The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

The Things They Carried Essay Some things in life become part of you. People, places, feelings; you can become so close that you are one. But sometimes, these things can consume you; swallow you whole. In Tim OBriens novel, The Things They Carried, many characters become one with the land of Vietnam. Vietnam consumes characters in different ways, but it always results in a characters unity with the land. Unity is defined as â€Å"the state of being one; oneness†. Kiowa physically becomes part of the land in â€Å"Speaking of Courage†, when he sinks into the shit field, where Jimmy Cross ordered his troops to camp out. In this case, Kiowa is literally swallowed by the land. Mary Anne becomes part of the land differently in â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong†. She becomes psychologically attached to the land; it consumes her mind and her life. Vietnam is dangerous and hungry. It will eat you alive. During Norman Bowkers flashback in â€Å"Speaking of Courage†, its learned that Jimmy Cross orders his platoon to camp out in â€Å"a big swampy field beside the river There was a ville nearby fifty meters downstream and right away a dozen old mama-sans ran out and started yelling bout how the field was bad news not a good spot for GIs. † (144, 145). Cross decides to set up camp, regardless, and â€Å"the rain kept getting worse by midnight the field turned into soup. † (145). A soldier soon realizes that â€Å"it was a shit field the village toilet. † (145). The Viet Cong troops attack the platoon, and hell breaks loose. â€Å" he heard somebody screaming It was Kiowa Kiowas wide open eyes settling down into the scum Kiowa was almost completely under There were bubbles where Kiowas should have been Kiowa was gone. † (148, 149). Kiowa gets sucked into the shit, and physically becomes part of Vietnam. Tim OBriens writing emphasizes Vietnam, the land itself, as a character. Vietnam does as it pleases; takes what it wants. It selfishly takes Kiowa away, so that both of them can be in unity until the end of time. However, unlike Kiowa, Mary Anne becomes psychologically one with Vietnam in â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong†. Rat Kiley tells a remarkable tale about an American war medic, Mark Fossie, who ships his girlfriend, Mary Anne, over to Vietnam to be with him. â€Å".. the guy sends her the money. Flies her over. This cute blonde just barely out of high school Comes right out to the boonies. † (90). The troops stationed at the medical base take a liking to Mary Anne; she reminds them of the girls back home. Time passes, and Mary Anne begins to evolve. Shes curious about everything, especially Vietnam; the people, the land and the war. â€Å"She was curious about things she liked to roam around asking questions She had a good quick mind The war intrigued her. The land, too, and the mystery. † (95, 96). Soon, Mary Anne hangs around with the elite Green Berets stationed at the medical base. She goes on ambush and patrols the wilderness with them. Mary Anne enters Vietnam as a naive child, but the land changes her into a brutal she-warrior. Vietnam infatuates her; it fills her body and soul with the desire to be free within its mysterious realm. â€Å" everything around it, the entire war, the mountains villages the trails and trees rivers and deep misted-over valleys Sometimes I want to eat this place. Vietnam. I want to swallow the whole country I just want to eat it and have it there inside me you cant feel like that anywhere else. † (111). Mary Anne loses herself to Vietnam. It consumes her, and she embraces it. She is bound to the land in perfect unity, until her dying day. â€Å"She had crossed to the other side. She was part of the land She was dangerous. She was ready for the kill. † (116). Vietnam is ravenous and can never satisfy its vicious hunger. It feeds on the minds, bodies, and souls of its prey by eating them alive. To be consumed by the land is to become one with it; joined in complete unity, both perfect and terrifying. Vietnam is shrouded in mystery and danger. If youre not careful, it may suck you in and never let you go.

Essay on Imagery, Language, and Sound in Whats That Smell in the Kitch

Imagery, Language, and Sound in What's That Smell in the Kitchen? Marge Piercy is an American novelist, essayist, and poet best known for writing with a trademark feminist slant. In "What's That Smell in the Kitchen?" Marge Piercy explores the way women are sometimes held in low esteem by men through the eyes of a tired housewife who has had it with her monotonous day- to-day duties. In this poem, it is not stated that the speaker is a homemaker, but the reader is told about one woman in particular who is meant to express the feelings of women as a whole. The author conveys this central idea through imagery, figurative language, and devices of sound. In the first lines of "What's That Smell in the Kitchen?" the author makes her point that women are burning dinners all over America. This gives us a general idea of what the poem will be about, yet it makes us want to read on to see why this would be happening; in other words, it triggers our curiosity. The author goes on to describe foods that are common to certain cities in the United States, bringing about a very gustatory and olfactory image in the mind of the reader. Following this, the author uses repetition to emphasize her introductory statement yet again, and adds an additional phrase, ". . . women are burning/food they're supposed to bring with calico/smile on platters glittering like wax." This statement is somewhat ironic, because it conveys an image of a very "false" woman, something like a mechanical doll or robot, or even like the flawless "model mom" figure of June Cleaver of the television series "Leave it to Beaver." Not only do we picture a woman in an apron with an artificial smile but Piercy alludes... ...ch can be interpreted as "Once I was first-rate with all the trimmings but now I'm low-class junk." Spam is a cheap processed meat whereas roast duck is assumed to be one of the best meats there is; therefore she has been cheapened or degraded by the lack of gratitude on the part of her spouse, and society. She is expressing the fact that society expects women to play the role of "little wife" with no concern for the individual's own interests. Also, the woman in the poem is comparing her drive to food, and since this poem is image-laden with war and food, we can say that Piercy is writing of a war with food, where women are using food as their primary weapon against men (the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!) It is in this way that Piercy develops her view that women are the lesser gender in the eyes of men and shares her refusal to conform.

Market Competitiveness Essay

Market competitiveness is the competitive edge an organization has over another. This competitive edge can range from employee salaries, growth, stock, and employee benefits. Competitive markets are good for companies to stay in business and to keep up with its competitors. Companies have to rationally establish a competitive edge by what the company can offer to exceed its competitors’ offers. This rationale usually comes from the company’s financial resources and if a company lacks financial resources the company has to develop alternatives. Each employee needs will be different and will look for many different things when looking for a job or career. There are hierarchies of employee needs that helps determine if the company will be a good fit for the employee. Some people need a good salary and not benefits and others need good benefits and a reasonable salary. Market Competitiveness Market competitiveness is when an organization has competition within the same category or market. In a competitive market, markets or organizations have to compete willingly and openly in order to be taken seriously in market competitiveness. Also by an organization being in a competitive market gives one an advantage over another. Organizations have to first research its competition to see what they are doing and to develop a better plan than their competitors. In a competitive market, the organizations have to understand how and why their competitors are able to do some things. For example, A. Offer competitive salaries,  B. Offer competitive training, C. Offer a good work facility, D. Offer growth within the company, and E. Offer a good work environment. Every employee has different needs and different aspects they for with in a company. An organization in a competitive market has to develop a rational salary structure and use the resources it has to appeal to the employees as well as potential candidates. According to Muthoo and Mutuswami (May 2011), â€Å"Moreover, increasing the competition beyond a certain degree increases the distance between the first-best and second-best levels of efficiency.† Market competitiveness has many aspects that aids with developing as well as considering the concept of market competitiveness in a pay system, competitive salaries and lack of financial resources, and alternative approaches. Concept of Market Competitiveness in a Pay System The concept of market competitiveness in relation to an organization’s pay system is developed by the company’s internal factors and external factors. The internal factors consist of salary rates currently, job value, job need, and employee need. The external factors consist of laws, the current market, and market need. According to Martocchio (2011, pg 150), â€Å"Market-competitive pay systems represent companies’ compensation policies that fit the imperatives of competitive advantage.† Companies have to develop some type of pay system or structure in order to remain competitive in the market. A salary structure is a good way for a company to determine if a hierarchy would help with determining market competitiveness. The internal and external factors aid the company with developing a hierarchy of jobs and their salaries. Competitive Salaries and Lack of Financial Resources Competitive salaries are very good ways of scouting or seeking for employees. In the economy today, candidates are looking for the best or the most competitive salary possible to be or feel financial stable. The reason for this is because people like to be financial stable more so than stress free. The position could be very stressful but if it pays enough someone would apply for the job. According to Martocchio (2011, pg150), â€Å"Market-competitive pay systems play a significant role in attracting and retaining the most qualified employees.† Most companies are unable to offer its employees market competitive salaries because of lack of financial resources. Companies have to be in a positive place or the companies’ financial budget has to be in order to offer competitive salaries. The lack of resources can come from the company having a bad year, someone miss managing the company’s funds, or simply a slow turnover. Many companies now set budgets for new positions that need to be filled by a certain date and time by using a financial forecasting system. Alternative Approaches The alternative approaches are the other ways the compensation for jobs or positions can be determined. Some of the alternative approaches are currently used to aid with justifying a positions value and need. A few alternative approaches for a company that has limited financial resources are: Step 1: Deciding a number of pay structures,  Step 2: Determining a market pay base, Step 3: Defining pay grades or levels, Step 4: Calculating pay ranges, and Step 5: Evaluating the results. According to Martocchio (2011, pg 151), â€Å"Compensation professionals create market-competitive pay based on four activities: A. Conducting strategic analysis, B. Assessing competitors’ pay practices with compensation surveys, C. Integrating the internal job structure with external market pay rates, and D. Determining compensation policies. Conclusion In conclusion, market competitiveness is the competitive edge an organization has over another. Market competitiveness is when an organization has competition within the same category or market. The concept of market competitiveness in relation to an organization’s pay system is developed by the company’s internal factors and external factors. Competitive salaries are very good ways of scouting or seeking for employees. The alternative approaches are the other ways the compensation for jobs or positions can be determined.

Creating Effective Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

Teachers are faced with writing objective tests and quizzes throughout the year. The main types of objective questions that teachers typically choose to include are multiple choice, matching, true-false, and fill-in-the-blank. Most teachers attempt to get a mix of these types of questions in order to best cover the objectives that were part of the lesson plan. Fill-in-the-blank questions are a common type of question due to their ease of creation and usefulness in classes across the curriculum. They are considered an objective question because there is only one possible answer that is correct. Questions Stems: who (is, was)what (is)when (did)where (did) These stems are typically used to measure a wide variety of relatively simple skills and specific knowledge. These include the: Knowledge of termsKnowledge of principles, methods, or proceduresKnowledge of specific factsSimple interpretation of data There are a number of advantages to fill-in-the-blank questions. They provide an excellent means for measuring specific knowledge, they reduce guessing by the students, and they force the student to supply the answer. In other words, teachers can get a real feel for what their students actually know. These questions work well across a variety of classes. Following are a few examples: Math teachers use these questions when they want the student to provide the answer without showing their work. Example: -12 7 _____.Science and Social Studies teachers can use these questions to easily assess whether students have learned basic concepts. Example: The atomic number of Oxygen is _____.Language Arts teachers can use these questions to identify quotes, characters, and other basic concepts. Example: I am the Canterbury Tales pilgrim who was married five times. _____.Foreign language teachers find these types of questions useful because they allow the teacher to judge not only the students understanding of a particular word but also how it should be written. Example: Jai _____ (hungry). Constructing Excellent Fill-In-The-Blank Questions Fill-in-the-blank questions seem quite easy to create. With these types of questions, you do not have to come up with answer choices as you do for multiple choice questions. However, even though they appear to be easy, realize that there are a number of issues that might arise when creating these types of questions. Following are some tips and suggestions that you can use as you write these questions for your class assessments. Only use fill-in-the-blank questions for testing major points, not specific details.Indicate the units and degree of precision expected. For example, on a math question whose answer is a number of decimal places, make sure that you say how many decimal places you want the student to include.Omit only keywords.Avoid too many blanks in one item. It is best to only have one or two blanks for students to fill in per question.When possible, put blanks near the end of the item.Do not provide clues by adjusting the length of the blank or the number of blanks. When you have finished constructing the assessment, be sure to take the assessment yourself. That will help you be certain that each question has only one possible answer. This is a common mistake that often leads to extra work on your part. Limitations of Fill-In-The-Blank Questions There are a number of limitations that teachers should understand when using fill-in-the-blank questions: They are poor for measuring complex learning tasks. Instead, they are typically used for general knowledge questions on the lowest levels of Blooms Taxonomy.They must be written very specifically and carefully (as with all items).A word bank can provide accurate information just as well as an assessment without a word bank.Students who are poor spellers might experience problems. It is important for you to decide if that spelling is going to count against the student and if so for how many points. Student Strategies for Answering Fill-in-the-Blank Do not answer a question until you have read it all the way through.Always do the easiest and most obvious questions first.Pay attention to the language of the question (verb tense) as a cluePay attention to a word bank (if one is provided) and use the process of eliminationRead through after each answer to make sure it sounds right.