Esperanza of The House on Mango Street Essay Example for Free

Esperanza of The House on Mango Street Essay The House on Mango Street is a collection of musings of a young female named Esperanza. The main character and the direction of the stories is revealed in the first story. It is in The House on Mango Street that Sandra Cisnero sets Esperanza up as a young girl dreaming of a brighter future and yet floored on the realities of her situation. The first story introduces Esperanza as someone who plans on escaping the place where she is growing up. She is old enough to understand that the promises of her parents about the temporariness of their house are not going to be fulfilled any time soon. She is, however, young enough to believe that physically leaving Mango Street will mean a complete escape from the things that Mango Street and their house represent. The youthfulness of Esperanza is shown in Hairs where she describes her family and herself through a description of the type of hair each had. She tells about still being comforted by her mother’s presence beside her in their bed. It is also in this story that one understands Esperanza’s personality. She is free-spirited and hard to tame, like her hair. But she is clearly in the process of developing into a woman as she expresses her emotions for her mother’s hair – the hair of a truly ladylike woman. Esperanza is shown here to be in the transitional period of developing from a child into a complete lady. She most probably would be in her teenage years. The emotional and personal development of Esperanza is also seen in My Name. When she speaks of not wanting to be like her grandmother – a woman beside the window, trapped – she shows that she is already capable of deciding for herself the future she wants to have. She also shows her knowledge about the outside world when she speaks of the Chinese culture and its possible similarities with the Mexican culture. She also shows a deeper understanding of society when she explains how Chinese culture and Mexican culture do not want their women strong which is why they do not give them strong names. Her reference to women being suppressed and kept from being strong also shows that she is aware of this bias. She is clearly developing emotionally because she can formulate for herself judgments about the things that occur in the society she lives in. In this part of the stories, My Name, Esperanza demonstrates development from being the young girl who dreams of escaping her house because she wants more space to the teen who wants change because she no longer agrees with the things around her. She wants to change her name insisting that it does not refer to the â€Å"real her†. She wants a life that is different from her grandmother’s. The aspirations of Esperanza in this part have developed. From a house with more bedrooms and bathrooms, Esperanza now aspires for more abstract concepts – independence, choice, freedom. In the final parts of the stories, Esperanza seems to have finally developed into a wiser and more practical woman. She realizes that escaping Mango Street is not something she can do physically for the moment. She decides to write instead. This allows her release from the frustrations she feels for the place she lives in. Esperanza understands now that Mango Street is a part of her life and will continue to be so even after she leaves it. She seems to have made peace with herself and instead of continually trying to push for a way out, she now focuses on ways to improve herself. This is, according to her, the way to finally be able to leave Mango Street. Her wisdom is seen when she states that only in leaving Mango Street, improving herself somewhere else, and coming back to Mango Street can she truly be able to help those who do not have the ability to leave. Her goals are now realigned to include those in her community. Esperanza completes her journey from childhood to young adulthood in the pages of The House on Mango Street. She forms a clearer view of who she really is through her experiences in her house and grows emotionally as well. The maturity of Esperanza is seen not only in her thoughts but in the observations she has made from her neighborhood. She has learned from the lives of those around her and has grown from the lessons she gathered.

Primo Levi- Pain Retold, Is Pain Redoubled Essay -- essays research p

"Pain retold, is pain redoubled" What prompts someone to write about their suffering, and how do they convey a sense of their emotions to the reader? Primo Levi is a Holocaust war victim, a survivor from Auschwitz, who for years was plagued by guilt because he survived - a feeling that is passed on in Jewish tradition, which I understand being a fellow Jew. Jewish heritage is very important to all Jews; myself included, which is one reason why I can connect with the poet/author, his poems and his other works. Levi decided to write, rather than keep in, his feelings, and subsequently wrote both poetry, and a variety of prose, both fiction and autobiographical. The emotions in two of his poems, 'Shema' and 'The Survivor' are a melange of guilt, anger and sorrow. Levi feels guilt that he is living when so many he knew are dead, he is angry at how people are forgetting what happened less than 50 years ago, and also sad at what has passed. These emotions are portrayed through various means in 'Shema', the two most effective being repetition of certain thought-provoking words, "†¦empty eyes†¦empty womb†¦" "†¦cold heart†¦cold hand†¦" "†¦hard heart and eyes†¦hard like a rock†¦". These words give an impression of what Levi feels for his captors, while invoking numbness that makes it real. The harsh consonant sounds, "creating cages for captivity" invoke feelings of timidness because of the harsh attack from the words, even after it has been translated from the native Italian. Levi wrote other books, and in one (Survival In Auschwitz) it struck me how matter-of-factly he wrote down his observations. Although the subjects of his works are the horrors that he saw during his time in the Death-camps, Levi wrote it so people could learn what it was like, so Jews and non-Jews alike could witness the memoirs of a survivor. The description of the number tattooed on his arm, which functioned as an impromptu meal ticket, is registered as merely one more fact of life. "†¦We became used to showing our number promptly enough not to disorder the daily operation of food-distribution; weeks and months were needed to learn its sound in the German language." Levi documents the mundane life of the camp, a side that is not often seen, laying out his experiences with a reserve... ...te the past into the present and the future, to expand in knowledge. His works not only captivate and interest, but they convey a deeply personal sense of true experience that makes the stories special and real. From reading his works you not only understand the pain, guilt and anger, but also the need for repentance. Levi believes his repentance comes in telling and re-telling his story. His work serves as a reminder to everyone- not to let prejudice blind you against evil, to remind people of the great sorrow that happened, and not only does it educate and inform people, it also expresses feelings that should not be forgotten in case another Holocaust should happen. It serves as to inform people, or also remind them of what happened. It is his catharsis, and our education. Truly, his work is Shema: Listen. Biography: Calling of Kindred IL SISTEMA PERIODICO, 1975 - The Periodic Table SE QUESTO ? UN UOMO, 1947 - If This is a Man / Survival in Auschwitz AD ORA INCERTA- or- L'OSTERIA DI BREMA, collected poems Conversations with Primo Levi by Ferdinando Camon (1989) Quote: Chinese proverb, "The Wisdom of the Chinese Sages" published 1987.

General Motors Essay

I first want to start out with the bailout in 2009 where the government gave General Motors money ($40 million) to help get them out the situation with their creditors and took over most of the company. According to reports all of the outstanding stock has been sold and now the company is out of the government’s hands. The total amount given to them was not paid in full and they do not feel like they need to repay anymore because they said that there was a risk with taking the stock and that the government would just get back what the stock sold for. I know that this is true in the stock market, as I have stocks myself and know the risks that I am taking. I still have a problem with giving them money when one of the other larger automobile companies (Ford Motor Company) took it upon themselves to restructure and is paying off their own debts little by little and is still moving along today. Along with the sale of all of the stock came a lift on the freeze of upper management w ages and incentives. This is just not right. I would like to live on what some of them make, and I am sure that I could live very comfortably. Let them come and live on my income and see what they can do. I really have a problem with going overseas for production and I always will. It is probably my age and all of the trials and tribulations that I have lived through as well as what I have seen others live through. Many people were told that their jobs would be secure and since then General Motors has cut back on jobs here in the United States. I wonder just how many people outside of this country have been given jobs that could have been here at home. I know that many companies take production overseas because they say that the costs for labor are a lot  lower. Well, that may be true but has anyone seen the living conditions of those people overseas. Are we really paying them what they should be getting? Let’s take into consideration all of the recalls that General Motors has made in the last few years. Way too many in my book. Why is there faulty material being used to manufacture a product that could easily take the lives of many people. These products were made mostly overseas, I believe, and could lower wages be part of the problem of not noticing the faulty parts in the first place? By taking away incentives for prospective buyers, I believe, really hurt their business, but then I say, â€Å"Why give an incentive and not just reduce the price of the car in the first place?† I know that consumers look f or incentives but I think that they would look just as hard if the price of the cars were lower too. Let us look at the strategy that General Motors is wanting to take. The strategy that I believe that they are using is a combination of three strategies. They are as follows: Defensive Strategy in that General Motors decided to cut back the number of makes of automobiles; Cost-Leadership Strategy in that expenses needed to manufacture the cars are kept at a lower cost and maintained at that lower cost; and Differentiation Strategy in that they need to make a superior product for a vast number of people at a low cost. According to the plan General Motors is going to start making their automobiles using the same parts in the same laid out plants and using the same kind of tools throughout. They are also cutting back on the number of models from 86 to 49. When it came to the cost-leadership strategy, I put the loss of incentives to customers in this category. I still do not understand why there are incentives when they could just reduce the price of the automobile or truck. I think that people would look more if the price were lower. The differentiation strategy they have cut back on the workforce but are still making the superior produc t for a vast audience. I realize that they need to watch their competitors closely, especially those overseas but they also need to take care of the people right here in the United States. General Motors has a vision to reduce costs and increase revenue through global sales growth to a net profit of 10%. I think that they are asking for a lot out of the economy, as it is today As the plan states, Ford is farther ahead of General Motors and they made more of a profit per vehicle sold than General Motors. This was all done because of  going globally. The culture needs to change too and get away from focusing on selling the most cars and take care of the customers that they currently have and possibly will have in the future. Yes, sales are important, but they will come if their customer focus is there first. I think that the 10% increase in profits is a little out the park when you are just restructuring and trying to maintain your status. You will need to take smaller increases in profit for a few years and then the profits will increase as the years go by. When looking at SMART goals I find that General Motors set their goal of making more than $10 billion per year. This is a very challenging goal for a company that is just coming back from restructuring. This goal is very specific but I do not believe that it is attainable with the economy that we have today. I know that they look at achieving this goal globally but they really need to concentrate right here in the United States. To be results-oriented they needed to decrease the number of types of cars they produce, reduce the number in their global workforce, (which they did), reduce the number of union workers here in the United States (which they did) and close down plants that were not up to par (which they did). Was this the right decision to make? Who knows for sure? The only thing that I can see is that they put a lot of people out of work. In looking at the Planning/Control Cycle, I see that General Motors followed it by making the plan, carrying out the plan, they looked at the results of the plan and they controlled the direction of the plan by making any corrections as they went along with the plan. Planning is very important in everything that you do. You must always follow through too and watch as the plan is being carried out and always have control of what is going on and make sure that you make any corrections as the plan goes on. If need be, go back to the beginning and start all over again if the plan goes off track too far or if you have to make too many corrections. According to Mr. Akerson when asked about being back on top and the world’s largest auto maker his response was: â€Å"General Motors needs to focus on profits and margins and not necessarily try to post nu mbers on the board.† Maybe they need to go back and re-think their plan again and make sure they are staying on track as they proceed. In conclusion, I just want to add that I read two reports that just came out on CNN today. â€Å"One concerned a former manager for General Motors, Bill McAleer, who was in charge of the Global delivery system from 1988 to 1998 which was  used to access the quality of cars before they were sent to various dealers. He said that the culture of General Motors was the main problem of the company where if there was a problem and you said anything that you could be fired and then on the other hand if you did not say anything, you still could be fired.† What kind of culture is that? It is kind of twisted, if I must say. He said that he had sent a letter to the upper management about all of the defects that he had found and that they just ignored it. He also said that he never received a response in any way about the letter. He mentioned that in 1997 the focus for the company really changed and internally and that there were to be NO problems admitted to. How ridiculous is that. There is never a time during the day that a company does not have some kind of problem. He went on to say; â€Å"That’s what happened with the ignition switch, people knew that there was a problem but problems were not acceptable. They just ignored it.† Mr. McAleer was laid off in 2004 and filed suit agains t the company under the Whistleblower Law but he lost his suit. And what happened yesterday, June 27, 2014? General Motors recalled another 430,000 2013 and 2014 vehicles for various defects from windshield wiper assemblies on Caprice Police Cars, to transmission software, to rear shock absorbers, and to air bag problems. What is with this company? The article stated that since January, General Motors has recalled more than 20 million vehicles worldwide. If they knew about the ignition switch more than a decade ago and did nothing until this year, why are they still in business? Where are most of these defective parts coming from? I would imagine that you can see why I cannot be happy about this company. I have lived many years and have worked in various occupations and have seen the defective merchandise come from out of the country and would just sit there and shake my head. Working in retail for over 20 years, I just would not put merchandise on the floor for customers to purchase if I found it to be defective. Did I get into trouble for it? Absolutely not! We cared about our customers, why doesn’t General Motors. Seems like all they are interested in is the almighty dollar. Ref: CNN.com Article by Patrick Sheridan, June 28, 2014 @ 12:24 pm ET Article by Patrick Sheridan, June 27, 2014 @ 6:564 pm ET

Social Commentary on Sexism in Of Mice and Men by John...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that during the Great Depression era, â€Å"...the federal government did prohibit a married couple from both holding government jobs, and as late as 1939, legislatures in 26 states considered laws limiting married womens work. Both men and women believed that married women should give up their jobs if their husbands wanted them to. In the Depression decade, those wives who worked outside the home were viewed as selfish, greedy women who took jobs away from male breadwinners.† (Grice) Historians have documented that the role of women as a minority in 1930s America was largely to remain as a man’s inferior and serve as a servant in the household as they were shamed if they chose to get†¦show more content†¦As the only woman on the ranch and one of the very few mentioned throughout the entire novella, Curley’s wife is mistreated by the sexist men she lives around and is even blamed for her own demi se. The workers on the ranch look down on her and often speak negatively about her behind her back. The men insult her with derogatory names such as â€Å"tramp†, â€Å"bitch†, and â€Å"rat-trap†(Steinbeck 32). After Lennie kills her, Candy blames her for her own death yelling at her corpse, â€Å"‘You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad. Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up. You wasn’t no good. You ain’t no good now, you lazy tart.’ He sniveled, and his voice shook. ‘I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys.’† (Steinbeck 95-96) Candy blames Curley’s wife for the string of unfortunate events that led to both her death and the death of Lennie and emphasizes that he always thought she was trouble. He places the blame on her for not allowing him to achieve the American dream, even when her death was at the hands of Lennie, a mentally challen ged man. Literary critic Howard Levant, when discussing the death of Curley’s wife, states, â€Å"The ultimate irony in this tangle of violence is that none of the characters is evil or intends to do evil†¦ ‘love’ has different meanings for Lennie and for Curley’s wife; the clash of meanings ensures their deaths.† (Bloom 97-98) Levant is