The Lesson by Tony Cade Bambara Essay Example for Free

The Lesson by Tony Cade Bambara Essay We all learn differently. We can learn from books, from other’s life. We can also learn the hard way and easy way. Either way, learning can be painful for all of us. Especially for children who have to experience the real life around them. The short story â€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Carde Bambara, shows seven poor children who experience where they are a level of economy the hard way. Even though it hurts for the seven children to force the lesson down their throats, such lesson become the lesson that is necessary and valuable for them to change their life in the future. Bambaras short story The Lesson, starts out with seven children: Sylvia, Sugar, Junebug, Fat Butt, Mercedes, Rosie Girrafe, Flyboy, who live in a poor neighborhood. Sylvia is the main character in the story, from the way she speaks in the story; she is an uneducated child, same as the other six children who are with her at the time. Miss Moore is the educated woman in Sylvias neighborhood with the college degree. Miss Moore usually calls all the children to learn some information, such as arithmetic, money and other educated information. None of the children enjoy Miss Moores lecture when Miss Moore gathers them up at the mailbox. After the lecture, Miss Moore decided to bring the children to the expensive toy store called F.A.O Schwartz. All children are stunned at the expensive toys, especially Sylvia. Not only Sylvia is amazed, but also angry and ashamed at the same time, but not sure where she should express her anger to. Sylvia learns the hard way what kind of economic position she is in. From that lesson, she learns a way to make herself work hard to compete and survive in her economic life. The symbolism in The Lesson starts out with the mailbox that the children gather around with. Before Miss Moore takes them out to see a toy store called F.A.O Schwartz, all of the children, Sylvia, Sugar, Mercedes, Junebug, Fat Butt, Q.T, Flyboy, and Rosie Giraffe come together at the mailbox to learn a lesson from Miss Moore. A mailbox is a box where a mail can be sent or received. The children can be seen as the mail ready to be sent out to learn some new knowledge about life. Another symbol is the toys that the ch ildren observe while they are at the toy store. One of the toys is a sailboat. Sailboat is used to bring people out to the sea to travel or learn new experiences. The Sailboat represents the children being sent out to discover new experiences about life. Another toy that the children observe is the microscope. Microscope is used to see invisible bacteria. The microscope represents some kind of reminder for the children to see their real life and what kind of economic position they are in. Another symbolism is the clown toy that Sylvia admired. The toy is a clown which can be represent as a joke to Sylvia. The clown costs $35, which is expensive for Sylvia at the time. She imagined how many foods and home appliance can her family buy with that $35. The clown represent as a joke and a reminder at the same time to Sylvia economics position. Each character is represented differently in the story. In addition, the children also respond differently to the toys that they have been seeing. The main character, Sylvia, is the character who is stubborn and bad mannered. However, she can also be the clever one because she stole four dollars from Miss Moore’s taxi change. Even though Sylvia complain and criticize Miss Moore, in her mind, she realizes that she actually learn a valuable lesson after her visits to F.A.O Schwartz, only she does not want to express it to Miss Moore. In the end of the story, Sylvia mentions at the end â€Å"†¦ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nothin.† Sylvia knows that deep in her mind, she needs to work harder in order to compete against other people who are above her economic level. From the way Sylvia is angry at the store, it is clear that it is not easy for Sylvia to see where she is economically. Even though the lesson that Miss Moore gives can be a stab in the heart for Sylvia and the other children, the lesson becomes to be the valuable one for them because they will remember to work harder and change their life. In page 2001, Miss Moore gives a lecture about money and how poor they are. Sylvia, on the other hand, seems to disagree on that because she is trying to speak and talk back to Miss Moore until the taxi came. The children do not seem to respond very well to Miss Moore’s lectures. However, they respond and understand the lesson better after they experience the reality of where they are economically. The children’s characters show that even though learning a lesson can be a pain for children, it is still important for them to learn. When the children complain about not being able to buy the toys, the complaints show that they are in different level of economy. Mercedes seems to be the only ones with positive thoughts. For example, in page 2002, when they talked about  paperweight, Mercedes is the only one who mentions that she has stationery and a desk, while the others say that they do not even have a desk to place a paperweight with. Also in page 2004, Mercedes is pushes out of the group when she said she will go back to the store when she has the money. In addition, Flyboy seems the be to most poor child in the group because he mentions he does not have a home (2002). The group, however, do not seem to favor the ones who is too rich or too poor. For example, Sylvia says that the white people just want to feel sorry for Flyboy when he mentions he does not have a home. The group also pushes Mercedes out of the circle because she is the one who has enough. This show the children started to be able to discern the different level of economy, and start to see how unfair their life is in a democracy country. From â€Å"The Lesson,† we can see how hard, yet important it is for children to learn real life experiences. Bambara uses the children characters because they are the ones who have more chances to change to way economy works in the future. Even though it hurts for children to see where they are economically, especially the poor ones, by giving them a lesson, they will remember and learn what they must do to change their life.

The Keebler Company :: essays research papers fc

The founhder of the company, Godfrey Keebler, started with jus a small bakery in Philadelphia, PA in 1853. During the next two generations, local bakeries popped up around the country, including Strietmann, Hekman, Supreme and Bowman. With the introduction of cars and trucks (carrying the Keebler logo), bakery goods could be distributed beyond the neighborhood and regional distribution began. In 1927, United Biscuit Company of America was formed. By 1944, there were 16 bakeries in the network from Philadelphia to Salt Lake City and their cookies and crackers were marketed under a variety of brand names for the next 22 years. Due to tremendous growth and modern business practices in centralized management, product consistency and quality, efficient use of facilities, cost control and mass advertising, the company needed to operate under one name. In 1966, â€Å"Keebler† was judged to be the most sound and memorable. Over the years, Keebler has acquired several other producers of cookies and crackers (i.e., Bake-Line Products, Inc. – The nation’s leading producer of private-label cookies and crackers in 1993; merger in June 1996 with Sunshine Biscuit Company – now owned by Keebler Foods Corporation). Keebler/Sunshine merger brought together two of the oldest and most respected names in the U.S. biscuit industry. Keebler and products are sold in more than 75,000 retail outlets nationwide, including Puerto Rico and selected international markets. The Keebler company seems to have more than one target market. With variety of products they offer, the company appears to be targeting just about every segment of the population: + Parents of young children + Young adults + Older adults + People who enjoy snacking + People who enjoy sweets/deserts The market segmentation is largely homogenous in that the segmented groups: + Are generally young children or adults who are relatives of young children ++ Starting at the age of 3 years old, and going up + People who don’t have time to prepare foods all the time + Some brands target older people (i.e., Club Crackers, etc.) Keebler, in maintaining success in the market, emplys the 4P’s as follows: Product: The company produces a physical good – Cookies/Crackers. In doing this, the company became diversified by the use of several product lines, not just one line of cookie or cracker. Also, in acquiring other businesses, the company thought it best to keep the originating firm’s brand name vice-carrying its name on the new product (i.e., Sunshine company). In thins regard, Sunshine’s Cheeze-It cracker line would not risk losing customers who are accustomed to that logo on the product or the name being used in association with the product.

Problems facing Costa Rica Essay

Is Costa Rica really the best nation on earth? This paper through qualitative analysis of legitimate website sources, published work and peer reviewed articles aims at determining whether the level of satisfaction of Costa Ricans with their country exceeds that of other countries. This paper, besides giving a brief history of Costa Rica, will explore the structure of the government of Costa Rica, the current problems facing the nation, in addition to a short bibliography of its current leader so as to determine the reasons as to why the country is important. Introduction Costa Rica is a middle-income developing nation which has a strong democratic tradition (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). The country possesses numerous and extensive tourist facilities. The country has come a long way, characterized by periods of peace and political turmoil, to its current status. Christopher Columbus first entered Costa Rica on September 1502 (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). Columbus stayed in the country for seventeen days and was pleased by the architectural designs and gold decorations worn by natives. As a result, he named the country Costa Rica, meaning the rich coast. The capital city of Costa Rica is San Jose. Spanish is the major language in Costa Rica, with English coming second. Costa Rica was colonized by Spain, even though it had resisted colonization for many years. It took over sixty years for the Spanish settlers to establish a strong hold of the country (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). Costa Rica has a distinct form of government. One unique characteristic of Costa Rican’s administration is that it does not have a military force. Approximately 92% of the Costa Rican population practice Christian faith (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). Catholicism is the state religion, and as a result, only Roman Catholic marriages are recognized as legal by the government. The quality and standards of education in Costa Rica are very high as compared to the neighboring countries. Costa Rica has the highest rate of literacy in Latin America (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). Nation Survey: Costa Rica Brief history of Costa Rica Costa Rica is a country lying in between mountains and volcanoes in the western region of the Americas. It has four characteristic mountain ranges namely, Tilaran and Guancaste in the north Talamanca and central in the south. The history of Costa Rica can be traced back to over a hundred thousand years. By then, the country was sparsely populated. There exists no tangible sign of the existence of a major community in the country during that period. It is estimated that there were over twenty thousand indigenous inhabitants in the country by 1502 (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). These people came from different backgrounds and had separate cultures and beliefs. McNeil (2001) makes it clear that the main inhabitants of ancient Costa Rica are believed to have been the Indians. Hostility of these people acted as a major factor that deterred colonialists from entering Costa Rica. However, a colonial base was established by the Spanish in Costa Rica (Baker, n. d). Civil war broke out in1823, in Costa Rica, after Central America was granted independence. Costa Rican leaders were divided on whether to join the newly sovereign Mexico or to join the confederation of Central American states. In 1824, Juan Mora Fernandez was elected as the first president of Costa Rica (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). Fernandez implemented policies that promoted expansion of public education and agriculture. This resulted in the establishment and growth of new Costa Rican elite. The early years of political development in Costa Rica were characterized by anarchy. For twelve years, starting 1870, Costa Rica was under the rule of a military dictator General Tom S Guardia (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). In 1940, Dr. Rafael Angel Calder? n Guardia was elected as the president of Costa Rica (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). Guardia implemented a number of policies including land reforms, progressive taxation, and minimum wage. However, a civil war erupted in 1948, after Guardia under the support of his United Social Christian Party refused to quit power after being defeated in elections (Baker, n. d). The war lasted for forty days and resulted in the death of over two thousand people. The Founding Junta of the Second Republic of Costa Rica was headed by Figueres. Figueres developed various policies and merged them with the reforms of Guardia (McNeil, 2001). The communist party was banned, women were given the right to vote and blacks were given full citizenship. Armed forces were also abolished and a term limit for the heads of state was established. In 1986, Oscar Arias Sanchez was elected as the Costa Rican head of state (Baker, n. d). Oscar implemented policies and strategies aimed at promoting peace in the western region. Structure of the government of Costa Rica Costa Rica is a democratic nation which has a very strong system of constitutional checks and balances. The president, who is bestowed with executive powers, acts as the center of power for Costa Rican government. The government is made up of two vice presidents and twenty cabinet members. The president and other members of parliament and their deputies are elected for four-year terms. The Costa Rican Constitutional Court, in April 2003, declared a 1969 constitutional reform that barred presidents from running for re-election as invalid. This made the law to revert back to the 1949 constitution (Travel Document Systems, 2009). This law allows former presidents to run for re-elections after they have been out of office for two or more terms. McNeil (2001) states that the work of supervising the electoral process is carried out by an Independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which is made up of three principle magistrates and six alternates appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice. The Supreme Court of Justice is made up of twenty two magistrates, who are selected for eight-year renewable terms by the legislative assembly (Travel Document Systems, 2009). The last national elections were held in February 2010. Supervision of government activities is carried out by the office of the Comptroller General, the Ombudsman and the Solicitor General. The statutory obligation of the office of the Comptroller General is to scrutinize all contracts of the public sector and firmly enforce procedural requirements (Travel Document Systems, 2009). Even though there are provincial boundaries for purposes of administration, there are no elected provincial officials. The first mayoral elections in Costa Rica were held in December 2002 (Travel Document Systems, 2009). Mayors are supposed to hold office for four years. The office of the mayor was not in existence before December 2002. Administration of municipalities was the mandate of the president of each municipal council. Most of the state agencies in Costa Rica enjoy high levels of operational independence. These agencies include: the state insurance, the telecommunications, electoral body, state petroleum refinery, social security agencies, and nationalized commercial banks (McNeil 2001). Maintenance of law and order in Costa Rica is conducted by domestic police along with other domestic forces. There is no military in Costa Rica. Respect for the rights of individuals and development of democracy are some of the major issues the government of Costa Rica emphasizes on (Vorhees and Firestone, 2006). The political system of the country has undergone steady development, and democratic institutions have been maintained in an orderly manner. There are various factors that have resulted in the steady development of Costa Rican politics. These factors include: enlightened leadership, educational opportunities that have resulted in development of a stable middle class, flexible class lines in addition to relative prosperity (Travel Document Systems, 2009). Based on the fact that Costa Rica has no military forces, chances of military involvement in politics and government operations have been eliminated. Biographical sketch of Laura Chinchilla Laura Chinchilla is the current president of Costa Rica. She is the first woman to be elected president of Costa Rica. Laura Chinchilla Miranda was born in San Jose Costa Rica on March 28, 1959 (Chinchilla, 2010). Chinchilla grew up in left-wing College halls when the countries neighboring Costa Rica were entangled in civil war. She studied at the University of Costa Rica. During her school years, Chinchilla was very much concerned about the welfare of the people as a result of the numerous challenges facing the world by then. Chinchilla obtained her master’s in public policy at Georgetown University. Laura has published great articles, books and monographs concerning justice, public security and police reforms. Between 1994 and 1996, Laura worked as the deputy minister of public security and later as minister of public security (1996-98) (Chinchilla, 2010). Before being elected president, Laura acted as the vice president to Oscar Arias Sanchez. Laura took office in May 2010 (Chinchilla, 2010). Problems facing Costa Rica Universidad de Pennsylvania (2010), states that Laura Chinchilla, the first woman Costa Rican president, is faced by numerous challenges. Poverty is one of the major problems facing the country. Poverty has been a long standing and legal concern in Costa Rica. Only those who are wealthy are likely to live on a healthy diet. Crime is the other major challenge that Costa Rican leaders are faced with. Local law enforcement agencies do not have the capacity to effectively deal with crime as compared to other countries like the United States. Robberies are conducted during the day (Universidad de Pennsylvania, 2010). Colombian cartels are also invading the country leading to an increase in the level of drug trafficking. Costa Rica is also faced by numerous health challenges. Diseases such as malaria, dengue, travelers’ diarrhea, altitude sickness and hepatitis are a major cause of worry for Costa Rican leaders. Traffic accidents act as a major cause of death in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is also faced with a variety of environmental challenges (Universidad de Pennsylvania, 2010). These include: deforestation, soil erosion, environmental pollution, and poor solid waste management. Presence of dangerous insects is the other challenge facing Costa Rica. Ticks, which are the common insects found in the tropics, transmit numerous diseases. The other major challenge is the current global economic recession, which has adversely affected the economic growth of Costa Rica. During this period, Costa Rica has experienced a fiscal deficit of approximately 5%. This is the highest level of deficit Costa Rica have had for the last ten years (Universidad de Pennsylvania, 2010). Estimation of why this country is important The likelihood of contracting serious diseases in Costa Rica is very low. The health system in Costa Rica is excellent and the quality of sanitary systems is high. Even though there may be outbreaks of mosquito borne diseases such as dengue during wet seasons, serious cases of hemorrhaging dengue are rare. Greenspan (2009), states that Costa Ricans do not require vaccinations for a variety of diseases because they have been eradicated in the whole country. Diseases such as infectious hepatitis are a serious threat to human beings but have rarely been reported in Costa Rica. The level of public safety in Costa Rica is relatively high. There have been no recent cases of terrorism reported in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a major tourist destination; there is numerous attraction sites scattered all over the country. The country is popular as a result of adventure tourism (Greenspan, 2009). Safety of tourists is monitored by the government, which have implemented policies to make sure that tourist companies meet the stipulated safety standards and have insurance coverage. Various commodities which are expensive in other countries can be bought at a cheaper price in Costa Rica. The cost of living and traveling in Costa Rica is relatively cheap as compared to other Latin American countries (Greenspan, 2009). Conclusion It can therefore be concluded that Costa Rica is one of the best nations in the world. It is one of the few countries where citizens are contented with their government and the mode of leadership. Costa Rica enjoys a sovereign in addition to strong criminal justice system as well as a highly educated population which comprehends and reverences the rule of law. The history of Costa Rica can be traced back to over a hundred thousand years. By then, the country was sparsely populated. The main inhabitants of ancient Costa Rica are believed to have been the Indians. The early years of political development in Costa Rica were characterized by anarchy. For twelve years, starting 1870, Costa Rica was under the rule of a military dictator General Guardia. Costa Rica is a democratic nation which has a very strong system of constitutional checks and balances. The president acts as the center of power for Costa Rican government. The government is made up of two vice presidents and twenty cabinet members. The president and other members of parliament and their deputies are elected for four-year terms. Laura Chinchilla Miranda, born in San Jose Costa Rica on March 28, 1959, is the current president and the first woman to be elected president of Costa Rica. Currently, Costa Rica is faced by a number of problems including the current global economic recession, crime, and poverty. However, the country remains one of the major tourist destinations in the world. This is due to the high level of public safety and cheap cost of living and traveling. Reference: Baker C. , (n. d. ), History, retrieved on August 12, 2010 from http://philip. greenspun. com/cr/mo on/history Chinchilla L. , (2010), Biography of Laura Chinchilla Costa Rica, retrieved on August 12, 2010 from http://laura-chinchilla. com/biography-laura-chinchilla-costa-rica-presidential-campaign/ Travel Document Systems, (2009), Government, retrieved on August 12, 2010 from http://www. traveldocs. com/cr/govern. htm Universidad de Pennsylvania, (2010), The Challenges Facing Costa Rica’s First Woman President, retrieved on August 12, 2010 from http://www. wharton. universia. net/index .cfm? fa=viewArticle&id=1900&language=english Vorhees, M and Firestone M. , (2006). (edn 7), Costa Rica, ISBN 1741044634: Lonely Planet McNeil J. , (edn 3), (2001). The rough guide to Costa Rica, ISBN 1858287138: Rough Guides Greenspan E. , (2009), Frommer’s Costa Rica, ISBN 0470482176: Frommer’s

My Cross Cultural Report On The United States - 1184 Words

I decided to do my cross cultural report on The United States, Washington DC in relations to London England. The topic that I have chosen is Mental Healthcare. I have often witnessed our mental health people in Washington DC and believed enough has not been done in the to rectify this problem especially the youth. First let’s examine The United States Mental healthcare system and then London England. We will discuss the developmental domains of both countries, the laws and practices, attitudes as well as cultural influences. We will also point out some key differences and similarities between the two countries. In 2015, the District had a population of 672,228. In Washington DC the homeless statics are the following. Homelessness in the District, 7,298 persons experiencing homelessness, 544 persons who were unsheltered, i.e. living on the street or places not meant for habitation, 5,085 persons in Emergency Shelters, 1,669 persons in Transitional Housing (665 unaccompan ied individuals and 1,004 people in 363 families). The number of persons experiencing homelessness at decreased by 5.8 percent from 2014. Since the United States cultural influences is based upon individualism the following attitudes have been expressed by various people throughout the DC, MD, VA areas. 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