Effective Use of Irony and Satire in Unveiling :: Unveiling

Effective Use of Irony and Satire in Unveiling Unveiling, by Vclav Havel, is an almost satirical view of societal behavior in the modern day world. The unusual props located throughout the apartment as well as the characters involved in the play come together to form an ironic tale wrought with realistic themes and an extremist view of modern society. The main characters are Vera, Michael, and Ferdinand Vanek. The play begins with Ferdinand entering the party of Vera and Michael. As the story line progresses, Vera and Michael continue describing their many material possessions and showing off their supposed glamour. All throughout the commentary on their accolades, they also openly criticize Ferdinand in every aspect of his life. They claim to do so only because they like him and because he is their best friend. In the end, Ferdinand begins inching towards the door, and Vera and Michael start to go hysterical at the thought of Ferdinand leaving. Finally, when he sits back down, Vera and Michael resume their "normal" chatter. The characterization in Unveiling is consistent in that each character is generally stagnant. Vera is a flat character. She starts out as a needy woman who is almost grandiloquent when she speaks of her belongings. Her husband Michael is no different. His pretentious behavior is only heightened by the accessory of his wife. In the end, they are still the same albeit not as composed as in the beginning. Ferdinand is really just a minor, speaking character in the play. There is not much depth to his character. He is essentially flat because there is no change in his character or lack thereof. Though Unveiling does contain many themes, the principle one that is prevalent throughout is social pretensions. Vera and Michael pretend that everything is fine in their life though it clearly is not. They hold themselves to a materialistic standard that they feel they must uphold. The slick veneer that they like to hide behind is actually rather brittle and transparent. Their loneliness is apparent. For their "unveiling" party, there is only one guest, Ferdinand. That points to the fact that they do not have many friends, thus the reality which is that they are alone. Along these same lines, societal pressures and social conformity are also major themes. They feel they must uphold such pretenses because that is the social standard.

Descartes’ Second Meditation

In Descartes’ Second Meditation the key philosophical idea of â€Å"I think, therefore I am† is introduced and thus begins a new age in western philosophy. Some of the arguments Descartes provide in order to support his claims are that in order to doubt anything, you must be able to think and if you think, you exist. Descartes brings up the point that there may be no physical world, along with that thought comes the doubt of anything else being real, which again concludes that he is thinking which means he is real.Descartes’ argument in the second meditation is that in order to think at all, whether it is doubt of an existence or belief something to be true it requires thought. Descartes makes the point that being able to have thought means that he must exist and he can know this without any doubt. The main argument that he uses to support this theory is to suppose he is being deceived by an evil spirit into believing all that he knows, when everything he knows i s actually a lie. He claims that whether or not he is being deceived is not important, rather the fact that he is able to be deceived or not be deceived confirms that he does indeed exist.He goes on to show that in order to be deceived, you must be thinking and if you are thinking then by default you exist. Descartes makes us doubt everything through his new revolutionary thought process. He claims that the mind is separate from the body, and even if there is a body at all. By doubting the reality of a physical world he brings into question everything that exists except for the individual existing itself. Descartes then moves from the point that he exists to trying to explain what â€Å"he† is. He claims that he is a thinking thing, and uses the word thing precisely.Descartes opens up a discussion on how being able to think means he exists, but does not include the proof of a body, instead he can only prove that a thinking thing is a mind. He claims that he cannot doubt that he can think, but he can doubt the reality of his body and physical interaction in the world. In going along with his experiment to purge doubtable beliefs, Descartes argues that things he cannot doubt about himself are therefore real, while things that he can doubt about himself are false. Obviously, this makes it much harder for him to believe in the hysical world. Not to confuse, Descartes I don’t believe was trying to imply that a thinking thing might never be wrong about doubting something; instead I see this as a division between the mind and body. Descartes is dealt with the problem of skepticism and how to overcome it. In order to overcome skepticism, he decides he must enforce it strictly upon his experiment and therefore attempt to explain around skepticism. Descartes put a heavy belief on the ability to deceive and how empirical thought is not to be trusted as sense can be deceived easily.Descartes goes into depth about dreams and how when we are dreaming everythin g feels and seems to be real, in fact we would never know it to be false if we never woke up. This proves that the senses not matter how powerful are able to be deceived. This was Descartes way of dealing with skepticism though; he explored it in its most extreme sense. Through experimentation he hoped to find a belief that could not be doubted and render skepticism irrational. Thus the whole thought of I think, therefore I exist begun and was the major belief that could not be denied. Descartes accomplishes his goal by using his enemy: skepticism. hing†. Using Descartes thought process to determine what is real and what is not, one has an extremely hard time confirming the existence of anything except for the fact they too exist. To conclude Descartes found the certain belief that he existed and all other who think exist, therefore Skepticism being true can rationally be denied. Skepticism plays the belief that there are no so called â€Å"true† beliefs and life as we know it is probably a lie, but through experimentation Descartes was able to rationally prove there are beliefs that can be held with certainty.

Explain Why Overseas Study at Australian Universities Is Popular

Different countries have different education system. Some students have decided to take their studies aboard to mainly achieve better with a different education system. These students go aboard to purse their academic learning by either at a foundation level or at a postgraduate level. With the outstanding education system, the multicultural society and the range of career opportunities Australia has to offer, students of different nationality, race and culture flock to Australia hoping to achieve better academically.Australia offers a unique education system that most countries do not have. Many students have actually found that the Australia has a lot to offer. Teachers with great devotion in teaching and helping students in every aspect of school work including life. This would be a great for student who is living aboard alone as they would have someone to turn to for emotional and academic support. With such a huge number of students entering Australia’s university each ye ar, it is for certain that the university would have an advance modern technology.This would not only assist teachers when are giving a lecture or a tutorial class, it help the students in understanding lessons and giving them the ability in presenting a good presentations with the equipment provided to them. With such an uncommon education system, the teachers too are dedicated in providing the students an interesting learning environment to make learning easier. For example, a common literature class would transform into a drama class to let the students feel closer to the book and the characters.Students become more involved in class and absorb more from the lessons. Australia had a wide diversity of races. By living an Australian lifestyle, students are bound to see the multicultural society Australia has to offer to them. With a wide range of races in Australia, students would be able to make new friends from different countries. Students would also encounter class mates of dif ferent cultural background. This would be a great way to learn and understand a different culture for the students.Since some restaurants are set up to cater to foreign students, it would a great chance to try different cuisines not found in their home country. By understanding different cultures, the students would know what to expect when they enter the working life. They would be able to communicate better with different people and if they have to bring clients to dinner, they would know what kind of food to look out for. Students would also learn to be sensitive to people’s feelings as in some cultures, some words are an insult to them.After graduating from university, graduates would start worrying whether they would be able to be employed. However, graduating from a prestigious university with good results may help graduates to get employed easier. Usaully universities become prestigious when they are able to produce graduates who are able to make a name for themselves, or it may be known for its good teaching techniques. Businesses, looking for a worker, would have a good impression of the applicant applying for the job just by looking at his application.This would give a good impression to the boss and just base on the resume, the graduate may get the job. Undergraduates would try to get into one of these outstanding schools hoping that they would be able to get a job easily. Most of these universities are in Australia, this making overseas study in Australia popular. In summary, an unique education system that makes class interesting, a multi-cultural society for students to experience new things and prestigious university are the reasons that attracts students to study abroad in Australia. Explain Why Overseas Study at Australian Universities Is Popular Different countries have different education system. Some students have decided to take their studies aboard to mainly achieve better with a different education system. These students go aboard to purse their academic learning by either at a foundation level or at a postgraduate level. With the outstanding education system, the multicultural society and the range of career opportunities Australia has to offer, students of different nationality, race and culture flock to Australia hoping to achieve better academically.Australia offers a unique education system that most countries do not have. Many students have actually found that the Australia has a lot to offer. Teachers with great devotion in teaching and helping students in every aspect of school work including life. This would be a great for student who is living aboard alone as they would have someone to turn to for emotional and academic support. With such a huge number of students entering Australia’s university each ye ar, it is for certain that the university would have an advance modern technology.This would not only assist teachers when are giving a lecture or a tutorial class, it help the students in understanding lessons and giving them the ability in presenting a good presentations with the equipment provided to them. With such an uncommon education system, the teachers too are dedicated in providing the students an interesting learning environment to make learning easier. For example, a common literature class would transform into a drama class to let the students feel closer to the book and the characters.Students become more involved in class and absorb more from the lessons. Australia had a wide diversity of races. By living an Australian lifestyle, students are bound to see the multicultural society Australia has to offer to them. With a wide range of races in Australia, students would be able to make new friends from different countries. Students would also encounter class mates of dif ferent cultural background. This would be a great way to learn and understand a different culture for the students.Since some restaurants are set up to cater to foreign students, it would a great chance to try different cuisines not found in their home country. By understanding different cultures, the students would know what to expect when they enter the working life. They would be able to communicate better with different people and if they have to bring clients to dinner, they would know what kind of food to look out for. Students would also learn to be sensitive to people’s feelings as in some cultures, some words are an insult to them.After graduating from university, graduates would start worrying whether they would be able to be employed. However, graduating from a prestigious university with good results may help graduates to get employed easier. Usaully universities become prestigious when they are able to produce graduates who are able to make a name for themselves, or it may be known for its good teaching techniques. Businesses, looking for a worker, would have a good impression of the applicant applying for the job just by looking at his application.This would give a good impression to the boss and just base on the resume, the graduate may get the job. Undergraduates would try to get into one of these outstanding schools hoping that they would be able to get a job easily. Most of these universities are in Australia, this making overseas study in Australia popular. In summary, an unique education system that makes class interesting, a multi-cultural society for students to experience new things and prestigious university are the reasons that attracts students to study abroad in Australia.

Technology Siri for submission

Technology Siri for submission Siri is many people’s new best friend. This voice recognition system has been a feature of iPhones since the iPhone 4s was introduced. Siri demonstrates a facility that puts most computer-resident voice recognition software to shame.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Siri for submission specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Siri software seems eerily to comprehend users in a way that some human listeners cannot even manage. The addition of this feature transforms the computer functions of an iPhone into something almost universally accessible. How this feature has been (nearly) perfected is a mix of technology and human skill. Siri consists of two separate technologies. There is the voice recognition part, and there is the voice-data-to-speech part. Both are awesomely complex. As quoted by the website of the Human Interface Laboratory at Washington University, voice recognition is the technology by whi ch sounds, words or phrases spoken by humans are converted into electrical signals† (Baumann). Then, â€Å"these signals are transformed into coding patterns to which meaning has been assigned (Baumann). To recognize words from among all the sounds that humans make when they produce speech, the voice recognition software must use â€Å"speech unit extraction and concatenation† (Baumann). To accomplish this â€Å"Sentence and word units which maximize the weighted sum of linguistic likelihood, amount of information, confidence measure, and grammatical likelihood of concatenated units are extracted from the speech recognition results and concatenated for producing summaries† (Baumann). This translates to a complex amalgam of grammar, vocabulary, and lots of statistics. The voice production part of the system is, if anything, even more magical-seeming. The voice that comes out in the form of Siri actually sounds human, and it is, fundamentally. A live woman, and ma n, or perhaps more than one, recorded hundreds of spoken words and parts of words. She recorded them in different tones and rhythms to create the richest possible range of English speech. These sounds were then used as a sound bank from which to extract individual phonemes, or the smallest and shortest identifiable elements of speech (Anderson).Advertising Looking for essay on programming? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As described by Anderson, â€Å"Words and sentences are analyzed, catalogued, and tagged in a big database, a complicated job involving a team of dedicated linguists, as well as proprietary linguistic software† (Anderson). In the next step, a piece of software called a â€Å"text-to-speech engine† searches for sounds, in real time, to combine with other sounds (Anderson). These are strung together, as beads are on a string, to create novel words and sentences like â€Å"727 South Warno ck Street† or â€Å" the Lakers won by 2 points† when users need this information. The inclusion of Siri in an iPhone does more than make forgetting one’s grocery list a thing of the past. It adds safety when driving, and turns the hand-held device into a mobile business office. A user can generate all sorts of correspondence using the voice recognition function to dictate text. Using the iPhone’s accessibility settings for ‘speaking text’, a user can listen to almost anything on the screen read aloud. Siri seems to have even inspired a full-length movie Her. The lonely protagonist falls in love with a sweet-voiced operating system that sounds suspiciously like Siri (IMDB). Admittedly, the artificial intelligence, and the relationship depicted are probably a few years away. However, many people are already very dependent on the way that Siri helps them connect to the internet, and to use their iPhones. Siri is also not the only voice in the m arketplace. More and more pieces of equipment (for example, RSS readers) and other venues now are using some form of voice generation or voice recognition. Anderson notes that â€Å"Google, Apple, Microsoft, and even Amazon have all invested heavily in speech† (Anderson). Voice recognition and generation, whether in the form of Siri or some other software, is a welcome and useful part of users’ lives now. Anderson, Lessley. Machine Language: How Siri Found Its Voice. 17 September 2013. The Verge. Web.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Siri for submission specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Baumann, James. Voice Recognition. 2014. Washington University. Web. IMDB. Her. 2014. IMDB. Web.

Assignment Durex Essay Example

Assignment Durex Essay Example Assignment Durex Essay Assignment Durex Essay The county has seen a shift from a conservative society to an increasingly open perspective. Condoms can be easily purchased at most petrol kiosks and convenient stores and are usually placed near the counters. Singapore are also seen as materialistic and brand conscious when it comes to purchasing (Google Books, 2015). More youths are also engaging in sexual relations at a younger age due to such influences like internet, media, and society at large (Enid Grubber, 2010). It is important that Dared constantly pays attention to these changes in society and constantly reposition its brand to avoid being seen as an out-dated brand. This way, it is able to connect to he youths and to avoid being stigmatize but the younger generations. In Singapore, technology is integral in the growth due to the limited resources. Singapore are mobile saws with 88%, either owning an Apple device or an android device that enables them to have access to the internet wherever and whenever they need it (semaphores in Singapore: A Whitepapers Release, 2012). However, technology is also a double-edged sword; while it can provide fast information but it can also be a Source of clutter. This provides a challenge for Dared as it has to compete with other online advertisements to reach out to the market. At the same time, because of technological advancements, this also allows condoms to be an alternative for contraceptive pills. In the recentness, Dared has caught up with the technological and social trend which allows them to reach out to more youths through the use of floggers, Youth and Google by purchasing the condoms online. By doing so, Dared has effectively addressed most of the PESTLE concerns by shifting their marketing efforts in that direction (Lovingly, 2014). Singapore has a tropical climate with humid temperatures, however, this does not affect Dared much as all of the products are not affected by seasonal or climate change. Singapore is a moderately green country and with their increasing efforts to categorize wastes accordingly, there is still a low adoption rate of these practices among households. As such, condoms are often used during personal time or at homes and are usually not disposed in a green manner. Dared condoms are made of Latex, Polystyrene and Polyurethane, which are not biodegradable materials (The Condom Depot Learning Center, 2014). This means that they must either be burnt or disposed in a landfill. There are no landfill taxes to be paid in Singapore, however, expired/unsold condoms are turned to Dared to ensure that they are not irresponsibly sold or disposed. This also means that Dared has to take on the costs of disposing off unwanted condoms and affects their profit of margin. There are no legal restrictions on the sale and use of condoms in Singapore, however, the legal age to have sex is at the age of 16 years old and 1 8 years old for commercial sex (Congregationalisms. Com, 2011). Therefore it is also a regulation that the condoms are to be accompanied by a user manual. This user manual often comprises of a pictorial diagram So as to cater to all. This ads additional production cost to the product. There are not much legal implications for Dared Singapore to enforce the legal age to have sex but however, they spend more resources on promoting safe sex as part of their social responsibility. 3. Porters Five Forces Analysis 3. 1 . Threat of New Entrants (Low) Due to the costs and access to the distributive channels for the industry, the threat of having new entrants in this trade is seemingly low. Action for Aids (FAA) by World Health Organization (WHO) have been promoting prevention of HIVE and Studs constantly but with little demand for condoms, companies eke Dared have put in all their investments in this particular industry. Dared does not only produce condoms but they have also constantly produced new products to compete with the other condom brands in the market, with the products at a lower and affordable cost. 3. 2. Threat of Substitutes (Moderate) Besides the myriad of condom brands available in Singapore, there are also many alternative contraceptive measures that are popular among Singapore. Condoms are socially viewed to be the less pleasurable method, and are also attached with the stigma of embarrassment when making the purchase (Thinkers. Erg, 2014). Because of this, many youths tend to shun away from using condoms. Less informed youths may use withdrawal as a mean of contraception, although strictly speaking it is counted as unprotected sex. More informed youths may choose natural contraception, abstinence from penetrative sex or even oral contraceptives. There also are surgical contraceptive methods available that are limited due to the permanent effects. However, this suits a particular older market; those who have made decisions or also due to health reasons. The threat of substitutes is moderate due to the propensity for the market to eek out other alternative contraceptive methods. As sex and contraception are intimate and personal decisions, it is often hard to alter the mind-set of the market. Recently, Dared has made several efforts to introduce Fatherlier, thin and skin like condoms to change this (Dared. Com. My, 2015). 3. 3. Bargaining power Of Suppliers (Low) Most of todays condoms are made of latex and other synthetic materials. The primary ingredient for these is rubber. The 5 main suppliers of this commodity are Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Vietnam; all of which are very close to Singapore, reducing the supply chain cost. As these sources re also located within SEAN region, it is not difficult to switch supplier from within the country, or even to source for materials in neighboring countries (Steve B. Scoot, 2015). Hence, the bargaining power of supplier is low. Furthermore, there are recent developments to use synthetic rubber (Polypropylene) as an improvement to latex condoms provides and alternative supply source for Dared. Since it is a synthetic rubber, Polypropylene is easily produced and available throughout the world. The low cost in the supplied materials are vital for Dared to be able to keep the condoms at a low price point to remain competitive. While the selling point of the product does not always directly relate to the quality of the material used, Dared spends a lot on to constantly develop and improve their products on materials. 3. 4. Bargaining Power of Customers (High) In the Singapore market, condoms are easily available at all convenience stores and are often placed near impulse purchase shelf areas. This is because the nature of the product is fast moving and disposable. To further add on, there are way too many other competitor brands with a variety of other different product offerings. A lot of youths also chose to have unprotected sex, due to the many social related issues despite the low cost of condoms in Singapore (Heartfelt. Asinine. Com, 2015). This makes the bargaining power of Dared customers high. Although Dared is a well-positioned brand and more recognized, there is little brand loyalty among customers due to the discussed points. Competitor brands are similarly priced coupled with the affluence of Singapore make the cost of switching to a competitor brand very easy. Any significant changes in the price of Dared condoms can cause a loss of customers unless the price change can be justified by the product offering. 3. 5. Competitive Rivalry (High) Competitive rivalry in the industry is relatively high. This is because of the nature of the product that is low involvement and customers have little loyalty. It is hard to differentiate the products from other brands and it, coupled with the difficulty of marketing to the masses. This high competitiveness has driven the various companies to constantly innovate to differentiate. From condoms of different flavor, texture, and thickness are all efforts by brands to grab the attention of the fickle consumer. Dared has responded to this rivalry by creating bundle packs of pleasure gels and sex sys along with condoms to be branded as an advocate of enjoyable and safe sex. Dared is able to differentiate themselves from other competitors by addressing the perspective that condoms are a pleasure-kill. Ultimately, regardless of all the marketing and bundles that Dared can offer, the core product offering of a condom is fundamentally the safety and assurance that it provides to consumers. The measure of safety and reliability is often intangible and difficult to market out. Hence, Dared strategies to compete against rivals involve providing scientific data to instill assurance and life in Duresss technology. Dared is a company with relative branding in Singapore with quite a range Of products they have displayed on the shelves. Not only their products are of good quality, they are also constantly coming up with new flavors and innovations. However, compared to the prices of their competitors, Dared products are still relatively higher. Therefore, the four strategic recommendations are Cost Leadership, Differentiation Strategy, Diversification Type and Diversification Process. 4. 1 . Concentration Strategy Based on the brand equity that Dared has already built up, it would be advantageous for the company to continue investing and further strengthening their foothold in the industry. With the application of Nations Matrix, there are many directions that Dared can pursue in the industry. Remaining in the industry allows Dared to focus more resources onto developing better products so as to gain leverage over the competitive market in Singapore, as shown in the Porters 5 forces analysis. 4. 2. Concentric Diversification As the social and technological trends develop, it is difficult for a company like Dared to predict and react. Hence, a strategic move is for Dared to acquire ND develop into other forms of contraception industries (both commercial and medical) so as to remain a key player in the industry. Regardless of what forces exert pressure, Dared will be able to have a certain degree of influence over the market and its environment. In order to further influence those with no brand loyalty, innovation can often help to tip customers in choosing Dared. As with the case of Samsung, by introducing many innovative products to the market and reacting to the consumer preferences can actually help to differentiate how different the brand is from the others. For example, Dared came up with an ultra-thin Indo ranged Fatherlier is a good strategy to attract customers. Dared also has a superior research team which further adds on to the branding (Dared. Com. So, 1 915). Although the price range of Dared may seem affordable, however customers think of Dared much more as a premium brand compared to other competitors like Spire and Oakmont. Hence, implementing low costs to beat the competition is ideal for the saturated market in Singapore and at the same time, this also allows Dared to gain more brand loyalty customers. For example, current pricing at $7 may not be attractive to win impulse buyers or hose who have no brand preferences. Hence, if the price range of Dared is justified this may in time gain brand loyalty customers. In the recent years, Dared has managed to find much marketing success online. Much of this is because of the Singapore culture and environment that Dared is able to benefit from. However, the strict advertising policies still pose a problem for the industry as it is difficult to market and stand out. Furthermore, as a low cost product, little emotional attachment and buyer involvement, Dared has done more to innovate and differentiate themselves from competitors.

A Statement Of Death Of A Salesman English Literature Essay

A Statement Of Death Of A Salesman English Literature Essay Thesis Statement: Although Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a classic tragedy in the Aristotelian sense, it is also a biting critique of capitalism and the empty promises of capitalism’s materialistic version of the American Dream. II. Death of a Salesman as a Tragedy A. Catharsis of Emotion B. The Play’s Organic Unity C. Reversal in Fortune 1. Waste of human potential D. Willy’s Hamartia E. Willy as a Noble Personage 1. The nobility of the salesman is derived from the values of capitalism. 2. Ways in which Willy is a noble salesman III. Death of a Salesman as a Critique of Capitalism A. Miller Shows the Ways in Which Capitalist Values have Warped the American Dream 1. Willy’s Fall is ignoble because there is no increase in self-knowledge B. Willy’s Materialism Blinded Him from his Inner Worth IV. Conclusion Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is often heralded as the first modern American tragedy. Utilizing the American Dream as the foundation of American values and morals, Miller builds his play around the hero Willy Loman, a common man, and his family. Through the character of Willy and his family, Miller uses the play to convey the tragic consequences of unerring devotion to that dream. Although Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a classic tragedy in the Aristotelian sense, it is also a biting critique of capitalism and the empty promises of capitalism’s materialistic version of the American Dream. One of the qualities of a tragedy observed by Aristotle was the catharsis of emotion that occurred throughout the drama, and this characteristic is readily observable in Death of a Salesman (Arp 1220). Willy’s relationships with all of the other characters in the play reveal a deep sense of grief, despair, and disillusionment as Willy clings to his version of the American Dream and alternately attacks and defends the people in his life. For instance, Willy contradicts himself constantly, cr iticizing his son Biff in one breath and defending him in the next. In Act One Willy yells at Biff, saying, â€Å"One imagines at first that Willy is focused on ensuring that his son has the best life possible according to his version of the American Dream, but as the play progresses one begins to believe that Willy’s treatment of Biff, Happy and all of the characters is an expression of his need to defend his philosophy of capitalist progress. The feelings of despair, anger, and grief that come arise are all focused around this idea that if Willy’s dream is false, his whole life will have been lived in vain. One literary technique that Miller uses to convey the emotional intensity that engenders the catharsis is repetition of phrasing and words. This device can be found throughout the play, used by any character. For instance, Willy states early on, â€Å"I’m the New England man. I’m vital in New England† (Miller 4). In a conversation between Wil ly and Biff, Biff says, â€Å"Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you!† and Willy answers, â€Å"I’m not a dime a dozen! I’m Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman!† (Miller 105). Much later in the play he says, â€Å"I’ve got to get some seeds. I’ve got to get some seeds, right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground† (Miller 96). Biff, too, talks in this repetitious style, saying to his mother, â€Å"I can’t take hold, Mom. I can’t take hold of some kind of life† (Miller 39). In each of these instances, Miller writes in such a way that the characters repeat key phrases or words that are representative of some deeper emotional message and meaning. New England represents the promised land of plenty that Willy can never reach, the phrase â€Å"dime a dozen† represents the reality of being a common man making a meager living, and the seeds Willy does not have in the third quote refer to the necessary preconditions to success that Willy never acquired. The phrase ‘taking hold’ signifies the notion of success as defined by Willy throughout Biff’s upbringing.

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrude von Le Fort Essay

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrude von Le Fort - Essay Example She has a most uncharacteristic nature which is totally unsuited to her social standing, being fearfully timid and frail. She chooses Carmel of Compiegne as her saviour from the fears and terrors of life. At the sanctuary the character of Sister Marie of the Incarnation is introduced as one which embodies confidence yet humility and faith in the church, but feels that Blanche is unsuited to the rigorous lifestyle of the Carmel. The unfolding events of the French Revolution, bring a drastic change in Blanche’s circumstances from glory and comfort to distress, taking away the one sanctuary she trusted most; the Carmel at Compiegne. The author presents her uniqueness to us as she willingly steps out and joins the sisters who are being led to the guillotine, showing a superb transformation from fear and horror to unimaginable courage. This transformation is the epitome of her faith and belief in God bringing her to a point where the darkness of her fears Surname2 is encompassed an d destroyed by the one and only ultimate source of light ; her love of God. Sister Marie who has a strong, wilful and quite an eloquent personality, has all the makings of a heroine, manages to flee from the executioners for greater service to the Lord and mankind. She realizes that bravery and piety do not necessary come from great acts of heroism. Weak and insignificant beings are chosen by God to become vessels of the working of the Divine. Surname3 The novella has a very interesting character in the form of Blanche de La Force. She was the daughter of Marquis de La Force. Her birth in the nobility did not in any manner reflect in her demeanour. She had a frail disposition and lived in a constant state of fear, which according to her father, was the result of the circumstances at the time of her birth. She would surely have been beautiful considering the lineage she belonged to, had not fear overcome all other senses. She always wore a pinched expression on her face, reflecting i nner turmoil. The other interesting character of the story was that of Sister Marie of the Incarnation. She was the opposite of Blanche in appearance. She was stout and strong. Her demeanour reflected her state of confidence and strong belief in God. She showed a stoutness which bordered on overconfidence. Blanche and Sister Marie had the love of God as the most marked similarity in their personalities. Apart from that, Blanche had a timid and nervous personality. She showed signs of an extreme insecurity complex from a very early age, when she would reconfirm from her nanny that the stairs would not slip from under her feet, or when she would tremble at the sight of a new servant as if she had seen a ghost. As she grew up and sensed the ridicule aimed at her from all quarters, these insecurities only added to her agonizing fear of all things known as well as unknown. Such a disposition had a profound effect on the girl’s personality putting her apart from others of her age g roup. The reason might have been the demise of her mother at childbirth, who might have in other circumstances soothed and calmed her by giving her a confidence which the Jacobean father could not and did not. Sister Marie ,on the other hand showed a self-assurance which seemed to stem from her strong Surname4 faith. She had absolute belief in her own