The Blindside

The blindside movie versus the book Robert ward Chowan University This paper was prepared for [critical thinking 102, section c], taught by Professor Collins Blindside truths and lies In the movie the blindside there are many truths and differences from the book. Some of them more evident than others. In this movie/book critique I will explain the many truths and lies, to better explain the real story of Michael oher.Some key examples of the truths are the truth of big mikes parents; also what are the toughys real professions. Key examples of lies between the two stories would be how the toughys actually discovered big mike, was Michael really a timid player as portrayed in the movie, and did mike really throw a rival player a fence in a high school game. The Blind Side true story reveals that Michael’s birth mother had been addicted to crack cocaine. (ChasingtheFrog. om, 2013) this was also clearly stated in the movie, just like mikes father which in the movie we learn he was murdered but in the book we learn in detail that he was shot and thrown off an over pass. (The Blind Side: Evolution of Game 2012). other than the truths about big mikes real parents we also learn about the toughys. In reality Leanne was actually an interior decorator who eventually helped Michael decorate his own house. Sean toughy was also an owner of a major fast food chain.One of the most disputed facts was when in the movie did Michael ever have a bed to himself. We learn from a comparison of the book and movie that is was truly stated that until moving in with the toughys Michael had never had a bed to himself being he had eleven other siblings growing up. There are actually a lot of similarities in the movie and the book but most are very small and not easily noticed. What you have to understand when looking at a movie or reading a book based on the same story is that it is basically impossible to have everything due to the facts that they are ortrayed by two different direc tors perspectives , and a movie can’t last nearly as long as a book. There are many false truths about the blindside either to make a better story or the actual truth was not known at the time the movie was created. One example would be who was the first family member to make contact with Michael. In the movie we find that big mike was first approached by Leanne when she spotted him walking in the rain at night. The book says that sean senior saw him Collins volleyball game picking up old popcorn.The actuality is that Collins noticed the large man mike and told her father who began to pay for mikes lunch when he realized he did not have the money to buy it himself. Another example would be did mike actually fight in hurt village as seen in the movie. The truth is that was false to he did fight but the person who he fought was a teammate at ole miss. The reasons for the fight are the same though. Works Cited ChasingtheFrog. com. (2013). Retrieved march 3, 2013, from Chasingthe Frog. com: http://www. chasingthefrog. com/reelfaces/blindside. php

Drug Abuse in Modern Day Society

Drugs: Positives And Negatives In Our Society Imagine a man who is in his late 20’s, a recent graduate of medical school, happily married to his high school sweetheart. He is about to have a child right when his addiction to heroine flourishes. Due his inability to quit the addiction, he loses his job and his wife no longer wants anything to do with him, which leads him to have nothing left. He is thrown out on the streets, without any will to change his life around and get back on track.While one will argue that the effects of drugs bring good things to the people, a lot of others will look down upon the use of drugs. This depends on which type of logical conscience you are discussing with. In modern day culture, we are a little more accepting to the use of specific drugs as compared to previous eras. Drug use is not beneficial because it causes a loss of motivation, social isolation and an increase in criminal behavior. Drug use causes a loss of motivation, which prevents th e user from achieving his/her goals.Due to drug use, addicts let drugs take over their lives and as the addiction continues, using becomes their main focus. Further more, devotees generally forget about crucial aspects of their lives, such as: family, friends, work, school, and other important factors. When a user is addicted to a specific drug, they scare of their friends who don’t agree with their addiction. Friends have a tough time understanding, especially if they are not using themselves. This can be very crucial because these friends do not want to be there for the user and make it harder for them to recover.Any given drug can lead these users to let the controlled substance interfere with their abilities to build upon their careers. This influences the junkies to lose their jobs by being unproductive and unsatisfying to their employers, which leads to a lack of will to succeed. In other cases, drug fiends give up on improving their lives. Juveniles are especially vuln erable to drug addiction because of immaturity and peep pressure. This carries over to them dropping out of school and making it harder for them to develop a future.Users ignore their dream of having their own family, which distances them from any potential partners. When humans don’t have anyone left, no money, no job and nothing to care about, they just give up even more and have a state of mind that discourages them completely. At the point of total loss, an addict gets cut off from society and thus, ruins his/her ambition to get back on track and start a new chapter in their lives. Social isolation results from drug addiction. When addicts fall into the habit of abusing drugs, they alienate themselves from their loved ones.This ultimately leads to a contrast in priorities between the two parties. Families do not sympathize with the situation of the addict, which leads to the user being kicked out on the streets and being financially and emotionally cut off. When this occu rs, it abolishes communication and may possibly lead to further difficulties for potential recovery. At this point, it is hard for the user to seek aid. Junkies tend to look to their friends for help and a little more understanding, but often, the devotee pushes his or her friends away through paranoia.The drug user sometimes thinks that their friends are trying to hurt them or do bad things to them, so they no longer trust their friends. Other times, the user is in a state of mind, which leads them to do anything necessary to obtain their desired drugs, which results in the addict to steal money or the drug from them. While getting used to this particular pattern of stealing, this act continues until the friendship comes to an end. When two or more friends do not continue to view things on the same level anymore, then the friend ship is in danger.Mainly when connection is lost them the tolerance of the user is non-existent. Users do things in ways where friends find it completely n ot acceptable and run away from the addict. Social isolation between the addict and the general public continues. The user often abuses until they get caught. Once getting cut off entirely by their families, the user continues to hide their addiction from people who’s goals are to potentially help overcome the addiction. Overall, social alienation is crucial to one fiend’s life, but sadly, occurs too often.Drug use fuels criminal behavior as a means to supply one’s addiction. When an addict is tied to the constant need for drugs, he/she will do whatever it takes in order to supply themselves. The easiest way to obtain these drugs is by either stealing the drug itself or money to buy it. Addicts will start to commit violent acts to get money once they are homeless and have no way of getting the drug. One of the most popular tendencies is to rob houses and stores. Drug fiends will go around stealing from stores and robbing people of their money to go buy drugs.Aft er the crime is committed, many of these victims of violence will be greatly against these devotee’s and not accept them into society. Leading people to turn away from wanting to help the addicts. One of the most common outcomes of committing a crime is getting into trouble with the law. When the users get caught for stealing, they get arrested and sentenced to jail time depending on the severity of the crime. Once in jail, the addict will most likely not even be able to get their hands on the drug ever again and cause serious risks to their health, in terms of withdrawal’s.When an addict steals the drug itself, they feel as if they can get away with anything, which is not what we would want as a society. When citizens see homeless people who look like they have seriously abused drugs, they are turned away from them completely and at this point there is nobody left to help them. Despite their abundance in our culture, drug use is not something that should be practiced. Although it may make one feel better in the short term, the long-term affects can be devastating.The long-terms affects could be a threat to your future because you can be held back from achieving your goals and education. It can also greatly depend on a user’s power of will. If the user can control themselves and not let the addiction get in the way of their lives then drugs wont be a problem, but rarely being the case. Drug use causes one to lose motivation, socially isolate themselves and engage in criminal behavior. These are the reasons why drug use is overwhelmingly negative.

International financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International financial services - Essay Example Intex is a third-party cash-flow projection technique that can provide accurate data on existing collateral investments and compute cash flow projection faster and easily. This enables the stock exchange to get the information they need faster and accurately for better decision making. Second reason is high frequency transactions in secondary market. This is because of two reasons. As the transaction frequency increases, the stock exchange has less time and fewer resources devoted to the primary markets. Secondly, high frequency transactions generate higher income to stock exchanges. Therefore, they will naturally put resources in areas that give them more money. Impact to the United Kingdom companies The first impact to the UK companies is reduction in their capital base. As the stock exchange concentrates in the secondary market, the primary markets experience shortage of skilled personnel who advises them on best ways of raising maximum capital for their companies. As a result, mo st companies may opt for other sources of capital because it is extremely hard to raise capital where there is no adequate help. Secondly, most companies take longer time to raise their capital from primary markets. This is because as the stock exchange gets busy with the secondary markets, they will be long queues of companies seeking help. As a result, there will be delays in getting assistance. 2. A company has the following capital structure, and all securities issued have the same nominal price of ?4.00. 400,000 5% Debenture Stock @ ?4.00 600,000 2? Preference Stock @ ?4.00 1,000,000 Ordinary Shares @ ?4.00 (a) the value of the gearing ratio and the significance of this ratio to potential investors Stock Quantity Price /unit in ? Amount capital in ? Debenture 400,000 4 1600000 Preference 600,000 4 2400000 Ordinary Shares 1,000,000 4 4000000 Total Fixed Capital 8000000 Gearing ratio indicates the proportion of debts used to finance assets in the company. The higher the gearing r atio, the riskier is the company. This is because most of the money used is borrowed from other sources other than ordinary shares. (b) When Directors decided to distribute only forty percent of the profit (?800,000), the dividend declared on ordinary shares is given below. =?320,000  The return on investment   (c) a. The price/earnings ratio  (c) b. The concept of price/earnings ratio and the significance to future Price/earning ratio measure the value of the stock. This is because it establishes the relationship between the stock price and the company’s earnings. When price/earning ratio is high in a given stock, the forecast earning growth is also high. It is a valuable ratio because investors can use to compare values of stock of different companies. Investors normally prefer stocks with higher price/earning ratio because it indicates higher returns. 3. The concept of Right Issues as well as advantages and disadvantages to the stockholders Rights issue refers to a n alternative means of raising capital whereby, a company issues additional shares or stocks to already existing shareholders in proportion to their shareholding in exchange for cash (Banerjee, 1990). For example, a company may offer rights issue on the basis of one rights issue for every six held by the shareholders. A company does this via seasoned equity offering or primary offering market at a premium or discount. The procedure for rights issue is easy. Once the issues

Marketing Communications Plan for TESCO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Marketing Communications Plan for TESCO - Essay Example Many retail shopping centers have tried and failed to perform excellently outside their home markets. Likewise, some retailers have led astray trying to develop Internet shopping. As a result, TESCO, the United Kingdom's biggest grocer, has drawn significiant attention because of its ambitious overseas strategy and its successful on-line home delivery service. Another successful key factor that inputs to TESCO sustainable development and growth is the marketing communication plan that provides the detailed overview of the Company’s fiscal policies as for meeting the clients’ needs and providing competitive prices within wisely located grocers all over the world. TESCO understands that successful marketing strategy should be based on customers’ need, that is why the Mission Statement declared for the Company sounds as it follows: â€Å"One of our values is to understand customers better than anyone. We go to great lengths to ask customers what they think, listen to their views, and then act on them. We look both at what customers say and what they do. This feedback guides the decisions we tale† . In view of above, I would like to make a try to complete the marketing communication plan for TESCO within the frames of this paper. I will first give a short overview of the company, then provide financial information on TESCO current operations; afterwards I will give recommendations for putting integrated marketing communications (IMC) to TESCO work and shortly discuss television advertisement strategy for TESCO within the boarders of London.

Free Will, Determinism and Moral Responsibility Term Paper

Free Will, Determinism and Moral Responsibility - Term Paper Example The paper tells that on one hand, free will can be defined as an ability that an individual harnesses or on the other, free will can be constructed as a possession inherent in a person. The reasoning faculty of humans facilitates and empowers free will. Causal events are attributed to the exercise and natural outcomes of free will. If rational human actions are assumed to arise from free will, then that would mean that free will is contingent on those events. That position leads to the belief that a person acting freely essentially manifests the working of his or her free will. The implications of free will are moral responsibility, legal accountability and self-determinism. Self-determinism is a principle founded on free will and self-influenced decision and action. In religion, the possession and exercise of free will places man in a position to either follow the divine will or go against it. Free will makes man liable for his choices and answerable to an authority. Free will also frees man to a certain extent from passivity of man, seing that he is characterized an active moral agent who can make changes in his life and that of others. Philosopher Thomas Hobbes asserts this theory by stating that all free-willed actions are based or influenced by external factors compelling an individual to act. However, one might dispute this approach because these actions are spurred by two distinct types of freedom: freedom of will and freedom of action. The disparity between freedom of will and freedom of action in the context of causality is underlined by the fact that agents can have free will but no freedom of action.3 For example, if a person wants to go to the store and buy an item at the mall, he or she is free to do so. However, if the said individual is tied fast to a chair or does not have the money to buy anything, these conditions directly hinder his liberty to act on his free will. The individual still has the free will to steal the item or attempt to break f ree from restraint. According to Hobbes’ theory, external factors such as the person’s pressing necessity for that item or someone else’s request have influenced the individual to come to the decision to go to the mall. In both cases, the individual retains the free will to execute the action, nevertheless agencies outside the individual’s control impacts on the final outcome. The fundamental question here is the leveling of responsibility at an individual for actions arising not from his own free will, but from exterior environmental factors over which he has no control. The simple answer would be these individuals are not responsible for their actions, however unpopular this view may be. If one were to introduce a system of reward and punishment to instigate or control action, then, no one can be praised or blamed owing to the incentive or disincentive. 4 However, an exception to Hobbes’ theory lies in the premise of causal determinism proposed b y the British analytic philosopher Galen Strawson. The premise implies that current events are fixed outcomes since events are actuated by a cause and the cause

Compare and Contrast Research Methods Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Compare and Contrast Methods - Research Paper Example research, the first thing that usually takes place is the identification of the topic to be researched on and the method/approach to be used in conducting the research. Normally there are four main approaches and research methods namely quantitative, qualitative, pragmatic/mixed methods. This paper will compare and contrast these research approaches and methods with others used in contemporary business research such as case studies, ethnography, focus groups, and informal and in-depth interviews. Quantitative research is among the most commonly applied research method, and is based on positivism. It involves the collection of data, which is then converted into numerical forms and calculated to give results from which conclusions are made. This type of research usually goes through a number of processes. The first process usually involves the formulation of hypotheses. A hypothesis in this case refers to the question that the research intends to address and involves predicting a possible outcome of the research. However, in order to conduct this research and verify the hypothesis, a number of instruments are normally used which include, among other things, observation checklist, computer tests or paper. Data collection is usually done using various methods such as interviewing, questionnaire, observation and computer packages among others (Johnson, 2008). Quantitative research is founded on an premise that only a one truth exists, which is independent of the researcher’s assumptions. This type of research is also based on objectivity since researchers are expected be impartial as regards their behavior attitudes and presence so as not to influento impact the research outcome. As a research, this school of thought requires the researchers to evaluate their methods and conclusions so as to identify any bias in the result. In this research, researchers are expected to go the extra mile to make sure that what is measure is really, what is supposed to be

Customer service Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Customer service - Assignment Example jectives of the internal customers with that of the external stakeholders such as, supply chain, in order to significantly contribute towards satisfying expectations of the final consumers. The paper evaluates the case of WalMart, a global retailer, where it would focus on the way in which the company meets needs and expectations of the internal customers. WalMart as a global retailer operates on the basis of a total workforce of around 2.2 million. In the United States alone, the company employs approximately 1.3 million people. The company operates through a large number of stores located worldwide, which function based on empowering the people to work for enhancing the status and position of the social communities (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2014). Internal customers related to a business organization constitute the different members and stakeholders that contribute in effective accomplishment of the business objectives. Relating to a retail organization, individuals that help in running the business are identified as the potential internal customers. The management is required to properly understand and meet the expectations and needs of the internal customers such that internal individuals or the staff related to the different departments and the supplier groups are largely motivated to satisfy business objectives of the retail organization. Furthermore, the management is also required to generate effective service delivery standards, thereby designing the training and evaluation programs so as to help in assessing and enhancing performance level of the staff so as to generate greater retail productivity (Wrice, 2004). Internal customers are identified as individuals or groups in an organization who manage the product or ser vice in order to make the same ready for external customers. Hence, the staff operating in the production line or the sales staff dealing with semi-processed products and services is recognized as internal customers. Similar to external

France increasingly eclipsing Spain as the favorite destination for UK Essay

France increasingly eclipsing Spain as the favorite destination for UK property buyers to invest - Essay Example If you thought the overseas property market is dying due to the recent financial upheavals, then think again. The most-recent and the biggest-ever study of overseas holiday homeowners has revealed that in spite of price falls ranging from ten percent in France to fifty percent in Spain, the number of Britons purchasing homes in other European countries has actually increased in course of the recent recession. In 2006 for instance, some 385,000 Britons owned holiday homes in other European countries, a figure that has since increased tremendously to as high as 430,000 by 2010 (Avella, 2004). Reflecting travel and tourism trends, investments in long haul holiday destinations like Caribbean, Asia, and Africa, which generally offers warm climates enable holiday home owners to benefit from longer visiting seasons and therefore, longer rental periods. Correspondingly, holiday homeowners have been taking advantage of the short-term letting in the year-round city-break market (Keller, & Bieger, 2008). However, compared to inland nation and urban locations, it is beach holiday destinations that seem to attract most second home investment. Motivated both by the letting potential and their own holiday plans, over half of UK overseas properties owners have bought homes in coastal areas as can be demonstrated by the graph below. Due to this changing environment in the property market in Europe, we are going to explore the attractiveness of a number of countries in terms of overseas property investment. In this case, we will focus on three European countries namely; France, Italy, and Spain. ... currently, we will be able to advice our clients on those countries (Italy, France, and Spain) on whether to continue holding on to their property investment or to sell them. Sample Framework: In coming up with appropriate information to help ascertain which among France, Italy, and Spain is a better property investment destination at the moment, we will be required to ask property investor in UK a number of a question on each of these countries and score them on a 5-point Likert Scale before using a Frequency distribution as a quantitative technique to draw a conclusion. Sample Size and Technique: The sample of this research will be a total of ten property investors residing in UK. The research will make use a number of sampling techniques namely; a. Random sampling; questionnaires will be issued at random to people who have properties in all or any of the three countries (Italy, France, and Spain), something that is expected to ensure that each property investor residing in the UK is accorded an equal chance of participating in the research. b. Convenient sampling; because of the difficulty that might be involved in identifying a UK citizen who is not only conversant but also up-to-date with overseas property investment, it might be a bit difficult to achieve randomness in this research. However, in order to bypass this handicap it therefore becomes necessary to issue a questionnaire or hold an interview with any UK property investor that the researcher bumps on, which is a measure that will help the researcher achieve randomness in this research. c. Purposive sampling; because of the complexity of some of the issues, reaction of some research questions will require the input of particular property investor. This therefore calls for an approach that will see to it

School Bullying vs Work Bullying Essay Example for Free

School Bullying vs Work Bullying Essay Bullying has been a problem in schools for a very long and it is gaining more attention due to media and anti-bullying programs. There are many different types of bullying. The kinds of bullying that are most common are physical, verbal, cyber bullying, and racial harassment. All types of bullying are serious and need to be stopped. Physical bullying can be in the form of hitting, kicking, shoving, punching, or any other kind of physical harm. Even threatening someone with physical harm is considered bullying. Boys are more likely to be involved in this category than girls. Another kind of bullying is verbal bullying occurs when the bully uses language to out down or discourage a person because of things such as the person’s appearance, physical inabilities, or their actions. Name calling is a major part in verbal bullying. This also includes spreading/starting rumors about somebody. One very well known method of bullying is via the Internet. This is called cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is the use of email, text messages, and social networking sites to harass someone. Bullying is a problem in our schools and it creates an unsafe environment for all who attend school. Bullying is not something that can just be addressed inside one teachers classroom, it requires a comprehensive community effort to effectively stop bullying and the tolerance of bullying. The factors that are a result of victimization are the same ones that cause students to be targeted and bullied it is a vicious cycle. When educators are not afraid to intervene in a situation involving bullying the student’s self-esteem rises as well as their willingness to learn. Bullying in the workplace is also a problem that many employers will come across. If bullying is handled badly, or goes unchecked, there can be serious problems for an organisation. However, behaviour that is considered bullying by one person, maybe be considered as firm management by another. There are many definitions of bullying. It can be said that bullying is offensive, intimidating or insulting behaviour towards an individual. There are many actions that both employers and employees can take when bullying takes place at work. In addition as mentioned above, peoples views on what constitutes bullying can differ. Workplace bullying refers to the continuous criticism, negative comments on ones work or personality etc which harm the mental state of an employee On the other hand according to a survey done, it was found that the employees who had undergone the workplace bullying in any form, say, belittling comments, abuses, continuous criticism etc had much more chances of being depressed, having inferiority complex, little job satisfaction and thus leaving their jobs than those who had undergone the sexual harassment. However in addition to this, it was also found out from the same survey that the employees who had experienced the workplace bullying had much more job stress, anger, anxiety and lower level of job commitment than the others.

Research Hypothesis Essay Example for Free

Research Hypothesis Essay Null Hypothesis: The new developed drug has no considerable difference from the standard multi-drug regimen used by most cancer patients (Â µ1 = Â µ2). Alternative Hypothesis: The new developed drug is considerably better from the standard multi-drug regimen used by most cancer patients (Â µ1 Â µ2). The dependent variable in the study is the so-called ‘level of efficacy’ (or in simple term, the level of effectiveness of the drug). This independent variable may be measured by: 1) T-cell counts among AIDS patients, 2) improved blood circulation (measured by blood pumped per ounce per second), and 3) rate of antibody formation. For the sake of simplicity, we shall only consider the first measure of ‘efficacy’ (T-cell counts among AIDS patients). The independent variable in the study is the ‘type of drug’ used to treat patients with AIDS. Method For the purpose of theoretical efficiency, we can assume the existence of two groups. Group A is a population sample treated with the ‘new developed drug.’ Group B is a population sample treated with the standard multi-drug regimen. Note that both drugs are assumed to have a general effect on the mitigation of AIDS among patients. A higher population mean (measured by T-cell counts) would indicate a higher ‘level of efficacy.’ Biases Experimenter bias may be exhibited in the study as: 1) error in the specification of experimental maneuver, 2) error in the measurement of outcomes, and 3) faulty interpretation of data. Because of the complexity of the study, it is very likely for the researcher to commit the second error. Selection bias is not present in the study. Ethical Issues There are two pressing ethical issues in the study. First, it is generally unethical to use an untested drug (medical) to a group of AIDS patients (although it may be argued that the drug has been tested many times in the laboratory). Second, it is dangerous to test the efficacy of two sets of drugs to ‘actual’ patients.

Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin: Psychoanalytic Approaches

Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin: Psychoanalytic Approaches Case Study One: Frida Kahlo 2000 The intention of this dissertation is to define links between psychoanalytic theories and fine art. In this chapter the artists Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin are discussed and compared to see how psychoanalytic approaches differ when employed with contemporary and traditional art. Frida Kahlos work is associated with Surrealism, an art movement first written about by Andre Breton; it was founded in 1924 developing from Dadaism and was inspired by the psychoanalytic works of Freud. In the surrealist manifesto Breton identifies the movement as a means by which the subconscious could be expressed, verbally, written or painted. The surrealists believed that our conscious mind interferes with the subconscious part, which is heavily based on Freuds theory of the ego and the id. The surrealists believed that this is why we have dreams; when we are asleep the reasoning mind cannot control the subconscious. Surrealism used a method called free association, originally Freuds theory, whereby Freuds patient would automatically say what they are thinking, in the case of an artist they would paint without thinking. Consequently, it seems surrealism is not necessarily a style but a method of painting. By looking at the both Kahlo and Emin, the two can be compared to distingu ish the ways in which psychoanalysis differs in the opposing styles of work, one of traditional movement and the other a contemporary style. Kahlos work deals with a diverse range of subjects, from her own identity and pain to politics, the Mexican artists work has been deliberated over by many critics and art historians as her oeuvre covers many aspects of art. It is hard to place as surrealist as it mixes a world fantasy with surrealism while also dealing with sexuality, race and gender. However, it is contended that Kahlos work does support psychoanalytical theories as there are many connections between her work and Freuds work which is a factor that the surrealist movement was heavily based upon. In contrast the work of Tracey Emin does not use symbols for her audience to guess at, instead her work has a very clear and concise in meaning, through her highly personal work she leaves her audience unquestioning with no ambiguity surrounding it. However, it would be interesting to look at the psychological effects that the production of this type of work may have on the artist and to investigate how the process creating art work of such personal nature has any psychological impact. This will enable understanding of the intentions behind such personal art work; she articulates details about herself that a majority of people would rather keep to themselves. In a similar way to Kahlo, both artists draw on their own experiences to produce art work. In Kahlos painting, Tree of Hope (see figure one), she presents the audience with a definite divide between night and day. This use of this strongly imply a state of dream, to explore R.D Laings theory of the unembodied self where the individual experiences him self as being more or less divorced form his body(Laing1965:69) this applied to Kahlos work suggests that the severe act of cutting the image into two halves defines the feeling of separation from her conscious body. The spectator is aware of the false self being portrayed within the image. According to Laing such separation denies the unembodied self of any actual interaction with everyday life. The theory suggests the unembodied self becomes a spectator of the life in which the actual body lives, so therefore does not connect with any experience the physical body encounters. This psychoanalytical process occurs due to stress within ones life that the ego cannot deal with, the disassociation is the ids way of protecting the e go. In Kahlos piece Tree of hope the painting is not clothed in the prosaic language usually employed by our thoughts represented symbolically by means of similes and metaphors (Freud, 1953:633) The image renders narrative, through the day harsh reality is awakened; Kahlo collides with a profusion of pain, while at night she is set free from her anguish by her dreams, the subconscious mind allows her to escape. The use of colours and choice of composition has allowed her to deliver her innermost anxieties and fears to the audience. These anxieties, according to Freud, are unpleasant inner state that people seek to avoid, it can act as a signal to the ego that things are not going right, as humans we suffer from neurotic, reality and moral anxieties, in order to deal with these Freud states that we therefore go into defence mechanisms that protect the ego from conflicts caused by the id, the id being the unconscious part of your brain, the ego is the conscious rational mind. The stress caused by daily lives is relevant to Freudian theory of sublimation. In Freuds book The ego and the id (1923) he established the theory of sublimation through superior recognition and puts forward that the superego is an internal moral agency of the parents (Wright: 1995). He assumed that there are two separate sets of drives, both contained within the mind. The instincts consist of self-preservation, which is associated with the ego; the second is sexual instincts which are associated to the libido or id. These instincts direct all human conduct until he generated the existence of narcissism. These theories differ over the various writings due to the topic and their affiliation to each other. To further this, if Freuds theory about anxiety is applied to Tracey Emins work it can be suggested that she goes through the process of sublimation; her work is a healthy redirection of an emotion which is mainly found through art, it is the process of transforming the libido into a chievements that are accepted by society. Emins work is similar to Kahlos in the way that her own personal stories of her body reiterate stories in the media. Emin expresses graphic descriptions of her most intimate feelings as her work is based solely on her life experiences. For example, in Emins work The last thing I said to you was dont leave me here the audience is confronted with a photograph of a vulnerable girl, who is tucked in a corner of some small shack, suggesting she has been some sort of victim of abuse. Lacans theory of the gaze is a theory that can be tested on this photograph, as the set up of composition makes the audience feel as if they are standing behind this naked, vulnerable person, so the viewer is made to feel as if they are gazing upon her, the spectators take on the role of the voyeur. Emin poses the question, is she the object of desire? There is a certain amount of irony within the photograph as a majority of viewers are hardened to the image of naked women due to media; mediated imagery is usually of very confident, provocative women, this perplexing view unsteadies the viewer due to the uneasy ambience. This is because photography can in a literal sense turn the depicted person into an object, which will distance both the v iewer and the viewed. With her back to us she unaware of who is looking, which creates a sense of naivety within the work, so therefore the viewer becomes uncomfortable with the role of the voyeur. This work has subtle implications that are more suggestive compared to a majority of Emins work which has a great sense of immediacy and provocative substance; she makes strong statements that judge the gaze of society that is put upon women. In contrast Kahlos works show the audience how she gazes upon herself, in theory Kahlos paintings are able to talk to the viewer as they express something about the artists emotions which people can relate to on many levels, through their personal attributes. This supports Derridas theory of deconstruction, where by deconstruction of a body of text is not just one, it can have several different meanings, and this theory can be applied to artwork because artwork itself can have more then one interpretation. In the essay Derrida two paintings in paint: a note on art, discourse and the trace, Jeff Collins argues that Derrida indicates a certain failure of discourse in the face of artworks (Holdridge, 2006:213). Collins contends that Derridas theory suggests art is a confrontational method which challenges anything that refuses to accept or surpass it; the author denotes artwork that does not have a dialogue to deal with this theory. Kahlos work can be contradictory in meaning for each viewer; which can be associated with the notion of death of the author; according to Barthes, the viewers own beliefs can change the authors original intensions, the layering of meaning can only be derived from the viewers point of view, as they will see the work and interpret it according to their own context, beliefs experiences or personal attributes. The viewer needs to be able to set apart the artist from the work to release the interpretation from any prejudgment. Barthes believe that this is dependent on the spectators experience of Kahlos work, being a renowned artist many people will be familiar with her histories and will derive an interpretation from that in itself. However, many audiences are not familiar with the work will read it in an entirely different light. Kahlo also uses messages and paradoxes within her work. In The little wounded deer (see figure four) she portrays herself as this wounded animal, which has been shot at by numerous hunters. The arrows are metaphors for the pain she feels, in my opinion this could symbolize her injuries from her accident or it could represent suffering from numerous disappointments in her life. She appears calm, tranquil and relaxed while she is watched by, what we assume is a hunter and dripping with blood. Kahlo was Mexican and they believed that a newborn human has an animal counterpart and that persons fate was tied to that of the animal that represents the calendar sign of the day of their birth. So she could be suggesting that her animal counterpart is dying and therefore metaphorically she is going to be rid of the animal that matches her and through her rebirth she will gain a new one. This painting it therefore a representation of her thoughts, which is her subconscious, by using dream logic strategies of displacement and condensation, Kahlo sets out to create a fabled identity for herself; the self-portrait consequently becomes a format for a parody of her own individuality. In my opinion, surrealism and representing the mind is difficult because it is the unknown, questioning it and giving possible answers through painting. Through her art Kahlo is attaining control of herself, she portrays her emotions which attain psychological relief. Emin also has a need to attain control would, in Freudian terms this would be classified as a form of hysteria. Hysteria in current psychological terms is described as two categories, one being somatoform whereby mental problems such as stress can cause brain to feel physical pain. The second is dissociative which occurrs when a persons psyche cannot handle a particularly traumatic event. However, in Freudian terms this hysteria created by the subconsious part of the mind, which was protecting the ego from the id. This is also relevent when looking at Kahlos work, the subconsious creates this form of unreality which is evident in the paintings. The straight lines and defined edge to objects of natural enities creates an order, an element of control over something which is not controllable. This can be tested with Deleuzes theory of percept. According to Deleuze, art requires simple modulations whereby the artist is consciously thinking and making decisions about the evolution of the piece of artwork; percepts are a psychological imprint of something, for example, the way an individual artist sees one thing will be varied from another. Percepts represent more than decision, they symbolize how the artist is feeling about that piece of art at the moment in time, or the subject which it is based on. According to Deleuze the making of the decision is not as important as modulations, MÃ ¼nter has put boundaries around the manmade objects, the modulationsreveal the forces that populate the world, that affect us, that make us become' (Sutton, 2008:75) Kahlo keeps her images separate, in Tree of hope (see figure one) she has a definite divide between night and day, by doing this she accentuates definite boundaries that the colours alone would not achieve, this establishes a ha rsh boarded image with restrictions. It shows a definite division between the human and the natural, while addressing this we may also consider that the artist may feel the two cannot be combined. These percepts also occur in the works of Kahlo, What Water Gave Me (1938) is a painting of Kahlos that is particularly relevant to Derridas theory, other then her many self-portraits, within this painting, Kahlo has painted her legs from the baths viewpoint, her legs are partially obscured by the bath water, and her toes stick out at the end, the painting has an uncanny aspect to it, we have all see this viewpoint so there is a familiarity to the work. Kahlo is allowing her audience to see things from her perspective. Through the composition we are able to see her thoughts swimming about as she contemplates everything that has occurred in her life. The modulations in this piece are life and death, something that is uncontrollable yet is inevitable. Everything moves according to one law-li feAnguish and pain, pleasure and death are nothing but a process in order to exist. (Kahlo) Her written views are contrasting to that expressed in her paintings. This painting is affective because it invites the viewer into the work; in affect the spectator completes it. Through this image Kahlo displays herself bare for every one to see; which adds a certain irony to the painting, as it is almost a nude portrait. In addition, this painting fits the classification of Surrealism because she utilizes imagery, which combines dream imagery with reality. In this chapter, the discussion of Kahlos and Emins work have given insight into the way in which psychoanalytical theories can be used in conjunction with artworks. It defines how the use of these theories can induce more depth into a painting which may not have had much substance to begin with. This in itself comfirms Deleuzes theory of percept showing how the artists mind is both in the real wold in which the body exists and in the world of the self, this theory will be challenged further in correlation with Cindy Shermans work in the next chapter.

John Brown :: essays research papers

Born in Torrington, Connecticut on May 9, 1800, John Brown was the son of a wandering New Englander. Brown spent much of his youth in Ohio, where he was taught in local schools to resent compulsory education and by his parents to revere the Bible and hate slavery. As a boy, he herded cattle for General William Hull's army during the war of 1812; later he served as foreman of his family's tannery. In 1820, he married Dianthe Lusk, who bore him 7 children; 5 years later they moved to Pennsylvania to operate a tannery of their own. Within a year after Dianthe's death in 1831, Brown wed 16-year-old Mary Anne Day, by whom he fathered 13 more children. During the next 24 years Brown built and sold several tanneries, speculated in land sales, raised sheep, and established a brokerage for wool growers. Every venture failed, for he was too much a visionary, not enough a businessman. As his financial burdens multiplied, his thinking became increasingly metaphysical and he began to brood over the plight of the weak and oppressed. He frequently sought the company of blacks, for 2 years living in a freedmen's community in North Elba, N.Y. In time he became a militant abolitionist, a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, and the organizer of a self-protection league for free blacks and fugitive slaves. By the time he was 50, Brown was entranced by visions of slave uprisings, during which racists paid horribly for their sins, and he came to regard himself as commissioned by God to make that vision a reality. In August of 1855, he followed 5 of his sons to Kansas to help make the state a haven for anti-slavery settlers. The following year, his hostility toward slave-staters exploded after they burned and pillaged the free-state community of Lawrence. Having organized a militia unit within his Osawatomie River colony, Brown led it on a mission of r evenge. On the evening of May 23, 1856, he and 6 followers, including 4 of his sons, visited the homes of pro-slavery men along Pottawatomie Creek, dragged their unarmed inhabitants into the night, and hacked them to death with long-edged swords. At once, "Old Brown of Osawatomie" became a feared and hated target of slave-staters. In autumn 1856, temporarily defeated but still committed to his vision of a slave insurrection, Brown returned to Ohio. There and during 2 subsequent trips to Kansas, he developed a grandiose plan to free slaves throughout the South. John Brown :: essays research papers Born in Torrington, Connecticut on May 9, 1800, John Brown was the son of a wandering New Englander. Brown spent much of his youth in Ohio, where he was taught in local schools to resent compulsory education and by his parents to revere the Bible and hate slavery. As a boy, he herded cattle for General William Hull's army during the war of 1812; later he served as foreman of his family's tannery. In 1820, he married Dianthe Lusk, who bore him 7 children; 5 years later they moved to Pennsylvania to operate a tannery of their own. Within a year after Dianthe's death in 1831, Brown wed 16-year-old Mary Anne Day, by whom he fathered 13 more children. During the next 24 years Brown built and sold several tanneries, speculated in land sales, raised sheep, and established a brokerage for wool growers. Every venture failed, for he was too much a visionary, not enough a businessman. As his financial burdens multiplied, his thinking became increasingly metaphysical and he began to brood over the plight of the weak and oppressed. He frequently sought the company of blacks, for 2 years living in a freedmen's community in North Elba, N.Y. In time he became a militant abolitionist, a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, and the organizer of a self-protection league for free blacks and fugitive slaves. By the time he was 50, Brown was entranced by visions of slave uprisings, during which racists paid horribly for their sins, and he came to regard himself as commissioned by God to make that vision a reality. In August of 1855, he followed 5 of his sons to Kansas to help make the state a haven for anti-slavery settlers. The following year, his hostility toward slave-staters exploded after they burned and pillaged the free-state community of Lawrence. Having organized a militia unit within his Osawatomie River colony, Brown led it on a mission of r evenge. On the evening of May 23, 1856, he and 6 followers, including 4 of his sons, visited the homes of pro-slavery men along Pottawatomie Creek, dragged their unarmed inhabitants into the night, and hacked them to death with long-edged swords. At once, "Old Brown of Osawatomie" became a feared and hated target of slave-staters. In autumn 1856, temporarily defeated but still committed to his vision of a slave insurrection, Brown returned to Ohio. There and during 2 subsequent trips to Kansas, he developed a grandiose plan to free slaves throughout the South.

The Role of Afro-Cubans in the Formation of Cuba Essays -- History Cub

The Role of Afro-Cubans in the Formation of Cuba Introduction In the formation of the Cuban nation, the role of Afro-Cubans is undeniably of great importance. The success and riches obtained by Cuba as a Spanish colony would have been unthinkable without the exploitation of African slave labor. Even before emancipation, there were key figures in the Cuban independence movement, such as Antonio Maceo, who were free men of Afro-Cuban origin. After emancipation in 1886, Afro-Cuban ex-slaves showed their enthusiasm for their future in Cuba by volunteering in large numbers to fight in the Liberation Army. Yet in the victory over the Spanish in 1898, Afro-Cubans were given little recognition for their overwhelming support, and were bypassed for positions of authority during the American occupation. The Americans generally appointed white Cuban exiles or Spanish soldiers over Afro-Cubans, destroying the hopes many had of finally receiving their "rightful share", in the words of historian Aline Helg. Helg’s book Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuba n Struggle for Equality, 1886-1912, discusses these repeated disappointments felt by Afro-Cubans. In 1902 Cubans were at last free to govern themselves, and a constitution was drafted declaring all men equal, and granting universal male suffrage. Yet whites still dominated the positions of power in Cuba, and justified themselves by adhering to a myth that racial equality had been established (Helg, 70). Dissatisfied with their lot, Afro-Cubans again participated in large numbers in a revolution, this time under the liberal Jose Miguel Gomez, who promised them improved representation in government positions. Following the disappointment surrounding the 1908 elections, Afro-Cubans began to d... ...top sacrificing everything for the good of Cuba. They had to love themselves and recognize their personal value; then they had to love their families, then, their race; and then, only after all this, their homeland" (241). The myth, or maybe ideal of racial equality and unity had been forgotten. The failure of Afro-Cubans to attain equality in Cuba was the result of a racist societal hierarchy dominated by a white upper class. The more Afro-Cubans pushed for reforms, the more whites resisted. Eventually, Afro-Cuban tactics became more radical, which led to the violent response to the Partido Independiente de Color. The ideal of fraternity between the races, held by the Cuban revolutionary heroes Maceo and Marti, was not able to survive. Resources Helg, Aline. Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality, 1886-1912. UNC Press, Chapel Hill, 1995.

Team Sports Economis Assignment

Name: James Sumner Student ID: 33255189 Question: Critically evaluate the approaches and policies to achieve competitive balance in North American Sports and European sports through an examination of competitive balance philosophy and policy in North American and European professional sports organisations. Illustrate your analysis with examples from both the European and North American professional sports leagues. Tutor: John Embery Statement of Authenticity: I confirm that this submission is all my own work. Any quotations are properly referenced using the Harvard referencing method.All errors and omission are my responsibility alone. Word Count: 1744 There is a lot of distinction today between the North American and the European model for sport in order to achieve what each seems to perceive as the right competitive balance. This can be defined as ‘the actual performance of a league to the performance that would have occurred if the league had the maximum degree of competitiv e balance in the sense that all teams were equal in playing strengths. The less the deviation of actual league performance from that ideal league, the greater is the degree of competitive balance’ (1).This essay will outline what policies and approaches both the American and European sports models have in order to achieve competitive balance by looking at each continents system of competition, the extensive system of team and player restraints in America such as salary caps compared to the relaxed system Europe has and also amateur and professional sports in both models. It is important to note that not all sports adhere to their so called ‘model’. Sports in America such as football, baseball, hockey and basketball are very diversified in terms of rules, scheduling, commercialization etc.The European model is largely based on one sport, football/soccer which we know is not what other sports follow. In North America there is a closed system of competition meaning no promotion or relegation from a league. This means that the same teams compete in the same league every year. From this we can conclude that the North American model supports equality and fairness not competitiveness, which could then be perceived as good for achieving competitive balance in the sense that teams do not have to worry about being relegated to a lower division.This would also mean that teams get to know their counterparts very well which would also add to the competitive balance aspect of sport. However no promotion or relegation may also be deemed as uncompetitive and unbalanced because teams know each year they will still be competing in the same league the season after. This could lead to clubs getting complacent and happy to be in mid-table of their respective leagues as the amount of money all teams earn is astronomical. In NFL the Dallas Cowboys were valued in 2012 at $2. billion (2. ) yet didn’t even finish in the top 6 of their respected league (3). In Europe teams can fluctuate up and down divisions therefore making our sports more based on competitiveness and the will to win which could also be interpreted as competitively balanced or unbalanced. It could achieve higher competitive balance because it allows better teams to move up and play against other better teams but it could also be unbalanced because teams moving up may not have the same resources as other teams in that league.For example Barnsley does not have the same amount of resources Manchester United has if they were promoted. An extensive system of team and player restraints in America certainly improves the goal of competitive balance. There is a salary cap on not just players but also clubs as well. Since most leagues compute their caps on the basis of revenues for the preceding season, the cap is actually a fixed sum. In North America the NBA, NFL, NHL and Canadian football league have all installed salary caps (4).For example in 2006 the NFL had a salary cap of approximately $102 million. If a team breaches the league’s salary cap for the season then the fines and penalties incurred are then shared between the rest of the teams in that league (5). These salary caps were put into place to achieve two main objectives: increasing competitive balance and for clubs to be financially stable. To say this has been a success is an understatement as many clubs not just in the NFL but also the NHL and NBA are now worth more than half a billion dollars.Competitive balance is also extremely high as 13 different clubs have won the NFL in the last 21 years compared to that of only 5 in the English Premier League (6). Salary caps have prevented large clubs becoming too dominant in America which is exactly what has occurred in Europe, in Spain there is only Barcelona or Real Madrid, in England there is Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea competing for the titles. This is partly due to player’s demands for wage rises and bonuses. M ost clubs simply cannot offer a player ? 80,000 per week.To give an example in terms the amount big clubs spend on wages to compared to smaller ones in 2009 Manchester United spent ? 123. 1 million while West Bromwich Albion spent ? 30. 0 million (7). This is the main reason why competitive balance in the EFL has drifted further apart in recent years. The media, other big organisations from different industries and even governments have heavily criticised the way European football clubs are run because of this and also because clubs can then not afford to pay off their debts. There is one sport that is an exception in Europe and that is rugby union.They have imposed salary caps on players since 1999 and it has been largely successful for them as well. No clubs have fallen into financial meltdown since the measure was introduced and players have been happy to comply with the cap (8). As previously outlined there are also lots of player restraints that come with playing sport in Ameri ca. For example clubs have the power not the players. The players are owned by the league not the clubs and must go as a group/union to the league if an issue arises. The ‘draft’ is a system where players are chosen from the colleges/universities by the clubs.The picking order for this is determined by the clubs previous season’s finish in the league with the clubs occupying the lower league positions getting the first pick. This hugely increases competitive balance as obviously they will pick the best players which in theory would bring the teams closer together in terms of quality for the next season. Therefore before the start of each season each team has just as good a chance of winning the league as the others. With the NFL having 13 different champions in 21 years it shows that that the system works and is a lot more competitive than football in Europe. 9) The policy or approach that ties these team and player restraints together in North America is called ‘the collective bargaining system’. These are largely labour agreements between the league, clubs and players where issues such as minimum and maximum salary caps are agreed. This system has been described as the ‘very essential difference compared with Europe, where the sports industry concept and player unions have been relatively weaker and not equipped with the necessary bargaining powers’ (10).According to Fort there are also 3 other major differences between the American and European models that affect competitive balance. The fans, sports organisations and team objectives are all different. There is evidence to support this assumption as studies have shown that both sets of fans want different things. America does have better policies to keep the competitive balance fair but in terms of the rules of the games the balance is a lot closer in Europe. For example in Europe we have draws in football making the balance higher, Americans have overtime in th e NFL until one of the teams score.Also in Europe we have lower scoring games such as 1-0 or 1-1, in America this is considered boring and teams regularly score over 30 points in a game. Therefore some aspects of European sports do have a higher competitive balance than some American sports. There are also major differences between amateur and professional sports. In America there is a sharp distinction between the two levels each with its own integrated structures. Athletes that compete in Amateur sports in America are unpaid whereas quite a lot of amateur players in Europe are.These athletes are also governed by more than one organisation. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America (ASANA) are just two of these. This is a more horizontal system rather than the vertically integrated system Europe has which means that professionals and amateurs do not compete against each other. This could be seen as a good approach to achiev e competitive balance as there are amateur and professional levels for a reason, mainly because the level of skill required in professional sports is a lot higher.Therefore by keeping them separate each athlete knows where they stand. You are either a professional and get paid or you’re an amateur, not a mixture of both like we have in Europe. The pyramid structure of European sports organisations such as UEFA and the FA for example brings together amateur and professional sports into a vertical system governed for the common good by integrated associations and federations. In this vertical system there is not such a sharp distinction between amateur and professional sports.For example Bath City, an amateur team, beat Grimsby Town, a professional team in the 2009 FA Cup first round (12). Therefore the two different levels of sport in Europe can compete against each other. This approach to achieving competitive balance could be seen as both positive and negative in terms of ac hieving competitive balance. The positive side is the fact that with our promotion and relegation system amateur teams can develop into professional ones. AFC Wimbledon set up after Wimbledon FC was liquidated by the supporters and had amateurs playing.They had five promotions in nine years propelling them into the football league making them a professional club (13). The negative side to having little distinction between the two levels is that big professional teams can play small amateur teams which would not be good in terms of achieving competitive balance as the gap in skill level would be too much for the smaller teams. It has been shown therefore that the North American and European sports models are very different in their policies and approaches to achieving competitive balance.Salary caps for players and limiting the amount sports teams can spend in America has proved positive for achieving competitive balance. Thirteen different champions in 21years proves it has been a s uccess. The closed system and promotion and relegation system both have aspects that bring competitive balance closer but also aspects which take it further away. References/Bibliography 1) Noll 1991 2) Mike Ozanian. (2012). Dallas Cowboys Lead NFL With $2. 1 Billion Valuation. Available: http://www. forbes. com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/09/05/dallas-cowboys-lead-nfl-with-2-1-billion-valuation/. 3)

Discuss the Importance of Dreams Essay

‘Death of a Salesman’ was a play written by Arthur Miller in 1949. It is a story of an ordinary man and his family’s struggle for success in America, the ‘land of opportunity’. The American Dream is the concept that one can begin in life with nothing and through hard work and confidence gain power, wealth and status. There are constant references to this in the play, but it is not portrayed as a perfect system by any means. Other types of dreams too are prominent in ‘Death of a Salesman’ – the protagonist’s (Willy Loman’s) disillusion and dissatisfaction with his lifestyle lead him to indulge in unrealistic fantasies and altered memories of the past. His hopes and ambitions are almost identical to the ideals of the American Dream, as are his struggles typical of those associated with it. In this way, Willy Loman is symbolic of the common American man and this is shown through the pun on ‘Loman’ (low man). Dreams are important in the play because they are the play’s most important structuring device, and also go some way towards explaining why the characters behave in the way that they do. Flashbacks steadily reveal the reason behind Willy and Biff’s animosity, the secret that only Biff knows, and Happy’s need to prove himself. Their other effect is to make the play’s structure non-linear and more like Willy Loman’s continuous stream of consciousness in his last days of life. The other type of dreams – fantasies, hopes and ambitions allow the audience to empathise with the characters. In the play, the only dreams which we do not see are those that happen while sleeping. Willy’s dreams infiltrate his life, becoming more and more frequent. They are almost hallucinations, and later on in the play he becomes less able to discern between reality and fantasy. For example, whilst he is in a restaurant with Biff and Happy, he becomes confused between the door of the restaurant’s washroom and the door of the hotel room in which he committed adultery – â€Å"the washroom †¦ the door †¦ where’s the door? â€Å". The effect of this line on the play is to blur the line between past and present a little, letting the audience feel some of Willy’ confusion. It also creates a sense of danger as to whether his secret will be exposed. Biff and Happy do not experience the same degree of intensity in their dreams, but Happy shares the tendency to exaggerate with his father, for example when he is in the restaurant with Stanley, he tells a girl that Biff is â€Å"one of the greatest football players in the country†. The importance of dreams to the play is emphasised by stage directions and staging, and the non-linear nature of the play. The Lomans’ house has no solid walls, and the apartment buildings can be seen through the back of the house. The apartment buildings symbolise the deterioration of the quality of life that came with increasing urbanisation, and Willy complains about them close to the beginning with ‘the way they boxed us in here. Bricks and windows, windows and bricks’. The lighting around the Lomans’ house is described as an ‘angry glow of orange’ and gives it ‘an air of the dream’. I think that Miller is attempting here to make the set seem menacing and surreal, like a nightmare which steadily worsens. To further this impression, the imaginary wall lines serve as a vehicle for the characters’ (namely Willy) dreams. When the characters are in the present, they enter through the ‘doors’, but during flashbacks they step through the walls, letting the audience know that this is unreal. Other devices used to signal a flashback are the gradual fading in of voices from the past, and in the memories of happier times, the flute. The flute is an instrument symbolic of nostalgia and originates from Willy’s rural, happier childhood. As the time period of the play jumps from past to present with memories and fantasies, it gives the effect of a stream of consciousness rather than a narrative play. Consequently, ‘Death of a Salesman’ could be interpreted as Willy’s train of thoughts leading up to his death. In real time – all the parts of the play which are not dreams – the play is the last twenty four hours of Willy’s life. The flashbacks are cut against real time and the effect of them is firstly to delineate the play’s structure, and secondly to concentrate the audience’s attention on both what will happen to the characters and what did happen in the past to shape them into the way they are now. Willy is only truly happy in his memories or when, as Happy says, ‘he’s looking forward to something’, but this is only his false hope showing through. He spends so much time absorbed in his memories because in the present he is a failure – it isn’t satisfactory. Additionally, we cannot even be sure that the past happened like that as what we are seeing is Willy’s memory, which may well be distorted to fit with his perfect image of the past. This is likely, because even in his memories Willy lies to Linda about his income – â€Å"Well, I – I did – about a hundred and eighty gross in Providence. Well, no – it came to – roughly two hundred gross on the whole trip† Linda knows he exaggerates, and later on she even reveals she knows that he borrows money from Charley so it looks like his salary, but she never questions him because she believes it would insult him. The effect of this maintained secrecy is firstly to show how fragile Willy’s mental state is, and secondly the plight of Linda, who also suffers silently, we find later on, with the knowledge of Willy’s suicide plans. She is keeping up the facade for the sake of her family and perhaps she thinks she can fool herself into believing everything is all right. Although unspoken for much of the play, this is Linda’s way of creating a fantasy as opposed to her unsatisfactory life. The importance of the American Dream in ‘Death of a Salesman’ is very significant. The Lomans are each affected in their own way by the pressures placed upon them by the society they live in. Willy is not ruthless enough to be able to really make it in the business world, but distorts reality to convince himself that all is well. Biff is pressured by Willy’s high expectations of him and his insistence that Biff has ‘greatness’, yet he says himself that â€Å"I don’t fit in business† and all he really wants to do is work in the country ‘with your shirt off’. It is ironic that, in the ‘land of opportunity’, citizens are restricted from attaining their true ambitions (Biff’s idyllic dream) by the pressures placed on them to become wealthy, successful and popular. Happy has a relatively steady job unlike his father and brother, but it lacks status. He is one of two assistants to the assistant buyer, and so feels the need to lie and exaggerate about business, women, his family and so on. Linda is not directly pressured by the American Dream, but suffers because her family are all affected, particularly Willy who she remains loyal to throughout. Biff is the only character who ever questions the American Dream and rejects Willy’s ambition. He is at first deluded by Willy’s insistence that â€Å"Biff, you’ve got greatness in you† but comes to realise that he is nothing special. At Willy’s funeral, he condemns Willy’s ambition with â€Å"he had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong†. Exasperatingly, Happy still hasn’t given up, and vows to achieve the success Willy couldn’t – â€Å"He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him†. This shows the vicious circle of disappointment and frustration – and a parallel between this and recurring nightmares – that can be created by the ‘dark side’ of capitalism and of the American Dream. Capitalism and consumerism are massive parts of the American Dream. The capitalist system of business means that when people are no longer useful they are fired, which is exactly what happens to Willy. Howard, his boss, symbolises the ruthless businessman who does well in capitalism. He is similar to Ben, Willy’s successful brother who will step over anyone to get what he wants. Ben’s ruthless nature is shown when he trips Biff in a play fight – â€Å"suddenly comes in, trips BIFF, and stands over him, the point of his umbrella poised over BIFF’S eye†. The prominence of consumerism is shown in the goods that Willy buys, only to have break down shortly afterwards, and in the importance of advertising to Willy – ‘Whoever heard of a Hastings refrigerator? Once in my life I would like to own something outright before it’s broken! I’m always in a race with the junkyard! I just finished paying for the car and it’s on its last legs! The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac. They time those things. They time them so when you finally pay for them, they’re used up. † Willy here expresses his dissatisfaction with capitalist culture – connected with the American Dream – and how products are designed (in his view) to bleed as much money from the consumer as possible. The complaint has an air of unfamiliarity with the culture – Willy is idealistic and has a running fantasy that people are far less ruthless than they really are, and that they should make an exception for him due to his ‘popularity’ and his well-connected father.

Personal Philosophy of Mental Health Nursing Essay

Each individual has their own personal philosophy of mental health nursing. Throughout this paper there will be facts, and my personal thoughts. This is including the following topics; mental health, mental illness, continuum of mental health/mental illness, defense mechanisms, therapeutic tools, and self-awareness in the nurse. The words mental health placed together creates a definition of a person’s psychological and well-being of emotions. Each person’s definition may vary, but it boils down to the same raw meaning (Townsend, M. 2014). Mental health is evaluated at each doctor’s visit without the patient even knowing why the nurse or physician are asking certain questions. It is important to know in which state the patient’s emotions and mental health status is for their own safety. Mental illness can vary from mild to severe cases, and can differ per illness. Anxiety, mood disorders, psychotic, and anorexia disorders are just a few classified as mental illnesses. There are early signs of mental illness that one could detect early enough to delay or get a better control on the illness. Withdrawal from others, heightened senses, no desire to have activities with others, extreme beliefs, nervousness, and appetite changes can be early signs of an illness. Many times it is the people surrounding the individual that notices a difference in their behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). Nobody will argue that mental health and mental illness are not closely related, they both talk about the persons mind, and the shape the mind is in. One can talk about mental health without mental illness being mentioned because everyone has mental health but not everyone has mental illness. Just the opposite for mental illness. It is not possible for one to say someone has a mental illness without stating their mental health status. Many people get these definitions confused. There are four phases of a therapeutic  nurse-patient relationship: pre-interaction phase, orientation/introductory period, working, and termination phase (Townsend, M. 2014). Rapport, empathy, trust, and respect and requirements for a productive therapeutic nursing-patient relationship. The nurse should build rapport and trust with the patient so they will feel comfortable with the nurse and be more likely to open up. The nurse can use many different communication techniques such as recognition, making observations, focusing, voicing doubt, and exploring just to name a few of the many therapeutic techniques. The nurse should avoid giving advice, probing, defending, or interpreting for the patient, this may cause the patient to shut down and all trust is gone (Bischko, D. 1998). In everyday life we use a wide variety of defense mechanisms to protect our feelings, deflect unwanted situations, and hide our inner thoughts and feelings. Suppression may be felt when one is voluntarily denying unwanted feelings such as losing one’s job and not caring if the bills will be paid. Displacement is when a person’s unwanted feelings are targeted toward a person, situation or object; if a person is upset they may take their anger out on an object and feel better once it is destroyed. Dissociation, idealization, splitting, projection, and denial are also common forms of defense mechanisms (Sommer, S., Johnson, J. 2013). Adaptation is when one can adapt to a situation over time and maladaptation is when adjustment to the situation is not adequate or appropriate. When someone’s mind is not in the best mental health, they may have issues with adaptation to situations or changes. A person with a healthy mind may have some issues coping with certain situations, and it could be assumed that one with a mental illness would have higher difficulty coping (Rippetow, P., Rogers, R. 2012). The nurse-patient relationship should be an interpersonal ongoing relationship to assist the patient in a continuous healing and growing, healthy life. It is the nurse’s duty to help and guide the patient in recovering and be at their highest potential. Nurses must use therapeutic techniques and approaches to influence the patient and keep a healthy  relationship (Therapeutic Communication, 2013). Nurses must have their own philosophy of nursing and know their own beliefs and know not to push their own beliefs of a patient. The nurse must be self-aware when dealing with any patient, especially one with a mental illness. These patients do not always understand personal boundaries and the nurse needs to make sure these boundaries and rules are followed. The nurse needs to know what a patients actions mean even if they are minuet and may not seem like much (Bischko, D. 1998). My idea of mental health is in which what state the person’s emotions, thoughts, and how it affects daily functions. Mental health is how one thinks, processes information and the actions in daily life. Anxiety, and stress are two major factors in everyday life and can affect ones mental health (Townsend, M. 2014). It is how each individual handles the stress of everyday life that can determines their mental health. I consider the individual feeling confident, comfortable in their own skin, hard workers, and ones who socialize are qualities that attribute to mental health. Respecting others and understanding that each person has their own mind and the right to make their own decisions is not always easy to deal with but it is a quality that one will need to survive in life. Self-respect, dealing with the disappointments in life, trusting others, and take responsibility are also important qualities. Mental illness is not different than any other illness or disease. It affects the body and makes it mandatory for medication to treat and if it goes untreated, it can cause damage to the body. Mental illness is not being able to handle everyday life such as stress, and can lead to anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and depression. This illness can be treated by medication and therapy to help the patient cope and teach them how to handle and work through their issues (Townsend, M. 2014). When someone has a mental illness it is not easy for them to work through  even then smallest issues. The patient may resort to cutting their arms or any place on their body, take drugs, or drink alcohol. Sexual, mental, or physical abuse when someone was young could cause problems later in life and can affect their mental health and cause them to develop a mental illness (Townsend, M. 2014). Many people go undiagnosed with mental illness, it is more commonly treated now than it was a few years ago. Every person goes through a mental health continuum, it just depends on the mental health status on how the individual handles the situation. Each person can and will have issues in their life with difficulties but are able to manage the stress that comes along with it. Many people make jokes that they cannot handle their life and they are going crazy but this usually only lasts a short amount of time. Ones with a mental illness do not have short term stress, it is long term and they need outside help to handle the situation (Rippetow, P., Rogers, R. 2012). Freud talks about how childhood trauma, development, sexuality, talking therapy, and medication can affect ones mental health. Freud explains that when a child is sexually abused it can cause the child developmental issues. It leaves the child unable to cope with the guilt and shame, also it leaves the child angry and they may develop trust issues. Freud uses oral, anal, phallic, latency, and adolescent sexuality of phases of development. The individual must reach each phase and pass through the phase to grow and develop (Townsend, M. 2014). At one point and time, it was not acceptable for woman to have sexual thoughts or feelings. They were not allowed to express these feelings, and this could cause anxiety for the women. Freud believed that if the patient could talk to someone they were able to handle the anxiety and stress in their life better. The therapist would listen and help the individual move past their trauma that occurred in childhood. Medication has played a huge role in mental health over the years. Freud had predicted that one day medicine would be discovered, and would help individuals with a mental illness. Many medications have now been discovered to help people whom suffer with mental illness. Medications are able to help these persons to get back to their normal daily life (Seven Counties Services, 2014). Nurses knowing and learning from Freud allows a better  nurse-patient relationship. It allows the nurse to understand why a patient may feel the way they do and the nurse can better help the patient return to their life. A therapeutic model that I believe would impact me during my practice as a mental health nurse would be Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The top priority is the physiological needs of the patient, meaning the basic needs of life. Water, air, food, sleep, excretion, homeostasis and sex are the basic needs of life. When caring for any patient the nurse needs to make sure the patient has these basic needs of water, food, and air. Safety is making sure the patient is safe and secure. To the patient this could be security of their job, family, and health. Every individual needs that feeling of love and belonging by friends, family, and sexual intimacy. Self-esteem and confidence are very important but not as important as body homeostasis. The last level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is self-actualization such as morality, problem solving, and creativity. These are important to the patient but the least important for the nurse when caring for the patient (Townsend, M. 2014). The nurse needs to acquire a healthy nurse-patient relationship to help guide the patient to grow and heal. The nurse needs to build rapport, trust and empathy with each individual patient. The nurse needs to realize that each patient is different and not every patient requires the same techniques. The nurse needs to be open-minded and respect the patient’s morals, culture, religion, and beliefs. From creating a secure nurse-patient relationship the nurse will accomplish a better recovery for the patient and a better plan of care (Therapeutic Communication 2013). References American Psychiatric Association, (2014). Warning Signs of Mental Illness. Retrieved September 21, 2014, from www.psychiatry.org Bischko, D. (1998). The art of nursing: the client-nurse relationship as a therapeutic tool. Olympia, Washington. Retrieved September 19, 2014, from www.pubmed.gov Rippetow, P., Rogers, R. (2012). Effects of components of protection-motivation theory on adaptive and maladaptive coping with a health threat. Retrieved September 21, 2014, from www.psycnet.apa.org Seven Counties Services, 2014. Hope Happens Here: Mental Health in Older Adults. Retrieved September 21, 2014 from www.sevencounties.org Sommer, S., Johnson, J., Roberts, K., Redding, S. (2013). RN Mental Health Nursing-Foundations for Mental Health Nursing: Stress and Defense Mechanisms. P 29-32. Therapeutic Communication in Psychiatric Nursing. (2013). Retrieved September 21, 2014, from www.nursingplanet.com Townsend, M. (2014). Essentials of psychiatric mental health nursing: concepts of care in evidence-based practice. P. 3, 17-19. Philadelphia, PA.

Financial Analysis of Mitchells & Butlers 2007 Annual Report

Title Page Date: 12/12/09 The following report is designed for the purpose of a business analysis. I have chosen to analyse Mitchells & Butlers PLC by firstly, looking closely at the annual report produced by the company over a two year period and secondly, by researching their financial activities further than the annual report explains. I will compare and contrast ratios to help give the reader a better understanding of the company’s profitability, liquidity, activity and leverage. Summary In my analysis of Mitchells and Butlers PLC accounts for the years ending 2007 and 2008 I found that the Group has a very complex financial structure. Especially with the occurrence of a financial disaster which ended in the loss of two years worth of earnings, which, in turn resulted in the departure of the finance director and calls for further boardroom departures from the disgruntled shareholders. Mitchells & Butlers is a high geared business and therefore a risky investment venture. The company are well positioned in the market for long-term success but the ratios do let down the attractiveness of investment by their much lower percentage of current assets to current liabilities, high gearing and low net profit margins. *Brief Historical Background* Mitchells & Butlers is one of the UK’s largest operators of managed establishments with a strong portfolio of branded and unbranded pubs and restaurants with a mass market appeal. Their popular brands include All Bar One, Harvester and Ember Inns. Founded in Smethwick Birmingham as a result of the Beerhouse Act of 1830 easing the law on domestic brewing, Henry Mitchell’s and William Butler’s breweries merged in 1989. The company acquired rival breweries and rapidly expanded and merged with Bass in 1961, emerging as Six Continents before separating into hotel and retail businesses and becoming Mitchells & Butlers once again. Implication of Ratios on Mitchells & Butlers *(M&B)’s Financial Position* Mitchells & Butlers Gross1 profit ratio for both 2008 and 2007 is 25% and 24. 9% respectively. An increase of 0. 1% is satisfactory during these trying times for Mitchells & Butlers PLC. This indicates that operating costs account for 75% of the sales revenue. These huge costs are largely down to M&B’s ‘value and volume’ strategy. The company feel they are well placed in the troubled economy as they offer great value for money. This strategy makes for a high sales turnover but not a huge mark up on the product. They are constantly striving to be as efficient as possible and have a low paid and low skilled workforce to help combat high operating costs, and gain a competitive advantage. The Group have faced a turbulent year, dealing with the economic downturn in consumer spending and the inevitable decline in alcoholic beverage sales across the sector as a whole. This was not helped by the introduction of the smoking ban in England and Wales, following suit from Scotland and Northern Ireland, and costs such as fuel and energy spiralling ever higher. It’s no surprise then, when we look at the Net Profit Margin2 and see that it has decreased by 1. 5% from 10. 9% in 2007 to 9. 4% in 2008. In the midst of a depression this decline is not too alarming. With a Gearing ratio3 of 2. 4:1 in 2008 and 1. 5:1 in 2007 there is a high risk involved when investing in this company. From analysing M & B’s debt structure it seems further leveraging of its balance sheet would be difficult given the harsh, current conditions in debt markets. The Group’s pension fund deficit creates further problems when trying to attract prospective private equity buyers. As you can see it has become a considerably higher geared company in 2008 and this is due to the considerable loss faced by the company in an unexpected twist in the Mitchells & Butlers story. When entering into a property venture with company R20, both groups were advised by the bank, as part of their loan agreement, to take out hedges against interest rates and inflation. This investment would prevent Mitchells & Butlers from losing as much money as they would have, had they not taken out the hedges in the instance that the market turned against them. The bank also advised the companies to do this, two weeks prior to the investment being made as the hedges could take some time to execute. The hedges were purchased mid July, by the end of July the credit crunch had kicked in and the bank withdrew its credit approved terms. Both companies were left with hedges in place but no investment to back them against. M & B held onto their hedges until January 2008 hoping for an upturn in the market. By January 2008 it had become apparent that this was not going to happen and M&B disposed of them. Using them would have been very risky, especially since finance director Naffah had already been let go. â€Å"At the end of last financial year, an exceptional accounting loss of ? 155m post tax was booked in respect of the hedges. The above settlement of the majority of the hedges results in a further ? 119m post tax exceptional loss which will be taken in the current year,† the company said in a statement. Looking equally bleak is M&B’s current ratio4 of 0. 888:1 in 2008 and 0. 391:1 in 2007. Many believe that businesses must have a current ratio of at least 2:1 to survive, proving Michells & Butlers as an unorthodox company. Unbelievably it functions with a negative working capital6, this is due mainly to the company keeping stock levels impeccably low and thus giving the acid test a similar result with a quick ratio5 of 0. 794:1 in 2008 and 0. 343:1 in 2007. Most of the stock is perishable, for example food served in their restaurants. A stock turnover7 of 9. 95 days in 2008 and 9. 75 days in 2007 is quite acceptable in the food and beverage sector. Low stock levels keep the business as liquid as possible. This gives the company some leverage when incorporated with the debtors8 and the creditor’s9 turnover which works out in favour of M&B’s debt structure. Debtors, pay-up within an average of 14. 3days. Contrast this with the creditors who give M&B, on average between the years 2007 and 2008, 66. 4 days of credit. That’s nearly five times as long as M&B allow their debtors. Another consideration I wish to highlight concerning the worryingly low current ratio is that for the most part M&B’s non-current assets are made up of property, plant and equipment. If the company found themselves with cash flow problems these assets could become non-current assets held for sale to help increase the current ratio. Return on Capital employed10 is 20. 18% and 19. 7% in 2008 and 2007 respectively. This is evidence that M&B is still a profitable company contrary to the problems arising in the last two years and are still gaining market share year on year. A three year plan has been put in place to rectify the hedging mishap. Ordinary Shareholders will not receive any dividend pay-outs for the next year three years as well as board members forfeiting their bonuses in a bid to pay off their ? 74m deficit. *How the inclusion of a Cash Flow* helps in the Analysis of the company’s financial position There are several advantages to preparing a cash flow statement along with the balance sheet and profit and loss account. The cash flow statement provides data which allows the reader to better understand where cash has come from, where cash has moved to, and why. If a company has no cash it cannot pay wages or bills or suppliers. Employers won’t come to work if you don’t pay them. Energy companies will cut off their supplies, as could the suppliers if the bills are not paid. If this happens the company may not be able to operate. This is why cash flow statements should be taken seriously by managers and done as often as daily if cash flow is tight. The cash flow statement explains where the cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet come from in greater detail. It takes operating profit and adds back exceptional items, depreciation and amortisation to give us a better understanding of how much cash is to hand, as well increases and decreases in debtors and creditors. In M&B’s cash flow statement we can see that in 2007 M&B acquired ? m worth of Whitbread Pub Restaurants and made additional pension contributions of? 40m. In the cash flow statement figures can be compared more easily, they also aide preparation of forecasts. In both years a considerable amount of cash is spent on property, plant and equipment. It may be that these assets have not had time to realise their full potential. We can see that M&B has increased its cash and cash equiva lents by ? 12m at the end of 2008 compared to its previous year. Differences between the spread of cash year on year is quite apparent. In 2008 shareholders received ? 480m worth of dividends less than in 2007 as part of M&B’s three year strategy to eliminate hedging debt amounting to around two years worth of earnings. Conclusion At first glance, the ratios I have calculated show the illusion of a company in the midst of a financial crisis. But Mitchells and Butlers are breaking all the rules and coming out with a profit, succeeding where many competitors are failing, due to the down turn in the alcoholic beverage market and consumer spending overall. The hedging losses have no doubt affected a great deal of critical decision making regarding Mitchells and Butlers finances including investment attractiveness, risk taking and dividend payouts. The high amount of non-current assets is due to the extensive property portfolio which helps diffuse the worrying situation of such a low current and quick ratio. This company is constantly expanding and is year on year gaining market share. It adapts appropriately to its ever changing environment, as it keeps up to date with the economic climate and responds quickly to consumers needs. The ‘value & volume’ strategy is working well and the brands are becoming very well established in the UK. Debt payment is accounted for in the long term financial plan and the future looks far from dismal. I see a company trying to be as efficient as possible whilst waiting for the storm to pass. Appendix Gross Profit Ratio Gross profit x 100 Sales (turnover) 2008 – 477/ 1908 x100 = 25% 2007 – 472 / 1894 x 100 = 24. 9% Net Profit Margin Ratio Net Profit Before Interest & Tax x100 = Sales / Turnover 2008 – 179 / 1908 x 100 = 9. 4% 2007 – 207 / 1894 x 100 = 10. % Gearing Fixed Income forms of Finance : equity Fixed Income forms of Finance = Borrowings 2755 + Debentures 33 + preference shares 14 =2802 Equity – Capital Share 34 + reserves 2008 – 2802 : 1175 = 2. 4:1 2007 – 2317 + 47 + 14 = 2378 : 1576 = 1. 5:1 Current Ratio Current Assets : Current Liabilities 2008 – current assets 253 + non-current assets held for sal e 114 = 367 367:413 = 0. 888:1 2007 – current assets 303 + non-current assets held for sale 6 = 309 309:790 = 0. 391:1 Non assets held for sale within the next twelve months Quick Ratio / Acid Test Current Assets – stock Current Liabilities 2008 – 367 – 39 = 328. 328/ 413 = 0. 794:1 309 – 38 = 271 271 / 790 = 0. 343:1 Working Capital Days of Inventory /Stock Turnover Stock at the year end x365 Cost of goods sold 2008 – 39 / 1431 x 365 = 9. 95 days 2007 – 38 / 1422 x 365 = 9. 75 days Debtors Collection Period Debtors Turnover x365 Sales 2008 – 80 / 1908 x 365 = 15. 3 days 2007 – 69 / 1894 x365 = 13. 3 days an average of 14. 3 days Creditors Payment Period Trade Creditors x365 Cost of Sales 008 – 276 / 1431 x 365 = 70. 4 days 2007 – 243 / 1422 x 365 = 62. 4 days An average of 66. 4 days Return on Capital Employed Ratio Profit before interest & tax x 100 Capital employed 2008 – 179 / 1058 x 100 = 16. 9% 2007 – 207 / 1202 x 100 = 17. 2% Profit & Losss Account is profit after tax + any interest paid = 127 + 171 Capital Employed represents Share Capital =Called up shared capita l and share premium account = 34 + 14; the balance on the profit and loss account + 127 + 171 and any other reserve accounts in the balance sheets + 3 + 697 + 12 = 1058 for 2008

Be true to thyself

Be true to thyself Essay â€Å"I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer.†-The Invisible ManBe True to ThyselfMany people travel through life on a constant search on who there are and how they fit into this world. Some maneuver through situations and issues that they are faced with never being true to themselves, but more so modeling the behaviors of others. It is not until one defines their self-image, obtain a healthy amount of self-esteem, and confidence can they execute decisions concerning their lives. Until then, their actions are merely mimics or derivatives of the thoughts or beliefs of another. In Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man, the nameless protagonist does not possess a definite sense of self, which results in his living his life for others. Primarily, the invisible man emulates his life after other people. The first example of this is how he behaves like his grandfather. On his deathbed the invisible man’s grandfather tells him to â€Å"to keep up the good fight†(Ellison16). Following this he was always doing what was right and was â€Å"considered an example of desired conduct—just as his grandfather had been†(Ellison 17). Once the invisible man goes off to college he begins to act in a manner to please Mr. Norton. Not only does Mr. Norton not identify with the invisible man racially, he views blacks as â€Å"a mark on the scoreboard of his achievement†(Ellison 95). Despite these two facts the invisible man allows himself to be a â€Å"do boy† by chauffeuring Mr. Norton to slave quarters. It is here that the protagonist can truly be identified as someone that is not in touch with himself because he sacrifices his education for a man that is not concerned about him or his race. Dr. Bledsoe tries to drive this concept into the invisible man when he tells him that â€Å"the white folks tell everybody what to think†(Ellison 143). Dr. Bledsoe expels the invisible man from school, hoping that he will learn how to survive and develop an identity that suits him. After being expelled from school, the invisible man begins a journey to make a living for himself. He ends up in New York where he is introduced to â€Å"The Brotherhood†. â€Å"The Brotherhood† quickly gives him a place to live, a job with a reasonable salary, and petty cash to spend on clothing. He adopts their ideologies, mimics their way of life, and indulges himself in their literature. After going through a rigorous tutorial program the invisible man emerges brainwashed and still lacking an identity. Never making his own decisions, the invisible man becomes â€Å"chief spokesman of the Harlem District†(Ellison 359) and finally begins to promote the ideas of â€Å"The Bro therhood† to the people of Harlem. Not knowing that â€Å"The Brotherhood† is using him to entice the people into following their doctrine and adopting their philosophies. He never decided where he would go or what cause he would speak against. He became a pawn for â€Å"The Brotherhood†. To them he was not an individual, but an inanimate object. Eventually the invisible man grows tired of â€Å"The Brotherhood† and their mannerisms. However, instead of trying to work on developing an identity, the invisible man begins to impersonate â€Å"Rine the runner and Rine the gambler and Rine the briber and Rine the lover and Rinehart the Reverend†(Ellison 498). Wearing a large hat and glasses tinted a dark green, he moves about the street with greetings of â€Å"Hey now!†(Ellison 485) and â€Å"daddy-o†(Ellison 484). He immerses himself into a youthful lifestyle with no prior knowledge of how it operates. His resemblance to Rinehart is advant ageous because it allows him to travel safely from place to place while in hiding from â€Å"â€Å"The Brotherhood†Ã¢â‚¬ . The invisible man moves through his life never really living for himself but for others. In addition, to adopting the behaviors expected of him, he also adopts the personalities of others. Both of these practices strengthen the idea that he is invisible â€Å"simply because people refuse to see† (Ellison 3) him because there really is not a concrete personality to see. Though the invisible man lives a life of emulation for some time, he eventually retreats from others to discover his identity. The invisible man’s first step to living a personally fulfilling life was realizing that his â€Å"future lies chiefly in his own hands†(Vanzant 1/15). Consequently, if he does not know what to identify himself with he will not control his future. To have an established identity one’s self-image, self-esteem and confidence must be asses sed and developed. Secondly he learns that â€Å"identification with an organization or a cause is no substitute for self-realization† (Vanzant4/29). He realizes that his relationship to â€Å"The Brotherhood† and his role in their activities was insignificant. He excepts the fact that he was not really a part of the group, but more so someone that ran errands. In addition, the invisible man discovers â€Å"In the solitude of your mind are the answers to all your questions about life. You must take the time to ask and listen†(Vanzant 1/17). This is seen when he says â€Å"I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer.† (Ellison 15). Taking time to think about morals, values and basic characteristics can prove useful in determining the qualities, which a person would like to exemplify. Knowing what he stands for will allow him to make better judgments in the future. In due time, he will begin to make judgments based on what his morals, ideas, and values reflect. â€Å"Nothing can dim the light which shines from within†(Vanzant 2/5), when you have a positive self-image you exude a confidence that surpasses even the most negative comments and corrupted situations. The invisible man begins to look at himself positivelyâ€Å"We must not wish to be anything but what we, are and to be that perfectly†(Vanzant 1/7). When we are satisfied with whom we are then we can begin to accomplish things. As the invisible man’s self-esteem increases so does his self-confidence. When someone begins to construct who they are they must realize that â€Å"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With no confidence, you have won even before you have started†(Vanzant 2/7). The invisible man develops a self-definition, which makes him â€Å"visible† to others. READ: The Failures of Affirmative Action EssayFurthermore, retreating underground was the best decision the invisible man made. Underground is where he finally realizes that he has no identity â€Å"is the way it has always been† (Ellison 566) and that his life was merely a farce. He realizes that other people controlled his whole life: from his grandfather’s death; to driving Mr. Norton; to being expelled from college by Dr. Bledsoe; to being a member of â€Å" â€Å"The Brotherhood†. He understands that he was never given a chance to think for himself and develop an identity befitting him: My problem was that I always tried to go in everyone’s way but my own. I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I called myself. So after many years of trying to adopt the opinion of others I finally rebelled. (Ellison 573)After years and years of portraying others thoughts and beliefs he accepts â€Å"That I am nobo dy but myself.†(Ellison 15). It took him years to understand that some people live their whole life never knowing who they are and he was one of those people. Happy and content with his subterraneous lifestyle the invisible man begins to live a life true to himself. Invisible Man is a dynamic novel that many people can relate to today. Myriads of people are on a continuous search for their identity and purpose. This process has been conquered by some; however, many never discover or develop to their full potential. The lesson of this novel, however, is that seeking a strong self-definition is essential, while keeping in mind to not let outside agents determine that definition. This novel is one that I would recommend to all of my friends because while following the path that the invisible man takes to self-discover, I realized that many of us are on the same trail of discovery. Invisible Man highlights and emphasizes the significance in having a strong self-identity to live a productive and satisfying life.