...“Elephant” is a short story written by the Canadian poet Polly Clark. The story characterizes the daily life of a man named William. It contains plenty of relevant themes, themes of relevance to the modern society. Themes like relations, fame, the everyday life and dreams. The narrator is a third-person limited narrator. The story is told from the perspective of the main character William. It gives us a glimpse of his home life, his feelings, impressions and thoughts. The main character William is a writer. He writes biographies, the life stories of famous pop stars. He assumes that all these pop stars are identical. ”The slim volumes reflected the slim lives of his subjects, and his slim interest in them. Apart from the pattern of their rise and decline the girls seemed to him exactly the same” , he assumes, that the subject of his biographies is deadly monotonous. He has a tedious work, writing about the same subject day in and day out. William has his own method of working. He believes that notes and facts form a valuable story. William has also his own adage, “..Writing was 99 percent about commitment not inspiration had not helped him shift a single page in all that time”. He assumes, that writ-ing is not about inspiration and encouragement. He believes, that qualities like dedication, loyalty, adherence, are more important to contain. William is dealing with a big complication during his writing. He can’t focus, so he isolates himself from the outside world, he can’t...
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...Elephant How is it possible to fulfil your biggest dream when everything is against you? As humans we are all build with dreams, hopes and desire. However, it is not always possible to succeed in the things you want the most. It is a question of happiness. Moreover, this so-called happiness can occur in dissimilar ways and is, individually, let by ones personal desire. Conversely, when everything you dreamt of doesn’t go the way you planed, it will feel like living in a bocks. You will isolate yourself from the rest of the world, while hoping that you’re life soon will begin. It will, in worst cases feel as if you’re life is on stand-by. The Story Elephant by Polly Clark opens in media res, as we get sucked right in to it. We are suddenly standing in the dark room where William is sitting by the computer surrounded by notes and facts. Already in the beginning of the text, it is revealed that William has a difficulty with his writing: “This inability to write a word had gone on for weeks”. Furthermore one becomes aware of the strange and depressing atmosphere in the room where William is sitting: “The house was quiet. It was early afternoon… The curtains of his study glowed with brilliant sunshine” The story is told by a third person narrator, however, we hear a lot about Williams thoughts throughout the story, and therefore we immediately identify us with him. William writes biographies of pop-singers, witch he isn’t pleased about. He would have preferred to write about...
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...Polly Clark Elephant Everybody knows what it feels like to get stuck in the same routines. People want to change their lives, but it can be difficult to break free from these routines. This is a theme, which is dealt with in Polly Clark´s Elephant. William, the main character, is an author who writes biographies about female multiple pop artists. His life is nothing but routine. In the following essay we will focus on the effects of this cyclical lifestyle by analyzing the relationship between William and his writing and the use of symbols in the text. The novel takes place inside the protagonists house. His and his wife’s garden symbolises their relationship, they say about the garden: "It looks so flat and unloved.", just like it is with them. They have thought about laying a deck over it, which resembles how they want to hide their problems. The garden is very depressing for the main character, and when he looks out it reminds him of bad things. Therefor he closes the curtains. They dream about new “settings”. They dream about changes in their life, and Ginny has an idea about moving to Australia. Ginny is blind to the problem, and thinks it is the life they live which is wrong, and not them. It is all ordinary boring days, and the unpleasant environment increase the feeling of their bad relationship. The author uses an implicit third person narrator, which gives us an insight in Williams thoughts and the cause of his actions, as in p. 4 l. 152: ” Tears filled...
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...Analysis and interpretation of “Elephant” + different types of endings Part A Polly Clark wrote ”Elephant” in 2006. It is a short story about a man, who writes biographies of female pop singers. He is having a writer’s block in the text and later begins to write false events to the biographies. His wife is also trying to get pregnant. The text is in a restricted third person, which means that the narrator can see everything but only hear the thoughts of one person, the main character William. That also means that we have to guess what the other character thinks, if needed of course. The text mainly contains description, but there is a small amount of dialogue between William and his wife. The narrator finds the events in the story boring and there is not anything exciting about William. The narrator is a bit unreliable because he has pre-interpreted William’s life and therefore describes it the way he does. That could change if it was another narrator or in first person. William is an adult male in his late twenties or early thirties. He is married to a woman named Ginny, who works in an office, maybe as an assistant, and he works as a biography writer. He writes biographies of female pop singers who are still alive, which is not what he would have preferred. He would have preferred to write biographies of male actors, but someone got there first. He and Ginny could live either in Great Britain or in the USA or some third country, but there is nothing in the text to indicate...
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...A ”Elephant” is a short story written by Polly Clark. The theme in the text is the desire to fulfill your dreams. However it’s not always as easy to succeed in the things you want the most. “Elephant” opens in medias res, as we’re being thrown into a world where William is sitting by his desk, surrounded by a pile of notes and facts. Already in the beginning of the text we’re able to see that William encounters problems with his writing. He states that the skill to being a good writer is commitment, and not inspiration. “This inability to write a word had gone on for weeks. His own adage that writing was 99 percent about commitment not inspiration had not helped him shift a single page in all that time” this also indicates that he may have lost the motivation to write. The reader also becomes more aware of the kind of depressing feeling in the house. “The house was quiet. It was early afternoon, drawing towards a shining evening. The closed curtains of his study glowed with brilliant sunshine. Writing was impossible for William if there was a view onto the garden…” . The short story is told by a third person narrator, but we also hear about William’s thoughts and therefor we relate to him. Whilst reading the story we feel sorry for him. William is not happy with what he writes a about. He writes biographies of pop singers, when all he really wants is writing about movie stars, but someone where quicker to get the job. “William wrote biographies of pop singers. Female,...
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...Elephant essay A Life isn’t as easy as it seems. Some people would love to see you fail, while your closest would love du see you succeed. Everybody have a dream. A dream about becoming something big and great. Having a nice job with a good salary, an expensive car and house. And if you don’t achieve any of this, your life will feel like a mistake. You will feel like a complete fail. You want to isolate yourself from others. Even those who support you. You are pausing your life, because you don’t know what to do. This story “Elephant” is written by Polly Clark in 2006. It starts in media res, because we are unexpectedly standing in a dark room where a person named William is sitting with a computer, some notes and facts. A third person narrator tells the story, but we hear Williams’s thoughts through out the story, and because of that we directly recognize us with him. William Is married to Ginny and have 7 children, all of them which are girls. “He glanced up at the bookshelf above his computer at his girls: Sophie, Witney, Norah, Becky, Christine, Maria, Britney. “Page 1 line 16-18. His relationship with his wife is almost only about making children. ”Well done, darling, she said. Then, “I know this isn’t much fun for you.” Page 2 line 82. She loves it, and thinks he doesn’t. Their relationship is seems to be like a more like “Friends with benefits” than a marriage, because right after they had sex Ginny would leave again. Williams job is writing about biographies of pop-singers...
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...Championing Character Through Children's Literature List updated 12/17/09 | | |A Bad Case of Stripes - David Shannon (respect for differences) | | | |A Castle on Viola Street - DyAnne DiSalvo (citizenship, volunteerism) | | | |A Taste of Colored Water by Matt Faulkner (justice, equality, respect for differences) | | | |Agate by Joy Morgan Dey (celebrating differences, respect for self) | | | |Alley Oops - by Janice Levy (anti-bullying, respect, "wrestling" with good choices) | | | |America Is Her Name - Luis J. Rodriguez (compassion, empathy, confidence...
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...Save as Many as You Ruin Every once in a while, people make life-changing mistakes; mistakes that can seem irreversible and absolutely fatal to your life. But in some cases, fate might just reach out and bless them with another chance. These are the cases where the involved can live through a religious experience and have the opportunity to save what they’ve previously ruined. Gerard is a handsome man from New York, who is approximately 40 years old. The turning point in the story is when Gerard meets Laurel coincidently after he sees her through a shop window. Gerard and Laurel are former partners, but the relationship ended when Gerard had to proclaim that he had made another woman pregnant while they were still dating. Gerard has Lucy with Issy, and after Issy moves to Los Angeles to fulfill her dreams about being a Hollywood actress, Gerard takes the responsibility of raising Lucy on his own. Four years after Issy went to Los Angeles she was found dead in a pool, possibly after a suicide as she had taken her time to write Gerard’s name as her next of kin. Gerard lives what could be conceived as a boring and regrettable life, with the exception of his daughter; Lucy. Lucy is Gerard’s light of the day. “Gerard feels a stabbing love for his daughter” [l.18], “She’s wonderful, just wonderful” [l.78], “I love you” [l.165]; in this short story we’re constantly reminded of Gerard’s endless love for his daughter, and it is clear that she is the light of his seemingly else uninteresting...
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...Save as Many as You RuinEvery once in a while, people make life-changing mistakes; mistakes that can seem irreversible andabsolutely fatal to your life. But in some cases, fate might just reach out and bless them withanother chance. These are the cases where the involved can live through a religious experience andhave the opportunity to save what they’ve previously ruined.Gerard is a handsome man from New York, who is approximately 40 years old. The turning point inthe story is when Gerard meets Laurel coincidently after he sees her through a shop window. Gerardand Laurel are former partners, but the relationship ended when Gerard had to proclaim that he hadmade another woman pregnant while they were still dating. Gerard has Lucy with Issy, and afterIssy moves to Los Angeles to fulfill her dreams about being a Hollywood actress, Gerard takes theresponsibility of raising Lucy on his own. Four years after Issy went to Los Angeles she was founddead in a pool, possibly after a suicide as she had taken her time to write Gerard’s name as her nextof kin.Gerard lives what could be conceived as a boring and regrettable life, with the exception of hisdaughter; Lucy. Lucy is Gerard’s light of the day. “Gerard feels a stabbing love for his daughter”[l.18], “She’s wonderful, just wonderful” [l.78], “I love you” [l.165]; in this short story we’reconstantly reminded of Gerard’s endless love for his daughter, and it is clear that she is the light ofhis seemingly else uninteresting life. We, as...
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...10000 quiz questions and answers www.cartiaz.ro 10000 general knowledge questions and answers 10000 general knowledge questions and answers www.cartiaz.ro No Questions Quiz 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Carl and the Passions changed band name to what How many rings on the Olympic flag What colour is vermilion a shade of King Zog ruled which country What colour is Spock's blood Where in your body is your patella Where can you find London bridge today What spirit is mixed with ginger beer in a Moscow mule Who was the first man in space What would you do with a Yashmak Who betrayed Jesus to the Romans Which animal lays eggs On television what was Flipper Who's band was The Quarrymen Which was the most successful Grand National horse Who starred as the Six Million Dollar Man In the song Waltzing Matilda - What is a Jumbuck Who was Dan Dare's greatest enemy in the Eagle What is Dick Grayson better known as What was given on the fourth day of Christmas What was Skippy ( on TV ) What does a funambulist do What is the name of Dennis the Menace's dog What are bactrians and dromedaries Who played The Fugitive Who was the King of Swing Who was the first man to fly across the channel Who starred as Rocky Balboa In which war was the charge of the Light Brigade Who invented the television Who would use a mashie niblick In the song who killed Cock Robin What do deciduous...
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...This page intentionally left blank Business Performance Measurement Drawing together contributions from leading thinkers around the world, this book reviews recent developments in the theory and practice of performance measurement and management. Significantly updated and modified from the first edition, the book includes ten new chapters that provide a comprehensive review of performance measurement from the perspectives of accounting, marketing, operations, public services and supply chain management. In addition to these functional analyses the book explores performance measurement frameworks and methodologies, practicalities and challenges, and enduring questions and issues. Edited by one of the world’s leading experts on performance measurement and management, Business Performance Measurement will be of interest to graduate students, managers and researchers who wish to understand more about the latest developments in this rapidly changing field. Andy Neely is Deputy Director of the ESRC/EPSRC AIM Research initiative, Professor of Operations Strategy and Performance at Cranfield School of Management, and Visiting Professor of Operations Management at London Business School. Business Performance Measurement Unifying theories and integrating practice Second edition Edited by Andy Neely CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge...
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...Jojo Moyes a fter you Contents CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FOLLOW PENGUIN For my grandmother, Betty McKee chapter one The big man at the end of the bar is sweating. He holds his head low over his double Scotch, but every few minutes he glances up and out, behind him, towards the door. A fine sheen of perspiration glistens under the strip-lights. He lets out a long, shaky breath, disguised as a sigh, and turns back to his drink. ‘Hey. Excuse me?’ I look up from polishing glasses. ‘Can I get another one here?’ I want to tell him it’s really not a good idea, it won’t help, it might even put him over the limit. But he’s a big guy and it’s fifteen minutes till closing time and, according to company guidelines, I have no reason to tell him no, so I walk over, take his glass and hold it up to the optic. He nods at the bottle. ‘Double,’ he says, and slides a fat hand down his damp face. ‘That’ll be seven pounds twenty, please.’ It’s a quarter to eleven on a Tuesday night and the Shamrock and Clover, East City...
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...GLENCOE LANGUAGE ARTS Grammar and Language Workbook G RADE 9 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Send all inquiries to: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill 936 Eastwind Drive Westerville, Ohio 43081 ISBN 0-02-818294-4 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 024 03 02 01 00 99 Contents Handbook of Definitions and Rules .........................1 Troubleshooter ........................................................21 Part 1 Grammar ......................................................45 Unit 1 Parts of Speech 1.1 Nouns: Singular, Plural, and Collective ....47 1.2 Nouns: Proper and Common; Concrete and Abstract.................................49 1.3 Pronouns: Personal and Possessive; Reflexive and Intensive...............................51 1.4 Pronouns: Interrogative and Relative; Demonstrative and Indefinite .....................53 1.5 Verbs: Action (Transitive/Intransitive) ......55 1.6 Verbs: Linking .............................................57 1.7 Verb Phrases ................................................59 1.8 Adjectives ....................................................61 1.9 Adverbs........................................................63 1.10 Prepositions...
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...6 Build Your Vocabulary ■ ■ ■ ■ The SAT High-Frequency Word List The SAT Hot Prospects Word List The 3,500 Basic Word List Basic Word Parts be facing on the test. First, look over the words on our SAT High-Frequency Word List, which you’ll find on the following pages. Each of these words has appeared (as answer choices or as question words) from eight to forty times on SATs published in the past two decades. Next, look over the words on our Hot Prospects List, which appears immediately after the High-Frequency List. Though these words don’t appear as often as the high-frequency words do, when they do appear, the odds are that they’re key words in questions. As such, they deserve your special attention. Now you’re ready to master the words on the High-Frequency and Hot Prospects Word Lists. First, check off those words you think you know. Then, look up all the words and their definitions in our 3,500 Basic Word List. Pay particular attention to the words you thought you knew. See whether any of them are defined in an unexpected way. If they are, make a special note of them. As you know from the preceding chapters, SAT often stumps students with questions based on unfamiliar meanings of familiar-looking words. Use the flash cards in the back of this book and create others for the words you want to master. Work up memory tricks to help yourself remember them. Try using them on your parents and friends. Not only will going over these high-frequency words reassure you that you...
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...Media History Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.1.5 1.1.6 1.1.7 1.1.8 1.1.9 Issues with definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forms of mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Professions involving mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Influence and sociology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ethical issues and criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 2 6 6 7 8 10 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 12 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 19 20 21 21 21 1.1.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.12 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.13 External links . . . . . . . . ....
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