April 19th, 1996 Essay Example For Students

April 19th, 1996 Essay A critical analysis of the main characters and plot from the novel Beloved (BY TONI MORRISON). Frank ManciniBeloved is a novel set in Ohio during 1873, several years after the Civil War. The book centers on characters who struggle fruitlessly to keep their painful recollections of the past at bay. The whole story revolves around issues of race, gender, family relationships and the supernatural, covering two generations and three decades up to the 19th century. Concentrating on events arising from the Fugitive Slave Act of 1856, it describes the horrendous consequences of an escape from slavery for Sethe, her children and Paul D. The narrative begins 18 years after Sethes break for freedom, and it gradually persuades the reader to accept the haunting of 124 Bluestone Road by a 2 year old child, killed by her mother Sethe: Full of babys venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the childrenby 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims (Page 1). The novel is divided into three parts. Each part opens with statements as to indicate the progress of the hauntingfrom the poltergeist to the materialized spirit to the final freeing of both the spirit and Sethe; Part I: 124 WAS SPITEFUL (Page 1); Part II: 124 WAS LOUD(Page 169); Part III: 124 WAS QUIET (Page 239). These parts reflect the progressive reconciliation of a betrayed child and her desperate mother. Overall symbolizing the gradual acceptance of freedom and the enormous work and continuous struggle that would persist for the next 100 years. The dynamics of the story attempt to distance the reader from an immediate and direct exposure to the extremes of the real horror contained in the narrative. The narrative jumps from one setting to another, from the past to the present. However, the complex chronology is necessary to understand the psychological and emotional state of all the participants in the story. Reading the story resembles listening to a story. This peculiar oral style surfaces; it feels as if the novel is speaking the emotions of each character out loudly, allowing the reader to identify with each one. Events that occurred prior and during the 18 years of Sethes freedom are slowly revealed and pieced together throughout the novel. Ever so painfully, Sethe is in need of rebuilding her identity and remembering the past and her origins: Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But its not. Places, places, are still there. If a house burns down its gone, but the placethe picture of itstays, and not just in rememory, but out there in the world (Page 35). The author moves around the characters allowing each participant in the story a turnBaby Suggs, Paul D, Stamp Paid, Denver, Sethe and Belovedto convey their perceptions of events to the reader. Baby Suggs horror at her grandchilds murder is passionately displayed: Baby Suggs had got the boys inside and was bathing their heads, rubbing their hands, lifting their lids, whispering, Beg your pardon, I beg your pardon, the whole time (Page 152). Within this horror, the insensitivity of her landlord is shown when Baby Suggs is approached by her landlords kids regarding fixing some shoes, not knowing and not caring to know they just give her the shoes: Baby Suggs She took the shoes from himsaying, I beg your pardon. Lord, I beg your pardon. I sure do (Page 153). Paul Ds memories of Sweet Home are remembered to confront his and Sethes past: Paul D smiled then, remembering the bedding dress. Sethe was thirteen when she came to Sweet Home and already iron-eyed (Page 10). These various voices act as witnesses to Sethes experiences and showing how black women had no control over their husbands, children or own bodies. Racial issues are one of the main issues in Beloved. The story revolves around the life of a former slave and her attempts to get on with her life as best as she can considering what the white slave owners have put her through. The cruelties of the slaves by the slave owners in this story are probably conservative compared to what really occurred in many cases. This novel is about emotions and perceptions of African-Americans and of the burden of sorrow that they have inherited from being deprived of their homeland and treated like animals. These emotions are complex and very deep. Abortion: Pro Choice View EssaySelf-acceptance and love are perhaps the most important points of the novel. For people whose negative up bringing and indoctrination has associated blackness with every form of evil and ugliness, self-love is difficult to achieve. Appreciation of one self and moral reconstruction can be achieved only with a rejection of all that had destroyed black identity in slavery. The author is attempting to show the roots of this negativity in order to overcome it. The story revolves around the scars and the psychological state of African-Americans during and after slavery. Beloved materializes when Seths plantation past re-emerges with a visit from a fellow ex-slave, Paul D. He offers her love and the possibility of a new life. This triggers Beloved incarnation who is extremely jealous to be recognized as the proof of her mothers deed. The signs indicating that the young woman was Seths child materializing in flesh and blood were many, such as her name Beloved and her weak neck: Her neck, its circumference no wider than a parlor-service saucer, kept bending and her chin brushed the bit of lace edging her dress (Page 50). The sudden emergency Sethe experienced as she noticed Beloved, remind the reader of Sethe giving birth. Beloveds struggle to reclaim connection with her mother, could symbolize their struggle for freedom by reclaiming their past. In order to never forget their enslaved history and confrontation could be the catalyst to growth: She had an emergency that unmanageable. She never made the outhouse. Right in front of its door she had to lift her skirts, and the water she voided was endlessNo, more like flooding the boat when Denver was born (Page 51). Denver had never left 124 Bluestone Road and never encountered white people until forced to seek help from her community where she recognizes the danger that Beloved poses to Sethe. She begins to grow by attending to her mother and Beloved as if they were her children. Later when in the house of Bodwin a pro anti-slavery activist she sees a small statue of a black boy kneeling and with his mouth wide open to be used as a money box: Painted across the pedestal he knelt on were the words At Yo Service (Page 255). Here she realizes that help from this man who owns this ornament is helping to perpetuate racism and that her emancipation is only possible with the help of the black community. Although this novel is full of symbolism and metaphors, the ghost of Sethes dead baby could reflect the authors beliefs in the paranormal. Anyone who enters the house on Bluestone Road actually witnesses the presence of this ghost which may symbolize slaverys rememories that haunt Sethe and her people throughout the story. All of the characters try to repress their memories, which need to be faced and exorcised as you would a ghost. The end of this novel emphasizes the importance of the community and the individuals search for self which characterizes the survival struggle of Black Americans. Sethe is destroyed by her memories and her isolation with the ghost of Beloved, (representing the memories of slavery) until the community intervenes and saves her. The black community and their cohesiveness and harmony is an essential factor to further the healing of 244 years of slavery and another 133 years of political abuse. The author has successfully developed a novel which represents the hopes, aspirations, and historical memories of black America in 273 pages. Special attention has been placed on black women, which struggle under a double burden: that of racial prejudice and that of a male-centered society.

Manhattan Project Essays - Manhattan Project, Code Names

Manhattan Project The research for the first Atomic bomb was done in the United States, by a group of the best scientists; this research was given the name of "The Manhattan Project". On Monday July 16th, 1945, a countdown for the detonation of the first atomic bomb took place near Los Alamos, New Mexico. This atomic bomb testing would forever change the meaning of war. As the atomic bomb was detonated it sent shock-waves all over the world. There was endless research done on the bomb in the United States. The research was called "The Manhattan Engineer District Project" but it was more commonly known as "The Manhattan Project."1 The Manhattan Project was brought by fear of Germany and it's atomic research. On account of the fear of Germany the United States took action upon testing their own atomic bomb. Once the bomb was tested, the United States had to decide whether it should be used and if so, where? Then there was the process of dropping the bomb. The Manhattan Project was overall one of the highest and most significant projects ever done in the United States.2 The United States government was shocked by the news of German scientists discovering nuclear fission. The news came to the United States from Albert Einstein. Einstein found out the nuclear fission information from a German physicist named Leo Szilard. He then told it to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and urged him to start an investment toward atomic research. 3The research would then help construct an atomic weapon of mass destruction. Roosevelt was not especially concerned about investing in atomic weapon research because he didn't plan on getting involved in the War. When Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, Roosevelt entered the war and sent significant funds to the construction of the atomic weapon. Roosevelt speeded up the process of research by having General Groves setup a committee of the brightest minds from all around the world. Because most of the work done on research of the bomb was done in the Manhattan District of New York, at the US Army Corps of Engineers, the name given to the lay out was "The Manhattan Project".3 The man that General Grooves chose to head the Manhattan project was Robert J. Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was a Jewish born child who was raised in Manhattan. Oppenheimer went to Harvard University to complete a four-year chemistry program in three years. After Harvard, Oppenheimer went to Cambridge University to get a degree in Subatomic Physics. Then he went to teach at Berkley University.4 Another main person in the research project was Enrico Fermi. Fermi was a graduate of the University of Pisa, where he received his Ph.D. Fermi then went to the University of Rome teaching chemistry and biology. Fermi played a major role in the development of the bomb by creating a sustained nuclear fission chain reaction, which was critical to making the atomic bomb.4 Richard Feyman was another scientist which worked on the atomic bomb. Feyman graduated from Princeton where he excelled in physics and other scientific studies. Feyman's big duty on the Manhattan Project was to break big problems into smaller easier to do problems.4 The Manhattan Project, also had to have facilities for the research and testing of the atomic bomb. Some of the facilities built by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers included: power stations, factories, steel works, hospitals, laboratories, and housing for everybody that worked on the project.. Other facilities that were built for the construction of the bomb were plants to make the radioactive material needed to construct the bomb. Oak Ridge, Tennessee was used to make uranium which was used as an explosive to react with plutonium. The plutonium itself was made in Hanford, Washington.5 To make this explosion possible, a piece of uranium was fired at another piece of uranium to make the critical mass that was needed for an explosion. Critical mass is the exact amount of fissionable material needed to maintain a fission chain reaction. Once Critical mass was obtained it compressed Plutonium and when the Plutonium was compressed enough, atoms from plutonium were split and it made an explosive bomb that could destroy a medium sized city.3 Security was tight on the Los Alamos site because there was fear that bomb secrets would be spread outside of the work place. There were many people that worked on the bomb that didn't even know they were working on it, they just thought it to be another regular government job. The workers that were there could not use their

What are the contrasts between Blanche and Stanley in A streetcar named desire Essays

What are the contrasts between Blanche and Stanley in A streetcar named desire Essays What are the contrasts between Blanche and Stanley in A streetcar named desire Paper What are the contrasts between Blanche and Stanley in A streetcar named desire Paper Essay Topic: A Streetcar Named Desire Literature Blanche and Stanley are at juxtaposition towards each other, there is a conflict between them that goes beyond simply disliking one another. One of the explanations for this is that Blanche comes from a very different world to Stanley. In many ways Stanleys represents new America whereas Blanche represents the old, America. This contrast of hard working, manual labour against well mannered, chivalrous and delicate is one of the very first conflicts of culture. In a way Blanche represents the old south, which in history supported slavery. We can see Blanche representing the confederacy, the posh upper class slave owners and Stanley as the would-be slave, resentful of his treatment from the South and by Blanche. Another contrast is the animalistic natures of the two characters. In many ways Blanche is like a moth. Her delicate nature and fragility invoke images of the cover of the book. Stanley is more like a bear, a heavily territorial creature that will fiercely protect its mate. Further evidence that Blanche is like a moth can be seen in her behaviour. Moths never really stay in one place; they flit from place to place, and in Blanches case from one danger to another. The cover shows a harsh light bulb, which is the harsh reality of the world in a sense. Blanche often seeks out the light because of what she lost, even though it hurts her. The flamingo hotel is one example of this; the young man is another. She seeks to find that spotlight that will light up her world again and risk herself in the process. Stanley on the other hand does not have the capacity for those feelings. He wears bold, primary colours such as red and green and purple, which convey his animalistic passion whereas Blanche is not motivated in this way. Relying often on the ethereal illusions of the mind. This is perhaps what frustrates Stanley; Blanche is nothing substantial, she is almost devoid of reason. This goes against Stanleys perceptions about the world, that everything is black and white and that you are either friend or foe. Much like in nature. In many ways Blanches character is something of a contradiction, she seeks out new love in order to find what was lost, and yet she has not looked inwards at herself to question her own actions much. She regrets telling Alan that he disgusted her and she defends her picture of him in an act of defiance against Stanley. This contradicts my point earlier about her only believing in the ethereal. Because in order to counter Stanleys passion you have to fight fire with fire and be passionate yourself. So perhaps deep down Blanche is more like Stanley. She is heavily territorial regarding Alan and protective of his memory. Something which reflects in the name of the book A streetcar named desire Blanche in effect believes the world is illusionary, but her desire forces her to accept some things are real and like a streetcar she has no choice abut changing course. The things she accepts as real [IE Her love for Alan] she will defend fiercely. Stanley on the other hand has formed a very hunter-gatherer relationship with Stella. She is like a trophy, a symbol of something he has conquered with his passionate tendencies. They fall out and fight it seems on a regular basis, but they are inexplicably attracted back to each other. The contrast then can be seen in Stella as well as Blanche. Stella is more down-to-earth, more like Stanley than her sister. She accepts certain facts whereas Blanche fabricates ways around them. Stanley also resents Blanche because of her reliance of the imaginary. His perception of the world puts him as the alpha male, women should be attracted to him and in return he can control them through force. Blanche seems to be immune to this, looking down her nose at him and not succumbing to lust. I imagine Stanley has not encountered this from women before. Stanley not only believes in reality, he is reality. He is the hard knuckled, nature driven man and Blanche is the white, ethereal spectre, which fades in and out of reality. In that respect the characters are very much in two different worlds with two different beliefs. Going back to the moth idea, Blanche moves from place to place on impulse. Impulse can be described as the single track, single path nature of a streetcar carriage. She talks about fabricating lies to attract men she has had previous relations with, she does not wish to lose face despite already having lost most of it in her hometown of Laurel. Quite clearly Blanche has not got quite a sound mind, because it seems to fabricate reality to what suits her. She still believes she is a lady of upper-class nature, but she has essentially tainted herself through her activities at the flamingo. She bathes a lot, and this frustrates Stanley. He works in the grease and muck and does not see it necessary to clean himself as often as Blanche, and yet she washes herself constantly. Blanche characteristically dresses in white, the purest form of light. When she bathes she is cleansing herself. I think that she might be trying to cleanse the blood of her dead husband from herself. Stanley does not seem to have been through the emotional trauma that she has, and so cannot understand how she feels. When you murder someone, directly or otherwise, it sticks in your mind and Blanche has convinced herself of her responsibility towards his death. In summer then, Blanche shares a few passionate similarities with Stanley. Her perception of reality is similar to Stanleys when it comes to love. However she surrounds herself with the false and the fake, to comfort herself and to try and cleanse her body of the taint that surrounds it.

The Life and Death of Marie-Antoinette

The Life and Death of Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette (born Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna von Ãâ€"sterreich-Lothringen; November 2,  1755–October 16,  1793) was an Austrian noble and French Queen Consort whose position as a hate figure for much of France helped contribute to the events of the French Revolution, during which she was executed. Fast Facts: Marie-Antoinette Known For:  As the queen of Louis XVI, she was executed during the French Revolution. She is often quoted as saying, Let them eat cake (there is no proof of this statement).Also Known As:  Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna von Ãâ€"sterreich-LothringenBorn:  November 2, 1755,  in Vienna (now in Austria)Parents: Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Austrian Empress Maria TheresaDied:  October 16, 1793, in Paris, FranceEducation: Private palace tutors  Spouse: King Louis XVI of FranceChildren: Marie-Thà ©rà ¨se-Charlotte, Louis Joseph Xavier Franà §ois, Louis Charles, Sophie Hà ©là ¨ne Bà ©atrice de FranceNotable Quote: I am calm, as people are whose consciences are clear. Early Years Marie-Antoinette was born on November 2nd, 1755. She was the eleventh daughter - eighth surviving - of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. All the royal sisters were called Marie as a sign of devotion to the Virgin Mary, and so the future queen became known by her second name – Antonia – which became Antoinette in France. She was bought up, like most noble women, to obey her future husband, an oddity given that her mother, Maria Theresa, was a powerful ruler in her own right. Her education was poor thanks to the choice of tutor, leading to later accusations that Marie was stupid; in fact, she was able with everything she was competently taught. Marriage to Dauphin Louis In 1756 Austria and France, long term enemies signed an alliance against the growing power of Prussia. This failed to quell the suspicions and prejudices each nation had long held for each other, and these problems were to affect Marie Antoinette deeply. However, to help cement the alliance it was decided that a marriage should be made between the two nations, and in 1770 Marie Antoinette was married to the heir to the French throne, Dauphin Louis. At this point her French was poor, and a special tutor was appointed. Marie now found herself in her mid-teens in a foreign country, largely cut off from the people and places of her childhood. She was in Versailles, a world where almost every action was governed by fiercely employed rules of etiquette which enforced and supported the monarchy, and which the young Marie thought ridiculous. However, at this early stage, she tried to adopt them. Marie Antoinette displayed what we would now call humanitarian instincts, but her marriage was far from happy to start with. Louis was often rumored to have had a medical problem which caused him pain during sex, but it’s likely he simply wasn’t doing the right thing, and so the marriage initially went unconsummated, and once it was there was still little chance of the much-desired heir being produced. The culture of the time - and her mother - blamed Marie, while close observation and attendant gossip undermined the future queen. Marie sought solace in a small circle of court friends, with whom later enemies would accuse her of hetero- and homosexual affairs. Austria had hoped that Marie Antoinette would dominate Louis and advance their own interests, and to this end first Maria Theresa and then Emperor Joseph II bombarded Marie with requests; in the end, she failed to have any effect on her husband until the French Revolution. Queen Consort of France Louis succeeded to the throne of France in 1774 as Louis XVI; at first, the new king and queen were wildly popular. Marie Antoinette had little regard or interest in court politics, of which there was a lot, and managed to offend by favoring a small group of courtiers in which foreigners seemed to dominate. It’s not surprising that Marie seemed to identify more with people away from their homelands, but public opinion often angrily interpreted this as Marie favoring others instead of the French. Marie masked over her early anxieties about children by growing ever more interested in court pursuits. In doing so she gained a reputation for outward frivolity - gambling, dancing, flirting, shopping - which has never gone away. But she was irreverent out of fear, self-doubting rather than self-absorbed. As Queen Consort Marie ran an expensive and opulent court, which was to be expected and certainly kept parts of Paris employed, but she did so at a time when French finances were collapsing, especially during and after the American Revolutionary War, so she was seen as a cause of wasteful excess. Indeed, her position as a foreigner to France, her expenditure, her perceived aloofness and her early lack of an heir led extreme slanders to be spread about her; claims of extramarital affairs were among the more benign, violent pornography was the other extreme. Opposition grew. The situation isn’t as clear cut as a gluttonous Marie spending freely as France collapsed. While Marie was keen to use her privileges - and she did spend - Marie rejected the established royal traditions and began to reshape the monarchy in a new fashion, rejecting stark formality for a more personal, almost friendly touch, possibly derived from her father. Out went the previous fashion on all but key occasions. Marie Antoinette favored privacy, intimacy, and simplicity over the previous Versailles regimes, and Louis XVI largely agreed. Unfortunately, a hostile French public reacted badly to these changes, interpreting them as signs of indolence and vice, as they undermined the way the French court had been built to survive. At some point, the phrase ‘Let them eat cake’ was falsely attributed to her. Queen, and Finally a Mother In 1778 Marie gave birth to her first child, a girl, and in 1781 the much longed for male heir arrived. Marie began to spend more and more time involved with her new family, and away from previous pursuits. Now the slanders moved away from Louis’ failings to the question of who the father was. The rumors continued to build, affecting both Marie Antoinette - who had previously managed to ignore them - and the French public, who increasingly saw the queen as a debauched, idiotic spendthrift who dominated Louis. Public opinion, on the whole, was turning. This situation worsened in 1785-6 when Maria was publicly accused in the ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’. Although she was innocent, she took the brunt of the negative publicity and the affair discredited the whole French monarchy. As Marie did begin to resist the pleas of her relatives to influence the King on behalf of Austria, and as Marie became more serious and engaged in the politics of France fully for the first time - she went to government meetings on issues which didn’t directly affect her - it so happened that France began to collapse into revolution. The King, with the country paralyzed by debt, tried to force reforms through an Assembly of Notables, and as this failed he became depressed. With an ill husband, a physically ill son, and the monarchy collapsing, Marie too became depressed and deeply afraid for her future, although she tried to keep the others afloat. Crowds now openly hissed at the Queen, who was nicknamed ‘Madame Deficit’ over her alleged spending. Marie Antoinette was directly responsible for the recall of Swiss banker Necker to the government, an openly popular move, but when her eldest son died in June 1789, the King and Queen fell into distraught mourning. Unfortunately, this was the exact moment when politics in France decisively changed. The Queen was now openly hated, and many of her close friends (who were also hated by association) fled France. Marie Antoinette stayed, out of feelings of duty and the sense of her position. It was to be a fatal decision, even if the mob only called for her to be sent to a convent at this point The French Revolution As the French Revolution developed, Marie had an influence over her weak and indecisive husband and was able to partly influence royal policy, although her idea of seeking sanctuary with the army away from both Versailles and Paris was rejected. As a mob of women stormed Versailles to harangue the king, a group broke into the queen’s bedroom shouting they wanted to kill Marie, who had just escaped to the king’s room. The royal family was coerced into moving to Paris, and effectively made prisoners. Marie decided to remove herself from the public eye as much as possible, and hope that she wouldn’t be blamed for the actions of aristocrats who had fled France and were agitating for foreign intervention. Marie appears to have become more patient, more pragmatic and, inevitably, more melancholic. For a while, life went on in a similar manner to before, in a strange sort of twilight. Marie Antoinette became then more pro-active again: it was Marie who negotiated with Mirabeau on how to save the crown, and Marie whose distrust of the man led to his advice being rejected. It was also Marie who initially arranged for her, Louis and the children to flee France, but they only reached Varennes before being caught. Throughout Marie Antoinette was insistent she would not flee without Louis, and certainly not without her children, who were still held in better regard than the king and queen. Marie also negotiated with Barnave on what form a constitutional monarchy might take, while also encouraging the Emperor to start armed protests, and form an alliance which would - as Marie hoped - threaten France into behaving. Marie worked frequently, diligently and in secret to help create this, but it was little more than a dream. As France declared war on Austria, Marie Antoinette was now seen as a literal enemy of the state by many. It is perhaps ironic that at the same instance as Marie began to distrust Austrian intentions under their new Emperor - she feared they would come for territory rather than in defense of the French crown - she still fed as much information as she could gather to the Austrians to aid them. The Queen had always been accused of treason and would be again at her trial, but a sympathetic biographer like Antonia Fraser argues Marie always thought her missives were in the best interest of France. The royal family was threatened by the mob before the monarchy was overthrown and the royals properly imprisoned. Louis was tried and executed, but not before Marie’s closest friend was murdered in the September Massacres and her head paraded on a pike before the royal prison. Trial and Death Marie Antoinette now became known, to those more charitably disposed to her, as Widow Capet. Louis’ death hit her hard, and she was allowed to dress in mourning. There was now debate over what to do with her: some hoped for an exchange with Austria, but the Emperor wasn’t overly worried about his aunt’s fate, while others wanted a trial and there was a tug of war between French government factions. Marie now grew very physically ill, her son was taken away, and she was moved to a new prison, where she became prisoner no. 280. There were ad hoc rescue attempts from admirers, but nothing came close. As influential parties in the French government finally got their way - they had decided the public should be given the head of the former queen - Marie Antoinette was tried. All the old slanders were trotted out, plus new ones like sexually abusing her son. While Marie responded at key times with great intelligence, the substance of the trial was irrelevant: her guilt had been pre-ordained, and this was the verdict. On October 16, 1793, she was taken to the guillotine, exhibiting the same courage and coolness with which she had greeted each episode of danger in the revolution, and executed. A Falsely Maligned Woman Marie Antoinette exhibited faults, such as spending frequently in an era when royal finances had been collapsing, but she remains one of the most incorrectly maligned figures in Europe’s history. She was at the forefront of a change in royal styles which would be widely adopted after her death, but she was in many ways too early. She was let down deeply by the actions of her husband and the French state to which she had been sent and cast aside much of her criticized frivolity once her husband had been able to contribute a family, allowing her to ably fulfill the role society wanted her to play. The days of the Revolution confirmed her as an able parent, and throughout her life as consort, she exhibited sympathy and charm. Many women in history have been the subject of slanders, but few ever reached the levels of those printed against Marie, and even fewer suffered as greatly from the way these stories affected public opinion. It is also unfortunate that Marie Antoinette was frequently accused of exactly what her relatives demanded of her - to dominate Louis and push policies favoring Austria - when Marie herself had no influence over Louis until the revolution. The question of her treason against France during the revolution is more problematic, but Marie thought she was acting loyally to the best interests of France, which was to her the French monarchy, not the revolutionary government.

Marking Mix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marking Mix - Essay Example The main challenges are limited distribution facilities and narrow market. This, product diversification has been used to dispose of by-products and to capitalize on a company's research-and-development efforts. In fact, the diversification of a product line has been a basic way of achieving long-term market survival. If one considers the rapid technological advances that are being made and the new products being developed, then diversification does not become an incidental or peripheral activity, but a pivotal activity worthy of vigorous and sustained pursuit. The Temperature Sensors are safe for users, so any ethical or social problems are exist. If the company starts to sell this product in other regions, it should ensure that Temperature Sensors are suitable for different temperature regimes and can be used in countries with severe weather conditions. Also, it is important to product Temperature Sensors with scales and marks on different languages so target population can easily read and understand the product information. Gray leaf spot resistant is a new chemical product aimed to protect vegetation from gray leaf spot disease. This is an improvement of existing products. In this case, attempts to diversify product lines create a risk, for dealer and customer reaction is always uncertain. To some extent, the risk may be reduced through the use of marketing intelligence, as is the case when products that enjoy good differential advantages are discovered. A product- program starts with screening and then consideration of what is to be done to bring a product to the market. Firms may follow a check list that covers various aspects of product introduction, based on a study of trade practices. Product diversification may result in either trading up or trading down. In trading up, the manufacturer adds related items to his line that will sell for an increase in price, whereas trading down is the reverse process. There are two objectives involved in a decision to increase the number of variations in price a nd quality: to gain sales by catering to a new segment of the market, and to gain sales in the existing market by trading up or down (Dobson and Starkey 2004). The main ethical and social concerns are safety of chemicals and effectiveness of the product, environmental and legal compliance. If the company wants to sell this product overseas, it is important to take into account legal regulations and standards applied to chemical products and pesticides in a foreign country. The company should test the product in different environment and ensure it is safe enough for different geographical locations and weather conditions. As markets become more heterogeneous, and diverse products are developed to satisfy them, manufacturing efficiency will decline (Paley, 2006). Ramadan Iftar Box 2 is a revision of the existing product line popular in Lebanon. This product is a reaction to competitor's moves and consist of adjustments of current product lines, or they may involve the development of new products. The former are mainly defensive moves and the latter mainly offensive (Paley, 2006). Most companies use the defensive strategies to improve the profitability of existing lines and develop new products to meet competitors' lines. However, the

Cultural representation of Italians in the media. Looking at the MTV Essay

Cultural representation of Italians in the media. Looking at the MTV series Jersey Shore - Essay Example Alternatively, they are momma’s boys. They all have names like Pauly and Joey, and eat spaghetti every night. Of course, this is not the case – Italians are just as nuanced as anybody else. Some may fit the stereotype, and most probably do not. Nonetheless, the cultural portrayals of Italians have been largely negative, and there is no place where this is more evident than the television show Jersey Shore. The show is based upon 10 Italian-Americans living in a house on the Jersey Shore in the first season, and Miami Beach in the second season, and centers around the exploits of the â€Å"Guidos† and â€Å"Guidettes† in the house. The girls are high maintenance, crass, vain and drunk. The boys are perpetually tanned, with blow-out hair, muscular, crass, vain and drunk. They all hook up with random people, and say cuss words every other word. They are all apparently low class, and, with the exception of one of the boys, uneducated. In short, the show takes every negative stereotype of the Italian American and adds a few more. And, unfortunately for the Italian Americans in society, the show is a huge hit. Basic Concepts – Collective Identity, Culture and Cultural Sociology To understand why Jersey Shore is so offensive to Italian-Americans, one must understand the basics of culture, identity and ethnic identity. These are all basic concepts that ties in why television shows that feature stereotypes are harmful to targeted groups. The first concept that needs to be understood is that of culture, as television shows, such as Jersey Shore would be considered to be a part of our popular culture. Culture refers to the way that individuals make sense of their world, and a way to individuals to find meaning (Cushman, 1996, p. 7). Events that occur in the individual’s world are thus interpreted through the culture of the individual, and this is one way that individuals understand the modern world. The social world is what provid es the basis for an individual’s culture, specifically the concrete experiences experienced by this individual. Culture is reflexive, in that people make culture, and culture makes the individual. This is how both individual and collective identities are formed. (Cushman, 1996, p. 7). A person’s life is shaped by culture because culture imposes inherent patterns that are formed by communal life, logic and narrative, and discourse and language. In this way, culture forms the self, as the growth of the self is dependent upon external images and social bonds (Bruner, 1990, p. 42). The internal thoughts, feelings and states of consciousness that an individual has is externalized and shared by concrete representations of culture and are formed into cultural objects, which includes television programs (Cushman, 1996, p. 90). Moreover, culture helps frame the individual’s experiences and acts, because these are realized by the individual when he or she participates in culture’s symbolic systems (Bruner, 1990, p. 33). Culture is how individual meaning becomes communal and public (Bruner, 1990, p. 34). Moreover, there is proof that television series, among other cultural objects, impact the culture because culture is learned, not innate. This was shown by the studies done by Eisenhart (1995). Eisenhart set out to find out what aspects of a given culture influences individuals, and why this would be so (Eisenhart, 1995, p. 4). Eisenhart posited that there would be different ways of transmitting

In the lake of the woods Essay Example for Free

In the lake of the woods Essay I believe that everything that happened in the story is an effect of John’s sufferings. We can say that John is the real victim in this book. The story tells us that John, as a child was frequently abused verbally and physically by his alcoholic father, whom to other children seemed the perfect father. John then turns to his fantasy of being a sorcerer in order to treat himself from the abuse. According to Penn State Children’s Hospital, over the long run, abused children are more likely to use drugs, become sexually promiscuous, have low self esteem, exhibit extremely passive or aggressive behavior, have difficulty with interpersonal relationships, perform poorly in school, have frequent nightmares, and experience depression that can lead to attempted suicide. These may explain how John became a not-so normal adult, who now believes that he is in fact, the sorcerer. In one long-term study, as many as 80 percent of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder at age 21 (Child Welfare Information Gateway). Kathy’s disappearance provides us a venue to think of what John could have done. O’Brien, the author of In the Lake of the Woods, lets us readers decide. In a human rights point of view, I firmly believe that child abuse has immeasurable effects as proven by the statements above. A physically abused child may become as violent as his oppressor or even more. With this, I can say that John’s psychological health was affected and this is why Kathy, his wife disappeared. It can be that John, spilled hot water over Kathy when he said he poured the boiling water on the plants. It only manifests that John has violent tendencies. John’s psychological health may have also been deterred by his participation in the Vietnam massacre. He is guilty of his In the Lake of the Woods page 2 participation and is trying to erase the thought by moving to another place. And his plan did not work. We can say that John may have murdered his wife and plans to kill himself afterwards. John’s human right was violated as a child and come his adult life, he has done the same. Keeping human rights in mind, this is what I think happened in the story. This is not exclusive to the book but is also prevalent in today’s society. Wars are waged because someone’s human rights were stepped on, fathers hit their spouses because they were also abused by their fathers. It only says that human rights violation is a disease. It is a social cancer that leads to death and violence. The book tells us how human rights play a role and that it is not just a set of rules but a law that protects our lives and our future. Bibliography â€Å"Long-term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect†. Child Welfare Information Gateway. 9 December 2006. http://www. childwelfare. gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences. cfm â€Å"Child Physical Abuse†. Penn State Children’s Hospital. 9 December 2006. http://www. hmc. psu. edu/childrens/healthinfo/pq/physicalabuse. htm.