Fast Food Nation Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Nation Essay The growth of the fast food industry over the past few decades into what it is today is an undeniable phenomenon that has occurred in an alarmingly rapid pace. The fact of the matter is it seems that a person has a very realistic chance of finding a McDonalds within a 4 mile radius of any household in the country, it is also arguable that this is already the case for the world as well, and if not now then very soon indeed. According to an article â€Å"Good Home CookingRight off the Assembly Line,† by James Bone on the Times Online Web site said, â€Å"only one-third of Americans cook meals from scratch†, meaning with fresh ingredients. Bone also reports that â€Å"Americans spend only thirty minutes cooking dinner, compared with 2-1/2 hours in the 1960s†. In his book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser says, â€Å"one-quarter of Americans eat in a fast-food restaurant each day† (3). Why are Americans eating so much fast food? The answer is simple: they are willing to trade quality for speed. While Americans may be attracted to food that is fast and easy, they are missing some important benefits of slowing down. In fact, Americans’ obsession with fast food is hurting not only their health but also the quality of their lives. The main reason that Americans are getting take-out food and cooking prepared meals is obvious: they don’t have enough time. Bone said â€Å"in more than two-thirds of households in America, two people are working†. People with demanding work schedules have little time for food shopping and cooking. Another reason that mealtime has become so short is that many younger adults grew up in what one might call a fast-food culture. In the past fifty years, inventions such as televisions, fax machines, and computers have increased the pace of life. At the same time, microwave ovens, drive-through restaurants, and TV dinners have changed the way Americans eat. Many people now prefer to eat quickly, even in their cars or in front of the television, instead of taking time to cook a meal and sit at the table. In this culture of instant gratification, people don’t think food is important enough to spend much time on. Even though Americans think that they are saving time and improving their lives by eating precooked and prepackaged food, their obsession with fast food is causing the quality of their lives to go down. Fast food doesnt contain the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. They have lots of preservatives, fat, sugar, and salt to hide the fact that they are not fresh. As a result, people may feel chronically fatigued and lack the energy they need to complete daily tasks. If people do not eat fresh foods that provide necessary vitamins and minerals, they may become tired and sick, and they will miss out on opportunities to enjoy their lives. Another serious health concern is obesity. There is an obesity epidemic in America today, especially with young person, that is related to the way people are eating. According to Schlosser, â€Å"the rate of obesity among American children is twice as high as it was in the late 1970s† (240). Obesity can lead to many health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In The Link Between Fast Food And The Obesity Epidemic. Dustin Frazier writes, â€Å"deaths due to poor diet and physical inactivity increased 33 percent over the past decade†. It cites a study concluding that, â€Å"poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of death in this country†. Certainly, if fast food causes people to become obese, and then obesity causes them to get sick or die, fast food cannot be considered â€Å"improvement† in Americans’ lives. Even though Americans may think they are saving time and improving their lives by eating fast food, they will actually have healthier and more enjoyable lives if they change the way they cook and eat. Making dinner from scratch is much healthier than getting burgers and fries from a fast-food restaurant. And people get more than just a full stomachthey get more time with family and friends and a good feeling from creating something healthy. People should learn to choose fast food carefully and remember the pleasure of eating good food in good company. Work Cited Bone, James. â€Å"Good Home CookingRight off the Assembly Line. † TimesOnline 27 Mar. 2006. 9 Oct. 2006http://www. timesonline. co. uk/article/0,,11069-2105427,00. html. Frazier, Dustin A. The Link Between Fast Food And The Obesity Epidemic. Health Matrix: journal Of Law-Medicine 17. 2 (2007): 291-317. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York, NY: Perennial, 2002. Print.

Free Native Son Essays: Bigger :: Native Son Essays

Native Son: Bigger    In his most famous novel, Native Sun, Richard Wright successfully develops three major themes: Racism, violence as a personal necessity, and social injustice. He has captured the powerful emotions and suffering, the frustrations and yearnings, the restlessness and hysteria, of all the Bigger Thomas's in this grippingly dramatic novel.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wright shows to us, through Bigger Thomas, how bad things were for the black race. He tells how Bigger was raised in a one ªroom apartment, living with his family and rats. The rent was very high, and his mother was barely able to pay it. Bigger's education like most blacks at that time , did not exceed the eighth grade. Without the help of the Relief Agency, Bigger and his family may not have been able to keep up much longer financially. Bigger had no money, except for the spare change his mother gives him, so he would usually just hang out at the pool hall, which was in the black district, or southside.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bigger used to pull little jobs with his friends, but all of them including Bigger wanted to pull off a big job, by robbing Blum's store. They were afraid though, of getting caught for robbing a white man. They know the police don't care about blacks, and would probably accuse them of many more crimes. Luckily for Bigger, though, the Relief Agency did find him a job with the Daltons. When Bigger went to the Daltons house for the first time, he brought his gun, because it made him feel equal to the white people.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Bigger got to the Daltons house, he didn't know whether to enter the house by the front or back door. He looks for a way to the back, and realizes the only way in is through the front door. As he rang the doorbell, he felt very disturbed. And when he started talking to Mr. Dalton, Mr. Dalton asks Bigger about his past crimes, which made Bigger feel pressured. Then Mary Dalton walked in and asked Bigger if he was in a union, if he knew about communism, and then still more questions, until her father finally asked her to leave the room. Bigger was afraid that this little brat was going to get him to lose his job. Then he met Peggy, a maid, Who asks Bigger all these questions, like he could understand what Free Native Son Essays: Bigger :: Native Son Essays Native Son: Bigger    In his most famous novel, Native Sun, Richard Wright successfully develops three major themes: Racism, violence as a personal necessity, and social injustice. He has captured the powerful emotions and suffering, the frustrations and yearnings, the restlessness and hysteria, of all the Bigger Thomas's in this grippingly dramatic novel.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wright shows to us, through Bigger Thomas, how bad things were for the black race. He tells how Bigger was raised in a one ªroom apartment, living with his family and rats. The rent was very high, and his mother was barely able to pay it. Bigger's education like most blacks at that time , did not exceed the eighth grade. Without the help of the Relief Agency, Bigger and his family may not have been able to keep up much longer financially. Bigger had no money, except for the spare change his mother gives him, so he would usually just hang out at the pool hall, which was in the black district, or southside.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bigger used to pull little jobs with his friends, but all of them including Bigger wanted to pull off a big job, by robbing Blum's store. They were afraid though, of getting caught for robbing a white man. They know the police don't care about blacks, and would probably accuse them of many more crimes. Luckily for Bigger, though, the Relief Agency did find him a job with the Daltons. When Bigger went to the Daltons house for the first time, he brought his gun, because it made him feel equal to the white people.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Bigger got to the Daltons house, he didn't know whether to enter the house by the front or back door. He looks for a way to the back, and realizes the only way in is through the front door. As he rang the doorbell, he felt very disturbed. And when he started talking to Mr. Dalton, Mr. Dalton asks Bigger about his past crimes, which made Bigger feel pressured. Then Mary Dalton walked in and asked Bigger if he was in a union, if he knew about communism, and then still more questions, until her father finally asked her to leave the room. Bigger was afraid that this little brat was going to get him to lose his job. Then he met Peggy, a maid, Who asks Bigger all these questions, like he could understand what

Hong Kong

What about Hong Kong? If we explore the culture of Hong Kong through the lens of the 5-D Model, we can get a good overview of the deep drivers of its culture relative to other world cultures. Power distance This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal – it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.At 68 Hong Kong has a high score on PDI – i. e. a society that believes that inequalities amongst people are acceptable. The subordinate-superior relationship tends to be polarized and there is no defense against power abuse by superiors. Individuals are influenced by formal authority and sanctions and are in general optimistic about people’s capacity for leadership and initiative. Individualism The fundamental issue addr essed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members.It has to do with whether people? s self-image is defined in terms of â€Å"I† or â€Å"We†. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty. At a score of 25 Hong Kong is a collectivist culture where people act in the interests of the group and not necessarily of themselves. In-group considerations affect hiring and promotions with closer in-groups (such as family) are getting preferential treatment.Whereas relationships with colleagues are cooperative for in-groups they are cold or even hostile to out-groups. Personal relationships prevail over task and company. Communication is indirect and the harmony of the group has to be maintained, open conflicts are avoided. Masculinity / Femininity A high score (masc uline) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organisational behaviour.A low score (feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine). At 57 Hong Kong is a somewhat masculine society –success oriented and driven. The need to ensure success can be exemplified by the fact that many will spend many hours at work.Service people (such as hairdressers) will provide services until very late at night. Another example is that students care very much about their exam scores and ranking as this is the main criteria to achieve success or not. Uncertainty avoidance The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways.The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the UAI score. At 29 Hong Kong has a low score on uncertainty avoidance. Adherence to laws and rules may be flexible to suit the actual situation and pragmatism is a fact of life. The people in Hong Kong are comfortable with ambiguity; the Chinese language is full of ambiguous meanings that can be difficult for Western people to follow. They are adaptable and entrepreneurial. Long term orientationThe long term orientation dimension is closely rel ated to the teachings of Confucius and can be interpreted as dealing with society’s search for virtue, the extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of view. With a score of 96 Hong Kong is a highly long term oriented society in which persistence and perseverance are normal. Relationships are ordered by status and the order is observed. People are thrifty and sparing with resources and investment tends to be in long term projects such as real estate. Traditions can be adapted to suit new conditions.

Stevensons Use of Literary Techniques to Portray Evil in...

This essay will focus on how Robert Louis Stevenson presents the nature of evil through his novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Using ideas such as duality, the technique used to highlight the two different sides of a character or scene, allegories, an extended metaphor which has an underlying moral significance, and hypocrisy; in this book the Victorians being against all things evil but regularly taking part in frown able deeds that would not be approved of in a ‘respectable’ society. This links in with the idea of secrecy among people and also that evil is present in everyone. The novel also has strong ties and is heavily influenced by religion. Stevenson, being brought up following strong†¦show more content†¦This gives the impression that Hyde is a monster than comes out only when it is dark and nobody can see him. Whatever he is, he cannot be called human. In Victorian England, if a person looked ugly, criminal-like or ‘giving an impression of deformity’ they were considered to be ugly and criminal-like inside to. If you imagine a person reading this story when that was what was thought, the description of Mr Hyde would instantly label him as the bad character. During the story Hyde’s actions compounds our first impressions of him. Stevenson never says exactly what Hyde takes pleasure in on his nightly forays but it is thought to be of things that would ruin Jekyll’s reputation if they ever came out. There is thought to be strong ties to drugs, alcohol addiction and other dangerous dealings; ‘he had once visited her (the maid’s) master and for whom she had conceived a dislike’. In the very first chapter, Mr Enfield tells his friend, Mr Utterson, a story where he witnessed a strange looking man walking along a deserted street, who ‘trampled calmly over (a) child’s body and left her screaming on the ground’ whe n they collided. When Mr Utterson approaches Hyde in the street, Hyde shrinks back ‘with a hissing intake’. The word ‘hissing’ procures up the image in the mind of a snake, like the devil in the form of a serpent in the bible. During the book there are many references and motifs to hell and evil; ‘really like Satan’,’ devilish little man’,Show MoreRelatedThe Way Robert Louis Stevenson Uses Literary Techniques in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde1103 Words   |  5 PagesThe Way Robert Louis Stevenson Uses Literary Techniques in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella that was written an 1886 and has gone down in history as one of the most famous works of gothic horror fiction. The term Jekyll and Hyde personality is used in society today to depict someone with a dual personality who is a kind of schizophrenic, describing someone who lives a double life of outward morality and inward iniquity. AtRead More How Does Robert Louis Stevenson use literary techniques to illustrate2496 Words   |  10 PagesHow Does Robert Louis Stevenson use literary techniques to illustrate the social, historical and moral points he is trying to make in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Throughout the Novella, ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, the author Robert Louis Stevenson uses a wide range of literary techniques in a skilful and sophisticated way to help achieve his effects and put his points across. Stevenson’s unique use of language is vital to the success of the Novella, with the structural and linguistic devices playingRead MoreStevensons Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde2427 Words   |  10 PagesStevensons Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tells of how a scientist abuses his knowledge so that he can become another being but the double he becomes is one that cannot be directly blamed for his crimes and actions. Throughout the story Stevenson uses many different literary techniques to convey how the characters feel. These can be categorized into many different themes: the