Working Hypothesis Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Working Hypothesis Report - Assignment Example Listed below is the interest rate charged on a a) Based on the dataset, we conclude that the Mean of the sample is 48.18. Accepting the given population Mean of 50 and the standard deviation of 3, this sample is within .01 or is included within the 99% range of probability. b) Using a z-statistic is applicable due to the range of data that fall evenly above and below a given mean on a normal distribution. The z-statistic tests to see if the sample follows the expectation of the population. In this case, the sample complies with the population parameters, as the mean falls within 1.918 standard deviations of the population mean. A z-test is appropriate, because the population variance is known. If we did not have this information, then a t-test would be more appropriate. Given the fact that the sample contained an outlier of 55.8, one would expect that the sample is skewed based on that data point. This is true, because if we were to remove the outlier, the new sample mean would be 47.33 and the corresponding z-stat would be -2.67, giving a p-value of 0.0076. This result would lead us to accept Ha, since p-value Variance: This is the average of the sum of squares of the variation from the mean. In English, this means that you take the difference between each data item and subtract the mean. You then square each number. Total them together and divide by the number of data points minus the number of variables. You will see this as ∑(x-u)2 / (n-1) Data point is the average for your sample data, while mean is the population mean and std deviation is the std deviation for the population. You will normally be given these numbers for the population, so you are comparing your

Just Desert Essay Example for Free

Just Desert Essay â€Å"Just Deserts† is simply defined as the morally reassuring allocation of happy and unhappy, virtuous and the vicious characters respectively and are usually at the end of a narrative or dramatic work. (Liberman, Peter 2006). Just desert is an idiom coined by Thomas Rhymer in 1968 from the word just and desert. Just is being honorable and fair in one’s dealings and actions whereas desert is what one deserves rightly. However there are many arguments from those who are in favor and those who are against â€Å"Just Deserts†. Those in favor argue that people who work hard deserve the fruits of their labor while whose who break the rules deserve to be treated in the same way that they voluntarily choose to treat others that is if you behave well, you are entitled to good treatment from others. The central idea they put forward is that the offender gains unfair advantages through his/her behavior and punishment will set that imbalance right/straight. Citizens should enjoy the benefits of the rule of law and anyone who seeks those benefits without willing to make the necessary sacrifice of self restraint wants to be a free rider by helping himself to unfair advantages and the society/state needs to prevent this to preserve the rule of law. This is because in the event of wrong doing one who merits certain benefits loses them while one who doesn’t deserve them gains them and therefore punishment removes the underserved benefits by imposing a penalty that in some sense pays for the harm inflicted by the offense. Just desert aims to restore both victim and offender to their appropriate positions relative to each other justifying the punishment is a warranted response to past events of injustice or wrong doing and acts to reinforce ruler that have been broken and balance the scales of justice. They believe that since conflict often involves violence and many involve genocide, racial discrimination, rape, murder and torture. The perpetrators should be brought to justice and this is only accomplished through international courts or tribunals that carry out war crimes adjudication. Consequently they feel that retributive justice gives those who violate human rights law or commit crimes against humanity their â€Å"just deserts† and that punishment will reinforce the rules of international law add that it denies those who have violated those rules any unfair advantages. However, there are those who are against â€Å"just deserts† completely since they are convinced that there is a tendency to slip from retributive justice to an emphasis on revenge which is a matter of retaliation they feel that revenge will only focus on personal hurt involved and will typically rotate around anger, hatred, bitterness and resentment. Such emotions are very destructive since they lead to overreaction and therefore the resulting punishments can be excessive and might cause antagonism. In addition, punishments which usually dictated by revenge will automatically not satisfy the principles of proportionality or consistency (Rachels, James. , (1997). This is because vengeance leads to punishment and vary according to the degree of anger provoked. This will ultimately mean that wrongs that do not provoke anger will receive no response while those acts that provoke a great deal of anger will on the other hand provoke and overly intense response. These responses which are dictated by emotions usually may lead to reciprocal acts of violence. This are normally thought to occur mostly in regions where there were past injustices done to the locals who re otherwise living together in harmony and if punishments which are dictated by vengeance are given resentments of past injustices may motivate people who otherwise live peacefully engage in torture and slaughter of neighbors identified are members of groups who committed past atrocities. This will provoke devastating inter group violence in the form of mass killing which further leads to more harm and downward spiral of violence. Overly harsh punishments brings/evokes feelings of hatred, increases the level of harm done, additionally, in an atmosphere of heightened violence, the room for forgiveness and apologies is closed or very little. In this event many of those who oppose â€Å"just deserts† believe that the victims should not seek revenge since this will in turn make them new victimizers but instead they should forgive the offenders and in the end cycle of the offence is discontinued. Furthermore, they feel that forgiveness does not and will not take the place of justice or punishments, nor does it rule out giving the wrong doer his/her â€Å"just deserts†. In summary, both arguments for and against â€Å"just deserts† suggest that punishments should fit the errors that is like cases be treated alike and that the wrong doer wholly deserves blame and punishment proportionate to the harm inflicted. However, thou against feel that formal institutions with trained judiciaries are best equipped to carry out just retribution and that such institution can effectively bring the offenders to justice by giving them punishment they deserve. They continue to say that truth and reconciliation commissions play an integral role especially trials for war crimes can convert the desire for revenge into state managed punishment that is proportional and fair. However, they warn that incases of large scale violence such trials are ineffective but propose restorative justice through reparations and compensation. References: Gragg, Wesley (1992). The practice of punishment towards a theory of restorative justice (New York, Routledge, 15. Liberman, Peter 2006. An eye for an eye public support for war against evil doers. International organization Rachels, James (1997) â€Å"punishment and Desert† in ethics in practice, ed Hugh Lafollette Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers,

A Comparison Between Pakistani And British Consumers On Buying Moblies Marketing Essay

A Comparison Between Pakistani And British Consumers On Buying Moblies Marketing Essay Mobile phone has become an important part of human life .With the invention of new technology, along with computers, this technology has ease the work of human being in communicating with each others. Before the invention of mobile phones, there were land line telephones which also help human being to communicate with each others but at a limited scale. To use land line, person should be at one place where that phone is installed. But mobile phones remove this barrier by allowing customers to communicate with each others from any place where it has signals. AS this system is connected with the satellite, person can communicate without any hurdle. This is the only technology on the globe which is sold at highest numbers than any other technology. Out of 6.8 billion people on the earth, 5 billion use mobile phones (international telecommunication union, 2010).Two countries Pakistan and UK have been chosen for this dissertation because these two countries are very much different in many prospective. Pakistan telecommunication authority (PTA, 2010) shows that mobile phone in Pakistan enjoy a tremendous annual growth of 119% during 2000 to 2007. It is also being observed that between fiscal year 2006-07, mobile phone penetration increased by 15.5%. Whereas between years 2007-08, it was 55.6% which is 34.9% higher than Indias for the same period. Pakistans telecommunications industry maintains its growth trend in the coming years as well with the penetration rate in 2009 was 61.8% and in September this penetration rate reaches to 70%.On the other hand UK mobile phone market is different than Pakistani market. According to report presented by Ofcom (2007), the mobile phone market in UK grew by 41.3% between 2003 to 2007.In 2010, the penetration rate in UK was 84% which stay same till 2011.Mobile phone market is very competitive these days as there are number of companies who are trying to compete in this market to become the best in the business. It is very essential for the companies to better understand the buying behaviour of the customers.It gives them an edge on the competitors in targeting the right segment and getting market share. The purchasing decisions of consumers are mostly affected by factors that have direct or indirect impact on how we live and what we consume. Culture is one of the factors that impact on buying behaviour of consumers. Culture represents the behaviour, beliefs and, in many cases, the way we act learned by interacting or observing other members of society. In this way much of what we do is shared behaviour, passed along from one member of society to another. Culture play an important role in breaking target market into different segments and then targets the right segment. Blackwell et al., (2001) demonstrated that culture has a profound influence on how and why consumers purchase a range of products and services. The selection of products by consumer affect by the culture and it can help companies to design their marketing plan. Culture shapes the lifestyle of the consumer which affect directly on the buying pattern of the consumer. The cultural comparison between Pakistan and UK about mobile phone purchasing behaviour will provide a complete picture which will help understand these two countries mobile phone market. Culture defines the lifestyle of the people so it is very important for the manager to understand this factor and design a marketing plan by considering culture as a back bone of marketing. Companies these days are operating globally, marketing manager should divide the targeting segment into small sub segments on the basis of culture to market their product efficiently. Pakistani culture represent the most part of Asias culture and British culture represent the most of European culture. This purpose of this study to find the cultural impact on consumer buying behaviour of these two countries so that marketers of telecommunication industry use it to generalise it for the whole Asia and Europe. Literature Review Culture is defined in many different ways that can be used here for the sake of this paper. Culture is defined as ways of life like language, arts science, thoughts, spirituality, social activity and interaction (Roshan).By Hofstede (1991, 2001), culture is an identity that is used to distinguish one group from another.Keegan and schlegemilch (2001) state that culture is formed by people those are living in a community for many years and has a life that pass on from one generation to another. This mean that culture has a starting point and finish point. So its all about the life style of a group of people whom code of life is represented by culture.Doney etal(1998) defined culture as a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living. So by Doney culture is the design of life. There are many different cultures exist and these cultures represents particular group of people who actually adapted that design. It also depend on the individuals whose life style effect on the culture.Doney Lowe (2008, 73) believe that culture is made up of three essentials components. Those are (1) Beliefs: refers to the mental and verbal processes that reflect peoples knowledge and assessments of things. (2) Values: used by people as guide for what is appropriate behaviour. (3) Customs: Overt modes of behaviour that constitute culturally approved or acceptable way of behaving in specific situations. To be very precise as far as this project is concerned, above definitions of culture are generalised. Actually theme of culture that is more suitable to this dissertation is that culture defined way of living, behaving, acting in a particular situation, dealing with others and organising oneself. That is way it is very important for the marketers who are dealing international business particularly should understand the importance of this phenomena. If they understand this concept and then target particularly segment on the basis of culture then it will be easy for them to launch the product in the right segment. So culture is the medium for communication for marketers that transmit these beliefs, values, behaviour and norms into shaping the attitude and behaviour of human. It help the members of such group in deciding what, why, where, how and when to do different things and how to act in a particular situation. So it means that culture is not a static concept. Its dynamic and it can change with the passage of time and influence ones own behaviour although they also contribute to the culture. Customer buying behaviour is another factor that affects consumer choices and trends. Recognizing consumer behaviours importance to business, marketers attempt to develop means on assessing or measuring how a customer behaves (Bailey and Schultz, 2000). Consumer buying behaviour is said to be different from one business to another in a way that consumer buying behaviour tends to have different attitudes about the needs and purpose of buying while the business-to-business approach is one which is more on supplier-company relationship. So consumer buying behaviour is the procedure which shows what, how, when and where people buy the product as they do. Thus this is an attempt to understand the decision making process in buying the products. The first thing is trying to understand the buying behaviour of the individual from the same group. Then generalise it to the whole group because all the individuals in the group have same characteristics. But decision making process is not easy. Th ere are different levels of decision making forms. Some are low-involvement decision making process , some are high involvement decision making process. So it all depends on the product itself as well. Mobile phones are not high involvement decisions making products. But these decisions are also depend on consumer perception, attitudes and understanding of the given product based on the educational background, societal background, financial situation and more importantly social and cultural environment. Culture here play an important role on the consumer buying pattern as individuals can not live alone. They are part on culture and the way they behave all depend on the cultural environment in which they live. So it is very important that to understand the cultural to study the buying behaviour of consumer and this dissertation is all about this. Pakistan and UK are two different cultures. Both these cultures have strong influence on the buying behaviour of its consumers. Hofstede (1991, 2001) divide culture into two different types. One is called individualistic and other one is collectivist. According to this dissertation UK is highly individualistic country in which people mostly decide individually about the buying of products. On the other hand, Pakistan scores highly as a collectivists country where family, friends or group influence the buying behaviour. Individualist and collectivist are two out of five cultural dimensions which Hofstede find out when he was trying to find an explanation for the motivation of IBM employees around the world. Hall (1960, 1981, 1990) presented culture as high and low context cultures. He explains that culture can be divided into two groups. One is called high context culture and other one is called low context culture. The theme of difference between these two cultures according to Hall is the individual relationship. He stated that high context culture is based on the close tie between individuals personals relationships such as family, friends and colleagues etc. and in this group information and knowledge is share exclusively. People in this group are social and they care each other, listen to each others, sometime depend each others and discuss information between each others. Hall (1960. 1981, 1990) stated that high context culture is more common in East. And as far as this project is concerned, it represents Pakistan. On the other hand, low context culture is belonging to outer group. In this culture, people live their individual life. They belong to their personal network. Family, f riends and colleagues are all separate to each others. All of them live their individual life. Things are share less exclusively. People are more independent and make their own decisions.UK is the one in this dissertation which represents low context culture. Here society in not social enough to influence the decisions of others. People live their own life and they rarely involve in the decisions making process of others. Industry Background Telecommunication industry is the fastest growing industry in the world. This is because of the fast growth in technology sector and increasingly becoming part of human lifestyle. With 73% of the world population is using mobile phones , the network covers the 90% of the world area (mob thinking, Oct2010).Mobile phone industry started way back in 1970s when first mobile phone launched in Japan.After that this industry never look back and continuously grow with different transition period. During the last 40 years it have undergone a transition from technology focused for professional business to a mass consumer market and become an integral part of lifestyle. With the passage of time, it is not only used as a communication tool but also it is helping consumers in other businesses like of internet , financial transaction , tracking device , video conferencing and many more. Pakistan and UK mobile phone market is very strong in the sense that Pakistani market is still growing and it need to know more about consumer buying behaviour.UK mobile phone market is also growing but more effort is needed to do business with the existing customers. Culture of an important role in consumer buying behaviour in both these market which is why this research is being done to let marketers understand the depth in the market. The comparison between these two segments will help marketers understand that how to target the existing segment and how to create new segments within the existing segment. Research Aim Literature Review

Community Service is a Way of Giving Back Essay -- Contribution to My C

Many think that community service is just something you are forced to do for school. To me, community service is a way of giving back. I like making people feel as though they matter, and it gives me a warm feeling at the end of the day because I feel I have made a difference. I grow as a person each time I do community service. Some people do community service because they have to, but I do it because I want to. I have volunteered about 52 hours of community service in the READ program at a local elementary school on east 3rd street and ave S. Two days a week, after school I would take the B82 and take it down to east 3rd street and walk to the school. I would wait about 10 min before the children would come into the classroom. I tutored first graders and thought them how to read better...

Self Exploration

Many of us go through life skimming the surface of our identities. That is, we don’t truly dig deeply into our thoughts, feelings, desires and dreams. Part of the problem is that we’re always on the go. When to-do lists keep swelling, self-exploration takes a backseat. How can it not, when we barely find time for self-care? Specifically, self-exploration involves â€Å"taking a look at your own thoughts, feelings, behaviors and motivations and asking why. It’s looking for the roots of who we are — answers to all the questions we have about [ourselves],† according to Ryan Howes, Ph. D, psychologist, writer and professor in Pasadena, California. Having a deeper understanding of ourselves has many benefits. It â€Å"helps people understand and accept who they are and why they do what they do, which improves self-esteem, communication and relationships,† he said. ————————————————- Here, Howes discusses how he helps clients explore their own identities, the potential challenges that can hamper self-exploration and the strategies readers can try at home. The process of exploring yourself is a meticulous one and takes determination and focus to accomplish. It means becoming aware of what’s important to you and understanding yourself, i. e. your values, interests, aptitudes, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. It is also a way to gain knowledge of what is a good fit or match for your personality type. Before you can explore the world of work or a career, you must first understand yourself. Start by asking yourself questions: â€Å"What do I want to do? † â€Å" What are my goals, dreams and ambitions? † Self-exploration is looking inside yourself and concentrating and focusing on you, your needs, and your future†¦not mom’s, dad’s, or your friends. This is not to say that what others have to say isn’t important. On the contrary, hear them out, but ultimately this important decision is yours. After all, you know you better than anyone else, even mom. This process of self-exploration may seem a little lame, but this is the foundation that makes good decisions great! Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can make all the difference! If you take the time to know yourself, or at least evaluate yourself, you will have a truer sense of what’s good for you, or should I say, better for you. Many people never take into consideration whether the career/job they’ve chosen is something that they are going to enjoy doing, whether it’s going to meet their needs professionally and/or personally. Many are just glad to have a job that pays decent wages. Yes, finances are important, but ultimately it’s more important to be happy. If you are not satisfied in your job it will eventually affect your work, your level of commitment to the job, those you work for and even your personal life. If you enjoy what you are doing, believe in it and you know why you chose to do it, you will tend to be more committed to it, better at it, and you’ll work harder to do it well. This commitment, this strong work ethic is what aims us towards achieving greatness. If we are happy, we look towards the future with determination, ambition, and goals. If we are just getting by in our job, could care less about whether we get the job done or even whether we come to work at all, we tend to wallow in our misery. We do more looking back at what could have been or should have been, and can only see the future as more of the same dissatisfaction. Success requires taking an active role in the growth and development of our personal and professional life. One way to get started figuring out who you are and what you want in life is to begin by evaluating your academic exposure. Look at the courses you’ve taken: both the ones' you liked and disliked. Of the classes you liked, what did you enjoy most about the subject? What made you dislike some of the courses? Why didn’t that class appeal to you? Does the class provide you with something that you can develop into a career? Next, consider what’s really important to you; things you value, interests you may have, skills and abilities you possess. Take some time and think about what you might need in order to be happy and ultimately successful in your job/career. For example, a few things to consider might be salary, geographic location, job autonomy, work hours, and professional growth opportunities, to name a few. Which ones of these, and/or others, are most significant; things that would make an obvious difference in whether we would enjoy our job/career? If you don’t take the time to consider who you are and what you want, you won’t know what you are looking for. You need to be aware that no job/career is going to be perfect and meet all of your expectations. But if you at least think about which things are more vital to your happiness and aim for those, you can come pretty close to what you want. Think about the skills and abilities you may have that you would like to utilize in your chosen profession (i. e. leadership, helping others, mathematical ability, creativity, communication, etc. Which careers give you more of an opportunity to express yourself and be yourself? Many people make the mistake of assuming that they can and will do just about anything for the right amount of money. Well let me assure you that this is only partially true. In the beginning, the money may seem like enough to sustain your job satisfaction and happiness, but soon everyone realizes that money alone is only a temporary fix. If you donâ₠¬â„¢t really like what you are doing, or like where you work, you won’t be happy and the money won’t ever be enough. Another way to assess your interests might be to consider careers that you may have already been exposed to through friends, family members or previous part-time and summer jobs, and even volunteer opportunities or internships. Talk to any persons you can find who may be doing something you think that you want to do, or have thought about doing. Really pick their brains about why they chose that profession, what do they like or dislike about their jobs, what’s a typical day like on the job for them? This is called informational interviewing. Also, draw from your own experiences about what it may be like to work full-time. What kind of supervisor would you prefer; do you prefer flexible or set work hours; do you like being in a leadership role, etc.? The best way to answer some of these questions is through an internship or co-op. If you have not considered an internship or co-op before, please do. Cooperative education and internships add meaning to the academic experience. Both offer the student the opportunity to gain practical experience. At the same time students can identify career interests and goals and relate them to academic endeavors. Most people believe that you don’t need to be concerned about figuring out who you are and what you want to do until you’re just about ready to graduate. Yes, this is one way to do it, but why wait until the last minute. You may realize that what you thought you wanted to do really doesn’t appeal to you at all. Self-exploration should be done early and often, as early as your junior year in high school, and at least once a year thereafter. The sooner you start to think about your future, the better prepared you’ll be for it. If you didn’t go this route, it’s still not too late to catch up. Find a career counselor on your campus and get started. There is often a certain amount of fear that goes along with making decisions about one's future. D. J. Parson, an Appalachian State University sophomore, stated, â€Å"When I first arrived, I didn’t have any idea how to get started choosing a major, not to mention what I was going to do with that major when I finished school. After I met with a career counselor and discovered a few things about myself, for example, what motivates me, things started to click and I was able to move forward. D. J. is not alone in his dilemma. As a career counselor, I encounter numerous students who are confused about how to go about making effective career decisions. Many are paralyzed by the mere thought they have to make decisions themselves for the first time. Their parents or someone else has always performed this role and now it’s their turn. Students are generally all over the map when it comes to decision-making. Some student s want to do it all, while others aren’t sure they want to do anything. They haven’t found their passion. I once had a student tell me, â€Å" If I can’t figure out exactly what to do, I’ll just stay in school longer; there is always graduate school. † One thing to realize is that figuring out who you are and what you want takes time and a lot of effort on your part. Through examining what you’ve enjoyed doing, what things come easily or naturally to you, what gives you motivation, what peaks your interests etc. , you will begin to put the puzzle pieces together. Bit by bit you will see a pattern developing. Next, realize that you can do just about anything you want and you can do more than one thing; you just can’t do it all at once. If you like lots of things and can’t seem to eliminate any of them, then your task is to select which thing you would like to do first and move on to the next at a later time until you have accomplished all that you want. The most important thing to remember is that nothing is 100 percent guaranteed. Life is about change and career planning and self-exploration are lifelong processes. You don’t just make a decision today and expect that you’ll be completely satisfied with that choice for the rest of your life. You will grow, experience things and meet different people. As society grows and technology develops, so will your interests change, grow and redevelop. Expect it; that’s life! However, this doesn’t mean that the choices you make today are worthless. They too will play an important role in your future. You will be able to draw on these experiences to help you assess yourself later when you want to consider new options, goals, and dreams. Sometimes, the task of putting all the pieces together can be a bit overwhelming and you may need to seek assistance from more experienced and knowledgeable resources. Three sources I recommend are your career counselor, your academic advisor and the Internet. Your career counselor is the most experienced of the three sources. A career counselor will be able to offer you not only his/her expertise through one-on-one counseling and advising, but also many more tools to uncover your true self. Counselors can provide career-specific library resources such as books and videos about certain college majors, careers within those majors, and companies that seek to hire graduates of those majors. In addition, career counselors provide career interest testing such as the Strong Interest Inventory, the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, the Self Directed Search, and the Kuder Occupational Orientation. There are also computerized career guidance programs such as SIGIPLUS, DISCOVER, and Career Key. All of these indicators help gauge your personality and interests, and compare them with others who are already in the field. A career counselor will then sit down with you and interpret the test results. Looking at the similarities of interests in different fields and types of careers, your career counselor will be able to show you many different options beyond the obvious ones you may have never considered, or even thought existed. Your academic advisor is another important source to consult about college majors and courses, as well as jobs related to the field. An academic advisor can help guide you through your four years of undergraduate study and help you stay focused on the courses needed to fulfill the requirements of your selected major. Lastly, another wonderful resource is the Internet. It can be a bit overwhelming with the amount of information readily available at your fingertips. You can query an occupation on the Internet and end up with hundreds of pages of information to help you better understand that occupation and many others. You can research job openings, internships, co-ops, and even scholarships, grants and loans for college financial assistance, etc. Here are some helpful tips to remember: * Remember to begin your exploration by taking a good look at you. Accept the challenge to understand yourself and to like who you’ve become, or the person you aspire to be. * ————————————————- Ask yourself questions and take the time to find the real answers. Self discovery was a process I thought I had already been through. But when faced with the question, â€Å"Who am I? † it proved to be a lot harder to put into words than one would think. I believe that I have a good sense of who I am, but translating it into words was a struggle for me. I consider myself to be a very concrete thinker. So, the translation of who I am into words tended to come out as cold and rigid. Words like brash, concrete, smart, and loyal seemed like a big â€Å"thud† on paper. At first I thought, am I really that boring and cold? Which then brings to question, is this really who I am? The following is my best attempt to put myself into words. I’m going to attempt to lighten up those rigid words I came up with to describe me and try to explain why I chose these words. Hopefully these explanations will bring life to them. The first word is brash and is defined as â€Å"offensively bold. †    You can either like me or not. I am strong-willed individual who does not take disrespect from anyone. I can defend myself in most situations. I can most often times convince others that I am right. I know how to think critically and make sound decisions when others fail to. I believe the second and third words go together in explanation for me. The second word is concrete and when used as an adjective, is defined as, â€Å"capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary.    The third word is smart and, also, when used as an adjective, is defined as, â€Å"characterized by quickness and ease in learning. †    I have the ability to sort through the â€Å"fluff† and get to the facts so I can make a good decision or form a strong opinion. I can make others question their own opinions or beliefs by flooding them with facts and evidence. In this way I am very persuasive a nd convincing. The final word is loyal. It is used to describe people of â€Å"unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause. † When it comes to those I love, I†¦

My Antonia and Huckleberry Finn Essay

Characters from various books that may or may not have anything to do with one another can be similar and different in many ways. Huckleberry Finn from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and Antonia Shimerda from My Antonia by Willa Cather are similar in a variety of ways, however they have important differences. Huckleberry Finn is always ready to go on any type of adventure with his best friend Tom Sawyer. Also, the pair are extremely superstitious. Huck is discriminated against for a myriad of reasons. Some being, he is the son of the town drunk, so the adults frown upon him. Because of his father’s lifestyle he is basically an orphan, he has to find his own food, clothes, and a place to sleep. He also does not attend church or school. Opposite to that, the boys of the town envy him for his freedom and lack of discipline. The Widow Douglass who lives in town offers Huck a place to stay. She says he can live in her house, and with the money from the treasure he and Tom found she would be able to support him. Tom encouraged Huck to take advantage of this offer while he could. This was a hard decision for Huck to make because he is not willing to give up his independence that he is accustomed to. He lives with the widow for a short period of time then decides he enjoys being on his own and is willing to face the hardships of life by himself to maintain his freedom. Antonia Shimerda is extremely generous and optimistic. Through the hardships of immigrating to America from Bohemia, her father committing suicide, and her fiance leaving her before they get married, and at this time she is pregnant, she never looses hope. She looks for the best in every situation and tries to find a solution for everything. Everyday she has to face racial and gender discrimination. She is judged brutally by the townspeople because of her love for dance. Her and her family, which now consists of her mother, brothers and sisters, have to face the difficulties of life after the death of their father along with the difficulties of living in a new country. Her and her family are living in poverty, and are trying extremely hard just to survive. Later, Antonia works as a servant. Her boss does not like her habit of attending the dances she enjoys going to. He threatens to fire her if she continues to attend these dances. She loves her independence too much to let someone take it away. So she works for a brutal boss and suffers so she can have her independence and go to her dances. Huckleberry Finn and Antonia Shimerda have many similarities and differences. They have very different characteristics, however they both face many hardships, discrimination on a daily basis, and they both value their independence a lot that they would rather live harder lives so they can be independent.