Sunday, October 6, 2019
Ceo Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Ceo - Research Paper Example business by up to 2300%, it became an online bookstore before quickly diversifying into other ventures like selling VHS tapes and DVDS, video games, clothing, toys, electronics, software, and music CDs. Due to these efforts visible success, the Time Magazine, in 1999 named Bezzos as the 1999 Person of the Year. The earnings per share for Amazon.com as at December 2014 were at $1.14 while the Return on Equity was at 40.2%. Since 2003, the company has had remarkable growth in sales. The total sales in 2003 were $5,743 and have grown to over $500 million in 2014, which also reflects a continuous increase in the net income. The company has a profit margin ratio of 3.2%, which is derived from dividing sales ($14,952) by net income ($487). The asset turnover ratio is at 2.3 reached at by dividing total assets by sales. Through ratio analysis, it is possible to determine whether the company is making progress or not. From the discussion, it is evident that amazon.com has seen gradual improvements in sales and net income as well as earnings per share. Amzon.com has the highest price-earnings ratio as compared to other major companies of common stock. For instance, Amazon.com has a price-earnings ratio of 58 while companies like Cocacola are at 25, Microsoft at 34, and Time Warner Inc. at 30. Amazon has established itself to be a leading e-commerce enterprise by advancing from a typical bookstore to a virtual Wal-Mart of the web. It has also introduced action services alongside the fixed-price format. Big companies like Toys ââ¬â¢R Us and Target outsource technological services from Amazon, Inc. there has been an impressive growth since its inception with revenues growing from $150 million in 1996 to $3.7 billion in 2000 (Laseter et. Al. p. 32). The company enjoys the economies of scale because it has effectively managed to diversify into other fields thus spreading its fixed costs across the market. The company established its brand as bookseller and through its
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Marketing in Jessops Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Marketing in Jessops Company - Assignment Example Jessops is the UKââ¬â¢s premier photographic retailer operating from 206 stores and an online shop. According to its official website, Jessops has over 25 years expertise in supplying the public sector and commercial markets which enable it to offer its customers dedicated service from a customized solution. It currently uses direct as marketing where the staff will directly interact with customers through personal selling. It also uses online marketing to market an assortment of products which are related to photography. The organization is undergoing a liquidation process hence this report will seek to outline effective measures that can be put in place so as to ensure a long-term relationship with the customers. The realization that customer loyalty is an important consideration in long-term marketing success has been the most recent refinement of the marketing concept. Enlightened marketers have realized that there is need to forge a long-term relationship with the customers for the sake of viability and sustainability of the organization. Relationship marketing as a philosophy emphasizes forging long-term partnerships with the customers (Lamb et al 2008). Firms often build relationships with customers by offering value and providing satisfaction on a consistent basis. Firms that successfully implement relationship marketing benefit from repeat sales (loyalty) and referrals that lead to increases in sales, market share as well as profits (Strydom 2004). Normally, costs fall because it is less expensive to serve the existing customers than to attract the new customers. On the other hand, the customers also benefit from stable relationships with the organizations that offer different products and services. It is easier for the seller of a particular product to provide a quicker and more efficient, moreà personalized as well as need satisfying service to the customer (Kotler 1999).
Friday, October 4, 2019
Recruitment and Army Essay Example for Free
Recruitment and Army Essay 1.0 Opportunities and dangers to be considered by the Army in externalising the recruitment processes. a. Preston (2012 P.36) shows how the two-way process of recruitment ââ¬Ëshould be as much about the applicant finding out whether the business is right for them as about whether they are deemed acceptable by the businessââ¬â¢. c. Having employment opportunities for the soldiers who are being made redundant will allow the knowledge and experience of ex-soldiers to remain forefront of recruitment helping recruiting the right person be more effective. An explanation by Preston (2012, P.36) tells us how if ââ¬Ëappointees donââ¬â¢t fit then profitability is affectedââ¬â¢; this key can show that the benefits of externalization will bring spending cuts by selecting only the right persons increasing retention. d. Being seen as ââ¬Ëperverseââ¬â¢ is a danger because if the Army gives a bad image of high staff redundancies while spending highly on hiring this could be open to stereotypic views as Preston explains ââ¬ËMany people are deterred from entering certain professions because of general stereotypical images which exist in their society or cultureââ¬â¢ (2012, P.38). Col Richard Kemp in the case study says how ââ¬Ëpreviously using a civilian company was not a successââ¬â¢. This could have a detrimental impact upon future recruits if the civilian company cannot deliver what is expected. It will also have anà impact upon the Armyââ¬â¢s image if it doesnââ¬â¢t work out the second time round. 2.0 Methods of selection and their advantages and disadvantages for selecting soldiers. Interviews ââ¬â Used to understand key facts of the job and recruit for either parties and determine suitability to one another. This method is an opportunity the Army can utilize to lay out main facts of what they have to offer. Itââ¬â¢s also a chance for the recruit to decide whether or not they are happy with the opportunities. The advantage to the Army using this method would remove unexpected expectation at an early stage reducing cost from training soldiers who realized itââ¬â¢s not what they thought at a later stage. The disadvantage however would be that interviews are seen as ââ¬Ëtoo subjective to the individual and place a ââ¬Ëcloudââ¬â¢ over an individualââ¬â¢s ability (Preston, 2012 P.43) Tests ââ¬â Used to measure a personââ¬â¢s ability and aptitude relevant to the job. This Method would allow the Army to see suitability of potentials under set tests giving a further indication on whether the Army is a job the candidate is suitable for before subjecting them to full training further reducing cost at an earlier convenience. Preston (2012) also explains that this can also be a way to reduce inherent subjectivity of the interview method. This method has disadvantages of not being able to incorporate all what the Amy needs to see as some areas of the Army require more subjective tests. This can increase costs if at a later stage the applicant is found unable to cope with certain areas of the job and pulls out. Assessment Centre ââ¬â Can show the applicant in certain situations relevant to the job. This shows the Army the recruits in a role play scenario or group activity which can indicate the applicantââ¬â¢s ability under a selection of techniques in multiple combinations. This can incorporate a more subjective assessment of the individual so it can be determined further whether the Army can offer a position to the recruit. This would help the Army in selecting those who are of correct skill level generating more quality recruits increasing retention. However the assessment centers only provide the Army with a short insight to certain scenarios as the Army is a specialized area of recruitment the individual cannot be seen faced with all possible problems the recruit may encounter asà a soldier. 3.0 Recommendations for organising induction and socialisation of newly hired soldiers to enhance retention. Induction is whereby a new recruit is welcomed into the organisation through a short term introduction to areas shown by Preston (2012, P45) like what their job description is, whatââ¬â¢s expected of them or underlining policies and procedures. Such inductions are critical to the Army as it helps new recruits become accustomed to their surroundings and allows them to adopt the organisational culture and written rules helping them understand what is expected and what is accepted. Typical activities include group welcoming (showing videos), simple team working (to help get to know each other) and tours of the premises (to learn the surroundings). Socialisation is a long term process shown by Preston (2012) to ââ¬Ëhelp understand in terms how the newcomer makes sense of the business and their role within itââ¬â¢. This would be of importance to help the Army ensure the recruits are following the correct procedures and polices but also helping to keep track of the recruitââ¬â¢s process ensuring they are settling in and managing well. To help the activities could include meetings to see the recruitââ¬â¢s progression, group socialising to help with settling, appraisals to show they are doing well and promotions to help encourage further progression. To help improve retention and reduce dropouts induction techniques recommended would be having already serving soldiers at a welcome day to have questions asked and stories from first hand experiences. As documented by Harding (2011) in the case study ââ¬Ëthe most effective recruiters were young soldiers who had already served on operationsââ¬â¢. This could expel any rumors and help new recruits understand the demands of Army life at an early stage. This technique would also allow the introduction of policies and procedures and what to expect. Using mentoring as a socialising technique would give recruits quantitative information based on their progression into the business and how well they are integrating into theà role. This information can be persuading for new recruits to show them they are on the right track and doing well, resulting in increased momentum and a desire to keep going. As Preston (2012) says ââ¬Ësocialisation is understanding how the newcomer makes sense of the business and their role within itââ¬â¢. Mentoring through the early stages can keep track of the recruit and provide them with the help and support to succeed in turn, reducing dropouts and increasing quality recruits. References: Harding T. (2011) ââ¬ËArmy to pay civilian firm à £1bn to recruit new soldiersââ¬â¢ The Telegraph 11 October [Online]. Available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8819327/ Army-to-pay-civilian-firm-à £1bn-to-recruit-new-soldiers.html (Accessed 1 September 2014). Preston, D (2012), An introduction to human resource management in business, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Prà ©cis: From the tutor group forum discussions I have learnt that there are many views on what people have in the work place. The work place HRM polices and business cultures can be dramatically different from business to business and different people have different views on them and how they incorporate them into their working lives. Activity 2.3 shown how businesses HRM polices and culture can mix well or clash badly as such Pauls Bourne shows how that if people of a work place buy into the ââ¬Ënormââ¬â¢ this can sometimes override what the HRM polices state resulting in problems. However that HRM polices should be a state of first call when people need to be reminded what is truly expected of them in the place of work. All the ideas coming together has taught me to think more logically about the place I work and how the business culture is upheld through normal behaviour of people through unwritten rules up to the policies and procedures in place to help maintain a uniformed business. Reference: Bourne P, (2014) ââ¬ËActivity 2.3 HRM and Cultureââ¬â¢ The Open University 19 November 2014 [Online]. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=1210164 (accessed 25 November 2014).
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Generic Conventions of Documentary
Generic Conventions of Documentary The Purpose of this Essay is to explore the Generic Conventions of Documentary and Documentary photography, comparing the two and to explore how street photography has evolved since its introduction in the late 19th century. This essays primary purpose is to Examine How Street Photography came about and how it has changed since it was revolutionised in the early 20th Century, then it will explore and compare two photographers who forever changed the way that street photography is perceived, The secondary purpose of this essay will be to debate the question, unlike documentary photography, which sets out to record historical events and everyday life, does street photography need a subject in the image in particular with Eugene Atget, who went around photographing various street corners and shops in Paris without a person in the photo. First of all, one must ask the question, exactly what is a photograph? In The Photograph, Graham Clarke Describes the word Photograph as Light Writing, he goes on to say that it also speaks as an underlying concern to control light and time and that the photograph not only signals a different relationship to and over nature, it speaks very much to a sense of power in a way that we seek to construct the world around us Clarke, (1997, P11). In most photographs its left up to the viewer on how they read and perceive a photograph, Graham Clark continues by saying The photograph has a multiple existence which informs its multiple meanings, its seeming simplicity of form and function belies an implicit problematic of sight and representation Clarke, (1997, P11) What Clarke is suggesting to the viewer is that photographs have multiple layers of text conveyed within one image, Clarke wants the viewer to look closer and determine what the photograph means to each person individually and why its being represented in this way In relation to street photography this is the main question to be explored in the second part of this essay. So how does one read a photograph? A picture is worth a thousand words, but how does one interpret them? Every time the viewer sees an image he or she has their own personal view of that image so it falls to the photographer or artist to put their own messages/meanings behind their images and leave the interpretation open to the viewer, Photographic Art Generally falls into four main types of photographic genres, Landscape, Portraiture, Fine Art, and Documentary, each picture in each genre gives off a different emotional response In Particular Eugene Atget and Cartier Bressons Photographic styles would fall into the Landscape Documentary categories. So lets look at what these two categories are, in photography; The Key Concepts, David Bate describes documentary photography as Telling a story with pictures, Documentary photography gave new life and social function, Documentary aimed to show in an informal way the everyday lives of ordinary people, to other ordinary people -Ãâà Bate, (2009, P45). This emerged as popular practise following the First World War, and began to develop through the 20th century, after the horrors of the First World War, more and more photographers went out and photographed everyday events happening to normal everyday people out in the streets, this social documentary work went on to dominate the early 20th century with people undertaking projects based on the after effects on war and how it changed the lives of everyday peoples lives forever, One such example would be the 1972 accidental napalm attack in the Vietnamese war, one of the most reproduced images of that time, Robert Haeberles People abo ut to be shot which Clarke describes as An anonymous war machine raining down napalm accidentally on innocent children but such a narrative cannot deflect us from the presence of intense agony Clarke (1997, P160) By looking at this photo the reader is invited to feel all the emotions these children went through, screams, cries and sorrow, but the photographer is trying to invite the reader to understand that although we can see visually how horrible the events were, that theres nothing more horrible than what the innocent subjects were going through, The Photographer Robert Haeberles statement himself guys were about to shoot these people I yelled hold it and shot my pictures, M16s opened up and from the corner of my eye I saw bodies falling but I did not turn to look Rovert Haeberle Clarke, (1997, P160). Next theres Landscape Photography, there are many different narratives that landscape photography could fall in to, but the main thing to think about with street photography in landscapes is what is the photographer attempting to show the reader in a landscape picture? Is it just the environment, the place, or is it perhaps a landscape being dominated by the presence of humans in the photograph, In David Bates Photography, the key concepts, Bate goes on to say what this means is that whatever is seen is always coded via the picture. Therefore HOW the material is seen in the picture, the way it is pictured, is as critical as what is shown Bate, (2009, P90) the photographer is encouraging the reader to think of the bigger picture of what the landscape photograph represents, Roger Fenton, one of the early Pioneers in photography was one of the first to make the reader question and think about what they were viewing, his approach was to places that had been established as tourist areas, places that people already had a view on, places of great beauty and social harmony In his approach to landscape Fenton both reflects a highly specific cultural vocabulary based on literature and painting, this sense of the photographer as privileged tourist is underscored by the way Fenton often photographed tourist areas which had already been depicted in painting and literature his images reflect the leisurely assumptions of a class of people who looked upon landscape scenery in aesthetic and philosophical terms (Clarke, 1997, P56). The photograph often gives off a hint of a unified Britain, but Fenton, a war photographer, is trying the challenge the readers views and make you see the bigger picture, look beyond the picture and think of problems that may have been going on around that area at the time. This brings the essay on to Part two, firstly unlike Documentary Photography, does Street Photography need a person in the photo? As mentioned earlier in the essay this is left very open to the viewer to make their mind up, Eugene Atget didnt think it did, Eugene Atget was one of the main pioneers in 20th century street photography, and most of his work was done on the streets of Paris, his photos that do have people are very surreal, questioning our perception of what is dream and what is reality, looking at one of Atgets pieces of work, A Corner, rue de seine, As quoted by Clive Scott in Street Photography, From Atget to Cartier Bresson Perhaps the most celebrated photograph of this street is the one that Atget took on an early May morning in 1924, a photo of a wedge shaped building at the corner of the rue de seine, The oblique view shown here emphasizes the rapid foreshadowing created by the wide angle lens, the distortion produced by the lens also gives the building a marked pre cariousness, is this tilting to the right a consequence of intoxication or old age? The building has open eyes, only on the third and fourth floors at the near end, everywhere else in the building is sealed in somnolence or death -(Scott, 2007, P178/P180) The Photograph is a very surreal image which is challenging the reader to try decode its many layers, The viewer sees it as an image with a lot of gothic potential, the mist adds to this effect, and the building is shown to be in disrepair, so although the image is shown without subjects, theres a much deeper hidden meaning, a very dark and dreary meaning that could perhaps signal a change in cultures, the building is old, very pre-World War One, perhaps this image also trying to indicate a struggle to adapt to the new world after war, also although most of the text in image is left blurred or too small to read, we can clearly read the words petit bouif which is actually a shoe repair shop, which Atget is also well known for photog raphing,Ãâà we also see the pictures of what we assume are lost family pets, again we can relate this back to the time, 6 years after the world war ended what exactly has Paris become. Moving on to Cartier Bresson,Ãâà much of his work is not actually considered documentary photographer, he was a revolutionary photographer who couldnt really be placed into any single genre, he did almost every type of photography you could do, but although he wasnt a documentary photographer, one of his most well-known images that Im going to look at is, the photo was taken outside the train station saint lazar, although colour camera did not exist at this time Bresson noticed the rain in the foreground, and the beautiful mist like feature blocking the houses in the background, and by chance he saw a man jumping over the picture which he then snapped on his black and white camera, we can see from the picture that the man was caught in mid motion, the blur that has appeared from the mans speed but also the contrast makes the picture stand out more, so we have to ask the question, had the man not been there jumping over the ladder when Bresson snapped him, would this have becom e arguably Bressons most well-known photograph? Although there is still a lot going on in the picture, such as the ladder and rubble in front of it, the railowsky sign clearly visible in the midground, and even the other person visible near the background, at least in this case although Bresson may not have been a documentary photographer, this picture is a documentary photograph Reference List: Scott, Clive. Street Photography. London: I.B. Tauris, 2007. Print. Bate, D. (2009). Photography. Oxford: Berg. Clarke, G. (1997). The photograph. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Women in India Essay -- Gender Roles, Misogynistic Societies, Oppressi
Historical records show evidence of a continuing trend of women across the globe becoming victims of misogynistic societies. The oppression faced by women on a continual basis has led to a fight for equal rights in each sphere of society. However, there has been limited success and more failures than one wishes to recall, and women continue to be oppressed in nearly all aspects of life, from political to personal and from public to private. It is essential to address and comprehend that the foundation for women's inequality today, is patriarchal cultures, which are majority of the time, founded on patriarchal religions. Women are not considered to be fully equal human beings deserving of the same dignity, rights, and treatment as men. Women are, instead, valued for providing sex to men ââ¬â whether as wives or as prostitutes ââ¬â and then for their ability to spend their entire time keeping house, preserving the family, and raising children (Cline, 2007). Most cases of inequ ality to this extent are present in third world and developing countries such as India where women are victims from birth as they are marginalized as second class citizens in the patriarchal community. The patriarchal culture of India is an excellent example of a culture where a woman has always been the sole property of her father, brother or husband without any will of her own. The majority of the time, women in India are victimized at the hands of these relatives. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, every hour that ticks by in India inflicts more brutality on women, with two rapes, two kidnappings, four molestations and seven incidents of cruelty from husbands and relatives (The Times of India, 2008). Such staggering statistics are rooted in a combina... ... involvement in disputes over dowry transactions may result in members of the womanââ¬â¢s own family being subject to criminal proceedings and potentially imprisoned. Moreover, police action is unlikely to stop the demands for dowry payments (Hitchcock, 2001). Married life is something that young women around the world look forward to, but for most women in India it results in being a nightmare through which they have to fight to survive. Majority of the women are brought up with very orthodox morals, so they are not very likely to ever defy the male figures in their lives even if it means that it will cost them their lives. The newlywed brides who bring with them an adequate dowry or are fortunate enough to find good in laws do not go through the horrors that some face, but could possibly have to deal with other pressures which are pushed upon them by their in laws.
The Success of Hamlet :: The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays
The Success of Hamletà à à à à à Is this Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet as successful a play as some critics say? Wherein lies the success? Is the protagonist the prime reason for the continuing success? à J. Dover Wilson in ââ¬Å"What Happens in Hamletâ⬠attributes much of the success of the drama to the characterization of the prince: à Finally, this compound of overwhelmingly convincing humanity and psychological contradiction is the greatest of Shakespeareââ¬â¢s legacies to the men of his own quality. No ââ¬Ëpartââ¬â¢ in the whole repertory of dramatic literature is so certain of success with almost any audience, and is yet open to such a remarkable variety of interpretation. There are as many Hamlets as there are actors who play him; and Bernhardt has proved that even a woman can score a success. (101) à Could the enduring reputation of Hamlet à be attributed to the ââ¬Å"ultimate formâ⬠in which the Bard of Avon expressed his ideas? Robert B. Heilman says so in ââ¬Å"The Role We Give Shakespeareâ⬠: à It is the way of venerable texts whose authenticity has impressed itself on the human imagination: he has said many things in what seems an ultimate form, and he is a fountainhead of quotation and universal center of allusion. ââ¬Å"A rose by any other nameâ⬠comes to the mouth as readily as ââ¬Å"Pride goeth before a fall,â⬠and seems no less wise. [. . .] The Ophelia-Laertes relationship is strongly felt near the end of Goetheââ¬â¢s Faust, Part I, and the Hamlet-Gertrude-Claudius triangle echoes throughout Chekhovââ¬â¢s Sea Gull (24-25). à This play is ranked by many as the very greatest ever written. Cumberland Clark in ââ¬Å"The Supernatural in Hamletâ⬠gives the consensus regarding Hamlet that exists among literary critics of today: à At least six or seven years pass after the writing of Midsummer Nightââ¬â¢s Dream before we find Shakespeare engaged on Hamlet, the second of the great plays with an important Supernatural element, and, in the opinion of many, the greatest tragedy ever penned. (99) à There is no more exalted ranking than the above. Richard A. Lanham in the essay ââ¬Å"Superposed Playsâ⬠maintains that no other English tragedy has generated the literary comment which this play has produced: ââ¬Å"Hamlet is one of the great tragedies. It has generated more comment than any other written document in English literature, one would guess, reverent, serious comment on it as a serious playâ⬠(91).
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Sample Literary Research Paper
Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, best known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, has written many novels, poems, and short stories in his lifetime but his most famous for his children's ââ¬Å"nonsenseâ⬠novels: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the sequel Through the Looking Glass. His works, especially the two mentioned, have influenced countless readers over the years, and references to his writings can be found in every type of media from the song ââ¬Å"White Rabbitâ⬠by Jefferson Airplane to the the Matrix trilogy. While both books are intended for a child's entertainment, they are full of symbolism and hidden critique. His clever wordplay, use of logic and reasoning, and incredible imagination are all trademarks of his style of writing, which is often referred to as ââ¬Å"literary nonsense. â⬠To readers with little experience with Carroll's work, this term seems to perfectly describe Carroll's confusing and often rambling style, but when more thoroughly inspected, it becomes obvious that this ââ¬Å"nonsenseâ⬠has a far deeper meaning. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is about a young girl, Alice, who gets bored doing her multiplication tables one day and follows a white rabbit into a hole. Through this hole, she ends up falling into Wonderland, a place where there are potions and foods that can change the drinker's size, a tea party thrown by a Mad Hatter and a March Hare, and a Caucus-race that everybody wins. As Alice journeys through Wonderland she meets stranger and stranger, or, as she says, ââ¬Å"'Curiouser and curiouser! ââ¬Ëâ⬠(15), characters such as a hookah-smoking caterpillar sitting on a mushroom and a grinning Cheshire Cat who is not all there all the time: ââ¬Å"'Well I've often seen a cat without a grin,' thought Alice; ââ¬Ëbut a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life! ââ¬Ëâ⬠(94). She runs into three gardeners who are painting the Queen of Hearts' roses from white to red so she will not cut their heads off. Alice and the Queen play a game of croquet in which the mallets are live flamingos and the balls are hedgehogs until the Queen eventually orders the beheading of everyone but Alice, the King, and herself. The book ends with Alice discovering that the whole experience was a dream from falling asleep while doing her multiplication. The story itself became much more popular upon the release of the Disney animated version. Many parts of this movie, however, were not originally found in the book but are instead found in its sequel. Through The Looking Glass is very similar to Alice's other journey, but this time she steps through her mirror, also known as a looking glass, and finds herself on a giant chess board inhabited by the Red and White chess pieces from the set in her room. When she asks the Red Queen if she can play, she is told she can take the place of a white pawn and start on the second square and will become a queen if she reaches the eighth. She eventually meets Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum who tell her the poem ââ¬Å"The Walrus and the Carpenter. â⬠She later meets Humpty Dumpty who tells her that he can make words mean whatever he wants and then proceeds to explain to her the meaning of the poem ââ¬Å"Jabberwocky. â⬠Alice is then taken prisoner by a Red Knight and later rescued by a White Knight, both of whom keep falling off their horses, and guided safely to the eighth square where she is made a queen and invited to the Red and White Queen's nonsensical dinner party, after which she once again wakes up and realizes that the whole thing was just a dream. The poem ââ¬Å"The Walrus and The Carpenterâ⬠from Through the Looking Glass is a classic tale narrated by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum about a walrus and a carpenter who, while strolling down the beach one sunny night, convince a large bunch of oysters to take a walk with them: ââ¬Å"Their shoes were clean and neat-/ And this was odd, because, you know,/ They hadn't any feetâ⬠(74-75). After much talk of whimsical nonsense, the walrus and the carpenter eat the unsuspecting oysters. There are many speculations on what the symbolism behind this poem actually is, but one theory, addressed in the movie Dogma, suggests that it is about religions tricking their followers. According to this theory, the walrus represents Eastern religions as either Buddha or Ganesha, while the carpenter represents Jesus and all Western religions. The two of them trick the helpless oysters, representing the innocent masses, with their words and then use them for their own gain, which in this case is as food. Many argue that this is not the true meaning behind the poem since Carroll was also an Anglican clergyman, but it is also noted that he was pushed towards his clergy position by his father and eventually grew to dislike the whole of the Anglican Church. The true meaning of the poem may never be known since Carroll never told anyone, and it was one of many things left unexplained in his diaries. ââ¬Å"Jabberwockyâ⬠is yet another famous poem from Through the Looking Glass, containing many of the characteristics that earned Carroll's works the title ââ¬Å"literary nonsense. This poem is first read by Alice when she holds the book containing it up to her mirror, and the first stanza is later told by her to Humpty Dumpty when he claims to be able to explain any poem ever invented and a good many that haven't been invented yet. ââ¬Å"Jabberwockyâ⬠is about a boy who is warned by his father to beware the Jabberwock, a great beast with jaws that bite and claws that catch, and s o takes his vorpal sword and seeks the beast. When they meet, the boy slays the monster and takes its head back to his father to receive his praise. Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice that many of the words in the poem are portmanteaus, or words with two meanings packed into them. For instance, ââ¬Å"slithyâ⬠means both ââ¬Å"litheâ⬠and ââ¬Å"slimy,â⬠while ââ¬Å"mimsyâ⬠is ââ¬Å"flimsyâ⬠and ââ¬Å"miserableâ⬠at the same time. He also clears up the rest of the nonsense words in this poem such as ââ¬Å"outgribing,â⬠which he says is something between bellowing and whistling with a sneeze in the middle. The first stanza goes: ââ¬Å"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe / All mimsy were the borogoves / And the mome raths outgrabeâ⬠(126). As Humpty explains it to Alice, this loosely translates to, It was four in the afternoon and the slithy toves, a mix between a badger, a lizard, and a corkscrew, went round and round the grass-plot of a sundial until they had worn holes in the ground. The borogoves, thin, shabby birds with their feathers sticking out, were mimsy and the mome raths, sorts of green pigs that lost their way, outgribed. This style of making up words to describe altogether new concepts or creatures as he pictured them has been compared to that of Dr. Seuss: it provides entertainment to children who laugh at these nonsense words, while at the same time has its own meaning when explained. Lewis Carroll had a writing style unlike any seen before his time. His ââ¬Å"literary nonsenseâ⬠has provided entertainment for countless children, while amusing and stimulating the minds of adults at the same time. While many of the characters and events in Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are known or debated symbols or references to something else, their true meanings could only ever be understood by Carroll himself.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)