Looking for Alaska-Character List Essay Example for Free

Looking for Alaska-Character List Essay I dont know where there is, but i blieve its somewhere, and I hope its beautiful. Chip â€Å"The Colonel† Martin- A stocky, somewhat nerdy young man, he has gone to Culver Creek for a very long time. When he is not at school, he lives with his mom in a very small trailer. He is Pudge’s roommate, and he gives Miles the nickname â€Å"Pudge†. He may also have a crush on Alaska, just like Miles does. p. 38 Goddamn Weekday Warriors. It was probably one of them that ratted out Paul and Marya and then blamed me to cover their tracks. Anyways, its a good night for stying in. Staying in with Pudge and ambrosia. Takumi Harihoto- He is the jokester of the group, as well as a great rapper. *SPOILER ALERT* apparently at the end, after Alaska’s death, Takumi was feeling left out because Pudge and Colonel were sort of taking up all the grief for themselves. Takumi confesses to Pudge in the last paragraphs that he saw Alaska the night she died. She was in a rush and was very upset that she forgot her mother’s anniversary, and he tried to calm her down. He feels bad because he could have stopped her but didn’t. p. 105 What is that? Its my fox hat Why do you have a fox hat? Because nobody catches the fox. Alaska Young- the beautiful, witty, rebellious girl whom Pudge immediately falls in love with. Takumi and the Colonel most likely have crushes on her as well, although they are not stated in the novel. When Alaska was a child, her mother had a seizure due to a head aneurism. Alaska did not save her mother so she died. Alaska’s father blamed her for it and she regrets it to the present day in the story. . 42 Youre adorable, she said, and i felt the intensity of her eyes on me and looked away nervously. Too bad I love my boyfriend. Lara Buterskaya- An exchange student, Lara later will become Pudge’s girlfriend, she is good friends with all the rest of the gang. p. 208 And then Lara stood up, and in her delicate, innocent accent cut Dr. William Morse off. Youre so hot! I weesh youd shut up and take off your clo thes. This shows Lara ability to, despite her background, assimilate to the group and do anything for them. She transitions nicely. The Eagle- The dean of Culver Creek, his nickname is the Eagle because he is always watching over then, much like an eagle flies over and scans the ground. He always has to put up with the pranks students pull on campus. p. 141 I saw her, Miles. I talked to the poilce. It was instant. The steering wheel hit her chest. Im so sorry. Ms. Martin- The Colonel’s mother, works at Waffle House, and invites Pudge and Alaska to have Thanksgiving dinner with her and the Colonel at their trail

An Analysis of Adam’s Song Essay -- Adam’s Song

An Analysis of Adam’s Song  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bob McKenty suggests in the poem "Adam's Song" that life is not a stationary event, it is forever changing and that in order to handle those changes humor serves as a good buffer. The tone of "Adam's Song" changes distinctly at least three times. McKenty uses rhythm, rhyme, and meter to express the essence of change in the poem and in life. The first couplet of the poem is iambic tetrameter and expresses a sentimental, romantic and lyrical tone. The speaker in the poem at this point could be described as a possibly young and naive lover. The author uses the uniformed meter, assonance and ending rhyme with few surprises to declare the traditionally romantic and lyrical "love poem" style verse of the first two lines "Come live with me and be my love./Come romp with me in Eden's grove". McKenty uses an irregular change in meter and internal rhyme in lines 3 and 4 to begin the emphasis on the inevitable changes of life "In unabated joy, not shy/But unabashed by nudity..." In the second couplet the idealism of the first two lines also changes to...

Leadership: Ice Cream Division Essay

This document focuses on the Chattanooga Ice Cream Division case study developed by Carl Sloane. Leadership opportunities and action are defined based on the characters in the case study. Dysfunction is evaluated both from a team aspect and from the leadership role. Specific development activities are identified to help the individuals develop emotional intelligence. Finally, recommendations will be made to guide the team forward. Background Chattanooga Ice Cream is a division of Chattanooga Food Corporation which is a family-controlled business founded in 1936 (Sloane, 1997). The ice cream division is one of the largest regional maufacturers of ice cream in the United States. The company’s primary focus is mid-priced basic ice cream products. The ice cream division has been experiencing flat sales and a declining profitability over the past four years (Sloane, 1997). Competitors had shown success in recent years with premium and super-premium brands with â€Å"mix-in† ice cream flavors. The Chattanooga Food Corporation focused on leadership changes in an attempt to improve the ice cream division’s performance. In 1993, Charles Moore was promoted to head the division. The ice cream division also hired a new vice president of marketing to replace a 30 year veteran. Stephanie Krane was assigned to the division to upgrade the information systems and control function. In 1995, the original manufacturing plant in Chattanooga was closed to control costs. The management changes resulted in a disruption to the top level management team. Three of the seven members of the management team were new to their positions. Additionally, Charles’ leadership style was very different than his predecessor. The previous general manager had been with the business for many years and had numerous networks to gather information. He made important decisions alone and rarely felt the need to consult his management team. The Dysfunction The ice cream division sales continued to fall, and the company recently lost a significant customer to Sealtest. The announcement of this loss resulted in open criticism from virtually all team members. In the past, when issues arose and blaming between departments occurred Moore would not respond in hopes that the managers would quit complaining about each other. Moore believes in the value of group based decisions and liked to bring people together formally to share information, consult on decisions, and forge consensus (Sloane, 1997). Moore would rank high in collaboration using the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). The TKI (2007) states that the â€Å"overuse of collaboration and consensual decision making sometimes represents a desire to minimize risk – by diffusing responsibility for a decision or by postponing action. The assessment goes on to state that a person with a high collaboration score may miss some cues that would indicate the presence of defensiveness, impatience, competitiveness, or conflicting interests. Moore appears to also favor the avoiding mode when conflict arises. Avoiders tend to hope that conflict goes away on its own. Moore has been avoiding conflict by not addressing the conflict when it arose. The DiSC Assessment is a tool to help an individual understand themselves and others. Based on the case study by Sloane (1997) Moore appears to be an S, which stands for steadiness. The S style prefers to work at a methodical pace and to focus on their tasks without interruption. They seek a calm, orderly structure where collaboration and group effort are valued (DiSC, 2008). People that have an S profile are demotivated in competitive environments, do not like being rushed into quick decisions, or having to be confrontational. These three traits of Charlie Moore have resulted in a lack of leadership through conflict and the inability to make a decision without collaboration time. As a leader, Moore has not displayed the four key principles to success according to Jack Welch in Winning (2005). These basic principles are mission and vision, candor, differentiation, and voice and dignity. First, Moore has not created a vision for the Ice Cream Division, and the division appears to be relatively isolated from the overall mission of the Chattanooga Food Corporation. According to Welch (2007), the mission tells where you are going and the values describe the behaviors that will get you there. Charlie Moore has been the General Manager for four years, yet it does not appear that he has determined how the Ice Cream Division can win in their current market, nor has he defined what winning means. The second principle is candor. Candor facilitates strong discussion. In the case of the Ice Cream Division team, it appears the team was displaying a lack of candor by not sharing critical information, or generating ideas which could result in a real debate. Part of candor is feedback. As a leader, it is critical to give feedback so each team member understands exactly what has to be done for improvement and where they stand in the organization (Welch, 2005). There are three main benefits of candor according to Welch (2005). First, candor gets people into the conversation. More ideas are generated and discussed, and all team members have the opportunity to contribute to generate the best ideas. Candor also increases speed since getting people into the conversation results in immediate debate and discussion which allows a well informed decision to be made. Speed is the second benefit of candor. Finally, candor cuts costs. Openly sharing information, positive and negative, results in a team that can quickly respond to issues that arise. Welch’s (2005) third principle focuses on differentiation. Differentiation is a way to manage people and business. The business side of differentiation focuses on how to beat the competition through strategy. The people portion requires a leader to identify the top 20 percent, middle 70 percent, and the bottom 10 percent of performers. The next step is to act on this evaluation. In the case of the Chattanooga Ice Cream Division, the bottom 10 percent would not know where they ranked or why. This problem ties back into candor. Without candid conversations regarding goals and performance, an employee has a reduced chance of success. Additionally, the lack of candid conversations does not give the individual an opportunity to improve their performance. Further, in this case study, goals for the team are not clear which does not enable people to be successful. The fourth principle is voice and dignity. Charles Moore has a management team that does have a voice, although they use the opportunity to lay blame and defend themselves rather than focus on solutions. Voice and dignity goes beyond the management team. According to Welch in Winning (2005), most people do not say anything because they feel they can’t and they haven’t been asked. Charles needs to understand the business from every rank and perspective as the company leader. He needs to get into the â€Å"trenches†. The only way to accomplish this is by enabling open, candid conversations throughout the organization. Developing a Team Developing a team takes time. This team has been together for four or more years with little to no achievement. The stage of introductions is past, but in reference to the Tuckman model (Tocci, JWI510, W6) the team is in the â€Å"forming† stages. Key attributes of this stage are an unclear mission and values, lack of trust, and lack of commitment. To start an open discussion regarding team dynamics each team member will complete a DiSC assessment and a 360 review. The 360 feedback will include their direct reports, people from within their functional area, people outside of their functional area, and every member of the leadership team. After the results have been compiled a coach will be assigned to each team member to review the results and to develop personal action plans. After these one-on-one sessions, Charlie should bring the team together to share the results of their DiSC assessment. The purpose of the session is to gain a better understanding of each team member in terms of how they prefer to work and why. Once the DiSC assessment is reviewed, each person will be asked to share the 2-3 personal development goals generated from their time with the coach. As the leader, Charles will start first and show his vulnerability. Sharing goals can help team members be accountable to each other. This enables informal peer to peer coaching to help everyone stay committed to the team. The DiSC assessment and the 360 degree feedback contribute to emotional ntelligence. Goleman (2000) defines emotional intelligence as the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively. Both of these assessments enable each team member to become more self-aware of their emotions and the impact on their co-workers. Additionally, these tools give an accurate self-assessment of each person’s strengths and limitations. Once each team member understands how they are perceived and their personal DiSC style in relation to others they can begin to make focused improvements on their overall emotional intelligence. Goleman (2000) found that leaders with strengths in a critical mass of six or more emotional intelligence competencies were more effective than peers that did not have similar strengths. These exercises focus on the bottom of Lencioni’s (2002) pyramid, â€Å"Absence of Trust†. The team should encourage each other to be vulnerable and in turn, support the team members that do show vulnerability. Specific Recommendations for the Team Once the team has completed the DiSC and 360 degree feedback tools, the coaching, and the group sharing they are ready to transition their focus to the ability to run a successful business. At this point, the Ice Cream Division does not have a clear mission or vision. To start this process, the team will start a charter. First, the team must establish an overall mission by understanding the overarching mission of the company. In short, at the executive level, what does the team stand for? Focusing on mission development instead of solving the problem of lost business will allow the team to understand what actions they need to take to align the problem solution to the business strategy. According to Welch (2005) a mission answers the question: How do we intend to win in this business? Using guidance from Winning (Welch, 2005), the executive team may develop a mission statement that looks like this: The mission of the Chattanooga Ice Cream Division is to become the market leader in Ice cream sales due to our focus on exceptional taste, unique flavors, and our commitment to customers. Once the mission is established the team will begin to generate a charter. This charter will focus on specific activities required to achieve the mission and vision of the organization.

Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner - 897 Words

Ordinarily, pieces of literature show scenes of violence. These events are not just placed haphazardly; often times, these predicaments are intricately set to build the meaning of the work. Wighout this kind of violence, some points in the novel would be hard to comprehend. In Khaled Hoseinis The Kite Runner, multiple cases of compulsion are demonstrated. Khaled Hosseini uses symbolism and sense of mood during these situations contribute to the understanding of his literary work. Chapter seven of the novel opens somewhat normal, with two young boys, Amir and Hassan, preparing for the annual kite running tournament. When the boys win the contest, an air of jubilance and carelessness comes over Amir and Hassan. Hosseini describes the†¦show more content†¦Moreover, throughout his whole life, Amir feels the need to be repented for his past mistakes. When Amir gets the notorious call from Rahim Khan and asked upon his arrival to save Sohrab, Amir first denies but then accepts t he fact that this may be his only chance to redeem himself. Amir finally finds the place where Sohrab is and is coincidentally confronted by Assef. The fight scene here is brutal, and full of bloodshed. However, rather than feeling pain, Amir feels â€Å"at peace†, â€Å"healed†, and â€Å"satisfied.† Overall, the scene is relieving and peaceful, at least for Amir. At the time, Amirs pain makes him feel happy by suffering. Though Assef brings a mood of obscurity, Amirs recent catharsis brings about one of relief. Throughout the whole fight, Amir knows that he really isnt going to win; but, winning was not the goal. When Amir decides not to rin from Assef, he welcomed the pain rather than running away from it as he did early on in the novel. Amir feels as though this is the punishment that he deserved because of his unfaithfulness to Hassan. This is the motive behind Amirs laughter during the fight. Upon going to the hospital after the fight, the doctor tells A mir that he has a scar splitting his upper lip, which ends up being similar to Hassans. When Amirs scar surfaces, it shows the equality between Amir and Hassan. His whole life, Hassan was seen of a lower status because his family couldnt afford to get itShow MoreRelatedHonesty In Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner1009 Words   |  5 Pages The book â€Å" The Kite Runner† has a lot of themes to offer but each person experiences a different theme. The book is based on a man whose past contributes to everything his future has to offer. Every choice he has ever made has an outcome. Khaled Hosseini’s novel , The Kite Runner , teaches the reader that honesty is important in order to have an effective relationship through Amir lying on Hassan and Baba withholding information about him and Hassan that was important. My thesis supports the overallRead MoreKhaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner Essay747 Words   |  3 Pages In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini tells a no table coming-of-age story portraying the actions and thoughts of Amir, a penitent adult living in the United States and his reminiscence of his affluent childhood in the unstable political environment of Afghanistan. Throughout the novel Khaled Hosseini uses character description to display his thoughts on sin and redemption. The main character described in the novel is Amir. Amir is the narrator and the protagonist in the story. AlthoughRead More Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner Essay1008 Words   |  5 PagesKhaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner In the Kite Runner, the author explores the ties that bind sons to fathers and childhood friends to one another and of the forces that tear them apartRead MoreAnalysis Of Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner1697 Words   |  7 Pagesstated that what happens in the course of a day has the power to change the rest of our lives forever. This passage exemplifies how monumental our actions are and how one seemingly small action has the power to change our lives. In Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner, it is suggested that individuals can atone for the bad things they have done in their past: consequently, we explore the idea that taking responsibility for past actions is only possible if the person who seeks redemption first admitsRead MoreDifferences In Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner1210 Words   |  5 Pagestwo young boys who are seen as totally two different types of children but in all reality they are truly the same in many aspects. Winter of 1975 changed both of their lives and made them realize that nothing ever would be the same. Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, teaches the reader that one choice can make a huge difference in your entire life. Through Baba not telling Amir and Hassan the truth about their brotherhood, Amir not trying to defend Hassan when he needed it the most, and RahimRead MoreKhaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner1741 Words   |  7 Pageshimself into. On return to his home country Amir found out that Hassan is dead and apart from him being dead Hassan is also his half brother that left behind son behind. Amir seeks out to find his nephew to bring him back to America with him. The kite runner is basically outlining some of the key concepts of Maslows hierarchy of needs, although some of those needs are outlined in the book there are also some other important psychological concepts outlined in the book as you read on and learn aboutRead MoreAnalysis Of Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner 1763 Words   |  8 Pagesopportunity to reside in the United States of America and pursue the American dream, it is evident that the land of the free and home of the brave emblematizes a meaning which extends greater than the breadth of newfound wealth. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel â€Å"The Kite Runner,† the main character Amir, the son of a wealthy, altruistic, and respected merchant, spends his childhood seeking for acceptance with his father, and through this process, narcissism voraciously ravages Amir’s thoughts leading himRead MorePsychological Theory In Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner874 Words   |  4 Pagesnew level of richness to virtually an y story by adding to the complexity of individual characters and their relationships. The psychological theory catalyzes a more intuitive way to find motivations for characters’ actions. In his novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini makes his protagonist, Amir, seem relatable by offering an inside look at the internal struggles Amir faces as he matures amidst the all too real tragedies occurring in Afghanistan after the coup of the monarchy. Amir battles with feelingsRead MoreAnalysis Of Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner881 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel ,The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir is a coward. Amir lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. His best friend Hassan lives with him and is his best friend. In reality Amir is Hassan’s owner. Baba adopted Hassan when he was a baby and he became their servant. Amir becomes very jealous of him and then becomes a coward. Amir was so jealous of Hassan that he even wanted a scar,â€Å"I wished I too had a scar that would beget Baba’s sympathy. It wasn’t fair.† (Hosseini, p 50)Read MoreGuilt And Redemption In Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner1585 Words   |  7 Pagessituation, a person has the choice to turn the other way or try and solve the issue. Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner explores the subject of guilt and redemption through the character Amir. When faced with the choice between helping a friend and running away, Amir chooses the latter. This decision plagues Amir throughout his entire life as he seeks redemption to ease his regret. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the author uses the journey of Amir to express that in order to be at ease