Frankenstein and Interview with the Vampire Essay

The gothic horror genre attempts to make the reader/viewer feel a sense of dread, fear, terror, disgust or horror. ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley and ‘Interview with the vampire’ by Neil Jordan both explore the elements which compliment the Gothic Horror Genre. Major elements that are constant throughout the two texts are the constant search for knowledge which can be dangerous if in the wrong hands which can lead to supernatural or inexplicable events, omens or visions occurring, Humanity and the continuous quest to find what it means to be human touching on the idea of life after death, Isolation and the want for companionship, the responsibility of actions and the consequences, wanderers and the idea that women are often shown to be in distress. In the novel ‘Frankenstein’, Victor Frankenstein’s obsession to know more and more about life, how it is created and others who have quested to do the same such as the Ancient Mariner have eventually lead him to the creation of the his own human which was a supernatural event. In this case has also created a disaster due to the constant search for knowledge turning Frankenstein insane and dangerous. After creating the creation Victor saw it as a mistake. ‘I had finished, the beauty of my dream vanished breathless horror and disgust filled my heart’. Later in the book Victor preaches to Walton ‘You search for knowledge as I once did†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘†¦ I hope it does not sting you as it once did me’ Shelley used Emotional Language to express Frankenstein’s horror and disgust in what he has done and creates a sense of forgiveness and pity for Frankenstein. ‘Interview with the Vampire’ a film, demonstrates the same concept of the constant search for knowledge, which leads to a downfall. Louis has always longed to leave his life, as he was never satisfied with the life he was living and has always been curious about vampires and life after death. I longed to be released from it. I wanted to lose it all†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘†¦ My invitation was open to anyone†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘†¦ But it was the vampire that accepted’. This quote shows Louis relentless longing to leave the life he currently is in. This curiousness for answers to life and the unknown leads Louis to the ch oice to become a vampire. Louis accepts not realising that becoming a new person/vampire does not erase the feelings of a human only makes them worse because he is now locked in a life of evil with no way out. Hubris is a technique that Jordan uses to show Louis fatal flaw of searching for something new to end his current life, by becoming a vampire Louis for fills this temporarily but eventually finds there is no way out and is worse off that before. This gives the reader pity and sorrow towards Louis. Both composers have explored the theme of Humanity and the continuous quest to find out what it means to be human, touching on the idea of life after death. In ‘Frankenstein’ Victor is faced with the decision to free Justine from death. In order to do this he must confess that the creature he created in actual fact was the murderer of poor little William and risk his dignity and pride throughout the town ‘†¦horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar’ or remain a trusted and honoured member of the community and let an innocent human die for his own dignity. This question that he was forced to ask him self is also another way to ask the question of ‘what it means to be human? ’. Victor chooses to keep this valuable information to himself and lets Justine die.

Robyn Matthers

Robin Matter's was an extraordinary young person; a young woman who is physically short and nuggets, but graceful and well balanced, who is normally calm and quiet but loves to win and who is at her best in the toughest of situations . She saves Lee's life when he is shot and keeps Elli going when they strike to rescue Lee. She is a leader, and not Just when the going is tough. When Elli or Homer are active, she will let them run the show, but when leadership is needed, she will provide, even in ‘normal' situations.She is also compassionate and caring, sometimes in a big way. But often Just little things that make a big difference. At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to Robin as a responsible, reliable teenager who wasn't able to commit to the camp out without the conformation and permission from her strict parents. Elli finds Robin's parents' trust issues in their daughter quite amusing, â€Å"The funny thing about it was that if parents ever had a daughter they c ould trust it was the Matter's and Robin, but they didn't seem to have worked it out yet.The biggest problem she was ever likely to give them was being late to church. And that'd probably be because she was helping a boy scout across the road. Robin was fairly quiet and serious. She got effort certificates at school every year, and she was heavily religious. Though underneath the coax of this surface, Robin was an extremely determined, strong minded person, who could be highly competitive at times. Throughout the novel we see Robin progress and slowly, bit by bit; and she cracks the shell of the quiet obedient good girl she used to be, before the invasion.Robin's major character traits stay pretty much the same and she is still content to keep her morality throughout the war but we do notice small changes and impacts the war has ad on Robin. For one, Robin emerges as a leader. She was able to rise above the others when they were all having emotional breakdowns as their world was cru mbling around them, trying to comprehend the idea of an invasion on their own soil. She was no longer the small quiet girl who always carried out good deeds and lived a typical Wireman life.The invasion had created a certain strength within Robin that only really shed light in her past life when she was intently competing in sport. This strength allowed her to undertake tasks without a moment's hesitation in times of life or death situations. Robin skipped over the next bit pretty quickly but it's one of the reasons for writing all this down, because I want people to know stuff like this, how brave Robin was that night.She picked up the photocopier that sits on a stand near the lottery desk and chucked the whole thing through the door. Then she ran to Lee, heaved him onto her back, across her shoulders, and carried him through the shattered door, kicking out bits of glass as she went. † Robin's bravery saved Lee that night of the patrol raid. She turned into a heroin over the course of a night and as well as her commendable bravery and strength in arraying Lee to safety, Robin was able to overcome her fitful fear of blood and needles. I've given him two injections today. It was cool fun. ‘ ‘Robin! ‘ I nearly passed out myself, in amazement. ‘You faint when people even mention injections! ‘ ‘Yes, I know,' she said, with her head on one side as though she were a botanist studying herself. ‘It's funny, isn't it? † Overall, I think the drastic effects of the war had flicked a newly found switch within Robin's kind heart. The changes within had shaped her to be resilient in tough situations and had consequently saved the lives of friends.

Competition in video game consoles Essay

Competition in Video Game Consoles: The State of the Battle for Supremacy in 2008 1. What are the strategy-shaping business and economic characteristics of the console segment of the video game industry? What is the industry like? 1-1 Segmentation: The industry was segmented into console hardware, console software (both sales and rentals), handheld hardware, handheld software (both sales and rentals), PC software (both sales and rentals), broadband, interactive TV, and mobile phones. 1-2 Market Size: Table 1: Size of the Global Video Games Markets, by Sector, 2000, 2003, and 2005, with Projections for 2010 ($ in millions) | 2000| 2003| 2005| 2010| Console hardware| $ 4,791| $6,047| $3,894| $5,771| Console Software (both sales and rentals)| 9,451| 16,449| 13,055| 17,164| Handheld hardware| 1,945| 1,501| 3,855| 1,715| Handheld software(both sales and rentals)| 2,872| 2,238| 4,829| 3,113| PC software (both sales and rentals)| 5,077| 3,806| 4,313| 2,955| Broadband| 70| 497| 1,944| 6,352| Interactive TV| 81| 249| 786| 3,037| Mobile phones| 65| 587| 2,572| 11,186| | 24,352| 31,370| 35,248| 51,292|. Source: Informa Telecoms & Media, â€Å"Games Market to Score Big in 2007,† press release, October 24, 2005, and â€Å"Games Industry Boom Continues,† press release July 24, 2003, both at www. informamedia. com (accessed September 8, 2006). As we can see the table above, the market size has grown from $24. 352 billion in 2000 to $51. 292 billion in 2010. In other words, the video game market becomes bigger and bigger. 1-3 Market growth rate Table 2 Compounded Annual Growth Rates For the Video Game Industry 2000 – 2005 and 2005 – 2010 (projected) | CAGR (2000-2005)| CAGR (2005-2010)| Console Hardware| -4. 1%| 8. 2%|. Console Software (both sales & rentals)| 6. 7%| 5. 6%| Handheld hardware| 14. 7%| -14. 96%| Handheld software (both sales & rentals)| 10. 95%| -8. 4%| PC software (both sales & rentals)| -3. 2%| -7. 3%| Broadband| 94. 4%| 26. 7%| Interactive TV| 57. 5%| 31. 04%| Mobile Phone| 108. 7%| 34. 2%| Total| 7. 7%| 7. 8%| CAGR is compound annual growth rate. The formula is(VtnVt0)1tn-t0-1. V (t0): start value, V (tn): finish value, tn ? t0: number of years. The numbers above are calculated from table 1. 1-4 Entry/Exit barriers The three existing companies are one of the entry barriers of other potential companies that would like to enter this market. Video game industry needs huge capital to invest on research and development department. Also, the entrants need to recruit skillful engineers and other talent staff to develop the products and make efficient marketing strategies. Combinations of all the entry elements, the entry barriers level is high for the perspective entrants. However, the software development is easier to enter this market than the hardware part. Potential entrants only need to focus on the software for the existing companies’ hardware products. This will have less cost than develop entire hardware and software. 1-5 Scope of rivalry. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are the three main companies in the video game industry. Before 2001, there was one more competitor, Sega, in the market. It tried to compete with Nintendo and Sony but it finally was out of the industry in 2001. After 2001, video game industry has entered new war. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft compete with each other by gaining sales and increasing installed base. Play Station 2 from Sony has significant unit sold in $299 each; however, its newest generation, Play Station 3 has not successful result in the market. Play Station 3 was beaten by Xbox and Wii which are from Microsoft and Nintendo respectively. As the result, Nintendo and Microsoft were substitute Sony to compete the leadership position in recent year. In addition, the retails which those three main companies sold their products in are in the price competition. Furthermore, console technology, online gaming, and mobile gaming has gradually changed the competitive situation. The impressive technologies become important for the competitive companies to develop new generation console. Also, game software enter new world which the internet is common, so the online game is on the trend that is expected to continue to increase in market. According to the mobile phone using population increasing, the games are installed in the mobile phone are in the increasing trend also. In short, the video game industry rivalry has become fierce. 1-6 Scale economies According to produce the entire console hardware, a company cannot manufacture all components by itself. Therefore, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo would like to produce large amount of console hardware to reduce the costs. They choose to ally with IBM, maker of GPUs or Intel to get components to assemble their console. Because those ally companies need to offer not only one buyer, they can produce large volume for the buyers. Thus, the price would be reduced by huge amount of production. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo can through this way to reduce the production cost and reach the economy scale. 1-7 Consumer characteristic. There are 300 million population played video games which include console system, handheld devices, and mobile phone all over the world in 2008. Most of them are preteens, teenagers, and young adult who are between 20 and 40 year-old. In 2005, the average age of players is 33 in US and there are 25% of gamers who were over 50. In addition, there are 31% of all gamers are under 18 and there are 44% of players were 1 to 49 year-old in 2005. Moreover, there is 62% of players are males. 2. What is competition like in the video game system industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? 2-1 * The bargaining power and leverage of buyers—a __weak_______ competitive force First of all, retailers almost do not have bargain power because they only can buy the products in those three companies. A retailer cannot buy the product from other companies and they may need to sell more than one brand to attract different customers taste. Therefore, they only have low bargain power. * The bargaining power and leverage of suppliers—a ____moderate_____ competitive force Although it is easy for video game companies, such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, to switch the suppliers, the large suppler still contain bargain power. The bargain powers come from special technology, unique parts, and risk of quality control. The small suppliers cannot guarantee the quality of products. Moreover, if those video game companies require unique components, then the suppliers may have bigger power to bargain. In short, the hardware component suppliers have bargain power but the video game companies have ability to change suppliers also although it is not very easy. In addition, video game software suppliers are in the different situation which compares with hardware suppliers. Software suppliers may have bargain power if they make a very wonderful game or they can bargain for the sales of hardware volume. If the sales of hardware console are not good, the software companies may not be willing to produce the software games. However, those video game companies have abilities to produce the software. They can publish their own game software. Therefore, software suppliers may not have bargain power as strong as hardware suppliers. In short, integrate hardware and software suppliers’ competitive forces. Suppliers have moderate bargaining power. * Competition from substitutes—a __weak to moderate______ competitive force Video game is for people to spend their leisure time. Except video games, people can do outdoor activities, board games, watching TV, seeing movies†¦etc. for their free time. Those activities may not instead of the feeling of playing video games but this depends on how video game players like to play video game. According to the data, video game enthusiasts can spend 6 hours per week to play video games. Therefore, those people usually do not do other activities in their free time. In short, there is no activities totally the same with video game but there are still other things that players can do to instead video game. Thus, the substitute force is low to moderate. * Threat of entry—a __weak_______ competitive force. Due to the entry barriers, it is not easy to enter this industry. The requirements of entry are high. In order to enter video game industry, entrants need to invest large capital and possess enough technologic skills to compete with the existing companies. Furthermore, the existing companies have higher ability to stay in the industry and have strong competitive products to threaten new entrants. Consequently, the threat of new entry has weak competitive force. * Rivalry among competing video game console producers—a __Strong_______ competitive force There is strong rivalry within the industry. As we can see, Sega was forced to withdraw from the industry in 2001. The existing three companies have started competing with each other keenly. They continue to develop their products, to compete sales volumes and price. As long as one of them does not pay attention to each other action, they may lose a lot. Therefore, the competing within video game console producers is strong. 2-2 The strongest competitive force is rivalry among competing video game console producers. The weakest competitive force is threat of entry. The competition from substitute is the greatest effect on industry. Because there are no substitutes which can provide totally the same experience for consumers, this is the greatest attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants. 3. How is the video game system industry changing? What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those driving forces individually or collectively change competition in the industry? Driving forces will include: * Product innovation The development of software and hardware of console is an important driver to push the industry to change. New technologies can attract individual buyers to purchase. The enthusiastic consumers may want to obtain newest games, so they may be easy to change their favorites. Also, new development can force other producers to improve their products. A new innovation product can be success in the industry. Then, it may give pressure to other competitors to improve their products. Therefore, product innovation is a driver of change. * Emergence of new video game devices The new video game devices are a driver to let the producers to change their products because new devices may improve the products and may be a trigger of consumers’ willing to buy. When a new device comes out, a producer does not catch up the trend and then it may be kicked out the market. Moreover, a new device may become a trend in the industry and may trigger a new competition war. * Emergence of internet-based video games Internet-based video games allow multiplayers at the same time. Also, the players may change their purchasing pattern. Internet is convenience for the consumers to purchase new games and has accompanies to play games device so it will enhance the products become more vivid and convenience to possess. Therefore, internet-bas video games become a trend in the industry. The major players of industry have started to develop their products to allow users to player through wireless networking. Therefore, the producers are making change to fit the consumers’ new using and purchasing pattern. * The buyer characteristics The players characteristics are gradually change. There are more young adults and female to become players. This trend attracts the producers to consider the buyers age and gender. They have started to design the console and games to match those buyer segment needs. For example, the goal of Wii is even mom can know how to play it. Therefore, the consumers’ segment change can impact the industry trend and push the major industry players to change the design to feed the different segment of players. * The aspect of society The aspect of society is change in this decade. Parents are willing to accompany their kids to play video games. They think some video games can let people to use their brains to think and some video games can help people to do exercises. For example, some games may use particular barriers that push players to figure out what element they need for enter the other stages. Moreover, many sport games of Wii are required users to move their body. Thus, many people think that video games do not only require users to stick in front of the screens and just move the fingers but also require users to operate their brains and move their bodies. Therefore, many video game console producers have started to change their design to fit more potential customers’ needs. 4. What does your strategic group map of the video game industry (all segments) look like? Which strategic groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions? Types of Video Game Suppliers/Distribution Channels. Strategic Group Map of the Video Game Industry Arcades Machine Arcade operators Home PC game suppliers Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo Home PCs Video Game Consoles Several online game site: MSN game zone†¦etc. Online Video Game Sites Low Medium High Cost to Players of Video Games Arcade operators can distribute for the arcade machine and little part for home PC use. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo produce games that can be use on home PC, video game consoles and online games. The online video game supplier may distribute the games to online use and may have little part for video game console use. Arcade game costs players very little. Sometimes it just cost few coins to play and players do not need to buy the machine back to homes. Home PC game players have to buy PC and they just can play the games or they may need to go to some Internet bars. Therefore, the cost is highest. Video game console cost players around $100 to $400 to purchase a hardware console. For the online video game sites, they may just cost few dollars from players to download the games. 5. What key factors determine the success for video game console producers? Factors that are necessary for competitive success in the console segment of the video game industry include: * Large installed base While the installed base is getting more and more, the producer company could be profit from the increasing installed base if the producer develops its internal game capabilities. Nintendo and Microsoft have this strategy. Nintendo has published many popular games and those software operating profit margins contribute around 35% to 40 % of Nintendo’s profitability. Also, independent game publishers also benefit from the large installed base because they can have increasing continuous sales. * Technological capabilities According to the improvement of technologies, every industry players are eager to develop the new products that the new technologies ameliorate them. This is because consumers have required more and more functions and quality of the products. They want high definition, easy to use†¦ etc from the products; therefore, every producer is entering the technological capabilities war. The technological abilities can help producers offer better products to attract customers to purchase. * Partnerships with independent software developers. Those software developers are important for the hardware game console producers because there is no fun without game software. Many players have â€Å"must have list. † This is just like the fashion world. People who pay attention on fashion trend know what should be had. Thus, â€Å"must have list† is the fashion trend in the video game industry. Therefore, partnerships with independent software developers are one of key factor that can push the video game console producer to succeed. Those partners can develop the popular software to urge the sales of video game console producers. * Acceptable development and production costs The price of the console should be reasonable for consumers. If the price is too high, the product may be like PS3 to fail in the market. Because Sony spent a lot on developing the better technologic component for PS3, it priced PS3 in $499 and $599 each to charge customers. However, the new design of PS3 did not completion yet at the launched time because PS3 had only 24 PS3 game title can backward compatible with PlayStation and PS2. The development of PS3 is not acceptable and blue-ray technology was too expensive. Therefore, the incompletion development and high production costs are transferred to consumers. The result is PS3 fail. In short, acceptable development and production costs are one of the factors can determine video game console producer will succeed or not. * Access to distribution Retailer distribution: this is the common distribution channel of hardware and software console. Those retail stores, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best-Buy, Flyer’s and Amazon, have high consumers’ density. Due to the development of internet use, online retailers become popular and contain powerful sales. Online download: Because of internet-base becomes a trend, many console producers have developed the online gaming. Hence, internet becomes a potential way to distribute the online game products. Product variety: Some video game producers have variety products. For example: Nintendo produces hardware console and software console game. The software console game cannot only use in Wii but also can use in PC, PS2, or other hardware console. Thus, as a software game publisher, Nintendo access to more than one distribution for its software game. In short, how to access to more distribution is also one successful factor of video game console producers. 6. Which console makers seem to be best able to perform the industry’s key success factors and other measures of competitive strength? What ratings do Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo merit in a competitive strength assessment? | ImportanceWeight| SonyStrengthRating| SonyStrengthScore| MicrosoftStrength Rating| Microsoft StrengthScore| NintendoStrengthRating| NintendoStrengthScore| Large installed base| 0. 25| 7| 1. 75| 6| 1. 50| 9| 2. 25|. Technologicalcapabilities| 0 . 15| 9| 1. 35| 9| 1. 35| 7| 1.05| Partnership with independent software developer| 0. 15| 8| 1. 20| 8| 1. 20| 8| 1. 20| Acceptable development and production costs| 0. 25| 6| 1. 50| 7| 1. 75| 8| 2. 00| Access to distribution| 0. 20| 8| 1. 60| 8| 1. 60| 9| 1. 80| Sum| 1. 00| | 7. 4| | 7. 4| | 8. 3| (Rating Scale: 1=very weak; 10=very strong) General speaking, Sony with PS2 has performance very well in the industry. However, Xbox had beaten Sony’s PS3. Then Nintendo’s Wii has very strong performance to become industry leader. Thus, Nintendo seems to have best performance in the industry. The table above shows the ratings and scores of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft have the same score, 7. 4 and Nintendo has higher score, 8. 3. Although Nintendo do not have strong technological capabilities, it has powerful marketing strategic and variety products to access more distribution. Its product can reach more population to use and weaker technological capabilities become its strength to increase the sales volume. Therefore, I gave rating 8 for the acceptable development and production costs which is higher than Sony and Microsoft. Therefore, the overall rating of Nintendo shows that it has best performance in the industry. 7. What recommendations would you make to Microsoft to win the next generation battle in the video game console industry? to Sony? to Nintendo? Microsoft According to the revenue data, we can see Microsoft has less revenue than Sony and Nintendo. Also the sale unit of Microsoft products are not as mane as Sony and Nintendo. Therefore, I recommend that Microsoft should increase sale volume of its products. Xbox may be popular in America but how about Asia? Asia is a potential place to increase the sale. Therefore, Microsoft may need to create the new generation product can fit more population taste. Sony Sony should remember the lesson of launching PS3. Although it had pressure to launch PS3 earlier, the product was not ready yet to public. This situation can drag more profit down than launching PS3 later. Therefore, I recommend that Sony should make the marketing plan well and prepare more than one back up plan to face the rivals’ new products. Sony should have ability to predict or estimate actions of competitors. Nintendo Nintendo has strong performance of its Wii. Wii is design to reach more population so the key features of Wii are not as strong as Sony Play Station and Microsoft Xbox. Now, Wii has been successful to reach more population, and then I will recommend that Nintendo should figure out how to improve its technological abilities. The consumers cannot be always satisfied with the simple designs. Moreover, Nintendo has famous software game such as Mario Brothers. The game is many people childhood memories. Nintendo could make serial products for the special anniversary of Mario Brothers. Many people would like to collect the serial products, such as the first generation Mario Brother game. This is Nintendo’s strength and Nintendo should use it.

Chaucer's General Prologue

Chaucers General Prologue Essay Compare and contrast the presentation of three pilgrims from Chaucers General Prologue and show how their descriptions add to our understanding of his society  The Canterbury Tales is a group of tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer in about 1387. Chaucer planned to write 24 tales but died before he could complete them, so, The Canterbury Tales consist of 22 verse tales and two long prose tales. The General Prologue gives a brief but vivid description of each pilgrim journeying to Canterbury before the pilgrims actually begin telling their tales. Most literature written in the medieval period was written in either French or Latin, especially poems or Holy Scriptures, so when Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in Middle English he was making a statement. Chaucer wanted to promote the vernacular language of England and so wrote The Canterbury Tales in Middle English. Three of the best portraits of the pilgrims in the General Prologue are of the Knight, the Wife of Bath and the Monk who all tell us a great deal about Chaucers society. The Knight is a verray, parfit, gentil knyght, who earns his living by fighting for his faith and his king. He has high status in the feudal system and Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre. He is as meeke as a mayde, and he is also worthy and humble.  The way in which Chaucer writes The Knight and the language he uses reinforces the point that the Knight is virtuous. The alliteration in he were worthy, he was wys draws attention to the praise that Chaucer is giving him. Also triple negatives are used to reinforce the point that he has no vices; he nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde. The Knight is humble and not materialistic where the text reads;  His hors were goode, but he was nat gay  Of fustian he wered a gypon  Al bismotered with his habergeon  There is also an ironic simile in the verse about the Knight where the text says, as meeke as a mayde this describes him as calm and gentle whereas we expect a Knight to be violent and proud of himself. Finally, the rhyming couplets at the end of each line draw even more attention to his good qualities for example  . prys  . wys  He does not care what people think of him, he uses his horse for its function, and he does not decorate it elaborately but just uses it for fighting. The clothes that he wears also tell the reader that he is not materialistic because he, wered a gypon/Al bismotered with his habergeon. The Wife of Bath lives biside Bathe and likes to weave, she has been married five times and gives advice to people in love. Thries hadde she been at Jerusalem, which suggests that she is a holy woman who has been on a lot of pilgrimages. However she only wants to be seen as religious and holy person. Chaucer only pretends to give evidence of her devotion whereas he is really saying that she is not concerned about religion, but that she is more concerned with her reputation and how she looks to other people; Nobody to the offrynge before hire sholde goon. Although she had been on a number of pilgrimages, especially to Jerusalem, Chaucer writes that she is often found wandrynge by the weye on them, passing many a strange strem. The alliteration here draws our attention to these details. Chaucers ambiguity towards some pilgrims motives for being on the pilgrimage is shown in this verse as he could be implying that the Wife of Bath strayed from the religious purpose of the trip.  Chaucer uses euphemisms to hint at the Wife of Baths promiscuity; gat-tothed, reed stockings, five husbands and oother compaigne in her youth are all quotes to support this point. The five husbands could suggest that the Wife of Bath was an early feminist because she uses men to her own advantage and in her tale she claims womens superiority over men. READ: First Confession Analysis EssayChaucer gently mocks the gregarious Wife of Bath by telling the reader in an exaggerated manner that on Sunday at Church the wimple that she wore weyeden ten pound, this also hints at her materialistic and vain nature, which is completely opposite to the Knight. The Wife of Bath had clothes such as;  hosen of fyn scarlet reed  Ful streite yteyd and shoes ful moyste and new  That show that she is vain and materialistic because she has bought new shoes for a pilgrimage and red stockings which would be very expensive because to dye clothes bright colours was very expensive in those days.  The Knight, however, Of fustian he wered a gypon/Al bismotered with his habergeon which is completely the opposite. The Monk is a lord ful fat and in good poynt; he is indulgent; the fact that The Monk likes to eat swan also suggests that he is indulgent, not what a monk should be. The sleves purfiled at the hond /with grys, and that the fyneste of a lond. This suggests that he is extravagant and doesnt really care about religious vows. The simile that says the Monks head shoon as any glas, could also suggest that he is vain. Like The Pardoner, The Monk is not a true clergyman; The Pardoner sells fake relics such as white sheets and says they are the Virgin Marys veil and The Monk goes on pilgrimages to get out of the monastery. The Knight has many pastimes, but most are associated with war, such as training the Squire, his son, taking part in jousts, defending the faith, travelling abroad to battles. This suggests that in Chaucers society there were many wars and that in the feudal system; knights were expected to fight to defend their faith and country.  The Wife of Bath, however, enjoys weaving which would be expected because Bath was famous for fine cloths. Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce, this means she helps people with love, which is ironic considering that she Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyve. She went on a lot of pilgrimages like the Knight, but she koude muchel of wandrynge by the weye, which could mean that she diverted from the religious purpose of the trip. Apart from this, though she has a lot of leisure time to enjoy her other pastimes. But unlike the Knight, the Wife of Bath enjoys things that will fulfil her needs and wants, whereas the Knights interests and pastimes dire ctly benefit other people such as the Squire, his country or his King The Monk enjoys hunting, which could imply that he doesnt care about Gods creatures as a Monk should. The Monk and The Pardoner are both corrupt, which reinforces the popular view that the Church at the time was rich and corrupt; The Parson is the only good clergyman on the pilgrimage. The Friar knew a lot of the taverns in the country which suggests he has a lot of time for social time which a monk should not have.  Christians go to Canterbury to worship the shrine of St Thomas Beckett who was murdered at Canterbury. In the General Prologue, the characters met up at the Tabard Inn and decided to tell their stories. The supposed reason these pilgrims are going to Canterbury is to seek St. Thomas, holy martyr blessed, but some have other ulterior motives for going there. The Knight, I think, is on the pilgrimage to give thanks to God and St. Thomas Beckett for bringing him back alive and well from battle. The Wife of Bath likes to show off about being holy since nobody to the offrynge before hire sholde goon. She could be going to Canterbury for a holiday, to travel more, to find another husband, to show off how rich she is; compared with The Knight she is on the pilgrimage for materialistic reasons whereas the Knight, like the Parson, is on the pilgrimage for authentic religious reasons. The Monk could be on the pilgrimage to socialise or it could be a reason to get out of the cloistered of the monastery; neither of which are holy reasons. READ: Play It Again Rita EssayIn conclusion I believe that the Knight is the only person, along with the Parson, who is on the pilgrimage for the right reasons. The Knight is on the pilgrimage to give thanks to God and he dedicates his time to those who are in need. On the other hand The Monk is on the pilgrimage for one of two reasons, either to socialise with other people or just to get out of the monastery. This reflects the view at the time that the Church was corrupt and rich. The Wife of Bath is on the pilgrimage for vain and materialistic reasons the most likely reasons are either to show off her wealth or to find another husband. This reflects the position of women because could not go out and live on their own they needed the support of a husband or a father.

Mexicans Temporary Residents in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mexicans Temporary Residents in the USA - Essay Example So, it is a seasonal migration – coming and going back and coming again, making them temporary residents in America and Canada. However, this is not a completely true picture. One reason for labeling Mexicans, as temporary residents might be political in nature. The larger community intends to get political benefit by proclaiming Mexicans as temporary residents to argue in support of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Thus, there are other arguments against the notion that need to be discussed. In fact, certain findings on period of stay, family formation, network development and work status prove the statement wrong that Mexicans are temporary residents. Let’s analyze those findings. There are a number of factors that support the inclination of Mexicans to have permanent settlements like the duration of stay, family formation, network development and work. The desire to settle permanently by Mexicans has not been given due coverage and recognition. A large nu mber of Mexican children go to American schools, which shows they want to settle down forever in America. After a long period of stay in America, undocumented Mexicans like Central Americans don’t want to return back because they have become a customized to the changes with the passing of time. The argument that stable economic and political environment at home is prompting them to go back to their original place, particularly after signing of NAFTA is devoid of substance. It is also politically misleading as a segment of politicians in America want the Mexicans to return to their homeland to lessen the weight on American resources. Definitely, there is a role played by the economic and social forces in the occurrence of Los Angeles riots and in initiating a trend amongst Mexicans to migrate back to their homeland. Rousseau idea of labeling Mexicans as â€Å"homing pigeons† does not hold ground as in reality ‘their experiences in the new  communities’ (Chavez) hold them back to America.

How Gene Luen Yang's Life contributes To the Novel American Born Essay

How Gene Luen Yang's Life contributes To the Novel American Born Chinese - Essay Example Monkey King is a master of the kung-fu arts, and this makes him be adored by his subjects and the most powerful monkey on the earth. However, the Monkey King wants to be recognized as god and not a monkey. Chin-Kee is a typical Chinese stereotype and he keeps on ruining his cousin’s (Danny) life. Danny is a great basketball player and a famous kid at school. However, each year Chin-Kee visits; he is forced to transfer to another school so that he escapes the shame. These three unrelated stories make up the comic novel â€Å"American Born Chinese† (Barnes&Noble 1). Themes The main theme in the comic novel is the attempt to fit in. There is tension between cultural forces and the essential self. In the storyline â€Å"Everyone Ruvs Chin-Kee,† American stereotypes are expressed by Gene Luen Yang’s narration as sitcom. The use of sitcom in this novel is proper because it is a genre that is mostly used in describing stereotypes. Chin-Kee as a typical Chinese is the part that Yang wants to deny in order to fit in with his white friends or peers. Chin-Kee offers nothing important to others in the context of the Chinese culture. This is because he is antiquated and dressed in the Chinese attire, speaks in Chinese accent, and instigates practices that the westerners find to be detestable (Pulliam 1). Chin-Kee eats cats and he is intensely patriarchal. He wants to look for an American girl who is big-breasted and whose feet he is able to bind so that he can have children with her. He plays horrible jokes on his peers, and he does not at all understand proper western behavior. Although Chin-Kee conforms to the stereotypic culture that all Asians are smart, in his case, the knowledge he has, is not useful at all. All the knowledge he has, is to popularize himself in the class and this makes him a laughing stock in an American high school. Yang has become completely assimilated as a Caucasian just like his parents. When it is time for Chin-Kee to leave, each of the parents believes that Chin-Kee is the relative of the other. This demonstrates the degree Jin’s parents have become assimilated (Pulliam 1). The Monkey King story represents the instance of Yang in regard to whom he really is and his culture. Just like the Monkey King, Yang tries to deny his actual self. At the end, the Monkey King must humbly accept who he is just like the monk Wong Lai-Tsao. According to Wong Lai-Tsao, this is the strategy to true transcendence, and it removes the suffering. The monk (Wong Lai-Tsao), â€Å"is free of want because he is free of ego that would make him want what he cannot have† (Pulliam 1). Among the four monks, he is the only monk who has attained legendary status in ancient times and his gifts are said to be remarkable. Wong Lai-Tsao was a master of being humble unlike the other monks who were either masters of bodily needs for movement or food or master rhetoricians. The monk is able to free the Monkey King from prison; he does this by telling him to accept his monkey form and give up all the other forms. If the Monkey King could have done that a long time, he would have been freed from prison. Just like Wong Lai-Tsao, the Monkey King is happy in his true form (the monkey form). Thus, Yang can only find happiness when he accepts who he is (Pulliam 1). Style The comic novel unfolds in three sections: a modern version of the Monkey King myth; the fake-sitcom of â€Å"

Function of Management Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Function of Management Paper - Essay Example The four functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling the organizational norms and domains. These four functions work hand in hand to bring to the organizational horizon a well-composed culture which is complete from all angles and perspectives. It is important that the four functions understand the need of proper incorporation of their own selves so that the organizational culture develops as a result. If the activities within an organization are adequately planned there is a strong possibility that the culture will underline the need of prioritizing things and hence a general planning regime would be in place. Organizing would take care of the steps which are important for the organizational procedures and undertakings and hence when the same are followed on a day to day basis, the organizational culture develops automatically. Leading comes from the leadership tenet where the top management understands its due role and hence embeds the much needed delegation and management skills required for the organization in essence. The last function is of controlling the organizational matters so that there is no element which has not been taken care of. All these four functions work alongside each other to construct an organizational culture which is wholesome and has a significant basis on the working procedures, undertakings and domains of the organization. (Warner, 2001) A healthy organizational culture could be instilled if the correct steps are taken at the right time so that the employees and the management are at ease with each other and also so that the activities, processes and strategies within the organizational tenets do not seem to be a misfit within the whole organizational regime. 3. Leading: Includes traits of a person who is in-charge and present all the time, could be easily replicated for a team which could be regarded as a group bringing about proactive