Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 5

Strategic Management - Essay Example The story of the ‘Subway’ is an indication of just what organizations need to do in an increasingly globalized environment. Winning customer confidence and remaining true to organization’s policies and priorities lies at the heart of just what has to be done. To achieve this, an organization has to have a strategy that delivers capabilities which enable the firm to cope with challenges from within the organization itself as well as outside of it. In the case of Subway, this is what enabled the company, small as it was, to be able to stick it out in a market dominated by global players such as the McDonald’s and Burger King. However, once opportunities in the domestic market shrink, it may no longer be tenable to continue pumping resources in such a market. Expansion outside the domestic market becomes the only option for growth. Having a strategic capability ensures that the company’s competitive edge can be sustained into the long run. In the current globalized environment, firms need to grow in order to survive in the market. This growth is difficult to attain due to intense competition. Therefore, organizations need to develop clear strategies that earn them competitive advantages. Otherwise, they will not survive the competition. Organizations need to understand their resources and use them creatively to attain competitive advantages that ensure they brave the competition. It, therefore, calls on the management to come up with sound priorities and strategies which can be achieved in light of resource constraints.

Art and the British Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Art and the British Empire - Essay Example Art has been defined in an amorphous way because it has always been in a state of becoming. This has been emphasized by the emergence of new form of art in the new media era with digital technology replacing the traditional art forms. In Britain, art is a combination of visual art that forms part of western history, and it is usually strong in portraiture and landscape. The prosperity of the British in the early 18th century led to the British art recapturing the place it had taken in the middle ages because of a surge in the production of decorative art and fine arts. In fact, the decorative art became an export commodity in the early 18th century. The romantic period was famous for artists such as William Blake, J. M Tuner, John Constable and Samuel Palmer displaying their remarkable talents in their artworks (Barringer, Quilley & Fordham 2007). There came the Victorian period when art was diversified and a larger quantity was produced compared to former times. At this time, there was a preference of Victorian art with interest on Pre-Raphaelites and the innovative movements that arose towards the end of 18th century. The end of the 18th century brought about intensified training of artists with the initiatives of the government and in the early 19th century, and there were museums opened to display works of art to the public. The display of religious art in the 19th century became popular and this led to the emergence of academic art. The contribution of British to the art at this time was minimal, but it gained impetus after the Second World War when artists emerged with contemporary art. They produced figurative artworks and since then, Britain is a key hub of an increasingly globalized art. This has increased the global audience for the British art, but some visual art remains low profiled and Britain has been attempting to raise the profile.

Industrialization And Urbanization In China History Essay

Industrialization And Urbanization In China History Essay The Great Leap Forward of China (Peoples Republic of China) was a social and economic crusade with the aim to develop industry and agriculture by then ruling Communist Party of China (CPC). It was adopted in 1958 as an ambitious five year plan intended to utilize the huge population of China to rapidly transform her economy from an agrarian one to a modernized one such that the economy of China would rival that of United States by the year 1988 (Bachman, 1991). However, the plan was discontinued in 1961 when they realized that it was not feasible. The leader, Mao Zedong, aimed to achieve the Great Leap Forward plan by developing agriculture and industries chiefly through the process of collectivization (Kataoka, 1968). The leader believed that these two sectors had to be developed first to let other key sectors to develop too; industries could only flourish if the workers were well fed, whilst the agricultural work force required industries to produce new, modern equipments and machi neries necessary for modernization. To achieve this, Peoples Republic of China was reformed into enormous communes, and in less than a year, approximately nine hundred million Chinese peasants were mobilized to work in these collective forms (Kataoka, 1968). Many communist strategies and policies were adopted to ensure the implementation of the plans; the Great Leap Forward was an intensification of the Soviet-type industrialization strategy. The Great Forward Leap had a lot of similarities with the soviet-type industrialization strategy; it was based on the oppressive communist principles. Kataoka (1968) explains that many transformations occurred in the lives of the Chinese peasants living in rural areas; agricultural collectivization was introduced and gradually made compulsory for all. Private ownership of land and farming was banned, and those who engaged in it were punished severely for being counter revolutionaries. The administration was done through party members and communes leaders; restriction control of rural inhabitants was imposed through social pressure, propaganda and public struggle sessions. They utilized force, coercion and systematic violence to ensure that the peasants obeyed the rules. Regardless of the great mobilization of the rural peasants and the ambitious plans of the leaders, the Great Leap Forward did not achieve the anticipated massive developments. Poor decisions and mistakes by the party leaders characterized and contributed, in part, to its failure. Eventually, The Great Leap culminated in devastation, with consequential death of the people in tens of millions; approximates show a range from eighteen to forty-six million individuals (Dikà ¶tter, 2010). After the first five year plan, Mao Zedong alarmed by various events and uprisings in Europe concluded that communism was the best was way for China to go. The next five year plan was the Great Forward Leap which created the communes; they were large enough consisting of large collective farms each composed of about five thousand families (Dikà ¶tter, 2010). Just like in the Soviet Union, they had comprehended that this system would be unpopular with the peasants, thus; they brought them under Party control (Kataoka, 1968). They executed the working in the collective farms by convening meetings and then ensuring that the peasants stayed for long periods until they had no choice but to join the communes. Apart from the economic changes, the party also instituted key social changes in the rural areas including the expulsion of all spiritual and religious institutions and ceremonies and substituted them with party meetings and propaganda sessions. They introduced internal passports ban ning travel without appropriate authorization and dictated what was to be planted. For instance, they replaced the farming of opium with rice. Peasants in the rural areas worked in communes owned by the state and the grain they produced was for cities and export, to earn foreign exchange. Families in a communes relinquished individual possession and tenure of farm equipments and animals such that all were owned by the commune; they now labored and toiled for the state-owned commune and not for themselves as individuals. Nearly all aspects of the life of the peasants in the commune were controlled by the commune; education facilities were offered by the communes so that all grownups could work. Health care services were given by the communes and the aged were taken into establishment ironically named houses of happiness in order that they could be cared for. Moreover, individuals could work hard and not have to be troubled about leaving their aged family members back at home. The communes made available all that the peasants required including entertainment. Peasants toiled alongside the soldiers. The populace in a commune was sub-grouped; dozen families formed a work team, a dozen work teams composed a brigade. Every sub-division was assigned a particular work to com plete. The communist party members supervised the work and running of a commune to make sure those decisions executed were in line with party policies. The state adopted all strategies it could to fluff up enthusiasm and passion for the communes. Propaganda was used in all places to the extent that there were public address systems out in the fields through which thousands of the peasant workforces could listen to political speeches as they toil. Propaganda posters were widely used to spread the ideologies of the party. Everyone engaged in communes was urged not only to work hard to achieve set targets but to surpass them. If the machines were deficient or inadequate in the communes, the workforce used their bare hands. Major buildings and structures were constructed in record time although the strength of most of them was doubtful. The local leaders in the communes were forced into falsifying information and spreading propaganda from senior party leaders. For instance, they had at times to report ever-higher grain production records to their political seniors (Wei Yang, 2005). People attending political meetings talk of producti on quantities being exaggerated up to ten times of the real production quantities as the pursuit to thrill superiors and win praise intensified. The government was later on capable of compelling, many production groups to put up for sale higher quantities of grain than they were capable based on these embellished production quantities. Bachman (2011) depicts the state-owned communes as a type of discrimination system for Chinese peasant families. The commune system adopted in the great forward leaped was intended at exploiting rural peasants to produce for cities and urban areas and building industrial units, offices, educational facilities, and social insurance structures for elite cadres and officials residing in towns. The peasants in the countryside who condemned the plan were classified as dangerous, counter revolutionaries. Running away was also very hard, mostly even impossible, and those who tried were faced with severe repercussions that sometimes resulted in death. Apart from agriculture projects, state-owned communes also participated in various medium scale industries and building projects. The prohibition of private ownership of property devastated the life of the peasants at its most basic level, according to Bachman (1991). Rural populace were incapable of securing sufficient food to support a decent living, since the customary ways of leasing out, selling, or using their properties as collateral for credit were dispossessed of them by the commune system. In some villages, after the commune systems were adopted, the Party leader and his men took immediate inhumane actions, commanding peasants to spend nights toiling and laboring for intolerable hours, and ordering them to march, starved, to far-flung additional projects (Bachman, 1991). Yang (2008) notes that local party officials were unmoved regardless of the great number of peasants dying while working, as their main concern was the production of grain, which the state needed to utilize in settling the billions of loans from the Soviet Union. The Communist Party was aware of the fact that their strategies were responsible for causing the starvation. In some provinces such as Xinyang; peasants succumbed to starvation at the entrances of grain warehouses (Yang, 2008). Senior party leaders even acknowledged that the deaths were a price the country has to pay; downplaying the deaths as a minor thing. As yang (2008) notes, in a covert gathering in Shanghai in 1959, Mao ordered the procurement of a third of all grain by the state to provision the urban areas and foreign clients, and he remarks that if the state does not pass above that quota, citizens will not rebel. He further comments that as there is not sufficient food to feed all citizens and some will have to sta rve, then the best way is to let half of them to starve so that the rest can have enough. Like in the Soviet Union, through the starvation of 1932-1933, peasants were incarcerated to their starved villages by a scheme of registration of households, and the nastiest results of the food shortage were aimed at opponents of the regime (Yang, 2008). Yang (2008) further explains how those tagged as being religious leaders, activists and rich peasants were given the last priority in the allotment of foodstuff, and consequently, died in the record numbers.

Muckrakers Essay -- essays research papers fc

Muckraking was a powerful journalistic force, whose supporters made it become so. Muckraking was the practice of writers and critics exposing corrupt politicians and business practices. President Theodore Roosevelt made the term "muck-raker" popular. He once said The man with the muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; who was offered a celestial crown for his muckrake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake himself the filth of the floor. Some, like Roosevelt viewed methods of muckrakers such as Ida Tarbell, Ray S. Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair as these types of people. Others saw these muckraking methods as perfectly acceptable for fighting against the industrial powerhouses. Either way, these muckrakers worked hard to arouse sentiment in the hearts of the public (Reiger 1). Muckraking actually began long before the years of 1900-1902, when the muckraking movement is credited to have begun. Jesus was probably the first muckraker. Years later, Martin Luther exposed the corruptness of the Catholic Church. Also, early Abolitionist works--Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Helper's The Impending Crisis used muckraking to get a point across. However, events during the 1890s most directly paved the way for the critiques and exposures of existing conditions. This period was able to reach a limited upper class and the muckrakers were able to expand appeal to the average middle class citizen (Reiger 49-50). One reason for the outspread of muckraking was the explosion of journalism. From 1870-1909 the number of daily newspapers circulated boomed from 574 to 2,600 and the number of subscribers from 2,800,000 to 24,800,000. With this increase, newspaper owners and editors needed new bait to reel in its subscribers. The newspaper editors wanted to replace ordinary town gossip with gossip about the latest events of the city. Therefore, in newspapers they placed the most shocking events and kept the rural mind drooling for more. As newspaper circulation grew, the large newspaper depended much less on political parties and could now even challenge them. Newspapers played on the new human interest, the concern of the wealthy with the affairs of those below them, status-wise. This "story of the poor" became the basic outline for muckraking (Ho... ...direct success. However, indirectly, it was one of the most powerful journalistic movements of our history. The total circulation of the ten muckraking magazines reached over three million. Also, Upton Siclair's novels The Brass Check and The Jungle went over the hundred thousand mark by 1932. A new political movement of reformed capitalism was undergone as the muckraking era pounded out its grievances. Most importantly though, people, partly because of the information which muckrakers revealed, partly because of the visions of better things which reformers brought forth, and partly because of horrid personal experiences, began to regard big business as an enemy rather than a friend (Reiger 194-196). Works Cited Hofstadter, Richard. The Age of Reform. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972. Josephson, Matthew. The Robber Barons. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1962. Reiger, C. C. The Era of the Muckrakers. Massachusetts: Peter Smith, 1957. Sinclair, Upton. "The Consequences of Land Speculation are Tenantry and Debt on the Farms, and Slums and Luxury in the Cities." Upton Sinclair. 1924. <http://home.vicnet.net.au/~earthshr/upton.html> (17 Dec. 1999)

Henderson the Rain King: Formalist Criticism

NAME: JEREMIAH FOONG KANG YI MATRIX NUM. : D20111047679 FACULTY: LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION PROGRAM: TESL PROGRAM CODE: AT 06 SEMESTER: 3 SESSION: 2012/2013 COURSE: LITERARY CRITICISM COURSE CODE: BIS 3023 GROUP : B ASSIGNMENT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON HENDERSON THE RAIN KING LECTURER: MR. SEVA BALA SUNDARAM A/L A. M MARIAPPAN For this novel, I will be critically analyzing it using two theories, namely the â€Å"Formalist Criticism† (which is also known as â€Å"New Criticism†) and â€Å"Reader-Response Criticism†.The reason I choose both these criticism theories are because I personally opine that these two theories can realistically reflect our views on the literature read as readers. By the Formalist Criticism approach, I will firstly provide a plot summary of â€Å"Henderson the Rain King†. â€Å"Henderson the Rain King† was written by Saul Bellow in the year 1959. In this novel, Saul Bellow names his main character, or also known as â€Å"the prot agonist†, Eugene Henderson. Eugene Henderson is depicted, in this novel, as a troubled, middle-aged man. He is physically attributed with a large body frame, a bumbling loud voice, and ossesses great physical strength. Contradictory to his struggling life, his family background is one which is rather wealthy. Eugene’s father was a famous author and he left him three million dollars when he passed. He is not at all amazed neither pleased with the life he has been living all the while and plans to heed his inner voice and go out to search for a better life, which he believes, lies in Africa. Before leaving for Africa though, he tried numerous ways to satisfy his weird calls by playing the violin, drinking, and shouting at his wife.He carried on with his plan to Africa with his friend Charlie Albert and his wife. He however set off to travel on his own upon finding a pampered travelling style Charlie practices. Eugene meets the Arnewi tribe and tries to help to settle thei r drinking problem which was caused by a frog infestation at the bottom of their drinking well. Eugene failed to help when he blasted the frogs together with the well. It only made the situation worse. Eugene went on to meet the Wariri tribe with Romilayu and becomes the Sungo, or â€Å"rain king†, when he lifts a heavy idol during the rain ceremony.Later on, the elders sent Dahfu to find a lion which is supposed to be the reincarnation of Dahfu’s late father. As he fails and is killed, Eugene is supposed to be crowned the King as he is the Rain King, the next King in line. Eugene does not desire to be king, and flees from Africa back to his own home. Eugene finds that it is only through love that he had gained all these while when he reflects on his relationship with Smolak the bear in Ontario and his relationship with the orphan boy on the plane back to the United States. The novel consists of twenty-two chapters of roughly equal length.Throughout the novel, flashbac ks are used as a major element of. In the early stages of the novel, more precisely, in the first three chapters of the novel, Henderson’s reminiscence about his motives for departing for Africa. The setting in this novel is considerably uniform, however, throughout the entirety of the story, settings such as Europe, Connecticut, and New York are scattered randomly around. It is noticeable that the subsequent chapters are set in Africa, where most of the plot of the story develops. Through flashbacks, Eugene revisits his place of origin and time periods from his earlier life.Literary tools such as foreshadowing and cliffhangers are used to keep the reader flipping through the pages eagerly for more. Generally, throughout the most major parts of the story, the setting is held in Africa, in the mid-1950s. Scenes from Connecticut, New York City, and Europe during the Second World War are intermittent when Henderson’s rambling narratives take place. Actions which take plac e in Africa are mostly held in the Arnewi and Wariri tribes. The African plains show up once in a while when Henderson and Romilayu wander through the African desert. However, a major part of the story takes place in the Wariri tribe.At the denouement of the story, Newfoundland is also included in the setting of the story, where Henderson touches down from the plane. Physical settings aside, symbolical spiritual settings are also widely included in the novel. A touch of pre-human quality in the landscape and a tinge of childhood memories Henderson had is depicted through the beautiful slight pink in the sky and the sharpness of the rocks surrounding the Wariri village, respectively. Also, after deplaning from Newfoundland, Henderson is said to be walking on ice. This icy-setting shows that Henderson has clearly made his escape from Africa and has started his life anew.Henderson’s word choice in the narration of the novel is of great interest to the readers as he makes referen ce to the Bible regardless of how informal and colloquial his style is. However informal his style is, though, historical events and psychological theories are explained in a rather offhand albeit knowledgeable method. The colourful description of his narration is made up of detailed explanations made possible through visuals and audio. The inability of Henderson speaking in the native African language makes it complicated as Romilayu and Dahfu are required to translate for him directions and advices made on the barren land of Africa.The appearance of African words such as â€Å"grun-tu-molani† appeal to our minds and memories strongly and further enhances the elaboration of the African culture. For this novel, the third person point of view is used. In this case, the third person’s point of view is the point of view of Eugene Henderson. A conversational and more intimate approach is applied in the narration in the story. Examples which show this are â€Å"As you can see for yourselves, these are all impossible answers (HRK 133)† and â€Å"I’ll tell you why (HRK 7)†.The entirety of this novel is told as if Henderson reminisces about his journey to Africa, and also the will and events which led up to his decision to go to Africa. Dialogues are noticeable in some parts of the novel, but the essence and the message of the story is generally brought to the readers by Henderson’s descriptions and inner monologue. The characters who appeared in â€Å"Henderson the Rain King† are as follows. The main character in the story is Eugene Henderson. Even when Henderson is the main character in the story, he is the anti-hero of the novel. Character-wise, he is a bumbling man, always angry and is confused.His physical attributes are big, shocking appearance, and possesses great strength. Henderson’s father leaves behind 3 million dollars. Henderson had married twice and has five children. He was stubborn and pushed on f or combat duty even when he was declared to be too old for it. He got injured by a land mine during the Second World War and received the Purple Heart upon his return. Henderson owns a pig farm but deep down inside, he ambitions to be a doctor. Henderson is constantly plagued by a voice that says â€Å"I want†. He tries various activities and hobbies which he hopes are able of relieving his unknown desire.He tries playing the violin, drinking, and even shouting at his wife. When none of these methods seem to make any effect on satisfying his weird and unknown desire, he goes on to visit Africa with Charlie Albert and his wife. He was fifty five. Upon realizing Charlie’s travelling style which he thinks is too contemporary and boring, Henderson leaves with Romilayu to visit the Arnewi tribe. He attempted to solve the Arnewi tribe’s difficulty which was the infestation of frogs in their drinking well by bombing the frogs. Instead, he bombed and wrecked the whole d rinking well.Regretful and sad, Henderson left for the Wariri tribe with Romilayu. Most of the plot of the story develops from here. Henderson is crowned Sungo, the Rain King, after being able to lift a heavy idol during a rain ceremony in the Wariri tribe. Henderson was supposed to be the King’s successor after Dahfu’s passing. However, Henderson did not want to be King and escaped from Africa to live a complete new life back in the United States. Frances Henderson is Henderson’s first wife. Frances is, as described by Henderson, tall, handsome, elegant, and sinewy. Frances was married to Henderson just to please Henderson’s father.Henderson once told Frances of his dreams of becoming a doctor. His ambitious dreams was revoked and laughed at by Frances. Lily Simmons Henderson is Henderson’s second wife. She is known throughout the story as only â€Å"Lily†. She has a sweet face, fair, and large. Lily is not prone to scolding. Instead, she m oralizes. Lily had married twice before she got married to Henderson. She had previously married a man from Baltimore and an abusive broker from New Jersey who is named Hazard. In the story, Henderson describes Lily as one who is not very clean, a liar, and a con-artist.Edward Henderson is Henderson and Frances’ eldest son. Edward can be considered as Henderson’s pride as Edward is clean-cut and smart. Edward drives around in a shiny sports car. Henderson always believed that Edward would not get a lover. One day, Edward brings home a girl from Honduras and proclaimed to Henderson that he loves her. However, Henderson chose not to believe it. Ricey Henderson is Henderson and Frances’ eldest daughter. She is pretty. Ricey takes a child from the backseat of a car one Christmas and is eventually expelled from boarding school. Alice Henderson is Henderson’s youngest daughter with Frances.The twins are Henderson’s two children by Frances. Charlie Albert is to Eugene Henderson, a childhood friend. They both attended dancing classes together in the year 1915. Charlie is a year younger than Henderson and also a bit richer than him. Charlie was once a cameraman in the army. Henderson was Charlie’s best man at his wedding. Charlie’s wife resented Henderson because Charlie forgot to kiss his wife at the wedding. Henderson joined Charlie and his wife’s honeymoon trip to Africa in the first part. Dick Henderson is Eugene Henderson’s older brother. Dick dies in a rather tragic and ridiculous way.He was shooting a broken fountain pen with his pistol and got engaged in a chase by the police. He crashed his car in an embankment during the chase and jumps into the river. Dick’s cavalry boots got filled with water when he jumped into the river and Dick drowned. Dick was considered by Eugene as the â€Å"sanest of us†. Klaus Spohr is the artist who paint’s Lily’s portrait. There was once wh en Klaus and Lily observed Henderson kiss Clara, Klaus’ wife, passionately. Doctor Spohr is the cousin of Klaus Spohr. He is the dentist who replaces Henderson’s bridgework.Romilayu is Henderson’s guide and translator in Africa. Romilayu tells Henderson that he is in his late thirties. However, he looks wrinkly and much older. Currently Christian, he shows signs of tribal living in his past as he has tribal scars on both his cheeks and ears. He is a patient companion to Henderson. The Arnewi Tribe are the fist tribe Henderson visits in Africa. They are loving and warmly welcomed Henderson’s visit. They were suffering from a drought and their cattle are dying. They are ruled by Willatale. Iteloo is a prince of the Arnewi tribe. He learned English in Beirut with Dahfu.He loses to Henderson in a wrestling match even when he equalizes him physically. Willatale is Itelo’s aunt and the queen of Arnewi. She is a Bittah, which means she is the most revered in the tribe and has husbands as well as wives. She has cataract in one eye and wears a lion skin as a robe. Henderson describes her as a happy woman, stable, and good natured. Mtalba is the queen’s sister and also is a Bittah woman. She is beautiful and pampered looking with indigo hair but is obese. She proposes to Henderson in their traditional way but rejects him when he blows up their well.The Wariri tribe is the second visited tribe by Henderson in Africa. Henderson becomes the Rain King of the Wariri and a close friend to their King, Dahfu. Dahfu is the kin fog the Wariri tribe. Dahfu studied in a medical school but had to return to his dying father in the Wariri tribe. Dahfu impresses Henderson with his charm and philosophy. King Dahfu keeps a lion named Atti and trains him. He dies while trying to capture his father-lion Gmilo. Horko is the uncle of King Dahfu and the man sent to meet Henderson on the day of the rain festival.Horko speaks some English and French bec ause he traveled with Dahfu when he studied abroad. The Bunam is the head priest of the Wariri tribe. The Bunam believes that Henderson can lift the idol during the rain ceremony. Henderson believes that the Bunam communicated to him to encourage him to lift the idol without needing to talk to him. Turombo is the strong Wariri man who lifted Hummat at the rain ceremony. He was misunderstood as one who is shadowed by his past as he did not lift Mummah. It is learned later on in the story that Turombo did not want to lift Mummah because he understands the danger in being a rain king.Queen Yasra is Dahfu’s mother and also the widow of Gmilo. She believes the words of the Bunam who said that Atti represents power of an evil sorceress. Therefore, she begs Henderson to make Dahfu get rid of Atti. The executioner is assistant to the Bunam in the Wariri tribe. He has a narrow face and leathery appearance. He was dressed in white on the day of the lion hunt and guards King Dahfuâ€⠄¢s corpse after he passed. Gmilo is Dahfu’s father and the former king of the Wariri tribe. Another approach to analysing this novel will be the â€Å"Reader-Response Criticism†.The â€Å"Reader-Response Criticism† is based on what the reader feels and perceives about the story after reading the piece of literature. As a reader, I was quite fazed and taken aback when I read the beginning of this story. I was shocked at how unsettled Henderson was even when his father had left behind him such a large amount of money. I think Henderson’s pursuit of happiness and the meaning for life is strong and objective. Henderson is to me a steadfast person and does not get swayed easily by external factors. What makes me feel pitiful towards Henderson is when he was trying to help the Arnewi tribe out by killing the frogs.His intention started out as a good one but ended as an act which displeased the Arnewi tribe. It was lucky for him that Itelo did not kill him afte r such an act because Itelo is his friend. There is a point in the story which I do not agree with the narrator himself. He had seen such bitterness in the Wariri tribe since the first day he got there. He did not have any good moments to savour. The only acceptable moments are when King Dahfu shared with him some philosophy and ways of life. This interests Henderson and us, the readers, but other than that, all the other happenings are bitter.Therefore, it is quite illogical that Henderson did not choose to escape in the earlier part of his visit to the Wariri tribe. However, this is only my view and opinion. Generally, this novel has raised my awareness in issues such as the pursuit of meaning in life and the pursuit of happiness. At the end of the story, Henderson realizes that what he has been going after all this while is love. This is a story worth reading and telling as it bends the human mind into different concaves of perception to what is worth going after, what is worth o ur pursuit, and what is worth holding on to.Bibliography 1) Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow. (2000). Retrieved from http://www. bookrags. com/studyguide-henderson-the-rain-king/ 2) Bellow, S. (1976). Henderson the rain king. NY: Penguin Books. 3) Dobie, A. B. (2011). Theory into practice: An introduction to literary criticism. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. 4) 50 Plus One Great Books You Should Have Read: And Probably Didn't. Retrieved from http://books. google. com. my/books? id=HPDqaTLKOEEC;pg=PA194;lpg=PA193;dq=%22Henderson+the+Rain+King%22;as_brr=3;ie=ISO-8859-1;output=html;redir_esc=y

Bean Trees and Brave New World

Brave New World vs. The Bean Trees The novels Brave New World and The Bean Trees both show suffering and people trying to pursue their own happiness. In Brave New World, John suffers through his unhappiness. In The Bean Trees, Taylor Greer goes through the same situation. They both go through the process of suffering to reach the same goal, which is to find happiness. In Brave New World, John becomes out casted by both the New Mexico Savage Reservation and the World State. With living in the World State and their version of â€Å"happiness†, John begs for the right to feel emotion. He sees the World State as giving off artificial happiness, but he wants true happiness and true emotion. He pleads, â€Å"I don’t want comfort, I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin. † He takes his values from the works of Shakespeare which helps him to voice his own emotions and reactions, it gives him a framework from which to comment on World State values, and it gives him the language that helps him hold his own in confrontation. Shakespeare shows all the values that the World State does not have. From reading the works, John wants to reject the shallow â€Å"happiness† of the World State, he becomes unable to control his temptations for Lenina, and ultimately he commits suicide. John taking part in the final orgy and later committing suicide can become viewed as the product of an insanity made by the conflict between his values and the reality of the World State. John never reached his goal due to him committing suicide. In The Bean Trees, Taylor Greer leaves her home in Kentucky to make a new life for herself. Along the way, a woman gives Taylor a child which she names Turtle. At first, caring for Turtle does not come easily to her, but over time she grows to love Turtle as her own. Taylor becomes forced to mature quickly which brings on another struggle for her. High School has only been behind her for a few years and she already has to take on the responsibility of providing for a child. She also needs to raise money on her own, not only for herself but also for Turtle. Finding a place to live became her responsibility, too. Estevan and Esperanza’s struggles with aving to give up their child and the trauma of Turtle getting attacked one day, forces Taylor to struggle through depression. The police investigation on the attack shows that Taylor is not the legal guardian of Turtle which brings up another struggle for her until Taylor comes up with a plan to adopt her. In the end, Taylor’s plan works, Taylor and Turtle now have a home in Tucson, and Esperanza and Estevan safely live at their new home in Oklahoma. Taylor struggled through life’s challenges but by the end of the novel she finds a new meaning for â€Å"family† and becomes appreciative of the miracles given to her each day. The struggles of the human condition become resolved for the current time in the lives that Taylor has touched. Ultimately, Taylor did reach her goal of happiness because she found family in the people around her and a new life in Tucson. Both of the characters went through much suffering on their pursuit of happiness. They handled their suffering in different ways though. John rebelled against the World State to gain his happiness whereas Taylor took what came to her and found her happiness with what she was given.