A Christmas Carol Essay Example for Free

A Christmas Carol Essay His room has undergone a transformation which is symbolic of Scrooges attitude changing dramatically towards goodness. Dickens uses colour to explore the detail in the room. The walls and ceiling were so hung with living green, that it looked a perfect grove; from every part of which, bright gleaming berries glistened. The crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe and ivy reflected back the light. This also resembles the goodness of Christmas as Christmas items are commented upon. On the floor then appears a kind of throne, there were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat. This represents richness and also creates setting. The description of the ghost reinforces the goodness of his character: free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice. This is what Scrooge should become. As Scrooge speaks to the spirit he realises how he is changing his attitude towards goodness. I learnt a lesson which is working now. To-night, if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it. Dickens uses the senses to make the description rich which is in contrast to the poverty we next visit. that peoples mouths might water gratis as they passed; there were piles of filberts, mossy and brown, re-calling, in their fragrance. innumerable people, carrying their dinners to the bakers shop. The sight of the poor revellers appeared to interest the spirit very much. In this stave the weather is in direct contrast to the stave before. Dickens makes such rich contrast in the setting to address the theme of goodness and also to create the mood of what is to come. In this stave the weather has changed as it is an urban setting and murky and grim. The sky was gloomy, and the shortest streets were choked up with a dingy mist. Whereas in the stave before the weather was bright with clear skies and a rural setting. The darkness and the mist had vanished with it, for it was a clear, cold, wintry day with snow upon the ground. Dickens does not limit harshness to the urban setting. they stood upon a bleak and desert moor, where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about. This resembles the background to the poverty Scrooge sees. Dickens also uses personification again to create character instead of setting. Fat chestnuts are like fat men and onions are like Spanish friars, providing a cheerful background to the bustle of Christmas. In Stave four we meet the last of the spirits, the spirit of the future. It is evident that Scrooges attitude towards goodness is changing as Scrooge waits for the spirit to show guidance to make him a better person. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me? The spirit then takes them both to a dark urban setting to explore Scrooges future. They scarcely seemed to enter the city; for the city rather seemed to spring up about them. We then hear Scrooges business associates talking. They are described as ugly and unpleasant characters which resemble what Scrooge was like. No, said a great fat man with the monstrous chin. As Scrooge hears the business men talk about his death he realises how no one cares about his death and becomes hurt. This pleasantry was received with a general laugh. Its likely to be a very cheap funeral. Scrooge demands to be taken to where someone cares. The spirit then takes them to the Crachits household where the family are unusually quiet as they grieve over the unexpected death of Tiny Tim, and not Scrooge. Quiet. Very quiet. The noisy little Crachits were still as statues in one corner. Ah, poor Tiny Tim! Scrooge feels guilty about his death and feels sympathetic. The spirit finally takes Scrooge to a dark graveyard and his gravestone which reinforces what Scrooge will become if he does not change. There he breaks down into complete grief and says how he has learnt his lesson and he is a changed man and how he knows how his responsibility to society has a great importance. I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, Present and Future. The spirits of all three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lesson that they teach. This is similar to J. B. Priestleys An Inspector Calls as the theme that runs throughout the play is Responsibility to Society. Interestingly it also resembles the play in the way time is changed The final Stave contrasts sharply with the first Stave as both Character and Setting have dramatically changed. The setting in the first stave was cold and bleak but here there is No fog, no mist, clear, bright, jovial, stirring cold; cold piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky. This is symbolic of Scrooges character as he has dramatically changed from the start when he was a tight and mean man. Throughout the novel Scrooge has changed his attitude and developed goodness. He has learnt a lesson from the three spirits, each changing him bit by bit. It is evident as in each Stave he slightly changes his attitude. This is also reflected in the setting as each Stave explores the theme of goodness.

Trafficking and Prostitution in Thailand Essay -- Human Trafficking

In a small village consumed by poverty a man in a business suit shows up. He goes from family to family offering to buy children for a year’s worth of pay. He gets to one family with a young girl whose father sells her to feed his addiction for heroine. Scared and confused the girl is now forced into a brothel, sexually pleasing more than 20 men a day. Nearly five years later she is rescued only to lose her life to AIDS from unprotected sex. The human trafficking industry in Thailand has long been overlooked both internally and externally. Corruption, greed, foreign relations, economic pressure, and overall demand have fueled the trafficking industry in Thailand. Until the world and the Thai government make serious changes to the way they handle the situation in Thailand, the victims of trafficking will continue to experience similar atrocities. During Vietnam War, America had an agreement with Thailand that allowed them to establish a rest and relaxation base there. The base and soldiers stationed there caused the economy to thrive through tourism however once the war was over, the U.S. no longer needed the base so they left Thailand. The Thai economy needed a way to continue to sustain itself, so it began to prostitute women in their country to create a desirable location for tourism again. This prostitution business gained attraction around the world, and the Thai economy was once again sustaining itself. As time passed it became apparent that trafficking women from nearby impoverished countries would be easier than using the local women. Thailand began establishing itself as one of the biggest prostitution industries and soon became known as â€Å"Asia’s Brothel†. Women and children that are trafficked into Thailand live hor... ...x Slavery." NewsMax.com: America's News Page - News Archives. 21 Apr. 2001. Web. 27 Jan. 2010. . Northcutt, Casey. "Education may prevent human trafficking." The Murray State News. 21 Feb. 2008. Web. 27 Jan. 2010. . Perrin, Andrew. "Thai families partners in child sex trade / Border area's products are drugs and daughters." San Francisco Bay Area News, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Classifieds: SFGate. 6 Feb. 2002. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. . "Thailand: Fighting Child Trafficking | World in Progress | Deutsche Welle | 01.09.2007." Home | Deutsche Welle. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .

Complex Phenomenon of Obesity

Obesity a Complex Phenomenon When a person hears the word obesity thoughts that may come to mind are overweight, big, or unhealthy. Obesity is a growing outbreak in America that effects all ages and gender. Obesity today is becoming or has become a problem in America. Comparing to other countries, not one has an overweight problem near as bad as the United States. With that in mind, people’s health is a huge concern in America in which obesity has a big impact on. Obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories than what they burn.The human body needs calories to sustain life and be physically active, but to maintain weight it needs to balance the energy we eat with the energy that’s use to operate. Childhood obesity in America is a growing disease because of advertisement of fast food, lack of physical activities, and parental control. This has made fast food a major health issue in young teenagers’ lives, parents need to take charge and help out the situati on. Obesity is a complex phenomenon, but â€Å"the main causes can be grouped into three main topics, poor food choice, lack of exercise, and the lack of awareness. (Obesity; study) Poor food choice is one of the main causes. People today eat more and more fast food which is high in fats, cholesterol, and contains too much carbohydrate. The body is overloaded with fats and sugar, which is converted into body fat. The second main cause is lack of exercise. A recent study shown in Diabetes week states that â€Å"kids in elementary schools spend an average of 22-24 hours a week watching television† (Weight Loss). Kids no longer spend their free time playing outside; instead they sit in a couch all day and watch TV or play video games.The danger in some rough neighborhoods can also add to the situation, because some parents do not feel that it is safe for their children to play outside. A third contributing factor is lack of awareness about good eating habits. Mothers give their children too much choices and too little guidance in what to eat, advertising confuses kids and leaves them debating whether a fast food product is good or bad for their health, and conflicting information about diets and healthy eating from the food industry and medical experts just makes them confused about diets.Fast-food joints have not only come to dominate the American landscape, they are also the most visible American export around the globe. Unfortunately, â€Å"fast food contains almost no nutrients and is loaded with added salt, sugar, refined flours, fat, and preservatives. †(Weight loss) The irony is that even though at the moment getting a meal from a fast food restaurant seems great, it’s not. For every dollar that is spent on fast food, and every second saved at a drive-through, over a lifetime it comes back and puts people at serious health risk.Obesity amongst children is a serious matter that goes beyond a child putting on a few pounds. It is an issu e that has many health and social consequences, which often continue into adulthood. According to Su Shaoyong in his article Genetics and Obesity â€Å"obesity increases one’s risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, cancers, pulmonary disease, bone joint disorders, and early death. † (1) Obesity also often causes psychological problems.Many are judged on their appearance rather than their personality, meaning that people with obesity also suffer from discrimination and rejection by their peers. This ultimately causes poor self-image, which leads to low self-esteem. Meaning the greater the degree of obesity, greater the chance of suffering physical and psychological health problems. The good news is that there is no doubt that obesity can be prevented at an early age. Physical activity and inputting nutritional knowledge on kids are the main methods to preventing obesity.Parents and schools provide the connection to counterfeit a kid’s urge for fast-food. Adapting a healthy lifestyle at a young age is very important, since it is difficult to change later on. â€Å"The quality of food in schools, including school meals, vending machines, has a huge impact on a children’s physical health. †(Obesity; Study) Schools should be careful and take into great consideration to try to provide a healthy overall menu. Schools need to require physical education during school and provide after-school opportunities for physical activities to help regularize a more active lifestyle for a kid.Second, parents are the most important role models. â€Å"Adults have the responsibility to encourage children to become active, help them watch their diet†. (Shaoyong 1) Some parents argue that they should be able to feed their children what they want, and it’s their kids own body so it’s up to them to take care of themselves. That should not be an excuse, being obese comes with sev eral other problems. Why would any parent want to worry about their children having any type of health risks? Adults need to fulfill their jobs as being parents towards heir children, by being able to teach and show their kids how to live a healthy lifestyle. Doing a lot of small things for example limiting the amount of times they eat out at a fast-food restaurant or buying more fruits and vegetables instead of convenience foods that have a lot of fat in it can have a big impact on their child’s health. Every day the number of obese children increases. It should be a number one priority in many families to eat properly and exercise, their lives depend on it.Most people in the United States have changed their lifestyle completely, from one in which there was more walking, physical and outdoor activity, into a lazy lifestyle with little or no exercise. Most citizens take cars to work and do office jobs, spend their days off watching TV, and would rather much prefer fast food o ver an exhausting home cooked meal. America has brought this problem upon themselves, now it’s up to its citizens to take precaution about the situation and help solve it by getting educated and becoming more aware of it. Word Count: 1030

Grapes of Wrath Essay Steinbecks Powerful Style - 965 Words

The Powerful Style of The Grapes of Wrath When Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, our country was just starting to recover from The Great Depression. The novel he wrote, though fiction, was not an uncommon tale in many lives. When this book was first published, the majority of those reading it understood where it was coming from-they had lived it. But now very few people understand the horrors of what went on in that time. The style in which Steinbeck chose to write The Grapes of Wrath helps get across the books message. Early in the 1930s Steinbeck wrote, The trees and the muscled mountains are the world-but not the world apart from man-the world and man-the one inseparable unit man and his environment. Why†¦show more content†¦He is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement. He strove to fulfill this commission with a passion. Steinbeck indicates his social concerns directly in his corollary chapters, where he explains how these events are history repeating itself. And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed. The great owners ignored the three cries of history. The land fell into fewer hands, the number of the dispossessed increased, and every effort of the great owners was directed at repression. The money was spent for arms, for gas to protect the great holdings, and spies were sent to catch the murmuring of revolt so that it might be stamped out. The changing economy was ignored, plans for the ch ange ignored; and only means to destroy revolt were considered, while the causes of revolt went on. (Steinbeck 262) Steinbeck describes how whenever there is a mass migration of people, there will be pity and fear from thoseShow MoreRelated Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay example9610 Words   |  39 Pageswide reputation. Steinbeck enjoyed even greater success with the full-length novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. He wrote a number of other novels such as Cannery Row and In Dubious Battle, as well as Short Stories such as The Red Pony and The Pearl. The latter two stories are frequently studied as school texts. However, most critics agree that Steinbecks later works dont quite match up to his earlier efforts. Nevertheless, he was awarded the Read MoreModern History.Hsc.2012 Essay25799 Words   |  104 Pageslong since been discarded by British Empire and French commanders because of the large loss of li USA – 1930’s Industrialisation in the 1930s – an incomplete scaffold... more detail needed; but probably enough to write a paragraph or two in an essay on industrialisation between 1919 and 1941... The nature of industrialisation in the 1930s The nature of industrialisation changed in the 1930s. In the 1920s industrialisation had occurred because of free enterprise and big business. But with the