Individualism in Szuma Chiens Historical Biographies †History Essay

Individualism in Szuma Chiens Historical Biographies – History Essay Free Online Research Papers Individualism in Szuma Chien’s Historical Biographies History Essay Through the course of China’s development of the written word, the aged tradition of recording history has played an indispensable role. The Chinese have long valued historical accounts as precedents to guide their own lives, and in the past it was these writings that gradually gave rise to later literary forms such as fiction. The historical biography, or zhuan, appeared as an intermediate genre, and many still consider it as the quintessential narrative form. Supplying commentary for early recorded history, these pseudo-historical accounts attempted to explain the cause and motivation behind actual events. Scholars and advisors then referenced these commentaries as models for their own situations, so these biographies were more concerned with education than painting detailed portraits of individuals. Of the vast number of historical biographies composed throughout China past, Szuma Chien’s Shi Ji stands out as the most well-known and arguably most important piece of Chinese historical writing. Completed around 100 BC and Comprising 130 chapters, it presents a model that influenced subsequent writings of the genre as well as other mor e modern types of literature. Moreover, it illustrates central ideas about society and, more importantly, the individual as a microcosm of society. In the stories â€Å"Hsiang Yu† and â€Å"The Assassins†, for example, Szuma Chien uses the lives of failed heroes to exemplify desirable qualities that make the men appear ideal while also pointing out faults and peculiarities that show their innate humanness. In a sense, these men represent exemplary models of behavior that still resemble the reader. This makes the subjects and their valuable qualities accessible, thereby encouraging readers to place emphasis on the self and emulate the heroes’ righteousness, courage, honor, determination, and other values. Yet, although the central characters have been normalized, these stories fail to address aspects of life seen in other literary genres, such as emotion, religion, and the supernatural. On the other hand, this disregard helps to add emphasis to the self and do not take away from the overall effect and importance of Szuma Chien’s work. In the biography â€Å"Hsiang Yu†, the author normalizes a flawed hero in order to articulate the traditional Chinese belief that, to attaining success in life, one must first instill desirable qualities in the self. The narrative portrays Hsiang Yu as a strong-willed, courageous, and virtuous man whose own arrogance and rash character ultimately leads to his defeat to Liu Pang. The storyline can be broken up into two parts of a parabola shape: a steady rise to power followed by an equally progressive decline. During Hsiang Yu’s ascension, the author highlights the man’s heroic qualities by enlacing his account with a reverent tone. Even early in the story, when Hsiang Yu kills the governor of Wu to raise an army against Chin, the narrative describes: â€Å"Hsiang Yu killed several scores of them. The whole office cowered in terror and no one dared stand against him† (â€Å"Records of the Historian†, p206). The image showing the officials cow ering implies their cowardice and illustrates Hsiang Yu’s bravery by comparison. As the defeated are portrayed unfavorably here, the author elevates the protagonist as a strong and fearless victor, the archetypal hero. In fact, Hsiang Yu’s strength and courage become increasingly accentuated as he repeatedly leads his men to victory against the oppressive Chin’s forces. During the battle to capture the Chin capital, a climatic point in the narrative that ultimately sets Hsiang Yu at his prime, Szuma Chien draws attention to another heroic quality of this man: his strength of mind. Resolved to defeat Chin, Hsiang Yu kills Song Yi, who has advised against immediate action, and unhesitatingly â€Å"led his entire force across the river. They sank all their boats, smashed their cooking vessels, burned their huts, and carried only three days’ rations with them, to allow their determination to fight to the death and never to turn back. They†¦defeate d it utterly† (212-3). In vividly detailing the absolute resolve involved in this battle, the narrative emphasizes determination and shi, the ability to seize the moment, as notable values to uphold. Only by adhering to his own beliefs and imposing absolute resolve, could Hsiang Yu attain total victory over Chin and eventually conquer a vast territory and become the Overlord of West Chu. In addition to bravery and determination, Szuma Chien presents his subject’s virtue, or de, as a desirable quality that plays an essential part in his rise to power. One can see Hsiang Yu’s virtuous nature when he derides Song Yi for delaying the attack on Chin: â€Å"‘The harvest has failed, the people are destitute†¦yet he holds a great banquet’† (212)! Hsiang Yu’s primary concern for the community evidences his compassion and high Confucian morals over personal benefit, and this de helps to win him loyalty from his troops as well as new fol lowers, which prove indispensable in his accumulation of power. Hence, in recounting the life of Hsiang Yu, Szuma Chien emphasizes the importance and benefit of possessing attributes such as bravery, determination, and virtue. In the second part of his narrative, in giving equivalent attention to Hsiang Yu’s downfall as his rise, Szuma Chien promotes the cultivation of desirable values in the self. Firstly, the historian depicts a man who falls prey to his own deep-rooted flaws. As a child, he was clever but never saw his studies to the end. As an adult, he allowed his victories to inflate his ego to the point where he ignored advisors and grew increasingly ruthless and arrogant. Impetuous and headstrong, he never believed himself to be at fault. Rather than decry his subject, however, Szuma Chien paints his demise in a sympathetic tone. In fact, he actually uses others’ points of view to present the victor, Liu Pang, unfavorably. Fan Hseng, for one, disparages him as one who â€Å"was greedy for wealth and fond of beautiful women† (216). In contrast, Hsiang Yu’s ability to attract numerous subordinates shows that others find his character much more worthy. Clearly Sz uma Chien holds a similar view, for he instills sympathy in the reader when associating the failed conqueror’s final hours with a tragic song and tears for his beloved concubine. This sympathetic tone prevents the reader from regarding the protagonist with disdain or derision. Instead, the failed hero’s fatal flaws normalize him so that the reader identifies with him and realizes the potential power of the individual that comes with the adoption of the same desirable values that Hsiang Yu possessed. While one might have read the first part of the biography believing that the subject’s achievement elevates him high above the common man, this latter part of the narrative presents Hsiang Yu as an individual who is, in fact, flawed like the reader, but whose exceptional qualities raise him above the everyman. This historical biography, therefore, is vehicle to the idea that one can attain greatness by implementing the right values and behavior in himself. At th e same time, it serves a didactic purpose in modeling favorable qualities such as courage and virtue while also cautioning against the faults that led to Hsiang Yu’s demise. Szuma Chien reinforces the emphasis on the self in a commentary at the end: â€Å"What a fool he was to say that Heaven was against him and that it was not his generalship that was at fault (237)! This commentary asserts that each person succumbs to the consequences to his own actions and character, in opposition to the belief that life is preordained by a greater power. One must nurture a worthy self before they can control larger entities such as the family or even the state. Thus, in depicting the life of a heroic but flawed man, Szuma Chien emphasizes self-cultivation and encourages values modeled after Hsiang Yu’s strengths: his courage, resolve, and virtue. In his historical biography â€Å"The Assassins†, Szuma Chien again emphasizes the importance of individual achievement through depiction of exemplary lives. While â€Å"Hsiang Yu† describes a life of great renown and achievement, this collection of narratives about various assassins in history focuses on commoner, lesser-known men who are nevertheless instilled with many of the same desirable values that led Hsiang Yu to power and fame. As with Hsiang Yu, Szuma Chien portrays these men as heroically as the embodiment of character ideals that serve as models for the reader. One such heroic value, which Szuma Chien illuminates in his Hsiang Yu biography as well as all assassin stories, is bravery. None of the men hesitate to risk their own lives for some ultimate goal, whether it is repayment, righteousness, or recognition. One can attribute this courage largely to the assassins’ absolute moral certainty, which cements their resolve and stays them from turni ng back on their goal. In Chuan Chu’s murder of King Liao, for instance, he â€Å"broke open the fish and stabbed the king with the dagger, dispatching him in an instant† (â€Å"The Assassins†, 387). In showing no reluctance or uncertainty in taking action to eradicate King Liao, Chuan Chu sets himself apart from the everyman, who is often riddled with indecision and need for compromise. Szuma Chien, then, depicts how a value such as moral certainty can elevate a person to distinction and heroism. This certainty also infuses the assassins with unwavering loyalty. In many of the stories, the assassins commit themselves to repayment, or bao, for patrons who gave them a name by recognizing their merit. For instance, Yu Jang, who inflicts physical mutilation upon himself in order to repeat attempts at avenging his patron, reflects that, â€Å"‘This way is very hard, but my aim is to shame all those who in future are guilty of disloyalty to their lordsâ €™â€  (388). Although Yu Jang ultimately fails in his goal, even his enemy recognizes his worth and offers the assassin his coat before taking his life. Szuma Chien therefore uses secondary points of view in illustrating the importance and nobility of loyalty and repayment. While Hsiang Yu shows his virtue when refusing to kill Liu Pang in adherence to Confucian ritual, or li, the assassins show similar greatness in pursuing bao. While the more common reader might not identify with li, he will most certainly understand the motifs of bao and loyalty, and Szuma Chien hence uses these assassin biographies to promote these ideal values. In the story of Nieh Cheng, the assassin honorably seeks repayment for his patron’s kindness, but his sister Jung is admirable for showing a different type of loyalty. She bestows fame upon her brother by identifying his body and perishes besides him, showing faithfulness to family. The community recognizes the two’s honor, a nd even the narrator praises their patron for being â€Å"a good judge of character able to find loyal helpers† (302). Szuma Chien again uses varying points of view to reveal his subjects’ merit, thus promoting their loyalty as a precious virtue that raises these otherwise ordinary persons to greatness. The grand historian’s narratives moreover reveal his subjects as pursuers of justice, or yi, a Confucian value. The assassins in the biographies sacrifice themselves to set things right according to their beliefs. The famous Prince Tan story vividly exemplifies this unrelenting desire for justice, as the pursuit of it eventually leads to the sacrifice of not only the assassin Ching Ko, but also of Fan Yu-chi, Chin Wu-yang, Kao Chien-li, and eventually Prince Tan himself. Before carrying out the assassination Ching Ko sings movingly, â€Å"‘The wind is wailing, cold the River Yi,/ And a hero sets forth, never to return’† (399). Here Szuma Chien uses an unconventional verse form and shows that Ching Ko does not yield to fear or despair and upholds his obligation to justice and bao even in the face of imminent death. Although Ching Ko fails in his mission to attain yi for his patron, Szuma Chien gives him fame by portraying him as one of the most noble failed heroes who even inspires others such as Kao Chien-li to continue his pursuit of justice. In doing so, the historian encourages this virtue in his audience. At the same time, by using unorthodox characters who are nevertheless heroic and honorable, he makes his point accessible to a larger audience. The peculiarities of these exemplary roles diverts them from the model imposed by the state, and because of this they bear greater resemblance to the reader. Szuma Chien asserts that the fame and honor in these men come from their individual values and not predestined capabilities. He thereby encourages the readers to emulate the virtues of these heroes, and to n urture nobility in themselves by adopting heroic qualities such as bravery, moral certainty, faithfulness, and righteousness. The author, in essence, uses his stories as a means of conveying the traditional Chinese belief that success in life begins with perfecting the self. Although Szuma Chien breaks literary barriers in using unconventional roles as character models and expanding narratives to include more genres and points of view, he ignores aspects of life explored in other forms of Chinese literature. For one, he does not incorporate personal sentiments, a subject that appears later in more fictional writings. The narratives, for the most part, merely recount assumedly factual information without describing the opinions, emotions, and reactions associated. The few passages that do reveal emotion, such as when Hsiang Yu and Ching Ko despair over their doom, are confined to verses instead of being incorporated into the main narrative. Yet, failing to include emotions does not weaken Szuma Chien’s argument for the potential of the individual. By presenting a frame of exemplary morals and behavior rather than a detailed personality, the author draws emphasis to his subjects’ model values and diverts attention from the rest of his c haracter. This way, he strengthens his belief about the importance of nurturing these model values in the self. Another aspect of life that is widely explored in Chinese literature but ignored by Szuma Chien is the role of otherworldly beings. These include gods that dominate early Chinese mythology as well as spirits and officials of the Heavens and underworld that appear in writings such as anomaly tales. In fact, Szuma Chien purposely remarks that the Heavens did not play a role in Hsiang Yu’s failure. By rejecting the idea of destiny, or ming, he stresses that people craft their own fates through their own actions. This fits with his emphasis on the importance of self-cultivation and individual action in taking control of life. Thus, by ignoring subjects such as personal sentiments and higher otherworldly powers, Szuma Chien promotes developing a noble self through the adoption of the heroic values modeled in Hsiang Yu and the assassins. In the in his famed work Shi Ji, the grand historian Szuma Chien uses the historical biographies â€Å"Hsiang Yu† and â€Å"The Assassins† to convey the traditional Chinese cultural belief about the importance of nurturing the self. The individual is a smaller replica of larger entities such as the family and the community, and only after one develops a worthy self can he attain control over those larger areas. To guide his audience, the author promotes values such as courage, determination, virtue, loyalty, and righteousness by modeling them in the protagonists of his biographies. Instead of portraying these subjects as ideal, however, he afflicts them with faults, failures, and oddities that normalize them without effacing their exemplary heroic qualities. In doing so, he allows the audience, who are themselves plagued with common flaws like weakness, indecision, and insecurity, to identify with the stories’ central figures. The text thereby promotes indi vidual accomplishment through the pursuit of the same values that elevate the flawed heroes above the ordinary man and win them fame. In drawing attention to the individual, Szuma Chien’s masterpiece establishes precedents in his time that are mirrored in later Chinese literature. For example, he is the first to sign his name to his work and incorporate multiple types of writing and points of view, including that of his own. In doing this, he presents a bias in factual accounts that lead readers to acquire similar inequitable opinions of different historical figures. It is this vivid characterization that continuously wins Shi Ji, as well as the zhuan narrative form, high regard over the centuries and today. Bibliography: Yang Hsien-yi Gladys Yang, Selections from Records of the Historian by Szuma Chien, Peking, Foreign Languages Press, 1979, p. 205-237 (â€Å"Hsiang Yu†), 385-402 (â€Å"The Assassins†) Research Papers on Individualism in Szuma Chien’s Historical Biographies - History EssayWhere Wild and West MeetCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsMind TravelHip-Hop is ArtEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionBringing Democracy to AfricaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

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Stravinsky essays Igor Sikorsky was born in 1889 and died in 1972. He was born in Kiev Russia. He was born in Russia but he would say that the proudest day of his life was when he became a U.S. citizen. Although he loved to make helicopters and work with aeronauctics, he had other interests such as astronomy. Among his many other talents he was a writer, he wrote a short book called "The Message of the Lords Prayer" and an autobigraphy called the "Story of the Winged S". Many people refer to Sikorsky as the " Father of the Helicopter." Sikorsky did not want to accept the fact that people were calling him the " Father of the Helicopter." The book did not explain exactly why he thought he wasn't the "Father of the Helicopter". Igor invented three helicopters for the army. They were the XR-1, the Platt-LePage ( which because of it's big size had to be put under developmental changes) and a later model the VS-300 the armys third helicopter. This third helicopter was Sikorsky's best helicopter. The army iked it because it had three two bladed ajustable rotors and it could operate at zero air speed. Each of the rotors were about 4 feet in diameter. Igor Sikorsky went to Yale University and received a doctors degree for all of his achievments. Igor was renowned as a constructor of safe and reliable aircrafts. Igor called all of his helicopters "heli". The most successful of all of his helicopters was the - Igor Sikorsky died in 1972. When he died his son Sergei said"mourn that he is gone, be grateful that he was". They say Igor Siorsky ws the most gentle, mild mannered, gracious, and courteous individual there ever was. ...

Individual Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual Assignment - Essay Example According to Weitz (2012), the use of multiple retail channels enables the consumers to buy what they want, when they want and wherever they want. This strategy has provided great convenience to consumers in that they can enjoy shopping from the comfort of their homes. They can also do shopping whenever they want in an environment that promotes interaction with the retailers. The other advantage of multi channel retailing is that the customers can have access to a variety of products. The buying behaviour of the consumers is also influenced by different cultural factors. Basically, every consumer belongs to a specific culture and these cultural factors help the consumers make sense of and relate to the environment (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). It can be noted that specific behaviour are related to certain aspects of the culture. Thus, culture is comprised of a set of basic values, perceptions, work patterns as well as products and food customs among other factors. All these shape the behaviour of the customers. Therefore, it can be seen that the products offered in mainland Hong Kong are tailored in such a way that is meant to fulfill needs and interests of the targeted consumers. Given such a scenario, it can be observed that the mainland consumers are under no pressure to look further than their boundaries to purchase different products since they can get them from their own country. The products are also designed to attract new customers while at the same time r etaining the already existing buyers. Certain categories of products benefited most in the past and they include the following. For instance, the department stores sales dropped down to 5.3% y/y drop in December and this was a reversal of the +6.0% y/y growth that was witnessed in November. On the other hand, it can be observed that medicines and cosmetics growth slowed down to

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The influence of Marxist theory in 'The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America' by Michael Taussig - Essay Example aussig sets out the premise of his work as an attempt to interpret what are â€Å"to us in the industrialized world the exotic ideas of some rural people in Colombia and Bolivia concerning the meaning of the capitalist relations of production and exchange into which they are daily being drawn.† (Taussig,1983, p 3). Therefore, he sets up the critical vantage point that people in peripheral civilizations have on capitalism and suggests that they may offer valuable insight into western culture. On this basis therefore, it may be noted that Taussig appears to place the primitive people of these peripheral tribes of Bolivia and Colombia in a superior position to observe the western cultures, which in reality are the more primitive because they are based upon the system of capitalism. Marx introduces the concept of commodity fetishism in the introductory chapters of his work â€Å"Das Kapital† as a state of social relations which arise in complex capitalist market systems, where such relations are centered upon the value placed by people on commodities. The significance of Marx’s use of the term fetishism in the context of commodities lies in the fact that in Marx’s day, the word was primarily used in the context of primitive religions, therefore Marx’s relegation of commodities to fetishism signifies the primitive nature of the belief system which lies at the heart of modern society. Therefore, it is akin to an illusory role that Marx ascribes to private property which is often at the centre of capitalist systems. Applying this, Marx argues that the work of social relations among people appears to be conditioned not by their interactions, but largely by commodities in the marketplace, since it is the market that appears to decide who should do what for whom. As a result, human relations conditioned by the market become so commercial that people become unaware of their social relations and become alienated from their own social activity, because they are so lost in

Joyce’s novel Essay Example for Free

Joyce’s novel Essay The novels Mrs. Dalloway and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, written by Virginia Woolf and James Joyce respectively, are tales of persons who are challenged by the society in which they live. The roles traditionally handed down to men and women become elements of restraint for many of the characters within the stories. While convention dictates the actions that the characters should perform, the readers get the impression that the authors are in opposition to these traditions. Throughout the day spent with Mrs. Dalloway and her friends, situations arise in which characters become critical of others’ choices in a way that depicts the ideas of the narrator or author. Likewise, in the experiences of Stephen Dedalus and the other characters of Joyce’s novel, one finds that they often desire to perform actions alien to the stereotypical roles of their genders. 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Yet, Woolf appears immediately to intimate to the reader the undesirability of all this tradition to Clarissa herself, as she is seen at the outset of the novel going on an errand that should normally have been reserved for her servants. Her desire for independence is asserted in the first sentence, â€Å"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself (Woolf 1). Though this rebellion is a small one and is buried in the guise of â€Å"womanly† work (going to buy flowers), the commercial aspect of it places her in the position of a business person, just as the errand frees her from the confines of the home. On this walk she thinks of Peter Walsh, a man with whom she once shared her passions for literature and freedom. Her thoughts and desires break through conventions that dictate the subservience of women. She considers marriage in a way that seems alien to its constitution, as she imbues her role in it with the type of independence that one does not usually find in the traditional view of marriage. She explains that her decision against marrying Peter was made because â€Å"In marriage a little licence, a little independence there must be between people living together day in day out in the same house; which Richard gave her, and she him† (Woolf 5). This demonstrates the extent to which she desires not to be subsumed by her husband as women often are in marriages. Continuing, she thinks, â€Å"When it came to that scene in the little garden by the fountain, she had to break with him [Peter] or they would have been destroyed, both of them ruined, she was convinced† (6). This tells what she considers her life would have been like with Peter. She seeks to add a portion of masculinity to her role by keeping something of herself and continuing to show herself to the world—a right that is usually granted without reservation to married men, but tacitly withheld from women of that time. Clarissa continues to demonstrate her inner tendencies to throw off the traditional gender role and to fulfill her political and occupational dreams. During that time in England, women’s occupations were limited to household-related chores. She considers other women who had lived non-traditional lives, and longs to have her life to live again so she could make different choices. The first of those choices would have granted her an occupation that would defy her gender. The narrator assures us that Clarissa Dalloway â€Å"would have been, like Lady Bexborough, slow and stately; rather large; interested in politics like a man; with a country house; very dignified, very sincere† (Woolf 8). 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Summary of James Hiltons Goodbye, Mr. Chips Essay example -- Teachers

Summary of James Hilton's Goodbye, Mr. Chips James Hilton’s novel Goodbye, Mr. Chips is the story of an English schoolmaster who dedicated his entire adult life teaching young boys. He was a somewhat shy person. Nevertheless he was a competent school teacher, professional and attractive in many different ways. Although his first teaching experience was not successful, he was determined to become a good schoolmaster. After coming to Brookfield, he began to warm up to his students. But more important he brought discipline to his school which is the requirement for good teaching—something he did not achieve while teaching at Melbery. After teaching 25 years at Brookfield, Chips was still unmarried. Everyone thought that he would never get married because he had passed the usual marrying age. But, he did marry and it happened under unusual conditions. He went on a trip to the Lake district of England and there, he met his future wife, Katherine Bridges. During the trip, he was climbing a steep hill when he saw a woman from far waving at someone down below. The woman was standing on a dangerous-looking ledge and appeared to be asking for help. Chips thought that she needed to be rescued and proceeded to help her. Instead of helping her, he hurt his ankle, and in the end, she ended up helping Chips. Within weeks after their first meeting, they fell in love with each other and before the end of summer, they got married. Katherine deeply loved Chips and he loved her in return. Within a short time, the charming Katherine turned Mr. chips into an good-natured gentleman who was adored by his students. He was changed by the power of love. Chips became a kind, congenial, friendly individual to everyone—so much so that he became the most beloved teacher at Brookfield. Full of enthusiasm, young English schoolmaster Mr. Chipping came to teach at Brookfield in 1870. It was a time when dignity and a kindness of spirit still existed, and the dedicated new schoolmaster expressed these beliefs to his disorderly students. Nicknamed Mr. Chips, this gentle and caring man helped shape the lives of generation after generation of boys. He became a legend at Brookfield, as continuing as the institution itself. And sad but grateful faces told the story when the time came for the students at Brookfield to bid their final goodbye to Mr. Chips. This novel Goodbye, Mr... ...ool’s war dead; for everyone else they are just names, but for Chips, each name has a face attached. After the War the retireds, after 42 years teaching Roman History and Latin at Brookfield. Mr. Chips is the living personification of institutional memory. The classes of boys, the teachers and headmasters, even the subjects and teaching methods, come and go, but Chips has remained throughout. He â€Å"still had those ideas of dignity and generosity that a frantic world was forgetting.† He embodies the pre-War world and its values. In the very middle of an era that was witnessing an unregulated attack on all of the West’s institutions and values, Hilton created Mr. Chips, it represent the conservative ideal—providing a bridge of memory to all that is beautiful and good and decent in our past, just in case, in our zeal to create a perfect world, we forget the qualities and accomplishments which give us the pretty good world in which we live. This book is unabashedly sentimental. I appreciate the sensitivity non-political way in which they make the most important of political points: even as we move forward we must always preserve those things and ideas of value in our past.

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When reading a book, do you ever feel like you have already read a plot like this before? Do you sometimes wonder if you have even read this book already? There are very similar patterns in writing books and producing movies. There are also very similar characters in these books and movies. One type of storyline in particular is the bildungsroman plot. This is the coming to age novel. Bildungsroman books trace back to Germany in the early 1900’s (Cengage). A bildungsroman story generally contains a protagonist who learns and grows as time progresses. This growth can be physical or moral. There are many stories containing this plot. An author tries to send a message out to the reader about life and how you can change. The question is, do all bildungsroman novels have the same outcome? I think that protagonists in bildungsroman stories all have a similar, successful turnout at the end of the story. In this growth novel, there are many things that affect the protagonist. The main character is generally affected most by peers. The people around them can change the way they act, think, and appear. An example of that would be Joe Dirt. This comedy is about a young boy (David Spade) searching for his parents that left him in the Grand Canyon when he was little. During his search, he comes across a wide variety of people that help him along the way. After the long journey, he comes to realize that his family isn’t missing, but they are right there in front of him. He learns that his friends are the ones that truly care for him. One emotion that can heavily affect growth in a bildungsroman novel is love. Love is present in some form in almost every bildungsroman book or movie. Forrest Gump is a great example of how love can direct the outcome of a movie. When Forrest was young, he met a young girl on a bus to school named Jenny. As soon as he met her he said, â€Å"She was the most beautiful girl I ever did saw† (Groom). 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He uses trickery, persuasion, and built up rage in Harry. Harry learns many things along his journey at Hogwarts. He builds his beliefs and values around his constant battle between good and evil. This shows how strong an antagonist can affect a bildungsroman plot. Lastly, setting can affect the way a character will think or act. Huck Finn was a young boy who lived in the South in a time of slavery among African Americans. He is a true red neck who floats up the Mississippi River on a raft. He comes across all types of people on his journey. The setting affects this book so much because the fact the he lives in the south during the slave era shows how he treats black people along the way. He is faced with many problems, and uses his knowledge of his surroundings to get him out of them. My first example for a bildungsroman story is Ender’s Game. Ender is a young boy who joins a school that train young children to fight. He is training to fight against a group of aliens that look almost like insects. Ender was taken in, and he was supposedly the chosen one. He had constant arguments with the people in his battalion, and he even got into a few fights. Ender was bullied when he was the â€Å"new guy† (Maximus), and then slowly became more respected as he became a hardened soldier. The way Ender learned was very different from a lot of archetypal bildungsroman characters. Generally, the protagonist will learn from other people. Ender learned from other people, but developed his own style based on trial and error. Ender proved to be very smart and was rewarded highly for it. He made his own moves for combat and were proven very effective on the battlefield. This book was very different because it didn’t use a common plot for bildungsroman. It focused less on character development, and more on character outcome. A bildungsroman book generally focuses more on development. At the end of the book, Ender finds out that the acclaimed killer of an enemy is actually harmless. They are being attacked without reason, and all of Ender’s practice sessions were actually real battles. It turns out the antagonist wasn’t truly a bad species. They were just looking for a place to survive. Ender learns a lot from the fighting and why he is doing it. This book is a good example of peers affecting the main character in the sense that they were falsely leading him. Ender was lead to kill when killing wasn’t necessary. Although he did form himself through lies made by the government, he still learned about life and what war is truly about. The next book I want to focus on is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by legendary author Mark Twain. Mark Twain is a realist writer who shows how it really was back in a time of corruption and slavery (Pool 1). Many people condemn Twain calling him a racist and a bigot, but little do they know he is trying to convey a message from a realistic point of view, rather than a romanticized point of view. Huck Finn is a country boy who gets fed up with life at home and decides to run away and live life on the Mississippi. He takes his friend Jim along with him. The complicated thing about it is the fact that Jim is black. If someone spots Jim, they will turn him in as a runaway or even kill him. Huck uses his skills of being a great con artist to get him out of many situations. Huck learns from the way people act, the way they look, and where they are from to work them. This all has to do with setting. For example, when he meets the Grangerfords, he knows the are way classier and richer than him. He uses this to assume they don’t have much street smarts. He comes across all sorts of people, and he has to retain information about the people, the land, and the personalities to continue on with his journey. The antagonist in this novel is really a person in particular. It is more a group of people throughout the book. Anyone that remains a threat to Huck and Jim would be considered an antagonist. The outcome of this book kind of lets the reader continue the story. They drop it off and make it sound like Huck runs away again. We can assume that he ran away again for more adventures in his travels. My third example for a bildungsroman novel is Great Expectations. Great Expectations would probably be considered a canon for bildungsroman novels. The intricate writing and detailed storyline makes it a great novel for character development (Kogan). This book is about a young boy named Pip who goes from a lower class family to learn how to become a true gentleman in a high end English family. Pip meets nearly sixty people along his journey, and learns from everyone. The characters he meet are very interesting because some of them he learns from in a positive way, and others in a negative. Dickens focused on peers rather than setting and love, although they both play there respective parts in this book. Setting is shown when contrasting the poor lifestyle to that of the rich English lifestyle. Pip must learn to cope from on both spectrums of housing. Love also plays a key role because he develops feelings for a girl he is housing with. Although he likes her, love doesn’t steer his decision making like it does for most protagonists. The antagonist in this book is being held down by society and not making a name for himself. He learns to break free of the bonds of society and become a gentleman. At the end of this book, Pip is much older and now a hard working gentleman who is in the mercantile firm. All the people in his life ended up impacting his life greatly and for the better of things. My next example is the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. This is a very predominant series read by millions of people. It is one of the most famous series of the twenty-first century. Although it is highly recognized as a critically acclaimed series, it is often over looked as a true character development novel. Harry is a young boy who learns he is a wizard and enrolls in a wizard school. What Harry does not know tis the fact that he is one of the most famous wizards ever. He is the only person to ever survive an unforgivable curse. As Harry goes through school at Hogwarts, he uncovers some of the most dark and horrible secrets about the past. He finds out about his family, his enemy, and his school and there dark pasts. Harry tries to break free of this unknown past but keeps coming back in grueling ways. Harry comes face to face with Voldemort many times, and he becomes enslaved to the battle between the two. Harry learns from all the trials and tribulations that lead up to the killing of Voldemort. Unlike Ender’s Game, Harry Potter is focused more on journey than destiny. My last and favorite example is Forrest Gump. This movie is widely considered the greatest work of character development. This book expresses all the themes of a bildungsroman plot into one movie. It shows how love, setting, and antagonist can all affect the outcome of a person. Forrest Gump is a mentally challenged boy who experiences more difficulties than the average human. He plays All-American Football, he fights in Vietnam, He meets the president multiple times, he deals with racism, he owns a multi-million dollar company and more. Love directs Forrest in a way like no other. His path goes off course multiple times in search of his true love, Jenny. Setting plays a big role because of the problems in the 60’s. Things like the drug movement, the sex revolution, racism, war, and an economic crisis made Forrest Gump a true American. The antagonist of this movie is not a person. The antagonist is merely separation. Separation from Jenny is the whole point of Forrest’s great journey. Through this journey we can understand what being alive is all about and living in the pursuit of happiness. With all these in mind, we can draw conclusions that bildungsroman novels have not really veered from the path since they were invented. They all have similar plots and outcomes. They all have to do with pursuit of happiness and reaching the goal. All of the examples I have mentioned all reached their goals. It is a trend for bildungsroman novels to reach their goals and to succeed in the end. Although, this is a trend, it does not mean it is true for all of them. Some books leave a failure at the end in an attempt to show the reader maybe life isn’t all about searching. Protagonists basically all have the same flawed characteristics that make them possible to develop. If they were perfect, they wouldn’t have any goals to reach. They wouldn’t search for a purpose in life. I think as readers we enjoy a flawed character because it is easier for us to relate to them. We enjoy reading these types of books because they almost help us decide how we want to carry out our lives and live as an individual. Works Cited â€Å"The Bildungsroman in Nineteenth-Century Literature.† Enotes.com. Enotes.com. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Forrest Gump’s Amazing And Colorful Tale.† Orlando Sentinel. 22 Dec. 1996. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"A Great `Expectations`.† Chicago Tribune. 07 July 1989. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"The Little-known Dark Side Of Ender’s Game.† Fabius Maximus. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. . Pool, Bob. â€Å"Commercialism Sold Huck Finn Character down the River, Twain Scholar Says.† Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. .

International Business Communication Phase

The management team from the United States will be in charge of the staffing for said restaurants. There will be a meeting of Executives in the United States, to explain the project and provide everyone with the necessary information needed to complete the task at hand, also giving the chance for all the executives get acquainted. Communication is very important in the business world and is required when expanding business to other countries. To have a complete understanding of a different culture, there has to be respect of customs, manners, and ethnicities.It is important to understand being able to communicate both verbally and non- verbally is the key to success. Because each of the groups may speak a different language, it needs to be priority number one to make sure everyone is on the same page and there is no confusion. Some cultures can feel uncomfortable and insult others, when there is a lack of cultural understanding. Differing cultural standards of these countries include but are not limited to, politics, social, and education.The language hurdles are an issue because of the people not knowing the other language does not understand when people have questions or comments. This will disturb the demonstration because it can cause confusion with communication between the different people and can cause them to be confused of the meeting and the information that they need to operate the business as taught. Language barriers can also cause rational replies and destructive sensitive replies. There are many approaches to aid everyone to improve a relationship with each other to help in conveying, execution, and growth.Other approaches consist of creating a bond, ask questions about their culture, opinion, and customs, and listen courteously to all persons to gain a complete understanding and knowledge of their views and their culture Conveying proficiently will let agreeing conditions between businesses partners become more easily. The win-win model would be the best form of a negotiating model for negotiating each set of partners. The win-win model entails agreeing on terms, both sides believing they have won.Conditionally, there are different types of coming to terms more efficiently. The key to coming to an agreement, there needs to be an agreed upon set of terms both arties understanding what the other party wants, without taking away from the initial goal. A conflict can possibly arise, if there is a conflict of interest or if one feels one way and the other individual feels another way. When conflict arises, it is very important to know that there is a conflict and a resolution is required.The outcome of a conflict can be either positive or negative. There are many techniques that can be developed to assist in handling conflict. It is important to know how important it is to satisfy your own needs and the needs of the other individual needs. To overcome conflicts, there are many strategies that you can use. Taking care of you and knowing yourself consist of understanding triggers and creating a better environment. The next strategy is to clarify the personal needs that are threatened by the conflict.To clarify the personal needs, means to be substantive and identify what the desired outcome of the negotiation process is. Find a safe place to negotiate is another strategy that consists of appropriate space to negotiate, appropriate time, and agreeing on the ground rules. Taking the time to listen ill help when conflict arises; because it will help you know what is being said by listening actively and help you have a clear understanding of what the other individual is saying.Specifically and clearly asserting your needs means to build from what you are hearing and using messages to clarify what is being said. Approaching flexibility and problem solving is a method for handling conflict and it means to find a solution or options identify the issues concisely and clearly, are open-minded, and to clarify what th e criteria is for making the right decisions. Managing the issue calmly, patiently, and successfully will help to clarify any feelings, focus on the interests and needs, and to take a break.Also, implement and evaluate the issue and know what the cause was for the conflict and it will show you how to handle it if the situation was to arise again. Errors that can happen when negotiating contracts are very likely. Making sure when asking questions you leave the question open so the other party feels like they are being included. The other parties needs and expectations are considered, this helps them feel what they are proposing is not being disregarded. Self-defeating compromise is another mistake to avoid.This is cause from the fear of losing the deal or fear that the people you are negotiating with are taking advantage of you. Directing insensible messages is a no-no because it will show when a person is anxious or self-critical, the best thing to do is manage the problematic thoug hts. Short term thinking will help to end the negotiating process fast and help gain immediate benefits. Talking too much is a mistake, because it can cause you to negotiate against yourself, rather than for yourself. When negotiating, you have to wait or pause and be informal able with being silent.Requiring face to face meetings is a mistake because it is best to negotiate at a distance. Negotiating at a distance will help come to a better agreement and it help an individual concentrate more on the high priority items by looking at the issues in an abstract way. Being too pasty is a mistake that is made by most individuals when negotiating because it makes things look desperate when you are trying to push an individual to say yes. Rather than push the individual to say you, you need to provide the individual what the chance to say not.

Free Essays on Police Corruption

Police corruption By: Ben Police corruption is a complex phenomenon, which does not readily submit to simple analysis. It is a problem that has and will continue to affect us all, whether we are civilians or law enforcement officers. Since its beginnings, many aspects of policing have changed; however, one aspect that has remained relatively unchanged is the existence of corruption. An examination of a local newspaper or any police-related publication on any given day will have an article about a police officer that got busted committing some kind of corrupt act. Police corruption has increased dramatically with the illegal cocaine trade, with officers acting alone or in-groups to steal money from dealers or distribute cocaine themselves. Large groups of corrupt police have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. Methodology: Corruption within police departments falls into 2 basic categories, which are external corruption and internal corruption. In this report I will concentrat e only on external corruption because it has been the larger center of attention recently. In simple terms, corruption in policing is usually viewed as the misuse of authority by a police officer acting officially to fulfill personal needs or wants. For a corrupt act to ocure, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously: 1) missuse of authority, 2) missuse of official capacity, and 3) missuse of personal attainment. (Dantzker,1995: p157) It can be said that power inevitably tends to corrupt, and it is yet to be recognized that, while there is no reason to suppose that policemen as individuals are any less fallible than other members of society, people are often shocked and outraged when policemen are exposed violating the law. The reason is simple. There deviance elicits a special feeling of betrayal. "Most studies support the view that corruption is endemic, if not universal, in police departme... Free Essays on Police corruption Free Essays on Police corruption Police corruption By: Ben Police corruption is a complex phenomenon, which does not readily submit to simple analysis. It is a problem that has and will continue to affect us all, whether we are civilians or law enforcement officers. Since its beginnings, many aspects of policing have changed; however, one aspect that has remained relatively unchanged is the existence of corruption. An examination of a local newspaper or any police-related publication on any given day will have an article about a police officer that got busted committing some kind of corrupt act. Police corruption has increased dramatically with the illegal cocaine trade, with officers acting alone or in-groups to steal money from dealers or distribute cocaine themselves. Large groups of corrupt police have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. Methodology: Corruption within police departments falls into 2 basic categories, which are external corruption and internal corruption. In this report I will concentrat e only on external corruption because it has been the larger center of attention recently. In simple terms, corruption in policing is usually viewed as the misuse of authority by a police officer acting officially to fulfill personal needs or wants. For a corrupt act to ocure, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously: 1) missuse of authority, 2) missuse of official capacity, and 3) missuse of personal attainment. (Dantzker,1995: p157) It can be said that power inevitably tends to corrupt, and it is yet to be recognized that, while there is no reason to suppose that policemen as individuals are any less fallible than other members of society, people are often shocked and outraged when policemen are exposed violating the law. The reason is simple. There deviance elicits a special feeling of betrayal. "Most studies support the view that corruption is endemic, if not universal, in police departme... Free Essays on Police Corruption Police Corruption Police corruption is a complex phenomenon, which does not readily submit to simple analysis. It is a problem that has and will continue to affect us all, whether we are civilians or law enforcement officers. Since its beginnings, may aspects of policing have changed; however, one aspect that has remained relatively unchanged is the existence of corruption. An examination of a local newspaper or any police-related publication on any given day will have an article about a police officer that got busted committing some kind of corrupt act. Police corruption has increased dramatically with the illegal cocaine trade, with officers acting alone or in-groups to steal money from dealers or distribute cocaine themselves. Large groups of corrupt police have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. Methodology: Corruption within police departments falls into 2 basic categories, which are external corruption and internal corruption. In this report I will concentrate only on external corruption because it has been the larger center of attention recently. My definitional information and background data came from various books cited that have been written on the issue of police corruption. Those books helped me create a basis of just what the different types of corruption and deviancies are, as well as how and why corruption happens. The books were filled with useful insight but were not update enough, so I relied on the newspaper articles to provide me with the current, and regional information that was needed to complete this report. In simple terms, corruption in policing is usually viewed as the misuse of authority by a police officer acting Budds 2 officially to fulfill personal needs or wants. For a corrupt act to occur, three distinct elements of po... Free Essays on Police Corruption Police Corruption Police corruption is a problem that has vested itself in police departments across the United States. It is a problem that has and will continue to affect us all, whether we are civilians or law enforcement officers. Since its early development, many aspects of policing have changed; however, one aspect that has remained relatively unchanged is the existence of corruption. Whether its sheltered within the department or broadcast on every news channel across the world its an element of our departments that must come to a seize. Police corruption has become a very serious problem in today’s police departments. Large groups of corrupt police have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. Abuse by law enforcement officers in the United States is one of the most serious and divisive violations to humans in this country. The violations persist nationwide, in rural, suburban, and urban areas of the country, committed by various law enforcement personnel including local and state police, sheriff’s departments, and federal agents. Police have engaged in unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal choking, and unnecessary rough treatment, persists because overwhelming barriers to accountability make it possible for officers who commit violations to escape due punishment and often to repeat their offenses. While the proportion of repeatedly abusive officers on any force is generally small, responsible authorities including law enforcement supervisors, as well as local and federal government leadership often fail to act decisively to restrain or penalize such acts. In simple terms, corruption in policing is usually viewed as the misuse of authority by a police officer acting officially to fulfill personal needs or wants. For a corrupt act to occur, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously: 1) misuse of authority, 2) misuse of official capacity, and ...

Indias Look East Policy

India's Look East Policy India’s Look East Policy India’s Look East Policy is an effort being made by the Indian government to cultivate and strengthen economic and strategic relations with the nations of Southeast Asia in order to solidify its standing as a  regional power.  This aspect of India’s foreign policy also serves to position India as a counterweight to the strategic influence of the Peoples Republic of China in the region. Initiated in 1991, it marked a strategic shift in India’s perspective of the world. It was developed and enacted during the government of Prime Minister  P.V. Narasimha Rao  and has continued to enjoy energetic support from the successive administrations of  Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, each of whom represents a different political party in India. India’s Pre-1991 Foreign Policy Before the fall of the Soviet Union, India made scant efforts to foster close relationships with the governments of Southeast Asia. There are several reasons for this. First, due to its colonial history, India’s ruling elite in the post-1947 era had an overwhelmingly pro-Western orientation. Western countries also made for better trade partners as they were significantly more developed than India’s neighbors. Second, India’s physical access to Southeast Asia was barred by Myanmar’s isolationist policies as well as Bangladesh’s refusal to provide transit facilities through its territory. Third, India and the Southeast Asian countries were on opposing sides of the Cold War divide.   India’s lack of interest in and access to Southeast Asia between its independence and the fall of the Soviet Union left much of Southeast Asia open to China’s influence. This came first in the form of China’s territorial expansionist policies. Following Deng Xiaoping’s ascent to leadership in China in 1979, China replaced its policy of expansionism with campaigns to foster extensive trade and economic relations with other Asian nations. During this period, China became the closest partner and supporter of the  military junta  of Burma, which had been ostracized from the international community following the violent suppression of pro-democracy activities  in 1988. According to former Indian Ambassador Rajiv Sikri, India missed a crucial opportunity during this period to leverage India’s shared colonial experience, cultural affinities and lack of historical baggage to build strong economic and strategic relations with Southeast Asia. Implementation of the Policy In 1991, India experienced an economic crisis that coincided with the fall of the Soviet Union, which had previously been one of India’s most valued economic and strategic partners. This prompted Indian leaders to reevaluate their economic and foreign policy, which led to at least two major shifts in India’s position toward its neighbors. First, India replaced its protectionist economic policy with a more liberal one, opening up to higher levels of trade and striving to expand regional markets. Second, under the leadership of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, India ceased to view South Asia and Southeast Asia as separate strategic theaters.   Much of India’s Look East Policy involves Myanmar, which is the only Southeast Asian country that shares a border with India and is seen as India’s gateway to Southeast Asia. In 1993, India reversed its policy of support for Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement and began courting the friendship of the ruling military junta. Since then, the Indian government and, to a lesser extent, private Indian corporations, have sought and secured lucrative contracts for industrial and infrastructure projects, including the construction of highways, pipelines and ports. Before the implementation of the Look East Policy, China enjoyed a monopoly over Myanmar’s vast oil and natural gas reserves. Today, competition between India and China over these energy resources remains high.   Furthermore, while China remains Myanmar’s biggest weapons supplier, India has boosted its military cooperation with Myanmar. India has offered to train elements of the Myanmar Armed Forces and share intelligence with Myanmar in an effort to increase coordination between the two countries in combating insurgents in India’s Northeastern States. Several insurgent groups maintain bases in Myanmar territory. Since 2003, India has also embarked on a campaign to forge free trade agreements with countries and regional blocs throughout Asia. The South Asia Free Trade Agreement, which created a  free trade area  of 1.6 billion people in  Bangladesh,  Bhutan,  India,  Maldives,  Nepal,  Pakistan and  Sri Lanka, came into effect in 2006. The  ASEAN–India Free Trade Area  (AIFTA), a  free trade area  among the ten member states of the  Association of Southeast Asian Nations  (ASEAN) and  India, came into effect in 2010. India also has separate free trade agreements with Sri Lanka, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. India has also boosted its cooperation with Asian regional groupings such as ASEAN, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). High-level diplomatic visits between India and the countries associated with these groupings have become increasingly common the last decade.   During his state visit to Myanmar in 2012, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced many new bilateral initiatives and signed around a dozen MOUs, in addition to extending a line of credit for $500 million. Since then, Indian companies have made significant economic and trade agreements in infrastructure and other areas. Some of the major projects taken up by India include the resurfacing and upgrading of the 160-kilometer Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road and the Kaladan project that will connect Kolkata Port with Sittwe Port in Myanmar (which is still in progress). A bus service from Imphal, India, to Mandalay, Myanmar, is expected to launch in October 2014. Once these infrastructure projects are completed, the next step will be connecting the India-Myanmar highway network to the existing portions of the Asian Highway Network, which will connect India to Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia.

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Discussion - Essay Example The arguments against using these measures to fight unionization are that the organization can take a role which has more empathy and understanding more than anything else. The actions are indeed extreme as they deal with the jobs and relations of the employees on the job. I believe most managers would find a way to deal with their employees in a more honest way and come out in a clean manner. They would not find an excuse to do away with the aspect of unionization that has been a source of bane at the organization. Most managers would discuss these aspects with their employees and find a common ground so that they do not lose out on a number of different organizational counts. In essence, I would do the same things and make myself clear before deciding what course of action to adopt in the long run. I am of the view that being truthful about one’s dealings in the organization is essential. Managers have a duty to avoid unionization especially if the organization does not believe in such a philosophy but it is always good to come out cleanly for the betterment of the business and the relationships that develop between the managers and their subordinates. Employees join unions because they believe unions would raise their voice as a whole and in a collective fashion. Therefore I would agree with the truth of the statement more than disagreeing with it. However I believe that the element of unionization has been blown out of contexts in the recent years and unions are not as strong (negatively) as these used to be in the yesteryears. Now unions are all about bringing in collective good, not only for the sake of the organization but also for their own selves (Edwards 2003). I agree with this statement because it offers the employees a sense of security with regards to the basis of their jobs, and tells them in what stead their

Are steroids harmful Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Are steroids harmful - Research Paper Example The experience was daunting for his family as well and I saw them facing this difficult situation rather closely. This personal observation made me curious about steroids and I wanted to know why its use is restricted in professional sports. I began reading steroids and found out that there was a whole era of steroids usage in American baseball (Kendrick n.p). Upon further drilling, I found that even our body produces steroids, however they are in moderate quantities and are relatively required by our body. Sometimes due to health conditions, steroids are recommended by health experts although over dosage has its side effects. At this point, I remembered that my grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis and doctors recommended oral steroids to her. Another interesting article caught my eye about injection of steroids in human food by cattle and vegetation farmers. Local farmers are generously using steroids in order to produce healthy livestock that can be sold to commercial food manufact urers who appear to be aware of the contents of meat and other natural produce that they are buying (Atwell n.p). Since I am highly conscious about my health and avoid taking foods that tend to have artificial flavors, preservatives and food colorings, this fact was quite disturbing. An extensive analysis of the issue by web and library-based research helped me understand the situation and increased my interest in use of steroids by food manufacturers and harmful effects of steroids on human body.... Most of the search was about athletes using steroids and there was relatively less data available on the subject matter which made me realize that may be the general public is unaware of what is in their food and how it is causing major harm to their health. During this search, I questioned myself if use of steroids by food manufacturers is intentional and whether they are aware of the fact that they are inducing obesity and other major health diseases and disorders in American nation, when obesity is one of the major health issues faced by United States. Works Cited Atwell, Janet. â€Å"Can steroids in our food actually make health issues worse?† Yahoo. n.p, 15 Feb. 2007. Web. 18 Jun. 2013. Kendrick, Scott. â€Å"Baseball players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.† About.com. n.p, n.d. Web. 18 Jun. 2013. Menton, Jessica. â€Å"Top 10 most shocking athletes caught using performance enhancing drugs.† Yahoo Sports. NBC Sports Network, 25 Jul. 2011. Web. 18 Jul. 2013. â€Å"The use of steroid hormones for growth promotion in food-producing animals.† Food and Drugs Authority. US department of Health and Services, 2002. Web. 18 Jul. 2013. Student’s Name Class Essay 2 Burning Question: Are Steroids harmful and whether food manufacturers are trying to kill us? Writing a Profile It is an established practice that many athletes and general consumers use steroids to gain strength and enhance their body features. Being a restricted practice in professional sports the athletes face major setbacks in case of failure to pass drug and enhancement tests. Furthermore, the use of steroids leads to hormonal disorder causing irreversible damage to our internal body structure (Lenehan 129). One shocking aspect of this search was a series of articles about use of