The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 9~10

Nine When Mikey â€Å"the Collector† Plotznik wheeled into town and saw that the Texaco station had blown up, leaving a charred circle two hundred yards wide around it, he knew that it was going to be a great day. It was a shame about the burger stand going up too, and he'd miss their spicy fries, but hey, you don't often get to see the toasting of a major landmark like the Texaco. The fire was all out now, but several firemen were still sifting through the wreck-age. The Collector waved to them as he wheeled by. They waved back, somewhat reticently, for the Collector's reputation preceded him and made them nervous. Today would be the day, Mikey thought. The Texaco was an omen, the star in the sky over his lifelong dream. Today he'd catch Molly Michon naked, and when he did (and brought back the proof), his reputation would grow to mythic proportions. He patted the disposable camera he carried in the front pouch of his hooded sweatshirt. Oh yes, he'd have evidence to back up his story. They would believe him – and bow to him. At this point in his life, the Collector was more interested in explosions than in naked women. He was only ten, and it would be a couple of years before his interests moved to girls. Freud never identified a stage of devel-opment known as â€Å"pyrotechnic fascination,† but that was only because there wasn't an abundant supply of disposable lighters in nineteenth-cen-tury Vienna. Ten-year-old boys blow shit up. It's what they do. But today a strange new feeling had come over Mikey, a feeling he couldn't put a word to, but if he could, the word would have been â€Å"horny.† As he Rollerbladed through town, tossing the Los Angeles Times into the shrubs and gutters of businesses along Cypress Street, he felt a tightness in his shorts that until now he had associated with having to take a raging pee in the morning. Today it signified a need to see the Crazy Lady in a state of undress. Paperboys are the carriers of preadolescent myth. On every paper route, there is a haunted house, a kid-eating dog, an old woman who tips with twenties, and a woman who answers the door in the nude. Mikey had never actually seen any of these things, but that never stopped him from spinning wild stories for his buddies at school. Today he would get proof, he could feel it in his loins. He skated down the driveway into the Fly Rod Trailer Court, chucked a paper into the rose bushes in front of Mr. Nunez's trailer, then made a beeline for the Crazy Lady's house. He could see a blue glow coming through her windows, a TV. She was home and awake. Yes! He pulled up a couple of doors down and noticed that a new trailer had moved in next to the Crazy Lady. A new customer? Why not give it a try? The Crazy Lady didn't receive the paper, so his pretense for knocking on her door was to get her to subscribe. He could practice on these new people. As he skated up to the front door of the new trailer, lights came on in the two front windows. Yes! Someone was home. Strange curtains – they looked like cat's eyes. Through a part in the curtains, Molly watched the kid come down the road into the trailer park. She liked kids, but she didn't like this kid. At least once a week he knocked on her door and tried to get her to subscribe to the paper, and once a week she told him to go away and never come back. Sometimes he would bring one of his little buddies along. She could hear them skulking around her trailer, trying to peek in the windows. â€Å"Swear to God, she's got a dead guy in there that she does it with. I've seen him. And she ate a kid once.† The kid was heading for the monster trailer. In the background, a videotape was playing on her TV – Mechanized Death: Warrior Babe VII – and THE SCENE was coming up. Molly looked away from the window and watched THE SCENE for the thousandth time. Kendra is standing in the back of a jeep, manning a rack of net guns as the jeep pursues the Evil Warlord across the desert. The driver turns, as he is supposed to, throwing up a fishtail of dust, but the front wheel of the jeep hits a rock and the jeep rolls. Kendra is thrown fifty feet in the air and lands in a heap. The steel bra she is wearing cuts deep into her chest and blood sprays out across the dust. The bastards! Every time she watches THE SCENE she can't believe the bastards left it in. The accident was real, the blood was Molly's, and when she returned to the set ten days later, a security guard escorted her to the producer's trailer. â€Å"I can pay you extra's wages as a mutant,† the producer said, â€Å"but let's face it, babe, you didn't get your billing because of your acting ability. You think I'm gonna hold up filming for ten days when the whole schedule is only three weeks long? We got a new Kendra. Wrote the accident and the facial reconstruction into the script. She's a cyborg now. Now you can get in line with the mutants to pick up your bag of rags, or you can get the fuck off the set. My audience wants perfect bodies, and you were getting up there anyway. With that scar you don't sell anymore.† Molly had just turned twenty-seven years old. She pulled herself from THE SCENE and looked out the window again. The kid was there, right there in front of the monster trailer. She should warn him or something. She pounded on the window and the kid looked up, not startled, but with a dreamy expression on his face. Molly gestured for him to move away. The window she was looking out of didn't open. (Trailers built in those days were designed so people would burn up in case of a fire. The manufacturers thought it would keep the lawsuits down.) The kid just stood there, his fist poised before the door as if he were frozen in the middle of knocking. As Molly watched, the door began to open. Not on the hinges, but vertically, like a garage door. Molly pounded furiously on the window with the hilt of her sword. The kid smiled. A huge red tongue snaked out of the door, wrapped around the kid, and slurped him in, Rollerblades, paper satchel, and all. Molly screamed. The door slammed shut. Molly watched, stunned, not knowing what to do. A few seconds later the mouth opened and expectorated a soccer-ball-sized wad of newspaper. Theo The hours of Theo's day had moved like slugs crawling on razor wire. By four in the afternoon, he felt as if he'd been awake for a week and the cups of French roast he'd been drinking had turned to foaming acid in his stomach. Mercifully, there hadn't been a single call for a bar fight or do-mestic dispute, so he had spent the entire day at the scene of the fuel truck explosion, talking to firemen, representatives from Texaco Oil, and an arson investigator sent up from the San Junipero Fire Department. Much to his surprise, going all day without a hit from his Sneaky Pete pot pipe had not sent him into fits of anxiety as it usually did. He was a little paranoid, but he wasn't sure that that wasn't just an informed response to the world anyway. At a quarter past four, the arson investigator crossed the charred parking lot to where Theo was leaning on the hood of his Volvo. The investigator was in his late twenties, clean-cut, and carried himself like an athlete, even in the orange toxic waste suit. He carried a plastic space helmet under his arm like a tumorous football. â€Å"Constable Crowe, I think that's about all I can do today. It'll be dark soon, and as long as we keep the area closed off, I'm sure everything will still be here in the morning.† â€Å"What's your call so far? â€Å"Well, we generally look for evidence of accelerants, gas, kerosene, paint thinner – and I'd say there were definitely some flammable liquids involved here.† He smiled a weary smile. â€Å"So you don't know what happened?† â€Å"Offhand, I'd say a fuel truck blew up, but without further investigation I'd hate to make a commitment at this time.† Again the smile. Theo smiled back. â€Å"So no cause?† â€Å"The driver probably didn't seal the hose correctly and a cloud of fumes got set off. There wasn't much wind last night, so the fumes would have just clung to the ground and built up. Anything could have set it off: the driver could have been smoking, the pilot lights at the hamburger place, a spark in the truck exhaust. Right now I'd say it was totally accidental. It was a company-owned store, and it was turning a profit, so there really isn't a financial motive for arson. Texaco will definitely be building your town a new burger stand and probably paying off some nuisance settlements from people claiming trauma, duress, and irritation.† â€Å"I have the information on the driver,† Theo said. â€Å"I'll check to see if he was a smoker.† â€Å"I asked him. He's keeping quiet† came a voice from a few yards away. Theo and the arson investigator looked up to see Vance McNally coming toward them holding up a Ziploc bag full of white and gray powder. â€Å"I've got him right here,† the EMT said. â€Å"You want to interrogate him?† â€Å"Very funny, Vance,† Theo said. â€Å"They're going to have to do the autopsy with a flour sifter,† Vance said. The investigator took the Ziploc from Vance and examined it. â€Å"You find any remains of a cigarette lighter? Anything like that?† â€Å"Not my job,† Vance said. â€Å"The fire was so hot it turned the seat springs to liquid. Even incinerated the bones, except for those little bits of calcium in there. Honestly, this might not all be our boy. We might be giving his wife a bag full of burnt-up truck parts to put in an urn on the mantel.† The investigator shrugged and handed the bag back to Vance. Then to Theo he said, â€Å"I'm going home. I'll come back tomorrow and look around some more. As soon as I give the okay, the oil company will send in a crew to drain the ground tanks.† â€Å"Thanks,† Theo said. The investigator left in a county car. Vance McNally turned the Ziploc bag of truck driver in the air. â€Å"Theo, this ever happens to me, I want you to get all my friends together, have a big party, and snort me, okay?† â€Å"You have friends, Vance?† â€Å"Okay, it was just an idea,† Vance said. He turned and carried his bag to the waiting ambulance. Theo sipped his coffee and noticed something moving in the charred brush beyond the Texaco. It looked as if someone was holding up a TV antenna and getting altogether too close to the yellow tape he had run around the perimeter. Jeez, was he going to have to stay here all night guarding the scene? He pried himself off the Volvo and headed for the offender. â€Å"Hey there!† Theo called. Gabe Fenton, the biologist, emerged from the brush, indeed holding up some kind of antenna, followed by his Labrador retriever, Skinner. The dog ran to meet Theo and greeted him with two muddy paw prints on the chest. Theo rubbed Skinner's ears to hold him at bay, the classic slobbering Labrador control move. â€Å"Gabe, what in the hell are you doing down here?† The biologist was covered with burrs and foxtails, his face striped with soot from the charred brush. He looked exhausted, yet there was a note of excitement bordering on ecstasy in his voice. â€Å"You won't believe this, Theo. My rats moved en masse this morning.† Theo tried, but couldn't match Gabe's enthusiasm. â€Å"That's swell, Gabe. Texaco blew up last night.† Gabe Fenton looked around at the surrounding area as if seeing the destruction for the first time. â€Å"What time?† â€Å"About four in the morning.† â€Å"Hmmm, maybe they sensed it.† â€Å"They?† â€Å"The rats. Around 2 A.M. they all started moving west. I can't figure out what caused it. Here, look at the screen.† Gabe had a laptop computer strapped into a harness around his waist. He turned it so Theo could see the screen. â€Å"Each of these dots represents an animal I have implanted with a tracking chip. Here's their location at 1 A.M.† He clicked a key and the screen drew a topographical map of the area. Green dots were scattered pretty much evenly along the creek bed and the business district of Pine Cove. Gabe hit another key. â€Å"Now here they are at two.† All but a few of the dots had moved into the ranchland east of Pine Cove. â€Å"Uh-huh,† Theo said. Gabe was a nice guy. Spent too much time with vermin, but he was a nice guy. Gabe needs to talk to humans occasionally, Theo thought. â€Å"Well, don't you see? They all moved at once, except for these ten over here that moved to the shore.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† Theo said. â€Å"Gabe, the Texaco blew up. A guy was killed. I was talking to firemen in space suits all day. Every paper in the county has called me. The battery is almost out on my cell phone. I haven't eaten since yesterday and I only slept an hour last night. Help me find the significance in rat migration, okay?† Gabe looked crestfallen. â€Å"Well, I don't know the significance yet. I'm tracking the ten that didn't move east, hoping the anomalies will give a clue to the behavior of the larger group. Strange thing is, four of the ten disappeared off my screen a little after two. Even if they were killed, the chips should still transmit. I need to find them.† â€Å"And I wish you the best of luck, but this area may still be dangerous. You can't be here, buddy.† â€Å"Maybe there were fumes,† Gabe said. â€Å"But that doesn't explain why they all moved in the same direction. Some even came through this area from the shore.† Theo couldn't bear to express to Gabe how little he cared. â€Å"You had any dinner, Gabe?† â€Å"No, I've been doing this since last night.† â€Å"Pizza, Gabe. We need pizza and beer. I'll buy.† â€Å"But I need to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You're a single guy, Gabe. You need pizza every eighteen hours or you can't function properly. And I have a question to ask you about footprints, but I want you to watch me drink a few beers before I ask so I can claim diminished capacity. Come, Gabe, let me take you to the land of pizza and beer.† Theo gestured to his Volvo. â€Å"You can stick the antenna out the sunroof.† â€Å"I guess I could take a break.† Theo opened the passenger door and Skinner leapt into the car, leaving sooty paw prints on the seat. â€Å"Your dog needs pizza. It's the humane thing to do.† â€Å"Okay,† Gabe said. â€Å"I want to show you something over by the creek bed.† â€Å"What.† â€Å"A footprint. Or what's left of one.† Ten minutes later they sat over frosty mugs of beer at Pizza in the Pines, Pine Cove's only pizza parlor. They'd taken a window table so Gabe could keep an eye on Skinner, who was bouncing up and down outside, giving them an ever-changing view of the street, then the street with dog face (ears akimbo), then the street, then the street with dog face again. Other than to order a beer, Gabe Fenton hadn't said a word since they'd gone to the creek bed. â€Å"Will he just keep doing that?† Theo asked. â€Å"Until we take him a slice of pizza, yes.† â€Å"Amazing.† Gabe shrugged. â€Å"He's a dog.† â€Å"Always the biologist.† â€Å"One needs to keep the mind limber.† â€Å"Well, what do you think?† â€Å"I think that you obliterated most of what you thought was a footprint.† â€Å"Gabe, it was a footprint. A talon or something.† â€Å"There are a thousand explanations for a depression in the mud like that, Theo, but one of them is not an animal track.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Well, for one, there hasn't been anything that large on this continent for about sixty million years, and for another, animals tend to leave more than one track, unless it's a creature especially adapted for hopping.† Gabe grinned. The flying dog head pogoed by the windowsill. â€Å"There were a lot of people and vehicles around there, the other tracks might have been wiped out.† â€Å"Theo, don't let your imagination run away with you. You've had a long day and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And I'm a pothead.† â€Å"I wasn't going to say that.† â€Å"I know, I'm saying it. Tell me about your rats. What will you do when you find them?† â€Å"Well, first I'm going to keep searching for the stimulus of their behavior, then I'll catch a few of the group that migrated and compare their brain chemistry to those that headed toward the shore.† â€Å"Does that hurt them?† â€Å"You have to blend up their brains and run the liquid in a centrifuge.† â€Å"I guess so then.† The waitress brought their pizza and Gabe was severing cables of cheese from his first slice when Theo's cell phone rang. The constable listened for a second, then stood and dug into his pocket for money. â€Å"I've got to go, Gabe.† â€Å"What's up?† â€Å"The Plotznik kid is missing. No one's seen him since he left on his paper route this morning.† â€Å"Probably hiding. That kid is evil. He rigged up something with his remote control car that affected the chips in my rats once. I spent three weeks trying to figure out why they were running figure eights in the parking lot outside the grocery story before I found him lurking in the weeds with the controller.† â€Å"I know,† Theo said. â€Å"Mikey told me that if he wired ten of your rats together, he could pick up the Discovery Channel. I still have to find him. He has parents.† â€Å"Skinner is a pretty good tracker. Want to take him?† â€Å"Thanks, but I doubt that the kid had a pizza in his pocket.† Theo folded his phone, snagged a slice of pizza for the road, and headed out the door. Ten Val Riordan leaned against her office door, trying to catch her breath and maintain her temper. Nothing in her clinical experience compared to the sessions she held on the day after the Texaco exploded. She had seen twenty patients in ten hours, and every one of them had wanted to talk about sex. And not abstract sex either, not issues or attitudes about sex, just squishy, thumping sex itself. It was unnerving. She'd anticipated a spike in libido among her patients (it was a common symptom of withdrawal from antidepressants), but the books said not more than five to fifteen percent would have a reaction – about the same number that experienced a loss of libido upon taking the drugs. But today she'd hit one hundred percent. It was as if she were running a kennel for hopeless horndogs rather than a psychiatric practice. After the last patient, she'd come out of her office to find her new receptionist, Chloe, furiously masturbating, her feet hooked into the edge of the desk, her steno chair squeaking like a tortured squirrel. Val had excused herself, turned on her heel, walked back into her office, and shut the door. Chloe, twenty-one, had maroon hair, an entire wardrobe rendered in black, and a sapphire nose ring. Val had begun treating the girl in her teens for bulimia, then hired her when the volume of appointments skyrocketed after the placebo went into effect. Chloe worked in exchange for therapy; Val had thought it would be a good financial move. Frankly, she'd liked her better when she just threw up a lot. Val was still trying to figure out exactly what to do when there was a soft knock on the door. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Sorry,† Chloe said through the door. â€Å"Uh, Chloe, that is not appropriate office behavior.† â€Å"Well, your last appointment had left. I thought that you would be working on your notes or something for a while. I'm really sorry.† â€Å"That's it? My last appointment leaves, so let the wild rumpus begin?† â€Å"Am I fired?† Val thought for a second. There were twenty more patients to see tomorrow and twenty the day after that. If the weirdness didn't kill her, the workload would. She couldn't afford to lose Chloe now. â€Å"No, you're not fired. But please, no more of that in the office.† â€Å"Do you have time to talk? I know my next session isn't until next week, but I really need to talk to you.† â€Å"Wouldn't you prefer to go home and, uh, think about things?† â€Å"You mean finish? No, I'm finished for now. That's what I want to talk to you about. That wasn't the first time today.† Val gulped. It was highly unprofessional to talk to a patient through a door. She steeled herself and opened it. â€Å"Come in.† She returned to her desk without looking at the girl. Chloe took a seat across from her. â€Å"So this wasn't the first time today?† Val was the psychotherapist now, not the boss. If she'd been the boss, she would have come over the desk and strangled the little slut. â€Å"No, I can't seem to get enough. I, well, it started about two in the morning, and I went straight though until time to get ready for work. Then once or twice while each patient was in session.† Val's jaw dropped. Sixteen hours of intermittent masturbation? The other patients she had seen had cited two in the morning as when their sexual adventures had started too. She said, â€Å"And how do you feel about that?† â€Å"I feel okay. My wrist hurts a little. Do you think I could have carpal tunnel?† â€Å"Chloe, if you think that you're going to file a workmen's compensation claim for this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No no no, I just want to stop.† â€Å"Did something happen to set this off? Something at two in the morning? A dream perhaps?† Her other patients had described various sexual dreams. Winston Krauss, the pharmacist with the sexual obsession for marine mammals, confessed to dreaming of having sex with a blue whale, riding it through the depths like Ahab with a hard-on. Upon awakening, he'd abused his inflatable Flipper until it would no longer hold air. Chloe shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Her long maroon hair hid her face. â€Å"I dreamed I was having sex with a tank truck, and it blew up.† â€Å"A tank truck?† â€Å"I came.† â€Å"Sexual dreams are completely normal, Chloe.† Right, a tank truck? That's normal. â€Å"Tell me, was there fire in your dream?† Pyromaniacs de-rived sexual pleasure from setting and watching fires. That's how they caught them, look in the crowd for a grinning guy with a woody and gas stains on his shoes. â€Å"No, no fire. I woke up at the explosion. Val, what's wrong with me? All I want to do is, you know, do it.† â€Å"And you feel that you might do something impulsive?† Chloe put on her cynical Goth-girl face. â€Å"If you mean something like buffing the muffin while I'm at work, yes, Dr. Riordan, I'm a little worried. Can't you adjust my medication or something?† There it was. In the past, that would have been the answer. Increase the Prozac to eighty milligrams, about four times the dose for the average de-pressed patient, and let the side effect of reduced libido do the work. Val had used the method to treat a nymphomaniac when she was an intern and it had worked marvelously. But what now? Duct tape oven mitts to her receptionist's hands? Although her typing probably wouldn't suffer much, it might make the patients nervous. Val said. â€Å"Chloe, masturbation is a natural thing. Everyone does it. But obviously there are appropriate times and places. Perhaps you should just cut back. Allow yourself to masturbate as a reward for controlling your urges.† Chloe's face went slack. â€Å"Cut down? I'm worried about driving home safely. I have a stick shift. I need both hands to drive, but I don't think I'm going to have them. Do you have a patch you can prescribe, like they do for smoking?† â€Å"A patch?† Val suppressed a laugh. She imagined a twitching, moaning line of people around the block at the pharmacy, there to pick up their prescriptions for the orgasm patch. It would make heroin look like Gummi Bears. â€Å"No, there's no patch, Chloe. You're just going to have to try to control yourself. I have a feeling that this is a side effect of your medication. It should pass in a day or two. I want to hear more about this dream of yours. We'll talk tomorrow, okay?† Chloe stood, obviously not satisfied with the help her therapist was offering, which was none. â€Å"I'll try.† She left the office, closing the door behind her. Val let her head fall to the desk. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, why didn't I go into pathology? she thought. It would be so peaceful sitting around, boiling up beakers of urine and culturing bugs. No wackos. No stress. Okay, occasionally you'd be exposed to some deadly anthrax spores, but at least other people's sex lives stay in the bedroom and the tabloids where they belong. Her appointment with Martin and Lisbeth Luder rose in her head. They were in their seventies, had been in counseling because they hadn't had a decent conversation since 1958, and today they had come in and dumped a half hour of explicit sexual narrative on her, an account of perversions they'd indulged in the night before, starting at around 2 A.M. The visual conjured in Val's mind – all that parched, wrinkled flesh in furious fric-tion – culminated in flames, as if some giant cosmic Boy Scout had decided to rub two old people together to make a fire. The worst of it, the absolute worst of it, is that she'd found herself getting turned on while listening. She'd had to change her panties between appointments four times today. She considered pouring herself a hefty tumbler of brandy and settling down in front of the television, but that wasn't going to do it. Batteries; she needed four C-cell batteries and she needed them now. Then it was time to dig through her lingerie drawers and find a long-forgotten friend – and hope that it still worked. Molly Long past dark and Molly was still staring though the gap in the curtains at the trailer that ate the kid. The problem with being nuts, she thought, is that you don't always feel as if you're nuts. Sometimes, in fact, you feel perfectly sane, and there just happens to be a trailer-shaped dragon crouching in the lot next door. Not that she was ready to go out and pro-claim that fact to anyone, because no matter how sane you feel, some stuff just sounds too crazy. So she watched, still wearing her Warrior Babe outfit, hoping someone else would come along and notice. Around eight, someone did. She saw Theophilus Crowe going from door to door in the park. He came into view two trailers down at the Morales home, spoke briefly with Mr. Morales at the door, then headed for the dragon trailer. Molly was torn. She liked Theo. Yes, he'd taken her to County once or twice, but he'd always been kind to her – warned her about the guy in the day room who cheated at Parcheesi by eating the marbles. And he never spoke to her like she was a crazy woman. Theo was a fan. As Theo was raising his black Mag lite to tap on the dragon trailer's door, Molly saw the two windows on the end slowly open, revealing the cat'seye pupils. Theo obviously didn't see them. He was looking at his shoes. She threw up the aluminum sash and shouted, â€Å"They're not home!† The constable turned toward Molly. â€Å"Just a second,† she said. She bolted out the door of her trailer and stopped by the street where Theo could see her. â€Å"They aren't home. Come here a second,† she repeated. Theo tucked his Mag lite into his belt. â€Å"Molly, how are you?† â€Å"Fine, fine, fine. I need to talk to you, okay? Over here, okay?† She didn't want to tell him why. what if the eyes weren't there? What if it was just a trailer? She'd be on her way to County in a heartbeat. â€Å"They're not home then?† Theo said, pointing over his shoulder to the dragon trailer. He was staring at her now, at the same time trying not to stare. He had a goofy grin on his face, the same sort Molly had seen on the kid right before he got slurped. â€Å"Nope, gone all day.† â€Å"What's with the sword? Oh shit! She forgot she'd grabbed the sword on the way out. â€Å"I was just making some stir-fry. Chopping up some veggies.† â€Å"That ought to do it.† â€Å"Broccoli stems,† she said, as if that explained everything. He was looking at the leather bikini, and she watched his eyes stop on the scar above her breast, then look away. She covered the scar with her hand. â€Å"One of my old Kendra costumes. Everything else is in the dryer.† â€Å"Sure. Hey, you don't get the Times, do you?† â€Å"Nope. Why?† â€Å"The kid that delivers it, Mikey Plotznik, left for his route this morning and no one has seen him since. Looks like the last paper he delivered was a few doors down. You didn't happen to see him, did you?† â€Å"About ten, blond kid, Rollerblades? Kinda evil?† â€Å"That's him.† â€Å"Nope, haven't seen him.† She watched the eyes of the dragon trailer close behind Theo and took a deep breath. â€Å"You seem a little tense, Molly. You okay?† â€Å"Fine, fine, just wanted to get back to my stir-fry. You hungry?† â€Å"Did Val Riordan get hold of you?† â€Å"Yep, she called. I'm not nuts.† â€Å"Of course not. I'd like you to keep an eye out for this kid, Molly. One of his buddies fessed up that Mikey had a little bit of an obsession with you.† â€Å"Me? No kidding?† â€Å"He might be creeping around your trailer.† â€Å"Really?† â€Å"If you see him, give me a call, would you? His folks are worried about him.† â€Å"I'll do that.† â€Å"Thanks. And ask your neighbors when they get home, would you?† â€Å"You betcha.† Molly realized he was stalling. Just staring at her with that goofy grin on his face. â€Å"They just moved in. I don't know them very well, but I'll ask.† â€Å"Thanks.† He said, still just standing there, like a twelve-year-old ready to make an assault on the wall-flowers at his first dance. â€Å"I'd better go, Theo. I have broccoli in the dryer.† No, she had wanted to say she had to get back to dinner, or to her laundry, not both. â€Å"Okay. See ya.† She ran into her trailer, slammed the door, and leaned against it. Through the window she could see the dragon trailer open an eye and close it quickly. She could have sworn it was winking at her. Theo A niggling voice in Theo's head told him that finding the Crazy Lady attractive – extremely attractive – was an indicator that he was less than sane himself. On the other hand, he didn't feel that bad about it. He didn't feel bad about anything, not since he'd walked into the trailer park anyway. He had to deal with an explosion, a lost kid, the recent increase in general nuttiness in town – a virtual shit storm of responsibility – but he didn't feel all that bad. And in that moment outside of Molly's trailer, reflecting and waiting for the tide of lust to ebb, he realized that he hadn't smoked any pot all day. Strange. Normally this long without nursing from his Sneaky Pete and his skin would be crawling. He was heading back to his Volvo to resume the search for the lost boy when his cell phone rang. Sheriff John Burton didn't say hello. â€Å"Get to a land line,† Burton said. â€Å"I'm in the middle of trying to find a lost kid,† Theo replied. â€Å"A land line now, Crowe. My private line. You have five minutes.† Theo drove to a pay phone outside the Head of the Slug Saloon and checked his watch. When fifteen minutes had passed, he dialed Burton's number. â€Å"I said five minutes.† â€Å"Yes, you did.† Theo smiled to himself in spite of Burton's tone, which was on the verge of screaming. â€Å"No one goes on the ranch, Crowe. The lost kid is not on the ranch, do you hear me?† â€Å"It's standard procedure to search all the ranchland. Emergency services has the area gridded out. We have to cover the whole grid. I was going to call in some deputies to help us. The volunteer fire guys are exhausted from the explosion this morning.† â€Å"No. None of my guys. Don't call the Highway Patrol or the CCC either. And no aircraft. If the grid on the ranch has to be checked off, then check it off. No one goes on that land, is that clear?† â€Å"And what if the kid actually is on the ranch. You're talking about a thousand acres of pasture and forest that won't be searched.† â€Å"Oh bullshit, the kid is probably in a tree house somewhere with a stack of Playboys. He's only been missing for what, twelve hours?† â€Å"What if he's not?† There was silence on the line for a moment. Theo waited, watching three new couples leave the Head of the Slug in less than a minute. New couples: in Pine Cove everyone knew who everyone else was dating, and these were people who didn't go together. Not that unusual a phenomenon perhaps on a Friday night at 2 A.M., but this was Wednesday, and it was barely eight o'clock. Maybe he wasn't the only one feeling a wave of horniness. The couples were groping each other as if trying to get all the foreplay out of the way before they reached the car. Burton came back on the line. â€Å"I'll see that the ranchland is searched and call you if they find the kid. But I want to be the first to know if you find him.† â€Å"That it?† â€Å"Find that little fucker, Crowe.† Burton hung up. Theo got into his Volvo and drove to his cabin at the edge of the ranch. There were at least twenty citizen volunteers searching for Mikey Plotznik. The effort could spare him long enough to catch a shower and change his smoke-saturated clothes. As he parked the Volvo, an expensive, tricked-out red pickup truck pulled into the ranch entrance and rolled slowly by. As they passed, a Hispanic man sitting in the bed laughed and saluted Theo with the barrel of an AK-47 assault rifle. Theo looked away and walked to the dark cabin, wishing that there was someone there waiting for him.

Rick Brag: Essay

True Southern pride is a great way to describe a man like Richard Bragg. He has all the Southern charms and outlooks on life. Richard Bragg writes emotionally-moving literature that changes the lives of everyday people. Richard Bragg’s writing generally deals with the lower class Americans. This is a reflection of his life, for he grew up as a lower class American during the Civil Rights Era. Born in rural Alabama on July 26, 1959, he was the first of his family to graduate from high school. Richard Bragg is still alive today and is currently a professor at Alabama University (Kingsbury).Richard Bragg is known as one of the best southern story tellers of his time. Many wonder how he developed this ability, and when asked he said, â€Å"Well, I come from a long line of liars and story tellers. † (â€Å"Rick† 2) Richard Bragg credits his way of telling a story to his father, grandfather, and all the drunks that he liked to hang out with. (â€Å"Author†) Brag g would sat on his front porch for hours and listened to these men speak. Although he listened to all these drunks tell of drama, comedy, and tragedy, Bragg tends to have a more feminine way of writing.He got this from his mother and sisters who â€Å"tell gentler stories about babies born, funerals that were ‘beautiful,’ and the nicer, sadder, sweeter side of growing up in rural Alabama in the 1960s and 1970s. † (â€Å"Rick† 3) Richard Bragg generally writes about the lower class American. He grew up as a lower class citizen. He likes to reach out to these people and make people aware of poverty all over the world. In his story All Over but the Shoutin’, and in this book he shows the darker side of poverty and his life(Abbe). This book gives the inside look of what it was like growing up in poverty during the 60s and 70s.Richard Bragg’s home life was not one of a loving family. His father left frequently all through his life, and officially left when Bragg was just 10. He did have a caring mother who did everything for her family. She worked in the cotton fields with â€Å"poor blacks and white trash who had no other skills and no other possibilities. † (â€Å"Rick† 3) Brag latter paid tribute to her through his book All Over but the Shoutin’. Richard Bragg grew up during the Civil Rights period. Bragg’s father once moved his family to a white house in Anniston, Alabama, that was once the ain house on a plantation. Bragg had never seen a black person really until he moved there. All the black people lived about a mile up the road. At first they threw rocks at each other. It was an onward battle until one day they got curious and started asking each other question about how different both races were â€Å"but it seems now that our innocent questions about our differences were kind of nice, kind of sweet. † (â€Å"Rick† 7) Richard Bragg is still writing today. He writes from his little office at the University of Alabama. Who knows what he will write about next?One thing is for sure we all know that it will make an emotional impact and that it will change how people view certain topics. Works Citied Page Abbe, Elfrieda. â€Å"Rick Bragg on the art of storytelling. † 115. 12 n. page. Web. 28 Sep. 2012. â€Å"Author Information: Rick Bragg. † This Goodly Land . (Apr 30, 2009): n. page. Web. 28 Sep. 2012. Etlinger, Marion. â€Å"Rick Bragg Biography. † Book Browse. 01 08 2010: n. page. Web. 28 Sep. 2012. Kingsbury, Pam. â€Å"Rick Bragg Biography. † Encyclopedia of Alabama. Alabama: 2008. Web. 28 Sep 2012. â€Å"Rick Bragg Biography. † UFDC Images n. pag. Alabama Virtual Library. Web. 28 Sep 2012.

The Transnational Gang Threat in America Research Paper

The Transnational Gang Threat in America - Research Paper Example In recent years, concerns have been raised – both from the media and the US authorities themselves – with regards to the violent crimes committed by transnational gangs that have escalated dramatically in recent years. The 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment released by the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) and the National Drug Intelligence Center reported that the gang threat is no longer confined to the streets and in fact has already been magnified as gangs migrate from urban areas to suburban and local communities, expanding their coverage to become regional and national in scope. Two of the primary gangs that cause significant concern are the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang (M-18). The US Government Accountability Office, in a report to the US Congress, has identified these gangs as serious threats to the public safety not just in the country but also in Central American countries because of their violent nature, the scope of their criminal activities and their rapid expansion (GAO 2010, 1-2). Unarguably, gangs pose significant threats to stability, security, and even in investment and the economic climate of a country. These threats have already consistently assailed Latin American countries for years and that they - spilling over to the US - is no longer a remote possibility. What is worse is that the transnational gang issue entails several other problems, including – but not limited to – illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and, as previously mentioned, crime and violence. Numerous American national law enforcement agenc ies quantify the threat to the nation in different ways. But, one thing they all agree on is that gangs are emerging as a national security threat. These violent drug gangs primarily from Central America can impact public security, increased drug violence and crime in the American experience. Although, it is difficult to

Feminism in Jurisprudence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Feminism in Jurisprudence - Essay Example However recent theories and critical legal studies have highlighted the patriarchal elements in jurisprudence – the law itself is male, because the separation of the State and the extent of legal relief is conditioned by the separateness of the individual, a principle which is flawed in the case of women who are connected human beings. Therefore the framework of law and jurisprudence must be modified to reflect a more multicultural, multiracial and multiethnic framework in order to incorporate more voices, so that the law can serve to effectively address the needs of individuals in accordance with the circumstances. The most influential feminists are MacKinnon and Gilligan, whose theories have largely shaped female attack on existing jurisprudence. Catherine McKinnon’s crusade began with pornography, which she sought to ban. What worked against her struggle to ban pornography however, was the existence of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression. But MacKinnon appealed to the Zoning Commission in Minneapolis on the issue of pornography as follows: Catherine MacKinnon pressed for the curtailment of certain First Amendment rights through censorship, reflecting what has now become a widely debated feminist view of restriction of the rights to free speech and expression in such areas as pornography. In her view, presently it is certain powerful groups who are the only ones with the right to free speech and whose voices are heard, over and above the women and minority groups who have â€Å"been silenced by their powerlessness†2, therefore the role of Government and of jurisprudence cannot continue to be biased in favor of the powerful groups, rather the function of jurisprudence is to empower the minorities and the women. Thus, it may be seen that her views rise in opposition to the model of total

Honesty In Contemporary Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Honesty In Contemporary Politics - Essay Example The columnist Charles Blow in his issue has mainly discussed honesty, hypocrisy, and lies of the politicians. He talks mostly about Romney, the Republican nominated candidate for the presidency. He sides with the results of the Gallup poll that surveyed the sentiments of Independents and Republicans about Romney’s chances of re-election. This group surveyed is the group considered least likely to vote a Democrat and therefore the fact that they predict that Romney will lose by 20% of the votes is credible since they go against their biases. Blow’s sources are all credible, which is a clear indication of his commitment to veracity. This shows Charles Blow is unbiased, thus he gets views from all sides. The critical arguments made in the article are those that talk about Romney hypocrisy and dishonesty throughout his campaign trail (Blow). Romney contradicts himself countless times and this clearly shows that Romney was not honest about all the promises he was making. The article on Romney’s son intimated to Vladimir Putin personally, that his father Mitt Romney was intending to keep relations with Russia if elected. Blow states that Romney’s son, Matt, recently traveled to Russia and delivered a message to President Vladimir Putin. Later, Romney contradicts himself by saying he told a Russian known to be able to deliver messages to Mr. Putin. As a result of these contradictions, it’s unclear if the message actually got to Mr. Putin. This also does not give us actual evidence of whether Romney’s son actually intimated to the president of Russia. However, the article does accurately represent the state electorate before the United States 2012 elections (Blow). Charles Blow writes another column â€Å"The G.O.P fact vacuum.†

Nigerian Agip Oil Company Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9250 words

Nigerian Agip Oil Company - Dissertation Example From this study it is clear that the oil and gas industry is one of the most important sectors of the Nigerian economy. Thus there is a considerable amount of literature providing information on this specific industry. These have also offered an insight into the operations of the major oil producing companies present in Nigeria. Some of the literary works have also enumerated the success of these international companies and have tried to determine the reasons behind their high performance.This study declares that  similar to Mariby’s report, author Frynas has examined the conflict between the foreign oil companies and local village communities in Nigeria. The book begins by tracing the origins and evolution of Nigeria’s oil industry. He has provided an account of the overall consequences of the operations of the oil companies on the population residing in the villages. The book has specifically concentrated on the social and environmental effects of the firms’ activities on the native inhabitants of the country. This has always served as a complicated subject of research and also given rise to several viewpoints on the issue. The author has further considered the historical aspect of the issue and describes the past incidents of clashes between the two parties. He also enumerates the Nigerian government’s laws in this context and tries to analyze the social, economic and legislative hindrances which the oil companies were likely to encounter.

Annotated bibliography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Annotated bibliography - Research Paper Example However, they only contribute 33 percent to the country’s GDP. The proposal is supported by findings that SMEs in developed countries, where SME authority exist, contribute a higher percentage towards GDP. The article points out how lack of SME authority has affected SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The major effect has been lack of support services and financing programs, which has led to the poor performance of SMEs in Saudi Arabia. The article is relevant to my study since it demonstrates the importance of SME Authority in order to establish order in the SME sector and increase their contribution to the Saudi Arabian economy. The article is based on finding from various countries where establishment of SME Authority have enhanced the role of SMEs. The proposal is credible since the article provides enough evidence on the role of SME Authorities have played in developed and emerging countries in Asia and Europe. However, the article is limited since the author does not acknowledge the resources used in establishing the credibility of the findings. Howard, B 2008, Big in Smalls: Howard Bryant FCMA Helped to Turn a Tiny Dot-Com into the World's Largest Online Seller of Branded Underwear. He Explains Why an SME Is a Tougher Test of Professional Mettle Than a Multinational, Financial Management (UK) , July-August, Available at: http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-184538268/big-in-smalls-howard-bryant-fcma-helped-to-turn-a. The aim of the article is to outline challenges facing SMEs and how CIMA, an institute in UK that trains graduates in the field of business, can enhance its programs to equip the graduates with relevant skills to serve the SME sector effectively. The article involves a systematic analysis of factors that hinder SME performance and proposes the skills CIMA students would require in solving various challenges. The sturdy supported by findings that exposure of finance and accounting students to work in SMEs enables them gain wider breadth competence in business. The article is relevant to my study since it establishes to challenges facing SMEs and the role of professionals in the field of finance and accounting in resolving these challenges. The article makes use of statistics from reliable organizations such as Office of National statistics in UK and is thus credible. Moreover, Howard Bryant, who authored the article, is a finance director and consultant in the area of finance and the findings are believable. Possible limitation is that the article is based on findings from SME sector in UK and some findings might not apply to Saudi Arabia. Fu, Y.-K 2011, Marketing activities management in SMEs: An Exploratory Sudy, Human Systems Management, Volume 30, DOI 10.3233/HSM-2010-0743, pp. 155-166. The article aims to establish and compare the tendency of national-level and regional level sales managers to engage in the eight marketing activities management systems. A survey was conducted using questionnaires devised to measure the par ticipation of sale managers in marketing activities. The study supported findings by Siu (2002), whose study found that sales managers play a crucial role in determining the performance of SMEs. Moreover, Siu (2002) found out that findings regarding SME practices and performance are region specific and there is thus need for adoption of contingency approach. The article is relevant to my study since it focused on marketing activities in Eastern business environments where Saudi Arabia is

Casein micelle structure Models and muddles Assignment

Casein micelle structure Models and muddles - Assignment Example All models that are proposed and should be working should be constructed in a way that it can imitate the behaviors of the represented structure. From the article, we can say that both models being used for representations are muddles. Both models are seen to be reaching their ends. It is imperative to note that milk composition do vary greatly in and in the total concentration of proteins, as well as their relative proportion. From this idea, we can summarize that in every model formed to explain the casein and casein micelle properties, the model cannot be specific to the species from which the milk comes from. Nonetheless, the model should be looking forward to recognizing that all milk from all mammals share same characteristic in that they all contain casein micelles (Horne 2006, pp. 148-153). There are various models put across by scholars. All the scholars have been speculating and striving to come up with a clear model. Each model do possesses its own weaknesses and strengths. The researchers have to come up with the restrictions and any raised requirements prior to choosing the best applicable model. In addition, the micelle system is exposed to advanced physical and technological environment to dig out their properties. The properties and the composition of milk molecules vary. The phosphoproteins are the casein proteins, and they are divided majorly into two groups. These two groups are responsible for the casein properties in mixtures where it prevents calcium from precipitating the groups that are calcium-sensitive. Two more groups that are considered to analogs of the two major groups have also been identified. This makes the total molecules of caseins to be four in total. Through research, it noted that most of the mammalian milk contains the four molecules that include k- casein, alpha â€Å"s1†, alpha â€Å"s2† and beta

How can Starbucks react to the threat of McDonalds selling low cost Essay

How can Starbucks react to the threat of McDonalds selling low cost coffee - Essay Example I would be failing in my duty if I don’t thank all those employees of Starbucks and McDonalds who responded to the phone calls and e-mails sent to these organizations. Last but not the least, I would like to thank all my friends who have been supporting and helping me with this assignment. Table of Contents Contents Pages Executive Summary 4-5 Introduction 5 McDonald’s Vs Starbucks 5-6 Problem for Starbucks 6 Sources of Information 6-7 SWOT Analysis 7-8 Financial Analysis 8-9 Findings 10 Recommendations 10-11 Appendices 12-25 Works Cited 26 How Can Starbucks React to the Threat of McDonalds Selling Low Cost Coffee? Executive Summary Starbucks and McDonald's are big multinational companies that have made their presence felt in the businesses they operate in. Seattle based Starbucks was founded with the objective of providing Italian espresso bar experience in the United States. As a business strategy Starbucks operates by forming a personal relationship with its consumer s. On the other hand McDonalds is a family restaurant and attracts people from all age groups. Strictly speaking, both these behemoths have distinct target markets. Starbucks attracts the affluent while customers who are price sensitive are McDonald’s target market. McDonald’s has rolled out its low-priced coffee brand and in the process has started eating into the share of Starbucks. McDonald's appears well placed to become Starbucks’ biggest competitor in the specialty coffee segment in the coming years. Starbucks now has to devise strategies to counter McDonald’s move and not let its market share dip. The present paper is a commentary on ‘How can Starbucks react to the threat of McDonalds selling low cost coffee? To answer this question relevant information on both these companies has been collected from various primary and secondary sources. A comparison has been made on the business operations of both Starbucks and McDonald’s, SWOT analy sis has been carried out and finally a financial comparison has been made. Some alternatives that can be adopted by Starbucks to react to McDonald’s move have been suggested based on aforesaid analysis. I personally feel that Starbucks should not respond to McDonald’s move with a price cut, rather it should elevate the quality perception in the minds of the customer and build a set of loyal customers who are willing to pay a premium price in exchange of getting the ‘coffee experience’ that Starbucks has to offer. Introduction I have decided to write a commentary on ‘How can Starbucks react to the threat of McDonalds selling low cost coffee? I have chosen this topic since it involves two big U.S. based companies who have worldwide operations, have a huge set of loyal customer base and are well known for their quality products. Starbucks Vs McDonald’s Starbucks is Italian-style coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. The company was foun ded in 1971 and has more than 17, 000 retail stores in 60 countries. Since inception Starbucks has believed in serving the best coffee to its customers. In fact, the company delivers much more than a simple cup of high quality coffee; it ensures a wonderful experience for the customer. A look at the product portfolio of Starbucks clearly indicates that the company has a huge variety of coffee

Oceans Act of 2000 Essay Example for Free

Oceans Act of 2000 Essay From sea to shining sea, America has always been a country dependant on its coastal waters. We use the oceans and the abundant resources found in them for everything from physical exercise, food, and medicines, to a place to dump our garbage, dispose of toxic chemicals, and to travel to far off destinations. The oceans provide much for us, and without them, life on Earth would not be sustainable. The oceans are a vital resource for humankind, and sadly, we have put them in immediate danger. The majority of the population of the United States lives in coastal regions. Due to this, marine-related industries, such as fishing and shipping, play a significant role in our nation’s economy. Unfortunately, the fishing business in the United States has dwindled. Overfishing has caused the collapse of New England’s cod, flounder, and haddock fisheries. The Gulf of Mexico has what is known as a â€Å"dead zone†, (Report of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation S. 2327) which was likely caused by pollution from the Mississippi River. Pollution is another issue altogether†¦ Runoff from our farmlands and cities flows down our rivers into the Gulf of Mexico and contaminates the coastal areas of our southern states. Oil spills threaten our marine wildlife. Harmful algal blooms have taken over many underwater habitats. Overabundances of sediment and nitrogen from farms and factories upstream suffocate the water ecosystems of our lands. Without strict guidelines and stream-lined regulations set up to properly control our pollution problem, humans will, ultimately, destroy the oceans. The need for urgent action to protect our oceans and waterways has never been greater. Although people have attempted to investigate and lay down the groundwork for improving the condition of our oceans in the past, their attempts have not been enough. In 1966, Congress passed the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act (Report of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation S. 2327), which was designed to lay out national objectives and programs regarding the oceans. Leading the commission was Dr. Julius A. Stratton, former president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With Dr.  Stratton leading the way, along with advisors from congress including Senator Norris Cotton and Senator Warren Magnuson, the 1966 Act was a huge step forward for the country’s oceanic preservation efforts, yet for the next thirty years, it would be one of the only steps forward. The United States urgently needed to increase public awareness of the importance of the oceans to our nation. With that in mind, 1998 was declared the â€Å"International Year of the Ocean†. Spreading knowledge of the threats our oceans faced made it clear to Congress that we needed to take a second look at our ocean policies. On August 7, 2000, President Bill Clinton released a statement upon signing the Oceans Act of 2000. In it, he stated that â€Å"the legislation would establish a Commission on Ocean Policy, to make recommendations to the President and to Congress for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy. † (Statement on Signing the Oceans Act of 2000) The Oceans Act itself was the law requiring the formation of a sixteen member commission, whose job was to research the issues regarding our coasts and waters and to present a detailed report on their findings, and any recommendations to solve the issues, to the President. In September 2004, the Commission introduced their final report, â€Å"An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century†, and invited public comment on their findings. The report consisted of 212 recommendations for ocean policy. Members of the Alaska Oceans Program, American Littoral Society, Gulf Restoration Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, North Carolina Coastal Federation, People for Puget Sound, Sierra Club, and The Ocean Conservancy submitted their comments on the report. Public Comment on Final Report: An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century: Pre-Publication Copy) Although there were a few changes that these groups did not agree with, the majority of the information provided in the report was met with vast approval, especially the call for the implementation of a National Ocean Council, to consolidate the numerous agencies involved in the welfare of our waterways. Since the publishing of â€Å"An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century†, President Bush called for a 13. percent increase in National Science Foundation funding for ocean sciences. (A Sea Change in National Ocean Policy? by Matt Villano) However, much of the funding promised to support the National Ocean Council has been delayed and pushed back, making it very difficult to move forward with the recommendations of the Ocean Commission. In February 2008, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, comprised of former members from the Pew Oceans Commission and the National Ocean Commission, a ssessed the nation’s progress in ocean policy throughout 2007. The grade they presented was a â€Å"C†. Funding seems to be the largest issue our nation is facing in terms of moving forward more quickly with the recommendations from the Commission, yet, as Andy Solow, director of the WHOI Marine Policy Center says, â€Å"If enough people get involved politically and on a grass-roots level, we can make significant progress in some of these areas without it. (A Sea Change in National Ocean Policy? by Matt Villano) The future of our oceans, as well as our planet, is still up in the air. Unless our priorities change, and funding is found to implement the changes needed to improve the status of our oceans, we may find ourselves on the verge of extinction.

Management And Leadership Across Culture Management Essay

Management And Leadership Across Culture Management Essay Leadership and motivation has been very important relating to achieving company goals . We can find lots of theories in leadership and motivation. The main purpose of the study is to critically evaluate theories of leadership and motivation and how this is related to managing cultural diversity and how the organization apply the techniques of leadership and motivation in organization . These days hospitality and tourism has been recognised as a social phenomenon with a variety of social-cultural impacts at both the individual and global levels, and has been a diverse and momentous reality that all social sciences think. The study of tourism and its changes reflect the arrival of new approaches and ways of thinking in modern society as the changes in tourism reflect the changes from modern society to postmodern society. The organisational challenges of tourism are discussed contextualizing the analysis within the concepts of leadership, motivation, work performance, ethics, personality, and rewards. (www.environmental challenges tourism). Most of business organisations were able to achieve their business goals and objectives by incorporating creative leadership and motivating staff. There are observations which claim that companies are constantly challenge by the fact that the control and creative aspect of business are diametrically opposed. As such, effective planning, control, organisation, and coordination within hospitality and tourism industry must be clear from the efficiency and effectiveness of the services offered.  Business leadership and management characterises the process of leading and directing the systems within an organisation by shattering available resources widely so as to achieve the objectives of the business operation. It most of the time includes the conceptualization of business plans and monitoring its execution for assessment and evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the business transactions. Good leadership help in effectively meeting job-related demands, co ordinations, com mitment, in creating higher-performing teams, in fostering renewed loyalty and commitment, in increasing motivational level and in reducing absence and turnover of employees. Effective leadership and employee motivation is very essential and crucial to the survival and continued existence of service industry. It is such an important and wide field of study, and thus has enjoyed contributions from a host of authors and scholars. This research attempts an overview of some of the most insightful theories within the field of workplace motivation and leadership (Meyer and Allen, 1997). The very nature of this topic resides on the crossover between psychology and management, and concepts from these two genres will be investigated with a view to setting this research project against some kind of meaningful context. It is hard to cover all aspect of that influence in the success of hospitality and tourism industry but in this assay author tried to explore leadership and motivation of employ ees factors. Chapter 2: Reviewing theories of Leadership and Motivation The effective leader should think and act about his own Leadership style, strengths, and development needs. Team leader should make the individuals, feel proud to be part of the team then people will work harder and achieve more. Goals of the organisation achieved or not depended on how effective the Leader was. So leadership play important role in the organisation. Leadership is the heart and soul of organisations, and quality communication is the avenue by which leaders clarify their visions and foster participative management within organisations, no matter which approach best describes their leadership styles Management and leadership across cultures The international nature of the hospitality and tourism industry requires managers of the future to be aware of many different issues relating to leading people. They need the knowledge and skills necessary to lead and motivate workforces across many different cultural backgrounds. This issue is one of great importance and very relevant to effective management of organisations in a global setting. Indicative content Leadership in organisations Culture and leadership Theories of motivation Managing diversity According to Wright Taylor (1994), Leadership is an activity which influenced the Behaviour, beliefs and feelings of other group members in an intended direction. Influence may take place at a distance without any personal interaction between the people concerned .Leader can acquisitive the interpersonal skills through practice with feedback and guidance. According to Vecchio (1997) view Leadership is a sense-making heuristic to account for organisational performance and is important primarily for its symbolic role in organisations. Zaccaro (2001) said Leadership is a process of giving purpose to collective effort, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve purpose The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader Concept, ideas of leadership and leadership practices are the subject of much thought, discussion, writing, teaching, and learning. True leaders are sought after and cultivated. Leadership is not an easy subject to explain. A friend of mine characterizes leaders simply like this: Leaders don`t inflict pain; they bear pain. TRAIT APPROACHES KONOPASKE (2008) said thinking and discussion about leadership evolved from a trait-based approach to the concept of teams without bosses. Trait approach is an attempt to identify specific characteristics (physical, mental, personality) associated with leadership success. Trait theory of leadership is based on intelligence, personality, physical characteristics and supervisory ability. In trait approach leaders are born, not made because some people are born with their charisma and other personality traits, seems to be natural born leaders whom others will follow automatically. People possessing charismatic traits need to learn to use and develop those leadership traits consciously. Many successful leaders do not possess a common body of personality traits which explain their leadership abilities. In fact, many great Quality leadership depends neither on charisma nor on personality traits (www.1). Surveys of early trait research by stodgily (1948) and Mann (1959) reported that many studies identified personality characteristics that appear to differentiate leaders from followers (www.2). Peter Wright (1996) has commented, others found no differences between leaders and followers with respect to these characteristics, or even found people who possessed them were less likely to become leaders Central to effective leadership. BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH According to Taylor (1994) behavioural approach of leadership concerned with the behaviour, rather than personality traits. Behavioural theories concerned with the leader in the context of organisation and identify behaviours exhibited by leaders that increase the effectiveness of the organisation. In mastering the role of leadership, leaders must discern between behaviour modification and attitude modification. Behaviour modification implies that people change their outward actions, while their attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and opinions remain the same. Attitude modification implies that followers change their inward thinking; hence, their attitudes, feelings, and opinions are brought into line with those of the leader. It is clear that attitude modification is more important to effect lasting change than behaviour modification (www.3). Two sub-categories: Examines how managers spend their time and the typical pattern of activities, responsibilities, and functions of managerial jobs Leadership effectiveness depends in part on how well a manager resolves role conflicts, copes with demands, recognizes opportunities, and overcomes constraints 2) Identifying effective leadership behaviour Purpose of Leadership Leadership is involves making employees into group and being accountable, responsible for focusing and motivating to achieve goals. A leader should: provide continuity and momentum be flexible in allowing changes of direction Ideally, a leader should be a few steps ahead of their team, but not too far for the team to be able to understand and follow them. a. Skills needed b. Different Ideas of Leadership Skills Needed Leaders must have a wide range of skills, techniques and strategies. These include: Planning Communication skills Organisation Awareness of the wider environment As hospitality and tourism industry based entirely on service quality so manager need to use their communication skill as there are customers and employees from all over the world they have different language background so it is important to use effective communication skill also aware of wider environment. Different Ideas of Leadership Leadership should be concentrated in one person or distributed among members of the team. Leader was appointed by more senior levels of management or elected by the group. This technique relies on the assumption that one single person has all the strengths required. [www.5] Olmsyead (2000) said directing the team is critical tests of leadership skills because it is a growing and shifting relationship between the two people. According to Olmsyead (2000) directing the team is motivating the subordinates Motivation means Cause (person) to act in a particular way; stimulate interest of (person in activity) [www.3]. The effective leader should think and act about his own Leadership style, strengths, and development needs. Team leader should make the individuals, feel proud to be part of the team then people will work harder and achieve more. Goals of the organisation achieved or not depended on how effective the Leader was. So leadership play important role in the organisation. Leadership is the heart and soul of organisations, and quality communication is the avenue by which leaders clarify their visions and foster participative management within organisations, no matter which approach best describes their leadership styles Motivation Hospitality industry is a big industry in the world and the worlds largest employer. It is a labour intensive Industry. Wherever you need human input, motivation is crucial for success, especially for service industry. People are the part of the product in delivery service. If employees are not motivated, their performance will drop or customers will know and complain. The question for hospitality industry businesses is how to get the best from employees, how to encourage and persuade them to do what they are supposed to be doing to the best of their ability all the time. So that, it is strongly proved that motivating the employees is essential key to increase the competitiveness in the organisation environment. Motivation is the key for employees to run the hospitality industry successfully, if the industry does not possess the ability to motivate its employees, the knowledge within the organisation is not practically used to a maximum. Therefore, it becomes the aim of every successful learning hotel industry to find the factors that enable it to motivate its employees to continuous learning and to take advantage of this knowledge to ensure its living. Many motivational theories have been constructed to find these motivational factors, but the values of the employees in the specific organisation like tourism are seldom included in the theories. Since a suitable combination of motivational factors only can be created through an understanding of the values in the measured object (i.e. employees), this can be seen as a risk for validity problems in the measuring instrument. Significance of Motivation in Hospitality and Tourism Industry: Motivation refers to the reason why we do things. A dictionary defines motivation as: The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action towards a desired goal, the reason for that action. (Source: Dictionary.com) A simple definition of motivation is the ability to change behaviour. It is a drive that compels one to act because human behaviour is directed toward some goal. . Motivation is internal; it comes from within based on personal interests, desires, and need for fulfilment. However, external factors such as rewards, praise, and promotions also influence motivation. As defined by Daft (1997), motivation refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action. Here is the particular importance with the motivation, because the organisations always expect a high quality performance. All the time it is not possible to the employees, so that the training needs and motivation is essential to the employees. Motivation can do such things as they are 1. Direct behaviour towards to particular goals. 2. Its lead to increase effort and energy. 3. Increase their initiation, persistence and activities. 4. Enhance the cognitive processing. 5. Determine what consequences are reinforcing. 6. Lead to improve their performance. The persons in their employment they usually try to motivate themselves, even though organisation can maintain the crucial role to motivate the employees. MOTIVATION FACTORS: The employees can be motivated by different factors in a learning organisation, such they are The works itself that many people believe in their work and feel they are making a difference. that is enough to motivate them Recognition being recognised for the contribution that you are making is something that many of us want and need Achievement seeing the results of what we do and knowing that we had a part in that result Responsibility being given responsibility is something that people enjoy, they respond to being given responsibility Advancement and personal growth part of recognition is the opportunity to be able to advance yourself to be given more challenging tasks and be seen as being capable of doing such tasks. MOTIVATION THEORIES: The employees who are committed to achieving organisational objectives generally outperform those who are not committed. Those who are intrinsically rewarded by accomplishments in the workplace are satisfied with their jobs and are individuals with high self-esteem. Therefore, an important part of management is to help make work more satisfying and rewarding for employees and to keep employee motivation consistent with organisational objectives. With the diversity of contemporary workplaces, this is a complex task. Many factors, including the influences of different cultures, affect what people value and what is rewarding to them. From a managers perspective, it is important to understand what prompts people, what influences them, and why they persist in particular actions. Quick (1985) presented these four underlying principles that are important to understanding motivation: People have reasons for everything they do. Whatever people choose as a goal is something they believe is good for them. The goal people choose must be seen as attainable. The conditions under which the work is done can affect its value to the employee and his or her perceptions of attainability or success. PROCESS THEORIES: Process theories help to explain how individuals motivation of an employee to select particular behaviours and how individuals determine if these behaviours meet their needs. Because these theories involve rational selection, concepts of cognition are employed. Cognition, according to Petri (1996), is generally used to describe those intellectual or perceptual processes occurring within us when we analyze and interpret both the world around us and our own thoughts and actions. The expectancy theory is based on an individuals effort and performance, as well as the desirability of outcomes associated with high performance. The value of or preference for a particular outcome is called valence. To determine valence, people will ask themselves whether or not they can accomplish a goal, how important is the goal to them (in the immediate as well as the long term), and what course of action will provide the greatest reward. An individuals expectation of actually achieving the outcome is crucial to success, and many factors influence this. The expectancy theory says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they believe that: There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, Favourable performance will result in a desirable reward, The reward will satisfy an important need, The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile. Valence refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes like rewards. The depth of the want of an employee for extrinsic money, promotion, time-off, benefits or basic satisfaction rewards. Management must discover what employees value. Expectancy Employees have different expectations and levels of confidence about what they are capable of doing. Management must discover what resources, training, or supervision employees need. Instrumentality The awareness of employees whether they will actually get what they desire even if it has been promised by a manager. Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and that employees are aware of that The expectancy theory can be applied through incentive systems that identify desired outcomes and give all workers the same opportunities to achieve rewards, such as stock ownership or other recognition for achievement. Given that communication satisfaction plays an influential role in motivating employees, it would be important for hotel managers to pay attention to communicating with employees. In this regard, it would be beneficial for hotel managers to understand how well satisfied employees are with communication. managers needs to be open to new ideas; managers listen and pay attention to employee; managers communications with employee to make them feel an important part of hotel also offers guidance for solving job-related problems and receive on-time information needed to do job. Conflicts are handled appropriately through proper communication channels; managements communications with employees are accurate and organised; managers know and understand the problems faced by emp loyees. Overall, managers are willing to listen to employees and accept ideas from employees, so employees feel they are part of the organisation. Other issue employees may face is whose first language is not English work in the hotel industry. Here, communication might play a more important role in motivating employees. Managers should respect employees and understand cultural differences. In particular, managers should give clear and precise instructions to let employees know their job description, performance evaluation, service quality, and hotel values. Always providing prompt feedback, encouraging job involvement, and truly caring for employees make communication successful. The equity theory focuses on individuals perceptions of how fairly they are treated in comparison to others. The equity exists when people consider their compensation equal to the compensation of others who perform similar work. People judge equity by comparing inputs (such as education, experience, effort, and ability) to outputs (such as pay, recognition, benefits, and promotion). REINFORCEMENT THEORIES: A theory of reinforcement explains employee should have time maintenance as well the motivation structured by management. This theory based not on need but on the relationship between behaviour and its consequences. In the workplace, these theories can be applied to change or modify on-the-job behaviour through rewards and punishments. This theory takes into consideration both motivation and the environment, focusing on stimulus and response relationships. Through his research, Skinner noted that a stimulus will initiate behaviour; thus, the stimulus is an antecedent to behaviour. The behaviour will generate a result; therefore, results are consequences of behaviour.(McCoy, 1992) The four types of reinforcement are the following: Positive reinforcement: The application of a pleasant and rewarding consequence following a desired behaviour, such as giving praise. Negative reinforcement: The removal of an unpleasant consequence following a desired behaviour, such as a manager no longer reminding a worker about a weekly deadline when the worker meets the deadline. This reinforcement is also called avoidance. Punishment: The application of an unpleasant outcome when an undesirable behaviour occurs to reduce the likelihood of that behaviour happening again. This form of reinforcement does not indicate a correct behaviour, so its use in business is not usually appropriate. Extinction: The withdrawal of a positive reward. If the behaviour is no longer positively reinforced, then it is less likely to occur in the future and it will gradually disappear. From the argument clearly conclude that motivation is the essential need to the employees to enhance their abilities, it is also important to the management, to provide the training needs to motivate the persons and involve them particularly in socio cultural things. Chapter 3 :A Case of Leadership and Motivation in Hilton Manchester Deansgate The management and leadership method of Hilton Manchester Deansgate has a huge effect on its working atmosphere and the employees inspiration. The progress of a finest leadership style and executive skills that is the most proper to an organization is vital, having a key effect on its life duration. Hiltons Managers world class leadership style helps the hotel to attain its goals . There are two types of leadership styles, one that is task-oriented and the other that is employee-oriented. A manager with a task-oriented style will have work results as his major concerns; and therefore, he will enlarge rigid policy that would lead the subordinates into working their errands to reach his preferred results. Case Study The purpose of this study was to explore the similarities and differences in motivation and organisational commitment of employees and employee motivation and their level of organizational commitment. Interviews are taken from the basic stage of work group in Hilton hotel. Those interviews are in the form of face to face interviews, direct interviews. Interview questions in the form of multiple options with agree, strongly agree, disagree, strongly disagree and not applicable. So that involving employees can express their views by choosing the options, in this survey, over 25 employees from Manchester, involved and responded for the following 16 questions. It gives the view of leadership and employee motivation level in organisation. 1Q:- My work gives me feeling of personal success. A: Organizational success is ultimately depends on employee motivation and participation. Every job design will define the employee responsibilities, most of the employees feel that they are giving a good performance.25 employees responded, in that 19 employees agreed, 2 strongly agreed, 4 disagreed. 2Q:- I like the kind of work I do A: organisation responsibility to create the likely environment, so that all the employees can like to work. 25 employees responded in that 21 agreed, 2 strongly agreed, 2 disagreed. 3Q:- I know how my work relates to organisation mission and goals A: management needs to make aware their employees of organisation vision, mission, and goals. Employees should need to know what the goal of organisation is so that performs their work towards to organisation goals. 17 employees responded as agreed, 1 strongly agreed, 7 disagreed, 4Q:- I do give importance for my work A: it describes the organisation attitude and having impacts on outcomes. If employees feel their job is much important to them, than they can involve with much effectively. In higher range 23 employees agreed and 2 employees are disagreed. 5Q:- I feel my department gets support and teamwork from other areas within the Company. A: organisational development depends on employee training and development. Employees need proper training according to their jobs, to effective involvement. 18 agreed, 2 strongly agreed, 5 disagreed. 6Q:- Overall I am very much satisfied with my job at organisation. A: satisfaction does cost much in organisation. It effects on employee performance. 22 employees were agreed, , 3 disagreed,. 7Q:- My manager clearly defines my job responsibilities. A: job enrichment is the key factor to feel employees more responsible. Employees need to know their job responsibilities, management need to assign tasks to their employees. 24 employees responded as agreed only one employee disagrees with this issue. 8Q:-My manager/supervisor encourages high achievement by reducing the fear of failure. A: employees need motivation, encouragement to produce effective performance. 25 employees responded as agreed. 9Q:- My manager/supervisor takes responsibility for shaping the attitudes and relationships within our department. A: employee relations key task in organisation run successful for managers, they need maintain a good relation with employees, so that they can easily shape their attitude. 20 employees agreed 5 disagreed. 10Q:- My manager/supervisor clearly communicates what is expected of me. A: Employee communications mechanisms involve the provision and exchange of information and instructions, which enables an organisation to function effectively and its employees to be properly informed about developments. 24 employees responded agreed, 1disagreed. 11Q:- My manager/supervisor provides me with continuous feedback to help me achieve. A: every organisation need to provide the feedback so that employee can improve his performance to achieve organisation goals. 14 employees responded as agreed, 1 strongly agreed, 10 disagreed. 12Q:- Employees have a feeling of personal empowerment and ownership of work processes. A: empowerment gives to employees having autonomous decision-making capabilities and acting as partners in the business. 16 employees responded as agreed, 6 disagreed, 3 strongly disagreed. 13Q:- Satisfaction with involvement in decisions that affect work A: Employee satisfaction is an emotional state resulting from the experiences an employee feels at work. 17 employees responded as agreed, 1 employee strongly agreed, 7 employees disagreed with a kind of disappointment. 14Q:- I have a high level of respect for my organisations senior leaders and my colleagues. A: organisations values give feel employees to be respectful, so that everyone respectable with another. 24 employees responded as agreed, 1 employee disagreed. 15Q:- In the last 3 weeks, I received recognition or praise for doing good work? A: Performance appraisals have a great impact on employee performance. Performance review can give clear indication to employees performance recognition and opportunity to increase performance. 18 employees responded as agreed, 7 employees responded as disagreed. 16Q: Since a year, I got more opportunities to learn and grow my skills. A: employee involvement and participation is a key task to organisation. For high involvement practices, employee needs to get proper training and development. 12 employees responded as agreed, 10 disagreed and 3 employees strongly disagreed. Summary of findings Survey finds out that how organisation motivates their employees to effect on their success. Questionnaire pointed out the key factors such like employee involvement, organisational success, job responsibility, how organisation determine the vision includes within the employees, organisation culture, employee development towards to organisation development, job enrichment, performance appraisal, empowerment levels, employee satisfaction, and communications. Employees at the Hilton hotel most of them are aware of what the organisation expecting from them, and they felt they are satisfactory with their organisation. Quantitative data of survey providing the entire descriptions, Job satisfaction at there was, 80% employees satisfied with their job, least 20% having unsatisfied. It shows that organisation need to evolve more strategies to make the job interesting and create healthy environmental at work. Organisational success also higher at Hilton, they prefer their employees as a key assets, it is quite interesting about only 60% employees satisfied with organisational strategies. It means that the company needs to reach more employees in order to get more success. Training and development procedures at higher rate and should leading as example to others, overall 89% employees satisfied with their procedures and low level group of employees strongly argued that they are not really affecting their work. It explains that management needs more attention to develop their training strategies useful to all the employees. Communications among different role of employees were too poor, 45% people satisf ied and 55% employees strongly disagreed with their superiors communications, it indicates that there is a no perfect communication systems are following, so organisation needs to develop more communication and employee relation strategies The research of Marchington et al (2001) demonstrated that employers in the 18 organisations they studied valued the voice of the employee in contributing to management decision making because they believed it contributed to business performance. Chapter 4: Recommendations and Conclusion Employee motivation is essential to the success of organisations. A lack of employee motivation may cause organizational problems in turnover and retention, morale, and poor productivity. Hotel industry is not unfamiliar with these human resource issues, however, many restaurants choose to accept these issues as part of the business or utilize ineffective, outdated motivation techniques. Recognition of the problem of employee motivation is the first step a restaurant. Organisation may choose to tackle the problem Today most of the organisations turning into employee voluntary programs such as a key strategy to increase their business goals while positively involving their employees to meet the needs of the organisation. Management should ensure that, employees are committed about getting involved, it is important to find most satisfactory way for them to participate so that their efforts can really make a difference to organisation. Having a number of perspectives, it is clear that employee motivation is central to the modern organisational practices. Moreover, the benefits of employee motivation and effective leadership are more if company implement effectively. In implementing employee motivation theories in practices, a number of general principl

Domestic Violence: Why Do Women Stay? Essay -- Violence Against Women E

It is common knowledge that Ray Rice used his wife as a punching bag in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino. What is truely remarkable is that his fiancà © became his wife after that vicious left hook to the face left her unconscious. Why do women stay with men who beat them unconscious? Domestic violence is a serious and complex plague of society that affects all, but women make up the largest number of victims in most case studies. In the United States alone, '1.5 million women are raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year. More than 500,000 women victims require medical treatment, and 324,000 victims are pregnant at the time of assault' (Berlinger, 'Taking' 42). Numbers like these show how intense the situation of domes tic violence truly is. 'Two women a week are killed by a current or former partner and domestic violence accounts for 22% of all recorded violent crimes' (Jamil 70). Domestic violence takes such a large number in percentages regarding violent crimes, yet often is dismissed by many with the idea that 'this won't happen to me'. Somehow, somewhere, domestic violence will touch everyone whether by someone they know or by televised publication. Though domestic violence affects men as well, the female subject is more often the victim. Domestic violence has a continuous cycle that has been influenced since birth and can be stopped with intervention but each victim's reason for staying will vary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Researchers are still trying to understand domestic violence, what causes it and how far back psychologically does it go. A Scottish psychoanalyst, W. Ronald D. Fairbairn, conducted studies such as these. These studies had a grand influence on British object relations and he founded the ?Object Relations Theory? and the ?Dynamic Structure of the mind? (Stringer). Similarly to Sigmund Freud?s ?id?, Fairbairn has levels of the internal unified ego that will split as a self defense mechanism in relation to the emotional pain a child is feeling (Celani 62). This unconscious strategy is necessary. The internal unified ego is composed of the self-esteem of humans and is divided into three parts ... ...Berlinger, June. ?Domestic Violence.? Nursing Aug. 2001: 58-63. Berlinger, June. ?Taking an Intimate Look at Domestic Violence.? Nursing Oct. 2004: 42-46. Berlinger, June. ?Why Don?t You Just Leave Him Nursing Apr. 1998: 34-40. Busch, Noel Bridget. ?Comparisons of Moral Reasoning Levels Between Battered and Non-battered Women.? Journal of Social Work Education 40 (2004): 57-71. Celani, David P. ?Applying Fairbairn?s Object Relations Theory to the Dynamics of the Battered Woman.? American Journal of Psychotherapy 53 (1999):60-73. Hadley, Susan M. ?Linking the Orthopedic Patient with Community Family Violence Resources.? Orthopedic Nursing 21 (2002): 19-24. Jamil, Tanvir. ?Domestic Violence.? Pulse 4 Oct. 2004: 70. Marvin, Douglas R. ?The Dynamics of Domestic Abuse.? FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 66 (1997): 13-18. Oeltjen, Holly. ?Stop the Beating.? Women in Business 44 (1992): 20-23. Starsoneck, Leslie, and Sharon Friedman. ?Taking Exception to Asymmetrical Role-Taking: Comparing Battered and Non-battered Women.? Social Work 42 (1997): 113-115. Stringer, Kathie. Kathie?s Mental Health Review page. 22 Nov. 2004 http://www.toddlertime.com/fairburn.htm

Essay on the Symbol of Pearl in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Symbol of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter is a book of much symbolism. One of the most complex and misunderstood symbols in the book is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne. Pearl symbolizes a real and constant reminder of Hester’s sins, she is much more prominent and evident than the â€Å"A† that Hester wore, for she is a real living breathing person who will always remain a part Hester. Hawthorne places Pearl in the novel to explore the theme of Romanticism, to create a character who is passionate and true, one who questions the behavior and values of Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl’s behavior towards her mother varied at different times. She would often constantly nag her mother and became infatuated with the scarlet "A" which her mother wore. She is anything but a normal Puritan child, and Hawthorne creates her character very interestingly. â€Å"The child could not be made amenable to rules. In giving her existence, a great law had been broken.....† (91)Pearl was so very aware of this â€Å"A† even if she did not fully understand the meaning of it at her young age. Although, she did have a sense of what this letter meant, and would also make her own to wear. â€Å"Mother, the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Now see! There it is, playing, a good way off. Stand you here, and let me run and catch it. I am but a child. It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet† (192). This symbolizes Pearl’s constant curiousity and truth, and her knowing that the letter her mother must wear retricts her from being ‘loved by the sun’, in other words, Hester must remain in the dark about her feelings, while Pearl can stay in the sun. Again another example of Pearl’s free emotion, a symbolism of the Romanticism in the novel. Although Hester had so much trouble with Pearl, she still felt that Pearl was her treasure. Being alienated from society and without Dimmesdale to confess his part in the sin, Pearl was really the only thing that Hester had in life. Hester cherished Pearl’s existence, though she was born out of what Puritans considered a sin. Here, Pearl symbolizes a person that Hester can hold on to and call her own, when it seems as though she has nothing left in the world.

M.A.English Literature

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI * CODE:11100001 UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION OF MA Part-I April-2013 204 ADMISSION CARD CCF:0279:02826 CENTRE 22 M/A SEAT NO. 05955 M/F F EXAM No. COLLEGE 0279 CANDIDATE'S NAME PAPER 4001 4002 4003 4005 RATHOD ARCHANA BHUPESH VIMAL SUBJECT NAME OPTIONS SELECTED 26/04/2013 11:00-02:00 29/04/2013 11:00-02:00 03/05/2013 03:00-06:00 22/04/2013 11:00-02:00 INDIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH (1820S ONWARDS) LINGUISTICS AND STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF TEXTS LITERATURE OF ENGLISH RENAISSANCE AND RESTORATION NINTEEN AND TWENTIETH AMERICAN CENTURY LITERATUREVENUE NOTE : Please visit mu. ac. in OR mu. ac. in/idol FOR VENUE LIST four days before start of examination * : TO BE WRITTEN ON THE BARCODED CUM OMR ANSWERBOOKS SIGNATURE OF PRINCIPAL OF THE COLLEGE ON THE PHOTO NOTE : 1. CANDIDATE MUST PRESERVE AND PRODUCE THIS CARD AT EACH SESSION OF THE EXAMINATION, WITHOUT WHICH ADMISSION TO THE EXAMINATION MAY BE DISALLOWED . T-EXEMPTION IN THEORY P-EXEMPTION IN PRACTICAL E-EXEMPTION IN BOTH Appli cation ID:13812110249 N. B. :Please note the examination no. or the result on IVRS on following Tel. No. 26526866,26526287,26526167,26526282 or Website: www. mu. ac. in INSTRUCTIONS FOR OBSERVANCE DURING THE EXAMINATION 1. On every Answer Book and every supplement Issued to you, enter your Seat Number and other particulars. 2. Do not write your Name or in any way reveal your identity anywhere in the answer book/ Supplements. 3. Write on both sides of each sheet. DO NOT TEAR OUT any sheet from the answer book/ Supplements. 4. Write your answer for each question on a new page.Question Nos. 1,2,3 etc. , and subquestion nos. (a), (b), (c), or (I), (II), (III), etc. should invariably be written in the margin where the answer to the respective question or sub-question begins. 5. Each section should be answered separately (in separate books). Examination do not undertake to examine answers written in the wrong answer book. Tie together the answer book and supplements relating to the same s ection. Enter on the page of the answer book the total number of supplements including the answer book submitted. . All answer books and supplements issued to you, whether written or blank must be handed over back when the final bell is rung. 7. Candidate will NOT be allowed to leave the examination hall during the first half -an-hour or during the last ten minutes of each session of the examination. 8. Rough work, if any, must be done in pencil and on the left hand page of the answer book/ supplement and NOT on the question paper or the blotting-paper. 9.Candidate will be expelled from the examination hall if (I) he/ she brings any books, notes scribbling or scribbled paper; (II) he/ she speaks to or communicates with any other candidate; (III) he/ she takes away an answer book or supplement; (IV) he/ she disobeys any instructions issued by the conductor or the supervisor. 10. A warning bell will be rung ten minutes before the examination begins and the final bell at the close of e ach session of the examination. Writing or answer must stop with the final bell.Candidate must not leave his/ her seat until all answer books are collected by the supervisor. 11. Student must carry their Photo ID Proof as follow : (Driving Licence/ PAN Card/ Aadhaar Card/ Voter ID Card/ Pass Port/ Employee ID Card). 12. If any Correction on Hall Ticket please contact University of Mumbai, Room No: 112, IDOL, Dr. S. D. Sharma Bhavan Vidyanagari Kalina Campus, Santacruz (East), Mumbai-400 098. Contact No: 2654 3241, 2654 3238 13. Please check your Name and Subjects carefully. 14. Please check the date and time with the examination programme on notice board/ visit mu. ac. in/idol