Free Essays on The Virginian

The Virginian’s Growth as a Character Good novelists carefully develop their main characters. Events and other characters in the novel shape the personality of the main character. In his novel, The Virginian, Owen Wister’s main character, the Virginian is bland and unattached early in the story, but gradually develops a complex personality. The Virginian is portrayed in the beginning of the story as just another cowpuncher with no apparent personality other than a boring rustler. As a guest of Judge Henry’s arrives in Medicine Bow, the Virginian is sent to greet him. As he introduces himself to the guest, he demonstrates the obvious attitude of a hired hand. He carries himself in a rough, straightforward manner. He is a man used to hard work and a hard life. To the guest, the Virginian describes the next leg of the journey in such a matter of fact fashion that the guest is shocked to learn that this next step is 263 miles. The guest sees a â€Å"handsome, ungrammatical son of the soil†(9). At the same time, however, the Virginian’s courtesy and ability to take social cues from the guest, leads the guest to decide that the Virginian is one of â€Å"the creature[s] we call a gentleman†¦. that are born without chance to master the outward graces of the type† (10). Wister reveals both s ides of the Virginian’s personality by allowing the Virginian to be aware of things other than the immediate concerns of a cowboy. Wister shows the cowboy’s versatile mentality as he notices â€Å"pleasant trees of the ranch† (194) and follows the code of chivalry, â€Å"Stand on your laigs†¦ and say you’re a liar!†(71) while protecting the integrity of the teacher. At some points the cowboy may lose his temper, while at other times he sits and stares at the open landscape, dreamy eyed as the prairie flows to the mountainside. Wister further reveals the growth and development of the Virginian through his letters. The letter he wr... Free Essays on The Virginian Free Essays on The Virginian The Virginian’s Growth as a Character Good novelists carefully develop their main characters. Events and other characters in the novel shape the personality of the main character. In his novel, The Virginian, Owen Wister’s main character, the Virginian is bland and unattached early in the story, but gradually develops a complex personality. The Virginian is portrayed in the beginning of the story as just another cowpuncher with no apparent personality other than a boring rustler. As a guest of Judge Henry’s arrives in Medicine Bow, the Virginian is sent to greet him. As he introduces himself to the guest, he demonstrates the obvious attitude of a hired hand. He carries himself in a rough, straightforward manner. He is a man used to hard work and a hard life. To the guest, the Virginian describes the next leg of the journey in such a matter of fact fashion that the guest is shocked to learn that this next step is 263 miles. The guest sees a â€Å"handsome, ungrammatical son of the soil†(9). At the same time, however, the Virginian’s courtesy and ability to take social cues from the guest, leads the guest to decide that the Virginian is one of â€Å"the creature[s] we call a gentleman†¦. that are born without chance to master the outward graces of the type† (10). Wister reveals both s ides of the Virginian’s personality by allowing the Virginian to be aware of things other than the immediate concerns of a cowboy. Wister shows the cowboy’s versatile mentality as he notices â€Å"pleasant trees of the ranch† (194) and follows the code of chivalry, â€Å"Stand on your laigs†¦ and say you’re a liar!†(71) while protecting the integrity of the teacher. At some points the cowboy may lose his temper, while at other times he sits and stares at the open landscape, dreamy eyed as the prairie flows to the mountainside. Wister further reveals the growth and development of the Virginian through his letters. The letter he wr...

How to Determine a Reliable Source on the Internet

How to Determine a Reliable Source on the Internet It can be frustrating to conduct online research because internet sources can be quite unreliable. If you find an online article that provides relevant information for your research topic, you should take care to investigate the source to make sure it is valid and reliable. This is an essential step in maintaining sound research ethics. It is your responsibility as a researcher to find and use trustworthy sources. Methods to Investigate Your Source Investigate the Author In most cases, you should stay away from internet information that doesnt provide the name of an author. While the information contained in the article may be true, it is more difficult to validate information if you dont know the credentials of the author. If the author is named,  find their website to: Verify educational creditsDiscover if the writer is published in a scholarly journalSee if the writer has published a book from a university pressVerify that the writer is employed by a research institution or university Observe the URL If the information is linked to an organization, try to determine the reliability of the sponsoring organization. One tip is the URL ending. If the site name ends with .edu, it is most likely an educational institution. Even so, you should be aware of political bias. If a site ends in .gov, it is most likely a reliable government website. Government sites are usually good sources for statistics and objective reports. Sites that end in .org are usually non-profit organizations. They can be very good sources or very poor sources, so youll have to take care to research their possible agendas or political biases if they exist. For instance, collegeboard.org is the organization that provides the SAT and other tests. You can find valuable information, statistics, and advice on that site. PBS.org is a non-profit organization that provides educational public broadcasts. It provides a wealth of quality articles on its site. Other sites with the .org ending are advocacy groups that are highly political. While it is entirely possible to find reliable information from a site like this,  be mindful of the political slant and acknowledge this in your work. Online Journals and Magazines A reputable journal or magazine should contain a bibliography for every article. The list of sources within that bibliography should be pretty extensive, and it should include scholarly non-Internet sources. Check for statistics and data within the article to back up the claims made by the author. Does the writer provide evidence to support his statements? Look for citations of recent studies, perhaps with footnotes and see if there are primary quotes from other relevant experts in the field. News Sources ï » ¿Every television and print news source has a website. To some extent, you can rely on the most trusted news sources such as CNN and the BBC, but you should not rely on them exclusively. After all, network and cable news stations are involved in entertainment. Think of them as a stepping stone to more reliable sources.

No Child Left Behind Program Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10500 words

No Child Left Behind Program - Coursework Example However, the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program has brought a new level of cogency to the necessity of schools working to ensure that more and more of their students move toward proficiency goals in math and reading/language arts, as well as improving attendance and graduation rates. The lofty goal of the program is to ensure that by 2014, all students in all schools are academically proficient in both math and reading/language arts (Tennessee Department of Education, 2005). Proficiency requirements have been established for nine populations within schools, including five race and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, limited English-proficient students, economically disadvantaged students, and the school as a whole (Tennessee Department of Education, 2005). Under the NCLB, schools, rather than individual children, are labeled according to their ability to meet the standards. A school or district that fails to meet the NCLB benchmarks for a year is labeled a "target school." A school or district that tails to show progress in the same category (math, reading/language arts, and attendance or graduation rates) for two consecutive years will be labeled "high priority." If the school or district so labeled shows progress two years in a row, it will be removed from the high priority list; should it fail to meet federal benchmarks but the number of students whose scores rise is 10% or more, as well as meeting a designated additional indicator, the school will still be considered to have met the NCLB standards under a "safe harbor" provision (Tennessee Department of Education, 2005). While the federal standards are relatively rigid, there is the opportunity for states to contribute to them. In Tennessee, under NCLB, K-8 schools will be considered to have met federal requirements if all of the subgroups demonstrate: "- 95% participation rate on all state assessments "- Required proficiency in math as determined by TCAP achievement tests "- Required proficiency in reading/language arts as determined by TCAP achievement tests and writing assessments "- 93% attendance rate for the school year or improvement from the previous year 9th -12th grade schools will meet federal benchmarks if they demonstrate in all of the subgroups: "- 95% participation rate on all state assessments "- Required proficiency in math Gateway tests "- Required proficiency in reading/language arts as determined by English Gateway tests and writing assessments "- 90% graduation rate for the school year or improvement from the previous year" (Tennessee Department of Education, 2005). Negative assessment of schools and districts is the hallmark of NCLB. If a school or

Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues in Business Case Study

Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues in Business - Case Study Example In this type of set-up, employees may quit their job anytime and for any, or no or uneven reason and the employers can likewise fire or layoff employees at any time and for any, no or unfair reasons. But employers are limited by exceptions such as if employment termination is in breach of a contract or illegal. This renders the Employment at Will Doctrine inapplicable. The doctrine will not be applicable if the court determines that an employer was guilty of discharging an employee for a discriminatory reason (employeeissues.com, At Will Employment). There are a number of federal laws that protect the employees against discrimination such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (www.eeoc.gov, Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions And Answers). The federal and state laws of the United States forbids employers or companies from discriminating against employees on the basis of their age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability and physical handicap. The act of discrimination can take place as early as recruiting to discharging of employees (public.findlaw.com, Employee Discrimination). In the case of Elaine, there is a clear case of discrimination because she was just laid off her job without given a reason of termination.

Margit Stange’s Literary Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening Essay

Margit Stange’s Literary Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening Margit Stange makes a series of meaningful connections between Kate Chopin’s dramatization of Edna Pontellier’s â€Å"awakening† and the historical context of feminist thought which Stange believes influenced the novel. Part of understanding Edna’s motives and Chopin’s thinking are Stange’s well-chosen references to the contemporary ideology that shapes Edna’s thinking and her choices. Stange argues that Edna is seeking the late-nineteenth-century conception of self-ownership, which pivots on â€Å"voluntary motherhood.† Edna’s awakening, her acquisition of self-determination, comes from identifying and re-distributing what she owns, which Stange argues is her body. For example, Edna’s skin indicates early in the novel her more complex relationship with her husband. Her sunburned hands seem to indicate a woman who has performed a labor of some necessity, therefore making her â€Å"unrecognizable† as the wife of a respected and prosperous businessman. At the same time, those who see her and know who she is are reminded of Leonce’s status by the tan his wife has acquired while visiting an elite resort (279-80). The clash between the appearance of labor and leisure in Edna’s form gradually comes to favor the look of leisure, but it is Edna who increasingly defines how she spends her time, and what constitutes leisure. By casting off the duties that come with being Mrs. Pontellier, Edna is devaluing the â€Å"currency† with which her husband buys respectability and esteem. By withholding sexual and social favors, Edna ruptures Leonce’s privileged comfort and establishes herself as femme seule, literally providing for herself with an independent income (282, 286). Stange links this situat... ...ity. Certainly that is an effective material argument, and further exploration of contemporary criticisms of birth control, from both men and women, could provide even greater context for understanding how women regarded motherhood and to what extent they saw it as â€Å"voluntary.† But Stange herself points to a profound statement of Stanton’s that more clearly defines the power mothers wielded socially, and the great loss of self-ownership motherhood entailed, both of which Edna Pontellier came to understand and control. Describing what Stange calls a â€Å"moment of extreme maternal giving,† Stanton wrote â€Å"‘alone [woman] goes to the gates of death to give life to every man that is born into the world; no one can share her fears, no one can mitigate her pangs; and if her sorrow is greater than she can bear, alone she passes beyond the gates into the vast unknown’† (289).

Racism or Class Discrimination

Racism is an issue that has been prevalent within America for hundreds of years. We overcame slavery with the help of famous American leaders like Abraham Lincoln and fought for equal rights with the help of Martin Luther King Jr. Today we face the issue of a more discreet kind of racism- the kind of racism that is more felt than heard. A sales associate who may not ask a customer to leave because of the color of their skin, but follows the customer around the store to make sure he or she isn’t stealing is an example of discreet racism. This type of racism is harder to fight because it is harder to recognize than outward discrimination. It seems as though minorities, especially African-Americans, have a disadvantage from the time they are born. According to Leondar-Wright, â€Å"The median white family has more than $120,000 in net worth (assets minus debts), while the median black family has less than $20,000. † There are many reasons why black families’ net worth is so much lower than white families’, but among the most obvious reasons is discrimination. Children from low-income families tend to have more responsibilities than those from middle or high-income families. These responsibilities may take away from time spent on schoolwork. For example, if a fourteen year old must work to help pay household expenses because his or her parents are having trouble making ends meet, it is highly possible that time spent working could be taking away from time spent doing schoolwork. Even if a student does not have to work while in school, it is still possible that his or her parents (if the student is lucky enough to live with both their mother and father) work hours that would render him or her responsible for extended amounts of housework. Either way, it is likely that a low-income, minority student must work much harder than a middle or high-income student to achieve the same academic status. If and when African-American students are accepted into college, it is much harder for them to be granted a loan to help pay for their college education. Because loans are given based on current income to debt ratio, banks are more weary of lending money to low-income families for fear of not getting their money back. Even in college, many African-American students must work to support themselves, which takes up time. Time spent working, again is time that they could be using to study. Because of all the obstacles they face, African-American students must work much harder to accomplish the same achievements as white students. Once in the work place, whether it be after college or not, African-Americans still must work harder than Whites to attain the same level of success. Simply finding a job can prove to be a challenge for minorities. The old saying, ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know’ holds true for the job finding process. For many minority young adults, parents and relatives who may be able to assist in the job search have fewer connections than white families. Therefore, students from low-income families must work harder to find jobs than many students from white or middle-class families. Even the simple process of applying for a job proves to be yet another hurdle for minorities. In the essay ‘Institutional Discrimination’ by Robert Cherry, the term â€Å"statistical discrimination† is brought up. Statistical discrimination is referred to as â€Å"the process by which individuals are discriminated against when firms use group characteristics to screen individuals. † Because employers often have a large amount of applications to go through to fill one or just a small amount of positions, they often base their choices off ‘of group characteristics rather than individual information. ’ Because employers do not want to spend a lot of time screening potential candidates, they chose to discriminate against groups of people that, in their minds, are not as productive as others. According to a study by Irons and Moore, African-American workers tend to be left out of the â€Å"informal communications network. † This basically means they are left out of water cooler conversations that may provide valuable information to them pertaining to their work. The study also found that on average, it took much longer for African Americans to be promoted than their White co-workers, and that â€Å"They had to demonstrate over and over and over again that they were worthy of promotion. (Cose 78) Overall, the study found that success came later, harder, and at a lower degree for Blacks than Whites in America. Another point mentioned in Coses’ ‘Rage of a Privileged Class’ is something called the â€Å"self-fulfilling prophecy† (Cose 88), which basically states that performance is greatly based on expectations. For example, if someone believes they are expected to perform well at a particular task, they will most likely perform better than if he or she is expected to perform poorly. This concept can easily be applied to the classroom setting. If a teacher expects her white students to perform better than her minority students, this can have a great effect on her student’s performances. While racism is still an issue in the United States today, the main problem can be traced to the issue of class discrimination. The majority of minorities come from low-income families; â€Å"Poverty rates for Blacks (at 24. 3%) in 2006 were 16. 1% higher than Whites (at 8. 2%). † (H. T. Edney) Once born into a lower class family, your life will be filled with uphill battles and constant struggle. Lower class citizens are discriminated against everywhere in the United States. Banks hesitate to lend money to low-income students going to college, even though they must work harder to get into college than upper class students. Because they must work harder, low income students are more likely to appreciate the opportunity given to them and less likely to take advantage of any help he or she may receive along the way. If you are a lower-class African-American reading this essay, you may be wondering who today’s Martin Luther King Jr. ill be, or if there will be anyone from our generation who will pioneer for your rights. On the other hand, if you are a white, upper-middle class person reading this essay, you may not find racism to be an especially important issue in our society today. No matter your particular situation it is an inarguable fact that the socioeconomic class you are born into will become the chief factor in determining how far you will be able to go in life. Whether this is a good thing or not, may be up for some debate.

Direct Democracy Definition, Examples, Pros and Cons

Direct democracy, sometimes called pure democracy, is a form of democracy in which all laws and policies imposed by governments are determined by the people themselves, rather than by representatives who are elected by the people. In a true direct democracy, all laws, bills and even court decisions are voted on by all citizens. Direct vs. Representative Democracy Direct democracy is the opposite of the more common representative democracy, under which the people elect representatives who are empowered to create laws and policies for them. Ideally, the laws and policies enacted by the elected representatives should closely reflect the will of the majority of the people. While the United States, with the protections of its federal system of â€Å"checks and balances,† practices representative democracy, as embodied in the U.S. Congress and the state legislatures, two forms of limited direct democracy are practiced at the state and local level: ballot initiatives and binding referendums, and recall of elected officials. Ballot initiatives and referendums allow citizens to place – by petition – laws or spending measures typically considered by state and local legislative bodies on statewide or local ballots. Through successful ballot initiatives and referendums, citizens can create, amend or repeal laws, as well as amend state constitutions and local charters. Examples of Direct Democracy: Athens and Switzerland Perhaps the best example of direct democracy existed in ancient Athens, Greece.  While it excluded women, slaves, and immigrants from voting, Athenian direct democracy required all citizens to vote on all major issues of government. Even the verdict of every court case was determined by a vote of all the people. In the most prominent example in modern society, Switzerland practices a modified form of direct democracy under which any law enacted by the nation’s elected legislative branch can be vetoed by a vote of the general public. In addition, citizens can vote to require the national legislature to consider amendments to the Swiss constitution. Pros and Cons of Direct Democracy While the idea of having the ultimate say-so over the affairs of government might sound tempting, there are some good – and bad – aspects of direct democracy that need to be considered: 3 Pros of Direct Democracy Full Government Transparency: Without a doubt, no other form of democracy ensures a greater degree of openness and transparency between the people and their government. Discussions and debates on major issues are held in public. In addition, all successes or failures of the society can be credited to – or blamed on – the people, rather than the government.  More Government Accountability: By offering the people a direct and unmistakable voice through their votes, direct democracy demands a great level of accountability on the part of the government. The government cannot claim it was unaware of or unclear on the will of the people. Interference in the legislative process from partisan political parties and special interest groups are largely eliminated.Greater Citizen Cooperation: In theory at least, people are more likely to happily comply with laws they create themselves. Moreover, people who know that their opinions will make a difference, they more eager to take p art in the processes of government. 3 Cons of Direct Democracy We Might Never Decide: If every American citizen were expected to vote on every issue considered at every level of government, we might never decide on anything. Between all of the issues considered by local, state and federal governments, citizens could literally spend all day, every single day voting.Public Involvement Would Drop: Direct democracy best serves the interest of the people when most people take part in it. As the time required for debating and voting increases, public interest, and participation in the process would quickly decrease, leading to decisions which did not truly reflect the will of the majority. In the end, small groups of people often with dangerous axes to grind, could control the government.One Tense Situation After Another: In any society as large and diverse as that in the United States, what is the chance of that everyone will ever happily agree with or at least peacefully accept decisions on major issues? As recent history has shown, not much.