Beckett and the Apocalypse †Literature Informal Essay

Beckett and the Apocalypse – Literature Informal Essay Free Online Research Papers Beckett and the Apocalypse Literature Informal Essay The play Endgame opens up bleak and bare, a glaring introduction to its final impression on the reader or audience. We see the two windows and are almost reminded of a bare human skull. The characters are static; they do not change or progress and their general manner reflects their attitude of hopelessness and their question of meaning. Throughout its single act, the play demonstrates a dominant worldview of inevitable death and absence of meaning through absurd references to the Bible and the general meaninglessness of the characters’ lives. The term â€Å"endgame† is a word used by chess players- it signifies the last part of a chess game, wherein, although the game is not over and there are technically moves remaining, the winner has already been determined. The winner and determined end here in the play is death. In essence, the play is about four characters waiting to die. In fact, one, Nell, does die. Hamm, the owner of the setting and central character in the play, is much like the loser king in a chess match that has moved to the â€Å"endgame† sequence. He has Clov move him around meticulously, positioning him and adjusting his chair. In the end, however, this means nothing- he will die no matter what he does. Death as the inevitable end can be interpreted in two ways. We all will die, individually; upon our birth we inherit the fate of death- we are born into an endgame. However, Beckett creates a bare stage and has his characters describe the seemingly post apocalyptic state of the outside world- the lack of any people, the calm waters, the wasteland desert, etc. Here is a sweeping biblical allusion- referring not to any point in the play specifically, but a general setting and feeling that echoes the book of Revelation. This final book of the New Testament describes the end of the world similarly- at least the audience is meant to envision the state of the Earth following the Apocalypse. Here is another endgame- the end of humanity as a whole. This more universal endgame reflects Beckett’s general nihilistic worldview- that human life is meaningless and absurd. One is reminded of MacBeth’s lament in Shakespeare’s play of the same name, â€Å"Life is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.† For all the â€Å"sound† and the â€Å"fury†- i.e., all the conversation and the walking and the fetching three-legged dogs in the play, the end is the same: death. In actuality, death is accelerated when Clov is assumed to leave Hamm because they both prolong life for each other, but regardless of this final action, they will die. The inevitability of death is completely independent on any action in itself; this unavoidability compounds the absurdity of life and all of its moves. Beckett also uses the Bible to compound life’s absurdity. The general worldview of the Bible is one of hope- specifically the Gospels of the New Testament. However, when Beckett uses biblical allusions throughout a play with such a nihilistic worldview as Endgame, the hopefulness of the Bible sounds almost silly. The characters in the play do not understand the biblical allusions and thus do not understand the hopeful message of the Bible. For example, Nell’s final word is â€Å"desert!† The exclamation was directed to Clov, who explained to Hamm that, â€Å"She told me to go away, into the desert† (23). This could be an allusion to Christ’s journey into the desert to fast and get closer to God. Clov â€Å"didn’t understand† (24) Nell’s cry, just as no other characters understood any message of hope throughout the play. Although the Bible as a whole contains a hopeful message for mankind, Beckett uses the empirical evidence of t he characters’ lack of purpose and seemingly invalidates the hopefulness of the Bible. The biblical worldview mentions salvation and hope for a new life as part of its basic tenets. However, it also accounts for death, such as in the apocalyptic account of Revelation. The play Endgame uses simply the message of inevitable death found in the Bible and creates a meaningless, pathetic universe. We are treated to a barrage of senseless acts and general words that have no purpose and contribute nothing to the characters’ lives- we leave gaping, asking for more but wondering about the general meaning of our own actions. Research Papers on Beckett and the Apocalypse - Literature Informal EssayHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayThe Hockey GameComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoMind TravelCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionThe Fifth HorsemanCapital PunishmentThe Spring and Autumn

The gears of war

The gears of war Free Online Research Papers Murder for the first time this knowledge comes as an extreme shock. The audience, having a conventional understanding of a lottery, assumes its implications are positive. Jackson decides to title her story â€Å"the Lottery;† thus, deliberately plays off her reader’s assumptions, hiding her subtle yet powerful themes and symbols from their immediate notice. A close examination of the story draws attention to details such as the life and death symbolism found in the names of the town leaders Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves (Nebeker, 101). Revelation of these symbols conveys meaningful clues behind the ordinary activities and dialogue witnessed that day. Once the initial shock of the sacrificial murder has worn off, the title of â€Å"The Lottery† begins to take on a whole new meaning, pointing to man’s blind devotion to tradition. Shirley Jackson uses the phrase â€Å"The Lottery† represent a view on human rituals. Disturbing enough is the fact that the lottery’s origin stems from the pagan ritual of sacrificing a human life for prosperities sake; however, more unsettling is the fact that in â€Å"The Lottery,† the reasoning behind the ritual has long been forgotten. This is evidenced in the story through old Mr. Warner, whose sole voice recalling a vague perception of the lottery’s impact on crop fertility is the only specific reasoning given for the ritual. Notably, some of the townspeople, such as the Adams, appear to have apprehensions about carrying on the tradition; yet, their lack of courage keeps from challenging the status quo (Jackson). From the town’s practice of this meani ngless ritual, Jackson paints a bleak picture of humanity; â€Å"Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.† (Jackson) The violence stands for nothing, but it is all that they remember, and only when the lottery victim faces death, do logic and reasoning find a voice. â€Å"The Lottery,† which at first glances seems to foreshadow prosperity and wealth, actually illuminates man’s tendency to revert to violence when ancient customs go unchecked (Griffian, 46). One critic, Helen Nebeker, comments that the extreme injustice was â€Å"not of hatred, or malice, or primitive fear, but of the primitive ritual itself† (Nebeker, 108). The contrast of this theme in the story to the conventional meaning of the phrase makes â€Å"The Lottery† an ingenious and thought provoking title for this haunting tale. Research Papers on The gears of warThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsMind TravelHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionCapital PunishmentCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoTrailblazing by Eric AndersonRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andWhere Wild and West Meet

Work Specialization in Starbuck's Research Paper

Work Specialization in Starbuck's - Research Paper Example In this case, five organizational structural elements are discussed which are: work specialization, departmentalization, and chain of command, the span of control and centralization & decentralization. Work specialization: Work specialization refers to how the operational jobs are divided into several small parts. In work specialization, an organization does not assign a whole task to one employee; rather the organization divides the task to certain sub-parts which are performed by individual employees. It is widely used in production procedures which help to accelerate the whole operation. The positive side of work specialization is that it not only can raise the level of expertise of employees, assist in the improvement of special technology, minimize training expenses; but it can also generate dullness and tediousness by performing the same type of task and also offer fewer prospects for development (Mukherjee, 2009). In Starbucks, the work is highly specialized. In the stores, the operation is divided into several sub-parts. Almost four employees are required to operate a ‘drive-through a window’. One employee is in charge of receiving the order, the second one runs the cash register, the third one operates the espresso machine, and the fourth employee completes any additional requirements when required. In the roasting facility of Starbucks, each employee has his/her own tasks to preserve the product quality of their assigned step in the entire production process (Robbins & Et. Al., 2008). Departmentalization: Departmentalization is the alignment of interrelated organizational actions into divisions. The focus of departments in an organization can be internal or external. Internal departmentalization is characterized by internal tasks or jobs of employees and resources required to undertake the jobs.

Economics and Healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Economics and Healthcare - Assignment Example Hence any significant change in the economy brings about simultaneous changes in access to and provision of health care. In a system which is bound by an employment-based healthcare coverage and where provision of healthcare essentially depends on the country’s economy, understanding the impact of economics on health care is of crucial significance. The healthcare system in the United States is focused on provision of services which are cost-effective to consumers who demand greater accessibility and better quality at affordable rates (White, 2005). A country which is regarded as the world leader in terms of medical advances and research and technology in the field of medicine, the lack of access to healthcare and primary health care services is one of the most critical and on-going issues faced by it since several decades (Gulliford and Morgan, 2003). An overwhelming majority of the population who are at the bottom of the economic pyramid include those insured by Medicaid, low wage earners as well as those who are uninsured and underinsured. This paper discusses the complex interactions between economics, employment, and provision of healthcare services in the country; the impact of the impact of provision of healthcare to a vulnerable section of the population such as the uninsured; the key implications for nursing in delivering patient care to the uninsured and its impact on the nursing profession. Any disturbance in the economy of a country is likely to result in the usage of and access to medical care, since it directly affects the individual’s ability to pay for such care. Recessions often lead to large scale unemployment, which in turn affect the access to insurance, since most of the healthcare services in the United States are employment-based (Catalano, 2009). Furthermore the willingness of an individual to pay for

Adidas Marketing Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Adidas Marketing Project - Essay Example The tutor commented that she did not require the group members to give definitions for the 4 Ps in marketing but rather give marketing objectives and how to carry out promotions. She said the group should work towards giving more details about promotions and be objective in the presentation. Group members worked on the comments and included the details that and earlier been excluded so as to provide more details about promotions and marketing objectives. The course work imparted marketing research skills and knowledge on how to design and write posters. Under the 4 Ps, the paper looked into pricing, promotions, place, and the product. It also touched a little bit on the other 4 Ps but not deeply. The work had several advantages which included more details about 4 Ps, good poster design and structure and thus easy to understand. Any marketing executive would be impressed by the quality of the poster as it was highly informative and communicated effectively and efficiently. The disadvantage in the findings included a lack of market share which was very evident from the data used. The second disadvantage is that data used was neither current nor recent. The data used was three years old and thus did not give a true representation of the current marketing situation. Some of the most important factors were the product itself and the pricing strategies. These two factors are highly considered when developing a marketing plan. A product will be successful in the market if it is of good quality and its price is competitive.

Reflection Paper: Socialization and Self-Identity

Reflection Paper: Socialization and Self-Identity Introduction I grew up in an average middle class family, whereby I attended a public primary school during early years of my life. Life was quite simple in primary school because almost all pupils were friendly and there were no social divisions both in class and outside. However, life was different when I went to high school, with the existence of a caste system that drew distinct boundaries between the middle class students who were well behaved and the lower class students associated with rudeness and truancy. Socialization in Relation to Self Identity According to Styker (1980), sociological approach to self identity is based on assumption of an existence of a relationship between oneself and the society, whereby the self influences the society through individual actions thus creating groups, networks and institutions. Likewise, the society influences self through shared meanings and language that enable someone to engage in social interactions and reflect upon himself/herself as an object. My primary school life was greatly shaped by society within a conducive environment that never encouraged social divisions among pupils but embraced a unified community, where everyone seemed to conform to norms and regulations of the school. This is further supported by social identity theory that emphasizes on identity as being embedded in a social group or category rather than role behavior (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, Wetherell 1987). Life in high school was quite different from that of primary school as I had to identify with either the middle class students who conformed to school regulations or identify with the lower class students, who were truant, rude and cared less about school rules and regulations. This called for need to reflect, evaluate and plan accordingly in order to bring out my future state and achieve consciousness with respect to my own existence in school. Initially, I was torn between the two cliques of students because much as I desired to perform well in school, I also wanted to drink, smoke and do the crazy things that teenagers do. After critical self evaluation, I found myself striking a balance between the two sets of students and had two different sets of social lives. I could occasionally identify with the middle class students who were well behaved when I needed to study and equally strike a balance in being popular with the truant group, especially when I needed to smoke, drink and m isbehave. Such decision came after some crisis (Mercia 2008). According to Marcias identity status theory, ones sense of identity is largely determined by choices and commitments made in respect to personal and social traits. Focusing on adolescent development, Mercia (2008) points out that adolescent stage consists neither of identity resolution nor identity confusion, but rather the degree to which one has explored and committed to an identity in a variety of life domains from education, religion, relational choices and gender roles among others. Marcias theory of identity achievement argues that two distinct parts form an adolescents identity, namely; crisis and commitment. He defined a crisis as a time of upheaval where old values or choices are being reexamined and further argues that the end outcome of a crisis leads to a commitment made to a certain role or value. Living comfortably with the two sets of students explains the notion that there are as many different selves as there are different positions that one holds in society as well as to different groups responding to self (James 1890). This brings out my overall self that has multiple identities, with each identity being tied to aspects of the social structure (Burke 1980). When associating with the truant group of students, the only things we did and discussed were those relevant to the group such as planning how to misbehave, where to drink, smoke and do other things that were against school rules. On the other hand, identifying with disciplined group of students restricted me to discuss and do things that were relevant to identity of the group such as class assignments and group discussions. This boosted my psychological well being as well as social skills that enabled me to fit well in school society as supported by Thoits (2001), who argues that greater psychological well- being all ows individuals to actively acquire multiple role identities over time. Furthermore research has proved that making roles and accumulating role identities equally fosters greater psychological well being. Being able to identify and associate with two sets of students in high school can be attributed to identity theory. Stryker (1980) describes identity theory as a micro- sociological theory that links self attitudes or identities to the role- related behavior of individuals. It takes into account individual role relationships and identity variability, motivation and differentiation. This implies that my behavior in any of the two groups was dependant on shared responses and behavioral expectations emerging from social interactions. Exchange theory further supports my interaction with two sets of students as it views commitment as being influenced by repeated exchange agreement, which generate emotional connection among group members in the form of satisfaction (Lawler Yoon 1996). Socialization in Relation to Academic Performance Ability to identify with the disciplined set of students gave me satisfaction, both academically and psychologically as learning requires diligence and obedience, qualities that are widely associated with feminists. On the other hand, associating with truant group of students gave me the excitement and drive to enjoy my teenage life as well as performance of masculinity, which is associated with the highest social status in state schooling environment, a status that I could only achieve through identifying with truant group of students (Fine 2003 Renold 2006). I was an extrovert, popular with my peers and a high academic achiever. Friends were my most enjoyable aspect of school and I accentuated communication and relationships with friends, while maintaining good heterosexual relationships that invested more in emotional instead of physical aspects of the relationships within the two sets of friends. Research has shown that high achievement in class does not necessarily constitute classroom isolation and unpopularity, thus students identified as high achieving are equally popular. Based on this observation, it can be argued that high academic achievement is not impending the popularity of a student and the sociability of a student may indicate that strong social skills contribute to high academic achievement as was my case (Jackson, 2006). Francis, Skelton Read (2010) indicate in their research that sociability of students results to increased levels of confidence for boys and girls regardless of their social class, pointing out that high performing students are often highly aware of their high academic achievement and this achievement awareness preoccupation delineates the notion of giftedness. I was able to excel academically because I was comfortable with my perceived high academic ability and I never underestimated my achievement in relation to my peers, unlike what most girls do. Being vividly aware of my own authenticity, I managed to construct my popularity based on my intrinsic merit factors such as friendliness, sociability and kindness. I was actively engaged in class work and worked hard, completing all assignments even in challenging conditions. Furthermore, I was an enthusiastic participant in class and was always ready to execute given tasks during classes. I was in good terms with teachers and this added value to my performance of attitude. My talks and actions frequently dominated during my days in high school as I was loud, assertive and at the center of events, unlike my low achieving and less popular peers, who were more extrinsic and obsessed with factors such as good looks. I however considered myself good looking and fashionable in appearance during those days. My physical attractiveness and stylish clothing enhanced my classroom relationships and contributed greatly in bringing a balance between my popularity and academic achievement. This i s in agreement with Butler (1993) and Kehily (2006) who indicate that physical appearance facilitates and contributes to sociability, confidence and sometimes academic excellence. My performance enhancing qualities are in agreement with self categorization theory that describes how people define themselves at group level as well as at an individual level, considering group and individual identities to be different levels of self categorization and more distinct from each other as opposed to social identity theory (Hogg and Terry 2000). Employing this theory gave me an opportunity to have unlimited range of identities based on context and convenience to achieve desired objectives based on targeted achievement with any particular kind of behavior. In their contribution to social identity theories, Lucey and Reay (2002) observe that academic success and excellence cannot exist without failure, supporting the fact that some students must be marked as failures for others to be identified as successful. This explains my academic excellence and equally explains poor performance for some of my peers. Conclusion Human beings are social beings and need each other to coexist, a fact supported by the existence of social theories of identity, which explain personal, interpersonal as well as group relationships. As a teenager and a student, social theories of identity worked to my advantage as I managed to strike a balance between different categories of social groups in favor of my performance and social life. I lived well in high school because I could use social theories to manipulate situations for the sake of a peaceful and harmonious existence, while at the same time quenching my curiosity for exciting teenage experience. If well used, social theories can bring success to ones academic performance and fruitful relationships that support peaceful coexistence within a given society.

50 Years of Speed :: essays research papers

The Goodyear Thunderdome was the first purpose built Oval speedway outside of the continent of America. Construction started in November 1984 and it was officially opened by the Mayor of Keilor on August 3rd. 1987 although it was christened by Americans Richard Petty, Bobby Hillin Jnr. and Rodney Combs along with local men Jim Richards,Graeme Crosby and Gary Rush. The first race was only a couple of weeks later when a 300 Km. Touring Car race was run on the combined Oval/road circuit.The race was won by Terry Sheil and John Bowe in a Nissan Skyline(the only time a Japanese car has won on the Thunderdome) from the Commodore of Larry Perkins and Bill O’Brien. Allan Grice had been quickest in practise with a lap of 1m.45.74s and he also set the fastest lap in the race with a time of 1m.46.17s. Later that year another race took place on the combined circuit and this was a round of the World Touring Car Championship.Pole position went to Klaus Ludwig in an Eggenberger Ford Sierra with a 1m.42.92s but in the race it was his team mates Steve Soper and Pierre Diuedonne who took the honours from Emanuelle Pirro and Roberto Ravaglia in a BMW M3. The race was not without problems as it began to rain very heavily just before the start and so for the only time a race was run on the Thunderdome in the wet. The other feature was that the combined circuit goes in a clockwise direction (same as for AUSCAR) which was fine for the locals but not so good for the European Fords and BMWs. The first Oval meeting was held on February 28th. 1988 and it was a mixture of Americans, mostly from the Winston West series,and Australians. A bonus for the organisers was that just 2 weeks before the event Bobby Allison, one of the imported stars, won the biggest NASCAR race of them all, the Daytona 500, giving the Thunderdome a huge publicity boost.