Compare and Contrast Walter Mitty with Rip Van Winkle Essay

â€Å"May Day! May Day! We’re going down!† Right before impact you are awaken suddenly by a tapping on your shoulder by your teacher and a class full of laughing peers. It happens to everyone at one point or another. Every high school student has been succumbed to a wild daydreaming adventure. In the short story, â€Å"The secret life of Walter Mitty† by James Thurber, a man by the name of Walter Mitty can hardly tell reality from his vivid imaginary dreams which undertake him spontaneously as he feuds with his nagging wife. In a very similar short story, â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† by Washington Irving, the main character Rip Van Winkle slips away from his domestic problems with his wife to a place of serenity where he can sleep in the peace and quiet of the Catskill Mountains. These two stories possess many striking similarities yet there are many differences between them which make them unique. Similarities run wild between these two stories. The most noticeable trait in which both stories possess heavily is the portrayal of the wife. In â€Å"Rip Van Winkle†, Rip’s wife is a nagging, mean old hag who gets her kicks out of bossing him around and taking him away from his fun with the neighborhood children and his dog. An extremely strong connection can be made from the wife of Rip to the wife of Walter Mitty. Mitty’s wife is obviously a control freq who always has to have things her way, and if things fail to lean in her favor then all havoc breaks loose. â€Å"Not so fast! You’re driving too fast!† said Mrs. Mitty. â€Å"What are you driving so fast for? (Thurber 2)† Another large similarity between Walter and Rip are their overwhelming tendencies to avoid any form of laborous activity pertaining to their own benefit by choosing to do something a little more exciting and fun. In Rip’s case, he simply leaves his wife and his h ouse with his dog, Wolf, to escape all of the responsibilities his wife imposes on him to be in the peace of the forest where he can relax for awhile. â€Å"Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound. (Irving 4)† Walter Mitty is sidetracked every time he is told to do something by falling into a new daydream. His wife often has to tell him to do a particular activity multiple times before Mitty makes a formidable attempt at completing it. â€Å"When he came out into the street again, with the  overshoes in a box under his arm, Walter Mitty began to wonder what the other thing was his wife had told him to get. She had told him, twice before they set out from their house for Waterbury. (Thurber 5)† These two characters go hand-in-hand with one another, yet there are still significant details about each one which make them unique. Although very similar, these stories possess many distinct differences which separate them from one another. The first and foremost is the time in which each takes place. â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† is set in the colonial days from pre-Revolution to post-Revolution while â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† is set in the roaring ’20s of the 20th century. The main characters also have their own unique attributes as well which helps to distinguish them from each other. Walter Mitty is more of a dreamer and oddball, and uses his dreams to escape from his troubles and worries of the day. Rip Van Winkle is more of a playful, joyous person who just outright despises his home. He works extremely hard for other people and is always there to help others out yet he refuses to make any tangible efforts to get things done around the house. â€Å"In a word Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own; but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible. (Irving 3)† Obviously another significant detail which separates these stories is how Rip Van Winkle falls asleep for 20 years and sleeps through the Revolution, waking up only to find that everything he had once known is gone for the most part. He awakes to learn that his wife has died and this actually made him happy. Walter Mitty does not despise his wife in the same way. Mainly, Walter Mitty is just slightly annoyed by her antics and her need for control. This detail probably poses the biggest separation between plots of the two stories. Differences are noticeably large and significant when comparing these short tales. Though very similar indeed, these two stories are in fact very different from one another. The main characters of the two run parallel in description and action yet the plots seem to stray away from one another. â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† and â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† are two very unique and priceless pieces of American literature.

Private Concert Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Private Concert - Assignment Example The other two pieces which were also stylistically different from all the other pieces included the piece on â€Å"Ancient memories† and â€Å"Waltz for Debby†. The Palestrina piece illustrates resolution and harmony because of its dominant, 7th chord. During the 16th century, the seventh chords got created in different part, but only three of them where the dissonant 7th was prepared and resolved. During this century, harmony was as a result of horizontal voice leading. It is similar to the full 7th chord on the 2nd degree in the Palestrina piece. The piece on â€Å"Waltz for Debby† was noticeable because of its slow beat and that there was a consonant through its entirety. An American Jazz Pianist called Bill Evans composed this piece in 1961. Throughout the piece, the trumpet, electric guitar and the saxophone were all used at different times to produce different melodies. There was an increased of the dynamics to a moderate level then to a softer level after making a decrescendo. The piece on â€Å"ancient memories† was played by Dr. Darryl White at the concert. When it began, there were dissonant tones. The tones were within the harmony similar to that of the piano and drums. Later, the piece changed to a more constant harmony to the end of the song. The melody of the piece could also be said to be happy and relaxing in other parts of the song. Perhaps it was because the tempo in the song changed and the notes made from the trumpet were held. There was drumming in the â€Å"Waltz for Debby† piece which was part of the music. Most notably, the texture of this piece remained almost the same throughout until its end. There was also the 1, 2, 3 pattern which was notable. In my view, the drumming made it easier for me to enjoy the piece. It also had a different genre than the other songs, which made it easier for me to remember it than other songs. The piece on â€Å"ancient memories† incorporated a lot of repetition. This led to different changes in the

Advanced HealthCare Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Advanced HealthCare Management - Essay Example the organization and they help in establishing plans through which they effectively cooperate to fulfill the aims of such organizations in the most amicable ways. In health care, teams help in implementing the plans of the institutions they serve so that they offer services that can establish them quality deliverers for the benefit of their clients. Teams that are established in different organizations have different characteristic that produce significant impact on the performance of such at the individual or organizational level (Burns, Bradley & Weiner, 2012). This implies that at to ensure that a team is to produce exemplary results that will trigger the success of the organization; the teams that exist in must have a well focused on the goals. One factor that leads to good performance of a team and consequently improves the productivity of the organization is communication among the team members that are involved in establishing it. Communication ensures that team members are in a position to exchange relevant data among themselves and lead to improvement of the quality of services they offer to clients. In health care, teams ensure that all the people are in a position to supply the information about a specific field of study which turns out to be relevant to the care they give to the people to patients. On the contrary, failure in the communication results to low performance of the team because the members lack the updated information that can be of help in implementing care (Woodcock & Francis, 2008). Another characteristic of a team that has an impact on performance is the diversity that is represented by the team members who work together because they have different backgrounds. The diversity in a team can work for the improvement of a team if they work to bring together knowledge in different fields that will ensure they diversify the perspective of looking at the care. On the other hand, diversity in the group can cause conflicts that can weigh down

How do you view the unification of women on campus, and how would you Essay

How do you view the unification of women on campus, and how would you improve it - Essay Example Hence, it is essential for women to come together on campus and address the issues that are affecting them both in the school and the outside world. This paper will assess the issue of women coming together on campus, illustrating its benefits and ways of improving this unification. As mentioned above, the unification of women on campus is a positive event for many reasons. Firstly, it enables the preparation of young women for life after college. When women come together they should use this opportunity to teach the younger girls about their rights and empower them to stand up for themselves. Women would not have the opportunity to learn about such situations in detail and unification enables this educational procedure to occur. Unification of women is also a supporting mechanism for women as they are able to encourage each other in a world that places them at an unjustified disadvantage (Boswell, n.p). Unification on campus also trains women to be more expressive. The voice of a group of people is much louder than that of an individual; hence the women can work together towards achieving a common goal. Unification is also good in the sense that it enables the women at the college to form stronger ties with one another, and create both friendships and professi onal connections which will help them in the future. Unification of women is also good from the sense that it enables them to strategize and create new ideas that improve their lives in college and beyond. The more women that are present, the higher the chances that more problems facing women will be vocalized and therefore rectified. In addition, when working together the strategies being implemented to improve certain issues have a higher level of success (Boswell, n.p). I feel unification of women can be improved by formalizing the unions that are created by women on campus. This will give a better

Analysis of the Research Concerning the Drop in Voters Turnout among Essay

Analysis of the Research Concerning the Drop in Voters Turnout among Young People - Essay Example Among the recommendations given were: to recognize and understand young people’s concerns; to work to increase political awareness and knowledge; to tackle the related issues of social and political exclusion among young people; to review the electoral system and the choices available to voters; to make electoral registration easier; to make voting easier. In order to address the situation, a campaign that aims to change the current attitudes and perceptions of these young people is necessary that will influence behaviors towards voting. The primary target audience in our case would be young people that belong to the age range 18-24, who are legally eligible to vote. This primary target audience will be the focus of our marketing communications messages. But we also have our secondary target audience is composed of a broader group, which is young people: this encompasses young people from ages 11-24. Given our primary target audience as the decision-makers of whose behaviors we want to influence towards voting, we need to identify the other members of our decision-making unit who would serve as influencers. First, we need to know who these people look up to. These can be opinion leaders that they admire and respect so much, such as celebrities like famous football players, young music icons, actors, and writers. Other potential influencers include peers, community leaders, parents and older siblings. These people also get information from their co-workers, classmates, university professors and tutors. The SWOT or strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats related to the election voting participation is determined and given a particular weight in order to determine what to prioritize. The higher the number, the more an item should be prioritized.

Film Report Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film Report - Movie Review Example The theme of the movie is the conflict between the two regions of the United States, the South being dominated by African-American slaves. The theme was clearly revealed, although there were already hints in the beginning that it involves war scenes, during the attack initiated by a black militia group to the houses owned by white Americans in the village, including the house of the Camerons. In emphasizing the central theme of the movie, Griffith used two separate families which supported different ideals, and the use of violence in the uprisings seen during the Civil War. 2) What were the choices made by the main characters and what were the consequences of those choices? Griffith is clear in his intentions that the choice of war was a result of aged-long slavery, and the use of violence to achieve the freedom that African-Americans longed was a way to depict superiority. Ben Cameron’s choice of engaging in a relationship with Elsie, instead of a woman from his place, and Ma rgaret’s love for the elder Stoneman, both resulted to a romance in between the war, and eventually led to love in between revenge against the African-Americans. In the end, it was a picture of an interracial relationship and marriage, and the desolation of death in wars. Moreover, Ben’s decision to organize a left wing group, though it paved way in forwarding their angst towards the demise of many white Americans, it created much more conflict, loss of lives, damages to property, and crisis in all sectors of society. Simply told, while both families chose to participate in a battle where nobody clearly wins, war did not create positive results at all. 3) What three or four sequences are most important in the film? Why? It is of personal intention to choose these important sequences in the movie that highlight its central theme. First scene was when the two Cameron ladies, Margaret and Flora, hurriedly went back to their home after noticing that chaos is happening. Bot h panicked while their family thought of the basement as a safe hiding place. The ransacks heated up the civilian wars. Next, the war fought by both Stonemans and Cameron took the life the younger Stoneman while Ben’s almost ended. The next sequence, Ben Cameron was brought to the hospital to be treated. The third scene, he met Elsie Stoneman who works as a nurse, with whom Cameron spent moments of admiration looking at the lady Stoneman’s photo. The two got married, a sign that amidst the impossibility, two people from different backgrounds can be at peace. Ben’s pardon to President Lincoln not to be punished culminated when, as the fourth sequence goes, Lincoln was assassinated. 4) Did the ?lm surprise you with anything unusual in its story, style, technique, or implications? Yes, it did. In fact, the film’s story is unique from the rest of black movies that highlight the miseries of African-American slaves. The movie chose to present the other way arou nd; the violence they asserted to the communities was highlighted that it aroused a negative impression of them. Moreover, the silent approach of Griffith in this movie introduced a new insight in understanding through visuals of the history. People may have a hard time appreciating his style, but it is a breakthrough from the usual that it made me watch it until

Onset Ventures Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Onset Ventures - Case Study Example Early-stage ventures are very young firms with limited operational resources and are usually in the development, startup or survival stages. The seasoned firms are usually in rapid-growth or maturity stages (Leach & Melicher, p.21-22). Seed financing is represented by the funds required to determine if an idea can be a viable business opportunity. This is usually necessary at the development stage of a venture. Other sources of financing are startup financing, first-round, second-round, liquidity stage, mezzanine and seasoned financing, depending upon the ventures life cycle stage. Onset Ventures is a top-tier seed investor which has raised three funds till now. The partners at Onset have analyzed and set six principles, based on which they provide seed financing to a startup venture. The principles address the skill set and experience of the entrepreneur, continuously evolving business model, validation of business model followed by hiring the CEO, the funds spent only to add value perceived by the capital providers, product’s Unique Selling Proposition and the skills of personnel hired. These principles have been refined over time and lead to the development of incubation process through which the company develops, refines and pursues or rejects business ideas. During the first phase, pre-seed phase of incubation process, Onset analyzes if the business concept can be an attractive investment. Based on the outcome of the pre-seed phase, it proceeds to the seed phase and provides seed financing to the business. Onset analyzes the possible risks and tries to address those risks during this phase. The five risks are market, technical, operating, pricing risks, as well as the risk related to the operational capability of the business team. Onset has a comprehensive process of screening the ideas and identifying profitable ventures but it has lost the opportunities of making more profits due to tight funding of the ventures and by being too careful and risk- averse. II. Facts of the Case A. Stated Facts Onset Ventures was set-up with an initial $5 million fund in 1984 and subsequently raised $30m (Onset I) and $67m funds (Onset II). Out of these funds, two-thirds have been invested in seed and follow-on investments, and the rest is kept as reserves in Onset II. In 1996-97, the size of an average VC fund increased by 40% to $71 billion. The company plans to raise $80m-$95m fund, it’s the largest fund till now. Onset has provided seed financing of $1m for the company TallyUp to develop a viable software product. Onset operates on a model of five business principles and a specific incubation process of pre-seed phase and seed phase to screen the business ideas. The company’s minimum target IRR of a fund is 30% over 12 year cycle. Onset puts in a company around $1m in seed round, $1.5m in the next round, and $2m in the third round. Onset I gave positive IRR within 4 years of its inception (appendix 1) and Onset II took only th ree years to give positive IRR (appendix 2). The average number of investment has increased in subsequent funds, i.e. $2.5m in Onset I, $3.5m to $4m in Onset II and expected $4.5m to $5m in Onset III. B. Implied Facts Over the last 13 years, Onset has invested mainly in seed-stage and early-stage financing. Onset II has performed better than Onset I (appendix 3). III. Problem Definition A. Source Problem How many funds must be raised for Onset III? Whether Onset should invest an additional $1m into TallyUp for