Marketing Research Tools Paper wk 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Research Tools Paper wk 3 - Essay Example On the other hand, research areas having ample and reliable data available require use of information extracted from secondary sources. According to nature of sources and research methodology, different tools are selected and used by researchers. All these tools have their own use, advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is important for researchers to ensure that research tools are selected that are suitable for the nature of research approach i.e. primary and secondary and research methodologies i.e. quantitative and qualitative. Primary research itself consists of data collection from original resources. Primary research can employ qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and there are various tools that can be used for this research approach. Usual tools used for this research includes surveys, interviews, direct observations, experimentations, and focus groups. These tools help in collecting data that is specific to the needs of researcher. Furthermore, researcher s can levy necessary controls on the research process to maintain the integrity of data collected and using it appropriately for the purpose of research (Baker, 2012). Hence, it is possible for researchers to ensure that data collected is valid and trustworthy along with being authentic and reliable. These research tools are usually time and cost consuming however due to direct relevance to the research purpose, it is preferred for areas of research that have not been explored earlier or to corroborate with existing studies (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2008). As far as secondary research is concerned, it is use of data that is already available from existing sources. The tools available for secondary research include information available on the internet, market research conducted by government and individual market research firms, data available on firms’ websites and stock exchange, information from public and private agencies, personal records and published print sources (peer-review ed papers, books and journals) (Baker, 2012). While using secondary data, it is important to ensure that the data is appropriate for the purpose of research. Relevance of data in terms of time period is another major issue that researchers need to take care of. However, sometimes use of secondary data is beneficial as it is readily available and relatively cheap (as the original research expenses have been already incurred). While performing primary and secondary research, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies can be used depending on the nature of research. While selecting a research methodology, the purpose of research and type of information required for the research is determined which further shapes the nature of research. In quantitative research, the usual tools used for primary research are surveys, financial figures produced by the entities themselves, experiments and numerical readings produced by them, statistical modeling and examination through stratificat ion and segmentation (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2008). These tools help in acquiring first hand information which is reliable, valid and objective yet expensive to acquire. For quantitative research to be performed through secondary sources, the tools used can be numeric modeling and statistical analysis. These tools are used to perform correlational analysis of data already available through print and electronic sources. Example of it can be examination of industry performance by performing statistical examination of market

Alejandro Flores Essay Example for Free

Alejandro Flores Essay Write a 2 – 3 page paper that addresses the following: 1. How do Senor Flores, Senora Flores and Dr. Jean view this situation from totally different perspectives? 2. Why might Senora Flores have chosen to consult an espiritista rather than call the clinic when Alejandro was not getting better? 3. Which of the normative cultural values described in the Lecture might apply to Alejandro’s case? Please explain. The Puerto Rican culture has many beliefs involving individual roles within the family. Many believe that the male(s) of the family should work to provide the basic needs of the household: paying rent, bills, paying for groceries, automotive repair, and the like. Similarly, the female(s) of the house should be the primary house keeper and care giver. Familismo holds a large part in the Puerto Rican culture, and the advice of the elder family members is taken very seriously. Religion also plays an integral role in Puerto Rican culture, and some believe illness is the result of sin, punishment, or spiritual discomfort. These beliefs tie together to create culturally diverse situations regarding patients health care, and must be taken into consideration when discussing treatment plans. Senor Flores views this situation from the machismo perspective. His view is to he should be working to provide the means for his family to survive. By taking time off of work to attend Alejandro’s medical appointments, he feels that he is neglecting his cultural responsibility of working hard to meet the needs of his family as a whole. Additionally, he does not believe that the modern treatment has a positive effect on Alejandro’s condition, and he portrays that he would rather allow his mother-in-law to play a more active role in Alejandro’s care. He feels as though every time he is at the appointments, the clinical staff is ostracizing him and attacking him for smoking. Senora Flores is upset about Alejandro’s health condition, and appears to be reaching out for help in different directions. She does not want to give Alejandro all of the medicine he is prescribed, and is taking her mother’s advice by seeking the help of an espiritista. When she arrived to the appointment late, she was greeted poorly because of the tardiness, and doesn’t understand why the clinic staff is rude with her. Many Puerto Ricans believe that tardiness is accepted, even common, and that having a relaxed attitude regarding time is reasonable practice. Additionally, she is frustrated with the language barr ier that presents itself during the appointments. The clinic is providing her so much information, and she feels belittled by the staff when she may not comprehend all of the information they are providing her. She is concerned that Alejandro will be chastised due to the perception that he is weak and unhealthy. She is worried that nothing she can do will better his condition and prayers are not helping. Dr. Jean is concerned with Alejandro’s progress due to the misuse or absence of medications and the lack of Senor Flores’ interest in tobacco cessation for the sake of his child’s health. She desires to help the family, and has given her personal phone number to be accommodating, but instead Senora Flores confided in a housekeeper instead of the doctor. The family’s tardiness is an issue for Dr Jean, but this doesn’t bother her as much as not showing up for the appointment at all. Senora Flores may have consulted with the espiritista due to the lack of confidence in the medication Alejandro is prescribed. This combined with the clinical staff’s attitude toward her, and the cultural belief that illness can be caused by spiritual discomforts, could lead to Senora Flores’ visit to the spiritual healer. Espiritistas use prayers to attempt to rid the patient of spirits causing the disease. Also, Senora Flores’ mother suggested the espiritista visit, and the words and advice of the elder is highly respected in the Puerto Rican culture. All of the normative cultural values present themselves in this module, but the one that applies the most in my opinion is Fatalismo. In the study, the family seems that the fate of Alejandro’s illness is predetermined and nothing they have done or will do to ease h is symptoms will work effectively. 2010 Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics and Children’s Mercy Family Health Partners Cross Cultural Resource Guide pgs. 28-29 Retrieved on April 15, 2012 From: http://www.fhp.org/fhpdocs/CrossCulturalResourceGuide.pdf ELL Assessment for Linguistic Differences guide for Nonverbal Communication. Retrieved on April 17, 2012 From: http://www.ldldproject.net/cultures/puertorico/differences/nonverbal.html

JFK Essay -- essays research papers

Evaluation Of JFK   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through out the course of history, America has seen great Presidents. These men all exhibited characteristics which helped them to be successful in their endeavor to become the nations leader. Among those characteristics are traits such as being a good spokesperson or leader and being fair towards all which makes for a good President.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As President, one must make numerous speeches. Someone who has a phobia of making speeches in front of a large group of people, may find this job difficult. Remaining composed and in control of the situation may be crucial in gaining your viewers support. The President also must be able to convey his thoughts clearly so his nation knows where he stands on issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being President is being the leader of a great nation. If the President is afraid to step up, make the decisions and take action, then the nation as a whole may suffer. This would take confidence and some skill in sweet talking to those who are relevant, into uniting behind him. Rising to the occasion and shining when looked upon would be expected from a man with leadership.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A good President is one that is fair. The duty of making sure the Constitution is followed and obeyed is up to the President. This document should be the foundation on which our government is shaped. So he should be able to put himself in the place of those his decision will be...

Innocence and experience in Blake’s Songs Essay

A Romantic as he was, William Blake created his rather simple songs as an opposition to the poetry the eighteenth-century poets tried to impose, the so called ornated word,poetry of beautiful words saying very little. Songs of Innocence and Experience are about the â€Å"two contrary states of the human soul† as Blake put it. To confirm this he wrote some of the poems of Innocence with their pairs in Experience. Such a pair is â€Å"The Lamb† from Innocence and â€Å"The Tyger† from Experience. â€Å"The Lamb† consists of two stanzas, each one of them based on simple rhyming scheme like the children’s songs. The first stanza poses the questions while the second one is left for the answers. The questions are for the lamb, the speaker, presumably a child, asks the animal who has made it. The whole description of the animal supposes a meek and good one, the use of soft vowels makes the perception stronger. The second stanza gives the answers, although obvious, they are given in the form of a child’s puzzle, showing a bit of naivete. After a bit of a puzzle-playing the answer is crystal clear, the creator of the lamb is God. With the lines â€Å"For he is called by thy name/For he calls himself a lamb† Blake reminds the reader of the Bible and more specifically of Jes us, who after his Crucifixion becomes the Lamb of God. Following this, the lamb is a symbol of naà ¯ve innocence, also suffering one. â€Å"The Tyger† is the â€Å"experienced† poem of the pair. The lines â€Å"Did He smile His work to see?/Did He who made the lamb make thee?† may be considered a symbolic centre of the poem. The persona asks the tyger if his creator is the one who created the lamb. The questions are seeking an answer and at the same time are showing deep disbelieve, how can God who created the meek lamb create also the fierce tiger and frame his â€Å"fearful symmetry†. If innocence is naà ¯ve and suffering then experience, according to â€Å"The Tyger†, whose eyes have burnt in â€Å"distant deeps or skies†, should be dark and fierce having collected all the darkness â€Å"in the forests of the night† as is presented the life of the grown-up people in â€Å"The Tyger†. If â€Å"The Tyger† from Experience is the opposite poem to â€Å"The Lamb†, â€Å"To Tirzah† doesn’t have a particular opposite in Innocence, it may be considered as a single poem opposing the whole of Songs of Innocence. Tirzah is one of the five daughters of Zelophehad, also the name of the capital of  Israel, which is in opposition with Jerusalem, the city of God. The first stanza begins with the well-known fact that â€Å"Whate’er is born of mortal birth† dies. And ends with the question â€Å"Then what have I to do with thee?†, it seems it is directed exactly to that mortal part of humans. The second stanza is a reminder of Genesis, the fall of Adam and Eve when looking for knowledge and their curse when drown out of Heaven, men to work with sweat on their foreheads and women to cry of pain while giving birth to their children. In the third stanza Tirzah proves out to be the mother of the â€Å"mortal part† of humans and thus mother of death. The persona of the poem seems to be a young man who is angry with his mother for giving him life that inevitably ends in death. The young man may also be afraid to break the bond with his mother and live in the world of experience on his own. The last stanza opposes life on earth whose â€Å"tongue is made of clay† and life in heaven whose symbol is Jesus and his crucifixion. Experience understands the simple rules of life that what is born dies and can’t accept them, while innocence accepts and amuses in everything even in perceiving experience. The bond between innocence and experience when judged from â€Å"To Tirzah† seems to be the bond of a blissful student to his desperate teacher. Such blissful innocence is presented in the â€Å"Introduction† of Songs of Innocence. The poem begins with a piper’s song, the persona sees a child on a cloud, an ordinary symbol of blissful innocence, the child/angel is enjoying the piper’s song, which in Blakean times is considered to be the purest of all. The child nearly orders the piper to â€Å"Pipe a song about a Lamb!†, innocence enjoys the song about another blissful innocent creature – the lamb. Experience in the form of the grown-up piper praises and at the same time amuses innocence. The bond between â€Å"the two contrary states of the human soul† is a mother-child relationship. Experience teaches innocence as the piper writes down in a book the songs he knows so that â€Å"Every child may joy to hear.† But the mother also protects her child, so does experience as is clearly seen from the poem â€Å"Holy Thursday†. Children, the most common symbol of innocence, are walking two by two and â€Å"grey-headed beadles† are leading them to St. Paul’s cathedral, experience protects innocence and leads it to a place where God will guide and protect it. In the second stanza of the poem innocence is a multitude, children are like â€Å"flowers of London town†, â€Å"multitudes of lambs†, innocence is being united with nature. Following the flow of thought innocence seems to glow with its divine image as is presented in â€Å"The Divine Image† from Songs of Innocence. The first stanza of the poem states that Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love are the four most important virtues that every man prays to. The second stanza reveals that the virtues symbol of innocence and purity are God and human â€Å"His child and care†. Reading on the poem shows that man is made up of virtues and possesses the human form divine, the purest and Godly innocence. If innocence is â€Å"the human form divine† then what is experience and what have they to do with one another? Does â€Å"London† from Songs of Experience give the answer? â€Å"London† is symbol of fallen humanity, symbol of the dark face of the industrial revolution that Blake’s contemporaries so much prided on. The persona’s journey begins with â€Å"I wander†, he walks through â€Å"each chartered street†, in Blakean times charters were given to rich people as a permission to rule given city. A city, in our case London, may be chartered, but Blake uses irony when defining the river Thames as chartered because a river cannot be put under human rules. The whole city, even the river, look like prisoners that’s why the persona can observe â€Å"marks of weakness, marks of woe† on every face he meets. From the first stanza his journey seems to be a sad walk through experience. In the second stanza the poet uses repetition in order to make the impact of his words stronger. He mentions manacles that were an ordinary thing to be seen on the hands of prisoners that were sent to Australia. But Blake’s manacles are ‘mind-forged’, a symbol of moral rules and laws that restrict â€Å"civilized† people. This image is also an allusion to Rousseau’s statement that â€Å"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.† The third stanza gives more specific examples of weakness and woe. The image of the child chimney-sweeper crying is a symbol of the unlawful use of child’s labour; the second – the blackening church appalls every one, the church is blackening as a symbol of stagnation, injustice, wrongly used power of not helping those that most need its caress – the poor. And last but not least the sound of the hapless soldier’s sigh; Blake  uses hyperbole in this particular image when describing that the sigh â€Å"Runs in blood down palace walls†. Being a reminder of the French revolution the poet warns the king and the people who rule the â€Å"chartered streets† and â€Å"the chartered Thames† that the misfortunate British may rise following the example of their soul mates – the French. The action in the last stanza takes place at midnight, the time when all monsters come out to haunt the living, this is the time of full darkness, symbol of impurity. At midnight the young harlot is forced to sell her body in a society where money is God. Blake uses a rather strong oxymoron to outline her image, â€Å"marriage hearse†, there can never be such a thing or it can in a London with â€Å"chartered streets† and â€Å"blackening church†; her curse damns lost innocence that can never be returned. â€Å"London† has a simple AB rhyming scheme that is typical for nursery rhymes, its innocent representation is in ironic opposition with its content, exactly like London of Blakean time, it was considered the peak of civilization while from the inside it was rotting away. From â€Å"London† it looks like that the bond between innocence and experience is very narrow, to enter experience one just has to be aware of evil. Experience is also understanding and accepting death, most fearful of all experience. â€Å"The Fly† from Songs of Experience proves it. At first sight the poem’s theme is about destruction, the persona kills the fly; but as the speaker identifies with the fly in the third stanza he is also vulnerable to â€Å"some blind hand† that may brush him away, the hand of the inevitable, of blind providence. The perspective of the persona killing the fly is turned a bit sideways with the act of the speaker’s identification with the fly; his act of killing may be not aimed to the fly but to himself. The last two stanzas are the most enigmatic and at the same time most universal ones. The forth stanza toys with the idea that if â€Å"thought is life† meaning that knowledge is life and â€Å"the want of thought is death† – an allusion to the Bible, when Adam and Eve are repelled from Heaven for seeking knowledge, when leaving Heaven they leave innocence behind and enter experience where they learn of death. But the poet shows death as the lack of thought, the lack of life, he teaches us that the price for gaining experience is losing innocence but death may be the gate to achieving regained innocence, because if death is the lack of thought then it is the lack of experience meaning  that it is regained innocence. Experience also has its own unique form according to the â€Å"Introduction† of Songs of Experience, its voice is the voice of the ancient bard who â€Å"present, past and future sees†, its ears have heard the Holy Word that is symbol of Jesus who â€Å"walked among the ancient trees† more than 2,000 years ago. The form of Innocence is presented in â€Å"Holy Thursday† from Songs of Innocence. The most well-known symbol of Innocence is the child, on that ground children are presented in the first stanza of â€Å"Holy Thursday†, children are walking two by two and beadles are leading them to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Experience is guiding Innocence to the cathedral were Innocence is to be protected by God himself. In the second stanza the children are multitude, they are like lambs and exactly then and there Innocence is united with nature. In the last stanza the children raise their voice to Heaven and the aged men, Experience, are still there to protect Innocence. Innocence is also symbol of new life being born as is presented in â€Å"The Echoing Green† from Songs of Innocence. â€Å"Spring† in the first stanza of the poem is symbol of the new life, of new Innocence being born. The colour of Innocence, as is easy to be guessed, according to the poem is green. The second stanza presents happy old people, sitting under an oak tree, and laughing at the youths’ games. They remember their own children’s games and their Innocence returns on the echoing green. The last stanza is no more cheerful, youth is tired and everyone is returning to their homes â€Å"like birds in the nests†; the echoing green is no more, it is darkening, like a haunting experience, like a date on which Innocence will come for the last time and be gone forever. Interesting connection between innocence and experience provide also the pair of poems â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Innocence and the one from Songs of Experience. â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Innocence is Blake’s most ironic poem if he ever intended to write such. In 18th century England the chimney-sweepers were little children, most often orphans or  from poor families. Such is the case with the persona of the poem, when his mother dies his father sells him to be a chimney-sweeper and dooms him to sure early death because the chimney-sweepers from that time lived until they were seven or eight years old and died most often of respiratory problems caused by the soot. That is the story of the child-persona told in the first stanza while he walks the streets and cries â€Å"Sweep, sweep, sweep† as a kind of commercial for his job. But the misspelling of the word is not by chance, the author chose to write â€Å"Weep, weep, weepâ €  because misery is the true occupation of the child – chimney-sweeper. The story goes on in the second stanza with little Tom Dacre. His head is â€Å"curled like a lamb’s back† and that is allegory to another poem from Songs of Innocence â€Å"The Lamb†, like the lamb Tom is meek and innocent and he cries when his hair is shaved. The child-persona consoles him that when shaved the soot cannot spoil his white hair; so far innocence blinded Tom when it is â€Å"shaved† he could see the real world. So in the third stanza he is quiet and has a dream that thousands of sweepers are â€Å"locked in coffins of black†. Knowing the hard lives of England’s 18th century child-chimney-sweepers the â€Å"coffins of black† are the chimneys that buried the children. The forth stanza is left for the angel with the bright key who comes and sets all the chimney-sweepers free. But the only Angel who has such a key is the Angel of Death. Tom dreams that all are running down a green plain, washing in the river – all these are symbols of innocence. Later on the Angel tells Tom that if he is a good boy and does his work well he’ll have God for his father, meaning that he’ll return to innocence but only after his death. The children chimney-sweepers are doomed to have entered experience and the bad part of it too early and innocence is for them only a dream. â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Experience opposes the one from Songs of Innocence. â€Å"A little black thing† enters the scene, the child-chimney-sweeper has become one with the soot, he has even obtained its colour. As in Songs of Innocence the perssona cries â€Å"weep† instead of â€Å"sweep†, it sound is part of a melody whose notes are â€Å"the notes of woe†. The second stanza begins with â€Å"Because†, the child-chimney-sweeper feels that because he was happy upon the heath and smiled his parents have given him the clothes of death and give him to it. The persona is angry, he is no  longer innocent because anger is feeling of experience, so he enters experience angry. His parents think they have done him no injury and are gone to praise the Lord who cannot save the child from singing his â€Å"notes of woe†. In the last line of the poem God is frankly accused of being an alliance with church and state who â€Å"made up a heaven of our misery†. Heaven is no more a consoling place for the child-chimney-sweeper who has entered experience it is a place made up of the misery of his fellow â€Å"black things†. Blake’s Songs prove his statement that innocence and experience are â€Å"the two contrary states of the human soul†, the relationship between the two is always opposition: innocence is meek and suffering while experience is fierce and dark but experience accepts and understands life as it is while innocence amuses in everything, it is united with nature. The Godly innocence is the human form divine. Sometimes the bond between innocence and experience is very narrow, to enter experience one has to be aware of evil, experience is also understanding and accepting death. The most well-known form of experience is the grown-up while innocence is the little child, the colour of innocence is green, while those of experience is black. And last but not least the relationship between innocence and experience is that they are both states of the human soul but to the first one is given the blissful life, to the second – the angry existence.

Magic Toyshop Essay

The Magic Toyshop is the second novel of the feminist writer Angela Carter. It is one of the most popular of her early books. In Carter’s works mythological and Biblical themes often appear, and The Magic Toyshop is a good example of that. This essay is intended to discuss the introductory chapter of The Magic Toyshop, in which Carter rewrites a major Biblical story. The Magic Toyshop follows the story of a teenage girl, Melanie. She is one of three children, her younger brother is Jonathon and her five year old sister is Victoria. They live in the English countryside in a middle class family. Their house is spacious; they all have their own bedrooms. Their parents are rich, successful and the children have everything they need. The children have a middle aged governess Mrs. Rundle. She is overweight, was never married, only added the Mrs. title to her name a few years ago as a present to herself. Melanie has a fear of becoming someone like Mrs. Rundle. She does not believe in God but she prays that she would marry and have sex in her life. She is worried about her weight because she thinks she is too thin, but she would not eat too much either because then she might become fat and never marry. She already sees herself as someone’s wife; she looks at herself as a male would do. (Gamble 69) The novel tells the story of the children becoming orphans and having to leave their home. Their parents are killed in a plane crash and the three children must leave the countryside to live with their uncle in London. Uncle Phillip owns a toyshop and is a toymaker himself. The orphans do not know anything about him; Melanie’s only memory of him is that when she was a little girl he made her a jack in the box which was very scary. They do not know that the world they are about to enter is radically different from the one they lived in until now. At the beginning of the novel Melanie is a happy fifteen year old girl who is starting to discover herself. She explores her body, discovers it as a colonizer discovers the unknown land. She likes to pose in front of her mirror; she plays the roles of the characters of paintings (by male painters naturally). The novel uses the terminologies of explorers thus making us believe there is a male voice behind the words. Melanie’s only wish is to marry well. She is already getting ready for married life, she is making herself ready for a husband. She believes that marriage is the only way to have inancial and emotional security, the only way to be a respectable woman and to have a happy life. This is the only way she knows. This is what the culture, the social background of the age indoctrinated her to believe. She is dreaming of a perfect husband who is handsome, gentle, amiable, who has a good job and adequate financial background. Although she is a little worried about not getting this perfect life, not having sex, she genuinely believes that things are going to work out for the best. Melanie is planning to spend her adolescence preparing for the life that comes after. However soon enough she will realize that life is not a fairytale. She will meet and fall in love with a boy that does not fit in the image of the perfect husband she pictured for herself, a boy that she would have never thought to fell for under normal circumstances. She will realize how these circumstances can make her grow up in a few days – or even a few hours as on the train ride to London she realizes she has to be the mother of her little brother and sister – , and how they can suddenly take away all of her dreams and principles. However there is another way to interpret the beginning of the first chapter, the scene where she is exploring her body. Melanie is not only preparing herself for her future groom, but she is exploring her own sexuality too. She is in the age when she realizes that she is a woman, that she has not only grown mentally but physically too. â€Å"In Carter’s own words, Melanie ‘is very conscious of desire, she is filled with it. And that gives her power’. † (Gamble 69-70) One night Melanie decides to go further then posing in her own bedroom. Her parents are not home, they are in America. In the darkness of the night, when everyone in the house is asleep, she goes to her parent’s bedroom. She looks at their wedding photograph and starts thinking about her parents. How she cannot imagine her mother naked, as she never saw her that way – she even jokes about her mother being born with clothes on -, and how her father always wears the same suit. She wonders if her parents had sex before their wedding – this makes her believe she really is growing up if thoughts like this occur in her mind. She notices Uncle Phillip in the picture and thinks about the old jack in the box she was so afraid of. Then she goes over to her mother’s dressing table and looks into the mirror. She starts posing there too and feels that she looks different in her mother’s mirror. This moment can be understood again as a flesh of transition between childhood and becoming a woman. Being in her parent’s room is like pretending to be an adult just like they are. Posing in her mother’s mirror Melanie is trying to imagine how she will look like and feel as an adult, married woman. This moonlit night is the one when the fall happens†¦ Looking at her parent’s wedding picture Melanie decides to try on her mother’s wedding dress. She finds the dress and puts it on but it is too big. She is a little disappointed but still thinks she looks beautiful in it. She feels like a bride. â€Å"A bride. Whose bride? But she was, tonight, sufficient for herself in her own glory and did nor need a groom. † (Carter 16) Melanie decides to go out to the garden. She first feels free and excited; the night was so different from the one she imagined. The moonlit garden was like the Garden of Eden. â€Å"She was alone. In her carapace of white satin, she was the last, the only woman. † (Carter 17) This realization of loneliness soon turns into panic. She truly feels alone and feels what happening is too much. Crying she runs back to the front door but it is closed†¦ She forgot her keys. Suddenly the sweet, dark night turns into a scary land. Melanie realizes what she did was forbidden. She is frightened, she thinks there is something in the dark. After Mrs. Rundle’s cat appears in the garden, Melanie feels a little more comfortable. She starts to pull herself together and decides she will climb up the apple tree to her window. (The apple tree can be a symbol of Eden again). But she cannot do that in the wedding dress. The cat gives her so much comfort that she can take the dress off. Then something happens: she realizes her own nakedness as never before. â€Å"She was horribly conscious of her own exposed nakedness. She felt a new and final kind of nakedness, as if she had taken even her own skin off and now stood clothed in nothing, nude in the ultimate nudity of the skeleton. (Carter 21) This scene might be interpreted as the happenings in the Bible right after the Fall. The serpent deceives Eve so she and Adam both eat from the forbidden tree. â€Å"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. † (New International Bible, Genesis 3:7) The naked Melanie puts down the dress and the cat climbs on it. It scratches the dress. Melanie starts climbing up the tree, she does not know how long it takes but she finally gets to her room. She bleeds form â€Å"hundreds of cuts† but does not mind the pain. She honestly regrets what she had done that night, but cannot take it back. She ate from the forbidden fruit and knows that she deserves the consequences. Right now pain seems to be the punishment. The morning has come and when Mrs. Rundle, Jonathon and Victoria leave the house Melanie is alone in the house with her sin. Somebody is knocking on the door. It is a messenger boy with a telegram in his hand. â€Å"As soon as she saw him, she knew what the telegram contained, as if the words were printed on his forehead. (Carter 24) She runs to the bathroom and vomits. She reads the telegram and realizes what she already guessed was true. Her parents were dead. Melanie’s childhood, her fairytale life ended in this moment. She committed a sin last night and now was expelled from Eden. â€Å"This ‘wedding dress night when she married the shadows’ (Carter 77) exiles her and her younger brother and sister from their comfortable, liberal, middle-class home in the country to live in a dark, narrow house above Uncle Phillip’s toyshop in south London. (Sage 15) And what was Melanie’s fault really? As Lorna Sage says it was the â€Å"stepping over the boundary between reality and fantasy† (Sage 15) Melanie, Jonathon and Victoria are taken to their Uncle Phillip’s house. Melanie soon realizes she will have to live there in terror, in constant fear of her uncle. She has to say good bye to the magical life she had in the countryside and has to grow up sooner then expected. We can understand Uncle Phillip’s house as Purgatory. She goes through a grueling rite of passage into the state of being a woman. Whatever way she might once have grown up is simply cancelled after she arrived at Uncle Phillip’s. † (Day 25) Melanie goes through hell until one day Uncle Phillips ends this story. When he learns that his wife has a sexual relationship with her own brother, he sets the house on fire. â€Å"In the end only Melanie and Finn are left standing amongst the wreckage staring at one another in wild surmise, Adam and Eve at the beginning of a new world. †

The American Revolution Was a Major Turning Point Essays

The American Revolution Was a Major Turning Point Essays The American Revolution Was a Major Turning Point Paper The American Revolution Was a Major Turning Point Paper Alex Griffen P6 9/28/11 The American Revolution was a major turning point in American history and greatly affected Americas future. The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, to become the United States of America. It fundamentally changed the American society politically, socially and economically by the establishments of the Declaration of Independence and conflicts over stronger states rights or stronger central government, paper currency, womens rights and slavery. The American Revolution brought enormous effects on the Americans society polticially by new means of government. One major approach to endure in this change was the Declaration of Independence. George Washington declared a change in the society because he thought it was time to become independent from the Britains crown. If men were angels, no government would be necessary. This statement supports the reason of wanting independence because being under the Britains crown was unfair and Americans did not want that type of government any more. This action also led to the American colonies wanting to self-govern their own society. After the Declaration of Independence the United States of America now had to decide what type of government would watch over this new country. After the Constitution, the writers of the Constitution debated over a strong central government versus strong states. The Federalist Party supported a strong central government and was made up of mostly Northern industrialists. The Southern plantation owners mostly supported the Democratic-Republicans who stood for states rights. The Democratic-Republicans thought that a state had the right to overrule a Federal law if they thought it did agree with the state constitution. The Northern states argued that the Federal government had declared slavery illegal and the Southern states argued that they were independent of the Federal government and could make their own laws. Paper currency in American society of the time period was not established as a reliable currency for the economy. At first, the paper currency was not worth any amount at all. This was not working out because money had no value which led to confusion of the value of money. Some Americans were crying out for paper currency. This quote supports the feeling that the Americans had on paper currency because they believed if they had a printed document that states to be owned and published as their own, it would lean on toward of being independent from Britain. The First Bank of the United States, chartered in 1791, and the Coinage Act of 1792, began the era of a national American currency. The Constitution denied individual states the right to coin and print money. Another problem was that the British successfully waged economic warfare by counterfeiting Continentals on a large scale. Continentals were worth 1/40th of their face value by 1778 and this cause the currency to be worthless. The currency was soon to be taken out of circulation. Being under the Britains crown was compared to slavery and women in American society did not have many rights. Women had not rights in any part of the community unless they were widows. Women in the colonies were compared as being a dog on a leash and demanded not to speak a word unless spoken too. The women were fed up because they felt as if they should not even appear in public since they had no rights. As Molly Wallace clearly explained, ught ever to appear in so public a manner,. This shows how women in the society felt useless and unimportant because they had no roles. Also women wanted the same rights as men. Women in the society was just fed up and wanted equality. Slavery played a big role before the American Revolution in North America for mostly farmers of the south. The Britains always thought of an easier way to con duct tasks. One task they wanted to make easier was labor, which pin pointed to slavery. The British thought if slaves were placed in their society they would be free of labor and money because slaves did not need much. The Americans thought different. They felt as if all men should be created equal and have the same rights. Which this fact supports the meaning of the Declaration of Independence. The Americans exclaimed that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,. This supports the beliefs of the Americans not wanting slavery and the way they wanted to control their lands. The Revolution had contradictory consequences for slavery. In the South, slavery became more entrenched. In the North, every state freed slaves as a result of court decisions or the enactment of gradual emancipation schemes. Yet even in the North, there was strong resistance to emancipation and freeing of slaves was accompanied by the growth of a virulent form of racial prejudice. There were many factors that fundamentally changed the American society during the American Revolution. Having the Declaration of Independence, paper currency, limitation on womens rights and slavery were just a few of those factors that sculpted the American Society. Although America had found shape as an independent nation, many changes were soon to come after the American Revolution.

Abraham Lincolns Historical Thanksgiving Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln's Historical Thanksgiving Proclamation Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday in the United States until the fall of 1863  when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring that the last Thursday in November would be a day of national thanksgiving. While Lincoln issued the proclamation, credit for making Thanksgiving a national holiday should go to Sarah Josepha  Hale, the editor of Godeys Ladys Book, a popular magazine for women in 19th century America. Hales Campaign for Thanksgiving Hale, who campaigned for years to make Thanksgiving a nationally observed holiday, wrote to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, and urged him to issue a proclamation. Hale mentioned in her letter that having such a national day of Thanksgiving would establish a great Union Festival of America. With the United States in the depths of the Civil War, perhaps Lincoln was attracted to the idea of a holiday unifying the nation. At that time Lincoln was also contemplating delivering an address on the purpose of the war which would become the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln wrote a proclamation, which was issued on October 3, 1863. The New York Times published a copy of the proclamation two days later. The idea seemed to catch on, and the northern states celebrated Thanksgiving on the date noted in Lincolns proclamation, the last Thursday in November, which fell on November 26, 1863. Lincolns Thanksgiving Proclamation The text of Lincolns 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation follows: October 3, 1863By the President of the United StatesA ProclamationThe year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of pe aceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.Abraham Lincoln