The Big Sleep †Film Essay

The Big Sleep – Film Essay Free Online Research Papers The film script can be seen as a nexus, an intermediary point between the world of literature and the visual world of cinema (Hueso, 221). In order to negotiate these two worlds to get from a novel to a film some form of adaptation is necessary. Howard Hawks’s, 1946 version of The Big Sleep, is, in this respect, not just as a visual retelling of Raymond Chandler’s novel but also an adaptation, with its own purposes, themes and emphases. Hawks’s ‘revised, revamped and renovated’ (Abbott, 313) story has several key differences from Chandler’s original but perhaps it is in what remains that the core messages of The Big Sleep can be found. The omissions and additions that the script writers opted for have made certain critics, Abbott and Athanasourelis among them; believe that Chandler’s complex and gritty critique of society has been sanitised by the Hollywood production machine. In part this argument can be backed up by the overwhelming evidence that The Big Sleep was intended as a ‘star vehicle’ (Athanasourelis, 335) to capitalise on the success of Lauren Bacall (Vivian Regan/Rutledge) and Humphrey Bogart (Philip Marlowe). Some scenes in particular, for example Vivian’s singing, have little plot value but mimic a similar occasion in Hawks’s first Bogart and Bacall picture, To Have and Have Not. Similarly, Vivian’s character is given a much more dynamic and active role in the narrative simply to include more scenes for the two stars. The aspect which has been most criticised however, is the way Chandler’s original characters, and the antipathy between them, have been we akened to allow for a traditional romance structure and a â€Å"happy† or at least enclosed ending. The loose ends of Chandler’s final pages (where Eddie has yet to be dealt with; Vivian and Marlowe part ways with rancour and our final view of Marlowe is at a bar drinking alone) are replaced by a balanced frame showing Vivian and Marlowe, shoulder to shoulder, looking out at the approaching sirens together and then turning to face each other. This image of solidarity and harmony is symptomatic of the trajectory of the rest of the plot; where, in the novel, Marlowe is alone or with other women, as in his captivity in Art Tuck’s house; Vivian is inserted into the scene to assure a romance angle. This comfortable, because so traditional, addition to the plot may be a refusal to acknowledge the complexity and unredeemable qualities of Chandler’s characters but it is also a product of its historical context. Not only were Bogart and Bacall hot property at the time, leading to executive decisions to increase their number of scenes together, but also a happy ending was almost obligatory. Since 1927, Hollywood had instigated ‘a self-regulating mechanism, the Motion Picture Producers and Directors Association, whose strictures, commonly referred to as the Production Code†¦[were] a stringently enforced censoring mechanism that shaped narratives according to perceived mainstream moral values’ (Athanasourelis, 325). The Production Code performed ‘ideological censorship’ (Athanasourelis, 325), insisting on a â€Å"happy ending† specifically, the romantic attachment of a monogamous heterosexual couple. These industry strictures can account fo r some of the variations that occur from text to screen, for example, the romance or Regan’s transformation from husband to employee, in order to free Vivian from emotional attachment. According to Athansourelis, (332) it also explains the rather neat ending, where Marlowe confronts Eddie, who is hinted as the murderer of Regan and who, in a moment of cosmic justice, is gunned down by his own men. The Production Code Officials were challenged by Hawks to some up with a new ending and they did so, conveniently laying guilt on Eddie Mars. This may explain, or at least excuse, the rather torturous manipulations of the final confrontation, the censors ‘were concerned, not with narrative credibility or aesthetics, but solely with placing the white and black hats firmly on the appropriate heads’ (Athanasourelis, 332). By making Eddie guilty they remove the criminal threat entirely. They also allow for an opposing view of criminality to appear than that which the novel seems to express. The film supports Jerry Palmer’s idea that crime fiction ‘asserts, at root, that the world does not contain any sources of conflict: trouble comes from the people who are rotten, but whose rottenness is in no way connected with the nature of the world they infect’ (Thrillers, p 87). Such a simplistic view of the world is endorsed by the film’s ending at least, if not by the rest of the action, as it neatly places criminal behaviour within specific strata of society. This is in direct contrast to Chandler’s open-ended and unresolved ending and to the novel’s refusal to reassure readers. Rather than a comforting portrayal of criminality as abnormality more in keeping with Golden Age crime fiction the noir detective ‘discovers darkness everywhere’ (R. Palmer, 73). Chandler does not allow us, as readers, to comply with the facile judgement that ‘crime is committed only by a distinct social class’ and his unresolved and complex narrative confronts ‘his readers with the possibility that, even if they are not directly affected by crime, it is impossible not to live within its reach†™ (Athanasourelis, 327). It is not only plot additions that drastically alter Chandler’s narrative but omissions as well. The Big Sleep has often been seen as an extremely convoluted narrative, which is further complicated by the industry’s insistence that for reasons of morality the drugs, pornography and homosexual aspects of the text must be removed. That these still remain in the subtext of the film is a testament to the power of Chandler’s plot, which cannot merely be torn apart and, perhaps, to Hawks’s own subversive attitude. Of particular interest in terms of the overall tone and mood of the piece are the omissions regarding the Sternwood sisters and the character of Marlowe. Carmen is given a smaller role in the film, removing the ruthless scene where she tries to shoot Marlowe, and Vivian, whilst still manipulative, is ultimately subordinate to Marlowe as his love interest and his (though admittedly sassy) sidekick. This again, has much to do with the mood of Hollywood a nd America in the 1940’s. Having just come out of the second world war there was an increased displacement and maladjustment for men upon returning home (Maltby, 45) and an increased anxiety over masculinity. This anxiety over sexuality may account for the sister’s less powerful roles and the number of female characters who make themselves sexually available to Marlowe: the bookshop girl, the taxi driver and so on. In this climate of concern over male and female roles it was imperative that women be subdued and subordinated to men. Showing a ‘spoilt, exacting, smart and quite ruthless’ daughter and a ‘child who likes to pull wings off flies’ (Chandler, 18) may be more psychologically interesting but it is an image of threatening female power. In order to remove these menacing elements of the novel the ‘slithering twin threats’ of the Sternwood sisters are transformed into ‘a petty nuisance’- Carmen is less vicious than in the novel – and ‘a redeemed love interest’ (Abbott, 306). Likewise, the character of Marlowe undergoes some alteration. Chandler’s Marlowe is a more or less honourable man, who works for his money (quote ) a wisecracking, witty detective, much as Bogart plays him, but he is also a man who plays chess alone rather than interacting with people (Chandler, 150-151), ‘a man who can be driven to dissolution and hysteria’ (Abbott, 306). Bogarts ‘sardonic, knightly’ Marlowe ( Abbott, 305) would nev er find himself, after killing Canino, laughing ‘like a loon’ (Chandler, 194) in an inexplicable, chilling and extended manner nor would he ‘savagely’ tear his bed to pieces because the unstable Carmen has been in it (Chandler, 155). Neither of these episodes occurs in the film. Screen Marlowe is infinitely more stable, killing Canino and reacting afterwards with cool efficiency, displaying none of the vulnerability that makes the textual Marlowe so compelling. At this juncture, it is perhaps significant to note that the common film noir cinematic techniques, as set out by Schrader, are stylistically absent from The Big Sleep. Whilst he argues that the essence of film noir is in ‘more subtle qualities of tone and mood’ (53), there are a number of stylistic aspects, such as deep and shadowed images, oblique and vertical lines, jarringly unbalanced frames and a space that is ‘being continually cut into ribbons of light’ (57). Hawks’s film noir, though still given that appellation, has none of the camera and lighting effects which are common in other examples of the genre. This use of more traditional technique, despite the fact that The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Double Indemnity (1944), forerunners of the genre, had by this time appeared, signifies also a deliberate difference in mood from Chandler’s novel. The Big Sleep, as a text, is dark and shadowy, occurring in cramped spaces such as the claustroph obic greenhouse, Geiger’s fussy house and rain swept streets. The atmosphere is one of gloom, rain and night, yet the film, whilst keeping the formal elements many of the scenes are set at night and rain is almost omnipresent refuses to emphasise the darkness, the instability of the noir world that is at all times on the brink of dissolution . Even in ‘the heart of the noir world’ in the depths of depravity at Geiger’s house, all the details of the crowded orientalised room are clear (Walker, 191) rather than bathed in the devouring shadows of other noir settings. It may seem pedantic to accuse the film of not having those elements which were only recognised in hindsight and are still being argued over, but it does seem relevant that an expressive form, which existed at the time, was not used to emphasise the anxiety and corruption within the text. Perhaps this is another instance of sanitising the text; a wish to create a faà §ade of harmony and resol ution for the tattered fragments of instability that Chandler exposes. This analysis alone, however, is too simplistic a view of the film adaptation. It is necessary to complicate this facile judgement which too easily writes off the film as inferior without taking into account both the production constraints and the film in its entirety. For one thing, there is much that Hawks does not leave out, that remains very much in the text and in the film. An example of this would be the General’s stoic and realistic portrayal of his daughter’s vices and their ‘corrupt blood’. Indeed the entire scene in the hothouse, with the luscious orchids and their ‘rotten sweetness of corruption’ (General Sternwood) is an almost exact match to Chandler’s text. This scene is particularly significant because it sets out several of the main themes of the work as a whole: corruption, ambiguity, faà §ade and cover up. The lush setting and the reason for Marlowe’s arrival the General wishes to remove a blackmailer are sign s both of their wealth and position in society but also of the pervasiveness of criminality. The so-called higher class are just as full of ‘all the usual vices’ (General Sternwood) as the rest of society, implicating a grand narrative of criminality rather than confining it within a set sphere or restricting it as abnormality. This is also the only view of family life that appears in the narrative. R. Palmer states that: ‘[t]he crime melodrama characteristically images the illicit and the erotic as otherness apart from safer forms of living – in particular a family life defined by marriage and parenthood’ (71) but here the family we get are deviant, corrupt or half dead and where illicit and illegal forms of behaviour begin. The ambiguity of this situation, as with the Generals insistence that he doesn’t want to know anything about how Marlowe works which is implied in the text (Chandler, 20) and explicit in the film, are likewise symptoms of a society preoccupied with faà §ade: showing the right cover story to the public. In both text and film the media are misinformed and manipulated and in the film the DA rips up some shorthand notes which refer to aspects of Marlowe’s tale which he wishes to cover up. The theme of faà §ade is continued throughout the film and text, as we see behind Vivian’s, Geiger’s, Carmen’s and, in the text at least, behind Marlowe’s faà §ade. Thus Vivian’s comment, ‘[y]ou don’t put on much of a front’ (Chandler, 59), is a tacit acknowledgment of the way society in general does create faà §ades, which is counterintuitive to the traditional view of detectives as exposing what lies beneath. The theme of ambigui ty is kept up thematically by our ever shifting ideas of who the killer is and explicitly in the film when Marlowe tells Vivian: ‘I don’t want to ask you any more questions.’ This is striking considering the general expectation that a detective’s job is about truth and revelation. Here Marlowe’s job is to hide, to send Carmen away, to cover up for her. This is less explicit in the film despite the suggestion that Eddie is Regan’s killer and not Carmen in the way Marlowe removes Carmen from his account of Joe Brody’s murder. A detective’s role is presumably to bring to justice but Marlowe must circumvent justice. The narrative as a whole depicts the failure of the orderly legal system, Carmen is not punished or revealed as the killer, Brody, Geiger, Canino and Eddie are not punished legally, but by the divine retribution of death for their rackets and their murders. In fact, it is hinted in both film and text that Geigerâ€℠¢s ‘racket’ is known by and untouched by the police. In terms of ambiguity as well there is the ultimate ambiguity in that, neither in the film nor in the novel, do we ever definitively uncover the murderer of Owen Taylor. These explicit examples are in keeping with the ethos of Chandler’s work and his gritty, subversive view of a dissolute and disordered society. There are also, however, implicit moments within the film, at the level of subtext, that open up ideas of ambiguity and fluidity. For example, the pornographic nature of Geiger’s business is implied by Marlowe’s ‘[s]he takes a nice picture’, the drug angle is sufficiently inferred by Carmen’s dopey performance at the scene of Geiger’s murder. Similarly implicit is the homosexual aspect of Geiger and Carol’s relationship. Hawks uses parallel shots of running legs, to show Taylor running out of Geiger’s house and Carol running out of Brody’s flat (Walker, 193). This echoing of sequences implies a connection between them and their motives for killing. In addition there is Marlowe’s assumption that Carol has a key to Geiger’s house; easy shorthand for implying that they were lovers. That these elements are only in the subtext does not remove the subversive accounts of sexuality and pleasure that they expose. On a stylistic note the references to rain and water, which display ‘an almost Freudian attachment to water’ (Schrader, 57) which occur in both the text and screen versions creates a world of fluidity, of indistinct edges and blurred lines. This lack of solidity is mirrored by ‘the dram-like quality’ (Walker, 193) of the narrative itself, a constantly shifting set of crimes, victims and possible explanations, and by Marlowe and the world he inhabits. It is a morally ambiguous and fluid world, where we feel sympathy for a small time crook, Harry Jones, where ‘a pornographer, a blackmailer†¦ a killer by remote’ (Chandler, 187) is an almost attractive character and where a private detective is our hero. The detective is an intermediary figure, he inhabits the space ‘midway between lawful soci ety and the underworld, walking on the brink†¦fulfilling the requirements of his own code and of the genre as well’ (Borde and Chaumeton, 21). He also acts as a guide between the viewer and the criminal world (McCraken, 63). Marlowe, as detective, ‘facilitates a transgressive act’ (Mcraken, 63) not merely textually, in his covering up of several crimes, but metatextually, in the very act of being a detective. By negotiating our entrance, as viewers or readers, into the deviant criminal world, he acts both within and without the narrative, as aiding, rather than revealing, transgression. The film may try to sanitise and clean up Chandler’s work or as Robin Woods describes it: ‘the Chandler-Hammett atmosphere is too stifling for Hawks to breathe in happily: he lets in what fresh air he can’ (quoted in Walker, 191) and he does this by papering over the dissolution, instability and disorder of Chandler’s world with a patina of romance, happiness and resolution. Ultimately the subversive and threatening themes of Chandler’s work escape these strictures an the film cannot escape the undermining influence of a world that shows itself, whether textually or sub-textually as ambiguous, fluid and disordered. As a film, The Big Sleep may offer more traditional cinematic techniques and a more conventional resolution but it can never completely subdue the subversive elements that it was founded on and the noir themes from which it originates. Neither the fictional setting of Hollywood nor the strictures of the industry can completely efface the c orruption and ambiguity of the noir world and, as in Chandler’s novels, despite Hollywood’s sheen the ‘streets are [still] dark with something more than night’ (quoted in Haut, Pulp Culture, 73). Research Papers on The Big Sleep - Film EssayWhere Wild and West MeetHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThree Concepts of PsychodynamicResearch Process Part OneComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Spring and AutumnStandardized Testing

The Complete Story What Does SAT Stand For Plus Fun Questions

The Complete Story What Does SAT Stand For Plus Fun Questions SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT was first introduced in 1926, and since then it has continued to be a major test for college admissions standardized testing. But what does SAT actually stand for? The answer gets quite complicated. The name of the test has actually changed 2 times over the past 90 years. The reasons point to controversies and scandals about the test that continue to change how the test is perceived by colleges. Continue reading to find more about the history of the SAT and the reasoning behind the name. The Very Beginning: 1899 The College Board (formerly, the College Entrance Examination Board) was organized at Columbia University on December 22, 1899. The board consisted of 12 universities and 3 private high schools, including well-known schools like Columbia, Princeton, and Cornell. The goal of this board was to agree on a set of standards that should be taught in high school, and to create a test that could figure out how well students were prepared in these subjects. Before this point, there really was no reliable way to compare students to each other on a national level. Students from different schools would have different grades and different teachers, and it would be hard for a college to reliably compare students to each other. The College Board aimed to solve this problem. Fun fact: these were the subjects that were important to the board at the time: Botany, Chemistry, English, French, German, Greek, History, Latin, Mathematics, Physics, Zoology. Looks like since a century ago, Botany and Zoology have been merged into Biology, and Greek and Latin are clearly no longer popular languages! The very first test given by the College Board was in 1901, but this was a prototype essay test. They retooled the test for a while, and then came out with the very first SAT: 1926: The Scholastic Aptitude Test The SAT began life as an acronym: the Scholastic Aptitude Test. To be precise about what this name means, let's define the words: Scholastic: "of or concerning schools and education; academic" Fair enough - this test relates to the student's education. Aptitude: "a natural ability to do something; talent" Whoa, wait a second. "Natural ability" and "talent" implies a quality that you're born with and don't have the ability to change. Aptitude implies that some people are born good at certain things, others aren't so lucky, and that's how they'll stay for the rest of life. Yes, that's right - the SAT was originally designed to be more like an IQ test. The suggestion was that people with higher IQs were more likely to succeed in college and in life. Importantly, the College Board believed that you couldn't score higher on the test by preparing. The questions on the test were specifically designed NOT to test things that you had already learned in school. That's what lies behind the loaded term "aptitude." This also explains part of why the SAT is such a weird test and tests questions that you've never seen before in school. Even now, over 100 years since the College Board was founded, high school students are still feeling the legacy of the test. For Fun: What was tested on the 1926 SAT? It looks very different from the SAT we're used to. Verbal skills tested included Definitions, Antonyms, and Analogies, while math questions included Number Series and Logical Inference. Just for fun, try a few sample questions from the 1926 SAT: Despite its flaws, the introduction of the SAT was actually a huge game-changer for high school students. In the past, elite college would select from high schools that they knew well - often serving wealthy, white families. Now there was a way to compare students across the country to each other and identify promising students that didn't fit the traditional student mold. More and more schools starting requiring the SAT as part of their admissions. But remember how this was meant to be an "aptitude" test? People started noticing problems with the idea that this test studied aptitude. First, test prep companies began showing that they could improve test scores through dedicated prep. This still holds true for today's SAT prep programs. This means that the test doesn't test purely innate ability - you CAN learn to get better on this test. Second, ideas around education began changing.Where once people thought academic ability had to do with innate ability, we now know it has a lot to do with environmental factors and individual character. With all this controversy, the College Board decided to change the test name: 1993: Scholastic Assessment Test Facing pressure behind the "aptitude" part of SAT, the College Board renames the test to the Scholastic Assessment Test. Specifically, what we know as the SAT was called the SAT I: Reasoning Test. The subject tests were called SAT II: Subject Tests. This shift was response to the faulty idea that preparation for these tests would not improve score. By now, it was clear that test prep could improve SAT scores, and suggesting otherwise was misleading. At this point, the College Board decided that the SAT should better assess student growth in "high school curricula" and test the skills used in college and career work. But wait - doesn't "assessment" also mean "test?" So this would be like calling the SAT the Scholastic Test Test. Partly for this reason and for others, the College Board decided to issue a new statement: 1997: SAT No Longer Means Anything That's right. The SAT currently is not supposed to stand for anything anymore. Here's an official comment by the College Board: "The SAT has become the trademark; it doesn't stand for anything," said Scott Jeffe, a spokesman for the College Board in New York. ''The SAT is the SAT, and that's all it is." You might know that the fried chicken chain KFC used to stand for "Kentucky Fried Chicken." Now KFC, like the SAT, no longer stands for anything. Why keep the SAT name at all, if it doesn't mean anything?By that point, millions of students were taking the SAT. Changing the name - say, to the ART, or "Academic Reasoning Test" - would be confusing for students, parents, and colleges. So what does SAT stand for? Now you know - the SAT no longer stands for anything. It escaped the original problems by calling it an "aptitude" test, and now avoids the redundancy in "assessment test." It's still trying to reinvent itself to become a better test. Now the SAT is just the SAT. What's Next? What's a good SAT score for you? Read this guide to find out. How do you get a perfect SAT score? I wrote a detailed guide here. We also wrote a popular free guide to the top 5 tips to improve your SAT score by 160 points or more:

Intellectual propert law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Intellectual propert law - Essay Example Moreover, Betty’s business was apparently called â€Å"Betty’s† from the period spanning 1986 to 1994. However, the name â€Å"Betty’s† was never officially trademarked, at least the facts do not indicate that it was. If the name was trademarked, then obviously Betty would have a stronger case. However, Betty might have a cause of action for passing off. Passing off, traditionally a tort that referred to attempting to represent one’s goods as the goods of somebody else, has the modern definition of using a person’s goodwill and reputation in an attempt to benefit oneself, and, in the process, injuring the original person’s good name, reputation and connections (Taittinger and others v. Allbev Ltd. and others [1994] 4 All ER 75). There are five elements in the tort of passing off, and they are â€Å"1. A misrepresentation 2. Made by a trader in the course of trade, 3. To prospective customers of his or ultimate consumers of good s or services supplied by him 4. Which is calculated to injure the business or goodwill of another trader (in the sense that this is a reasonably foreseeable consequence and 5. Which causes actual damage to a business of goodwill of the trade by whom the action is brought or will probably do so (Erven Warnick BV v. J Townend & Sons (Hull) Ltd. [1979] 2 All ER 927). In examining these elements, it is unsure whether Betty can prevail on the tort of passing off. The first element is that there must be a misrepresentation. Calling her company â€Å"Betty’s Produce,† when Jenny had previously worked for Betty for a long period of time, and Betty’s business was known as â€Å"Betty’s† for a number of years would certainly seem as if Jenny is misrepresenting her own produce as Betty’s. Jenny was no doubt highly associated with Betty in the mind of the consumers and the people to whom Betty catered, so those people probably would assume that Jenny w as still with Betty, and that Jenny’s produce was Betty’s produce. Jenny would be using Betty’s name in the course of trade and to prospective customers, and these same customers were also Betty’s customers, so those elements are satisfied as well. Whether it was calculated to damage the goodwill of Betty is a question for which there is no clear answer. Certainly it seems that Jenny was attempting to capitalize on Betty’s goodwill and reputation, but whether or not she wanted to injure Betty is questionable. However, as long as damage to Jenny’s reputation is reasonably foreseeable, this element is satisfied as well. Betty worked hard to establish a firm reputation for her products. Jenny’s products might not have the same standard. If Jenny’s products are not the same standard as Betty’s products, then Jenny would be damaging Betty’s reputation. â€Å"a misrepresentation by B that his inferior goods are of a su perior quality, which is that of A’s goods, whereby people buy B’s goods instead of A’s, is actionable† (Reckitt and Colman Products Ltd. v Borden Inc. and Others, [1990] 1 All ER 873). Jenny was clearly trying to represent her products as Betty’s products, in an effort to get these restaurants to buy her products instead of Betty’s products, so this element is satisfied as well. As to the final element, that the passing off causes actual damage to Betty’s reputation, actionable damage can be that which is gradual depreciation to the reputation that Betty

Axon company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Axon company - Essay Example In 2001 they leading business consultancy Bywater and broadened its offering in the management consultancy space, delivering strategy, process and organisational transformation programmes. In the US also they have acquired several SAP consultancy firms including TUI Consulting Inc, Premier HR Solutions Inc and Zytalis Inc. Axon now has offices in the US, Asia Pacific and Europe and turned over more than  £137.5m in 2006 and their clients include Transport for London, The AA, Xerox, Birmingham City Council, BP, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, Goodrich Corporation, Air Canada and Aquarion. Their three lines of business include business consulting division, solutions implementation division and applications management division. They cater to sectors ranging from aerospace to retail and telecommunications to oil and gas. They address emerging issues like address emerging global issues such as electronic commerce, industry convergence, worldwide alliances, virtual organisations and corporate citizenship. The market environment for such consultancy firms is robust with growth but not all succeed due to the prevailing market forces. An analysis of the industry, the market forces and the economy relevant to the company would help to determine the future prospects for Axon. Besides, any company is also governed by the regulatory issues and this too contributes to the success of the organization. The consulting industry has experienced sizeable growth and enviable profits. Consulting services generated approximately $120 billion worldwide during 2004 and the future is promising as well (Mark, 2006). This is due to various factors that govern the industry. Industries like health care, financial services, energy, retail and IT have all exhibited phenomenal growth. In the competitive environment firms are increasingly hiring consultants and offering excellent compensation

Hobsons Choice Essay Example for Free

Hobsons Choice Essay Maggie. Yes, Maggie Youre growing on me lass. In act three we see that the wedding reception is a small and simple one. This tells the audience that Maggie is not one for wasting money and does not mind having the party in the cellars. As the play moves on, the audience starts to see a change in Willie, Youre making a great mistake, Mr. Hobson. Willie also starts to take the upper hand with Hobson, Sit down, Mr. Hobson. The change in him is all down to Maggie; she has pride in Willie and believes in him. Their marriage is originally more of a business arrangement but it starts to ecome more of marriage of equal partners. When Hobson comes over to seek help, Maggie is sure to talk to Will first, Will its my father. Is he to come in? Maggie and Will work together to make Hobson feel ashamed of his drinking and lead him into giving marriage settlements to her younger sisters. The audience will warm to Maggie over the way he skilfully gets her own back on her father. When Maggie deals with her fathers problem, she is in control and the audience, clearly see that she and Will are working together as a team, Do you think it will get in the paper Maggie? Yes, for sure. Will has come a long way as he was previously described as stunted mentally by a brutalised childhood. Even though Maggies plan has gone well in getting Hobson to give the settlement money over as a fine for trespassing, she shows that she cares for her sisters. Maggie does not let Albert Prosser take the thousand pounds he originally asks for, You neednt be greedy. She also threatens to counter-sue and confirms the original settlement of five hundred pounds. We see a softer more sentimental side of Maggie when she throws away the hot ouse flowers but keeps one to press in her bible. To finish the act, Brighouse returns to the comedy of when Will has to be led to bed by the ear. Although Maggie is clearly in charge in this respect, it contains an element of affection and humour plus this would also make her character a likeable one. At the start of Act Four, we see that Hobson is ill. Tubby tries to help by suggesting for Maggie to come over. Shall I go for Miss Maggie sir? The opinion is agreed by the doctor, l dont know who this Maggie is, but I prescribe her. When Maggie and her sisters find that Hobson needs looking after, Vickey and Alice try to get Maggie to do it. Alice says, I dont think I can be expected to come back to this after what IVe been used to. Hobson tries to offer an unfair, mean deal to Maggie and Will to take care of him but Maggie quickly says, If he goes, I go with him father, as the bribe is poor. The audience notice how Will has become a true gentleman with the help from Maggie, Youre the man IVe made you and Im proud. When Will tries to replace Maggies brass ring for a gold one, Maggie does not ish to give it up. That brass ring stays where you put it. This shows the audience a sense of sentimentality. The play ends with Hobson as a sleeping partner, in Wills business. Will, amazed, closes the act and the play with the words, Well by gum! At the end of the play, the audience sees that Maggie as more of a likeable character . She is portrayed, by Brighouse, as a successful businesswoman strange for a lady in her point in time. Brighouse shows Maggie can be fair and compassionate with other characters.

The Management of Stress Essay -- Game Plan, Unhealthy Diet

Everybody has at least one thing in common. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed, heartbreak, you’re right, but that’s not the answer I’m looking for. The correct answer is stress. Everyone has stress in his or her life at one point or another. It’s one of many inevitable parts of life. Whether it’s busting out a research paper for Psychology at the last minute, expecting your first child to be born, to making sure you’re up in time to catch the Saturday morning cartoons, it’s clearly evident that everyone goes through stress. The real question is, how is stress handled in our society? A person is defined by how they handle the stressors in their lives and how they overcome stressful moments. This paper will explore the aspects of stress management; hoping to help others in their times of stress. To fully understand stress management, one must understand the natural stress response. When a person encounters a perceived threat, the hypothalamus, a tiny region located at the base of the brain, sets off an alarm in their body. Through a combination of both nerve and hormonal signals, the system prompts their adrenal glands, located at the top of the kidneys, to release a surge of hormones which include adrenaline and cortisol. The adrenaline causes an increase in the heart rate, thus causing an increase in the blood pressure and energy supplies of the individual. Cortisol, which is the primary stress hormone, creates an increase in sugars which are known as glucose in the bloodstream. This enhances the brain’s use of glucose and decreases the availability of substances that help repair tissues. This alarm system also communicates with regions of the brain that control moods, motivation, and fear. Once the perceived threat has p... ...uestion? Works Cited America’s #1 Health Problem. (n.d.). Retrieved from The American Institute of Stress website: http://www.stress.org/americas-1-health-problem/ Borchard, T. (2010). 18 Ways to Manage Stress. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 1, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/06/23/18-ways-to-manage-stress/ Chronic stress puts your health at risk. (n.d.). Retrieved from Mayo Clinic website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00001 Heissman, K. (2012). Stress Management Practices: What Works and What Doesn’t. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 1, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/stress-management-practices-what-works-and-what-doesnt/00011942 Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress. (n.d.). Retrieved from Helpguide.org website:http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm

Create a speech on “Looking for Alibrandi” Essay

â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi† is a film which develops the notion of changing perspective through focusing on the central character Josies search for identity and belonging in the world and her relationships with other characters. Moreover, the use of music and camera shots is applied to certain scenes to emphasize Josies attitude and feelings. The use of voice over is applied throughout the film by the main character Josie Alibrandi as it constantly reveals personal ideas and impressions from Josies point of view. During her final year of High school, her life is turned upside down. However, as she matures from being a very rebellious and determined girl to a more responsible and experienced young woman, perspectives of her own identity, her culture and the people around her change drastically. In â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi† changing perspectives is demonstrated through the concept of cultural background, Josie has to come to terms with her Italian heritage including Tomato Day or as she likes to call it National Wog Day, because her culture makes up who she is. Italian music is applied to this scene to represent there Italian culture and to allow the audience to gain some knowledge and understanding about their traditions and customs. Also, fast paced music is taken over towards the end of the scene to indicate the way she feels rushed and embarrassed about her culture. A key event in the film that changes Josies perspective is the meeting of her father, Michael Andretti. Initially, Josie is hostile to her father and unsympathetic to his explanations. However, as certain events unfold, Josie begins to admire him and sentimental piano music is plays to convey the positive attitude she had towards the idea of having a father figure. Michael Andretti also faces a similar change in perspective of his daughter and his own perspective on fatherhood. Furthermore, another change in perspective is identity. Primarily, Josie  believes due to her ethnic background, she was looked down upon. However, the experience of a close friends death causes her to realize the importance of family and that others have it much worse than her. In relation to John Bartons death, a close up of Josies face is captured to display her devastated yet numb expression along with harmonious tunes to mirror Josies grief. In conclusion, as demonstrated in â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi†, changing perspectives is an ongoing process in life and is can be both positive and negative. Without this process in life, a person cannot adapt to new situations and present themselves in life.

Brechtian Performance- Second Reflection Essay

1. What Brechtian techniques did you use in your group? Myself and my fellow group members used many different Brechtian techniques in our peace of Epic Theatre. Firstly, we decided on a social issue to base our peice of theatre on, our final being the issue of gay marriage. We then set this issue based on the story of The Three Muskateers, and changed the name to Three Muskaqueers.This word play and the theme of gay marraige continued on throughout our peice of theatre. Also, to continue the theme of homosexuality, we used Brechts idea of introducing Gods who pass jugdment on the play and the characters, Hamzah was our God of Gays. We also used a popular song the YMCA and changed the words according to our social issue and story. Other Brechtian techniques we used were scene cross cutting, gestus and greeze frames and we also had a narrator who introduced our play. 2. How well did you think you used them (Popular audince reaction/engagement/understanding. Critical; opinions of other practitioners & Self; personal targets you may have set yourself) I think that our group used most of the techniques very well. We were able to explicitly use the Brechtian techniques we chose, such as using a God to pass judgement and using a narrator, however i feel we could have improved on other aspects of Brechtian theatre; such as including the characters saying stage directions. If we had added more of these techniques our peice would have become more Brechtian and would have been more obvious to the audience that our performance was a peice of theatre. I think we used our social issue and story well as we cleverly created a play on words from the original story of the Three Muskateers to the Three Muskaqueers. I feel that overall, from the reaction that we got from the audience and how i feel about our peice of theatre from the targets i first set myself that we used the techniques very well. 3. How well did you ‘synthesis’ your content (what you were saying) with the form (how you were saying it) What did you think was effective and why? I think that we had quite a fair amount of synthesis in our production as we kept the theme of â€Å"homosexuality† and â€Å"gay marraige† running throughout the peice. We incorporated this theme into our chosen theme song, and into puns and jokes we made throughout the peice of theatre. I feel that we could have, towards the end of the peice kept the theme running more as we changed the story by making one of the main characters turn straight, and our teacher and fellow students did not fully understand this choice, so i feel that we could have made this mroe obvious or changed this. 4. If you were not happy with aspects of your work then what alternative approaches might you have pursued? Mention at least 2 aspects of your peers work that you thought was effective and why, as you consider alternatives. 1) I feel that we could have used the use of stage directions more because we did not include this as much as we could have, and this part of Epic Theatre is a very important part of Brechts work as he uses it to break the â€Å"fourth wall† between the actors, the play and the audience. 2) I feel that we also could have used either mime or mask in our theatre. Although none of the other groups did this, it is a very well known Brechtian technique, and would have made our peice of theatre stand out much more through the use of nboth Mime and masks.

A Letter From Saudi Arabia Essays - Sahabah, Arab People

A Letter From Saudi Arabia Essays - Sahabah, Arab People A Letter From Saudi Arabia Dear Mr. LMN, Hope you are doing well. How are things at the Academy? I am doing just fine here in Al Arabiyah as Saudiyah1, ever heard that name before? It is just the local short name for Saudi Arabia. It is already a year since I left US and now I am almost half way through the two years that I am spending here. Theres a lot that I want to tell you about my experience so far. I always wanted to leave Westford for good, but had never imagined that I would someday be doing a job in Saudi Arabia! It all started when I got this new job with the Saudi Arabian Specifications and Standard Organization (SASSO)2. My Uncle has a close friend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. So one night my uncle asked me if I would like to live for two years in Saudi Arabia, and then he told me about this job opportunity for which they required a qualified engineer in structural architecture. It wasnt exactly something that I had planned in life, but I always wanted to experience life in a different atmosphere, and this was the perfect opportunity for me to do so so here I am! I work in a Water conservation-desalination1 plant in a town called Khumrah which is 30 miles south from Jeddah3. It is a small town with a population a little less than Westford3. Where I live is very close to my work, barely a 5-minute walk from the plant. Since there arent many trees around the place I live, it is usually very hot in that area. The average temperature here in Summer is really killing!! Sometimes it gets as high as 94 degrees Fahrenheit in summer, its an extreme climate here4! It certainly is a big change from Westford! It makes me sweat a lot, but I have gotten used to that. Even now I still calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit, whereas this country follows the metric system, which is sometimes confusing, but thats just part of the experience. But I am really thankful to my uncle, he did give me a lot of tips about staying here. For instance the kind of clothes that I should pack, what vaccinations I should take before leaving other than those required by the Saudi consulate such as the ones for cholera5. So I guess, I was pretty much packed up when I left America. I live in a small 2 story building, in a 2-bedroom apartment- building6 with Umar, the son of my Uncles friend. The apartment building has no parking lot, there is no reason to have one because not many people in this town own cars for themselves. At first, that really surprised me! I and Umar have become really close friends now. He too works in the same plant with me. He can speak some English, although he can understand everything I say in English, which is something that I am really thankful for- Its one of the best things to happen to me. You will not find many English-speaking people here. In only 60% of the population of people 15 years and older can read and write1. Anways.. so we live on the 2nd floor and there is an Arab family that lives downstairs. The first day, when I arrived at the Jeddah airport, I was amazed by the way the airport is designed, it looks more like the ancient Islamic architecture that I had seen much of in the travel brochures on the flight. It took a while to clear the customs, especially since the import laws here are very strict7. After clearing the customs as soon as I was at the arrival terminal Umar was there to receive me. He recognized me with the help of a photograph that my uncle had mailed to him. Since I am a Muslim, I had some knowledge of Arabic, from what Iittle I had learnt in Islamic school, but that was twenty years ago!! Anyway, so I greeted Umar, in what I though was an ancient Arabic greeting- As salaam O Alaiqum8, he replied by saying Wa Alaiqum As Salaam. But later, I discovered

Probabilities for Monopoly

Probabilities for Monopoly Monopoly is a board game in which players get to put capitalism into action. Players buy and sell properties and charge each other rent. Although there are social and strategic portions of the game, players move their pieces around the board by rolling two standard six-sided dice. Since this controls how the players move, there is also an aspect of probability to the game. By only knowing a few facts, we can calculate how likely it is to land on certain spaces during the first two turns at the beginning of the game. The Dice On each turn, a player rolls two dice and then moves his or her piece that many spaces on the board. So it is helpful to review the probabilities for rolling two dice. In summary, the following sums are possible: A sum of two has probability 1/36.A sum of three has probability 2/36.A sum of four has probability 3/36.A sum of five has probability 4/36.A sum of six has probability 5/36.A sum of seven has probability 6/36.A sum of eight has probability 5/36.A sum of nine has probability 4/36.A sum of ten has probability 3/36.A sum of eleven has probability 2/36.A sum of twelve has probability 1/36. These probabilities will be very important as we continue. The Monopoly Gameboard We also need to take note of the Monopoly gameboard. There are a total of 40 spaces around the gameboard, with 28 of these properties, railroads, or utilities that can be purchased. Six spaces involve drawing a card from the Chance or Community Chest piles. Three spaces are free spaces in which nothing happens. Two spaces involving paying taxes: either income tax or luxury tax. One space sends the player to jail. We will only consider the first two turns of a game of Monopoly. In the course of these turns, the furthest we could get around the board is to roll twelve twice and move a total of 24 spaces. So we will only examine the first 24 spaces on the board. In order these spaces are: Mediterranean AvenueCommunity ChestBaltic AvenueIncome TaxReading RailroadOriental AvenueChanceVermont AvenueConnecticut TaxJust Visiting JailSt. James PlaceElectric CompanyStates AvenueVirginia AvenuePennsylvania RailroadSt. James PlaceCommunity ChestTennessee AvenueNew York AvenueFree ParkingKentucky AvenueChanceIndiana AvenueIllinois Avenue First Turn The first turn is relatively straightforward. Since we have probabilities for rolling two dice, we simply match these up with the appropriate squares. For instance, the second space is a Community Chest square and there is a 1/36 probability of rolling a sum of two. Thus there is a 1/36 probability of landing on Community Chest on the first turn. Below are the probabilities of landing on the following spaces on the first turn: Community Chest – 1/36Baltic Avenue – 2/36Income Tax – 3/36Reading Railroad – 4/36Oriental Avenue – 5/36Chance – 6/36Vermont Avenue – 5/36Connecticut Tax – 4/36Just Visiting Jail – 3/36St. James Place – 2/36Electric Company – 1/36 Second Turn Calculating the probabilities for the second turn is somewhat more difficult. We can roll a total of two on both turns and go a minimum of four spaces, or a total of 12 on both turns and go a maximum of 24 spaces. Any spaces between four and 24 can also be reached. But these can be done in different ways. For example, we could move a total of seven spaces by moving any of the following combinations: Two spaces on the first turn and five spaces on the second turnThree spaces on the first turn and four spaces on the second turnFour spaces on the first turn and three spaces on the second turnFive spaces on the first turn and two spaces on the second turn We must consider all of these possibilities when calculating probabilities. Each turn’s throws are independent of the next turn’s throw. So we do not need to worry about conditional probability, but just need to multiply each of the probabilities: The probability of rolling a two and then a five is (1/36) x (4/36) 4/1296.The probability of rolling a three and then a four is (2/36) x (3/36) 6/1296.The probability of rolling a four and then a three is (3/36) x (2/36) 6/1296.The probability of rolling a five and then a two is (4/36) x (1/36) 4/1296. Mutually Exclusive Addition Rule Other probabilities for two turns are calculated in the same way. For each case, we just need to figure out all of the possible ways to obtain a total sum corresponding to that square of the game board. Below are the probabilities(rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent) of landing on the following spaces on the first turn: Income Tax – 0.08%Reading Railroad – 0.31%Oriental Avenue – 0.77%Chance – 1.54%Vermont Avenue – 2.70%Connecticut Tax – 4.32%Just Visiting Jail – 6.17%St. James Place – 8.02%Electric Company – 9.65%States Avenue – 10.80%Virginia Avenue – 11.27%Pennsylvania Railroad – 10.80%St. James Place – 9.65%Community Chest – 8.02%Tennessee Avenue 6.17%New York Avenue 4.32%Free Parking – 2.70%Kentucky Avenue – 1.54%Chance – 0.77%Indiana Avenue – 0.31%Illinois Avenue – 0.08% More Than Three Turns For more turns, the situation becomes even more difficult. One reason is that in the rules of the game if we roll doubles three times in a row we go to jail. This rule will affect our probabilities in ways that we didn’t have to previously consider. In addition to this rule, there are effects from the chance and community chest cards that we are not considering. Some of these cards direct players to skip over spaces and go directly to particular spaces. Due to the increased computational complexity, it becomes easier to calculate probabilities for more than just a few turns by using Monte Carlo methods. Computers can simulate hundreds of thousands if not millions of games of Monopoly, and the probabilities of landing on each space can be calculated empirically from these games.

The successful integration of iPads and smartphones into the Research Proposal

The successful integration of iPads and smartphones into the workplace. When the iPad is the only computer your employees need - Research Proposal Example There may be two possible reasons for the inclusion of iPads and smartphones in the workplace, i.e. the demand of the business growth in the digital era, or the demand of employees working in the highly competitive business world at present (Gruman, 2011). Literature Review Technology gadgets such as iPads, Smartphones, Tablets and others have gained a remarkable significance in the daily life of human society in this 21st century. Undoubtedly, the features rendered by these gadgets are the major reasons to enhance its public usage and demand in the current scenario. One of the major advantages provided by the gadgets is their ability to connect people all around the world with a single touch and thus boost the aspect of international communication. Other features served by these gadgets include video calling, online gaming and chatting, and various internet services (Abdnour, 2011). It is in this context that these technology gadgets are emerging to be the most favorites of younger generation. Pierson (2010) stated that â€Å"The upstart college and career multitasker, age 18–27, is redefining connectivity at work and home†. Subsequently, Apple (one of the major iPad producers in the international market) sold almost 3 million pieces of iPads all around the world within a few months from its introduction to the market. Another major producer of tablets, Forrester also had to revise its prediction of future sales increasing the total sales to 13 million units. Experts have further contributed that almost 59 million iPads are expected to be sold in the US only, by the end of 2015 (Schadler & Et. Al., 2010). The inclusion of smartphones in the workplace was contemplated long before the inclusion of iPads and tablets. In comparison to the introduction strategies of smartphones, tablets and other technology gadgets are being introduced to the market in a different manner. For instance, the tablets are witnessed to be favored more than the laptops by e mployees, as tablets have almost every feature of laptops and other features in addition. For example, a tablet is also considered to replace clipboards in terms of its wide ranging features and effective applicability (Schadler & Et. Al., 2010). In this regard, Schadler & Et. Al. (2010) state that â€Å"Tablets and other smart mobile devices are brought in by eager employees and are opening doors to many new business scenarios, often in places where no computer works today†. Therefore, it can be stated that the demand for these technological gadgets in the workplace is highly influenced by the eagerness of Gen Y employees in the current scenario. However, there are various other reasons that have been identified by the experts to have a significant influence on the involvement of iPads, Smartphones and tablets in the workplace. As stated by Grove & Et. Al. (2010), iPads are considered to be highly useful for the companies to improve the aspects of ‘visibility and usabi lity’ of the company data in order to serve their customers with higher efficiency. On the similar