Thomas Kings All My Relations :: Essays Papers

Thomas King's All My Relations This is an anthology of writing by nineteen Native Canadian writers, which represents both an attempt to promote Native writing, and an effort to undermine commonly held misunderstandings. It is published by McClelland & Stewart, "The Canadian Publishers", which gives the collection a status of national and cultural importance, while indicating how these writers are working in and through Canada's hegemonic culture. This would seem to go some way towards undermining the book's claims to authenticity, but for the fact that King's stated purpose is much more complex than that. In fact, his introduction specifically considers the concept of the authentic, and is wary of what is potentially a highly limiting notion. Thus, the selection includes work that represents Natives in both traditional and contemporary roles and situations; and the format of the writing ranges from a transcription of an oral narrative to examples of conformity with the generic conventions of the Western short stor y. He is reluctant to constrain the possibilities for Native expression, but is ready to admit that the advent of a written culture with English as a shared language has allowed the various indiginous cultures to discover and explore areas of common belief and practice. Although King believes that it is too early in the history of Native publishing to be able precisely to delineate characteristic patterns, the two major themes which he cites as frequently recurring are those of community and the role of oral literature. He has included a short story of his own in the volume, "The One About Coyote Going West." Coyote is an example of the mythological "Trickster" character who often occurs in Native literature. King himself says "The trickster is an important figure for Native writers for it allows us to create a particular kind of world in which the Judeo-Christian concern with good and evil and order and disorder is replaced with the more Native concern for balance and harmony." (King, xiii) He relates the story in a colloquial, spoken style. Witness the opening lines: " This one is about Coyote. She was going west. Visiting her relations. That's what she said. You got to watch that one. Tricky one." (King, 95) As the story unfolds, the reading expe rience can seem strange for the non-Native. Characters change gender and identity, abstract nouns are blurred with concrete nouns, and the physical universe is represented as a radically unstable place.

The Transcontinental Railroad And Westward Expansion Essay example --

The Transcontinental Railroad and Westward Expansion Thesis: The transcontinental railroad greatly increased Westward expansion in the United States of America during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The history of the United States has been influenced by England in many ways. In the second half of the 1800's, the railroad, which was invented in England, had a major effect on Western expansion in the United States. "Railroads were born in England, a country with dense populations, short distances between cities, and large financial resources. In America there were different circumstances, a sparse population in a huge country, large stretches between cities, and only the smallest amounts of money." ("Railroad" 85) The first American railroads started in the 1830's from the Atlantic ports of Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah (Douglas 23). Within twenty years, four rail lines had crossed the Alleghenies to reach their goal on `Western Waters' of the Great Lakes or the tributaries of the Mississippi. Meanwhile, other lines had started West of the Appalachian mountains, and by the mid-1850's Chicago, St. Louis, and Memphis were connected to the East. Still other lines were stretching Westward, beyond the Mississippi. An international route connected New England and Montreal and another one crossed Southern Ontario between Niagara, New York, and the Detroit River. During the 1850's, North and South routes were developed both East and West of the Alleghenies. It was not until after the Civil War, however, that a permanent railroad bridge was constructed across the Ohio River. After the Civil War, the pace of railroad building increased. The Pacific railroads, the Union Pacific building from Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific building from Sacramento, California, had started to build a transcontinental railroad during the war to help promote national unity. They were joined at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, completing the first rail connection across the continent. Before the transcontinental railroad, the Eastern railroads had lines running only as far West as Omaha, Nebraska. The Western railroads had a few lines running North and South in California, far West of the wall of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In between these two networks was a huge gap of about seventeen hundred mi... ...ched by wagon, which would have discouraged many if not most of the settlers going to become farmers. Unlike the gold miners of the earlier years, the farmers did not dream of getting rich quickly. They wanted to be self-sufficient, and they felt that the land on the Prairie could help them do it. The railroad was an incredible catalyst in the population of the Mid-West and without it the area might still be sparsely populated. The transcontinental railroad proved it's worth and had a tremendous impact on westward expansion. "In less than thirty years after the Civil War, all across the `enormous gap' spanned by the railroad, the interior was being conquered and domesticated." (Cooke 240) Bibliography Cooke, Alistair. Alistair Cooke's America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977. Douglas, George H. All Aboard! The Railroad In American Life. New York: Paragon House, 1992. Horn, Huston. The Old West The Pioneers. New York: Time-Life Books, 1974. Merk, Frederick. History of the Westward Movement. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978. "Railroad." Compton's Encyclopedia. 1990 edition. "United States of America." The New Encyclop‘dia Britannica. 1990 edition.

Accounting Is Dubbed “Language” of Business Activities

Essential link in objectives of business —–‘Accounting is dubbed â€Å"language† of business activities conducted by firms as it is used to communicate business transactions per se to all stakeholders’ According to Weygand, Kieso and Kimmel (2012, p. 4), the main purpose of accounting is consists of three basic activities, identifying, recording and communicating the business events by users. These three activities help the firm to operate the business to make decision be meaningful. Business has closely connection when doing transaction with their stakeholders by using the accounting, in order to make maximize profits.Role of firm Firm (also known as business or enterprise) is an organization involved trade goods and services to consumers. Business use different models and plans to figure out their target and outcome, in order to achieve organizational goal and achieve sufficient profit to finance our company growth, which create value and wealth fo r our shareholders. There are three forms of ownership, proprietorship, partnership and corporation. Every type of business receives different targets and objectives; it is because the employer or shareholder is taking different level of risk and responsible.Each organization’s employer sets its objectives to overcome difficulties. It relates to produce in different firms with different types products and how to satisfied their consumer, such as restaurant produce well-prepared food to hungry customers and cars factory fabrication and assembly of cars to produce in high-quality to buyers. Therefore, the method used or issued meet should be different. Each type of business system will meet different levels of target. The objective, however, is quite similar to each other. As Edmonds, McNair and Olds (2006, p. ) mentioned, in most cases, the companies aim to satisfy consumer preferences efficiently (at lowest cost) and aftermath with higher earnings. During business transaction , the main purpose for firms is to obtain maximize profits and the buyers to pay at least amount of money. Otherwise, the loss will lead firms be bankrupt and result in unemployment rate increased. Business Transactions Business transactions are recording the business’s economic events by accountant. The economic events such as transaction are passing through accounting process of organization to users.The accountant records the transaction when the financial position (assets, liabilities or equity) of the company changed. In addition, the accounting equation must include the transactions, two or more items, which have dual effect and could be affected. There are two types of transactions which called external and internal. External transaction is record business events between the company and some outside enterprise. For example, LMS pizza shop purchases of cooking machine (equipment) from a supplier, and then sale the piazzas to customers are related to external transaction s.Different to external transaction, internal transactions are economic events that occur all within one company. The use of cooking and washing machine (supplies) are internal transactions for this company. However, the company must analyze each event to illustrate if it affects the components of the accounting equation. For example, the company ordered additional films at $1000. This event will not be record. In the reason, the company’s financial position does not change during this activity. But if there is deposit that company needs to pay.Then the accountant should record this transaction. The accountant has ability to decide which transaction should be record. Determine the Value changing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) companies can apply fair value to property, plant, equipment and natural resources. The companies can sell the assets to fair value at the reporting data. If revaluation is used, business needs to follow the revaluation procedures. As sets that are experiencing rapid price changes must be revalued on an annual basis. Otherwise, less frequent revaluation is acceptable.However, most companies choose to remain the original cost they paid instead to revalue. It is faithful to represent the fair value and the negative effects on the net income. Business should evaluate the faithful representation and relevance of trades-off in any case and determine the importance that the company considered at. To illustrate asset revaluation accounting, assume that an organization called as LMS pizza shop, they purchased the used machine to making pizza for $10,000 on March 11, 2013. But at the end of May 2013, the cooking machine is increased its wealth value to $13,000.At this time, the accountant has two decisions to record this value changed. One is to revalue the price and another one is to keep it remains the same. However, this action should consider by the company own perspective. It is because the revaluation is affecting t he net income. In the short summary, if it is the case that the value falls, the company gets positive effects on the net income. Otherwise, the company obtains negative effects on the net income. Finally, the company can fetch a higher price if sold the assets at the reporting date. Essential link in objectives of businessTarget as the core of growth for companies. During operation, companies have many decision-makings, like which firm is better to award of contract and which firm can bring most benefits. These decisions are related to company’s benefit (profit), which are the business objectives. This is because the business objectives are the main purpose for running business to obtain maximum profit at lowest cost. The statement is more clearly to anyone, even who outside the organization. It is benefit for everyone to use the information of financial accounting.Especially is for investors, creditors and other external users. That is all of the fundament about financial a ccounting. According to IFRS, there are two measurement principles they usually use, the historical cost principle or the fair value principle. By using these two principles, company can clearly be seen in the earning profit or loss. According to Williams, financial accounting is wide range uses in the business community nowadays (Williams et. al, 2011). Any decisions that the business makes need to concern about all of three activities in accounting quation. The companies all predicate of the objectives that is bringing as much as profit to them. Summary Accounting as a major indicator for simply convenient operation and shorten the time to achieve company’s goals. It is not only a kind of business language, but also a tool for measuring the target for company. As a business tool, it help employer to narrow the distance with all stakeholders in any transactions, hence to help achievement of objective and then obtain higher rate of return in anytime. Words: 1068Reference * We ygandt, J, Kieso, E& Kimmel, D (2012), Financial Accounting (IFRS edition). WILEY. USA * Edmonds, T, Edmonds, C, McNair, F& Olds, P, (2006), Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts (5th edition) McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. New York * Williams, Haka, Bettner, and Carcello (2011), Financial Accounting: Including IFRS, Financial Accounting (Fourteenth Edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. New York * International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), retrieved from http://www. iasb. org/

Managing Change in the Workplace Essay

To begin the critical analysis of how a change of event in the work place reflects upon, not only the management of the change process but also the impact that change can have upon the organisation and the quality of the service provided. Firstly it may be worth nothing the definition of ‘change’ is quoted in Webster’s English Dictionary as †¦. â€Å"Change (transitive verb) to make different, to alter; to transform; to exchange; to put fresh clothes on. (2006 p73) As a manager of a setting one’s personal experience would tell that there are many different types of ‘change’ that can arise in a private day nursery, one example has recently occurred where two qualified members of the team, who both worked together in the baby room, terminated their contract of employment within weeks of each other. This became a problem as it only gave the company four weeks to: advertise the position, interview candidates and compare them to the person specification required for the job, then upon occupying the positions the new recruits needed to learn the everyday practices and bond with the children and of course the parents, who maybe understandably concerned with the issue. Therefore the process of change has to be organised to make the transition a smooth one. However as people we exist within contradiction. On the one hand, we need stability and security to perform well but on the other hand we can become stagnant, complacent and uncreative when we shy away from change or even when we find we simply cannot cope with it. It seems that we are more interested in the process of change and what the implications of change actually are. As there is no way of predicting when change will happen, as a manager it is better to be equipped to deal with it when it does. Any manager will tell you that in the nursery world staff turnover can be high. Therefore being better equipped will also create an environment where change is a natural and exciting ‘organic’ process. (Cole 2006 p.111) Consequently a manager needs to begin looking at the limitations they unconsciously place upon themselves. The greater our own understanding of how we are affected by change and how we react to it, the better prepared we will be to deal with it – whether that change is by our own choice or someone else’s. (Mabey and Mayon-White, 1993 p8) Before looking at change management, it is important to mention that some people thrive on change. They can not stay in one job, in one relationship or in one country for very long. They need to shake up their own status quo. They sometimes create change just for the sake of it (Cannon. 1994 p 246) This on the other hand can cause problems to other people within the setting; people are pattern-making mechanisms. In general, our systems are more comfortable with pattern and routine than with change. Once a pattern is established, the left side of our brains (the logical, analytical, pattern-making sphere) will quite happily keep marching along that path. (Veccio1988 p 34) Any type of change that occurs asks us to change a point of view and adopt a way of seeing the world that is at odds with the way we are used to seeing it, thus causing us to tap into our insecurities. We can develop a feeling of unsure-ness, a sense of not quite knowing what the is ‘right’ thing to do. There is no longer a predictable, reliable pattern to follow, and where children are concerned, parents have to deal with these insecurities and worries immediately, simply being a voice for their children. One of the challenges with ‘Change Management’ is to maintain the current business operations while the changes are being implemented. A framework needs to be created and maintained within a positive environment, this will help people accept the changes leaving them prepared and committed to assist with implementing them. Employees need to feel empowered rather than feeling they are being manipulated or coerced, and focus needs to be on the long-term goals rather than on a quick-fix to the situation.

Metaphor and Architecture

Metaphor and architectureMetaphor comes from Middle Frenchmetaphore ( Old Frenchmetafore, 13c. ) , and straight from Latinmetaphora, from Greekmetaphora † a transportation, † particularly of the sense of one word to a different word, literally â€Å" a carrying over, † frommetapherein † transportation, carry over ; alteration, alter ; to utilize a word in a unusual sense, † frommeta- † over, across † [ 1 ] .Using metaphors in architecture can be tricky at times as there is a really all right line between tacky and kitsch. This essay explore the application of corporal knowledge in architecture by utilizing metaphor and an first-class undertaking designed utilizing metaphor – Terragni’s Danteum which is a interlingual rendition of Dante’s Divine Comedy into architecture by beds of significance.From the debut, we get a little apprehension of what is metaphor. Before diging farther, we’ll explore metaphor more extens ively here. As we know in literature, metaphor is a medium in connoting things and objects that are different from each other but carries some similar feature between them. For illustration, ‘ Alice is a walk-to dictionary.’ ; this sentence does non intend that Alice is a dictionary but it means that she is so smart and knowing that she is like a dictionary that is ALIVE. In this instance, when we think about ‘dictionaries’ , vocabulary, book and cognition came into our head while ‘walking ‘ gives personification to the term ‘ walking dictionary’ . Arguably, Shakespeare has possibly the best usage of metaphor in his plants. In Sonnet 18, he uses summer as a metaphor for his love. From the above illustrations, we can see that the appropriate use of metaphor entreaties straight to the senses of the readers by heightening their imaginativeness. Therefore, metaphors give the readers fresh positions, thoughts and believing sing the topic .Barie Fez-Barringten one time quotedâ€Å"Metaphor is a accelerator which fuses memories, experiences and other manner of being ; it embodies within its ain peculiarity certain cosmopolitan symbols and constructs common to mankind. Metaphorically things, times and topographic points known to hold a discriminatory particular or localized usage in one context are explicitly employed in another. One familiar and one unusual term are normally composed into a individual signifier where one term usually used in one context is brought over into another with the usage of illuminating ; doing more apparent something in the 2nd sphere which otherwise remains obscure.†However, the inquiry sing how metaphor and architecture relates still remained unreciprocated. How can we plan with metaphor? Metaphors can raise senses such as sound, gustatory sensation, odor, touch and sight to the readers. Interestingly, there is a research sing corporal knowledge in Psychology which suggests that the senses mentioned earlier influences the manner worlds make opinions of the external universe. Now we can see how senses and corporal knowledge are connected to each other. By utilizing metaphors, we can determine and change the experiences of the people in our architecture by raising their senses.White, M.A one time quotedâ€Å"In fact, the relationship between physical experience and idea is a cardinal component in cognitive linguistics† . He besides said that the physical interaction of the bodily human being with his/her environment plays a major function in authorising adult male to build abstract idea.From the diagram above, we can see some touch senses and how people think and feel sing them. Let’s take an illustration, Light gives a feeling of insouciant, fun, high-tech, inexpensive, delicate.We can easy place architecture that relates closely to some of the properties mentioned above – SANNA – Rolex larning Centre.From the image above, we can see how white gives the edifice a futuristic feeling. The really fact that the edifice has an organic form and ‘not touching the ground’ gives an air of high tech magnificence. Although it doesn’t gives a inexpensive vibration, the slim and long columns and all other simple item decidedly makes it really delicate. The slender column back uping the roof, the form, the coloring material strategy made the undertaking really elegant. On the other manus, Heavy gives a feeling of importance, valuable and seriousness. We don’t even necessitate a specific illustration for this as it has ever been around us. We can frequently happen memorials around us which are normally made or built with rocks, marbles and concrete. In United States, the White House and Pentagon in a manner convey the political and military art of the state. Our really ain Cardiff University Main edifice is a really good illustration that gives people feeling of importance, valuable and earnestness. In fact, a batch of old political and educational establishment edifice shows weightiness and in most instances they are masonry edifice. The ‘heavy’ isn’t merely the physical weightiness as in weight, but besides the metaphysical solemn vibration that these edifices relay to the people. This clearly proved that the surveies about corporal knowledge is true, the head and the organic structure is inseparable.Continuing from the last paragraph, we can briefly mentioned the connexion of the senses – Light and Heavy to the stuffs used. As mentioned above, most old political and educational establishments are masonry edifices. Materials besides play an of import portion in raising senses. Let’s take an illustration, concrete.Coach: What type of stuff are you traveling to utilize?Student: Concrete.Coach: What type of concrete? There are tonss of types of concrete, from how you cast the concrete to the composing of the stuffs in the concrete mixture†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ .I believe this is a instead common conversation between a coach and a pupil everyplace around the universe. At least, this conversation was my really ain experience during tutorial, and my coach has been teasing me to make up one's mind the type of concrete I want to utilize for hebdomads. A image speaks a 1000 words, so the undermentioned images would do the treatment easier to understand.The first image shows the church of visible radiation by Tadao Ando while the 2nd images shows the Brother Klaus Field Chapel by Peter Zumpthor. They are both churches and the stuff used are concrete. I think we can see how different they are. Being inside the church of Light and Brother Klaus Field certainly give the visitants wholly different feelings, we can see the importance of stuff, non merely the pick of stuff ( glass, steel or concrete ) but besides how we are handling the stuffs.The dramatis personae affects the textures ( smooth or unsmooth ) . The composing of t he concrete mixture affects the coloring material, texture and ‘heaviness’ of the concrete. All these small inside informations are things that designers can make up one's mind, and this determination plays a critical function in making the ambiance and raising the senses of the people utilizing the edifice.Forty, A. one time said that â€Å"Successful metaphors rely on the dissimilitude of things, non upon their similitude. The feature of an effectual metaphor is it borrows an image from one scheme of thoughts, and applies it to another, antecedently unrelated scheme.With the decision on the relationship between metaphor and architecture, we are traveling to analyze a undertaking called The Danteum. The use of metaphor in architecture has been taken to a whole new degree in Danteum. Although it was ne'er built, it is decidedly a undertaking worth analyzing. What makes Danteum successful is the beds of significances that surrounds the undertaking.Danteum is an unfulfil led undertaking commissioned by Mussolini’s Fascist government.At that clip Italy was ruled by Musolini. In order to set Italy back on the universe map as one of the strongest state, Mussolini for a literary chef-d'oeuvre of Italy’s olympian and canonized yesteryear as a representation of Italy’s illustriousness and asked Terragni to plan a memorial for Dante’s Divine Comedy. Danteum was ne'er built due to the diminution of mussolini’s power during World War II. The edifices take the visitant through a sequence of 3 different kingdoms: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Divine comedy can be interpreted into several distinguishable degrees as it is interlaced with the physical, societal, political and historical system.Terragni takes the visitants through different brushs in his proposal. There are four primary constituent in the Danteum: The entryway tribunal, Inferno, Purgatory and Paradiso.The image above shows the circulation way that can be taken. The visitant enters a long narrow tract and would hold to do a u bend into the courtyard. The atmosphere alterations from a more restricted infinite to a more unfastened infinite in the courtyard. However, the infinite diminishes once more as the visitant advancement from the tribunal to the wood of columns so to the three stairss. As the visitants pass through the columns and down some stairss, the sum of visible radiation in the infinites easy diminishes every bit good till they reach Inferno. The Inferno which is in a form of a aureate rectangle can be decomposed into seven squares with different floor highs. This is rather different to a conventional edifice where the walls are those that are changed ( holding window, nothingness or gaps of different tallness and size ) . The hell has a dark inside with light coming in through the narrow spreads. Then, the visitants would hold to travel up a series of stepss that leads to Purgatory which is a reminiscent of the abbreviate d conelike mountain island holding seven valances. From here, the infinite becomes brighter as they proceed from Purgatory to Paradiso. Part of Paradiso ( upper portion of Paradiso in floor program ) extends to the Empyrean while the other side leads to the issues.The ambiance in hell[ 2 ] Inferno[ 3 ] ParadisoDanteum is designed with compositional, numerical and descriptive properties from The Divine Comedy that form the plan of the undertaking. The spacial administration of Danteum adheres closely to the verse form. Alternatively of utilizing a actual interlingual rendition on The Divine Comedy, Terragni delved deeper into history and other metaphorical elements to connote elusive narrative of the verse form. In the image below, you can see how Danteum’s floor program is based on the Golden Section which was popular after the Renaissance period. There is 2 squares overlapping and shifted off from each other to organize a Golden Rectangle. This forms the margin of Danteum an d creates a threshold between the 3 kingdoms. The usage of Golden Section as a proportioning system besides generates the placement of the columns which is more obvious in the Inferno. The hell is decomposed into 7 squares where the columns were placed at the centre of a nested square within the Golden Section. The Columns besides diminishes in size, gyrating along the Golden Section. On the other manus, the columns in the courtyard are of the same size and array upon a square grid. The handling of columns in Danteum is unconventional in the modernist motion where the wall defines the kingdom while the columns dance in infinite which is different with the modernist motion.[ 4 ] Floor Plan and Golden SectionThe numerical properties of the Divine Comedy plays a immense portion in Danteum’s design. It besides influences the columns in Danteum where they denote the abstract construction of the verse form. There are 100 cantos in the verse form and therefore there are besides 100 columns in the Danteum.In the verse form, the imaginations of the kingdoms were described through topological constructions. The Northern hemisphere had landmass with Jerusalem at the centre whereas the Southern Hemisphere is covered with H2O. The hell – snake pit was created when Lucifer was thrown out of Eden when dramatis personae in the deepness of fire.This image shows the subdivision cutting across Inferno and purgatory. ( Inferno on the left, Purgatory on the right ) . Notice how Inferno is lower than the Purgatory? Since in the verse form, creative activity of Inferno is the ground why Purgatory is formed, mass of Earth from hell is transferred to Purgatory doing Inferno lowest portion of the kingdom ( snake pit is the lowest ) , back uping the Purgatory with mass from Inferno ( Inferno as a foundation of Purgatory ) . Purgatory is described as a mountain surrounded by H2O. The mass from Inferno made Purgatory into a ‘physical mountain’ surrounded by H2O ( As mentioned before, the South hemisphere is covered with H2O ) .Paradiso is the 3rd room sitting above the 100 columns ( the hundred columns is a metaphor for dante’s wood with light filtrating through the glass block above merely like how light is filtered by the foliages in the wood ) . It is constructed with grid construction, with 33 glass columns. The floor, beams, roof are all made from glass. The contemplation and refraction of visible radiation off the glass surface gave Paradiso a Ethereal feeling that one can easy associate and conceive of when one idea about Eden. The stuff pick for Paradiso made it a really light compared to the other relams. ( Refer to floor program ) , note that there is 9 circles in the center of Paradiso, the 9 circles are really glass columns stand foring the 9 domains environing the Earth, and beyond that sits the concluding place of God. In Paradiso, psyches are entitled a particular sphere harmonizing to their virtues.On the other manus , the 7 squares in Purgatory represent the salvation of the seven wickednesss. The roof has comparatively big nothingnesss to allow light into the infinite compared to Inferno. In the subdivision, observe how the land degree for Inferno is uneven and the slabs supported by the columns are non connected leting visible radiation to slice through the roof, they convey the rough landscape on Earth in a more utmost signifier harmonizing to Terragni’s text â€Å"The esthesis of the at hand, of nothingness formed under the crust of Earth and through a awful seismal upset caused by the autumn of Lucifer’ .BibliographySchumacher, Thomas L. , Terragni ‘s Danteum,2neodymiumedn ( Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press,1993 )Kanekar, Aarti, Metaphor in Morphic Language ( London: UCL,2009 ) Schnall, S. Are at that place basic metaphors? ( 2013 ) . In M. J. Landau, M. D. Robinson & A ; B. P. Meier ( Eds. ) , The power of metaphor: Analyzing its influence on societal life.Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.1hypertext transfer protocol: //www.etymonline.com/index.php? term=metaphor

Great Gatsby Criticism Essay

In Marilyn Roberts’ criticism of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby she compares the main character Jay Gatsby to another main character of another novel and movie, Tony Guarino of Scarface. Marilyn Roberts states in her criticism that the writers of Scarface used Jay Gatsby as a model to represent the rise of their own protagonist, Tony Guarino. Scarface is much like The Great Gatsby, a classic rag to riches stories by means of not so legal practices. Affluence, power, and lives of luxuriant ease are what these two men portray. With money and power these men also need high-status women in their lives. For Jay Gatsby the woman he chases after is Daisy Buchannan, the wife of Tom Buchannan. In the world of Tony Guarino the woman in his life is named Poppy. Influence from The Great Gatsby is shown here and throughout the two stories, the name Poppy is a flower like Daisy’s name also is a flower. Poppy and Daisy are also much alike asides from both their names originating from a flower. Both Poppy and Daisy are shallow, self-absorbed, and deceitful. Another comparison brought up is that both women are in their own relationships not with Tony or Jay. Jay Gatsby and Tony Guarino are determined to take these women out of their relationships so that they can be together with them. Tony uses his wealth to try and win over Poppy buying her clothes and even a home, Jay also uses his immense wealth to try and win Daisy over which is not successful. To show their characters immense wealth the writers of both Scarface and The Great Gatsby used shirts as symbols. These shirts are used as symbols to represent the American Dream, limitless freedom, wealth, and ambition. The men also use the shirts to try and win over their love interests. In The Great Gatsby, Jay pulls out his shirts collection to show Daisy, â€Å"They’re such beautiful shirts,† she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. â€Å"It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such–such beautiful shirts before. â€Å"(Fitzgerald). Jay does this to show off his wealth, throwing expensive and high quality shirts onto the floor. The writers of Scarface made their own rendition of the scene. While touring Tony’s house Poppy seems unimpressed but when Tony takes her to his bedroom he pulls out his shirt collection and throws them on the floor, Poppy eases up when shown the shirts. Both men are also considered as gangsters in Roberts’ criticism. Jay runs an illegal alcohol bootlegging ring and Tony runs a drug cartel. Along with Gatsby’s death Tony is also killed for pursuing the woman he thinks he loves and not by a fellow gangster. Tony’s death like Gatsby’s is rooted in jealousy. Jay Gatsby is killed by a jealous husband (Wilson) thfdafa at thought Jay killed his wife (Myrtle).

To what extent and in what ways is Fitzgerald purely critical of Gatsby?

Dreams are a large part of â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, both in the wider sense and in terms of individuals, and Gatsby is the character whose dream is focussed on the most. It is difficult to tell what Fitzgerald truly thinks, due to the fact that he uses Nick as the narrator – meaning the reader finds it hard to separate their feelings. However, by looking at how he presents the characters in the novel, and the society as a whole, we can perhaps see what Fitzgerald thinks about Gatsby's dreams in the novel. Fitzgerald's views are presented ambiguously in the novel, with the comparison to the rest of society being the main point against the title views, and the presentation of Daisy and materialism perhaps being the main arguments to support the statement in the title. One way in which Fitzgerald shows his views to the reader is in his presentation of Gatsby's dream itself, otherwise known as Daisy. From the beginning of the novel, she is presented by Fitzgerald as a rather annoying, simple character who seems to have very few redeeming qualities about her other than her looks. From her simple and repeated dialogue â€Å"Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it†, the reader is made to feel that Daisy has very little substance to her character, with the exception of her â€Å"low, thrilling† voice. Despite the reader having a screen in front of Fitzgerald's viewpoint in terms of Nick as the narrator, who clearly Fitzgerald intends to show as somewhat drawn to Daisy, we are still able to see that the only characteristics of Daisy's that are praised seem to be superficial. Therefore, when we are told that this woman has been Gatsby's dream and who he has built his life around for the past five years, it perhaps makes us question whether Fitzgerald is trying to portray Daisy as worthwhile of this dedication. This doubt arises I feel that if Fitzgerald was applauding Gatsby's dream of Daisy, he perhaps may have presented her as a more likeable, intelligent character with qualities that could easily be admired universally. As a result of this portrayal of Daisy, I believe it shows Fitzgerald to be mainly critical of Gatsby and his dream. However, this could depend on the era that the individual is based in – readers today could find Daisy as more of an annoyance due to the change in women's roles, in that today women are far more independent and take far more responsibility than they did in the 1920's. Daisy's apparent simple nature may therefore annoy modern readers more than in the past as we are less able to understand that this was how women were expected to be in the 1920's. Nevertheless, even taking these time changes into account I believe that Fitzgerald still intended Daisy to appear perhaps lacking in typical good qualities to highlight a potential point about Gatsby's dream. However, Daisy's apparent lack of appeal as a character could be used by Fitzgerald to portray Gatsby's dream in a better light, if we look from the angle of his loyalty to Daisy. The way that Gatsby has stayed so faithful and loyal to his dream to be with Daisy, despite (in our eyes) the fact that she is not worth it, could show that Fitzgerald is praising his dream as a cause of this admirable quality in Gatsby's character. This would go against the statement that Fitzgerald is purely critical of his dreams, as it would imply that they bring out the best in people. However, the other interpretation of Gatsby's loyalty could support the title statement, as Fitzgerald at times implies that Gatsby is foolish for holding on to the memory of Daisy, and building her up to such a high status in his mind. An example of this is when Fitzgerald writes â€Å"and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath†. Although it is implied that it is Gatsby who says the words, I still believe it shows Fitzgerald's dislike of Gatsby's attitude towards Daisy by making the phrase so exaggerated – it implies that he is blinded by his past perceptions of her, in addition to the actual phrase that seems to imply Gatsby is foolish for putting all his hopes into someone who could leave him. I believe that in this way Fitzgerald is criticising Gatsby's dream because of how he holds it in his mind and how it affects him. Another aspect that could show that Fitzgerald is critical is how he links Gatsby's dream of Daisy to material objects and status. Throughout the novel, he creates the impression that these two things are intertwined in Gatsby's mind with his dream of being with Daisy. He describes her voice as â€Å"full of money†, and shows off his house to her, lingering on his wardrobe with the â€Å"pile of shirts [†¦ ] in many coloured disarray†. The first quote shows how Gatsby links Daisy with money in his mind, and as a result of this Fitzgerald makes the reader question whether it is really Daisy he wants or if it is the social status that she represents to him. The close link to materialism in his dream can also be seen in the section where Gatsby shows Daisy his shirts, where he is literally trying to prove himself to her using what he owns. They are even described as a â€Å"rich heap†, which I believe could be a play on words by Fitzgerald – obviously â€Å"rich† in terms of the colours of the shirts, but also literally â€Å"rich† as perhaps this is what the shirts mean to the characters. The description is also given as a list – the frequent repetition of the word â€Å"and† in the paragraph also implies that Gatsby is showing off as much of his material worth as he can. I think both of these things are a criticism of Gatsby's dream by Fitzgerald, as it seems as if he is trying to say that this love he has had for Daisy all these years is really fuelled by status and money – a criticism because it therefore becomes even less of a worthwhile dream. It also appears to be critical as these links would imply that Gatsby has spent all this time chasing after a somewhat empty dream, as he has money and a certain amount of status in his community. It could also give the impression that Fitzgerald feels that Gatsby may never feel that his dream has been completely fulfilled if it is status that he wishes to have. This point could be linked to Fitzgerald's overall views about dreams in America at that point, as he could be trying to say that these people who think that material objects and status will make them happy (perhaps those people who were or are enticed by a vision of the American Dream) will never be truly happy as there will always be somebody richer, more popular or at a higher status than themselves. If the reader links this point to Fitzgerald's feelings about Gatsby's dream, it would indicate that he is critical of it for the most part. A second quote that could show that Fitzgerald is critical of this intense build-up of dreams is on page 93; â€Å"No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart†. I believe that this quote is Fitzgerald telling the reader that what is there in reality can never match our dreams – in Gatsby's case, that the real life Daisy can never live up to the image he has stored of her in his heart and mind, the realistic approach being represented by the â€Å"fire† and â€Å"freshness†. Again, I believe that this is also referring to dreams in general, and how it is so often the case that dreams are not always so amazing in reality, and can often disappoint – and could perhaps be a specific reference to the â€Å"American Dream† and how, for many people, this is not as amazing as it is built up to be when achieved. This seems critical from Fitzgerald, both of Gatsby's dream and of dreams universally as he appears to be making the point that dreams are often built up and aimed too high – perhaps giving false hope. Although there are many aspects throughout the book that indicate Fitzgerald is solely critical of Gatsby's dream, by giving us the comparison to the rest of the East Coast society, parts of the novel seem to be suggesting that this is not the case. Throughout the novel, the residents of the East and West Eggs have been presented by Fitzgerald as very materialistic – living for objects, and trivial gossip, rather than people or feelings. Mrs Wilson describes how she knew Mr Wilson wasn't right for her when she discovered he had â€Å"borrowed somebody's best suit† to get married in – showing the focus on objects rather than feelings in the society. Therefore, amongst the gossiping and whispering (for example at Gatsby's parties), to have Gatsby focused on someone and loyal to someone for an extended period of time makes for a very refreshing comparison. Fitzgerald is therefore showing to the reader how having dreams can make you a better person, and almost more real in comparison to the rest of the society, which has been portrayed as somewhat fake by Fitzgerald. In this sense, it would go against the statement that Fitzgerald is purely critical of Gatsby's dream, as this seem to be a positive side to his dreams. Another element of the novel that could be seen to contradict the title statement is also a comparison between Gatsby and the rest of the East Coast society. We are shown throughout the novel how many of the residents do not seem to care about anything, anyone or consequences of their actions. An example of this is Jordan, who confesses to Nick that she feels she can avoid being careful whilst driving because â€Å"other people will keep out of† her way. This shows a disregard for the consequences of her actions and of other people and can be seen to be representative of many of the upper class people on the East Coast – expecting everyone else to comply with the rules and regulations but disregarding them themselves. Again, in this way Gatsby is definitely a contrast – he obviously cares about something, which is the first main difference that I believe Fitzgerald wants us to see. In addition to this, Gatsby has been shown to think very carefully about the consequences of his actions – for example when he re-enters Nick's house after Daisy arrives to make it appear as if he has not been waiting. Whilst this could be seen as somewhat calculating, I believe Fitzgerald intended it as another comparison to the rest of society, as it again uplifting for the reader to see that at least one character is concerned about the effect his actions might have on others. This once more shows that the effect of Gatsby having a bigger dream and ambition in his life has led to him seemingly being portrayed as a better person. This aspect of the comparison would also contradict the title statement, as to me it seems that Fitzgerald wished for this positive difference to be shown – meaning that he would not be purely critical of Gatsby's dreams. A view that Fitzgerald seems to put across to contradict the belief that he is purely critical is when he links dreaming and dreams to vitality and life. More than once in the novel he describes Gatsby in terms of the life Daisy seems to give him – describing the â€Å"colossal vitality† of his dream and the two of them as â€Å"possessed by intense life†. Both of these quotes seem to imply that Fitzgerald dreaming is natural, and is almost what makes you human. More specifically, the way that Fitzgerald implies that reaching his dream has given Gatsby life makes it seem as if we are completed by our dreams and that finally having Daisy in his life has completed Gatsby. Considering that Gatsby has already what many people might dream of – a lot of money and a mansion, the fact that it has taken his sentimental dream based on feelings and love to give him life seems a very positive view from Fitzgerald. It also links to the earlier comparison between Gatsby and the rest of the East Coast society that we view, as this clearly shows that Gatsby puts more emphasis on emotions and feelings than many of the other people. These quotes from the book could possibly be taken as negative, as it could perhaps be seen as somewhat pathetic that Gatsby relies on somebody else (and, as mentioned earlier, particularly Daisy) to complete his happiness, meaning that Fitzgerald would perhaps view Gatsby as foolish. However, I believe that the way Fitzgerald has tried to make Gatsby's dreams and feelings seem more natural are a direct pointer to how dreaming is a part of human nature, and as such, he is not criticising Gatsby's dream at this point. Due to Fitzgerald's seeming disregard for Daisy in the novel, I believe that he is critical of Gatsby's dream to be with her. However, I believe the other aspects of his presentation linking to dreams in a wider context prevent this view from seeming as if he is purely critical of it – the way that he suggests dreams are important to human nature and separate Gatsby from the crowd imply that Fitzgerald finds dreaming admirable, to an extent. For him to be purely critical I believe that he would have to feel purely critical of dreaming in general, which I believe not to be the case. Therefore, I believe the conclusion that Fitzgerald is critical to an extent is far more feasible and takes into account the more positive aspects of dreaming that he seems to incorporate and believe in.