Would fall under.

This lowering of production costs stems from a procurement strategy called Low-cost country sourcing (LAICS). I The abundance of cheap labor in Thailand gives the country and its businesses an edge, as they are now able to produce their products at a much lower cost and thus be able to gain a comparative advantage against their rivals from other countries like the US. With regards to exporting to Thailand , as the economy is still in its stages of infancy and the people Just beginning to open up to leisure sports such as RollerBalding , Blades may be able to gain the first-mover advantage by venturing In to Thailand at this point In time. In addition, the good relations and ties that Blades may build with some of their Thai suppliers, could help to ease their efforts in to breaking into the Thai market and exporting to Thailand Furthermore with the rising affluence amongst the people in Thailand, it is likely that more individuals would turn to leisure sports such as, roller balding, during their free time.Coupled with youths in Thailand becoming increasingly â€Å"Americanizes†. This trend therefore, poses as an excellent opportunity for Blades to boost sales In Thailand to off-set the falling demand being experienced In the US. Finally, by exporting to Thailand, Blades Is able to diversify their sales and operations overseas. This way, should their business take off in Thailand, the profits from their foreign subsidiary would be able to offset the falling demand for their products in the US to ensure the company's sustainability and also investor confidence.Question 2: In the short run, one of the disadvantages would be facing sales that may fall short of expectations due to the ongoing political conflict In Thailand. This potential fall In sales is a result of country risk. The protests and riots as a result of the political instability in the country could deter Blade's target audience from purchasing their products due to them preferring to stay saf e at home than subject themselves to unnecessary harm whilst shopping. Another disadvantage, would be the exchange rate risk which would come about with the currency fluctuation of the Thai Baht.Blades would be more affected by an appreciation of the Tall baht rather than a appreciation. This Is as when the Thai baht appreciates, the raw materials and production costs would become relatively more expensive as one US dollar is now worth less in Thai Baht. This would then drive up their overall cost of production and without any change in demand or sales, result in lower profits. In the long run, Blades should be aware of the international economic conditions as a recession could be disadvantages to the company. With a recession, sales would be affected as blades would fall under.Another disadvantage in the long run would be the isolations that could be implemented by the governing body after Blades have successfully established their subsidiary. Examples would be changes in the regul ations for Multi-National Corporations (Mans) like Blades in the country and increase in taxes. All these changes would equate to inconvenience for the company and possibly an increase in their operations cost in the case of an increase in taxes. All these disadvantages should be carefully thought through by Ben Holt and his team as they could impact the commercial viability of setting up a subsidiary in Thailand.

Hilton Hotel

These things that I learned at last lesson: 1)Product and service difference: Basically ; Products are tangible and services are intangible. For example; Apple Iphone, Coffe Mocha at Starbucks are products,but healthy services sector,home repair service,wireless communication,trip to somewhere ;they dont result ownership of anything. 2)Customer vs. consumer :Customer and consumer are not same things. For example;mother buy napkin for her baby and then baby consume it in this situation baby is a consumer, mother is a customer . )Sales dont mean to marketing. Sales cover just selling but marketing process makes the broad strategy. Selling and advertising are only part of larger ‘marketing mix’ marketers purpose satisfying customer needs. 4)Consumer Behavior:’The behavior that consumers display in searching for purchasing,using,evaulating and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs’. When ? decide to buy new product what fa ctors influence on me?A)External factors:cultural,social,family roles&status,reference groups B)Internal factors:psychological factors(motivation,perception,learning,belief and attitudes) * Consumer behavior includes all the decisions a consumer makes when spending their time and money. The what,why,when,where,and how of consumer purchases are examined. 5)Two consumer entities Personal consumer:the individual who buys goods &services for his or her own use for household use. Organizational consumer:Business,government Marketing Concept: Production orientation:company wanted efficient production lines ,not focused product variation.Sales Orientation:overproduction,excess product Marketing concept:focus on customer,expectations of customer,marketers become more sophisticated in understanding the consumer and delivering products that meet their need. Societal Marketing Concept:Consider consumers long run best interest,in this concept marketers are consciousof negative effect health,env ironment. * Fair trade: trying to give support manufacturer,especially poor companies such as Africa Endonesia. Segmentation,targeting,positioning:Segment:share simialr meet and expectations and enables marketers to target consumers.Divide the total market into smaller segments. (segmentation) Types of segmentation:geographic,demographic(age gender,family size,family life-cycle Marketing mix: The set of tactical marketing tool. 4P=PRODUCT,PLACE,PROMOTION,PRICE. P roduct;goods&services combination. Place;includes company activities that make the product available to target consumers. for example;using social networks,internet stores. Promotion;activities that malke product availableto target customers,and persuade. (public relation,advertisement,selling process. Customer value:Perceived value is relative and subjective.Developing a value proposition(unique selling proposition) is critical in attaining successful positioning of a broad Customer trust: Recommendation,word of mouth infl uence on customers,newspaper,websites Customer retention:loyal customer:buy more products, are less price sensitive Customer profitibality-focused marketing: BCG growth-share matrix=each produsct hs different contribution(star,question mark,cash cow,dog) Platinum- heavy user,not price sensitive Gold-heavy user but not as profitable Iron Lead-like dogs in bcg approaches SEYMA TEMEL-135710019 Hilton Hotel News Brief Hilton Hotels tops in customer satisfaction http://planyourmeetings. com/2006/06/01/hilton-hotels-tops-in-customer-satisfaction/ By Kristi Casey Sanders Published: June 1, 2006 Hilton Hotels Corporation leads the hotel industry in customer satisfaction, according to the latest statistics from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). With a score of 78 points out of a possible 100, Hilton took the leadership position among the seven hotel companies mentioned in the survey. Overall, the hotel industry improved 3 percent to 75, equaling its highest score since 1994. Hilton takes great pride in its ACSI customer satisfaction score, which confirms the results of an unparalleled focus and commitment by the 74,000 team members at our owned and managed hotel properties across the country to deliver the best in guest service,† said Dieter Huckestein, president – hotel operations owned and managed for Hilton Hotels Corporation. Hilton’s portfolio of 2,000 hotels includes Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton.The ACSI is produced through a partnership of the University of Michigan Business School, ASQ, and CFI Group, which measures customer satisfaction in the competitive hotel industry on a regular basis. The ACSI is updated on a rolling basis. New scores for the hotel industry replace those collected one year ago and are added to scores of five other sectors of the economy measured during the intervening year. One sector that didn’t fare well was the airline industry, which dropped 1. percent to 65, its lowest score since the industry was rocked by 9/11. Southwest Airlines still rules the industry at 74. US Airways made the industry’s biggest jump, improving nearly 9 percent to 62. Northwest Airlines, on the other hand, dropped 4. 7 percent to 61, taking last place in the industry as it struggles with strikes and a Chapter 11 bankr uptcy filing. The overall decline was attributed to the airlines’ struggle with labor contracts, bankruptcies and higher fuel prices, leaving consumers feeling they are getting less for their money.

The Future of Information Assurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Future of Information Assurance - Essay Example It needs a great deal of deeper layering of protection methods within the enterprise and globally it requires major developments to the fundamental information infrastructure in addition to extended collaboration across enterprise and national boundaries (techdigest, N.D). Since networked information systems become indispensable to present living, the need for information assurance in securing accessibility, reliability, and privacy for information become progressively more vital. As science and engineering technologies support the advancement of faster and more capable networks, it is important to develop information assurance concurrently. To advance the state of the art in technologies for future information assurance, it is important to foresee a better understanding of the science that manages networking and assurance, leading to novel technology approaches and a precise engineering discipline for information assurance (Lee and Gregg, 2005). Security measures are mainly concerned with the privacy, accessibility, integrity, and accuracy of an organization’s information and data transfers. Privacy indicates that the particular information can only be made obtainable to correct persons. Accessibility makes sure that data can be used at any established time, in agreed form and quality. Integrity means that data includes only agreed changes. Accuracy ensures the content, in which the designer’s identity is endorsed. In general, these are good enough to believe that organizations need to carry out their dealings within the scope of these standards to safe guard their intellectual property. The security strategy is the thrust behind the planning, accomplishment, and progress of suitable security design. Since the modern aspects of information technology are managed by global standards, security strategy and the consequential architectures are almost unique (Graf and Kneeshaw, N.D). When appraised with the notions of information security and information

To what extent can the Iranian Revolution of 1979 be considered the Essay

To what extent can the Iranian Revolution of 1979 be considered the root of Extremist Islam in Iran Today - Essay Example As a result, the Western Countries accused the Iranian people of spreading terrorism across the world. Since the Victory of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, it's marked a turning point to the Iranian people. They continued to remain firmed to their ethic based on the foundation led by Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini of Islamic extremism. Before the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iranian people were under the yolk of the capitalist and injustice, as at the time of Shah Phalavi. "Numerous symptoms led to the crumbling downfall of Shah Phalavi, ruler of Iran until 1978. One of these symptoms is rising expectations which can be seen during the 1960s and 70s. The rich Shah cleared the way for the land reform law, enacted in 1962. The land minority had to give up its land to the government, and among those stripped of land, were Shi'a Muslim". (The Iranian Revolution) However, Ayatollah the leader of the Islamic Revolution, during that time of Reza Shah Phalavi, was the spiritual leader of the Iranian people, especially the masses. Though he is Muslim, but the struggled he undergone against Shah has benefited the entire masses of Iran, both Muslim and Christians. Khomeini continued to condemned Reza Shah Phalavi and his policies. ... Though he is Muslim, but the struggled he undergone against Shah has benefited the entire masses of Iran, both Muslim and Christians. Khomeini continued to condemned Reza Shah Phalavi and his policies. He had also motivated the poor Iranians that the only way they will have a peaceful living is to adapting to Islamic extremism. Ayatollah's words had encouraged the people of Iran to waged uprising against Shah whom they regarded as an oppressive leader. Thy therefore joined the Ayatollah crusade against Shah under the Islamic platform. The continuous hatred against the West today by the Iranian government and its people today, their hatred against Jews, and the spread of Islamic extremism across the world they embark, was rooted since the 1979 Islamic Revolution led by Khomeini. In an interview with James Wasserman, where in his statements had made mentioned what he described as the root of extremism and terrorism in today's Iran and other part of the world. He has this to say: "The Iranian revolution of 1979 heralded the emergence of fundamentalist Muslim State and the proclamation of religious Jihad against the unbelievers and infidels. Wasserman further added: "Ayatollah Khomeini, the Shiite leader of Iran, must be seen in some measure as a successor of Hassan-i-Sabah. He was able to organize a band of powerless, stateless religious rebels into a group capable of overtaking one of the most powerful Militant machines of the Middle East that had the full support of the west. Khomeini also accomplished something that Hassan did not-the union of fundamentalist Shi'is and the fundamentalist Sunnis. When the modern Islamic terrorism Network was born, in large part directed Tehran, a thousands year-old dream was realized".

On the defense of sweatshops Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

On the defense of sweatshops - Essay Example Secondly, sweatshops play an important role in the economic development in the countries they are located in. Most multinational corporations take advantage of the low labor costs in developing countries simply out of good business sense. The profits generated by these companies are, however, used to uplift local communities. For example, it is common to find a company building water purification plants in communities where they are located. An example is given in the article by Stefan Spath who highlights how multinationals in Mexico helped to improve the conditions in the maquiladora towns. Through such initiatives, companies contribute significantly to the growth of the economies of the countries they are located in. Sweatshops allow these companies to earn higher profits that are later used to develop the country. Third, in the article by Spath, the author further notes that the cheap labor provided by those working in sweatshops allows the companies to sell the final products at relatively low prices. This is beneficial to the consumers located in different parts of the world. In the end, this makes economic sense to both the company and the consumer. Finally, the exchange between the worker and the company is mutually beneficial. Whereas it has been rightfully argued that sweatshops pay their workers' low wages, many have failed to look at this based on the economic conditions of these countries. In many of the developing countries, sweatshops provide some of the best wages compared to other jobs.

Child Development Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Child Development Reflection Paper - Essay Example ction accorded to the child determines the child ability to adapt to the social environment and determines the child’s ability to self sustain emotionally. As presented by Mary Ainsworth, a child reacts to strangers in various manners. If the child feels secure, he will interact with the stranger. If he does not feel secure, he will either avoid the stranger or resist any attempt by the stranger to make contact vehemently. Such a child requires close monitoring and encouragement in social matters. Adjusting to situations by an individual is easier when a caregiver satisfied a child emotionally. Neglect of a child’s concerns alternatively results in an adult who lacks the ability to handle occurrences in life. The later will experience suicidal tendencies and antisocial behavior while his counterpart, who had ‘better’ upbringing will be outspoken. The development process through the eight stages depicted by Erik H. Erikson becomes very troubling for this individual due to unresolved childhood conflict. Forming secondary attachments such as finding a spouse forms a platform that is beyond childhood. As John Bowlby indicates, this gives the individual a second chance of developing social skills. However, this becomes difficult for personalities not fulfilled emotionally as child. Child assessment as discussed by Pucketh helps a parent determine the special needs for each child and act appropriately. The caregivers must fully understand the child in order to guide him through challenges. A child will create a connection to the mother depending on how much the parent (caregiver) encourages him. This early relationship should be a two-way relationship. Involving the child in activities that improve the child’s confidence ensures smooth life for the baby later. The concepts discussed present certain challenges to the learner. Many things that people take for granted characterize the human social life. Children sometimes seem annoying. Their cries for

Attack on The White House Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Attack on The White House - Essay Example Space exploration has been left behind by the U.S.A being equipped with satellites apt enough to eye any corner of this world in a matter of minutes. Defense wise as well, U.S.A has the elite position having large chunks of budget being attributed towards the armed forces and most importantly the nuclear sector. Thus, there should be a general consent that the U.S.A is in present world the "ultimate power". Such a concentration of power and authority has not been under calm and tranquil circumstances. Instead, the U.S.A has attracted strong criticism and opposition of many rivals. They can be termed as terrorists in the American 'terminology'. Owing to such a criticism, many sensitive and central points in the U.S.A are at stake as can be observed from the past events like ninth September. The next best point of such a hunt can even be the statue of liberty, the pentagon and also the white house. Thus, to counter the lethal effects of such an emergency certain steps should be a dopted to either curtail or minimize the losses as much as possible. The white house has a place of paramount importance in the U.S.A. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C, it is not only the residence of the president of the U.S.A but also a shelter for many governing executive operations. It was built on a neo classical style between 1782 and 1800. The names such as Executive Mansion (1810- 1901), President's House, President's Palace and President's Mansion were also used interchangeably for it in the past. Apart from its official significance, it is also of concern to the civilians as it houses the museum of American history and art. Hence, this structure spread over 7.3 hectares (18 acres) retains utmost importance. Returning to our topic, any kind of terrorist attack on such a prominent place of a dominant nation as the U.S.A could therefore, have serious consequences. To manipulate such a situation of emergency effectively certain steps as mitig ation, preparedness, response and recovery should be followed. However, such an incident could lead to several severe economic, social, academic and other consequences both within the national perimeters and across the border. Whereas, the rivals might in their own interest benefit from such a situation. But we shall see which impact has the highest weightage as we continue. I. Mitigation The technique of mitigation primarily revolves around the principle of not letting the attack happen on the first hand. Such a step is surely tough but if successful it can promote insurance of many lives and losses. Coupled with this, it may also include the calming down of a chaos disaster if white house is attacked. In the U.S.A, the Citizen Corps should train to inculcate this skill into volunteer's stock of craftsmanship to not only survive but also make the surroundings survive as well. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security should adopt necessary steps to detect any suspicious activity and operation beforehand. Certain gadgets and sophisticated cameras with latest updates should be installed to make the white house fool proof. Preparedness Nothing in this highly developed world as well is perfect. Even the flawless

Report project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Report project - Assignment Example The scenario is to supply the Marketing Manager with new ideas for places that we can entertain our best clientele after being wined and dined as a VIP. The Marketing Manager has suggested some places to take a look at, such as a play at the IRT (Indiana Repertory Theater), a play at Beef & Boards, a play or musical at Clowes or Murat, a special art exhibit at the IMA (Indianapolis Museum of Art), a special art exhibit at Eiteljorg, or a concert at the ISO (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra). The design will be a report in memo format to be sent to the Marketing Manager in regards to this topic. I will compare and contrast the various locales of events for ways to entertain the company’s very best customers who come to our company’s facilities every fall to see the latest designs on our newest products. Every fall, we invite our best clientele to our facilities to see the latest products and concept designs for our new products before they hit the shelves. These members of our clientele are wined and dined like VIPs before we entertain them at a local venue. In the past we took them to either the Conseco Fieldhouse to see a Pacers game or to the Lucas Oil Stadium to see Peyton Manning and the Colts play. In the past we have bought a club level box seats at either Conseco Fieldhouse or Lucas Oil Stadium where we would go to a sporting event to entertain our guests. This memo is comparing other places in which we could entertain our clientele and have an enjoyable time. I know that this year the clientele have been invited to visit our company’s facilities from the 18th of October to the 20th of October. During this time period, there are various places we can take our guests to be entertained. At the IRT, Indiana Repertory Theatre, on the 18th at 6:30 PM and the 20th at 2:00 PM Robert Neal plays James Beard in ‘I Love to Eat: Cooking with James Beard’, while on the 19th at 7:30

The Analysis on the success of Tesco Assignment

The Analysis on the success of Tesco - Assignment Example The success of an organization as argued by Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller (2005) is mainly through the deployment of the 7Ps of marketing. In this section a critical analysis on the Price, product, Promotion and Place elements of the 7Ps is presented as these are identified as the critical elements in reaching the customer. Frances Brassington and Stephen Pettit (2003) argue that although the marketing mix can be explained using the 7Ps, the four critical elements that form the marketing mix are the four identified above. The authors further argue that the Marketing Mix plays a vital role in the overall marketing communication strategy of an organization, as it is the marketing mix that provides input to the marketing communication. The TESCO Finest and TESCO Value of the own brand range of products sold by the organization along with the leading brands in the retail industry is a classical example for the organization's success in the target market through extensive range of products as argued by Sandrine Mac and Scott A. Neslin (2004). The fact that TESCO Plc presents a wide range of choice in every category of its products is the major element fuelling its success in the UK and global retail market. 1.1.2: Price: The company pioneers in selling its products at competitive prices mainly lower than its supermarket competitors in the UK as well as in its global locations as argued by Isla Gower (2004) who says that 'the low price strategy of the organization without compromising the quality of its products is the key for its success in the UK retail market as the market leader'. Furthermore, the increasing awareness among the customers that quality need not be compromised with low price (Oliver Hupp and Ken Powaga, 2004) is the driving force for the organization in its continuous low price strategy. 1.1.3: Promotion: Promotion as argued by Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller (2005) is 'the key for increasing the sales in the retail industry and retaining the customers in the target market'. The fact that TESCO Plc has established itself as a brand in the retail industry through pioneering in promotions like combination sales, event focused promotion of products and above all market focused promotion by its stores targeting the local markets is the major element for its growth in the UK retail market along with its pricing strategy. 1.1.4: Place: Place or the location for an organization in the retail sector is a critical element for its success as argued by Frances Brassington and Stephen Pettit (2003). This is naturally because of the need for local knowledge in the target market that serves for the promotion of its products and above all the choice of products presented in the shop floor (David Olson et al, 1982). The fact that the local knowledge is the key for increasing sales in the target demography as an organization can increase its sales only through the process of identifying the customer needs and understanding the behaviour of its target demography justifies that place or the location is a key element for the success of a retailer. The location of

Cystic Fibrosis Transplantaton Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cystic Fibrosis Transplantaton - Research Paper Example CF is inheritable and live threatening genetic disorder mostly experienced at the Northern European parts .To develop the disorder, one must inherit faulty gene from both of your parents this is by inheriting one set defective CFTR gene from the mother and the other from the father The disease is transmitted in a recessive way with chromosome 7. (Bush, 2006 ) It is caused due to anomaly in the cells producing mucus. A defect in CFTR gene causes the cystic fibrous, that alters the core function of the protein responsible of movement of salt and water in and out of body cells. (Komaroff, 2005)Through the scientific discovery transmembrane conductance regulator, called cystic fibrosis has greatly improved the understanding of the disorder and its diagnosis also showing the disease’s complexity. The study of the diseases started in 1946 but a fulgurating progress has been discovered in the recent years. (Hopkin, 2010). Cystic Fibrous is common inheritable genetic disease within the Caucasian people in the U.S.A. From the research done the disease affects mostly the Northern European ancestry, although it too experienced at the parts of Hispanics, Native Americans. and some African-American the genetically inheritable diseases is affecting about 1 person in 17,000 African American,1 in 31,000 Asian American and large population affected being 1 in 2,000 to 3,5000. Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes severe damages to the lungs, liver, sex organs, sinuses, pancreases, intestines, and sinuses. The disease is characterized by the buildup of sticky, thick mucus. (Moss, 1991) Cystic Fibrosis is inherited diseases of the sweat glands and mucus. The mucus clogs the lungs as a result the breathing systems is affected and the mucus catalyze the growth of bacteria .Respiratory problem signs include breathlessness a stuffy nose, wheezing, a persistence in coughing and a decreased exercising ability

Romeo and Juliet - Lurhman and Zeffreli Comparison Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet Lurhman and Zeffreli Comparison Essay Romeo and Juliet. Over the past 500 years there have been numerous adaptations for stage, musicals and films based and interpreted from the original tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet. Written by Shakespeare in 1500’s and Juliet is undeniably Shakespeare’s most successful and well known play. The tragic story line filled with unfortunate events and heartbreaks are something that appealed to the Elizabethan era audience. The two most well known movie interpretations would have to be the version done by Baz Luherman and Zeherelli. Zeffireli’s version of Romeo and Juliet was a very traditional one and was set in Verona where the original play was located. It was written and directed by Franco Zeffireli and starred Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. Released in 1968 the film was the most financially successful film made up to that time because of the young teenage audience it had attracted. Although it may not be appealing to the teenagers in this century. It followed the Original storyline very clearly and the costumes were very much like those it the time it was made. Baz Luherman;s version of Romeo + Juliet and starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Claire Danes was a modernization of William Shakespeare’s play. It still had the original Shakespearean dialogue but the Montague’s and Capulet’s were represented as opposing business empires. Very much unlike the original storyline there were guns, cars, and very modern sense of clothing. Filmed in Mexico and Miami It was set in the fictional Verona Beach. This was a very successful version of the story and many viewers around the world loved the great difference in the interpretation. This film was released in 1996 and grossed $11. 1 million in its opening week, ranking #1 at the box office. Act 1 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet is a very essential part in understanding the tragedy of the story. It is where they first meet and fall in love at the Capulet’s masquerade ball. Towards to the end of the scene they realize their love would not be allowed because of the history of their feuding families. Juliet being a Capulet and Romeo being a Montague creates confusion and disbelief for the audience. In my opinion the film that portrays this in a better way is Luhermans version. Compared to Zeferellhis traditional movie it keeps the audience interested in what is happening. Some things that contribute to this is the mi –sen –scene music, lighting, camera angles and costumes. The music in Zeherellis movie is very traditional, when Romeo and Juliet meet eyes for the first time in the movie the music becomes soft and sweet, the typical love-song music of Shakespeares time. The setting is at Capulets masquarde ball and in an old castle made from stone and has candle lit lighting. Just like the music, lighting and location the costumes stay very true to the Elizabethan era. There is not much of a variety in the camera angles and it usually focuses on the actors facial expression. This movie would have been more of what Shakespeare intended. Luhermans version on the other hand has a very different atmosphere. This modernized adaptation has much more up tempo and disco music. Although when Romeo and Juliet first meet the slow song ‘Kissing you’ is playing in the background adding an addition of romance to the scene. The lyrics reflect their relationship and is ended with the kissing. The setting is very modern and instead of a masquerade ball there is a costume party. The start of this scene is very upbeat and lively. The lighting is much brighter than Zeherelli’s version and at the beginning there is flashing lights. Luherman was more experimental with his camera angles using medium shots, long shots, tilted angles, and spinning effects making the audience feel more involved in the scene. These two movies have given more of a great depth to the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet without taking away the beauty of the language. In my opinion Baz Luherman was more successful in appealing his movie to the audience of Australia. It’s was easily more relatable than the older 1968 Franco Zeherelli movie. However he did a great job creating a movie just the wal William Shaksepare would have intende however along with most people of my age I enjoyed and found the Luherman version more enetertainging.

Factors Leading To Integration Of Marketing Communication Marketing Essay

Factors Leading To Integration Of Marketing Communication Marketing Essay Keeping in view the dynamic environment of todays business, Marketer is required to develop the product that have the capacity to satisfy target market needs and wants, price that product attractively, and ensure its availability to the target customers. But the task does not stop over here; the organization must also communicate with their target about the company offerings. Communication is the process in which messages are exchanged to achieve a desired behavior direction or goal. The task of communication with target market is called promotion in Marketing. A company can use variety of promotion techniques including advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and public relations to achieve the companys communication objectives. From the last two decades, promotions strategies used by organizations around the world have undergone through tremendous changes. This is due to the fact that the technology has revolutionized our daily life, marketing promotion have no exception. Companies must be aware of the fact that the face of marketing communications is continuously shifting and, to be successful in the future, the Marketing manager needs to utilize the novel emerging communication techniques. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2006), Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a concept in which a company carefully integrates and coordinates its many communication channels-mass media advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, packaging, and others-to deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its products. The results of IMC are better communication that transform into consistent sales volume. The integrated marketing communication goes beyond these specific promotion tools. The design, and packaging of the product, its container and packaging, its price, and the retail stores that sell the product, all communicate something to buyers. Thus, although the promotion mix is an organizations primary communication, the whole marketing mix including product, place, price and promotion must be coordinated in order to achieve the desired impact. The organization IMC helps the firm in identification of the target audience, and then helps the firm in designing a well-coordinated promotional program that focus on managing the customer relationship over time. According to Pelsmacker et all (2006) Integrated Marketing Communication is the integration of specialized communications functions that previously operated with varying degrees of autonomy. If the organization fails to integrate its various communications tools, for example, the advertisements of the offering concentrate on one thing, while a price signaled transmit a different message while the labeling of the product depicts still another message. This will create ambiguity in the mind of the consumer and he will wander here and there in search of what the company is trying to convince me? As Kotler and Armstrong (2006) have pointed out IMC builds brand identity and strong customer relationships by tying together all of the companys messages and images. Brand messages and positioning are coordinated across all communication activities and media. Factors Leading to Integration of Marketing Communication: The following are some of the reason due to which it is inevitable to integrate the Marketing Communication of the organization. Fragmentation of the mass market: This mass-marketing strategy focuses on what is general in the needs of consumers rather than on what is different. The organization offer single Marketing Mix consists of one type of product with small or no variation, one pricing strategy, one promotion program aimed at every person and one distribution system aimed at the entire market. In the last two decades, the mass marketing strategy has lost its impact due to fragmentation of the markets across the world. Consumers around the world now have a more options of what to buy, what to watch to listen or read. The emergence of new market segment which was previously homogeneous, having distinct needs, requirements, and preferences. (Groucutt ; 2004). These fragments reduce the effectiveness of mass marketing techniques and erode brand loyalty. Media Fragmentation: Market fragmentation has resulted in media fragmentation because the of alternative media channels available to the consumer and all messages seen as one single message to consumer. Todays consumers are being irritated with a bundle of of television channels, and a steady stream of new magazines that hit the newsstands every week. Coupled with rising level of ad dodging and the future for some mass media might seem austere. Therefore advertising has to spread further, covering massive amount of channels to gain the same exposure. Explosion of New Technologies: The Technology is evolving today with much speed and has a very disruptive impact on our daily life. Something that has been considered as status symbol today is a myth of past now. Also this explosion allow customer to have greater control over the communication. Consumer can now select what to see, and what to hear more easily as in past. Emergence of Global Markets: Due to advent of IT the whole world has collapse to a global village. The culture around the world is merging and a unified culture is emerging. Although this has created some opportunities for organization, but is also posing some potential threat as they need now to be very cautious while designing there promotional programs and unless the promotional program are well coordinated and integrated it will not have any impact on the target market. The global market has also led to increase in advertising mess due more channels and more group placing ad on mass media. Shifts of Power from Manufacturers to Retailer: The power that historically rests with manufacturer has been shifted to retailer. The retailers due to this power now demands huge promotion fees and can offer better retail information from due to the usage of checkout scanner technology. Shifting of Promotion Cost from Advertising to other Forms of Promotion: Due to the increase usage of Internet, growth of customer databases, customer lack of time, companies are moving toward concentrated and niche segmentation, as consumer has the convenience to order what he needs and wants from direct marketers. This had led to change on the percentage of promotion spent on advertising. Traditionally this percentage used to be very high but now as the market conditions are changing it is eroding and taking the form of direct marketing, point of sales activities, online advertising etc. Emergence of Lower Cost and More Target Communication Tools: As the traditionally used media tools is losing its impact, the exploration of lower-cost and more targeted communication tools continues. Marketer now have the option to use promotional tools like event marketing and direct mail etc that are more targeted and have less cost as compared to of mass media. Development of Database and Relationship Marketing: One of the most important Direct Marketing is the Customer Databases. It is a controlled collection of absolute data about individual customers or prospects, together with geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral data. These databases help companies in influencing and building customer relationships and the organization can also tailor its message or market offering according to the personal needs of the target market. Increase Usage of Internet: The usage of Internet around the world is increasing with the passage of time, and this had led to change how a company does its business and how the organization communicate and interact with its target market. Companies around the world are using the Internet as a competitive tool to change how they transact the business. They can a company does business and how they communicate and interact with customers as they can reach prospects at just the right moment and can offers a low-cost, well-organized way to reach markets. Agency Accountability: The terms and conditions of the relation that the company and agency used to have are changing, due to changes in the competitive setup of the industry. The organization now demands for greater accountability from the advertising agencies and changes in return and incentives of the agency. Marketing Strategy Results Measurement Organization now calls that the activities that the marketing department carries out should be measurements appropriately and expectations from marketing strategy. Change in Shopping Approach: The reason behind why the consumer goes for shopping has been change. Traditionally people used to went for shopping in order to get the desired products and/or services from the market. But now the shopping approach has been changed, it is now taking form of freedom and entertainment. Growth of Digital Media: Multi-track media society that is constantly developing and changing with the passage of time has led to advent of digital media. In digital media consumer have extraordinary control over the information and entertainment choice. With new digital media in place, people have thousands of viewing options they can select from. Future of IMC: The conception of integrated marketing communications (IMC) is fairly new. The IMC tools allows marketing manager to plan and then execute his marketing communication programs, which create and maintain mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with the target market by satisfying their needs and wants. This means that promotion tools are used to create loyalty. The future trends of IMC are discussed in the following: Competitive Advantage: The Various tools that organization has can be used as a competitive edge against the competitors. Competitive advantage is the edge and the ability of firm to provide superior value to its target market as compared to competitors. As IMC components are designed as a whole, the organization is able to focus its efforts in all the communication elements that create single, powerful brand equity by speaking with one voice. This single brand message provides a competitive advantage to the company as the target clearly understand that what the company is communicating. Brand Equity IMC strategies are essential to the companys strategic brand management because IMC strengthens the interface between the organizations strategy of brand identity and the target markets brand equity. The organization that uses IMC strategies will be able to measure the brand awareness and brand image of its various offerings. Specifically IMC strategies and brand identity are the most vital parts of the companys overall brand equity strategy. The brand identity strategy of the organization serves as a foundation for its overall IMC initiative and, for this reason, accounts for to the firms brand equity. Online Advertising: Online Advertising is becoming powerful IMC tool for advertisers and organization can use online advertisement as people are now spending more time online; the Internet became another channel via which companies can market their offerings successfully. (Google; 2007) Because of the Internets versatility, it will give an organization the opportunity to reach and interact with its target market. Companies can now produce an IMC campaigns that exclusively target the desired customer more successfully with less cost as compared to traditional communication efforts. Online campaigns will give organization new abilities to the organization due to the following reasons: Reach: The Internet used by more than 170 million people only in the United States. Relevance: Online Advertising shows ads to potential customers who are actively searching for what businesses have to offer. Return on investment (ROI): Using analytical tools, companies can understand more about the effectiveness and efficiency of their ads. (Google; 2007) Viral marketing: Viral marketing is an IMC technique that is mostly used for trendy brands, Marketers are increasing acknowledging Viral marketing as an important IMC tool because it offers the traditions benefits and effectiveness of advertising. In viral marketing the organization promotes its product using Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM), utilizing individuals communication networks, and relying on their individual recommendations to sell the product. Companies actively seek viral marketing, by fueling discussion on their offerings. (Groucutt, J. et al 2004). Multi Chanel Promotion: As multi channel media increases in reputation, the problem of IMC is to make sure that the IMC campaign reaches its planned audience. According Perkin (2003) as media-blitzed, ad-cynical, time-poor, channel-flicking audience living in a fast-paced, attention-challenged world The fact is that due to fast pace of technology, and globalization of the world, consumer behavior around the world is changing. Today customer have more control over what to see, and read and therefore IMC need to tailor the organization campaign as per the requirements of the market. Media Selection There are a huge number of magazines, each having its own focus, allowing segmented audience to the organization. The owner of these Magazines not only offers media planners a place to get the target audience, but also provide insights regarding audience and how to connect with them in the most excellent manner. Companies can use these magazines in there IMC efforts by effectively marketing their product and to utilize and ensure correct targeting, positioning and promoting the company offerings. (Perkin, N. 2003). Sponsorship Campaign Sponsorship of sporting events like football, cricket, or even horse race is recognized as a strong medium of promotion due to its focus of providing target audience on one platform event and the capability to attach with company target market by adding value to their behavior and interests. The finding of the response that how a particular customer or a group of customers will reveal some interesting aspects about the company sponsorship and will also reveal the form of sponsorship appropriate for the company products. Although sponsorship, like other form of promotional mix, has to prove its value in IMC, consumers are inner to a sponsorship strategy. Targeting the accurate event will take a lot of research on behalf of the organization while the exposure created by sponsorship is very short lived (Crow 2003). Market Positioning The art of targeting customer to portray a product in a certain desired manner in known as positioning is the one of the most important factor while launching a new product and/or service for any organization. With the entire media overloaded, the consumer has closed mind to the new products, therefore, the company offerings should be exceptional, and supported by original, relevant, creative and really inspired IMC efforts. Advertising diffusion is exceptional and media fragmentation is growing now a days. In order to get a desired level of recall and brand awareness marketer need to target several medium. This is due to fact that consumer media habits are diverse and had led to higher IMC budgets and also waste of the precious organizational resources. Direct marketing Direct marketing has become one of the most effective and efficient way for reaching target market due to dynamic environmental factors, changing customer preferences, and technological developments. (Brassington, F. Pettitt, S. 2003). The key to successful direct marketing for an organization is targeting. The success of marketing manager while using direct marketing depends on his capability to identify the just right audience for the company product and then design the direct marketing campaign to achieve that goal. Site-Targeted Campaigns: The keyword-embattled ads can become visible on Google exploration results pages or on search and content sites inside the Google Network. Site targeting will give an organization the ability to: Advertise on most wanted sites. Reach customers near the beginning in the buying process, with advertisements designed to increase responsiveness or to promote a brand, but not unavoidably to generate clicks or traffic.

Nature or Nurture: Case for an Integrated Life-Span Approach

Nature or Nurture: Case for an Integrated Life-Span Approach There has been a debate raging, sometimes quietly, sometimes not, in regards to why individuals are the way they are. Most now realize that there is a tremendous interaction between the expression of the genes that we are given and the environment that forms the context for growth and development. Consider identical twins, separated at birth, that grow up with no contact yet are remarkably similar (Santrock 1999, p. 65). Alternatively, consider children who have experienced extended separation from parents and where placed in a orphanage. Though they tested as being developmentally retarded, depending, if the were adopted prior to six years of age, they showed remarkable recovery while those remaining â€Å"institutionalized† never functioned ‘normally’ (Cole Cole 1989, pp. 251-252). Clearly, it is not an ‘all-or-none’ proposition. Even within a paradigm of an interactive process, the early theorists tended to believe that development happened in childhood and one’s adult years simply played out the development of one’s youth. While there is virtually universal agreement that the developmental foundation laid during infancy, childhood and adolescence cannot be understated in importance, in the last 30-40 years, there is a growing widespread recognition that development is lifelong process. Termed the â€Å"life-span approach†, it explicitly recognizes a four-fold approach to understanding both development and psychology, considering biological, environmental, social and cultural factors (Cole Cole, 1989, p. 11). The case of David, Ruth, Mei Ling and Mrs. Brown represents a situation which virtually demands the application of such an approach. One the following pages are tables which presents each person, their developmental issues by perspective and a psychology summary utilizing varying t heorists to ‘explain’ their current dilemma. In addition to the primary consideration of David and Ruth, Mei Ling is also presented to her pivotal role in the dynamics of David and Ruth’s situation. The life-span approach, by virtue of its multiple perspectives, takes into consideration that biology and environmental consideration are only valid in the context of cultural and social frameworks. With this approach, it is possible to begin reconciliation of otherwise often competing theories. A further contribution of this method is that is recognized as having seven very relevant characteristics (Santrock 1999, pp.9-11): Lifelong in nature – Unlike some paradigms, the life-span approach considers development to be ongoing throughout life, not just a childhood process. Multidimensional – There are often multiple factors for any given outcome or behavior. Just as David expresses unresolved anxiety from his ‘abandonment’, he is also frustrated by work pressures and the demands of his new family role(s). Multidirectional – Elements of one’s development do not always improve with age. For example, one’s physical abilities improve until early-adulthood and then begin to decrease. This is a key element in this case for Mrs. Brown who, due to a recent illness, has become suddenly much more aware of her gradually increasing dependence on others to perform tasks for which she recently needed no assistance. Plastic – In opposition to a pure â€Å"nature† approach, development is not fixed though one should keep in mind that, no matter how hard one tries, ‘a pig cannot be taught to sing’. Clearly, biology gives one certain potentialities that are expressed by environmental or other stimulation. Historically Embedded – Development is contingent upon the broader environmental context of history. For example, a child in the 1950’s is different in many respects that a child of this decade, despite experiencing many of the same psychodynamic issues and stages. Multi-Disciplinary – One cannot be a biologist and fully understand human development though this perspective is essential. In the same way, one cannot be a pure behaviorist and expect to account for the width and breadth of development. Contextual – Biology acts upon and with social, cultural and psychological factors. Similarly, the experiences one has shapes the expression of biological elements of development. While most any aspect of David and Ruth’s current situation can be explained by the application of one or more theoretical perspectives, it is the life-span approach that allows them to come together in one cohesive â€Å"story†. Unfortunately, it is only in retrospect, in most cases, that development can be full understood. To illustrate, consider the figure below. One can easily explain the â€Å"path† from E to A with the benefit of the perspective of looking back. However, consider that one would only have a 1/256 chance at arriving at E given the choices that present themselves at each â€Å"juncture of life† (Cole Cole 1989, p. 263). In explaining any given situation, the lifespan approach seeks to take advantage of all available information from both sides of the nature/nurture debate. While no method can approach the accuracy of hindsight, the insight offered by the recognition that people are ever developing and are not so easily understood by a single school of thought gives tremendous power to the ability of psychology to make meaningful contributions to those in the midst of the struggles of life. Works Consulted Santrock, J. (1999). Life-Span Development, 7th Edition. McGraw-Hill College: Boston, Massachusetts. Cole, M. and Cole. S. (1989). The Development of Children. Scientific American Books: New York, New York. Gleitman, H.(1986). Psychology, 2nd Edition. W.W. Norton Company: New York, New York.

Islamic Science in the Medieval Era Essay -- History, Middle, Medieval

There are many terms used to describe the period after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance, three main terms being the Middle, Medieval, and Dark Ages. In general, these terms are used interchangeably, but are these fair substitutions? In recent years the term â€Å"Dark Ages† is becoming less and less acceptable as a phrase which describes the span of years it is meant to refer to. The use of the term â€Å"dark† implies a period of stagnation, which is becoming a questionable concept. In particular, the span of time referred to in this paper is 530-1452 BCE, with specific attention paid to the scientific discoveries and innovations rather than art or literature. These dates are significant because in 529 the Academy and Lyceum in Athens were shutdown by the Byzantine emperor, thus ending the Greek intellectual influence. The date of 1453 is chosen because many Greek texts arrived in Europe in 1453 after the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, the reby reviving the struggling European scientific fields (Bunch 93). This essay will show that the medieval period was not a so-called â€Å"dark age† because of scientific innovation in the Islamic world, and is only referred to as such because of the popular bias in the West of focusing on Europe. In order to make this clear, firstly, two objections to this proposition will be analyzed and clearly refuted. Following these counter arguments, the main weight of historical facts and events in the identification and explanation of Islamic scientific innovation will be presented, showing the inaccuracy of referring to the medieval period as dark. Finally, I will show that the misleading perception of the medieval era as stagnant is due to the modern bias for the superiority of Western... ...ime period in a positive scientific light. The distinction between modern and medieval science was described as medieval science being more theoretical in nature and modern being of the more applied variety. Through the further presentation of the plethora of Islamic scientists, covering fields as diverse as astronomy, medicine, chemistry, and physics it has been shown, without a doubt, that significant scientific contributions were made in this period. Finally, the source of this misconception was exposed through the common accidental perception of the past as a European narrative. History can easily be focused around Europe, and to do so produces a view of the medieval era being stagnant. However, when one looks at the greater global picture, it is clear that the Islamic world more than makes up for this lull in innovation, successfully brightening the â€Å"Dark Age†.

School Shootings and Gun Laws Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Imagine your child was nearing high school graduation with their whole life ahead of them. Next year, they will be going to college and you will see them bloom into the wonderful person you know they are. Now imagine the horror of hearing that your child had been shot and killed while they were at school. It is difficult to fathom the enormous amount of grief and anger that would flood the body of a person in a situation like this. No one should have to endure such pain. Now imagine how much this pain would be intensified if there was a possibility that the whole incident could have been prevented. This scene is an all too familiar one in this country. A kid, who for some reason is mad at the world, goes to school with a gun and kills innocent people. If you do not think this could ever happen to you, ask the parents of the victims of the Columbine High School incident. They will tell you they never dreamed it would happen to them either. Is it not reasonable to say that we must do everything we can to prevent this kind of thing from happening again? This is exactly why we desperately need to close the gun show loophole. Non-licensed dealers and private collectors who sell weapons at the thousands of gun shows in this country each year should be required to ask for identification and have licensed dealers run background checks before selling any weapons to potential customers. If these measures are not required, anyone – including convicted felons, underage kids, and even terrorists – will be able to obtain firearms at any local gun show. This provides nightmares not only about Columbine, but also about innocent civilians being killed by terrorists with weapons they bought at gun shows in the United States. ... .... If there are so many guns being sold in this unregulated market that the paperwork for background checks of those who are purchasing these weapons would be unmanageable, doesn’t this prove how big of a problem the gun show loophole is and how desperately it needs to be closed? No one wants to think about taking â€Å"inalienable† rights away from law-abiding citizens of the United States which is exactly what this type of legislation would not do. The only people that could be affected by such legislation would be sportsmen, and if you have any questions lingering in your mind on this issue, ask a sportsman this question: â€Å"Which is more important to you, being able to buy a gun a little faster or doing everything possible to avoid getting a call that says your child has been shot and killed?† I think any sportsman’s answer will settle your lingering questions.

Essay --

Kiryakov et.al.,(2004) have argued that semantic annotation needs to be based upon domain knowledge and not to be isolated from ontological commitments. Thus, they use ontology associations to annotate and index concepts from documents. SEWISE (Gardarin et al., 2003) uses ontologies only for describing a common data model in a given application domain that supports Web information organization and retrieval. TAP (Guha et al., 2003) represents documents and concepts are nodes using a semantic network. The main objectives of TAP are the development of a distributed query infrastructure for ontology data and augmentation of queries with data from surrounding nodes. However TAP supports only keyword search without ranking. Mayfield and Finin (2003) combine ontology-based techniques and text-based retrieval in a blind relevance feedback iteration. In their approach, taxonomies are used for query expansion, and for enhancing the semantic annotations of the documents. The documents are anno tated with the help of RDF triples, but ontology-based queries are restricted to boolean string search...

Big five Personality Traits and Effective Leaders Essay

Q.1) What do you think Terry Leahy’s personality traits are for each of the Big Five dimensions of personality? Identify and justify with reference to the case. Q.2) Considering the 9 narrow personality traits required of effective leaders, how would you rate Terry Leahy on all these 9 narrow traits (i-e which ones he rate high, medium and low)? Why? Justify? Q.3) The first weakness he mentioned was his â€Å"Irish Temper†. Explain and justify whether Terry Leahy has a bad temper or not. Q.4) Is Terry Leahy really modest. How do you remain that modest in spite of the success and the accolades? Does this man have no Ego? Q.5) What type of Self concept does Terry Leahy have and how does it affect his business success? Does Terry Leahy posses a theory X or theory Y attitude? Q.6) According to McClelland’s Achievement motivation theory, which of three needs Terry Leahy rates high, medium and low on? Justify. Q.7) According to the 3M Leadership competency framework there are 12 competencies required of effective leaders (i-e 1) Ethics and Integrity 2) Intellectual Capacity 3) Maturity and Judgment 4) Customer Orientation 5) Developing People 6) Inspiring People 7) Business health and results 8) Global Perspective 9) Vision and Strategy 10) Nurturing Innovation 11) Building Partnerships and Alliances 12) Organizational Agility). Considering the above 12 competencies for effective leaders which ones Terry Leahy good at and which ones he is less good at and Why? Q.8) Effective Leaders need to have skills and take actions on three different fronts i-e as strategists, as architects and as mobilizers (both internally and externally). Working through the case how would define Terry Leahy’s role as a strategist, as an architect and as a mobilizer. Q.9) What evidence is there that Terry Leahy’s leadership has evolved over time? How has he developed his career? Q.10) Identify some of challenges (or dangers) facing Terry Leahy today and in coming years.

My Favourite Communication Essay

Introduction to communication, I not only have more knowledge, and skills but also having real experiences. Nonverbal Communication and establishing relationship level meaning which are the most important things I had been learned. Nonverbal communication is crucial in relationships because it is essentially the leading factor for communication. There are three different ways that nonverbal communication is shown in relationships: responsiveness, liking, and power. Responsiveness is when we use our eye contact, posture, and body gestures to convey our emotions and thoughts to the other person. For instance, if someone were to slouch in their chair and have a bored look on their face, they are probably conveying that they don’t care about the class or that they are not interested in anything that is being said. Liking is a way to show positive communication towards others. Examples of this would be smiles, hugs, kisses, high fives, etc. Learning about nonverbal communication and how it establishes relationship level meaning is crucial in my everyday life. Nonverbal communication is essential in any relationship so learning about responsiveness, liking, and power, will give me a better understanding on the quality and level of my relationships. For instance, when I am working with a group at university, I will be able to better understand and have better awareness of the people who want to work and those who do not. It not only helps to better understand nonverbal communication but also to be aware of it in every situation. In my future career, nonverbal communication will play a fundamental role. If I am to pursue a profession in sign language interpreting, I will have to be able to tune my senses to everything nonverbal. Sign language is all about facial expression and body language, so learning about postures and gestures in nonverbal communication will really give me a tool to be aware of the nonverbal behaviors.

Catcher in the Rye- ‘Holden’s Hatred of Everything’ Essay

‘Holden’s hatred of everything is shallow and indicates his own unrealistic and confused attitude.’ Discuss. J.D. Salinger’s novel Catcher in the Rye depicts a teenager struggling through an identity crisis during the 1950’s. Salinger promotes the themes of growing up and adolescence through the protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden’s attitude towards life is bitter and contemptuous which prevents him from successfully interacting with other people. His transition from childhood to adulthood is blurry and unclear as he lacks the skills needed to shift from one to the other. Furthermore, he is unable to overcome the obstacle, as he sees it, of growing up as he is finding it difficult to accept the responsibility that comes with it. Holden exposes his idea of the shallowness and hypocrisy in the world by describing them as ‘phony’. Holden recognizes that phoniness is all throughout society. Whether it be in reference to his old school principal at Elkton Hills only conversing with the upper class families, or to his hatred of movies as it involves actors pretending to be something they’re not. Although Holden holds this pessimistic attitude, it seems to be evident that this outlook appears only to be evoked by sympathy, either for the families that looked down upon at Elkton Hills or for his own dysfunctional family. Holden also sees the insincerity in the publication of Stradlater, his roommate who is able to hide his ‘secret [slobbery]’ behind his ‘sexy’ appearance and fake charm. In this sense, Holden may also be jealous of how easily Stradlater can shield his insecurities as he has a strong sense of self-imposed ego. Holden describes his older brother D.B. as a phony because Holden perceives him as a ‘sellout’ for being a ‘prostitute in Hollywood’. Though Holden used to look up to his older brother, his now believes D.B. is compromising his talents for an audience. Similarly, with Ernie who plays piano at the nightclub, Holden is frustrated when the audience claps for him, claiming that ‘people always clap for the wrong things’. Holden is often found disapproving of particular elements in society, however is able to justify to himself the reasons of his actions based on his own experiences and perceptions, which may clash with the expectations of society and it is this that confuses Holden. Holden’s idea of reality is found to be altered due to hurtful experiences and therefore he has difficulty with interactions, forming connections and approval of society. At the beginning of the text, the reader is informed that Holden is narrating from a mental institution, which enables the reader to conclude that Holden’s views of reality are somewhat unstable. Moreover, Holden is unable to let go of the past, as he believes childhood is the only place he will find happiness. Holden’s perception of childhood consists of unconditional love, simplicity and safety from the corruption of the outer world. To Holden, this genuineness existed only when Allie was alive. It is here that the reader is led to believe that the reasons behind Holden’s inability to deal with complexity and intimacy stem from the death of Allie which he has failed to properly grieve for, resulting in confusion and lack of the closure he needs to move forward. In regards to his sexuality and lack of knowledge or experience in the matter, Holden notes that it doesn’t really apply as ‘in [his] mind, [he’s] probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw’ which implies that Holden has already created his own world in which he has isolated himself to. Holden’s fantasy is to be the ‘catcher in the rye,’ ‘catching’ kids from falling off a cliff into the pretentious world of adulthood. This metaphor indicates that Holden wants to be the person to save the children before they fall out of their innocent knowledge into the repulsive world of adults. His desire to remain in of childhood is implied when he explains that the ‘best things about the museum is everything stayed where it was’ which shows that he longs for a world that remains frozen and unchanged, as he fears the unknown. Also, when watching Phoebe on the carousel, Holden mentions that ‘the nice things about carousels were that they always played the same songs.’ The reality of the world cannot be accepted if the meaning is unknown, and this applies to Holden as his ignorance to explore this unknown prevents his from being the man he truly wants to be. Furthermore, Holden finds difficulty in accepting the concerns and responsibilities that are required in the adult world. His childishness and immaturity, whether deliberate or not, is evident when Holden ‘left all the foils and equipment and stuff on the goddam subway’ and instead of accepting that he made a mistake, he blames it on that he ‘had to keep getting up to look at this map so ‘[they’d] know where to get off’. Holden’s responsibility as an adolescent teenager was to finish school with good grades however unable to do that, he transfers to different schools repeatedly, only to fail again. Holden’s inability to accept responsibility may also be due to a fear of success. Holden’s childishness is also noticed throughout the novel when Holden refuses to go home and confront his parents about ‘flunking out of Pencey Prep’ in fear of the criticism and consequences that will result. Holden dislikes responsibility, as he believes that with it comes expectations, and if he doesn’t live up to those expectations, then the unconditional love he received through childhood will subside. ‘Catcher in the Rye’ explores the tension and confusion between Holden’s aspiration to observe and isolate with his need to converse and connect. Holden displays characteristics of a secluded mentality and is victim of his own isolation, which in turn prevents him from conforming to society’s expectations. Through Holden, the contrast between childhood and adulthood and the process of transitioning from one to another are examined closely. As the novel progresses, the reader is able to understand what events Holden has experienced that have lead to his unrealistic and confused attitude about fearing change, resenting adulthood and growing up.

HuckleBerry Finn Essay

â€Å"‘Ransomed? What’s that? ’ ‘†¦ it means that we keep them till they’re dead’† (10). This dialogue reflects Twain’s witty personality. Mark Twain, a great American novelist, exploits his humor, realism, and satire in his unique writing style in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain, born in 1835, wrote numerous books throughout his lifetime. Many of his books include humor; they also contain deep cynicism and satire on society. Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, exemplifies his aspects of writing humor, realism, and satire throughout the characters and situations in his great American novel. Mark Twain applies humor in the various episodes throughout the book to keep the reader laughing and make the story interesting. The first humorous episode occurs when Huck Finn astonishes Jim with stories of kings. Jim had only heard of King Solomon, whom he considers a fool for wanting to chop a baby in half and adds, â€Å"‘Yit dey say Sollermun de wises’ man dat ever live’. I doan’ take no stock in dat’† (75). Next, the author introduces the Grangerfords as Huck goes ashore and unexpectedly encounters this family. Huck learns about a feud occurring between the two biggest families in town: the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons. When Huck asks Buck about the feud, Buck replies, â€Å"’†¦ a feud is this way: A man has a quarrel with another man, and kills him; then that other man’s brother kills him; then the other brothers, on both sides, goes for one another; then the cousins chip in – and by and by everybody’s killed off, and there ain’t no more feud’† (105). A duel breaks out one day between the families and Huck leaves town, heading for the river where he rejoins Jim, and they continue down the Mississippi. Another humorous episode appears n the novel on the Phelps plantation. Huck learns that the king has sold Jim to the Phelps family, relatives of Tom Sawyer. The Phelps family mistakes Huck for Tom Sawyer. When Tom meets with Aunt Sally, he â€Å"†¦ [reaches] over and [kisses] Aunt Sally on the mouth† (219) This comes as a surprises to her and Tom explains that he â€Å"[thinks] [she] [likes] it† (219) Later, Huck runs into Tom on the way into town and the two make up another story about their identities. The two then devise a plan to rescue Jim. They use Jim as a prisoner and make him go through jail escaping cliches. While going through these rituals he replies â€Å"‘I never knowed b’ fo’ ‘twas so much bother and trouble to be a prisoner’† (252). In the end, though, Tom reveals that Jim owns himself. Twain uses humor as a way to add realism to multiple situations. Mark Twain employs several examples of realism in the way he wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain explores the gullibility of society when the duke and king go to the camp meeting and collect money from the poor, unsuspecting, church-going people. The king makes up a story about his profession as a pirate who lost his crew at sea, to which the people respond saying, â€Å"‘Take up a collection for him, take up a collection! ’† (128). Twain uses deceit, lying, and hypocrisy throughout the novel, which appear in various chapters. Twain also reveals examples of realism through the dialect the characters use in the novel. In his book, Twain utilizes the real dialect used at the time, which further demonstrates the realist qualities which he possesses. Throughout the book, Twain includes many different dialects including â€Å"the Missouri Negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods Southwestern dialect; the ordinary ‘Pike County’ dialect, and four modified varieties of the last† (2). Other examples of realism occur throughout the setting. The story takes place in St. Petersburg and on the Mississippi, near Twain’s place of birth. In particular, Mark Twain makes use of the episodes of realism as a way to satirize society. Satire, another element in Twains writing, occurs many times throughout his novel as well. A convincing example of satire occurs in the first chapter when Huck says, â€Å"[b]y and by they fetched the niggers in and had prayers, and then everybody was off to bed† (5). This pokes fun at the fact that Miss Watson tries to become a better Christian and a better person but still owns slaves and considers them property. Another satisfactory example of satire occurs when Pap becomes outraged at the thought of a black man having the opportunity to vote. However, the black man actually has more education than Pap (27). Twain uses the Boggs-Sherburn event to include more satire. When Boggs enters the story he says he has come to murder Colonel Sherburn. Sherburn then proceeds to shoot Boggs and the townspeople plan to lynch him. Sherburn laughs in their faces and says to them, â€Å"‘you are – cowards’† (142). Finally the crowd breaks up and moves on (142). Huck reflects on this incident and says â€Å"†¦ the pitifulest thing out is a mob† (142). Another prime example of satire occurs when Huck goes to the Phelps plantation and sees the two frauds, the king and the duke, tarred and feathered. He points out that â€Å"[h]uman beings can be awful cruel to one another† (222). Mark Twain includes numerous examples of satire throughout the novel. Through the use of humor, realism, and satire, Twain illustrates these aspects of his writing style. His style portrays the flaws in society and how pre-Civil War people treat each other. Mark Twain, one of the great American novelists of the nineteenth century, uses his books to teach others about life in the 1840s. Huckleberry Finn Analysis Although there are several themes that are apparent in Mark Twain’s The Adventures Huckleberry Finn, there is one theme that is more distinguished throughout the course of the novel than any other. This satirical view of Twain’s is apparent through his story of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain uses satire to convey his views on the failings and evils of society by poking fun at the institutions of religion, education, and slavery. This satirical view of Twain’s is apparent through his story of Huckleberry Finn. Religion is one of the key recipients of Twain’s satire throughout the novel. Huck is forced by Ms. Watson to read and learn about the important people in The Bible, and within the first pages of the book we discover Huck is not fond of the widow or her lectures. Twain uses Huck to reveal his idea that people put so much devotion into the works of long-gone ancestors of The Bible that they ignore other moral accomplishments of the present day. It is shown that religious people seem to be blind to the realities of modern civilization, and are living their lives according to old morals. This is why Huck mentions that the widow does not see any good in his works, and regardless of what Huck feels, his good deeds are not a . . . The youngest Grangerford grows up in a world of feuds, family picnics, and Sunday sermons that are appreciated but rarely followed and never questions the ways of his family. This family lives their lives by tradition, and the fact that the feud is a tradition justifies its needless, pointless violence for them. As Mark Twain once said, â€Å"I believe I have no prejudices whatsoever. Another time, Pap is ranting about an educated black and insists that he is superior to the colored man, even though he himself has no education and, is a drunk. This novel also shows that recognition of a human being is sometimes unintentionally ignored, as seen through religion and education, yet very deliberate through the torment of slavery. After this, Huck begins to truly consider the fact that Jim is smart, â€Å"I never see such a nigger†¦. nything honorable, like biblical events, in the eyes of his elders. By using this feud as an example, Twain shows that people will blindly follow what they have been raised on without stopping to think about the consequences. Huck admires the Grangerfords’ principles, and the interest they placed in good manners, delicious food, and attractive possessions. The reasons for the rivalries between the two families have been forgotten. This idea is brought to the reader’s attention when Col. All I need to know is that a man is a member of the human race. The Shepherdsons done the same† (110). Common topics in this essay: Huck Jim, Mark Twain, Bible Huck, Twain Huck, Grangerfords Huck, Mark Twains, Deacon Winn, Grangerford Shepherdsons, Huckleberry Finn, Ms Watson, huckleberry finn, apparent story, finn mark, mark twain, adventures huckleberry, adventures huckleberry finn, huckleberry finn mark, view twains apparent, view twains, twains apparent, satire throughout, story huckleberry, apparent story huckleberry, beliefs towards, story huckleberry finn, Huckleberry Finn In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain created a character who exemplifies freedom within, and from, American society. Huck lives on the margins of society because, as the son of the town drunk, he is pretty much an orphan. He sleeps where he pleases, provided nobody chases him off, and he eats when he pleases, provided he can find a morsel. No one requires him to attend school or church, bathe, or dress respectably. It is understandable, if not expected, that Huck smokes and swears. Years of having to fend for himself have invested Huck with a solid common sense and a practical competence that complement Tom’s dreamy idealism and fantastical approach to reality (Tom creates worlds for himself that are based on those in stories he has read). But Huck does have two things in common with Tom: a zest for adventure and a belief in superstition. Through Huck, Twain weighs the costs and benefits of living in a society against those of living independently of society. For most of the novel, adult society disapproves of Huck, but because Twain renders Huck such a likable boy, the adults’ disapproval of Huck generally alienates us from them and not from Huck himself. After Huck saves the Widow Douglas and gets rich, the scale tips in the direction of living in society. But Huck, unlike Tom, isn’t convinced that the exchange of freedom for stability is worth it. He has little use for the money he has found and is quite devoted to his rough, independent lifestyle. When the novel ends, Huck, like Tom, is still a work in progress, and we aren’t sure whether the Widow Douglas’s attempts to civilize him will succeed (Twain reserves the conclusion of Huck’s story for his later novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). Mark Twain: Realism and Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain: Realism and Huckleberry Finn Wednesday, August 29th, 2007. Is Mark Twain a Realist, nothing more and nothing less? As well as considering the meaning of Realism in a literary context this essay will critically examine the issues raised by the question with an analysis of Chapter XXXI, in which Jim is â€Å"stolen† and Huck decides that he will help Jim though he believes he will go to hell for doing so. In so doing it will be seen that the assertion is too narrow. One view is that Realism is not attainable: it is simply impossible to represent reality within a literary framework, K. Dauber (1999, p.386), considering Realism, argues that we can only get near to it in the imagination of the reader. The use of metaphors and similes assists us to create, within our own imagination, a landscape within which plausible events occur as part of an understandable and plausible plot. Dauber, strictly speaking, is correct, however Realist texts do exist, in considering them we need a guide as to what it is that makes them Realist. A descriptive term like Realism is useful to the reader. D. Pizer considers that â€Å"descriptive terms† such as â€Å"romanticism, realism and classicism are valuable and necessary† (1961, pp.263 – 269). His starting point is George Becker’s definition. Becker based his definition upon readings of European and American fiction since 1870; dividing realism into three categories: the realistic mode, realism of subject matter, and philosophical realism, Pizer considers â€Å"the realistic mode† based on three criteria: â€Å"Verisimilitude of detail derived from observation and documentation† (1949, pp. 184 – 197). The use of various dialects (discussed in the preface), detailed descriptions of the river and nature are Realist observations. The style fits the first part of this definition. Secondly is â€Å"reliance upon the representative rather than the exceptional in the plot, setting, and character† (1949, pp. 184 – 197). A slave’s escape from captivity and recapture is plausible and thus Realist. Thirdly is â€Å"an objective†¦. rather than a subjective or idealistic view of human nature and experience† (1949, pp. 184 – 197). Observations and descriptions of slavery, life in the South and on the river are objective. In chapter XXXI, Huck must decide between a moral obligation to contact Miss Watson and his debt to Jim for his help on their journey down river. The text of Huckleberry Finn up to, and including, chapter XXXI conforms to Becker’s â€Å"realist mode† definition. On this basis, Twain is a Realist. However, categorisations are just guides as to what we may expect from a text or writer when categorised as Realist, Romanticist or Classicist. Twain explains his style in the preface. From this preface, Twain clearly considered it a Realist book. It is clear and generally agreed amongst critics, that up to and including chapter XXXI, Huckleberry Finn is a realist text. Given the difficulties facing a slave on the run, within the contemporary context of its setting, it is plausible that Jim would face capture and be either lynched, mutilated or at least beaten if caught. However, one cannot consider Twain was â€Å"nothing more and nothing less than a Realist† in the context of this chapter alone. Critics, in the first half of the twentieth century, focused on the ending or â€Å"evasion† for analysis. Since the mid Twentieth Century, attention has focused on issues of race, gender and sexuality. Many view the ending as disappointing: described it as an anti climax, even â€Å"burlesque† (De Voto, 1932). Tom Sawyer’s scheming to set free an already free slave is a betrayal and even â€Å"whimsicality† (T. S. Eliot (although he also argues that this is the only correct ending)). The style of the ending is different from the preceding text, it is more slapstick and humorous. Ernest Hemingway (1935) claimed, â€Å"All modern American literature comes from Huckleberry Finn†, but continued: â€Å"if you read it you must stop where the nigger Jim is stolen from the boys. This is the real end. The rest is cheating†. De Voto (1932) considered the last eleven chapters fell â€Å"far below the accomplishment of what had gone before†¦this extemporized burlesque was a defacement of his purer work† (Cited by Hill, 1991, p 314). Tom Sawyer describes it, an â€Å"evasion†. It certainly detracts from the power of chapter XXXI: Huck’s rejection of Southern values, its belief in slavery and the superiority of whites. The â€Å"evasion† is the missed opportunity to emphasise this rejection by descending in to whimsicality and burlesque. The problem with Hemingway’s advice is that the book does not end at Chapter XXXI. Full analysis requires a complete reading. The whole thrust of the ending, from when Tom returns to centre stage is that of comedy and farce, it is as though Huck is acquiescing in Tom Sawyers pranks and wild schemes. L. Trilling (1948) argues that Huck is simply deferring to Tom by giving him â€Å"centre stage†. Eliot agrees, but then argues that it is right Huck does give way to Tom. The style of the book comes from Huck and the river provides form: we understand the river by seeing it through Huck, who is himself also the spirit of the river and like a river, Huckleberry Finn has no beginning or end (cited by Graff and Phelan, 1995, pp 286 – 290). Therefore, Huck, logically, has no beginning or end: as such he â€Å"can only disappear† in a â€Å"cloud of whimsicalities†. For Eliot this is the only way that the book can end. However, Eliot and Trilling rely on the fact that the River, Huck and Jim are symbolic, that they are allegorical. This suggests that the later chapters of the book are Romantic in style. The entire book must be considered in the context of the ending (however much it may disappoint), it is more a Romance; and to say that Twain is â€Å"nothing more and nothing less than a Realist† is thus incorrect. However, what is Romanticism? In the United States Romanticism enjoyed philosophic expression within the movement known as Transcendentalism, in the texts of Emerson and Thoreau. Symbolic novels of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville emphasized concern with Transcendent reality. Nathaniel Hawthorne in the preface to The Scarlet Letter, The Custom House, writes, â€Å"If a man, sitting all alone, cannot dream strange things, and make them look like truth, he need never try to write romances. † Romance offers a symbolic view of the world and, in that context, a historical representation of current issues is crucial (M. Kinkead-Weekes, 1982, p. 74). Symbolism and allegory are fundamental to a Romanticist text: â€Å"astonishing events may occur, and these are likely to have a symbolic or ideological, rather than a realistic, plausibility† R. Chase (1962, p13). Eliot’s interpretation, when considered in this context, asserts that Twain was not in fact writing as a Realist exclusively or, arguably, at all. Hemingway does receive support in his argument that the ending â€Å"is cheating†. From Leo Marx, in his 1953 article: â€Å"Mr. Eliot, Mr. Trilling, and Huckleberry Finn†. He agrees that the ending does not fall within the realist tradition and offends plausibility in several ways: Miss Watson would not free Jim, the interjection of humour is â€Å"out of keeping† with the rest of the book: Huck’s easy transformation from bravely assisting an escaped slave and agonising over this moral position maturely, to clown; is not plausible. To assist in humiliating Jim, a slave transformed to â€Å"freedom fighter†, when known, by Tom at least, that he is free already (however implausible that may be) is at odds with chapter XXXI and all preceding chapters. The ending reflects a conflict within Twain represented by Huck and Tom, he wanted to criticise Southern society but also to gain its approval. He does this by â€Å"freeing† an already free slave, so of the two white heroes, neither transgresses the law, nor break any moral codes of the South, and Huck is saved from going to Hell. This marks a massive retreat from the powerful, and arguably most dramatic, scene in the text: the decision of Huck to reject that society’s values and go to Hell, rather than betray his friend Jim. Marx may have been critical of the ending of the book in terms of content, but, in his 1956 article, which examines the literary style of Twain in Huckleberry Finn, he considers use of language and the â€Å"book’s excellence†. He concludes the article by eulogising the text as one â€Å"which manages to suggest the lovely possibilities of life in America without neglecting its terrors†. The two articles when read together are a powerful argument in favour of categorizing Huckleberry Finn as a Romance Twain a Romanticist rather than â€Å"Nothing more and nothing less than a Realist. † J. M. Cox (1966) challenges Marx’s assessment: postulating that it is a story about a boy who has found himself, through force of circumstance in a difficult position. The reappearance of Tom in the story is a relief to Huck. By deferring to Tom at this stage, Huck is acting within character as developed earlier in the text: happy to be free of the responsibilities thrust upon him. However, this analysis disregards the moral development of Huck in the text up to and including Chapter XXXI and the maturity of his moral deliberations. Marx, and others, are attempting to impose a political agenda that is not evident from the text; succumbing to the fashion that it is necessary for a hero to have an agenda. Huckleberry Finn is a child’s book. To impose sub texts involving subtle critiques of racial, gender, sexual and political issues misses the point entirely and is an over intellectualisation: blatantly ignoring Twain’s instructions at the beginning of the book (R.Hill, 1991). If following Hemingway’s advice then Twain is no more and no less than a realist, but is not to read the book in its entirety: Chapter XXXI is not the end of the text. Twain has succeeded in creating a work of fiction that engenders precisely the kind of debate that he ironically dissuades the reader from indulging in: a literary masterpiece that stubbornly refuses to fit neatly into any categorization at all. To say, â€Å"Twain is a Realist nothing more and nothing less† is thus inaccurate. Word Count: 1609 Bibliography George Becker, (June 1949), pp. 184 – 197, â€Å"Realism: An Essay in Definition†, in Modern Language Quarterly Richard Chase, (1957), The American Novel and Its Tradition, Anchor Books p. 13 James Cox, â€Å"Attacks on the Ending and Twain’s Attack on Conscience†, in Mark Twain: The fate of Humor, University of Missouri Press (1966); excerpted in Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Case Study in Critical Controversy, Edited by Gerald Graff and James Phelan (1995) St. Martins Press pp. 305 – 312 Kenneth Dauber, (Summer 1999), â€Å"Realistically Speaking: Authorship, in late 19th Century and Beyond†, in American Literary History, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp 378-390 T. S. Eliot, â€Å"The Boy and the River: Without Beginning or End† reproduced in Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Case Study in Critical Controversy, Edited by Gerald Graff and James Phelan (1995) St. Martins Press pp. 296 – 290 Ernest Hemingway, 1935, Green Hills of Africa Gerald Graff and James Phelan Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Case Study in Critical Controversy, (1995) St. Martins Press Richard Hill, (1991), â€Å"Overreaching: Critical Agenda and the Ending of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn†, Texas Studies in Literature and Language (Winter 1991): reproduced in Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Case Study in Critical Controversy, Edited by Gerald Graff and James Phelan (1995) St. Martins Press pp. 312 – 334 Mark Kinkead-Weekes, (1982), â€Å"The Letter, the Picture, and the Mirror: Hawthorne’s Framing of The Scarlet Letter† Nathaniel Hawthorne New Critical Essays, Vision Press Limited, p. 74 Leo Marx, (1953), â€Å"Mr. Eliot, Mr. Trilling, and Huckleberry Finn† The American Scholar reproduced in Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Case Study in Critical Controversy, Edited by Gerald Graff and James Phelan (1995) St. Martins Press pp. 290 – 305 Leo Marx, (1956), â€Å"The Pilot and the Passenger: Landscape Conventions and the Style of Huckleberry Finn†, in American Literature, Vol. 28, No. 2, (May, 1956) pp. 129 -146 Robert Ornstein, (1959), â€Å"The Ending of Huckleberry Finn†, in Modern Language Notes, Vol. 74, No. 8 (Dec. , 1959), pp. 698 – 702 Donald Pizer, (1961), â€Å"Late Nineteenth Century American Realism: An Essay in Definition†, in Nineteenth Century American Fiction, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Dec 1961), pp 263-69 E. Arthur Robinson, (1960), â€Å"The Two â€Å"Voices† in Huckleberry Finn†, in Modern Language Notes, Vol. 75, No. 3. (Mar. 1960), pp. 204 – 208 Lionel Trilling, (1948), in Introduction to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1948 Rinehart edition, excerpted in Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Case Study in Critical Controversy, Edited by Gerald Graff and James Phelan (1995) St. Martins Press pp. 284 – 290 Posted in Mark Twain: Realism and Huckleberry Finn, American Fiction | No Comments  » Huckleberry Finn Sponsored Links Huckleberry Finn Youth Find Deals, Read Reviews from Real People. Get the Truth. Then Go. www. TripAdvisor. com Ernest Hemingway wrote that â€Å"all modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. †¦All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since. â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in 1885, and in that year the public library in Concord, Massachusetts, became the first institution to ban the novel. Twain’s use of the word â€Å"nigger† later led some schools and libraries to ban the book. Huckleberry Finn was first attacked during Twain’s day because of what some described as its indecency; later, it would be attacked as racist. But by the end of the twentieth century, its status as one of the greatest of American novels was almost universally recognized. Huck Finn, the protagonist and narrator of the novel, is around thirteen or fourteen years of age. He is being raised by Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas, both of whom blindly accept the hypocritical religious and moral nature of their society and try to help Huck understand its codes and customs. They represent an artificial life that Huck wishes to escape. Huck’s attempt to help Jim, a runaway slave, reunite with his family makes it difficult for him to understand what is right and wrong. The book follows Huck’s and Jim’s adventures rafting down the Mississippi River, where Huck gradually rejects the values of the dominant society, especially its views on slavery. Bibliography Blair, Walter. Mark Twain and Huck Finn. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1960. Smith, Henry Nash. Mark Twain: The Development of a Writer. Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press, 1962. Any new collection of essays on Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is quite welcome. With the continuing debates over the novel and its relevance in the classroom, easy access to a variety of viewpoints can only help readers arrive at their own decisions. Katie de Koster’s anthology serves this purpose, offering a range of perspectives from the date of Huckleberry Finn’s publication to the present. In the Series Foreword, the general editors state that the essays for each volume are chosen specifically for â€Å"a young adult audience. † With this audience in mind, de Koster includes brief summaries of each article in the table of contents, and she groups the essays themselves into thematic sections with descriptive headers. Both arrangements will likely help students locate information and ideas relevant to their interests. On the other hand, many of the essays’ original titles have been changed (and this may prove confusing to some scholars), but original publication information is footnoted on the first page of each essay. De Koster has arranged the notably diverse essays into four sections: â€Å"The Storyteller’s Art,† â€Å"Images of America,† â€Å"Issues of Race,† and â€Å"The Problematic Ending. † Each section includes four or five essays. The first section includes opinions by Brander Matthews, Victor Doyno, James M. Cox, Alfred Kazin, and Ralph Cohen. Matthews’ 1885 review provides a practical starting point for understanding the novel as well as its shifting literary and historical significance. Matthews not only praises its realism, the vernacular dialect of Huck, and its humor, but he also admires Twain’s depiction of Southern blacks and Tom Sawyer’s treatment of Jim in the final chapters. Doyno’s selection–excerpted from Writing Huck Finn: Mark Twain’s Creative Process (1991)–focuses on how Twain painstakingly revised the manuscript to shape the individual personalities of each character. Doyno’s excellent and detailed analysis, however, might have served better after Cox’s and Kazin’s more general discussions of Huck’s personality and choices and of Twain’s artistic discoveries and social purposes. In the final essay of this section, Cohen highlights a topic of probable interest to many college-age readers: the games, tricks, and superstitions of Huckleberry Finn. In the second section, â€Å"Images of America,† de Koster chooses essays/excerpts by Horace Fiske, Andrew Hoffman, Gladys Bellamy, and Jay Martin. Fiske’s 1903 appreciation of Huckleberry Finn tends toward summary, paraphrase, and long quotation rather than interpretation, and it seems somewhat out of place in the collection. On the other hand, Hoffman examines Huck as a representative of the nineteenth-century social and political ideals associated with Andrew Jackson. The excerpt by Bellamy purports to discuss Huckleberry Finn as a satire on American institutions, but the section on the institution of slavery has been removed, and the expressed opinions about race often come across as dated. For example, Bellamy writes that Twain â€Å"shows us the African in Jim, imbuing him with a dark knowledge that lies in his blood† (97). Such pronouncements are not well calculated to illuminate young readers’ understanding of Twain’s novel. In the last essay of this section, however, Martin provides a useful and nuanced explanation of Huck’s vacillating position between Nature and Civilization. The third section, â€Å"Issues of Race†, contains essays by John Wallace, Richard Barksdale, Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Eric Lott, and Jane Smiley. Wallace’s oft-quoted essay, in which he describes Huckleberry Finn as â€Å"racist trash,† raises several valid concerns regarding the use of the novel in American high schools, but lacks strength in its textual analysis. Nevertheless, his major concern is taken up effectively by Barksdale, who places the novel within its historical context to show both the ironic intentions of Twain and the difficulty of learning and teaching those ironies in the classroom. Fishkin then explains not only the indebtedness that Twain had toward African American sources, including â€Å"Sociable Jimmy,† black spirituals, and personal acquaintances, but also the impact Twain had on subsequent American writers. Exploring this further, Lott discusses how Twain’s reliance upon blackface minstrelsy both allowed the complex achievement of Huckleberry Finn while simultaneously making it â€Å"perhaps unteachable to our own time. † In the final essay of this chapter, Smiley compares â€Å"Twain’s moral failure† in his characterization of Jim to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s unequivocal anti-racism in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Overall, this section is the strongest. That these complex understandings of Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn often tend toward the negative comes as something of a surprise after de Koster’s preface. De Koster introduces this collection within the context of the current racial controversy, but then offers a rather emphatic but largely unsupported series of statements. For example, after recounting Huck’s famous decision to â€Å"go to hell† and free Jim, she writes, â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is clearly antislavery. The reader is supposed to believe Huck made the right choice when he helped an escaped slave† (13). Instead of telling the reader what s/he is supposed to believe, de Koster would do better to explain her reasoning within the complicated matrix of ideas in her collection. On a more positive note, her preface also includes a 20-page biography of Samuel Clemens that provides a useful introduction for students unfamiliar with his life. In the final section of the collection, â€Å"The Problematic Ending,† de Koster includes opinions by Joyce Rowe, Jose Barchilon and Joel Kovel, Carson Gibb, and Richard Hill. Rowe argues that Twain intentionally destroys the â€Å"fictional comforts of verisimilitude† in the final chapters to expose the â€Å"grotesque† values of society, including those of the readers. Barchilon and Kovel offer a psychoanalytic interpretation of the escape, interpreting Jim’s prison as a womb, his chains as an umbilical cord, and the Mississippi River as Huck’s loving mother. Gibb justifies the ending as an intentionally bad joke that reflects the culture that Huck seeks to escape, yet the 1960 essay is most noticeable for the repeated use of the word â€Å"nigger† without quotation marks. Gibb seems to feels justified in this usage because he has explained that Huck and Tom â€Å"believe niggers and people are two different things† (177). However, its use is unnecessary to his argument and also insensitive to the extreme. Because of this, the essay itself seems inappropriate for a collection aimed at young readers. Finally, Hill presents the most formidable vindication of the final chapters to date, arguing that Huck’s response to Tom is plausible for a boy, and that Jim’s response shows an intelligent manipulation of contemporary stereotypes to exert at least some control over a delicate and dangerous situation. All in all, de Koster’s collection offers a useful variety of opinions. It will doubtless contribute to current debates of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and its place in our classrooms. About the reviewer: Joe Coulombe grew up in the Mississippi River town of LaCrosse, Wisconsin (mentioned briefly in Life on the Mississippi, ch. 30). After earning his PhD at the University of Delaware in 1998, he began a tenure-track position at the