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Saturday, April 12, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Home Based Business ... Is it for you ?
Introduction
The 1990s were called the "Decade of the Entrepreneur." More people are starting home based and micro businesses than ever before. People are turning their skills, hobbies and ideas into profitable ventures. This can be a satisfying experience. The endeavor is usually something a person enjoys doing or is very skilled at doing. It allows for flexibility so you can work around your family and work schedules. It also gives you the independence of being your own boss.
The words entrepreneur and entrepreneurship come from the French word entreprende, which means to undertake. An entrepreneur is someone who organizes, operates and takes the risk in a business venture, expecting to gain a profit. Entrepreneurship refers to the process of planning, organizing and operating a business.
A home based business is not for everyone. For many people it will be a supplemental income source for retirement or extra income for the family. In fact, only 46 percent of home based and micro business owners recently surveyed cited that making lots of money was a motivation for starting their own business. Seventy-eight percent of business owners stated that having more control over their lives was an important reason, and 90 percent said they would go into business again. So, even though you may not get rich from such an endeavor, it may be worth the effort to try your idea out to see if it would be successful. Remember, entrepreneurs may not see a profit right away; it will depend on the type of business.
There are several facets to consider when starting a home business. Determine if there will be a market for your products or services and if such an endeavor is possible. This is crucial before a large amount of money is spent. The business may not be feasible. Too many businesses fail because people do not test their market plan and manage the business properly. Information from Link Research in a 1996 survey of 5,000 Home Office Computing readers reported that 20 million businesses found the most challenging business tasks to be 1) marketing to gain additional business; 2) time management; 3) financial record keeping; 4) avoiding overhead when possible; and 5) assistance in managing varied responsibilities.
This article will identify and address many of these factors. If you decide to pursue a home based or micro business, careful planning and consideration of these topics will help increase the chances of success and in some cases prevent you from making an unwise investment or help avoid unnecessary risks.
For home based business ideas and opportunities you may consider:
http://www.HomeSweetDollars.com
The 1990s were called the "Decade of the Entrepreneur." More people are starting home based and micro businesses than ever before. People are turning their skills, hobbies and ideas into profitable ventures. This can be a satisfying experience. The endeavor is usually something a person enjoys doing or is very skilled at doing. It allows for flexibility so you can work around your family and work schedules. It also gives you the independence of being your own boss.
The words entrepreneur and entrepreneurship come from the French word entreprende, which means to undertake. An entrepreneur is someone who organizes, operates and takes the risk in a business venture, expecting to gain a profit. Entrepreneurship refers to the process of planning, organizing and operating a business.
A home based business is not for everyone. For many people it will be a supplemental income source for retirement or extra income for the family. In fact, only 46 percent of home based and micro business owners recently surveyed cited that making lots of money was a motivation for starting their own business. Seventy-eight percent of business owners stated that having more control over their lives was an important reason, and 90 percent said they would go into business again. So, even though you may not get rich from such an endeavor, it may be worth the effort to try your idea out to see if it would be successful. Remember, entrepreneurs may not see a profit right away; it will depend on the type of business.
There are several facets to consider when starting a home business. Determine if there will be a market for your products or services and if such an endeavor is possible. This is crucial before a large amount of money is spent. The business may not be feasible. Too many businesses fail because people do not test their market plan and manage the business properly. Information from Link Research in a 1996 survey of 5,000 Home Office Computing readers reported that 20 million businesses found the most challenging business tasks to be 1) marketing to gain additional business; 2) time management; 3) financial record keeping; 4) avoiding overhead when possible; and 5) assistance in managing varied responsibilities.
This article will identify and address many of these factors. If you decide to pursue a home based or micro business, careful planning and consideration of these topics will help increase the chances of success and in some cases prevent you from making an unwise investment or help avoid unnecessary risks.
For home based business ideas and opportunities you may consider:
http://www.HomeSweetDollars.com
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Island
The Island - Cont.from A Brave New World
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts a supposedly utopian society in which “humanity is carefree, healthy and technologically advanced. Warfare and poverty have been eliminated and everyone is permanently happy.” (“Brave New World”) This society resembles a machine; everyone in the “World State” is like a piece that serves a function in the machine and everyone is satisfied with their given function. The first setting the reader encounters in the book is somewhat of an assembly line; natural reproduction has been eliminated and replaced by this form of manufacturing. Human beings are grown in bottles; their function in society is chosen for them, and they are then conditioned to be satisfied with their function and their position in the social class. The World State is controlled by “World Controllers, whose primary goal is to ensure the stability and happiness of society,” (Smith) they use a utilitarian approach to happiness. To further ensure that people remain happy, a drug called Soma is “distributed by the government each week”(Smith). The purpose of the drug is to make people “spend their time hallucinating rather than thinking.”(Smith) The society described in Brave New World has achieved a remarkable goal of universal happiness, but not without some losses. In order to achieve the utopian status the society has eliminated any sort of true freewill, creativeness, and emotions; traits that are as valuable for their intrinsic worth as happiness is. As much as the World Controllers try to maintain unity and stability though, there are some individuals that realize that their and society’s happiness is a false one; realization that makes it a challenge for them to be satisfied with their and other’s functions in society. The two main characters of Brave New World are Bernard Marx and John the Savage, this paper will discuss their feeling of desperation, their attempts to fit in, and their lack of power to do so; along with a brief discussion regarding how the movie The Island could be considered literature due to the vast similarities to the book Brave New World.
One of the first main characters introduced in the book is Bernard Marx; an Alpha-Plus member and subsequently part of the highest class in the society. Marx is part of the highest class and one would assume that he would therefore be happy, but this is not the case. Bernard Marx is apparently shorter in stature than the standard for the Alpha males and he is also more affected by his emotions than the norm in society. His height has always made Marx feel inferior to other Alphas since size is often a sign of class status in the society, and his emotions have always made him seem weird and awkward to other members of the society. Bernard shows his problems with emotion when he hears a fellow worker tell another that he “should have her” referring to Lenina in a sexual way. Sexual promiscuity is the norm in this society and any kind of sexual behavior is completely separate from emotions, the fact that Bernard “gets upset when he hears this” (Smith) shows his inability to conform to society’s standards. Later in the story Bernard meets with Helmholtz Watson; a man with exceptional physical and mental qualities. “Both men are described as individual thinkers who have become friends because they cannot fit well into the society,”(Smith) but they are quite different in the sense that Watson could be accepted if he actually wanted, and truly wishes to change certain aspects about the society. On the other hand, Bernard is somewhat of a hypocrite. Shortly after Bernard meets Linda and John, he “agrees to take [them] back to London, where he manipulates society’s fascination with them to boost his social position.” (“Brave New World”) This is a sign that, unlike Watson, he disagrees with the norms of society not because he necessarily thinks they are wrong but rather because he can’t be part of them.
The character John the Savage, the true protagonist of the book, is introduced when Bernard visits the Savage Reservation. Just like Bernard, John is “isolated within his culture.” (Smith) The main reason why he is isolated is that he is rejected by the other savages due to the fact that he was born from a civilized woman (from the World State). Due to his appearance and lineage “John was not allowed to enter the kiva, a ritual initiation to make the young boys into men. Instead he was driven from the village by a barrage of stones. This incident highlighted his status as an outsider and led him to feel isolated and alone.” (Smith) The story describes his desire to be part of the society while John watches the “ritual dance of sacrifice”(Smith); he is convinced, and expresses his conviction to himself, that he would be able to whip himself many times harder and therefore bring more good to the community. Bernard’s brings about new life to John’s hopes. Bernard represents the opportunity for John and his mother to return to the World State and finally be part of the society to which they belong. Once they arrive to London, it is apparent to John that this society might be even worst than the one at the Savage Reservation. He is confused by the lack of emotion and sexual promiscuity. He quickly becomes mesmerized by Lenina and accepts to go out with her. Their cultural differences are clearly highlighted when in an attempt to satisfy her desires Lenina goes to John’s room; he confesses that he loves her, to which she responds to by taking off her clothes. This unusual behavior confuses and angers John, whom starts screaming at her things like: “whore, impudent, strumpet.” (Smith) John is also shocked by society’s apathy towards death. He happens to visit his mother while conditioning is being done to some children, they are encouraged to see this as a fun experience, taking all the feeling of sadness and fear from death. By this point it is obvious that John will not be able to conform to this society either. He looks too much like a member of The World State to be accepted as part of the savage society and he acts too much like a member of the savage society in order to function as a member of The World State. John’s desperation and lack of power in his attempts to fit in drive him to seek isolation. This decision did not allow him to be happy either because members of The World State decided to seek him out as a form of entertainment; he was not allowed to be part of the savages, was not able to conform to the civilized society, and could not find peace in isolation; the only place where he could find acceptance and peace was among the deceased.
The movie The Island has as of late made me reconsider what I categorize as literature. For the most part I have considered that only written works should be considered literature, but the tremendous amount of similarities between the Brave New World and The Island have broadened my spectrum of what should be considered literature. The book’s literary worth highly rests on its setting, message, and point of view; but if the book and the movie are compared one can quickly see that the movie also contains all these elements. The conditioning of the book is achieved through restrictions on education in the movie, and the effect of the soma is somewhat achieved by the hope of being the next lottery winner. The movie, just like the book, also introduces the character that finds it hard to conform to the society due to his imagination, intelligence, and thoughts outside of the guiding lines; represented as Watson in the book.
In conclusion, both the book and movie use the same literary elements and as a result should both be considered literature. From their descriptions of feeding the embryos with vitamins through tubes, to the false sense of happiness; from the control of World Controllers, to the instability caused by a few free thinking individuals. Both forms of literature reveal individuals that suffer due to their inability to conform or fit into a society. All characters are given miniscule or no chance to change things; Marx rejects the society as long as he is not accepted, Watson and his representative in the movie can’t conform tosociety because they know there is something wrong and which to change it, and John the Savage is left with only the option of living among the ones that used to live.
you like BOOKS ?
Works Cited
"Brave New World." www.wikipedia.com. 4 December 2006. wikipedia. 4 Dec 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_new_world.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. 1st. New York: Perennial Classics, 1932.
Pearce, David. "Brave New World? A Defence Of Paradise-Engineering." 2006. BLTC Research. 2 Dec 2006 http://www.huxley.net/.
Smith, J.N.. "GradeSaver: ClassicNote: Brave New World Study Guide - Full Summary and Analysis." www.gradesaver.com. 6 December 2006. GradeSaver. 3 December 2006 http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/BraveNewWorld/fullsumm.html.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.HomeSweetDollars.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts a supposedly utopian society in which “humanity is carefree, healthy and technologically advanced. Warfare and poverty have been eliminated and everyone is permanently happy.” (“Brave New World”) This society resembles a machine; everyone in the “World State” is like a piece that serves a function in the machine and everyone is satisfied with their given function. The first setting the reader encounters in the book is somewhat of an assembly line; natural reproduction has been eliminated and replaced by this form of manufacturing. Human beings are grown in bottles; their function in society is chosen for them, and they are then conditioned to be satisfied with their function and their position in the social class. The World State is controlled by “World Controllers, whose primary goal is to ensure the stability and happiness of society,” (Smith) they use a utilitarian approach to happiness. To further ensure that people remain happy, a drug called Soma is “distributed by the government each week”(Smith). The purpose of the drug is to make people “spend their time hallucinating rather than thinking.”(Smith) The society described in Brave New World has achieved a remarkable goal of universal happiness, but not without some losses. In order to achieve the utopian status the society has eliminated any sort of true freewill, creativeness, and emotions; traits that are as valuable for their intrinsic worth as happiness is. As much as the World Controllers try to maintain unity and stability though, there are some individuals that realize that their and society’s happiness is a false one; realization that makes it a challenge for them to be satisfied with their and other’s functions in society. The two main characters of Brave New World are Bernard Marx and John the Savage, this paper will discuss their feeling of desperation, their attempts to fit in, and their lack of power to do so; along with a brief discussion regarding how the movie The Island could be considered literature due to the vast similarities to the book Brave New World.
One of the first main characters introduced in the book is Bernard Marx; an Alpha-Plus member and subsequently part of the highest class in the society. Marx is part of the highest class and one would assume that he would therefore be happy, but this is not the case. Bernard Marx is apparently shorter in stature than the standard for the Alpha males and he is also more affected by his emotions than the norm in society. His height has always made Marx feel inferior to other Alphas since size is often a sign of class status in the society, and his emotions have always made him seem weird and awkward to other members of the society. Bernard shows his problems with emotion when he hears a fellow worker tell another that he “should have her” referring to Lenina in a sexual way. Sexual promiscuity is the norm in this society and any kind of sexual behavior is completely separate from emotions, the fact that Bernard “gets upset when he hears this” (Smith) shows his inability to conform to society’s standards. Later in the story Bernard meets with Helmholtz Watson; a man with exceptional physical and mental qualities. “Both men are described as individual thinkers who have become friends because they cannot fit well into the society,”(Smith) but they are quite different in the sense that Watson could be accepted if he actually wanted, and truly wishes to change certain aspects about the society. On the other hand, Bernard is somewhat of a hypocrite. Shortly after Bernard meets Linda and John, he “agrees to take [them] back to London, where he manipulates society’s fascination with them to boost his social position.” (“Brave New World”) This is a sign that, unlike Watson, he disagrees with the norms of society not because he necessarily thinks they are wrong but rather because he can’t be part of them.
The character John the Savage, the true protagonist of the book, is introduced when Bernard visits the Savage Reservation. Just like Bernard, John is “isolated within his culture.” (Smith) The main reason why he is isolated is that he is rejected by the other savages due to the fact that he was born from a civilized woman (from the World State). Due to his appearance and lineage “John was not allowed to enter the kiva, a ritual initiation to make the young boys into men. Instead he was driven from the village by a barrage of stones. This incident highlighted his status as an outsider and led him to feel isolated and alone.” (Smith) The story describes his desire to be part of the society while John watches the “ritual dance of sacrifice”(Smith); he is convinced, and expresses his conviction to himself, that he would be able to whip himself many times harder and therefore bring more good to the community. Bernard’s brings about new life to John’s hopes. Bernard represents the opportunity for John and his mother to return to the World State and finally be part of the society to which they belong. Once they arrive to London, it is apparent to John that this society might be even worst than the one at the Savage Reservation. He is confused by the lack of emotion and sexual promiscuity. He quickly becomes mesmerized by Lenina and accepts to go out with her. Their cultural differences are clearly highlighted when in an attempt to satisfy her desires Lenina goes to John’s room; he confesses that he loves her, to which she responds to by taking off her clothes. This unusual behavior confuses and angers John, whom starts screaming at her things like: “whore, impudent, strumpet.” (Smith) John is also shocked by society’s apathy towards death. He happens to visit his mother while conditioning is being done to some children, they are encouraged to see this as a fun experience, taking all the feeling of sadness and fear from death. By this point it is obvious that John will not be able to conform to this society either. He looks too much like a member of The World State to be accepted as part of the savage society and he acts too much like a member of the savage society in order to function as a member of The World State. John’s desperation and lack of power in his attempts to fit in drive him to seek isolation. This decision did not allow him to be happy either because members of The World State decided to seek him out as a form of entertainment; he was not allowed to be part of the savages, was not able to conform to the civilized society, and could not find peace in isolation; the only place where he could find acceptance and peace was among the deceased.
The movie The Island has as of late made me reconsider what I categorize as literature. For the most part I have considered that only written works should be considered literature, but the tremendous amount of similarities between the Brave New World and The Island have broadened my spectrum of what should be considered literature. The book’s literary worth highly rests on its setting, message, and point of view; but if the book and the movie are compared one can quickly see that the movie also contains all these elements. The conditioning of the book is achieved through restrictions on education in the movie, and the effect of the soma is somewhat achieved by the hope of being the next lottery winner. The movie, just like the book, also introduces the character that finds it hard to conform to the society due to his imagination, intelligence, and thoughts outside of the guiding lines; represented as Watson in the book.
In conclusion, both the book and movie use the same literary elements and as a result should both be considered literature. From their descriptions of feeding the embryos with vitamins through tubes, to the false sense of happiness; from the control of World Controllers, to the instability caused by a few free thinking individuals. Both forms of literature reveal individuals that suffer due to their inability to conform or fit into a society. All characters are given miniscule or no chance to change things; Marx rejects the society as long as he is not accepted, Watson and his representative in the movie can’t conform tosociety because they know there is something wrong and which to change it, and John the Savage is left with only the option of living among the ones that used to live.
Works Cited
"Brave New World." www.wikipedia.com. 4 December 2006. wikipedia. 4 Dec 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_new_world.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. 1st. New York: Perennial Classics, 1932.
Pearce, David. "Brave New World? A Defence Of Paradise-Engineering." 2006. BLTC Research. 2 Dec 2006 http://www.huxley.net/.
Smith, J.N.. "GradeSaver: ClassicNote: Brave New World Study Guide - Full Summary and Analysis." www.gradesaver.com. 6 December 2006. GradeSaver. 3 December 2006 http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/BraveNewWorld/fullsumm.html.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.HomeSweetDollars.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, April 6, 2008
The Glass Ceiling
John Steinbeck’s short story “The Chrysanthemums” depicts a very significant event in the life of Elisa Allen, a woman living with her husband in the Salinas Valley, residing in a “neat white farm house with red geraniums close-banked around it as high as the windows. It was a hard-swept looking little house with hard-polished windows, and a clean mud-mat on the front steps.” (Steinbeck 1269) The description of the house only emphasizes the obvious fact that Elisa lives in a world in which she feels trapped and her escape is made impossible by “the high-flannel fog of winter [that] closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side is sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot.” (1269) The fog described by Steinbeck in this story represents the domination of the male gender in society, a “society [in which] the female gender of the species are not given the chance to develop their potentials to the fullest” (Lessy) and in which “they have been oppressed, [and] subordinated.” (Lessy) Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums’” fight of a woman to be her own person and find a significant role in a male-dominated society has parallels in both Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”.
Chopin’s and Steinbeck’s stories have parallels from the very beginning, as seen by the respective husbands in the stories. Both husbands are to an extend responsible (maybe more so in Brently’s case) for the entrapment of their wives in a world in which the women feel powerless, tense, and unable to find an outlet for all their frustration. In “The Story of an Hour”, Brently’s domination over Louise results from her heart trouble. Brently’s “kind, tender hands [and] face that had never save with love looked upon her” (Chopin 327) deemed it necessary to keep her indoors and under constant vigilance in order to assure that her condition was under control. “A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less of a crime” (327) to her, she wanted to be “free, free, free!” (327) Yet, even though the husband is a loving person trying to the best of his abilities to make her happy, she is not able to achieve her independence, her significant role as long as he is around. As long as he is present (and therefore his domination) there will be his “powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (327) and she would never move from the winter days to the “spring days and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own.” (327) Similarly, in “The Chrysanthemums” Henry is a caring husband that “refers with simple pleasure to the size of her chrysanthemums” ( Swisher 30) and goes as far as wishing that she would “work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big.” (Steinbeck 1270) It is apparent by Henry’s behavior that he is not directly dominating Elisa, but rather Elisa’s futile efforts to escape the geological trap of the Salinas Valley are the ones dominating her and to an extend distancing her from her husband and the opportunity to escape with him, even if its only once in a while. Elisa sees the chrysanthemums as an extension of herself, that’s why when the traveler presented to her the opportunity to transplant the chrysanthemums to another garden, outside of Salinas Valley, “Elisa’s eyes grew alert and eager.” (1272) If the chrysanthemums were able to escape the “grey-flannel fog,” (1269) she might also be able to achieve it some day. It is again at the end of the stories that both show the harshest ending to the difficulty of a woman in a man’s world, death. The death of both women’s dreams and aspiration of freedom, and self-realization occurs.
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” portrays a much more evident male domination as seen by the image of “Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horse whip,” (Faulkner 486) keeping the men away from her, protecting her, making her miserable. Faulkner’s story shows more parallels with Steinbeck’s ones Emily’s father dies, since once this happens the domination over Emily ceases to be done by an individual person and becomes a thing of her surrounding environment as is the case with Elisa. In Steinbeck’s story the force keeping the woman dominated is “the high grey-flannel fog” (Steinbeck 1269) which closes Elisa from “all the rest of the world.” (1269) Whereas, in Faulkner’s story the people of the town take on the same functions as that of the fog. The two stories also parallel each other in the sense that the women in both stories choose to be subjugated to the pain and suffering they receive by staying under the control of their respective dominating factors. In Emily’s case, she knows the townspeople will go as far as breaking “open the cellar door and sprinkling lime there, and in the outbuildings” (Faulkner 486) before admitting to her that they have detected the repulsive smell emitted by her house. She uses this knowledge in order to keep Homer Barron’s dead body in her house as reminder and self-inflicted punishment for what she had done. Elisa also suffers from self-induced restrictions, but not as a way of punishing herself but rather making herself look like the victim. The reader is made well aware the Elisa is full of energy and that “the chrysanthemums stems seemed too small and easy for her energy,” (Steinbeck 1269) but she is the only one restricting herself. In fact, her husband even proposes the idea of her “work[ing] out in the orchard,” (1270) and it is him that seems the most eager to go out to a restaurant. Both women have achieved what they really want.
To conclude, both Faulkner’s and Chopin’s stories share parallels with Steinbeck’s “delicate, indirect handling of a woman’s emotions…[especially] the difficulty of a woman in finding a creative significant role in a male-dominated society,” (Benson 1268) from the factors and people that dominated them, to the way these factors and people affect them as women, to the ways in which they decide to embrace the situation.
you like BOOKS ?
Works Cited
Charles, Ann. The Story and it’s Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. 6th
ed. Boston: Bedford, 2003.
---. “John Steinbeck.” Charters 1268
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Charters 326-328.
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Charters 484-490.
Lessy, Dmitri Tobias. “Promise of a New Day: The Female in a Male-Dominated Society” http://www.vibrani.com/female.htm, 29 November 2005
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” Charters 1269-1276.
Swisher, Clarice. Reading on John Steinbeck. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego, 1996.
Copyright © F.Prida
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
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John Steinbeck’s short story “The Chrysanthemums” depicts a very significant event in the life of Elisa Allen, a woman living with her husband in the Salinas Valley, residing in a “neat white farm house with red geraniums close-banked around it as high as the windows. It was a hard-swept looking little house with hard-polished windows, and a clean mud-mat on the front steps.” (Steinbeck 1269) The description of the house only emphasizes the obvious fact that Elisa lives in a world in which she feels trapped and her escape is made impossible by “the high-flannel fog of winter [that] closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side is sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot.” (1269) The fog described by Steinbeck in this story represents the domination of the male gender in society, a “society [in which] the female gender of the species are not given the chance to develop their potentials to the fullest” (Lessy) and in which “they have been oppressed, [and] subordinated.” (Lessy) Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums’” fight of a woman to be her own person and find a significant role in a male-dominated society has parallels in both Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”.
Chopin’s and Steinbeck’s stories have parallels from the very beginning, as seen by the respective husbands in the stories. Both husbands are to an extend responsible (maybe more so in Brently’s case) for the entrapment of their wives in a world in which the women feel powerless, tense, and unable to find an outlet for all their frustration. In “The Story of an Hour”, Brently’s domination over Louise results from her heart trouble. Brently’s “kind, tender hands [and] face that had never save with love looked upon her” (Chopin 327) deemed it necessary to keep her indoors and under constant vigilance in order to assure that her condition was under control. “A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less of a crime” (327) to her, she wanted to be “free, free, free!” (327) Yet, even though the husband is a loving person trying to the best of his abilities to make her happy, she is not able to achieve her independence, her significant role as long as he is around. As long as he is present (and therefore his domination) there will be his “powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (327) and she would never move from the winter days to the “spring days and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own.” (327) Similarly, in “The Chrysanthemums” Henry is a caring husband that “refers with simple pleasure to the size of her chrysanthemums” ( Swisher 30) and goes as far as wishing that she would “work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big.” (Steinbeck 1270) It is apparent by Henry’s behavior that he is not directly dominating Elisa, but rather Elisa’s futile efforts to escape the geological trap of the Salinas Valley are the ones dominating her and to an extend distancing her from her husband and the opportunity to escape with him, even if its only once in a while. Elisa sees the chrysanthemums as an extension of herself, that’s why when the traveler presented to her the opportunity to transplant the chrysanthemums to another garden, outside of Salinas Valley, “Elisa’s eyes grew alert and eager.” (1272) If the chrysanthemums were able to escape the “grey-flannel fog,” (1269) she might also be able to achieve it some day. It is again at the end of the stories that both show the harshest ending to the difficulty of a woman in a man’s world, death. The death of both women’s dreams and aspiration of freedom, and self-realization occurs.
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” portrays a much more evident male domination as seen by the image of “Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horse whip,” (Faulkner 486) keeping the men away from her, protecting her, making her miserable. Faulkner’s story shows more parallels with Steinbeck’s ones Emily’s father dies, since once this happens the domination over Emily ceases to be done by an individual person and becomes a thing of her surrounding environment as is the case with Elisa. In Steinbeck’s story the force keeping the woman dominated is “the high grey-flannel fog” (Steinbeck 1269) which closes Elisa from “all the rest of the world.” (1269) Whereas, in Faulkner’s story the people of the town take on the same functions as that of the fog. The two stories also parallel each other in the sense that the women in both stories choose to be subjugated to the pain and suffering they receive by staying under the control of their respective dominating factors. In Emily’s case, she knows the townspeople will go as far as breaking “open the cellar door and sprinkling lime there, and in the outbuildings” (Faulkner 486) before admitting to her that they have detected the repulsive smell emitted by her house. She uses this knowledge in order to keep Homer Barron’s dead body in her house as reminder and self-inflicted punishment for what she had done. Elisa also suffers from self-induced restrictions, but not as a way of punishing herself but rather making herself look like the victim. The reader is made well aware the Elisa is full of energy and that “the chrysanthemums stems seemed too small and easy for her energy,” (Steinbeck 1269) but she is the only one restricting herself. In fact, her husband even proposes the idea of her “work[ing] out in the orchard,” (1270) and it is him that seems the most eager to go out to a restaurant. Both women have achieved what they really want.
To conclude, both Faulkner’s and Chopin’s stories share parallels with Steinbeck’s “delicate, indirect handling of a woman’s emotions…[especially] the difficulty of a woman in finding a creative significant role in a male-dominated society,” (Benson 1268) from the factors and people that dominated them, to the way these factors and people affect them as women, to the ways in which they decide to embrace the situation.
Works Cited
Charles, Ann. The Story and it’s Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. 6th
ed. Boston: Bedford, 2003.
---. “John Steinbeck.” Charters 1268
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Charters 326-328.
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Charters 484-490.
Lessy, Dmitri Tobias. “Promise of a New Day: The Female in a Male-Dominated Society” http://www.vibrani.com/female.htm, 29 November 2005
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” Charters 1269-1276.
Swisher, Clarice. Reading on John Steinbeck. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego, 1996.
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Saturday, April 5, 2008
A Reflexion about A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
A Reflexion about A Brave New World by Aldous Huxlet
" A Cowardly Old World "
Free will, “what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.”
I recently changed my mind about the previous statement. There are people that believe that the absence of free will would be the best way to live; no one would have to ponder endlessly about arduous decisions, nor be punished for them. The world would be better and our lives easier if someone would just program us to do a specific function; we all work for a greater good and live like organized ants.
I never questioned absurdity of this idea until I read Aldous Huxley’s “A Brave New World”. Its two main topics are the pursuit of free will and the inability to adapt to a foreign society. The novel forced me to stop analyzing all the useless junk I was concerned with and to look in the mirror to truly think of where I stood in my beliefs and what I would do if put in similar situations. The young man known to many as a savage, one of the main characters of the book, leads a life of isolation because he doesn’t belong to the savage or main society. He was born from members of the main society and he possessed their physical traits, which are not accepted by the savage society. On the other hand, he was raised in the savage society and he possessed their modus operandi and belief core, which is seen as wrong and unacceptable by the main society. This character’s inability to feel accepted didn’t affect me until the end of the book when he decides that the only place where he can belong is amongst the deceased. This turn of events made me question my own strength of character. Since I was very young I have been accustomed to having to adapt to new societies and surroundings; nothing as drastic as the book but memorable nonetheless. The difference with me and the young man is that I was able to adapt, and most importantly, be accepted into new societies. The novel shone new light on this subject and has made me think of what I would do endless times.
I still think society would function better if everyone was conditioned to serve a certain purpose and their desire for free will was suppressed. However, the main problem would be the vast amount of losses; society would truly be a well oiled, nonetheless soulless machine. Efficient functioning makes society better at achieving goals but we wouldn’t be able to have dreams of our own, imagination would be obliterated, and the sweet sorrow of making a wrong choice would never be felt again.
“A Brave New World” didn’t introduce me to new ideas, but it gave me a chance to explore the ones I already had. I still don’t know what I would do if I was in the same situation as the savage, but at least I can take comfort in the fact that I have given some thought to the matter.
The lack of free will would make society function more smoothly, but the costs outweigh the benefits.
If you like BOOKS
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" A Cowardly Old World "
Free will, “what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.”
I recently changed my mind about the previous statement. There are people that believe that the absence of free will would be the best way to live; no one would have to ponder endlessly about arduous decisions, nor be punished for them. The world would be better and our lives easier if someone would just program us to do a specific function; we all work for a greater good and live like organized ants.
I never questioned absurdity of this idea until I read Aldous Huxley’s “A Brave New World”. Its two main topics are the pursuit of free will and the inability to adapt to a foreign society. The novel forced me to stop analyzing all the useless junk I was concerned with and to look in the mirror to truly think of where I stood in my beliefs and what I would do if put in similar situations. The young man known to many as a savage, one of the main characters of the book, leads a life of isolation because he doesn’t belong to the savage or main society. He was born from members of the main society and he possessed their physical traits, which are not accepted by the savage society. On the other hand, he was raised in the savage society and he possessed their modus operandi and belief core, which is seen as wrong and unacceptable by the main society. This character’s inability to feel accepted didn’t affect me until the end of the book when he decides that the only place where he can belong is amongst the deceased. This turn of events made me question my own strength of character. Since I was very young I have been accustomed to having to adapt to new societies and surroundings; nothing as drastic as the book but memorable nonetheless. The difference with me and the young man is that I was able to adapt, and most importantly, be accepted into new societies. The novel shone new light on this subject and has made me think of what I would do endless times.
I still think society would function better if everyone was conditioned to serve a certain purpose and their desire for free will was suppressed. However, the main problem would be the vast amount of losses; society would truly be a well oiled, nonetheless soulless machine. Efficient functioning makes society better at achieving goals but we wouldn’t be able to have dreams of our own, imagination would be obliterated, and the sweet sorrow of making a wrong choice would never be felt again.
“A Brave New World” didn’t introduce me to new ideas, but it gave me a chance to explore the ones I already had. I still don’t know what I would do if I was in the same situation as the savage, but at least I can take comfort in the fact that I have given some thought to the matter.
The lack of free will would make society function more smoothly, but the costs outweigh the benefits.
Copyright © F.Prida
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.HomeSweetDollars.com
East Asian Finanacial Crisis
East Asian Financial Crisis
The East Asian financial crisis was a period of economic unrest that started in July 1997 in Thailand and affected currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices in several Asian countries, many considered East Asian Tigers. Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand were the countries most affected by the crisis.
Western investors lost confidence in securities in East Asia and began to pull money out, creating a domino effect.
At the time Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea had large private current account deficits and the maintenance of pegged exchange rates encouraged external borrowing and led to excessive exposure to foreign exchange risk in both the financial and corporate sectors.
In the mid-1990s, two factors began to change their economic environment. As the U.S. economy recovered from a recession in the early 1990s, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank under Alan Greenspan began to raise U.S. interest rates to head off inflation. This made the U.S. a more attractive investment destination relative to Southeast Asia, which had attracted hot money flows through high short-term interest rates, and raised the value of the U.S. dollar, to which many Southeast Asian nations' currencies were pegged, thus making their exports less competitive. Finance One, the largest Thai finance company collapsed. On 11 August, the IMF unveiled a rescue package for Thailand with more than 16 billion dollars. The IMF approved on 20 August, another bailout package of 3.9 billion dollars.
Before the financial crisis, the Thai economy had years of manufacturing-led economic growth--averaging 9.4% for the decade up to 1996. Relatively abundant and inexpensive labour and natural resources, fiscal conservatism, open foreign investment policies, and encouragement of the private sector underlay the economic success in the years up to 1997.
Trade: Thailand's traditional major markets have been North America, Japan, and Europe, Thailand has joined the ranks of the world's top ten automobile exporting nations. Machinery and parts, vehicles, electronic integrated circuits, chemicals, crude oil and fuels, and iron and steel are among Thailand's principal imports.
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The East Asian financial crisis was a period of economic unrest that started in July 1997 in Thailand and affected currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices in several Asian countries, many considered East Asian Tigers. Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand were the countries most affected by the crisis.
Western investors lost confidence in securities in East Asia and began to pull money out, creating a domino effect.
At the time Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea had large private current account deficits and the maintenance of pegged exchange rates encouraged external borrowing and led to excessive exposure to foreign exchange risk in both the financial and corporate sectors.
In the mid-1990s, two factors began to change their economic environment. As the U.S. economy recovered from a recession in the early 1990s, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank under Alan Greenspan began to raise U.S. interest rates to head off inflation. This made the U.S. a more attractive investment destination relative to Southeast Asia, which had attracted hot money flows through high short-term interest rates, and raised the value of the U.S. dollar, to which many Southeast Asian nations' currencies were pegged, thus making their exports less competitive. Finance One, the largest Thai finance company collapsed. On 11 August, the IMF unveiled a rescue package for Thailand with more than 16 billion dollars. The IMF approved on 20 August, another bailout package of 3.9 billion dollars.
Before the financial crisis, the Thai economy had years of manufacturing-led economic growth--averaging 9.4% for the decade up to 1996. Relatively abundant and inexpensive labour and natural resources, fiscal conservatism, open foreign investment policies, and encouragement of the private sector underlay the economic success in the years up to 1997.
Trade: Thailand's traditional major markets have been North America, Japan, and Europe, Thailand has joined the ranks of the world's top ten automobile exporting nations. Machinery and parts, vehicles, electronic integrated circuits, chemicals, crude oil and fuels, and iron and steel are among Thailand's principal imports.
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