A Thousand Splendid Suns Analysis Essay Example

A Thousand Splendid Suns: Analysis Essay â€Å" Nana said, ‘Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. You remember that Mariam† (Hosseini 7). In this passage from A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam’s mother explains to her what her father is really like. Through the begging of this novel, Mariam sees her father, Jalil, as the better parent and views her mother as the more strict one. Nana isn’t fond of Jalil because after he had got her pregnant, he denied that he tried sleeping with Nana, â€Å"That [she] forced [herself] on him† (Hosseini 6). Mariam doesn’t believe this story. She feels that the only reason her father hadn’t kept her and her mother in his house was because of his other wives. Nana tries to explain to Mariam the truth but Mariam ignores what her mother tells her. In later chapters Mariam is able to realize that her mother had been telling the truth. When she does realize this, its because her mother has died and she is able to see that her father wants nothing to do with her. The author, Khaled Hosseini, uses this to foreshadow Mariam’s husband, Rasheed, blames her for not having a son and for not being a good wife. We will write a custom essay sample on A Thousand Splendid Suns: Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on A Thousand Splendid Suns: Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on A Thousand Splendid Suns: Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Not only Rasheed, but other men in this novel as well blame the women for their problems. Jalil blamed Nana for the birth of Mariam even though it was his fault for having the affair. Rasheed doesn’t always blame Mariam for everything, at times he blames his other wife too, Laila, for giving birth to a daughter and not a son. This passage helps illustrate what Nana had to learn and what Mariam had to endure when growing up with a man around. Throughout, women are the victims of their husbands problems and in this book it clearly shows how women are accused, even when doing no harm to anyone. At night, Laila lay in bed and watched the sudden white flashes reflected in her window. She listened to the rattling of atomic gunfire and counted the rockets whining overhead as the house shook and flakes of plaster rained down on her from the ceiling. Some nights when the light of rocket fire was so bright a person could read a book by it, sleep never came. And, if it did, Laila’ s dreams were stuffed with fire and detached limbs and the moaning of the wounded† (Hosseini 157). This paragraph, Laila describes her surroundings in her childhood years. During this time period in the novel, there is war that continues throughout the book. This war effects Laila because every time she hear a rocket blast, she thinks that her friend Tariq, has been killed by one of them. Throughout, Laila is always concerned on the effect the war has on her loved ones. Because of this war Laila ends up loosing her loved ones. Her mother, father, her two brothers and best friend die because of the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan and she almost looses Tariq when he moves away and gets injured by a rocket. The war helps Laila see what a tragedy it is to loose people in this manner. In the passage, Khaled Hosseini uses a hyperbole to demonstrate how major this war is in Afghanistan and the effects it has on the people living in this country. When it is stated that â€Å"†¦light of rocket fire was so bright a person could read a book by it†¦,† it doesn’t really mean that it was that bright you could read, it just shows that it caused a scene where it could interrupt a normal routine. And also when it mentions her dreams, they seem a tad exaggerated because yes this environment could cause certain nightmares, but she hasn’t actually witnessed the killings of this war and the affects of the actual wounded people. They would live in a small house on the edge of some town they’d never heard of, Maraim said, or in a remote village where the road was narrow and unpaved but lined with all manner of plants and shrubs. Maybe there would be a path to take, a path that led to a grass field where the children could play, or maybe a grave led road that would take them to a clear blue lake where trout swam and reeds poked through the surface. They would raise sheep and chickens, and they would make bread together and teach the children to read. They would make new lives for themselves-peaceful, solitary lives- and there the weight of all that they’d endured would lift from them, and they would be deserving of all the happiness and simple prosperity they would find† (Hosseini 315). In this quotation ,Laila And Mariam are imagining their perfect life if they leave the life they live in. Mariam and Laila are tired of living with their husband, Rasheed, who abuses the and they want to start new lives. Previously, they did try to leave him but they ended up getting caught which caused more abuse for them. Laila thinks this will go through, but Mariam knows the ugly truth that this fantasy isn’t reality and she knows what will really happen to the two of them and their family. In the end this idea is never accomplished, much like most dreams. Laila ends up moving with her love Tariq and her two kids, Zalmai and Aziza, to Pakistan. While Mariam decides to turn herself for the murder of Rasheed and she is killed at the end for what she did. In the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini uses motif of having a dream of the perfect life that is never reached. Just like in the novel, Of Mice and Men, the characters, Lennie and George, had a fantasy of having a life they have always wanted but in the end a tragedy causes this dream to be destroyed when Lennie gets killed, but in this situation it is Mariam who is killed. A lot of novels have this theme where the idea is to end with the ideal life but then it gets completely turned around and usually the exact opposite of that happens. In Mariam and Laila’s situation, Laila doesn’t get this exact life but she does live happily at the end with her family even though they do struggle at times but for Mariam, she didn’t get the happiness she wanted but she was able to get something just as good, a friend that would understand her. The Review I personally really enjoyed this book. I felt that I was able to connect with the characters Mariam and Laila really well. At times the book would have low points in it but sure enough it would pick right back up. The parts about war weren’t to interesting for me, the way the author explained it could have been made more interesting. The book overall was really well written. Had great description to events in it. Surprisingly, it had made me tear up at parts such as when Laila thought Tariq had died and when Mariam had disowned Jalil as her father. The novel had some very interesting characters. Rasheed and Jalil were two characters that I really wasn’t fond of but towards the end, I had felt some sympathy for Jalil when I found out that he regret letting Laila go and how he ended up dying. Rasheed, however, was a character which I felt no sympathy towards but more of hatred feeling. Mariam was a character I was really able to relate to because I understood how she felt in the begging, where she believed her father was an honest, loving father and her mother was a strict person. When first introduced to Laila, she wasn’t a very interesting character, but once I learned more about her I was able to feel her emotions in the book. It got confusing when it went from Mariam to Laila but once getting use to of it, it was pretty simple to comprehend. I liked how this was written in third person but was still very descriptive. This novel was able to show what women have to endure in life, not just women in Afghanistan, but everyone. I think that the author shouldn’t have wrote Mariam’s death the way he did because it didn’t seem the right way for her to die after endearing all that she had. Overall a pretty good book and I would recommend it to anyone that’s interested on how people lives are the middle east.

Logical Fallacies essayEssay Writing Service

Logical Fallacies essayEssay Writing Service Logical Fallacies essay Logical Fallacies essayThe argument chosen for this analysis is named Guns in America: freedom from the fear of firearms by Chad R. MacDonald. The issue considered in this post is the recent shooting in Fort Hood and the debate on whether guns should be legally allowed or prohibited in America. The premises of the argument listed by MacDonald are the following: the gun violence problem in the United States is worsening; the rate of mass shootings is alarming; the majority of Americans are willing to have gun control laws back (MacDonald, 2014). The author considers different points of view and facts, and comes to the conclusion that only responsible people who are mature enough should be allowed to own a gun.There are numerous logical fallacies in MacDonalds argument. He mostly uses inductive reasoning and makes generalizations basing on individual cases. However, his reasoning is weak and in most cases where MacDonald uses generalizations, they are logically incorrect. For example, MacDonald states that the gun violence problem worsens and seems to support his conclusion by a link to the news article named Mass shooting in America: a historical review. However, this article only contains statistics showing that the number of mass shootings in the 1990s was 42 and in the 2000s it declined to 28. During 2010-2013, there were 14 mass shootings, but this statistics does not provide enough information to state that gun violence issues really became worse; the article rather presents facts and situations in a way which is alarming to the reader.Furthermore, MacDonald makes numerous hasty generalizations in the post. For example, he attacks the argument of Wayne LaPierre (The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun!) by considering a case when two officers took down a gunman after the gunman killed his victim. In the considered case, nine people were wounded before the gunman was taken down. MacDonald uses a sole example to state that LaPierres statement was fallacious: This is the absolute best-case scenario of LaPierre’s fallacious statement (MacDonald, 2014). Furthermore, MacDonald uses this case to generalize that other gun owners are going to do even worse that the police, and uses an argument to the person right after that: If you imagine that you are a good guy with a gun then you are neither responsible, nor mature enough to be handling one (MacDonald, 2014).Although the author cites a lot of sources and facts so that it seems that his arguments are logical and consequent, his arguments and conclusions are mostly fallacious. MacDonald uses many ambiguous and incorrect premises such as the worsening of gun violence issue which is not supported by reliable statistical data but is accompanied by an infographic with questionable sources. Furthermore, MacDonalds conclusions are not related to his arguments: he considers the arguments of gun proponents, the questions of freedom and responsibility, law enforcement , gun lobbies and John Lotts research, but it is not clear for the reader how MacDonalds conclusions are related to the subsections of the post. Basing on the above-mentioned facts, it is possible to label the argument of MacDonald as weak.

BUSINESS ENVIROMENT AND SOCIETY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BUSINESS ENVIROMENT AND SOCIETY - Essay Example This will enable students from different parts of the country perceive things in one perspective because language structure somehow establishes how we understand the world (Howson 1979, pg 165-171). A universal language in high schools is described as a tool which improves brain capacity and thinking ability of students. This is due to the factor that most cases it will lead to multi- linguistic aspects because the children will be in the know of their mother tongue and the language which they are taught in secondary school bringing to a total of two languages. Children who are raise bilingual have greater linguistic capacity than those brought up in monolingual way (Gode 1951,pg 20-50) . Some recommendations could be made concerning the entire universal secondary language. This may help to solve this siege which has confused many people making them be at loggerheads for a long period of time. Firstly schools should agree about the usage if common language so that students can be holding discussions ,contests and taking common exams to make education competitive. Secondly, school books should be written in a common language so that all students can access the books in any bookshop or borrow from other schools this will be of great importance. This is because it will ease the education system and ensure that the elites are the cream of intelligence with almost the same linguistic contemporary experience. Furthermore, teachers should be encouraged to attend seminars and workshops so as to be taught on the importance of a common language (Allen & Widdowson 1974,pg

Child Sexual Abuse Detection and Prevention Essay

Child Sexual Abuse Detection and Prevention - Essay Example Due to the traumatizing nature of sexual abuse, effective treatment approaches and prevention strategies have recently been developed (Roberts & Miltenberger 1999). This research discusses on of the most traumatic dilemma faced by all the societies of the world: Child Sexual Abuse. Special emphasis has been laid on the detection (in terms of symptoms) and prevention (including laws) of child sexual abuse. The problem of child sexual abuse warrants serious consideration by society as a whole. Prevalence of the problem has been suggested to include almost one-quarter of the nation's population (Finkelhor et al., 1990). As a result of sexual abuse, a variety of emotional and behavioral problems may develop and continue into the young victim's adulthood. Due to the traumatizing nature of sexual abuse, effective treatment approaches and prevention strategies have recently been developed (Roberts & Miltenberger 1999). Child sexual abuse can be defined as any sexual activity, overt or covert, between a child and an adult (or older child, where the younger child's participation is obtained through seduction or coercion) (Ratican 1992). It generally has a significant negative and pervasive psychological impact on its victims (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986). Russell (1986) found that female sexual abuse survivors had a significantly greater number of negative life experiences, such as repeated victimization, marital and family instability, and decreases in socioeconomic status, than did those who had not been abused. Briere and his associates found significantly higher levels of psychological symptoms among both male and female survivors than among non-abused adults in clinical and nonclinical samples (Briere, Evans, et al., 1988; Briere & Runtz, 1988). Child sexual abuse is an etiological factor in some of the most severe mental disorders (Ratican 1992), including dissociative disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, sexual disorders, affective disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse (Gelinas, 1983). It is thought to be a major cause of borderline and multiple personality disorders and may be a contributing factor in many others, such as paranoid and obsessive-compulsive and passive-aggressive disorders (Saltman & Solomon, 1982; Wheeler & Walton, 1987). Chapter 2: Data Analysis Research findings have suggested that between two and four females out of 10 have been sexually abused (Wilcox, Richards & O'Keeffe 2004), while approximately half as many males have been sexually abused (Cawson et al., 2000). (It should be borne in mind, however, that prevalence rates vary depending on how abuse is defined.) The literature also indicates that non-contact offences are reported less often, as well as incest offences (Wilcox, Richards & O'Keeffe 2004). General population estimates would suggest that one in 100 children are sexually abused by a father or father figure (Laurance, 2000). It is of considerable interest that estimates further suggested that two in 100 children are sexually abused by siblings. In respect of issues concerning the traumatic effects of sexual abuse, it seems significant that, despite these statistics, fathers

What was the role of Serbia in the events that led to the outbreak of Research Paper

What was the role of Serbia in the events that led to the outbreak of the First World War - Research Paper Example There were different factors such as imperialism, nationalism as well as the formation of different alliances between various countries which finally resulted into the emergence of war. The immediate causes of the war were even discussed during that era wherein major powers of the world at that time blamed each other for bringing the situation to a point where War broke out . (Taylor, 1980) Serbia was most instrumental and probably one of the key reasons as to why First World War took place. What role Serbia played in the outbreak of First World War therefore is an issue which attracted attention of many historians over the period of time. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and the subsequent events which unfolded therefore gave rise to the need for developing broader understanding of the events which lead to war. Though the war started with the attack from Austria- Hungary on Serbia to potentially avenge the murder however, the overall political reasons for this war were much deeper. (Bourne, 1994) Before discussing the role of Serbia in the events which lead to the First World War, it is important that a general historical introduction of Serbia and its position before the war should be discussed. Serbia fell under the rule of Ottoman Empire in 16th century when it was conquered by Ottomans and were subsequently put under the rule for more than 300 years. The Ottoman conquest became possible due to the internal conflict within the Kingdom of Serbia and resultantly the State as a whole weakened. Serbia remained under the control of Ottoman Empire for more than 300 years and it was only in the beginning of the 20th century that it started to consider a separation from the empire and develop its own separate identity. It is also important to note that the organized revolt in Serbia against Ottoman Empire started during the 19th century and Serbia was able to free some area even during the 19th Century. It was

Impact of Conflict on Human Capital Development

Impact of Conflict on Human Capital Development Living Amid Conflict and its Implications to Human Capital Development By Alexander Ken P. Libranza Introduction The adverse effects of the outbreak and recurrence of conflict can be dangerous because of its long-term economic implications that may force a country into a vicious cycle of low human capital development and conflict (Kim et al, 2010). A common stand among recent literature suggests that conflict destroys the process of accumulating physical and human capital, which deteriorates the labor force and in turn affects institutional capacity (Justino, 2011; Nkurunziza, 2008; Serneels et al, 2010). Most researches on civil wars and armed conflict has been focused on the macro-level of analysis, as noted by Stewart Valpy (2001), that largely address the economic and social consequences concentrating on the prevalence of underdevelopment among conflict-affected countries. However, very few researchers talk about the micro-level impacts of conflicts on household and individual. One possible reason is the unavailability of household-level data in conflict-affected countries. Second, even wh en such data are available the reliability of the source and the sample is also being questioned. Although, empirical works are growing, the increasing micro-level researches has been greatly focused on the effects of war to household living standards and direct impacts of combats that involves narratives of individuals in conflict areas. Very limited works has addressed the long term effects of violent conflict on children and child development, most especially on the Philippine context. Drawing on a review of both theoretical and empirical literature, this paper frames the connection between armed conflict and human capital development within a conceptual framework in which the accumulation of nutrition and education and levels of human development are linked. This paper further shows that while armed conflict might be caused by many factors, low levels of human development increase the risks of conflict outbreaks and recurrence. Figure 1: Adopted from Kim Conceià §Ãƒ £o (2010), â€Å"The Economic Crisis, Violent Conflict, and Human Development† Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study. This framework suggests a self-reinforcing cycle from the roots and cause of armed conflict to low human capital development, and vice versa. The decade-long armed conflict in the Philippines is a proof of this loop. Concentrated in rural areas, variations of insecurities and violence has affected communities especially children and women who are forced to suffer physical and psychological trauma as consequences from shooting, combat operations, and rights abuse. While conflict maybe caused by many factors, Risser (2007) traces its roots to the issues of poverty, economic distribution disparities, and scarcity of state social and welfare services. These becomes a problem because it limits access to health care services and basic education which is critical for the accumulation of physical, social, and human capital. The framework further notes that a country experiencing conflict cannot secure long term returns for investments in both physical and human capital, resulting in low investment in health and education which lead to low levels of human development. A country with low levels of human development has a difficulty in improving institutions which lowers productivity and potential growth. As such, lower growth rates heighten the risk of conflict, potentially trapping a country in a self-reinforcing cycle of conflict, low human development, and vice versa (Kim Conceicao, 2010). In the period of 2001-2005, IBON Foundation monitored 1,061 armed confrontations between the government forces and various armed groups and recorded 569 killing of innocent, unarmed civilians – 52 of which are minors under 18-years old, 63 women, and 199 who were killed during the crossfire. Over the last decade, millions of children were killed in armed conflicts all over the world (Machel, 1996). While others are exploited as soldiers and exposed to extreme brutality and violence (Camacho, 2003). It is estimated that 45 percent of the direct victims of armed conflict are 15 years old and younger. Moreover, there were 819 incident of human rights violations involving children from 2001 to April 2005. Children suffered effects of sexual violence, harassment and psychological trauma, intimidation, illegal detention, and exposure to hunger and disease. There were 75 cases of children who were orphaned when their parents were killed during the conflict, however this number may be underreported due to the lack of data, limited information, and unreliability of the sources. Exposure to actual combats and being caught in the crossfire of battles has left them physically disabled, emotionally scarred, and psychologically traumatized which are detrimental in accumulating the proper human and social capital to become well-adjusted and productive workers. This research relates to various fields in the literature, in particular for development economics, health and nutrition, and education. I briefly mention below the key areas in the mentioned field of study that motivates this research. First is on the established link between economic conditions and conflict. There has been a great deal of work analyzing the causal effects of conflict and war. Most of these studies extensively focused on establishing a strong link between poverty to armed conflict and violence (Justino, 2006; Justino, 2009; Miguel et al., 2004). Macro-level analysis, as noted by Stewart, F. Valpy F. (2001), has provided an insight on the economic and social consequences of conflict focusing on the prevalence of underdevelopment among conflict-affected countries. However, there has been limited number of studies focusing at the micro-level impacts of conflicts on household and individual. The increasing micro-level data has been greatly focused on the effects of war to household living standards, direct impacts of combats, and very limited on children and child development especially on the Philippine context. Second is the relationship of health to socio-economic characteristics, and its implications to consumption patterns. Serdan (2008) gave an overview of how armed conflict affects food intakes, food availability, and a clear measurement indicators of nutritional outcomes for children. In addition, Straus and Thomas (2008) noted how health and nutrition affects the accumulation of human capital, as well as its positive effects to productivity and living standards. Third is relating nutrition to academic performance. In fact, academic performance and nutrition, as important elements in the accumulation of proper human and social capital, has been the subject of the growing literature demonstrating the long term impacts of conflict to the productivity of the workforce, their well-being, as well as living standards (Thomas, 2007; Berhman et al., 2004; Malluccio et al., 2006, Serdan, 2008). Furthermore, a unanimous agreement establishes health as an important factor for determining the well-being of the population which affects schooling, income, and labor force participation (Serdan, 2008; Alderman et al., 2006; Shemyakina, 2006; Swee 2009). In all, existing researches are clear: the effects or armed conflict and violence represent a significant challenge to the health and education systems. This further qualifies both the short-term and long-term economic implications of armed conflict to the different sectors of the economy. This paper examines the possible causal effects of armed conflict and violence on health outcomes and education of children. In particular, I analyzed if the exposure to armed conflict and violence has a differential effect on the nutrition and academic performance of conflict-affected children, and comparing these results to those children from non-armed conflict areas. When it comes to peace development, this quantitative research will contribute to the lack of data around conflict-affected areas towards creating an impact assessment for conflict and post-conflict rehabilitation programs. The main issue is the gap between academic studies and practitioner works that has been due to the limited information and reliance on sources of data from mass media and humanitarian monitoring mechanism. I want to establish a closer link between academic studies and policy making in conflict-affected areas. The paper seek to assess how armed conflict and violence affect the health and education of children living in conflict areas. More specifically, this research looks into the anthropometric indicators that would suggest disruptions on the nutritional intakes, academic performance, and schooling of children. In doing so, the study evaluates the current status of health and education of children living amid conflict and violence, and compares the nutritional outcomes and academic performance of children from armed conflict areas to non-armed conflict areas. LIBRANZA | 1

English Story :: essays papers

English Story Hello my name is rage, you are probably thinking just about now that who named this girl. Well I have always had that question on my mind as well. From what I remember about my childhood (which I might add is not much) is mostly living in this house with about thirty other kids that did not have parents either and we lived off our worldwide drug Elate, bread and water. I was told from the older kids that my mother dropped me off there one day she told the kids that she had been diagnosed with AIDS, and she was going to murder herself. So my best friend her name was Sky, she was one of the older kids and she took care of me for my early years. I lived there until I was about 16, then I moved in with Jeremy, my boyfriend and started a family. Anyway back to our drug Elate, you may have an idea what this drug is I have no idea if it will sill exist when you receive this letter or you may have never heard of the drug before. So let me explain. It is what I have heard that people used to call "cocaine" or something in that form. And I have also heard that people used to actually pay for this stuff, and used to go in "jail" if they were caught with it or on it. Well now a day it is completely different, we have to be on it twenty-four hours a day, seven times a week, etc. The drug Elate, it brings all the others and me such a high, and has got me through some pretty bad times in my life. You already know my mother died from it, using the needle method, and I presume my father did also; that is why we start our lives so early in this society. The older kids have prepared us that our lives only last about forty years, if we are lucky. But forty years of being high; that is the way I want to live my life. Who really like's reality in the first place. The only down sides of this drug are my nose hurts all the time and I do not really sleep, nor eat much, the drug make me feel full. It is our choice weather we want to sniff the stuff or inject it or do both. I personally switch with both methods every few months. The one thing that I do not do is share needles, that is the huge down side