Observations at the Park Essay -- Observation Essay, Descriptive Essay

Observations at the Park A cigarette butt lies next to my foot, still emitting a trace of smoke. Nearby on the dusty asphalt a pigeon waddles self-consciously, bobbing its head as if pecking the air for some invisible food. A squirrel churrs a threat to his brother, challenging him to romp. The walkway before me never becomes silent. A buzz of voices blends with the city soundscape of cars driving and trucks backing, swingsets squealing and sparrows chirping. A toddler, holding tightly to his sister's stroller, yells "Achtung! Achtung! Achtung!" at a squirrel that crosses two inches from his foot. His mother comforts him, in German. A man sits down on the bench across from me, eyelids dropping on his creased red face as he stirs his cup of coffee. The bench I sit on is green, painted over years of dents and names scratched in wood. My backpack sits to my left with its main zipper opened just wide enough for me to extract my notebook and pen. At my right is my suitcase. Its pockets are crammed full like the subway this morning, barely room left to breathe, creaking and comp...

Pride and Prejudice: Mr Wickham Essay

In the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, written by Jane Austen, there are many different characters, each with their own roles to play in order for the story to reach its final product. Among these many characters is George Wickham. Though generally brushed off as a minor character, George Wickham plays a vital role in the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Through both his lies and his amatory adventures, Wickham is the source of both Elizabeth’s loathing and love for Mr Darcy. Throughout the novel, Elizabeth’s opinion of Mr Wickham changes dramatically. For the first half of the novel, Elizabeth adores Wickham and believes him to be the perfect gentleman. He achieves this high appraisal mainly through his false recount of his previous affairs with Mr Darcy, saying of Darcy â€Å"It is wonderful, for almost all his actions may be traced to pride; and pride has often been his best friend. It has connected him nearer with virtue than with any other feeling† (page 75). The false recount of Wickham’s affairs with Fitzwilliam Darcy confirms Elizabeth’s previous opinions of Darcy, which she presents through saying: ‘I have spent four days in the same house with him and I think him very disagreeable† (page 71). She is lead to believe that Darcy reserves only the slightest acknowledgement of anyone but his closest friends and family – the people of his class. Wickham however appears, to Elizabeth, to be quite the opposite of Darcy and she thinks of him that whatever he says is said well and whatever he does is done gracefully (page 77). The dramatic antitheses between each man’s personalities highlight the gentlemanlike poise of Wickham, making him the more attractive of the two. What then changes Elizabeth’s attractions to Mr Wickham, is the discovery of his previous amatory adventures. Wickham was involved in three amatory adventures, mentioned throughout the course of ‘Pride and Prejudice’. The first of these escapades was his failed elopement with Georgiana Darcy. This played a vital role in Darcy’s opinion of Mr Wickham and eventually led to Elizabeth’s realisation of Wickham’s true character as well. Elizabeth’s opinion of Wickham’s past with Georgiana is apparent toward the end of the novel, when she says to Mr Darcy ‘†¦that I might have prevented it! I, who knew what he was’ (page 236) Wickham’s second adventure was very short lived and is often overlooked. It was his attempt at marrying Miss King who, according to Elizabeth, is a good sort of girl and the inheritor of her Grandfather’s fortune (page 134). This escapade is significant as it slightly shapes Elizabeth’s opinions and affections towards Mr Wickham. Where she once thought of him as a possible husband, after this escapade, she says to her aunt, ‘I am now convinced†¦ that I had never been in love’ (page 132) His final and most significant of his adventures was Wickham’s elopement with Lydia Bennet. This elopement is very significant as it shapes Elizabeth’s opinions of both Wickham and Darcy, greatly. Elizabeth was frightened when she heard of Wickham’s failed elopement with Georgiana and when he runs away with Lydia, her fright elevates to utter disgust and loathing. When, however, she finds out Darcy’s part in the whole affair, Austen hints of disappointment from Elizabeth, that she had treated him so impartially. Elizabeth is really made to think about these two men before her, each so different in both personality and in appearance and she begins to find it easier to see the good in Darcy and her affections toward him heighten. This is shown at the end of the novel when Elizabeth sees Darcy again and thinks to herself, ‘A man who has one been refused. How could I be foolish enough to expect a renewal of his love? ’ (Page 290) It is not just the results of Wickham’s elopement with Lydia, however, that makes Elizabeth rethink her answer to Darcy’s previous sentiments. The extreme difference in character of the two men also highlights Darcy’s integrity. The extreme differences in Wickham’s and Darcy’s personalities are the source of Elizabeth’s feelings towards them both. At the start of the novel, Wickham’s natural manners and easy going nature highlight the pride and arrogance of Mr Darcy. Darcy tries to explain his awkward personality to Elizabeth, saying; ‘We neither of us perform to strangers’ (page 153). Elizabeth however is taken by Wickham’s cordiality and brushes Darcy off. Towards the end of the book however, events change and the two men swap personalities completely. Wickham’s evident greed and self-centredness is then highlighted by Darcy’s change in air. Austen highlights Darcy’s personality change through his conversations with the Gardiners. Mrs Gardiner says of Darcy; ‘But how come you told us he was so disagreeable†¦ he has not an ill-natured look. On the contrary, there is something pleasing about his mouth when he speaks’ (page 219). For a long time, Wickham’s pleasant nature caught Elizabeth up in prejudice and she avoided Darcy’s ill-natured countenance. Her prejudice however, dissipated when she saw both men’s true personalities and the dramatic difference between Darcy’s air made Elizabeth rethink her opinion of him and her affections towards him heightened greatly. It was because of Wickham that these changes in Darcy were so conspicuous. In conclusion, Wickham played a vital role in the relationship of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy. At the start of the book, through his lies and manipulations, Wickham confirms Elizabeth’s loathing of Mr Darcy. By the end of the book however, Mr Wickham has unconsciously changed Elizabeth’s opinions of Mr Darcy through the results of his three amatory adventures and through the obvious change in Darcy’s countenance – highlighted by Wickham’s poor qualities.

Health Management - Managing the aftermath of an adverse safety incident Free Essay Example, 2000 words

The errors that are done with precedent reactions can be minimised by enhancing the regulations that are stated in the institution (Kalra, 2011: 17). Stringent actions should be implemented on such activities. This will reduce any instances of these accidents occurring since the people that are committing them will be careful. Apparently, when the medical practitioners are hell-bent on their job, these instances will never occur in the medical practitioner. Similarly, there is need to clearly state the objectives of the profession (Kalra, 2011:18). The profession deems to reduce any errors that could jeopardise the quality of services that are offered. Therefore, any person that would want to jeopardise the quality of services will be unequivocally revoked from the institution. This will leave the only practitioners that would want to make the best approach in treating patients. According to recent research, it is considered that the anaesthetic accidents are prevalent in the nursin g profession. Anaesthetic is the practical activity of inducing a person to sleep when there is a need for operation. The person is almost dead as most parts of the body are dormant. We will write a custom essay sample on Health Management - Managing the aftermath of an adverse safety incident or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The person’s senses are not functional, though there could be minute reaction. For instance, when a person is induced to anaesthetics, the person’s senses are disabled for a period of time. The anaesthetic combination is dependent on how long the doctors would want the patient to sleep (Arias, 2010:13). Some doctors would like the patient to sleep for less than six hours since it is a minor surgery. However, some doctors take over 6 hours in the surgery room and would need a medical prescription that will make the patient to sleep for a longer time. This allows the doctors to perform all the process and surgery that is needed on the patient without any disturbance. It could be a threatening occurrence when a patient wakes up in the middle of an operation. Therefore, there is a need to make keen decisions on this particular issue. Apparently, there are some instances where this particular issue is not given the best attention and dedication it needs. This has led to some life threatening occasions in the health sector and has led to undivided attention from the managers. The doctors make minute mistakes but these mistakes are detrimental to the health of many people. For instance, some doctors make errors in the measurements of the anaesthetics (Healy, 2011: 13). The anaesthetics that are supposed to be injected in the patient are supposed to be measured according to the stated time limits and other parameters.