Education in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education in China - Essay Example And because of the rapidly growing economic sector and global presence of China, it is imperative to understand how the education system works in the country. This essay discusses education in China and the similarities and differences between the Chinese and American education system. Education in China is categorised into elementary school, middle school, and high school. Similar to the United States, twelve years are spent in elementary school and high school, though in China, it is divided quite differently. In China, six years are spent in elementary school, then three years in middle school, and three years in high school, with the initial nine years spent in compulsory education (Peterson, Hayhoe, and Lu 22). One should successfully pass a competitive exam in order to be admitted into high school. High school is offering vocational education and general education. Parents pay for their children’s high school education, and scholarships are granted to those from low-inco me families. High school students are required to stay in school from 8:00 am to 5:15 pm. Generally, a particular school in every city is authorised to offer special education for pupils with impairments (Wang 73). Home schooling is not practised in China, not like in the United States. There are hardly any non-academic extracurricular and sports activities. Nevertheless, numerous students take part in after-school activities to review for examinations, particularly for university admission exams, which they can take once, not like the ACT and SAT Reasoning Test which can be taken several times in the U.S. (Liu 62). In China, a large number of students in elementary school are taught mathematics by a professional math teacher. The math teacher is also allowed to teach Chinese literacy in grades 1 and 2. In several areas, math teachers may also teach science, but science is not a major subject in the elementary school curriculum (Peterson et al. 44). In schools in far-flung or rural places, elementary teachers are also allowed to teach all subject areas, just like in the United States. However, math teachers in elementary schools are usual in China and less usual in the U.S. Moreover, Chinese pupils use a single classroom for their primary classes whilst in the United States students use different rooms for different subjects or classes (Guo and Lamb 75). The major difference between the education system of China and the U.S. is that in the former, the system in general is far stricter with more rules and in the latter there are considerably fewer limitations and greater freedom (Liu 38). For instance, a pupil having the liberty to choose his/her own classes is not common in China. Every class that a student in China should take is fixed. According to Peterson and colleagues, this lack of freedom in China may be attributed to the huge population of students and giving every student the freedom to choose his/her own classes is clearly problematic. Another import ant difference between the Chinese and American education system is the notion of head teacher. The head teacher in China performs an extra responsibility in overseeing their particular classes, providing instruction, and knowing and communicating with the students and their families. The Chinese head teacher will not merely teach his/her particular class that

Fire Protection Hydraulics and water supply Essay - 1

Fire Protection Hydraulics and water supply - Essay Example According to Edwards (2004), firefighting is an act which involves putting off destructive fires with the assistance of firefighters. Firefighting as a profession requires immense training and education for several years. A firefighter is required to demonstrate good communication skills, good judgment, mechanical aptitude, basic math skill among others. Basic mathematics has become one of the vital requirements among the fire fighters due to the various activities they carry out. For instance, fire fighters require the basic knowledge of calculating the amount of water required to suppress a fire in a closed volume. Therefore, basic mathematics plays a critical role in assisting the firefighter to decide on the amount of water required to extinguish the fire. Field fire workers and engineers are the common positions which require basic mathematics on a regular base (Edwards, 2004). Their main roles of the firefighters include: disaster management, search and rescue, fire prevention, emergency medical service and hazardous material response. However, fire fighting is a dangerous and complex act. Hence an increase need for basic mathematics.

The Background of Fairy Tales stories and their Multiple Versions Essay Example for Free

The Background of Fairy Tales stories and their Multiple Versions Essay â€Å"The Background of Fairy Tales stories and their Multiple Versions† In this essay, I am going to discuss the different versions that writers had written about the famous fairy tale â€Å"Little Red Ridding Hood† by Charles Perrault, or sometimes known as â€Å"Little Red Cap† by the Grimm Brothers. To start we are going to be arguing a critical essay explaining why fairy tales are created, and what’s the reality behind these stories. First, according to a critical essay â€Å"The trials and tribulations of Little Red Ridding Hood† by Jack Zipes there had been different versions of this famous fairy tale each of them are related to the actual world that we live in. In this critical essay, Zipes talks about the origins of â€Å"Little Red Ridding Hood† tale and he also discusses the new version that was updated or recreated by Perrault. As we all know, the character Little Red Ridding Hood has been used to warn kids about the consequences of disobedience or the consequences of talking to strangers. At the beginning of the essay, Zipes says, â€Å"Little Red Ridding Hood has never enjoyed an easy life† (P.1). This line grabs my attention because it makes me realize that Little Red Ridding Hood is a character that is meant to reflect the disobedience and its consequences. This girl didn’t have an easy life and she’s never going to get a better one because this world is getting harder, also, I can say that these tales are created to show and teach children about what’s going on around the world, especially to innocent girls because they have to be in guard of wolf/men who want to abuse them. For example, we all know that in the 21st century, there are many wolves that want to eat innocent girls, but as we know those wolves can be very intelligent and show themselves attractive and gentle, but at the end of the day they will show their sharp teeth to attack their prey. Furthermore, Zipes mentions that Little Red Ridding Hood has suffered abused after abused and that seems to be very suspicious. In my opinion, there is nothing suspicious about it, because that was the way that it was on the past where men abused women just because they thought they were superior to women. However, we know that nowadays it is not like that anymore because women have proclaimed equality between men and women. Therefore, I believe that in the 21st century fairy tales show characters that can take control of dangerous situations without the help of  a huntsman, police man etc. In other words, women are more capable to fight for their own safety because they have learned that men are not supe rior to women. The social function of â€Å"Little Red Ridding Hood† is to teach children how dangerous it could be to talk to strangers, which makes sense because the scenes of this story describe exactly what could happen to them if they disobeyed their parents advices. One interesting fact that we can see in any version of â€Å"Little Red Ridding Hood† is that the girl always deceived the wolf and saves herself without the help of her grandma, hunters, police, or father! This means that kids need to learn how to take care of themselves and learn to be independent because there might be occasions where mom or dad are not going to be there to help them. I believe that kids need to grow up with these tales; tales that are appropriate (and by appropriate I mean tales with no sexual content) to their age. Like that they can learn how to become confident and independent. Now let’s talk about Perrault’s Transformation of the Tale One important fact that I can mention about Perrault’s transformation of â€Å"Little Red Ridding Hood† is that this writer wrote two different versions of the tale (one for children and there is a another one for adults). What I like the most of this fact is that parents can be more confortable that their kids are learning good things from this tale and most importantly, the content is according to their age. For example I can mention a video cartoon that I watched on YouTube entitled â€Å"Red Hot Ridding Hood† in which Little Red Ridding Hood is dancing on a bar and is there when the wolf goes crazy about her. In this video the wolf looked and spoke to the girl in a sexual way. As we see, this cartoon should be classified as an adult program and not for children because sexuality is a strong content in this video, even though, it does not show inappropriate images, but the behavior of the characters is not the best for a child to watch. Therefore, I think that it doesn’t matter how innocent cartoons look, parents should always pay attention on what their kids are watching on TV or on the Internet. In addition, the adult’s version is a good idea of the author, because, young adults can learn from this story too. Some people would say that adults  don’t need to learn about those things, but others would say that it is good for adults to read and learn from this kind of stories. I agree with those people because some adults either women or men don’t really know how to behave in an appropriate way or how take care of themselves. Therefore, I believe that adults should learn from fairy tales, because these stories are easier and faster to learn a lesson from (learn their attributes, good manners, and behaviors). But adults are the ones who choose what they want to learn and which character they want to represent in real life. Another quote that I can bring up is when the writer says, â€Å" It may take another 200 years for us to undo all lessons Red Ridding Hood, and the wolf as well, were forced to learn†(P.9). On the one hand, this line is saying that women need to learn how to behave in a way that a real woman should do it. But on the other hand, it is also saying that there are many men who need to learn how to treat and respect women and give them their place as a woman. In the story we see that the wolf is compared as a man and he’s the bad apple of the story/life, but not every man is a bad apple because we saw that in the fairy tale there was a hunter that became the hero of the tale. Therefore I can say that men have the decision if they want to become a hero or they want to be the bad apple of the story. While I was reading Perrault’s critical version, I learned many things from it, I will point the most relevant and interesting lines that I loved the most. First, he was one of the first writers of children’s books (books that were realistic and related to real life). Secondly, Perrault says, â€Å"Accustomed to being the center of attention, Little Red Ridding Hood stops to listen to the wolf and tries and tarries in woods. The child seek to amuse herself, and she ends her shot life by being the object of the wolf’s amusement.† In other words, sometimes women are responsible of men depravation against them because some women try to catch men’s attention by seducing them, but they end up being men’s victims. Just as my mother always says, â€Å"if women want to be respected by others, they are the one who have to start respecting themselves first † I agree with those words, no one will take care and respect women if they don’t s tart giving themselves the respect they expect to receive from others.

Teamwork advantage and disadvantage

Teamwork advantage and disadvantage List and describe three advantages and three disadvantages of teams. From your personal experience, provide an example of one of the advantages and one of the disadvantages. â€Å"Although teamwork has many advantages, it also has a number of potential disadvantages.† â€Å"When teams are successful, they improve productivity, creativity, employee involvement, and even job security.† â€Å"At their worst, teams are unproductive and frustrating, and they waste everyones time.† (Thill and Bovà ©e, 2008, pgs 40 41) Some advantages include: 1) Increased information and knowledge — By bringing together subject matter experts from several areas of a company gives decision-making teams access to the most information possible; 2) Increased acceptance of a solution — People who are part of making a decision would most likely be the best in helping support, and effectively encouraging others to accept the decision, and 3) Higher performance levels — Working in teams and brainstorming can actually drive an individual to think out of the box. Teams give one the sense of belonging, of self-worth, dignity and also reduce any stress or tension there may be between workers. A personal example of being on a team that had the advantage of increased information and knowledge was in helping the developer of a Customer Relationship Management database by having everyone on the team give specifics as to what was expected out of this database. Within six weeks the database was up and running, with a few tweaks here and there since then, but is still up and running today. Some disadvantages include: 1) Groupthink — Groupthink occurs when individuals are intimidated, or pressured, into acting a certain way by thinking their opinions are not worth hearing. When in the end, their opinions may actually have been better than the end decision; 2) Hidden agendas — Some team members may have motives of trying to undermine another team member, or that they just simply want to take control of the group; and 3) Free riders — Free riders are individuals who show no enthusiasm and make no contributions to the decision-making process. A personal example of being on a team that had the disadvantage of having a free rider was during a two-day class that had various activities as a whole. In one of the activities, we were put in groups of five, were given a topic to discuss and list the reasons/outcomes, and then to present it to the entire group. Since this was not a graded activity, the group chose the free rider to make the presentation. The free rider was not too happy with this group decision, but realized if they would have participated, that someone else may have actually volunteered to make the presentation. The free rider made the presentation with as little enthusiasm as shown during the group activity. Whether youre working on an informal team, which the two most popular types are problem-solving and task forces, or on a formal team that is a committee, companies rely heavily on these teams. Teams can help bring about quicker solutions to problems or ideas that can help the company in the marketplace. This is because the members are employees that should have a vested interest in the company. List and define the three types of listening. Listening is a primary activity. â€Å"Understanding the nature of listening is the first step toward improving your listening skills. People listen in a variety of ways, which influences what they hear and the meaning they extract. In fact, relying on a single approach to listening limits your effectiveness.† (Thill and Bovà ©e, 2008, pg 53) Here are three of the major types of listening: 1) Critical listening — Critical listening is analyzing and understanding the speakers message. There are four factors in determining the speakers intentions: logic, evidence, conclusion, and implication. If you feel that any important information was omitted from the message, ask questions to deter any bias in the way the message is being presented; 2) Empathic listening — Empathic listening is being able to truly understand the emotions behind the speakers message, their feelings, their needs, their wants, and their true passion behind their message. Even if you disagree with their perspective, let them know you understand and can appreciate their feelings; and 3) Active listening — Active listening is the ability to turn off your own biases and filters and to show the speaker, by asking questions and also giving supportive feedback, that they truly understand the message the speaker is presenting. â€Å"The importance of listening in communication is enormous. People often focus on their speaking ability believing that good speaking equals good communication. The ability to speak well is a necessary component to successful communication. The ability to listen is equally as important. Listening takes work and when it comes to improving our communication there is no getting around that.† (http://EzineArticles.com/210731) Describe two instances in your life when you either used or observed nonverbal communication. Define the type of nonverbal communication using the information in the text and discuss how it affected the conversation. â€Å"Paying special attention to nonverbal signals in the workplace will enhance your ability to communicate successfully. Moreover, as you interact with business associates from other backgrounds, youll discover that some nonverbal signals dont necessarily translate across cultures. The range and variety of nonverbal signals are almost endless, but you can grasp the basics by studying six general categories.† (Thill and Bovà ©e, 2008, pg 57) Below are two instances in my life where Ive used and observed two out of the six categories, â€Å"personal appearance† and â€Å"facial expression†. I was interviewing a potential employee to work in my restaurant. This individual had several tattoos and body piercings. Now considering that a front-line employee is the first person a customer sees when they come into a restaurant, this is not the impression I wanted my customers to have. Based on the position that this person was interviewing for and that they are coming to an interview dressed this way, they were non-verbally telling me by their personal appearance, that this is what I should expect of them if they were to come to work for me. I truly had a hard time focusing on any of their responses as I couldnt understand how they thought this type of appearance was acceptable to be hired for any type of position in an establishment where they would be dealing with the public. Needless to say, this person was not hired to work at my restaurant. An instance of observing nonverbal communication was during a mandatory meeting that was called at work and during the meeting one particular individual stood out as you could hear him making little snide remarks about what the speaker was saying, and then used the facial expression of rolling his eyes. This individual also would use posture such as slouching in his chair for awhile then he pulled out his cell phone and started to text. The meeting was actually very informative about a new product the company was developing and was asking for everyones input on ideas for marketing. Since this individual was not listening during the meeting, in the end when we all got back to our desks, he had to go around and ask other co-workers what it was he was supposed to do. Most of the workers told him he would need to go ask his supervisor. Whether he did or not, no one knew, nor did anyone know if he turned in his idea. He was around for about another 2 months, and then we heard he had found another job and wouldnt be back. â€Å"Good communication skills can help you in both your personal and professional life. While verbal and written communication skills are important, research has shown that nonverbal behaviors make up a large percentage of our daily interpersonal communication†. (http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/tp/nonverbaltips.htm) Nonverbal communication has the potential of sending out the wrong message, whether its misinterpreted, or if what you say doesnt match your actions. Describe the measures that help team members resolve conflict. It is inevitable that at some point in ones professional career they will be on a team where conflict arises. There are numerous reasons for conflict: lack of clarity, decisions have already been made on their own and are unwilling to discuss any further, different values, past history/personalities, or one believes there is completion for some type of resource. There are measures to help team members resolve conflicts — Proaction, communication, openness, research, flexibility, fair play, and alliance. Here are descriptions of each of the conflict resolutions as mentioned: 1) Proaction is when you work out, deal with, a minor conflict before it erupts into a major conflict; 2) Communication is needed to resolve a conflict. This is accomplished by getting those directly involved to communicate to resolve the conflict; 3) Openness is getting all feelings out in the open, and then the main issue at hand can be dealt with; 4) Research is the need to get the facts for the problem before being able to determine any solutions for the problem; 5) Flexibility is being able to be open-minded. Dont let anyones stubbornness get in the way of them being able to consider other solutions to the problem; 6) Fair play is not letting anyone hide behind the rules to avoid getting a fair solution; and 7) Alliance is fighting together as opponents of the outside force, rather than fighting against each other. In order to achieve a win-win solution, teams must be aware of, and learn how to keep destructive conflict from diverting their focus and energy, and also how both sides can satisfy their goals, at least to an extent.

The Endocrine System Essay -- Biology, Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system is a group of glands distributed throughout the human body. This group of glands secretes substances called hormones. These hormones discharge into the bloodstream (Shier, Butler & Lewis, 2009). The endocrine system does not have a single anatomic location. It is dispersed throughout the human body. The final purpose of this system is to control, regulate, and coà ¶rdinate the functioning of the human body (p.291). Some body functions can be activated or inhibited by hormones, which are secreted in very small quantities. Hormone related diseases may be due to hyper secretion or hypo secretion. The hormones secreted by the endocrine glands regulate the growth, development and function of many tissues, and coà ¶rdinate the body's metabolic processes (pp. 294-296). An inadequate secretion of hormones may cause disorders in the body, which on occasion may result in serious health consequences. The major endocrine glands are the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parat hyroid glands, adrenal glands, pancreas, pineal gland, thymus gland, and reproductive glands (Shier et al., 2009). The pituitary gland is situated at the base of the brain and it secretes hormones that control the operation of the major endocrine glands (pp. 295-299). In reaction to excess or deficiency of pituitary hormones, the glands affected by these hormones can cause an excess or a deficiency of their own hormones. On the other hand the pituitary gland acts on the stimulation of the thyroid gland to secrete hormones that regulate the body's metabolism, energy, and nervous system activity (p. 295).The thyroid is a small gland in the neck, in front of the trachea and below the larynx. Thyroid hormones control metabolism, which is the body's ability to br... ...docrine system, immune system and nervous system fail to function gradually. This gradual failure might occur at different moments, leading to imbalances between them, and increased risk of disease for the elderly. Thyroid functions decline with aging and thyroid disorders are more common in older adults. For example, hypothyroidism is associated with acceleration of aging (Haywood and Getchell, p.81, 2009).In conclusion, the endocrine system maintains homeostasis of the human body through its contribution to each of the functions involved. There are lifestyles that help ensure a healthy endocrine system and in this way avoid developing diabetes mellitus Type 2, such as engaging in daily physical exercise and maintaining healthy eating habits. A good endocrine health improves performance of activities of daily living, work, leisure and social participation.

Leadership Essay -- essays research papers

Leadership: The Human Vessel to the New Business Frontier As our workforces grow more diverse every day, and customers are demanding better, faster, and less expensive service, companies are faced with the challenges to create and meet the changes necessary to remain in business. The organizational environment must also learn to assess the direction of these changes while also being able to respond successfully to those that roll in at a completely different direction than expected. The leadership required to handle these wonderfully tumultuous times, so that organizations in transition remain profitable, is crucial.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today’s companies become successful based on their abilities to create and manage change. They can no longer survive without “…courage and imagination – the courage to challenge prevailing business models and the imagination to invent new markets.'; As the globe continues to evolve into a marketplace with vanishing boundaries, competition becomes stronger, tighter, and smarter than ever before, ultimately forcing organizational change. The tidal strength of competition that has been upon us over the past few decades has fundamentally changed the “blueprints'; of many corporations and how they now need to be led. Businesses have awakened to the hard fact that leadership can no longer be defined by the effective management of people and systems, but most importantly by the effective leading of change. Leadership, or the lack thereof, is proving to be one of the most crucial determinants of whether organizations will survive and flourish in the next century’s business frontier. “We live in an era of organizational reengineering. To become or remain competitive, leaders often must realize improvement through radical change, or reengineering.'; As defined by Jon R. Katzenbach, author of Real Change Leaders, radical changes are: Those situations in which corporate performance requires most people throughout the organization to learn new behaviors and skills. These new skills must add up to a competitive advantage for the enterprise allowing it to produce better and better performance in shorter and shorter time frames. The changes that are most relevant are those that demand companies to redefine their org... ...within their organizations as the primary factor for success. Although empowerment has become somewhat of a “buzz'; word within the business arena, it’s power is nonetheless stronger than any other tool used by leaders to get results from people. Because in its most simple form, empowerment is sharing the decision-making process with others, it is closely related to courage. Those companies that have stood the test of time, such as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Nordstrom, and Wal-Mart have infused into their organizations the practices of empowering their employees. Leaders of the future must have the strength and fearlessness to go against the grain of old assumptions or paradigms. They must continue to trailblaze in their efforts to see that the organizations of the next century will remain in tact. They will be the encouragers of change for positive results; they will be the beacons that the others look to guide the ship through any storm; they will hold their heads high in recognition of success and have the courage to admit when outcomes are not what they had planned. Tomorrow’s leaders of change rise to the occasion and take the others with them.

Helon Habila’s Waiting For An Angel

Helon Habila developed his talent for writing when he took up Literature in the University of Jos. Being a gifted prose fiction writer and poet; he was given the MUSON poetry prize award in the year 2000. Before going to Lagos to work for Hint Magazine, Helon lectured first at the Federal Polytechnic in Bauchi in a span of three years and was also the Vanguard Newspaper’s arts editor. He is now currently spending his time in the University of East Anglia as a writing fellow. The beginnings of his first famous work started as a compilation of short stories entitled Prison Stories that was published in Nigeria in 2000.Two years after, the full version of the book was released in the UK having the title of Waiting for an Angel. This work of his was then acknowledged as the best first book in the African region and made him won the 2001 Caine Prize for African Writing and the Commonwealth Writers Prize Award in 2003. His latest work was published in 2007 under the title of Measuri ng Time which is a story about twin brothers living in a village in Nigeria. II. Type of Work Helon Habila’s Waiting for an Angel is a fiction that mainly centers on the real events that happened in Nigeria during General Sachi Abacha’s reign.Though the story and the characters were plain fictional, the fact that the people suffered under the military government back then was true. Habila used history as the backbone of his work, weaving stories that tells the real accounts and incidents that the people of Nigeria experienced back in the 1990’s. III. Type of Plot The type of plot used in the novel is mainly geographical. The story took place in the country of Nigeria in the city of Lagos. Most of the events, however concentrated on the slums of Poverty Street where the main character Lombo was working as a journalist.By reading about the lives of the people living in Poverty Street, the readers will be able to have an understanding of the condition in the whole of Nigeria. IV. Setting/ Time of Plot The setting of the story was in Lagos, Nigeria in the time of the 1990’s. Nigeria was in a terrifying state back then and Lagos was known to be the most dangerous city in the world during that time. Nigeria was excluded from the Commonwealth of Nations and almost every country had authorized against it. The country’s human rights abuses were horrifyingly brutal and cases of atrocious violence reigns on the hearts and minds of the people of Nigeria.Military rulers were aimed in plundering the national treasury and the country’s most intelligent thinkers and writers who question the democratic thinking of the military were exterminated by the government under the rule of Sani Abacha. Lagos was in a depressing state and the citizens were trying to preserve a bit of hope in their seemingly hopeless world. The novel shows a time when living an everyday life is a struggle and opportunities are almost illusory. Yet despite the drag ging effects of the dictatorial government to the citizens, the young people still kept their hopes and dreams in the corners of their shadowed existence.(â€Å"Mostly Fiction: Waiting for an Angel†) V. Setting/ Locale The locale of the novel was set in Lagos, a city in Nigeria. Back in the 50s and 60s, the idea of a city was a new thing in Africa since most of the rural citizens were living in villages. This was the cause why Lagos was seen as an alien, a new creation. The city was considered by many as a place where people go and become someone else, forgetting their identity, and the old ways and customs they had when they were still staying in their villages.People have the impression of Lagos as a violent place wherein you have to be able to lose your innocence just to survive in the midst of chaos. The citizens of the place should be wise, strong, independent, and cunning in able to live in such a place that was labeled as the Devil’s City. Yet beneath the cityâ €™s image of chaos and sufferings, there is a representation that Lagos was the kind of vicinity that makes you able to stand in your own feet, giving you a kind of maturity that you will never achieve in a world that was far from pain and hardships. (â€Å"Bbc News: Lagos†)The story features accounts on the lives of Lomba, the primary character, and ordinary citizens living in Poverty Street. The story’s events mostly took place in the slums of Poverty Street which is described as only one of the many feeble, disease-infested residences in the city of Lagos. This is where the climax of the story took place in the event of the demonstration of the people which primarily caused Lomba’s imprisonment for two years. This was also the setting where most of the characters in the story found their respective crossroads. (â€Å"Bbc News: Lagos†) VI.Social and/ or Political Context The context of the story revolves on the political concept of dictatorship of S ani Abacha and the sufferings of the people under his rule. The military governance was more concerned in looting money from the nation’s treasury above anything else and this was the time wherein any hint of disloyalty was mercilessly punished. Nigeria was under the scrutinizing eyes of the military and you can found restlessness in the actions of the people as intimidating Peugots of secret police and patrolling army jeeps inhabit the streets of the city of Lagos.The very air that the citizens breathe in the country was noticeably charged with threat and danger as seen in the perspectives of Lomba, his first love Alice, and in the stories and experiences of the ordinary citizens in the story. Poverty Street was constantly enveloped in fumes and smoke, a nagging sign that solidifies the fact that Nigeria was under the power of a cruel and ruthless ruler. General Abacha’s reign of terror from 1993 to 1998 made his people live with constant fear and shaking hopes. (â₠¬Å"Village Crunch†)Life was made difficult during that time as the people of Nigeria struggled to survive amidst the danger that always seemed to overcome them. People were thrown to prison without trial, as like what happened to the main character Lomba, and some were executed just because of the plain reason that they had the strength to question the military government. The civilians were chained to unjustness and everyone was drowned in their delusion of hope and fairness. The context of the novel centers on the struggle of the people under the heavy weight of unjustness hurled at them by the government.Waiting for an Angel shows a world where comfort was just an illusion and justice non-existent. (â€Å"Village Crunch†) VII. Characterization/ Character Analysis The main character of the story is Lomba, a journalist in the city of Lagos who was imprisoned for two years as a political prisoner because of his unintended participation in a demonstration in Poverty Stre et. He waited vainly for a fictitious trial while in jail but the time came when he finally realized and accepted the fact that his hopes wouldn’t be answered as long as the government was run by the military and General Sachi Abacha.In the novel, Lomba has gone beyond different phases of emotions and perspectives. From beyond anger to the state of tranquility that made him swallow acceptance to his fate. In the middle of his second year in prison, he was able to obtain pencil and paper which were forbidden materials for prisoners and started writing a diary. He wrote in secret about his thoughts and feelings during his detention and hid his pile of papers under his mattress after. The diary became his refuge. It served as his only sanctuary and listener to his private thoughts that were never allowed to be spoken of behind bars.His first entry was dated on the Friday of July 1997 yet he headed most his entries with only the days of the week. Some of his writings which he ent ered using exact dates were mostly incorrect. Two months after he started writing, he unfortunately got caught and his diary, which was actually only piles of papers were confiscated from him. (â€Å"Bookmunch†) Lomba may have accepted his terrible fate as a prisoner but he never lost his hope in regaining back his freedom. An incident came when his jailer, seeing his gift for words, asked him to do love poems for the well-educated woman he is courting.Lomba used this chance to send cryptic messages to the woman named Janice to communicate his need for help and succeeded in the end. (â€Å"Bookmunch†) Lomba was only one of the many people whose lives were severely affected by the coup of the general Sachi Abacha. He lived dark days in prison, losing his identity, belief, and faith. Yet somehow he regained his conviction and fought till the end using his ingenuity. Lomba may have suffered the tortures brought upon by the government but he never lost his ground, molding him into someone with unyielding determination, conviction, and strength.The other characters of the story were Alice, Lomba’s first love who was forced to marry an old and wealthy soldier and his teacher Joshua who served as the main force in engaging Lomba in the demonstration in Poverty Street which caused his imprisonment. Muftau and Janice were also significant characters in the novel. Muftau was the jailer who asked Lomba to write love poems for Janice who in return brought Lomba’s freedom in the end. Also, General Sachi Abacha’s identity has a huge impact in the novel since it is during his time of rule that the complications and climax of the story happened.(â€Å"Bookmunch†) VIII. The Story in the Main The novel is mainly about the sufferings of the people under the rule of General Sachi Abacha for five years. Nigeria was infused with terror and the people lived in fear as the military government took hold on the whole country. The setting of the story took place in the city of Lagos but most of the events were centered on the slums of Poverty Street. Lomba, the main character was a journalist in the city who was put into jail as a political prisoner because of his participation in a demonstration that was supposed to oppose the doings of the government.He was detained for two years in prison without trial until he came to the point where he finally accepted his grim fate. On the middle of his second year in jail, Lomba was able to gain access on some pencil and paper and started writing a diary. His first entry was on the Friday of July 1997 though he simply used the days of the week as heading to his succeeding entries. After two months of writing in secret, someone informed the head of the prison about the diary which caused its confiscation. Lomba’s only refuge in his dark days in prison was snatched away from him and he yet again entered a time of depression and loneliness.(â€Å"Village Crunch†) Another event, however, gave Lomba another chance to hope when Muftau asked a favor from hi. Muftau was his jailer and seeing Lomba’s work on his confiscated diary, he asked him to write some love poems to woo the woman she likes. Lomba, on the other hand never missed the chance he was given and started using his poems as tools to ask for help. He intentionally plagiarized some lines form famous poets which have secret meanings behind them to communicate what he wants to say. Lomba was able to pass his message without making the poorly educated Muftau to suspect by using his ingenuity in writing.Janice on the other hand was fortunately well-educated and so was able to decode the meaning behind the poems that was given to her. In the end, she was the one who served as the tool in giving Lomba his freedom. There are also other events in the novel that made it look non-fictional by using characters in real life. Some of these events were the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa, the killing of the editor of the NEwswatch magazine Dele Giwa, and the shooting of the wife of Abiola who was actually the nemesis of General Abacha.There was also a part in the novel where Lomba met Helon Habila himself which made the story even more realistic. (â€Å"Village Crunch†) Waiting for an Angel communicates the hardships of the people under the unjust government of Abacha during that time in such a way that the reader will even wonder what kind of life they will have if they lived on the same timeframe. The debut novel of Helon Habila centers on fear, exposing the atrocities of the years under Abacha’s reign. One of the main highlights of the story however was the people’s conviction in having hope despite of the sufferings they are experiencing.The characters of the novel possesses a kind of touching, inspirational kind of humanity that tells the fact that hope can still exist in times when comfort can only be achieved in dreams. IX. the Analysis of the Work Habila di d an exquisite work on this debut novel of his. He was able to turn the story into something that was still interesting despite of the heavy themes it possesses. Because of the artistic sequence of the story and the interesting non-fiction quality of it, Waiting for an Angel can be considered as one of the best fictional works about real events. X. Thematic Structure/ Development of Various ThemesThe main theme of the story is about sufferings of the people under the regime of Sachi Abachan. Fear, the longing for justice, and fighting for hope are also just some of the themes that the story have. The citizens of Nigeria’s silent struggle for a new life despite of their unending struggles are just one of the most important highlights of the story. Waiting for an Angel revolves around the concepts of wretchedness, fate, and death but in such a way that it not so overly depressing compared to other books because of the unsentimental approach that focuses on the details of the li fe of the characters.XI. Language, Structure, and Style Helon Habila presented his work in a language that was easily understood even by the not so deep reader. He structured his novel in such a way that the first chapter was actually the first in chronological order. It begins with the event in which Lomba was already imprisoned and was writing the beginnings of his forbidden diary. The succeeding chapters then narrate the life of Lomba before he was put in jail as well as the lives of the people he knew that intersected his.Through this presentation of structure, the readers were able to know what will become of Lomba’s fate in the end. The readers were put in the place of a dreamer who hopes with every passing page that Lomba will somehow find a resolution the can change his fate. The novel’s structure strengthened the book’s effect and made it clarifying instead of turning it into a confusing one. In presenting the book in this order, the readers were able t o recognize the characters, places, or situations and something of its past or future.Through this, simple actions or phrases that tend to have little significance were given more importance. XII. Literary Techniques and Devices Like what was mentioned above, the most noticeable technique that Habila used was not presenting the events in chronological order. He also made his work look realistic by inserting himself in one of the parts of the story as well as other events and people that were fictional. Waiting for an Angel was as factual as life can be because of its genuine expression of the hardships and sufferings of the people in Nigeria.XIII. Critical Evaluation/ General Assessment Waiting for an Angel possesses the kind of prolonged existence that exceeds most of the current contemporary fictions released today. The novel was able to converse clearly the message that Habila wants to communicate about. The story was also not so overly depressing despite the fact that most of it s themes were about death, unjustness, and sufferings. Habila was able to write about these emotional themes in such a way that the novel was not so boring and dragging.Yet at the same time, the readers were able to feel the emotions in the story in such a way that they could almost see themselves in place of the citizens in Nigeria. Helon Habila did a great job in this novel of his, giving life to a world that was still waiting for the arrival of their angel. There could be another Habila and another Lomba in this part of the world and their struggle would not be heard. And yet there will be another injustice. It is a never-ending cycle of struggle and fight for freedom. There is only one thing sure. That at the end of the story the victim always loses.Lucky for Lomba he was only fictionalized in a way that he could give hope to those who are in his struggle today. Let the world know that fighting for your right to live in a free world is not a sin but a privilege. And the world kn ow that you are doing it not for yourself but for the next generation who are bound to be helpless and alone. And for the final words, let those who come upon this novel that there is hope after all the storm. REFERENCES: â€Å"Bbc News: Lagos. † (2007). â€Å"Bookmunch. † (2007). â€Å"Mostly Fiction: Waiting for an Angel. † (2007). â€Å"Village Crunch. † (2007).