Enduring power of love: The Notebook

The Notebook, written by Nicolas Sparks, can be named one of the best American romantic novels. The book portrays every trait in a guy or girl would desire to have in a significant other. According to Nicolas Sparks, â€Å"it is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, tales that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again†. The Notebook was on the New York Times best-seller list within the very first week of release. It spent over a year as a hardcover best seller. Theresa Park, Nicolas Sparks’ agent, discovered the book after going through her slush pile, without hesitation, Park offered to represent him. In 1995, one year later, Sparks agent managed to secure a $1 million advance for it from Time Warner Book Group, the novel was then published the following year in October 1996. The Notebook was originally inspired by Sparks’ wife’s grandparents who had been married for over sixty years. Based on Sparks (2004), They had a truly magical relationship, one that withstood the test of time and circumstance. Ultimately their love for each other gave Sparks the idea to even consider on attempting describing their deep love. The main characters in the book were, Allison Nelson and Noah Calhoun. The two met at a carnival in a peaceful town of New Bern, North Carolina in 1946. Little did Allie and Noah know their bond would be more than just a summer romance of the 1940’s. While watching the movie, â€Å"The Notebook,† it differed from the book in several ways. From the way the two met, their heartbreaking breakup and the letters that Noah wrote Allison. However both versions were still incredibly amazing. The movie has much strength. The first strength is acting. Every actor and actress played their role well. Cassavetes’ first and only choice to play the role of Noah was Ryan Gosling (The Notebook). He did not want anyone else to play this role. As for Rachel McAdams, she had beaten nine other actresses to play the role of Allison. That is amazing! The older Allison was played by Cassavetes mother. Another strength in this movie was the plot. Without a good plot, there would be no point to the movie. The last and final strength in â€Å"The Notebook† is emotion. This film takes one through every motion imaginable. As for examples, when Allie and Noah split, the emotional response automatically takes a tole on someone. It’s as if, your actually apart of the movie. In the book, Allison and Noah met in 1932, at the time Allison was 15 and Noah was 17. But in the movie, they met in the year of 1940, where they both were around the same age of 17. According to Cassavetes, (unsolved), this movie was filmed in South Carolina because of its 1040’s look. Allison and Noah meet at a carnival, where Allison is very fond of Noah. With love in the air, they spent the rest of the night together until the carnival was over. However, in the movie, Noah became infatuated with Allison, and went to the extreme of insanity by jumping on the ferry’s wheel to ask her out. Noah plays remarkable in both and just makes the audience fall in love with his character. With most summer romances follows heartache. As for Noah and Allison, their fairytale love weren’t excluded. When the summer ended, Allison had to return back home, leaving Noah behind. With heartache comes conflict, according to the movie, Allison and Noah got into a huge fight before she left, which ultimately lead them regretting the whole disagreement. Nicolas Sparks, captured this moment perfectly, not only does it make the audience stand on edge; it also makes the viewer’s wonder could true love really occur this beautiful. According to Sparks (2004), True Love exists and there’s evidence of it every day. In 1932, Allison and Noah separate for fourteen years, but in the movie they separated in 1940 for only seven years. Many feel as if the huge timeline difference were to create tension for a more dramatic audience, considering younger audience would be drawn into the movie more. In the movie, Noah’s character is so much more romantic than in the book. Noah’s love for Allison was so strong in the movie, that he wrote her a letter every day for a year. That is three hundred and sixty five letters from a heart aching young man, who only wish in the world is to reunite with the love of his life. In the book, Noah wrote Allison one letter a month, the equivalent of only 12 letters. Cassavetes did a wonderful job into capturing such a raw talent and emotions that draws an audience attention. Unfortunately, Allison never receives one letter. So therefore, Noah had to mend his broken heart by moving on. Right before Noah left for the war, Noah sent his last love letter. The time frame was shortened for the movie, which made it a lot easier for younger audience to relate too. Nicolas Sparks, â€Å"The Notebook†, strongly informs the world on how true love exists, between a man and a woman. Noah and Allison had such true love that some way or another, their love carried them into the afterlife together. In both the book and movie, Noah sneaks Allison room, where they are currently in the nursing home due to their aging and health, and they both laid together all night long (Sparks, 1996, p. 204). When morning comes, the nurse finds them holding hands still and realizes they passed away together in their sleep. Noah stated, â€Å"If you’re a bird, I’m a bird† (Sparks, 1996, p. 103), clearly shows how deep their love remained. This remarkable story makes every young lady want to fall in love, and only hope to have a love like â€Å"The Notebook.† Allison and Noah’s love could outstand anything. Sparks has written the ultimately perfect fantast for the world. â€Å"I think the most obvious reason is that the story touched people in a deeply personal way. It seems that nearly everyone I spoke with about the novel knew a â€Å"Noah and Allie† in their own life.† (Sparks, 2004). The Notebook was amazingly directed, written and it is great to read and watch.

Agriculture of Pakistan Essay

Agriculture is a vital sector of Pakistan’s economy and accounted for 25. 9 percent of GDP in 1999-2000, according to government estimates. The sector directly supports three-quarters of the country’s population, employs half the labor force , and contributes a large share of foreign exchange earnings. The main agricultural products are cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, and vegetables, in addition to milk, beef, mutton, and eggs. Pakistan depends on one of the world’s largest irrigation systems to support production. There are 2 principal seasons. Cotton, rice, and sugarcane are produced during the kharif season, which lasts from May to November. Wheat is the major rabi crop, which extends from November to April. The key to a much-needed improvement of productivity lies in a more efficient use of resources, principally land and water. However, change is dependent on the large landowners who own 40 percent of the arable land and control most of the irrigation system, which makes widespread reform difficult. Assessments by independent agencies, including the World Bank, show these large landholdings to be very unproductive. Pakistan is a net importer of agricultural commodities. Annual imports total about US$2 billion and include wheat, edible oils, pulses, and consumer foods. Pakistan is one of the world’s largest producers of raw cotton. The size of the annual cotton crop—the bulk of it grown in Punjab province—is a crucial barometer of the health of the overall economy, as it determines the availability and cost of the main raw material for the yarn-spinning industry, much of which is concentrated around the southern port city of Karachi. Official estimates put the 1999-2000 harvest at some 11. 2 million 170-kilogram bales, compared with the 1998-99 outturn of 8. 8 million bales and the record 12. 8 million bales achieved in 1991-92. The government recently actively intervened in the market to boost prices and to encourage production. A major problem is that the cotton crop is highly susceptible to adverse weather and pest damage, which is reflected in crop figures. After peaking at 2. 18 million tons in 1991-92, the lint harvest has since fluctuated considerably, ranging from a low of 1. 37 million tons in 1993-94 to a high of 1. 9 million tons in 1999-2000. The 2000-01 wheat crop was forecast at a record 19. 3 million tons, compared to 17. 8 million tons produced during the previous year. This increase is due largely to favorable weather and a 25-percent increase in the procurement price to about US$135 per ton. About 85 percent of the crop is irrigated. Despite the record production, Pakistan will continue to be a major wheat importer. The government has imported an average of US$2. 4 million annually over the past 5 years. The United States and Australia are the major suppliers. Demand for wheat is increasing from Pakistan’s rapidly growing population as well as from cross-border trade with Afghanistan. Pakistan is a major rice exporter and annually exports about 2 million tons, or about 10 percent of world trade. About 25 percent of exports is Pakistan’s famous fragrant Basmati rice. Rice is Pakistan’s second leading source of export earnings. Private traders handle all exports. Pakistan’s main competitors in rice trade are Thailand, Vietnam, and India. Tobacco is grown mainly in the North-West Frontier Province and Punjab and is an important cash crop . Yields in Pakistan are about twice those for neighboring countries largely due to the extension services provided by the industry. Quality, however, is improving only slowly due to problems related to climate and soil. Farmers have started inter-cropping tobacco with vegetables and sugarcane to increase returns. About half of the total production is used for cigarette manufacturing and the remainder used in traditional ways of smoking (in hand-rolled cigarettes called birris, in water pipes, and as snuff). The share of imported tobacco is increasing gradually in response to an increased demand for high-quality cigarettes. Minor crops account for only 5 percent of total cultivated area; these include oilseeds (sunflower, soybean), chilies, potatoes, and onions. Domestic oilseed production accounts only for about 25 percent of Pakistan total edible oil needs. As a result, Pakistan spends more than US$1 billion annually in scarce foreign exchange to import edible oils, while its oilseed processing industry operates at less than 25 percent of capacity due to an inadequate supply of oilseeds. For 2000-01 total oilseed production was forecast to decrease 10 percent to 3. 6 million tons. The government has highlighted development of the oilseed sector as a priority. Pakistan’s fishing industry is relatively modest, but has shown strong growth in recent years. The domestic market is quite small, with per capita annual consumption of approximately 2 kilograms. About 80 percent of production comes from marine fisheries from 2 main areas, the Sindh coast east from Karachi to the Indian border, and the Makran coast of Baluchistan. Ninety percent of the total marine catch is fish; the shrimp which constitute the remainder are prized because of their greater relative value and demand in foreign markets. During 1999-00, total fish production was 620,000 tons, of which 440,000 tons consisted of sea fish and the remainder were fresh-water species. About one-third of the catch is consumed fresh, 9 percent is frozen, 8 percent canned, and about 43 percent used as fish meal for animal food. Livestock accounts for 40 percent of the agricultural sector and 9 percent of the total GDP. Principal products are milk, beef, mutton, poultry, and wool. During 1999, the livestock population increased to 120 million head. That same year Pakistan generated 970,000 tons of beef, 640,000 tons of mutton, and 190,000 tons of poultry. In an effort to enhance milk and meat production, the government recently launched a comprehensive livestock development project with Asian Development Bank assistance. Poultry production provides an increasingly popular low-cost source of protein. Modern poultry production is constrained by high mortality, high incidence of disease, poor quality chicks, and poor quality feed, combined with an inadequate marketing system. Frozen poultry have only recently been introduced. Forests cover an area of 4. 2 million hectares or about 5 percent of the total area of Pakistan. The principal forest products are timber, principally for house construction, furniture, and firewood. Many of the country’s wooded areas are severely depleted as a result of over-exploitation. The government has restricted cutting to protect remaining resources—though corruption often jeopardizes environmental efforts—and has lowered duties to encourage imports. Forestry production has since declined from 1. 07 million cubic meters in 1990-91 to 475,000 cubic meters in 1998-99. Pakistan imports an estimated US$150 million of wood products annually to meet the requirements of a growing population and rising demand by a wealthy elite.

An essay to support a thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An to support a thesis - Essay Example Bennett has portrayed the story of a single mother namely Rebecca Fuerte who sold cigarettes and wax matches in different public places to make both ends meet (Stiles). It is mainly because she could not afford a place for selling cigarettes. Lack of legally owned place has resulted very negligible income for the protagonist due to which she cannot even feed her son. In this manner, the author has projected that Rebecca is concerned about his son’s future which is predictably poor. Herein, the author makes it evident that because of lack of space, it is complicated for poor people to earn living. Despite her inability to officially use public spaces, the protagonist continues to sell cigarettes by consuming different public places without any license because she had no other option (Stiles). Furthermore, authors stated that legal space license is not just the only problem that poor people might face. There are a number of other problems as well such as other vendors who torture sellers like protagonist of the story to move away from public places. The reason behind such an action is because it harms vendor’s position in the market (Stiles). Another consequence of poverty due to lack of official public space ownership is that one has to travel one place to another. A person who is poor and unable to get an official space would never ever be able to settle down in life. The author of the short story has also mentioned that Rebecca moved to several places along with her son in order to get a place where she could sell cigarettes and earn money. She visits place to place both public and private. Since she belonged to a poor class of the society therefore, she has been projected to least worry about the official and unofficial use of space. The article also tells that in a city it is difficult to find a place to do business on the street for those who cannot afford to make their living. This is reflected as author noted,

Improving Math Skills Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Improving Math Skills - Research Paper Example At their grade level, they are expected to memorize basic math facts. However, it seems they cannot recall such basic information and have to rely on finger counting or touch math. In order to help them, I had to research on available strategies to implement on them during extra sessions outside class hours so their academic daily routine will not be disrupted. This action research paper attempts to help students with learning disabilities in math using the program, Mastering Math Facts (Otter Creek Institute, 2003), a math drill program aimed at improving recall of basic math operational facts. To state the problem simply, This study was conducted with five students from three different fourth grade classrooms who each have been diagnosed with learning disabilities in Math. Due to time constraints since the study was done towards the end of the schoolyear, and the students’ difficulty to move on to the next levels because of their learning disability, the expected completion of the program was not met. Also, all of the data was collected in the resource classroom when the students were pulled out of their regular classes. Implementing this program in the regular classroom by the classroom teacher to all students might improve reliability. Although the first trials have been promising, leading one to accept that the program, Mastering Math Facts, is an effective strategy to improve math skills in basic math operations, results are not generalizable to the population of students with learning disabilities. This action research study is an ambitious attempt to help students in need. Having learning disabilities in math is an impediment for students who need to go through the tedious and progressive math program throughout their school lives. For regular students, math concepts can only go more complicated as they master basic concepts and skills. How much more for students with learning

Analysis of Cross Cultural Consumer Behavior and marketing Term Paper

Analysis of Cross Cultural Consumer Behavior and marketing communication - Term Paper Example There are different sections of consumer in a society formed according to the basis of monthly household income for example lower income class, higher income class etc. (Earl and Kemp, 2002) The purchasing behavior of a consumer partly depends on Consumer Psychology. A purchase decision confronts the consumer with a host of potential changes. Most important is the problem structuring that occurs prior to taking any decision: becoming aware of the need or availability of a new product or service, collecting information of alternatives, and thinking about the future circumstances relevant to the purchase decision & also considering the possible outcomes contingent to the decision. Now these types of action vary within the different sections of consumers. In this context the marketing of the product or the branding has a quite influence on the consumer purchasing behavior. (Earl and Kemp, 2002; Zaichkowsky, 2006). During the current phase of globalization, branding has a lot of influenc e on middle class consumers also. To buy a product, consumers first think about the quality of the product. If two different brands of a kind of product with more or less same appearance, & same price are there in the market, brand name & its branding effect matters a lot. Consumers often judge on the basis of various informational cues that they associate with the product. Thus, proper marketing of a product is extremely vital in a market economy. Hence, marketing communications play an important role in creating demand for any market in any market. The main key to success for any firm is the application of appropriate business strategy. To ensure high customer base along with substantial growth in business, a firm needs to devise several strategies regarding the production process, marketing, distribution etc. and efficiently implement them. Among all these strategies, proper planning regarding marketing of the products is very crucial for creating demand in the markets. Unless an appropriate marketing technique is adopted by a firm, it would not be able to attract customers towards its products and business would automatically fail. Now marketing is quite a broad area which embraces various aspects like price, place, promotion and product. These four aspects form a marketing mix of a firm. As far as the issue of marketing communications is concerned, it actually refers to the area of ‘promotion’ in a marketing mix. The term ‘communication’ refers to exchange of information. An interesting feature of communication is that although it simply implies flow of information among people, it does not mean one-way exchange of information. A successful communication takes place when the receiver of a message actually receives the message and provides proper response. Advertising is a very useful tool for communicating with potential customers. (Egan, 2007) Advertising strategies, however, vary across culture. Cultural differences are very pr ominent across the nations. Thus, one particular advertising or promotional formula will not be appropriate for every culture. There are various cultural dimensions that are required to take into account at the time of designing any advertisement. For example, the cultural aspects of western countries are quite different from the cultural values of the eastern nations. Thus, there exist significant differences in

How television advertisements affect children's purchase Essay

How television advertisements affect children's purchase psychologically - Essay Example This "How television advertisements affect children's purchase psychologically" essay outlines the impact of the advertisement on the consumers' behavior as children of today are tomorrow’s adult consumers. 1998; How Markets Target Kids, n.d). The autonomy of children in making decisions regarding family purchases has greatly increased compared to previous generations (How Markets Target Kids, n.d). The casual and friendly approach of parents towards their children has immensely contributed to such behavior. Children are not hesitant to openly voice out their needs in today’s households and parents yield to their requests either due to constant pestering from the child or to overcome their guilt about not having enough time to spend with their kids (How Markets Target Kids, n.d). In addition the changing family systems such as dual income, nuclear families and having children later in life have also influenced the buying capacity of the parents (How Markets Target Kids, n.d; Bhattacharyya & Kohli, 2007). However, in families where there are financial constraints such pestering can lead to child-parent conflicts which could have an impact on their relationship (Hoek, & Laurence, 1991). Constant pestering and crying f or long periods could have an irritating effect on parents especially after a hard days work. The pester power of children is increasingly seen in consumption of food products especially junk foods such as burgers, pizzas and fries. Other products include clothes or choosing holiday destinations of their interest.

Smokers Avoidance to Pay Cigarette Taxes Personal Statement

Smokers Avoidance to Pay Cigarette Taxes - Personal Statement Example Then he only pays 10 cents. This is tax evasion. And it is illegal. Tax avoidance on the other hand is when a person chooses legal means to pay less tax. For example, New York City charges 10 cents per box of cigarettes. However, in Austin, Texas, for example, the cigarette tax is only 1 cent per box. A person avoiding tax would rather buy cigarettes in Austin than in New York City. This is legal. He does not falsify anything. He does not under-declare amounts. Now it is understandable that people avoids tax. People want to save money. They would look for places where they can buy things less expensively. That is but natural. And they could not be faulted for that. They cannot be blamed if they look for places who charges lower taxes and buy their cigarettes there. And they cannot be blamed if they choose methods to limit the taxes they pay as long as they do it legally. Now, with the problem of the city losing revenue, I think it can be addressed by formulating better regulatory policies. They could promote effective prevention of smuggling of cigarettes, limit mail-order purchases. They could also be stricter in enforcing licenses and they could punish unlicensed vendors and those that violate the law. Â  

Summary and reflection of an Article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary and reflection of an Article - Assignment Example The authors of the article point out that the issue of match-day attendance is greatly influenced by the uncertainty of the outcomes of the matches. Reduced attendance is attributed to increased uncertainty. High attendance is usually witnessed whenever the fans predict that the chances of their team winning are very high compared to losing or drawing. This has brought about issues of revenue sharing because revenue sharing is pegged on receipt sales and broadcast rights issues. Poor attendance will mean that there will be less revenue to share amongst the stakeholders. However, despite this, intervention measures are less apparent in European soccer. Intervention measures are necessary in order to improve competitive balance. The dynamics of the findings of this research are complex because television viewers have different preferences from fans who view matches at the stadiums (Buraimo and Simmons 154). The findings of this research are quite controversial because the dynamics of watching matches live from stadiums and on television are quite different. I do not agree with the sentiments of the authors when they claim that fans usually attend stadiums because they prefer to see their teams battle it out with teams that they find inferior and easy to beat. This is because whether to watch a match live from the stadium or to watch it from a television from a place of choice all depends on preference. For example, sometimes, in the English Premier League, there are very strong teams that often play together. Just from general observations, it is evident that such matches are usually attended by very many fans. In such matches, it is usually very difficult to determine which team will win the game. This is because both teams playing in such a match are usually very strong and it is difficult to predict which team may win. Despite the fact that both teams are

Semiotic analysis of how reality television affects our society Research Paper

Semiotic analysis of how reality television affects our society - Research Paper Example Like any other form of media exposure, the reality television also has certain effects on the society. However, the positive effects of these shows is limited to entertainment for viewers, benefits for the producers, higher returns for the sponsors and fame for the starring characters. Hence, this paper aims to analyze the impact of reality shows on the society and focuses more on the negative effects it has on people. Television exposure has a great impact on people’s perceptions and views. The impact of, reality television, is crucial as the reality shows portray the real life experiences of certain people. O’ Guinn and Shrum (1997) shed the light on this issue by asserting that people believe in what is being exposed on the television and perceive it to be true. Regardless of the over-representations and extreme exposure of changing attitudes, emotions and behaviours added to grab the attention of the viewers. This over-represented picture of reality, hence, is adopted by a large viewership. A number of studies have been conducted to affirm this claim that the whole society is affected by television exposure. An American individual spends approximately 4 hours in a day watching television (O’Guinn, Shrum & Wyer, 1998). The effects of reality Television are more severe and long lasting than other shows. The reason to this fact is the finding of research studies that people w ho watch TV are affected by the exposure in one way or the other. They often try to fit their own life and existing circumstances to the ones they watched on the TV. Reality shows, which repeatedly emphasize that the characters and the incidents are all real, affect people even more. There is, however, a camera effect on the behaviours of the characters starring in the reality television which is, most of the times, ignored by the viewer. To understand the possible effects of reality television on the society, let us consider an