Contemporary societies Essay Example for Free

Contemporary societies Essay The art of literature in contemporary societies has always led to more critical discussions between man and himself and between man and his neighbor. Literature pushes us to rethink our stance on normal societal norms and beliefs. Sula is such a work of art. It is the based on two women living at the Bottom in Ohio, a predominantly black community. Helen Wright is a socially conscious and quite a conservative woman. She has one daughter; Nel. Hannah Peace a beautiful flamboyant and a woman with many men at the Bottom is the mother of Sula. Sula is raised with Eva Peace, her grandmother who does not stifle her granddaughters freedom unlike Nel who comes from a restrictive household. Nel and Sula develop quite an inseparable and good friendship, a friendship that does not settle well with Helen who possesses grave misgivings due to the reputation of Sulas mother however she does not object openly after her realization that Sula is a very polite house guest. After High School these two great friends diverge ways for 10 years. Sula goes to college where she experiences a new wave of sexual promiscuity much like her mother. Nel On the other hand is married by a Bottoms resident, Jude Green. Their separation last for period of three years before Sula comes back from the college and their relationship resumes without any hindrance. However, this relationship is cut short when Nel learns of the relationship between Sula and Jude. This affair ends both the relationship between Jude and Nel as well as that of Nel as Sula who leaves the bottom for three years. Nel is forced to raise her two children alone and she doesnt communicate with Sula for the three years that she goes away. Their next meeting occurs when Sula is terribly sick and almost dying. Their last conversation before Sula dies constitutes the literary wealth of this masterpiece; it is the discussion between good and bad. She dies and is buried at the Bottom cemetery. Thereafter, Nel visits Eva Peace who is quite old and is kept in a nursing home where she tries to retell the moments she had together before Sula died. While walking home she begins to feel the loss of the relationship with the death of Sula, her single and true friend. Her judgment of Sula as bad begins to haunt her as she recalls an incident that happened when they were friends; the Chicken Little incident. Chicken little was a young boy who also lived at the Bottom. When playing on a tree, Sula lost grip and the child plunged in the river and drowned. They kept this secret for the whole of their lives. These are the memories that unsettled Nel emotionally, she begins to challenge the concepts of good and bad and the choices and sacrifices people make in life. Later on, she kills her drug addict sun as she struggles to raise his family single handedly. Sadly, we see her sitting and crying over Sulas grave at then cemetery as the story comes to an end. The story questions the decisions that people make in life; the calls for a rethinking of common societal problems. Critics mention the humor in the novel. For example the place called bottom is actually at the mountain top. The creation of binary oppositions in the novel not only makes it too interesting and informative but also lets the reader glance at the depth of common conventions in the community and the effect these societal conventions have on the lives of children who are supposed to be brought up in a comparatively free world where people are supposed to make free will. Satire as a theme is also developed in the story and it fuse well with the binary notion. The complexity of characters in the story conveys an account of human flaws in decision making and in the way we relate to other people in the community. While parents do everything in their power to ensure that their children justifiably lead a good life, little is done in ensuring that the children also get freedom. This makes the children not to acquire their own experiences in life but only proceed to copy the characters of their parents and grandparents. The fact that Sula turned out to be an exact replica of her mother and grandmother is an attestation to this fact. The book is feminine masterpiece and there is also an element of female chauvinism. This can be justified by the fact that all the major characters in the book are women and their actions are affected by men in a very little sense. Jude, Chicken Little and Nels son who became a drug addict after leaving the army are all victims of the women’s stereotyped dispositions. Shadrack being physically and emotionally scarred fro the experience of war is disowned and almost excommunicated by the community without the community fully understanding the reasons behind his behavior. Let us now give a critical analysis of Sula, the main character. Sula is the major influence on his friend Nel. Sula has been influenced by her mother leading to the passage of what can be argued to be a bad character trait through generations. Eva is a strong woman. She has endured loneliness, abject poverty but she is proud and unrelenting. Sula is quite an extraordinary woman, she is energetic but she has no suitable outlet to release her energies. This makes her potentially dangerous in that that she has no knowledge of wrongdoing. She does not understand that she sins when she sleeps with men and carelessly tosses them aside. Her sin is unintentional. The community, however do not understand the context of her upbringing or they simply do not care. They despise her but tolerate her. One very interesting aspect is that Sula is quite independent in her isolation, she does what she pleases and she simply does not care what everybody else does. She lives her the way it pleases her effectively earning her isolation from the community. After her death the rules shift suddenly, there is a renewed sense of acceptance, of defining right and wrong, good and bad. It is important to try and delve into the reasons why Nel and Sula united even after Sula betrayed their friendship by having an affair with Nels husband, Jude. Nel realizes that Sula was neither good nor evil; she was just indifferent to everything and everybody. Wives had to put extra effect in making sure that their husbands do not fall into bed with Sula, children were treated better so that they dont grow into adults who are indifferent and uncaring like Sula. This is good fortune to the bottom community because they were held together in the rethinking process. Remember the National Suicide day? After Sulas death the community did not have any productive outlet to channel their energies, they could not just sit and talk and so they become enraged and tear up the tunnel the result of unfocused energy. This eventual realization went a long way in ensuring that the residents of Bottom engaged in productive work for their survival. If Sula would have directed her energy to something else, maybe something a little more worthwhile would have resulted. Racial prejudice is highlighted when Jude is denied a chance to engage in the building of anew bridge, because of the color of his skin; he is denied the opportunity even though he is willing to do something productive. He stands in line for six days while the white boys get an opportunity to build the new River Road, his job at the hotel is demeaning and an insult to his masculinity. The scarcity of job opportunities remains to be the why Eva and Hannah had very little chance of gainful employment. They had to contend with the injustices being meted out on them because they were females and most importantly black. To escape the pangs of hunger in the winter, they have to prepare canned food in the summer. The life of Sula Peace, her childhood and her death in 1941is surrounded by the inability of the environment to shape her into a good woman The black community residing in Medallion; the bottom is judgmental but not in any way assisting to solve the crisis within itself. Sula’s life story shows us how the community and family can shape somebodys identity. She not only displays how children are nurtured but also her later relationship with the same community who natured her. She is a strong independent character but the community does not see her positive potentiality. To go against these societal norms she is not married and she sleeps around. The Peace family has been frowned upon by the Bottom community. This could have elicited an element of antagonism from Sula because she does not follow accepted societal conventions but in this case she is the protagonist and not the community. The novel poses her as the central character and the community constitutes only bits and pieces that seem to knit her life together in a predetermined fashion from the time of her birth to death. If change is to take place the community remains the playing field and Sula undoubtedly remains one of the players in the field. Whether she deserved to be rewarded for fearlessly instigating the rethinking process is not a matter of discussion as it is evident that her one and truly friend had in her own way knowingly or unknowingly lent credit to her stance in life by crying over her grave at the cemetery after realizing what Sula stood for. The character Sula is structure less, that any character interaction with her only invokes an element of structurelessness. This is because philosophically her evil is not her own but a reflection of what had been unknowingly imparted in her. Fortunately, her story is one where what is regarded as evil triggered change in the society. In analyzing one of the important masterpieces in the history of black American writing it is prudent to expunge on the growth of protagonism and non conformism in the society. The society’s vilification of the heroine Sula who does not fit into the society’s conformation of a heroine is a classic example of the inability of a people to look within themselves and try to solve the problems within its own structures. Works Cited Daniel Dawkins: A Character Analysis of Sula; Considering Morrisons Main Character as the Protagonist. 2008http://african-american

Immense Heroism in Homer’s Iliad Essay -- Iliad essays

Immense Heroism in Homer’s Iliad The Iliad opens with "the anger of Peleus' son, Achilleus," (1.1) and closes with the "burial of Hektor, breaker of horses" (24.804).1 The bracketing of the poem with descriptions of these two men suggests both their importance and their connection to one another. They lead parallel lives as the top fighters in their respective armies, and, as the poem progresses, their lives and deaths become more and more closely linked. They each struggle to fulfill the heroic ideal, and they both grapple with temptations that lure them away from heroism. While Hektor embodies the human heroic ideal, Achilleus strives to surpass human heroism to achieve some identification with the divine. These delusions of grandeur diminish Achilleus greatly; despite his efforts he can never be immortal, and a mortal god, besides being an oxymoron, would be decidedly pitiful. Achilleus' heroism, therefore, is incumbent on his acceptance of his humanity. Achilleus entangles Hektor in his struggle to come to term s with his own mortality by recognizing himself in his enemy. Hektor comes to represent the humanity of Achilleus, against which Achilleus rebels and which he tries to destroy in his desire to be immortal. Their fates are therefore linked, and the death of the one necessitates the death of the other. In finally giving over Hektor's body to Priam, Achilleus is at his most heroic; for in this action he accepts his fate, his mortality, and his humanity. The two men are lured away from heroism in opposite directions; Hektor, by his connections to home and family, and Achilleus, by his connections to the gods. To be a hero is to sacrifice one's own personal and familial ties in favor of facing death and striving for... ... of Achilleus' funeral, for the fates of these two heroes are linked. We do not see Achilleus' death in the poem, but we are certain of its prompt occurrence, for we see the burial of Hektor who has become a reflection of Achilleus. By accepting his own death, Achilleus finally becomes a hero. His heroism is so great because, unlike other men, the measure of his heroism does not lie in the status of the people he kills, but in the action of giving up Hektor's body. The murder of Hektor is not Achilleus' greatest moment, but only one step in attaining his heroism. He diverges so greatly from the heroic, that in the moment when he finally accepts his mortality, his heroism is immense. NOTES 1 Achilleus is the son of Thetis, a goddess, and Peleus, a mortal. 2 Homer, Iliad, Translated by Richard Lattimore (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1951).

Ryanair Dogfight over Europe

Dogfight over Europe: Ryanair (A) 1) What is your assesment of Ryanair? s launch strategy? The Ryanair's launch strategy was not the best for that moment. They began flying between Ireland and London, in a very saturated market, which competed with two strong companies owned by the government and with great experience: Aer Lingus and British Airways (who also had come together to improve their perform). And also entered the market independent carriers Such as British Midland.Another important factor was that the Dublin-London route was the only one that provided reasonable returns for Aer Lingus, so it was not going to let customers easily take him by force, and Ryanair will be difficult without a really differentiating strategy. Ryanair's differentiate notion was delivering first-rate customer service â€Å"with lower fares†. But for a new company as Ryanair would not be able to compete in prices following the same strategy as other companies in the market focus on meals and amenities and good service.Ryanair also has high fixed costs (characteristic of this industry) and has enough volume in order to face a price war (economics of scale). Although the market was saturated, Ireland is a small country with a small population and the two big companies were operating at 60-70% capacity. If since 1986 was using new Boeing 747s with room for nearly 400, means that every plane carried 360 passengers on average, which was down the performance of the planes.But on the other hand, Ryanair could only get a license for aircraft with room for 44 Passengers, so it had to make eight flights, with the maximum capacity to carry the same number of passengers than BA or Aer Lingus. This could decrease the efficiency of Ryanair and increase the cost per flight management. Although it also because of the low initial demand Ryanair (only 4 flights per day to 44 passengers, 176 passengers) can be a good strategy to distribute the flights throughout the day and get more custo mers.Moreover this market consists mostly by Irish emigrants who resided in the UK. These clients are marked by strong seasonal character, and the most important, the majority of customers traveling in economy class and they are very price sensitive, so we are going to be interested in low prices and discounts and are not interested in great facilities and services. Again we see that Ryanair's idea was not the most appropriate for this market, ecause although Ryanair turn down the price, customers will be more interested in large decreases in the price. Meals also make little sense in a flight of one hour duration. In favor of Ryanair we have to say however, that it test the initial service between Waterford y ? Gatwick Airport, which was a small service, in order to prove the company? s ability to operate. So if the company had problems or losses would be on a large scale and this would give you the ability to identify problems and improvements.Similarly, although Ryanair did not g et expected outcomes, with their low prices, I think it would get take away some customers to the other companies and have started to consider the proposal in the market. To sum up, The Ryanair? s launch strategy wasn? t successful from my point of view because it did not do a good analysis the market to which was coming and did not calculate the chances of success between these two great companies.They were strong companies with experience and great brand recognition, so if prices dropped to the level of Ryanair and Ryanair provides the same service to the market, customers will continue to use the companies that are already used. 2) How do you expect Aer Lingus and British Airways to respond? Why? As I said earlier, the only differentiation of was in the price Ryanair, therefore the immediate reaction of Aer Lingus and British Airways will be reduce the price. If these two companies started a price war, Ryanair would have no chance.They were flag carriers and they had the support of the government, so they can have loses during a while of time, at least until they get Ryanair out of the market. On the other hand, B. A was one of the biggest aircraft of Europe and it has an operating margin of 6. 9%, because of B. A can decreased the price at Ryanair level (? 98). While, the Dublin- London route was the only for Aer Lingus, with reasonable return of capital. Therefore is not going to let easily Ryanair steal their clients. ) How costly is it for Aer Lingus and British Airways to retaliate against Ryanair? s launch? Even though, as we think the launch of Ryanair was not successful or at least the outcomes did not reach the expected ones, was a new competitor in the market and also with a more competitive price than theirs so it is threat their capability to meet demand.. With price-sensitive customers such as travelers between Ireland and UK I believe that the two companies would lose customers. Furthermore, a price war is never good for any company, even if i t will be winner.These two companies would have to reduce their prices to more than half the normal price, which would generate losses until they get Ryanair out and this would weaken the two companies. If these companies reduce so much the price, once they get Ryanair out of the market, they can not automatically raise the price to the previous number because customers would feel cheated and companies would lose their credibility. If Aer Lingus and British Airways didn? t get Ryanair out with the war of Price, they would get only weaken themselves and lose the most profitable route for Aer Lingus.

Treblinka Hitlers Killing Machine (a review)

Charles Furneaux (executive producer) 2014. Treblinka: Hitlers Killing Machine. 46 minutes. Featuring archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls, Staffordshire University; aerial archaeologist Chris Going, GeoInformation Group; and historian Rob van der Laarse, University of Amsterdam. Produced by Furneaux Edgar/Group M. and Smithsonian Networks in association with Channel 5 (UK). Initial air date: Saturday, March 29, 2014. On March 29th, 2014, the Smithsonian channel will air a new documentary video on archaeological investigations at Treblinka, Poland. Treblinka was one of the death camps created by Adolph Hitler during the lead up to World War II as part of his final solution, an attempt to lay the blame for Germanys failures as an economic, political and military power on the shoulders of repressed minorities, by killing 6 million men, women and children in the space of five years. Hitlers Repugnant Legacy Hes become a cliche today, Adolph Hitler, chucked loosely into conversations commenting on modern despots: the nasty, small-time land-grabbers and miscellaneous sons-of-bitches that our planet engenders. What the Smithsonian Channels new video, Treblinka: Hitlers Killing Machine reminds us is that every single modern or ancient maniacal despot is a sane, upright global citizen compared to the despicable monsters that Hitler and his band of cronies were. Treblinka: Hitlers Killing Machine is a video describing the efforts of Staffordshire University forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls to find physical evidence for the historical, long-rumored atrocities at the death camp at Treblinka, Poland, where nearly a million people were slaughtered like... well, honestly, they were slaughtered like no one on this planet has ever been slaughtered, mechanically, methodically, mercilessly. Pinochet was a pale wannabe by comparison. The only approximate death merchant to Hitler and his crew is Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes bubonic plague. Treblinka has become a point of contention among holocaust deniers, because the Nazis did such a great job of hiding the death factory. After their experiment was over and 900,000 people had been murdered, the Nazis tore down the gas chambers, took down the fences, cremated all the bodies and backfilled the foundations with sand. Then they planted a forest of trees. At the end of World War II, only a handful of photographs and a tiny number of survivors were alive to speak to the hell that was Treblinka. But you know what? You cant hide the past from archaeology. Unearthing the Monster Treblinka: Hitlers Killing Machine follows Sturdy Colls into Poland, where she meets with a few, a very few survivors of the camp and collaborates (that word is even polluted now) with members of the Treblinka museum as well as aerial archaeologist Chris Going of the GeoInformation Group; and historian Rob van der Laarse  at the University of Amsterdam. Sturdy Colls and her team conduct aerial photography using LiDAR (light detection and ranging), a photographic technique that in effect strips away the lovely forest, revealing the contours, bumps, depressions and other landscape anomalies that any archaeologist recognizes as the remains of ancient foundations. A Sacred Cemetery One part of the film that was almost certainly recreated is the discussion that Sturdy Colls had with the rabbi from the Polish museum at Treblinka (the Muzeum Regionalne w Siedlcach). She asks, as do all modern archaeologists do today, what to do if she finds buried human remains. The answer, like so many of the answers we receive is, leave the buried remains in situ; any on the surface should be collected for reburial elsewhere. The unnamed rabbi expresses his faith that Sturdy-Colls will treat the site as it deserves to be treated: as a burial ground, where hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. The remainder of the film includes test excavations at Treblinka 1, the so-called labor camp, and those at Treblinka 2, the death camp so assiduously erased by the Nazis. Or so they thought. Artifacts from the test pits are quiet, personal but relentless evidence of the atrocities that occurred in this place. A Couple of Caveats I do have a couple of suggestions for the film-makers. You should really label your boffins. If an academic appears in a film, you should identify the person with a label, with their name and affiliation spelled out. Naming names supports your argument and gives viewers some searchable hook to find out more. My contact with the publisher readily provided me that information, which is why you have it here. And secondly, and perhaps eccentrically, for me to complete a review, I really need to see it more than once, and typically I need to play and replay pieces of it several times. The first time is for overall impressions and to get the story line, the second time is to get a reasoned response, what were the images like, did the story line completely follow up on its promise, what was really well done. The screener I was given stopped working for me too soon, so you, dear reader, only get the impressionistic version of my viewing. It was quite an impression, as you can Bottom Line Treblinka: Hitlers Killing Machine is not for children; but it is something that all of us human adults need to look at, to understand the damaging whole, the monstrous blot that Hitler and his cabal inflicted on the planet and that 70 years later we still need to hear about and recover from. The collection of artifacts that Sturdy-Colls and her team have found so far is irrefutable evidence that something hellish happened here, and as responsible citizens of the world we have to understand that and vow not to let it happen again. Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.