Theme In The Gift Of The Magi English Literature Essay

Theme In The Gift Of The Magi English Literature Essay The story The Gift of the Magi which is written by O. Henry follows a young married couple who sacrifice their most prized possessions to buy a Christmas gift for one another. Though the story tells the tale of two people, a large portion of the story involves following Della on her quest to find a gift for Jim. The worry and unease that Della shows toward buying a gift is not caused by wanting to show love to her husband but fear of rejection. Della fears that by breaking tradition she will also break Jims heart, severing his love for her. Jim and Dellas main conflict is money. While Jim is introduced to the story early on and does not make an appearance until later it can be implied that his external conflict is money. Jim now faces the internal conflict of thinking of how he can support his family on his reduced income. As a man who has the task of supporting his family he experiences a guilt for not being able to provide his loving wife with the luxuries she so deserves. Della must face the fact that even though she has saved, her penny pinching was simply not enough for the amount she needed. Della then faces internal conflict as she tries to come up with ways to get more money. The money that presents an external conflict has Della retreat inside of her mind to face her internal conflict. Her first thought to get money by cutting her hair was a reference to not only tradition but of feminine roles. Della rapidly pulls down her hair(160) so when she visits Madame Sofronie to have it cut it is not questioned, becaus e women made sacrifices for their husbands and it was accepted. Della offering her most precious possession sees it as the only way she can say to her husband that she is truly grateful. Della runs and ransacks stores looking for the gift that she wanted for her husband. Her ransacking of the stores symbolizes and can be compared to Jim who, can be safely said, ransacked his brain on what the next option he was to take after the pay cut. She eventually is able to find a gift and hurries home. The next scene when Della arrives home and takes the moment to fix her hair up before her husband arrives home symbolizes her ability to imitate her husband and turn a bad situation into a good situation. This is most relevant to say that Della and her husband are equally matched in how they make decisions and in explaining in how both could give up their most precious possessions in thought of one another. Thinking of the other person is what causes the story to reveal situational irony in its ending. Della and Jim Dillingham have met the result of the actions and that is Della has cut and sold her hair to receive a gift of hair clips and Jim has sold his watch to receive a watch chain. The fact that Jim has sold the watch which has been in his family for years and chose to sacrifice the tradition of passing along the watch is ironic. Jim has broken one tradition to enter into another one, the tradition of making hard sacrifices for those you love. Della who is unaware of the sacrifice that was made on her behalf is also unaware that the tradition that she wanted to avoid breaking was broken by her husband. Della confirms that the tradition of exchanging gifts is broken when her husband says lets put our Christmas presents away and keep them awhile (162), but is reassured that tradition is still present when they spend Christmas enjoying each others company. O. Henrys Gift of the Magi was a story not only about the sacrifices made in love but the fear of breaking tradition. Della Dillingham sacrificed her hair to buy a gift of appreciation for the loving husband who provided for her. James Dillingham sacrificed tradition when he sold his watch to buy a present for his beloved wife only to return to tradition by making such a sacrifice fueled by the love he had for her. The story of the Dillinghams ended ironically when their gifts canceled each others out but the gift of love that was shown by embracing the tradition that comes with true Christmas spirit will last a lifetime.

Salem Witch Trial :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Between the months of June to September of 1692, the infamous witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts resulted in the deaths of twenty men and women as a result of witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations and dozens were jailed for months during the progress of the trials. There are an numerous number of explanations for the hysteria that over took the puritan population of Salem. This year marked a very disturbing time in the history of the Salem that is unique in the entire history of the United States of America and, in some respect, also in the history of all over the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The maps show the locations of major landmarks, farms, land grants, physical features, and the dwellings of prominent and important residents in Salem during 1692. For example the maps claimed that accusers came mainly from families who lived in the western part of the village, while the accused witches came predominantly from families living nearer to Salem Town. The following persons are not included on the map: the â€Å"afflicted girls† Sarah and Dorcas good, who had no fixed residence; Mary DeRich; and the five Villagers who were both accusers and defenders in 1692. The charts reveal older women were accused of witchcraft because of their economic vulnerability and because they were liable to senility, depression, or both. They also indicate that most of the accused witches were both young and old women. The men fall highest in the category as witnesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Church was the cornerstone of 17th century life in New England. Most people in Massachusetts were Puritans. Puritans are colonists who had left England seeking religious tolerance. But the strict Puritan code was far from tolerant. It was against the law not to attend church, where men and women sat on opposite sides through long services. The Puritan lifestyle was restrained and rigid. People were expected to work hard and repress their emotions or opinions. Individual differences were frowned upon. Even the dark, somber Puritan dress was dictated by the church. Since Puritans were expected to live by a rigid moral code, they believed that all sins from sleeping in church to stealing food should be punished. They also believed God would punish sinful behavior. When a neighbor would suffer misfortune, such as a sick child or a failed crop, Puritans saw it as God’s will and did not help. Puritans also believed the Devil was as real as God.

Punctuality Speech Essay

Before I give out my speech, I want to ask all of you a question. How many of you have never been late? Odds are none of you! This is because in our nature we see punctuality as flexible. In my speech I’m going to talk about whether punctuality is an important matter in our daily lives or not. Firstly, what is punctuality? Well†¦ punctuality is the act of being on time and being able to do a task in the required time. Picture the situation: imagine yourself sitting in a court waiting for your lawyer to arrive. He arrives late and due to their lack of punctuality you are left without a lawyer. The court session begins and you are being grilled by the opposing attorney and in the end you lose the case and the judge gives you a harsh sentence. And to think, all of this is because of your lawyer’s lack of punctuality. A punctual person is appreciated because he is aware that time is precious. â€Å"Time and tide wait for no man†, how true is it!? If a person is unpunctual, it shows that either the person is unprofessional or that he has no value for the other person’s time. This spreads to his reputation also. A punctual person is valued and respected. Remember, it is the difference of only a few seconds in catching a train or missing it! Therefore to catch the train of life always be on time. Punctuality is not strictly a matter of one’s busyness; the busiest people are often the most punctual, while those with the least to do sometimes struggle the most with being on time. For instance, when you are set to go to a meeting and you know that you have quite some time ahead of you before the meeting, you end up taking more time to get ready and inadvertently end up arriving late. Being punctual strengthens and reveals your integrity. If you tell someone that you will meet them at a certain time, you have essentially made them a promise. And if you say you’ll be there at 8:00, and yet arrive at 8:15, you have essentially broken that promise. Being on time shows others that you are a man of your word. Being punctual shows you are dependable. If a man is punctual know they can rely on such a man – if he says he will be there, he’ll be there. But if a man is not punctual, others cannot depend on him- they don’t know where he will be when they need him.  His associates will begin to feel he cannot organize his own time and will raise the question â€Å"if he is careless about time, what else is he careless about?† Being late is a form of steeling. That’s a tough truth, but it’s a truth nonetheless. When you make others wait for you, you rob minutes from them that they’ll never get back. Time they could’ve turned into money, or simply used for something else. In coming to meet you at the agreed time, they may have made sacrifices- woken up early, cut short their workout – and your lateness negates those sacrifices. If you wouldn’t think of taking ten dollars from another man’s wallet, you shouldn’t think of stealing ten minutes from him either. Last but not least, being punctual builds your self-confidence. Showing up on time not only tell other people you are dependable, it teaches you that you can depend on yourself. In my opinion, Punctuality should be a priority and should not be lessened. When you are always on time, you keep the promises you make and in this way the more your self-confidence will grow, and the more in control of your life you will be.

Professional Values Essays

Professional Values Essays Professional Values Paper Professional Values Paper C. B. Bernsten, and M. A. Sanner. 2008. Care ideologies re? ected in 4 conceptions of pharmaceutical care. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy 4: 332–342. Childress, J. F. , et al. 2002. Public health ethics: Mapping the terrain. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 30: 170–178. Choosing health thorough pharmacy- A programme for pharmaceutical public health 2005–2015. 2005. London: Department of Health. dh. gov. uk/publications. Faculty of Public Health of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom. What is Public Health? fphm. org. uk/about_faculty/what_public_health/default. asp. Accessed August 2009. Fassett, W. E. 2007. Ethics, law and the emergence of responsibility for patient care. Annals of Pharmacotherapy 41: 1264–1267. Goodin, R. E. 1985. Protecting the vulnerable. A reanalysis of our social responsibilities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Harding, G. , and K. Taylor. 1997. Responding to change: The case of community pharmacy in Great Britain. Sociology of Health Illness 19(5): 547–560. ? Hayry, M. 2006. Public health and human values. Journal of Medical Ethics 32: 519–521. Hepler, C. D. , and L. M. Strand. 1990. Opportunities and responsibilities in pharmaceutical care. American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy 47: 533–543. Jesson, J. , and P. Bissell. 2006. Public health and pharmacy:

comerce clause essays

comerce clause essays The United States Constitution gives very specific powers to congress. These powers are very limited and are each enumerated in the text of the Constitution. One of the powers is [t]o regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes (Article I, Section 8). This is the only reference in the constitution that speaks about commerce. The Tenth Amendment states that [t]he powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. By reading these statements in the constitution most people would believe that the states have enormous power to control the day to day activities within their state borders. James Madison, who was one of the biggest supporters of a powerful federal government, wrote the following in the Federalist Papers. The powers delegated by the . . . Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. . . . The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs; concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State (1778). But during oral arguments involving the application of the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution, Justice Antonin Scalia pressed the Solicitor General [Seth P. Waxman] to name a single activity or program that our modern-day Congress might undertake that would fall outside the bounds of the Constitution. The stunned Clinton appointee could not think of one (Moore, 1999) How did we get from federal powers that are few and defined to powers that have no bounds? One of...

Assignment 3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

3 - Assignment Example elf-actualization and esteem needs that appear at the narrow end of the pyramid, goes against the rigid order that the needs should occur (Espinoza, Ukleja, & Rusch, 2010). For the Millennials, the physiological and safety needs would still occur in the provided order of the pyramid, but they would group the esteem, self-actualization, and belonging needs together as they are important to them. This occurs as the Millennials have varying needs in different situations, and thus their preferences shift from time to time. According to Herzberg’s two-factor theory, there is a clear level of needs that are considered to be of a lower level such as those for relationships and job security, and those that are considered to be of a higher level such as those for advancement and recognition. In any case, different motivators have to be combined in different ways to satisfy the needs of different individuals (Espinoza, Ukleja, & Rusch, 2010). Herzberg maintains that Maintenance factors can be utilized in meeting the lower-level needs of individuals while motivators and important in meeting the higher level needs. He suggests that Maintenance factors are only used to meet the basic needs of individuals and prevent dissatisfaction and not for employee motivation. Motivator factors promote job satisfaction and employee motivation by meeting the employee high-level needs. As much as Herzberg has clearly separated the Motivation factors and Maintenance factors, the priorities of the Millennials differ gre atly from those of the earlier generation. As such, for this generation, needs that are considered to be basic, such as job security, and hence covered by Maintenance factors are of less importance for them and instead they prioritize needs such as self-actualization, growth needs, and Esteem needs, which are basic to them, yet they are categorized as higher needs by Herzberg. Case in point, in the absence of such needs, dissatisfaction is likely to occur. As such, these needs

Advanced Project-Complete knowledge of Public Relations as it Relates Essay

Advanced Project-Complete knowledge of Public Relations as it Relates to Creating a PR Campaign - Essay Example This paper will explain the essentials of public relations and analyze the ingredients of effective public relations campaigns while putting more weight on television-oriented campaigns. On a professional perspective, public relations is a collection of exercises that the administration embraces to measure and assess the mentality, estimations and assumptions of the general population about the institution (Bernays 3). The readiness of an advertising arrangement is a vital piece of whoever decides courses of action, techniques, and policies regarding public interest, which the organization will abide by and implement (Wilcox 8). Public relations is used in conventional marketing to influence the buying habits of customers. Moreover, public relations is part of a comprehensive amalgam of marketing communications including sales promotion, advertising, and direct sales (Bernays 12). Effective utilization and practice of the theory of public relations results in the improvement of the organization’s public view, which often depicts an ethical and responsible company concerned with its customers’ welfare (Wilcox 3). The basic functions of public relations can be categorized into community relations, employee relations, financial relations, crisis communications, and political and government relations (Bernays 10). Any institution ought to be seen as a decent group part and ought to have the goodwill of that group in which it directs its operations. A powerful program for group relations ought to be far reaching and proceeding. Institutions can execute a scope of projects on a consistent or continuous premise meant for enhancing group relations. Subsequently, one of the center capacities of PR is to abbreviate the group-business gap (Bernays 10). At the point when institutions help projects and activities that better the life