Edith WhartonS Ethan Frome Essays (541 words) - Ethan Frome

Edith Wharton'S Ethan Frome Nathan Wesmier 1/29\01 2nd Period Ethan Frome Essay Edith Whartons novel Ethan Frome is a domestic tragedy. The three main characters are Ethan Frome, Zeena Frome, and Mattie Silver. The uselessness of poverty, mean spiritedness, and grim silence are all present in the tragedy of Ethan Frome. The story takes place in a stark winter landscape, Starkfield, Massachusetts, where the lives of all the characters are constricted. At each turn the circumstances of rural poverty, mixed with the bitterness of isolation and failure, lead the main characters to lives of tragic resignation. As a result of their miserable existence, they grow hard and mean-spirited, rarely communicating except with complaints and anger. The townsfolk tend to avoid them and are even reluctant to speak freely of the ruined lives of Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena. The tragedy of their existence is appropriately captured in their physical beings. Mattie is paralyzed, and Ethan is a shriveled, silent man whose face is set in grim despair. In the beginning of the flashback, Zeena, Ethan's wife, who is also his distant cousin, is thin and hard. Before the action of the story begins, she has come to the farm to nurse Ethan's mother in her last days. Zeena ends up marrying Ethan and staying on the farm. She becomes sickly and is as unhappy, sharp, and looking constantly for cures to her vague ailments. Wharton uses the setting to help reinforce the coldness of Zeena. The foremost colors in Ethan Frome are white and red. While the snow is primarily white and cold and hopeless, as are the souls of the characters, the decorations of human life are red. Mattie, when she appears as womanly, available, and happy, is always decorated with a red scarf or a red ribbon, which Ethan prizes; but her redness cannot eliminate the bright whiteness of the cold and barren snow. Zeena's most coveted possession is a red glass pickle-dish, which becomes broken when Mattie is using it. Red is, of course, the color of blood and the heart, and the story is a tale about the heart. But like the pickle dish, the heart gets broken and they never get repaired Zeena never changes in the novel. She starts off as a mean, cold, pathetic figure, and she is the same way as she takes care of Mattie and Ethan at the end of the novel. The isolation of the Fromes farm is shown by the isolation of Zeena, and Ethan. Then the isolation of Starkfield itself is shows how it is cut off from the rest of the world. An example of this isolation inside the Frome house is after the pickle jar is broken, Ethan and Mattie wanted to keep it a secret but suspected that Zeena will find out from the store merchant that sold him the glue. Ethan Frome is a very dismal story that tells about the terrible tragedy of three lives. Throughout the novel, Edith Wharton describes the spiraling hopelessness of poverty, isolation, and small-mindedness. Through reinforcing the mood and traits of the characters with the setting of this novel, Wharton lets the reader better relate and really get into the novel as a whole. Music Essays

To A Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph Essays - Greek Mythology

To A Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph Essays - Greek Mythology To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph In the poem "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph", Anne Sexton alludes to the flight of Icarus and Daedalus and to "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing" to convey a message to a friend. I think this poem was written to reassure a friend that what she did was the right thing. Perhaps a father figure of the friend advised her to do something and she defied him, making herself feel worried that she did the wrong thing. William Butler Yeats once wrote a poem titled "To a Friend Whose Work has Come to Nothing". It was a poem believed to be written to reassure a friend that what she ended up doing was a noble thing even though in reality she failed her original task. The title of Sexton's poem is an obvious allusion to Yeats' poem. Sexton changed "Nothing" to "Triumph" in her title. Sexton's friend must have been a fellow poet to be able to catch the allusion to Yeats' poem. I believe she wanted her friend to know that what she did was the right thing. Perhaps she compared her friend to Yeats' friend. Sexton wrote "Think of the difference it made!" referring to Icarus' flight. She might have wanted her friend to realize a difference her defying her father made. The final line of the poem has a comparably different tone than the first 13 lines. The last line, "See him acclaiming the sun and come plunging down while his sensible daddy goes straight into town.", seems more mocking of Daedalus' flight. It seems that Sexton feels that Daedalus' flight was a wasted chance and was in no way adventurous. She might also be comparing her friend to Icarus, seeing as he too failed his initial task but accomplished something greater on a global scale. I believe Sexton thought that Icarus' flight was not foolish or a failure, but adventurous and a great personal success, even though his satisfaction and personal glory was short-lived. She wrote "Admire his wings", "wondrously tunneling", and "Who cares that he fell back to the sea", therefore I think that she doesn't believe that the fact Icarus plunged to the sea is important. Many have used the process of allusion in the past to help convey a meaning of a poem. A popular example and choice of an allusion topic is the bible or past works of art and literature. Anne Sexton obviously chose allusion as her method of conveying her emotional message to her friend.

External Environmental Analysis CS 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

External Environmental Analysis CS 2 - Essay Example ecommended the company management that they should increase their corporate social responsibility activities so that the involvement of the local community increase and so the profit of the company. The strategic management process of a company involves the analysis of the internal environment of the company as well as the external environment. For analyzing the external environment of the company the business analyst need to do the analysis of the current scenario of the market which includes the economic analysis, political scenario analysis as well as the analysis of the contemporary technology. This paper is an attempt to analyze the external environment of the Coca-Cola Company which is a soft drink manufacturer, and the NAICS code is 312111 (NAICS, 2011). For analyzing the external environment the researcher is going to use two frameworks, the porter five forces analysis and the PEST analysis. Using the tool an analyst can identify the forces that driving the competition in the industry (Stahl and Grigsby, 1997, p.145). There are five dimensions of the porter five forces model. The analysis of the company using the porter five forces tool is as follows. Competition in the Industry: The competition among the industry is mainly between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Only these two companies are present in about 200 countries of the world. Others are the small local or global competitors. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are holding major percentage of share in the beverage industry. So the competition in the industry is medium as per the analysis of the researcher. The threat of the substitute products: The threat of the substitute products is medium. Fashionable drinks like red bull and Belgian beer are the competitors and the promotional strategy of these companies are aggressive. There are also some low pricing brands so the switching cost is lower. But due to the brand image of Coca-Cola the threat is low. Bargaining power of the customers: The bargaining power of the

Meat Industry in Kenya Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Meat Industry in Kenya - Research Paper Example The livestock marketing council found in Kenya is a private entity that plays the role of advocating for the rights of livestock traders and assists them in marketing of their products. The banks found in Kenya provide individuals and organizations with agricultural loans to boost their agricultural undertakings including livestock keeping and trading in livestock. The government of Kenya runs the management of the public body that has monopolized the meat processing sector in Kenya. This includes provision of financial support for this corporation. Most of the privately owned firms dealing with livestock and livestock products are privately run. The management of such firms supports them financially and ensure that they are run in the desired way (Ngugi 2001pp52-63). Social and cultural factors affecting the meat industry in Kenya Most of the societies living in Kenya place no restrictions to consumption of meat with the very insignificant exemption of the Indians living in this country. This therefore means that the meat industry sells most of its products to the Kenyan local community. Most of the Kenyan communities value red meat and incorporates its consumption in many of their cultural ceremonies including weddings, initiation and even burial ceremonies. This has a positive impact to the meat industry due to the large public meat consumption during the ceremonies. Kenyan communities are further divided into subcultures which hold a number of social gatherings to deliberate on issues affecting them. Most of these subcultures normally take the red meat as the main diet served during such gatherings. An infamous group that dotes on red meat when holding its social gatherings is the 'Mungiki'. Technological factors affecting meat... The paper describes the determinants of demand for meat in Kenya. The price at which meat is sold determines the demand for it. When the price of meat goes up, fewer individuals will be willing to buy it. They feel like buying the meat at a higher price takes most of the money at their disposal away. Locals prefer to buy foods that can be supplemented with meat like beans or lentils for the provision of proteins in the body. This idea is mostly influenced by an increase in the price of the meat, which makes them reluctant to buy the expensive meat and prefer cheap protein supplements. When meat substitutes cost less than the meat itself, the local demand for meat shifts to the ‘more affordable’ substitutes. The Kenyan locals for example prefer to take fish or animal organs like the intestines, kidney or liver which costs less than the meat itself. The income levels also determine meat consumption within the local Kenyan setting. With most of the households leading a poor life, meat is commonly viewed as a luxury for the rich. Hence, the humble households consume meat less while the rich ones consume meat very frequently. The above characterizes the consumption of meat within social, geographical or even cultural levels. Since meat costs much higher than most other sources of income, those people living in areas where income is high will buy more meat than those areas where income is low. Thus, the Kenyan suburbs records high meat intake, than the slums.

Discuss Nationalism in the ERa of Good Feelings Essay Example for Free

Discuss Nationalism in the ERa of Good Feelings Essay Nationalism, not sectionalism, was the driving force during the era of good feelings. Nationalism became the leading ideology of the American republic. While sectionalism proceeded in bringing the nation into turmoil and constant bickering among the politicians, as in the case with dealings leading to the Missouri compromise, nationalism was able to unite the nation into a headstrong body, led by an ever-increasing, more powerful central government. Nationalism, many can argue, was a guiding light that helped the populous in Europe unite. As early as the late great Roman Empire, it was that notion of being a part of a uniform body of civil, governed people who helped these places flourish. In early 19th century America, during the Era of Good Feelings as one newspaper put it, Americans began to root themselves in all that the nation stood for which helped them in turn begin to think about moving the United States into a respectable position among the worlds super powers. For example, Stephen Decatur toasts the country and acknowledges that it is our country, for better or for worse. This is a sharp contrast to the views of our founding fathers because George Washington himself, the father of our nation, saluted king George although he was a part of the attempt to establish a separate nation. Poets and writers also began to capture the nations spirit. In her Address to the New York State Legislature, Emma Hart Willard, explains how America has no problem in setting precedents and taking risks for the benefit of the country. For example, did the country take a risk in having a democracy instead of a monarchy? The answer to this question is yes, because no one in the history of the world before America, was able to successfully run a government the way that new nation ran. Although they had to switch from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution, this just proved that the nation could adapt with its people, thus setting precedents. Sectionalism only succeeded in dividing the country. This is because sectionalists always had their own agendas, which often clashed with that of their opposition. The division of votes on the tariff of 1816 was a pretty noticeable one, although the final vote was not really affected by  non-tariff votes. Sectionalism can be found here in the numbers of each region. The majority of New England Votes were cast against the tariff. This should be of no surprise because New England, which at the time was largely federalist, was against the whole war of 1812 effort from the get go. If it were not for the nationalistic pride of the western and southern regions, this protective tariff would have not been passed. Nationalism creates an atmosphere which attempts to propel the nation forward instead of becoming entangled in issues which cause a separation of agendas, thought, and eventually causes a rift in peoples beliefs. The nationalism brought about by the Era of Good feelings helped the United States get on track to becoming what it is today. If you look at current events, you can see that the United States operates with more fluidity when we have a common enemy instead of creating enemies out of our brethren because of our ideals.

Childhood Perspectives in Jane Eyre and Hideous Kinky Essay -- Jane Ey

Childhood Perspectives in Jane Eyre and Hideous Kinky Charlotte Bronte was born in 1816 in Hamworth in Yorkshire. Her father was the vicar of the village she lived in. Her mother died when she was very young. With her two sisters, Maria and Elizabeth she was sent to a very strict boarding school where she was very unhappy. Both her sisters died of tuberculosis, which made her very upset. Jane Eyre was based on Charlotte Bronte's own experience and is a fictional autobiography. Esther Freud was born in London in 1963 almost 150 years after Charlotte Bronte. She spent most of her childhood in Sussex, she was taken to Morocco when she was very young but says she can't remember. Hideous Kinky was published in 1992, although it's not an autobiography its base on her childhood experiences in Morocco. Jane Eyre is set in the middle of the Victorian period where children had no rights and social class was everything. As the book goes on we see Jane grow from a rebellious and boisterous young girl to a sensible and determined woman. We see Jane move from place to place meeting and losing people. Although we do see Jane growing into a young woman we are only concentrating on the first 10 chapters in which we follow her childhood. Hideous Kinky is set in the 1960's, in Morocco .The book gives a view of life on the road to Morocco is put across through the eyes of a sincere but often distracted hippie's five year-old daughter. As the small family seeks food, shelter and friendship wherever they can and their adventures unfurl, there grows between them a strange yet unshakeable bond. The contrast between the historical and social period in which the two books are set is stark, particularly with regard to th... ...y. In the evening, Jane speaks to Helen, she asks her why she puts up with Miss Scatchared's bullying and she explains the principles of endurance, duty and self-sacrifice to Jane, as based on the New Testament Gospels. A lot of the first few chapters when Jane starts Lowood consist of the converse between Helen and Jane. Though this dialogue covers some complex theological ground, it is nonetheless quite naturalistic and provides us with a deep insight into Helen's character. Helen offers one solution to Jane's problem - the need to quell her passionate nature and Jane does learn from her, as we begin to see in the following chapters. But Helen's faith is also essentially inward - looking, as indicated by her tendency to slip into reverie, and potentially death - willing; she looks forward to death as an elevation, 'I live in calm, looking to the end'.

Individuality in 20th Century Art Essay

20th Century art has spawned great art forms. Its evident transformation had triggered the question of whether or not the development was caused by the pure genius of the artist or by the preceding art that he was born into. This essay will discuss how the artists of the 20th century have made art almost indefinable (Nicolas Pioch, The 20th century) by looking into the quotes of Immanuel Kant (1790) and Andre Malraux (1953), as well as looking at some actual works before and after 1950 which would illustrate that art has clearly become an expression of an artist’s emotions and thoughts as honed by the past. As individuality steps in, we will closely look at how an individual’s person is actually affected by his experiences and orientation on various aspects of his existence such as how he could have been raised, how he may have been exposed to previous artworks and the like. Immanuel Kant, in his quote from the Critique of Judgment (1790) had clearly defined genius as, â€Å"a talent for producing that for which no definite rule can be given†. I believe that this is like how scientists are referred to as geniuses, they have defied popular beliefs or what had actually become a norm for their time or era. They would produce materials that are not usual for the majority. Similar to this, I believe that such was also the case as he may have found that an artwork, which proved to be unique for its genre, is already a product of a genius. A good example of what was said to be a work of a genius was that of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Donatello’s Crucifix (images shown in the Documentation). These were considered unique and were painted outside the what was considered as standard during their time or era, as these works had clearly defied the usual idea of what our usual picture of the heavens is (Starry Night) as well as the common picture of how Christ was crucified. Texture of these creations also scream of individuality as was the case with Van Gogh’s work. As was said by I. Kant, â€Å"originality must be its primary property† for an art to be considered as the work of a genius. It is clear he meant that it was something that was not usually done but did not deduce it to not being influenced at all by artworks that came before them. Instead the focus was on how they have made their creations different from the others without necessarily straying from the same idea or thought. Like in Van Gogh’s work, there had already been paintings depicting the heavens at night but its form and texture as well as the colors utilized were clearly out of the ordinary and had been very original despite the presence of previous artworks that had been made. On the other hand, Andre Malraux’s, â€Å"The Voices of Silence† (1953) compared artwork to a child that matures. Meaning that art basically evolves. It does not necessarily veer away from its contemporaries but is created from what he may have experienced. Like a child that may have learned to walk more carefully after acquiring a scratch from a fall, an artist was also said to rise from their own conflicts and the achievements of their predecessors. A person that may have lived within a war-torn era may create an artwork that depicts what he had witnessed, at the same time picking out best practices from works that were previously done by others and using them as inspiration to put his experience or what he had witnessed into a work of art. As such, A. Malraux was right about picking them out â€Å"from their struggle with the forms that others have imposed on life†. We note though, that experiences do not necessarily remain within the context of a person’s personal struggles but can derive thoughts from their successes as well or the comfort that they may have had. A classic example is Jose Manuel Merello Arvilla’s â€Å"bodegon electrico†, which depicts Spain’s colorful yet subdued culture evident in the shades and texture utilized. Similar to this is Vijendra Singh Devra’s painting of a three-part series called the Blue Night, where the texture was actually smooth and the contrast was stark that may be an evidence of the painter’s experiences or social status. It may not be easy to defy the norms. An artist is faced with the risk of being singled out either as great or poor. The genre of which the artwork is in defines the product that the artist creates. As mentioned in â€Å"Necrophilic Logics and the revolt of the imagination†, http://www. geocities. com/kk_abacus/carp. html: A split between the rational and irrational is constructed by every rational system; each rationality creates a corresponding irrationality, that which does not fit inside of it. Therefore, each rational system has inherent limits. To break out of a rationality, one must also be capable of conceiving of that which lies beyond the limits of that system. Rational systems can be useful tools but they can also become mental prisons. There is a slim demarcation between the subconscious and the imagination of a person as it says that both are something that goes beyond the inherent limits of man’s rationality. As such, it is clear that an artist’s genius is based on how he creates a unique description of what he has undergone or experienced as well as his absorption of what had been proven effective and successful for other artists as well.