Irish Potato Famine essays

Irish Potato Famine essays There have been many enormous tragedies throughout the history of this world, and its staggering to think about how many people lost their lives because of these events. There are some such events, such as the Holocaust, where it is easy to pin the blame down on someone or a certain group, in this case being Hitler and the Nazis. There are however tragic events in history without such a clear single party to blame. One such event is the Irish potato famine where from 1845-1860 one million people died and two million people emigrated from Ireland. (Lecture 11/10) In this paper I hope to give an unbiased view of the human element involved in creating this enormous loss of life and displacement of millions. I will examine such factors as the social conditions of the time, behaviors of the peasants, behaviors of the English landlords and hopefully create an accurate picture of how such a horrific event could and did take place. In order to understand the social situation of the Irish people during and leading up to the famine we must understand their past. The most important thing to understand is that Ireland had been fighting for its independence from Englands rule for the entire duration of its existence. So basically there was a lot of fighting going on during the 17th and 18th centuries leading up to the famine, which did not allow a significant population of Irish to be established in order to resist the English. In 1801 The Act of Union, annulled the semi-independent Irish Parliament and transferred political power definitively from Ireland to London. This meant that the English owned and distributed the Irish land amongst the wealthy Englishmen of their country leaving the Irish with no control in their own country. These landowners then hired farmers to manage their land meanwhile they could live back in England reaping the benefits without any effort. The farmers then rented tiny individua l plots of lan...

Trifles A One-act Play by Susan Glaspell

Trifles A One-act Play by Susan Glaspell Farmer John Wright has been murdered. While he was asleep in the middle of the night, someone strung a rope around his neck. Shockingly, that someone might have been his wife, the quiet and forlorn Minnie Wright.   Playwright Susan Glaspells one-act play, written in 1916,  is loosely based on true events. As a young reporter, Glaspell covered a murder case in a small town in Iowa. Years later, she crafted a short play, Trifles,  inspired by her experiences and observations. The Meaning of the Name Trifles for This Psychological Play The play was first performed in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Glaspell herself played the character, Mrs. Hale. Considered an early illustration of feminist drama, the themes of the play focus on men and women and their psychological states along with their social roles. The word trifles typically refer to objects of little to no value. It makes sense in the context of the play due to the items that the female characters come across. The interpretation may also be that men do not understand the value of women, and consider them trifles. The Plot Summary of a Family Murder-drama The sheriff, his wife, the county attorney, and the neighbors (Mr. and Mrs. Hale) enter the kitchen of the Wright household. Mr. Hale explains how he paid a visit to the house on the previous day. Once there, Mrs. Wright greeted him but behaved strangely. She eventually stated in a dull voice that her husband was upstairs, dead.  (Though Mrs. Wright is the central figure in the play, she never appears onstage. She is only referred to by the on-stage characters.) The audience learns of John Wright’s murder through Mr. Hale’s exposition. He is the first, aside from Mrs. Wright, to discover the body. Mrs. Wright claimed that she was sound asleep while someone strangled her husband. It seems obvious to the male characters that she killed her husband, and she is been taken into custody as the prime suspect. The Continued Mystery With Added Feminist Critique The attorney and sheriff decide that there is nothing important in the room: â€Å"Nothing here but kitchen things.† This line is the first of many disparaging comments said to minimize the importance of women in society, as noticed by several Feminist critics.  The men criticize Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping skills, irking Mrs. Hale and the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters. The men exit, heading upstairs to investigate the crime scene. The women remain in the kitchen. Chatting to pass the time, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters notice vital details that the men would not care about: Ruined fruit preservesBread that has been left out of its boxAn unfinished quiltA half clean, half messy table topAn empty birdcage Unlike the men, who are looking for forensic evidence to solve the crime, the women in Susan Glaspells Trifles observe clues that reveal the bleakness of Mrs. Wright’s emotional life. They theorize that Mr. Wright’s cold, oppressive nature must have been dreary to live with. Mrs. Hale comments about Mrs. Wright being childless: â€Å"Not having children makes less work- but it makes a quiet house.† The  women are simply trying to pass the awkward moments with civil conversation. But to the audience, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters unveil a psychological profile of a desperate housewife. The Symbol of Freedom and Happiness in the Story When gathering up the quilting material, the two women  discover a fancy little box. Inside, wrapped in silk, is a dead canary. Its neck has been wrung. The implication is that Minnie’s husband did not like the canarys beautiful song (a symbol of his wife’s desire for freedom and happiness). So, Mr. Wright busted the cage door and strangled the bird. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do not tell the men about their discovery. Instead, Mrs. Hale puts the box with the deceased bird into her coat pocket, resolving not to tell the men about this little â€Å"trifle† they have uncovered. The play ends with the characters exiting the kitchen and the women announcing that they have determined Mrs. Wright’s quilt making style. She â€Å"knots it† instead of â€Å"quilts it†- a play on words denoting the way in which she killed her husband. The Theme of the Play Is That Men Do Not Appreciate Women The men within this play betray a sense of self-importance. They present themselves as tough, serious-minded detectives  when in truth, they are not nearly as observant as the female characters. Their pompous attitude  causes the women to feel defensive and form ranks. Not only do Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters bond, but they also  choose to hide evidence as an act of compassion for Mrs. Wright. Stealing the box with the dead bird is an act of loyalty to their gender and an act of defiance against a callous patriarchal society. Key Character Roles in the Play Trifles Mrs. Hale: She had not visited the Wright household for over a year because of its bleak, cheerless atmosphere. She believes that Mr. Wright is responsible for crushing the merriment out of Mrs. Wright. Now, Mrs. Hale feels guilty for not visiting more often. She believes she could have improved Mrs. Wright’s outlook on life.Mrs. Peter: She has tagged along to bring back clothes for the imprisoned Mrs. Wright. She can relate to the suspect because they both know about â€Å"stillness.† Mrs. Peters reveals that her first child died at the age of two. Because of this tragic experience, Mrs. Peters understands what it is like to lose a loved one (in Mrs. Wright’s case- her songbird).Mrs. Wright: Before she was married to John Wright, she was Minnie Foster, and she was more cheerful in her youth. Her clothes were more colorful, and she loved to sing. Those attributes diminished after her wedding day. Mrs. Hale describes Mrs. Wright’s personality: She was kind of like a bird herself–real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and- fluttery. How- she- did- change.

Design of goods and Services SLP Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Design of goods and Services SLP - Assignment Example ently, this makes the process of product design to be among the most momentous components in product development, given that it involves all the processes that strive to make the business successful. Since product designing progresses from one stage to the other within the organization, it influences the process of decision making in Wal-Mart organization. There is a stage of idea development about the products to be designed in the organization. At this point, the organization’s leaders and parties concerned get into a discussion to identify the relationship between the product to be introduced to the market and the customer expectations in the market. This will compel the organization to conduct a qualitative and quantitative research that tests the ideas of the customers. The competitors for the same product are also closely examined; the suppliers are contacted as one of the sources of important information required by the organization. All the dynamics are taken into contemplation when the product is designed so as to come up with the best and competitive product (Landwehr, Wentzel & Herrmann, 2013). The product development team must sell out the idea with the senior management, and create appropriate awareness within the organization’s departments. The responses received from the stakeholders are then scaled down for implementation by the sales and marketing specialists. It is from this point that sales and marketing specialists make the decisions in relation to the feedbacks. The decisions made are directly linked to the design of the product that is later to be launched for customers to purchase. The product designed should be able to meet all the requirements and desires of the stakeholders into consideration and influence the decision making process of the company (Landwehr, Wentzel & Herrmann, 2013). Product life cycle traces the stages involved in the strategies used by the organization from production to consumption or rather from idea

The Role of New Media Technologies in the Promotion Research Proposal

The Role of New Media Technologies in the Promotion - Research Proposal Example It is the evolutionary break between the world before the internet and the world that has emerged since its proliferation. The way in which humans now communicate has had an elementary shift. Communication is accomplished through writing, verbalizing or through interpretation of imagery. Communication is codified with signals that indicate the context for the content. The impersonal nature of internet communication has been compensated for by the development of social languages that are in many ways kinder and friendlier than in previous forms of more formal communication. Therefore, the nature of how emotion is indicated in written language has become symbolized through pictorials, shortened references such as lol, meaning laugh out loud, and the use of capital letters or small letters. Furthermore, because of the heavy use of advertising, the way in which movement of digital imagery and impact of color usage has been defined has changed elements of the way in which humans respond t o what they see (Lievrouw and Livingstone 2006, p. 37).  It is the evolutionary break between the world before the internet and the world that has emerged since its proliferation. The way in which humans now communicate has had an elementary shift. Communication is accomplished through writing, verbalizing or through interpretation of imagery. Communication is codified with signals that indicate the context for the content. The impersonal nature of internet communication has been compensated for by the development of social languages that are in many ways kinder and friendlier than in previous forms of more formal communication. Therefore, the nature of how emotion is indicated in written language has become symbolized through pictorials, shortened references such as lol, meaning laugh out loud, and the use of capital letters or small letters. Furthermore, because of the heavy use of advertising, the way in which movement of digital imagery and impact of color usage has been defin ed has changed elements of the way in which humans respond to what they see (Lievrouw and Livingstone 2006, p. 37).   The use of a window display is the first step of VM (visual marketing). In creating a window that has an allure to the shopper, the shop is creating a marketing dialogue with the potential buyer. The window, through the use of the media of interior design, art, and visual communication, sustains a communication with the consumer in providing information about seasonal changes and the point of view of the collection within the store. The use of strategic communication addresses the brand of the store while the tactical communication is defined by the changes of seasons as interpreted by the collection and the promotions that are time specific (Bhalla, Swati, and Anuraag 2010, p. 145). Through the use of a well-designed window, a shop can help a shopper understand what to expect once inside the door as well as attract them into the outlet.  

1800’s message media Essay Example for Free

1800’s message media Essay Prior to photographys debut, only the wealthy and the powerful could afford the services of an artist to paint their portrait. Photography provided an affordable means for many to obtain likenesses. In an 1864 speech on pictures, Frederick Douglass discusses the impact that the early photographic formats made on society. First, Douglass views photography as the great equalizer of race and class in that a servant girl could now afford to have a likeness made of herself. Second, the observation illustrates the impact that images had on society more than 150 years ago. The access to such an affordable product encouraged many free blacks to have their portraits taken. Third, the speech is important because it represents an African American perspective on photography. The daguerreotype was the earliest commercial photographic format and was named for its inventor, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre. It was popular from its invention in 1839 until around 1860. Daguerreotypes are unique and fragile and images of non-whites are somewhat rare. The daguerreotype of Frederick Douglass is one of the earliest known images of him and is unusual because of the profile pose said to symbolize nobility of character. The Douglass image represents the control that free blacks had over how they wished to be perceived by the public. In many of his early photographs, Douglass appears poised, cultured and sometimes defiant as in the engraving of Douglass taken from the frontispiece of his second autobiography My Bondage My Freedom. A comparison of the first two photographs of Douglass with a later drawing of him shows a startling difference, a difference which was noted by Douglass in a book review in the North Star. Douglass commented on this drawing of him by Wilson Armistead. Douglass comment is based on his on-going criticism of the portrayal of African Americans by white artists. Possibly, Douglass did not pose for the Armistead drawing but in the photographic portraits, he had much more control over how he wished to be portrayed. Douglass was one of the most photographed individuals of the 19th century. (Wells, 1996) Until the latter half of the nineteenth century, the portrayal of the Black image in American painting and in the larger context of art remained somewhat elusive and descriptively narrow. The problem of interpretation is seldom a simple one. Thus, with a subject as controversial as the depiction of race and how it should be rendered in the name of honest imagery, artists often were at the mercy of clients who were not objective in their description of race. The actual observations of subjects from within the Black race had little impact on the making of Black images in painting. Much of what emerged from white artists as a sympathetic statement about the Black race in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries came largely from the imagination of the artists. Often, they willfully stereotyped Black subjects by carrying out the wishes of clients who wanted a portrait of their favorite Black servant recorded along with themselves. The results of such a practice were Black images in the art of painting that covered a gamut of visual responses, from the more positive sophisticated imagery of John Singleton Copleys Watson and the Shark, in which a Black man is shown as an equal, awestruck spectator in the boat, to the tattered-torn destitute Black people in the paintings of William Aiken Walker in which field hands are seen picking cotton on southern plantations. By contrast, from 1700 to 1900, very few images of Blacks appeared in sculpture other than in folk items. Those which have survived were often made to show subjects with exaggerated features highlighting what most would describe as unfavorable stereotypic characterizations of the Black race. Some of these grotesque characterizations of Blacks have survived into the twentieth century. One could all but characterize the subjects which occur in the first four time periods listed by citing the recurring themes which white American artists chose to depict in which Blacks were the principal subjects. Blacks are depicted as servants and slaves, noble savages, or servant/war heroes; a few are seen as gentlemen of color. As early as 1838, Blacks were seen as entertainers of whites, serving as musicians and comic capers. Among the visual documentation found are slave sales and slave market scenes, field scenes depicting work experiences as well as those sharing the laziness of the race, and Blacks who serve to promote the sale of food. These are among the constant images that recur in the work of American artists from 1840 until the end of the Civil War. Artistry toward Articulating Personal Characteristics A cursory study of Blacks in American painting reveals that they were virtually ignored as primary figures. When depicted, they were presented more often as servants in the employ of wealthy householders or in scenic settings in which they provide music as entertainment and on occasion singing and dancing for self-entertainment ( Epstein 1). As time passed, such images have come to be looked upon as stereotypic and only partially accurate in showing the full range of the lifestyle and activities of Blacks in colonial and post-Revolutionary America. Dimension is not a term which can readily describe the treatment that Blacks received from the hands of artists of the majority culture prior to the latter half of the nineteenth century. In all ways of visual description, Blacks were depicted with contempt. What is seen today as an appreciable change among mainstream artists in their portrayal of the Black subject is a trend which began to change with the imagery of William Sidney Mount ( 1807-1868) and Winslow Homer ( 1836-1910), both of whom depicted Black subjects with reasonable likeness in their time in history. Of the two, Mount showed limited sensibilities to the plight of the race. Homer directed his artistry toward articulating personal characteristics of the race, painting distinct individuals who lived separate lives devoid of the stereotypic cast placed on previous Black sitters. Homer avoided placing Black figures into a cramped space devoid of compositional clarity. While one tends to look favorably on those images created by William Sidney Mount and on those still-unknown artists of the period that show Blacks as musicians, farmers, and members of their own households, in the main, those images were most often rendered in a manner that singled out Black Americans as being happy with their fate and destitute state in life. More often, they appeared untutored in the cultural ways of white society and visually represented a helpless people without civilized roots and a distinct ethnic history. (Smith, 1988).

Imagination In Morte D Arthur :: essays research papers

Imagination in Morte D' Arthur A recurring theme in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d' Arthur is the use of imaginative descriptions of characters and settings. Imagination is what the reader of the story must use to form his or her own mental images of a situation, and the better the storyteller is, the clearer the mental image. His descriptions, ranging from horrific to chivalrous, always manage to draw the reader into the story and make him or her an active participant, usually knowing a bit more than the characters about their own fates. Malory employs many literary techniques, but perhaps his most prominent is his use of imagination.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the exerpt begins, King Arthur is having a nightmare involving falling into a pit of serpents. Malory describes the scene in Arthur's head as if the reader were there with him. What separates the reader from the character is the fact that the reader knows it's only a dream, and Arthur doesn't. This is an interesting way of keeping the reader a safe distance from the goings on of the story. Malory uses this method again, when Arthur and his army are about to negotiate with Mordred and his. One of the King's soldiers notices a snake about to bite him, and he draws his sword to slay it. All that Mordred's men see is the blade being drawn, and a battle immediately ensues. Once again, the reader is told more than the characters. The only thing keeping the reader a part of the story is the vivid descriptions given of the nightmarish world of Arthur's dream, and the smoking, bloody battlefield of a war that wasn't meant to happen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Malory also makes use of drama in his portrayal of the double-death scene, again with Arthur and Mordred. When he describes Mordred's sword being driven into Arthur's chest, and Arthur's spear running Mordred through, the reader almost cringes at the thought. However, it is not enough that they are both killed by each other's hand, Arthur doesn't die immediately. He is carried by his most faithful knights back to a chapel, where he died more honorably. The reader is bearing with him all the way, glad to be rid of the villain Mordred, but at the same time pitying him, for he was Arthur's son. This makes the story even more involving, and forces the reader to imagine

Women in the Odyssey

Women in The Odyssey After following an epic that revolved so completely around men, The Odyssey has quite a lot of female roles. True, the ancient Greeks had a better androgynous balance than other civilizations, and this is reflected very clearly in The Odyssey. Femininity has not only a bigger role in this epic, but it seems as though it is honored with its own unique power. This is shown in characters like Circe and Athena, but also subtextually in the many female weavers throughout the story. Overall, women and feminine power have a very influential role in the plot of the Odyssey.Let us begin with the obvious female powers in the immortal goddesses and nymphs. As far as the Olympian Gods, Athena is by far the most involved, regardless of gender. This is made very clear, for example, we see Telemachus preparing for his journey, â€Å"When they had made fast the running gear all along the black ship, then they set up the mixing bowls, filling them brimful with wine, and poured t o the gods immortal and everlasting, but beyond all other gods they poured to Zeus’ gray-eyed daughter. † (2. 430-433) Also, Calypso and Circe play the role of â€Å"Women as Temptress† which greatly hinders Odysseus’ journey.Circe especially has those powerful witch qualities that the uses specifically against the male gender. Luckily, however, she learns compassion for Odysseus and the crew in general. Thus she becomes not only kind but actually a very helpful component in the overall voyage. Calypso needed more convincing about releasing Odysseus, but afterwards she also became somewhat helpful. Other helpful supernatural women appear such as the water nymph, Ino, who saves Odysseus from drowning on his way to the Phaecians. Already we see a huge increase in female importance and their affect on the plot.One of the biggest reflections of ancient Greek culture is the amount of weaving done by the women. However, I think that the images of weaving in the Odyssey have little to do with making a cultural point. In Greek mythology, everyone’s destiny was weaved by the Fates. I think that because of that, weaving has many connections to destiny. This even transfers into the literal sense, from baby blankets to death shrouds. Thus, the women in the epic who are seen weaving are technically weaving the destinies of the characters of the story.Let’s start with Penelope, for her image of weaving is very specific. She weaves by day and â€Å"by night, with torches lit beside her, she would unravel all she’d done. † (2. 106-107) This represents the fact that she keeps her life monotonously the same, and refuses to allow her life/destiny/weaving to progress. We see another very interesting image of weaving with Helen. She is making her yarn, which the preparation work before the actual weaving. To me this means that she was the one who informed the destinies before anything even took place in the Odyssey.Her decisio ns before and during the Iliad were her major contributions, as she set the stage for the female weavers of the Odyssey. These weavers also include Calypso and Circe, who we have already decided are major parts in the book. There are a few more women in this epic who really deserve to be mentioned. Two of them are Phaecians, Princess Nausicaa and Queen Arete. Nausicaa, inspired by our goddess Athena, really helped Odysseus. In her curiosity and level-headedness, she helped Odysseus return to her palace and find the help and support he needed to return home.Once he arrived there, he met with Arete, and it was she who Odysseus chose to plead hospitality, â€Å"flung his arms around her knees,† (7. 167) instead of her husband (the king). From the moment I read this, I thought that Arete must be a very powerful and respected woman, especially if she has power over decisions like that. Another woman I found very influential was Eurycleia. She practically raised both Odysseus and T elemachus, making that bond/parallel between father and son even clearer. She is also the only person to recognize Odysseus before he meant to reveal himself to her.However, when she saw his unmistakeable scar, she â€Å"let his foot fall, down it dropped in the basin-the bronze clanged, tipping over, tipping water across the floor. † (19. 530-533). This uninherently shows her wisdom and compassion at an old age. Another (somewhat graphic) image of women in the Odyssey is the maidens that were hung across the rope by their faces at the end of the battle. This shows the flipside of feminine power, as these are the women who didn’t advocate for themselves or their masters in the least, but decided to live a lazy life of gluttony and pleasure instead.The last woman I would like to mention is Odysseus’ mother, Anticleia. We only get to see her as a shadow, which is the least powerful state of any woman throughout the epic. However, she still stirs a deep emotional r esponse out of Odysseus, which, in turn, most definitely affects the actions he takes and thus the plot as a hole. Overall, I think that women play a very inspiring role in this epic. The show us time and time again that each of us is powerful enough to help write or own destinies, and to be cooperative components in the lives of others.We see again that compassion trumps hatred, and that being helpful is better than being selfish. Setting someone you love free can not only just turn out for the best, but it also might just be what needs to happen in the fate of their life. How different would the story be if Odysseus wasn’t eventually allowed to leave Aeaea or Ogygia? So in conclusion, the women of the Odyssey show us to be present and compassionate in our lives, because who knows? You may just have a lasting effect on the life of another.

Peanut Allergies

Peanut Allergies What is a peanut allergy? A peanut allergy is a reaction that involves our body’s  immune system. When we have a peanut allergy our immune system thinks that the peanut proteins are harmful and fight against it to protect our body. Peanuts are one of the nine most common  food allergens  in Canada. The other eight are: wheat, tree nuts (such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachio nuts, and walnuts), sesame seeds, milk, eggs, seafood, soy, and sulphites (a food additive).Causes of peanut allergies: * Hereditary * Breast-feeding; But new evidence shows that when a mother eats peanuts, the peanut proteins flow into breast-milk and cause infants to develop the allergy antibodies, as well. * Direct contact. The most common cause of peanut allergy is eating peanuts or peanut-containing foods. * Cross-contact. This is the unintended introduction of peanuts into a product. It's generally the result of a food bei ng exposed to peanuts during processing or handling. * Inhalation.An allergic reaction may occur if you inhale dust or aerosols containing peanuts, such as that of peanut flour or peanut oil cooking spray. The most popular cause of peanut allergy is called the â€Å"hygiene hypothesis,† which says that people are just too clean these days. The result of the super-germ-free lives we lead and our readiness to treat infection with antibiotics is that our bodies don't know how to handle certain innocent proteins such as peanuts. Foods that causes the illness: * Peanuts and peanut products. * Tree nuts and their products. * Food that are exposed to peanuts.What are the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction? An allergic reaction to peanuts can happen within minutes or up to several hours after eating foods containing peanuts. Symptoms vary from person to person, and may progress from mild to severe. Mild allergic reaction: * flushed face and body * itchy eyes, nose, face and s kin * tingling, numbness or pain in the lips and tongue Moderate to severe signs and symptoms * swelling of the eyes, face, lips, throat and tongue * hives * cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting * wheezing, coughing * weakness, dizziness * anxiety, distress, sense of fear and doomThere are some symptoms of the most serious form of peanut allergies called  anaphylaxis; which are very deadly and life-threatening. When a person is experiencing anaphylaxis reaction, he/she may have difficulty in talking swallowing and even breathing! Scientists have identified 19 peanut proteins–that can trigger anaphylaxis. It works this way: those with the allergy develop specific antibodies, known as IgE antibodies, which react to the peanut proteins. This triggers the release of histamine and other chemicals which cause facial swelling, and constrict the lungs airways and throat making it difficult to breathe.Without a shot of adrenaline, the reaction can cause death. Why is this an important issue that everyone should know about? This is an important issue that everyone should know about because comparing to 1980s the rate of people with peanut allergies has been reported to have increased by 95%. Although there are no hard statistics in Canada, most agree the allergy is on the rise. According to The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, Peanut allergy causes an estimated 15,000 emergency room visits each year and nearly 100 deaths. Safety precautions: . The safest way to avoid a peanut related reaction is to avoid all food and products that contain or may contain peanuts. 2. Other than that, create a plan for how to handle a reaction, just in case one occurs, and tell your friends, family, coaches, and teachers at school about your allergy 3. Always keep a shot of epinephrine, a hormone that controls anaphylaxis reactions. 4. Tell the server in a restaurant about your allergy so that he or she can steer you away from dishes that contain nuts. 5. Always read the ingredients lis t to be safe.

How fear and suspense is formed during the two short stories The Landlady and A terribly strange bed Essays

How fear and suspense is formed during the two short stories The Landlady and A terribly strange bed Essays How fear and suspense is formed during the two short stories The Landlady and A terribly strange bed Paper How fear and suspense is formed during the two short stories The Landlady and A terribly strange bed Paper Essay Topic: Literature Both of these stories have different settings. In the Landlady, the setting was Bath, England. In A terribly strange bed, the setting is Paris, France. Both of these factors cause problems when comparing the two stories. This is because the stories were written at two different times and the culture is very different in both of these countries. The currency is also different, and the language seems to be more complex, again due to the dates that these stories were written in. The Landlady was written in 1960 by Roald Dahl, and A terribly strange bed was written in 1856 by Wilkie Collins. Both of these stories deal with fear and suspense by using various techniques to keep the reader in suspense. I will try to compare and contrast the different methods used by both authors within the next few paragraphs. When the first paragraph of The Landlady begins, the audience is made aware of the surroundings. Roald Dahl starts to create fright/anticipation by providing an in depth account into the background of the story. The account set, describes to the audience the atmosphere and gives us an insight into the kind of weather conditions within the scene. The audience is told the air is deadly cold, and the wind as flat as a blade of ice cutting against his cheek. This descriptive opening to the story suggests that Billy is in a hostile environment. By doing this the author is generating apprehension and expectancy. In A terribly strange bed we are first told of the date then the setting. The date was 1856 and the setting was France. This in itself is a major difference to The Landlady, because the setting is a different country and the date nearly 100 years earlier. We as an audience are told that the main character Monsieur Faulkner wants to go to a gambling house. The type of atmosphere in this gambling house creates suspense for the character. We are told that in this gambling residence there was a mute silence, and that no-body spoke. The quiet in the room was horrible, The dirty wrinkled old man, with the vulture eyes and the darned greatcoat, who had just lost his last sou (Small coin of low value), still looked on desperately after he could play no longer, never spoke. This quote has created apprehension by giving the audience pictographic images in their minds of the setting and the type of people found there, and by suggesting that Monsieur Faulkner is in a threatening atmosphere. Billy Weaver is seventeen-years-old. He was wearing a new navy-blue overcoat, a new brown trilby hat, and a new brown suit. He walks briskly, as he has decided that Briskness was the one common characteristic of all successful businessmen. Billy is trying hard to become a businessman, because he knows that businessmen are successful. We also learn that he is gullible, weary, uncertain, and cautious and that he takes people at face value. We notice that Billy takes the landlady at face value when he says: The old girl is slightly dotty, but at five and sixpence a night, who gives a damn about that? We notice during the story that the landlady is quite peculiar. From the first sentence we notice that something isnt quite right with her. When she opens the door, it seems as if she is expecting Billy to arrive. We know this through a number of different quotes: But Im always ready day and night in the house just on the off chance that an acceptable young gentleman will come along, and it is such a pleasure, my dear, such a very great pleasure when now and again I open the door and see someone standing there who is exactly right, this is further enhanced by I noticed that the bed covers were put back ready for someone to get into the bed. These all suggest that the landlady is expecting Billy to arrive at the Bed and Breakfast. These quotes also create anticipation because we wonder why she is so eager for him to stay? In contrast to the Landlady and Billy Weaver, Monsieur Faulkner is an upper class, middle aged man who is looking for some excitement and danger in his life. We know that he is upper class because of little clues in the dialogue, for example: In short, I had hitherto frequented gaming-tables-just as I frequented ballrooms and opera houses- because they amused me, and because I had nothing better to do with my leisure hours. This suggests that he enjoys social events, and that he can afford to go to these types of leisure events. Another example of Monsieur Faulkner being upper class is that he says that he has been to every gaming table in Europe. This is another clue that suggests that he can afford to travel around Europe. We meet the old soldier as Monsieur Faulkner starts to win a substantial amount of money on the gambling table called Rouge et Noir(Red and Black). The Old Soldier was described in detail; Monsieur Faulkner describes him as a suspicious specimen. He then goes on to describe the soldiers appearance: goggling-bloodshot eyes, mangy mustachios, and a broken nose. He had the dirtiest pair of hands I had every saw, even in France. The soldier seems to have a plan for Monsieur Faulkner as he involves himself in his winnings. There are a few similarities in throughout the two stories, one of these being the two different plots during the stories. In the Landlady the conspiracy was to lure Billy into the house and to poison him with a preserving chemical, as we believe that she wants to preserve his body when he has died. In A terribly strange bed the plot wasnt developed until Monsieur Faulkner had won a substantial amount of money at the gambling table, but when this had happened the plan was to try and keep him at the gambling residence and to somehow steal his money, or nearer to the point murder him for his money. Another similarity during these two stories is that both characters are described to be in hostile environments. For Billy the hostile environment was a Deadly cold small town called Bath in England, and for Monsieur Faulkner it was a gambling residence in Paris, France. Both of the main protagonists are also lured to their fate by a surreal sense of security, with Billy it was that he was staying in a Bed and Breakfast with the landlady, and for Monsieur Faulkner it was a gambling residence that had many door locks and much residential security objects. Tension builds up in these stories when Billy finds out that there have only been two guests in past three years before him at this Bed and Breakfast. It is also built up when Billy seems to recognise both names in the guest-book as if they had been famous for the same type of thing, and when the landlady says But my dear boy, he(Mr Mulholland)never left. Hes still here. Mr Temple is also here. Theyre on the third floor, both of them together. This quote also creates a type of anxiety among the readers, because questions would be travelling around the mind of a reader. The two main characters of the stories are trying to seek excitement and danger during these stories. Billy seeks the excitement; he does this by moving to a new town for a job promotion. We presume that this is Billys first trip away from his home in London so this would be exciting for him. On contrast to this story, A terribly strange beds main character Monsieur Faulkner seeks both excitement and danger. He does this by suggesting to his friend let us go somewhere where we can see a little genuine, blackguardism, poverty-stricken gaming, with no false gingerbread glitter thrown over it all. He seeks the excitement by going to a underground gambling residence. He then seeks the danger by winning prodigiously and then socialising with the lower class and poverty-stricken players of the table. The authors brought fright into The Landlady by leaving us on a cliffhanger. Roald Dahl does this as we find out that the tea Billy had been drinking was drugged, and when Billy asks the landlady a question Has there been anyone here since Gregory Temple or Christopher Mulholland within the last two or three years? And she replies no my dear, only you! . This has created unease because there is an open ending to the story and we can presume that anything couldve happened to Billy. In A terribly strange bed, the fear factor of the story is introduced when Monsieur Faulkner is staying overnight at the gambling residence, and he realises that the bed above him is descending upon him. As the readers of the book, we fear for his life, whether he will live or die but fortunately he realises the bed is coming down upon him. Both of these parts create a sense of fear within the stories. In this essay I have identified the fear/suspense factors of both The Landlady and A terribly strange bed and described how the author has portrayed this in both stories. The stories both have a similar plot to them, both main characters were in hostile environments, they were both tricked into staying at a place where they didnt want to, and two scrupulous people were after them to either fleece them of their money or to murder them. Both writers have portrayed the fear and suspense in their stories in a number of different ways. For example, in The Landlady apprehension was created by the use of Italics this was to make certain words noticeable, and to make them stand out from the rest. The Italics also put an emphasis on the words used in the dialogue, which enhanced . In A terribly strange bed the apprehension is created through the silence in the gambling residence. I have also identified the similarities between the stories and mentioned their significance to the stories. There are two differences between the stories which I have become aware of. I have noticed that the audience is much more involved in The Landlady, and that we can guess what is going to happen next. However in A terribly strange bed, Monsieur Faulkner looks like he will be done for, but he escapes his death luckily. The audience is involved in the fright and anticipation at all times, this is directly linked with the way that he recounts this tale. We are told what happens to Monsieur Faulkner, but with the Landlady being an open-ended story we are left to guess what will happen to Billy, whether he will live or die. I have also realised that there is a major difference between the two stories. When reading through the stories I realised that The Landlady concentrates on more on suspense rather than fear. This is because the author is writing a story, and suspense is the key factor in this story. A terribly strange bed concentrates on fear because this is being told from a persons point of view, and he is explaining his emotions in the story. This is how he is portraying his fear throughout the story. He is stating how frightened and afraid he was for his safety while he was at the gambling house.

What Makes a Compelling Romance Novel

What Makes a Compelling Romance Novel What Makes a Compelling Romance Novel? Ann Leslie Tuttle worked at Harlequin Books - a division of HarperCollins - for over 20 years, most recently as a Senior Editor. During her tenure, she acquired and edited NYT and USA Today bestselling authors in romance, women's fiction, and mystery, including Sylvia Day, Julia London, Lisa Renee Jones, and Hank Phillippi Ryan.If you know how a story will end, why would you want to read the book? That’s the question that romance writers constantly struggle to answer. Readers come to the genre knowing they will (almost) always get a happy ending in which the protagonists find and profess their love.To entice readers, writers must therefore deliver a fresh premise with strong, evocative prose and pacing that gets to the heart of the story - usually beginning with the protagonists meeting in the first chapter. These will be the elements that usually prompt someone to pick up the book and start reading. Most importantly, the writer’s crafting of the two main characters and their emotional journeys is what will keep the reader hooked.Having been an editor working on romance titles for well over 20 years, I’ve seen both debut and experienced authors struggle to create compelling characters whose emotional push-and-pull is strong enough to sustain the length of the story. Over the years, I’ve pulled together my own list of trouble spots - and ways to surmount them - that I’d like to share with you now. See what makes a compelling romance novel here! Trouble Spot #1: CharacterizationThe best lesson I ever received in characterization was at a writers’ conference, where an author who was pitching me told me that she wrote horoscopes for a living. The writer took that skill and developed such detailed horoscopes for the hero and heroine in her story that she knew precisely who they were regarding their tastes and personalities, what obstacles they faced, what had occurred in their past or backstory, etc.While I wouldn’t recommend that every romance writer start building astrological charts, I would encourage you to make sure you really know who your protagonists are. Delve deeply into their stories so that they’re not just one-dimensional stereotypes. Indeed, the more (believable) hardships they’ve endured in the past, the more material you will have to mine.Keep in mind that while stories featuring large families are popular with readers, it can often be a challenge to write about a presumably tortured hero who comes from such a loving, happy home. But if he’s served in the military or lost a close friend in a childhood accident, he may have other emotional reserves upon which you can draw. id=attachment_15175 style="width: 910px" class="wp-caption aligncenter">"Oh, Mr. Darcy!" (image: BBC)In the end, it’s all about the emotional conflict our romantic leads must surmount that makes their story so compellingThe emotional conflict is not to be confused with the external one. The external conflict usually revolves around an issue of miscommunication, perhaps differing career and money goals - or if you want to kick it up a notch, an external threat. (This is particularly effective when one of the main characters is on the run, or in hiding.)For example, the heroine might have left town eight years ago, believing her high school boyfriend didn’t love her simply because he never got her note or phone call - this is the external conflict they must resolve if they want to patch things up. Or maybe the protagonists believe they can’t be together because one lives on the East Coast and the other on the West Coast. These kinds of conflicts can usually be o vercome by a heartfelt conversation or compromise, but it sometimes involves uncovering the main players in a global threat and taking them down.A strong emotional conflict boils down to either a question of trust or fear. For instance, if your hero lost his first wife to cancer, it’s understandable that he won’t want to run the risk of ever experiencing that all-consuming pain again. Or if the heroine shared her deepest secret with an ex who betrayed her trust, she’s probably reluctant to open up to a new partner.In each of these emotionally fraught cases, the conflict is deep and will require some growth on the part of your hero and heroine to recognize that, despite high stakes involved, love is worth putting oneself on the line.Even if one of your characters first realizes and even confesses their love, the resolution of the conflict should take up most of the book (Elizabeth and Darcy, anyone?). If you’ve created a conflict that is sufficiently compe lling, there should not be an instance where both the protagonists confess their love, only to be driven apart again by some external threat or unsolved thread.Yes, readers may know how your story ends. But with multi-faceted protagonists, emotional appeal, great plotting, and a strong conflict, they will still want to travel with the characters as they overcome each milestone on their journey to finding love.For more help with writing great romance, you can also take inspiration from any of the books on these lists:The 10 Best Historical Romance Novels Like OutlanderThe 25 Best Romance Authors and Their Must-Reads30+ Best Young Adult Romance Books That You Can't Miss Out On40+ Paranormal Romance Books with BiteWhat are some of your experiences writing romances? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

MGT 430 MIS Lesson 2 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGT 430 MIS Lesson 2 - Case Study Example One of the primary issues with the failing modernization program prior to review was a constant widening of project scope (aka creeping) that ultimately resulting in years of work and billions of dollars lost. By placing responsibility on many business units instead of the singular existing ITS department, these potential overruns would be avoided due to the increased and multi-focused scrutiny on project development. Another issue identified by the Oversight Board was the lack of trust between departments involved in the implementation and monitoring of this program. Again, involving many sections of the business will necessarily result in the need to establish an effective web of information, rather than the quarantined nature of the previous development committee. As mentioned above, placing responsibility for scope changes on business units would be desired due to the ability of each unit to focus on development as it impacts their specific unit. The variety of perspectives will necessitate the interaction of many sections, and should result not only in reduced overruns but also in trust growth within the company as they come to be better acquainted with the perspectives of each. Assigning these responsibilities to either the existing ITS, BSM, or Prime would result in the segregation of development from profit operations, and would reduce the likelihood of cooperation. Creating an environment of trust in any organization is an important but difficult task. In the college situation, the most effective approach would be similar to assign ownership and development responsibilities to as many sections of end-users as is possible (maximize without making it unmanageable). Including business units (departments), student committee(s), vendors, and the existing IT department instead of an isolated BSM type committee would necessitate interactions and exchanges of perspective throughout the system