Essay on The Ending of The Great Gatsby - 523 Words

The Great Gatsby tells a story of eight people during the summer of 1922 from the observation of Nick Carraway. Its a story about trying to achieve the unattainable, deceit, and tragedy. It takes place around the character Jay Gatz who becomes Jay Gatsby in an attempt to change his persona and attract his long lost love, Daisy. In Nicks telling of the story, Nick and everyone who knew Gatsby, thought he was great. Gatsby threw lavish parties at his beautiful mansion every weekend. He had money, even though no one really seemed to know how he made his money. Gatsby spends years of his life trying to win the heart back of Daisy Buchanan. When they met years ago, he was in the Army and didnt have much money. Daisy came from a wealthy†¦show more content†¦When Daisy tells hims she cannot claim she does not love her husband Tom, it deflates Gatsby. He cant believe it. But Daisy is also deceitful because she does still love Gatsby but wont confess it either. Tom sees something goi ng on, but in an attempt to prove that Gatsby does not threaten him, he lets Gatsby and Daisy drive together from the city back to their homes in West Egg. This drives turns tragic as well when Gatsbys car hits and kills Myrtle, Toms lover and Mr. Wilson girlfriend. There is more deception when Gatsby tells everyone it was himself driving the car when in fact it really was Daisy. Tom tells Mr. Wilson about the accident and Mr. Wilson goes mad, killing Gatsby and then himself. The novel ends two years after these events with Nicks observation of what has become of him during the elapsed time. Nick finally realizes that Gatsby was living in an unreal world where he thought he could posses time and buy back the past. Three people have died because of the lies and deception and with Gatsbys death, no one comes to his funeral except his father and Old Owl Eyes. All of the people who once thought Gatsby was so wonderful are no longer interested. Gatsby is dead and life goes on without him. It is a sad ending in this way to see the lives of so many ruined and to see no one come to Gatsbys funeral. And even after everything, Daisy doesnt even attend the funeral which makesShow MoreRelatedAlternative Ending of The Great Gatsby601 Words   |  2 PagesAlternative ending of The Great Gatsby So naturally Michaelis tried to find out what had happened, but Wilson wouldn’t say a word — instead he began to throw suspicious look at his visitor and ask himself what he’d been doing at certain times on certain days of the week. Just as the latter was getting restless, some workers came past heading to the door for his restaurant, and Michaelis approach the chance to get away, intending to return later. But he never did. He supposed he forgot to, that’sRead MoreThe Film Of The Same Title By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay1644 Words   |  7 PagesGreat Gatsby is a romantic drama conveyed from Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of the novel of the same title by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A film of grandeur, fantasy, and sorrow brings alive the story of Nick Caraway’s fateful 1920s summer with the rich and fabulous set in a fictional Long island town. The story is delivered as a flashback from Caraway in a hospital, writing from his memory after an unspec ified time after the events occurred. Great Gatsby has been a story popular with mass audiences forRead MoreThe American Dream in The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald832 Words   |  3 PagesAmerican dream in The Great Gatsby written by Scott Fitzgerald, About fighting for what we want. American Dream makes us strong and brave to do things we would not do. American dream can be clothes, money, luxury, and love. In the novel the American Dream is what we picture but if we dig deep inside there are crushed dreams and conquered but failed. 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There is some aspect of his personality that he has in great abundance but it is this that becomes his tragic flaw and leads to his ultimate demise. However, his tragic ending should not simply sadden the reader, but teach him or her a life lesson. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is the tragic hero who portrays the corruption of the American dream through his tragic flaw. His devastating death at the endRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald864 Words   |  4 Pagespossible to repeat the past? Can one really recreate somethi ng that happened years before? According to Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby it is possible; and it has been done for the book The Great Gatsby itself. The Great Gatsby has been adapted into film many times by various directors; however, there are two that are considered most popular. The first really popular The Great Gatsby was Jack Clayton’s version that was released in 1974, and more recently Baz Luhrmann’s version that wasRead More`` The Yellow Wallpaper `` By F. Scott Fitzgerald1017 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† the relationship in crisis is the narrator and her husband, John. The speaker of â€Å"One Art† by Bishop is moving on from a crisis with a lover. Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s relationship is also in a crisis in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Ruth and Walter Lee’s marriage is at a critical point and may fall apart at any moment. Each c ouple makes unique decisions about the situation they are in and determines if the relationship will stand the finalRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1036 Words   |  5 Pagesis seen as nothing but bloodshed. However, for many this allows them to shine in a way that they could not back at home. In The Great Gatsby, by F. 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The American Dream set an illusion that allowed Americans to believe that one could change the past and â€Å"re-do† the mistakes all overRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald953 Words   |  4 Pagesthe characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby didn’t heed this warning. Set in the 1920’s, The Great Gatsby tells the story of how the narrator, Nick Ca rraway, moves to Long Island and befriends the mysterious millionaire next door, eventually joining him on an adventure to help reunite him with his long-lost love. With the extravagant parties and riches beyond compare, the book soon takes a turn for the worst. However, the tragic ending could have been avoided if only the characters

The Illusion of Control free essay sample

â€Å"Americans have a special horror of giving up control, of letting things happen in their own way without interference. They would like to jump down into their stomachs and digest the food and shovel the st out.† – from Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs Though I would rarely compare myself to an average American, I cannot help but agree with Burroughs. Whenever I feel that I’m losing control (which I never actually had to begin with) over the â€Å"big things† – politics, the environment, human nature, newspaper article deadlines – I become almost  ­obsessive over little things: I insist on keeping all the writing in a notebook the same color; I would rather not take notes at all than switch pens. I keep my textbooks in perfect condition; the slightest crease in the cover or mark on a page is  ­reason to buy a new one. And God forbid someone should borrow my pen and return it sans cap. We will write a custom essay sample on The Illusion of Control or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page That’s a deadly risk for both of us, for it means that while my friend lost only a pen cap, I lost control. And there is something thoroughly frightening about losing control. It’s as if helplessness were something inefficient, un-American, anti-capitalist. When I was young and silly (six months ago), I was a simpleton and an idealist. I was told then (and still am today) that I could change the world if I wanted to – and I honestly believed it. Today, I am among the ranks of cynical youth. Having spent a few months of my sixteenth year as a nihilist, sometimes I still fall into the traps of that Jacobian forbidden fruit of knowledge and insist that nothing I do  ­really matters. It is this deadly knowledge, this feeling of helplessness in the face of the brutal armies of ignorant baboons (who call themselves proud Americans) that makes me want to shoot up the calming heroin of symmetry and neatness and the illusion of control. I would have remained in this semi-neurotic state were it not for writers like William S. Burroughs and Herman Hesse. Though radically different in every aspect of their writing, both of these men showed me the absurdity of my control issues, something for which I can neither forgive them nor thank them enough. Naked Lunch, which made little sense if any at all, nonetheless had an impact on me that I can hardly begin to put into words. It was a thoroughly disgusting novel, but Burroughs, with his twisted sense of humor, intended it to be just that. It taught me, however, the sheer impossibility and foolishness of attempt ­ing to control anything in this mad, mad, mad, mad world of ours. After all, what sense is there in running around like a psychopath, trying to force everything and everyone (including yourself) to be perfect, while completely forgetting your own being? Ultimately, the life of a perfectionist is depressing and meaningless. Siddhartha, on the other hand, took me on a far less nauseating journey. It showed me how to let everything slip out of my hands, like water or sand, and to simply float on the river life, without attempting to rearrange the pebbles on the river bottom along the way. Unfortunately, I started my college applications well before I read Naked Lunch or Siddhartha. Needless to say, I was completely overwhelmed. I didn’t know where to apply, what to major in, or even what essay topics to write about. In fact, I fell into a short-term depression every time I even looked at my copy of The Princeton Review’s 361 Best Colleges. Today, all my college application nightmares have dissipated, leaving me completely content with all my decisions and – ironically enough – in control. I have realized that all the stress and worrying was a worthless expense of energy and time. In the end, everything fell into place and worked itself out as if by magic, without my going insane trying to control it and make it perfect. And by the way, I now allow myself to mix pen colors in my notebooks.

Julian Orrs Talking About Machines

Introduction Orr’s book Talking about Machines has become one of the most significant writings in the field of anthropology since it revealed new insights in the overall study. The author underlines the importance of fieldwork which is conducted in quite specific way.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Julian Orr’s Talking About Machines specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Orr was inside the group of workers under analysis and his book has the author who is at the same time an informant. The reader can consider the analysis of an individual who knows the insights of the workplace and the group in question. This peculiarity of Orr’s approach results in a specific type of writing where theory is intermingled with narrative. Orr manages to combine thorough analysis and description. Admittedly, the researcher uses a very specific and effective approach of interpreting data. Orr’s orientatio n on â€Å"situatedness† enables him to make his data precise and interpretation profound (Yanow 2006:1746). Moreover, his research has contributed greatly to the development of anthropology since it opened up new horizons for researchers. The author, the reader and the informant Admittedly, anthropologists used to consider peculiarities of exotic people living in faraway lands. However, Orr is one of those who understands that the natives of anthropologic research should not be â€Å"the alien and exotic others† but these should be â€Å"oddly familiar domestic others who might be our cohorts at work†, neighbors or researchers themselves (qtd. in Neyland 2007:129). Orr became a shadow for copier workers when they were working, having lunch or communicated with each other and customers (Yanow 2006:1746). Interestingly, the author of the book was also a part of a group of informants. Many researchers claim that being a part of a group enables the researcher to se e more complete picture (Enslin 1994:537). Even defining the term â€Å"work† Orr is focused on workers’ position, rather than on some virtual amount of work completed (Orr 1996:10). Workers are put in the center of the research. Workers’ activities, their communication and their sharing experience make the scope of data for Orr. Basically, he â€Å"connect[s] players and not isolate[s] them within their own perspectives† (Boud et al. 2006:21). More so, he considers workers perspectives from the point of view of one of them but not as a distant researcher on the basis of some statistical data. Interestingly, Orr points out that â€Å"machines participate in society† (1996:3). Thus, the researcher is interested in the triangular: worker, customer, machine.Advertising Looking for term paper on anthropology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Orr does not only observe the communication patterns bet ween workers, or between workers and consumers, he also pays attention to the way workers treat (or â€Å"communicate† with) machines. Thus, informants of the research are not only people but machines as well. It goes without saying that such approach was not widespread among anthropologists who were concerned with people only. The majority of researchers are keen to answer the question â€Å"what does it mean to be a human?† (Wardle 2007:1). Nevertheless, Orr noted that machines also influenced people’s behavior since workers tried to â€Å"educate† consumers treat their machines correctly. Of course, everyday work with machine shapes workers communication, since machines play an important role in workers talks. The balance between description and analysis Boon (1983) points out that ethnographic writing is largely based on the data obtained from a fieldwork, so it should contain both description and analysis. However, this issue is still disputable sinc e many researchers cannot agree upon what can be regarded as a fact and what interpretation can be regarded as precise and correct (Heider 2001). However, many researchers that â€Å"[t]acking between situated narrative and more sweeping analysis† is essential for ethnography, though it is quite difficult to succeed (Narayan 1993:672). Orr, however, finds the gold mean and his book is characterized by a perfect balance of description and analysis. In the first place, Orr pays much attention to â€Å"situatedness† and claims that place is important for analysis (Yanow 2006:1751). It goes without saying that his writing provides a lot of description of workers’ conversations and their activities, and even workplace. Admittedly, fieldnotes can be archival materials or a record of people communicating (Sanjek 1990:391). Apparently, Orr considered all possible fieldnotes. All this helped Orr recreate the world of the workers. On the basis, of the data obtained during observation Orr can put puzzles in their place and create a full picture. Anderson (1986) points out that description is an important â€Å"product† of fieldwork, and since ethnographic analysis is based on fieldwork, it is but natural that description plays an important role in ethnographic writing (64). Thus, Orr’s description is an illustration of his findings and justification of his conclusions. His writing also signals: â€Å"You are there, because I was there† (Clifford 1983:118). Orr’s approach to analysis and interpretation of workers’ behavior is intermingled with description.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Julian Orr’s Talking About Machines specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Theory in the text Admittedly theory played a significant role in anthropology in the nineteenth century (Urry 2001:101). More so, anthropologists relied on theory to great extent. A s far as ethnographic writing is concerned, it also relies on theory, but to less extent. For instance, Orr’s book is not a description of his fieldwork and his conclusions. He provides profound background knowledge which helps the reader to â€Å"speak† the same language with other. In fact, the author reveals the theoretical discourse in his book. Orr refers to many researchers supporting or refuting their findings and research methods. Admittedly, ethnographic writing contains a great deal of fiction and some researchers tend to regard it as fiction rather than ethnography (Narayan 1999). However, Orr is scientific in his writing. Stocking (1995) states that theory can help to solve many problems where the data obtained during the fieldwork can be quite confusing (364). Thus, Orr uses theoretical background to analyze the product of his fieldwork. Methodological and conceptual contributions to anthropological knowledge Yanow (2006) claims that Orr’s book is a great contribution to organization studies (1753). It goes without saying that Orr has developed many interesting approaches for ethnographic research. The major concept of his work presupposes that only insider can have the complete data about the group. Orr points out that The significant thing†¦is that the examination of practice reveals a complexity that cannot be seen from a distance; this complexity constrains how the work can be done and therefore has crucial implications for those making policy about work †¦ Discussions of work that omit this vital aspect of practice lose the point from which anything else that may be described originates. (qtd. in Yanow 2006:1753). Thus, Orr insists on closer look at people’s workplace. The place is of primary importance for Orr since it is a starting point for any observation. Besides, Orr is not confined to certain activities in which the members of the group are involved. Every minute of the working day is recorded and analyzed. More so, Orr argues that it is essential to consider people’s behavior in terms of all the scope of activities involving not only other people (like colleagues or customers), but to take into account the influence of machines on people. This approach is rather innovative for anthropology.Advertising Looking for term paper on anthropology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, Orr provides a detailed analysis in terms of organization studies, but he is not concerned with methodology, but rather appreciates â€Å"those things that make us† (Yanow 2006:1753). Orr does not present a distant look at some peculiarities of people’s interaction in a workplace, but reveals possible explanations of the reasons why people act in that specific way. Admittedly, Orr’s approach can be regarded as a bright example of unique methodological approach which leads to deeper understanding of processes which take place in working place. Conclusion Thus, Orr’s Talking about Machines is one of those books which provide essential information on the topic and can be regarded as a guideline for a successful ethnographic research. Orr’s book is a great example of the balance of description, theory and analysis. The author became a member of a group to understand the processes which took place in the workplace. Therefore, he does not present a distant analysis of potential reasons, but explicitly points out major factors which influence workers. Admittedly, Orr has made a great contribution into the development of anthropological studies since he suggested new approaches of analysis and showed that they are effective. It cannot be surprising that the book is still being discussed by many researchers since it gives new insights to the essence of anthropological research. Reference List Anderson, Jon W. 1986. ‘Reinventing the Shape of Meaning: Ambiguities in the Ontology of Ethnography.’ Anthropological Quarterly 59(2): 64-74. Boon, James. A. 1983. ‘Functionalists Write, Too: Frazer/Malinowski and the Semiotics of the Monograph.’ Semiotica 46(2/4):131-149. Boud, David, Peter Cressey and Peter Docherty. 2006. Productive Reflection at Work: Learning for Changing Organizations. New York, NY: Routledge. Clifford, James. 1983. ‘On Ethnographic Authority.’ Respresentations Number 2: 118-146 . Enslin, Elizabeth. 1994. ‘Beyond Writing: Feminist Practice and the Limitations of Ethnography.’ Cultural Anthropology 9(4):537-568. Heider, Karl G. 2001. ‘The Rashomon Effect: When Ethnographers Disagree.’ Pp.398- 407 in Ethnography, vol. III, edited by Alan Bryman. London: Sage. Narayan, Kirin. 1993. ‘How Native is a â€Å"Native† Anthropologist?’ American Anthropologist 95:671-686. Narayan, Kirin. 1999. ‘Ethnography and Fiction: Where is the Border?’ Anthropology and Humanism 24(2):134-147. Neyland, Daniel. 2007. Organizational Ethnography. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Orr, J. E. 1996. Talking about Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Sanjek, Roger. (Ed.) 1990. â€Å"FIELDNOTES: The Makings of Anthropology† pp.385-418 in ‘On Ethnographic Validity.’ Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Stocking, George W. 1995. The Ethnographer’s Magic and Other Essays in th e History of Anthropology. Madison, WI: Univ of Wisconsin Press. Urry, James. 2001. ‘Notes and Queries on Anthropology and the Development of Field Methods in British Anthropology, 1870-1920.’ pp 101-127 in Ethnography, vol. I edited by Alan Bryman, London: Sage. Wardle, Huon, Gay Y Blasco, Paloma Gay Y. 2007. How to Read Ethnography, ‘Introduction: The concerns and distinctiveness of ethnography’ (pp 1-12). London and New York: Routledge. Yanow, Dvora. 2006. ‘Talking about Practices: On Julian Orr’s Talking About Machines.’ Organization Studies 27(12):1743-1756. This term paper on Julian Orr’s Talking About Machines was written and submitted by user N0lan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Definition for the Java Term Loops

Definition for the Java Term Loops A loop is a way of repeating lines of code more than once. The block of code contained within the loop will be executed again and again until the condition required by the loop is met. For example, you could set up a loop to print out the even numbers between 1 and 100. The code that gets executed each time the loop is run will be the printing out of an even number, the condition the loop is looking to meet is reaching 100 (i.e., 2 4 6 8....96 98). There are two types of loops: Indeterminate - An indeterminate loop does not know how many times it will run. For example, you could search through an int array looking for a specific value. The most logical way would be to search each element of the array in order until you find the right value. You dont know if the value is in the first element or the last so the number of times you loop around checking the next element of the array is unknown. Indeterminate loops are the while and do..while loops.Determinate - AÂ  determinate loop knows exactly how many times it will loop. For example, if you want to know how much money youll be paid for the next twelve months minus tax you could perform the wage calculation 12 times. The determinate loop in Java is the for loop. Examples An indeterminate while loop to search for the number 10 in a randomly ordered int array: //int array of random numbers int[] numbers {1, 23, 56, 89, 3, 6, 9, 10, 123}; //a boolean variable that will act as the condition for the loop boolean numberFound false; int index 0; //this loop will continue running until numberFound true while (!numberFound) { System.out.println(Were looping around..); if (numbers[index] 10) { numberFound true; index; System.out.println(Weve found the number after index loops); } index; } A determinate for loop to display all the even numbers between 1 and 100: int number 0; //loop around 49 times to get the even numbers //between 1 and 100 for (int i1;i

Revolution Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Revolution - Assignment Example Clearly, the Constitution defines the founding fathers as democratic reformers because their sole aim was to depict in full details their rights and responsibilities with the aid of the federal government, charged with protecting life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness in American soil. As a group of leaders, the founding fathers were characterized by foresight, a remarkable intellectual ability and, most importantly, a strong eloquence and wittiness. The American history shows that the American Constitution aroused much debate and controversy. People were divided into two major groups with respect to its content. The Federalists have acted as an intellectual beacon for the constitution of the United States. They favored concentrated national power and were made up of most outstanding figures such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Also, this elitist party was much organized, funded and more resourceful than the Anti-Federalists, who depended heavily on popularity without any real organization. Hence, while the Federalists were much aware of the economic and social changes of the American society and had to answer all the complaints of the Anti-Federalists, the Anti-Federalists were much afraid lest the president would get too much power; hence, they severely criticized the constitution. 2) Examine the course of the American Revolution. Please be sure to pay close attention to the generalship of George Washington as well as the various advantages and disadvantages of each side in the conflict. The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a political and a military outcry against the governance of Great Britain. Also known as the American War of Independence, the American Revolution that initially started as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in America ended as a global war between several European great powers. Noteworthy is that the colonists have openly denounced the right of the

Project Portfolio Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project Portfolio Management - Essay Example oject management refers to the processes involving that planning, organizing, motivating and controlling the use of resources as well as the procedures and protocols developed to achieve goals of the project (Albert 2004). In addition, a project is also described as a temporary endeavor that is designed to produce a certain unique good or service with a defined process that begins from scratch, and all the way to its end. A project is usually has to be time-constrained, and constrained financially as well as in its deliverables. Portfolio management is one of the activities that are carried out by particular project managers in order to meet their expected outcomes by their organizations. In this respect, project portfolio management refers to the various processes, methods as well as other technologies that are employed by particular managers as well as project management offices. by doing project portfolio management, they are better placed analyse and make a collective management of current and other proposed projects basing on different and numerous essential features. When carrying out project portfolio management, the essential objectives are always to determine the best possible resource mix that can be made available in order to plan and schedule various activities designed to attain the organization’s operation as well as financial goals. While doing this, the process has to honour the various constraints and challenges that comes about as a result of customers decisions, strategic objectives as well as other factors that are prevalent in the real world or the business’ external environment. It is important to note that organizations are better placed to benefit from project portfolio management if only they have multiple projects and other essential resources that need a formalized framework needed for tracking, allocating as well as managing them effectively (Dennis 2007). When they are strategically deployed and executed by project managers,

My Industrial Training Essay Example for Free

My Industrial Training Essay I started my training on 7th July 2008 at JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, where I was first assigned to start as a CRO (customer recognition) in Front Office. I got to learn about the procedures of welcoming certain guests, such as VIP’s, by preparing welcome letters, flowers, chocolate and fruit baskets. I was only there for one week, and then I changed my training to Royale Bintang Damansara Hotel instead because of transportation and financial problems. My first department at Royale Bintang Damansara was Housekeeping, I tarted there on 21st July. What I came to notice first was that all the staff had problems communicating with me in English, but everyone was very nice, helpful and supportive. Even though we had problems communicating and understanding each other they still tried their best to teach me everything they knew. During my first two weeks in Housekeeping Department, my department head conducted a short training every day for both trainees and staff on how to clean floors, carpets, the pool area and things like that. They showed us the equipment that was used and we all had to try to use it ourselves. I think it was very good of them to have these trainings as it also widened their staff’s knowledge so that if, for example, a staff from public area cleaning would be away, a housekeeper could just jump in and help out. A room attendant wouldn’t just know how to clean guestrooms but also how to do public area cleaning as well. While training in Housekeeping, I got to learn about linen and laundry for awhile, I also got to refill the mini-bar in all the guestrooms. I was taught how to inspect the rooms, to make sure the room was ready for a new guest. I also had to try public area cleaning, where they taught me how to clean the pool side and the swimming pool, cleaning windows and swiping floors. What I enjoyed the most was to clean the guestrooms, which I did most of my time in Housekeeping. At first I was only making the bed in all the rooms as most housekeepers didn’t want me to clean the toilet, but after awhile I had tried everything and my last two weeks in Housekeeping I was even assigned to clean some guest rooms all by myself. I was a bit slow cleaning rooms alone as I wanted the room to look perfect, but I know I did I good job and I feel very happy and proud over my performance there. One thing that shocked me in Housekeeping Department was that sometimes the Housekeepers didn’t have enough linen for all guestrooms, so instead of changing the bed sheets and pillow covers they just dusted away hairs and stuff and sprayed a lot of freshener on it so the new guest would think it’s clean. When I saw these things I asked them how they could do in such a way as it’s not hygienic at all, but they all answered me that it was the otel’s fault as they didn’t want to buy in more linen. Another thing that shocked me was that I noticed the Front Office staff always talked bad about the housekeeping staff and looked down at them just because they were cleaners. For me, I think that the Housekeeping Department is one of the most important departments in the hotel and the Front Office staff must work closely with them to get the guest satisfaction. This is the picture of a bed inside one of the guest rooms I cleaned by myself After six weeks I changed my department to Front Office. I was very excited to start there because I would really want to work with that in the future so I had very high expectations about it, however I felt very disappointed with how they handled things there. First it was the staff; I think most of them had the wrong attitude for being receptionists, they barely smiled at the guests coming to the reception; sometimes they could be very rude and blame things on the guests and not being helpful at all. They were also very bad in handling guest complaints. Everything seemed so different from what I had learned in Front Office classes, and I felt very disappointed over the service they were practicing. All Front Office staff were also using different uniforms, so I think that looked a bit odd. It would look better if everyone was wearing the same color and blazer at least. Later on they got more uniforms to the hotel for front office staff so even the trainees could borrow it while standing at the reception. All other trainees got to borrow uniforms but every time I asked they told me they didn’t have for me so I had to buy one myself. My first two weeks in Front Office I was sitting as the telephone operator. I was transferring calls to different departments, ordering taxis for guests etc, if I worked in the evening I also had to take reservations. When I started in the reception I started to get problems; I felt that nobody there could take the time to tell me what to do or teach me anything. If I asked them they would tell me they were busy or that they couldn’t teach me in English, so instead I had to stand and try to understand when they were teaching the other trainees in Malay or Chinese, which I really didn’t think was fair. Although I told my department head about this so many times nothing happened. I finally learned about the program they were using and I observed how the staffs were talking to the guests during check-in and check-out, so finally I tried to do it myself. I could do all of the procedures for check in and check out, and each day I was doing it I felt it went easier. Sometimes if a guest wanted a late checkout we would charge the guest either a half day charge or full day charge, depending on the time they would check out. At these times we had to calculate how much extra the guest would have to pay. One of my supervisors had showed me how to do it so one day when I had to calculate the half day charge for one guest, one of the staff was looking how I was doing it. When I showed the guest her bill the staff who had been seeing everything started screaming at me in front of the guest that I was doing it wrong, but I told her I was sure of what I was doing. This girl working at the reception said that she was right and called another receptionist right away. However by the time that receptionist came there, the guest I had charged had already left. Both receptionists was telling me I charged the guest too little and that I had to pay with my own money right away to cover up the amount of money I never charged. I called one of my supervisors at that time and explained to him that I thought maybe I had done a mistake, but when he checked it he said that everything was correct and instead he noticed that the other receptionist had charged some guests wrong instead. For some strange reason this incident caused that many of the staff there was talking bad about me, saying that I thought I was better than them as I always corrected their work. I thought instead that it was good that I noticed if they had done any mistake such as charging the guest wrong so they could learn from it instead, The staff really wanted to blame a lot of things on the trainees instead of accepting their own mistakes. I was working very independently as I didn’t get much help from most staff, but I think I did a good job and the staff that actually taught me things even complimented me for being so clever for learning everything by myself so fast. I also had to work overnight while I was in Front Office, so that I ould get to learn and understand about the night audit. I was first assigned to prepare all registration cards; which is all the reservations for guests arriving the next day. I had to look over special requests such as room types, smoking- and nonsmoking rooms, connecting rooms and views so that I could assign the different rooms to each arriving guest. I also had to write breakfast coupons and set up wake up calls for guests. I felt that I didn’t learn as much as I had hoped during the night shift. The staff I was working with said that the supervisor would do most of the auditing, so for the staff there wasn’t much things at all to do. I wanted to ask my supervisor to tech me some of the auditing but he was missing most of the time so I never got to learn about the night audit. During my first nightshift, my boyfriend wanted to sit in the lobby and wait for me to finish so I asked the staff in the reception including my supervisor if it was ok, and they told me he could sit there the whole night if he wanted to, as long as he didn’t cause any problem or disturbed me. At 4am, my supervisor told the security to tell my boyfriend to leave the hotel. When I heard about this I asked my supervisor why he at first told me it was ok for him to sit there, but then he just told me it wasn’t allowed. A few days later Ms Zurin from Human Resource Department told me that because of that incident I wasn’t allowed in Front Office anymore and had to change department immediately. She told me I was lucky to get a second chance as my supervisor wanted me to be terminated. I felt very sad and confused because I didn’t understand what that incident had to do with my work there. I was transferred to Food and Beverage Department on 18th October. Over there I was taking care of their lobby bar; I was making welcome drinks and all kinds of other beverages and served it to guests. I was also taking down all orders for room service. Every weekend and during public holidays they were having a hi-tea buffet for lunch and a BBQ buffet for dinner, at these times I helped the staff to clear and set tables. While working in the morning I helped with their breakfast buffet by greeting and welcoming the guests and collecting breakfast vouchers. After every breakfast, we had to set up the restaurant for lunch or if there was any special function going on there, so I learned how to do so many different table settings. There was one thing that shocked me in Food and Beverage Department as well; most staff doesn’t know how to wash a simple glass, they just wash it with their hand and water and later they will take the dirty glass and put some beverage in it and serve it to the guest. Every day when I started my shift I had to rewash all of the glasses because they were so dirty. Sometimes I also saw that the napkins they put on the tables looked dirty or were full of holes or that the plates were having dried food stuff on it or be full of grease. For being a restaurant in a four star hotel they should have a better service than that and not act like it is just a mamak shop. That is also the reason why I liked standing at the lobby bar, because then I knew the glasses for example would be washed properly. However in December, their restaurant got two new supervisors and especially one of them were very strict about hygiene so I hope that this things will improve or change now. Although I didn’t want to do Food and Beverage at first, it was above my expectations and I really learned a lot of new things. I got along well with all the staff also even though many of them weren’t good in English. Now when I look back at my training at Royale Bintang Damansara, I’m happy with what I achieved from there. I know that many trainees only get to observe most things; instead of trying it themselves so for that I’m happy that I got to do everything practically, because for me that is how I learn the most. I don’t think the hotel is that good though and many staff working there seems to be there only to have something to do, instead of being passionate about the service industry. Another thing that really shocked me also was that there is a lot of drug use going on inside the hotel, people working there that I didn’t even know asked me if I wanted to buy drugs. This really came as a shock to me and I can’t believe how something like that can exist in a working place like a four star hotel. I don’t think Royale Bintang Damansara should have a four star rating because their service is not good. For example that they don’t change the bed sheets after a guest checked out, how they are behaving at the reception or that they are serving dirty glasses to guests. I’m still happy that I got to see this kind of things, because I would never have thought it could be like this in a hotel. I know I will be more careful now in the future while staying in a hotel, I will always be aware of these things. These bad experiences I saw have given me a new career option; I would like to be a hotel inspector. Because I don’t think a guest should be paying a lot of money for a service like that in a four star hotel. In a way I could recommend Royale Bintang Damansara to other trainees, because you will see a lot of useful things and you will get the chance to try everything practically, unlike some other hotels. I would in that case only recommend it to local students. As a foreigner I had a lot of problems in the hotel, especially to communicate in English with the staff. It didn’t matter if it was in Housekeeping Department or Front Office. However, I succeeded to gain a lot of knowledge from all the departments I went to and I know that the things I have learned will be useful for me in the future.