The Scarlet Letter Essays (488 words) - English-language Films

The Scarlet Letter Adultery, betrayal, promiscuity, subterfuge, and intrigue, all of which would make an excellent coming attraction on the Hollywood scene and probably a pretty good book. Add Puritan ideals and writing styles, making it long, drawn out, tedious, wearisome, sleep inducing, insipidly asinine, and the end result is The Scarlet Letter. Despite all these things it is considered a classic and was a statement of the era. The Scarlet Letter is a wonderful and not so traditional example of the good versus evil theme. What makes this a unique instance of good versus evil is that either side could be considered either one. Hester could very easily have been deduced as evil, or the "bad guy," as she was by the townspeople. That is, she was convicted of adultery, a horrible sin of the time, but maybe not even seen as criminal today. As for punishment, a sentence to wear a scarlet "A" upon her chest, it would hardly be considered a burden or extreme sentence in present day. Or Hester can be seen as rebelling against a society where she was forced into a loveless marriage and hence she would be the "good guy," or girl, as the case may be. Also the townspeople, the magistrates, and Chillingworth, Hester's true husband, can be seen in both lights. Either they can be perceived as just upholding the law -she committed a crime, they enforce the law. On the other hand are they going to extreme measures such as wanting to take Pearl, Hester's daughter, away just because Hester has deviated from the norm, all to enforce an unjust law that does not even apply to this situation? Although the subjects of the novel do apply to important issues in history and could have had influences on the time period, they were not great. During the times and in the Puritan community this did not have a large affect on anything. Sure, they did not want anyone committing adultery, most were killed if convicted, but it was not something that upset their way of living in any permanent manner. To an individual or group who was battling something backward in the Puritan society, as were many things, this would have been an inspirational book and possibly a revelation. In short, this book could have been exceptional; it had all the elements of a superb book. Unfortunately, Hawthorne found himself a rather large thesaurus and added a bunch of mindless prattle that mellowed out the high points of the book and expanded on the low points. In many chapters all he manages to accomplish is to update the lives of characters, mostly with irrelevant drivel. Also by expanding on the symbolism of the scarlet letter umpteenth times he wears it out so that the reader wants nothing more to do with a dumb "A" on some woman's chest hundreds of years ago. Other than that, great book.

Internet Trespass

Internet Trespass A letter to my sister regarding her website ideaHi Sis,I think that you may have quite a good idea about an amalgamation site for online dating. It would probably be a good money making site for you if you do it properly. Though I think you should look at what happened to a company called Bidder's Edge. Here is a little information that I researched for you to consider.Bidder's Edge was a site that had been created to search many online auction sites and compare the prices of similar items sought by its members. E-Bay however did not like what the company was doing and E-Bay sought to prevent Bidder's Edge from crawling its site, claiming that Bidder's Edge was going onto its site 100,000 times a day, thereby placing a burden on its systems. This was not the activity that a typical user could ever generate.Personal Property (film)Rather than claim intellectual property infringement, E-Bay alleged that by searching items listed for sale Bidder's Edge was trespassing on its site. Bidde r's Edge was not trespassing in the sense of causing damage just by their undesired presence; they were actually doing damage by accessing E-Bay so much that they accounted for a significant percentage of E-Bay's bandwidth. It had nothing to do with linking and everything to do with what amounted to a small-scale Denial of Service bandwidth plus computing resources attack.The court found that Bidder's Edge had interfered with and "damaged" E-Bay's site - and therefore its place of business. (Wolverton, 2000) Bidder's Edge was forced to cease gaining information about E-Bay's site in that manner, but it was free to pursue another other approaches not directly prohibited in the trial. In other words, the government has supported the view that databases are...

10 Most Exciting Outdoor Blogs

10 Most Exciting Outdoor Blogs Are you in love with wide open spaces? Are you always in for a bit of adventure? If you answered yes to either of these questions, these ten excellent outdoor blogs may be for you. The Big Outside This website/blog, curated by a long-time outdoor enthusiast Michael Lanza, is a wealth of information, not just about wilderness adventures, but about wilderness adventures with children. Michael is a family man and has a unique perspective on adventuring with humans whose age hasn’t cracked the single digits yet. This website has plenty of the standard outdoor fare gear reviews, trips and adventures, advice – but it’s the family adventures section that really sets it apart. thebigoutside.com US Outdoor Blog The USOutdoor.com blog is a unique collection of tips articles by the staff of the U.S. Outdoor Store in Portland, Oregon. But rather than being just a place where everything is lumped together, the USOutdoor.com blog is broken into categories to make it easy to find what you’re looking for. Interested in camping? Click on the â€Å"We Camp† link. Does climbing get your engine going? Check out the â€Å"We Climb† section. Need advice on clothing? â€Å"We Wear† is where you want to be. Hiking? Riding (as in snowboarding)? Skiing? Surfing? Yep, there’s a link for that. blog.usoutdoor.com Outdoor Alliance Though the suffix on this website (.org) might give you some idea as to its purpose, its mission statement says it all: â€Å"†¦to protect, enhance, and promote the human-powered outdoor recreation experience by uniting the voice of outdoor enthusiasts to conserve America’s public lands.† OutdoorAllicance.org brings together the likes of American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Access Fund, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter Wildlands Alliance, and the Mountaineers with the goal of protecting public lands. The blog also provides the outlook for various outdoor adventures. outdooralliance.org Love the Outdoors A back-to-basics website (format, not living off the land) with a wealth of information for all your outdoor adventure needs. Though its not full of pictures and vivid Internet bells and whistles, it offers plenty of advice on everything from beginning mountain biking to avoiding wildlife habitat when finding a campsite and freshwater fishing. lovetheoutdoors.com The Planet D ThePlanetD.com is another unique perspective on the outdoor/adventure lifestyle. Long-married couple Dave and Deb left their jobs in the Toronto Film Industry to start a life of adventure and travel. Experience round-the-world adventures through their eyes. theplanetd.com Mr And Mrs Adventure Newly-married couple Drew and Brittany left behind their California lives to travel far and wide, experience adventure, and live in a van (not down by the river). MrAndMrsAdventure.com is another unique perspective amidst the mass of outdoor websites. What are the challenges of being married and constantly on the road? This site is filled with great advice on living the nomadic life and finding adventure wherever you are. mrandmrsadventure.com The Campsite Blog A foray into the spiritual as well as the outdoors. TheCampsiteBlog.com is all about creative ideas that spur adventure, travel experiences, and subjects of conversation and debate. To quote the blog itself: â€Å"The Campsite is all about sharing and learning from one another just as we would sitting around that cozy campfire.† But TheCampsiteBlog.com is about more than just finding yourself outdoors (and yes, there is a double meaning in â€Å"finding yourself†), its â€Å"In The Backpack† section provides a wide range of articles that will help you in your journey into yourself and into the wilderness. thecampsiteblog.com Dirtbag Darling A great resource for the outdoor adventure lifestyle from former surf-magazine editor Johnie Gall. The site is organized by activity (water, land, snow) and places (east coast, west coast, mid-west, south international) and includes how-to guides, gear reviews, a journal, and a section entitled, â€Å"Defenders of Fun†. An interesting site with advice and musings from a girl who’s not afraid to live in a van. dirtbagdarling.com Adventure Filled An adventure-filled blog from adventure enthusiast Laurie Tewksbury. AdventureFilled.com has the usual gear reviews and how-tos for the outdoor adventurer but it also has some unique perspectives about life and love (of the outdoors). Check out â€Å"52 in 52† about Laurie’s goal of achieving 52 hikes in 52 weeks or â€Å"How to Keep Adventuring When Life Gets in the Way†. adventurefilled.com Just a Colorado Gal A blog about life and living outdoors (not literally but as much as possible). Blog writer Heather chronicles her adventures around the world, touches on the standard topics of gear and various forms of outdoor activities, and throws in some perspectives on health, fitness, and the state of being away from civilization. justacoloradogal.com So whether you’re new to the lifestyle or a long time adventure-seeker, you’d be hard pressed to go wrong with any of these excellent outdoor blogs.

Discuss the potential and actual benefits of boardroom diversity in Essay - 1

Discuss the potential and actual benefits of boardroom diversity in publicly listed companies - Essay Example The people from different countries have variuos technical and social skills that are unique to the individuals that can help in coming up with new ideas that facilitate the growth of the Puplic listed companies. Mallin (2013) stated that having people from different countries benefit the company in the following ways: Public companies with people from diverse cultures enable people from different countries to associate themselves with the company hence reducing the chances for discrimination. The people who work in the companies generate to the growth of the business with their skills hence they are appreciated for the work they do and not about the race or ethnicity they orinate from. There are wide ranges of perspectives on challenges and issues brought about by a multicultural workforce. Spira (2002) stated that individuals from variuos backgrounds incorporate their own exclusive cultural experiences to the tough situations they encounter in their Limited companies and their wider perspective of standpoints tend to allow them to be at a better position to come up with ultimate resolutions. This a benefit to the company as they are able to solve problems that come up during the operations of the company without involving external sources hence saving the costs involved in solving the issues. Martin (2006) stated that companies that employ individuals from diverse backgrounds provide the a wider coverage in the global market place. For instance,when a company is located in different countries,they are able to allocate the employess who are familiar with the citizens in that particular counrty hence enabling the customers to associate with the people that they understand better interms of language and other factors such as culture. Arun and Turner (2009) stated that the ability to speak and write accurately in different languages enables the employees

Mcdonald's Marketing Campaign 2012 Research Paper

Mcdonald's Marketing Campaign 2012 - Research Paper Example Consumers want transparency and high standard of service. People want to take this as an opportunity to clarify all sorts of doubts and controversies that they have been hearing with regards to McDonalds over the years like the processing of chicken waste in the making of McNuggets etcetera. â€Å"Things from beef grades to the pink slime controversy are being questioned, and at first glance it seems as though McDonald’s is going to do something radical about our concerns† (Falconi, 2012). McDonalds might have achieved the intended aim behind running this campaign had all questions been answered objectively. However, McDonalds has still not confirmed its plans of addressing the concerns of the consumers. Lack of addressing of the questions has made the consumers think that McDonalds is doing false advertising. Many answers are cynical and manipulative rather than simple and straight-forward. Rather than answering the consumers’ questions, McDonalds is trying to find its way out smartly which is as frustrating for the consumers as difficult it is for McDonalds. Many answers are merely correction of the questions rather than answers (Falconi, 2012). The tricky answers have even shaken the trust of those consumers who had placed confidence in McDonalds meals before the campaign. Consumers are always curious to know more about a brand whether or not they are loyal to it. Any campaign that invites any question from the consumers without any restraint is bound to fail because consumers tend to take benefit of the situation and come up with cheesy questions. An organization has to establish limits somewhere because if everything is made transparent, it becomes very hard to make profits. Every organization has certain secret strategies that help the organization get competitive advantage. Complete transparency slips everything over to the stakeholders and the

City Planners Analysis Essay Example for Free

City Planners Analysis Essay The City-Planners is an indictment on the superficiality of progress, and the attribution of incorrigible rationality to the same. The poem views modern life as empty, artificial, and its inhabitants as robotic and lacking in spirit. The land in the city has a great contrast with the rural land. The influx of people moving from rural to urban areas keeps on increasing to this day. Living in such an environment with only concrete, steel and buildings, man consequently becomes more mechanical, stressed and partially dehumanized. The absence of vast land in cities deprives the harmony that a huge area of empty land provides. This absence of land in cities is severely criticized by Margaret Atwood in this poem where the houses in pedantic rows shows lack of warmth. The theme of this poem is perfection, uniformity, man’s attempts to control nature, and its lust of power (the city planners). As the poet moves about in a residential area, she is offended by the sanities of the area. The word sanities may possess a double meaning here. Firstly, it may allude to the unnatural sanitariness of the place. Secondly, it may denote the saneness of minds, or soundness that render them sophisticated, uniform and therefore boring. The dry August sunlight alludes to the province from which the speaker hails: Canada. The houses in rows appear too pedantic to be real. The trees have the appearance of being planted to render the scene picture-perfect. The levelness of surface further provokes the poetess as it appears to be a rebuke to the dent in their car door. There is no shouting there, no shatter of glass. No instinctive action takes place here: everything is after-thought and preplanned. There are no shouts here, no loud wants as people are economically well-off and complacent. The only noise is the rational whine of a power mower. It is that rationality that makes this noise a voice. In the era of applied technology, this sound is more pleasing to the ears than emotional echoes. The power mower cut a straight swath in the discouraged grass; and thus established the victory of Science over Nature. Throughout the second stanza there has been absolutely no mention of any human movement, making it seem as if the sub-division is empty. This could metaphorically indicate that the people living here live empty, monotonous lives that are without meaning. The driveways neatly revealing even roads, appear like mathematical units. Even a domestic entity like a coiled pipe appears as poisonous as a snake, as it is out of place. The windows portray a fixed-stare as though everything is static, and nothing is kinetic. The natural scenery appears to be at the back of this residential area. Mans mistakes seem to offer more than his creations in this stanza. The poetess seems to plead and demand at the same time when she opines give momentary access. The speaker hopes that the future cracks in the plaster will enable one to view the breathtaking natural view behind. She also admits that, â€Å"the houses in pedantic rows, the planted sanitary trees, offend us with their transitory lines, rigid as wooden borders†. Mans mistakes seem to offer more than his creations in this stanza. The poet is trying to give power back to nature here, and stating that nature will eventually, definitely rise once again and break down these suburbs. Margaret Atwood claims that there will come an inevitable stage when nature will ultimately conquer. Houses will capsize into clay seas. Is the poetess foreboding a natural disaster, most probably a Tsunami? It would only take a minute to put to years of city-planning to naught. They will appear like glaciers then. The speaker utilizes the metaphor of ice to connote transience. Nobody notices how fleeting all this is. Blizzards and snows are used as an extended metaphor for the blindness and confusion of a city that is completely bland and uniform, in which the people do not even realise how routine and structured their lives and the suburbia in general are in reality. These City Planners-calculating and manipulative in their approach to reach their ends are no less than political conspirators. In such a situation, they will be subjected to unsurveyed territories they had not even envisaged. They will be hidden from each other, where competitiveness will take a back-seat. The poem eventually envisages the city planners’ consequences of being greedy, and ends by saying that, the creations of these city planners will inevitably be destroyed by nature. To counteract the disturbing effect upon the human mind, land must be used in an effective manner. Land is essential to instil serenity in peoples lives. To sustain the availability of land in cities, housing must be carefully planned so as to minimize the use of land. Green architects are required to maintain this balance between building and nature. The driveways neatly side-step hysteria by revealing even roads that appear like mathematical units. Hysteria is conveniently side-stepped as nothing can defy logic. The roofs also display the same slant to the hot sky. The act of displaying a slant also means the projection of an angle. This angle of avoidance is everywhere whether it to the hot sun, the smell of spilled oil, or a faint sick smell lingering in the garage. Even a splash of paint on a brick is as amazing as a bruise. A domestic entity like a coiled pipe appears as poisonous as a snake, as it is out of place. The windows portray a fixed-stare as though everything is static, and nothing is kinetic.

Disparities in Education of Minorities in the United States Essays

The problem of educational disparities among various ethno-racial groups that make up the United States has been a long studied topic. Theories have ranged widely in what they consider as the primary factors for these disparities. Biological and individualist perspectives have cited inherent genetic inferiorities as the cause of these disparities. Others have taken into account social forces but have maintained that the cause is due to the creation of a culture of subordination and poverty that does not allow social advancement. Still others have tended to focus on systemic inequalities and on the roles of prejudice and discrimination (Sidanius et al, 1998). This paper will attempt to frame the issue of educational disparities among marginalized minorities through the idea of â€Å"social dominance theory,† which states that social systems and structures are arranged hierarchically to benefit the dominant group and in turn create low-status among others (Sindanius et al, 1998). I will then more specifically look into the role of cultural mismatch between a student’s home culture and the cultural ideals that are embedded in the educational system. These cultural discontinuities affect minority students’ identities during this crucial period of development. From there, I will turn the focus to highlighting some possible solutions and alternatives to this problem of cultural mismatch and oppositional identity. These solutions will focus on the role of reclaiming education as a part of student’s home culture as well as the educational system’s role in recognizing and accommodating to these differences . In order to understand the relationship between marginalized minorities and the educational system, it is importan... ...d motivation. Psychological Review 98:224-53 Moll LC. 1992. Literacy research in community and classrooms: a sociocultural approach. In Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Literacy Research, ed. R Beach, JL Green, ML Kamil, T Shanahan, pp. 211-44. Urbana, IL: Natl. Counc. Teach. Engl. Oyserman, D., Grant, L., and Ager, J. (1995). A socially contextualized model of African American identity: Possible selves and school persistence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69 (6), 1216-1232 Sidanius, J., Levin, S., & Pratto, F. Hierarchical group relations, institutional terror and the dynamics of the criminal justice system. Racism: The Problem and the Response, Sage Publications, 1998, 136-165. Tatum, B.D. (1997). â€Å"Why are all the Black kids sitting together at the cafeteria? And other conversations about race.† (pp. 52-90). New York: Basic Books