Myth of Courage Exposed in The Things They Carried Essay -- The Things

Ah for a young man all looks fine and noble if he goes down in war, hacked to pieces under a slashing bronze blade he lies there dead. . .but whatever death lays bare all wounds are marks of glory. (Homer 22.83-87)  Ã‚   As students we are brainwashed by ancient myths such as The Iliad, where war is extolled and the valorous warrior praised. Yet, modern novels such as Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (THINGS) challenge those very notions. Like The Iliad, THINGS is about war. It is about battles and soldiers, victory and survival, yet the message O'Brien gives us in THINGS runs almost contradictory to the traditional war story. Whereas traditional stories of war take place on battlefields where soldier battles soldier and the mettle of man is tested, O'Brien's battle occurs in the shadowy, private place of a soldier's mind. Like the Vietnam War itself, THINGS forces Americans to question the foundations of their beliefs and values because it calls attention to the inner conscience. More than a war story, O'Brien's The Things They Carried is an expose on personal courage. Gone are the brave and glorious warriors such as those found in the battle of Troy. In THINGS, they are replaced by young men w ho experience not glory or bravery, but fear, horror, and a personal sense of shame. As mythic courage clashes with the modern's experience of it, a battle is waged in THINGS that isn't confined to the rice-patties, jungles, and shit-fields of Vietnam. Carrying more than the typical soldier's wares, O'Brien's narrator is armed with an arsenal of feelings and words that slash away at an invisible enemy that is the myth of courage, on an invisible battlefield that is the Vietnam veteran's mind. An analysis of structure in ... ...ings They Carried." Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 35.1 (1993): 43. Expanded Academic ASAP. Lopez, Ken. "Tim O'Brien: An Introduction to His Writing." Ken Lopez - Bookseller. 1997. 8 Oct 1999. http://www.lopezbooks.com/articles/obrien.html>. Works Consulted Chen, Tina. "'Unraveling the Deeper Meaning': Exile and the Embodied Poetics of Displacement in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried." Contemporary Literature. 39.1 (1998): 77. Expanded Academic ASAP. King, Rosemary. "O'Brien's 'How to Tell a True War Story.'" The Explicator. 57.3 (1999): 182. Expanded Academic ASAP. Passaro, Vince. "The Things They Carried (Review)." Harper's Magazine. 299.1791 (1999): 80. Expanded Academic ASAP. Robinson, Daniel. "Getting It Right: The Short Fiction of Tim O'Brien." Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 40.3 (1999): 257. Expanded Academic ASAP.

Cinderella Man Essay

From a descent fighter making it by in the world, to soup lines, to making one intense comeback, Braddock lived the ultimate American dream. â€Å"Cinderella Man,† James Braddock comes from New Jersey and he’s a light-heavyweight boxer in the start of this film. Making it by in life, he is forced to give up his dream when he ends up fighting with a broken hand, which took him out of the ring when he threw an illegal punch. That punch resulted with James losing his license. The Braddock’s could not afford to keep up with everything financially. He gives it his all in order to overcome the hardships he and his family are living. In an earlier scene Braddock gave his daughter his ration of a breakfast as she begged her mother in hunger, for more. â€Å"Here is a movie where a good man prevails in a world, where every day is an invitation to despair, where resentment would seem fully justified, where doing the right thing seems almost gratuitous, because nobody is looking and nobody cares.† (Ebert, Para 9) Braddock prays for the ability to provide, despite all he does he just could not make ends meet. His wife Mae sent the children away to her sisters so that they would be warm and provided for. He is so upset because he had promised those little ones they would never be separated and that he would do anything to keep their family together. Braddock resorts to begging his managers and others when he couldn’t afford to turn the utilities back on. He sells anything and everything worth a dime just to be able to provide for his wife and children, and get those kids back home. Braddock takes his collection of change along with wages from the docks and he managed to get the bills paid. The man just wants to be able to put food on the table as well as heat the home simultaneously. He manages to bring the kids back home and they run through filled with joy as they flicked nearly every light switch on. Nothing could have made them happier than to be back home and for their father to keep his promise. Out of sheer luck his manager comes to him one day with a single fight to offer for $250 only because another fighter needed a fill-in. He accepts the offer and wins; his manager then convinces everyone to let him back in the ring for good. He was truly given his second chance at life and the opportunity to fulfill his version of the American dream. The only problem is that his dream was his wife’s worst nightmare. That nightmare only got worse when Braddock was offered a chance in the ring with Max Baer. Despite the fact that Max Baer has already killed two men in the ring and his wife’s wishes against the fight, He took on Baer, knowing what a monster he was up against. Mae returns home and finds her children in the stairway listening to the fight over the radio. She proceeded to pace back and forth awaiting the end of the fight. All she wanted hoped, and prayed for was her husband’s survival and she got more; he won. When he eventually made it back to the ring, it was far from certain that he’d ever land a bout with the heavyweight champ – much less that he’d prevail over Baer, portrayed in the film as a single-minded punching machine with a mean streak as broad as his beefy shoulders. (Sterritt, Para 8) Becoming the new world champion, Braddock won more than just a fight. The story is almost fairy-tale-like as you feel his dreams come true in that last round. With his crooked smile pinned upon his face, Braddock took that win right from Baer. With the winnings he and his wife bought a house. They raised those kids in that house and happily lived the rest of their lives there. Triumphantly James Braddock won and lived the American dream Dargis, Manohla. â€Å"Cinderella Man (2005).† Movie Reviews, Showtimes and Trailers. The New York Times, 2005. Web.15 Apr. 2012. . Ebert, Roger. â€Å"Cinderella Man :: Rogerebert.com :: Reviews.†Rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun Times, 2 June 2005. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. . Sterritt, David. â€Å"In ‘Cinderella Man,’ Actors Pack a Punch.† The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 03 June 2005. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. .

Athlete Classification

Athletes: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly As a casual reader of the sports section of this newspaper, you come across many articles depicting the triumphs of local athletes. However, very rarely do these articles describe the actual athlete behind the success. Athletes come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They range from the incredibly talented to the horribly uncoordinated. Some are great teammates while others would rather be a one man team. Certain athletes seek out attention from the people around them while others are modest and stay in the background.The fact of the matter is that there is a wide spectrum of different types of athletes that exist in this world and no two athletes are exactly the same. However, each can be put into one of nine general categories that they best fit. General Paton: the athlete who stands out as the captain of the team by helping their fellow teammates and managing their team. They are a well-rounded athlete, fairly skilled at their sport, but mo re importantly excellent at inspiring their team to perform to the best of their ability. This athlete is the backbone of the team and without them chaos could quite easily break out.The other athletes look up to this leader and follow their orders. When your team is losing, the leader is the one who gets everyone together and says things like â€Å"We can still win this† and â€Å"Don’t give up yet, we’re still in this one†. You can expect to see these athletes to do great things in their sports careers and in their regular lives. Effort King/Queen: the athlete who is known for doing everything they can to improve their game, from staying after practice to do extra to going to the gym every day before practice to workout. They are extremely motivated, determined and dedicated to what they do.These athletes are the ones that coaches very much want to be on their team. These players are known for being highly beneficial not only to the team’s succes s, but also to the other players around them. They set a great example for others around them and can leave a lasting mark on people. They may be referred to as a â€Å"gym rat†, but don’t think that’d a bad thing because when it comes to game time, don’t be surprised if they outperform the opposing team’s â€Å"star† player. The Natural: the athlete who was given the gift of natural athleticism. They are known as the â€Å"MVP† of their team.Most often, they are three sport athletes who do pretty well in each. They don’t have to work as hard as others to be able to have relative success as they are often naturally strong and talented. Many other people loathe these athletes because they have all the tools they need to succeed. There is no guarantee that these athletes will be good teammates or have good work ethic, but coaches can be assured that these people are a great place to build upon and make a team around. The Anti-ath lete: the athlete who was not given much natural ability. They are weak, uncoordinated, and clumsy.They can get by playing some sports, but they have limited options as most sports require decent athletes at a competitive level. They are the â€Å"benchwarmer† of teams, the weak link in the chain. Other athletes get easily frustrated with these players when they make mistakes even though it may not be entirely their fault. Although their athletic output may not be as high as some would like, no one can question their effort and dedication. They play sports not because they are good at them, but because they truly love them, and in some cases, that can bring someone further than natural talent. Timmy/Tina Tries Too Much†: the athlete who â€Å"overworks† and goes beyond what’s necessary in unimportant situations. Everyone has seen at least one of this type of person before, whether they know it or not. The most common place to find these types of people is in gym class. They are the ones that you see coming to every class and trying as hard as they can to win. Many people don’t like these people too much because they exert themselves in unnecessary situations. Many times, these people develop a poor reputation as a â€Å"try hard† among their friends.They may not be the most talented person there, but you can always count on seeing them breaking a sweat. â€Å"Sammy/Susie Suck up†: the athlete who does everything they can to suck up to their coach. They try to get all the brownie points they can in hopes of getting more playing time. They follow all directions given by their coach, they help out whenever possible, and they give full effort when the coach is looking. They are very similar to a teacher’s pet that you would most commonly find in elementary school. Much like the other students find these eacher’s pets to be annoying, a coach’s pet’s teammates often think that these people a re annoying and not fun to be around. â€Å"The Tornado†: the athlete who is overly aggressive when playing sports. They are known to push other players around and often get in trouble with the ref. Also, they are a coach’s nightmare as they are hard to control. The athletes aren’t always good to have on a team because they give the team a bad reputation and make it seem as though everyone on the team plays like they do. Also, they are much more prone to being benched and as a consequence, letting the rest of the team down.Many times, other athletes don’t like participating with people like this because these aggressive people take the fun out of competition. .The Crowd Pleaser: the athlete who likes to show off in front of their fans. They wear the flashy equipment, they perform the crazy stunts, and they are the cocky personality in the locker room. To give you a clear picture of this kind of athlete, just imagine the player that has the best gear, the flashiest jersey, performs the â€Å"coolest† moves, and seems to put on a show for their â€Å"fans†.It isn’t uncommon for their teammates to call them a â€Å"show boat† right to their face. But that doesn’t stop them from doing what they do best because they thrive on the attention. Garbage Can: the athlete who throws away their athletic abilities and coasts. They are lazy, unmotivated, and not dedicated at all. They may be one of the best athletes around but they don’t apply their abilities. Everyone knows at least one person who completely wastes the natural talent that was given to them.It’s a shame to see these athletes waste talent when there are other athletes with considerably less talent who work twice as hard. Many people don’t like these athletes because they take their abilities for granted and don’t realize that half of the battle towards being successful in a sport has already been fought for them. All th ey need to do is put in just the slightest bit of effort and they will start to see considerable success. In most cases, these athletes are looked down on by others and carry a negative connotation with them everywhere they go.There is a lot more to a team’s success than just the wins. The players involved are what really define a team and they ultimately determine how successful a team can be. You don’t always need a team full of superstars to win. This is where many sports coaches go wrong. They think they can build a championship caliber team from a bunch of players that would rather prove they are good than their team. It’s important to remember that it takes the right combination of these nine types of athletes to make the perfect team.

Homeless Voting essays

Homeless Voting essays You held out your hand and said you needed helping. They gave you a pathetic look and The acrid rain came down and it soaked up into your shoes. You thought you had pneumonia, but it was the homeless blues. You had not voted when you had a home. You had not voted when you had a job. You did not vote when domestic violence was not a problem. You did not vote when the house was not on fire. And surely you did not vote when you were out of your head on drugs and alcohol. Would you be concerned, and would anything have been different if you had been a registered voter, and had voted? When you heard someone say, "it can happen to any one of use," would you have thought that they could have been talking about your For a multitude of reasons, both legitimate and illegitimate, any one of us can again become homeless. With that concern in mind, the issues and positions of the homeless should be more immediate in the need for your attention. That concern should dictate that you not take for granted the duties of a citizen, and not have to rely on the kindness of strangers, nor be dependent on those who perhaps did vote. To vote is to use the greatest weapon a citizen has at his disposal in a democracy. To vote is to fight that corner of apathy in our communities, our institutions, in our homes and in To register to vote, and vote, by homeless people is a tool that was not always afforded the indigent, and some of the harsh realities of needing certain kinds of assistance is profoundly significant, in that you are in the eye of the storm at the moment, you can see with clarity the needs. And in the aftermath of the storm you will have a perspective of the legislation and the legislators who understand your plight now, and the same concerns of those who may need services after you. The homeless need to align themselves with t ...

3 Types of Phrasal Verbs

3 Types of Phrasal Verbs 3 Types of Phrasal Verbs 3 Types of Phrasal Verbs By Mark Nichol Phrasal verbs are constructions consisting of a verb and either a preposition, a particle, or both. 1. Prepositional Phrasal Verb This construction consists of a verb and a preposition, as in â€Å"I take after him,† â€Å"We’re looking into that,† and â€Å"Please stand by.† 2. Particle Phrasal Verb This construction consists of a verb and a particle, as in â€Å"She didn’t want to give in,† â€Å"I decided to follow up,† and â€Å"He left out the best part.† A particle phrasal verb can also be interrupted by a noun or a pronoun, as in â€Å"He tried to look the name up,† â€Å"I handed the assignment in yesterday,† and â€Å"We worked the details out.† In these latter types of constructions, the particle can be relocated to be adjacent to the verb, as in â€Å"He tried to look up the name,† â€Å"I handed in the assignment yesterday,† and â€Å"We worked out the details.† Which alternative looks or sounds more natural varies randomly; in the first example, â€Å"look up the name† suggests viewing the name from a certain direction, while â€Å"look the name up† implies research, but the other two sentences seem better written when the verb and the particle are adjacent. 3. Prepositional-Particle Phrasal Verb This construction consists of a verb, a particle, and a preposition. Examples include â€Å"I’m looking forward to a vacation,† She sat in for me during my absence,† and â€Å"They’re not willing to put up with it anymore.† Note that many words serve as both prepositions and particles. As noted above, the phrase â€Å"look up† can refer to the act of directing one’s attention upward, but it also has a figurative meaning: When one looks something up or, to be more formal, conducts research sight, but not an upward motion of the head, is involved. Take care not to confuse phrasal verbs and compound nouns (sometimes used as adjectives) that consist of the same words. For example, one signs up for a class but attends a signup session, or simply a signup. Also, the prepositional phrases â€Å"in to† and â€Å"on to† are combined into one word only in certain circumstances: Into is correct when the reference is to a location, as in â€Å"I went into the doctor’s office,† a literal reference, as opposed to â€Å"I went in to see the doctor,† which is figurative. Onto is correct when you could precede it with up, as in â€Å"I climbed (up) onto the rock,† but in sentences such as â€Å"I want to hold on to this book,† the two-word form is preferred. Notice, too, that phrasal verbs are generally colloquial and are seldom suited for formal writing; a more succinct alternative is frequently available. And even in informal prose, writers should consider omitting extraneous adverbial particles when a verb alone would do, as in â€Å"help out† in place of help. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar 101 category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Contronyms (Words with Contradictory Meanings)50 Idioms About Arms, Hands, and Fingers40 Irregular Verbs That Can End in â€Å"-t†

Case study and phenomenal study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case study and phenomenal study - Essay Example 2). The difference between the two may appear in terms of their applicability. Case study is largely generic in its usage and understanding, the phenomenological study in contrast largely pertains to the cognitive understanding of the human mind, ability and power to reason. Case study would be more important when the previously undertaken models, patterns and policies are addressed and undertaken for purpose of study. The phenomenological study in contrast may be directed towards the educational sector when the role of single unit or single individual is under scrutiny. The kind of research question undertaken and asked for is directly reflective of the nature of research undertaken. If a given question is about a whole scenario and its overall outcome, it can be attributed to the study and assessment in terms of the case study. In case a particular domain has been subjected to determining its influence or finding the potential alternatives, then it would be considered for a different version of research (Schalk, 2009, p

No need for topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

No need for topic - Essay Example It is important to note that moral reasoning is critical to personal and organizational welfare. This makes it necessary to assess moral reasoning stages and how they inform managers’ execution of this practice. James Weber’s article â€Å"Adapting Kohlberg to Enhance the Assessment of Managers’ Moral Reasoning† is critically linked to key organizational practices. In any given organization, moral and ethical issues emerge from time to time. To address such emerging issues, leaders and managers rely on frameworks that are functional and relevant to organizational operations. The primary focus of the article, therefore, relates to morals and ethics and how they influence organizational culture. This article review will be undertaken on the basis of how well moral reasoning concepts can be employed in assessing managers’ behaviors and decisions. The article â€Å"Adapting Kohlberg to Enhance the Assessment of Managers’ Moral Reasoning† by James Weber is text that primarily focuses on moral reasoning within the organizational context. To present his arguments, James Weber adopts Lawrence Kohlberg’s concepts related to this matter. Specifically, Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral judgment and standard issue scoring method are considered (Weber 296-303). This adaptation is subsequently linked to managers’ practice of resolving moral/ethical-based conflicts. The two concepts adopted by Weber are spread across different organizational aspects. These differentiated aspects help in the assessment of managers’ practice of moral reasoning. The idea is to understand why managers handle moral and ethical issues the way they do. On the same note, the article focuses on what informs managers’ rationality in addressing the said issues within an organization. The specific aspects presented by Weber with regard to moral judgment interview and standard issue scoring