Analysis of a Story’s Satisfaction as Presented by Norman Maclean in His Book, A River Runs Through It

Analysis of a Story’s Satisfaction as Presented by Norman Maclean in His Book, A River Runs Through It Reading is an intimate experience that one shares with a book. You enter the world of the story and live in it while reading. Often times, this experience is so vivid that one would feel as though the experience is realistic. Books are so powerful that they draw the reader into the author’s brain so they can have a close encounter with the story. Readers can create a mental movie while reading, which helps making the experience much more special. Not literally, but you can see all the aspects in which the author includes in his or her story. Seeing goes beyond looking with your eyes, it plays a part with imagining all that the book has to offer. In â€Å"A River Runs Through It† by Norman Maclean, you get to experience the joy of the story within the film and the text. The story is about the summers spent in Missoula, Montana with the Maclean family. There is the dad Reverend Maclean, the mother, and the two brothers Norman and Paul. The narrator Norman explains how fly fishing is like a religion to the young boys in their days. Maclean writes the story in such a descriptive way that you also feel closely connected to them while fishing. The style of writing Maclean uses serves as the passenger seat of a car while he drives us through all of the events in the story. Even when the road got tough, he still managed to steer us in the right direction. In the film, there is a different experience that one has while watching. The film provided more background and character development for more characters than the book did. The book is written through first person narrative; everyone and every experience is described through Norman’s eyes. The film on the other hand is shown through the eyes of the director. Nevertheless, the story was still the same. You got to see more things than the book had to offer. You got to see the unconditional love between the brothers Norman and Paul. There was a scene where the boys got in trouble and they made eye contact with each other. Without any dialogue, so many things were said between the two of them that a book could never capture. There was also a scene in the movie where Norman danced with his love Jessie. By the way he looked at her, you could tell she was the woman of his dreams. He stared at her so deeply that you would really believe that her eyes were the window to her soul. And t o Norman, Jessie’s soul was likely to be the most beautiful soul he’d ever seen. The book provided a very intimate session for me while reading, and I felt as though I got to know Norman personally. Whereas the movie was more closed off and brief. Although both served the same purpose, it served a different experience. In the book â€Å"One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest† by Ken Kesey, you also get to have a close experience with the narrator in the book. The story is about the events that take place inside a psychiatric hospital in Oregon, where we get a personal experience of the structure that the hospital has. While reading the book, you get a sense of how unstable the patients might be due to the slang that was used to write the story. It could also act as the side effects of the drugs that the patients take. One part of the book described how the nurses’ clothes ripped off as she grew into the big monster within the halls of the psych ward. That part served as great imagery and provided a great example of some experiences that the mental patients have. You had the ability to follow along the story with the patients as if you were right there with them. However, the movie provided something much more different. In the book you viewed the patients as mentally unstable people that were in the mental hospital just to get the help that they need and to not be a burden on society. The characters had more personal development in the movie, offering more than just a â€Å"patient† title. We got to hear the inner thoughts and emotions of the characters during their discussion and their reactions to their friends. I saw them more as regular people with an edge, and not crazy people who needed help like the book suggested. There was a powerful scene in the movie where some of the guys revealed that they were voluntary patients who could leave at any moment. They all said that they were there to get the therapy needed and that they were not ready to go back into the real world. This scene showed that these patients are more than what society labels them. We think about the mentally ill and often times assume that they are incapable of d oing much on their own and that they have to be hovered over at all times. We forget that these are real people with real feelings despite their sickness or disabilities they may have. It shows that society has to stop putting labels upon people because we are far more special than any label could ever describe. When reading and viewing text, one can have a range of different experiences. One may enjoy reading better, the other may enjoy watching a movie. The eyes offer more than what we know to be true about them. We use our eyes to see of course, but it goes far beyond that. When we see, we get to analyze and wonder. We analyze what we see, and conjure up thoughts. What does this mean? Where does this come from? Why does this happen? Our eyes allow us to go deeper into books, unearthing all that the story has to offer. You can search forever among the themes, symbols, and metaphors that a story has. Without our eyes, we would not be able to truly see these things. We are oblivious to the powers and talents that we have, but we have to truly look into ourselves to find them.

Water Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Water Pollution - Essay Example Sadly, perhaps with no thought of its great value, some people unknowingly, or even knowingly, contaminate sources of this precious commodity. In some instances, such contaminations have left behind irreversible damage to the already diminishing supply. At this point, it is worth saying that this vital yet often ignored resource is water. Water pollution is a major challenge facing the world today.  All life is dependent on water, implying that there can be no life without water. Although earth is largely covered with water, it is sad that only a small percentage can be consumed. USGS.gov report revealed that only 1% of the earth’s water can be consumed by humans, 99% of which is groundwater and only 1% being lake/river water. The unusable water is either saline, or frozen in ice caps/glaziers, or is ocean water. With only a small portion being consumable, it would be prudent that this meager resource is kept as safe as possible. This is sadly not the case. Every day the mea ger sources of consumable water are depleted, thanks to acts of pollution. Such pollution occurs with or without realization. Water pollution is defined as the addition of harmful foreign elements (pollutants) to consumable water. This presentation seeks to highlight the various causes of water pollution.  Water pollution refers to the contamination of water bodies such as rivers, lakes, aquifers, oceans, and groundwater. It occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.  In numerous parts of the world mainly the developing countries, water pollution is a widespread menace which has profound impacts on the aesthetic characteristics of the environment, the health of the consumers of the polluted water and the economic and social wellbeing the inhabitants of these areas in general.  

The Home Depot SWOT Analysis Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Home Depot SWOT Analysis - Article Example This paper seeks to do a SWOT analysis of this giant specialty retailer by evaluating its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in order to make suggestions on how to keep the company growing and profitable. Home Depot has ensured continued success and lead in the home improvement industry due to various strengths which include: The home depot’s continued growth is as a result of continuously renewing and working on its culture aimed at producing good products, sustaining its employees and customers thus effectively maintaining its competitive edge in the retail industry. The Home Depot culture is focused on taking care of its employees by paying those modest wages and benefits, providing them with excellent and superior training and granting them opportunities for advancement. The employees are regarded as the most important people after the customers due to their role in interfacing with the customers (Marcus and Blank, 271) Home depot also provides their customers with value, loyalty and low pricing. Through the company’s focus in customer satisfaction, the company’s NPS, (Net Promoter Scores) has improved significantly allowing it to wrest a further market share from rival companies. Home Depot’s success is also attributed to its ability to form alliances with strategic partners. Through its partnerships with the industry’s leading manufactures it is able to deliver exclusive and innovative assortments such as to do-it-yourselfers and professional contractors alike, with combination of other brands like LG appliances. Home depot’s continued upgrading of its computerized systems and implementation of satellite communication increased its operational efficiency. This was evident as significant reduction in operational costs were realized thus supporting the overall growth of the company and better

Importance of Life Revealed in Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the

Importance of Life Revealed in Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front       Erich Maria Remarque's classic war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, deals with the many ways in which World War I affected people's lives, both the lives of soldiers on the front lines and the lives of people on the homefront. One of the most profound effects the war had was the way it made the soldiers see human life. Constant killing and death became a part of a soldier's daily life, and soldiers fighting on all sides of the war became accustomed to it. The atrocities and frequent deaths that the soldiers dealt with desensitized them to the reality of the vast quantities of people dying daily. The title character of the novel, Paul Bà ¤umer, and his friends experience the devaluation of human life firsthand, and from these experiences they become stronger and learn to live as if every day were their last.    The killing and death of WW I depicted in the novel desensitizes Bà ¤umer to the reality that death is now a regular and driving force in his life, and that each human life is no longer sacred and precious. Bà ¤umer feels great emotion and sadness when one of his childhood friends, Kemmerich, dies early in the war. Bà ¤umer expresses his emotional despair after Kemmerich's death, stating, "I become faint, all at once I cannot do any more. I won't revile any more, it is senseless, I could drop down and never rise up again" (Remarque 32). Because this is one of the first deaths that Bà ¤umer witnesses personally and because Bà ¤umer and Kemmerich were childhood friends, the emotional impact is even greater. However, not all the deaths of his comrades effect him in such a powerful manner. The fighting gets to a point at which Bà ¤umer... ... him. Death, which he once agonized over, is now a daily occurrence and seems commonplace to him. Life, which he once took for granted, is now cherished beyond belief, and holding on to it becomes his greatest preoccupation. These effects are not limited only to Paul Bà ¤umer, but extend to all the millions of people that are involved, directly or indirectly, in the war. WW I has far-reaching impact. It not only touches those in combat on the front lines, but also those who support the soldiers and help to make munitions and supplies on the homefront. Bà ¤umer, and the millions of other people involved in WW I, learn the difficult lesson that the most trying experiences in life, or in this case death, are what make us the strongest and what drive us to survive. Works Cited Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Balantine Books, 1928.

Country Lovers: a Reader’s Response

Country Lovers, Nadine Gordimer TLC 25 November 2012 ? Nadine Gordimer dramatically depicts the theme of forbidden love in Country Lovers, but more than just the depth of this love, the forbidden relationship between races during the years of apartheid. Gordimer brings forward very early the fact of racial division, â€Å"the black children are making along with the bodily changes common to all, an easy transition to adult forms of address, beginning to call their old playmates missus and baasie little master†. Gordimer, 1975) This short story powerfully demonstrates the ever present desire for that which is taboo and the often very tragic end for all concerned in an overtly subjugated society, race notwithstanding. She sets the story in South Africa on the farm owned by the white Eysendeck Family, early in the childhood of their son Paalus and the young black girl, Thebedi.The vivid descriptions or Local Color are depictions of culture and landscape within this setting allow the author to depict the atmosphere that shaped the characters moral values of individuals in a particular region. (Clugston, 6. 4) The use of setting, in this case the time and place of the story also illustrates Milhauser’s opinion, â€Å"†¦ if you concentrate your attention on some apparently insignificant portion of the world, you will find, deep within it, nothing less than the world itself.The author also cleverly uses foreshadowing to allude to issues the characters may deal with, â€Å"The trouble was Paalus Eysendeck did not seem to realize Thebdi was now simply one of the crowd of farm children down at the kraal†. (Gordimer, 1975) The overwhelming sense of cultural taboo was evident throughout the story and was recognized by both characters in their need to be secretive in their meetings. The use of foreshadowing and setting strongly supported the themes in the story, allowing Gordimer to bring the reader closer to the heart to the story.Although Nadine Gordimer grew up in South Africa during the enforcement of apartheid and attempted throughout her years of writing to bring attention to the under privileged; she and many other writers did not have the ability or desire to discuss the unfortunate issues that generations of the often over-indulged and morally corrupt class also had to face, â€Å"I will try and carry on as best I can to hold my head up in the district. † (Gordimer, 1975) The characters throughout this story were strong and richly developed.Both Paalus and Thebedi were similarly portrayed as equally developing young people in the illustrations of their interactions with classmates and friends, an example being the gifts they exchanged on holidays and the joy they gained admiration of them. (Gordimer) Ms. Gordimer expertly executed the account of two young people that were lifelong friends and eventually secret lovers and the on pressures that society, class and race can have on those individuals.An incredible sense of despair is exposed in the passages discussing the issues faced by the characters, Thebedi and Paalus, both showed a feeling of loss of control of the situation when he stated, â€Å"I feel like killing myself†; she could not help but feel sadness for a man she likely still loved, â€Å"her eyes began to glow, to thicken with tears†. (Gordimer, 1975) This effort to bring the ominous mood to the reader is astonishingly effective. In the last portion of the story the dialogue of the main characters demonstrates the deliberate change in the characters.Paalus becomes very aware of the potentially catastrophic outcome of his and Thebedi’s indulgences. The shift in characterization was brilliantly executed with the seemingly formidable white man becoming the pariah in the district where his family was well respected. The conflict or struggle within both characters became what to do with the baby who was the product of forbidden love in an unaccepting society. Lastly, the reader is made aware of several shifts that have shift occurred. The first shift being for Paalus and the Eysendeck family by being lowered in status â€Å" left with his mother’s raincoat shielding his face from photographers†.The next obvious shift of the Judge in his statement in court actually raised Njabolu’s status, †by commending the honorable behavior of the husband†¦ and even provided clothes for the unfortunate infant out of his slender means. † (Gordimer, 1975) The final line of the story provides insight on the outcome by bringing to light the fact that the girl â€Å"in her own language stated that â€Å"it was a thing of our childhood and they don’t see each other anymore’’ The symbolic nature of this last line demonstrated the eventual movement forward of the young woman and her embracing her life as it was set in motion by time and society to be. REFERENCES: Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Milhauser, S. (2008). The Ambition of the Short Story. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www. nytimes. com/2008/10/05/books/review/Millhauser-t. html

Structure, Theme and Convention in Sir Philip Sidneys...

Structure, Theme and Convention in Sir Philip Sidneys Sonnet Sequence The sixteenth century was a time of scientific, historical, archaeological, religious and artistic exploration. More attention was being allotted to probing into the depths of the human psyche and it was up to the artists and poets rather than the priests and scholars to examine and mirror these internal landscapes. The little world of man [1] was reflected through various artistic forms, one of which was the sonnet, which was conventionally used for dedications, moral epigrams and the like. Traditionally most sonnets dealt with the theme of romantic love and in general the sonneteer dealt with the over-riding concern of the self and the other, the latter of†¦show more content†¦Incidentally, although not a realistic autobiography, Stella is modelled on Penelope Devereux, who was supposed to marry Sidney but was then forced to marry Lord Rich, and phil in Astrophil is indeed an abbreviation of Sidneys first name, Philip. After finding out about Penelopes marriage, fate had i t that Sidney started to truly have feelings for her although by this time it was too late. Astrophils actions seem to be forgiven by some critics because he is after all driven by love. In fact Sidneys depiction of the male protagonist is one which makes some critics and readers empathize with him during his lamentations and praise of Stella. This may be because it is thought that Sidneys aim was to show readers how a man can let his emotions get the better of him, thereby leading him into eventual despair. It is through Astrophils mistakes and negative example that Sidney is able to inculcate morality. This is also another typical quality of sonneteers, who aim to morally instruct through their art. Beneath the witty surface of Astrophils lamentations, Thomas P. Roche seems to feel that Sidney is using Astrophils journey from hope to despair as a fictional device for the analysis of human desire in Christian terms. [2] Consequently Roche points out that in witnessing Astrophils despair the readers reaction is supposed to make them conscious of his limitations from a

Patterns in Classical China - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1117 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/09/24 Category Advertising Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Tags: Government Essay Did you like this example? Compare and Contrast September 23, 2010, Compare and Contrast Patterns in Classical China. Three dynastic cycles—the Zhou, the Qin, and the Han—covered many centuries of classical China. The dynastic patterns begun in classical Chinese history lasted until the early part of the twentieth century. A family of kings called a â€Å"dynasty,† began ruling China with great vigor, developing solid political institutions, and encouraging active economies. Each dynasty over time grew weaker, tax revenues declined, and social divisions occurred as the population outstripped available resources. In addition, internal rebellions and sometimes invasions from the outside contributed to each dynasty’s decline. As the ruling dynasty began to falter, usually another one arose from the family of a successful general, invader, or peasant and the pattern started anew. The Zhou dynasty (1029-258 B. C. E. ) expanded the territorial boundaries of China by seizing the Yangtze River valley. The territory from the Yangtze to the Huang is often called the â€Å"Middle Kingdom,† blessed with rich cropland. They promoted Mandarin as the standard language. The Zhou did not establish a strong central government but ruled instead through alliances with regional princes and noble families. This led to vulnerabilities that plagued the Zhou: the regional princes solidified their power and disregarded the central government. When the Zhou began to fail, philosophers sought to explain the political confusion. One of these, Confucius, became one of the most important thinkers in Chinese history. His orderly social and political philosophy became an important doctrine of the Qin and Han dynasties. The next dynasty, the Qin, (221-202 B. C. E. ) was begun by the brutal but effective emperor Shi Huangdi. He consolidated his power, built the Great Wall, conducted a census, standardized weights and measures, and extended the borders of his realm to Hon g Kong and northern Vietnam. Upon his death, massive revolts broke out and by 202 B. C. E. , the Han dynasty (202 B. C. E. -220 C. E. ) was established. The Han rulers lessened the brutality of the Qin but maintained its centralized rule. Early Han leaders, like Wu Ti, expanded Chinese territory and set up formal training, based on Confucian philosophy, or bureaucrats. During a long decline, the Han faced invasions and eventually fell to outside forces, especially the Huns. By the sixth century C. E. , the Han too collapsed, but not before they had established distinctive political and cultural values that lasted into the twentieth century. Political Institutions. Throughout the Qin and Han periods, the Chinese state bureaucracy expanded its powers significantly. By the end of the Han dynasty, China had roughly 130,000 bureaucrats all trained by the government to carry out the emperor’s policies. Tax collections and annual mandatory labor services ensured the central gover nment held some power over almost every person in the Middle Kingdom, something no other large government accomplished until the twentieth century. Religion and Culture. Like many civilizations, China did not produce a unitary belief system. Confucianism and Daoism were two of the major systems that competed for the loyalties of various Chinese communities during the years of the classical period. Kung Fuzi (Confucius) lived from roughly 551 to 478 B. C. E. He was not a religious leader but rather saw himself as a defender of Chinese tradition and espoused a secular system of ethics. Personal virtue, he believed, would lead to solid political institutions. Both rulers and the ruled should act with respect, humility, and self-control. Classical China also produced a more religious philosophy called Daoism, which embraced harmony in nature. According to this movement, politics, learning, and the general conditions in this world were of little importance. Over time, individuals embr aced aspects of both philosophies and also Buddhism. Chinese art then was largely decorative, stressing detail and craftsmanship. Artistic styles often reflected the geometric qualities of the symbols of Chinese writing. The practical application of science superseded learning for learning’s sake. Chinese astronomers developed accurate calendars. Scholars studied the mathematics of music. This practical focus contrasted with the more abstract approach to science applied by the Greeks. Economy and Society. As in many societies, there were large gaps between China’s upper class (about 2 percent of the population) and the peasant farmers. Officially there were three main social groups in classical China. The landowning aristocracy and the bureaucrats formed the top group. Far below them were the laboring peasants and urban artisans. At the bottom of society were the â€Å"mean people,† those who performed unskilled labor. Trade became increasingly important, particularly in the Han period. Technology is where the classical Chinese clearly excelled. Many developments of this era were centuries ahead of the rest of the world. Tight-knit family structures were similar to those in other civilizations, except that parents wielded much higher levels of authority over their children. Women were subordinate to men but had clearly defined roles in the family and in larger society. In Depth: Women in Patriarchal Societies. Agricultural societies were usually patriarchal and as they developed the status of women generally deteriorated. Marriages were arranged for women by their parents and husbands had authority over their wives and children. Later, law codes ensured basic protections but also featured limits to and inferiority of women. There were, of course, exceptions. The Egyptians had powerful queens and Jewish law traced descendence from mothers. Patriarchy responded to economic and legal conditions in agricultural civilizations and of ten deepened over time. In many societies, women held power through religious functions and had authority over daughters-in-law and unmarried daughters. How Chinese Civilization Fits Together. China’s politics and culture were, to them, two sides of the same coin, especially after the Confucian bureaucracy developed, emphasizing order and stability. Classical Chinese technology, religion, philosophy, and political structure evolved with little outside contact. Political stability aided economic growth and the government took a direct role in agricultural and economic growth. Science focused on practical applications of technology that fostered economic development. Unsurprisingly, the Chinese saw their political and social lives as a whole. There was divergence, however, such as in the differing philosophies of Confucianism, Daoism, and eventually Buddhism. Despite these and other divisions, the synthesis of Chinese life accounts for the durability of Chinese values and fo r its general invulnerability to outside influence. Classical India was just as vital a civilization but didn’t weave its institutions into society as fully and produced a more disparate outcome. Global Connections: Classical China and the World. Chinese civilization was the longest lasting in world history and one of the most creative and influential. They created the best-run bureaucracy and a whole range of technologies, and they were the source of the world’s largest trade network, the Silk Roads. Silk Road networks provided the framework for later global trading patterns. 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