The Storm by Kate Chopin Essay Example for Free

The Storm by Kate Chopin Essay The short story The Storm by Kate Chopin revolves around a setting that is both exciting and enticing. Chopins portrayal of the storms setting reinforces the plots main thematic elements through descriptive imagery that coincides with the characters emotions throughout the story. The characters in this story, Alcee and Calixta in particular, each make their own best of the situation as the storm hits. The storm is described as a violent one, with thrashing winds and blinding rain. The cracking of the thunder is frightening to Calixta, and jump-starts an emotional reunion between her and Alcee. Alcee takes shelter in Calixta and her husband, Bobintots home before the storm begins. Alcee, hearing the rumble of the thunder and the uneasy voice of Calixta, tries to comfort her. While the rain beats against the door, he reminds her of a moment that they shared in Assumption. They then began to kiss one another as they did that night in Assumption. One thing led to another and they ended up engaging in a sexual encounter that was purely for the pleasure of each of them. In the late 1800s sex was not looked upon as an experience that was meant to be pleasurable for a woman, instead it was looked upon as an obligation of a wife to her husband. The setting of this story seems to act as a catalyst for these two individuals to look back at their past together and to relive it. While Calixta and Alcee are fornicating, her husband and son, Bibi, are taking cover in a cistern from the storm. They were out getting shrimp for Calixta to cook for dinner. Bibi had been splashed with mud on his good pants and the collar of his shirt, and his father commented My! Bibi, wat will yo mama say! (Chopin 117). They then freshened up a bit to appear more becoming when they returned home. It seems that Bobintot cares very much for his wife and always wants him and his son to look presentable when they are around Calixta. It also seems as though the two are not too worried about Calixtas welfare during the storm, although the story does make mention of whether she will be alright or not. When Alcee and Calixta are talking inside her house about their time in Assumption, Chopin writes: For in Assumption, he had kissed and kissed and kissed her; until his senses would well nigh fail, and to save her he would resort to a desperate flight. If she was not an immaculate dove in those days, she was still inviolate; a passionate creature whose very defenselessness had made her defense, against which his honor forbade him to prevail. (Chopin 116). This is telling the reader that they did not make love back in Assumption. Calixta was a virgin then and they were too afraid of being caught to give themselves to each other. If they had sex, Calixta would have probably become pregnant and their reputations would have been destroyed. She would have been labeled a harlot and Alcees honor would have been ruined. However; now in this moment of the storm, she is married, and if they have sex and she gets pregnant, everyone will assume that the baby belongs to Bobintot and she will not be caught. Then storm then ended and Alcee rode off on his horse. Bobintot and Bibi returned home with the shrimp and Calixta acted very excited to see them. She got excited and told her husband: Shrimps! Oh, Bobintot! You too good fo anything! (Chopin 117) and kissed him and Bibi excessively. The reader also learns that Alcee has a wife that is staying in Biloxi. Alcee wrote a loving letter to her that night telling her that he is doing well and that she should stay in Biloxi if she and the children are fairing well there. The setting often invokes emotional responses that force the characters to react accordingly, which, in turn develops the plot. The surrounding storm is a representation of Calixtas bound up inner emotions. She seems to feel like she has no pleasure in her life and cant do anything that she wants to do. This is why she so effortlessly acts out in the manner she does with Alcee. The story tells the reader that while Calixta is in Alcees arms, the thunder and wind do not faze her whatsoever when Chopin writes: They need not heed the crashing torrents, and the roar of the elements made  her laugh as she lay in his arms. She was a revelation in that dim, mysterious chamber; as white as the couch she lay upon. (Chopin 116). On any given afternoon, a storm of this magnitude would easily frighten Calixta, as she was frightened before Alcee took her into his arms, however; while romancing with Alcee, Calixta was at peace with the storm. The reader can infer that Calixta is overwhelmingly enthused by the situation that she is in. Furthermore, the storm actually acts as a sort of door that allows these actions to take place. The Storm was written and set in the late 1800s, when women had few purposes in life other than cleaning, cooking, bearing children, and pleasing their husbands. Kate Chopin seemed to contradict this in her writing. Writing a story about a womans extramarital affair with a man, who is also married, was something that few people wrote about or agreed with in her day. In fact, the majority of society strongly disagreed with her work. So much even that she was not allowed to publish anymore after her novel The Awakening. In conclusion, Chopins portrayal of the storms setting reinforces the plots main thematic elements through descriptive imagery that coincides with the characters emotions throughout the story. Chopins use of descriptive imagery in The Storm draws the reader into the setting and provides essential elements for plot development. Chopin utilizes the stormy setting to portray the characters participating in sinful acts that at the time were considered taboo. Also, the setting of The Storm provides for the reader an atmosphere capable for understanding and relating to the plots many themes. Not only does the setting provide essential elements for plot development, it also acts somewhat as a separate character in itself by affecting the mood and actions of the main characters. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The Storm. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd. ed. New York: Longman, 2002. 114-118.

Sigmund Freud Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia in 1856. When he was four years old his family moved to Vienna. Due to his Jewish heritage, Freud left for England when the Nazi’s took control of Austria. Freud always considered himself first and foremost a scientist, endeavoring to extend the compass of human knowledge, and to his end, he enrolled at the medical school at the University of Vienna in 1873.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sigmund Freud elaborated the theory that the mind is a complex energy-system, the structural investigation of which is proper province of psychology. He articulated and refined the concepts of the unconscious, of infantile sexuality, of repression, and proposed a tri-partite account of the mind's structure, all as part of a radically new conceptual and therapeutic frame of reference for the understanding of human psychological development and the treatment of abnormal mental conditions. Freud's innovative treatment of human actions, dreams, and indeed of cultural artefacts as invariably possessing implicit symbolic significance has proven to be extraordinarily fecund, and has had massive implications for a wide variety of fields, including anthropology, semiotics, and artistic creativity and appreciation in addition to psychology. Accomplishments   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sigmund Freud concentrated originally on biology, doing research in physiology for six years under the great German scientist Ernest von Brucke. After that he focused in neurology. While at the university, in 1874 he discovered anti-Jewish prejudices and declared his place is â€Å"with the opposition.† He traveled to Manchester, Britain, to see his half brother, Philippe, and his niece Pauline, in 1875. The following year he did his first personal research in Trieste, on sexual glands of anguilas. That sane year he joined Brucke’s laboratory. In 1877, Freud published the end result of his anatomical research on the central nervous system of a specific larva. In 1880, he did a year of military service. Freud received his medical degree in 1881. Having become engaged to be married in 1882, he rather unwillingly took up more dependable and financially rewarding work as a doctor at Vienna General Hospital. Shortly after his marriage in 1886, which was e xtremely happy, and gave hi... ... unconscious in its place. What he discovered, it has been suggested, was the extreme prevalence of child sexual abuse, particularly of young girls, even in respectable nineteenth century Vienna. He did in fact offer an early 'seduction theory' of neuroses. He quickly withdrew this theory because of it being discouraged , and replaced with theory of the unconscious. Conclusion In whole, Sigmund Freud is one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. Over the years, his work became more complex and wider in scope, less influenced by biology, and more humane. Once his name was established, people traveled to see him and wrote to him from all over the world. What these people sensed in him was his interest, his ability to put himself in their place, and his generous desire to help them. Work Cited Cf. Masson, J. The Assault on Truth http://www.freudfile.org/chronology_1.html http://www.iep.utm.edu/f/freud.html http://www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages/freud.html   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://members.aol.com/sidarth20/page3/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.allpsych.com www.insomnium.co.uk

Radio Shack Compensation Problem Essay

RadioShack is one of the largest electronic chain stores across America. They employ up to 34,000 employees and according to their corporate website (www.radidoschack.com) they offer the â€Å"Complete Package : Incredible work environment, highly qualified employees and competitive compensation , including upon hire: paid time off , merchandise and wireless discounts, credit union, career progression , continued learning and development , educational discounts ,401(k) Plan. Medical, Dental and Vision Plans Flexible Spending Accounts, Life/AD&D Insurance, Short and Long Term Disability. This all sounds great, they offer things we all look for in an employer ; a competitive compensation and perks. So how does this huge corporation become rated number 3 top worst places to work for? The Problem According to 24/7 Wall St, they examined employee reviews at online job site Glassdoor.com. To make the cut of worst company, companies need to have a minimum of 300 reviews. Based on these ratings, 24/7 Wall St. identified RadioShack as the number 3 worst company to work for. Any company receiving a score of 2.7 or lower, ranks them in the bottom 10% of the 202 companies they measured. RadioShack rating was 2.4 and has 560 reviews. Reviewers were consistently unhappy about the retailer’s sales commission structure and the long hours. The reviews also indicated that the company limits commissions to certain products, instead of paying based on sales. â€Å"Over the years compensation has turned into a big joke. You MUST perform in all metrics (service plans, batteries, cell phones, etc) to get any sort of bonus as an associate.† stated a former RadioShack employee. (www.glassdoor.com) Conclusion These remarks paint a completely different picture than what is listed on the corporate career web page. In my paper, my focus will be on the challenging monetary compensation of the company and to offer strategies on how to improve this problem.

Old Day Crime And Crime - 1323 Words

Old Day Crime Just think about a world have little to no crime. That would be quite the story. Ever since birth people hear about crime. People will always hear about the school shooting, or the robbery at the bank. Crime saw a decrease in the 90’s, but since then the non physical and physical crime have stayed the same. Crime was higher in previous years, but all of a sudden the 90’s hit, and the crime has gone down. â€Å"Robbery, burglary and larceny each fell every year between 1991 and 2000.† said Levitt. Looking at Table 1 every crime that could be committed generally went down (Levitt). Most crimes never decreased for more than 3 years (Levitt). Table 1 â€Å"National Trends in SpeciÂŽ c Categories of Crime† (Levitt) Crime category and data†¦show more content†¦One of them being the abortion filter (Goldstien). Abortion was wrong in a lot of people’s mind, so they would have the child (Goldstien). They thought it could be because, people were becoming parents (Goldstein). The parents wanted to better themselves before there baby came, they were going to be busy supporting a family. They began to work and get jobs. Then again, people had the Happy pill thesis (Goldstien). At this time medicine was becoming better, and helping more people (Goldstien). They thought medicine was improving human behavior and moods. They even thought about a Lead Hypothesis (Goldstien). They thought the kids even adults could have lead in there system (Goldstien). The lead would eventually make its way to the brain (Goldstien ). This would cause them to have aggressive behavior and become violent (Goldstien). People in the 90’s began to live longer (Goldstien). They got and idea that people lived longer, so older adults were looking over people (Goldstien). People were looking out for each other almost. There was also a lot of new technology (Goldstien). People were staying inside more with T.V.’s and anything else they could buy (Goldstien). Certain people thought it was because a lot people stopped using drugs especially crack (Goldstien). Young adults, teens, or even kids seen the effect it had on someone they looked up too (Goldstien). They