Amazon Industry Analysis Essays

Amazon Industry Analysis Essays Amazon Industry Analysis Paper Amazon Industry Analysis Paper Analysis of Industry This Industry analysis will lad In discussing the Industry In which Amazon. Com will be located. Amazon. Com Is a part of the online retailing Industry, which allows for consumers to purchase goods using the Internet and company websites. We will also determine how the company will compete in this industry. The online retail industry is affected by many trends in the general public. Some of these trends include, cultural trends, social trends, and technological trends. E-retail allows for us to purchase goods at the convenience of ourselves, whether it be In a workplace or at mom, or on a desktop computer, a laptop, or even our phone If It permits. This eliminates the stresses and Inconveniences that come with going from store to store in search of the goods and does not require us to accomplish this within the business hours of the various businesses. As U. S. Citizens, we know and experience the necessity for technology and the Internet. These are things that are becoming a part of our daily lives more and more each day. With this cultural trend, e-retail is an industry that definitely has a chance for growth. Socially, as U. S. Citizen, we are known to be lazy. Although this can be portrayed as a bad trait, we can easily say that we simply find easier and less laborious alternatives to complete tasks. With that being said, the Internet and e-retail allows us to find almost everything that we are in search of whether it is a good or service or even Just information. Another factor involved is technological trends, which will always and even more so in the future, expand, grow, and be one of the most innovative trends. Amazon will be able to use this to not only advance their checkout and delivery process, but this will also allow them to grow their line of Kindles and smoothness. As e-retail becomes an integrative part of how consumers purchase goods, Amazon will be able to excel in this industry and has already proven to do so. Profit potential can be determined by performing a five forces analysis. There are five forces that threaten the performance of solar energy industry: buyers, substitutes, new entrants, and suppliers. The following chart describes whether these threats are low, medium, or high. Threat to Industry Profitability Low Medium High Threat of substitutes V Threat of new entrants V Rivalry among existing firms Bargaining power of suppliers Bargaining power of buyers v Substitutes are a very strong threat to the Industry. With so many various retail and online marketplaces, consumers can pretty much go anywhere to find something if Amazon is unable to fulfill their needs. Although, Amazon usually beats the prices of local and most online retailers, they still may not have the exact product or be charging a better price. Threat of new entrants is high simply because the products they offer can be offered by anyone willing to put In the amount of time and money. Granted, Amazon NAS Ana some years to expand toner product variation, out toner reduces are easily acquired and there are many different suppliers. To compete in this industry, they would need funding, marketing, networking, and an ability to forcefully put themselves out there to gain customers and, in turn, creating sales. The company would also need a niche product. With Amazon and their Kindles, smoothness, and Amazon Prime, these are the products that make Amazon stand out from the rest. The industry rivals consist of Reawaken. Com as well as Walter and Target, who have expanded their products to online retail and any brick-and-mortar retailers. Rivals also include physical stores that sell their products as well simply because what Amazon may not provide for the same price is convenience and urgency. The fact that online retail is growing also proves rivalry is high. Just like there are many rivals, there are many suppliers. These companies have to get their products from somewhere, most of which are from several name brands and other sources outside of the U. S. With this being said, since there are many suppliers, they do not have a large advantage in bargaining their products because what cannot be accomplished with one supplier can be done with another, so this is not a large wreath. In this case, buyers are those who use and/or purchase any consumer items, whether they are goods or subscriptions or services. Consumers have the option to choose how much they want to pay for what they are getting. This is when name brands and off brands come into play. Current economic conditions may also make it difficult as well because if consumers are making less income then it makes sense that consumers spend less. After evaluating the five forces, it can be concluded that most of the forces for the online retail industry are moderate to high. The threats in he industry could affect the industry profitability. With Amazon being one of the largest competitors, as of right now, they do not have much to worry about. Their reputation and popularity helps them to lead their industry as well. Target markets for this industry is technically everyone. This includes anyone who consumes any apparel, accessories, shoes, hygienic items, etc. Amazon pretty much provides any and everything a consumer would need. Growth for this industry is expected to continue to grow with the Internet and shopping online becoming increasingly popular and more useful.

Environmental Challenges Essay Example

Environmental Challenges Essay Example Environmental Challenges Paper Environmental Challenges Paper Tenochtitlan was a city in which the Gods of his polytheistic civilization told them they must settle. Tenochtitlan is an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. This created environmental challenges for the Aztecs. The Aztecs had to build a large civilization with this island that had limited space. These people needed a lot Of room to farm, but there was very minimal space to do this. If there was not a lot of farmland, it would lead to a limited supply of food. There was also a limited amount of freshwater. Freshwater was necessary because the Aztecs needed clean, fresh water to drink. Since Tenochtitlan was an island in the middle of a lake, there was only so much water in which they could actually drink because half of the lake contained salt water. Limited trade and travel made it difficult to get off the island and be in contact with other people. Aztec civilization was also in need of people for human sacrifices. They did not want to kill their own people so they needed to find a way to get off the island and out of Lake Texcoco. The Aztec civilization overcame its environmental challenges. Since their civilization was on Tenochtitlan, an island, in Lake Texcoco, there was limited ravel and trade. To overcome this challenge, Aztecs built canals and causeways. A causeway is simply a road that is built over water and wet land. This allowed the people to get off Tenochtitlan and onto regular land where they could now travel to different places and trade their goods with other tribes. To eliminate the little amount of food in Tenochtitlan, farmers planted crops like maize in the lakes bottom. These plants were called Chinampas. A Chinampa is created when dirt is piled in rafts and anchored to the bottom of a lake. Chinampas are commonly referred to as floating gardens. ople would be conquered by the Aztecs which caused the Aztecs to obtain more land and food for their people. So they would have as much freshwater as possible, the Aztecs built dykes to divide the lakes freshwater and salt water. Aqueducts were also built to transport freshwater into the city. An aqueduct is a man-made channel that is used to transfer water. Lastly, the Aztecs would take other tribes prisoner. They did this because they needed people for human sacrifices. Human sacrifice occurs when a civilization kills people because of that civilizations religious beliefs. The Incas faced many environmental challenges due to the fact that they lived in the Andes Mountains. The Andes Mountains were very steep. Some of the mountain ranges did not have great soil and they could not plant their crops. For the crops they did have in the areas with good soil, it was very difficult to get the water needed to them. The mountainous land in which messengers had to cross made it difficult for the Inca. They had to cross over the mountains, deserts, and water. The messengers had enough trouble already since they have to run the whole way until they can stop. They would stop at the next station and pass the message on to the next person, similar to a relay. These messages needed to be delivered because if a person living in Cuzco, the Inca capital, needed to send a message to someone in the northern part of the empire, in modern day Ecuador, there would be no way to communicate. The Andes Mountains were not smooth and flat therefore, it was hard to transport goods. The Inca needed to find a way to transport their things, like potatoes and maize, which was easier than carrying everything a little bit at a time. The Inca civilization overcame its environmental challenges. Since some of the Andes Mountains had good soil for farming, the Inca used terrace farming. Terrace farming is when you cut flat steps into the side of hills or mountains to grow crops. This type of farming gave the people flat farming area so they could plant their crops. The most common crop to the Inca was the potato. It was hard to bring the water to the Incas crops since they were located on the mountainsides. Irrigation systems had to be built so the crops could grow. The Incas grew so much food that there was a surplus of food nd everyone in the civilization was able to eat. Communication was very hard during this civilization. Messengers had to run across the Andes, cross water, and cross deserts. To make this easier for them, women would tie rope bridges together and when they were finished and stable, they would be able to cross over these geographic features quickly and easily. The messages the messengers carried was known as a quipu. A quipu is a device that was used for recording information and consisted Of various threads and knots. The knots were tied in different ways. The number and position of knots as well as the color of each thread represented information about commercial goods and resources. Lastly, it had been difficult to transport all of the Incas goods. They would use llamas to help them with this. Since the llamas lived in the Andes, they could manage to walk on the steep and jagged mountains. The Incas would place things on the llamas back and it would then be brought wherever it needed to go. Two civilizations that overcame their environmental challenges are the Aztecs and Lake Texcoco and the Incas and the Andes Mountains. Civilizations ave often been provided with geographic problems that they have to overcome. An environmental challenge is a problem many civilizations face because the environment creates difficulties for their people. Environmental challenges may cause extreme difficulties at first, but after a civilization develops over time, they can find a way to overcome these obstacles. A civilization may develop in the middle of a lake, but roads can be built to overcome this. When a civilization develops in a mountain range, farmers can make steps in the mountains and use its soil to provide food for its entire population.

Marketing Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing Project - Assignment Example The major competitors of this company are Passions of Paradise, Sunlover Reef Cruises, the Diving Cairns and Pro-dive Cairns. All the four companies offer almost similar services which ranger from Scuba Diving, Live Aboard diving to deep sea diving and site viewing. Thus, most of their target markets are Local tourists and tourists from the neighbouring nations. Passion of Paradise among other competitors that quicksilver cruiser faces offer a relatively limited range of products and thus the fact that quicksilver cruises offers a wide range product keeps it ahead of competition. This report generates the details necessary for the company to compete in the Queensland area by offering a unique product line that is desirable by tourist for neighbouring countries. The focus is on customers from Hong Kong and the development of a plan of analysis that details the unique nature of this East Asian market, how Quicksilver Cruises can best market to this demographic group, and how the develo pment of a comprehensive marketing plan will help them to be successful in this endeavour for the long term. Quicksilver Cruise operates in the highly competitive tourism industry within Queensland, Australia. Being on the coast, the company offers a product line that is appealing to many types of tourists, particularly those from the Hong Kong region. As the company is in a particular genre with many other businesses, however, it must focus on carving its own unique niche within the market. To accomplish this objective, the company has been working hard over the past years to develop unique tours and water sport offerings that others in the region are not currently offering. In addition, the company does have a focus on attracting tourists from nearby regions. Of particular interest at this time is the Hong Kong market. Hong Kong itself represents a unique opportunity for Quicksilver Cruises to market an area of the

The Rhetoric and Reality of Trust between Managers and Employees Essay - 1

The Rhetoric and Reality of Trust between Managers and Employees - Essay Example There is ample research evidence which supports the above statement and indicates that the values received by the employees in an organization have a significant impact on the organizational performance which far exceeds those achieved through an organized corporate strategy. Although various means and strategies are regularly adopted and implemented by the management to encourage employee productivity / performance, which includes lucrative rewards, health benefits, as well as frequent training workshops, â€Å"trust† still continues to be the most vital element that governs the employees’ willingness to perform well beyond the management expectations. From this paper   it is clear that the performance of employees which exceeds the managerial expectations is one of the key inputs to organizational success, and cannot be achieved through deliberate corporate strategies and stringent rules. The willingness to excel in their duties is an outcome of individual will, which can be fostered through mutual trust where the employees feel secure about their jobs as well as workplace and the motives of their managers. To encourage such discretionary performance on the part of employees, the management must create a suitable atmosphere and mutual approach whereby employees are persuaded to communicate and contribute their thoughts, ideas and beliefs with their colleagues as well as managers for the overall benefit of the organization.

Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies Essay - 11

Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies - Essay Example This paper seeks to discuss the merger, acquisition as well as international strategies of Starbucks and the strategies that Love & Tea Company adopts. Starbucks Corporation is an American based company whose headquarters are located in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in 1971 as Seattle coffee bean roaster. Being the largest coffeehouse in the world, Starbucks has 12,973 stores in US and approximately 11,000 others in Japan, China, Canada and United Kingdom. Having been founded by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, Starbucks produces quality brands that make it to effectively face off its competitors in the international market. Some of the major products that Starbucks produces include SweetN Low, Splenda, Trenta, and tea among others. With approximately 160,000 employees, Starbucks has been able to offer effective services in all its subsidiaries which include Ethos water, Torrefazione, La Boulange, Evolution Fresh, Tazo, and Hear Music among others. Apart from extensive advertising strategies that the company has adopted through the internet and in US, Starbucks competitive position has also been achieved d ue to the various mergers and acquisitions that it has adopted in US as well as in foreign markets. One of the major companies that Starbucks has acquired is Teavana Holdings Incorporation. Having being acquired in 2012, Teavana is one of the newest companies to be acquired by Starbucks. Teavana, which was established in 1997, embarked on production of wide range of tea products that included Yixing Clay teapots, China teapots, andTetsubin teapots among others. Teavana mission is to become the most noted and respected brand in the tea industry by ensuring that the culture of tea is effectively expanded in the world. By being acquired for approximately $620 million, Teavana has strong value for its customers and through the new tea enthusiasts; it will positively impact of the Starbucks tea brand.

Things Fall Apart Masculinity English Literature Essay

Things Fall Apart Masculinity English Literature Essay Our lives are influenced by our peers and there believes. For instances, Ibo tribes in Africa believe in male masculinity and dominance, such that all individuals are conditioned from a young age to understand the concept of male superiority. Anyone who strays away from this believe is shunned by the community or considered weak. In Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart the main character Okonkwos life is based upon the believe of male masculinity and hard work. He prides himself on his masculinity and does not accept failure or weakness of any kind including any from his family members. An example of an individual that Okonkwo despised and does not accept was Okwonkos father Unoka. To the community he was weak and considered to not be a true man. He was a failure in the eyes of society and constantly burrowed money. Unoka had only taken one wife and was unable to support his family. This inability to support his family stemmed from his bad work ethic and laziness. When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt (pg. 5). Due to his failure Unoka was frequently called an Agbala, which is a word that means a woman or an insult that describes a man that has taken no titles. Seeing his father inability to provide for the family Okwonko devoted his life to hard work and to hate everything his father loved. Unokas failures sculpted Okwonko to the man he was in the novel he became hard working and despised laziness. He was the complete opposite of Unoka, earning many titles, having many wives and being a successful man. All aspects of Okonkwos life were devoted to masculinity. Even when farming he was conditioned by his clansmen that yams their staple crop is the king of crops. This is further the male dominance in the Ibo culture because males will be the only people able to provide for the family. When his family was working hard to provide food he thought it would not help because they could not grow yams. He thought that His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew womens crops, like coco-yams, beans and cassava.(pg. 19) and that Yam, the king of crops, was a mans crop (pg. 19). These believe caused him to seek yams seeds at a young age to try to help grow crops for his family. Masculinity is so important to Okonkwo that he would have done everything he could to prevent anyone from questioning his masculinity. This is due to his father failure and position in the Ibo community. Every time he felt weak Okonkwo was reminded of his father failure and how he was not able to provide for his family. Which lead Okonkwo to even participated in the killing of his adoptive son Ikemefuna because he was afraid of being thought weak (pg. 53). Afterward he slumped into a period of depression because of his actions. Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna (pg.55). His view of masculinity is so high that he was even willing to kill his loved ones. One of the main traits of masculinity that Okonkwo believed in was the ability to control everyone in his household. He believed that all people must obey what he says in house and do what they were told. Whenever any of his wives talked back or tried to argue with him he would beat them. Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper (pg. 10). Â  In addition he believed that no matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man (pg.46). This is why he would always talk down to his children and wives to show that he is the authority figure in the house and if anyone one would question this he would beat them. Overall Okonkwo refused to accept any signs of someone challenging his authority as the leader of his house hold. During The New Yam Festival, a holiday that is celebrated by feasting an argument arises between Okonkwo and his second wife Ekwefi. The New Yam Festival was a time of relaxation but in the eyes of Okonkwo it is a sign of laziness which he hates so very much. This causes him to become angry and in a fit he complains about a banana tree which Ekwefi cut some leaves form. Without further argument Okwonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping (pg. 33). Okwonko became even more enraged when he heard her murmured something about guns that never shot (pg. 33), an insult on his poor hunting skills and shot at her with his gun. Luckily for Ekwefi he missed, but this proved how any sign of defiance or challenge to his masculinity is unacceptable to him in anyway. Throughout the novel Okonkwo does not show any signs of compassion for his children. In his perspective it is effeminate and a sign of weakness. This is also the reason why he never shows any love for his daughter Enzima. He even stated that he will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan (pg. 28) and that he would rather strangle him with his own hands. (pg.28). At one point he scolded Nyowe his eldest son and Ikemefuna his adoptive son about how to grow yams properly. Inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams. But he thought that one could not begin too early. Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one gravest to another was a very great man indeed (pg. 28). This shows how important being a man is and how being effeminate will not be tolerated in his household while he is alive. Okwonko even put his favorite child in danger because of his masculinity. When Ezinma fell sick Ekwefi wanted to take action, but the Oracle would not let her. Okwonko did not try to stop the Oracle even thought he loved Ezinma. He was afraid that if he showed any compassion he would be thought of as less of a man. Ekwefi could not even take any action for her own daughters sake for it was against the tradition and culture of their village Umofia. Ekwefi already lost five other children at young ages but now that Ezinma had come to ten years of age she refuse to let anything hurt her. She did everything she could to protect her. Even before Ezinma was born Okonkwo hired a medicine man to help get rid of the bad spirit that was haunting her. The doctor ordered that there should be no more mourning for the dead child. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest, holding it by the ankle and dragging it on the ground behind him. (pg. 69). Yet Okwonko let the Oracle take Enzima away a nd only went looking for her after a while because it was the manly thing to do. Okwonkos belief in the Ibo masculine lifestyle eventually leads him to his death. He wanted to take action and kill everyone who was trying to change his way of life that he grew up with. When the messengers came to stop the gathering Okonkwo drew his machete(pg. 176) and cut the lead messenger down. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwos machete descended twice and the mans head lay beside his uniformed body. (pg. 176). Then everyone started to panic and question why he killed the messengers. That was when he realized his way of life was over because they let the other messengers escape. Later on he committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree. This shows that he was so ingrained in his cultures lifestyle that when it was taken away he had nothing left to live for. Okonkwos believe of masculinity lead him to beat his own children and wife. In addition it also lead him to kill one of his loved ones. Even thought he loved Ikemfuna like a son he hated weakness so much because of his father laziness and inability to support his family. Okonkwos also believes that yams are the king of all crops like all his clansmen does because it is the staple crop of the Ibo people of Africa. He is so ingrained in the belief of masculinity that he commits suicide when he discovered his way of life that he lived his entire life had been taken away from him. We live our lives based on the ideas of people around us and when it is gone we are gone with it such in the case of Okonkwo. Words 1502

Should Children Be Allowed To Testify In Court? Essay -- Children Cour

Should Children Be Allowed To Testify In Court?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the past ten years, more research has been done involving children's testimony than that of all the prior decades combined. Ceci & Bruck (93) have cited four reasons for this : - The opinion of psychology experts is increasingly being accepted by courts as testimony, - Social research is more commonly being applied to the issues of children's rights, - More research into adult suggestibility in accordance with reason naturally leads to more research into child suggestibility, - Children are more commonly being used as witnesses in cases where they are directly involved (i.e. sexual abuses cases), requiring the development of better ways for dealing with them as special cases.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some psychologists deem children to be â€Å"Highly resistant to suggestion, as unlikely to lie, and as reliable as adult witnesses about acts perpetrated on their bodies† (Ceci & Bruck 1993). However, children are also described as â€Å" Having difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy, as being susceptible to coaching by powerful authority figures, and therefore as being potentially less reliable than adults† (Ceci & Bruck 1993). The suggestibility of child witnesses, the effects of participation on children's reports, and the effects of postevent information on a prior memory representation must be taken into account when it comes to seeking answers to the reliability of their testimony, especially because sexual abuse and sexual assault cases are a big part of children's testimony and they are often the only witness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Those psychologists who feel that children can be rated as â€Å"Highly resistant to suggestion....† etc. seem to have a good argument, whereas those who take the opposite view also seem to have just as valid an argument. Which psychologists are right? Maybe both. It seems that without outside influences, social encounters, or other interference's, children's testimony has the potential to be quite valid. This is under ideal situations, however, which unfortunately rarely occur.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the major problems when assessing the validity of child witnesses is the suggestibility of the child. Ceci & Bruck (1993) define suggestibility as â€Å"The degree to which children's encoding, storage, retrieval, and reporting of events can be influenced by a range of social an... ...t that no children should be allowed to testify on account of the malleability of their recollection. However, children can play a vital role in the legal system, and indeed there are many cases in which a child is the only witness to a crime, but until the time that sufficient research has been done to achieve a system of questioning that will eliminate the suggestibility and social aspects of a child's testimony, all such testimonies should be treated with caution. Works Cited:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bernstein, D. A., Roy, E. J., Srull, T. K., Wickens, C. D. (1994) Psychology, 3rd edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, MA.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ceci, S & Bruck, M. (1993). Suggestibility of the Child Witness: A Historical Review and Synthesis, Psychological Bulletin. 113, 403 - 439   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lefrancois, G. R. (1992). Psychology, 2nd edition. Wadsworth Publishing Company. California.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Luus, C. A. E., Wells, G. L., & Turtle, J. W. (1995). Child eyewitnesses: Seeing is believing. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80, 317 - 326   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rovee-Collier, C. et al. (1993). Infants Eyewitness Testimony: Effects of Postevent Information on a Prior Memory Representaion, Memory and Cognition, 21, 267 - 279

Literary Techniques in “The Things They Carried” Essay

A literary technique is a device employed in literature to add depth to a writer’s work. These techniques can be obvious, such as the technique of rhyme in a poem, or subtle, such as juxtaposition, which can go unnoticed by the reader. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses many such techniques to provide more depth to his book. Four literary techniques used by Tim O’Brien are symbolism, pathetic fallacy, irony, and juxtaposition. One literary technique prominent in The Things They Carried, particularly in the story by the same name, is symbolism. Throughout this story, O’Brien mentions all the things that the soldiers carry with them, both physical and emotional. However, the physical items that the men carried is more than just equipment- they are symbols that represent various facets of each soldier’s personality. For example, â€Å"Rat Kiley carried†¦ morphine and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape†¦ and all the things a medic must carry, including M&M’s for especially bad wounds† (O’Brien 5). The fact that Kiley carried medical necessities shows that he is a good paramedic devoted to doing his job well, but the M&M’s represent something different- Kiley’s optimistic and kind outlook on the war and life in general. Conversely, the tranquilizers carried by Ted Lavender represent his terror of the fighting in the war and his inability to face reality, rather choosing to escape from it by taking drugs. This is an effective technique because, by using these symbols, O’Brien can let the reader figure out for him/herself deeper aspects of certain characters’ personalities without actually stating them outright. Another literary device Tim O’Brien employs is pathetic fallacy, or nature mirroring humans’ emotions. In the story Speaking of Courage, Norman Bowker attempts to save Kiowa’s life but fails. He becomes depressed and remorseful about what he should have been able to accomplish. For a long time afterward, Bowker struggles with the fact that he was â€Å"braver than he ever thought possible, but†¦ not so brave as he wanted to be† (153); he is overcome with sadness and guilt. This is reflected in the weather at the time of Kiowa’s death. The soldiers were camping out in a field along the Song Tra Bong, and â€Å"the rain kept getting worse. And by midnight the field turned into soup† (145). The rain emulates the emotions of the weary and despondent soldiers. Pathetic fallacy is a very useful technique because it helps to provide the tone for the story. If the story was a sad one but the weather was bright and sunny, the tone of the story would be wrong, and vice versa. In Speaking of Courage, the fact that it was raining during the main event of the story helps the reader gain and understanding of just how bleak and dismal the events that occurred were. Irony, or a discrepancy between expectation and reality, is another literary technique used by Tim O’Brien in The Things They Carried. Many of the titles of the stories contain irony themselves. For example, Speaking of Courage is more centred on the themes of failure and the inability to be courageous than it is about courage. The story Love is not, as it would seem, about mutual love, but rather unrequited love. Field Trip, an expression with a usually very positive connotation, is a story about a visit to a battleground where many lives had been lost. The Story How to Tell a True War Story also contains much irony within it. The main point of this story is that a true war story cannot be told because the simple act of telling it makes it untrue. The title of this story is ironic- O’Brien makes the reader think that he wants to instruct them how to tell a true war story, but the reader soon finds out O’Brien’s real intention- that telling a true war story is impossible. Another ironic idea within this story is the idea that war can be beautiful. â€Å"You hate it, yes, but your eyes do not. Like a forest fire, like cancer under a microscope, any battle†¦ has†¦ a powerful, implacable beauty† (81). This catches the reader off-guard because of how greatly it contrasts with the view of war we have been previously given. He continues to say that, â€Å"a true war story will tell the truth about this, though the truth is ugly† (81). This is very ironic because although the actual event may be beautiful, if a true story is told about it, the story is ugly. This adds to O’Brien’s point that telling a story, even a true one, can only take away from the truth of the event. Using irony, O’Brien can present his message in a creative an interesting way, and this helps the readers understand his point better. Another technique used by Tim O’Brien is juxtaposition. The story The Lives of the Dead seems to be a bit of a non-sequitur to the rest of the book, however, O’Brien has put it where it is for a reason. The point of The Things They Carried is not simply to tell stories about the Vietnam War- the lesson goes deeper than that. It comes to teach that war is about more than just fighting- it is about the connection between life and death. It is about learning to detach oneself from death. It is about the sacredness and fragility of life. It is about so many things that many people never have to experience. But the Vietnam War is not O’Brien’s first time coming into contact with these kinds of issues. As a child, he had a beloved friend named Linda who died of cancer. Linda’s death was a major part of his growing up process. As a child, he already had to learn to distance himself from her death, saying, â€Å"It didn’t seem real†¦ the girl lying in the white casket wasn’t Linda† (241). And although he did not realize it at the time, her death helped him to deal with all the deaths he encountered in the war. For example, when Curt Lemon dies, O’Brien refuses to see his body as a friend who died. Instead he says, â€Å"his body was not really a body, but rather one small bit of waste in the midst of a much wider wastage† (238). The lessons that O’Brien learned as a child are very relevant and linked to his experiences in the Vietnam War, which is why he chooses to include The Lives of the Dead. But this is not the only message that O’Brien wants us to take out of the inclusion The Lives of the Dead in The Things They Carried- he wants to convey that even though something that happens in one’s life may seem horrible and meaningless, it may become of use to him or her later in life, and it may help him or her to get through an otherwise unmanageable time. O’Brien wants his reader to know that everything in life comes for a purpose. Throughout The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien makes use of many different literary techniques. In the story The Things They Carried, O’Brien uses symbolism. In Speaking of Courage, the literary technique is pathetic fallacy. Irony is used in How to Tell a True War Story, among others, and juxtaposition is used in the story The Lives of the Dead. It can be seen that literary techniques have a simple but powerful effect in The Things They Carried.

Life Essay Example

Life Essay Example Life Essay Life Essay Essay Topic: Life Is Beautiful Life in the present is bombarded with many influences that make it difficult to resist no matter how people try not to succumb to the pressures and expectations of society. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but it is another story if the beholders are one’s peers, social group, and parents and even love ones. Beauty will always be skin deep, but what is seen will always be the first to be judged. As persons, an individual evaluates him/her self based on how others respond to him/her. In this society, beauty is defined by what is seen in the outside, the physical attributes are evaluated as attractive, sexy, desirable or fat, big, ugly and gross. Within this context, people develop an unhealthy obsession with their bodies, in order to become good looking and attractive. Obsession with one’s body is a result of social influence, peer pressure and media influence.As a social being, man constantly interact with other people and is both influencing his environment and i s being influenced by it. In the American culture, one’s body is regarded as a personal property; no one can dictate to a person what one wants to do with his/her body and with it comes the personal responsibility in making sure that the body is in its best form. One of the reasons why people become obsessed with the perfect body is because of the many social influences that everyone is constantly being subjected to. An attractive body or physique would mean that an individual has invested in his/her body and that he/she can use it to his/her advantage thus the need to maintain the perfect figure through artificial or natural means. For example, fitness products have become a major player alongside the cosmetics industry, because as one advertisement says, â€Å"maybe she was born with it† and if it isn’t then there is always a cosmetic product or a diet pill that would enhance what she has or eliminate her flaws. Social expectations in the form of how others de fine physical beauty have made us believe that physical beauty is important. Having the perfect body is like having the power to be needed and wanted by others. The attractiveness of the rewards of being physically beautiful and perfect motivates a person to seek means to be beautiful in the eyes of society. Different social groups place a premium on the perfect body, evidence of which is how people react more positively to attractive people. Pretty girls get better service at bars; they get appreciative nods and smiles and are perceived to be confident and witty while hunks get the hot girls, they get better jobs and are popular. Wanting the perfect body may be caused by social expectations, but a more significant cause is peer pressure.Becoming obsessed with having the perfect body can also come from the pressures that a person feels from his/her peer group.   It is within the peer group that a child learns what is valuable and important, when teenage girls have slumber parties, they talk about what is important to them and it is mainly how to be hip and fashionable and they trade secrets in how to keep their hair that way, how to cheat on their weight and how important it is to look good for the boys in order to be popular. When boys get together, they also talk about how girls like boys who have the muscle, who are tall, who are sexy and a stud. Good looking girls and boys who are genetically endowed with the perfect body would not have difficulty in this area but those who are unfortunate to be fat and big may be consumed with the need to have a perfect body. In the peer group, a child or adolescent is continually evaluated based on their own concept of what a perfect body is and if they somehow fall short of what is desired then they are consumed in finding the means to change their appearance and body. A girl who has been teased about her nose because it is not the perfect shape may become obsessed with how to enhance or hide it and if all else fails then the answer is cosmetic surgery.   The pressure from the peer group to look perfect is very real and adolescents are very susceptible to live up to the pressure because it would ensure their belongingness to the group.Lastly, a significant cause of obsession with one’s body are found in the media, the   influence of the media is so pervasive and it constantly sends out the message that physical beauty will make people rich and successful and it promotes an unhealthy concept of beauty that is based on physical attributes only. Browse through a magazine and almost half of the entire magazine is made up of advertisements that depict the perfect body as slim, lean, and well proportioned, have great skin and attractive features. Movies and television shows always depict celebrities who are perfect in every way and these celebrities make it a point to be beautiful and fashionable, to be fit and alluring. They endorse products, diets and exercise routines to help achieve the perfect body, they are saying that if you want to become a celebrity, look at me!   Clothes modeled on the runway or even in the mannequins of Sears and Wal-Mart are often made for thin women and slim men, indirectly it is telling people that fat and big people are an anomaly and they should be concerned with their bodies if they want to feel good about themselves.In conclusion, it can be seen that all the messages and influences that a person receives directly or indirectly from social expectations and the media in the importance of having the perfect body have made people develop the obsession to have a perfect body. Obsessions in having the perfect body may take the form of wanting to change a body part, have rigid and extreme exercise routines, invest in cosmetic surgery, use make-up extensively, and have implants and others. The peer group exerts pressure to its members to have the perfect body as it is often the standard at which group belongingness is judged. Becoming obse ssed with physical beauty is a result of the premium that is placed on how a person looks and the consequences associated with it.

Free Essays on Meditation

My bread meditation experience was honestly very hard. This made me think about a lot in life, as did my desert experience. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to just eat bread for a meal. Can we just survive on bread? I don’t know that would be so hard I guess we could if we really needed to. I sat looked at my piece of bread and just thought for a little while before I ate it. I thought about those people that have less than me in different countries. How much I should really appreciate just this little piece of bread. I thought, is it going to fill me up? Probably not but I should be fortunate to just have this. I began to eat the piece of bread and I ate it very slowly making sure I told myself mentally and spiritually to cherish this piece. As I was eating it I also began to think about The Last Supper and how special a simple piece of bred can be in so many different of ways. This is the body of Christ that we are eating Jesus sacrificed His body and blood for us. When I go to church on Sunday I always here â€Å"The Body of Christ† as I receive communion, and I would always kind of put that in the back of my mind. I think this experience informs me a little bit more on the importance of that simple piece of bread â€Å"The Body of Christ†. The other day I was rummaging through my cabinets looking for food and complaining because I didn’t have anything I wanted to eat, this was before my bread experience. Now that I look back on it I probably could have made over twenty different meals but it wasn’t anything I wanted at that time so I got upset. This me ditation really made me appreciate everything I have in life. Jesus statement to Peter is kind of confusing to me, I’m not really sure what Jesus is trying to get across to Peter. If I had to make an assumption I would say that Jesus is saying if you love me you would do anything for me as Jesus loved us and gave up His body and blood for us. Someth... Free Essays on Meditation Free Essays on Meditation My bread meditation experience was honestly very hard. This made me think about a lot in life, as did my desert experience. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to just eat bread for a meal. Can we just survive on bread? I don’t know that would be so hard I guess we could if we really needed to. I sat looked at my piece of bread and just thought for a little while before I ate it. I thought about those people that have less than me in different countries. How much I should really appreciate just this little piece of bread. I thought, is it going to fill me up? Probably not but I should be fortunate to just have this. I began to eat the piece of bread and I ate it very slowly making sure I told myself mentally and spiritually to cherish this piece. As I was eating it I also began to think about The Last Supper and how special a simple piece of bred can be in so many different of ways. This is the body of Christ that we are eating Jesus sacrificed His body and blood for us. When I go to church on Sunday I always here â€Å"The Body of Christ† as I receive communion, and I would always kind of put that in the back of my mind. I think this experience informs me a little bit more on the importance of that simple piece of bread â€Å"The Body of Christ†. The other day I was rummaging through my cabinets looking for food and complaining because I didn’t have anything I wanted to eat, this was before my bread experience. Now that I look back on it I probably could have made over twenty different meals but it wasn’t anything I wanted at that time so I got upset. This me ditation really made me appreciate everything I have in life. Jesus statement to Peter is kind of confusing to me, I’m not really sure what Jesus is trying to get across to Peter. If I had to make an assumption I would say that Jesus is saying if you love me you would do anything for me as Jesus loved us and gave up His body and blood for us. Someth...

From market research to proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

From market research to proposal - Assignment Example The taxi business within the surroundings of Lessos is strong and growing. The population is cosmopolitan of approximately 400,000 people and the community is dynamic. The area has low unemployment rates partly because the economy is diversified. In addition Lessos has world renowned museum that attracts tourists and people to the region. The taxi will target both direct consumer business and commercial business. Consumer accounts are usually cub accounts and payable immediately. All taxis are dispatched to the customers’ place of business and their trademark will be cleanliness of the taxi and driver as well as their quick response to customers. Currently there are only two taxi cabs in Lessos area.Bekiro taxi is the largest one and could be considered potential competitor. This is mainly because they are skilful and experienced in handling large numbers of clients. In addition they have a fleet of 52 vehicles and have most of the prestigious accounts in town. The other taxi company manages to generate profits yet they have a small income base and driving outdated equipment in poor condition. Prices are fixed by the city using regulated meters. Increases are usually annual as a result meter errata is usually high in Lessos area. The only metered challenge that can pose as a problem is the metered waiting time which can be adjusted. Most taxi companies do not offer to take credit cards hence locking out potential customers. If this challenge is eradicated a wide range of people would consider taxi as a better substitute to bus services. Riverroad taxi will carry out its operations in a unique way. The concept will be drivers to own their own vehicles and operate in accordance to the company’s policies and procedures. This concept will allow the company to make savings by avoiding costs associated in operating a fleet of vehicles such as maintenance costs. The revenue from the taxi operations is based on one factor; operations fees.

Client entity letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Client entity letter - Essay Example To start with, a solo-proprietorship will require a small capital, few legal requirement if any and less demand in management. Conversely, the returns may not be much as compared to other entities. A partnership requires a group of people, who came together, pool their resources and pursue a common goal. The risk of business failure or losses is spread to a number of individuals hence proving more important that sole-proprietorship. The only requirement is the partnership deed required by the law. A third distinction occurs on liability issue. A sole-proprietorship and partnership are liable for losses that might occur in business. A creditor would claim their dues to be paid if such business collapses. For a limited company, limited liability partnership and corporations, the case is different. The claims would not fall under the owner of the business rather the business itself. However, this should not result from malpractice or professional negligence. These entities are recognized by law and have legal status. Finally, any form of limited entity be it a partnership, limited liability company, public company have access to better funding. The rate of returns is equally promising compared to unlimited form of