Monday, September 30, 2019

Food and beverage Management Essay

I have read and understood the London School of Business and Finance Regulations and Policies relating to academic misconduct. I declare that: This submission is entirely my own original piece of work. It has not been submitted for a previous assessment in LSBF or any other institution. Wherever published, unpublished, printed, electronic or other information sources have been used as a contribution or component of this work, these are explicitly, clearly and individually acknowledged by appropriate use of quotation marks, citations, references and statements in the text. I understand that penalties will be incurred for late submission of work. STUDENT SIGNATURE: Ahonou Rosalie DATE: 21/09/2014 NOTE – Please complete the details below Have you submitted any Reasonable Adjustment Requests? Yes / No Date of submission: TASK 1 Understand different food and beverage production and service systems LO1. 1. 1 The characteristics of food production and food and beverage service systems INTRODUCTION Food production and food and beverage service systems is about an area where menu is planned, raw materials are purchased and received. It is also about Food service where Food and beverage are provided to the guests included a wide range of styles and cuisine types, all alcoholic and non- 1 / 3 alcoholic drinks. To make a successful Food and Beverage Service, you need to develop well interpersonal skills, product knowledge skills to buy raw material. Food and Beverage Production I am going to explain some methods: Traditional Partie Method: the majority of food is buying condiments or raw. It is easy to provide the receipt and store goods, the preparation, cooking, holding and service of food and there are dishwashing facilities as well. That method is good for the staff because the staff can move quickly from their place to the service counter (the distance is short). The communication link-up is necessary for the department and food flow is systematic. There is easy access to raw food materials from storage areas. Centralised Production Method: centralised production methods explain how the separation of the production and service components of the food flow system work or operate by place or time or both. So food that is centrally produced is distributed to the point of the point of service in batches or pre-portioned. It could be transported in a ready-to-eat box or in a ready-to-serve state, for example hot or frozen food. I give some advantages of centralised production methods â€Å"the introduction of a storage stage between production and service allows the production unit to work to maximum efficiency and with a better utilisation of staff and equipment† and â€Å"energy consumption can be reduced by careful scheduling and by a continuous run of single products†. Here is a disadvantage of centralised production method â€Å"hygiene problems or food contamination could have big repercussions than a problem in an individual kitchen. Cook-Freeze Production Methods: the word cook-freeze involves a catering system which is based on the whole cooking of food and followed by quick freezing. That food is stored in a controlled low temperature of -18 degree Celsius or less then is followed by subsequent complete reheating close to the consumer, prior to prompt consumption. The process involves raw food, food storage, pre- preparation, cooking, portioning, blast freezing, cold storage, distribution, regeneration. Cook-Chill Production Methods: it is the same process with Cook-Freeze production. The only different are that the cooking of food is stored in a controlled low temperature, but just above freezing point and then between 0 degree Celsius to +3 degree Celsius. Therefore it has a short shelf life compared to cook-freeze of up to five days including the day of production, distribution time and regeneration. The process involves raw food, cooking, portioning, blast chilling, chill storage, distribution, regeneration. The benefits of Cook-Chill and Cook-Freeze to the employers: there will have a portion control and a reduced waste, the production will be adjusted, the staff time will be fully utilised, no more weekend work and overtime. To the customers: the variety and selection of food will increased, the standards will be maintained with a quality improvement and the services can be maintained at all times even no staff. Sous vide methods: the sous vide system involves the preparation of quality raw foods, pre-cooking when necessary. You put or placed the raw foods into special plastic bags and you vacuum the air from the special plastic bags and then you seal properly the bags. After sealing you steam cooking to pasteurisation temperatures. From then the food product can be served direct to the customers at this stage or can be chilled quickly to +1 degree Celsius to +3 degree Celsius and stored between 0 degree Celsius to +3 degree Celsius for a maximum of twenty-one days. That method increases the potential shelf-life of normal coo-chill in three ways: when you remove the air from the plastic bags the growth of bacteria is restricted. Because the food is cooked at pasteurisation temperatures that helps the destruction of most microorganisms and finally because the food has been sealed within the bags is protected during storage any regeneration from any contamination. Different services of Food and Beverage systems Table d’hote menus: this type of menu contains the popular type dishes and is easier to control because the price has already been fixed for whatever the customer chooses, that setting depend on the main dish chosen. The characteristics of a table d’hote menu are being a restricted menu, offering a small number of courses (three or four), limited choice within each course, fixed selling 2 / 3 price and all the dishes are being ready at a set time. A la carte menus: a la carte menu is a larger menu than a table d’hote menu and offer a variety choice. The menus are listing under the course headings and then the establishment could prepare all the dishes. Those dishes will be prepared to order and each dish will also be priced separately. A la carte menu is more expensive than a table d’hote menu because it contains often the exotic and high cost seasonal foods. Table service: the customer enters in the restaurant and takes seat, he/her makes the order from the menu and the Staff brings it to him/her. After finish dinning the staff clears the table. Sectors where there are food service industry: Bistro, Brasserie, Coffee Shop, First Class Restaurants, Cafeteria, Fast-food outlets and Licensed Bars. For all those sectors, the main aim is to achieve customer satisfaction, for that everything you do should meet the customers’ needs physiologically, economically, socially, psychologically and convenience. The Staff should have knowledge or experience in Food and Beverage service. The restaurant should have service methods and necessary staff skills. They should have a higher level of cleanliness and hygiene; have an idea of value for money or price and also the atmosphere. The staff should know how to make the preparation for service (Mis-en-place), take customer food and beverage order, clean for hygiene, and make the bill. They should control the atmosphere in order to satisfy customers’ needs. 1. 2 The factors that affect recipes and menus for specific systems The restaurant should establish a clear list of menu to inform customers what is available to them. The Staff provides a general presentation of the menu on the course headings that should be attractive, clean, and easy to read for language, price, sales mix with accuracy, show the size and form, layout of the menu, nutritional content, health and eating, and special diets (inform people who are allergic, diabetic, have low cholesterol and low sodium). Also the cultural and religious dietary influences can affect recipes and menus as well. Example Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Roman Catholics, Vegetarians. 1. 3 Comparison of the coast and the staffing implications POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).         

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Case Study Sergeant Robert Christopher Essay

This report will be about a case study about Robert Christopher. He is a new supervisor on the night shift. He is having problems with the officer motivation and communication. This report will include information on how he can help to improve the officer’s motivation and the communication between him as the SGT. and the officers that he works with. At the end of this report, you will see what he did to help the officer to get motivated and to have beater communication. Sergeant Welsh should approach the problem of officer motivation by. Would, approach the problem of motivating buy going out and work with all the officers at least once every two weeks and work there beats with them and see what they go throw and help them and tray and make their job a little easier. It will also help with the communication with the officers and if they will be able to tack to you a little more because they know that you have been throw what they have. They way Sergeant welsh should go about determining the basic need drives of each officer is. That he needs to take some time to talk to them and see how the Sergeant Welsh can help with their basic need drives for the officer. The first thing that SGT. Walsh should do as a supervisor it that he needs meet the every officer that is under his command and introduce himself and get to Know the officers that he will be working with. Another than that he also should see if they have any concerns that they what to tell me so he can address them. The way that Sgt. Walsh should deal with the fact that while you have more experience, you have less formal education then the officers that you are working over. Let them not that he will do the best that he can and that it is not about what experience or how much education you have it is about who can do the job best. SGT. Walsh can also consider going back to college. If he das go back this will show the officers that he is working with that he is trying to be the best Supervisor he can. In addition, you are never too young or to olds to learn new stuff that will help you out in the field that you are working in and you are never too old to learn new stuff. It will show his officers that he is trying to learn what he can do so he can do the job to the best that he can. SGT. Walsh should interview each officer within the first month after he gets his new assignment. The interview with each officer will be a good then the officers will now that I can do the job. Therefore, he can get to know me and I can get to know them and how they do their job and he can find out what they expect of me and they can find out what SGT. Walsh will expect of them this will be done on a one on one basis. The topics that SGT. Walsh should discuss with each officer on a one on one with each officer is what you think that we can do as a tem to help out in the community that you are working in to help people that live there. The way SGT. Walsh should make this work place meaningful to the officers he will make it fun for them to come back and work and that they will be able to do their best at what they do.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Early Childhood Care and Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Early Childhood Care and Education - Assignment Example Both were fond of reading books. At this young age, Margaret's first encounter with the schools in Iverness left a lasting impression in her mind. The children were given Corporal punishment for bad behaviours; basic sanitation, water facilities and hygiene were not maintained in the class rooms and in the surroundings. Except academics importance was not given to other aspects of child development either physical or emotional. This resulted in an insecure feeling and stress in the children. Where the place of learning should be a pleasant one, it proved to be opposite for children. Margaret McMillan was deeply disturbed by this and could recall all these even at her old age. This also would have made her to work for the welfare of children when she faced young ones living in similar conditions at a later age .Jean McMillan who was very keen that the children got good education and worked hard to meet that goal died when Margaret was 17 years old. Margaret McMillan moved to London to train as a Governess for young girls and her sister stayed back for filial commitment towards their ailing grandmother. Margaret McMillan started working as a Superintendent for young girls in London. Around this time her sister Rachel also moved to London and stated to work in similar job. Prior to this Rachel McMillan got introduced to the Christian Socialist movement and got impressed and convinced with their principles. She started reading the groups newspaper Justice and liked the articles written for the young By Peter Kropotkin. She contributed to the socialist magazine. When she joined her sister in London in the year 1888, she convinced Margaret McMillan to join the Socialists. From this time on Rachel McMillan remained as great influence to her sister throughout her life. They both started attending the Socialist meetings and met important people in the group namely William Morris, Peter Kropotkin, and H.M.Hyndman who were instrumental in bringing the changes in the girls. Moved with their plight, they decided that basic education and awareness would enhance the lives of these people. They approached young working girls and offered to teach them in the evenings. Though the girls were not convinced, they attended the classes. But soon Margaret found out that they were not serious about learning and were coming for a sort of relaxation. The girls endured a very hard life at that young age and the hardships they suffered had completely changed their personalities. In 1892 the sisters shifted to Braford, the place which later came to be associated with Margaret McMillan's contribution to nursery education. Here they toured the industrial work places extensively to meet the people and could see the conditions of the children first hand. The infants and toddlers of the workers were totally neglected, child labour was prevalent and basic sanitation facilities were not available. Children were deprived of any medical facilities too. Here apart from the socialist movement, the sisters were drawn towards the Fabian movement which had an aim to construct a fair and just society with high moral values. Also they entered into politics by joining the Independent Labour Party which later helped Margaret to campaign for her goals towards the children welfare. At

Friday, September 27, 2019

WK4_Training Need Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WK4_Training Need Paper - Essay Example In order to attain increased competitiveness and larger customer base many organization has formulated and implemented various strategies and policies. In this course, many organizations are involved in enhancing the skills and capabilities of employees as a tool for enhancing the performance of the organization. Such initiatives of the organizations have facilitated a need for effective training and development activities. Accordingly, training and development is the process of making the employees familiar with the various changes in the work procedure for ensuring increased competency towards performing the organizational tasks efficiently and effectively. The concept of training plays a vital role in an organization life cycle as it not only helps them to maintain lead but also helps them in innovating new products that may contribute to the organization goal (Armstrong, 2012). The primary purpose of this paper is to identify training need within the selected organization i.e. Ap ple Incorporation and explore the role of Human Resource (HR) in analysis, design, development implementation and evaluation of a training program to meet the identified training need. Training Need Assessment Apple Inc. is considered to be one of the leading innovative companies across the world. The company is widely known for its distinctive and unique products and services offered to its customers spread worldwide. The rapid development in science and technology has facilitated the company as one of the most advanced and most admired companies across the globe. Nonetheless, the company has been encountered with lots of challenges due to the emergence of new and upcoming competitors in the market. It has been often argued that employees are the most important assets of any organization. Furthermore, employees who are not provided with efficient training and development programs often finds difficulties in performing their tasks efficiently and competently. Additionally, the conti nuous advancement in technology and increasing competition has widely generated the need for skilled employees to respond the market demands effectively. In this context, Apple Inc. to sustain its business profitably in current and future business environment, it is essential for the corporation to design and implement effective training and development programs. At the same time, effective training and development activities is necessary for attracting new talents and retaining employees within the organization. Moreover, training and development activities are crucially important for the organization to seek constant innovation and transformation of the business according to the changing requirement of the market. Nonetheless, it can be argued that training and development is essential for the organization at all the levels of the management. The effective training and development programs facilitate in the creation of effective leaders who will be responsible for framing strategi es that would facilitate the organization with increased benefit in the form of increased profitability and market share. Therefore, it can be stated proper training needs are required in the organization to enhance the capability of its employees as well as the organizational performance (Apple Inc., 2013). Role of HR in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Training Program to Meet the Requirement in the Production Process of the Company HR managers are considered as a vital part of any organization as they are the only bridge that helps in maintaining a proper relation between the employees and the top level management. Correspondingly, HR managers are also widely responsible for

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Islam in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Islam in America - Research Paper Example In 2005, nearly 96,000 people from various Islamic countries were accepted as legal permanent United States residents. According to a 2009 Gallup poll, American Muslims are identified to be a significant racially diverse religious group in the United States. This paper will discuss the way Muslims are perceived after the World Trade Center attack of 11 September, and the factors that contribute to the numerous issues with regard to stereotyping Muslim community. It will also put forward some thoughts and strategies to address those issues. II. Causes of Stereotyping Muslims A. Radical Muslims and Extremists While analyzing Islamism in a religious, social, and political context, the acts of some of the Islamic extremists seem to be the major cause of stereotyping Muslims. The PBS television program â€Å"Jihad in America† and the popular movie â€Å"True Lies† depicting the terrorist group â€Å"Crimson Jihad† caused the Muslims to get a negative image in the Amer ican society (â€Å"Struggling against stereotypes†). Recently, the use of the term â€Å"Jihad† is found to be the central issue of Muslims stereotyping. According to the Prophet Muhammad, the extreme form of jihad is one’s personal struggle to make himself a better Muslim. On the contrary, today some Islamic extremists link the term â€Å"Jihad† to â€Å"Holy war†. Evidently, interest groups that intend to preserve their subversive ideas on the strength of religious beliefs negatively affect the Muslim community as a whole. B. 9/11 Attacks According to Ghazali, the September 11 World Trade Center attacks by al-Qaeda, which caused the death of nearly 3000 people turned to be the major cause of Muslims stereotyping in the United States. Although al-Qaeda is not an affiliate of Islam religion, most of the people believe that the whole Muslims had interest behind the attack. The attack raised dreadful socio-economic challenges to the nation, that the government adopted a strict approach toward the Muslim immigration. This shift in governmental stance also placed the Muslim community under suspicion. In addition, the al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden had delivered a set of religious sensitive speeches followed by the attack, which also added to stereotyping Muslims. C. The Media showing Muslims as Terrorists One cannot undermine the role of media in growing Muslim stereotyping since the event of September 11. For instance, newspaper headlines regularly use the words ‘fanatic’, ‘militant’, ‘fundamentalist’, and ‘terrorist’ as next to the terms ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim’. To illustrate; in 1995, the British newspaper Today (reported by Fatoohi) published heart-touching picture that depicted a fireman carrying burnt remains of a killed infant from the wreckage of a severe explosion. This picture was published along with a sensational headline: â€Å"In the name of Islam†. In addition, events such as Saddam Hussein’s wartime rhetoric and World Trade Center Bombing attained enormous media coverage as evidence of â€Å"Islamic fundamentalism† (â€Å"Struggling against stereotypes†). Media seem to have given intentional coverage to Islamic terrorism while ignoring rebellious activities of other religious groups. And, attacks against Muslim community often go unreported. Edward,

Romanticism in Literary France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Romanticism in Literary France - Essay Example Eventually the royalist establishment would also have reason to be disturbed by romanticism's revolutionary ideological component and would suddenly represent some of it most vehement assailants. The difficulty of this position especially for the royalists is described by the author as a, "still more awkward position, fighting against a doctrine without being able to attack even its living followers who were all good royalists and whose support the party did not want to lose" (Lanyi 150). The revelation that to attack the genre effectively and coherently required an ad hominem excoriation of its practitioners as opposed to a formal stylistic criticism is indicative of the politicized aesthetic that defines this critical mode of discourse. Â  On stylistic grounds, the most cogent presentation that was provided in the article came from Francois-Benoit Hoffman, an orthodox critic, who intended to meet romanticism on its own literary terms in a review of Hugo's Nouvelles Odes (Lanyi 145 ). The main thrust of this argument is that romanticism seeks futilely to circumvent the real world, a world of naturalistic images and empirical references, and attempts to access the ideal world a world that is necessarily mediated by the natural. This epistemological confusion results in highly idealized, obscurantist and difficult prose. The failure to recognize the basic mediatory of romanticism fundamentally broken. The classicists' awareness of this issue prompts them to acknowledge.... The liberal antagonism towards romanticism was engendered for two specific reasons. Initially, it was seen as a decadent and extravagant form of literature whose aristocratic appeal was disturbing, and many of the practitioners of this new form of literature were members of the royalist faction in France and consequently the products of such an association were necessarily tainted with royalist ideology. Eventually the royalist establishment would also have reason to be disturbed by romanticism's revolutionary ideological component and would suddenly represent some of it most vehement assailants. The difficulty of this position especially for the royalists is described by the author as a, "still more awkward position, fighting against a doctrine without being able to attack even its living followers who were all good royalists and whose support the party did not want to lose" (Lanyi 150). The revelation that to attack the genre effectively and coherently required an ad hominem excori ation of its practitioners as opposed to a formal stylistic criticism is indicative of the politicized aesthetic that defines this critical mode of discourse. On stylistic grounds, the most cogent presentation that was provided in the article came from Francois-Benoit Hoffman, an orthodox critic, who intended to meet romanticism on its own literary terms in a review of Hugo's Nouvelles Odes (Lanyi 145). The main thrust of this argument is that romanticism seeks futilely to circumvent the real world, a world of naturalistic images and empirical references, and attempts to access the ideal world a world that is necessarily mediated by the natural. This epistemological confusion results in highly idealized, obscurantist and difficult prose. The failure to

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Discussing the relationship between son and father Essay

Discussing the relationship between son and father - Essay Example The persona is helpless and this only explains the fact that the war in the World War II most affected the powerless in the region. Many themes are evident in this text such as; betrayal, resistance, collaboration and the relationship between father and son. The mood is somber because the persona hopes to save his family from the experience they all had with Holocaust but to his surprise, they are all gone. The group that was concerned with this form of inhumanity was referred to as â€Å"Nazis† and it supported the move by the Parisians. This group was made up of the Germans who were followers of Hitler. The Nazis were also against the existence of the Jewish in Paris hence, collaborated with the French policemen in order to destroy their existence. This was a form of betrayal by the Germans to the Jews since, they were neighbors in a foreign country but they still went ahead and collaborated with the natives in order to destroy them. All forms of inhuman activities are evide nt during this time and Eliezer cannot help but take the bull by its horn. He witnesses people being hang and burnt and he lives each day for his father. He says that the only thing that prevented him from dying was his father. This is because, without him, his father could not make it alone. However, it is ironic how some of the prisoners turn cruel just as the Nazis. The prisoners who are captives together with their fathers start mistreating their fathers for their survival. This relationship between a father and a son is supposed to be mutual but to Eliezer’s surprise, it is even worse than the relationship that can ever exist between two people not sharing blood. Eliezer narrates a story that involves three instances where the sons mistreat their father for their survival. In one instance, a son killed his father just to have a piece of bread to himself. This was uncouth because, just because the food that was offered to them was not enough, a son had to kill his father in order to save his own life. This happened when a German threw a piece of bread in the cattle truck the prisoners had been herded into during transportation. Another character referred to as, the son to Rabbi Eliahu is also seen abandoning his slow and weak father at the occurrence of a mad run for the purpose of increasing his chances that were left to save his life. In addition, Elizier also felt this form of burden through his father’s presence and that is why, he kept on fighting just to be alive for him. The live incidence when their fellow prisoners were hung in front of them was heartbreaking and saddening and in fact, this is what contributed to the hostile relations between fathers and sons (Wiesel, 2006). The sons starved to keep their lives going and since the presence of their father was a hindrance as they had to be reluctant in making any steps that might have left them behind, the only solution was to finish them completely. This was the highest degree of inh umanity. In this text, the author intertwines the past with the present to bring out the real meaning of the life that was experienced during the World War II in 1942. A story about a 10-year-old girl called Sarah; helps a journalist, Julia to uncover the true story about her husband’s family who are French. It is so sad to learn that the same people living in the modern world are the same people who mistreated

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Geriatric Nursing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Geriatric Nursing - Article Example People who reported tooth loss were 2.7 times more likely to report chewing difficulty onset than people without tooth loss. The article concluded that the incident of tooth loss and removable prosthodontic restoration strongly predicted chewing difficulties, and important component of OHRQoL. The author of the article presented important facts supported by studies and articles. The study/research was supported by articles and books from where the idea was taken from by the author. An example of it is when the author claims the "Tooth loss can have a substantial influence on quality of life". By referencing it properly what the author claims is very well supported. Another example is the part wherein he mentioned on the "agreement between self-reported and clinically examined tooth loss was high." This was taken from Gilbert ,et.al Comparison of two methods of estimating 48 months tooth loss incident. There are at least 18 references which are more than 10 years older. It still supports the document but there are some articles which may have a new or revised version. There are 5 reference that are within the last 5 years . The implications of the article in the health care of the geriatric patient are important. Chewing problem may result in several clinical illnesses such as weight loss, dehydration and debility.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Explain the four sociological perspectives Functionalist, Conflict Essay

Explain the four sociological perspectives Functionalist, Conflict theory, interactionism and feminism. In addition briefly report how each of these theories wo - Essay Example Functionalism also asserts that functional requirements have to be met in society for its existence. This means that functions such as reproduction have to exist for the society to survive. Problems that randomly occur in life perform a function in this perspective. Like when death occurs, world population decreases. . The Conflict Theory holds the belief societies, groups and individuals function to benefit themselves or their groups. There are four basic beliefs for this theory; competition, structural inequality, revoloution and war. Competition is the basic function for all social activity, such as monetary, love, power and even leisure activities. All societies have structural inequality from the US income classes to Communist countries that have political classes. Competition and structural inequality lead to revoloution and war. Revoloution unites people behind a common cause, then war unifys the both winners and losers into a new society. History is an example of this theory from Nazi Germany to English colonies to Iraq today. This perspective represents the vicious cycle that has existed since the beginning of society. Interactionism is basically the perspective that people react toward things based on the meaning that the thing has for them. These meanings are influenced by social interaction, then changed by the person’s interpretation. For example, a child reacts to a loving mother positively, but interprets the mother’s actions uniquely. Feminism as a sociological perspective is focused on how male dominance has shape the world socially. All societies have the problem of how male dominance has affected it. One example is Saudi Arabia. Male dominance shapes every social aspect of a Saudi’s life, from politics to marriage. Even in America, male superiority can be found, like in sports. Wrestling is a male sport, even though some

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Natural food and drink industry Essay Example for Free

Natural food and drink industry Essay Executive Summary The all natural food and drink industry is relatively new, it has emerged as part of the clean label trend and is seen as an alternative to the organic products or products labeled as â€Å"free-from†. The global all natural food and drink market has shown a steady growth during the last few years and is expected to grow due to rising demands for healthy, nutritional, natural foods and drinks without chemicals and artificial ingredients. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 35% annually, Indian non-carbonated drink market is likely to touch Rs. 54,000 crore by 2015 from the current level of Rs. 22,000 crore including fruit drinks, nectars and juices etc. Our company J-GAPS started in 2014 thereby tapping this potential in the Indian market had come up with a natural flavored drink segment in terms of coconut water with Kewra and Mint with the product named SIPCO in order to revive freshness. This could be seen as great opportunity in Maharashtra near the Konkan region where the natural source of tender coconut could be fully utilized to provide healthy natural beverage to people. The financial assistance is catered by coconut development board in terms of 50% cost of production. The vision of our company is to provide a natural drink to the consumer so as to improve their health in a fast paced lifestyle. Identifying the gap in this market through market analysis especially in terms of coconut water wherein there are hardly tetra packs available in order to make it convenient for people to have the nutritional drink without carrying the hard husk. The main drivers of introducing such a natural beverage includes rising consumer concerns regarding artificial ingredients, artificially introduced hormones and genetically modified products, and their awareness of the long term health benefits of natural food and good nutrition thereby having a lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS). We therefore see ahead a great potential in this market as GEN – Y would be the most prominent segment to be tapped in order to sustain in the market and thereby expand our presence in India. 1. Current Marketing Situation 1.1 Industry overview The Indian packaged tender coconut water is still an industry in its development phase. There exist a very few players in this market. J-GAPS  aims to position its product in the general market where exist players like Pepsi, Coca cola, Parle agro foods etc. who are major players in the soft drink segment. The emerging trend among consumers to go for healthy and natural food products will drive this industry. Coconut water is a fruit juice with many unique features and a major one is a low calorie content .This makes it a very attractive prospect for weight management positioned juices. 1.2 Company description J-GAPS will primarily engage in extracting, processing and adding flavors to tender coconut water which is then ready to be delivered to stores. It is a privately held firm will be located in Ratnagiri in the state of Maharashtra .We have identified a location which is closer to the coconut farms. J-GAPS sources the tender coconut for its requirements from its own farms and also additionally from other farmers directly. Our processing unit has a capacity of processing liters water annually. 1.3 Market analysis- Tender flavored coconut water is recommended for people of all ages. With the consumers turning health conscious and preferring natural products, we believe that our product has a strong market both in domestic circles and in countries abroad. Our main target customer is the young generations who have a fancy for energy drinks. We also target sport persons with our special energy pack. We want to make our drink available for homes, offices, hospitals, sports persons, marriages, other occasions, hotels and restaurants. The recent studies showing the impact of aerated drinks on health has turned customer to ignore such artificially produced drinks and go for natural food drinks. The rising population will require larger amount of food drinks. Our product will be a natural thirst quencher with added flavor of Kewra essence in it which will be beneficial during the long summer months. 1.4 Major Segmentation Approach 1.5 PESTLE Analysis The Pestle Analysis identifies the political, economic, social, technological, legal and ecological influences on an organization. Political factors Various political factors affect the fruit juice industry. With the change of government the policies regulating the industry might change. As the taxation policy keeps changing, it has a significant effect on fruit juice industry. The government plans of encouraging foreign direct investments would affect our industry highly as organized fruit juice industry has only 3 % share as of now in the market but with FDIs it could increase significantly by coming of bigger players. Economic factors Our company would rely on trucks to move our raw materials to the processing plant and distribute our finished product so, fuel is also an important subject, so the company is subject to the fuel price fluctuation, and to possible fuel crisis. Since, ours is an agro based industry so we would be exposed to the risks of high prices due to crop failure, non-availability of raw material because of pest attack etc. Other economic factors affecting fruit juice industry are often linked to variability in real growth, inflation, interest rates, governmental actions and other factors. Factors like money supply, energy availability and cost, business cycles, etc. would also affect our company. Socio-cultural factors We are more than a billion strong nations and the youngest country as well. We are also home to the great Indian middle class. The major growth drivers in fruit juice market are increase in health consciousness among consumers, increase in disposable incomes and more sophisticated cocktail culture. There is more money circulating in the economy. With life becoming more hectic and tiring, consumer preferences are witnessing a visible shift towards healthy foods. Even the younger generation has started shifting from fizz to fresh and healthy. As people are becoming more and more educated, they are taking the healthy route. Technological factors Fruit juices have become big business throughout much of the developed and developing world with the increasing health conscious proportion of population. In this ever growing industry technology plays a major role in maintaining the quality and cost efficiency to generate higher profits.  Better technology can increase the shelf life of our product. Technology refers to both production process as well as machinery. Legal factors Processed fruit juices are regulated under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations as a food product and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act. The Food and Drugs Act creates identity standards, provides a basis for labelling requirements and establishes the safety parameters for soft drinks. As food safety requirements become more advanced across the beverage industry, tracking and traceability capabilities are a prerequisite. Ecological factors One environmental issue that food processing companies face is waste remaining from packaging. However, the problem often lies in feasibility of collection, separation and purification of the consumers’ disposed bottles or drinks packets. Environmental issues have gained importance because of regulatory requirements. It is not possible to sell a new packaging material without covering all the environmental issues. The reduction of materials in packing cartons can potentially provide both financial and environmental benefits. . We propose to provide our product in tetra packs so that lesser damage is done to the environment in comparison to PET bottles. 2. Product review 2.1 Product features In India coconut water has always been considered as a health drink to refresh the body due to its nutritional value. Tender Coconut Water is considered the healthiest best sports drink in the world, because it contains vitamins. It is very refreshing and rich in sugar, electrolytes and minerals – available in the natural form in most sterile conditions. It is a natural isotonic drink where the electrolyte levels are similar to those found in the human body. The water of fresh green coconuts is actually fat free. Our company keeping this factor in mind has come up with two natural flavored drink containing 1. Kewra essence which has a floral fragrance thereby providing a cooling effect in the drink. 2. Mint flavor to provide freshness and energizing flavor to the drink Chota Anna would have two variants in terms of Kewra drink and Mint drink. Kewra drink Mint drink Coconut water Coconut water Kewra essence Mint sugar honey Farm Fresh Tender Coconut are selected (50% capacity extracted) and the rest purchased from the Ratnagiri Association Coconut supplier and Natural Tender Coconut Water is squeezed out, untouched by hand and put through a special process in order to add the natural flavors of Kewra essence and Mint. The product is packed in food-grade Bottles/ Cans, which keeps it fresh for 9/18 months. The taste is natural and hence good.

Friday, September 20, 2019

An Analysis of the Culture of an Organisation

An Analysis of the Culture of an Organisation Organisational culture is a place or community and sometimes is called as workplace environment on which the growth of the employees or the people is relied that is important for the growth of the company itself. The culture should be encouraging and based on the organizational policies, values and set of business ethics as well so that the people working within the organizational working environment can find things to keep in ethical standards and also according to the way the business organization wants to keep. This will benefit both the business organization as well as the people working for the organization as well. This report is based on the title of An analysis of the culture of an organisation and for accomplishing the key objectives of this assignment, we are to use the case of Nestle. Nestle is a big global business organization and it has been serving the world food industry for the last 150 years of successful business operations as cited by (About us, 2016). The cultur e of Nestle is a big matter of discussion when the company is much health and safety as well as environment concern providing best food products to the people in more than 189 countries of the world. It employs more than 3, 35, 000 employees having operated more than 2, 000 brands of it in the international food market as highlighted by (At a glance, 2016). Nestle has a good culture practicing growth for its employees and improving their abilities and skills continuously within the organizational community through performance improvement and reward systems as well. The culture of Nestle is based on better performance that the employees are always encouraged to be better than the past as noted by (Performance culture, 2016). Organization and the culture of the organization is significant as evaluated by the employees or the people who work there. It is significant in the sense that if the organization cannot ensure and provide the culture or the minimum working environment to the employees where the employees will have the growth opportunities. If they cant get the opportunity to Put into their potentials in the company and the opportunity to prove themselves then, employees will not find interest for working there anymore. This report will cover the culture of Nestle and how it assists its employee to keep themselves align with its mission and objectives while giving them the opportunities and benefits for working better and nurturing the culture of it. In order to discuss the facts related to the evolution of the culture of Nestle, we will demonstrate how different theoretical framework or models can be applied to the case of nestle. Also, an analysis will take place on using and evaluating a particula r and relevant cultural theoretical model to the selected organization along with some evaluative recommendations for the company to better design the culture of it. This report will be prepared basing on the fact of equality of rights for both male and female employees and balancing gender in the workplace environment. Nestle is trying to enhance some systematic changes and trying to bring some improvements in the workplace environment in order to enhance as well as develop the culture of the organization throughout all of the offices of Nestle. Also, maintaining standards in all of the departments and offices throughout the word is another goal of Nestle through focusing on some key changes such as eliminating child labor, ensuring better safety in the workplace, improving supply chain, using environment friendly production and distribution system and many more issues as cited by (Creating Shared Value, 2016). So, we are to focus on the issue of balancing gender or, enhancing balance in gender in Nestle as this is one of the issues that is presently confronted and tried to be settled at Nestle. Culture of a business organization or company needs to be understood and evaluated by the managers or strategists of the particular business organization. The analysis on the culture of a particular business organization by its key planners or managerial personnel will provide the opportunity to enhance the productivity of the employees as well as the people working in the company through developing their skill within the standardize system of the culture set by the managers (Al Mehairi Zakaria, 2014). But, evaluating as well as understanding the workplace environmental characteristics or the elements of the culture to know about the nature of the culture of a particular organization needs to use some models or theories to analyze the key elements of the work environment or the culture of the company. Here, we are to discuss about two models of culture related to analyzing the culture of a business organization so that the issue that is currently facing by Nestle can be evaluated an d analyzed to oversee how the company is confronting and overcoming the challenges or the issue. Among various models of organizational culture, we are to discuss here on the Hofstedes model of culture and the Handys model of culture. In the following paragraphs these two model of organizational culture are to be discussed brief. Hofstedes model of culture Geert Hofstede is a psychologist who had provided with a model showing the variables or dimensions that a society or a culture of the society or culture of any organization as well as company might possess (Geert Hofstede, 2016). The model of cultural dimensions was provided by Geert Hofstede in the year of 1970 which was invented basing on a research project by Geert Hofstede (Hofstede, 2009). The research project was conducted on fifty different countries of the world involving the workers or people working in the IBM and he differentiated one culture from another as cited by (Research Geert Hofstede, 2016). Through conducting this research project, Geert Hofstede provided four dimensions and later on, he added two more dimensions of culture that are now used by the organizational researchers to understand differences among the culture of each country from other business organizations. Strategists or managerial personnel use this model of culture to analyze various differences in the culture of a particular business organization in order to settle the issues faced by the company to overcome cultural problems. Moreover, the model of cultural dimension by Hofstede is used for understanding cultural differences between or among societies or cultures of business organizations as well. Geert Hofstede suggested six dimensions of organizational or societal culture. According to (Hofstede, Pedersen, Hofstede, 2012), these six cultural dimensions of culture can place value within the organization if the variables or dimensions can be properly balanced and managed by the mangers. The six cultural dimensions by Hofstede are described below in brief. Power distance: Power distance index is a measurement of power distribution that shows how the power within a society or business organization or company is distributed to the people of the particular institution or company. This index consists two sides from which one is high power distance and another is low power distance. The two sides reflect two kinds of nature of a culture of a business organization along with the nature of the authority and management possessed by the managers of a particular business organization. The business organization which has people with high in power distance that means that people have more power than the people living without zero or very low power than the higher class people in the society or in the organization. The organization having high in power distance index follows an authoritarian management philosophy and the employees working there do not have the rights such as flexibility of work, right of making decisions or giving opinions etc. But , low power distance index of an organization has a balance in the power that people have in the working environment or company. Managers follow democratic leadership and managerial style involving others in making key organizational decisions as well as cited by (Organisational Culture Geert Hofstede, 2016). Individualistic vs collectivistic: Business organizations may also have the nature of individualism or collectivism in its organizational culture or working environment. Individualistic business organizational culture doesnt inspire people to work for the shared goals as prescribed by the business organization. But, collectivist organizational culture of a business organization promotes common values and goals as well of the organization to be achieved through group or team efforts by the people working within the organization. This dimension shows whether a business organization has a culture of community sharing common objectives or a culture having interest for achieving personal rather than organizational goals. High and low uncertainty avoidance: Companies that are high in the uncertainty avoidance have a culture involving systems, regulations, guidelines to follow without coping with the changes due to the change of the business environment, change in the economy or change in the other variables that might influence the decisions taken by the company. These organizations do not change over time and believe that changes might cause problems whether, the organizations in low uncertainty avoidance index update their systems and implement improvements in the strategies or plans as well to innovate and to increase the feasibility and validity of the organizational policies. Masculinity and femininity: This index shows the attitude that a culture of a business organization possess. The high in the index shows that the organization is such ambitious, competitive and there is more difference in gender beyond equality between male and female employees. The low index value shows femininity attitudes within the culture of an organization of high in gender balance and focusing on relationship building with others in the organization to provide greater value for the organization together. Short term and long term orientation: Organization may have an orientation of short term which involves the organization to rely upon traditional systems followed by the company and also having the view that future will be handled in future without having any planning at present. Taking any action in the business is not made basing on future. On the other hand, having the long term orientation companies implement long term plans taking the value of time and analyzing the past, they take actions at present to improve the organizational situation in the long term. Indulgence versus restraint: Organization focusing more on indulgence or having high score in the index of indulgence versus restraint has a culture of rewarding employees toward a happier personal as well as work life. But, low in the index represents the culture of a business organization to involve rigid and structured organizational framework with no optimism of wellbeing of the employees. Handys model of culture Charles Handy is an Irish Philosopher who is a specialist of culture of business organization (Charles Handy, 2009). Charles Handy provided his model of organizational culture which involves four types of culture that the business organization may follow. This model of culture identifying the four types of culture of a business organization will make someone understand why employee feel comfortable working in a particular business organization.   According to Charles Handy, the four types or classes of culture of the business organization are described in brief in the following paragraphs as highlighted by (CRAINER, 2010). The power culture: The business organization that involves the power culture follows the leadership style as well as the management style of autocracy. Business organization having such power culture centralizes all the power of the organization to some of the person in the high level of the organizational hierarchy or structure. Key decisions or any types of decisions taken within the organization are done by them without giving any right of opinion giving to the employees as cited by (Charles Handy Model of Organization Culture, 2016). So, Employees do not enjoy working in such type of organization and also this type of culture ensures nothing equal on any issue for the betterment of the people working under the autocratic managers. Task culture: The business organizations or companies having or following the culture of accomplishing tasks through making team efforts are more objectives achieving oriented. According to (Bailey, 2007), the task culture emphasizes on sharing common goals and business objectives. In this type of culture, the employees are motivated to work as teams. Person culture: The Company in which people working there do not bother about whether the objectives or purposes of the organization are met or not and primarily and only their personal desires are their focal points possesses a person culture. When there is nothing that the employees have to expect any kind of betterment working hard for the company, this type of culture takes place in the business organization. Employees just come to the company for their salary and accomplishing their personal interest. Role culture: Organization possessing this type of culture where the employees are given the right combination of duties and authority aligning with their job position in the organization and basing on their qualifications and experience as well (Management Theory of Charles Handy, 2011). Employees within this type of culture are empowered with the authority given to them for choosing their own ways to solve any issue or accomplishing any task as well. Comparison between Hofstedes and Handys models of culture The two models of organizational culture describe two issue relating to the culture of a particular work environment or company. The first one provides six types of dimensions on which the nature of culture is understood but the later one describes types of culture that a company might possess either of them. The objective of these two models are also different. For example, the Hofstedes model is used to understand the culture of a particular organization through analyzing six set of attributes discussed in the previous task. But, Handys model of culture is used for knowing why an employee is working within a particular business organization as highlighted by (Types of Organizational Culture, 2016). Also, according to Hofstede a culture can be measured positive or negative analyzing the score in the six indices accomplished by the particular business organization as cited by (Hofstede, Hofstede, Minkov, 2010). But, Handys model of culture analyzes which type of culture does the business organization specifically possessing at present. We have selected a single issue- enhancing gender balance in Nestle to apply any of the cultural model within the Organizational culture of Nestle to overcome the challenges of confronting the issue. The Hofstedes model of culture doesnt involve any dimension relating to gender equality in the workplace environment where the Handys model of culture presents the role culture types which only focuses on qualification and education of the employee beyond gender disparity. So, we will utilize the Handys model of culture and apply this on the issue facing by Nestle at present. According to Charles Handy, there are four types of cultures from which any one of these types of culture can be seen in a particular business organization. Among these four types of culture described in the previous part of this report such as power, role, task and person culture, we are to use the role culture in case of Nestle. Because, we are responding to the issue of enhancement of gender balance within Nestle and we will emphasize on this type of culture to give some recommendations that the company might follow to adopt in order to confront the issue as well. The role culture as provided by Handy is focused on the empowerment of the employees working in the business organization (NCSL Modular Curriculum, 2016). As Nestle is directed toward improving its working environment balancing the role and power of the workforce through enhancing the balance in gender. Male as well as female employees are to be given equal opportunities and this is to be ensured for balancing in gender in Nestle and in any organization as well. The main objective under the issue of enhancing gender balance in the company is to increase the number of female in the higher or managerial positions f he company. This needs to be given the female workers or employee equal opportunities to grow and also to encourage and motivate them to work closely with the male employees so that the synergic calculation of the effort by both genders equals to more than the sum of them. The role culture needs to be adopted by Nestle because, this culture imposes equal rights, responsibiti es, power to all the employees according to their qualification and skill as well ass according to their job position without considering which gender they possess. So, adopting such practices and the role culture in the business organization will support Nestle to accomplish its objective of enhancing balance in gender. Nestle should implement the role culture that will ensure the empowerment with right combination of authority and responsibility of all the employees and eliminating the gender disparity within the business organization. Organizational culture needs to be set up according to its shared objectives and values so that the employees can be managed within the controlled organizational environment toward organizational goals acheieving. Through implementing such a shared culture will improve business processes for enhancing of opportunities for the betterment of the employees as well company. References       About us. (2016). Nestle.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016, from http://www.nestle.com/aboutus Al Mehairi, H. Zakaria, N. (2014). Understanding Organizational Culture for Effective Knowledge Sharing Behaviors in the Workplace. Organizational Cultures: An International Journal, 13(3), 33-52. http://dx.doi.org/10.18848/2327-8013/cgp/v13i03/59257 At a glance. (2016). Nestle.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016, from http://www.nestle.com/aboutus/overview Bailey, J. (2007). Profile on Charles Handy. Engineering Management, 17(1), 44-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/em:20070115 Charles Handy. (2009). The Economist. Retrieved 10 August 2016, from http://www.economist.com/node/13847396 Charles Handy Model of Organization Culture. (2016). Managementstudyguide.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016, from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/charles-handy-model.htm CRAINER, S. (2010). PROFILE: CHARLES HANDY. Business Strategy Review, 21(2), 86-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8616.2010.00671.x Creating Shared Value. (2016). Nestle.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016, from http://www.nestle.com/csv Geert Hofstede. (2016). Geert-hofstede.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016, from https://www.geert-hofstede.com/ Hofstede, G. (2009). Organising for cultural diversity. European Management Journal, 7(4), 390-397. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0263-2373(89)90075-3 Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G., Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hofstede, G., Pedersen, P., Hofstede, G. (2012). Exploring culture. Yarmouth, Me.: Intercultural Press. Management Theory of Charles Handy. (2011). Business.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016, from http://www.business.com/management/management-theory-of-charles-handy/ NCSL Modular Curriculum. (2016). Nationalcollege.org.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2016, from https://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/transfer/open/dsbm-phase-4-module-2-leading-and-managing-change/culture-and-change/organisational-culture.html Organisational Culture Geert Hofstede. (2016). Geert-hofstede.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016, from https://www.geert-hofstede.com/organisational-culture.html Performance culture. (2016). Nestle.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016, from http://www.nestle.com/jobs/your-career-at-nestle/performance-culture Research Geert Hofstede. (2016). Geert-hofstede.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016, from https://www.geert-hofstede.com/research.html Types of Organizational Culture. (2016). Boundless. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/organizational-culture-and-innovation-4/culture-33/types-of-organizational-culture-187-3936/   

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Breaking the Bonds of Oppression in Susan Glaspells A Jury of Her Peer

Breaking the Bonds of Oppression in A Jury of Her Peers  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Susan Glaspell’s "A Jury of Her Peers" is a view into the lives of farmer’s wives in the Midwest at the turn of the century. These women live in a male dominated world, where the men consider them incompetent and frivolous. The only identity they have is that associated with their husbands. They stay at the farmhouse to complete their repetitive and exhausting chores. The wives have little or no contact with the other people because of the distances between farms. Glaspell uses her female characters to rebel against the inequalities that women face and to prove that women are competent and when pushed too far --strike back. The male dominant society that is condescending, controlling, denies individuality, demands submission, and is abusive toward women, is a society that punishes and deprives itself. It is a society that is harmful and hurtful, not only to the women, but to the men as well. Typical of the male dominant frame of mind, the men’s view of the women in "A Jury of Her Peers" is condescending from start to finish. Putting a slight twist on Shakespeare’s famous metaphor, "The world is a stage", the men are the puppeteers, and the women "merely" puppets, evidences the men’s beliefs (Act II, scene 7, lines 143-144). The men believe they are superior and more intelligent than the women are. The feeling of superiority is evident in Mr. Hale’s comment, "women are used to worrying over trifles" (Glaspell 186). Similarly, these feelings of superiority are shown in the county attorney’s musings over whether the women would "know a clue if they came upon it" (Glaspell 187). Glaspell uses this emotion to create the irony in the story. She shows how ... ...~journals~S~hyp.html&querydocid=1096142 @library_a&dtype=0~0&dinst=0> Sherman, Beth. "The Dirt on Men despite Liberation, Education, Maturation and Good Old Nagging, Women still can’t get their Men to Clean the House. Is it a Lost Cause or is there Some Way to Make Men Come Clean?" 26 Sept. 1992. SI., Newsday. 17 Feb. 1999. <http://www.elibrary.com/s/edumark/getdoc.cgi?id=125920539x0y20939w1& OIDS=0Q002D000&Form=RL&pubname=Newsday&puburl=http~C~~S~~S~ www.newsday.com&querydocid=213927@library_g&dtype=0~0&dinst=0> Walradth, Ellie. "Historian Says Farm Wives a Happy Lot." 21 Feb. 1997. University of Wisconsin. 17 Feb. 1999. <http://www.elibrary.com/s/edumark/getdoc.cgi?id=125920539x0y20939w1& OIDS=0Q002D000&Form=RL&pubname=Newsday&puburl=http~C~~S~~S~ www.newsday.com&querydocid=213927@library_g&dtype=0~0&dinst=0>     

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

What is Courage? Essay -- Definition Courage Corageous Essays

What is Courage? What is courage? Is it the ability to prove yourself in war? Or the strength it takes to decide you will not fight? Is courage being yourself when you’re different from everyone else? Is it doing something that even your own father thinks you can’t do? Is courage synonymous with honor? Is it speaking up, even if doing so puts you in danger? Risking death for the person most precious to you? Or risking death for strangers? Is courage facing your fears, no matter how big or small they might be? Is it forging forward into a new life when you still miss the old one? Is courage all of these things? None of them? The following text set is designed to help ninth grade students create and examine their own definitions of courage. In addition to asking, â€Å"What is courage?† it also lends itself to the question, â€Å"Where do our conceptions of courage come from?† Courage is the focus of this text set because it is a theme that is prevalent in American society. To be courageous is considered a positive quality, but the examples of courage most often seen in the news and in history books are often narrowly defined. Students need to think more deeply about what courage really is, and to get inside the minds of so-called â€Å"courageous† people and learn about their motivations and their fears. Students will be asked to consider a wide variety of characters and situations, all of them potentially courageous, but more in depth focus will be placed on three specific categories. The first is courage during war or revolution, beyond the stereotypical portrayal of th e one-dimensional â€Å"war hero.† The second is the courage to be different from your peers or to voice your opinion even if it’s not a popular one. T... ...are designed to help them with this difficult task. By reading and thinking about a variety of possibilities of what courage is, students can both expand and come to a better understanding of their own beliefs on the subject. Through class discussions and writing activities, they can also share these beliefs with others. Works Cited Brozo, William G. and Ronald V. Schmelzer. â€Å"Wildmen, warriors, and lovers: Reaching boys through archetypal literature.† Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 41 (1997): 4-12). Feinberg, Barbara. â€Å"Reflections on the ‘Problem Novel.’† American Educator Winter 2004-2005. 13 Apr. 2005. . Wolf, Shelby A. Interpreting Literature with Children. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers: 2004.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Storm Fear Essay -- Literary Analysis, Robert Frost

The poem â€Å"Storm Fear† by Robert Frost describes a scene in which â€Å"the wind works against us in the dark.† Throughout the poem, the frozen landscape acts as an antagonist fighting against man. In the classic novella Ethan Frome, author Edith Wharton also personifies the landscape. The village of Starkfield, New England during the harsh winters is also an antagonist, prohibiting the characters from communicating with each other effectively. Throughout both works the environment causes Ethan and the speaker of the poem to suppress their feelings until it is too late to act. Both authors use vivid and detailed imagery to portray a dark winter storm. Frost starts the poem by describing the chilled atmosphere. In the second line, the author denotes a harsh winter storm that â€Å"pelts with snow.† This statement, along with the line mentioned earlier, indicates that the scene is working against the characters. The word â€Å"pelt† is a key word in this sentence. Pelt may mean to attack or assault, but it can also be another word for the hide of a dead animal. This implies that the snow is so harsh that it can be classified as deadly. The title â€Å"Storm Fear† doesn’t give off a positive connotation. . Rather than mentioning the beauty of a snowflake, or describing a â€Å"winter wonderland†, the author chooses to describe the winter as if it is looking to bring an end to something (or someone). It is referred to as a â€Å"storm†, not a snowfall. â€Å"Fear† also is not positive, as it can be defined as à ¢â‚¬Å"an unpleasant emotion†. In Ethan Frome, Wharton’s dark description of the winters in New England is prevalent throughout the work. She refers to the winter as a â€Å"sunless cold.† (pg. 8). Harmon Gow even claims that â€Å"Most of the smart ones get away [from the winte... ...than could have gone over to Mattie when he alone with her by the fire, but instead he has her move into Zeena’s chair. Wharton indicates that he is to â€Å"indolent† and â€Å"lazy† (pg. 77) to move over to her. Neither character can make the change and overcome the influence of the storm unless they put in the effort, and do so â€Å"unaided†. In both â€Å"Storm Fear† by Robert Frost and Edith Wharton’s great novella Ethan Frome, the landscape is personified to fight against the characters. Frost and the characters in the novella are challenged by brutal winter storms that do not allow them to communicate with each other effectively. Only when it is to late do they say what must be said and do what must be done. In the end, the landscape leaves Mattie and Ethan crippled, and Frost snowed in. If they were able to articulate, things would have been different.

Porphyria’s Lover Analysis

Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning – An Analysis The finest woks of Browning endeavor to explain the mechanics of human psychology. The motions of love, hate, passion, instinct, violence, desire, poverty, violence, and sex and sensuousness are raised from the dead in his poetry with a striking virility and some are even introduced with a remarkable brilliance. Thanks to the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution, so many people living in such close quarters, poverty, violence, and sex became part of everyday life.The absence of family and community ties meant newfound personal independence; it also meant the loss of a social safety net. The mid-nineteenth century also saw the rapid growth of newspapers, which functioned not as the current-events journals of today but as scandal sheets, filled with stories of violence and carnality essay writer program. Hurrying pedestrians, bustling shops, and brand-new goods filled the streets, and individuals had to take in mi llions of separate perceptions a minute.The resulting over stimulation led, according to many theorists, to a sort of numbness. Notably many writers now felt that in order to provoke an emotional reaction they had to compete with the turmoils and excitements of everyday life had to shock their audience in ever more novel and sensational ways. Thus violence also became a sort of aesthetic choice for many creative people. Browning can be charged of also employing violence as a tool for evoking aesthetic brilliance but this is only at the superficial level.Because when it comes to the use of violence in his poems we find them as close to reality as reality itself. His poems show us the human passions in flesh and blood and he was not going to be one who denied the presence of violence as a potent human passion or one who presented it as something out of proportion just to create sensation. His incorporation of violence with other human passions was real just and fully understandable. M any of Browning's more disturbing poems, including â€Å"Porphyria's Lover† and â€Å"My Last Duchess,† reflect this notion.In his poem â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† we find Browning at his best. The poem is a love poem†¦ but has a lot more to offer than just the bright sunny side of love. For Browning love was a passion, which had its destructive side as well. But this did not in anyway lessen or tarnish its reputation as being the purest emotion. In fact the destruction that mostly love brought on the characters of Browning’s poems was mostly due to other reasons like violence, may be.Porphyria's Lover also demonstrates several of Robert Browning's defining characteristics as a poet. It contains his criticism towards the beliefs and practices of self-restraint and his traditional use of dramatic monologue to expose a single character's personality, which in turn often provides an additional depth to his works in coordination with his use of unpoe tic language. Also taking into account the author's own personal experiences with his wife, the poem can also be perceived as a representation of the development of their relationship.Browning's criticism of the idea of self-restraint is evident throughout the poem â€Å"Porphyria's Lover† as it was shown in the internal debates both characters underwent as they decided whether or not they should consummate the love between them. In Robert Browning's dramatic monologue, â€Å"Porphyria's Lover,† the love-stricken frustrations of a nameless speaker end in a passionate, annihilating response to society's scrutiny towards human sensuality.Cleverly juxtaposing Porphyria's innocent femininity and her sexual transgression, Browning succeeds in displaying society's contradictory embrace of morality next to its rejection of sensual pleasure. In an ironically tranquil domestic setting, warm comfort and affection come to reveal burning emotional perversions within confining soci al structures. The speaker's violent display of passion ends not with external condemnation, but with the matter-of-fact sense of a duty fulfilled.Porphyria's lover sits next to his murdered love without any regretful aftermath or consequence; from the narrator's viewpoint, a perception wholly distorted by the forced internalization of his feelings for Porphyria, not even the ultimate hand of God can rob him the serenity of a moment free from judgment. Porphyria’s Lover is his first dramatic monologue in which we are witness to the union of two lovers. This union, as the poem reaches its end, culminates in to a unique eternal nirvana.Browning's presentation of an unreliable narrator is necessarily so, for in the ironically ordinary setting of Victorian simplicity, the speaker's insanity is justified and accounted for. With traditional notions of nature's wrath and God's omnipotence framing the start and finish of the scene, Browning employs the narration's natural poetic flow in order to heighten the blow of the unexpectedly unorthodox turn of events. The speaker's great passion comes to parallel that of God, nature, and ultimately, social expectations, thus embodying the force of the â€Å"sullen wind† (Line 2) itself.Moreover the very beginning of the poem shows a setting where the nature is presented in wrath and fury- violence marks its presence from the very onset. This is in fact a sign of forces other than ‘love’ at work. As the young goddess is shown gliding across to meet her lover, the forces of nature rage around. They represent the various odds going against the two lovers. The use of nature as an opposing force by the master poet is a splendid technique. The reason being only nature in its enormity would have been potent enough to match the magnanimous stature of love.And Browning did want to convey this message across that despite its pure magnanimity love was overshadowed and forced to change its direction because of o ther forces. And the consequences of such changes though ending up in the final victory of love did cast rather painful shadows. The first line of the poem, ‘The rain set early in tonight,’ is indicative of the fact that there was something that was not right. Something that was unusual. Something that was just not befitting the sacredness of the meeting of the two lovers.The very word ‘early’ provides that desired effect and the reader at once realizes the inevitability of fate. The word also signifies that there was a certain degree of expectation and hope; that the rain would set in late at some other expected time. The feeling of hope that things might have worked the way love wanted them to! In the next line the use of ‘sullen’ is actually the word that cements the fact that there are opposing forces working against love. Moreover the sheer potency that the force of wind represents shows the odds that the passion of love is up against.Even though the reader has no idea what the poem is going to bring but the mention of the force of wind is enough to make us realize that there is s tension from the very outset. The whole feeling is further substantiated by the word ‘vex’ in the third line. More over water symbolizes femininity and the line, ‘and did its worst to vex the lake’ shows that Porphyria was made to face the worst possible odds. Just like the wind tore across the elm tops and tried its utmost to disturb the waters†¦ so did the forces of fate tried their best to stop her from meeting her lover.Browning grants certain credibility to the narrowness of the speaker's viewpoint in that it displays the most extreme result of lifelong subservience to the world's own confining expectations. Introducing nature's unpredictability at the onset of the poem, Browning suggests the detrimental effect of an outside force and foreshadows the speaker's equally spiteful gesture: â€Å"It tore the elm-tops down for spite, / And did its worst to vex the lake: / I listened with heart fit to break† (3-5).Here the speaker muses about his apparent powerlessness to weather's force, the symbolic obstacle of the outside world that keeps Porphyria away. The next line is the point where very cleverly the poet manages to change the focus of attention of the reader to the lover without losing any of the effect that the imagery and settings has created so far†¦ ‘I listened with heart fit to break. ’ This line is indicative of another thing and that is that the lover was waiting desperately and has reached a certain degree of impatience when his beloved enters the sordid cottage.The room where the lover is waiting also signifies a certain level of pathos that is underlying throughout the poem. The next few lines are simply drenched in love and tenderness that the lover has for Porphyria in these pathos-ridden surroundings. First the use of the word ‘straightâ €™ shows the level of devotion the two lovers have. It shows how keenly and decisively the poet was waiting for her that he noticed every single detail- as how she came in straight to him and how dearly Porphyria wanted to meet him. The next line is simply fantastic in its construction as it shows the love between the two in its totality. She shut the cold out and the storm,’ The poet does not use the word of door anywhere though it is understood that she must have shut the door when she came in. But does this imply that before she came the doors were open. I would not agree to that; but rather it signifies the fact that the sheer presence of Porphyria had barged out the cold, dreariness and the ‘storm’ – the storm here carries dual meaning of one that was raging outside and the other one that was the barrage of questions twisting and swirling in the mind of the lover.Thus her arrival had brought to peace the storm outside and the storm inside; or to p ut it in more appropriate terms the lover no longer cared for the storm outside as the storm inside him had been pacified by her person. Further as the poem proceeds we realize more of the purity in the love of the two characters. Porphyria kneels down and all the grim shadows of uncertainty and confusion fade away†¦ her sheer presence had provided the lover with all the warmth he needed to bring him back to life. The line is suggestive of a motherly feeling especially as well; the word ‘warm’ marks the motherly essence in the love.The motherly feeling here is presented in the broader sense of the word, as one of selfless love. Further more the use of this word also amplifies the fact that her motherly tenderness for her lover had endowed upon the dreary cottage a home like aura. Browning is a master of senses. At his best he is like a painter who uses simple actions, simple images, and everyday feelings to represent vaulting passions and towering emotions. In the next lines that follow, we find the poet using simple images of Porphyria to display her sensuous facet or to be more exact her feminine element ‘Which done, she rose, and from her form’These lines present a beautiful scene of a young maiden getting up. Now the impression one gets from these lines are those of a young girl standing up with her slender physique, her chiseled limbs, and her proud manner in which she carries herself. All the actions that follow are multifarious in their implications. For one they show a young girl going through motions that are indeed a compliment to her physique ‘Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,’ A young girl taking off her cloak and shawl would be going through the motions that would amplify her beauty in a very sensuous manner.Moreover they also show that the girl is absolutely at ease with her beloved meaning there by that she felt completely at home. Furthermore the way in which she takes off her gloves and then her hat†¦ all show that she meant to spend some time and was not in a rush and that she felt comfortable with her lover. And then finally after done with all that she sat by his side. Thus Browning’s genius is evident here, as he has used simple actions to highlight two different facets that fully substantiate the feeling of love between the two characters- one of sensuousness and the other of trust and purity.Love is a strange emotion. In fact it is one of the most puzzling emotions ever. And yet it is the simplest. Considered in its entirety it is an insatiable desire for satiation, an ever increasing thirst for more and yet it gives you that little joy that is suffice enough to keep you going for a life time, it fills you with that unique pleasure which though lasts for a moment but leaves you with an ecstasy, so full and complete. ‘And, last, she sat down by my side’ These lines are followed by remarkable lines that exude the aura of such passionate and tre mendous love.From the moment she sat by his side we find a strange tinge of sensuousness amalgamate itself with the tone of love so dominating in the whole poem. Porphyria sat beside her lover just like a child snuggles beside his mother. She could feel the same calm and repose that a child feels at the side of his mother. But from here starts the strange union of sense with feelings, of adoration with desires†¦ as she reaches out to her lover and finds him not responding to her, she at once realizes that he was going through the motions of that emotion which a child encounters when after getting noticed by his mother he wants to be pampered. She put my arm about her waist, And made her smooth white shoulder bare,’ Paradoxically, the warmth of Porphyria's love appears to the narrator to be so temporary that it incites his own predominant passion. Innocently seeking to comfort her afflicted lover, Porphyria forces him to embrace her and makes â€Å"her smooth white shoul der bare† (17). Abruptly, Browning's scene of chilling weather interrupted by warm companionship becomes a picture of overt sexual expression amidst the cottage's roaring fire.The initial presentation of traditional domesticity, a comforting shelter from a raging storm, turns quickly now to unstoppable, passionate pace. These lines that follow are of one of the most critical nature as they are hinging on the two extremes of love and physicality. A little turn towards either could make a complete mess of the scene, a total collapse of the expression, and a break in the rhythm. But this juncture shows us Browning in his full splendor. This is the point that distinguishes him.Like a seasoned doctor he carries out the dissection of the emotions, bringing forth the two elements of love and physicality in complete balance and striking fusion. Porphyria’s action of putting her arms around his waist is indicative of the trust she had on him. But then the very next line is maste rfully interwoven in this aura and presents a picture of conditioned yet subtle lure. She bares her shoulder before her lover. Now the use of a bare shoulder is one of the most intelligent symbols to represent sensuousness as a bare shoulder has a very unique shape.It is ‘smooth’ and ‘white’, and moreover it has a ‘curving shape with soft flesh’ around it. Now such a physical image is enticing because it incorporates in itself strong feminine quality as the ‘curves and soft smooth flesh’ speak of the untold story about the girl†¦! Illicit sex out of wedlock presented a major concern for Victorian society; the famous Victorian â€Å"prudery† constituted only a backlash to what was in fact a popular obsession with the theme: the newspapers of the day reveled in stories about prostitutes and unwed mothers.Here, however, in â€Å"Porphyria's Lover,† sex appears as something natural, acceptable, almost wholesome: Porp hyria's girlishness and affection take prominence over any hints of immorality. The odyssey continues in this land of strong passion of love and we find the lines heightening in the physical imagery showing love in its full splendor. Porphyria made her lover lay his cheek on her bare shoulders and let her hair fall loosely around †¦This whole image speaks volumes about the balance in the motions of love that the two lovers had. To add the final touches to this fine picture of perfect love Porphyria softly re-confesses her love for the young man. Here brilliantly the poet explains the feelings of the young lady as she expressed her love for her lover †¦ by using the word ‘murmuring’, Browning is hinting to the eventual femininity that underlines her heightened feelings. She is after all a girl whose vaulting passions are tamed down by her femininity.The poet speaks out the lovers mind here as well, saying that he perceived this softness in confession to be the cooing down of her feminine self in the face of opposition from ‘pride, and vainer ties’, instead of giving herself to him in the powerful flow of her emotions. But this at no point suggests that the lover had any grievance or doubt on her love for him. Thus these lines points out the basic feminine psyche, that a girl is basically weak when it comes to facing the world but this in no way suggests that her passions are not strong enough.And moreover they also hint at the Victorian society’s respect for hollow ideals like ‘pride’. Browning's poem cannot be seen merely as a character analysis of a nameless speaker; its events frame not only the speaker's apparent insanity but the primary source of his distorted emotions. The narrator's own â€Å"struggling passion† (23) impedes his ability to think and act in a way that society views appropriate; yet, paradoxically, it is society's limited notion of what is appropriate that kindles the ultimatel y fatal fire of his passionate endeavor.The next few lines are splendid example of Browning’s genius as the lover answers his own views about the femininity of her beloved, prevailing over her passion with the realization that her passion had prevailed at least that night as she came gliding through the rain and thunder with in and without to her lover. The whole notion of his beloved coming to him despite the unfavorable odds makes him feel proud of her and the way Browning conveys this notion also reminds the reader of the typical male psyche! ‘Happy and proud; at last I knew Porphyria worshiped me†¦. The lover feels a strange sense of relief as if he has regained a sense of surety that he stills possess his possession†¦ so much typical of the male psyche. Now we enter the point of debate where the love of the lover is rattled by the conflict that starts to grow in his heart. This line of Browning is so violent as it is filled with all the conflict, anguish, fear, disturbance, which one can imagine ‘That moment she was mine, mine, fair, Perfectly pure and good:’ The line is filled with a strange amalgam of relief, achievement, anguish, and fear.The first two words ‘that moment’ have been very dexterously placed and they fulcrumize the two extremes of anguish and relief†¦ as if something that is there and one feels so relaxed and then the very next moment the heart is gripped by the fear that will it be there the next moment. So fighting it out in the middle the lover finally resolves to eternalize that moment when she is there with him. Further more importantly, â€Å"When glided in Porphyria† (60), the narrator's weakened heart has already been broken many times if not once, both by social restrictions on his love ffair, and the subsequent limitations on Porphyria's love for him. Therefore, the speaker's distance from the world outside becomes also an inability to respond to Porphyria upon her ent rance; he sits in the cottage wanting only her love, without need of explanation, so that when he is spoken to, â€Å"no voice replied† (15). Soon, Porphyria's gift of comforting warmth within the storm exacerbates his obsession to the point of insanity-driven violence. This is a very revealing stage. The violent love shines out in its total brilliance.He takes a string of her hair and winds it around his beloved’s neck three times†¦ the line is so blatantly clear; he is going to kill her†¦ he is going to kill the one thing he would be willing to die for! ‘Three times her little throat around, And strangled her. ’ The over mounting horror has been cleverly dealt with the next line in which the lover reveals his conviction of his belief that she felt no pain. First he says, ‘No pain felt she; And then as if to substantiate his view he adds I am quite sure she felt no pain. ’ This line perhaps encompasses the whole love of the loverâ⠂¬ ¦. is belief that what he desires would be the same thing desired by his beloved. Somehow the line acts as a balm to the stressful event maybe. Such is the intensity his conviction that may be the reader is even drawn to the belief that this is the right to thing to do. Or maybe this line in a way sanctifies the whole act. His strong faith in his conviction exudes a feeling of satisfaction and consummation as well on the part of the lover. But seen in another light the speaker's lust for precedence over other forces in Porphyria's life evidently leads to her fatal end.His ecstasy at her new, momentary devotion leaves him at the gate of attaining his dream, but without any sense of trajectory: â€Å"Porphyria worshipped me; surprise / Made my heart swell, and still it grew / While I debated what to do† (33-35). On the instantaneous realization of Porphyria's love, the speaker's requited passion and rational mind still stand separate to some extent. However, it is not long b efore his heated desire to keep her â€Å"Perfectly pure and good† (37) lead him to find â€Å"A thing to do† (38).The narrator's being situated above social law, if but only once, proves to be so stunningly empowering that he loses rational ability to decipher anything but a self-centered whim. The complacency of Browning's speaker in carrying out his murderous deed ironically reflects the complacency of society towards the sexual, aesthetic, and sensual pleasures of life. Exhibiting no definite regret beyond the weariness of having taken what was the only available path, the speaker points to the painlessness of his lover's necessary death: â€Å"No pain felt she; / I am quite sure she felt no pain† (41-42).However, Browning's presenting the reader with an unreliable narrator serves only to intensify the psychological effects of his unrequited love, and says nothing for the supposed convictions and yearnings of Porphyria. While Porphyria finds her way to the s peaker through the symbolically oppressive weather of the outside world, the speaker kills her upon realizing not only society's restrictions on their relationship, and maybe also his belief of Porphyria's own unwillingness to love him fully but for the present moment.Browning presents the justifiability of the murder only through the stricken eyes of the narrator; while the poet points to social confines as the cause of the speaker's insanity, he does not discount the narrator's moral responsibility for the deed. The next actions that follow this act also amplify these notions. He opened the lids of her eyes and saw them as laugh as freshly and sweetly as they were before. Such was the intensity of his love for her that he could not see any change that the violent blow of death had brought on her, but does this at nay stage justify the murder.Calmly he untied the firm hold of her tresses around her neck and passionately kissed her on her cheek. It is evident that the social barrier s had made his love hinge on madness. For him that moment is forever when Porphyria was his own. But under all these charges of insanity, the intensity of his love is undeniable as he propped his darling’s head on his shoulder and as they sat in that calm†¦ he realizes that may be this was what Porphyria wanted too†¦ and so both had the love they wanted†¦ such was the union that not even the heavens had not said a word. Thus in freezing the oment and liberating the two of them from social structures, Browning distorts the deed to a point where it appears to be a divine event foreseen even by God. In toying with Porphyria's dead body, the narrator relates not the coldness of sudden death, nor the warmth of sitting with his love, but the blazing, untouchable serenity of enacted passion: â€Å"her cheek once more / Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss† (49). In the moment of Porphyria's death, the existence of her heated love for the speaker appears to hi m to be so infallible that God cannot even intervene: â€Å"All night long we have not stirred, / And yet God has not said a word! (59-60). Browning presents the viewpoint of a speaker educated in the divine workings of an ultimate force, yet the long-stifled yearnings of an unjustly socialized man color the intensity of the situation. In Browning's dramatic monologue, God's hand of judgment shifts away from the murderer himself and onto the culture that first inhibited the speaker's rational thought. Browning's characterization of a nameless speaker in â€Å"Porphyria's Lover† forms an unexpectedly conclusive response towards the sensual numbness of Victorian society.While the suggested insanity of the speaker would traditionally indicate the narrator's unreliability in a moral sense, Browning constructs the isolated scene such that the lover's emotional internalization is not only understandable, but divinely justified. The musings and actions of this unreliable narrator s erve to illustrate the consequence of society's confines in a shockingly violent release. Through naturally flowing language, this poetic account of burning emotion within a setting of tranquil domesticity presents the all-consuming power of human sensuality in its bleakest attempt to override social structures.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Analysis of ‘Creep’ by Radiohead Essay

* How does the use of simile contribute to the persona’s expression of alienation? (2 marks) The simile â€Å"just like an angel, you’re skin makes me cry† compares the object of the persona’s desire to an angel, an ethereal being, in order to convey how unreachable and unapproachable she seems to him, thus contributing to his expression of alienation. * What is the effect of the repetition of the word â€Å"perfect†?(2 marks) The repetition of the word â€Å"perfect† emphasises the importance of achieving perfection to the persona. * Is the use of obscenity effective? Why? Why not? (2 marks) I believe the use of obscenity in this song is effective as it conveys the frustration and anger the persona feels at not belonging as well as his jealousy towards those who do. (â€Å"You’re so f**ing special, I wish I was special†) * How would you describe the tone of this song? (2 marks) The tone in this song ranges from calm and quiet reflection in the verses to anger and frustration during the choruses. * How is contrast used in these lyrics? (2 marks) The lyrics in the songs opening contain very soft, gentle imagery of things like angels and floating feathers â€Å"in a beautiful world.† Contrast is then created through the use of obscenity and a change from poetic language into blunt speech (â€Å"What the hell am I doing here?†) This contrast heightens the impact the persona’s anger and frustration over not belonging has upon listeners, emphasising how strongly he has been emotionally affected by it.  [That contrast is much greater, by the way, when you listen to the scala & kolacny brothers choir sing it because they’re children and their voices are so angelic, contributing to the angelic imagery in the lyrics] * How is a sense of realism and verisimilitude created through these lyrics? (5 marks) The realism in this song is achieved through the use of obscenity and the frank tone to lines like â€Å"What the hell am I doing here?† A sense of verisimilitude is also established through the use of slang words such as â€Å"creep† and â€Å"weirdo† which contextualise the song as describing what could be seen as a typical aspect of the teenage experience. Realism = achieved through obscenity, straight-talking, conversational-style (2nd person pronoun?) Verisimilitude = Perhaps to the teen, this is such a typical thing feeling like a â€Å"creep† and a â€Å"weirdo† just because you don’t belong. How do these lyrics contribute to your understanding of the Area of Study â€Å"Belonging†? (10 marks) These lyrics reinforce my understanding of the need to belong as an essential aspect of human nature that stems, in part, from a belief that there is a benefit in belonging; that it brings with it privileges which cannot be found in isolation. They also highlight for me the irony in people wanting to belong in order to â€Å"be special,† as the persona puts it, when in fact it is not belonging that really makes someone stand out as an individual. The persona in this song wants to belong with a person he uses simile to describe as an â€Å"angel,† a symbol of perfection. The repetition of â€Å"perfect† in the lyrics of the song emphasises the importance of achieving perfection to the persona, because it will allow him to belong with this â€Å"angel.† The persona is even jealous of the angel for being so â€Å"perfect† and â€Å"special†, as conveyed through the tone of jealous anger created by the use of obscenity in the line, â€Å"You’re so f**ing special / I wish I was special.† The persona thinks that if he can be â€Å"perfect† like the angel then he too  will be special and privileged. The irony of the song is that it is clear to the reader that it is the persona, and not the angel, who is really special. The persona is â€Å"special,† or different from what is usual, because he does not belong. If he were to be â€Å"perfect† like the angel then he would be just another beautiful person â€Å"in a beautiful world.† In other words, he would become ordinary. To conclude, the lyrics of this song show me how essential the need to belong is in humans and how this stems from a belief that there is a privilege in belonging; that it makes you special. More importantly, however, the lyrics demonstrate that, ironically, it is actually through not belonging that we make ourselves stand out as unique individuals.