The Presence of Love and Self-Sacrifice Essay Example for Free

The Presence of Love and Self-Sacrifice Essay Love is most likely the one motif that can be present in everything. History is full of fallen empires and wars waged all caused by love—or what the people themselves believe as something called love. Literature is another branch of knowledge that does not only record all the feelings that the great and famous convey for their loved ones, but it is also the proof of how people think when they are in love. Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets all serve as an extensive testament to how intense love can make a person feel and be. From the dramatic to the comic and from the ridiculous illusions to the harsh realities, love, no matter how cliche it may sound, really makes the world go around. This cliche may be applied to the two books that will be compared in this paper: de Chretien Troyes’ â€Å"Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart† and George MacDonald’s â€Å"Phantastes. † De Troyes’ book can only be the type that fantasy and adventures can be made of in its true chivalric glory. Lancelot has always been a familiar and a favourite knight, most especially since he won Lady Guinevere’s love and admiration considering she is already the Queen Guinevere of the King Arthur. Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart is really a rather absurd account of how a knight would go into great lengths of trying to rescue his damsel in distress. In the modern context that we have today, such narration, plot, setting, and language would have been considered as romantic by the women and preposterous by the men. However, there is really something so endearing about a story wherein love and self-sacrifice play with the characters at their purest sense. De Troyes’ book begins in Queen Guinevere’s abduction by a mysterious knight. The knights of King Arthur, Lancelot and Gawain, soon chase after the abductor to rescue Queen Guinevere. The book gives a detailed account of how Lancelot and Gawain rescue the Queen, but more than that, it is a narration of how Lancelot will endure everything just to win back the Queen. Lancelot, at the start of his journey, is identified as the Knight of the Cart (de Troyes vv. 539-982). He has somehow managed to get himself in a complicated situation that makes him lose his mount (horse) that he is forced to walk whilst wearing his armour and his sword. It is in this state that he meets a Dwarf who tells him that he will see the Queen if he will ride the cart that the Dwarf is driving. It would not have been a problem if Lancelot is in the modern times, but back then, riding a cart is such a disgrace since it is only the criminals who have the privilege to do so. Only criminals are rendered low enough to ride such a disgraceful thing. This scene is very important as this will make Lancelot be known as â€Å"The Knight of the Cart. † Moreover, this will cause the Queen’s cold attitude that she will show Lancelot when he finally rescues her. Considering the great lengths that Lancelot had to go through just to get to the Queen, she still treated him coldly. This scene is also one of the early glimpses that the reader will be able to see concerning Lancelot and his great love for the Queen Guinevere: The knight hesitated only for a couple of steps before getting in. Yet, it was unlucky for him that he shrank from the disgrace, and did not jump in at once; for he will later rue his delay. But common sense, which is inconsistent with loves dictates, bids him refrain from getting in, warning him and counseling him to do and undertake nothing for which he may reap shame and disgrace. Reason, which dares thus speak to him, reaches only his lips, but not his heart; but love is enclosed within his heart, bidding him and urging him to mount at once upon the cart. So he jumps in, since love will have it so, feeling no concern about the shame, since he is prompted by loves commands. (de Troyes Vv. 247-398. ) There is an endless narration of Lancelot’s obstacles. The first that is of importance is the temptation he successfully surpasses as a beautiful lady seduces him, asking that he makes love to her in exchange for a night’s rest and lodging. The Knight of the Cart encounters similar situations wherein he is tested and tempted, but he always emerges victorious in the end. Adventures that soon followed allow him to display and show his skills as a Knight and more importantly, as an honourable and strong Knight. He frees the people of Logres from the imprisonment of the Kingdom of Gorre where the Queen Guinevere is held captive. Nevertheless, even if Lancelot has always emerged victorious after every obstacle, it is the crossing of the Sword Bridge which proves his determination and encompassing love to Queen Guinevere: He is going to support himself with his bare hands and feet upon the sword, which was sharper than a scythe, for he had not kept on his feet either sole or upper or hose. But he felt no fear of wounds upon his hands or feet; he preferred to maim himself rather than to fall from the bridge and be plunged in the water from which he could never escape. In accordance with this determination, he passes over with great pain and agony, being wounded in the hands, knees, and feet. But even this suffering is sweet to him: for Love, who conducts and leads him on, assuages and relieves the pain. (De Troyes Vv. 3021-3194) Lancelot safely crosses the bridge and is greeted warmly by the kind-hearted King of Gorre and the cold-blooded Maleagant (the King’s son) who is responsible for imprisoning Queen Guinevere. Maleagant challenges Lancelot into a duel, and as all noble knights should, he wins the fight. Maleagant is always plotting and plotting, trying to get through the Knight of the Cart as he accumulates such a hatred for the Knight. The Queen and Lancelot finally unite (literally and figuratively speaking) when a situation both puts them into thinking that the other person is dead. The adventure that Lancelot undertakes is so rigorous, challenging, and battle-laden that it is even befitting to make it into a dramatic and action-filled movie. The Knight of the Cart does not only have to endure numerous temptations from very beautiful ladies and magical beings, but he is also faced with other knights who want to steal those beautiful ladies or knights who just want to engage in a battle or a swordfight just for the sake of bathing in pure masculine glory. The Great Knight is also tested in terms of intellect and emotions as he goes on his adventures—deciding the fates of people, plotting military schemes, and making the most of battle situations—and most especially, as his reputation is tarnished as he is ridiculed and mocked as The Knight of the Cart. Indeed, love plays such a significant part in the novel as it is solely the reason why Lancelot would go to such great extent to rescue his lady (even if technically, she is not his lady). Love has always been such a great driving force of humans that it is subjected to great debates and studies and such. Teenagers commit suicide because of love, and single mothers become single mothers also because of love. Even big companies have made it a profitable excuse to market love. Love in all its beauty has been defined by a lot of people, from the downright romantic to the utterly realistic and pessimistic. In De Troyes’ book, the author refrained from making Lancelot’s love into such an enormous situation that it would dangerously border on being ridiculous. Instead, De Troyes narrated the whole plot into a magical and fantastical adventure of how a man would endlessly search for his woman. The knight selflessly sacrificed literally everything in his power just to assure the safety and well-being of his lady. Coupled with the love that Lancelot has been showing Queen Guinevere is the sacrifice that he has been generously giving the Queen. At the fourth part of the book, Lancelot was imprisoned by Meleagant in a tower for a year. The fact that he was imprisoned in a windowless and doorless tower in the first place suggests that he offended Meleagant by winning Queen Guinevere’s freedom by a duel. However, the people of King Arthur were unable to locate Lancelot’s whereabouts that when he was finally released, he was ‘so feeble that he staggered from his weakness and disability’ (De Troyes Vv. 6657). The first book analyzed above shows a strong and immense love that transcended time that even the younger generations of the fast-paced modern times today are somehow enthralled and drawn to how enormous love can be and how great are the sacrifices that a person can render if he or she is in love. The next book, Phantastes, a novel by George MacDonald is a fusion of what two worlds can offer—the reality and the fantasy. MacDonald’s protagonist, Anodos, wakes up one day into a different world and discovers that he has fairy blood in his veins: ‘I awoke one morning with the usual perplexity of mind which accompanies the return of consciousness’ (MacDonald 5). He goes into an adventure in the Fairy Land or the Kingdom of ‘Phantasy’ as he sees the White Lady/Lady of the Marble and falls in love with her (Macdonald 104). He goes on a long journey, searching for her every time as he gets lost time and time again. Anodos uses his voice and starts to sing as to inject life and breathe into the Lady’s stone-figure. Anodos, like the Knight of the Cart, goes into rigorous obstacles as he desperately tries to free the Lady from the curse: How I got through this dreary part of my travels, I do not know. I do not think I was upheld by the hope that any moment the light might break in upon me; for I scarcely thought about that. I went on with a dull endurance, varied by moments of uncontrollable sadness; for more and more the conviction grew upon me that I should never see the white lady again. (MacDonald 117) I could bear it no longer. ‘I will not be tortured to death, I cried; I will meet it half-way. The life within me is yet enough to bear me up to the face of Death, and then I die unconquered. ’ (MacDonald 119) The book is narrated in a very simple manner and in the first-person point of view as Anodos himself is the story teller. The song of Anodos is the only reason why the Lady wakes up, and yet, there are also many moments when Anodos is lost and grappling with words and melody that no song would come out (MacDonald 104-105). However, as always, his love surpasses all and he sings the most lovely of the songs, ‘DUMB ART THOU? O Love immortal/ More than words thy speech must be/ Childless yet the tender portal/ Of the home of melody’ (MacDonald 107). The lines were somehow describing how love, in all its immortality and beauty, is mute and cannot speak. Rather, love is so sacred and intense that to give it meaning, words or even a voice is to lose the magnanimity of that emotion. The novel ends in a bittersweet memory as Anodos wakes up from his Fairy Land dream: ‘I found myself lying in the open air, in the early morning, before sunrise’ (MacDonald 174). Anodos has changed because of his adventures from the Fairy Land. He has learned to live with the exemplary teachings and values that he acquired and experienced during his dream. Most importantly, he has learned what love is and how great is its power, even if it was never meant to be his. Anodos, like the Knight of the Cart, has selflessly searched for his love just to deliver her from the curse of being a Lady of Marble. He was ridiculed by the dwarves countless of times, was frightened to death by the Ash Tree, and even went to long and strenuous journeys just to locate the White Lady’s whereabouts. However, the most cruel of part is the fact that he knew that the White Lady is already betrothed to someone else and is meant to love someone else, The Red Knight: Crowding about me like bees, they shouted an insect-swarm of exasperating speeches up into my face, among which the most frequently recurring were—‘You shant have her; you shant have her; he! he! he! Shes for a better man; how hell kiss her! how hell kiss her! ’ (MacDonald 114) What is remarkable about Anodos is the way he answers the goblins nobly: ‘Well, if he is a better man, let him have her’ (MacDonald 114). The two books contain both the motifs of love and self-sacrifice. Did the heroes sacrifice themselves selflessly because they love the person, or did they love the person, that is why they can sacrifice themselves fully? Love, more often than not, is too complicated and ambiguous; yet, it seems to be a universal language and emotion that can be understood by all. The obvious resignation of the men of both books (Andonos and Lancelot) for their ladies’ affection and life justifies the fact that the men love their ladies, and no matter what happens, they will make it a point to save them. The endless obstacles of the two men with various aspects (supernatural, psychological, emotional etc. ) prove that they will indeed go to great lengths not just to have a glimpse of the ladies’ magnificent beauty (as to the case of Anodos) but more importantly, to save their lives. Saving the lives could both pertain to the heroes and the damsels in distress. While the Queen Guinevere and the White Lady are both in danger because of external forces beyond their control, Andonos and Lancelot also put their lives on the line for the sake of rescuing them. Why would the two men go so far to such extremes when they could have any lady? Is it because they love the women that make them face such dangerous adventures? In some sense, the men are tremendously in love with their women that to live without them is death itself. Love is almost connected with a feeling of wanting to possess and belonging. The two men wanted none of that perverted definition of the emotion. The men would be willing to give up their lives because they have to protect the women. It has become a rather automatic action, or in simplistic terms, it is instinct that makes them want and need to protect the women. Anodos and the Knight of the Cart do not necessarily want the women to belong to them, and they do not necessarily want or need to possess the women. At the end of both books, the both men knew that the ladies would not and would never belong to them, and yet they did not have any anger or resentment with that decision. Lancelot knew that his Lady Guinevere belongs and will always belong to King Arthur’s side as Queen Guinevere and the ruler of Camelot. Even if he knew this fact, he still loved her unconditionally and without any reservations. Certainly, as the King’s Knight and as person, he should not have done that, but that is not the case in this paper, and that is entirely another matter. Anodos’ love and Lancelot’s love are the same in a sense that both would go to exceptional extent just to prove their love to their respective ladies. Moreover, their love is enduring and non-complaining that it is very endearing to whoever would read the books. The difference in their love lies in the judgment that Anodos’ love is more whimsical and mystical that it contains an attribute of being sweetly melodic and at the same time melancholic. Anodos’ love is self sacrificial in a sense that it is hopeless, compared to Lancelot and the Queen, wherein they have a more reciprocated love for each other than that of the White Lady and Anodos. In addition, even if Lancelot’s love is forbidden (since the Queen is already married), the love is still reciprocated by his loved one and that makes his love more powerful, stronger, and more ardent than that of Adonos’ love for the White Lady. Nevertheless, both men loved, and that is what matters the most. The ultimate test and evidence that they hold genuine love for their respective loved ones is the fact that they let go of the ladies in the end. The Queen Guinevere has her King Arthur, and the White Lady has her Red Knight. The self sacrifice was not really the adventure that they experienced and the gruelling obstacles they faced. It is the moment when they went ahead with the adventure even if the lady was not theirs in the first place. It is the moment when at the end of their long and arduous adventure, they still let the lady choose her happiness, and then they let go. Works Cited De Troyes, Chretien. Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart. Trans. Burton Raffel. Yale University: Yale University Press, 1997. MacDonald, George. Phantastes: A Faerie Romance For Men and Women. London: Smith, Elder and Co. , 1858.

Books And Reading Essay Example for Free

Books And Reading Essay Topical Vocabulary 1. Categorisation: Children’s and adult’s books; travel books and biography; romantic and historical novels; thrillers; detective stories; science fiction/fantasy; non-fiction; pulp fiction. absorbing; adult; amusing; controversial; dense; depressing; delightful; dirty; disturbing; dull; fascinating; gripping; moralistic; obscene; outrageous; profound; whimsical; unputdownable. 2. Books and their parts: paperback and hardback; binding; cover; jacket; title; epigraph; preface; the contents list; fly leaf; bookplate; blurb; a beautifully printed book; a tome bound in leather; a book with dense print/ with loose pages. 3. Reading habits: to form a reading habit early in life; to read silently/incessantly/avidly/voratiously; to read curled up in chair; to read a child/oneself to sleep; to be lost/absorbed in a book; to devour books; to dip into/glance over/pore over/thumb through a book; to browse through newspapers and periodicals; to scan/ skim a magazine; an avid/alert/keen reader. 4. Library facilities: reading rooms and reference sections; the subject/author/title/on-line catalogue; the enquiry desk; computer assisted reference service; to borrow/renew/loan books; CDs and video tapes; rare books; to keep books that are overdue; books vulnerable to theft; to suspend one’s membership; to be banned from the library. I. Use the thematic vocabulary in answering the following questions: 1. Which books are you reading now? 2. Where is your favourite place to read? 3. Who is your favourite novelist? 4. Who is your favourite character? 5. Which contemporary author do you most admire? 6. Which is the first book you can recommend reading? 7. Which school text did you most enjoy? 8. What is your favourite children’s book? 9. Which book would you like to see filmed? 10. What is the most difficult book you have ever read? II. Work in groups. Find out about the last book each of your partners has read and make notes on these points: Author and title Type of book and what’s it about Reason for liking it Reason for recommending it to others III. Work in pairs. Choose the best alternative to complete these sentences: 1. Oliver Twist is a classic work of English . Literature non-fiction letters editions 2. The plot of the story was very exciting, but I didn’t find the . Persons people characters figurers 3. This book is a special edition for foreign readers, so there’s a(n) . Appendix glossary introduction preface table of contents 4. A novel is usually divided into several . Chapters units sections passages 5. If you need to find some information in a non-fiction book, look in the . Atlas blurb catalogue diary index review 6. Cambridge University Press is the of the book you’re reading. Author editor printer publisher 7. A great novel has a good plot and a strong . Communication meaning message significance 8. The book was marvelously and it was a joy to read. Stylistic tedious well-written wonderful 9. Ernest Hemingway is one of my American writers. Best favourite ideal most popular 10. The thriller was so exciting that I couldn’t . Let it down look it up pick it up put it down 11. Even the characters in the book are really interesting. Less minor small tiny 12. I’d like to that book when you’ve read it. Borrow hire lend loan IV. In these sentences three alternatives are correct and two are wrong. Choose the best three alternatives for each: 1. The character in the book is called Oliver. Central main principal principle top 2. I enjoy her books because her style is so very . Dull entertaining readable tedious true-to-life 3. I found that the characters in the story were very . Amusing believable informative likeable thrilling 4. There were so many twists in the plot that I didn’t really think it was . Accurate authentic convincing realistic true-to-life 5. She doesn’t read any fiction because she prefers reading . Biographies short stories textbooks non-fiction science fiction 6. I can’t books like those – they just send me to sleep. Bear carry enjoy stand suffer V. Fill in the gaps in these sentences with suitable words: 1. You can borrow books from a or buy them from a . 2. A writer can also be called an . 3. I can’t afford to buy the book in hardback, so I’ll wait till it comes out in . 4. I can’t remember the of the book, but I know it had a yellow . 5. A book that tells somebody’s life story is called a . VI. Match each word in the column with the explanation: Ballad, biography, novel, drama, poem, fairy tale, poetry, story, rhyme, novelette a) a story in prose, long enough to fill in one or more volumes, about either imaginary or historical people; b) piece of creative writing in verse form, especially one expressing deep feeling or noble thought in beautiful language, composed with the desire to communicate an experience; c) simple song or poem, especially one that tells an old story; d) the art of a poet, poems; e) tale about fairies of imaginary origin; f) branch of literature dealing with the lives of persons; g) play for the theatre, radio or TV; h) verse for small children characterized by sameness of sound of the ending or two more words at the ends of lines of verse; i) short novel (story in prose); j) account of past or imaginary events. VII. Read the following extract and make with your groupmates the list of the books you would like to read while travelling: The Book- Bag Some people read for instruction, ad some for pleasure, but not a few read from habit. I belong to that company. Let us admit that reading is just a drug that we cannot get along without. Books are necessary to me and I never traveled far without enough reading matter. But when I am starting on a long journey the problem is really great. I have learnt my lesson. Once I fell ill in a small town in Java and had to stay in bed for three months. I came to the end of all the books I had brought with me and knowing no Dutch had to buy the schoolbooks from which intelligent Javanese, I suppose, got knowledge of French and German. So I read again after twenty-five years the plays of Goethe, the fables of La Fontaine and the tragedies of Racine. I have the greatest admiration for Racine, but I admit that to read his plays one after the other requires a certain effort in a person who is ill. Since then I have made a point of travelling with a large sack full of books for every possible occasion and every mood. There are books of all kinds. Volumes of verse, novels, philosophical works, critical studies (they say books about books are useless, but they certainly make very pleasant reading), biographies, history; there are books to read when you are ill and books to read when your brain want something to work at; there are books that you have always wanted to read but in the hurry of life at home have never found time to; there are books to read at sea; there are books for bad weather; there are books chosen solely for their length, which you take along when you have o travel light, and there are the books you can read when you can read nothing else. (from W. Somerset Maugham) VIII. See how many authors and titles you can match: For Whom the Bell Tolls Charlotte Bronte A Perfect Stranger Charles Dickens Airport Walter Scott Sister Carrie Dan Brown Tom Sawyer Daphne du Maurier Pride and Prejudice Arthur Hailey Martin Eden Danielle Steel Of Human Bondage Ernest Hemingway Alice in Wonderland Mark Twain Ivanhoe Lewis Carroll Rebecca Jack London David Copperfield Theodore Dreiser Jane Eyre Somerset Maugham The Da Vinci Code Iris Murdock Black Prince Jane Austen IX. Read the text and agree or disagree with the statements below: An English author once wrote: â€Å"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed or digested. † This quotation tells us how to read books of different kinds. Most travel books are to be tasted; it’s enough to dip into them and read bits here and there. If you are fond of crime stories (A. Christie, G. Simenon and the rest of modern favourites) you will read them quickly, you’ll â€Å"swallow† them. And then there are books that you’ll read slowly and carefully. If a book’s on an important subject, and a subject you’re interested in, you’ll want to chew and digest it. And you’ll want to weigh what the author says and consider his ideas and arguments. 1) Reading English fiction with a dictionary is very dull. 2) If the book is very exciting, you â€Å"swallow† it. 3) Nobody reads reference books for relaxation. 4) Reading thick science fiction books is tiring. 5) Very intelligent people don’t read detective stories. 6) Non-fiction books can’t be inspirational. 7) Travel books give you a lot of useful information. 8) Unfortunately many young people are not in the habit of reading poetry. 9) Great book-lovers never lend their books. 10) Lots of people buy books for their bright and beautiful jackets. 11) Bookcases and bookshelves are the best kind of decoration for a living-room. 12) It’s of no use collecting book issues of magazines and newspapers. X. Read the following passage and say if you agree with the author: Some people think that as more and more people have their TV-sets in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read a novel, when a play o television can tell you the same story with colour picture and action? Why read the biographies of famous men and women, when an hour-long television programme can tell you all that you want to know? Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers and magazines sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and entertainment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are published today as paperback books, which are reasonably cheap. A paperback novel, for example, is almost always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or theatre, and you can keep a book forever and read it many times. Books in the home are a wonderful source of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. Every home should have an atlas of the world, with large clear maps. It might be expensive, but a good encyclopedia is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. In addition, it is useful to have on your bookshelves other non-fiction books such as history books, science textbooks, cookery books, books about medicine and health, etc. It is equally important to have some fiction on your shelves, too. Then you can relax with a good story, or from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favourite poets. XI. Choose the best answer according to the information in the passage: 1. Which is easier to get the news from? a) newspaper b) the television 2. Which is usually quicker? a) to read a biography of a famous person b) to watch a TV programme about a famous person 3. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) an evening at the cinema 4. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) a hardcover book 5. Which is it most important to have in your home? a) non-fiction books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias b) fiction, such as novels, short stories and books of poems c) a mixture of both: good non-fiction and your favourite fiction XII. Discuss the following questions with your partners: 1. Were your parents worried that you watched too much TV when you were younger? 2. Did you find TV more interesting than anything else when you were at school? 3. Programmes on what subject do you like most of all? 4. Can you learn all you want on TV? 5. Do you think you get more information from books or TV? 6. Is it easier for you to memorize facts watching TV or reading books? 7. What do you like more to read books or to watch TV? XIII. Different people enjoy reading for different reasons. You will read five people saying why they like reading novels. Which of them says that novels a) are good for improving language skills? b) make them forget their problems? c) add some adventure to their life? d) teach them how to act in certain situations? e) increase their knowledge of other cultures? Reading Novels Ricky: Oh, I love novels, especially if they have a good plot. I started reading them when I was 12, encouraged by my parents who were hoping I’d be a writer myself. As it happened, reading so much at an early age had an effect on my studies, my compositions were always very good! And I still read at least one novel a week. My own life isn’t terribly exciting, apart from my work, which is very interesting, nothing much happens. In the novels I read there’s always a lot going on, lots of thrilling events, and I can share in the experiences and problems of the characters. Ella: Well, I used to read only short stories. That changed when I moved to a new city and found myself in a job I didn’t really enjoy. I would get back home at about 5p. m. , make some supper and sit down to read a novel for the rest of the evening. Many of them are pretty unbelievable stories, and not particularly well-written. It’s not as if you can imagine yourself in any of those situations, but the thing is they take my mind off whatever’s worrying me. I’ve had long conversations about this with friends who think I should read better quality staff, but I know what I’m doing. Sally: Why I like reading novels? I remember as an adolescent, I used to read novels just so as to see how my favourite characters solved their problems. I thought I could then apply that to my own problems! And I’m not ashamed to say that’s still the case, that’s what I’m looking for in the novels I read, and that’s my reason for reading them. I always choose novels that are in a clear style, because I find complicated language difficult. And also I like the stories to be about countries and cultures I know well, because then I can understand the characters better. Tom: I think reading novels is helping me a great deal in my studies, and although I haven’t got much spare time, I always make a point of reading a couple of hours in the evening. I’m in my last year at secondary school, and frankly, reading novels is an excellent way of learning how people live in other countries, how they communicate with each other, what problems they have. That’s why I prefer novels with characters who are true to life, not the ones who have impossible adventures. I’m very lucky because my best friend also likes reading and we can often discuss what we’ve both read. Alex: I like reading novels because they help me develop the ability to write myself. I used to have real problems in producing a good piece of writing. It wasn’t that I lacked ideas, no, my teachers always said my compositions were interesting. But I couldn’t get my tenses right. That’s where reading novels helped. I don’t think you can learn much about other things from novels, because the situations are usually so unrealistic. Some people say that’s OK, if your life’s boring, you need the excitement of fiction. Well, my life’s exciting enough, so that’s not my problem. 1. Do you like to read novels? Why? 2. Do you think that reading makes a person intelligent? XIV. Comment on the following: 1. A house looks gloomy and joyless without books. 2. If the book is worth reading it is worth buying. 3. Books and friends should be few and good.

Factors That Determine The Demand And Supply Economics Essay

Factors That Determine The Demand And Supply Economics Essay Nowadays, mobile phone having a plenty of innovative functions and applications that will bring out a lot of convenience to human being compare to the past. In this assessment we will more emphasize into the development of Samsung mobile phone from early of the year until todays. Basically, the company was been found by Lee Byung Chul which is from South Korea at 1983. Samsung electronics had launched their first mobile phone in 1988 at South Korea market. However, during that time the demand for this market was very poor and unstable. In 2007, Samsung electronics become second largest mobile phone maker in the world and they had successfully overtaking Motorola for the very first time. Samsung was the worlds largest manufacturer of OLEDs. Due to the advanced and innovative digital world, Samsung had produce the first smart phone which is known as Samsung Galaxy S and its launch in the March 2010 and become the top selling smart phone in India market. This smart phone has build with the OLEDs screen and have android software which significantly compete against another well-known smart phone which is call Iphone by Apple. After the few years, Samsung had come out new model which named as Galaxy S2 and this model get best android device at the year of 2011. On the other hand, Samsung had launched another latest model which is Galaxy 3 in 2012 due to the innovative and advance technology they have. Samsung had received over 9 million preorders for this model in between two weeks after the unveiling and it sold over 10 million devices in less than 3 month. Based on the above sales figure, this prove that the demand and supply for this model is much more above than others model. Factors that Determine the Demand and Supply There are some factors that can influence the demand and supply of Samsung mobile phone. The first one to influence the demand of the mobile phone is the price. For different person they have different view of the price. For most of people, mobile phone is just a thing can contact with others, so that they dont need new updated mobile phone. At this point, the decrease of the price will cause an increase of quantity demand, the demand is elastic. The second factor is the income of buyers themselves, is either their salaries can be afford to the mobile phone. For example, the price of Samsung Note 2 is RM2200, but the average income of those buyers is only RM3000 per month, so that they wont give 73% of their salary to buy this phone. Another reason of the shift in demand is the number of the buyers is there many people interested with the model. Samsung mobile has a big competitor which is Iphone, its like the first time Samsung S3 come out people may be interested with this model, b ut after Apple Iphone 5 launched, they find themselves are more interested with the new Iphone 5, so that the demand of Samsung S3 will decrease. This may also compete with own brand mobile phone, like S3 compete with Note 2. The factors that can determine the supply of Samsung mobile phone also have some points. For the view of sellers the input price is a factor determines the supply, the price when the price is higher, they can earn more. As we know, when a new model of mobile phone first comes out, the price will be the highest period, at that time Samsung Company can get more benefits. By the decrease of the price, the benefits will become less and less, so that the supply will also going down. The supply also can be influenced by the new model of Samsung mobile phone or the term of the model itself. Like Samsung Splus, after a long term selling this model, the company itself will reduce the supply of this model. By the decrease of the price, company wont get profit of this model, so that they will stop producing this model after a model come out. Now Samsung mobile have S3 and Note 1/2, its hard to find Splus in the market. Figure 1. Changes in trend of price of the mobile phone The change in trend of price of mobile phone is always being decreased by the pass of time. As we can see from Figure 1, here are two changes in trend of price of Samsung mobile phone, one is S3 and the other one is Samsung Note2. These two models of mobile phone are the most popular models of Samsung. We can find the time when the mobile phone first came out, the price was at the highest point. Samsung S3, when the time it launched, the original price is RM2199. The price will stay for one to two months, and then it will decrease, and till March 2013, people can get this phone as low as RM1659. Same as Samsung Note2, but the different is, during February 2013, this model is out of stock, the demand is higher than the supply, so that the price has been increased. The demand of the mobile phone will influence the price and quantity. When there have more buyers, the price might not decrease as fast as it will be, but might also increase a bit, the quantity supply will also be increased. Its like the price increase of Note2, the demand increase, so that the quantity supply increase, and after that period the price come back to the normal trend. How the determinants of supply affect the price and quantity, when the supply increases, the quantity supply also increase, so that the price will become lower. When the price is getting lower, people will be more willing to buy it, so that the quantity demand will increase. Government Intervenes In these days, government of Malaysia also had intervenes into mobile phone market. First of all, in Malaysia, the economy system is a mixed economic system. Mixed economy system can be defined as the combination of the benefit of the free enterprise and central command system. In Malaysia, some company is controlled by the government however some are private. Furthermore, Malaysia governments are helping those business people according to the legist ration and regulation, and they are not just about seller, they also included buyer and also the consumer as well. For instance, the government will assure the consumer are satisfied or agree the prices of goods and services provided by the seller. There are a lots of economy issues that need to be solve by government , shortage and the surplus are one of the most common issues that occurs in Malaysia. But In mobile phone industry surplus issue seem to be the most popular issues in Malaysia. Surplus is meaning the supply of the goods and services are more than the demand of the consumer. Therefore, when they are surplus, the supplier will try to reduce the price in order to create higher demand of the consumer. In others words, surplus is mean that when the supply of goods and services is higher, consequently its makes the consumer not willing to spend so much money to get the goods or services. In this current year , the Samsung company was launch a different kind of brand new smart phone and these brand new smart phone was been mass production by the company therefore the price of the phones will be more expensive than normal phone . After the Samsung company had launched the smart phones in the period of time, the supply are not met the demand of the consumer because of the higher price and consumer unwilling to spend that much of money to purchase a mobile phone. Thus based on the situation above, Malaysia government has the responsibility to help the supplier to meet the demand of the consumer. In order to overcome this surplus problem, Malaysia governments have to use different ways to defeat this problem. For instance , Government has recently helping those students and working adult that have salary below RM2000 by subsidiary RM200 rebate for those who purchase the smart phone . Besides that, changes to taxation are also one of the good ways for government to defeat the surplus issues. For example, the government will conduct a research to check on the tax payment that is paid by the supplier so that the government can make an adjustment to the taxation for suppliers in the certain period of time. With this change of taxation, the suppliers are able to reduce the price and meet the demand of the consumer. In conclusion, Malaysia government should intervene the economy and using the suitable solution to defeat the economy issues by managing financial well and rational. Government also need to have a rational and clear before they make decision making on economy , because this will eventually impact the to the public.

The Ecchoing Green Essay --

William Blake is a poet most noted for the engravings that accompany his works of poetry. These engravings included with the poems help to depict the meaning of the poems. However, at times the engravings he includes with his poem can lead to complications for the interpreter of the poem. There are a multitude of variations of the same engraving that accompany a poem, all of them originals; some of these engravings compliment the poem, while others complicate the poem. One example of this occurrence, where one engraving may compliment the poem and the other complicates it, is in William Blake’s work â€Å"The Ecchoing Green† which can be found in Blake’s Songs of Innocence. The important thing to recognize is that regardless of whether the poem is further complicated or simplified because of the image, the poem and its accompanying image are still evoking thought, and discussion from the reader. When reading the poem alone, without the engraving two different interpretations were found. The first one is that â€Å"The Echoing Green† is a detailed exploration on the cycle of life. Blake uses natural imagery to compensate for the natural growth in a person, physically and mentally. In many cases he uses a rural landscape to compliment the innocence of the 'green' how child play is completely acceptable and distances us from the urbanized world of pollution and experience. In literature, spring is often associated with growth, and here we can see that spring is the season present. Because of this the reader can link spring to both the growth of nature and to the growth of the children described in the poem. The growth of the children can be viewed as a positive aspect because of its link with spring; because winter is usually linked to de... ...ring this poem with its engraving a few things are learned, the first learned thing is that there can be multiple interpretations within a poem. The second is that depending on which engraving one was reading the poem with their interpretations of the poem will differ. These differences are caused because the engravings hold a large influence on what is pulled from the poem and how it is interpreted. Whether Blake did this on purpose on not, one does not know, however it can be appreciated that the variety within this one poem allows for many different interpretations and support for those different interpretations. Whether the engraving is complimenting or complicating the poem is regardless, the important part is the fact that the poem and engraving together are evoking multiple emotions from the audience and creating more thought than either one would on its own.

Techniques Used in Print Advertising Essay -- Literary Analysis

There are a plethora of features and techniques used in print advertising which are often invisible to the naked eye, and primed at targeting the audience’s subconscious mind. Audiences consume advertising wherever they look or go, whether it be on a train, reading a newspaper, or even using the public bathrooms. Conventions are constructed, and past knowledge is exploited, by what can be acknowledged as a ‘language of advertising’. Print-based advertising is a genre that has been around for a significant amount of time now, and a form that continues to flourish and adapt itself despite the prominence of more contemporary methods, such as the internet, and more recently, the growth of tablet computing. The following investigation will focus on two different newspaper advertisements for energy suppliers – one from British Gas, and the other from SSE. A consideration of audience will be undertaken, before analysing the use of language, structure, images and t ypography in each. Then, following this detailed analysis, a commentary on the persuasiveness of each advert will make for a fitting and necessary conclusion. Firstly, as suggested, it is important to consider the audience and context of the two focus advertisements before beginning an analysis of the primary features. This will provide a solid contextual framework, and make a link between audience, context, and features possible later in the investigation. Both advertisements were featured in a copy of The Guardian, a British national daily newspaper with a respectable circulation. The Guardian is centre-left in its political stance, thus inevitably attracting a readership with shared values. In addition, the newspaper is particularly popular in the 18-54 age demographic. (De... ...rticularly attempt to tie in with the content of the advert in a way that is witty, unlike the SSE advert. However, the declaratives in the main body of text, such as ‘We’ve introduced lots of things to help’, could persuade readers to read on to discover exactly what they’ve introduced to help. Such a question /answer approach is utilised throughout the advert. Works Cited - Advertising ‘Demographic profile of Guardian readers’ (2010) http://www.guardian.co.uk/advertising/demographic-profile-of-guardian-readers [Accessed 04 December 2011]. - Vestergaard, T; Schroeder, K (1985), The Language of Advertising, Wiley-Blackwell - Goddard, A (1998), The Language of Advertising: Written Texts, London: Routledge - Delin, J (2000), The Language of Everyday Life, London: Sage - Cook, G (1992), The Discourse of Advertising, 1st edn. London: Routledge

The Day Labor Market in Phoenix, Arizona Essay -- Business Economics U

The Day Labor Market in Phoenix, Arizona Introduction This paper focuses on the Macehualli Day Labor Union located in Phoenix, Arizona in the 85032 area. Throughout the history of the United States, illegal immigrants have come from all over the world to find work and a better way of life. It is estimated that right now there are about seven million illegal aliens living in America. About 69% of these illegal immigrants are Mexican and over 283,000 of them live in Arizona1. In this paper, we presuppose that the illegal aliens we refer to are Mexican. This is because the aliens living in the geographic area around the day labor center we examine are over 99% Mexican (Reza, 2003, personal interview). Many Mexicans risk everything they have, including their lives, in their attempts to cross the border and live the â€Å"American Dream.† Most immigrants are motivated by the lure of lucrative employment across the border. They come to this country with the hope of finding a higher paying job. In most cases, the immigrants are young men who leave their families behind, but intend to earn enough money to eventually bring their loved ones across (Reza, 2003, personal interview). Over the past three decades, the influx of illegal immigrants has become even more noticeable (Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1999). In the year 2000, unauthorized immigrants accounted for about 2.5% of the U.S. population2. These immigrants’ illegal status is a serious obstacle in their search for employment. Almost all employers require some proof of United States citizenship. For citizens and legal immigrants, this is easily established through a driver’s license or state identification card. Illegal workers, on the other hand, obvi... .... 11 Jun. 2003. Day Labor Union Workers. Personal Interview. 25 Oct. 2003 Gonzalez, Daniel. â€Å"Future Will Require Immigrants by Millions for Jobs, Report Says.† The Arizona Republic 31 Aug. 2003 : A6. Reza, Salvador (Director of the Macehualli Day Labor Union). Personal Interview. 25 Oct. 2003. Smart pages. 2 Dec. 2003 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. â€Å"Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: 1999 to 2000† 2 Dec. 2003 . U.S. Department of Labor. 2 Dec. 2003 minimumwage.htm>. Valenzuela, Abel Jr. â€Å"Day Labourers as Entrepreneurs?† Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 27.2 (2001) : 335-352 Valenzuela, Abel Jr. â€Å"Day Labor Work† Annual Review of Sociology 29 (2003) : 307-33

Reality TV Is Fake Essay

Imagine this. A producer came to you and said: â€Å"Hi, I would love for you to be in a reality TV program.† So you asked what it means to be in a reality TV program. He’d answer with â€Å"all you need to do is act normally. Just do what you normally would do, but the exception that a camera crew will be following you around.† You agreed, and the camera men, producer, director and writer started following you around. And when they’re filming you and your friends having dinner together, they suddenly stopped and asked you to start talking about a certain boy in your school. You agreed, and started talking about some boy you know. And then the director and writer asked you to pretend you like the guy and squeal and spaz about him. But the thing is, you don’t like this guy. And you don’t want to squeal and spaz about him. You both are only friends but the director asked you to pretend that you like him. So is that what reality TV is? Isn’t it about real life people doing real life stuff in a real life situation? But why are the producers and directors and writers asking you to do stuff that you don’t normally do? Why are they making something up to make it sound more interesting? Reality television is a television program genre that presents unscripted situations, documents actual events and usually features unknown instead of professional actors. What they do is the reality TV stars do whatever that they’re doing, just like what we normally do. But with the exception that there are cameras filming everything. Such shows usually have participants that double as the show’s narrator. They are interviewed about the situation and the participants talk about how they feel about it and what they think about the situation. Another type of reality TV shows are competition based reality shows. They often have additional common elements such as participant being eliminated per episode, with a panel of judges, and the concept of immunity from elimination. The participants or challengers are put into tests and missions with the possibility of being eliminated or punished. And a prize is always on the line. Is the reality TV shows really real? Are these reality programs fabricated and staged or are they genuine? If they are fabricated, how much then are they fake and how much are they real? Body All these reality programs are very successful not only in U.S but also all over the world. They are well known to people of every age, race, education, and language. They show how relatable these stars are to the viewers and how alike these stars are to the viewers. But are they real? Are these reality shows real? And if it’s not, how fake are these shows? Pawn Stars chronicles the daily activities at a high end pawn shop, where staffs of the store interacts with customers who bring in a variety of artefacts to sell or pawn and who are shown haggling over the price and discussing its historical background, with narration provided by the Harrisons. There are proofs in which these reality TV are not real. For example in Pawn Stars, there was an episode where a man named Rod who brought in his 1960 Les Paul Custom guitar. And he claimed that he had gotten the guitar during his tour with the bands Toto and Triumph. But with further investigations, it was later found out that the whole thing was completely staged. The Les Paul Custom guitar was actually from a local Las Vegas vintage guitar store, Cowtown Guitars. The â€Å"customer† Rod, was actually an employee of that store. And the â€Å"expert† that was also in the show was also another employee/manager (centraltendencies.com). Another episode named Time Machines in season 1; the customer simply named Jim is actually Jim Waters, a local Las Vegas comedian and actor. He’s one of the founders of a Las Vegas group called Film and Television artists of Las Vegas. What was seen as a customer with an antique was actually an actor hired to stage an episode. As for the competition-based reality programs, one of the most famous one is American Idol. It is a singing competition and after the preliminary rounds, the live shows start. And each week, a contestant will be eliminated through the votes of the public. Even with judges to give reviews of the participant’s performance that night, it is the public who will decide who would leave and be eliminated. There are testimonies from an American Idol participant who have came out to testify how it really is when auditioning for the show. How all that we see on TV is not what it really is like. She’s known as Maria Saint, and in her writings are very explicit accounts of what she encountered during her audition process. At one point, all the contestants were asked to learn a new song: Billionaire by Bruno Mars and Travis McCoy, to test their ability to learn a new song fast. And what is shown on TV is a bunch of people singing the same song in front of the judges. But if you look carefully at the clip, you’ll notice that there was not a frame that shows the contestants and the judges in the same room. In actual fact, they are recorded at different times. According to Maria Saint, it was actually taped â€Å"to make that ridiculous compilation of people singing the same song privately, some good, and some bad (Saint).† And at the final round before really going in to meet the judges, she accounted an event whereby an â€Å"adorable but strange little blonde haired boy, dressed kind of how you’d expect to see Forrest Gump, nice white dress shirt, slacks, and loafers, passionately waving an American Flag for the cameras† screeching the song â€Å"Smile.† And at that particular round, if a contestant is cut, and they act crazy, they will be put back in so that they can air the reaction on the show. And when â€Å"flagboy† were cut, he started crying hysterically. Cameras immediately swarmed over him, and were brought back into the audition room. A few minutes later, he came out proudly with his large sticker than indicates that he passed that round (Saint). Amazing Race is another competition based reality TV show that is very famous around the globe. It is a game show in which teams of two people, race around the world with other teams. Each team are given missions and are needed to complete these missions in order to be able to go to ‘pit stops’ where the last team to arrive would either be eliminated or be faced with disadvantages in the next round. Popular race show, Amazing Race is also not as it seems. What is shown on television has also been controlled by the producers and directors. The clothes that they wear, the expressions that they have on their faces and every scene has been altered so it would be shown on TV the right way and with the right angle. The world of entertainment is making changes to spice up their programs. It was then the reality TV shows were introduced. And the audiences loved it. From a reality show of singing, acting, modelling, sports, magic, and even to parenting, audiences from all walks of life enjoys it. Closing In conclusion, as popular as these reality programs are, many of them are staged and controlled behind the scenes. What should not have scripts are actually scripted. And what should be natural and real are actually fake and created by directors and producers. And with so many demands in this genre, there would be more reality TV shows and they would still not be ‘real.’