The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

The Things They Carried Essay Every work of literature has a recurring theme. Whether it is about a love, guilt or a desire for revenge, every character comes across a struggle between their passion and responsibility. The Things They Carried features many characters that overcome conflicts. Jimmy cross struggles with his responsibility to his men as well as his love for a woman that does not love him back. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a young, carefree man who is still searching for his future. Without realizing what he was getting himself into, he applies for the Reserve Officers Training Corps at his college in New Jersey. Many of his friends knew he did not care about the war. Even Cross himself never gave it a second thought. He never thought he would actually go to war by taking the Reserve Officers Training Corps course. Later that year, he is drafted to the war as Lieutenant of several men under his charge, and he is unsure about everything he does. He had no desire to be a team leader, let alone lead a group of men into a blind war. Up until the day he was drafted, Jimmy Cross did not care for the war and what was happening. Being only a sophomore in college, he was still a young man with no experience when it came to war and being Lieutenant. As the war goes on, Cross begins to grasp that he is responsible for the safety of his own men. Although he did not want to be, he understood that someone had to be the leader. While they were all in Vietnam for the war, Jimmy Cross’ men find him day dreaming frequently. His mind was on Martha, a woman he fell in love with while attending college in New Jersey. Even he would find himself day dreaming about old memories of her and what his future would be like with Martha. Lieutenant Cross carried various reminders of his love for her. He would often read letters from her and gaze at her photographs she sent him. He knew she did not love him back like how he loved her. Cross wished things were different between the two of them. He wanted her to love him back but he knew that was too good to be true. When Ted Lavender died, Jimmy blamed himself. He felt guilty for not watching over his men at the time when they needed him the most. He should have saved Lavender but instead, his mind was filled with thoughts of Martha, a woman who gave no indication of ever loving him back. As a result, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross struggles to make the right decision for his men and burns all letters, photographs and memories of Martha. His struggle for Martha’s love kept him from protecting his men and he now holds guilt for Lavender’s death deep within. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross struggled throughout the novel frequently. He had conflicts with what he wanted from Martha, and his responsibility to his soldiers. In the end, Cross steps up and takes control of his situation. He becomes the leader that everyone expects him to be by giving up Martha and focusing on the war and his men. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross did what was right for his men to keep them safe from harm.

Why Hamlet is a Tragic Hero and the Play a Classic Tragedy :: essays research papers

Dear Kylie, I noticed your submission to Culture Magazine, regarding Shakespeare’s great play â€Å"Hamlet†. Having recently studied â€Å"Hamlet† in Year 12 English, I think I can help answer one of your questions. You asked why is Hamlet regarded as a tragic hero and the play a classic tragedy? Before I can answer your question, you must first understand the difference between the meaning of tragedy today and what is meant by tragedy in drama. Whereas a tragedy in life may be considered something such as a death or accident, in drama a tragedy in drama is much more. In a tragedy, although the hero may be in conflict with an opposing force, the cause of his downfall falls ultimately on himself. This is usually because of a character defect – a â€Å"tragic flaw† which causes him to act in a way which ends up bringing about his own misfortune, suffering and ultimately death. â€Å"Hamlet† is very much a tragedy, but it is also different, being a revenge tragedy where the hero is driven by the need for revenge, not unlike a modern day horror movie. Prince Hamlet is a tragedy of character where it is himself that brings his downfall, not fate. Well Kylie, a tragedy is usually a story of one person, with both the hero victims in the play usually of a high standing of society. This is especially the case in â€Å"Hamlet†, with his victims being King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Polonious, Laertes, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, all being linked to the Royal Family of Denmark. A personality fault (the tragic flaw) causes the hero to act in a manner which brings about his own misfortune and eventually death, during which he lets the audience know he is dying by delivering a final speech. In â€Å"Hamlet†, it is his tragic flaw of his indecisiveness and inability to act, which brings his own suffering and misfortune. Had he been able to kill King Claudius in the beginning none of the suffering would have occurred. He also delivers his final speech telling the audience of his death, â€Å"I am dead Horatio. Wretched queen, adieu!† he exclaims after being poisoned by Laertes envenomed rapier. In a tragedy the pity and fear (known in drama as pathos) is ultimately replaced by an uplifting and suffering (known in drama as catharsis) Hamlet’s acts cause suffering but in the end ultimately achieve learning. Hamlet’s ultimate death teaches the country of Denmark about Claudius’s murder and brings them under the reins of a new ruler Fortinbras of Norway.

Assess The Roles Of Different Agencies Essay

There are three different agencies of socialisation. The family, the education system and the media. These all have different roles in socialisation. The family effects people in their younger years, before they attend school. It teaches children the appropriate behaviour for their gender. A child’s behaviour is also influenced by how they observe their parents. Parents are influential in shaping basic values such as manners. Margnet Meed (1934) said parents are significant others who receive respect on their opinions and values from the children. Norms differ between families but the family teach children how to address family members, how and where to eat and sleep and the difference between good and bad behaviour. The roles in the family are quite limited and adults have more roles. There are also positive and negative sanctions in the family. These sanctions are informal in the family. Some positive sanctions include facial expressions, verbal approval and physical rewards . Some negative sanctions include being grounded, smacked or disapproval through language. Bernstein suggested that there are differences in how we learn to use language based on the social class of our family and Haralambos and Holborn (2000) claimed that compared to working-class families, middle-class parents emphasise high achievement at school and reward success. Another agency of socialisation is the education system. This teaches us the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for later life. Jackson (1968) said hidden curriculum is things we learn from the experience of attending school, such as dealing with strangers. It teaches us the historic knowledge of our societies past and the geographic knowledge of our society and other societies. It also teaches us the values of our society. For example, getting good grades and qualifications and that we should work hard for those qualifications. Bowles and Gintis (2002) said there is a correspondent between school norms and work norms . There are positive sanctions in the education system such as gaining grades and qualifications, prizes, praise and encouragement. Parsons (1961) (functionalist) claims that in families children are taught slightly different norms and values meaning some children may be allowed to do things others are not. Bowles and Gintis (1976) (Marxist) claims that schools teach children that the most intelligent get the best results. There are negative sanctions as well such as detention, exclusions, failure to achieve  qualifications and having a bad reputation. The media is the third agency of socialisation. This agency is an unusual agency of socialisation and the relationship is impersonal. The media can expose their values onto us but it is uncertain as to what extent. The media is also very powerful in supporting or marginalising certain values. The norms of the media has a boundary. They can publicise acceptable and unacceptable forms of behaviour and they can also reinforce perceptions of expected behaviours. Some positive sanctions of the media include celebrities such as Kate Middleton and Cheryl Cole, who are always shown at their best. Whereas the negative sanctions are very criticizing and show unflattering pictures. Potter (2003) suggested there’s short term effects of the media, such as learning about new ideas and places, imitation of things that we’ve seen on TV, such as styles of hair and clothes and desensitisation, where our emotional reaction to things such as violence and poverty is lowered because of the constant and repeated exposure. Potter (2003) also suggested there’s long term effects such as consumerism, where the repeated exposure of lifestyles and desirable consumer goods, suggests that happiness is something that can be bought. Fear when the media show negative and violent events which may also lead to people overestimating things, and agenda-setting where the media can determine how things will be debated, for example, immigration. This all shows that the agencies of socialisation are very important in forming and shaping young people and that if these agencies are misused or used in a certain way, there will be consequences in how young people may act in their adult life. Not only does each agency effect the values, norms, roles, behaviour, knowledge and sanctions of people, but they also effect each other, for example, the media, if viewed too much or too seriously, may effect someone’s education as they may learn less or pay less attention, or the family as they may be rude to other family members, more disrespectful or they may be less social.

Personal Ancestral File 5.2 Genealogy Software Review

Personal Ancestral File has been discontinued. According to FamilySearch.org, On July 15, 2013, PAF was retired and is no longer available for download or support.  Current PAF users may continue to use the software on their personal computers. ï » ¿One of the oldest and most popular genealogy software programs available, this family tree software from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was available for free download until 2013. Powerful and full-featured, the tool is also very user-friendly, making it perfect for novice computer users and genealogists. If you want fancy charts, youll have to spring for the add-on program, PAF Companion ($13.50). And if your primary goal is publishing a family Web site or book, there are better options. Pros Very intuitive and easy to useCustomizable data entry templatesAvailable for free downloadWidely used and supported Cons Full range of charts and reports only available with an add-on, PAF CompanionOnly basic multimedia capabilitiesPublishing options are limitedNot updated very frequently Description Available for free download or $6 on CD-ROM.View screens and print reports in either English, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean or Swedish.Type names and places using characters from any language.Create personalized templates to customize data entry.Five generation pedigree view offers easy navigation through large family treesSingle name field rather than separate fields for given names, surname and suffix titles.Prints basic reports and charts. Fancy charts and book publishing options available through an add-on.Attach images, sound clips, and video files, or easily create basic scrapbooks and slide-shows.Easily prepares information for TempleReady.Select individuals and families for export to your Palm handheld and view your data on the go. Guide Review - Personal Ancestral File 5.2 Personal Ancestral File 5.2 is surprisingly powerful and feature-packed given that it is a free program. Multiple views, including a five-generation pedigree view, make the program easy to navigate and the data entry screen is simple to use. Customizable data entry templates mean that you can create your own fields to match the information you wish to record. Source documentation options are adequate, though not as customizable as I would like. Multimedia options include attaching unlimited images, sound clips and video files to individuals, and creating basic scrapbooks and slideshows. Only a single image can be attached to each source, however, and none can be attached to families, events or places. Despite its wealth of data recording features, PAF lacks fancier charts (e.g. hourglass chart, everything chart, etc.) and many customized reports, unless you spring for the add-on program, PAF Companion ($13.50 US). Of all the genealogy software programs, Personal Ancestral File offers the best support for users with free support through LDS Family History Centers, PAF User Groups, and online. And since PAF is from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its likely that the software will continue to be developed and supported. If you want something thats easy to use and uncomplicated, and arent focused on publishing your family information in a book or online, then add PAF to your shortlist.