Cantebury Tales - Relation Of Wife Of Bath To Contemporary Women Essay

Hundreds of centuries before the fourteenth century, during it and yet still after, civilization, led by the educated theologians, politicians and whoever else made up the ruling class, women were looked at as the Devil’s ally – a sensual and deceitful creature who was a constant bearer of sin and the cause of most of man’s misfortune. Women then and now may look upon most of these â€Å"devilish† characteristics as desirable, strong-willed and feministic. Chaucer appears to support women and specifically these devilish feminists by creating two very strong-willed and successful women in the Wife of Bath and the old hag in the Wife’s tale. However, through all of the tough outer attributes, on the inside are the same classic and traditional damsels in distress that require a man just like the women of that time always had. Through the original strong qualities of the two women, Chaucer provides a hopeful example and model for women of now and then. Furthermore, by giving these women some stronger, domineering and â€Å"masculine† features Chaucer is terrifically satirizing the gender roles and stereotypes of the time. Along with all of these strong feminist messages also come out anti-feminism ideals about keeping women in a certain role, causing a lengthy and intelligent debate upon what Chaucer really meant. All of these reasons are why it is important to discuss and understand The Wife of Bath’s relation and influence on contemporary women. Chaucer’s main target of his satirical wit and criticism throughout his Canterbury Tales is the Anglo-Saxon church and even though in this tale he focuses more on the gender debate his fiery scorn and contempt of the corrupt church and its disciples is embodied in the Wife’s prologues first three lines: â€Å"Experience, though no authority, Were in this world, were good enough for me, To speak of woe that is in all marriage;† Here Chaucer, through the eyes of a women, points out that there is far too much reliance on authority, meaning the opinions of older and perhaps ancient writers. This sort of authority was responsible for the horrible distortion of woman’s character and place in society and thus Chaucer felt his satirical and sarcastic attack about love in marriage was necessary. Chaucer does it through the Wife of Bath as a medium to reach the hopelessly ignorant women of the time should they hear of the tale. The Wife o... ...When he had leisure and took some vacation, From all his other worldly occupation, To read, within this book, of wicked wives.† His reading of â€Å"wicked wives† and clearly anti-feminist literature is a perfect example of she no longer having control as is her husbands statement: â€Å"A woman fair, save she be chaste also, Is like a ring of gold in a sow's nose.† By this he means a fair and good woman is no more than an ornament or accessory to her man. Clearly if he was being mastered by a woman he would not make statements such as these. The Wife of Bath, Dame Alice, portrays and exhibits numerous qualities of a strong and confident woman and an unknown feminist. Furthermore, these characteristics are what women nowadays point to as Chaucer’s bravery to point out and criticize the unfair treatment of women over the centuries and eras. Unfortunately for them, Chaucer was not quite as brilliant and innovative as contemporary women would like to think. As evident with the hypocrisy showed by the Wife of Bath. In conclusion, The Wife of Bath definitely has some strong positive messages for contemporary women and even yet he deeper shows them what not to do with the hypocrisy of the Wife.

Deviation from Social Code: Analysis of Characters and Theme of The Age of Innocence

Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence (1920) is a detailed depiction of social conventions and decorum of the high society of New York during the late 19th century. One of the central themes of the novel is the struggle of an individual inside a rigid society. Order, loyalty, tradition and duty are the values upheld by the society where Newland Archer grew up. He is a lawyer, engaged to be married to May Welland, raised to be a perfect wife and mother according to society’s standards (Wharton, 1998).These same rules and standards dictate that she pretends to be ignorant of her fiance’s feelings toward Countess Ellen Olenska. For a long time, Newland and Ellen had to sacrifice their desires and feelings in order to maintain order in society. Society in The Age of Innocence shapes and directs the life of an individual, sacrificing what they truly want and truly believe in. Society’s forms and conventions decide how one should think and behave. Society’ s primary agent of its laws is the family, specifically the old money families belonging to the high society New York.These are the families with inherited wealth which separates them from the lower class. Their wealth is an important dimension in stratification because it ensures the financial stability of the future generation of the family. Their â€Å"old money† allows them a luxurious lifestyle without having the need to work. The greatest manifestation of the importance of order is seen in family. It is the foremost duty of the individual to promote and protect the harmony of his/her blood and marital relationships.The family disapproved Ellen’s decision to divorce his husband despite his being abusive and cruel to her. For them, it was just natural to endure little sacrifices to maintain the family. By going against their principles, she became an outcast; someone who is pitiful. At first, Newland was hesitant to be associated with Ellen. She has a bad reputatio n and he wanted nothing to do with her. However, the family expected him to help bring Ellen out in the public so he was forced to enter the Mingott’s opera box and introduce himself.And of course eventually, they hide their true feelings in fear of hurting their family. Following this duty to the family and society, a code of morality dictates the actions and thinking of the individual in whatever aspect of his/her life. May informed Newland of her passion by letting him guess that she â€Å"cares† for him as this is the only way a love of a young unmarried woman should be declared. She must conform to society’s perfect portrayal of a young maiden ? sexually innocent and ignorant on matters about affairs and passion (Barker-Benfield, 2000).She was fist seen with white lilies in the valley, unaware of sexual implications of the scenes in the play she is watching. Later in the book, it was established that from the start she was aware of Newland’s feelings towards the Countess but she chose to remain silent and follow the code of ignorance. Despite this knowledge, her wedding at Grace Church must continue to maintain the order on how things should be done. Newland has his own list of socially mandated duties according to Lawrence Lefferts and Sillerton Jackson, expert on manners and expert on family matters, respectively.Order in society is maintained through these rarefied practices to continue the continued existence of the civilization. The social code is strictly enforced by society which compromises the personal freedom of the individual (Charles, Davies & Harris, 2008). Sometimes a family member has to let go of his/her personal wants and follow the decision of the family to avoid economic and political sanctions. Newland and Ellen could not pursue each other in order to maintain their social integrity. Even a simple walk together cannot be done without arousing suspicion.To be divorced to a husband is frowned by society eventh ough that husband treats you badly, go out with other women even men. Her family wanted her to seek reconciliation with her husband in order to reaffirm the values of society. When she refused to do so, they cut off her allowance as a consequence for her decision. In the end, Ellen chose to maintain her individuality by leaving America, a price she had to pay. She was forced out of New York, condemned by her own family, who believed that she and Newland are having a secret affair.Newland defended the right of Ellen to be with another man: † ‘I'm sick of the hypocrisy that would bury alive a woman of her age if her husband prefers to live with harlots†¦ Women ought to be free – as free as we are,' he declared, making a discovery of which he was too irritated to measure the terrific consequences. † (Wharton, Book One, Chapter 5, p. 35) He condemned the double-standard prevalent in the society where a man can seek sexual pleasures outside a failed marriage but the woman cannot.He may have progressive views but he was unaware of their implications in his own very traditional marriage. But these codes exist not without loopholes. Those who found these loopholes are often despised but still accepted in the society. Hypocrisy is common and rampant in Old New York high society. Families attend balls and gatherings hosted by the same person they contempt for being so common who they would gladly exile following the collapse of his business. Lawrence Lefferts claims to be an expert in Christian virtues while snubbing Ellen for being a divorcee.Newland is aware that if he leaves May for Ellen, society’s sympathy will pour for May. She told Ellen of her pregnancy despite being unsure of it to drive her away from Newland. She was aware of Newland’s passion for Ellen but did not say anything. This society, with its rigid rules and conventions, was challenged by the arrival of a new society symbolized by the Beauforts and Countess Ellen Olenska. Though they were not successful in blending and harmonizing with the old society’s tradition, they opened new possibilities of otherwise closed-minded individuals.Towards the end of the novel, it became clear that a new order has taken over with fresh ideas and movements. They began to consider and attribute importance to different things such as interesting and artistic people. There was an obvious change of attitude to people like the Beauforts. Beaufort’s illegitimate daughter, Fanny, and her marriage with Dallas Archer were not objected by society. In fact they were fond of her bright personality. Society did not post any obstacle to Newland and Ellen being together but Newland was so stuck in the past that he failed to recognize that time has changed.

Global Wine Wars Essay

1. How did the French become the dominant competitors in the increasingly global wine industry for centuries? What sources of competitive advantage were they able to develop to support their exports? Where were they vulnerable? French wine makers also face challenges that are not internal to the industry. For instance, France lost market share in the United States due to informal boycotts in the wake of the Iraq war. The rise of the euro against other currencies, such as the 30% increase relative to the dollar in the last few years, has put French wines at a comparative cost disadvantage. But consensus among experts is that the primary threat to the French export market is internal to the industry: the inability of the appellation system to appeal to what is becoming a global way of understanding wines (Business Report, 2004). France is the largest overall producer of wine, at 5. 3 billion liters of wine in 2001, 20% of world production. France has traditionally set the standard for quality wine as well as defining these standards. French viticulture laws mandates four levels of quality as 1) Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) 2) vins delimite qualite superieure (VDQS) 3) vins du pays and 4) vins du table. French wine makers also face challenges that are not internal to the industry. For instance, France lost market share in the United States due to informal boycotts in the wake of the Iraq war. The rise of the euro against other currencies, such as the 30% increase relative to the dollar in the last few years, has put French wines at a comparative cost disadvantage. But consensus among experts is that the primary threat to the French export market is internal to the industry: the inability of the appellation system to appeal to what is becoming a global way of understanding wines (Business Report, 2004). Although France has been slow to adapt to changing production and consumption trends it was an early player in international partnering and acquisition. The first joint venture was Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s venture with Robert Mondavi to create Opus One in 1979. Gallic presence in the Napa sparkling wine industry is strong as Domaine Caneros, Domain Chandon, Mumm Cuvee Napa, Pieper-Sonoma, and Roederer Estate are all owned by French champagne houses. Pernod Ricard owns wineries in Australia, Argentina, Chile and Spain (Economist, 1999). Most (90%) production is concentrated in California. Started primarily by French and Italian immigrants in the late 1800’s, California’s winemaking tradition is only a few generations old and was interrupted by Prohibition. A global reputation for fine wine is even more recent, when two Napa Valley wines won gold medals at a 1976 blind-tasting competition in Paris, a victory unexpected by the rest of the world, including many Americans (Lukcas, 2000). The US adapted the French appellation system with over 130 approved American Vineyard Appellations ranging in size from the multi-state Ohio River Valley to the smallest, Cole Ranch, a 150 acre property in Mendocino County (Wine Institute, 2003). One of the most acclaimed appellations is Napa Valley. Most American winemakers also label by varietal if a wine contains at least 75% of that varietal by volume. 2. What changes in the global industry structure and competitive dynamics led France and other traditional producers to lose market share to challengers from Australia, United States, and other New World countries in the late twentieth century? International competition on the wine market is characterized by a considerable disparity of strategies used by the different producers and wine-producing regions around the world. New World Challenges Old With the emergence of New World players in the global wine industry many of the Old World players have been losing market share. At first France, Italy, Spain, and Germany simply laughed at the wine-making techniques of the new players -U. S, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. However, it quickly became apparent that the newcomers pose a serious threat to the traditional winemakers. The French were especially hurt when they began to lose their global market share as well as the coveted U. K. market to the Australians. Allows analysis of the way in which newcomers can change the rules of competitive engagement in a global industry. How incumbents can respond, especially when constrained by regulation, tradition, embedded values, and a different set of capabilities than those demanded by the emerging market by changing consumer tastes and market structures. The case contrasts the tradition-bound Old World wine industry with the market-oriented New World producers, the battle for the US market, the most desirable export target in 2009 due to its large, fast-growing, high priced market segments. REINVENTING THE MARKETING MODEL: New World producers revolutionized the packaging and marketing aspects of wine making. Americans and Australians greatly impacted wine packaging by replacing the Old World standard liter bottle with a half-gallon flagon in the U. S. and the innovative â€Å"wine-in-a-box† package in Australia. Australians have been praised for this idea because boxed wine not only saves on shipping costs but it has made storage easier for consumers. Australians have also begun to use screw on caps rather than the traditional corks on premium wines; this is to prevent spoiling due to deficient corks. On the marketing side, New World producers began to differentiate their products to attract customers unaccustomed to wine. Ripple, an American wine was said to be unsophisticated wine and was marketed toward customers unaccustomed to wine. It was wildly successful and led to an increase in branding and marketing alike. These were not the only major changes driven by New World companies, another was distribution. Previously the tasks of grape growing, wine making, distribution, and marketing were handled by different entities, many of which lacked the scale and knowledge to function proficiently. â€Å"In contrast, the large wine companies from the New World typically controlled the full value chain, extracting margins at every level and retaining bargaining power with increasingly concentrated retailers. † Since these producers held responsibility at every level, the quality of the final product was immaculate. Wine Traditionalists felt the New World’s established grape-growing and wine-making ways were embarrassing. Arguing that in their drive for efficiency, consistency, and their desires to cater to less sophisticated palates, New World producers had lost the character that came with more vintage wines made in the traditional fashion. Annoying Old World producers even further was the fact that new wineries would name their wines Burgundy, Champagne,†¦ 3. What advice would you offer today to the French Minister of Agriculture? To the head of the French wine industry association? To the owner of a mid-size, well regarded Bordeaux vineyard producing wines in the premium and super premium categories? Evaluation of different strategies †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Premium & Standard wine market Creation of an accessible French brand The Global wine company (acquisitions and mergers) â€Å"Appellation d’origine controlee† and competitive disadvantage Protectionism versus being marketing oriented.

Being and Becoming: Becoming by Being Essay

Pre-Socratic era was marked by periods from Thales of Miletus until that period when Socrates philosophy was yet to be born.   It was during this period when the fundamentals of science (both natural and social were being founded using scientific research and inquiry, and where philosophy and practical science were still married.   Sophos tried to understand and explain the origin, nature, elements, development and workings of the universe by way of argumentative reasoning, critical inquiry and justifications. Pre-Socratic philosophy was mainly characterized by its elements such as essence, change/absolute, harmony and its effort to understand the essential substance of a thing that caused its existence and the dynamic movement it undergoes (changes) to be known as what it is today.   Among the famous thinkers of this period were Thales, Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Democritus and Parmenides. Whereas pre-Socratic philosophers have had formulated a common line of thought, disparity was inevitable.   Among the arguments that showed differences of the philosophy of that period was Parmenides’ theory of Being and Heraclitus’ theory of Becoming.   Heraclitus argued that the existence of everything was brought about by nothing and that it continuously exists through constant change or by undergoing a dynamic transformation.   What is more striking about the concept of change for Heraclitus is the concept of change within. According to him, it is that contradiction of elements/substance within the object that caused it to transform and that to cause its change, an external intervening need not to be imposed.   Accordingly, for Heraclitus, the world is a continuous struggle and strife, hence it needs change. In contrast, while the internal aspect of an existing element undergoes alterations, the process by which an element transforms is ever constant. Through the understanding of the nature of an element, Heraclitus recognized that the fixed states of being are all part of the varied state of perpetual becoming1.   In humans, the processes of giving birth, living, dying and rebirth are all changes that a person passes through.   However, such pattern is a never-ending cycle, after all.   What will â€Å"become† of a matter is a product of the dynamic development it subjects itself through a never ceasing rhythm. Contrary to Heraclitus’, while Parmenides likewise argued that an object exists because it does exist (that no other factor that may explain the causality of its existence), he failed to recognize if it ever underwent an evolutionary state, thus making it the â€Å"being† as it is today.   Because Parmenides believed – and apparently refuted Heraclitus – that the universe was already at the state of stability, why should it be basking on the process of modification? Everything is what it is because it is what it is and it cannot become what it is not. Both arguments are of much interest specifically in understanding how do we â€Å"become† or what make us came to â€Å"being†.   Later on during Plato’s time, both arguments could be reconciled by proposing that, what might â€Å"become† is caused by a â€Å"being†. However, unlike the foregoing arguments of Heraclitus’ and Parmenides, it is apparent that the reconciliation of the arguments were based on the thought that, indeed, there is a â€Å"first cause† that is never changing but rather causes the â€Å"second being† to become what it is today.   Note that both the initially mentioned thinkers do not believe on something that might have caused on object to exist. What could be more difficult in the understanding of this discourse is the process of analyzing concepts that flourished centuries apart and merging them into one critical explanation such that conflict resolution could be gained. References: __________. Philosophy Pages. In Britannica Internet Guide Selection. Retrieved April 11, 2008, from http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/p.htm#parm __________. (April 16, 2002). Pre-Socratic Era. Posted to http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=628825 Ballantyne, Paul F., Ph.D. History and Theory of Psychology: An Early 21st Century Student’s Perspective. (2008). Retrieved April 10, 2008, from www.comnet.ca/~pballan/section1(210).htm Goodman, Len E. (1992). Avicenna:Arabic Thought and Culture (pp 53-54). Routledge. Retrieved April 12, 2008, from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=VJ6x-pcqMicC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=resolving+the+argument+of+being+and+becoming&source=web&ots=gctA47HxTQ&sig=R0YNJ23QzZlvTpaLA5XclFgdKfY&hl=en#PPR5,M1 Rose, Jake. Being and Becoming. In Ezine Articles. Retrieved April 11, 2008, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Being-and-Becoming&id=148729   

Compare and Analyse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Compare and Analyse - Essay Example This has been caused by a sudden advancement in times and seasons. The times when general technology as well and information technology was left for the media alone, no longer exist (Wherle, 2009, pg76). Currently, almost everyone in the world is an IT expert since people have the idea of how to use a technology. However, it should be considered that this is the main aspect of life, that has witnessed a continuous advancement, hence emergence of the term technology development. Documentaries have been made using technology. Bob Dylan’s â€Å"Don’t look back† and Michael’s â€Å"Roger and Me†, are some to the documentaries that portrays a sense of a well used technology (Pennebaker, 1968, pg65). This essay compares the two documentary’s use of technology. Where, apart from the message in the movies, technology has proved a phenomenon to put into considering when watching this movie. First, it is noted here that, the media portrays a gap between message and medium, where Dylan’s’ manager by the name Albert Grossman who is the movie producer airs his client. Many will take this incident as a bad omen, however to him; he literally does it without thinking or rather taking it as a bad omen. Notably, during the cutting and editing of the documentary, it is clear as per the presentations that Grossman’s presence is felt (Eason, 2010, pg26). As much as this might be considered as an artistic job, the truth is that it portrayed a flattering idea at the edge. In this context, it can be noted that the question of centralization became centrally framed; this is evident prior to the presentation of each character. The film is made to be viewed in a very different phenomenon. The sound of observational documentary such as Don’t Look Back is muddy that makes it difficult for a person to differentiate particular person speech and the general uproar. In essence, the quality of the sound in the documentary is wanting since it is difficult to distinguish a

Lost In the Mall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lost In the Mall - Essay Example This paper stresses that the old Chicago post office was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White in 1921. The nine story tall building was always bustling with activity but there were many problems that surrounded it. As the study outlines Franzen begins the story of â€Å"Lost in the Mall† with a hypothesis which is a good direction for any novelist to conduct his inquiry. The main goal he had in mind was to crack open the scandal of the Chicago Post Office. The hypothesis, on which Franzen bases his story, is the notoriety of the goings on in the post office. He decries the way it worked because it had earned the name of being the largest postal system in the world, but yet the post office was considered the worst in postal deliveries and services and at one time, it almost came to a virtual halt, as the system got clogged with about 10 million mails when they experienced a logjam. The sorting method had failed miserably and was not capable of keeping up with the demand. It was this notorious incident that triggered a full scale investigation which in turn called for a total reorganization of the Postal system in Chicago. The old building had to be vacated when a new and modern building t ook its place and culminated into what is called the U.S Postal service in the year 1971.

Tourism in Norway Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tourism in Norway - Essay Example Tourism can be described as travel from one geographical area to another in accomplishment of recreational desires, leisure, educational purposes or business issues. In some cases, tourism has been seen a kind of sporting activity especially when the participants travel for recreational and leisure purposes. Tourism involves visits to certain geographical features and fantastic scenes that exist in the world. Tourists participating in tourism may be individuals from international spectrum or internal citizens living within the country that is the tourist destination. Tourism activities have huge benefits to the economy of the countries that act as the preferred tourist destination. Upon visits to various regions to see the fantastic scenes, tourists make huge payment for the access to the particular regions of preference. The collected tax from the tourism activity passes to the governments of the individual destinations, who ultimately use the revenues in financing various national projects for the benefits of the entire citizens. Norway is one such country with exemplary and attractive tourists’ destinations. The Norwegian tourism sites have earned the country superb income that has been used in financing and purchasing development programs of national importance. The history tourism in Norway illuminates the British lords as the first fishing tourists to visit the country (Aas 282). The British lords were mainly interested in fishing of salmons that inhabited most of the Norwegian rivers. Aas (282) elucidates that the current trend of marine fishing in Norway has been dominated by the German tourists who buy fishing trips from the Norwegian and foreign tour operators. According to Aas (282), most of the fishing tourists within Europe travel to particular tourisms destinations in Norway by the use of cars and planes. Currently, most of the tourists travelling from Germany to Norway have been using special fishing charters. Aas (282) confirms that most of the fishing tourists visiting Norway prefer catching the halibut, cod and coalfish species. Aas (282) further reports that most of the fish caught during fishing tourism are meant for consumption by the individual tourists during their stay in the tourism destination. It is worth noting that most of the tourism fishing in the Norwegian marine waters is not regulated and this has resulted to dilapidation of the fishing grounds. Aas (282) further reports that fish tourism in Norway reaches its peak especially during summer seasons when the temperatures are high. Fish tourism sport in Norway mainly involves sailing of small boat provided by the tour operators and takes place near the shore of the coast. Aas (282) adds that some tourism operators provide larger boats to their clients who sail to conduct fishing in deep seas away from the shore. In move to ensure security and keep track of the fishing tourists on board, most boats area fitted with GPS and echo sounders that helps in d etection of any impediment. Fishing tourism in Norway has developed at an alarming rate with about 1000 companies carrying operations along the coastlines of Norway, with well-equipped facilities for comfortable tourism. Aas (282) discloses that families mainly own most of the fishing tourism companies along the coast of Norway. According to Aas (282), marine fishing tourism in Norway is well developed along the southern parts of coast with anticipated future growth along the northern parts of the coast. In the views of Aas (282), fishing tourism in Norway has been a stable source of employment opportunities considering the fact that it takes place through all seasons of the year. Fishing tourism in Norway has enabled the local gather deep information and knowledge on how to utilize fishing infrastructure to commercially exploit the fishing bays. According to Slavastog, the Norwegian government has structured efficient plan to encourage domestic tourism (14). It is also evident that tourism in general ranks at the second