An Act of Courage
Faced with the task of writing a paper on a specific act of courage my initial reaction was that of total uncertainty. Later that evening, as I lay in my bed watching television I pondered what topic to do for the paper. Then the sportscaster on the news began an interview with Jim Abbott a well-known major league pitcher. I thought to myself, this is perfect! Jim Abbott is a man who shows courage when the odds are against him. He is fulfilling his lifelong dream of playing professional baseball despite the fact that he was born without a right hand. Whenever I see Jim pitch, I am reminded of something that happened when I was about 8 or 9 at summer camp.
Before that summer, I had always felt pity for people who were physically challenged especially Justin Berger. Justin, a boy in my age group at Camp Wayne, who was born with some kind of illness that prevented him from controlling the movements of his left hand. I never teased him or talked badly about him to others; what I did in some ways was much worse. I labeled him "different.'; I saw him as inferior and thought that he needed some extra leeway in such activities as sports. However, Justin saw his handicap as a motivator, a reason to work harder and excel in all aspects of camp life. Camp Wayne was very competitive; the summer culminated with four days of intense sports competition called Color War. It was during Color War that my view of Justin changed.
During Color War the whole camp is divided into two teams. The teams play each other in various competitions and sports for 4 days and at the end of the fourth day the points are tallied up to see who won. It was the last day of Color War, the day everything would be decided. There was not one camper whose heart wasn't rushing with intense emotions and pride. It was about 3:00, the voice over the intercom said it is now time for second period; everyone except the A & B groups (the youngest campers) go down to the main soccer field to watch the D group soccer game. I laced up my cleats and ran down to the field. Over the years our age group the D group, had earned the reputation of one of the most athletic groups in Camp Wayne history. Just about everyone was gathered in the bleachers to watch our soccer game. Soccer was my sport, by this point I was considered one of the best, the Captain of the Blue team. The coach and I set up ...
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...od: Silver Burdett Press, 1990. This book was about people who were told they would never make it but they proved the skeptics wrong. The book consisted of many career facts and focused on mainly the major leagues.
Macht, Norman L. Jim Abbott, Major League Pitcher. Ed. Kathy Campbell. Philadelphia: Chlesea House Publishers, 1994. The book was about living the life of a physically handicapped person. I used the book to tell about Jim's strength and as basic reference to overcoming his handicap.
"Making it to the Majors.'; Narr. John Hinkins. Espn. California. 5 May 1990. This was a TV interview with Jim Abbott. I used the interview for many quotes which I added to the paper where I deemed they fit.
Savage, Jeff. Sports Great: Jim Abbott. Hillside: Enslow Publishers, 1993. The author who is a sportswriter follows the life of Abbott from his childhood days to the majors. This book was very in-depth and was a good source for the little things that were hard to find in the other books.
White, Ellen Emerson. Jim Abbott: Against All Odds. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1990. The book was your average basic biography. I used it for some minor details about Jim growing up over the years.
book, I truly hope and believe that R.A. Dickey — once he retires from baseball — will be honored as one
In the August 30, 1905 edition of Detroit’s Free Press, the sportswriters ran a small blurb announcing the arrival of a Detroit Tigers rookie, Ty Cobb. They stated, “Cobb left the South Atlantic League with a batting average of .328. He will not pile up anything like that in this league, and he doesn’t expect to” (Allen 177). Their prediction ironically rung true. Cobb hit better than their projected .328 batting average twenty times in his twenty four seasons (McCallum 217). Tyrus Raymond Cobb’s prolific career leads many fans and historians to believe that he deserves the title of greatest hitter of all time. However, some critics would argue that Ted Williams warrants this distinction. Unfortunately for Williams and his fans, the hitting prowess of Williams falls short of Cobb’s. While Williams arguably displayed a great hitting ability, Cobb remains the better batsman.
Orbanek, Steve. General McLane Athletics Stories from the First 50 Years. St. Louis: Reedy, 2010. Print.
A sinful nature is an aspect in man that makes him rebellious against God. Everyone has a sinful nature and it affects every part of us. Sin corrupts the human mind and has consequences for doing wrong in the eyes of the Lord. Every individual on Earth sins, and this is represented in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale to portray how different people cope with their sin and the consequences of that sin.
...d but he could not achieve his goals. His situation is relatable to the audience even if one is not a baseball player. The book teaches the audience to avoid company and mistakes that can rob them their success. Roy Hobbs misfortunes remind the readers how some obstacles can alter someone’s dreams.
...very good read. It’s easy to see why Sports Illustrated included it in its collection of the top 100 sports books of all time.
On a scale of one to ten, this book would be an eight since the ending was somewhat slower than the rest of the book. The book is relevant to society today because it explains the difficulties families can face when one member is self absorbed. Warren’s actions caused Paul and many Cubs fans to hate him. Paul could hardly say his name in Calico Rock since he was afraid of what might happen. The book is different from today’s society, however, since baseball records are difficult to break. Many records that stand today are old and new stars to baseball usually do not enter their prime as a rookie. The book can relate well to readers who play sports and understand the game of baseball. Baseball statistics and home runs may bore other people since they have no interest in the subject. All in all, Grisham wrote a great book about baseball and family issues.
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian there are examples of courage throughout the whole book. Junior decides he wants to go to an all white school. ‘“I want to go to Rearden,” said Junior. I couldn’t believe I was saying it. For me, it seemed as real as saying, “I want to fly the moon.” said Junior.’ (Alexie, 46) This quote is important because it shows that Junior isn’t afraid to try new things and he doesn’t
A sin is defined as any act regarded as a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale were forced to face the realities and hardships of committing a mortal sin in the eyes of a predominately Puritan society. Seven years after moving to America alone, Hester assumed her husband, Roger Chillingworth, to be dead and had moved on with the town minister—Dimmesdale. The two lovers ended up having a child out of wedlock, which ensured them the public scorn from their community. Hester, while raising their illegitimate child, Pearl, was ostracized by society and required to wear a scarlet letter, “A,” on her chest as a sign of her wrongdoing. Dimmesdale remained the unknown father of Pearl, by keeping his sin a secret from the townspeople. Because of their unique circumstances, Hester and Dimmesdale were ultimately affected differently by the same sin. Hester was audacious and accepting about the sin, while Dimmesdale was secretive and suffered.
Discrimination in the workplace occurs when an employee experiences harsh or unfair treatment due to their race, religion, national origin, disabled or veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Discrimination is one of the biggest problems people face in the workplace and it must be dealt with forcefully.
Discrimination occurs when an employee suffers from unfavorable or unfair treatment due to their race, religion, national origin, disabled or veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Employees who have suffered reprisals for opposing workplace discrimination or for reporting violations to the authorities are also considered to be discriminated against. Federal law prohibits discrimination in work-related areas, such as recruiting, hiring, job evaluations, promotion policies, training, compensation and disciplinary action. (employeeissues.com, 2006)
Sin-noun-an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. On occasion, sin can distort and mutilate the social norms of an entire society. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne sin bypassed the strictly religious puritan way of life with three characters: Reverend Dimmesdale, Pearl Prynne, and Roger Chillingworth. Dimmesdale represents hidden sin that continued to manifest as the story developed. Pearl represents the product of sin that is mutable to turn into a blessing with time and care. Chillingworth represents the depravity of hidden sin that becomes more powerful and influential on its owner. When these three forms of sin combine on one occasion both death and new life will originate and the progenitors will be the blame.
Although Machiavelli gives numerous points on what it takes to excel as a prince, he also shows some raw examples of how he feels a prince should act in order to achieve maximum supremacy. First, when he says, "ought to hold of little account a reputation for being mean, for it is one of those vices which will enable him to govern" proves Machiavelli feels mighty adamant about his view that being mean will help a prince achieve success (332). It is absurd to imagine the meanest prince as the most successful. Also, when Machiavelli states, "our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft" revealing his attitude to manipulate people into fearing and respecting the prince (335). Also, Machiavelli shows that for a prince to be successful, he must not think about good faith.
Menke, Frank G. The Encyclopedia of Sports. South Brunswick and New York: A.S. Barnes and Company, 1987. Print.
Discrimination is defined as an “unfair treatment of a person, racial group, minority, or an action based on prejudice”, it means to “distinguish, single out, or make a distinction between two people” (Gender). There are many ways that someone might be discriminated against in the workplace. Often you cannot pick up a newspaper and read through it without reading about at least one workplace discrimination case. Workplace discrimination can be anything from being treated unfavorably because of your skin color to something as simple as a personality trait. Whether the discrimination comes from a supervisor, co-worker or even a customer, it is considered illegal. The US. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission