Visages of Two Stories Essay Example for Free

Visages of Two Stories Essay Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find and Tobias Wolff’s Bullet in the Brain are two short stories each having unlikeable lead characters. Both stories revolved around the lives of the lead characters which were shown using humor and twists and turns. Flannery O’Connor, an American writer, was known for her Southern Gothic writing style. Her literary works are indicative of her beliefs of the Roman Catholic. Tobias Wolff, also an American writer, was known for his short stories and memoirs. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a story of a family going for a vacation. It began with the Grandmother explaining to her son Bailey about the murderous Misfit who was on the loose so she wouldn’t have to go to Florida for vacation and would instead have go to Tennessee. She was not able to persuade her son and the rest of the family. The next morning they drove off to Florida. The Grandmother portrayed the image of someone who was self-centered and unpleasant. She also seemed to be more concerned on how she would look like a Christian than act like one. In the end, the family was murdered by the Misfit and his two cohorts. The Bullet in the Brain, on the other hand, began in with a book critic named Anders who was on a bank one day. Similar to the Grandmother from O’Connor’s story, Anders was also one character who is unlikeable. He depicted someone who was ill-tempered and sardonic. While waiting in a long line of customers, two bank robbers entered the scene and threatened the people. Anders was someone who was not intimidated by anyone, even by bank robbers. And here is where the trouble for the protagonist began. Instead of doing the right thing, he ridiculed the robbers which resulted to his death. The Grandmother and Anders were two comical people who talked too much. Before the two died, they presented their own sentiments which the readers would have, undoubtedly, felt. There was an unexpected turn of events when the Grandmother was about to be killed. She suddenly claimed that the Misfit was a good man. This was contrary to what she had mentioned about the Misfit at the beginning of the story. She mentioned that would not take her children to a place with an unconfined criminal. She said her conscience would not be able to bear it if she did. The position she was in at the end of the story, seemed to have taken out the goodness and the true Christian from her. Because of the fear and the pressure she felt, she was able to see the goodness in the hands of something or someone so evil. What happened to Anders was another thing. Before he died, Wolff presented the things that the protagonist did not think of: the disappointments in his relationship with his family, the boredom he felt towards his work, etc. And by the time the readers were building inside then the sadness and the sympathy towards Anders, the author provided what Anders was thinking at that crucial moment. And boom, it was really unexpected because at that very moment before he died what he thought of was his sarcasm in his early years. And the seemingly sad ending of the story turned out to be odd and amusing. The evil in the two stories have had similar and contrasting effects to the lead characters. The Grandmother and Anders had their share of insight with regards to the incident. The Grandmother may only be saving herself from death or she could have really realized the Misfit had goodness in him and that her prejudices were untrue. Nevertheless, it was too late for her. In Anders case, what he remembered before he died was what he was truly about. The last scenario substantiated the fact about Anders’ attitude. In the stories, varying prejudices can be observed and this shows that each one of us is entitled to own opinions and sets of truths. References: OConnor, Flannery. A Good Man Is Hard to Find. 1955. Wolff, Tobias. Bullet in the Brain. 1995.

Mind Control :: essays research papers

It is possible to control your mental and physical well being by controlling your thoughts and emotions. This is true for the following reasons. First, people can change the environment they are in and the people they are surrounded by in order to change their mood. Second, we are aware of what makes us sad and what makes us happy, so that enables us to control our emotions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people are aware of their emotions, whether that is happy or sad. We have become accustomed to these emotions and understand what we need to do in order to change the way we are feeling. When people experience many different situations, whether they are uncomfortable or excited, they become familiar to being able to adapt or leave the situation and completely change their attitude when entering another. When we feel sad, we have different ways of cheering ourselves up. Some just relax while others will play a sport to run or play off the stress they hold. We all have our individual ways to changes our attitudes and perspectives towards different situations. We all have become familiar with our personalities so we are able to control our emotions and thoughts, which makes up our mental well being.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We are well aware of what makes us sad and what makes us happy, so that enables us to control our emotions. Everyone has grown accustomed and familiar with Ortiz 2 their emotions. We have been able to do studies to determine what can change our moods. Most people have great control over their emotions, and so doing certain things assists us by helping change our mood. People have come to the conclusion that â€Å"there are many number if things you can do to brighten your spirits and pull yourself out of a mood rut†. They suggest many different things such as watching a funny movie, which can put you in a high spirits and make you cheerful. Another suggestion is to play happier role because the roles you play tend to become a reality. â€Å"Since lights affect your moods, especially the absence of light in the winter, you should surround yourself with plenty of bright light†. And there are more, listening to music and talking to your friends are great ways to brighten a mood.

Modern Management – GE MFP Matrix vs. BCG Matrix

Business Portfolio Analysis is a type of a planning system adopted by the organization (organizational strategy), which is similar to the manner in which investment portfolios are managed.   According to the business portfolio analysis, an organization would have to perform only sound activities and discard the unsound ones.   Business portfolio instruments are of two types, namely, the Boston-Consulting Group (BCG) Growth-Share Matrix and General Electric (GE) Multifactor Portfolio Matrix. Boston-Consulting Group (BCG) Growth-Share Matrix was developed by a popular production unit known as the BCG group and was aimed at helping the managers follow the market by developing an organizational strategy.   The strategy also helps to develop the market where the business survives.   The GE Multifactor Portfolio Matrix was developed by McKinsley et al who were basically consultants to the GE Company.   This strategy is mainly based on the attractiveness present in the market and the strengths of the organization.   This strategy is more advantageous than the BCG strategy as it tries to compensate for the limitations. In the BCG strategy, the organization is broken into portions such that each portions can develop an organizational strategy which could generate revenue (known as ‘strategic business units’ or ‘SBU’s’).   These SBU’s could be a division of a company or a production unit of a particular product or service.   The SBU’s have their own competitors, a manager in charge of the unit, and the management of the unit has to be planned with a strategy. Each of the unit is then placed on one of the four boxes (namely stars, question marks, dogs or cash cows) according to their characteristics.   Stars have a high-growth rate but require huge amounts of investments.   Cash cows occupy a huge market share and grow much more slowly.   Question marks are those units which have a high-growth rate but doubts whether the management would invest in them, exist.   Dogs are those units which have a small market share and grow at a much slower rate. On the other hand, the GE analysis rates the SBU’s according to the market attractiveness and the strengths of the business.   The firm has to determine each of these criteria based on the situation that exists.   Based on these criteria, circles appear on a graph in which business strengths are plotted against the market attractiveness.   The size of the circle varies according to investment in the market. THE BCG strategy does not consider the risks involved in developing the products, factors such as inflation and the predictable economic situations, and the pressure that exist from the ecosystem, politics and society.   The GE strategy helps to cover some of these pitfalls.   Several factors such as presence of competitors, growth rate of the industry, weaknesses of the competitors, etc, are considered in the GE strategy. References: Cresto, S. C. and Cresto, S. T. (2006). Chapter 3: Planning, Modern Management, (10th ed), New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, pp. 188-191.

The Indian Removal Act Of 1830 - 1083 Words

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law passed by President Andrew Jackson that provided the funds for the removal of the Indian tribes found in South. These tribes were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. Slave states, following the lead of Missouri who in the 1820s forced its Indian population to leave, saw the opportunity to expand their industry in the fielding of cotton by â€Å"converting Indian soil into slave soil.† That along with the finding of gold and simply the desire for land in the Southeast was enough reason for them to begin rooting for the expulsion of the tribes. They believed that because the tribes were â€Å"uncivilized† they have no right to the land and were not using it properly. Despite the fact that former president Thomas Jefferson believed that civilized tribes could be integrated into the United States population, this law was still widely accepted among southern states. It was also completely ignored that the tribes were already acting in a way that would be considered civilized. The Cherokee had its own government, laws, and a constitution much like the United States. In response to the law, the Cherokee went to Congress for help to protect their rights, which the treaties they had with the federal government made certain. There was a case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia in 1831, but the Chief Justice Marshall made the false claim that Indians were nomads and had no need for their land. He also said that the Indians were like â€Å"wards†Show MoreRelatedThe Removal Of The Indian Removal Act Of 18301820 Words   |  8 Pagespolicy of the Government, steadily pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation to the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching to a happy consummation. Two important tribes have accepted the provision made for their removal at the last session of Congress, and it is believed that their example will induce the remaining tribes also to seek the same obvious advantages.† (Jackson, 1830) This quote from President Andrew Jackson showed the happiness of the â€Å"white settlers† ofRead MoreIndian Removal Act Of 18301155 Words   |  5 Pages2015 Indian Removal Act of 1830 The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was an act that helped aid the expansion of the United States population into the southernmost states, occupied mainly by Native Americans. The act was a long time coming, especially with President Andrew Jackson, a long-time proponent of Native American removal, at the helm. This paper explores the history leading up to the law, the introduction and passage, as well as the sometimes-tragic implementation of the Indian Removal Act of 1830Read MoreIndian Removal Act Of 1830868 Words   |  4 PagesIndian Removal Act of 1830 The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28th 1930 during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Perhaps best known as the black eye of the administration and overshadowing his presidency’s accomplishments, the Indian Removal Act was passed into law to allow the president to negotiate with Indians to purchase land they occupied and offer them lands west of the Mississippi. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 could also amount to pure greed and racism, the beginning of theRead MoreThe Indian Removal Act Of 1830940 Words   |  4 PagesThe American’s desire for expansion of their nation and economic growth has always been their main interest and goal. The Indian Removal in the 1830’s was a great example of America’s efforts to expand through North America and their motivation to economically improve through profitable opportunities. When comparing the Indian Removal and the events that followed the Treaty of Paris, a similarity in the expansion of America i s discovered. Labor, politics, and economics of America during the two erasRead MoreThe Indian Removal Act Of 1830892 Words   |  4 Pagesstudents are analyzing is; what are the major effects of the Indian Removal Act of 1830? The students will be given several data sets of events that occurred after the act was initiated and draw conclusions and revise their thesis statement as they go. The big idea of this lesson to have students understand the importance of the Indian Removal Act and it is essentially only the beginning of the journey that Indian tribes had to face after the act was initiated. It led to many heartbreaking events thatRead MoreIndian Removal Act Of 1830923 Words   |  4 PagesIt gives me pleasure to announce to Congress . . . the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching to a happy consummation† (Jackson, 1830, para.1). With promises of new lands, protection, and monies, President Andrew Jackson portrays the Indian Removal Act of 1830 as beneficial to Indians, wherein governmental financial gain is incidental. However, when considering land transactions and gold discoveries, the true beneficiaries are revealed. While strengthening the States’Read MoreThe Indian Removal Act of 18301123 Words   |  5 PagesTHE INDIAN REMOVAL ACT OF 1830 Migdalia Tuero HIST101: American History to 1877 Professor Kathleen Davis February 13, 2014 There are several historical events and issues that have impacted the contemporary political development among American history. In the history of America one of these groups are the Native Americans. The white man throughout the South called for a removal of the Indian peoples. They wanted the Native Indians to be resettled to the west because their presence createdRead MoreThe Indian Removal Act Of 18301299 Words   |  6 Pageswere many diverse, and complex views when approaching this subject matter; however, in 1830 President Andrew Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act, which forced Indians to relocate from their homelands in south east to land west of the Mississippi river. This granted the U.S. a large portion of new rich land, unfortunately it was at the expense of the Native Americans. When passing the Indian Removal Act of 1830, President Jackson relied on teleological utilitarianism ethnic views, in that he focusedRead MoreIndian Removal Act Of 1830923 Words   |  4 Pagesbut the Cherokee removal was the cruelest work I ever knew†, remarked a Georgia soldier who had participated in the removal of Indian Natives during the mid-1800’s. As a result of the Indian Removal Act, Indian natives have been perceived as mistreated and cheated throughout history. The Indian Removal Act was passed during the presidency of Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. This act granted authorization to the president to exchange unsettled lands west of Mississippi for Indian lands residing inRead MoreThe Indian Removal Act Of 1830865 Words   |  4 PagesWhen the Indian Removal act of 1830 was enacted, the Cherokee Nation panicked. The Cherokee, specifically the romanticized Tsali, did their best to preserve their culture in the mountains of North Carolina, but what really saved them from their harsh fate that so many other Cherokee faced, was there white chief, William Holland Thomas. The Cherokee were â€Å"disagreeable and dangerous neighbors,† but th ey had a powerful ally in Raleigh, who saved the Eastern Band from a much harsher fate. The Eastern