Thursday, March 26, 2020

Analytical Essay Sample on #8220;A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Analytical Essay Sample on #8220;A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† by Gabriel Garcia Marquez The short story â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† by Gabriel Garcia Marquez exposes the tendencies of human nature and society in general. The reactions of all the members of the community to the events in the story reflect their inclinations as human beings, both good and bad. Pelayo lives in rural area with his wife and child. One afternoon he was shocked to find that a very old man with wings was lying face down in the mud in his courtyard. At first he was frightened and ran to retrieve his wife to see what she would make of it. Upon her arrival they had both stared at the man together in a mute stupor for quite some time. This is a typical reaction from most people in such a situation. At first they were in a state of fear, fear of the unfamiliar. When people are exposed to a scenario that is out of the ordinary for them and conflicts with their everyday lives they grow afraid and even hostile. Then a stage of curiosity follows, Pelayo and his wife quietly observe the man from a distance as to gather any information they can about him. After observing the man who seemed frail and uncivilized they decide to call upon a neighbour who might be knowledgeable in such situations. She wasted no time in proclaiming that he must be an â€Å"angel†. Her re action to the man with wings was influenced purely by her faith. Her blind assumption was made because of what she has been taught and what she wanted to believe. This is typical of people who are very religious as they tend to interpret various events as having a deeper more meaningful significance. â€Å"The angel was held captive in Pelayo’s house.† (Marquez 487) Marquez’s choice of words reflects her intention to show Pelayo’s hostility towards the angel. He also watched over him all afternoon with a bailiff’s club. He is obviously uncertain of the angel and decides to imprison him and take no chances. He does not think very much of the angel because he â€Å"drags† him into in a chicken coop and locks him up among the hens. This act demonstrates basic human nature, the angel was old, unattractive, and decrepit, so he tosses him in a filthy coop. Pelayo judges him solely on his appearance, had the â€Å"angel† looked like an angel is supposed to like and had been all white, attractive, and sophisticated, Pelayo would most likely honour and respect him rather than treat him like an animal. Pelayo even considered putting him on a raft and leaving him to die on the high seas. The members of the community quickly learned of this â€Å"angel† that has been found and they became very interested. â€Å"The simplest among them thought that he should be named mayor of the world. Others of sterner mind felt that he should be prompted to the rank of five-star general in order to win all wars. Some visionaries hoped that he could be put to stud in order to implant on earth a race of winged wise who could take charge of the universe.† (Marquez 488) This shows the hopes and expectations of the members of the community. Many had dreams of grandeur and had relied on this angel to put an end to all worldly problems as if he was sent down from god. These expectations however were not rational, they were merely based on their own beliefs and the hype that this angel had generated. Human beings in general are always looking for the easy way out and the simplest way to get a means to their end. This angel served as the answer they had all hoped for. As the story moves forward the people of the town come to realise that this angel was not at all what they had expected nor hoped for. They have grown hostile towards him, they had begun pulling out his feathers, throwing stones at him, or even burning him with an iron. This type of reaction is not unusual in such a situation, they have grown bored of this angel as he does nothing but lie still and try to make himself comfortable. This type of behaviour is exemplified in everyday life in the case of celebrities. As entertainers they keep us amused and fulfill our needs, but when their product turns stale or their songs get played out we lose interest and turn against them. We see this everyday on late night television where hosts poke fun at such celebrities, recently we have seen what the media hype has done to Michael Jackson’s reputation. Meanwhile the carnival has come into town and suddenly everyone has forgotten about the angel and stopped caring. Why see the angel when you can see the tarantula woman? Something bigger and better has arisen and the people of the community have moved on to the next big thing. Why do people act the way they do? Is it selfishness? It is a fact that man’s greatest goal is his own happiness, therefore he can sometimes be insensitive to the people that he walks all over in order to achieve it. Altruism is possible, but even then man gains some satisfaction from his unselfish act, which contributes to his happiness. The society in this short story perfectly reflects human nature and how it sometimes can be ugly. However, for the most part individuals are able to differentiate what is and is not moral and act decently.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Does your resume pass this key checklist

Does your resume pass this key checklist Life is better with checklists: Highly Organized, Bilingual Administrative AssistantSummary:  This is a short list (or brief paragraph) of the key bullet points that make you most qualified for this particular job. This is a place where you can really tailor the content to the job description, to grab the attention of the reader (or robot reader seeking keywords). You can also use it to highlight your most relevant skills. A summary works best for job seekers who have deep experience or skills in their field.Objective:  This is a short statement letting the reader know your goal(s), coupled with your top-level qualifications. It’s basically a formula: Strong traits + The role you want to fill + Good fit for the company = Objective. The objective works best for people without a lot of experience, or experience in a different field (changing careers).This section sets the tone for the rest of your resume, and can help make the difference between someone reading through the r est of the resume or tossing it aside.The Meat-and-Potatoes Section (Skills and Experience)This is the heart of your resume, so it’s extra important to make sure you’re not leaving anything out. You should include:Your Skills:  Whether you put these before or after your experience (depending on which you want to emphasize for the reader), it’s important to include a standalone section of bullet points describing your relevant skills. Be sure you’re only including the most relevant ones. Your abiding love and talent for playing the tuba may be a huge part of your life, but if it’s not directly relevant to the job for which you’re applying, leave it out.This section should include any applicable hard skills (specific job-related technology or certifications) and soft skills that can be directly applied to the job at hand.Work Experience:  These are separate listings for your most relevant jobs, working backwards through your career. Each w ork experience section should include:Job titleCompany nameDates worked4-6 bullet points outlining your most relevant duties there. As much as possible, describe achievements over simple tasks or responsibilities. You should also be choosy about which jobs you include. If you’ve already held two or three full-time jobs in your career, you can start leaving out part-time jobs or internships that you held in the past. If you need to include a job so it doesn’t look like you have large gaps, you can do that, but you don’t have to include too much information about your job unless it’s relevant to the one for which you’re currently applying. You can use those instead to highlight particular skills you used/developed.The Education Certifications SectionEducation is one of your best assets in a job search, and you should sing it loud and proud on your resume. Just make sure you’re including the most relevant education information, moving back in reverse order. If applicable, you should include:Professional training programs:  If you’ve completed a non-degree course or training program related to your field, include it here.Professional certifications:  If you have a license or certification in your field, include it here.College, university, or professional training program:  Unless you’re in high school, or you’re specifically asked about it, there’s no need to include information about your high school education here. You also don’t need to include graduation dates if you don’t want to do so- employers are forbidden from asking you about your age, so if you feel like this would be offering too much info, you can just include the school name and the degree you received.The Nice-to-HavesIf you have room after including everything outlined above, then there are some other pieces of info you can include on your resume, if they’re applicable to the job.Volunteer experience :  Are the skills or experience from this volunteer position relevant to the job you’re seeking? If so, include. If not, leave it out.Hobbies:  Again, make sure these are relevant to the job for which you’re applying.The Style ChecklistOnce you’ve got all your core info included in your resume, it’s time to take another pass and see how you’ve done, writing-wise. Is your resume:Saved as a standard document format?  Is your resume saved as an uncommon file extension, or one that most computers will readily recognize (like .doc or .pdf)?A short read?  Brevity is key here. We’ve all heard the â€Å"one page† rule, but if you simply have too much experience for one small page, make sure you haven’t gone overboard, length-wise.Organized in a clear and readable way?  The resume should be laid out in a clear, relatively uncrowded outline, so that the reader can easily follow what’s going on. If you’re seeing ma ssive chunks of narrative text, go back and revise it into more manageable bullets. Margins should be no less than 1 inch all around, for readability. Your font should also be consistent all the way through, easy to read, black, and between 10-12 points.Full of action verbs?  Strong verbs can not only grab interest, they can help you cut down on your overall word count by getting straight to the heart of what you want to say.Customized for the job?  Generic resumes are not fun to read, and a one-size-fits-all behemoth may not get you the interview opportunity you want. Take the time to make sure that your skills and experience especially are directly relevant to the job/company for which you’re applying.Proofread?  This one is non-negotiable. No matter how eagle-eyed you may be, we all miss small mistakes in our own writing occasionally. Find a trusted friend or family member to check your resume for mistakes.Taking the time to check these elements help ensure that your final product ends up looking just as smooth and professional as you are.The Un-ChecklistIf you have any of these things on your resume, time to take them out. You should not include:Pictures or visual elements:  Unless you’re doing a portfolio or a visual resume, don’t illustrate your basic resume. And you definitely don’t need to include a picture of yourself.Lies:  Just don’t do it! If anyone questions you or catches you in a falsehood, I don’t think you need me to tell you that it would not be good for your hiring prospects for this job.References:  If the hiring process gets to the point where you need to provide references, you’ll be asked for them. There’s no need to include them upfront and take up valuable space on your resume.References to age, gender, or family status  This information really isn’t necessary, and could introduce potential discriminatory elements, even though employers are forbidden from aski ng you about them.So†¦there you have it, your checklist for building a full and successful resume. Does your resume check all the right boxes?