Boys And Girls Short Story English Literature Essay

Boys And Girls Short Story English Literature Essay The short story by Alice Munro belongs to the collection of works Dance of the Happy Shades and is entitled Boys and Girls. It is written from the female perspective that makes it original, as the writers more often turn to description of the world with the eyes of men, the type of story dealing with girls world-view is less common. However, it appears to be remarkably interesting to trace the changes that occur in the mind of the female narrator, as she describes the events from childhood with youthful viewpoint. This makes her descriptions of life filled with social prejudice where women are often inferior to men are true to life and dynamic due to Munros irony. The example can be made as Munro describes the female narrator being harsh and at times wild and at the same time shows her reverent attitude to her appearance. Besides the feminist theme of the short story and a strife for freedom in the society that lived according to the unwritten rules where men always dominated, it can be noticed that there unfolds a common family drama in all the complexity of human relations in terms of which the generation gap comes to the scene. Moreover, the situation is aggravated as the narrator overcomes transitional period in her life, the girl leaves her childhood and enters her adulthood. The alternations are demonstrated in the narrators attitude to life, parents, new responsibilities and expectations. She reasons feeling the inner changes as well as the status changes within the relatively short period of her life: The word girl had formerly seemed to me innocent and unburdened like the word child; now it appeared that it was no such thing. A girl wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ what I had to become. It was a definition, always touched with emphasis, with reproach and disappointment. The social position of a woman is clearly seen on the example of the girls mother that, by the way, along with her father plays a considerable role in the storyline. Ex facte parents seem to be perfect and provide their children with everything necessary for their development. The narrators father is shown as readers get to know about the family business that is shouldered on the householder. Munro portrays him as a man in the know who is tirelessly inventive in making a world for his horses, the pelting operation that included killing, skinning, furs preparation that was accompanied with a distinctive seasonal smell. It created an atmosphere that was predetermined by the family business. Father looked forward to his daughter become a helping hand for the whole family as she grows up, he treats her with respect and flatters calling her a new hired hand. As the narrator obeys her father, appreciates his wisdom and industry, she feels his role in her upbringing, one day she, however, contrives to disobey him. The girl does not know the reason of her deed but she opens the gate wide instead of shutting it as her father asks and the horse gallops away. She fears to lose his trust that is important for her, but she did not regret. Trying to conceal her fault was vain as her younger brother Laird gives her away. Father is wise enough to be quite and speaks with resignation dropping only several words: Shes only a girl. Earlier they would strike her like a thunder, but it turned out that she grew up, something changed in her forever and she got rid of her childhood fears and habits, the girl was turning into a woman, revealing her female nature, hence, she said: I didnt protest that, even in my heart. The girls mother that is contrasted to father seems to be more friendly towards her daughter, if she was feeling cheerfulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦she could tell all sorts of things, while her father didnt talkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦unless it was about the job they did. The girl was shy about her father and did not ask him questions, but worked willingly under his eyes and was proud of that. The girl tells of her mixed feeling towards mother, she feels the pressure and hurries to leave the house before mother gives her another task to do, in turn mother blames her for not helping about the house. Mother seems too preoccupied with her housework, though it may be also regarded as lack of attention and care for her children who were needed mainly as a helping hand for the endless work in the house. Mother denounced her daughters actions and often talked to her in a dead-quiet regretful way and she was always plotting striving to keep the girl inside the house, exercising her power. This resulted in the childs rebellion, her obstinacy as the narrator tried to keep herself free from the unwritten rules of the society as well as total control of her actions. Despite mother was, according to the girl, kinder than father and more easily fooled, but you couldnt depend on her, as she showed that she did not know about the way things really were. Mother did not seem so dear to the heart of the girl as father was, numerously proving his humaneness and love, in spite of the cruelty he had to resort to in everyday life. Readers are shown the stereotypical farm life in Canada, but the characters revive on the pages of the story and readers witness all the transformation they undergo, may judge about their life, actions and motives, sympathize and condemn them.

British Irish Relations over the past 300 years :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  British- Irish relations over the past three hundred years have been troubled. There have been many tensions caused by religion in Northern Ireland and Britain's unfair rule of Northern Ireland. The British are guilty of many of the indignities suffered by the Irish people. They are also guilty of causing all of the religious and territorial conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The division between Northern and Southern Ireland dates back to the 16th century. A succession of English monarchs had used the planting of Protestant English and Scottish people on lands seized from Irish Catholics as a way of increasing loyalty to the British Crown. This is an example of how the British treated the people of Ireland unfairly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1912 British parliament gave home rule to Ireland. Home rule is when a country who is ruled by another country is giving the ability to govern its self. However some people in Irelands Northern counties did not want home rule. They wanted to remain governed by Britain. So the people in the Northern Counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone) remained under British rule while the Southern Counties formed the Republic of Ireland. Shortly after the formation of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland hostilities pushed these two countries to the brink of civil war. This was prevented by the start of World War I.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  English persecution of the Irish people is one cause of the tensions in Northern Ireland. Before 1793 Irish Catholics were persecuted by British law. Catholics were not allowed to buy and sell land, get proper education, marry Protestants or vote. This fueled problems in Ireland. After 1793 Britain was afraid, after loosing America, that a revolution would happen in Ireland. So the restrictions on the Irish Catholics were done away with. This however angered the protestants who formed the Orange Order, who was against the Catholics. This all came to a head when in 1798 when a small rebellion broke out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It began with a blight of the potato crop that left acre upon acre of Irish farmland covered with black rot.†(The Irish Famine, 1) This of course is in reference to the Irish Famine. The Irish Famine was another cause of the tensions in Ireland. As crops across Ireland failed, the price of food soared. This made it impossible for Irish farmers to sell there goods, the good which the farmers relied upon to pay their rent to their English and Protestant landlords. British Irish Relations over the past 300 years :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  British- Irish relations over the past three hundred years have been troubled. There have been many tensions caused by religion in Northern Ireland and Britain's unfair rule of Northern Ireland. The British are guilty of many of the indignities suffered by the Irish people. They are also guilty of causing all of the religious and territorial conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The division between Northern and Southern Ireland dates back to the 16th century. A succession of English monarchs had used the planting of Protestant English and Scottish people on lands seized from Irish Catholics as a way of increasing loyalty to the British Crown. This is an example of how the British treated the people of Ireland unfairly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1912 British parliament gave home rule to Ireland. Home rule is when a country who is ruled by another country is giving the ability to govern its self. However some people in Irelands Northern counties did not want home rule. They wanted to remain governed by Britain. So the people in the Northern Counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone) remained under British rule while the Southern Counties formed the Republic of Ireland. Shortly after the formation of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland hostilities pushed these two countries to the brink of civil war. This was prevented by the start of World War I.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  English persecution of the Irish people is one cause of the tensions in Northern Ireland. Before 1793 Irish Catholics were persecuted by British law. Catholics were not allowed to buy and sell land, get proper education, marry Protestants or vote. This fueled problems in Ireland. After 1793 Britain was afraid, after loosing America, that a revolution would happen in Ireland. So the restrictions on the Irish Catholics were done away with. This however angered the protestants who formed the Orange Order, who was against the Catholics. This all came to a head when in 1798 when a small rebellion broke out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It began with a blight of the potato crop that left acre upon acre of Irish farmland covered with black rot.†(The Irish Famine, 1) This of course is in reference to the Irish Famine. The Irish Famine was another cause of the tensions in Ireland. As crops across Ireland failed, the price of food soared. This made it impossible for Irish farmers to sell there goods, the good which the farmers relied upon to pay their rent to their English and Protestant landlords.

Prepare and Maintain Learning Environments

TDA 2. 12 1. 1 – Health and Safety – learning environments. The school has a strict policy that describes the needs of keeping children safe within their learning environment. It is not only important that children are safe in school but also that they feel safe themselves – this creates a comfortable place to work. It is important that children are safe when playing outdoors therefore the main front gate is kept locked when children are in the playground and only the teacher on duty holds a key. Safety indoor is manned by the site manager who performs some daily checks and some weekly checks on the various equipment. The site manager’s job is to ensure that the school building is free from hazards and obstructions as this will prevent children from having any unnecessary accidents. It is the teacher’s responsibility and our responsibility to make sure that the classroom is free from hazards as there are many risks that could occur. There is a general classroom risk assessment updated every month in order to avoid accidents. 1. 4 If using any safety equipment in my lessons, I would always ensure that this was properly set up and safe to use. I would test it myself by using the manufacturer’s guide, I would ask another member of staff if I still wasn’t sure. 2. 4 As our school is ‘eco-friendly’, we have many different recycling wastes in progress. One of these is paper recycling where any waste paper including mistaken printing/photocopying can be reused. Another recycling operation we have is food waste, excess food from the school canteen and fruit cores and skins from the children is all put into a separate bin. Other recycling includes bottles, plastic and general waste. 3. 2 The physical environment is constantly practiced as it is an on-going procedure within school. Maintenance of health and safety of the children is taken care of in many ways i. e. a child/ a group of children are never left on their own, gates are always locked around the school and children cannot open front door or back doors without the help of an adult. Only members off staff are able to enter the building using the thumb print security system. Areas are always made to ensure that children and adults are comfortable in their learning/working environment. In the winter, central heating is on and in the summer windows can be opened to let in fresh air. Spare raincoats and willies are provided for children (and adults) without during outdoor learning. Most discomforts that a child may complain about can be sorted using the equipment and staff in the school. On-going activities will have been pre-planned and therefore the best space to do the activity in will have already been allocated by the class teacher or whoever has prepared the activity. For example P. E. ctivities would be best done outside as there is plenty of room (and fresh air) however if it is raining the sports sessions would then be done in the hall. The area the activity takes place in would also depend on the size of the class or group taking part. The children within the group would also need to be taken into consideration, for example are there any children that have disabilities which would hinder their performance if they were taken outside. Also blind/deaf children , the activities in the area would be adapted to ensure ease for everyone.

Why People Fear Old Age essays

Why People Fear Old Age essays In todays society every one wants to look young and attractive. We want to be able to stay independent, and in touch with modern times. Old age has become a social problem in our time. The reality of getting older is manifested through stereotypes and myths. Common stereotypes of aging view the old as out to the pasture, over the hill, and all washed up. We want to be able to stay youthful and enjoy life to its fullest. No matter what lengths we go to, to stay young, there will always be that fear in the back of our minds of getting old. Because of this we often look at aging as a negative perception. We fear the mental and physical decline. The thought of not remembering our past or even friends and families is scary, what is there to like about forget all the wonderful memories that took us so long to accumulate. And then theres the fear of physical decline, knowing that we risk the chance of not being as youthful as we would like to be. Missing out on all the fun of playing with the grandchildren, taking long walks at night or even those bike rides that we once enjoyed. The thought loneliness, being unwanted, or becoming a burden and dependent upon our friends and family members is another reason we fear getting old. It seems like when we get older our friends tend to diminish and our interests seem to clash with the younger generation, so they stop coming around as much. Then theres the thought of having to rely on other people to help us in our daily activities. The last thing we want is for someone to have to take care of us, and loosing our independence. No more being able to jump in the car and go to the store or friends houses. Finally theres the thought of disease and death, which people state are their biggest fears or old age. Who wants to think about all the health problems we will have to look forward to and all the doctors visits and pills that accompany these pr ...

Legalize prostitution misc10 essays

Legalize prostitution misc10 essays Prostitution: Prostitution might appear to be an odd topic for historical inquiry. As "the world's oldest profession," concerned with buying and selling something as "natural" and "unchanging" as sex, it might seem to have no history. However, prostitution is subject to historical change and is shaped by the society in which it exists. In the United States, over the last couple hundred years, the nature of prostitution and the experiences of people working as prostitutes have varied a great deal. The character of women's economic options has affected them by economic depression, by wars, by changing popular attitudes and, in particular, by the law and the ways in which the police, the courts and the prisons have administered the law. Organized political resistance has also played a role. Women working as prostitutes have developed strategies to survive and resist increasing social control. At the same time, the unique cultures of prostitutes are also formed by factors not imme diately related to their work. For example, prostitution is more prevalent in working class communities and families. The historical record of prostitution, however, points us towards examining issues of social control, religion, profits, disease and legal regulations. It is funny how prostitution is the world's oldest profession, and yet it is still only legal in one of the fifty United States of America. Prostitution could be a guaranteed moneymaker for the Internal Revenue Service; instead, it remains a seedy underside of society. It seems obvious to me that prostitution should be legalized, although statistics regarding the rates of disease and death from such an industry are difficult to verify it is common sense that the cost to society is high. Consider the necessary evils of pimps, or procurers, these are men (and occasionally women) who traffic in the flesh of others, as tax free as the Catholic Church I might add. And prostitutes themselves...

Histroy 101 Western Civ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Histroy 101 Western Civ - Essay Example Athens as a democratic state was much emphasized during the 4th century BC although many historical documents have shown that democracy as a way of life was very much practiced as early as 5 B.C. The word Demos connotes two important things for Athenians- â€Å"village† and â€Å"people†. Village was the smallest unit of government at that time. People belonged to a certain village; in fact, men who are at least 18 years of age could participate in the Assembly. The Assembly was attended by anyone from the village that wants to have their voice heard. This included Demosthenes who tirelessly rebukes citizens to recall certain events since the people were always present in such Assembly (Blackwell, 2003, p6). It was of grave importance to always attend to the concerns being discussed during the said meeting. The characteristics of such a meeting showed the democratic ideals of Athens. First, anyone can speak regardless of trade or position in society, especially if the i ssue at hand is about governance. For other concerns that needed specialized knowledge, a craftsman is called forth to shed opinion on such matters (Blackwell, p7). These rules during an assembly imply that democracy was highly-valued and actively practiced. Democracy is not just a lofty ideal since it was practiced by the citizens. The assembly just shows how wealth is considered inferior to the democratic rights of its citizens (Lewis and Lewis,p.219). The practice of democracy was further heightened by Pericles during 460 B.C. Previously, public officials were appointed based on wealth or birth status. Such criteria for public office were promulgated by Solon or Cleisthenes. Pericles made the selection more democratic by allowing patrons to represent slaves and resident aliens, which is referred to as equality of opportunity. Although such practice earned criticism of historians since they believed it promoted â€Å"aristocracy†, the important to consider was the fact that representatives were chosen based on merit. Merit does not include wealth nor birth status which allowed men from all walks of life to have a say in matters of the state. This philosophy of Pericles is again an example of how democratic ideals permeated the political structure and governance of Athens. Interestingly, art became a willing medium of democratic ideals for this civilization. The assembly provided enough fodder for playwrights to create plays that can be considered political satire. In the same manner, the epic Iliad which is a gory depiction of battles is also said to have an underlying tone of political satire. According to Stewart, The Battle Between Frogs and The Mice is actually a satire with a pacifist theme. Again, the relevance of political satire when it comes to democratic ideals is that such art forms express how vigilant Athenians are over issues that concern their homeland. Pacifism is a philosophy adhered to by Athenians for they were not men of war like S partans. Although critics may disagree with such stand, this emphasizes to students of history that this society respected the opinion of its citizens. Lastly, the choir setting in Greek plays also demonstrates the ideals of democracy in Athens. Studies relating performing arts assert that â€Å"Performance reflects, encodes cultural models† (Goldhill and Osborne, 27). Democracy is expressed by the choir’

Political Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Political Philosophy - Essay Example What is the rationalization of political authority? Why should man abide by government rules? Some have emphasized the need for order and protection as the answer to these questions. Nonetheless, many other answers have been offered towards the justification of government including Robert Wolff’s anarchist answer, Hobbes absolutist answer, and John Locke’s democratic answer. According to the anarchist answer, the state does not have the mandate to impose all its wishes upon an individual. In essence, autonomy is a primary moral need; therefore, the state has no right to go against it in any way. Robert Wolff’s â€Å"In Defense of anarchism† concurs with the idea that the state has no moral authority over any individual. On the other hand, the Absolutist answer describes that the state of nature, without political security is barbarous, dangerous, as well as, impoverished, that is rational to give major freedom to the government or state in order to gain se curity or peace. Hobbes agrees with this statement in his â€Å"Leviathan†. In the Democratic Answer, John Locke concurs with Hobbes when he states that individuals can contract with the government in order to give up on some freedom in exchange of security. Nonetheless, he disagrees with him on the degree of which people should surrender to the state. According to Locke, it is illogical to give up natural rights to representation, property, life and other goods, than slavery to the government. Political philosophy seeks to question the legitimacy of taxation, state’s authority, and the best form of government. ... 2.1 The Meaning of Political Authority Politics refers to the exercise of state’s power; therefore, political philosophy is the philosophy of the state (Pojman, 482). What is the state? Wolff defines the state as a group of individuals that possesses and practices the supreme authority over a specific population or within a certain territory. Therefore, the state may include every individual who falls under its jurisdiction. Two terms emerge from this definition, authority and power. Authority refers to the right to command while power means the ability to command compliance. A government has the right to tax its subjects because it has authority over them. Claiming authority means claiming the right to be obeyed (Pojman, 482-3). The expression authority, nonetheless, is ambiguous since it has both a normative and descriptive sense. Arguably, the state is the highest authority; however, its right to authority appears to be less than absolute. The individual who issues the comm and acts as the occasion for one to become aware of their duty, which is different from the idea that the government has a right to command. Men in de facto states believe in the existence of justifiable authority. However, they may all be wrong since such states may never be in existence. 2.2 The Idea of Autonomy Moral philosophy assumes that men ought to choose how they shall act, in some sense (Pojman, 483). Being responsible is all about trying to determine what one should do, which requires criticizing principles, predicting outcomes, gaining knowledge, and reflecting on motives among many other things. Every person with both reason and free will is obliged to take responsibility for every action, although he may not be actively continuing to reflect,