Equality and inequality in the American society in 1830s -1840s Essay

Equality and inequality in the American society in 1830s -1840s - Essay Example During this period, inequality was manifested socially, economically, and politically. Socially, different groups of American had unequal access to wealth, power, resources, and prestige (Atack, and Passell 67). Based on your gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, and nationality, American society accorded favor to some groups. For instance, blacks and the minority groups were subjected to slavery and workmanship. They served the upper tiers Americans under exploitation and hardship. Besides, in the labor market, American employers practiced nepotism and wage discrimination especially to the minority groups including women, blacks and Hispanics. Inequality was further practiced in political and elective sectors. The minorities especially blacks had limited participation in electoral and democratic process of the United States. They were not allowed to actively take part in the electoral process, thus denying them their rights and freedoms. On the other hand, during this period, there was income inequality in the United States. Income and resources were unevenly distributed in the society with only 1% of the top social class owning more than 78% of the limited resources and wealth (Atack, and Passell 67). Changes in the labor market Until mid-nineteenth century, American economy was agriculturally dominated. The agrarian revolution period was characterized with low wages, wage discrimination, lack of labor unions, and force labor. However, after the moving from agricultural to industrial, the marker of the united states undergone transformation. The labor market moved from ‘force labor’ to ‘free labor’. These reforms in the labor market were pioneered by the social l egislation of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Although labor organizations and the changes in the labor market were harshly received by the employers who had strong exploitative philosophy, the reforms were very beneficial to the working forces. As a result of the reforms, exploitation, low-wage, poor working conditions, lack of workmanship protection and compensation regime ended (Altonji and David 45). Besides, work place discrimination and inequality cases were negligent. The powers of the unions were reinforced, which in turn increased the collective bargaining power of workers and increased their rights, protection, and freedom. These reforms also reduced the wage disparity based on gender, race, color, age, or nationality. However, the transformation of the labor force from manufacturing to services led to a decline in industrial productivity. Massive immigration to the U.S in 1820s-1850s In the first half of the 19th Century, United States reported an influx in the number o f immigrants especially after the Civil War. Being beginning of industrial revolution, these immigrants were of great economic benefit to the United States as the immigrants worked long-hours at a relatively low wage rate. From 1820 to 1850, approximately 23 million people migrated to the United States for a various reasons. Some came as laborers, other came to seek refuge, and others came to serve as indentured servants while a small fraction of them came to attain higher education. As a common phenomenon in human migration, the ‘pull’ and ‘push’ factors are practically behind these increased cases of immigration to the United States. The ‘push’ factors which forced the immigrants to desert their original homes included famine, poverty, wars, military drafts, crippling taxes, and unemployment

Unearthing the Mystery of the Gifted with Learning Disabilities Essay

Unearthing the Mystery of the Gifted with Learning Disabilities - Essay Example This essay stresses that children may be given the intervention that is appropriate for his or her learning disability. Learning strategy instruction appears to hold great educational potential because strategy training emphasizes helping students learn how to learn and how to use strategies found to be effective in promoting successful performance of academic, social, or job-related tasks. Students need these skills not only to cope with immediate academic demands but also to address similar tasks in different settings under different conditions throughout life. They are resources for an individual to use, especially when faced with new learning situations. This paper makes a conclusion that the previous and ongoing research on the gifted with learning disabilities have a long way to go in terms of truly helping the students concerned. While intellectual giants are locking horns in identifying those deserving to fall under this criteria, time is running out and the students concerned are left to languish in regular school systems without the appropriate interventions to meet their specific needs. It is more important to focus on helping even those suspected to be G/LD to learn to both nurture their gifts and cope with their weaknesses to survive their condition. It is not to be forgotten that such individuals are not only made up of cognitive functions. Their emotional, psychological and physical well-being likewise needs attention.

Globalization And The Rise Of Multinational Corporations Marketing Essay

Globalization And The Rise Of Multinational Corporations Marketing Essay Is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. In the world of international business there are lots of strategic options which usually used to measure performance of the business, but here will be using Ansoff matrix on the four (4) strategic options preferable, although each strategic option has its risks involved. 1.1 Globalization and the rise of multinational corporations and branding According to Smith and Doyle (2002): A further, crucial aspect of globalization is the nature and power of multinational corporations. Such companies now account for over 33 per cent of world output, and 66 per cent of world trade (Gray 1999: 62). Significantly, something like a quarter of world trade occurs within multinational corporations (op. cit). This last point is well illustrated by the operations of car manufacturers who typically source their components from plants situated in different countries. However, it is important not to run away with the idea that the sort of globalization we have been discussing involves multinationals turning, on any large scale, to transnational: International businesses are still largely confined to their home territory in terms of their overall business activity; they remain heavily nationally embedded and continue to be multinational, rather than transnational, corporations. (Hirst and Thompson 1996: 98). 1.2 Advantage of globalization Increase competition Globalization has made the competition rises due to technology, most business people has knowledge on how to capture customers by introducing innovation which increase more advantage to consumers, competition is always good to consumers because of the decreases in the price. 1.3 Disadvantage of globalization Terrorism This is one of the disadvantages of globalization, in view of the fact that when different people gathered in one place can create violence, especially murder and bombing, which is not good for business and for country and the citizens. 2.0 FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE GROWTH IN GLOBALIZATION 2.1 The liberalization of international trade The removal of trade barriers has been the source of increasing international trade and changes in customers taste and preference, there has been more freedom of importing and exporting the goods / services exchanged from one country to the other, not only that but also trade protection methods have been minimal such as tariffs and quotas. 2.2 Technological progress Technological advancement has also help to reduce international barriers, most likely the use of internet facilities has more power when it comes to doing business online, its very easy and it can also help to reduce cost of transportation and other fair of travelling. Nonetheless, not only the internet provide such access to consumers but there are such facilities which create product awareness for consumers to see and be able to demand those facilities which encouraged globalization including, application of mobile telephones, satellite communication such as DSTV, global media networks such as BBC, CNN, AL-JAZEERA and VIDEO-CONFERENCING, which helps to lessen barriers to the business such decreasing operating / production cost. 2.3 Cultural awareness and recognition This has increased more awareness and tastes to some consumers; for instance, in the movie industry there are now more recognition on Hollywood, Bollywood and even Nollywood (Nigerian movies) 3.0 THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION ON BUSINESS ACTIVITY Globalization can not only provide opportunity to business but also there are some risks/threats in it. 3.1 Increasing competition One of the effects regarding globalization is increasing competition in business, such as mobile phones, in China due to high demand of mobile phones they are now trying to imitate products of other mobile companies like Nokia just trying to compete with them, and yes here in Tanzania, there are very high demand regarding Chinese phones due to its affordable price. 3.2 Economies of location This is one of the positive effects when trying to produce more products on location which is much more cost effective due to power of producing in economies of scale within economies of location, like China is the best place to invest since the productions are likely to be more cheaper, that is, the amount to be paid to one America employee could pay almost ten employees in China, that is the reason as to why the whole world prefers China to be a production place. 3.3 Mergers, acquisitions and Joint Ventures, franchises These factors allows business to spread around nations due to the forces joined between one company / country or business just to make sure they grow-up and fasten, for instance Mc Donald has decided to join forces by franchising the business in the world, which is true, has definitely became well known in the business. 4.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE FOUR ANSOFF MATRIX MODELS ANALYSIS Globalization makes alliances an essential part of a firms strategy in order to stay competitive and to achieve superior performance. To better capture global opportunities, firms tend to cooperate with other firms to capitalize on and leverage their limited resources since it is impossible for one firm to do it all and do it alone. Similarly, in order to cope with increasing global competitive threats, firms are likely to form alliances .Based on the classical industrial organization perspective-the market power, firms form alliances to reduce competition and uncertainty. Through such cooperation, companies gain market power that helps alleviate competition and improve its competitive position. The decision to enter into a foreign market can be influenced by globalization which could be willingness of the business people, who are willing to go far just to make sure that they expand their market. There are several ways to enter into a foreign market by using the Ansoff matrix as follow:- 4.1 Market penetration (existing market, existing product) Market penetration is one of the strategies used in the existing customers just to make sure sales are increasing without pooling the product out of the market, nevertheless by using market penetration they could use more activities just to make sure that their existing product is well known around the world, for instance to start advertising in multinational countries just like Dutch advertises their products such as, yoghurts, shampoo, milk and even other products, by advertising even in our country they do create such opportunities for penetrating and creating more demand for those who did not have an idea about their products. This strategy not only penetrating the product but also struggling to retain the existing customer for such product because its not very hard to get customers but retaining those customers is very hard job thus, there are lots of strategies in the world of business one of them is marketing, just to make sure the business is well known. For instance Coca cola company has been doing some of the broadening on its own and some in partnership with other companies (Daniels et al, 2008, p.570) just to make sure the coca-cola brand is well known in the world. The coca cola company has gone so far as to test the market in Singapore, Toronto, and even have the coffee shops. Also Coca cola company has joint venture with Nestle for tea products outside the unites state and a joint venture with Cargill to develop a new sweetener to put into drinks (Daniels et al, 2008, p 571) 4.2 Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives: Maintain or increase the market share of current products this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling Secure dominance of growth markets Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors Increase usage by existing customers. For example by introducing loyalty schemes (Mike Morrison, 2011) 4.3 Market development (new market, existing product) This is one of the market strategies which involve moving the existing product further in international market so as to gain more customers from international market, not only going across or beyond the borders but also attracting new customers in the same product so as to gain more advantage and even to maximize sales. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including: New geographical markets; for example exporting the product to a new country New product dimensions or packaging: for example New distribution channels Different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments Exporting is example of one of the market entry modes, which use a direct sells, goods can be produced within a country and exported to a foreign countries just to capture new customers with the same products which sold in home country. Example of Coca-Cola when entered the Turkish market, it tried exporting from Turkey to Kyrgyzstan, the result unfortunately was a soft drink price of more than four times what it cost to buy a soft drink bottled in Kyrgyzstan itself.(Daniels et al, 2008, p 575) Product its likely to expand more to the foreign countries and have more customers than the home country, this is due to the fact that in the home country customers could change their taste and preference due to time factor, that could be one of the reason why selling abroad so as not to lose market share, at the same time that unwanted product can be re innovated so as to have customers in the home country, for instance, by trying to change packaging of the products, or even change the name. 4.4 Product development (existing market, new products) This is new products in existing market, this is happening when there is product innovation to address the same market towards ensuring that customers are being more satisfied with innovation of the product, this can be done due to so many reasons like: Product has just gone out of the fashion Didnt satisfy customers due to taste and preferences Globalization issues (Mike Morrison, 2011) When the product has just go beyond the fashion it was meant like, here in our country( Tanzania) there are some shoes which are in fashion at the moment, it seems that all women use to wear such fashionable shoes that is due to globalization technology, we can see on Television through DSTV and other fashion Television. Nevertheless this fashion keeps on changing when time passes they will change that fashion in the sense that in the existing market and customers with more fashionable shoes. Didnt satisfy customers due to taste and preferences in the sense that customers taste and preference keeps on changing due to globalization and free trade. Businesspersons can import and export more goods and services depending upon the needs and requirements basing on customers changing tastes to better reflect customers demand. For instance, Tanzania has green tea of its own, but at the moment there are many brands of tea from other countries with different tastes like lemon, tea and others. Therefore, customers might be attracted to shift from the old brands to the new ones. The business could succeed if there is use of one of entry modes like the coordination between two parties, could be two or more people, companies, or even two countries, joint venture can be formed due to numerous rationale like, technology sharing and product development, market entry for a certain county, and even in compliance for the country legal actions, for instance quotas, taxes and tariffs. For example in case of China, it wholly owns its concentrate plant but has joint ventures with various bottling plants, coca cola ownership in foreign bottling operations has became sufficiently significant that it has set up a bottle investment group within the country.(Daniels et al, 2008, p 570) Joint venture can be of useful for the matrix model for implementing those four strategies in order to persuaded market expanding, for instance developing new market to a foreign countries could diversify profit, and even product recognition like Mc Donalds burger king, is well known all over the world. Globalization issues, here meant that, since it is very free to do international business, the world has just been like a village, China can come in Tanzania and do business with Tanzanian, likewise, people between these two countries can not only do business but can also exchange so many things like ideas on what to do business, how they live in their own country, taboos, cuisine, dress code, these can definitely make customers want to experience the differences. 4.5 Diversification (new product, new market) This is where the market is completely new, and products to new customers. There are two types of diversification, namely related and unrelated diversification. Related diversification means that remain in a market or industry with which are familiar. (Mike Morrison, 2011) The diversification can be divided again into horizontal, vertical and lateral diversification. The horizontal diversification is the extension of the production programs. The vertical diversification is the sales stage stored by products pre order. The lateral diversification is the sales of completely new products, which are within the range of the technology and marketing in no connection. (Mike Morrison, 2011) Diversification is an inherently higher risk strategy because the business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from the strategy and a transparent and honest assessment of the risks This situation is likely to occur to several situations when moving internationally, diversifying is a good strategy because it help to improve sales by having Strategic Business Units (SBUs) because if one product doesnt respond positively in the market other products might perform better, and that can at least reduce failure of the other products because obviously there would be wastage of resources but can be covered to some extent., or even though business can be diversify by using international entry modes to create brand awareness. For instance, franchising This is one of the market entries which assist market expanding when need to go international, franchisor allow franchisee to use the name of the business so as to expand his/ her market share, this is tremendous fine due to the fact that one can have higher profit for the expansion of sells by using someone elses name and business formulae, For instance coca cola company, if franchise with them, they will surely provide formulae, then franchisee will only have to mix with water to have formulae complete. Another example is from Mc Donalds; franchisee should be provided with each and every aspect which will accomplish the meal with the same taste as if were produced by Mc Donalds company, though it is costly. Not only that but also they could even use licensing to which indispensable part when going global, as a means to penetrate into global market, so as to have legal when it comes to use property of your licensor, for instance intangible property such as patents, trademark, and production techniques. The licensee needs to pay fee to the licensor to be able to have the technique assistance if possible, there it will be possible for licensee to market his/her product by using the matrix model, like selling more of the products outside the home country and diversify the profit Conclusion Globalization controlling the world, the whole world has became such a small world, this situation made people to know good and bad due to expansion of technology, therefore applying Ansoff matrix tools when doing business is the most preferable way to do so since it well analyze how managers should behave when going international. APPENDIX 1.1 THE ANSOFF MATRIX FIGURE http://www.mindtools.com/media/Diagrams/AnsoffFig1.gif

Swift :: essays research papers

Swift wrote plain perfection of prose. Comment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many critics like William Deans Howells; T.S. Eliot etc. have called Jonathan Swift the greatest writer of prose like T.S. Eliot says that â€Å"Swift, the greatest writer of English prose, and the greatest man who has ever written great English prose.† But there are reasons for this greatness. One of the main reasons is that Swift wrote in a very plain and downright style. He didn’t use any embellishments. At times, when Swift was writing serious stuff this same plain style appears dry but when writing humorously, this same plainness gives his wit a singular edge. Swift didn’t use ornate or rhetorical language; he said what he had to in simply without any affectation as Hugh Blair says â€Å"His style is of the plain and simple kind; free of all affectation, and all superfluity; perspicuous, manly and pure.† And at times, his style appears so simple that its seems like anybody with a little sense of writing could write like him but in this same simple ness of manner lies Swift’s greatness like Scott says â€Å"Swift’s style seems so simple that one would think any child might write as he does, and yet if we try we find to our own despair that it is impossible.† This same simplicity of style in Gulliver’s Travels corresponds to the naivetà © and simplicity of Gulliver.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another important feature of Swift’s prose is that he uses the common touch. In other words, everybody can understand his language that is why even children can read his books with so much enjoyment. Also, Swift addresses people as rational and political beings, making them his equals. For example, in Drapier’s Letters Swift uses the same language of the class which he is addressing i.e. rough and shrewd. Swift doesn’t write long sentences or speeches or difficult words. And he familiarizes with the people by using their own simple and at times coarse language.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Invention or imagination is an aspect witch makes Swift one of the greatest English writers. J.J. Hogan says â€Å"One of Swift’s greatest outlets, of course, was invention.† Although Swift has used many non-sensical and imaginary words, but these imaginary words have an underlying meaning. For example, Lindalino indicates â€Å"Dublin†, Nardac when broken down in German Narr (meaning fool) and doch (meaning still) turns into ‘still a fool’. Hekinah Degul can be translated, on grounds of similarity of sound, turns into ‘What in the devil’.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-nine

Sansa Sansa rode to the Hand's tourney with Septa Mordane and Jeyne Poole, in a litter with curtains of yellow silk so fine she could see right through them. They turned the whole world gold. Beyond the city walls, a hundred pavilions had been raised beside the river, and the common folk came out in the thousands to watch the games. The splendor of it all took Sansa's breath away; the shining armor, the great chargers caparisoned in silver and gold, the shouts of the crowd, the banners snapping in the wind . . . and the knights themselves, the knights most of all. â€Å"It is better than the songs,† she whispered when they found the places that her father had promised her, among the high lords and ladies. Sansa was dressed beautifully that day, in a green gown that brought out the auburn of her hair, and she knew they were looking at her and smiling. They watched the heroes of a hundred songs ride forth, each more fabulous than the last. The seven knights of the Kingsguard took the field, all but Jaime Lannister in scaled armor the color of milk, their cloaks as white as freshfallen snow. Ser Jaime wore the white cloak as well, but beneath it he was shining gold from head to foot, with a lion's-head helm and a golden sword. Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain That Rides, thundered past them like an avalanche. Sansa remembered Lord Yohn Royce, who had guested at Winterfell two years before. â€Å"His armor is bronze, thousands and thousands of years old, engraved with magic runes that ward him against harm,† she whispered to Jeyne. Septa Mordane pointed out Lord Jason Mallister, in indigo chased with silver, the wings of an eagle on his helm. He had cut down three of Rhaegar's bannermen on the Trident. The girls giggled over the warrior priest Thoros of Myr, with his flapping red robes and shaven head, until the septa told the m that he had once scaled the walls of Pyke with a flaming sword in hand. Other riders Sansa did not know; hedge knights from the Fingers and Highgarden and the mountains of Dorne, unsung freeriders and new-made squires, the younger sons of high lords and the heirs of lesser houses. Younger men, most had done no great deeds as yet, but Sansa and Jeyne agreed that one day the Seven Kingdoms would resound to the sound of their names. Ser Balon Swann. Lord Bryce Caron of the Marches. Bronze Yohn's heir, Ser Andar Royce, and his younger brother Ser Robar, their silvered steel plate filigreed in bronze with the same ancient runes that warded their father. The twins Ser Horas and Ser Hobber, whose shields displayed the grape cluster sigil of the Redwynes, burgundy on blue. Patrek Mallister, Lord Jason's son. Six Freys of the Crossing: Ser Jared, Ser Hosteen, Ser Danwell, Ser Emmon, Ser Theo, Ser Perwyn, sons and grandsons of old Lord Walder Frey, and his bastard son Martyn Rivers as well. Jeyne Poole confessed herself frightened by the look of Jalabhar Xho, an exile prince from the Summer Isles who wore a cape of green and scarlet feathers over skin as dark as night, but when she saw young Lord Beric Dondarrion, with his hair like red gold and his black shield slashed by lightning, she pronounced herself willing to marry him on the instant. The Hound entered the lists as well, and so too the king's brother, handsome Lord Renly of Storm's End. Jory, Alyn, and Harwin rode for Winterfell and the north. â€Å"Jory looks a beggar among these others,† Septa Mordane sniffed when he appeared. Sansa could only agree. Jory's armor was blue-grey plate without device or ornament, and a thin grey cloak hung from his shoulders like a soiled rag. Yet he acquitted himself well, unhorsing Horas Redwyne in his first joust and one of the Freys in his second. In his third match, he rode three passes at a freerider named Lothor Brune whose armor was as drab as his own. Neither man lost his seat, but Brune's lance was steadier and his blows better placed, and the king gave him the victory. Alyn and Harwin fared less well; Harwin was unhorsed in his first tilt by Ser Meryn of the Kingsguard, while Alyn fell to Ser Balon Swann. The jousting went all day and into the dusk, the hooves of the great warhorses pounding down the lists until the field was a ragged wasteland of torn earth. A dozen times Jeyne and Sansa cried out in unison as riders crashed together, lances exploding into splinters while the commons screamed for their favorites. Jeyne covered her eyes whenever a man fell, like a frightened little girl, but Sansa was made of sterner stuff. A great lady knew how to behave at tournaments. Even Septa Mordane noted her composure and nodded in approval. The Kingslayer rode brilliantly. He overthrew Ser Andar Royce and the Marcher Lord Bryce Caron as easily as if he were riding at rings, and then took a hard-fought match from white-haired Barristan Selmy, who had won his first two tilts against men thirty and forty years his junior. Sandor Clegane and his immense brother, Ser Gregor the Mountain, seemed unstoppable as well, riding down one foe after the next in ferocious style. The most terrifying moment of the day came during Ser Gregor's second joust, when his lance rode up and struck a young knight from the Vale under the gorget with such force that it drove through his throat, killing him instantly. The youth fell not ten feet from where Sansa was seated. The point of Ser Gregor's lance had snapped off in his neck, and his life's blood flowed out in slow pulses, each weaker than the one before. His armor was shiny new; a bright streak of fire ran down his outstretched arm, as the steel caught the light. Then the sun went behind a cloud, and it was gone. His cloak was blue, the color of the sky on a clear summer's day, trimmed with a border of crescent moons, but as his blood seeped into it, the cloth darkened and the moons turned red, one by one. Jeyne Poole wept so hysterically that Septa Mordane finally took her off to regain her composure, but Sansa sat with her hands folded in her lap, watching with a strange fascination. She had never seen a man die before. She ought to be crying too, she thought, but the tears would not come. Perhaps she had used up all her tears for Lady and Bran. It would be different if it had been Jory or Ser Rodrik or Father, she told herself. The young knight in the blue cloak was nothing to her, some stranger from the Vale of Arryn whose name she had forgotten as soon as she heard it. And now the world would forget his name too, Sansa realized; there would be no songs sung for him. That was sad. After they carried off the body, a boy with a spade ran onto the field and shoveled dirt over the spot where he had fallen, to cover up the blood. Then the jousts resumed. Ser Balon Swann also fell to Gregor, and Lord Renly to the Hound. Renly was unhorsed so violently that he seemed to fly backward off his charger, legs in the air. His head hit the ground with an audible crack that made the crowd gasp, but it was just the golden antler on his helm. One of the tines had snapped off beneath him. When Lord Renly climbed to his feet, the commons cheered wildly, for King Robert's handsome young brother was a great favorite. He handed the broken tine to his conqueror with a gracious bow. The Hound snorted and tossed the broken antler into the crowd, where the commons began to punch and claw over the little bit of gold, until Lord Renly walked out among them and restored the peace. By then Septa Mordane had returned, alone. Jeyne had been feeling ill, she explained; she had helped her back to the castle. Sansa had almost forgotten about Jeyne. Later a hedge knight in a checkered cloak disgraced himself by killing Beric Dondarrion's horse, and was declared forfeit. Lord Beric shifted his saddle to a new mount, only to be knocked right off it by Thoros of Myr. Ser Aron Santagar and Lothor Brune tilted thrice without result; Ser Aron fell afterward to Lord Jason Mallister, and Brune to Yohn Royce's younger son, Robar. In the end it came down to four; the Hound and his monstrous brother Gregor, Jaime Lannister the Kingslayer, and Ser Loras Tyrell, the youth they called the Knight of Flowers. Ser Loras was the youngest son of Mace Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden and Warden of the South. At sixteen, he was the youngest rider on the field, yet he had unhorsed three knights of the Kingsguard that morning in his first three jousts. Sansa had never seen anyone so beautiful. His plate was intricately fashioned and enameled as a bouquet of a thousand different flowers, and his snow-white stallion was draped in a blanket of red and white roses. After each victory, Ser Loras would remove his helm and ride slowly round the fence, and finally pluck a single white rose from the blanket and toss it to some fair maiden in the crowd. His last match of the day was against the younger Royce. Ser Robar's ancestral runes proved small protection as Ser Loras split his shield and drove him from his saddle to crash with an awful clangor in the dirt. Robar lay moaning as the victor made his circuit of the field. Finally they called for a litter and carried him off to his tent, dazed and unmoving. Sansa never saw it. Her eyes were only for Ser Loras. When the white horse stopped in front of her, she thought her heart would burst. To the other maidens he had given white roses, but the one he plucked for her was red. â€Å"Sweet lady,† he said, â€Å"no victory is half so beautiful as you.† Sansa took the flower timidly, struck dumb by his gallantry. His hair was a mass of lazy brown curls, his eyes like liquid gold. She inhaled the sweet fragrance of the rose and sat clutching it long after Ser Loras had ridden off. When Sansa finally looked up, a man was standing over her, staring. He was short, with a pointed beard and a silver streak in his hair, almost as old as her father. â€Å"You must be one of her daughters,† he said to her. He had grey-green eyes that did not smile when his mouth did. â€Å"You have the Tully look.† â€Å"I'm Sansa Stark,† she said, ill at ease. The man wore a heavy cloak with a fur collar, fastened with a silver mockingbird, and he had the effortless manner of a high lord, but she did not know him. â€Å"I have not had the honor, my lord.† Septa Mordane quickly took a hand. â€Å"Sweet child, this is Lord Petyr Baelish, of the king's small council.† â€Å"Your mother was my queen of beauty once,† the man said quietly. His breath smelled of mint. â€Å"You have her hair.† His fingers brushed against her cheek as he stroked one auburn lock. Quite abruptly he turned and walked away. By then, the moon was well up and the crowd was tired, so the king decreed that the last three matches would be fought the next morning, before the melee. While the commons began their walk home, talking of the day's jousts and the matches to come on the morrow, the court moved to the riverside to begin the feast. Six monstrous huge aurochs had been roasting for hours, turning slowly on wooden spits while kitchen boys basted them with butter and herbs until the meat crackled and spit. Tables and benches had been raised outside the pavilions, piled high with sweetgrass and strawberries and fresh-baked bread. Sansa and Septa Mordane were given places of high honor, to the left of the raised dais where the king himself sat beside his queen. When Prince Joffrey seated himself to her right, she felt her throat tighten. He had not spoken a word to her since the awful thing had happened, and she had not dared to speak to him. At first she thought she hated him for what they'd done to Lady, but after Sansa had wept her eyes dry, she told herself that it had not been Joffrey's doing, not truly. The queen had done it; she was the one to hate, her and Arya. Nothing bad would have happened except for Arya. She could not hate Joffrey tonight. He was too beautiful to hate. He wore a deep blue doublet studded with a double row of golden lion's heads, and around his brow a slim coronet made of gold and sapphires. His hair was as bright as the metal. Sansa looked at him and trembled, afraid that he might ignore her or, worse, turn hateful again and send her weeping from the table. Instead Joffrey smiled and kissed her hand, handsome and gallant as any prince in the songs, and said, â€Å"Ser Loras has a keen eye for beauty, sweet lady.† â€Å"He was too kind,† she demurred, trying to remain modest and calm, though her heart was singing. â€Å"Ser Loras is a true knight. Do you think he will win tomorrow, my lord?† â€Å"No,† Joffrey said. â€Å"My dog will do for him, or perhaps my uncle Jaime. And in a few years, when I am old enough to enter the lists, I shall do for them all.† He raised his hand to summon a servant with a flagon of iced summerwine, and poured her a cup. She looked anxiously at Septa Mordane, until Joffrey leaned over and filled the septa's cup as well, so she nodded and thanked him graciously and said not another word. The servants kept the cups filled all night, yet afterward Sansa could not recall ever tasting the wine. She needed no wine. She was drunk on the magic of the night, giddy with glamour, swept away by beauties she had dreamt of all her life and never dared hope to know. Singers sat before the king's pavilion, filling the dusk with music. A juggler kept a cascade of burning clubs spinning through the air. The king's own fool, the pie-faced simpleton called Moon Boy, danced about on stilts, all in motley, making mock of everyone with such deft cruelty that Sansa wondered if he was simple after all. Even Septa Mordane was helpless before him; when he sang his little song about the High Septon, she laughed so hard she spilled wine on herself. And Joffrey was the soul of courtesy. He talked to Sansa all night, showering her with compliments, making her laugh, sharing little bits of court gossip, explaining Moon Boy's japes. Sansa was so captivated that she quite forgot all her courtesies and ignored Septa Mordane, seated to her left. All the while the courses came and went. A thick soup of barley and venison. Salads of sweetgrass and spinach and plums, sprinkled with crushed nuts. Snails in honey and garlic. Sansa had never eaten snails before; Joffrey showed her how to get the snail out of the shell, and fed her the first sweet morsel himself. Then came trout fresh from the river, baked in clay; her prince helped her crack open the hard casing to expose the flaky white flesh within. And when the meat course was brought out, he served her himself, slicing a queen's portion from the joint, smiling as he laid it on her plate. She could see from the way he moved that his right arm was still troubling him, yet he uttered not a word of complaint. Later came sweetbreads and pigeon pie and baked apples fragrant with cinnamon and lemon cakes frosted in sugar, but by then Sansa was so stuffed that she could not manage more than two little lemon cakes, as much as she loved them. She was wondering whether she might attempt a third when the king began to shout. King Robert had grown louder with each course. From time to time Sansa could hear him laughing or roaring a command over the music and the clangor of plates and cutlery, but they were too far away for her to make out his words. Now everybody heard him. â€Å"No,† he thundered in a voice that drowned out all other speech. Sansa was shocked to see the king on his feet, red of face, reeling. He had a goblet of wine in one hand, and he was drunk as a man could be. â€Å"You do not tell me what to do, woman,† he screamed at Queen Cersei. â€Å"I am king here, do you understand? I rule here, and if I say that I will fight tomorrow, I will fight!† Everyone was staring. Sansa saw Ser Barristan, and the king's brother Renly, and the short man who had talked to her so oddly and touched her hair, but no one made a move to interfere. The queen's face was a mask, so bloodless that it might have been sculpted from snow. She rose from the table, gathered her skirts around her, and stormed off in silence, servants trailing behind. Jaime Lannister put a hand on the king's shoulder, but the king shoved him away hard. Lannister stumbled and fell. The king guffawed. â€Å"The great knight. I can still knock you in the dirt. Remember that, Kingslayer.† He slapped his chest with the jeweled goblet, splashing wine all over his satin tunic. â€Å"Give me my hammer and not a man in the realm can stand before me!† Jaime Lannister rose and brushed himself off. â€Å"As you say, Your Grace.† His voice was stiff. Lord Renly came forward, smiling. â€Å"You've spilled your wine, Robert. Let me bring you a fresh goblet.† Sansa started as Joffrey laid his hand on her arm. â€Å"It grows late,† the prince said. He had a queer look on his face, as if he were not seeing her at all. â€Å"Do you need an escort back to the castle?† â€Å"No,† Sansa began. She looked for Septa Mordane, and was startled to find her with her head on the table, snoring soft and ladylike snores. â€Å"I mean to say . . . yes, thank you, that would be most kind. I am tired, and the way is so dark. I should be glad for some protection.† Joffrey called out, â€Å"Dog!† Sandor Clegane seemed to take form out of the night, so quickly did he appear. He had exchanged his armor for a red woolen tunic with a leather dog's head sewn on the front. The light of the torches made his burned face shine a dull red. â€Å"Yes, Your Grace?† he said. â€Å"Take my betrothed back to the castle, and see that no harm befalls her,† the prince told him brusquely. And without even a word of farewell, Joffrey strode off, leaving her there. Sansa could feel the Hound watching her. â€Å"Did you think Joff was going to take you himself?† He laughed. He had a laugh like the snarling of dogs in a pit. â€Å"Small chance of that.† He pulled her unresisting to her feet. â€Å"Come, you're not the only one needs sleep. I've drunk too much, and I may need to kill my brother tomorrow.† He laughed again. Suddenly terrified, Sansa pushed at Septa Mordane's shoulder, hoping to wake her, but she only snored the louder. King Robert had stumbled off and half the benches were suddenly empty. The feast was over, and the beautiful dream had ended with it. The Hound snatched up a torch to light their way. Sansa followed close beside him. The ground was rocky and uneven; the flickering light made it seem to shift and move beneath her. She kept her eyes lowered, watching where she placed her feet. They walked among the pavilions, each with its banner and its armor hung outside, the silence weighing heavier with every step. Sansa could not bear the sight of him, he frightened her so, yet she had been raised in all the ways of courtesy. A true lady would not notice his face, she told herself. â€Å"You rode gallantly today, Ser Sandor,† she made herself say. Sandor Clegane snarled at her. â€Å"Spare me your empty little compliments, girl . . . and your ser's. I am no knight. I spit on them and their vows. My brother is a knight. Did you see him ride today?† â€Å"Yes,† Sansa whispered, trembling. â€Å"He was . . . â€Å"Gallant?† the Hound finished. He was mocking her, she realized. â€Å"No one could withstand him,† she managed at last, proud of herself. It was no lie. Sandor Clegane stopped suddenly in the middle of a dark and empty field. She had no choice but to stop beside him. â€Å"Some septa trained you well. You're like one of those birds from the Summer Isles, aren't you? A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty little words they taught you to recite.† â€Å"That's unkind.† Sansa could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. â€Å"You're frightening me. I want to go now.† â€Å"No one could withstand him,† the Hound rasped. â€Å"That's truth enough. No one could ever withstand Gregor. That boy today, his second joust, oh, that was a pretty bit of business. You saw that, did you? Fool boy, he had no business riding in this company. No money, no squire, no one to help him with that armor. That gorget wasn't fastened proper. You think Gregor didn't notice that? You think Ser Gregor's lance rode up by chance, do you? Pretty little talking girl, you believe that, you're empty-headed as a bird for true. Gregor's lance goes where Gregor wants it to go. Look at me. Look at me!† Sandor Clegane put a huge hand under her chin and forced her face up. He squatted in front of her, and moved the torch close. â€Å"There's a pretty for you. Take a good long stare. You know you want to. I've watched you turning away all the way down the kingsroad. Piss on that. Take your look.† His fingers held her jaw as hard as an iron trap. His eyes watched hers. Drunken eyes, sullen with anger. She had to look. The right side of his face was gaunt, with sharp cheekbones and a grey eye beneath a heavy brow. His nose was large and hooked, his hair thin, dark. He wore it long and brushed it sideways, because no hair grew on the other side of that face. The left side of his face was a ruin. His ear had been burned away; there was nothing left but a hole. His eye was still good, but all around it was a twisted mass of scar, slick black flesh hard as leather, pocked with craters and fissured by deep cracks that gleamed red and wet when he moved. Down by his jaw, you could see a hint of bone where the flesh had been seared away. Sansa began to cry. He let go of her then, and snuffed out the torch in the dirt. â€Å"No pretty words for that, girl? No little compliment the septa taught you?† When there was no answer, he continued. â€Å"Most of them, they think it was some battle. A siege, a burning tower, an enemy with a torch. One fool asked if it was dragonsbreath.† His laugh was softer this time, but just as bitter. â€Å"I'll tell you what it was, girl,† he said, a voice from the night, a shadow leaning so close now that she could smell the sour stench of wine on his breath. â€Å"I was younger than you, six, maybe seven. A woodcarver set up shop in the village under my father's keep, and to buy favor he sent us gifts. The old man made marvelous toys. I don't remember what I got, but it was Gregor's gift I wanted. A wooden knight, all painted up, every joint pegged separate and fixed with strings, so you could make him fight. Gregor is five years older than me, the toy was nothing to him, he was already a squire, near six foot tall and muscled like an ox. So I took his knight, but there was no joy to it, I tell you. I was scared all the while, and true enough, he found me. There was a brazier in the room. Gregor never said a word, just picked me up under his arm and shoved the side of my face down in the burning coals and held me there while I screamed and screamed. You saw how strong he is. Even then, it took three grown men to drag him off me. The septons preach about the seven hells. What do they know? Only a man who's been burned knows what hell is truly like. â€Å"My father told everyone my bedding had caught fire, and our maester gave me ointments. Ointments! Gregor got his ointments too. Four years later, they anointed him with the seven oils and he recited his knightly vows and Rhaegar Targaryen tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘Arise, Ser Gregor.' â€Å" The rasping voice trailed off. He squatted silently before her, a hulking black shape shrouded in the night, hidden from her eyes. Sansa could hear his ragged breathing. She was sad for him, she realized. Somehow, the fear had gone away. The silence went on and on, so long that she began to grow afraid once more, but she was afraid for him now, not for herself. She found his massive shoulder with her hand. â€Å"He was no true knight,† she whispered to him. The Hound threw back his head and roared. Sansa stumbled back, away from him, but he caught her arm. â€Å"No,† he growled at her, â€Å"no, little bird, he was no true knight.† The rest of the way into the city, Sandor Clegane said not a word. He led her to where the carts were waiting, told a driver to take them back to the Red Keep, and climbed in after her. They rode in silence through the King's Gate and up torchlit city streets. He opened the postern door and led her into the castle, his burned face twitching and his eyes brooding, and he was one step behind her as they climbed the tower stairs. He took her safe all the way to the corridor outside her bedchamber. â€Å"Thank you, my lord,† Sansa said meekly. The Hound caught her by the arm and leaned close. â€Å"The things I told you tonight,† he said, his voice sounding even rougher than usual. â€Å"If you ever tell Joffrey . . . your sister, your father . . . any of them . . . â€Å" â€Å"I won't,† Sansa whispered. â€Å"I promise.† It was not enough. â€Å"If you ever tell anyone,† he finished, â€Å"I'll kill you.†

Symbolism in the Chrysanthemums

Aliya Grayman Professor Gulliksen English 131 (D8) 24 October 2012 Your Inner Chrysanthemum How many people sit down and think about what symbolizes their lives? A symbol is a person place or thing that suggests something other than its literal meaning. In John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† Elisa Allen lives on a ranch with her husband Henry in Salinas Valley. Henry is off talking to men about the livestock on the ranch while Elisa is tending to her garden. A tinker comes up to their yard and begins to talk to Elisa about his work and all of his travels.He tries to get Elisa to let him work, but she does not feel that she needs any work done. The tinker notices the garden of chrysanthemums, and tells Elisa that he knows a woman that wants to grow them. Elisa develops a short lived attraction to the tinker as she is offering him the flower and giving him careful instructions on taking care of them. Steinbeck uses symbolism throughout this short story. Things such as the wire fence around the garden, the changing of Elisa’s clothing, and the chrysanthemums themselves mean something beyond their literal meaning.Everyone has an item or person that symbolizes their life. Because the title of the short story is â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† the chrysanthemum is an obvious symbol. Elisa’s beautiful garden of chrysanthemums is very important to the story. They are Important because the chrysanthemums are Elisa, meaning they represent her throughout the story. The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s life. Like her they are unimportant to the men in her life. When the tinker asks her about the flowers Elisa brightens up. When Elisa offers a flower to the tinker, she offers herself as well.When the flowers are rejected it symbolizes society’s rejection to women being anything other than mothers and housekeepers. Both the Elisa and the chrysanthemums seem to be simply decorative, and add little importance to the world. The wire fence surrounding the garden of chrysanthemums shows how Elisa lives her life. Elisa lives a very guarded life. Elisa only tends to the garden inside the fence, never venturing out into the world of work on her ranch. Henry takes care of all of the business deals on the ranch. The fence represents the sheltered life Elisa has been living.The type of fence has significance as well. The wire fence shows that Elisa can look outside of her garden with ease; a wooden fence would keep everything out and in. Steinbeck gives great detail of Elisa’s clothing. In the beginning of the story she is wearing bulky gardening clothes and a man’s hat. After her conversation with the tinker, there is an abundant amount of detail as Elisa is preparing to go out to dinner with her husband. The description of what she chooses to wear shows her masculine persona becoming feminine.The sentence â€Å"When she had dried herself she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom and looked at her body†(247), shows her new found sexuality. Everything has more than one meaning. When an object is a symbol of something else the meaning becomes much more important. Steinbeck meant for his readers to see the true beauty of a chrysanthemum, and by having them symbolize the main character in the story he did just that. Showing inner beauty and strength gives an inanimate object life. Everything has an inner chrysanthemum.