Salem Witchtrails Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Salem Witchtrails - Essay Example Without warning, the hysteria in the Puritan Massachusetts ended abruptly in the same manner it had erupted. (Hill 233) It was only after a review of the trials by the colonial government did the reality of the unfair trials and consequent death judgments emerge as a grave mistake. Despite the compensation offered to the families of the convicted, it did little in erasing the gross travesty of justice that had occurred. The aftermath of the hysteria left behind a myriad of questions touching on injustice and what exactly led to the widespread paranoia. To understand these fundamental questions, a brief account of the events that led to the wave of hysteria is necessary. The Christians of several centuries past had superstitious belief that witchcraft was a gift from the Devil to certain people in return for loyalty (Linder). Consequently, the witches would use their newly acquired powers for acts of evil against others. Inhabitants of Salem village were mostly displaced people as a r esult of King William’s War with the French in the American colonies (Linder). The mass influx of the displaced people to Salem resulted to strain over its resources. Consequently, this led to increase in rivalry between two opposing groups. Those who depended on agriculture and elite families whose wealth were dependent on the port of Salem. This rivalry between the two classes of groups was one of the underlying causes of the impending hysteria that would soon erupt. Moreover, tensions were also rife over control of the pulpit between the Porter and Putnam clans. The situation was father compounded after the ordaining of Reverend Samuel Parris. The people of Salem loathed him because his was greedy and rigid. Majority of the Puritan villagers blamed all the continuous bickering and quarrelling on the Devil and his witchcraft agents (Linder). The precipitating event that eventually triggered the mass hysteria was an account of some superstitious event in Reverend Parris hous ehold. During the winter period of 1692, Reverend Parris young daughter and niece, Elizabeth and Abigail respectively, succumbed to a strange illness. They were engulfed by fits of screaming, uttering strange sounds, fever, erratic running and excessive contortion of body parts. Similar strange symptoms were exhibited by another young girl Anne Putnam. Local doctors were clueless and blamed the episode on supernatural activity. The anxiety generated from the strange activity prompted magistrates John Hawthorne and Jonathan Corwin to examine the afflicted girls and identify the culprits. The girls were pressured by both magistrates to place the blame on three women. These were; a homeless beggar known as Sarah Good, a Caribbean slave from Parris’s household known as Tituba and a poor elderly woman known as Sarah Osborne. Upon interrogation of the three women, it was only Tituba who confessed to having inflicted evil upon the girl. In her confession, she gave the harrowing desc ription of the devil with explicit instructions of service. Furthermore, she stated that the devil came to her in the image of a â€Å"black man† with a book for her to sign. The book symbolized a contract of service and with the devil for the sole purpose of destroying the Puritans. Moreover, Tituba claimed that there were many more witches out there planning to inflict on the Puritans.

Literary Devices Essay Example for Free

Literary Devices Essay While attending my course on â€Å"War and Literature†, and listening to the conversation, I found myself struck by an intellectual question presented by another student. This student asked, â€Å"When does paradox become hypocrisy?† Immediately afterwards I wrote the response, â€Å"A good war is a war that teaches it’s mistakes without one having to live with them.† At first I didn’t know if I had truly responded to the question. I analyzed both the question and response carefully through the literary devices and found myself satisfied with the responses standing. When analyzing the response I first had to return to the question. â€Å"When does paradox become hypocrisy?† Referring to this question I had to ask if my response held a paradox. â€Å"A good war is a war that teaches it’s mistakes without one having to live with them.† Considering that a paradox is a statement that seems self-contradictory, and that â€Å"a good war† is the introduction to the response, suggested that â€Å"a good war† is a paradox. However, why is it that â€Å"a good war† is a paradox? War can best be defined as active hostility. Good can also be best defined as being well behaved. Considering these definitions and the response, â€Å"a good war† would certainly be a paradox because active hostility is contradictory to being well behaved. However, most would assume that â€Å"a good war† was the responses paradox, and to assume otherwise would be insulting to someone’s intellect. So then one has to ask how it is so commonly understood that â€Å"a good war† is a paradox? To conclude this question, one must consider that most of everyone was raised with the developmental understanding of good and bad. Most of everyone also would commonly agree that war is not good. So why do people still go, and why do we not learn from â€Å"it’s mistakes without someone having to live with them†? From statistics taken in the year two thousand fourteen, seven percent of America’s society is a veteran, and in that year there were near three hundred eighteen million citizens. That means that over twenty two million American citizens are veterans of foreign war. So how is it that we can convince over seven percent of our citizens to go risk their livelihood? We determined that war is wrong so how do we replace the ideas of good and bad? To better answer that question, it is better to replace the employment of a soldier with a painter. In order to make someone who is not a painter become a painter, one would have to go through a series  of tasks. First, cut off access to other mediums. Do not allow that person to work with anything other then painting. If they want to write a letter home, they paint it. If they want to create something three dimensional, they paint it. If they want to tell a story, they again, will paint it. Now there is no difference between the painter with their paintbrush, and the recruit with their rifle. Second, apply influences to praise the ideals. The same recruited painter now needs to be surrounded with people who share the same ideals. The painter cannot have the influences of sculptors, graphic designers, or any other ambassador of other art form. The painter needs the overall support of peers with the subject matter. This again, is no different from the soldier and their peers. Third, discourage all other ideals. The facilitator, who is regulating the transition between non-painters to painters, needs to openly degrade the ideals of all other art forms. The facilitator needs to make sure that th e recruits hear their passionate opinions about how other art forms are â€Å"wrong†. This will guide the recruits to also share the same ideals. This relationship resembles the relationship between Drill Instructors and their recruits. Fourthly, revival the title has a distinguished history of renowned individuals. For a painter, there are many distinguished individuals that made a dramatically difference within the realm of art. For some examples, there is Vincent Van Gough, Pablo Picasso, and Leonardo De Vinci. It is up to the facilitator to idolize these individuals in front of the forth-coming painters. This will give the recruited painters the expectations they need to become idolized into their new profession. This will also make the recruited painters strive to achieve the same honor. For the recruited soldier, they hear about the selfless actions of the Medal of Honor, Prisoners of War, and Purple Heart recipients. For them, they also strive to achieve that honor. Lastly, provide the graduate with a quote that brands them with honor. For instance, EARTH, Semper Fi, or Army of One. This will give the graduate something to display as pride and unite them forever with the other individuals who also have endured the same training. Now returning back to the question, â€Å"when does a paradox become a hypocrisy†, the response needed to be evaluated for the literary device of hypocrisy. Is â€Å"a good war is a war that teaches it’s mistakes without one having to live with them†, a response of hypocrisy. Through the development of good and bad, we have concluded that war is  wrong. To suggest otherwise would propose a state of insanity. Insanity is a derangement of the mind or not conforming. Since we have conclude that the popular choice is to say that war is wrong suggests that people who desire to go to war, miss war, or idolize war are insane. So are they insane? If the response, â€Å"war teaches it’s mistakes without one having to live with them† is true, than yes. However, the statement is hypocrisy and hypocrisy is the pretense of having. So reverting back to the practice of transitioning from non-painter to painter, the recruit became a painter. Now what if, during t he transition, the recruit never got the opportunity to paint. The entire time the recruit was given black ink to practice the techniques of painting, but never received oil or acrylic paints. The recruit sat through sessions where they viewed images of others painters and their colorful paintings, only to never receive color to paint with. After the transitions period, after the recruit was given the title of painter and hope to finally paint with color. However, the restriction continues and they again were never given oil or acrylic paints. They had practiced the trade for years without actual execution. The outcome is apparent. They will forever long to paint. This is the situation with the soldier. The soldier practices with blank ammunition for years, views images of warfare, practices the techniques of warfare, and never gets to execute their practices in war. The outcome is apparent. They will forever long for warfare. So in regards to the response, from the soldiers perspective, they would disagree because war cannot â€Å"teach itâ₠¬â„¢s mistakes without one having to live with them.† They themselves desire warfare. However, for sanities sake, they would suggest the response to be true in the company of other American citizens. This is the pretense of having and concludes the statement to be hypocrisy; at least from the soldiers perspective. So does the statement apply to other citizens of America? Again, the response to the initial question suggests that war is wrong and a sane response is to agree with the statement. This implies that American citizens do not see the statement as hypocrisy. However, how much money is accumulated over the showing of one Hollywood movie about warfare? How much money and time is spent reading through the stories about warfare? How often do people find excitement when sharing a conversation with a veteran where they can ask personal questions about their experiences? As peaceful people who agree with the statement,  American citizens curiously find something compelling about war. It is not my position to accuse the masses of being warmongers. However, to defend the integrity of my response, the response is hypocrisy. It cannot â€Å"teach it’s mistakes† if people live vicariously through the experiences of war. Without war that satisfaction is taken away and the entertainment lost, suggesting that the mistakes aren’t learned; they’re idolized. To propose other wise is the pretense of having or also known as hypocrisy. So can war teach â€Å"it’s mistakes†? Can the statement ever become true? Lets again look at the question, â€Å"when does paradox become hypocrisy?† and compare it to the response, â€Å"a good war is a war that teaches it’s mistakes without one having to live with them.† In order to make the response true we would have to rephrase the question. This time we will ask, when does paradox become integrity? We have concluded that the response to the initial question is both a paradox a nd hypocrisy, but we have overlooked one literary device. Personification. Personification is the representation of an abstraction in the form of a person. In the response we suggested that â€Å"a good war† is a paradox, and if â€Å"war teaches it’s mistakes without one having to live with them† is hypocrisy. However, the response also suggests that we have personified war. So in order to make the statement, â€Å"a good war is a war that teaches it’s mistakes without one having to live with them† true, we have to remove the personification and rephrase the response to â€Å"a good person is a person that teaches their mistakes without one having to live with them†. By removing the literary device of personification we have successful removed the other literary devices of paradox and hypocrisy, and gave the response integrity. If a good person were to teach others about their life’s mistakes, maybe others could learn from them. It is the gift from the veteran of foreign wars to express to others the mistakes of warfare. From that point forward, it is up to the recipient of the gift to learn from the veteran’s mistakes. War cannot teach it’s mistakes because war as a whole removes the personal aspect of warfare. It gives the individual a number instead of a valued story. However, the individual’s personal story, the veteran, includes the emotional toll of warfare. From that personal story, the audience can now begin to understand the dysfunction of warfare and that personal story can be identified as the gift.

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ANALYSIS

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ANALYSIS Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right thing Peter F. Drucker A leader is a person who guides others toward a common goal, showing the way by example, and creating an environment in which other team members feel actively involved in the entire process. Leadership remains a very important factor to successful organizations. Ensuring that effective leaders are selected, trained and developed is of significance importance to todays organizations. Three major types of organizational leaderships have been presented throughout the years; transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and charismatic leadership. Each type of leadership contains a certain number of attributes which distinguishes it from the others, however many theories converge into the position that each type can be used separately or in conjunction with the others. In transformational leadership the leaders motivate their followers to perform beyond expectations by fostering a climate of trust and by creating and representing an inspiring vision of the future. In charismatic leadership, leaders differ from others by their ability to foster an impression that they and their mission are extraordinary. As such, individuals choose to follow such leaders in management settings not only because of formal authority but out of perceptions of extraordinariness. However in some extent transformational and charismatic leadership are similar and compatible. On the other hand transactional leadership is complementary to the other two types of leadership and is based on an exchange process in which the leader provides rewards in return for the followers effort and performance. In this paper we are going to define what transactional leadership is and then we are going to present the attributed behaviours that transactional leaders have and how these behaviours affect the organizational identification, the organizational commitment, trust and organizational citizenship behaviours of the followers. TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP: All research and studies that have been conducted throughout the years about transactional leadership have accepted the definition given by Bass (1985) that transactional leaders clarify for their followers the followers responsibilities, the expectations the leaders have, the tasks that must be accomplished and the benefits to the self-interests of the followers for compliance. Transactional leaders usually operate within the boundaries of the existing system, emphasize process rather than substance as means of control and are effective in stable and predictable environments. The primary factors of transactional leadership model include contingent reward, management-by-exception and laissez-faire. The leaders, who engage in transactional behaviours, focus mainly on low order construct such as broad performance goals due to the absence of experience which is required in order to focus on higher level organizational visions. In cases when the leaders confront these kinds of situations, they engage in strategic processes so as to find a novel way to encourage their subordinates to work towards that vision. However, in most cases they emphasize on specific goals and performance outcomes such as increase in team productivity and establishment of effective working relationships within the groups. Additionally, transactional leaders expect their followers to have attributes such as commitment to goals, expectancy of goal attainment, expectancy of rewards and need for role clarity. In order to achieve the highest subordinate performance, these leaders use rewards and punishments as tools. For a given performance failure, transactional leaders are likely to make an attribution to lack of goals or lack of expectations of a reward from the side of the follower and therefore they respond with goal setting, instruction and training, work assignment and reward or punishment. Finally, transactional leaders focus on environmental conditions in which they are able to interact with the followers to increase motivation through goal setting, increase action-to-action and outcome-to-outcome expectancies, and influence follower skills and abilities through training. Such conditions may include increasing resources, technology, social support and equipment. However, it is very important to determine whether all the above attributes that transactional leaders possess are adequate enough to affect the followers and increase their performance. EVALUATION OF TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP: There are two ways for an employee to determine if he/she has been treated fairly in his/her job; distributive justice which is related to the fairness of the outcome an employee receives and procedural justice which is related to the fairness of the procedures used to determine those outcomes. Transactional leaders are more likely to motivate and persuade the employees who are concerned about the fairness of the outcome because their relationship with their leaders is based on the rewards they receive in exchange for their efforts. Since one of the main attributes of the transactional leader is to make rewards contingent on performance and specify the outcomes that the individual can expect in exchange for good performance, job satisfaction will be increased when these conditions will be satisfied. On the other hand in environments where procedural justice is the main way to determine the fairness of treatment to subordinates, the leader-employee relationship is outside the economic contract. In that case interpersonally fair treatment is very crucial. However, as we mentioned earlier transactional leaders are based on the exchange procedures to motivate their employees and less on interpersonal relationships. Therefore, in these cases transactional leadership might have no positive effect on job satisfaction. Additionally, transactional leadership directly affects the organizational commitment of the employees. Despite the fact that emotional attachment is the major characteristic of organizational commitment many subordinates consider organizational commitment an important instrument to obtain rewards and recognition. Therefore, leaders who use economic exchanges to appraise good performance are more likely to increase the commitment of their employees. On the other hand transactional leadership does not affect the relationship of trust between the leader and the subordinates. As we mentioned transactional leaders emphasize on specific goals and performance outcomes by requesting from their employees commitment to goals and expectancy of goal attainment. The feedback that they provide to their subordinates for their performance is either a reward or a punishment. This kind of interaction does not affect the feeling of trust from the side of the employees. This can be enhanced by the fact that transactional leaders focus on low order constructs such as broad performance goals and not on organizational visions which require the trust of the subordinates to successfully achieve these visions. Finally, under certain conditions transactional leadership can play an important role in the organizational identification which affects the effectiveness of the company, increases the organizational citizenship behaviours and reduces turnover. As organizational identification we define the perception of belongingness to an organization, of which the person is a member. Since transactional leaders provide the employees with useful information about their roles in the organization and about what is expected of them in their work, they help them to understand what the organization stands for and what it is like to be a typical member of it. However, the effectiveness of this type of leadership will also depend on the subordinates identity level. In cases where the employees are characterized by individual identities, transactional exchanges such as performance evaluations through rewards and punishments will overemphasize the individual contributions against the organizational goals an d therefore will not increase the organizational identification. Therefore, transactional leadership will only have an effect on employees who think and behave in ways that emphasize collaboration with the others. Additionally, despite the fact that transactional leaders provide clarity, direction and sense of security to their employees they are not able to convince employees who experience feelings of stress and anxiety to establish a strong connection with the organizational collective. This can be explained by the fact that transactional leaders do not use inspiration and mentoring to heighten the followers sense of belongingness. IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE ORGANIZATIONS: According to the previous paragraphs, transactional leadership is the type of leadership in which the leaders emphasize in the clarification of roles and task requirements and provide followers with material or psychological rewards contingent on the fulfilment of contractual obligations. In order for the managers to apply this type of leadership in their organizations first they must discuss with their followers what is required and clarify how these outcomes are to be achieved and the reward they will receive in exchange for their satisfactory effort and performance. This can be done by clearly defining the job descriptions of each employee, and the rules regarding work duties and then by using performance appraisals. Therefore, when the leader assigns work to its employee, it is the responsibility of the employee to see that the assigned task is finished on time. If the assigned task is not completed on time or does not have the optimum result then the manager will have the right to punish his/her employee for the failure. But if they accomplish the task in time then the followers will receive the rewards for successfully completing the task. Furthermore, the managers must provide rewards in cases where the followers exceed the requested expectations. Through this policy the transactional leader can increase the job satisfaction and the expected performance of his/her employees. PERSONAL OPINION: As concerns my view I believe that transactional leadership can be potentially applicable and effective only in certain organizational situations. The conditions which favour the emergence of transactional leadership are characterized by stability. In stable predictable environments, organizations tend to be strictly controlled and formalized. Such organizations favour the elaboration of certain rules and regulations and determine specified performance measurement systems and hierarchical distribution. In these environments transactional leaders can emerge and become effective by emphasizing on specific goals, processes and performance outcomes. However, there are conditions that require a leader with characteristics more than those of the transactional leader. In cases when tasks are not analyzable, standard operating procedures are not helpful, and progress cannot be easily measured, employees are likely to be frustrated and discouraged, and transactional leadership might not be applicable. The only way for a leader to motivate its members under such conditions is to infuse their tasks with an ideological meaning and purpose. Additionally, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs transactional leaders do not focus on organizational visions but they stick on the accomplishment of specific goals. Therefore, in situations where the conditions dynamically change it is likely to be difficult for them to provide a feasible solution. For example in cases of crisis where performance goals cannot be easily specified and where leaders cannot link rewards to individual performance, employees tend to follow the person who has a vision, and novel ideas. In that case the leader must be able to establish relationships of trust and respect with its employees in order to inspire them and convince them that he/she is capable of providing inspiring strategic and organizational goals for the future. As a conclusion I believe that a leader must combine the characteristics of transactional leadership with the characteristics which are applied in the other two types of leadership; charismatic and transformational. Therefore, he/she must be able to recognize the conditions that emerge in each situation and try to implement the right type of leadership in this situation so as to proceed with the optimal solution.

Affect of Computers on Society Essay -- essays research papers

Computers and Society The first modern digital computers were developed in the 1940s for military purposes that arose during World War II. These computers filled entire rooms. They took hours to perform complex mathematical operations. In the 1970s, the first personal computers were sold. Fitting on a desktop, they were much faster and more powerful than the computers that had once filled large rooms. Computers were also affordable to individual consumers, making it possible for many people to use them for personal, business, and academic needs. By the mid-1990s, laptop computers capable of millions of calculations per second had been developed. Currently, nearly half of American homes have a personal computer, and businesses have come to rely on computers for nearly every function. Computers are becoming smaller and more powerful than they were. In future, it looks like computers will be used in almost every aspect of people’s lives and we might not even realize how significant this effect might b e. Lots of business owners and just common people are excited and optimistic a... Affect of Computers on Society Essay -- essays research papers Computers and Society The first modern digital computers were developed in the 1940s for military purposes that arose during World War II. These computers filled entire rooms. They took hours to perform complex mathematical operations. In the 1970s, the first personal computers were sold. Fitting on a desktop, they were much faster and more powerful than the computers that had once filled large rooms. Computers were also affordable to individual consumers, making it possible for many people to use them for personal, business, and academic needs. By the mid-1990s, laptop computers capable of millions of calculations per second had been developed. Currently, nearly half of American homes have a personal computer, and businesses have come to rely on computers for nearly every function. Computers are becoming smaller and more powerful than they were. In future, it looks like computers will be used in almost every aspect of people’s lives and we might not even realize how significant this effect might b e. Lots of business owners and just common people are excited and optimistic a...

Life The Courage To Change :: essays research papers

Cruel Intentions, is a film about a young man, Sebastian, and his stepsister, Kathryn, who together do everything in their power, sexual or not, to better their own reputation. They try everything, even if it means ruining someone else’s life, reputation or well being, just to better themselves. They manipulate, use, and belittle every human being possible that comes in the way of their perfect life. Cruel Intentions, a film that uses the setting to produce the irony portrayed at the hand of the characters, also uses this irony and characters actions to contribute to the theme.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The setting of the film in a high-class society, a society in which only the high-ranking members live. A society in which as you drive down the road each house is bigger than the first. These people live in a society where each child has their own car and not to mention bank account. The people in this society crave competition and seek to be better. This particular setting shows forth the attitudes the characters uphold, that make them believe they upscore others around them. This too in fact portrays the irony of the film. For example, Kathryn believes that if a certain man cannot hold a relationship with her he cannot involve himself with anyone at all. Kathryn sets out to ruin his life and ruin the life of his significant other, getting her to fall in love with her music instructor rather than following her heart. This type of behavior leads the audience to believe that Kathryn uses her ranking and her setting in life to achieve personal happiness. In this fi lm come two morals, first you may not always be set in your ways something good can happen in life something that can change everything. Sebastian, the type of person who sleeps with anyone, does not have the best reputation among the ladies. Although in the plot to ruin the young man’s life Sebastian meets a young girl named Annette and slowly falls in love with her. Not for her body or for his sexual pleasure but for how she made him feel loved and wanted he enjoyed this feeling. Albeit a feeling that makes him confused it turns into a feeling he decides will make his life better. Proving that your are not always set in your ways, good or bad ways. Change occurs with life. The second moral state that what goes around comes around.

The Relationship Between Emergency Management and Higher Education Essa

Emergency management has been in the process of transforming itself into a recognized profession over the past several decades. During the last quarter of the 20th century, training and experience in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters and hazardous incidents were considered the path to becoming an emergency manager; the title was not always there but the responsibilities were shouldered by someone who took responsibility for those functions. Since the late 1990’s, the field of emergency management has expanded to include programs of higher education which have added a much needed third dimension to that progression. What was once considered the domain of civil protection specialists, such as retired military personnel and fire fighters, is now just as likely to be filled by a graduate of a university emergency management (EM) program or one of the intensive credentialing programs offered in the United States. The shift towards the professionalization of emergency management can be credited to that added educational dimension as well as to the concurrent shift from primarily a reactive role, response and recovery, to a proactive role of managing the processes of the whole disaster cycle, i.e. mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. In other words, the emphasis is now on â€Å"management† and not just on the â€Å"emergency† (Britton, 2001, p.46). By addressing the management of the disaster cycle and not focusing on just the emergency, the realm of the emergency manager has expanded to include a diverse yet connected set of skills and knowledge. Implementation of successful mitigations projects for example, require a scientifically sound hazard and vulnerability analysis which should be based on applica... ...0B96C927794AF1031D9395C5C20)~A_new_emergency_management_for_the_new_millennium.pdf/$file/A_new_emergency_management_for_the_new_millennium.pdf Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2007). Principles of Emergency Management Supplement. Accessed at http://training.fema.gov/.../edu/docs/emprinciples/Principles%20of%20Emergency%20Management%20Brochure.doc FEMA Emergency Management Institute. (2012). The College List. Accessed at http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/collegelist/ Goss, K. (2011). Foundation for Higher Education Accreditation in Emergency Management. History and Benefits. Accessed at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/docs/Foundation%20of%20EM%20-%20FFHEA%20-%20History%20and%20Benefits.pdf Schneider, R.O. (2003). A Strategic overview of the â€Å"New† Emergency Manager. Accessed on 4/26/2012 at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/pracpaper.asp

Khaled Hosseini Essay

The story is about Amir and Hassan, a Hazara. They spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories. Assef, a mean and violent older boy, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara. According to Assef, the Hazaras were an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his steel knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, and threatens to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his friends back off, but Assef says he will take revenge. Hassan is a successful â€Å"kite runner† for Amir. He knows where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba’s praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut, it was a great trophy. Hassan then said â€Å"For you, a thousand times over. † Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir’s kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef’s voice. He witnesses the rape but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. Amir reacts differently because he feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan’s saint-like behavior. Already jealous of Baba’s love for Hassan, Amir worries if Baba knew how bravely Hassan defended Amir’s kite, and how cowardly Amir acted, that Baba’s love for Hassan would grow even more. To force Hassan to leave, Amir frames him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. Baba forgives him, despite the fact that, as he explained earlier, he believes that â€Å"there is no act more wretched than stealing. † Hassan and his father Ali, leave anyway. Hassan’s departure frees Amir of the daily reminder of his betrayal, but he still lives with his guilt. Five years later, the Russians invade Afghanistan; Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California, where Amir and Baba, settle in an apartment and Baba works at a gas station. Amir eventually takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets fellow refugee Soraya and Soraya’s father, who was a high-ranked officer in Afghanistan. Baba is diagnosed with cancer but is still capable of granting Amir one last favor: he asks Soraya’s father’s permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and they marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya get to know that they cannot have children. Fifteen years after his wedding, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying from an illness. Rahim Khan asks Amir to come to Pakistan. He tells Amir â€Å"there is a way to be good again. † Amir goes. Ali was killed by a land mine. Hassan had a wife and a son, named Sohrab, and had returned to Baba’s house as a caretaker at Rahim Khan’s request. One day the Taliban murdered Hassan, along with his wife. Rahim Khan reveals that Ali was not really Hassan’s father. Hassan was actually the son of Baba, therefore Amir’s half-brother. Rahim Khan tells Amir that the true reason he has called Amir to Pakistan is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from an orphanage. Amir returns to a Taliban-controlled Kabul with a guide, Farid, and searches for Sohrab at the orphanage. He does not find Sohrab where he was supposed to be. The director of the orphanage tells them that a Taliban official comes often, brings cash and usually takes a girl back with him. Once in a while however, he takes a boy, recently Sohrab. The director tells Amir to go to a soccer match and the man â€Å"who does the speeches† is the man who took Sohrab. Farid manages to secure an appointment with the speaker at his home, by saying that he and Amir have â€Å"personal business† with him. At the house, Amir has his meeting with the man in sunglasses. The man is revealed to be his childhood enemy, Assef. Assef is aware of Amir’s identity from the very beginning, but Amir doesn’t realize who he’s sitting across until Assef starts asking about Ali, Baba and Hassan. Sohrab is being kept at the home where he is made to dance dressed in women’s clothes, and it seems like Assef might have been sexually assaulting him. Assef agrees to release him, but only for a price – a fight with Amir. Amir is the protagonist of the story. He lives with his father, while his mother died when he was born. He has trouble getting attention and love from his father. He is best friends with Hassan, and the story follows him from the time he is a child to adult. He is good at school, but he is a boy who is struggling to get his father to be happy, he feels that he is the disappointment of his father. He characterizes himself as a coward, with little purpose. He changes his personal beliefs twice throughout the history. First time when Hassan is raped, after the event he is not talking with Hassan because of his guilt and gets Hassan kicked out of the house. The second is when he goes back to Afghanistan to retrieve the son of Hassan. As an adult, he proved what he can do, and is presented as a man with so much courage that no one else ever had. Hassan is the son of Ali, who is the servant of Baba. Hassan is a Hazara and he is often discriminated against and oppressed by others. Hassan is brave, loyal and always protects Amir. Since Hassan has not gone to school, he learns to read and write from Ali. He’s doing what he’s told. He is incredibly loyal to Amir. When Amir accuses him of stealing his watch, he said to Baba that he was the one who took it, without Amir asking him about it. Hassan is the character that changes at least throughout the history. Assef is the evil character in this book. He hates Hazaras, which is shown clearly in the book. Therefore, he is looking for Amir. He believes that it is his fault that Hassan lives with him. He is the one that causes problems between the childhood friends Amir and Hassan. We have two turning points in this book. The first comes when Hassan is sexually abused by Assef and his gang. It changes the friendship of Amir and Hassan. Amir stops talking with Hassan because he feels ashamed and feels that he has betrayed Hassan. The second turning point comes when Rahim Khan calls Amir. Amir changes and realizes that he can make things better. He decides to find Sohrab and get him to safety. This is the structure of the story. The story starts with a short introduction where the narrator tells us a little about himself and Kabul. Then we get more excitement and we get the climax. The climax is when Hassan got raped by Assef. Anything could happen at that point because Amir was looking at everything that happened. The excitement fell down after that incident because Hassan and Ali left the house, but it became more and more interesting after that because the Russians invaded Afghanistan and Amir had to leave Afghanistan. That was a big change in the story. Once again we got a climax when Amir stood face to face against Assef. He had a chance to take revenge now. This was our presentation of ‘’The Kite Runner’’. We have told you a little about the plot, the characters, the turning-points, climax, the setting, the themes and the message in the book. I will end the presentation by talking about my opinion about the book. I loved this book. It has a good structure, the content is really good and you don’t want to stop reading. I don’t like to read books, but this book was special. Sources:The Kite Runnerhttps://thekyterunner. wikispaces. com/Dragel%C3%B8peren| http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/t-shirt-logo/marinebla_polo-ralph-lauren-t-shirt_179718_21 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/hvit_lacoste-poloskjorte_175476_3 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/mellembla_tommy-hilfiger-poloshirt_187632_74 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/t-shirt/poloshirt/svart_hugo-boss-orange-poloskjorte_182674_4 http://www. smartguy. no/klaer/jeans-bukser/bukser/sand_vito-chino_192150_27 http://karrierestart. no/jobb? jobtype=2&municipality=89&page=5 http://www. free-tv-video-online. me/internet/the_ellen_degeneres_show/season_10. html http://www. handelsportal. no/butikk/iphone-4-4s/iphone-4-deksel-og-etui http://max100. no/index. php? route=product/product&path=20_64_67&product_id=292.