Futile Dreams of Escape in The Glass Menagerie :: Glass Menagerie essays

Futile Dreams of Escape in The Glass Menagerie      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "I have always been more interested in creating a character that contains something crippled. I think nearly all of us have some kind of defect, anyway, and I suppose I have found it easier to identify with the characters who verge on hysteria, who were frightened of life, who were desperate to reach out to another person" (Rasky 134). This statement of Tennessee Williams supports the idea that he incorporates something crippled into all his major characters.   In his play, The Glass Menagerie, Williams portrays a crippling mother and child relationship. He clearly illustrates that none of the characters are capable of living in the present. The characters believe that happiness will be found in their repeated quests for escape from the real world. As such, they retreat into their separate worlds to escape life's brutalities.    Set in Depression-era St. Louis, the overbearing Southern ex-charmer, Amanda Wingfield is the de facto head of the household. A former Southern belle, Amanda is a single mother who behaves as though she still is the high school beauty queen. Williams' still-resonant study reveals her desperate struggle with the forces of fate against her dysfunctional relationship that looms and grows among her adult children. (Gist)    Laura, Amanda, Tom, and Jim resort to various escape mechanisms to avoid reality. Laura, fearful of being denigrated as inferior by virtue of her innate inability to walk, is shy and detaches herself from the unfeeling modern world. Amanda tries every means to integrate her into society, but to no avail. She sends her to business school and invites a gentleman caller to dinner. She is both unable to cope with the contemporary world's mechanization represented by the speed test in typing and unable to make new acquaintances or friends due to her immense inhibition with people. Her life is humdrum and uneventful, yet it is full of dreams and inundated with memories. Whenever the outside world threatens Laura, she seeks solace and retreats to her glass animal world and old phonograph records. Amanda, her mother hints at the alternative of matrimony for fiasco in business careers and Laura "utters a startled, doubtful laugh. She reaches quickly for a piece of glass." (Williams, ). The gl ass menagerie becomes her tactile consolation.    The little glass ornaments represent Laura's self and characterize her fragility and delicate beauty.

Causes of World War II Essay

Identify and explain at least two causes of World War II. Then analyze America’s foreign policy before the war, and describe how that policy changed as the war progressed. Be sure to include a discussion of how the Battle of Britain influenced American opinion. Make sure you use enough details to support your answer. Two causes of World War II were the harsh provisions of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I and the rise of nationalist leader Adolf Hitler. Treaty of Versailles – The new German government was required to surrender approximately 10 percent of its prewar territory in Europe and all of its overseas possessions. The harbor city of Danzig (now Gdansk) and the coal-rich Saarland were placed under the administration of the League of Nations, and France was allowed to exploit the economic resources of the Saarland until 1935. The German Army and Navy were limited in size. Kaiser Wilhelm II and a number of other high-ranking German officials were to be tried as war criminals. Under the terms of Article 231 of the treaty, the Germans accepted responsibility for the war and, as such, were liable to pay financial reparations to the Allies, though the actual amount would be determined by an Inter-Allied Commission that would present its findings in. Germans would grow to resent these harsh conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. Adolf Hitler – a charismatic leader who rose to power in Germany during intra-war period. German supported him because they needed a strong leader. He promised higher prices for farmers, jobs for unemployed workers, profits for small businesses and an end to the communist threat for large industrialists. After a year in office, Hitler began a compaign to revise the Versailles Treaty. He declared himself the Third Reich. He withdrew Germany from the League of Nations, renounced the Versailles Treaty and re-armed Germany. Hitler annexed Austria and threatened Poland. Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. The American public was decidedly isolationist and antiwar. When France fell to the Nazis in May 1940, Britain stood alone. Roosevelt began a remarkable and voluminous secret.

Charles Dickens and the Victorian Era Essay

The writer Charles Dickens created some of the most memorable fictional stories and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. He managed to represent features that were characteristic of this period. A clear example of this is ‘The Signalman† which was written by the author in 1865 and was based on a signalman who worked with the steam trains. There are two aspects of this work that portray the Victorian period. One distinctive aspect is the use of the supernatural device and the other is the use of the prejudices which were typical from this time. One important aspect in the story that gives a picture of the Victorianism is the use of the supernatural device. As the Victorian era progressed, the supernatural interest began to grow; consequently the Gothic genre began to gain in popularity. During this period literature reflected this interest through the prevalence of ghosts, mysterious apparitions, and unexplainable sounds in the literary w orks. (Craig, 2012) Dickens attempts to capture the superstitious beliefs that predominated during the Victorian period, using the supernatural theme in the story. It is shown through the signalman who is convinced that he is haunted or that there is a â€Å"ghost†. Meanwhile the narrator believes that these premonitions are merely coincidences, and that there is not any spectre but the wind. To sum up, Dickens tries to explore altered states of mind by which he was fascinated in the last part of his life and which will lead to the development of the imminent modern psychology afterward. Another important aspect is the use of the â€Å"prejudices† in order to depict an important quality of the Victorian world. The story illustrates how the Victorian society was judged by class. In this case, the narrator is surprised that the signalman is an educated man that has a low rank job which would be suitable for a lower classed person. It is shown when the narrator affirms ‘[†¦]he had been well educated, and (I hoped I might say without offence) perhaps educated above that station†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.(Dickens,1907, p.14 ). By analyzing this extract it can be inferred that Victorian society had their social classes clearly defined and  that each class had its own standards. Thus, an educated person was expected to belong to middle or upper class consequently that person was supposed to have a job appropriate to that class. All in all, indirectly, it could be said that the author is concerned about the prejudices and standards assumed to each social class. Nothing can detract from the fact that Charles Dickens was an outstanding writer who drew the attention of the reading public exploring social themes that took place during those times. Indirectly, the author illustrated the era he lived in, describing aspects such as the beliefs as well as the attitudes society had during the Victorian Era. On balance, there is not a shadow of doubt that Dickens challenges and is concerned on the popular Victorian beliefs that some people were more prone to vice than others. REFERENCES Craig, S. (2012). Ghosts of the Mind: The Supernatural and Madness in Victorian Gothic Literature. Retrieved from: http://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1098&context=honors_theses Dickens, C. (1907). The Signalman. Pickwick Papers. London. Everyman’s Library.

Annie’s Homegrown Video case questions and answers Essay

1) Annie knew what she wanted and had the willingness and determination to see it through. a) Annie’s person characteristics of being health conscious, willing to take chances and focusing on no only her wants and needs, but also the wants and needs of others has helped shape the success of her business. 2) The company evolved into a multimillion dollar leader in the natural organic food industry by identifying the markets and then focused on the top ten markets. In those markets Annie’s company focused on the products attributes, being realistic and willing to take chances while maintaining a high loyalty to its existing customers. In 1998 capital infusion from Consorzio and Fantastic Foods help fuel growth in Annie’s business. Consumer satisfaction and brand awareness helped get the attention of another investor Solara Capital LLC in 2002. These investors where looking to enter into the organic food market and by investing in Annie’s company they helped the growth of Annie’s business as well. So with the help from loyal customers and investors Annie’s business was able to grow. a) I think that the only growth strategies would be focusing on what the consumer wants and finding ways to provide that. The only other thing that I can see would be trying to get more product placement in stores that they are currently not in. 3) The web site has many unique feature like: a) Spreading the goodness – finding out what’s new at Annie’s. b) Taste Our Products – give a list of products with descriptions and pictures. c) Recipes and fun tab – recipes and a kids club and a way to get free stuff d) The website its self is very unique and lively, a pleasant site to visit. 4) The web site promote Annie’s mission by having it right on the home screen of the web site. It also promotes her mission be everything that is on each page of the web site, from products to articles to recipes.

Homework 3 in Excel Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Homework 3 in Excel - Assignment Example It is not possible for the line to achieve the TAKT time of 1.2 minutes per part off line unless it is able to reduce the bottle neck time. It may require additional labor to work at the station or creating multiple lines to speed up the process. Both will assist in increasing the output to meet the TAKT time. T&D electric manufactures high-voltage switches and other equipment for electric utilities. One line that is staffed by three workers assembles a particular type of switch. Currently the threes workers have fixed assignments; each worker fastens a specific set of components on the switch and passes it downstream on a rolling conveyor. The conveyor has capacity to allow a queue to build up in front of each worker. The bottleneck is the middle station with a rate of 11 switches per hour. The raw processing time is 15 minutes. To improve efficiency of the line, management is considering cross-training the workers and implementing some form of flexible labor system. Floor-On, Ltd., operates a line that produces self-adhesive tiles. This line consists of single-machine stations and is almost balanced (i.e., station rates are nearly equal). A manufacturing engineer has estimated the bottleneck rate to be 2200 cases per 16-hour day and the raw process time to be 30 minutes. The line has averaged 1,500 cases per day, and cycle time has averaged 5 hours. d) If after process improvements the ten machines that required ten workers to run them are no longer needed. Instead five workers are now needed what would you do with the remainder of workers not working on that line anymore? (And please don’t fire them) (1

Social policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Social policy - Essay Example Despite positive steps at expanding the welfare state to reduce inequality in British society, the Working Family Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, revised since 1999, have been seeped controversy. What intentions did the Government have when it formulated this policy? To what extent was the implementation process a success or a failure? Seeking to address these questions and many more as they relate to social assistance reform in the United Kingdom, the following will provide a thorough yet concise overview of the issues surrounding these controversial measures. With an eye to providing a thorough understanding of social assistance reform in the United Kingdom, we now turn to an overview of the impetus to implement the Working Family Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit (Redston, 2006). Unemployment is an issue which is frequently in the news and is becoming more and more a cause for concern due to the ramifications of the global credit crunch and ensuing economic crisis across the world. According to the Daily Mail, the true cost of unemployment in the United Kingdom stands at an astonishing  £61 billion per year (Daily Mail, 2007). Seeking to encourage people to work, even if their salaries were low, the British government has implemented numerous measures to encourage a productive labour force. With the aim of addressing income inequality through welfare reform, the United Kingdom undertook an overhaul of the social assistance system and the means through which low paying individuals in Britain could claim tax benefits as part of the recent reform. Under the assumption that low income workers deserved tax credits from the central government, current Prime Minister Gordon Brown undertook a thorough review of the credit tax system under the stewardship of Tony B lair and sought to establish a means test for social security benefits. Accordingly, the Working Tax Credit

Conflict Resolution and Organizational Culture Case Study

Conflict Resolution and Organizational Culture - Case Study Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Kilmann has clearly brought out that every person tends to behave differently in times of an issue and conflict. He explains that all the conflicts and resolutions of conflicts are based on the behavior of the person. He classifies this into two main types, a) assertive, i.e. where the person focuses on ‘my’ needs and desired outcome and agenda, while the other one is b) Cooperativeness, where the person focuses on ‘others’ needs and mutual relationships. The author explains that based on these two dimensions; there are five different modes that people tend to respond to the conflict situations. Competing: This is the first of the five possible outcomes. People who fall into this category are too self-focused and will take any step possible to win their own position. Here the person tends to do anything to defend the position that they believe is correct or also simply to be able to win. Accommodating: This is a situation where the person is unassertive and cooperative. This is where the person tends t forget their own needs and concerns for others and the individuals tend to be selfless and generous and ever yielding to the other person’s views. Avoiding: This kind of people fall into the unassertive and uncooperative category. Here the person does not try to pursue his own issues nor does he pay attention to the other individual and hence tries not to deal with the conflict at all. Here there is a behavior which mainly is trying to postpone the issue, or simply trying to withdraw from a threatening situation. Collaborating: Here the person tends to be both assertive as well as cooperative. The aim here is to ensure that the concerns of both parties are satisfied.