A Comparison of Death in The Scarlet Letter and My Antonia Essay

Importance of Death in The Scarlet Letter and My Antonia It is universally acknowledged that one who comes into this world must also leave. Just like everything else, even life and death is a binary composition. You cannot have one without the other. Although not many people like to think about it, death is a very important factor not only in life, but also in literature. Most often, death is portrayed as evil or gruesome, especially in commercial fiction. However, there are literary texts, which portray death through other factors. Through the depiction of the deaths of Arthur Dimmesdale and Mr. Shimerdas in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Willa Cather's My Antonia, respectively, the reader is able to associate the significance of such issues as guilt, revenge/murder, religion, and the consequences of the two deaths. It may seem odd that instead of concentrating on the central female characters to portray these important issues, I have chosen two male characters. However, it is through the deaths of the male chara cters that the central females, Hester and Antonia are able to shine as women. In both these novels, the death scenes of the characters are ambiguous. In relation to one issue or another there is always something vague or missing, which leaves the readers to judge for themselves. The death scene in The Scarlet Letter is very powerful and full of remorse . Arthur collapsing into the arms of his loved one, after pleading with the people to look at Hester's scarlet letter once again, showing Roger how he had sinned as well, acknowledging Pearl and relieving her of her "...errand as a messenger of anguish" (Hawthorne 222) by kissing her, and fin... ...moil and keep her father's past alive. Both deaths also imply more than what meets the eye. While Arthur's death is surrounded by the possibility of revenge, Mr. Shimerdas' death is encircled by the likelihood of murder. The two deaths also highlight the importance of religion. Arthur, being a Reverend, is given the strength by God to confront his sins, while Mr. Shimerdas, also a Reverend of sorts, is buried and forced to live an afterlife of uncertain paths due to his faith. Lastly, the aftermaths of these deaths, is what makes The Scarlet Letter and My Antonia two great works of literature. Through Arthur's death, Hester is once again able to display her inner strength by making her own choices and standing by her love, whereas Antonia through the death of her father is able to excel in a man's world, while not forgetting her womanhood.

Fidel Ramos Essay

Fidel V. Ramos, the 12th President of the Philippines (1992–1998), is remembered for steadfastly promoting the principles of people empowerment and global competitiveness. He quickly led the nation out of darkness in 1993, putting an end to the power crisis that crippled Filipino homes and industries for two years. He pursued, focused and converged programs to fight poverty in accordance with the will of the Filipino people expressed by 229 structural/reform laws enacted by Congress during his term. The Philippine economy recovered dramatically during the years 1993-1997. Ramos vigorously implemented a comprehensive Social Reform Agenda (SRA) that addressed the long-standing problem of poverty: jobs and livelihood, health, education and skills training, housing, environmental protection, children and the youth, the elderly and the handicapped, agrarian reform, and access to equal opportunity. Gross National Product averaged 5 percent annually. Average income of the Filipino family grew more during his administration than in the preceding two decades. He pushed for the deregulation of key industries and the liberalization of theeconomy. He encouraged the privatization of public entities, to include the modernization of public infrastructure through an expanded Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) law. While communist insurgency dwindled to historic lows, he achieved a peace agreement with military rebels and the secessionist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) for which he won for the Philippines the coveted 1997 UNESCO Peace Award—the first for Asians. FVR is known as the â€Å"Centennial† President, having planned and supervised the 100th Anniversary of the country’s Declaration of Independence from Spain on 12 June 1998. Economy Overview President Fidel Ramos embarked on an ambitious development plan dubbed â€Å"Philippines 2000. † Under the plan, several industries critical to economic development were privatized, such as electricity, telecommunications, banking, domestic shipping, and oil. Thetaxation system was reformed, and external debt was brought to more anageable levels by debt restructuring and sensible fiscal management. By 1996, GNP was growing at a rate of 7. 2 percent and GDP at 5. 2 percent. The annual inflation rate had dropped to 5. 9 percent from its high of 9. 1 percent in 1995. By the late 1990s, the Philippines’ economic growth gained favorable comparisons with other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and Malaysia. The Philippine economy took a sharp downturn during the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Its fiscal deficit in 1998 reached P49. 981 billion from a surplus of P1. 564 billion in 1997. The peso depreciated (fell in value) to P40. 89 per U. S. dollar from its previous rate of P29. 47 to a dollar. The annual growth rate of the GNP fell to 0. 1 percent in 1998 from 5. 3 percent in 1997. Despite these setbacks, the Philippine economy fared better than that of some of its Asian neighbors, and other nations praised the Ramos administration for its â€Å"good housekeeping. † Philippines 2000 During his administration, Ramos began implementing economic reforms intended to open up the once-closed national economy, encourage private enterprise, invite more foreign and domestic investment, and reduce corruption. Ramos was also known as the most-traveled Philippine President compared to his predecessors with numerous foreign trips abroad, generating about US$ 20 billion worth of foreign investments to the Philippines. To ensure a positive financial outlook on the Philippines, Ramos led the 4th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit in the Philippines on November 1996. He also instituted reforms in the tax system which includes a forced increase on VAT (E-VAT law) from 4% to 10% mandated by World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Under his administration, the Philippines enjoyed economic growth and stability. His visions of ‘Philippines 2000’ led the country into a newly industrialized country in the world and the â€Å"Tiger Cub Economy in Asia†. Philippines 2000 Five-Point Program: * Peace and Stability * Economic Growth and Sustainable Development * Energy and Power Generation * Environmental Protection * Streamlined Bureaucracy

Oras Na: Documentary Reaction Paper Essay

Oras Na, a GMA News and Public Affairs environmental documentary hosted by Richard Gutierrez gave us a 60 minute view of how our nature looks like in this new generation. Every minute, every hour of our own life, and the uses of out natural resources, this documentary showed us what we need to know – our nature’s deadline. Experts gave deadlines to our country’s natural resources. In 2025, trees in the forests of our country may possibly be gone. Same in this year, we will be suffering from low supply of clean water in the country. We could also suffer in low supply of fossil fuels in 2030. And in 2050, there’s no more fishes to eat. I’ve learned about the four main problem that we and the country will be facing in the future. One of the problem in the country is about the marine resources. It is shown in the documentary that there’s 7 billion people in the whole word who needs to eat and 90 million of the number is in the Philippines. 70% of the Filipino’s are having fish and sea foods as their daily food. And one of the biggest natural resources we have on earth is the sea which covers 77% of the planet. Fifty decades before is when we are fond of having plenty of aquatic resources. In Navotas Fish Port – biggest fish port in the country and one of the biggest in Asia, 400 tons of fish are delivered per day, it looks like it’s quiet a large number of deliveries but it doesn’t, compared to the tons of fishes delivered twenty years ago. One of the University in Canada said that not even before the year 2050, there are some places in the country which experiencing the loss numbers of fishes. Big fishes like tuna decreases its numbers also. It is said that 10% from their original numbers way back fifty years ago is what we have now. During 1970’s & 1980’s, 150 tons of tuna were delivered in General Santos Fish Port, which is the biggest tuna port in the world, and now it is down to only 50 tons. Because of this, Western and Cultural Pacific Fisheries Commission ordered to have a Tuna Ban which prohibits wide fishing of tuna  and only use handline instrument of fishing on big part of the international waters. By this order, some fishers are forced to grab fish/tuna where it is prohibited like in Indonesia. The reason for this decreasing number of fishes was studied by the UP Marine Science Institute. In the seven of the most productive fishing resource in the Philippines, it shows that the number of the fishers are over 50% compared to the sea’s capacity to increase the number of fish. Dr. Perry Alià ±o, a professor in UP Marine Science Institute, said that another reason is because 80-90% are overfish and some species are slowly being extinct in some areas which can happen and is already happening for some species right now. As the population in the country increases, the demand of fish as food also increases. As well as many fishes are being catch even though they are too small and too young to be sold in the public, not getting the chance to give birth to another specie. According to experts, the solution for this decreasing number of fishes is to reduce the fishing effort by 50%, for we are twice as it’s capacity to accommodate. Second problem in our country is having plenty supply of water. The cleanliest river in the country can be seen in Pandan, Antique. It gives water supply to over 3, 000 households in their town. And this kind of cleanliness in water can be seen in the rivers in our country way back Spanish time, even the Pasig river was said to be that clean. Water shortage can be experience right now in some places in Tawi-Tawi like Sitangkai which is the farthest island in the country, and in Bongao. In Tubigan, Bicol, people dig underground to have supply from the ground water and after 4 years, they will find other places to have their water supply as well as in Brgy. Bangkulasi, Navotas which their water is trusted to a water truck from other place. Water is the problem to this some places but there will come a time that it would be everyone’s problem according to Philippine Water Monitor of World Bank, year 2025, we’ll be experiencing a fresh water crisis. But before that, according to Pacific Institute for Studies and Development, Environment and Security, year 2020, estimated 77 million people in the world, mostly children will die because of diseases gain from contaminated water especially the ground water which is the main source of  water because of pollution. Third is the decreasing number of trees in the forest. The old growth tress which are aged hundreds can be gone in just an hour by cutting and if this will still continue, we can no longer see it by year 2020. Way back 1870’s, Philippines was covered by 70% of the forest but now the country has only 8% from its original number of forest cover. The reason is deforestation. Deforestation rate is directly proportional with population rate. By doing deforestation for our different needs and demands in the society and continuously cutting of trees, forests can be erase in the map by 2025. In Northwest Panay Peninsula, this problems starts to show where mountains of trees are put into fire to have a coal production and to plant crops. In Surigao del Norte, other part of the forest are used for mining. Lastly, about the Fossil Fuel supply. There are three sources of energy in the country; coal, natural gas and oil or fossil fuel. It was said that fossil fuel production started to decrease last 2012, which is three years before. According to International Energy Agency, we will experience 5 out of 10% of decrease rate production until 2030 where there’s no more fossil fuel to supply energy in the country. In this state, experts are finding alternative supply of energy like solar powers, wind mills, geothermal power and hydroelectric power. These problems was stated in the documentary and therefore became a way to open the minds of the people to be more attentive on their society. Nature, as how much it helps our lives also have their limits when it comes to the resources. And we, people, should also have the limit in using them and knowledge on how to use them in a right way. I, myself, was shocked to see how some of the places in our country is suffering from this problems and thinking that I am one of the lucky yet people who’s living with the resources and not minding any problem with those. Watching the documentary, I recalled how my parents always told me to waste water, food, and paper when I was a kid. And now I fully understand what’s that supposed to mean. That I, in that small way can help to slow down the decreasing rate of the natural resources we have. Documentaries always give its audience a learning in the end, and this one, Oras Na, is saying the people should at least conserve water and energy, lessen the catching of fishes, and stop the cutting of trees. Since we are living in an urban and centralized place, which we are one lucky people, we are not yet experiencing this problems unlike the places featured on the documentary, so it is easy for us to waste every time and opportunity that we are wasting any of these natural resources. As what I’ve said in the second paragraph, each are having their deadlines. And the deadlines set is going near. We should start taking care of what we have which we must have done before, before we regret and suffer from itself.

Malaysia : Making Patriotism Trough Primary School Education Essay

Discussing about creating the nation-state in all country seems to be the same. It should include too many times, property or self-sacrifice in order to making the â€Å"intelligence typical patriotism stereotype† among the citizens. It is depends on the strategy that applied to achieve the goal of â€Å"united people†. Taken from Malay aphorism â€Å"melentur buluh biarlah daripada rebungnya† seems to be the correct words to explain the strategy of creating this sort of thinking to the Malaysian people. The meaning is, when we want to â€Å"train† somebody, we should to start from the beginning of his life. Back to the point, Malaysia consist of more over 28. 3 million of population and separated into more than 50 ethnic randomly, and also consist a various believe and religion. However, they believe that they live in a peaceful and harmony country that no discrimination according to their ethnicity because they are in â€Å"one nation-state†. Thus, this mean the succeeded through the education able to abolished this sort of thinking. Primary school, is the first medium to educate the â€Å"fresh citizen† in order to create the citizen who love their country. Basically, Malaysia had two different elementary school that can be divide to three categories. There are â€Å"Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK)† which teach all Malaysian student with â€Å"no specific priority† and â€Å"Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (SJK)† which we can divide to two, there are â€Å"Sekolah Jenis Kebangsan Cina (SJKC)† for the Malaysian Chinese and â€Å"Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT)† for the Malaysian Indian. For instantly, there is no obstacles to create this patriots even the school are separated. The question is, how do Malaysia do to overcome this problem? In this article, I will revealed how, through the study of Literacy, Art and â€Å"Spiritual and Morality† that teaching to the â€Å"fresh citizen† in a primary school, contribute to the creating of a nation. More than learning the languages, literacy teaching in primary school also aimed to deliberate the first layer of Malaysian history to the elementary school student. This shows, in the ages of seven until twelve years old, the pupils are expose about the beginning of nation state through language and history. Moreover, the literacy is not limited. It is consist of whole element of study. In addition, it is not only practices in the school, but also out from the teaching and learning session. For example, â€Å"Bahasa Melayu† is the compulsory subject that teaching in all types of school. The syllabus of this subject, is not only concern in reading, grammar, comprehension or composition, but the aim to teach this subject, is to exposed to the learning of the first languages and also the various ethnicity of Malaysia. Yes, languages is one of the â€Å"main course† in creating the nation. Thus, this subject are reliable and help much. In addition, the literacy also combined the â€Å"General History† teaching through the same subject. For examples Gurindam and Pantun which known as the tradition of the Malay, also learn about the different of Ethnic, Traditional Wearing, Festival and so on. From the argument, this shows the literacy teaching in primary school indirectly, help the pupils to know the Malaysian in the best medium. Secondly, I would like to stand with the most best approach in gain and grab the attention of the â€Å"Fresh Citizen† who are have the limited information of the â€Å"nation state†. Through the â€Å"Art† studies, this â€Å"Upstart Citizen† will easily conduct to the patriotism. In a primary school, most of the subjects teaching are connected with art. Thus art is not limited to the subject of Painting and Music. It is included in the syllabus of the other subject. But the question is, how far this subject can contribute to the shaped of nation state?. It kind of nonsense when talking about the â€Å"Malaysian Administration† to the kid who are not reached â€Å"Puberty† of course. But, we can teach them about the tradition and ethnicity. How? By subject painting art, there are syllabus on painting the poster of â€Å"traditional wearing† and the poster of â€Å"Malaysian peaceful state†, â€Å" Malaysian Festival† and so on. While, in Music subject, the pupils sing a song from 1Malaysia culture Language such as, song of â€Å"SuriRam† the Malay epic song, â€Å"Surang Gani† the Tamil song present the indian Malaysian, â€Å"Wo Hen How† the Mandarins song present Chinese ethnic and other ethnic songs. The best part is, during school assembly, they are required to sing the national anthem â€Å"Negaraku†, the state anthem and their school song. As we know the music is one of the attractive medium to deliver massage. Thus the â€Å"Negaraku† or other patriotic song can be the medium to educate the â€Å"Upstart Citizen† to be one of the state lover. It is reliable prove that the art subject in primary school, give the big impact to promote and contribute to the nation state. Next, through the spiritual and morality subject such as â€Å"Pendidikan Agama Islam†, â€Å"Pendidkan Moral†, and â€Å"Pendidikan Sivik† the pupils are taught about the positive value such as grateful, patriotism, love, helping each other, hardworking, etc. This shows the this subject is not only focus on the religion purely, but, the pupils are exposed to become the better citizen of Malaysia. To go trough one by one, â€Å"Pendidikan Agama Islam† basically teach the â€Å"religion needed† to the Muslim. There is generally about â€Å"Fardhu Ain† and â€Å"Fardhu Kifayah† which each of this teaching concern on the basic â€Å"Muslim Ummah† that concern to the â€Å"Islamic Lifestyle† that shows the good attitude. â€Å"Pendidikan Moral† is the subject that teach the Morality of being the good citizen in term of manners and healthy life style. While â€Å"Pendidikan Sivik† is teaching about the civic manners in a country. The similarity of this three subject are, its aim to â€Å"Brainwash† the â€Å"Fresh Citizen† to be a citizen that have a â€Å"Good Manners†, indirectly, its contribute to the developing the manners of the citizen in an nation state. To sum up, the primary education are the best time to shaped the minded of its citizen in order to be the nation-state because the â€Å"Fresh citizen† are more easier to adapt the new information and can stay along with the new environment . Malaysia got a various ethnicity and have the separated primary school, but, its no mean the spirit of the self-belonging to Malaysia cannot be develop. The syllabus teaching in all primary school seems to be the same. The Literacy, Art and Spiritual and Morality, shows through this taught of subject in primary school can produce the citizen that love their nation-state. Additional Reference 1) Ayop, M, R,. (2011) Gagasan 1Malaysia : Kesinambungan Bina Negara-Bangsa : Gempita Maju Sdn. Bhd. , Selangor. D. E 2) Imran A. (2013) Tingkat Semangat Patriotik Melalui Lagu : Bernama. [Online] Available at: http://web10. bernama. com 3) Muslim, N. & Alias, J. (unknown) PATRIOTISME: KONSEP DAN PELAKSANAANNYA DI MALAYSIA. : UKM [Online] Available at : http://repo. uum. edu. my/1866/1/35. pdf ——————————————– [ 1 ]. BERNAMA, (2013). Penduduk Malaysia kini 28. 3 juta : Berita Harian [Online] available at : http://www. bharian. com. my/bharian/articles/PendudukMalaysiakini28_3juta/Article/artikel [ 2 ]. Zainuddin, R. (2006), Perkembangan pendidikan di Malaysia : Penyata razak 1956, Sejarah Malaysia, Malaysia : Fajar Bakti Selangor D. E [ 3 ]. Prof. madya Hj Ibrahim, (2009) PENDIDIKAN SENI DI MALAYSIA ANTARA HARAPAN DAN REALITI [Online] Availale at : http://wwwartstudent. blogspot. com/2009/10/pendidikan-seni-di-malaysia-antara. html [ 4 ]. Unknown (2012) SUKATAN PELAJARAN PENDIDIKAN ISLAM SEKOLAH RENDAH [Online] Available at : http://amrahahmad. blogspot. com/2012/04/sukatan-pendidikan-islam-sekolah-rendah. html.

Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Review - Research Paper Example With a sound Quality Assurance in place, customers and end users of products and services of a particular company is guaranteed that its output conforms with the required quality of such product and service that will meet and exceed the customer’s need. Kaizen is a Japanese Quality Assurance system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership. It is a system that involves every employee - from upper management to the cleaning crew. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is not a once a month or once a year activity. It is continuous quality improvement process. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon receive a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee per year which are written down, shared and implemented (Anon., 2011). The limitation of Kaizen is that it is dependent on communication due to the nature of its system improvement coming from suggestions. Any breakdown in communication will impair its efficacy. TQM on the other hand is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback (Anon., 2011). TQM requirements may be defined separately for a particular organization or may be in adherence to established standards, such as the International Organization for Standardizations  ISO 9000  series. At its core, Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services and the culture in which they work (Anon., 2011). TQM as a matter of quality principle is not known to have limitation but only the employees who are implementing it. C. The main

Critical issues in criminal justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Critical issues in criminal justice - Essay Example The police-dogs are considered as complete or full-fledged police officer. Assaulting them is therefore punishable by the federal laws. Initially protected by the state laws, the police dogs are now protected by federal laws with individuals found guilty of assaulting the law enforcing animals standing the risk of serving ten years in prison or paying a fine of at least $1 000. This paper will address the topic by discussing the various legal and social issues surrounding the use of the canines in law enforcement. It is important to note that the police dogs being relied on to establish links in various crimes such as searching of cadavers, explosives, drugs etc., need to be protected by the law due to the sensitivity of the areas they are involved. For instance, in a case where a police dog injures a civilian in the course of duty, the police department from which it serves are held liable. In the same way, if an individual is found to have assaulted the police dog popularly known as K-9 a homophone of canine in the United States, they are made to stand trial and risk a possible conviction for the felony. This paper will therefore look at the federal laws and how different states protect and set laws in line with the use of the canines in law enforcement. A police dog just like any other personnel in the law enforcement sector has various responsibilities and rights that define the scope of their work. However, in the use of police dogs, there is no set or standardized set of laws that define how the dogs should be used. For instance, in trying to hunt down a suspect and presentation in court to assist in investigations or stand trial, the use of police dogs and the force applied may only be justified by the immediate behavior of the suspect such as resistance to arrest or the severity of the crime. The use of canine force is not always justified. In some cases, the police can

Safety Not Guaranteed Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Safety Not Guaranteed - Movie Review Example After the Seattle Magazine’s editor Bridget screams on its staff for getting new ideas, Jeff springs up with an idea of writing an article about a queer advertisement that was posted in a newspaper. Bridget agrees and two interns including Darius and Arnau to work with Jeff in finding out about the advertisement poster. For this purpose the three of them go to a small town in order to look for the poster of the advertisement and Jeff is also determined to look for Liz. After watching out for the post office box, Darius and Arnau area able to identify the man who posted the advertisement – Kenneth, a queer man who has great interest in physics and quantum mechanics. Jeff goes to meet Kenneth at his house as a travelling partner but he is turned down. Jeff sends Darius thinking she is more suitable in piquing Kenneth’s interest. It happens that Darius and Kenneth soon bond and later, although it is not explicitly stated, Darius and Kenneth travel across time togeth er. ... Stage 2 occurs as Darius is able to interest him so that after she leaves her phone number on a soup can, Kenneth calls her. Darius pretends to have read the advertisement and have come as a travelling partner with Kenneth and when Kenneth calls Darius they both decide on a meeting spot to discuss about their â€Å"mission†. Kenneth believes that government agents are after him for discovering a way to travel back in time and so he is also a little suspicious of Darius. It happens that when Darius drives off to meet Kenneth, her car is being followed by people making Kenneth paranoid so that he cancels their meeting. At this point, Darius seems to have passed stage 3 of friendship and seems to be going towards a more romantic type of a relationship where the stage 1 has already been initiated with their meetings and interactions. Their next interaction occurs when the two decide to meet at a restaurant to discuss about their mission. The two have a friendly conversation althou gh Kenneth seems not to want to disclose much information. Kenneth then feels a sudden instinct to reach out to his car but Darius stops and reassures him thereby enabling the building of trust. There is an intense increase in their communication and closeness as the two prepare for their mission running through woods, learning to shoot at the bottles, and learning to prevent getting caught by the government agencies. This allows Kenneth and Darius to bond so intensely that Darius starts loving Kenneth and this relationship goes to a new step of commitment as in the end it implicitly seems that Kenneth now lets go of his efforts to be with Belinda, Kenneth’s girlfriend, as he has Darius with him now who has travelled with him back