Reading through “Winter in a Warehouse” Essay Example for Free

Reading through â€Å"Winter in a Warehouse† Essay â€Å"Winter in a Warehouse,† is about a group of warehouse women on their way to and from the washroom of the milling company. The washroom is in the office building which is a considerable distance from the women’s workplace, the warehouse. As it is winter, the trek from one building to the other becomes a tedious and an unwished-for errand. The atmosphere is cold and hostile as the people they come across with. The short journey evokes in the narrator’s mind several issues – gender, class and social status between the warehouse women and the rest of the characters in the poem. In â€Å"Winter in a Warehouse,† Anne Spillard speaks about the condition of the lower- class working women in the latter-day industrial society. The poem started with the narrator’s voice fondly recalling the image of his grandfather, â€Å"Grandad ‘goes for a loo */Behind the old chimbly† (lines 1-2), from a long time ago. The tone here is friendly, the language is colloquial and the mood is gay. Grandad, being old, â€Å"Dragging his feet in carpet slippers† (3), is also probably retired from his work in the mill. The use of grandfather in the poem suggests time difference. The corrugated iron â€Å"Where the wind flaps rusty limbs/ Of corrugated iron† (7-8), denotes a time long gone by. It is probably 40 to 50 years ago since grandfather worked in that company when manufacturing firms employed mostly men in its workforce. Noting the narrator’s familiarity with the setting, it is likely that he or she is a third generation worker employed in the same mill or factory that his grandparent worked for. Grandfather finds the long walk to the office tiresome, â€Å"†¦ ‘It’s too far to trail/ ‘T ‘ the bloody office’ (4-5), so he simply decides to pee against the chimney by the bank. The narrator seems to perceive this as an unusual gesture, â€Å"And pees against the great black chimney† (9). The chimney, great and black, is a thing of significance and not to be trifled with. Grandfather’s peeing where he pleased perhaps constitutes defiance of the convention on peeing and of what the chimney signifies. On the other hand, the narrator’s voice registers a suspicion about grandad’s account, â€Å"Or so he tells us† (10). It implies that grandfather could be lying, that perhaps it is not that easy to break the company regulation as well as the convention. It is only at the 10th line, with the use of â€Å"us† that the narrator is revealed. They are women workers stationed in the warehouse gone for a walk to the office building within the company compound to wash their empty coffee cups and to pee. Upon arriving there, they see the millpond nearby, â€Å"Down to the office/ Where the mill manager used to sit† (12-13). The mill manager, like the grandfather, is a representation of an era gone by. In the early stage of industrialization, it was the manager, who was usually also the owner of the business, who conducted his businesses in an office with the help of a staff or two. He was also visible in the company premises. In more recent times, with further division of labor and the expansion of industrialization, the manager has normally taken to holding his office in an inner chamber within the office building. He is scarcely visible to the workers and as such, there is usually a layer of office staffs that deals with the rank and file or the ordinary workers of the company. It is these office girls that the warehouse women came across with when they went to the office premises to have use of the washroom. The office girls act and speak superior to the warehouse women. They address the women collectively, in a cold and impersonal manner. The washroom is in a state of disrepair, â€Å"Melted snow drips through the washroom ceiling† (18). The water at the mains must be turned on first before the women could flush the toilet. The male washroom, â€Å"†¦ it’s leaking. † (23). These little details describe the ambience of the washroom area – old, ill-kept and deteriorating. And yet, the office girls almost begrudge them for using it. â€Å"‘You warehouse people always arrive/ ‘Just when we’ve boiled the kettle/ ‘for elevenses,’ the office girls rebuke us. † (15-17). The warehouse women do not have a washroom in their workplace. In the period described in this poem, even answering the call of nature, presents a problem. Unlike men, women cannot urinate anywhere. Furthermore, in most manufacturing companies, peeing is only allowed during designated breaks. One girl even goes so far as to point to out to the women that the male washroom must not be used, â€Å"Don’t use the Gents, †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (21). Perhaps, the reminder is unnecessary, as the women have been coming there on the same errand for years and are aware of the fact. It is also not far to suppose that the Gents has not been working for decades. Thus, the part about the male toilet leaking is a take on the grandfather’s story. Perhaps, the male workers in the mill were not subjected to strict regulation on peeing only because the male toilet was leaking. Throughout the poem, the voice constantly changes: from the third person singular (lines 1-10), to first person plural (11-14), to second person plural (15-17), to third person plural(18), back to first person plural (19-20), to third person singular (21-23), and lastly, to third person plural (24-31), making it vibrant and giving the reader the feeling that the characters are performing before him. It also shows the individuality or lack of, the characters within the poem. Nina, one of the office girls, has a distinct voice and she has a name. In contrast, the warehouse women are only referred to as â€Å"us,† â€Å"we† and â€Å"warehouse women. † The warehouse women have only one voice: the voice of a group. The office girls have their voice as a group and their individual voices as persons apart. Despite the office being heated, perfumed and powdered, the narrator notices that â€Å"the office girls sit shivering† (24), a hint that their thinner clothing cause them discomfort during winter. On the other hand, the warehouse women have become indifferent to the coldness. Why? It is because winter is the all-year season inside the warehouse. What is not mentioned here but is implied is the suffering of the warehouse women doing hard, manual and routine labor, whose enclosed workplace is perhaps unheated, full of fumes and dust, and dark as one could imagine. Towards the end of the poem, the engaging voice at the beginning seems to have become somebody else, an alienated figure viewing a scene that he is not part of, But the warehouse women, Shapeless in heavy sweaters and wooly longjohns, Trudge back through the snow, No longer noticing this winter Which may last forever Inside the blankness of their warehouse. The poem begins on a cheerful note, in an informal way and in a youthful voice, with a fond recollection of one’s grandfather and his days. It ends on a cheerless, aged and serious tone about a group of women trudging their way back to the warehouse across the snow, oblivious of the season and what it might bring to them.

The Importance and History of the Steam Engine Essay -- History Indust

"The wonderful progress of the present century is, in a very great degree, due to the invention and improvement of the steam engine, and to the ingenious application of its power to kinds of work that formerly taxed the physical energies of the human race."~Robert H. Thurston The steam engine can easily be considered the single most important invention of the entire industrial revolution. There is not one part of industry present in today's society that can be examined without coming across some type of reference or dependence upon the steam engine. But, who deserves the credit for this great invention? Some give the credit to James Watt while others claim that Thomas Newcomen was the original inventor. However, the idea of the using the power of steam to the advantage of human beings has been around practically since the beginning of time. But, no practical uses for steam emerged until the 17th century. The majority of people will tell you that the steam engine was invented by James Watt. But, this is far from the truth. Like all other great inventions and great discoveries, the steam engine came about after centuries of work by numerous scientists, engineers and even writers. It came from a compilation of work and theories that took centuries to complete. If James Watt was not the first to create the steam engine, who was? How did James Watt end up with all of the credit for the invention? Was he just the one that was there at the right time and in the right place? Is it true that James Watt discovered the steam engine when he observed the lid of a kettle lifting as water boiled within? Those are the questions that we are out to answer. But, keep in mind that "...inventions only become successful wh... ...ords that the steam engine held at the time that the book was written. This biography is meant for at least high school age readers and is directed more so towards those interested in science or engineering history. - http://inventors.about.com/science/inventors/library/inventors/blsteamengine.htm This website is successful at telling the reader everything that they want to know and more about the history and evolution of steam engines. It hits on all the major advancements as well as fall backs that occurred over the years. It is very easy to find whatever you are looking for on this website. The most beneficial part of the website however, is a link to a page that gives a timeline of the growth of the steam engine. This timeline is very well illustrated and makes note of all of the large and small developments in the evolution of the steam engine.

Emotions & the monster Essay

Acceptance is very important in society, and the same perceptions apply just as much today as they did in the 1800’s. It is part of human nature to make instant judgments, and to form first impressions of a person before you know what they are really like, and this is what happened to Frankenstein’s monster in this book. Although it is almost impossible to avoid making these snap decisions, they can almost always be changed later on, and put right once you get to know the person. Everyone wants to be accepted for who they are, regardless of appearances or stature, however this is not always the case. This can be related to the treatment the monster receives upon meeting other people. He is not â€Å"the norm†, and is undoubtedly ugly to look at, but that does not make him a bad person. Shelley manages to show this in such a way that the reader feels sorry for the monster, but we can see that it is something that is unlikely to change, as it is a normal part of society and human nature. Shelley shows her disgust at this harsh treatment through the monster’s feelings, which are shared with Victor later on in the book, and it is as if the author is pouring out her emotions, rather than the monster’s. The hideous figure, the disfigured stature of this monster is the first thing noticed by Victor Frankenstein. â€Å"His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles. † This reference to the monster’s yellow skin depicts the same behaviour conducted in modern day racism. The colour of one’s skin does not dictate the intelligence, attitude and personality of a person. Regardless of the yellow skin of the monster, which would repulse and overwhelm most people, there is no need to carry over that emotion to judge the monster’s intellectual side. The mind and body are two very different things; human beings have yet to distinguish that fact. Mary Shelley clearly feels very strongly about this unfair prejudice in place in society, and has tried (very successfully) to show her readers just how unjust it really is. However, until people actually do something about it, it is just a part of society which we will probably never be entirely without. We may feel that it is wrong, but it will always be there, and it is something people have learnt to deal with in society. The novel, â€Å"Frankenstein†, actually reflects quite badly on the society in which Mary Shelley lived. It suggests that this type of behaviour was carrying on back then towards â€Å"different† people and was accepted as part of every day life. Humans have always and will continue to be scared of the unknown. Some might say that what you don’t know about can’t hurt you, but there is a sense of mystery and darkness behind unidentified things. This fear is ever increasing alongside the amount of horror films and novels, by which the general public is heavily influenced – maybe sometimes too heavily. The public has always been influenced by the media, which is created by society, and with an increasing amount of stories and films out with the intention of scaring the audience, people are getting more and more prejudiced towards the unknown. Luckily this is counteracted by an increasing knowledge of other cultures and races, but Shelley lived in a society where people were still very ignorant about other people, and automatically assumed the worst. Although it is not shown outright, in â€Å"Frankenstein†, the monster actually experiences this fear as well as the villagers when he comes into their town. Their fears were of the same thing – the unfamiliar; however their reactions were completely different. Some villagers threw rocks, and were trying to drive the monster away as if it was a worthless piece of society; others simply ran away in shock, screaming and scared. This is not justified by anything except his demeanor. The monster, on the other hand, did not reply in a violent manner at all, he just tried to hide from all people from then on. This just goes to show how much people are affected by small things in their life. One incident such as this could ruin an entire life, and the villagers did not realise just how selfish they were being. They did not think about his feelings, and left him to support himself, poor and defenseless. The public do not realise how much little things they may pass off as unimportant affect others, and in this case, society ruined the monster’s life. From that moment and for the rest of his existence, the monster knew not to interfere with human beings, for their nature was clearly different to his. The monster, like all human beings, wanted to be accepted for his intellectual abilities and personality, and both him and humans have it in their nature to be afraid of the unknown, yet the villagers had an unmistakable advantage over the monster – the monster was still innocent and nai ve, unsure of the world around him and ignorant of human nature. He was not accepted by anyone, purely because of his appearance. This fact is obvious as no one as yet had even had the chance to get to know the monster’s personality, not even the monster himself had had this opportunity, because he could not speak and did not know anything about society. Therefore human nature plays an incredibly important role in the novel, because without it the villagers would probably have accepted the monster, and he would never have turned out how he did.

Women and Gender - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 866 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2018/12/18 Category Society Essay Type Assignment Level High school Tags: Gender Essay Relationship Essay Women Essay Did you like this example? It is the perception of many people that same sex relationships are unethical and are unacceptable.It is in response to this that Feng-Mei Heberer chooses to respond to the matter in the article Migrating intimacies. Most focus in this article is on the female Southeast Asian migrant domestic workerswho are based in Hong Kong and who chose same sex relationships as part of their lives. In the article, Heberer discusses the manner in which the female workers have long working hours thus working for very little amount of money at the end of the month[footnoteRef:2]. Most of the agents ensure that the workers meet all the expectations including their dress code which is supposed to be nice but not so attracting as to outdo the women in the country. This kind of dressing made most of the female workers end up being attracted to other women from their home countries and thus same sex relationships being on a high level. These female workers do not hide it as they always have time for photographs with their partners when they are off duty.Heberer choose to research on thematter and examine how intimacy has changed from being between a woman-to-a-man to a woman-to-a-woman. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Women and Gender" essay for you Create order In this context, he proves that through the working in other countries, same-sex relationships have been enhanced. There are some women who engage in same sex relationships in Hong Kong but hide it when they are at their homecountry. This means that there is little or no understanding on the matter to the home countries and thus the denial of the sexuality. In such countries, as stated by Foucault sex is repressed but not prohibited. This means that sex outside the normal confines is unthinkable and unspeakable. In the article, Heberershows how the female workers use photography and dress code to express their sexuality and how they do not hide it from the others. [2: Heberer, Feng-Mei. Migrating intimacies: Media representations of same-sex love among migrant women in East Asia.? Sexualities? 20, no. 4 (2017): 428-445.] [3: Foucault, Michel. The history of sexuality. Volume one: An introduction. (1980). Long term migration is a key factor enhancing same sex relationships. For instance in the short documentary Effort for Love,the 30 year old lady describes how her love for women begun when she moved out of her country to another one and settled for long time. She was married and had a daughter in her home country but when she travelled away from home, she realized that she loved women. If she had not travelled, she might never have been engaged in same sex relationship since in her country it is repressed. She states that she and her partner could continue with their relationship in Hong Kong but they would pretend to be friends when they are at home. The main reason for this as stated by her is that their parents would beashamedof them. Therefore, this means that the act is not forbidden but repressed and the people in the country do not want to talk about it or to have their family members involved in it. She stated that it would be okay if they did it in Hong Kong since it not seen as a big issue as long as they conduct their duties at their work places as expected. Since it is accepted in Hong Kong, this paves a way for them to continue with their relationship in the country and thus they can also show it to anyone. The excitements described in the article show how free they are and how they feel happy that they can show their sexuality to anyone and also interactwith one another openly. As stated by Foucault, it is essential to have a revolutionary importance to a discourse on sexuality. This is due to the fact that there are some people who cannot express their sexuality and who find it hard to get out of the closet due to the fear of negative judgment from the society. As seen in the article Migrating intimacies, the South Asian Women would not talk about their sexualities in the home countries and thus there were some who made some mistakes in terms of choosing partners. For instance, in the short documentary Effort for Love, the protagonist chose to be married but due to her sexuality, the marriage would not work. After she got a chance to show it in Hong Kong, she chose a female partner. Same sex relationships are a fact and peopleshould get a chance to speak about it rather than living in societies that seem to have a negative attitude about it.The issue is repressed in many societies and most people choose not to talk about the issue. This is why at the slightest chance people choose to explore their sexualities. As seen in the article, most of the female workers in HongKong turn to same sex relationships since they are not allowed to be in one back in their counties. This is why they choose to do it away from home where no one would ask them. This means that there is need to have discourse and talk about the issue to depth and understand the sexuality better.