Leave This Chanting

Gitanjali is a collection of 103 English poems, largely translations, by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. ‘Leave this chanting’ is the 11th poem in the collection. The poet advises the priests to give up their counting of beads and their singing and chanting of mantras. He also urges them stop the worship of God in a secluded corner of the temple, with their eyes half shut. He sharply states, ‘Open your eyes and see God is not there before you. ’ God is not to be found in this way.God lives with the humble and down-trodden like the tillers of the land and path-makers who work hard at breaking stones. He lives with those who toil in sun and shower and whose clothes are soiled with dust. If the priest wants God he must come out of his temple, give up his holy robes and work with the humble tillers of the soil in rain and sun. Tagore thus glorifies the life of the humble labourers and rejects the ascetic way of life. The ultimate spiritual goal of the asce tic is to seek deliverance.This is the liberation of the soul from the cycle of birth and death. But God Himself is bound to all of us in chains of love. He himself is not free and He has joyfully bound Himself to the work of creation and to the objects He has created. How can then man ever hope to be free from bondage? He urges the ascetics to leave the ritualistic flowers and incense which does not serve any purpose. According to the poet one can find God not in the temple but with the workers who are working whole day in the dirt and under the hot sun.He asks us what harm is there if you work under the sun and if your clothes become dirt. Even when your clothes are turn out or stained there is no harm because one is going to see the creator. Thus Tagore conveys that participation in the activity of life is essential for the realization of God. This poem ‘Leave This Chanting’ is equally important in World Literature due to his exposing the pseudo-zeal of worshippers e verywhere.

Critical analysis of Historical Websites Essay

There are many historical databases provided by Universities today. So much so, it is often more likely to find the exact replica of a particular historical document on the web than to physically go to a library expecting to find a book pertaining the same topic. In fact, it has become common practice for many Library officials to even direct students doing research directly to their websites. Historical websites today provide information in almost every form from scholarly abstracts, to old newspaper articles, to actual audio bites of interviews with historical figures. We obviously live in a more advanced era; but just like there were disadvantages in the past deemed ordinary by our ancestors, our children will most likely view the way we operate today as passe. This poses the question, what are our faults? What are the weakness, in the most popular research databases today, that could improved on? How accredited are these sites, should they be, and what bias do they hold? For the purpose of attempting to thoroughly answer these questions, I will analyze four popular, and accredited, historical websites. The historical databases I will be examining are as follows: ProQuest, History Center Resource Group U. S. A. , History Cooperative, and ABC Clio Historical Abstracts and America: History & Life. All of these sites have been approved by Florida State University for substantial sources for historical reference, as well as other University Libraries. For the purpose of testing the websites’ historical value, I came up with three key search terms I would use to judge all four of the websites. These terms are: Aristotle, American Revolution and Al Quada. I chose these terms because I felt they best exemplified a time before the father companies of these sites existed, or they measure the quality of current even efficiency. ProQuest Company is stationed in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company’s main focus is in microfilm and electronic publishing. The company was initially founded by Eugene Power under the title of â€Å"University Microfilms in 1938. The company preserved precious British Museum articles on microfilm, as well as published dissertations. In continuous production of publications since 1938, with so many dissertations, ProQuest has been officially declared as the U. S. off-site repository of the Library of Congress. During World War II, University Microfilm assisted the Office of Strategic Service by filming maps and European newspapers. In 1980, the company made the transition from microfilm to storing databases on CD-ROMs. It then went through a nuance of owners and names until finally changing its name to ProQuest Information and Learning in 2001. Upon first viewing the ProQuest database online, I was forced to acknowledge the simplicity of the page. The search bars were easy to use, providing the option of searching through different databases with categories of everything from dissertations, news papers and business articles to interdisciplinary and criminal justice periodicals. They also had database searches provided solely to do research on gender issues, race relations and global news. I’m certain all of these databases provide information on a vast range of subjects dating as far back as 1938, when the company first originated. When I punched in the key word Aristotle, my search found 4451 sources, most of which were news paper articles dated in the present new year. The American Revolution found me 3724 references all ranging from newspapers to dissertations. Finally, Al-Qaeda found me 21543 results. The patterns of these numbers showed me that ProQuest was more bias towards politics and current event in America, even though it’s categorized as a historical database. Also, as I would later find out its results were monumental and almost never ending compared to the results of the other sites. The large majority of ProQuests material comes from news paper articles, which gives it a disadvantage when its compared to other site producing scholarly essays. The fact remains ProQuest has a seemingly endless quantity of reputable sources. ProQuest represents big business in scholarly society, and in that way it drastically contrasts sites like History Cooperative. History Cooperative is a nonprofit humanities resource that provided scholarly historical journals for the purpose of study. This site was established by the combined efforts of The University of Illinois Press, the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians and the National Academies Press. At first glance, I have to say that History Cooperative is the simplest and most vast database I’ve ever seen, second only to Wikipedia, which lacks scholarly accreditation. It appears that History Cooperative provides more access the largest variety of respected American Journals than any of the other sites. I begin my analysis by searching the first key term, Aristotle. Many scholarly essays pertaining to Aristotle’s theories come up. I click on the first link titled Hairy Women and Naked Truths: Gender and the Politics of Knowledge in Aristotle’s Masterpiece, by Mary E. Fissell, to see how relative the article is to my search. I look at the article and find it is more an educated response to one of Aristotle’s literary works than any concrete historical information about the man himself. In light of this, I must acknowledge the source still holds some historical relevance and could be used for more in-depth analysis of the man in a research paper. When I look up American Revolution, I get Wheat, War, and the American Economy during the Age of Revolution, by Brooke Hunter. Again, this is another article that takes a specific part of history and goes in-depth with the topic. Finally, I search for Al-Qaeda searching for it four different ways and only finding results when I type it in as shown. Even then only one article pops up, titled ‘Chaos on the Earth’: Subjective Truths versus Communal Unity in Islamic Law and the Rise of Militant Islam, Indira Falk Gesink. The website overall still proves to be historically relevant, just not up on current events. The site also appears bias in the sense that most of its information comes from authors publishing in journals to display their literary prowess, or attain scholarly recognition. The site didn’t appear to have factually informative information with the student in mind, but more like scholarly interpretations written for the purpose of being viewed by other’s with PHDs. This site is not for someone attempting to find basic information. It has articles that carryout close and critical responses assuming that much is already known about the topic. On these grounds, I do get a very liberal minded nature from the site in the sense that it promotes free thought. Though this leaves room for bias pertaining a particular topic of search, in most cases, except for the Al Qada search, there is a vast amount of sources to counter a bias view. This leaves the researcher free to interpret their own understand from a much more educated and open view of the topic. The History Resource Center: U. S. is a database formed by the Gale Group. Now known as Thomas Gale, the company is run by Gordan T. Macomber and specializes in research and educational publishing for public and academic libraries, schools and businesses. Its full text magazine and newspaper database, Info Trac is the same search tool that powers The History Resource Center: U. S. The site is considered by many respected scholastics to be a reputable source for references on religion, history and social science. The site is also most notably recommended by History Channel. com. When I first search for Aristotle, a long list of about twenty two sources come up the first one being, Aristotle Versus Plato in Ancient Greece. History in Dispute, by Mathew E. Kenney. The American Revolution search produced two-hundred results the first of which was The Impact of the American Revolution on Britain. History in Dispute, by Keith Krawczynski. Finally my search for Al-Qaeda produced ten results, the first of which was Suspected Terrorist Mounir el-Motassadeq Convicted in Germany, February 19, 2003. This was located in a journal titled Historic World events. This greatly impressed me about the website. On top of this, I received no sense of bias while reviewing this web page. All of the articles were heavily referenced, and many had the feel of being analytical while at the same time very informative with the facts. The final site I viewed diverged from the pack completely in its ability to inform. ABC-CLIO was founded in 1953 by Eric Boehm. Its first publication was produced in 1955 the company is mostly known for its main database America: History and Life and their Historical Abstracts database. The company does not a have a long known history pertaining to America, but most of its historical information is American History based. Despite these credentials, Florida State and many other Universities approve of this website as one of their key source of reputable information. The truth is, there was no in-depth analysis done for this page, because it was more of a retail site than an a location for study. When I entered the key terms into the search bars, publications and dissertations were not viewable without buying the entire article. This contrast between the other web pages make one wonder if this is a sign of the past or the future. It also makes me appreciate site like ProQuest and the History Resource Center, for being so efficient, for free. In sum, after comparing these sites, I can’t help but think that ABC-CLIO needs to be put out of business and ProQuest might be leaving the competition behind. The sites that do produce works, are all admirable and respectable in their nature to produce as many knowledgeable sources as possible, even if the views are contrasting. The advancement of ideals like this is the way of the future. It can always be argued that corporations like History Cooperative are valuable because they perform a humanitarian service by being non-profit. It can even be argued that the History Resources Center: U. S. outmatches ProQuest in quality. But, it can’t be denied that ProQuest unfairly out does all of the competition based on the number of sources it produces. This idea of quality verses quantity is a classic debate. But, in the case of ProQuest, it must acknowledged that Quality has a quantity all of its own. Work Cited ABC-CLIO http://serials. abc-clio. com. proxy. lib. fsu. edu/active/go/ABC-Clio-Serials_v4. 2. Accessed Jan 6. 2007 History Cooperative http://www. historycooperative. org. proxy. lib. fsu. edu/ Accessed Jan. 6 2007. History Resource Center U. S. http://galenet. galegroup. com. proxy. lib. fsu. edu/servlet/HistRC/form? origSearch=true&n=10&l=1&items=0&locID=tall85761. Accessed Jan. 7, 2007 ProQuest. http://proquest. umi. com. proxy. lib. fsu. edu/login. Accessed Jan 7 2007.

Software implementation methods

Description of the AdministrationSanolabor is a big sized selling and distribution company in Slovenia. It chiefly deals with health care, pharmaceutical and laboratory equipments acquired from more than 500 makers and providers both internationally and locally ( Sanolabor. Corporate Profile [ Online ] ) . In 2000 the company was awarded an ISO 9001:2000 quality direction certification for its proviso of quality services. The company is divided into two chief parts ; the retail subdivision which was apparatus to cover with individualized demands ( Sanolabor. Retail. Offer [ Online ] ) and the sweeping section which supplies wellness establishments, scientific establishments and industry with merchandises like ; research lab plans, medical and hospital equipment and a scope of other commercial merchandises ( Sanolabor. Wholesale [ Online ] ) .Description of the Implementation MethodSanolabor decided to roll-out their new Customer Relationship Management ( CRM ) utilizing the rapid execution. Software execution methods ( Anon. , 2001, pg39 ) suggests This technique is used to deploy systems whose faculties have already been predefined taking to a fast and direct alteration over from the bequest system to the new one, as a consequence companies are sometimes forced to alter their concern processes to suit the system. In Software execution methods ( Anon. , 2001, pg39 ) Rapid execution is categorized into two parts there is: The preconfigured faculty where the user accepts the basic constellation of the system and the predefined concern procedures and the Vanilla Implementation where the user gets to analyse and take the map parametric quantities of the already preconfigured package. Some of the advantages that come with Rapid execution are:The undertaking costs less.There is speedy determination devising.There are minimum concern breaks while implementing the system.Some of the disadvantages of utilizing this method are:Companies may non hold clip custom-make the package to suit their concern procedures.Most of the clip the top direction is required to take part and do speedy determinations.It is normally inflexible and delivers a system with limited functionality.Summary of instance surveySanolabor decided to follow a Microsoft Excel-based system due to the addition of planetary competition and rapid alteration in the market. The system would assist the company supervise client in formation and bring forth analytical studies but because of its engineering it became unstable and could non work decently. Sing that a alteration was needed a undertaking squad was setup its undertaking was to present a to the full functional CRM system. The undertaking commenced on January 2006 and its timeline was set to one twelvemonth, the first aim of this squad was to look for a seller who would be able to supply a system whose characteristics replicated the old one together with some improved maps. The seller ‘s first undertaking was to capture user demands and within a short clip the first paradigm was delivered. By this clip the undertaking squad had grown to 42 people, they were divided into three groups and sanolabor ‘s computing machines were chosen as a testing environment. A preparation session was held in July and failed due deficiency of proper planning. Two months subsequently another preparation session was constituted and because of better be aftering the consequences were deemed successful. Data migration was initiated following and completed without any challenges ; one time this was done the CRM was quickly implemented and shortly after jobs at the operational and managerial degree began to harvest up. Another job which was encountered was that 60 workstations crashed due to incompatibility issues with an interface developed by the seller, the company besides changed its concern procedures to suit the package. The system was monitored for four months with errors being reported to the seller and after subsequent corrections were made it became stable and the undertaking was closed in March 2007. ( 286 words )Critical analysis of the success of the execution method usedBing that sanolabor did non see the concluding version of their CRM system during the proving session, it was an unadvised move to quickly implement the new system. In a systems development life-cycle all members of a squad set abouting a undertaking must be actively involved, the undertaking director sho uld understand his/her function and every activity must be planned and monitored. In sanolabor ‘s instance the undertaking squad left all the work from the analysis to the execution phase to the package seller. No enterprise was taken until jobs started to happen in the latter phases of the development life-cycle and as a consequence it ended up being dearly-won for the company in footings of resources and clip. Harmonizing to package execution methods ( Anon. , 2001, pg41 ) one should thoroughly measure to find where rapid execution is appropriate for your organisation, this rating was non done decently even though the implementing undertaking of the new CRM system into the company was successful. Below is a elaborate history of the challenges and the result that lead to a successful CRM execution. These experiences were both shared by the undertaking squad and the package seller. In order to successfully implement a system in a real-work environment one must understand the concern needs every bit good as user demands of that company and good preparation guidelines must besides be followed, sanolabor ‘s CRM undertaking lacked these properties and as a consequence the company faced a batch of jobs in the execution stage. After choosing a seller the undertaking squad decided to utilize the vanilla execution to deploy the system, hence a batch of loops to the parametric quantities were done in conformity to the users ‘ demands, the result was that the undertaking director did non see the concluding version of the system ( Franka & A ; Armand, 2007 ) . The first jobs began to demo up in the preparation stage ; the users were unhappy because of the manner the Sessionss were carried out. ( Sanolabor, 2006e cited in Franka & A ; Armand, 2007 ) gives an history of the issues that were faced during preparation:The user demands were inadequately fulfilled i. e. non all the maps performed as the user expected.The employees had a negative attitude towards the CRM because they feared that the work burden would increase and the company ‘s organisational construction would alter, therefore their motive was low.The undertaking squad had grown to 42 people by this clip which made it excessively big for proper preparation to take topographic point.A suited preparation environment was non carefully chosen. It was done with sanolabor ‘s old computing machines which were really slow and lacked the capacity to back up the package.Due to the big figure of users that were supposed to be trained and the handiness of clip, the Sessionss were excessively short and did n't supply sufficient information of the systems functionality.The user manuals were besides unequal because they did non reflect the proper guidelines of how to utilize the CRM.The preparation was conducted unprofessionally.Because the above result had to be rectified, the und ertaking squad took charge of the undertaking and started by make up one's minding to carry through the user demands foremost, one time this was complete they moved to prove it and it was done to a satisfactory degree. The following measure after successfully finishing the first two activities was developing. These Sessionss took topographic point two months subsequently after the initial attempted and in order to obtain successful consequences a different attack was taken. The undertaking director take to ( Franka & A ; Armand, 2007 ) :Motivate the user groups by giving them confidence of better things to come, this ensured cooperation.Reduce the undertaking squad significantly to 21 people: seven users per group this ensured manageableness,Add the Sessionss to three hours from the old 45 proceedingss this gave the users ‘ ample clip to prove the system.Improved the user manual, this lead to a better apprehension of the system.Upgraded the computing machines that were at sano labor to back up the CRM.The consequences of the 2nd preparation were positive as it could besides be seen from the users. The following measure was to migrate the information from the bequest systems to the new CRM solution ; this was done without any jobs. After the preparation and informations migration was completed successfully, the squad was now certain that the system was ready to ‘go unrecorded ‘ . It was quickly implemented and shortly after jobs began to happen: at the operational degree Franka & A ; Armand ( 2007 ) study that ‘reclamations grounds was uncomplete, print of demands was inconsistent with demands, communicating between merchandise directors was hindered ‘ and for the analytical degree ‘reports did non present contents sing certain filters, other studies were impossible to obtain ‘ . Sanolabor besides wanted to utilize Microsoft Outlook together with the CRM solution, this prompted the seller to come up with an interface tha t would incorporate both. Franka & A ; Armand ( 2007, pg.205 ) writes that the: ‘Purpose was to put in the interface on all of the 60 working Stationss automatically, but it happened that the basic Microsoft system crashed down. Companies or providers proficient sup ­port did non expect instability, which could ensue from such operation. It caused extra costs to the company ; purchasing new licenses and probationary support with installing of new programmes on all working Stationss ‘ . Due to the dictates of utilizing the rapid execution method sanolabor had to alter their concern processes to suit into their new system this did non do any jobs because they were already client oriented. The execution procedure was monitored for four months where the undertaking director consistently reported errors to the provider and checked on its public presentation ( Sanolabor, 2006b cited in Franka & A ; Armand, 2007 ) . Company decided to travel with an analytical CRM for the intent of leading, activity monitoring of employees, better inform ­ing, betterment of dealingss with clients and better strate ­gic determinations. It gave the replies to employees, why company decided to upgrade CRM. All this can act upon on the betterment of the general relationship with custom ­ers. After going stable in March 2007 the undertaking officially closed.BibliographySanolabor. Corporate Profile [ Online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sanolabor.si/eng/prispevek.asp? IDPodPodrocja=442 [ Accessed 1 March 2010 ] )Sanolabor. Retail. Offer [ Online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sanolabor.si/eng/prispevek.asp? IDPodPodrocja=445 [ Accessed 1 March 2010 ] )Sanolabor. Wholesale [ Online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sanolabor.si/eng/prispevek.asp? IDPodPodrocja=440 [ Accessed 1 March 2010 ]Franka Piskar & A ; Armand Faganel, 2009. A Successful CRM Implemen tation Project in a Service Company: Case Study. [ pdf ] Slovenia: Organizacija volume 42 Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //organizacija.fov.uni-mb.si/index.php/organizacija-en/article/viewFile/1036/864 [ Accessed 30 February 2010 ]Anon, 2001. Software Implementation Method. [ pdf ] Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //vig.pearsoned.co.uk/samplechapter/078972670X.pdf [ Accessed 27 February 2010 ]

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 20

Discussion - Essay Example icle, â€Å"Effective Communication-That is just what I mean† by Santosh Sachdeva, the author has emphasized on the importance of effective communication. The author has also highlighted the significance of accurate body language and tone while communicating with the other person. Body language, voice and words play are the most essential elements of an effective communication. A person can misunderstand or misinterpret the meaning of the entire message; if any element of an effective communication is absent from the message. The author further adds that feed back or the response signifies that the message has been understood by the receiver. However, we cannot ignore the issues that generally emerge during any communication either it is done verbally or nonverbally. People often ignore what other person is saying. They focus more on their response rather paying attention to the words of other person. People make errors in communication either they are bounded by their ego or they feel superiority complex over the other one which damages the effectiveness. Perception is another issue which causes damage to effective communication. People often ignore the message of a person who is low in status or less privileged. On the other hand, people pay more attention to the words and meanings of the person who is more sound and stable than the other groups. Sometimes people ignore the message conveyed to them in state of stress. People believe what they see, they acquire from their surroundings and what is being fed in their minds rather they communicate and talk with other groups to justify the authenticity of the information. To avoid issues in communication, it is very important to listen actively to the words of the speaker and to give a proper feedback to the person in order to assure him that you have understood the message and the

A 2,000 report exploring and critically analysing the complex needs of Essay

A 2,000 report exploring and critically analysing the complex needs of offenders and rehabilitative practices which promote desistance - Essay Example These may include substance abuse problems, unemployment or financial problems, difficult family backgrounds, homelessness, or even psychiatrist problems. It is important for the institutions management to acknowledge that these factors are interlinked in most cases and will vary mostly along age and gender lines (David 2004; Warr 2002). Theoretical evidence affirms that a combination of individual and social factors can be linked to an increased probability of reoffending and should be routinely reassessed. Also referred to as ‘criminogenic’ needs, they can be attributed to certain types of crime. For example, heroin use is closely linked with shoplifting and other acquisitive offending while alcohol binge drinking is often associated with violence and other petty crimes. These factors can be further classified into static or dynamic. Factors such as employment, drug misuse, or education are subject to change and are thus, classified under dynamic while strong predictor s of reoffending such as gender, age, or criminal history are static. So, what helps individuals stay away from crime? Maruna et al (2008) propose that desistance can only work out if the complex needs of the offenders are met. As such, there is a strong correlation between the social or external aspects of an offender’s life (such as the support of those around them), as well as, the psychological or internal (what they subscribe to and what they want to achieve with their lives) and relapsing or desisting. Factors that might work in favour of desistance are such as: i) Family and relationships: studies have suggested that establishing supportive bonds with spouse or family members appears to boost chances of desisting from crime on condition that the family members are not involved in crime or substance abuse themselves. These good relationships are crucial to recidivism owing to a number of reasons. First, they minimise the amount of time and interactions spent with

Undertake a literature search on overhead costs and write about the Essay

Undertake a literature search on overhead costs and write about the subject drawing relevant conclusions - Essay Example Undertake a literature search on overhead costs and write about the subject drawing relevant conclusions On the other hand, labour and material costs are easily traceable and can therefore easily be associated with the final product (Hartley, 2009). The allocation and measurement of overhead costs is therefore a very important factor in accounting given that it makes no sense to engage in production if the business experiences much overhead cost that cannot balance the revenues (Hilton, 2012). The overhead costs in business are basically the costs the ongoing expenses realized in the operations. They include electricity, rent wages and gas. The name overhead arises out of the fact that these costs cannot be easily associated with the final products but are nevertheless imperative for the continued functioning of the business (Kieso & Weygandt, 2001). In any case, most of the overhead costs are not directly related to the business. For instance full rent for the premises has to be paid whether the business operates for fewer hours or not. In the income statement, the overhead costs inclu de all the costs except direct materials, direct labour and direct expenses (Horngren, 2002). Overhead allocation In most cases, the overhead costs are normally much higher than the direct costs. In this regard, accountants must effectively allocate overhead costs to the inventory. Overhead costs normally fall into two categories. Administrative overheads include all the costs realized in production and development of goods such as front office and sales. Manufacturing overheads include all the costs incurred by the business other than direct costs (Innes & Mitchell, 2005). It is imperative to allocate the manufacturing overheads to the inventory items classified as finished goods or work in progress. However, the overheads should not be allocated to the raw materials. In one procedure, all the manufacturing costs are accumulated into cost pools and then an activity formula is applied in apportioning the overheads in the cost pools to the inventory in the business. As such, the allo cation formula becomes: Cost pool/Total activity measure= Overhead allocation per Unit Absorption costing In some cases, the overhead costs are ignored from the general expenses realized by a business. In this case, absorption costing is an important way of ensuring that such omissions are well addressed. Unlike variable costing where the fixed costs are not actually absorbed by the product, absorption costing ensures that all the direct costs realized in the production of goods are factored within the cost base. In this case, absorption costing is important given that the fixed cost normally provide future benefits to the business. Through the use of absorption costing, the overhead costs are easily included in the total production costs and can therefore be attributed to any unit production. Tax advantages Manufacturing overhead costs are normally tax deductible. It is therefore very important for the business to effectively track all these cost to the overall manufacturing expens es. In this case, the taxable income can greatly be reduced and subsequently lower the tax burden for the business (Khalik, 2008). Most of the overhead costs are normally deductible in the very year they are incurred which actually works to the advantage of the business. Nevertheless, equipment is depreciated over a period of years. Disadvantages Rising prices Considering the inflationary environment realized in the present business environment, the rising overhead costs

Super sleuth supermarket observation study Essay

Super sleuth supermarket observation study - Essay Example Tesco possess a wide portfolio of its store which includes: Tesco super store, Tesco Store, Tesco extra, Tesco metro. All this stores provides good service and excellent value to its customers. The difficulties that Tesco faced previously were due to low price inflation for food, less growth in population, difficulty in getting permission for setting the supermarket, saturated market and also competition. But today Tesco is considered as an example and treated as a model for supermarket across the world. According to the survey conducted on a weekend in Tesco store it was found that people of all age visit Tesco. But customer in the age band 20-45 years is found more as compared to customer falling in other age band. Both male and female customer was found on the store but as compared to male, female customers was more in number. Jaguar and Rover was found more in number in the parking space of the store. They mainly preferred casual. The store was crowded as it was a weekend therefore the store was more crowded as compared to other weekdays. The research was conducted in the evening which is the peak time in the weekend. The customers were checking the items of the list. The impulse item of Tesco was confectionary. More than 50 % of the crowd of the store was found at the confectionary division of the store. (RÃ ¼ther 32) While conducting a market survey it was revealed that a customer purchased Tesco extra large code fillets batter. The customer was so happy and overwhelmed when she came home and opens the pack. She was so excited and satisfied that she recommended to her friends relatives and other family members. In another case it was found that a customer who took his daughter for a lunch at Tesco and ordered for sandwich which they prefer to have whenever they come to Tesco. But when the sandwich was served it was found that the quality has degraded and the ingredient that was stuffed inside the sandwich was of low quality. But with

Ethical Business in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Business in the UK - Essay Example A survey done by UK’ Institute of Business Ethics revealed that the ethical companies posted better performances when compared to those that were not. The institute made comparisons of the economic value added (EVA), price and the market value added (MVA). One of the reasons why the ethical companies outperformed those that do not be not was because of the high productivity of their employees (Palmer, 2010, 99). It is very rare that these companies lose their best workers and thus the production process flowed effectively. The other factor that is pointed out as making the ethical companies perform exemplary was due to the positive reaction to people to their products and services. In many cases, people preferred to be involved with the ethical companies that are operational in the UK. The last factor lead to the better performance of ethical companies is that highly qualified employees and executives are normally attracted to such companies. Economists argue that the focus on ethical companies came as a response to an environment characterized by aggressive enforcement. The financial crisis that took place in the UK made the ethical companies skate the financial downturn (Flynn, 2008, 121). Unlike the olden days where business leaders just rolled down their eyes on the mention of ethics, many managers recognize the role that ethics play in their businesses. Leaders who are innovative have the ability to see the connection that exists between profits and ethics. Leaders in the ethical companies have the notion that the company does not suffer any losses in the increase of resources that help it comply with the set ethical rules. People in the UK have grown frustrated by the existing tax loopholes that make the international companies avoid paying taxes or pays very little taxes as compared to the other companies. In England, a group of people took to the streets of London to demonstrate against the tax loopholes that existed in the country (Crane & Matten, 2010, 67).

Tourism Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Tourism Operations Management - Essay Example Task 1(L01) Tour operations sector In travel and tourism, tour operators are the ones which combine two or more businesses in a package which is ultimately offered to the consumer as a holiday package. In UK there are two kinds of tour operators- mainstream tour operators and specialist tour operators (Meyers, n.d, pp.8-9). Mainstream tour operators are the ones who sell mainstream tour packages like air, sea, sand sun to the customers while the niche tour operators serve highly specified tour packages like beaches but of a lower standard. The major mainstream companies in UK are Thompson or Thompson Holidays, Thomas Cook, Airtours and First Choice. The products offered by them are the beaches in locations like the Caribbean, Thailand and Malaysia. A number of specialist tour companies have also come up in UK as there is little competition among the specialist tour operators. Major tour operators- introduction Thompson or Thompson Holidays is a part of TUI travel PLC (Cruiseship rati ngs and reviews all cruises with operator Thompson Holidays, n.d). The company known originally as Thompson Tour Operations was renamed as Thompson Holidays in 1997. It was floated in the London stock exchanges in 1998. Thomas Cook was started in 1841 by a person named Thomas Cook. He floated his company commercially in 1845 for the first time. A travel brochure was also provided by it for the first time (Thomas Cook history, n.d). Airtours is well known for providing innovative tour packages to its customers according to the changing lifestyles. It targets the cheap or lower budget market but because of the high level of innovation and ideas it has become one of the top market leaders in UK. (Airtours, n.d). First Choice is the fourth largest tour operator in UK. It was established in the beginning of the 1970s when two companies named Continental Air Brokers and Economy World Travel decided to merge and form Owners Abroad (Wholesale) Ltd. in 1973. Later, the company decided to cha nge its corporate name and in 1994 the company was renamed as First Choice Holidays (First Choice Holidays PLC History, n.d). Since mid-1997, these four players occupy 53% of the holiday market in UK in 2000 (Pender, Sharpleyfirst, n.d, pp.48). Market Segmentation UK travel and tourism market is more oligopolistic in nature because of the presence of only four major players. The process of dividing the consumer base on the basis of common needs is known as market segmentation. The British travel market is divided into the following five segments. These five segments are categorized on the level of experience they have in traveling and the attitude and comforts they seek from the travel experiences. †¢ Self-Challengers †¢ Comfort Adventurers †¢ Cocoon Travelers †¢ Pushing Boundaries †¢ Taste & Try Self-Challengers are the groups who are more affluent economically and are highly educated. They are most likely to be unmarried and between 18 to 75 years of age. Australia seems to be the favorite holiday destination amongst the self challengers. They are the travelers who go to holidays with a learning quest. Comfort Adventurers are the ones who have the curiosity to visit the places before they are visited by the local market. They do not compromise with safety and comforts. Cocoon Travelers are the ones who take inspiration from newspapers and experiences of others. They are basically married, having

Liability of Law Enforcement Officers WK7 Term Paper

Liability of Law Enforcement Officers WK7 - Term Paper Example Thus, the robber turns on his car trying to escape a police officer and the penalty which he had to follow. Police officer could not stop him, and he took a gun and fired. In that particular case, which is called ROCHELLE BROSSEAU v. KENNETH J. HAUGEN, robber sued the performer of Law. Verdict was in favor of the police officer. Also, the mother of three children reported to police that her estranged husband took children, and that he has a restraining order because of the application of force. Mother called a police for several times and they were saying to calm down and wait for him to come back. After several hours mother went to the police station, claiming that her kids are still missing.Few momments later her husband, the reported one, came into a station and opened a fire with his machine gun.Officers shot him down.In the back of his truck they found a dead children bodies.The mother filed a lawsuit against the city, its police and three officers that she was talking to on the phone; however the judgment was in their favor, and all of the lawsuits were objected. Police officers have a tough job, even without thinking about potential lawsuits, which does not mean that the law can be put into their own hands and to interpret it how they want. Police is indicated that the law in their hands and no one recalls that it isn`t the Law who is working for them, but they are working for the Law. Basic laws, such as in the first case, the Fourth Amendment violation, they neither respect nor were punished for it. Every man has right to say and do what he wants, if that is not against the Law. Every man has a right to be punished for his wrong dids and to take charge on anyone who is violating his right to live or express himself, in any way. Everyone have a right to have a fair trial, even if the prosecutor is tramp and the

Bok choy consumer fact report Essay Example for Free

Bok choy consumer fact report Essay Bok choy or bok choi, pronounced â€Å"bahk choy†, is a green leafy vegetable. It is sometimes referred to as â€Å"Chinese cabbage† or â€Å"the white cabbage†. The Chinese spelling is ‘bok choi† but in America it is known as ‘bok choy†. Bok choy is one of two types of Chinese cabbage, the other being Pe-tsai. However, bok choy has become popular in America after being grown in China for 1500 years. Because Chinese stir-fry and other popular Chinese foods have grown in popularity in North America, bok choy is becoming a well-known food in the United States and Canada. Although there are over 20 types of bok choy in Hong Kong, in the Americas you will usually only find the most popular type with crisp, white stalks and dark green, leafy tops. Nutrition Bok Choy is rich in beta carotene, Vitamin C and folic acid. Bok Choy also provides a good source of fiber. This vegetable is recommended by the American Cancer Society as a green leafy vegetable option for a healthy diet that is high in potassium and magnesium. These minerals have been shown to help regulate healthy levels of blood pressure and blood sugar. Because it is a sweeter, milder option to cabbage and other recommended green leafy vegetables, bok choy is also a preferable option for a diet rich in beta carotene and folic acid. Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating recognizes bok choy as a dark green, leafy vegetable. The food guide recommends at least one dark green vegetable daily. A serving is recognized as 1 cup of shredded bok choy stalk or 70 grams of leaves. Purchasing and Storage When selecting bok choy you must go to the produce department at your local grocer’s. Make sure you are selecting a vegetable with long, white and unblemished stalks. The leaves should be dark green tapering to a light green near the stalks and never limp. Stay away from any plants with yellow leaves or brown spots on the stalks. This is old or poorly grown bok choy. To store your bok choy, refrigerate in an unsealed plastic bag . Use bok choy within a week and preferably within 4 to 5 days of purchasing to get the best flavor from this vegetable. Preparation Bok choy can be prepared in many different ways. The most popular methods are to boil, saute, or steam the vegetable. Before cooking by any method, the bok choy must be cleaned properly. To do this, cut at the base so as to separate the stalks so they can be washed individually. Then, wash under cold running water. Make sure to clean the stalks and the leaves, scrubbing the stalks with a vegetable brush only if necessary. Drip dry is not necessary as steaming or boiling will wet the bok choy anyhow and it is okay to saute and stir fry wet. However, the stalks can be eaten raw like celery. But bok choy stalks are not stringy like celery so are even better! Try the stalks cut into strips and dipped in your favorite dip. Or boil stalks in salted water for four minutes, leaves for only two or three minutes and serve as is. If you wish to add more flavor, bok choy is known to go well with peppers, soy sauce, or sauteed in sesame oil. Because it is so versatile, this Chinese cabbage can be a side dish or added to a stir fry for a main dish. Recipes Bok Choy with Chestnuts 5 oz. Packaged, cooked Chestnuts 1 ? lb. bok choy salt and pepper 3 Tbsp of chicken broth ? tsp of potato flour mixed with a Tbsp of cold water 1 tsp of sesame oil 1 Tbsp Peanut oil for cooking

Tomb Raider Movie Essay Example for Free

Tomb Raider Movie Essay We will first talk about stereotyping in this movie. There are many portrayals of groups of people in the movie. Let us first consider Illuminati, are they real? Illuminatis are the people of light. Lara’s father who were with the illuminatis have figured out a danger that is about to come by the eclipse which will culminate the planetary alignment which only happens every 5000 years. Lara through her dreams discovered the secret of the clock which her father has concealed for many years. The clock is the key which will unlock the hiding place of two pieces of a sacred icon. This is the magical triangle, â€Å"The triangle of light. † The triangle was forged from metal found in the crater of a meteor that had fallen to earth at the exact moment of the previous alignment of the nine planets. The people of the light built a great city in this crater where they worshipped the triangle for its ability to control time. It gives its possessor a power that could be used for good or great evil. An abuse of this power led to the destruction of the city. To be sure no man would ever again wield this power they split the triangle into two pieces and hid them at the opposite ends of the earth. Her father reminds her of temple along the ancient Khmer trail in Cambodia where a Jasmine flower can only grow to find the entrance to the tomb of the Dancing light where the first half of the triangle is hidden. The illuminatis will reunite the two halves of the triangle. That portrays groups of people nowadays who believe in ancient beliefs. But there are theories in the real world regarding the existence of illuminatis. However it differs in the illuminati portrayed in the smovie. From wikipedia, â€Å"it refers to a purported conspiratorial organization which acts as a shadowy power behind the throne, allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations, usually as a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati. In this context, Illuminatis are often used in reference to a New World Order (NWO). Many conspiracy theorists believe the Illuminati are the masterminds behind events that will lead to the establishment of such a New World Order. Confusing the issue further is the fact that there are also several modern fraternal groups which include the word Illuminati in their names. † I have also remembered some similar portrayal of this group in Mel Gibson’s â€Å"Conspiracy Theory. † If we will try to establish a connection between illuminati portrayed in the movie, and the one defined in Wikipedia, we can conclude that there are similar features of the two. They both put their will into actions whenever they can. So is there any hidden group behind the oil price hike? How about behind the global business market, the government, and other institution? Perhaps there are illuminati people playing behind the economic crisis. It is absolutely a very terrifying truth if they really exist. Whether it is a fiction or not, we are somehow sure that opportunists do exist. Another group of people are shown in one particular scene of the movie where a bidding auction was held. Bidders were putting millions for an auctioned product. They do exist in real life. These people are willing to waste large amounts of money in exchange for some goods. The worst fact is that most of being auctioned is ancient artifacts. These artifacts are supposedly symbols of cultures and tradition. Lara who arrived in the auction met an old friend named Alex West. Alex spoke about Lara’s disguise as a photojournalist, and Lara in return mentioned Alex disguise as an archeologist. Lara mentioned the term â€Å"business†. That was definitely true; they were all talking about their own business interest. Lots of people around are willing to risk many things just to get what they wanted. Despite the fact that some people spent most of their times digging for money to survive everyday, it is very sad to think that these types of people manage to do biddings. The woman as an object of sexual desire The movie shows the fashionable woman, and man’s dream woman. We saw Lara wore tight full body outfits. That is where Angelina fits very well, she has very deceiving lips plus those lovely eyes, perfect body curves which is fits right to the character of Lara. She is wearing a sleeveless shirt showing her attractive shoulders. Her provocative curves – chest, waist, and legs was indeed clearly noticeable during the whole movie. There was a shower scene who took almost 15 seconds which is very deceiving. That scene was actually giving viewers a break from action pack thrills during the whole movie. Perhaps the producer of the movie have seen how women are behaving today – more aggressive to sex, and self expression when compared to the past. Mulvey believes â€Å"†¦ that the female body operates as an eroticized object of the male gaze and the fetishistic and scopophilic pleasures which this provides for the male viewer† (Mulvey). I believe that was one of the main reasons why male viewers love this movie. Women and Modesty The movie has also given a punch line about woman’s modesty. In one particular scene from the movie, Hillary, Lara’s butler said â€Å"A lady should be modest. † But does modesty only apply to women? Does it excuse men? Let me remind you that we all have our freedom of making our own choice. Does the privilege of choice granted only to men? No, it is all granted for us who are capable of making decisions. We all have to give due respect for that. Modesty is not just an issue with women. Wollstonecraft wrote in his book titled ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women,’ that â€Å"Modesty, in the latter signification of the term, is that soberness of mind which teaches a man not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, and should be distinguished from humility, because humility is a kind of self-abasement. † The author is trying to address that modesty is â€Å"not a sexual virtue. † It doesn’t care whether we are female or if we are males. I believe that, as human beings, whether of opposite sex, we all have the same needs. If you were able to notice, majority of the casts of the movie were males, but were underrated due to Lara’s exceptional performance. Lara’s butler is a guy named Hillary. Is this an issue of masculinity? The butler is the one who is taking care of Lara. That is one form of modesty. That is no point of discrimination. In real life it did exist. If men can do heavy works, the more he can for easy task like that. It is unfair to tell any woman to behave. Whether this brought up an issue of a must Modesty for women, the most important point is â€Å"respect†. If we will not respect each one of us especially the women, there will be more violence and brutalities against women. Therefore, modesty is not only a must for woman, but for men also. A woman’s strength The movie opens up the question – can a woman act like a man? From the beginning to the end, Lara did many terrifying stunts and she did carry a gun. She is very sharp in shooting in her target. In all scenes of the movie, she underrated male characters in terms of stunts. She swings from ropes to ropes, fought with a robot who she regularly practice with, fought with the statues that were brought up to light inside ancient tombs, and fought with the gunned illuminati soldiers. If you were able to notice, there was never a scene where she was captured or tortured. Is this a real portrayal or just a fruit of producer’s imagination? Before Lara Croft: Tomb Raider came into film; it was released as a computer game. One game critics said, â€Å"There is no doubt that Tomb Raider marked a significant departure from the typical role of women†¦ a reworks a male-dominated genre and features a female central character† (Kennedy). He further added that her appearance in masculine roles is a disturbance to the natural symbolism of men. I would surely agree with that. Since we were all kids, we are exposed to various kinds of films and most of these films are dominated by male characters. Women usually played the role as a lover of the main male character, a victim that should be rescued by a male character, a victim of savage men, a victim of monsters. In opposite of these all, men always played the role of the conquerors of all forms of evils. If there are films who features women, they are only very few compared to male dominated films. In schools, we seldom heard women in history. The only name I could remember is Joan of Arc. The rest are males. That is why it becomes harder for the people to accept highly profiled women. Lara Croft is the dream of every woman – strong, confident, quick, and intelligent. In real life, there are many women in the military and police force. But are they given the opportunity to engage in war if they are willing? Most of these women in uniform stayed in offices and where not allowed to engage in dangerous operations. Vengeance, is there a success for woman? The movie also shows that vengeance is also for women. Lara Croft who has never find peace from the lost of her father had accepted the mission to find the two halves of the magical triangles. Knowing that the illuminatis, or the people of light are also searching for the key and the two halves of the triangle, she faced many dangers in pursue of searching for her father. The film is trying to teach us that we are all human beings who are driven by emotions. Feminist’s movements’ become famous for fighting for the rights of women in the society. We have Abigail Adams (1744-1818) who fought bravely against slavery. Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) who work tirelessly for â€Å"Woman’s Suffrage Movement. † We also have Clementina Black (1850’s-1923) who fought for improve social and industrial conditions for women and girls in England through militant unionism. The latest were Mary Wollstonecraft, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Gloria Steinem, Margaret Sanger, Alice Paul, and many others. They are the Lara Crofts of the real world. They fought bravely so that women can have equal rights with men in the society. Lara is fighting for the lost of his father and for the task which her father has started which was to destroy the two halves of the triangle. In the end Lara succeeded on her mission against strong gunned men, against stone statues that were given life, and over many obstacles. Woman Nature in the movie If somebody will ask, is there a woman nature shown in the movie? Yes there is, it is portrayed in scenes where Lara is thinking about her father, she cries, she dreams of her father, and in fact the main reason why he did the task of finding the triangle is because of her father. After the first introduction of Alex West in the movie, I was intrigue if Lara and Alex were having an affair in the past or any intimate connection. In the end she rescued Alex by changing the curse of time through the use of the triangle. There is no portrayal of sexual matters in the movie. In the end of the movie, Lara is wearing a lady’s dress and a hat with flower in it. Discrimination in the movie There was a slight theme of discrimination in the movie when black Cambodian people were hired by Powell and West to assist them in destroying the strong wall built in front of a passage to a secret place where one of the two halves of the triangle was hidden. Powell is sitting like a King, and his gunned men are watching over the black people who are working. This is a total portrayal that there are people who are under some sort of power who are forced to work as a term of service. In its totality, the movie is good. Its theme of adventure, and conquer by confidence and will is very uplifting. It is empowering women not to underrate their capacity and skills. It is telling men not to underestimate women, because not at all times they can control them. We are all born to this world with innate behavior and skills and that is not intended for pinning people down. References: Game Studies Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo. 3 July 2008 http://www. gamestudies. org/0202/kennedy/? %3Ftday=Friday Smart, C. , Women, Crime, and Criminology: A Feminist Critique. 3 July 2008 http://books. google. com/books? hl=enlr=id=llg9AAAAIAAJoi=fndpg=PR11dq=Vengeance+of+Womanots=lBqK4lPu3osig=PxRSKjqBTvAkvhMlIAKdAWYzUDY Wollstonecraft, M. , A Vindication of Rights of Woman. 3 July 2008 http://womenshistory. about. com/library/etext/bl_vindication000. htm Wikipedia. Illuminati. 3 July 2008 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Illuminati

The Hypocrisy Of The Civilized Society English Literature Essay

The Hypocrisy Of The Civilized Society English Literature Essay In the relatively short time of the existence of the United States, society has allowed the written word to seep into our everyday existence. What has been written forms our everyday lives; our country, democracy, freedom, laws, religions, news, stories, and our history that is passed on through generations. Much of the written word has found its way to be presented in rather elegant form, but not always so in subject matter. Throughout the history of America, the views of civility and civilized society have changed through times of progress, conflict and peace. Perception of ideals has shifted, political correctness has emerged, and cultural rules have changed. The literature of America reflects the hypocrisy of civilized society and uncovers truths that need to be told and that want to be heard. Annotated Bibliography of The Selling of Joseph, by Samuel Sewall Amacher, Richard E. Samuel Sewall. American Colonial Writers, 1606-1734. Ed. Emory Elliott. Detroit: Gale Research, 1984. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 24. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. When delving into the some of the early American Literature, one does not expect to find much available in defense of the African American race, and the common mistreatment endured by the people of a certain birthright or skin color. The Selling of Joseph, written in 1700, by Samuel Sewell, is one such surprising piece. Richard E. Amacher, in his Biographical Essay on Samuel Sewall, contrasts The Selling of Joseph, with work that focused on taming African Americans and rationalized their slavery, sale and mistreatment. In as much as the Puritans used the bible and the Word of their God to rationalize societys treatment of African Americans as slaves, Sewall uses the bible and quotes it directly to show that their God certainly does not agree with the mistreatment of any human. Sewell argues that in the common mans belief of Adam and Eve, that all men were heirs of the couple who fell from grace with temptation and gained their liberty, for better or worse. All heirs were entitled as equals to Adam and Eve. The gift of liberty was violated by the sale of Joseph by his brothers. (Amacher 13) Gods word in Exodus 21:16 supported this argument; This Law being of Everlasting Equity, wherein Man Stealing is ranked amongst the most atrocious of Capital Crimes. (Amacher 13) (Sewell 2) Richard E. Amachers comparison of Samuel Sewells The Selling of Joseph with other work of the same time period confirms that not all people of society agreed with the ownership of people or their employ or indenture as servants or slaves. A cultural rule of the 1700s was wide acceptance of slavery. Sewall looked at the Humanitarian aspect, and how society should treat all people. His attempt to influence society to change this pattern would not be realized for a great many years, yet his literary contributions show that not all bought into this ideal. Amacher emphasizes that: Sewalls [work] concentrated on human liberty as such, although he, too, good Calvinist that he was, buttressed his mainly humanitarian interests with many scriptural quotations. (Amacher 13) Theologically, the people of a society owe liberty to all descendants of Adam and Eve, as equals. Each side of the argument of slave ownership is supported by the same book, and end in different interpretations; each claiming to be correct based on their texts. Annotated Bibliography of The Gettysburg Address, by Abraham Lincoln Lodge, Henry Cabot. The Democracy of Abraham Lincoln The Democracy of the Constitution and Other Addresses and Essays. Charles Scribners Sons, 1915. 122-159. Rpt. In Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Janet Mullane. Vol. 18. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7, Mar. 2011. Henry Lodge Cabot speaks of the true meaning behind the words of Lincolns Gettysburg Address, in his essay titled the Democracy of Abraham Lincoln. Cabot explains his opinion about Lincolns idea concerning the government of the people. It is a government made up the citizens (the people) and its purpose is for governing of the people. The constitution is shown to be a continual pillar in our country. The document has basically been the same since the foundation of our nation. There have been some changes to the Constitution, such as three war time amendments, and the establishment of the income tax. The paper continues to state that Lincoln stated his opinion so clearly that there was no escape from its meaning. The Democracy of Abraham Lincoln is a good source about Lincolns Gettysburg Address as Cabot seems to fully grasp Lincolns meaning behind this famous speech. The information stated seems to show Lincolns belief that he could just deliver a basic message and with his words were fully understood. It is an example of a man who took his beliefs that the government should be for all the people. On review of this authors work I can definitely agree with his statement as follows; In his usual fashion he stated his proposition so clearly and with such finality that there is no escape from his meaning. This actually shows the fact that Lincoln simply told it how it was, with no fluff or exaggeration. The true meaning behind The Democracy of Abraham Lincoln supports the statement that as time change, the literature of that time changes to reflect the views of society. This address was a major turning point in civilized society. For the United States, the address was to be a benefit to the entire nation. The point of the address was to show that it is for all people but our society did and continues to show hypocrisy. It was not the original intent of our government but has shown to be a real issue in the world. Cabot explained Lincolns reasoning behind this speech but the overall result is not truly carried out in our country. Annotated Bibliography of Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson Grimm, Reverend David E. Introducing Unitarian Universalism. Interfaith Conference. Washburn University. Yager Stadium, Topeka, Kansas. October, 11, 2003. Web. 3 March 2011. Reverend David E. Grimm is a Unitarian Universalist minister, as was Emerson. The Unitarian Universalists have held Ralph Waldo Emerson in high regard for a great many years. Some of their principals come directly from the work of Emerson, and others were influenced by it. One of their principals is the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Reverend Grimm gave a speech on Unitarian Universalism, where he introduced the Religion at an interfaith conference. In this speech, he gave a brief overview of Emerson, and stated that the desirable state of affairs where one could actually read the moral law directly for oneself was called self-reliance by a young Unitarian minister named Ralph Waldo Emerson. Grimm interprets the Essay by Emerson to mean that one should learn to trust the power within yourself to discern the higher law, to know whats right. This idea that a person could discern right from wrong without the guidance of the bible was not necessarily a new idea, but was not put out in the open so eloquently until Emerson wrote Self Reliance. Emerson was a Unitarian minister, but he left the church to pursue a career of writing. His writing still reflected his Unitarian beliefs, and in todays time, they are not only Unitarian, but more Unitarian Universalist, which only came to be after a merging of the two religions. The implications from the insight of Emerson brought an understanding of moral norms to Unitarianism. Grim States: After all, in the light of self-reliance, the Bible was seen for what it was: second-hand religion, a religion handed down from the past to us, from somebody elses original reading of the moral law long ago. (Grimm 15) Grim concludes that Self reliance unseated the hold of not only the Bible, but the sacred texts of other religions as well. All were someone elses interpretation of the moral law. It was the act of the interpretation that Emerson explained that a person could do for themselves. Grimm claims that Self Reliance put a truth out for people to consider: And so, over time, not just the Bible, but sacred texts from all of the worlds religions, came to be honored among us [Unitarian Universalists] as expressions of this universal human attempt to know what is right, and to do it. (Grimm 15) Emerson said Whoso would be a man, must be a non-conformist. (Emerson 7) meaning not to revolt against the system of man, but to question it, and gain knowledge that it holds. To accept answers on the basis of anothers opinion was trust not placed well. The major religions relied on their bible to relay right and wrong. Emerson attempts to tell the people that they already know right from wrong, and they only need to pull these morals from within. The work of Self Reliance coincides with the literary periods of Romanticism and of the Transcendentalists. This was a time of discovery and appreciation for nature. It was an enlightenment of the people, yet a grim realization by Emerson that dependence on societys demands and behaving correctly was becoming a major part of the human existence. Emerson says that men are overly concerned with reputations and the opinion of others so much so that they can no longer be genuine, and instead become hypocritical and cynical. Emerson further states that Society Never Advances. (Emerson 45) For every advancement, something is taken away. Emerson details this in a large selection: The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. He is supported on crutches, but lacks so much support of the muscle. He has got a fine Geneva watch, but he has lost the skill to tell the hour by the sun. A Greenwich nautical almanac he has, and so being sure of the information when he wants it, the man in the street does not know a star in the sky. The solstice he does not observe; the equinox he knows as little; and the whole bright calendar of the year is without a dial in his mind. His notebooks impair his memory; his libraries overload his wit; the insurance-office increases the number of accidents; and it may be a question whether machinery does not encumber; whether we have not lost by refinement some energy, by a Christianity entrenched in establishments and forms some vigor of wild virtue. For every stoic was a stoic; but in Christendom where is the Christian? (Emerson 46) These statements prove that throughout history, the views of civility have changed, and that the perception of such has changed with political correctness thus changing cultural rules. Emersons Self Reliance shows that civilized society is indeed flawed, and is inherently tainted with hypocrisy. Annotated Bibliography of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Grant, William E. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-4. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. Mark Twain gave the world The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1876. It was a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Twain opens this novel by explaining to the reader that he is being true to the characters of the book by keeping their regional dialects. According to William E. Grant, in his criticism titled Adventures of Huckleberry Finn published in Masterplots, states: The skill with which Twain elevates the dialect of an illiterate village boy to the highest levels of poetry established the spoken American idiom as a literary language and earned for Twain the reputation, proclaimed for him by Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and many others, as the father of the modern American novel. (Grant 13) Aside from the dialect of the characters, Twain manages to bring forth an uncanny goodness in most of the characters. Twain successfully depicts the world the characters live in as volatile and ever changing. Every character is in some sort of conflict. Themes of the novel are: Society in itself is hypocritical, Freedom, Slavery, Search for a Father Figure, the common man versus the world (or society) and the brotherhood of man. According to Grant, Twain believed human beings to be innately good though increasingly corrupted by social influences that replace their intuitive sense of right and wrong. (Grant 14) The character of Huck battles with his conscience many times in trying to decide what would be the right thing to do. He fakes his death in order to save himself, yet, feels it could be the reason his father died. Huck struggles with Jims status as a slave and if he should turn him in or not. Huck eventually decides to go to Hell and maintain his decision to break what is considered morally and legally wrong, and not turn Jim in; in fact, he protects Jim at every turn. Edwards feels that Twain compellingly establishes the irony that Hucks sin against the social establishment affirms the best that is possible in the individual. Within the novel, references are made to code of Honor with the Shepherdson boys, who live under the law of vendetta against the Grangerfords. There are also numerous references to civilize. The Widow Douglass attempts to Civilize Huck, making him wear fancies on Sundays and act proper and sit up straight. She wanted to teach him religion, yet she ironically holds slaves. She seemingly does not hold herself to what even she feels is not wholly right; she will not have her slaves sold to anyone else because she cares for them very well and she would not have them sent to someone who would treat them as good as she. Grant is of the opinion that slavery provides Twain his largest metaphor for both social bondage and institutionalized injustice and inhumanity. He further feels that the novel is not an anti-slavery novel per say, but rather than attacking an institution already legally dead, Twain uses the idea of slavery as a metaphor for all social bondage and injustice. (Grant 15) The novel was published nearly thirteen years after the end of the civil war, yet opinions and perceptions on race were not yet settled. Both Huck and Jim were literally and in perceptual slavery to the Widow Douglass. They both flee to begin a new life in a slave free state, yet cast off headed south on the Mississippi. Grant offered insight to the direction of the raft as It is almost irrelevant that Twain has Huck and Jim running deeper into the South rather than north toward free soil. Freedom exists neither in the North nor in the South but in the ideal and idyllic world of the raft and river. (Grant 15) The raft and the River both play catalyst to the heart of the relationship of Huck and Jim. The two see themselves fleeing the same situations, in their minds. Both take risks for one another, and there are consequences of being caught for both Huck and Jim. Huck is perceived as an abolitionist, punishable by death. Jim is seen as the murderer of Huck, punishable by death. While each has their life on the line for the other, they sincerely protect each another, almost as father and son. They make stops along the river for supplies and rest, each stop bringing an adventure that sends them fleeing once again for the sanctuary of their raft. Grant considers It is onshore that Huck encounters the worst excesses of which the damned human race is capable, but with each return to the raft comes a renewal of spiritual hope and idealism. Grant 16) William E. Grants essay enforces the idea of Hypocrisy in Civilized Society. The novel brings situations of Slavery, Civility, rules and wrongs that many people of the 19th century simply did not want to hear about, speak of, or deal with. They would have to turn the mirror inward and have a good look at themselves, because most people simply followed the cultural rules, and did not speak out even if they thought something was wrong. Grant ends his essay of criticism of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with a most well written statement: Through the adventures of an escaped slave and a runaway boy, both representatives of the ignorant and lowly of the earth, Twain affirms that true humanity is found in humans rather than institutions. (Grant 14) While this novel continually takes a beating for its content, the underlying moral truths that are exposed can still be applied to current times, with only a slight twist. It is literature such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that should remain as originally written, unedited, in order to maintain the integrity with which it was intended. Annotated Bibliography of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Grimes, Linda Sue. Robert Frosts Tricky Poem. Analysis of The Road Not Taken. Suite101.com Media Inc., 14 Apr. 2008. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. . The Road Not Taken was written by Robert Frost. This poem characterizes an assertion of individualism. In Robert Frosts Tricky Poem, an analysis by Linda Sue Grimes, she states that Frost claims this poem was about his friend Edward Thomas. They [Frost and Thomas] would periodically go on walks in the woods near London. While they would be enjoying their walk they would come across two different roads to take. After choosing one road, rumor has it; Thomas would always wonder what was down the other road. According to Grimes in Robert Frosts Tricky Poem, the first stanza is describing the situation, which was the dilemma of choosing one road over the other. The second stanza describes the road he decides to take. Because it was grassy and wanted wear he takes the road that is less traveled on, even though he stated that they were and were not exactly the same. The third stanza continuities to describe the roads, he notices the difference between the two. Such as the leaves were freshly fallen and both had not been walked on. Â  The forth stanza has tricky words, I shall be telling this with a sigh, the word this can be interpreted as a relief or regret in the decision of the road he takes. (Frost 16) Different interpretations can be identified after reading The Road Not Taken, such as views upon friendship or his future behind the road he has taken and his experiences because of his choice. In the beginning of the 20th century there was a strong focus on individuality and nature, as it offered an escape from focus of World War I. Various processes in industrialism were taking shape in the country and changing views of society. Frosts poetry served as a system check back to reality from the chaos of the times. As Grimes says: In this poem, it is important to be careful with the time frame. When the speaker says he will be reporting sometime in the future how his road choice turned out, he clearly states that he cannot assign meaning to sigh and difference yet, because he cannot know how his choice will affect his future, until after he has lived it. (Grimes 11) Annotated Bibliography of Resistance to Civil Government by Henry David Thoreau Yarborough, Wynn. Readings of Thoreaus Resistance to Civil Government. American Transcendentalism Web. Virginia Commonwealth University. 1995. Web. March 11, 2011. Wynn Yarboroughs paper, titled Readings of Thoreaus Resistance to Civil Government, is an overview of Thoreaus Resistance to Civil Government, which is sometimes simply called Civil Disobedience, is based on a variety of sources from the 1920s through the 1970s. In the early paragraphs, Mr. Yarborough goes through the stages of Thoreaus life and different ways in which his work was perceived through the years. The remainder of the paper consists primarily of variety of different opinions and how each of them plays a part in certain time periods. The overall view of the references used by Mr. Yarborough is that Thoreau was a man with a great ability to justify his beliefs. Each of the views expressed by him seems to be validated by others in the years to come. It is my belief that Mr. Yarborough was very informative with this paper. It was an overview complied from many sources over an extended period of time. Each of the critics shows a side of Thoreau and they use his beliefs to back up their choices. The government is reflected in different ways during each of the reviews that Mr. Yarborough states. I feel that each of the critics of Thoreau may believe that his ways were not justified and that perhaps he was not rational. Critics such as Vivas, Parrington and MacKayne all show a variety of beliefs which may be justified by critiquing Thoreau. One example in Mr. Yarboroughs research that speaks to the significance of Thoreaus writings is In the 1960s, Thoreau became not only relevant but almost a popular icon. The statement that as time changes the literature of that time changes to reflect the views of society is shown correct with this review and how Thoreaus work is used to further many causes. Each time period from the 1920s through the 1970s has shown that the government had ever changing values. While time continues to change literature, time changes to reflect the views of society. Hypocrisy will always be a part of the government as it was so many years ago and it continues today. It is not the intention of the people involved but it is how society seems to function as a whole. Annotated Bibliography of Smoke and Steel by Carl Sandburg Niven, Penelope. Carl (August) Sandburg. American Poets, 1880-1945: Third Series. Ed. Peter Quartermain. Detroit: Gale Research, 1987. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 54. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. Penelope Nivens Critical essay, titled Carl (August) Sandburg, offers a look at the life and work of Carl Sandberg, an American Poet. Niven opens with a brief biographical essay, highlighting that Sandburg came from humble beginnings as the child of immigrants from Sweden. His parents met after they arrived in the United States, in Illinois. They were in search of a share of American democracy and prosperity. (Niven 4) His father was a hard worker, being employed by the railroad yard as a blacksmith. Sandburg was born in 1878, and was raised speaking both English and Swedish. According to Niven, Carl Sandberg was eager to assimilate into American Culture and Society at a very early age. When he was in grade school, he changed his name from a Swedish sounding Carl to a more American Sounding Charles. (Niven 4) There were many children in the Sandburg household, and after the deaths of two of the children, in 1892, Charles was forced to leave school to help with the familys needed income. In 1897, Sandburg left his family, at the age of eighteen, and toured the United States on the rails as a hobo. He gained knowledge of different areas, and worked odd jobs with the local working class people to get a small bit of money that helped him from one place to another. His desire to travel was immense, and he eventually volunteered for service in the Spanish American War in 1898. (Niven 6) His status as a veteran allowed him to attend college at no cost. He did attend, but did not excel, and eventually left. Sandburg was more interested with people and the landscape than he was with proper schooling. Sandberg began to write about the American people being candid and rugged, speaking in individual free-verse style which spoke clearly, directly, and often crudely to the audience which was also his subject. (Niven 10) He became an investigative reporter for the Chicago Daily News; he further developed passionate social concerns. Nivens states: He covered war, racial strife, lynchings, mob violence, and the inequities of the industrial society, such as child labor, and disease and injury induced in the workplace. These concerns were transmuted into poetry. Sandberg published several books of poetry, the first being Chicago Poems, that gave realistic views from the working class, children, and the inexplicable fate of the vulnerable and struggling human victims of war, progress, business. The following volume of poetry was titled Smoke and Steel (1920), which focused on the harsh reality of the times. The volume vividly depicts the daily toil of the working man and woman, the people who must sing or die.' Within the volume, a poem also titled Smoke and Steel, Sandburg uses Smoke from steel mills, spring fields, and autumn leaves as metaphors for the blood of a man. He considers them a life force, but also that which gives the people commonality. The poem details the struggle of the common man. Nivens finds that the Volume as a collection is uneven and concludes with contradictory critical views. She further states that other critics have labeled Sandburg as having no sense of the past or vision of the future. Some critics, however, did find that this son of Swedish immigrants was particularly suited to write about the incomplete, but urgent and hopeful American democracy and that Sandberg allows others to see our national life in the largeits beauty and glory, its baseness and shame. This article by Penelope Nivens offers a great look at the life and times of Carl Sandberg, and does relate his work, as a whole, to spotlighting the hypocrisy of American Society, within the time period that it is written, the 1920s, in the height of the Industrial Revolution. Within the poem, Smoke and Steel, the focus is on the lifeblood of all the people and what the people must do and conform to in order to make society work, and work for each of them. Even those who wish to escape the hypocrisy of civilized society and do something else will eventually return because of the jobs provided by industry. The anthem learned by the steel is: Do this or go hungry. (Sandburg 104, 105) Nivens concludes Yet as the spokesman for the great human family, Carl Sandburg, biographer, historian, troubadour, and poet, speaks to any period, any place. Annotated Bibliography of Smoke and Steel by Carl Sandburg Yannella, Philip. The Other Carl Sandburg. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1996. Google Books. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. http://books.google.com/books?id=9T9h_xAdxGwCprintsec=frontcover#v=onepage qf=false Phillip Yannella has written immense material analyzing the poetry and works of Carl Sandburg, a poet of the early 20th century. In his book titled, The Other Carl Sandburg, Yanella looks at several of the books that Sandburg wrote, and attempts to shed light onto each volume, and give a bit of a representation to some of the more important individual poems contained within the volumes. The volume, Smoke and Steel, comprised many poems, and was the second book for Carl Sandburg. The first book reflected positively on the working class, and its eventual happiness to be active and productive. The second book, Smoke and Steel, has no heroic working class about to rise up to take its just due, no models of proper working class behavior, no noble immigrant workers, no happy autonomous humanistic workers, workers who danced and sang in spite of their lowness. (Yannella 144) Instead, with Smoke and Steel, Sandburg portrayed the worker as an angry and violent soul, and who harbored hostility against society. The worker was invisible. The time when the work was written, the 1920s, is important because the Race Riots had just happened, and there was a steel dispute that caused workers to decline in numbers, the union to strike, and allowed technology to take many a workers job. The poem titled Smoke and Steel is the longest in the volume of the same name. It contains some of the most intense, suggestive language he ever wrote. (Yanella 145) Sandburg metaphorically compares the smoke to the blood of man. He says that there is smoke in the mills, in the fields, in the burning leaves, and this smoke is from the work done by the common man. This man puts so much of himself into the task that the smoke becomes his blood and without it he cannot sustain, as the work cannot sustain without the worker. Smoke into blood, and blood into steel. They make the steel with men. The work of Sandburg and the Analysis by Phillip Yannella prove the thesis that society is hypocritical in itself, by requiring things to be made through industry to support it, yet it is the man who works in industry, and in doing so, suffers. The poem, Smoke and Steel, has powerful language that exposes the fact that steel is part of our everyday life, and it creeps into the everyday existence of every person. What is of the person and family who worked so hard and sometimes gave their life to give these often meaningless things to society? Sandburg states Smoke and blood is the mix of steel connecting the product with what has gone into making it. (Sandburg 45) He continues, as if every other person in the country is named Steve. Steve and the rest of us end on the same stars; we all wear a hat in hell together, in hell or heaven. (Sandburg 71) Sandburg touches on the environmental aspect as the byproduct of the steel that is made, slag, is washed out by fire and wind, and states Forever the slag gets washed in fire and wind because slag will contaminate wherever it lies forever. Sandberg shows that in our time or progress, we find need for steel and other industry, for our planes, our warships, and our rails. Sandburg humanizes the workers as brothers, and extends their reach as smoke from all industry to reach every American. Annotated Bibliography of I have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dlugan, Andrew. Speech Analysis: I Have a Dream Martin Luther King Jr. Six Minutes. Six Minutes, Jan. 2009. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. . On August 28, 1963 the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther Kings I Have a Dream speech, is called Dream Day. Andrew Dlugan, in his speech analysis, states I Have A Dream is one of the most memorable speeches of all time. (Dlugan). That title represents an uplifting illusion to all who had the honor of listening to the speech, at least once in their lifetime. According to Dlugan, There are many uses of literally terms in the topics of Kings speech, such as rhetorical methods, including repetition, metaphors, inspiration, identification and persuasion. Dlugan points out that I Have A Dream is repeated eight times. This is an example of anaphora in modern rhetoric. The repetition of words is common within the speech. Freedom is repeated 20 times, mainly because freedom is the primary theme. The words, we, 30 times, our, seventeen times and dream, eleven times. In paragraph two of Kings speech, Five score years ago refers to Lincolns famous Gettysburg Address speech which began Four score and seven years ago This allusion is particularly poignant given that King was speaking in front of the Lincoln Memorial (Dlugan). Geographic reference was mention throughout the speech, Mississippi and New York (paragraph 13), Georgia (paragraph 19) and Alabama (paragraph 22). Lastly, metaphors are highlighting the contrast between two abstract concepts. Joyous daybreak to end the long night captivity (Paragraph 2). The Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity (Paragraph 3). This speech and analysis of it prove the thesis by showing that the people do not stand on the moral ground that they think that they do. Society has been living without seeing that other people, who share the same lands as they, are not affo

Essay --

Ross Ebster Scott Yates English 1B 16 November 2013 Waking Up From the Nightmare: From Marx to Miller Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman is a modern day tragedy that roots itself with those who try to obtain the American Dream but are unsuccessful in their pursuit. Miller’s play revolves around the continual chase of this ideology and poses the question of whether attempting to â€Å"keep up with the Joneses† can be more of a nightmare than dream. Karl Marx’s ideology introduces the socioeconomic conflict between the capitalists and the working class. Marx referred to these opposing forces as the â€Å"haves and have-nots†. Looking at Death Of A Salesman through Karl Marx’s viewpoint can help shed light to Miller’s commentary and possible rejection of American capitalism during the late 1940’s. The protagonist, Willy Loman shows an insatiable struggle to fit into the right part of society and his desperation to have himself and his sons as one of the â€Å"haves†. The view Miller gives of the American Dream shows the soc ial and economic perspective of post-war America and how those views relate to social class. To fully understand this idea in context, one must define the idea of the American Dream. The basis of the American Dream at that time was that financial success through capitalism was the sole foundation for happiness. Marx’s view also helps to point out the overt theme of materialism in the play. â€Å"Marx professed materialism but generally tried to distinguish his views from the mechanical materialism which regarded man as a machine, or which reduced all human behavior to the laws of physics and chemistry† (Mayo 34). To Marx, materialism was a neutral notion; neither moral nor immoral. It was comprised of a simple acceptance of the â€Å"evid... ...changed young Biff’s life. â€Å"That boy — that boy is going to be magnificent! (Ben appears in the light just outside the kitchen.) . . .Yes, outstanding, with twenty thousand behind him.† (cite) Part of what makes this play so tragic is that if Willy had chosen acceptance and individuality instead of materialism he would have seen he had already achieved the American Dream by having the love of his family. Much of this play parallels the author’s own life, â€Å"He grew up white and Jewish in Harlem. Mr. Miller's comfortable childhood in the era of radio was transformed by his father's ruin in the Depression and the family's forced move from their Upper West Side apartment at the edge of Harlem to Brooklyn† (Shattuck 43). Death Of A Salesman heeds a well-deserved warning about the dangers of materialism and the risk of using capitalism as the sole backbone of prosperity.

Racism Essay -- essays research papers

Discrimination - Racism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Racism, the belief that one race possesses inherent traits that make that particular race superior, or racial prejudice. Discrimination has always been an issue globally, and within our nation. While it was more commonly accepted and practiced decades ago, it is still quite prominent in the hearts of many people worldwide and is demonstrated through their behavior. It was common practice to keep slaves, or people who submit entirely to another’s will, for work, and other duties. Slaveholding was allowed in the United States until 1865, when Amendment XIII was ratified. The date June 19th, 1865 is when the last slaves were said to be freed. Human Rights are basic fundamental rights, such as freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, or execution, which should be granted to all peoples. Civil Rights are mainly nonpolitical rights, such as personal liberties, that are included in the amendments to the US Constitution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Segregation is the s eparation of different races/groups in living arrangement, social situations, and educational facilities, or other areas open for discrimination. The United States made the first step towards desegregation in 1954 with the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Brown v. the Board of Education. That case overturned the previous pro-segregation decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, and stated that separate but equal educational facilities were not, in fact, equal, and o...

Transformations :: essays research papers

The Study of transformation and its meaning can be difficult to understand. It can however be made easier through he use of sources such as novels, plays and movies. Two plays that help this study, include Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Stoppard’s R + G.Both plays are written in different times making the two a very important aspect, in its relation to the notion of ‘transformation’. Through elements in both plays such as context, themes and techniques we are able to understand the relationship between the two The context and values of both plays are able to bring out the nature of the protagonists. The context of hamlet reflects mainly on the cahning cociety, in the 16th & 17th century’s, from the Elizabethan society to the Renaissance Period.The context of R + G on the other hand reflects on changed society today focusing on the presence of 20th century existentialism and the influence of the theatre of absurd. Shake’s revenge tradegy clearly exemplifies the value of Elizabethan society.This is most manifested in the divine supremacy afforded the king and the profound & moral consequences of regicide. Awareness of the ‘divinity’ was paramount in the Elizabethan age as seen with Hamlet grapple with fate â€Å"to be or not to be† soliloquy (Act III).In R + G on the other hand, instead of being regarded as high authority, they absolutely have no power and are viewed as your typical ordinary man. Protesting against the notion that the universe is a determined, ordered system, the external argument is clearly manifested through the attempts of stoppards protagonist, to establish a sense of information â€Å"which denotes a district lack of order to the universe.WE can identify R + G as part of a disillusioned age which the world has stopped making sense through the undermining of values & assurances of former generations. This can be seen I Act II of R + G’s apparent onging movement around the stage and inconsequential questioning. The understanding of ‘transformation’ can also be made apparent through theme/character and it helps understand the relationship between the two plays. It brings out the journey on the protagonist in the play. Central to Hamlet is a consideration of the notion of ‘destiny’. In R + G as in Hamlet, it raises the issue of fate and its role in our lives. The relationship between the two plays is explored raising the issue of its role in our lives.

Compare the way Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s Essay

In this play, Hamlet, Shakespeare shows us the different ways that madness can be portrayed and the various ways that others surrounding the central characters can perceive it. From the beginning it is explained that Hamlet would â€Å"put an antic disposition on† and this signifies that Hamlet’s madness would just be an act, not something that is actually true. Hamlet confides in Horatio and asks him not to look knowingly if he sees Hamlet behaving oddly by saying â€Å"some doubtful phrase† that might be â€Å"ambiguous† in its meaning. This immediately reinforces the notion that Hamlet is only play acting his apparent madness and in actual fact, is sane. Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s â€Å"antic disposition† as a means for Hamlet to bide his time and figure out how to avenge his father’s murder â€Å"by a brothers hand. † Hamlet’s madness is not meant to be seen as madness by us, but as something that has a purpose i. e. it could enable Hamlet to kill Claudius and it could be perceived by others that the killing was unintentional and was because of Hamlet’s â€Å"madness†. However, in the case of Ophelia, Shakespeare presents her form of madness as something that is real and tangible. She has a reason to be mad; her father is â€Å"dead and gone. † Shakespeare enforces the idea that Ophelia really is mad by having her enter in Act 4 Scene 5 â€Å"distracted† and singing a song about the death of her father. Ophelia’s madness is supported by what the gentleman says to Gertrude at the beginning of Act 4 Scene 5 about Ophelia’s state of mind; that she â€Å"winks and nods and gestures† and that â€Å"her speech is nothing, yet the unshaped use of it doth move the hearers to collection†. Even Laertes is appalled by Ophelia’s madness and wonders â€Å"is’t possible a young maid’s wits should be as mortal as an old man’s life? † Ophelia’s actions and what she says causes those around her to doubt her sanity and believe that she really is mad. There are many words that are used by the main characters to describe Hamlet’s madness. He describes it as his â€Å"antic disposition† whereas Polonius calls it â€Å"lunacy† and Claudius calls it â€Å"distemper† and a â€Å"transformation†. Although everyone perceives Hamlet as mad, Polonius and Claudius at one point doubted that Hamlet in actual fact was indeed mad. Claudius had Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spy on Hamlet, whilst when Polonius spoke to Hamlet he thought that â€Å"though this be madness, yet there is method in’t†. This shows that madness within Hamlet is not really madness at all, but is just an act; a performance on Hamlet’s part. Shakespeare adds this doubt to Hamlet’s madness whereas in Ophelia’s case there is no doubt about her state of mind to those around her. It is believed that mad people have a tendency to have suicidal feelings. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy, he desires that his â€Å"flesh would melt† and would have killed himself had not â€Å"his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter†. In his first soliloquy, he says â€Å"to be or not to be, that is the question†-in this line, Hamlet wonders whether or not to commit suicide. These suicidal feelings beg the question â€Å"had Hamlet actually gone mad? † I, like many others believe that Hamlet was not mad, as even though he displayed suicidal thoughts, he did not carry those thoughts out, signifying a sane state of mind. Ophelia however ended up committing suicide by drowning herself in a lake while â€Å"she chanted snatches of old lauds as one incapable of her own distress†. This seems to indicate how fragile her state of mind actually was and how she was driven to madness by her father’s death and Hamlet’s actions. The gravediggers in Act 5 Scene 1 thought that Ophelia committed suicide and â€Å"if she had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o’ Christian burial† as suicide is considered as an unholy crime. Shakespeare seems to want to show us that Ophelia really was mad by having her act, speak and behave in a way that was not seen as ‘normal’ to Elizabethan society as well as society today. It also seems that Shakespeare, maybe unwittingly, shows us that women were weak-minded individuals whereas men were the stronger sex, mentally as well as physically. Even though Hamlet is knocked with strong emotional surprises, such as finding out that his stepfather killed his father, Claudius, Hamlet still remains strong in public. This is a very sharp contrast to how Ophelia behaved when she suffered acute trauma due to the sudden death of her father. Whilst Hamlet remains strong, Ophelia transcends towards madness as her fragile state of mind had shattered. Maybe, this was the way Shakespeare viewed both sexes or maybe those were the views of Elizabethan society as a whole. Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s â€Å"antic disposition† as something very different to how Ophelia’s madness is presented to us. Shakespeare presents Hamlet as a strong character who has the ability to deal with emotional trauma, whereas Ophelia was portrayed as weak and symbolised what Hamlet once remarked: â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman†. Shakespeare presents Hamlet and Ophelia in contrasting ways to show us the differences between an â€Å"antic disposition† and actual madness. By using these contrasts, Shakespeare seems to be reflecting on the attitudes and views of Elizabethan society and also seems to be offering us his definition of madness.