Life of Pi book

In the book, Life of Pi[1], Yann Martel proposes many religious differences, and similarities from religions located around the world. These questions ask such things as, is it possible to be a multi-religion person? Are all religions different? How are some religions the same? Life of Pi was written in 2002 and is a fascinating story of how a young man, Pi Patel, makes it in a world with his own personal beliefs. He adopts the three major religions of the world being Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.Life of Pi is a very questioning book at times and has the capability of persuading nonbelievers to re-evaluate their religious thought process and beliefs. After reading this book you will be comfortable in the knowledge that you will have on other religions, and just may judge them differently. One of the questions that surfaces in this book is â€Å"can a person believe in more than one religion? † The author uses the Christian, Islam, and Hindu religions all in one character to represent the different struggles that Pi Patel is facing within him self, just as animals were used as symbolic representation for people in the first story. As for the question itself, a person cannot believe in more than one religion at a time. This is shown when the three holy men meet Pi in the park and they argue over his religious practices. While arguing Pi’s father reminds the three holy men that â€Å"there is freedom for practice of whatever religion in this country†[2]. The holy men screamed in unison, â€Å"Yes! Practice-singular†[3]. This point supports how even the three major holy religions of the world believe that you can only have one. However, it is possible for people to change religions throughout their lives. As religions are faith based through personal convictions that come from within, you have purpose in what you believe, and therefore are only able to believe in one at a time. To say you believe in Christianity and Hinduism would be like saying you are both a communist and a progressive conservative, which are different philosophies. You have to choose one religion or another, just as in this story you need to believe the first story or the second story, and you cannot believe that both of these events occurred. A person cannot believe two tales of the same legend. The second story with people resembles culture within North America and how everything in the North American world is looked at as bare facts. Most people only believe things that they can see with there own eyes, or feel with there own hands. Starting from our education as children, to jobs in adulthood, knowledge of bare facts measures how much we are capable of doing. In math you add numbers that have relevance to our society, in science pre-determined experiments with actions or re-actions occur, as well as predictions and conclusions. Everything MUST have an answer. If there is a topic to which we do not have an answer we dig for scientific answers, and refuse to accept folk tales or stories from higher powers. In an area of the world with steadily declining religious numbers[4], we need to exercise our faith and imaginations. We all need to have an open and searching mind like that of a younger child. Pi Patel shows just how blunt and â€Å"factual†[5] North America people are by telling the second story, including the murder of people on a lifeboat. Murder is something we can all relate to, thus making the second story â€Å"the right story†[6] to most people. After the second story of realism, many people feel the first story to be a waste of time, showing again just how North American people struggle to explore the imaginative or symbolic side of things. Everybody justifies their respective view by saying, â€Å"that’s not even possible†[7] or â€Å"I’d have to see it to believe it†[8]. The first and second story connects in a way of showing resemblances between the two major religions of the world, Christianity and Islam. The purpose of this is to show how alike Islam followers are to Christian followers. They share most of the same religious views, with very minor differences in stories of interpretations. They also share many of the same characters, such as Jesus, who is God’s son. Jesus sends messages from God and heals people in Christianity, and in Islam a prophet shares the word of God. These two parts in the story show just how different the two religions are, yet are so similar. The first story also shows how, in the eastern world, the people are much more imaginative, by using Hindu and its animals to add a twist to create the first story. It uses the animals to also describe the real people that were on the boat such as the Orangutan, Pi’s mother. In Hindu a person who is caring and involved in religious studies has the possibility of becoming a monkey after death[9]. Pi’s mom was a very caring person who was against the eating of the zebra, or the young sailor. A zebra is looked at as an honest, friendly, and creative person because of his stripes[10]. By using these animals he is trying to show just how North American culture is so bare factual. This story parallels our own personal internal struggles as well as the struggles of different cultures and religions in the world. We begin to understand we have to ultimately face and deal with our own struggles, allowing us to come to terms with our own beliefs, where we are at in our own lives and how we fit into our culture. This story could be interpreted with different meanings by different people, but ultimately causes the kind of thought that moves us forward in terms of who we will become. The purpose of this story is to show the similarities of some religions, and also to show that the things that are different, are not so different after all. This is a book attempting to change minds on religious discrimination and indifferences.Reference http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm

Analysis of Memories of an Immigrant

Today, during our broadcasting, we will talk about immigration, particularly the huge immigration’s period, from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, to the USA: nearly 12 million immigrants, coming from all parts of the world, arrived in the United States between 1870 and 1900. To discuss of this subject with us, the famous author of â€Å"Memories of an immigrant†, Mary Wilde, will present her book. Good morning, as you know, immigration is an important subject in the world today. But, what did you decide to write a book about it, and what did you choose this time in particular. â€Å"Memories of an immigrant† is a biography of my grand-mother Annie McBride, an Irish immigrant. Social and cultural differences of immigrants have built north-American culture. In your book, why did your grand-parent decide to immigrate to the USA? Annie was born in 1880 in Ireland. She emigrated in 1901 because she wanted personal freedom or relief from political and religious persecution. Actually, there were political subordination by the British policy and religious prejudice of Protestant Masters to the Catholic Irish. In 1845, the great potato rot killed many of the crops people had planted and a famine resulted, but 50 years after the situation was the same. What were her expectations and dreams? Fleeing crop failure, land and job shortages, and famine, she came to the U. S. because it was perceived as the land of economic opportunityâ€Å"Golden Land â€Å". She decided to settle down in the US to start a new life, in order to have better prospects, so as to earn a better living. She hopped for a better future. Did she go with all her family in the â€Å"Golden land†? Hers parents died when she was young but she was raised by her uncle Bill and his wife: a couple of farmers. In 1895, Bill immigrated to the new country while his wife and Annie would staid in Ireland. After he had worked and earned money for the passage of them, they could have joined him. There is an extract of her journey to the US. Annie McBride said†¦ My journey to Ellis Island: Day 20 I'm in this boat since 20 days. It is so long. I thought the trip gonna be less hard. I am in steerage class; my bed is not comfortable at all. I sleep with six other persons, a French woman and an old German man. The four others, I don't know their name, I didn't understand their language. They are kind people; I ate with them yesterday evening, in the dormitory. My only diner was a lukewarm soup, a boiled potatoes and a stringy beef. The quality is poor, but it was good compared to the piece of bread we had in Ireland. I still have two months to end this trip. During the day, I talk with Julie and Gunter, my bedroom's mates. I learn very much about their country their lives and why did they decide to come to the USA. For me, eating potatoes was a miracle, in Ireland; the potato famine was a disaster and left lot of people destitute. I had the feeling that I was living the beginning of my new life. A life without fears and problems. I am very hopeful and impatient. Yesterday I didn't succeed to sleep, outside, a huge storm was rumbling. I was afraid because I hate storms and I always thought that in the ocean, it could be very dangerous. One hour ago, when I talked with her, Julie told me that the captain wasn't very nice, he committed sexual offences. I think this behavior is inappropriate to a female passenger, and I don't understand why he used this language. There is not drinking water on the boat. Yesterday, I drunk water with and horrible rancid smell and I had an unbearable stomach ache. I staid in my bed all the day, I was so bored. I heard that a typhus disease appeared on the boat. I'm afraid, it's gonna increase my constant pressure, this illness made lot of dead people in Ireland. I will propose to people to play cards with me, stay without do anything is just impossible, I think I will die of boredom. This day will end in four hours and let the place to another long and hard traveling day. I can't wait to arrive to USA. To see this new country, this new people, to live my new life. How was the arrival in the US and at Ellis Island? After four weeks in the boat, she made out the shore through the fog and was very excited. Annie's first view of the United States was at Ellis Island in New York. After leaving the ship all the immigrants had medical and legal inspections. If they were healthy and if they had 25$ they were allowed to leave Ellis Island and start their new lives. After inspections, where did she go? Bill told her the situation was very difficult when he arrived in the USA. In the ship, he met another Irish Sean who proposed to him to go to Philadelphia where there were working opportunities: the country was growing and it needed men to do the heavy work of building bridges, canals, and railroads. Thus, they were engaged to do work of building of railroads and canals, for miserable wages. They were forced to live in cellars because of poverty. Their brogue and dress provoked ridicule; their poverty and illiteracy provoked scorn. Then, Bill and Sean settled in the already existing Irish communities, where Catholic Churches had been built, and cultural traditions were carried out. Consequently, Molly, Bill’s wife, and Annie joined him at Philadelphia. They found work as chamber maid and caretaker of children. The Church played an integral part in their lives. It was a Church who fought not only for their souls but also for their human rights. Often stereotyped and discriminated against, many immigrants suffered verbal and physical abuse because they were â€Å"different. † Their transition into American life, however, was not smooth as the Irish minority came into direct and sometimes violent conflict with the Protestant majority. After 10, Annie had children with Sean, and in 1950, she founded a college, today renowned, in Virginia. Thank you for your presentation and participation, Mary Wilde.

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Case Study

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility - Case Study Example   This is made possible for the various forms of interrelationships established in the organization as persons interact with one another in the different levels of its structure, carries with it the core belief that each member of the organization are working towards the achievement and realization of the organization’s goals as they achieved human development and excellence in their field of expertise. And that actions performed by all its players are considered as within the purview of the organizations good. Thus, it is assumed as given and therefore not questioned the truism of the belief that workers and employees do not just perform their tasks in an excellent manner in order to yield a good product but that they have a sense of loyalty to the organization where they are members. However, the relationship between the organization from the management level and the employees is not always a bed of roses. Critical issues demanding decisive actions and decision making some times arise as some factors and judgments may tend to disturb the â€Å"harmonious† balance of the organization. Business has always been considered as â€Å"amoral.†(De George, 1999, p5) Implying that basically business enterprises have no other interests than to gain profit. Thereby, presenting the notion that businesses do not bother itself to question of right or wrong which is the interests of morality and ethics but are, instead, concerned with the question of how companies will be able to increase its gains and profits. This view, in fact, is also held by the Noble Laureate Milton Friedman that â€Å"the only social responsibility of business was to increase profit.†(Davies, 2000, p 99)  Ã‚  

Technical Communication Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Technical Communication Analysis - Assignment Example Introduction to Hardware specific organization: Cisco is an American based multinational entity which specializes in the field of networking and internet connections on local and wide area network levels. It also provides solutions to enterprises of different kinds namely businesses, information technology, governmental organizations and various other sectors. The services provided by Cisco are up to the customers’ requirements fulfilling the factors of quality of Service factor, security considerations fulfillment, I.P solutions provision, and various other online resources sharing and connectivity. Differences: While the first paper (Routers) provides technical details, the second one is specialized and focuses on the guidelines to be followed. The clinical document further provides descriptions and stresses on the importance of documented works, records keeping which will facilitate the work in longer run and at the same time bring about more consistency in the working patt ern in health care sector. While one of them is core technical in its outlook, the second one is relatively easy to comprehend even for the ordinary reader, The first paper provides details such as the capacity, the technologies incorporated in each of the router, the range supported by each of the router and other details. The advantages served by each of them and also the shortcomings that each of them may suffer from. The clinical paper talks of the newsletters, magazines, and other periodicals which will serve to promote awareness and provide details about how the clinical sector operates, what possible improvements are possible and what efforts are being undertaken in this regard. The second notable feature of the clinical paper is the formulation of regulation pertinent to the contracts being made and the payers and other stakeholders. The clinical report provides dates on which various regulations were adopted and later on put into effective action for practical applicability in health care domain. Difference is in the form of the type of people who may have made this report. The router based report is pure work of technical experts, while the latter is more of the policy makers’ work. Other notable difference in each of these papers is relevant to the fact that the clinical paper recommends changes and in the policies through its study, while the technical report of routers does not explicitly mention any need for change as such. The clinical paper contains the area of history recording, which is relevant to the patients history, their family, their hereditary diseases if any, such historic event is missing or unaddressed in the routers related paper. Similarities: The similarities are that each provides details as to how they operate and how they facilitate connection establishment as in case of first paper, and the second in case of how to make the health care sector more vibrant. Other similarity in each of them is that of introduction to the field, although the first one is relatively technical, the second one is relatively easily to comprehend. Each of them is made to provide guidelines and the basic know how of each of the sector. Architecture design specialties: The architectural designs contain terms and concepts relevant to its usage and application. While security, customer needs fulfillment, quality

Renewable energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Renewable energy - Essay Example In the 1970 though, the first awareness of the need to raise awareness on the use of natural sources of energy had been realized through the first Earth Day. The said need is due to the discovered negative effect of the scarcity of fuel to power the planet’s need for energy. From the said concern, sustainability had been a trend but is continuously becoming a need (Maczulak, 2009). The study is aimed to explore the concept of renewable energy which specifically includes the definition of the concept, the different types, the effects and the implementation of the methods. Methodology The study is undertaken through library-based research of both primary empirical data and secondary references. The main aim in the search for references to be used in the research is to find sources that generally explore the concept of renewable energy. There are two types of references used namely reference books and journal articles. The reference books are used for the definition of the differ ent concepts and other secondary data while the journal articles are used to gather both primary empirical data and secondary review data. Results The use of renewable energy is related the concept of sustainability which is related to the proper use of resources such as land, clean water, clean air, and the species diversity in nature. One of the main issues of sustainability is the sources of the energy needed to answer the needs of the world. Energy sustainability is the specific concept that targets the efficient use of energy and the implementation of techniques that can both save the two types of energy sources, the natural fuels and the renewable resources (Maczulak, 2009, p.26). Types of Renewable Resource Renewable sources of energy are materials that can be replenished easily such as sun or solar energy; wind power; ocean waves; water flows and tides; heat flows and stored heat; and biomass (Sorensen, 2004, p.210). For each of the said sources of renewable energy, there ar e techniques and methods used to extract and store energy. There effectiveness of the method lies on the application and optimization of available resources. Thus, every nation and locality needs to efficiently use the locally available renewable resources to increase the sustainability and to lessen the costs involved (Wengenmayr and Burhrke, 2008). One of the main renewable energy sources promoted on the basis of sustainability is the solar energy. This is considered as the most basic and readily available. Thus, the technology that can capture, store and utilize the power of the sun can make a significant difference. Different developments regarding the use of solar energy are being undertaken in various places around the world. An example is the development of solar concentrators by the engineers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which will be combined with solar films thus surfaces such as windows can gather solar power (Maczulak, 2009, p.108). In the European region, sustainability and the use of renewable energy sources is considered as an important part of the social policies. In 2007, the use of renewable sources of energy had been set on a comprehensive directive to intensify the 2001 directive thus covering the electrical power, heat and mobility. In Germany, Austria, and Greece, solar thermal usage is the main energy source. Biomass is the main source of energy in France specifically used to answer the heat consumption of the country. In other countries such as Sweden, Finland, and

Article Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis - Article Example The fish in the middle has the notion that there is some justice in the world because it can feed on the smallest fish, or it can be fed on by the biggest fish (Peterson 73). When it is threatened by the biggest fish, it can release its anger on the smallest fish. This is a way of seeking justice through revenge. The smallest fish represents the poor and the less fortunate members of the society. Its life is threatened by both the other two fishes. It can be killed by the two bigger fishes, and no justice is done (Peterson 73). The three cartoons can be used in a classroom to help students realize that opinions on injustice and justice are related to an individual’s social class (Peterson 73). In a typical society, a given social class usually benefit from injustice done to others. For instance, the middle fish represent the oppressed middle class who are fighting injustice. Teachers can give their students a picture of the cartoon, and ask them to write down what they see. Se condly, teachers can organize their students into groups and ask them to debate on which fish is the most powerful and why? In Hunger Myths, the other presents four key myths that are blamed for global food insecurity and hunger. The author argues that hunger is not a myth, but the myths are the key barriers to ending hunger. 700 million of the world’s total population lack adequate food supply, while 12 million children die of hunger every year (Food First 241). The problem of food insecurity can only be solved, if people choose to do away with the current myths that they hold. The notion that there is no enough food to go around is a wrong belief, which should not be internalized by anybody. The truth is that there is enough food to provide everybody with 3,500 calories every day. This does not even include foods like root-crops, beans and vegetables. The problem is that a bigger potion of the world’s population is too poor to buy food (Food First 241). In addition, most hungry nations are net exporters of food and other agricultural products. Famine and other natural disasters cannot be blamed for food scarcity. The problem is that most arable lands are held by powerful few, thus depriving the majority of land. Human policies and institutions determine who eats and who starves during food crisis periods (Food First 241). The rapid population growth, which is a major concern in many countries, cannot explain food insecurity. Rapid population growth is caused by inequalities of denying people, especially women, of economic security and opportunity (Food First 241). This phenomenon is common in societies where health care, education, old age, and land ownership are beyond the reach of most people. The Green Revolution and technological advancements such as GM foods have led to increased production of food. This, however, cannot end hunger unless unequal distributions of powers that determine people to feed and not to feed during food crisis are c hanged (Food First 241). In a classroom setting, teachers can help to address food scarcity and insecurity issue by urging the students to unclear the myths described above from their mind. They need to know that food insecurity is caused by unequal distribution of economic powers, which determine the people to buy food during food crisis periods. In Ten Chair of Inequality Polly, Kellogg represents a simulation activity, which can be used

Business Law questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Law questions - Essay Example Thirdly, it must examine whether the agency went outside its authority. Fourthly, it must examine whether the agency followed the required procedures in making the decision. Fifthly, it must determine whether the decision is so clearly wrong that it disserves to be abandoned. It is uncertain arguing that the agency always wins or loses because the final decision of the U.S District Court is determined by the validity of the dispute and the degree of correctness or wrongness that the agency’s decision was. In 2 (a) there are three procedures that are available for FDA in making new rules. First, it has to provide a Notice for Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which is a proposal published in the Federal Register for members of public to review and comment on it. Secondly, it is should consider the comments received on the rule during the comment period. Thirdly, it should comply with the â€Å"Effective Date† Rule that determines when the proposed rule will become effective. In 2 (b), a business engaged in importing food could participate in these procedures through reviewing the proposed rule and criticizing it, taking note of the final rule and complying with the â€Å"Effective Date† rule. In 3 (a), there are three laws that affect the records of an administrative agency. First, the Freedom of Information Act renders agency records subject to disclosure and outlines the various procedures that ought to be followed. Secondly, the Administrative Procedure Act dictates the ways through which each agency should avail public information. Thirdly, the Public Records Act specifies that personal information maintained about an individual shall not be disclosed without the person’s consent except for various explicit exceptions (Browne, 6). In 3 (b), the Freedom of Information Act would help my business to obtain information about the activities of my competitors. On the other hand, the Administrative