The Simulation Project Essay Example for Free

The Simulation Project Essay Multinational corporations face many challenges in their domestic and global environments. According to Ajami, Cool, Goddard, and Khambata â€Å"a multinational firm is one in which a certain percentage of the earnings, assets, sales, or personnell of a firm come from or are deployed in foreign locations† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 6). According to this definition US Airways Group would be classified as a mulitnational firm. On Fortune 500’s Worst List, US Airways Group is identified as a least admired company on all eight attributes identified by the research and surveys performed by Hay Group (Best worst in, 2006). As the name implies US Airways Group operates in the Airline industry. This paper will discuss how government regulations, hard and soft technologies, some political-legal barriers, sociocultural factors and two economic theories that are faced by US Airways Group are affected by their domestic and global environments. It will also offer a strategy for US Airways Group to countinue its growth and success as an industry leader. As indicated from its name the domestic environment of this company is the United States and the global environment that will be used is Costa Rica. In the US the airline industry has two main agencies that write regulations that it has to obey. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2012). Although the airline industry was de-regulated in 1978 the DOT â€Å"retains the authority to alter or amend any airline’s certificate or to revoke such certificate for intentional failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the certificate† (10-K, 2012). The FAA is responsible for writing the regulations that relate to aircraft maintenance and operations, certification of pilots and flight crewmembers and air traffic and general operating rules (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2012). Another other agency that establishes guidelines that the airline industry has to abide by is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is responsible for â€Å"regulating operations, including air carrier operations, which affect the quality of air in the United States† (10-K, 2012). US Airways Group has to follow all the established regulations created by the FAA, DOT and EPA if it wants to remain in business in the United States. They have to keep up-to-date with the maintenance requirements and keep accurate records as established by the FAA and continue to have their aircraft inspected at regular intervals as prescribed by the FAA (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2012). They must ensure they follow EPA guidelines regarding air quality, while continuing to meet the DOT requirements for operating at efficiency or risk having their certificates revoked to do business as well. In Costa Rica, the government is based on Roman law, which is very different from the US legal system (Doing Business in Costa Rica: 2012 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies, 2012). The ways the laws are written is how they are applied and there is little to no room left for interpretation by anyone regarding the laws. Therefore the way that the government regulations that US Airways Group must follow are written are the way that they must be followed. The government has established travel guidelines that must be followed there, the most important being that: currently you are not permitted to enter Costa Rica unless you have a roundtrip ticket (Costa Rica, 2012). The easiest way for US Airways to avoid an issue regarding this regulation is to ensure that all travelers going to Costa Rica have a roundtrip ticket when they board the plane in their departure city, along with valid identification. â€Å"Hard technology includes the physical hardware, capital goods, blueprints and specifications, and knowledge necessary to use the hardware, while soft technology encompasses the management, marketing, financial organization, and administrative techniques that can be combined with the hard technology to serve the needs of the use† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 358). Based on this definition some of US Airways hard technologies would be their aircraft (planes), hubs (airport locations) and even their flight crews. The planes that are currently in the fleet are manufactured by Boeing, Airbus and Embraer (US Airways Fleet, 2013) and some are equipped  with the â€Å"ACSS’s XS-950â„ ¢ Mode S Transponder† which allows for the transmission of information regarding the planes â€Å"position, speed and intent† (Press Releases, 2012). They have hubs in the four US cities and have established a partnership with Star Alliance (US Airways A Star Alliance Member, 2013), which gives them access to a hub at London’s Heathrow Airport as well. The flight crew has the knowledge to operate the aircraft as well operate the terminals efficiently within the hubs. It is the flight crew’s responsibility to ensure that the passengers are on board the plane on time and that the plane departs the gate on time. The soft technologies currently employed by US Airways includes their Nuance interactive voice response (IVR) system, which was one of their new marketing tools to help reduce customer frustrations (Interactive Case Study: US Airways, 2013), audits of customers’ airport experiences (Sunnucks, 2010), and training on the other new systems that have been implemented to help with customer satisfaction. Just as flight crews can be classified as hard technology the management staff of US Airways can be classified as soft technology because it is their responsibility to make sure that the customers are kept happy and that they use their administrative talents to keep the employees satisfied as well. If US Airways continues to educate, value and respect it employees, while using new technology to keep up-to-date with the rest of the industry and survey its customers for satisfaction their success will continue to improve. One of the political-legal barriers that US Airways Group will face in the US and Costa Rica the differences in the legal system as identified earlier. In the US the laws are interpreted and judges look at past cases to help decide how to rule on a current case, in Costa Rica judges look at the law the way it is written and make their rulings based on the way the law is written. If US Airways is not careful and does not fully understand the laws and how they are written in Costa Rica this could be detrimental to their operations there. In the US they not only have to comply with federal laws but state laws as well that have been established. Although both governments are classified as republics, the US has what the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) refers to as a federal republic and Costa Rica has a democratic republic (The World Fact Book, 2012). In Costa Rica they promote a political environment based on inclusion. One of their political parties is Partido Accesibilidad Sin Exclusià ³n (PASE) which translated into English is Accessibility without Exclusion Party (Obando, 2013); however the US is not necessarily an inclusion-based society. The US does have laws regarding accessibility for individuals with disabilities and they are taken very seriously, Costa Rica is not as readily as accessible as one would think they would be based on their inclusion-based political system. For US Airways to continue to be successful in the US and Costa Rica concerning the political-legal environments within those countries they should remember the â€Å"history of close and friendly relations based on respect for democratic government, human freedoms, free trade, and other shared values† (World-Country Profiles; US Department of State Background Note, 2007), this falls in line with the concept of the classical theory of trade (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 48). Geert Hofstede developed his theory of the five dimensions of culture, based on information provided to him by IBM regarding employee values in their survey of more than 70 countries between 1967 and 1973 (National cultural dimensions, 2013). â€Å"The five dimensions of culture as theorized by Hofstede are: social orientation, power orientation, uncertainty orientation, goal orientation and time orientation† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 213). The five dimensions are broken down into simple terms as: social orientation – reflects a person’s beliefs about the importance of the individual over the group for which they belong; power orientation – deals with how one views authority and power differences in a hierarchy; uncertantiy oreintation – refers to how one feels regarding change; goal orientation – deals with how one is motivated towards achieving goals and the fifth and final dimension time oreintation – refers to the how individuals in a culture adopt an outlook of long or short term regarding life, work and other issues (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 213-214). In regards to the sociocultural aspects related to these dimensions of culture as id entified by Hofstede there are many that are different as well as some that are similar for these two countries. One of the biggest differences between the two countries is their attidudes towards time. People in the US are all about time and money whereas people in Costa Rica want to take their time and really understand what is happening. The attitudes towards work and lesiure follow suit with the attitudes towards time. Many in the US do not  take vacation time off because things need to get done, whereas Costa Ricans are more concerend with spending time with their families and socializing with friends (Provasi, 2012). The attitudes regarding change, material things, and jobs are also at opposite ends of the spectrum. These things are important to most Americans and they look at these things as a way to build themselves up. Costa Rican’s on the other hand look at these things and will be just as comfortable with keeping things just they way they are. Aspects that are similar in the two countries are literacy rate and education mix. Both coutries hold these items in high regard and try to come up with ways to encourage the young people to stay in school and continue with their education and pursue higher education as well. Another item that is similar is their â€Å"open door† policy in the work place , managers are accessible at all levels and this makes it very familiar. The two economic theories that will be compared and contrasted are Walt Whitman Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth and John Kenneth Galbraith Equilibrium of Poverty for the domestic and gloabal economic environments identified above for US Airways Group. The US has a mixed economic environment and is classified as a first world country. The reason the US does not fit into one specific economic environment is it has characteristics of capitalism in which the relationship of supply and demand dictates price and it also has elements of a free-market economy in which the government establishes laws and policies to ensure public safety and welfare (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 59). Costa Rica has a social market economy (Rojas, 2006) and is classified as a thrid world country (Rosenberger, 2012). A social market economy is similar to a free-maket economy in that â€Å"it upholds free market components such as private property and ownership of businesses and industry, free price formation, market competition and free trade, while also utilizing government regulation to create fair market competition by preventing market monopolies, ensuring ongoing economic development and poverty alleviation† (Social Market Economy, 20 13). Based on the definitions provided it can be said the both economies are similar in regards to government regulations being involved in creating a fair and safe market environment. Walt Whitman Rostow identified five economic stages of growth in which a country could fall: traditional society, transitional stage, takeoff, drive to maturity and the age of mass consumption (Ford,  2004). Each stage represents a stepping stone to for the next stage. According to Rostow the US surpassed the age of mass consumption in the late 1950’s (Ferraro, 1960), Costa Rica however is still in the takeoff stage. This stage is â€Å"marked by major transformations that stimulate the economy† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 55). For US Airways Group, in Costa Rica this is identified by their growth in the technological area (more flights operated) as well as more jobs being created due to the increase in flights. Although in the US this stage has been surpassed, US Airways contiunes to â€Å"grow† in this aspect because they are increasing flight schedules. Galbraith’s view of economics is similar to that of Rostow, in that economic growth is as much a change in social, intellectual and policatical as well as physical (material) change (Watson, 2011). According to both of their economist views the US operates as a capitalistic economy. This is tr ue of US Airways in the way that they have been able to turn-around their business since 2005. They actually took into consideration things that would make the consumers happy, not necessarily increasing their capacity (i.e. putting more seats on a plane), in doing so they were able to keep up with the consumer’s wants and still provide the service that was needed (Smith, 2012). This falls into Galbraith’s view that â€Å"the major affirmative purpose of the firm is corporate growth† (John Kenneth Galbraiths Contributions to Economics, 2013). This view is similar to Rostow’s age of mass consumption in that both concentrate on the high standards of living (i.e. comfort in travel on the plane) that have been established as a result of the efforts set forth is their respective stages. Where the two differ dramatically is that Galbraith believes that the companies direct the consumers wants by advertising that makes the consumers desire certain products or services, and that therefore the economy is more driven by the seller and not the consumer (John Kenneth Galbraiths Contributions to Economics, 2013). In this instance though, that concept contradicts his idea of ‘the major affaimative purpose of the firm is corporate growth’ in the example provided regarding US Airways above. In successfully industrializing a poor economy such as Costa Rica’s, Galbraith’s Equilibrium of Poverty offers the idea of the reliable infrastructure system (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 57). This idea simply means that the country would need to have a â€Å"relieable  system of roads, ports, electrical power supplies and communications† (Ajami, Cool, Goddard, Khambata, 2006, p. 57). In this case US Airways already has access to these items at the airport and therefore is well on its way to helping the economy grow and prosper. While both Rostow and Galbraith believe that governement need to be invovled in the initial stages to help third world countries establish themselves and help to protect their citizens they also understand that there will be a time when the government will need to step back and let the companies in the different industries takeover and control their own destinies so to speak. Rostow does not mention how or when he thinks this should be done, however Galbraith says that he feels that governments should impose â€Å"taxes on consumer goods and services, using the proceeds to increase the availability of public sector goods and services† (John Kenneth Galbraiths Contributions to Economics, 2013). In doing this, he is trying to show that eventually there has to be a point where control is given to the companies and they only need to answer to the governments when required or necessary. US Airways Group has made significant improvements in seven of the eight-attribute areas identified On Fortune 500’s Worst List 2006. On the 2011 list they still have a ranking on the worst product quality attribute of number 11, which is down from 10. US Airways Group needs to figure out ways to improve the quality of their service as well as their products. Although they may not have much control over the service aspect because the flight schedule cab be delayed because of an airline from another company they can control they products. They can invest in newer planes, upgrade/update their current planes and even update their hubs in the airports that they currently operate in. Other ways for the company to continue to grow and succeed in the domestic and global environments are they must continue to improve their offerings. They are off to a great start by taking surveys and asking customers what is important to them. They need to go a step further and ask the employees what is important to them, what will keep them loyal to US Airways Group. Take what they learn from the employees and the implement changes that are suggested. Continue to ask the customers what they like, do not like, what other features they would like to see in the airports, on the planes and in the air. I think one thing that the company should do is take a lesson from Southwest and stop charging baggage fees for the first checked bag. They should eliminate  change fees, and if someone needs to cancel their trip completely, implement a cancell ation fee, but refund the difference between the ticket price and the cancellation fee. By eliminating their fees they will draw more passengers to the airline and increase sales, because people will not feel as if they are being taken advantage of. In today’s economy this will go far with consumers and could lead to even bigger profits in the end, because they will feel that US Airways Group is a company that is not just looking out for themselves but for their customers as well. As demonstrated there are several different environments that a multinational corporation must take into consideration when exploring new opportunities. The government regulations, hard and soft technologies, political-legal barriers, sociocultural factors and economic theories that a company faces and how they handle each of those environments will determine if they will succeed or fail. Walt Whitman Rostow and John Kenneth Galbraith’s economic theories can be used by companies to help determine if the global environment that is being considered will be a good fit with the domestic environment of the parent company. Once the location has been setup and establishe the company must realize that the work does not stop there, they must always analyze and remember they want to continue to grow so they need to ask the question what do we do to contiune to prosper or what do we do to make it so we do prosper. Bibliography 10-K, A. H. (2012, May 19, Retreived December 16, 2012). Government Regulations and Airline Industry Taxation. Retrieved from Wikinvest: http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/AirTran_Holdings_(AAI)/Government_Regulations_Airline_Industry_Taxation Ajami, R. A., Cool, K., Goddard, G. J., Khambata, D. (2006). International Business: Theory and Practice. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. Best worst in (2006). Retrieved from CNN Money: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2006/best_worst/ Costa Rica. (2012, December 30). Retrieved from cr2net.com: http://www.cr2net.com/costarica/coming_and_going.htm Doing Business in Costa Rica: 2012 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies. (2012, December 30). Retrieved from The Department of Commerce: http://www.buyusainfo.net/docs/x_1853591.pdf Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. (2012, December 13, Retreived December 16, 2012). Retrieved

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Citizens of the United States are traditionally given unlimited freedom of speech, press, and assembly. These American privileges allow interest groups to express their perspectives by using the media and other sources that are accessible to the public. In definition, an interest group is a group of individuals who organize to influence the government’s programs and policies. The main goal of these groups is to have the government both listen and respond to their interests (Shin 243). Historically interest groups have and continue to play a crucial role in American politics; especially since it is an effective form for citizens to interfere with government decision making. Two current interest groups in the United States are the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and the National Council of La Raza. These particular interest groups demonstrate how interest groups directly and indirectly influence public opinion and the political process. Interest groups representation is based on attitude and not the United States population geography. I chose to investigate national immigration interest groups that focus on Hispanic individuals that are living in the United States. According to the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) website, it was established in 1991 as an unbiased association of major Hispanic national organizations that distinguishes Hispanic Leaders all over the nation. Their mission is to unite Latinos around the country and encourage the Hispanic community to become more involved with our country’s affairs. Hispanic leaders of NHLA raise public awareness of major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole (â€Å"NHLA†). In other words this group centralizes its ideas around Hispanic civil rights a... ...as run on money and unfortunately the less money an interest group has then the less likely it will be addressed to either the public or the government. But since both NHLA and NCLR have multiple members and offices then they get their voices herd. In conclusion, the missions of these two groups clearly want to see the government taking action when it comes to their concerns and they know that by informing the public could possibly help gain more supporters for their issues; more supporters means more successful outcomes for the NHLA and NCLR. I decided to research the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and the National Council of La Raza because I was interested in learning about interest groups that could possibly influence me and people of my race or ethnicity. I am not part of an interest group but this research has influenced me to want to participate in one.

Narrative techniques of Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist and David Copperfield Essay

â€Å"Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do it well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself completely; in great aims and in small I have always thoroughly been in earnest.† Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens is considered as one of the greatest writers of all times. His fluid language, the wise mind, the great writing technique, the sharp eye, made his works survive for more than 150 years. He is the author of more than twenty novels. All of them very appreciated from- book lovers- since the time they were written until nowadays and, with great chance that they will be read and appreciated in the centuries that will come. The purpose of this diploma thesis is the comparison of narrative techniques of â€Å"Oliver Twist† and â€Å"David Copperfield†. â€Å"Oliver Twist† belongs to the first years of Dickens’s literary works.1 It was very successful since its first edition but, the critics don’t list it as one of the most valuable works of Dickens.2 â€Å"David Copperfield† comes after twelve years of â€Å"Oliver Twist† and it is considered as one of the most achieved works of Charles Dickens. Dickens himself considers David as â€Å"his favorite child†.3 Speaking from the perspective of the narration, as the study will demonstrate, these two novels belong to different forms of narration. â€Å"Oliver Twist† is narrated by third person narrator. In construction is considered simpler than â€Å"David Copperfield†. The narrator of â€Å"David Copperfield† is David himself meaning that the story is told by the main hero. This typ e of narration is a first person narration. However I will discuss about this in more details during the thesis. 2. Biography of Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature’s most iconic novels and characters4. He was born at Landport in Portsea on Friday, the seventh of February, 1812.5 Charles was the son of John, a clerk in the navy-pay office and Lady Elizabeth Barrow. From the early years of his childhood, he hade to face the life of hardships and difficulties due to his father’s failure in maintaining the family. At the age of twelve he had to quit school because his family was being held into debtor’s prison. When he was fifteen he became a clerk in a law firm and later worked as a newspaper reporter. He published his first fiction in 1836 – a series of character sketches called Sketches by Boz. The work was well-received, but its reception was nothing compared to the international acclaim he received with the publication of The Pickwick Papers in the following year. 6 After this early blush of success, Dickens took on the job as editor of Bentley’s Miscellany, a literary magazine in which a number of his early works were serialized, including Oliver Twist (1837-9) and Nicholas Nickleby (1838-9). He left to begin his own literary magazine, Master Humphrey’s Clock, in 1840, and over the next ten years published many of his most famous novels in serial form, including The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-1), A Christmas Carol (1844), and David Copperfield (1849-50), perhaps the most autobiographical of all his novels. He made his first visit of USA in 1842. He had taken trips in other places like France, Italy and Switzerland but always returning to his home. His journeys abroad influenced him a lot in his work. Other works were serialized in Household Words between 1850 and 1859, which was then succeeded by All the Year Round, which he edited until his death in 1870, publishing such novels as A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860-1), and Our Mutual Friend (1864-5). A workaholic to the end, Dickens died of a stroke in 1870 after having penned a chapter of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, his final (and unfinished) novel, the previous day.7 Although Dickens is distingu ished for his great capability in writing fiction, in his bibliography are included also various poems. Some of them are8: A Child’s hymn, A fine Old English Gentelman, Lucy’s Song, The Ivy Green, Little Nell’s Funeral etc. Dickens has produced a great treasure for the British literature. His novels have challenged the time and today are still present to impress every book lover. 3. Oliver Twist 3.1. Plot 1 of the novel â€Å"Oliver Twist† is the second book of Charles Dickens. As in many of his novels, the author here also displays the difficulties of young children in the English society of XIX century. The story is about an orphan who has to live a life of hardships since the day he was born. When he is at the age of nine he works at a workhouse but after his promiscuous begging â€Å"Please sir, I want some more!† he is taken out the workhouse. After the work house he was hired to an undertaker but from the ill treatment that he undergoes there he is forced to escape. The poor child goes to London with the hope that things will get better in his life but there too he encounters many difficulties and meets people who want to take advantage of his innocence. However, the luck hasn’t completely abandoned him since he meets some good hearted people who take care of him and help him discover the mystery of his birth and find out who were his parents All the adventures of the book end happily. The bad guys pay their dues and the good ones find the tranquility and happiness. This is a very brief recount of the plot since the analysis will be focused in the narration and narrators point of view. 3.2. Narrative form From the first paragraph of the novel the reader can notice that the narrator speaks in third person: â€Å"Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born in a workhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance, it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred. The fact is, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration,–a troublesome practice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easy existence; and for some time he lay gasping on a little flock mattress, rather unequally poised between this world and the  next: the balance being decidedly in favour of the latter.† (O.T.; Pg.4; Ch.I )9. A third person narration means that the story is recounted from someone outside the book, meaning that he/she is not a character in the book but, is able to â€Å"observe† the story from distance. To confirm this I will show some passages which the narrator uses to tell that he is the teller of the story: â€Å"That Oliver Twist was moved to resignation by the example of these good people, I cannot, although I am his biographer, undertake to affirm with any degree of confidence; but I can most distinctly say, that for many months he continued meekly to submit to the domination and ill-treatment of Noah Claypole.† (O.T.; Pg.37; Ch. VI)10 3.3. The influence of narrator in reader’s image Although the narrator is objective in most of his narration, when describing some characters he sides a little to influence the readers image about that character. When describing Noah Calypole his tone takes features of disgust and dislike. The narrator did this because his intention was to influence the reader’s opinion about the character: â€Å"With this, Mr. Claypole administered a kick to Oliver, and entered the shop with a dignified air, which did him great credit. It is difficult for a large-headed, small-eyed youth, of lumbering make and heavy countenance, to look dignified under any circumstances; but it is more especially so, when superadded to these personal attractions are a red nose and yellow smalls.† (O.T.; Pg. 29; Ch.V).11 This happens also when the reader is introduced with Fagin, Bill Sikes and all other evil characters. When the reader first meets Fagin besides the repulsive description of the character also the place where he lives appears as dirty and gloomy: â€Å"Oliver, groping his way with one hand, and having the other firmly grasped by his companion, ascended with much difficulty the dark and broken st airs: which his conductor mounted with an ease and expedition that showed he was well acquainted with them. He threw open the door of a back-room, and drew Oliver in after him. The walls and ceiling of the room were perfectly black with age and dirt. There was a deal table before the  fire: upon which were a candle, stuck in a ginger-beer bottle, two or three pewter pots, a loaf and butter, and a plate.†12 Influencing the readers image is a trick from narrators part that he also uses in order to make ground for the image the reader is about to create for a positive character.: When the narrator describes Mr. Bronlown he makes a very pleasant description of him. â€Å"The old gentleman was a very respectable-looking personage, with a powdered head and gold spectacles. He was dressed in a bottle-green coat with a black velvet collar; wore white trousers; and carried a smart bamboo cane under his arm.† (O.T. ;Pg.61;Ch.X).13 At some characters the narrator is a bit satirical. For example when he describes Mr. Bumble he is trying to make him look ridiculous in the reader’s eyes: â€Å"Now, Mr. Bumble was a fat man, and a choleric; so, instead of responding to this openhearted salutation in a kindred spirit, he gave the little wicket a tremendous shake, and then bestowed upon it a kick which could have emanated from no leg but a beadle’s.† ( O.T.; Pg.8; Ch.2).14 When the narrator refers to Billie Sikes, he in the beginning refers to him as â€Å"the man†. After Billie commits the burglary it is revealed what he does and after this the narrator refers to him as â€Å"the thief†. At the end when he murders Nancy the narrator addresses to him as â€Å"the murderer†. The narrator labels this character with the crimes that he makes. This seems to happen because the story teller wants to inform the reader exactly with the features of that personage. In order to mark the characters of Fagin, Billie, Artful Dodger, and all the other members of the gang as â€Å"the bad ones†, the narrator makes their language rude and informal. When the narrator constructs their dialogues he uses the street slang, so the characters appear uneducated and ignorant. There are passages where the story teller represents the innocence of Oliver by making the reader understand some situations that Oliver is not able to. â€Å" ‘Not so heavy as they might be,’ said the Jew, after looking at the insides carefully; ‘but very neat and nicely made. Ingenious workman, ain’t he, Oliver? ‘Very indeed, sir,’ said Oliver. At which Mr. Charles Bates laughed uproariously; very much to the amazement of Oliver, who saw nothing to laugh at, in anything that had passed.† (O.T. ; Pg.56; Ch.IX).15 3.4. Narrator’s point of view It is true that the hero of this book is a child and the story is constructed by the adventures that happen to him but, when Dickens wrote the book he also used it to show his points of view about the social live in England. At the beginning of the chapter II he describes the conditions that the parish children live. The reader can observe that his tone is very satirical but at the same time sad. He mocks with his satire the condition in which the Parish authorities lead the place. In the other hand he uses his language of sorrow when he describes how children suffer there. †The hungry and destitute situation of the infant orphan was duly reported by the workhouse authorities to the parish authorities. The parish authorities inquired with dignity of the workhouse authorities, whether there was no female then domiciled in ‘the house’ who was in a situation to impart to Oliver Twist, the consolation and nourishment of which he stood in need. The workhouse authorities replied with humility, that there was not.† (O.T. ; Pg.7; Ch.II).16 The narrator makes the reader notice the broken system of justice in Victorian England. Throughout the chapter XI are constructed scenes in which the author with his satirical humor r represents the dysfunction of court at that time in England. In â€Å"Oliver Twist† Dickens tries to fight the mentality of people who consider themselves above others 17.Dickens had suffered because of these kinds of people. And he speaks from his heart when he recounts the suffering of the little boy. In this novel, besides the interesting plot the reader can see the point of view and the concern of the narrator about many social problems that in reality were the point of view and the concern of Dickens himself. The critics don’t classify the novel amongst the most valuable works of Dickens but, it surely plays a great part in the success of the author as well known writer.18 4. David Copperfield 4.1. Quick analysis of the plot. â€Å"I am within three pages of the shore; and am strangely divided, as usual in such cases, between sorrow and joy. Oh, my dear Forster, if I were to say half of what Copperfield makes me feel to-night, how strangely, even to you, I should be turned inside out! I seem to be sending some part of myself into the Shadowy World.†19 I initiate the analysis of David Copperfield by these lines from the author himself, to demonstrate what his work meant to him. And this is not casual because Dickens, by Copperfield, has sent a part of his life to the readers. â€Å"David Copperfield† is regarded as an autobiographical book of Charles Dickens. His life and that of David have many similarities.20 His childhood of hardship, the work at wine house, later the work as reporter and in the end his life as a successful writer resemble very much the adventures of the main character in the novel. Despite these passages in â€Å"David Copperfield†, the author has also built some of the characters basing on people that really existed in his life. An example of this is Mr. Micawber who is a personification of Charles father (he also ended up in debtor’s prison), Dora who resembles Dickens’ first love etc. The domestic problems that Charles encountered during his lifetime are also disclosed in this novel. David Copperfield is considered one of Dickens’ most highly achieved works. He personally, in one of his Letter to John Forster states that: â€Å"David remains his favorite child†21 However â€Å"David Copperfield† is not just a pure autobiography. Alongside the facts that relate the life of the author with that of the main character, inside the book are discussed and treated many social problems of the Victorian England. This brief introduction of the plot serves only to have an idea about the novel because as I previously mentioned the theme of the thesis is the comparison of narration and the point of view of the narrator. 4.2. Narrative form To discuss about the narration I will start with the first lines of the novel. â€Å"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show†22 These are the first lines of â€Å"David Copperfield† and those are the ones that intrigue the reader to continue his adventure with the book. However, despite the intriguing role, these lines also serve to show the reader who is telling the story. The story teller is the protagonist, a data which will be elaborated throughout this paper work When David recounts the story of his birth at the beginning of the novel he tells it as he heard it from others who were there at that moment. â€Å"To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night.†23 It is impossible for anyone to remember the moment of his/her one birth so the narrator begins the recount of his life from what he was told. But he uses the dialogue of Mrs. Coppe rfield and Miss Betsy to tell the story. The narrator does this improvisation of the situation to introduce the reader with stories that happened before he was born. The first chapter is constructed this way. In the second chapter David starts being conscious about his surroundings. â€Å"The first objects that assume a distinct presence before me, as I look far back, into the blank of my infancy, are my mother with her pretty hair and youthful shape, and Peggotty with no shape at all, and eyes so dark that they seemed to darken their whole neighbourhood in her face, and cheeks and arms so hard and red that I wondered the birds didn’t peck her in preference to apples.† (D.C. ; Pg. 20 Ch. II).24 Here are shown the first glimpses of narrators understanding of the world. However, we can notice a childish perspective from the narrator. This happens because the narrator tried to show to the reader exactly how he felt and thought at that time as a child. He narrates the story from the child’s point of view in order that the reader can understand better the character of David. When Dickens wrote the novel he was about thirty eight years old.25 However his tone of narration is different in the course of the novel. The tone is different in the sense of maturity of the narrator. Further one I will discus about this side of narration. As I noted previously, in the beginning the tone is very childish and his thoughts are those of a little boy. When the narrator wrote the novel he appears to be middle age man, still, he narrates the story from the eyes of a child. At the end of chapter XIV the tone of the narrator calms down a bit. The narrator creates this atmosphere to indicate that David’s hardships as a child are over and now he feels safe. By this tone of narration Charles wants to transmit to the reader that the live of David will take a new turn, probably a better turn. He is saying farewell to the difficulties of little David’s life. However new challenges expect him in the further chapters. With the passing of chapters the narrator/ David grows up and matures. This means that his capacity of thinking and analyzing things matures together with him. So in further chapters we find David more attentive and more aware about his surroundings. At the beginning of the novel he was presented to us a sm art child also, always paying attention to things, but now he has a sharper look toward things: â€Å"How miserable I was, when I lay down! How I thought and thought about my being poor, in Mr. Spenlow’s eyes; about my not being what I thought I was, when I proposed to Dora; about the chivalrous necessity of telling Dora what my worldly condition was, and releasing her from her engagement if she thought fit; about how I should contrive to live, during the long term of my articles, when I was earning nothing; about doing something to assist my aunt, and seeing no way of doing anything; about coming down to have no money in my pocket, and to wear a shabby coat, and to be able to carry Dora no little presents, and to ride no gallant greys, and to show myself in no agreeable light!† (D.C. ;Pg 470-;Ch. XXXV).26 After the death of Dora we can notice a more serious tone of the narrator. (D.C.; Ch. LIII). It is like the narrator is trying to say that this loss has opened a new vision for David to see how life really is, difficult and unfair. This loss makes him reflect and though the pain didn’t kill him made  him stronger, and stronger we will find him in the next chapters. 4.3. The building of the characters The narrator does not give his opinions about the character because by the way he describes them he lets the reader to have his/her one imagine about those characters. By the dialogue that Miss Betsey and Mrs. Copperfield have, it is possible for the reader to understand many details about these two characters. The reader creates the image of Mrs. Copperfield by the words she says and the decisions she makes. The narrator only shows the way he feels about her but doesn’t impose his feelings to the reader. This also happens when the reader meets Peggottty. The narrator introduces the reader only with the physical description of the character. To understand the personage better we have to pay attention to her thoughts and attitudes. However, the narrator does not behave the same with all characters. When David first meets Uriah his description takes tones of repulsiveness and disgust. It was quite as cadaverous as it had looked in the window, though in the grain of it there was that tinge of red which is sometimes to be observed in the skins of red-haired people. It belonged to a red-haired person – a youth of fifteen, as I take it now, but looking much older – whose hair was cropped as close as the closest stubble; who had hardly any eyebrows, and no eyelashes, and eyes of a red-brown, so unsheltered and unshaded, that I remember wondering how he went to sleep. He was high-shouldered and bony; dressed in decent black, with a white wisp of a neckcloth; buttoned up to the throat; and had a long, lank, skeleton hand, which particularly attracted my attention, as he stood at the pony’s head, rubbing his chin with it, and looking up at us in the chaise.(Pg. 20; Ch.XV).27 In the other hand the to ne of the narrator when he meets Agnes is very pleasant and is noticed a sort of admiration for her. On her face, I saw immediately the placid and sweet expression of the lady whose picture had looked at me downstairs. It seemed to my imagination as if the portrait had grown womanly, and the original remained a child. Although her face was quite bright and happy, there was a tranquillity about it, and about her – a quiet, good, calm spirit – that I never have forgotten; that I shall never forget. This was his little housekeeper, his daughter Agnes, Mr. Wickfield  said. (D.C.; Pg.213; Ch. XV).28 The author does this in order to influence the reader’s image about the characters features and what inform previously the reader what to expect form that character. 4.4. The placing of the narrator In about 900 pages of â€Å"David Copperfield† are shown also stories of other personages besides that of David. In order to continue telling the story in the first person, Dickens uses various maneuvers to make this possible. In cases when describing a situation where the narrator wasn’t present he uses the confession of another character. ‘On the last night, in the evening, she kissed me, and said: â€Å"If my baby should die too, Peggotty, please let them lay him in my arms, and bury us together.† (It was done; for the poor lamb lived but a day beyond her.) â€Å"Let my dearest boy go with us to our resting-place,† she said, â€Å"and tell him that his mother, when she lay here, blessed him not once, but a thousand times.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (D.C. ; Pg131 Ch. IX).29 He describes these situations by dialogue with him and that character. Another situation is when only a specific character tells the story and in some other passages David interferes in tha t narration by adding his impressions about that situation. In these situations the narrator also analyzes the event by his point of view. The reader can encounter some parts in the novel where the narrator is not involved in a situation but, for the sake of narration he â€Å"places† himself in that event as a spectator: â€Å"I said something to the effect that it was a lady whom I had seen before, in a few words, to my conductress; and had scarcely done so, when we heard her voice in the room, though not, from where we stood, what she was saying.† (D.C. ; Pg. 668; Ch. XLVII).30 In order to tell how Uriah Heep and Mr. Littimer ended up, Charles makes a smart move where he invents a visit to the prison where these two were paying for their crimes (Ch LX).  Another smart move of the narrator is as well the chapter when Mr. Peggotty visits David and recounts him how the emigrants are doing in the far land of Australia. The narrator â€Å"puts† the correspondence into Mr. Peggotty’s pocket  (D.C.; Ch. LXII). Due to this correspondence David is able to tell the story by his own words. In this way the narration though not about David, still remains in the first person. 4.5. Different approaches toward situations When analyzing his point of view about things that happened, there are different approaches from narrator’s part. From time to time, while rummaging into his past, the narrator reveals that he has the same feelings about a specific situation or person. â€Å"I fell at once into a solitary condition, – apart from all friendly notice, apart from the society of all other boys of my own age, apart from all companionship but my own spiritless thoughts, – which seems to cast its gloom upon this paper as I write. (D.C. ;Pg. 146; Ch. X).31 But, there are other parts in the book where the narrator now recounts the story with a different approach towards that situation from the moment when it occurred. It seems like the time has passed and the narrator’s attitude toward some things and ideas has changed, which is a natural thing to happen. â€Å"They did just what they liked with me; and wormed things out of me that I had no desire to tell, with a certainty I blush to think of, the more especially, as in my juvenile frankness, I took some credit to myself for being so confidential a nd felt that I was quite the patron of my two respectful entertainers.† (Pg. 243;Ch XVII).32 Being an autobiography the author has still some remembrances about how he felt when he witnessed some events. So, when he remembers the past he also describes the sensation that he experienced at that time. â€Å"There was a trembling upon her, that I can see now. The coldness of her hand when I touched it, I can feel yet.† (D.C. ; Pg. 413; Ch. XVV).33 It looks like he is living that moment and he is addressing it directly to the reader. At some passages the narrator laments some decisions that he took and now that he writes the story he has a different point of view about those decisions. I was a boyish husband as to years. † I had known the softening influence of no other sorrows or experiences than those recorded in these leaves. If I  did any wrong, as I may have done much, I did it in mistaken love, and in my want of wisdom. I write the exact truth. It would avail me nothing to extenuate it now.† ( D.C. ;Pg.602; Ch. XLIV).34 4.6. The revelation of the narrator The chapter â€Å"Tempest† is very important in the narrative sense. At the beginning the author states that the things that he is writing at this stage don’t have very much time that has occurred: â€Å"I now approach an event in my life, so indelible, so awful, so bound by an infinite variety of ties to all that has preceded it, in these pages, that, from the beginning of my narrative, I have seen it growing larger and larger as I advanced, like a great tower in a plain, and throwing its fore-cast shadow even on the incidents of my childish days.† (D.C. ;Pg. 731; Ch LV).35 Besides this fact, the narrator also confirms that this is the story of his life and he is approaching the end of his narration. Another detail in this chapter about the narration is that David places himself in the region where the tempest happened. This is a way of making possible the continuance of the narration in the first person: â€Å"We came to Ipswich – very late, having had to fight every inch of ground since we were ten miles out of London; and found a cluster of people in the market-place, who had risen from their beds in the night, fearful of falling chimneys.†36 Four chapters of the novel, called â€Å"Retrospect† are narrated in the present tense. It looks like he is living these moments at the time the he is writing. Those lines have something poetic in them. They flow like a river from narrator’s pen and the reader is the sea that receives them (D.C.chap. XVII, XLIII, LIII, LXIV). 5. Similarities between Oliver Twist and David Copperfield It is a failure to try to draw a parallel between the forms of narration of these two novels because, â€Å"Oliver Twist† and â€Å"David Copperfield† in the narrative form, are two contrary poles. â€Å"Oliver Twist† is recounted from the third person narrator whereas â€Å"David Copperfield† belongs to the first  person narrator. But, if we dig into the depths of the subjects, the reader can find many similarities, which represent the point of view of the narrator. Dickens lived in a time where the society in England had many disorders and inequalities. Some of them are discussed in both novels. In both novels the main characters are children. With the difficulties these characters are challenged, the narrator tries to present the difficult life that orphan children have to go through. By his satirical tone Dickens addresses his narration to the ear of authorities who were responsible for those children. But this was not only an appeal for the authorit ies who were responsible for those children but also for the society in general to be more attentive and show more compassion for those children. Dickens also represents the difficult conditions in which those children were obliged to work in order to survive. Dickens, with the portrait of these two characters, arouses the voice for the poor law about the children’s labor. He not only questions the poor law but, also puts a question mark whether the children should work at all. The atrocities that Oliver suffers in the undertakers shop and, the difficult job of David in the wine house illustrate Dickens concerns about that matter. Suffering in his flesh the life of hardships as a child, the author was really concerned about this. I can say that the author writes with personal references about this matter. The other subject that Dickens treats in both novels is (if I can name it like this) the immoral women. The moral of women was a delicate subject in the era of Victorian England but, Dickens finds a way to treat this matter with much careful in both novels. The author does not prejudice them, just the contrary he treats them as human beings and explains the reason why those women decided to take the path of immorality. In Oliver Twist the character of Nancy is indicated to be a prostitute. The narrator never states this but, indirectly, all the description of this girl can lead the reader to that conclusion. Even in these circumstances the author manages to have the Victorian’s reader attention without offending him or her. By the portrait of Nancy, the author explains the reason how some of these women have no choice but to take the life of sin. She was an orphan with no one to love or take care of her. To survive she had to do what she could. The character of Nancy is presen ted in both sides of the medal. She was  living a life of shame however, she shows her good heart when she tries to help Oliver escape. Anyway, although the narrator somehow justifies her decision and makes the reader pity her, he makes her pay for the live she led. And the best way to do this was by not letting her live anymore. In â€Å"David Copperfield† are two women who â€Å"torment† the society with their indecency. The first one is Emily who abandonees her fiancà © in order to climb the higher class of the society and become a lady. However, she shows her repentance from the beginning in her letter of goodbye. This way even though she committed an immorality she was not presented as a monstrous person. However in the end, the author convicts her with the isolated life in Australia and although she becomes a worthy member of society in the far land, she is destined to live alone. The second character is Martha. She is an orphan also and she falls into the life of sin. Just like Nancy in Oliver Twist the author never mentions the word to label her but, every reference to her leads that she is a prostitute. The author makes the reader feel sorry for her and maybe forgive her when she helps David find Emily. The author rewards her with a new life in Australia and a descent husband. Previously in the research I have mentioned the way in which the narrator describes the characters ( Pg. 6, 11). Since I have elaborated this above I will not deal in detail with it here. I will just show briefly that the form is the same in both novels. At some characters the narrator uses their dialogue to show their characteristics. In some cases the narrator uses his own thoughts to influence the reader’s image towards certain character. Dickens has used both methods in both novels so I can consider this as a similarity between these two objects of my research. Being written by the same author it is very probable that these two novels have much more in common besides the points which I have mentioned. However, they do not belong to the subject of my research. 6. Conclusion In this thesis I have tried to compare the base on which these two novels are constructed, the narration. These novels belong to two different narrations. â€Å"David Copperfield† is considered as a masterpiece whereas â€Å"Oliver Twist† is not so much distinguished. However, speaking in the plain of popularity they both are at the same level. Due to the images the narrator uses the reader feels sorry for the way Oliver was brought up. The famous expression that the hunger forces the poor boy to utter â€Å"Please sir, I want some more! â€Å", has the power to make a reader cry from compassion. Because of the fluid language with which the narrator pictures the beautiful landscapes, the reader runs from his reading place to those landscapes. The accurate description of characters and their smart construction of dialogues create in the reader’s mind a perfect image for each character. Narration is the essential column in the construction of a novel. It is the key to make the reader cry from sorrow, feel repulsive from the disgust or make him/her feel the fresh air of meadows and sense the odor of roses. Dickens had the talent to create all these effects in his novels but not only. Due to his kind and humble heart we are able to see the things from a poor little boy perspective and feel the irony with which he describes those people who look down on others. Because of Dickens’s sharp eye the reader is able to observe Uriah’s bad intentions. The city of London comes to our room because of his accurate description of it. Despite their different forms of narration Dickens in both of the novels has treated some similar subjects. In both novels are displayed the suffering of two boys in the conditions of Victorian England. The hard conditions in which children are allowed to work, the morality of women the function of courts are some of them. When I read these novels except the satisfactory function that the art of literature can give you, I was introduced to new horizons of thinking and analyzing things. During the research I have read many appreciations that critics have addressed to Dickens. And, after I read and analyzed some of his novels I could not do more but strongly agree with those critics. Bibliography 1. Dickens, Charles, Oliver Twist, Web-Books.com 2. Dickens, Charles, David Copperfield, Project Gutenberg (2006) 3. Forster, John, â€Å"The Life of Charles Dickens† Vol. I, Cambridge University Press (2011) 4. Forster, John, â€Å"The Life of Charles Dickens† Vol. II, Cambridge University Press (2011) 5. Chesterton, G., K. Appreciation and Criticism of the Works of Charles Dickens, Gutenberg Project

Essay on Science V. Religion The Scopes Monkey Trial

The 1920’s were a time of change. New ideas were becoming more readily experimented with and even accepted by large portions of the population. Some of these included jazz music and the fight against the alcoholic prohibition. The radical idea I will focus on in this paper, however, is Evolution. It is a theory that had been around for over half a century before the 20’s but had only more recently caught on in the US. It contradicted the Christian theory of Divine Creation as described in the Bible. This caused many religious fundamentalists to fight against it. They took their battle to the law books, and they were challenged by pro-evolution modernists in the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. The theory of Evolution was developed by†¦show more content†¦The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was on the forefront of the challenge against the Butler Act. The ACLU is a non-profit organization founded in 1920 whose stated mission is to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. It posted an announcement in a Tennessee newspaper saying that it would offer its services to anyone willing to challenge the anti-evolution statute. John T. Scopes accepted the offer, after townspeople like George Rappleyea argued that a trial would bring publicity to the small town of Dayton. Scopes was a 24 year old science teacher and coach of the local high school football team. He was indicted by a grand jury for violating the Butler Law on May 25, 1925 and the stage was set for Case Number 5232, Scopes v. State. The main player for the prosecution was William Jennings Bryan, a three-time presidential nominee and former Secretary of State. He was a devout Christian, a prohibitionist, and fighter of evolution. In a way, Bryan embodied the traditional way of life that many fought to keep during the twenties. For the defense, there was Clarence Darrow, an agnostic lawyer who was famous for defending the underdog in a trial. He, in a way, representedShow MoreRelatedCreationism : A Theory Of Primordial History1585 Words   |  7 Pageshe who created rested on the Sabbath (seventh day). They follow the creation of the earth through the first book in the Bible, Genesis. Creationists believe in many ways why their religion should be taught in schools over evolution. In order for this religion to get taught in schools they have created a â€Å"creation science.† It is not exactly what they believe but it is a loophole into schools. 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