lord of the rings Essay -- essays research papers

The Two Towers Main Characters- Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, the main character of the story, the bearer of the evil ring, sent to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom. He is very strong, but has trouble sometimes making choices, and sometimes makes wrong ones, wields Sting the dagger of his Uncle Bilbo Baggins. Samwise Gamzee, a hobbit, Frodo’s companion on his journey to destroy the ring, he is always looking out for Frodo, to help him in any way he can, wields a dagger, sword to him. Pippin Took, a hobbit, Frodo’s constant companion until captured by the Orcs, with Merry, and finally escape, and find the Ents, and go to defeat Saruman. Merry, a hobbit, Frodo’s constant companion until captured by the Orcs, with Pippin, and finally escape, and find the Ents, and go to defeat Saruman. Gandalf the white, the wizard on the journey helps make most of the decisions until he, and Frodo are split up, then goes after Saruman to defeat him, and his tower, wields a great wizard staff. Aragorn heir to the king of Gondor, Frodo’s companion until they are split up, then goes after Pippin, and Merry to save them, and after he finds them helps Gandalf defeat Saruman, wields broken sword restored which helped defeat Sauron. Legalos, a young elf, rides with Aragorn and Gimli through the book to help with what he can, wields a bow. Gimli, a dwarf, who goes with Aragorn, and then with Gandalf, he wields an axe, and will fight to the death. Gollum- A once man corrupted by the ring, now ...

Seduction and Lust in Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market Essay

Seduction and Lust in Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market A seemingly innocent poem about two sisters’ encounters with goblin men, Christina Rossetti’s â€Å"Goblin Market† is a tale of seduction and lust. Behind the lattice of the classic mortal entrapment and escapement from fairyland, â€Å"Goblin Market† explores Laura’s desire for heterosexual knowledge, the goblin men’s desire for mortal flesh, and Laura and Lizzie’s desire for homosexual eroticism. Goblin men fascinate the sisters Laura and Lizzie, innocent virgins who were taught not to â€Å"peep at goblin men† (Rossetti, l. 49). Predominantly iambic tetrametric, â€Å"Goblin Market† follows a convoluted rhyming scheme and includes many enjambments, repetitions, and dialogues. This experimental form readily lends itself to natural storytelling and mirrors the experimentation of Laura and Lizzie. Laura, more curious than her sister, â€Å"[chooses] to linger/Wondering at each merchant man† (ll. 69-70). This curiosity and longing is expressed through Rossetti’s use of diction and rhyme in describing the girls’ â€Å"clasping arms and cautioning lips,/With tingling cheeks and finger tips† (ll. 38-39; italics mine). Laura is tempted to taste the luscious grapes the goblins peddle, though she acknowledges that the fruits’ â€Å"hungry thirsty roots† grow on alien soils (l. 45). Laura’s repetition of â€Å"Look, Lizzie, look, Lizzie† betrays her restless longings. The consecutive commencements with the word â€Å"one† and the assonance on the vowel â€Å"O† in the lines describing the goblins set the tone of urgency: â€Å"One hauls a basket,/One bears a plate,/One lugs a golden dish/Of many pounds weight† (ll. 54-59). This technique, like a refrain, punctuates the entire poem and Laura, wi... ...nd â€Å"dew-wet grass† (ll. 532-533). As with the girls’ experiences with the goblin men, this homoerotic experience is like a dream (l. 537). Laura and Lizzie, by sharing of themselves, discover that â€Å"there is no friend like a sister† (l. 562). Their love, redeeming and life giving, surpasses the seductive yet bitter fruits of the goblin men. Christina Rossetti’s â€Å"Goblin Market†, though punctuated with an air of innocence, is imbued with provocative imageries and rhymes. It encapsulates Laura’s desperate yearnings for the goblins’ fruits, the goblins’ lascivious desire to entrap chaste mortals, and Laura and Lizzie’s feverish love that is neither vulgar nor ephemeral. Works Cited Rossetti, Christina. Goblin Market. Illustrated by Laurence Housman. 1893. New York: Dover, 1983. Work Consulted Bellas, Ralph A. Christina Rossetti. Boston: Twayne, 1977.

House of the Spirits Essay

In Isabel Allende’s novel The House of the Spirits, there are two definitive classes of people that are present throughout the novel. The poor class, including the peasants of Tres Marias and the socialist party members, has continual resentment towards the other class, which is the wealthy aristocratic class. The wealthy division of the novel shows little humanity towards the poor, treats the poor as servants, and control all politics involved in the country. The wealthy’s treatment of the lower class shattered the peace experienced by Chile because the poor and the wealthy maintained a struggle to co-exist with such division between their classes. The struggles between the two classes was first established early on in the novel at Tres Marias where Estreban Trueba makes it clear that he is the leader of the land and the rest of the tenants were much less important than him. Trueba was a part of the wealthy class and he takes the peasants that are housed on his land and he takes complete advantage of the people there. Word of his cruelty spread throughout the region, provoking jealous admiration among the men of his class. The peasants hid their daughters and clenched their fists helplessly because they could not confront him. Esteban Trueba was stronger, and he had impunity† (Allende 63). There was nothing that the peasants could do to a man of a higher class and Trueba takes full advantage of this. He acts as though he is untouchable throughout the novel and that the wealthy class can do whatever they please. Esteban Trueba speaks of how he believes that since he is in a higher and wealthier class, he is free to do anything that he wishes, including raping the women of Tres Marias. Esteban sees the people that live on his land as lesser human beings and Esteban believes that â€Å"poor people are completely ignorant and uneducated. They’re like children, they can’t handle responsibility. How could they know what’s best for them? Without [Trueba] they’d be lost† (64). This attitude that the wealthy class has for those in the book ignites the resentment felt by the poor class that resounds in the rest of the story. The inequality that is present between these two classes is unbelievable throughout the book that even parts of the wealthy class begin to realize the damage that their right wing government has caused to the lower division of Chile. Even Esteban Trueba’s immediate family senses the problems that the poor face. â€Å"[Clara] now took Blanca with her on her visits to the poor, weighed down with gifts and comfort. ‘This is to assuage our conscience, darling,’ she would explain to Blanca. ‘But it doesn’t help the poor. They don’t need charity, they need justice’† (136). Because of this unequal treatment of the classes and the resentment that the poor held for the wealthy, the two classes could not continue to co-exist. The incessant struggle that the lower class faced when the wealthy controlled everything forced them to begin a revolution so that they can finally take control of their own lives instead of living to please the wealthy. Throughout the novel, the wealthy controlled every part of the country’s government and therefore, they controlled the country as a whole until the day that Esteban Trueba lost the election and the socialist party came to power. This is when the poor finally ceased to be dominated by the wealthy. â€Å"They lit torches, and the jumble of voices and dancing in the streets became a disciplined, jubilant procession that advanced toward the well-tended avenues of the bourgeoisie, creating the unaccustomed spectacle of ordinary citizens – factory workers in their heavy work shoes, women with babies in their arms, students in shirt-sleeves – calmly marching through the private, expensive neighborhood where they had rarely ventured before, and in which they were complete foreigners† (340). After the socialist victory there was room for a class that was previously completely blocked from the wealthy areas of living as well as in the government. The poor and the wealthy became much more even in terms of rights which, in turn, made the two classes much less divided. With such deplorable treatment of the lower class, the two classes could never co-exist peacefully unless there was a dramatic change in Chile. With a socialist victory over the conservatives, there was room for the differences between the poor and the wealthy to be diminished and for the country to be diplomatic.

Benihana of Tokyo Essay

Benihana of Tokyo has been very successful for the last 40 years since 1964. From a small restaurant, it has developed into a chain of themed restaurants. The success of Benihana has been attributed to the superb total quality management (TQM) process especially in maintaining the overall exotic ambience and the high quality food provided. All these strengths contribute to providing an unforgettable dining experience to its consumers and are reflected in their ability to retain consumers which is shown in exhibit 4 such that 65. % of their customers are return customers. Benihana is able to minimize cost effectively without affecting the quality of food and service provided. From Exhibit 1, total costs of sales are kept to 35-45% of total sales. Their attempt to reduce operating costs is also reflected through a reasonable net profit margin of 0. 5-9% of sales. Benihana made use of floor space efficiently to decrease labor costs and rent. The elimination of the conventional kitchen w ith the hibachi arrangement allows the company to keep labor costs low and at the same time, give huge amount of attentive service. This boosted its dining experience, through constant interaction with consumers. Benihana also focuses on setting up their businesses in areas with high traffic, especially in the business district areas. Rent is usually higher in these areas. By using floor space more efficiently, Benihana is able to serve more consumers during peak period and allow for more sales to cover the higher rental costs. The concept that Benihana adopts is that consumers are served at their tables with freshly prepared food by the chef. By only providing 3 menus to consumers, this reduces food costs and wastage. Benihana’s lower food costs are also reduced through the use of fresh ingredients, where storage is minimized. The main process flow of a Benihana restaurant is different from a typical restaurant. In Benihana, the orders for the soup, salad and beverages taken by the waiter while the order for the main dish is taken directly to the chef. This allows Benihana to quicken the process flow, and make it more efficient, as it eliminated the waiting time in ordering and receiving their orders. As the food is freshly prepared, the production flow is very short as there is limited movement to the food being moved from the storage area to the tables where food is being prepared. As food is being served on the spot after being cooked, this allows Benihana to maintain their quality of the food, and this satisfies consumers as shown in their feedback in Exhibit 4, where food is the main highlight of Benihana restaurants. Benihana is also able to reduce labor costs through the use of a simple management structure in each of their restaurant. In addition, chefs and waiters would clear the dishes and set the table for the next customer, unlike the use of cleaners in typical restaurants. This also reduces labor costs. Benihana success is also attributed to their TQM system where the management also emphasizes the importance of quality control in every employee’s responsibility. They emphasize quality in their inputs like the high quality food provided, and the sources of food are also selected carefully. Benihana also highlight quality in the process of serving their food to their consumers. However, the management of Benihana also faces problems despite their raving success. Their attempts to go into franchising didn’t go as planned as Rocky was unwilling to give up its control, and he felt that these franchisees were not well equipped with the experience and knowledge to run a food business, especially one that relates with Japanese culture. In addition, Bill Susha, the head of Operations for Benihana recognizes that if Benihana wants to continue to expand, it will face higher costs in terms of rental as well as shortage of well trained employees. Although Benihana has been proven that their uniqueness cannot be replicated easily by competitors, critics have been predicting that the uniqueness of Benihana is only a fad and it will not last. As Benihana is providing not only products, but also the service, they should continue to emphasize and improve on their TQM, as in this industry, employees are key input sources and by implementing TQM, there will be positive impacts on the service being delivered.

Communication Problems in Hugh Garner’s “The Father” Essay

Who is perfect; certainly not John Purcel in Hugh Garner’s short story â€Å"The Father† about a desperate alcoholic father (John Purcel) trying to get closer to his son (Johnny) who seems to be slowly drifting away from him. This will be demonstrated through out a series of examples which will prove the father’s drinking problem, his neglective attitude towards his son and his low self esteem. Alcohol can control a person’s life and make them irresponsible which affects their relationships. John Purcell showed a lack of judgment by stopping to have a drink before he even got home from work making him late for the scout meeting with his son. His irresponsibility continued when he met another irresponsible drunken father at the meeting. When the stranger offered John a drink, he gladly accepted the offer stating â€Å"you’re a lifesaver†. Due to his drunkenness, John Purcell embarrassed his son even further. â€Å"In a paroxysm of pride and happiness he grasped the boy’s hand, and facing the audience, held it aloft like a referee signaling the winner of a boxing bout. There was a short burst of embarrassed laughter from the tables†. His drinking affected his actions and caused his son to be humiliated in front of his friends. It is very difficult to have a healthy relationship with someone when you are controlled by alcohol. Building good relationships involves time and effort. John Purcell never put any effort into trying to know his son because â€Å"most of the time he was too preoccupied with other things to pay much heed to the boy’s activities†. He never encouraged or supported Johnny and never participated or went to any of his son’s events. He did not even know what baseball or swimming team Johnny was on. When the curate, Mr. Redpath, complimented Johnny on his exceptional swimming ability, the father realized that â€Å"he seemed to know less about the boy than anyone†. However, he made the excuse that his son â€Å"was only a twelve-year-old who wanted to be left alone†. Because the father was so involved in himself, he did not make the time or put forth the effort to develop a proper relationship with his son. A person who has low self-esteem finds it difficult to care for others and himself. John Purcell did not know the scout leaders and the other fathers; he stereotyped them as being â€Å"sissies and goons†. When he discovered that Johnny did not have the full scout uniform because of lack of money, his first response was â€Å"What’s the matter with this family anyway? God knows what the neighbours must think of me.† What others thought was more important to him than his own family. Even though he was cheap with his family, he didn’t want others to know about it. He was very insecure which caused him to feel out of place and unsure of himself. Even when he had made an effort to show an interest in his son, he had been â€Å"pointedly ignored† contributing more to his feelings of inadequacy as a father. When one feels like a total failure, it is difficult to have any positive relationships because you are always worried about what others think. In conclusion Johnny’s father finally realized he had to change in order to be closer to his son. It would be hard for John Purcell to have a close relationship with his son due to his lack of interest in him, his alcoholism, and his lack of self-esteem. John’s negative personality dominated his relationships with his son and others.

Ethical Issues in Health Care Finance Essay

The topic of ethical issues in every industry is usually interesting because it attracts a significant number of scholars and professionals to argue. This topic becomes even more interesting when it comes to health care financing. Ethical issues in health care financing begin, when defining human health. Human health is a basic need (Maharaj and Paul, 2011). It does not matter what type of health challenges a person has and whether a person is in a developed country or not. The issue with human health is that, all humans require health appropriate treatment when they need it. However, the health care system seems insatiable when it comes to financing. Health care financing source from an individual occurs at the at the point of delivery otherwise known as fees for services does not seem to have a significant impact in the required health care financing (Hurley, 2001). It is important to leave individuals as entities that pay for healthcare out of financing the health care industry an d concentrate on the government, private agencies such as insurances and donors. The ethical issues in health care financing questions whether the major health care financiers: the government and insurance companies can justify paying for treatment for all human in the country. The argument with health care financing is that governments can pay for high medical technology development in terms of complicated medical equipments and new treatment technologies. It is important to understand that although advanced medical development are in place, there is an issue as to whether individual patients will the able to afford treatment using this advanced technology (Maharaj and Paul, 2011). If individual patients will not afford to use new treatment technologies, then it will be likely that the new advancement in medical technologies are a direct preserves of those with an upper economic advantage. This is contrary to the equity required in the health care system because health is basic need and therefore should be available for all. High cost of medical technological  treatment and a few populations who cannot individually afford for this treatment are not the only issues that raise medical treatment. The insurance industry is the greatest player in the health c are industry. The insurance industry provides medical policies for every eligible citizen. While the insurance arrangement for healthcare financing is justified through the assumption that country men and women are participating in sharing cost in paying up hospital bills. However, there is a crisis with the health insurance, which has raised significant ethical issues. This issues range from existence of different types of policies for different people and the issues that, the insurance company rather than the doctor determines the type of treatment the patient will get because of different categorized policies. Another incidence of inequality sets in even in with the insurance. Just like individual patient might not afford to pay high tech medical treatment at the point of delivery, the same is happening in the insurance industry because insurances now require different policies for different individual (Maharaj and Paul, 2011). These different policies characterize people according to their risk such that, people of high risk pay more premiums that people of low risk. If this policy categorization is justified then there will be a new inequality that will set in. This inequality will arise from those who pay for high premiums and might never have to go to hospital unless an accident occurs. Health care financing will seem to be a long term debate bombarded with ethical issues that take long to solve. These ethical dilemma although exist to offer ready solutions in healthcare financing, the whole issue boils down to whether the current happening in the health care industry offers beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice. Reference Maharaj, S.R. and Paul, TJ. (2011). Ethical Issues in Healthcare Financing. West Indian Medical Journal. 60. (4): 31-44 Hurley, J. (2001). Ethics, economics, and public financing of health care. Journal of Medical Ethics. 27. (4): 234-239.

Tell About the Time When You Gained Something Precious

It was cold that October morning in Elizabeth City, NC. I hardly slept at all the night before and 4a. m. had come very early. It didn’t matter; I had to be at the hospital at 6a. m. It was finally time for the world to meet baby Valarey and for baby Valarey to meet the world. It was time, time to have my precious baby. By 7a. m. I was hooked up to my IV. By 9a. m. the nurses had me hooked up to a fetal monitor that monitored my baby and my contractions. I was now stuck in this not so comfortable bed until after my baby was born. My labor had started on its own but my doctor decided to start a Pitocin drip to induce my labor and make it go a little faster. It was now 4p. m. and was time for the epidural. My husband almost passed out after watching the elongated needle go into the small of my back! It took everything in me to whisper â€Å"Something’s wrong† to the nurse. Everything went dark and I could hear a beeping noise that sounded like it was fading in the distance. I was dying, slowly slipping away from this world. When I finally regained consciousness I looked at my husband in dismay. The look on his face was complete trepidation. He told me that my blood pressure had plummeted and they had almost lost me. The nurse asked me how I was feeling and I told her I was ok. It seemed like I had been out for a very long time but my husband said it was only seconds. He said that the nurse had to inject me with some emergency medication to bring my blood pressure back to normal. It was now about 9p. m. and the nurse told me it was time to have my baby. It was pushing time! You could see the excitement is my husband’s face. I was just as excited! We were about to meet our second baby. To finally see what she looked like, to hear the sounds of here cries and to feel her soft skin. The pushing began but the doctor was not in the room yet. My knees were up to my ears and my chin was on my chest as I pushed with all my might, bearing down as hard as I could. After pushing really hard three times everyone in the room started to yell stop! Stop pushing! I thought something was wrong. The baby’s head was out. Her beautiful mystical blue eyes were fluttering like a butterflies wings. Soft, fine almost white, blonde hair and ivory fair skin was the first thing we saw of her. The doctor walked in the room all suited up and the pushing began again. After just a few more pushes our second baby girl was delivered. She was 8lbs even and 19 1/2in long. Valarey Joyce Hunter was born at 9:45p. m. on October 30th, 2001. She was the most beautiful and inestimable thing I had ever seen.