Ernest Hemingway Essay Example for Free

Ernest Hemingway Essay Ernest Hemingway probably summed it up best when he said, All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn (source). We’re dealing with quite a book here. Published in 1885, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s follow-up to the Adventures of Tom Sawyer, carved new territory into the American literary landscape in several ways. As one of the first novels to use a specific region’s vernacular in its narration, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn set a precedent for many other distinctly American works to follow. Some readers didn’t exactly get this new colloquial style, however. Accustomed to the proper prose of Hawthorne, Thoreau, and Emerson, some readers didn’t know what to do with Huck’s particular way of storytelling. Aside from the novel’s new style of writing, Twain’s decision to use thirteen-year-old Huck as the narrator allowed him to include certain content that a more civilized narrator probably would have left out. At first, Twain’s novel was labeled crass by some readers. The book was even banned in schools for its use of the n-word which is ironic, given that the novel is up in arms over slavery. Even today, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn makes Banned Books lists. Twain’s novel jumped head first into one of the biggest issues of its day: racism. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed over two decades before Huckleberry Finn’s original publication date, African-Americans everywhere were still victims of oppression and racism. They were technically free, but often by name only in Reconstruction-era America. Many southerners were bitter about the outcome of the Civil War. By guiding his characters through several states of the Confederacy, Twain was able to reveal the hypocrisy of many pre-war southern communities. As a southerner himself, Twain had first-hand experiences to draw on, and he was able to walk the fine line between realistic depiction and ironic farce. Not to mention, Twain created the now-iconic character of Jim, a runaway slave who convinces Huck that African-Americans are deserving of freedom, and that equality is a goal for which we all should be fighting. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is now considered to be one of the Great American Novels, mostly due to how it so heartily champions the American ideals of freedom, independence, and rugged individualism. Huck’s dedication to his own moral standards and his bold sense of adventure and self-sufficiency have earned him a place in the All-American Hall of Fame. In addition, Twain is a hilarious storyteller, and the plot of this novel is a roller-coaster ride of moral dilemmas – so trust us when we say that if you haven’t taken the ride yet, you probably should. Why Should I Care? Mark Twain wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn twenty years after the American Civil War. Slavery had been abolished, and the North and South were making up (albeit with some residual anger). So why publish a highly moralistic tale about a system that was no longer in place? Weren’t race issues a moot point once slavery was out of the picture? Hardly. Freedom didn’t mean equality by any means – not legally, socially, or practically. (See Shmoop Historys Jim Crow in America for more.) Actually, come to think of it, this isn’t an outdated notion at all. Rules and laws often don’t accurately reflect what’s really going on. From a legal standpoint today, we have equality of race; yet racism is still a problem. Men and women are equal, yet many still see a glass ceiling for women in the workplace, meaning they often have invisible boundaries to advancement. That doesn’t mean laws are useless. Laws may not immediately effect change, but we’ve seen that they do precede change. While laws can affect how people act, it takes more to change the way we think. We can’t rely on laws alone. That’s where The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn comes back into the picture. We need people like Mark Twain to remind us not to be self-congratulatory for starting a process in motion, but instead to realize that greater change is always necessary.

The Alternative Beverage Industry Commerce Essay

The Alternative Beverage Industry Commerce Essay After analyzing the case study, we can conclude that strategically relevant components of the global and U.S beverage industry macro environment are the rapid growth of the product inclusive of high profit margin and premium pricing of alternative beverage. Each group demands for different types of alternative beverages which divide the global market into various types of products such as energy drink, sports drink, relaxation drinks. In the year of 2009, the US drink data was accounted of sport drink at sixty percent, vitamins enriched drinks and energy drinks about twenty three percent and alternative beverage sales at eighteen percent. In the context, when consumers are focusing on reducing the consumption of carbonated soft drink, alternative beverages are the medium of the soft drinks companies to maintain the sales volume growth as well as furnishing to different demographics. The number of sales of the drinks depends on the demand of the group for example children prefer juice drink, adults to energy shots, athletes to the vitamins enhanced drinks. This all demand differs alternative beverages from the usual carbonated soft drinks that people were used to drink. Now, alternative beverages offer variety of products which consumers could consume for different activities. 2. What is the competition like in the alternative beverage industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is the weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? Innovation is the vital source of creating the competition in the globalised market and alternative beverages are facing competition on the basis of differentiation from the traditional drink or the fruit juices. Alternative beverages are inclusive of vitamin enriched drinks, energy boosting drinks, sport drinks etc. and to develop the brand loyalty it totally relies on the test, properties and ingredients of the drink. To meet with the competing company works on the advertisement, brand name, nutritional properties, packaging and unique flavors. The PepsiCo and the Coco Cola having a big market share and their products have a strong presence on the consumers and the production of alternative beverages is very easy job for them. This action can dominate such channels of the alternative beverages. Therefore, from all the five competitive forces, strongest is the action of the firm which is already providing a variety of drink products. However, the weakest competitive force is the bargaining power which is exercised by the buyers only. At the time when alternative beverages were introduced company use to sell it at the high price and customers pay for it and now if customers are willing to pay a higher price for the product company will have to sell it on the same price. The established companies seem to have a greater effect on the new entrants like PepsiCo and coco cola because they already have a huge number of loyal customers that follows their brand. If they introduce a new product in contradiction to the new entrants, customers more willingly adopt their products more than the new company. 3. How is the market for energy drinks, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced beverages changing? What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those forces individually or collectively make the industry more or less attractive? Customers are becoming more health conscious and they are aware about the positive and negative effects of the drinks. Therefore they reduced their consumption of the alternative beverages which slow down the demand and sales of the product. Due to recession customers are becoming more money conscious and spending very less in the alternative beverage and it indicates that the market becomes mature and there is no scope for longer growing. Change in the product innovation, long term growth rate and industry consolidation are the driving force of the alternative beverages. The second forces segmented with the alternative beverage industries have consolidated as the market has matured and leaders have been established for example in the year of 2010, Coco Cola controlled the Red Bull GmbH and Henson natural corporation. However, the individually or collective effect of the industry driver of change is likely to make the alternative beverage companies less attractive until and unless such companies gain a first mover advantage. 4. What does your strategic group map of the energy drink, sports drink, and vitamin-enhanced beverage industry look like? Which strategic groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions? Strategic group map of the energy drink, sport drink and vitamin-enhanced beverages shows that companies are competing in the scope of brand portfolio favor and geographical distribution. It indicates that the company which is competing globally and having broad brand portfolios is positioned well in the market. However, companies which are working regionally and on national distribution only or having a single brand seems to be the worst position in the industry. As per the case analysis PepsiCo and Coco cola are in the best position due to having a wide range of products and Red Bull considered as being in the worst position as they are having a low variety of products. 5. What key factors determine the success of alternative beverage producers? The following key factors determine the success of alternative beverage producers. The test should be appealing and unique to the customers. Advertising and Promotions in such an effective way that spread awareness about the products and can establish the brand image. Access to the distribution of the product in order to achieve good sales volume and market share. An innovating Product skill which can differentiate the alternative beverage from the traditional drinks. 6. What recommendations would you make to Coca-Cola to improve its competitiveness in the global alternative beverage industry? To PepsiCo? To Red Bull GmbH? According to the case, Coco- Cola should research the country and conclude about the test, customer preference and demand than introduce the product in the market. They should try and introduce new flavors also and should discontinue the non preferable and profitable products. PepsiCo has largest market share in the US as well as in the global market. In the case study it mentioned that PepsiCo had introduced alternative drinks blood shot, charge, defend and rebuild but customers are not aware about this product. Therefore, PepsiCo should enhance their marketing and promotional activities. PepsiCo could also try for more energy drinks. Red Bull GmbH should improve their strategy to increase their market share. As red bull is a very popular flavor therefore they should introduce more flavors instead of focusing on one flavor. They should enhance their water line drinks or sport line drinks. The company can research the market requirement and can develop a new line of products to become competitive in the market.

Financial Failure Company

Financial Failure Company Advantages disadvantages of Altman Z score Argenti A score model for predicting company failure which is useful to different groups in society and extent to which these models rely on published financial statements. The financial failure of a company can have a devastating effect on the all seven users of financial statements e.g. present and potential investors, customers, creditors, employees, lenders, general public etc. As a result, users of financial statements as indicated previously are interested in predicting not only whether a company will fail, but also when it will fail e.g. to avoid high profile corporate failures at Enron, Arthur Anderson, and WorldCom etc. Users of financial statements can predict the financial position of an organisation using the Altman Z score model, Argenti model and by looking at the financial statements i.e. balance sheet, income statements and cash flow statements. Megginson Smart (2006, p.898, para3) defined business failure as the unfortunate circumstance of a firms inability to stay in the business. Business failure occurs when the total liabilities exceeds the total assts of a company, as total assets is consider a measure of productivity of a company assets. This essay looks at the pro and cons of models in predicting corporate failures in order to measure the financial position of the company. Neophytou, Charitou Charalambous (2001) identified reasons for business failure as i.e. high interest rates, recession squeezed profits, heavy debt burdens, government regulations and the nature of operations can contribute to a firms financial distress. The traditional analysis of financial ratios has been widely used in disclosing of operative and financial difficulties of an organization. Traditional ratio analysis allows the users of financial statements to understand the firms performance when placed in environment e.g. the firms previous performance, existing economic climate etc. However, the ratio analyses is a good indicator to measure the performance but sometimes, it is hard to achieve the required result due to different accounting policies, resulting in difficult to analyse the company performance based on only an individual ratio. Liquidity or working capital ratios are the foundation for analysis of potential corporate failure, which is significant to investors as the y wish to know whether additional funds could be loaned to the company with reasonable safety and whether the business is able to return back the interest and the principal itself. Business failures can be predicted by approaches like Z score and A score models, using a number of financial variables. Megginson Smart (2006, p.914, para1) defined Z score as the product of a quantitative model that uses a blend of traditional financial ratios and a statistical technique known as MDA. Altman (1968) used multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) in the effort to find a bankruptcy prediction model. Altman (1968) combined five ratios to produce Z score. Elliott Elliott (2006) states that companies with a Z score of 2.7 or more indicated as non failure or a going concern and firms with a Z score of 1.8 or less indicated as failure. Z score is between a grey area. Altmans Z score is found to be about 90% accurate in forecasting bankruptcy one year in the future and about 80% accurate in forecasting in two years in the future. Resultantly, Altman Z score model is useful for the management of the company to improve the potential ability and also helps the users of the financ ial statements to make essential economic decisions. The users of financial statements use Z score model in order to assess the financial position of the company e.g. shareholders of a firm may use Z score to provide an early warning signal of failure i.e. to evaluate the degree of risk attached to the investment. Customers of the company may be interested in the future supplies of the product and services. If the Z score is negative, it shows that the business is at risk and customers might opt for alternative products. In the last decade, the usefulness of financial ratios for decision making has been paid increasingly attention, due to the fact that if the business fails the investors, employees, lenders, creditors etc. may all suffer the loss. Elliott Elliott (2006, p.703, para2) pointed out that the Z score analysis can be employed to rise above some of the limitations of traditional ratio analysis as it assess corporate stability and more significantly predicts potential case of corporate failures. However, Altman Z score model also have some disadvantages. Pike and Neale (2003) state that the Z score model is based on the historical financial data, which is a big problem in making economic decision making because some of the present circumstances can be different from the past. Also, some of the accounting policies used by companies which makes it difficult to get the required result from the Altman Z score model. In other words, we can say that corporate failure models relate to the past i.e. without taking into account the current state of the macroeconomic environment e.g. the level of inflation, interest rates etc. The publication of accounting data by companies is subject to a delay, failure might occur before the data becomes available. These failure models share the limitations of the accounting model including the accounting concepts and conventions on which they are based. Regan (2002) also identified various limitations of the Z score model i.e. use of historical dat a which is consistent with findings of Pike and Neale (2003). Also, Regan (2002) stated that there is lack of conceptual base in Z score model and lack of sensitivity to time scale of failure i.e. time factors may not be fully taken into account. Other limitation of Z score model is that it does not provides the theory to explain bankruptcy, it only check the financial position of the company and not the fact that how to recover from this financial distress. (Taffler and Agarwal, 2007) Argenti A score model is also a well known approach for predicting corporate failures use by various users of financial statements. Sori, Hamid and Nassir (2004) pointed out the identification of potential failures can be done through a qualitative approach e.g. Argenti failure model (1976). They stated that a qualitative approach usually examines the non-financial variables such as type of management, the number of active shareholders, the availability of effective accounting information systems and also the levels of gearing in different economic situations. Elliott Elliott (2006, p.706, para1) states that Argenti developed a model to predict the likelihood of company failure. This model is based on calculating scores for a company based on three stage events i.e. defects of the company, management mistakes and the symptoms of failure. In calculating company A score, different scores are allocated to each defect, mistake and symptom according to their importance. The defect exists in the organizations top management which rises due to accounting systems and wrong decisions. Management fault can lead to company failure which is high geared, over trading etc. Due to these defects and mistakes, symptoms of business failure will started to rise. Various symptoms include high staff turnover, delayed management decisions etc. If a company achieve a overall score of over 25 or a defect score of over 10, or a mistake score of over 15, then the company is showing classic signs leading up to failure. However, a business is understood to be a going concern if the overall score of the company mistakes and defects below 18 (Elliott Elliott, 2006). A score model is the best tool to analyze the management performance and non financial procedure to predict the corporate failures. There are also some limitations of Argentis model. The financial health of an organization cannot be explained by specific financial indicators e.g. liquidity, return on investment, profit etc. The existence of management errors in different failure paths is also not totally clear, resulting in little differences between them (Ooghe and Prijcker, 2007). There is also no proper rule to calculate the points of defects, mistakes and symptoms which give a rise to situation that A score model is complex but Z score model provides a exact figure to predict the corporate failures (Elliott and Elliott, 2006). In conclusion, this essay looks at different approaches i.e. Z score, A score to predict companies failures and their pro and cons in relation to economic decision making. Users of financial statements rely on true and fair view of these statements, so they can get an idea of the financial position of a company because of the fact that investors are interested in their returns plus dividend, employees are interested because of the job security and bonuses etc. The traditional ratio analysis is an excellent indicator but it cannot make all decisions single handily. Z score model is based on ratios, which are based on accounting information. Z score model reduces the risk for the investors, creditors, customers, lenders etc. and enable the management of the company to increase profit levels, productivity and shareholders wealth. Altman Z score model is the best approach to predict corporate failure because it gives an exact benchmark for decision making. (Elliott and Elliott, 2006). Ho wever, publishing poor Z score of an company can also have devastating effect on the business itself as investors might withdraw the investment in the business which might result in its financial collapse of the company. Argenti A score model is a good approach to measure the managers performance that shows the success or failure of a company. Corporate failures are common in competitive business environment where only the fittest company has a guarantee to survive in the market discipline. The financial distress on a company and its management can have an intense effect on how the firm behaves and how its investors, suppliers and customers see it. When a company is in financial distress, suppliers are reluctant to extend credit and customers are concerned about future supplies, warranties and after sales services. If a company has a support of its shareholders, then the company has more chances to survive especially in this subprime mortgage crises and credit crunch era. Both the qualitative and quantitative information are important in identifying financially distressed firms e.g. the financial information, share price, bank debts which also are the important distressed signals for potential failures. Predicting variables other than financial ratios may prove beneficial for the company e.g. management skills experience and other behavioural aspects that have an impact on the day to day running of the firm, could be significant in a bankruptcy prediction model. References Altman, E. (1968), Financial ratios, discriminant analysis and the prediction of corporate bankruptcy, Journal of Finance, Vol. 23 No. 4, September, pp. 580-609. Argenti, J. (1976) Corporate Collapse: The Causes and Symptoms, London: McGraw-Hill. Elliott, B and Elliott, J. (2006) Financial Accounting and Reporting, 10th edition, Prentice Hall, FT. Megginson, W., and Smart S. (2006), Introduction to Corporate Finance, Thomson Learning. Neophytou, E., Charitou, A., Charalambous, C., (2001). Predicting Corporate Failure: Emprical Evidence for the UK. Discussion Paper No. 01-173, March 2001, School of Management: University of Southampton, UK. Ooghe, H., and Prijcker S., (2007), Failure processes and causes of company bankruptcy: a typology, Working paper. Pike, R. and Neale, B. (2003) Corporate Finance and Investment: Decisions and Strategies, 4th edition: Prentice Hall Regan, OP (2002), Financial Information Analyses, John Wiley Sons. Taffler, J.R. and Agarwal, V (2007) Twenty-five years of the Taffler z-score model: does it really have predictive ability? Accounting and Business Research, 37(4), p. 285 Sori, Z., Hamid, M., and Nassir, A., (2004), Perceived failure symptoms: evidence from an emerging capital market.

California Youth Authority :: essays research papers

The California Youth Authority or the CYA as it is more commonly known, is an institution which provides a range of education, treatment, and training services for youthful offenders committed by courts. This system has been plagued by multitudes of problems for many years that need to be fixed. â€Å"The California Youth Authority is responsible for the protection of society form the criminal and delinquent behavior of young people(Hill, Legislative Analyst).† This is reached mainly through custodial control of these juveniles and the implementation of vocational, education, health, and mental health treatment services. As of now, CYA uses large, remote, high-security facilities. They may be called "schools," but with about 400 kids in each one, they are more like warehouses, storing wards until they are ready for release. For decades, experts and officials have dismissed this model as incapable of meeting the juvenile justice system’s goal of rehabilitating youth. The CYA is clearly not working the way the way that it was designed to run. For instance, three out of four wards who end up in the California Youth Authority are arrested on new criminal charges within three years of their release, which proves the institution's failure to rehabilitate the state's most troubled juvenile offenders. Experts say the high number does not address how much California could gain from approaches used in other states (like Mississippi) such as housing wards in smaller facilities, providing intensive treatment programs, and offering more supervision and assistance after a ward is released. â€Å"In smaller, rehabilitation centers, youth would be under the supervision of trained social workers and mental health experts – not prison guards.(LAO Report, pg. 7).† This would allow the offenders to be in closer contact with their families, as well as a variety of services. The average age of a CYA institution is 43 years old. This means the there are many maintenance and repair needs and, at some point, many buildings will have to be replaced. Also, the population that many of the institutions were designed for 40 or 50 years ago is different than today’s youthful offender. â€Å"Finally, the ward population has decreased from a high of over 10,000 in 1996 to its current level of 4,300. This decline has resulted in overcapacity and presents an opportunity to consider closure(Lao Report, pg. 11).† Closing some institutions would save the state money, and enable the state to implement programs to lower recidivism rates.

Email Privacy Issues :: essays research papers

Email Privacy Issues   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a result of recent lawsuits against many organizations, companies have developed a policy on proper email practices on company computers. No longer is your personal email regarded as private when accessed on a company’s computer. Companies, in order to decrease lawsuits and increase productivity, have purchased email monitoring software to track email usage during work hours. Therefore, with the onslaught of email monitoring, is a private email really private?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In NetworkWorld’s The Perils of Privacy, Sharon Gaudin discusses the benefits of a company having a well-defined email policy. She provides the pros and cons of whether a company should invest in an email monitoring system. According to Gaudin, companies are held liable for what their employees do when using company equipment. A joke between to college buddies can be deemed sexual harassment by the company and open up a lawsuit if it ends up in the wrong hands. Because of this, companies have begun monitoring not only emails that employees send, but the websites they visit. Is this ethical? Some would say yes. A company has to protect its name and assets. The business arena is just for that†¦business. Employees are not paid to do personal business on company time. Leisure activity on the internet slows productivity and costs money. On the other hand, if a â€Å"clerk uses her lunch break to scan the Web for information on abuse victims, [and] the info rmation she calls up also flashes onto a screen in her boss's office, and now he knows a secret she never told anyone,† isn’t that a violation of her privacy?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While this issue seems to be one of ongoing debate, I am one who does not take sides. On one hand I can see the need for corporations to monitor their employees. Information within an email can be deemed unimportant to the mission and goals of the company.

I Love Yous Are for White People Essay

In the book â€Å"I Love Yous Are for White People† Lac’s quest for acceptance takes him through an intense journey to acquire self love and acceptance. The author Lac Su navigates through his childhood and adolescence seeking an extraordinary desire for love, acceptance and belonging he has been deprived from by his family. During his journey, Lac attempts to gain acceptance by friends and family, no matter what the consequences are. Lac Su’s upbringing was without much love and nurturing. His father was abusive, physically and mentally. For seemingly menial issues Lac would get a beating, one of those examples would be when he would get homework answers wrong. His father would grab anything that he could get his hands on to beat him. Lac stated that his father would grab â€Å"the plastic rod from the mini blinds, a spatula, a rice bowl, a fishing rod, my notebook, a radio antenna, a wooden yard stick, and a broom handle before settling on an extension cord as his weapon of choice. † (p62). Lac clearly was beaten often; his home life did not include any love, rather physical assaults and degradation. The impact of the blows grow dull and impersonal; I feel less of each new layer he adds to the wounds. † (113) Due to the horrid amount of beatings Lac Su would have to endure, he created a surreal world when it came to his home life. He learned to cope with the pain and impersonalize it in order for him to make it through the mental and physical abuses. Lac really had no other way to cope with the abuse be sides impersonalizing it. He disassociated himself from his pain both physically and internally due to the psychological absence from his family. Being a human being and needing some sort of approval, he sought after the love and attention he desperately craved for outside of his home. Outside of his home, Lac was able to exercise his other faculties which eventually made him feel more human, more loved and accepted.. He compensated the lack of feeling numb; therefore, he took the necessary consequences to feel more alive. Trying to gain a friend was one way to fulfill Lac’s need for acceptance and love. Lac’s desperate desire for a friend had him take drastic measures such as stealing. He would steal money from his parents’ piggy bank even though he knew that they were financially struggling. He was isolated from his family and the real world; therefore, he attempted to buy his way into a relationship: â€Å"I think I’m almost there. Last week, Javi brought me over to his house to show me his basketball card collection. His mother even made me a bean burrito and homemade horchata. I’m also hanging out with him at school every day. Javi lets me cut in line at lunch, and he always picks me to be on his team when we play socco – and his team always wins. After a long cold winter of solitude it feels like things are warming up – it feels like I belong. † (108) The acceptance of Lac from Javi gave Lac a sense of belonging. He felt belonging when he would be picked by Javi to be on his team and also due to Javi hanging out with Lac at school. Before Javi, Lac had no friends at all to hang out with, he felt like a looser. Javi provided Lac with his friendship; however, this came at a price. Lac could care less. â€Å"When I have money, we’re playing Spy Hunter. I don’t mind because Javi’s reliance on my money gives the impression that we’re tight. (94) The sense of belonging even if it pertained to Lac’s money was much more than the lack of love and respect Lac was receiving at home. To Lac the only important thing was gaining a friend who somehow portrayed a sense love and belonging. In this case, Javi would hang out with Lac at school, take Lac to his house, pick him to be on his team al l in return for Lac’s funding of his games. Lac also made friends with a boy whose street name is Frog. Frogs older brothers are in a gang called the Kingsley Street Gang. The Kingsley Street Gang intimidates Lac; however, their acknowledgement of Lac makes him feel accepted. Despite my insecurity, nothing bad ever happens to me when I’m around them, except for the occasional racist jokes aimed in my direction. But even the teasing makes me feel accepted. † (85) Lac’s insecurities came from not being able to adapt with the American norms. His family did not help him to adapt; instead, they made him feel isolated by not being there for him. His father did not validate Lac which caused Lac to have to deal with his insecurities on his own. Lac knows that the Kingsley Street Gang boys are intimidating for numerous reasons. Their tattoos, their macho ttitude and outfits; however, even being around these people does not stop Lac to be friends with them due to their acknowledgement of Lac. Since Lac was unable to get the acceptance of his father, he finds a substitute in the Kingsley Street Boys. Their acknowledgement gives Lac a sense of acceptance, love and fulfills some of his desires. The reason he also likes hanging out with the Kingsley Street Gang is because of some form of protection Lac is trying to have. The Kingsley Street Gang is consisted of boys who look tough and act as if they are not scared of anything; they somewhat resemble Lac’s father. Lac could be seeking protection from these boys in the gang due to the physical and mental abuse he has to go through on a daily bases. In some ways these boys gave Lac the opportunity to feel accepted; however, Lac was never able to open up to these boys and have a close relationship with them. This was because they did not have many commonalities culturally. They did not understand where Lac was coming from, instead of being there for him; they would make racist jokes due to not understanding what Lac was really going through. â€Å"I can’t believe it; Dragon Head is actually talking to me. He is approaching me because of the one thing I’ve never done in public—speak Vietnamese. † (139) Dragon Head is a leader of a gang called the Street Ratz. Lac immediately bonded with Dragon Head due to their similarities. They both are Vietnamese, speak the language and have the same background. It was only natural that Lac would try to be a part of the Street Ratz due to the commonalities he had with them and for the acceptance he desperately was searching for. â€Å"The Street Ratz have treated me like family, even though I’m not a member of their graffiti gang. It’s comforting to have peers with the same interests. (156) The Street Ratz understood where Lac was coming from culturally; therefore, the way they interacted with Lac was more common to Lac and this made him fit in. In some ways they knew what his family life was like and they too sought after love and acceptance, and the way they found it was by from forming a gang and being there for each other. Due to their commonalities the bond Lac shared with boys especially with Dragon Head was very strong. â€Å"I don’t even know where to begin telling Dragon Head what keeps me up at night. But I sense he understands me anyways. (162) Both Dragon Head and Lac understood each other clearly, no words needed to be said. They both were going through similar issues. Through the Street Ratz Lac was able to escape his physical and mental abuse. He felt like that for once he truly fits in and that others understand where he is coming from. This also came at a price, the Street Ratz had bad reputations. For the acceptance, Lac was battling between being a part of the gang or doing the right thing and getting out. He was unable to escape from the love and acceptances the Street Ratz were providing him with. This was the reason Lac was involved in a few vile crimes which he was unable to get out of due to his emotional connection and acceptance from the Street Ratz. Not only did Lac try to seek acceptance outside of his home but also, he tried to be accepted by his father. â€Å"The real poverty is inside my house – where I go to bed hungry most nights, where I’m starved for affection, and where my father’s unpredictable anger has us walking on eggshells. † (81) The lack of affection from Lac’s father was making Lac crave it even more. He needed the assurance of his father, the love and affection from him; however, he never got it. Instead he would get beatings due to his father’s unstable stage of mind and his unawareness on how to be a father. â€Å"I don’t know quite what being smart is in his eyes, but I want to be that for him. †(62) Lac clearly tried to be exactly what his father wanted him to be. Being abused by his father clearly had nothing to do with what Lac was doing. He tried to be a good boy, he tried because he wanted to fulfill the emptiness he was feeling due to the lack of emotional connection he had with his father. Lacs father’s physical and mental abuse was the root cause of Lac’s low self esteem and for his desire to belong and to be accepted by others. If Lac would have received the affection he deserved as a child, his intense journey to acquire self love and acceptance would not have led him to befriend people who were bad influences in his life. Lac would have thrived in school and in life without having to make painful mistakes. Like many abused children, Lac Su may live his life always trying to please others for acceptance and love which he was lacking in his childhood.

Analize a Conflict in “Rip Van Winkle” Essay

One of the main conflicts in the story â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† is about Rip falling asleep for 20 years. To escape the verbal abuse of his wife that he had to deal with every day, Rip left to the forest with his dog Wolf. While he was enjoying a calm view at the top of the mountain, a strange man yelled his name over and over. The man reached Rip’s location and asked him if he could help him with the bags he carried. Rip helped the man and they headed to the mountain torrent. When they got there, they found a group of strange men playing nine-pins. Rip drank some Dutch gin that the men gave him, got really drunk, and fell asleep. When he woke up his dog was missing and his gun had blemished. He decided to go back to his town, but all the routes to get there had changed. He finally got to his town and saw that everything and everyone had changed. Rip even noticed that he had grown a one foot long beard. Nobody recognized him so they thought he was a spy, since he was talking about the king while others were talking about George Washington and the war. A girl approached him and he started asking her who her father and mother were. She said Rip Van Winkle and Dame Van Winkle. Rip figured that was his daughter so he told her that he was her father. She was very happy so see him again and brought him to live with her. Rip’s sleep’s real meaning is that he is escaping from his family and his responsibilities. Irving, the author of the story, had Rip draw in to sleep in the first place, so his character could have an adventure when he woke up, not just so he could escape the present. It’s important to see both points because Rip going into the spiritual woods means both escape and adventure. The point that Irving was making was that slowness will cause you to miss out on the things of the future. This story is like showing us what would happen if we could escape our responsibilities and come back at a convenient time. The fact that Rip’s wife had always nagged on him didn’t make him sorry that he slept for as long as he did. He was actually relieved because he escaped the snatch that his wife had on him. It seemed that she took away a part of his man-hood by always telling him what to do and what not to do. Rip then returned back to the town square and realized what had happened. Not too many people believed his story but reality struck and people started believing him. He was no longer looked at as a lazy irresponsible man, but as a hero. During the Romantic Period of American Literature it was believed that imagination is greater than logic and that imagination is the greater solution to finding truth and beauty, what most authors valued. Romantic writers also believed that cities led to corruption; therefore nature is a safe place to become more spiritual. This is why Rip Van Winkle schemes into the forest with his dog to escape the attack of his wife. Sleeping for 20 years is where the â€Å"imagination is greater than logic† part comes into play. The moral of the story, however, is to have your priorities in order. Rip helped neighbors whenever possible, yet was unwilling towards his family. Of course sleeping for 20 years isn’t reasonable for us. Whether Irving is romantic or not, the point is to display to every reader throughout time that we cannot sleep through a revolution, or shrink our responsibilities.