...part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to (Albom).” In this essay I will take a look at O Henry’s background, his life experiences and how it reflects in his work, “The Gift of the Magi”. As I travel through O Henry’s life you will see how there was no life event he regretted. Nor did he allow his life’s challenges to overtake him. If anything he used those challenges as opportunities to excel in his writing career. In his writings he is able to take all that he had experienced and learned by showing people in their ordinary form, just as he sketched the customers at his uncle’s drugstore. William Sydney Porter, an American writer from North Carolina is better known as O Henry (Langford). He is known to have changed his name twice. The first time he changed the spelling of his middle name from Sidney to Sydney (Langford). The second was after trying several pen names, he settled on O Henry. The final name changed occurred after he had gone to jail for robbery, though he persisted he was innocent (Langford). It was his hope, once he changed his name, he would be able to forget the embarrassing ordeal he had faced. O Henry was not immune to suffering. “At age three he lost his mother to tuberculosis” (Langford). Growing up he was an avid reader, reading everything from the classics to comics. O Henry several early years of career accomplishments. He worked for his uncle at his drugstore, where he later became a druggist (Langford)...
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...Challenger Video - Lessons Learned As seen in the video there were a lot of issues with how the o-ring issue was handled. Roger clearly knew there was a possible issue with the o-ring, but was bad about handling this with regards to resolving the issue. He was very vocal about it, but this was to the point where it more aggressive than influential among his colleagues to help with resolving the issue at hand. This was not beneficial in building support behind his concerns with the o-rings so that the issues with them would be addressed before the Challenger’s launch. He had multiple opportunities to address this and failed to do so as a result of his brash attitude to those with whom he brought it to their attention including with one of the V.P.’s, Joe Kilminster, in his company. Joe was willing to listen and investigate Roger’s concern, but when Roger became abrasive with how the issue had been neglected by the company this eventually led to losing any type of support from Joe. Roger also had another opportunity to continue to push the o-ring issue to further attention of this issue meeting the evening before the launch, but failed to get his point across again and this lead to the discussion to proceed with the launch as scheduled. This example from the video showed how without proper support and guidance of employees within the workplace that some problems will eventually get ahead of some companies. Most management decisions don’t always take into consideration the information...
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...In the first source, “The Gift of the Magi Historical Context” the writing sheds some light on the details of the story. In the Gift of the Magi, the reader assumes that the city they live in is New York and the assumption is probably correct based on clothes and descriptions. It also supports that they were poor and Delia couldn’t afford wigs but instead had to use gas to heat the curlers for her hair. The reading just reemphasized what Henry wrote about and how the act of giving was something they wanted to do for each other. The second source from Online Literature was just biographical information about O. Henry who was really named William Sydney Porter. Mr. Porter was born to a mother who had a talent for writing poetry and the ability to paint, but unfortunately she died when he was three years old. This may have led to him moving with his father to his relative’s farm. He eventually left the farm and married and had a child. He developed a magazine but he also spent time in prison for embezzlement. He eventually moved to New York City, which is the background for the Gift of the Magi. As a result of Porters problems with the law and drinking habits, I think that might be were the story line came from. He grew up poor and struggled and giving to others was probably not really something he could do. The third source from the author from the Columbia encyclopedia helps to understand what he may have been thinking about when he wrote the story. There...
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...Ieesh M. Irving TANTH 365/ Autumn 2014 Film Response Watching Rabbit Proof Fence was not only enlightening but also appalling to have seen. I never heard of the atrocities that the aborigines experienced at the hands of the British government prior to this movie. The British government took oppression to another level. This was the story of how Molly, her sister Daisy, and cousin Gracie were stolen from their family and their dangerous expedition of returning home to their family. It features Mr. A.O. Neville, the Chief Protector of Aborigines, as the evil antagonist who believed that his mission was to protect the aborigines from themselves. This story told of some of the countless people that were part of “The Stolen Generation”, which are the children, which were labeled half-caste, that were taken from their Aborigine parent by the Australian government. This removal occurred between the early 1900’s up until the 1970’s. Not only did the Australian government The story begins in 1931 in west Australia. This is the time the Aborigines Act granted the government the authority to act as a legal guardian of every Aborigine in west Australia. This meant the government had control of who the Aborigines can meet or marry and where they work and lived. This gave Mr. Neville the power to remove half-caste children from their families. As a mother, I think that would be the cruelest thing you can do to a person; take their baby away from them. It would be easier to die rather...
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...The Gift of Magi and Necklace Comparative Essay March 5, 2015 When you compare and contrast it can lead up to having antonyms or synonyms. Two characters and two short stories that have their similarities and differences is Della in The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry and Mathilde in The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant. It is said that all women like to shop and look fabulous and with Della and Mathilde they both want an accessory they cannot afford, but Della wants to use her possession in a thoughtful way and Mathilde wants to use her possession in a selfish way. Also Mathilde makes everyone sacrifice but in the end she has to sacrifice while with Della, she sacrifices to show her companion how much he is loved. ”She was ransacking the stores for Jim’s present.” (Henry 352). Mathilde in order to get one of the many necessities she wants, she makes her husband sacrifice the money that he wants to save up for himself on her. “ Finally she answered,’ I’m not sure exactly, but I think with four hundred francs I could manage it.’ He turned a bit pale, he had set aside just that amount to buy a rifle so that the following summer, he could join some friends who were getting up a group to shoot larks on the plain near Nanterre.” (Guy De Maupassant 200). Whereas Della sacrifices her most prized item, her hair, to raise money to purchase a gold watch chain for her lover, which he had been wanting for a long time. “She got out her curling irons and lighted the...
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...Without the land to keep Wang Lung hard at work, Wang Lung becomes lazy, cruel, and obsessed with using his wealth to advance his social status. These circumstances cause Wang Lung to lose his sense of morality and make poor decisions, as is shown with how he treats O-lan and his marriage of Lotus Flower. In chapter 18, Wang Lung admonishes O-lan by saying "Now anyone looking at you would say you were the wife of a common fellow" (Buck 121). Without his land, Wang Lung is like a fish out of water, dazed and...
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...Study Memorandum Subject: Roger Boisjoly and the Challenger Disaster: Disloyal Employee or Courageous Whistle-Blower? Facts: The focus of this case study is on Roger Boisjoly's attempt to avert the launch of the Challenger and his act of employee loyalty to set the record straight despite the negative outcome. Boisjoly was employed with Morton Thiokol Inc. as an engineer and an expert in rockets. During an examination of the Challenger (STS 61-C), Biosjoly and the Seal Erosion Task Force discovered a problem with the hot-gas blowby or ignited fuel which came from joint leaks and the O-ring convincing the team that it was not safe to launch until the problem was fixed. Boisjoly notified his boss in writing of what was found. Despite what Boisjoly informed his boss, NASA went ahead and did the launch. Predictions came true when a catastrophic explosion resulted from the failed O-ring seals and the Challenger and the crew was lost. President Reagan appointed a commission to look into the devastation and found that the interviews given by senior management of Morton Thiokol and Boisjoly and a fellow engineer contradicted eachother which lead Boisjoly to believe that senior management was trying to cover up what had happened. Boisjoly and his fellow coworker were reprimanded for telling the truth about what really happened. Eventually, Boisjoly resigned from his position due to psychological strain and a hostile working environment. Ethical Issues: Disloyal Whistle...
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...Family Conflict In Willa Cather’s O Pioneers!, farmer and land developer Alexandra Bergson feels the land her father, John Bergson, gave her and her brothers, originally belonged to her and her brothers, but has since been divided into separate titles between the three of them. Before Alexandra’s father died, he placed her in charge of the land and she became the lands steward and expanded it beyond the original homestead. The role Lou and Oscar Bergson, Alexandra’s younger brothers, played was that of laborer under the direction of Alexandra. Lou and Oscar feel that the land belongs to them because they have put their blood, sweat, and tears into the land. It is not until Alexandra’s brothers see Carl spending time with Alexandra that they begin to worry about the true ownership of the land. The boys are ok with Alexandra having the property but once they find out Alexandra might marry their jobless old neighbor Carl, they confront her, reminding her that Alexandra’s property really belongs to them. John Bergson always had more faith and trust in Alexandra than he did with Lou and Oscar. Even before Alexandra was the age of twelve John was calling on her to give him advice. He reminisced, “It was Alexandra who read the papers and followed the markets, and who learned by the mistakes of their neighbors… Lou and Oscar were industrious, but he could never teach them to use their heads about their work.” From a very young age Alexandra showed wisdom and leadership. ...
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...when and where they were…for me it was 8th grade math class and we had it on television. It was a huge deal because the first female school teacher was onboard. The commission found that the Challenger accident was caused by a failure in the O-rings sealing on the right booster rocket housing. This caused hot gases from the pressurization to blow out, or snap the O-ring. (Wikepedia, n.d.) With the O-ring failure, this caused structural failure. On the day of the launch, it was delayed over six hours due to cold weather. This was addressed prior to launch, but it seemed that everyone ignored this vital piece of intelligence. Cold temperatures affect O-rings in every bit of aviation. In the P-3 if the weather is below freezing, a hot start shall be used so O-ring seals won’t split in the propeller which would cause hydraulic fluid leaks in the prop. The key factor besides the O-ring was the supervision and safety councils who oversaw this launch. The night prior to the launch, a meeting was held to discuss scenerios to delay the launch the following day. No one was in attendance from any safety councils and the O-ring theory was not mentioned again, until it was too late. The findings on the commission added an extra O-ring to each side of the motor and the interior insulation and sealant was updated to new materials for better temperature resistance. This mishap happened due to lack of supervision, communication, and the urge to hurry up and go! References ...
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...Willa Cather depicts in O Pioneers the life of a family who starts off poor, living on a farm. The daughter, Alexandra took over the farm when her father died and they told her that she should not, and just to let it go. But she wanted them to trust her, and they ended up having a huge farm with a big house. Although Cather does a great job making all the characters fit, Marie draws my attention because she is passionate, friendly, and vivacious. Marie is characterized to be a passionate young girl. She was forced into marriage with Frank Shabata, and an unhappy marriage is all she has to show for it. She is constantly craving a passionate, physical love that she knows is unattainable in her current situation. This want, or need rather, is what lead her into the arms of Emil. Although, she may feel guilty for wanting another man, she realizes that her own happiness is more important than what others may believe. She longs for Emil’s passion but persists in the self-torture of being with her husband. So why does Marie continue to torture herself? Marie believes that it is her own fault for taking the vows to live an entirety in an unfulfilling, passionless marriage. Not only is Marie a passion seeking individual, she is also depicted in the film as being a friendly human-being. An example of her friendly effervescence is the insistent cheer that made her an easy friend for her neighbor, Alexandra. Marie was constantly there to help Alexandra with the many troubles she had...
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...Here is an ultimate Jello shot list, all in one post! Derby or Memorial Day party?? :) 1 *JAGER BOMB* boil 1 cup red bull (in place of water), add black cherry or orange jello, 1 cups jager. 2 *MARGARITA* boil 1 cup water, add 3 oz pkg lime jello, 4 oz tequila, 4 oz sweet & sour margarita mix. sprinkle with salt just before firm. (substitue watermelon jello for lime for a melon margarita) 3 *RUM & COKE boil 1 cups coke, mix in dark cherry jello add 1 cups light rum 4 *MIMOSAS* this one varies from the normal method Since champagne isn't as strong as liquor, cut the water out of this one. boil one cup champagne, mix orange jello 2 min, add one more cup champagne and a splash of OJ. 5 *SILK* Boil one cup champagne, mix in jello for 2 minutes, add one cup champagne and splash of lychee juice from the can. 6 *ORANGE TIC TAC* Boil two cups red bull, mix jello two minutes, add two cups mandarin orange vodka 7 *LEMON DROP* (boil 1 cup water, add lemon jello, citrus vodka, top with sugar sprinkles just before its fully set up) 8 *GRAPE CRUSH* (boil 1 cups water, add grape jello, 1/2 cup plain vodka, 1/2 cup chambord) 9 *HAWAIIAN* (boil 1 cup water, add pineapple or blueberry jello, 1 cup coconut rum) 10 *GIN & TONIC* (boil 1 cup tonic water, add lime jello, 1 cup gin) 11 *LEMON LIME* (boil 2 cups sprite, add lemon and lime jellos, 2 cups citrus vodka) 12 *BLUEBERRY* (boil 1 cup water, add blueberry jello, 1 cup blueberry vodka) 13 *FRUIT...
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...Smart cookie - OREO Executive Summary: For most of its 100-year existence, Oreo was America's best loved cookie, but today it is a global brand. Faced with stagnation in the domestic market, Kraft Foods moved it into emerging markets where it made some mistakes, learnt from them and ultimately triumphed. This case study looks at the strategies used to win over customers in China and India. On March 6, 2012, the famous cookie brand, Oreo, celebrated its 100th birthday. From humble beginnings in a Nabisco bakery in New York City, Oreo has grown to become the bestselling cookie brand of the 21st century generating $1.5 billion in global annual revenues. Currently owned by Kraft Foods Inc, Oreo is one of the company's dozen billiondollar brands. Until the mid-1990s, Oreo largely focused on the US market - as reflected in one of its popular advertising slogans from the 1980s, "America's Best Loved Cookie". But the dominant position in the US limited growth opportunities and spurred Kraft to turn to international markets. With China and India representing possibly the jewels in the crown of international target markets due to their sheer size, Oreo was launched in China in 1996. The China launch was based on the implicit assumption that what made it successful in its home market would be a winning formula in any other market. However, after almost a decade in China, Oreo cookies were not a hit as anticipated, according to Lorna Davis, in charge of the global biscuit division...
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...Biography of O.Henry Early life William Sidney Porter was born on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He changed the spelling of his middle name to Sydney in 1898. His parents were Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter (1825–88), a physician, and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter (1833–65). William's parents had married on April 20, 1858. When William was three, his mother died from tuberculosis, and he and his father moved into the home of his paternal grandmother. As a child, Porter was always reading, everything from classics to dime novels; his favorite works were Lane's translation of One Thousand and One Nights, and Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.[2] Porter graduated from his aunt Evelina Maria Porter's elementary school in 1876. He then enrolled at the Lindsey Street High School. His aunt continued to tutor him until he was fifteen. In 1879, he started working in his uncle's drugstore and in 1881, at the age of nineteen, he was licensed as a pharmacist. At the drugstore, he also showed off his natural artistic talents by sketching the townsfolk. Move to Texas Porter in Austin as a young man Porter traveled with Dr. James K. Hall to Texas in March 1882, hoping that a change of air would help alleviate a persistent cough he had developed. He took up residence on the sheep ranch of Richard Hall, James' son, in La Salle County and helped out as a shepherd, ranch hand, cook and baby-sitter. While on the ranch, he learned bits of Spanish and German from the mix...
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...the hut... he cried out to the women “tell me, were you beaten in that great house?” This happened after they had moved temporarily to another town. Which happened after winter and the famine started up again. This shows that his greatest value becomes family because after talking about selling his daughter with his wife, he decides not to because he obviously loves the daughter. This also shows Wang Lung’s greatest value has changed to family because he asks about whether or not his wife was beaten as a slave. Showing that he doesn’t want his daughter to get beat, so he is clearly protecting his daughter. Also in the book it states “and when he was gon Wang Lung went to where O-lan had spent most of his life for the most part... and turned his face to a blackened wall and wept” This happened after O-lan had become gravely ill, and the doctor had raised the price to try to keep her alive. This shows that Wang Lung’s greatest value near the end becomes family because his wife had just died, and he is crying. Showing that he is grief-stricken, and that if he had a chance he would want his wife back. Also this had happened after she had fallen gravely ill, and the doctor had raised the price.After the doctor had raised the price he tried to pay the doctor the money. This shows Wang Lung’s greatest value had changed to family because even after the doctor had raised the price to ten times the original amount he still was going to try to pay him to treat his sick wife. In conclusion...
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...prices than most of the larger chain stores. I have never really understood why. For my family, buying all our food locally can be a challenge sometimes. My husband is Asian and he refuses to let go of some of the Asian food items he loves. For example, he has to have bok choy instead of green cabbage from right here. Rice is another issue for us. It has to be jasmine rice from a South East Asian country. He swears there is a difference. In my opinion, it all tastes the same….bland. List all of the components of two of your meals. Meal 1: For breakfast I had eggs, Conecuh sausage, peaches, and iced sweet tea. Meal 2: For lunch I had a ham sandwich with Sargento Colby- jack cheese, Lays brand sour cream and onion potato chips, and a Jell-O pudding cup. I had a bottle of Aquafina water to drink. A. Where did each component of your meal originate? List the country that each part of your meal came from. (i.e., Did that glass of red wine come from Australia? Is the cheese from France?) Meal 1 – Breakfast My eggs Eggland’s Best eggs came from Jeffersonville, PA. My peaches came from Clanton, Al, which is about an hour north of my home in Montgomery, Al. Georgia is known as the “peach state”, but Alabama can give them a run for their money *wink*. My Red Diamond sweet tea came from Birmingham, Al. Birmingham is 75 miles north of Montgomery, just north of Clanton. My sausage came from Conecuh County, Al, which is an hour and a half south of Montgomery. Meal 2- Lunch My Hillshire...
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