Thomas Hardys Essay Example for Free

Thomas Hardys Essay In chapter 6, we learn that Bathsheba has inherited her uncles farm, which was very unusual, Tisnt a master, tis a mistress, shepherd. Lately came here from a distance. Took on her uncles farm, who suddenly died. Men would normally benefit rather than a women, and landowners and workers did not view her as the best prospect for the farm to begin with, one of the reasons given in chapter 45 was, she is too young and beautiful. Even Gabriel felt she was unable to manage without him, How would the farm go on with nobody to mind it but a woman. In chapter 10, she forms a resolution to run the farm without a bailiff, the workers were very amazed, She would hopefully be better than a man in the role, she promised, in order that they will have confidence in her abilities despite her being a female. In chapter 12, Bathsheba attends the corn market. Although she is dainlty dressed she is determined to brave the stares and drive hard bargains. Nearly every face turned towards her, except for which she noticed was Boldwood who didnt seem to recognize her. Now she saw him as a challenge. Going into chapter 19, Boldwoods proposal and the promises he offers would have been seen as very advantageous to her, from the view point of the society, but she turns him down, saying she wants to marry for love. However, sending the Valentine card to him has restricted her, she has had to pay the consequences and could not have turned down the proposal fully as she did with Gabriel, She had a strong feeling that having been the one who began the game, she ought in honesty to accept the consequences. There had been a second proposal from Boldwood in chapter 23, and still Bathsheba was unable to deny the proposal, Hardy even suggests she felt a, fearful joy about the situation she was in. From then on she is trapped by her behaviour, even when she marries Troy, and when he goes missing Boldwood negotiates a further marriage promise. In chapter 26, Troy is flattering Bathsheba so much that, she becomes feverish. At first she tries to behave towards Troy with a sense of independence in her, but to the end of chapter 27 she is agreeing to meet him without a chaperone, Well, I wont bring Liddy and Ill come. But only for a short time, a very short time. Bathsheba is reacting very differently to the passion offered by Troy. Bathsheba changes she becomes powerless to withstand or deny him. She loses her sense of control and becomes the opposite of herself. In chapter 34, Boldwood pleads with Troy to save Bathshebas reputation by marrying her, which indicates how much regard the Victorian society put on a womans reputation as a virgin, Oh, How can she be saved now, unless I marry her? says as he teases Boldwood. Later, we learn that Bathsheba has married Troy. In this marriage she has lost her role as a mistress of the farm. After the marriage Troy has already started ordering Bathsheba by telling her and the rest of the women to go home so the men can carry on drinking, well send the women folk home! Tis time they were in bed. Then we cockbirds will have a jolly carouse to ourselves! . This direction undermines Bathsheba in front of her workers, but it also puts the farm in jeopardy because the workers are too drunk to save the hay from the storm. In chapter 37 we find that Gabriel is working with Bathsheba and he saves the day. Bathsheba tells Gabriel of her trip to Bath, she shows her understanding that maybe she has out the farm in jeopardy by marrying Troy but she felt her reputation was at stake because she had not adhered to the general rule of society but had driven to see Troy unaccompanied late at night: I saw that a scandal might seize hold of me for meeting him alone in that way. Now, Bathsheba is getting unhappier by the day. She turns into an emotional woman and she is no longer in control of herself. Having married Troy, Troy is becoming reckless with money and Bathsheba can do nothing to stop him becoming like this. This happens because in marriage in the 19th century the husband becomes in control of his wife and his wifes possession. In chapter 51 Bathsheba is not wanting to attract anyones attention with her beauty. In chapter 56, Hardy suggests that Bathsheba has had this downfall because she had so much pride and vanity in herself. Chapter 56 also starts with Bathsheba expressing the reliance she has had on Gabriel, and so she is upset when she hears of Gabriels resignation letter, It is that I may soon have to give up the management of your farm, Mrs. Troy. The fact is, I am thinking of leaving England not ee, you know next spring. Realising that she is now reliant on Gabriel she would not refuse his marriage proposal if he were to ask again. Hardy shows that just like Fanny, Bathsheba is also reliant on the security a man can offer her and she comes to realize that this security only comes with marriage. Bathsheba has taken on the role of the typical Victorian female, dependant on marriage for security, although the relationship is based on substantial affection. In Far from the Madding Crowd Hardy illustrates the position of 19th century women as being disadvantaged. Fanny and Bathsheba both provide contrasting examples of Victorian women who were victims of the treatment of their men. In their lives they are seen in the role of second-class citizens in need of a trustworthy man for survival, unless they can survive themselves. Womens social behaviour was expected to be restricted whereas men could have very little restrictions on how they behaved. They were even admired for some of their roguish tendencies. Hardys language as he describes Fannys plight expresses his sympathy for her, but Bathshebas suffering is not dealt with in the same sympathetic response. Her character, which was independent, has changed at the end of the novel. She appeared a more reserved character accepting the role of Gabriels wife. I think that Bathsheba had wrong treatment from men as a result the way she acted, having so much pride in herself and being vain. It was good for her to have that independence in her but maybe she felt too much of her independence, which got her in a muddle. The classic example is when in the beginning of the novel Gabriel proposed to her and she did not accept, because she did not want to be thought of as mens property, yet in marrying Troy she destined herself to this very fate.

Literature Review of the Impact of Human Resource Management on Organisational performance

Literature Review of the Impact of Human Resource Management on Organisational performance Organisations worldwide are under pressure today to continually improve their performance. The major trends behind these competitive pressures are globalisation, advances in information technology, and increasing deregulation of global markets (Becker Gerhart, 1996; Dany, Guedri, and Hatt, 2008). These changes have a strong impact on a countrys ability to maintain its competitiveness (Laprade, 2005). Without an efficient workforce organisations lose their ability to compete, both locally and internationally, eventually leading to poor organisational performance and thus ending up with little or no economic success (Tomaka, 2001). Unlike in the past when natural resources, technology, and capital used to be the key factors to determine the competitive advantage of the firms of one nation over the other nations, human resources today in modern times have become the most important resource for the firms to obtain strategic advantage over the other firms (Dany et al, 2008). This is beca use managers in both the public and private sector organisations regard the human resources of their organisation as its major source of sustaining competitive advantage by having the best of the best Human resource systems in place for recruiting, selecting, motivating, and efficiently managing their people (Mesch, 2010). As a result of these changes in the global economic environment business strategy, the field of human resource management is rapidly changing more than ever today (Becker Gerhart, 1996). Furthermore, among all the organisation factors which contribute to organisational performance, the human resources are now regarded as the most fundamental factor (Mesch, 2010). Recent researches on HRM show strong and positive relationship between HRM practices and organisational performance (Carlson, Upton, and Seaman, 2006; Collins Smith, 2006). Therefore, it is vital for managers to have a better understanding of the role of HRM in order to create successful organisational performance. Accordingly this chapter presents a review of the literature, relevant to this research study, on the relationship between HRM practices and organisational performance. HRM and Organisational Performance Human Resource Management Armstrong (2006, p3) defines Human Resource Management as, a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organizations most valued assets the people working there whom individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives. Human Resource Management is, the policies, practices and systems that influence employees behaviour, attitudes and performance (De Cieri, Kramar, Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 2008, p5). Delery and Doty (1996) assert that the HRM best practices, once identified and implemented would always produce improved organisational performance. Fox and McLeay (1992) found from their landmark empirical study of forty-nine companies, composed of companies mainly from the UK engineering and electronics sectors, strong supportive influence between six critical HRM practices in achieving successful above average sector performance relationship, over a 10 year period. These HRM practices are (ibid): Recruitment and Selection, Management Education, Training and Development, Performance Appraisal, Remuneration and Rewards, and Company-wide Career Planning. Organisational Performance A recent definition of Organisational Performance is given by Antony and Bhattacharyya (2010, p43). They define Organisational Performance as, a measure of how well organizations are managed and the value they deliver to customers and other stakeholders. According to Daft (2000) Organisational Performance is the organisations ability to achieve its objectives efficiently and effectively. Organisational Performance represents the value of the organisation in terms of the total contribution made by the efficient and effective management of its human resources (Neumann Segev, 1978). Chien (2004) strongly posits that organisational performance is composed of five major critical components. And these are (ibid, p290): Motivation Models, The Leadership, The Organizational Culture and Environment, The Work Design, and The Human Resource Management Policy. Relationship between HRM and Organisational Performance The traditional role of HRM in organisations was mainly to support the operations through managing people to win the employees organisational commitment to the goals of the organisation (McGunnigle Jameson, 2000). In consequence, HR managers had to strictly comply with the detailed procedures of personnel administration which drove the ways in which the organisations handled their human resource activities (Huselid, Jackson, and Schuler, 1997). The key HRM activities included in this regard are: recruitment, selection, performance measurement, training and development, and administration of compensation and rewards (Dany et al, 2008). In addition to performing these HRM activities HR managers have to create value for the organisations in which they work (Huselid et al, 1997). However, todays HRM focuses heavily on the organisations successful outcomes through the integration of the various HR functions (Dany et al, 2008). Ulrich (1996, p2) strongly suggests that human resources determine an organisations success in overcoming major challenges facing executives today: globalisation, value chain for business competitiveness and HR services, change, attracting and retaining intellectual capital. Together these major challenges require that HR practices create and add value that can be measured reliably (ibid). Todays top performing companies pay extraordinary attention to managing effectively the HR dimensions which affect employee behaviours: morale, motivation, attitude, commitment, etc (Cadle Yeates, 2008, p28). Each of these HR dimensions plays powerful part in determining organisational success (ibid). Modern HRM global best practices include Lawlers (1986) High-Involvement Work Systems (HIWS), Appelbaum and Batts (1994) High Performance Work Systems (HPWS), and Wood and Albaneses (1995) High Commitment Management. Research shows that these modern HRM practices have a strong and positive influence on organisational performance (Ramsay, Scholarios, and Harley, 2000). More and more researches strongly indicate that that there are positive links between HRM practices and organisational performance (Carlson et al, 2006; Collins Smith, 2006). For instance, Delery (1998, p289) asserts that, the methods used by an organization to manage its human resources can have a substantial impact on many organizationally relevant outcomes. Gerhart and Milkovich (1992) conducted studies to measure the impacts of compensation and rewards systems on the successful accomplishment of organisational goals and objectives. Likewise research study conducted by Terpstra and Rozell (1993) shows that five key HRM selection practices are linked to business profit. In his review of the key empirical studies on the relationship between HRM and organisational performance Ulrich (1997) writes that these studies investigated the impact of specific HR practices on specific successful organisational outcomes; for example, effective HR practices in training and compensation were related to business turnover, labour productivity, and organisational performance. Ulrichs (1997) review summarised that the empirical studies were based on the assumption that efficient use of human resources through best HR practices would lead to successful organisational performance. Empirical studies conducted by Huselid (1995, p635) to assess the relationship between a set of HRM practices (referred by Huselid as HPWS High Performance Work Systems, which included: extensive recruitment, selection, training procedures, formal information sharing, attitude assessment, and job design) and organisational performance of 968 large companies have shown that there is a positive relationship between HRM and successful organisational performance. The key organisational performance measures used to evaluate the high performance HRM practices in the empirical studies included: labour productivity, financial performance, and turnover (ibid). Delaney and Huselid (1996) investigated the effects of recruitment and selection, compensation, training and development, decision making, complaints and grievance procedures, promotion practices, and the combined synergetic impact of these HRM practices in 590 for-profit and not-for-profit companies. Overall, their study concluded that these progressive of HRM practices were positively associated with firm performance. Harel and Tzafrir (1999, p186), based on their extensive theoretical and empirical research as well as from the prior studies conducted by other researchers in the HR field, have identified six core components of strategic and universalistic HRM best practices that are strongly related to organisational performance. These 6 core components of HR best practices are (ibid): Recruitment; Selection; Compensation; Employee Participation; Internal Labor Market; and Training. Likewise Becker and Huselid (1999) strongly agree with the seven high performance HRM best practices put forward by Pfeffer (1998) as having strong links to organisational performance. These 7 high performance HR best practices are (Pfeffer, 1998, cited in Huselid Becker, 1999, p297): Employment Security Selective Hiring Teams and Decentralized Decision-making High Pay Extensive Training Reduced Status Distinctions Extensive Information Sharing. Each of these seven high performance HRM best practices offer options for the HR professionals to choose the appropriate ones for enhancing the organisational performance and at the same time one should remember that each of these HRM best practices form an integrated high performance HRM system (Huselid Becker, 1999, p298). Approaches to Examine HRM and Organisational Performance Relationship There are two major fundamental approaches to study the relationship between HRM and organisational performance. These are termed as: Best-Practice approach, and Best-Fit approach. Best-Practice Approach The best-practice approach claims that HRM practices are universalistic and thus any organisation can obtain enhanced organisational performance by adopting the HRM best practices for managing people in any organisational context (Boxall Purcell, 2000). Best-Fit Approach On the other hand the best-fit approach argues for a vertical fit whereby the HRM systems are integrated with the corporate strategy of the organisation for obtaining improved organisational performance within a specific organisational context (Boselie, Paauwe, and Richardson, 2003). Between these two approaches, the best-practice approach is considered to be superior by HRM professionals and researchers for examining the impact of HRM practices on organisational performance ((Hoque, 1999, p422). Cautions in Examining the HRM and Organisational Performance Relationship Although there is wide support to the idea that HRM practices lead to improved organisational performance yet there are some cautions that have to be observed. Huselid (1995), states that successful organisational performance has been obtained by high-performance firms since they were able to afford expensive HRM systems and practices and this may not be affordable to most other firms. Furthermore, leadership style could have a stronger impact over the deployment of HRM practices due to the different types of influences which the leaders can exert on their people (Becker Huselid, 2006). Organisational Performance in Public Sector Organisations The power and water sector in Oman is a not-for-profit sector. As stated earlier (in chapter 1) the power and water sector in Oman is striving for reducing its operating costs. Only those not-for-profit organisations which possess human capital resources that operate with increased professionalism and more advanced multi-tasking skills through enhanced productivity (and thus ensuring and effecting control over operating costs) can accomplish their mission successfully (Mesch, 2010). Furthermore, in the times to come, the not-for-profit sector has to inevitably pursue more efficiency and with more economies of scale in order to provide cost-effective services to their stakeholders and prove organisational effectiveness (ibid). Evaluating organisational performance in the public sector organisations is not easy and this is further compounded by the fact that measurement of organisational performance in the public sector has not been developed in the organisation theory literature (Waheed, Mansor, and Ismail, 2010). This primarily because of the following factors that are unique to public sector organisations (ibid, p330): Lack of well-defined objectives and large number of multiple objectives; Central administration; Absence of generally accepted performance indicators for measuring organisational performance; Diffused and largely fragmented responsibility because of the interdependency of the performance of the public sector organisations. As a result of which accountability is difficult to extract. Evidence from their review of the limited literature available on organisational performance in the public sector organisations show that the three most common major indicators (the other not common indicators are: relevance, and efficacy) of organisational performance used in the frameworks provided by the various researchers are (ibid, pp331-336): Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Innovation. Katou and Budhwar (2006) studied 178 manufacturing organisations in Greece to investigate the relationship between the HRM systems and policies and organisational performance. Their study used the following indicators of organisational performance from their literature review (ibid, p1226) which can also be applied to service organisations as well: Efficiency: usage of fewer resources to achieve organisational objectives; Effectiveness: achieving the organisational objectives successfully; Development: developing and building the capacity of the organisation for meeting the future challenges and opportunities; Satisfaction: satisfying all the key participants customers, stakeholders, and employees; Innovation: of products and the related processes; and Quality: enhanced higher quality of products (services). Summary This chapter reviewed the available literature relevant to this study on HRM practices that can improve organisational performance. The above review of HRM literature shows that HRM best practices is distinctly composed of recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and rewards system, information sharing, and employee participation. Organisational performance can be measured through the successful organisational outcomes in the form of efficiency and effectiveness, customer satisfaction, service quality, and labour productivity.

A Victim of Despair :: Frankenstein Mary Shelley Creative Essays

A Victim of Despair How many of you have read or heard the story of Frankenstein? I'm sure some of you may remember reading Mary Shelly's novel or watching one of the many versions of the movie.Have you ever noticed that most of the stories about Frankenstein are shown only through Victor Frankenstein's experiences? What about the monster he created? Have you ever wondered what the monster's side of the story was? Well, you're in for a big surprise because tonight on Novel News, the monster that Victor Frankenstein created will be here to share his side of the story. Let's welcome our guest, Mr. Monster. How does your story go? It was not long ago on a cold November night, that I became the product of Victor Frankenstein's discovery of "bestowing animation upon lifeless matter". Electricity engulfed my body, acrid odors surrounded my senses, and the loud shrieking of," It's Alive! It's Alive!" filled my ears. I had no recollection of who or where I was. The unfamiliar chamber from where I awoke was musty and damp. Numerous bottles and wires filled the dimly lit room. I began to walk around the room attempting to find something that looked familiar. I didn't recognize anything and as I walked I had trouble maintaining my balance, I kept slipping on a liquid substance that had spilled all over the floor. Once I regained my balance an overwhelming sense of strength rendered my body; it was a feeling that I never experienced, my arms and legs felt energized like there was an endless energy flowing through them. I looked at myself in a nearby mirror and noticed the apparent scars that covered my body and face. My arms, legs, hands, feet and face were numb and seemed like they didn't belong to me; it was almost as if someone stitched me together using numerous body parts. I asked myself as looked in the mirror," Who was this ghastly monster I was looking at in the mirror? Could it be me?" I took my hand and rubbed the scars on my face and on my arms. I was the monster in the mirror. I don't know what to say but at first I thought I was having a bad everything day - you know bad hair and skin. The yellowish tone in my skin made me look somewhat dead. I was so embarrassed by my presence, I was afraid to scare off whoever came near.

The Influence of The Impressionist Era Essays -- Music Composition Mus

The Influence of The Impressionist Era Impressionism, one of the later eras in classical music composition. An era where emotions are expressed vividly while still following musical structure, where music caused much political controversy, and where France became known for its musical talent. In this essay you will read of how impressionism set a lasting mark in musical and national histories, and how it influenced modern music as we know it. The Impressionist Era all started with Claude Debussy, being tired of the formed classical structure, and the romantic informality. Of all of the musicians who ever lived Debussy (1862-1918) was known for his originality and adventurous style. His influences soon spread throughout the Western world. He, before long, became a "superstar" in Europe, North America, and Asiatemporarily breaking the public's fascination with the monolithic composers of the classical and romantic eras. Because of Debussy's moving compositions Impressionism soon spread into churches, schools, ballrooms, along with respected theatres and concert halls. Although Claude Debussy was an amazing orchestral composer, his works seemed to agree most with the piano. Today, one of the most known pieces of piano repertoire is the piano suite, Claire de Lune. Many composers started to become inspired by Debussy and thus The Impressionist Era was born. In the later years to come Debussy would have never guessed his music would be so powerful and destructive. In 1876 unrest soon came to France, and ironically held in the middle was Impressionism. Today many would compare this to the sixties where more liberal habits cause social disturbance. Historians to this day are still shocked with how such an uplifting, and positive movement could cause so much strife. Riots and political vendetta soon aroused France, causing unofficial anarchy in which the government was powerless. This national misfortune was actually caused by feuding between the Socialists and Democratics using impressionism as their weapon of war. The Impressionist Era was said by political leaders to be expressing an opinion in France's politics, and since most impressionists were French this point had a strong siding. Composers like Debussy, and Satie soon unwittingly became political figureheads. The music definitely was moving for the French people, and... ... theatre, band and pop music techniques and styles which were founded during Impressionism are all employed. Even while watching a movie the background music often contains Impressionistic styling. A prime example is Celine Dion's once popular song, My Heart Will Go On, this song contains almost every one of Impressionism's musical characteristics. Throughout the song harmonic chord progressions, a drifting melodic line, classical and romantic technique and tone, irregular chromatic intervals, and whole-tone scales are clearly defined in the instrumental scores. Also, many other songs are laden with Impressionistic styles; including some rock music. Another modern day artist is Elton John who constantly uses themes from the Impressionist Era. The influence that Impressionism has on modern day music is actually quite phenomenal, all you have to do is listen closely and I guarantee that you will notice some similarity. The Impressionistic revolution in music all started with one musician, one composer, named Claude Debussy - who alone turned his mind's sketches into another Era in musical history. Who knows, maybe you will lead the way into the next musical era.

The Significance of Letters in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Essay

The Significance of Letters in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Letters play a very important role in 'Pride and Prejudice'. They can link the story because letters provide information which we would not have found out from the dialogue between the characters. We an also find out extra background information which can help with the reader's understanding of characters, the plot and the novel in general. Letters can reveal characters' personalities and how they feel about the other characters in the novel, for example Miss Bingley's feelings about Jane. Letters are used as a dramatic device in 'Pride and Prejudice' to further the plot, link the story and to inform the readers of the character's personalities. Letters are also an extremely important part of 'Pride and Prejudice' because at the time when the novel was written, letters were the only way of communicating other than through word of mouth. Letters can be used to deliver good and bad news at any time. They did not have telephones so a letter would be the most appropriate way of keeping touch with friends and family. Jane and Elizabeth are two of the main characters in the novel and they write to each other frequently during their visits away from each other. The sisters share some parts of their personalities. Both are caring, loving and considerate towards other people, but Jane is extremely loving and she does not want to judge any of the other characters in the novel before she has heard the entire story. This is because she does not want to think badly of anyone. We know this from Jane?s letter to Elizabeth regarding the actions of Miss Bingley and Miss Hurst ... ... the novel would make no sense. Austen uses letters to make the novel much more interesting as it is different from constant dialogue. She superbly shows that there are different ways to provide the reader with information other than through dialogue or through the narrator. Letters are important in ?Pride and Prejudice? because they can enhance the plot, change the plot, provide the reader with additional information and can also show character. All of the letters from above contribute to the readers understanding of the novel, to the plot and to add to the characterisation and without these letters the novel would seem incomplete. This just proves that letters play a major role in 'Pride and Prejudice'. Bibliography: Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996

Professional Athletes are not overpaid Essay

In my short life, if there is one thing I have noticed about the sports industry, it’s that money talks. Drew Brees just recently signed a $100 million dollar contract with the New Orleans Saints to play for five more years. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers made $25 million last year alone, while Alex Rodriguez made $32 million. This sure seems like a lot on money for men to be making just to play sports, or is it? Professional Athletes are very good at what they do and deserve every penny they get for the hard work and dedication they put in to just make it to the big leagues. It has become a tradition in this industry to have salary disputes and lockouts. However, what is really at the root of these negotiations? Maybe the players are being greedy and want more money and perks just to play. I used to think this way, but now I am not so sure that the players don’t truly deserve every penny they get. I don’t think there is one person who could argue that professional athletes are very good at what they do. These athletes have tremendous dedication to the games they play. Getting to the professional level is not as easy as it seems. Many high school basketball players dream of being the next Kobe Bryant or Lebron James, but the truth is that according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), there’s only a . 03% chance that they will make it from high school to the NBA, with a slightly higher chance of going from the NCAA to the NBA being 1. 2%. Professional Athletes are in an elite league. The amount of time and effort they put into their training to maintain their bodies’ is extraordinary. Many people argue that especially in today’s economy where people are barely making their mortgage payments or deciding between utilities and groceries, it is hard to hear about a professional athletes quarrel over the millions in salary they should earn just to play a game. Many people spend the majority of their lives working hard to only earn a small fraction of what a professional athlete makes in one year. Are the athletes the only ones at fault for these gargantuan salaries? I don’t think so. There are many rofessionals out there that make more than these athletes and no one complains about them. Consider the owner of Starbucks, Howard Shults, who made $98 million in 2008 for selling coffee products. That’s more than Brees, Bryant and James put together. Athlete’s become larger than life figures in person and with their salaries because of their fans. Everyone at some point in their lives has purchased tickets or merchandise relating to one of their favorite athletes. We are the ones that continue to perpetuate the ability for them to earn more and more each year. We constantly buy into the sports mania of official licensed merchandise, tickets, food and beverages at every venue. We as a society spend our hard earned money to see and be entertained by these athletes year after year. If people have a problem with the amount of the salaries they make, maybe they should stop going to games or refrain from buying their kid a jersey with their favorite players number on it. If society doesn’t buy into the sport then there is no money to be made. If there is no money to be made then there is no interest in bring the events to the fans. Let’s face it the sports industry is just that, an industry and business. Businesses are out to make money. To do that they need to have a product people want and in sports the athletes are the product. These athletes are just employees of the business they are in trying to get the most out of what they put in. Many of us get inspired when we see the achievements of some athletes. They sometimes help us see our own potential if we work as hard as they do. One of the most important reasons professional athletes deserve their pay is the beatings they take on their bodies’ season after season. Every time a player runs onto the field or court they run the risk of a season and sometimes life threatening injury. For example, according to Health Day newsletter the percentage for concussions in the NFL rose 21% in 2010. In 2010 the league reported 154 concussions in just the first half of the season. Many of us will recall the devastating injury of Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett in 2007. Everett suffered a fracture vertebra and it was questionable whether he would ever be able to walk again. Many occupations don’t require that you intentionally put yourself in harm’s way for the sake of entertaining an audience. I realize professional athletes love what they do and would change their occupations for anything, but as a society we should recognize that their lives are not always as glamorous as it seems. After years of battle wounds their bodies are full of aches and pains. Many injured players find it hard to get health insurance because of the high cost to insure them and the fact that many insurance companies refuse to cover pro athletes. Professional athletes in general have a short career life. The average person will retire between the ages of 65-75. However, Drew Brees’ career will most likely be over in 5 years at the young age of 38. Although many players go on to have alternate careers after their professional athletic career, many are too beat up or don’t have the skills to perform any other type of career. Bottom line is we as fans create the demand for these professional athletes to continue to raise the bar for our own entertainment. It’s all about supply and demand. The sports industry is willing to supply us with the extraordinary talents these athletes bring to the fields and courts and we as a society continue to demand more out of them. The more we demand the more they supply, the more they supply they more we pay and the more the athletes will be paid. Athletes are not paid for what they do; they are paid because people want to watch what they do. So again I must state professional athletes are very good at what they do and deserve every penny they get for the hard work and dedication they put in to just make it to the big leagues and entertain fans.

Discuss the writers use of the supernatural Essay

The two stories resemble each other with the idea they communicate with the reader, that people should respect the supernatural. In the Withered Arm, Thomas Hardy develops why we should fear and respect the supernatural by showing that by mocking Gertrude about her medicines and counter curses, Farmer Lodge ended up with a dead son and a dead wife. He also ended up selling all his land because he could not endure staying in the village with everyone gossiping about him. Also by keeping the tempo of the story fast and building up to all the supernatural events keeps us tense. In the Monkey’s Paw, Sergeant Major Morris warns the White family about the consequences of the wishes the paw grants. However the White family do not take heed of the warning and take advantage of the paw and in doing so, they end up with their son dead, Mrs. White acting senselessly to try and bring back her son and Mr. White having to wish his son back to the grave. The author is trying to tell us that if you do not respect the supernatural and take advantage of it, you will feel its wrath. The two stories are alike in other ways. Both stories involve young innocent people suffering. In the Monkey’s Paw Herbert died for his family’s foolishness. Whilst in the Withered Arm it was Rhoda’s and Farmer Lodge’s son that was innocently sent to the gallows. Another similarity is that people that were selfish earlier on in the stories are punished in the end. Mr. White is self-seeking at the start of the Monkey’s Paw and does not take Sergeant Major Morris’ advice and his son dies as a result. In the Withered Arm Farmer Lodge is punished for his negligence shown to his son and his failure to accept the responsibility for his son. The consequence for this is the eventual hanging of his only son. Also both stories have ironic twists. In the Monkey’s Paw the family wishes for two hundred pounds and after the money doesn’t appear straight away, Herbert says â€Å"Well I don’t see the money, and I bet I never shall. † The wish eventually does come true and the money is handed over to the family but only as an insurance payout for Herbert’s death at the factory. So the irony is that Herbert will never actually see the money. In the Withered Arm the ironic twist is that when Gertrude was waiting for a hanging she got so desperate that she used to pray for a hanging â€Å"O Lord, hang some guilty or innocent person soon! † It turned out her prayers were answered but the man seen to be in the wrong turned out to be Farmer Lodges’ and Rhoda Brooks’ son but it seemed the boy was wrongfully charged with arson. At the hanging, Farmer Lodge and Rhoda were present in the crowd and once Gertrude had realized the hung man must be their son, she entered a sense of shock. This proved too much for her and she died. The irony is that she prayed for a man to be hung, so that she could cure herself but the man in the end was her husband’s son and this did the opposite of curing her and the shock of it all ended her life. In conclusion, the writers use the supernatural to show the reader that if you ridicule the supernatural, it will backfire on you and you will feel the consequences greatly. Also they try and make you scared of the supernatural by making the paranormal events happen to normal people. Meaning it could have been you instead.