Critical response to ‘Z for Zachariah’ by Robert C. O’Brien Essay

The book I read is ‘Z for Zachariah’ by Robert C. O’Brien. I enjoyed this book because it contained few but excellent characters and is full of mystery and suspense. ‘Z for Zachariah’ is about a sixteen-year-old girl, called Ann Burden who thinks she is the only person to survive a nuclear war. However, as her diary entries progress, you learn of a person in a green suit who is pulling what looks like a trailer covered with the same green material as the suit approaching Ann Burden’s valley. Later in the diary you find out that the person is a man who had been an industrial chemist before the war, working for the Government designing a suit to protect people in the event of a nuclear explosion. His name is Mr Loomis and he is wearing the only one of these suits. When Mr Loomis finally arrives in the valley, he is amazed by the fact that there is water, which appears to be safe but Mr Loomis makes one severe mistake. When he checks the water for the level of radiation with his Geiger counter he in fact checks the clean water in the stream but then goes on to venture further down the valley, where he finds Ann Burden’s home where the polluted Burden Creek is nearby. Once Mr Loomis has seen inside Ann’s house (where Ann has cleverly hidden any clues that could show the visitor that there has been people living there recently) he then proceeds towards Burden Creek in the hope of getting his first bath in probably months. However, not realising that the stream and Creek are not connected and in fact the Creek runs into the valley from over the hill where the pollution is, he jumps right in. Within a very short period of time after Mr Loomis has had his bath he became very ill, as he had been exposed to a lot of radiation. When Mr Loomis becomes sick Ann then realises she will have to help him and that is when she first shows herself. Ann’s diary entries take you through the events that happen when she is and is not in the company of Mr Loomis. My favourite part of the book is the first three diary entries. In these diary entries Mr Loomis has not yet arrived in the valley however Ann has seen smoke from over the hill for three days, which she presumes is from a human made fire because it is in a thin column that it rises. The smoke comes at the same time everyday, in late afternoon. Each afternoon the smoke is nearer to Ann’s home. I like this part of the book the most because in it you find out what it has been like for Ann being alone for so long because her family left her to look for other people and had never returned. It is interesting to read Ann’s thoughts of being excited and scared that she may in fact not be the only person left in the world. It is obvious why Ann would be excited about someone else coming into the valley but maybe not so clear why she would be scared. Ann is scared because after the nuclear explosion some radio stations had still broadcasted, but towards the end of them broadcasting the presenters seemed to be going crazy. Here is a quote from the second diary entry which will explain why Ann is scared â€Å"Suppose a car came over the hill, and I ran out, and whoever was in it got out – suppose he was crazy? Or suppose it was someone mean, or cruel, and brutal? A murderer? What could I do?† After this quote, you realise that Ann is a very sensible and careful person because she decides to move her things to a cave nearby her home and make it look as though no one has lived in her house. That way she can watch whoever is coming into her valley and if they are crazy or mean she can stay in the cave unbeknown to the visitor and wait until they leave. At the end of the third diary entry Ann has still not seen anyone but knows that they are camping at the crossroads and exploring North, South, East, West and when they come into the South they will find Ann’s valley. The most remarkable character in the book I think is Ann Burden. She is careful, mature, kind, helpful, sensible, confused, and strategic/logical. In the following paragraph I will explain why Ann Burden is all of the things I have just said: The reason I think Ann is careful is because when Mr Loomis is first entering the valley she goes to the cave to live there as she does not know if Mr Loomis is ‘safe.’ During the book ‘Z for Zachariah’ you realise that in fact even though Ann is only sixteen she is more mature than Mr Loomis who is quite a bit older than Ann. The proof that shows this, is all of the words I am using to describe her and she also thinks about having children to begin the human-race again. The words kind, helpful and sensible describe Ann well because when Mr Loomis is ill with radiation poisoning she helps him and is kind to him even though he’s a stranger. Also Ann still helps Mr Loomis after he tried to rape her – she gives him half of everything i.e. eggs, milk and chicken and lets him have the comforts of her home while she moves into the cave. It is obvious that Ann is confused, as she does not know why Mr Loomis is being so horrible to her especially when she has done everything she can to be nice to him and to help him. The last words to describe Ann are strategic and logical; I think these words describe Ann well because when she does not want Mr Loomis to find her she thinks about what he can and cannot see e.g. when she builds a fire she thinks about where and how to build it so Mr Loomis can’t see it – she also thinks about what time of the day to light it. The style of ‘Z for Zachariah’ is in diary form. Throughout the book there were not many figures of speech, however, there were a few similes, here is a quote from the book that describes Ann’s dog Faro when he has returned from the dead lands where there is radiation, in it there is a simile â€Å"as thin as a skeleton.† The structure of ‘Z for Zachariah’ is in chronological order, each event happening in an order that makes sense and makes the story more intense and interesting. During the book, there is not much direct speech as the genre of the book is in diary form so it contains more of the thoughts and feelings of Ann Burden. The themes in the book are effects of modern technology, survival, dominance, bullying, age against youth, optimism/realism, breeding, art v science and religion v atheism. In the following sentences, I will discuss the themes that occur in ‘Z for Zachariah.’ The first theme ‘effects of modern technology’ is the theme that allowed the story to occur because nothing in the book would have happened had there not been a nuclear explosion. The themes of survival, dominance and age against youth are all linked together and are in a way very similar to each other. These three themes are perhaps the strongest and most occurring ones throughout the book, I will explain why: survival of course is going to be a major issue, Ann is the one who thinks about this the most having thought of growing her own crops, so when the supplies run out in the shop she will still have food to survive, and that is just one example. Throughout the book Mr Loomis tries to be the stereotypical ‘Alpha male,’ he wants everything to be done his own way and to be done by him. For example when Ann said she would go into the town with the safe suit to collect books, even though Mr Loomis is still ill he refuses to let her go, perhaps thinking she is incapable or he could have been worried she wouldn’t come back with the safe suit, although I think the first scenario is more likely. The only time Mr Loomis seemed to let Ann do things her way is when he could not do things for himself, however, he never admitted it. ‘Age against youth’ is another strong theme as throughout the book you realise that Mr Loomis even though he is older he is not always wiser and more mature, in fact Ann is definitely the more mature of the two characters. Optimism and realism are two words that can explain Ann and Mr Loomis’ completely different personalities. Ann being the optimist who thinks that the results of an action will always be good and Mr Loomis being the realist he makes decisions based on facts and not on false hope. Throughout the book breeding is a theme, but more with Ann – she thinks towards the future and beginning the human-race again. The theme of art v science is one that occurs throughout the book. As Ann is interested in art and Mr Loomis is interested in science, a few quarrels occur between them. However, ‘quarrels’ is perhaps the wrong word because Mr Loomis always seemed to get his own way. Again, I will use the example of when Ann wanted to use the safe suit to collect some engineering and physics books for Mr Loomis; she also suggested that she get some for herself. Such as poetry. Yet Mr Loomis refused and said, â€Å"You could not go. Understand that. Keep away from the suit. Never touch it.† After Mr Loomis had given Ann his lecture, she could not understand why he had become so angry. It was alright if he wanted something but as soon as Ann wanted something to do with her interests, it was too much of a risk. Religion v atheism is a theme in the book. Ann being the religious one and Mr Loomis the atheist. I don’t think Ann is strongly religious, I just think she finds going to the church and praying a ‘comforting factor.’ Earlier I said Mr Loomis is an atheist. This means that he doesn’t believe that any god or gods exist, therefore he does not understand why Ann would want to go to the church and ‘waste her time’ praying. I enjoyed this book because there were few characters, which allowed you to get to know them better. I also liked the style of the book being in diary form because you didn’t have to read the minute by minute accounts of what is happening in the book you only get to read the exciting and more intense parts which would be written in a diary. The thing that made the book a little boring was the fact that there weren’t many different figures of speech. The length I though was too long, some parts of the book seemed to be dragged out to give it a longer length, for example when Mr Loomis is sick the book got a little boring because in the diary entries you really were only told what Ann had did that day, there wasn’t enough character interaction. One thing that I thought ruined the book was the ending, I thought it was exciting when you were told that there was hope that there could be other people still living and you wanted to keep reading and know if there was anyone else out there, but it just stopped. Taking the entire book into account my opinion is that it is quite good as I think it gives a good insight into what could happen if there is a nuclear explosion – it is realistic.

Idependent research Study (Proposal) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Idependent research Study (Proposal) - Essay Example However, there is increasing evidence that consumers are affected more strongly by their interaction with staff members within the hotel industry than through their exposure to promotional marketing and make future purchasing decisions based on this previous experience within the hotel brand. Why is this of interest to today’s marketers? Employees are only going to provide superior service when they are content with their environment. If the hotel is structured improperly or does not improve the morale of workers, they are likely not going to be as devoted to their job role tasks in the degree expected by corporate policy. Employee satisfaction would seem to be of high concern to the hotel industry due to the fact that consumers often come face-to-face with employees during a periodic or long-term stay in the hotel brand. When customers reflect on their visit, they conduct what is referred to in marketing as a post-purchase evaluation. In this evaluation, they are likely to assess not only the tangible factors such as aesthetic appeal or the comfort of the mattress, they are going to consider how they interacted and were treated by the service staff. Specific individuals will likely be remembered over others based on the level of quality of this interaction. Post- purchase evaluation is part of the general consumer profile after making a purchase, therefore making a good impression the first time is a key business success strategy for positive service delivery. This independent research project explores the relation of employee satisfaction on overall service delivery, specifically attempting to discover how reduced satisfaction can adversely impact the consumers’ perception of quality and value. In what ways does reduced employee satisfaction cause future sales problems with hotel brands in achieving success in positive service delivery. To discover: In what ways does reduced employee satisfaction impact service delivery in the

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Tax issues memo Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tax issues memo - Research Paper Example y hurdle for Norman is that, as much as he is getting involved into this lucrative venture, the fact remains that he also has to complete his mandates as a student. This is the reason why he even opted to be taking some of his revisions and assignments within his car through proper utilization of that outstanding app. Up to this point, Norman feels a little bit excited that he is not only a mere student but a CEO of his own small enterprise. This hence brings out some sort of discussion whether Norman is in a position of being an independent contractor or an employee. The main understanding can be attained by giving out some distinctions between these two aspects. While the "independent contractor" differs from the standard employee, exact designation based on your responsibility has to be agreed on before starting any task so as to avoid unnecessary inconveniences With increase in economic hurdles and the cost of living in the contemporary world, various possible measures or opportunities have to be fully utilized by individuals so as to ensure success in all sectors of life. This can probably be possible if the aspect of multi-tasking and other such- like commitments are put into consideration. Human multitasking refers  to apparent individual’s performance of managing more than a single task simultaneously. This term was derived from the aspect of  computer multitasking. A good example is when an individual takes phone calls and types an email at the same time. Multitasking has often resulted in time wastage due to the aspect of  context switching  and has apparently caused more errors because of insufficient  attention. As much as multitasking can be viewed as being the key towards success in some of the sectors, it might only be applicable to a few individuals who have set their minds right. Otherwise, research shows that it often leads to various mishaps such as poor performances due to lack of concentration, time wasting, dampness, reduced productivity,

Filariasis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Filariasis - Essay Example depending on what type of parasitic worm has caused the infection, but most of the time all infection start with symptoms like chills, headache, and fever between three months and one year after the insect bite. There may also be swelling, redness, and pain in the arms, legs, or scrotum at the early stages. As far as the diagnosis of filariasis is concerned Identification of microfilariae by microscopic examination is the most practical diagnostic procedure. Examination of blood samples will allow identification of microfilariae of Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. It is important to time the blood collection with the known periodicity of the microfilariae. The blood sample can be a thick smear, stained with Giemsa or hematoxylin and eosin. More recently a new type of diagnosis process has emerged, known to be as cytodiagnosis. A number of evidences have been put forwarded by a number of researchers showing its efficiency. However, time has not come to claim that it is the best methods although at present it seems to be very effective. Whether cytodiagnosis would be the most effective diagnosis process or not, people have be very conscious about the disease filariasis and should take proper medication if infected, and proper preventative measures to reduce the probability of being infected. Filariasis is known to be as a group of diseases, mainly found in and sub-tropical regions, caused by a variety of parasitic round worms (nematodes) and their larvae. The disease is transmitted to human body by the larvae through a mosquito bite. Filariasis is generally characterized by a number of symptoms like fever, chills, headache, and skin lesions in the early stages. If filariasis remains untreated, it results in gross enlargement of the limbs and genitalia, which is called elephantiasis. (Sasa, 1976) In Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and the islands of the Pacific, all of which are situated in tropical or sub-tropical region, approximately

Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Obesity - Essay Example A Health Survey in England showed that 24.5% of adolescents above the age of 15 were suffering from obesity. It also showed that 13.9% of the children between the age group of 2 and 10 years were suffering from obesity (Department of Health 2009). Similarly other researches show that the rate of obesity in UK has increased to 22.1% in males and 21.9% in females (Information Center 2006). Obesity is defined as â€Å"an excess of body fat accumulation or adiposity with multiple organ specific adaptive or maladaptive consequences† (Iacobellis 2009). Causes: Obesity can be caused by both genetical and environmental factors. Genetical factors relate to the genes of the human body and any mutation in them. In human beings there is a gene known as the Ob gene. This gene is responsible for the risk of obesity in many individuals. Any change in the gene leads to obesity in the general population. The gene is related to a hormone known as leptin in the body. Leptin is a hormone or trans mitter which helps in conveying specific signals to the brain. The body fat has to be maintained by this hormone as it sends signals to the brain to regulate the metabolism of fat (NCBI 1998). Other than the genetic factors the disease also occurs because of the environmental factors involved. ... Increased fat in the diet is a reason because of which people get obese. Obesity has also been known to be related to psychological pathologies. Depression and eating disorders such as binge eating increases the level of stress individuals. Obesity itself causes a person to face from several psychological disorders too. These include the lowered self confidence of an individual along with less motivation to carry out specific tasks (Biddle et al 2009). Effects: The effects of obesity are spread all over the body and can result in several health conditions. It is a pathological state which has a huge effect on the cardiovascular system. The increased fat in the body leads to elevated blood pressure and hence increases the risk of stroke and coronary heart diseases. The blood flow in the individual increases and the lumen of the vessels in which the blood flows, decreases simultaneously because of excessive deposition of fat and cholesterol. This excessive deposition of cholesterol and fat is also known as plaques and leads to emboli. Emboli are clots which have been moved from one position to the other. These clots can reach areas far from the heart such as the brain. Emboli can lead to immediate death if they reach a certain part of the brain. Obesity also increases the risk of cancers such as breast cancer, colon cancer and endometrial cancer. It is known to be a major cause of diabetes mellitus as it results in the resistance of insulin within the cells. The musculoskeletal system is also affected as the joints become immoveable and this result in osteoarthritis. The respiratory system can also be affected by obesity as an obese individual may have difficulty in breathing he is sleeping. This condition is referred to as Sleep

In My Own Work Setting Essay Example for Free

In My Own Work Setting Essay In my own work setting we have health and safety policy, child protection/safe guarding, fire safety,first aid, security ,confidentiality. In the regards of health and safety in my work setting I report any issues to Rachel Hancocks(manager) or Paul Hancocks(deputy manager). All staff have there own responsibilities to health and safety in the workplace as well. A risk assessment is the determination of the value of a risk in any working environment and a recognised hazard. In my work setting the team leader of every session does a risk assessment on the working environment. Outcome 2 A safe a challenging environment is important because we as careers have to provide a positive and safe environment to allow the child to grow in a positive manner. Although children also need challenges inn there environment so that they can develop their own skills ,personality and also become independent this is depending on the medical needs of the child or young person. A hazard is something that can cause harm to anybody such as electricity and different chemicals. Whereas a risk is the rating that shows that somebody will get hurt by the hazard. Most risks are calculated in categories of low medium and high Potential hazards to health ,safety and security in my own working environment are:- Stairs Boiler Plug sockets Keyboard wire Doors All these are controlled by risk assessments and regular staff training What is the risk? Who might be harmed and how? What is being done to manage the risk? What else could be done to manage the risk? Who will do this? When will this be done? Date completed Access to the upstairs to extension Children falling down the stairs A safety gate has been placed at the bottom of the stairs that is secured by a chubb lock Staff t monitor childrens whereabouts.Escort children down the stairs All staff  ongoing Outcome 3 There are different non medical incidents and emergencies that may occur in my work settings such as, fires ,floods and electricity failure. The actions that I would take in response to a fire are make sure that all the staff and service users(those able to) know were all the fire exits are an how to get them making sure that everybody knows where the fire assembly point is. I would make sure that all staff and service users are accounted for I would do this my taking the signing in book for both staff and services users to the fire assembly point. The actions that I would take in the response to a security incident is make sure the service user was back inside the building inform management and the rest of the staff do an indecent report and a full risk assessment on the incident and service user. The actions I would take in response to an emergency incident are do as the emergency services tell me to do so make sure that the management are aware of the situations wait for the emergency services to arrive then do a full  incident report and record the accident if this was the case in the accident book. Outcome 4 The signs and symptoms which may indicate that a child or young person is unwell are :- High temperature/fever Vomiting Running nose Aching Lethargic Diarrhoea Headache Rashes The signs and symptoms which may indicate to a child or young person being injured are :- Crying Bruising Cuts Headaches Swelling to any area of the body Redness to the skin. The circumstances in which a child or young person may need urgent medical attention are:- Persistent vomiting Skin rashes Dehydration Severe open wounds Head injuries Burns Poisoning Choking Depressive responsiveness Unconscious Persistent pain In the event of a child or young person that required urgent medical attention I would inform the management team I would phone the emergency services or get another member of staff to do so whilst I was still with the child or young person. Inform the parent/career of the service user of the situation assist the emergency services of all the information that is needed of the service user to insure that they et the right treatment. After the event I would fill in an incident report as well as an accident form. Outcome 5 The reporting procedures for any accidents that happen in my working environment are the accident book gets filled in no matter how small or large the accident may be and passed to the management team. When any incidents occur no matter how large or small a full incident report needs to be completed in detail and passed on to the management team. Any emergencies that occur such as an injury medical assistance would be called the accident book would be filled in and also a full incident report would be written all of which the management team would receive straight after they have been filled out. If there was any illness eg. Sickness and diarrhoea the management would be informed and they would contact the parents or emergency contact if the parent wasn’t available and would ask for them to be collected as in my work setting there are many service uses have different immune systems. Outcome 6 The procedures for infection control in my own work settings are whilst assisting or changing a service user would be protective gloves and aprons but also washing hands correctly after the toilet visit. Waste is disposed of appropriately Outcome 7 in my setting we do not receive,administrate or store medication however this would be kept securely and would only be instruction of the parents.