Obesity Health or Feminist Issue

Obesity is one of the urgent problems of the modern society. These days, this problem bothers minds of almost all women around the world. There are many issues related to the problem of overweight, the discussions are spreading far behind the health problems related to obesity, they reach cultural, social and psychological dimensions. When it comes to obesity issue, most of us will readily agree that it is rather a female problem than a male one.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Obesity: Health or Feminist Issue? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the light of pursuit of modern women to correspond to contemporary ideals of beauty and, at the same time to be independent of the social standards, obesity becomes a feminist issue, as it is widely considered to be a â€Å"rebellion against the powerlessness of the woman, against the pressure to look and act in a certain way and against being evaluated on her ability to create an image of herself† (Orbach 204). There this agreement usually ends, however, on the question of woman’s independence and her health, the issue of obesity provides a topic for further discussions. Whereas some are convinced that obesity is a rebellion against social standards, others maintain that obesity is entirely a health and psychological problem that cannot be associated with feminism and should be discussed only as a medical issue. I’m of two minds about the issue of obesity. On the one hand, I agree that women should fight with standards of beauty that are laid upon them by means of media and ideal appearance of top models that look at ordinary women from glance magazines and ads. On the other hand, I’m not sure if overweight can be a good means to fight against sex inequality and means to proclaim woman’s independence. Thus, I argue that obesity is a big problem, but one should not run to extremes and take obesity only as â€Å" a response to the inequality of the sexes† (Orbach 204), but it should regard it as a health problem as well. Indeed, it goes without saying that even in a modern society woman cannot be completely equal to man. This inequality goes much further than social right and other political or social issues. The problem lies much deeper and it deal with stereotypes and psychology of both sexes. Modern media provides two images of a woman, thus dictating priorities for her and dividing her life in two major periods. The first period is when she is not married and should find a man to create a future family: during this period she should be pretty and sexy. The second period is her family life when she should support her husband and children and be a perfect â€Å"mistress†. This woman’s â€Å"functions† are not emphasized, but widely provided and create stereotypes. In addition, the relationships between man and women are identified as â€Å"man looks at women.Adv ertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Woman watches themselves being looked at† (Orbach 202). Consequently, this makes a woman to be responsible for her â€Å"good look† and emphasizes â€Å"presentation as the central aspect of a woman’s existence and makes her extremely self-conscious† (Orbach 202). Such situation can be commented with words by Susie Orbach that â€Å"the woman’s body is not her own (203). In their fight against these stereotypes, feminists claim that: â€Å"Being fat represents an attempt to break free of society’s sex stereotype. Getting fat can thus be understood as a definite and purposeful act; it is a direct, conscious or unconscious, challenge to sex-role stereotyping and culturally defined experience of womanhood† (Orbach 201). In this light, being fat can be considered as an attempt to show one’s indivi duality and independence. However, is this the only reason why women put weight? Yves Engler claims that â€Å"advertising fatty foods and putting delicious looking pictures for all to see is the cause of our fat† (120). Indeed, in some extend we are forced to be dependent on fatty food and fast food which is around us. It can even become a psychological addiction. Hardly a woman who eats a hamburger is too concerned about her independency and individuality. Randy Balko writes that â€Å"the main cause of obesity lies within a person’s own responsibility† (343). Thus, if you are fat, it is all your responsibility. Orbach partially supports these opinions, but she still emphasizes that women eat fat food not because they do not have a willpower, but rather because they want to ruin the social norms and ideals provided by the media industry. It is obvious that having a perfect body is a mania, rather than a desire to be healthy: â€Å"In the United States, a woma n with a lean, strong, and well-sculpted body is the ideal. Many who do not fit the ideal struggle with feelings of guilt and shame. The percentage of women with body image disturbance is alarming and those with overweight and obesity struggle to meet the ideal† (Buxton 285) In this light, women should deal with pressure to confront to the perfect stereotype from the glance magazine, but as it has already been mentioned, she should not run to extremes. I argue that obesity is an extreme, as it is also associated with health problems.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Obesity: Health or Feminist Issue? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The health problems related to obesity include â€Å"coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon), hypertension (high blood pressure), dyslipidemia, stroke, liver and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, osteoarthritis, gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)† (â€Å"Overweight and Obesity† n. p.). Thus, one question arises: â€Å"Is it worth being fat, but independent if it impacts your heal so much?† I support the idea, that obesity is a problem and feminists should not proclaim it as a form of rebellion against social standards. Moreover, â€Å"As one talks about the body, in addition to the physical dimensions, one must also consider cultural, political, and symbolic construct. Each of these four dimensions impact the psychological dimension of the body or body image† (Buxton 285). People are different and their bodies are also very different. Consequently, all people have different attitudes to the way a woman should look like. In fact, tastes differ and it does not mean that all men like only slim women and all girls should be thin or fat to show their individuality. Fat is not good for one’s health. Thus, if feminists use obesity as a form of rebel, it can be said that they use health problem as a form of rebel as well. Thus, obesity is the issue that should not be taken lightly. It cannot be used for ideological or personal purposes. Whereas obesity breaks social standards, it impacts greatly one’s health. In this light, I strongly support the idea that one should keep within limits and develop wise attitudes towards his/her health, as well as appearance. Works Cited Barbara K. Buxton. â€Å"Body Image and Women: How Does Obesity Fit into the Picture†Bariatric Nursing and Surgical Patient Care, 3(4): 285-290. Web. Balko, Radley. â€Å"What You Eat Is Your Business†. In They Say I Say. The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (With Readings). Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Berkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York: Norton, 2009. Engler, Yves. â€Å"Obesity: Much of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations.† In They Say I Say. The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (With Readings). Ed. Gerald Graff , Cathy Berkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York: Norton, 2009.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Orbach, Susie. â€Å"Fat as a Feminist Issue.† In They Say I Say. The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (With Readings). Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Berkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York: Norton, 2009. â€Å"Overweight and Obesity: Health Consequences.† Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. This essay on Obesity: Health or Feminist Issue? was written and submitted by user Leighton H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Life And Times Of The Man Who Invented The Tel Essays

The Life And Times Of The Man Who Invented The Tel Essays The Life And Times Of The Man Who Invented The Telephone Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) Alexander Graham Bell is remembered today as the inventor of the telephone, but he was also an outstanding teacher of the deaf and a prolific inventor of other devices. Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a family of speech educators. His father, Melville Bell, had invented Visible Speech, a code of symbols for all spoken sounds that was used in teaching deaf people to speak. Aleck Bell studied at Edinburgh University in 1864 and assisted his father at University College, London, from 1868-70. During these years he became deeply interested in the study of sound and the mechanics of speech, inspired in part by the acoustic experiments of German physicist Hermann Von Helmholtz (1821-1894), which gave Bell the idea of telegraphing speech. When young Bell's two brothers died of tuberculosis, Melville Bell took his remaining family to the healthier climate of Canada in 1870. From there, Aleck Bell journeyed to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1871 and joined the staff of the Boston School for the Deaf. The following year, Bell opened his own school in Boston for training teachers of the deaf; in 1873 he became a professor of vocal physiology at Boston University, and he also tutored private pupils. Bell's interest in speech and communication led him to investigate the transmission of sound over wires. In particular, he experimented with development of the harmonic telegraph a device that could send multiple messages at the same time over a single wire. Bell also worked with the possibility of transmitting the human voice, experimenting with vibrating membranes and an actual human ear. Gardiner Hubbard (1822-1897) and Thomas Sanders, fathers of two of his deaf pupils backed Bell financially in his investigations. Early in 1874, Bell met Thomas A. Watson (1854-1934), a young machinist at a Boston electrical shop. Watson became Bell's indispensable assistant, bringing to Bell's experiments the crucial ingredient that had been lackinghis technical expertise in electrical engineering. Together the two men spent endless hours experimenting. Although Bell formed the basic concept of the telephoneusing a varying but unbroken electric current to transmit the varying sound waves of human speechin the summer of 1874, Hubbard insisted that the young inventor focus his efforts on the harmonic telegraph instead. Bell complied, but when he patented one of his telegraph designs in February 1875, he found that Elisha Gray had patented a multiple telegraph two days earlier. Greatly discouraged, Bell consulted in Washington with the elderly Joseph Henry, who urged Bell to pursue his germ of a great invention speech transmission. Back in Boston, Bell and Watson continued to work on the harmonic telegraph, but still with the telephone in mind. By accident on a June day in 1875, an intermittent transmitter produced a steady current and transmitted sound. Bell had proof of his 1874 idea; he quickly sketched a design for an electric telephone, and Watson built it. The partners experimented all summer, but failed actually to transmit voice sounds. That fall, Bell began to write the patent specifications, but delayed application; Hubbard finally filed for the patent on February 14, 1876, just hours before Gray appeared at the same patent office to file an intent to patent his telephone design. Bell's patent was granted on March 7, 1876, and on March 10, the first message transmitted by telephone passed from Bell to Watson in their workshop: Mr. Watson, come here, I want you! After a year of refining the new device, Watson and Bell, along with Hubbard and Sanders, formed the Bell Telephone Company in 1877. Bell immediately married Mabel Hubbard, daughter of his new partner, and sailed to England to promote his telephone. The phone company grew rapidly, and Bell became a wealthy man. He turned to other interests on his return to the United States in 1879, while also defending his patents (which were upheld in 1888) against numerous lawsuits. With money from the Volta Prize, awarded to him in 1880 by the French government, Bell established the Volta Laboratory. Among the new devices he invented there were the graphophone for recording sound on wax cylinders or disks; the photophone, for transmitting speech on a beam of light; an audiometer; a

The Misuse of Prescription Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Misuse of Prescription Drugs - Essay Example s such as painkillers, tranquilizers, stimulants, or sedatives without the appropriate prescription from a medical practitioner simply for the experience that results from using the drug. Employees may use prescription drugs to get high, stay awake or avoid sleep while others may use such un-prescribed drugs for actual medical needs. The most significant reason behind the habit is the fact that it does not receive the attention it deserves due to efforts placed primarily on traditional drug abuse such as cocaine. Most individuals are also oblivious of the addictive effect that may accompany misuse of such drugs, while the reality is that even simple and seemingly harmless sharing of medication may be accompanied by profound addiction and negative consequences. Some of the symptoms of misuse of prescription drugs include sudden mood changes, heightened irritability and aggressiveness. Others include confusion, concentration fluctuations, reduced productivity, frequent short term sick leaves, deterioration in people skills, dishonesty and theft as the individual seeks to maintain the expensive habit (HSE 5). Misuse of prescription drugs should particularly gain the attention of management in today’s firms due to a number of reasons. First, the issue is now relevant than ever as literature and research indicate that it is on the rise. It mainly affects the young employees i.e. generation X and Y (Maxwell 1), whose workplace culture is already an issue of concern to the manager (Tolbize 2-4). The impacts of misuse of prescription drugs in the workplace can be studied based on the employees abusing the drugs themselves, fellow workers, the management and the workplace as a unit. The effects of abusing prescription drugs by employees concern both their medical and social well-being. They may experience health problems, addiction and psychological issues which affect their personal, family, social and professional lives and ultimately trickle down to the firm’s

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The Way we really are - Essay Example the publication of her previous book coinciding with the 1992 United States presidential election campaign that publicised debates about traditional American family values and the alleged decline of those values with associated declines in public and private behavior standards. Coontz was concerned that the conservatives within the Republican Party were making untrue claims that the decline of traditional family values was detrimental to American society and has harmful social, economic, and political consequences.1 Stephanie Coontz seemed to echo the opinions of many that believed the myth of traditional American family values underpinning traditional nuclear families was generally an unfounded fiction. The primary theme of ‘The Way We Never were: American families and the Nostalgia Trap’ was the argument that the idea that the traditional nuclear family was the main form of social unit that was not as prevalent as some argued. The conservative politicians and fundament alist religious groups spread such myths, as they would like the American public to believe. The Way We Never Were was very successful in making that point as well as being another example of Coontz’s ability to examine and evaluate American social history besides making valid arguments about contemporary American society. This book brought Coontz critical acclaim as well as increased book sales.2 The Way we Really are is a book that Stephanie Coontz intended to use to describe and examine the reality of family life in contemporary American society rather than describing American social history as her previous books had done so well. The Way we Really are was a change of approach and perspective that had commenced with The Way We Never Were.3 Coontz’s changes in approach and perspective were mainly in response to intensified public and political debates concerning changes to family lives in American society in the past, the present, and indeed in the future.4 To classify it in

History and Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History and Political Science - Essay Example History and Political Science Lenin beliefs on socialism stemmed from the idea that a democracy led by a hint of dictatorship, and held in support by the class of working citizens would help overthrow the government in power at the time, leading to a change of power from the rich to the poor. In this statement, he tries to emphasize that by choosing the working class as the bearers of power for the poor, so that proper governance would take place. Karl Marx believed that the poor and the rich were in a constant struggle for dominance thereby leading to strikes that were meant to fight for justice in areas of wages and proper working environments. He believed that the transition from capitalism to socialism happens as a result of changes in human history and it was inevitable. This was different from Lenin’s views dictating that certain working class of people should hold power so as to pave way for the lower class to gain a piece of the national cake. Question 3 Hitler believed that the Aryan race was much superior to all other races and thus he strongly opposed the Jews who were a minority race with no human rights to him and thus did not belong to the human race.This made him contemplate creating a Roman Empire in the 20th century as it had been before which was contrary to what his counterpart believed in the freedom of the Jews.In the late nineteenth century, there were no major historical events that were taking pl ace as was the case seen in the Great Depression. The term of service for the Presidents was very short as it consisted of only one year. Their responsibilities were very minimal at the time and consisted of small duties to the Congress and thus acted only as custodians of the State. Question 5 President Hoover did his part in curbing the effects of the Great Depression though his efforts were futile at the time. He took up the role of administrator rather than president of the people and even donated his salary to charity. He set up a program to assist the unemployed and added value expenditure to the public. He even increased aid for states in the form of monetary help from the federal government. Question 6 President Kennedy supported the fight against racial discrimination and the right to civil justice for all and it was for that reason that he supported the freedom riders by signing the freedom marshals and mediating for the release of the wife of Martin Luther King’s w ife. The latter had been arrested due to the ongoing racial segregation in departmental stores. He then made the famous civil rights address in support of the demonstrations that arose when an African American was denied public admission to school. Question 7 The terms of disagreement between the Soviets and Americans lay in the fact that Truman presidency claimed a breach of contract by Stalin on the Yalta promises. It was declared that the Soviet leader was on a mission of expansion in part of Europe and was contemplating to spread communism to most countries. Question 8 Richard Nixon as a supporter of foreign policy made some moves that were aimed at fostering good relations with the Soviet Union and the China republic. He was responsible for escalating the war in Vietnam by enacting bombs in Cambodia but later retreated which temporarily resulted in peace but a return of war without his involvement. He met with the Soviet

Ernest Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants Analysis

Ernest Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants Analysis Miscommunication Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† is an intense story that depicts a couple at a crisis point in a relationship as they try to work out their problems. It is paramount that the story takes place at a train station in Spain They argue openly in public, trying to establish communication to each other’s antagonistic views on the future of their relationship should take. The story itself ends without any hint of a reasonable solution, the reader never knows how or if they manage to find prevalent ground they stand on with the problems that have surfaced. A close reading of the text reveals all kinds of delusions and misconceptions, which both distract the reader and engage in communication in the short tail. Hemingway displays a cunning theme of the inability to communicate effectively within a relationship, along with hints to a few smaller themes such as evasion of responsibility, that aid the main theme. Hemingway uses literary elements such as tone, similes, metaphors, and an abundance of symbols to convey the story. Hemingway uses tone to push the theme of communication in the story. The narrator is very controlled, giving the reader a glimpse of information outside of the conversations between the American and the girl; even among the American and the Bartender accommodating the drinks for that matter. Hemingway controls the propensity in the narrator’s way to tell what the story brings forth. Hemingway does this to allow the readers thinking to be perspicacious, but can withal make for rough reading. He uses different tones ranging from relaxing to distraught tunes in the dialog to allow the story to develop, yet, leaving the reader disoriented and left to critically think about what is being said in the story. Both the girl and the American are having a very relaxed and controlled conversation. Keep in mind that they are having this conversation in a public place that might or might not contribute to this control. Even in today’s society, talking about topics such as sexual intercourse, abortion, or relational ties, some might exercise some form of control when verbalizing about these intimate details in public. â€Å"While the two are talking, they seem to almost lose that control at points in the conversation and becomes a distraught tone, like when the woman frantically says: please, please, please, please, please, please, please stop talking(224). Later on when the American states, I might have. Just because you say I wouldnt have doesnt prove anything (224) The girl insinuates that he’s not well peregrinated enough to have visually discerned white elephants. At this point the conversation starts to lose traction and they start to lose control† of the situation. Though they are both able to get their somewhat respective stances across; neither of them are able to articulate why they feel the way they do without explanation. As a result, they both feel threatened, incriminated, and misunderstood. This transitions the tone from distraught, to a somewhat somber yet dejected tone; which is what the reader can visually perceive at the end of the story: Do you feel better? he asked. I feel fine, she said. Theres nothing wrong with me. I feel fine. (225) Since they can’t get past what they desire, to verbalize about why they desire it, there is a consummate communication breakdown. In a sense, both the girl and the American talk, but neither of them listen to each other or care to look at the problem from the other person’s point of view. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† is comprehensive of similes and metaphors because the language is throughout void of the words â€Å"abortion† and â€Å"baby† whereas thats all the characters are verbalizing of. For instance, at the station, the girl comments that the Anis Del Toro tastes like licorice, and also the man verbalizes that’s the manner with everything, to that the girl replies â€Å"Everything tastes of licorice. particularly all the items you’ve waited farewell for, like absinthe.† the American then replies, â€Å"Cut it out,†(222) Rather a full of life reaction to a seemingly innocuous comment. its potential that â€Å"absinthe† stands for one factor, to the couple that the reader is not cognizant of, but its additionally, potential that the lady is touching on but she has waited her whole life to induce maternity and have a baby but presently it has been spoiled for her by the American. Ultimately, the American’s ammunition throughout this verbal duel with the lady is that the flexibility to form the affiliation emotionally hostile to her, as proven by his reactions to her comments regarding the appearance of the hills and conjointly the indisputable fact that everything she waits for tastes like licorice. Hemingway implies the girl is additional showing emotion invested at intervals the connection that for the American is clearly for the most part regarding sex. Hemingway utilizes symbols and their meanings over the girl’s artistic ability, as she looks to look at and licitly order higher than what she has. The accepted of the hills, coveting like white elephants could also be a robust picture; a white elephant is a possession thats unutilizable or extreme, principally one thats precious to carry up or intense to kill. The hills and the mountains being printed as white elephants may move mind the image of a pregnant abdomen. The young girl is outlined as sitting on this side of the station, with its white slopes and tan (221), dry nation. This aspect shows the value of an innocent life, as associate outcome of it looks dead. On the flip side, when she stands up and peregrinates to the supplementary aspect of the station, she externally sees fields of green grass, delicious trees on the banks of the river, and also the massifs on the to date perspective the watercourse, thus representing the value of life and wanting to keep the child instead of getting an abortion. a tragic remnant of a cloud moves over the world of grain that might name the winnow she confronts, the transient pessimism in what may perhaps be associate united choose, or not turning into the premature birth. She externally sees the watercourse over the trees,(221) but, that proposes shes attending to grip the subsistence, the attrac tiveness, on the substance of it simply on the to date perspective her seizing. The station has many elements to explore. The station is Associated closely to that of Island in the middle of the ocean. It sits center of all these rail road tracks. If viewed from on prime of, the station would seem to be penned by tracks, rather sort of a baby would be contained at intervals a mother. The shade recommends an advertisement between time respites from the sun, astonishingly so much uniform to reckoning a train could also be associate alleviation from the travel. The snappiness of their conversation is on the amount, whereas others were within the bar sitting tight presumably for the train. This discriminatingly indicates that the young person is hardline. Bamboo has been nonetheless vacant, so if a cross serving of bamboo is investigated, it’s a spherical. This might encapsulate the uterus, vacuous. In spite of the means that if a string is see over bamboo, its filled, torrential unvaried to a pregnant abdomen ought to be. The wrap had Anis del Toro painted thence as embellishment, adequate, as an example, this current couples legitimacy ought to appear, by all accounts, to be expeditiously numerous to associate within the outside spectator. The wrap blows confining the table, as if it’s associate proof of the young girl of the choice she got to have an effect on. Exactly once the rule of potation are doled out on the table by the server, they are resolved to gain pads and started drinking to distract themselves from the argument. By the amount the third globe of potation is scattered, the liners are saturated. They did not block the wet from physically incoming at the table. This might be run of the mill of birth prevention floundering, but in a very venue of while not a doubt a table procuring wet, the young person becomes pregnant. As a conclusion of the birth prevention battling, the American and also the young person become into this discord in this not one or the opposite one among them will assent close-by the others membrane begin. When the quality of three rounds of potation square measure apportioned on the table by the server, they are bent on to gain pads. Being consequently sultry, the glasses sweat. They did not deflect the soaked from physically incoming at the table. This might be run of the mill of birth prevention slumping, b ut in a very zone of definitely a table obtaining wet, the young person becomes pregnant. As a consequence of the birth prevention battling, the American and also the young person become into this conflict in this not one or the opposite one among them will concur adjacent the others acknowledge starting. Hemingway uses literary devices such as tone, similes, metaphors, and symbols to approach the reader at a different approach of analyzing a story. Hemingway uses these literary devices to trick the reader into thinking about a story when the story itself is encoded to be something completely hidden from the text, which in this case the hidden conversation was about abortion. Communication is a huge part in many places ranging from workplaces and also relationships. Without communication things fail and will not progress forward. Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants.† Perrine’s Story and Structure: An Introduction to Fiction. Ed. Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp. 14th ed. Stamford CT: Cengage 2015. 221-225 Print.

Gregors Obsession with Money Exposed in Franz Kafkas Metamorphosis Es

Gregor's Obsession with Money Exposed in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis In his story The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka gives us the story of Gregor Samsa, a young man who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into an insect-like creature. Gregor, however, remains strangely indifferent to his plight, in a manner that seems inhuman to most readers. This is not due to a lack of omniscience on the narrator's part that causes the indifference to go unmentioned, and neither is it due to inobservance on the part of Gregor to the point of not noticing that he has been changed into an insect. Rather, Gregor does not pay much attention to his new form as an insect because his life as a human lacked many ordinary human characteristics. In other words, Gregor was mentally not human even before his change in physical form. Just after his metamorphosis, Gregor makes an important observation on his job as a traveling salesman: "Oh God," he thought, "what a grueling job I've picked! Day in, day out - on the road. The upset of doing business is much worse than the actual business in the home office, and, besides, I've got the torture of traveling, worrying about changing trains, eating miserable food at all hours, constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that last or get more intimate. To the devil with it all!" (4) Most "normal" people would claim that meaningful relationships constitute the core of the human experience. But Gregor's concerns seem much more mundane. He begins with complaining about the quotidian problems of his job and only in the end reaches that which is really important - and then he immediately goes on to continue thinking about his job. He is obsessed with work, "a tool of the boss, without brains... ...c. But we could also interpret this sentence in the opposite light, to assert that Gregor is an animal by dint of his ability to feel. This is supported by Gregor's ruminations on his plan to send Grete to the Conservatory: "...and it was his secret plan that she who, unlike him, loved music and could play the violin movingly..." (27, italics added). Thus, Gregor as a human being could not derive pleasure from music, indicating that he lived in a deprived, insect-like emotional state. As we have seen, Gregor's mental life was extremely limited even before his physical metamorphosis. Perhaps Kafka intended this story as a means of pointing out that many people in an increasingly capitalist society, like Gregor, become more and more obsessed with money and thus live a mechanical life, like an insect. Thus, they sequester themselves from the pleasures of the soul. Gregor's Obsession with Money Exposed in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis Es Gregor's Obsession with Money Exposed in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis In his story The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka gives us the story of Gregor Samsa, a young man who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into an insect-like creature. Gregor, however, remains strangely indifferent to his plight, in a manner that seems inhuman to most readers. This is not due to a lack of omniscience on the narrator's part that causes the indifference to go unmentioned, and neither is it due to inobservance on the part of Gregor to the point of not noticing that he has been changed into an insect. Rather, Gregor does not pay much attention to his new form as an insect because his life as a human lacked many ordinary human characteristics. In other words, Gregor was mentally not human even before his change in physical form. Just after his metamorphosis, Gregor makes an important observation on his job as a traveling salesman: "Oh God," he thought, "what a grueling job I've picked! Day in, day out - on the road. The upset of doing business is much worse than the actual business in the home office, and, besides, I've got the torture of traveling, worrying about changing trains, eating miserable food at all hours, constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that last or get more intimate. To the devil with it all!" (4) Most "normal" people would claim that meaningful relationships constitute the core of the human experience. But Gregor's concerns seem much more mundane. He begins with complaining about the quotidian problems of his job and only in the end reaches that which is really important - and then he immediately goes on to continue thinking about his job. He is obsessed with work, "a tool of the boss, without brains... ...c. But we could also interpret this sentence in the opposite light, to assert that Gregor is an animal by dint of his ability to feel. This is supported by Gregor's ruminations on his plan to send Grete to the Conservatory: "...and it was his secret plan that she who, unlike him, loved music and could play the violin movingly..." (27, italics added). Thus, Gregor as a human being could not derive pleasure from music, indicating that he lived in a deprived, insect-like emotional state. As we have seen, Gregor's mental life was extremely limited even before his physical metamorphosis. Perhaps Kafka intended this story as a means of pointing out that many people in an increasingly capitalist society, like Gregor, become more and more obsessed with money and thus live a mechanical life, like an insect. Thus, they sequester themselves from the pleasures of the soul.

The Indigo Spell Chapter Five

I LEFT SHORTLY THEREAFTER with the Alchemists and didn't expect to see Adrian for a little while. He was staying on with the other Moroi a couple more days in Pennsylvania, so there was no chance of a repeat flight together. My trip back to California was quiet and uneventful, though my mind raced with all the developments of the last couple of days. Between Ms. Terwilliger's cryptic warning and my new lead on Marcus, I had plenty to occupy me. A text message from Eddie greeted me when I hailed a cab at the Palm Springs airport: We're eating at Marquee's. Wanna join us? A follow-up message soon came: You can drive us back. I directed the driver to take me to a suburb on the far edge of the city rather than Amberwood's home in Vista Azul. I was hungry, seeing as there'd been no dinner served on the plane in coach, and besides, I wanted my car back in my own hands. When I arrived at the restaurant, I found Eddie and Angeline sitting on one side of a booth with Jill on the other. Immediately, I knew why they'd chosen to eat so far from our school. Being away meant Eddie and Angeline could go out as a couple. Back at Amberwood, everyone thought we were related. Eddie, Jill, and I passed ourselves off as siblings, while Angeline was our cousin. Eddie and Angeline had recently started dating, so they'd had to hide their relationship from our classmates to avoid raising suspicions. We already seemed to attract enough attention as it was. Angeline was cuddled up in Eddie's arm. Even he looked like he was having a good time, which was nice to see. He took his responsibilities so seriously and was often so tense that it seemed as though it wouldn't take much to make him snap in two. Angeline – though uncouth, unpredictable, and often inappropriate – had proven remarkably good for him. That didn't make him any less diligent in his guardian duties, of course. Things were a little different on the opposite side of the table. Jill looked miserable, slumped into the seat with her arms crossed. Her light brown hair hung forward, covering part of her face. After ill-fated romances with a guy who wanted to become a Strigoi and with Eddie's human roommate, Jill had come to realize that Eddie might very well be the guy for her. It was fitting, too, because for a long time, he'd harbored a secret crush on her, fiercely dedicated to her in the way a knight served his liege lady. He'd never believed he was worthy of Jill, and without any signs of her affection, he'd turned to Angeline – just when Jill had come around and wanted him. At times, it seemed like some sort of Shakespearean comedy . . . until I looked at Jill's face. Then I'd feel conflicted because I knew if Eddie returned her affection, Angeline would be the one with that sad, sad expression. It was kind of a mess and made me glad to be free of any romantic entanglements. â€Å"Sydney!† Jill beamed when she saw me, brushing her hair away. Maybe it was because she needed the distraction, or maybe it was because Adrian's new attitude toward me had lifted some of her moodiness. Regardless, I welcomed a return to the old friendliness in her rather than the brooding and accusing looks she'd harbored since I rejected him. â€Å"Hey, guys.† I slid into the booth beside her. Immediately, I opened up my cell phone's picture album and handed it to her since I knew she'd want to know about the wedding right away. Despite all the intrigue that had gone down there, I had managed to take some pictures without the other Alchemists noticing. Even if she'd seen some of it through Adrian's eyes, Jill would still want to examine everything in detail. She sighed with happiness as she scanned the pictures. â€Å"Look at Sonya. She's so pretty.† Angeline and Eddie leaned across the table to get a look. â€Å"Oh. And there's Rose and Lissa. They look great too.† There was an odd note in Jill's voice as she spoke. She was friends with Rose, but her half sister was still a bit of an enigma. Jill and Lissa hadn't even known they were sisters until recently, and the volatile political environment had forced Lissa to behave more as a queen than a sister toward Jill. It was a difficult relationship for both of them. â€Å"Did you have a fun time?† Eddie asked me. I considered my answer for several moments. â€Å"I had an interesting time. There's still a lot of tension between the Alchemists and your people, so some of it was a little weird.† â€Å"At least Adrian was there. Must have been nice to have someone you know,† said Angeline, in well-meaning ignorance. She pointed to a picture I'd taken of the reception hall. My intent had been to get a full shot of the venue for Jill, but Adrian had happened to walk into the shot, posed and perfect like some handsome spokesmodel hosting the event. â€Å"Always so pretty.† Angeline shook her head in disapproval. â€Å"Everyone there is. I guess that means there weren't any celebratory wrestling matches?† It was a sign of Angeline's progress that she'd deduced that so quickly. Her people, the Keepers, lived in the wilds of West Virginia, and their openness to romance between vampires, dhampirs, and humans was only one of their more bizarre customs. Friendly fights broke out often, and Angeline had had to learn that such behaviors weren't acceptable out here in mainstream America. â€Å"Not while I was there,† I said. â€Å"But hey, maybe something went down after I left.† That brought grins to Jill's and Eddie's faces and a hopeful look to Angeline's. A waitress came by, and I ordered Diet Coke and a salad. Maybe I'd loosened up in my tight calorie counting, but I swore I could still taste the sugar from all the wedding cake I'd eaten after the spell. Angeline tightened her hold on Eddie's arm and smiled up at him. â€Å"If you ever get to see my home, you can fight my brother Josh to show that you're worthy of me.† I had to swallow a laugh. I'd seen the Keepers' community and knew she was absolutely serious. I worked to keep a straight face. â€Å"Aren't you breaking a lot of rules by being together without that having happened yet?† Angeline nodded, looking a little glum. â€Å"My mom would be so scandalized if she knew. But I guess this is a unique situation.† Eddie smiled indulgently at her. I think sometimes he thought we were exaggerating about the Keepers. He was going to be in for a shock if he ever did visit them. â€Å"Maybe I can fight a bunch of your relatives to make up for it,† he said. â€Å"You might have to,† she said, not realizing he was joking. It was hardly romantic banter, but Jill looked decidedly uncomfortable discussing their relationship. She turned to me, very obviously trying not to look at them. â€Å"Sydney, what are we going to do about Christmas?† I shrugged, unsure what she was asking. â€Å"The usual, I guess. Give presents. Sing songs. Have Yuletide duels.† Angeline lit up at that. Jill rolled her eyes. â€Å"No, I mean, we're going to be on winter break in a few weeks. Is there any way . . . is there any way we can go home?† There was a plaintive note in her voice, and even Eddie and Angeline broke their mutual admiration to stare at me. I shifted under their scrutiny. Angeline wasn't as concerned about visiting the Keepers, but I knew Eddie and Jill missed their friends and family. I wished I could give them the answer they wanted to hear. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said. â€Å"You'll be staying at Clarence's for break. We can't risk . . . well, you know.† I didn't need to emphasize the need for Jill's safety. We were all familiar with that refrain. Ian's comment about how fragile the throne was drove home the importance of what we did. Jill's face fell. Even Eddie looked disappointed. â€Å"I figured,† she said. â€Å"I just hoped . . . that is, I miss my mom so much.† â€Å"We can probably get a message to her,† I said gently. I knew that was no substitute for the real thing. I was able to make occasional phone calls to my own mom, and hearing her voice was a million times better than any email could be. I even got to talk to my older sister, Carly sometimes, which always cheered me up since she was so bright and funny. My younger sister, Zoe . . . well, she was a different story. She wouldn't take my calls. She'd nearly been initiated into the Alchemists – to take on this mission, in fact – when I'd stolen it from her. I'd done it to protect her from committing to the Alchemists so young, but she'd seen it as an insult. Looking at Jill's sad face, I felt my heart clench. She had been through so much. Her new royal status. Targeted by assassins. Fitting in to a human school. Her disastrous and deadly romances. And now enduring Eddie and Angeline. She handled it all with remarkable strength, always resolutely going through with what she had to do even if she didn't want to do it. Lissa was praised for being such an exemplary queen, but there was a regality and strength to Jill as well that many underestimated. Glancing up, I caught a spark in Eddie's eyes as he too seemed to recognize and admire that about her. After dinner, I took them back to Amberwood and was pleased to see that my car was in perfect shape. I drove a brown Subaru named Latte, and Eddie was the only other person I trusted behind the wheel. I dropped him off at the boys' dorm and then took Angeline and Jill back to ours. As we were walking in the door, I caught sight of Mrs. Santos, a teacher I knew by reputation. â€Å"You guys go ahead,† I told Jill and Angeline. â€Å"I'll see you tomorrow.† They left, and I walked across the lobby, waiting patiently for Mrs. Santos to finish a discussion with our dorm matron, Mrs. Weathers. When Mrs. Santos started to turn around and leave, I caught her attention. â€Å"Mrs. Santos? I'm Sydney Melrose. I wondered if I could – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, yes,† she said. â€Å"I know who you are, dear. Ms. Terwilliger raves about you all the time at our department meetings.† Mrs. Santos was a kindly-looking woman with silver and black hair. Rumor had it she'd be retiring soon. I flushed a little at the praise. â€Å"Thank you, ma'am.† She and Ms. Terwilliger were both history teachers, though Mrs. Santos's focus was on American history, not world. â€Å"Do you have a minute? I wanted to ask you something.† â€Å"Of course.† We stepped off to the side of the lobby, out of the incoming and outgoing dorm traffic. â€Å"You know a lot about local history, right? Southern California?† Mrs. Santos nodded. â€Å"I was born and raised here.† â€Å"I'm interested in nontraditional architecture in the Los Angeles area,† I told her, the lie rolling easily off my lips. I'd thought about this in advance. â€Å"That is, non-Southwest styles. Do you know any neighborhoods like that? I'd heard there were some Victorian ones.† She brightened. â€Å"Oh, yes. Absolutely. Fascinating subject. Victorian, Cape Cod, Colonial . . . there are all sorts. I don't have all the information on me, but I could email you when I get home tonight. There are several I know off the top of my head, and I know a historian who could help you with others.† â€Å"That'd be great, ma'am. Thank you so much.† â€Å"Always happy to help a star pupil.† She winked as she started to walk away. â€Å"Maybe next semester you'll do an independent study with me. Provided you can tear yourself away from Ms. Terwilliger.† â€Å"I'll keep it in mind,† I said. As soon as she was gone, I texted Ms. Terwilliger. Mrs. Santos is going to tell me about historical neighborhoods. The response came quickly: Excellent. Come over right now. I scowled as I typed back: I just got here. Haven't even been in my room. To which she replied: Then you can get here that much faster. Maybe that was true, but I still took the time to put my suitcase back in my room and change out of my travel clothes. Ms. Terwilliger lived pretty close to the school and looked as though she'd been pacing in circles when I arrived at her house. â€Å"Finally,† she said. I glanced at the time. â€Å"It's only been fifteen minutes.† She shook her head and again wore the same grim expression she'd had out in the desert. â€Å"Even that might be too much. Follow me.† Ms. Terwilliger's home was a little bungalow that could have doubled as a New Age store or possibly a cat shelter. The level of clutter set my teeth on edge. Spell books, incense, statues, crystals, and all sorts of other magical items sat in piles in all rooms of the house. Only her workshop, the room she led me to, was neat and orderly – even to levels I approved of. Everything was clean and organized, to the point of being labeled and alphabetized. A large worktable sat in the center of the room, completely cleared off, save for a stunning necklace I'd never seen before. The chain was made of intricate gold loops, and the pendant was a deep red cabochon stone in a lacy gold setting. â€Å"Garnet?† I asked. â€Å"Very good,† she said, lifting the necklace. The candlelight in the room seemed to make every part of it glitter. â€Å"It's lovely,† I said. She held it out to me. â€Å"It's for you.† I stepped back uneasily. â€Å"For . . . me? I . . . I mean, thank you, but I can't accept a gift like that.† â€Å"It's not a gift,† she said. â€Å"It's a necessity. One that might save your life. Take it and put it on.† I refused to touch it. â€Å"It's magical, isn't it?† â€Å"Yes,† she said. â€Å"And don't give me that look. It's no different from any of the charms you've made for yourself.† â€Å"Except that anything you'd make . . .† I swallowed as I stared into the depths of that bloodred jewel. â€Å"It's going to be a lot more powerful than anything I can create.† â€Å"That's exactly the point. Now here.† She thrust it so close to me that it nearly swung out and hit me in the face. Steeling myself, I reached out and took it from her. Nothing happened. No smoke or sparks. No searing pain. Seeing her expectant look, I fastened it around my neck, letting the garnet lie next to my cross. She sighed, her relief nearly palpable. â€Å"Just as I'd hoped.† â€Å"What?† I asked. Even if I sensed nothing special about it, the garnet felt heavy around my neck. â€Å"It's masking your magical ability,† she said. â€Å"No one who meets you should be able to tell that you're a magic user.† â€Å"I'm not a magic user,† I reminded her sharply. â€Å"I'm an Alchemist.† A small flicker of a smile played over her lips. â€Å"Of course you are – one who uses magic. And to a particularly powerful person, that would be obvious. Magic leaves a mark on your blood that permeates your whole body.† â€Å"What?† I couldn't have been more shocked if she'd said I'd just contracted a deadly disease. â€Å"You never told me that before!† â€Å"It wasn't important,† she said with a small shrug. â€Å"Until now. I need you hidden. Do not take that off. Ever.† I put my hands on my hips. â€Å"Ma'am, I don't understand.† â€Å"All will be revealed in time – â€Å" â€Å"No,† I said. At that moment, I could have been talking to Stanton or any of the countless others who'd used me and fed me pieces of information throughout my life. â€Å"It will be revealed now. If you've gotten me into something dangerous, then you either need to get me out of it or tell me how to.† Ms. Terwilliger stared at me for several quiet moments. A gray tabby cat rubbed up against my legs, ruining the seriousness of the moment. â€Å"You're right,† she said at last. â€Å"I do owe you an explanation. Have a seat.† I sat down on one of the stools by the table, and she sat opposite me. She clasped her hands together in front of her and seemed to be having a hard time gathering her thoughts. I had to force myself to stay calm and patient. Otherwise, the panic that had been gnawing at me since the desert would completely consume me. â€Å"You remember that woman you saw in the picture?† she asked at last. â€Å"Your sister.† Ms. Terwilliger nodded. â€Å"Veronica. She's ten years older than me and looks half my age, as you could undoubtedly tell. Now, it isn't difficult to create an illusion. If I wanted to appear young and beautiful, I could – emphasis on appear. But Veronica? She's actually managed to make her body young and vibrant. It's an advanced, insidious kind of magic. You can't defy age like that without making some sacrifices.† She frowned, and my heart pounded. Creating youth made all my Alchemist sensibilities reel. It was nearly as bad as Strigoi immortality, maybe worse if she was talking about a human doing it. That kind of twisted magic had no place in this world. Her next words drove home the wrongness of it all. â€Å"Or, in her case, sacrificing others.† Sacrifice. The very word seemed to poison the air. She stood up and walked over to a shelf, producing a newspaper clipping. Wordlessly, she handed it to me. It was a recent article, from three days ago, talking about a nineteen-year-old UCLA student who'd been found comatose in her dorm room. No one knew what had caused it, and the girl was hospitalized with no indication of when or if she'd wake up. â€Å"What is this?† I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer. I inspected the article more closely, especially the picture it contained. At first, I wondered why the paper would show a sleeping old woman. Then, reading the fine print, I learned that the coma victim also displayed some unexplained physical symptoms: gray-streaked hair and dry, cracked skin. Doctors were currently investigating rare diseases. I cringed, unable to believe what I saw. She was hideous, and I couldn't look at her for very long. And just like that, I suddenly understood. Veronica wasn't sacrificing victims with knives and stone altars. She was conducting some kind of perverse magic on these girls that bent the rules of nature, putting them in this hideous state. My stomach twisted, and I gripped the table for support. â€Å"This girl was one of Veronica's victims,† confirmed Ms. Terwilliger. â€Å"That's how she maintains her youth and beauty – by taking it from others. When I read this, I thought – almost hoped – some other magic user was doing it. Not that I'd wish this on anyone. Your scrying spell confirmed she was in the area, however, which means it's my responsibility to deal with her.† I dared a look down at the article again and felt that nausea well up again. The girl was nineteen. What would it be like to have the life sucked out of you at so young an age? Maybe the coma was a blessing. And how corrupt and twisted would you have to be to do that to someone? I didn't know how exactly Ms. Terwilliger would â€Å"deal with† her sister and wasn't sure I wanted to find out. And yet, if Veronica really was doing things like this to innocents, then yes, someone like Ms. Terwilliger needed to stop her. A magical attack of this magnitude was one of the most terrible things I could imagine. It brought back all my ingrained fears about the wrongness of magic. How could I justify using it when it was capable of such horror? Old Alchemist lessons came back to me: Part of what makes the Moroi particularly dangerous is their ability to work magic. No one should be able to twist the world in that way It's wrong and can easily run out of control. I tuned back into the present. â€Å"How do I fit into this, ma'am? I already figured out where she is. Why am I in danger?† â€Å"Sydney,† Mrs. Terwilliger said, looking at me strangely. â€Å"There are few young women out there with your abilities. Along with youth and beauty, she intends to suck someone's magic away and use it to make herself that much more powerful. You, my dear, would be the ultimate coup for her.† â€Å"She's like Strigoi,† I murmured, unable to repress a shiver. Although those undead vampires could feast on anyone, they preferred Moroi because they had magic in their blood. Drinking Moroi blood made Strigoi more powerful, and a chilling thought suddenly hit me. â€Å"Practically a human vampire.† â€Å"Something like that,† Ms. Terwilliger agreed. â€Å"This amulet should hide your power, even from someone as strong as her. She shouldn't be able to find you.† A calico cat jumped up on the table, and I ran a hand over her sleek fur, taking comfort in the small contact. â€Å"The fact that you keep saying ‘should' makes me a little nervous. Why would she even come looking in Palm Springs? Does she know about me yet?† â€Å"No. But she knows I'm here, and she may check on me once in a while – so I need to hide you in case she does. I'm in a bind, however, because I need to find her but can't actively do the hunting. If she finds out I'm investigating, she'll know that I know she's here. I can't alert her. If I have the element of surprise on my side, I'm more likely to stop her.† She frowned. â€Å"I'm honestly surprised she would come so close to me in California at all. Regardless, I need to keep a low profile until it's time to strike.† Ms. Terwilliger looked at me meaningfully, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as I began to put together what she was saying. â€Å"You want me to hunt her.† â€Å"It's not hunting so much as gathering some data. You're the only one I can trust to do this. She and I can sense each other if we're close, no matter how much we try to hide our magic. I know this is going to sound shocking, but I actually think it'd be best if you hunted her – even if you're the one she's after. You're one of the few I can trust completely and you're resourceful enough to pull something like this off.† â€Å"But I'd be putting myself out there. You just said I'd be a big catch for her.† The twists and turns here were mindboggling. â€Å"Yes. Which is why I gave you the amulet. She won't sense your magic, and if you're cautious in your investigation, she should have no reason to notice you.† I still wasn't following the logic here. â€Å"But why me? You have a coven. If you can't do it yourself, then there must be someone else – a stronger witch – who can do it.† â€Å"Two reasons,† she said. â€Å"One is that you have excellent investigative skills – more so than others older than you. You're intelligent and resourceful. The other reason . . . well, if another witch goes after her, she might very well kill Veronica.† â€Å"Would that be such a bad thing?† I didn't like violence and killing by any means, but this might be a case where it was justified, if it could save other lives. â€Å"You said you were going to ‘take care of her.'† â€Å"If I have no choice . . . if I must kill her, then I will.† She looked dejected, and I had a moment of empathy. I loved my two sisters. What would I do if I was ever in a deadly conflict with one of them? Of course, it was hard to imagine Zoe or Carly committing this kind of atrocity. â€Å"However, there are other ways of neutralizing and subduing a magic user. If there's any way – any way at all – I can do that, I will. My coven sisters won't feel that way, which is why I need your help.† â€Å"I can't.† I pushed the stool back and stood up, nearly stepping on a cat in the process. â€Å"There must be some other way you can do this. You know I'm already bogged down in supernatural affairs.† I actually couldn't bring myself to admit the real reason I wanted to dodge this. It was about more than just risking my life. So far, all my magical interactions had been with Ms. Terwilliger. If I signed on for this, I would be plunging into the world of witches, something I'd sworn I would never do. Ms. Terwilliger tapped the article, and her voice was quiet when she spoke. â€Å"Could you let this happen to other girls, knowing there's a way you could stop it? I've never heard of any of her victims waking up. The way this spell works, Veronica needs to renew it every few years, and it requires five victims within one month. She did this once before, and it caught me off guard. This time, we have warning. Four more people could suffer this fate. Do you want that?† There it was. She'd called me on the other part that had been nagging me because she knew me too well. I couldn't let innocents suffer, not even if it meant risking myself or facing the fears that haunted me. If I could stop this, I had to. No one deserved the fate of that girl in the paper. â€Å"Of course not.† â€Å"And let's not forget that you could soon be one of her victims.† I touched the garnet. â€Å"You said I'm hidden.† â€Å"You are, for now. And I hope against all hope you'll stay that way.† I'd never seen her so grim before, and it was hard to watch. I was used to her prattling, bumbling, no-nonsense nature. â€Å"But here's something I've never told you about how magic users sense each other.† Something I'd learned over the years: it was never a good thing when people said, â€Å"Here's something I never told you. . . .† I braced myself. â€Å"Untrained magic users have a particular feel that's unique from the more experienced,† she explained. â€Å"There's a oh, wild-ness about the magic that surrounds you. It's easy for advanced witches to sense. My coven keeps track of novice magic users, but those are tightly guarded secrets. Veronica won't have access to those names, but there are spells she can use that can pick up on some of that untamed magic if it's near her. It's how she probably found this poor girl.† Ms. Terwilliger nodded toward the article. The idea of me having some â€Å"wild† magical aura was as shocking as her saying I had magic in my blood. â€Å"When she absorbs a victim,† Ms. Terwilliger continued, â€Å"she gets a burst of that wildness. It fades quickly, but when she possesses it, it can briefly enhance her ability to scry for another untrained victim. The more victims she takes, the stronger that ability will grow. There's a chance,† Ms. Terwilliger said gravely, â€Å"that it could be enough to break apart the garnet. I don't know.† She spread out her hands. â€Å"So you're saying . . . with each victim she attacks, the chance that she'll find me increases.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"All right. I'll help you hunt for her.† I shoved all my fears and doubts aside. The stakes were too high. My life, the other girls . . . Veronica had to be stopped for all our sakes. Someone like her couldn't be allowed to go on like this. â€Å"There's more,† added Ms. Terwilliger. Really? â€Å"More than hunting an evil witch who wants to drain me of my life and power?† â€Å"If we can stop Veronica from finding less powerful victims, we can save their lives and limit her ability to find you.† She produced a small velvet bag and emptied it out onto the table. Several small agate circles fell out. â€Å"These are charms that have some ability to mask magic. Not as strong as the garnet – that would take too long. But they're a quick fix that might save some of these other girls' lives.† I knew where this was going. â€Å"And you want me to deliver them.† â€Å"I'm sorry. I know I'm giving you some very difficult tasks here.† This was getting worse and worse. â€Å"Difficult? That's an understatement. And putting aside the fact that you want me to find a woman who could suck my life away there's also the very small detail that the Alchemists would flip out if they knew I was involved with any of this.† Ms. Terwilliger didn't answer right away. She just watched me. A black cat jumped up beside her and joined in the staring. Its yellow-eyed gaze seemed to say Do the right thing. â€Å"Where do I start?† I asked finally. â€Å"Finding that neighborhood is part of it, right?† â€Å"Yes. And I'll tell you where to find her potential victims, if you'll do the legwork of warning them. My coven keeps track of them. They'll be girls very much like you, ones with power who refuse to train and have no mentor to look after them. Once we have a clear fix on Veronica herself . . .† Ms. Terwilliger's eyes hardened. â€Å"Well, then. That's when I'll step in.† Once more, I wondered if I really wanted to know what that entailed. A moment later, she added, â€Å"Oh, and I thought it would be a good idea to obscure your appearance as well.† I brightened. I couldn't explain it, but somehow, that made me feel immensely better. â€Å"There are a lot of spells for that, right?† I'd seen a number of them in my studies. Even if I had to use magic, it was better to at least look different. â€Å"Yes. . . .† She drummed her fingers against the table. â€Å"But the amulet might not be able to hide you wearing an ‘active' spell, which would then defeat the whole purpose. What I was actually hoping was that your ‘brother' Adrian might be able to help.† My legs felt weak, and I sat back down. â€Å"Why on earth should Adrian be involved in this?† â€Å"Well, he seems like he'd do anything for you.† I eyed her, wondering if there was a double meaning in that. Her gaze was far away, her thoughts turned inward. She'd meant her words honestly. â€Å"Veronica wouldn't be able to detect vampire magic. His power . . . that spirit element he was telling me about . . . it can confuse the mind, right? Affect what others can see?† â€Å"Yes. . . .† She focused on me again, nodding in satisfaction. â€Å"If he could accompany you, help muddle whoever meets you . . . well, that would offer an extra level of protection.† I still didn't know what all I'd be doing to hunt Ms. Terwilliger's sister, but it sounded like, at the very least, there'd be a drive to Los Angeles in my future. Me, trapped in another small space with Adrian while he continued with that infuriating â€Å"loving from afar.† I was so caught up in the emotional turmoil that idea caused that it took me a moment to realize the larger issue I was letting myself get sucked into. â€Å"Do you realize what you're asking?† I said quietly. I touched the garnet again. â€Å"To be a part of this, you're asking me to expose myself to both human magic and vampire magic. Everything I try to avoid.† Ms. Terwilliger snorted, and for the first time tonight, I saw a return of her usual amused attitude. â€Å"Unless I'm mistaken, you've been exposing yourself to both kinds of magic for some time now. So, it can't go against your beliefs that much.† She paused meaningfully. â€Å"If anything, it seems like it goes against the Alchemists' beliefs.† â€Å"The Alchemists' beliefs are my beliefs,† I said quickly. She arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Are they? I would hope your beliefs would be your beliefs.† I'd never thought about it that way before, but I suddenly hoped desperately that her words were true.

Accounting Principles and Practices Performed by Small Businesses in the Philippines

College of Business Administration Abstract: This research aims to gain the knowledge and awareness on the accounting practices done by small businesses. It aims to inform and learn about small businesses’ and their compliance to the standard practices of accounting in the Philippines, whether or not these businesses are following the basic accounting principles and what alternatives of accounting do they perform.And lastly, to provide recommendations to the businesses owners and other persons involved, on what accounting practice is more suitable for small businesses. Through the use a variety of reference materials, such as reference books, text books and internet sources, information related to the study has been compiled and put together to form the appropriate knowledge needed for the study.Through the findings, the researchers classified two types of accounting practices performed by small businesses: Formal Accounting, this accounting practice is based on the actual Phi lippine accounting standard provided by the IFRS, and a Semi-Formal Accounting, a combination of the IFRS accounting and the Single entry record system. Keywords: Accounting, Accounting Principles, Accounting Practices, Small Business, Small Business Accounting Introduction There are more than a million businesses spread throughout the Philippines.From high rising commercial entities in the big cities, to the smallest businesses found in the front yard of residential homes in rural or urban areas. Business can be defined as a person, partnership, or corporation that seeks to provide goods and services to others at a profit (Dias and Shah, 2009) Businesses are among one of the factors affecting the economic growth in the country. Generally, taxes and investments earned by these businesses, through the purchases of their consumers, are paid to the Government. Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in developing economies.Among their contributions are as foll ows: (a) they address poverty by creating jobs and by increasing incomes; (b) they disperse economic activities in the countryside, and provide broad-based sources of growth; (c) they serve as suppliers and providers of support services for large enterprises; (d) they stimulate entrepreneurial skills among the populace; and (e) they act as incubators for developing domestic enterprises into large corporations. SMEs typically comprise the bulk of business enterprises in both developed and developing countries.They also employ a large segment of a country's workforce, and contribute significantly to national output (Habaradas, 2008) However, not all businesses contribute to the economic growth of the country especially for small independent businesses in private homes. Such examples are self-employed proprietors and street vendors whose businesses are not registered to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Legally registered businesses (small businesses) on the other hand, contribute to the economic growth through payments of taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.Such businesses record transactions or accounting information to keep track and allocate assets, liabilities and the owner’s equity. Through this accounting information, the owners will be able to allocate their assets for the expenses of tax payments. It may be said that the accounting practice is for formalities and usually performed by large business entities. However it is important for small businesses to apply the accounting practices in order to easily keep track and record important transactions especially those which concern large amounts of money.Accounting is important in achieving success in any business, especially a small one. Accounting is tied to the business’ financial well bing, without it, it will be hard to determine whether there is a positive or negative increase to the profit of the business. Accounting records must accurately reflect the changes occurrin g in the firm’s assets, liabilities, income, expenses and equity. The continued operation of a business depends on maintaining the proper balance among its investments, revenues, expenses and profit.Because profit margins are so critical to the success of a business, any decline should trigger an immediate search for the cause. Thus, the owner must rely on the accounting information to search this cause (Byrd and Megginson, 2009) The purpose of a business is to make a profit; proper business accounting helps determine how well the business runs. Accounting is the general process of tracking income and expenses and then using that data to examine the financial status of a business. (Strauss, 2005) The accounting practices performed by larger businesses are usually formal, specific and detailed and done by certified accountants.Small business accounting may be performed in various styles, with no formality and proper structure, and usually done by the owners themselves. A varie ty of accounting styles maybe derived from the informal accounting performed by small businesses. Some styles may have the same structure, making it similar to other businesses thus having slight uniformity. Review of Related Literature Small Businesses A small Business is any business that is independently owned and independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field, and does not engage in many new or innovative practices.It may never grow large, and the owners may not want it to, as they usually prefer a more relaxed and less aggressive approach to running the business. They manage their business in a normal way, expecting normal sales, profits, and growth. In other words, they seek a certain degree of freedom and ideally a certain degree of financial independence. (Byrd ;amp; Megginson, 2009) Accounting Accounting is a service activity; Its function is to provide quantitative information, primarily financial in nature, about economic entities that is intended to be us eful in making economic decision.Accounting includes several branches, for example, financial accounting, managerial accounting, and government accounting. This statement deals with financial accounting for business enterprises, the branch of accounting that focuses on the general-purpose reports on financial position and results of operations known as financial statements. This Statement has two broad purposes: (A) to provide a basis for enhanced understanding of the broad fundamentals of financial accounting, and (B) to provide a basis for guiding the future development of financial accounting. n. d. , 1998) Financial statements are prepared and presented for external users by many entities around the world. Although such financial statements may appear similar from country to country, there are differences which have probably been caused by a variety of social, economic and legal circumstances and by different countries having in mind the needs of different users of financial sta tements when setting national requirements.The accounting conceptual framework, formerly known as the Framework for the Presentation of financial Statements by the IASC, serves as the foundation for the development of accounting standards by the International Accounting Standards board. It’s main objective is to narrow the differences in financial statements of different entities by harmonizing regulations, accounting standards and procedures relating to the preparation and presentation of financial statements. (Robles ;amp; Empleo, 2007) Structure of the Philippine AccountingThe Framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements adopted in the Philippines is based on the International Accounting Standards Committee’s (IASC) Framework for the Preparation and presentation of Financial Statements. This was approved in the Philippines on January 26, 2000 by the unanimous vote of the members of the Accounting Standards Council (ASC). The ASC was the fun ctioning accounting standard setting body in the Philippines, when the Philippines decided to adopt the International Accounting Standards.The same Framework was upheld by the International Accounting Standards Board, when the latter succeeded the International Accounting Standards Committee in 2001. In the Philippines, the ASC was succeeded by the currently functioning Financial Reporting Standards Council (FRSC). The FRSC assists the Board of Accountancy in the latter’s function of adopting and promulgating the International Financial Reporting Standards. Thus, both the IASB and the locally functioning FRSC in the Philippines are guided by the same Framework. Robles ;amp; Empleo, 2007) The IFRS for SMEs The Philippine Institute for Public Accountants (PICPA) now recognizes the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) recently released International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs), as an official set of accounting sta ndards to be audited against. (Brozovsky, Christie & Hicks, 2010) The IFRS for SMEs was adopted in the Philippines effective January 1, 2010, and is known as the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards for Small-Medium Entities (PFRS for SMEs).The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a definition of â€Å"small and medium-sized entities† that includes a size criterion. As defined by SEC, an entity is an SME if: it is not in the process of filing its financial statements for the purpose of issuing any class of instruments in a public market and, it is not a holder of a secondary license issued by a regulatory agency, such as bank (all types of banks), an investment house, a finance company, an insurance company, a securities broker / dealer, a mutual fund and a pre-need company.The Philippines has been acknowledged by political scientists and economists as a newly industrialize nation. The country is experiencing rapid economic growth usually export -oriented and on-going industrialization. The Accounting Standards Council (ASC) is responsible for establishing and improving generally accepted accounting standards. Development of such standards are based on existing practices in the country, as well as statements and studies issued by other standard setting bodies like the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) and the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB).The ASC, which was renamed as the Financial Reporting Standards Council (FRSC) decided to replace its US-based standards with International Accounting Standards (IAS), later referred to as IFRS. The Philippines also adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards in 2005. It modified its accounting practices slightly to adjust to Philippine policies making the Philippine Financial Reporting Standard (PFRS), and the Philippine Accounting Standards (PAS).Businesses are fully aware of the changes from GAAP to IFRS, which now apply the new IFRS procedures , and modifications that were implemented taking effect in 2009. These companies are now preparing their financial statements in compliance with the PFRS. The Philippines has fully implemented the IFRS. In April 2010, The Philippines adopted IFRS for SMEs referred to as Philippine Financial Reporting Standard for SMEs. These standards can be used by an entity that is not a listed company, a large unlisted company, and a financial institution or public utility. (Ibarra & Suez-Sales, 2011)The International Accounting Standards Board ( IASB ) was established in 2001 as part of the International Accounting Standards Committee ( IASC ) Foundation. One of the objectives of the IASC foundation and of the IASB is: to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, understandable and enforceable global accounting standards that are require high quality, transparent and comparable information in financial statements and other financial reporting to help participants in the world’s capital markets and other users make economic decisions.The IASB also develops and publishes a separate standard intended to apply to the general purpose and other financial statements of, and other financial reporting by, entities that in many countries are referred to by a variety of terms, including small and medium-sized entities (SMEs), private entities, and non-publicly accountable entities. That standard is the International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs).SMEs often produce financial statements only for the use of tax authorities or other governmental authorities. Financial statements produced solely for those purposes are not necessarily general purpose financial statements. (Alliance of Accounting and Auditing Researchers, n. d. ) Accounting Policies The IFRS for SMEs is indented for the use of small and medium sized entities (SMEs). Small and medium-sized entities are entities that do not have public account ability, and publish general purpose financial statements for external users.Examples of external users include owners who are not involved in managing the business, existing and potential creditors and credit rating agencies. Accounting policies are the specific principles, bases, conventions, rules and practices applied by an entity in preparing and presenting financial statements. If this IFRS specially addresses a transaction, other event or condition, an entity shall apply this IFRS. However, the entity need not to follow a requirement in this IFRS in the effect of doing so would not be material.If this IFRS specifically address a transaction, other event or condition, an entity’s management shall use its judgement in developing and applying an accounting policy that results in information that is relevant to the economic decision-making needs of users, and reliable, in that the financial statements represent faithfully the financial position, financial performance and c ash flow of the entity; reflect the economic substance of transactions, other events and conditions, and not merely the legal form; are neutral, i. . free from bias; are prudent; and are complete in all materials respects. An entity shall select and apply its accounting policies consistently for similar transactions, other events and conditions, unless this IFRS specifically requires or permits categorisation of items for which different policies may be appropriate. If this IFRS requires or permits such categorisation, an appropriate accounting policy shall be selected and applied consistently to each category.An entity shall change an accounting policy only if the change is required by changes to this IFRS, or results in the financial statements providing reliable and more relevant information about the effects or transactions, other events or conditions on the entity’s financial position, financial performance or cash flows. (Alliance of Accounting and Auditing Researchers, n. d. ) Need of Accounting Information for Small Businesses In order to operate a business effectively, the owner should be informed as to the nature and amount of each asset, each liability, and the amount of owner’s equity.For purposes of planning and controlling business operations, the owner should also know when, why and how frequently changes occurs in the various assets, liabilities and the owner’s equity of the business. Without written records, business owners are not able to keep track of the nature and the amount of the assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity and the changes that occur in their composition. A good record keeping system is usually essential to provide the necessary information.This system of record keeping should show the effect of each transaction on the assets, liabilities and owner’s equity of the business. (Taylor, 2003) Proper Business Records There are several reasons (and advantages) for keeping good business records, an d many of them are a real a real advantage: (1) to show financial standings, (2) to help make important financial decisions, (3) to help control VAT – collecting it in and paying it out, (4) to help audit in certain cases, and keep the auditing costs down, (5) to discuss your financial position with other people.Unless the owners decide otherwise, there is no legal need for an annual audit of the records of a sole trader or a partnership. There is, however, a legal obligation for an annual audit of the accounts of most limited companies. There will be some expenses which are partly for business and partly for private purposes. Recording of business transactions also depends on the size of the business. There can be no hard and fast categories for size of a business. But obviously a national chain store will have a more sophisticated accounting system than a local trader with a market stall.The point at which more complicated records needed, will also depend partly on the type of trade. There are three types of entity commonly found running a business. These are: Sole traders, Partnerships and Limited Companies. Sole traders are persons owning the business which he is running in his own right. Since the person is trading in his own right he is personally responsible for any debts his business incurs. Partnerships are groups of people owning and running the business. It is the individuals in the partnership who are responsible for the partnership debts.Limited Companies are businesses which are owned by at least two people who may or may not also be involved in the day-to-day running of the business. The owners have a limited personal liability for the debts incurred by the company which is a separate legal ‘person’ or entity. The day-to-day running of a limited company is entrusted to its directors. The directors of a company may also be the shareholders. (Taylor, 2003) Businesses can also be classified into three broad categories: public co mpanies, private companies, and small businesses.The distinction between the latter two is the size of the company. Though small, these businesses are important in the aggregate as the major creator of new jobs. Small businesses also constitute a major source of clients for local and regional CPA firms. The need for accounting reports varies among the three classes of businesses. Accounting reports are used to comply with various government reporting requirements. Primary among these is the need to report a business's income, personal property, and payroll to the necessary tax authorities.The relative importance of different uses of accounting reports varies with the size of the business. (Brozovsky, Christie ;amp; Hicks, 2010) Accounting Principles and Practices Most businesses typically use one of two basic accounting methods in their bookkeeping systems: cash basis and accrual basis. While most businesses use the accrual basis, the most appropriate method for a company depends on the sales volume, whether or not you sell on credit, and your business structure. The cash method is the most simple in that the books are kept based on the actual flow of cash in and out of the business.Income is recorded when it is received, and expenses are reported when they are actually paid. The cash method is used by many sole proprietors and businesses with no inventory. From a tax standpoint, it is sometimes advantageous for a new business to use the cash method of accounting. That way, recording income can be put off until the next tax year, while expenses are counted right away. With the accrual method, income and expenses are recorded as they occur, regardless of whether or not cash has actually changed hands. An excellent example is a sale on credit.The sale is entered into the books when the invoice is generated rather than when the cash is collected. Likewise, an expense occurs when materials are ordered or when a workday has been logged in by an employee, not when t he check is actually written. The downside of this method is that payment of income taxes on revenue are made before actually receiving it. The accrual method is required if annual sales exceed $5 million and the venture is structured as a corporation. In addition, businesses with inventory must also use this method.It also is highly recommended for any business that sells on credit, as it more accurately matches income and expenses during a given time period. The cash method may be appropriate for a small, cash-based business or a small service company. (Leonsky, 1998) Accounting is the general process of tracking your income and expenses and then using that data to examine the financial status of your business. The basic accounting tool is the general ledger. It is the place where you keep track of all the business’ financial transactions.That information is then used to create financial statements such as balance sheets and income statements. (Strauss, 2007) An accounting system structures the flow of financial information to provide a complete picture of a firm’s financial activities. There are two types of accounting systems performed by small businesses: (1) the single-entry system and (2) the double-entry system. The single-entry record-keeping system is occasionally still found in the very small business. It is not, however, a system recommended for firms that are striving to grow and achieve effective financial planning.A single entry-system neither incorporates a balance sheet nor directly generates and income statement. A single-entry system is a check book system of accounting reflecting only receipts and disbursements. A double-entry system is a type of accounting system that provides a self-balancing mechanism in the form of two counterbalancing entries for each transaction recorded. It can be done with the record-keeping journals and ledgers found in most office supply retail stores. However, the relatively simple accounting softwa re programs designed for small firms are preferable. Longenecker, 2006) Conclusion Based on the information gathered by the researchers, the researchers have come up with a conclusion to the stated problem. The researcher has classified two types of accounting practice/principles performed by small businesses namely: Formal Accounting and Semi-Formal Accounting. Formal Accounting practice are based on the standards of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) The IFRS for SMEs is indented for the use of small and medium sized entities (SMEs).Small and medium-sized entities are entities that are defined as not having public accountability, and do not publish general purpose financial statements for external users. The Semi-Formal Accounting practice is a combination of the Formal Accounting Practice (based on the IFRS for SMEs), and the Single-entry record keeping or booking keeping system. In the Single-Entry system, mostly pe rformed by small businesses, business owners record only the most important or essential transactions for the business which usually contain only the following: cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and taxes.However, by performing this system, the owners still apply some of the standards given by the IFRS for SMEs. Most businesses however, perform only the Single-entry system. It is a much easier and convenient accounting practice that is preferable by the owners of small businesses because of its comprehensiveness in storing only the important accounting information needed by such businesses. Recommendation The Single-entry system, for most business owners, is mostly performed for its convenience and completeness. The researcher recommends, however, for the owners to apply the Formal accounting practice.The IFRS for SMEs, established by the IASB, was made specifically for small businesses to use. This accounting standard is best recommended for small businesses to attain uni formity among all other businesses alike. This will not only provide advantage to the owners but also to the users of the accounting information. It is still reminded that smaller businesses; such as vendors, sari-sari stores, restaurants or eateries; are not recommended to perform such complicated accounting practice but, they are still advised to record accounting information.The recommended accounting practice for such businesses is the Single-entry system. The researchers provide further recommendations toward the persons involved: 1. To the Business Owners of small businesses, they must obey and follow the accounting standards of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small-Medium Entities (IFRS for SMEs), mentioned in this research, to attain uniformity among other small businesses which practice the accounting standard of the IFRS. 2.To the College of Business Administration and its faculty members, in which they can use this research as an instructional material or instrument in teaching their students about topics relating to the research. 3. To the Graduates of the College of Business Administration, who plans to have their own business or put up a small business; that this research may serve as a reference and as a guide for their first steps in being entrepreneurs. 4. To the Students of the College of Business Administration, in which they can use this research as a reference material to their academic studies.Bibliography 1. Alliance of Accounting and Auditing Researchers. (n. d. ). International / Philippine Financial Reporting Standard for Small and medium-sized entities (IFRS / PFRS for SME’s). n. d. 2. Brozovsky, John, Nancy Christie, ;amp; Sam Hicks. (2010, July). Accounting for small businesses: the role of IFRS. Academic OneFile. Retrieved July 17, 2012, http://go. galegroup. com/ps/i. do? id=GALE%7CA234140898;amp;v=2. 1;amp;u=lyceumph;amp;it=r;amp;p=AONE;amp;sw=w 3. Byrd, Mary Jane ;amp; Megginson, L. C. (2009).Small Bus iness Management An Entrepreneur’s Guidebook. (Seventh Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. 4. Dias, Laura ;amp; Shah, A. J. (2009). Introduction to Business. New York: McGraw-Hill. 5. Habaradas, Raymund B. (2008, March). SME development and technology upgrading in Malaysia: lessons for the Philippines. Academic OneFile. Retireved July 17, 2012, http://go. galegroup. com/ps/i. do? id=GALE%7CA204419292;amp;v=2. 1;amp;u=lyceumph;amp;it=r;amp;p=AONE;amp;sw=w 6. Ibarra, Venus and Suez-Sales, M. G. (2011, December). A comparison of the International

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