Sarah Orne Jewett’s description of a New England town in the passage ‘The Country of the Pointed Firs’

Writing in the nineteenth century, Sarah Orne Jewett adopts one of the most contemporaneous literary devices in ‘The Country of the Pointed Firs,' producing a realistic portrayal of American life, whilst setting her scene specifically in the New England town of Dunnet Landing. Various authors of this period embraced this variation of ‘realism' known as ‘regionalism' due to its potential for the exploration of particular social issues, matters which could not be portrayed as effectively without a physical setting to intensify their significance. Caroline Zilboorg outlines this literary movement as often including ‘vivid depictions of particular experience' one which explores ‘the meaning of age, race, class and gender as well as region. ‘ Although undertaking this technique of regionalist writing, the landscape Jewett writes about is merely a small garden at the back of a New England village house, whereas the majority of authors engage in writing about significantly larger and more expansive areas. Despite this, Jewett is just as able to employ her chosen area in the exploration of the attitudes and beliefs in those living there. The narrator's tone varies through the piece, initially perceiving the garden and its contents with little more than acknowledgement of its presence, describing it rather cynically as being ‘retired and sheltered. ‘ However, as the narrator continues to describe the surroundings, the reader gains the impression that the garden is of greater significance even to the narrator than originally thought. The narrator's tone appears to gain a nostalgic tone as the description progresses, almost as the speaker is being overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of its contents. To reinforce this, the narrator's depiction first appears to be rather vague and uninteresting, yet speedily becomes a vivid portrayal of all that is alive in the confined space. The reader gains a sense that almost as though against his will, the narrator has become enraptured by his surroundings, first focusing on the queerness of the arrangement of greenery, then pausing to admire the sea-breezes laden with the sweet smells of various herbs. This detailed contrast to the rather simplistic introduction provokes the reader into wondering why the narrator seems reluctant to take pleasure in surroundings which he obviously recognises as beautiful. The narrator's own words delineate him as being a keen admirer of the garden, finding himself ‘confronted with great pride and pleasure in the display,' yet the opening sentences reveal the speaker's more withdrawn perception of a landscape he later admits finding picturesque. The latter half of the text indicates the narrator's desire discontinue ‘seein' folk,' yet the manner in which he describes the garden suggests that the opening paragraph was merely a method of convincing himself that this is indeed what he wants. This sceptical attitude is dissolved however and replaced with nostalgic reminiscing once the splendour has been rediscovered. The structure of the piece reinforces this idea, for the length sentences serve to have the effect of almost drawing the reader into the body of the text, paralleling the narrator's feelings of being redrawn into the garden he desires to leave. Due to the sheer amount of detailed features contained within the garden, the narrator's portrayal begins with one basic aspect, in this instance ‘two or three hollyhocks and some London-pride were pushed back against the gray-shingled wall,' which eventually progresses into a vivid account of the true subject matter, in this case the narrator's companion, Mrs Todd. Such a methods is similar to that of author Robert Frost, likewise a keen writer of New England landscape. Frost similarly starts with a simple concept such as an explicit description of a scene or a narrator's surroundings which subsequently develops into a more complex depiction of either the narrator himself or how the scene affects his mood. Jewett likewise begins with a description of the greenery which builds up into unintentionally revealing the narrator's feelings towards his companion. The speaker's portrayal of Mrs Todd therefore begins with a general description, picturing her as ‘ a very large person', ‘an ardent lover of herbs. Already in this basic depiction, the narrator unconsciously begins to explore the character of Mrs Todd through his comprehensive language, using words such as ‘ardent' to portray to the reader how highly Mrs Todd values her garden. Her care of the garden, and her assistance to the local community in the form of herbal remedies pictures her as a caring welcoming woman, yet, her statue and overall presence reveal a more domineering eve n controlling persona. Jewett states that ‘her full skirts brushed and bent all the rest,' (of the flowers her feet missed. ) It has been suggested as an enforcement of this point, that her responsibility in caring for the garden also portrays a more authoritative side to her character, a subconscious desire to dominate. In this respect, it is both Mrs Todd and the narrator who subconsciously feel drawn by the garden and what it represents. Nevertheless, Mrs Todd can be seen as a mothering figure, from the rounded figure to her name, depicting her a warm and welcoming character. Additionally, the reader openly recognises Mrs Todd's wisdom, yet only mentions her knowledge concerning the usage of herbs and other such greenery. The reader however, can note that Mrs Todd also appears to be a more ‘worldly' figure than merely knowledgeable on plant life, for she does not show any ill feelings towards the speaker, instead becomes ‘more wistfully affectionate than ever. ‘ Her understanding response to the narrator's decision to leave enforces her kindly character, yet ironically may make it harder for the speaker to leave in such pleasant circumstances. The reader can imagine that Mrs Todd what with her dedication to garden and contents would not be an companion the speaker would want to in any way disappoint or frustrate. Despite the narrator's eagerness to leave, the reader can assume that unknowingly, they have established their own terms between them, conveyed through the narrator's language, ‘what we called ‘seein' folks', and referring to ‘our business. ‘

The Critique of “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals”

Advertisements are part of our daily lives and they are inextricably linked. Since we were young, the world was at our fingertips, bombarded with a society that has been shaped by advertising. Advertisements make a great impact in our lives that influence our decision-making and buying habits, even changing our perception of certain products or services. â€Å"Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals† is an informative and educational article, which is written by Jib Fowles, a professor of Communication at the University of Houston Clear Lake. This article first appeared in Etc.39:3 (1982) and was reprinted in the college textbook – Advertising and Popular Culture (1996). In the â€Å"Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals†, Fowles provides readers with a set of information that discusses how advertising contains certain unconscious emotional appeals which fall into fifteen distinguishable categories. Besides that, he also explains how advertisers try to in fluence consumers through various physiological and psychological levels. This article educates advertisers and college students who are majoring in advertising on how to make effective advertisements.Also, Fowles analyzes tactics that advertisers use and gives readers his opinions and suggestions on how to make an advertisement more effective (539-556). To provide a good source of information, the author himself should be credible in order to make readers believe that his article contains credible and valuable information. Not only is the credibility of the author important, but also the content of the article should be thorough and detailed so that it can help readers get good quality information. Finally, Fowles did a great job organizing his article.It was easy for readers to follow his steps throughout the whole article because of the sub-tittles he provided for each appeal. Based on these criteria’s, I believe Fowles’ article is a good source of information for r eaders and the information and general knowledge of advertising that he provided might be helpful for advertisers and students in the future. Jib Fowles, who is a professor of Communication at the University of Houston Clear Lake, has been working in the social science field for over 30 years.Fowles has written an abundant amount of articles and books on popular media; such as Mass Advertising as Social Forecast: A method for Futures Research (1976), Why Viewers Watch: A Reappraisal of Television’s Effects (1992) and The Case of Television Violence (1999)(539). All of his articles and books have appeared in publications, proving that Fowles has the ability to gain exposure of his articles to the public. Besides that, Fowles, used to work with Henry A. Murray who is a psychologist at the Harvard Psychological Clinic where Murray and his colleagues conduct the full taxonomy of need (Fowles 543).As Fowles has demonstrated his expertise in the social science area and provided rea ders with his teaching and working experience as a supportive point, it helps him establish his trustworthy image. As an informative author, Fowles provided thorough and detailed information in order to make sure his readers understood his points easily. He listed out all of the fifteen basic appeals of advertising, described the individual appeals and gave examples from contemporary print and broadcast ads that might occur to readers (542-56). It made the ads more relevant so that it could be applied in the daily life of readers.For example, the definition of the need to achieve, which according to Murray is an admiration to accomplish something difficult, to overcome obstacles and to attain a high standard, to excel one’s self, to rival and surpass others (548). Fowles gives his readers several examples of certain products that advertise themselves in the best way by trying to make contact with consumers needs to succeed (549). Besides that, advertisers are trying to implem ent messages, both hidden and apparent, in which these needs stir wants, indirectly manipulating consumers’ decisions.In this article, Fowles also shares his opinions of the tactics that advertisers use and discusses the different styles of advertisements. He clarifies the general concept of how effective advertisements work and how does it effect consumer perception of certain products (542-56). The information that is provided by Fowles stirs up interest in readers, making them want more. In addition to the above, well organized â€Å"Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals† article is also a main reason why it is a good source of information.Fowles organized this article systematically by using bold heading, a small title for every appeal and a list that stated the appeals that he was going to discuss (540-556). All of these make a reader follow his messages easily and makes digestion of information easier. Instead of putting all the appeals in one paragraph, Fow les separates the fifteen appeals into individual paragraphs by following the needs of different titles (543-53). At a glance, readers can find the information they want easily by searching titles, which interest them. Having a good title draws a reader’s attention and does not let the content mislead the reader.On one hand, these criteria can support this articles claim as a good source of information, but on the other hand, the information might be outdated and invalid. Since this article has existed over 30 years, even the advertisements platform and society has changed. The examples that Fowles provided might not be related to the reader’s current life. It would be a hard task for readers to understand the outdated information. Even though advertisements might be nugatory and possibly readers will not be familiar with the examples given, basic human needs are still the same overtime (542-53).Readers can still understand the concept of the appeals and set a new exam ple for themselves. Outdated information might not be an issue big enough to make Fowles’ article invalid. However it makes readers think further on how to apply the advertisements that they are familiar with in order to meet their needs. â€Å"Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals† is a timeless article that provides useful references for the public, especially for advertisers and students who are majoring in advertising.By analyzing Fowles’ article, I realized that we are confronted daily by hundreds of advertisements, only a few of which can actually attract our attention. That is the message Fowles’ article is trying to transmit, how â€Å"Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals† make an effective advertisement. I believe that Fowles article is a good source of information, not only does it contain valuable information, but also he shares his opinions of his general knowledge of advertising that we, the readers, can apply to our future.

An Introduction to Personal Responsibility

†¢ Define personal responsibility and what it means to you.†¢Explain the relationship between personal responsibility and college success.†¢Include a preliminary plan to practice personal responsibility in your education.I. Introduction a. personal responsibility :1. Personal responsibility begins inside and moves outward. 2. We have to begin with ourselves and take responsibility for our thoughts, choices, actions and reactions. Then we can be responsible for the circumstances we create in our world. 3. When you believe something or someone else is responsible for your problems and the resulting solutions, that exact thought is the first problem to solve when it comes to taking personal responsibility. b. what it means to me:1. Taking care of my family 2. Taking care of my job 3. Taking care of my studyIl. Primary purpose for educationThe relationship between personal responsibility and college success. a. Personal responsibilities:1. Having something in your care to take care of. It is your responsibility that your kids get taken care of on a daily basis 2. Taking Responsibility for Your Own Actions. b. college success:1. Students have to learn to take responsibility for their education. 2. With college come the skills needed to be successful. 3. Every student who enters into a college level program needs to bring some very useful skills with them.Ill. Adult learning stylePreliminary plan to practice personal responsibility in your education. 1. Attending college is taking personal responsibility for your education. 2. Time management and proper organization serve not only in planning for education success but also in aspects of life. 3. With and a higher education we have a better salary then without. 4. To be successful in educational endeavors its necessary to act as a personally responsible student. 5. Students are Responsible for Their Own Educational Future.IV. ConclusionAccepting personal responsibility can have life changing affects.

Nagel's bat argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nagel's bat argument - Essay Example This shortcoming in Nagel’s argument comes as a result of a conceptual error regarding the nature of a mind-independent, or objective, phenomenon. The nature of phenomenal experience can be illustrated with a thought experiment. A scientist can apply artificial impulses to a subject’s cerebrum through electrodes, causing the subject to react in predicable ways: moving his arm, yelling loudly, and so on. These artificial inputs mirror exactly the natural functioning of the brain. Imagine then if the scientist simulates pain, evoking the appropriate physiological responses, but hears no reports of pain from the subject. For pain to exist, we might conclude, there is a necessary condition that there be first ­-hand, phenomenal experience of such. Even though the physiological responses to pain appear, there is still the lack of subjectivity, which proves necessary for the ontic existence of pain. Nagel uses the term â€Å"subjective character of experience† to denote the thought that a point-of-view is essentially a set the sum of a thing’s subjective phenomena. The notion of the subjective character of experience suggests, according to Nagel, that some kinds of facts, namely the means by which mental states arise from physical ones, are outside of the realm of human experience and thus unknowable. A bat, for instance, perceives its environment entirely different from how a human being would and given that there is something that the bat subjectively experiences there seems to be some ontological closure for the human mind to some facts. The bat forms a particularly effective tool for Nagel to illustrate his claim insofar as that species employs a sensory device of sonar, which is a radically different from man’s means of perception. While any conscious animal would do, the bat’s sensory tools are clearly different in every respect of its operation from sight or any of the other human senses. While clearly conscious, the bat has its own very

Accounting assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Accounting assignment - Essay Example ac, a portfolio of professional and consumer software applications, a variety of service, support and accessory offerings and the OS X and iOS operating systems. 2) Examine its Balance Sheet. Make a list of different accounts of Assets, distinguishing between Current and Non-Current (Tangible and Intangible), and Liabilities, distinguishing between Current and Long-Term Liabilities. Under this disclosure there are several items that are listed. These items include basis of presentation and preparation of financial statements. They prepared and presented under the U.S. GAAP. The company’s fiscal year ends on last Saturday of September and has 52 or 53 weeks period. The second item is revenue recognition, financial instruments and foreign currency translation. This shows the Company’ revenue generating activities and items. Under this note there are items such as Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities, derivative financial instruments and accounts receivables. The other disclosures include income taxes, long term debt, shareholder’s equity, comprehensive income, benefit plans, commitments and contingencies, segment information and geographic data and selected quarterly financial information that are not audited. 4) Calculate the gross profit percentage for each of the years shown in the company’s income statements. Evaluate the company’s trend in sales and gross profit. By what percentage amounts did net sales increase or decrease in each of the years reported? The company’s sales are increasing at a stable rate however the increase in cost of sales causes the gross profit to decrease. Gross profit increases in the year 2012 but decreases in the year 2013. In the year 2012 net sales increased by (156508-108249)/108249= 44.58 percent. In the year 2013 it increased by (170910-156508)/156508= 9.20 percent. The company reports both investments in short term and long term marketable securities. These marketable securities are carried ate their

Rewrite Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Rewrite - Essay Example There are different pricing policies of Foodmart, which can be explained by the company’s convenience of retailing and potential profits gained from sale. Therefore, Internet prices differ from prices in the shops of the Company. Under conditions of agreements for online operations, Todd had to pay retail price, which is not indicated in the Internet. Henry Cheeseman states in his book, The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce: Business CurrEthics, E-Commerce, Regulatory, and International Issues, (2010) that to enforce a contract, there is a need to follow these requirements: to consider agreement, consideration, contractual capacity, and a lawful object. Todd was ready for agreement, when he agreed upon terms and conditions of online transaction. Todd was also considered about the sum of money, which he had to pay for the sauce. The object of the contract, chocolate sauce, can be considered a legal element. Thus, it is possible to claim that this contract is enf orceable. Todd wanted to buy chocolate sauce at a lower price, which existed in real environment only and was unavailable in online world. The store has a right to sell goods and products in accordance with its real pricing policy. In case a customer is dissatisfied or wants to change any issues of this policy, his claims are irrelevant. Thus, in this case a contract specifies that advertised prices are not applicable for online purchasing, which means that the contract is enforceable and Foodmart wins. Nevertheless, in case Todd did not sign in the contract and he did not mark â€Å"I agree† option online, this contract cannot be enforceable. The clients of online purchasing should agree upon the terms of agreements and contracts, otherwise there is no enforceable power in online purchasing. From another perspective, purchasing in the real world requires that customer

How Can Political Factors Affect Finance In Kuwait Research Paper

How Can Political Factors Affect Finance In Kuwait - Research Paper Example The wave of democracy in this country is based on the decision to control oil companies. This is because over 35 percent of the world’s energy consumption is based oil fuels. It is believed that the pivotal factor affecting democratization in Kuwait is the production of oil. This is because the entire economy of Kuwait revolves around oil and other hydrocarbons investments. In addition, the government provides security and employment of people because of acceptance in the recent political order. However, it is also clear that royal Al-Sabah family has ruled the country with an iron fist without detaching themselves from the society and its people due to their vast wealth. The factors of democratization engage in recreation, an essential responsibility in the society of Kuwait. This means that the stronger these institutional factors are entrenched into Kuwaiti’s society the more democracy is achieved. Due to these democratic elements, Kuwait is the chosen country of res earch on how political factors affect finance in Kuwait. The investigative factors in Kuwait go beyond state model. This is because oil factor in this country together with other extreme generous welfares gives the basic reasons why the current state of Kuwait is not developed into a democracy nation. In this research paper, I will investigate how the political system in Kuwait has affected its finance and economy. Democratization in Kuwait Over the years, Kuwait has achieved a transition from non-democratic to a democratic system. However, in order to achieve full democratization in this country, some degree of liberation must occur in the economy. In addition, political liberation must be achieved in order to have economic growth and development. This means the expansion of public space through recognizing and protecting civil and political liberties. In Kuwait, the line between democratization and liberalization is always vague to an extent of confusion (Thuroczy 2010). Although Kuwait has stable political system with citizens voting for their preferred candidate in free and fair elections, the country faces some limitations on how oil is managed. This is because the government collects no key taxes from other resources and thus relies on income achieved from oil and other foreign investments. The effect of oil in this country is therefore, considered the main cause of lack of economic and political reforms. Additionally, other aspects are overlooked and play a great role in the development of politics in Kuwait (Thuroczy 2010). According to UN’s development index, Kuwait is a highly developed country compared to other countries along the Persian Gulf. Although there is no doubt that oil in this country has increased education and income levels of people in this country, there are massive troubles in the welfare of the state (Thuroczy 2010). In addition, there is no maximum guarantee in the employment of the youths in this country. This indicates tha t oil in this country is the biggest hindrance to the progress of democracy and economic growth. Political Analysis It is worth noting that common stock refers to the stake that a person or a registered company owns in a given organization. Such stake gives such a person or organization the power to make important decisions such as voting in the organization. The difference between common stock and preferred stock is that every stakeholder in case of bankruptcy has to be paid first before the common stock holder receives anything. Politics play a critical role in the success of any given organization. This can be attributed to the fact that all actions of an organization have to adhere to the