Friday, January 24, 2020

C.S. Lewis on Misunderstanding Fantasy Essay -- Biography Biographies

C.S. Lewis on Misunderstanding Fantasy â€Å"Good stories often introduce the marvelous or supernatural and nothing about Story has been so often misunderstood as this.† On Stories—C.S. Lewis The early decades of the last century saw the loss of credibility of fantasy literature among the academic elite who ruled it a popular genre with little to no scholarly merit. Little that had had the misfortune of being dubbed fantasy had escaped the blacklist cast upon the field. Many critics had also labeled the fantasy genre as largely clichà ©, full of shallow characters, and as having no value beyond being purely escapist entertainment. These generic labels, applied wholesale to fantastic literature, had pushed it off the radar until readers of Fantasy had become literary lepers, lurking in the corners of accepted literary societies. Recent big screen blockbusters such as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and its sequel, The Two Towers, as well as the two Harry Potter films have restored much attention to the oft-ignored genre. Despite the commercial success of the two fantastical franchises, however, Fantasy has not regained much standing within the academia, as scholars continue to neglect contemporary fantasy literature when choosing curricula and fail to give the genre its due while unwittingly including much that is fantastic in classical literature courses. Although these classics have been accepted, they have often been held either as the exception to the rule or have not been labeled as Fantasy at all. Further, the lack of Fantasy in the curricula of colleges across the country has become so egregious as to ignore modern literary giants such as George R.R. Martin who competes e... ...ery dissimilarities than any other story could because of its similarities. Lewis said, â€Å"The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by the veil of familiarity† (On Stories 90). â€Å"By putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality; we rediscover it. As long as the story lingers in our mind, the real things are more themselves.† Bibliography Lewis, C.S. An Experiment in Criticism. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press, 1961. Lewis, C.S. On Stories and Other Essays on Literature. Ed. Walter Hooper. New York. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich Publishers, 1966. Tolkien, J.R.R. â€Å"On Fairy-Stories.† Tree and Leaf. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965. Tolkien’s label â€Å"fairy-story† can be taken synonymously with fantasy literature.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

The differences between goals and objectives

AbstractWhen clearly defined, goals and objectives can be used as major management strategies which in turn lead to the success of an organization. It is important to note that the differences between goals and objectives have important practical meanings. Hence, this paper will briefly explain the differences between these two from the strategic management point of view. Differences between a goal and an objective Goals are extensive while objectives tend to be narrow. This means that having set important goals, one may move on to objectives as they are more of sub goals.In other words, achieving any set goal will require one to formulate a number of questions that will enable one reach their goals in any project. Therefore, these questions make up the objectives which are specific and narrow and which also act as a milestone that aids in achieving a set goal. Thus, goals can be differentiated from objectives as they have general intentions with objectives being more defined (Lewis, 1996). In addition, goals can also be differentiated from objectives as they are abstracts with objectives being more concrete.This means that goals are more of a summary with objectives bearing more details with regards to the abstracts. As well, the goals will only stipulate where one wants to be with objectives giving the steps needed to get there or actions that will enable one be where they want to be. In turn, from the strategic management point of view, goals end up indeterminate as their intentions cannot be measured with objectives being measurable (Lewis, 1996). Further more, a goal can be said to be intangible while objectives may be tangible.This means that a goal is something that may be directed towards achieving non measurable tasks with objectives directed towards achieving measurable things. Moreover, the two can also be differentiated as they take different time frames. For instance, goals tend to have longer time frames when compared to objectives. As well, since objectives are more precise and existing under a goal, they are mostly set to achieve certain targets with the time frame being short term (Lewis, 1996).

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 890 Words

Former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter, in his article â€Å"Adapting to the Threat Dynamics of the 21st Century† states that the U.S. military needs to be well prepared for unannounced attacks from â€Å"terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else al-Qaeda and its associates appear.† China and other nation have higher advantages in many key manufacturing areas than U.S. the military needs to have abundant funds, trained soldiers, invest in the air and sea mobility assets, and updated technologies. Winter acknowledges that a temporary reduction in some key manufacturing areas could cause the U.S. industrial stupendous harm. â€Å"It is the matter of ensuring the survival of America and the free world.† In his book â€Å"The Things They Carried,† Tim O’Brien is both narrator and protagonist. The book is about his personal experience in the Vietnam War and describes how each soldier in the platoon feels about the war. In O’Br ien’s book title â€Å"Things† has a significant meaning: Soldiers carried things that are both physical items and intangible. While they all carry heavy physical loads, they also all carry heavy emotional loads, sadness, horror, love and longing components. Each soldier in the platoon is untrained and has a weak familiarity to the weapons. In the platoon there are soldiers who are childish, careless, and a leader who has no experience how to lead his men. O’Brien is a normal young teenager who goes to school and work; he has a bright future. However, one dayShow MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien892 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a long, exhausting, and traumatic experience for all of the soldiers and those who came with them. The Things They Carried, by Tim O Brien illustrates the different affects the war had on a variety of people: Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads, a former nurse during the Vietnam war, demonstrates these effects within her own memoir in the book, The Forgotten Veterans. Both sources exemplify many tribulations, while sharing a common thread of suffering from mental unpredictability. DesensitizationRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1377 Words   |  6 Pageslove to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I reflect on the many conflicts America has been a part of, none can compare to the tragedies that occurred in The Vietnam war. As told in The Things They Carried (O’Brien), characters such as NormanRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe theme pertains to everyone regardless of their background. It conveys the same ideas to people from all across our society. Lastly, a classic is timeless, which means it has transcended the time in which it was written. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, he offers a new, intriguing way to view war or just life in general and also meets all of the crucial requirements mentioned above to qualify it as a book of literary canon. Though this book is technically a war novel, many peopleRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1242 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Tim O’Brien is obsessed with telling a true war story. O Brien s fiction about the Vietnam experience suggest, lies not in realistic depictions or definitive accounts. As O’Brien argues, absolute occurrence is irrelevant because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Mary Ann’s induction into genuine experience is clearly destructive as well as empowering† (p.12) Tim O’s text, The Things they Carried, details his uses of word choice to portray his tone and bias. Tim O’BrienRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1169 Words   |  5 Pagesbut are set in the past and borrows things from that time period. A story that fits this genre of literature is The Things They Carried. The story is about Tim O Brien, a Vietnam veteran from the Unite States, who tells stories about what had happ ened when he and his team were stationed in Vietnam. He also talks about what he felt about the war when he was drafted and what he tried to do to avoid going to fight in Vietnam. The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien was precise with its portrayal of settingRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1004 Words   |  5 Pages Tim O’Brien is a veteran from of the Vietnam War, and after coming home from his duty he decided to be a writer. His work â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about a group of soldiers that are fighting in the Vietnam War. The first part of the story talks mostly about physical items that each soldier carries, and also mentions the weight of the items as well. Though, there is one exception to the list of physical things. Lieutenant Cross is a character of the story, and Tim O’ Brien quickly states theRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien896 Words   |  4 PagesTrouble without a doubt is what First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross c arried around his shoulders because he was out in war, where mistakes happen. Lost and unknown of his surroundings he had to lead his men into safety, while destroying anything they found. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross only holds onto one thing for hope and that is Martha, the woman who he hopes is a virgin to come back to. Tim O’ Brien introduces symbolism by adding a character that has a meaning of purity and a pebble, which symbolizesRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesSummary: â€Å"By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure† (21). In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, the American soldiers of the Vietnam War carry much more than the weight of their equipment, much more than souvenirs or good-luck charms or letters from home. They carried within themselves the intransitive burdens—of fear, of cowardice, of love, of loneliness, of anger, of confusion. Most of all, they carry the truth of what happened to them in the war—aRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1369 Words   |  6 PagesMany authors use storytelling as a vehicle to convey the immortality of past selves and those who have passed to not only in their piece of literature but in their life as an author. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction The Things They Carried, through his final chapter â€Å"The Lives of the Dead,† O Brien conveys that writing is a matter of survival since, the powers of s torytelling can ensure the immortality of all those who were significant in his life. Through their immortality, O’Brien has the abilityRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1407 Words   |  6 Pages       Our introduction stated that in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† author Tim O’Brien tells us not directly of the soldiers of Vietnam, or the situations they find themselves in, but about the things they carry on their shoulders and in their pockets. These â€Å"things† identify the characters and bring them to life.   I find that to be true as the author unfolds the stories about war and the uncommon things one carries in to war both inadvertently and on purpose.  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was noted: Stories about war –