The Handmaid’s Tale and Songs of Innocence and Experience Essay Example

The Handmaid’s Tale and Songs of Innocence and Experience Paper Both Margaret Atwood and William Blake explore the issue of authority and the power it has over the vulnerable in society in their texts. Atwood presents the theme of authority with various motifs: the Nazi-like principles of the hypocritical, totalitarian government of Gilead; irony and neologisms. Blake illustrates how adults have a profound authority over children by using a child’s voice, in both innocence and experience sections of his poetry. He exposes what he believed were the ‘evils’ of society at the time including child labour and the industrial revolution with techniques such as irony, contrast and social critique. The Gileadean government can be viewed as similar to the totalitarian Nazi regime, which allows Atwood’s dystopian novel to be viewed in the same way as a hypothetical axis victory in WWII[1] (a created alternative history in which the Third Reich won the Second World War), her inspiration possibly coming from her visit to West Berlin which â€Å"had a sinister feeling, surrounded by the Wall and with East German planes flying low overhead†[2]. We will write a custom essay sample on The Handmaid’s Tale and Songs of Innocence and Experience specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Handmaid’s Tale and Songs of Innocence and Experience specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Handmaid’s Tale and Songs of Innocence and Experience specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Hitler made it clear in his book of what an ‘ideal’ society would be like, including the ‘pure’ blonde hair, blue-eyed Aryan race and the traditional 3K’s policy expected of women (Children, kitchen, church). A comparison between this and The Handmaid’s Tale can be made as modern women in Western America during the ‘time before’ had more opportunities and control over their own bodies. The freedom of women is often presented through Moira, who is a lesbian: â€Å"she’d decided to prefer women†, and a feminist. The lexical choice of â€Å"decided† suggests Moira had complete control over her lifestyle choices; implying she had ‘chosen’ her sexuality in order to oppose patriarchal control and to not be subject to the vulnerability and oppression that men impose upon her. She also criticises Offred for having her â€Å"head in the sand† because she is not particularly interested in feminist concepts; whereas Moira shares the characteristics of a radical feminist. Pre-Nazi Germany involved the ‘Golden Twenties’ which saw the newly formed Weimar culture; conservative and radical right wing activists criticised the ‘sexualisation’ of the westernised flapper and the image of what goes against a ‘traditional woman’[3], the Nazi party reversed these advancements. The flashbacks that Offred experiences show the contrasts between the society ‘before’ compared to now; the Gileadean government also claim that the previous society was harmful to women because the sexual freedom ‘led’ men on. She comments on the tourist women’s skirts in chapter six â€Å"it’s been so long since I’ve seen skirts that short on women†¦That was freedom. Westernized, they used to call it†. The Aunts tell the handmaids that wearing clothing like that had made them more prone to rape, which is what they tell Janine in response to her being gang raped at fourteen. She was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion [ ] It may not even be true. However, it can be argued that the Gileadean society is no better as women have little option other than to participate in the ‘Ceremonies’ and are objectified; suggesting that women are more vulnerable than before. The use of Biblical manipulation to represent authority is also a common theme throughout. Aunt Lydia reads the passage of Rachel and Leah: â€Å"Give me children or I die† to brainwash and manipulate the handmaids into revolving their lives around getting pregnant. This appears to create rivalry between the women in a competitive manner; Offred said about Janine: â€Å"She’s a magic presence to us, an object of envy and desire, we covet her†. Janine seems to gain strength with pregnancy, she is seen â€Å"glowing†; whereas she previously appeared weak to everyone. Gilead’s manipulation is emphasised with the quote: â€Å"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs. † which the government ironically claim is from the Bible, yet it is a quote from the founder of Marxism: Karl Marx. [4] Showing how the government is able to manipulate the Bible to fit their ideal society as the quote is originally about Communism, but can be manipulated to the women filling the ‘needs’ of society (reproducing). However, the handmaids are controlled and vulnerable to religious manipulation and control because they will never know if it is part of The Bible: â€Å"The Bible is kept locked up†¦ who knows what wed make of it, if we ever got our hands on it? We can be read to from it, by him, but we cannot read. † This can be compared to William Blake’s poem ‘The Garden of Love’, which evokes the image of The Garden of Eden before the fall of mankind[5]; this is where Adam and Eve could love without consciousness and embrace the freedom of sexuality. The second garden relates to the ‘Song of Songs’ within the Old Testament which is an erotic poem but has been manipulated further into a ‘purer’ love such the relationship between Christ and people. This ideology could be represented by Blake in this poem because the â€Å"green†, â€Å"sweet flowers† have been built upon by â€Å"graves†, representing the death of sexual freedom and how religion restricts people, preventing them from acting in a way that is natural and instinctive. This is similar to The Handmaid’s Tale using religion to manipulate the way people express love and lust, including Offred and Nick who had to be intimate secretly, making them more vulnerable to Gileaden control. The men in the novel also use their authority to turn women against each other, shown with the relationship between the handmaids and Aunts. Offred appears to not take her indoctrination not too seriously; she dismisses Aunt Lydia’s aphorisms such as Modesty is invisibility†. However, the structural use of repetition throughout the novel manifests the idea that the indoctrination has worked on Offred as she finds herself repeating the aphorisms in her head and it affects her behaviour, for example: â€Å"they also serve who only stand and wait. †, which was a quote that one of the aunts told the handmaids in a ‘lesson’. Christian spokeswoman Joyce Meyer has said â€Å"Instead of being critical of people in authority over you and envious of their position, be happy youre not responsible for everything they have to do. Overwhelm them with encouragement and appreciation! [6] This is not dissimilar to the attitude of the aunts in terms of the authority of men; Aunt Lydia said to the Handmaids: â€Å"Try to think of it from their point of view she said†¦It isn’t easy for them†. The aunts may feel like they have a form of authority but they are still controlled by the men: the Handmaids’ jealousy toward one another and the syllabus the Aunts teach was based on the ideology of the patriarchal Gileadean government. The moral of this by Atwood was perhaps to encourage women to empower each other against patriarchy, the solidarity creating a stronger, less vulnerable female society. In Blake’s poetry, it is clear that he had a deep concern for the children of the 18th century, who were often used for child labour as young boys were often used as chimney sweeps where they were forced into tiny spaces and many suffered from ailments based on their ‘job’[7]. In the ‘Chimney Sweeper’ from Songs of Innocence, Blake uses the naive narrative of a child and the syndetic listing of regular boys’ names â€Å"Dick, Joe, Ned, Jack†-emphasising the normality of the boys; meaning this kind of exploitation could have happened to anyone. He creates an innocent tone with a dark underlining message; â€Å"if all do their duty, they need not fear harm. † This ambiguity and innocence allows the reader to sympathise with the child who believes that if they do the duty of chimney sweeping, God will protect them and they will go to heaven. On one hand this can be seen as hopeful because the angelic semantic field (â€Å"angel† â€Å"bright† â€Å"white†) suggests a ‘guardian’ as a form of protection; the juxtaposition the â€Å"black† soot and the â€Å"white† imagery could represent religion being able to give hope and encourage the children in dark times. The narrator comments on this thought making his friend â€Å"happy and warm†. However, it is also possible that Blake is criticising religion because of the false hope it gives the chimney sweeps with the quote â€Å"if all do their duty, they need not fear harm†, this suggests the owners of the young and naive sweeps indoctrinate them by manipulating them to do their jobs and if they don’t they will be doing something which is ‘morally wrong. The authority of the master-sweep is comparable to the Gileaden government and parallels can be drawn between Offred and the boy narrator. This is through the manipulation both parties have inflicted upon the most vulnerable, indoctrinating them with phrases such as â€Å"if all do their duty they fear no harm† from the master-sweep and â€Å"they only serve to those who stand and wait† from the aunts which does set some of their moral in life. The progression between ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ in innocence to experience presents a more negative tone with a dark semantic field â€Å"weep†, â€Å"death† â€Å"woe† â€Å"misery† Blake’s message could have been to show that with age, the innocence of hope dies away and the older you are, the less likely you are to be manipulated which emphasises the vulnerability of the innocent children. ‘The School Boy’ by Blake offers an insight into the theory that children are indoctrinated by authorities (adult teachers) in a way that prevents them from being free spiritually. This poem is also narrated in the voice of a child, likewise to ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ but is located in Songs of Experience. The honesty in this poem: â€Å"Worn through with the dreary shower†, contrasts with the positivity and passiveness of The Chimney Sweep, suggesting that there is not only a vulnerability of children through adult authority but also between educated and non-educated children. The language is a lot more sophisticated and low frequency â€Å"dreary, â€Å"mellowing† showing the narrator’s level of intelligence; the message perhaps being that un-educated children are more prone to vulnerability as they rely on hope and religion, the abstract nouns such as â€Å"mellowing† suggest that they have got nothing concrete to look forward to as they are manipulated by religion; whereas the schoolboy does not rely on abstract values because he sees himself ‘at one’ with nature and knows he would be happier if he was free in nature, not free by death/heaven. This is presented thorough the comparative imagery of a bird; â€Å"The skylark sings with me† showing emphasised unity between the schoolboy and the bird/ nature. The vulnerability is present in this poem with the schoolboy feeling as if he trapped by the teacher’s â€Å"cruel eye†. The cliche phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ is relevant within this poem because the narrator knows he is being controlled and doesn’t rely on religion for happiness, whereas the narrator in the ‘Chimney Sweep’ from Songs of Innocence has hope; he believes that is he does his duty he â€Å"fears no harm† and is ignorant towards the control inflicted upon him. Structurally, Offred has the ability of reflecting in the ‘night’ chapters of the novel The Handmaid’s Tale and when she does, aspects of the ‘time before’ are revealed including her carefree past. â€Å"I would like to be ignorant. Then I would not know how ignorant I was† now she is not ignorant, she realises how she used to be and that the problems of patriarchy were under the surface all along. The language within The Handmaid’s Tale also plays a big part in control and manipulation. This includes the use of neologisms that the Gileadean government had imposed upon the public as a way of controlling the way they think; feminists and deformed babies are degraded and treated as sub humans, denoted by the terms â€Å"Unwomen† and â€Å"Unbabies. † Black and Jewish people are defined by biblical terms â€Å"Children of Ham† and â€Å"Sons of Jacob†; this purposely sets them apart from the rest of society, making the ‘Christian’ white American easily view them as different and abnormal; linking with the theme of Biblical manipulation. The authorial intent of using neologisms from Atwood would perhaps correlate with modern governmental neologisms: most likely American. For example, President Reagan had penned the term ‘Evil Empire’[8] whilst talking about the Soviets during the Cold war in order enforce propaganda by emphasising his distrust towards them. This term would have also most likely been used within American media and amongst members of the public in order to create further hostility and to view the Soviets as the enemy. This links with the power of authority because both the Gildeaden and American government had the ability to determine the public’s depiction of aspects of society they deem wrong or that go against their principals/ viewpoints. Likewise to ‘The Chimney Sweep’, ‘Holy Thursday’ from Songs of Innocence presents a naive tone. This is shown through the song-like structure which includes rhyming couplets of ABAB; however the underlining message is dark and ironic to the tone, with themes of vulnerable orphans and controlling guardians. The poem can be viewed as a criticism on behalf of Blake towards the corruption in Christian charity schools, which are often viewed as a positive aspect from the general public in the 18th century and today. Sarah Trimmer, a writer, critic and educational reformer had stated ‘Children of the poor should not be educated in such manner as to set them above the occupations of humble life, or so as to make them uncomfortable among their equals’. This point of view can be perceived as the general thought process of a lot of those in authority, who generally believed that each class should remain to their ‘God-given’ position on earth and orphaned children were no exception. The boys and girls are described as â€Å"companies† which presents a sense of unification within the children; however it also suggests that they are under corporate supervision and they are being restricted by the constant authority figures described as â€Å"grey headed beadles†. This is parallel to the restriction the narrator experiences in ‘The School Boy’, who dreams of being free within nature and free of the prisons of school, where there is mass control. The juxtaposition of colours between the children, who are described wearing â€Å"red blue green†, manifests the imagery of grey, dull supervisors alongside the colourful children dressed in prominent primary colours. To conclude, both texts express sympathy to the vulnerable in society and serve as an overall message to the readers. Whilst Atwood’s novel can be perceived as a ‘warning’ to women to remember the roots of feminism as Offred had only just realised the importance of Women’s righrs and a criticism of traditional old-fashioned patriarchy, Blake’s poetry creatively highlights the corruption of child labour, expresses the importance of nature and the unity of the human race. Both Atwood and Blake present the young as more vulnerable; The Handmaids are young in order to reproduce and the children are controlled in Blake’s poem in a new age of industry and labour. This suggests that the authorial intent may have been to present the youth as being naive and easily manipulated by the older generation (shown by the Chimney sweep and Offred’s indoctrination) but can also be the root of change and evolution (presented by the thought process of the school boy and Moira’s character). References http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-04/entertainment/ca-2834_1_atwood-tale-handmaid https://www.facinghistory.org/weimar-republic-fragility-democracy/primary-sources/weimar-culture http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/utopia/methods1/bourgeoisie1/bourgeoisie.html http://crossref-it.info/articles/24/Garden-of-Eden,-Adam-and-Eve,-Second-Adam http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/joycemeyer565203.html http://www.wellerschimneysweeps.com/?page_id=384 Reagan, Evil Empire, Speech Text

Kill Bill as a Feminist Statement Essays

Kill Bill as a Feminist Statement Essays Kill Bill as a Feminist Statement Paper Kill Bill as a Feminist Statement Paper Kill Bill Church Feminism , in general terms, is a movement for womens empowerment. It comprises a wide range of social, cultural and political movements and Is concerned with gender inequalities and equal rights for women. Feminist movement has generated feminist theory which puts feminist Ideas Into theoretical background. It alms at understanding the nature of Inequality and focuses on gender politics , power relations and sexuality. It explores a broad scope of themes such as discrimination, stereotyping, objectification, especially sexual one, oppression and patriarchy. Feminist literary criticism derived from feminist theory and It deals with traditions and conventions of patriarchy, a social system In which , from the feminist point of view , men hold all the power. The dominance and superiority of men over women which result from this social construct exist In literary, historical and cultural contexts. Feminist criticism studies texts and considers the approaches to womens portrayal and position in the text. From this particular point of view , a feminist text, a work of literature or a film , needs to posses certain features and stress particular issues such as encouragement of female empowerment and abandonment of the stereotypical way of portraying a woman, it should challenge gender role model and a patriarchal system of society. In 2003, an American film director Question Fiction, Reservoir his fourth film Kill Bill, which was released in two installments, Kill Bill Volvo. in 2003, Kill Bill Volvo. 2 in 2004. During the press conference before the premiere of Kill Bill Volvo. L in August 2003, Question Titration was asked if he considered his film a feminist statement since it was dominated by strong women. He answered Erm, I would probably use the word girl power (www. Camera. Co. UK) which has generated a great deal of heated debate among feminists. The structure of Kill Bill is based on the structure of a novel. It is divided into two volumes, with five chapters each. It tells the story of The Bride aka Black Mamba aka Beatrice Kiddo, who takes revenge on Bill, her former lover and master at the art of assassination. , and also on his subordinates , the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (D. Iv. A. S) for trying to murder her and her unborn baby during her wedding rehearsal (volume 1, chapter 2). They kill everybody present In the church and The Bride is the last one to be assassinated. Before she manages to tell 8111 he Is the babys father, he shoots her In her head. However, The Bride survives and falls Into coma of which she comes out after four years. She finds out that she had lost her baby and Is determined to take revenge on the assassins who led her to that point. In order to analyses the film from the feminist point of view, It Is necessary to mention the term of the male gaze, Introduced by feminist film theory. The term the gaze/ look generally refers both to the way all audience views he people presented In different forms of visual culture and to the gaze of those appearing in visual texts . Feminist film criticism theory has pointed to the male gaze predominantly present in Hollywood cinema. Laura Mulled, a British film theorist and maker, in her essay Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema argues that a cinema provides a spectator with different pleasures, like chipolatas, ( 587) which Is a pleasure Trot looking an a Intercalation Walt n ten male actor appearing In a value medium, however, she believes it is only true for a male spectator . The male gaze roses the audience to perceive the action and characters from the male perspective , which sexually objectifies women and exhibit unequal power relationship. She points out that In a world of sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/ male and passive/ female. ( Mulled 589) In this regard, cinema oppresses women , not only those being looked at, but also female spectators who do the looking. Taking it into consideration, Kill Bill seems to be quite innovative. Although it is an action film which is traditionally directed at a male spectator, it does not employ the male gaze. Female characters are portrayed in a manner that may be viewed as breaking the convention of the genre. The stereotypical image of a woman in an action film is reducing them to the position of sexual objects rather than subjects with their subjective way of thinking. As Mulled notices: The determining male gaze projects its phantasm onto the male figure, which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-news. Woman displayed as sexual object is the leitmotif of erotic spectacle Olds the look, plays to and signifies male desire (Mulled, 589) Women are generally portrayed as flat characters, constructed in a way that would meet a male heterosexual spectators expectations and epiphanies. The role they perform is simply decorative. However , Kill Bill moves away from this practice. Female characters are very attractive but, at the same time, they are not reduced to the status of sex symbols. Their sexuality is hidden in a way, it is not overemphasized and does no create an opportunity for a male spectator o get sexual pleasure from looking at them. The clothes the women are wearing are not gendered, they resemble rather a kind of elegant modern armor and do not evoke any sexual connotation. The Brides most memorable outfit is her yellow and black Jumpsuit, which seems to suggest she is deadly dangerous, like poisonous animals. An interesting example of playing with the male gaze in Kill Bill may be found in the scene in which Bud ( Michael Madsen ), Bills brother manages to enable The Bride from killing him and shoots her in the chest with rock salt ( Volvo. , chapter 7 ) . While The Bride is lying on the ground, Bud is kneeling beside her and the gaze appears- they exchange looks. The whole scene is constructed in a classic western film manner. Beatrice looks very fragile, Bud is masculine, the position of their bodies suggests male dominance and female passivity. When Beatrice spits into Buds face, a spectator expects him to wipe his face with a superior smirk, however, he does something else. He spits back with a heavy load of thick saliva and makes a comment Ã'›l win. Paradoxically, it reveals his weakness and feeling of inferiority, he is very proud to have captured a dangerous arrow and cannot resist the temptation to humiliate her. The whole scene does not evoke any sexual connotations and is a kind of the reversal of the male gaze. The issue of power relations present in the scene mentioned above, is frequently accentuated in Ã'›Kill Bill. The most explicit example is the relation between The Bride and her male counterpart Bill ( David Circadian), who has all the features of a patriarchy figure. Bill is a very authoritarian person, he manipulates people, especially women, cynically slung tenet emotions to make teem moment to Nils orders, like it is illustrated by his relationship with Ell Driver( Daryl Hannah). Beatrice Kiddo used to be his pupil whom he mastered in the art of assassination and was his lover as well, however, she managed to free herself from dependency on men and become a self- assured woman who do not need a male authority to help her create and define herself. The moment she does that, she assumes the power and takes the dominant position. Bills weaknesses are exposed, it is him who is driven by emotions and overreacts, as he calls it. His attempt at killing Beatrice was caused by his hurt leaning, after she abandoned him to start a new living with another man. Their last (Volvo. 2. , last chapter) meeting, preceding their duel, reveals his real nature, ruled by male ambition. In order to find out the true reason for her betrayal he shoots her with a dart filled with truth serum. After she reveals the truth about her pregnancy and decision not to let her child be born into the world of crime and violence, a spectator could expect they will resolve to stay together especially bearing in mind that The Brides daughter, B. B. ( Pearl Haney-Sardine) was saved after the massacre in he church and lives with Bill. Nevertheless, The Bride has freed herself from an influence of Bill, she also rejects the typical model off family and after a fight she kills him. In the end he salutes to her and seems to admit it is her who has a superior position in their relationship. Bill is only one of the examples of male inferiority in comparison to moral and physical supremacy of women. The Bride is obviously the strongest female character, nevertheless, she is only one of the whole gallery of dominant female figures. They are portrayed as multidimensional harassers, with their past and psychological profile. Their cruelty is in a way explained by the story of their lives and a spectator sympathizes with them whereas the overall image of the majority of male characters in Kill Bill is fairly negative. They are full of vices, they are driven by primitive forces and lack any respect towards women. Moreover, they are punished by women for their inappropriate attitude towards women. The examples are numerous , including Beatrice killing Buck (Michael Bowen) who has been selling sexual access to her body as she laid comatose, as well s assassinating a man who had Just paid Buck for raping her(Volvo. L, chapters) . Furthermore, another illustration of female empowerment is the case of O-Rene Sushi ( Lucy Lieu ) who becomes the leader of Tokyo gangs. After one of the bosses Tanana ( June Kumara ) expresses his disagreement and offends her, she decapitates him, stressing her new dominant position in the world of Japanese crime. The only positive male figures appearing in Ã'›Kill Bill are Hatters Hanna ( Sonny Chubb) , a swordfish who breaks an oath he has made not to produce any tools that kill, urges a sword for her. Another positive figure is Pap Me (Gordon Lieu), a legendary martial arts master who trains her and whose tutelage turn out to play a crucial role in The Brides life twice once, she is able to rescue herself from the buried coffin, second time she uses Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, to kill Bill. What needs to be emphasized, is the fact that Hatters Hanna and Pap Me do not belong to the Western culture and simultaneously, are not representatives of the patriarchal structure of society associated with Western world by feminists. In contrary to the active relations between men and women, the relations between women are embedded with mutual respect, even if deeply hidden, and to some extent, a feeling AT loyalty related to Dealing a woman. I en aspect AT womens solitary Is Illustrated In numerous ways, for example in the scene of the duel between The Bride and O-Rene (Volvo. , chapter 5), when the latter apologies for underestimating and mocking at the former one. Moreover, even The Brides enemy, Ell Driver ( Darryl Hannah) who is jealous of Bill, reveals her respect and admiration for The Bride, by means of assassinating Bud(Volvo. 2, chapter 9) . As she explains to Bud before he dies, The Bride ,whom she considers dead , was the greatest warrior Ell has ever known and did not deserve to have been killed by such a pathetic figure as Bud. Another good illustration of the point is the scene in which Beatrice finds out she is pregnant(Volvo. 2, last chapter). The woman she is to assassinate, Lisa Wong, Aviatrixs last assignment, agrees to withdraw simply because of the fact Beatrice is pregnant. If it was a man it would never be possible for Beatrice to convince him to give up on the clash. Ã'›Kill Bill is innovative not only by means of creating a new image of a woman in an action film, it breaks new ground in terms of presenting a new image of a mother. Throughout the whole film, the main driving force giving The Bride the strength and determination is the will to take revenge for, as she believes, killing her baby. The issue of maternity is highly debatable among feminists. One of the aspects is single motherhood, still condemned by a society. Kill Bill presents a new image of a single mother, who would do anything in order to be with her child, regardless the amount f pain she has to bear. One could even claim that it is the motherhood that moves the plot and signifies the most important moments in the film. The first one is the moment Beatrice finds out she is pregnant. In the aforementioned scene, in which Beatrice is supposed to kill Lisa Wong, she appears at the door the moment Beatrice interprets the result of the pregnancy test to discover she is going to have a baby. The woman breaks into the hotel room and , while Beatrice and Lisa are aiming at each other with their guns, Beatrice reveals to Lisa she is pregnant and begs her to go away. At this particular point she makes her first sacrifice on behalf of her unborn daughter, because she is aware that not fulfilling the assignment is highly unprofessional and will not be easily forgotten by Bill whom she decides to leave in order to save her child from the influence of the crime world. Another moment , in which maternity unifies women hostile to each other is the fight between Beatrice and Veering Green ( Vicar A. Fox) . Len the middle of their vicious fight , Veronicas daughter arrives home and it makes the two woman stop in order to enable the little girl from eyeing her mother in such a situation. Furthermore, the moment The Bride finds her daughter B. B. Perfectly safe, living with her father Bill, she is so determined to keep her only for herself that she does not hesitate to kill Bill in order to protect her daughter from the negative influence not only of the criminal world of hired assassins, but also from the patriarchal concept of a family. The next morning after her fight with Bill, she cries hysterically on the motel bathroom floor and she seems to suffer after her lovers death, but as the camera moves closer it turns out that she s constantly repeating Thank you, happy and grateful for staying alive and having her daughter back. The importance of motherhood in the film is very much stressed by the exit quote : The lioness has rejoined the cub. All is right in the Jungle. ( Kill Bill Volvo. 2, Last Chapter) To summaries, Kill Bill has all the features of a feminists statement. It presents the dominance of strong impressive women who are contrasted Walt weak, morally Ana phonically Interior men. I en Tamale snatchers are assuming their position of power and finds a new place in the patriarchal world f men. The film rejects gender stereotypes and seems to redefine a woman by merging two aspects-being a warrior and a mother. However, it would be difficult to call it an iconic feminist film, bearing in mind the words of the director, Titration, who asked about his popular success replies: I dont think about the audience. The audience is above all me; Im my own audience. I make films for film lovers like me. The question I ask myself is, What would I pay $7 to seer ( Festival- Cannes. FRR/en/article/42898. HTML). Probably it would be more reasonable not to treat he message of the film too seriously and instead of that, simply enjoy the play with stereotypes and genre conventions. BIBLIOGRAPHY Mulled, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Literary Theory : An Anthology.

Corporate Governance and Regulation - A Case Study (RBS) Essay

Corporate Governance and Regulation - A Case Study (RBS) - Essay Example The overdraft facility is one of the most versatile instruments in banking today. The Royal bank of Scotland apart from providing banking services in Scotland through 700 branches also provides branch banking services throughout the British Isles in collaboration with the NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Scotland provides dedicated retail and commercial banking services in Scotland, Ireland and US. The Royal Bank of Scotland has a worldwide presence in about 40 countries where they provide investment banking services, private banking and also banking network channels for payment across Europe, Asia and Middle East. Apart from the core banking divisions, the bank also has non-core support groups to provide better banking services which includes Asset protection group, Global restructuring group, Risk containment group and the legal group. The Royal Bank of Scotland has a strategic plan for fulfilling its long term and short term objectives. The strategies employed by The Roy al Bank of Scotland include serving the customers to their delight, containing the risk profile of the bank and finally attain sustainable value addition for the shareholders. The Royal Bank of Scotland is governed by a Board of Directors and the managing and executive committee. The bank is headed by its chairman Sir Philip Hampton and the Group Chief executive Stephen Hester. The platform of principal decision making is formed by the Board members of the group who has the overall responsibility and accountability of not only leading the group in a sustainable fashion but also ensure value and returns to their shareholders. The group also has a performance and remuneration committee apart from its supporting risk and audit structure. Apart from taking the policy-making decisions, the Board members of the group also monitors the operations and performance of the group on a periodic basis. The Group Board and the Committees governing The Royal Bank of Scotland is committed to high st andards of adhering to codes on corporate governance. The Board Group scheduled a detail on the company affairs which is reviewed for monitoring effective implementation of the policies on corporate governance. The Royal Bank of Scotland acknowledges diversity and has implemented it worldwide. The Royal Bank of Scotland has around 5000 women workforce globally who are guided by a senior team of personnel. The Royal Bank of Scotland has a designed code of conduct along with defined policies on environmental, social and ethical risk, anti-money laundering, human rights, anti bribery, anti corruption and managing of diversity. These governance and regulatory policies help The Royal Bank of Scotland to maintain a balance of their financial, economic and social goals. Apart from serving their customer well, The Royal Bank of Scotland is committed to be a good employer, fulfil their corporate social responsibilities, open to consultation with their stakeholder for wealth maximization and restoring security and confidentiality of internal information. The Royal Bank of Scotland filed its annual report on 28th March, 2013 with the US Securities and exchange commission. The stock

The movie review of eat, drink, man, woman by Ang Lee Essay

The movie review of eat, drink, man, woman by Ang Lee - Essay Example However, this is a challenge for her because it is rare for women to be allowed into the profession, which is male dominated. Despite the fact that the daughters look upon their father cooking for them as being too traditional, the meals they share serves to bring their family together, something that is extremely rare indeed in the modern society. Another daughter shows a lot of cynicism towards men until such a time as she meets a volleyball coach to who she is attracted. This daughter completely breaks with tradition by actively pursuing the man that she desires. The youngest daughter is a college student who is quite sexually adventurous and her escapades result in her getting pregnant. The chef’s wife has passed away sixteen years prior to the plot of the movie, and the lack of a mother in the household is something that is realized throughout the film. Had there been a mother’s presence in the family’s life, then the troubles which this family is undergoing would be nonexistent, or minimal. One of the major themes of this movie is one of self-sacrifice as seen when Jia-Jen decides to stay at home and look after her father and her sisters. She lives a single life because of this selflessness on her part and it can be said that she fills the role of the mother in the household. ... Chu, their father, is a well-meaning man who has chosen not to remarry for the sake of taking care of his daughters himself. He is a man who, despite the fact that his daughters have grown up and are supposed to move out of the home, continues to live with them. This is a sign of a caring father who, instead of choosing the modern way of letting his children go, decides to follow the traditional way of letting his daughters stay at home until such a time, as they get married. The fact that his adult daughters are still living at home creates a lot of tension between them a conflict that can be considered one between traditionalism and modernism. This is an emotional film to watch because it does not have any action but it instead deals with the emotional aspects of the people within it. It has a powerful plot that curiously creates an environment that displays the day-to-day lives of the characters. It is similar to the scenes that are increasingly becoming common in Taiwan, where th e traditional way of life is coming into conflict with the modern ways. While some people are trying hard to retain their culture, the younger generation seems to be moving away from it. When one watches this movie, one concludes that the old ways are losing out and that the best way to handle this transition should not be resistance, but acceptance. In addition, Chu’s slow loss of his sense of taste, something, which he depends on to earn a living, is highly symbolic. The sense of taste can be said to be a symbol of the traditional way of life and the way that it is inevitably going to end. The film itself is not boring because of the heavy drama, which is involved in every scene. The camera work is done so well that this film can be considered a rare phenomenon in the Asian

Research Methods Into Positivism And Social Constructivism

Research Methods Into Positivism And Social Constructivism There has been heated discussion over the use of positivism and social constructivism in management research over the past few decades. And one can find that most of the theorists take a neutral view with regard to this situation. After the 1980s there has been a trend towards social constructivism but even then no one is sticking completely to the principles of one single philosophy. The main idea behind positivism is that society is an external agent and hence its properties or characteristics must be measured objectively rather than by any subjective means like intuition, sensation etc. This view was first proposed by French theorist Auguste Comte (1853) according to whom All good intellects have repeated, since Bacons time, that there can be no real knowledge but that which is based on observable facts. Hence his view has two main assumptions i.e. reality is external and objective and knowledge is based upon observations of this reality. Thus there are certain postulates of this philosophy: Independence: The researcher must be independent in his thoughts and is not influenced by any factors while observing the reality. Value-freedom: This involves deciding upon the area to be studied and how to study it. Positivism suggests doing this on the basis of objective research and not on human beliefs. Causality: The main objective of social and behavioral sciences is to evaluate the causes and fundamental laws behind the fluctuations in the behavioral pattern of people. Hypothesis and deduction: every research will be based on certain hypothesis and the observations will be made to either prove or disprove this hypothesis statement. Operationalization: The research concepts must be formulated in such a way that the facts obtained from observations can be measured empirically. Reductionism: This concept believes that a bigger problem will be easy to solve if it is divided into smaller elements which can be separately solved. Generalization: In order to make general conclusions on fluctuations in human behavior, it is essential that the research must be conducted among samples of appropriate size. On the basis of results obtained from the sample size, the researcher can make wider judgments on the whole population. Cross-sectional analysis: This kind of regularities can be easily identified by comparing the differences in the samples. All the above given implications are the collective view points of different theorists of positivism. But there were many theorists who were having contrasting opinions on these postulates too. Even Comte was not supporting the reductionism concept. Wittgenstein proposed in his past studies that all factual intentions can be broken down into smaller elementary propositions that were entirely independent from each other. He himself later challenged this theory arguing that elementary propositions can be logically related to each other (Pears, 1971). Thus this philosophy is under an unending debate among the theorists. Aiken (1956) came up with the view that positivism is the best way to find out the behavioral patterns in human beings which may be originated as a result of metaphysical speculation. The concept of social constructivism on the other hand was developed based on the works of Berger and Luckman (1966), Watzlawick (1984) and Shotter (1993). This philosophy is based upon idea that people use language as a medium for sharing their experiences and it is through this way, they make sense of the world. Hence this theory suggests that people form, create and make themselves and their worlds by means of the verbal skills. It is more concerned about the process and product peoples way of interacting with each other (Leeds-Hurwitz, 1995). It is considered as social because it focuses on the interaction rather than the individual. Hence even though there exist a clear dichotomy between the two philosophies, there exists a high difference in opinion among the researchers about the selection of methods. Therefore a number of compromising has to be done between these two philosophies in order to conduct a research. Figure: Matrix of research designs Detached Survey research Case method (Yin) Quasi-experimental design Ethnography Positivist Social Grounded theory Experimental Design design constructionist Co-operative enquiry Action research Involved The following are pure researches mentioned in the figure above: Action research: Action research cannot completely belong to pure research as it contains certain elements of applied research too. In this research, the researcher tries to be as much close to the research area or subject. This is because the researcher intends to make a direct influence for which he may make certain alterations even in the research process. The ground concept behind this research was that if one wants to know a subject well he must try to change it. This theory was widely accepted in Organizational Development where the trainers use it for enhancing the team effectiveness (French Bell, 1978; Homan, 1979). Survey Research: This is a kind of research process which requires direct interaction with the samples. If done properly, this research can give accurate information which can be highly useful in solving the research problem. Survey research gives much importance to primary data and involves systematic observation (Sapsford, 2007). Therefore this research helps to take better business decisions by which way the business activities can be handles much more effectively. Experimental design: In this research, the experimenter assigns subjects at random to a test or control group. The test group conditions are then manipulated by the researcher so as to evaluate their effect with regard to the control group who are in a normal setting. But this kind of study is quite difficult to conduct in real organizations since its not easy to obtain a captive population for the research. Quasi-experimental designs: This was developed when the researchers found it difficult to create pure experimental designs under the positivist concept. This was clearly explained by Campell and Stanley (1963), who assessed a number of designs which made use of multiple scales so as to minimize the impact caused by incomplete matching of control and test groups. Ethnography: This is a theory based on social constructivist principle where the experimenter will try to be a part of the research so as to understand the mindset of the experimental group and the meanings and significances that the samples bring in their behavior of themselves and others. Case Method: There are several research designs at present and some of them are similar to fieldwork methods while some others fall in the intermediate position. Case study method is the kind of research design which comes under the latter category. The most important deliberations to this topic were made by Robert Yin (1993). The other popular contributors to this method are Stake (1995), Eisenhardt (1989), and Hamel et.al (1993). Grounded theory: This theory is based on constructivist principles and helps the researcher to understand how he will proceed with the research. This concept got worldwide attention from the studies of Glaser and Strauss (1967). In this method, the researcher mainly has to develop a theory by means of comparative method, i.e. viewing the same event in different situations and analyzing the difference. Co-operative enquiry: This is a type of action research where all the participants of the research contribute equally to the development of enquire and show active participation in the research process (Heron, 1996; Reason, 2003). Apart from the above research designs, there exist certain other designs which can be used for management researches. The most important ones among them are critical inquiry, participant observation and narrative methods. All these methods have certain similarities with the above mentioned designs as well as certain unique features of their own. Hence they are also widely accepted in business research and used according to the requirements. 2. The different areas of research that holds high significance are: a) Research topic: Finalizing the research topic is the first and most important part of a research since it is based on the depth of title that the research proceeds (Kumar, 2005). In the broad sense, research title can be any question or problem that you need to answer or any assumption that needs to be challenged. As per the words of Powers, Meenaghan Twoomey (1985), Potential research questions may occur to us on a regular basis, but the process of formulating them in a meaningful way is not at all an easy task. In order to frame a research title, it is essential to have a thorough knowledge of research methodology as well as on the theoretical aspects of the topic. The research title can be formulated based upon four sources namely daily life, practical issues, past research and theory (Johnson Christensen, 2010). They form the initial base for the structuring of research title. Thus the research topic serves as a foundation to the research and hence if it is framed properly, the study will also move in the right direction. The research problem can vary in complexity and hence the way it is formulated determines the research approach, study design, sampling strategy, research instrument as well as many other factors. Therefore there must be certain considerations while selecting a research topic. The main considerations are interest, magnitude, measurement concepts, expertise level, relevance, ethical issues etc. (Kumar, 2005). If the research topic fulfills most of these considerations, then it can be regarded as a suitable one. b) Research question: A research question refers to the problem that the experimenter seeks to answer through the research. The research question is an essential element of every research despite of the fact that it is qualitative and quantitative. But they will vary according to the nature of research. If the research question is qualitative, then it will be intended for finding out the relationship between two variables. A variable is something which has more than one value (Vaus, 2002). Hence research questions for these kinds of researches are not much specific. While on the hand, a quantitative research question tends to more precise as it will be based on mathematical results. Business research usually applies qualitative research questions since they ask more general questions which can be used for exploring the samples views or responses on a particular phenomenon. It is usually an interrogative sentence which aims to relate two or more variables. It can be of three types nam ely: descriptive, predictive and causal. The researcher must have thorough understanding of the variables that are related in the research. These questions are open-ended, general, and over-reaching regarding an issue, problem or phenomenon. c) Research hypothesis (es): They can be referred to as tentative answers to the research questions. This is because the solution to them can be found out after statistical analysis only and hence it forms a critical step in the evidence-gathering process of a research (Guerrero Nachmias, 2010). There will be two hypotheses while conducting this process. The first hypotheses will be referred to as research hypotheses (H1) and the other one will be termed as null hypothesis (H0). The research hypotheses are formulated based upon the parameters of population but its form is different from research to research. Null hypothesis is the one set as a counter the research hypothesis. It is because every research hypothesis is set in order to prove a relationship. Hence it is necessary to set an alternate hypothesis that could disprove the relationship. For hypothesis testing, the researcher aims to disprove the null hypothesis in order to provide support to the research hypothesis. Therefor e research hypotheses are oriented towards a particular direction. This means it states whether a population mean is greater than or lesser than a particular value. d) Research objectives: A researcher intends to summarize what must be achieved by means of the research. The objectives of the study must be in alignment with the problem statement. There are mainly two types of objectives set for a research- general objective and specific objective. General objective states what the researcher intends to achieve in general terms through conducting this study. This general objective when broken down to smaller parts for better solving becomes specific objectives. Research objectives are better than research questions since they lead to higher specificity in the research (Saunders et.al. 2003). 3. A research design process that could be adopted in business researches is as follows: Web 01: An overview of the research design process This research design can be used in most management studies with little variations. This process starts with identification of research problem. Every research must have a problem which needs to be solved through the research process. Business researches usually intend to find answers to some social issues, business problem or a phenomenon. After identifying the research problem, the next step is determining the research objectives and questions. A research question is the problem or issue that the research intends to solve while research objectives tend to summarize the area that is to be achieved by the study. Hence both these factors lie in close relation to each other. The next task in the research design process is conducting the secondary research. This is done by means of an extensive literature study. This way the researcher gathers details on the theoretical aspects of the research. Hence the researcher will be searching in books, journals, articles, online databases, websit es etc for collecting the data. An appropriate methodology for conducting the research must be developed by this time. Research methodology helps in determining the research philosophy, approach, method, study design etc. All these factors are highly important for the successful completion of research. After collecting the secondary data, the researcher will look out for methods for collecting the primary data. There exist several research methods for data collection. The research instrument will be decided based upon the literature study (Taylor et.al. 2006). The most common research instruments include surveys, interviews, questionnaires, etc. In some cases, the researcher conducts a pilot study in order to obtain responses from a small portion of the population. These research instruments help to gain valid data from the samples. After collecting the primary and secondary information, the researcher decides upon the methods for their analysis. Literature review analysis is quite critical for researches as they would help in gaining insights on the core issues and provide suitable recommendations. The analysis of primary data is done by means of certain analysis techniques. The most common methods include percentage analysis, chi-square test, ANOVA, z-test etc. They help in providing empirical findings for the research which are most accurate. After obtaining the findings, they are interpreted to reach at final judgments and conclusion. On the basis of these interpretations, the researcher could provide suitable suggestions or recommendations for solving the research problem. 4. a) A survey is used for describing a population and it usually involves systematic observation or interviewing. Surveys involve what the researcher wants to find out and the answers also will be defined under a specific range (Sapsford, 2007). The most common survey instruments used in management and social researches are questionnaires and interviews. For constructing a questionnaire, the responses must be provided in a range. Hence it must have certain measurement scales. There are mainly four types of measurement scales used in surveys. They are: Nominal Scale: This is a kind of measurement scale where the objects are assigned to categories without any numerical properties. These scales have definite identity of their own but have no other characteristics (Jackson, 2007). Those variables which are measured using these scales are named as categorical variables since they try to classify the information collected. But these variables have no empirical value. Examples of variables measured through nominal scales are ethnicity, gender etc. These variables cannot be hence used in mathematical analysis. Hence these scales are considered as the lowest level of measurement since the variables are different by means of quality rather than quantity in this (Bordens Abbott, 2006). Ordinal Scale: They form the next level of measurement used in surveys. They constitute numbers which are in a predetermined order so that there will be certain relationships which can be inferred from them (Sapsford, 2007). Hence the objectives are classified into certain categories which form a rank order through a range. The data in this scale do have certain identity and properties but they dont have equal unit size and absolute zero. Interval Scale: In this scale, the measurement units are all of equal size. Therefore it fulfills the three main criteria of an ideal scale i.e. identity, magnitude and equal unit size. It forms the third level of measurement used in surveys. Hence this scale contains the characteristics of both nominal and ordinal scale but is much more effective than the other two (Malhotra Dash, 2008). Fahrenheit scale is the most prominent interval scale used. Ratio scale: This forms the highest measurement scale and has all the characteristics of nominal, ordinal and interval scale. It is the most complicated scale since it allows the researcher to identify the absolute differences between scale points as well as helps him in comparing the responses obtained (Hair et.al. 2007). This scale possesses an absolute zero which indicates the absence of variables in measurement. b. Questionnaire is the most commonly used research instrument. The main characteristics of a good questionnaire are as follows: It must be short and precise. So while framing a questionnaire, ensure that the research objectives will be met from the analysis of responses of the questionnaire. Usage of simple language: The questionnaire must be framed in such a way that the respondents find it easy to understand. Start with interesting questions: The questionnaire will include questions that will generate interest in the samples to answer and encourage them to fill out the complete form. Absence of leading questions: If there are leading questions in the form, it will encourage the respondents to answer in a particular way. But this is not considered as a good practice since the sample must not be influenced by any means in writing an answer. The number of choices wont be too long because the respondents will find it difficult to assess all of them. Hence the choice list must be small. Include simple concepts which the samples could understand. Including complicated concepts will make it a tough task for the respondents to answer the questions properly. The elements of a bad questionnaire are included below. It will have more open-ended questions than close-ended ones. This will make it difficult for the respondents to answer the questions and also their answers wont be similar. The analysis of these responses is not possible through any statistical method. The questions will be vague. The respondents will not be able to understand the real meaning of this question and this will influence their answer. The research questions are not communicated through this questionnaire. This way the questionnaire fails to serve its purpose.

Math Coursework - The Fencing Problem :: Math Coursework Mathematics

The Fencing Problem Aim - to investigate which geometrical enclosed shape would give the largest area when given a set perimeter. In the following shapes I will use a perimeter of 1000m. I will start with the simplest polygon, a triangle. Since in a triangle there are 3 variables i.e. three sides which can be different. There is no way in linking all three together, by this I mean if one side is 200m then the other sides can be a range of things. I am going to fix a base and then draw numerous triangles off this base. I can tell that all the triangles will have the same perimeter because using a setsquare and two points can draw the same shape. If the setsquare had to touch these two points and a point was drawn at the 90 angle then a circle would be its locus. Since the size of the set square never changes the perimeter must remain the same. [IMAGE] The area of a triangle depends on two things: the height and the base. The base is fixed in this example so the triangle that has the biggest height, i.e. the middle triangle, will have the biggest area. The middle triangle turns out to be an icosoles triangle. I am going to focus only on icosoles triangles. I have constructed a formula linking all three sides in and icosoles triangle. [IMAGE] X X X=any number which is greater than 250 and less than 500 ======================================================== 1000 - 2X Using Pythagoras theorem I can find and equation linking a side to the area. ====================================================================== ÂÂ ½(1000 - 2X)ÂÂ ² + HÂÂ ² = XÂÂ ² HÂÂ ² = XÂÂ ² + (X -500)ÂÂ ² H = height X 500 - X XÂÂ ² - (500-X)ÂÂ ² H Area 251 249 1000 31.6 7874.1 300 200 50000 223.61 44721.0 333.33

My “Eight Cow” Bracelet Essay

â€Å"Beauty is only skin deep† was a phrase I heard quite often during my awkward childhood. When I was a baby, I had two chins, Michelin Tire legs, and hair that stuck straight up even though it was easily over two inches long. My mom would often dress me in only a diaper on hot days inspiring my uncle to label me with the name of â€Å"Marshmallow Butt.† It was a name he was quite fond of calling me, even years later. As I grew, the double chin turned into one and a half, the legs stretched into colonial columns, and the hair eventually lay flat. This all happened just in time for puberty-acne and my first training bra when I was only ten. It was during this transitional point in my life that my father began to teach me a valuable and significant lesson regarding beauty and the power of words. During my childhood, my family indulged in a weekly ritual we called family night. We used this time for various activities. We would hold family councils where we truly believed we had a say in important subjects. We would play games and have lessons such as â€Å"being kind to your family† or some other moral issue of the time. Sometimes we would sing songs, hear stories from Dad who could rival Mark Twain any day, or spend an hour to two eating ice cream and playing at the park. I am the second child and oldest daughter in a family of ten children, so these weekly â€Å"get-togethers† rarely went without some type of fiasco. These fiascoes varied from kicking at one another as Mom was teaching us about â€Å"Doing Unto Others† or my older brother Bill and I having a hair pulling fight, not just a tug-of-the-hair fight, but a fist-full, pull-as-hard-as-you-can, you-let-go-first hair fight. It was for one of these activities that my dad brought home a movie entitled Johnny Lingo. The story was simple, but for a shy ten-year-old girl who had long, stringy, brown hair, big brown eyes, a freckled face, and who looked as though the Pillsbury Dough Boy was her closest relative, it was a story filled with magic and hope. The movie told of a girl named Mohana. Mohana was, quite frankly, the ugliest girl on the island. She was all â€Å"skin and bone.† She rarely washed her hair and never combed it. She spent all her time hiding in the woods so no one could see her and make fun of her. Even her father called her â€Å"Mohana, you ugly.† One day, the most handsome young man in the area, Johnny Lingo, came to the island and chose Mohana for his wife. He gave her father eight cows as a gift in exchange for Mohana. No one had ever given more than four cows as a gift for marriage. This was a great demonstration of devotion and love towards Mohana. A year later when Johnny and Mohana returned to the island, Mohana’s father came to visit them. He hardly recognized his daughter. She now had long, shining, beautifully combed hair. She had put on some weight, and even her personality had developed some self-assurance and confidence. Johnny Lingo told Mohana’s father that he bought her a silver and pearl inlaid mirror and comb set and had told her every day that she was beautiful. He said that Mohana had always had the beauty inside her; he just helped her discover it. It wasn’t until a few years later that I realized the significance of that movie and the lesson that my father was trying to teach me. We lived in a rural town where work was very hard for my dad to find. Consequently, he had to leave home to work. I was just finishing my hardest year in high school, the sophomore year when my dad took a job in Page, Arizona. I turned sixteen that summer. That was also the summer that I received my â€Å"eight cow bracelet.† Dad was a man who always had a ready smile on his face. For as long as I have known him, he has had crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes from smiling. His hands always seemed big and strong to me, and as he got older, I began to see where I got my physical attributes. He always loved working early in the morning out in our garden when the dew was still on the leaves of the tomatoes and peas. I enjoyed going out there with him. It was a time when we could spend some quality moments together. He would teach me which bugs were not good for the garden as we cleared plump green tomato worms off the tomato plants. He taught me which insects we needed in the garden as we left the spider webs strung between the corn stalks. I learned about rainbows. I learned about life. One particular August morning, Dad took me to sit down at our woodpile. There were always two or three stumps to sit on, and Dad would sit there and watch the garden as he irrigated. He pulled a small bundle wrapped in one of his red â€Å"farmer† handkerchiefs out of his pocket. He simply opened up the cloth to expose a turquoise and silver Indian cuff bracelet. It was slender, no more than a half inch in width. The silver had no engravings on it. It was simple and delicate. Centered across the top of the bracelet were eight round turquoise stones set into the silver. Dad asked me, â€Å"Do you know what this is?† I looked at him and smiled, â€Å"A bracelet?† His ready smile came back at me. â€Å"This is your eight cow bracelet.† When I must have given him one of my most confused looks, he explained how the bracelet would remind me of my worth. I was worth more than anyone else was on the â€Å"island.† I had an inner beauty that was just waiting to come out, and I was important to him. At that time, I couldn’t remember ever loving my father more. A lifetime again later, I still remember that day. I remember the sun beating down on my head, the smell of wet dirt, the sound of our water pump whirring softly as the family inside the house started getting ready for the day. I remember the love in my father’s eyes, and I know that I am an â€Å"eight cow woman.† Questions on Technique 1. Does the opening paragraph create an interest that makes you want to read the rest of the essay? Why or why not? 2. What is the thesis of this essay? 3. Where does the actual narration begin? 4. Give three examples of description in this essay. 5. Does the description contribute anything to this essay? If so, what?