A Book Report On Go Ask Alice English Literature Essay

A Book Report On Go Ask Alice English Literature Essay Alice is the main character. She is the writer of the diary. Alice is fifteen years old and dies when she just turned 17. Her name is not known, her name is not mentioned in the book, so the gave her the name Alice. She is very shy, and not self-confident. Especially in the beginning of the story, she is not very happy with her weight and it takes a long time to find new friends when they move to another city. After she meets a lot of people and did a lot of things, she learned very much. She is really growing up during the story. She gets a lot of life-experience which gives her more self-confidence. Drugs make her feel like shes got a place in the world. In the end everything is going well, she finally got what she wants and she finally turned her back to drugs. But than she dies at the age of seventeen. Quotes and examples: I dont know why I have to be so insecure and frightened. I havent even known Fawn very long and yet Im almost jealous of all her other friends. I think theyre prettier and smarter and that no one really wants me around which is pretty stupid since they keep inviting me over there all the time. I guess Im just a jerk. I just hope none of them has heard all the rotten stories that went around about me. b) Chris is a very good friend of Alice. Together, the move to San Francisco, and start a new life. Chris is a nice girl, but she also uses a lot of drugs. Joel is a student at the university where Alices father works. She met him at the library, and after their meeting, they are very close friens. Joel is a very nice guy, he works hard, but also wants to be with Alice. He is very faithful to Alice. Even when she uses a lot of drugs. c) Tim and Alexandria (Alices brother and sister) Alices parents Alices grand-parents -Richie Ted Roger A couple of people at Alices school -Gerta -Beth 5. Message While reading the book you can learn more about drugs and drug addiction. You also can learn that you never should use drugs. I think the writer, Alice, has written this story because she was writing a diary about her drug addiction. I think the editors have made a book of Alices diary, to show everyone the dangerous of drugs. The hidden message is conveyed to the reader, because Alice, a drug addict herself tells about her experiences with drugs. The most experiences are tragic. And it shows that you never should use drugs. Quotes: The garbage that goes with drugs makes the price too goddamned high for anyone to pay. After youve had it, there isnt even life without drugs. Its a prodding , colourless, dissonant bare existence. When I go into counselling Im really going to try to make kids see that getting into drugs simply isnt worth the bull shit! B: YOUR OPINION: 1. Which character(s) did you like? Joel and Chris Joel: A student of the school where Alice s father works. Alice can trust him, she can tell him everything and he is very faithful. Chris: Chris, is a very good friend of Alice. Shes a nice girl. She wants to support Alice. The girls van trust each other and move together to San Francisco. Quotes and examples: Joel: I met a boy in the library today. His name is Joel Reems and he; s a freshman. We studied together, then he walked me over to daddys office. Daddy was so busy, so we sat on the front steps of his building and waited for him. I decided to not pretend to Joel, but just to tell the truth about myself and let him take it or leave it (well almost all the truth). I told him I was only sixteen and just had library privileges because of my dad. He s really a very sweet guy, because he just laughed and said that it was all right because he hadnt planned to ask me to marry him this semester anyway. When dad came out, he sat on the steps for a while and the three of us talked like we had known each other always. It was great! Before Joel left he asked me when Id be studying again and I said that I spent my entire waking hours studying, which seemed to please him. Chris: Chris feels a little guilty but Im delighted that we turned on again, we belong to the world! The world belongs to us! 2. Which character did you dislike? Richie and a couple of people of Alice s school. Richie used Alice, and make her use more drugs. He was not good for Alice. I also disliked a couple of people of Alices school. The people threw drugs in her bag and in her food. These are the children who bullied her. Examples and quotes: Richie: Richie and I never go anywhere. Its almost a ritual for him to pick me up, spend a few minutes with my parents and then rush over to the apartment he shares with Ted. I really wish we could be together stoned every night, but he only let me come over when he restocks my acid supply and gives me enough grass and barbs to last me until I see him again. People of Alices school: I was walking home from the store and a carload of kids pulled up beside me and began shouting things like: well, if it isnt easy lay, Mary Pure. No, its Miss Fink Mouth. Miss super Fink Mouth. Miss Double Triple Fink Mouth. I wonder what would happen if we stashed some shit in her old mans car? Wouldnt that be great having her father, the professor, picked up? Then they called me every rotten name in the book and roared of laughing hysterically, leaving me some emotionally crushed and battered and beaten. I think theyre just threatening me, trying to drive me crazy. But who knows? 3. What did you feel when you read the story? It was very beautiful, but also exciting to read Alices first drug-experience. Beautiful: She describes it, as something wonderful, a beautiful experience. But I felt also excited, because I knew that, this first experience was the reason for her whole drug addiction. Examples and quotes: My whole body was tense at every muscle and a feeling of weird apprehension swept over me, strangled me, suffocated me. When I opened my eyes, I realized that it was just Bill who had put his arm around my shoulder. Lucky you, he was saying in a slow-motioned record on the wrong speed voice, but dont worry, Ill baby-sit you. This will be a good trip. Come on, relax, enjoy it. He caressed my face and neck tenderly, and said, Honestly, I wont let anything bad happen to you. Suddenly he seemed to be repeating himself over and over like a slow-motioned echo chamber. I started laughing, wildly hysterically. It struck me as the funniest, most absurd thing I had ever heard. Then I noticed the strange shifting patterns on the ceiling. Bill pulled me down and my head rested in his lap as I watched the pattern change to swirling colours, great fields of reds, blues and yellows. I tried to share the beauty with the others, but my words came out soggy, wet and dripping or tasting of colour. I pulled myself up and began walking, feeling a slight chill which crept inside as well as outside my body. I wanted to tell Bill, but all I could do was laugh. Soon whole trains of thought started to appear between each word. I had found the perfect and true and original language, used by Adam and Eve, but when I tried to explain, the words I used had little to do with my thinking. I was losing it, it was slipping out of my grasp, this wonderful and priceless and true thing which must be saved for posterity. I felt terrible and finally I couldnt talk at all and slumped back onto the floor, closed my eyes and the music began to absorb me physically. I could smell it and touch it and feel it as well hear it. Never had anything ever been so beautiful. It was a part of every single instrument, literally a part. Each note had a character, shape and colour all its very rest of the score so that I could consider its relationship to the whole composition, before the net note sounded. My mind possessed the wisdom of the ages and there were no words adequate to describe them 4. What is your favourite part? My favourite part of the book, is the part where Alice met Joel and she felt in love with him. This is almost the only happy thing in Alices life. Joel supports her. And never let her down. 5. What do you think about the theme? Yes, I know a bit more about drugs addiction now. I new a lot about drug addiction before reading the book. But now I saw this theme through the eyes of a drug addict. And while reading this book, I know that I never will use drugs. The writer made the message clear by telling that you can easily become an addict and that it may become your death. And that its not always a nice experience when you use drugs. I think this message is very important. Especially because more people are using drugs. Drugs arent good for your health and you can get addicted. So less people should use drugs. 6. Questions to the writer. -What do you think of the people who edit you diary? Dont you think your privacy is violated, now the whole world can read through your feelings and memories? -That final overdose, was it accidentally, or intentional? -What would you do when you were still alive? -I would like to know this answer because Alice didnt edit her diary herself. She never knew that her diary has become a book. -I would like to know this answer because, when you read the part of the final overdose, you dont know if it was accidentally or intentional. -I would like to know this answer because, Alice is now dead. But I wonder when she was still alive, would she go further with her drug addiction or would she go searching for help and start a new life. C: THE SUMMARY Summary: Page 1-19 At the 16th of September Alice starts writing her diary. Her boyfriend Roger has broken up with her. She felt like her whole world collapsed. But then everything seems to be better, she and her parents would move to another city. She decided to start a new happy life. She wanted to change. And she wanted to lose pounds and started a died. Alice is a bit afraid to move and isnt sure if this is the right decision. At the 4th of January they moved. She thinks the house is beautiful. She didnt like her first school day. No one had spoken to her. But a few days later she found a miserably, nobody friend named Gerta. Then she met a Jewish girl, Beth. Who she thinks is really nice and she can trust her. Page 20-39 In the summer Beth has to go on a Jewish summer camp. Alice goes in the summer to her grandparents. Jill asked Alice to go to an Autograph party. The people at Jills party had done something in her drink. This became her first drug experience. Alice went on a date with Bill. He introduces her torpedos and speed. She had used it. Her grandpa has had a little heart attack. Jill invited Alice to a party. But she uses her grandparents as excuse. Bill called her to go on a date. Her grandmother insists her to go out. But she only want to baby sit when he wants a trip. But when she was at Bills house she decided to go on a last trip. She isnt no longer a virgin anymore. Shes afraid that shes pregnant. She wanted to go home. But her mom and dad thought that she should wait until next week to come home. Roger came by with his parents to visit Alice and her grandparents. Roger kissed her. Alice finally goes to her home. Roger wrote her a letter asking her if she was all right. But she hadnt got the energy to answer him. She got to see the doctor. He gave her sleeping pills. Her period started. So she wasnt pregnant. Now she can throw away her sleeping pills. Beth came back from camp. But shes hardly the same person. Roger is definitely going to the military school. Page 40-59 He went with Chris to the town to drink some coffee. Chris gave Alice a red candy type thing. And told her to use it so she would feel better. Chris is going to try that Alice gets a job with her. Alice got the job. She had to take Dexies to stay high at school and at work and on dates and to do her homework. Chris and Alice are ready to cut out. Chris has a friend in San Francisco who could help them get a job. She smoked pot for the first time. And she thought that is was even greater than she expected. Richie gave Alice some joints to smoke when shes alone. Alice and Chris are thinking about quitting their jobs. Alices deeply in love with Richie and she wanted to spend as much time with him as she can. Alice and Chris sold drugs for getting some money. Richie only lets Alice come over to restock her acid supply.Shes pushing at high school. She even sold drug to the kids on the grade school. She found Richie and Ted in their apartment making love to each other. Chris and Alice decided its impossible to change while theyre hereso theyre going to cut out and go to San Francisco. Alice decided that she has got to turn Richie in to the police. Alice was sneaking off in the middle of the night to Salt lake city and San Francisco. Its hard for Chris and Alice to find a job. Alice took a job in some crappy little lingerie store. Alice is getting more homesick every day. She thought of going home, when she wasnt so afraid of Richie. She quitted her Job and was looking for a more interesting one. She got a job, by a Mario Mellani shop. She likes her new job. Mr. Mellani invited her to go to his home. She liked it. Shelia invited Chris and Alice to a party. At Shelias party Alice smelled something, it was a joint. One of the men passed her a joint. Shelia has parties almost every night. And Chris and Alice are always invited. They nearly always using her place as a crash pad. Rod, Shelias current boyfriend introduced them to heroin. At first they were a little afraid. But they did use it. Then Alice realized that Rod and Shelia had taken turns raping Chris and Alice and treating them sadistically and brutally. Chris and Alice decided to leave this screwed up scene. They decided that they maybe should start a shop close to Berkeley. Page 60- 79 They found a new home, close to Berkeley. They made a shop of the half part of the apartment. The showroom looks adorable. Theyre doing good business. Alice is thinking a lot about going home. She wanted to go home around Christmas. Alice called her mother. She was so glad to hear something from Alice. And Alice told her that they did be back on the first plane. Shes glad to be home again and see her mom, dad, grandparents, brother and sister. Alice wanted to be sure that Richie and Ted dropped out. Alice felt grown-up. Her mom and that were planning a New-years party. It was really fun. Alice started school again. Joe came to her asking if she was holding. She was almost forgotten that so short a time ago she was a pusher. Alices family and Chris spent the weekend in the mountains. It was really great. Lane insisted Alice to get him a new contact. He made her promise to get at least a lit for tonight. George took Alice on a date, but it was all ruined because Joe and Lane were in her head tonight. She had used drugs again. Lane was hit. Alices mom and dad sent her to a headshrinker. Lane was sent to a lock-in, dry-out school. Alice got high and left home with some other kids. When shes in some town, she cant find any of the kids she came with. She went to a church. The people helped her. She got a shower, clothes and food. She met Doris in the doctors waiting room. She said that Alice could come share her pad. Doris had a whole can of pot. Page 80-89 Doris went really low. Alice and Doris ran out of pot and money. They were hungry. Alice caught a cold. She was very sick. Alice and Doris wanted to cut out of that asinine assed place. They wanted to go to a rally in Southern California. They got a ride. But the truck driver threaded them badly. So they took another ride. The rally in Southern California itself was great. Acid, booze and pot as free as the air. Alice had to have sex, if she didnt, her supply would be cut off. Alice talked to and old priest who really understood young people. He called her mom and dad. The still loved her and came to get her. If Alice is out of school she wants to help people like her. Page 90-109 Alice started a new diary. Alice thought that drugs werent worth the bull shit. Her grandparents came to visit her. They looked much older. She wanted to make her grandparents proud again. She had to go back to school again. While Alice was lying on her bed, planning her mothers birthday, she got a sort of awful flash back, that she would rather forget. Jan asked Alice to go to a party, but she said:no thanks. Alices grandpa had had a stroke. Her grandpa is doing worse. Hes in a coma. Than her grandpa died. Someone had put a joint into Alices purse. She was scared. Alice met Joel at the school library. He walked every day with her to her dads office. Joel came over to Alices home. It became a fantastic evening. Her dad is trying to get Joel a scholarship. Page 110-129 Jan came over and wanted to baby sit. But she was really stoned. So Alice called her parents. Jan told something to everyone at school. So everyone looked and laughed at her. Alice acted like she was sick, so she didnt had to go to school. Alice met Marcie in the supermarket. She asked Alice to go to a party. But Alice said:No thank you. At the 16th of June, Alices grandmother died in her sleep. Joel gave her Alice a lot of strength and offered her to go to the funeral. When Joel left, he kissed her on the lips for the very first time. Alice was one day walking on the street when some guy she even didnt knew grabbed her and kissed her. It was very humiliating. She was very frightened. Her mother wanted to drive her to the university to see Joel. And Alice told him everything. But he understood her. Then she went in some kind of hospital jail. Her hands were completely damaged. Alice found out how she got the acid. Her dad says that someone put it on the chocolate covered peanuts. She thought that she had worms all over her. So when she tried to put them off, she had hurt herself. Alice got a package of letters from Joel. Alice had to go to a youth center, a crazy house. She was scared. Page 130-149 At the youth center were a lot of crazy people. She got to talk to Dr. Miller. He told her that no one could help her in the youth center. She first had to admit that she had a problem. When they were in the recreation room. Alice asked Babbie to talk in her room. But Babbie thought that Alice wanted sex with her. After school she had group therapy. But she didnt said much. Her mom and dad came to visit her. She had a session with doctor Miller. She told him about her social work plans. He said that she must talk to other kids about their backgrounds. They went swimming with everyone. In the bus Alice was sitting next to Margie. She asked Alice to go with her and take off. Alices mom and dad came to visit her again and brought a letter from Joel. Alice could finally go to home. She was happy to be at her house again. Her dad had to go to work at somewhere else. But theyre not going through Chicago after all. Theyre making staff changes at the university and her Dad has got to get back. Page 150-159 Alice met Fawn at the store and she invited Alice to come over and go swimming in their pool. Alices old piano teacher asked her to be a solist at her outstanding student recital. She got another letter from Joel. He cant wait to see her. Alice went to a party of Fawn. It was great. Frank asked Alice out. But she said that she was too busy with family things. Joel was visiting her at her home. He kissed her again. She had to go to school again. But shes scared. She decided not keeping a diary anymore. Alice died three weeks after she decided not keeping a diary anymore. Her parents found her dead. If it was an accidental overdose or a premeditated overdose, no one knows. Expectations: I expected that everything would came good with Alice. I expected that she would do anything to stay away from the drugs. The book didnt end the way I had expected. Alice died instead of everything would be good. I would have liked it to end in a different way. I would have liked it that Alice was still alive. And that she good live her life further without drugs. Overall opinion: I liked the book, because while reading this book I know a lot more about drugs. I also liked the book because you can see everything through the eyes of a drug addict. And normally you only hear stories about drugs from people who have never used drugs.

Redemption in Hard Times :: Dickens Hard Times Essays

Redemption in Hard Times Now, it is to be approached the redemption aspect in Hard Times. The main character, which will be in redemption, is Grandgrind. He is introduced at the beginning of the novel as: The speaker's square finger emphasized his observations by underscoring every sentence with a line on the schoolmaster's sleeve. The emphasis was helped by the speaker's square wall of forehead, which had his eyebrows for its base, while his eyes found commodious cellarage in two dark caves, overshadowed by the wall. The emphasis was helped by the speaker's mouth, which was wide, thin, and hard set. The emphasis was helped by the speaker's voice, which was inflexible, dry, and dictatorial.... [Hard Times. Ch.1] From the description above, it is expected to find a hard person with a calculating mind. He emphasizes on reason, not emotions. His character probably points at Utilitarianism in nineteen-century system, especially in the educational field. The system stresses on educating the mind, without the heart; it teaches to "Stick to Facts"[Hard Times. Ch.1], as Mr. Grandgrind lectures his student. On the basis of his philosophy, his daughter Louisa marries an elder man, who is Mr. Bounderby, for the sake of her brother. She married him because her brother asks her to. As a result of this decision she made, she lives with Mr. Bounderby unhappy till they separate. Tom, Louisa's brother, acts careless and steals Mr. Bounderby. Tom wanted to live different of how he was raised, and that lead him to be cruel to his sister and at the end a thief. Mr. Grandgrind system, produce another catastrophe, who is Bitzer, a student in his school. He becomes a spy to Mr. Bounderby, and he then hunt Tom down, when he tried to flee not to be put to jail for his crime. Grandgrind redemption does not begin when Louisa converse with him. She inquires from him if he is asking her to love Mr. Bounderby. He falls in perplexity, till he finds a way to get back to his facts and numbers. Her discussion with him went to vein. Mr. Grandgrind awakes when he finds out that Tom stole the money. His point of view to life changes then, especially when he knows that the circus people, who he always thought of as un-realistic people, helped his son.

Planning a Database for a Library :: Papers

I first needed to know who I was doing it for. It was the librarian at my school Mrs Flude she wanted to keep the information where it was safe and easy to access which would make it faster for her and the students. The two main problems of the current system are: 1st problem: They have to use an index to find books, and this is slow and very inefficient. 2nd problem: They use a card index to keep all the information needed about the students and to keep track of which students have books, this method is not reliable because you can mess up or mix up the cards or lose them and it also takes a long time which leads to inefficiency. The solution to fixing these problems is creating a database; a database is a collection of information stored in a computer in a systematic way, such that a computer program can consult it to answer questions. Before I started using the computer to make my database, I made a rough copy of what I wanted my database to look like and how it would function. It was a table which I had to fill in with information about my database. I wanted my database to be reliable and fast, to make it fast I had to make it simple and easy to use. To do this I divided it into 3 sections which are: 1) Student’s database- it would have all the names of the students in the school. 2) Book’s database- this would have all the books in the library 3) Issued books database- this would show which books were borrowed and who borrowed. They have to use a card index to keep all the information needed about the students and to keep track of which students have which books. It would be a lot easier to use a database though, for several reasons, one of which a card based index can get messed up very easily.

Banal Evil

Murder often makes a persons blood boil and ask the question, â€Å"How can someone do that to someone else? † Most of time when a gruesome act of violence happens people wonder, â€Å"What kind of human being does it take to do something like that? † Truman Capote’s book, In Cold Blood, is about such an act of violence; a murder that, when the reader walks away, only registers a banal. The killing of the Clutter family, which happened in 1959 in the town of Holcomb, Kansas, blew most people away with its senselessness and horror. Capote, however, writes the story with personal background on the killers, making them human and giving the reader, something most people do not get to hear or even care to know, a reason to the mindless murders. Evil is easily banalized when there is a story to go along with it. At the beginning of In Cold Blood the Clutters murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, are â€Å"persons unknown† elevating them to a state of inhuman, mythical form. The town of Holcomb, a small quite place where nothing happens, is suddenly shaken and view Smith and Hickock as motiveless evil that has come down to destroy the peaceful life the community has. This hitherto peaceful congregation of neighbors and old friends had suddenly to endure the unique experience of distrusting each other; understandably, they believe that the murderer was among themselves† (88). This quote shows the havoc that is wreaked on the security of town, fragmenting the community into suspicion. They, as the town, fall from grace, a loss of their former innocence, as they are forced to confront the reality of the killers and the world they represent. However, as the book moves on so does the readers point of view, from one of the townspeople to that of the killers. Capote replaces the simplistic view to a more sensitive interpretation exploring the physiological, material, and environmental circumstances that are the catalyst for Smith and Hickock to commit murder. Smith, the reader is told, is the child of an extremely abusive household in which is subjected to alcoholism, the suicidal deaths of his two siblings and mother, abandonment, no formal education, etc. Describing his father Smith says, â€Å"But no education, because he didn’t want me to learn anything, only how to tote and carry for him. Dumb. Ignorant. That’s the way he wanted me to be. So that I could never escape him† (185). Smith clearly hates his father and blames him for the situation he is in now; not having an education is something that Smith seems very occupied with and resents in people around him. Hickock on the other had seems to come from a poor, but good family. Being the star athlete in high school, with good grades to boot, Hickock seems to have had a normal life. However, he is in the constant mindset of envy of money/power. Envy was constantly with him [Hickock]; the Enemy was anyone who was someone he wanted to be or who had anything he wanted to have† (200). The Clutters, in contrast, were â€Å"the perfect family†. Extremely wealthy, well to do, and educated they were a symbol of everything the murderers wanted. With the envies in toe, Smiths being education and Hickock's being money/power, the Clutters were the perfect family for the two murders to let their rage out o n. Knowing Hickock's and Smiths backgrounds, the reader now has something to empathize with and to mold into some type of understanding. The killers are being transformed from heartless, cold-blooded murders to frightful and pitiful individuals. The crime itself is boiled down to pure emotional responses. Stephen J. Whitfield compares the emotions of the Clutter murders to that of Adolf Eichmann, the man who â€Å"directed the transportation of the Jews of Nazi-occupied Europe to their death (496)†, in the book The History Teacher. â€Å"Between such multiple murders and Eichmann, some parallel can perhaps be traced in terms of the absence of any human connection, any remorse, any emotional weight to be attached to their crimes. They were frighteningly estranged form the rest of the human race† (473). Whitfield brings up any interesting point, which Smith brings up latter in the book. The fact that Smith and Hickock are so separated from the human race is something that not only scares the reader, but also puts the murders in a different light. Though remorse is thought of as the road to forgiveness, Smith makes a point that most do not think of. â€Å"Just remember: I only knew the Clutters maybe an hour. If I’d really known them, I guess I’d feel different†¦But the way it was, it was like picking off targets in a shooting gallery† (291). Capote does not mean to excuse Smith and Hickock from their action, but he does show how ordinary feelings of frustration and despair can erupted into vicious acts of murder. Smith explains it by saying, â€Å"And it wasn’t because of anything the Clutters did. They never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it’s just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it† (290). In fact, during the murders, Smith even talks about his frustration and self-loathing that finally lead him to kill Mr. Clutter. â€Å"I knelt down beside Mr. Clutter, and the pain of kneeling-I thought of that goddam dollar. Silver dollar. The shame. Disgust. And they’d told me never to come back Kansas. But I didn’t realize what I’d done till I heard the sound† (245-246). The murder comes as an automatic response to the memory of other frustrations and insults Smith has endured, of which the Clutter house is a symbol of. Another idea that Capote makes the reader take into fact is that Hickock and Smith were not inspired to murder due to literal hatred of the Clutters, but a misdirected frustration and resentment that finds a symbolic object in the Clutters and the values that they represent. â€Å"I [Smith] didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat† (244). The family is unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of this furry, but they are by no means the source. The fact that Capote also brings in the psychologist goes to further legitimize that the murders had no control over their actions. â€Å"When Smith attacked Mr. Clutter her was under a mental eclipse, deep inside a schizophrenic darkness† (302). Smith was acting out of his medical incapacity to manage his emotional response. However, though Capote throws all of these ideas and images at us he tries to humanize the murders and make their crimes seem ordinary because he feels that this situation could have happened to him. If one reads Capotes history, his life was not that much different from Smith. Capote touches on a human question of what people are capable of put in the right situation and the right environment. Saying that his event could happen to anyone, Capote places the readers brain on high alert and makes him or her consider his or her own situation. The evil of this crime, and of the criminals themselves, becomes banal due to Capote’s willingness to make it that way. He humanizes them in a way that no one else would. When the reader sees Hickock and Smith, they also see their past and motivations. The reader sees more then what they bargain for and, sometimes, even see themselves.

Stalin: man or monster?

Source A is very different to sources B and C. Stalin is shown standing by pyramids ‘visit Russia's pyramids'. The picture is symbolising the results of Stalin's policies in which many people died. Stalin is showing no emotion. Sources B and C are very similar in that they are both showing Stalin as a popular, liked man. In source B it shows him with some of the workers on a hydro-electric power station. Stalin looks very relaxed and casual standing with his hand in one pocket and holding his pipe. However, the painting is an official soviet painting so it was probably manipulated to make Stain look good with happy workers. Source C was taken by a soviet photographer so the picture was probably planned on purpose to show Stalin's popularity and to make it look like all the people adore him. Sources B and C give very similar impressions of Stalin, showing him as a loved man. Whereas source A gives the impression that he is a monster. Source D is a speech written by a writer to the congress of soviets in 1935. The speech was published in Pravda, the paper of the communist party. The fact that it was published in Russia in 1935 already tells us that this source has probably been manipulated in some way to make Stalin look better. The only reason people would lie about him is because they were terrified of him so they had no choice but to suck up to him or face execution. This article does show us how Stalin had many people terrified and you can see this in the source because of how fake and obsessed the writer is. However because of the purges most of the stuff written about him was propaganda. Therefore meaning the information is of little use as it is purely either opinion or fake. I believe that the fact Bukharin's speech is written after becoming a victim of the purges and the fact it's written in Paris, where he is out of Stalin's control makes his assessment more reliable. The writer expresses his anger and hatred towards Stalin. Yet I think the reason Bukharin's assessment is reliable is the fact that he was very close to Stalin in helping him against Trotsky. Nonetheless he then fell into disagreement with him and he became a victim of the purges, but managed to escape to Paris, in exile out of Stalin's reach, meaning he can not be caught and punished. Khrushchev's speech is talking about how distrustful and truthfully scared Stalin was. This assessment does match others in saying how terrorising and malicious Stalin could be. For instance, the purges were an example of how Stalin would block any threats and oppositions by destroying them. Furthermore the fact that the speech was delivered in 1956 after Stalin's reign also makes the speech more likely to be accurate and trustworthy. Source G is showing Stalin as the judge prosecuting 4 defendants. They are all sarcastically admitting what they have done as they know even if they plea ‘not guilty' they will still be sentenced. The fact they will be sentence no matter what is shown in the background of the picture where you can see the gallows. Source H shows Stalin in the court, but in every position or role. This illustrates how Stalin manipulated everyone in the soviet party. Stalin was in effect, the Judge, the Jury, the Witness, the Clerk and the prosecutor. They were called ‘show trials' for a reason, that they were for show. The defendant was already a ‘dead man' before he had entered the court. The trial was purely so Stalin could say, ‘I gave them a chance'. Both sources are very similar in that they both give the same message, that Stalin was always in charge and that there would always be the same outcome in the verdict. Source I is from a biography of Stalin published in 1947 in Russia. This shows that what was written was probably fake or inaccurate as it was during the purges, meaning that the author had the fear of execution. Source J on the other hand was written in 1974 in Britain long after Stalin's rule. This means what is said about him is more likely to be true as there would be no fear of being prosecuted. Also the cold war was going on in 1974 so Britain was fighting against Russia. Yet I believe this could mean that the assessment is exaggerated because of Britain's dislike towards Russia at the time. Although we know they both disagree about Stalin we deduce this because of when and where they were written and our knowledge of what would happen to people who spoke out about Stalin. Most of the evidence shown in the sources points to Stalin as being a monster. After studying and analysing sources, A, D, E, F, G, H, and J, they all show or explain how evil, malicious and cruel Stalin was. It is only sources, B, C, D and I, which are either praising or supporting him and this is only because the artists or writers are either terrified or their assessments have been manipulated in some way from fear of execution. Different sources of information I have read indicate that Stalin was a monster For instance, to start with Stalin stated his 5 year plans. They consisted of different aims: to provide machinery and other equipment to farmers, to catch up with the western world so they were less dependant on industrial goods from other countries and finally to produce more armaments so that Russia could defend itself from attack. Although these aims sounded good they never actually happened. Stalin then introduced the purges. This was simply to a way to get rid of any opposition or threats. Stalin would find someone that had been opposing him in someway (even if it was that they spoke better than he did). He would then have them put on trial (know as show trails) and they would be found guilty and executed, hence out of Stalin's way. The Purges claimed over 10 million people's lives. Collectivisation was introduced for people in each village to join their farms together to make one large collective farm (Kolkhoz). Every one as a whole would then be able to afford the machinery and be more efficient. Because no-one listened there was a famine so Stalin made collectivisation compulsory. Peasants hated the idea so killed all their livestock and burned all their crops. Those who had done what Stalin said proved that collectivisation had worked and that numbers in cows and grain had gone up approximately 10 million in 25 years, but it is debateable whether this was a huge success, to the extent that many lives were ruined and many livestock and crops destroyed. Stalin had many people employed to work on building dams and bridges. However, many of the workers were slaves and kulaks. Strikers were shot, and wreckers could be executed or imprisoned. Thousands died from accidents, starvation or weather. Housing and wages were terrible; they would have to do a certain amount of work in their shift or they would go without food. Stalin's 5 year plans also came into this, he would often set an aim to complete a dam in 1 year, then when it was finished he would congratulate the workers and say ‘as you did so well, you have two more dams to do in the same amount of time'. This would then continue on and on. On the other hand, it could be argued that there were things that Stalin did during his reign that did benefit Russia. During the war Stalin helped by co-ordinating the arms production and making sure everyone was fully equipped. He was also very good at bringing everyone together and motivating people to fight for their country. Although collectivisation was not a huge success it did increase some of the numbers of livestock and grain farmers were producing, which arguably means that the idea did work. He did also have some other achievements, such as: Turkestan-Siberian railroad, the Dneiper dam and the Belomor canal. Some of the sources do support Stalin and show him as an adored man. Even though we have been looking at how most of the assessments are likely to of been manipulated, Stalin would have had some followers that were with him and supported him when some of the pictures were taken. Throughout Stalin's reign there were many things that he did that were horrific and malicious that did make him a real monster and from the research that I have collected I believe him to be just that, yet there were some things that he did for Russia that were in his favour, the main one being that he did, at a heavy cost, bring Russia foreword along way, and that did make his seem like a real man.

Working with Youth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Working with Youth - Essay Example Without that belief, the young people will not be motivated enough to participate in challenges. Second, it is important to find useful positions for young people within the community. Providing meaningful contributions through such roles will help give young people the confidence they need. Third, groups must provide regular opportunities for young people to serve the community – at least one hour a week, but hopefully more. By providing an ongoing opportunity, these groups will build habits that will last a lifetime. Fourth, the group must provide a safe atmosphere where young people will feel the freedom to fail – and to get back up and succeed (Search Institute, 2011). The Tahoe SAFE Alliance is dedicated to eliminating violent behavior in teenagers. By focusing on such topics as mutual respect, self-esteem, and the traits of healthy relationships, this group seeks to undo much of the damage that has taken place in homes. There are several different elements to this groups curriculum, but the overriding theme is building an atmosphere of respect and dignity in which teens can reassemble their own self-concept and then move outward to work against violence wherever they find it (Tahoe SAFE Alliance,

The Career Aspirations of Michele Terry Case Study - 44

The Career Aspirations of Michele Terry - Case Study Example Last year, after discussions with her family and bank officer, Michele dropped the ambition of being the Executive Vice President. This led her to carefully reflect on her reasons for being a senior bank officer. These reasons are; money, status, and ability to develop financial policies that favor the community. This is the reason she decided to attend training on community reinvestment. The training enabled her to chair the new market development taskforce. She also used her experience to mentor young bank managers on career issues. The new work responsibilities have enabled Michele to effectively handle family matters. Her work motivation and satisfaction has also improved, as illustrated through her increasingly positive performance appraisal (Collings & Wood, 2009). The analysis of Michele’s work illustrates poor remuneration. This is because one of her reasons for the promotion if to get more monetary benefits. Her job design is appropriate; she has the opportunity of hiring new management staffs at the bank. The bank has a training and development program. Michele had the opportunity of improving her competencies through attending the community reinvestment training. Compensation and rewards are offered according to seniority at the company. The executive officers at the bank get the most competitive remuneration package (Conaty & Ram, 2011). The bank implements appropriate performance management measure. This is through the regular performance appraisal sessions. After the community reinvestment training, she received positive performance appraisals. The bank values positive employee relations. Michele illustrates the relations through guiding and counseling junior staffs, who eventually get promoted.