Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Business law - Essay Example The intention of the parties is judged objectively by the judges. The court has to ask whether, in any given circumstances, a logical person would regard the agreement between the parties as whether it intended to bid them. The test is usually an objective one and the judges in the court mainly rely on assumptions in order to assist them in ascertaining whether the parties intended to be legally bound by the agreement. Where the agreement is made between the buyer and the seller, the court automatically presumes that the parties intended to be legally bound by the law by the agreement that they make. In the case Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571, Mr. Balfour worked with the government as civil engineer. At that time, he was living with his wife. During Mr. Balfour’s leave in 1915, his wife got rheumatic arthritis when they were still in England. Her doctor insisted that she had to be left behind since she would be affected by the change of climate. As her husband was leaving, he promised to send to her 30 pounds a month until she joined him. Later, the husband said that they better live apart the way they were when she was sick. The wife sued him so that she can still be getting the 30 pounds. The court ruled that in this case, there was no enforceable agreement between the two parties. This was though even if the depth of reasoning of the two parties differed. In the case Henthorn v Fraser [1892] 2 Ch 27, the claimant had received a note from the defendant, where the defendant had offered to purchase a certain property within 14 days. The claimant responded promptly where he sent the defendant an acceptance through the email the day that followed in order to accept the offer. Before the defendant had received the acceptance from the claimant, he withdrew the offer. This was after the claimant had posted the acceptance. When the claimant sued the defendant, the court of appeal ruled that the claimant was entitled to specific performance from the defendan t. This was so because a contract becomes bidding when the acceptance is posted within the given duration of time. When an agreement is reached in a business or commercial context, the court automatically assumes that the parties to the case intended to be legally bound at the time they were making the agreement. Apply the law to the facts of the question in a detailed and logical manner As an agreement only becomes legally enforceable when the parties in the case intend to be legally bound at the time they were making the agreement, a judge has to conduct an objective assessment of the circumstances in which Sally, Peter and Burt made the agreement. The question in this case is whether under any circumstances, a logical person would regard the sale agreement as intended to be binding. The parties in this case are no friends but business people that is, a buyer and a seller. There are sufficient facts in this case to indicate that the sale agreement was in a commercial or business c ontext. Given that the parties are not friends but business partners, the court will assume that the parties involved, Peter, Sally and Burt intend to be legally bound by the time they were making the agreement. In order to enforce the sale agreement, Sally has to prove with additional facts to the presumption

The Electoral College

The Electoral College The United States has a system which is use to elect an American president that lasted for over two hundred years, although this system did not stay up to date especially the Electoral College. The Electoral College is one of the most significant political systems ever created in the United States, this system determines who will become the president, and runs on a winner-take-all system. For the reasons of it creating complications in the election process, it decreasing the chance of a third party existing, and lowering public opinion, it should be abolished since its clearly an unfair system. The Electoral College was framed during the Constitutional Convention by the Founding Fathers, as they attempted to create a system that would resolve the United States problem during that time. Several ideas were encountered such as; Congress being the one responsible for choosing the President, State legislatures being responsible for it, the idea to choose a President through popular vote, and finally, they came up with College of Electors. There were two designs of the Electoral College the first one was not that successful because it was not supposed to work with political parties and national campaigns. So then as the political parties had parties had emerged the design had to adapt, this was the catalyst of the two party system era. The Electoral College runs in a system of Winner takes- all where the candidate with the majority vote receives all the votes for that particular state. The Electoral College does have some exception such as Nebraska and Maine, these two states are under the proportional representation which is the basic principles underlying proportional representation elections are that all voters deserve representation and that all political groups in society deserve to be represented in our legislatures in proportion to their strength in the electorate (www.mtholyoke.edu). And to illustrate the difference of the two. Lets say that a certain party wins 15% of the national vote but have no seats in individual elections. Under the winner take all system earns any seat in the legislature, while in the proportional representation that party 15% of the seats. Voting privileges in the District of Columbia differ from the ones in the 50 states of the United States, it being the capital of the U.S. it is not viewed as a state but a special federal district, this revoked its privilege to have a voting representation until the 23rd amendment which states Th e District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress. Although D.C. is represented by a delegate in the United States House of Representation. There are some advantages and disadvantages of having the feature of the winner-takes-all system. Some of the advantages are to earn votes by persuading the majority of a state to have the same political perspective as the candidate. For example, California is considered to be a democratic state due to the majority of the people who live there being Democrat. Als, the Electoral College promotes centrism and discourages extremism to appeal a wide enough cut of the electorates, and this system also promote political stability which often results to economic growth. Several flaws are the controversies between the Electoral College and the Popular system (implying to the Gore v. Bush court case); it is difficult to have or even create a third party, because Third Parties usually end up being scavenged and absorb by the two major parties such as the Democrats and Republicans. The complication that the Electoral College contains is its exceptions to having a single proper voting system suc h as winner-take-all. During the time that the Electoral College was created there really wasnt a base government to compare with, making it difficult to face and find its own solutions. And the fact that this system encourages a two party system which discourages cooperation due to coalition and disagreements. During the election of the year two thousands the United States had two candidates that were running for the presidency, Albert Gore, Jr. and George W. Bush. This election is salient among the others because it revealed several complications about the Electoral College system. In this presidential candidate Al Gore had 266 Electoral votes and 50,992,335 popular votes, while George W. Bush had 271 Electoral votes and 50,455,156 popular votes. This election was a close call but George W. Bush ended up winning because of the court case Gore v. Bush. Due to Florida not having a statewide standard that each county board could use to determine whether a given ballot was a legal vote, George W. Bush argued that the recounts had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Why does the Electoral College still exist? Despite its mockery to the views of freedom and the power to vote, the Electoral College has remain because of several reasons which are; it having a surprising amount of followers which is unlikely to assume but over a third of the country actually support this system, in belief of it having a cohesiveness of the country, enhances minority issues, contributes to the stability of encouraging a two party system. it has also been the reason why our elections are still active. The Electoral College was really unique considering the fact that it did not have a similar political base when it was founded. The question of The Electoral College whether to stay or not is very debatable, but most context leans on it not being so stabled for future generations. The popular vote system is an ideal system for democracy because it will then actually apply peoples power, also this will promote the idea of one popular vote does matter, this was originally rejected and was over ruled by the Electoral College mainly because of the 3/5 clause, this wouldve affected the South devastatingly and couldve made them a minority. The Electoral College greatly affects American society, this system has been a tradition to American society, and people look forward to this event every four years, if compared with the Olympics it would be similar most Americans look forward for this because its the time for them to have a political reconciliation, and realize what they need and what will benefit them. The United States government has evolved around the elements of pluralism and individualism. The election occurs every fourth years each American that has the eligibility to vote may cast their vote for an elector, who pledge to vote for a certain party. The Electoral College functions with 538 electors and a majority of 270 votes required on electing a President, it consist of two systems the winner-take-all and proportional representation. Each representatives used for the two systems are determined using the popular vote system. This system isnt perfect due to its complications listed above; this system mainly res ulted in dividing the United States government, and because of that it promotes the idea of votes for Third parties often go to waste. This system is not that productive due to disagreements, because not everyone will follow your perspective. In conclusion the question of whether the Electoral College system must remain or not comes up. And a clear answer would be no, it shouldnt be allowed to continue. The Electoral College is a system that at some point may have been effective and necessary but not anymore. This must be abolished considering the fact that it takes away the actual power of the people and the thought of the importance of their power to vote. Work Cited Gehard, Peters The American Presidency Project 2000-2012 George C. Edwards III/Martin P. Government in America textbook/tenth Edition/ by Wattenberg/ Robert L. Lineberry 2012, National Cable Satelite Corporation 1995-2010, Craig Walenta The Proceedings of the Electoral Commission of 1877

James Joyces Dubliners - Analysis of Joyces Araby :: Joyce Dubliners Araby Essays

An Analysis of James Joyce's Araby James Joyce's "Araby" may seem at first glance to be only a story about a young boy's first love. However, there is an underlying theme of his effort to escape an inimical reality by transforming a neighbor girl into something larger than life, a spot of light in an otherwise dark and somber environment. Joyce's description of North Richmond Street evokes images of a vacuous, joyless, and stagnant environment. The house in which the young boy lives seems equally cold and gray. The narrator's description depicts a close and stifling environment: "Air, musty from having long been enclosed, hung in all the rooms, and the waste room behind the kitchen was littered with old and useless papers." (38) Another passage speaks of, "The high cold empty gloomy rooms" in the upper part of the house, and evokes a picture of a gloomy and repressed existence. The protagonist detaches himself from this ugly atmosphere leached of vitality with dreams of Mangan's sister. In contrast to his dark surroundings, he sees her as a something bright in his life, as evidenced by his description of "her figure defined by the light from the half-opened door". (38) Later, as he talks with her at the railings, the narrator relates: "The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing." (39) His preoccupation with first love is consuming and serves as an escape from the harsh, dirty truths of his existence. On a rainy evening, the object of his fascination spoke to the boy as he stood, hands clasped, and murmured, "Oh love! Oh love!" (39) Her address must seem almost miraculous to him. When she mentions how much she would love to go to Araby, his promise to bring her something from the bazaar seems to imply his feeling that this might somehow bring about a reciprocation of his love. His anticipation of the trip "cast an Eastern enchantment" over him as he looks forward to his trip to what his love describes as a "splendid bazaar" (39), which sets him up for the disappointment that lies ahead. The boy's final disappointment begins with his uncle's drunken preoccupation with his own agenda, which causes him to forget about the promised trip to the bazaar and come home late.

Citizenship Education Essay

About the Citizenship Foundation The Citizenship Foundation is an independent educational charity that aims to empower individuals to engage in the wider community through education about the law democracy and society. We focus, in particular, on developing young people’s Citizenship skills, knowledge and understanding. Our work includes Citizenship resources for a wide audience from teachers to young offenders, national projects for primary schools, active learning initiatives for secondary schools, nationwide training programmes, and community-based projects to develop citizenship education as a collective responsibility beyond school and college boundaries. Theme 1 – Purposes and Values At the Citizenship Foundation we believe that the primary phase presents an important opportunity for children to make sense of the changing society and the shrinking world they live in. While primary school teachers have never found it difficult to think about what kind of citizens they would like their children to become, the opportunities for developing the children’s knowledge have, in recent years, been squeezed by the need to deliver the core subjects and the pressure of SATs. There are, at best, limited opportunities for teachers in English schools to cover social topics such as family or crime because, unlike the situation in many continental countries, there is no tradition of a social studies curriculum for this age group. B. B. 1. B. 2. The findings of the recent UNICEF report i underline the need to attend to pupils’ social well-being. For example the UK had the lowest proportion (43. 3%) of 11 and 13 year olds who described their friends as kind and helpful. We consider it of vital importance to cultivate in primary aged children a concern to act fairly, responsibly and with compassion. B. 3. We believe that Citizenship Education is essential to individual empowerment. Not only should it be statutory, it should be a core element of the primary  curriculum, integrating taught and experiential learning in a coherent way leading towards a full understanding of what it means to be a member of the community with rights and responsibilities. As part of our submission to the Education and Skills Select Committee’s investigation into Citizenship Educationii, we have called for the current joint PSHE and Citizenship non-statutory framework to be accorded statutory status The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007. 1 B. 4. ‘Every Child Matters’iii and the Education Act 2002 make it a duty to consult children. Children therefore need to be systematically taught and given opportunities to develop the necessary skills, language and confidence to enable them to participate fully in decision making processes. Citizenship Education provides an opportunity for broadening cultural, social and political horizons, particularly in respect to developing a sense of identity, and an appreciation of the diversity of our society. These important functions of a broad social education should not be relegated to the margins or the ‘optional’, as they are within the non-statutory programme of study. With the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility, it is important that children have the opportunity to establish a sense of social and moral responsibility and develop a clearer understanding of the nature of their legal and moral rights and responsibilities. Changing societal conditions and the earlier onset of adolescence have made it urgent for primary schools to do more by way of explicit social and moral education. For example, children are exposed to the media, and have access to the internet in a way that was not the case even at the time of the introduction of the National Curriculum. In 2003 the OECDiv placed the UK at the bottom of a league table of young people’s risk behaviours, which included drinking, smoking, bullying and sexual activity. At the Citizenship Foundation we believe that the primary curriculum should be broad enough to provide an intellectual foundation for choice, affording children the ability to make responsible decisions at later stages of their education. Citizenship Education supports children in their personal development, equipping them to investigate the wider social and economic world, and to develop personal aspirations for it. In addition it lays the foundations for their political literacy and promotes the skills of community engagement. It provides them with an early introduction to financial literacy and agencies offering welfare support, providing them with knowledge of where to go for help which is essential, in an increasingly complex world, to the economic well-being, both of the individual and the nation as a whole. B. 5. B. 6. Theme 2 – Learning and Teaching B. 7. We know that spoken language is a vital part of human learning in the first ten years of life, and that it is a strong determinant of children’s ability to handle the written word. Citizenship Education is a vital component in any holistic approach to literacy and oracy, providing children with opportunities to analyse, compare, evaluate, reason, argue and justify. The work of psychologists such as Mercerv demonstrates the educational importance of exploratory talk to address shared problems. Citizenship issues are rich in such potential because they are real and relevant. Dunnvi has shown that attitudes and social concepts are shaped from an early age. From Key Stage 1 Citizenship Education provides an opportunity for teachers to nurture the development of this understanding in the context of a variety of issues salient to the young people themselves, developing understanding and fostering empathy before attitudes become entrenched. B. 8. The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007. 2 It offers a context through which children can develop critical thinking skills and emotional literacy in a coherent, integrated way. B. 9. Current educational practice, and the emphasis on target setting has led to more individualised learning, yet Vygotskyvii has identified learning as a social, interactive process that requires discussion, exchange and the sharing of perspectives. Citizenship learning provides opportunities for participation and active involvement. It is characterised by social thinking, and cannot be isolated or atomistic, as typified by much of the learning that currently takes place. Activities involving teamwork and enquiry skills, using Wallace’sviii TASC (Thinking Actively in a Social Context) model for example, build a sense of interdependence and community. B. 10. Recent research shows that children’s peers can be a powerful influence on their receptivity and motivation to learn. We also know that profound knowledge is acquired through the practical application of knowledge: we learn best through doing. Citizenship is rich in opportunities for discussion and dialogue between young people, and for applying their knowledge to make a difference to the world around them. The most effective Citizenship Education is built around pedagogical approaches that place active learning at the core. B. 11. Researchers such as Margaret Donaldsonix suggest that concepts presented in familiar contexts enable children to grasp ideas more readily than when they are concept free, yet there is still a tendency to teach the core subjects in a vacuum. The notion of curriculum breadth needs to be critically revisited, such that breadth is defined through a range of learning experiences rather than simply a collection of subjects. We also know that children are more likely to recall matters which are important to them. Citizenship Education can satisfy both these characteristics of learning, firstly by presenting a real life framework, or ‘big picture’, to help children make sense of new knowledge, and secondly by tackling issues of relevance and value to them such as fairness, bullying and responsibility for the environment. Indeed, Citizenship Education can provide a meaningful context for much of the primary curriculum, particularly aspects of learning in Literacy, History and Geography. It can also afford children opportunities to demonstrate their abilities across a wide range of intelligences, including inter-personal and intra-personal, which are currently not recognised and assessed through SATs. Theme 3 – Curriculum and Assessment B. 12. At the Citizenship Foundation we believe that primary education should try to achieve ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’ x across all subjects. Currently there is a tendency to focus on ‘excellence’ in the core subjects while restricting ‘enjoyment’ to the foundation subjects in the wider curriculum, as tends to be implied by the Primary National Strategy (PNS)xi. A more holistic, coherent and enriched approach is needed, with the children’s personal experiences, and their place and future in society, as a key focus. The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007 3 B. 13. During the primary phase children develop an increasing awareness of social and environmental issues. They are entitled to opportunities to develop more informed, reflective and balanced views on these issues. The curriculum needs to be constructed in a way which promotes a higher level of interaction and cognitive engagement, as opposed to teaching with low cognitive engagement leading to pre-determined answers. Citizenship, with its emphasis on oracy, active learning, and emotional literacy can play an important role in redressing the imbalance of an overly narrow curriculum, and in providing children with the opportunities to apply their knowledge in areas such as peer mediation, school democracy and community involvement. B. 14. Citizenship Education fosters social development and nurtures the social self, thus enriching the school community. ‘Citizenship-rich’ primary schools (where practices such as peer mediation, students as researchers and school councils are embedded) offer social learning activities which are shown to have maturational and behavioural benefits to the individual and for the whole school. These benefits have the potential to become widespread across all schools if Citizenship is made statutory. B. 15. Citizenship Education is currently under-recognised and under-developed in the primary phase. This is especially the case in Key Stage 2 where issues such as bullying, stealing, the role of the police, respect for law, and community cohesion issues are commonly addressed but not always from a Citizenship perspective or in a consistent manner. Yet this is the time when attitudes to authority figures are being shaped. Moreover, the risk is that key issues are overlooked. For example, whilst young people are criminally responsible by age ten, this significant fact and its implications, are not systematically communicated to primary school pupils as part of the statutory curriculum. B. 16. We believe that the core concepts and skills associated with Citizenship should be more precisely mapped and strengthened, and that there should be a clear pathway of progression, with identified cross-curricular links, from the Foundation Stage through to Year 6, bringing Citizenship Education into line with and providing a sound foundation for Key Stages 3 and 4. B. 17. With regard to formative assessment we believe that the most appropriate method of assessment at this stage of learning is one based on ‘success criteria’xii which leads to more focused teaching, and enables and motivates children to judge and improve their own performance in relation to the specific learning objectives which will have been identified above, for example objectives associated with enquiry and communication skills. B. 18. We are currently working with the QCA to develop an appropriate eight point assessment scale to support the teaching of Citizenship across the primary and secondary phases. This will be based as much as possible on the empirical work of developmental psychologists, including their work on concept and empathy development. The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007 4 Theme 5 – Diversity and Inclusion B. 19. In his recent review of Diversity and the Citizenship Curriculumxiii, Sir Keith Ajegbo highlighted the need to promote understanding between communities, and the importance of combating intolerance and religious extremism. He suggests that teachers should be prepared to tackle controversial topics such as immigration and the legacy of the British Empire, and that Citizenship lessons are the appropriate forum in which children can ‘discuss and debate their identities’. Whilst his focus was the secondary curriculum, we believe that this work should begin in the primary phase. B. 20. Indeed, from April 2007, upon the implementation of the Education and Inspection Act (2006), all schools, primary and secondary, have a statutory duty to promote social cohesion. Citizenship Education provides the logical curriculum response to this duty. B. 21. Citizenship Education is the subject which provides the most natural forum for discussion of issues relating to equal opportunities, diversity, faith and culture. Work around topics such as ‘similarity and difference’ and ‘rights and responsibilities’ helps children develop empathy, deepens understanding and builds greater confidence to express personal views. It supports them in developing a sense of who they are, what they can do, and how they belong. Thus it helps create social cohesion, which is essential for our personal well-being, and the maintenance of strong communities. Theme 8 – Beyond the School B. 21. Every staff and governing body needs to reflect on the purpose of their school, and its wider relations with the community. Active community engagement is central to the Citizenship Education programme. Citizenship Education has the capacity for building links between home, school, and the community in which they are situated. Parents and their children belong to the same neighbourhood, national and global communities, and Citizenship Education can promote meaningful intergenerational activities. When children participate in projects aimed at making a difference to their community, or become engaged in research about the views and responsibilities of people from a variety of social strata and professions, they begin to see themselves as active members of wider society Theme 10 – Funding and Governance B. 22. When Citizenship Education is appropriately represented within the primary curriculum, it will need to be resourced and funded accordingly. At the Citizenship Foundation we believe there to be a need for a coherent National Strategy for Teaching and Learning in Citizenship, fully endorsed by the DfES and QCA, and that this can only be implemented with proper training for headteachers and their staffs. This analysis is now supported by the report of the Select Committee. Equipped with the professional expertise, teachers will be enabled to recognise, nurture and develop The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007 5 particular interests, talents and capacities to make it possible for each individual to flourish in our society. B. 23. We recommend that every school be required to establish a school council constituted largely of pupil representatives, and that pupil representatives should be invited to become associate members of their school governing bodies, in line with the new governing body regulations introduced in 2003. C. Conclusion C. 1. Citizenship Education has the potential to create more effective learners by promoting a reflective approach, enabling connection of knowledge, developing greater facility for shared learning with others, and increasing engagement and self-direction. Above all, Citizenship Education can play an important part in developing engaged and responsible citizens. The Citizenship Foundation has always argued that the failure to make Citizenship Education statutory in primary schools was a missed opportunity and results in developmental delay in this area. There are examples of excellent Citizenship practice in the primary phase on which to build but we argue that that current provision (based on a non-statutory joint framework for PSHE and Citizenship) is inadequate, and deserves a much higher profile. We recognise that primary schools and practitioners will need support for the implementation of the above developments, and in the light of this the Citizenship Foundation is campaigning for: †¢ A designated co-ordinator in every school, supported by an LA adviser; †¢ Citizenship to feature in a revised primary SEF form; †¢ NCSL primary programmes to include a primary dimension; We will be pleased to discuss any aspect of this submission with the review team. C. 2 C. 3. C. 4. The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007 6 References: i UNICEF Report on Child Well-Being in Rich Countries (2007) Education and Skills Select Committee Report on Citizenship Education TSO (2007) Every Child Matters DfES (2003) ii iii iv OECD League Table of Young People’s Risk Behaviour. Programme of International Studies Assessment (PISA) (2003) Mercer, N. (2000) Words and Minds: How We Use Language to Think Together. Routledge. Dunn, J.  (1988). The Beginnings of Social Understanding, Blackwell Publishing. Vygotsky, L. S. (1962) Thought and Language Cambridge,MA:MIT Press v vi vii viii Wallace, B. Maher. J. et al (2004) Thinking Skills and Problem Solving – An Inclusive Approach David Fulton Publishers Donaldson, M. (1978) Children’s Minds. Fontana Press ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’ DfES (1993) Primary National Strategy (PNS) DfES (2003) ix x xi as advocated by Shirley Clarke in Enriching Feedback in the Primary Classroom. (2003) Hodder & Stoughton xiii xii Ajegbo, Sir K. Diversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review (2007) The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007 7 About the Authors Marguerite Heath is an experienced Primary Headteacher who now directs the Go-Givers programme at the Citizenship Foundation. Go-Givers is a major new resource for teaching and learning about Citizenship in primary schools which is to be launched in June 2007. Don Rowe is Director, Curriculum Resources at the Citizenship Foundation and a co-founder of the Foundation. He has published and advised widely on Citizenship Education in Primary and Secondary schools. Tony Breslin is Chief Executive at the Citizenship Foundation and has published and advised widely on Citizenship Education and in a range of related educational fields. Ted Huddleston is a Project Manager at the Citizenship Foundation, and currently leads on the Citizenship Manifesto programme. He has published and advised widely on Citizenship Education. Elizabeth Griffiths is an experienced primary practitioner working on the development of Go-Givers at the Citizenship Foundation. Contact: Marguerite Heath The Citizenship Foundation, 63 Gee Street, London EC1V 3RS Tel: 020 7566 4148 Email: marguerite. heath@citizenshipfoundation. org. uk The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007 8 The Primary Review submission from the Citizenship Foundation Citizenship Foundation, March 2007 9.

All the Pretty Horses novel

The novel All The Pretty Horses, written by Cormac McCarthy, is filled with much sorrow and negativity. The main character, John Grady Cole, faces plenty of hardships throughout his journey from his home in Texas to Mexico. On the other hand, McCarthy writes this award-winning book in a positive way, demonstrating the balance between optimism and pessimism in our world. He shows how John Grady Cole has matured and grown substantially because of this negativity he faces. The reader can clearly see the negativity not only in the first page of the novel, but also in the first paragraph.McCarthy begins the book with, â€Å"†¦ he looked at the face so caved and drawn among the folds of funeral cloth, the yellowed moustache, the eyelids paper thin. That was not sleeping†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3). The funeral described in the first page is John Grady’s grandpa’s funeral. Starting a book off in this way (with a dead body) obviously points the reader towards the opinion that this book is a long, dreadful ride with much death and destruction. The image of the coffin, the yellowing moustache, and the deceased person clearly shows the negativity that fills this book.Throughout the book, John Grady Cole faces many challenges and much adversity and learns to live with it. After leaving their home in Texas, John Grady and his best friend Rawlins travel hundreds of miles deep into the heart of Mexico on horseback until they reach a ranch offering work called La Purisima. Both of these boys are skilled at working with horses and spend most of their time at the ranch taming and taking care of the many horses there. While working at La Purisima, John meets the ranch owner’s daughter, a beautiful girl named Alejandra, and falls in love.Alejandra’s father absolutely does not appreciate this; in fact, he orders for John Grady and Rawlins to be arrested because of John’s interactions with Alejandra. The hardships that these boys face are relentless, h owever, John Grady refuses to hang his head and give up. On their way to the jail, John Grady says to Rawlins, â€Å"I can’t back up and start over. But I don’t see the point in slobberin over it† (155). At this point, McCarthy reveals how John Grady has matured and has learned to live with the sorrows he faces.With this new found maturity, and as John Grady Cole overcomes this terrible journey of negativity, he has learned to live with the pessimism and has found out how the negatives go side by side with the positives. Nearing the end of the book John Grady Cole realizes that â€Å"the world’s pain and its beauty moved in a relationship of diverging equity† (282). John Grady has learned the skill of searching for the light in a dark room, constantly refusing to dwell on the negative aspects of his many horrible situations.He has a new wisdom of the world and has learned how it works. In conclusion, McCarthy writes All The Pretty Horses with much negativity and at the same time he delivers a lesson of how positivity is hidden in every situation, journey, and life. McCarthy demonstrates how John Grady Cole learns maturity the hard way: through hardships, sorrow and death. This book leaves the reader with a tear in their eye and a smile on their face, for they know that sorrow is sitting on the doorstep of happiness.