Short Story - 780 Words

Standing my ground, I told her, â€Å"I haven’t experienced a mental hiccup, furthermore, as an artist I didn’t need to partake in drugs or intoxicating beverages for inspiration.† Our belligerent tà ªte-à  -tà ªte abruptly ends when the butler announces dinner. Silently we move into the formal dining-room and took our proper place at the table that seats twenty-two -Whitney at one end and I on the other. Before I had a chance to taste the Bouillabaisse, Whitney, in her typical audacious manner, began another attack. However, I’m not in the mood to play her ridiculous game. So, I excuse myself, stroll to the Billiard room where I sat in front of the fire place and studied the colors of the flickering embers, while leisurely counting to a†¦show more content†¦After the funeral, I returned to my condo where I’m haunted by jagged memories. Be that it may, I pulled myself together Thursday afternoon, and half- heartily drove the twenty mile s to the office of my mother’s attorney, Jeremy Slick. Two seconds after I entered his office, he closed the door and bluntly says, â€Å"Homer, after you informed your mother of your future career choice she rewrote her will. Naturally, she intended to share this information with you after dinner on that ill-fated night.† Well, I’ll be damned! Evidently, Whitney’s silly game hasn’t ended. Instantly, I reassessed my poignant mood, sat there, stoically, without saying a word, and waited for Jeremy to continue. When my silence became too unbearable, Jeremy took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and straightforwardly says, â€Å"Either, you restore your life to the status quo ante or forfeit your inheritance.† â€Å"If I don’t – what then?† â€Å"Homer, your mother’s estate, estimated at 3.5 billion, would go to the J.C. West Academy of Fine Arts, for the creation of the Michelangelo Scholarship, awarded to students wi th exceptional artistic talent. Attached to the Scholarship is an addendum– if a recipient ever became a tattoo artist they must reimburse the Academy for the full cost of the scholarship. Now, Homer, ac-cording to your mother’s last wish, I must have your answer before you leave this office.†Show MoreRelatedshort story1018 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Short Stories:  Ã‚  Characteristics †¢Short  - Can usually be read in one sitting. †¢Concise:  Ã‚  Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told.  Ã‚  This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot †¢Usually tries to leave behind a  single impression  or effect.  Ã‚  Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act. †¢Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing  personal experiences  and  prior knowledge  to the story. Four MajorRead MoreThe Short Stories Ideas For Writing A Short Story Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pageswriting a short story. Many a time, writers run out of these short story ideas upon exhausting their sources of short story ideas. If you are one of these writers, who have run out of short story ideas, and the deadline you have for coming up with a short story is running out, the short story writing prompts below will surely help you. Additionally, if you are being tormented by the blank Microsoft Word document staring at you because you are not able to come up with the best short story idea, youRead MoreShort Story1804 Words   |  8 PagesShort story: Definition and History. A  short story  like any other term does not have only one definition, it has many definitions, but all of them are similar in a general idea. According to The World Book Encyclopedia (1994, Vol. 12, L-354), â€Å"the short story is a short work of fiction that usually centers around a single incident. Because of its shorter length, the characters and situations are fewer and less complicated than those of a novel.† In the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s DictionaryRead MoreShort Stories648 Words   |  3 Pageswhat the title to the short story is. The short story theme I am going conduct on is â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber (1973). In this short story the literary elements being used is plot and symbols and the theme being full of distractions and disruption. The narrator is giving a third person point of view in sharing the thoughts of the characters. Walter Mitty the daydreamer is very humorous in the different plots of his dr ifting off. In the start of the story the plot, symbols,Read MoreShort Stories1125 Words   |  5 PagesThe themes of short stories are often relevant to real life? To what extent do you agree with this view? In the short stories â€Å"Miss Brill† and â€Å"Frau Brechenmacher attends a wedding† written by Katherine Mansfield, the themes which are relevant to real life in Miss Brill are isolation and appearance versus reality. Likewise Frau Brechenmacher suffers through isolation throughout the story and also male dominance is one of the major themes that are highlighted in the story. These themes areRead MoreShort Story and People1473 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Title: Story Of An Hour Author: Kate Chopin I. On The Elements / Literary Concepts The short story Story Of An Hour is all about the series of emotions that the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard showed to the readers. With the kind of plot of this short story, it actually refers to the moments that Mrs. Mallard knew that all this time, her husband was alive. For the symbol, I like the title of this short story because it actually symbolizes the time where Mrs. Mallard died with joy. And with thatRead MoreShort Story Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesA short story concentrates on creating a single dynamic effect and is limited in character and situation. It is a language of maximum yet economical effect. Every word must do a job, sometimes several jobs. Short stories are filled with numerous language and sound devices. These language and sound devices create a stronger image of the scenario or the characters within the text, which contribute to the overall pre-designed effect.As it is shown in the metaphor lipstick bleeding gently in CinnamonRead MoreRacism in the Short Stor ies1837 Words   |  7 PagesOften we read stories that tell stories of mixing the grouping may not always be what is legal or what people consider moral at the time. The things that you can learn from someone who is not like you is amazing if people took the time to consider this before judging someone the world as we know it would be a completely different place. The notion to overlook someone because they are not the same race, gender, creed, religion seems to be the way of the world for a long time. Racism is so prevalentRead MoreThe Idol Short Story1728 Words   |  7 PagesThe short stories â€Å"The Idol† by Adolfo Bioy Casares and â€Å"Axolotl† by Julio Cortà ¡zar address the notion of obsession, and the resulting harm that can come from it. Like all addictions, obsession makes one feel overwhelmed, as a single thought comes to continuously intruding our mind, causing the individual to not be able to ignore these thoughts. In â€Å"Axolotl†, the narr ator is drawn upon the axolotls at the Jardin des Plantes aquarium and his fascination towards the axolotls becomes an obsession. InRead MoreGothic Short Story1447 Words   |  6 Pages The End. In the short story, â€Å"Emma Barrett,† the reader follows a search party group searching for a missing girl named Emma deep in a forest in Oregon. The story follows through first person narration by a group member named Holden. This story would be considered a gothic short story because of its use of setting, theme, symbolism, and literary devices used to portray the horror of a missing six-year-old girl. Plot is the literal chronological development of the story, the sequence of events

The Construction Industry in Nigeria Free Essays

In Nigeria, like most developing countries, the construction industry plays a role in meeting the needs of infrastructural and economic activities of the country. According to Olowo-Okere (1988) the construction industry accounts for about 60 percent of the Nation’s capital investment and 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (G.D. We will write a custom essay sample on The Construction Industry in Nigeria or any similar topic only for you Order Now P). UKCG defined the construction industry as a driver of growth in other sectors due to its heavy reliance on an extended and vary supply chain. Furthermore, he said all other sectors of the economy such as transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, education, health ,sports and so on they all depends on construction industry and vice versa that is the construction industry also relies on these sectors of the economy. According to Nwosu, (2003), approximately two-thirds of the value of fixed capital produced in Nigeria each year emanates from the construction industry. He further acknowledged that construction industry also generate employment opportunities which place it second to government in the employment of labour. Furthermore, the construction industry is said to have contributed about half of the total stock of fixed capital investment in the Nigeria economy (Olaloku, 1987). When the construction industry was booming in the 1970’s, the country’s economy experienced similar effects during that period. However, from early to mid 1980’s, the industry experienced a jolt and its effect was felt in all spheres of national life (Isiadinso, 1988). Buhari (1991) reported that the lull in construction of early 80’s was not limited to Nigeria alone. The lull also occurred in Western Europe and America. But the parent companies of these big timers in our midst were not only able to stay afloat the stormy ocean but were able to expand their sales. They were able to do this by initiative, creativity and research. Oladerin Ogunsemi and Aje (2012) explained the roles construction industry played in the economy and the vital activities of the industry which led to the achievement of socio economic development goals of providing shelter, infrastructure and employment. Consequently, the Federal and State governments resorted to taking foreign loans as a quick solution to the problem. However, some of the measures taken by Government in order to revitalize the economy have further aggravated the situation. One obvious implication of this development is that the initial cost of imported raw materials and subsequently of the finished products has substantially increased (Husseini, 1991). Mbachu and McAdoo (2004)reported that these substantial increase have obvious negative implications for the major players and the industry; undermining the viability and sustainability of the industry. From the real estate academic, in terms of critical evaluation community development appraisal has remained unimportant. Usually construction is coordinated by general contractors; they specialize in a particular type of construction which is residential or commercial building. They take full responsibility of taking the job. However general contractors may carryout some portion of the work with their co workers and subcontract the some of the work to heavy construction or trade contractor’s specialty. Specialty trade contractors are those that do their work in a particular trade like painting, electrical work and carpentry works including plumbing and heating. Specialty trade contractors has no responsibility for the structure as a whole. They obtain orders for their work from general contractors, architects, or property owners. Furthermore, construction industry is the sector of national economy that engages in the preparation land and construction and revamping of roads, buildings, structures and facilities. In the Australian economy, the construction is the number fourth in the contributing to gross domestic product and it plays a vital role in determining the economic growth. The construction industry accounted for 6.8% of the gross domestic product in chain volume terms in 2008- 2009, compared with the gross domestic product 7.0% in 2007-2008. Previously, the construction industry following one after the other experienced seven years of growth as a proportion of gross domestic product(GDP) ever since tax was introduced to goods and services( GST) in the year 2000-2001. Both in the private and public sectors, the construction industry operated in engaging in the three broad areas that is residential, non residential, and engineering construction. How to cite The Construction Industry in Nigeria, Papers

Jordanian democracy Essay Example For Students

Jordanian democracy Essay Democracy and Political Reform in JordanIntroductionThe Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with a population a little over six million and a country of about 97,740 sq. km. is bordered by Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the West Bank, and Israel. This country has come a long way politically since its beginning in 1921, when it was formerly known as Transjordan and along with Palestine were only just formed states that followed the Ottoman Empire. They were ruled by the British until 1946, when the British recognized its independence. The political history of Jordan has varied much since the starting point of this country. Since the beginning, tribal relations among the people of the land had much influence over the creation of a new state. This influence seeped into the political and social arenas (al-Attiyat, Shteiwi, Sweiss 17). Another influence in Jordan?s politics was when a special turning point occurred in 1989, where a political reform swept the nation. Political parties that had once been barred were re-established. This reform laid the stepping stones for the Jordanians to achieve a democratic administration. This small country has surprisingly one of the freest economies in the Middle East and continues its movement of political liberalization, in an attempt to achieve a democratic environment for its citizens (Wikipedia). Assumptions: Jordan still has not achieved a true democratic government yet. Jordan?s politics seems very limited and bounded by the government. No true democracy can really exist un der these conditions since freedom of speech and freedom to express new ideas are not allowed in such a society. Jordanian culture also hinders the advancement of a democratic administration since loyalty to family and tribe is of central importance and has more priority than most things for the majority of people of this region. GoalThe goal of this research paper is to analyze and inform readers of the political atmosphere and political history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. MethodologyThe methodology of this paper is an informative one, informing on the past policies, the democratization process Jordan is struggling to continue, and the political reform of Jordan since 1989. An analytical approach will also be used to consider the obstacles facing the Jordanian government to fully up heave its political environment toward a more democratic one. Historical BackgroundThe politics in Jordan currently occurs in a structure of a parliamentary monarchy and a multi-party system. Jordan is a constitutional monarchy based on the constitution instated January 8, 1952 (Wikipedia). Perhaps the most significant and reciprocating turn of events for Jordan?s politics happened during King Hussein?s reign. The doors of democracy opened up by this late king to modernize and ameliorate the political atmosphere of his country. Similarly during this time, the political climate of Jordan had ventured into a period of ?anti-Western nationalism? (Hussein?s early reign). Politics had become tense between many high officials in the government. Suleiman Nabulsi, which was later forced to resign, and his administration had sought to end the monarchy and obtain aid from the Soviet Union. These turn of events would later move to impact the political freedom of the country for decades. A Hussein loyalist, Ibrahim Hashim, ultimately established control and barred all political party actions. In 1957, martial law was declared and parties were banned for around three decades. This decision hurt the democracy movement in Jordan and kept politics at a standstill for many years to come and the role of the tribes of Jordan would have a great impact in affairs of the state as the political parties ceased to exist even still so after they would come to be reinstated in 1992. At the turn of the 1980s, Jordan had entered a period of unemployment and poverty brought on by a financial crisis and this in turn led to an uprising and protesting among the citizens demanding democracy (al-Attiyat, Shteiwi, Sweiss 76). People began thirsting for the return of parliamentary life. Many factors contributed to the change of thought by the average Jordanian regarding its policies and government. The establishment in the mid 1990s of pan-Arab and transnational satellite television and radio channels widened space to debate that was not subject to national-level restrictions and censorship. In addition, the ratification of many Arab and international conventions related to political and economic reforms and the abolition of all forms of discrimination against women had offered new i nfluence for change. The beginning of the 90s saw a new wave of democracy for the Jordanians and since then their claims of democracy have risen with new laws issued to forward this achievement, a quota system was established for women, and political parties continue to seek their influence in its government. Further analysis and examination of this political reform and process in Jordan will be sought out in this research to evaluate the obstacles that lay ahead for the Jordanians to achieve a fully democratic system. Theoretical Robert Dahl, an American political scientist, has made major contributions to the study of democratic political processes and to the theory of democratic pluralism. The problem of political power sharing in democratic societies has been central to a number of Dahls inquiries, including his Preface to Democratic Theory ( 1956 ), which focused on the structures of conflict and compromise through which groups with divergent interests exercise power. For Dahl, conflicting interests were essential to good democratic government. Rather than centralizing power in the hands of a single majority, contested elections ensure that various, not necessarily like-minded minorities determine who holds power. In practice, he suggested, the chief issue in democracy is not the tyranny of the majority, but the ways in which minority blocks accommodate or frustrate one anothers demands. Dahls influential Who Governs? ( 1964 ) is an empirical study of these processes at the level of city government in New Haven, Connecticut. He revised and extended this theory in several works, including Polyarchy, Participation and Opposition ( 1971 ). West Gallery and East Gallery EssayWomen?s Empowerment Jordan has seen significant accomplishments in recent years on the subject of women?s rights and empowerment and their raising of status in society. In addition to progressively more entering the workplace, education and politics, women have recently gained a number of rights, represented in amendments in some laws, including a quota of seats for women in Parliament, and requirements related to divorce and marriage. This piece argues about the general account of women?s participation in Jordanian public life and its impact on the circumstances of women in society, the form and reality of women?s participation, such as voting in elections, and active participation in positions of policy making in civil society and state. It also scrutinizes the role played by recent developments, such as the taking up of the quota system and the amendments to legislation governing the role of women and their general public image in society.Women?s participation in many areas of politics is very low and there is a continual need to use affirmative action to include women in all aspects of the government. Participation in drafting state policies by taking part in government is an important indicator of the evolution of women?s participation in public decision making, which in turn influences the lives of individuals, both men and women, in society. At this level, participation comprises of being represented in the executive branch of government (Ibtissam Alttayat 25)Female participation in the drafting and execution of government policies and in holding state positions has seen a noticeable increase. Since 1997, four governments have been formed, with women represented in all but one. It has also been noted that participation by women has been confined to traditional themes, namely the holding of the same ministerial portfolio of social development, with the exception of Rima Khalaf and Laila Sharaf. No woman has held the post of minister of the interior, foreign minister or prime minister. If we assume that most cabinets comprise 25-30 ministers, then the percentage of women in them has hovered at about 3 percent, or one member, which is a very small percentage that cannot have a strong impact (Ibtissam al-Attiyat, 31). Women?s participation in elected council?s and organizations has changed. In 1982, Jordanian women received the right to vote and stand for election in municipal and village elections. Since then, they have voted but refrained from standing for election. Many efforts have been made to encourage women?s positive participation in local politics, by encouraging them to stand in the governorates and municipalities, which until a short ago were considered exclusively for men. The year 1994 was an important turning point for female participation at this level. The Cabinet agreed to appoint 99 women to municipal committees that were set up to prepare for the elections of municipal councils and mayors (Jordan the State). 20 women stood for the municipal election of July 1995 and they are considered a milestone in the history of Jordanian municipal elections. Iman Fatimat took many people by surprise when she became the first female mayor in a contest that saw her win in one of the most ?tribal? districts, although a small one, in Khirbay al-wahadina, in Karak (Jordan the State). This unprecedented victory helped to remove the constraints on women that had kept them from trying their politics at the level. It should be noted that women candidates in larger towns and centers were relatively unsuccessful, going down in defeat in the capital, Amman, and in Madaba, Mafraq, Jarash and Karak. These districts are relatively conservative, while the victory of a woman in the south country, where society is supposedly more conservative, which according to Dr. Musa Shtwiwi ?can be attributed to the development projects being implemented there by many NGOs? (Jordan State). These projects have helped strengthen women politically by strengthening them economically. Many development projects in less fortunate rural areas have concentrated on engaging women in the development process; they are encouraged to take part in administering local society that is often marginalized in larger towns and policies carried out there.