Cry The Beloved Country and Apartheid Essay - 1205 Words

The novel Cry the Beloved Country was a prophecy for the future of South Africa. It alludes to and sometimes even blatantly states the conditions necessary for the end of apartheid and the beginning of peace. South Africa in the 1940s was in trouble. Kumalo, a priest, was able to see through the prejudices of the world and assess the situation. When inconvenient to involve Kumalo in the investigation, the depth of South Africas disparity was illustrated directly through the stories of horrifying happenings in characters conversations. Finally, we see that Msimangu was Patons voice in the novel. When certain conditions were met Msimangu [and Paton] theorized that peace would finally be plausible in South Africa. As the reader begins†¦show more content†¦but at least [we are] free of an old ignorant man, who is nothing but a white mans dog (CTBC, p67). And so new conflict is presented: the black mans struggle against the white mans oppression. It is also established that its r esolution definitely does not lie in the reunification of the tribe: It is breaking apart, your tribal society. It is here in Johannesburg that the new society is being built (CTBC, p67). Despite these setbacks, Kumalo remained steadfast in his principles and manner of speech regardless of where he was and who he was talking with.(abstract) For instance, he maintained his politeness in spite of the ramifications of his brothers iconoclastic suggestions (as illustrated above): ...who knows what angry words might have been spoken, but Stephen Kumalo was quick to intervene. Here is the tea, my brother. That is kind of you (CTBC, p69) Somewhat similarly, when he is speaking with Absoloms to-be wife, he loses himself briefly, but returns adamant to correct his errors according to his principles: I am sorry... I am ashamed that I asked you such a question... do you truly wish to marry my son? (CTBC, p147) These constants allow us to view all parts of the book from a single perspective and follow the progression of thought as if it were our own. Therefore, the power of Kumalos ability to assess the situation at hand in a valid and believable way provides the facts and issues the prophecies of this book are meant toShow MoreRelatedApartheid and The Future of South Africa in Cry, The Beloved Country1044 Words   |  5 PagesArthur, Napoleon, and Msimangu, all characters from Alan Paton’s book, Cry, The Beloved Country, are used to share Paton’s points of view on the future of South Africa and the apartheid. Paton uses these characters to represent specific views; Arthur expresses clearly that the apartheid isn’t the right way to progress as a country, Napoleon exemplifies how Paton thinks people should take the anti-apartheid effort, and Msimangu explicitly expresses Paton’s ideas of an ideal leader. Arthur JarvisRead MoreCry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton696 Words   |  3 PagesCry, the Beloved Country is a novel with remarkable lyricism written by Alan Paton. Born as a white South African, Alan Paton grew up during a time period marked by racial inequality and later became an activist against apartheid. He was a devout Christian so many of his writings reflect Christian faith. As an activist, he wrote many books about South Africa and racial injustice. While traveling around Europe, he began writing Cry, the Beloved Country, which was published in 1948. That same yearRead More Cry the Beloved Country Movie versus Film Essay1055 Words   |  5 Pages Cry, the Beloved Country is a moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom. They live in an Africa torn apart by racial tensions and hate. It is based on a work of love and hope, courage, and endurance, and deals with the dignity of man. The author lived and died (1992) in South Africa and was on e of the greatest writers of that country. His other works include Too Late the Phalarope, Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful, and Tales from a Troubled Land. The book was madeRead MoreSouth Africa And South African Literature Essay1487 Words   |  6 PagesAfter the end of World War II, new ideals began to encroach on South Africa. One of these new ideas was Apartheid, the idea that the races should be separate. This idea quickly became practiced in everyday life and became included in the laws governing South Africa. As one can imagine this ideal also invaded the literature written in South Africa and South African writers. In order to develop Apartheid, the creation of an â€Å"other† was necessary, which established a type of â€Å"us† versus â€Å"them† mentalityRead MoreCry, The Beloved Country By Alan Paton1155 Words   |  5 Pages Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a stunning and all too accurate depiction of apartheid in South Africa. Even though the novel centers on John Kumalo and his struggling family, it subtly shows the social going ons of South Africa supposedly in 1948, when the book was writt en. Strong examples of this come across in the choral chapters of the novel. These chapters give voice to the people of South Africa. Chapter nine shows the struggles of being black during apartheid, chapter 12 shows theRead MoreRacial Morals in Cry, The Beloved Country Essay1531 Words   |  7 PagesRacial Morals in Cry, The Beloved Country Discrimination against people who are different can be identify in every country around the world. People of every sex, color, religion, and in this case, ethnicity are tormented. In the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s apartheid was an emanate injustice throughout the land of South Africa. Apartheid was the governments rigid policy racial segregation between white Europeans and black natives. The officialRead MoreAnalysis Of Cry, The Beloved Country1324 Words   |  6 PagesAnalyzing the race relationships between characters in Not Either and Experimental Doll and Cry, the Beloved Country certainly brings the social culture of 1940s/50s South Africa to light. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, the push for a personal relationship between an African girl and white woman results in a clear division of social statuses. Cry, the Beloved Country, however, depicts a personal relationship between a black man and a white man that results in mutual respect and understandingRead MoreAnalysis Of Stephen Kumalos Cry, The Beloved Country1284 Words   |  6 PagesIn Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton details a gripping story of Stephen Kumalo’s search for his son while conveying significant ideas regarding the social injustice and integrated racism of South Africa during the segregation of apartheid. Paton structures his story around revolving points of view and maintaining a sometimes simplistic or lyrical language specific to varying parts of the novel to express his message of the disintegration of faith coming from new experiences, distinctively hardshipsRead More History Of Aparthied as It Refers To Cry the Beloved Country1029 Words   |  5 Pageshis speeches was one of hope, which is the only thing the people of Ndotshemi have to thrive on (Chokshi). Alan Paton, the author of Cry the Beloved Country, also believed in hope bringing together the land of South Africa. There are many similarities between the novel and the real life occurrences of the South African Apa rtheid. In the book or in the real life Apartheid, someone came into the scene that was willing to help by assuming a leadership role, whether it is Nelson Mandela or an agriculturalRead MoreRace And Personal Relationships During 1950s / 50s South Africa1361 Words   |  6 Pages1940s/50s South Africa Analyzing the race relationships between characters in Not Either and Experimental Doll and Cry, the Beloved Country really brings the social culture of 1940s/50s South Africa to light. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, the push for a personal relationship between an African girl and white woman results in a clear division of social statuses. Cry, the Beloved Country, however, depicts a personal relationship between a black man and a white man that results in mutual respect and

The Twilight Saga 4 Breaking Dawn 1. ENGAGED Free Essays

string(54) " and then they went to take pictures at the back end\." No one is staring at you,I promised myself. No one is staring at you. No one is staring at you. We will write a custom essay sample on The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 1. ENGAGED or any similar topic only for you Order Now But, because I couldn’t lie convincingly even to myself, I had to check. As I sat waiting for one of the three traffic lights in town to turn green, I peeked to the right – in her minivan, Mrs. Weber had turned her whole torso in my direction. Her eyes bored into mine, and I flinched back, wondering why she didn’t drop her gaze or look ashamed. It was still considered rude to stare at people, wasn’t it? Didn’t that apply to me anymore? Then I remembered that these windows were so darkly tinted that she probably had no idea if it was even me in here, let alone that I’d caught her looking. I tried to take some comfort in the fact that she wasn’t really staring at me, just the car. Mycar. Sigh. I glanced to the left and groaned. Two pedestrians were frozen on the sidewalk, missing their chance to cross as they stared. Behind them, Mr. Marshall was gawking through the plate-glass window of his little souvenir shop. At least he didn’t have his nose pressed up against the glass. Yet. The light turned green and, in my hurry to escape, I stomped on the gas pedal without thinking – the normal way I would have punched it to get my ancient Chevy truck moving. Engine snarling like a hunting panther, the car jolted forward so fast that my body slammed into the black leather seat and my stomach flattened against my spine. â€Å"Arg!† I gasped as I fumbled for the brake. Keeping my head, I merely tapped the pedal. The car lurched to an absolute standstill anyway. I couldn’t bear to look around at the reaction. If there had been any doubt as to who was driving this car before, it was gone now. With the toe of my shoe, I gently nudged the gas pedal down one half millimeter, and the car shot forward again. I managed to reach my goal, the gas station. If I hadn’t been running on vapors, I wouldn’t have come into town at all. I was going without a lot of things these days, like Pop-Tarts and shoelaces, to avoid spending time in public. Moving as if I were in a race, I got the hatch open, the cap off, the card scanned, and the nozzle in the tank within seconds. Of course, there was nothing I could do to make the numbers on the gauge pick up the pace. They ticked by sluggishly, almost as if they were doing it just to annoy me. It wasn’t bright out – a typical drizzly day in Forks, Washington – but I still felt like a spotlight was trained on me, drawing attention to the delicate ring on my left hand. At times like this, sensing the eyes on my back, it felt as if the ring were pulsing like a neon sign: Look at me, look at me. It was stupid to be so self-conscious, and I knew that. Besides my dad and mom, did it really matter what people were saying about my engagement? About my new car? About my mysterious acceptance into an Ivy League college? About the shiny black credit card that felt red-hot in my back pocket right now? â€Å"Yeah, who cares what they think,† I muttered under my breath. â€Å"Urn, miss?† a man’s voice called. I turned, and then wished I hadn’t. Two men stood beside a fancy SUV with brand-new kayaks tied to the top. Neither of them was looking at me; they both were staring at the car. Personally, I didn’t get it. But then, I was just proud I could distinguish between the symbols for Toyota, Ford, and Chevy. This car was glossy black, sleek, and pretty, but it was still just a car to me. â€Å"I’m sorry to bother you, but could you tell me what kind of car you’re driving?† the tall one asked. â€Å"Urn, a Mercedes, right?† â€Å"Yes,† the man said politely while his shorter friend rolled his eyes at my answer. â€Å"I know. But I was wondering, is that†¦ are you driving a Mercedes Guardian?† The man said the name with reverence. I had a feeling this guy would get along well with Edward Cullen, my†¦ my fiance (there really was no getting around that truth with the wedding just days away). â€Å"They aren’t supposed to be available in Europe yet,† the man went on, â€Å"let alone here.† While his eyes traced the contours of my car – it didn’t look much different from any other Mercedes sedan to me, but what did I know? – I briefly contemplated my issues with words like fiance, wedding, husband, etc. I just couldn’t put it together in my head. On the one hand, I had been raised to cringe at the very thought of poofy white dresses and bouquets. But more than that, I just couldn’t reconcile a staid, respectable, dull concept like husband with my concept of Edward. It was like casting an archangel as an accountant; I couldn’t visualize him in any commonplace role. Like always, as soon as I started thinking about Edward I was caught up in a dizzy spin of fantasies. The stranger had to clear his throat to get my attention; he was still waiting for an answer about the car’s make and model. â€Å"I don’t know,† I told him honestly. â€Å"Do you mind if I take a picture with it?† It took me a second to process that. â€Å"Really? You want to take a picture with the car?† â€Å"Sure – nobody is going to believe me if I don’t get proof.† â€Å"Urn. Okay. Fine.† I swiftly put away the nozzle and crept into the front seat to hide while the enthusiast dug a huge professional-looking camera out of his backpack. He and his friend took turns posing by the hood, and then they went to take pictures at the back end. You read "The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 1. ENGAGED" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"I miss my truck,† I whimpered to myself. Very, very convenient – too convenient – that my truck would wheeze its last wheeze just weeks after Edward and I had agreed to our lopsided compromise, one detail of which was that he be allowed to replace my truck when it passed on. Edward swore it was only to be expected; my truck had lived a long, full life and then expired of natural causes. According to him. And, of course, I had no way to verify his story or to try to raise my truck from the dead on my own. My favorite mechanic – I stopped that thought cold, refusing to let it come to a conclusion. Instead, I listened to the men’s voices outside, muted by the car walls. â€Å"†¦ went at it with a flamethrower in the online video. Didn’t even pucker the paint.† â€Å"Of course not. You could roll a tank over this baby. Not much of a market for one over here. Designed for Middle East diplomats, arms dealers, and drug lords mostly.† â€Å"Think she’s something?† the short one asked in a softer voice. I ducked my head, cheeks flaming. â€Å"Huh,† the tall one said. â€Å"Maybe. Can’t imagine what you’d need missile-proof glass and four thousand pounds of body armor for around here. Must be headed somewhere more hazardous.† Body armor. Four thousand pounds of body armor. And missile-proof glass? Nice. What had happened to good old-fashioned bulletproof? Well, at least this made some sense – if you had a twisted sense of humor. It wasn’t like I hadn’t expected Edward to take advantage of our deal, to weight it on his side so that he could give so much more than he would receive. I’d agreed that he could replace my truck when it needed replacing, not expecting that moment to come quite so soon, of course. When I’d been forced to admit that the truck had become no more than a still-life tribute to classic Chevys on my curb, I knew his idea of a replacement was probably going to embarrass me. Make me the focus of stares and whispers. I’d been right about that part. But even in my darkest imaginings I had not foreseen that he would get me two cars. The â€Å"before† car and the â€Å"after† car, he’d explained when I’d flipped out. This was just the â€Å"before† car. He’d told me it was a loaner and promised that he was returning it after the wedding. It all had made absolutely no sense to me. Until now. Ha ha. Because I was so fragilely human, so accident-prone, so much a victim to my own dangerous bad luck, apparently I needed a tank-resistant car to keep me safe. Hilarious. I was sure he and his brothers had enjoyed the joke quite a bit behind my back. Or maybe, just maybe,a small voice whispered in my head, it’s not a joke, silly. Maybe he’s really that worried about you. This wouldn’t be the first time he’s gone a little overboard trying to protect you. I sighed. I hadn’t seen the â€Å"after† car yet. It was hidden under a sheet in the deepest corner of the Cullens’ garage. I knew most people would have peeked by now, but I really didn’t want to know. Probably no body armor on that car – because I wouldn’t need it after the honeymoon. Virtual indestructibility was just one of the many perks I was looking forward to. The best parts about being a Cullen were not expensive cars and impressive credit cards. â€Å"Hey,† the tall man called, cupping his hands to the glass in an effort to peer in. â€Å"We’re done now. Thanks a lot!† â€Å"You’re welcome,† I called back, and then tensed as I started the engine and eased the pedal – ever so gently – down___ No matter how many times I drove down the familiar road home, I still couldn’t make the rain-faded flyers fade into the background. Each one of them, stapled to telephone poles and taped to street signs, was like a fresh slap in the face. A well-deserved slap in the face. My mind was sucked back into the thought I’d interrupted so immediately before. I couldn’t avoid it on this road. Not with pictures of my favorite mechanic flashing past me at regular intervals. My best friend. My Jacob. Thehave you SEENthis boy? posters were not Jacob’s father’s idea. It had been my father, Charlie, who’d printed up the flyers and spread them all over town. And not just Forks, but Port Angeles and Sequim and Hoquiam and Aberdeen and every other town in the Olympic Peninsula. He’d made sure that all the police stations in the state of Washington had the same flyer hanging on the wall, too. His own station had a whole corkboard dedicated to finding Jacob. A corkboard that was mostly empty, much to his disappointment and frustration. My dad was disappointed with more than the lack of response. He was most disappointed with Billy, Jacob’s father – and Charlie’s closest friend. For Billy’s not being more involved with the search for his sixteen-year-old â€Å"runaway.† For Billy’s refusing to put up the flyers in La Push, the reservation on the coast that was Jacob’s home. For his seeming resigned to Jacob’s disappearance, as if there was nothing he could do. For his saying, â€Å"Jacob’s grown up now. He’ll come home if he wants to.† And he was frustrated with me, for taking Billy’s side. I wouldn’t put up posters, either. Because both Billy and I knew where Jacob was, roughly speaking, and we also knew that no one had seen this boy. The flyers put the usual big, fat lump in my throat, the usual stinging tears in my eyes, and I was glad Edward was out hunting this Saturday. If Edward saw my reaction, it would only make him feel terrible, too. Of course, there were drawbacks to it being Saturday. As I turned slowly and carefully onto my street, I could see my dad’s police cruiser in the driveway of our home. He’d skipped fishing again today. Still sulking about the wedding. So I wouldn’t be able to use the phone inside. But I had to call___ I parked on the curb behind the Chevy sculpture and pulled the cell phone Edward had given me for emergencies out of the glove compartment. I dialed, keeping my finger on the â€Å"end† button as the phone rang. Just in case. â€Å"Hello?† Seth Clearwater answered, and I sighed in relief. I was way too chicken to speak to his older sister, Leah. The phrase â€Å"bite my head off was not entirely a figure of speech when it came to Leah. â€Å"Hey, Seth, it’s Bella.† â€Å"Oh, hiya, Bella! How are you?† Choked up. Desperate for reassurance. â€Å"Fine.† â€Å"Calling for an update?† â€Å"You’re psychic.† â€Å"Not hardly. I’m no Alice – you’re just predictable,† he joked. Among the Quileute pack down at La Push, only Seth was comfortable even mentioning the Cullens by name, let alone joking about things like my nearly omniscient sister-in-law-to-be. â€Å"I know I am.† I hesitated for a minute. â€Å"How is he?† Seth sighed. â€Å"Same as ever. He won’t talk, though we know he hears us. He’s trying not to think human, you know. Just going with his instincts.† â€Å"Do you know where he is now?† â€Å"Somewhere in northern Canada. I can’t tell you which province. He doesn’t pay much attention to state lines.† â€Å"Any hint that he might†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He’s not coming home, Bella. Sorry.† I swallowed. â€Å"S’okay, Seth. I knew before I asked. I just can’t help wishing.† â€Å"Yeah. We all feel the same way.† â€Å"Thanks for putting up with me, Seth. I know the others must give you a hard time.† â€Å"They’re not your hugest fans,† he agreed cheerfully. â€Å"Kind of lame, I think. Jacob made his choices, you made yours. Jake doesn’t like their attitude about it. ‘Course, he isn’t super thrilled that you’re checking up on him, either.† I gasped. â€Å"I thought he wasn’t talking to you?† â€Å"He can’t hide everything from us, hard as he’s trying.† So Jacob knew I was worried. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Well, at least he knew I hadn’t skipped off into the sunset and forgotten him completely. He might have imagined me capable of that. â€Å"I guess I’ll see you at the†¦ wedding,† I said, forcing the word out through my teeth. â€Å"Yeah, me and my mom will be there. It was cool of you to ask us.† I smiled at the enthusiasm in his voice. Though inviting the Clearwaters had been Edward’s idea, I was glad he’d thought of it. Having Seth there would be nice – a link, however tenuous, to my missing best man. â€Å"It wouldn’t be the same without you.† â€Å"Tell Edward I said hi, ‘kay?† â€Å"Sure thing.† I shook my head. The friendship that had sprung up between Edward and Seth was something that still boggled my mind. It was proof, though, that things didn’t have to be this way. That vampires and werewolves could get along just fine, thank you very much, if they were of a mind to. Not everybody liked this idea. â€Å"Ah,† Seth said, his voice cracking up an octave. â€Å"Er, Leah’s home.† â€Å"Oh! Bye!† The phone went dead. I left it on the seat and prepared myself mentally to go inside the house, where Charlie would be waiting. My poor dad had so much to deal with right now. Jacob-the-runaway was just one of the straws on his overburdened back. He was almost as worried about me, his barely-a-legal-adult daughter who was about to become a Mrs. in just a few days’ time. I walked slowly through the light rain, remembering the night we’d told him___ As the sound of Charlie’s cruiser announced his return, the ring suddenly weighed a hundred pounds on my finger. I wanted to shove my left hand in a pocket, or maybe sit on it, but Edward’s cool, firm grasp kept it front and center. â€Å"Stop fidgeting, Bella. Please try to remember that you’re not confessing to a murder here.† â€Å"Easy for you to say.† I listened to the ominous sound of my father’s boots clomping up the sidewalk. The key rattled in the already open door. The sound reminded me of that part of the horror movie when the victim realizes she’s forgotten to lock herdeadbolt. â€Å"Calm down, Bella,† Edward whispered, listening to the acceleration of my heart. The door slammed against the wall, and I flinched like I’d been Tasered. â€Å"Hey, Charlie,† Edward called, entirely relaxed. â€Å"No!† I protested under my breath. â€Å"What?† Edward whispered back. â€Å"Wait till he hangs his gun up!† Edward chuckled and ran his free hand through his tousled bronze hair. Charlie came around the corner, still in his uniform, still armed, and tried not to make a face when he spied us sitting together on the loveseat. Lately, he’d been putting forth a lot of effort to like Edward more. Of course, this revelation was sure to end that effort immediately. â€Å"Hey, kids. What’s up?† â€Å"We’d like to talk to you,† Edward said, so serene. â€Å"We have some good news.† Charlie’s expression went from strained friendliness to black suspicion in a second. â€Å"Good news?† Charlie growled, looking straight at me. â€Å"Have a seat, Dad.† He raised one eyebrow, stared at me for five seconds, then stomped to the recliner and sat down on the very edge, his back ramrod straight. â€Å"Don’t get worked up, Dad,† I said after a moment of loaded silence. â€Å"Everything’s okay.† Edward grimaced, and I knew it was in objection to the word okay. He probably would have used something more like wonderful or perfect or glorious. â€Å"Sure it is, Bella, sure it is. If everything is so great, then why are you sweating bullets?† â€Å"I’m not sweating,† I lied. I leaned away from his fierce scowl, cringing into Edward, and instinctively wiped the back of my right hand across my forehead to remove the evidence. â€Å"You’re pregnant!† Charlie exploded. â€Å"You’re pregnant, aren’t you?† Though the question was clearly meant for me, he was glaring at Edward now, and I could have sworn I saw his hand twitch toward the gun. â€Å"No! Of course I’m not!† I wanted to elbow Edward in the ribs, but I knew that move would only give me a bruise. I’d told Edward that people would immediately jump to this conclusion! What other possible reason would sane people have for getting married at eighteen? (His answer then had made me roll my eyes. Love. Right.) Charlie’s glower lightened a shade. It was usually pretty clear on my face when I was telling the truth, and he believed me now. â€Å"Oh. Sorry.† â€Å"Apology accepted.† There was a long pause. After a moment, I realized everyone was waiting for me to say something. I looked up at Edward, panic-stricken. There was no way I was going to get the words out. He smiled at me and then squared his shoulders and turned to my father. â€Å"Charlie, I realize that I’ve gone about this out of order. Traditionally, I should have asked you first. I mean no disrespect, but since Bella has already said yes and I don’t want to diminish her choice in the matter, instead of asking you for her hand, I’m asking you for your blessing. We’re getting married, Charlie. I love her more than anything in the world, more than my own life, and – by some miracle – she loves me that way, too. Will you give us your blessing?† He sounded so sure, so calm. For just an instant, listening to the absolute confidence in his voice, I experienced a rare moment of insight, i could see, fleetingly, the way the world looked to him. For the length of one heartbeat, this news made perfect sense. And then I caught sight of the expression on Charlie’s face, his eyes now locked on the ring. I held my breath while his skin changed colors – fair to red, red to purple, purple to blue. I started to get up – I’m not sure what I planned to do; maybe use the Heimlich maneuver to make sure he wasn’t choking – but Edward squeezed my hand and murmured â€Å"Give him a minute† so low that only I could hear. The silence was much longer this time. Then, gradually, shade by shade, Charlie’s color returned to normal. His lips pursed, and his eyebrows furrowed; I recognized his â€Å"deep in thought† expression. He studied the two of us for a long moment, and I felt Edward relax at my side. â€Å"Guess I’m not that surprised,† Charlie grumbled. â€Å"Knew I’d have to deal with something like this soon enough.† I exhaled. â€Å"You sure about this?† Charlie demanded, glaring at me. â€Å"I’m one hundred percent sure about Edward,† I told him without missing a beat. â€Å"Getting married, though? What’s the rush?† He eyed me suspiciously again. The rush was due to the fact that I was getting closer to nineteen every stinking day, while Edward stayed frozen in all his seventeen-year-old perfection, as he had for over ninety years. Not that this fact necessitated marriage in my book, but the wedding was required due to the delicate and tangled compromise Edward and I had made to finally get to this point, the brink of my transformation from mortal to immortal. These weren’t things I could explain to Charlie. â€Å"We’re going away to Dartmouth together in the fall, Charlie,† Edward reminded him. â€Å"I’d like to do that, well, the right way. It’s how I was raised.† He shrugged. He wasn’t exaggerating; they’d been big on old-fashioned morals during World War I. Charlie’s mouth twisted to the side. Looking for an angle to argue from. But what could he say? I’d prefer you live in sin first? He was a dad; his hands were tied. â€Å"Knew this was coming,† he muttered to himself, frowning. Then, suddenly, his face went perfectly smooth and blank. â€Å"Dad?† I asked anxiously. I glanced at Edward, but I couldn’t read his face, either, as he watched Charlie. â€Å"Ha!† Charlie exploded. I jumped in my seat. â€Å"Ha, ha, ha!† I stared incredulously as Charlie doubled over in laughter; his whole body shook with it. I looked at Edward for a translation, but Edward had his lips pressed tightly together, like he was trying to hold back laughter himself. â€Å"Okay, fine,† Charlie choked out. â€Å"Get married.† Another roll of laughter shook through him. â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But what?† I demanded. â€Å"But you have to tell your mom! I’m not saying one word to Renee! That’s all yours!† He busted into loud guffaws. I paused with my hand on the doorknob, smiling. Sure, at the time, Charlie’s words had terrified me. The ultimate doom: telling Renee. Early marriage was higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies. Who could have foreseen her response? Not me. Certainly not Charlie. Maybe Alice, but I hadn’t thought to ask her. â€Å"Well, Bella,† Renee had said after I’d choked and stuttered out the impossible words: /Worn, I’m marrying Edward. Tm a little miffed that you waited so long to tell me. Plane tickets only get more expensive. Oooh,† she’d fretted. â€Å"Do you think Phil’s cast will be off by then? It will spoil the pictures if he’s not in a tux – â€Å" â€Å"Back up a second, Mom.† I’d gasped. â€Å"What do you mean, waited so long? I just got en-en . . .† – I’d been unable to force out the word engaged – â€Å"things settled, you know, today.† â€Å"Today? Really? That is a surprise. I assumed †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What did you assume? When did you assume?† â€Å"Well, when you came to visit me in April, it looked like things were pretty much sewn up, if you know what I mean. You’re not very hard to read, sweetie. But I didn’t say anything because I knew it wouldn’t do any good. You’re exactly like Charlie.† She’d sighed, resigned. â€Å"Once you make up your mind, there is no reasoning with you. Of course, exactly like Charlie, you stick by your decisions, too.† And then she’d said the last thing that I’d ever expected to hear from my mother. â€Å"You’re not making my mistakes, Bella. You sound like you’re scared silly, and I’m guessing it’s because you’re afraid of me.† She’d giggled. â€Å"Of what I’m going to think. And I know I’ve said a lot of things about marriage and stupidity – and I’m not taking them back – but you need to realize that those things specifically applied to me. You’re a completely different person than I am. You make your own kinds of mistakes, and I’m sure you’ll have your share of regrets in life. But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better chance of making this work than most forty-year-olds I know.† Renee had laughed again. â€Å"My little middle-aged child. Luckily, you seem to have found another old soul.† â€Å"You’re not†¦ mad? You don’t think I’m making a humongous mistake?† â€Å"Well, sure, I wish you’d wait a few more years. I mean, do I look old enough to be a mother-in-law to you? Don’t answer that. But this isn’t about me. This is about you. Are you happy?† â€Å"I don’t know. I’m having an out-of-body experience right now.† Renee had chuckled. â€Å"Does he make you happy, Bella?† â€Å"Yes, but – â€Å" â€Å"Are you ever going to want anyone else?† â€Å"No, but – â€Å" â€Å"But what?† â€Å"But aren’t you going to say that I sound exactly like every other infatuated teenager since the dawn of time?† â€Å"You’ve never been a teenager, sweetie. You know what’s best for you.† For the last few weeks, Renee had unexpectedly immersed herself in wedding plans. She’d spent hours every day on the phone with Edward’s mother, Esme – no worries about the in-laws getting along. Renee adored Esme, but then, I doubted anyone could help responding that way to my lovable almost-mother-in-law. It let me right off the hook. Edward’s family and my family were taking care of the nuptials together without my having to do or know or think too hard about any of it. Charlie was furious, of course, but the sweet part was that he wasn’t furious at me. Renee was the traitor. He’d counted on her to play the heavy. What could he do now, when his ultimate threat – telling Mom – had turned out to be utterly empty? He had nothing, and he knew it. So he moped around the house, muttering things about not being able to trust anyone in this world___ â€Å"Dad?† I called as I pushed open the front door. â€Å"I’m home.† â€Å"Hold on, Bells, stay right there.† â€Å"Huh?† I asked, pausing automatically. â€Å"Gimme a second. Ouch, you got me, Alice.† Alice? â€Å"Sorry, Charlie,† Alice’s trilling voice responded. â€Å"How’s that?† â€Å"I’m bleeding on it.† â€Å"You’re fine. Didn’t break the skin – trust me.† â€Å"What’s going on?† I demanded, hesitating in the doorway. â€Å"Thirty seconds, please, Bella,† Alice told me. â€Å"Your patience will be rewarded.† â€Å"Humph,† Charlie added. I tapped my foot, counting each beat. Before I got to thirty, Alice said, â€Å"Okay, Bella, come in!† Moving with caution, I rounded the little corner into our living room. â€Å"Oh,† I huffed. â€Å"Aw. Dad. Don’t you look – â€Å" â€Å"Silly?† Charlie interrupted. â€Å"I was thinking more like debonair† Charlie blushed. Alice took his elbow and tugged him around into a slow spin to showcase the pale gray tux. â€Å"Now cut that out, Alice. I look like an idiot.† â€Å"No one dressed by me ever looks like an idiot.† â€Å"She’s right, Dad. You look fabulous! What’s the occasion?† Alice rolled her eyes. â€Å"It’s the final check on the fit. For both of you.† I peeled my gaze off the unusually elegant Charlie for the first time and saw the dreaded white garment bag laid carefully across the sofa. â€Å"Aaah.† â€Å"Go to your happy place, Bella. It won’t take long.† I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. Keeping them shut, I stumbled my way up the stairs to my room. I stripped down to my underwear and held my arms straight out. â€Å"You’d think I was shoving bamboo splinters under your nails,† Alice muttered to herself as she followed me in. I paid no attention to her. I was in my happy place. In my happy place, the whole wedding mess was over and done. Behind me. Already repressed and forgotten. We were alone, just Edward and me. The setting was fuzzy and constantly in flux – it morphed from misty forest to cloud-covered city to arctic night – because Edward was keeping the location of our honeymoon a secret to surprise me. But I wasn’t especially concerned about the where part. Edward and I were together, and I’d fulfilled my side of our compromise perfectly. I’d married him. That was the big one. But I’d also accepted all his outrageous gifts and was registered, however futilely, to attend Dartmouth College in the fall. Now it was his turn. Before he turned me into a vampire – his big compromise – he had one other stipulation to make good on. Edward had an obsessive sort of concern over the human things that I would be giving up, the experiences he didn’t want me to miss. Most of them – like the prom, for example – seemed silly to me. There was only one human experience I worried about missing. Of course it would be the one he wished I would forget completely. Here was the thing, though. I knew a little about what I was going to be like when I wasn’t human anymore. I’d seen newborn vampires firsthand, and I’d heard all my family-to-be’s stories about those wild early days. For several years, my biggest personality trait was going to be thirsty, it would take some time before I could be me again. And even when I was in control of myself, I would never feel exactly the way I felt now. Human†¦ and passionately in love. I wanted the complete experience before I traded in my warm, breakable, pheromone-riddled body for something beautiful, strong†¦ and unknown. I wanted a real honeymoon with Edward. And, despite the danger he feared this would put me in, he’d agreed to try. I was only vaguely aware of Alice and the slip and slide of satin over my skin. I didn’t care, for the moment, that the whole town was talking about me. I didn’t think about the spectacle I would have to star in much too soon. I didn’t worry about tripping on my train or giggling at the wrong moment or being too young or the staring audience or even the empty seat where my best friend should be. I was with Edward in my happy place. How to cite The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 1. 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A Special Interest Tourism Whitsunday and Beach tourism - Samples

Question: Discuss about the Special Interest Tourism Whitsunday and Beach tourism. Answer: Introduction Seaside tourism is one of the nature-based tourism that has been gaining popularity, more people are attracted towards viewing the natural view of beaches. In Australia, coastal tourism is very popular. In Queensland, people are attracted towards the coral beaches; the beauty of the corals across the Great Barrier Reef provides an excellent spot for the tourists who love beaches and admiring the beauty of marine life. Whitsunday is an archipelago of seventy four tropical islands it lies just near the Queensland coast, which is close to the Great barrier reef. People from all around the world visit the destination to see the white sands of the white heaven beach. Many hotels cater the needs of the travelers who visit Whitsunday. It is a nature based tourism because it is not at all like the traditional tourist destination, because corals are not available and Great barrier reef is one of the natural wonders of the world. Only those tourists visit this place who are attracted towards t he marine life. Statement of Argument: You need to analyze various strategies for themanagement of positive and negative impacts of nature based tourismand achieving the goals of sustainability. Discussion: Implications for economic sustainability Tourism is the main reason behind the boost in the economy in the region. In order to achieve the goal for the year 2020 there are certain implications. Economic strategies aim at maximizing the profit of Whitsundays. Self regulating strategies are to be taken from the end of government to provide jobs and living standards of the local people. Accommodation The occupancy rate forecasted for the year 2020 is 55 percent. As per the potential of the industry the estimation is 70 percent occupancy rate. There is need for more accommodation facilities for fulfilling the demand of the visitors. The local leaders are required to provide full service brand named hotels at the islands of Whitsundays (Authority, 2016). They will be delivering 4.5 and 5 star plus accommodation so that they can attract the MICE tourists. For sustainability it is very important that the destination has enough facilities for the tourists so that the visitors have a wonderful experience. Access- The connectivity to the destination is good still the high air fares makes it difficult for the tourists to visit the place. So a collaborative role of the Airlines is required to provide a reasonable fare for the travelers. The local tour operators with partnership with the various airlines can offer attractive packages for the tourists so that they can plan their vacation to Whitsunday and boost the economy of the place. Making the place accessible to the tourists will improve the tourist experience and the tourist flow in that destination will automatically increase. During the annual wet season the place becomes flooded and the road connectivity is totally disrupted in such case the local and the Government authorities are required to work more actively during these period so that the tourists are not discouraged to travel during this time of the year. The road link to Prospine to Airlie is completely disrupted (Mason, 2015). For increasing the economic sustainability, it is very important that the allied services are improved, the living standard of the place is raised, which can be done by increasing the number of job opportunities. Promotional strategies If the marketing is properly done by the tourism board and the local service providers then the can expect a financial sustainability. Apart from promotion of the destination, the tourism boards can also focus on creating awareness about the environmental issues in that region so that the environmental challenge can also be met. Development of infrastructure is very important for improvement of service quality, when the service quality is good then it would be easier to achieve the goals of economic sustainability because the destination will become a source of revenue generation. Engaging the local people in construction of bridges, roads will help the local authorities in infrastructure development in a very less cost, hiring employees from outside might cost a huge amount for the Government and local authorities. Strategy for increasing positive impacts of tourism Employment Tourism in any particular destination creates employment for the local people, it is one of the positive impact of tourism that positively affects the lives of the local people. Providing required skills and knowledge to the local people will help the community gain maximum advantage of this opportunity. This will help both the tourists and the local people. Educating the local people about tourism and its related services, like tour guiding and escort services would provide employment opportunities for the local people. The local government of the area has decided to provide full employment within the region. They are planning to provide surplus local jobs; they will be promoting migration and settlement within the community. They will be providing an array of skilled jobs to the people. Implications for cultural sustainability Collaborative strategy will be taken for cultural sustainability. Every place has a history and culture of its people. It is very important that the tourists understand the relevance of culture of the place and the people. This can only be done if the tourists are well aware of the relevance of the place to the tourists. Often when tourists do not have the understanding of the culture of the culture of any particular place, they end up hurting the sentiments. The local population of Whitsunday as estimated by the Regional Council is 33,324. The local people are very supportive to the tourism industry and tourism development. They appreciate the fact that it supports the local economy and generates employment; it also improves the living standard of the local people. The community involvement with tourist would make sure that the place would make the tourists more eager to know the culture of the place. The local tour operators would provide offers during festivals so that tourists th e destination can also be represented as a cultural tourism destination because too much use of the destination as seaside or beach tourism might destroy the ecological balance of the place. For encouraging the cultural sustainability, the government is planning activities that seek full community involvement, like cleaning tourist spots, planting trees, waste management. Apart from this cultural festivals and celebrations are promoted especially festivals of aborigines living in that region so that their culture is known to outside world and sustainability is maintained (Haward et al., 2013). The strategy is to take advantage of the population growth in the region and the other surrounding regions like Galilee and Bowen basins so that it increases the scope for day-trips and short break and the VFR tourism is also increased. As per the date of Queensland Trade and Treasury office of Economic and statistical Research, it has been estimated that the population of the region is going to increase by 20 percent, approximately 100,000 by 2020. So, if the local service providers take advantage of this fact then they would receive a good revenue from the domestic tourism (Benur Bramwell, 2015). Increasing consumer recognition that Whitsundays is the heart of Great barrier reef one can access the Great barrier reef from Whitsundays. Supporting the development of projects that are appealing to the customers and enhances their experiences (Lundberg, Fredman Wall-Reinius, 2014) A community, entertainment and events centre so that the place becomes more appealing to the tourists. One such project is Wave pool. An investor is willing to establish a flow house in the region. The venue will have flow-boarding, food, beverages, retail and events. Such interesting and new ventures are needed to be promoted by the local government so that the place can be represented as one of the best tourism destinations. Community capacity building is very important for strengthening the culture of the local communities, engaging in community services would help the local people realize the importance of community capacity building and how it can be used in development of the destination with help of collaborative approach.(Goldberg et al., 2017). Strategies for social sustainability The Government of Queensland has identified the destination as one of the sources that generate income and boosts the economy of the area. With the help of the state Governments destination Q blueprint 2012-2015 the industry led by the regional tourism organization aims at increasing the visitor expenditure across Queensland from dollar 21.5 billion in 2012 to dollar 30 billion by 2020 (Bramwell, 2015). A considerable growth in expected in the VFR market. Increase in the disposable income of people in the local region will increase the number of short trips of the local people who would travel to visit their friends, families and relatives. If the wages of the local residents are increased then there would be rise in the number of hotel bookings for events like marriages, social gatherings, parties and other festivals Partnership- The local authorities, national authorities, non-governmental organizations, volunteers, local people and customers all need to work together to achieve the sustainability goals. The local authorities need to take charge and create awareness among the people about the benefits of tourism so that the local people are not reluctant to tourism. They should involve the local people into service providing activities because they are the ones who know the place and hence would be able to provide services like sightseeing. The local people can also engage in providing facilities like accommodation, like in rural tourism local people offering their places to the tourists and catering their needs. This will help the tourists to understand the culture of that place by mixing with the people, no extra expenditure would be required for accommodation services. National bodies should create awareness amongst the tourists about the significance of any particular place. It is very impor tant to make the tourists aware about the significance of the place and the environment. This can be done by using advertising techniques using, electronic and print media. Public events can also be done to create awareness among the tourists, appealing them to act responsibly, for achieving the sustainable goals. Volunteers would look, monitor the tourist activities, and guide them wherever required (Dwyer, ?orak Tomljenovi?, 2017). To understand the impact of tourism it is very important that one understands how the lives of people are affected by tourism. Positive impacts of tourism include, development of the place, which includes infrastructure development, employment generation of the local people. Boost in the economy of the place. All this impacts are positive but not for long duration, it completely depends on the tourist flows in that place. If the tourists visit the place, then only employment will be generated, once the place reaches its saturation stage, the growth becomes stagnant, the place is no longer able to generate revenue and employment to the people. On the contrary looking at the negative impacts if a place is overused and polluted then the local authorities will have to spend a lot of money for its recovery and in the meanwhile, the lives of the local people are affected (Dwyer, ?orak Tomljenovi?, 2017). It might also happen that the attitude of the local people might change toward the to urists and they prefer that the tourists and they might become hostile to the tourists. In such scenario that place no longer would serve as a tourist destination. Therefore, it is very important that the tourists act responsibly. Implications for environmental sustainability Monitoring strategy would be used for encouraging environmental sustainability. One of the major impacts of tourism that is significantly affecting the place is that the tourist activities are continuously affecting the environmental harmony of the place. The marine life is in danger and the coral reefs are deteriorating. Coral reefs are one of the most important natural products that successfully attracts the tourists to this particular destination. If the coral reefs would be destroyed then the place might lose its significance in terms of an ideal beach destination for the tourists. This particular issue needs the intervention of the government authorities so that relevant steps are taken for the improvement of the condition of the coral lives (Mason, 2015). Another major issue is overusing of any particular destination causes unsatisfactory delivery of services. With the number of tourists, increasing in this particular area beyond the carrying capacity of the place it becomes very difficult to provide quality services. Even the scenic beauty and the value of the destination lessens with time. Activities like littering in the beaches also cause massive pollution in the region. Water pollution not only harms the coral reefs but also other aquatic animals. So tourists also needs to act responsibly and try not litter or pollute the environment. They might just be visiting the place for a day or two but there are people who live in that place so for their sake and for the sake of the future generations sustainability is very important (Bec et al., 2017). This strategy would aim at monitoring the activities of the tourists for these volunteers are required to guide the tourists and restrict them from actions like writing on the walls of historical monuments, littering, polluting and creating noise in tourist places. This activity disrupts the harmony of the place. The volunteers should educate the tourists and tell them about the people their culture and the heritage of the place. Their actions should not hurt the sentiments of the local people. If they are guided properly then such situations would not arise (Authority, 2016). Management of coral reefs Controlling the outbreak of crown of thorns starfish- The outbreak of crown of thorns causes decay of coral reefs. Stopping the crown of thorns would stop the decay of coral reef. The natural beauty of the place is completely destroyed, so if the local authorities takes initiative in this regard then such issues can be reduced so that Whitsundays can be represented as an ideal destination for the tourists and the sustainability concept of tourism can be maintained for a longer time. Engagement of the local people inmanagement of environment would help in a great deal, if the local people and the authorities work together then the goal of achieving sustainability can be achieved (Bec et al., 2017). Self-regulation Self-regulations strategies are about people taking responsible roles for sustainable tourism. This strategy would be the most effective strategy if done properly. People will have to act wisely by not polluting the places they visit. Activities like littering and noise pollution should be strictly affected because it disrupts the harmony of the place. Environment needs to be taken care, flora and fauna of any place should not be destroyed. Ecological harmony needs to be maintained by taking care of the place, people and environment (Bramwell Lane, 2015). Conclusion Nature based tourism is based on the special interests of the tourists. Recently, there is an increase in nature based tourism segment. the demand has been increasing. Whitsunday an archipelago near Great barrier reef, people who like to see the beauty of coral reef and enjoy seeing the marine life visit this place. This place is also excellent for enjoying beach tourism as there are many resorts that offer travelers a quality stay. Development of infrastructure can involvement of the local people with local authorities will help in gaining sustainable tourism. There are some environmental concerns that can also be addressed if a collaborative role is taken by the government both national and state, local bodies like the tourism board of Queensland, local people and the tourist can make help preservation of marine life and environment so that sustainability can be achieved. References Authority, G. B. R. M. P. (2016). Tourism Reef Advisory Committee communique: Meeting 5, 14 and 15 September 2016-Whitsundays. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/11017/3059 Bec, A., Moyle, B., Moyle, C. L., Keast, R. (2017). 10 Strategies for building community resilience to long-term structural change in the Mackay and Whitsunday regions of Queensland, Australia.Tourism, Resilience and Sustainability: Adapting to Social, Political and Economic Change. Benur, A. M., Bramwell, B. (2015). Tourism product development and product diversification in destinations. Tourism Management,50, 213-224. Bramwell, B. (2015). Theoretical activity in sustainable tourism research.Annals of Tourism Research,54, 204-218. Bramwell, B., Lane, B. (2015). What drives research on sustainable tourism?. Dwyer, L., ?orak, S., Tomljenovi?, R. (2017). Introduction. InEvolution of Destination Planning and Strategy(pp. 1-14). Springer International Publishing. Goldberg, J., Birtles, A., Marshall, N., Curnock, M., Case, P., Beeden, R. (2017). The role of Great Barrier Reef tourism operators in addressing climate change through strategic communication and direct action.Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1-19. Haward, M., Davidson, J., Lockwood, M., Hockings, M., Kriwoken, L., Allchin, R. (2013). Climate change, scenarios and marine biodiversity conservation.Marine Policy,38, 438-446. Lew, A. A., Cheer, J. M. (Eds.). (2017).Tourism Resilience and Adaptation to Environmental Change: Definitions and Frameworks. Routledge. Lundberg, C., Fredman, P., Wall-Reinius, S. (2014). Going for the green? The role of money among nature-based tourism entrepreneurs.Current Issues in Tourism,17(4), 373-380. Mason, P. (2015).Tourism impacts, planning and management. Routledge. McKercher, B., Prideaux, B. (2014). Academic myths of tourism.Annals of Tourism Research,46, 16-28. McKercher, B., Tung, V. (2015). Publishing in tourism and hospitality journals: Is the past a prelude to the future?.Tourism Management,50, 306-315. Spilanis, I., Vayanni, H. (2014). Sustainable tourism: utopia or necessity? The role of new forms of tourism in the Aegean Islands.

Why Prejudice Exists free essay sample

According to the famous Harvard psychologist, Gordon Allport, â€Å"Prejudice is an antipathy based on faulty and inflexible generalization. It may be felt or expressed. It may be directed toward a group of people or an individual of that group† (http://www. dictionary. com). Today, most people use the word prejudice to refer to a negative or intimidating attitude toward another social group, usually racially defined. Whether we want to believe it or not, prejudice exists in all countries and all cultures. Of course prejudice exists. It exists in races, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. It also exists in many other things whether we want to believe it or not. Many Americans refuse to admit that they are prejudiced, but studies have shown that many people still are. In the article, Whitton (1993) states, â€Å"there is more to prejudice than stereotypes. Specifically, prejudice seems to have three distinct roots: stereotypical beliefs, emotions and symbolic beliefs or perceived value differences† (p. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Prejudice Exists or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 1). As he talks to Professor Zanna throughout the article, Whitton finds that psychologists considered stereotyping to be the main reason for prejudice. Therefore, people think outgroups have to find ways of dealing with the awareness that the members of outgroups violate customs and traditions in such a way as to threaten the future. Many people have something that sets them apart from the norm. All of these people have feelings and deserve to feel accepted for who they are. Everyone has something to offer, even if its something unexpected, like a new idea or a new way of looking at something. The more we learn about others, the more likely we are to realize that the myths and stereotypes we hear are unfair or incorrect. Unfortunately, prejudice still exists today and although it is hard to change the views of the older generations, Whitton believes that there are ways to stop prejudice by using ways to change today’s generation so they can teach the future. Because racial prejudice is based on fear, we need to act as though racial differences do not exist, and racial differences will cease being a part of our environment, because in reality, racial differences do not exist.

Urban Consolidation

Urban Consolidation Definition of Urban Consolidation Accesses to transport services, land prices as well as distribution of employment are among the factors that determine the people’s choice of residential areas. Urban consolidation has always been seen as a means of reducing the quantity of land needed to constructed houses for the urban population. The main aim of urban consolidation is to reduce infringements in terms of urban developments in cities.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Urban Consolidation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Urban Consolidation refers to a various sets of planning policies which are meant to maximize the use of the present urban infrastructure through encouraging development of buildings and infrastructures in the urbanized areas so as to limit urban sprawl (Smith 1997, 1). It entails building more houses in the existing urbanized zones so that to intensify the usage of the available social faciliti es and utilities so that to minimize environmental degradation on those places (Smith 1997, 1). Economic and social reasons usually form the basis for need for developing the residential areas in the outskirts of metropolitans. Urban consolidation can be achieved under three models. The first one is the market-led consolidation that entails redevelopment of the existing suburban zones. It also entails development of the non-residential areas by buildings more houses than those that are already established in higher density zones as compare to the urban standard. The other approach is the transit-oriented development which involves mixed-used buildings in high-density residential in activity centers. The final approach requires that new developments on periphery of the metropolitan areas be at higher average than the existing averages for the urban areas (Smith 1997). Social Benefits of Urban Consolidation Urban consolidation gives residents a wider range of housing options to suit t heir unique needs as well as different households. It therefore allows residents to move through an array of housing types as situations of their households change. Besides, it may also help to achieve a more sociable as well as cooperative society. Urban consolidation also helps in providing better quality and plentiful housing closer to people’s workplaces. Urban consolidation is associated with good infrastructures that greatly enhance communication. When buildings are concentrated in one place, it becomes easier for the government to provide the residence with appropriate infrastructure and sewage system than when house are scattered everywhere (Bishop Syme 1981, 235).Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Social Disadvantages of Urban Consolidation Consolidation may be limited without redevelopments in that vacant buildings could occur on empty land before th e need to redevelop the area is realized. Potential residential areas which have no current residents could lead to dislocation in the town. Besides, if persistent inconveniencies exist on the population that resides in the area to an extent that they can no longer tolerate, they may be forced to migrate. However, the problem arises when there is no place for temporary resettlement while redevelopments are ongoing. Again, delay in state-provided services like hospitals and schools may cause public complaints which are normally directed at the local government especially when there is no platform for addressing the issues. General high costs of living in the areas considered to be green-field development that result from urban consolidation may cause those of low socio-economic status to migrate to slums thereby leading to expansion of the slum areas. It should be noted that population growth and levels of employment are always not equitable. The rate of population will always surpas s the rate of employment creation. Slums as usual, are bound to come with increase in social crimes in urban centers. According to Byrne and Sipe (2010, 1) urban consolidation may lead to concentration of social disadvantages and could also undermine social cohesion especially in situations where the urban planners have failed to properly manage urban consolidation thereby compromising residential amenity. Again there is the possibility of losing public open space due to high concentration of buildings. Creation of compact cities also discourages owner occupancy. Since the government aspires to maximize the existing urbanized area, there is no space for building single homes as the government aims to enable efficient use of the existing services and land. Those who would want to live in the suburban areas are limited by the provisions of the laws governing urban consolidation (Bishop Syme 1981, 231). Economic Benefits of Urban Consolidation Urban consolidation enhances the efficien t use of the existing infrastructure especially in situations where there is surplus capacity of the infrastructure or in situations where the infrastructure is old and needs replacement. This enables the government achieve economies of scale. Old industrial sites and buildings as well as non-residential areas that exist in urban centers can be redeveloped into new residential areas. It allows for subdivision of corner blocks thereby permitting dual occupancy development and a range of residential accommodation both in the residential and business zones.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Urban Consolidation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Urban consolidation can help minimize the capital expenditure costs that are incurred in developing urban infrastructure as it leads to efficient use of the existing infrastructure and land. Reduced space for developments as well as decreased travel times that result from urban cons olidation leads to energy and economic savings. This implies that urban consolidation has the capacity to minimize lost time on productivity. The high density population which is created by urban consolidation results to efficient use of the available transport (Smith 1997, 4). Urban consolidation also helps control urban expansion into the rural areas, thus protecting recreation, heritage as well as tourism resources. This enables the country to conserve its sources of revenue. Economic Disadvantages of Urban Consolidation Consolidation policies are usually adopted at the expense of potential new gree- field development areas leading to an increase on property prices in the redeveloped areas. Again, demand for business district properties would rise due to urban consolidation leading to increased values of office buildings. This would in turn increase the rental payments for corporations and individuals. Thus, not many people would be able to afford to pay the cost for occupying th e new houses leading to development of slums. Generally, people would always want to minimize their expenses but live comfortably. Some people would therefore be forced to look for residential areas in other parts of the urban centre. According to Smith (1997, 4) economic savings tend to be more intuitive than real as most people tend to perceive the cost of maintaining as well as upgrading the inner city infrastructure to be very expensive. Environmental Benefits of Urban Consolidation Urban consolidation enables planning which reduces the impacts of urban developments on the sensitive ecological systems. Planning urban developments helps control unplanned urban expansion thereby reducing air pollution that result from such situations (Smith 1997, 3). Urban consolidation is founded on the idea that compact urban centres tend to use less fossil fuels and as such, emit lower greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. According to Woodburn (2005, 16) urban consolidation helps reduce fuel c onsumption thereby lowering pollution as it enhances the use of more environmentally-sensitive vehicles. It also enables the government to consider introducing alternative forms of truck haulage into the urban centre. Besides, the government is able to develop environmental and social policies which can be easier to implement in consolidation centres (Woodburn 2005, 16).Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Planning through urban consolidation enables conservation of agricultural land as well as water catchment areas. Urban consolidation allows for the creation of greenspaces which help protect the habitats as well as to preserve biodiversity (Byrne Sipe 2010, 9). Industries’ capacities to respond to environmental regulations are also enhanced. Infrastructure for directing effluents from the industry is well developed and hence industries find it easier to comply with the rules. Disadvantages of Urban Consolidation on the Environment High population density created by urban consolidation may increase pressure on the existing and already environmentally sensitive land thereby increasing susceptibility to negative environmental influences (Craig 1989, 46). Besides, state as well as regional environmental plans may conflict with the local environmental plan as the two levels pursue different environmental objectives. Consolidating houses on one place is likely to increase pollutio ns in that area. This is because of an increase in activities. For instance, it is likely that the rate of pollutions in such an area will amplify due to an increase of pollutions from the exhaust fumes from motor vehicles. Consolidating Australian Cities Smith (1997, 1) states that Australia’s population has significantly increased. Sydney alone requires about 520,000 more new housing units to sustain its population’s needs from the period of 1991 to 2021 (Smith 1997, 1). This has prompted the Australian government to respond to these projections by adopting urban consolidation policies. The government repealed state government policies governing the urban consolidation in 1995, therefore making urban consolidation in Australian cities more feasible as compared to the past. Councils were given the opportunity to develop policies and goals that would meet the requirements of urban consolidation and that were in line with the vision of the government (Smith 1997). These policies were integrated with the State Environmental Planning Policy and the Metropolitan Residential Development. Earlier on, attempts by the government to allow for the development of medium density housing in 1982 had been met by strong opposition from the general public as they felt that councils were likely to pursue their own initiatives (Smith 1997, 7). These steps that have been taken by the government make urban consolidation in Australian cities feasible. In Sydney, urban consolidation was gazetted in 1991 leading to the zoning of non-residential sites that were no longer used for their original purposes. This facilitated the redevelopment of these areas into medium density housing (Smith 1997, 8). According to Glazerbrook and Rickwood (2009, 1) previous researches have indicated high population density, shifts in travel behaviors as well as a mix of land use in Australian cities which call for the need for alternative urban planning policies which would enhance higher d ensity development particularly in areas such as public transport nodes. However, such policies have not received equivocal support from the general public. Urban consolidation in Australian urban cities could be motivated by the high population densities in the cities, geographic constraints caused by the city shapes as well as transport infrastructure, the cultural and economic practices in the respective cities and the cities’ populace wealth. According to Byrne and Sipe (2010, 1) Australian cities have transformed in the recent years to ensure that the built environments achieve environmental sustainability as they adapt to the changing demographic trends. Australian city planners and decision makers are focused on protecting green-fields. They are therefore directing the growth of urban centres away from the green-field sites which occur at the metropolitan fringe to the already existing developed environments, thus increasing the population density in those areas. Accor ding to Byrne and Sipe (2010, 1) some stakeholders argue that densification and the associated population increase in urban open spaces as well as green spaces may pose challenges that are beyond the capacity of the Australian planning systems. Urban consolidation could be feasible in Australian cities as most stakeholders including the political class are of the view that urban consolidation would offer opportunities for enhancing and interconnecting public spaces. This would enable improve the provision of social amenities within urban areas. Most cities in Australia such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane among others which are have adopted urban consolidation are either aiming to improve service delivery to citizens, protecting the nearby rivers or rivers passing through the urban centres, protecting the existing parks around the urban centres, facilitating and enhancing active recreation as well as healthy lifestyles among others. Australia is a home for heritage tourism and relies heavily on tourism and therefore protecting its heritage remains a key factor in the development of its urban centres (Byrne Sipe 2010, 1). In the wake of increasing need for more houses in the 21st century, the Australian government is coming up with better urban consolidation strategy. These include; increasing compact cities using less urban land as well as existing infrastructure; expanding the cities within linear corridors; redeveloping the public transport as well as controlling urban expansion into the rural areas. This will greatly enhance the housing process in the country (Smith 1997, 9). Reference List Bishop, B., J., Syme, G. J., 1981, The social costs and benefits of urban consolidation: A time budget/contingent valuation approach. Journal of Economic Psychology, 16(2): 233-245. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Byrne, J., Sipe, N., 2010, Green and open space planning for urban consolidation: A review of the literature and best practice. Urban Research Program, Issue Paper 11. Brisbane: Griffith University. pp. 1-9. Web. Craig, B., 1989, Health costs and benefits of urban consolidation versus suburban expansion in Adelaide: A literature review. Canberra: The National Library of Australia. P. 46. Glazerbrook, G., Rickwood, P., 2009. Urban structures and commuting in Australian cities. Urban Policy and Research, 00(0): 1-18. New York: Routledge. Smith, S., 1997, Urban consolidation: Current developments. Briefing Paper No. 23/97. Parliament of New South Wales. New South West Parliamentary Library. pp. 1-9. Web. Woodburn, A., 2005, Overview of consolidation centres for urban and specialist use. BESTUFS II – First Workshop (January 13-14 2005). University of Westminster. P. 16.

The Dos and Donts of Guidance Counselor Recommendations

One of your greatest sources of information during the applications process, as well as throughout your high school experience, is your guidance counselor . Your guidance counselor can not only provide you with information about what colleges are best suited to you and give you helpful advice about requirements, financial aid, and other college-related matters, but also play a crucial role in the admissions process—providing you with a letter of recommendation. By now, you probably know that you need teachers to provide letters of recommendation on your behalf. (If you’re struggling to decide which of your teachers will write the best letters for you, check out our â€Å" What Makes a Good Recommendation Letter ?† post.) But why exactly do you need a letter of recommendation from your guidance counselor? Most schools ask for one to three teacher recommendations and one guidance counselor recommendation. In some cases, you may provide an additional letter , but you should only do so if you believe that letter can offer additional information that will contribute to your application. While the teacher recommendation provides insight on your abilities, strengths, and accomplishments as a student , the guidance counselor letter offers understanding about you in the context of your entire class. Since high schools vary significantly in terms of rigor, student body, and courses, admissions committees want to compare you to your classmates to provide context for grades and other academic accomplishments. For instance, if you are a mostly B student, but the average grade in your high school class is a C-, colleges are likely to understand that you are closer to the top than it might initially seem, and that your courses are particularly challenging. On the other hand, if you are a mostly A student, but so are the majority of your classmates, admission committees might see your high school as a grade inflator that easily hands out high marks, and will want to pay closer attention to your test scores and other application materials. Both your teacher and guidance counselor recommendations are very important in the admissions process; they simply provide the admissions committee with different aspects of your academic background to consider. Another key difference is that unlike with teacher recommendations, you cannot choose the person who will write your guidance counselor recommendation. It must be the guidance counselor you have been assigned. (Keep in mind that some high schools call this person by a different title, such as school counselor or academic advisor.) Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. Students in especially large high schools or class sizes may not know their guidance counselor very well, since he or she is responsible for advising so many students. Additionally, while your teachers only need to write letters for students they see regularly, your guidance counselor must write letters for an entire class, or large portion of a class if there are multiple counselors assigned to your high school. If this is the case for you, you might want to take the opportunity to reach out to your guidance counselor personally to chat with him or her about your goals, ambitions, academic work, and other aspects of your life. Some schools might already have prearranged meetings for students and counselors in place, but it never hurts to put in the extra time to build a strong relationship. Even if you don’t attend a large high school or already feel that your guidance counselor knows you well, you may still want to schedule a meeting to discuss factors that may influence your school report that you haven’t covered until now. Building a strong relationship with your guidance counselor is essential; if you want them to write a recommendation that shows off your strengths, they must know you well in order to best identify them. What you look like on paper is only part of the story; looking at your grades and honors may not convey the full story on what you hope to do in college and during your career, or what is most unique about you. Developing a strong relationship will also help you stand out among your classmates and allow your counselor to write a recommendation that is unique and personal. At the same time, remember to be courteous when communicating with your guidance counselor, and avoid coming across as overly demanding. They are likely responsible for advising many students, and may not always be available to meet with you one-on-one or respond to your requests immediately. Be respectful of your counselor’s time, and make the most of the sessions you do spend with them. In addition to setting up meetings with your guidance counselor, you should provide a resume or list of your classes and recommendations. This will give your recommender a clearer sense of your accomplishments so far and what your strengths and interests are. And of course, as with teachers, you should always thank your guidance counselors for their hard work throughout the process. But what if you are homeschooled? The application process tends to be a bit different for homeschooled students . Most colleges will offer special application instructions to homeschooled students, so be sure to investigate the admissions process for the schools to which you are applying thoroughly. In general, it is never a good idea to ask a parent or other relative for a letter of recommendation ; relatives are have inherent biases, and colleges want to see a more objective perspective. However, some colleges, such as MIT, explicitly make exceptions for parent recommendations in the case of homeschooled students. Be sure to do your research before ruling out this option. Depending on the particular college’s rules, an admissions committee may not separate recommendation types by teacher and guidance counselor, since you probably don’t have a guidance counselor. Therefore, you should think about the various adults in your life—coaches from athletic or academic teams, community services or religious leaders, or other types of mentors—and try to get multiple perspectives. For instance, consider asking a sports coach and a community service leader, rather than two coaches. If you have taken courses elsewhere, such as a college or academic program, the educators who taught you are good choices for providing an academic perspective to replace teacher recommendations, while a mentor or leader in another area might replace a guidance counselor recommendation. For more advice on applying to college as a homeschooled student, take a look at our â€Å" Homeschooled Student’s Guide to Applying to College † or â€Å" How Do Colleges Evaluate Homeschooled Students? † posts.

The Perspective and Emergent Approaches to Strategic Management Essay

The Perspective and Emergent Approaches to Strategic Management - Essay Example Whenever an organization succeeds in terms of profitability and productivity, it is usually assumed to have effective strategies. But the effectiveness of the strategy for a prolonged time remains dubious. Strategies are developed by the management with the support of logical approach, analytical activities, and experiences. Present day management researchers added another agent to the above-mentioned ingredients of strategy making, i.e. the dynamic nature of the business environment which keeps on changing. The changing nature of business environment influences the effectiveness of the strategies and brings differences in its output (Murray, Poole & Jones, 2005, p.168). The present report is an attempt to analyze the different views of researchers on strategic planning and its associated factors. In a broader sense, the study discusses ‘Prescriptive and Emergent’ approaches to strategy formulation and their suitability in the present day business organizations. Irrespective of suggested views and arguments on the concept of strategic management, organizations as well as academicians have agreed on the core concept which describes the conversion of organizational resources into needs of unsatisfied customers keeping a profit which satisfies the long-term objectives of the stockholders. The debate among the researchers is regarding the methods, models, system, or processes which could be used to achieve the core objective of strategy. The approaches for strategic planning, irrespective of the methods, models, and processes used to execute the plan can be classified into four generalized approaches as General Electric/Ansoff /McKinsey approach, Management by objective approaches, Business policy approach, and Non-strategic approach.  

Investigating Ratios of Areas and Volumes Speech or Presentation

Investigating Ratios of Areas and Volumes - Speech or Presentation Example A graphical depiction of the said areas is shown below: Knowing the value of the area B, the area A may also be computed. Instead of integrating the function, it is simpler to subtract the area below the curve from the total area of the rectangle. This results to area A as shown: By comparing the plots of two curves, it can be seen that the area under the curve decreases as the exponent increases. Consequently, the ratio of the two areas also increases. This trend supports the calculated data. This shows that for the section of the curve from x = 0 to 1, the ratio is just equal to the exponent. However, does this conjecture hold true for all ranges? To examine this, we reevaluate the generic function y = xn with various ranges: With a range of 0 to 2 for x, the ratio of the areas remains equal to n. However, only the upper limit has been changed in this particular case. By adjusting the lower limit, a certain area is removed from the rectangle as depicted in the following graph. Again, the resultant ratio is simply equal to the exponent n. In fact, it can be proven that the ratio will remain constant despite any changes in the limit. With a lower limit of a and an upper limit of b, the proof will appear as shown. Now that it is clear that the ratio of the two areas will remain constant, it is possible to extend the analysis to a three-dimensional one by revolving the surface around a specified axis. First, we will investigate the effects of a revolution around the x-axis. Since the area being revolved is that of B, the resulting volume is taken by evaluating the previous expression. The radius in such a case would be equivalent to y or generally xn. Using this, the volume can be determined in a straightforward manner. The remaining volume is that of the revolution of surface A. However, instead of integrating, it is

A manager’s job Essay Example for Free

A manager’s job Essay \1. A manager’s job can be described from various perspectives. (Functions, roles, essential skills, systems, contingencies). describe what managers do using Henri Fayol’s functions approach and the contingency/situational approach. Bring out in you presentation, the advantages and disadvantages of the approach. Successful organizations are led by experienced and knowledgeable managers. Good managers are there to make work load look less difficult and their responsibility is mounting and endless. Managers oversee the use of all resources; that is to say financial, physical, information and human resources in their respective firm. All the aspects of a manager’s job are interrelated. Managers also develop, maintain and implement the organizations goals and objectives. They also lead their employees as well as motivating them to meet set targets. What managers do is represented by the term POLC. This means; planning, organizing, leading (commanding), and controlling. According to Henri Fayol, there are fourteen management principles. However not all of them apply to manager’s roles, essentials, system, functions or contingencies. Planning is a predetermined course of action in order to set up clear business objectives and making of decisions on the best use of resources. Mangers here decide on the tasks and resources that are needed to achieve business objectives. It is the most difficult among the four and therefore requires active participation of the whole organization. This then comes out as a manager’s role that is he/ she is responsible for coordinating this setup. According to Fayol, planning must be coordinated on different levels and with different horizons. Since this process involves defining goals and establishing strategies for achieving those goals and developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities, the manager is responsible for such. (w ww.provenmodels.com/3/five-functions-of-management/). Planning as presented by Fayol facilitates management objectives that are it highlights the purpose for which various activities are to be undertaken. It also helps  in focusing the attention of employees on the objectives or goals of the business. However on the other hand, planning is rigid that is it has a tendency to make administration inflexible. There also is high doubt in the development of employees because of which management might have faced lot of difficulties in future. Planning therefore introduces inelasticity and discourages individual initiative as well as experimentation. Planning minimizes uncertainties that are it reduces uncertainty of the future as it involves anticipation of future events. Planning also facilitates coordination. Planning improves employee’s moral Employees know in advance what is expected of them and therefore conformity can be achieved easily. This encourages employees to show their best and also earn reward for the same. Planning encourages innovations. In the process of planning, managers have the opportunities of suggesting ways and means of improving performance. However planning is time consuming and expensive. Planning is a time consuming process because it involves collection of information, its analysis and interpretation thereof. The entire process of planning takes a lot of time specially where there are a number of alternatives available. Collection, analysis and evaluation of different information, facts and alternatives involve a lot of expense in terms of time, effort and money. Organizing according to Fayol’s perspective, is when managers provide capital, personnel and raw materials for the day to day running of the business and building structure to match the work. However, Luther Gulick and Brit Lydnall Urwick expanded organizing as establishing a structure of authority for all work. This is an essential role played by a manager. Managers arrange work to accomplish the organizations goals. Managers also are concerned with assigning and allocation of resources and duties to employees. This is quite essential since the process brings people together that is as employees are grouped they get time to actually discuss therefore covering the social need as indicated by Abraham Maslow. It is also a manager’s job in organizing that is it is entirely up to him to know how tasks are to be grouped, who is to do the tasks, what tasks are to be done and who is to report to whom. Organizing helps in the division of work that then aids in the bringing up of specialization in various activities of concern. Specialization helps reduce wastages and in turn increases the quality of products produced. This is because everyone will be obliged to a  duty and the employees in a bid to get some recognition at work, they tend to work hard. Organizing also helps enhance effective administration, coordination, scope for new changes, and classifies authority. This is to say that organizing helps to define job positions, creates clear cut relationships among positions and ensure mutual cooperation among individuals, classifies power to every manager and the way he/ she has to exercise those powers can be clarified so that misuse of power will not take place respectively. However, specialization leads to boredom that is if the person continues to work in the same department for a long time. Leading is optimizing return from all employees in the interest of the entire enterprise. Successful managers have personal integrity, communicate clearly and base their judgments on regular audits. Leading is the imparting of a vision to the organization in order to achieve a goal. It does this by formulating a well-thought out vision and then clearly communicating it. It involves managers giving orders to employees. Managers here analyze workers’ reports and in turn get to know more about an employee. This thorough knowledge of personnel creates unity, energy, innovation, loyalty and eliminates incompetence. Managers here also motivate subordinates, influence individuals or teams as they work. This comes to the point in which a manager is said to work with and through people to accomplish organizational goals. It is within a manager’s job as well to choose the most effective communication channels or to deal with any employee behavior. Leading maintains order in the sense that everyone will be under one superior hence there are chances of having an organized structure. Members know to whom they report and who reports to them. This means that communication gets channeled along defined and predictable paths, which allows those higher in the organization to direct questions to the appropriate parties. It also means that individuals tend to know who does and does not possess the authority to assign or change tasks. A clear chain of command also generates clearly defined sets of responsibilities. However, Organizational structures that have leading as a management’s role are highly at an advantage because it offers very clear, if not always easy, advancement paths. In business organizations, for example, advancement frequently means replacing a departing or advancing superior. Also a leading management role  divides these areas of concern into various department configurations that specialize. Specialization allows organizations to concentrate particular skill sets and resources to achieve maximum efficiency. However In theory, organizations pursue a goal or goals as a unified team. The departmentalizing of specializations leads, in some cases, to decisions made to benefit a department rather than the organization goals. Amongst the POLC, controlling is the last element. Mangers here identify weaknesses and errors by controlling feedback and conforming activities to plans, policies and instructions. The manager under controlling; monitors actual performance, compares actual to standard performance and takes action basing on the outcome. It is entirely a manager’s job to come up with plans, policies and instructions that can govern the business and in turn benefit the business as a whole. By allowing controlling functions to operate effectively and efficiently through coordination and control methods for Fayol, the manager is the one who overlooks an employee as a living organism that requires liaison officers and joint committees. Controlling is precisely a way of monitoring, keeping, comparing, correcting, giving explanation and evaluating how well the purposed organization is achieving and accomplishing its goals and how they are taking action to improve or increase their performance. Controlling is the process used to establish and provide structure in order to deal with uncertainties. Control helps to reduce the wastage of human, material and financial resources. This increases the profits of the organization. All the work has to be done according to these standards. So control, acts as a guideline. It guides all the operations of the organization in the right direction. A contingency approach is a situation in management where there is no one approach to management. In short, it is a situation where there is no one size fitting all. According to Wikipedia, it is also known as the situational approach that is to say that there is not a set of management principles or tools that can be used to manage an organization. This is because organizations are different hence they face different circumstances and this may require different ways of managing. The contingency theory states that managers must understand the situation contingences facing them before deciding the best way to work with and through others as they  coordinate activities. In this case it’s not that managers just sit back and relax, rather they work the hardest because they have to first observe before acting. Managers in the contingency approach, first have to evaluate and understand what type of situation they will be in. this is mainly because situations vary and change over time. The right approach to use depends on the complex variety of critical environmental and internal contingences. The manager’s job under the contingency approach is to observe and be quick to adapt to the changes inconsiderate of how extreme the situation is, the manager therefore instills flexibility in oneself so as to find relevant solutions to different contingencies within a little amount of time. The key advantages of situational leadership are that the model is easy to understand and REFERENCE RICKY W GRIFFIN (BUSINESS 6TH EDITION) (www.provenmodels.com/3/five-functions-of-management/ managementstudyguide.com/organizing_importance_htm www.ehow.com/about_7382944_advantages-disadvantages-succession-planning.html www.ehow.com/info_8416158_advantages-disadvantages-management-information-system.html http://www.ehow.com/about_5522264_advantages-situational-leadership.html http://www.ehow.com/info_8536984_advantages-disadvantages-hierarchical-structure.html

The Culture and Music of Puerto Rico Essay -- culture Cultural History

The Culture and Music of Puerto Rico In the first decade of American rule, Puerto Rican culture was influenced drastically by its status as a US possession. Although the political and economic aspects of American influence were very significant, American rule also had a great impact on Puerto Rican culture. This is expressed through the development of Puerto Rican music both on the island and in the United States. Puerto Rican music not only became an important cultural icon, but also helped to determine the new identity of the Puerto Rican both on the island and the mainland. Under Spanish rule, Puerto Rican music had been shaped by the prejudices of their oppressors and the divisions between the peasant class and the upper class elites. Many people argued over what was true Puerto Rican music and culture, and the more powerful members of Puerto Rican society controlled the music that represented the island. For this reason, under Spanish colonization, the occupying country recognized the most refined and European-sounding music, the danza. However, the music of the lower classes also served as a means to declare an identity separate from the Spaniards. In this way, Puerto Rican music at this time had the influence of both Europe and its own native culture. According to Glasser, "it is likely that in this way the vals, the mazurka, and other European dances penetrated much of the Puerto Rican countryside and were absorbed, with some modifications, into the jibaro repertoire. (Glasser 26)" In other words, the refined European style that was forced onto the m by Spain and other types of music became part of Puerto Rican music, and part of their culture. Puerto Rican music and culture further developed when the United States ... ...uence. In addition to this, Puerto Rican music demonstrates that although there was outside influence, the Puerto Rican identity still grew strong. This is demonstrated by the various protest songs, and the strong ties between musicians on the island and on the mainland. In the face of early US colonization, Puerto Rican culture came under the same conflicts as it did under Spanish rule, and reacted much in the same way. While US intervention may have masked the appearance of "true" Puerto Rican music and culture, the lives and the works of the Puerto Ricans themselves showed that it is possible both to accept new cultural themes and to struggle to preserve one’s native culture at the same time. Works Cited Glasser, Ruth. My Music is my Flag: Puerto Rican Musicians and Their New York Communities 1917-1940. University of California Press, Los Angeles, 1995.