A Good Man is Hard to Find Summary

A Good Man is Hard to Find Summary A Good Man Is Hard to Find Summary NOTE! The below paper is just an example written by one of our staff writers. If you need an original summary of A Good Man is Hard to Find or a paper on a different topic, feel free to place your order. The short story of Flannery O’Connor, â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† is arguably one of her best literary works. The story presents the passive view of the writer about the outcome of the life. Like many other works of the writer, this particular story also exhibits her deep religious insight and its application in her works effectively to emphasize on the place of religious thought in one’s way of life. The short story also projects OConnors masterly use of local color and the local dialect. The short story, hence, illustrates O’Connor’s excellent craft of characterization and evolving that character to extract a truth about life. A Good Man Is Hard to Find Summary A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor opens in the household with a discussion of planning a tour to Florida. The characters of the story are gradually introduced afterwards; the main one being the grandmother. She lives in the house with her son Bailey and his wife, along with their two children. The most hated character of the story, the Misfit gang, is introduced later. The grandmother reads about the escape of the heinous Misfit gang from the federal jail and about the impending danger that may arise from them. Hence, the Grandmother insists on going to Tennessee instead of Florida. The tour is decided to be towards Florida. The next day, on the way in the car, Grandmother thinks about an old plantation, a little past a place called Toomsboro. The detour taken after the Grandmother ignites the desire of the children by telling them a false story about a hidden gate will eventually meet the car with an accident. At this moment Misfit arrives at the place in a car and Grandmother recognizes them. This very recognition will consequently lead to the death of the whole family. A Good Man Is Hard to Find Themes A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor contains a wide number of themes to effectively convey the message of the moment to the readers of the work. As supported by Ryan et al. (85-109), themes in are recurrent concepts of a literary work. Through the identification of the themes of a story, the readers can easily get to the core of the writing and successfully critically evaluate the literary work. The most recurrent themes of O’Connor’s stories are death, loss and mortality. These themes are vividly dealt in most of her writings. Speaking about the themes in A Good Man Is Hard to Find story, death among these themes takes the primary place. Theme of Death in A Good Man Is Hard to Find The most effective theme of A Good Man Is Hard to Find by O’Connor which registers its presence in the minds of the readers is death. The most dangerous revelation of modern life is discovering a sudden violence in the hands of unknown assailants and facing the death hence. In the opinion of Jockers et al. (750-769), a notable aspect of Flannery O’Connor’s writings is the omnipotent demonstration of death throughout the life of her characters. From the very commencement of the short story, the theme of death in A Good Man Is Hard to Find has been dominating the minds and activities of the characters. Grandmother insisted on her son changing the tour to Tennessee from Florida, as the vicious gang of Misfit is likely to be present in that area. The theme of death compels grandmother to carry her cat in the tour hiding in the car. Many of Flannery O’Connor’s notable literary pieces either start or finish with death. This illustrates the mastery of the writer in using death as a recurrent theme of her writings. In the short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† Flannery O’Connor illustrates the deep truth of Christianity through the use of the theme of death. Grace is an important issue of Christian theology. The very name of the place where the party takes detour represents presence of the theme of death in the story. The team takes a detour from Toomsboro to reach to the place told by the grandmother, which is actually not there. The gang of Misfit represents death in a more vivid manner. The news published in the papers about their escape from a jail infuses fear in the mind of grandmother. The death theme in A Good Man Is Hard to Find has also been utilized by the narrator to show grace and misplacement of grace in the story. It is the very notion of death which brings grandmother to recognize Misfit as one of her children. The very fear of death forces the grandmother to pledge forgiveness from Misfit on the basis of her being a lady. It is the theme of death that helps the reader to understand the psychology of Misfit. Through the words of Misfit, the significance of the theme of death in A Good Man Is Hard to Find has been revealed. As indicated by Harris and Abbie (5-24), death is the most prized gift that life offers to the Christians. The words of Misfit, â€Å"No pleasure but meanness†, illustrate the depth of the theme of death in the psychology of the characters in Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Towards the end, when Misfit kills grandmother, we again witness the presence of death and its significance in the short story. With this last death of the story, the conclusion of the story is drawn. It also signifies the convenient notion of all or nothing of Christianity. The death of grandmother intensifies this notion through receiving death in the hands of Misfit. Literary elements in A Good Man Is Hard to Find The presence of various literary elements in literary works makes the particular piece of literature rich and helps the author create the desired atmosphere which is needed to express the characters and their feelings. Various literary elements also assist an author in expressing a lot of things saying a very little one. The stories of Flannery O’Connor are generally full of such literary elements which make her works a delight to comprehend and an attractive piece for the critiques. Imagery in A Good Man Is Hard to Find Flannery O’Connor’s story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† demonstrates the use of imagery to its best. The recurrent themes of the story have been sensitively conveyed to the readers by using some appealing imageries in some crucial points of the story by the narrator. Throughout the story, the usage of the animal imagery has been considered to be significant by critics. The names of the animals like rabbit, cat, hippopotamus and snake have been used to construct the imageries in A Good Man Is Hard to Find. The touch of grandmother in the shoulder of Misfit has been described as â€Å"if a snake had bitten him.† The kerchief of the mother has been described as â€Å"rabbit’s ear.† The valise of grandmother has been represented in the story as â€Å"like the head of a hippopotamus.† As put by Desmond and John (129-137), several imageries used in A Good Man Is Hard to Find played a significant role in conveying the inner thought of the writer to the readers. The snake touch of grandmother reveals the perception of Misfit about grandmother. The valise, being described as the head of a hippopotamus, signifies to loads of unrelated past in the mind of grandmother. On the other hand, the animalistic character of the main characters of the A Good Man Is Hard to Find reveals as they do not bear the meaning or principles of their actions. For example, the father wears a shirt which shows a parrot. Like a parrot, the father is blank in terms of understanding the meanings of the ongoing. Conclusion The short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† illustrates the significance and usefulness of employing themes and imageries in a literary work and also unearths how these elements can be used to convey the core thoughts of a literary work to the readers. A Good Man Is Hard to Find short story is a successful attempt of the author to convey and mingle various elements of literature and the impact of aspects of religion in the life of the people at that time. Desmond, John. Flannery OConnors Misfit and the Mystery of Evil. Renascence 56.2 (2004): 129-137. Harris, Abbie C. Jesus Thrown Everything Off Balance: Grace and Redemption in Flannery OConnors A Good Man are Hard to Find. Papers Publications: Interdisciplinary Journal of Undergraduate Research 3.1 (2014): 5-24. Jockers, Matthew L., and David Mimno. Significant themes in 19th-century literature. Poetics 41.6 (2013): 750-769. Ryan, Gery W., and H. Russell Bernard. Techniques to identify themes. Field methods 15.1 (2003): 85-109.

A Comic Poem About English Spelling and Pronunciation

A Comic Poem About English Spelling and Pronunciation Composed by Dr. Gerard Nolst Trenità © (1870-1946), a Dutch author and teacher, The Chaos illustrates many of the irregularities of English spelling (orthography) and pronunciation. The Chaos by Charivarius (Gerard Nolst Trenità ©) Dearest creature in Creation,Studying English pronunciation,I will teach you in my verseSounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.I will keep you, Susy, busy,Make your head with heat grow dizzy;Tear in eye, your dress youll tear;So shall I! Oh, hear my prayer.Pray, console your loving poet,Make my coat look new, dear, sew it!Just compare heart, beard, and heard,Dies and diet, lord and word.Sword and sward, retain and Britain(Mind the latter, how its written!)Made has not the sound of bade,Say-said, pay-paid, laid, but plaid.Now I surely will not plague youWith such words as vague and ague,But be careful how you speak,Say break, steak, but bleak and streak.Previous, precious, fuchsia, via;Pipe, snipe, recipe and choir,Cloven, oven; how and low;Script, receipt; shoe, poem, toe.Hear me say, devoid of trickery:Daughter, laughter and Terpsichore,Typhoid; measles, topsails, aisles;Exiles, similes, reviles;Wholly, holly; signal, signing;Thames; examining, combining;Scholar, vicar, and cig ar,Solar, mica, war, and far. From desire: desirableadmirable from admire;Lumber, plumber, bier, but brier;Chatham, brougham; renown but known,Knowledge; done, but gone and tone,One, anemone; Balmoral;Kitchen, lichen; laundry, laurel;Gertrude, German; wind and mind;Scene, Melpomene, mankind;Tortoise, turquoise, chamois-leather,Reading, Reading, heathen, heather.This phonetic labyrinthGives moss, gross, brook, brooch, ninth, plinth.Billet does not end like ballet;Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet;Blood and flood are not like food,Nor is mould like should and would.Banquet is not nearly parquet,Which is said to rhyme with darky.Viscous, viscount; load and broad;Toward, to forward, to reward,And your pronunciations OK.Rounded, wounded; grieve and sieve;Friend and fiend; alive and live.Liberty, library; heave and heaven;Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven,We say hallowed, but allowed;People, leopard; towed, but vowed.Mark the difference, moreover,Between mover, plover, Dover,Leeches, breeches; wise, precise;Chalice but pol ice and lice. Camel, constable, unstable;Principle, disciple; label;Petal, penal, and canal;Wait, surmise, plait, promise; pal.Suit, suite, ruin; circuit, conduitRhyme with shirk it and beyond it.But it is not hard to tellWhy its pall, mall, but Pall Mall.Muscle, muscular; gaol, iron;Timber, climber; bullion, lion,Worm and storm; chaise, chaos, chair;Senator, spectator, mayor.Ivy, privy, famous; clamourAnd enamour rime with hammer.Pussy, hussy, and possess,Desert, but desert, address.Golf, wolf, countenance, lieutenantsHoist in lieu of flags left pennants.Courier, courtier, tomb, bomb, comb,Cow, but Cowper, some, and home.Solder, soldier! Blood is thicker,Quoth he, than liqueur or liquor,Making, it is sad but true,In bravado, much ado.Stranger does not rhyme with anger,Neither does devour with clangour.Pilot, pivot, gaunt, but aunt,Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant.Arsenic, specific, scenic,Relic, rhetoric, hygienic.Gooseberry, goose, and close, but close,Paradise, rise, rose, and dose. Say inveigh, neigh, but inveigle,Make the latter rhyme with eagle.Mind! Meandering but mean,Valentine and magazine.And I bet you, dear, a penny,You say mani-(fold) like many,Which is wrong. Say rapier, pier,Tier (one who ties), but tier.Arch, archangel; pray, does erringRhyme with herring or with stirring?Prison, bison, treasure trove,Treason, hover, cover, cove,Perseverance, severance. RibaldRhymes (but piebald doesnt) with nibbled.Phaeton, paean, gnat, ghat, gnaw,Lien, psychic, shone, bone, pshaw.Dont be down, my own, but rough it,And distinguish buffet, buffet;Brood, stood, roof, rook, school, wool, boon,Worcester, Boleyn, to impugn.Say in sounds correct and sterlingHearse, hear, hearken, year and yearling.Evil, devil, mezzotint,Mind the Z! (A gentle hint.)   Now you need not pay attentionTo such sounds as I dont mention,Sounds like  pores, pause, pours  and  paws,Rhyming with the pronoun  yours;Nor are proper names included,Though I often heard, as you did,Funny rhymes to  unicorn,Yes, you know them,  Vaughan  and  Strachan.No, my maiden, coy and  comely,I dont want to speak of  Cholmondeley.No. Yet  Froude  compared with  proudIs no better than  McLeod.But mind  trivial  and  vial,Tripod, menial, denial,Troll  and  trolley, realm  and  ream,Schedule, mischief, schism, and  scheme.Argil, gill, Argyll, gill. SurelyMay be made to rhyme with  Raleigh,But youre not supposed to sayPiquet  rhymes with  sobriquet.Had this  invalid invalidWorthless documents? How  pallid,How  uncouth he, couchant, looked,When for Portsmouth I had booked!Zeus, Thebes, Thales, Aphrodite,Paramour,  enamoured, flighty,Episodes, antipodes,Acquiesce, and  obsequies.Please dont monkey with the  geyser,Dont p eel taters with my  razor,Rather say in accents pure:Nature, stature  and  mature.Pious, impious, limb, climb, glumly,Worsted, worsted, crumbly, dumbly,Conquer, conquest, vase, phase, fan,Wan, sedan  and  artisan. The  TH  will surely trouble youMore than  R, CH  or  W.Say then these phonetic gems:Thomas, thyme, Theresa, Thames.Thompson, Chatham, Waltham, Streatham,There are more but I forget em-Wait! Ive got it:  Anthony,Lighten your anxiety.The archaic word  albeitDoes not rhyme with  eight-you see it;With  and  forthwith, one has voice,One has not, you make your choice.Shoes,  goes, does. Now first  say:  finger;Then say:  singer, ginger, linger.Real, zeal, mauve, gauze  and  gauge,Marriage, foliage, mirage, age,Hero, heron, query, very,Parry, tarry fury, bury,Dost, lost, post, and  doth, cloth, loth,Job, Job, blossom, bosom, oath.Faugh, oppugnant, keen  oppugners,Bowing, bowing, banjo-tunersHolm  you know, but  noes, canoes,Puisne, truism, use, to  use?Though the difference seems  little,We say  actual, but  victual,Seat, sweat, chaste, caste, Leigh, eight, height,Put, nut, granite, and  unite.Reefer  does not rhyme with  deafer,Feoffer   does, and  zephyr, heifer.Dull, bull, Geoffrey, George, ate, late,Hint, pint, senate, but  sedate.Gaelic, Arabic, pacific,Science, conscience, scientific;Tour, but  our, dour, succour, four,Gas, alas, and  Arkansas. Say  manoeuvre, yacht  and  vomit,Next  omit, which differs  from itBona fide, alibiGyrate, dowry and awry.Sea, idea, guinea, area,Psalm, Maria, but  malaria.Youth, south, southern, cleanse  and  clean,Doctrine, turpentine, marine.Compare  alien  with  Italian,Dandelion  with  battalion,Rally  with  ally; yea, ye,Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, key, quay!Say  aver, but  ever, fever,Neither, leisure, skein, receiver.Never guessit is not  safe,We say  calves, valves, half, but  Ralf.Starry, granary, canary,Crevice, but  device, and  eyrie,Face, but  preface, then  grimace,Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.Bass, large, target, gin, give, verging,Ought, oust, joust, and  scour, but  scourging;Ear, but  earn; and  ere  and  tearDo not rhyme with  here  but  heir.Mind the  O  of  off  and  oftenWhich may be pronounced as  orphan,With the sound of  saw  and  sauce;Also  soft, lost, cloth  and  cross.Pudding, puddle, putting. Putting?Yes: at golf it rhymes with  shutting.Respite, spite, consent, resent.Liable, but  Parliament.Seven  is right, but so is  even,Hyphen, roughen, nephew, Stephen,Monkey, donkey, clerk  and  jerk,Asp, grasp, wasp, demesne, cork, work.A  of  valour, vapid vapour,S  of  news  (compare  newspaper),G  of  gibbet, gibbon, gist,I  of  antichrist  and  grist,Differ  like  diverse  and  divers,Rivers, strivers, shivers, fivers. Once, but  nonce, toll, doll, but  roll,Polish, Polish, poll  and  poll.Pronunciationthink of  Psyche!-Is a paling, stout and  spiky.Wont it make you lose your witsWriting  groats  and saying  grits?Its a dark abyss or tunnelStrewn with stones like  rowlock, gunwale,Islington, and  Isle of Wight,Housewife, verdict  and  indict.Dont you think so, reader,  rather,Saying  lather, bather, father?Finally, which rhymes with  enough,Though, through, bough, cough, hough,sough, tough?Hiccough  has the sound of cup . . .My advice is: give it up! The Chaos by Dr. Gerard Nolst Trenità © first appeared (in a shorter version) in an appendix to his textbook  Drop Your Foreign Accent, published in 1920.

SOX Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

SOX Project - Essay Example Correspondingly, the study reveals that the company has been able to conduct operations in a reliable as well as sustainable manner. Economy and finance are interrelated subjects in the present day context. Thus, financial institutions are required to protect themselves from crisis and recession conditions for better business sustainability. It is with this notion that the United States Federal Law has been implemented at different levels to protect financial institutions from forecasted crises. Additionally, these laws have been enacted with the intention of ascertaining that financial institutions are administered well proficiently to minimize malpractices conducted by corporate entities at often instances (Ryu et al., 2006). A prominent example of such a law is the US implemented Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which was enacted in the year 2002 with the intention of restoring confidence among market segments and corporate sectors worldwide following the liquidation of Enron Corporation. This Act was intended to assist in resolving issues existing within the auditing or accounting practices conducted by professional s as per the company legislations. Formally, in the Senate, the SOX Act is known as â€Å"Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act† and in the House, it is identified as â€Å"Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act† (OSHA, 2011). In this essay, the effectiveness of the SOX Act will be assessed with consideration to HSBC Finance Corporation, which is a subsidiary of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Group, headquartered in the UK. It is a financial service providing company. The company is also identified to provide different financial services that include auto loans, real estate loans, insurance products and Visa credit card as well as MasterCard loans among others. In this context, the company operating in the US is required to

Marketing Strategies Implementation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Marketing Strategies Implementation - Assignment Example The present research study endeavours to produce ways to implement marketing strategies for British Sugar. British Sugar was founded almost 100 years back. Today the company can boast about being one of the leading sugar producers in the United Kingdom. The company is into several types of products like sugar, aggregate, animal feed, bio ethanol, electricity, food centre, tomatoes, TOPSOIL, and LimeX. 2.0 Identification and prioritization of the current issues and challenges 2.1 Industry as a whole The sugar production industry sourced the raw materials over the past five years. United Kingdom is highly dependent upon the global sugar market. This kind of over dependency on the global sugar market, makes the UK sugar market susceptible to huge fluctuations in production, supply, and other factors like the weather conditions and the prices in the internal sugar market (Armstrong and Schultz, 1992). United Kingdom was slow to realize that the sugar industries need to have some kind of reform. This is the reason the sugar reform happened after much delay, as late as 2006. This reform which is supposed to create facilities for the sugar market has in turn created a lot of problems, like imposing various kinds of quotas, various kinds of import tariffs and export tariffs. The imposition of the various tariffs has created a lot of problems (Brown and Dant, 2009). For example the companies which are small in size and also do not have very high turnover have problems paying innumerable tariffs. This adds to the production cost of the companies. Statistics indicate that the production of the sugar beet has fallen sharply across the whole of European Union. For this reason a lot of states in UK have decided to substitute beet sugar for ethanol and other kind of bio fuels. Despite the fact that the sugar industry is experiencing increasing pressure to keep the costs of production as low as possible together, compounded with dwindling profit margin, the sugar business stil l remains as one of the most vibrant business in UK (Day and Montgomery, 1999). 2.2 The current market position The UK sugar market excluding artificial sweeteners, but including sugar and spice is dominated by two firms which are British Sugar and Tate & Lyle. These two firms have a combined market share of 75%. This indicates that the national sugar market is highly concentrated. Although the overall sugar market of Europe is not as concentrated as United Kingdom (Dillon, 2001). The very high concentration is due to the strict regulatory reforms that increased the tariffs, which in turn has decreased the competition. Unlike the other competitor companies like Ab Sugar, the company alone has the privilege of holding the whole quota of the European Union. British Sugar alone caters to a market which is larger than the market served by the rest of the competitors in all respects. This explains that British Sugar is in a better position compared to competitors in terms of exposure to market. Unlike the competitor like Tate & Lyle and different smaller companies which resort

Global war on terrorism Essay Example for Free

Global war on terrorism Essay Serving my country is one of the bravest and greatest things I have done in my life. I was the first sergeant of Bravo 796 of the 14 military police brigade. Being the first sergeant was one of the most exciting jobs I have ever done, yet tough and hard, with a lot of personal responsibilities. The position is a bit challenging and demanding, so I had to be tough too. On a single day, the things that you I had to do were many, with many people complaining that they cannot get a hold of you. This might have been true, because of all the jobs that had to be done. My job was people. Dealing with people’s problems every day, starting from their health, welfare, discipline, and morale to mention but a few was the order of the day. From the time that I started my day, sometimes as early as one o’clock in the morning, having to deal with people’s problems and at the same time complete my duties at the end of the day, was so tiring. Most of the time, I had little or no time to do the paper work, as most of the duties involved outdoor activities. There was also no enough time spend with my family. The job requires that the needs of the country and the service be put before the personal needs. By doing this, I was able to enjoy the rewards of my military career. I also had to be skilled enough in matters concerning the army, because the position requires a person that is knowledgeable enough. Therefore, a lot of learning was necessary, for me to meet the demands of the position. I was mobilized for Global war on terrorism on the July of 2006 up to January 2009. Our mission was to train and to provide disciplined, physically fit, motivated, tactically and technically fit military police soldiers. The soldiers had to be familiar with the values of the army, and their character and conduct had to be pleasant, and reflecting the values of the military. In my experience as a first sergeant, one of my duties was to over see the smooth training of the soldiers in law enforcement duties. Some of the subjects that were taught were basic law enforcement tasks, reports and reforms, responding to incidents, unarmed self defense, maneuver and mobility support operations and enemy prisoner of war operations. I had to ensure that the soldiers were familiar to and fully understood the concepts that these subjects taught. Since the first sergeant’s position is the one at which all units merge, there are several key duties that are attached to this position, including holding formations, instructing the platoon sergeants, advising the commander and assisting in the training of the enlisted members. Relationship with the soldiers When the young soldiers to be first arrive at the training grounds, many of them are not aware of the reality of military training. They are not used to being shouted at and to obey orders, even when they do not feel like. They are also not used to being woken up so early in the morning by an officer shouting so loud at them. For many of them, it is their first time to leave home, or to be away from home alone for the first time to stay on their own. Despite these difficulties, they have to be treated in a manner that will harden them. As a sergeant, I had to treat the soldiers in such a way that they will able be to survive, even at the worst conditions. They have to live where they are asked to live, even when the situation is uncomfortable. However, these difficulties are imposed on purpose, to adjust the soldier’s attitude to the military way of thinking. Furthermore, it makes it easier to impose self discipline, obedience, loyalty, military rules, military policies, etiquette and sacrifice among other values and customs of the military to them. Some people say that the military officers gain pleasure in making the lives of the soldiers difficult. However, from my experience, I would not say that this is true. They only adhere to the rules of the military, to train the soldiers both physically and psychologically, in order to tear apart the civilians, and build from scratch a dedicated, physically fit and a proud member of the United States Armed Forces. Being in direct contact with the soldiers, and at the same time able to influence them for the better using your power is the key to earning their respect and to understand them. This is one of the most importance things that the first sergeant has to do. Your influence is so important that it determines whether a company will fail or deteriorate. As the first sergeant, I had to take all the knowledge I had and effectively pass it to the commanders of the units to teach it to the soldiers effectively, and at times training them myself. Being the first sergeant, you can only know if your efforts in training the soldiers have been effective through the behavior and the work of the soldiers. Normally, I had to make sure that my behavior, especially when around the soldiers is at its best. If a sergeant’s behavior is rotten, then the company will definitely copy that, and the results will be rotten soldiers. I also had to be completely involved and aware of every thing that goes on in the army, especially with the soldiers. This is why the position is so important, that most people refer to it as the livelihood or the blood of the army. A sergeant is required to act as an exhibitionist, to display his impressive character to all the other members. Sometimes, it may be said or thought that he is boasting; such a behavior is not egotistical, but it is required and can be viewed as a way of setting the example. Therefore, I had to ensure that my behavior is exceptional and outstanding. By doing this, it is assumed that the members of the unit will want to be exceptional too, putting aside their differences involved at a personal level, and work or live as brothers. As the duty of the first sergeant, I had to train the members of the units to the best of my interests, and be proud of them and their achievements. This entails praising the soldiers and talking proudly of all their success and positive attitudes to different people. In my experience, I learnt that a first sergeant’s role is important, in that he should act as the leader for the soldier’s success, and should he fail, the unit members may fail too. To attain the best of the soldiers, he needs to discipline them and be tough, to ensure their behavior is pleasant and acceptable in the military. He should also be a wise counselor, giving them advice whenever they need it. Being a provider is also a major duty of the first sergeant to ensure that they are comfortable. I also had to be a confidant to the soldiers of my company, listening to them and also being a friend in general. These are some of the aspects that bring the sergeant and the soldiers closer, to establish a close relationship comprising respect and concern to them. Relationship with the captain A unique relationship comprising of respect and confidence should exist between the sergeant and the commander. This relationship should not be the buddy to buddy kind of relationship, but one based on the work values. In most cases, such a relationship with the captain is not so common with officers of other ranks within the military. Being the first sergeant, I had to ensure that the will of the captain is carried out. When the first sergeant is given the title during his appointment, then he is automatically given authority to pass his ideas to the captain, to ensure the learning of the soldiers is as effective as it can be. While advising the captain, I sometimes found myself arguing or disagreeing with him on several matters. This is where there the authority, professional relationship, past experiences, and loyalty with the captain was required. At times, there are situations when the captain is not as experienced as the first sergeant. This may lead him to disregard the advice given to him by the sergeants. There can also be times when the sergeant’s reasoning has saved the captains reputation, which signifies the important role of the sergeant as the advisor to the captain; that failing to take the sergeant’s advice may lead them to making blunders that may cost them their jobs. In conclusion, I would say that the role of a sergeant is very important in the military training ground. Being a good leader, showing all the desirable characteristics, and above all things being able to interact with people of all kinds were some of the characters that guided me. Otherwise, I would not have been able to execute the position’s duties, and my job would have been a lot harder. Training the soldiers to the best of my knowledge for the sake of the countries safety was my priority, and today, I am proud of the service I gave my country. References 1) Military, Global security. org, 2009, retrieved on 2/9/2009 from http://www. globalsecurity. org/military/intro/enlist. htm

Brazil Facts Essay -- Brazil

Brazil Introduction You probably heard of Brazil but, do you know much about it? Brazil is a beautiful place or country, in South America. It’s great for tourists’ sites; it has amazing land features, and especially cool culture and history. Brazil has a tremendous amount of nature and folktale. Brazil was found actually, over 8,000 years ago. The Portuguese were the first European settlers to arrive there. The journey was led by Pedro Cabral who began in the 1500s. When they finally got there they found Native Americans living there. They were around the seven millions. Now over the thousands of years Brazil has literally transformed into modern day. Brazil is the Federal Republic of Brazil. Brazil is in South America and is the largest country there. It’s the fifth largest country in the whole world. Brazil may be the fifth largest country but, it’s the sixth largest nation or population. The population in Brazil is 186 million and the life expectancy for men is 68 years old, for women its 76. In 1494, Pope Alexander VI gave Brazil to Portugal. Then in 1762, Rio De Jan...

Home For Christmas Essay

Alexander Williams sighed as he rummaged through the huge stack of articles that covered his desk. He only had one week to make his final decision and he knew without any doubt, his final answer to Maria Carter wouldn’t be easy. She had begged him to stay with the newspaper agency, time and time, again. She had grown rather fond of him over the years and it broke her heart knowing that this would most likely be the last week she had to spend with him. She did know that his heart was in New Hampshire where he had grown up and would always be the one place he could truly call home. Charlotte, North Carolina had been the beautiful city where he had lived and worked for more than two decades and although he had became familiar with his surroundings and had made many friends in the Queen City, he still desperately felt that the remainder of his years should be spent with his close family. The Charlotte Gazette had offered him a prominent and enjoyable writing position where he wrote daily articles, but still, there was this huge need to return to his roots. â€Å"I see you’re still with us, Williams. I don’t see boxes full of photographs and awards, so far. It’s a good sign! † Maria knew that he had probably already made up his mind to go but still every time she passed his office, her curiosity made her peek inside to make sure he hadn’t made packed up his belongings. He had been her top journalist since day one at the Gazette and the thought of not seeing his smiling face and hearing his enthusiastic voice radiating through the building saddened her, greatly! â€Å"I’m seriously torn, Maria. I know I should just make up my mind and give you a definite answer but I can’t. I’m taking this last week to think it over but one thing’s for sure, if I do decide to move to New Hampshire, you‘ll be the first to know. † â€Å"But, you’ll miss out on the huge Christmas party on Friday. † Spending time with Alexander at Christmas had been a festive occasion that she had always looked forward to and now she knew she had no other choice but to get used to the idea of him not being there. â€Å"Seeing you dressed as Mrs. Claus would be exciting! † Alexander smiled as he thought about seeing his boss in the red garb that stretched across her arm. It’s all up to you and I do have several interviews scheduled but I’m still hoping we won’t need to fill your position. I seriously doubt anyone is capable of filling your shoes, anyway. † Maria had known what an expert writer was all about, the first day he walked into her office and asked for the position. He had a remarkable resume and when she took a look at some of his sample articles, she knew he was her man. He was able to create prize-winning stories out of ordinary events and had made The Charlotte Gazette one of the best-selling newspapers in the country! For the next week, Alexander had spent every extra second going over his decision. His mother had begged him to come home and his sister and brother told him they had already found him the perfect house where he could retire, happily and grow old without the hassle of rushing to his office and fretting over every little incident that took place in Charlotte. They knew Alexander had spent far too many years away from home and they yearned for him to return to the place where he grew up. On Friday, the entire building was decorated to perfection. Each red ribbon that draped the office doors were sparkling with glitter and every snowflake that hang from the ceiling reminded him that Christmas was near. The boxes had already been neatly packed in the corner of his office and when Maria saw with her own eyes that there wasn’t even a single photograph, in sight, she realized he had made his final decision. He was going home to his family. He was retiring and giving up something that she knew more than anyone, was the biggest passion in his life. She was going to miss him more than he would ever know. She should have told him about her strong emotions for him but it was too late. There was no sense in even asking him to stay, again. She could see as he looked into her eyes that he had made his choice. â€Å"Need some help with those boxes? † She tried to say it without him seeing her eyes tearing up but it was hopeless now and she had already shown him how vulnerable she felt about what he was doing. â€Å"And, a ride to the airport if you can swing it? Taking cabs are so informal, you know? † He had dreaded this part of moving more than anything but he did want to spend his last few hours with the woman who he had grown so close to over the years. The ride to the airport was spent with lots of laughter and as the first snowflakes of winter blew through the city, Alexander not only felt sadness about leaving but he started to feel the joy of the season with each new bluster of white. He hoped he had made the right choice in leaving his writing position at the Gazette but he knew he would always feel a tugging at his heart when he thought about his job there and of course, when he remembered Maria and as they said their last goodbye, the tears in each of their eyes said more than they could ever dare with mere words. The Christmas party was in full swing and the band hand been playing carols for nearly an hour before Santa finally arrived. Mrs. Claus was sitting comfortably in her chair handing out the first gifts as the lead band member asked for silence in the room. â€Å"It isn’t proper for Mrs. Claus to do all the work on such a special occasion! We have a special gentleman do all the grunt work. † He enlightened them through the microphone. As Santa Claus entered the room, the crowd applauded while he moved closer to the huge stack of presents under the tree and to Mrs. Claus who tried to smile through her sadness. I have a special gift for Mrs. Claus! † Santa belted out in laughter, followed by a jolly, â€Å"Ho ho ho! † The beard that covered his face was a wonderful disguise and as she opened the tiny red box and saw the engagement ring that glistened many colors as it reflected the brilliant lights from the tree, Maria was now crying tears of happiness. As she pulled the beard from Santa’s face, Alexander kissed her warmly. â€Å"Home is where I do need to be, Maria Carter and spending one day away from you, reminded me that home truly is where your heart is! I want to spend everyday, home with you! †