Literary interpretation essay

Charles Dickens’ novel Hard Times puts premium on the existing economic and social burdens that pressed on individuals during his time. One of the most noticeable features written throughout the text of the novel is that it is filled with family struggles, sorrow, decaying morals as well as the element of estrangement. For example, Thomas Gradgrind, one of the characters, is depicted as a man whose deep fascination with imprudent utilitarian principles leads him to give full confidence to statistics and facts as well as to the idea of practicality of things.In essence, the book is thought to be too didactic as it appears to merely express the negative aspects of the industrial age prominent during Dickens’ time, further giving us the impression that the characters in the novel are mere caricatures and that their sentiments sequin inasmuch as the morality is being portrayed as frail. This is one of the many interesting and thought-provoking elements in the novel that has roused the minds of many, with critics taking aim at the very illustration ascribed by Dickens to the characters.Hippolyte Taine argues that the characters in the novel actually fall under two main distinctions: either the characters are individuals who both have feelings and emotions or the characters lack these two. He further suggests that the characters only serve the purpose of filling-up the content of the novel and inducing more hilarity and that Dickens actually compares the soul created by nature to that of the soul deformed by the society.The arguments being raised by Taine brings us a closer look into the character portrayals as well as into the context upon which the characters are placed. The claim being put forward by Taine indeed contains a strand of validity with regards to the histrionic villains primarily because the characters in the novel are portrayed as individuals who appear to be guised as machines by obstruct the enhancement in their feelings. This can be o bserved primarily from the exploits of Thomas Gradgrind and Bounderby where the former teaches his brood and the rest of his family through the use of facts and statistics and the latter handles his factory employees as entities without emotions thereby abusing them to further his own benefits.On the other hand, one can also perceive the notion that the didactic view of Taine only amplifies the idea that the novel of Dickens is one that is complex. Part of the reason to this can be observed from the fact that the novel itself, by suggesting themes contained in the time of industrialization, has several aspects worthy of looking into. Not only is the entirety of the novel to be treated as a whole and undivided literary work. Rather, it is a complex novel as well, suggesting subject matters such as the automation of the lives of humans, the conflict existing amid fact and fancy, as well as the significance of womanliness to name a few.Further, there are characters in the novel that ex hibit a form of doubles or alter egos which Dickens utilizes in order to challenge the perception of reality centering on the subject widespread in the prevailing forms of culture in classic realism as well as in great Romanticism. Part of this can be reflected on Bounderby’s attempt of using his workers in order to promote his personal interests, suggesting the idea that the character of Bounderby can also be analyzed in terms of personal motivations apart from the idea that the character can be primarily examined in terms of the subject’s actions.These observations lead us to the assumption that Dickens’ work is more complex than how Taine views it by didactic means. One should be reminded that, although Taine makes a good point in arguing that the characters may or may not illustrate feelings and emotions, the characters nevertheless can be scrutinized further by focusing on the motivations behind their actions and the context of the time where the story oper ates. It brings into light the complex and intricate strands of unconventional behavior exhibited during times when life ought to have been a little easier for the individual.The relative complexity of characterization is likewise significant in the novel essentially because it does not only heighten the motifs in the novel but also connects these motifs altogether in a congruent flow of thoughts that establishes the central and major contention of the novel. Among these motifs include the childhood years of Bounderby, marriages that are both uneven and miserable and the comparison of mechanical time to that of the changing of seasons to name a few.Further, several symbols depicted in the novel also add to the complexity displayed by the characters throughout the story. Some of these include the staircase imagined by Mrs. Sparsit, the Pegasus situated inside the inn, the smoke serpents that relate to the perceptions and actuations of Bounderby, and the fire or, more specifically, th e inner fire exemplified in the character of Louisa.Indeed, these factors and the rest of the literary observations go against the claim of Taine, highlighting instead the complexity of the novel of Dickens as a whole and the dense characterizations of the individuals. It can be said—as opposed to Taine’s dichotomized treatment on the characters—that the characters bend towards flexibility of character, acting as empty of emotion on this aspect and appearing as filled with emotion on the other. Bounderby, for example, shows little or no affection towards the workers while, on the other hand, exhibiting a sense of fulfillment in furthering his interests.In general, Charles Dickens’ novel has prompted criticisms that seek to critique the portrayal of characters in the novel, raising arguments that aim at simplifying the complex story into seeming dichotomies. Quite on the contrary, the overall image of the novel is already intricate and that the scenes and the characters altogether conjure the complete complexity of the work.ReferenceTaine, Hippolyte. â€Å"The Two Classes of Characters in Hard Times.†Ã‚   Hard Times : An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. 3rd ed. New York, NY: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2000. 355.

Meaning of Life and Greatness Essay

â€Å"We are very near to greatness: one step and we are safe ; can we not make that leap? † – Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson speaks of a greatness that I believe is inherent in every human being. It may sometimes feel like it is jus beyond the reach of your fingers; just outside the bounds of your imagination. You may feel like you are on the verge of some monumental breakthrough, but for some reason that change doesn’t occur. Greatness is not something that you try to attain through some specific avenue, or any specialized field of work, but rather a quality within yourself that you need only become aware of. It cannot be measured by possessions, financial status, or even certain achievements that society deems to be great. I can only attempt to convey the meaning of greatness by describing the effects of its presence in your life. Each day is met with a sense of purpose, as is each action within that day. Joy and hapiness are your predominant emotions, and are produced from a sense of peace within. You have the ability to manifest your desires, and the direction of your life is dictated by your imagination, rather than what appears to be going on around you. Thinking abundantly, you are more focused on giving rather than receiving, for you know that it is in giving you receive. You see greatness in everyone, because to see it within yourself, you must recognize it in others. We live in a world where people expect things outside of themselves to bring them fulfillment. This can only lead to a feeling of emptiness, and constant striving. You must affirm your greatness to yourself. This is not an affirmation from the standpoint that you are superior to others, but from the recogntion of a power that runs through all existence. See yourself as great , and great things will begin to appear in your life.

Week 7 d2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 7 d2 - Essay Example These ideas are highly useful in reducing the organization’s ownership costs. The management can also gain revenues based on additional opportunities associated with the network. Effective network management could as well increase work value, which in turn will assist in boosting revenues. Effectiveness of the organization’s network can be done by determining the productivity of the operator, the network management and its impact on revenues, the network reliability and availability, as well as its service (Hanemann, Liakopoulos, Molina, & Swany, 2014). In the course of measuring the metric of operator productivity, the number of devices that can be supported by operator ports. This is done by tracking down any troubles and how fast they are resolved. The network management impact on revenue is done by considering the number of customers lost within a specified time including the reasons for such losses (Hanemann, Liakopoulos, Molina, & Swany, 2014). There chat below shows the network management metric for assessing network management effectiveness within an organization. Aspects like network usability, requirements, and most relevant network operations are considered. All these aspects are explained in relation to factors like aggregation in time, aggregation in space, and concatenation in space (Hanemann, Liakopoulos, Molina, & Swany, 2014). Measurements need to be done with exactly the same packet type such as size and ToS among others. In the case of space aggregation, this aspect applies specifically to physical space aggregation. Local space aggregations are typically over packet properties. Hanemann, A., Liakopoulos, A., Molina, M., & Swany, D. M. (2014). A Study on Network Performance Metrics and their Composition. Retrieved from marco.uminho.pt:

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Paraphrasing - Essay Example This discovery is according to Ryan and Deci’s (2000), the assimilation of the organization’s demands with personal values and needs. Gaertner and Gaertner’s finding suggests that extrinsic rewards in combination to staff training or feedback to employees on their work have a greater impact on performance other than extrinsic rewards alone. The findings of Gaertner and Gaertner (1985), Dowling and Richardson (1997), Redman et al. (2000) and O’Donnell and Shields (2002) are supported by Frey’s (1997) contention that, once the wages and salaries go past a subsistence level, intrinsic factors are better motivators than extrinsic rewards. It also shows that using extrinsic rewards alone is difficult and motivation of staff will require intrinsic rewards such as recognition and satisfaction of a job well done and a sense of amazing work. Williams (1998) describes how different people have different values, drives and perceptions to things and that not all people are passive recipients who automatically conforms to working systems as the management would want. Etzioni (1988) and Larson (1977), values are a necessity and are crucial to an employee’s development and commitment to a particular organization in achieving required goals and objectives. Berry, Broadbent and Otley (1995) describe the control of an organization which includes elements such as, goal setting, performance measurement and rewards. Organizational control is generalized and employees in the caring services may consider remunerative motivation less effective in comparison to the normative reward of doing a job that can satisfy them As reported above in the results a null hypothesis is rejected. The Employees of this organization occur to be motivated by intrinsic rewards. The results debate with the conclusions of Gupta and Mitra (1998) that extrinsic

Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Portfolio - Essay Example Global interaction has increased, and the need has arose to enable people to develop the capability of adapting to different environments comprising of a multitudes of people with varying personalities, where an individual can encounter contradictory, imperfect and inconsistent opinions and views (Tambe, 1997), thus individuals should be willing and capable enough to take charge of situations by initiating in ones self the spirit of leadership and adaptability. This semester has proved worthwhile since it has equipped us with the insight to recognize our own skills as well as our flaws, and has developed in us an urge to polish our strengths and take advantage of the opportunities available to us in order to hone our personalities and unleash our potential to improve, which is innate in every individual. Furthermore, it has enabled us to identify the weaknesses which lead to setbacks in various moments in life and the resulting damage to the self confidence and morale due to these failures, and has given us the timely opportunity to work on this weakness and therefore establish ourselves into dynamic individuals who have the courage to withstand different challenges in life, thus we can apply the marketing management approach of SWOT analysis on our team to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats we face and work upon them specifically to reap maximum advantage (Piercy and Giles, 1989). Throughout this semester we fac ed teamwork challenges in the form of three mediums: four reading review tests wherein individuals had to ponder over a given set of questions and then collaborate with the team members to agree on an answer which is accepted by all members, essay writing in group was another way to initiate team spirit in all members, and lastly the challenge which was most significant was the presentation in which the entire group had to work as a team in the development of the presentation

Capstone Experience (SWOT Analysis and Strategic Scorecard) Clairol Assignment

Capstone Experience (SWOT Analysis and Strategic Scorecard) Clairol Company 1 - Assignment Example According to Doyle and Bridgewater (2010), the main focus on the confectionery gives them an upper hand in understanding the consumers in the various segments better. The achievement of various acquisitions gave it the opportunity to expand into other markets like Vietnam (Doyle and Bridgewater 2010). P&G has less exposure in the other markets and therefore it will faces difficulty in understanding the new emerging markets compared to its competitors. The release of a high number of brands at the same time also makes it hard for the management to concentrate on the performance of a particular brand within the market. There are new markets with great opportunities that exist and expand into the emerging markets such as India where the population is on the rise. There is an increase of consumer wealth and an increase in the demand for confectionery products thus an increase in the amount of profits (Doyle and Bridgewater, 2012). The markets the company operates have a high rate of acquisitions and merger currently, and there are opportunities that exist to raise market share by means of planned purchases. This will also boost the level of profits at P & G. Increase in the level of efficiency and reduction of costs is the main route to survival within the FMCG market. P & G’s plan towards cost efficiency leads to saving of costs through moving production to countries that have cheaper raw materials and reduce the internal costs The large quantities of goods that need proper storage and management are high in number, but there have been inadequate methods of handling the goods. Thus, some end up getting spoilt in the process resulting to a big loss to the organization since the products will not reach the end users (Percy and Giles, 2007). This paper, therefore, looks into the warehousing process. The demand for the products within the cost environment has increased. This is an

Case Study of Apple Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study of Apple - Essay Example ies on the assumption that a company’s approach to competitive advantage emanates from the unique resources that the organization owns and its potentials. An organization then identifies an environment in which its resources and potentials can grant in advantage over other firms and implements the resources and potentials. An understanding of available resources is therefore the first stage in pursuing the model and would include analysis of Apple’s human resources and fixed and current assets. Characteristics of employees such as strengths in creativity and innovation, ability to align self-interest with the organization’s goals, and ability to integrate ideas into a collective innovation would be important. Explorations of capabilities within the organization would then follow and research and development is a significant factor. Evaluation of availability of financial resources for conducting research and implementing research results would be one of the foci of capabilities analysis. Competence of human resource for identification of research needs, planning for proposed research, and implementation of the research is another center of focus for competence analysis. In analyzing its resources and potentials under the Resource-Based Strategy, Apple would consider value, scarcity, cost of duplication, and substitutability of the resources and potentials. The company should ensure that the resources and potentials that it plans to depend upon can empower it outshine its competitors or at least to neutralize the competitors’ effectiveness. The resources and potentials should also be within limited reach of competitors in terms of accessibility and involved cost. Considering these features and ensuring their existence in the market environment creates competitive advantage that facilitates success regardless of stiff level of competition. The strategy offers the organization a basis for organizing a formidable advantage in product quality, product

Evaluate the evidence for a critical period of language acquisition Essay

Evaluate the evidence for a critical period of language acquisition. At what point does the brain appear to lose its plasticity for language - Essay Example Apart from the small things or concepts taught by the parents, siblings, schools, etc, etc as part of life’s and academic education, the children will tend to learn many things on their own. The children using their brains and other sense organs will learn from the environment, the things they handle, the images they see, and importantly the words they hear, etc. So, the crucial formative years only functions as a perfect setting for the child to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and also vocally. Vocally in the sense, they will develop the ability to acquire multiple languages and speak in them. But, as the child grows, the ‘plasticity’ of the brain to acquire languages tends to weaken. So, this paper will discuss why the brain appears to lose its plasticity for language, from different angles. Even though, the vocal box, and other vocal and auditory organs only help the humans to listen, speak and thereby acquire languages, the brain only plays an omnipresent role in all the process. That is, when children hear languages in the form of sounds, their brain, which will be in the developing stage, will try to form patterns and importantly will try to reproduce it. And only when the child’s brain develops further the formation of pattern will accelerate, resulting in seamless reproduction and also own creation of sounds and languages. â€Å"†¦ before babies utters their first slobbery syllable, they have been hard at work mentally calculating the statistical nuances of their parents language. Not only are babies capable of deciphering sounds, she said, but they also can map how the individual sounds are combined, how syllables are stressed, and what the intonation qualities are--"all by the time they celebrate their first birthday (NIDCD). So, the bottom line is, in the critical period of language acquisition, the brains plays a crucial role.

Narrative on Seminar Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Narrative on Seminar Discussion - Essay Example Unless followers see outstanding qualities in leaders, it is impossible for them to develop any attachment to the leaders. However, when followers are led by the type of leaders they want, high productivity levels become evident. In the discussion held by Jones and Gofee, it became evident that followers have expectations and do not follow leaders blindly. It was intriguing for me to listen to the two experts highlighting the expectation of followers from their leaders. One of the aspects that became evident is that followers need to be led by leaders who can inspire them. Notably, a leader is responsible for inspiring members of his or her team. The emergence of transformational leadership as one of the highly influential leadership theories I the 21st century has served to place emphasis on this aspect. Followers need leaders who can motivate and inspire them to bring out their best. It is possible for leaders to inspire followers if they communicate their vision to the followers. Followers need to understand a leader’s vision for the organization. If the vision is appealing and convincing, then followers are willing to make it a reality. In many cases, leaders who lack the capacity to inspire their followers face frustrations from daily reports of low productivity. Notably, experts have explored numerous theories and strategies that explain how leaders can inspire their followers. The fact that Jones and Gofee give this aspect a priority in their discussion reveals the level of importance it has (Goffee & Jones, 2000). Leaders need to exhibit a passion for the company’s goals and develop a clear vision of the organization. Leaders who can do this, make their followers feel energized. Inspiration requires leaders to initiate positive changes within the organization and the individuals as well. A leader who can inspire team members effectively is