Thursday, January 30, 2020

Foundation Certificate in Human Resource Practice Essay Example for Free

Foundation Certificate in Human Resource Practice Essay 1. Collecting and recording HR data is vitally important to an organisation. The collecting of the data could be to monitor that laws and regulations are being adhered to for example the Health and Safety at work act 1974, ensuring that all staff are maintaining high health and safety awareness and complying to the law. The data would need to be collected to enable the organisation to prove that it is adhering to current law and legislation. Another example could also be to monitor employee absence levels across the organisation and looking for any pattern or trend relating to individual absences. This data could be used in Absence review meetings and having all the correct and accurate data could be vital in a dispute with an employee. It could highlight issues with employee welfare and enable the company to offer support in order to support the employee back to work. 2. Storing Records There are many methods of storing records, an example is: Electronic which includes hard disks drive – PC, CD – recorder, DVD, databases and spreadsheets, internet or intranet, USB devices, emails and virtual learning environments. Electronic storage can have pros and cons. Advantages can be the speed and accuracy that it provides, spellcheckers etc can all help the documents to be stored accurately. Vast amounts of data can be stored on a computer software system and therefore not take up and physical office space. The electronic way of storing data can also be protected by a password meaning that it is secure and accurate at the same time and protected from anyone outside the HR function, and it means that a variety of colleagues can have access to update and amend the records at the same time, even updating at the same time as colleagues. Manual Storage. Manual storage can be personnel files, absence forms, reports, filing cabinets etc There are lots of benefits to manual storage including having documents which need a physical signature and provide proof of identity like bank details etc. Also should a computer system crash or wipe the documents the paper copy is always accessible. Manual storage is easy to move around and is easy to keep protected and confidential via a lock/key etc although staff with access must ensure it is securely locked away. 3. UK Legislation The Data Protection Act 1998 is about respecting individual rights when processing/collecting and storing their personal information. This is achievable for the company by being honest with employees about the use of their information and by following good data handling procedures. The act is compulsory and all organisations that hold or process personal data must adhere to this. Personal data should be processed fairly and lawfully, the data should be adequate, relevant and not excessive, it should be accurate and where necessary kept up to date, any data should not be kept for longer than necessary, data should be kept secure. All staff has responsibilities under the Act to ensure that their activities comply with the Data Protection Principles Employees do have a right legally to access information that an organisation may hold on them. This could include information regarding any grievances or disciplinary action, or information obtained through performance monitoring processes. Processes should be in place to deal with a data request from an employee as a 40 day time limit is compulsory. The health and safety at work at 1974 is legislation relating to protecting employees from injury or illness as a direct result of their job. All data relating to health and safety must be recorded and stored securely, including accident books. This data may be called upon many years after an employee has left the organisation so staff should ensure documents and information are kept in a secure adequate accessible place. The Freedom of Information Act which came into force in 2000 gives you the right to ask any public sector organisation for all the recorded information they have on any subject. Anyone can make a request for information – there are no restrictions on your age, nationality or where you live. If you ask for information about yourself, then your request will be handled under the Data Protection Act 1998. Recording, Analysing and using Human Resources information is highly important and ensuring it is accurate and efficient will support the organisation strategy in many ways. The Analysis can change the way the organisation moves forward and affect future plans/decisions.

Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

Huckleberry Finn Essay Theme, structure and social characteristics as the literary elements, highlighting the spiritual growth of the main characters in â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev†, â€Å"Emma† and â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† The present paper is designed to discuss three novels about moral maturation and the growth of self-awareness, â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† by Mark Twain, whose protagonist is Huckleberry Finn, Jane Austen’s â€Å"Emma†, named after the protagonist and â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev† by Chaim Potok, whose main character is Asher Lev. Notably, the authors necessarily indicate the protagonists’ names in the titles, underlining their moral and psychological development as a central plotline. The literary elements of theme, structure and protagonist’s social characteristics actually strengthen the reader’s understanding of the character’s spiritual growth: Lev’s novel demonstrates’ the protagonist’s liberation from the community bonds through the lens of the theme of social pressure, Twain’s writing – the progress of Huck’s humanistic views underlining the theme of slavery, Austen’s work – Emma’s psychological maturation, through prioritizing the theme of marriage, moreover, all works by their structure provide the mistakes made by the protagonists on their path and thus make clear to the reader that development is not a smooth and gradual process, whereas the change or stability of sociological characteristics pay reader’s attention either to the connection between self-awareness and social position or to the purely inner revolution. The characters actually perfect very distinct aspects of self awareness: Emma, for instance, overgrows the selfish and infantile girl, whose main interest is manipulating the others’ fates (as she appears at the beginning), Asher Lev realizes that he is actually an independent personality rather than the subject of the Hassidic community after being judged for depicting the his mother’s anguish, whereas Huckleberry Finn, who has never considered carefully the issue of racial equality, begins to realize his humanistic views and oppose the oppression of slaves and the split of their families. Due to the fact that the major theme in â€Å"My Name is Asher Lev† is community bonds and the conflict itself develops in terms of the weakening of the commitment to the groups of Hassids (Walden, 1985), the protagonist, who is a bright and unordinary individuality, should ascend over the blind observance of community tradition and learn to distinguish himself from the group. Therefore, his development is associated with individuation and learning of his ego and the religious conflict results in the development of Asher’s ability to assert his self: â€Å"So it is time for the defense, for a long session in demythology. But I will not apologize. It is absurd to apologize for a mystery†(Potok, 1998, at http://search. barnesandnoble. com). The theme of marriage as the leading one in â€Å"Emma† is also related to the main character’s development: whereas at first, Emma views marriage as a game, popular in her environment, she is still not infantile to understand that this specific type of partnership is based necessarily on strong affection after developing the feelings for her brother-in-law; whereas at the beginning she has fear for the responsibility associated with marriage. The theme of slavery also supports the reader’s understanding of the young protagonist’s moral growth in â€Å"Huckleberry Finn†: â€Å"I’m low down; and I’m a-going to steal him† (Twain, 1999, Ch. 33); as one can understand, Huck no longer views Jim as property, but in order to persuade Tom, he recognizes his own inclination to wrongdoing and takes entire responsibility for the stealing the slave. The structure of the stories is generally similar: the greatest part of the plot is dedicated to depicting the behavioral imperfections of the protagonist, so that the reader can feel the protagonist is an ordinary person, whose growth is based upon his/her own mistakes. For instance, â€Å"Emma† at first depicts an arrogant and class-conscious girl saying â€Å"The yeomanry are precisely the order of people with whom I feel I can have nothing to do† (Austen, 2001, Vol. 1 Ch. 4) and throughout the first two parts she acts as a quarrelsome person, whereas her later reasoning can be characterized as wiser: â€Å"I think Harriet is doing extremely well â€Å"(Austen, 2001, Vol. 3, Ch. 28), i. e. she approves of her best friend’ marriage to the farmer, having got the idea of love and letting it in. Beyond mistakes, Potok’s and Twain’s protagonists also encounter difficulties and adversities, which shape their outlooks; for instance, Lev’s story can be divided into three parts (Walden, 1985): period of the teenage conflict with the environment, movement toward the goal in Kahn’s studio and the resolution of the conflict and individuation (Potok, 1972). Huck’s moral development is less gradual and actually consists of several insights: 1) first encounter with Jim as a fugitive slave and the initial desire to help him; 2) The loss of the companion after meeting the â€Å"aristocrats† and Jim’s imprisonment in Phelpses’ house. Finally, social characteristics of the protagonists are quite expressive themselves and point actually to the qualities to be changed. For instance, Emma is introduced as a girl with a degree of self-importance and class-based prejudice because of her upper class identity, but later she begins to understand her friend Harriet in her love for Martin and thus grows more open-minded; furthermore, her maturation is accompanied by the change of social characteristics, as Emma accepts Knightley’s proposition Huck Finn’s social characteristics remain practically the same, as the author seeks to maintain the reader’s focus on the advancement of his moral qualities, so that the adolescent still remains to some extent uncommitted to social norms (â€Å"Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it† (Twain 1999, Ch. 43), in spite of having developed his distinct attitude towards slavery. Asher Lev, in turn, drastically changes his social identity: the growth of his self-awareness and self-identity result in his alienation and separation from the community. To sum up, the reader’s understanding of the protagonist’s path toward self-awareness is to great extent manipulated by the authors: Jane Austen, Chaim Potok and Mark Twain design the plot structure, which underlines the failures and subsequent insights of the protagonist, embed the central theme into the main character’s spiritual growth and substantially change the protagonist’s social features, except Huck’s case, in which the focus on morality shift is broadened through remaining social characteristics stable. Reference list Austen, J. (2001). Emma. At http://ebooks. adelaide. edu. au/a/austen/jane/a93e/. Twain, M. (1999). Huckleberry Finn. At Potok, C. (1972). My Name is Asher Lev. Alfred A. Knopf. Potok, C. (1998). My Name is Asher Lev. At http://search. barnesandnoble. com/booksearch/isbninquiry. asp? ean=9781400031047displayonly=EXCz=y#EXC http://etext. virginia. edu/toc/modeng/public/Twa2Huc. html Walden, D. (1985). The World of Chaim Potok . State University of New York Press, 1985.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Housing Meaning Essays -- Literary Analysis, Howards End, Forrester

In Howards End by E.M. Forester, the house Howards End has central meaning to the story as each character has a different meaning for the property. To understand this meaning better using the other homes in the story to describe how each house is different from Howards End. Using such places as Wickham Place compared to Howards End in feeling from what the characters think of them. Then understanding how different the Flats are to Howards End though both are homes. Also why places such as Ducie Street and Oniton Grange are still different from Howards End though all three are of the same social standing of each other. Then how places such as Leonard’s Place are on the opposite side of the poll to that of Howards End but still have meaning to it. Then explain how Forster can express Howards End so well that it seems he himself has lived there. At the end of evaluating the other homes and Howards End the evidence will show that Howards End being in the middle of it all is import ant to the development of the story. With comparing the character’s feelings to that of Wickham Place to Howards End aspects such as emotional attachment, events that occurred there and the class each place carries with it. With emotion in play Wickham Place hold a dear meaning to those of the Schlegal family for many reasons. As stated in the beginnings of the book the Schlegal’s see Wickham Place as the Wilcox see Howards End as and ancestral home. Although as Margaret thought about the Wilcox’s in that, â€Å"The Wilcoxes continued to play a considerable part in her †¦ when it takes all sorts to make a world?†(Forester 12). This to Margaret is what the Wilcoxes stand for – the "grit" and practicality of the real world. While the Schlegels live in their equall... ...t from Howards End by using their importance to branch from Howards End. Using such places as Wickham Place to Howards End in feeling from what the characters think of each other. Then understanding how different the Flats are to Howards End though both are homes the Wilcoxes live in. Also why places such as Ducie Street and Oniton Grange are still different from Howards End though all three are of the same social standing of each other. Then how places such as Leonard’s Place are on the opposite side of the poll to that of Howards End but still have meaning to it. Then explaining how Forster can express Howards End so well that it seems he himself has lived there. At the end of evaluating the other homes and Howards End the along side the Forster explanation it is clear that Howards End is the core to which all the other homes branch from and make the story flow.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Falstaff :: essays research papers

Romanticism, as stated in the American Heritage Electronic Dictionary is, "An artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions." Falstaff is the ideal romantic character. In an article written by Harry T. Baker titled, "The Two Falstaffs" Baker writes against all the critics who claim that the Falstaff from Henry IV parts I and II is a different character then the Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He believes that, "although, as the critics declare, Falstaff is not himself, this is due to the [change in] situation, not to the inconsistency of character portrayal." In Henry IV parts I and II we see Falstaff as the romantic character that is stated in the definition above, defying everything that the Classical character, Prince Hal, stands for and believes.. He refuses to take life seriously. He believes that "War is as much of a joke to him as a drinking bout at the Boar's Head." He uses people solely for his own purposes, either for money or for food and drink. He is rude and crude to all those around him and is one of the best liars who continually gets caught in his lies but makes new ones to cover for the old failed ones. Yet Baker states that, "His presence of mind and quickness of retort are always superb; his impudence is almost sublime. Yet the man thus corrupt, thus despicable, makes himself necessary to the prince that despises him, by the most pleasing of all qualities, perpetual gaiety. Falstaff creates around his capacious bulk a sort of Utopia which frees us temporarily from the worries and troubles of the actual wo rld. What does it matter that Falstaff ridicules chivalry, honor, truth-telling, and bravery in battle? He is not to be taken seriously...he is a wholly comic character." At the end of Henry IV part II we can see what happens to Falstaff when he is surrounded by reality, he is caught off guard and is out of place. Baker states that when Falstaff is entangle with the realities of life "he cannot shine." We see this first at the coronation of Hal, once his friend in mischief, when Falstaff is told, quite bluntly by Hal that " I know thee not, old man.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Informative speech on sleep Essay

I. Attention Gainer: â€Å"Even though we burn more calories when we stay awake, losing sleep is not a good way to lose weight. The light sleepers ended up eating far more than those who get nine hours of sleep.† According to author Tara Parker-Pope of The New York Times published on March 18, 2013. II. Thematic Statement: Most people don’t think about the long term effects of not getting enough sleep you need to function properly. But if we all were to go to bed at a reasonable time, then not only will it improve your physical health it will also improve your mental health. III. Preview: I am going to begin by talking about how much sleep do we need according to our age? Then what goes on with our brains during sleep and lastly I will explain the implications of lack of sleep. Body: I. Main Point #1 (How much sleep do we need according to our age) A. According to The National Sleep Foundation last updated March 22nd, 2014 â€Å" Studies confirm that on average adults need at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep to complete all stages of sleep.† Also after further research newborns 1 month to 2 months old need 14 to 18 hours, Infants 3 to 11 months old need 13 to 16 hours, toddlers and children need about 11 hours, and teens need 9 to 10 hours. These variations of sleep time is because of growth and repairs the brain and the body need. Neither can be obtained if you’re always up. B. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website last updated January 13, 2014 states that â€Å"50-70 million U.S Citizens have been recorded to have sleep deprivation (or lack of sleep) caused by various reasons.† Various reasons meaning that the lack of sleep could be anything from a medical problem to self-infliction of sleep deprivation. Internal Summary #1: Now that we are aware of the amount of sleep we need, let’s now discuss about our brain activity during sleep. II. Main Point #2 (What goes on with our brains during sleep) A. According to The National Institute of Neurological disorders and stroke last updated April 28th, 2014 â€Å"During sleep, we usually pass through five phases of sleep: stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and  REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.† The article also states that 50 percent of our sleep is during stage 2, 20 percent in REM sleep, and the other 30 percent in the remaining stages. B. Stage 1 of sleep is also known as light sleep where we drift in and out of sleep. This stage is where we can be woken up the easiest. Stage 2 is where our brain activity and eye movement start to slow down and stop. Stage 3 brain waves start to begin with slow and fast movements. Stage 4 also known as deep sleep is the toughest stage to wake someone up. It is the stage where there is no eye movement or muscle activity and if you were to awaken during this stage. The results would be the feeling of grogginess or disorientation. The last stage REM sleep aka Rapid Eye Movement is the dream stage of sleep. Where we fantasize about our life and day occurrences. Internal summary #2: We have discussed what goes on with our brains during sleep, let’s finish with the implications lack of sleep has on our society. III. Main Point #3 (Implications) A. Sleep is a very important factor in our everyday lives in fact according to The National Association of Science last updated April 14, 2014 â€Å"Sleep deprivation can cause severe cases of anxiety and can also lead to insomnia.† B. Without sleep our brains cannot not work to the best of its abilities. Scientists can’t discover new things, students will continue to fall asleep in class, and people that work 9 to 5 jobs could and will go mentally insane. Conclusions: I. Summary Statements: We are now familiar with the amount of sleep we need depending on ages, what our brain activity is like during sleep, and how sleep impacts us all as a society. II. Concluding Remarks: Since I researched this topic very thoroughly I can now help people who refuse to sleep for decent hours realize what they are doing to themselves. WORK CITED National Sleep Foundation â€Å"how does sleep deprivation affect us† Web 27 June 2014 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention â€Å"Sleep deprivation† Web 27 June 2014 National Association of Science â€Å"Negative implications of sleep deprivation† Web 27 June 2014 The New York Times â€Å"Lost Sleep Can Lead to Weight Gain† Tara Parker-Pope published on March 18, 2013. Web 27 June 2014. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Web 27 June 2014

Monday, January 13, 2020

Olympic Games Ap World Dbq

Will someone check and grade my essay for me please! The Olympic Games There are many factors that shape the modern Olympic movement from 1892 to 2002. The original reason was so people of many people of different races, religions, or genders could come together and compete against each other in various competitions. The Olympics first started in 776 B. C. E. but ended 393 C. E. they later started back up in 1892, but it was a bit different than before. Today, many of the factors that shaped the Olympics reflect what has changed and what has taken place since the last games.Some examples would have to do with women, the economy, and world wars and other region battles. From 1892 to 2002, things kept changing around for women. In document 2 you could see that from the year 1908, only 2% of the Olympic athletes are women, the other 98% are all male. Those 2% of women were also wearing full clothing; the only skin that was allowed to be shown was their face and hands. From document 8 in 1992, 29% of the athletes were women, this time most of them were able to show off their bodies and not wear as much clothing.The big difference in the percentage of women competing in the Olympics and the amount of clothing they wear shows a good reflection in the transformation of women’s rights in the Olympics. Another reflection of the Olympics is the state of the economy. If you read document 5, it talks about a major from Japan wanted the 1964 games to be held in his country. Ryutaro Azuma wanted the games to be held in Tokyo because he believed that it would help the economy and the trades in Japan get stronger.It worked well and in document 7 you can see that Japan is one of the countries, as well as the United States, that gets selected to be one of nine of the sponsors for the 1988 Olympic Games. To be able to become a sponsor, your country has to be able to avail itself of an opportunity to display its industrial and economic power to a worldwide televised audienc e. The author of the journal that wrote document 7 believed that becoming a sponsor would bring your country a lot of money. In document 9, it shows that more and more money is being spent on the media for the Olympics.These documents show that a factor of the Olympics is earning money for your country; Japan proves it and raised the economy and its trade power during the Olympic Games. In the 1940s, World War II happened, which is right in the middle of the time period of these documents. The war dealt mainly with the Nazis and the Americans. Being that both Germany and the United states were in the war, both countries felt like that had to win it all to show a dominance for their government and to prove who had the better athletes.Documents 3 and 4 both are point of views from capitalists; but in document 3 it shows how the Nazis felt about things. They had the Olympic Games held at home and they wanted to win it. In a ski race, they wanted to prove that Nazism was the best Democr acy. The downhill course was closed for practices before the race, but apparently Nazis practiced the course without anyone knowing. The Olympics were shaped as hateful things between the two nations, and they both clearly wanted something to prove. In document 4, instead of the Nazis being the enemy in the Olympics, it was the Soviets.In the 1952 games, the United States team felt a lot of pressure because of the soviet team. It was during the Cold War and they felt like they just had to beat the Soviet team, whether they were good or bad, they felt they had to. In documents 1, 6, and 10, the people writing the documents wanted to show the whole world was these athletes are capable of. Pierre de Coubertin from document 1 felt that the Olympics should be used for a time of peace and friendship between other nations. In document 6, it talks about how the Soviets had a really bad reputation as communists.The Olympic committee wanted the Soviet Union to be more peaceful and democratic. Document 10 deals with the feelings of a new nation that thinks they are as capable as the nation they broke away from in competing in the Olympics. Pakistan wanted to break off from India and become nationalists, they felt that they would be able to compete in the Olympics and do just as well as the India. In the 1956 Olympics, the men’s field hockey team finished second to its rivals from India, but greatly won their first gold medal in 1960. Unfortunately, the national team is not nearly as good as they were back then.To conclude, the Olympic Games have satisfied many goals from countries. The Olympics brought many people together and it eventually created peace in the world. If people closely studied the Olympic Games after reading those 10 documents, you could see that they have caused some problems in the world, but most of the good things out weigh the bad things with the Olympics. Many global events factored out and shaped the modern Olympic movement from 1892 to 200 2, and they reflected the great well beings of the physical competition in it.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Euthanasi A Controversial Issue Around The World - 1461 Words

Since euthanasia first appeared in the nineteenth century, it has become a controversial issue around the world. Euthanasia, the â€Å"mercy killing†, relieve those who are suffering from disease or when they are on terminal stage by ending the life of a person intentionally (â€Å"Euthanasia†). In some countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium have legalized euthanasia under certain circumstances. However, active euthanasia is not yet legal in China and it seems to be against traditional Chinese concepts of morality. Nonetheless, with social progress and development in China, people not only focus on high living standard but also the want of leaving in peace. Samantha Pang has written that, in China, the awareness of both birth and death have been arise, † [w]hile the government promotes superior quality of birth and quality of life, voices in support of quality of dying are also emerging† (80). In some circumstances, the death can be positive. For ins tance, if someone were suffering from a terminal illness, assisted death could be the best action. Therefore, active euthanasia should be legal in China because people should have the right to decide their death, and euthanasia can relieve suffering for both patients and their families as well as reduce family burden and it can be beneficial for the social economy. Firstly, it is our right as human beings to live or to die. The right to privacy and freedom of belief includes the right of choice and in some cases this may also

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Story about Childhood - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1363 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/03/13 Category Sociology Essay Level High school Tags: Childhood Essay Did you like this example? Abstract In Light in August, Wuthering Heights, and the poetry of William Blake, society disrupts the link between childhood and nature. Like the motherless boy in Blakes The Chimney Sweeper who is manipulated through the promises of religion, or the group of children paraded through Englands streets in Holy Thursday, a childs natural link to motherly love and nurture is cut, and instead the child is molded to fit societys image. Like in Blakes London, society is more masculine, structured, and unforgiving, with citizens degraded to identities as prostitutes or beggars out of necessity, all wearing societys mind-forgd manacles (8).. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Story about Childhood" essay for you Create order These themes are especially prevalent in the two novels: Joe Christmas childhood racial and sexual trauma results in a crippling inability to accept any motherly figure or romantic partner, while Catherine, imprisoned and domesticated at Thrushcross Grange, yearns for the freedom and even savagery of her childhood. In both novels, the characters use violence to try to express and achieve dominance over their frustrations. Christmas violent outbursts are related to control, to try and find order in a life ridden with a split identity and the unpredictable, fluid female characters he meets. Catherines violent impulses, rather, are almost more feminine, related to freeing herself and reclaiming her childhood self and ferocity that she sees embodied in Heathcliff. Both regress in their violence, seeking to piece together or return to a childhood development which was interrupted by society. There is a sense of the primal link between childhood and nature, like a mother and her child tied as one through the umbilical cord. Perhaps to break this link and superimpose societys rules, to try and domesticate a human being at such an early age, will inevitably lead to such tendencies of reverting to wildness, of an identity constantly in search of its fundamental roots. In Light in August, societys interruption of Joe Christmas childhood development leads him to a lifelong fixation on finding order, not only in terms of his identity but also with him grappling to understand femininity and sexual relationships. Beginning with his birth, Christmas loses his mother, Milly, when his grandfather purposely refuses her medical assistance. His grandfather despises him, disowning him to an orphanage and working as a janitor to watch him and hate him (127) out of his Puritan values. Doc Hines states that Christmas is the Lord Gods abomination, and I the instrument of his will (380), an example of societys religious doctrines invading and overriding a childs sacred bond with his mother. As with many of the male characters in Christmas life, there is a rigidity and absoluteness to his grandfathers hate, which is juxtaposed to his grandmother, who immediately built up the fire in the stove and heated some milk (379) upon receiving Christmas. Doc Hines firm religious hate is contrasted with Mrs. Hines motherly instincts, which are arguably more in tune with nature than society. However, because of Christmas eventual childhood trauma, he will come to cling to the more masculine, patterned responses toward him and come to distrust the more fluid, unpredictable female characters he meets, especially when it is love and safety they offer. Christmas greatest disruption to childhood occurs at age five, when he witnesses the dieticians sexual encounter. The moment is an especially vulnerable one for him both sexually and racially. During the scene, he eats and sucks from his finger a tube of toothpaste. Robbed of a mother to nurse him, it is almost a scene of Christmas regressing back to his infantile impulses; it is as if he is trying to emulate breastfeeding, an act that not only embodies a mother-child bond but is also one of a childs first Freudian steps in sexual development. Because of this, Christmas is in a sensitive, vulnerable state in the scene. In addition, the contrast between the pinkcolored appearance of both the dietician and toothpaste as well as Christmas own parchmentcolored finger (120) perhaps also hints at the racially charged trauma that will be inflicted upon him. Once the dietician discovers Christmas, she calls him a little nigger bastard (122), and it is at  that moment when Christmas entire racial and sexual awareness becomes disfigured. Unlike at the orphanage, Christmas is now old enough to understand the societal lines he has transgressed. He learns his racial identity is undesirable and is vilified by the closest mother figure he has. At once, the innocence and motherly safety he felt prior are wiped away: The toothpaste is now the cause of sickness and is no longer smooth pink-and-white (122). The curtain which symbolizes a childlike illusion of safety is torn away and the dietician, who used to be Christmas only sense of a motherly figure, [drags] him violently out of his vomit (122). In the scene, Christmas not only becomes aware of societys rejection of part of his race, but the dietician also tears away his innocent acceptance of refuge and nurture. From age five, Christmas is disillusioned to the motherly net of safety that is so integral to childhood, and he instead confronts the prejudices of society. Christmas trauma is further cultivated by the McEacherns. Mr. McEachern sternly adheres to his religious beliefs, and through him Christmas becomes accustomed to a lifestyle of strict discipline and suppression. Under Mr. McEachern, Christmas continues to subdue his sexual impulses and even the urge to eat, associating them with emotions of shame and withdrawal. Through Mr. McEachern, Christmas almost develops an attachment to the patterned and ordered restrictions of his life, as if the whole situation were perfectly logical and reasonable and inescapable (159). When Mrs. McEachern brings him food after a full day of fasting, Christmas violently lashes out, dumping the dishes and food and all onto the floor (155). In a tragic manner, because of his experience with the dietician, Christmas feels threatened by such a mother figure, seeing her very offer of food and safety as something threatening and out of the ordinary. Christmas and the man could always count upon one another, depend upon one another; that it was the woman alone who was unpredictable (159). To Christmas, It was the woman: that soft kindness which he believed himself doomed to be forever victim of and which he hated worse than he did the hard and ruthless justice of men (169). In heartbreaking sense, Christmas strict religious conditioning and past trauma have reversed the way he views any maternal figure, seeing them as a kind of volatile threat. It is only through the more masculine structure and order of society that he finds any hint of something dependable. There is a sense of how twisted a childs development can turn when the safety and primal education that only a mother can bestow is replaced by the harder conditioning of society. Perhaps a mothers love is affirming, possessing its own kind of power in supporting a childs first steps in forming a sense of self, sheltered from what society will dictate the child to be. In Joe Christmas case, however, it is this motherly love and safety that has become poison to him. Conclusion Furthermore, throughout his interactions with women, Christmas uses violence as a means to try to control or defend against the more unpredictable female characters he meets. In his first sexual encounter, trapped in a shed with a girl, there was something in him trying to get out, like when he had used to think of toothpaste (156). As a result, he strikes out: He kicked her hard, kicking into and through a choked wail of surprise and fear (157). When Christmas is with the waitress Bobbie, he has a similar response when she forgets about her menstruation, hitting her after she remarks that Im sick tonightYou havent ever had a sweetheart, yet. Ill bet you havent (188). Christmas violence in these scenes is contracting, almost defensive. Whenever the situation becomes intimate and sexual, such as in his first sexual encounter, his distrust of femininity again manifests itself in the fear of abandonment and hurt. There is a sense that his violence is linked to control, so that, in a twisted way, he may land a first blow and try to seize the situation, rejecting his partner first before he is again abandoned or traumatized.