Cowboys Myth V. Reality free essay sample

The American Cowboy Discuss the American cowboy in terms of myth vs. reality. How and why did this less than glamorous historical figure become transformed into our romantic â€Å"All-American† national hero? The traditional cowboy depicted in media is noble, heroic, determined, and humble – all qualities that many individuals would like to possess themselves. So it is no wonder that America has adopted this image of the rugged do-gooder as its national symbol. Through these expectations the image of the cowboy and the values he holds have been shaped and molded by years of cinema into an almost completely false assumption of what true cowboys did and how they behaved. Even popular assumptions of a cowboy’s physical appearance are often false. Cowboys in cinema are generally tall with impressive builds. However, for practicality, true cowboys tended to be shorter with smaller builds, since horses would have not been able to support the wait of a six foot four heavy weight champion for very long. We will write a custom essay sample on Cowboys: Myth V. Reality or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Despite the many fallacies surrounding the traditional cowboy a few descriptions of the cowboy’s appearances are somewhat accurate, such as the wearing of wide-brimmed hats, boots, Levis, and bandannas. However true, some of these wardrobe staples may have not been used for the purposes we believe. For example bandannas were not worn to mask a cowboy’s identity, but were in fact used as dust guards when riding behind a herd of cattle. Another unfortunately true description of the cowboy’s appearance was that they were rugged and dirty. Cowboys would travel on horseback herding hundreds of cattle for 1200-1500 miles over the course of a few months and they would not bathe often during these treks. While some of the physical aspects of the cowboy’s appearance may have been accurate, the behavioral aspects of his image are almost entirely created by media. One of the most popular images of the cowboy is that he is courageous and dedicated to justice. In reality however, cowboys were not heroes but simply employees. Employees in arguably one of the worst and hardest jobs any person could have in fact. Cowboys did not fight in duels, kill Indians, or rescue the damsel in distress. Instead they drove cattle for thousands of miles, bribed Indians to avoid conflict, and were often single. Cowboys were believed to be lone vigilantes who weather the tough terrain of a life on the road alone. However in reality the task of successfully herding hundreds of cattle over thousands of miles could not have been done by a lone ranger and was performed by groups of ten or more. Every aspect of a cowboy’s job required teamwork. These fictional accounts of cowboys were caused primarily by the romanticized portrayal of them in western literature and shows. The most famous of which is Owen Wister’s novel The Virginian written in 1902. Wister’s character embodied all of the selfless heroic characteristics we associate with cowboys in myth and his stories sparked the popularization of tales of cowboys and the frontier (Brinkley 413-414). In addition, the interest in western culture and the cowboy drove the success of Wild West shows. These shows traveled throughout the nation, as well as abroad, depicting the adventures of heroic cowboys. These shows and novels created the glamorous image of cowboys as the rugged heroes of the west. This image stuck and has remained over generations. This romanticized image of the cowboy has in fact overpowered the factual account of who they were. So much that many American’s would be surprised to learn that the hero they associate their country with was in reality a low-paid manual laborer who never rescued a maiden or stood for justice. However if America was searching for a symbol they Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. 6th. 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 413-414. Print.

King Tutankhamun And His Treasures Essays - Tutankhamun,

King Tutankhamun And His Treasures King Tutankhamun and His Treasures The ancient Egyptians were noted for many things, one of which would have been their artwork. Egyptians used many medians in their artwork that enhanced the details and beauty of every piece of art. Their artwork is fascinating and mysterious, which pulls in the viewer into wanting to learn more. One of the most important and unique Egyptian artworks belongs to King Tutankhamun, a young pharaoh of Egypt. A brief history of the discovery of King Tuts tomb and the importance and beauty of certain pieces found in his tomb, will be discussed in this essay. King Tutankhamuns tomb was the prize that archaeologist Howard Carter sought out for in the Valley of the Kings. Carter was running out of time and also the Earl of Carnarvons patience. Disappointed for years by Carters discoveries, Carnarvon told Carter to not apply anymore for the renewal of his excavating concession. Only by his pleading and offers to pay the cost himself if nothing were found convinced Carnarvon to add one more excavating season. At the time, thirty-three tombs had been discovered, and thieves who had pillaged and destroyed them had already broken into all. Because of this, it was believed that the Valley burial ground held no more secrets. Carter disagreed and was more determined than ever to find the tomb. Eventually, three pieces of evidence discovered by Theodore M. Davis, and examined by H. E. Winlock, led Carter to believe that King Tuts tomb was yet to be found. The three artifacts were a faience cup bearing the pharaohs name, a small, mud-filled pit tomb containing pictures and inscriptions of King Tut and his wife, and the third was a collection of pottery jars, each sealed with King Tuts seal. Carter had a hypothesis that King Tuts tomb may be found in a small area in the Valley where archeologists had not yet dug into. It was a very strenuous job, considering the floor of the Valley was covered with tons of rock and sand, and all they had was manual labor. Soon enough though, a staircase was discovered followed by a door with its seals still intact. In 1922, Carter had indeed discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun! King Tut became pharaoh at the age of nine and ruled for nine years until his death at eighteen. The cause of his death is unknown. The period he ruled was that of economic prosperity and some religious confusion. The last part of his name was a sign of his familys devotion to the Aton, the Egyptian god of the sun. Peace was brought to Egypt during his reign as the worship of Amon, the Egyptians universal god, abandoned under Akhenaton, was restored and Thebes, the city sacred to Amon, was again made Egypt's capital. King Tut was not really an important pharaoh, but he is well known today because of his intact tomb and the fabulous treasures found within. King Tuts tomb contained many beautiful and elaborate pieces of artwork. Artwork varying from wood sculptures, gold statues, wall paintings, writing utensils, intricate pieces of jewelry, busts of the kings head, and many more were all discovered in his tomb. The sculptures illustrate how Egyptian sculptors represent the realistically poses and statures of the human body. Detail is another factor that is seen in all the artwork, whether it be a painted eye, a perfectly carved beetle (scarab), or the placement of different colored jewels in a necklace. I am astounded at how many items were found and how each one is entirely different from the next. Its amazing to know that Egyptians cared so much for their leaders to put so much time and effort into their artwork. One piece that stands out of all the treasures in King Tuts tomb is the bust of his head that is resting on what is said to be a lotus. The bust is carved in wood and overlaid with gesso (a mixture of plaster and glue for use as a surface for painting). The face represents King Tut as a child with disproportionate earlobes and it has an elongated skull. The bust depicts one of the most striking ancient Egyptian accounts

Service Failure and Customer Satisfaction

The Pathetic Mr. Ripley essays

The Pathetic Mr. Ripley essays The paper will deal with the gay image in the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley. The main aim of the paper is to show that the gays in the characterization of Tom Ripley is portrayed as pathetic and tragic in The Talented Mr. Ripley and this portrayal of gays is not limited to Tom Ripley in the movie. I have chosen to explain my point in several different sections which tie with each other. But before writing about the movie, I feel the need of writing about the queer theory, and the problems of representation of homosexuals on screen. The queer theory, is not only used by homosexuals, or gays, or queers but the name invention belongs to this group. Queer is an adjective in English and its meaning is 1. Being out of the usual course of events in minor respects; singular; odd. 2. Of questionable character; open to suspicion; mysterious. 3. Slang Counterfeit. n. Slang. 1 Counterfeit money... according to the Websters Comprehensive Dictionary. The use of queer attracts attention and the not so flattering meaning of the word is actually shown to public and by this the meaning is trying to be reversed. The queer culture is not limited to homosexual men and women. The word queer is now used to express wide range of images, books, films. Alexander Doty writes that: Certain feminist critics and theorists have also begun using the term queer to describe any non-normative expressions of gender by or about straight women (and, sometimes straight men) in film and popular culture production and representation. The queer theory is a live ground and it produces exiting results. Among the writers in this movement, the most appropriate one to our subject matter is Richard Dyer. Dyer has written many books and articles on gay representation. Some of his articles on gay representation is collected in The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations. From the twelv...

Superfoods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Superfoods - Essay Example One of the world healthiest food? Yes we are talking about almonds. Almonds definitely are listed as superfood too. These are full of vitamin E, copper, fiber, magnesium and phosphorus. Almonds act as a catalyst to boost up the functioning of brain. It provides double protection against diabetes and their healthy fats are very useful to lose weight also ensuring the lower risk of weight gain. Pistachio nuts are regarded as superfoods as they help you in losing the weigh due to their low cholesterol level and effective fibers. Talking about figures thirty pistachio nuts cause you only 100 calories. Most importantly they are tasty and addictive. Once you start eating pistachio nuts you can barely keep your hands off unless and until all you got on plate is their shells.Talking about superfoods how we can forget carrots? Carrots are the ultimate source of Vitamin A. This beautiful, crunch red vegetable comes with numerous advantages. â€Å"Carrots are good for eyes†, we’ve been listening this statement from our childhood and it is true. Carrots are perfect for good vision as Vitamin A is transported to retina thus providing instant pigmentation for good vision. Also carrots prevent from cancer and reduce the risk of other fatal disease by increasing the immune system. Even some components of carrots are being used to produce anticancer medicines. Carrots are also useful for anti-aging purposes. So all the above mentioned foods are superfoods which intake can ensure you a sound body with sound mind.

Dream employer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dream employer - Essay Example There are a few companies in the world that offer a good working environment or autonomy and opportunities as Microsoft Corporation; apart from an attractive pay package they also offer an incredible array of perks to their staff such as free and complete medical cover and gym membership. This essay will discuss reasons as to why working for Microsoft Corporation would be a dream comes true for me. Founded in 1975, Microsoft is today one of the IT giants in the world producing a huge percentage of the software that is used by millions worldwide especially the windows operating system and gaming devices such as XBOX (Schneider). Microsoft gives its employees considerable personal autonomy, in both matters of work and the working environment, thus employees will order their own supplies, customize their office and workspace as they see fit and schedule trips and meetings. Even when upper management or other groups make decisions for someone, they still have to take into consideration; ones interests, skills and abilities. While working for Microsoft, I would have the option of showing up to work when I want, and I could hire a decorator to do my office in my style of choice. Without someone else making my schedule for me, I believe I would be highly productive, because of not working under pressure thus being intrinsically motivated. Some companies imagine that employee development and education are undesirable for them since it exposes them to other skills and opportunities, which might make them quit and join other companies in posterity. However, Microsoft takes a radically different approach to the subject of personal employee development, it does not only supply a diverse variety of learning opportunities, but employees are expected to take advantage of them. In fact, one is even guided and directed in their choice of specialization in mid-year career discussions with personnel managers. After such discussions, the firm helps the employees get the experience required through training, shadowing an experienced professional or assigning those projects that will help them gain skills and experience. Indeed, management is so supportive to staff training and development that many of the employees especially new entrants are often spoilt for choice, as at least twenty days a year are spent on staff training. Working in such an environment, I would benefit a great deal since I am not only a quick learner but constantly thirsty for new knowledge. Thus, having an employer who not only encourages but also facilitates the acquisition of new knowledge and skills would epitomize the closest to a perfect job I can get. Microsoft’s compensations and benefits package are not only above the average for the IT industry, but also for the country as a whole since the firm pays more than most of the employers in America. Indeed, this might explain why they do not fear their employees gaining new skills since they do not fear losing them, since there are only few firms that could pay them more remuneration benefits than Microsoft. They also allow their staff to purchase shares of Microsoft at discounted prices, the firm has a team of financial advisors who help the employees develop their financial portfolio by making objective and informed decisions (Lee). Microsoft also shows a great deal of concern for the health of its employees as well as eligible

Is a Shared Services Model of Human Resources an Effective Way to Essay

Is a Shared Services Model of Human Resources an Effective Way to Deliver HR Services - Essay Example For many organizations, it takes much time and efforts to overcome resistance to change and than, start to implement "a shared services model". Another "con" of the approach is that some organizations do not need centralization of their activities. Very often employees are neglected during the development of "a shared services model", so they feel lack of motivation and lack of training which resulted in failure. "A shared services model" is not only a cost reduction method, but a new system of administration. In changing economic environment, "a shared services model" becomes one of the most widely spread business strategies. The main problem faced by the companies today is that, in some cases, implementation of '"a shared services model" fails. And instead of benefits and cost saving companies have to make additional spending to restore their strong position. The concept of shared services is not new. It was introduced by Ulrich in 1995, but recent years, this concept becomes "a buzz word" (Shared Services, 2005). The main mistake made by some companies is that "a shared services model" is treated as universal "panacea" for managing people and organisations as it is intimately involved with the environment in general. The issue of a "shared services model" is controversial, because it is impossible to develop a single problem solving approach for all types of organisations and management styles. In some cases, "a shared services model" shows a great potential for organisations to save costs and implement quality services. Unfortunately, there are many organisations unable to implement changes connected with and caused by a "shared services model" as well as unable to foresee limitations of this model for their performance. The preliminary research finds out that "a shared services model" has disadvantages and a negative impact on the successful implementation of quality services as organizational structure is often neglected in the operational change. So, the aim of the paper is to examine and analyze disadvantages of "a shared services model" and to determine the main factors of poor implementation of "a shared services model" which caused it to fail. It is important to note that this is not a completely new concept, because it embodies the principles of commercial partnerships. "Organizations in other industry sectors have been using shared service centers for a decade or more to achieve economies of scale and drive greater process consistency, especially in geographically or organizationally dispersed business units" (Harris, 2004). Literature Review In 1995, David Ulrich in his article "Shared services: from vogue to value" (published in Human Resource Planning) described the concept of a "shared services model". Nevertheless, a slogan "the user is the chooser" created by David Ulrich became the core of this model. In 1997, David Ulrich published a book "Human Resource Champion" giving theoretical background of the concept and practical advice for those who want to implement a "shared service model". The limitation of his study is that he does not pay much attention to possible limitations of this model. Another guru of "a shared service model", P. Reilly (2000), gives detailed overview of the concept in his work "HR shared services and the realignment of HR".