Tim OBrien Essays - Fiction, Literature, Tim OBrien

Tim O'Brien Tim O'Brien, a contemporary American novelist and short story writer of immense, imaginative power, freely admits that the Vietnam War was the dark, jarring experience that made him a writer. O'Brien served in Vietnam with the Fifth Battalion, Forty-six infantry from January 1969 to March 1970. He patrolled some of the most active and brutal sites of the war and it definitely showed in the settings of his writing. Before his induction into the army, O'Brien felt traumatized on the decision of whether to stay in the United States or to flee to Canada. He finally convinced himself to go for the reason that it was his duty. O'Brien returned to America sound of mind and body if not in spirit. He wrote of his war experience in a ?spare, poetically elusive, and classically toned personal memoir.?(Myers 140) Thomas Myers states that, ?O'Brien examines the wrenching transformation of sense and sensibility in fictions that are evocative, challenging meetings of imagination and memory, of the created and the recreated, of the impossible and the possible.?(Myers140) O'Brien uses much of Hemmingway's style in his work- despair, rhythmic repetition of key words and phrases; the hard, discipline control of idea and emotion in sentences and paragraphs that are models of the stoic understatement; the darkly ironic gestures; and the classical imperatives of courage and cowardliness, transgression and expiation, of Hemmingway's best stories and novels. O'Brien is a natural storyteller who can spin a tale with the best of them. He is also a figure who would cast off from safe harbors and dive deeply into the primal American soul and psyche. O'Brien explores a few specific subjects and themes: the continual interplay of fact and imagination in fiction and in life; the compulsive, absurd, noble quest for human truth; the difficulty in defining and obtaining the elusive quality of courage; and the ongoing human need for the fragile, made up, explanatory device we call story. O'Brien's prime theme is not that war maims and destroys but that storytelling explains, connects, and ultimately saves the teller and the listener. The two great themes that are instilled in all of his novels and short fiction: the ongoing quest to acquire or simply to define courage and the desperate need to attain redemption after sin. In his memoir, If I Die In A Combat Zone, O'Brien ? established his literary voice by creating a striking personal meditation with somber, classical tones and poetic effect, and he offers a version of himself who is both a participant telling one man's story and a symbolic emissary of his culture who exchanges traditional and pop culture myth for the hard-earned knowledge of the personal transgression and historical experience.?(Myers 144) In his book, Northern Lights, O'Brien made an early attempt to isolate and explore both the male and the female in every human being, fictional or real. O'Brien explained that men and women are different, but not that different. In Northern Lights, he shows the common traits between the opposite genders. In The Nuclear Age, O'Brien' treatment of the New Left is satiric, and the characters are often deliberate. ? What becomes clear in the novel is O'Brien's own ambivalence to the leftist politics, the civil disobedience, and the cultural upheaval of America in the 1960s and the 1970s.? (Myers 150) O'Brien combines a subtle blend of imagination and memory to give his readers a taste of the surreal past of his characters. In his next book, The Things They Carried, the establish subjects and themes were: the search for a workable definition of courage; the need to transmute terrible memory into a livable present; the responsibility of the living to the dead to keep them alive somehow; the wonderful, terrible nature of storytelling itself. The narrator and central character was named Tim O'Brien and was modeled after his creator, but both are and are not the ? real ? one. In this book, there is not only a pronounced metafictional feel ? the implicit argument for the utter interchangeability and fluity of life and art ? but also the perception by the reader that finally any attempt to separate the author from the narrator-hero is a fool's errand. In Going after Cacciato, the very themes of the book are imagination and memory. O'Brien makes it clear how the power of our dreams also creates what we call the real world. In The Lake of the Woods, O'Brien offers a depiction of human mystery, secret sin, and the dark, tragic effects of contemporary American history that again rubs away

International Business Culture Essays - Greetings, Free Essays

International Business Culture Essays - Greetings, Free Essays International Business Culture Name: Course: Professors name: University name: City, State: Introduction This report seeks to address international business culture and how it is affected by cultural differences. The scope of the cultures herein is global. There are four cultures represented in this context, namely, Chinas, Hong Kongs, Egypts and Irans culture. Individuals represent the cultures from the group who hail from the cultures. Cultural communication takes the center stage in this report. Cultural communication norms differ in several ways across the mentioned Egyptian, Chinese, Hong Kong and Iran cultures. The areas with essential differences are gift giving, addressing individuals, etiquette, time keeping and meetings and greeting. The differences between Egyptian and Chinese cultures are, for instance, value and unveiling of the gift. The Egyptian culture requires one to be presented a valuable gift and open it as soon it is received (Dursins, 2013). Contrary to that the other cultures appreciate gifts even of the very simple kind and do not necessarily open them at the point they are received, they can even last for a day before opening. Relatively, the Chinese culture will have the person presented with a gift refuse it several times yet they still want it. The Iran culture is very similar to that of Egypt, when receiving a gift it is valued and accepted on the spot. The respective business cultures of HK ,China, Egypt Iran will be compared as follows: Part A: Table of comparisons Honk KongChinaEgyptIran Form of addressFormal introduction Full names Title in companyFormal Surname Younger individuals should be introduced to the elder.Semi-formal(depending on the situation) Full name or first name Lower social class should be introduced to those of higher social class.Surname used to introduced someones self Semi-formal Meeting and greetingEasy going Polite FormalFormal Handshake and a nod Common greeting Is HiCasual Handshake followed by the words allsalam Alaykom A kiss on the cheek for family and friendsSemi-formal Three kisses on the cheek for friends and family Handshake for business Exchanging giftsSmall gift after 1st meetingChinese find it normal to object a gift over severally before accepting Gifts are recommended for some sort of celebration and not for greetings.All gifts are accepted Gifts are opened as soon as they are receivedThe usual gift is money When invited over at someones home, a gist such as food is well appreciated. EtiquetteHandshakes Patting on the shoulders represents bad luckHandshakes Patting on the shoulders represents bad luckSenior person is meant to stretch out the hand for the handshake. There are no gender issues No gender differences Time keepingInfluenced by British is important to attach time Arrived several minutes earlierPeople are time conscious and report to work earlier on time or even meetingsone can report to work late, minutes or an hour after but will compensate the time in their ways.Leave things to do at the last minute. Communication stylesDirect Fact-based and verbal communication methods to express theirs opinions Men to be loud when talking or giving a speech When a Chinese elder provides an order to a junior member of the society or child, no argument should be returnedRequires one to moderate and have a neutral tone when giving a speech When a Chinese elder provides an order to a junior member of the society or child, no argument should be returnedDirect Face to face Always complimenting each other is a sign of respect. Team WorkIndividualism and masculinity Performance for group success stands for personal performanceCompetition between group members. Not strong collaborating workers. Individualism. Part B: Analysis of Key differences between Hong Kong .China ,Egypt, Iran. Differences in meeting and greeting between Egyptian ,China and Iran Greetings too are sensitive and can have implications such as misguided perceptions about someone. The Chinese culture and Egyptian cultures do not allow kissing and hugging as evidenced with the Iran culture. It is viewed as displaying intimacy to the public and as such a misguided perception about someone. The distance between individuals when greeting each other is considerably not close among the Chinese and Egyptian. However the Iran are comfortable will closeness between individuals who are greeting each other as they would even hug (Hooker, 2008). Skewed perceptions are overly formed and affect how the public from the other cultures will view people from my culture. It can do to a point of discouraging interaction among the different parties involved. Differences in communication styles between Hong Kong and China. On the whole, HK businesspeople rely heavily on direct, fact-based and verbal communication

United Technologies Corporation - a Program of Compliance and Global Case Study - 6

United Technologies Corporation - a Program of Compliance and Global Ethics - Case Study Example The biggest hurdle that the company faced is the incorporating of a huge number of employees and who were composed of a variety of world’s cultures. Basically, the ethics of Chubb plc were nowhere near those of UTC- United Technologies Corporation. Just before embarking on this stand-alone case, it is of a high essence to look at a short background description to enable the reader has an easy time while studying the situation. UTC was a global corporation constituting of USD31 billion in terms of its value and this value was a combination of seven business undertakings and a single research center that was held responsible for any research concerning the divisions in entirety. This world’s conglomerate employed approximately 205,700 workers. After the acquiring of Chubb plc, it would lead to a situation where 138,000 of these workers would be sourced from beyond the USA borders. This corporation had above 4,000 locations in about 62 nations. Its business operations covered around 180 nations. In the year 2002 alone, 55% of the aggregate revenue of UTC was generated from foreign and the net income stood at USD2.2 billion and had an asset base of USD29.1 billion. In the year under focus (2003), UTC took position 49 in the Fortune 500 companies’ list. UTC’s first business can be traced back to 1853. One major name tarnishing event was the 1980s’ scenario. UTC was during that period the US’s major government’s contract with the Department of Defense being party to this and the case still remains. In the middle of this decade, the US’s DOD- Department of Defense was facing hard times due to the accusations of waste, fraud, and abuse. One of the divisions of UTC by the name Pratt & Whitney was put in the spotlight in connection with the same reputation tarnishing scandals. This ended up costing UTC an amount of USD 40 million from profits.

The Patriot Act and Outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Patriot Act and Outsourcing - Essay Example First, the U.S. Patriot Act is unconstitutional because it intrudes upon the privacy of American citizens by violating their First and Fourth Amendment rights. Here the author makes it clear that the nature of the U.S. Patriot Act is an issue that still remains a mystery as Congress quickly passed the bill without much debate. The author insists that citizens are guaranteed their First Amendment’s guarantee of rights of freedom of speech along with freedom to assemble are rights that most Americans hold dear, but now actions such as civil disobedience, and protests, are being defined as â€Å"domestic terrorism† under this legislation. The author engages the reader about a specific clause known as Section 215 under this legislation terrorizes Americans because it breaks the 4th and 5th Amendment, which ensures the privacy of individuals. Moreover, law officials are permitted to seek the browsing history of Internet users from e-mail services. In addition, the government can conduct â€Å"sneak-and-peek† searches, and the â€Å"victim† would have no clue his house is getting searched. Moreover, law officials are permitted to seek the browsing history of Internet users from e-mail services .Furthermore, any evidence that is obtained illegally can be used in the court. Groups such as National Reform Association, and NACOC were furious at the government who could use wiretaps for forty-eight hours without obtaining a search warrant. Peter Swire, a professor at Ohio University, reports that FBI officials have been putting pressure on telecommunication companies to turn over calling records of citizens (Chang 49). Already concerns have been raised by the public whether sharing the information with federal agencies and local police is legal. The author clearly is insisting on the fact that the Patriot Act is already having a chilling effect, even in the areas where it does not apply† What was a law

The cruel treatment Essay Example for Free

The cruel treatment Essay Miss Havisham, her dream is rather alarming as she wants too seek revenge on all male sex the reason for this is because of the cruel treatment she received from her fian. Since that day she has been wearing the same bridal clothing and has not removed anything out or out of place in her home. She lives her life vicariously through Estella whom she adopted and is used to break every males heart. She invites males from when they are young so slowly there hearts may be broken, eventually her dream also fails as many know about her plans and they tend to ignore her. Well, I thought I overheard Miss Havisham answer- only it seemed so unlikely- Well, you can break his heart.' (Pg. 59) Another instance of foreshadowing, this is the first point in the story when the reader can see Miss Havishams plot with Estella. Further on her plans come to an end as Estella is married to Drummel who is a cold hearted man and now she is beaten and treated the same as his animals as drummel states in the novel also Estella says he whips his horses, in comparison Im spared. Now Estella ends back at Satis house alone just like Miss Havisham, neither the two have succeeded in there dreams. Abel Magwitch, who is at first a gruesome prisoner that escapes on the marshes where he meets pip. for he gave me a look that I did not understand, and it all passed in a moment. But if he had looked at me for an hour, or a day, I could not have remembered his face ever afterwards, as having been more attentive. (Pg. 37) Pip is talking about his convict after the soldiers catch him. This passage is important to the story because it foreshadows all that is to come. Pip could not interpret what the convict felt for him. He was sent down to Australia where he made a fortune by farming but after all that time he still risked his life and came back to England so he can be pips benefactor, because of the favour pip had done him. Pip does not know who his benefactor is as he couldnt even imagine it would be Magwitch. Yes, Pip, dear boy, Ive made a gentleman on you! (Pg. 315) Magwitch tells Pip this the first night he comes to his house. It reveals that Magwitch is his benefactor and this one statement totally changes Pips outlook on his good fortune. His dream comes to an end as he is sophisticated and does not realise that he is a convict, the novel ends where he began it as a convict, no improvements has been made in his life also. All the characters did not go far with there dreams as they too hasty into doing things, firstly pip with all the money he has he squanders it all, Miss Havisham relies on Estella when she is married and beaten and Magwitch who is an escaped convict doesnt realise that pip cannot become a gentleman as Magwitch himself is not a noble person. All three characters inhabit imperfection in their own personalities and are ruined matters beyond their control. Pip tries to become a gentleman when his benefactor is not a nobleman and his origin is a blacksmith, Miss Havisham adopts Estella to take her revenge through Estella and Magwitch is trying to be pips father which he can never be, none realise and are expecting too much of themselves. All characters are linked in this way that they could try to use any means to make there dreams come true but it will not work as somewhere at some point there will be a tun over as they are imperfect in some ways. All their dreams are unreal and because of this they act unusually and behave the way they shouldnt. Their expectations are far too great for them too control over and from this they fail into fulfilling their dreams and aspirations. This novel is a mirror image of dickens and from this he wanted for the middle and upper classes to understand the lifes of the working class people and also children along with the difficulties and hardship they had to go through.

Pollution Problems Concerning the Long Island Sound Essay -- Water Pol

"The Long Island Sound is a national treasure, to be prized for its beauty, abundant and diverse resources, and recreational and commercial opportunities" (Long Island Sound Study). It is true that for many of the residents of the area the Long Island Sound is a source of inspiration and renewal. The Sound is widely believed to be the most substantial natural component adding to the beauty of the entire island. The Long Island Sound provides more then just beautiful scenery, but crucial natural elements that aide both human and animal residents. Despite all that the sound provides, it suffers many of the same problems as most natural features, pollution. The sound is a crucial part in maintaining the quality of life on Long Island, so its protection, preservation, and restoration are imperative. The Long Island Sound is an estuary, and is in fact one of the largest in the world. An estuary is a place where salt water from the ocean mixes with fresh water from the rivers that drain from the land. Moreover, like other estuaries, the Long Island Sound has an abundance of fish and other waterfowl that add to the natural balance of the island, as well as one of the most important economic factors (Tedesco). Like other estuaries around the world, the Sound provides breeding, feeding, nesting, and nursery areas for many species that will spend most of their adult lives in the oceans (Long Island Sound Study). Despite these similarities to other estuaries, the Long Island Sound is unique from anywhere else in the world. Unlike other estuaries, the Long Island Sound does not just have one connection to the sea but it has two. It has two major sources of fresh water flowing into the bay that empty into the ocean. It combines this two-... ...rogen In Wastewater To Protect A Region's Waterways." BioCycle 44 (2003): 18. BigChalk. 20 Oct. 2005. Fagin, Dan. "Ancient, Clean, Controversial." Newsday 21 Sept. 2005. Joe, Brancatelli. "What Is Polluting Our Beaches?" Popular Science 1 Mar. 2003. Database. 23 Oct. 2005. Long Island Sound Study. 28 Oct. 2005 . Save The Sound. 2 Nov. 2005 . Spiegal, Jan E. "Unsound Proposal?: Concern On The Coast, Classical Conflict Again Unfolds: Energy vs. Environment." Hartford Courant 16 Oct. 2005, 3 Stars/Final ed., sec. A. Bigchalk Database. 8 Nov. 2005. Tedesco, Mark A. "This Fine Piece of Water: An Environmental History of Long Island Sound." Journal of the American Planning Association 69 (2003): 321. BigChalk. 9 Nov. 2005. The Sound Book. 8 Nov. 2005 .

Career Service

Allyssa Snyder Career services 9 am class 1-9-13 Employability skills in an office My paper is going to be focused on the topic how will you use employability skills and in your career. Employability skills are very important in my career because you are around people all the time. If you didn’t have communication in a dental office you wouldn’t get anything done if you didn’t have teamwork in an office you would have to pay more people to do it individually if you don’t solve problems the there will always be problems in the office.Initiative in an office is important so that people can get tasks done faster and shows responsibility and politics. Planning and organization is also needed in an office so that you can schedule appointments and organize where the supplies and office equipment goes in the office. Self-management is how you keep yourself on time, responsible, and in self-control essay writer premium 3d. Learning in an office is important becaus e you learn new things and new techniques and you are never too old to learn new things.Technology is very important and office because you have you are growing every year and you need to keep up with the new technology and office. Communication in an office is important, between the boss and their employees, between the employees and the patient’s. The communication between the boss and their employees is important so that they know what to do in the office and how you want things were on. The communication between the employee and the patient is important so they know what’s wrong what they need. It is also important during scheduling.When you are working in an office you should also be a people person, you don’t want to have a negative attitude around patients. If you have a bad attitude when you are around patients they won’t want back to your office. That is why I think communication is important in an office. Teamwork in an office is common between the dental assistant and the dentist. If there wasn’t teamwork in the office there would be no dental assistants and the dentist would be working alone. It would take longer for the patient to be seen and also the octor would be tired by the end of the day. The dental assistant and dentist work together to examine the patient, do procedures on the patient. The dental assistant handles the paper work and scheduling for the doctor. Problem solving is an important skill to have, when you’re in an office and something happens you have to know how to handle is calmly, quietly and quickly. You don’t want the office to find out what happened and they worry what’s going on. When there is a problem with the insurance company that is when communication skills come in. ou have to know how to talk to them to resolve the problem. If there is a problem with the doctor then you have to remain calm when you talk to him and you have to know how to ask questions and listen to what they say. That’s why problem solving is important in a dental office. Organization and planning is useful in an office. When you are organized you know where things are in the office. You wouldn’t have a problem knowing where charts are, supplies and equipment is. Planning is useful in a office so that you know what the schedule is for the day and what the doctor is doing.Without those two skills the office would be very chaotic. You would not know where anything was or when appointments are. That’s why organization and planning is useful in an office. Self-management is when you are responsible for yourself and you go to work on time, do what your suppose to and take on new commitment. If you don’t make it to work on time or do not show up then the office would be short handed and you would of left then in a tight spot with less employees to see the patients for the day.If you don’t do what your suppose to then that means someone else has to do it, and that is not fair. That’s what you need to have good self- management skills or you would will not make it far in life. There are new techniques and technology that you have to learn. The technology is important so that you can know how to schedule appointment, know how to do the charting and most important emails and phone calls so that you can keep in touch with the employees and the patients.All these skills are important so that you can have a successful career in anything you do. All my examples are in the dental field because that’s the field I am going into. The three most important to my success is communication, so you can ask questions. Team work, not all the stress is not me if we work as a team. The last skill that is important to me is learning, so I know what the office is doing, what technology and also what techniques the doctor uses.