Why did Britain and France get out of Africa between 1957-1965 Essay

Why did Britain and France get out of Africa between 1957-1965 - Essay Example 56). They, therefore, had to redirect most of their finances in rebuilding their cities; hence, they could not afford to sustain the manpower they had deployed to run the colonies. From an economical point of view, the colonies did not generate enough income to sustain themselves; therefore, it was uneconomical for the two countries to retain them. Secondly the rise of nationalism and nationalists helped to speed up the evacuation process. Countries like Ghana, found in West Africa had extremely powerful nationalists who fought for the liberation of their country, for example, Kwame Nkurumah. Among his achievements, he helped to unite African countries through the establishment of Pan-African Union. Nationalists from different countries were able to meet during these forums, whereby they discussed their grievances and formulated plans to forcefully evict their oppressors. The liberated countries also provided military support to other African countries which opted to evict their colonial masters. However, these countries only resorted to the use of violence because peaceful negotiations had failed (Mungazi 1996, p. 113). Thirdly, international pressure from other countries, which did not have colonial possessions also helped to speed up the evacuation process. the formation of United Nations after the second World War united most countries and brought about the rise of the veto states. These states had the final say in most things affecting the United Nations. Among these countries was the USA, which used, to be Britain’s colonial possession before gaining independence in 1776. This would explain why USA was a forerunner in the fight against colonialism. Britain and France faced a lot of opposition from USA which lobbied the support of China and Russia when making veto decisions. This constant opposition affected France and Britain and undercut their advancement

Stategy And Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Stategy And Change - Essay Example Accepting the fact that change is inevitable individuals and businesses have directed effort to equip for change management than resisting to retain current status. Change management, simply stating implies efforts and mechanism employed for the meeting the demanding pressures of adaptability from change. Jung (2001) defined change management as transition from one stage of existence to the other. In accordance with Jung (2001) the stage from which the individual and business are attempting to move from can be defined as the state of problem whereas the state to which the efforts are intended to direct the subject is the state of problem solution. Change management is broad domain of study. Change management can be required in the product portfolio, business processes, organisational culture, people, technology, structure and so on so forth (Daft and Marcic, 2006). Each aforementioned sub- domain, though not limited to, has its own expansions. For instance the change management in th e technological domain has been among factors that have taken lead in today’s organisational context. ... team based structure from traditional formats of increasing hierarchy levels. Apart from the change management in various components of business another classification of change has been emergent change and the planned change. Former refers to the situation where business on whole or the processes are forced to change with the changing business environment. The latter mode of change is one in which organisation deliberately plan to change. For example, organisations in the contemporary business world are forced to infiltrate efficiencies in their business model that are mere necessary for survival. Marks and Spencer being among the most preferred brands of UK faced steep decline in sales in 1990 due to increased low cost offerings in UK market from competitors having manufacturing set ups in cheap labour emerging markets. In contrast to M&S strategy of providing â€Å"Made in UK† incurred increased cost. Therefore, M&S had to adapt to change with business model shifting manufa cturing from local country to low cost emerging countries. While planned change example can be seen as today’s businesses are moving towards sustainable business models such as improving entire business processes to energy efficient process or using renewable energy etc. Planned change has significant distinction from the other changes mainly. As name implies the planned change is intentionally initiated by the people for particular purpose. Further also noticeable fact is that planned change has preparations done and planned it accordingly. However, even within planned change the response to change varies such as some change implementation requires autocratic imposition whereas participative methodology is also adopted based on the wide range of

Cold War Essay Example for Free

Cold War Essay In the European theater of operations for WWII, the Allied victory and the Axis loss resulted in unprecedented destruction of the economy of the region. The Americans felt that the United States had a purpose to work for the revival of the European economy along the lines of political and social factors that could allow free countries to emerge (qtd. in May par. 2). The sweep of such a purpose on into a solid commitment was not perceived or hoped for at the outset. In the United States the Executive branch (including the State Department) and the US Congress were often at odds about what to do about the European economic situation. But there was agreement that the aftermath of WWII must not come to have a result in any fashion like the economic conditions that prevailed after WWI (Marshall Plan Par. 7). It was initially felt that the United States involvement in European recovery would not be costly or time consuming. It was thought that Europe and especially the United Kingdom and France with their colonies, could pull themselves back up in short order (Marshall Plan par. 4). The cold winters after the war did not help the situation. The worst winter in a century was experienced in Europe in 1946-47 (Kunz par. 5). There was high unemployment, food shortages, and strikes. In particular, the food shortages sparked humanitarian and relief efforts among various organizations. The new United Nations sponsored much of this effort and it was almost all funded by the United States (Marshall Plan par. 11). Not enough of this was organized well enough or in great enough amounts to do more than to briefly alleviate the problem. American troops in Europe also lent a hand in repair and refugee work. For the long term, the food shortages could be seen to keep on occurring since the traditional source for supplies for Western European had come from Eastern Europe (Judd â€Å"East-West Trade† par. 2). After these winters of food shortage, it was becoming apparent that a divided Europe was becoming the norm. The awareness of such a division was not generally acknowledged prior to these harsh winters. President Truman entered the United States into some bilateral agreements intending to militarily aid Greece and Turkey. These countries could be seen as being in East Europe. They were facing subversive efforts by communists to take over those countries. For Western Europe, some thought the Morgenthau Plan could be used (Marshall Plan par. 13). This plan supposed massive war reparations could be extracted from Germany to restore the countries other than Germany. There was also the Monnet Plan (Marshall Plan par. 13) which proposed more punishment of Germany since France would control the Ruhr and Saar coal regions for French purposes. On a purely monetary front the Bretton Woods agreements of 1944 established the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for loans to European nations (Kunz par. 7). The funds made available for these loans were proving to not be of the necessary magnitude. It had been assumed that the international economic system was sound and that an initial infusion of monetary aid would do the trick. But even more was needed. The American agricultural production was unimpaired, the level of manufacturing output was unprecedented, and the American gold reserves were safe. An outlet was needed to sustain and use the economic prowess of the American transition from wartime to domestic and foreign consumption. The economic plan for a reconstruction of Western Europe, if needed, could borrow from the New Deal experience as the American response to the Great Depression had been accomplished. Early in 1947, evidence of a recession brewing in the United States turned some economist’s attention to a need to assure European purchases of American goods. The Americans did not want to see continued European wartime controls and plans which had placed the idea of a continuance of control and regulation by European governments as conclusive. Many in Europe were looking to the Soviet Unions central planning controlled by the state. The Soviets were reporting very high growth rates with the prospect of prosperity just around the corner (DeLong and Eichengreen 11). The Americans had not successfully concluded a war in Europe to end fascist tyranny and oppression only to then see a different brand of tyranny and oppression in its place. This threat was perceived to be the communists, Soviet or otherwise. The Soviet influence was directly felt on Eastern Europe. The American administration felt that, for Western Europe, an economic union would be needed. These nations would have to be on the same page if they were not to go communists or be controlled by communists. Accordingly, on June 5, 1947, Secretary of State Marshall spoke of the need to promote free institutions in Europe through their restoration with American aid (Marshall Plan, par. 15).

Narration of Chpt 7 Essay Example for Free

Narration of Chpt 7 Essay THE NARRATIVE IN THIS CHAPTER OPENS WITH HASSAN’S DREAM, IN WHICH WE SEE A POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OMEN. IN THE DREAM, AMIR AND HASSAN ARE CELEBRATED AS HEROES WHICH IS A POSITIVE FORECAST FOR THE UPCOMING COMPETITION; HOWEVER, THE MONSTER â€Å"SWIMMING AT THE BOTTOM (OF THE LAKE), WAITING† FORESHADOWS THE MONSTROUS EVENT THAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. THE DREAM JUXTAPOSES THE NIGHTMARE AMIR WILL WATCH AND HASSAN WILL EXPERI- ENCE LATER ON IN THE CHAPTER, THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES OF JUXTAPOSITION IN THIS CHAPTER. THE BEAUTY OF THE DAY IS TARNISHED WITH THE UGLY INCIDENT, WINNING THE COMPETITION IS CONTRASTED WITH LOSING HIS FRIEND, THE SUN SHINING ON THE SNOW-WHITE DAY CLASHES WITH THE DARKNESS OF THE ALLEY, WHICH MEANS THE AUTHOR HERE IS ALSO USING PATHETIC FALLACY TO FURTHER INCREASE THE CONTRAST; ALL THE JUXTAPOSITION MAKES THE EVENT MORE DARK AND DIS- TURBING. WHEN HASSAN IS SHARING HIS DREAM WITH AMIR, AMIR IS ABRUPT TOWARDS HIM AND INTER- RUPTS HIS STORY, HE â€Å"ALMOST APOLOGISED, THEN DIDN’T. HASSAN UNDERSTOOD†, THIS IS AN INDI- CATOR OF THE SOCIETY AND CULTURE THEY LIVED IN, WHERE PASHTUN SUPERIORITY WAS THE AC- CEPTED NORM AND HAZARAS WERE CONSIDERED TO BE AN INFERIOR RACE. HASSAN KNOWS HIS PLACE AS THE SERVANT. LATER ON IN THE CHAPTER HASSAN BECOMES THE â€Å"SACRIFICIAL LAMB†, AMIR SAYS â€Å"I RAN BECAUSE I WAS A COWARD† BUT THEN TRIES TO CONVINCE HIMSELF HASSAN IS THE PRICE HE HAS TO PAY FOR BABA’S LOVE. AMIR’S DISMISSAL OF THE SITUATION IS UNUSUAL AS HE IS TYPICALLY MORE OPEN MINDED ABOUT HASSAN’S RACE, BUT IN THIS SITUATION HE THINKS TO HIMSELF â€Å"HE WAS JUST A HAZARA, WASN’T HE? †, THIS SHOWS HOW DEEP RACISM RUNS IN THE CULTURE. HOWEVER IT IS WORTH NOTING AMIR’S THOUGHTS ARE INTERTWINED WITH HIS NOW ADULT PERSPECTIVE AS HE IS TELLING THE STORY IN RETROSPECT AFTER HE HAS LIVED WITH THE CONSTANT GUILT OF THIS EVENT; THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF POSTMODERNISM AS THE NARRATIVE IS FRAGMENTED AND THERE IS MEANING CREATED IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NARRATIVES, AMIR’S NARRA- TIVE OF HASSAN’S RAPE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS AS THE MEANING OF IT DEEPENS BY ADULT AMIR’S REASONING. AMIR’S ACTIONS HERE MEANS ‘THE KITE RUNNER’ IS A BILDUNGSROMAN, WHERE THE PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY’S ACTIONS ARE NOT HEROIC. DURING THE RAPE, AMIR’S NARRATIVE BREAKS OFF INTO MEMORIES RATHER THAN SPEAKING ABOUT THE EVENTS ACTUALLY TAKING PLACE. HE DIGRESSES INTO PAST MEMORIES AND EVENTS FROM HIS EARLIER CHILDHOOD, THIS INDICATES THE NARRATOR’S DIFFICULTY IN DEALING WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING IN FRONT OF HIM. IT’S ALMOST AS IF THERE ARE GAPS IN HIS ADULT MEMORY AS A RESULT OF HIS CHILDHOOD SELF DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM THE SITUATION. BY HAVING THE EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN AN ALLEY IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DARK NATURE OF THE EVENTS AND THE FACT THAT AMIR FAILS TO ENTER THE ALLEY SHOWS HIS UNWILLINGNESS TO DEAL WITH THE DARKER THINGS IN LIFE, IT ALSO AL- LOWS THE RAPE TO BECOME A SIDE EVENT, SOMETHING EASILY IGNORED AND NOT A PART OF MAIN- STREAM LIFE. CHAPTER 7 IS THE CLIMAX THE READER HAS BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE NOVEL. HOWEVER WHEN THE EVENT OCCURS WE REALISE IT IS A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH THE NOVEL AND IT ISN’T THE EVENT ITSELF BUT THE AFTERMATH OF IT THAT HAUNTS AMIR AS THE EVENTS ARE FAR FROM OVER. DESPITE FROM THIS, WE KNOW THAT CHAPTER 7 IS THE PIVOTAL CHAPTER AS Micaela Mossop WITHOUT THE EVENTS THAT TAKE PLACE HERE WOULD BE NO STORY TO TELL. THE IDEA THAT THE REPERCUSSION OF AMIR’S ACTIONS WILL AFFECT THE REST OF THE NOVEL IS REINFORCED AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER WHEN HE SOBS IN BABA’S ARMS WHICH INDICATES THE GAIN OF HIS FATHER’S AFFEC- TION WILL BE TAINTED BY HASSAN’S SACRIFICE.

Renewable And Non Renewable Energy Sources Environmental Sciences Essay

Renewable And Non Renewable Energy Sources Environmental Sciences Essay We can not use our feet to power our cars like the flinstones. So, how do cars move around? Energy! what is energy? energy is the ability to do work. All living things need energy to grow, plants use light from the sun to grow, also light is a type of energy we use all the time, we get most of the light from the sun, but at night we make our own light using another energy source known as electricity. Energy makes things move, cars run on the energy stored in gasoline sail boats are pushed by the energy in the wind. It takes energy to run our televisions, computers, and video games in the form of electricity, we use electricity all day long, it gives us light and heat, it makes things operate. After a long day dont you feel too tired to move? Well you have ran out of energy, you need some food to refuel. Imagine what your life would be without electricity?! There are two main types of energy; renewable and non-renewable, basically Most of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas and petroleum. Uranium is another nonrenewable source, but it is not a fossil fuel. Uranium is converted to a fuel and used in nuclear power plants. Once these natural resources are used up, they are gone forever. The process of gathering these fuels can be harmful to the biomes from which they come. Fossil fuels are put through a process called combustion in order to produce energy. Combustion releases pollution, such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, which may contribute to acid rain and global warming. Other than Renewable sources of energy can be used over and over again. Renewable resources include solar energy, wind, geothermal energy, biomass and hydropower. They generate much less pollution, both in gathering and production, than nonrenewable sources. But it is believed that petroleum in particular will not be depleted as it is generated in the deep sedimentary basins even if it will take thousands of years but it will be generated and petroleum will still be one of main and important sources of energy and the source upon which countries economies depend on, in the following report we will try to identify different energy sources available in the world. Scientific Background Renewable energy is defined () to be those energy source which do not deplete. They are basically natural sources of energy like sun, wind, -whereas nonren renewable energy sources : renewable energy sources are the sources which when used will not be depleted from the world. Data survey The following section will demonstrate various examples from around the world to show energy sources uses and applications. The first example is from (http://www.renewable-energy-sources.com/) SMA Expands North American Utility-Scale PV Inverter Line    Sunny Central 500HE and 630HE Ideal for Medium Voltage Connection SMA America LLC, the U.S.-based subsidiary of global solar technology leader SMA Solar Technology AG, has expanded its U.S. line of utility products with the Sunny Central High Efficiency (HE) line of solar inverters. The new 500 and 630 kilowatt inverters provide integrators Abengoa Solar Reaches Total of 193 Megawatts Operating Abengoa Solars third parabolic trough solar power plant, Solnova 4, successfully passed its three day production and operation tests. UNI-SOLAR Power Tilt(TM) Solar Roof System Featured on German DIY Retail Store    Innovative Solar Roofing System Gaining Traction in European Markets United Solar, a leading global manufacturer of building-integrated and rooftop photovoltaics under its UNI-SOLAR ® brand and a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq:ENER) announced that its innovative PowerTiltà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ solar roof system was recently installed at Hagebaumarkt, a German DIY retail franchise Centro solar Presents New 54-cell PV Panel with up to 225 Wp output at the EUPVSEC Premium solar module achieves higher output thanks to novel cell matrix CENTROSOLAR AG is showing the new 54-cell module with increased output at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EUPVSEC) from September 6 10 in Valencia, Spain REpower Launches First Wind Farm with System Certificate in line with German System Service Ordinance (SDLWindV) Kronprinzenkoog wind farm one of the biggest repowering projects in Northern Germany Total wind farm output increased from 12.3 MW to 30.75 MW Hamburg, 2 August 2010. REpower Systems AG (WKN 617703) has launched a wind farm project in the district of Dithmarschen (Schleswig-Holstein) with Repowering Kronprinzenkoog GbR Non-renewable energy sources: non-renewable energy sources are the sources which when used will be depleted from our world and then we will have to find alternative sources. Data survey The following section will also demonstrate various examples of non renewable energy sources extracted from (http://www.lshc.co.uk/downloads/Nonrenewable.pdf), such as: 1-fossil fuels: Fossil fuels are compounds made from the chemical elements carbon and hydrogen. Fossil fuels formed millions of years ago, during the Carboniferous Period, from the remains of plants and animals. As the plants and animals that inhabited the swamps died, they were buried under sand and mud which stopped them from decaying. Over time, more sediments covered the remains and pressure, together with heat, turned them into coal, oil and natural gas deposits. Today, fossil fuels are used in power stations to generate electricity. Natural gas is also commonly used in homes to cook food and heat water, and compressed natural gas can power specially designed vehicles. Oil is the main source of power for vehicles, in the form of petrol or diesel. 74% of the UKs electricity is generated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ from fossil fuels. Most of the worlds oil (13%) comes from à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Saudi Arabia. Russia is the main producer of natural à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ gas, extracting nearly 22% of the total produced each year. The UK is 5th with 3.2%. China leads the way in coal production, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ mining 38% of the worlds coal. 2-Nuclear power In most electric power plants, water is heated and converted into steam, which drives a turbine-generator to produce electricity. Fossil-fueled power plants produce heat by burning coal, oil, or natural gas. In a  nuclear power plant, the  fission of uranium atoms  in the reactor provides the heat to produce steam for generating electricity. Several commercial reactor designs are currently in use in the United States. The most widely used design consists of a heavy steel pressure vessel surrounding a reactor core. Thereactor core  contains the uranium fuel, which is formed into cylindrical ceramic pellets and sealed in long metal tubes called  fuel rods. Thousands of fuel rods form the reactor core. Heat is produced in a nuclear reactor when neutrons strike uranium atoms, causing them to split in a continuous chain reaction.  Control rods, which are made of a material such as boron that absorbs neutrons, are placed among the fuel assemblies. When the neutron-absorbing control rods are pulled out of the core, more neutrons become available for fission and the chain reaction speeds up, producing more heat. When they are inserted into the core, fewer neutrons are available for fission, and the chain reaction slows or stops, reducing the heat generated. Heat is removed from the reactor core area by water flowing through it in a closed pressurized loop. The heat is transferred to a second water loop through a heat exchanger. The water also serves to slow down, or moderate the neutrons which is necessary for sustaining the fission reactions. The second loop is kept at a lower pressure, allowing the water to boil and create steam, which is used to power the turbine-generator and produce electricity. Originally, nuclear energy was expected to be a clean and cheap source of energy. Nuclear fission does not produce atmospheric pollution or greenhouse gases and it proponents expected that nuclear energy would be cheaper and last longer than fossil fuels. Unfortunately, because of construction cost overruns, poor management, and numerous regulations, nuclear power ended up being much more expensive than predicted. The nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in the Ukraine raised concerns about the safety of nuclear power. Furthermore, the problem of safely disposing spent nuclear fuel remains unresolved. The United States has not built a new nuclear facility in over twenty years, but with continued energy crises across the country that situation may change. 19% of the UKs electricity comes from à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ nuclear power (http://cnx.org/content/m16730/latest/) 3-Coal At the present rate of use, the known coal supplies will last about 300 years and oil may not last for more than about 50 years. A great deal of fossil fuel is burnt in power stations. The coal is burnt to boil water which in turn produces steam. The steam drives the fans of a large turbine (a very big dynamo) which then generates electricity. The electric current is transported to our houses by large power cables. The whole process is an example of how energy is transformed from chemical energy to heat energy to  kinetic energy and then finally to electrical energy. Figure (1) Problems with non-renewable energy The main source of energy today is fossil fuel. However, there are two main problems associated with this type of fuel: the limited availability of fossil fuels and climate change. There are also safety concerns linked to the use of nuclear power and the radiation that is produced. Limited availability of fossil fuels Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy, so they could one day run out. Alternative sources of energy are needed. As supplies decrease, the cost of buying fossil fuels may increase causing economic problems as well Climate change When fossil fuels are burnt they produce the gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide is known as a greenhouse gas because it traps heat from the sun, much like the glass in a greenhouse, preventing it from escaping out of the Earths atmosphere into space. Greenhouse gases are found naturally in the atmosphere and they are essential for keeping the Earth warm. However, through the activities of humans, mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels, the amount of these gases in the atmosphere is increasing. As a result, global warming is occurring as the temperature of the Earth rises. Global warming is leading to climate change.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Polar ice-caps are melting, causing a rise in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ sea level around the world. Rainfall patterns are changing and extreme à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts, are more frequent in some parts of the world. The UK is one of 170 countries that have à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ signed an agreement called the Kyoto Protocol, which sets out targets for reducing CO2 emissions. There are also some environmental problems with fossil fuels such as: oil Spills Oil has to be transported from oil fields to where it is needed. Oil tankers, which can carry many tens of thousands of tons of oil, are regularly used to transport the oil. Unfortunately, accidents can and do happen and the oil spills that result from these accidents have caused some major environmental headaches. Local birds, fish and animals such as sea otters and seals are very vulnerable to oil spills. Although the immediate damage can often seem horrific, with the help of careful human clean-up operations and with natural processes that help clean the environment, the marine ecosystem can usually recover well. Figure(2) Acid Rain When coal burns, it produces gases like carbon dioxide, which are then released into the atmosphere. Other harmful gases produced by coal burning are sulphur dioxide and some nitrogen oxides. These dissolve in the water in the atmosphere to create weak solutions of sulphuric acid and nitric acid, which can then return to Earth as acid rain. Unfortunately many trees and plants cannot thrive when the water they need is acidic like this and large areas of forest can be affected. In the worst cases the vegetation may be killed. conclusion In the end we must understand how energy is something we can not make do without as without energy there is no life. As for some harmful energy sources then we have to find and start looking for alternative energy sources which are clean and non harmful, we should also start to depend on renewable energy sources as we know that they will not be all depleted in the future.

The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka :: Childrens Literature

The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka Once upon a time there was a story called "The Gingerbread Man" and a little girl who loved to hear the story every night at bedtime. Each night at bedtime, the little girl's kind father would tell the story to his little girl. He knew how much his daughter loved the story and so he was happy to tell the story over and over and over again, well ... almost. One night when the dad, whose name was Jon, was asked for the fifty gazillionth time to hear "The Gingerbread Man" story, a funny thought occurred to him. This time he would instead tell the story of the Stinky Cheese Man making it up as he went along. Well the little girl was certainly surprised by the new twist on her favorite tale. Instead of protesting and insisting that her dad go back to telling the story the way she'd always known and loved it, she simply laughed and listened contently to this new version which she proceeded to request night after night. Little did Jon Scieszka know, but his gift for re-inventing bedtime sto ries would lead to many more adventures in story telling. That's right, "The Gingerbread Man" story was not the only story twisted by Mr. Scieszka. With the help of his side-kick and illustrator Lane Smith, Jon Scieszka has made an entire book out of his unusual versions of favorite fairy tales. Perhaps you'd like to hear the tale? Our story begins with the duo's first big hit, a twisted tale called The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. As the book grew in popularity, Scieszka and Smith began to receive many invitations to speak at schools about their story. The only problem was, that even though they were able to keep their audience entertained with their humor, they only had the one book to talk about and soon realized that they needed more material. (Marcus 2) One day Scieszka brought along a folder of his old fairy tales that he'd played around with and can you guess what happened next? The Stinky Cheese Man suddenly had a whole new audience- and not just at bedtime anymore! Only now that a few years had gone by he had lots of friends with him. There was Cinderumplestiltskin, Little Red Running Shorts, Jack from "Jack and the Beanstalk," and even more twisted fairy tale characters than you could count with the fingers on your ten toes. The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka :: Children's Literature The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka Once upon a time there was a story called "The Gingerbread Man" and a little girl who loved to hear the story every night at bedtime. Each night at bedtime, the little girl's kind father would tell the story to his little girl. He knew how much his daughter loved the story and so he was happy to tell the story over and over and over again, well ... almost. One night when the dad, whose name was Jon, was asked for the fifty gazillionth time to hear "The Gingerbread Man" story, a funny thought occurred to him. This time he would instead tell the story of the Stinky Cheese Man making it up as he went along. Well the little girl was certainly surprised by the new twist on her favorite tale. Instead of protesting and insisting that her dad go back to telling the story the way she'd always known and loved it, she simply laughed and listened contently to this new version which she proceeded to request night after night. Little did Jon Scieszka know, but his gift for re-inventing bedtime sto ries would lead to many more adventures in story telling. That's right, "The Gingerbread Man" story was not the only story twisted by Mr. Scieszka. With the help of his side-kick and illustrator Lane Smith, Jon Scieszka has made an entire book out of his unusual versions of favorite fairy tales. Perhaps you'd like to hear the tale? Our story begins with the duo's first big hit, a twisted tale called The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. As the book grew in popularity, Scieszka and Smith began to receive many invitations to speak at schools about their story. The only problem was, that even though they were able to keep their audience entertained with their humor, they only had the one book to talk about and soon realized that they needed more material. (Marcus 2) One day Scieszka brought along a folder of his old fairy tales that he'd played around with and can you guess what happened next? The Stinky Cheese Man suddenly had a whole new audience- and not just at bedtime anymore! Only now that a few years had gone by he had lots of friends with him. There was Cinderumplestiltskin, Little Red Running Shorts, Jack from "Jack and the Beanstalk," and even more twisted fairy tale characters than you could count with the fingers on your ten toes.

Femininity Versus Androgyny in The Laugh of the Medusa and A Room of Ones Own :: A Room of Ones Own Essays

Femininity Versus Androgyny in The Laugh of the Medusa and A Room of One's Own      Ã‚  Ã‚   There is much debate in feminist circles over the "best" way to liberate women through writing. Some argue that a female writer should, in an effort to recapture her stolen identity, attack her oppressive influences and embrace her femininity, simultaneously fostering dimorphic literary, linguistic, and social arenas. Others contend that the feminization of writing pigeonholes women into an artistic slave morality, a mindset that expends creative energy on battle and not production, and inefficiently overturns stereotypes and foments positive social change; rather, one should lose gender self-consciousness and write androgynously.    Hà ©là ¨ne Cixous and Virginia Woolf, in "The Laugh of the Medusa" and "A Room of One's Own," respectively, epitomize these opposing ideologies, highlighting different historical sources for women's literary persecution, theorizing divergent plans for women's progress, and stylistically mirroring their ideas. Ultimately, the primary difference is in each philosophy's time frame and belief over how much influence writing has to "empower," to borrow a current feminist buzzword. For Cixous, women's writing goes hand in hand with women's liberation: "Writing is precisely the very possibility of change, the space that can serve as a springboard for subversive thought, the precursory movement of a transformation of social and cultural structures" (311). Woolf, however, sees women's writing as emblematic of and dependent on women's progress in general; only with "a room of her own and five hundred a year," through widespread social change, will her fictional Mary Carmichael "be a poet" (9 4).    One of Cixous's main intents is "to break up, to destroy" (309). This destruction of injustice colors her entire perspective; much of her essay is devoted to reaction, to toppling the tyranny of men. Men's writing, she argues, "is a locus where the repression of women has been perpetuated, over and over, more or less consciously, and...has grossly exaggerated all the signs of sexual opposition" (311). Cixous compares women's self-image to that of disenfranchised blacks: "They can be taught that their territory is black: because you are Africa, you are black. Your continent is dark. Dark is dangerous...And so we have internalized this horror of the dark" (310). Through these cultural judgments, men "have made for women an antinarcissism!...They have constructed the infamous logic of antilove" (310). She connects this antilove most strongly with self-loathing for the body: "We've been turned away from our bodies, shamefully taught to ignore them, to strike them with that stupid sexual modesty" (315).