It’s a Dog’s Life

Is that him? It sounds like him. I cower under the bed, and wait. It's nice under here; he can't get to me. Good, it's only the paperboy-he likes me. I run to the door, and take the paper in my mouth, he waves at me through the glass, and I jump up at the door, and bark excitedly. He barks back playfully, and I wag my tail. I wish I lived with him, a sweet, innocent little boy who would never lift a finger to hurt me. I smile and lay on the cold, tiled floor, he will be back soon. I do hope he's had a good day. I don't know if my frail old body could take much more of his harsh beatings. He used to be such a gentle, loving man, but ever since poor Sally and Marie died in a car accident, he's become cruel and nasty. A day rarely goes by without me feeling the bottom of his shoe, and that's if I'm lucky. Sometimes he goes for days without feeding me, or he'll grab me by the throat and yell in my ears, and when he's had a bad day, he'll kick me and laugh cruelly. My battered body is racked with a trembling that I cannot stop as I hear him coming. I can hear his keys rattling, I think I'll just keep out of his way for tonight. He turns the key in the lock, and kicks the door open. Seems like he's in a bad mood, I'll just stay under the bed. He's coming in the bedroom now-his face is flushed. I know with a harsh recollection of his wrath, that in a minute he'll beat me. â€Å"Dog, get your miserable body over here now, I've got some food for you,† he bellows at me. I struggle as I lift my scrawny carcass off the ground, my poor old bones ache. I lower my head and waddle over to his armchair. He pours beer over my head and hurls a can of dog food at me, it hits me on the leg and I whine in pain. I collapse on the floor, then he walks over and kicks me in the ribs. I yelp, and hear a loud voice. Surprisingly, it's not his voice. I painfully lift my head, and see a stranger standing outside the window. â€Å"Hey, Mister. You can't do that to a dog!† shouts the stranger, and pushes past the open door. He tries to run, but there is a struggle. He bangs his head on the wall and falls on the floor. The stranger walks up to me, and holds out his hands. â€Å"It's gonna be all right little fella, I'm going to take you somewhere, where a whole load of nice people will look after you and find you a decent home, I promise.† He strokes my weak head and I lick his salty palms. He carefully lifts me into the back of his car, and drives me to a big kennel, full of other dogs and cats and animals that I have never seen in my life before. A tall man with a kind face walks over to me and smiles, not a snarl of a smile or an evil grin, like he used to flash me when he hit me, but a kind smile, straight from his heart. Now I feel reassured, I know that now I'm in good hands and things are going to get better. I stayed in that nice place that I soon named ‘Doggie Heaven' for six months until I was introduced to a kind English lady, with two little girls and boy who walked me every day. I liked them so I was allowed to stay with them for a whole week. The lady and the tall RSPCA man talked, and the next thing I knew, the gentle RSPCA man was waving goodbye to me. I would miss him as well as all the other kind people, but I knew that could live a happier life without him. My thoughts were broken by the sound of a kind, gentle voice, calling my new name. â€Å"Come on, Kizzy, we're having dinner now. † It was Timmy, the little boy who would take care of me for the rest of my life. Timmy turned around to go back into the house, and I got a sudden warm feeling. I felt for the first time in a long while, that I had a home, and a family who actually cared about me. I belonged.

Ben essays

Ben essays Josiah Franklin (Bens dad) moved to America from England in 1682 with his wife and three children. After he moved to America the then had four more children with that wife and then had ten more children with Abiah (Bens mom) after his first wife died. Ben was number 15 out of seventeen children and was born on Boston on January 17, 1706. At this point is where a story about a man that started with nothing now is one of the most well none figures in American history and in world history. As a young boy Ben did not follow the same path as his other brothers that went to be apprentices for trade. Ben wanted more out of life so he went into grammar school at first to work with the church but found that writing was his passion. From there he worked for his brother, James at a printing press and signed a contract say Ben would work for him for the next eight years. Ben liked writing so much he would send in letter for the newspaper to be printed but James did not want him writing so Ben would send anonymous letters to the newspaper so his brother would not find out. One day he over heard James talking to some people about one of his anonymous letters and how the thought it was very good which made Ben very proud and fired up his urge to write more. By working at the press he had a lot of time and more resources to read from. Even though he liked to read he also knew that it was making him smarter and more knowledgeable about many new things. He started to have ma ny fights with James and eventually broke his contract and quit. At age 17 he secretly leaves home to find work and goes to New York City. After getting there he finds out that there is not any work for someone like him at that time. Because America is quite new still at the time there are many opportunities to find a job even for a young man at the age of 17. He finds out that he can work for a Printer named Andrew Bradford in Philadelphia. So he takes...

The Pact essays

The Pact essays The Pact, written by Jody Picoult, was published in 1998 by William Monrow The story is about a suicide pact between two teenagers. The events of the novel take place in Bainbridge, New Hampshire, a small town in the United States. The main characters of The Pact are two seventeen-year-old teenagers, Emily Gold and Chris Harte, who have loved each other all their life. The novel tells the story of a young couple who were born and raised together, since their parents have been neighbours and friends for over 18 years. The Pact also tells the future of Chris, who is prosecuted for murder after his love was found dead in his arms, a bullet in the head. After revealing that he and Emily concluded a suicide pact, the friendship and the dreams of both families will change forever. Jodi Picoult centred her novel on the themes of love, family and relationships. The Pact shows how love can be stronger than every other feeling, and how it can sometimes urges people to do unthinkable things, even something like helping another commit suicide. Moreover, the novel demonstrates how parents sometimes think they know their children better than anybody else does, whereas it is often the opposite. Most of the time, teenagers confide themselves to their lover, and not to their parents, as shown in The Pact. Finally, The Pact shows how friendship is fragile when family is involved. Personally, I found the book The Pact very interesting. The story is not complicated to understand, which make the novel even more captivating for me, since I don't like to read. Moreover, the characters of The Pact are real people, with real concerns. For example, Emily is a teenager ...

Reflect on If I could be any historical figure within the time period, Research Paper

Reflect on If I could be any historical figure within the time period, who would I be and why - Research Paper Example In essence, politics revolve around who governs what country, what government is which country and how people are governed. It is argued that, politics dictate the social and economic lives of people in varying countries (Hout 3). As such, countries with good governance or political stability are said to have good social and economic life while those with poor political governance or no stability mostly suffer from social and economic slowdown (OHCHR 3). In regard to history and world politics, I would have wanted to be Dr, Martin Luther King Jnr. in the last three centuries. Dr. King had been brought up by a religious family where his father is alleged to have a strict hand in term of discipline for him, his elder sister and the younger. Despite the involvement of the family in church and his father being a minister, Martin Luther King was reluctant to religion and at most rebellious (Fairclough 35). In mid 1950s , the King Jr began his activism on civil rights and played a hug role bringing to an end the legal segregation that had built up between the Africans – Americans in the U.S. Moreover, he managed to push for the formation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Nelson 22). In a general sense, Martin Luther King made a huge impact on the continuous segregation that was witnessed the U.S in the 1960’s. ... As a result of the bizarre bus incident and the arrest of the African American, other Africa American come together to fight against racism and elected Dr. King as their leader. This group of African American began by fight against segregation in the Montgomery Buses and soon, the Africans could no longer receive unfair treatment for the rest of the Americans (Fairclough 38). In the same year, the segregation of the bus was boycotted, fellow Americans who referred themselves as ‘whites’ were agitated by the influence that Martin Luther King had made on African Americans and they decided to raid his house with the intention of killing him. However, their mission was unsuccessful as no one was hurt during the incident. As a result of the problem that African American encounter due to segregation, they decided to push their fight a step high by coming up with Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Through the activism and leadership of Dr. King, they expanded their non v iolent battle against discrimination that had spread to every part of the U. S. It is worth mentioning that, the infamous civil rights activity facilitate by Martin Luther King Jr to place in August 1963. The activity entailed the King as the main leader and other blacks who were civil right leaders across the country held in Washington DC. The agenda of the meeting was to compel the congress to pass a bill that had been created by the then president Kennedy. Of importance to note is that the meeting was held by both white are and blacks at the Lincoln memorial. Written down as the infamous speech â€Å"I Have a Dream†, the speech gave a definition of the moral basis that revolved around civil rights movement. Indeed, the congress was convinced and the following year they

The Responsible Parties for Samuel's Death Research Paper

The Responsible Parties for Samuel's Death - Research Paper Example The elders, who passed them by, disapproved of their actions but did nothing about it. According to the first element that was responsible for Sam’s death, the lady felt too embarrassed to warn the boys of the impending danger. The lady wanted to caution them to be careful but for fear of embarrassment that they might laugh at her she said nothing. Her embarrassment is one of the chief elements that were responsible for Samuel’s death because if she had acted immediately she could have averted a tragedy. All she did was to say -â€Å"You boys will be hurt. You will be 1 killed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Paley 356). According to Paley (355) the woman was more concerned about herself and her embarrassment, than the boys. â€Å"She wasn't afraid they'd hit her, but she was afraid of embarrassment.† Regarding the second element that was responsible for Samuel’s death, the man had pulled the emergency brake with the idea of safety in his mind. However, according to the ex planation given in the story, the actions of the man could either be morally right or wrong. Never at any point did he realize what the outcome of his actions would be.

CWE Annotated Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CWE Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example This sets the wheel in motion for others to follow. I have no bias towards Robert F. Kennedy but the quote itself is a great one stressing on thinking differently and taking risks. It tells how once can achieve great feats by thinking out of the box. Most people tend to stick to the routine or bound by conventional thinking. They are afraid to take risks and believe in new possibilities. It is only when we move away from the laid out path that we can find new lands. So it only by thinking out of the traditional mould and embracing new thinking and possibilities that we can achieve great things. Again, you cant connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. – Steve Jobs This is one of the famous quotes from Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech. In this quote, Steve Jobs asks his audience to follow their heart and do what they enjoy the most. Most people fail to understand their true talents because they are too afraid to follow their instincts or guts. What you instincts say might not make much of logical sense at the moment but years down the line everything will seem to be perfect. It is only when you believe in your instincts that you will be able to live a life to your full

Better Communication Essay Example for Free

Better Communication Essay Effective communication is the key in the health care critical for health care professionals. The key foundation of any coworkers is being able to communicate clearly. With the help of effective communication people are able to define and understand goals and shear and receive the information better. When there is a lack of communication in the health care industry it can cause a poor medical care and mistakes in patent’s medical history. Therefor; clarity is a must in the health care industry. Active listening is also a part of better communication skills. The supportive and defensive communication is everywhere and lasting. In the health care environment supportive communication is appropriate then defensive communication. Supportive communication expresses encouragement and understanding when communicating with others while during defensive communication the individual feels defended, anxious or threatened. During communication as a individual becomes defensive they are less able to recognize the values and senders emotions Interpersonal communication is the interaction between two or more people. Good interpersonal communication skills are essential in the creation and maintenance of relationships with others. Dwyer (2009, p.62) explains that ‘in any context, our relationships are built through our interpersonal communication.’ Self concept, emotional intelligence, assertive behaviour, empathy and the ability to actively listen and provide feedback are all desirable interpersonal communication tools considered necessary to maintain relationships and aid in conflict resolution. Dwyer (2009, p. 152) states that ‘Conflict arises when needs are not met. Those needs can be physical, financial, social, educational, intellectual, recreational or spiritual, tangible or intangible. However, even in a situation of conflict, it is possible, by finding areas of common ground, to remove some of the differences and to emphasise the similarities while tackling the conflict and working towards the solution’. Good interpersonal communication skills help to create an understanding between persons in conflict whereby they can make common ground and have a better understanding of whe re the other party is coming from. Dwyer (2009, p. 175) explains that ‘Conflict expressed and addressed in ways that respect relationships and consider as many needs as possible is positive and constructive’. In order to achieve common ground, emphasise similarities and work towards conflict solutions, the communication climate must be positive and both parties must be willing to resolve the issue. The role of Interpersonal Communication in Conflict Resolution In order to communicate effectively with others a sound understanding of your own self concept is required. Self concept can be described as your â€Å"self image†, it is the mental picture that you have of yourself. Yahaya, Azizi, Ramli and Jamaludin (2009) explain that ‘Self-concept refers to the totality of a complex, organized, and dynamic system of Interpersonal communication is defined by Brooks and Heath (1993) as â€Å"the process by which information, meanings and feelings are shared by persons through the exchange of verbal a nd nonverbal messages (as cited in Dickson and Hargie, 2003, p.1). In order to demonstrate my understanding of effective and non-effective communication skills I have chosen to analyse a dialogue between a seasoned policeman and a hardened criminal taken from the movie Heat. It is deep and meaningful interaction between two adversaries. After much deliberation I have narrowed down my analysis to the use of rapport building, self-disclosure and empathy, verbally and non-verbally. I will also attempt to identify the barriers to communication in this dialogue and explore the reasons why these skills were used ineffectively, and suggest how they could have been improved upon. Rapport-building is defined by Robbins (1986, p. 207, as cited in Study Guide) as ‘the ability to enter someone else’s world, to make him feel that you understand him, that you have a strong common bond’ I think it is at the very core of effective interpersonal communication because it ‘is one of the most important features or characteristics of unconscious human interaction’ and without it the purpose of the interaction cannot be achieved. It is ‘commonality of perspective, being in sync, being on the same wavelength as the person with whom you ar e talking’ (http://www.inspirationalsolutions-lp.co.uk/theimportanceofrapport.pdf). Following that line of thinking it is essential to establish rapport as soon as possible in a didactic interpersonal conversation, whatever the purpose of the discussion is – to learn, to relate, to play or to help (De Vito, p.80). The very first sentence that Hanna says demonstrates an attempt to establish rapport â€Å"Howya doing?† (he does not wait for an answer and continues talking) â€Å"Whaddaya say I buy you a cup of coffee?†. He is wearing casual jeans and a white sweatshirt. First and foremost, congratulations of your engagement. I am very excited that you chose to reach out to me for advice in understanding interpersonal communication with each other before you get married. After taking classes for interpersonal communication Nicholas Epley explained the differences this way, Our problem in communicating with friends and spouses is that we have an illusion of insight. Getting close to someone appears to create the illusion of understanding more than actual understanding† (2011 para. 8). There are a lot of books that one could read but in all actuality a successful relationship is based on the two people entering the communion and realizing that marriages take hard work and dedica tion, no matter how easy it looks. I will advise you on how to mold the following steps such as learning your role in the marriage, actively listening, opening up to your partner about your feelings, and choosing your words wisely into your everyday life which can produce a successful relationship; all this and effective communication is completely up to you. My first major topic for you to always remember is that you must listen to your partner. You probably find yourself asking over and over are you paying attention to me. Did you hear anything that I said? Do not fret over that because every person in a relationship has asked the same question. You may not like what he or she has to say but to have a positive relationship you must listen actively, critically, and empathically. Now please allow me to explain to you what I mean by those terms. Kathy Sole tells us that listening is important to the conversation because it creates meaning between both people (2011). When you want to have an in depth conversation with your spouse, you need to eliminate all noise, make eye contact, actively listen means to truly think about what you hear. Critically listening ties into actively listening because you understand what your spouse Assertiveness Assertiveness is a simple skill that requires a lot of practice to perfect. Basically, assertiveness requires us to speak our minds, to do so in such a way that the meaning of our communication is clear. Hopefully our expressed wish is acknowledged, but this is not necessary for us to be assertive. To achieve assertive communication, we have to state what is in our minds; that is, our thoughts and feelings. Advanced assertiveness is when we ask for what we want regardless of whether the recipient understands what we communicate, and regardless of whether or not we get what we want. Complete assertiveness requires both levels intellectual and emotional communication. The workplace presents both a challenge and potentially some relief when it comes to being assertive. On the one hand, we work with others, usually often, so there is some sense of familiarity. Yet, we do not live with them. There is a certain built-in interpersonal distance. With acquaintances at work, the challenge is to ask for what we want or at least state our opinion, more or less at intellectual, pragmatic levels. We tend to leave out the personal side, because our relationships are not that personal. From this standpoint, assertiveness is easier because there are less personal consequences. We can state our case and others likely will not take our message so personally. This is truer if the issue at hand is small. It is also more likely to be true of communications among co-workers of equal status. If there are other good elements; that is, more interpersonal warmth, bonding and empathy, talking to the boss can be assertively successful. But we need some slightly deeper personal connection to the boss to make this work, to grease the wheels of information exchange. The workpl ace presents a challenge to being more interpersonally intimate with co-workers who may not really be so friendly. The same is true with bosses that have different levels of power. An Interpersonal relationship in the health care environment is based off the relationship between the people you work with, such as the staff, patients, and doctor. Your interpersonal relationship between you, the coworker, and patients is very important and crucial within the health care environment, you must be able to â€Å"treat your clients with respect†, â€Å"do not be rude or ever shout at them†, never disclose any type of information about a patient to a client†, and â€Å"have feelings for the patients† (2004)(1.3.8). In order for the patients to feel comfortable you must treat them with a certain level of respect and make them feel as comfortable as possible, such as have close relationship with all the patients and staff. For example ask how their day is going, or give them positive feedback about any questions they might have or need help with so he or she is always satisfied with the service. Your â€Å"perspective† in the health care industry is very important and crucial to your coworkers and clients, and you always want to provide them with the best â€Å"quality of care†. Next, a supportive relationship rather than a defensive relationship in the health care environment is more appropriate, and I say this because to be defensive with the coworkers, patients or staff will make that person feel â€Å"uncomfortable†, :†guilty†, or even hostile. On the other hand, a supportive relationship is something you want to have with the clients, staff, and patients because you always want to be able to support them with positive feedback, such as are â€Å"supportive† when a patient asks for advice or a particular type of treatment show â€Å"recognition†, â€Å"acknowledgement†, and â€Å"endorsement†. Supportive is more of a positive feedback and defensive is negative feedback, and defensive or negative feedback is som ething you do not want to happen, you always want to remain supportive, positive, and assertive with people at all times. Assertive style and its appropriateness in health care†the preferred Course Hero has millions of student submitted documents similar to the one below including study guides, practice problems, reference materials, practice exams, textbook help and tutor support. communication1 Interpersonal Interpersonal Communication in your Relationship Christy Fobert COM 200 Instructor Youngs 6/22/11 Interpersonal communication2 Dear Jason and Amber, I am writing in response to your request asking for some advice on interpersonal communication in your relationship. As you know my husband and I have been attending classes that help with communication in relationships. We also believe we can give you some dire advice based on our own personal experience since we have six years behind us. Being a newly engaged couple and asking for advice before marriage lets us know you are both serious in committing to one another. This also makes it seem you are both committed to keeping your relationship alive and well. The best advice I can give you is to keep your communication alive and well. In this letter I will give you some advice on the concepts of good interpersonal communication. I will explain what we have been learning in our classes and also what I can explain to how we have experienced this in our relationship. The first basic but important skill to communication is listening. Listening to each other shows that you both respect one another and care about what the other is saying. There are three important types of listening and they are: active, critical, and empathetic. The first skill that we will discuss pertaining to the listening is actively listening. Active listening is assertive communication that develops a sense of trust. In my personal relationship letting your spouse know that you are listening lets them feel important and build trust within your relationship. Actively listening in your communication will allow you to build trust because of the openness that it builds. Openness within active listening makes your spouse feel a Effective communication in healthcare is essential to deliver good patient care. When delegating tasks to co-workers, one needs to be clear and precise. When people have a full understanding of what their job is, they will perform better and patients will g et better outcomes. Without effective communication we are setting up our fellow co-workers for failure and our patients as well. Effective communication is necessary to convey the importance of instructions and task to co-workers so they can fully understand the importance of their task and the steps necessary to manage the task. Effective communication is also necessary to be able to understand what our patients are telling us, and how to better listen and relate to them. Rashad is attending the team meeting and is being assertive in trying to clarify his role as assistive personnel. He is showing that the nurses would be able to rely on him to help with their patients during the shift for hygienic care and toileting. He is using an assertive form of communication with speaking up during the meeting. This assertiveness is quickly shot down by the aggressive communication of RN, Robin. Her comments of calling Rashad only an aide is belittling and then stating that those cares are the role of a RN farther the belittling. Robin continues to say that Rashad is not expected to think but to do as told is not uplifting at all and developed into feelings of resentment. These feelings are expressed in Rashad’s new goal; of developing a plan to make Robin pay for her comments. Robin’s comments established a tone of superiority and dominance as she shows her expectations that only the nurses know how to think and that the aides should be more like robots to her commands. This aggressive style of communication hurts others and is used to set someone up to overpower Interpersonal communication is the type of communication that people use to communicate their ideas, thoughts, ideas and feelings to one another person. In Interpersonal Communication, you are dependent upon another person for the communication to be effective. With that being said I thought that I would have great interpersonal communication skills but sadly I do not. I thought I that I would have great interpersonal communication skills because most of the time I can tell how a person is feeling, try to understand how they feel, and what is driving them to feel that way. That is the reason why I wanted to become a social worker but I am glad that I am taking this class to understand my interpersonal communication skills better. I never really thought of interpersonal communication skills as being as important as they are. Whether we like it or not interpersonal communication a key skill for personal and professional relationships. What you say and what you dont say both carry a lot of weight in communication. Having effective interpersonal communication means that you use both of these forms to your advantage and remain aware of your behavior throughout a conversation. With that being said there are three key points that I feel that I need to do a great deal of improvement on and they are overcoming my fear to speak, my eye contact, and being aware of my adaptors that I use and how I use them. The first thing I feel that would help my interpersonal communication skills is to overcome my fear to talk people that I do not know. I have to overcome this fear because if not I will never be able to become the great social worker that I can become. I feel that a great way for me to overcome this fear is by talking to strangers at work. By not saying anything or acknowledging my co-worker that I do not know is not sending a message good message to them. If I want to have effective interpersonal communication, I have to get Effective communication is important for psychological well-being for a number of reasons. Communication allows conveying our needs and feelings to others, as well as to respond to and respect the needs of others. Social supports are an important factor to decrease anxiety and depression. Communication helps to develop significant relationships with friends and family, as well as with romantic partners. Developing skills that allow communication between people t hat we trust allows for expression of emotions, as well as the ability to get feedback and support. Three very important skills are needed for communication. They are assertiveness, conversational or verbal communication skills and nonverbal communication skills. Two attitudes are important in developing communication skills that are effective. These skills are being proactive and thinking win/win. Proactive means taking responsibility for your life. A person can choose to be happy and successful. In the win/win situation, society has labeled life as either a clear winner or a loser. In business, the goal is to provide the best service or product to maximize profits and beat the competition. This plays a major role in why society thinks that in interpersonal interactions it too is a game in which there is a clear winner and loser. A mature and confident way to approach human reactions is thinking win/win. This approach allows for both parties to succeed and achieve goals. Being assertive is one of my greatest assets. I have learned that a closed mouth will never get fed. When being assertive it is not necessary to raise our voice or shout at other people. Being threatening is not assertive either. Many people confuse aggression with assertion. Being assertive allows speaking in normal tones, respecting personal distance and the ability to state opinions needs or wants.