Definition and Examples of Humorous Essays

Definition and Examples of Humorous Essays A humorous essay is a type of personal  or familiar essay that has the primary aim of amusing readers rather than informing or persuading them. Also called a comic essay or light essay. Humorous essays often rely on narration and description as  dominant rhetorical and  organizational strategies. Notable writers of humorous essays in English include Dave Barry, Max Beerbohm, Robert Benchley, Ian Frazier, Garrison Keillor, Stephen Leacock,  Fran Lebowitz,  Dorothy Parker, David Sedaris, James Thurber, Mark Twain, and  E.B. White- among countless others. (Many of these comic writers are represented in our collection of  Classic British and American Essays and Speeches.) Observations What makes the humorous essay different from other forms of essay writing is . . . well . . . its the humor. There must be something in it that prompts the readers to smile, chuckle, guffaw, or choke on their own laughter. In addition to organizing your material, you must search out the fun in your topic.(Gene Perret, Damn! Thats Funny!: Writing Humor You Can Sell. Quill Driver Books, 2005)On the basis of a long view of the history of the humorous essay, one could, if reducing the form to its essentials, say that while it can be aphoristic, quick, and witty, it more often harks back to the 17th-century characters slower, fuller descriptions of eccentricities and foibles- sometimes anothers, sometimes the essayists, but usually both.(Ned Stuckey-French, Humorous Essay. Encyclopedia of the Essay, ed. by Tracy Chevalier. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997)Because of fewer constraints, humorous essays allow for genuine feelings of joy, anger, sorrow and delight to be expressed. In short, in Western literature the humorous essay is by and large the most ingenious type of literary essay. Every person who writes humorous essays, in addition to having a lively writing style, must first possess a unique understanding that comes from observing life.(Lin Yutang, On Humour, 1932. Joseph C. Sample, Contextualizing Lin Yutangs Essay On Humour: Introduction and Translation. Humour in Chinese Life and Letters, ed. by J.M. Davis and J. Chey. Hong Kong University Press, 2011) Three Quick Tips for Composing a Humorous Essay1. You need a story, not just jokes. If your goal is to write compelling nonfiction, the story must always come first- what is it you are meaning to show us, and why should the reader care? It is when the humor takes a backseat to the story being told that the humorous essay is most effective and the finest writing is done.2. The humorous essay is no place to be mean or spiteful. You can probably skewer a politician or personal injury lawyer with abandon, but you should be gentle when mocking the common man. If you seem mean-spirited, if you take cheap shots, we arent so willing to laugh.3. The funniest people dont guffaw at their own jokes or wave big look at how funny I am banners over their heads. Nothing kills a joke more than the joke teller slamming a bony elbow into your ribs, winking, and shouting, Was that funny, or what? Subtlety is your most effective tool.(Dinty W. Moore, Crafting the Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing and P ublishing Creative Nonfiction. Writers Digest Books, 2010) Finding a Title for a Humorous EssayWhenever Ive written, say, a humorous essay (or what I think passes as a humorous essay), and I cant come up with any title at all that seems to fit the piece, it usually means the piece hasnt really congealed as it should have. The more I unsuccessfully cast about for a title that speaks to the point of the piece, the more I realize that maybe, just maybe, the piece doesnt have a single, clear point. Maybe its grown too diffuse, or it rambles around over too much ground. What did I think was so funny in the first place?(Robert Masello, Roberts Rules of Writing. Writers Digest Books, 2005)

Explain the principles of regulation for professional practice Essay

Explain the principles of regulation for professional practice. (Compile a report that compares and contrast the principles of r - Essay Example This is done for the purpose of establishing whether the professions allow their workers to advance their careers. The clinical framework governing these fields has been examined to evaluate their practices and the impacts of their activities to the profession and society. The report also describes the codes of conduct followed in these fields along with the ethical issues affecting them. The professional boundaries between these two fields has been given for the purpose of distinguishing their scope of operation. Professional Education and Registration From the year 2004, the minimum professional qualification for a person who wanted to join social work in Scotland was a social work honors degree or an award in postgraduate education. Professional workers in the social services sector are registered by the Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC). This council was established under the act on regulation of care in the year 2001 in Scotland (Park, Murray and Delaney, 2006). Other peopl e who are interested with being registered as expert social workers by the council must have certificates that are recognizable by their relevant authorities (Scott, 2005). In the nursing field, the minimum qualifications a person must have before he or she can become a fully registered nurse in Scotland come in several stages. He or she must first undergo a compulsory three year training program. They take a specialization course that lasts for two years out of the three years according to their various fields. On completion of their course, they are registered with the council on Nursing and midwifery that serves under the National Health Service (NHS). The order of 2001 on midwifery and nursing practices hands power to the National Council on Midwifery. Principles of the Profession Social work is guided by the principles stating that social workers must keep and promote the safety, preferences, confidentiality along with the prospective people using these services. They should do this while maintaining a check between the use of the social services and their conservation. They are required to treat all the people as equal while valuing their uniqueness and diversities (Linsley, Kane and Owen, 2006). They should additionally maintain the trust of the public along with their confidence in the communal services. These principles are prescribed in their practice code that was generated by the Council of Social Services in Scotland. The principles guiding the nursing field in Scotland on the other hand, are their commitment to providing superior quality care that is centered on their patients and clients. They should show commitment towards the creation of new responsibilities supporting the connections between health and community care. The nurses are required to continuously apply their knowledge and skills to their practice while committing themselves to working with other experts or agencies (Currie, 2005). Lastly, the nurses are required to show commitment towards promoting the quality of their patient’s experiences and safety. The nursing field is charged with the responsibility of developing education programs that aim at modernizing the careers of nurses. Continuous Professional Development The body dealing with the standardization of education in social work is responsible for setting the skills, information and understanding of their

Mrs. Dalloway and Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mrs. Dalloway and Hamlet - Essay Example The novel depicts the velocity of human mind and many thousands of the thoughts confined in the conscious and sub-conscious of human brain. In addition, it also indicates the novelist’s command over human nature, psychology, disposition, needs, desires and unfulfilled wishes as well. The first chapter of the novel begins with the traveling of the protagonist Clarissa Dalloway, a middle-aged lady of fifty-one years, has been living in Westminster for over last twenty years, visiting market in the morning in order to buy flowers for the party has been arranged at her house by the evening of the same day. Every incident and happening like the small articles, sound of airplane, crowd’s noise and sight of flowers—all make Mrs. Dalloway tick within the spur of the moment. She discovers the morning as cool, calm, fresh, fragrant and gorgeous one, ‘as if issued to children on a beach’. The idea of freshness takes her thirty-three years back, when she was a young damsel of eighteen years with lofty vigor, awesome enthusiasm and emancipated sentiments rising in her heart and mind like the restless tides of ocean. What the marvelous feelings those were, when she used to stand by a window wide open to reveal the wonderful panorama of flowers, bree ze as well as delights of dawn. The past memories, related to her young life are very important to Mrs. Dalloway, which make her day and bring smiles in her imagination. Her thoughts jump from one idea to another and take no time in reminding Mrs. Dalloway her childhood friend and lover, Peter Walsh, whose marriage proposal was turned down by her. Peter Walsh used to interrupt her in her imagination by commenting â€Å"â€Å"Musing among the vegetables?† The memories of childhood, and the personality affiliated with it, made her thoughts both sweet and sour, and she remembered even trivial things Peter Walsh possessed including his smiles, pocket knife, his eyes and many

Why hunting is positive for the environment Essay Example for Free

Why hunting is positive for the environment Essay Hunting can be used in many different ways that all have a positive effect on the environment. Hunting is helpful in many positive ways to keep the environment clean and healthy. Hunting has been used since the beginning of time and has always been here. Throughout the years, there have been many different groups of people that are pro-hunting and many different groups that have been against hunting. Since hunting began, many of the people who are pro-hunting has kept the environment clean and healthy. Hunting has many positive effects on the environment that are beneficial. Some of these benefits include but are not limited to the large economic benefit to the wildlife conservation through hunting equipment taxes, hunting license sales, and usage fees. Other benefits of hunting is all the money that is spent yearly by hunters on equipment, hunting trips, and guide services. Hunters also contribute highly to keeping the environment clean and healthier by donating and contributing large sums of time and money to hunter run conservation groups that work to help increase natural wildlife habitats and populations (Hunting Benefits 1). An environment that is considered to be â€Å"good† would be one that involves situations of activities that maintain wildlife at current levels. Which means hunting is positive for the environment because the hunting community helps ensure that the wildlife populations of all the different types of game is kept in good conditions and can be proven to survive from this generation to the next (Gibbons 1). This means that hunters have to keep a variety of natural habitats to be kept intact, unpolluted, and undisturbed by unnatural forces. All of which hunters support these efforts (Gibbons 1). Wildlife hunting in all aspects plays a major role in helping keep the environment as clean and natural as possible; therefore, hunting should be permitted with rules and regulations. Hunting has helped the environment financially. Hunting benefits the environment financially by providing many different ways to help raise money to help keep the environment clean and natural. An environment that is considered to be â€Å"good† would be one that involves situations of activities that maintain wildlife at current levels. Which means hunting is positive for the environment because the hunting community helps ensure that the wildlife populations of all the different types of game is kept in good conditions and can be proven to survive from this generation to the next (Gibbons 1). This means that hunters have to keep a variety of natural habitats to be kept intact, unpolluted, and undisturbed by unnatural forces. All of which hunters support these efforts (Gibbons 1). Keeping natural habitats as clean, natural, and undamaged as possible is a very important fact of having a sustainable place to hunt. Hunters are not the only people that are looking for environments clean and healthy like these. By providing ecosystems like these from hunting, it brings more revenue from other activities to help the natural world. Some of these activities include ecologists dependency on the environments for research. Hikers, bird-watchers, and wildflower viewers prefer habitats that are uncontaminated and full of wild living things (Gibbons 1). Even though most hunters and other groups do not prefer to share the same habitats, it gives an immense variety of wildlife seekers to have a common goal of healthy outdoors (Gibbons 2). Many people who are against hunting provide different ways that hunting is negative but hunting provides very strong financial aid to keeping the environment healthy. Hunting not only provides a way for natural food, but also gives much financial aid to having clean ecosystems. â€Å"The money hunters spend on their hunting licenses is pumped back into programs that help protect and enhance wildlife and the environment. If hunting is well regulated, as sports or recreational involvement, there are no major affects to the species, if anything it may help bring back species from the edge of extinction. Many wildlife managers view sport hunting as the principal basis for protection of wildlife (Blogspot 1). † The money that hunters have spent on the items that they buy to use to hunt is put back into organizations that help benefit the environment. Regulated hunting has more of a positive effect on the environment than it does detrimental and actually helps animal populations as a form of protection. â€Å"Hunting is a business in and of itself; in 2001 alone 13 million people in the U. S. went hunting and spent more than 20 billion dollars (Hunting Benefits 2). † This is stating that left alone, hunting is a highly successful and lucrative business. Hunting has benefited the environment sanitarily. Many different types of hunting cover nearly all ecosystems, keeping them natural and safe. There are many different organizations that work to keep the environment clean from pollution and other harmful things. Many hunters volunteer and work independently to keep the environment safe and clean. Hunters do more than just kill animals, they keep the environment safe for everyone including the animals. Hunting is one of the most effective ways to a clean environment. â€Å"This negative view of hunter’s ethics is wrong; in reality hunting is an essential conservation tool (Hunting Benefits 3). † If hunting were to be illegal, the world would lose one of the biggest conservation tools it has to offer. Hunting has helped benefit the environment by keeping the populations of animals in balance. On a national average, nearly 1. 5 million deer are hit every year causing billions of dollars in damage to vehicles and making insurances rise (Deer 1). When there is an overpopulation of deer or other animal in the woods, they begin to move out of their home in search for food. This could mean either going out of the area in the woods that they live in and going to other parts and staying out of human contact or as what has occurred before is the animals moving into areas that are populated by humans and being killed and causing accidents. By hunting the deer and keeping their populations in check, it helps keep the deer from migrating out of their forest homes and wandering into suburban areas in search for food (Deer 1). This is potentially dangerous for humans because when accidents begin to happen by hitting the deer, people can either be seriously injured or killed in some cases. With the proper rules and regulations in place, wildlife hunting plays a major role to help keep the environment clean, healthy, and as natural as possible. Killing animals for sport or just to be able to hang trophies on the wall is cruel and unethical. By killing animals for food and to keep the populations in balance is a good thing and keeps a healthy food chain in the environment. Hunting can help benefit the environment in many different ways. It keeps it clean and prosperous.

Racism in Cullens Incident and Soyinkas Telephone Conversation Essay

Racism in Cullen's Incident and Soyinka's Telephone Conversation The poem "Incident," by Countee Cullen, deals with the effect racism has on a young black child vacationing in Baltimore. The child is mistreated by a white child and disturbed in his innocence so much that after spending seven months in Baltimore, this is all he remembers. A different poem, "Telephone Conversation, " by Wole Soyinka, also deals with this issue, but from a different perspective. In this poem a man is trying to rent an apartment but the owner of the complex doesn’t want him to move in because he is African. She asks him "How dark? Are you light / Or very dark?. " Each black person in their respective poems deals with the prejudice in the best way they know how. The way they handle it shines a light on the strength and wisdom gained, while casting a negative light on the ignorance broadcast from the racist people. In America at the time "Incident" takes place, people were very much againstthe black population. This was also the case in England where "Telephone Conversation takes place, only not as much so. The white child in Incident has obviously been taught to hate or look down on this race of people. He will probably grow up to be as closed-minded and ignorant as the woman in "Telephone Conversation." It is probable that the woman in "Telephone Conversation" was taught this from her youth as well, although the poem doesn t specify this. It is also possible that it is a decision she made on her own. She is older, however, and should know better. The black man in ... ...e and identity insulted is a horrible thing, but to be able to stand strong inside yourself and know who you are is true strength and displays a sense of true wisdom. Though the young boy in "Incident" couldn't realize this at his young age, it can be assumed that he eventually did and became confident enough to write about it. These two poems show a chronology of strength and wisdom gained from the black child through the black man, and also a chronology of ignorance and racism gained from the white child through the white woman. These poems fit together greatly and each intends to send the same message, only from different perspectives. A great message about strength in one's own identity can be gained from reading each individually, but if you read them together you can really see the importance of the message intended. Racism in Cullen's Incident and Soyinka's Telephone Conversation Essay Racism in Cullen's Incident and Soyinka's Telephone Conversation The poem "Incident," by Countee Cullen, deals with the effect racism has on a young black child vacationing in Baltimore. The child is mistreated by a white child and disturbed in his innocence so much that after spending seven months in Baltimore, this is all he remembers. A different poem, "Telephone Conversation, " by Wole Soyinka, also deals with this issue, but from a different perspective. In this poem a man is trying to rent an apartment but the owner of the complex doesn’t want him to move in because he is African. She asks him "How dark? Are you light / Or very dark?. " Each black person in their respective poems deals with the prejudice in the best way they know how. The way they handle it shines a light on the strength and wisdom gained, while casting a negative light on the ignorance broadcast from the racist people. In America at the time "Incident" takes place, people were very much againstthe black population. This was also the case in England where "Telephone Conversation takes place, only not as much so. The white child in Incident has obviously been taught to hate or look down on this race of people. He will probably grow up to be as closed-minded and ignorant as the woman in "Telephone Conversation." It is probable that the woman in "Telephone Conversation" was taught this from her youth as well, although the poem doesn t specify this. It is also possible that it is a decision she made on her own. She is older, however, and should know better. The black man in ... ...e and identity insulted is a horrible thing, but to be able to stand strong inside yourself and know who you are is true strength and displays a sense of true wisdom. Though the young boy in "Incident" couldn't realize this at his young age, it can be assumed that he eventually did and became confident enough to write about it. These two poems show a chronology of strength and wisdom gained from the black child through the black man, and also a chronology of ignorance and racism gained from the white child through the white woman. These poems fit together greatly and each intends to send the same message, only from different perspectives. A great message about strength in one's own identity can be gained from reading each individually, but if you read them together you can really see the importance of the message intended.

German Buying Habits

German Costumer’s Buying Habits Online According to figures released by the German Association for Consumer Research (GfK), 34. 1 million German consumers buy merchandise or services on the Internet (2010). Among the most popular purchases are books, clothes, travel and concert tickets, and cars. Unlike in other European countries where there is a reluctance toward online shopping by seniors, almost half of Germans between the age of 50 and 69 buy merchandise on the Internet. Decision Making The Internet also plays a major role when it comes to decision-making among German consumers.Before buying merchandise or services,, they usually consult the web for information and to compare prices. The cheapest bidder is not always the winner; tidiness, easy-return options, sustainability and quality of the product are more important in the decision-making than the price. International Shopping German consumers do not necessarily choose German products. The most popular online vendors i n Germany are eBay and Amazon, with their international communities. Food and wine, consumer electronics, and even cars are among the most popular imported article. Corporate Social Responsibility 4% of consumers want to see more ethical behavior. And they hold both the government and brands accountable to deliver; up 34% compared to 2007 for government and up 23% compared to 2007 for corporations. Small correlates to responsible in our respondents minds. 68% said small businesses act more responsible. By stark comparison only 16% thought big business could be responsible, irrespective of sector or origin. National pride and ‘Made in Germany’ continue to gain relevance in the area of CSR. 52% of consumers believe national brands are more responsible, with the exception of the financial services.This is evident by their choice of the Top 5 most responsible brands (all German): Landliebe, DM, Bosch, Audi and Tchibo. By comparison, 37% believe European brands act responsib ly, 18% for UK brands, 11% for USA brands, and only 7% for brands from Asia. Companies and brands are an integral part of German society. And as such, society looks up to them to find the solutions. 47% of Germans see this as a critical factor for their brand choice (up from 43% in 2007) As we have stated before, strong brands that engage in CSR initiatives that dovetail with their offerings are better positioned to reap the rewards. And the research backs it up.

Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman Essay examples

Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman A highly fictive text [whose non-fiction label gives] the appearance of being an actual representation of Asian American experience in the broader public sphere. (Gloria Chun, The High Note) Such a disparaging remark about the misleading nature of Maxine Hong Kingstons The Woman Warrior has been readily refuted, notably by Leilani Nishime, who proposes in her essay Engendering Genre... that it is a text that transcends genre confines; it challenges traditional definitions of genre and demands redefinitions. Whatever the case, No Name Woman (NNW) is remarkable in the way the reader is given a candid social commentary in the guise of an intriguing tale of scandal and oppression. In a†¦show more content†¦As mentioned earlier, the mothers version is tinged with conservative disapproval, possibly a result of her direct involvement with the events and their unpleasant consequences. Despite her traditional viewpoint (which might be seen as narrow and bigoted in a modern context), her version is interestingly the most objective one of the three: her own opinions only make themselves felt at the end of her otherwise purely narrative tale. In the next change of filter, t he narrator then puts forth her own speculative version of events, portraying her aunt as the proverbial victim of circumstances. Adopting this filter of the passive aunt gives us an insightful look into her surroundings, proposing a degree of identification with her, and inducing a temporary familiarity with the periods oppressive attitudes for modern readers. In effect, this passage makes accessible two potentially alienating elements: the social and temporal context of the setting, as well as the psyche of the character in question. This level of personal identification is taken a step further when, later in the story, the narrator indulges in wild speculation of her aunt playing a potentially active role in the events. The conveying of a modern mindset upon her aunt may seem jarring in the contextShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman943 Words   |  4 PagesMaxine Hong Kingston is telling a tragedy caused by gender discrimination in her essay â€Å"No Name Woman.† She is a first generation Chinese American. Her mother consistently tells her about the Kingston family back in the Old Chinese village to remind her of her Chinese root. Kingston’s mother tells her that she has an aunt in China with a forbidden existence; they say that her father â€Å"has all brothers because it is as if she [the aunt] had never been born† (Kingston 135). In 1924, most men in thisRead More Maxine Hong Kingstons Woman Warrior - No Name Woman Essay739 Words   |  3 PagesMaxine Hong Kingstons Woman Warrior - No Name Woman The excerpt, No Name Woman, from Maxine Hong Kingstons book, Woman Warrior, gives insight into her life as a Chinese girl raised in America through a tragic story of her aunts life, a young woman raised in a village in China in the early 1900s. The story shows the consequences beliefs, taught by parents, have on a childs life. Kingston attempts to figure out what role the teachings of her parents should have on her life, a similar attemptRead MoreThe Role Of Women In Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman?1099 Words   |  5 Pagescome, women have been treated unequally, and have had high societal standards and equally high beauty standards set for them. Throughout history women have been neglected and have had unfair beauty standards, specifically in China. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s â€Å"No Name Woman,† traditional womens roles and expectations are harmful both mentally and physically.o Footbinding and eyebrow threading, the narrator’s aunt’s suicide, and the aunt’s family refusing to talk about her provide evidence of this.* Read More Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman Essay examples1400 Words   |  6 PagesMaxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman A persons identity cannot be given to her, instead a person must achieve a sense of her character through personal experience and self-reflection. In No Name Woman, Maxine Hong Kingston recalls the events of her aunts life in the vague world of her Chinese roots. The story of her aunt is told by her mother and Kingston recreates the events into an exploratory story to help herself figure out what part of her identity is Chinese and help her better understandRead More As an American Chinese Maxine Hong Kingston tries to find out what1596 Words   |  7 PagesAs an American Chinese Maxine Hong Kingston tries to find out what defines her The Search for Human Identity All humans encounter the search for personal identity at some point in life. As an American Chinese Maxine Hong Kingston tries to find out what defines her. Let them be her mother’s traditional world, her new American home, or herself as an individual. Undoubtedly, Maxine is strongly interested in the margins between certainty and falsehood, remembrance and tradition, honestyRead MoreGender Roles in Sandra Cisneros and Maxine Hong Kingstons Books697 Words   |  3 PagesSandra Cisneros and Maxine Hong Kingston: Gender roles Feminism is often spoken of in generic terms, but the novels of the Hispanic-American author Sandra Cisneros and the Chinese-American Maxine Hong Kingston highlight how, even though the oppression of women may be a nearly universal construct, this oppression inevitably takes on very particular forms, depending upon the social, national, and political context of the authors. The authors collective works highlight the struggle of women from historically-discriminatedRead MoreAnalysis Of Maxine Hong Kingston s The Woman Warrior 1547 Words   |  7 PagesKejsi Drenova Paper 2 In The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston makes her narration compelling and relatable to the audience through her unique style of storytelling. The ever-present changes in perspective lead one to see how each event eventually affects Kingston. Her comparison of her life to that of Fa Mu Lan brings out the difficulties in her living in America while her mother had grown up in China. This hero myth allows her to connect to those values that Brave Orchid holds which make herRead More Comparing the Role of the Ghost in Morrisons Beloved and Kingstons No Name Woman972 Words   |  4 PagesThe Symbolic Role of the Ghost in Morrisons Beloved and Kingstons No Name Woman The eponymous ghosts which haunt Toni Morrisons Beloved and Maxine Hong Kingstons No Name Woman (excerpted from The Woman Warrior) embody the consequence of transgressing societal boundaries through adultery and murder. While the wider thematic concerns of both books differ, however both authors use the ghost figure to represent a repressed historical past that is awakened in their narrative retelling of theRead MoreMaxine Hong Kingston s `` No Name Woman ``2210 Words   |  9 PagesBeing an author of several praised works, Maxine Hong Kingston has been deemed a noteworthy American writer since her first book debuted. Her unique style and interesting blend of myth and truth in memoir form garnered her international attention and won her several awards. Kingston’s works have put heavy emphasis on her family history and her experiences as a Chinese-American, so it is no surprise that she has been received well by many and misunderstood by others at the same time. A discussionRe ad MoreEssay on The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston1033 Words   |  5 PagesThe theme of â€Å"voiceless woman† throughout the book â€Å"the woman warrior† is of great importance. Maxine Kingston narrates several stories in which gives clear examples on how woman in her family are diminished and silenced by Chinese culture. The author not only provides a voice for herself but also for other women in her family and in her community that did not had the opportunity to speak out and tell their stories. The author starts the book with the story of her aunt. This story was a well-kept