A Humorous Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A Humorous Experience - Essay Example The place was essentially a ghost town, which made this the perfect setting for the following story, which is a little bit scary for someone who is in a foreign country by oneself, off on her own, doing her own thing-and unfortunately not being smart enough to stay with the group. Let me preface this by saying that originally, what happened was not a very humorous experience. Getting lost in a foreign country is not fun. I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach for most of the experience because I was terrified of being left behind by my group in France. Running around not knowing where you're going is not fun. Knowing that you've made mistakes is not fun. Having that 'lost' feeling is not fun. Having to ask strangers for directions is not fun. Looking back, however, it seems very funny. First, I will tell it how the story happened. There were a group of about thirty of us-about half of us were American high school students, and the other half were Spanish high school host students. We were eating lunch on the beach that we had brought from home, and I told the group (I'm paraphrasing here), "Yeah, well, I'm going to head off now by myself." I told them this in no uncertain terms. No one seemed to think this odd. After all, Biarritz was a little town; it wasn't very large; how could I get lost I must preface this story... Seven Streets is basically is a shopping district of seven streets horizontally lined up next to each other. I had run out of money, which was back then the Spanish peseta and not yet the Euro. I had to ask the people at the store to hold the postcards for me while I ran to the local bank on Siete Calles. When I got to the bank, somehow I was able to jump the line. I don't know if it was because they were feeling sorry for my plight of being in a terrible hurry or what it was, but I asked some elderly Spanish ladies to translate for me so I could get some Spanish pesetas quickly, in order to get back to the store in order to pay for the postcards faster. Meanwhile, I was late in getting back to our meeting place at the church in the center of town and everyone feared the worst for me since I had not gotten back on time-when in reality I was just buying about 100 or so postcards that were on sale! I promised not to be late again and that was that. Well, little did I know that I would again find myself in another pickle. This time was really not much different. After I had told the Spanish students "So long" at lunch and had gone along on my merry way, I found myself going to various stores in Biarritz, because really this place was quite interesting. They had all sorts of different knick-knacks that were fun to look at, and it really was quite a charming little town. It was the kind of place you could get lost in. That was the key word. The kind of town you could get lost in. Unfortunately, I was going to be one of those people in a few minutes. I found myself finally at a French confectionary and candy store investigating all the different kinds of sweets that this particular place

COMPARISON of The great Gatsby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

COMPARISON of The great Gatsby - Essay Example Examples of movies that can guide one to make comparisons are old Great Gatsby (1974) versus new Great Gatsby (2013) and Double Indemnity (1944) and Body Heat (1981). To start with, the theme of the movie Great Gatsby is an adaptation of the novel entitled Great Gatsby written by Fitzgerald. In the novel, the writer focused on the lives of the materials excess that rich people from Long Island in New York enjoyed in 1922. Carraway is a young man in the novel who narrates his story about his life in New York amidst rich people from Long Island. The 1974 Great Gatsby movie adaptation takes very many scenes that caraway describes in the novel and allows the scenes to unfold directly to the viewers. However, it has expanded on some scenes such as love affairs and the director have shot them with adequate backlighting and starburst effects. The witness storyteller in the novel could not have seen these events and hence making them more than just stylistic issues in the movie. On the other hand, the 2013 Lurhmann’s Great Gatsby movie has completely fabricated the story in the novel. ... The old Great Gatsby film is deliberately slow with a bordering soundtrack similar to that in horror movies, but it tries to confine into that time accurately using music and clothing fashions popular during that period. The new Great Gatsby film is an eye candy montage that has better quality that the old version with a blend of music and the theme of the twenty first century. The parties that Gatsby threw to lure daisy in the narrative could be likely to be similar of 1974 parties than 2013 parties hence the older movies depicts a clearer picture of the narrative than the new film. Additionally, the 1974 Great Gatsby film has a more mature tone than the 2013 Great Gatsby film as the characters representing Gatsby and Daisy in the movie seem to be older than the same characters in the novel. According to Lindsay (Para. 1-4), the new film has a much younger faces of Daisy and Gatsby, which gives a closer look of the similar characters as described in the narrative in terms of age. Ca rraway in the movie of 1974 has a fresher feel of the character in the novel than the person taking the same role in the 2013 production. Dern effectively demonstrated the character of Tom in the narrative but Joel has a better description of Tom’s physicality in the novel than Dern in the old production. Despite the differences, there some visible similarities between the two films with the new version of production viewed as an adaptation of the old production more than an independent adaptation of the novel. Sheppard (Para. 8-9) states that, one of the chief similarities is the picture of the society living between Manhattan and Long Island illustrate in the two films. Moreover, the two film productions have inserted

Relationship Between Self Confidence Academic Performance

Relationship Between Self Confidence Academic Performance RESEARCH PROPOSAL Title: The Relationship between Students’ Self Confidence and Learning Achievements in Descriptive Writing of the Tenth Grade of SMAN 41 Jakarta, 2013/2014 Academic Year. The Background of The Research Language is a medium used by people to communicate with others. Lock states that language is a medium of human to communicate that including of words either spoken or written.[1] Through the language, people can easily share their ideas, opinions, and feelings to others, either in spoken or written expression. English is the language that is used by almost people in the world. Rose assumed that international experts calculated that about 400 million people use English as a second language.[2] Therefore, English is the most dominant language used by people in the world. In Indonesia, one of the goals in teaching English is developing students’ communication skill by using English covering four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These four language skills have to be mastered by the students. In other words, learning English is aimed to make students to be able to use English in communication. Among the four skills, writing is viewed as the most difficult skill to be learned. According to Gorrel and Laird, â€Å"Writing requires thinking, and thinking is always complicated and hard.†[3] Therefore, it is clear that writing needs hard thinking in producing words, sentences, paragraphs and arranging them into a good sequence. In fact, the difficulties of writing also happened when the writer was doing training (PPL) in 41 Senior High School Jakarta. There are some factors that make writing becomes difficult for students. The psychology of the students can also influence the result of their learning achievement in writing. From the explanation above, the writer is interested in doing research to analyze the relationship between students’ self-confidence and learning achievements in descriptive writing of the tenth grade of SMAN 41 Jakarta. Therefore, the result of the research can be informed to the teacher as references in his/her teaching, what should be done in the future. The Scope of the Research In this research, the writer limits the analysis into the relationship between self-confidence and learning achievement’s students in writing especially in descriptive writing. The writer wants to make the questioner and written task form at tenth grade students of SMAN 41 Jakarta. The Problem of the Research Based on the explanation above, the writer formulates the problem as follows â€Å"Is there any significant relationship between students’ self-confidence and learning achievement in descriptive writing of the tenth grade of SMAN 41 Jakarta?† The Objective of the Research The objectives of this research is to find out the empirical data weather there is the significant relationship between students’ self-confidence and learning achievement in descriptive writing of the tenth grade of SMAN 41 Jakarta. Theoretical Framework Self-Confidence The Understanding of Self-Confidence Self-confidence is important for everyone, especially for students. According to Rakhmat, self-confidence is belief about ability himself/herself.[4] The key terms are belief, and himself/herself. Belief means the person has a faith about their ability. Himself/herself means being independent. It means self-confidence is something that is owned by people, and it makes them to believe their own ability. Rodgers in Koswara added self-confidence is the ability to make decisions and judgments without depending on others (independent).[5] The key terms is without depending on others. It means self-confidence is able to make decisions by their own selves. Hakim states, â€Å"Kepercayaan diri adalah suatu keyakinan seseorang terhadap segala aspek kelebihan yang dimilikinya dan keyakinan tersebut membuatnya merasa mampu untuk bisa mencapai berbagai tujuan di dalam hidupnya.†[6] In other words self-confidence is someone’s belief about all aspects that owned by themselves, and that belief makes them for being able to achieve something in their live. The key term is someone’s belief. Someone’s belief refers to someone who believes about their knowledge which then makes them to feel like they can do anything. It can be inferred that self-confidence is something that has someone about their competence which then makes them to feel like they can do anything. From those statements above, it can be concluded that self-confidence is something that someone has already had, and it seems like they can do anything while they have it without relying on others. The Characteristics of Self-Confidence Fatimah suggests some characteristics of self-confidence, there are:[7] Believe in the ability or competence of self, then not need praise, recognition, acceptance or respect from others. Not to be motivated to show the conformist attitude in order to be accepted by others. Dare to accept and face the rejection of others, dare to be yourself. Have a good self-control. Have a positive outlook about themselves, other people, and situations outside of them. Have a realistic expectations of themselves, so that when the expectations was realized, they were still able to see the positive side of themselves and the situation. Moreover, the characteristics of individuals who have self-confidence according to Hakim, they are:[8] Poised in doing something. Have the potential and ability of adequate. Be able to neutralize the tensions that arise in certain situations. Be able to adapt and communicate. Have the mental and physical condition of supporting the appearance. Have the sufficient intelligence. Have the sufficient level of formal education. Have the skills and other skills that support the life. Have the ability to socialize. Have the background of good family education. Have the life experience that forges mental and tenacity on variety of situations. Have the positive attitude in the face of problems. From those characteristics above, the students or individuals that have self-confidence are believe in the competence of self, dare to be yourself, have a good self-control, poised in doing something, be able to adapt and communicate, have the sufficient intelligence, have the ability to socialize, and have the positive attitude in the face of problems. Learning Achievement The Understanding of Learning According to Arthur in Syaiful defines that learning is a modification of behavior through experience and training.[9] The key term is modification of behavior. It means learning is a process that can change the behavior of someone through training and practicing. The second statement from Brown, â€Å"learning is acquiring or getting of knowledge of a subject or a skill by study, experience, or instruction[10]†. It means learning is a process to get the knowledge by someone through study, experience, or instruction. The third definition comes from Good and Brophy in Purwanto, â€Å"Learning is the development of new associations as a result of experience.†[11] The key words are the development, and result of experience. The development refers to the process of the increasing knowledge from not knowing anything to know anything. Result of experience refers to something that the students face when they get the knowledge while they receive it. It can be inferred that learning is the process of getting the new knowledge when they study. From those definitions above, it can be concluded that learning is a process to get the knowledge or skill by studying or practicing. Moreover, it can change someone’s behavior. The Understanding of Achievement Soeito stated that achievement can be formulated as a relatively change of behavior as a result of experience in the past.[12] The key term is change of behavior. Change of behavior means the behavior of someone to be better. It can be summarized that achievement is something that can make the behavior of someone to be better as a result of their experienced. Travers added that achievement is the result of what an individual has learned from some educational experiences.[13] The key term is the result. The result means something which has been reached as an efforts. It can be summarized that achievement is something which has been reached as an efforts. Djamarah defined that achievement is the result of an activity that has been done, created, either individually or in a group.[14] The key term is has been done. Has been done means after the learning process. It can be inferred that achievement is the good result of an activity that has already done after the learning process by someone or in a group. From those definition above the writer concluded that achievement is something that individual earned after giving effort during the activity and it can also change the individual’s behavior. The Understanding of Learning Achievement By determining the previous description about learning and achievement. The writer concludes that learning achievement is something that individual earned after giving effort during the learning process, and it can also change the individual’s behavior. Writing The Understanding of Writing Writing is one kind of media that is used to communicate which is visible. Abrams states, â€Å"Writing is a visual form of communication, either printed in hard-copy or in electronic form.†[15] The key term is visual form; it means the writing is something that can be seen by the reader. Gould states, â€Å"†¦writing is not speech; it is careful arrangement of words on a page which has its own idioms and format and does not transcribe the informalities of speech performance.† The key terms are on a page, and format. On a page means the ideas that laid on a surface of paper. Format means the rules in writing. Therefore, it means writing are ideas that put on a page of paper which has the rules in writing. From two definitions above, it can be inferred from the first statement that writing is something which visible to the reader. While the second statement from Gould completes the first statement, writing is not speech which is arrangement of words on a page of paper that has the rules in making writing. The third statement comes from Yule; he states that â€Å"†¦writing as the symbolic representation of language through the use of graphic signs.†[16] The key terms are symbolic representation, and graphic signs. Symbolic representation means symbols which has the meaning. Graphic signs means the writing that made by people on a papers or any surface. It means writing is one of kinds of media which translated into meaningful symbol or letters on papers or any surface can be written upon. From the statements above, the writer concluded that the writing is ideas whose forms are using symbols. They are put on a page of paper that can be seen and have clear formats. Types of Writing According to Wishon and Burks there are four types of writing; there are Narration, Description, Expository, and Argumentation. Narration Narration is the form of writing used to relate the story of acts or events. Narration places occurrences in time and tells what happened according to natural time sequence. Types of narration include novels, short stories and news stories, as well as a large part of our everyday social interchange in the form of letters and conversation. Description Description reproduces the way things look, smell, taste, feel, or sound; it is may also evoke mood, such as happiness, loneliness or fear. It is used to visual image of people, places, even of units of time-days, times of day of the seasons. It may be used also to describe more than the outward appearance of people. It may tell about their traits character or personality. Exposition Exposition is used in giving information, making explanation, and interpreting meanings. It includes editorials, essays, informative and instructional material. Used in combination with narrative, exposition supports and illustrates. Used apart of narrative, it stands alone as an essay. Used alone or with narrative, exposition may be developed in a number of ways. Argumentation Argumentation is used in persuading and convincing. It is closely related to exposition and is often found combined with it. Argumentation is used to make a case or to prove or disapprove a statement of proposition.[17] From those types, the writer would focus on descriptive writing. Descriptive Writing The Understanding of Description Oshima and Hogue stated, â€Å"Descriptive writing appeals to the senses, so it tells how something looks, feels, smells, tastes, and/or sound.†[18] The key words are tells something looks, feels, smells, tastes, and sound. It means telling the readers about the characteristics and physical appearances of something. In other words, descriptive writing is telling the readers about something in particular by mentioning the characteristic and physical appearance. Similar with Oshima and Hogue, Wishon states, â€Å"Description gives sense impressions the feel, sound, taste, smell, and look of things.†[19] The key terms are gives impressions the feel, sound, taste, smell, and look of things. It means description telling the impressions of how something looks like. In other words description is describing of how something looks like. Trimmer assumed, â€Å"Description is a strategy for presenting a verbal portrait of person, place, or thing.†[20] The key terms are presenting a person, place, and thing. It means description is a composition that presents about person, place, or thing to others people. It can be inferred that writing is presenting about person, place, and thing. From those definitions above, the writer concluded that description is a way to describe the person, place, and thing about their physical appearances and characteristics that can be looked, felt, smelled, sound, and tasted. The Generic Structure Of Description According to Doddy et al, the generic structures of description are: Identification: Identifies phenomenon to describe. It means in this paragraph to describe about physical appearances. Description: Describe parts, qualities, characters. It means in this paragraph to describe about characteristic of the object and the detail information.[21] Research Methodology The Time and Location of the Research The research will be conducted in SMAN 41 Jakarta, 2013/2014 Academic Year on ________ 2014. The Population and Sample of the Research The population respondents will be taken from the students in tenth grade at SMAN 41 Jakarta, 2013 / 2014 Academic Year. The writer will take 60 students from two classes at SMAN 41 Jakarta which is chosen randomly. The Method of the Research The method of the research is a correlation method. To know the significant relationship between students’ self-confidence and learning achievements in descriptive writing of the tenth grade of SMAN 41 Jakarta. The Variable of the Research There are two variables of the research, they are: Independent variable (X): Self-confidence. Dependent variable (Y): Learning achievement in descriptive writing of the tenth grade of SMAN 41 Jakarta. The Instrument of the Research In this research, the writer will use a questioner to know the students’ self-confidence. Then, the writer will ask to the students to make the descriptive writing. The Technique of Data Analysis The data analysis of this research, the writer uses the quantitative research method; the writer processes and analyzes the data by using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. The formulas as follows:[22] Notes: r: Pearson r (the coefficient of correlation). N: Population. X: the individual scores get from the writing task. Y: the individual scores get from the equivalent task. ∑X: total scores get from the writing task. ∑Y: total scores get from the equivalent task. ∑XY: total scores of X multiplied by Y. ∑X2: total scores of quadrate X. ∑Y2: total scores of quadrate Y. The Procedure of the Research In this research, the writer will be done steps in doing the research: Asking for permission to the chief of English Department in HAMKA University to do the research. Asking for permission letter to the HAMKA University to be given to SMAN 41 Jakarta. Asking for permission to the headmaster and the English teacher of SMAN 41 Jakarta to do research. Arranging the time to do research. Preparing the questioner of self-confidence and writing task for instrument of testing writing. Asking the students to answer the questioner and make the descriptive writing. Collecting the data. Analyzing the data. Making conclusion of the research Making a report of the research result. Bibliography Abrams, Zsuzsanna. http://coerll.utexas.edu/methods/modules/writing/01/, viewed on January 3, 2014 Azar , Betty Schrampfer. 1989. Understanding and Using English Grammar (Guide for Correcting Writing Error).New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Brown, H. Douglas. 2000. Principle of Language Learning and Teaching 4. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. _______. 2000. Principle of Language Learning and Teaching: Fifth Edition.. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Djamarah. 1994. Prestasi Belajar dan Kompetensi Guru. (Surabaya: Usaha Nasional. Doddy, Achmad. et al. 2008. Developing English Competencies: For Senior High School (SMA/MA) Grade X. Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional. Fatimah. 2006. Psikologi Perkembangan: Perkembangan Peserta Didik. Bandung: Pustaka Setia. Gorrel, Robert M. and Charlton Laird. 1962. Modern English Hand Book. New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs N.J Hakim , Thursan. 2002. Mengatasi Rasa Tidak Percaya Diri. Jakarta : Purwa Suara. Koswara. 1989. Teori Motivasi dan Penelitiannya. Bandung: PT Angkasa. Lock, Graham. 1997. Functional English Grammar; An Introduction for Second Language Teacher. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Oshima, Alice and Ann Hogue. 1997. Introduction to Academic Writing: Second Edition. New York: Longman. Purwanto, M. Ngalim. 1996. Psikologi Perkembangan. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya. Rakhmat. 2008. Psikologi Komunikasi: edisi revisi. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya. Rose, Richard. The Internet Goes EFL (English as a Second Language), retrieved 30 May 2013. From www.cspp.strath.ac.uk/InetBrooking.pdf Sagala , Syaiful. 2003. Konsep dan Makna Pembelajaran. Bandung: PT Alfabeta. Soeito. 1974. Psikologi Pendidikan. Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. Sumarsono, Sigit. 2013. Statistika Terapan: Dengan Alur Penelitian Pendidikan Bahasa. Jakarta: UHAMKA. Travers, John P. 1970. Fundamentals of Educational Psychology. Scrantom, Pensylvania: International Textbook Company. Wishon, George E. and Julia M. Burks. 1968. Let’s Write English: Complete Book. New York: Litton Educational Publishing Yule, George. 2010. The Study of Language: Fourth Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press. [1] Graham Lock. Functional English Grammar; An Introduction for Second Language Teacher.(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1997), p. 219 [2] Richard Rose. The Internet Goes EFL (English as a Second Language), retrieved 30 May 2013. From www.cspp.strath.ac.uk/InetBrooking.pdf [3] Robert M. Gorrel and Charlton Laird, Modern English Hand Book, (New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs N.J, 1962), p. 1 [4] Rakhmat, Psikologi Komunikasi, edisi revisi, (Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya, 2008), P.46 [5] Koswara, E, Teori Motivasi dan Penelitiannya, (Bandung: PT Angkasa, 1989), P. 23 [6] Thursan, Hakim, Mengatasi Rasa Tidak Percaya Diri, (Jakarta : Purwa Suara, 2002), P.6 [7] Fatimah, Psikologi Perkembangan: Perkembangan Peserta Didik, (Bandung: Pustaka Setia, 2006), P. 42 [8] Hakim, Op. Cit., P.20 [9] Syaiful Sagala, Konsep dan Makna Pembelajaran, (Bandung: PT Alfabeta, 2003), P. 12 [10] H. Douglas Brown, Principle of Language Learning and Teaching: fifth edition, (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000), P.7 [11] M. Ngalim Purwanto, Psikologi Perkembangan, (Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya, 1996), P. 85 [12] Soeito, Psikologi Pendidikan, (Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1974), P.5 [13] Travers, John P, Fundamentals of Educational Psychology, (Scrantom, Pensylvania: International Textbook Company, 1970), P.447 [14] Djamarah, Prestasi Belajar dan Kompetensi Guru, (Surabaya: Usaha Nasional, 1994), P.19 [15] Zsuzsanna Abrams,http://coerll.utexas.edu/methods/modules/writing/01/, viewed on January 3, 2014 [16] George Yule, The Study of Language: Fourth Edition, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 212 [17] George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, Let’s Write English: Complete Book, (New York: Litton Educational Publishing, 1968), pp. 321-377 [18] Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Introduction to Academic Writing: Second Edition, (New York: Longman, 1997) P.50 [19] George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, Op. Cit., P.322 [20] Trimmer/Sommers, Writing With a Purpose: Mc Crimmon Short Edition, (†¦.. [21] Achmad Doddy et al, Developing English Competencies: For Senior High School (SMA/MA) Grade X. (Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2008) P. 128 [22] Sigit sumarsono, Statistika Terapan: Dengan Alur Penelitian Pendidikan Bahasa, (Jakarta: UHAMKA, 2013), P.114

Orientalism :: essays papers

Orientalism "Two great themes dominate his remarks here and in what will follow: Knowledge and power, the Baconian theme. As Blafour justifies the necessity for British occupation of Egypt, supremacy in his mind is associated with "our" knowledge of Egypt and not principally with military or economic power." He describes the desire for knowledge about the orient as being spawned from the desire to colonialise effectively not to decipher the complex nature of a society which is inherently different, thus bound to do things a little differently. By comprehending the Orient, the West justified a position of ownership. The Orient became the subject, the seen, the observed, the studied; Orientalist philosophers were the apprentices, the overseers, the observers. The Orient was quiescent; the West was dynamic. This is a rather unfortunate position both for the West and the 'Orient'. The students used their position of perceived understanding to further compel 'Oriental' people into subservience while simultaneously justifying their actions. They protected their conscience by convincing themselves that the 'Orient' was incapable of running itself, thus their territory must be administered for them. "It dose not occur to Balfour to let the Egyptian speak for himself, since presumably any Egyptian who would speak out is more likely to be the "agitator [who] wishes to raise difficulties" Said makes some vivid, passionate and striking points however, he seems to be lacking of a little objectivity. The general tone of his book "Orientalism" depicts western Orientalists as persistently reinventing the near and Middle East in self-serving, eurocentric terms; as seen through Western eyes, "the Orient" emerges as a passive, backward world, monolithic in nature and exotic in its alienism, a realm ideally created to sustain the West's daydream of supremacy. Said brutally charges Western scholars for perpetuating the notion that the Orient should not be taken seriously but rather be seen as a subject of study. It is in this line that Said builds his argument. Totally oblivious to the fact that the sheer passion in his discourse may be equated to favouritism by readers. He makes many hard hitting and vivid points, but the repetitive hammering on the same point posses the ability to transform a great piece of work into an opus which skates around a diluted form of reverse racism. As progress is made through "Orientalism" several instances are depicted which provoke negative attitudes from the reader: "The European is a close reasoner; his statements of fact are devoid of any ambiguity; he is a natural logician, albeit he may not have studied logic; he is by nature very sceptical and requires proof before he can accept any proposition.

How far was the failure of the general strike due to the actions of the conservative government? Essay

The general strike of May 1926 was not a success for those attempting to force the government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for coal miners. Had the TUC been more prepared to strike and followed through with what the miners wanted them to do, the government would have been faced with a much tougher challenge. Despite this, even if the conservative government were faced with a tougher challenge, the preparations and subsequence actions taken by them were more than enough and the main reason for the failure of the strike. Firstly the failure of the strike was due to the conservatives because Baldwin and his government holding emergency powers under the ‘Emergency Powers Act’, which enabled them to set up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies. This organised 100,000 volunteers to be drafted in to help troops by moving essential supplies such as coal from place to place in Britain. Transport services were also kept going by the volunteers meaning that for most people, life was as it was before the strike started. As a result of this, the impact of the strike was not felt with the devastating effect to Britain that it could well have had but more importantly it kept people happy, which ensured that the government always had the sense of being in control. Baldwin and his government were able to appease the miners by offering them a subsidy in their wages for nine months. These nine months gave the government time to set up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies and prepare for the strike which Baldwin was anticipating. The subsidy also created time for situation on wages to slightly calm down Generally it can be said that the conservative government had prepared well for the strike and thus as a result had full control over the situation. They had stockpiled resources, 250,000 special constables were put on hold to be used against strikers and local authorities were told to not give poor relief to strikers. Law and order was maintained almost all the time throughout the strike and violence was kept to a minimum and was well contained when it did break out. Baldwin and his government seemed patriotic which appealed more than the militancy of the strikers, and resisted the more extreme measures proposed by Churchill by turning down the need of the army to control. By doing this, he put faith in the British public, angered few people and thus had control of the situation. Indeed, the Prime Minister Baldwin spoke regularly on radio, and brought up the notion that the strike was a threat to the British constitution and challenged the government. Especially with the unrest that was being seen around Europe, most people in Britain did not want to see the constitution to be threatened. Vitally, several members of the TUC became worried about this and therefore there was a lack in confidence in the strike and it was not carried through with as much courage that it might otherwise have. As well as this the government referred to the strike as a ‘General Strike’ to create a sense the unions trying to undermine the democratically elected government. They presented the strike as the majority of the population of Britain being undermined by 4,000,000 union members. This didn’t appeal to most people and so they decided to not take part in the strike meaning it wasn’t effective and thus it failed because of the government acting to gain the population on their side by using the idea that the countries democracy was under threat. Despite the actions that the conservative government took, played the main part in ensuring the strike was a failure, there were also other reasons to why it did not succeed. Most importantly the TUC were not well prepared to strike and when they did, the 90 unions that took part were not fully committed to it. This made life for the government a lot easier than it could well have been if the strike had been that had they all wanted to strike. From the beginning of the strike there was a distinct lack of communication between the TUC and the local striking committees. On occasion such as at Swansea, the messages were so vague and contradictory that the strikers thought that the government were intervening with the messages. There was a lot of confusion during the 9 days and as it wore on the TUC knew that there was a strong chance that they would lose all control. As a result it was almost inevitable that with all the confusion, the strike would fail. The lack of unions that actually took part in the strike also contributed to its failure to both have an impact and to live up to its name as being a ‘General Strike’. The printers, gas and electricity, transport and railway workers were only some of a limited number of unions that went on strike. This meant that the strike could not have its effect that it was meant to. The fact that the general public didn’t give their support to the strike meant that there was a feeling around the country that what the strikers were doing was pointless. Indeed the way in which the TUC didn’t want to be seen in a violent way also meant that they did not want to be seen as revolutionaries so went into the strike half heartedly and thus it failed. The labour party and the trade unions had a very close relationship with each other. The trade unions had helped to fund the party. However during the lead up to the strike, the Labour party, led by Ramsey MacDonald, made it clear that they were not supportive of the strike. The relationship between the unions and Labour was especially important to the TUC and they did not want to break the relationship by striking. This meant that they reluctantly went in to strike and therefore the strike did not have the effect that the TUC would have otherwise wanted it to. The blame can also be put on the daily mail workers who went on strike. Despite the TUC not doing it, they were blamed for it and the negotiations with the government were brought to an end. As well as making it an uphill battle for the TUC. From then on the TUC knew that the longer the strike went on, the worse chance they had of winning and thus it failed In conclusion whilst the fact that the TUC were very badly prepared for the strike and were caught off guard by the Daily Mail workers, the government played the main part in ensuring that the strike didn’t spiral out of control by being well prepared. Even if the TUC had been more radical with the strike, it is clear that the government were more than well prepared to deal with violence because of the special constables that they had and the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies that was ready to step in as volunteers. As a result of the thorough preparation done by Baldwin and his conservative government, the strike was a failure. The TUC didn’t want to be seen in a violent manner so therefore View as multi-pages Topics in this document General strike, Labour Party, Lockout, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,

Cornbread

Cornbread is a quick bread made from some type of cornmeal. There are many varieties of cornbread but all contain cornmeal and are quick breads, meaning, they are not leavened by yeast as traditional loaves. Cornbread is uniquely a product of the United States, as corn was used in North American cooking long before Europeans arrived on the continent. However, in Italy, the corn-based mush known as polenta is sometimes prepared into a fried form resembling cornbread. Although the ingredients remain the same, cornbread varies from one region to another.Cornbread was originated from Native Americans who grew corn and were well aware of its versatility and used it for breads, porridges and cakes. Once the first European settlers began to arrive to the new found land the Native Americans did not hesistate to share their knowledge and corn soon became a highly important food, long before wheat was established in the New World. The first breads settlers made with corn meal were baked in ope n hearths, sometimes on planks or other implements, and often called â€Å"ash cake. As cooking methods improved, settlers started using their sturdy cast-iron skillets to bake the breads, known by such names as journey-cake, johnny cake, hoe-cakes, dodgers, spoon bread and a variety of other appellations (Jeremy, Jackson 2003). the fact that cornbread keeps well and does not need to rise gave it a great advantage amongst other favorite foods of the early America. This was a big plus in progressive cooking. Deviations on the recipe developed rapidly, as did the consuming of cornbread, depending on what the cook had on hand that day.It also became very popular amongst both sides Civil War. When could cooked properly, it was a favorite dish. However, when supplies became scarce and the soldiers had to fend for themselves, they created â€Å"ramrod† cornbread. †(Betty Fussell, 1992) This was their ration of cornmeal, mixed with water and salt. The thick, pasty batter was then wrapped around the rifle ramrods in a spiral and cooked over their fires. It was tasteless and hard, but it served its purpose. Cornbread was an essential item and enjoyed by many people for its texture and scent.Cornbread can be fried, baked or, rarely, steamed but can be mushy, chewier and more like cornmeal pudding at times. The most common variety, however is , skillet-baked cornbread and is a traditional cuisine in the United States. In the rural Southern States heating bacon fat, lard or other oil in a heavy, well-seasoned cast iron skillet in an oven, and then pouring a batter made from cornmeal, egg and buttermilk directly into the hot grease was somewhat of a signiture in the south. The mixture is then put back in the oven to bake.The end product is usually crumbly and moist with a crunchy crust. This bread is dense, meant more as a supplement than as bread meant to be eaten alone. In addition to the skillet method, such cornbread can also be made in loaves, sticks or muffins. In some parts of the South it is crumbled into a glass of cold buttermilk and eaten with a spoon and is often served with homemade butter (Jeremy, Jackson). Johnny cakes, a deviation type of cornbread, is widespread in New England, American Midwest, American South and particularly in Rhode Island.Johnny cakes are made by pouring a batter similar to that of skillet-fried or baked cornbread, but somewhat thinner, into a skillet on the stove with hot grease. This will give and end product similar to a pancake, but still having bread qualities. The derivation of the name is unclear. Some say it may have come from ‘journey cake,’ since it was easily prepared by travelers. It has been claimed that the origin of this term is related to the Northern slang for Southern soldiers during the American Civil war, ‘Johnny Reb,’ but this claim is inconsistent with the fact that the term was in use during the 18th century† (What is Cornbread? 2008).Corn pone is a type of cornbread, made of a thick, malleable dough made of cornmeal or hominy grits, shaped by hand and then baked or fried in butter, margarine, lard or bacon grease. Corn pone has been a staple of Southern U. S. cuisine, and has been discussed by many American writers, including Mark Twain† (Betty Fussell 1992). Corn pone is traditionally formed in two to three inch oval shapes and has a crunchy or chewy texture. The term â€Å"corn pone† is sometimes used as a noun to refer to one who possesses certain rural, unsophisticated peculiarities, or as an adjective to describe particular rural, folksy or ‘hick’ characteristics.The term is sometimes intended as a pejorative, often directed at persons from rural areas of the southern and Midwestern U. S. â€Å"Hot water† or â€Å"scald meal† cornbread and is unique to the American South and is made by pouring self-rising cornmeal batter made with boiling water into a skillet of hot oil on a st ove top. The crust will turn golden brown and crunchy while the center remains crumbly and mushy. These small fried breads are soft and very rich. Sometimes, to ensure the consistency of the bread, a small amount of wheat flour is added to the batter.A thick buttermilk-based batter forms the hushpuppy. Deep-fried rather than pan-fried, these are a common accessory to fried fish and other seafood in the South. When fried properly, the hushpuppy will come out moist and light on the inside, while maintaining a crunchy and medium to dark brown crust. The name is derived from the commonly accepted story that back in the old south, the cooks would fry up left over pieces of dough and through it to the dogs telling them to â€Å"Hush, puppy. †In the United States, the different types of cornmeal used in cornbread divide the North and the South. Northerners tend to use yellow corn meal and Southerners generally prefer white. They also desire to use different flavorings for their corn breads, with the North having a preference for sweetness and adding sugar or molasses, while saltier tastes reign in the South. In Texas, a state favorite has emerged using fresh or creamed corn shredded cheese and jalapeno peppers, influenced by Mexicans.In Vermont, ground nutmeg is often added, and day-old ‘Johnny cake’ is crumbled and served with cold milk similar to cold cereal† (What is Cornbread? ). A popular Northern cornbread, referred to in the south as â€Å"Yankee Cornbread†, contains half cornmeal, half wheat four, milk, eggs, baking powder, salt and sugar. This results in a lighter and sweeter cornbread than traditionally found in the south. Cornbread has become one and the same with Southern cooking, and they do eat a lot of it. But, cornbread is an adaptable, quick bread and extremely easy to make. It is an indisputable American favorite.