The American Dream - 996 Words

My definition of American Dream If we ask most Americans what is the American Dream? the common answers are to become successful, rich, owning houses, cars and etc. In other countries, many people see America as a land of opportunities for a better life and that is the reason why they come here. Every individual who come to America have their goals or dreams that they want to fulfill in life that they can not fulfill in their own country. In another word, their American dream are to have better life for themselves and their children, better education, more rights, and freedoms. For instance, my parents came to America so we could have a better life and better education that we could not have in our country. That was their definition of†¦show more content†¦To sum up, these are the reasons why having a better education and being well educated is one of my definitions of American dreams. Having the rights and freedoms of American citizens is another one of my definitions of the American dream. In America, to be able to express oneself and their opinion, vote and have freedom of religion is a great privilege. For example, in my countries, people could not even express themselves or their opinion about the government. It does not matter if they like the government or not because they were not given a choice. They can not even choose who is going to be the leader of their government because they did not have the right. Also, they must worshipped what the government wanted them to worship because they did not have the freedom of religion. In another word, the government has all the power, and whoever go against it could end up with terrible consequences. In summary, these are the reasons why having the rights and freedoms of an American citizen is my meaning of the American dream. To be successful is the biggest definition of the American dream. For me, to be successful is to be able to have and own a nice house and a nice car, have a good paying job that I like and have a happy family. For example, when my family first moved in America, we were so poor that we did not have a car. My dad only has one bicycle that he went to work with in every season,Show MoreRelatedImmigrants And The American Dream1362 Words   |  6 PagesImmigrants and the American Dream In the article â€Å"The American Dream†, by James Truslow Adams in The Sundance Reader book, he stated that the American dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and highRead MoreThe American Dream By Kimberly Amadeo1637 Words   |  7 PagesNowadays, a large number of people migrate to the United States to work and achieve the American Dream. According to the Article â€Å"What is the American Dream?† by Kimberly Amadeo, â€Å"The American Dream was first publicly defined in 1931 by James Truslow Adams in Epic of America. Adam’s often-repeated quote is, ‘The American Dream is that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyon e, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.’† There are many peopleRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The American Dream 754 Words   |  4 Pages Nyreel Powell Ms. Jones American Literature 1 June 2015 The American dream in A Raisin in the Sun Have you ever had a dream and it didn’t come how you wanted it to be? Have you ever had accomplishments that you wanted to achieve but people were getting in the way of them? The four main characters in this book all have good dreams but there are people in the way of getting to those dreams or their dream is too high to accomplish. A Raisin in the Sun a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, andRead MoreSister Carrie and the American Dream1618 Words   |  7 PagesThe American Dream is surely based on the concept of â€Å"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness† but it is above all, a matter of ambition. James Truslow Adams, an American writer and historian, in 1931 states: life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement†, which not only points towards a better standard of living for Americans but also denounces a degree of greed in the US society. Ambition not only â€Å"killed the catâ₠¬  butRead MoreGrapes Of Wrath And The American Dream1644 Words   |  7 PagesThe idea of the American Dream is ever changing depending on the person and the time of life that person is in. Although the main ideas of the American Dream remain the same to be educated, economically sound, healthy, to have a family, and equal rights. Many great films and works of literature were created to show case all the different ideas people have for their American Dream. The film â€Å"Grapes of Wrath† directed by John Ford and the poem â€Å"I Will Fight No More Forever† by Chief Joseph, both depictRead More Destruction of the American Dream Essay2145 Words   |  9 PagesDestruction of the American Dream I’ve talked about it in the past, the destruction of the American Dream. Always, there have been papers, writings, and thoughts that quantify a particular section of its ultimate demise, be it due to money, education, or sexuality. Maybe the destruction cannot be viewed as a singular event or cause. Perhaps instead it must be examined as a whole process, the decay and ultimate elimination of a dream. Self destruction, if you will†¦ Mr. Self Destruct Read MoreSuccess As One Of The American Dream1137 Words   |  5 PagesApril 2015 Success as One of The American Dream When we hear the word â€Å"success†, we often think of wealth and money. To some people, the embodiment of being success is earning a lot of money. In fact, the concept of success is primarily based on how much money a person earns. However, each person views the definition of success differently. One way to define success is something that has more to do with flash than it does with substance. John Wooden, an American basketball player and coach viewRead MoreJim Cullen And The American Dream2081 Words   |  9 Pages The American Dream, as defined by Cullen, is starting your goal off with a little and ending with more; it s like a business, you invest in it in order to gain more money. Usually, people will define the American Dream as being able to achieve your goal because everyone is offered opportunities. Cullen does acknowledge that people are born with different opportunities, so he talks about the good life. The good life describes different factors that determine your opportunities. Throughout the otherRead MoreFactors Influencing The American Dream1834 Words   |  8 Pagesindividual to succumb or to not succumb to the seductions of crime. These three factors are brilliantly portrayed in the television show, Breaking Bad and the novel, The Stick Up Kids. The American Dream is what many American citizens strive for. However, not all of those citizens are able to achieve the American Dream through a legal pathway. The reason an indivudal may not being able to do so is because of his or her background factors. It is important to note that background factors are a fractionRead MoreShark Tank And The American Dream1755 Words   |  8 PagesShark Tank and The American Dream The TV show Shark tank embodies everything the American dream represents. The show obtains successful Entrepreneurs ready to invest their own money into other Americans wanting to be just like them, reaching the American dream and become a successful entrepreneur. The show presents entrepreneurs working towards the goal of creating a business to not only gain wealth but also change the way we live today. The show is to keep the American dream alive and well while

Essay about Modernism in T.s. Eliotss the Wasteland

Modernism in T.S. Eliots The Wasteland Modernism has been defined as a rejection of traditional 19th-century norms, whereby artists, architects, poets and thinkers either altered or abandoned earlier conventions in an attempt to re-envision a society in flux. In literature this included a progression from objectivist optimism to cynical relativism expressed through fragmented free verse containing complex, and often contradictory, allusions, multiple points of view and other poetic devices that broke from the forms in Victorian and Romantic writing, as can be seen in T.S. Eliots The Waste Land (Levanson). The varied perspectives or lack of a central, continuous speaker uproots The Waste Land from previous forms of poetry;†¦show more content†¦Thus faced with this paradox, the reader is privy to one of the modernist themes in the work: individuals are permanently estranged, each bearing a unique identity, yet they are able to connect with each other to create a kind of coherence, however temporary. Of course, Matthew Arnold wrote something very similar in To Marguerite: Continued, but up until Eliots The Waste Land, this truth was never illustrated in the lyrical construction itself. Eliot also employs fragments in the work, further articulating his modernist ideas. These fragments are sometimes used to blur the lines between speakers, but also serve to blend opposing strands of knowledge. Trying to singularly categorize the usage of fragments is as difficult as finding a unified meaning in the poem and that is the entire point. Yet, in keeping with modernist thought, can there exist an entire point? The answer is inevitably fragmented. In lines 307-311, To Carthage then I came/ Burning burning burning burning/ O Lord Thou pluckest me out/ O Lord Thou pluckest/ burning, the words of St. Augustine from his Confessions and the Buddhas Fire Sermon are crammed together to form a new, incongruous whole. This synthesis hints at some sort of truth that may be discovered by joining these ancient bits of wisdom, two differing perspectives. However, if one assumes that something meaningful can be created from These fragments I have shored against

Alternative Theories Rate of Interest †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Alternative Theories Rate of Interest. Answer: Introduction The statement the interest rate is an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest have attracted discussion over the years. Various economist have provided their opinions on the issue of savings, investment and the rate of interest. Classicists expressed their opinion on the statement and came to conclusion that the rate of interest is the main reward which is given to people for acceptinginvestments such as bond and securities instead of liquidity. Different opinions have also been expressed by other economist regarding the same. The content of this paper critically illustrates various issues regarding the statement The interest rate is an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest and concludes on the same based on various economic theories. The above statement is true based on Keynes theory which states that various factors management such as abstinence and time period have no effect on the ability of an individual to part with liquidity as well as payment of interest. According to Keynes theory, interest is not compensation for the abstinence an individual saver has undergone or the time he has taken without the liquidity. However, as mentioned above interest rate is the reward an individual receives as a reward for investing his or her savings for a given period of time (Ahiakpor, 2015). Rate of interest therefore acts as a measure of the level which makes an individual saver to part with the liquid cash to make claims or accept non-liquid claims instead of cash. Based on this theory, the interest rate is therefore an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest as most people in the current world tend to invest or accept non-liquid claims based on the rate of interest thus the balance. The state of balance between savings and investment comes as a result of rate of interest. This is well explained by classical theory, which states that economy is at equilibrium only when the savings rate is equal to the rate of investment realized. With such sound economic reasoning t savings is equals to investments at equilibrium and this comes as a result of rate of interest even though this theory is not that clear (Friedman, 2010). The theory by classicalist explain that, when the desire to save decrease, the rate of interest will automatically increase to fuel savings and a curtailed desire to invest. However, this automatic correction of the disequilibrium between savings and investment only occurs in a full employment situation. Based on the classicists ideology the equality between the savings and investments occurs as a result of an automatic flow of equal amount of investment through changes in the rate of interest to give full employment level income. This equality between savings and investments is clearly brought about by rate of interest when the economy is on motions and other variable are constant. When variables are at the normal functioning relationship to each other, the rate of savings is therefore equal the rate of investment and are not always not only equal but at equilibrium. At such point where savings equals the rate of investment, the effect of rate of interest is crucial and can be witnessed (Ahiakpor, 2015). This is because, when investment in such economy moves up to exceed savings, the balance of the two variables is then caused by rate of interest. Interest rate is an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest where by when investments exceed savings a condition of imbalance between them is created and the rate of interest rises to correct the imbalance through discouraging investment thereby increasing savings (Westphal,2013). Moreover, when savings are higher above investments, the rate of interest moves down encouraging investment management while decreasing savings (Wong, 2016). Based on this classical opinion, changes in the rate of interest results into correction of disequilibrium between savings and investment (Friedman, 2010). According to the above argument therefore confirms the statement that the interest rate is an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest. This statement can as well be illustrated in an economic model known as the IS curve which illustrates that, at every rate of interest, savers in most cases would want to invest more leading to an increased demand higher than the expected investment level, this demand results into shifting outwards of the IS curve leading to an increased income and savings. The interest rate therefore takes control to balance disequilibrium between investment and savings in since other factors such as money supply and income cannot solve the problem. As indicated above, when other variables remain constant such as money supply, interest rate rises to restore the equilibrium balance between savings and investment. This rise in the rate of interest leads to an offset in investment demand while increases savings as illustrated through the rightward shift of the IS curve above (Hicks, 2007). The statement is also true when the level of income remains constant, an increase in the demand for liquidity results into shifts in an LM model which also explains the relationship between rates of interest, savings as well as investment where interest rate is necessary for the equilibration of investment and savings as illustrated in the two diagrams below. The shift in the above diagram indicates the rise in the interest rate in order to restore the imbalance in the equilibrium between the desire to save and the desire to invest (Hicks, 2007). With the increase in the rate of interest the desire to invest falls leading to increased savings as indicated below. Contrary to the above opinion as illustrated by various economists, the statement interest rate is an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest cannot be justified as a fact. This is because the theory excludes various factors which are crucial and normally results into the balance between the desire to save and the desire to invest apart from the rate of interest (Hicks, 2007). According to various economist with various opinions, the change in rate of interest cannot be the only factor which results into an equilibrium between the desire to invest and the desire to save. Changes in the rates of interest alone according to other economists cannot bring the balance between savings and investment as the desire to invest and the desire to save also depend on other marginal factors such as capital as well as other factors. A part from capital the equilibrium can between investment and saving comes as result of changes in income of an individual saver rather than as a result of changes in the rate of interest. According to the Keynes theory, it evident that equilibrium between the desire to save and desire to invest can be reached considerably lower than full employment known as underemployment equilibrium (Dooley, Frankel Mathieson, 2007). Keynes further explained that so long as the shapes of both investment schedule and saving schedule as well as liquidity schedule are focused further then equilibrium is created between savings desires as well as investment desires (Skidelsky, 2010). The opinion of Keynes just as the classical theory in relation to the statement is quite clear, it is true as he claims that investment will not smoothly flow in order to match savings with the changes in rate of interest. Howsoever, other various factors such as flexibility in wages, prices as well as cost must be cons idered to ensure the equality. The statement according to Keynes suffers various setbacks; when there is a depressions, investment demand schedule does not respond to changes in the interest rate thus cannot result into state of equilibrium between the desire to invest and the desire to save. Even though investment demand schedule may be inelastic small changes occur in the rate of interest, however, such changes cannot result into a meaningful change on investment (Skidelsky, 2010). Moreover, savings with regards to the assumptions by Keynes are similarly inelastic to small changes in the rate of interest thus even though there are considerable changes in the rate of interest there will be no significant change in the savers mind to make more savings. Further, majority of people have the desire to have cash as many fear to invest based on profit and loss speculation, so even with high rates of interest majority will tend to hold on the liquid cash resulting into a few investing thus no meaningful change in investment. A situation known as popularly called liquidity function (Wray, 2010). From these three assumption one can therefore deduce an idea that, the rate of investment by various private entrepreneurs is derived with the speculation on profits. This further show that interest rate is not the only factor which may result into a match between the desire to invest and the desire to save as privately driven economy profit motive is the only drive to investment. After stating various setbacks to the statement that interest rate is an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest, the theory developed by Keynes agrees that there is equality and match in the savers desire to invest and the desire but fails to support that this equality is caused by rate of interest (Garegnani, 2008). According to his theory he brings into consideration that the equality which exists between savings and investment comes as a result of the level of income as such equality exists in all levels of employment not only in a full employment (Wray, 2012). He then suggests that the state of equilibrium between the desire to save and the desire to invest comes as a result of changes in the savers income (Chenery, Lewis, De Melo Robinson, 2015). From such argument it can be agreeable that the rate interest is not only the mechanism which can be used to bring equality between investment and saving but another mechanism which income level can b e used to explain the same. The two theories bot the classical and Keynes theory agree on the state of equilibrium between the desire to invest and the desire to save but disagree on the mechanism which result into the equilibrium. The two arguments takes various situations where one views the equality in a full employment situation while the other views the equity at every level of employment (Wray, 2012). . In relation to accounting equity theory, one may pick on the Keynes theory to be the most appropriate as the two theories support each other, however, given explanations by Keynes does not match the saving and investment in terms of price. Based on the models illustrated above it is clear that the statement interest rate is an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest is true and it occurs at a full employment as detailed. The change in the rate of interest results into changes in desire of an individual to invest of save (Wray, 2010). Conclusion Based on the argument within the content of the essay and after deeply weighing both theories, the statement interest rate is an equilibrating price matching the desire to save with the desire to invest is true and justifiable. The rate of interest serves as a very crucial factor in equilibrating the desire to invest and the desire to save. This is because when all other factors are kept constant and are moving normally within an economy, the only equilibrating mechanism which can be employed to create balance between the desire to invest and the desire to save is the rate interest. In a situation where savings rises upwards above the required level or its demand, rate of interest as a mechanism bring various forces into operation leading to a reduced saving desire there by rendering its supply to equal demand. Moreover, the rise in the rate of saving results into reduced interest rate which in turn affects the propensity for savings thus encouraging investment making the two to be a t equilibrium. References Ahiakpor, J. C. (2015). A paradox of thrift or Keynes's misrepresentation of saving in the classical theory of growth?. Southern Economic Journal, 16-33. Chenery, H., Lewis, J., De Melo, J., Robinson, S. (2015). Alternative routes to development. In Modeling Developing Countries' Policies in General Equilibrium (pp. 179-215). Dooley, M., Frankel, J., Mathieson, D. J. (2007). International capital mobility: What do saving-investment correlations tell us?. Staff Papers, 34(3), 503-530. Friedman, M. (2010). A theoretical framework for monetary analysis. journal of Political Economy, 78(2), 193-238. Garegnani, P. (2008). Notes on consumption, investment and effective demand: I. Cambridge journal of Economics, 2(4), 335-353. Hicks, J. R. (2007). Mr. Keynes and the" classics"; a suggested interpretation. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, 147-159. Skidelsky, R. (2010). The relevance of Keynes. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 35(1), 1-13. Westphal, U. (2013). Domestic saving and international capital movements in the long run and the short runby M. Feldstein. European Economic Review, 21(1-2), 157-159. Wong, H. P. C. (2016). From the Treatise on Money to The General Theory: John Maynard Keynes's Departure from the Doctrine of Forced Saving. History of Political Economy, 48(3), 515-544. Wray, L. R. (2010). Alternative theories of the rate of interest. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 16(1), 69-89. Wray, L. R. (2012). Alternative theories of the rate of interest. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 16(1), 69-89.

Strategic Management Top Management Improve-Myassignmnthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Management for Top Management Improvement. Answer: Reviewing the essay process The proposed essay includes several stages that will be covered through the essay. Two different elements involved in preparing the essay are the knowledge of essay purpose and the knowledge essay structure. Usually, the structure of the essay covers three different segment such as introduction, body and the conclusion. In addition, the purpose of the essay and the structure of the essay can be divided into several sub-elements such as Focus, Plan, Research, Formulate Argument and Write. Focus refers to the analysis of the task, which include the particular direction of the essay, relevant information and the certain limitations. In addition, the plan of the research focus on the knowledge of the task and the initial plan. The third segment of the essay includes the research. A critical analysis should be presented in the body of the essay based on the topic given. While preparing the analysis, the existing literature related to the topic needs to be reviewed to stand an argument in the essay. In formulate the argument in the essay; it is useful to find the relevant information based on the topic. Using the contents of that document to create the plan for the essay While presenting the argument in the essay, it is advisable to include the thesis statement and formulated argument to support the thesis statement. Thereafter, body of the essay should be written with analysis or the definition of the topic. In case the topic is selected, it is effective to write up the answer with the help of subject-angle-technique of the analysis. Next step comes with identifying some key ideas related to the topic Strategic Management. While identifying the key ideas related to the topic, it is advisable to go through the course outlines and apply mind-mapping technique to identify the key ideas. The next section comes with identifying some key words for associated with the topic. Hence, it is also necessary to pay attention to some relevant journals, abstract and data materials. The existing literature may help to formulate the argument in the essay. The argument or critical statement should be expressed in clear statement. The argument requires supporting evid ences. Topic: Does strategic management contribute to the success of the organization? Introduction The strategy is considered as an action plan that is built it achieve a particular goal or a set of specific goals while running the operation in an organization framework. It is also identified that strategic management is the technique of enhancing the capabilities that allow an organization to create value for shareholders, customers while operating in a competitive environment. Some particular techniques are involved in the strategic planning that specially points out organizations mission, vision and objectives. Another technique is to develop the policies as well as plans to achieve the objectives. The purpose of the essay is to understand and analyse whether or not strategic management positively contribute to the success of the organization. The topic is presented below through a critical analysis. Body/analysis The strategic management may include the strategic planning, which comes under organizational management activity that helps to set the priorities, focus on the resources. Priem, Li and Carr (2012) stated that strategic planning could help to strengthen the operation and make sure that employees and the organization are working toward same goals and building the agreement around the intended outcome. In this context, Hair et al. (2012) stated that, Strategic planning is a process not an event. One of the major key elements in the technique is the involvement of all levels of employees throughout the organization. On the contrary, Barney (2012) opined that although preparing a consistent strategy is a difficult task for any management team, making the strategy work as well as applying throughout the organization could be more difficult. In order to support the above-mentioned statement, Morgan (2012) stated that unlike strategy formulation, strategy execution is usually observed as so mething of craft, instead of science. Therefore, it can be mentioned that effective formulated strategies may fail to develop the performance for the organization, if they are not successfully executed. As opined by Keupp, Palmi and Gassmann (2012), the application of the strategy could be the most significant challenge in management faced by all sorts of corporations. Thus, it is often seen that most of the organizations tend to apply the techniques of strategic management for their respective purpose. However, most of them fail to deal with the challenge of strategy implementation. If the discussion is stretched back to the beginning, it can be observed that strategic management is usually emerged as the part of strategic planning, which has now been regarded as one of its core instruments. In this context, Dezso and Ross (2012) added that strategic planning was incorporated into strategic management, which further includes planning and management in the same technique. Conversely, Foss and Knudsen (2013) added that strategic management is derived from the fundamental concept of organizational policy. Certain benefits can be gained by applying the techniques of strategic management. As put forward by Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2012), the strategic management is dispensable for an organization to become more proactive rather than reactive in developing its own future. It could help the organization to implement the activities; thus, it could exert control over its destiny. With the help of strategic management techniques, the firms could develop the sound stra tegies by applying more systematic, logical and rational techniques to strategic choice (Willcocks, 2013). Thus, to understand this popular concept, Pierce and Aguinis (2013) provided an example, which states that making sound strategy, the communication can be improved through dialogue and participation. By improving the communication, people could understand views of others and organizational commitment. It also helps to build the commitment, which further helps to achieve the objectives as well as implement the strategies. The outcomes with the fact that all leaders and employees work on mission to help the company to achieve success. In order to agree with above-mentioned fact that, Vogel and Gttel (2013) put forward that a well-built strategy needs all members work on particular mission; thereby, the entire concept of strategic management is an effective way to encourage all leaders, managers and employees dedicating to the firm. Furthermore, it has also been identified that strategic management enhances communication; therefore, the employees to learn what the organization does, how to achieve the objectives. Thus, they could engage themselves into the enterprise and make commitment for the same. Once the communication is developed, the managers and employees form an effective relationship by understanding each other, which is necessary to work on organizational mission. In addition, if the internal communication is developed, the external communication can also be developed. The firm could develop an effective relationship with the customers to learn the changing needs of the market. For example, Samsung has i mproved a strong customer-focus, which helps them to understand the needs and demands of the customers and the future needs as well. The brand Samsung has done understanding the market scenario of the global environment. On the contrary, the organization could also gain some non-financial benefits. For instance, the firm could enhance the understanding the marketing strategies of the competitors in the industry. As mentioned by Lin (2013), the well-known model SWOT helps the organization to find out the difference with competitors. The firm could effectively identify the strength, weaknesses and the external opportunities. Based on the analysis, further actions can be implemented. The strategic management allows the firm reducing the barriers to change since the communication is developed within the organization. However, there have been some global challenges associated with the technique used by the organizations. As opined by Hill, Jones and Schilling (2014), now nearly every organization is in the rush of extending the business in the global market and adopting the steps of running the operation into the global environment. Hence, the organizations use foreign business operation techniques. Thus, due to this fact of globalization. Many new orientations are coming out like International HRM. In this context, Morgan (2012) added that the process of organizational strategic management often needs to be renewed to deal with the new operations. Furthermore, it is also identified that with the rapid expansion of internet as well as developed technology, some organizations have paid attention to the e-commerce where they could run the business with electronic means. In such context, the strategic management technique of the business should be effective to change e-commerce motivation into business process. Keupp, Palmi and Gassmann (2012) stated about another challenge associated with strategic management, which comes in the form of diversification. It is observed that with increasing uncertainty and the dynamic scenario of the global business environment. The organizations prefer to engage themselves in diversified operations. In such case, the organization need to diversify the business risk. Therefore, the approaches to strategic management should be capable of recognizing the diversification of business opportunities. In order to disagree with the current approaches of strategic management, Barney (2012) argued that under the modern society, certain operating pressure are there such as environmental activism as well as consumer protectionism. However, the approaches to strategic management often fail to identify the external pressure groups. On the contrary, Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2012) added that strategic management should conduct research for identifying the possible CSR a ctivities and implement those aligning with the expectation with the society. Conclusion On the completion of the essay, it can be mentioned that effective implementation of strategic management may help the organizations to achieve certain goals and objectives. However, the organizations often find it difficult to implement the approaches. It can be concluded that strategic management could help the organization to achieve success. Nevertheless, it is necessary to implement the strategies based on the current scenario of the environment. The organizations should be aware of the possible challenges after the implementation. References: Barney, J. B. (2012). Purchasing, supply chain management and sustained competitive advantage: The relevance of resource based theory. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 48(2), 3-6. Dezs, C. L., Ross, D. G. (2012). Does female representation in top management improve firm performance? A panel data investigation. Strategic Management Journal, 33(9), 1072-1089. Foss, N. J., Knudsen, C. (2013). Towards a competence theory of the firm (Vol. 2). Routledge. Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Pieper, T. M., Ringle, C. M. (2012). The use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in strategic management research: a review of past practices and recommendations for future applications. Long range planning, 45(5), 320-340. Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., Schilling, M. A. (2014). Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., Hoskisson, R. E. (2012). Strategic management cases: competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning. Keupp, M. M., Palmi, M., Gassmann, O. (2012). The strategic management of innovation: A systematic review and paths for future research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14(4), 367-390. Lin, R. J. (2013). Using fuzzy DEMATEL to evaluate the green supply chain management practices. Journal of Cleaner Production, 40, 32-39. Morgan, N. A. (2012). Marketing and business performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40(1), 102-119. Pierce, J. R., Aguinis, H. (2013). The too-much-of-a-good-thing effect in management. Journal of Management, 39(2), 313-338. Priem, R. L., Li, S., Carr, J. C. (2012). Insights and new directions from demand-side approaches to technology innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic management research. Journal of management, 38(1), 346-374. Vogel, R., Gttel, W. H. (2013). The dynamic capability view in strategic management: a bibliometric review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(4), 426-446. Willcocks, L. (2013). Information management: the evaluation of information systems investments. Springer.

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Essay Example

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Paper Themes Doubt and Ambiguity One of this story’s difficult aspects is the sense of uncertainty it creates by leaving important facts unresolved and seeming to offer several possible interpretations for its events. The reader is never allowed to doubt that the old man and his strange wings are as â€Å"real† as anything else in the story; yet the reader can never be sure just what he is — a heavenly angel, a sad human who happens to have wings, or perhaps some other, unexplained possibility. This deliberate uncertainty can leave readers feeling a bit cheated — particularly in what seems to be a fairy tale. Stories are expected to have clear-cut meanings, and the author is expected to reveal them to the reader; if not, there is a tendency to feel he has failed in his storytelling, or that his audience has failed as readers. But in works of realism (and many other forms), ambiguity is often used as an intentional effect, to make a story seem less â€Å"storylike,† and more like life itself. It reflects the understanding that real life is far more uncertain than the stories in books, and often forces readers to choose among several, equally possible explanations of events. As characters in daily life, readers seldom know â€Å"the whole story† — but it is traditional to expect writers to tie all tales neatly together for our understanding. While it complicates the task of the reader, the skillful, suggestive use of ambiguity is often admired by critics, and is usually considered to be one of the most appealing features of â€Å"magic realism. We will write a custom essay sample on A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Even in stories dealing with magic or the supernatural, there are rules a writer is expected to follow — for example, that there must always be a clear distinction between magical events and â€Å"normal† ones, and that the nature and significance of all characters is eventually made known to the reader. But as a magic realist, Garcia Marquez insists on breaking these rules as well. Without its fantastic elements, there is no story; yet the reader is never sure just how to take them, and how far to trust the narrator. Sometimes, he makes it obvious that the villagers† magical beliefs are in fact ridiculous delusions; but at other times, the reader seems expected to take logically impossible events at face value. The changing of a human into a giant spider, a man who can’t sleep because â€Å"the noise of the stars† disturbs him — are these things that â€Å"really happened? † Can they be dismissed as mere hallucinations? Are they poetic images, meant to be interpreted on some level beyond their literal meaning? Like the old man with his miracles, Garcia Marquez may be suspected of having a kind of â€Å"mocking fun† with the reader, suggesting all sorts of miraculous possibilities, then stubbornly contradicting all the expectations he creates. In appreciating such a story, it may be necessary to limit one’s reliance on clear meanings and moral lessons, and to be prepared to enjoy the sheer wealth of possibility and comic misunderstanding that is presented. The Problem of Interpretation One effect of ambiguity is to focus attention on the uncertain nature of all efforts to assign meaning to events. The troublesome nature of interpretation has been a matter of intense interest for literary critics in the years since this story was written — which may be one reason Garcia Marquez remains a popular subject of scholarly attention. Many theorists stress that all â€Å"readings† (whether of texts, or of life itself) are strongly influenced by their context, and by the specific interests and point of view of the person making the judgment. While one may detect such influence in the opinions of others, it usually operates unconsciously in the self; the assumptions behind one’s own thinking are so familiar that one tends not to even recognize them as assumptions. Some critics go so far as to suggest that all explanations are actually inventions, and that â€Å"true meanings† can never be reliably determined. While one may not choose to embrace so extreme a position, the speculation serves as a reminder that confident pronouncements about the world are seldom, if ever, as rational or disinterested as one believes them to be. The villagers† quirky thought-patterns may be seen as a parody of this universal human tendency. They â€Å"talk themselves into† all kinds of wild speculations, clinging to irrational notions (such as the â€Å"fact† that mothballs are the proper food for angels) and leaping to impossible conclusions (for example, that the old man should be named â€Å"mayor of the world. †) It seems that, once they get an idea into their heads, they willfully convince themselves of its truth and ignore any evidence to the contrary — unless a more appealing version of the truth comes along. Their folly is a kind of exaggerated ignorance, which Garcia Marquez uses consistently for comic effect; but in their unquestioning application of â€Å"conventional wisdom,† and their stubborn faith in their own ideas, they reflect habits of mind that can be recognized in all cultures. On another level, the author may be seen as placing the reader in much the same position — forcing the reader to accept interpretations that seem absurd, or to give up any hope of understanding events. In this sense, it might be said that the story’s meaning lies in the manner it denies any clear meanings, complicating the reader’s efforts to understand, and showing usual means of determining the truth in a strange, uncertain light. The context of literature may tempt one to â€Å"read into† these odd characters, looking for symbolic meanings and creatively-coded messages from the author. Nothing prevents the reader from doing so, but there are few clues or hints to help and no obvious way to confirm or deny any interpretation one may construct. The reader can’t be sure if he is finding the story’s meaning or making one up; he may even wonder if the story has a meaning at all. Garcia Marquez presents a rich mystery, which engages the reader’s thinking and seems to â€Å"make sense† in the manner of fairy tales; then he leaves the reader to decide its meaning for himself. However one goes about the job, he is never allowed to escape the suspicion that he may, in his own way, wind up being as foolish and gullible as the villagers. Characters Bird-Man See Very old man with enormous wings Elisenda In her marriage to Pelayo, Elisenda takes an active part in decision-making. Her husband runs to get her as soon as he discovers the old man, and they try to make sense of him together, apparently sharing the same reactions. It is she who first conceives of charging the villagers admission to see the â€Å"angel,† an idea which makes the couple wealthy. At the end of the story, she is the mistress of an impressive mansion, dressed in the finest fashions. Yet the old man seems to be a constant annoyance to her, a feeling that only intensifies over time. He is useless and infuriating to her, â€Å"dragging himself about here and there like a stray dying man†; she seems to be constantly shooing him out of her way. She eventually grows so â€Å"exasperated and unhinged† that she screams that she is living in a â€Å"hell full of angels. † Elisenda is also the only witness to the old man’s departure, watching silently from the kitchen window as he tries out his newly regrown wings. Her reaction as he disappears over the horizon shows a measure of sympathy for the â€Å"senile vulture,† as well as her hope that her own life will return to normal: she lets out a sigh of relief â€Å"for herself, and for him. Father Gonzaga A former woodcutter, Father Gonzaga is the village priest whose religious training and standing in the community make him a moral and intellectual authority. Of all the characters, he seems uniquely qualified to pass judgment on the strange visitor and to determine whether he is really one of God’s angels or â€Å"just a Norwegian with wings. † However, his understanding of church doctrine leads him to no solid conclusions. He counsels the villagers to withhold their own judgment until he can receive a definitive answer from scholars in the Vatican. Father Gonzaga is never able to provide an explanation, and he loses sleep over the mystery until his parishioners eventually lose interest in the old man entirely. Examining the angel-like creature, Father Gonzaga immediately suspects that he is â€Å"an impostor. † The old man’s unbearable odor, his derelict condition, and his undignified appearance all make him seem â€Å"much too human† to accept as a perfect immortal or member of a divine race. But rather than make a judgment from the evidence of his senses (and knowing that the devil likes to trick people with appearances), he applies a series of tests to the old man, presumably based on church teachings about the nature of angels. First, he greets the old man in Latin; the lack of a response is yet another suspicious sign, for it shows that the â€Å"angel† doesn’t â€Å"understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers. † A series of letters from higher church authorities results in further â€Å"tests† of divinity (Does the old man have a belly-button? Does his language seem related to the biblical dialect of Aramaic? ) but fail to lead him to any final judgment. Unable to provide the answer that they seek from him, the Father can only warn his flock not to jump to any conclusions — a warning which they ignore with enthusiasm. As a comic authority figure Father Gonzaga is open to a variety of interpretations. He is clearly ineffective in his role as a spiritual authority and as a source of wisdom and enlightenment. His superiors in the church hierarchy prove no more helpful and seem to be obsessed with obscure heological abstractions, such as how many angels can fit on the head of a pin. Such factors suggest at least a mildly satirical view of the Catholic Church and perhaps of organized religion in general. To some critics, Father Gonzaga’s means of inquiry are also a parody of the scientific method, while his fruitless correspondence with church scholars reflects the useless-ness of bureaucracies everywhere. And other critics even see a reflection of themselves — the figure of the cultural authority, whose profession makes him unwilling to admit the obvious limits of his understanding. Old Man See Very old man with enormous wings Pelayo It is Pelayo, the town bailiff, who discovers the old man with wings struggling face down in the courtyard of his home after a storm. As the strange visitor begins to attract crowds, Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, exhibit him as a carnival attraction. Though the old man proves to be only a temporary sensation, he creates a highly profitable windfall for the young couple. In â€Å"less than a week they had crammed their rooms with money† from paid admissions; they quickly earn enough to rebuild their house as a mansion and to live in luxury by village standards. Pelayo quits his job and sets up a rabbit warren on the edge of town, trading a minor administrative position for the leisurely life of a gamekeeping squire. While Pelayo’s discovery of the winged being brings him great fortune, it also brings confusion and complication into his life. It is not the sort of luck he hopes to see repeated. When he and Elisenda design their new home, they are careful to include â€Å"iron bars on the windows so that angels wouldn’t get in. † Spider-Woman The centerpiece of a traveling carnival, the â€Å"woman who had been changed into a spider for disobeying her parents† proves to be a more popular attraction than the old man, causing the villagers to lose interest in him and putting an end to Pelayo and Elisenda’s profitable courtyard business. As a young girl, she had once gone dancing all night against her parents’ wishes; later, while walking home, she was allegedly struck by lightning and transformed into â€Å"a frightful tarantula the size of a ram. . . with the head of a sad maiden. † Compared to the baffling old man, the spider-woman provides a far more satisfying spectacle. While she is at least as grotesque and fantastic as the â€Å"bird-man,† she charges a lower admission price; more importantly, she is willing to communicate freely with her visitors, recounting her sad experience and inspiring sympathy for her fate. The â€Å"meaning† of her story is easy to grasp and teaches a clear moral lesson — one that confirms the villagers’ conventional beliefs. In contrast, the old man makes no attempt to explain himself and seems to contradict all religious and folk beliefs about the nature of angels. His very existence raises disturbing questions, but he offers no reassuring answers. Very Old Man with Enormous Wings The old man is the story’s central character and its central mystery. He is given no name but is precisely described in the title, which includes everything that can be said about him with any assurance: he is an extremely old man, in failing health, with all the frailties and limitations of human old age, and he has a huge pair of bird’s wings growing from his back. We follow the other characters in their comic efforts to explain him, to assign some â€Å"meaning† to his sudden appearance, and finally to just put up with his annoying presence, but when he flies away at the story’s end, the mystery remains. The very idea of a â€Å"winged humanoid† evokes the image of angels, and most of the â€Å"wise† villagers quickly assume that he is an angel. But everything about him seems to contradict traditional stereotypes of heavenly power and immortal perfection. When Pelayo first finds him in the courtyard, apparently blown out of the sky by a strong rainstorm, his condition is pathetic: he lies â€Å"face down in the mud,† â€Å"dressed like a ragpicker,† and tangled in his half-plucked, bug-infested wings. The narrator tells us directly that this â€Å"pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather had taken away any sense of grandeur he might have had,† and Father Gonzaga underscores the point later, when he observes that â€Å"nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels. † Nor do the villagers allow him any dignity or respect; throughout the story, they treat him â€Å"without the slightest reverence. † He is displayed like a circus animal or sideshow freak; poked, plucked, and prodded; branded with a hot iron; pelted with stones and garbage; and held prisoner for years in a filthy, battered chicken coop, exposed to the elements. Though he is the source of the family’s great fortune, Elisenda comes to find him an intolerable annoyance, becoming â€Å"exasperated and unhinged† by his presence. He is understandably â€Å"standoffish† toward people, tolerating only the company of the couple’s young child, and the villagers come to think of him as â€Å"a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals. † Given his cruel captivity, the reader can only agree when the narrator observes that his â€Å"only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience. Even this virtue is later deprived of any otherworldly greatness; it becomes merely â€Å"the patience of a dog who had no illusions. † The old man is described in imagery of earthly poverty and human weakness, contradicting traditional heavenly stereotypes. Even the birds with which he is compared to are ignoble ones (â€Å"buzzard wings,† â€Å"a huge decrepit hen,† â€Å"a senile vulture†). Yet there is clearly something of the magical about him beyond his unexplained wings and mysterious origin. He does, after all, perform miracles — but they, too, fail to satisfy expectations. The blind man’s sight isn’t restored, but he suddenly grows three new teeth; the leper’s sores aren’t cured, but sunflowers begin growing from them. These are â€Å"consolation miracles,† which show â€Å"a certain mental disorder,† as if senility had caused his magic powers to misfire. Alternately, they could be practical jokes, a form of â€Å"mocking fun† to avenge his abuse by the crowd. Their sick child recovers when Pelayo and Elisenda take in the old man, but this could be coincidence, or perhaps another case of failed magic (if, as the neighbor woman believes, he is an angel of death sent to take the baby). And, despite his obvious infirmities, he is possessed of a surprising inner strength. His health seems to be in irreversible decline throughout; a doctor’s examination finds it â€Å"impossible for him to be alive,† and very late in the story his death appears imminent. Yet with the coming of spring, after years of uselessness, his wings grow new feathers and regain their strength, allowing him to escape the village forever. Although his wings make him a creature of the sky and he is clearly not at home on land, the old man also has some association with the sea. He comes from the sea (or at least from over it), washed up with a tide of crabs by a three-day storm; his first attempts to fly away are accompanied by â€Å"a wind that seemed to come from the high seas. † Pelayo and Elisenda first take him for a foreign sailor (perhaps because they detect â€Å"a strong sailor’s voice† in his incomprehensible speech), and an early plan called for him to be set out to sea on a raft with provisions. As his wings begin to regenerate, he sings â€Å"sea chanteys† under the stars. Critics disagree in their interpretations of this connection and in their judgments on its significance. But in Garcia Marquez’s other works, they often find the sea to be an important theme or symbol, both as a natural force of great power (equally capable of bringing rich gifts or terrible destruction), and as a force associated with the supernatural. Several of his stories include episodes where unusual strangers from the â€Å"outside world† appear in a small town and have a strong effect on its people. Very often, these remarkable visitors arrive by sea. The old man is also connected in some way with Pelayo and Elisenda’s child. The newborn is ill when he first appears, but quickly recovers when the â€Å"angel† takes up residence. The â€Å"wise neighbor woman† believes that he was sent to takes the child’s life. Both the child and the old man come down with chicken pox at the same time, and the old man uncharacteristically allows the child to play with and around him, tolerating â€Å"ingenious infamies† with patience. But beyond these details, the connection or bond between the two is not developed. Because the old man is a misunderstood outsider subjected to cruel mistreatment, he becomes primarily a figure of pity — a strange emotion for an â€Å"angel† to inspire. He has enough magical qualities to let the reader see him, at least potentially, as a figure of wonder, but his very human vulnerability keeps this from being much more than a suggestion. Finally, there is at least an equal suggestion of a potential â€Å"dark side. † Pelayo’s first impression is that of having seen a â€Å"nightmare,† and the â€Å"mental disorder† of the old man’s miracles suggests that his â€Å"magic powers† are uncontrollable, making him dangerous. When burned with a branding iron, his startled wing-flapping creates â€Å"a whirlwind of chicken dung and lunar dust,† â€Å"a gale of panic that did not seem to be of this world. † It is almost a moment of terror; when he calms down, the villagers regard him with renewed caution and fear: â€Å"his passivity was not that of a hero taking his ease, but that of a cataclysm in repose. † And though his visit brings truly miraculous results for Pelayo and Elisenda by making them fabulously wealthy, it also seems to be a frightful and unnerving experience for them. Elisenda comes to feel that she lives in â€Å"a hell full of angels,† and when they design their dream home, the couple make sure to â€Å"angel-proof † it with iron bars. Media Adaptations  ·Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† was adapted, with some modifications, as a film with the same title in 1988, in a Spanish production directed by Fernando Birri. Starring Daisy Granados, Asdrubal Melendez, and Luis Alberto Ramiriz, the film is available with English subtitles on Fox/Lorber Home Video, Facets Multimedia, Inc. or from Ingram International Films. Plot Summary While Garcia Marquez makes no divisions in the text, this discussion will consider the plot in four separate stages. The story begins with the â€Å"old man’s† arrival and ends with his departure. The intervening period, which covers several years, may be divided into two stages: the brief sensation caused by his appearance and a long period of declining interest in which the strange visitor is all but forgotten. Arrival The setting is an unnamed coastal village, at an unspecified time in the past. A long rainstorm has washed crabs up from the beach into Pelayo’s house, creating an odor he thinks may be affecting his sick newborn child. Disposing of their carcasses, he sees a figure groaning on the ground in his courtyard; as he moves closer, he discovers it to be â€Å"an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldn’t get up, impeded by his enormous wings. † Staring at this pitiful â€Å"bird-man,† Pelayo and his wife Elisenda begin to overcome their amazement, and even find him familiar, despite those mysterious wings. While they can’t understand his language, he seems to have â€Å"a strong sailor’s voice,† and at first they decide he is a shipwrecked foreign sailor, somehow managing to overlook the need to explain his wings. But a neighbor soon â€Å"corrects† them, stating confidently that he is an angel. Assuming he is nothing but trouble, she advises them to kill him. Not having the heart for it, Pelayo instead locks the old man in his chicken coop, still planning to dispose of him, only now by setting him to sea on a raft. He and Elisenda wake the next morning to find a crowd of neighbors in the courtyard and a far more complicated situation on their hands; suddenly, â€Å"everyone knew that a flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in Pelayo’s house. † Sensation The villagers treat the old man like a â€Å"circus animal†; they toss him food and speculate about what should be done with him. Some think he should be made â€Å"mayor of the world,† others want him to be a â€Å"five-star general in order to win all wars,† and still others hope he will father a super-race of â€Å"winged wise men who could take charge of the universe. The village priest arrives to inspect the captive, and presumably to make a more reasoned judgment on his nature. Father Gonzaga suspects â€Å"an impostor† at once and finds the old man’s pathetic appearance to be strongly at odds with the church’s traditional image of heavenly messengers. Finding the old man smelly and decrepit, his battered wings infested with insects, and showing no knowledge of church etiquette, the priest concludes that â€Å"nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels. Despite his skepticism, he refuses to give a definitive ruling on the old man, choosing instead to write letters to his church superiors and wait for a written verdict from scholars in the Vatican. In the meantime, he warns the villagers against reaching any rash conclusions. But word of the â€Å"angel† has already traveled too far, drawing fantastic crowds and creating a carnival atmosphere; events unfold quickly, described in language that suggests the exaggerated, dreamlike world of fairy-tales. Surrounded by all this hectic activity, the old man takes â€Å"no part in his own act,† keeping to himself and tolerating the abuses and indignities of his treatment with a patience that seems to be â€Å"[h]is only supernatural virtue. † Drawn by the crowds, traveling circuses and carnivals arrive in town — including one that provides formidable competition for the puzzling attraction of â€Å"a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals. † Decline The new sensation is â€Å"the spider-woman,† whose fantastic nature includes none of the majesty we associate with angels; she represents a kind of â€Å"magic† familiar from fairy-tales and folk legends. When still a girl, she once disobeyed her parents by going dancing; later, on the way home, she was struck by lightning and changed into a giant tarantula, retaining her human head. As a spectacle, she appeals to the crowd in ways the old man cannot, and even charges a lower admission price. Significantly, she speaks to her visitors, explaining the meaning of her monstrous appearance; her sad story is easy to understand, and points to a clear moral (children should obey their parents), one her audience already believes to be true. In contrast, the old man does nothing to explain himself, teaches nothing, and doesn’t even entertain people; rather than confirming their beliefs, his mysterious nature challenges all the expectations it creates. He does perform some miracles, but they are equally puzzling, seeming to be either practical jokes or the result of some â€Å"mental disorder. † These disappointing miracles â€Å"had already ruined the angel’s reputation, when the woman who had been changed into a spider finally crushed him completely. The crowds disappear from Pelayo and Elisenda’s courtyard as suddenly as they had come, and the unexplained mystery of the â€Å"bird-man† is quickly forgotten. Still, thanks to the now-departed paying customers, Pelayo and Elisenda are now wealthy. They rebuild their home as â€Å"a two-story mansion with balconies and gardens and high netting so that crabs wouldn’t get in during the winter, and with iron bars on the windows so t hat angels wouldn’t get in,† and settle into a life of luxury. But the ruined chicken coop and its ancient captive remain; as the years pass, the couple’s growing child plays in the courtyard with the old man, who stubbornly survives despite his infirmities and neglect. When a doctor comes to examine him, he is amazed that the old man is still alive, and also by â€Å"the logic of his wings,† which seem so natural that the doctor wonders why everyone doesn’t have them. Even the bird-man’s mystery and wonder grow so familiar that he eventually becomes a simple nuisance: a disagreeable old man, â€Å"dragging himself about here and there,† always underfoot. Elisenda seems to find him everywhere in the house, as if he were duplicating himself just to annoy her; at one point she grows so â€Å"exasperated and unhinged† she screams that she is living in a â€Å"hell full of angels. † Finally the old man’s health deteriorates even further, and he seems to be near death. Departure As winter gives way to the sunny days of spring, the old man’s condition begins to improve. He seems to sense a change taking place in himself, and to know what it means. He tries to stay out of the family’s sight, sitting motionless for days in the corner of the courtyard; at night, he quietly sings sailor’s songs to himself. Stiff new feathers begin to grow from his wings, and one morning Elisenda sees him trying them out in the courtyard. His first efforts to fly are clumsy, consisting of â€Å"ungainly flapping that slipped on the light and couldn’t get a grip on the air,† but he finally manages to take off. Elisenda sighs with relief, â€Å"for herself and for him,† as she watches him disappear, â€Å"no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea. † Style Imagery In establishing the character of the old man, Garcia Marquez plays against traditional stereotypes of angels. Angels are supernatural creatures and are expected them to be presented in images that convey grandeur, perfection, wisdom, and grace. By definition, angels are contrasted with humans; though they resemble humans physically, they are super-human in every conceivable way. But like Father Gonzaga, the reader’s first response to the old man is likely to be that he is â€Å"much too human. † Instead of presenting a majestic, awe-inspiring figure, Garcia Marquez describes a creature with mortal weaknesses and senility (â€Å"a drenched great-grandfather†), in circumstances without any trace of reverence or dignity. While his feathered wings invite comparisons with birds, even this imagery is common and debased; he is â€Å"a senile vulture† or a â€Å"decrepit hen,† not a soaring eagle or an elegant swan. While the villagers face the problem of understanding an apparent â€Å"angel† who fits none of their expectations for the type, the reader finds himself placed by the author in the same position. Also unusual is the way Garcia Marquez combines different types of imagery. The opening line reveals that it is â€Å"the third day of rain,† and a few lines later this information is repeated in another form: â€Å"The world had been sad since Tuesday. † One is a direct statement of fact, which might appear in a weather report; the other is a poetic image, projecting human emotions onto the weather and individual feelings onto the entire world. Expressed in other terms, the reader accepts the first version as â€Å"real,† while the second version (if taken at face value) is â€Å"magical,† involving a logically-impossible connection between human feelings and the weather. Both attitudes are familiar to readers, who know to read a factual account in a rational, literal frame of mind, and to suspend disbelief in a more imaginative story, where descriptions are expected to be used for their creative, suggestive effects. But Garcia Marquez never allows the reader to settle comfortably into one attitude or the other; throughout the story, realistic and magical details are combined, seeming to suggest that both attitudes are valid, and that neither one is sufficient by itself. Narration The ambiguity within the story is reinforced by inconsistencies in the narrative voice. The narrator is, after all, the â€Å"person† presenting all this odd imagery to the reader, and readers habitually look to the narrator for clues to help find a proper interpretation. For example, when the narrator states that Father Gonzaga’s letters to his church superiors â€Å"might have come and gone until the end of time† without reaching a conclusion, he confirms the reader’s suspicion that the priest’s approach is futile, despite his confident assurances to the crowd. Narrators don’t just present facts; they also give direction as to â€Å"how to take† the information we receive This narrator, however, seems to direct the reader all over the map and to be inconsistent in his own attitude to events. The villagers† wild ideas about the old man are often presented as obvious delusions, characterized as â€Å"frivolous† or â€Å"simple† by the narrator. But at other times, he seems no more skeptical than the villagers. For example, the story of the spider-woman seems far more fantastic than that of an old man with wings, but the narrator gives no suggestion that her transformation is particularly unusual and seems to expect the reader to accept this frankly â€Å"magical† event as if it presented no mystery at all. Though they are wise in ways the villagers are not, and see through the various fanciful interpretations of the visitor, readers come to feel that the narrator may not fully understand the old man himself. Such an unreliable storyteller makes a mystery even more mysterious, complicating efforts to fix a definite meaning to the tale.

Francis Lewis Cardozo

Francis Lewis Cardozo Overview When Francis Lewis Cardozo was elected as South Carolina’s secretary of state in 1868, he became the first African-American to be elected to hold a political position in the state. His work as a clergyman, educator and politician allowed him to fight for the rights of African-Americans during the Reconstruction period.    Key Accomplishments Established Avery Normal Institute, one of the first free secondary schools for African-Americans.Early advocate for school integration in the South.First African-American to hold a statewide office in the United States. Famous Family Members Cardozo’s granddaughter is Eslanda Goode Robeson. Robeson was an actress, anthropologist, writer and civil rights activist. She was married to Paul Robeson.   A distant relative of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo. Early Life and Education Cardozo was born on February 1, 1836, in Charleston. His mother, Lydia Weston was a free African-American woman. His father, Isaac Cardozo, was Portuguese man. After attending schools established for freed blacks, Cardozo worked as a carpenter and shipbuilder. In 1858, Cardozo began attending the University of Glasgow  before becoming a seminarian in Edinburgh and London. Cardozo was ordained a Presbyterian minister and upon his return to the United States, he began working as a pastor. By 1864, Cardozo was working as a pastor at the Temple Street Congregational Church in New Haven, Conn. The following year, Cardozo began working as an agent of the American Missionary Association. His brother, Thomas, had already served as superintendent for the organization’s school and soon Cardozo followed in his footsteps. As superintendent, Cardozo reestablished the school as the Avery Normal Institute. The Avery Normal Institute was a free secondary school for African-Americans. The school’s primary focus was to train educators. Today, Avery Normal Institute is part of the College of Charleston. Politics In 1868, Cardozo served as a delegate at the South Carolina constitutional convention. Serving as the chair of the education committee, Cardozo lobbied for integrated public schools. That same year, Cardozo was elected as secretary of state and became the first African-American to hold such a position. Through his influence, Cardozo was instrumental in reforming the South Carolina Land Commission by distributing land to former enslaved African-Americans. In 1872, Cardozo was elected as state treasurer. However, legislators decided to impeach Cardozo for his refusal to cooperate with corrupt politicians in 1874. Cardozo was reelected to this position twice. Resignation and Conspiracy Charges When federal troops were withdrawn from Southern states in 1877 and the Democrats regained control of state government, Cardozo was pushed to resign from office. That same year Cardozo was prosecuted for conspiracy. Although evidence found was not conclusive, Cardozo was still found guilty. He served almost a year in prison. Two years later, Governor William Dunlap Simpson pardoned Cardozo. Following the pardon, Cardozo relocated to Washington DC where he held a position with the Treasury Department. Educator In 1884, Cardozo became the principal of the Colored Preparatory High School in Washington DC. Under Cardozo’s tutelage, the school instituted a business curriculum and became one of the most outstanding schools for African-American students. Cardozo retired in 1896. Personal Life While serving as pastor of Temple Street Congregational Church, Cardozo married Catherine Rowena Howell. The couple had six children. Death Cardozo died in 1903 in Washington DC. Legacy Cardozo Senior High School in the northwest section of Washington DC is named in Cardozo’s honor.

Film Noir Scorsese and fhe Gangster Film Movie Review

Film Noir Scorsese and fhe Gangster Film - Movie Review Example The Maltese Falcon is considered to be one of the key films cementing the genre in the respect of the public, as well as establishing its archetypes. The end result has been such quintessential crime films as Scar Face, The God Father, The Departed and the most recent American Gangster. These films are notorious for depicting East inner city life, and no director has become more known for this than Martin Scorsese. No New York director has more authentically imbedded New York ideals into popular culture than Martin Scorsese. Classified as a contemporary auteur he has carved a niche as a New York Hollywood director. The auteur theory protests that the director's films reflect the particular director's personal creative vision, as though he or she were the sole author of the work. The French word for author, many film producers have notably been credited for having auteur like influences on film projects. It has also had a major impact on film criticism, since it was erected by film director and critic Francois Truffaut in 1954. This is partly why Auteurism is most immediately connected with French New Wave. This of course, was a connection made most commonly in the mid 1950's to 60's before American filmmakers embodied the theory. Today, no contemporary American director more deserves the title of auteur than Martin Scorsese. He has presented his genuine Italian New York culture in such an auth entic way that, for so long, it is unclear whether his work is a reflection of the city, or the city is a reflection of his work. Martin Scorsese is the perfect example of an auteur because he uses the same thematic consistencies throughout all of his work. These entail Catholicism, virgin/whore conflict, redemption, ethnic pride, and of course crime culture. On top of this, he supports all of his plots with very eclectic soundtracks. The cinematography he uses is very similar in all of his films. He utilizes the fluid motion of the camera with each shot, while making the mis-en-scene of each frame valuable to the plot of the story. He is also know for using some of the same actors in his films, specifically Robert Deniro, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel. Of his large body of work, Mean Street symbolizes the blue print to the archetype that has become his unique style (Raymond, 2002). It was his first film and it contains all of the key characteristics with which he modeled his style. Scorsese has a visual style that relies on the city of New York. Mean Street embodies the culture that comes with this location. In the film, the audience is subjected to getting to know characters who spend their time womanizing, hustling, fighting, and drinking. Centered on the struggles of four men in their mid-20's and all residents of Little Italy, who are working their way up the rungs of gangster culture, some are loan sharks, and some are just plain hoods. Tony (David Proval) is a big friendly guy who runs the neighborhood bar; Michael (Richard Romanus) is a small-time loan shark who tends to rip off Brooklyn adolescents. Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro) is an irresponsible hood who borrows money from loan sharks that he never intends to pay back, and Charlie (Harvey Keitel) is the nephew of the mafia boss Giovani (Cesar Danova). Charlie's only aspiration is to run his own restaurant. Mean