Teaching Civic Education in the Post-Trump Era

Teaching Civic Education in the Post-Trump Era Educators teaching civics during the presidency of Donald Trump can turn to social media to provide teachable  moments and have conversations  with students  about Americas democratic process. Beginning in the election campaign and continuing through the presidency, there have been many teachable moments in the form of 140 characters that come from the personal Twitter account of President Donald Trump. These messages are clear examples  of social medias growing influence on American foreign and domestic policy. Within a few days, President Trump may tweet about a range of topics including immigration issues, natural disasters,  nuclear threats, as well as the pregame behavior of NFL players.    President Trump’s tweets are not bound to the Twitter software platform. His tweets are then read aloud and analyzed on news media outlets. His tweets are re-published by both paper and digital newspaper outlets. In general, the more incendiary the tweet from Trump’s personal Twitter account, the more likely the tweet will become a major talking point in the 24-hour news cycle. Another example of a teachable moment from social media comes from the admission by Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg that campaign ads could have been purchased by foreign agencies during the 2016 presidential election in order to shape public opinion. In coming to this conclusion, Zuckerberg stated on his own Facebook page  (9/21/2017): â€Å"I care deeply about the democratic process and protecting its integrity. Facebooks mission is all about giving people a voice and bringing people closer together. Those are deeply democratic values and were proud of them. I dont want anyone to use our tools to undermine democracy. Zuckerburg’s statement indicates a growing awareness that the influence of social media may need more oversight. His message echoes a caution offered by the designers of the C3 (College, Career, and Civic) Frameworks for Social Studies. In describing the important role of civic education for all students, the designers also offered the cautionary note, â€Å"Not all [civic] participation is beneficial.† This statement alerts educators to anticipate the growing and sometimes controversial role of social media and other technologies in the future lives of students.    Beneficial Civic Education Using Social Media Many educators themselves use social media as a part of their own civic life experiences. According to the Pew Research Center (8/2017) two-thirds (67%) of Americans report getting their news from social media platforms. These educators may be included in the 59% of people who state that their interactions on social media with people of opposing political views are stressful and frustrating or they may be part of the 35% who find such interactions interesting and informative. Educator experiences can help inform the civic lessons that they design for their students. Incorporating social media is an established way to engage students. Students already spend much of their time online, and social media is accessible and familiar.   Social Media as Resource and Tool Today, educators can readily access primary source  documents  from politicians, business leaders, or institutions. A  primary source  is an original object,  such as audio or video recordings and social media is rich with these resources. For example, the  White House  YouTube  account hosts the video recording of the  Inauguration  of the 45th president. Primary sources can also be digital documents (firsthand information) that were written or created during the historical time under study. One example of a digital document would be from the Twitter account of  Vice-President Pence  in reference to Venezuela in which he states,No free people has ever chosen to walk the path from prosperity to poverty (8/23/2017). Another example comes from  the Instagram account of President Donald Trump: If America comes together – if the people speak with one voice – we will bring back our jobs, we will bring back our wealth, and for every citizen across our great land... (9/6/17) These digital documents are resources that educators in civic education to call attention to specific content or to the role that social media has played as a tool for promotion, organization, and management in recent election cycles.   Educators who recognize this high level of engagement understand the great potential for social media as an instructional tool. There are a number of  interactive websites  that are aimed at promoting civic engagement, activism, or community involvement in intermediate or middle schools. Such online civic engagement tools can be the initial preparation for engaging young people in their communities to get involved in civic activities. In addition, educators can use examples of social media to demonstrate its unifying power to bring people together and also to demonstrate its divisive power to separate people into groups.   Six practices for incorporating social media Social studies teachers may be familiar with the Six Proven Practices for Civic Education hosted on the National Council of Social Studies website. The same six practices can be modified by using social media as a resource of primary sources and also as a tool for supporting civic engagement.   Classroom Instruction: Social media offers many primary document resources that can be used to spark debate, support research, or take informed action. Educators must be ready to provide instruction on how to evaluate the source(s) of texts that come from social media platforms.Discussion of Current Events and Controversial Issues: Schools can access current events on social media for classroom discussion and debate. Students can use social media  texts as the basis for polls and surveys to predict or to determine public response to controversial issues.Service-Learning: Educators can design and implement programs that provide students with hands-on opportunities. These opportunities can use social media as communication or management tool for more formal curriculum and classroom instruction. Educators themselves can use social media platforms to connect with other educators as a form of professional development. Links posted on social media can be used for inquiry and research.Ext racurricular Activities: Educators can use social media as a means to recruit and continue to engage young people to get involved in their schools or communities outside of the classroom. Students can create portfolios on social media of their extra-curricular activities as evidence for college and career. School Governance: Educators can use social media to encourage student participation in school government (ex: student councils, class councils) and their input in school governance (ex: school policy, student handbooks).  Simulations of Democratic Processes: Educators can encourage students to participate in simulations (mock trials, elections, legislative sessions) of democratic processes and procedures. These simulations would use social media for ads for candidates or policies. Influencers in Civic Life Civic education at every grade level has always been designed to prepare students to be responsible participants in our constitutional democracy. The evidence suggests that what be added to the design is how educators explore the role of social media in civic education. The Pew Research Center lists recent high school graduates (ages 18-29) as choosing Facebook (88%) as their preferred social media platform compared to students in high school who rank Instagram (32%) as their favored platform. This information indicates educators must become familiar with multiple social media platforms to meet student preferences. They must be ready to address the sometimes outsized role social media plays in Americas constitutional democracy. They must bring perspective to the different points of view expressed on social media and teach students how to evaluate the sources of information. Most importantly, educators must provide students practice with social media through discussion and debate in the classroom, especially when the Trump Presidency offers the kinds of teachable moments that make civic education authentic and engaging. Social media is not limited to our nations digital borders. Roughly one-quarter of the worlds population (2.1 billion users) is on Facebook; one billion users are active on  WhatsApp  daily. Multiple social media platforms connect our students to networked global communities. In order to provide students with critical skills important for 21st century citizenship, educators should prepare students to understand the influence of social media and to be able to communicate using social media on issues both national and global.

The Meaning of Nani in Japanese

The Meaning of 'Nani' in Japanese The word nani  Ã¤ ½â€¢ (㠁 ªÃ£  «) in Japanese means what. And depending on the situation, you might, instead, use  nan (㠁 ªÃ£â€šâ€œ). Which term you use depends on the context, in particular, whether you are speaking or writing formally or informally. The sentences below are listed first in a transliteration of the Japanese phrase or sentence, followed by the spelling in Japanese characters- using  kanji,  hiragana, or  katakana  as appropriate- followed by the translation in English. Where indicated, click on the link to bring up a sound file and hear how to correctly pronounce the word or sentence in Japanese. Using Nani or Nan in a Sentence Nani is the more formal and polite term to use when asking a question, as in: Nani  wo  suru  tsumori  desu ka? (㠁 ªÃ£  « ã‚’ 㠁™ã‚‹ 㠁 ¤Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£â€šÅ  㠁 §Ã£ â„¢ 㠁‹)   What do you intend to do? or What are you planning to do? In more casual situations it would  be  fine to use nan. As a general rule,  if the word following what begins with a syllable from the t, n, and d groups, use nan, as in: Nandeshou? (㠁 ªÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£  §Ã£ â€"ょ㠁†) What do you want? More on Using Nan vs. Nani Nan is used before  particles.  A particle is a word that shows the relationship of a word, phrase, or clause  to the rest of the sentence.  Particles are added to the end of sentences to  express the speaker  or writers  emotions, such as doubt, emphasis, caution, hesitation, wonder, or admiration. You might use  nan   with a phrase such as /㠁 ®, /㠁 § (which means of the and is pronounced no de)  and verb da/desu (打㠁 §Ã£ â„¢ ), meaning it is hitting or it is striking. Nani is used before: /㠁‹ (meaning or and pronounced as ka)  and /㠁 « (meaning into a and pronounced as ni). Be careful when you use nan because, for example, if you use  nan  before ka  (/㠁‹), which means or, it would sound like the word nanka  (㠁 ªÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£ â€¹), which means things like. Another example would be if you were to use  nan with  ni (/㠁 «), it would be nanni  (㠁 ªÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£  «), meaning why, but this sounds very much like nannimo  (㠁 ªÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£  «Ã£â€šâ€š), which translates as nothing at all. Using Nani or Nan in Context You might use  nani  or  nan  in a restaurant. Depending on whether you are at a formal business luncheon or a casual eatery, you might use either of these terms. For example, at fast food eatery you might say: Osusume wa nan desu ka.  (㠁Šå‹ §Ã£â€š Ã£  ¯Ã¤ ½â€¢Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹) What do you recommend?Are wa nan desu ka. (㠁‚ã‚Å'㠁 ¯Ã¤ ½â€¢Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€š) What is that?   If you are at a more formal eatery, but you dont know what to order, you might ask a fellow diner: Nani ga oishii desu ka. (ä ½â€¢Ã£ Å'㠁Šã â€žÃ£ â€"㠁„㠁 §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€š) What is good? If you are traveling on a train and need to ask for help from a stranger or train conductor, that would be considered a more formal situation in Japan. Thus, you would use  nani  and might say: Tsugi  wa  nani  eki  desu ka.  (æ ¬ ¡Ã£  ¯Ã¤ ½â€¢Ã© §â€¦Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€š) What is the next station? However, if you are traveling with a friend, you might use   the informal  nan, as in: Nan-ji  ni  demasu  ka.  (ä ½â€¢Ã¦â„¢â€šÃ£  «Ã¥â€¡ ºÃ£  ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€š)   What time does it leave?

The truth about convergence of living standards across the world Essay

The truth about convergence of living standards across the world - Essay Example Concerning this, reviewing the academic literature in this issue would make sense. A certain study was able to probe and contribute to the upward spiral number of economic growth literatures by employing other social indicators alternative to per capita income (Hobijn and Franses, 2001; Ciscar and Soria, 2000; Fung, 2009; Welsch and Bonn, 2008). Some of these papers found that the convergence in GDP per capita does not necessarily mean convergence in other social indicators. However, as observed the gap between rich and poor can be examined in real GDP per capita and in living standards. Another study stood in stark contrast with the findings generated by Hobijn and Franses (Neumayer, 2003). In this research, various tests of convergence were employed including regression analysis, the coefficient of variation, kernel density estimates and transition probability matrices. This study contains an argument that convergence should be measured based on the living standards and not in achi evement index. Concerning this, the proponent of the study chose to include life expectancy, infant survival, educational enrolment, literacy and telephone and television availability as important aspects of living standards. Neumayer found that there was a strong evidence to support the convergence of the mentioned aspects of living standards. ... Based on the above findings, it is imperative to consider that economic convergence remains a very important economic issue for more relevant academic explorations. Regarding this, the proponent of this paper tries to understand up to what extent is the hypothesis that there will eventually be convergence of living standards across the world supported by theoretical and empirical research. Per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) In many convergence studies, per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is the common measure of the country’s economic growth. After all, it measures the total output of a country by dividing the GDP with the number of people in it (Todaro and Smith, 2011; Angeles, 2008; Egger et al., 2004; ). Based on this logical approach behind the meaning of per capita GDP, many economists find it useful to use it for comparing relative performance between countries. When one wants to know the level of productivity of a certain country, a rise in per capita GDP could potentially signal economic growth. Therefore, per capita income of poor countries should relatively higher than developed countries in order to realize convergence of living standards. However, this argument is widely debatable because there are also many studies trying to point out that there is continuing divergence of living standards all over the world (Cole and Neumayer, 2003; Portnov and Erell, 2004; Allen, 2012; Ravallion and Jalan, 1996; Morgan, 2009; Rakowski, 1994; Decancq et al., 2009). In the first place, there are also many empirical measures associated with finding the living standards. It turns out that per capita GDP is just one of them. Convergence

Skyfall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Skyfall - Essay Example A good film will undergo multiple scripting and deliberations on the most effective elements that are likely to make it a classic piece. From the graphics, the scenes, the background setting, color, soundtrack and lighting, are examples of decisions that the production has to decide on befor5e the movie can be cast. In short, the team does not wake up one day and go to the field to shoot a movie. Common decisions they have to make include the cinematic and theoretical elements of the movie. In differentiating between these two elements, this paper will analyse the film â€Å"Skyfall† that features James Bond, Javier Silva, Gareth Mallory, Eve, Severine, Q, Tanner, Patrice, Kincade and M. From the filming of the â€Å"Skyfall†, the director portrays a series of cinematic and theoretical episodes, making the audience get the feeling of watching a film that still can be referred to as a play. The film begins with a cinematic element in a chase where Patrice an agent of Sil va is in a hot pursuit from Bond. This takes place after a raid of the M16 offices and crucial information is stolen. However, Bond is shot by Eve his colleague and falls into a river. This dramatic turn of events is prompts others to think that Bond died from the shot. Theatrically, the movie portrays various characters that are in the cast, with unveiling of undercover agents deployed by the NATO in dangerous places. However, the setting is yet again replaced by a cinematic setting where Bond re-emerges from a beach, safe and ready to keep on with his mission (Wilson, 2012). Bond picks up with his mission of tracking Patrice and retrieving the hard disc containing information about the secret agents operations. From the trip to Shanghai to casinos in Macau, he desperately searches for the accomplice. This search and the various encounters of Bond with agents working for Silva, both Cinematic and Theatrical elements are portrayed. When Patrice and Bond start a fight after the killi ng of M16 agents, music is played all the way to the moment when Bond overcomes Patrice who falls of from the storied building. The music does not only make the scene interesting but also creates a cinematic element. After a long search of Patrice, Bond finds him at a casino in Macau. The two rivals start yet another fight in which music is played as they engage in a heated fight that is a measure of strength and wits. Music is also played all through this scene in order to pass time. The scene would have appeared boring as little was said by the two. Therefore, to keep the viewer engaged and as a way of killing time, music was played (Wilson, 2012). In the fight between Bond and Patrice at the casino in Macau, a cinematic scene is created when the two face off each other in presence of animals. The appeal of this to the audience is interesting and captivating too. To win the hearts of the audience, the directors make the Bond character strong and therefore this entices them to stay by his side as he hunts and kills the bad people. This is too cinematic. On the other hand, a few scenes from the film portray the theatrical part of a film. In Macau where Bond tracks Silva, Bond gets into a fight with agents of Silva. He fights them, killing all of them. Although this reveals him as a strong character, his ability to do so single handed is questionable by the

City of New London Essay Example for Free

City of New London Essay The City of New London exercised its power of eminent domain to appropriate properties of a number of its citizens for purposes of selling it to private developers. Unwilling citizens including petitioner Suzette Kelo and other similarly situated individuals contested the aforementioned governmental action saying that it was done in violation of the takings clause in the Constitution. The city, on the other hand, argues that there was compliance with the requirements in the Fifth Amendment because the integrated development plan was intended for public use, i. e. to develop the barren land which will eventually lead to the creation of employment opportunities for the citizens as well as increased revenue for the city which had been earlier labeled as a â€Å"distressed municipality. † All the State courts have ruled in favor of the validity of the proposed takings. Issue: Does the public purpose intended by New London in the appropriation satisfy the public use requirement of the Takings Clause in the Constitution? Rule: The rule involved is the Taking Clause of the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment which states that â€Å"No person shall be †¦ deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. † Application: The rule clearly states that the government may only appropriate private properties if the intended use is for the general public. However, in this case, the state is in effect appropriating the private properties with the end of transferring it to another private entity which is tasked to undertake the project that will yield public use. Conclusion: The Court made a distinction between two kinds of expropriation. The first involves the taking of private property for direct governmental benefit which will lead to public use. On the other hand, the second type of taking has to do with seizing private property and transferring it in the name of another private entity for purposes of developing it on the condition that there is a â€Å"future public use. † The taking involved in New City did not grant undue advantage to the private company because there remains a legitimate purpose provided to the government. Further, it is not necessary that all the citizens will be benefited by the taking. It is sufficient that the private lessees of the developed land will cater to the general public. The Court likewise emphasized that the attainment of public use criterion is sometimes better served when delegated to private corporations rather than when undertaken by the government itself. Therefore, economic development squarely comes within the public use requirement under the Takings Clause in the Constitution. Critique: In the case of Kelo v City of New London, the Court accorded a very liberal construction of the Takings Clause of the Constitution when it allowed the expropriation of the private property in favor of another private property. At the very outset, the controversy already becomes very apparent. As have been pointed out by Justice O’Connor, the government may freely exercise its power of eminent domain so long as it complies with the requirements of the Constitution, namely â€Å"just compensation† and â€Å"public use,† with the latter being the most contentious phrase in this case. Would it suffice that there is incidental public benefit derivable from the expropriation? The clear reading of the black letter law answers in the negative. The power of eminent domain should only strictly be for the government’s benefit. Whatever incidental or fringe advantage should be left for other adjacent private properties, but most certainly, not the other way around. All the more that it should not be confused with the more sweeping term â€Å"general welfare. † The implication of this decision hence renders nugatory the â€Å"Public Use† clause in its entirety. Furthermore, this case establishes a dangerous precedent. One should note the composition of the local governments as well as those in the congress. They are all affluent individuals who are more often than not propertied private individuals, too. They can easily invoke this case to justify the undue advantage they have for themselves. Justice O’Connor had this possibility in mind when she stated that now those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms can exploit the weak who had nothing but the lands passed down to them. Ordinarily, judicial activism is resorted to for purposes of maintaining equity and social justice especially when the law is too oppressive for the majority (Morgan, 2001). However, this case is an outlier as it sanctioned the suppression. Thayer has enumerated at least three evils that attend the increased exercise of judicial review. First, the Congress grows more and more accustomed to turning the subject of constitutional restraints over to the courts, falling insensibly into a habit of â€Å"assuming that whatever they may constitutionally do, they may do. † Second, the people become more careless in electing their representatives since the few and, presumably, wiser occupants of the Bench are there to protect them anyway should the incompetence of these legislators shine eventually. Finally, judicial review is inherently not preferable because the correction of laws come â€Å"from the outside† and so those people primarily tasked to make the laws lose the opportunity to improve their own political competence (Wolfe, 1997). References Morgan, D. G. (2001). A judgment too far? : judicial activism and the constitution. Ireland: Cork University Press. Powers, S. (2002). The Least Dangerous Branch? Consequences of Judicial Activism. Connecticut: Praeger. Schmidt, S. W. , Shelley, M. C. , Bardes, B. A. (2008). American Government Politics Today. Boston: Cengage Learning Inc. Wolfe, C. (1997). Judicial activism: bulwark of freedom or precarious security? New York: Rowman Littlefield.

What Is Organization? Essay -- Management

To organize means to determine what activities are necessary for a specific purpose and to encourage them in groups, which are assigned to individuals. An organisation is a complex social system, which brings together many individuals for a given purpose. It is also an arrangement of personnel to facilitate the accomplishment of a given purpose through the allocation of functions and responsibilities. To further understand the definition of organisation let us consider the definition developed by Max Weber. Like any other field of study, and like organisation themselves, organizational analysis has a tradition. That tradition leans heavily on Max Weber, who is known for his analysis of bureaucracy and authority, topics that will be considered later. Weber also concerned himself with the more general definitions of organisation. In his definition he first distinguishes the "corporate group" from other forms of social organisation (Weber, 1947). The corporate group involves "a social relationship with either closed or limits the admission of outsiders by rules... so far as its order is enforced by the action of specific individuals whose regular function this is, of a chief or `head' and usually also a administrative staff." This aspect of the definition contains a number of elements that need further discussion, since they are basic to most other such definition. In the first place, organisation involves social relationship. That is, individuals interact within the organization. However as the reference to closed or limited boundaries suggests, these individual are not simply in random contact. The organisation (corporate group) includes some parts of the population and exc... ...inciples, developing models of organisation that were overly rational and mechanistic. The Type 2 theorist, to a large degree, represented a counterpoint to the rational-mechanistic view. The current stage of organisation theory more fully reflects the contribution of the type 3. Contingency advocates have taken the insights provided by the earlier theorists and reframed them in a situational context. Nevertheless, we should not conclude that the findings of the earlier management thinkers would be useless in the future. For, example many of the concepts developed by early classical writers are still of value today; the study of the management task in terms of functions performed and the use of management principle as guides to actions are still very much with us and are expected to remain valuable. Few who manage will be able to escape at least some of their impact.

Role of Conflict

Chelsea Williams Role of Conflict The two stories I chose were â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin and â€Å"The Carnival Dog, the Buyer of Diamonds† by Ethan Canin. Both conflicts have similar ideas, which can be compared and contrasted as I have below. These elements include theme, setting and characters. The first element to discus is theme. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin the theme is the self-independence of women. In the beginning of the story, the main character, Louise Mallard mourns over the death of her husband, Mallard.As the story progresses, Louise Mallard grows as she sees the new found freedom she has been given at the loss of her husband. â€Å"†¦ she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Though, at the end of the story it is brought to light that the death of Brent Mallard was false belief, and her idealism of being free is diminished. With this sho ck along with her heart problem, she died from a heart attack. It seems Louise feels her inner emotions are trapped and confined through her marriage, home and even heart. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. † In the time this story takes place a woman’s independence is frowned upon and she probably felt forced into the marriage and having a man in her life instead of being independent and making her own decisions. In â€Å"The Carnival Dog, Buyer of Diamonds† by Ethan Canin the theme is in order to achieve contentment, you must do what you want, not what someone else wants for you. It is quite similar to that of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin.In the story Abe Lufkin always taught his son, the main character, Myron what not to do, especially to never quit. Myron lived his life the way his father wanted him to live it. He always pushed his son because he wanted Myron to be a spitting image of himself. Myron thought differently though. Throughout the story, Myron tries several times to veer from his father’s choices for him. Like the time Myron and Abe were to race to see if Myron would go to Judaism camp or not, Myron wanted so badly to beat his father and have his way, but he ends up letting Abe win. â€Å".He sprinted back down to the house, sat down on the stops, and decided it wasn’t so bad to go to the mountains in July. † When given the chance, he ends up giving up and letting his father win. He believes that something this small isn’t worth the fight in the end. Though, later on Myron is faced with a much larger decision. He is unhappy in medical school and wants to quit so that he can find contentment in doing what he wants, even though he knows his father won’t agree. This was his biggest decision to escape his father but he fails. Abe dominates Myron, once again as he always has.Myron ends up backing down and ultimately letting his father win as he always has. â€Å"Do you give? † â€Å"What? † â€Å"Do you give? † â€Å"You mean, will I go back to school? † â€Å"That’s what I mean. † â€Å"Look,† Myron said, â€Å"you’re crazy. † â€Å"Give me your answer. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"I give. † In the end, Myron continues to live under his father. The second element to discuss is the setting. The Setting in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin seems to have great influence towards the conflict of the story. The story seems to be set in the time that the author, Kate Chopin lived in, around the nineteenth century.This was a time when a woman’s independence was looked down on. At this time they believed a man was needed in a woman’s life to support her. It was a woman’s job to stay home – to cook, clean, and take care of everything in the household. A woman was confined to the home, and men were the ones who went out into the outside world to work and do other things. Households weren’t two people coming together like they are today. They were male dominant. This is the life that Louise felt she had to live because that’s how society said it had to be.She was trapped in her own lifestyle. The setting in â€Å"The Carnival Dog, Buyer of Diamonds† by Ethan Canin also has an important role towards the conflict of the story. When Myron goes off to The Albert Einstein medical school he is on his own. Though here he feels somewhat trapped. The smell of the school is the same smells of his father, which reminds him of how Abe is getting old. This seems to be parallel to Myron’s thoughts of missing out on what makes him happy. â€Å"No, it wasn’t death that bothered Myron; it was the downhill plunge of the living body? he muscles that stretched off the bones into folders, the powdery flesh odors of middle-aged men. † His father’s life is diminishing, but Myron’s soul is diminishing because he is pursuing what someone else wants for him instead of what he wants. â€Å"That was why Myron wanted to quit medical school. He hated the demise of the spirit. † Through this journey he realizes that he is no longer on constant watch by his father. He took up running and seemed to find freedom. It was his way of letting go where he could do what he wanted and not what anyone else did.Myron’s surroundings made his mind click into realizing his full potential because his father isn’t around to tell him otherwise. The third element is the characters. Mrs. Louise Mallard is the main character in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† By Kate Chopin. She is a woman who wants to be independent, but never had the opportunity until her husband passed. â€Å"When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She sai d it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free! ’† Freedom was like a release to her, probably because it wasn’t something that women had back then.This didn’t mean she didn’t love her husband though. â€Å"And yet she had loved him? sometimes. Often she had not. † She may have been forced into a marriage too quickly, which is why she felt this way. She seemed to be held back from her thoughts of independence, but when her husband died it was brought to light. Myron Lufkin is the main character in â€Å"The Carnival Dog, the Buyer of Diamonds. † He as well wants freedom to do what he wants, but instead he pursues what his father, Abe wants for him. He was very obedient to his father and always listened to him.Myron had always wanted to gain the courage to go against his father’s will. â€Å"†¦he knew, there was something in beating his father that was like the toppling of an ancient king. † But no matte r how he thought he could stand up to his father, he always gave up. This is what held Myron back from pursuing his own dreams instead of his fathers. Both stories envelop crushed ideas of freedom interpreted in different ways Every time Myron felt he would stand up against his father he backed down and let his fathers opinion overtake his own.Abe always wanted things done the way he saw them, and Myron always listened and followed. Myron had many opportunities to pursue his own freedom, but always ended up giving in to his father. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† Louise Mallard was trapped in her own life. She only realized her potential freedom when her husband died. She was finally free and independent. Unfortunately this idea was false as Brently was not actually killed, and the overwhelming news and shut down dreams caused her to die of a heart attack. Both characters had ideal freedoms that were never pursued.