Advertising Campaign among the United Kingdom and Italy Essay

Advertising Campaign among the United Kingdom and Italy - Essay Example As pointed by De Mooij and Keegan (3), advertising culture includes personality, cognition, expression, and emotion, which are all influential in shaping consumer behavior. To be successful advertisers are required to know the similarities as well as the differences of consumers in diverse cultural (3).Cross cultural communication solutions are critical to effective cross cultural advertising for any country, including the United Kingdom and Italy. Services and products are usually designed and marketed at a domestic audience. When a product is then marketed at an international audience the same domestic advertising campaign abroad will in most cases be ineffective.The essence of shock advertising is convincing people that a product is meant for them and shock advertising are all about morality. They usually involve sniffing out, simply for the sake of provocation, the ripest cultural taboo. By purchasing it, they will receive some benefit, whether it be lifestyle, status, convenienc e or financial. However, when an advertising campaign is taken abroad different values and perceptions as to what enhances status or gives convenience exist. These differences make the original advertising campaign defunct. It is therefore critical to any cultural advertising campaign that an understanding of a particular culture is acquired. The problems of communicating to people in diverse culture are one of the great creative challenges in advertising. Communication is more difficult because cultural factors largely determine the way various phenomena are perceived. Its perceptual framework is different; perception of the message itself differs. So, there are some shock advertising features in adapting from culture to culture. In Italy and in the UK shock advertising feeds on the market's inclination to reward the unconventional and take advantage of the media's shifting stand on of public sensibilities. 2. The differences and similarities in the using of Shock advertising. Some brands use shock tactics in advertising to break through ad clutter and make people take notice. The question is whether these shock tactics work or whether they just upset people. Benetton and Barnardo, Calvin Klein and FCUK have all been challenged for being too shocking. Benetton (Italy), its first steps in shock advertising were connected with "multi-racial" theme, the idea of colors, they showed a group, made up of people with different colored skin.(Appendix 1) "It was fantastic, so exhilarating to show the products in such a new and simple way." (13) Then the company uses attitudinal and unconventional advertising to mix political and social issues with their ad messages in their campaigns. There was a genuine interest in human rights and other socially conscious causes: "The purpose of advertising is not to sell more. It's to do with institutional publicity, whose aim is to communicate the company's values. We need to convey a single strong image, which can be shared anywhere in the world."(13) So, Benetton's advertising draws public attention to universal themes. The shocking photographs of Benetton's immaterial advertising had no parallel whatsoever in its material offerings. Not in its brightly colored shirts, not in the atmosphere of its stores and not in its point-of-purchase materials. Sure this contrast was shocking too, but it was shock for the sake of shock (and an immediate cash flow). Sooner or later the initial rush was

Marketing Exam Question (Marketing Mix) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Exam Question (Marketing Mix) - Essay Example So what is market segmentation? Consumers differ and they â€Å"place differing degrees of importance on the individual elements of the marketing mix.† â€Å"They differ not only in the price they will pay, but in a wide range of benefits they expect from the product and its method of delivery. As a result, the market becomes split into several segments.† (SBDC, 2005) SBDC, (2005) argued that understanding the concept of segmentation is central to marketing because each different customer group will require a different marketing mix strategy and that each segment will offer differing growth and profit opportunities so the trick is to deliver the best offer to the best segment. Assuming now that there is market segmentation, it is now easier to answer the question how to have differential advantage. SBDC, 2005 advised saying: â€Å"Differential advantage can be obtained via almost any element of the marketing mix - creating a superior product, more attractive designs, better service, more effective distribution, better advertising and so on. These are actually the three P’s which include the Product (creating a superior product, more attractive designs, better service), Place (more effective distribution) and Promotion (better advertising) The key is to understand that the advantage must be based on research into what customers really value and that the differential is developed after due consideration of competitive strategies and offers. (Emphasis supplied). With the three P’s strategically combined, the fourth P, which is Price, would be easier to handle. In fact the purpose of the differential advantage is to avoid mere competition based on price, because the customers look at the four P’s as four C’s. These four C’s include cost to the customer for price, convenience for place, communication for promotion and customer needs and wants for product. It must be noted that knowing what

The goal of the critically reflective teacher

The goal of the critically reflective teacher Ben Miller, writing about Stephen Brookfield, said that for Brookfield, the goal of the critically reflective teacher is to garner an increased awareness of his or her teaching from as many different vantage points as possible ((Miller 2010). I have chosen Brookfield as a model for self evaluation, as I believe, like Brookfield, in the value of the many different vantage points. That is not to devalue other models which encourage self reflection, and particularly where self reflection leads to action, but I believe using Brookfields four lenses, the autobiographical or self lens, the student lens, the peer lens, and the theoretical lens, can provide teachers with a more balanced view of themselves and their role. This is apparent in the DTLLS course that I am following (University of Warwick 2009). I can see Brookfield in the way in which tutors are encouraged to use different lenses through which to view their teaching, reflect and act on reflection. When this is a continuous process, it provides a good model for continuing professional development. For example, being alert for trigger incidents, and reflecting on how these affect teaching uses the autobiographical lens, as does reflection on observed sessions, before and after feedback; engaging with student feedback to gain insight into their viewpoint uses the student lens; carrying out and reflecting on peer observations and discussions with a mentor relates to the peer lens; and reference throughout to underpinning theories provides a theoretical lens. Brookfield also states (Brookfield 1995), that we become critically reflective by hunting assumptions. Assumptions are the taken for granted beliefs about the world, and our place within it. Reflecting on trigger incidents can often provide a starting point for hunting assumptions (Brookfield 1995). One of my trigger incidents led me to question my assumption that all ESOL learners aspire to speaking English like native speakers. After spending time helping a learner with some writing, I began to appreciate that for some learners, it was important to know how native speakers use the language, but then to be able to make an informed choice, which might be a wish to keep a sense of cultural identity or individuality through use of accent, words or phrases which might not be what we would expect from a native English speaker. Brookfield distinguishes between three categories of assumptions paradigmatic, prescriptive, and causal. Paradigmatic are the structuring assumptions, the conceptual framework one uses to order the world into fundamental categories à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The facts as we know them to be true. He goes on to say that paradigmatic assumptions are examined critically only after a great deal of resistance to doing this. (Brookfield 1995) Prescriptive assumptions are about what we think ought to happen in certain situations, how teachers should act, and what good teaching practice is. Causal assumptions include our understanding of causal relationships. An example of a paradigmatic assumption given by Brookfield is to assume that all adults are self-directed learners but as Brookfield says, students can only make informed choices about what they need to know, how they can know it, and how they can know that they know it, on the basis of as full as possible an understanding of the learning terrain they are being asked to explore (Brookfield 1995). In an ESOL classroom where learners may not have the language to express what they want, or even the concept of what they need, or as one learner put it everybody has different ideas, which are difficult to accommodate within a group teaching session, one might want to question this assumption, as Brookfield did. Following this train of thought, current practice places much emphasis on negotiated learning plans and measurable learning goals, which implies the same assumption. But how can it be assumed that this is the right approach for all learners in all situations unless, using an institutional lens, it is seen in the light of providing organizations with a tool with which to measure achievement, which can be passed on to funders and stakeholders. Reflection on this was one reason I chose to look further into meaningful individual learning goals for my Action Research project. The very different assumption that all learning should be learner centred I find more difficult to question. For example, many students are in the situation of having limited funding and therefore limited time to study ESOL because of the need to find work, and therefore learning strategies for learning which can help them to continue to learn once they have left the class might be important for them, but they might not be able to express that need. Meeting such a need would be learner centred, but would not assume that learners were self directed, and achievement of such a need would be difficult to measure. Again using Brookfields example, a prescriptive assumption might be that good teachers are those who encourage self directed learning, and a causal assumption that if learners have negotiated individual learning plans and learning goals they will become more self directed. This might, in light of the above, lead one to think about what Brookfield refers to as hegemonic assumptions or erroneous assumptions the assumptions that seem to make our teaching lives easier, but are counterproductive in the long run (Brookfield 1995). From my own experience in the classroom, I have made erroneous assumptions regarding the abilities of pre literate learners in areas other than literacy, such as numeracy, which have sent me searching for information as to how being pre literate affects all areas of life, and also to use the peer lens by observing a tutor who is very experienced in teaching pre entry, pre literate learners, in addition to the theoretical lens. To try to step into the shoes of pre literate learners I find extremely difficulty, and full of surprises. I observed one learner who is not literate in her first language in an informal knit and natter group, where learners of all levels meet, knit and talk together. This learner wanted to knit a babys jacket, and learned to do so by shadowing another person while she knitted. On completion of the jacket, she immediately pulled it out and started again while it was fresh in her mind so that she would remember how to do it. On reflection, this is how I learned to bake as a child, and how many people arrive in this country, skilled in trades but without qualifications to match their skills, or hope of achieving these in the short term, as qualifications demand a high level of literacy. I have also observed this same student, trying to understand what someone is saying to her in English. She unconsciously repeats key words out loud, which appears to help her understanding, shadowing with words as she does with knitting. If shadowing is a learning strategy used by pre literate learners, I should be thinking about how to nurture it in the ESOL classroom. It would perhaps provide a rationale for using methods such as language experience as well as phonetics for teaching basic literacy. I find this an interesting area, and as part of my action plan, would like to look at research on this subject, to learn more and also whether and how my observations fit in with the research. Once hunting assumptions becomes part of reflective practice, the questioning of these will lead teachers to see the need to provide themselves with a rationale for all aspects of their teaching, from setting goals, to learning objectives to decisions about methods and activities. Again this relates to our DTLLS course, which asks for a rationale to be provided for observed sessions. As this thinking becomes part of a teachers day to day practice, it forces the questioning of assumptions. To enable teachers to provide a rationale behind their practice and to increase the probability that teachers will take informed action are among Brookfields reasons for critical reflection, as is To enliven the classroom by making it challenging, interesting and stimulating for students(King and Hibbison 2000) The latter seems to imply that teachers must be responsive. Brookfield also uses the phrase democratic learning environment (King and Hibbison 2000) to refer to a classroom in which all learners have a voice. If responsiveness and democracy are looked at in the light of Donald Schons notion of reflection in action or thinking on your feet (Smith 2001, updated 2009), Schon and Brookfield are not unrelated. I gave an example in one of my trigger incidents of a session in a pre entry class where two learners had been very upset about circumstances outside the classroom, and their problems had been met with interest and empathy from the rest of the class, which led to a session on language to express feelings e.g. worried/worried about etc. This was reflection in action, relating to what was important for those learners at that time, but also looking through Brookfields student lens and helping them to express what they wanted to say. Further, it took account of the holistic nature of teaching, and I was able afterwards to relate my response to findings of NRDC research into effective teaching and learning (Baynham et al 2007) which cites examples of where learners have brought the outside in to learning and this has been used effectively. Thus using Brookfields theoretical lens to support my actions, but also relating back to Schons notion of reflection in action. However, I have also experienced a less successful example of bringing the outside in when I felt that a lesson was becoming unfocused because the topic that came up, planning a trip, needed more thought and some resources. I decided to abandon the outside in and bring the learners back to the original lesson plan. My reflection on action involved a recognition that I had not been able, at the time, to produce a clear way forward, and that in such a situation, a potentially interesting topic might be better postponed for another session to allow for more careful thought and planning in order to optimise learning opportunities. Donald Schon refers to reflection in action as what happens when faced with an uncertain or unique situation, and reflection on action as what happens afterwards, reflecting on why we did what we did. Reflection in action depends upon building up experiences and ideas that can be drawn upon. In the case of the two incidents mentioned above, in which one worked as a spontaneous change of direction, and one did not, this lead to reflection on action which in turn added to my repertoire of experience and will hopefully enable me to react more appropriately next time. The unfamiliar becomes familiar and can act as a precedent when reflection in action is linked to reflection on action (Smith 2001, updated 2009). Schons reflection on action would allow for the inclusion of different vantage points, for example, discussions with supervisors or peers, but does not explicitly state this, as I think Brookfield is helpful in doing. Also, Brookfields notion of questioning assumptions, which forces teachers not only to provide a rationale for their teaching, but also question the rationale behind institutional processes and decision making, does not come into Schons model. While acknowledging the value of Schons model of reflective practice, I found I preferred that of Stephen Brookfield, and I chose to carry out my self evaluation with reference to Brookfields four critical lenses, using this to develop my action plan (appendix 1). Using Brookfields autobiographical, or self, lens to reflect on the two incidents described above which relate to my own teaching, I have put in my action plan to be sensitive to opportunities for bringing the outside in, but also to recognise when this is better postponed to allow for more careful thought and planning Being sensitive to opportunities for bringing the outside into the classroom also involves the student lens and will allow for a more holistic approach, connecting learners lives with their learning, and providing meaningful contexts, as well as a supportive learning atmosphere. My observation feedback enabled me to use the self lens to reflect on some strengths, and also on areas for improvement. I had recognized a need to embed numeracy into ESOL, particularly for pre literate, pre numerate learners, but my inexperience in this area had led me to pitch the numeracy element too high. Reflection on what pre numeracy really meant for pre literate learners allowed me to take a step back and look at activities relating to language, which could also help numeracy skills. This would go into my action plan as introducing activities which involve skills which are transferable between language and numeracy such as sequencing, handling money, measuring, singular and plural etc. and a search for literature around the effects of no first language literacy and no previous formal education on all areas of life and learning. My observation feedback also picked up on the lack of a plenary at the end of my observed session, which led to reflection on how this could also be used as a way of developing organizational skills in students and highlighting organizing learning as a learning strategy. My action plan will include encouraging learners to keep a diary of what they have learnt, to complete at the end of each session and to observe the effect on learners of organization as a learning strategy. This diary will also form part of my Action Research as it will be linked to learning goals. Using Brookfields student lens, I have incorporated into the plenary diary a space for learners comments. Part of my action plan will be to reflect on, and if necessary, act on this feedback. Peer observations and discussions with peers brought in Brookfields peer lens. I carried out three peer observations during which I focussed on activities for pre literate learners, family learning numeracy fun with numbers, and, following a discussion with a tutor who I know to be very organized, organizational skills and the effect of these on learners. Following my observation and reflection I have included in my action plan a need to build up a bank of good quality resources for pre entry learners that can be used in different ways and in more than one session, for example, the tutor I observed had cards with pictures of symptoms and cards with matching words. She used these to play a team game of pelmanism using blu tack and the whiteboard. These same cards could be used as flashcards to introduce vocabulary, in games such as pelmanism to aid memory and word recognition, to practice alphabetical order, to stimulate role play, as a card game to practice Ive got.. and Have you go tà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ etc. From the family learning numeracy session I took away ideas to use with pre entry learners to help them both in class by creating activities, and outside class using these activities to play with their children. Extending this idea of taking the inside out, I have also organized a separate reading group session in the central library in collaboration with the librarian who, every three weeks, provides space, tea and coffee. This is for all levels, but for pre entry, encourages them to use the library, and look at picture books, which they can take home and read with their children. Also in my action plan will be to continue with peer observation after the course has finished as a useful way of continuing my own professional development both by learning from others and by getting feedback on my teaching. Finally, using Brookfields theoretical lens. I refer earlier in this assignment to NRDC Effective Teaching and Learning ESOL which reports on the findings of researchers working with ESOL tutors. These findings are very much about the effectiveness of using meaningful contexts for teaching, and also about a project involving learners bringing the outside into the classroom, which the tutor used as a context for further sessions. I find this piece of research has changed the way I teach in that I now enjoy using what learners bring into the classroom when it is of interest to others in the class. Sometimes this can change the direction of a whole session, as mentioned earlier, sometimes it can be just a few minutes of someone telling a story and others asking questions, sometimes it provides material for another session. Referring to this research has given me confidence to move away from a planned session if it seems appropriate and interesting. Another piece of writing I have found useful is Scott Thornburys book Uncovering Grammar (Thornbury 2005), particularly dealing with interlanguage, and referring to the idea that language is not learnt in a straight line, which has caused me again to question the value of setting measurable goals for ESOL learners. The activities in Scott Thornburys book for noticing grammar and making learners aware of the gaps between where they are and where they want, or need, to be, fit in well with the NRDC research findings on the effectiveness of providing a meaningful context (Baynham et al 2007). Using learners experience as a context is a good starting point for this awareness raising. I would like to continue to look for interesting ideas to try out in my teaching, and theories, which might support what I am doing, as I believe this will give me increased confidence in the classroom. In my action plan I have written that I will subscribe to a journal, which I find has useful articles and book reviews. I would also like to use the internet to look for articles on pre literate ESOL learners, and what effect this has on other areas such as numeracy, memory, interpreting pictures, learning strategies etc. to gain a better understanding which will help me in my teaching at this level. Before concluding this assignment, I would like to mention one more critical incident which I witnessed recently. The incident happened in a mixed class when a muslim woman, allowed her scarf to slip off her head as she was absorbed in her work. A young man from Afghanistan who had very recently arrived in the UK shouted at the woman in a language they both understood, and she reacted by tightening the scarf round her head to cover her hair. This made me think back to Brookfields idea of a democratic environment and to reflect on the difficulty of maintaining this when there are such culturally strong power relationships. I concluded that to Brookfields lenses, I would need to add a cultural lens in order to see the incident both through the eyes of the young man, and the women, and in order to reflect on my own reaction to the incident, and my own assumptions about gender relationships. I later had an interesting discussion with a higher level group who are mostly muslim on this inc ident. Culture comes into the ESOL classroom in many different ways, and used sensitively, can be a valuable resource. For this assignment I chose to use Stephen Brookfield as a model of reflective practice and self assessed using his four critically reflective lenses. However I also referred to Donald Schon and his idea of reflection in action and reflection on action. I found that, although there are differences between the two models, such as Brookfields use of four lenses which play an almost equally important role, while Schon uses the self first and foremost; and also Brookfields questioning of assumptions which do not come into Schons model, I found it useful to be aware of both. While Stephen Brookfields model of reflective practice is my preferred one, I can see that there are times when I will use Donald Schons model. Schon also includes the idea of a spiral of reflection, where reflection in action and reflection on action lead to change, and reflection on that change. As with teaching where the teacher will not use just one method, but pick and choose from many, so with reflective practice, there will be times when one model appeals more than another, or enhances another. As teachers are involved in continuous professional development, there will be opportunities to be eclectic. Wordcount 3,372

Interview Essay - John Tymkiw -- Interview Essays

Interview Essay - John Tymkiw John Tymkiw was born in the Ukraine on June 10, 1913. WWI broke out a year after he was born, and he lived through the Depression while Hitler and Stalin were fighting. When the Ukraine was signed over to Russian rule, many left, but John stayed and ran a cooperative association supply company. He came to America in 1951, through a sponsor in Chicago and then traveled to California in 1957. He was married in 1962, and had no children of his own, but had two-step children. He continued his life working in machinery and carpentry. He now lives alone in his condo in Laguna Woods, surrounded by his artwork and accomplishments. John defines happiness as a feeling that does not have anything to do with possession. "It is all mental and spiritual," he says. When John was younger, he believed that the more he had, the happier he was, but now he understands that the material things have nothing to do with happiness. John knows he is happy because he has freedom. He is satisfied with the fact that he is free of pressure, worries, and stress. He feels that there is really nothing for him to turn to when he is unhappy, so he learns to deal with whatever may be bothering him. The only things that upset him are the outside forces that he has no control over. Before John started to lose his vision in January, he used to be a very active person. He kept busy as an artist. He painted porcelain sculptures and stained glass, and made stone pictures. He also loved to dance. When asked what makes him unhappy, he replied that the declining morality around the globe bothered him. He feels that there is a lack of justice. He doesn't understand how people can take advantage of other people. He feels that there is t... ...It was extremely difficult for him to find work. The social changes that John has seen which have affected his happiness include the decline in morality. He feels as if he has no way of fighting these changes in our society, so he has had to adapt himself quietly and take everything as it comes. John is pleased with himself, and feels that there is nothing that can be changed. He is old enough to distinguish between good and bad, and he is a strong believer in his religion. He says that for fifty years, he did not feel as if he belongs in America, and now he still isn't sure, but he is happy. The advice that John gives for being happy is not to think that the material things will make you happy, and to manage your life according to God's laws. That is the sure way to finding happiness. His philosophy on life is that following God will lead you to happiness. Interview Essay - John Tymkiw -- Interview Essays Interview Essay - John Tymkiw John Tymkiw was born in the Ukraine on June 10, 1913. WWI broke out a year after he was born, and he lived through the Depression while Hitler and Stalin were fighting. When the Ukraine was signed over to Russian rule, many left, but John stayed and ran a cooperative association supply company. He came to America in 1951, through a sponsor in Chicago and then traveled to California in 1957. He was married in 1962, and had no children of his own, but had two-step children. He continued his life working in machinery and carpentry. He now lives alone in his condo in Laguna Woods, surrounded by his artwork and accomplishments. John defines happiness as a feeling that does not have anything to do with possession. "It is all mental and spiritual," he says. When John was younger, he believed that the more he had, the happier he was, but now he understands that the material things have nothing to do with happiness. John knows he is happy because he has freedom. He is satisfied with the fact that he is free of pressure, worries, and stress. He feels that there is really nothing for him to turn to when he is unhappy, so he learns to deal with whatever may be bothering him. The only things that upset him are the outside forces that he has no control over. Before John started to lose his vision in January, he used to be a very active person. He kept busy as an artist. He painted porcelain sculptures and stained glass, and made stone pictures. He also loved to dance. When asked what makes him unhappy, he replied that the declining morality around the globe bothered him. He feels that there is a lack of justice. He doesn't understand how people can take advantage of other people. He feels that there is t... ...It was extremely difficult for him to find work. The social changes that John has seen which have affected his happiness include the decline in morality. He feels as if he has no way of fighting these changes in our society, so he has had to adapt himself quietly and take everything as it comes. John is pleased with himself, and feels that there is nothing that can be changed. He is old enough to distinguish between good and bad, and he is a strong believer in his religion. He says that for fifty years, he did not feel as if he belongs in America, and now he still isn't sure, but he is happy. The advice that John gives for being happy is not to think that the material things will make you happy, and to manage your life according to God's laws. That is the sure way to finding happiness. His philosophy on life is that following God will lead you to happiness.

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN TONI MORRISON’S Essay

ABSTRACT: Racial Discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. In The Bluest eye ,Morrison took a different approach to the traditional White-Versus-Black racism. She acknowledged that most people are unaware of the racism that exists within a culture and often the racism that exists within themselves. Morrison’s essay describes a world free of racial hierarchy as dreamscape and unrealistic. Instead of such an imaginary place her works acknowledge cultural divides and the racism that exists within them. The middle class black society and the lower class black society, for example, are quite different from each other and are constantly conflicting .In The Bluest Eye ,Morrison distinguishes these divisions and their tensions through characters like Geraldine, Junior and Maureen Peal, who represent the privileged division of black culture .On the c ontrary,the less privileged division is represented by the MacTeer family and the ‘relentlessly and aggressively ugly’Breedlove family. Tension between the divided African American society is clearly represented by such characterization throughout Morrison’s Novel. African American literature is literature written by, about and sometimes specifically for African Americans, the black settlers in America. When the Africans settled in America, they were treated brutally by the Americans. They used them for their favour and hardly treated them as human beings. They wanted to show their protest so they used literature as the weapon to show their protest. The poet Phillis Wheatley and orator Frederick Douglass  were considered to be the beginners.Toni Morrision, Alice Walker etc followed their footsteps to show their protest. Chloe Anthony Wofford was born on Feb18, 1931,in Lorain, Ohio. She was second oldest of four childern. Her father George Wofford was a welder and her mother Ramah was a Chruch going women and sang in the choir.She took Latin in school and read many great works of European Literature. She was graduated in Lorain high school with honour in 1949.At Howard University, she was major in English and chose the classic for her minor. Since many people could not pronunce her name properly, she chose to cal herself Toni. After graduation in 1953 Toni continued her education at Cornell University. She married Harold Morrison and had two sons. But her married life was unhappy. Morrison went to work for Random House, were she edited works for such authors as Toni Cade Bambara and Gayl Jones. Mothers are almost always absent from the lives of Morrison’s characters ,having abandoned their children, died or simply disappeared .Despite the horrors of dislocation and slavery African American community searches for their Motherland, this was portrayed in the novels of Toni, as the absence of Mothers. The Novel †JAZZ† begins with a recap of Dorca’s murder and violet’s attack on her corpse. The couple that kill and then defaces the young girl seem immediately to be evil and immoral characters, but surprisingly Morrison goes on to flesh them out and to explain, in part ,that violet acts stem from suppressed anguish and disrupted childhoods. Racial discrimination is to treat differently a person or group of people based on their race.Power is a necessary precondition, for it depends on the ability to give or withhold social benefits, facilities, services, opportunities etc, from someone who should be entitled to them and are  denied on the basis of race, colour or national origin. Racial discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent ,national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. For example, it would be ‘direct discrimination’ if a real estate agent refuses to rent a house to a Person because they are of a particular racial background or skin colour. It is also racial discrimination when there is a rule or policy that is the same for everyone but has an unfair effect on people of a particular race, colour descent , national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. This is called ‘indirect discrimination’. For example, it may be indirect racial discrimination if a company says that employees must not wear hats or other headwear at work, as this is likely to have an unfair effect on people from some racial/ethnic background. THE BLUEST EYE Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest eye, was published in 1970.It tells the story of a young African American girl who believes her incredibly difficult life would be better if only if only she has blue eyes. When society is racist against a person ,the victim can avoid those within society who have become particularly offensive .But when the dear and near ones reject them, there is no escape from the pain, At this time,a person become completely immersed in misery and go insane .This is the fate of Pecola Breedlove . For Pecola, constant abuse by society and her family made her so utterly alone. Her brother runs away from home by encouragement from his mother ,who rejects the family and goes to work for a white family .By working for the white family , she got everything that she wanted and was needed .In doing so, she rejects the needs of her family entirely , not even her own daughter could call her â€Å"mother† instead she forces to call her â€Å"Mrs .Breedlove† , a symbol of the unfamiliarity of the connection that should be  filled with love, but is only filled with hatred and rejection. This increased when Pecola is raped by her father,followed by her mother beating her until the baby dies .This final blow ,the hopelessness of rejection caused by both the internal and external racism, was what drove Pecola insane, and would drive any person to madness ,because the pain that this racism caused is the pain of being alone, a pain which no human can bear. The abuse from racism is never forgotten , it leaves a scar â€Å"the pain may recede after time ,but the scar remains† Pecola Breedlove,a eleven year old little black girl, is plain and homely. By orders of the country, the Macteers take Pecola into their home to temporarily take care of her until the Country finds another home for her. It is here that she meets and becomes best friends with Claudia and Frieda. She is not happy with herself and longs for blue eyes, as they are symbolic of American white beauty. Pecola has a very difficult life growing up, as people torment her for being black and ugly. She is also raped by her father, and eventually becomes pregnant with his baby. However, the baby dies. Her mother treats her coldly, as she believes Pecola is ugly and is ashamed of her. Morrison introduces the adult character Geraldine late in the novel in order to depict the same-race racism as widely spread among the ages. Geraldine’s racism is plainly stated when she warns her son that there are obvious â€Å"difference between coloured people and niggers. Coloured people are neat and quiet; niggers are dirty and loud â€Å"(The Bluest eye). Geraldine is not only warning her son of these differences, but she is also spreading a racial stereotype. Toni uses the symbol, Hollyhock flower as beauty, confidence and strength of the privileged black society. She uses Dandelions as the less privileged black society (i.e.) lower class as ugly, useless, unwanted. As member of the less privileged society, Pecola associates well with the dandelions and believes â€Å"they are pretty†. Pecola sees the beauty in the dandelions that she is actually seeing the beauty in  herself and in her society, while others do not. Geraldine’s cat represents yet another symbol of the privileged society. The cat is â€Å"as clean and quiet as she is†. Geraldine’s son, Junior was neglected by his self-absorbed, cat-loving and nigger-hating mother. Junior revolts against his mother’s racist beliefs by abusing the cat which represents all that is dear to her. Junior feels out of place and drawn towards the black children his mother shuns. Claudia and Frieda give up the money they had been saving and plant Marigold seeds in hopes that if the flowers bloom, Pocola’s baby will live; the Marigolds never bloom. This shows that the younger generation accepts all the people equally. â€Å"Everyone is a child of God and all are created equally†. Racial discrimination is not only the problem of previous generations. Even in this century, one could find the practice of racial discrimination. For instance, the popular dancer Michael Jackson underwent many cosmetics, operations and tolerated pains to show that he too could be on par with white people with white skin.

Ernest Hemingway’s novels Essay

Ernest Hemingway is an author well known for the common themes in his novels. In his style of writing, Hemingway is able to express the themes of the novel through strong character traits and actions. The common themes in Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also and A Farewell to Arms are death and loss. The characters in these novels, and many of Hemingway’s other novels, can relate to these themes. The novels The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms share many similarities. These of course include the themes of death and loss. The common themes are supported by the war setting in A Farewell to Arms and the post-war setting in The Sun Also Rises. Both novels take place in Europe approximately in the 1920s. Jake Barnes is the main character of The Sun Also Rises and he is struggling through life after having experienced some trauma during the war. Frederic Henry, the protagonist of A Farewell to Arms must make the choice of staying in the army or abandoning his fellow troops to be with his girlfriend. Both novels explore the hardships of love, war, and death.†The wound, the break from society, and the code are subjects of Hemingway’s work† (Young 6). These three events are critical in Hemingway’s novels The Sun Also and A Farewell to Arms. â€Å"The Wound† represents just that, a wound. It can be a physical, mental, or an emotional wound always occurring in the story’s protagonist. This relates to the theme of loss because the character’s wound is always a loss they suffer. The loss can be physical, for example if the character is injured and loses a body part (which is common in the war settings Hemingway typically uses). The loss can also be emotional, for example if the main character loses a loved one and becomes depressed. In The Sun Also Rises, Jake has been injured in the war and feels like less of a man because he is â€Å"physically unable to make love to a woman† (Magnum 4). This injury leaves Jake psychologically and morally lost. In A Farewell to Arms the main character, Frederic Henry, is wounded in his leg while serving in the war as an ambulance driver in Italy. Jake and Frederic’s mental and emotional conditions lead to the next part of the Hemingway code; the break from society. The break from society is the next key element in Hemingway’s work. This disassociation with society is a result of the main character’s injury or loss. The character will separate himself from society to cope with his loss. Jake’s life has become empty and he fills his time with drinking and dancing. Jake enjoys his life by â€Å"learning to get your money’s worth and knowing when you had it.† (Magnum 4) Another break from society is shown in the story â€Å"Big Two- Hearted River† by Hemingway. The main character, Nick Adams, has experienced a loss. â€Å"Death has occurred; not literal human death, but death of the land† (Magnum 3) which has been destroyed by fire. The fire has consumed and burned all the vegetation surrounding the home where Nick grew up. Nick suffers from the shock of the devastation to the land. He had recalled so many boyhood memories of hunting and fishing on the land where he grew up. Nick goes back into the wilderness on his own to get away form the pain he has suffered. A break from society is a key aspect in Hemingway’s work that adds to the common themes among his novels. The wound and the break from society lead up to the last key element, the â€Å"Hemingway Code† (Young 8). The code is what Hemingway uses in his novels to show how the character is dealing with the wound and the break from society. For example, in The Sun Also Rises, Jake is dealing with his loss by going out and spending his money on drinks and dancing because this is the only way he can enjoy himself. He cannot fall in love so this is what he does instead to fill the missing gap in his life. He also â€Å"gets his money’s worth† by sending pointless short telegrams to his friends, symbolizing his careless nature. A Farewell to Arms contains another example of the code. Frederic is searching for meaning in life while he is surrounded by death during the war. He chooses not to fill his life with religion or pleasure because these things are meaningless to him. Instead Frederic abandons the Italian Army to be with his girlfriend Catherine, whom he plans to marry. Loving Catherine is the only way Frederic can bring happiness to his life after facing the hardships of war. The subject’s of Hemingway’s work in A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises are similar, and can relate to the main themes of other works by Hemingway. The themes of death and loss apply to the characters of these  novels. Death occurs often during the wars which take place in both novels. Jake was wounded in a war, and Frederic is currently fighting in a war. Both have suffered a psychological loss which leaves them struggling to bring meaning to their lives. In Big Two Hearted River Nick suffers from the loss of the land. Hemingway has created all of these characters to show weaknesses which result from their losses. That is why each character suffers from the loss they experience. â€Å"Like Jake, Frederic Henry is wounded in the war and falls in love with a woman.†(Magnum 6). These characters suffer losses from the war and soon suffer losses in love. â€Å"We could have had such a damned good time together,† (Hemingway 115) Lady Ashley states afte r accepting that Jake will never be able to love her. Like Jake, Frederic loses his lover, â€Å"The arms to which Frederic must finally say farewell are those of Catherine, who dies in childbirth† ( Magnum 7) The major differences in the novels The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms do not occur in the themes of the novels but instead the character’s personalities and actions. For example Jake is considered the lost and hopeless character. He spends his time out and about with his friends touring the countryside, drinking, dancing and having a good time. He has lost all his morals and goes about freely without a care in the world. Hemingway had created Frederic as the complete opposite of Jake. He takes a stand for what he believes in and does what he thinks is right. Frederic is faced with, and overcomes, tough decisions during desperate war-filled times. Unlike Jake, he is rational and thinks out his decisions. Although theses characters have opposing personalities they will both encounter the same problem throughout the novels. Both Jake and Frederic experience hardships and internal conflict in The Sun Also and A Farewell to Arms. Jake is in conflict with himself over the love of a woman named Lady Brett Ashley. This is the woman Jake wants to fall in love with but he knows this will never be possible because of his war wound. Jake gives up his hope of finding love by introducing Lady Brett to one of his friends who she falls in love with and plans to marry. The marriage is broken off when a fight breaks out which is caused by Lady Brett’s desire to be romantic with several other men. â€Å"The novel ends right where it began,  with Brett and Jake trapped in hopeless love for each other,† (Nagel 108). Frederic’s internal conflict is similar to that of Jake’s. He is lost and confused over the love for his girlfriend, Catherine and his service in the military. After learning Catherine has become pregnant and his troops abandon him, Frederic makes the decision to desert the army and follow his heart. Frederic suffers from the most pain when Catherine dies giving birth. He realized that the love he shared, to try and bring meaning to his life, causes him even more pain when Catherine dies. The internal conflict of both Jake and Frederic leave them faced with tough decisions which affect the way they live ad love. Hemingway has used the character relationship of love and a setting with an atmosphere of war to build on his major themes. The characters were wounded in the war and suffer from the loss of loved ones. Death is used figuratively to describe the emotions and morality of Hemingway’s characters. Hemingway’s themes of death and loss are seen through his character portrayal in his novels. Work Cited Coleman, Janice. â€Å"Ernest Hemingway† The World Book Encyclopedia. Hartford, CT: Paddon Publishing, 1992. Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell To Arms. New York, NY: Charles Scribners Sons, 1929. Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York, NY: Charles Scribners Sons, 1926. Magnum, Bryant. â€Å"Introduction to the Novels of Ernest Hemingway† Critical Survey Of Long Fiction. Salem Press Inc. 2000. Nagel, James. â€Å"Ernest Hemingway†. Dictionary of Literary Biography: Volume 9. New York: Gale Research Company, 1981. Stanton, William. 20th Century Novelists. Sacramento, CA: Bantum Books, 1984. Young, Phillip. â€Å"Ernest Hemingway† American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. Volume II. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1974