Summary Of The Things They Carried - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1400 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/04/11 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: The Things They Carried Essay Did you like this example? OBriens The Things They Carried is one of the most recognized literary works around the globe. The things they carried is a collection of twenty-one stories with striking similarities. All the stories revolve around the same subject; war. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Summary Of The Things They Carried" essay for you Create order OBrien explains the harrowing experience that soldiers undergo in battlefields. The most interesting part about OBriens collection of stories is the way he manages to hide the truth from the fiction. The novel sends readers into a web of confusion trying to figure out whether the author tells a true-life story or just it just pure fiction. The cover of the book is clearly written a work of fiction, but what follows is a series of blurred true events. Therefore, it is evidently clear that Tim OBrien primary objective was to comingle fact and fiction through a war story. The characters used in the story are imaginary according to the author. However, they bear the names of real individuals. The protagonist in the play; Tim OBrien resembles the same very real person Tim OBrien who fought in the Vietnam war. The author uses this style of writing to tell a war story he fought in Vietnam together with his colleagues without necessarily chaining himself to pure facts. The authors use of f iction helps in bringing out the underlying message and events that transpired in Vietnam. The readers are able to picture the big image of the events that occurred during the war. Another authors general objective was to present the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam war and their contributions during the war. First Leutenant Jimmy Cross, was the team lead and his main task as the military leader was to guide, advice and unite the platoon. However, although Jimmy worked closely with his fellow team members, he was physically present but emotionally and mentally absent. The memories of a young girl by the name Martha had driven him crazy with love. His love for Martha surpassed that for his fellow soldiers. Surprisingly, Martha never loved Jimmy. Instead of being vigilant and leading the crew members like a true dedicated military officer, Jimmy spends most his time daydreaming about Martha, a behavior he would later come to regret after one of his soldiers was shot in the head. The death of Lavender hit him so hard that he realized he had not been paying close attention to his men. The burden of the death of Lavender was heavy to bear but he he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war (OBrien, 1990, p.16). Basically, when soldiers are preparing to go war, the y collect each and every essential item that they think would be important in the battlefields. According to OBrien, the platoon carried in addition to ammunition what they deemed close and comforting. Thus, the title of the book The Things They Carried was coined from the things the soldiers carried as they prepared to embark on their journey to the war. Tim OBrien successfully uses the soldiers preparations to explain major themes in the book. For instance, Lieutenant carries letters apart from other basic necessities. He reads the letters regularly which gives him hope and courage in Vietnam. The letters were from Martha, a girl he loved so much although she never loved him. He wanted Martha to love him the way he loved her (OBrien, 1990). Ted Lavender, another crew member, was not only scared cared of the war but also death. He was the first member of the team to meet death. Lavender was so afraid and scared that he carried tranquilizers that would help him drive away his fears. It is evidently clear the soldiers have both physical and emotional burdens. The items the soldiers carry to war help them during the harrowing experiences of the war. According, Tim OBrien the soldiers emotional burden seems to outweigh the physical burden. Generally, soldiers are supposed to be courageous and determined regardless of the outcome of the w ar. However, in this book, the soldiers are filled with fear, anxiety, and expectations. Lavender is so afraid that he keeps smoking marijuana in a bid to keep his hopes alive. The physical burden presented in this book include the necessities such as weapons that soldiers would use in war. Emotional burden refers to their fears, expectations and distractive thought. Jimmy Cross, who is the most senior officer in the group is burdened with the responsibility of managing the team. As the team leader, he is supposed to ensure that the team is united towards achieving a common goal; defeating the enemy. In case the team his defeated and some of his crew members are killed, he would be answerable to the government back at home. Readers can clearly see and feel the fear inside the Alpha team members as portrayed by Tim OBrien. The things that the soldiers carried to war may seem useless from the readers perspective. However, OBrien uses them to accomplish in bringing out the theme of love. Love in this scenario may refer to the things that give the soldiers hope during the terrible experiences they endured in Vietnam. Love is demonstrated by the soldiers throughout the book. From the preparations to the war periods, love is demonstrated by the Alpha team through their unity. Each team member has respect for their team leader Jimmy Cross although, most of the time his mind and thoughts were miles away. The country had high expectations. Thus, the Alpha team knew very well that the only way they could avoid ruining those expectations were strengthening their togetherness bonds. OBrien presents the theme of love as the main unifying factor among the Alpha squad. OBrien depicts the death of Lavender as a thorn in the bond connecting the Alpha team. Every member of the team was brutally bruised by that death. J immy Cross, wept blamed and hated himself (OBrien , 1990, p.16). Death was cruel; Lavender was gone, gone forever meaning that the gap that he left would never be filled. The entire team felt the loss, mourned and moved on. In fact, their unity strengthens further following the death of Lavender. Jimmy Cross became closer to his men; he let go the memories of Martha. OBrien successfully used the death of Lavender as the triggering factor that helped the Alpha team realize the purpose of love and keeping each others back during wars. Although the setting of the booking mainly revolves around the Vietnam war, OBrien asserts that the book is not about war or violence but rather peace. This might sound true contradictory statement because war is the main prevalent theme in the book. However, the authors main objective was to depict the difficulties the soldiers endured. It is evidently clear that the author merged facts and fiction in order to portray the underlying message which was inspired by true events. It is not quite simple for readers to tell whether the message in the The Things They Carried is purely fiction or fact despite the authors indication on the cover page, a work of fiction. The truth about the collection of stories by Tim OBrien is the fact that the occurrence of the events is a replica of the Vietnam war that the author participated. However, he created fictitious characters in a bid to give the story more meaning. Participation in the war was fraught with risks, fears, and anxiety. Normally, soldiers are expected to be courageous and determined when representing their country in war. However, OBrien presents a troop of soldiers whose fear for the war is unmatched. One of the soldiers is so afraid that he carries tranquilizers to the battlefield to assist him in fighting off his fears. The Alpha squad was encompassed of young and energetic young men who seemed overwhelmed with emotional burdens. The fear of death and parents expectations were some of the emotional challenges the team grappled with. The story that most affected me was the On The Rainy River. In this particular story, OBrien clearly demonstrated all the events that led him into the Vietnam war. It is evident that although he served his country as a military officer, his intentions were to flee the country in order to avoid fighting in the war. However, the confusion between escaping and disappointing his family weighed heavily on him, and ultimately he decided to join the Alpha team.

The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd - 971 Words

Morality refers to an individual s principles on the distinction between doing what is right and wrong. Morals vary across cultures, but there are several that are universally agreed upon. In the perspective of Enlightenment thinkers, the approach to morality is by affirming objective, universal laws and expressing a moral ideal. [Lecture] However, who decides what is right and wrong and how are morals formed? According to David Hume, reason alone cannot determine morality because reason rests solely on facts. Facts are simply a truth that cannot motivate people to take action. In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, many of the characters are faced with the choice of doing what is right or concealing to themselves to protect themselves from trouble. In the words of Hume, ... tis the object of feeling, not of reason. It lies in yourself, not in the object. Our motives lie not within reason, but rather in sentiment which drives us from is to ought. In the novel, Ralph Paton agrees to an enga gement proposal to Flora Ackroyd which is arranged by his stepfather Roger Ackroyd in hopes that he will pay off his debts. However, Ralph s motive for complying to his stepfather s marriage arrangement is not only to pay off his debts, but also since he falls in love with a penniless girl (pg. 245) named Ursula Bourne. Before coming clean to his stepfather regarding their secret marriage, Ralph declared that he meant to pay off his debts, find a job, and then, when he was in aShow MoreRelatedThe Murder Of Roger Ackroyd1125 Words   |  5 PagesAgatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) exemplifies her ‘cosy’ style but also establishes her position within the crime fiction genre. Although the narrator/culprit combination is significant, it is an oft-discussed aspect, and I believe other features are just as important in examining Christie’s success. 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As quoted in the essay â€Å"Narration: Levels and Voices† in the book Narrative Fiction by Shlomith Rimmon -Kenan, â€Å"†¦when the outcome of the action proves the narrator wrong, a doubt is retrospectively cast over his reliability in reportingRead MoreThe Golden Age Of Detective Fiction913 Words   |  4 Pagescomplex puzzle for the reader to try to unravel. Christie s novels include, Murder on the Orient Express (1934), Death on the Nile (1937), and And Then There Were Noe (1939). Also popular were the stories featuring Dorothy L. Sayers s Lord Peter Wimsey and S. S. Van Dine’s Philo Vance. 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There is an overwhelming amount of examples and tactics Humbert uses to control the readers image of him, similarly like in Agatha Christie’s, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The narrator, Dr. James Sheppard, is capable to hide his identity as the killer to the readers by using the power the narrator processes to falsify his own involvement, whereabouts, and exaggerate on other characters motives in order to increaseRead MoreAnalysis Of The Three Act Tragedy By Agatha Christie972 Words   |  4 PagesChristie. Agatha Christie has written many popular novels, such as And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The genre of The Three Act Tragedy is mystery. The Three Act Tragedy is about an actor whom hosts a dinner party at his home. Cocktails are served. After one sip the local rector dies. The death is ruled natural causes, although some believe it is murder. 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The Return Midnight Chapter 36 Free Essays

Matt broke a lot of traffic rules on the way to the Saitous’street. Meredith leaned on the console between the two front seats so that she could see the digital clock ticking down to midnight, and so that she could watch the transformation of Mrs. Flowers. We will write a custom essay sample on The Return: Midnight Chapter 36 or any similar topic only for you Order Now At last her recently sane, sensible mind forced words out of her mouth. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers – you’re changing.† â€Å"Yes, Meredith, dear. Some of it is due to the little present that Sage left for me. Some of it is my own wil – to return to the days when I was in my prime. I believe that this wil be my last fight, so I don’t mind using al my energy in it. Fel ‘s Church must be saved.† â€Å"But – Mrs. Flowers – the people here – Well, they haven’t always been – exactly nice – â€Å"Matt stammered his way to a stop. â€Å"The people here are like people everywhere,†Mrs. Flowers said calmly. â€Å"Treat them as you’d like to be treated, and things wil be fine. It was only when I’d let myself become a bitter, lonely old woman, always resentful of the fact that I had had to turn my home into a boardinghouse just to make ends meet, that people began to treat me – Well, at best as a loony old hag.† â€Å"Oh, Mrs. Flowers – and we’ve been such a bother to you!†Meredith found the words coming without her volition. â€Å"You’ve been the saving of me, child. Dear Stefan was the start, but as you can imagine, he didn’t want to explain al his little differences to me, and I was suspicious of him. But he was always cordial and respectful and Elena was like sunlight, and Bonnie like laughter. Eventual y, when I dropped my hidebound barriers, so did you young ones. I won’t say more about those who are present so as not to embarrass you, but you’ve done me a world of good.† Matt ran another stop sign and cleared his throat. Then, the steering wheel wavering slightly, he cleared his throat again. Meredith took over. â€Å"I think what Matt and I both want to say is†¦Well, it’s that you’ve become very special to us, and we don’t want to see you get hurt. This battle – â€Å" â€Å"Is a battle for al I hold dear. For al my memories. Back when I was a child and the boardinghouse was built – it was just a home, then, and I was very happy. As a young woman, I was very happy. And now that I have lived long enough to be an old woman – Well, besides you children, I Stillhave friends like Sophia Alpert and Orime Saitou. They are both healing women, and very good at it. We Stilltalk about different uses for my herbs.† Matt snapped his fingers. â€Å"That’s another reason I was confused,†he said. â€Å"Because Dr. Alpert said that you and Mrs. Saitou were such good people. I thought she meant the old Mrs. Saitou – â€Å" â€Å"Who is not a ‘Mrs. Saitou’at all,†Mrs. Flowers said, almost sharply. â€Å"I have no idea what her name real y is – perhaps she is real y Inari, a deity gone bad. Ten years ago, I didn’t know what made Orime Saitou suddenly so diffident and quiet. Now I realize that it began just around the time her ‘mother’moved in with her. I was quite fond of young Isobel, but she suddenly became – aloof – in an unchildlike way. Now I understand. And I am determined to fight for her – and for you – and for a town that is worth saving. Human lives are very, very precious. And now – here we are.† Matt had just turned onto the Saitous’block. Meredith took a moment to openly stare at the figure in the front passenger seat. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers!†she exclaimed. This made Matt turn to stare in his turn and what he saw made him clip a Volkswagen Jetta parked by the sidewalk. â€Å"Mrs†¦. Flowers?† â€Å"Please park now, Matt. You needn’t cal me Mrs. Flowers if you don’t want to. I have returned to the time when I was Theophilia – when my friends cal ed me Theo.† â€Å"But – how – why – ?†Matt stuttered. â€Å"I told you. I felt that it was time. Sage left me a gift that helped me change. An enemy beyond your powers to fight has arisen. I felt this back at the boardinghouse. This is the time that I have been waiting for. The last battle with the true enemy of Fel ‘s Church.† Meredith’s heart actual y seemed ready to fly out of her chest. She had to be calm – calm and logical. She had seen magic many times. She knew the look of it, the feel of it. But frequently she had been too busy comforting Bonnie, or too worried about aiding Bonnie to take in what she was facing. Now, it was just her and Matt – and Matt had a stricken, stupefied look, as if he hadn’t seen enough magic before. As if he might crack. â€Å"Matt,†she said loudly, and then even louder, â€Å"Matt!† He turned, then, to look at her, with his blue eyes wild and dark. â€Å"They’l kill her, Meredith!†he said. â€Å"Shinichi and Misao – you don’t know what it feels like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on,†Meredith said. â€Å"We have to make sure that it doesn’t kil her.† The dazed look passed from Matt’s eyes. â€Å"We have to do this,†he agreed simply. â€Å"Right,†said Meredith, final y releasing him. Together they got out of the car to stand by Mrs. Flowers – no, by Theo. Theo had hair that hung almost to her waist; so fair that it looked silver in the moonlight. Her face was – electrifying. It was young; young and proud, with classic features and a look of quiet determination. Somehow during the drive, her clothes had changed too. Instead of a coat covered with bits of paper, she was wearing a sleeveless white gown that ended in a slight train. In style, it reminded Meredith a little of the â€Å"mermaid†dress she herself had worn when going to a bal in the Dark Dimension. But Meredith’s dress had only made her look sultry. Theo looked†¦magnificent. As for the Post-it Note amulets†¦somehow the paper had disappeared and the writing had grown enormously, changing into very large scrawls that wrapped around the white gown. Theo was literal y swathed in haute couture arcane protection. And although she was reed slender, she was tal . Tal er than Meredith, tal er than Matt, tal er than Stefan, wherever he was in the Dark Dimensions. She was this tal not only because she had grown so much, but because the train of her dress was just brushing the ground. She had entirely overcome gravity. The whip, Sage’s present to her, was coiled into a circle attached to her waist, shining as silver as her hair. Matt and Meredith simultaneously closed the SUV’s doors. Matt left the engine running for a quick getaway. They walked around the garage so that they could see the front of the house. Meredith, not caring what she looked like or whether she seemed cool or in control, wiped her hands, one and then the other, on her jeans. This was the stave’s first – and possibly only – true battle. What counted was not appearance, but performance. Both she and Matt stopped dead when they saw the figure standing at the bottom of the steps in front of the porch. It was no one they could identify from the house. But then the crimson lips opened, the delicate hands flew up to cover them, and wind-chime laughter came from somewhere behind the hands. For a moment they could only stare, fascinated, at this woman who was dressed al in black. She was ful y as tal as Theo, ful y as slender and graceful, and she was floating equal y high off the ground. But what Meredith and Matt were staring at was the fact that her hair was like Misao’s or Shinichi’s – but reversed. Whereas they had black hair with a crimson fringe on the bottom, this woman had crimson hair – yards and yards of it, with a black fringe al around it. Not only that, but she had delicate black fox ears emerging from the crimson hair, and a long sleek crimson tail, tipped with black. â€Å"Obaasan?†Matt gasped in disbelief. â€Å"Inari!†Meredith snapped. The lovely creature didn’t even look at them. She was staring at Theo in contempt. â€Å"Tiny witch of a tiny town,†she said. â€Å"You’ve used nearly al your Power just to stand up to my level. What good are you?† â€Å"I have very smal Powers,†Theo agreed. â€Å"But if the town is worthless, why has it taken you so long to destroy it? Why have you watched others try – or were they all your pawns, Inari? Katherine, Klaus, poor young Tyler – were they your pawns, Kitsune Goddess?† Inari laughed – Stillthat chiming, girlish giggling, behind her fingers. â€Å"I don’t need pawns! Shinichi and Misao are my bond-servants, as al kitsune are! If I have left them some freedom, it has been so they can get experience. We’l go on to larger cities now, and ravage them.† â€Å"You have to take Fel ‘s Church first,†Theo said steadily. â€Å"And I won’t let you do that.† â€Å"You Stilldon’t understand, do you? You are a human, with almost no Power left! Mine is the largest star bal in the worlds! I am a Goddess!† Theo lowered her head, then lifted it to look Inari in the eyes. â€Å"Do you want to know what I think the truth is, Inari?†she said. â€Å"I think that you have come to the end of a long, long, but not immortal life. I think you have dwindled so that at last you need to use a great deal of Power from your star bal – wherever it is – to appear this way. You are a very, very ancient woman and you have been setting children against their own parents, and parents against children across the world because you envy the children’s youth. You have even come to envy Shinichi and Misao, and let them be hurt, as revenge.† Matt and Meredith looked at each other with wide eyes. Inari was breathing rapidly, but it seemed she couldn’t think of anything to say. â€Å"You’ve even pretended to have entered a ‘second childhood’to behave girlishly. But none of it satisfies you, because the plain, sad truth is that you have come to the end of your long, long lifetime – no matter how great your Power. We must al take that final journey, and it is your turn now.† â€Å"Liar!†shrieked Inari, looking for a moment more glorious – more radiant than before. But then Meredith saw why. Her scarlet hair had actual y begun to smolder, framing her face in a dancing red light. And at last she spoke venemously. â€Å"Well, then, if you think this is my last battle, I must be sure to cause al the pain I can. Starting with you, witch.† Meredith and Matt both gasped. They were afraid for Theo, especial y as Inari’s hair was braiding itself into thick ropes like serpents that floated around her head as if she were Medusa. The gasps were a mistake – they attracted Inari’s attention. But she didn’t move. She only said, â€Å"Smel that sweet scent on the wind? A roast sacrifice! I think the result wil be oishii – delicious! But perhaps you two would like to speak to Orime or Isobel one last time. I’m afraid they can’t come out to see you.† Meredith’s heart was pounding violently in her throat, as she realized that the Saitous’house was on fire. It seemed as if there were several smal fires burning, but she was terrified at the implication that Inari had already done something to the mother and daughter. â€Å"No, Matt!†she cried, grabbing Matt’s arm. He would have charged straight at the laughing black-clad woman and tried to attack her feet – and seconds were invaluable now. â€Å"Come help me find them!† Theo came to their aid. Drawing up the white bul whip, she whirled it once around her head and cracked it precisely on Inari’s raised hands, leaving a bloody gash on one. As a furious Inari turned back to her, Meredith and Matt ran. â€Å"The back door,†Matt said as they careered around the side of the house. Up ahead they saw a wooden fence, but no gate. Meredith was just considering using the stave to pole-vault, when Matt panted, â€Å"Here!†and made a cradle of his hands for her to step into. â€Å"I’l boost you over!† Meredith hesitated only an instant. Then, as he skidded to a stop she jumped to place one foot in his inter-locked fingers. Suddenly she was flying upward. She made the most of it, landing, catlike, on the fence’s flat top, and then jumping down. She could hear Matt scrambling up the fence as she was suddenly surrounded by black smoke. She jumped backward three feet and yel ed, â€Å"Matt, the smoke is dangerous! Get low; hold your breath. Stay outside to help them when I bring them out!† Meredith had no idea whether Matt would listen to her or not, but she obeyed her own rules, crouching low, breath held, opening her eyes briefly to try to find the door. Then she almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of an axe crashing into wood, of wood splintering, and of the axe crashing again. She opened her eyes and saw that Matt hadn’t listened to her, but she was glad because he’d found the door. His face was black with soot. â€Å"It was locked,†he explained, hefting the axe. Any optimism Meredith might have felt splintered like the door as she looked inside and saw only flames and more flames. My God, she thought, anyone in there is roasting, is probably dead already. But where had that thought come from? Her knowledge or her fear? Meredith couldn’t just stop now. She took a step into searing heat and shouted, â€Å"Isobel! Mrs. Saitou! Where are you?† There was a weak, choking cry. â€Å"That’s the kitchen!†she said. â€Å"Matt, it’s Mrs. Saitou! Please go get her!† Matt obeyed, but threw over his shoulder, â€Å"Don’t you go farther in.† Meredith had to go farther in. She remembered very well where Isobel’s room was. Directly under her â€Å"grandmother’s.† â€Å"Isobel! Isobel! Can you hear me?†Her voice was so low and husky from smoke that she knew she had to keep going. Isobel might be unconscious or too hoarse to answer. Meredith dropped to her knees, crawling on the ground where the air was slightly cooler and more clear. Okay. Isobel’s room. She didn’t want to touch the door handle with her hand, so she wrapped her T-shirt around it. The handle wouldn’t turn. Locked. She didn’t bother to investigate how, she simply turned around and mule-kicked the door right beside the handle. Wood splintered. Another kick, and with a wooden scream the door swung free. Meredith was feeling dizzy now, but she needed to see the entire room. She took two strides in, and – there! Sitting up on the bed in the smoky, hot, but otherwise scrupulously tidy little room was Isobel. As Meredith neared the bed she saw – to her fury – that the girl was tied to the brass headboard with duct tape. Two slashes of the stave took care of that. Then, amazingly, Isobel moved, raising a blackened face up to Meredith’s. That was when Meredith’s fury peaked. The girl had duct tape across her mouth, to prevent her from making any cry for help. Wincing herself to show that she knew this was going to be painful, Meredith grasped the duct tape and stripped it off. Isobel didn’t cry out; instead she took in lungful after lungful of smoky air. Meredith stumbled toward the closet, snatched two identical-looking white shirts, and swerved back to Isobel. There was a ful tumbler of water right beside her, on the nightstand. Meredith wondered if it had been put there deliberately to increase Isobel’s agony, but she didn’t hesitate to use it. She gave Isobel a quick sip, took one herself, and then soaked each shirt. She held one over her own mouth and Isobel mimicked her, holding the wet shirt over her nose and mouth. Then Meredith grabbed her and guided her back to the door. After that it simply became a nightmare journey of crawling and kneeling and choking, pul ing Isobel with her al the time. Meredith thought it would never end, as each inch forward became harder and harder. The stave was an unbearable weight to heave along with her, but she refused to let go of it. It’s precious, her mind said, but is it worth your life? No, Meredith thought. Not my life, but who knows what else wil be out there if I get Isobel into the cool darkness? You’l never get her there if you die because of – an object. It’s not an object! Painful y Meredith used the stave to clear some smoldering debris from her path. It belonged to Grandpa in the time when he was sane. It fits my hand. It’s not just a thing! Have it your own way, the voice said, and disappeared. Meredith was beginning to run into more debris now. Despite the cramping in her lungs, she was sure that she could make it out of the back door. She knew there should be a laundry room on her right. They should be able to feel a space there. And then suddenly in the dark something reared up and struck her a blow on the head. It took her dimming mind a long time to come up with a name for the thing that had hurt her. Armchair. Somehow they’d crawled too far. This was the living room. Meredith was flooded with horror. They’d gone too far – and they couldn’t go out the front door into the midst of magical battle. They would have to backtrack, and this time make sure to find the laundry room, their gate to freedom. Meredith turned around, pul ing Isobel with her, hoping the younger girl would understand what they had to do. She left the stave on the burning living room floor. Elena sobbed to get her breath, even though she was al owing Stefan to help her now. He ran, holding Bonnie by one hand and Elena by the other. Damon was somewhere in front – scouting. It can’t be far now, she kept thinking. Bonnie and I both saw the brightness – we both did. Just then, like a lantern put into a window, Elena saw it again. It’s big, that’s the problem. I keep thinking we should reach it because I have the wrong idea of what size it is in my mind. The closer we get, the bigger it gets. And that’s good for us. We’l need a lot of Power. But we need to get there soon, or it could be al the Power in the universe and it won’t matter. We’l be too late. Shinichi had indicated that they would be too late – but Shinichi had been born a liar. Still, surely just beyond that low branch was†¦ Oh, dear God, she thought. It’s a star ball. How to cite The Return: Midnight Chapter 36, Essay examples

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Question: How Project Status Reporting Is a Large Array? Answer: Introducation Project status reporting is a large array of discussion in the contemporary corporate world. In this paper, I mainly focus on the weekly project status report and the report of overall project status. The weekly project status report gives an overview of the events that have taken place during the seven days of the week. The matters arising from the project are milestones achieved and recommendations. The advantage of using the weekly project reports is that it helps control the flow of information within a team and also helps the team or organization to identify problems that could hinder the success of the project at an earlier stage. (SampleTemplates, 2013). It also helps quantify the work done by the team or the organization within the whole week. Its disadvantages of using the weekly status report are that it is time-consuming. While the management can just make a single whole project report status, they have to make weekly updates rather than investing the time in other disciplines. The other one is that there might be repeating the same information on a weekly basis. Another one is that some of the staff do note put down some of the accomplishments and problems encountered within the week which makes it hard for sourcing. (TeamReporter, 2016) On the other hand, the report of overall project status is a timely and concise report that gives the details about of the whole project the company has done. It gives a glimpse at the milestones achieved, problems encountered and the goals that were set for the project. From the data provided by the project report, it is easy for the management or executive to decide whether to continue investing in the project or to give it up. It also gives the problems that were implied during the project which can be used to benchmark other footer projects the management of an organization may wish to invest into. However, there are some pitfalls in the use of report of overall project status. One of them is that the existence of a divide between the management and the staff may cause misreporting which may pin down the organization. The other one is that if there is a lack of trust between the workers and the executives can also cause misreporting.(Keil, 2014). For improvements to be made there needs to come up a team of experts who will choose one of the status reports and align it with the goals of the most project thus making it more effective and efficient rather than using all of them in the corporate world. The main challenge and pitfall of the traffic lights report are that there are usual mistakes in reporting due to mismanagement of information. Lack of keen understanding of the traffic light rules also may cause misreporting. (Chegg, 2015). There exists some difference between the status reports given to teams, sponsors and the steering committee. The project report prepared for the team is usually inclusive and accommodating.(Sample, 2008) On the other hand, the one for sponsors needs to be made to meet the expectation of the sponsors and is usually made according to the instructions of the sponsor.(SponseredProjectServise, 2008) The one for steering committee is usually subjective to help the committee come up with a well-planned project proposal. The reporting in Agile management approach always gives focus to consumer satisfaction and consumer well-being and is also not reliable to complex information while in traditional approach the report is always cantered on the meeting of timelines and relies on complex definitive information.(Layton, 2016) Conclusion There is a need for a more future study to make more expansive outlook on the topic since much has been left out because of summarization. References Chegg. (2015, July 14). Question: A)Discuss the challenges and pitfalls of traffic l... Retrieved May 5, 2017, from Chegg website: https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/discuss-challenges-pitfalls-traffic-light-reports-b-explain-difference-status-reports-prov-q16771229 Keil, M. (2014, March 18). The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting. Retrieved May 5, 2017, from MITSloan: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-pitfalls-of-project-status-reporting/ Layton, M. C. (2016, September 21). Comparing Agile Project Management and the Traditional Waterfall Method. Retrieved May 5, 2017, from Dummies web site: https://www.dummies.com/careers/project-management/timed-release-product-road-maps/ Sample, J. (2008, April 18). Team report. Retrieved May 5, 2017, from cpp web site: https://www.cpp.com/Pdfs/smp261148.pdf SampleTemplates. (2013, June 23). 10 Sample Weekly Status Report Templates to Download. Retrieved May 5, 2017, from Sample, templates web site: https://www.sampletemplates.com/business-templates/weekly-status-report-template.html SponseredProjectServise. (2008, August 20). Reporting to the Sponsor. Retrieved May 5, 2017, from UOregon Web site: https://orsa.uoregon.edu/index.cfm?toplevcat=awardspage=AW_22_Reporting_to_Sponsor TeamReporter. (2016, April 24). Weekly Status Reports. Retrieved May 5, 2017, from Team Reporter web site: https://www.teamreporterapp.com/weekly-status-reports/