The Natural Key passage analyisis Essay Example for Free

The Natural Key passage analyisis Essay In this passage of Bernard Malamuds The Natural, Roy Hobbs is in a batting slump. Though at the end of the passage, he rises from his slump to once again hit a home run. This event occurs during his game in Chicago, right after the beginning of his batting slump which in turn occurs right after his first and only date with Memo. This game is the first encounter between Roy and Iris Lemon, the true vegetative goddess who is a suitable partner for Roy. This passage is located in the Falling Action of Freytags pyramid that starts off with a dark and gloomy mood as a result of the diction that is used, cursed, booed, harrowed, sick and miserable. The employments of these words introduce the passage as dark period of time which directly reflects to both the mental and physical state that Roy is in at the time. As mentioned above, at the end of this passage, Roy rises from his batting slump, which makes this a turning point for Roy that propels the book towards its climax. This passage could be considered a turning point for Roy not only because he rises from his slump, but also because he finally meets his rightful vegetative goddess who gives him strength to hit the homerun at the end of the passage. Although this passage is not only the turning point for Roy, but also a comparison between Memo Paris and Iris Lemon. His fate is determined by his final decision between the two women and this passage acts as a sign for both the reader and Roy that Iris Lemon is his true vegetative goddess who he must marry in order to achieve his full potential as a vegetative god who can rejuvenate the Fisher King, symbolizing Pop Fisher. In the first line of this passage, Wonderboy is compared to a sagging baloney. This comparison is ambiguous because one can interpret it as if Wonderboy physically looks like a sagging baloney or that Wonderboy like King Arthurs Excalibur which was powerful and firm, is now weak and soft. However, the comparison between Roys baseball bat and a sagging baloney has a greater meaning. When Wonderboy is compared to a sagging baloney, one can say that this is a reference to Wonderboys phallic representation. The comparison between Roys Excalibur as well as manhood, a symbol of his masculine strength and sagging baloney degrades Roys strength and power as a vegetative god. This further shows his loss of power during his slump, as he felt sick. The reason for his slump is directly related to Memo Paris. Following his first and only date with Memo, he is overjoyed, even though it was disastrous. She claims to be strictly a dead a mans woman. This man refers to the dead Bump Bailey, who symbolizes those without life. This indicates that she is not the destined and right woman for Roy, as he is the vegetative god, the god of life. His existence is contradictory to her ideal man, which means that they are not destined to be together. She further states that her breasts are sick and Dont touch it When he tries to touch them, a womans breast symbolizes her fertility and thus Memos womanhood is sick. Therefore, it would be contradictory for Roy to be with Memo because he is the vegetative god and his vegetative goddess must be a woman with a strong life force and fertility. After the date, Memo rejects Roy and claims that she is going to see Gus Sands. Following this, Roy becomes troubled and falls into a batting slump as a result of Memos negligence towards Roy. After the second strike that Roy hits, a lady in the stands hesitantly rose for the second time. This lady later on turns out to be Iris Lemon, Roys destined wife and vegetative goddess. When she rises again, Roy stole a quick look and gains hope, because he became aware that the night had spread out in all directions and was filled with an unbelievable fragrance. In the presence of Iris Lemon, Wonderboy regains its hardness and power and shoots the ball through the light and up into the dark, like a white star seeking an old constellation. When Iris, the vegetative goddess who like Roy is a force of life and rejuvenation stands up, a stranger next to her feels a strong sexual urge. This shows that Iris is a true vegetative goddess whose very presence causes a stranger to feel a strong sexual urge. Her very presence also rejuvenates Wonderboy, Roys metaphorical phallus. Iris, who has such a strong life force, brought a child into the world at an early age, becomes a grandmother at the age of thirty three and she also reveals at the end of the book that I am pregnant from their one and only encounter on the beach. This transfer of life and strength to Roy and Wonderboy from Iris allows Roy to hit the baseball so hard, that it metaphorically flies into space, towards a distant star. This description of the baseball that is hit into space is so implausible that it seems godly and brings a magic realism and supernatural touch into Roys abilities. Roy who smashes the baseball so hard was only able to do so due to Iriss help, because at the presence of his vegetative goddess, he can truly achieve his full potential as a vegetative god who is destined to revive the Knights and Pop Fisher like Sir Perceval who is destined to revive King Fisher and the wasteland. As mentioned earlier, Memo is a destructive force that sucks the life and energy out of Roy and as a result, he falls into a batting slump. Her surname, Paris, is a mythological allusion to the Greek mythology of the city Troy. Paris was a young prince of Troy who abducted the queen of Sparta, Helen who was considered to be the most beautiful woman on earth. Because of this, Menelaus, the king of Mycenaean Sparta along with his brother and the Greek army invaded Troy and tore it down into ruins. In the process, most of Pariss family was killed, all due to the fact that he fell in love with Helen. This mythological reference is a warning to both the reader and Roy that his childish lust for Memo will eventually lead to his ultimate downfall. This warning is also given out by Pop Fisher after Roys date with Memo, she is unlucky and always has been and I think that there is some kind of whammy in her that carries her luck to other people. Thats why I would like you to watch out and not get too tied up with her. In Greek mythology, the sirens are bird-women who sing songs to enchant sailors to their death through shipwreck. Memo is similar to the sirens in a way that she is the temptress who like the sirens lead Roy to his death, that is, the death of his baseball career. Memo is the temptress who leads Roy to his downfall, but Iris on the other hand can be seen as her direct opposite, the woman can lead Roy to fulfill his destiny, that is to heal Pop Fisher and the Knights. This healing to the Knights is accomplished when The long rain had turned the grass green and as the grass on the field grew, the team starts win games. When Iris hesitantly rose for the second time, she is seen wearing a red dress with dark hair. After Bump died Memo is seen wearing black mourning dress and black pyjamas with red hair. Iriss hair having the colour as Memos dress and Memos hair having the same colour of Iriss dress is a reference to the fact that Memo and Iris are complete opposites, while one sucks the energy and life out of Roy, the other rejuvenates and provides a life-giving force that gave him energy. Although towards the end of the book, Roy makes the wrong choice of choosing Memo instead of Iris due to his childish lust and sexual impulse. He continues to seek to break records instead of focusing on his true goals to rejuvenate Pop Fisher and the Knights. Despite Iriss gentleness, powers that helped him though his slump and dissimilarity from Memo as she is not the type of dame I always fell forthey werent like you. He ignores the hints that Iris is the one that he is destined to be with, because he is afraid of the responsibilities of being with Iris, as she is a grandmother, which in turn would make him a grandfather. Warned multiple times, by Pops warning, she weakens a man, her surname name Paris, her sick breast and her complete opposite nature to Iris, Roy does not realize that Memo is the temptress and his true goals as a vegetative god along with his potential destiny with Iris until it was too late.

Introduction to Romanticism Essay -- essays research papers

For many years, this period and these writers were known as the American Renaissance, a coin termed by F.O. Matthiessen in his book of that name in 1941. This book set the parameters of how to read and connect these writers until relatively recently, when its limitations, especially in terms of defining the "canon" of literary giants and what made them (all male) "giants" have been recognized and challenged. However, the term is still useful to some degree. It is a misnomer, if one thinks of the period as a time of rebirth of some earlier literary greatness, as the European Renaissance, because there was nothing to be "reborn." The great writers of this period, roughly 1840-1865 although more particularly 1850-1855, marked the first maturing of American letters. It was a Renaissance in the sense of a flowering, excitement over human possibilities, and a high regard for individual ego. It was definitely and even defiantly American, as these writers strugg led to understand what "American" could possibly mean, especially in terms of a literature which was distinctively American and not British. Their inability to resolve this struggle--and it was even more a personal one than a nationalistic one, for it questioned their identity and place in society--did much to fire them creatively. However, we will call this American romanticism, though it shares many characteristics with British romanticism. It flourished in the glow of Wordsworth's poetic encounter with nature and himself in The Prelude, Coleridge's literary theories about the reconciliation of opposites, the romantic posturings and irony of Byron, the lush imagery of Keats, and the transcendental lyricism of Shelley, even the Gothicism of Mary Shelley and the Bronte sisters. Growing from the rhetoric of salvation, guilt, and providential visions of Puritanism, the wilderness reaches of this continent, and the fiery rhetoric of freedom and equality, though, the American brand of romanticism developed its own character, especially as these writers tried self-consciously to be new and original. The glory years were 1850-1855. What was it in American culture and British influences that led to the incredible flowering of masterpieces in this era: Emerson's Representative Men, Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, The House of Seven Gables, Melville's Moby-Dick and Pierre,... ...arative contact, but they are useful and important ones. Perhaps we will risk some confusion here and certainly we will have to neglect some biographical context as we "mix and match" writers. But we will be able to focus on those ideas which united (and even divided) them that makes us able to call them all "romantics." After we have read a work, we will "revive" it in discussions of later topics, taking the different perspective, for there must a certain arbitrariness in "assigning" a work to only one theme. Great and complex works must not be limited like that! So rather than progressing through time and historical/biographical contexts, we will keep circling recursively (as Emerson says we must), seeing how the different works and writers explore the major aspects of romantic thought and art. Our base is necessarily Emerson, the literary giant of his time in America, for better or worse. Though his writing is often difficult to read, it was, in fact, the match that lit all of the creative fires of his time. He put his pen on all of the sensitive spots in the American creative psyche; Whitman was not the only one to "boil."

Helping Chinese Consumers Essay

QuarkMan Technology was founded in 2012 by David Yuan. As the Chinese domestic consumption continues to grow at a rapid speed, consumers need a reliable source for independent and impartial review of products to find the quality and functionality. The mission of the company is one of â€Å"unveiling products’ essence in an independent, professional, and powerful way.† The two core principles are â€Å"Independence† and â€Å"Fairness†. QuarkMan has set up two business units, Information Advisory and Media. The reports and data obtained by the testing of products are handled by the Information Advisory unit and the Media unit takes this information and displays it in a user friendly way so that consumers can make educated decisions. QuarkMan Media is further divided into Jancr which is the consumer goods testing division and China Consumer Report which is the communication division responsible for settling disputes between the consumer and manufacturer. SWOT ANALYSIS for QuarkMan Strengths Manages their own lab and return team Strong relationship with third party labs and research institution labs State of the art testing lab with 400 pieces of equipment and 3000 square meters External expert network from numerous industries In-house lab is a stand-along profitable business unit which finances the media unit Weaknesses Hard for an independent and fair media company to be profitable in China In order to remain independent, advertisements on their website is not an option Majority of the testing resources are owned by the government affiliated consumer associations, industry associations and government research institutes A big chunk of the capacity has a very low utilization rate Takes 2-3 weeks for QuarkMan to deliver one product review and others longer QuarkMan struggling with capacity issues Opportunities No mature player conducting comparative tests and analysis across different industries The third party testing market was controlled by the government but has now become a huge and rapidly growing market QuarkMan currently handling six product categories but have the opportunity to handle more Exhibit 4 – Private only handles 10% of the current market share Threats Private sector is growing at a CAGR of 25% Speed is a key factor for the high growth rate New players in the market have gained decent traffic from more frequent content releases Exhibit 4 – Foreign markets only handle 25% of the current market share Problem/Decision Statement How can QuarkMan influence consumer perception of their brand and business values and thus gain their trust and business? Identification of Alternatives Consider advertisements as a revenue stream with the use of a 3rd party to manage the sale and pay a portion back to QuarkMan so independency and objectivity is upheld. Use these funds to mark the business philosophy of QuarkMan to gain additional market share. Obtain additional financing through other interested parties and use revenues to promote the business model and use additional financing funds to expand testing resources and improve turnaround time and reach more consumers Critical Issues Impact on current and potential consumers and their ability to trust QuarkMan if they attempt to raise revenue revenues through advertising The use of a 3rd party to manage advertisement while increasing revenue and the effects on their ability to stay independent and transparent to the consumer Significant lead time to bring products to market and the limit number of product reviews that can be completed times. The use of a 3rd party to manage advertising would directly go against the company’s core principles of Independence and fairness thus leading to more mistrust. Analysis Consider advertisements as a revenue stream with the use of a 3rd party to manage the sale and pay a portion back to QuarkMan so independency and objectivity is upheld. Use these funds to mark the business philosophy of QuarkMan to gain additional market share. The current market has a distrust of the industry because of the lack of transparency and the blurred lines between the agency reviewing the produce and the product manufactures. The current Chinese consumer agency is not transparent and the government plays such a significant role in the reviews because of this the consumers do not trust any consumer reports. QuarkMan’s guiding principles of independence and fairness will be viewed as conflicting with any advertisement from a manufacturing. This conflict will add to more doubt from their consumers. Obtain additional financing through other interested parties and use revenues to promote the business model and use additional financing funds to expand testing resources and improve turnaround time and reach more consumers This alternative would allow for additional revenues while not compromising their independence and fairness. QuarkMan can continue to market their product and services through current media channels and bring awareness to their strong brand name and transparency while setting them apart from the current competition. This will help to generate long term customer loyalty. Additional revenues can strengthen their 3rd party testing environment and help to reduce the lead times and number of products able to be reviewed at one time. They can further expand the types of products they review and be able to reach more potential customers. Recommendation The recommendation based on the entire analysis would be to obtain additional financing through other interested parties and use revenues to promote the business model and expand testing resources to improve turnaround time and reach more consumers. This alternative would allow for additional revenues while not compromising their independence and fairness. QuarkMan can continue to market their product and services through current media channels and bring awareness to their strong brand name and transparency while setting them apart from the current competition. This will help to generate long term customer loyalty. Additional revenues can strengthen their 3rd party testing environment and help to reduce the lead times and number of products able to be reviewed at one time. They can further expand the types of products they review and be able to reach more potential customers.

Stereotypes Of The Virgin And The Vamp - 824 Words

Fox and Bailenson (2009) also mention that the stereotypes of the virgin and the vamp characters lead to Gick and Fiske s (1996) theory of benevolent and hostile sexism. Benevolent sexism is the belief that women are weak and in need of male protection and leadership. (Fox and Bailenson, 2009 in Gick and Fiske, 1996). On the other hand, hostile sexism, promoted by the vamp stereotype, entails antagonistic beliefs that women are domineering and try to control men sexually. (Fox and Bailenson, 2009 in Gick and Fiske, 1996). Many gender activists believe that this is one of the reasons why there aren t many female heroes since the birth of video games – because women are seen as mere sex objects and physically incapable. Moreover, a study by Eastin (2006) showed that when male and female players are playing as a male character, low levels of aggression were generated towards female agents. Although this doesn t show any signs of misogyny, it may still be sexism to some people. The same low levels of aggression were showed when the players played against female opponents controlled by both computer and human. This may be seen as benevolent sexism (Gick and Fiske, 1996) – some people in the modern society are influenced to think that women are physically incapable thus they do not need to be taken seriously (causing player to be less aggressive). Behm-Morawitz Mastro (2009) carried out a study on self-efficacy and received results that showed females whoseShow MoreRelatedThe Representation of Females in the Media Essay2715 Words   |  11 Pageshalf clad, half witted and needing to be rescued by quick thinking fully clothed men (Stereotypes, Adelson 1990). Women are most commonly portrayed as sexual objects and housewives; whose lives revolve around landing the right man. When women are in the news, their role is often trivialized. World leaders are described in terms of their hats or dress designers (Benedict, Virgin or Vamp, 1992). 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