The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 1111 Words

War is courage. War is sacrifice. War is heroism, to the outsiders at least. To the young men fighting for their country daily, a decision that is far beyond their control, war strikes entirely different emotions in their minds. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, â€Å"The Things They Carried,† he reveals that soldiers carry much more than meets the eye. Yes, soldiers carry loads of physical items needed for survival, but what about the emotional and psychological aspects war leaves for the young soldiers to carry in their minds? In this segment of O’Brien’s novel, he exposes that what these young men experience in their time at war changes them forever. A soldier before and after the war are two completely different people, simply because war is powerful, and it has the ability to alter your mind and feelings permanently. O’Brien shows this through themes of distraction, guilt, and lost love. O’Brien discusses the physical items the soldiers car ry with them to characterize each soldier and demonstrate how these items are used as an escape mechanism for them. For example, Rat Kiley carries comic books, Kiowa carries his Bible, Ted Lavender carries dope, and Lieutenant Cross carries love letters and pictures from his love back home, Martha. These items that distract the soldiers from war play a major role in the soldier’s sanity. Their personal distractions give them something else to focus on rather than the thought of misery and despair in their times at war, especially in LieutenantShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien892 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a long, exhausting, and traumatic experience for all of the soldiers and those who came with them. The Things They Carried, by Tim O Brien illustrates the different affects the war had on a variety of people: Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads, a former nurse during the Vietnam war, demonstrates these effects within her own memoir in the book, The Forgotten Veterans. Both sources exemplify many tribulations, while sharing a common thread of suffering from mental unpredictability. DesensitizationRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1377 Words   |  6 Pageslove to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I reflect on the many conflicts America has been a part of, none can compare to the tragedies that occurred in The Vietnam war. As told in The Things They Carried (O’Brien), characters such as NormanRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe theme pertains to everyone regardless of their background. It conveys the same ideas to people from all across our society. Lastly, a classic is timeless, which means it has transcended the time in which it was written. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, he offers a new, intriguing way to view war or just life in general and also meets all of the crucial requirements mentioned above to qualify it as a book of literary canon. Though this book is technically a war novel, many peopleRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1242 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Tim O’Brien is obsessed with telling a true war story. O Brien s fiction about the Vietnam experience suggest, lies not in realistic depictions or definitive accounts. As O’Brien argues, absolute occurrence is irrelevant because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Mary Ann’s induction into genuine experience is clearly destructive as well as empowering† (p.12) Tim O’s text, The Things they Carried, details his uses of word choice to portray his tone and bias. Tim O’BrienRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1169 Words   |  5 Pagesbut are set in the past and borrows things from that time period. A story that fits this genre of literature is The Things They Carried. The story is about Tim O Brien, a Vietnam veteran from the Unite States, who tells stories about what had happ ened when he and his team were stationed in Vietnam. He also talks about what he felt about the war when he was drafted and what he tried to do to avoid going to fight in Vietnam. The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien was precise with its portrayal of settingRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1004 Words   |  5 Pages Tim O’Brien is a veteran from of the Vietnam War, and after coming home from his duty he decided to be a writer. His work â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about a group of soldiers that are fighting in the Vietnam War. The first part of the story talks mostly about physical items that each soldier carries, and also mentions the weight of the items as well. Though, there is one exception to the list of physical things. Lieutenant Cross is a character of the story, and Tim O’ Brien quickly states theRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien896 Words   |  4 PagesTrouble without a doubt is what First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross c arried around his shoulders because he was out in war, where mistakes happen. Lost and unknown of his surroundings he had to lead his men into safety, while destroying anything they found. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross only holds onto one thing for hope and that is Martha, the woman who he hopes is a virgin to come back to. Tim O’ Brien introduces symbolism by adding a character that has a meaning of purity and a pebble, which symbolizesRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesSummary: â€Å"By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure† (21). In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, the American soldiers of the Vietnam War carry much more than the weight of their equipment, much more than souvenirs or good-luck charms or letters from home. They carried within themselves the intransitive burdens—of fear, of cowardice, of love, of loneliness, of anger, of confusion. Most of all, they carry the truth of what happened to them in the war—aRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1369 Words   |  6 PagesMany authors use storytelling as a vehicle to convey the immortality of past selves and those who have passed to not only in their piece of literature but in their life as an author. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction The Things They Carried, through his final chapter â€Å"The Lives of the Dead,† O Brien conveys that writing is a matter of survival since, the powers of s torytelling can ensure the immortality of all those who were significant in his life. Through their immortality, O’Brien has the abilityRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1407 Words   |  6 Pages       Our introduction stated that in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† author Tim O’Brien tells us not directly of the soldiers of Vietnam, or the situations they find themselves in, but about the things they carry on their shoulders and in their pockets. These â€Å"things† identify the characters and bring them to life.   I find that to be true as the author unfolds the stories about war and the uncommon things one carries in to war both inadvertently and on purpose.  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was noted: Stories about war –

An Examination Of The Course Of Occasions During Which...

This is an examination of the course of occasions in which helped our country s first war. This paper will diagram a huge number of aspects concerning this war. Things tended to are the sea, monetary and political issues that most researchers would consider to be the essential drivers of the war. This item will give a short outline depicting the occasions and numerous complex connections between the countries, economies and political issues confronting this time. The examination and handover of President Jefferson and his basically monetary methodology to attaining to achievement and President Madison acquiring a troubling circumstance in which alternatives were extremely restricted. Despite all of President Madison s endeavors to†¦show more content†¦The United States was moderately youthful as a country and untested by war. At the time, its ground power Army involved about six thousand normal troops. Its Navy represented more or less sixteen vessels. Basically, its military may was as modest and curious. Interestingly, the British Navy represented six hundred boats in its stock while its ground energy Army recorded a quarter of a million men in its positions. Most history specialists have observed there is no single reason for the War of 1812 however a few related reasons. The United States questioned numerous British oceanic practices. In the 1790 s, amid the first time of the war in the middle of Britain and France, The British completed a large portion of these practices. Because of the apparent dangers of an attack by Napoleon, the British implemented lively execution of these arrangements. This neurosis joined with different elements roused the British to disregard the privileges of other non-risk substances to keep any conceivable support to the French. Through the marks of mercantilist approaches starting to waver, American transportation was turning into an expanding risk to British financial and business matchless quality. This was later esteemed a danger to British national security. Impressments got to be an alternate noteworthy component of the oceanic issues. It rapidly turned into a standout amongst the most unstable issues between the two nations. Impressment included the privilege to hunt

Importance of Meditation-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Discuss and reflect health beliefs - Meditation Improves Health and Better Sleeping? Answer: Meditation is where a person trains the mind or introduces a mode of consciousness as an end or to achieve some benefits or to allow the mind to recognize what it contains without it being identified with that content(Weiten, 2016). It involves turning ones attention and mind inward and concentrating on one thought, idea, feeling or thing. In most cases, meditation has been culturally perceived as a way of obtaining inner peace and moving closer to God. Meditation has a number of health benefits: Slows brain loss related to age: Studies have shown that those who engage in longtime meditation experience less age-related loss of brain tissue in comparison to those who do not meditate. The study which deployed a functional magnetic resonance imaging examined 100 women and mens brains who had been meditating for about 20 years(Emet, 2013). The two groups indicated a reduction in gray matter with age but the longtime meditators had significantly smaller losses in the gray matter of their brains. In as much as meditation cannot eliminate age-related declines in diseases or thinking, the research proves that meditation protects the brain(Rakel, 2012). Helps to relieve pain: Examinations on meditation effects reveal that longtime meditators experience less pain compared to non-meditators even though they showed higher levels of activity in the areas of the brain that are associated with the pain. With meditation, the pleasantness of stimulation of pain is highly reduced. This is not achieved by inhibiting an experience of pain but avoiding the brain from indulging in thinking processes that facilitate pain(Snowball, 2012). As for the case of chronic pain, there is normally a tendency of pain hyper-vigilance that in turn creates a stronger emotional reaction to the noticed pain. Meditation helps to reverse this situation. Improves concentration: Meditation enhances attention and thus improves the concentration of an individual. Increased concentration increases the efficiency of an individual when multitasking(Rakel, 2012). Mindfulness enhances the better working of the human memory. Meditation among students has been linked to improved performance as students who engage in meditation have recorded higher scores in their tests. Meditation is important in building the concentration of an individual at a physical level as it aids in enhancing the communication of attention networks and limiting the level of interruptions that one would experience. Helps in stopping the shifting of the mind: Through meditation, the brain region that is responsible for continuous shifts from one topic to another is controlled. This habit has been linked with poor mental health especially in cases where it is not controlled. Meditation lowers the level of activity in this part of the brain(Weiten, 2016). Wondering of the mind has been related to reduced levels of happiness as most of the thoughts in most cases tend to stress or rumination. Meditation reduces the activity in the brain region that is connected with wondering thoughts referred to as the default mode network. This is the partial reason for the use of mindfulness as an important therapy for depression and anxiety for a very long time now. It could be for this reason as well, that meditation is a tool in the prevention and management of some physical health conditions(Emet, 2013). Improves the quality of sleep: Research indicates that people who adopt meditation as sleep improvement strategy recorded greater improvements in the quality of their sleep as compared to those who deployed more structured plans(Alexander, 2011). Structured programs such as bedtime routines and alteration of poor sleeping habits yield significantly low results. This indicates that mediation is an effective strategy that can top up the list of appealing options that are required in fixing health risks and problems associated with low quality sleep. Helps control addiction: Meditation is a fundamental tool in helping an individual in dealing with the various addictions including alcohol, cigarettes or any other drugs. It works by strengthening the self-control of the individual hence enabling him to have control over his senses and body desires. Meditation also helps in disconnecting an addict from craving sensations of the substances to which he is an addict. Through meditation, a person becomes less stressed of the problem he is undergoing and gives him an opportunity to focus his mind on the best mechanisms of helping himself out of the situation(Rakel, 2012). In conclusion, meditation serves as one of the most powerful tools that if effectively used can help to a great extent in improving the quality of the health of an individual. From improving concentration, improving the quality of sleep, controlling addiction, slowing age-related brain loss to stopping unnecessary mind shift, meditation improves the quality of health. These it achieves by concentrating the sensations and thoughts of the various parts of the body towards a specific attention of the present. References Alexander, S. (2011). The Best Meditations on the Planet: 100 Techniques to Beat Stress, Improve Health, and Create Happiness-In Just Minutes A Day. Manchester: Fair Winds Press. Benson, H. (2013). The Relaxation Response. Oxford: HarperCollins. Emet, J. (2013). Buddha's Book of Sleep: Sleep Better in Seven Weeks with Mindfulness Meditation. New York: Hay House, Inc. Rakel, D. (2012). Integrative Medicine. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences. Snowball, K. (2012). The Detox Cookbook: Cleansing for food lovers. New Delhi: Allen Unwin. Weiten, W. (2016). Psychology: Themes and Variations. Washington: Cengage Learning.

Inception Movie Review free essay sample

It’s that time†¦ time for all of you to go out and experience Inception. Some of you may have seen the film, others not, I have tried my best to keep any and all spoilers out of this review while still talking about the film as a whole. If you haven’t seen it, you should be fairly safe, if you have, there’s plenty for you to argue with me about as this is a rather massive review to reflect my enormous opinion about it. Without anyone more pointless babble, lets get to it†¦ Players: Director/Writer: Christopher Nolan Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur), Ellen Page (Ariadne), Tom Hardy (Eames), Ken Watanabe (Saito), Dileep Rao (Yusuf), Cillian Murphy (Robert Fischer, Jr. ), Tom Berenger (Browning), Marion Cotillard (Mal), Pete Postlethwaite (Maurice Fischer), Michael Caine (Miles), Lukas Haas (Nash) Cinematography: Wally Pfister Music: Hans Zimmer The Plot: Lets not talk about that shall we? The less you know the better (though that’s not to say that’s it’s hard to understand once you’re in the film ). We will write a custom essay sample on Inception Movie Review or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Good: The Overall Idea: This is one big concept to tackle. The idea of our dreams and how one effects them is a risky topic to tackle because it’s endless and quite complex. Nolan makes it not only easy to understand (in terms of the story) but raises many interesting debates on â€Å"mind travel† that will leave you arguing in comment sections on blogs for weeks to come! The Visuals: I don’t think I need to go in depth on this one. If you’ve seen a poster, a trailer, any artwork from this film, you know you’re in for a visual treat. It’s a beautiful film to watch especially certain scenes†¦ The Fred Astaire Throw Back: Absolutely amazing. In case the the â€Å"Fred Astaire† reference didn’t made sense to you, the scene I’m referring to (don’t worry it’s on posters and in the trailer) is the one with Joseph Gordan Levitt and Co. fighting in the hotel hallway — it’s a high-tech, action packed, and a direct throw back to when Fred Astaire walked up the wall for the first time and blew audiences away. Somehow Nolan has found a way to bring back that sense of wonder despite all the decades of special effects that have dulled audiences. I believe this scene was shot the good ol’ fashioned way with a rotating hallway and some wires. There is something about using camera techniques instead of CGI that is so much more fun to watch and gives the film a sense of integrity and wonder that most blockbusters wouldn’t both with. The Supporting Cast: This is for the Nolan new comers mostly — Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and the rest all felt right at home in the film. They added to the acting credibility and gave us more than just one-liners. That being said, below I will talk about the problems with some of the repeat casting†¦ The Attempt: Despite how big of a director Nolan is, studios want him to make what works, not take any risks or attempt something out of the box. It would have been so easy for him and he would have been so loved by both audiences and studios for jumping into another Batman right after The Dark Knight. To add to that if this movie flops it could be detrimental to the sales of the next Batman. Nolan stepped away from a guaranteed hit and took a big risk on this film by following his dream and making something reminiscent of Memento but on the studios summer-action film dime. He’s ballsy on all levels and despite what I think about his film, I have to respect his decision to make this film, his process and for the most part the outcome of Inception. It wasn’t perfect but that’s because it wasn’t safe, he took a chance and came out successful. Which leads us to†¦ The Bad: Lack of a Wow Factor: Don’t crucify me yet, give me a moment to explain. Before I saw this movie I heard people making comments like â€Å"wow this movie is mind-blowing† and â€Å"I love walking out of a movie not fully understanding it† and that made me SO excited! I thought it was going to be like the Matrix all over again, where you have to watch it 10 times and write an essay to fully grasp it. That being said, I got this movie about half way through and there was no real surprise or twist for me. Once you get the character, who is quite simple, it’s all there and the story never contradicts it. Dialogue/Script: Once again Nolan is great at the grand concepts and this movie is about as big as one can get and I applaud him for going there, but with a limitless world, there sure was a lot of repeat dialogue and a lot of interesting things not discussed. Something tells me this was because someone got nervous about this film not having â€Å"mass appeal. † The fact is, this film would have been better with half the dialogue, not as much marketing spelling things out and letting the audience figure out some of the characters for themselves Leo in the Lead: Although in many ways his character Cobb is a â€Å"noble† character, at the heart of it all, he’s kind of a sap. Yes, it’s sweet that he loves a women, but he’s not fighting for anything that I really care about or can side with. It’s nice that â€Å"he wants his family back† and that’s only enough to make me pity him, not enough for me to follow him through anything and risk other characters lives who I find more interesting. He’s not fighting for humanity, the world, he’s just fighting for himself and in a movie of this scale, you need to care about more than just some selfish dude. That coupled with Leo constantly delivering the same lines and once again, his boyish good looks getting in his way, I never really bought his character nor cared about what happened to him. Repeat Casting: Yes I LOVE Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy but the fact is, I kept feeling like I was in the wrong movie and it was distracting. I wanted Murphy to go mad and poison people, and Caine to pour some hot tea and give Batman some advice. Although they are amazing actors, Nolan would have been better off finding a whole new cast or at least making them look different or changing their accents! Their dress and demeanor was too similar and therefore confusing for the audience. The Problem: Nolan takes an incredibly hard concept to grasp and tries to make it understandable for mass audiences (something I’m sure the studios wanted in order to make back their massive budget), but in trying to make it both a mind blowing experience and easy to grasp for everyone, it lost its luster and falls short of a complete mind-blowing experience. Nolan is capable of taking this film one step further, cutting the unnecessary dialogue and shaping it into a mind-boogling and yet entertaining film. He’s done it before with Memento, he did a great job at handling Batman, and in this one I feel like we get Nolan at 80% and I can’t help but wonder what he could have done if he would have gone all the way. I don’t know what the cause was, the script, the hero, the cut, or the studio, but something held this film back. This is a good film and enjoyable to watch, but not great and there was the potential in this to be something epic.

In What Sense Is Oedipus a Tragic Hero in Aristotle Definition free essay sample

A tragic hero is meant to define his fate by himself, usually by actions that he inflicts on himself which then lead him to wreck his own life. Aristotle is considered as one of the many ancient influential philosophers there is and therefore his view of Oedipus being an ideal tragic hero is considered as highly powerful In the world of literature. Aristotle defines tragedy as the conflict between humans being good yet being defeated by reality as their actions done with good Intentions can actually bring back outcomes that were not Initially wanted. In the play Oedipus by Sophocles, Oedipus is classed as a classic tragic hero by Aristotle for many of the characteristics he possesses. According to Aristotle definition of a tragic hero; the tragic hero has to be realistic, true to life, consistent and true to themselves, consistent within the context of the narrative and has to make errors of Judgment throughout the play but the results of what has been done should be the opposite of what was initially intended. We will write a custom essay sample on In What Sense Is Oedipus a Tragic Hero in Aristotle Definition or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A tragic hero should be able to arouse feelings of pity ND fear; this is because, the feeling of pity is aroused by our deep sympathy for someone whose life is falling out of place whereas that person is neither too good nor too evil to have deserved such a misfortune, and the feeling of fear is aroused by the sheer horror that such a tragedy can fall upon anyone regardless of their stature. According to Aristotle definition Oedipus Is a tragic hero because he Is a man of great power and Influence over the city he rules and his life begins to deteriorate In front of everyones eyes as he goes on a quest to find out who he ;s.Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be the one to cause their own downfall in which Oedipus persistently decides to carry on asking questions about his origins. Also, the tragic heros fate is not deserved and his punishment exceeds his wrongdoings and that a tragic hero must be someone important and influential and he must be someone who makes an error of judgm ent. This error of Judgment is seen when Oedipus forces Thirties in anger to answer his questions of who his parents are, Who? Wait; who are my parents? It Is Oedipus own mistake in forcing answers in which he does not wish to hear or know. In What Sense Is Oedipus a Tragic Hero in Aristotle Definition? By fringe The word tragedy is when an event ends in misfortune. However, when the word tragedy is put in context within a play or a story it is a story circling around a protagonist who is of high power and stature. A tragedy is usually the development of a protagonist whose in conflict with a more superior force; the superior forces that powerful in the world of literature.

The Architecture of El Tajin

The Architecture of El Tajin The once-magnificent city of El Tajin, which flourished not far inland from Mexicos Gulf Coast from roughly 800-1200 A.D., features some truly spectacular architecture. The palaces, temples and ballcourts of the excavated city show impressive architectural details like cornices, inset glyphs and niches. The City of Storms After the fall of Teotihuacan around 650 A.D., El Tajin was one of several powerful city-states that arose in the ensuing vacuum of power. The city flourished from about 800 to 1200 A.D. At one time, the city covered 500 hectares and may have had as many as 30,000 inhabitants; its influence spread throughout Mexicos Gulf Coast region. Their chief God was Quetzalcoatl, whose worship was common in Mesoamerican lands at the time. After 1200 A.D., the city was abandoned and left to return to the jungle: only locals knew about it until a Spanish colonial official stumbled across it in 1785. For the past century, a series of excavation and preservation programs have taken place there, and it is an important site for tourists and historians alike. The City of El Tajin and its Architecture The word Tajà ­n refers to a spirit with great powers over the weather, especially in terms of rain, lightning, thunder and storms. El Tajà ­n was built in the lush, hilly lowlands not far from the Gulf Coast. It is spread out over a relatively spacious area, but hills and arroyos defined the city limits. Much of it may once have been built of wood or other perishable materials: these have been long since lost to the jungle. There are a number of temples and buildings in the Arroyo Group and old ceremonial center and palaces and administrative-type buildings in Tajà ­n Chico, located on a hill to the north of the rest of the city. To the northeast is the impressive Great Xicalcoliuhqui wall. None of the buildings is known to be hollow or to house a tomb of any sort. Most of the buildings and structures are made of a locally available sandstone. Some of the temples and pyramids are built over earlier structures. Many of the pyramids and temples are made of finely carved stone and f illed with packed earth. Architectural Influence and Innovations El Tajin is unique enough architecturally that it has its own style, often referred to as Classic Central Veracruz. Nevertheless, there are some obvious external influences on the architectural style at the site. The overall style of the pyramids at the site is referred to in Spanish as the talà ºd-tablero style (it basically translates as slope/walls). In other words, the overall slope of the pyramid is created by piling progressively smaller square or rectangular levels on top of another. These levels can be quite tall, and there is always a stairway to grant access to the top. This style came to El Tajà ­n from Teotihuacan, but the builders of El Tajin took it further. On many of the pyramids in the ceremonial center, the tiers of the pyramids are adorned with cornices which jut out into space on the sides and corners. This gives the buildings a striking, majestic silhouette. The builders of El Tajà ­n also added niches to the flat walls of the tiers, resulting in a richly textured, dramatic look not seen at Teotihuacan. El Tajin also shows influence from Classic era Maya cities. One notable similarity is the association of altitude with power: in El Tajà ­n, the ruling class built a palace complexes on hills adjacent to the ceremonial center. From this section of the city, known as Tajin Chico, the ruling class gazed down upon the homes of their subjects and the pyramids of the ceremonial district and the Arroyo Group. In addition, building 19 is a pyramid which features four stairways to the top, on in each cardinal direction. This is similar to el Castillo or the Temple of Kukulcan in Chichà ©n Itz, which likewise has four stairways.   Another innovation at El Tajà ­n was the idea of plaster ceilings. Most of the structures at the top of pyramids or on finely built bases were constructed of perishable materials such as wood, but there is some evidence in the Tajà ­n Chico area of the site that some of the ceilings may have been made of a heavy plaster. Even the ceiling at the Building of the Columns may have had an arched plaster ceiling, as archaeologists discovered large blocks of convex, polished blocks of plaster there. Ballcourts of El Tajn The ballgame was of paramount importance to the people of El Tajà ­n. No fewer than seventeen ballcourts have been found so far at El Tajà ­n, including several in and around the ceremonial center. The usual shape of a ball court was that of a double T: a long narrow area in the middle with an open space at either end. At El Tajà ­n, buildings and pyramids were often constructed in such a way that they would naturally create courts between them. For example, one of the ballcourts in the ceremonial center is defined on either side by Buildings 13 and 14, which were designed for spectators. The south end of the ballcourt, however, is defined by Building 16, an early version of the Pyramid of the Niches. One of the most striking structures at El Tajin is the South Ballcourt. This was obviously the most important one, as it is decorated with six marvelous panels carved in bas-relief. These show scenes from the ceremonious ballgames including human sacrifice, which often was the result of one of the games. The Niches of El Tajin The most remarkable innovation of El Tajà ­ns architects was the niches so common at the site. From the rudimentary ones at Building 16 to the magnificence of the Pyramid of the Niches, the sites best-known structure, niches are everywhere at El Tajà ­n. The niches of El Tajà ­n are small recesses set into the exterior walls of the tiers of several pyramids on the site. Some of the niches in Tajà ­n Chico have a spiral-like design in them: this was one of the symbols of Quetzalcoatl. The best example of the importance of the Niches at El Tajin is the impressive Pyramid of the Niches. The pyramid, which sits on a square base, has exactly 365 deep-set, well-designed niches, suggesting that it was a place where the sun was worshiped. It was once dramatically painted to heighten the contrast between the shady, recessed niches and the faces of the tiers; the interior of the niches was painted black, and the surrounding walls red. On the stairway, there were once six platform-altars (only five remain). Each of these altars features three small niches: this adds up to eighteen niches, possibly representing the Mesoamerican solar calendar, which had eighteen months. Importance of Architecture at El Tajin The architects of El Tajin were very skilled, using advances such as cornices, niches, cement and plaster to make their buildings, which were brightly, dramatically painted to great effect. Their skill is also evident in the simple fact that so many of their buildings have survived to the present day, although the archaeologists who restored the magnificent palaces and temples surely helped. Unfortunately for those who study the City of Storms, relatively few records remain of the people who lived there. There are no books and no direct accounts by anyone who ever had direct contact with them. Unlike the Maya, who were fond of carving glyphs with names, dates and information into their stone artwork, the artists of El Tajin rarely did so. This lack of information makes the architecture that much more important: it is the best source of information about this lost culture. Sources: Coe, Andrew. . Emeryville, CA: Avalon Travel Publishing, 2001. Ladrà ³n de Guevara, Sara. El Tajin: La Urbe que Representa al Orbe. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2010. Solà ­s, Felipe. El Tajà ­n. Mà ©xico: Editorial Mà ©xico Desconocido, 2003. Wilkerson, Jeffrey K. Eighty Centuries of Veracruz. National Geographic 158, No. 2 (August 1980), 203-232. Zaleta, Leonardo. Tajà ­n: Misterio y Belleza. Pozo Rico: Leonardo Zaleta 1979 (2011).

Performance Appraisals Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Performance Appraisals - Research Paper Example Performance appraisal is also used in performance management where subordinates are given a chance to appraise their employer’s performance in meeting their expectations and relaying such expectations to employers (DeNisi & Pritchard, 2006). Performance management is used to manage and align organization’s resources so as to achieve the targeted goals. Therefore, the way performance appraisal is managed in an organization is a determinant of whether the organization will fail or succeed. DeNisi and Pritchard (2006) advise that every organization that plans to attain a competitive edge should put performance appraisal among its top priorities. This competitive advantage is highly depends on the way communication skills of the reviewer will guide that of the reviewed.McLean (2010) has outlined the way business communication should be fashioned when doing performance appraisal and other business undertakings. He analyzes that a business communicator should take the respons ibility of preparing several facets such as clarity, conciseness, punctuality and organization before the communication starts. In this case, if the business communicator is preparing for a performance appraisal exercise all these facets are significant so as to attain all set goals of the assessment. When all these facets are considered, the business communicator is said to be well prepared. This preparation involves selecting an appropriate topic to the goals and objectives of the appraisal, doing research on the needed information and covering the topic., putting the information in a logical sequence, and preparing for the best presentation of the interviews for appraisal. From the classical perspective, Mclean (2010) used the Aristotelian model of organization of a communicator. For Aristotle, the organization of a communicator is referred to as logos or logic. This involves making the communication and assessment logical so that it clearly leads to the intended end (Manasa & Re ddy, 2009). This process may involve filtering the needed and unwanted information based on the objectives of the whole exercise. This way, a logical performance appraisal assessment is understood by the reviewed, and they are able to offer their logical responses as well. The second part is that the message should be clear. Vague and wandering communication is not interesting listening or