US Dropping of Two Atomic Bombs on Japan Research Paper

US Dropping of Two Atomic Bombs on Japan - Research Paper Example The historical event During the final stages of the World War II (WWII), United States of America dropped two atomic bombs on the Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Under the executive order of Harry Truman, the US president, the US dropped Little Boy, a uranium atomic bomb, on the city of Hiroshima, the 7th largest city in Japan. This was on 6th August, 1945. The uranium bomb was so powerful that within minutes half of Hiroshima city vanished. The city was unbelievably destroyed. Out of its 90,000 buildings, more than 60,000 were utterly demolished (Rezelman et al, 2000 and Adamsand Crawford 2000). Information from Harry S. Truman Library & Museum (1946) reveals that as brief as it was, the flash of the explosion emitted intense radiant heat travelling through the air at the speed of light. The explosion was, therefore, followed instantly by flash burns. The US estimates that 60,000-70,000 people were killed and 140,000 others were injured (Rezelman et al, 2000). On 9th August, 1945, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, Fat Man, next nuclear weapon was dropped in Nagasaki over the north factory. It was exploded at a height of 1,800 feet above the city in order to attain a maximum blast effect. At its blast, buildings collapsed, there was shortages of electric systems and as a result of this, as well as a wave of secondary fires which contributed to massive deaths. Most of the casualties to the inhabitants of the city were caused by primary heat waves. Many others were burnt and killed when their homes, offices or other buildings were burst into flames. Flying debris also contributed to more injuries. 39% of the buildings standing were destroyed. Air was being drawn back to the middle of the burning area, a firestorm of winds immediately followed and because of this, trees were uprooted. The bomb killed 42, 000 people and injure d over 40,000 more (Rezelman et al, 2000 and Adamsand Crawford 2000). The Radiation Effects Research Foundation (2000) estimates that within the 2-4 months after the bombings, 90-000-166,000 people in Hiroshima were killed by acute effects of the blasts, while 60,000-80,000 were killed in Nagasaki but roughly half of the death in each case occurred on the first day. During the two explosions, the causes of deaths were generally the same. Thousands died instantly from flash or flame burns, falling debris and other secondary causes; over the following months others died from acute radiation sickness and other conditions arising from compounded effects of injuries and sicknesses. Most of the people who died were civilians (Harry S. Truman Library & Museum, 1946). Analysis of the historical and contemporary causes of the event On 7th December, 1941, Japan invaded Thailand. It then moved to invade British Malaya and the Pearl Harbor in the US territory of Hawaii. This war was referred to as the Pacific war or the WWII. The war saw the US, China and UK as members of the Allied Powers coming together against the Empire of Japan. The allied power wanted Japan to withdraw from the WWII. On 26th of June 1945, the Harry Truman, the US president, Winston Churchill, the UK Prime Minister and Chian Kai-shek, the chairperson of the Nationalist government of China, issued a document called the Potsdam Declaration. The Potsdam Declaration document which was agreed upon during the Potsdam conference outlined the terms of surrender for Japan. The ultimatum clearly stated that, if Japan did not pull out of the WWII, it would face quick and utter destruction (Villa,

Nokia Sustainability Report Essay Example for Free

Nokia Sustainability Report Essay Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications and information technology organization that originated and is headquartered in Finland. Its main products are mobile phones and portable information technology devices. It also offers Internet services such as games, music, media, messaging, applications, as well as free map information and navigations tools through its exclusively owned subsidiary Navteq. Nokia also has a joint venture with Siemens, and Nokia Siemens Networks, a telecommunications network equipment and services company. Nokia is a large company, with almost 100,000 employees in 120 countries, with sales in more than 150 countries; it is the world’s second largest mobile phone manufacturer, after Samsung, by 2012 unit sales. However, beginning in 2007, this organization is undergoing a major crisis that is challenging its current and future sustainability. While it was the world’s prime vendor of mobile phone from 1998 to 2012, it has suffered a declining market share over the past five years due to the outpouring popularity of smartphones from companies like Apple (iPhone) and Samsung. Therefore, Nokia’s share price has significantly lowered from a US$40 in 2007 to under US$2 in mid-2012. After this huge downfall, Nokia decided to implement a strategic partnership with Microsoft in which Nokia smartphones will have Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system within them, replacing Nokia’s previous operating system, Symbian. However, this decision did not prove to be a success nor save Nokia from its downfall, as the company reported six consecutive loss-making quarters before finally returning to a profit in its fourth quarter in 2012. So what exactly happened to Nokia that has brought it to its current financial and economic state today? Is there any way that they can bounce back from this tragedy? If so, how? In this research report, I will attempt to explain how and why Nokia is now facing a severe technological challenge, as well as why it has now become an organizational and managerial failure, a sharp contrast to how successful it once was. Next, I will explain how Nokia’s failure to outsmart the competition and its poor choice of disregarding technological trends and advancements has brought it to its economic and financial state today. I will then remark on Nokia’s current management’s actions and reactions in terms of the organization’s state and whether or not I believe these actions will lead to either sustainability or failure for the future of this company. I will then end this report by providing some suggestions on how to improve Nokia’s chance for sustainability, and hopefully, success in the near and further future. While Nokia faces sustainability, global, and technological challenges, I will focus on their technological failures which greatly attributed to their catastrophic downfall. Nokia was once one of the worlds’ leading mobile-phone producers. However, in 2012, they failed to adjust their strategy to comply with the new ways people used their phones. By looking through Nokia’s long-running history, it comes as a shock to some as to how disastrous and despairing their situation has become. Nokia started as a riverside paper mill in south-western Finland in the year 1865. It then evolved to produce rubber products such as rubber boots and tires. It was not until 1912 that Nokia began its cable and electronics business. Nokia’s first electronic device was a pulse analyzer for use in nuclear power plants, produced in 1962. The company’s first endeavour into telecommunications was made in 1963 when it developed radio telephones for military and emergency services. Nokia’s hugely successful period began in the 1979, beginning with the creation of a radio telephone company, and launching the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) service, the â€Å"world’s first international cellular network†¦to allow international roaming (Nokia. com). In 1987, Nokia introduced its first handheld phone for NMT Networks and became a classic. The Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications was also implemented as the European standard for digital mobile technology. International roaming, text messaging, and high-quality voice calls were all easily available on GSM, providing Nokia with a starting point for further innovation. Nokia manufactured its first GSM phone, the Nokia 1011, in 1992. In the same year, new Nokia President and CEO Jorma Ollila made a crucial and game-changing decision to solely focus on mobile-phone manufacturing. In 1994, Nokia began producing the 2100 series of mobile phones and by 1998, it is the world leader in mobile phones; the company’s strategic decision to focus solely on telecommunications definitely paid off. Innovation and continued success did not end there; in 1999, Nokia launched the Nokia 7110, a phone equipped with web-based capabilities such as email and web browsing, the first of its kind. They also produced a phone that included a built in camera and video capture in the early 2000s. However, Nokia’s biggest success was in 2002, when the introduction of 3G technologies allowed them to create phones with a wide range of functions including downloading music, watching TV on the go, and so much more. In 2005, due its huge success and impact on the mobile technology industry, Nokia was named the 5th most valuable brand internationally. Things began to take a turn for the worst in 2010 when Nokia met its competitors, namely Apple and Android-based devices. The smartphone era was surging in popularity leaving Nokia behind with its â€Å"candy-bar style† phones and outdated operating system. This downfall for this once highly successful company called for some serious changes, including the assigning of new President and CEO, Stephen Elop, a former head of Microsoft’s business division. Elop has â€Å"a strong software background and proven record change management (Nokia. com). † It may come as no surprise then that Nokia announces its partnership with Microsoft; Nokia mobile phones will be adopting the Windows 7 operating system in order to compete with the Apple iOS and Android. Nokia launched its first Windows phone in 2011. Since the introduction of Apple and Android devices, Nokia’s economic state has never been the same; and it is quite difficult to say whether they will ever reach that same success in the future again. There are several reasons that can be credited to Nokia’s downward spiral. Firstly, Nokia failed to respond to the changing consumer trend in technology; while consumers were moving on to smartphones with newer, faster operating systems within the likes of Apple and Samsung, Nokia’s Symbian operating platform remained the same and struggled to compete with these new â€Å"pocket-sized mini-computers. In summary, Nokia did not react quickly enough to changing consumer demand, and therefore, were aggressively crushed by the competition in terms of capturing market share. Their late response with the introduction of the Windows phone did not occur until 2011, while Apple and Samsung have been continuously improving their devices and operating systems since 2007. With technology improving so quickly nowadays, four years is a long period for Nokia to, with any luck, catch up. The integration of Microsoft’s Windows 7 as Nokia’s mobile operating system has yet to reap rewards for the organization either. This may be due to the fact that Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms have gained popularity since their early introduction and remain the leaders of mobile operating systems. Another problem that Nokia encountered is due to its late strategic change; many people associate its classic ‘candy-bar style’, brick phone with outdated technology, just like cassette tape players, and VHS players. Today’s consumers are also very technologically savvy; they need to have the best and newest device as soon as they can get their hands on it. Nokia also did not market itself as an innovative brand as it stuck by its brick-style phone and operating system for almost a decade before considering any major changes. While Nokia and Microsoft are both huge and strong companies, they will have to go through some rough patches before, and if, they can reach success again. As of now, they are in a financial struggle, cutting many jobs and other financial expenditures. Nokia is indeed focusing on attempting to reinvent the company, and to, hopefully, bring it back to where it once was: a leader in mobile technology. While there are many opinions floating around the media, it is hard to say what will happen to Nokia in the near future. While they have not done anything drastic, such as file for bankruptcy, they are going through some major, rough changes right now, including cutting thousands of jobs worldwide, and the closure of several factories. In 2012, Nokia announced their plans to cut 10,000 jobs internationally by the end of 2013 as well as the closure of research and development facilities in Finland, Germany, and Canada as stock prices continue to fall. Nokia’s market value today is below $10 billion. At the end of 2013, it is estimated that about 25,000 employees will be laid off at Nokia; this number of job cuts totals to about 36% of Nokia’s workforce. Things continue to look dim for this organization as Moody’s Investor Services downgraded Nokia’s rating to ‘junk’, further proving its dire state. Nokia’s human resource management did not play a part in its recent downfall as it was due to a technological failure, not a human resource issue. Nokia was a large, multinational company for quite some time, and its long-run success proves that their human resources teams are nothing short of competent, effective, and diligent. The goal of their human resources management is to satisfy their customers, motivate employees, and increase the dexterity and flexibility of management to address specific HR needs. Nokia’s HR team is also responsible for creating customer satisfaction through the manufacture and delivery of products and services in order to fulfill customer needs. They were able to do this by providing leading and innovative technology, in the past, to a wide range of clients around the world. Nokia’s intangible services, such as telephone helplines, are available 365 days a year, exemplifying dedicated and excellent customer service. Nokia also treats its employees very well. This organization works together with its employees in order to create a healthy, efficient, and successful environment so everyone can achieve their full potential. Encouragement, motivation, and keeping employees happy are vital for Nokia to perform productively. Because Nokia is a goods manufacturer, the free flow and exchange of ideas among employees at any level is strongly encouraged. In order to encourage and motivate employees, Nokia has compensation plan consisting of an annual base salary and bonuses. Short-term incentives for both individual and group projects also exist. Overtime pay and call-out pay are also implemented, and employees are able to purchase stock or performance shares. Finally, employee health and pension benefits are compensated to Nokia’s employees to form a healthy and productive work environment. While the HR strategy and structure at Nokia seem sustainable, some may argue that Nokia’s current and most recent President and CEO, Stephen Elop, has contributed to its present dismal state. Before working for Nokia, Elop worked for Microsoft from 2008 to 2010, and was responsible for Microsoft Office products as a member of the organization’s senior leadership team. The controversy surrounding Elop when he first joined Nokia was the release of his internal company memo titled â€Å"Burning Platform† which was immediately leaked to the media. The memo compared Nokia’s current situation, failing within the flourishing smartphone industry, to a person on a burning oil platform. The reception received from the media was mixed, some stating that Nokia needed that harsh wake-up call to make some drastic changes in strategy, while others called it â€Å"the costliest management memo ever written (Ahonen, 2011),† believing he should be fired due to Nokia’s severe and rapid disasters since his arrival. In 2011, Elop made the decision for Nokia to discontinue their in-house mobile operating systems and replace it with Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system. The plan was to be carried out gradually in the next few years, with Elop expecting a full discontinuation of the previous Symbian platform by 2016. Technology writers have criticised Elop for this decision by stating that it was done in bad timing and with a lack of communication; later, Elop himself admitted to the damaging effects of his Burning Platform memo. Ahonen has also stated that, because of this memo and Elop’s lack of communication to Nokia employees, the organization â€Å"is doing the most rapid death in the shortest period of time ever, for a global market leader Fortune 500 company. So what’s next for Nokia? Throughout all the journals, newspaper articles, blogs, and interviews, it is quite obvious what the main message for Nokia is: do something, and fast. While it is apparent that Nokia faces all three challenges of sustainability, technology, and global endurance, technology is and will remain to be their biggest challenge. Unless Nokia succeeds thr ough technology, being a mobile phone manufacturer, they will not be able to overcome or accomplish the other two challenges of global endurance and sustainability. It is quite unfortunate that Nokia, once a world leader in its field, failed to meet the technology challenge of keeping up with the current, fast-moving trends of technology and consumers. Nokia’s slow reaction to the shifting trends and the reactions they have made to support themselves have negatively impacted the company’s current economic state, as well as the state of their human resources. Elop’s poor strategic decisions in the hopes of saving Nokia have yet to bear fruit; instead, Nokia has been forced to cut thousands of jobs, and close some of their facilities worldwide. While these decisions are crucial for Nokia’s short-term survival, serious changes need to be implemented to obtain long-term sustainability, besides partnering with Microsoft. Nokia is a huge, well-known company, and its brand is something everyone knows of; their challenge is to change the way people think about and look at the company: not as an old, obsolete form of mobile technology, but a new, state-of-the-art organization that can adjust to the ever-changing technological tendencies. Elop still has some time to redeem himself as the President and CEO of Nokia, but unless he makes some rastic, positive changes to Nokia, other forms of recovery should be considered. One suggestion for Nokia would be to change its operating system from Microsoft’s Windows Phone to Google’s Android. One of Nokia’s mistakes leading to failure was making the unpopular choice of using Windows as its operating system; they should have realized that choosing Android as their platform would have reaped huge benefits for them as its surging popularity and success have made brands such as Samsung and LG skyrocket to economic prosperity. Technology experts, such as one engineering executive has even stated that they â€Å"don’t understand why Nokia couldn’t develop Android phones—even in parallel with Microsoft’s Windows phones. † Choosing Windows instead of Android as their new operating system is a huge opportunity Nokia definitely missed out on. Another recommendation would be to sell the company to a successful brand, such as Samsung, who has now redeemed themselves to become Apple’s leading, and closest rival. By putting themselves under Samsung’s wing, Nokia will gain Samsung’s competitive advantage of being a visionary and innovator, and a fast mover in capturing modern technological trends. While it is never an easy task to admit defeat, selling Nokia to a prosperous company just may be what this organization needs to save itself from further fiascos. A merger with a strong, competitive company, with massive market share and organizational resources may just be what Nokia needs to bring itself back up to what it used to be: an innovative, mobile communications giant with shareholder value, technological advancement, and worldwide success.

Abortion Essay -- essays research papers

Partial-Birth Abortion Act During the Clinton administration the Partial-Birth Abortion Act, a bill that would make it illegal in all of the United States for a partial-birth abortion to be performed, caused major debate throughout the House of Representatives and the Senate; recently different versions of the bill had been passed through the both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In prior years Clinton had vetoed similar bills to ban partial-birth abortions. The House and Senate have passed somewhat different versions of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (S-1692), sponsored by Congressman Charles Canady (R-Fl.) and Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.). This bill would place a national ban on partial-birth abortions. President Clinton successfully vetoed similar bills in 1996 and 1998. When the Senate approved S.1692 last October, it was by a margin two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. The congressional bills are similar to a Nebraska law that was struck down by a five-justice majority of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 in the case of Stenberg v. carhart. After carefully examining that ruling, the leading sponsors of the bill decided that it would be more productive to focus on other pro-life bills for the remainder of this congressional session. (National Right to Life News, August 2000) Partial-Birth Abortion is used after twenty weeks of pregnancy. The doctor pulls the baby out of the mother with forceps feet first and stops when the only thing remaining inside the mother is the baby’s head. The doctor then takes a pair of scissors and inserts them into the back of the neck of the child, spreads them apart and then proceeds to suction the brain of the child out of it’s head. The child is now no longer living and can be disposed of. Under current legislation the only factor that separates partial-birth abortion from homicide is the fact that the child’s head remains inside the mother while the procedure is performed. The Partial-Birth Abortion Act is not a bill to make abortion illegal just partial-birth abortions. Those who support this bill in the Senate are pro-life, whil... ...ter, June 2001) The laws were overturned by the United States Court of Appeals in Illinois and Wisconsin following the Supreme Court’s lead. United States District Judge Arthur Tarnow overturned the ban in Michigan. Planned Parenthood had challenged the laws in all three states and was said to be gratified by the decisions. â€Å"We are pleased with these rulings because they protect women’s health from being sacrificed to a dishonest campaign to demonize a safe and medically necessary procedure.† Planned Parenthood continued," And we are reminded again, as all Americans should be, of the importance of a fair-minded and independent federal judiciary.† Another problem with the ban on partial-birth abortions is what to do in the case of a health threat involving the mother. If a pregnant women faces death through the birth of her child do we save the mother or the child? Another problematic example is if the mother already has children, and partial-birth abortions are illegal, the child could potentially be born and the mother could pass leaving all of her children to grow up without a mother.

Freytag’s Pyramid in A Rose for Emily

Though a non-linear narrative, Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily fits well into the dramatic structure outlined in Freytag’s Pyramid.   Exposition is centered around the death of the eponymous character, Emily Grierson, and details her history in the town of Jefferson.Moving backward in time, a deal between Emily and a former mayor, Colonel Sartoris, is discussed, in which Emily is remitted of all taxes due to a loan Emily’s father made to the town before his death.   This expository information allows the reader to form a more substantive picture of Emily before the narrative actually begins.Faulkner establishes the tone of the story as cryptic and elliptical.   Emily is someone who can only be known vaguely, through all that can be understood in a few incidents.   By failing to disclose too much about Emily, Faulkner lends her an air of mystery, thus heightening the reader’s interest in her character.The story then leaps back in time thirty years, when there was concern in Jefferson over a smell coming from Emily’s house.   This is the point of rising action, in which the narrative acquires tautness in conflict.   Now the narrative is propelled forward by the reader’s curiosity- what is causing this horrible smell?   All of this builds on the mystery surrounding Emily, she becomes not so much a woman as an apparition, a vague blur in the mind of the reader.As the narrative proceeds on it constantly moves backward in time, so that the climax occurs at the point furthest in the past.   Emily’s purchase of the arsenic precedes chronologically the events of the first, second, fourth, and fifth parts of the story.   A Rose for Emily inverts the traditional narrative structure in which a story generally drives toward some point in the future, delving into the past for its revelations.The purchase of the arsenic must be regarded as the story’s climax for it is the only instance in which Emily takes action within the narrative.   She resolves here to take that action, the fruits of which are revealed in the final part of the story when the skeleton of Homer Barron is found in her bedroom.Part four of the story represents falling action, as with the purchase of the arsenic the fate of Homer Barron has been settled.   That the arrival of Emily’s family, or â€Å"kin† as Faulkner refers to them, is merely brushed upon in the vaguest terms serves as evidence- the focus of the story is elsewhere.   All that is left here is for the story to unravel into the denouement, which comes of course with the discovery of her supposed husband’s corpse.Here, Faulkner pulls back the curtain and allows the reader to briefly glimpse some of the mystery behind Emily, and by simply suggesting at one perversion, he hints at a whole host of other strange activities.   Thus the story is concluded not by solving the mystery, but rather by increasing its lurid allure.In a sto ry, such as A Rose for Emily, which is as much about ambience as it is about creating drama, a small action can carry great weight.   Emily’s very presence, â€Å"dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse,† shocks the small town of Jefferson out of entropy and into the life of narrative.Thus, though the story is nominally propelled along by curiosity over a strange odor emanating from her house, it is Emily herself in the end that sustains the interest of the reader.   Though Freytag’s Pyramid is an excellent guide for distilling dramatic structure from an otherwise elusive narrative, its application is limited.   While the model corresponds to the purely dramatic elements of A Rose for Emily it cannot account for such complementary elements such as tone and style, which often facilitate drama just as much as a well-honed structure.Faulkner’s writing operates obliquely, touching points of interest and then just as quickly departing from them, leaving a slight fog about the people and places he evokes.   The use of Freytag’s Pyramid can help shine a light through this fog and offer one a greater insight into the nature of this mysterious piece, A Rose for Emily.

Kite Runner Pomegranate Tree Essay

In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, the changing depiction of the pomegranate tree symbolizes the changes in Amir and Hassan’s relationship, and is woven into the novel’s central theme of sin and redemption. Throughout the novel Hosseini depicts Amir’s struggle to redeem himself ever since he witnessed the rape of Hassan and stood by as a silent bystander. Amir and Hassan shared a very close friendship doing everything together yet the loyalty between each other was lopsided. Amir could never match Hassan’s unconditional love and loyalty towards him and this sets up the internal struggle in Amir’s mind, because he was sensitive enough to realize the unfairness of the situation. Hosseini uses the pomegranate tree throughout the book as the backdrop for describing key events that influence Amir and Hassan’s relationship. The first depiction of the tree portrays a safe haven but subtle details in the passage point to the events that unfold later. As children, Amir and Hassan spent many hours under the shade of a pomegranate tree up on a hilltop where Amir would read stories to Hassan. Here the pomegranate tree is a symbol of comfort, a place where he and Hassan could be alone sharing the simple pleasure of storytelling. Amir’s description of the â€Å"shadows of pomegranate leaves dancing† on Hassan’s face depicts the protective aspect of the tree, a sanctuary for the two friends (28). The tree and hill are symbolic of Amir and Hassan’s friendship; the tree is rooted in the hill but as the seasons change both the hill and the tree change and so does their friendship. The mention of seasons foreshadows how over time Amir and Hassan’s friendship will be destroyed, in the same way that the rain had turned the â€Å"iron gate rusty† and caused the â€Å"white stone walls to decay† (27). When Amir and Hassan return to the pomegranate tree after the rape, Amir says to Hassan he will read him a new story as they walk up the hill and a sense of hopefulness is conveyed. Amir points out that the â€Å"grass was still green†. Here the green is symbolic of hope and renewal and it connotes Amir’s effort to fix his damaged relationship with Hassan (91). However, when Amir describes that the green grass atop the hill will soon be â€Å"scorched yellow† it also foreshadows Hassan and Ali’s abrupt departure from Kabul, and the devastating impact this has on Amir and Baba (91). Hosseini’s use of the word scorched connotes an event that happens suddenly and is a premonition of worse things to come. Amir is not able to deal with his memories of their happier days under the tree, and instead of storytelling he decides to provoke Hassan to reproach him for his own inaction when the rape occurred. Amir’s ulterior motives – to provoke Hassan and not tell stories – are revealed when he â€Å"picked up an overripe pomegranate† (92) and throws it at Hassan. The overripe, rotting pomegranate is symbolic of a wound that has been left alone too long, the guilt of Amir not helping Hassan when he was raped. The pomegranate fruit itself represents the complexity of their relationship; it is a fruit with a hard skin that is difficult to peel and inside there are beehive-like segments hiding hundreds of red pulpy seeds. Amir is not able to come to terms with his guilt and tries to avoid Hassan at first, but later when he tries to make amends he realizes that for Hassan it will never be the same. The pomegranate also alludes to the forbidden apple from the Bible, symbol of the original sin, and thus it serves to foreshadow the events that are just about to unfold. As Amir hurls pomegranates at Hassan, he repeatedly calls Hassan a coward, but in reality he is letting out his own frustration in the hopes that Hassan will retaliate. He is trying to cover up his guilt for not intervening when Hassan was raped, almost as if Amir is trying to justify that Hassan is the coward and not himself. Once Amir stops pelting the pomegranates he sees Hassan â€Å"smeared in red like he’d been shot by a firing squad† (93). The imagery here represents how deeply Amir’s actions and words had wounded Hassan. Ironically, it also foreshadows the eventual death of Hassan, later in the novel, when he is shot by a Taliban firing squad. When Amir returns to Afghanistan after receiving Rahim Khan’s letter, he finds Kabul under the Taliban regime totally changed. As Amir walks up the old â€Å"craggy hill† from his past he realizes that nothing is the same (264). The craggy hill now represents the destroyed Afghanistan. Amir describes that while walking up the hill every breath felt â€Å"†¦like inhaling fire† (264). This simile illustrates how much pain walking up the hill causes an lder Amir now, although it was something he did almost every day with Hassan when they were carefree children. When he reaches the pomegranate tree, he recalls Hassan’s letter saying â€Å"the pomegranate tree hadn’t borne fruit in years† (264). The barren tree is symbolic of how their friendship was ruined twenty years ago in the winter of 1975. But when Amir locates the faded carving of his and Hassan’s name on the tree, the fact that â€Å"it was still there† makes the pomegranate tree a symbol of hope once again and shows Amir a way to atone for his sin (264). After so many years and so many struggles their friendship was tattered but upon seeing it, Amir finally resolves to redeem himself for the guilt of betraying Hassan; a betrayal that became a heavy burden on his shoulders for twenty long years through his silence and inaction. The changes of the pomegranate tree depict the changes in Amir and Hassan’s relationship. We first see it as the lush shady tree from Amir’s childhood where he and spent countless hours reading stories. Next it appears as the scene where Amir destroys his friendship with Hassan. And finally, it is at the same but now barren pomegranate tree where Amir returns and locates the fading reminder of his long lost friend. Each conflict in Amir and Hassan’s friendship was always on Amir’s part. It was Amir who stayed silent when Hassan was assaulted, it was Amir who tried to provoke Hassan’s reproach by throwing pomegranates at him, but it was also Amir who made the effort at the end to rescue Hassan’s son and his nephew, Sohrab. Like the faded carving, Amir’s friendship with Hassan had faded but never completely disappeared. Amir made the worst mistake of his life but he still had an opportunity for redemption, and that was by rescuing Sohrab from the Taliban and acknowledging him as his own flesh and blood If he didn’t, he knew he would go to his grave with the guilt of the sin he committed in the winter of 1975. While atonement for one’s sin is the central theme of The Kite Runner, the pomegranate tree is one of the main symbols used by the author to show Amir’s journey for atonement and redemption in the book. Hosseini’s repeated use of the pomegranate tree serves as a useful symbol to understand the evolving relationship of Amir and Hassan.

ocean pollutants essays

ocean pollutants essays Pollution in our oceans is a serious problem. According to Marie Wild in her article "Ocean Pollution", "Ocean pollution is one of the major killers of our sea animals.". Most of the waste that is dumped is plastic, which takes hundreds of years to break down (Oceanic Research Foundation [ORF]). Everyday millions of animals are caught in fishing nets and six pack beer rings. It is thought that only fish are affected from getting caught in these. In reality they also kill birds, turtles, dolphins and seals. The animals are slowly strangled or suffocated by the rings as well as cans, fishing line, nets, kite strings and ropes (Wild). Or, as stated be the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), they die from accidental consumption (NWF website). Garbage is not the only threat to the safety of our oceans though, other things, such as, air pollution and chemicals are dangers too. Ships cause much of this pollution, often dumping raw sewage into the ocean (Ocean Dumping-The Causes of Ocean Pol lution; Ed Hunt, pg. 37). Also responsible are the factories that are located on the coast. These factories often, in search of easy disposal, will dump chemicals into the ocean. In previous years major culprits were paper mills and related plants, which would release waste into the ocean. A large increase could lead to long term rises in the levels of water mutagens, pathogens, teratogens and radioactive materials (Hunt 46). An article from ORF, "Oceans at Risk-Problems and Dangers Affecting our Oceans", reads: From the land, high levels of pesticides and toxins are being carried to the oceans, dramatically affecting shallow coastal zones, sea grass marine nursery areas, and coral reefs. Over sixty percent of the raw or treated sewage produced by man, rich in nitrogen, is being dumped into the oceans causing eutrophication in coastal waters. This overabundance of nutrients is causing algae blooms worldwide, impacting the ...

Essay on Ayoder Janecasestudy 04122015

Essay on Ayoder Janecasestudy 04122015 Essay on Ayoder Janecasestudy 04122015 Jane Case Study Audrey Yoder Rasmussen College In this case study, the father keeps beating Jane. Because this keeps happening, it is causing her to become a stronger woman. She learns that he is doing because of fear and learns to use his fear to her advantage by making him give her what she desires. She makes him feel guilty for hitting her so he buys her what ever she would like. She then gets married to a man that beats her as well. She then turns it around to make him give her what she wants just like she did to her father. Jane acted like this because of the mental and physical pain her father had been causing her. She always felt like she was never good enough for him, and that caused her to turn against him. When she got married, and her husband started to do the same thing, it caused her to turn against him as well. She then learned to use their emotions against them. When she learned to do this, they stopped beating her and she then got what she wanted. She was using their own emotions against them. If Jane’s father ever gets married, he will most likely beat his wife. She will either leave him or learn to use it against him like Jane. If she leaved then it will cause more mental damage than he already has. If she chooses to stay, she could learn to use it against him and still cause him more emotional trauma. The emotions he has that cause him to beat women need to be overcome. He should go see a psychologist and learn to overcome his fears. If he does this, then he will learn to overcome his fears and not beat women. Instead of Jane getting married, She decided to go to college.