Expressions That Conceal Reality George Carlins Soft Language

Soft language is a phrase coined by American comedian George Carlin to describe euphemistic expressions that conceal reality and take the life out of life. Americans have trouble facing the truth, Carlin said. So they invent a kind of a  soft language  to protect themselves from it (Parental Advisory, 1990). Under Carlins definition, euphemisms are the closest synonym to soft language, although the softness is implied to be an effect of the euphemisms usage. When a euphemism is used, its purpose is to soften the impact of something shocking, crude, ugly, embarrassing, or something along those lines. Carlins point is that this indirect language may spare us some discomfort, but at the cost of vividness and expressiveness. A corollary to this is jargon, which is specialized language for particular fields. On the surface, its intention is to express specialized ideas more clearly and specifically. In practice, however, jargon-heavy language tends to obscure the point rather than clarify it. See Examples and Observations below. Also see: George Carlins Essential DrivelBureaucratese and Business JargonA Dictionary of Phony PhrasesDoublespeakEngfishEuphemismFifty Reasons Youll Never Be Told, Youre FiredFlotsam PhrasesGenteelismGobbledygookLanguage at -ese: Academese, Legalese, and Other Species of GobbledygookMystificationNever Say Die: Euphemisms for DeathWhat Are Weasel Words? Examples and Observations Sometime during my life toilet paper became bathroom tissue. . . . Sneakers became running shoes. False teeth became dental appliances. Medicine became medication. Information became directory assistance. The dump became the landfill. Car crashes became automobile accidents. Partly cloudy became partly sunny. Motels became motor lodges. House trailers became mobile homes. Used cars became previously owned transportation. Room service became guest room dining. Constipation became occasional irregularity. . . .​The CIA doesnt kill anybody anymore. They neutralize people. Or they depopulate the area. The government doesnt lie. It engages in misinformation.(George Carlin, Euphemisms. Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics, 1990)When a company is levering up, it often means, in regular language, that it is spending money it doesn’t have. When it is right-sizing or finding synergies, it may well be firing people. When it manages stakeholders, it could be lobbying or bribing. When you dial into customer care, they care very little. But when they call you, even at dinnertime, then it’s a courtesy call.(A. Giridharadas, Language as a Blunt Tool of the Digital Age. The New York Times, Jan. 17, 2010) George Carlin on Shell Shock and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Here’s an example. There’s a condition in combat that occurs when a soldier is completely stressed out and is on the verge of a nervous collapse. In World War I it was called shell shock. Simple, honest, direct language. Two syllables. Shell shock. It almost sounds like the guns themselves. That was more than eighty years ago.Then a generation passed, and in World War II the same combat condition was called battle fatigue. Four syllables now; takes a little longer to say. Doesn’t seem to hurt as much. Fatigue is a nicer word than shock. Shell shock! Battle fatigue.By the early 1950s, the Korean War had come along, and the very same condition was being called operational exhaustion. The phrase was up to eight syllables now, and any last traces of humanity had been completely squeezed out of it. It was absolutely sterile: operational exhaustion. Like something that might happen to your car.Then, barely fifteen years later, we got into Vietnam, and, thanks to the de ceptions surrounding that war, it’s no surprise that the very same condition was referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder. Still eight syllables, but we’ve added a hyphen, and the pain is completely buried under jargon: post-traumatic stress disorder. I’ll bet if they had still been calling it shell shock, some of those Vietnam veterans might have received the attention they needed.But it didn’t happen, and one of the reasons is soft language; the language that takes the life out of life. And somehow it keeps getting worse.(George Carlin, Napalm Silly Putty. Hyperion, 2001) Jules Feiffer on Being Poor and Disadvantaged I used to think I was poor. Then they told me I wasnt poor, I was needy. Then they told me it was self-defeating to think of myself as needy, I was deprived. Then they told me deprived was a bad image, I was underprivileged. Then they told me underprivileged was over-used, I was disadvantaged. I still dont have a dime. But I have a great vocabulary.(Jules Feiffer, cartoon caption, 1965) George Carlin on Poverty Poor people used to live in slums. Now the economically disadvantaged occupy substandard housing in the inner cities. And a lot of them are broke. They dont have negative cash flow. Theyre broke! Because many of them were fired. In other words, management wanted to curtail redundancies in the human resources area, and so, many workers are no longer viable members of the workforce. Smug, greedy, well-fed white people have invented a language to conceal their sins. Its as simple as that.(George Carlin, Napalm Silly Putty. Hyperion, 2001) Soft Language in Business It is perhaps only a sign of the times that one business appoints a new executive, a chief information officer, to monitor the life cycle of documents--that is, to take charge of the shredder.(Robert M. Gorrell, Watch Your Language!: Mother Tongue and Her Wayward Children. Univ. of Nevada Press, 1994) Opaque Words Today, the real damage isnt done by the euphemisms and circumlocutions that were likely to describe as Orwellian. Ethnic cleansing, revenue enhancement, voluntary regulation, tree-density reduction, faith-based initiatives, extra affirmative action--those terms may be oblique, but at least they wear their obliquity on their sleeves.Rather, the words that do the most political work are simple ones--jobs and growth, family values, and color-blind, not to mention life and choice. Concrete words like these are the hardest ones to see through--theyre opaque when you hold them up to the light.(Geoffrey Nunberg, Going Nucular: Language, Politics, and Culture in Confrontational Times. Public Affairs, 2004) Soft Language in Stephen Dedaluss Dream of Hell Goatish creatures with human faces, horny-browed, lightly bearded and grey as india-rubber. The malice of evil glittered in their hard eyes, as they moved hither and thither, trailing their long tails behind them. . . . Soft language issued from their spittleless lips as they swished in slow circles round and round the field, winding hither and thither through the weeds, dragging their long tails amid the rattling canisters. They moved in slow circles, circling closer and closer to enclose, to enclose, soft language issuing from their lips, their long swishing tails besmeared with stale shite, thrusting upwards their terrific faces . . ..(James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1916)

Analysis Of George Orwell s Orwell - 2993 Words

Synopsis 1984 by George Orwell takes place in London, which is in a totalitarian country called Oceania and is about a man named Winston Smith who is an irrelevant member of the ruling party, or the â€Å"Party.† He is very frustrated about the Party’s great oppression because it controls everything from language to the nation’s history. Thoughts against the country, or â€Å"thoughtcrimes†, are considered illegal, one of the worst crimes, and punishable by death. The Party forces people to refrain from using all the words relating to rebellion in a language called Newspeak. The Party also does not allow sex or any form of individualism, and it monitors people through cameras, or â€Å"telescreens,† to see if they are doing anything illegal and against the Party. 1984 begins with Winston having frustrations about the Party’s totalitarian control. He then writes about his frustrations as rebellious thoughts in an illegal diary that he privately keeps since no one is allowed to write down thoughts. At his work at the Ministry of Truth, he has to modify historical records to the Party’s satisfaction. During his work he sees a gorgeous dark-haired girl walking by that he absolutely hates and worries that she could report a thoughtcrime against Winston to the â€Å"Thought Police,† a group of government officials that specifically monitors thoughtcrimes. He also notices a man named O’Brien who is a member of the Party, but Winston likes him because he believes he is against some of the Party’sShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of George Orwell s Orwell Essay1578 Words   |  7 Pagesvicious conflicts. Author, George Orwell, seeks to find the effects of citizens in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. Orwell witnessed â₠¬Å"nightmarish atrocities committed by fascist political regimes,† (1984) on citizens of Spain, Germany, and the Soviet Union. The government of Spain, the Soviet Union, and Germany captured â€Å"tens of thousands of civilians and refugees who [died] in concentration camps and prisons† (Process of Extermination). These vicious acts lead Orwell to fear the idea of a totalitarianRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s Orwell 1048 Words   |  5 PagesWar is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.† Three famous, contradictory statements learned and accepted. 1984 by George Orwell depicts a future of a totalitarian nation called Oceania. Suppressively ruling over the lives of its civilians, the fictional nation leaves even the ruling class with little to no freedom. Constantly monitoring its civilians, the nation attempted not only to control the actions of its people but also the thoughts. Although this scenario sounds fictitiousRead MoreAnalysis Of Ge orge Orwell s Orwell Essay2648 Words   |  11 Pages Born Erick Arthur Blair, Orwell disregarded his birth name and changed it to George Orwell. 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The country is surrounded by eyes so to speak, devices called â€Å"telescreens† are in houses and buildings to monitor what all of the citizens are doing via camera. Coupled with that is the existence of the â€Å"Thought Police† whose sole job is to monitor citizens from committing â€Å"thoughtcrime† which is essentially thinkingRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s 1984 923 Words   |  4 Pages1984, is a book written by George Orwell giving the reader a view of what a dystopian government would be like. The government of Oceania controls the lives of it’s citizens; posters of a figure known as â€Å"Big Brother† are seen all over and emphasize that he is always watching it’s citizens. The government enforces rules and regulations amongst it’s citizens, restricting them from giving their own opinion or even opposing the government. Thoughtcrime, face crime, and double think are all strictly

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Table of Contents Source Problem Secondary problems Issues Regarding Human Resource Management Succession of Cyrus Mistry Acquisition of Corus Analysis of the Secondary Problems Issues Regarding Human Resource Management Succession of Cyrus Mistry Acquisition of Corus Criteria of Evaluation Alternatives Decentralization of Management Appointment of Sole Chairman Mentorship by Ratan Tata Support from the Senior Directors and Management Horizontal growth Backward Integration Recommendation and Justifications Implementation and Monitoring References Source Problem Tata Group is a global corporation which was founded by Jamsetji Tata in1868. Headquarter of Tata Group is in India and it is operating in more than hundred countries across 6 continents. The main seven sectors of business activities undertaken by the Tata Group contains services, materials, energy, engineering, consumer products, chemicals, communication and information system. Tata group has 100companies operating worldwide and the total of Tata companies was 103.27 billion USD in 2013-14. Various companies of Tata Group have already achieved global leadership through excellent operations. According to a UK based consultancy firm, Brand Finance Tata ranks 34 among the top 500 most valuable brands across the world. Tata group has adopted several expansion strategies under the leadership of Ratan Tata. In steel, automotive, hotel industry and mining sector, Tata has implemented its expansion strategy through acquisition. In this paper, the issues encountered by Tata Group in regard to the global expansion strategy will be discussed. Both hardship and success has been experienced by Tata group in several phases of the expansion. Some projects are undertaken in the rural areas and the situation is not viable for the company. Hence, the major challenge of the Tata Group is to empower the group companies for surviving in the difficult global economic scenario without compromising with the vision, mission and values of the Tata Group. Secondary problems Tata Group has more than hundred companies and each business is an independent working entity. The group has been encountering several short terms as well as long terms issues in pursuit of the global expansion. In this section, major short term as well as long term problems have been indentified and discussed in brief. Issues Regarding Human Resource Management Presently, Tata group has an employee base of 571,470 people across the world. Human resource is the key driver for the success of a company. The global expansion strategy of Tata Group involves merger and acquisition. When two entities merge, the cultural difference of the employees leads to various issues. As the company is aiming to achieve organic as well as inorganic growth trough future expansions, human resource management and retention of the talents will be a major challenge for the company. Succession of Cyrus Mistry After retirement of Ratan Tata, Cyrus Mistry has taken the charge of the company. The successor will confront challenge for revving up some of the flagship companies of the Tata group. the stakeholders are anxious to evaluate the performance of the new Chairman of Tata Group. The major question is whether Cyrus Mistry will be able to continue the success story of the group. Another question is whether he would be able to take Tata to higher position or maintain the current status. Acquisition of Corus In 2007, Tata Steel ad acquired one of the Steel giant Corus group as a part of the global expansion strategy. But, Corus Group has significant burden of debt have been major problem for Tata Steel. The performance of Tata Steel Europe is not up to the mark. Hence, acquisition of Corus Group has leaded to a major problem for the Tata Group. Analysis of the Secondary Problems The major problems of encountered by Tata Steel have been identified in the above section. This section will focus on analyzing the major problems so that the issues of global expansion strategy can be addressed properly for finding solutions. Issues Regarding Human Resource Management In the dynamic global business environment Tata Group has been facing challenges regarding effective management of the human resource. As the operations of the group have been expanded in the foreign territories through merger and acquisition management of diverse workforce has become a significant challenge for the Tata group. The strong philosophy of the Tata Group has been embedded within the operations and activities of the company. The company tends to adopt a model which was practiced by the predecessor of rattan Tata. This model suggests that the flagship companies of the Tata Group will have their own chairman. Presently, Cyrus Misrty has been given the sole authority to choose the governance model. The major challenge of the group is to ensure that the employees of the merged entities and the newly appointed workforce follow the culture and values of the Tata group. Succession of Cyrus Mistry In 2011 Cyrus Mistry was appointed as the Depuy Chairman of The Tata Group prior taking over the charge of the group as Chairman in 2012. He had been putting great effort to understand the business for continuing the elevation process. Cyrus Mystry is responsible for formulating strategies in order to achieve the organizational goals regarding profitability. Presently, the company needs to focus on the global market position of the group as well as its profitability. He is also responsible for ensuring that the traditional values as well as ethical standards of the company are maintained. However, Cyrus Mystry is encountering various challenges regarding the market position of some flagship companies. It has been observed that performance of Tata Motors is not up to the mark and it is losing its market share. In terms of passenger vehicles, Mahindra Mahindra has captured the market by introducing new SUV models and technologies. Sales of Tata Safari and Sumo have been affected. Additionally, sales of Tata Nano have been far from the forecast. Volkswagen and Ford have been found to be the biggest rival of Indigo which was utilized for boosting up the automobile sales of the Tata Group. Among all the flagship companies of Tata Group, Tata Teleservices (TTSL) has been contributing highest in the loss of the group. In 2012-13 the net loss of the Tata Teleservices was reported to be 48580 million (in rupees). In 2013-14, Tata Teleservices has reported the highest loss of 61660 million INR. Tata Power is also encountering issues due to the high coal price and depreciation of INR. It is encountering loss for the past few years. However I the first quarter of the financial year 2014-15, the net loss is narrowed down According to various stakeholders, Cyrus Mistry will encounter challenges due to lack of experience. Cyrus Mistry has limited exposure of the present business structure, strategy and operations of the Tata Group as he has only five years experience as a non executive director. In order to avoid the conflict of interest, Cyrus had already disassociated himself from the family business. Hence, Cyrus Mistry will encounter various issues regarding decision making, rejuvenating the sick flagship companies, mentoring and formulating strategies. Acquisition of Corus Management of Tata Steel indicates acquisition of Corus as a big milestone for the company. The major aim of this acquisition was to penetrate the mature market of Europe. The technological benefits can be achieved from this acquisition. Even after 7 years after acquisition of Corus by Tata Steel, the financials of Tata Steel Europe does not indicate a good position. Though Europe has been improving its economic condition after the long recession, the financial performance of Tata Steel Europe has not been found to be satisfactory. Turnover of Tata Steel Europe for the financial year 2013-14 is reported to be 3% lower compared to the previous year. The reason is decrease in the average revenue per tonne leaded by the deterioration in the market condition in the first of the FY 2013-14. It has been observed that the Earnings before Income Tax Depreciation and Amortization (EBTIDA) has increased year in year basis, however fallen sequentially. The net loss of the year has decreased from the quarter of previous year but increased in comparison to the previous quarter. According to the report of Kotak Securities, though production and delivery of Tata Steel Europe has increased, there is a sharp decline in the profit margins and tagged as grossly underperforming. The average realization of Tata Steel Eurpoe was decreased by 7.7% sequentially and the cost of raw materials increased by 0.1% simultaneously. This situation leaded to a sharp fall of 25.5% in EBTIDA per tonne. RAMACHANDRAN, K. 2011. 'Cyrus Mistry Needs To Address A Number Of Explicit, Implicit Challenges'. Tata.com,. 2008. 'New Challenges, New Opportunities Via @Tatacompanies'. Criteria of Evaluation Tata is a value driven organization and the growth has been directed by the core values of business which include integrity, understanding, excellence, unity and responsibility. The goals and objectives of the group are the major factors for determining the strategic orientation and plans. In order to evaluate the performance of the company, the financial performance of Tata Group has indicated that the total revenue of the company has increased by 18.5%. Increase in total asset is 20.6%. The global operation has been improved and international revenues have increased by 27%. Hence, for the next few years, Tata Group needs to set a minimum target of 18.5% for evaluating the revenue growth of the entire group. Additionally, the company must set a target for Tata Steel to become top three companies of the world. As the Tata group emphasizes on the values and social responsibilities, it must continue the with the social responsibility projects across the globe for enhancing its goodwill. Alternatives In the above sections, the major problems of Tata Group have been indentified and analyzed along with empirical evidences. This section has recognized some alternatives for addressing the existing issues. Decentralization of Management Decentralization of management structure will be suitable for Tata Group and support the global expansion strategy. Human resource management is a major challenge for the group of companies. Engagement of the local employees will be beneficial for the Tata Group. Individual Chairman can be appointed for the flagship companies of Tata Group. Appointment of Sole Chairman Cyrus Mistry will be the sole Chairman of the Tata Group. He will be responsible for handling the issues of Tata group. As individual chairman will be appointed for the flagship companies, the burden will be reduced for Cyrus Mistry. Mentorship by Ratan Tata Ratan Tata can help Cyrus Mistry in the strategic decision making and act as mentor. It will help in the smooth succession of Cyrus Mistry and he will also get easily accepted by the stakeholders. Support from the Senior Directors and Management Cyrus Mistry needs support from the senior director who has been working for longer period and holding senior positions in the management of Tata Group. Their support will helps to understand the strategic direction of the company along with its values and philosophy. Horizontal growth It has been observed that the Tata Steel Europe has not been able to achieve the desired performance. Sustainable growth can be achieved through competitive advantages. Significant resources gained from Corus can be utilized for product innovation which will contribute in the horizontal growth of Tata Steel. Superior RD of Corus can successfully accomplish the horizontal growth which will result in broadening the profitability. Backward Integration Backward integration suggests an organization to internally produce various parts of its supply chain. In case of Tata Steel, backward integration refers to own iron ore mines to supply in its business. Tata Steel can consider acquiring mines for obtaining the desired quality raw material at a lower price. Thus Tata Steel will have lower operating cost which will provide competitive advantage to the company and improve EBTIDA of Tata Steel. However, this strategy is capital intensive. Recommendation and Justifications Finally, the following recommendations are provided along with justification for confronting the challenges: Horizontal growth can be achieved through innovation. Strong RD department of Corus can assist in this process for meeting the customer demands. Thus the Tata Group will be able to improve its performance in the dynamic global business environment. Tata Steel can consider acquisition of iron ore mines which will reduce the cost of production. Hence, backward integration can aid in the improvement of EBTIDA. Implementation and Monitoring The implementation of these strategies needs an effective implementation plan. The Chairman of Tata Steel is recommended to develop an implementation plan along with the senior management team. As backward integration is a capital intensive strategy, it must be evaluated and implemented effectively so that the desired outcome is achieved. Appointing individual chairman for each flagship company will face obstacle from the stakeholders. Hence, plan needs to be designed for encountering obstacles during the implementation of the recommended strategies. All these activities need to be monitored by analyzing the financial as well as operational performance of the Tata Group as well as individual flagship companies under Tata Group. If any gap is identified in this process, it must be coordinated and change the plan accordingly. References Baggonkar, Swaraj. 2013. 'Challenging Road Ahead For Tata Motors: Cyrus Mistry'. Businesstoday.intoday.in,. 2014. 'Tata Power's Net Loss Narrows To Rs 111.30 Crore On Fall In Forex Losses - Chatterjee, Dev. 2014. 'Tata Teleservices Posts Record Rs 6,166-Cr Loss'.Business Standard. Dutt, Ishita Ayan. 2014. 'Tata Steel's Problem Child Struggles To Make Good'.Business-Standard.Com. Economictimes.indiatimes.com,. 2014. 'Tata Steel Directors Report | Hill, Charles W. L, and Gareth R Jones. 2014.Strategic Management. 1st ed. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Philip, Lijee, and Satish John. 2013. 'Ratan Tata's Lieutenants To Be Chairmen At Tata Steel, Tata Motors, TCS And Indian Hotels - RAMACHANDRAN, K. 2011. 'Cyrus Mistry Needs To Address A Number Of Explicit, Implicit Challenges'. Tata.co.in,. 2014. 'Leadership With Trust Via @Tatacompanies'. Wheelen, Thomas L, J. David Hunger, and Thomas L Wheelen. 2008.Concepts In Strategic Management And Business Policy. 1st ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Wheelen, Thomas L, J. David Hunger, and Thomas L Wheelen. 2008.Concepts In Strategic Management And Business Policy. 1st ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Hill, Charles W. L, and Gareth R Jones. 2014.Strategic Management. 1st ed. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.

Image of Child Heros Essay Example For Students

Image of Child Heros Essay Image of Child HerosThe image of a child hero or trickster is seen in many cultures. Thiskind of role can tell a lot about how a culture acts and reacts to things. Theidea of the child hero in stories written and told before the birth of Christprobably reflect the peoples beliefs that the child is the future, and thereforecarries some sort of power or gift. For stories that were written after thebirth of Christ, the child could reflect the idea stated above, or it could alsobe the peoples belief in an infant savior, that a child will make everythingright again. Whether the story comes from before Christ or after, the one uniformaspect about these stories is that they are present in every culture, all aroundthe world. The image of the trickster is also very prevalent in the differentcultures. It is seen in many different fables and moral-based stories. You cannot go against the Philistine, you are but a youth, and he haslong been a man of war(Metzger 145). This is what King Saul of Israel said toDavid when he proposed that he fight the Philistine warrior Goliath. The storyof David and Goliath is quite possibly one of the oldest child hero stories. It was part of the Bible, in the Old Testament. In this story a young man namedDavid proposes to the king of Israel that he fight and attempt to kill Goliath,the giant that had been plaguing Israel. The king agrees, however hesitantly,and David goes on to slay the beast using just a slingshot. Whilethis storyis not one that was made up, it still shows us that the ancient Hebrewsbelieved in the fact that a child, or in this case teen, has the will andmotivation to do the impossible. Staying on the eastern side of the world, we will next see examples ofRussian stories. In the former Soviet Union, a lot of the time stories, booksand other types of art were hard to come by. In a broader sense, though, recentyears have witnessed genuine cultural enrichment, as Gorbachevs glasnost policypermitted the works of previously forbidden writers, artists, andcinematographers to become accessible(Grolier Multimedia). After the public wasable to get at the mass of stories that had been kept from them, there was evenmore of an increase of books and other forms of art. The Russian people now hadmuch more of an incentive to write. In a certain village, not near, not far,not high, not low, there lived an old couple with one little son named Ivashko(Wyndham 32). This is the line that begins the story of Ivashko and the Witch. This story takes place in a small village in Russia, and the main character is asmall boy named Ivashko. Ivashko was a very independent boy who wanted to go ofon his own and go fishing. He begged and pleaded with his parents, and finallythey gave in. His father built him a canoe and off he went. Ivashko was doingwell while he was fishing, but and one point was lured to shore by an evil witch. The witch grabbed him and took him to her house deep in the woods. She showedhim to her daughter and they decided that they would eat him. At this point the witch left to get some of her friends. Ivashko seizedthis opportunity, and when the witches daughter went to sit down on a shovel inorder to demonstrate to Ivashko how to do it, he through her into the fire. Hethen left and ran up a tree. The witch found him and started gnawing at the tree. .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 , .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .postImageUrl , .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 , .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3:hover , .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3:visited , .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3:active { border:0!important; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3:active , .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3 .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ueab9d64225900b65948c381c510255d3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Another John F Kennedy EssayLuckily for Ivashko, a flock of geese was flying overhead and one flew down tosweep him up. Just as he left the tree fell over on the witch and all her evilfriends, crushing them. Ivashko lived happily ever after. This shows that in theRussian culture there is a presence of the child hero, and even shows the imageof the trickster in the way Ivashko tricked the witchs daughter into showinghim how to sit on a shovel. Ivashko is a hero in this story not only because hekilled the witch, but because he rid the lake and the woods of the evil thatkept most people from going there. Although this