Mothers in The Joy Luck Club essays

Mothers in The Joy Luck Club essays If there was one occurrence that befell every mother in "The Joy Luck Club," it would be the loss of a child and the after effect it had on their relationships with their living children. This lead to a misunderstanding between mother and daughter, and the climax of their separation before the problems could be resolved. The long, gradual build up of lack of understanding kept the two family members divided and it took self actualization to bring them together. Ying-Ying St.Clair and her daughter Lena St.Clair both grew up passive and quiet. They had distrust in life, did not hear their voices, and had to find themselves before helping each other. Ying-Ying grew up in a family where she had to keep her wishes to herself, after a while, she just stopped wishing, there was no use for it. After she lost one son and resorted to killing the other, she had no strength left to take care of Lena. So, Lena grew up in a quiet home with a depressed mother, and a clueless father, neither could communicate with each other. Like her mother, Lena kept all her desires to herself and could not hear herself. She longed for a good relationship but fell into a poor one anyway. Her "fair" relationship proved to be not so balanced, but she did not know how to take control. Her mother saw her falling apart but had to reflect on her past before trying to save her daughters. The climatic even between these two occurred after Clifford's table broke. Ying-Ying asked why Lena had not prevented it from collapsing, but she did not have an answer for her. It was then Lena realized she had to change, become strong, and break away from her relationship, or she would never be able to escape. It was then that Lena gained a new sort of respect for her mother. Lindo Jong and Waverly Jong relationship were one of intense love and hate. Sadly, Lindo lost her child, Winston, to a car accident when he was only 16. Like the other mothers, she had to bear the loss of a ch...

Introduction to the Agricola by Tacitus

Introduction to the Agricola by Tacitus Introduction | The Agricola | Translation Footnotes The Agricola of Tacitus. The Oxford Translation Revised, With Notes. With An Introduction by Edward Brooks, Jr. Very little is known concerning the life of Tacitus, the historian, except that which he tells us in his own writings and those incidents which are related to him by his contemporary, Pliny. The Date of the Birth of Tacitus His full name was Caius Cornelius Tacitus. The date of his birth can only be arrived at by conjecture, and then only approximately. The younger Pliny speaks of him as prope  modum aequales, about the same age. Pliny was born in 61. Tacitus, however, occupied the office of quaestor under Vespasian in 78 A.D., at which time he must, therefore, have been at least twenty-five years of age. This would fix the date of his birth not later than 53 A.D. It is probable, therefore, that Tacitus was Plinys senior by several years. Parentage His parentage is also a matter of pure conjecture. The name Cornelius was a common one among the Romans so from the name we can draw no inference. The fact that at an early age he occupied a prominent public office indicates that he was born of good family, and it is not impossible that his father was a certain Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman knight, who was procurator in Belgic Gaul, and whom the elder Pliny speaks of in his Natural History. Tacitus Upbringing Of the early life of Tacitus and the training which he underwent preparatory to those literary efforts which afterward rendered him a conspicuous figure among Roman literateurs we know absolutely nothing. Career Of the events of his life which transpired after he attained mans estate we know but little beyond that which he himself has recorded in his writings. He occupied a position of some eminence as a pleader at the Roman bar, and in 77 A.D. married the daughter of Julius Agricola, a humane and honorable citizen, who was at that time consul and was subsequently appointed the  governor of Britain. It is quite possible that this very advantageous alliance hastened his promotion to the office of quaestor under Vespasian. Under Domitian, in 88, Tacitus was appointed one of fifteen commissioners to preside at the celebration of the secular games. In the same year, he held the office of praetor  and was a member of one of the most select of the old priestly colleges, in which a prerequisite to membership was that a man should be born of a good family. Travels The following year he appears to have left Rome, and it is possible that he visited Germany and there obtained his knowledge and information respecting the manners and customs of its people which he makes the subject of his work known as the Germany.He did not return to Rome until 93, after an absence of four years, during which time his father-in-law died. Tacitus the Senator Sometime between the years 93 and 97 he was elected to the senate, and during this time witnessed the judicial murders of many of Romes best citizens which were perpetrated under the reign of Nero. Being himself a senator, he felt that he was not entirely guiltless of the crimes which were committed, and in his Agricola we find him giving expression to this feeling in the following words: Our own hands dragged Helvidius to prison; ourselves were tortured with the spectacle of Mauricus and Rusticus, and sprinkled with the innocent blood of Senecio. In 97 he was elected to the consulship as successor to Virginius Rufus, who died during his term of office and at whose funeral Tacitus delivered an oration in such a manner to cause Pliny to say, The good fortune of Virginius was crowned by having the most eloquent of panegyrists. Tacitus and Pliny as Prosecutors In 99 Tacitus was appointed by the senate, together with Pliny, to conduct the prosecution against a great political offender, Marius Priscus, who, as proconsul of Africa, had corruptly mismanaged the affairs of his province. We have his associates testimony that Tacitus made a most eloquent and dignified reply to the arguments which were urged on the part of the defense. The prosecution was successful, and both Pliny and Tacitus were awarded a vote of thanks by the senate for their eminent and effectual efforts in the management of the case. Date of Death The exact date of Tacituss death is not known, but in his Annals he seems to hint at the successful extension of the Emperor Trajans eastern campaigns during the years 115 to 117  so that it is probable that he lived until the year 117. Renown Tacitus had a widespread reputation during his lifetime. On one occasion it is related of him that as he sat in the circus at the celebration of some games, a Roman knight asked him whether he was from Italy or the provinces. Tacitus answered, You know me from your reading, to which the knight quickly replied, Are you then Tacitus or Pliny?It is also worthy of notice that the Emperor Marcus Claudius Tacitus, who reigned during the third century, claimed to be descended from the historian, and directed that ten copies of his works should be published every year and placed in the public libraries. The Works of Tacitus The list of the extant works of Tacitus is as follows: the Germany; the Life of Agricola; the Dialogue on Orators; the Histories, and the Annals. On the Translations Germany The following pages contain translations of the first two of these works. The Germany, the full title of which is Concerning the situation, manners, and inhabitants of Germany, contains little of value from a historical standpoint. It describes with vividness the fierce and independent spirit of the German nations, with many suggestions as to the dangers in which the empire stood of these people. The Agricola is a biographical sketch of the writers father-in-law, who, as has been said, was a distinguished man and governor of Britain. It is one of the authors earliest works and was probably written shortly after the death of Domitian, in 96. This work, short as it is, has always been considered an admirable specimen of a  biography on account of its grace and dignity of expression. Whatever else it may be, it is a graceful and affectionate tribute to an upright and excellent man. Dialogue on Orators The Dialogue on Orators treats of the decay of eloquence under the empire. It is in the form of a dialogue  and represents two eminent members of the Roman bar discussing the change for the worse that had taken place in the early education of the Roman youth. Histories The Histories relate the events which transpired in Rome, beginning with the accession of Galba, in 68, and ending with the reign of Domitian, in 97. Only four books and a fragment of a fifth have been preserved to us. These books contain an account of the brief reigns of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. The portion of the fifth book which has been preserved contains an interesting, though rather biased account of the character, customs, and religion of the Jewish nation viewed from the standpoint of a cultivated citizen of Rome. Annals The Annals contain the history of the empire from the death of Augustus, in 14, to the death of Nero, in 68, and originally consisted of sixteen books. Of these, only nine have come down to us in a state of entire preservation, and of the other seven we have but fragments of three. Out of a period of fifty-four years, we have the history of about forty. The Style The style of Tacitus is, perhaps, noted principally for its conciseness. Tacitean brevity is proverbial, and many of his sentences are so brief, and leave so much for the student to read between the lines, that in order to be understood and appreciated the author must be read over and over again, lest the reader miss the point of some of his most excellent thoughts. Such an author presents grave, if not insuperable, difficulties to the translator, but notwithstanding this fact, the following pages cannot but impress the reader with the genius of Tacitus. The Life of Cnaeus Julius Agricola [This work is supposed by the commentators to have been written before the treatise on the manners of the Germans, in the third consulship of the emperor Nerva, and the second of Verginius Rufus, in the year of Rome 850, and of the Christian era 97. Brotier accedes to this opinion, but the reason which he assigns does not seem to be satisfactory. He observes that Tacitus, in the third section, mentions the emperor Nerva; but as he does not call him Divus Nerva, the deified Nerva, the learned commentator infers that Nerva was still living. This reasoning might have some weight, if we did not read, in section 44, that it was the ardent wish of Agricola that he might live to behold Trajan in the imperial seat. If Nerva was then alive, the wish to see another in his room would have been an awkward compliment to the reigning prince. It is, perhaps, for this reason, that Lipsius thinks this very elegant tract was written at the same time with the Manners of the Germans, in the beginning of the emperor Trajan. The question is not very material  since conjecture alone must decide it. The piece itself is admitted to be a masterpiece in the kind. Tacitus was son-in-law to Agricola; and while filial piety breathes through his work, he never departs from the integrity of his own character. He has left a historical monument highly interesting to every Briton, who wishes to know the manners of his ancestors, and the spirit of liberty that from the earliest time distinguished the natives of Britain. Agricola, as Hume observes, was the general who finally established the dominion of the Romans on this island. He governed  it in the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. He carried his victorious arms northward: defeated the Britons in every encounter, pierced into the forests and the mountains of Caledonia, reduced every state to subjection in the southern parts of the island, and chased before him all the men of fiercer and more intractable spirits, who deemed war and death itself less int olerable than servitude under the victors. He defeated them in a decisive action, which they fought under Galgacus; and having fixed a chain of garrisons between the friths of Clyde and Forth, he cut off the ruder and more barren parts of the island, and secured the Roman province from the incursions of the barbarous inhabitants. During these military enterprises, he neglected not the arts of peace. He introduced laws and civility among the Britons; taught them to desire and raise all the conveniences of life; reconciled them to the Roman language and manners; instructed them in letters and science; and employed every expedient to render those chains, which he had forged, both easy and agreeable to them. (Humes Hist. vol. i. p. 9.) In this passage, Mr. Hume has given a summary of the Life of Agricola. It is extended by Tacitus in a style more open than the didactic form of the essay on the German Manners required, but still with the precision, both in sentiment and diction, peculiar to the author. In rich but subdued colors he gives a striking picture of Agricola, leaving to posterity a portion of history which it would be in vain to seek in the dry gazette-style of Suetonius, or on the page of any writer of that period.] Introduction | The Agricola | Translation Footnotes

How To Use the Spanish Verb Parar

How To Use the Spanish Verb Parar Although the Spanish verb parar is a cognate of the English verb pare, its meaning is far different: It generally means to stop or to halt something or someone, and the words most closely related to parar are usually related to the idea of something being stopped. Parar is conjugated regularly, following the pattern of hablar. Sample Sentences Using Parar Parar can function as either a transitive or intransitive verb. It can be used, respectively, to say that something is being halted or that that someone or something is stopping or that an activity coming to an end. Some examples of parar used transitively: El policà ­a me parà ³ cuando manejaba el auto de mi mam. (The policeman stopped me when I was driving my mothers car.)En el minuto 11 pararon el partido entre Espaà ±a y Ecuador. (In the 11th minute they halted the match between Spain and Ecuador.)Quieren parar la cosecha para combatir el trabajo infantil. (They want to stop the harvest in order to fight child labor.)Vamos a parar la privatizacià ³n del petrà ³leo. Were going to stop the privatization of oil. In sports usage, intercept can sometimes be a good translation: El portero parà ³ tres penaltis tras la prà ³rroga. (The goalie intercepted three penalty kicks in overtime.) Examples of parar as an intransitive verb: El coche parà ³ en el lado del camino. (The car stopped on the side of the road.)Vamos a parar para rehidratarnos y para descansar. (We are going to stop to rehydrate ourselves and to rest.)Quiero que no pare el concierto. (I hope the concert doesnt end.) The reflexive form pararse can also be used to refer to a person or thing stopping rather than being stopped. Me parà © cuando lleguà © al camino. I stopped when I arrived at the road.No nos vamos a parar a explicaros cà ³mo hacerlo. Were not going to stop to explain to you how to do it. ¿Te paraste a pensar que deberà ­a? Did you stop to think what you should do?Ella se parà ³ frente a mi, sujetando mis hombros. She stopped in front of me, grabbing my shoulders. Using Prepositions With Parar The phrase parar de followed by an infinitive refers to the stopping or quitting of an action: Los Tigres no pararon de festejar en el vestidor. (The Tigers didnt stop celebrating in the locker room.)Hay muchos beneficios de parar de fumar. (There are many benefits to quitting smoking.) The phrase parar en often suggests remaining stationary or staying somewhere: Me parà ³ en la puerta de la habitacià ³n y di un leve toque a la puerta. (I stood at the door of the room and lightly knocked on the door.)Mientras que en una tour de Rumania, paramos en el hotel Wolf en Bran. (While on a tour of Romania, we stayed at the Wolf Hotel in Bran.) The phrase sin parar is very common and refers to something happening nonstop or continuously: Bailamos sin parar en San Isidro lloviera o hiciera sol. (We danced all the time in San Isidro, rain or shine.)Javier comà ­a sin parar con una sonrisa en los labios. (Javier ate nonstop with a smile on his lips.) Words Related to Parar The past participle parado often refers to being unemployed or otherwise idle. As a personality trait, parado can refer to someone being timid; sometimes it is used pejoratively to refer to someone unambitious. In can also refer to someone being taken aback or surprised: Grecia emplear temporalmente a 50.000 parados en trabajos para la comunidad. (Greece will temporarily hire 50,000 unemployed people in community jobs.)Mi hijo es muy parado, y por esta causa a mi hija le gusta controlar la situacià ³n. (My son is quite timid, so my daughter likes to control the situation.)Estaba viendo en la televisià ³n como siempre y me encontrà © con algo que me dejà ³ parado. (I was watching the television as always and ran across something that left me stunned.) A parada is a place where vehicles stop to pick up or drop off passengers: La parada de autobuses se encuentra a la salida del aeropuerto. (The bus stop is found at the airports exit.) Key Takeaways Parar is a common verb usually meaning to stop or to halt.Parar can be used transitively (with a direct object) or intransitively (without an object).Sin parar is a common phrase meaning without stopping or continuously.

The Most Important Qualities of an Outstanding Educator Essay

The Most Important Qualities of an Outstanding Educator - Essay Example One of the core characteristics of an outstanding teacher is the ability to adapt to changing needs. A teacher must be able to accommodate students with the use of latest instructional technologies. Learning needs of the students change with time. A perfect teacher is one who is aware of the changing trends and has the ability to become accustomed to the social and technological changes that may affect students at some point in time.Motivation is also one of the basic qualities of an outstanding educator. A good teacher is always motivated towards bringing positive changes in the educational life of the students. Without motivation, no one can succeed in his/her professional life. Good teachers are very enthusiastic and passionate by nature and put every effort to bring success not only to their own lives but also to the educational life of the students.Commitment is also a quality of an outstanding teacher. A good teacher is committed towards his/her responsibilities and never compr omises on the standard of knowledge that he/she delivers to the students. Commitment is a key towards success for every person and for teachers, it is not an exception. A good teacher is always dedicated and committed to making the students learn everything efficiently. They take their responsibility seriously and take every step to fulfill the responsibility in an appropriate manner. Good teachers view teaching not only as a moral and professional obligation but also as a social responsibility to wards the students.

Exploring parents views on their roles in their childrens creativity Dissertation

Exploring parents views on their roles in their childrens creativity development - Dissertation Example In today’s world,creativity is a quality that is becoming of great demand.In response to this, the NACCCE has advocated the incorporation of creativity in the curriculum of schools,knowing its significance in children’s growth and development and its value in helping them develop the necessary skills for their future. NACCCE claims that when children are exposed to environments where teachers’ creative abilities are engaged, these children are likely to develop creative abilities themselves (Jeffrey & Craft, 2001). In view of this, provision of environments or opportunities for creativity development also extends to the home setting. This paper intends to explore parental views on their children’s creativity development in both school and home settings. Literature Review Malaguzzi (1998), prominent educator and founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach in education, most appropriately expressed: Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled wit h a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known. Creativity seems to express itself though cognitive, affective and imaginative processes (p. 76). Some other accepted definitions of Creativity are as follows: the ability to see things in new ways; boundary breaking and going beyond the information given; thinking unconventionally; making something unique or original; and combining unrelated things into something new (Schirrmacher, 1988). Torrance (1965), a proponent in creativity research, defines creativity as the â€Å"process of sensing problems or gaps in information, forming ideas or hypotheses and communicating the results.† Schirrmacher (1988) explains that creativity may be explained in terms of product, process, skill set of personality traits or set of environmental conditions. As a product, it is viewed as a new invention, creation or thought, like the works of creative geniuses such as Mozart, Plato, G alileo, Newton and Einstein, among others. In this explanation, creativity seems to be elitist difficult to achieve for ordinary people (Schirrmacher, 1988). As a process, creativity is more inclusive, as coming up with a product is not a requirement and everyone can do creative processing that includes â€Å"thinking, speaking, playing, writing, dancing, singing, playing a musical instrument, experimenting with objects, transforming materials and manipulating ideas and objects.† (Schirrmacher, 1988). Engaging in the creative process brings a feeling of fulfillment to the person even if the creative expression does not result in a product. Creative individuals are identified by a set of personality traits. Researchers on creativity have come up with their own lists basing from their own research. Torrance (1962) has identified seven indicators of creativity as follows: curiosity, flexibility, sensitivity to problems, redefinition, self-feeling, originality and insight. Origin ally, these indicators were given to identify highly creative children. However, upon further analysis, such indicators likewise describe highly creative adults. Johnson (1972) has compiled a number of research in the field of creativity, and has come up with the main dimensions of creative achievement as intellectual leadership; sensitivity to problems; originality, ingenuity, unusualness; usefulness, appropriateness; and breadth. In terms of explaining creativity developing from a set of environmental conditions, it may be concluded that the greater one’s background of experiences with people, places, objects and life, in general, the greater the scope of possibilities to draw from in the expression of creativity. On the other hand, if one is naive and is not exposed to a variety of life experiences, his creative thinking may be limited to the small environment

Christopher Nolan and the Philosophy of Neo-Noir Case Study

Christopher Nolan and the Philosophy of Neo-Noir - Case Study Example In the neo-noir sense, the product of the narrative can be invented. What looks like facts in narratives may be viewed as pieces of the puzzle and can be reassembled to bring out various end products. Nolan brings out a moral ambivalence brought about by the inversion of traditional values. He also brings out themes on social criticism by preventing crime and violence, and different feelings like paranoia and alienation brought about by various situations and different moods of dislocation. Nolan also brings out disorientation as a theme on the viewers part. These themes focus on key areas that make up the plot (Conard, 46). Christopher Nolan also uses stylistic devices that include the constant opposition of light and shadow, the use of non-classical narrative patterns, the relation between camera angles and scenes and incoherent plot lines. He also uses the characters of various positions within shots, their unmotivated actions that cannot be understood and incoherent plot lines. There is also the use of flashbacks that portrays the non-chronological order of events. Nolan uses all these devices to portray the anti-hero protagonist who is a good person but has to make questionable decisions due to circumstances (Conard, 58). The function of a master narrative is that it is constructed and designed to bring out an affirmative and an off-putting in every situation. Nolan’s story concludes with Leonard Shelby the anti-hero protagonist, as someone who goes through the good and the bad and still manages to rearrange the clues in order to come out on top. This brings out the neo-noir sense that we can either see good or evil in a situation or person depending on how we rearrange the pieces of the puzzle. Leonard distorts this syntactically to be either on top or towards the bottom.

Outline and discuss the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as means of Essay

Outline and discuss the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as means of valuing securities and their risk. What are the drawbacks - Essay Example Thus each firm has to bear the cost of debt and cost of equity. These costs are calculated through various financial models designed to give an accurate analysis of the costs the firms have to bear. There are three models used by analysts and firms to calculate their cost of capital; the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the Dividend Valuation Model and the Arbitrage Pricing Theory. The focus of this report is the CAPM model and a comparison between this model and the Dividend Valuation Model. â€Å"The capital asset pricing model attributable to Sharpe (1964) is a cornerstone of modern financial theory and originates from the analysis of the cost of capital.† (Chouodary 2004) this market model encompasses the concept of risk and comes under the domain of risk premium market models. This model takes into account the risks borne by the investor for investing in the securities. When an investor puts his money in any security he faces many risks ranging from liquidity to inflat ion etc. The underlying principle of the capital asset pricing model is that investors want to be compensated for bearing the risk in the form of extra return. This extra return is over and above the risk free rate as risk free securities have no risk due to their guaranteed nature. All government securities are risk free as the government will pay back all its investors and there is no default involved in this case. Thus, before actually giving you the CAPM equation one needs to understand the logic of risk and return i.e. the concepts that make up the component of the CAPM equation. Risk and return valuations are the most important part of investment decisions. The risk and return go proportionately with each other i.e. greater the risk greater will be the return. Deriving from the basics an expected return is the mean of the probability distribution of possible future returns. ‘The expected return on an investment is the average return from the investment and is calculated as the probability weighted sum of all potential returns.’(Rao, 1989) The concept of risk and return arises due to the uncertainty of future outcomes. The underlying factor here is that the actual return received may be different from the expected return, thus generating risk for the investors. All financial assets produce cash flows and the riskiness of these assets is derived from the riskiness of these cash flows. An asset considered in isolation carries stand-alone risk and is considered to be less risky as compared to when it is held in a portfolio. In a portfolio, assets with different expected return are grouped together. The risk of the portfolio is divided into two parts: diversifiable risk and market risk. The diversifiable risk is the one that can be eliminated and therefore this type of risk is not accounted for in the risk computation. The risk that the investors are really interested in calculating is the market risk (the non-diversifiable risk) i.e. the relevan t risk which arises from the broad market movements. The measures of the risk are variance and standard deviation. The variance of a stock can be calculated using the below formula provided the required rate of return is given: N Var(R) = ?2 = ? pi(Ri – E[R])2 i=1 Where: N = the number of states pi = the probability of state i Ri = the return on the stock in state i E[R] = the expected return on the stock The positive square root of variance is standards deviation which