Symbolism In Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie Essay -- Tennesse

Symbolism In Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Symbolism is a major aspect in Tennessee William's famous play, "The Glass Menagerie." On the surface, the short slice of life story seems to be simple. However, if the reader digs deeper they will find that there are several symbols that give the play a deeper meaning. Each character defines each symbol in a different way. Aside from character symbols, there is overall symbolism in this play. It is set in a memory, so it creates a soft, dream-like setting. This lends to the whole idea behind the play that the characters are unable to function in reality. "None of the characters are capable of living in the present. All of the characters retreat into their separate worlds to escape the brutalities of life." (Ross).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are some very noticeable symbols that have been analyzed many times since study has begun on "The Glass Menagerie." The first is the actual glass menagerie that represents the fragility of the Wingfield's dreamlike existence. The second is the fire escape, which reflects each character's tendency to escape from reality in their own ways. The third is the yellow dress, which represents youth and the past. The gentleman caller, Jim O'Connor, represents change and also hopes for the future, as well as a reflection of Amanda's past. Tom also has his own symbols of escape. He uses his poetry and the movies to run from his problems at home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Literary symbols can be both universal and conventional symbols that derive additional meanings through their use in a particular work." (Kirszner and Mandell pg. 245) The actual animal collection, or glass menagerie, symbolizes each character and the story. Like the glass animals, the character's realities are very fragile and in danger of being shattered. It is also as though the characters are stuck in glass, unable to move or change, also like the glass animals. They are inanimate, as the characters have learned to be to hide and escape from the pain that life has given them. Laura loves the glass animals because her family is like them. It will not take much, like Tom leaving, to shatter their whole world. Laura is symbolized by her fragile collection of glass animals, the glass menagerie. Her favorite animal is the unique unicorn. The unicorn is different because it has a horn. When Laura was in high school, she wore a b... ...r enrolled her in. She becomes physically ill when she thinks of leaving her protective shell of the apartment. When she does go to class, she throws up on the floor. When Jim comes over, she becomes faint. Then he breaks her unicorn's horn. In this moment, it is as though this trauma with Jim has desensitized Laura to her fear of the unknown. The reader can only hope that she gathers strength from this event, and she is able to get over her shyness and do something to better her chances for survival on her own. The change for Tom is less evident. He is classified as a "dreamer." In this new industrial world, there is little room for those who are not hard working and practical. Jim calls him Shakespeare, although he secretly laughs at him for being so whimsical as wanting to be a poet. Jim, on the other hand is a practical and loyal man. He has aspirations of love family, and success. That is why he cannot stay in the Wingfield dreamland, and leaves as quickly as he arrives there. The many symbols in "The Glass Menagerie" can be interpreted in several ways. These are just a few interpretations derived from reading the play and other essays that analyze "The Glass Menagerie."

Is Reading Enough? Essay

Lyrical Ballads was an experimental book of poems written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge in the late seventeen hundreds. This book of poems was called experimental because the style it was written in was unlike anything of that time. In this collection of poems is a poem written by Wordsworth called â€Å"The Tables Turned.† At first glance of this poem, one can assume that this is an anti-intellectual poem. Reason for this is in the opening paragraph when the speaker in the poem tells his friend to, â€Å"quit his books.† So why would Wordsworth and Coleridge write a book against books? For starters, this poem is against conventional learning. The person that is being spoken to in this paper is probably a common person who at that time is under the notion that you can learn everything and anything from a book. The speaker of the poem calls books a â€Å"dull and endless strife.† This line must have sound as absurd then as it does now. In each semester of college so far, I am averaging about 10 books a semester that I have to read, which does gives the impression of endless. However, there are a countless number of books in the world, each with its own set of knowledge and information. So can books be considered dull? To top it all off, he goes on to say, â€Å"Come, here the woodland linnet / how sweet his music; on my life / there’s more of wisdom in it.† Is Wordsworth saying that there is more wisdom in the song of the woodland linnet than in a book? The answer to all these questions is yes and no. A woodland linnet can never teach someone calculus, psychology, or even how to tie ones shoe. However, no matter how much you can read, you will never hear the sound of music coming from the woodland linnet. This feeling that one receives from that experience is just as important, perhaps even more important, than reading about it. At the end of the poem Wordsworth goes on to say, â€Å"enough of science and of art†¦bring with you a heart / that watches and receives.† The words at the end are very peculiar. The heart is not the organ that stores knowledge or gives us sight. Wordsworth uses the word heart to imply feelings because that is what most people associate the word heart with. Wordsworth is saying that one needs more than just books, and pictures. Watches and receives are also interesting words. When someone watches something, one has to look out, and when someone receives something, one takes in. So the words watch and receive imply give and take, action and reaction. In other words, it means interaction. One needs to have this experience of interaction or else they will never fully understand. The poem â€Å"Old Man Traveling† (also by Wordsworth in the book Lyrical Ballads) has the same theme of needing experience. This poem is about and old man walking and someone is watching him. The person is watching the expressions of the man and saying what he thinks of him. So the person is reading the old man. The person says that the old man is â€Å"by nature led / to peace so perfect†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This deduces an image of a happy and peaceful man. The last part of the poem is different than the first. The person actually goes up to the old man and asks him where he is going. The old man replies that he is going to visit his dying son. The old man, then, really is not so peaceful and perfect. There is no way that the person could have derived this from just reading the man, the person needed interaction. So does reading and interaction go hand-in-hand? To one extent it does because reading is a kind of interaction. However, reading is only interaction between the person and the book. Reading can work with your mind and senses to create a picture in your mind. Nevertheless the only physical aspect of interaction with reading is the holding of the book. Reading offers very little physical interaction. Referring back to the original poem, the thought of needing more than books goes a little deeper. In line 28 of the poem, Wordsworth says â€Å"we murder to dissect.† Literally speaking, we have to murder an animal in order to analyze it and find out more about it. What is left at the end is a disgusting image of bones and blood of what use to be the animal that was being dissected. This can also connect to reading. In many literature classes, people often have to analyze a particular peace to find out what it really is implying. This means that the students go through line by line, and sometimes word by word, and try to come up with some metaphorical translation for the work. What is left is a whole bunch of random lines and words witch are the bones of the work, and a whole sea of ink as to what those bones can mean. In doing this, we often â€Å"murder† the original work. So what was once a poem is now a complicated mess. Wordsworth claims that â€Å"our meddling intellect / mishapes the beauteous forms of things.† Wordsworth acknowledges the fact that as a whole, humans have a desire to learn more, but at times this desire can be destructive. An example if this is a Seurat painting. If we dissect it, and take it apart, the closer that we look at it we will see a bunch of dots. By leaving it at that, and concluding that Seruat is a man whose paintings is just a bunch of dots, then we have murdered the painting. What we have to do after dissecting it, is to put it back to together, and realize the beauty in the work, and then take it a step further and say that he did that using pointillism. To take the idea a final step further, Wordsworth says, â€Å"one impulse from a vernal wood / may teach you more of man; / or moral evil and of good / than all the sages can.† One can sit down and read all about Buddha and Christ, but again, all that person is doing is reading. In only reading, one can never find out anything through experience or anything new because by reading books, you are never fully up to date because someone had to take the time to write the book and then you have to take the time to read it. This creates a kind of dungeon for ourselves which we our minds are trapped into what the books tell us to believe. In the poem â€Å"The Dungeon,† also in the book Lyrical Ballads though it is written by Coleridge, tells the story of a person in a dungeon. This is where we put people who offend us, and Wordsworth questions that in the poem by saying sarcastically, â€Å"and this is their best cure!† Wordsworth said that the energy of the person in the dungeon â€Å"roll(s) back upon his heart / and stagnate and corrupt; till changed to poison.† This poem is a story about a person in a dungeon, however this can be taken a s tep further by saying that this is what happens to a person if they make a mental dungeon. Their thoughts will stagnate and corrupt. In writing Lyrical Ballads, Coleridge and Wordsworth planned on using layman’s terms to get their point across. They do not use long elaborate words that can confuse some people, because they wanted their points to be clear and that everyone can understand them. So when Wordsworth tells the person in the poem â€Å"The Tables Turned† to â€Å"quit your books,† understand that he is saying that you need more to life than just books, you need experiences as well.

Agriculture in Nepal

The major economic source of the majority of the families in our country is agriculture. More than 70% of our human resources are involved in agriculture and this sector provides for nearly 40% of the gross domestic product. Thus agriculture is the major occupation, main enterprise and the major lifestyle of the country. The unit of the agricultural system in our country currently is a family. If we take a general representative example we see that the enterprise has familial investment, and the products of the enterprise are consumed in the family itself, and the products do not have access to the markets.Once in a while, if the production of the family exceeds the consumption it is obviously difficult for a family to find the markets, transport the products to the markets if they find one, and bargain for profits, and for the security of their farm or animal products. To add to that competitions with established national and international enterprises leads to economic failures whic h have interrupted the few efforts of enterpreneurship that were tried. With both remnants of the century-old systems and the sparks of modern agriculture systems seen, the major trends of the national agricultural behaviour, systems and production are as follows:1. Investment: The major share of investment on agriculture are occupied by land and human labour. Technology, irrigation, infrastructure development, and provision of chemical fertilizers are out of imagination and potentials for a family, and the government also is still to concentrate on this issue. Also a sizable number does not even have access to cultivable land and thus cheap human labour is all they can sell, which further limits their ambitions for financial prosperity.Even families with land are devoid of modern technology due to economic and/or educational reasons. The main agricultural tools are still the centuries old local kuto, kodalo and halo. 2. Financial Unit: At present, the study of the Madhes, Pahad, Hi mal or any geography reveals that entrepreneurship is lacking in part due to land fragmentation . Due to lack of collective agricultural systems small familial financial units are created which are incapable of competing with larger established national or international financial enterprises.Product Diversification: Although agriculture has to favorable according to the geology and climate, the present trend is that all families across the nation from mountains to the plains and across the east-west channel grow the same varieties of crops and rear the same livestock. There is a trend of each family growing all it needs for subsistence rather than farming according to the microclimate. 4. Mentality: The educated youth do not wish to pursue agriculture as a career. There is a general lack of promoting entrepreneurship in the country in general.Research and Development: There is little co-ordination if any between the limited Agricultural School and Research Centres. Farmers can only regret when their whole harvest is destroyed by pests. Lack of proper testing and pretesting of hybrids continue to ruin the investments of the poor farmers. Furthermore, it has been a challenge to retain the agroscientists and technicians in the country as seen in other technical sectors. 6. Support Systems and Infrastructure: There is a poor state of credit provision to the farmers. The corporate banks are investing well below the policy requirement of 10% in agriculture.Also the interest on agricultural loans is very high compared to real state and automobile loans. There is virtually no provision of insurance and securitization on the agriculture sector. The lack of supporting infrastructure needs no description, there are no adequate rural roads, storage facilities and cold-stores are a rarity and demand for the required electricity facilities is unmet. The focus of social and economic life of our country, the agriculture sector is still family-based, subsistent and non-profess ional. Therefore it has to be replaced to develop a technical, collective and entrepreneurial system of agriculture.

Econometric Methods Essay

Part A. Multiple choice questions Answer each question by circling one and only one answer. Each question is worth 3 marks (total 30 marks). 1. When estimating a linear probability model using OLS: a. The estimators are biased because errors are necessarily heteroskedastic b. The slope coefficient estimates cannot measure changes in the predicted probability of Y=1 c. The estimators can be asymptotically normally distributed d. All of the above 2. When internal validity is violated: a. OLS coefficients no longer measure the partial correlation between the explanatory variable and the dependent variable b. The population error terms cannot be normally distributed c. The dependent variable necessarily becomes skewed d. None of the above 3. Which of the following dependent variables is least like a limited dependent variable? a. Wages b. Net assets of a household (total assets minus debts) c. Number of visits to the dentist in a year d. An index of happiness where happiness is rated 1 to 10 4. A variable Y is a Bernoulli variable a. Its distribution has the usual 2 independent parameters representing the mean and the variance b. Its expected value equals the ratio of the probability of Y=0 to the probability of Y=1 c. Its variance equals the product of the probability of Y=0 and the probability of Y=1 d. All of the above 5. In the probit model seen in class a. The variance of the error term depends on the vector of explanatory variables b. The variance of the error term is assumed to be 1 c. The variance of the error term does not need to be specified because of the normality assumption d. The variance of the error term can be estimated from the variance of the estimated residual 6. In panel data, the problem of attrition refers to a. The presence of large measurement error in key variables b. The correlation of measurement errors with explanatory variables c. The misclassification of key dummy explanatory variables due to measurement error d. None of the above 7. In the probit model a. The partial effect of a single continuous explanatory variable X on the predicted probability has the same sign as the estimated coefficient on X b. The test statistic constructed by the ratio of the estimated coefficient to its standard error is normally distributed because we are using the normal distribution to model the expected value of the dependent variable c. The partial effects of an explanatory variable are quantitatively close to zero when the standard error of the coefficient on this variable is very large. d. All of the above 8. You have data on a sample of 95 managers working in large firms in Australia. You estimate a logit model of Y= 1 if earning >$500,000 per annum using as explanatory variables: F=1 if the manager is female (0 otherwise); PHD=1 if the manager has a PHD (0 otherwise); an interaction variable FPHD=F*PHD; TEN=tenure with the firm measured in years (a continuous variable). You find the following estimates: Indexi = 0.053 – 0.095 Fi + 0.020 PHDi + 0.007 FPHDi + 0.0015 TENi (0.002) (0.011) (0.009) (0.003) (0.0005) where the standard errors are denoted in parenthesis. You want to test H0: tenure has no effect on the probability of earning >$500,000 per annum versus H1: tenure has a positive effect on the probability of earning >$500,000 per annum. You will use a 5% level of significance to conduct this test. You get an asymptotic t-stat equal to 3.0. Using the tables provided at the end of the exam, choose one of the following as an appropriate critical value to conduct this test: a. 1.662 b. 1.645 c. 1.987 d. 1.960 e. 5.0239 9. Refer to the model and estimates in the previous question. Ceteris paribus, according to these estimates (and ignoring statistical significance): a. Women without PHDs have a higher probability of earning >$500,000 than men without PHDs. b. Men with PHDs have a lower probability of earning >$500,000 than men without PHDs. c. Women with PHDs have higher probability of earning >$500,000 than women without PHDs. d. Women with PHDs have higher probability of earning >$500,000 than men with PHDs. 10. Refer to the model and estimates in the previous question. You want to test that ceteris paribus, men and women have the same probability of earning >$500,000. Under the null, the Wald test statistic is asymptotically chi-squared distributed with a. 1 degree of freedom b. 90 degrees of freedom c. 93 degrees of freedom d. 2 degrees of freedom e. 3 degrees of freedom PART A. Multiple Choice 1. C 2. D 3. B 4. C 5. B 6. D 7. A 8. B 9. C 10. D SOLUTIONS Part B. Problem (Total 30 marks) Equity of access is a primary goal of many health systems. Determining whether Australia’s system (Medicare) meets this goal is an important research question. Consider the case of access to general practitioners (GPs). The probit results presented below in Table 4 are part of an analysis aimed at answering whether there is equitable access to GP services where access is defined on the basis of health needs rather than ability to pay. The data consists of a sample of 3207 single females who were surveyed throughout Australia in 1995. The â€Å"dependent variable† for the study was VISIT, an indicator variable that was equal to one if the women had visited a GP in the last two weeks and zero otherwise. The sample has been divided into two subsets depending on whether the women are less than 40 years old (the â€Å"young† sub-sample) or whether they are greater than 40 years old (the â€Å"old† subsample). Table 4 presents estimation results (variable defini tions follow the table). Young Old Table 4: Probit estimates for visit to GP* Variable Intercept -0.7910 (0.1602) -1.1570 (0.2495) AGE -0.0060 (0.0064) 0.0055 (0.0033) HEALTH 0.3930 (0.0687) 0.6131 (0.0746) KIDS 0.1651 (0.0881) -0.1479 (0.1159) INCOME 0.0003 (0.0032) -0.0052 (0.0037) TERTDUM 0.0120 (0.1042) 0.0844 (0.1509) TRADEDUM 0.1842 (0.0884) 0.2399 (0.1013) DIPDUM 0.0077 (0.1281) 0.0478 (0.1422) PHI 0.0258 (0.0783) 0.1781 (0.0768) Observations 1717 1490 Log-likelihood -935.52 -892.24 PART B. i. (8 marks) Discuss the effects of PHI on the probability of visiting a GP and compare these effects for the two subsamples of young and old women. Repeat the exercise for the KIDS variable. Do you think that these variables are likely to violate the zero conditional mean assumption? Discuss PHI: In both subsamples, the estimated coefficient on PHI is positive; ceteris paribus the probability of visiting a GP is higher for those with PHI than without. The size of coefficients may be discussed using the rule of thumb but these must not be confused with partial effects. The effect is statistically significant among the old while the opposite is true for the young. In the young subsample, the coefficient is insignificant at any conventional level (t statistic for testing irrelevance of PHI against the 2-sided alternative is 0.3295 < 1.645) whereas in the old subsample it is significantly different from zero at the 5% significance level (t statistic = 2.319 > 1.96). The sign is as expected since PHI makes it cheaper to use GP services and women who expect to visit GPs more often are more likely to purchase PHI. The latter implies that ZCM may be violated due to a selection effect. KIDS: In the young subsample, the coefficient on KIDS is positive and statistically different from zero at the 10% level (t statistic = 1.874 > 1.645); the probability of GP visit is higher for those with dependent children. In the old subsample, the sign of the coefficient indicates that the effect is negative but the coefficient is statistically insignificant from zero at conventional levels (t stat = 1.276 < 1.645). A priori, the expected sign is ambiguous; women may visit GPs for children’s medical care as well as their own (positive) but at the same time they may become busier due to child rearing (negative). For the old sample, KIDS may be older and hence mothers no longer visit GPs for the children’s health. Other reasonable explanations are acceptable. You can argue both ways on the ZCM assumption: for example, you can argue that fertility decisions are exogenous to GP visits. You could also argue that there is an omitted variable bias (KIDS is picking up some unobserved component – e.g. better health measurement – than what is being captured by the existing explanatory variables). Also if the true underlying relationship depends on the number of resident dependent chi ldren, KIDS is top-coded at 1, causing the ZCM assumption to fail due to a measurement error correlated with this variable. Additional material: You could also earn marks (lost elsewhere in the question) by discussing the size of the effects. For example, the effect among the young seems non-trivial in the sense that the coefficient’s magnitude is slightly over 40% of that of the coefficient on the poor health indicator (HEALTH) while for the old, the variable seems far less economically relevant relative to HEALTH. ii. (5 marks) If there is equity of access then variables related to income, education and private health insurance should not affect visits to GPs. When the models are re-estimated without these variables (i.e. with only AGE, HEALTH and KIDS included) the log-likelihood values are – 937.92 for the young sub-sample and –898.63 for the old. Using these results evaluate the null hypothesis of equity of access. Statement of the hypotheses: Calculated statistics: LR test statistics: LLRYOUNG = 2(-935.52+937.92) = 4.8; LLROLD = 2(-892.24+898.63) = 12.78. Distributions of the test statistics and critical values: They are asymptotically chi-squared distributed with 5 degrees of freedom under the null. The appropriate 10% and 5% critical values are 9.2364 and 11.0705 respectively. Decision rules and conclusions: Since LLRYOUNG < 9.2364, we fail to reject the null at 10% level in the young subsample; there is not enough evidence to conclude that income, education and PHI variables affect young women’s GP visits. Since LLROLD > 11.0705, we reject the null at the 5% significance level in the old subsample and conclude that there is some evidence against equity of access among the old women. iii. (4 marks) Consider two types of women: type #1 where AGE = 20, HEALTH = 1, INCOME = 20 and all other variables = 0; type #2 is identical except that AGE = 60. Write down the equation(s) you would use to compare the probability of visiting a GP for these two types of women. Using the probit results can you determine which of these two types of women are more likely to have visited a GP in the last two weeks? If your answer is yes then make the comparison, if your answer is no then explain what information you would need to make the comparison. One possible answer is to use the index and argue that the ranking by the probabilities will be the same as that provided by the index: Index for type #1 = -.791 + -.006*20 +.3930 + 0.0003*20 = -.5120 -.51 < Index for type #2 = -1.1570 + .0055*60 +.6131 – 0.0052*20 = -.3179 -0.32 Since the standard normal CDF increases in the probit index, type #2 woman is more likely to visit GPs than type #1 woman. Another possible answer is to write down the normal CDF for the two types and argue that the equation for type 2 will be greater than type 1. Additional material: You could also earn marks (lost elsewhere in the question) by calculating the difference in the probabilities using the table on p.10 of the exam paper; i.e. the difference in the predicted probabilities can be evaluated as (.5-.1255)-(0.5-.1950) = 0.0695 .07 higher for type 2. iv. (6 marks) In determining the sample to be used for estimation, any individual who did not report their income or reported zero income was deleted from the analysis. Do you see any real or potential problems with this modelling decision? Can you provide an alternative method to deal with this problem? Likely problems (one of the following or another sensible problem): -The potential selection bias which arises when the decision to report zero income or refuse reporting any is correlated with the decision to use GP services. For instant, top income groups may be more jealous of their income information and at the same time more likely to be health conscious and visit GPs in consequence; excluding the said individuals would affect all coefficient estimates as the model would have to predict a lower probability of GP visit on average. -The decrease in the sample size and the resulting increase in standard errors. The incomplete cases may still provide useful information on the effects of other variables on GP visits and the researcher has discarded this information. Alternative solutions (one of the following or another sensible solution): – Use other information to impute the missing information – Use dummy variables for missing income. – More sophisticated imputation methods – Estimate a selection model (this is covered in more detail later in the class but you may know about it from reading or elsewhere) v. (7 marks) Explain how you would construct and use a hit and miss table to compare the performance of the models for the two subsamples of women (young and old). (You do not have to actually construct a table.) Step 1. Calculate a predicted probability for each person in the relevant subsample. Step 2. Obtain a predicted binary outcome for each person using a classification rule: if person i’s predicted probability exceeds c, the predicted outcome is 1 and otherwise 0. It is ok if you use 0.5 or the sample mean. Step 3. For each subsample, tabulate frequencies of predicted and actual binary outcomes in the following form: Predicted 01 Observed 0 A B 1 B’ A’ where: A (A’) = the total number of women whose predicted and observed outcomes are 0 (1) B (B’) = the total number of women whose observed outcome is 0 (1) but the predicted outcome is 1 (0). Step 4. Now, compare the relative frequencies of correct predictions for each subsamples; i.e., compare (A+A’) / (A+B+A’+B’) across the subsamples. This tells us how well one model performs relative to another in terms of predicting the observed outcomes. It is ok to describe the comparisons of the predicted 0’s separately from the predicted 1’s (ie the comparisons of A / (A+B) and A’ / (A’+B’) across subsamples) but this is not needed for full marks.

Emotionally-Charged Subjects Essay

Parents and teenagers need not always argue about issues that are manageable. The key to managing these issues is in understanding each other’s position and in finding a middle-way solution. If we can aim for a win-win solution, that would be best, but many times it may not be possible. So, adjusting our wants with regards to the other’s position may be necessary to solve our problems. Let us take the issues of friends, money and school for example. If we try to understand the problems facing each side, from the teenager and from the parents, we can try to negotiate our way to a solution. First, many teenagers today have friends that parents disagree with, but both sides can work on a solution. Proverbs 18:24 says, â€Å"A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother† (New American Standard Bible). The teenager has to understand that quality friends are more important than quantity. Bad company may lead to drug abuse, alcoholism, pre-marital sex, unwanted pregnancies and other consequences that are life-and-death situations. It is important then to choose our friends wisely and to refrain from others who are bad influences on us. So how do we choose our friends? Or how do we know that they are truly our real friends? Proverbs 17:17 asserts that â€Å"A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need† (New Living Translation). If our so-called â€Å"friends† are only there when we have money or if we are in good health or if we have a nice car and a beautiful house, then they are not our friends. A true friend will be there for you even in sickness, homelessness and poverty. Of course, parents also have to understand that nothing is perfect and that these ideals may not be realized all the time because of actual, instead of theoretical circumstances. So parents have to give their teenagers some room for error and imperfection. By learning from their mistakes, they will become better adults later. Second, many teenagers nowadays want more money, which their parents don’t have, so we need to find creative solutions to solve it. In 1 Timothy 6:10, it is mentioned that â€Å"the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs† (New International Version). Money is needed to satisfy many physical desires, but too many desires will lead to suffering. It is important to extinguish the flames of desire through moderation. If we don’t really need something, we don’t have to possess it. We also need to be wise with our money through investments and diligent work. By finding part-time work and learning how to invest our savings properly, a teenager will learn good financial skills that he will need later as an adult. As Matthew 25:18 mentions, we should not dig â€Å"a hole in the ground and [hide]†¦ the master’s money† (New Living Translation) even if we have only a little of it. We should invest it, and we can also find some work to earn more money that we can additionally invest. We should also not have sudden cravings to splurge once we have a lot of money. In Proverbs 7: 20, a prodigal man â€Å"took lots of money with him†¦ [and] won’t be home for a couple of weeks† (God’s Word Translation). Instead, we should learn how to control our emotions. Being wasteful in our expenditures will empty our bank account. Lastly, we should also be generous. As Exodus 22:25 says, â€Å"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest† (New International Version). By learning how to give, we will receive payment in â€Å"kind† later on in the form of respect, the return of favors and other non-quantifiable intangible forms that we will appreciate later. Lastly, teenagers may need to confront their parents about their problems in school. Grades are one of the major problems that teenagers face in school. Low marks could be a consequential problem due to bad friends or the lack of money to buy learning resources. If our problem with friends and money are resolved, then we can solve our issues in school also. But sometimes, the cause may be something else. If our ancestors were not so bright themselves, then we shouldn’t expect too much on ourselves. Or if we take some mental aptitude tests, and we score poorly, we may be faced with a biological problem that requires specialized training. But more often than not, we can improve our brain power through proper nutrition, exercise and mental conditioning. There are many books and courses in the market that will teach us on how to increase our mental aptitude. So, it may be necessary to purchase a few for the benefit of our future. But parents should also consider that school and grades are not everything. Jesus himself was very learned, but he did not bother to prove his academic excellence by getting a respected degree from a well-known school. In John 7:15 â€Å"the Jews were surprised and said, How has this man got knowledge of books? He has never been to school† (Bible in Basic English). Indeed, school is not the only place to learn and thus, school grades are not the only proof of learning. While some people may be God-gifted, more often than not, many people learn from the â€Å"School of Hard Knocks. † Truly, there are many successful people today, such as Bill Gates, who never finished college. In the end, teenagers are not always wrong and parents are not always right. When a proper middle-ground is reached between the two, there is peace. References Hook, S. (ed. ). (1965). Bible in Basic English. Cambridge University Press. Holy Bible: New International Version. (1978). Grand Rapids: Zondervan. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. (1996). Wheaton: Tyndale House. The Bible: God’s Word Translation. (1995). Jacksonville: Baker Publishing Group. The Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1997). Anaheim: Foundation.

48 Shades of Brown

q Life for a 16 old teenage boy was all about to be different. Dan, a typical teenager has all the interests a normal male would. While Dan’s parents are in Geneva, he stays with his aunt Jacq, a fashionable, and techno flavored, short haired, 23 year old uni student, in Brisbane. While staying there, he encounters a test of adult responsibilities, first love and battling through adolescence. Teenagers have been pressured into doing things they don’t want to do, Dan gives us an example of teenagers giving into peer pressure, forced to say that he was a student studying law at University. Teens who are being pressured by their peers think that they will become more popular if they do the [pic] ‘cool’ thing even if it can cause themselves harm. Teenagers these days are dealing with peer pressure every day, from mates telling them to lie to their friends and family, drinking when they are underage and/or don’t want too. Dan discovers that his life isn’t that easy, winning people’s hearts, remembering 48 shades of brown, drinking under age and peer pressure. This play shows how teenagers relate to real life, what they go through every day, what challenges they have to pass through, even what things they need to remember, such as passing school, remembering things for exams, juggling schoolwork and a social life. Dan’s first love starts right at the start of the book with one of Jacq’s uni friends who is currently a second-year Psychology student, Naomi, a pretty blonde 18 year old. Dan quickly realizes that Naomi has a thing for people who can name things, such as naming trees. When Dan realizes this, he tries to learn every shade of brown to impress the girl and win her heart. Teens will do anything to impress their ‘first loves’ from remembering things for them, to impressing them with flowers, teens these days think that the other gender has a big impact in their lives, but sometimes this can cause them to forget the real things in life, like study and family. People forget what things are important in life as well, like school work, getting good grades to maintain a good OP, to set you up in life, but don’t forget family, family is something you need to be by your side, teenagers continue to forget what family they have, parent and siblings are wondering why teenagers are changing. While at Jacq’s uni party, Dan gets himself into a sticky situation, he is pressured into lying to a girl called Imogen who is intoxicated, who continues to flirt with Dan while he is interested in Naomi. Dan goes with the flow and allows her to make out with him in his room, until Imogen becomes not to well and throws up all over him. This is happening more regularly, people drink too much, dance a little, make out a little, and become sick. Teens are continuing drink more and more every weekend, we are continuing to hear about parties that are going wrong, people who are drunk and becoming violent or just being taken to hospital for drinking too much and having their stomach pumped. In this play, Philip Dean, has shown the relevance to what a normal teenager’s life would be, with a couple of bumps on the way. From love, to adolescences, he has shown the real way a male teenagers mind would work, what challenges in life, what things they need to remember; just like ‘48 Shades of Brown’.

Native american and the fur trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Native american and the fur trade - Essay Example It changed their way of life - the way they moved about, the way they hunted, the way war became easier due to their increased mobility, but more importantly the introduction of the horse gave Native Americans a new understanding to breed, raise, and train horses for trade to the "white man". This was something they could control. Colonial American was eager for more land and began to push westward. The flood of settlers pushing west was led first by "mountain men" - explores who first journeyed west and made contact with the plains Indians. The United States government had begun forcing tribes from the eastern portions of the United States to relocate west of the Mississippi River and later on reservations - designated land given to individual tribes. One of the things Native Americans soon discovered was that the Europeans loved fur and initially these "mountain men", but later entire fur trading companies were willing to trade guns and alcohol for pelts. Disease introduced to Native Americans had devastated the Indian population. Although diseases such as small pox killed thousands of Native Americans, the introduction of guns and alcohol had a longer lasting, damning effect on the Native American way of life. Changes from past altered their life forever.