A Madmans Diary - 1217 Words

Introduction A Madman’s Diary is China s first modern short story. The author Lu Xun has been well respected and regarded as one of the most well-known political figures in China (Goldman 446-461). Lu Xun has been praised as the warrior against traditional culture and feudal system. Unique narrative structure A Madman’s Diary is very special in its narrative structure. Its setup is very different from the traditional narration in that it avoids the use of classical Chinese. Furthermore, the I narration is used in the story which makes it very effective to involve the readers in the scenes of the story. Lu Xun did not only open a new chapter in modern Chinese literature but also created a new style of narration. Lu†¦show more content†¦There are several symbolic narrations in the story. The symbolism of the story is allegorical (Hanan 68). In the preface, Lu Xun uses an ironic technique by narrated in classical Chinese in order to show a false and polite world made by cannibalistic feudal society. In the eyes of Lu Xun, the madman is the hero who plays a better role in the society because only the madman knows the truth and can rise in rebellion. The madman who is an innovative and reformed thought representative is a symbol of oppressive man-eati ng nature of the feudal system. Even though he tries his best to rise in rebellion, he fails every time. He is trapped in his own mind and can t help considering that he s in the danger of being eaten. The madman could not understand the conspiracy of eating him, so he was suspicious of everyone. When the madman recovers, he is not the hero anymore; also he joins others to be one of man-eaters. Here, Lu Xun s message is clear: The oppressed masses are eaters or the accomplices (Sun L. 464). Only the madman could find the truth of the eaters. However, other people including both the empowered and the oppressed fail to see the oppressive man-eating nature of the feudal system. In addition, the story implies that the society is ruled by the feudal system, and people of all the classes have to abide by the same feudal rules. Also, the story helps usShow MoreRelatedChinese Family Institution And Traditional Rule Feudal Ethical Are Original Source Of Destroying Chinese Individual Though t932 Words   |  4 Pages The second important characteristic that Lu Xun wants to transfer through â€Å"A Madman’s Diary† is that Chinese family institution and traditional rule feudal ethical are original source of destroying Chinese individual thought. In the eighth diary, it describes a conversation with madman and twenty years’ man, â€Å"I asked him: ‘Is it right to eat human beings?’ He replied: ‘when there is no famine how can one eat human beings?’ I realized once, he was one of them; but still I summoned up courage to repeatRead MoreLu Xun2285 Words   |  10 PagesLu Xun’s short story â€Å"Diary of a Madman† marks the birth of modernism in Chinese literature and is the earliest literature works written in modern vernacular Chinese during the May Fourth period. Modeled after Nikolay Gogol’s story with similar title, the story condemns the old traditional Confucian values that have long persisted in t he Chinese society; portrayed by the madman in the story that sees it as a ‘man-eating’ society. Lu Xun despises the idea of a society who adheres to the traditionRead MoreChina s Nationalism And Isolation From Western Society2751 Words   |  12 Pagesrealism with the â€Å"iron house metaphor in his short stories and in â€Å"A Madman’s Diary†, remain a collective consciousness urging for change. Lu Xun, a revolutionary Chinese author, rebelled by calling on the common people and intellectuals to break out of the stagnant, traditional society they have been living in. By exploring Lu Xun’s use of literary realism in the â€Å"iron house† metaphor and his short story, â€Å"A Madman’s Diary†, his desire for a collective consciousness to make an active change becomesRead MoreA Madman And New Year s Sacrifice1510 Words   |  7 PagesZedong to be ‘commander of China’s cultural revolution’ with reference to Lu Xun’s sophisticated and innovative stories illustrating the social unjust and inequality amongst the Chinese people. Thus, Lu Xun’s literature ranging from his short stories ‘Diary of A Madman’ and ‘New Year’s Sacrifice’ were seen as stepping-stones that empowered confidence amongst the Chinese people to convey their utmost intimate thoughts transforming a restless and backward traditional China into a expanding society that

A Force of Nature Imagination in the Poetry of Wallace...

â€Å"One function of the poet at any time is to discover by his own thought and feeling what seems to him to be poetry at that time† (The necessary vii). What Stevens is suggesting here is that a poet must find a particular voice among other voices –other poets– and that his voice will be significant only if it intends to be a contribution to the theory of poetry, in the sense that they â€Å"are disclosures of poetry, not disclosures of definitions of poetry† (Ibid). Precisely, the poetry of Wallace Stevens and John Ashbery are disclosures of poetry regarding imagination, for they deal with the capacity of the mind to transform external reality. Both poets take the reader through beautifully pictured strange landscapes and, by allowing the reader†¦show more content†¦However, in this essay, I understand poetic tradition precisely as the ability of the poet of being aware of his/her predecessors in order to create a poetics that takes into accoun t existing tradition, but imprints its own voice throughout time and fix it in the memory of poetry. In this essay, I will observe the way Stevens and Ashbery deal with imagination as a mayor theme of their poetic oeuvre. However, it is important to stress that in both cases I will address only general concerns about the role of imagination in poetry and that this essay is not an attempt to simplify the richness of the work of Wallace Stevens and John Ashbery, but rather an effort to understand the importance of the poetic tradition. I shall proceed in the following way. I shall first study three poems of Wallace Stevens, â€Å"The Snowman†, â€Å"The Idea of Order in Key West† and â€Å"Tattoo† in order to understand Stevens’ notion of the role of imagination in poetry. Finally, I shall compare Stevens’ notion with Ashbery’s idea of imagination, displayed in â€Å"The instruction manual† so as to observe resemblances and differences between each poetics of the imagination. 1. Wallace Stevens Let me evoke an image of identification: â€Å"One must have a mind of winter / To regard the frost and the boughs / Of the pine-trees crusted with snow† (Poemhunter Stevens). In the

Working at Mcdonalds Free Essays

Dillon mundy Mr. Varner Composition 1 11/4/21 â€Å"Working at McDonalds† Amitai Etzioni In the passage â€Å"Working at McDonalds† by Amitai Etzioni he starts off by stating that â€Å"McDonalds is bad for your kids†. He doesn’t feel this way because of the food, but instead of the mass production jobs they offer our youth. We will write a custom essay sample on Working at Mcdonalds or any similar topic only for you Order Now He says studies show two thirds of high school students have part time jobs in the food chain business, and McDonalds is the pioneer, trend-setter, and symbol. Amitai states that of course at first these jobs seem right, and may seem to bring up work driven, self-reliant youngsters, but what they really do is undermine school attendance and involvement, teach you few skills that are useful in life, and demean the values of teenagers. He thinks work should teach you the fruits of labor and self-discipline. He said that McDonalds has a job that is uneducational in several ways.He says it is far from providing opportunities for entrepreneurship, self-discipline, self-supervision, and self-scheduling. He feels most teenage jobs these days are what most social scientists call â€Å"highly routinized† which means that everything you do at the job is the same all the time, which offers no room for creativity or initiative. There are very few studies on if today’s jobs are turning our youth into assembly line robots, but one of the few is a study conducted by Ivan Charper and Bryan Shore Fraser in 1948.The study relied mainly on what youth wrote on a questionnaire rather than observations of fast food jobs. The study revealed that the jobs have nothing to offer skill wise. A 1980 study be V Harrel found that among students that worked 25 hours per week while in school their unemployment rate years later was half of that of the seniors who didn’t work. This goes to show that most kids that work in fast food while in school are usually stressed to drop out of school and get swallowed up in the fast food world.The studies conducted do show that they develop teamwork and working under supervision, however it must been seen that this learning is not exactly educational or wholesome and that it’s trying to teach us blind obedience. It shows that teens are more interested in the reward of money, and status, than credits in a calculus course. So parents should see that teen employment isn’t exactly educational though it does offer some things, but it can also be abused.I have to agree with Etzioni, I myself have worked in fast-food jobs and have gained nothing from them ex cept a quick dollar. He is very persuasive in this essay, and makes some really good points. I like when he talks about today’s jobs turning the youth into assembly line robots, I completely feel him on that, because the job is so repetitive you never do anything different. He really caught my attention with this essay. How to cite Working at Mcdonalds, Papers

Relationship B/W Knowledge Management - Organization Learning And HRM

Introduction In this competitive business environment where every business organization is trying to attract the customers of each other, it becomes essential for these organizations to remain competitive by innovating new ideas and thoughts, so that value added products and services can be provided to the customers. The motive of such organization in providing value added services to their customers, require their employees to be quite effective in creating value in all the products and services offered by the organization (Judy 2003, pp.1-12). The knowledge and the skills of the employees are quite crucial for the business organization to remain competitive in this complex business environment. As such, it is essential that the employees should be provided with sufficient training on all the new dimensions that the organization is eyeing to explore in the near future. In upgrading the knowledge and skills of the employees, the role of HR manager of the organization is quite important. The HR ma nager of the organization has to develop policies that are essential to motivate employees in contributing their maximum effort towards the achievement of the organizational objectives. Apart from the role of HR manager and the employees of the organization, it is quite essential that the organization should be flexible enough in adjusting itself to any type of changes as per the requirement of business environment. The learning of the organization regarding the major changes in the business environment is quite crucial for its success, as it will enable it to effectively process the important information which results into better interpretation of such information and ultimately provides a framework to respond effectively both inside and outside the organization (Smith, Araujo and Burgoyne 1999, pp.3). This essay is basically concerned with the identification of relationship between Knowledge Management, Organizational Learning and HRM of the organization. In order to explore the r elationship between all these important aspects of the organization, a case based on my real experience at work will be analyzed deeply. This will be helpful in identifying the role of knowledge management, importance of organizational learning and HRM in the achievement of organizational goal. My Incident I have been working with AlRajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia over a long period of time. All the operations in the bank were performed manually without having any problem. But the recent advancement in the field of technology has necessitated certain kind of changes to be brought in the bank for the effective performance of all the functions. The increasing competition from the other major banks has compelled the AlRajhi bank to bring changes in the organization. Further, the customers of the bank are also expecting better and faster services which could only be possible by implementing latest technology in operation. The major problem that the bank is facing in bringing changes in the organization is the resistance from existing employees including me as well. The major reason behind resistance from my side including other major employees of the organization is that we all had a fear of job loss from such technological change by the management of the bank. The fear that I would not be able to perform effectively in the job has been the main reason for my resistance against the change as desired by management. In order to make such change to happen, the bank has made considerable effort such as; they have given assurance to employees that no one will loose jobs because of such change. They have also given assurance that all the employees will be given requisite training so that all of us could be able to perform effectively in our jobs. The training would be helpful in acquiring sufficient knowledge regarding the way in which all the functions of the bank can be performed effectively. The training process started after a certain period of time and it was quite helpful for me in enhancing my skills and knowledge. The training was helpful enough for all the employees of the organization in performing their function in the manner expected from them by the organization. Relationship between Knowledge Management, Organization Learning and HRM Learning of organization, Knowledge management and HRM are the important concepts that have a major impact on the overall effectiveness of the organization. Creation of value for the customer is regarded as one of the most important criteria for the success of an organization. In the process of value creation, there are two types of organizational learning that can take place. This includes exploratory learning and exploitative learning. Exploratory learning implies acquiring knowledge for the purpose of creating value for the customers which does not exist within the organization, whereas exploitative learning implies creating value for the customers by deepening existing knowledge. Both types of learning have different benefits and costs associated with them (KANG, MORRIS and SNELL 2007, pp.236-256). Organizations do not learn by themselves, rather they provide requisite environment to the employees who in turn perform as per the laid down structure in order to achieve organization al objective. In case of my incident at AlRajhi bank, all the employees have been provided with requisite structure in order to perform effectively. In addition to that, with the changing environment, AlRajhi bank has also identified that it needs to bring change within the organization so as to compete effectively with the competitors. Knowledge Management is another important concept that has vital importance for an organization to succeed. Knowledge management implies acquiring new knowledge that can be utilized for the overall benefit of the organization. The competitive business environment requires organizations to bring innovation in the product and services offered by them to their customers. It could only be possible by having knowledgeable employees in the organization. In this competitive scenario,knowledge is regarded as a source of competitive advantage (Nonanka 2007). Knowledge creation is essential for the creation of new products and services and the organization should also know the extent of knowledge of its employees, so that it can be utilized for the purpose of achieving competitive advantage. There are various ways through which knowledge can be increased and transferred to the overall good of the organization. One such way is to hire smart people and allow informal communication between them. Another such way is to provide them training on the necessary aspects that the organization think it to be essential for the employees to perform their functions effectively. In my case of AlRajhi bank, the bank also did the same thing with its employees. When it realizes that working on new technology would be a difficult task for its employees, it has decided to impart training to its employees so that they can effectively handle such technological change by enhancing their knowledge. An effective learning would ensure superior performance of the employee within the organization (Senge 1990). The HRM of the organization has an important role to play in the overall improvement of the employees knowledge. It is the HR manager that has the responsibility to recruit people that have the potential perform effectively. The strategies of the HR manager should be in co ordination with the organizational objective. This would ensure maximum possibility of the attainment of organizational o bjective, as the employees would be most aware of what is expected from them in the organization and try to perform accordingly. Thus the strategy as formulated by the HR manager determines the possibility of organizational success. HRM is an important function as it facilitates the learning for an individual in organization. As in case of AlRajhi bank, it is the HR of the organization that has organized the training of all the employees, so that they could be able to perform their roles effectively. This implies that the function of HRM is quite essential for the creation of knowledge that ultimately helps the organization in achieving its desired objectives. The relationship that exists between the organizational learning, knowledge management and HRM is positive as the organization assesses the change that is essential as per the changing environment and the HRM of the organization facilitates the employees with requisite knowledge that is essential for them in effectively handling the changing business environment. The relationship between HRM and organizational learning has also been proved by various studies in the past. It has been assessed by such studies that the HRM facilitates relational archetypes that provide support to organizational learning in achieving continuous growth (KANG, MORRIS and SNELL 2007, pp. 236-256). Conclusion Organizational learning, Knowledge management and HRM are the interrelated concepts as they all contribute towards the achievement of organizational goal. Organizations learn from the environment and adapt themselves quickly to such changing environment. This requires the HRM to frame policies that helps in knowledge creation within the organization and enables the employees to perform their functions in the most effective manner. The policies of the HRM should be in coordination with that of the organizational objective to attain the maximum possible benefits. From this discussion, it can be concluded that the all the function are interrelated to each other and are essential to be perform in a manner that helps in the attainment of the ultimate objective of the organization.