The Byzantine Empire Essay Example for Free

The Byzantine Empire Essay When the western Roman Empire descended into chaos in 500 C.E. much of the Roman culture on the west side was lost, while the Eastern empire survived and preserved much of the surviving Roman Culture, but changed it’s name to the â€Å"Byzantine Empire,† showing individuality in many aspects between Rome and Byzantine. The Byzantine Empire was the surviving reminisces of the Roman Empire, which flourished into the oldest and longest lasting empire in our history. It began with the emperor Constantine who based much of the Byzantine Empire social structure of Rome. For example, the romans had two distinct classes, the Patricians and the Plebeians, the poor and the elite. The Byzantines had the poors and the Vassals. Although there was a severe gap between the social classes, the Byzantines had something called a Pepacy or the office of the people. â€Å"The laws of every people governed by statutes and customs are partly peculiar to itself, partly common to all mankind†¦..† This shows that although it continued on the Greek style of democracy, it incorporated its own laws and writings in it (Document 1 and Document 4) When the Western Roman Empire crumbled down, many people don’t know the extent of the damage the Western Empire endured. â€Å"And having a mind set upon evil, they took in hand unlawful deeds, thinking to suppress altogether the depicting of the venerable images.† This displays the chaos and anarchy roaming in Western Rome. And when the Byzantine Empire came about, it was the nail in the coffin, marking the decline of the Roman Empire (Document 3) Originally Roman religion worshipped the emperor as a god, a single deity, however that all changed when Constantine came into power. He quickly established the Byzantine capital as Constantinople, and made Christianity as the national religion. This marked the start of Christian ascendancy, which quickly globalized Western Europe. â€Å"We should be the slaves, not the sons of such as Church, and the Roman See would not be the pious mother of sons but a hard and imperious mistress of slaves.† The following quote depicts many citizens against and the Christian way of life, which eventually switched over to Islam and Constantinople was renamed to modern day â€Å"Istanbul.† (Document 2 and Document 5) If given a bonus document it would explain how people lived day in and day out living in the Byzantine Empire. Because it will explain how much of their daily lives are parallel to that of the ancient Romans.

Tyre Manufacturing Company Analysis

Tyre Manufacturing Company Analysis INTRODUCTION: MADRAS RUBBER FACTORY is major tyre manufacturing company located in Chennai, southern part of India. It is successful and Indias biggesttyre manufacturing company and one of the best competitor in production of tyres worldwide. The MRF products are renowned for its quality andinnovation. It exports its products to more than 65 countries in America, Europe, Japan, Middle East, Japan and Pacific. HISTORY: In 1946, K.M. Mammen Mappillai started this company as a small toy balloon manufacturing unit in a shed. In 1949, the business started producing a variety of products like balloons, toys to industrial gloves and contraceptives. MRF was also established as first office at Thambu Chetty Street, Chennai, India. In 1952, manufacturing of tread-rubber started in that unit by installation of first machine and a rubber mill at that factory. In 1961, MRF established with Mansfield tire Rubber Company of USA and started manufacture of tyres with a huge success gained in tread-rubber. In 1964, the export business of tyres made in progress. At Beirut (Lebanon) an overseas office was established for the development export market. MRF muscleman is popularly known now but this year was his birth. In 1967, MRF has become the first Indian company to export tyres to USA. In the next 3 years MRF inaugurates Kottayam unit, a factory in Goa and Arakkonam plant. This was first company to produce Nylon tyres and gained huge commercial success. And later MRF Superlug-78 was introduced for heavy duty trucks, this largest selling truck tyre in the country. In 1980, MRF technically collaborated with B.F Goodrich Company of USA which was involved in development with NASA space-shuttle. In the year 1984, the turnover of company crossed 2 billion INR and the first India tyres produced by MRF for the fitment of MARUTI SUZUKI 800, which is first Indias small car. Nylogrip tyres were launched for two wheelers in next year. In 1986, National Institution of Quality Assurance recognised MRF against 20 tyre manufacturing companies worldwide. B.F. Goodrich Tyre Company has instituted 6 quality improvement awards to MRF. Due to the companys effectiveness in the market again the turnover has reached to 3 billion INR. Premium Nylon tyre was also launched in the year 1987. In 1989, once again MRF was awardedthe Visvesvaraya award for the bestbusiness company in South India. It is recognised for its quality and excellence in the market. Hasbro International (USA) and MRF collaborated with each other and Funskool India has launched in the year 1989. From 1993 to 1995, the turnover of company reached 10 billion INR to 15 billion INR. And MRF tyres were chosenfor fitment on Daewoo Cielo. Mr and Mrs Mammen Mapillai received gold medal for being first 2 employees of the company, in the golden jubilee year The first ever F3 car and Super Lug tyres for trucks,ZVTS tyres for passenger cars, Nylogrip Zapper for two-wheelers were launched. The rally team of MRF wins APRC rally for first time in the 2001, second time in the year 2003 and third time win in the year 2005. MRFs turnover crossed 30 billion INR in the year 2004 and 50 billion INR in the year 2006. In the year 2007, MRF won JD Power Award. A new type of tyres Super Lug 505 for the trucks was launched. Super Lug FS tyres were also launched because the customers had claimed to be provided them saving fuel. ZLSK tyres were launched. JD Power award was again won by MRF in the year 2008. AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS: MRF achieved to be voted as Most Trusted Tyre Company in India by TNS 2006 global CSR study. JD POWER ASIA PACIFIC award was won by MRF for the customer satisfaction 6 times in last 7 years. CAPEXIL award was won by MRF for exports. MRF PRODUCT DESINGING PROCESS: The process in designing of the product starts directly from the regular customers. From each individual customer, the inputs are compiled Product Development Division or Vehicle specific requirement are received from the OE customers. A special team of 300 scientists and engineers work for MRF and gives its enormous strength in designing the product. First the customers inputs are collected and according to them the team works on to convert them into Design concept. The Cutting-Edge technologies are used in design validation and predictive testing is done before it leaves the drawing board. For new designs, this type of advancement had significantly brought down the time to market. Usage of advanced raw materials are tested and approved in NABL accredited laboratories of the company. MRF works for global suppliers very closely in using latest developments. At the time of approval and after the product is released in the market, the quality of materials used in manufacturing the tyres are closely monitored in the laboratories by the latest testing equipment. All MRFs factories are TS16949/ISO9001 certified in which validation testing and verification of prototypes is manufactured. Then indoor testing of tyres ensures toconform the testing of architecture tomeet MRFs standards and the national standards like BIS/JIS/ETRTO/TRA. Now the tyres are handed over to Vehicle Dynamics Group who makes the design and validates on the vehicle. Tests of tyres are done on testing tracks in a series at several speeds by pushing the limits of its capabilities. MRF ensuresthe tyres are tested successfully on all types of roads, race tracks, and companys laboratories. Only after completing these all various types of testing, the tyres are released to customers. MRF tyres are very much demanded by the customers for its quality and standards. There are 6 manufacturing units in India (GOA, MEDAK, TIRUVOTTIYUR, ARKONAM, PUDUCHERRY and KOTTAYAM.) PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: MRF is the leading manufacturing company of the tyres in various segments. Including tyres, Pretreads, Paints, Coats and Toys are diversified business interests of MRF. By innovation ofthe product and technology, each and every tyre that comes out is tested to weather the toughest conditions and the highest standards that take on any road. Customers are offered by a host of services of the MRF, they are helped from selecting the tyre of their choice to maintaining their vehicle. FUTURE PROJECTS: Radialisation in the tyre industry has become the most important factor in trucks and buses category. The future projects of MRF tyres are to produce radialisation in India. Radialisation can be explained as the most important innovation in the tyre technology. As radialisation was introduced in India since 1978, MRF had not reached to catch its pace according to its expectations in spite of several advantages like additional mileage, saving of fuel, improved driving. In India older vehicles had not suitable geometric fitment of radial tyres on Indian roads. But now the situation is completely different, for the passenger car type segment radialisation has reached to 98%. And for medium and heavy vehicles segment radialisation is 8%, LCV segment radialisation is estimated at 18%. The radialisation of trucks, buses and LCV tyres had started obtaining the momentum. MRF have kept its pace with the improvements of technology that radialisation signifies the art of tyres compared to be th e best in market. A special factory was started in Puducherry for manufacturing of radials. MRF tyres were chosen to use on FIAT UNO, OPEL ASTRA and FORD ESCORT because of its good quality in the market. MRF in India has collaborated with companies like Maruti, Mahindra Mahindra, Tata motors, and Gneral motors. PESTLE ANALYSIS OF MRF: This analysis is used in every type of business organisations. Let us consider on MRF company. There are 6 type of views considers in PESTLE analysis of this organisation, they are: POLITICAL FACTORS OF MRF: The company is politically strong for its high standards and quality assurance in this industry. As the company was started in 1946 before the independence of the country and it is first company which has got success in rubber industry. In 1956, MRF had become leader of market with 50% share of the tread-rubber in India with its good quality and high standards. Many multinational companies had to withdraw from tread-rubber business in India because of an MRFs effective hold on the market. In 1990, the 6th World Cup Boxing Championship was brought to Mumbai, India by MRF where 39 countries had participated. MRF Pace Foundation was setup in the year 1988. Dennis Lille is the director for that academy. Many pace bowlers trained at that foundation were selected to Indian cricket team. The company has all legally approved certifications and it maintains all the national standards. Company is succesfull in satisfying every one specially to the customers and rules and regulations of Indian Government. ECONOMICAL FACTORS OF MRF: By unressolving tax issues, the import duty on natural rubber is more as 20% and 10% as less as on finished tyres is unaddressed because of the issue of tax structure. Due to the increasing cost of raw materials tyre manufacturing companies profit is changing. As the materials based on natural rubber, crude and steel are historically volatility in prices. Domestic natural rubber has increased to 40%. The fact is known that 70% production of price is combines with the manufacturers. As there is a huge demand for tyres of TB category MRF has builded up expoting business with neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and China. Globally this TB tyre segment has more demand for radial tyres. MRF is developing radialisation globally to protect share in international market, and also make complelete grip in Indian market. MRF has set up a factory at Puducherry for radial tyres. SOCIAL FACTORS OF MRF: Presently, small families are demanding for 2/4 wheelers for individuals. The sales of tyres has gained more in past decade. From upper class families with more than 1 car per family observed to be increasing demand of tyres exponentially, mainly in cities where woking couples find difficult to maintain them without more than 1 car. As we know that Indian middle class families are known for its savings frenzy has now been slowly warming up to an idea of EMI and buying on credit. Due to this factors, there is a enormous demand in passenger cars. MRF had gained high profits in providing customer needs in passenger car category.

Incorporating Farmers Knowledge in International Rice Research Essay

Incorporating Farmers' Knowledge in International Rice Research The longevity of many cultures can be attributed to their adherence to tradition, specifically subsistence practices. More likely than not, trying to push modern technology into these cultures will only result in disaster. Such is the case with the Green Revolution and the rice situation Stephen Lansing covered in The Balinese. It simply does not seem logical to disrupt traditional practices that have supported a culture for so long. There is a reason certain practices have been around for so long and that is because they work the best for certain people in certain locations. Sam Fujisaka supports this notion which is the basis for his article "Incorporating Farmers' Knowledge in International Rice Research." Fujiska's article describes his research done examining traditional farming techniques of the Claveria people of the Southern Philippines, so that their methods of rice farming may be used to improve research of agriculture. This article sets a good example for researchers of more developed countries who study such indigenous cultures. Rather than trying to see which modern technology from the "outside world" will best help these cultures, Fujisaka attempts to learn from these cultures' traditional methods to help improve the farming industry. Fujisaka's study of rice farming in the Philippines is much like Lansing's study in Bali, in that both cultures rely heavily on rice farming and both cultures suffered much the same from the effects of the Green Revolution. Thus, finding what improvements need to be made and how, is an important task that could help many people. Fujisaka began exploring these improvements by interviewing local Clave... ...ys best for everyone. This is a point that is necessary for people (specifically anthropologists) to bring into the light when dealing with other cultures. Understanding as much as possible about a culture is essential before attempting to get involved with their lives and, as Fujisaka shows, before getting their lives involved in others. He concludes "that the knowledge of farmers can be used first to identify and prioritise research issues" (139), and considering the respect for these cultures with which he conducted his research, Fujisaka's study can be considered more sound than most. References Fujisaka, Sam. "Incorporating Farmers' Knowledge in International Rice Research." The Cultural Dimension of Development: IndigenousKnowledge Systems. Ed. Warren, D. Michael et al. 1995 124-139. Lansing, J. Stephen. The Balinese Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1995.

The Controversy Over HIV/AIDS Disclosure Law Essay -- Biology Medical

Abstract Forty million people worldwide are infected with the HIV virus. About six percent of them will not inform their intimate partners about their health condition. Many efforts that have been made over the past decade towards establishing a HIV/AIDS law, have finally paid off. The act of disclosing the virus was written in 1990. It caused quite a stir among the citizens of the United States. Many people concluded that there were holes in the disclosure law concerning HIV/AIDS because it lacked complete thought. Some felt that if HIV positive people had to tell others about their condition, they would be more susceptible to discrimination and rejection. Essentially, it was a law that ended a few problems and then led to a massive predicament. As the HIV virus pandemic arose, so did the voices of a plethora of distinct individuals- victims who were infected with this life long curse. However, these victims were unaware of their intimate partner’s sickly condition. In this case, the partner failed to disclose that he/she was HIV positive. As a result, in 1990, the tables started to turn. The victims, who were unaware of the risk they were taking with their partner, finally became the center of attention. (Wallace, 2005) Since 2004, in California, it has been considered a felony when the infected person recognizes that he/she is HIV positive, when he/she has not informed his/her partner, and when he/she intends to pass it on. (California department of Health Services, 2004) Even though the establishment of the law was based on good intentions for the sake of potential victims, problems were solved as new ones began. Some people support the law because it benefits the partner who is at risk. Others in society argue tha t the la... ...tml Cline, R., & McKenzie, n. (2000). Dilemmas of Disclosure in the Age of HIV/ AIDS: Balancing Privacy and Protection in the Health Care Context. Balancing the Secrets of Private Disclosures (pp. 53-69). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Derlega, V., Folk-Barron, L., & Winstead, B. (2000). Reasons for and Against Disclosing HIV- positive Test Results to an Intimate Partner: A Function Perspective. Petronio, Sandra (Ed.) Balancing the Secrets of Private Disclosures (pp. 53-69). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Raver, D. (1997). Old HIV Laws. Washington Post, A 26. There is No Bargaining with HIV. Popular Science. 17 July 2005. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/article/0,20967,783255,00.html Wallace, N. (2005, February). Case Throws HIV Laws Into Question. SMH. 26 July 2005. http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Case

The Town that was Too Small Essay -- Personal Narrative Essay Example

I grew up in the town that was too small for me, and spent my time trying to make it bigger. Moore, Oklahoma had been my home since age two. Moore was a suburb of Oklahoma City. Air Force personnel composed a large segment of the population, providing an eclectic demographic; new faces were common. Then when I was 11, my family moved so my father could to go into the family business (selling truck parts) with his father. Our new home was in the country, near Mannford and Cleveland. I noticed a different culture in these small towns. Whereas "Moore" was merely the name of the town in which I lived, "Cleveland" and "Mannford" represented something more important to their residents. Strangers were viewed with suspicion rather than curiosity. Athletic achievement was absurdly overvalued, as were inter-school competitions; Cleveland's athletic competition placed the town's and residents' honor at stake. Cleveland was actually a transition from childhood to adolescence for me. I developed a prejudice of small, isolated towns. I sought refuge in my Cherokee heritage -- 1/64, actually, but I registered with the BIA to assert my difference from the people around me. I became intensely more curious about places and perspectives with which I was unfamiliar. I began traveling the country on vacations and school breaks. But no matter where I went, my world was too small, because I still returned to Cleveland and the family business. In an effort to expand my world, I learned to pilot a plane. As a toddler, I had often flown with my grandfather in a company plane that he piloted. I grew up fancying myself an authority on the subject. After all, I knew this control did this, and that control did that. So ... ...rub bush (the sort of woody bushes that manage to grow above the tree line). My jeans were soaking wet from having gone through snow and dew-covered plants. Every noise I heard was a bear coming to prove the nature show narrator wrong about bears not eating people, or attacking them for no reason. Fortunately, the narrator was right, and I lived to walk down the mountain in the morning. I learned two important things in Alaska. I learned that a small town in Alaska was less parochial than many larger places. Parochialism wasn't in the size of the town; it is in how people accept differences. I also learned how parochial my own experience was in the grand scheme of things. The world is as big -- or as small -- as I let it be. I hope that as I continue through life, I will also continue to challenge myself so that my world will become ever larger.

“Of Mice and Men” By John Steinbeck †Coursework Essay

â€Å"Of Mice and Men† was set in the 1930’s in North California. This was a time of economic hardship due to the Wall Street Crash. Men were forced to leave their families and find work on ranches. Pay and working conditions were poor. Men scraped by, spending any extra money they had gambling or in one of the many whore houses. This is where Steinbeck drew his inspiration from; he spent time on the ranches experiencing the hardships experienced by the workers. The book is about these workers and the extremely lonely lives they led. It also exposes underlying themes of racism and how badly the disabled were treated. This was a time when people looked after number one, as there was nobody else to do this for them. The two main characters are somewhat different, as they travel and work together, looking out for each other. This was very unusual because life would have been hard enough without the extra responsibility of looking after another person. The two main characters have just been evicted from their work in a town called â€Å"Soledad† (which means loneliness). They are the only people in the book whose names Christian names are actually used. It shows that nobody makes the effort to make friends enough to be on first name terms. This is symbolic of the loneliness of each of the characters and shows how unusual the two main characters are. The two main characters are called George ands Lennie. There is very little information about them in the book. They work for their keep on the ranches. Lennie is slightly brain damaged and has a very limited memory. He is an enormous man and Steinbeck often compares his actions with those of a large, clumsy animal using similes and metaphors: â€Å"Dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.† These are intended to subtly give the reader the impression that Lennie is big and clumsy, like an animal that does not know its own strength; â€Å"Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water.† George is exactly the opposite of Lennie. He is small, dark and quick, and is cautious about his surroundings; â€Å"The small man stepped nervously†¦Ã¢â‚¬  George is always on the look out and he knows how to look after himself. The town they had just come from was called â€Å"Weed† which could signify that they were unwanted, like a weed, there: they were forced out of there because Lennie made a mistake. He had grabbed a woman and she said that he had raped her. George is very much the dominant figure in the relationship and makes all the decisions. At the very start you can tell this because Lennie copies George in the way he looks and acts; â€Å"Lennie, who had been watching imitated George exactly.† This suggests that Lennie looks up to George and wants to be j ust like him. This is quite sad really as he has ended up nothing like him. Lennie hates to make George angry, like a dog that hates to make his master angry. George feels responsible for Lennie. He is like a father figure to him, and he knows that Lennie would never be able to survive without him. He feels a sense of duty because â€Å"Aunt Clara† told him to look after Lennie. The other reason they travel together is George, though he doesn’t like to admit it, enjoys Lennie’s company and he doesn’t want to let go of the â€Å"American Dream†. They share the dream of owning their own place with a few animals; â€Å"livin’ off the fatta’ the lan'†. George knows it is very unlikely to happen but Lennie still believes and always likes to hear the story of â€Å"how it’s gonna be†. This is painful for George and he is reluctant to talk about it. You can tell it is important to Lennie because he forgets anything he is told but he re members the dream. George and Lennie are always dreaming of the future. When George and Lennie arrive on the ranch, the ranch hands and the boss are suspicious of their relationship. They suspect that George is taking Lennie’s stake for himself; â€Å"I said what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?† They cannot see why someone else would travel with someone who would restrict them unless they were getting paid. They are lonelier than George and Lennie, and have no real concept of friendship. Despite having Lennie as a companion, George is also lonely. He is alone in his responsibility for Lennie. In a way it is more like speaking to an animal than a human when speaking to Lennie because George knows that whatever he says to him will be forgotten and mean nothing. From the very beginning we get a hint of this by the way Lennie is made to seem more like a responsibility than a friend to George. Lennie is made to seen like an animal, â€Å"like a terrier that doesn’t want to bring his ball back to his master†, maybe signifying that he is like a pet that always needs looking after. Steinbeck also uses George playing solitaire as a metaphor for his loneliness; â€Å"George cut the cards again and put out a solitaire lay, slowly and deliberately.† George lays the cards out like he has done it many time’ before. Solitaire is a single player game (and solitaire is derived from solitary), this shows that Lennie is not capable of acting like an adult and so George must play on his own. George is held from having his own life by the responsibility of caring for Lennie. He continuously tells Lennie how life would be without him; how he could have a girl and a decent job: â€Å"God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy† The truth though, is that George would be even lonely without Lennie. It is ironic at the end of the book that George should be so upset by the death of Lennie, because then he realizes that he will have to spend all the rest if his time alone. You never know what you have until it is gone. One of the ranch workers, Candy, features heavily in the book. He tries to join the friendship of George and Lennie. Candy is extremely lonely. He has been working on the ranch for many years and due to his disability. He is unable to leave because he knows that no other employer would take him on. The only reason he has got work now, is that he suffered the injury to his hand on the ranch. He has seen many men come and go but he cannot move on. Candy knows he will probably die on the ranch. Candy is very talkative because he is so eager to make friends. He warms to this gossip because he on his own when all the workers are in the fields. As soon as he meets George and Lennie he engages them in conversation, hardly letting them speak. He lets out all the opinions, about Curley and his wife and the other ranch hands that he has formed and never had anybody to tell them to. In fact the only sort of a friend he has is an old dog. The dog is old, has no teeth and it stinks. The dog is used to symbolise Candy: old and useless. The dog is also used as a foreshadowing device for Lennie’s death. When Carlson tells him that he should kill the dog he tries to stop him by making up excuses: â€Å"Maybe it’d hurt him,† and tries to put the inevitable off; wants to spend just one more day with the dog by killing it in the morning. The only reason Candy had left to live was the dog so in a way Carlson killed a part of him. The dog is also used as a second foreshadowing device for what George has to do to Lennie in the conclusion of the book. Lennie, unlike the dog, however will be killed by the only person he trusts in the world. This will come from the pressure of other people. In the early 20th Century, blacks were heavily persecuted because of their colour. The stable buck is called Crooks and is discriminated because he is a black; â€Å"S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and place rummy ’cause you were blackà ¢â‚¬ . He is kept apart from the other ranch hands because of his race. He is very nervous when Lennie enters his room. This is because crooks has his own living space away from the other men. The only people he sees are probably going to insult or hurt him so he is immediately on guard when someone comes in to his room. He is also discriminated against because of his crippled back, which means that he can’t work in the fields like the other men. Crooks reveals his past to Lennie in his barn. The irony that his father used to own his own ranch and once he used to lead a comfortable life must be extremely painful for him to relive when he thinks about his present lonely self. That is probably why he is so bitter towards the other men who are treating him so harshly. Crooks is always dreaming of the past; â€Å"Remember when I was a little kid on old man’s chicken ranch.† The other men would probably dream of having their own space but Crooks is so lonely he would rather be with other people; â€Å"A guy needs somebody to be near him.† All Crooks has for company is a small collection of books that he reads over and over again. It must be very lonely being on your own all the time when he thinks about what it had been like when he owned his own ranch. Sometimes he almost goes crazy with loneliness; â€Å"Maybe if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not. He can’t turn to the other guy and ast him if he sees it too,† He is only admitting this because he knows that Lennie is not listening, and even if he was, he couldn’t remember and repeat what was being said anyway. Crooks is proud and doesn’t want to admit that he is lonely or that the men are getting to him by calling him names and abusing him, â€Å"If I say something, why it’s just a nigger saying it.† When someone calls somebody something enough times a person will start to absorb the names and start to believe that there is some truth to what the person is saying about them. Crooks is treated like an animal. One Christmas time they â€Å"let† him into the bunkhouse and made him fight. The word â€Å"let† is used like letting an animal in for a treat. He then leaves after his fight, for his own room. The men just use him as entertainment. His life is always under threat because he means nothing them. Curley’s wife plays a very prominent role in the book as she brings the death of Lennie and herself. She is not given a name through the whole book. This signifies how little everyone thinks of her. She is referred to as â€Å"jail bait† and â€Å"slut† by all the ranch hands. This is due to the manner she has adopted to befriend the men. She constantly flirts with any man she meets and being pretty at the same time, she is bound to get herself into some sort of trouble. She acts like this because she is lonely and it is her way of attracting attention to herself. The problem is that all the workers are afraid to talk to her because they fear what Curley would do to them if they did. Curley is always looking for a fight to show how much of man he is. If he got just the faint scent of her cheating on him he would fight. Nobody want to get on the wrong side of Curley because they know he is a good boxer and because he is the boss’s son he can probably get anyone â€Å"canned† if he wants, In reality, Curley’s wife doesn’t actually like Curley and even admits to Lennie: â€Å"I don’t like Curley.† She married him to show her mother that she could be independent and to get back at her for the letter that could have been her big break that she thinks her mother stole. Curley’s wife is dreaming of what could have been, how she could have been in the movies and what a lifestyle she could have had. The marriage between Curley and Curley’s wife is not based on love but on sexual attraction Curley’s wife is also very lonely, that is why she is always skulking around the bunkhouse with the men. She needs someone to talk to; She uses the excuse that she is looking for her husband. In the end her loneliness is the end of her when she tries to talk to Lennie (much the same way as Crooks let out his thoughts to him). The climax of the book starts in the barn. The scene begins with Lennie worrying about his puppy which he has just killed accidentally. Curley’s wife enters, as usual looking for someone to talk to. She begins telling Lennie her life story. All through the book she has been portrayed as a spiteful woman; â€Å"foolin’ around with other guys, causin’ trouble.†, but here her true character comes out. Lennie ends up telling her about his love for soft things so she lets him stroke her hair. The other men can resist her charms but Lennie is not clever enough to know. Lennie strokes it a bit too vigorously and her panic affects Lennie. He breaks her neck by accident, then thinks that if he hides the puppy, which is used as a foreshadowing device to Curley’s wife’s death George will be more likely to let him tend his precious rabbits. This is sad and ironic, as Lennie cannot grasp the enormity of the thing he has just done. Curley’s wife seemed peaceful after her death; â€Å"the ache for attention were gone from her face.† She was realised from her prison on the ranch and was now free and happy. When George hears, he despairs, for Lennie has ended their chance of achieving the impossible â€Å"American Dream†. One of the themes of this book is certainly loneliness. The people are segregated into groups. Age, disabilities, race and sex separate many people. Also the time of economic hardship forced men to look after number one. It made it very hard for the men to form friendships as they have very few responsibilities. The book is about the unusual friendship of George and Lennie who have nothing in common with each other apart from they share the American Dream. That is all that keeps them going. It is extremely sad when George is forced to kill Lennie because he was all that George had left. It was ironic because George had always spoken about what life would be like without Lennie; how he could be free. Now he had his wish he was devastated that he had had to kill the only friend that he had in the world.

The Changeling -Fate Essay

The Changeling Essay Question – Choose a novel in which the fate of a main character is important in conveying the writers theme. Robin Jenkin’s downbeat meditation on the nature of pity, ‘The Changeling’ has a tragic ending; it emphasizes that the ‘Good Samaritan’ Charles Forbes fails to redeem the life of his pupil Tom Curdie. He sees himself as the boy’s saviour and makes the decision to take him on holiday, to show another side of life from the slum in which he grew up. Yet Tom’s stealing and strangeness set him apart from the family and finally the pain of the experience pushes him over the end.The opening chapter reveals that Charlie’s interest in Tom is self-righteous: At last he spoke, in his most pontifical tones: ‘Tell me, Curdie, have you ever seen the sea? ’ ‘Pontifical’ has overtones of pomposity, and suggests Forbes’ religious nature; the first meaning is supported by the headm aster’s opinion of Forbes as a ‘pompous bore’. It is ironic that a boy who has never seen the sea can write eloquently about it; and Forbes takes him on holiday in order to ‘improve’ him. Yet this decision is to lead to Tom’s suicide.In some ways, Tom is a character we should pity; however, in chapter three we learn that he is a strong character who lives by a matter-of-fact set of ‘principals’: Never to whine; to accept what came; to wait for better; to take what you could; to let no-one not even yourself know how near to giving in you were. One therefore has to ask – why would someone like this need Charlie’s help? It is only when he is taken away from Donaldson’s court that he feels the gulf between his circumstances and those of ‘decent’ people. When he tries o ‘take what you could’ to please them, the estrangement begins. The turning point of the novel is where Tom calls the Forb es family and introduces himself as ‘Tom Forbes’: ‘I mean, Tom Curdie,’ he said; but it was really that mythical person Tom Forbes, he still thought he was. At this point in the book, he is in a phone box with the hapless Peerie pressing his face up against the glass. It is as if Tom’s background is crowding round him as he tries vainly to keep contact with the ‘decent’ family who have given him a temporary home.However, the trouble with being a ‘mythical person’ is that one has to live in the real world. The distance between myth and reality is explored in one of the turning points of the novel, when Tom steals so that he can afford the brooch for Mrs Forbes. The chapter is seen through the eyes of Gillian, who sees a truth about Tom before anyone else: â€Å"She began to realise that this suit of armour, of calmness and patience, forged somehow in the dreadful slum where he had been born, must be heavy and painful to wear . †Yet she does not tell as she wants to avoid ruining the ‘presentation’; Gillian is torn between jealousy and pity towards Tom; her sympathy grows for him throughout the book and it is she who discovers him after his suicide. The ‘suit of armour’ continues the idea that he is a figure out of a myth who doesn’t belong in her world, which indicates that she feels the stirring of respect for him, even though he is a thief. Their relationship provides a note of optimism before the bleak climax. From her point of view, Tom has a kind of nobility, even when he strikes the tree in anguish:His face was hard and aloof, like a young Prince’s out of a story book. His hand red with blood was like an emblem of eerie distinction. These continue the idea that he is someone who doesn’t belong to the time in which he lives, with the allusions to being a Prince and wearing an ‘emblem’ he has won through pain and violence. This imposs ible dilemma is finally solved by Tom’s tragic end. Therefore I would argue that the book considers the suffering of others and asks what we can really do for them; it explores this theme through the fate of Tom.