Looking for Alaska Essay Example for Free

Looking for Alaska Essay John Green’s 2006 novel Looking for Alaska personally affected me as I could relate to one of the main characters Miles (Pudge). The theme of belonging was also very relevant as this novel touches on the concern of Miles fitting into his new school and finding out how everything works at Culver Creek Preparatory. I directly can relate to Miles in this sense as I am still new and am trying to figure out how my new school works and also finding a friendship group that I am comfortable in. This novel is great because it raises questions about individuals understanding of true friendship, love, loyalty and having a sense of belonging. It shows the importance of truly living life to the fullest rather that just watching it fly by. The conflicts within the characters themselves lead readers inward to examine how much everyone needs a sense knowing where we belong. Pudge buys the cigarettes to show that he can be a part of his new friendship group’s crowd. A certain amount of peer pressure was probably involved, with Pudge worried about ‘fitting in’ and making friends. â€Å"The Colonel talked me into paying five dollars for a pack of Marlboro Lights I had no intention of ever smoking. † I think that by Miles giving into this peer pressure he would hope that it would make him feel more normal and apart of that what his friends were partaking in. The use of first person narrative point of view allowed me to experience things as Miles does. It gave me a deeper understanding of how he is affected by people, events and his own reactions and feelings as the novel progresses. This is no more clearly seen than in the event of Alaska dying, I was limited to Miles’ own feelings and emotions surrounding her death. The idea of guilt and loss becomes apparent as we see him struggle to deal with her death and the role he played in it, with him trying to figure out where he belongs. He experiences a loss of innocence as he is forced to re-evaluate his philosophy on life and find his own place in the world. Alaska’s death aids in Miles’ coming-of-age journey. â€Å"I felt the total loss of her, still reeling from the idea that she was not only gone from this world, but from them all† This can be very relatable for other audiences who might have suffered a great loss like Miles’. Looking for Alaska depicts many messages about one’s vital need to belong, some of which I can personally relate to. As well as other aspects of the novel that other audiences can personally relate to.

Stock Options Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Stock Options Since the late 1980’s more and more people have been given the opportunity to purchase stock options. As of 2001, ten million employees have chosen to purchase stock options. Another survey established that 97 of the top 100 e-commerce companies gave the choice of options this year. For these reasons, it is important to understand what stock options are, the different types of options, and their advantages and disadvantages. A stock option gives any employee the right to buy a certain number of shares in the company at a fixed price for a certain number of years. Employees who have been given the choice of stock options hope that the share price will go up and that they will be able to cash in by purchasing the stock at the lower grant price and then selling the stock at the current market price. Stock option plans can be a flexible way for companies to share ownership with employees, reward them for performance, and attract and retain a motivated staff. These plans could also encourage the employees to look in that best interest of the company and other shareholders. For growth-oriented smaller companies, options are a great way to preserve cash while giving employees a piece of future growth. They can also work for public firms whose benefit plans are well established, but who want to include employees in ownership. Options are not a mechanism for existing owners to sell shares and are usually inappropriate for companies whose future growth is uncertain. They can also be unappealing in small, closely held companies that do not want to go public or be sold because they may find it difficult to create a market for the share. There have been disagreement on whether or not options are actual ownership. Some believe they are ownership because employees do not receive them for free, they use their own money to purchase the share. Others believe that since the employees can sell their shares a short time after purchasing them they do not have the long-term ownership goal. A few simple terms with stock options are a call, a put, and a premium. A call is the right to buy the stock, a put is the right to sell the stock and its premium is the price of the option. Overall, options allow you to participate in price movements without committing the large amount of funds needed to buy stock outright. ... ...s are even hired, stock options enable companies to recruit better employees. Once the employees are hired, they work harder for the sake of the company as well as a rise in their shares, and therefore, the company is able to retain hard working elites. Another positive remark about stock options is that companies are not required by GAP to record them as an expense which, in turn, inflates their earnings. Just as before with the employee’s stock income, the company receives a tax deduction as well. When the employee exercises his stock then sells it in the market he receives an income, and this amount received by the employee is equal to the tax break granted to the company. Hence, the larger the price difference, the better it is for both the employee and employer. To conclude, stock options are increasingly being used as incentives for employees in companies around the world. Statistics state that the increased use of stock options privileges has increased the work ethic of employees, thus increasing sales. Stock options are a good non-cash compensation for increasing the moral of employees, but one should note that the underlying tax regulations could be complicated.

Examine the portrayal of cultural poverty in “Saved” and “The Wasp Factory”

Cultural poverty can be defined as lacking society's principles in many ways. â€Å"The Wasp Factory† and â€Å"Saved† deal with dysfunctional families living in a community that is deprived of hope and aspiration. Their way of life is violent and gothic due to the deficiency of society's ethics and morals. This is reflected in the characters attitudes and minds which to them is all they have ever known. Their isolation from education and society's support structure limits their knowledge of how to live in a community. Lack of education is probably the most defining factor determining how a society advances and improves. Frank's world is completely his creation, with his own morals, principles and rules. He doesn't know how to socialise as he has never experienced life through the point of view of another human being. His total upbringing by his father was completely orchestrated mentally and physically. Frank epitomises the extremes of society's norms at the time that â€Å"The Wasp Factory† was written when Margaret Thatcher was in power. Thatcher's belief when she was in power was that it's â€Å"Every man for himself† which created social isolation between different families, as can be seen in the families of both â€Å"The Wasp Factory† and â€Å"Saved†. Frank's family sounds highly dysfunctional when we discover how he talks of how Eric's mother haemorrhaged and bled to death when Eric was born. His opinion of how Eric was the first murderer of the family is very sinister and thought provoking, â€Å"Old Eric beat me to it, killing his mum before he had even drawn breath†. Frank doesn't even exist in society which is one of the reasons why he has no education because he could never go to school. The same can be said of the characters in â€Å"Saved† who are illiterate and uneducated which can be shown through their vocabulary. No signs of education can be seen in any of the characters due to their personalities and lifestyles. Also the accent that comes through the vocabulary makes the characters seem different, as in our society we are not use to hearing their accents and generally their lifestyles seem isolated from society. We never hear of how they survive, where their income comes from nor even simple daily routines such as house hold duties. Even though the characters speech in â€Å"Saved† is altered, it brings the reader closer to the characters and they seem more human, which is why we understand the characters more personally and understand their different lifestyles. Social isolation is another aspect that affects the characters in â€Å"The Wasp Factory† and â€Å"Saved†. In â€Å"The Wasp Factory†, Frank understands how his island is just a miniscule part of the planet and knows that he limits his own knowledge of first hand experiences of other places, but the reason why his life is surrounded and clouded by the fact that he will never leave the island is deeper. He believes he has been treated cruelly by society and believes that it is influential and contaminating. This is largely due to the fact that when Eric left the island, he was exposed to the social pressures. He says, â€Å"Eric chose a path and followed it – that path led to the destruction of most of what he was†. Frank believes that Eric developing a mental illness as we learn in â€Å"What Happened to Eric† and his personality change is a result of his leaving the island and returning with a changed heart, indicating the world is a cruel and life-changing place. Frank sees his island as a haven, his protection from the cruelty and dangers of the outside world. He even says, â€Å"I don't bother people, and they best not bother me†, which shows he created isolation purposely, and that he isn't a shy or unsociable person. In â€Å"Saved† the setting reflects the characters isolation from society. â€Å"Saved† is set on a completely bare stage, which helps to create its detachment. At the time that â€Å"Saved† was written, the economy in Britain was in decline and unemployment rose, and this is reflected in the play. The society that the play is set was very capitalistic. Capitalism is a social system based on the principle of individual right, and is reflected in the play as the social class the characters are in is segregated. Bond is also trying to address a political issue with this play, Violence will only stop when we live in a just society in which all people are equal in all significant respects. Capitalism can't do this because its political ethos is competitiveness. The stoning of the baby is a consequence of this, but the eruption of violence has nothing to do with the preceding action or with the object of violence, the baby. It's just the result of the general situation (being bored, having no aims in life) and some of their cries while they murder the baby are ruling-class slogans. Aggression is not directed against the source of alienation, but against human nature, in this case the baby as the epitome of neediness and hope for the future. The young people express that they are not interested in children. Both books have similarities and differences in the way women are portrayed. The Wasp Factory†, Frank is brought up entirely by his father, and the effect this has on Franks view of women is very negative – he says, â€Å"My greatest enemies are women and the sea – women because they are weak and live in the shadow of men† (Pg 43). Frank also has a view that women like to see men helpless as he says â€Å"I expected she would just let me crack my skull on the pavement because women like to see men helpless† (Pg 79). Frank's mother also left the family when he was very young, which may be another reason why he resents the existence of women. In â€Å"Saved† the women are portrayed as weak and insecure. Pam is a very fragile character, and is easily hurt or made happy. Her emotions swing from one extreme to the other, in scene ten, she talks to Len about him seeing other women, â€Å"Yer ain' a bad sort†, and the next minute she is screaming at him, â€Å"Yer're a stubborn sod! † (Pg 95). Pam's relationship with Fred is definitely one way, at the beginning of scene 6 we see Pam practically begging Fred to come home that night, â€Å"I don't care if yer bin with yer girls, come ‘ome after† (Pg 59), and Fred basically doesn't really care and just says, â€Å"There's plenty a blokes knockin' about, why don't yer pick on someone else? (Pg 58). Even after the murder of her baby, Pam puts her relationship with Fred above the fact that he contributed towards the baby's murder, which is a reflection on how much she really cared for her child. Relationships are important in society as they help build foundations on how to communicate and acknowledge the fact that everyone is different. In â€Å"Saved† there is not one strong relationship based on trust. The only relationship which can be examined is between Harry and Mary, but even this has its flaws. Harry says that he only lives with Mary as she does the â€Å"washin' an cookin† (Pg 116), and he has no trust towards her as he thinks that if he left, Mary would easily find a replacement, â€Å"she would soon ‘ave someone in my bed† (Pg 119) One thing that is common in the main characters of both books is the lack of hope and aspiration. It is hard to visualise how the characters would develop as time goes by as they all seem to be in a daily routine which limits their awareness beyond their own surroundings and excludes them from their community. In â€Å"Saved† the only character who is idealistic and positive is Len. The author writes, â€Å"Len does not know what he will do next, but then he has never done†. Len's optimism is apparent because he has seen people at their very worst and most hopeless, yet he chooses to remain and not leave. We might believe that for Len to go further in life and to make something of himself he would have to break free of his current situation but he continues to believe that things will eventually work out for himself and for Pam. Bond says that the play is â€Å"irresponsibly optimistic†. This is true as the ending might be a new beginning for both Len and Pam (Possibly because Pam now has her Radio Times back). In â€Å"The Wasp Factory† Frank is optimistic about many things. Firstly he has a sense of optimism that has been enforced by his father. Frank understands that he was never going to be educated in public schools, but he believes that he is just as well educated as others, â€Å"I probably know more about the conventional school subjects than most people of my age†. Frank is also optimistic about Eric coming home as he has a very strong link with him, even though he is certified insane. The ending of the book is also positive; Frank says â€Å"I thought one door had shut behind me years ago, now the door closes, and my journey begins† (Pg 184). Even with the discovery of his new identity, Frank is confident that his â€Å"Journey† will still continue, and that although he realises he is a girl, he is still the same person, â€Å"But I am still me, I am the same person† (Pg 182). It could be said that human beings adapt to their surroundings, which is scientifically true in the case of animals such as rabbits where their fur turns white in winter. Humans are all born into society, and it is true that your surroundings can have an effect on a persons mind and personality. In â€Å"The Wasp Factory† and â€Å"Saved†, the characters are limited in their awareness and they have no perspective in life. They are living in their own isolated areas with no interaction with other people in their community and this limits their knowledge.

Equality and diversity Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Like the ubiquitous Irish jokes, they are mostly gentle put-downs. In itself not seen as harmful, it can lead to more aggressive behaviour when it gets out of hand. Scale 2 is Avoidance where the majority group shuns the out group and refuses all contact socially. They practise ostracism. Scale 3 is Discrimination and the active component of prejudice where the majority group deny the out group opportunities and services which are deemed exclusive to the majority. The minority group is prevented from achieving equality through education, jobs and social ascendancy. They are suppressed and are not allowed to realise, what to them are legitimate aspirations. Scale 4 is Physical Attack where as an example, in the U. S.A. , a group calling themselves the Ku Klux Klan formed by the white majority randomly lynched members of the Negroid black community. Pogroms against Jews in Eastern Europe are another example of physical attack of the out group where they also happened to burn and vandalise property belonging to the out group. Scale 5 is Extermination where the majority group seeks to completely wipe out the minority group from the face of the earth. We will write a custom essay sample on Equality and diversity or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Examples are, the ‘Final Solution’ of Nazi Germany in attempting to exterminate the Jews in what came to be known as the Holocaust, and ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Armenia and Bosnia. Although not in any sense a minority group (indeed females are numerically greater than males in most countries), sexism involves prejudice and discrimination practised purely on the basis of sex. As an example, it may be cited that although women are as well qualified as men in most Western developed societies, less than 10 per cent of top managerial positions in industry are held by women. This has been dubbed the ‘glass ceiling’ effect, where although in theory senior positions are available to women, they come up against an invisible barrier when they try to go up the promotional ladder. As regards theories of prejudice, the most well recognized is the F (Fascism) Scale devised by Adorno et al. (1950) to measure the attributes of what they called the authoritarian personality, which was hypothesised as a precursor of prejudice. They held that the authoritarian personality is developed through childhood experiences of harsh treatment by parents. The hostility felt towards the parents is suppressed and later displaced onto minority groups and result in acts of aggression. However, they are submissive towards authority figures. Although the measure (F Scale) has been validated up to a point, it has been proved too blanket a form of measurement ignoring individual and situational differences in levels of prejudice.