The Hero And The Crown Part Two Chapter 15 Free Essays

SHE COULD NOT SLEEP, and she coughed, and blood spotted her pillow; and the fever that came and went, and would not leave her alone even as her burns healed and her hair grew, came again that night, and light-headedly she relived the scene in the hall; and she heard the thing laugh, and heard the court say, Witchwoman’s daughter. Near dawn she dreamed of the tall blond man she had seen once before, while she slept in the dragon’s valley. He did not speak to her, not did he seem to know she watched him. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hero And The Crown Part Two Chapter 15 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Perhaps he is only a dream, her dreaming self thought; but she looked at the way his blond eyelashes caught the sunlight, at the freckles on the backs of his hands, at the way the little fingers curled under the base of the cup he held, at the steam that rose from the cup. He blinked when it wafted into his eyes. Where? her dreaming self thought. If he exists, where? She woke, coughing. He had said he would help her. How could he help her? He had said he would tell her how she could aid Damar. Damar didn’t seem to like her aiding it. She turned onto her back and stretched till her throat and chest lay flat and straight; sometimes that eased the coughing. She listened to the gurgling rasp of her breathing; no matter how shallowly she breathed, still the air rustled in her lungs. She thought dispassionately, This cough will kill me before too long, and Maur will have slain me after all. Perhaps the man in my dream could cure my cough. If she could find him. If he existed. She was so tired; she could not imagine what it was like not to be tired. She fell asleep again, listening to her breath rattle in her chest like dead leaves, and woke tired. She stared into the canopy over her head for several minutes, her eyes tracing the graceful embroidered forms of the galloping horses and their super-naturally long manes and tails, the manes almost like wings, the grass underfoot almost like clouds. The fever would not let her go. She could not get out of bed that day, nor the next. Tor came to see her, and she would not speak to him; but he came again, and she remembered she had one thing she needed to say to him. â€Å"What happened?† he asked her over and over again. At last she said, â€Å"I grew dizzy,† but would not say more; and Tor fell silent, holding her hand in a hand almost as feverish as hers. It was only luck, she had pleaded with Maur. Was it? Maur’s head had answered her. â€Å"Aerin.† Tor’s voice. What was it she needed to say to him? â€Å"Will you †¦ take Maur’s head off the wall †¦ and put it †¦ somewhere far away †¦ that no one may see it?† â€Å"Of course,† he said anxiously. â€Å"Of course. It shall be done today.† She remembered little clearly after that; she saw Teka’s face bent over hers, and Tor’s, and her father’s, and others’ whom she dimly remembered as the healers who had done her so little good before. She did not know how many days or weeks she spent this way; and then one night she woke again from an especially vivid dream of the blond man. â€Å"You stupid woman – climb off your deathbed while you still can, and come to me.† The words still rang in her ears. She sat up slowly. She drew on her boots, and her leggings and tunic; she picked up the red stone on the table by her bed, and thrust it into the breast of her shirt. She looked at her sword – the king’s sword – hanging over her bed, and did not touch it, she fumbled for a cloak, and drew it over her shoulders. She had to sit down on the edge of her bed again and catch her breath. I must tell them where I am going, she thought. But I don’t know where I am going. She stood up again, and made her way slowly into her sitting-room, to the desk there. The ink was dry; she had to carry a glass from her bed table, filled with water from the pitcher there, into her sitting-room, to wet it; her hand shook, and she spilled most of it on the desk, and the ink would not mix, but stayed pale and uneven. It would have to do. There was nothing to write on. She sat at the desk, staring at its blank top, as if paper or parchment would appear if she waited for it. She did not seem able to collect her thoughts, but her hand reached out of its own accord, and groped in the rear of the small desk cabinet, and drew something out. It was the note Tor had written her, long ago, asking her to see the king’s army off the next morning. She turned it over, and took up a pen; the ink dripped and ran on the page. â€Å"Tor,† she wrote. â€Å"I have dreamed of someone who might help me, and I go to look for him. I will come back as I may.† Stealthily she made her way to the ground floor and outside. The inner corridors were pitch dark, but she found she could see her way; there was a soft silvery light around her – she was glowing, she realized suddenly; and for the first time since Maur’s head had spoken to her she felt a glimmer of hope, and the hope warmed her a little, and steadied her footsteps. Someone should have seen her as she crossed the open courtyard, particularly as she persisted in glowing like foxfire in a rotting tree; but no one came. She dragged Talat’s small light saddle from its peg opposite his stall, but left the trappings of the king’s breastplate as she had left her sword. Talat’s pale head thrust over the stall half-door at her. His nostrils moved in a silent whicker of welcome, but from his campaigning days he could recognize secrecy when he saw it. She had to wrestle the saddle onto his back, for she was too weak to lift it; but it was on at last, and Talat stepped after his lady as softly and carefully as a lover going to his beloved’s bed. She was surprised to find that it was high summer, for she had lost all sense of the passing of time within the walls of her illness. â€Å"Although lucky for me,† she whispered into Talat’s pointed ears. She ate the fruit from the trees, when she remembered to eat, and at night she slept leaning against Talat’s side, as he rested his nose on the earth near his folded knees. Sometimes he flicked his tail in his sleep, after flies, real or imaginary, and Aerin would come half awake – she was never profoundly asleep in the first place – and feel the silky hairs slip down her face like raindrops. They traveled west at first, then north, with the mountains on their right and the heavy Airdthmar forests on their left, forests that had never been completely explored, that held creatures no one had ever named. When times were peaceful the kings of Damar had set up expeditions to drive deeper into the forest, for it stood in the way of their kingdom’s free trade and concourse from one town to the next; but the Airdthmar was not kind to the folk who tried to chart it and lay roads through it. Arlbeth claimed to be fond of it. â€Å"It is quiet, it causes no courteous passer-by any trouble, it keeps its own counsel,† he said. â€Å"Would that all the quarters of the Damarian compass were so civilized.† Aerin gazed into the trees as she rode, but she saw only blackness looking back at her. She had thought to go west originally because the Airdthmar seemed like the obvious place to look for a mysterious mage who visited dreams; but as they cleared the foothills Talat shied away and veered north, and Aerin half permitted, half agreed with him. There was no trail for them to follow; they wove their way back into the foothills again, away from the smooth way that Arlbeth and his army had gone to meet with Nyrlol, or that any folk with legitimate business took around the eastern edge of the Airdthmar; Aerin did not want to meet anyone who might take word of her back to the City, nor be overtaken by any party sent in pursuit. They came at last to a pocket valley in the hills, a small undistinguished valley like many others, well furnished by the thick purple color grass, which did not grow in the City, and with a few trees. The sun was setting as they paused, and Aerin, seeing a rock that would do for a mounting block, thought that this would be a good place to stop for the night; but she made no move to dismount, and Talat remained standing, ears pricked, uninterested in the lush lolor, which generally he preferred to anything else. As the sun disappeared it seemed to Aerin that the light never quite faded; but that might have been the glitter of her fever. Talat looked back over his shoulder at her, and Aerin’s knee as if of its own volition bent him toward the mountains behind the foothills – east again; and Talat at once found the hidden trail that began at the edge of the pocket valley. The way was soon so steep that Aerin worried about Talat’s weak leg; but when she tried to slip off his back and walk beside him for a while he sidled all around and rubbed her against the trees that grew close around them, and she at last gave it up. He was right; climbing uphill would make her cough. He went slowly, and all four feet hit the ground evenly, and Aerin concentrated on hanging on to the front of the saddle with both hands. And breathing. It had seemed to her lately that she had to remember to breathe, that her lungs would prefer to be still. By dawn she was light-headed with fever and altitude and exhaustion, for even though she slept little, lying quietly on the earth was an easier way to pass the time than clinging to a heaving saddle. Still Talat toiled on, the sweat running down his shoulders, though the air was cool. Aerin let go the saddle and wound her cold fingers in his mane to warm them. The ground leveled abruptly. Talat paused disbelievingly, all four feet braced; then he went on again, and the trees gave way before them, and the secret track Talat had followed so trustingly was a plain trail before them, and at the end of a short way was a small bare courtyard, set round with pillars, and a great grey stone building. Talat walked into the courtyard and stopped. Aerin unwound her hands from his mane and stared down past his wet shoulder to the ground, and thought about dismounting; and then a tall blond man was standing beside her. She wished to feel alarm, for she had not seen or heard his approach; but Talat was not disturbed, and she recognized the man’s face from her dreams. He lifted her bodily from the saddle, and as his arms took her weight, fear crossed his face: â€Å"May all the gods listen – there’s nothing left of you.† He carried her into the stone hall, and she leaned her head against his chest, and thought of nothing. His boots were soft-soled and his footsteps silent; but the rustle of her breathing echoed through the hall like the wings of a flock of small birds. He set her in a high-backed chair at the far end of the hall, and picked up a goblet from a small table, glared at it, muttered over it, said, â€Å"This will have to do,† and gave it to her. She held it, dreamily, but even with both hands around it, it swayed and began to sag, and the man, with a muffled exclamation, leaned over her and grasped the stem of the goblet around her two hands. His hand was warm, like Talat’s mane, and the goblet was cool. â€Å"Who are you?† she asked, looking into the frowning face bending over her. â€Å"I am Luthe,† he said. â€Å"Drink.† She took the first sip, obediently, as she had drunk Teka’s draughts when she was young and had fevers. She did not remember a second sip. She awoke, pressed down with blankets, in a narrow curtain-less bed. The bed was one of many, set side by side down a long narrow corridor; the heads were pushed up against one wall where slit windows high above shed sunlight on their feet; and beyond the beds was a narrow passage and then the far wall, taller than the window wall, the roof slanting up sharply from the one to the other. She blinked drowsily at the far wall; it was blank grey stone, like the rest of Luthe’s hall. Or not blank: Aerin sat up, shedding blankets, and frowned; etched into the grey stone were faint relief pictures, but she could not quite decide what they depicted: men with antlers, women with wings, trees with eyes that watched. She blinked again; her vision hadn’t been trustworthy in a long time. Her fever was gone. She felt as weak as when she had first dragged herself to the stream after Maur’s death, but she felt happy, with a senseless transparent happiness like that of a very young child. She wrestled cheerfully with the enshrouding blankets, got feebly to her feet, and began to make her way down the row of beds by clinging to the foot of each in turn – all of them empty, and all but hers neatly made up with coarse dark blankets, and pillows wrapped in smooth dark cloth. She came to an arch of doorway and looked through; the thickness of the wall it pierced made the entrance dark, but beyond it the great hall was bright with daylight. There were windows cut high into the two lengthwise walls of the great chamber, the walls themselves high enough that the windows looked out over the roofs of the sleeping corridors; and yet far above them all the ceiling was invisible in darkness. Luthe saw her and frowned. â€Å"You should have slept longer.† â€Å"No, I shouldn’t. I have slept just the right amount; I feel dazzlingly† – she ran out of breath, and leaned against the threshold – â€Å"hungry. I haven’t felt hungry in a long time.† â€Å"I will claim that as my consolation; but evidently I still have not learned to get simple sleeping draughts right. Lily would be ashamed of me. Come eat, then.† He watched her drift toward him; it seemed to be a long way from the sleeping-chamber door to the table before the hearth, where he was. His hands closed over the high back of the chair he stood behind as he watched her, but he did not offer to help her. She fetched up against the table at last; it was a small delicate table, but she was little more than a wraith, and when she flattened both hands on the top of it to steady herself it held her slight weight easily. She looked up at him and smiled: a lover’s smile, sweet and brilliant, but it was not directed at him; her eyes looked at something invisible that she herself did not recognize, and yet his heart stirred in a way he did not like. He returned her smile with a deeper frown, and she chuckled – a little tapping sound, like mouse feet on a stone floor. â€Å"I am not blind, sir, though I do seem to see light where there is only darkness and strange pictures on a blank wall; and I am quite sure that I see you scowling furiously at me, like a tutor at a student who persists in misbehaving. Pray tell me what I have done.† â€Å"You have waited too long to come here.† Her smile ebbed away. â€Å"I have not been thinking clearly for long †¦ I had so many strange dreams.† She thought of Maur’s head speaking to her from a wall in her father’s castle, and a spasm crossed her face, and she raised one hand from the table to cover it., â€Å"It was easy,† she said through her fingers, â€Å"not to believe there was any use in them.† There was silence between them; Aerin stirred, and dropped her hand, but her face was still sad. â€Å"Talat?† she asked. † †¦ is eating his head off in a meadow among my cattle. You need have no fear for him.† â€Å"I have none.† Abruptly she asked: â€Å"Am I dying?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Can you cure me?† Luthe sighed. â€Å"I’m not sure. I think so. Had not †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Had I not listened to Maur’s head, I would have come here long since,† Aerin said dreamily. â€Å"Had it not told me that I could not win against the Black Dragon, for no one could, I might have believed that there was enough left of my life to be worth healing; but I am Dragon-Killer, the least of my family, and if I have done a great thing, then I must die of it.† Her words floated on the air, half visible, like spider silk. â€Å"You are not the least of your family,† Luthe said violently; â€Å"your mother was worth seven of her husband, and you’ve the courage she had, or she’d not have borne you, and you would not be standing here now after what Maur has done to you – and does to you yet.† Aerin stared at him. â€Å"Does to me yet? †¦ They hung its skull in the great hall, and it spoke to me. I was stronger for a while, till I saw it there, and it spoke to me.† â€Å"Spoke – ? How could anyone, even a hundred generations later, be so stupid as to bring back the Black Dragon’s head as a trophy and hang it on a wall for folk to gape at? Surely – â€Å" â€Å"I asked them to take it away – where no one might look at it again.† Luthe paced twice around the table before he said anything. â€Å"Dragon-Killer indeed. They do not know how lucky they are to have had you. To have had you at all. And I am fool enough to want to give you back to them.† Witchwoman’s daughter, Aerin thought. But I told Tor I would come back if I could. Luthe sat wearily down. â€Å"I have sat up here too long; it is so pleasant, not meddling. Perhaps after a hundred generations it is possible to forget.† â€Å"You knew my mother?† â€Å"Yes.† It was not an answer, nor a tone of voice, to encourage further questions. She looked down, and noticed that there was bread and fruit on the table she leaned on, and she picked up a handful of cora berries and began to eat them one at a time. â€Å"She was like you, but smaller,† Luthe said after she finished the last berry and had begun on a piece of bread. â€Å"The burden she carried was different from yours, and it had worn on her for many years. When I knew her she had forgotten joy, although I believe Arlbeth gave her a little back again.† Aerin’s low rough voice seemed to come from the high grey walls and not from the thin figure bowed over the table before him: â€Å"It is said in the City that she died of despair when she found she had had a daughter and not a son.† â€Å"It is probably true,† Luthe said, his voice level. â€Å"She had courage enough, but little imagination; or she would not have forgotten joy, whatever the weight on her, and heavy enough it truly was.† â€Å"Is it a weight a son might have lifted from her?† â€Å"It is a weight any of her blood and courage may lift. Damn you,† he said, his voice rising. â€Å"Couldn’t you tell the difference between a true dream and dragon poison?† â€Å"Evidently not,† she replied, and looked straight at him, although she still leaned on the table. â€Å"If it was so important, and the Black Dragon, even in death, so insidious, why did you not come and fetch me?† There was a little pause, and Luthe smiled faintly. â€Å"I shan’t try to bully you again.† â€Å"You have not answered my question.† â€Å"I don’t wish to answer it.† She could not help herself, and she laughed: he sounded so much like a sulky child. And her laugh rang out, clear and free, as it had not done since she had first heard the name of Maur. Luthe looked at her in wonder. â€Å"Yes, I believe I can cure you. I cannot believe that I will be let fail.† â€Å"I am glad to hear that,† she said, and found herself surprised that she spoke the truth, and her mouth curled in a wry smile. â€Å"I am glad.† Luthe, watching her, knew both the truth of her words and the surprise they had caused her. She wandered around the little table till she came to another chair, and settled lightly into it; and with the smile still on her lips, her eyelids drooped, and she fell into the light doze of the chronic invalid, and sagged against the side of her chair, and Luthe watched over her sleep as Tor often had, and their thoughts were very similar. But Luthe had a choice to make, and a choice that he did not like; and it was a choice that must be made soon. Even as he thought of this choice, he knew the decision had already been made. But he was in no hurry that Aerin wake again, and he do what he must. How to cite The Hero And The Crown Part Two Chapter 15, Essay examples

”A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” by Yiyun Li Sample Essay Example For Students

†A Thousand Years of Good Prayers† by Yiyun Li Sample Essay In A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. Yiyun Li depicted many different lives of the people in last decade’s China. still under the reign of Communism. With Communism. comes Capitalism. two contradictory political systems. one time threatened the universe of a atomic World War. The clang of communism and capitalist economy was finely presented in A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. as the freshly liberated modern China and its people were greatly influenced by the West. Throughout Yiyun Li’s aggregation of short narratives. Capitalism was invariably mentioned and presented. a changeless factor that influences all the character’s life and picks. The two most common subjects in the narratives that associate to Capitalism are in-migration and freedom. In Princess of Nebraska. Sasha immigrates to America in chase of a better life. In Son. Han immigrated to America to get away China’s communism regulations. Mr. Shi follows his girl to America and discovers the joy of America’s in A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. In all these instances. freedom has become a symbol for America. a state of Capitalism. What all the characters have in common is the wish to pursuit freedom. the American dream. Mr. Shi and Madame from the rubric narrative. both from an oppressive state. invariably reference. â€Å"America is a good country† . Mr. Shi undergoes the alteration from being a adult male disgraced of his occupation. restricted from speaking about his occupation and concealing secretivenesss from his household. to â€Å"A new individual. a projectile scientist. a good conversationist. a loving male parent. a happy adult male. † Mr. Shi’s daughter provinces likewise. â€Å"If you grew up in a linguistic communication chapeau you neer used to show your feelings. it would be easier to take up another linguistic communication and speak more in the new linguistic communication. It makes you a new individual. † Both Mr. Shi and his girl feel that America has given them a new individuality. because it has given them the freedom to go what they want to. Likewise. in the narrative Princess of Nebraska. Sasha and Boshen both immigrate to America for a new life. I t symbolized a new beginning for them. In the suppressive China. Boshen was persecuted as a cheery militant and Sasha’s female parent had limited freedom every bit could non travel back to Beijing. Sasha therefore leaves behind her old Chinese life and puts all her religion in â€Å"moving on†Ã¢â‚¬â€and comes to the same decision Mr. Shi and Madame had. â€Å"America is a good topographic point. Everything could go on at that place. † Capitalism’s freedom gave them a opportunity to get down a new life. In a similar manner. Han from Son. besides homosexual. immigrates to America to get away the Communism regulations and prosecute the American dream. In general. Capitalism is presented as a symbol of freedom and flight in these narratives. Aside from in-migration. the influence of Capitalism in China is besides shown. After A Life efficaciously demonstrates how in some countries Capitalism stands side by side with Communism. The supporter of the narrative. Mr. Su’s invests in the stock market. which is a Capitalist facet in economic system. The stock securities firm is rented from a â€Å"bankrupted province tally factory† . giving the image of Capitalism literally replacing Communism. â€Å"Thousands of grains make a tower. together their investings do mills run† employs the Capitalist stock investing in a Communism construct. Mr. Su. although believes himself to be smarter than the others. does non do money any longer than the old ladies do. In this instance Ca pitalism is non depicted really positively. â€Å"with about everyone in the state traveling brainsick about money. and money entirely. it was rare to run into person who was nostalgic about the old but besides earnest in his attempt to understand the new† suggests the Capitalism fad for money. .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd , .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .postImageUrl , .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd , .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd:hover , .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd:visited , .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd:active { border:0!important; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd:active , .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u112361bd1adcf469802513c5b39f67fd:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Last oft the mohicians EssayIn Immortality. nevertheless. Capitalism’s influence seems to expose the people to the repression of Communism –â€Å"Now we have Sony and Panasonic ; we have Procter A ; Gamble. Johnson A ; Johnson. We have imported films in which work forces and adult females hold custodies freely in the street. and they even kiss each other without a hint of fright in their eyes. Our lives. we realized. is non every bit happy as we have been taught to believe. † Sansan from Love In The Marketplace was greatly influenced by American movies. such as Casablanca and Women In Love. establishing her ideal love affair on the movies. They were in a manner. her American dream. How Capitalism influences China is shown to hold different effects in different state of affairss. In most instances of the character’s chase of the American dream. the characters truly believe in the freedom Capitalism brings will decide their jobs. Despite the changeless confrontations of Capitalism’s freedom and Communism’s subjugation. Yiyun Li didn’t present Capitalism as a panacea. Sasha’s compulsion with get downing a new life in America is one peculiar illustration to show this. as her passion was instead unsighted and despairing. Sasha’s statement. â€Å"vast and empty landscapes depressed her† is one of sarcasm. as Nebraska. like Inner Mongolia. is besides â€Å"vast and empty† . This possibly intimations that Sasha’s old life problems aren’t traveling to vanish merely because she immigrated to another state. Albeit Mr. Shi’s delectation of freedom for being a â€Å"rocket scientist† . a new individual. meeting Madame. his distant relationship with his girl does non better. This may be because that both Mr. Shi and his girl were prosecuting their â€Å"new identity† individually—a Capitalism impression. and despite his attempts and the new found freedom discovered. it wasn’t plenty to cover up Mr. Shi’s old problems and bring around his daughter’s indifference. Han. with his â€Å"brand new American passport with the old Chinese worry† adamantly believed his mother’s religion in Jesus to be false. that her femal e parent needs to be controlled by a superior force. Believing in America’s free will. what Han didn’t realize was that his female parent was populating her strong beliefs with far more bravery than he can populate his ain. In Immortality’s relation. the Great Papa’s. the landlord’s. the dictator’s and the impersonator’s glorification all collapsed in the terminal. More Capitalist ways of life was introduced so. â€Å"It says we’re traveling to hold a new life from now on. † â€Å"New or old. life is the same. † This is a farther indicant that. in a manner. Capitalism or Communism. life and people are the same. It can be concluded that. Yiyun Li presents both China ( Communism ) and America ( Capitalism ) as multidimensional characters. Although there is accent on Capitalism’s freedom. there is no clear separating line between the black and white of Capitalism and Communism. Yiyun Li herself emigrated from China to America to prosecute her American dream: â€Å"For me. the American dream meant that I could pick up composing and go a author. something I had neer dared to woolgather before coming here. For my characters. it means freedom to get away totalitarian control on many different levels—from parental supervising to the ideological control of the Communist party. † Her ain experience in the country farther validates that. as quoted by Yinyun Li. â€Å"I think people in both states tend to forget—that deep down we are all human existences. and the strivings and joys we have are the same. In a manner. I think the two states are set up in the public position as rivals. which can take some Americans and Chinese to experience chariness or animus toward one another. But in the terminal. people here in America are like what you will happen in China. excessively. † In the terminal. we’re all worlds. Capitalism or non. .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc , .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .postImageUrl , .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc , .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc:hover , .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc:visited , .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc:active { border:0!important; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b 36a6cc { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc:active , .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weigh t: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left: 18px; top: 0; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ude12e2e19d6b26f1186441757b36a6cc:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Comparison of Eastern and Western Philosophers Essay

Social Media Overview

Social media has become an important tool in the current society. They provide means through which people can share information in a societal set up with the help of internet connection using such devices as phones and computers. Facebook, YouTube and Tweeter are the three most common types of social media.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social Media Overview specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Facebook has attracted massive number of people from all corners of the world. With the increased sophistication in the field of technology, most phones became internet enabled just to allow users to access Facebook. Personal computers also became cheaper. Other social media such of YouTube and Tweeter also became common and very popular. Facebook has the highest number of subscribers of all the social networks. According to Mandiberg (2012), Facebook has attracted massive number of youths, especially given the fact that it allows an individual to reach out for friends or family members whose contacts could have disappeared. Facebook is estimated to have a fan base of about one billion people. To be a member, an individual will have to sign up for an account. In most of the cases, one would sign up using the e-mail address. Once an individual has an account, he will need to invite friends who already have accounts with Facebook. This results into a community where information can be shared. A user will have a ‘wall’ in the Facebook. In this wall, an individual can post information that will reach all the confirmed friends. These friends can comment on the communication made by the individual. This media allows users to send and receive messages from ‘friends’ using a specified number of characters. The fact that an individual can chat with two or more friends simultaneously has made it very popular. An individual can also send a message to the intended recipient if the recipie nt is not online. Tweeter is another social media that has gained fame in the last half a decade. Just like Facebook, for one to be on Tweeter, he or she will need to sign up. The individual will need to create an account with Tweeter using his or her identifications. After signing up for an account (always starting with @), the individual can invite friends. One can then be free to start tweeting with friends on this site. The messages sent through this site are called tweets. Just like in Facebook, one can only share message on Tweeter with another individual who has a tweeter account. It will therefore, require an individual to have a number of friends signed up on this account in order to make communication possible.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More YouTube is another very popular social media both to firms and general public. Like Facebook, YouTube allows users to shar e information online. The main difference between Facebook and YouTube is that through YouTube, an individual can share heavy graphics such as a video (Sterne, 2010). Facebook and Tweeter cannot support audiovisuals. However, YouTube offers its users ability to share or watch video or songs online. YouTube is a little different from both Tweeter and Facebook in its usage. Although one may use YouTube to share a text message, it is always more appropriate for audio visuals. For an individual to share a video through YouTube there will be need for the individual to sign up for an account with YouTube. This is mostly done using the Gmail address. However, once an individual posts a piece of information, it can be accessed by anyone online, including those without an account. If the video is intended for a specific individual, then the recipients will also need to have a YouTube account to receive the specific video. Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media Advantages of Social Medi a The following are some of the advantages of social media. Facebook and Tweeter allow users to share information in form of texts. Through Facebook and Tweeter, one can trace an individual whose contact one had lost. YouTube allows t one to access a video or any information on YouTube without having an account with it. In various countries around the world, YouTube is growing in popularity and this increases the volume of information to be shared. It is advantageous to companies because they can develop television commercials showing the beauty of their products to attract customers as is the case with Coca Cola and Apple. To the youth, YouTube is one of the best sites for entertainment. Disadvantages of Social Media Social media are addictive and can prevent one from performing critical duties in life. The site can be use to defame an individual or a firm, as was the case with Domino’s Pizza. Some of the information on the social sites is corruptive, especially to the mi nds of youths and children. The Effect of a Person Knowing Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media It is always important for an individual to know the consequences of an item he or she uses. When an individual knows the advantages and disadvantages of the social media, the main reaction will be discretion. An individual will be discrete with the information he or she releases to the social media because it can easily leak to the public and damage his or her image. References Mandiberg, M. (2012). The social media reader. New York: New York University Press. Sterne, J. (2010). Social media metrics: How to measure and optimize your marketing investment. Hoboken: John Wiley.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social Media Overview specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This essay on Social Media Overview was written and submitted by user Liana K. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Probability of Going to Jail in Monopoly

Probability of Going to Jail in Monopoly In the game Monopoly there are a lot of features that involve some aspect of probability. Of course, since the method of moving around the board involves rolling two dice, it is clear that there is some element of chance in the game. One of the places where this is evident is the portion of the game known as Jail. We will calculate two probabilities regarding Jail in the game of Monopoly. Description of Jail Jail in Monopoly is a space in which players can â€Å"Just Visit† on their way around the board, or where they must go if a few conditions are met. While in Jail, a player can still collect rents and develop properties, but is not able to move around the board. This is a significant disadvantage early in the game when properties are not owned, as the game progresses there are times where it is more advantageous to stay in Jail, as it reduces the risk of landing on your opponents’ developed properties. There are three ways that a player can end up in Jail. One can simply land on the â€Å"Go to Jail† space of the board.One can draw a Chance or Community Chest card marked â€Å"Go to Jail.†One can roll doubles (both numbers on the dice are the same) three times in a row. There are also three ways that a player can get out of Jail Use a â€Å"Get out of Jail Free† cardPay $50Roll doubles on any of the three turns after a player goes to Jail. We will examine the probabilities of the third item on each of the above lists. Probability of Going to Jail We will first look at the probability of going to Jail by rolling three doubles in a row. There are six different rolls that are doubles (double 1, double 2, double 3, double 4, double 5, and double 6) out of a total of 36 possible outcomes when rolling two dice. So on any turn, the probability of rolling a double is 6/36 1/6. Now each roll of the dice is independent. So the probability that any given turn will result in the rolling of doubles three times in a row is (1/6) x (1/6) x (1/6) 1/216. This is approximately 0.46%. While this may seem like a small percentage, given the length of most Monopoly games, it is likely that this will happen at some point to someone during the game. Probability of Leaving Jail We now turn to the probability of leaving Jail by rolling doubles. This probability is slightly more difficult to calculate because there are different cases to consider: The probability that we roll doubles on the first roll is 1/6.The probability that we roll doubles on the second turn but not the first is (5/6) x (1/6) 5/36.The probability that we roll doubles on the third turn but not the first or second is (5/6) x (5/6) x (1/6) 25/216. So the probability of rolling doubles to get out of Jail is 1/6 5/36 25/216 91/216, or about 42%. We could calculate this probability in a different way. The complement of the event â€Å"roll doubles at least once over the next three turns† is â€Å"We don’t roll doubles at all over the next three turns.† Thus the probability of not rolling any doubles is (5/6) x (5/6) x (5/6) 125/216. Since we have calculated the probability of the complement of the event that we want to find, we subtract this probability from 100%. We get the same probability of 1 - 125/216 91/216 that we obtained from the other method. Probabilities of the Other Methods Probabilities for the other methods are difficult to calculate. They all involve the probability of landing on a particular space (or landing on a particular space and drawing a particular card). Finding the probability of landing on a certain space in Monopoly is actually quite difficult. This sort of problem can be dealt with by the use of Monte Carlo simulation methods.

Cobweb Spiders, Family Theridiidae

Cobweb Spiders, Family Theridiidae From the harmless house spiders to the venomous widows, the family Theridiidae includes a large and diverse group of arachnids. Chances are theres a cobweb spider somewhere in your house right now. Description: Spiders of the family Theridiidae are also called comb-foot spiders. Theridiids have a row of setae, or bristles, on their fourth pair of legs. The setae help the spider wrap its silk around captured prey. Cobweb spiders are sexually dimorphic in size; females are larger than males. Female cobweb spiders have spherical abdomens and long, slender legs. Some species practice sexual cannibalism, with the female eating the male after mating. The black widow gets its name from this practice. Cobweb spiders build irregular, 3-dimensional webs of sticky silk. Not all spiders within this group build webs, however. Some cobweb spiders live in social communities, with spiderlings and adult females sharing the web. Others practice kleptoparasitism, stealing prey from other spiders webs. Classification: Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ArthropodaClass – ArachnidaOrder – AraneaeFamily – Theridiidae Diet: Cobweb spiders feed on insects, and occasionally other spiders. When an insect becomes ensnared in the sticky strands of the web, the spider quickly injects it with venom and wraps it tightly in silk. The meal can then be consumed at the spiders leisure. Life Cycle: Male cobweb spiders roam in search of mates. In many species, the male uses a stridulatory organ to signal his interest in females. Though some Theridiid males do get eaten after mating, most survive to find another mate. The female cobweb spider wraps her eggs in a silk case and attaches it to a point near her web. She guards the egg sac until the spiderlings hatch. Special Adaptations and Defenses: With dozens of genera in the Theridiidae family, adaptations and defenses are as diverse as the cobweb spiders. Argyrodes spiders, for example, live along the edges of other spiders webs, dashing in to grab a meal when the resident spider isnt around. Some Theridiids mimic ants, either to trick potential ant prey or to fool possible predators. Range and Distribution: Cobweb spiders live throughout the world, with more than 2200 species described to date. Well over 200 Theridiid species live in North America.

The Dangers Of Cell Phones For Human Health Essay

The Dangers Of Cell Phones For Human Health - Essay Example Supporters of cell phones say that cell phones provide us with a number of facilities, such as ease of communication, neighborhood crime watch, use in emergencies, and use as reminders. However, there also exist some risks regarding the use of cell phones. Some of the risks include road accidents, increased number of crimes, and weakening of eardrums. Today, almost every person keeps a cell phone in the car while traveling because a cell phone has become one of the major necessities of life. Use of cell phone while driving may result in slower braking reactions, slower reactions to traffic signals, and difficulties in making quick decisions. If we compare the ratio of road accidents that used to occur in a year before the 2000s with today, we come to know that the ratio of road accidents due to use of cell phones during driving has been increased by 75 to 80 percent approximately. â€Å"In a study done in April 2006, it was found that 80% of car crashes involved the driver not paying attention right before the accident† (Russell). The reason is that cell phones distract the driver’s attention, which results in road accidents. â€Å"According to several resources, every year, about 21% critical vehicle crashes happen due to cellphone use and require teens among age party 16 to 19 ages† (He). Supporters of cell phones say that cell phones do not take much attention of the users; rather they make people more responsible as they have to take care of themselves and other people while on road. However, this viewpoint is very illogical because accidents just need a little negligence to occur and that negligence can take place at any stage of cell phone use. Cell phones also create risks for health. Excessive use of cell phones can affect our eardrums and can cause skin cancer as well. Today, a large number of young adults use a hands-free system to hear songs from their cell phones.

Organizational strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Organizational strategy - Case Study Example This paper will discuss how the economic recession has affected the strategic management of the organization, and how it has survived the economic pressures that could otherwise downturn the business (Bateson 2005, p. 98). Coca-cola Company is one of the most successful companies that have laid down some fundamental strategies in order to promote its growth and sustainability. It is the leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of non-alcoholic beverage in the world. The company believes that consumers are the life of their business. It operates in more than two hundred countries, including Britain with four hundred brands. These brands include water, juice drinks, coffees, teas, sports drinks, energy drinks, diet beverage and many others. They connect to future consumer by providing high quality products. Their employees are skilled and the materials they use are of high quality (www.cocacola.com). Economic recession has had impact on the human resource management strategy of the Company's organization. It has led to higher unemployment, inflation, as well as the cost of living expenses. On the consumer side, economic recession has led to lower disposable income and lower purchasing power. The weakened economy has negatively affected the bottling companies; hence threaten the stability of the company due to the dependent relationship. Moreover, it has led to increased activity at the lower ends of Coca Cola product price in Britain (Bateson 2005, p. 102). The rate of interests has raised the depressing business, hence causing lower spending levels and redundancies. The 2008 economic analysis for Coca Cola Company shows that the economy was strong and nearly every part of it was growing and doing well. The economic crisis which was suggested by several important indicators of economic downturn in Britain include high oil prices, which led to high food prices, as well as using ethanol and biodiesel as an alternative to petroleum (www.cocacola.com). The company has tried to fight the economic pressures; it has significant opportunities that develop and encourage more sustainable practices to benefit their customers, suppliers and consumers throughout the supply chain. The company's system is among the world's leading purchasers of sugar, coffee and citrus; for this reason, its organizational strategy is not affected by the economic recession because agriculture has a large environmental and social footprint in the world (Bateson 2005, p. 112). As the population increases, the sector of agriculture will need to produce more food, both stressing supply, hence increasing the footprint. Agriculture products are ingredients in many of their beverages, thus the sustainability of the company depends on the agriculture supply chain. For this reason, their bottling partners and the procurement teams are working together to incorporate sustainability criteria into the long term purchasing plans. Coca-Cola Company has worked hard to generate high pricing growth and acquire operating expenses and effectiveness in their strategic plans. This has enabled them stabilize their business for proper managing of their targets. The company has continued to plan for useful marketing strategies and approaches that would enable overcome consumer and market trends that impact the business,