Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Characters’ Transformation Essay

Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular novels written by Jane Austen which was foremost published in 1813. It is more than a narrative of love which revolves around the lives of the Bennett household and the affluent male visitants of Hertfordshire. The broad assortment of personalities in the narrative contributed to the novel’s attractive and compelling characteristics to day of the month. However. the novel seemingly portrayed several transmutations in relation to the chief characters. Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy were clearly different sorts of people who subsequently proved themselves to be the ideal lucifer for each other. Clearly. the transmutation of Elizabeth and Darcy’s characters were made possible by their ain pride and biass against each other. This fact. hence. illustrates the thought that the character transmutation would most probably non happen without the defects and headlong judgements of the two chief characters of the Jane Austen’s celebrated novel. Character Transformation Thoroughly reexamining the whole context of the narrative. the diverse personalities of the characters are what made it possible to get in a certain character transmutation. Each character is provided a characteristic that is distinguishable to other characters. Elizabeth Bennett. an interesting character so. possesses traits which are really much different from her sisters. Here is one of her statements to Darcy included in Chapter 19 where she rejects him the first clip he proposed to get married her and considered to be one of the polar bends in the narrative which caused the alteration in both Elizabeth and Darcy’s character: I do assure you. Sir. that I have no pretense whatever to that sort of elegance which consists in torturing a respectable adult male. I would instead be paid the compliment of being believed sincere. I thank you once more and once more for the award you have done me in your proposals. but to accept them is perfectly impossible. My feelings in every regard forbid it. Can I talk plainer? Do non see me now as an elegant female. meaning to blight you. but as a rational animal. talking the truth from her bosom ( Austen 97 ) . Elizabeth Bennett’s character speaks much of a strong personality which is highly opinionative and bold. Unlike her younger sisters. she does non let societal position and wealth to interfere with her criterions for love. However. in her statement. biass toward Darcy are apparent for she has already judged him without cognizing him good foremost. However. at the terminal of the narrative. she regrets holding misjudged the adult male upon cognizing the existent Fitzwilliam Darcy. On the other manus. Darcy’s character besides reveals pride and bias on his first feeling towards Elizabeth. His statement where she declared Elizabeth as tolerable but non beautiful plenty to involvement him because of her hapless societal position discloses how proud he was to avoid being acquainted with such a adult female ( Austen 9 ) . Similarly. he took back his word when he found out how interesting and intelligent Elizabeth was which led him to squeal his feelings and offer a matrimony proposal. Unfortunately. his first proposal was rejected. Upon the terminal of the novel. it is sensible to reason that Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy really have similar features which can be considered dry. Both are intelligent. witty. opinionated. and proud. There are besides cases when they have exposed Acts of the Apostless of biass towards some characters in the narrative. chiefly themselves. Elizabeth deemed Darcy to be an highly chesty and proud adult male when she by chance heard him state that he was non interested in her due to her hapless position in the society. She thought him to be a spoilt affluent adult male who is unsociable and selfish. In return. Darcy besides showed his biass towards her by thought that she was non right for him because she belonged to the lower category portion of the society. Hence. the state of affairs indicates how their unprompted and superficial judgements of each other led them to take back their words and eliminate their pride and biass towards each other. They bit by bit transformed into low existences who were capable of acknowledging and accepting their defects. Harmonizing to Christopher Booker. writer of The Seven Basic Plots: What we see here is a narrative wholly shaped by the implicit in signifier of Comedy. but in a new sort of intervention where the conventions about misinterpretations. camouflages. failure to acknowledge individuality and ‘dark’ figures acquiring caught out are no longer presented in the footings of the old phase devices. but instead more subtly. in footings of the gradual disclosure of people’s true character from behind first misguided feelings. and the find of true feelings. in a manner which corresponds more to our experience of life ( Booker 134 ) . Therefore. two people. even with similar features may non hold similar end products and can still be regarded contradictory in footings of beliefs. Like the characters in the narrative. all have distinct personalities which enabled them to make up one's mind the manner they did. If Elizabeth did non hurriedly judged Darcy in the first topographic point which led her into rejecting his first matrimony proposal. Darcy would non hold humbled himself into farther prosecuting Elizabeth despite her initial rejection. He would non hold rescued her household from societal shame and uncover his true nature. Simply put. Elizabeth would non hold alteration her sentiment about Darcy and most likely reject him still. She would non hold fallen in love with him and alter her ways of being filled with biass. The undermentioned scenarios created a immense impact in the adulthood and development of the characters in the narrative which proves that the transmutation is so dependent on the characters’ actions and determinations. Harmonizing to Nhu Le’s on-line article entitled. The Individualization of Elizabeth Bennet. she points out that: Although Elizabeth comes to hold that Darcy’s old actions were so justified. . . this transmutation â€Å"disables† Elizabeth’s capacity to get at. and act upon. her ain judgements. On the contrary. Darcy’s missive strengthens Elizabeth’s independency of head. By accepting the fact that she has misjudged Darcy. Wickham. Jane. and Bingley. Elizabeth sharpens her ability to spot character. In bend. she develops a solidly based assurance ( Le ) . As one critic puts it. â€Å"Both Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy develop an consciousness of their topographic point in the community and a acknowledgment of the effects of their ain speech† ( Colebrook 158 ) . Conclusion Clearly. the statements stated above place the construct that Elizabeth and Darcy’s character transmutation would non hold been possible without their errors and initial false feelings of each other. This validates the fact that their development as persons is extremely rooted from their determinations and headlong judgments—or instead their ain pride and biass. Works Cited Austen. Jane. Pride and Prejudice: A Novel. London: R. Bentley. 1853. Booker. Christopher. The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. 2005. Colebrook. Claire. Irony. London: Routledge. 2004. Le. Nhu. The Individualization of Elizabeth Bennet. 16 December 2008. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Colorado. edu/pwr/occasions/articles/lizbennet. hypertext markup language & gt ;

Implications of Public Display of Affection Essay

II. Definition of PDA â€Å"Public Display of Affection or PDA as they are called, is the act of two people indulging in an intimate act in public.† [] It is an act that is mostly objectionable to the public. Today, Public Display of Affection is something that most couples indulge in the beginning of their days of physical exploration and discovery. â€Å"PDA is the physical demonstration of affection for another person while in the view of others. Holding hands or kissing in public are commonly considered to be unobjectionable forms of public displays of affection; however, what is considered objectionable depends on the context and social norms. For example, in places such as bars, nightclubs, and strip clubs, more extreme forms of public displays of affection are rarely considered to be objectionable.† [] â€Å"Public display of affection depends on the decision of the couple. Individual and societal views on Public Display of affection vary significantly. Such displays may sometimes be considered to be in bad taste, while in some jurisdictions such displays may even be criminal. Depending on the social values and context, extreme forms of public displays of affection may be considered indecent exposure.† [] Affection is an important part of any relationship. It makes a person feel warm inside when someone of his resemblance or even love lets the person know how he or she feels. This feeling is best expressed behind closed doors. Kisses and physical connection are the tools people use to display their affection. These tools will effectively free their feelings and allow themselves to be close. A. Social views Public display of affection affects people in different ways and one should be mindful of the feelings that can be elicited by ‘carrying on’ in public. When a couple is feeling passionate they may be oblivious to the presence of people around them, but they may accidentally hurt someone. Someone who has just lost a loved one may find their public display of affection heartbreaking; a reminder of someone they can no longer kiss. Someone who has ended a relationship may find it agonizing as a reminder of the one that had gone away. Older people may find it annoying as their generation was more modest and saved serious affection for times when the intimacy could be carried further than just holding hands and kissing. Single people and lonely people will feel similarly as it will remind them of the fact that they are alone. A consideration of the kind of people around the place will save everyone from feelings of resentment or in some cases, embarrassment. We find that the heart of PDA is intolerance and insecurity. In conversations with people about why such sights bother them – or don’t bother them – jealousy is an interesting common factor. Those who are in relationships themselves are rarely bothered by other’s exhibitions of affection, even if they preferred to show their love in private. However, those who are not, especially those who have recently had a break-up, are morbidly horrified by any sight of love between other people. Although holding hands is considered sweet by most people, it is rarely considered acceptable to openly kiss someone passionately in public because it is not polite, and going further than that is illegal and a crime in some places especially in conservative countries like India. B. Psychological views Public Display of Affection (PDA) can either be approved or disapproved. A person’s perspective might be different from someone else’s view on PDA. As our society tends to do what we think other people approve of or disapprove of, for example, an aggressive couple stopped their behavior because it was not approved. Injunctive norms can make a major impact in someone’s behavior and change that certain behavior to create a positive behavioral change. Certain public displays of affection are appropriate in some places than others. For example, in a club more people are likely to see couples showing their affection, in contrast to family-style restaurants. This makes us think that people doing PDA become aggressive and in emotional outburst everytime they are with their partner. Also, the way that people think of PDA differs from each other and their views of doing it also differs from one another, regarding the civil status. III. Causes of PDA Public display of affection or PDA has pros and cons depending on where society one belongs or what culture one is in. Public display of affection may mean that one is proud of the other, but may not be acceptable to society. It may also mean that one is truly in love with the other or one has nothing to hide. He/she may have no fear of being caught by someone else. Public display of affection may convey bad meanings and not good for children to see. They might consider this act as normal and can be done by just anybody. A. Affection on either boyfriend or girlfriend : true love The love practiced by couples through PDA (Public Display of Affection) is merely a factual understanding between couples. It is biologically and psychologically necessary for lovers to express their feeling on their partner the way they are suited to. True love is an urge between a single couple and as long as it necessary, couples must express it to show the partner how much he/she loves this person. That way, the partner would feel that he/she is very special to that someone. But then, expression of true love through PDA must have its limitations. Though expressing love in public is an acceptable fact in our society, partners must realize that displaying their affection in public can cause other people to think of bad remarks about it. â€Å"Love has intrigued people throughout history. Its joys and sorrows have inspired different students of human interaction. Indeed, love is one of the pervasive themes in the art and literature of many cultures. Each of our own lives has been influenced in significant ways by love, beginning with the love we receive as infants and children. Our best and worst moments in life can be tied to a love relationship.† [] According to psychologist Robert Sternberg, there are three components of love using the triangular theory of love: intimacy, passion, and commitment. Different combinations of these three components result in different types of love. For example, a combination of intimacy and commitment results in compassionate love, while a combination of passion and intimacy leads to passionate love. These three components are seen in various combinations to evidence different types of love. According to Sternberg, there are eight types of love formed through the various combinations of the three components of love, they are: Non-love, Liking, Infatuation, Empty Love, Romantic Love, Companionate Love, Fatuous Love, and Consummate Love. The theory characterizes love within the context of interpersonal relationships. 1. Components of love According to Sternberg, the three basic love components differ with respect to a number of properties, including stability and conscious controllability. For example, the intimacy and decision/commitment components are usually fairly stable in close relationships. Once we develop feelings of intimacy for someone and become committed to the relationship we have with that person, these features tend to endure over time. The passion component, however, tends to be less stable and predictable. In addition, although people possess agreat deal of conscious control over the commitment that they make to a relationship, and even some degree of control over their feelings of intimacy, they usually have very little conscious control over the amount of passion that they experience for their partners. a. Passion Passion is the strong feeling of affection to the partner. â€Å"Passion is the motivational component that fuels romantic feelings, physical attraction and the desire for sexual interaction. Passion instills a deep desire to be united with the loved one. In a sense, passion is like an addiction, because its capacity to provide intense stimulation and pleasure can exert a powerful craving in a person.† [] Passion is when a person has physical attraction with someone and the desire to express himself sexually to them. Passion differentiates romantic love from other types of love. It is all about physiological arousal. Passion is the fastest of the three components, but it can be the first to fade in a long-term relationship. The passion component is motivational in nature and consists of the drives that are involved in romantic and physical attraction, sexual consummation, and related phenomena. Although passion takes the form of sexuality in many love relationships, Sternberg suggested that other needs (including the need for affiliation, for dominance over others, and for self-esteem) can contribute to the experience of passion. b. Intimacy Intimacy is the state of having close physical attraction with somebody. Intimacy tends to appreciate the partner. â€Å"Intimacy is the emotional component of love that encompasses the sense of being bonded with another person. It includes feelings of warmth, sharing, and emotional closeness. Intimacy also embraces a willingness to help the other and an openness to sharing private thoughts and feelings with the beloved.† [] Intimacy is the feeling of being close to someone. It happens when a person feels that they are sharing themselves with someone that is considered being intimate. When a person shares a bond with someone, that person gives and receives emotional support. Intimacy is present in many different types of relationships, not just romantic ones. The feelings between best friends could be called intimate but not mean anything sexual at all. The intimacy component of love is primarily emotional in nature and involves feelings of warmth, closeness, connection, and bonding in the love relationship. Signs of intimacy include wanting to promote the welfare of the loved one; experiencing happiness, mutual understanding, and intimate communication with the loved one; having high regard for the loved one; giving and receiving emotional support; being able to count on the loved one in times of need; sharing oneself and one’s possessions with the loved one; and valuing the presence of the loved one in one’s life. c. Commitment Commitment is the component of love which tends to be in the behavioral aspect of a person. â€Å"Commitment is the thinking or cognitive aspect of love. It refers to the conscious decision to love another and to maintain a relationship over despite difficulties that may arise.† [] Decision or commitment has two aspects. The first decision that a person loves another person and would be the short term aspect. The second decision is the commitment to form and maintain a relationship and would be the long term aspect rather. When relationships last a long time, commitment is playing a major role. People tend to choose a partner based on their similarities, attractiveness and whether or not that person would be interested in them. Needless to say, it didn’t work out mainly because the similarity couldn’t withstand the difference in age. The decision/commitment component of love is primarily cognitive in nature and represents both the short-term decision that one individual loves another and the long-term commitment to maintain that love. 1. Types of love Love takes many forms. Love exists between parent and child and between family members. Love between friends, known to the ancient Greeks as philia, involves concern for the other’s well-being. Lovers may experience some other additional types of love, like passionate love and companionate love. A relationship (whether romantic in nature, familial, or casual) may go through any or all of the eight classifications of love. a. Non-love Non-love is the absence of all three of Sternberg’s components of love. â€Å"Non-love does not contain any component of love. Non-love does not contain intimacy, passion, or commitment and is experienced through casual acquaintances such as therapists, teachers, neighbors, etc.† [] Love is the strong feeling of deep affection for somebody. Non-love in this case defines a feeling of emptiness, or in short no love exists at all. Non-love can be experienced during break-ups and with persons having third parties. This can affect someone’s perception of life and will be difficult to recover. b. Liking â€Å"Liking details a relationship based on intimacy, but not passion or commitment. The characteristic of Liking is having close, intimate friendships with no long-term commitment; an example of Liking is developing an intimate friendship with a neighbor, but because commitment and passion are missing if either neighbor moves away, the relationship is not maintained.† [] Liking/friendship in this case is not used in a trivial sense. A psychologist said, particularly Dr. Sternberg, that this intimate liking characterizes true friendships, in which a person feels a bond, warmth, and closeness with another but not intense passion or long-term commitment. c. Infatuation Infatuation is the absence of the two main components of love while existing in the presence of passion. â€Å"Infatuation is a relationship based on passion, with no intimacy or commitment. Infatuation is characterized by passionate attraction on sight, and an example of such would be a one night stand.† [] Infatuation is purely based on a person’s strong feelings of love, hatred, anger, enthusiasm, etc. Romantic relationships often start out as infatuated love and become romantic love as intimacy develops over time. Without developing intimacy or commitment, infatuated love may disappear suddenly. d. Empty love Empty love is love without the feeling and the bonding. This love is commonly seen among short-term unmarried relationships, in which the couple stays only because there is a responsibility. â€Å"Empty Love is a relationship based on commitment, lacking any intimacy or passion. An example of Empty Love is a couple staying in a marriage or relationship for the â€Å"sake of the children.† Empty Love is characterized by a lack of emotional warmth or heat of passion where partners tolerate each other because of a false sense of duty, obligation, or fear of change.† [] Empty love is characterized by commitment without intimacy or passion. Sometimes, a stronger love deteriorates into empty love. In cultures in which arranged marriages are common, relationships may begin as empty love and develop into one of the other forms. e. Romantic love â€Å"Romantic Love is a relationship based on passion and intimacy; however, it lacks commitment. Romantic Love is characterized by a couple who are emotionally and physically drawn to one another without the commitment of a long-term relationship. Romantic lovers look at each other through â€Å"rose colored glasses† not seeing each other’s flaws.† [] Romantic love bonds individuals emotionally through intimacy and physically through passionate arousal, but neither is sustained without commitment. f. Companionate love Companionate love is an intimate, non-passionate type of love that is stronger than friendship because of the element of long-term commitment. Sexual desire is not an element of companionate love. This type of love is often found in marriages in which the passion has gone out of the relationship but a deep affection and commitment remain. The love ideally shared between family members is a form of companionate love, as is the love between close friends who have a platonic but strong friendship. â€Å"Companionate Love is based on intimacy and commitment without the wild fire of passion. Companionate Love is characterized by a committed friendship and shared intimacy; an example of Companionate Love is a marriage whose passion has dwindled or a very close and intimate friendship that has survived through distance, hardship, and time.† [] g. Fatuous love â€Å"Fatuous Love is based on passion and commitment, but lacks intimacy. Fatuous Love is where passion and commitment are combined before true intimacy can develop; an example would be a marriage commitment based on passionate sex which over times loses its passionate nature, and since the couple didn’t share intimate conversations, goals, and dreams, the marriage is ended when it is realized the couple are not a good match.† [] Fatuous love is exemplified in which a commitment is motivated largely by passion without the stabilizing influence of intimacy. h. Consummate love â€Å"Consummate Love involves intimacy, commitment, and passion. Consummate Love is when a couple are perfectly matched in passion, intimacy, and commitment, and it is the ideal that most people try to achieve.† [] Consummate love is the complete form of love, representing an ideal relationship toward which people strive. Of the eight varieties of love, consummate love is theorized to be that love associated with the â€Å"perfect couple†. â€Å"According to Sternberg, such couples will continue to have great sex fifteen years or more into the relationship, they can not imagine themselves happy over the long-term with anyone else, they overcome their few difficulties gracefully, and each delight in the relationship with one other. However, Sternberg cautions that maintaining a consummate love may be even harder than achieving it. He stresses the importance of translating the components of love into action. â€Å"Without expression,† he warns, â€Å"even the greatest of loves can die†. Thus, consummate love may not be permanent. If passion is lost over time, it may change into companionate love.† [] B. Lust Lust is a large physical attraction for an individual, which is sometimes uncontrollable and completely unreasonable. Lust is often confused with love. Looking at someone lustfully invariably involves the powerful inward desire or instinct to share physical intimacy with that person. The inward desire of the mind for intimacy, need not be considered only in terms of excessive and inappropriate desire for sexual intercourse — although this is included.â€Å"Of course, there is no moral difference between sexual intercourse. If intercourse before marriage is sinful — and it is — then sexual gratification before marriage is also sinful. No one is exempt from the temptation to lust. Therefore, we must take every care to avoid harbouring impure thoughts by rejecting them whenever they first enter our minds.† [] â€Å"We must take every care to avoid setting ourselves deliberately into any situation where we know that we will be exposed to this or a similar temptation.†[] Sex drive is the another term for lust. â€Å"The sex drive (libido or lust) is characterized by the craving for sexual gratification; it is often directed toward many partners. In mammals, the sex drive is associated primarily with the estrogens and androgens, particularly testosterone, are central to sexual desire in both men and women. Studies of human sexual arousal show that specific networks of brain activation are associated with the sex drive.† [] Drives lie along a continuum. Some, such as thirst and the need for warmth, can rarely be extinguished until satisfied, while the sex drive and the maternal instinct can be redirected. Falling in love appears to be near the base of this continuum. For example, romantic love is considerably stronger than the sex drive. Since romantic love is a universal and powerful human mating drive, it must have evolved. 1. Sexual arousal In men and women, sexual desire can anticipate arousal. It is an arousal caused by direct genital stimulation. Direct genital stimulation is more powerful and quicker in men than in women. As a result of the reciprocity between desire and arousal and neurobiological overlapping, physiological signs of arousal are already in play. Sexual arousal, or sexual excitement, is the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity. Things that precipitate human sexual arousal are called erotic stimuli, or colloquially known as a turn-on. Sexual arousal usually leads to physiological changes in the aroused person, some of which are pronounced while others are more subtle. â€Å"Given the right context, these may lead to the person desiring physical contact, including kissing, cuddling, and petting of the erogenous zones. This may in turn make the person desire direct sexual stimulation of those parts of their body which would normally be out of bounds, such as breasts, nipples, buttocks and/or genitals, and to sexual activity.† [] When a couple is sexually aroused with each other they tend to do on displaying their affection to their partner. The arousal is due to the rapid increase of the hormones and this is the reason for the strong sensation of the couple to display their affection in more intense than before. These intense affection may result to a more immoral and unethical practice of public display of affection (PDA). 2. Aggresiveness Aggresiveness is marked by combative readiness. Aggression or aggressiveness of any person indulging in PDA means there is a sexual activity he wants to.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Sexual aggressiveness has biological, physical and emotional aspects. Biologically, it refers to the reproductive mechanism and the basic biological drive that exists in all species. Emotional aspects deal with the intense personal bonds and emotions generated between sexual partners by a sexual activity. Physical issues around sexuality range from purely medical considerations to concerns about the physiological , psychological and sociological aspects of sexual behavior.† [] The gender of the person is a factor that plays a big role in human aggression. It is evidently seen in males and females, proven by history. a. Men There is evidence that differences in socialization, cognition and personality may help explain gender-based disparity in rates of anti-social, as well as violent behaviors. Gender differences in cognition, socialization, and behavior may exist as early as infancy. Boys are more easily angered and depend more on inputs from their mother’s. Psychologists show that the ways which females and males are socialized affect their development. Males learn to value independence, while females are taught that their self-worth depends on their ability to maintain relationships. b. Women Females are considered less aggressive than males in a relationship. Men usually tend to be the more dominant in a relationship while women usually obey what the males want to do, but in our generation both males and females are considered to be the equal in every relationship. Girls are shielded by moral sense, which directs them away from harming others. The ethical sensitivity may counterbalance the effects of family issues. Females are known to display more self-control than males. Females are more verbally skilled, which is a skill that can help them in dealing with obstacles they may come across without reacting with violence. When girls are aggressive, they are more likely to hide their behavior from adults than males. Girls are expected to form closer relationships with their friends and share feelings, while boys tend to act out on their feelings in inappropriate ways. C. Influential factors 1. Media Most of the influence of the mass media on interpersonal relationships is the powerful influence of advertising. Commercial messages influence how people feel about themselves and their image to others. Commercial messages influence what a person’s expectations are about themselves, about others, about what their lives should be like. For most people, these expectations are usually unrealistic and for some, can be damaging to their self esteem which directly affects how they relate to others. 2. Other couples doing PDA So long as you practice discretion and engage in such activities in a tasteful manner, being affectionate in public should never be offensive to others. Just like a smile or laughter, this expression of happiness can also be contagious. To see other couples holding hands or exchanging a brief kiss in public often makes others get a warm and fuzzy feeling too. Hopefully, they pass it on. Sure, you may hear the occasional â€Å"Get a room† but those comments usually stem from others who are merely jealous of the happiness you two share and are likely to be missing something in their own relationship. 3. Reading of pornographic articles In attempting to support and strengthen relationships, the topic of pornography is one that must be addressed. This article is not to preach or evangelize, nor is it to discuss morality or ethics. It is however important that couples understand the possible ramifications of a phenomenon that may impact their relationship. As unpopular as it may be, this article is an attempt to shed light on what many couples may face as society becomes more accepting of increasingly graphic, stark, and violent pornography. 4. Emotional ties Couples usually have emotional ties between each other. It is a must because a person or a couple is in love. This bring much emotions in the individuals and creates a strong bind to that couple that would made them feel that the person they currently love is the one for them and they would feel 100% that they must be loyal to their partner and show the intimate love they can give to them as long as they felt the same love they are giving to them. This is the point where the PDA (public display of affection) becomes more intimate and intense, this brings to the mind of other people to be unethical and immoral but to the couple doing it PDA is a good presentation of how they partner. It is emotionally tied to them and expressed the love for them. There is nothing bad having emotional ties with your partner, as long as the person is having his limitations, it is good. Having emotional ties means that a couple is really at the peak of their relationship and it is natural to feel it beca use it is a part of being in-love. IV. PDA and relationship Most people say that they hate PDA and can’t stand the ones who indulge in these ‘perverse’ activities. But given an opportunity, no one would mind staring at an intimate sight unless they are being watched back. â€Å"Your partner should become to you someone very special, as the relationship between the both of you develops. But this special relationship can only develop properly and honorably when it is built upon a wholehearted commitment , and upon mutual trust and respect. Mutual trust and respect; however, cannot be engendered and developed apart from complete purity and honour — in body and in mind. Our conduct must always be above reproach.† [] â€Å"This is the basis upon which mutual trust and respect first germinates, and then begins to grow. When we have found the right partner, then this growth will flourish eventually into love: the pure, deep, satisfying and honourable love associated with trust, respect and the wholehearted desire.† [] â€Å"Trust and respect is the foundation the couple must lay, and upon which they must build as they seek to develop a relationship with your partner. This foundation must apply to all stages of courtship — from the first dates, right through to (and including) the period of engagement.† [] A. In a married relationship The exploration route of life that a married relationship takes depends on what the couple wants to experience together during their lifetime. There are some people who want children to enter married relationship while other couples choose to go childless and spend their lifetime traveling to exotic places, enjoying what the world has to offer. This proves that marriage is an â€Å"opener† of a new world, opening the way to mutualism and separates them to the rest. This means PDA is less but relationship is stronger. There are no inappropriate decisions to be made in a married relationship. Living a good life is a decision that is made by two people, and does not need the approval of the rest of the world in order to function properly. There are clergy, and guidance counselors that might be able to help guide a couple on their quest for a good relationship, but the journey starts with the two of them. This means that the couple knows each other fully and the two knows if there’s love binding them or not. Married couples indulging in PDA are only using it to notice that the partner’s presence is there. 1. Without children Married life is fulfilling in itself. Some couples want to have children in their lives, and some don’t. Those who decide not to, have a great oppotunity to live a fulfilled life, loving and providing for their spouse’s needs. Being married without children allows a couple to really get to know themselves in a more intimate level. The time and attention aren’t divided, allowing them to devote themselves more fully to their partner and to the things the couple enjoys together. But also, the couple must also limit their PDAs so that they can focus on all of their work. In a married life without children, a couple has an independent PDA. 2. With children A married relationship is a new setting that the couple find themselves in a new way of looking at life and coming to terms with each other’s perspectives. Getting into married relationship after a thoroughly enjoyable bachelor’s life takes time to settle down. By then, there is a tough decision of when to have kids. Doing PDA even when the couple has their son/daughter is a sort of sweetness in a home. It only makes the relationship stronger and more enjoyable. 3. With grandsons and grandaughters Parents often rely on parents to help raise their children in this confusing and complex world. Grandparents would do well not to squander the opportunity given to them. The PDA in this kind of situation is much more less, lesser than a married life with children. PDA now here is scarce, but the scarcity of your PDA is much more filled with love, with passion. On this peak of your life, being a PDA doer is like commitment, since the time you two got married and has gone strong through the years. â€Å"This proves that the major components of love is passion, commitment, and intimacy.† [] B. In a boyfriend / girlfriend relationship A girlfriend or a boyfriend is an individual with whom one shares a romantic relationship. He/she is your consultant to all things, a shoulder to cry on. Having PDA with your boyfriend /girlfriend is much more free, but liberal. Those couples do it for love, but because of being liberal, they deny the criticisms of people around them, yet, they only accept the compliments. 1. Adolescent relationships One of the most exciting aspects about going to school for an adolescent is also one of the most difficult: the possibility of romantic relationships. Teens may be idealized of a boyfriend or girlfriend as an attractive person with whom they can date, and develop an intimate relationship. Of course it isn’t always as simple as this. Adolescents always have a liberal mind and can do anything for curiosity. While teenage romantic relationships are difficult, they are a necessary part of growing up in our society, as in the process of ending a relationship as a teen. Parents are often concerned with their son/daughter’s reaction to a relationship ending. They are alarmed of the PDA they are doing. The loss of a relationship during adolescence is particularly difficult because of the high probability that these teens will see each other very often, whether they attend the same school or have the same friends. Seeing an ex boyfriend/girlfriend regularly makes the difficult process of moving-on even more difficult. Teens become so distracted that their focus on academics may shift and they may begin to struggle with grades. And teens divert the hurt to a new boyfriend/girlfriend to lessen the pain, and do eye-catching PDAs to hurt their former boyfriend/girlfriend. â€Å"Pain is nature’s way of saying that something was wrong. Pain is therefore our best teacher. Let’s learn from this. Do understand that everything in life doesn’t last forever. Some things will fail, in spite of our best efforts. Look at the other significant relationships in your personal life (siblings, parents, friends, colleagues). Try to enhance these, because some of these may have been neglected when you were high on love.† [] 2. Young adult relationships How young is â€Å"too young† to start a relationship? It depends on the individual’s level of maturity, goals, and beliefs. Very much often the younger we are, the less mature we are due to a lack of life experience. When we are just beginning to figure out who we are, we may not be firmly grounded enough spirituality to form solid romantic attachments, and become more prone to making unwise decisions that can leave us with emotional, physical, psychlogical, and spiritual damage. Being in a relationship puts one in almost constant temptation, especially as emotions begin to develop and the attraction to that person deepens. Young teens (even older teens) are besieged by harmnal and societal pressures that seem at times almost unbearable. Such early relationships make more difficult to avoid damage to the delicate and still-forming self-image, not to mention the problem of resisting temptation. So developing a mutual relation in this age is very hard because temptation to the opposite sex is something like lust. So couples must be cautious of their PDA because PDA tends to be a â€Å"temptation starter†. 3. Adult (Mature) relationships Relationships come in many shapes and sizes, but all of them require maturity to create a lasting emotional bond. Starting a relationship is the easy part, but making it last requires patience and understanding. Learning to overlook mistakes and to look forward into the future are the key elements of a mature relationship. â€Å"Most people think of love as a feeling but love is not much a feeling as a way of being present. It is a kind of being in love with â€Å"love† to discover one’s self. PDA in this relationship is much more understandable and is a first step to mutual relation.† [] C. Third parties A third party is the involvement of a single person to a couple intimately and romantically. Being in a third party is really bad, as if you’re wrecking a relationship. What if you’re on the shoes of the person being cheated on, how would you feel? We also have what we call â€Å"Karma†. Some clever people say that being a third party is also a good thing to make the couple realize that they’re not meant for each other. It’s better if you commit a person who’s not taken, yet just to things legal. PDA is like a law of motion, if there’s any action, there’s equal and opposite reaction. The equal reaction is having a mutual relation while the opposite means break-up. D. Break – up A relationship break-up, simply referred to as breakup, is the termination of a usually intimate relationship by any means other than death. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a break-up is typically called a separation or divorce. Being in a break-up means the love has gone, died. This means that when you do PDA, your partner is never happy of what you two do and his/her feelings’ filled with no other but lust. The other thinks that his/her love is empty love so he/she decides to end it because the relationship is worthless. It isn’t right to continue. â€Å"After a break-up has passed understand the pain. Do not get into revenge mode, what’s done is done. Do not blame yourself for what has happened. Then, refocus on your life. Look at all the things in your life that you had not focused on while you were in a relationship. Revisit your goals and dreams. Lastly is to celebrate life.† [] E. PDA Interactions Doing PDA means interaction with your partner. This interaction means love. Love emerges from the crisis of intimacy versus isolation, a mature devotion that overcomes basic differences between men and women. To love means to care, to recognize the essential humanity of the other person, to have an active regard for the person’s development. But there are also issues involving PDA. These are issues about private space exposing one’s body on sexual areas to a another person and feeling about trusting another to accept one’s body. PDA is not just the objectivity of the act but is also for the sake of the doer. Public displays of affection are par for the course in every relationship someone is in, so it’s worth learning the rules. Granted, every woman and every relationship is different and will need some fine tuning, but the general limits of what is acceptable and what isn’t will be constant across the board. 1. Acceptable a. Holding hands Two or more people voluntarily hold hands for the purpose of expressing love or to enjoy physical intimacy. In PDA holding hands is a sign to a couple that they are connected to each other for they are in-love. It is the most common form of PDA and it is an acceptable form of affection and considered moral and ethical. Holding hands is the act of grabbing a girlfriend/boyfriend’s hand in public, whether to lead that person in the right direction or just to feel close to the person, and it is just fine in about any setting. It isn’t intimate enough to make the people around the couple squeamish, but it is intimate enough to let someone’s partner see it as a sign of affection and a declaration of two people’s status as a couple. b. Kissing A kiss is the act of pressing one’s lips against the lips or other body parts of another. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. A kiss may be used to express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good luck, among many others. The act of kissing has become a common expression of affection among many cultures worldwide. As a greeting, kissing is most definitely on the â€Å"acceptable† list and is fairly standard in most relationships. Obviously, this extends to personal social situations, and can be bypassed in professional arenas. To keep kisses acceptable, keep them brief and abstain from continued tongue action throughout the course of an outing. c. Hugging A hug is a form of physical intimacy, not necessarily sexual, that usually involves closing or holding the arms around another person or group of persons. The hug is one of the most common human signs of love and affection, along with kissing, unlike some other forms of physical intimacy. Cuddling seems to be an all right option. It gives the closeness that makes the couple feel good without offending too many people around. There are always those who frown on any contact between couples beyond an escort-like arm to a function. But having an arm about another and snuggling close is all right. Cuddling or hugging is harmless and less annoying than other displays of affection.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

History of Football Essay

Football, American, distinct type of football that developed in the United States in the 19th century from soccer (association football) and rugby football. Played by professionals and amateurs (generally male college or high school teams), football is one of the most popular American sports, attracting thousands of participants and millions of spectators annually. The forerunner of American football may have been a game played by the ancient Greeks, called harpaston. In this game there was no limit to the number of players. The object was to move a ball across a goal line by kicking, throwing, or running with it. Classical literature contains detailed accounts of the game, including its rougher elements, such as ferocious tackling. Most modern versions of football, however, originated in England, where a form of the game was known in the 12th century. In subsequent centuries football became so popular that various English monarchs, including Edward II and Henry VI, forbade the game because it took interest away from the military sport of archery. By the middle of the 19th century football had split into two distinct entities. Still popular today, these two sports included the football association game, or soccer (the word being a slang adaptation of the three letters, s-o-c, in Association), and rugby, in which players ran with the ball and tackled. Modern football evolved out of these two sports. The Playing Field and the Ball The football playing field is rectangular in shape, measuring 100 yd (91. 4 m) long and 53. 5 yd (48. 9 m) wide. At both ends of the 100-yard dimension, white lines called goal lines mark off the entrances to the end zones. Each team defends one end zone. A team must carry, pass, or kick the ball into the 10-yd (9-m) end zone on the opponents’ half of the field to score. Lines parallel to the end zones cross the field at 5-yd (4. 5-m) intervals. These lines give the field a resemblance to a large gridiron. Another set of lines, known as the sidelines, runs along both sides of the field. In addition, two rows of lines, called hash marks, run parallel to the sidelines. The hash marks are 53 ft 4 in (16. 3 m) from each sideline in college and high school football, and 70 ft 9 in (21. 6 m) from each sideline in the National Football League (NFL). Each play must begin on or between the hash marks. Before each play, the officials place the ball either between the hash marks or on the hash mark closest to the end of the previous play. Situated in the middle of the rear line of each end zone are goalposts, consisting of a 10-ft (3-m) vertical pole topped by a horizontal crossbar from which two vertical upright posts extend. In college and professional football, the posts are 18 ft 6 in (about 5. 6 m) apart. The football consists of an inflated rubber bladder encased in a leather or rubber cover. The ball is an extended spheroid, having a circumference of 28. 5 in (72. 4 cm) around the long axis and 21. 25 in (54 cm) around the short axis. It weighs between 14 and 15 oz (397 and 425 g). Playing Time A game of football is divided into four periods, known as quarters, each consisting of 15 minutes of playing time. The first two periods constitute the first half; the second two comprise the second half. Between the halves, a rest period, usually lasting about 15 minutes, is permitted the players, who may leave the field. The teams change halves of the field at the end of each quarter. The clocks stop at the end of each quarter and at certain other times, when particular events occur or when designated by the officials. The Players Football is played by two opposing teams, each fielding 11 players. Each team tries to move the ball down the field to score in the end zone defended by its opponents. During a football game the teams are designated as the offensive team (the team in possession of the ball) and the defensive team (the team defending a goal line against the offensive team). Players involved in kicking situations are known as the special teams. The 11 players of the offensive team are divided into two groups: 7 linemen, who play on the line of scrimmage (an imaginary line designating the position of the ball) and a backfield of 4 players, called backs, who stand in various positions behind the linemen. The lineman whose position is in the middle of the line is called the center. On his left is the left guard and on his right is the right guard. On the left of the left guard is the left tackle, and on the right of the right guard is the right tackle; similarly, on the ends of the line are the tight end and the split end. The back who usually  stands directly behind the center and directs the play of the offensive team is known as the quarterback. In a balanced backfield formation, or â€Å"T-formation,† the fullback stands behind the quarterback, and the left and right halfbacks stand to either side of the fullback. Teams often use wide receivers in the place of tight ends, split ends, halfbacks, or fullbacks. Wide receivers line up on the line of scrimmage but wide of the rest of the formation. The defensive team consists of a row of linemen, who comprise the defensive line, a row of linebackers, and a collection of defensive backs, known as the secondary. The defensive line can use any number of players, though most teams use three or four linemen. Defensive linemen principally are responsible for stopping the opposition’s rushing attack and, in passing situations, putting pressure on the quarterback. The linebackers line up behind the defensive line and, depending on the situation, are used to stop runners, pressure the quarterback, or cover the opposition’s receivers. Teams usually employ three or four linebackers. The secondary is comprised of cornerbacks, who cover wide receivers, and safeties, who cover receivers, offer support in stopping the rushing attack, and pressure the quarterback. The secondary commonly consists of two cornerbacks and two safeties. Protective Equipment To protect themselves from the often violent bodily contact that characterizes football, players wear elaborate equipment, including lightweight plasticized padding covering the thighs, hips, shoulders, knees, and often the forearms and hands. Players also wear plastic helmets with guards that cover most of the face. The Officials Play is supervised by impartial officials. Professional and major college football programs use seven officials: a referee, an umpire, a linesman, a field judge, a back judge, a line judge, and a side judge. The officials carry whistles and yellow penalty flags. They blow the whistles or throw the flags to indicate that an infraction of the rules has been committed. The referee is in charge of the game at all levels of play. The referee supervises the other officials, decides on all matters not under other officials’ specific jurisdiction, and enforces penalties. The referee indicates when the ball is dead (out of play) and when it may again be put into play, and uses hand signals to indicate specific decisions and penalties. The umpire makes decisions on questions concerning the players’ equipment, their conduct, and their positioning. The principal duty of the linesman is to mark the position of the ball at the end of each play. The linesman has assistants who measure distances gained or lost, using a device consisting of two vertical markers connected by a chain or cord 10 yd (9 m) long. The linesman must particularly watch for violations of the rule requiring players to remain in certain positions before the ball is put into play. The field judge times the game, using a stopwatch for this purpose. In some cases, the stadium scoreboard has a clock that is considered official. Game Procedure At the beginning of each game, the referee tosses a coin in the presence of the two team captains to determine which team kicks off or receives the kickoff. At the start of the second half, these conditions are reversed—that is, the team that kicks off in the first half receives the kickoff to start the second half. During the kickoff, the ball is put in play by a place-kick from the kicking team’s 35-yd (32-m) line, or the 30-yd (27. 4-m) line in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL kickoff was moved from the 35-yd line in 1994 to increase the importance of the kickoff return. The kicking team lines up at or behind the ball, while the opponents spread out over their territory in a formation calculated to help them to catch the ball and run it back effectively. If the kick stays within the boundaries of the field, any player on the receiving team may catch the ball, or pick it up on a bounce, and run with it. As the player runs, the player may be tackled by any opponent and stopped, known as being downed. The player carrying the ball is considered downed when one knee touches the ground. Tacklers use their hands and arms to stop opponents and throw them to the ground. After the ball carrier is stopped, the referee blows a whistle to stop play and places the ball on the spot where the runner was downed. Play also stops when the ball carrier runs out of bounds. A scrimmage (action while the ball is in play) then takes place. Before scrimmage begins, the team on offense usually gathers in a circle, called a huddle, and discusses the next play it will use to try to advance the ball. A coach either signals the play choice  to the team from the sidelines, or the team’s quarterback chooses from among the dozens of rehearsed plays in the team’s repertoire. The defensive team also forms a huddle and discusses its next attempt to slow the offense. Each play is designated by code numbers or words, called signals. After the teams come out of their respective huddles, they line up opposite each other on the line of scrimmage. If the quarterback analyzes the defensive alignment and decides that the chosen play should be changed, the quarterback can call an audible and shout the coded directions for a new play. Play begins when the center crouches over the ball and, on a spoken signal, snaps it—generally to the quarterback—by handing it between his legs. Based upon the chosen play, the quarterback can pass the ball, hand it off to a teammate, or run with it. During the scrimmage, the players on the offensive team may check the defenders using their bodies, but they are constrained by specific rules regarding the use of their hands or arms. The player running with the ball, however, is allowed to use an arm to ward off potential tacklers. The offensive players check defenders, or try to force them out of the way, by performing a maneuver known as blocking. Good blocking is considered a fundamental technique in football. Perhaps the most spectacular offensive play is the forward pass, in which the ball is thrown in a forward direction to an eligible player. The ball is nearly always thrown by the quarterback, and those who may catch it include the other three backs and the two ends. A forward pass may be made only during scrimmage, and then only from behind the line of scrimmage. A lateral pass may be made anywhere on the field anytime the ball is in play. The defending team tries to prevent the attacking team from advancing the ball. The defending players may use their arms and hands in their attempt to break through the opponents’ line to reach the player with the ball. The defending team tries to keep the offense from gaining any distance, or to stop the offense for a loss by tackling the ball carrier before the ball carrier reaches the line of scrimmage. The offense must advance the ball at least 10 yards (9 m) in four tries, called downs. After each play, the teams line up again and a new scrimmage takes place. If the team on offense fails to travel 10 yards (9 m) in four downs, it must surrender the ball to its opponent after the fourth down. A team will often punt on fourth down if it hasn’t gained at least 10 yards (9 m) in its previous three tries. In punting, the kicker drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. By punting, a team can send the ball farther away from its own end zone before surrendering it, thus weakening the opponent’s field position. Methods of Scoring. The object of the game is to score more points than the opposing team within the regulation playing time. In college football, a game can end in a tie if both teams have scored the same number of points at the end of regulation time. In case of a tie in an exhibition or regular-season professional game, the teams play an overtime period, known as sudden death, in which the first team to score is declared the winner. If neither team has scored at the end of this 15-minute overtime period, then the tie is allowed to stand. In professional playoff games no ties are allowed, and the teams play until one scores. A team scores a touchdown when one of its players carries the ball into the opposing team’s end zone or catches a pass in the end zone. A touchdown is worth 6 points. After a team has scored a touchdown, it tries for an extra-point conversion. This is an opportunity to score an additional one or two points with no time elapsing off the game clock. In college football, the offensive team lines up 3 yd (2. 7 m) from the goal line of the opponents and passes, kicks, or runs with the ball. A running or passing conversion in which the ball crosses the goal line counts for 2 points. A conversion by place-kick that propels the ball between the goalposts and over the crossbar counts for 1 point. In professional football, the offensive team lines up 2 yd (1. 8 m) from the goal line. A conversion attempted by place-kicking the ball is worth 1 point. In 1994 the NFL introduced the running or passing 2-point conversion. On offense, teams may also attempt to score by kicking a field goal, which counts for 3 points. A field goal is scored by means of a place-kick, in which one player holds the ball upright on the ground for a teammate to kick. For a successful field goal, the ball must be kicked between the goalposts and over the crossbar. After each field goal and extra-point conversion, the scoring team must kick off to its opponents. Finally, a defensive team earns two points for a safety when it causes the team on offense to end a play in possession of the ball behind its own goal line. If the offensive team downs the ball behind its line intentionally, in certain situations, such as after receiving a kickoff, the play is known as a touchback and does not count in the scoring. When the offensive team suffers a safety, it must punt the ball to the opponents to restart play. Modern Football American football was made popular by teams representing colleges and universities. These teams dominated the game for most of the first 100 years of football in the United States. Even today, despite greatly increased interest in professional football, intercollegiate contests—played by some 640 team—are attended by more than 35 million spectators each year. Many college stadiums hold more than 50,000 spectators; one stadium, at the University of Michigan, holds more than 100,000. Many of the major universities are now grouped in conferences, such as the Big Ten (northern midwest), the Big Eight (midwest), the Pacific Ten (western states), the Southeastern Conference, and the Ivy League (northeast). The birth date of football in the United States is generally regarded by football historians as November 6, 1869, when teams from Rutgers and Princeton universities met in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for the first intercollegiate football game. In the early games, each team used 25 players at a time. By 1873 the number was reduced to 20 players, in 1876 to 15 players, and in 1880 to 11 players, where it has remained. In the 1900s, college football became one of the country’s most popular sports spectacles. Ranked among the greatest United States sports heroes of the 20th century are such student athletes as Jim Thorpe of Carlisle Institute; George Gipp of the University of Notre Dame; Red Grange of the University of Illinois; Tom Harmon of the University of Michigan; Doak Walker of Southern Methodist University; Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard, the â€Å"Touchdown Twins† of Army (the U. S. Military Academy); Joe Namath of the University of Alabama; and O. J. Simpson of the University of Southern California. In 1935 the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City established an award honoring one of the outstanding college football coaches in the country, John William Heisman. Heisman is credited with legalizing the forward pass in 1906. The John W. Heisman Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the outstanding college player of the year, as decided by a national poll of sportswriters. After World War II ended in 1945, college athletes began to receive football scholarships, often paying the player’s room, board, tuition, and incidental expenses while enrolled in college. College Bowl Games and National Champions. College teams generally play about 11 games during the fall. The best college teams are awarded trips to so-called bowl games, matching outstanding teams in games that conclude the season’s competition. The tradition was begun in 1902 at Pasadena, California, when Stanford University invited the University of Michigan to come to California for a New Year’s Day contest. This event soon became the celebrated Rose Bowl game. Bowl games now represent the climax of the college season. Other notable bowl games include the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas; the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida; and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana. In recognition of the great public interest in these games, major corporations now sponsor many of the bowls. Today, the champion college team is selected by national polls of coaches and sportswriters. In the accompanying table, the teams from 1889 to 1923 were Helms Athletic Foundation selections; from 1924 to 1930, Rissman Trophy winners; from 1931 to 1935, Rockne Memorial Trophy winners; from 1936 to today, Associated Press (AP) poll selections; and from 1950 to today, United Press International (UPI) poll selections. In cases where two teams won the honor in separate AP and UPI polls, a note has been made. Many members of the football community debate whether a poll of writers and coaches should determine a champion or whether the colleges should institute a more formal playoff system. Detractors of a playoff system argue that with such a system, the popular bowl games would lose their identity. In addition, players’ seasons would extend by one or two months, cutting into academic time. However, advocates for a playoff point to the controversial 1993 season in which the Florida State Seminoles won the number-one ranking over Notre Dame, a team that beat the Seminoles convincingly earlier in the season. Beginnings of Professional Football The first professional football game in the United States took place in 1895 in the town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between a team representing Latrobe and a team from Jeannette, Pennsylvania. In the following ten years many professional teams were formed, including the Duquesnes of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Olympics of McKeesport, Pennsylvania; the Bulldogs of Canton, Ohio; and the team of Massillon, Ohio. Among noted college players who took up the professional game during its early years were Willie Heston (formerly at the University of Michigan), Jim Thorpe (Carlisle Institute), Knute Rockne (University of Notre Dame), and Fritz Pollard (Brown University). The professional game attracted only limited public support during its first 30 years. The first league of professional football teams was the American Professional Football Association, formed in 1920. The admission fee was $100 per team. The teams pledged not to use any student player who still had collegiate eligibility left, as the good will of the colleges was believed to be essential to survival. The teams also agreed not to tamper with each other’s players. Jim Thorpe, a player-coach for one of the teams, became president of the league during its first year. The American Professional Football Association gave way in 1922 to the National Football League (NFL). Red Grange, the famous halfback from the University of Illinois, provided a tremendous stimulus for the league when he joined the Chicago Bears in 1925 and toured the United States that year and the next. His exciting play drew large crowds. Thereafter, professional football attracted larger numbers of first-rate college players, and the increased patronage made the league economically viable. Strategically, the early NFL game was hardly distinguishable from college football at that time. There was no attempt to break away from collegiate playbooks or rule books. For 13 years the NFL followed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rules Committee recommendations. In the league’s early years, players considered the low-paying NFL a part-time job and held other jobs during the day. Thus, while college coaches could drill their players daily for hours, professional football coaches arranged practices in the evenings, sometimes only three or four times a week. Development of Offensive Strategies The offensive techniques and formations prevalent in the contemporary game developed from the ideas of early and mid-20th century coaches such as Walter Camp, Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding â€Å"Hurry Up† Yost, Bob Zuppke, Knute Rockne, and Paul Brown. Following very few historical precedents, these men innovated unique strategies that changed the nature of football forever. Stagg, operating out of the early T-formation, originated the between-the-legs snap from center to quarterback and put a player in motion in the backfield before the snap of the ball. In 1906 Warner unbalanced his line, placing four players on one side of the center and two on the other side, while shifting the backfield into a wing formation. The quarterback functioned as a blocker, set close behind the line and a yard wide of the center. At the same depth, but outside the line, was the wingback. Deep in the backfield was the tailback, who received most of the snaps, and in front and to the side was the fullback. This formation became known as the â€Å"Single-Wing,† and it remained football’s basic formation until the 1940s. From the Single-Wing emerged Warner’s â€Å"Double-Wing,† with wingbacks set wide on either side of the line. This formation forced the defense to spread itself across the field in order to protect against the pass, thus creating favorable conditions for the offense to execute unexpected running plays. The strategy is the same as today’s â€Å"draw† and â€Å"end-around† concepts, but Warner’s teams could also pass from the formation. Warner would also open up the lines completely, splitting the ends into modern â€Å"slot† positions, inside the wingbacks. This was a four-receiver formation that evolved into the â€Å"Shotgun† offense, popularized by the San Francisco 49ers of 1960. Like the double-wing, the â€Å"Shotgun† utilized two wideouts and two slot players, with the passer set deep in the backfield next to a running back. The NFL’s newest formation of the 1990s, the â€Å"Run and Shoot† offense, also resembles Warner’s formation. With Warner’s innovations, wing formations came to dominate the NFL. Coach Zuppke at Illinois ran single- and double-wing formations, often sending four or five receivers downfield in pass patterns. Some teams would use a short-punt formation, with the quarterback and wings set on different sides, providing a more balanced look. At Notre Dame in 1923 and 1924, Rockne instituted his famous Four Horsemen offense. At the beginning of a play, Rockne set up the backs in a four-square, box alignment on one side. Then, in the famous â€Å"Notre Dame Shift,† the backs would shift out of the box and into a single or double wing. In later years, other coaches imitated Rockne’s innovation and achieved similar success. For example, former Washington Redskins’ coach Joe Gibbs implemented an offensive strategy called the â€Å"Explode Package. † Modeled after Rockne’s Notre Dame Shift, the Explode Package helped the Redskins defeat the Miami Dolphins in the 1983 Super Bowl. In Gibbs’s system, the backs and receivers would jump into new positions before the snap, thus unsettling the defense. Although talented, the quarterbacks of the 1930s and parts of the 1940s seldom completed 50 percent of their passes, while many were even less successful. A major cause of these low percentages was the primitive nature of pass-blocking schemes. With little protection, passers always had to throw while avoiding incoming rushers. In the 1940s Paul Brown, the coach of the Cleveland Browns, installed a blocking system which transformed the passing game forever. Brown changed the system by arranging the linemen in the form of a cup. They pushed most incoming pass-rushers to the outside. Anyone who penetrated the line was met by a firmly planted fullback named Marion Motley. From that point on, the passing game achieved a new significance. Other teams implemented strong blocking lines, providing the quarterback with more time to release the ball. The contemporary game of the 1980s and 1990s is noted for its exciting and effective passing plays in both the professional and college ranks. Artificial turf, the surface in many of the nation’s stadiums, provides excellent footing for quarterbacks and receivers. With strong protection, talented quarterbacks make a perceivable difference to a game. For example, quarterback Joe Montana keyed the San Francisco 49ers’ three Super Bowl victories in the 1980s. Montana, who benefited from good protection, could instinctively read defenses and had the ability to deliver the ball accurately to his receivers while on the move. In college football, the University of Miami Hurricanes dominated the game in the late 1980s with a flashy passing game and a quick defense that could react effectively to the pass. Development of Defensive Strategies One striking aspect of modern football is its emphasis on defense as well as offense. This trend began after World War II (1939-1945), when college teams were allowed free substitution of players—that is, a player could enter and leave the game an unlimited number of times, as long as the ball was not in play during the substitution. This feature of the game led to the modern two-platoon system, in which one group of 11 players enters the game to play offense and a second group enters to play defense. Such a system has fostered the development of individual skills and specialization among players. Defensive football has acquired an extensive terminology of its own. In some ways defense is more complicated than offense, because defensive teams have fewer restrictions on their manner of lining up. Generally, however, the defensive formation is determined by the way the offense lines up. For example, when defending against opponents who are expected to throw many forward passes, a team might use a formation with a four-player line of two ends and two tackles. Three linebackers would stand directly behind the front four. In addition, two cornerbacks placed wider and farther back could defend against mid-range assaults. Two safeties would position themselves deeper to protect against longer aerial attacks. Most of the innovative thinking by coaches in the NFL during the 1970s came on defense. Offensive statistics plummeted as defenses dominated. The newer game demanded speed at every position, in addition to strength and bulk. Great linebacker units with catchy names such as Doomsday in Dallas, Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain, Minnesota’s Purple People Eaters, and the Rams’ Fearsome Foursome dominated offenses. Teams turned the free safety position over to ferocious hitters such as the Raiders’ Jack Tatum and Dallas’ Cliff Harris. Rough, physical cornerbacks such as Pittsburgh’s Mel Blount and Oakland’s Willie Brown employed tight bump-and-run techniques on receivers downfield. Professional Football Today. The present-day NFL game is immensely popular. It is played during the late summer, through autumn, and into January. Professional teams play 4 exhibition games before the start of the regular season, followed by 16 games in the regular season and then playoff games, when they qualify for the playoffs. Teams play one game each week, using the time between games to recover, practice, and prepare for the next game. Each team receives one week without a game, known as a bye, during the season. The NFL is a big business for players, owners, advertisers, and other industries tied to the sport. NFL franchises generate huge revenues for host cities, in addition to promoting civic pride and national exposure. Thus, cities often compete for teams, offering prospective teams bigger and better stadiums, guaranteed fan support, and various economic incentives. In the 1980s three NFL teams relocated: the Raiders moved from Oakland, California, to Los Angeles in 1982; the Colts moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1984; and the Cardinals moved from Saint Louis, Missouri, to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1988. Other teams have agreed to stay only with the promise of new facilities by their host cities. Throughout the years, other consortiums have sought to capitalize on the economic potential of the sport. For three years in the 1980s a new professional spring league, the United States Football League (USFL), competed with the NFL. The NFL lost players to the USFL, and NFL teams had to pay higher salaries to keep other players from leaving. However, the USFL soon folded, with much of its more talented personnel entering the NFL. Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the final contest of the professional season and determines the league’s annual champion. Currently the Super Bowl routinely finishes among the all-time top 50 programs in television ratings, and the 1994 game reached an estimated 750 million viewers around the world. Now probably the most important single-day sporting event in the United States, the Super Bowl had more modest beginnings. In 1967 the champions of the American Football League (which merged with the NFL in 1970) and the NFL met in what was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The name was later shortened to Super Bowl, named after a child’s toy, the Super Ball. In this first game, the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. The Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the game, fell far short of a sellout, although tickets were only $10 each. In comparison, the highest ticket price at the 1994 Super Bowl reached $250, with scalpers illegally charging more than twice that much. Rule Changes and Modern Developments The game of football has a history of constant rule changes. Rule changes have been implemented to bolster the excitement of the game of football and to increase the game’s safety. By 1906 the game was extremely rough, and many injuries and some deaths had occurred. Educators considered dropping the sport despite its popularity on campuses. United States President Theodore Roosevelt, an ardent advocate of strenuous sports, declared that the game must be made safer. As a result, football leaders revamped the game, and many of the rougher tactics were outlawed. In a constant attempt to maintain public interest in the game, NFL rulemakers review trends in their sport. For example, in the early 1970s, the rulemakers brought the hash marks in closer to the center of the field to give offenses more room to throw wide. The move, which increased scoring and made the game more exciting, also helped bolster the running game. Ten NFL runners gained more than 1000 yards in one season (1972) for the first time in history. During the next season, Buffalo Bills’ running back O. J. Simpson rushed for more than 2000 yards, the first time a player had gained that many yards in a single season. However, the passing game eventually suffered as defenses quickly adjusted. The Pittsburgh Steelers had a stranglehold on the NFL during the 1970s, with four Super Bowl victories. The dominant defensive athletes the Steelers put on the field shut down the wide-open passing attacks that had developed in the previous era. By 1977 scoring was the lowest it had been since 1942, while offensive touchdowns had fallen to their lowest levels since 1938. The rulemakers enacted serious measures after this low-scoring 1977 season, fearing a loss of public interest in the defense-dominated game. They established a zone of only five yards from the line of scrimmage in which a bump by a pass defender was permitted.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Evaluation of External Envoirment and Business Etnics. Apple Assignment

Evaluation of External Envoirment and Business Etnics. Apple Corporation - Assignment Example PESTEL analysis is used for the external environment analysis here. Moreover, the marketing strategies for the firm to be adopted if they want to invest in these markets are examined with the help of Ansoff matrix. Recommendations regarding the appropriateness of investment in both markets by Apple Corporation are made based on the analysis here. This essay consists of the following sections. Section 2 discusses the results of PESTEL analysis for these two nations. Section 3 discusses the recommendations based on the analysis and the marketing strategies to be adopted by the firm for investment using Ansoff matrix. Section 4 concludes the essay. PEST analysis means the analysis of Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) factors that assess the strategic decisions of a company (Oxford University, 1998;Bennet,1999).This analysis is also called STEP analysis(Peng and Nunes,2007).PESTEL Analysis is an updated form of PEST analysis which includes analysis of Environmental and Legislative factors also. This analysis is very important in assessing the external environment factors affecting an organization.... EST analysis means the analysis of Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) factors that assess the strategic decisions of a company (Oxford University, 1998;Bennet,1999).This analysis is also called STEP analysis(Peng and Nunes,2007).PESTEL Analysis is an updated form of PEST analysis which includes analysis of Environmental and Legislative factors also. This analysis is very important in assessing the external environment factors affecting an organization. Here the PESTEL analysis of both Brazil and China are done to examine the most appropriate destination for investment by Apple Corporation. The analysis of Political, Economic, Social and Technological, legal and environmental factors that assess the strategic decisions of a company are examined in both the cases. 2.1. PESTEL Analysis China Political Factors China has a stable political system with only one party ie Communist party (Cui, 2009). In the recent years, however, China has reported a trend towards democrati c form of government while Communist party still remain the single party here without any change (Price Water House Coopers, 2005). This stable political system is an important factor conducive for international investment in China (Word Press, 2011).The political environment for international investors is very favourable in China due to the various incentives provided by the government in spite of the complexity of norms for the new investors. Reports show a preferential treatment towards foreign invested enterprises since 1979 by Chinese government (Tian, 2007). Approval procedure is complicated while after getting approval, it is easy there (Word Press, 2011). Economic Factors A very good indicator of the strength of Chinese economy is its GDP of 10.1 percent which shows the continuous

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Leadership Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership - Thesis Proposal Example Research on P-O fit now considers the fit between employees and their jobs, their co-workers and their supervisors, and is no longer focused on only their fit with the organisation. A number of theories, such as Schneider’s (1987) attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, suggest that employees choose employment with a company they perceive as a good fit; management employees with minimal P-O fit however will choose to leave their company of employment. Others like Chatman, Wong & Joyce (2008) claim that even though a management employee may have a low P-O fit with an organisation they still seek and gain employment with that organisation and may stay for a number of reasons connected with entrenchment (Harman, Lee, Mitchell, Felps & Owen, 2007). In such cases they often stay with the organisation but operate in less prominent or powerful positions of leadership (Meyerson & Scully, 1995). The implication from these theories is that an organisation is a single, constant and homogenous culture if employees are able to determine their fit within them.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Income Inequalities in the United States Research Paper

Income Inequalities in the United States - Research Paper Example Economists posit that if the wealth from the middle class is transferred consistently to corporate elites, the concentration of wealth, as a consequence, will be solely enjoyed by the 1% households of the bourgeoisie (Allen, 2012). Nowadays, income inequality inexperienced by gender, race, outsourcing industry, disruption of income, by core competencies, and these issues can be holistically understood using the tool of value chain analysis. On gender-based income disparity, Kirk (2012) barred that American just earn a fraction of men in every state. The worst income inequality is in Utah where a working woman earns 55 cents for every dollar earned by a man. This is succeeded closely by Wyoming where women earn 56 cents, Louisiana at 59 cents, North Dakota at 62 cents and in Michigan at 62 cents (Kirk, 2012). There is relative gender-based income equality in the state of Hawaii, Florida, Nevada, Maryland, and North Carolina where women earn about three-fourths of what men received as salary (Kirk, 2012). This somewhat disparages the supposed economic empowerment of women to discrimination and contributed to the income disparity in the country although some thought that there are efforts made to curb this gap in wages (Fairchild, 2012). Experts, however, opined that wages should also be looked at the workers level of education, the time devoted to labor, the experiences they earned that made up their expertise, and the na ture of jobs taken. That gap is still felt among highly educated workforces.... It bar discrimination at work and promote equality in workplaces but advocates argued the need to pass more legislations ensure effective enforcement of these policies. However, Weller and Ajinky (2012) however still pointed that the blacks are still paid less than white and that economic insecurity is more felt by Afro-American, the race who rose up historically from slavery. Weller and Ajinky (2012) reported that as of the last quarter of 2011, median weekly earnings for African Americans were $617 while Latinos earned $549 in comparison to whites that earned $774. They also noted the rapid increase African workers with salaries below the average rate. A good statistics of population depicted high figures of blacks that are unemployed. There were about 88.9 % unemployed Afro-Americans and using the inflation-adjusted median income, they dropped their income by 7.1% from 2007-2009 (Weller, Ajinkya, & Farrel, 2012). This correlates to their rate of poverty at 24.2 % higher than Asian immigrants, Latinos and of whites (Weller, Ajinkya, & Farrel, 2012). But all these are contextualized within the development of a complex liberalized economy where the outsourced industry thrived well. The advancement of communication technology also permeated corporations to opt for skilled human resources that could work on domestic needs via online tools. The latter has been put to question because the employment opportunity is being offered externally to emerging nations and therefore, sort of cracked to the domestic populace without work. But the outsourcing industry is significantly in context to business strategies that aimed at a globalized operation

Friday, July 26, 2019

Wuthering Heights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Wuthering Heights - Essay Example However, this novel is not an ordinary love story with a happy end. It represents an awful picture of destructive feelings, which ruin the lives of many people. The most interesting thing is that nowadays, such stories become more and more popular. The famous novel â€Å"Twilight† written by Stephenie Mayer brought thousands of clients to the book shops all over the world. When the story was filmed, it was impossible to get the tickets to the cinema due to its extreme popularity among youth. Millions of people thoroughly watched the deviant relationships between the main heroes of the story, Edward and Bella, observing simultaneously the representation of cruelty and violence in it. The aim of this work is to analyze the features, which attract the audience to read such novels. Though, the plot of such stories has the scenes, which can be unpleasant for the reader, for example, domination of men over women, unnatural forces and so forth, they still attract much attention from the audience, which is an unusual phenomenon. This paper specifies on the attractive sides of these novels, which are of paramount importance for the reader. The plot of â€Å"Wuthering heights† does not represent anything unusual from the first sight. In its center there are two men (Heathcliff and Edgar Linton), who love one woman. The main female character of the story is Catherine Earnshaw. Catherine is a young, beautiful and egoistic girl, whose feelings are confusing and inconstant. She views the relationships with Heathcliff and Edgar differently. Her love to Edward Linton is calm, measured and harmonious, while her relationships with Heathcliff are rapid and unconscious. During the whole story, Catherine tears around her reserved marriage with Linton and the spirit of her past love to Heathcliff, who appears as a cruel and imperious person.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Smoking Cessation for Young Adults Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Smoking Cessation for Young Adults - Assignment Example An evaluation design has to be designed which will assess the success of the smoking cessation campaign. Due to the fact that getting a control group was an uphill task to obtain as well as the high costs associated with the campaign, the focus remained squarely in the British Columbia province (Campbell &Stanley, 1966). Interrupted time series design with a single group (simple time series) will be inevitable as a design of choice. This design of the evaluation provides a better platform for addressing the issues emanating from the main objective of the campaign. This evaluation design carries with it features not limited to several variations of interrupted time series, observation time series and the ability to implement the independent time variable in a repeated manner. The evaluation must come before an altogether evaluation of both variables in the end. This helps in determining their interaction. As a practical example, the cessation campaign calls for this features when it splits the year-long period into three segments. There is the first segment that began in March and ended in April, a second one that began in July and ended in August and finally the October to November segment (Roscoe& John, 1969). The interrupted time series design will be implemented in a more than one independent variable varied one after another due to the breaks between them over the one year period of the cessation campaign. For instance, the effects of the media coverage on the radio and television and the newspapers as far as this campaign is concerned are expected to be varying on the smokers. However, this will be captured by the above choice of the evaluation design. The evaluator will be in a better position to drop the elements with no effect or adjust the campaign program as well.  

Wk 5d1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Wk 5d1 - Essay Example Private IP addressing helps improve the networks security, besides conserving public address space. Private IP addressing is used for connecting client computers on a private network, for example in institutions. This addressing method allows for easier communication between network computers. Private networks allow the network administrator to arbitrary assign a local machine an IP address of his choice, if it falls within the range of private networks shown above. This is quite different from public networks. The nature of private networks restricts access to the private network. However, it is possible to connect two private networks by use of a device which allows Network Address Translation (NAT), for instance a router. A public IP address, on the other hand is allocated to each machine which connects to the internet where all IPs are unique. Therefore, it is not possible to have two computers sharing a public IP address on the internet. Public addressing enables multiple computers to connect over the internet and share information. Public IPs is assigned to each computer by the ISP when a computer connects to the gateway and so the user of the computer cannot change the public IP address assigned to his computer. A computer accessing the internet from a private network has both private and public IP addresses. In essence, it can be said that private IP is for communicating within the network while public IP is applied for internet

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Causal analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Causal analysis - Essay Example A murderous event appears normal to the villagers. This depicts the innate evil of human nature. The pretense of the villagers is extreme especially when they are preparing for what appears like a celebration but turns out to be a murder. This paper focuses on the reasons why leaders will always be able to relate the story The Lottery and be scared. As depicted by the immediate reaction after its release, The Lottery is a story that scares the readers due to the ingenuous way it depicts the nature of humans. The story cannot be ignored due to the emotions it creates in the reader. The story generates very many questions left for the reader to analyze. The author does not explain the reason why the villagers conduct the lottery. This triggers the author to conceive the irrationality that can arise when people follow ideas they do not approve just because they have been in existence for long. The author does not give the name of the village where the ritual is occurring. The anonymity helps the reader to relate with the idea that the vicious event could be happening anywhere in the society (Jackson 4-8). The wicked nature of humans displayed in this story gives the reader a reason to be scared. From the start of the lottery, the participants act like if they are in a celebration. A person reading the story would expect that the winner would be rewarded. However, the villagers are aware of the consequences awaiting one of them. The reader only comes to this realization when the villager start collecting stones to kill one of his or her own (Anonymous 11-13). Another reason why the reader will always relate to the story and be scared is the level of hypocrisy depicted in the story. For several years the villagers engage in such a terrible and inhuman act, which none of them seems to question. It is possible that some are opposed to the event but remain silent not to be criticized for questioning the traditions. This is petrifying and it demonstrates the extent to w hich humans are willing to go to avoid being isolated from their families and friends. Although most show anxiety towards the event, they do not object. The anxiety amongst the villagers is depicted by comments such as â€Å"Don’t be nervous Jack† (Jackson 28). Irrespective of the anxiety revealed by some of the villager, they all go along with most of them feigning enthusiasm (Jackson 12-15). Although the villagers do not declare their opinions, it is clear that they disapprove the event since "Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset tradition as was represented by the black box." The box after so many years is "Faded and stained" (12). Just as they are scared of upsetting their traditions, they participate in the event out of fear, which makes them hypocrites. The extent of hypocrisy in humans as demonstrated in the story is terrifying. However, it clearly depicts the effects of peer pressure when the influence is negative. Activities such as those perpetrated by gang families dealing with drugs are good examples on the inhumanity amongst humans (Jackson 16-21). Another reason why readers will relate with this story is the level of irony depicted. The name given to the event makes the reader associate the event with reward as is usually the case in a lottery. However, the person who succeeds in the event turns out to be a

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Answer the following questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer the following questions - Essay Example Criteria, which allows for different pay structures include skills, efforts, responsibility levels and working conditions. These factors form the broader categories of pay levels. In deciding upon internal pay structures several other key factors also have to be considered. These include, whether the remuneration will be Job or Person Based; the degree of importance placed on performance and how its linked to remuneration; organisation’s position in the labour market (i.e. Pay Master or Low Payer) how important will internal and external equity be; degree of importance of hierarchy in pay; how flexible will the remuneration mix be, and what level of significance does seniority and job security holds (Lawler 2000). In addition to these, in determining pay levels an organisation must consider external and internal relativities, the worth of the person or the team to the organisation and the collective bargaining arrangements (Armstrong). Based on experience, the skills and degre e of importance placed upon performance in administering pay structures are the most important. In today’s competitive business environment, organisations need the best performance from the human capital in order to achieve a competitive edge. Therefore, skills, competencies and performance should be the main factors of importance influencing pay structures. Job Analysis resulting in Job Descriptions and Person Specifications. These facilitates the recruitment and selection process as well as training and performance appraisal functions Job Analysis involves the systematic gathering of information about jobs and analysing this information using subjective, rational or statistical analysis methods. One of the major decisions involved in a job analysis process would include, which method to use for information gathering on jobs. Secondly, how to analyse these collected data should be decided. While a host of

Monday, July 22, 2019

Her First Ball Essay Example for Free

Her First Ball Essay My first impression of Leila simply from the first page of â€Å"Her First Ball,† was that she was an innocent girl that wasn’t completely satisfied with her current situation in life. Leila was portrayed as having a weak/inexperienced heart. For example, â€Å"†¦she couldn’t have helped crying because she was an only child, and no brother had ever said ‘Twig? ’ to her† (265), and for the fact that being different from the others bothered her. Despite her innocence and immaturity, she attempts to compose herself and act mature than she is capable of by â€Å"trying not to smile too much; she tried not to care† (265). Her life up to now wasn’t eventful or memorable in any way and she has a desire to cling onto the present/momentary excitement and not let go. â€Å"She would remember forever. It even gave her a pang to see her cousin Laurie throw away the wisps of tissue†¦as a keepsake, as a remembrance† (265), shows her emotions on how she wants to keep hold of every little detail of this first ball. I made the connection of this ball being her first in relation to not only the actual ball, but numerous ‘first times’ down her path of becoming mature. First time interacting with the opposite gender, feeling the lack of maturity amongst the other girls in the ladies’ room and first time in being hit in the head with reality, a frightening image from the fat man that Leila had never considered before, resulting in a somewhat loss of her previous innocence. I was able to relate to Leila’s situation of having missed out on the experiences of the ‘real world,’ such as the comparison between Leila and the Sheridan girls. Having lived in Abbotsford for my entire middle school life, I believe I missed out on experiences that I would have had if I lived out in the city (Surrey), seeing that Abbotsford is relatively an isolated/country city. Although I wasn’t as isolated as having the â€Å"nearest neighbor for fifteen miles† (265), I felt I could relate to Leila’s uncontrollable excitement that she felt while she was taking in her new surroundings. The impactful last sentence of the story, â€Å"She didn’t even recognize him again† (270), I found it almost eerie regarding the fact that it seemed like her memory was wiped blank. I questioned that even though her innocence was already long gone, whether that meant she would have to go through the same horrible process of being hit on the head by reality, as the first time she met the fat man and how she will be able to cope with the shock and sadness she feels every time. Throughout the reading, her style of writing, her word choices portrayed Leila’s perspective of her first ball in a magical/fantasy way. The presentation of a perfectly set up ball, â€Å"she clutched her fan, and gazing at the gleaming, golden floor, the azaleas, the lanterns, the stage at one end with its red carpet†¦how heavenly; how simply heavenly (267)! Every little detail was attractive and well suited to her fantastical desires. Leila was not yet revealed to the somewhat frightening reality that comes along with her magical world that is inevitable.