vernacular; a dialect is a variety of a particular language characterized by specific regional features such as pronunciation; spoken by a specific group of people. Furthermore, according to Fergusson (1996), diglossia is a special language-situation where, in addition to the primary dialect of the language (categorized as (L)), there is a highly regulated and often more complex variety, which is used in official writings and formal speeches (categorized as (H)); but not exactly followed seen in daily conversations. Diglossic situation exists if it has two distinct codes which show clear functional separation (Wardhaugh, 1998: 87). It has been observed that, in due course the standardized varieties of languages (like Standard American English) started becoming less dominant and local varieties (like African American English) became more prominen. Sociolinguists studied the origins of these changes trying to answer whether it was the social factors or impacts of the popular media that triggered these language changes. Labov suggested certain principles to justify these changes within languages: He first said that linguistic variation is transmitted to children as stylistic differentiation on the formal/informal dimension, rather than as social stratification. Formal speech variants are associated by children with instruction and punishment, informal speech with intimacy and fun. ( Labov 2001: 516) Consequently; linguistic changes from below develop first in spontaneous speech at the most informal level. They are unconsciously associated with nonconformity to sociolinguistic norms, and advanced most by youth who resist conformity to adult institutional practices ( Labov 2001:516). In connection with these principles stated by Labov (2001), the positive attitude of youth generation on the growing prestige and spreading of the non-standard languages is quite acceptable. Aftwerwards, Labov also stated that these changes were symbols of nonconformity actions against the structured social norms of appro priate behavior, and were generated in the social settings that challenged those norms. Finally, the constructive nonconformity principle of Labov (2001) concluded that these changes were spread to wider communities by those who displayed the symbols of nonconformity in larger pattern of upward mobility. Apparently, the popular media and its figures also had an indirect impact on this by disseminating these changes to language communities, as explained in detail in the relevant section; below. Likewise, Debra Spitulnik (1997) argues that mass media has a role in the construction of community, and the cultural continuity depends on a social circulation of discourse and public accessibility. The popular mass media has the ability to enact local concerns on a global stage and to merge the marginal with the dominant, the parochial with the cosmopolitan, and the local with the global' (Johnson and Ensslin 2007: 14). This is said to be a form of re-scaling often associated with the globalization of the late-modernity. In the light of these studies, the language used in songs of 50 Cent is presented with the main dialect, accent is used alongside the significance and functions of the vernacular speech. In this presented domain of popular media the vernacular is the African American English dialect with standard being the American English. Appendix 1 The use of vernacular during rapping, affects the voice quality of the speaker within the psychological or emotional states. If the topic is exciting or joyful, voice rises and when it is time to be calm, the voice descends into a bass level. One of the distinctive features of vernacular is usage of double added prepositions as in up on it (line 4). Besides, the use of double negative is common in this vernacular compared to Standard American English. Is is used to structure strong positives and emphasize meanings (line 8). Negatives are formed different from standard American English e.g. use of aint as a general negative indicator (line 11). Appendix 2 Mostly a v substitution occurs in the vernacular unlike Standard English. When using profanity in combination with the F word, speakers pronounce M.F. correctly just like in Standard American English in order to emphasize the meaning (line 2). Unlike the standard, there are words in vernacular that indicate the possessive: e.g. in line 4 them is used for they. If in the context of the sentence a reference is made to more than one(plural), it is not necessary to add an s to the noun: e.g. like in line 5. Also it can be seen that want to is converted into wanna in line 3. African American English speakers have a large repertoire of slang words uncommon to Standard American English. The bread in (line 6) refers to money in African American English. There is th dropping within the African American English as in (line 7) with is pronounced as wif. The phonetic feature of African American English is quite different from standard American English e.g.; solve them is converted to solveem which is continuous sound in one word that can be considered as the compressed phonetic feature of the vernacular (line 9). There is also consonant reduction in African American English: consonant sounds in letters such as (T) are often not pronounced unlike Standard American English (line 11). In the media images; low and middle class African Americans have a negative image: associated with marginal lifestyles; engaged in bad things. For example; (appendix 2, line 10) it is clearly implied that 50 Cent participated in gangster activities, as he raps in African American English. But the re-scaling process of media within semantic positioning, such as In the hood they say theres no bness like hoe bness ya know which cross over into ridiculous representations of unsophisticated ideals and ambitions which, most likely, are unattested practices either in low or middle class black communities. Vernacular has always had a impacted hip hop and rap genres by incorporating meanings (power, money, love, slang idioms) that are historically and contextually situated and relevant to experiences of African American communities. Here vernacular serves as a translator engine, a special tool to express these meanings. This is because, for the African American communities the dialect is not only a variety that one may hear or speak within the community but also a variety delivering local community knowledge, wisdom. For example; the slang idiom Im the love doctor (in line 9 appendix 1), the nickname usually associated with the late Barry White, whose soulful voice is considered by many Americans to be the ultimate music for seduction, is also interpreted by African youth through vernacular. The other speech communities can also access to vernacular; via popular media. That is how popular media spreads certain linguistic-traits around the world and influences the language of all communities; as opposed to having this communication confined to vernacular society. However, it should be noted that media is only spreading out whats there but the creator of the change is not the media, it is someone different (in our case, somebody in vernacular). Given that the standard American English is a political sign for the African Americans which also imply the rejection of their culture; 50 Cent sings especially in vernacular to empower himself within the social and cultural contexts of the African American communities. His vernacular speech also functions as a resistance language towards the white community. It can be assumed that he presents himself as the retainer of local New York, Queens as the low variety vernacular he has chosen to use, which incorporates loss of voiceless y and central off-glides as her becomes /hà ¶/ in (appendix 1, line 13) which New York accent is famous for. All in all, this ordinary performance involves no visuals but only audio and follows the authentic values which emphasize the potential meaning of the restricted language. 50 Cent seems to be following the guidelines of Clarke and Hiscock (2009) on how keeping it real in rap involves reflecting local realities as well as respecting the African American origins of the genre. While it can be quite difficult to assess the precise role of the media and its figures in language change, perhaps this issue should be looked in two categories: The direct and the indirect influence of popular media and its figures. As to the direct influence of them over the language change, the answer should be parallel to that of Chambers: at the deeper reaches of language change sound changes and grammatical changes the media have no significant effect at all (Chambers 1998: 124). The re-scaling process on cultural norms and shaping the vernacular features of media domains is greatly exaggerated. Consequently, language change is the result of the growing prestige of a certain variety of language that is triggered by the social factors such as the non-conformity issues of communities with a vernacular alongside with the standard language. That being said, the media can be considered as having an indirect influence on language change. As also seen in the analyzed example, media plays a major role in raising the awareness to the change taking place; to this growing prestige of a variety within other speech communities as well. In short, it can be concluded that, language change is unlikely to be driven directly by media or its role models only; but they have an indirect impact on it.

How to Have Effective Communitcation

How to Have Effective Communitcation Lets throw some light upon what Communication is all about: According to Allen, Communication is the sum of all the things, one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of others. It is the bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding. IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: Effective communication is important because one needs to express his ideas clearly and needs to be understood very clearly while communicating. The receiver should understand the message in the same perception as intended by the sender of the message. This is what we call an effective communication. Interestingly though, there are other facets to effective communication when it comes to written communication, popularly known as Seven Cs of Effective Communication. THE IMPORTANCE OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION IN AN ORGANISATION: Communication is the key to motivation, it helps in informing and illuminating the employees about the task to be carried out, the manner they should be performing their task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark. An Effective Communication is the best source of information to the members of organization for decision-making process as it helps identifying and evaluate alternative course of actions. Communication also plays a fundamental role in altering an individuals attitude, i.e., a well informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding employees attitudes. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. Human is a social animal and survival without communication is neither possible nor fruitful. Communication also assists in controlling process in a big way. It helps controlling organizational members behavior in various ways. It is the art of getting work done. There are various levels of hierarchy, certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their roles efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling function of management. TYPES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: Letters Memos Circulars Bulletin Reports Instruction cards Manuals In Order to perfect the art of written communication, we have a helping hand known as the Seven Cs Of Communication The principles advocated by Francis J. Bergin. These principles provide guidelines for choice of content, style of presentation, how much is too much etc. Lets take tour of the same. THE SEVEN Cs OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATON For transmitting effective communication written or oral messages, certain principles must be followed. These principles advocated by Francis J. Bergin. Bergin provides guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation adapted to the purpose the receiver of the message. They are also called as Seven Cs of communication. They are: Completeness Conciseness Clarity Correctness Concreteness Consideration Courtesy COMPLETENESS Every communication must be complete and adequate. Incomplete messages keep the receiver guessing, creates misunderstanding and delay actions. Every person should, therefore, be provided with all the required facts and figures. For example, when the factory supervisor instructs workers to produce, he must specify the exact size, shape, quality and cost of the product. Any assumptions behind the message should also be clarified. While answering a letter, all the questions raised in the letter must be replied. A complete message offers the following benefits: Complete messages are more likely to bring the desired results without the expense of additional messages. They can do a better job of building goodwill. Messages that contain information the receiver needs show concern for others. Complete messages can help advert costly lawsuit that may result if information is missing. Communication that seems inconsequential can be surprisingly important if the information they contain is complete and effective. It is advised that while answering a letter one should make sure that all the questions are answered. The message is not complete, if it fails to answer questions like : What is the meeting about? When is it? and Where? CONCISENESS In business communication, you should be brief and able to say whatever you have to say in fewest possible words without sacrificing the other C qualities. A concise message is complete without being wordy. Conciseness is desired because of the following benefits: A concise message saves time and expense for both sender and receiver. Conciseness contributes to emphasis; by eliminating unnecessary words, you let important ideas stand out. When combined with a YOU-VIEW, concise message are inherently more interesting to recipients as they avoid unnecessary information. There is no hard and fast rule for the length of a letter. A two page letter seems short, while a ten line letter may seem all too long depending upon the event and situation. CLARITY The message should be put in simple terms to ensure clarity. Words must mean the same thing to receiver as they do the sender. Complex issues must be compressed in to themes, slogans or stereotypes that have simplicity and clarity. In order to ensure clarity in oral communications, you should use accurate and familiar words with proper intonation, stresses and pauses. Thoughts should be clear and well organized. The important considerations in attaining clarity are as follows: Choose precise, concrete and familiar simple words. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs. In short, simple and short words are more effective than pompous and heady words. Using the K-I-S-S Method Keep It Short and Simple! If the message does not help recognizes who actually the person is? It may be possible to have many people with same name in an organisation. What great work he/she has done? When? And what he/she is expected to do now? It is not a clear message. CORRECTNESS The term correctness, as applied to business messages means right level of language and accuracy of facts, figures and words. If the information is not correctly conveyed, the sender will lose credibility. Transmission of incorrect information to superior will vitiate decision making process. Transmission of incorrect messages, grammatical errors should also be avoided. All the messages must be transmitted and responded to at the most appropriate time. Outdated information is useless. Since communication is an expensive process, transmitting outdated information involves wastage of time, money and human resources. The principle of correct timing also stipulates that you communicate your message at a time when it is likely to prove most effective. CONCRETENESS Concreteness of messages is an essential requirement of effective communication. It means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general. In oral communication, we cant draw tables, diagrams, or graphs to make our statement vivid, but we can precise words to convey the correct messages and support it by relevant facts and figures. If the message is specific, there would be increased likelihood that the message is interpreted by the receiver as intended by sender. For sending concrete messages, the following guidelines should be followed: Use concrete expressions. Use specific facts and figures. Put action in your verbs. Choose vivid, image-building words. Facts lend credibility to our communication since it is not possible to refute them. Concrete expressions create visual images that are easy to register. So instead of vague, generalized statements, definite facts should be given. The statements with no passion, no vivid detail, having nothing that creates emotion and nothing that tells people in the audience why they should care does not work well. CONSIDERATION Consideration means preparing the message with the receiver in mind. In order to communicate effectively, the sender should think and look from the receivers angle. He should adopt a humane approach and understand the emotions and sentiments of the receiver. The socio-psychological background of the receiver must be understood. The golden rule First understand than be understood should be followed. It should be noted that consideration underlies the other 6 Cs of the communication. Four special ways to indicate considerations are as follows: Focus on You instead of I and We. Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver. Emphasis positive, pleasant facts. Show empathy. Ask how you would feel if you were to receive this message. Consideration also requires emphasizing positive and pleasant facts. To say no, sorry,regret,disagree should not be used in direct and straight forward manner. COURTESY Courtesy stems from a sincere you-attitude. It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of please and thank you, although applying socially accepted manners is a form of courtesy. Rather it is politeness that grows out of respect and concern for others. In business discussions, you should say things with force and assertiveness without being rude. The following guidelines should be observed to ensure courtesy: Thank generously for a favour. When someone does a favour to us, acknowledge it promptly and thank the person. Apologize for an omission. If you had committed a mistake, express regret promptly and sincerely. Avoid irritating expressions. Words and expressions having negative connotation should not be used in the message. Use of non-discriminatory expressions that reflect equal treatment of people regardless of gender, race, ethics, origin and physical features. Below mentioned are some useful guidelines to advice staff members in the organization on how to best communicate effectively: 12 guidelines: Take sufficient time to effectively communicate. Care. Learn to be empathic. Be honest and sincere. One of the cruelest things one can do to another person is to not acknowledge that person. Develop a sense of belonging when interacting with others. Be welcoming and inclusive. Regularly, in your daily life, interact with persons whose culture, race, ethnicity and other identifiers and important characteristics are different than your own. Welcome persons with disabilities. Person with a disability is the preferred manner of speech, versus disabled person. Place the person before the disability. Spend quality time with persons whose backgrounds are different than yours. Set an example by being welcoming and inclusive to everyone. Learn to pronounce names correctly. Make a concerted effort to do so and to remember names.

Go to school or go to work :: essays papers

Go to school or go to work Go to School or Go to Work? During the 1930s many people started families and worked in factories. Many of those people now wish they had gone to college. Now, in today’s society many young adults graduate high school and go off to college. However, many think college is one big party. Many young adults go to college there freshmen year and lose the concept of reality and why college is important. They throw the books down and replace that knowledge with mixing drinks. Unfortunately, college is the only way to succeed at many above average professions. Anyone can work at a fast food restaurant or a grocery store. Can anyone be a lawyer or doctor? After going to grammar, middle, and high school a person can be very tired of school and want to get a job. Why keep yourself from learning farther? A major factor that keeps many people from going to college is laziness. One has to discipline and encourage oneself to keep the motivation level up. If one lacks that, than that is laziness on that persons behalf. It is like taking a test for school and receiving an F, because that person was too lazy to study. Yes, college is not easy, but who said it is supposed to be. It seems like an endless long haul, but it goes by fairly fast. If the motivation and discipline is among one, then the rest just comes during the college experience. The majority of people who have not gone to college are for the most part lazy. That does not say every single person that is not or has not went to college is completely lazy, but for the most part many are. College is a few years not a decayed or the rest of someone’s life. It is a commitm ent, which should be done through, and then the rest just comes. In high school working at the mall folding the name brand clothes working to earn money to pay car insurance and to go out was the thing to do. Imagine doing that the rest of your life.

Liberal Equality: America Living Up to the Ideal Over Time Essays

To what extent has the US realized its liberal ideals in practice, both historically and in contemporary times? Not every essence of liberal thought got put into American practice. The founders conceived of universal male suffrage, as long as the males were not slaves, and not women. Race and sex inequality would continue a long way into the future, and are indeed still sorting out today. However, the rights laid down by the founders would later be applied to these â€Å"minority† groups, and as such are vital to understand. The roots of the country delve deeply into liberal thought, and within these liberal thoughts is the idea that all people should be equal before the law and equal in the voting booths, where they can then make their own decisions and pilot their own destiny. To ask what liberal ideas the United States has followed and espoused is to ask the question, what are the liberal ideas? Generally, then, people point to the Bill of Rights, which lays down what things are allowed, such as free speech and the right to bear arms. People turn to these guaranteed rights all the time when arguing their actions. However, more philosophically, the framework of the American liberal tradition is the Declaration of Independence. Therein lays the famous line: â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.† All of America’s classical liberalism begins there. However, this had its own roots in earlier traditions and political discourses. John Locke said that a man has â€Å"by nature a power, not only to preserve his property, that is, his life, liberty, and estate... ...wing all to vote and limiting all to the same laws. As King said, â€Å"A just law is a code that a majority compels on a minority to follow that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal.† The only way to guarantee the creation of such laws is to allow the minority to have access to the vote, not just the majority. Alone, a majority will look out only for its own good; if the minority has a public voice, it can call for moderation, compromise, and equality. Inequality still exists in the true workings of the people, although not in law. However, it is slowly ending; my generation was raised in schools that finally taught that all men and women are created equal before the law, and in more biologic ways as well. We are all the same race, we are all human, and to abridge some is to harm the whole. Someday, full equality will be realized by all in America.

Phyllis Rose, Tools of Torture

Gaston Havandjian Professor Hubbell English Comp I Essay Four 11/13/12 Human Nature: Another Tool For Torture? Driving your car to a dinner with friends you go by hundreds of advertisement slogans at the side of the road. Reading them seems to be a good way to entertain your mind with all those miles ahead and since you didn't decide what are you going to order yet you think that maybe some of them will give you an idea. One of them captures your attention in a special way, it shows the image of a laughing sheep and below it says: â€Å"Meat is real food†. Eureka!Now you have a guess of what your order will be, but as long as you keep thinking in this phrase you wonder what they meant with the word â€Å"real†. If they are stating such a thing it means that they also believe that there is other food that is not real or not as real as meat. A second thought crosses your mind when you remember a column you read in the newspaper a few days ago which was titled as followed: â€Å"Studies have found that the consumption of meat and animal products increase the development of chronic diseases including high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, kidney failure, osteoporosis and cancer†.What if the advertisement was aimed to convince us that meat is good for you when it's actually not? What if after those studies were revealed the owners of the meat industry felt their businesses threatened and ignoring the facts are still poisoning our bodies and killing thousands of animals a day just for a profit? Vegetables, fruits and grains are not real enough and healthier perhaps? When you arrive to the restaurant you bring up the theme and one of your friends provides a fact which supports the studies credibility, and from your point of view, it gives the whole discussion a clear ending.He tells you something you didn't know, that health insurance companies offer discount rates to vegetarians and vegans. Every company's goal is to make money. Insurance companies determine a person’s risk of death by analyzing his habits and based on these results they charge a fee. In today's world, where money is more powerful than any religion, government or social institution, there is no better evidence than this to prove that the ingestion of meat is actually not good for humans. For hundreds of years we have been persuaded of the opposite and still are.What about the people working in the slaughter houses, what would they do if they knew that the blood they spill every day is contributing to reduce our life expectation? Animals are not just being killed for food; they are also being used for the manufacture of products such as milk, cheese, eggs and many other more. Clothing, sport hunting and fishing, entertainment (Circuses, zoos and aquariums) and product experimentation are other examples of how animals are exploited for the â€Å"benefit† of man.The conditions were these creatures live are detrimental. Ca ges and chains, metal and fire, artificial breeding and separation from their cubs, a life of captivity and a slow and painful death are just a few examples of how they live a life of torture and agony until the day they become a steak on your table or a coat to provide warmth. So, what moves a person to desire working in a place where killing becomes a routine and suffering and fear is perceived by every single sense?Of course that making a living and the lack of jobs would be one of the reasonable answers, but there should be something else that pushes someone to do such terrible things to these innocent living beings unable to even defend or speak for themselves. Is it something ingrained in our â€Å"human nature† or perhaps external agents, such as institutions and industries, convince them that they are working for a great goal? In order to answer these questions we are going to use some ideas taken from a text written by Phyllis Rose titled â€Å"Tools of Torture†.Rose published many books and contributes frequently to periodicals such as the Atlantic Monthly and the New York Times Book Review. Rose situates us in an art gallery in Paris where an exhibition of medieval torture instruments takes place. The high number of different tools that she sees, and the many uses someone can give them, makes her think that â€Å"pain must be as great a challenge to the human imagination as pleasure† (Rose 175). This idea is reinforced after she shares her experience of a facial treatment in a dark booth of a beauty salon where she was exposed to ointments and electrodes.By associating the electrodes with what happened in Algeria and the ointments with masks dipped in acid, she concludes that the aesthetician and the torturer share the same area of expertise; pain, and that â€Å"Should that loving attention to the body turn malevolent, you have torture. (Rose 177) The author believes that â€Å"The secret of torture, like the secret of French cuisine, is that nothing is unthinkable† (Rose 176) and to illustrate this she uses an analogy where a man is tortured with a wheel and a snail is baked in its own shell.There are no limits in the world of torture and this fact may be a reason to believe that humans use their imaginary to accomplish the most horrifying things, but â€Å"torture didn’t come into existence to give vent to human sadism. It is not always private and perverse but sometimes social and institutional, vetted by the government and, of course, the Church† (Rose 177). Religions are probably the most influential institutions in our societies. They proclaim that the values and norms they promote are the only true and that not living according to them will bring a life of sin and shame and an afterlife of suffering and torture.Even if we don’t believe in any religion we still live under their rules. Christianity for example, by introducing the Ten Commandments, offered the basis for es tablishing the moral and legal laws; the institution of marriage is also an exemplar of how we organize our societies based in biblical patterns. It is not the intention of this discussion to analyze if basing our lives according these doctrines is a force for good or not; what seems relevant here is that sometimes the most heinous and aberrant things are justified by uttering these words for the benefit of a certain group of people.Usually the objective is to persuade a bigger group of people to work for their own causes convincing them that they are doing it for the common good, and the most effective tool to accomplish this seems to be manipulating people’s faith. If we take a look back about five hundred years ago we can see how the biggest genocide in the history of humanity was perpetrated in the name of god. The continent where we live today witnessed how the same people who came to these lands to convert the natives into Christianity broke every single of the rules th ey believed in.The main goal of the promoters of this campaign was taking all the gold, silver and riches to Europe and stealing the land, but somehow they managed to make people believe that their true intention was to save the souls of the natives, considered as animals, by making them adopt the true and only religion because that was god’s command. Under these commands it is amazing to see how people can, among other things, â€Å"overcome their repugnance to the task of causing physical pain to other† (Rose 177).Christianity also makes us believe that man is the ruler of this world and that all the other living creatures are at our service. The meat industry, in their many ways to legitimate their business, tries to persuade us that animals don’t feel pain and that ingesting their meat is good for us. In their efforts to keep selling their products they even have paid doctors and nutritionists supporting their cause.With these powerful institutions favoring the supposed benefits of animal products there is no wonder why we keep using them in our diets with a blind conviction that they are good for us. This seems to be also the main reasons why the workers in the animal industry are able to do their jobs without remorse. Just as â€Å"there aren’t squads of sadists beating down the doors to the torture chambers begging for jobs† (Rose 177) there aren’t squads of animal murderers beating down the doors to the slaughter houses begging for jobs.In hundreds of years of research there’s still no evidence that a human nature exists, and let alone that it coerces us to perform the most atrocious acts. The only thing we share as human beings are our human needs. No matter in which part of the world a person lives all he needs is food, water, air, a shelter and a social group where he feels valued and contented. It is in the interests of certain groups of the society to make us believe just the opposite even if it cau ses death, suffering and pain.The more informed we are, the less vulnerable we are to their lies. The author believes that â€Å"If taking one’s goals too seriously is the danger, the best discouragement of torture may be a radical hedonism that denies that any goal is worth the mean, that refuses to allow the nobly abstract to seduce us from the sweetness of the concrete† (Rose 178). Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good but what people finds pleasurable could be rather more personal than social.This philosophy doesn’t seem to be the answer for the eradication of torture, war or a diet that brings disease and death since it pursues an arbitrary goal. The common goal is not actually a bad path to walk through; the problem appears when what it is believed to be as common is just the goal of a few. Make that goal the fulfilling of the needs of every person in this world and feed them also with the truth so they can ma ke their own decisions and in a few years after that we could be looking into a much more optimistic panorama.

“Life of Pi” Analysis

Life of Pi: The Importance of Storytelling What is the importance of storytelling? What are stories for? In the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel considers these questions as he writes about a boy who survived in a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger. Martel elaborates on the theme of storytelling as a coping mechanism. â€Å"That’s what fiction is about, isn’t it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out its essence? † Martel writes this within the first few pages of the Life of Pi, and this idea is carried throughout the novel.He goes into vivid detail of an unbelievable story of Pi and Richard Parker stranded on a life boat together, however it is not until part three that the reader learns that the story they first think to be true is in fact a fictionalized version of an animal-less story. Pi twists the reality of the last 227 days to cope with what has happened to him since the sinking of Tsimtsum. It is a more efficient way for Yann Mart el to bring out the essence of Pi’s story through fiction.Martel twists the reality of the humanistic story to bring about the animalistic essence of Pi in a better light, and in this better light Pi is able to deal with the tragedy and be able to move past it. Pi also finds himself through religion or rather, three religions; Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. He is guided by curiosity and through his fascination of God he learns many stories that guide his morals and actions throughout life. With this, Pi takes on many overwhelming issues and questions that he has to deal with.These religions use many variations of one Story to show other life lessons, and although the details contradict each other, Pi chooses to believe in their similar essence. In doing this, he is coping with and responding to his philosophical search. For example, when the three religious leaders meet, they begin to disagree. The Priest argues that Hinduism believes in multiple gods whereas his religion , Christianity, only believes in one, so therefore Hinduism should not be a religion Pi should practice. In response to the noisy quarrel in the street, Pi refutes, â€Å"All religions are true.I just want to love God. † Earlier in the novel, when Pi is atop the hill with Father Martin and hears an unpleasant story, he explains, â€Å"I asked for another story, one that I might find more satisfying. Surely this religion had more than one story in its bag—religions abound with stories. † Pi found the first story displeasing and to cope with this, he asks for another one. In the end, Pi turns it around and now questions Mr. Chiba and Mr. Okamoto, â€Å"So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can’t prove the questions either way, which story do you prefer?Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals? † and they both state that the story with the animals was the better story. Through the storyte lling of the adventures of Pi and Richard Parker, Martel shows a tragedy in a more human light because it is easier for one to cope with the hurt of a different living creature than it’s kin. Instead of sharing the horror of his mother’s head flying into his arms, Pi tells the Japanese officials of Orange Juice dying in a fight, because his mother is more important to him than an orangutan.Yann Martel uses symbolism in his novel within the prominent stories to convey the importance of storytelling. Martel wants to show that storytelling is a way of life for Pi, within his religions, and his tragedy. Pi is able to see religion in a more abstract and meaningful light, which he does in his tragedy as well. He uses this as a coping mechanism, so he may be able to understand the essence behind the reality of what happened to him and, to some extent, the significance of life.On a larger scale, Martel is saying that the importance of storytelling in general is to cope with th e all encompassing question of the â€Å"meaning of life†. The stories of religion and faith try to tackle this question through the twisting of reality. Zooming in on a microscopic level of life, Martel shows that stories can help one cope with tragedy because hearing a â€Å"better† story can help one understand the more factual story. An altering of the truth can make the meaning of almost anything more understandable and bearable to explain or hear.