Four Strategies I Would Use to Plan and to Lean an Effective Meeting

Four strategies I would use to plan and to lean an effective meeting are as followed: first I would prepare for the meeting, next I would start the meeting off to a good start, then I create an atmosphere for participation, finally I would end the meeting. Preparing for the meeting requires thorough planning. Decide the purpose of the meeting and put it in writing. It should be something you can measure or document. Don't write, â€Å"We will discuss solutions for production delays. Instead, be specific. â€Å"We will develop a plan to document causes of production delays. † Give all participants something to prepare for the meeting. Once you have determined the time and place, prepare a memo detailing the location and ending as well as starting times. Include the purpose of the meeting and, preferably, the agenda. Mention that people can call you to clarify agenda items prior to the meeting (Thill & Bovee, 2011, p. 43).Getting the meeting off to a good start, meetings must s tart precisely on time so as not to punish those who are punctual. This also sets the stage for how serious the chair is about making the meeting effective. Open the meeting with introductions. Clarify who will take minutes, prepare the action plan and deliver it to members after the meeting, and be responsible for any other procedural details that need attention. State the purpose and review the agenda. Assign approximate times to each agenda item if you have not already done so.Creating an atmosphere for participation, there are many critical decisions that should occur at the first committee meeting. These decisions help to clarify meeting logistics. Everyone should feel comfortable in contributing to the decision-making process. When creating an atmosphere of participation, the chair should encourage group discussion to get all points of view. Turn questions back to the group for their input. Ask people to comment on something just said.Compliment people on their ideas and thank them for their input. Ask open-ended questions. Ending the meeting should conclude with a summary of work completed, a clear action plan for outstanding tasks, and a decision about subsequent meetings. The summary should relate directly to the purpose: What was the goal? Was it achieved? What remains to be done? Reference: Thill, J. , & Bovee, C. (2011). Excellence in business communication (9th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Publishing.

Romanticism and Death

Death Death is something that cannot truly be defined. It in fact is a word with a plethora of meanings. Some feel that death is something good for you because you will now be with God and spend a beautiful eternity in the afterlife. Some feel that it is a negative concept because you are leaving those you love and you are Just gone. Others are confused, not knowing what happens after you die and are actually scared of the hold concept. These different meanings were thought out during many different literary eras such as the Renaissance, Neoclassical, Romantic and VictorianThe Renaissance was a time period in which had a much more calm way of eras. Looking at death. Yes they were a bit fearful of what happens after death, but they also viewed it as a way out for them, a place where they could go in order to lose all the pain they were feeling. Death was known as a sense of relief to the people, it was an escape from reality. William Shakespeare was a writer during the Renaissance and as one could tell from his pieces, he as well viewed death more positively versus negatively.In the Neoclassical Era, death was viewed as a portal to the afterlife. In a writer's perspective, they usually spoke about it leading to heaven instead of hell, but the people of this time knew that heaven wasn't the only place they could go, they knew hell was an option too. One writer is John Done who wrote â€Å"Death be Not Proud†. In this pieces of literature, Done speaks of death like it's a human, telling it that it isn't as scary as it thinks. One could tell that Done is from the Neoclassical Era when he says, â€Å"One short sleep past, we wake eternally'.This shows how the people of this Era thought. That no matter how or when you die, you will awake in the afterlife and live on forever. In the Romantic Era, death was focused more on an emotional approach, rather than on the actual action. Authors such as John Keats wrote to express and share their feelings towards death. Keats does so in Ode to a Grecian Urn, he says, She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, forever wilt thou love, and she be fair! † The Romantic period thought death was a negative action.As shown in the quote above, people couldn't stand watching their loved ones pass. Keats expresses devastation when he sees that his beloved is passing, showing a whole new view on the definition of Death then we have seen so far. The Victorian Era was more similar to the Romantic, but they mourned a lot more about the passing of their loved ones. The way the people in this Era viewed death is more of what we see in today's society. When someone passed, in order to honor them, the people would mourn. Everyone, even children were aware of what was going on when a person passed.Death was the only thing people knew would definitely append to them, so they taught their children that as well. A piece called Richard Core by Edwin Arlington Robinson shows that everyone is destined to die wh ether they are rich or poor. A man named â€Å"Richard† is viewed as a â€Å"king† because of all his money. The townspeople all envied him, but in the end found out he killed himself because he wasn't â€Å"happy'. The Victorian Era was one in which brought death to a reality. They knew it existed and that it would happen to everybody so they decided it was best to honor those that passed by mourning over them.The view on death as changed in the past hundreds of years and I believe the views are based upon experiences that happened to those people. The definition on death changes with what one experiences causing them to see things differently. These days we see death as possibly all four of the examples I listed. Some believe it's something to be a bit fearful of because we don't know what happens after we die, some believe we go to heaven or hell, normally we are affected emotionally over our loved ones and lastly we all know that death is destined for each and eve ry one of us.

Early Head Start (EHS) as a Foundation which Works to Assist Low-Incom Essay - 1

Early Head Start (EHS) as a Foundation which Works to Assist Low-Income Families - Essay Example In this way, new ideas will be explored along with the addition of funds and resources. Communication is necessary to form a discourse community. A significant step is to remain patient. To achieve the desired outcome groups must remain firm. It may require a little time before things start to work accordingly. Early Head Start (EHS) is a foundation which works to assist low-income families. This foundation serves infants, toddlers and pregnant women. EHS has made a series of goals. These goals include the need for primary education for parents to meet up with their needs and to provide for their children efficiently. EHS also works to make sure the children are in a safe environment. Other communities are also made to participate in the generation of funds and resources. EHS has several services. These services include center-based services for children in their early stages. Home-based services include weekly visits to the helped families to help maintain them. Moreover, Family Child Care Services provides educational funds for the children. (Eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov) I live in Maple Leaf Dr, League City. It is an active community where adults and children are always witnessed indulge in their activities. A school bus is responsible to pick and drop the children to the nearby school. In this way, adults which do not work from home do not have to worry about dropping their children to school. My community continues to thrive and work for a better future, due to which It can be positively be considered of good quality. People assemble their garbage in the corner of their houses from where it is collected. Gardening is also actively practiced. In this way, lawns are maintained keeping the environment clean. People are responsible for their safety. Community members remain active so theft is best avoided. Noise pollution is the least as my community is a distance away from industries. People have built  their own houses. Some are also living on rent.  

Wall In and The Lives of Others Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wall In and The Lives of Others - Movie Review Example This paper illustrates that the Berlin wall lasted for 28 years (that is, from August of 1961 to November 1989). Its first erection was done during the hours of the night and it was seen to curb the fleeing of Germans from the East to the West. It was later to be demolished in an instantaneous way which triggered a great deal of celebration across the globe. When the WWII came to a conclusion, the then divided Allied powers took over Germany and divided it into quarters. The four zones were either occupied by Great Britain, the US, France or the Soviet Union. This had been after the agreement that was reached in the conference of Postman. This same approach was done in the capital city of Germany, Berlin. The relationship of the three powers forming part of the Allies in the WWII against the Soviet Union went on to deteriorate, the atmosphere of cooperation in Germany turned into a race and it also became more aggressive. In spite of the original intention to unify Germany had been s et the turn of events of competition brought about the split between the East and the West- Communism versus Democracy. The three of the four zones occupied by France, Great Britain, and the US on one side formed West Germany. The other zone remaining and which had been taken over by the Soviet Union was East Germany. This same division was also witnessed in Berlin. The fall of this Berlin wall, which was rather quick happened due to the weakening of the Communist bloc and the eventual disagreement of the citizens from the Eastern side of Germany.

Female Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Female Style - Essay Example This context seeks to find the truth of this hypothesis by comparing works of two authors. The authors include Rachel Blau DuPlessis, For the Etruscans and Elaine Showalter, Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness and their feminism writing styles respectively. Rachel Blau Duplessis in the book The new feminism Criticism and the Pink Guitar depicts various styles that relate to the women’s way of writing. There is a rich use of rhetorical questions said to a women’s genre.Rhetorical questions have their usage when one wants to capture the concentration of his audience. For example, when she asks about what happened to the girl who met her bereavement (Duplessis, 126). This is a rhetorical question that does not oblige anyone to answer or offer their opinion. Rather, this rehetorical question seeks to compell the readers to reason with the author. The rhetorical question aims at creating suspense that makes readers yearn to find the truth. The author also uses rhetory by asking whether the girl became Estrucans. This is a rhetorical question that requires no answers. Therefore, out of evidence, it is true that women consider using rhetorical questions while writing. The other style that depicts women’s writing is the use of fiction. When the author talks of the fact that he thought that he was a an artist, this depicts fantacy. Women’s writing has the aspect of using fictional writing. Fictional writing is one that explores on things that not practical at present. Therefore, this aspect shows that the women explore on fictional matteres while men exploit factual happenings. Fictions shows that women are prone to speculating issues and hoping for matters. This is the opposite of men who seek to talk about facts as researches reveal. The other aspect that shows women’s writing style is the way Rachel uses the pronouns I and she in her writing (Duplessis,160). She does not use the exact nouns in her writing of women ctriticism. The

The Baroque Period Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Baroque Period - Essay Example The Baroque Era of Music is traditionally considered the period of time between 1580 and 1760. As with other art forms of the period, the Baroque Era of music is noted for its ornate qualities. One of the most notable music forms coming out of this period was the Opera. Although there were variations of the Opera throughout Europe, including Italy, Germany, England and France, during the Baroque Period, they all contained several interlocking threads: the ornate set designs, beautiful melodies and professional presentation. The opera was originally designed as a form of entertainment for the court and as such usually spared no expense in their set design and elaborate costumes. Operas of this time period used â€Å"different approaches to singing and embellishment (even bowing) and freer attitudes toward improvisation.One of the main focuses in Baroque style music was the expressiveness of the era itself was expressed so beautiful in the music of this time period – bold, arti culate and free flowing. â€Å"There are people -- actors, preachers, and public speakers, singers -- called upon to use their voices in public spaces with bigger or smaller voices. And these Baroque composers, Handel for example, understood the human voice probably like nobody before or after.† (Giles, 1999, 43). By far the Baroque Era can be summed up musically, as with the era itself, grand. It was larger that life. The elaborate spectacles were designed to entrain while vocalizing with flare and flash the grandeur of the period. Thought provoking always; it was reaching out and questioning with a style and grandeur that can only be termed is Baroque. This style of music and its very nature, like the development of counterpoint itself during this era was a period of exploration and growth with heavy influences of the church the music was almost a release from any societal conceived limitations. It was freedom of expression beautiful performed with the flourish and bold vis ual impact, intricate musical embellishment and theatrical dramatization. This age of conceptualizing and wondering had respect for the past but also an eye on the future. This was expressed also through the literary works focusing on one of the artistic masters of the time period, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Using the inquisitive, questions style typified by many of the writers of the Baroque period Pino Di Silvestro, the author, beautifully rediscovers the literary flair of the time period. Like the renewed emergence of the importance of the church as an entity during this time period literature and art marked "a similar subversion of the status quo is to be found in those of

Module 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Module 1 - Essay Example As opposed to the anticipatory model that relies heavily on forecasts and plans, the responsive model is dependent on the prevailing circumstances and conditions in the market. The reactive model gains popularity due to the changing taste and preferences of consumers. Consumers prefer customized goods and services that they keep ordering at undefined times. Therefore, it is difficult for a firm to make profits while relying on projections of the change patterns of the consumers. Based on market research, companies can identify existing gaps in the market and move swiftly to fill them. Therefore, a responsive model currently finds popularity in the contemporary world due to the dynamics of demand. The rising variability in demand causes uncertainty in logistics and complication in the supply chains networks. Today, companies face longer lead times and substantial variability leading to increased costs of inventory as firms buffer their stocks. There is a challenge of communicating changes in demand to the transporters and suppliers, and this makes the management of costs even harder. Therefore, a consolidated view of transportation and logistics within the supply chain is imperative to adopting the right model in operation. Manuj, I., Omar, A., & Pohlen, T. (2014). Inter-Organizational Learning in Supply Chains: A Focus on Logistics Service Providers and Their Customers.  Journal of Business Logistics, n/a-n/a.

Nutrition in Infancy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nutrition in Infancy - Assignment Example After an assessment, the public nurse reveals no acute distress and normal signs as per the limit of age with the current length and weight of 68cm and 6.6 kg respectively. This paper will provide a detailed medical check-up of the review of systems, physical assessments and develop a care plan for the infant, including diagnosis, treatment, referral, education, and patient follow-up. The nine-month visit provides an opportunity for the healthcare provider to assess the child’s health and teach caretakers how to ensure their future health. It is important first to take the history from the parents/caregivers in order to first determine the medical history and evaluate any medications taken. In this case, examination of the nutrition is paramount to a child’s health as at this moment, children take a formula and soft foods. In order to determine the nutritional wellness of the child, a historical analysis of bowel movements is important. Babies are expected to have at least 2 bowel movements and wet their diapers 4-6 times in a day. Nursing diagnoses is characterized by psychosocial data, daily routines, and living patterns. Thus, medical history must take into consideration data collection of economic issues that directly or indirectly impact on the quality of an infant’s quality of daily living. At this stage, assessing the history of the development of the child would be important in determining their ability to talk, imitate any vocals, make movements with their legs, hands and bottom, pick and/or drop objects, play, show feelings and record any eruption of teeth, prompting the review of the child’s ears and eyes. The review of systems would include conducting a screening visual exam of the eyes to inspect and view the structural normality of the eye and its response to light. In addition, the ears should be screened to prove that the child demonstrates the

Gender and subject choice Essay Example for Free

Gender and subject choice Essay To carry out these interviews, I would take a sample of 20 sixth-formers, preferably within my own sixth-form to allow easier, speedier access and consisting equally of both males and females. In order to do this I would use quota sampling, this is a way in which variables can be controlled and the participants with similar characteristics are chosen, hence the overall sample can reflect the characteristics of the population as a whole. These samples would also preferably include students that had chosen to study any of the sciences, however particularly focusing on Biology. This sample would also take into account ethnic and class differences in order to allow me to differentiate between males and females according to different variables, providing sufficient extra data to measure gender against class roles and the intersections. Whilst this will provide qualitative clues as to subject choices by gender it will be limited in illustrating the impact of the learning environment and gender roles, as this would demand more qualitative analysis such as that of Anne Colleys. However, I would expect the results to be generalisable to a wider population. I will anchor these questions in previous research such as that of Anne Colley. Within the interviews, I am going to focus on Biology in particular when asking about the science/favourite subjects, etc. My reasons for doing this arise from the evidence that Science at GCSE level is more popular with males whereas at A-level it is more commonly chosen by females. I would begin the interviews with a number of open-ended questions, so as to give the participant a chance to provide me with worthy feedback, eg. Why did you choose Biology? , and What did you think of it ?(in comparison to GCSE level), etc. I would record the answers to these open questions as it would be time-consuming to write down many long answers, etc. This would enable me to extract a varied viewpoint on many different students perspectives of subject choice and preference. Then I would ask a series of closed-ended questions which will generally be more appropriate to achieve a table of results for clear comparisons to be made. These closed-ended questions would include similar questions to: Do you think Biology is a girls subject? and Do you think Physics is a boys subject? , etc. Questions would be piloted on a small group of males and females to ensure its adequacy. This is in fact a small-scale preliminary study which will allow me to check that things will run smoothly during the interviews and also allow improvements to be made to the design of the research, should there be any faults. (471 words) Potential Problems As this is a such a small piece of research, it would a problem to generalise from it, especially to schools and pupils different from the sample, eg.ethnic minorities, private education, etc. It would give an idea of the reasons in which a particular small group of students chose their A level subjects and their own individual reasons for doing so. However it could give a fair impression of reasons for subject choice in other cases, eg. similar circumstances to other pupils studying the same subjects etc. The usage of quota sampling does have both theoretical and practical drawbacks in some circumstances. It isnt truly random as each person within the population doesnt have an equal chance of being chosen. The lack of this genuine randomness may have a significant effect on the results. For example, the quota sample within my study would be only those illustrated on the biology class register, however the results may have more of an impact if a quota sample had been taken from all those who achieved a high grade at GCSE biology and were in fact considering going on to study it at a higher level, etc. There is of course, with my research an interviewer bias. As my opinions on the topic are set by doing the research, participants may be influenced by my asking of the questions and will therefore respond by giving a respectable answer as they may find the real truth embarrassing, eg. I fancied a lad who was taking the course. However I am similar in status to my chosen sample group, therefore they may wish to impress or please me by giving me answers that they think I want to hear. Another problem may be the reliability of the interviewees memory, they arent currently making their choice and might not remember their thoughts on it at the time. Also during interviews, a crucial factor as a way of achieving a reliable outcome of the research is to not put ideas into the students head before having asked open-ended questions. For example, closed-ended questions especially may put forward ideas that werent there before and therefore mislead me about their thoughts on the matter, etc.

Anita Desai Essay Example for Free

Anita Desai Essay The main characters who struck me the most are Uma and her brother Arun; to them are dedicated the two parts of the novel. Personally I think they have a lot of things in common and I’m not only considering the fact that they belong to the same close-knit family: they are somehow subjected to a reality from which they both want to escape. Uma is the plainest character of the novel, I think: she always obeys her parents and makes everything they want her to do. This is not completely a negative point but, reading the first pages of the book, I admit that I would like to react for her to the commandments of her MamaPapa, as they are often mentioned†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Go to the cook†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ Prepare the packet for your brother†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ Write a letter†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦but how can she manage to do all these things together?! In my opinion Uma is also naà ¯ve, she seems to be somehow tied by a sense of duty to her parents, especially after the failure of her two arranged marriages, and what about the dowry she has squandered?! as her father reminds her. The only â€Å"pause† of her life is given by the visits of Mira-masi, a particular woman who deeply fascinates Uma for the stories she tells her: she represents a ray of hope into the life of the girl, although her parents don’t approve the complicity created between them. Arun, whose birth was really longed for, is sent to the USA where he attends the college: being the only son of the family he has the honour of receiving a good education and he has also the possibility to live far from the oppressing reality of his homeland. But his life remains very unhappy: also the family to which he lives while in America is a sort of weight for him. The second part of the novel seems to me a long digression about food, I think that the food itself is the only reason for a link between Arun and the new family, Mrs Patton in particular. I think both brother and sister are oppressed voices who want to live in peace and to escape from the world they live in, although they aren’t able to rebel against it. For this very reason I would like them to write to each other, what does not happen in the novel. Dear Arun, Maybe for the first time in my life I admit that I’m very sad but what troubles me the most is the fact that I’m not able to find a way out†¦ Our cousin Anamika is dead. Everybody here is trying to give an explanation but†¦what for, she won’t ever come back and there are no acceptable explanations for her death†¦ I absolutely can’t imagine that the urn in front of me contains her ashes†¦she is dead†¦ but I’m dead too. Her awe for the family led her towards death, but what about me? I will stay forever with MamaPapa, I can’t abandon them, they are†¦my life! When mama grips my hand I know, I feel that there is something strong between us and I can’t, I can’t leave†¦ MamaPapa is calling me†¦I have to go. I don’t know if I will ever send this letter to you: perhaps I will burn it. Uma Dear Uma, A new semester at the college is beginning and my stay with the Pattons is over. I’m happy because I can leave this strange family: it wasn’t my place, I didn’t feel comfortable with them, I felt oppressed and obliged to be part of it, maybe only because I felt sorry for Mrs Patton and I didn’t want to disappoint her. This is the reason why I gave her the presents you sent me (but please don’t reveal anything to MamaPapa!): I didn’t want her to be worried about me when I silently walked out of her life. Arun Alice Bravin 5 H Liceo Scientifico â€Å"M. Grigoletti† Pordenone Anita Desai â€Å"FASTING, FEASTING† The novel by Anita Desai appeared insipid to my eyes. If I were asked to collect all the emotions that the book has stirred in my heart, I would find myself in anguishing troubles, for I’m quite numb to it as well I am frustrated by each work of art dominated by a sense of heaviness. The characters are imbued with, or even better, they are emblems of this heaviness which reveals itself mainly in the temperament of Uma, who is the best-built character of the novel. Anita Desai succeeded in the enterprise of creating a character without personality, a woman deprived of her soul. She is the designated victim who is doomed to endure the burden of life, symbolized first of all by her parents. Uma doesn’t strike my sensibility: I don’t feel pity for her, nor would I establish a sort of sympathetic relationship with her; her ineptitude doesn’t arouse my anger, nor would I shake her out of the status of torpor she experiences. I am quite interested in one of the psychological aspects of Uma, that of repression. Uma is not free to be what she wants to be, to do what she wants to do, so she is utterly repressed in her passions, in her feelings, in her personality; this last dimension is completely neglected to her. These inner forces run inside her veins and arteries, like water permeating through the cracks of a rock and when temperatures gets colder, it becomes ice and causes the explosion of the rock. The same happens inside Uma and the implosion is disguised as a sort of disease. Convulsions, nausea which leads to vomit, suffered cries, these moments are the most involving – and at the same time disturbing – moments and situations of the novel. I would have appreciated if Anita Desai had developed this edge of the prism of Uma. Sigmund Freud stated that mental patients are like diamonds, whose structure is based on its corners. In these lines the diamond would break in case it fell on the ground. Uma is like that. Her body seems possessed by a demoniac spirit, her limbs, her bowels are rocked by the unique act of rebellion which is allowed to her. I wonder why the writer has snobbed this issue, which probably assumes a religious and philosophical value and is strictly connected to Indian culture. The heaviness that haunts the book is expressed even by the settings. Concerning this point I would like to recall the image of Uma and her aunt who leave together on a spiritual trip. The bus they catch is incredibly crowded: this episode evokes the image of mingled noises and smells within the dusty and sandy air of India. The writer enables us to appreciate each aspect of the setting – thanks to her detailed language – so that the reader manages to broaden his sensorial perceptions and is caught by the use of synaesthesia. ( The description of the believers bathing in the Gange becomes meaningful in this sense ). Before starting reading the book I thought it would be quite precious for me in order to learn more about the Indian world, even appreciating it by means of the parallel Anita Desai draws with Northern America. But I was wrong: â€Å"Fasting, feasting † doesn’t seem so representative of India: the impression I get is that of a character – Uma – who might be possibly Irish or even Italian. Westerners share the same common imagery about India and this common imagery is banal and dominated by prejudices. The book is ambiguous, in the sense that neither supports this statement, nor deny it. The same ambiguity lies in the second part of the novel – that dedicated to Arun – which takes place in the United Stated of America. Anita Desai gives us tenets and traits of the American Society coming in the story of an American family. Here there aren’t crowded busses or temples, but televisions, junk food, couches, barbecues, baseball matches and people who enjoy all these objects and events. The same dusty air is breathed by Arun when he goes back home walking on the boundaries of the street. The same atmosphere of heaviness which degenerates into disease. For these very reasons I state that Uma and her story are not so â€Å"Indian†. Moreover, I have some perplexities about the last chapter – really shorter than the first one – which doesn’t find a proper literary justification. It is a sort of appendix, even if only almost at the end of the book there’s the precise reference to the tile â€Å"Fasting, feasting† and is embodied by the bulimic girl. Alessandra Crimi 5 H Liceo Scientifico â€Å"M. Grigoletti† Pordenone Anita Desai – Fasting, Feasting Fasting, Feasting is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. Thanks to the brilliant descriptions and the elegant narration the reader has the opportunity to create an imaginary but precise setting were characters develop during the story. I think that this novel is like a mirror because it gives the opportunity to reflect, in both meanings of the word. We can reflect ourselves in the protagonists (mirror-like effect) and we can reflect, think, about the different values and importance that people from different societies give to ideals they believe in. In my opinion the rhythm of the narration is sometimes too slow, but I can understand that it is due to the fact that, once again, it mirrors the context where the story takes place. In India, in fact, there is no frenetic life, no stress, no anxiety of living and for this very reason people can pay attention to little events that we probably ignore. When the father asks for his drink, it seems to me that everyone in the family has to stop and be there for this event; when a guest arrives unexpectedly, all the attention is directed to him; even the choice of one kind of food rather than another seems to be one of the most important problems of the day. . The character of Mumdad is what emotionally touched me most, maybe because to a certain extent I can detect in them some traits my parents have. The image of Mumdad on the swing describes their indissoluble bond. Mumdad are a unique person/entity made up of two different souls. These two souls are always at unison, they never take opposite decisions, they argue but they always find a compromise, they are, in a word, complementary. I always admired this ability to build little by little a life together even if, for a child, sometimes it’s not so easy to accept their decision, or rather, their impositions. Uma is my favourite character. In some parts of the novel I felt really involved in her problems, in her thoughts and desires. She loves school even if she isn’t able to get good marks; she loves learning, she wants to try again, to spend another year at school, she’s sure she will improve. She suffers when Mumdad decide she should give up her studies. She suffers when she understands she is not as beautiful, intelligent as her sister Aruna, and so she is considered a lesser woman. Uma suffers silently, she accepts her condition of inferiority, yet she is always looking for a moment of glory that, unfortunately, never comes. She is like the most humble flower that grows up silently, that is trampled from the gardener that gave her birth, because a rose is blooming next to the humble flower and he must be there to praise the perfection and beauty of the rose. I’m not saying that I reflect myself in Uma , absolutely not, on the contrary, I’m saying that all my life I have been an Aruna, and I didn’t know about it. I’m an only child, there is no Uma in my family, but thanks to the juxtaposition of the two characters I have understood that I have always been loved and pampered and nursed and highly considered and I don’t really know if I deserve all this. This book has really been a great opportunity for me, it has made me reflect on my values and on the meaning of my â€Å"little† life: too often we don’t realise what is around us. But now I want stop talking about me. I would love to write a few lines about arranged marriages. In our Western society, marriage is generally viewed as a value strongly linked with the concept of freedom, the freedom to choose the person with whom we would like to spend all our life. We have this great opportunity and we often waste it. We are free to love a person for his peculiarities and not for his money and often people choose the partner for his richness, we get married and then we divorce and kids are treated as merchandise, we often get married for reasons that sometimes are far away from love and we claim to judge a society where parents choose a spouse for their children. I think that Western people are more contradictory than what they want to admit and perhaps less happy. Perhaps it is this very feeling that leads plenty of us to judge other cultures. DA PIEVE LUCIA 5 H Liceo scientifico â€Å"M. Grigoletti† Anita Desai â€Å"Fasting,Feasting† This is the first book by Anita Desai I have ever read. Her observations are astute whether they are on living conditions in India or USA. Anita Desai uses her words perfectly to convey exactly what she feels,but even if it could seem a contradiction,I think that the problem with the book is its dry, clinical approach in chronicling the lives of the characters, the book lacks passion. I was always on the outside, looking into the lives of people. The book offers few chances of getting involved with the characters ,in fact while reading the book I didn’t feel the compulsion of finishing it quickly. The part I liked better is the first half of the book that deals with life in a small, slow town in India, with rigid parents and well-drafted routines. The †Indian half† is more detailed than the other half which deals with the rule-less† life in suburban USA. In the first half there is a partly successful, proud father, who goes through life, with set patterns and no passion. A mother who goes along with her husband, doing what is supposedly right and expected of her, curbing and killing all her innate desires. Three children. The eldest, Uma, clumsy . The middle daughter Aruna, pretty, ambitious and smart, but eventually also a victim of her choices. The last, a son, Arun, on whom the parents put all their dreams and energies. All of them, along with members of their extended family, go through some form of deprivation (of will, of fun, of passion and of love). I think that a merit of this book is the way it highlights the Indian traditions, cultures and mostly the place of a woman in an Indian family. I liked the character of Uma in the book because she is both willing to take a chance with life and at the same time dedicated to her family.She takes whatever happens to her life with such grace that she does not give me a chance to cry for her. I like her inner strength. The story in itself is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Uma, who starts out as a wideeyed child at a convent who shows an enthusiasm for education but with the birth of her brother Arun, Uma takes on the role of nanny. Here, one encounters the distinct preference parents have for the male child. Desai next explores the conventional belief that ties a womans worth to her physical appearance. A woman who lacks beauty is often rushed into the first marital offer she receives, only to pay a heavy price later on. Desai shows the challenges a single woman faces regardless of how successful she is. By contrast, Umas cousin is portrayed as the ultimate success because she is able to marry well thanks to her looks. She makes the reader wonder how happy she truly is, when she eventually takes her own life. Uma is the main character in the first half of the novel. She is a clumsy, uncoordinated woman who finds it difficult to succeed in almost everything she does she fails in school, cant cook, spills food and drink and cant find anyone worthwhile to get married to. Her father feels that Uma is incapable of fending for herself, as she is too clumsy, uncoordinated and proves a failure in almost everything she does.Uma fails in school, in the kitchen and she even fails to find anyone worthwhile to get married to. The father asks Uma to interrupt her studies in the Christian convent when he find out she not doing very well at school. He feels that it was a waste of time and money to provide Uma an education ;he has other plans for her.She will look after her baby brother Arun and take care of the household while her mother rests after giving birth. Uma’s life is constantly planned by her father.Uma cannot resist her father’s oppressive patriarchal ideology, as she is afraid of the consequences that would befall her if she angered the colonial characteristics of her father. Uma’s entertainment comes in the form of her cousin, Ramu. When Ramu is around, Uma feels at ease. But the father feels that Ramu is a bad influence on Uma. He does not want Uma to be influenced by other men who are capable of brainwashing her to resist the demands of his patriarchal nature.