Essay On The Tortilla Curtain - 1098 Words

The Tortilla Curtain is a principle novel to compare the United States of America to. The novel itself discusses environmental destruction, illegal immigration, materialism, poverty, and xenophobia which parallel the country altogether. Throughout the novel, the audience learns about the two different lifestyles the Mossbachers and the Rincà ³ns live. As the novel is continued, a sequence of incidents and a discussion of these incidents arise about them. Although these incidents, like illegal immigration and rape, could be considered too difficult to comprehend or too mature to discuss in a high-school classroom, they’re important to the development of the novel. The discussion of these incidents throughout the novel could be informative to†¦show more content†¦Although the parallel is a clear indication of the unchanging mentalities throughout the country, The Tortilla Curtain should be taught in high-school classrooms throughout the country because of the potential for change in the generations to come. The Tortilla Curtain presents a realistic depiction of what the life of illegal immigrants is like while making the effort to live a â€Å"normal† life and survive. Our society is identical to the society in a novel published in 1995. In the novel’s society, immigrants are deemed to be less of people and therefore, the white community of Arroyo Blanco Estates thought to â€Å"wall the place in† (Boyle 189). The wall is to be placed around Arroyo Blanco Estates because the residents would like to isolate themselves from the coyotes, or the Mexican immigrants. Amà ©rica and Cà ¡ndido Rincà ³n’s perspective of the wall presents a perspective an average white American citizen wouldn’t imagine to be immigrant’s perspective of the controversiality. The similarity of the wall being implemented to protect what it’s surrounding is one of the multiple similarities the audience learns about. A discussio n about the mature and sensitive material â€Å"[stays] on your mind [and gives] a bit more strength to the difficulties of immigrants in the United States† (‘Tortilla Curtain’ resonates in highShow MoreRelatedThe Tortilla Curtain Essay812 Words   |  4 Pagesway a person interprets a certain literary piece of merit. Past experiences such as cultural and family history, and childhood development have a huge impact on the way a person interprets and reacts to literature. Throughout the novel, â€Å"The Tortilla Curtain† by T.C Boyle’s, many issues facing Mexican immigrants arise and controversial topics are debated, as having a Hispanic heritage and growing up in a household that revolves around the Mexican culture my interpretations of it may contradict yoursRead MoreThe Tortilla Curtain Essay1445 Words   |  6 PagesChris Farley English A Wilson October 30, 2010 TC Essay In the novel, The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle a couple experiences life in California and never know whats going to happen. They find out life as they thought it would be, really isn’t how they imagined. They go through some great hardships that will forever change their lives and change their thoughts on things. Candido and America went through the most hardest times in this novel, they are illegel immigrants, they have no money,Read More Tortilla Curtain Essay880 Words   |  4 Pages Tortilla Curtain: Jack Jardine Jack Jardine is a very interesting character in the story Tortilla Curtain. He has a very strong influence on Delany Mossbacher, one of the central characters in the story. His influences, along with the tragic string of events concerning Delany and Candido, produce a complete turn around in the ideals of Delany by the end of the story. At the start of the story Delany is a liberal humanist;, albeit a hypocritical one, but by the end of the story Delany is carryingRead MoreThe Permeability of Walls in The Tortilla Curtain Essay1817 Words   |  8 Pagesemployment opportunities, its attractive to Mexican immigrants who wish to have a better life and seek to fulfill the common dream of having a piece of land to call their own. T.C. Boyle uses Topanga Canyon as the setting for his novel, The Tortilla Curtain, to explore how spatial arrangements affect the way in which people construct their identities. With the increase of Mexican immigrants present around Topanga Canyon, the residents of the suburban gated community, Arroyo Blanco, begin to feelRead MoreNatures Creatures in Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle Essay975 Words   |  4 Pages Nature’s Creatures The environment and its creatures hold a deep connection that most humans do not have or understand. In Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle, the main characters have a rare interaction with one of natures most â€Å"cunning, versatile, hungry and unstoppable† creatures: the coyote (Boyle 215). Some of his characters hold a deeper level of connection with the coyote that can almost be seen as paralleled and from this connection, T.C. Boyle’s idea of how a Mexican immigrant and a coyoteRead MoreThe American Dream : The Dream Of Abundance1229 Words   |  5 Pagesdream has always been a staple of American culture. When people speak of it, they often refer to the first half of the 20th century. Despite this, the American Dream is just as relevant to American culture today as it was in the last century. In this essay, we will explore the American dream and just what it is. Firstly, it’s important to mention the American dream isn’t measured based on what an individual has. It must be measured on its principles and how they apply to society. Although the AmericanRead MoreCharacter Analysis on Delaney Mossbacher938 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Danielle English 01A 7:30 30 September 2013 Character Analysis Essay In part one of the novel The Tortilla Curtain, Delaney Mossbacher has many personality traits that do not convince the reader he is a pleasant, all-American family man. Delaney shows narcissistic tendencies. His racist thoughts and actions are quite apparent, and Delaney’s lack of emotional intelligence becomes evident. Delaney Mossbacher Is not the man you may have been deluded to believe he is. Delaney is

E-Government Its Characteristics, Practices and Future

1. Introduction The Internet and the World Wide Web have changed our lives in many ways, making it possible to carry out a virtually unlimited number of activities from our home or office. For example, we can find information on camera features and prices before we actually buy a camera. We can communicate with our friends, relatives or other colleagues via e-mail on a virtually instantaneous basis, join a chat group discussing a current social issue such as horrible terrorists’ attacks on America and America’s possible response to the attacks. We can listen to remote radio or television stations live, meet colleagues with teleconferencing systems equipment, and buy some products and have them delivered directly home without going to†¦show more content†¦The objective of this paper is to compare process, components, functions, and practices of e-commerce with those of e-government and then to find some implications and recommendations for improved government services and bu sinesses. An important assumption is that most e-commerce practices and functions can be effectively applied to the area of government services and businesses. Therefore, the research questions to be answered in this paper are the followings: What kinds of regular businesses and services are currently on the Internet? What kinds of government businesses and services are currently on the Internet? What are similarities and differences between regular on-line businesses and services and government businesses and services? How can government on-line businesses and services be improved from the perspective of citizens? What are driving forces, barriers and future implications of electronic government? The first thing to be done is to identify and demonstrate regular Internet businesses and services and government Internet businesses and services currently on the Web. Then, similarities and differences between the two will be explored. Some implications and recommendations will be suggested based on the comparison of the two, on-line regular business services and on-line government business services. Finally driving forces, barriers and future implications or paths of electronic government will be stated.Show MoreRelatedImportance Of Open Access Resources1356 Words   |  6 Pagesconsumption, leading to overuse and eventual depletion. The views of Bromley and Cernea provide an effective analysis of this view. They posit that â€Å"the Hardin metaphor is not only socially and culturally simplistic, it is historically false; in practice, it deflects analytical attention away from the actual socio organizational arrangements able to overcome resource degradation and make common p roperty regime viable† (Bromley and Cernea 1989) . Bromley and Cernea explain that by dubbing certainRead MoreIntegrating Km with the Bsc at E-Land1522 Words   |  7 Pages1. What are the main characteristics of E-Land’s knowledge management? As you can see from Fig.1)KM model, by constructing the cycle which integrates performance management, knowledge management and learning organizations, BSC process is used as the Knowledge Management tool. This structure creatively applies structural characteristics of BSC to Knowledge Management and is expected to systematically raise knowledge workers’ productivity. KM formed the cornerstone of E-Land Group’s operational excellenceRead MoreAdvanced Nursing Practice1223 Words   |  5 Pagesinfluenced the development of advanced nursing practice. The discussion will include the political, economic, social, and technological influences that have contributed to the transformation from the traditional nursing role to the numerous exciting advanced level career opportunities achievable in nursing today. Dynamics that have shaped my own current advanced nursing role will be discussed and to conclude some thoughts on the future of advanced nursing practice. 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The social forces of the environment as defined in Marketing, include the demographic characteristics of the population and its values (Kerin Berkowitz, Hartley Rudelius, 2006, p. 74). This includes gender differences, buying patterns, diversity, culture, and attitudes. The Company refers to this factor as corporate citizenship. CorporateRead More A Cleaner Future: A Comprehensive Pollution Prevention and Reduction Program1378 Words   |  6 PagesA Cleaner Future: A Comprehensive Pollution Prevention and Reduction Program Introduction Pollution is a major problem globally and it becomes greater as the human population continues to rise exponentially. One of the major problems with increased population is higher waste production, which creates increased air, soil, and water pollution. To resolve this problem waste reduction must be of primary importance in preventing and reducing pollution. Waste management can be an expensive undertakingRead Moreon killing a tree Essay1240 Words   |  5 Pageson scientific, objective and value free study of political phenomenon. This approach stresses upon the use of empirical as well as scientific methods of study political behavior. This approach shifts its emphasis from the study of the state and government to the day-today problems, activities and behaviour of individuals and groups. Behavioural approach has portraits individuals as center of attention and examines their behaviour, actions and tries to comprehend them through a scientific outlookRead MoreEssay on Finance1489 Words   |  6 PagesCorporate Finance: Theory Practice 25557 Assignment 1) What are the appropriate costs of capital for the GPS transmitter and surveillance aircraft projects? The cost of capital is used to discount the expected cash flow of a proposed project to its present value to make an evaluation of whether to proceed or drop out the project. Normally, a company cost of capital or WACC is used as the discount rate for projects. However, as WACC represents the average rate of return demanded by investors inRead MoreRawls Original Position And Veil Of Ignorance1646 Words   |  7 PagesPosition is the Veil of Ignorance. The Veil of Ignorance is worn when a person, or group of persons make that impartial and just decision. It is to â€Å"†¦insure impartiality of judgment, the parties are deprived of all knowledge of their personal characteristics and social and historical circumstances† (Freeman, 1996). Yet, all facts are not stripped from the person. Common facts about life and society remains while under the Veil of Ignorance so that choices are made freely, equally and based on moralsRead MoreSustainability Multiple Choice Questions1540 Words   |  7 Pageslevels B) keeping the natural environment and human society in a happy, healthy and functional state C) holding or increasing the current quality of human life D) always focusing on fulfilling short‑term needs E) opposing change from current policies Objective: 23.2 Sustainable development 2) The current use of fossil fuels versus the need to develop new renewable energy sources is an example of ________. A) how short‑term needs

Sexuality at Different Life Stages Free Essays

Sexuality at Different Life Stages Sexuality at Different Life Stages Through the different stages of our lives we experience sexuality in one way or another. In the stage of infancy we experience sexuality by the suckling our fingers to vaginal lubrication or erections. As we grow into older children we experience sexuality in the form of kissing and games such as doctor, or I will show you mine if you show me yours. We will write a custom essay sample on Sexuality at Different Life Stages or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the case of Ana she is in the stage of adolescence. This is the stage when our body starts going through puberty and our sexual hormones are raging. This is also the time when we want the adults to be the most informative and answer questions that we may have without judgment. Ana is at the point in her life where she is at a fork in the road and is unsure of what she wants to do, and is feeling like she is being torn because of comments she is hearing from her mom. As much as her mom thinks that she is trying to keep her daughter. The next stage in life is adulthood. During adulthood there can be many different ways that one will experience sexuality. In the case of Tom and Susan they are both retired and although Susan is newly retired and has found interest in sex again Tom is not showing any interest. This could be a simple issue that could be taken care of with talking or even with medication. Then you can have the issue like in the case of Bill and being paralyzed which one may need to be informed of the possibilities into how he can be intimate with his partner. It is stated in Ana’s case that she is in the adolescent stage of her life and in love with her boyfriend who she has been dating for three years now. Her boyfriend is three years older and has putting pressure on her to have sex, and her mom is telling her that Ana’s boyfriend is going to take advantage of her because she is young. Ana needs to understand that what was right for her mother, or for her boyfriend may not be right for her. Ana needs to get away from the people that are in her ears and she needs to listen to what is in her heart. I do not believe in telling you Ana that I condone sex among adolescence, because I do not. Although I feel that the more informed you are about not only the possibilities that could happen from having sex, such as teen pregnancy and STD’s, the more you as an individual will be able to make an informed decision. When deciding to have sex with someone you need to stop and think about the reason you are having sex with this person. Is it because you want to or is it because you are feeling pressure from that person to have sex? You need to know what you morally believe in and be able to stand up for what you believe in. As far as your mother you need to let her know and to put her mind at ease that when you are ready to have sex with someone that you will make sure that you are having sex for all the right reasons and that you will be responsible about the decision you make. Keeping the line of communication open between you and your parents will help in being able to be informed about sex and the emotions that go along with it. A man can have sex with someone and not have it mean anything, but unfortunately for girls it is not the same. When a woman has sex with someone it is because she has strong feelings for that person and want to be together with that person and because she loves that person, and unfortunately that is not always the case for the person you decide to have a sexual relationship with. Tom and Susan you have both entered a stage in your life where you are at different stages sexually. Susan you are feeling sexual desire again in your stage of life whereas Tom may be at the stage where he is unsure that he may be able to perform. We all as individuals go through this in this stage of life because life takes a toll on us from our appearance being changed and looking older to maybe sexually things not working the way we want them to and this can play a big role in how we feel about ourselves mentally. As far as the way you look, all that matters is what your partner thinks of you and Tom thinks that your are more beautiful than the day he married you. As for you Tom being nervous about the possibility of things not working when you want them to can create a lot of unnecessary stress that could add to the problem of things not working. We can try one of two things, you can go home leave all your worries in my office and just enjoy each other and remind each other what you guys mean to one another, or we can look into prescribing something that will help you when you find yourselves wanting to be in that intimate moment. In the case of Bill he is at a point in his life that most adults if they are lucky will never have to go through and that is being able to be intimate with someone when you are paralyzed from the waist down. With a situation like this you as the individual going through the problem needs to know and understand the extent of your injury. Knowing the extent of the injury would be able to let you know if you were able to achieve an erection or not. With everything that goes on between couples normally this is one more thing that can and will cause stress. There are many ways that you and your mate can find pleasure from each other you just need to be willing to think outside of the box. We as individuals go through so much as we grow and mature, that we often complicate the simple things in life instead of taking things in stride. In the cases that we went through we discussed many different ideas that can either be complicating a relationship, or making it better. How to cite Sexuality at Different Life Stages, Essays

Oxpeckers free essay sample

Oxpecker birds (Buphagus erythrorhynchus), or more commonly known as the â€Å"tick birds†, are both very fascinating, yet confusing little creatures. Well known for being natives of the African continent, the oxpecker bird can be easily separated into two different distinct types of bird species: both the major species and focus species of the study being red-billed oxpecker bird (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) located in northern Africa and the other derived, sister species, being the yellow-billed oxpecker bird (Buphagus africanus) located in southern Africa (Stutterheim et al.  , 2000). These two species of oxpecker birds differ not only in appearance and bill color, but also mating sound, preferences, and their habitat location (Stutterheim et al. , 2000). While both of the oxpecker bird species are known to be very talkative and interesting creatures, these birds are most commonly known for two reasons: 1. ) Their extraordinary and peculiar feeding habits and preferences. 2 . ) Their invasive and unidentifiable relationships with their animal hosts. Both species of the oxpecker bird differ slightly by their feeding habits, but mainly differing on what types of animals they choose to land upon and to be a host for their daily meals (Stutterheim et al. , 2000). The oxpecker bird has caused much conflict when it comes to its true relationships with animal hosts. It has been noticed to have both a mutualistic and parasitic relationships with the host they land upon (Stutterheim et al. , 2000). With further exploration for information on this bird, we are able to determine what type of relationship is truly present in the oxpeckers daily interactions. The oxpecker bird spends most of its typical, normal day flying around and looking for a decently sized ungulate host to land upon or rest upon to begin its normal, everyday feeding process (Stutterheim et al. , 2000). Once the host animal has been located and the bird has landed, the oxpecker bird begins to remove and feast upon the invading ticks that are lingering on or are attached to the ungulates large body (Weeks, 2000). The oxpecker birds will continue to remove the invading ticks with their bill until there are no longer any ticks present on the animal host (Weeks, 2000). If any nearby or oncoming predator is coming to attack the animal host and is sensed or noticed by the resting, feeding oxpecker bird, it immediately reacts to the predator’s presence and begins to fly away from its host (Plantan, 2009). This sudden motion of the oxpecker bird ultimately sends a warning message to the unsuspecting ungulate host to either run away or to protect itself from the predator that is approaching (Plantan, 2009). This specific type of relationship is commonly known as mutualism. Mutualism is where both species benefits from the interaction with one another and neither are harmed in the process (Nunn et al. , 2011). In this case, the birds are being well fed while the animal host is rid of ticks and is able to avoid oncoming danger (Nunn et al. , 2011). But the oxpecker bird is not always seen or known as the friendly, helpful companion it normally appears to be. While removing the invading ticks from ungulates body seems to be the oxpecker birds only job in life, the oxpecker bird will sometimes discard the removed ticks as its primary meal choice completely (Weeks, 2000) Instead, the oxpecker bird will use its bill to begin to pick apart and start eat the raw flesh remaining of the poor, unsuspecting ungulate it is currently resting and feeding upon (Weeks, 2000). If no previously made wounds from invading tick removal can be found lingering on the animal’s body for the bird to feast upon, the oxpecker bird will use its bill and immediately begin to peck open and create fresh wounds on the body so they can start or continue on with their feeding process (Bishop and Bishop, 2014). This type of relationship is more commonly known as parasitism. Parasitism is where only one species benefits from the interaction while the other gains nothing in return and is harmed (Nunn et al. , 2011). In this case, the oxpecker bird is being well fed while the animal host is just experiencing pain (Nunn et al., 2011). These two interesting and different types of interactions can cause major confusion and conflict as to what type of relationship, parasitic or mutualistic, these oxpecker birds truly have with these ungulates hosts. Researchers have tried for many years to broaden their knowledge about this confusing and peculiar little bird. By monitoring a nd recording the daily lives and interactions of the oxpecker species and their hosts, experiments were able to be created and executed to discover what the oxpecker bird prefers as their primary meal source and whether or not it helps the animal hosts in the end. Ultimately, these multiple experiments and observations will allow information on these birds to be pieced together and lead to discovery of whether the oxpecker and the ungulate hosts are considered to have a mutualistic relationship or a parasitic relationship. To dig deeper into this relationship mystery, individual experiments that were performed in different locations and that were executed in a different kind of way can be observed closer. Each of the experiments can hold information and conclusions for either a parasitic or mutualistic relationship. The final results can then be compared to similar works to see if this information holds true for other experiments and if conclusions are similar in any way. If so, the collected information can either debunk or verify what conclusions are wrong and right. This will overall provide what type of relationship, or relationships the oxpecker actually has with its animal host. In order to do this, each type of relationship separately must be looked at separately and more viable information must be found on each that can either prove or disprove the experiments final outcomes. The first experiment that was further evaluated was preformed back in 2004 at a local zoo located in northern Switzerland. This experiment will be a main focus, considering it shows perfect examples of both the parasitic and mutualistic types of oxpecker bird relationships. In this experiment, multiple rhinoceroses were placed in captivity and were relocated in two separate habitats within the zoo with a few oxpecker birds residing in each of the two separate habitats (McElligott et al. , 2004). In one of the habitats, the captive rhinoceroses were completely exposed to invading ticks and all of the other outside insects and factors (McElligott et al. , 2004). The other habitat holding the other captive rhinoceroses in the study, however, were treated and cleaned of ticks or oncoming pests daily before they came in any contact with the oxpecker birds (McElligott et al. , 2004). The daily lives and interactions of all the rhinoceros, their responses to the oxpecker bird’s presence and their overall tick abundance in each of the habitats were observed and recorded daily over a twenty-one day period (McElligott et al, 2004). Knowing that oxpeckers feed primarily on ticks and other pestering insects, it would be assumed that the oxpecker bird would completely clean the infested rhinoceros of all of its natural pests and predators. However, this predicted outcome was not always the case for the tick infested rhinoceroses habitat. For most of this study, the oxpecker birds would use its bill to pick off and eat only the tick that were located on and removed from the ungulate host (McElligott et al. , 2004). But almost halfway through the study, the oxpeckers feeding preference outcome had begun to change for the worst (McElligott et al. , 2004). The oxpecker birds would not only eat the ticks that they had been removing, but they also began to pick at the fresh, bleeding wounds that were left behind after the tick had been removed (McElligott et al. , 2004). The oxpecker bird’s newfound thirst for the host animals blood may be due to the fact that the tick meals are normally filled with the host animal’s blood before they are removed and eaten (Plantan, 2009). Therefore, the oxpecker birds acquired a taste for the animal’s blood through the tick and learned that they could obtain it by pecking and eating flesh straight from the animal’s body just as the ticks do (Plantan, 2009). These new open wounds, however, are not good for the host animal’s health. The wounds are left open to potential diseases and other pathogenic outside factors that may ultimately be deathly to the animal host (McElligott et al. , 2004). Therefore, this information and these results lead closer to the idea of a parasitic relationship because the oxpeckers are being fed and nurtured while the rhinoceros are only being eaten alive. In comparison to this portion of the experiment, another similar experiment was done to measure overall tick abundance with the absence of the oxpecker birds. Ticks were collected daily from the bodies of a herd of cattle in a field located in Zimbabwe (Weeks, 2000). The number of ticks that were collected from the cattle and the number of wounds the ticks had created were counted and recorded daily over a time span of one month (Weeks, 2000). The researchers then compared the absent oxpecker collected data to the data of the cattle that had been exposed to oxpecker birds (Weeks, 2000). The data of the cattle exposed to the oxpecker birds showed major differences to the oxpecker free cattle (Weeks, 2000). The results of both parts of the experiment showed that there was no real significance in the number of invading ticks that were removed from the cattle, but there was a big difference between the number of wounds that were left in the cattle body (Weeks, 2000). This showed that the oxpeckers were not really focused on eating the ticks, but more interested in the blood of the cattle and therefore hurting it in the end (Weeks, 2000). The first experiment with rhinoceros shows both a mutualistic side and a parasitic side to the oxpecker bird. In the presence of invading ticks, the oxpecker birds would eat the ticks as a primary meal but still began to create new wounds on the animal after a short period of time. This turned the oxpecker bird and rhinoceros’s relationship from being somewhat mutualistic to purely parasitic. In the second experiment comparison with the cattle, however, it was strictly a parasitic relationship between the two species. The cattle experiment debunks the empty conclusions that were missing from the rhinoceros experiment. This information shows that oxpecker birds really do not really have a preference for ticks as primary meals. The oxpecker birds prefer and feed mostly on the flesh and blood of animals they are using as their host. This type of interaction between the two is not only harmful to the current animal host, but also can prove to be very dangerous and deadly as well when it comes to the overall health of the animal host. In order to enhance and push closer towards the idea of a parasitic relationship, a single oxpecker bird was put into captivity within a habitat with an ungulate and was monitored to see if they ate mainly ticks or flesh of the ungulate host (Milius, 2000). The number of ticks that were removed and consumed by the oxpeckers and wounds that were fed upon and created were measured, recorded and monitored daily over a period of one month (Milius, 2000). Observations and recordings showed that invading ticks on the animal host body were chosen as a primary meal by the oxpecker birds 70% less then flesh or wounds of the animals were chosen (Milius, 2000). This shows that flesh was preferred more as a primary food source than the invading ticks. This information leads more towards a parasitic relationship between the oxpeckers and their hosts. In the case of the cleansed rhinoceros habitat in the previously explained experiment, the outcome and overall conclusions were not that much different in results from the tick infested rhinoceros habitat (McElligott et al. , 2004). Since there were no invading ticks or other pestering insects available for the oxpecker birds to remove or feast upon from the host, they needed to find a new, viable food source to eat daily in order to survive (McElligott et al. , 2004). The oxpecker birds would land upon the ungulates backs and since there were no invading ticks or flesh wounds currently present, they would begin to create new or fresh ones with their bill in order to begin their feeding process (McElligott et al. , 2004). The bird would peck and pull at the rhinoceros skin with their bill until they exposed tissue or caused blood to appear (McElligott et al. , 2004). The oxpecker birds would then feast upon whatever they had created or could get a hold of (McElligott et al. , 2004). The rhinoceros would try multiple times to shake the oxpeckers off of their bodies (McElligott et al. , 2004). This technique, however, did not always prove to be helpful or useful for the animal host (McElligott et al. , 2004). The oxpecker birds would fly away from the animal’s body for a short time, but would then return once the shaking had subsided (McElligott et al. , 2004). In a similar experiment, the same technique was used but impala were used as the host animal instead of rhinoceroses (Mooring and Mundy, 2000). Oxpeckers were free to land upon the clean, captive impala as they pleased, and both the impala responses to this oxpecker bird’s presence and oxpeckers actions were recorded over a period of time (Mooring and Mundy, 2000). The impala hosts did not mind the presence of the pestering oxpecker birds at first and would mostly just ignore their overall existence and intrusion as a whole (Mooring and Mundy, 2000). Without the presence of invading ticks as a primary meal, the oxpecker birds were forced to pick at old, scarred wounds (Mooring and Mundy, 2000). The oxpecker birds would then eat the flesh and blood of the impala host and would begin to create unnecessary new wounds on their skin if no previous ones were found (Mooring and Mundy, 2000). The impala host did not agree to this kind of behavior and started to viciously shake their bodies in order to try and remove the pestering oxpecker birds (Mooring and Mundy, 2000). The oxpecker birds, however, would not let this attempt to shake them send them away (Mooring and Mundy, 2000). Eventually, the oxpeckers would return within minutes after the impalas shaking subsided (Mooring and Mundy, 2000). These few experiments showed that when the ticks were no longer a factor for a primary meal source, the oxpecker birds immediately went for the blood and flesh of theircurrent animal hosts. These experiments only portrayed a parasitic relationship between the two since the rhinoceros and impalas were only being harmed by the oxpecker birds and were not benefiting from them at all (Mooring and Mundy, 2000) (McElligott et al. , 2004). This suggests that the oxpecker birds may prefer to eat flesh in place of ticks because it is more appealing and appetizing to them. Both the rhinocero s and impala animal hosts did not tolerate the oxpecker bird’s invading behavior and tried constantly to shake the oxpeckers off or fight back, but they ultimately failed. It shows that the animals did not want the oxpeckers to invade them and supports the idea of a parasitic relationship even more. In order to further enhance and verify the conclusions of all the experiments with parasitic outcomes, oxpecker birds should be placed in different cages with ticks and a piece of raw meat or animal flesh as primary meal choices. The oxpecker birds can then be studied and observed daily to determine what meal the oxpecker bird prefers to primarily eat over a period of time. This will determine if the oxpecker bird enjoys ticks for dinner or if they are truly blood driven creatures. An experiment was done similar to this explanation to further prove that the oxpeckers wanted flesh and blood of host animals instead of ticks for meal source. Oxpecker birds were captured and were then separated into three different types of cages; one cage containing just a piece of flesh from a dead animal, one containing just ticks, and another containing both sources of food (Plantan et al. , 2009). The animals were given fresh, replacement food each day and their preference was recorded daily over a period of time (Plantan et al. , 2009). In the first cage with both of the feeding preferences present, the animal host flesh was almost always preferred as the oxpecker birds primary food source while little to almost no ticks were feasted upon in the cage (Plantan et al. , 2009). The second cage with only animal host flesh present as a food source was almost always close to being all gone or was completely eaten by the end of the day (Plantan et al. , 2009). The third cage that contained only ticks for a food source were eaten scarcely by the oxpecker birds, mainly because that was the only food source present for the oxpecker to feast upon (Plantan et al., 2009). The results of this experiment show that the oxpecker birds preferred host animal flesh over ticks. Therefore, this shows that when the oxpecker birds land upon the animal hosts, they are not looking for invading ticks to feast upon (Plantan et al. , 2009). Instead, the birds are looking for wound in order to feed upon the animal’s flesh and blood. Regar dless of all the biting and pestering done by the oxpecker birds in each of the experiments presented, the oxpecker birds also proved to be sometimes helpful and beneficial to their animal hosts when it came to the experiment referring to the rhinoceros habitats. While removing invading ticks did not always seem like a positive interaction because of the flesh and wound eating that occurred after the tick was removed, there were also some positive results due to removing them from the rhinoceros body (McElligott et al. , 2004). The removing the ticks did stop most of the spread of diseases brought upon from the ticks from entering, overtaking and evidently killing the rhinoceros host that was being invaded by the tick (McElligott et al. , 2004). The survivability of the rhinoceros host also increased drastically when any potential diseases were no longer a health risk (McElligott et al., 2004). This suggested that the oxpeckers were actually helping the rhinoceros in some way, therefore giving evidence of a mutualistic relationship (McElligott et al. , 2004). To test if this is a true observation, another piece of work focusing on invading tick disease in wildlife was thoroughly examined to see if tick removal is truly beneficial to animal ho sts (Bengis et al. , 2002). In this particular experiment, a large group of livestock was isolated into two different sections of a field (Bengis et al. , 2002). One group of livestock was exposed to ticks and other pestering insects (Bengis et al. , 2002). The other group of livestock was clear of ticks and other potential pests daily (Bengis et al. , 2002). The livestock group without any tick or pest exposure was shown to have a 47% higher survivability rate than the livestock that was exposed any type of ticks (Bengis et al. , 2002). Any of the livestock that died during the course of the experiment were examined thoroughly to determine the cause of death (Bengis et al. , 2002). The test results of the deceased livestock showed that the animal had been bitten by an infected tick that most likely transmitted the malignant disease over a period of time to the unsuspecting livestock host, which evidently killed the animal overall (Bengis et al. , 2002). Overall, these results showed that removing ticks would benefit the animal hosts by removing the infection before it began to spread (Bengis et al. , 2002). This information gives insight on the mutualistic relationships between oxpecker birds and their host animals. The invading ticks however, were not the only substances that were being pecked at and removed from the rhinoceros hosts body and hair by the oxpecker birds (McElligott et al. , 2004). These oxpecker birds were also noted and observed removing and eating other types of pestering insects, such as flies, lice and fleas, from the rhinoceros hosts body and hair (McElligott et al. , 2004). The oxpecker birds were also sometimes seen feeding upon and picking at the loose dandruff and dry, dead skin that was present all over rhinoceros hosts body and hair (McElligott et al. , 2004). The oxpecker birds were also sometimes observed removing, and discarding the compacted ear wax that was forming in the rhinoceros hosts ears (McElligott et al. , 2004). These other bodily removals by the oxpecker birds were overall helpful and beneficial to the rhinoceros hosts health and appearance, rather than causing more harm or damage to the rhinoceros (McElligott et al. , 2004). This proved to be a sign of a mutualistic relationship between the two since the oxpecker bird is not only being fed and the rhinoceros host is also being cleaned as well (McElligott et al. , 2004). In a similar experiment, oxpecker birds were observed not only removing but also eating the earwax and dandruff off of other animal hosts such as giraffes, elephants, deer, zebras, etc. (Dickman, 1992). The earwax and dandruff from the animal host’s body provided protein to the oxpecker birds, benefitting their overall health and development (Dickman, 1992). The animal hosts benefit in two separate ways from this interaction with the oxpeckers (Dickman, 1992). The animal host’s ears are cleared of all of the earwax, meaning that they can detect and hear upcoming predators more easily than with their blocked ears (Dickman, 1992). Also, the dandruff removal from the animal hosts hair and body helps prevent rashes or other irritations from developing on the animal hosts skin (Dickman, 1992). This type of removal and eating habit benefits both the animal host and the pest (the oxpecker bird) of the interaction (Dickman, 1992). Therefore, this experiment gives evidence of a possible mutualistic relationship between the two parties. In summary, all of the experiments presented for this topic represented one or both of the parasitic and mutualistic relationships of  oxpeckers birds and their ungulate hosts. Each paper represented either a similar or an alternative experiment to other experiments. Their results either gave further support to or rejected the conclusions of the experiment all together. Both types of the oxpecker bird’s relationships were thoroughly investigated and proper examples of each type of relationship were provided. After many experiments and sometimes contrary results, it has been co ncluded that the oxpeckers have more a parasitic relationship with their ungulate hosts than a mutualistic relationship. Many of the experiments presented for this topic showed the oxpecker birds in a state where they were only harming there animal host and not giving them any benefit at all (McElligott et al. , 2004). The oxpecker birds, however, should not be seen as only harmful creatures. Even though they seem to do more harm than good, they also tend to help their animal hosts with predators, spread of infection, and other overall health benefits (Bengis et al. , 2002) (McElligott et al. , 2004). This type of research on oxpecker birds is very important for future studies as well. It is suggested that the oxpecker bird is currently on the verge of going extinct (Mellanby et al. , 2009). If the oxpecker bird is truly going extinct, it is suggested to be a positive thing to the ungulates since the oxpeckers will no longer be invaded and attacked by these animals (Mellanby et al. , 2009). Their extinction, however, can also prove to be very dangerous as well. While it would prevent animal hosts from being practically eaten alive, the overall health of these animal hosts will be in jeopardy because the oxpeckers will not be able to warn hosts of predators or stop the spread of infection (Mellanby et al.  , 2009). The oxpeckers birds may be considered a parasite, but it does not mean that these birds are not needed in the environment. These birds help in more ways than are known and they should not be seen as just a threat to their hosts. Their extinction should be monitored more carefully so this species does not disappear altogether. Without this species, it is unknown what may truly happen to the animals that the oxpecker birds interact with on a daily basis. The oxpeckers should always be given the benefit of the doubt because we never know what may arise if this creature just disappeared one day.