Saturday, October 5, 2019

The Homestead Strike 1892 compared to The Great Sit Down Strike 1937 Research Paper

The Homestead Strike 1892 compared to The Great Sit Down Strike 1937 - Research Paper Example The strike was able to attain goals meant for the benefit of the workers. They averted the reopening of the plants thus resulting in the recognition of their right to organize, a right which has been repeatedly denied by this corporation (Weinstone, 1). The union was formally recognized as the collective bargaining agency for its members in all the plants (Weinstone, 1). The union was able to put a stop to the open-shop system practiced by this American industry (Weinstone, 1). It was also able to successfully bargain wage increases for the GM workers and for the auto workers in other plants. Finally, it also successfully bargained â€Å"an agreement to open negotiations between the union and the corporation for the demands on wages, hours and working conditions† (Weinstone, 1). Aside from the above successes, the union was also able to resist and hold off forceful efforts to remove the sit-down strikers, who only left the plants when their conditions were met (Weinstone). Fin ally, this strike successfully endorsed â€Å"the policy of industrial unionism, of militant unionism and progressive leadership based upon rank-and-file democracy,† which confirmed that such system is â€Å"the only correct form of organization† that â€Å"can effectively meet and defeat the corporations of big capital† (Weinstone, 1). The tactics used by the union includes first by strategically locking themselves in, â€Å"making it difficult to dislodge them without the use of considerable force and numbers, while at the same time, by taking over the gates, they obtained the possibility of freely coming and going and thereby relieved the strain which they would otherwise have found a serious factor in their ‘voluntary imprisonment’† (Weinstone, 1). The workers went on shifts hence, were able to withstand continued stay inside the plants for a long time. They were also able to create a â€Å"complete and efficient organization† by s etting up an elected strike committee, various sub-committees, captains, including health and sanitation, patrol and policing, trial committee† (Weinstone, 1). The elected strike committee was the one assigning particular duties to every worker which includes the â€Å"reception of visitors, guarding, and cleaning up† (Bliven, 377). Through this, they were able to utilize an effective strategy that heightened their awareness and control against any possible attacks against them (Weinstone, 1). The workers â€Å"barricaded themselves within the plants† and readied themselves to employ devices available to secure their positions within the plant† (Weinstone, 1). Their preparedness can be best illustrated in the following: covering â€Å"the windows with bullet-proof metal sheets† and at the same time a way wherein fire hoses could be placed to prevent â€Å"any gas or firearm attack†; systematizing and drilling squads in using water hoses; organ izing â€Å"a police patrol† making rounds at given hours, to monitor â€Å"the movement of people in adjoining wings of the building† to prevent any â€Å"surprise attacks† (Weinstone, 1). The strikers also were said to hold â€Å"court every morning†, and those found guilty of inappropriate behavior such as â€Å"bringing liquor into the plant or circulating rumors† was removed from the plant (Lovett, 123). The workers could even â€Å"take classes in parliamentary procedure, collective

Friday, October 4, 2019

Common Assignment - Individual Leadership Growth Reflection Essay

Common Assignment - Individual Leadership Growth Reflection - Essay Example This type of awareness is important to leader’s self management ability. Self management must include flexibility to adapt to new situations and emotional self control, ambiguity and complexity. Authentic leaders also embrace honesty, transparency and integrity and earn colleagues’ trust with consistent behavior. This paper will discuss individual leadership growth reflection and also look at and discuss in detail the transformational leadership theory and how this theory impacts my individual development and growth as an effective leader. Finally it shall address various individual leadership development strategies that can cushion me as a leader in my workplace. Transformational leadership As a transformational leader, I must be socially competent in the ways that I carry out myself before others. The display of understanding, empathy and emotions of others, and being concerned with their welfare is core to managing individual’s relationships. As far as organiz ations are concerned, transformational leaders must be perceptive in reading the culture and climate of an institution, alert on how and why decisions are made and keeping pulse of institutional politics. In maintaining good relationships, transformational leaders inspire others with vision, persuasively influence them and advocates for necessary positive change. They come up with skillful approach on conflict management and resolution; develop colleagues as leaders, forms partnership and alliances as well as the capacity to build effective teams and work closely with others in an institution. Various techniques are of aid in self-reflection of myself as a leader, observation off myself and others, meditation and inspirational reading and writing. A good number of organizations have embraced transformational leadership process which serves as an effective, organized and continuing framework for development, self reflection and improvement. In my occupancy as an elementary and middle school principal, many experiences have played a major role in shaping and developing my leadership skills. My reflections on these challenges may also be helpful in program design. In one of my experiences as the leader of the middle school, I was given the task of shutting down an existing elementary school, supervising renovations to the infrastructure and organizing a new middle school which was also being put up as a technology project site for the region. An advisory committee was prepared to lead in development of the project with members from various communities and organizations within the province. My experiences during the five years of active participation with this project prompted me to re-asses discernments of the role of the principal, the effectiveness required of educational leaders and the nature of competent staff development. The aspects of this transformational leadership experience which positively affected my professional growth included: our recurrently sch eduled advisory committee meeting with different stakeholders which boosted the transformational process that we tried to transfer to the school’s daily operation; being part of action research concerning our project which was led by professor from Regina University; being an active participant in mentoring relationship with both the

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Indian dance Essay Example for Free

Indian dance Essay Kathak is the one of eight forms of Indian classical dances perform by men and women, originated from northern indian, known as kathakars or storytellers. The styles of dance have its unique character from the rhythmic footwork with rhythms that he or she stomps out barefoot on the floor, accented with many bells worn around the ankles ( and from seeing the guest artist I can say there were more than 100 bells around her ankles making lots of noise to go with the beats of the drum), spectacular spins, and also every dance piece has a story behind it. A traditional kathak performance features a solo dancer on a stage, surrounded on all sides by the audience. The repertoire includes amad ,the dramatic entrance of the dancer on stage. Male dancers perform in Persian costume of wide skirts and round caps, while female dancers wear a traditional Indian garment called a sari. Back in the day women are the one who preserved this traditional dance more than the men. Kathak are typically performs by one dancer surrounded by a group of musicians. The solo dancer performs the parts of all the characters in the story. For example the guest artist were going back and forth rapidly from one of her dance piece between two characters. She did it without changing her positions on stage, changes in gestures and facial expressions signal instantly which character they take on at that moment. Before the guest artist started her dance so did a pronom giving thanks to all five elements or also known as the god, space, wind, fire, water and earth. Dance is on the earth, the eyes wherever the eyes are the mind, where the mind there are feelings. The way Antara gave thank to the god were a little different from what we normally did in class, with more steps and she also added some singing and harmony into the rituals. Based on what Antara told us, kathak is a very intimate dance where it is a three ways conversation, between dancers with musicians and dancers with the audience. The tempo for kathak consist of 16 beats. Dancers sometime precise the beats while dancing. With kathak you can play with the rhythms, there is no set rhythms. Kathak consisted of a lot of feet movement and with that the bells around Antara added a more prominent movements. Even though the focused on her foot because of all the bells, we can still see that shes using her upper body. The arms movement were very smooth and elegant, her eyes moved according to her hands gestures. Antara played the Theka which looked and sound like the accordion, along with singing and dancing. The Theka did not stop Antara from doing her incredible spins and keeping the tempo while doing all these things at once. Stomping her foot very fast and loud on the floor seems to be away for her to keep her tempo. Even when she was stomping her foot her hands and head was still doing a lot of movement to help tell the story. During her performance she uses a lot of phrases in Indian and it was hard for me to understand or catch what she was saying. But she later on explained that it is just like how we counts beats in america instead of using numbers, in Indian dance they used the language of the drums. Her right foot always ended in the front to help her keep up with the beat and also so that her body can face the audience and interacted with them. Her dance move was not all fast but it was very precise and very professional. Antara dances very elegant and somehow I can see her personality throw the way she moved the way she carry herself on all the dance pieces. She is a great dancer and a great guest artist for the style, she makes me want to learn more about the style and actually go see her performance in San Francisco.

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

A Budget Airline In Hong Kong

A Budget Airline In Hong Kong Budget airlines have become a trend in aviation industry over a few decades all over the world, however, as a Asian cosmopolitan city- Hong Kong hasnt have one yet, therefore a research need to be set up to explore on its feasibility. This project proposal aims to assist to accomplish a research by developing a plan beforehand. Firstly, the background of budget airlines and problem statement would be stated out, then a literature review would be carried out in order to find out its research value, after that, the research aim and objectives could be set up as a research goal, last but not least, research method and project plan could be discussed on how, where and when to carry out this research. 2. Background/ problem statement: Before Deregulation: In the United State before 1978, all airline passenger services were regulated and controlled by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). Only 10 trunk airlines were authorized to issue a grandfather certificate by CAB at that time. Underneath this certificate, all major scheduled airlines route structures and fares were controlled and ruled. For an airlines route structure, stops and intermediate stops were specified and passengers carrying between stops were limited, a new promoted route needed to go through a lengthy procedure and hearings, even a stoppage of a route service was still needed the CABs approval. For an airlines fare, all fare prices were strictly controlled by the CAB. (John Clinton, 1984) After Deregulation: After passing the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, CAB no longer had an absolute authority on an airlines entry, exit, routes and fares. Airlines were given freedom on setting up their own fares within a wide range, route applicant would be submitted and passed easily without any restriction when it performed air transportation properly. (John Clinton, 1984) First Successful budget airline: In 1967, the first successful budget airline was born and started its business in Texas in America, it named itself as Southwest Airlines (SWA). The company began when the US market was deregulated. Its successful model had been influencing a lot of other following budget airlines. It provides low-cost, high rate of short haul flying and this made itself maintain a most profitable airline through years. (Peter, David, Gillen, Otto and Hans, 2005) What is Budget Airline? A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (also known as a no-frills, discount or budget carrier or airline) is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts. To make up for revenue lost in decreased ticket prices, the airline may charge for extras like food, priority boarding, seat allocating, and baggage etc. Todays budget airline: Nowadays, the value for money is a great emphasis placed by travelers. They are willing to buy cheaper tickets to trade off some other aspect such as leg room during flight. However, to determine whether a budget airline can survive and drive down the cost, it mainly depends on government and major airports will to open up the skies. Therefore, different areas are in different cases, but every consumer loves a low price ticket and somehow the developments are very similar in nature and continue in varied ways. As in US, budget airlines have dominated the market as travelers are price driven; in Europe, more local airports are needed to be opened up to let more budget airlines to fly in; in Asia, there are more opportunities to expand the whole market but the path is not easy, since the market is still dominated by the national flag carriers. Besides, they are also supported by the cargo business. (Scott Lee, 2004) Problems Statement: As we can see, budget airlines business not only become a trend over the globe, but also bring out more travelers and so to extend the economy of our own country or region, however, there is no budget airline at all currently in Hong Kong, what are the reasons? Few years ago there was once a low cost carrier- Hong Kong Oasis airway which offered long haul low fare was bankrupted after 18 months of operation, why would that happen? An Malaysian budget airline- Air Asia already developed its third home base in Thailand, meanwhile, there still arent any budget airlines setting up in Hong Kong as a home base, why? What are the success factors for a budget airline to develop? Is there feasibility for a budget airline to set up and form a home base in Hong Kong? 3. Literature Review: 3.1.Business strategy of Budget Airline: Markus (2005) once said The business strategy of these low cost airlines to save costs is to offer no frills, have fast turn-rounds, use only a single-type fleet of planes, and to fly mainly to cheap secondary airportsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..They also save a huge amount of administration costs by only accepting credit card payments and thus reducing the paperwork to a minimum (Markus, p.269, 2005) In other word, they minimize their cost in management, aircraft maintenance, crew training, landing fee, parking fee, administration work, etc. Any additional cost, they will stay in the air ticket and let the passenger pay for it. This would rise out a question, would the passengers in Hong Kong be willing to pay for a low cost just to get to a destination or a high price to buy a good quality of service? Budget airline is a trend? Start from the next two years as announcing in late May, the Singapore airline would establish a subsidiary-a no frill, low cost airline, using wide body aircrafts to serve medium to long haul routes. According to the company after years of markets of extensive review and analysis, they have to admit that there is a large growing demand for low fare travel. The low fare airlines assist to stimulate the growing demand of travel. The company wants to launch this service to push its single-digit growth to a double-digit growth as this low fare market is growing hugely. (Govindasamy, 2011) This has showed us which the low fare air travel market is growing and even an Asian state-owned conventional airline want to join in to gain share, therefore there is lots of room for more new budget airlines to be set up and serve the demand. Budget airline comparing with conventional airline over the globe: Graham Dunn (2011) state in the airline magazine, Data from four years of the Airline Business low-cost carrier and world airline ranking surveys shows that while the 10 largest network carriers were highly profitable in 2006 and 2007, seven lost money in 2008 and eight were in the red in 2009 at an operating level. Contrast this with the top 10 lost-cost carriers- only two lost money in 2009, three in 2008 and one apieve in 2007 and 2006. In this case as we know, during the economic crisis between 2008 and 2009, we can see that the low cost carrier is on a steady growth and earn money, but the conventional airlines are greatly affected. In fact, the magazine also shows that the budget airlines are growing at a double-digit development around the USA and Europe, and there are still more room for them to rise. In South East Asia, the larger low-cost carriers already expand beneath their home market and set up more home base in other country around the region as there has been a great demand for cheap air travel, such as Airasia has also set up a home base in Indonesia and Thailand beyond Malaysia. (Graham Dunn ,2011) Therefore, even Hong Kong set up a budget airline, there are still lots of other competitors around the region, and can it survive? The Background and Success of Air Asia and the Asia region: Apparently in the 21st century, if the more preferable demography and economic trend persist, Asia would be well focused by the whole world, in other words, more people would be willing to travel in and out of Asia by plane for business and leisure. (Joseph, 2011) Air Asia now is one of the largest low cost carriers in South East Asia. It used to be built up by the Malaysia government from 1993 and started its own operation as a flag conventional airline in 1996, however, within those five years, it was a cracked airline which only have two Boeing 747, 250 staffs, four destination and a debt of $11 million. But in 2001, it was bought by Tune air and turned it and re-launched as a low cost carrier, then it start to become a profitable business. In 2007, Air Asia X was set and launched as a low cost long haul carrier which flies to Europe and Australia. Currently, the whole Air Asia Group has owned 102 aircrafts, flies 150 routes and 68 destinations, it has been still continuing to expand its fleet and market share. In the past two year, it has already accomplished a Double-digit capacity growth. Certainly, there are some advantages that it already fully take, such as low-price labor, a helpful economical hub at Kuala Lumpur. (Joseph, 2011) In this case, are there any success factors we can learn from and use in Hong Kong? The Background and failure of Oasis Hong Kong airway: Oasis Hong Kong airline claimed to be the first long haul low cost airline based in Hong Kong, Reverend Raymond Lee led a starting capital of $100 million with several Hong Kong investors. It began its operation and launch to serve passengers from October 2006, but after 18 months of operation, it halted all operation and collapsed as financial liquidation. It used to own 4 Boeing 747 and flew two routes, and three destinations: Hong Kong, Vancouver and London. During the operation period of time, the price of jet fuel has jumped from $600 a tonne when Oasis started flying to a current level of around $1,137 a tonne. Besides, the company did not run as an short haul, no service model but provide a full service such as inflight meal and entertainment. (Robin, 2008) In this case, a rise of jet fuel price can push a company to fall, are there any other critical threats which exist? Or the whole Hong Kong aviation environment is not suitable for an budget airline to exist? Disadvantages and advantages of budget airlines: For traveling with budget airline, there are also some disadvantages that you may want to take account for, such as you may only have a limited meal with probably peanuts at all for the whole flight, you may not choose your own seat, they have less flexibility which you cant cancel your flight or get a refund, any extra checked bags will be charged, they often land on remote airports with no bus connection and they are usually booked through internet. (Shewanda, 2011) However, there are also some advantages you may want to consider, such as the fare with budget airline is relatively small which you can save the money for other things, they often fly to more locations and smaller cities that you may interest, and as money are saved, thus more travels will be encouraged and more people can afford it. (Jennifer, 2011) Therefore, when the Hong Kong customers compare the advantages and disadvantages of budget airlines, will they still choose budget airline? What is the low fare travel market like in Hong Kong? Challenges and Background of the local dominant airline in Hong Kong: The company began in 1946. It was found by two world-war 2 pilots. They first flew to carry passenger to Manila, Bangkok, Singapore and Shanghai. However in 1948, some of the shares was bought by a UK company, Butterfield Swire (today known as the Swire Group) which took a 45% share. Therefore John Kidston Swire took the leadership work; Butterfield Swire became wholly responsible for the management of the airline. And then it has been expanding through time. In 1998, the Cathay City was built, and in 2006, the dragon air was bought to be involved in Cathay Pacific Group. Right now it owns 128 aircrafts and has ordered more than 100 aircrafts. Its route has covered more than 150 destinations in 41 countries. It ranks as the worlds 2nd most profitable airline by net profit and the 7th largest airline in the world by operating profit. Its staffs number is 19,850 worldwide. (From Cathay Pacifics Website) In this case, its customers do not only include leisure and business travelers but also the regional people. If a budget airline was being set up, this airline would be the biggest local competitor. Potential low cost carrier that will be set in Hong Kong: There will be two potential budget airlines setting up in Hong Kong- the Hong Kong express and the Jetstar subsidiary. The Hong Kong Express will transform to a low cost carrier in Jul-2012 or Aug-2012, operating under its new low-cost model to cities in mainland China, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. As a Foreign budget airline- Jetstar is also looking forward to establishing a subsidiary in Hong Kong, it may try to co-operate with Hong Kong Airline. (CAPA, 2011) This case has showed us that many companies are interested in developing a low cost carrier in Hong Kong, therefore in other words, there is feasibility for Hong Kong to set up an low cost carrier. 4. Aim: Through analyzing all the data collected to determine whether it is possible to set up an budget airline in Hong Kong or not. 5. Objectives: To explore the background information and business model of budget airline To explore the operation, cost structure, strategy of low cost carrier in Asia To carry out a case study: the success story of Airasia and the failure story of Oasis To set up a survey to ask about Hong Kong frequent flyers expectations on budget airlines services To calculate all operating cost and expense to run this business To compare the price of flying with an existing conventional airline with a hypothetical budget airline to find out the feasibility 6. Research method: For this research, I will use the inductive method approach, because my aim is explore the feasibility to set up an successful budget airline which could last for a long time in Hong Kong through observing variety of data such as budget airline business model, cost structure, government policy and so to analyze and find out the answers for it. And I will select the survey strategy for gaining Hong Kong peoples opinion of service they wish to add in without any additional cost for a budget airline service in order to calculate the operating cost of an hypothetical budget airline and so to set up the best price of a fare to equalize the cost. Then I will pick the memo-method as my unique data collection method, and carry out the cross-sectional study as the data would give me the result. For data collection, I will use questionnaire and the interview. 6.1 Questionnaire For the Questionnaire, I plan to interview 50 people, they are mostly business travelers and leisure travelers, I will approach them through my friends who are frequent flyers. 6.2 Interview: For individual interview, I hope that I can make an appointment with some of the staffs who work as an airline accountant and inside the airport authority, and gain financial information of running an airline company. 7. Project Plan: I would like to spend half a year to complete my project. Here is my work breakdown structure:

The Hawke Labor Government :: essays research papers

Affect of the Ideology of the Hawke Labor Government on Interactions with Business and Society Since the Second World War, the Australian state has adopted a distinct approach in its dealings with society and business. This approach has been characterised by government intervention in the activities of business and a comprehensive welfare system serving the vulnerable segments of society. Often, government intervenes in the activities of business to force industries to assume a social welfare capacity. Successive governmental actions have been influenced by the ideologies of the incumbent party. These ideologies have not merely made sense of social or economic realities, they acted as guides for government policy. Through the critical use of supporting evidence, the affect of the Hawke Labor government upon relations with business and society will be examined. The Hawke and later Keating governments were often accused by the Socialist left of subverting or ignoring Labor’s traditional egalitarian ideology. While its ideology may be the filter through which Labor saw social and economic realities, it was constrained by international competition and lagging economic growth to adopt a more pragmatic approach under some circumstances. Economic contraction coupled with high unemployment and interest rates meant Labor needed to adopt a measure of economic liberalism, in the same way as Social Democrat European governments are compelled to presently. Hawke’s Labor championed the ‘disadvantaged’, however defined, and altered Australian society by acting upon its ideology of egalitarianism. Socialism has consistently been associated with the welfare of an oppressed class (Heywood 1997, p. 50). Following the second world war, the Labor movement had been at the forefront of the campaign for granting aboriginal Australia voting rights. Consistent with that association, the Hawke government continued Labor’s special protection of aborigines with the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act’ of 1990. That special protection was granted upon the aboriginal is in keeping with Labor’s Socialist ethos - that of equal outcomes, not necessarily equal opportunity, and the belief that economic differences are due to differing social environments. Bauman explains the intention of the ‘inventors of the welfare state’, and the theory that previous deprivation made special protection necessary: "What they had in mind was getting rid of the deprivation which made collective care or positive discrimination necessary in the first place: to compensate for the inequality of chances and thus make chance equal." (Bauman 1998, p. 61) Upon critical assessment, Labor’s recent treatment of aboriginal Australia could be interpreted as being in contradiction with its ideology.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Eating Disorders Essay -- Research Health Weight Anorexia Essays

Eating Disorders   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eating disorders are devastating and harmful behavioral patterns that occur within people for numerous reasons. The three types of eating disorders I will be discussing include the three most common of the disorders: anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive over eating (known as binge eating). Though the disorders take physical damage on the body, they are not in fact physical illnesses. You cannot "catch" and eating disorder. Rather, they are mental issues that develop more frequently within females but do affect the male population somewhat as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anorexia is characterized by extremely low body weight and a distorted self body image accompanied with an intense fear of gaining weight. Extreme exercising is also commonly associated with anorexia. An anorexic may allow themselves any where from 100 to 1,000 calories a day. It is not food that turns them off however, it's the preoccupation with gaining weight. Food my in fact may be on their mind constantly. Some develop such obsessions with food that they will develop obsessions with cooking and preparing the foods… probably never even tasting them. An anorexic can lose at least 15% to as much as 60% of their normal body weight. Bulimia occurs with or without anorexia symptoms. Individuals with bulimia tend to binge eat then self induce vomiting. However, binge eating is sometimes not a component of bulimia. Individuals may eat normal amounts, and then excuse themselves to the bathroom. Another common trait is the use of laxatives, diuretics, and enemas in thoughts that it will excrete those calories. Bulimics are not necessarily underweight. Some are even over weight if not at a normal weight, and they almost always have a swollen appearance to their stomachs. Compulsive overeating is a disorder in which individuals overeat, often using food as an addictive substance. As others may turn to alcohol, drugs, or gambling to alleviate stress, compulsive overeaters turn to food. Food has many associations with comfort. Compulsive overeaters may feel empty inside, and turn to food to help them feel full. A binge can average from any where between 1,000 calories to 20,000, or even as low as 100 calories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An eating disorder can develop due to a number of reasons. It could be emotional and personality disorders, family pressures, a possible genetic tendency, not to mention... ...s the tops of finger joints.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary symptom of anorexia is major weight loss from excessive and continuous dieting. In women, menstruation would be infrequent or absent. The skin may be dry and covered with fine hair, and normal scalp hair may be thin. The feet and hands may be cold and sometimes swollen. The stomach is often bloated after eating. Thinking may be confused of slow, and the anorexic may have poor memory and lack of judgment. Most of all with these two disorders there is a distorted self body image involved. The anorexic or bulimic could look into a mirror and see a completely different body then their own. Any of these symptoms is a warning!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eating disorders are very scary and life threatening. Though figures say that they mostly occur with in teenage girls it could happen with any one. There is no one reason it happens either. Usually the patient with the disorder (mainly an anorexic or bulimic) will have an obsession with perfection and rituals. Though they are mental illnesses, treatment is available. Psychologically, as well as physically. If you suspect that someone you know has an eating disorder don't ignore it they are very dangerous!

Hunters in the Snow

Mikael Habtezion Mrs. Walker English 1B 5 July 2011 A Snowy Haven A neighborhood full of eyes watching with judgmental thoughts aimed at you. Gossip behind every corner, evaluating everything you do, avoiding any contact with someone so profligate. No one wishes to be in such a lonely and ostracized state. That’s why everyone strives to conceal each troublesome and embarrassing problem in their lives, appearing to the world as a worry-free, cheerful, and enthusiastic person.In the short story â€Å"Hunters in the Snow† by Tobias Wolf this act of concealing a person’s inner and true self in order to avoid judgment occurs amongst the main characters. There are three men who go on a hunting trip: Kenney, Frank, and Tub. As they find themselves unable to find deer to hunt, Tub shoots Kenney in fear of being shot himself since Kenney was threatening to shoot him first. The hunters reason amongst themselves that they have to drive him to the hospital themselves, but on the way Tub and Frank stop to warm up at bars a few times.In this story we learn that Tub claims to have problems with his glands, which is why he is overweight, and we get a clue that Frank is hiding something about his personal life in a conversation with Kenney. Throughout the story, these characters are always covered with white snow, even as the title suggests. Symbolically, white is a color of purity and innocence; throughout the story, Frank and Tub seem more innocent than their true selves would actually allow. Not until the end when they go into the bar to warm up and the snow â€Å"melts† off, are their genuine personalities and their secrets revealed.In â€Å"Hunters in the Snow† Wolf cleverly uses snow as a metaphor to mask Frank and Tub’s personal problems. In this short story, Frank’s personal problems are secreted through the metaphor of snow. The reader knows that he has a family: a loving wife and kids. Throughout the story the author ex poses nothing about Frank that would cause the reader to judge him in any way. However, one thing is brought up about a â€Å"certain babysitter† but not enough evidence is given in order to judge him yet (622). During the story, Frank was driving â€Å"with the now blowing in his face† (629). When Wolf says this, he elucidates to the observant reader that the snow is covering him. The white snow is brightening his outward appearance, and in turn, letting his inward appearance fade away. After their friend Kenney gets shot, they drive him to the hospital. They author displays them as good friends at this point. On the trip, Frank argues that they have to stop at a bar because â€Å"if [him] and Tub don’t get warmed up [they’re] going to freeze solid† (631). By saying this Wolf strengthens his metaphor as he puts more snow on him.When they arrive at the bar Frank orders coffee and he â€Å"craddl[es] the steaming cup in his hands. His skin was bone white† (631). At this moment, Wolf is placing the false identity next to what reveals it. He places the door next to the key; this key will unlock the secrets which lay behind that door. Wolf displays how white Frank is and how innocent he looks, but also in a parallel manner he displays the steaming coffee, which can literally melt that snow away and figuratively â€Å"melt† his false identity away. Right after the melting begins to take place, Frank’s inner secrets become revealed.Frank confides in Tub as he exposes that â€Å"[he] thinks [he’s] going to be leaving Nancy, [his wife]† (631). Tub tries to find a reason for this and becomes curious if Nancy has been having an affair. However, Wolf completely takes away Frank’s haven of innocence by elucidating that â€Å"Nancy hasn’t been running around†¦[Frank] has† even though â€Å"[s]he’s been damned good to [him] all these years† (632). By saying this, Fr ank’s refuge beneath the snow’s innocence is lost, and he becomes a target for judgment by the reader.After warming up and letting the snow melt off, it is unveiled that Frank has lost the purity he once had in the reader’s eyes and has stooped to a lower level of respect. After he confesses himself to Tub, â€Å"[t]he snow fall lightened and the clouds began to roll back off the fields† (633). When this is stated, the metaphor of the snow as a refuge which hid Frank’s secrets begins to fade away since his secret is made known to the reader. Not only does Frank use snow to hide himself and appear to be innocent, but Tub does as well.As his nickname suggests, Tub is overweight. When the three friends were hunting and took a break, everyone brought out their own fulfilling food, except for Tub. When they ate, â€Å"Tub put out one hardboiled egg and a stick of celery† and when his friends wondered how he can eat like this but still be gaining weight, Tub defended himself by saying, â€Å"’What am I supposed to do?†¦ It’s my glands’† (623). However, earlier when he was getting picked up by Kenney and Frank to go hunting, â€Å"a sandwich fell out of his pocket† then â€Å"[h]e picked up his sandwiches and cookies† (621).The reader is given an idea that something is fishy and it can be seen that there is more to the story than meets the eye, but we are not given enough information to judge Tub yet. When Frank and Tub were trying to help Kenney into the back of the truck after he was shot, Tub accidently dropped him. Frank became frustrated and declared, â€Å"You fat moron†¦ You aren’t good for diddly† (629). After this incident, Wolf pushes the reader to sympathize with Tub in his time of being isulted and therefore Wolf cleverly makes the previously aroused suspicions disappear.After they get Kenney in the truck, and they hit the road, â€Å"the snow was moving white wall in front of their lights; it swirled into the cab through the hole in the windshield and settled on them† (630). Wolf persists with his metaphor and shelters Tub’s inward identity and secrets with this white snow that displays purity. On their way to the hospital, Frank and Tub stop again to warm up. They used â€Å"an automatic hand dryer in the bathroom and they took turns standing in front of it†¦letting the jet of jot air breathe across their faces and chests† (633).This becomes Tub’s threshold to letting his secrets out. Just like Frank, Tub’s snow and light begin to melt away and his personal and embarrassing problems become visible. Tub sits down with Frank and throws his shrouded problems into the open for disclosure. Tub admits that â€Å"’when [he] said that about [his] glands, that wasn’t true. The truth is [he] shovels it in’† (634). With this, Tub is completely relinquished of his ivory   tower and his secret is revealed. Tub becomes a target for judgment, just like Frank, for the reader.As the essay has illustrated, snow is used as a metaphor by Wolf in order to hide the true identities and inward secrets of Frank and Tub. When the snow melts off of these hunters, their skin is revealed and likewise their inner secrets come to the surface and become subject to judgment. Everyday people become subject to judgment by society for large mistakes such as having an affair to small ones such as stepping on someone’s toe. It is almost impossible not to be judged in some way by society, just as it is almost impossible not to judge others.We tend to look at people as if we are better than them without even considering our own state of being. For example, a person shouldn’t accuse a neighbor of having a dirty floor, when their own carpet is soiled with three times the dirt. As time passes by hopefully we can look past the faults of our fellow human beings, an d accept that we are humans and have our own faults and have no business taking the roll of â€Å"judge† when it is unnecessary. Then can we abide in a world without the fear of being our true self; then we can progressively work on our personal problems and strive to become more improved and upright people.