Foundation and Empire 24. Convert

The thin life of Trantor trickled to nothing when they entered among the wide-spaced buildings of the University grounds. There was a solemn and lonely silence over it. The strangers of the Foundation knew nothing of the swirling days and nights of the bloody Sack that had left the University untouched. They knew nothing of the time after the collapse of the Imperial power, when the students, with their borrowed weapons, and their pale-faced inexperienced bravery, formed a protective volunteer army to protect the central shrine of the science of the Galaxy. They knew nothing of the Seven Days Fight, and the armistice that kept the University free, when even the Imperial palace clanged with the boots of Gilmer and his soldiers, during the short interval of their rule. Those of the Foundation, approaching for the first time, realized only that in a world of transition from a gutted old to a strenuous new this area was a quiet, graceful museum-piece of ancient greatness. They were intruders in a sense. The brooding emptiness rejected them. The academic atmosphere seemed still to live and to stir angrily at the disturbance. The library was a deceptively small building which broadened out vastly underground into a mammoth volume of silence and reverie. Ebling Mis paused before the elaborate murals of the reception room. He whispered – one had to whisper here: â€Å"I think we passed the catalog rooms back a way. I'll stop there.† His forehead was flushed, his hand trembling, â€Å"I mustn't be disturbed, Toran. Will you bring my meals down to me?† â€Å"Anything you say. We'll do all we can to help. Do you want us to work under you-â€Å" â€Å"No. I must be alone-â€Å" â€Å"You think you will get what you want.† And Ebling Mis replied with a soft certainty, â€Å"I know I will!† Toran and Bayta came closer to â€Å"setting up housekeeping† in normal fashion than at any time in their year of married life. It was a strange sort of â€Å"housekeeping.† They lived in the middle of grandeur with an inappropriate simplicity. Their food was drawn largely from Lee Senter's farm and was paid for in the little nuclear gadgets that may be found on any Trader's ship. Magnifico taught himself how to use the projectors in the library reading room, and sat over adventure novels and romances to the point where he was almost as forgetful of meals and sleep as was Ebling Mis. Ebling himself was completely buried. He had insisted on a hammock being slung up for him in the Psychology Reference Room. His face grew thin and white. His vigor of speech was lost and his favorite curses had died a mild death. There were times when the recognition of either Toran or Bayta seemed a struggle. He was more himself with Magnifico who brought him his meals and often sat watching him for hours at a time, with a queer, fascinated absorption, as the aging psychologist transcribed endless equations, cross-referred to endless book-films, scurried endlessly about in a wild mental effort towards an end he alone saw. Toran came upon her in the darkened room, and said sharply, â€Å"Bayta!† Bayta started guiltily. â€Å"Yes? You want me, Torie?† â€Å"Sure I want you. What in Space are you sitting there for? You've been acting all wrong since we got to Trantor. What's the matter with you?† â€Å"Oh, Torie, stop,† she said, wearily. And â€Å"Oh, Torie, stop!† he mimicked impatiently. Then, with sudden softness, â€Å"Won't you tell me what's wrong, Bay? Something's bothering you.† â€Å"No! Nothing is, Torie. If you keep on just nagging and nagging, you'll have me mad. I'm just – thinking.† â€Å"Thinking about what?† â€Å"About nothing. Well, about the Mule, and Haven, and the Foundation, and everything. About Ebling Mis and whether he'll find anything about the Second Foundation, and whether it will help us when he does find it – and a million other things. Are you satisfied?† Her voice was agitated. â€Å"If you're just brooding, do you mind stopping? It isn't pleasant and it doesn't help the situation.† Bayta got to her feet and smiled weakly. â€Å"All right. I'm happy. See, I'm smiling and jolly. â€Å" Magnifico's voice was an agitated cry outside. â€Å"My lady-â€Å" â€Å"What is it? Come-â€Å" Bayta's voice choked off sharply when the opening door framed the large, hard-faced- â€Å"Pritcher,† cried Toran. Bayta gasped, â€Å"Captain! How did you find us?† Han Pritcher stepped inside. His voice was clear and level, and utterly dead of feeling, â€Å"My rank is colonel now – under the Mule.† â€Å"Under the†¦ Mule!† Toran's voice trailed off. They formed a tableau there, the three. Magnifico stared wildly and shrank behind Toran. Nobody stopped to notice him. Bayta said, her hands trembling in each other's tight grasp, â€Å"You are arresting us? You have really gone over to them?† The colonel replied quickly, â€Å"I have not come to arrest you. My instructions make no mention of you. With regard to you, I am free, and I choose to exercise our old friendship, if you will let me.† Toran's face was a twisted suppression of fury, â€Å"How did you find us? You were in the Filian ship, then? You followed us?† The wooden lack of expression on Pritcher's face might have flickered in embarrassment. â€Å"I was on the Filian ship! I met you in the first place†¦ well†¦ by chance.† â€Å"It is a chance that is mathematically impossible.† â€Å"No. Simply rather improbable, so my statement will have to stand. In any case, you admitted to the. Filians – there is, of course, no such nation as Filia actually – that you were heading for the Trantor sector, and since the Mule already had his contacts upon Neotrantor, it was easy to have you detained there. Unfortunately, you got away before I arrived, but not long before. I had time to have the farms on Trantor ordered to report your arrival. It was done and I am here. May I sit down? I come in friendliness, believe me. He sat. Toran bent his head and thought futilely. With a numbed lack of emotion, Bayta prepared tea. Toran looked up harshly. â€Å"Well, what are you waiting for – colonel? What's your friendship? If it's not arrest, what is it then? Protective custody? Call in your men and give your orders.† Patiently, Pritcher shook his head. â€Å"No, Toran. I come of my own will to speak to you, to persuade you of the uselessness of what you are doing. If I fail I shall leave. That is all.† â€Å"That is all? Well, then peddle your propaganda, give us your speech, and leave. I don't want any tea, Bayta.† Pritcher accepted a cup, with a grave word of thanks. He looked at Toran with a clear strength as he sipped lightly. Then he said, â€Å"The Mule is a mutant. He can not be beaten in the very nature of the mutation-â€Å" â€Å"Why? What is the mutation?† asked Toran, with sour humor. â€Å"I suppose you'll tell us now, eh?† â€Å"Yes, I will. Your knowledge won't hurt him. You see – he is capable of adjusting the emotional balance of human beings. It sounds like a little trick, but it's quite unbeatable.† Bayta broke in, â€Å"The emotional balance?† She frowned, â€Å"Won't you explain that? I don't quite understand.† â€Å"I mean that it is an easy matter for him to instill into a capable general, say, the emotion of utter loyalty to the Mule and complete belief in the Mule's victory. His generals are emotionally controlled. They can not betray him; they can not weaken – and the control is permanent. His most capable enemies become his most faithful subordinates, The warlord of Kalgan surrenders his planet and becomes his viceroy for the Foundation.† â€Å"And you,† added Bayta, bitterly, â€Å"betray your cause and become Mule's envoy to Trantor. I see!† â€Å"I haven't finished. The Mule's gift works in reverse even more effectively. Despair is an emotion! At the crucial moment, keymen on the Foundation – keymen on Haven – despaired. Their worlds fell without too much struggle.† â€Å"Do you mean to say,† demanded Bayta, tensely, â€Å"that the feeling I had in the Time Vault was the Mule juggling my emotional control.† â€Å"Mine, too. Everyone's. How was it on Haven towards the end?† Bayta turned away. Colonel Pritcher continued earnestly, â€Å"As it works for worlds, so it works for individuals. Can you fight a force which can make you surrender willingly when it so desires; can make you a faithful servant when it so desires?† Toran said slowly, â€Å"How do I know this is the truth?† â€Å"Can you explain the fall of the Foundation and of Haven otherwise? Can you explain my conversion otherwise? Think, man! What have you – or I – or the whole Galaxy accomplished against the Mule in all this time? What one little thing?† Toran felt the challenge, â€Å"By the Galaxy, I can!† With a sudden touch of fierce satisfaction, he shouted, â€Å"Your wonderful Mule had contacts with Neotrantor you say that were to have detained us, eh? Those contacts are dead or worse. We killed the crown prince and left the other a whimpering idiot. The Mule did not stop us there, and that much has been undone.† â€Å"Why, no, not at all. Those weren't our men. The crown prince was a wine-soaked mediocrity. The other man, Commason, is phenomenally stupid. He was a power on his world but that didn't prevent him from being vicious, evil, and completely incompetent. We had nothing really to do with them. They were, in a sense, merely feints-â€Å" â€Å"It was they who detained us, or tried.† â€Å"Again, no. Commason had a personal slave – a man called Inchney. Detention was his policy. He is old, but will serve our temporary purpose. You would not have killed him, you see.† Bayta whirled on him. She had not touched her own tea. â€Å"But, by your very statement, your own emotions have been tampered with. You've got faith and belief in the Mule, an unnatural, a diseased faith in the Mule. Of what value are your opinions? You've lost all power of objective thought.† â€Å"You are wrong.† Slowly, the colonel shook his head. â€Å"Only my emotions are fixed. My reason is as it always was. It may be influenced in a certain direction by my conditioned emotions, but it is not forced. And there are some things I can see more clearly now that I am freed of my earlier emotional trend. â€Å"I can see that the Mule's program is an intelligent and worthy one. In the time since I have been – converted, I have followed his career from its start seven years ago. With his mutant mental power, he began by winning over a condottiere and his band. With that – and his power – he won a planet. With that – and his power – he extended his grip until he could tackle the warlord of Kalgan. Each step followed the other logically. With Kalgan in his pocket, he had a first-class fleet, and with that – and his power – he could attack the Foundation. â€Å"The Foundation is the key. It is the greatest area of industrial concentration in the Galaxy, and now that the nuclear techniques of the Foundation are in his hands, he is the actual master of the Galaxy. With those techniques – and his power – he can force the remnants of the Empire to acknowledge his rule, and eventually – with the death of the old emperor, who is mad and not long for this world – to crown him emperor. He will then have the name as well as the fact. With that – and his power – where is the world in the Galaxy that can oppose him? â€Å"In these last seven years, he has established a new Empire. In seven years, in other words, he will have accomplished what all Seldon's psychohistory could not have done in less than an additional seven hundred. The Galaxy will have peace and order at last. â€Å"And you could not stop it – any more than you could stop a planet's rush with your shoulders.† A long silence followed Pritcher's speech. What remained of his tea had grown cold. He emptied his cup, filled it again, and drained it slowly. Toran bit viciously at a thumbnail. Bayta's face was cold, and distant, and white. Then Bayta said in a thin voice, â€Å"We are not convinced. If the Mule wishes us to be, let him come here and condition us himself. You fought him until the last moment of your conversion, I imagine, didn't you?† â€Å"I did,† said Colonel Pritcher, solemnly. â€Å"Then allow us the same privilege.† Colonel Pritcher arose. With a crisp air of finality, he said, â€Å"Then I leave. As I said earlier, my mission at present concerns you in no way. Therefore, I don't think it will be necessary to report your presence here. That is not too great a kindness. If the Mule wishes you stopped, he no doubt has other men assigned to the job, and you will be stopped. But, for what it is worth, I shall not contribute more than my requirement.† â€Å"Thank you,† said Bayta faintly. â€Å"As for Magnifico. Where is he? Come out, Magnifico, I won't hurt you-â€Å" â€Å"What about him?† demanded Bayta, with sudden animation. â€Å"Nothing. My instructions make no mention of him, either. I have heard that he is searched for, but the Mule will find him when the time suits him. I shall say nothing. Will you shake hands?† Bayta shook her head. Toran glared his frustrated contempt. There was the slightest lowering of the colonel's iron shoulders. He strode to the door, turned and said: â€Å"One last thing. Don't think I am not aware of the source of your stubbornness. It is known that you search for the Second Foundation. The Mule, in his time, will take his measures. Nothing will help you – But I knew you in other times; perhaps there is something in my conscience that urged me to this; at any rate, I tried to help you and remove you from the final danger before it was too late. Good-by.† He saluted sharply – and was gone. Bayta turned to a silent Toran, and whispered, â€Å"They even know about the Second Foundation.† In the recesses of the library, Ebling Mis, unaware of all, crouched under the one spark of light amid the murky spaces and mumbled triumphantly to himself.

Mutagen

Quantification of a Mutagen: Tobacco By Selenia Lopez November 30, 2012 Section 44 Abstract: Tobacco is commonly used and kills millions until this day. Tobacco is a potential mutagen due to all the chemicals added. The spot overlay Ames test was conducted to test at what concentration of tobacco was it at the most mutagenic. The hypothesis of this experiment was as the concentration of tobacco increases, the growth of bacteria increases. The control for this experiment had a UV positive and a UV negative. Four different tobacco concentrations, Salmonella Typhimurium of strain 1538 were incubated for 24-72 hours to observe bacterial growth.At a 100% bacterial growth was at its greatest number of colonization and at 5% the mutagen was at its least. These results reflected that tobacco has the ability to grow without histidine making it a mutagen and at which concentration was it the most mutagenic. Intro: A mutagen is a substance which increases the frequency of mutation in a plant or animal population, which can lead to a variety of consequences or alterations in the DNA structure (Ligorio, Izzotti, Pulliero, Arrigo 2011). Salmonella being a mutagen can cause mutations such as substitution, insertion, deletion and frame shift depending on the strain.S. typhimurium carries a defective gene making it unable to synthesize histidine from its culture medium. Some types of mutations can be reversed with the gene regaining its function. Tobacco having lots of chemicals with possibility of being mutagenic is known to kill an estimated six million people worldwide each year and drains $500 billion annually. It can be consumed as a pesticide and in the form of nicotine tartrate. It is sometimes used in some medicines, but most commonly used as a drug. The use of Ames test is based on the assumption that any substance that is mutagenic. For this eason the FDA uses the Ames test to screen many chemicals to measures the mutagenic strength in bacterial cells (FDA 2012). In t his experiment to test whether tobacco is mutagenic and if so at what concentration has the greatest bacterial growth. The spot overlay Ames test was conducted. Though it’s a cheap version of the Ames test, the result were still compatible. The hypothesis of this experiment was as the concentration of tobacco increases, the growth increases. The greatest growth should occur in the 100% concentration and the least in the 5% concentration. Methods and materials:The control for the experiment was an Agar plate that had a UV positive reactant with a known mutagen, and UV negative reactant that hasn’t been reactant with anything. With a micro pipette that amounted to 250ul, strain TA 1538 of Salmonella was Obtained and placed on to the Agar plate and spread with a sterilized rod. The four paper discs that have been soaked in the 5%, 25%, 50%, and 100% of tobacco concentration were placed spaced apart on the plate. The plate was sealed and place it in the incubator at 37 deg ree for 24-72 hours. Results: Table 1: The table shows the concentration of mutagens to the number of colonies observed.Concentrations | Colonies | 100% | 39 | 50% | 13 | 25% | 8 | 5% | 2 | The control resulted in the UV positive having growth and the UV negative having none at all. At a 100% bacterial growth was at its greatest number of colonization at 39. At 5% the mutagen was at its least with only 2 colonies. Discussion: The mutagenic effect of the chemical has caused many bacteria to regain the ability to grow without histidine in tobacco, causing the formation of the colonies seen around the disc (Pounikar and Dawande 2010). Not only is a tobacco a mutagen, but colony growth increased as the concentration increased.The hypothesis was supported according to the data show in the table. Even though the disc were slightly shifted. The numbers were still attainable. The 100% concentration had the highest bacterial colonization and the 5% concentration had the least as predicted. I n future experiments, more trials can be done. In order to make sure the results will remain the same every time; or using other mutagens to see how they react in the 100% concentration. This type of experiment can also be useful in finding out whether smoking tobacco or chewing tobacco is more mutagenic or if the different brands make a difference on how mutagenic they can be.Works Cited Asiatic Journal of Biotechnology Resources: Pounikar, R and Dawande, A. Y. (2010). Detection of potential carcinogens by Ames test. Doi: 01: 57-64. Department of Health Sciences: Ligorion M, Izzotti A, Pulliero A, and Arrigo P. (2011) Mutagens interfere with microRNA maturation by inhibiting DICER. An in silico biology analysis. Doi: 10. 1016 www. FDA. gov: Li Y, Yan J, Bishop M, Jones MY, Watanabe F, Biris AS, Rice P, Zhou T, Chen T. (2011) Genotoxicity evaluation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles using the Ames test and Comet assay. Mutagen Quantification of a Mutagen: Tobacco By Selenia Lopez November 30, 2012 Section 44 Abstract: Tobacco is commonly used and kills millions until this day. Tobacco is a potential mutagen due to all the chemicals added. The spot overlay Ames test was conducted to test at what concentration of tobacco was it at the most mutagenic. The hypothesis of this experiment was as the concentration of tobacco increases, the growth of bacteria increases. The control for this experiment had a UV positive and a UV negative. Four different tobacco concentrations, Salmonella Typhimurium of strain 1538 were incubated for 24-72 hours to observe bacterial growth.At a 100% bacterial growth was at its greatest number of colonization and at 5% the mutagen was at its least. These results reflected that tobacco has the ability to grow without histidine making it a mutagen and at which concentration was it the most mutagenic. Intro: A mutagen is a substance which increases the frequency of mutation in a plant or animal population, which can lead to a variety of consequences or alterations in the DNA structure (Ligorio, Izzotti, Pulliero, Arrigo 2011). Salmonella being a mutagen can cause mutations such as substitution, insertion, deletion and frame shift depending on the strain.S. typhimurium carries a defective gene making it unable to synthesize histidine from its culture medium. Some types of mutations can be reversed with the gene regaining its function. Tobacco having lots of chemicals with possibility of being mutagenic is known to kill an estimated six million people worldwide each year and drains $500 billion annually. It can be consumed as a pesticide and in the form of nicotine tartrate. It is sometimes used in some medicines, but most commonly used as a drug. The use of Ames test is based on the assumption that any substance that is mutagenic. For this eason the FDA uses the Ames test to screen many chemicals to measures the mutagenic strength in bacterial cells (FDA 2012). In t his experiment to test whether tobacco is mutagenic and if so at what concentration has the greatest bacterial growth. The spot overlay Ames test was conducted. Though it’s a cheap version of the Ames test, the result were still compatible. The hypothesis of this experiment was as the concentration of tobacco increases, the growth increases. The greatest growth should occur in the 100% concentration and the least in the 5% concentration. Methods and materials:The control for the experiment was an Agar plate that had a UV positive reactant with a known mutagen, and UV negative reactant that hasn’t been reactant with anything. With a micro pipette that amounted to 250ul, strain TA 1538 of Salmonella was Obtained and placed on to the Agar plate and spread with a sterilized rod. The four paper discs that have been soaked in the 5%, 25%, 50%, and 100% of tobacco concentration were placed spaced apart on the plate. The plate was sealed and place it in the incubator at 37 deg ree for 24-72 hours. Results: Table 1: The table shows the concentration of mutagens to the number of colonies observed.Concentrations | Colonies | 100% | 39 | 50% | 13 | 25% | 8 | 5% | 2 | The control resulted in the UV positive having growth and the UV negative having none at all. At a 100% bacterial growth was at its greatest number of colonization at 39. At 5% the mutagen was at its least with only 2 colonies. Discussion: The mutagenic effect of the chemical has caused many bacteria to regain the ability to grow without histidine in tobacco, causing the formation of the colonies seen around the disc (Pounikar and Dawande 2010). Not only is a tobacco a mutagen, but colony growth increased as the concentration increased.The hypothesis was supported according to the data show in the table. Even though the disc were slightly shifted. The numbers were still attainable. The 100% concentration had the highest bacterial colonization and the 5% concentration had the least as predicted. I n future experiments, more trials can be done. In order to make sure the results will remain the same every time; or using other mutagens to see how they react in the 100% concentration. This type of experiment can also be useful in finding out whether smoking tobacco or chewing tobacco is more mutagenic or if the different brands make a difference on how mutagenic they can be.Works Cited Asiatic Journal of Biotechnology Resources: Pounikar, R and Dawande, A. Y. (2010). Detection of potential carcinogens by Ames test. Doi: 01: 57-64. Department of Health Sciences: Ligorion M, Izzotti A, Pulliero A, and Arrigo P. (2011) Mutagens interfere with microRNA maturation by inhibiting DICER. An in silico biology analysis. Doi: 10. 1016 www. FDA. gov: Li Y, Yan J, Bishop M, Jones MY, Watanabe F, Biris AS, Rice P, Zhou T, Chen T. (2011) Genotoxicity evaluation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles using the Ames test and Comet assay.

Captain Corellis Mandolin Essay Example for Free

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin Essay Carlo asserts â€Å"War is a wonderful thing, in movies and in books.† By close reference to the novel, explore how war shows people at their worst and their best. The novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, written by Louis De Bernieres in 1994, explores â€Å"humanity; we sigh at their suffering as they are ripped apart and forever changed by war.†1 The quotation in the title is spoken by Carlo quite early on in the novel, at the end of chapter 15, titled ‘L’Omosessuale (4)’. He is referring to the idea that war is repeatedly shown to be patriotic, heroic, and indeed wonderful especially in film and literature. However, from Carlos’ experiences in Albania, he knows the true reality of war, as he has seen and experienced the suffering. We can trace Carlos’ progression of thought through his personal chapters; all entitled ‘L’Omosessuale’. He begins saying, â€Å"How wonderful it was to be at this war†(p.119) We hear him describe crossing the foreign border as â€Å"exhilarating†, and he and his comrades view themselves as â€Å"the new legionaries of the new empire that would last ten thousand years.†(p.119) This was his view at the very beginning of war, before he had really experienced any suffering. As he is yet to encounter any conflict, it is likely he has been influenced by the propaganda at the time, organised by the Italian leader, Mussolini. The next quotation is said slightly further on during Carlos’ experience, â€Å"How wonderful it was to be at war, until the weather turned against us.†(p.120) It is here that we begin to hear of some of the suffering that Carlo and his comrades had to endure, such as â€Å"we were ten thousand men soaked to the bone†(p.120). The real tragedy of war is death, and Carlo has had direct experience of this. He says, â€Å"War is wonderful until someone is killed†(p.122). This is when De Bernieres chooses to use graphic images to show the suffering that Carlo and his comrades endure. â€Å"I realised that I was covered with gory scraps of human flesh that were freezing fast to my uniform†(p.122). Finally, Carlo says the quotation in the title, â€Å"War is a wonderful thing, in movies and in books† on page 124. It is here that Carlo has realised the actuality of war, and can see that this idealised version is fictitious and can only be seen in movie and in books. â€Å"War scorches a trail through all of their lives. What seems, at the beginning of the novel, like a game, a challenge to manhood, a matter of honour, an occasion for political satire, becomes an appalling reality.2 Carlo asserts that war is shown to be wonderful in movies and in books. However, De Bernieres does not follow this trend, and shows the war for what it is. De Bernieres’ characters starve and die slowly with their entrails hanging out; he depicts the horror that they have to endure to fight for their country, and the suffering that they are put through. â€Å"It was as though a portion of my mind has disappeared, or as though my soul had diminished to a tiny point of grey light†(p.138). De Bernieres also shows the gore and bloodshed caused by the war, when he describes the death of Francesco. In chapter 19, L’Omosessuale (6), De Bernieres uses Carlo’s narrative to tell the reader the true details of Francesco’s death, and then the sanitised version for his mother. As well as this showing Carlos’ considerate nature, it also confirms that many people did view the war in a very different light from its reality, including Francesco’s mother. â€Å"He died on a fine day, Signora, with the sun shining and the birds singing.† â€Å"(He died on a day when the snow was melting and when, beneath that carapace, there were emerging a thousand corpses, knapsacks, rusted riffles, water bottles, illegible unfinished letters drenched in blood)† (p.148). Corelli wrote the novel, after falling in love with the Island of Cephallonia, and wanting to inform readers about what happened to this Island during World War II. For this reason, he has depicted a very real and veritable account of atrocities that occurred during the Second World War. â€Å"Everyone is shot, without regard for rank or role, even the medics and the chaplains.†3 However, in the film adaptation of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, directed by John Madden, war is viewed in a very different light. De Bernieres has said of the film â€Å"The problem is that film-makers take out all your good ideas and replace them with a load of stupid ones.†4 The depiction of war in the film is very different and many scenes seem to have been â€Å"watered down†5, in order to appeal to far wider audience. The movie has been widely criticised, after changing the story line drastically from a tragic story of the destruction and consequences of war, to a love story between Corelli and Pelagia. â€Å"Where de Bernià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½res’ book makes it clear from the start that war is unforgivingly ugly, for a long time the film’s only hint of this is a glimpse of Mandras’s battle-scarred feet.†6 Although much of De Bernieres novel depicts the horror of war, some of the consequences of war are indeed wonderful. Corelli and Pelagia would have never found love without the intervention of war in their lives, and although ultimately war destroys their love, the moments spent together made the war endurable. The prefatory poem at the beginning on the novel shows Louis De Bernieres hinting, even before the novel has begun, that war will be an important theme throughout. ‘The Soldier’ by Humbert Wolfe describes the waste of war, and the loss of lives and of youth. Links are evident between this poem and Captain Corelli’s mandolin as they both explore the way in which war has an effect on different people. The presence of war on the Island of Cephallonia has various effects on different characters and can expose people’s flaws and merits. An excellent example of this is the contrast shown between Mandras and Antonio Corelli. Corelli has been drawn into a war that he really has no heart for. â€Å"You mean you’re a soldier by mistake?† (p. 206, Pelagia). He has no desires to be a soldier and his character is often seen as anti-military. When giving punishments he does not follow the rules that are expected of him, â€Å"To everyone’s surprise the captain pointed his pistol straight into the face of one of the culprits†(p.324). However, although he had no intention of doing so, Corelli proves to be an excellent comrade and shows morality throughout the war. â€Å"This is my morality, I make myself imagine that it is personal†(p.351). This is greatly contrasted with the character of Mandras. He has very high expectations about the life of a soldier and feels he has to prove himself to Pelagia and the rest of the Island. He resents those who know more than him, yet does not want to prove himself intellectually, as he believes â€Å"no man is a man until he has been a soldier†(p.80) Carlos’ assertion that war is wonderful in movies and in books reflects a idealised view of the war. However, Mandras believes that this view was the reality of war and he felt that becoming a soldier would make him more worthy as a man. â€Å"I’ll come back and everyone will say, That’s Mandras, who fought in the war. We owe everything to people like him.† He is indoctrinated by what is expected of him, and is predicted to conform. However high Mandras’ expectations were, the war does not elevate him, it brings him down. During his experiences in war he saw others abuse their power, and now feels he has a right to do the same, The war de-humanises him, and instead of changing him for the better it changes him for the worse. The war in Cephallonia showed the best and the worst in people. In Antonio Corelli’s case it displays his merits as he has the opportunity to exercise his humanity in the treatment of others. From the beginning of the novel, Corelli is represented as a laid-back, light-hearted leader. Although he has a great talent as a leader, he is very modest and introduces Carlo as â€Å"one of our heroes, He has a hundred medals for saving life and none for taking it†(p.202). He proves himself as an excellent comrade and Captain by being faithful to his men until the very end. â€Å"There is no honour in this war, but I have to be with my boys†(p.392). His introduction of La Scala also shows good comradeship, as it is a humorous and practical solution to having to use communal toilets. This is also a crucial element of the novel, as before they go to join the shooting line up, they sing to maintain their composure. He also shows his forgiving nature when he chooses to forgive Gunter for what he has done. â€Å"I forgive you. If I do not, who will?†(p.397). He says of himself â€Å"I am not a natural parasite†(p.305) and this is seen clearly when he avoids any confrontation with Pelagia. He is uncomfortable about living with Pelagia and her father â€Å"Tonight I shall sleep in the yard and tomorrow I shall request alternative accommodation†(p.204). Corelli’s fondness for animals is De Bernieres way of showing positive traits in a character. The fact that Corelli is so attached to Psipsina shows that he is an admirable man and the reader feel connected to him. â€Å"The captain had some engaging traits. He tied a cork to a piece of string, and sprinted about the house with Psipsina in hot pursuit†¦and if the animal happened to be sitting on a piece of music, he would go away and fetch another sheet rather than disturb her†(p.250) Corelli also shows fondness for children in his relationship with Lemoni. Although there is a language barrier, the two are able to communicate on a different level, and are able to enjoy each other’s company. â€Å"The child was whooping and laughing, and it appeared that what was transpiring was a lesson in Italian. ‘Bella fanciulla,’ the captain was saying. He was waiting for Lemoni to repeat it. ‘Bla fanshla,’ she giggled.† (p. 211) He also appears to have a very different attitude than other soldiers, when he arrives in Cephallonia with his mandolin strapped to his back, and not a gun, as you would expect from a soldier. The mandolin â€Å"that was called Antonia because it was the other half of himself.† This love for music is another engaging trait that the captain has, and is one of the reasons Pelagia falls in love with him. We also see this originality to his character when Gunter Weber, a german soldier, introduces himself. Weber says â€Å"Heil Hitler†, yet Corelli says â€Å"Heil Puccini†, showing he has a very different attitude to the war, and will not be led by anyone. This again shows his love for classical music, as Puccini was a great composer, whom Corelli was an admirer of. His relationship with Pelagia is clearly one of great love and admiration, however it also contains sexual desires, which are never consummated. â€Å"Such slender fingers, such pink nails. He imagined them engaged upon amorous and nocturnal things, and realised that he was disturbing Psipsina.†(p.259, Corelli) This shows ongoing respect for Pelagia and her father, and also shows Corelli’s caring and considerate temperament. In contrast to Corelli, the character Mandras is brutalised by war. He believes that war will change him for the better, yet it changes him for the worse. He becomes a victim of propaganda and a victim of his insecurities. Before he leaves for war he tells Pelagia â€Å"I’m a Greek†¦not a Fascist†(p.214) War changes him for the worse as he is very easily led and allows others to influence him. This may have had a positive effect on Mandras if he had chosen Iannis to guide him, yet he chooses Hector, the leader of a branch of the ELAS. Joining this group causes him to abandon his personal values, and this is seen when he whips the old man. â€Å"Mandras did not even notice that the man had stopped moving, had stopped screaming and whining†(p.233). He manages to blank out the emotions that he should be feeling, and begins to enjoy the power he holds over this old man. â€Å"If you didn’t think about what it was, it sounded weirdly beautiful†(p.234) After returning from the war, he becomes much more manipulative, especially towards Pelagia and Drosoula. â€Å"Mandras had begun his exile into inaccessibility by dramatising the idea of death†(p.180). Pelagia was â€Å"convinced that he was doing it on purpose as an act of vengeance or punishment.†(p.180). This shows a very cruel side to Mandras that we have never seen before, and it clearly takes the war to bring out this negative side of his character. He has clearly been indoctrinated by the propaganda of the war, and this is seen in chapter 63, when he recites communist slogans. â€Å"The party is never wrong. Whoever is not with us is against us†(p.447) He does not seem to be questioning what he has been told, he just repeats it. He has experienced others abusing their power during his time with the ELAS and now sees this as an approved way of behaving. â€Å"De Bernià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½res explores power and its abuse†7 He insults and belittles Pelagia after he returns from fighting and tortures her further, even though he should see that she has suffered enough during the war. De Bernieres shows a side to Mandras that readers have never seen before. He represents him as evil and sadistic, and we see Mandras refer to Pelagia as a â€Å"slut†. His morals have disintegrated following his fighting with the ELAS, and feels that he can do whatever he wants. This is due to the fact that the ELAS would make up their own rules for their comrades to follow. The war de-humanises Mandras and he represents the damage that can be inflicted by extreme politics. In Mandras’ death, De Bernieres wants readers to feel pity for him, as it is clear the communist party has seriously indoctrinated him. He dies as a victim of the war, and a desire to prove himself worthy, and this also evokes compassion in the reader Carlo is a character in the novel who shows how war can bring out the best in people. He is a very honourable character, and has to live with the secret that he is homosexual. He puts aside his desire for Corelli in order to help the romance between Pelagia and Corelli develop. â€Å"I have loved you with the same surprise and gratitude that I see in your own eyes when you are with Pelagia†(p.384). He shows true bravery in front of the firing squad when stepping in front of Corelli to save his life. â€Å"Antonio Corelli†¦had found in front of him the titanic bulk of Carlo Guercio†(p.399). De Bernieres uses Carlo’s narrative in the chapters entitled L’Omosessuale, and this allows the readers to sympathise further with the silent suffering that Carlo has to endure during the war. His writings are eloquently written and his language is poetic and beautiful, showing the gentle side to his character. â€Å"He died on a fine day, Signora, with the sun shining and the birds singing.†(P.148, Carlo) â€Å"Father Arsenios was saved by the war†(p.292). De Bernieres absolves Arsenios after the war and liberates him from his former self. However, the characters perceive him as a mad man and cannot see that war has brought about his finest hour. He is referred to as the â€Å"crazy priest† yet he feels he is a saviour and â€Å"it is probable that, had he lived, Arsenios might have become a saint†(p.295). De Bernieres chooses to depict war in a graphic and realistic light in his novel, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Although in many films or books war is shown to be wonderful, this idealised version is proved wrong in De Bernieres novel, as he shows the suffering that the soldiers were forced to endure. He shows that the war has different effects on different people, and it can expose their faults or their merits. Mandras is forever changed by the war, as he returns indoctrinated by the communist party. His death proves that his natural environment is the sea, where he can be accepted and does not have to prove himself. In contrast Corelli’s merits are shown to be more prominent as the war develops, and also as his love for Pelagia develops. The reader is drawn to the character of Corelli, even though he is an occupying soldier, as he shows compassion, kindness and respect during his time in Cephallonia. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. (2017, Aug 23). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

The topic of the paper will focus on a criminal case that has been Research

The topic of the will focus on a criminal case that has been adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court and has implications on the criminal justice system - Research Paper Example Immediately the defendant is arrested, pretrial interviews and investigations are conducted by the prosecution. The defendant is then brought before the jury, where the judge informs him of the charges against him. The judge determines whether the defendant should be held in jail or released on conditions during the first appearance (â€Å"Supreme Court of the United States,† 2010). Before the actual trial, the defendant goes into a plea to the charges in a hearing referred to as an arraignment. During the arraignment, if the defendant pleads â€Å"guilty† then he awaits to be sentenced, but if he pleads â€Å"not guilty† the defendant will stand trial. In the criminal cases, the burden of proof rests on the state. A perfect example of a criminal case is the case of Vincent Cullen v. Scott Lynn Pinholster. In 8th January 1982, Scott Pinholster Brown and Corona were accused of breaking into Kumar’s house in the night and viciously beating and killing two men who interrupted the burglary. The two victims killed were Kumar’s friends who arrived at the site, found out what was happening and threatened to call the police. However, before they could call the police, Pinholster attacked Beckett and Brown attacked Johnson stabbing them on the chest till death. As Corona was driving them away from the site, the two kept boosting how they had killed the victims and instructed corona not to speak about the robbery. At the apartment, they split the proceeds from the robbery and dispersed. Two weeks later, corona reported to the police and became the state’s first witness. Pinholster was arrested and charged with first degree murder. Pinholster refused to be defended and insisted that he would be his own witness. During the time in jail, the state mailed him informing him of the prosecution’s intent of using aggravating evidence against him in the trail (Hall, 1999). During the case, the court appointed Harry and Wilbur Dettmar to

General Sales Manager Role Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

General Sales Manager Role - Essay Example Being a good listener allows the leader to identify the mistakes or issues and develop ways to solve them. Followed by a good listener, effective communication skills should also be possessed by the leader which will ensure smooth flow of information and ideas among the employees. He should be result-oriented rather than goal-oriented. This will reflect in his decision taking ability. Few issues have been recognised prevailing in the Integrated Interiors Limited. The first and foremost issue is concerned with the supply chain. The unavailability and certain difficulties related to supply chain are being an important issue for the organisation. Apart from that, the antagonism and conflicts between the sales and operations departments have created another issue for the Integrated Interiors Limited. Furthermore, the sales team needs focusing and motivational activities by a leader. The absence of two Area Sales Managers (ASMs) has led to unsatisfactory results from the leadership, thus de-motivating the employees. Last but not the least, the old age group has become an issue for the company. Most of the sales people are over 50 years in the sales team. Certain recommendations to resolve the issues such as implementation of Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model in supply chain, inclusion of effective conflict management related system, inclusion of employees in sales target related decision making process and appointment of more youth in sales force have been made. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.Personnel Specification for the General Sales Manager Role 4 2.Four Primary Issues Concerning the Sales Operation 6 3.Recommendations for Solving Each Issues 8 3.1 First Issue Analysis and Recommendations 8 3.2 Second Issue Analysis and Recommendations 9 3.3Third Issue Analysis and Recommendations 10 3.4Fourth Issue Analysis and Recommendations 11 4.Timescales for Resolving the Issues 13 5. References 14 6.Bibliography 15 16 16 1. Personnel Specification for the General Sales Manager Role Recently, it has been recognised by the Managing Director of Integrated Interiors Limited Mary Hennasey that over the past year or more due to the ill health of Fred Staples, the Marketing Director of Integrated Interiors Limited, he has not been able to focus on the sales team. The Managing Director has reviewed the annual report t hat showed a sales dip of ?20m in the year 2009-2010. However, 2010-2011 annual report showed that the sales were ?395m, most of which have come from the general commercial sector, 65% and the rest 35% from the hotel sector. Thus, the decision of appointing an experienced leader for the role of General Sales Manager (GSM) who will be responsible for the activities of the sales team has been acknowledged. The GSM, who will be appointed, should have a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from a reputed university, specialising in sales. Preference would be given to people who have been appointed as Area Sales Manager in the same sector for more than 10 years. Following are the additional requirements that will add to the benefit of the candidate. One of the most important considerations will be given to the person who is a good listener. It is believed that a great leader has a good listening skill. With a great listening skill, the leader will be able to address any type of grievances that may arise among the employees. He should have the image to remain calm and welcome new ideas that in turn will motivate the employee (Kanu & Kanu, 2007). The communication level should be high when asking questions are concerned. It should follow just after listening to any type of queries. He should

DQ Responses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DQ Responses - Essay Example I perform critical thinking throughout this buying process. Eventually I found a computer that satisfied my needs and my budget constraint. Thinking outside the box involves generating ideas and finding solutions to problems in unusual places. For example a company that has done business domestically for 50 years, suddenly its manager thinks outside the box and introduces international expansion as a potential solution to achieve the desired sales growth. A person that thinks outside the box is open to possibilities others do not consider. A critical thinking technique that I utilized when making decisions is to put myself in the place of others and analyze what others would think of the decision. This technique helps me envision the different perspective that stakeholders would have and what the opinions of others might be regarding the different alternatives. A way to ensure that we have looked at a situation from every possible angle is to get more people involved in the thinking process. A group of six to eight people can be gathered to learn the opinions of others regarding the situation. A lot of minds will help a manager view different perspectives. A simple way to improve the decision making process is by allowing sufficient time before making a decision. A few years ago I worked in a start-up company that had a very cocky project manager. The PM was would get overly excited about insignificant issues. His overconfident hurt the company in the long run because he would make decisions that did not consider the effects the decision had on the employees and other stakeholders of the

Racial conflict Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Racial conflict - Research Paper Example The management of racial conflict has in the recent past turned out to be a severe challenge in the post-cold war era. Recent years has witnessed manifestation of racial conflicts in different ways including: intimidation, property vandalism, verbal threat, ethic/racial jokes, as well as physical violence. Racial conflicts have as well received infinite critics from various entities due to its long term harm to victims’ physical, psychological, social, and emotional wellbeing that is brought about by body mistreatment, verbal harm, and the impacts of consistent threats (Enrique189). It appears that, some of this racial unrest is brought about by inadvertent and intentional physical verbal and non-verbal actions. Racial conflict can be defined as a situation that explains either a misunderstanding or planned racial discrimination and harassment that leads to physical distress and interpersonal altercations in the affected population. Peaceful coexistence between different racia l groups is extremely critical for sustainable political, social, and economic development. Lack of peaceful coexistence amongst different racial group may lead to consistent racial tension, hostility, and conflicts that lead to destruction of properties and loss of lives. To necessitate global uniformed economic development and growth, maintenance of global peace is paramount and inevitable. All plays are therefore expected to step up and initiate mechanisms that can offset animosity experienced among different racial groups. Additionally, to realize the relevant change for social development, individuals ought to be committed toward bringing the required change in the society. The essay below therefore seeks to persuade individuals to take the necessary actions to actively defy racial conflict in the society. Due to racial conflicts, societies in different countries are divided; more that 20 million lives have so far been lost, future generation is as well at risk of extinction an d there is increased racial based hatred and fear in the world. Racial conflict has become a global economic development predicament that requires instant action to minimize its effect on the contemporary society. Based on the assessable global statistics, it is clear that, racial motivate conflicts occurs almost on daily bases in diverse social settings. In 2007, the world spent over $ 67 million to help racial conflict victims. In 2003, the United States of America’s Department of Justice received over 210,000 cases of racially motivated hate crimes in different states. The current statistics is a clear indication of elevating cases of racial conflict in a considerable number of the world society. Based on the current statistics, it is astonishing to understand that, a good percentage of modern racial instigated violence is more apparent among young people. For instance in 2005, the 21% of hate crime offenders in United States of America were under 18 years of age. Addition ally, most racial conflicts occur in learning institutions. Present statistics indicates that, over 64% of global conflicts in many learning institutions are motivated by nations of origin and race (Mitchell 621). By considering the fact , most of the racial conflict cases are common among young people, it is evident that, unless acute action is taken against racial conflict suspects, the menace is likely to be worse in the near future People vacating their homes due to racial conflicts in Italy Additionally, despite its daunting level, the accessible statistics may fail to present the actual cases of racial conflicts in different societies. This is due to the fact that, most of the available statistics is based on the reported cases. A good number of the affected

Critical Issue Paper Two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critical Issue Paper Two - Essay Example ted States homefront had a controlled economy wherein all aspects of the industrial and agricultural sector are managed for the interest of the national security. Production of houses, new automobiles and new appliances were stopped creating a shortage within the consumer market. Housing shortages, especially in the munitions center (industrial sections) of the country forced married couples to live with parents or any makeshift facilities. And since little housing was done during the Great Depression years prior to World War II, the home shortage problem grew worse till 1948. Incidentally, the â€Å"wartime efforts were focused on aircraft engines, army trucks and tanks.† Mass production for aircrafts, where the requirement was to build a thousand planes a day needed new methods and a larger less skilled workforce (composed of women workers), were implemented. Basic goods and commodities like meat, sugar, butter, coffee, gasoline, tires, shoes and clothing were rationed. Purchase of any desired item requires three (3) things, which are: 1) the store keeper must have the items; 2) the purchaser must have cash, and 3) the purchaser must have ration coupons. In general, the rationing activity was supported by the civilians, although black marketing activities existed. Black marketeers were usually hunted down and prosecuted for engaging in such activities that was considered illegal at that time. Rationing was necessary during the World War II at the United States homefront, because the needs of men and women who are serving abroad must be met and considered. Conservation of the aforementioned commodities and other basic items were significant factors for the overall success of the war efforts, since shipping capabilities were limited due to the conversion of public cargo ships to military use in order to aid the war efforts. Good paying jobs were available for anyone who liked to work, although salaries and wages were also controlled. Women joined the

A Review of Literature on How to Manage International Joint Venture - 1

A of on How to Manage International Joint Venture Successfully - Literature review Example This presents companies with greater opportunity to explore new foreign markets. IJV is an endeavor by a foreign firm to complement its product with local inputs and knowledge or in another case where the foreign firm has no right for property acquisition. Although IJVs have greater advantages, many severe problems appear to be intrinsic characteristics associated with poor IJV management. Many researches revealed that IJVs are volatile, hard to effectively manage and often fail especially when the venture is formed in a developing country. These researches stress that main reason for failure is inherent difficulties and tensions between the firms in managing the IJVs. Why Joint Ventures Fail Rond and Bouchikhi (2004) highlighted that this form of organization is quite challenging. In this context, cooperation as the main characteristic inherently required to defuse internal and external tensions. Hamel (1991) identifies the possibility of incompatibility with partner’s object ives resulting in conflict of resource priorities. This makes ventures prone to instability and ultimately to failure (Yan & Zeng, 1999). Many joint ventures are destined to failure because of following reasons:- Unrealistic Idea – In ideal scenario, companies form joint ventures because they do not have the required resources or expertise to undertake such efforts at their own. In fact, this form of partnership is more directed by risk sharing rather than resource sharing. Risks associated need to be evaluated because the risks identified by one firm prior to forming the venture would still be there and may not be mitigated by the cooperation of two firms turning into an unrealistic idea prone to failure. Inadequate Planning – Usually, there are no plans and what is available is a statement of intention or a form of memorandum of understanding describing the contribution and profit shares of both the firms. However, there lacks a proper plan for managing the venture, accomplishing the actual task and set the modalities of interaction and conflict resolution between the two firms. The plan must include:- The arrangement on which Joint Venture is based Future tax planning Both party’s contribution and obligation to provide resources Provisions for meeting the future needs Logistics planning Decision making and management Distribution of earned assets Issue and conflict resolution Conditions and provisions for conclusion Inadequate Capital Investment- Both parties usually allocate a fixed amount of budget that is deemed enough for the Joint Venture to meet its end objectives. However, costs overrun resulting in dispute and arguments. This necessitates thorough risk management planning and allocate contingency amount to cater for such situations. Lack of Leadership –In Joint Ventures, each party would like to act in leadership role to take control of situation and credit to itself. This may result in stalemate causing huge damage to ve ntures. Thus it is very critical to define in the beginning the roles and the mode for conduct of daily operations. Lack of Commitment – Companies usually expect huge and quick profits from a Joint Venture and when expectations are not realized, the parties begin to lose interest in the venture. Thus it is very

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Research Paper Example Consumers get enjoyment and pleasure from products and services as Norman moves to think about the objects. Norman’s thinking on objects’ design and his efforts to relate with users’ perception is highly remarkable but he misses the objects in the visual sense. Norman in his book also worked on the emotional designs. Norman’s expression about emotional design on the object is more influencing and motivating. Although he worked on emotional design of objects, but young ideas on the theoretical framework were problematic. For example, Norman focused on the positive and negative impacts, which were produced only at the visceral level and did not involve other two levels. However, in the later section, Norman added other two levels in it. Design of objects presented at three levels overlap with his discussion. Instead of these shortcomings, there is clear evidence on the integration of the emotional facades in the field. 2. THE PHILOSOPHER'S TOOL KIT II (Wittk ower) In most part of the book† iPod and philosophy: iCon of an ePoch† Wittkower (2008) discussed the iPod and Philosophy. People have different views about philosophy. However, the central theme of philosophy is about the people reflection that is gained through their experience. Philosophy enables people to think, invent and reply the questions of others. Popular culture is also shaped through a close association between computer engineering and computer science. A new design is developed based on the users’ needs and demands. Development of new and innovative things does not occur at once but according to demands of people. From Chapter â€Å"Philosophy by iPod: wisdom to the people† the importance of the iPod for the runners in current times and future is revealed. IPod contains music that is a source of entertainment for people of the present generation. With the changing requirements of users, the iPod will serve the consumers in the future in order t o access the information on philosophies and interviews of philosophers. IPod is too known as the â€Å"next generation book† because future demands of consumers are to keep the large number of books in their pockets. In the future, communication problems will be solved through enhancement in iPod. The conversion of iPod into iPhone is a major perceived development. Digital media players are also embedded in the iPod. IPod is a source of learning, communication and fun games for the users. Appearance of everything needs the new features of design, shape and color, as makers also desire to think about all these features. The beetle of Volkswagens and iMac are other examples for the toolkits for the future. 3. UNDERSTANDING MEDIA (Evans) Evans says: "Even when you aren't listening, people are talking about you." (p.54) You must participate in the dialogues. In the above statement Evans (2010) signals towards the online marketing that has become a phenomenon for enterprises for last many years. Author also emphasized on the presence of enterprises’ representatives for discussion in forums like social websites i.e. blogs, and companies’ websites. Social media is significant for the enterprises to attract their customers and audience through online forums. Now enterprises can convey the message to their consumers about their products regardless of their physical locations. Now customers give feedback and rate their interested companies through the social media. Need for financing the social media for

Employee Training and Career Development Essay Example for Free

Employee Training and Career Development Essay In this Employee Training and Career Development Paper a number of topics will be discussed pertaining to development. Explaining the role of training in an organizations development and describing different employee development methods and its benefits will be reviewed. The paper will address analyzing the relationship between employee and organizational development, as well as, describing the role of human resource management in career development. Resources for this information will come for the eBook; Fundamentals of human resources management text. Included in this paper will also be a reflection on the writers’ personal career development, and where they see themselves in 5 years. Along with it will be the writers’ opinion on how their present and/or future company can assist in their career development and if the company’s career development opportunities are sufficient. Bullet 2 Employee development is future oriented and concerned with the education of an employee rather than job training. By education, this means enhancing an employee’s ability to understand and interpret knowledge. Employee development focuses on personal growth to aid in the success of preparing for greater responsibility positions, have analytical, human, conceptual and specialized skill. There are three methods of employee development that will be reviewed; job rotation, assistant-to positions, and lecture coursed and seminars. Each of these methods are either on-the-job techniques or off-the-job techniques. Job Rotation involves moving employees throughout the company to different positions with the intent of expanding skills, knowledge and abilities. This  method can be done either horizontally or vertically. Job Rotation is a great method, its benefits such as broadening the employee’s exposure to the organizations operations, increasing experience, reducing boredom, and stimulating new ideas are excellent avenues to have within a company. This also allows management the opportunity to observe the employee for reliability. The Assistant-To Positions method is when employee’s with potential work under someone with a higher position in other areas of the organization. These employees may be staff assistants or serve on a particular board. Whichever duty it is, it is done under the eye of a supportive coach. Benefits for this method is that the employee will gain a numerous amount of experience in management activities and grooming duties for a higher leveled position. Lastly the Lecture Course and Seminars method is one many organizations offer either in-house or through outside sources. This method involves traditiona forms of instruction, revolving around lecture courses and seminars. Employees acquire knowledge and develop DeCenso, D., Robbins, S. (2007). Fundamentals of human resource management (9th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection.

The Sherlock Holmes Essay Example for Free

The Sherlock Holmes Essay Sherlock Holmes stories were first published in 1887. The author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a Scottish author and physician; he wrote 4 novels and 56 short stories that included the character Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle claims that the stories were inspired by a man he once worked for at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary call Dr Joseph Bell. Other than Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson plays a main part in the majority of the stories, playing the part of a friend, colleague, and side-kick. Many of the stories are narrated by Dr Watson, who was shown to keep written records of the cases. Sherlock Holmes was a well-known detective in Victorian England; this means that all of his stories contain great mystery and suspense, both great qualities to hook any audience over the many years. The mystery is portrayed taking several different angles into the stories. The most common frame of mystery is the person who appears at the beginning of the story asking for help: A lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in the window rise as we entered, this quote from The Adventure of the Speckled Band is similar to quotes found in many of Conan Doyles other stories, dark figures, hiding identities and appearing at inconvenient times of the day are all aspects that regularly play part in the opening of the story. These types of openings are well written to encourage any reader into questioning who the strange person is and what has caused them to ask for help. The character of Sherlock Holmes is a strange one, who always manages to impress you with his great intelligence and ability to think out side the box. He is shown to be very observant by noticing small details about people: The left arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than several places There is no vehicle save a dog cart which throw up mud that way, and only when you sit on the left hand side of the driver. The way he takes in each small detail of a person or object shows to assist him in solving his difficult and extraordinary cases. Holmes attention to detail is used to amaze a reader as usually the things he points out are things that you would not usually even think about to take notice of, such as that the lady had sat on the left hand side of the dogcart. Sherlock Holmes is also shown to be a strange man in the way that whenever he has a case to solve, he refuses to sleep but instead spends his night sitting smoking on the floor, going over and over the facts and evidence in his head until he eventually works out what has happened, usually at some early hour of the morning: He took off his coat and waist coat, put on a large blue dressing-gown, and then wandered about the room collecting pillows from his bed, and the cushions from the sofa and armchairs. upon which he perched himself cross-legged, with an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches. In this scene Sherlock Holmes shows that he is a man who enjoys comfort and freedom, this is demonstrated by the fact he wears a large blue dressing gown, and sits himself up on a large pile of cushions and pillows. The fact he is shown to be very used to having the finer things in life shows that he is most likely to be a wealthy man, who grew up in a privileged family. For people who grew up in a not so privileged family they may enjoy reading these books, as to gain an idea of what it is like to live an upper class life. In The Man With The Twisted Lip Sherlock Holmes is found in an opium den, this was a very strange place to find him, and when Watson, notices him, you begin to question in your mind, as to weather he really is a respectable character, or whether its Watson who has got it wrong, as traditionally an opium den was used by the lower class, rougher characters. It is the unexpected twists in the stories that have helped to grip readers and sustain the popularity of the stories over the many years.

Quantum Mechanics Using Back-of-the-envelope Calculations

Quantum Mechanics Using Back-of-the-envelope Calculations YIP Chung On INTRODUCTION Calculations in quantum mechanics are very often lengthy and mathematically involved, and some problems are impossible to get an analytical solution. Our goal, rather than obtaining an exact solution, we try to analyze a problem in quantum mechanics using dimensional analysis and provide a back-of-the-envelope estimate. We choose the ground state problem of a harmonic-quartic oscillator to perform an analytical estimate, as it is a common and useful quantum mechanics problem. Then we use a computer software, Mathematica to solve differential equations numerically, and compare the solutions with the back-of-the-envelope estimate. Above is the Schrà ¶dinger equation for a one-dimensional particle moving in a combination of a harmonic potential of frequency à °Ã‚ Ã…“† and a quartic potential of strength à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ½. The study of ground state problem of a harmonic-quartic problem is important, as it is a typical system in reality. There are two special cases for a harmonic-quartic oscillator; one is when the strength of the quartic is very small, it becomes a harmonic oscillator, another one is when the strength of the harmonic potential is very small, it becomes a quartic oscillator. Harmonic oscillator is one of the most important model systems in quantum mechanics, one of the examples are simple diatomic molecules such as hydrogen and nitrogen. It is one of the few quantum-mechanical systems which we are able to get an exact, analytical solution. Also, many potentials can be approximated as a harmonic potential when the energy is very low, this provides a great help when studying some very complicated systems. While in reality, it is unlikely that a system is purely harmonic, as most of the time there would be more than one potential acting in a system. So it is important to study a system with multi-potentials, and a harmonic-quartic oscillator, which includes a harmonic potential and a quartic potential, is a good example of that. Our goal, in this project, is to estimate the ground state energy of a harmonic-quartic oscillator making use of back-of-the-envelope calculations, which means that we only involve very few mathematical calculations in our estimate. To specify, we perform dimensional analysis on the equations of the problem we concern, then we compare the results of our estimate with the numerical solution we get from Mathematica, a computer software, to see how close can our estimate get. METHOD We attempt to use dimensional analysis to estimate the ground state energy of the harmonic-quartic problem, and here would be the procedures we would take to perform a dimensional analysis for finding the ground state energy. First we identify the principal units of measurement for the problem, which means the minimal set of units enough to describe all the input parameters of the problem. For this problem, we choose the units of length, [], and energy, [, these two are often chosen in stationary problems in quantum mechanics. Then we identify the input parameters and their units in terms of the chosen principal units. For each of the principal units, we choose a scale which is a combination of the input parameters measured using their units. We may need to determine the maximal set of independent dimensionless parameters: the set will include only the parameters that are generally either much greater or much less than unity. These include both the dimensionless parameters present in the problem and the dimensionless combinations of the dimensionful input parameters. If the set is empty, the unknown quantities can be determined almost completely, i.e. up to a numerical prefactor of the order of unity. If some dimensionless parameters are present, the class of possible relationships between the unknowns and the input parameters can be narrowed down, but the order of magnitude of the unknown quantities cannot be determined. Finally we express the unknown quantities as a multi-power-law of principal scales, times an arbitrary function of all dimensionless parameters, if any. If no dimensionless parameters are present, the arbitrary function is replaced by an arbitrary constant, presumed to be of the order of unity. SOLVE Before we solve the harmonic-quartic oscillator problem, we would first go through the two special cases, the harmonic oscillator alone and the quartic oscillator alone. Harmonic oscillator alone Consider the Schrà ¶dinger equation for one-dimensional particle moving in a harmonic potential of frequency à °Ã‚ Ã…“†, where à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¡ is the particle’s mass. Find the ground state energy. Principal units: unit of length [], unit of energy [ Input parameters and their units: [ [ where , and To derive the scale of length, let us represent the scale as The units of are [ To derive the scale of energy, let us represent the scale as The units of are [ Solution for the unknown: where const is a number of the order of unity. Its precise value is inaccessible for dimensional methods. Recall that the exact value of this constant is 1/2. Finally, Quartic oscillator alone Consider the Schrà ¶dinger equation for one-dimensional particle moving in a quartic potential of strength where is the particle’s mass. Find the ground state energy. Principal units: unit of length [], unit of energy [ Input parameters and their units: [ [ where To derive the scale of length, let us represent the scale as The units of are [ To derive the scale of energy, let us represent the scale as The units of are [ Solution for the unknown: Finally, Harmonic-quartic oscillator Consider the Schrà ¶dinger equation for one-dimensional particle moving in a combination of harmonic potential of frequency and a quartic potential of strength where is the particle’s mass. Find the ground state energy. Principal units: unit of length [], unit of energy [ Input parameters and their units: [ [ [ where , and To derive the scale of length, let us represent the scale as The units of are: [ We choose the scale associated uniquely with the harmonic oscillator, To derive the scale of energy, let us represent the scale as The units of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ° are: [ We choose the scale associated uniquely with the harmonic oscillator, There exists a dimensionless parameter expressed as a product of powers of principal scales: The units of are: [ As is supposed to be dimensionless, There is an independent dimensionless parameter We choose a scale of parameter in order that the system can be solved Solution for the unknown: where is an arbitrary function. Finally, SOFTWARE COMPARISON DISCUSSION REFERENCES M. Olshanii, Back-of-the-Envelope Quantum Mechanics, 1st ed. (World Scientific, 2013) Quantum harmonic oscillator. Retrieved Feb 1, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_harmonic_oscillator Quantum Harmonic Oscillator. Retrieved Feb 1, 2015, from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/hosc.html

Disasterous Eating Disorders Essay -- Health Diet Essays

Disasterous Eating Disorders   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Americans obsessions with their bodies has become a hot topic lately. From personal observation and research, I have seen the obsession become more severe. Web sites dealing with eating disorders are some of the most commonly visited web sites. We have a problem. The obsessions are becoming too serious, even fatal. Americans today have become slaves to the diet and fitness industries, resulting in an increased number of eating disorder cases over the past few years. If Americans are not educated about the complicated causes and effects of eating disorders then the plague of the 90’s, eating disorders, is going to continue to kill. The following paragraphs are a start to the education. They deal with some of the causes but more important some solutions to eating disorders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "obsessions are recurring or persistent thoughts, images, or impulses that, rather than being voluntarily produced, seem to invade a person's consciousness despite his attempts to ignore, suppress, or control them (Britannica 1). American's today deal with these thoughts about food, body image, imperfections, goals, flaws and how to deal with these. The thoughts are obsessive but they are real and at times, very intense. Sometimes the only way to cope with them, is to take drastic measures in ones behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Obviously the rise in eating disorders and other obsessive illnesses have been addressed but why they develop and solutions to stopping them are still a hushed topic. Educating society about the causes and serious effects of Americas fatal obsessions is the purpose of this article and hopefully by reading it one will be more aware. Increasing the kn... ...sm, Vol. 3 Article 95 (c) 1996 SIRS, Inc. Cotton, Richard American Council on Exercise, Aerobic Instructor Manual pg 140 (c) 1993 Eckersleg, Richard "The Wests Deepening Cultural Crisis," Futurist Nov./Dec. Ethics, Vol. 4 Article 56 (c) 1993 SIRS, Inc. Encyclopedia Britannica "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder," (c) 1996 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Goldman, Nechama "Fatal Obsession," March 19, 1993 Jersulam Post SIRS 1993 Medical Science Article 64 (c) 1996 SIRS, Inc. Jenish, D'Arcy with Sharon Doyle Driedger "A Tragic Obsession," Maclean's Oct. 9,1989 SIRS 1989 Food, Vol. 4 Article 55 (c) 1989 SIRS, Inc. Psynet Enterprises "Eating Disorders - The Facts," Psych Net Mental Health (c)1996 Seligimann, Jean "The Pressure to Lose," Newsweek May 2, 1994 SIRS 1994 Health, Electronic Only, Article 126 (c) 1996 SIRS, Inc. Shape Magazine, "Crazy Diet Goals," (c) 1995

The Eclectic Model Essay -- Education

For my presentation I chose the Eclectic teaching method used in Physical Education. Going into the project I had no idea what the model was or what it involved. I quickly learned the importance of the Eclectic model and how it is the most vital and widely used teaching method out. The reason for this is because it is the combination of all the teaching models and grouping them to the different age levels of the students. Obviously, there are certain games or activities that you would not do with 3rd graders because they are not developed enough to handle them. On the other hand you may not do an activity with high schoolers because they are over developed for it and they will not gain any benefits from it. To better explain how the eclectic model would be used I researched other teaching models and broke them down into 3 categories where they fit best: Elementary, Middle School, and High School. Elementary Physical Education is usually the first time when young children are being professionally taught how to control their bodies and perform basic skills that they will need to succeed in physical activity throughout their lifetime. This is the most important part of a child’s Physical Education because without these skills and abilities they will not be able to exercise properly through life and it could also discourage them from trying different activities. If this happens our country will become even more obese and out of shape. The models we decided fit best in this age group of students were Developmental Education, Tactical Games Model, Movement Model, Interdisciplinary Elementary Education, and Inquiry Model. We discovered that these in particular taught objectives that younger children need before they could move onto m... ...entary school ages as well. When a school district decides to use the eclectic model in their PE program they do it in hopes that the students will apply what they have learned grades K-12 to the rest of their life. As PE teachers it is our job to give students the information needed to live a long, healthy life. When taught correctly, the eclectic model does just that. Works Cited 1. Siedentop, Daryl, Jacqueline Herkowitz, and Judith Rink. Elementary Physical Education Methods. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984. Print. 2. Physical Education for Lifelong Fitness: The Physical Best Teacher's Guide. Leeds: Human Kinetics Europe, 2005. Print. 3. Manimtim-Florescar, Ruth. "Teaching Method: Eclectic | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online." The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online. 27 May 2008. Web. .

Prince Siddhartha Gautama - Buddha :: Chinese China History

Buddha This report will be about the life of Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, and his influences on the people around him. It will explain how the religion of Buddhism came about and how the Buddha created it. It will also include not only what influenced Buddha to start preaching, but what influenced the people to listen. Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who would later be known as Buddha, was born in Lumbini, Nepal around the year 563 BC. He was the son of two important great people. Siddhartha's father's name was Shuddhodana, the King of the Sakyas. His mother, Queen Maya, was a lady "of perfect form and bee-black tresses, fearless in heart and full of grace and virtue." Siddhartha got his name from one of his mother's dreams. Her dream was that an elephant with 6 tusks, carrying a lotus flower in its trunk, touched the right side of Queen Maya's body. That was when Siddhartha was miraculously conceived. When she told her husband about her dream, he called Brahmins, or learned men to interpret it. They predicted that the child one-day would be the greatest king in the world or the greatest ascetic in the world. So that's why they called him Siddhartha, meaning "he whose aim is accomplished." When Siddhartha was about 20 years old he married Yasodhara, who was the daughter of one of the King's ministers. S iddhartha and his new wife had a child a year after they got married. They called their son Rahula, which means "impediment." Nine years later Siddhartha asked his charioteer to take him for a ride throughout the city. While riding he saw three things he had never seen before. One was an elder man, another was a man suffering from illness, and finally he saw a dead body surrounded by mourners. Since he had never seen anything like that before he asked his charioteer, Channa, what was wrong. He responded and told the Prince that these things were natural and unavoidable, that happen to all kinds of people. "Everything is transient; nothing in permanent in this world....Knowing that, I can find delight in nothing...How can a man, who knows that death is quite inevitable, still feel greed in his heart, enjoy the world of senses and not weep in this great danger?" Once again Siddhartha asked Channa to take him out into the city again and this time he was to see the last of four images that would change his life forever.

“Death of a Salesman” Detailed Analysis Essay

ARTHUR MILLER Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953) and A View from the Bridge Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, a period during which he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Prince of Asturias Award, and was married to Marilyn Monroe. SUMMARY It is important to bear that the story is told through the mind and memory of Willy Loman and there is a constant back and forth between two periods ,1928 and 1942.The first period is one of the happiness and contentment when Willy Loman is young and dynamic and the children ,Biff and Happy are running about in shorts ;the second is one of gloom and discontent -Willy is now old and ,virtually out of a job and the children are grown up and gone their different ways. The play is thus structured in such a way to show the pleasures of the past ,the dreams and hopes the characters had and how these aspirations had turned sour. Willy Loman had built his life in such a way that he had finally trapped himself in an impossible situation. Willy Loman ,the protagonist in the play was a travelling salesman in the services of the wagnor company for 34 years. When his old boss died ,his son Howard took over the administration of the company .Willy’s family consists of three other members ,his wife Linda, Biff,the elder son and Happy, the younger son. Willy unexpectedly returned on the same day he had left for New England territory on a business tour. Linda felt that her husband is thoroughly  exhausted both physically and mentally and he has almost reached the breaking point. Willy, who is 63, has driven the car off the road twice or three times and when he reached home he was found to be panic stricken ,desolate and shattered. Willy liked his eldest son Biff,who was wellknown as a football champion. Though he is 34 , it is unfortunate that he could not settle in life. Inspite of the fact that three colleges offered him scholarship in recognition of his proficiency in football, he did not join any college . Happy, the women chaser also could not settle in life. For the next two days, immediately after his unexpected return, Willy’s mind was rather disturbed with thoughts of today’s realities inter mingled with yesterday’s half forgotten episodes. He felt that it was mistake on his part not to have followed his elder brother Ben ,who dared his way into the diamond minds of Africa and amassed fabulous wealth . Willy’s guilty consciousness pricked him at the flash back scene of Boston hotel room, when his son Biff makes a surprise visit and finds his father having an affair with a strange lady .After this episode, Biff seemed to hold a grudge against his father and could never again bring himself to trust Willy. As suggested by Linda, Willy visits Howard, the young Boss and request for a change of job in the New York City office as he is physically and mentally incapacitated as a travelling sales man. When the request was unceremoniously turned down by Howard and Willy dismissed from service he protest â€Å"You ca nnot eat orange and throw the peel away; man is not a piece of fruit†. Willy is very much frustrated and disillusioned at the behavior of capitalists who lacked the human milk of kindness, sympathy and gratitude. Biff’s attempt to raise a loan from Bill Oliver, the proprietor of sports goods company also failed. Oliver, who once liked Biff immensely, now refused to recognise him now because Biff has stolen a fountain pen, Charley ,Willy’s neighbour extended a helping hand in those days of adversity. He ,not only advanced a loan to him but also offered him a job to him. But Willy refused to accept it with a false sense of dignity. The two sons invited the father for a dinner party at a prominent restaurant in the city. But Happy picked up two call girls and left the place along with Biff,  leaving Willy alone. Willy felt humiliated and this experience was shocking and unbearable when Biff and Happy returned home, Linda ordered them out of the house by the next morning. She was planning to commit suicide on a particular night .Willy was left alone while all others went upstairs. He has insured his life for 20,000 dollars. Once he dies, the family will be entitled to receive the amount from the insurance company. So Willy got into his car and drove madly through darkness, only to kill himself. His funeral was attended only by Linda, the two sons, charley and his son Bernard. Linda could not stand the strain of separation from her beloved husband; but still she stooped down and dropped flowers on the grave of Willy. DEATH OF A SALESMAN AS A TRAGEDY: According to the traditional views based on Aristotelian cannons, the tragic hero was to be a person of high rank and status. So that his down fall could produce an inevitable emotional effect on the audience. In ancient Greek tragedies, fate or destiny is mainly responsible for the downfall of human beings. But Shakespeare and Marlow attributed human misfortune mainly to the personal draw backs of the tragic heroes themselves and hardly to the hidden forces which we describe as fate or destiny. Miller generally departs from both these concepts of tragedy as in the tragic hero in the Death of a sales man belongs to the middle class. He does not hold the view that tragic effect can be produced only by the downfall of a highly placed individual in society. It matters not at all whether hero falls from a great height or small one, whether he highly conscious or dimly aware of what is happening ,if the intensity is their ‘America grows like a giant in unimaginable proportions ‘. Willy symbolically stands for all the low men in American business community not just salesmen -who in a way sell themselves. Willy sells himself and in the process wears himself out and he is finally discarded when he is no longer useful. Willy begins as a salesman 36 years ago, opens up unheard of territories to their trade mark, but in his old age they take his salary away. It is pity that once Willy’s energy is exhausted by the work that  society has assigned to him, he is thrown aside and dismissed by the son of his old boss. Willy protests, â€Å"you cannot eat the orange and throw them peel â€Å". Man is not a piece of fruit no doubt ,Willy loman is a superannuated employee, but he is rejected and ill treated by his employer at the end of his career. Even a change of job with less travelling was denied to him. But still it may not be fully correct to say that Willy is wholly a victim of the prevailing social system. His own responsibility of his tragedy is by no means insignificant or negligible. In the first place he failed to realize his own limitations and short comings Willy has the conviction that success depends on personality, contacts and good cloths and that these will bring everything one wants in life. Obviously Willy is a prey to that magical book of Dale carnegie’s ‘How to win friends and influence people ‘ we know that mistake is that Willy had chosen a wrong profession for himself under the impression that the selling profession is the best in the world. Secondly the sense of guilt which he carries with him due to his past infidelity to his wife has also serious repercussions in his mental stability .His affair with the woman in the hotel when he was visited by Biff hangs on his conscience. Biff’s discovery of Willy’s infidelity marks the crucial turning point in the relationship between the father and the son .There after Biff no longer believes Willy . Another point to be noted is Willy’s incurable optimism .He has had higher expectation about the future of his elder son Biff who looks so charming as the Adonise in Greek mythology and who has earned high reputation as a good football champion. Biff has become disillusioned .For Biff ,life came to be an end with his match. He could neither make a mark in business nor could he go back to school to finish his course. Ironically Bernard who never represented University of Virginia, Bernard who pleaded to carry Biff’s helmet or shoulder guards , prospered. Bernard wins glory by pleading before the supreme court ,but he does this without any pushing from his father. According to Willy, they ought to be success at all; for both Charley and Bernard were not well liked. These tragic experiences shatter Willy’s conception of American dreams. No human or super natural agency interfered his life .The sense of frustration and psychological neurosis upsets his  mental equi librium and shatters him to pieces. CHARACTER LIST WILLY LOMAN: An insecure, self-deluded traveling salesman. Willy believes wholeheartedly in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, but he never achieves it. Nor do his sons fulfill his hope that they will succeed where he has failed. When Willy’s illusions begin to fail under the pressing realities of his life, his mental health begins to unravel. The overwhelming tensions caused by this disparity, as well as those caused by the societal imperatives that drive Willy, form the essential conflict of Death of a Salesman. BIFF LOMAN: Willy’s thirty-four-year-old elder son. Biff led a charmed life in high school as a football star with scholarship prospects, good male friends, and fawning female admirers. He failed math, however, and did not have enough credits to graduate. Since then, his kleptomania has gotten him fired from every job that he has held. Biff represents Willy’s vulnerable, poetic, tragic side. He cannot ignore his instincts, which tell him to abandon Willy’s paralyzing dreams and move out West to work with his hands. He ultimately fails to reconcile his life with Willy’s expectations of him. LINDA LOMAN: Willy’s loyal, loving wife. Linda suffers through Willy’s grandiose dreams and self-delusions. Occasionally, she seems to be taken in by Willy’s self-deluded hopes for future glory and success, but at other times, she seems far more realistic and less fragile than her husband. She has nurtured the family through all of Willy’s misguided attempts at success, and her emotional strength and perseverance support Willy until his collapse. HAPPY LOMAN: Willy’s thirty-two-year-old younger son. Happy has lived in Biffs shadow all of his life, but he compensates by nurturing his relentless sex drive and professional ambition. Happy represents Willy’s sense of self-importance, ambition, and blind servitude to societal expectations. Although he works as an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department  store, Happy presents himself as supremely important. Additionally, he practices bad business ethics and sleeps with the girlfriends of his superiors. CHARLEY- Willy’s next – door neighbor. Charley owns a successful business and his son, Bernard, is a wealthy, important lawyer. Willy is jealous of Charley’s success. Charley gives Willy money to pay his bills, and Willy reveals at one point, choking back tears, that Charley is his only friend. BERNARD – Bernard is Charley’s son and an important, successful lawyer. Although Willy used to mock Bernard for studying hard, Bernard always loved Willy’s sons dearly and regarded Biff as a hero. Bernard’s success is difficult for Willy to accept because his own sons’ lives do not measure up. BEN – Willy’s wealthy older brother. Ben has recently died and appears only in Willy’s â€Å"daydreams.† Willy regards Ben as a symbol of the success that he so desperately craves for himself and his sons. THE WOMAN – Willy’s mistress when Happy and Biff were in high school. The Woman’s attention and admiration boost Willy’s fragile ego. When Biff catches Willy in his hotel room with The Woman, he loses faith in his father, and his dream of passing math and going to college dies. HOWARD WAGNER – Willy’s boss. Howard inherited the company from his father, whom Willy regarded as â€Å"a masterful man† and â€Å"a prince.† Though much younger than Willy, Howard treats Willy with condescension and eventually fires him, despite Willy’s wounded assertions that he named Howard at his birth. STANLEY – A waiter at Frank’s Chop House. Stanley and Happy seem to be friends, or at least acquaintances, and they banter about and ogle Miss Forsythe together before Biff and Willy arrive at the restaurant. MISS FORSYTHE AND LETTA – Two young women whom Happy and Biff meet at Frank’s Chop House. It seems likely that Miss Forsythe and Letta are prostitutes, judging from Happy’s repeated comments about their moral character and the  fact that they are â€Å"on call.† JENNY – Charley’s secretary THEMES, MOTIFS & SYMBOLS THEMES Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. THE AMERICAN DREAM Willy believes wholeheartedly in what he considers the promise of the American Dream- that a â€Å"well liked† and â€Å"personally attractive† man in business will indubitably and deservedly acquire the material comforts offered by modern American life. Oddly, his fixation with the superficial qualities of attractiveness and likeability is at odds with a more gritty, more rewarding understanding of the American Dream that identifies hard work without complaint as the key to success. Willy’s interpretation of likeability is superficial-he childishly dislikes Bernard because he considers Bernard a nerd. Willy’s blind faith in his stunted version of the American Dream leads to his rapid psychological decline when he is unable to accept the disparity between the Dream and his own life. ABANDONMENT Willy’s life charts a course from one abandonment to the next, leaving him in greater despair each time. Willy’s father leaves him and Ben when Willy is very young, leaving Willy neither a tangible (money) nor an intangible (history) legacy. Ben eventually departs for Alaska, leaving Willy to lose himself in a warped vision of the American Dream. Likely a result of these early experiences, Willy develops a fear of abandonment, which makes him want his family to conform to the American Dream. His efforts to raise perfect sons, however, reflect his inability to understand reality. The  young Biff, whom Willy considers the embodiment of promise, drops Willy and Willy’s zealous ambitions for him when he finds out about Willy’s adultery. Biff’s ongoing inability to succeed in business furthers his estrangement from Willy. When, at Frank’s Chop House, Willy finally believes that Biff is on the cups of greatness, Biff shatters Willy’s illus ions and, along with Happy, abandons the deluded, babbling Willy in the washroom. BETRAYAL Willy’s primary obsession throughout the play is what he considers to be Biff’s betrayal of his ambitions for him. Willy believes that he has every right to expect Biff to fulfill the promise inherent in him. When Biff walks out on Willy’s ambitions for him, Willy takes this rejection as a personal affront (he associates it with â€Å"insult† and â€Å"spite†). Willy, after all, is a salesman, and Biff’s ego-crushing rebuff ultimately reflects Willy’s inability to sell him on the American Dream-the product in which Willy himself believes most faithfully. Willy assumes that Biff’s betrayal stems from Biff’s discovery of Willy’s affair with The Woman-a betrayal of Linda’s love. Whereas Willy feels that Biff has betrayed him, Biff feels that Willy, a â€Å"phony little fake,† has betrayed him with his unending stream of ego-stroking lies. MOTIFS Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. MYTHIC FIGURES Willy’s tendency to mythologize people contributes to his deluded understanding of the world. He speaks of Dave Singleman as a legend and imagines that his death must have been beautifully noble. Willy compares Biff and Happy to the mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he believes that his sons are pinnacles of â€Å"personal attractiveness† and power through â€Å"well liked†-ness; to him, they seem the very incarnation of the  American Dream. Willy’s mythologizing proves quite nearsighted, however. Willy fails to realize the hopelessness of Singleman’s lonely, on-the-job, on-the-road death. Trying to achieve what he considers to be Singleman’s heroic status, Willy commits himself to a pathetic death and meaningless legacy (even if Willy’s life insurance policy ends up paying off, Biff wants nothing to do with Willy’s ambition for him). THE AMERICAN WEST, ALASKA, AND THE AFRICAN JUNGLE These regions represent the potential of instinct to Biff and Willy. Willy’s father found success in Alaska and his brother, Ben, became rich in Africa; these exotic locales, especially when compared to Willy’s banal Brooklyn neighborhood, crystallize how Willy’s obsession with the commercial world of the city has trapped him in an unpleasant reality. Whereas Alaska and the African jungle symbolize Willy’s failure, the American West, on the other hand, symbolizes Biff’s potential. Biff realizes that he has been content only when working on farms, out in the open. His westward escape from both Willy’s delusions and the commercial world of the eastern United States suggests a nineteenth-century pioneer mentality-Biff, unlike Willy, recognizes the importance of the individual. SYMBOLS Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. SEEDS Seeds represent for Willy the opportunity to prove the worth of his labor, both as a salesman and a father. His desperate, nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables signifies his shame about barely being able to put food on the table and having nothing to leave his children when he passes. Willy feels that he has worked hard but fears that he will not be able to help his  offspring any more than his own abandoning father helped him. The seeds also symbolize Willy’s sense of failure with Biff. Despite the American Dream’s formula for success, which Willy considers infallible, Willy’s efforts to cultivate and nurture Biff went awry. Realizing that his all-American football star has turned into a lazy bum, Willy takes Biff’s failure and lack of ambition as a reflection of his abilities as a father. DIAMONDS To Willy, diamonds represent tangible wealth and, hence, both validation of one’s labor (and life) and the ability to pass material goods on to one’s offspring, two things that Willy desperately craves. Correlatively, diamonds, the discovery of which made Ben a fortune, symbolize Willy’s failure as a salesman. Despite Willy’s belief in the American Dream, a belief unwavering to the extent that he passed up the opportunity to go with Ben to Alaska, the Dream’s promise of financial security has eluded Willy. At the end of the play, Ben encourages Willy to enter the â€Å"jungle† finally and retrieve this elusive diamond-that is, to kill himself for insurance money in order to make his life meaningful. LINDA’S AND THE WOMAN’S STOCKINGS Willy’s strange obsession with the condition of Linda’s stockings foreshadows his later flashback to Biff’s discovery of him and The Woman in their Boston hotel room. The teenage Biff accuses Willy of giving away Linda’s stockings to The Woman. Stockings assume a metaphorical weight as the symbol of betrayal and sexual infidelity. New stockings are important for both Willy’s pride in being financially successful and thus able to provide for his family and for Willy’s ability to ease his guilt about, and suppress the memory of, his betrayal of Linda and Biff. THE RUBBER HOSE The rubber hose is a stage prop that reminds the audience of Willy’s desperate attempts at suicide. He has apparently attempted to kill himself  by inhaling gas, which is, ironically, the very substance essential to one of the most basic elements with which he must equip his home for his family’s health and comfort-heat. Literal death by inhaling gas parallels the metaphorical death that Willy feels in his struggle to afford such a basic necessity. QUESTIONS The play ‘Death of a Salesman’ revolves mainly around a conflict between ? What are the reasons for Willy’s failure as a business man? American dream in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. What is the central theme of the play ‘Death of a salesman’. The father son conflict in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. The hotel scene in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. The role of mother Linda Loman in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. Why did Biff Loman leave the school? The significance of the title’Death of a salesman’. Why did Willy commit suicide? The flash back scene in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. Miller’s play as a critique of the American way of life.