The Beanie Baby Craze
“When you have something intended as innocent fun for children,
you can count on adults to turn it into an obsessive, grotesquely over
commercialized ‘hobby’”
It all started with Cabbage Patch Kids, parents paying top dollar for those plastic headed and not so cute dolls. The next big wave to hit was the Tickle Me Elmo a character from Sesame Street, who you could squeeze and it would laugh and jiggle. And now we are in the midst of a tidal wave, that’s right, the Beanie Baby Craze. These small bean bag animals, which were first produced in 1994 by the Illinois based Ty Co., are a huge hit with children and adults alike. People of the Beanie Baby movement will go to great extremes, and pay an obscene amount of money for one of these small animals, taking this “hobby” past the line into absurdity.
A couple years ago when I was at a BBQ picnic, a little girl came up to me and tossed me a fish beanie baby, having never seen or heard of them I looked it over for a bit, then I lobbed it back to her and she ran off throwing it up in the air and dropping it each time. At that time I would never have thought that people would go mad over them. I feel a certain obligation to shed some light on the strange even ridiculous behavior that some of you display while partaking in this madness. For instance, there have been stories of people following the UPS deliverers around town to see which store will be getting the latest beanie babies. When they do find a store that carries the new ones usually others have also, creating a mad rush to get the one that they want. Children have had these toys snatched right out of their little hands in this frenzy, arguments even fights have erupted. Some of you Beanie Baby followers will even try deception to get as many of them as they can. A clerk at a toy store recounts a day when they had received a big shipment of new beanie babies. To be fair, a three Beanie limit had been established. One customer had bought her three, went home changed clothes, put on make-up, and changed her hairdo and went back to get three more.
Pearl is reluctant to approach Dimmesdale, and she throws a fit when she sees her mother’s scarlet letter on the ground along with her hair down. Pearl has assumed the role of a living scarlet letter, so when she sees the letter on the ground she sees herself being disregarded by her own mother. Hawthorne’s purpose of this chapter is simple, he wants the reader to understand what is happening through Pearl’s perspective. For her or for any child, change is hard, and Hawthorne clearly demonstrates this idea throughout this
It was official in 2005; the Lima City Schools board of education adopted a new dress code policy. This policy would be used to crack down on the unruly students who refused to follow the already lenient rules. “With a stricter dress code, students will focus more on school than looking at other students, said Suzanne Helm, a Victoria resident.” (Cavazos, 1). Lima City School District, like the Victoria school district located in Texas, spent many hours designing the new dress code policy. This new policy will test if the way students dress effects their behavior and the way that they learn.
One of the most complex and elaborate characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol. Pearl is involved in a complex history, and as a result is viewed as different and is shunned because of her mother’s sin. Pearl is a living Scarlet A to Hester, as well as the reader, acting as a constant reminder of Hester’s sin. This connection leads to many different views of Pearl’s character.
Those who read “The Scarlet Letter” perceive Pearl as she who personifies her mother’s sinful extramarital affair. After all, Hester adorns her in the same manner as the infamous letter. Yet, near the end of the book Hawthorne revealed, through Reverend Dimmesdale’s final moments, another reason behind his characterization of Pearl:
In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon emission from electricity production plants, reducing carbon footprints on the environment. However, the process of hydraulic fracturing uses millions of gallons of pressurized liquid, which contains toxic chemicals, and some of this water is left over undealt with. The air near fracking sites is often also polluted and unsafe for nearby community residents. Injecting millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals into the rock thousands of feet deep can cause earthquakes, causing a safety hazards for all nearby areas. Hydraulic Fracturing makes rare natural gases easily attainable, boosting the economy and reducing carbon emissions. However, the negative side effects such as contaminated water and air, make hydraulic fracturing a process that may not be worth the benefits.
Hawthorne uses Pearl to work on the consciences of both her mother Hester and her father Arthur Dimmesdale. He uses her to work on Hester’s conscience throughout the novel by little comments made or actions taken by Pearl that appear to be mean or spiteful towards her mother. For example, Pearl laughs and points at her mother’s scarlet letter as if making fun of it or to make Hester feel bad about it. Hawthorne also uses Pearl’s perceptiveness to point out very straight forwardly, her mother’s sin of adultery. Pearl has almost a supernatural sense, that comes from her youth and freewill for seeing things as they really are and pointing them out to her mother. Pearl is a living version of her mother's scarlet letter. She is the consequence of sin and an everyday reminder to her through her actions and being.
Pearl was the result of Dimmesdale and Hester committing adultery. She has wild behavior and serves as a reminder to Hester of her sin, as she reminds her of the Scarlet Letter. She plays a vital role in pushing the story along. Her attitude towards Dimmesdale changes as time goes on. At first, she puts her hand on his cheek and accepts him. Then, she regards him as man entangled in the devil’s doings. Then, she wouldn’t accept him as her father until he revealed himself as her father. At last, she accepts him as her father as he reveals himself on the scaffold. She could finally live her life as a person, instead of this constant reminder to her parents of their sin. The changing attitudes of Pearl towards Dimmesdale really shows how influential Pearl is and how it reflects on the story
According to greatschools.org, “Enforcing a strict dress code can place the focus of school on clothing and rules, rather than on education.” Most schools have specific uniforms that a child must wear in order to attend. Many children that go to school, have single parents and / or more than one ...
One of the biggest natural resources used in fracking is water. On average, around one to eight million gallons of water are used on a fracture job. There are also around 500,000 active fracture sites around the world and each site can be fractured around 18 times. This means that roughly 72 trill...
When I hear the word toddler I think of little girls walking around in mommy’s shoes, and miss matched clothing (because she’s getting to the age where she likes to dress herself.) And of course a cute smile that’s missing a few teeth. The word glitz, glamour and sashes don’t come to mind. Nor does the image of a little girl who’s fake from head to toe. Wearing wigs, flippers (fake teeth), inappropriate /reveling attire and fake tans. I don’t think of little girls dancing around a stage in front of hundreds of people getting judged on their “beauty.” Well, that is exactly what children’s pageants consist of. Pageants exploit a child for their outer beauty, their talents and over all perfection or as pageant judges would call it having” the whole package.” I bet pedophiles think the same thing and find these pageants very entertaining. And most of all, I don’t want to see a mother trying to live out her dreams through her three-year-old child.
Pearl’s speaking out against her mother demonstrates her courage and defiance. She often goes against her mother and says what she is thinking, without worrying about the consequences. Sometimes, Pearl blatantly disobeys her mother, to the extent where Hester no longer recognizes Pearl as her sweet little daughter, but as someone else entirely. Pearl has always been obsessed with her mother’s scarlet letter; she is always touching it, and asking how Hester received it. One day, Pearl is playing in the tidepools at the beach, and she makes her own letter “A”, out of seaweed,
it is to make them want something, or to get their parents to buy it
Fracking has become a highly controversial and publicized topic due to rising concerns and growing analysis into the mutual benefits of hydraulic fracturing to retrieve natural gas and oil reserves. With concerns of water pollution, mismanagement of toxic waste and irreversible
Child beauty pageant in reality is expected to act ‘childlike’ but rather they are forced to
Have you ever wondered how sneakers were created?The sneaker was invented more than 3,000 years ago.Sneakers became popular due to people needing them,sneakerheads collecting and selling them.,and athletes started having their own brands.Anyway, the sneaker is a very popular item today and there are a lot of reasons why they are so popular.