The Road To Freedom free essay sample

Having been born in Communist Poland, I have come to infinitely value my freedom and opportunities in America although attaining them was neither easy nor without pain. When I was seven years old, my parents made a brave decision. They risked never seeing the things and people that were dear to their hearts their families, their friends, and their home so that I could have a chance for a future. Many times the journey to freedom almost crushed both our hearts and souls in its mighty grip, yet the three of us never gave up. At times all we had to eat was some bread and a small jar of jam which we bought with the few pennies that I had earned catering to an old, overweight man who petrified me. Yet the fear of starvation scared me more. We even risked our lives on a false route to freedom; we would, in all likelihood, have died had not the Yugoslavian border police caught us. We will write a custom essay sample on The Road To Freedom or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Later we learned that only two people had ever made it by that false route. Eventually, through our persistence and the strength of our iron-clad hearts, we gained political asylum and our freedom here in the United States. We never gave up, and now our dreams are partially realized. My mother is attending the New England College of Optometry where her success is twice that of most students half her age, and my father is a very successful physical therapist. Now, with that same determination and iron-clad heart, I want to use every bit of the freedom and opportunity that my parents so nobly won for me.

Real Men Dont Cry How Toxic Masculinity Negatively Impacts Us Professor Ramos Blog

Real Men Dont Cry How Toxic Masculinity Negatively Impacts Us â€Å"Women are more emotional than men.† It has been said so often that it has acquired a veneer of truth. This statement highlights just how much toxic masculinity has become a prominent topic of discussion recently. It is marked by men and boys taking on traditional male gender roles that restrict the kinds of emotions allowable for boys or men to express and includes the social expectation that men should seek to be dominant (â€Å"the alpha male†) and limit their emotional range to primarily expressions of anger. The root of it is believed to be hypermasculinity, which is the psychological term for the exaggeration of male behavior which is also linked to the â€Å"pressure to be a man.† This essay seeks to explore how toxic masculinity is created through cultural pressure and how it negatively impacts people of all genders. We as Americans learn a lot of our socio-cultural behaviors from technology, whether it be television, video games, advertisements, or even pornography. Many times men are portrayed as strong heroes who have a whole hidden identity. They are big and bad while in their costumes saving peoples lives and being all heroic and yet, once they take off their costumes it is revealed that they have some sort of deep dark secret that they are hiding. The secret is that they have emotions and feelings. This hero scenario is the real life of many men, but instead of having a heroic demeanor they shadow their emotions with anger and violence because they do not have a role model who expresses emotions healthily. Toxic masculinity stems from cultural pressure showing boys what men are really supposed to be. Society sets impossible standards for both men and women, as women should be polite and demure and men should be their protectors, strong and stoic. These accentuate one another as men are now to be the protectors. They are never a victim and their respect is earned through toughness and control. Men are told that emotion is weakness and in sports to â€Å"play through the pain.† No weakness should be revealed. According to Rachel Giese â€Å"In order to be a â€Å"real man,† a guy has to be stoic, aggressive, financially successful, sexually rapacious, physically courageous, muscle-bound, risk-taking, tough and in control.† She tells that while some argue that men are naturally inclined to violence and hardwired for aggression, there are other researchers who argue that the rules of masculinity compel this behavior. These researchers tell of how men who exhibit these â€Å"conventional masculine traits,† or are anxious with their manliness, are more likely to engage in harmful behaviors such as sexual harassment, binge drinking, and bullying other men. They are also more likely to exhibit signs of depression. A well known character who exhibits these behaviors is Gaston from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Toxic masculinity is not only harmful to the thousands of men conditioned to suppress their emotions but also to everyone around them. Men do not show emotion whether a positive or negative emotion; they have been told not to. So when emotion is finally pushed out of them it’s an explosive angry outburst which can oftentimes be of harm to the people around them at the time. These outbursts can manifest as passive aggression, sexual aggression, and even violence. â€Å"While feminists are especially concerned about it, toxic masculinity was not a term we coined. It initially emerged out of the men’s movements of the 1980s and 1990s to refer to what they saw as a narrow, socially constructed version of manhood that compelled men to deny their true feelings and to compete with each other rather than bond,† Susan J. Douglas states in her article Why Toxic Masculinity Hurts Men as Well as Women. She also talks about the backlash that has been received over the anti-toxic masculinity â€Å"movement,† saying that people are angry at feminists for being anti-man and blaming men for being born with innate wiring, when in fact   their argument is the against the culture not the man himself. The backlash has most often been thrown from right wing conservatives as they have distorted it in their minds to be â€Å"about hating men.† After finding out that some universities were offering courses to understand and combat the toxic masculinity culture, which was a response to sexual assaults happening in such high numbers on college campuses, Fox news journalist said that they were â€Å"trying to make men grow lady parts,† not realizing that they are just trying to educate students on healthier lifestyle choices. This defensiveness is a sign of ignorance towards the subject. This is also a problem affecting the worlds LGBT ( lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender) community. A group of Icelandic men are sharing their experiences through the hashtag #karlmennskan (#masculinity). Bjarni Snaebjornsson shared his personal story of growing up in the Iceland countryside and realizing at a young age that he was gay. He was bullied and made fun of so much that he decided to hide his sexuality. He said it made him lose the courage to be himself. One of the lead organizers of this movement is named Porsteinn V. Einarsson. He shared that most of the participants had stories of how the preconceived notions of manhood prevented men from expressing how they felt. One man, after a miscarriage, went on car rides alone just to grieve over this misfortune. This movement has been widely backed by many groups. Marc Feigen Fasteau once said that â€Å"the male stereotype makes masculinity not just a fact of biology but something that must be proved and re-proved, a continual quest for an ever-receding Holy Grail†. In conclusion, toxic masculinity grows through cultural pressure and negatively impacts people of all genders. The standards set for men in this day and age are impossible and unhealthy for both men and the people around them. Emotions are not pain that you should just play through but valid feelings that should be addressed. Real men are not strong and stoic, they are strong emotional beings.                                                                              Annotated Bibliography Giese, R. (2018, February 28). Why Masculinity Needs To Be The Next Big Conversation In The #MeToo Movement. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.chatelaine.com/living/toxic-masculinity-essay/   Ã‚  This article talks about the feminist perspective on toxic masculinity and how it affects both genders. She talks about the nature vs. nurture aspect of the toxic masculinity phenomenon. I believe this is a reliable source as she specializes in this area of study.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Douglas, S. J. Why Toxic Masculinity Hurts Men as Well as Women. Retrieved October   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3, 2018, from http://inthesetimes.com/article/20303/the-antidote-to-toxic-masculinity   Ã‚  Ã‚  She covers backlash around the anti-toxic masculinity movement, stating that it is not anti-man but anti- pic masculinity culture. She states that most backlash is received from people within the conservative party. I find this to be a reliable resource as the author is a scholar. (2012, April 7). Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://documentarylovers.com/film/tough-guise-violence-media-and-the-crisis-in-masculinity/   Ã‚  Ã‚  This documentary film explores the male culture in depth. It offers an analysis and opens it up   for discussion. I am using it in my essay to explore the ideas the were shown. It is a scholarly source. Clemens, C. (2017, December 11). What We Mean When We Say, Toxic Masculinity. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/what-we-mean-when-we-say-toxic-masculinity   Ã‚  Ã‚  From a teachers perspective she tells of how she navigates her students through learning this culture and how to deal with it both in class and in day to day. As well as learning were you fit in the culture. This is a reliable firsthand experience source.   9, 2018, from http://icelandreview.com/news/2018/03/16/social-media-campaign-addresses-toxic-masculinity Ćirić, J. (2018, March 16). Social Media Campaign Addresses Toxic Masculinity. Retrieved October This source is an example of how men worldwide are being affected. It ells of a social media trend that men of Iceland created to notice their own toxic traits. This is an unbiased reliable source, as it tells the firsthand stories of different men.

Hong Kong Conflict of Laws Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hong Kong Conflict of Laws - Term Paper Example This principle was also applied by Bingham J in the case of The Iran Vojdan, where a clause for dispute settlement provided for (a) Iranian law in Iran (b) German law in Hamburg and (c) English law in London. But applying the principle of the closest and most real connection, Lord Bingham held that the proper law to apply would be German law with the proper jurisdiction being the English Courts. Various factors are taken into consideration by the Courts in arriving at a determination of the proper law on the basis of the closest and most real connection, including the place of contracting, the place where the contractual obligations were performed and the principal places of business of the parties4. The application of the closest and most real principle is found under Hong Kong’s choice of law rules with respect to contractual obligations and has also been recommended as a guiding principle when courts experience characterization problems. This principle has also been applied in non-contractual issues, for instance in matters involving capacity, matrimonial issues, including divorce and division of matrimonial assets, trusts and property cases5. One example, is the case of Hayim v Citibank6 which was an appeal from Hong Kong involving issues of trust with Plaintiff’s will having been made in Hong Kong. But the matter was decided under English law, which was held to satisfy the closest and most real principle because no evidence was led as to Hong Kong or American law. There is provision for application of this principle in the law of mainland China as well, under Article 126 of contract law provisions, which states; â€Å"Where parties to the foreign related contract failed to select the applicable law, the contract shall be governed by the law of the country with the closest connection thereto†7. When no

Dubai Vs. USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dubai Vs. USA - Essay Example Body language forms an important part of the communication process though it does not stand as the only form of communication. Non-verbal communication will incorporate many aspects such as dressing, culture and region. In Dubai, males commonly put on long dresses. This has formed an important part of non-verbal communication often relating to the Muslim culture with other Muslims doing the same in other parts of the world. In America, the dress code is different. Men will less likely be found in such long dresses and if found, the conclusion made is that they could be a Muslim. Women in Dubai which is a male dominated region speak softly. Though significant steps have been made to address the issue and empower the women, the culture they have been brought up in dictated that they should be loyal to their husbands which makes them or puts them in an awkward state. Comparing that with the U.S., one realizes that women in the U.S. are more vocal. They take control of things and spear head changes in their respective places of influence. This has been cultivated by the culture they have brought up in. The two differing cultures have different expectations for each gender with the Arab in Dubai recovering from a purely male dominated one and the U.S. being a fairly equal power population. Therefore, looking at the verbal and non-verbal communication in those places, the change that will likely be noted is lack of confidence in some of the ladies in Dubai while those in the U.S. will take the center stage and deliver the message they wanted. Whereas most people will likely adapt to the American culture and be in a position to maneuver well in communication, study has shown that a business trip to Dubai will be more complicated. Though not a must, one will be in a better position if he can fairly utilize verbal and nonverbal communication. On top of this, he should be in a position to follow and understand the basic pointers in the Arab workplace. The role of

New technolgy work and the economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

New technolgy work and the economy - Essay Example It complements other organizational management indicatives in providing a focus on the sustenance of competitive advantage. Every company has its own unique knowledge management strategy. To understand how knowledge management affects work and the economy, it is important to understand what it is in all aspects (Christensen, 2003). There is no universal definition of knowledge management, but a few experts have tried to put to words what this kind of management entails. Knowledge management is the term used to refer to the â€Å"collection of processes that govern the creation, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge† (Newman, 2002). It can also be said to be the systematic process by which information is found, selected, organized, distilled and presented. This systematic process is carried out in a way that serves to improve the employees’ understanding of a particular area of interest. In other words knowledge management is a process that should be used to enhance the objectives and goals of the organization (Nonaka, 2002). Knowledge management allows an organization to achieve its goals and objectives. This means that knowledge management is an important factor that contributes to the organization’s long term success without putting too much strain on the existing resources. All the different definitions are similar in that they emphasize the importance of the organization as a whole in the process of knowledge management. Most of the definitions point out that knowledge emanates from individuals and that not a single one of them knows everything. It is therefore important to manage all this knowledge so that everyone on the organization can gain something from one another (Christensen, 2003). The aim of any organization is to ensure that it is as profitable as possible. Mnprofitability can be achieved through many ways, including proper knowledge management. Effective knowledge management makes it possible for a company to serve customers to

Effectiveness of Different Coaching Styles in Sport

Effectiveness of Different Coaching Styles in Sport Sports Coaching CONTENTS (JUMP TO) Principles and best practice in coaching The effectiveness of different styles of coaching in different contexts How models of coaching can help practitioners References Principles and best practice in coaching The ideal of sport has changed markedly in the past fifteen to twenty years (Polley, 1998)[1]. What was once seen as leisure and/or a recreational activity is now viewed primarily as a vehicle through which one can instigate deep-seated cultural and societal change. This is especially true in the UK which has a particularly insipid connection to sport with a variety of games considered endemic in British society; indeed, many of the most popular sports in the world were played first in Britain and their governing bodies still reside within British state borders. As a result, as Dawn Penney (2000:59) declares, sport, society and equity are interlinked to a degree that has only very recently been acknowledged by academic, specifically sociological, study. â€Å"Physical education and sport are part of our social and cultural worlds. The relationship is dynamic, with the policies and practices of physical education reflecting, but also clearly shaping (reproducing and/or challenging), the values and interests of broader society.†[2] It is for this reason that the concept of ‘best practice’ has attained a new level of significance in recent years relating specifically to the adoption of the finest possible academic, psychological and ethical procedures especially with regards to children and young people so as to prepare them mentally and physically for the multiple demands of adult life whether this be in a sporting or non‑sporting context. ‘Best practice’ utilises research conducted primarily between the years 1950 to 1980 with the implementation of these strategies taking place over the past thirty years. It is a wholly recent phenomenon and, as such, is lacking in some areas of research compared to other fields of sociological study. However, in the twenty first century the amount of attention devoted to the subject is likely to increase with the dual spectre of globalisation and commercialisation making sports a highly lucrative hub of activity. The principles governing the concept of ‘best practice’ are centred upon the twin aims of forging a common sense of unity and teamwork within a group of players and at the same time to nurture individual skill and flair on a one-to-one basis so that the more gifted players’ skills are honed without neglecting the primacy of the team as the over-riding ethos of ‘best practice’. This essential dualism which resides at the epicentre of ‘best practice’ coaching concepts is inherently affected by the evolution of sports players as they grow up. For instance, young players (aged six to ten years old) are much more inclined to gravitate towards the individual element of sports and competition with the group dynamic coming at a later age (developing primarily between the ages of twelve and sixteen). For this reason, there is no ‘best way’ to ‘best practice’; no right or wrong. Rather, there is a great exchange of fluidit y between concepts, principles and practices that should be implemented on an individual basis. This is as true of coaching adults (clients) as it is of coaching youngsters where Jennifer Rogers (2007:7-10)[3] has outlined six core principles that ‘define’ the role of the coach in the modern era. These are: The client is resourceful (the coach’s sole aim is to work with the client to achieve all of their potential – as defined by the client). The coach’s role is to spring loose the client’s resourcefulness. Coaching addressing the whole person: past, present and future. The client sets the agenda. The coach and the client are equals. Coaching is about change and action. The common denominator outlined by Rogers is that coaching is always triggered by change – be it a change in age, in circumstance, in style or technique. Furthermore, because change is the currency in which the coach does business, there is bound to be wildly fluctuating styles of coaching that fit wildly different social and cultural contexts and it is towards these different styles and contexts that attention must now be turned. The effectiveness of different styles of coaching in different contexts It has been shown that the evolution of young people greatly affects the implementation of coaching methods pertaining to the precarious balance between coaching the individual and the group dynamic. This is necessarily dependent on the kind of sport being coached: team sports such as football require a dedication to the team ethic while sports such as tennis and golf stress the individual element of competition. Sports such as cricket combine the team ethic with a heavy emphasis upon individual ability, certainly with regards to batting, which is a very solitary skill that requires intensive levels of concentration and individualism (Palmer, 1999)[4]. Thus, in the first instance, effective coaching requires the practitioner to tailor his or her coaching style to the sport in question and then to further tailor these coaching techniques to the age group of the team or individual being coached. This inherent diversity in coaching styles is also true of the economic context of coaching adults. Certain sports require greater levels of economic participation than others. Golf, for example, is an expensive sport that demands that the participant is well funded so as to purchase the necessary equipment such as clubs, bags, clothing and, most importantly, membership to a golf club. The same can be said of tennis and cricket where the equipment is a vital part of the ultimate success or failure of the technique of the client in question. Economic context is also important with regards to the psychological element of coaching with the social, cultural and political problems of urban poverty playing an important part in the types of coaching techniques which are likely to yield the best results from any given demographic. There can be no doubt that a coaching style employed for a group of middle class practitioners with free access to capital, time and resources is going to be marke dly different from the kind of coaching style deployed for children and adults who do not have access to the same luxuries and who therefore are going to respond to different coaching techniques. Economic context, demographic context and age context are further compounded by the increasingly common problem of multiculturalism and, specifically, globalisation, which has obvious consequences for teachers, mentors and coaches operating at all levels of society throughout the UK. When one thinks, for instance, of the impact of language upon coaching (relaying tactics, pointing out areas of strength and weakness, and, most significantly, attempting to instil a team ethic) one can see the extent to which the role of the coach is inexorably intertwined with the fate of mass movement of peoples across the planet in the twenty first century. As Jones (1997:27) declares, â€Å"there is no more important task within the wider coaching process than that of communication.†[5] Bains and Patel (1994) have long pointed out the blatant under‑representation of Asians playing professional football in England despite some areas in the Midlands and the North-West of England having u rban areas with a higher than 50% ratio of ethnic communities. â€Å"Recent Sport England national statistics confirmed that people of South Asian origin have markedly lower participation rates than other minorities or the indigenous population.† (Collins, 2003:75)[6] This anomaly with regards to the high numbers of Asians living in modern Britain and the disproportionately small number of Asians playing football, it has been argued, is due to coaches indulging in outmoded stereotyping when it comes to coaching players from the Asian community. Asians are still seen as primarily academic achievers over sports players and where they are perceived as sports players they are still pigeon‑holed in typical Asian images of cricket players; rarely are they ever seen as potential professional footballers. Likewise black players are still seen as primarily quick, powerful players; rarely, the tactical brains or the spiritual heartbeat of the side. This cultural element to sports coaching is exacerbated by the historical gender divide between males and females in a sporting context. Here, just as with ethnic people, stereotypes remain the dominant coaching paradigm. Girls and women are expected to play traditionally female sports such as netball, hockey, lacrosse, swimming and tennis. This, however, is in direct opposition to the growing numbers of women playing traditionally male‑dominated sports such as rugby, cricket and football with the latter in particular experiencing a veritable boom in female interest since the beginning of the 1990s. â€Å"A generation ago, sport was a core, patriarchal institution in a larger, contested gender order. Now, with the dramatic growth of girls’ and women’s athletics participation, sport no longer simply or unambiguously plays this reactionary role in gender relations. Sport is now more internally contested.† (2002 introduction xxii)[7] It is, in the final analysis, up to the sports coach to take each of these mitigating factors and contexts into account so that the practitioner is able to coach skills and techniques that are relevant to the contemporary era as opposed to perpetuating anachronistic stereotypes that do little to advance civilised society in both a sporting and non‑sporting context. How models of coaching can help practitioners Studying different models of coaching represents the scientific element of sports mentoring whereby the student and practitioner can attempt to explain the essence and purpose of coaching via the development of models (Fairs, 1987:17-19)[8]. It can be separated into two distinct camps: the ‘of’ coaching camp and the ‘for’ coaching camp. Models ‘of’ coaching are based upon empirical research investigating best practice while the ‘for’ coaching models are idealistic representations that arise from attempts to identify a concrete set of assumptions about the coaching process. The majority of practitioners tend to employ a symbiosis of the two models incorporating an ‘of’ and ‘for’ model of best practice. In this way, empirical data can be used in a realistic setting that takes into account the age, skills and other contexts that affect the coaching process. However, these two models of coaching underline the e xtent to which academia and intellectual analysis has come to dominate the empirical study of sports performance when in fact the first hand experience of established practitioners ought to form the basis of all models of coaching sports. The difference, essentially, comes down to one of theory and practice with the concept of ‘expertise’ necessarily clouded by the arguments of the academics and the professionals respectively. Once again, though, the individual element of the coaching process must be highlighted so as to reflect the inherent complexity that takes place within the field of sports with vastly differing levels of skill and ability being matched by the vastly different psychological reactions to slumps in form and technique. It is, ultimately, up to the national governing sports bodies to ensure that the primacy of holistic coaching practice does not become relegated at the expense of literature, theory and academia (Lyle, 1999:1-24).[9] For this reason, organisations such as Sport England have been established by the central government in a bid to impose a centralise model for sports development on regionalised sports bodies so as to directly influence and aid practitioners. The primary model deployed by Sport England is the â€Å"traditional sports development continuum† – a pyramid which locates foundation as the core, base value followed in hierarchical terms by participation, performance and, finally, excellence (Bramhan et al, 1999:3). This generic model is dovetailed by more advanced models for practitioners to use with athletes at a professional or elite stage in their sports. As is so often the case it is the Australians who represent the pinnacle of academic research into the coaching process with the revolutionary ‘Old Way, New Way’ technique correction model offering an intensive ‘one session’ approach to the problem of proven performers suffering seemingly inexplicable dips in form and technique with the case of Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie standing tall as the most prominent example of therapeutic success achieved via sports practitioners embracing new means of solving old problems. ‘Old Way, New Way’ is consequently a manifestation of the much sought after collaboration between academic researchers and sports practitioners which works on a psychological as well as a physical level in a bid to continue the sportsperson’s quest for skill development and continuous technical improvement. References Bramhan, P., Hylton, K., Jackson, D. and Nesti, M. (1999) Introduction, in, Bramhan, P., Hylton, K., Jackson, D. and Nesti, M (Eds.) Sport Development: Policy, Process and Practice London and New York: Routledge Collins, M.F. (2003), Social Exclusion from Sport and Leisure, quoted in, Houlihan, B. (Ed.) Sport and Society: a Student Introduction London: SAGE Fairs, J. (1987) The Coaching Process: The Essence of Coaching, in, Sports Coach Journal, Volume 11, Number 1 Jones, R.L. (1997) Effective Instructional Coaching Behaviour: A Review of Literature, in, International Journal of Physical Education, Volume, 24, Number 1 Lyle, J.W.B. (1999) The Coaching Process: Principles and Practice, in, Cross, N. and Lyle, J.W.B. (Eds.) The Coaching Process: Principles and Practice for Sport Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Messner, M.A. (2002), Taking the Field: Women, Men and Sports Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press Palmer, G.V. (1999) Cricket Coachmaster: Batting Mechanics London: Gary Palmer Penney, D. (2000) Physical Education: In what and who’s Interests? , in, Jones, R.L. and Armour, K.M. (Eds.) Sociology of Sport: Theory and Practice London and New York: Longman Polley, M. (1998) Moving the Goalposts: A History of Sport and Society since 1945 London and New York: Routledge Rogers, J. (2007) Coaching Skills Buckingham: Open University Press 1 Footnotes [1] Polley, M. (1998) Moving the Goalposts: A History of Sport and Society since 1945 London and New York: Routledge [2] Penney, D. (2000) Physical Education: In what and who’s Interests? , in, Jones, R.L. and Armour, K.M. (Eds.) Sociology of Sport: Theory and Practice London and New York: Longman [3] Rogers, J. (2007) Coaching Skills Buckingham: Open University Press [4] Palmer, G.V. (1999) Cricket Coachmaster: Batting Mechanics London: Gary Palmer [5] Jones, R.L. (1997) Effective Instructional Coaching Behaviour: A Review of Literature, in, International Journal of Physical Education, Volume, 24, Number 1 [6] Collins, M.F. (2003), Social Exclusion from Sport and Leisure, quoted in, Houlihan, B. (Ed.) Sport and Society: a Student Introduction London: SAGE [7] Messner, M.A. (2002), Taking the Field: Women, Men and Sports Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press [8] Fairs, J. (1987) The Coaching Process: The Essence of Coaching, in, Sports Coach Journal, Volume 11, Number 1 [9] Lyle, J.W.B. (1999) The Coaching Process: Principles and Practice, in, Cross, N. and Lyle, J.W.B. (Eds.) The Coaching Process: Principles and Practice for Sport Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann

The Portrayal of Gabriel Oak in Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Ha

In the novel Far from the Madding Crowd written by Thomas Hardy, I will be observing in detail the main character, Gabriel Oak, a young sheep farmer. I am going to determine how he is described as a heroic character in the first seven chapters. Gabriel Oak is portrayed to the reader as a heroic character in several different ways. In chapter one, there is no action or events. Alternatively, in the first paragraph, there is a description of Oak, which is mainly focused on his broad smile. His smile is compared using a simile, 'like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.' This immediately implies that he is a cheerful, good-natured character. Secondly, he is referred to with many different names. Farmer Oak illustrates his status, respect and authority. His Christian name, Gabriel has a reference towards the bible, as Gabriel was the good angel of God. Lastly, his surname, Oak, this may refer to wood as Oak is strong and durable which may represent his strength and durability. This is stressing the positive quality of Oak's character. The reader starts to get an encouraging image of Gabriel once reading the first two paragraphs. Farmer Oak's background is rather straightforward although he has had many jobs. He is conscientious and thorough as he cares greatly on how everything is presented and what people think of him. He was firstly a shepherd and then a bailiff before becoming a farmer. His father was a shepherd, so he had grown up on a farm learning the skills required from his dad. Moreover, the clothes Gabriel wore were not pretentious. I know this because on his working days he wore his clothes ... ...ently told everybody what had to be done to help and soon the fire was under control. Without Gabriel's good sense and bravery the fire would have been unmanageable. Oaks courage was admired by all of the spectators and many compliments soon spread through the crowd. Once Gabriel had found out that Bathsheba was in need of a shepherd, he was not too modest to ask her. He did not let what happened in the past effect his decision in asking her for a job and did not seem embarrassed. This shows his respect towards people and shows that he is a highly regarded man. All these positive qualities show that Gabriel Oak is a reputable man and is willing to help anyone, even if he does not know them. It shows that he is courageous and not a proud man. All of which portray to the reader that Gabriel Oak is a heroic character.