Lincoln Electric Business Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Lincoln Electric Business Case - Essay Example In early 1990s, the period that is focused in the case study, sale of arc welding equipments accounted for around 87% of their $853 million in total sales. As they â€Å"sold high-value, high-quality products at competitive prices and with outstanding customer service†, they were able to make even the corporate giants like General Electric and Westinghouse withdraw from the arc welding business. With such optimum success in their domestic market due to their quality products and efficient work culture or processes, Lincoln electric started having global aspirations in the early 1990s. Factors that triggered the company to take on the foreign expansion Before the initiation of its global expansion plans, Lincoln Electric actually had operations in Canada, Australia, and France. However, all the three functioned independently away from the direct influence of the Lincoln Electric’s headquarters, and so Lincoln was primarily viewed as an U.S. company. Thus, to achieve the tag of a global company, Lincoln started looking for opportunities or situations to arise. It happened first in early 1980s, when the U.S. economy faced financial slowdown. In order to survive or even succeed in those tough situations, the management put forth the idea of foreign expansion. The main argument was, if Lincoln is totally dependent on the domestic market and if that market gets affected by problems like financial slowdown, it may not have other options to survive and proliferate. Although, this idea was rejected by then top management team particularly William Irrgang, who headed Lincoln from 1965 until 1986, Lincoln had to initiate its foreign expansion plans, when the major Swedish manufacturer of arc-welding products, ESAB started making inroads into U.S. ESAB was already operating in the countries of Latin America and Far East Asia, apart from its home operations in Europe. Then, it suddenly bought two midsize arc welding manufacturers in the United States. This sho wed that ESAB had global ambitions and importantly wanted to make incursions into the U.S. domestic market, thereby capturing a sizable market share from Lincoln. To check ESAB growing influence, Lincoln â€Å"decided to take the battle to ESAB's markets in Europe and Latin America.† (Hastings 1999). Thus, to avoid over dependence on the domestic market particularly during tough financial times, to avoid saturation effect in the market, to aggressively compete with its competitor and also to look for potential opportunities in the foreign market, Lincoln decide to launch its foreign expansion plans. Thus, in 1986, after Irrgang died, his successor George E. "Ted" Willis, â€Å"dreamed of Lincoln's becoming a global power.† (Hastings 1999). Competitive advantages on which the foreign investments were based As mentioned above, Lincoln was able garner sizable market share, and achieved the tag of a successful company, mainly because it delivered quality products. They are able to do that by having optimal organizational processes, which was fully complemented by effective work force. The work force was skilled and experienced to come up with innovative and quality products in quick turnaround times. Their efficiency was further optimized by motivation programs, particularly the Lincoln’s incentive system. That system combined a bonus with piecework – â€Å"the practice of paying each factory worker on the basis of how many units he or she produces instead of hourly wages or salaries.†

Bilateral Trade in the Economies of Various Countries Essay

Bilateral Trade in the Economies of Various Countries - Essay Example Trade flows from traditional partners is becoming complicated. This means that distance is also an important factor in the bilateral trade. Bilateral trade plays an important role in the economies of various countries. However, a country’s trade with another or others depends on a number of factors. Due to the developments in bilateral trade such as regional integration are major factors (Brun, Carrere and Guillaumont 99). These coupled with the distance between trading partners they impact on bilateral trade. These forces countries to find viable options that help attract trade flow. This study analyses USA’s situation with relation to its traditional trade partners from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. The countries used in this study were selected on the basis of their GDP, exports volume and traditional trading activities with the USA. As a result, bilateral trade flows’ gravity model is estimated between the USA and its trading partners for the periods 1990 and 2011. The general hypothesis is: The gravity equation is considered probably the most applied empirical trade device for more than a decade now. Its main advantage is that when it is applied to extensive variety factors and goods moving across national and regional borders under varying circumstances, it always produces a good fit (Anderson and Eric 170). This makes it an ideal device for econometric methods of measuring trade. Nonetheless, with the emergence of new economic theory, advancement in international trade, and globalization, a unique empirical application of the model with respect to a country’s GDP and export capability in bilateral trade is required. The Gravity trade model helps in predicting the flows of the bilateral trade and these predictions are with the distance between units in their respective  economic directions as the basis of prediction. The model can be applied in various circumstances to provide an explanation in the flow of commodities on the international scale (Anderson 106).  

Veterans Administration Benefits Essay Example for Free

Veterans Administration Benefits Essay Veterans Administration now known as U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was founded on the 21st of July 1930. It has been established in order to coordinate and consolidate the activities of the government that affects the war of veterans. The functions of the Interior Department and National Home for disabled volunteer soldiers functions were incorporated in the Veterans Administration. President Reagan signed legislation on the 25th of October 1988 creating a new federal cabinet-level department of Veterans Affairs. This legislation replaced the Veterans Administration on the 15th of March 1989. The mission statement of Veterans Administration is what Abraham Lincoln said on his inaugural address, â€Å"To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan. † His statement reflects the principles and philosophy that guides the department in its endeavor. It focuses on serving the Nation’s veterans and their families. â€Å"Its goals is to deliver world-class service to veterans and their families by applying sound business principles that result in effective management of people, communication, technology, and governance. † According to Peter Stenberg, who have served the military camp for 45 years said that the veterans Administration provides different types of services to the citizens of United States. In order to be eligible to this service, an individual must be a veteran, or a dependent of a veteran. If the veteran has died already, the child, parents, or even the spouse is eligible to the service. Active military service member who is on duty and a reserve or National Guard member are also considered eligible. The compensation service is being used if the eligible individual is at least ten percent disabled because of any military service. Eligible member will receive monthly compensation from VA. Pension benefits do not have any time limits for service availment. A veteran must have limited income and who is permanently and totally disabled because of war. Wartime veteran should at least be 65 years old. Educational training is conducted if necessary to be able to finish the rehabilitation goal. VA provides assistance in finding and maintaining suitable employment to eligible individuals. Rehabilitation Services renders rehabilitation and counseling support. Major Craig Wilhelm added that the VA offers different kinds of health care services. It provides dental, outpatient medical, hospital, prosthetic and pharmacy services. It gives nursing home, domiciliary, and community based residential care. It also provides sexual trauma counseling. It specialized health care for female veterans. The department also provides an alcohol and drug dependency treatment. Medical evaluation for military personnel who became disabled because of their military service in the Gulf War, exposure to Agent Orange, radiation, and other environmental hazards. Educational Training is being provided to the active duty service and the reserve/guard service. Active duty service can avail by those whose duty became active from the 30th of June 1985. Eligible individuals can avail on the Montgomery GI Bill. While individuals, whose duties became active from the 1st of July 1985 and before the 1st of July 1985 can avail the Veterans Educational assistance Program (VEAP). The reserve/guard service is being provided to Reserve and national Guard members who are under the Montgomery GI Bill, who have signed a commitment for six years with a reserve unit after the 30th of June 1985 and remain actively drilling and in good standing with their unit. Dependency and indemnity compensation to certain survivors of service members who died during the service duty, who died from service related disability, and VA members how are considered 100% disabled at the time of death are being assisted. Home loan services to veterans, military personnel, and surviving spouses who are eligible for this kind of service are also offered. Jennifer Jones who have been one of the surviving spouses whose husband died during his military service in Afghanistan have availed a home loan provided the different types of home loans. Refinancing Loan is eligible to individuals who have a Veterans Administration mortgage. The department can help in refinancing the loan. An individual may also apply in refinancing a non-Veterans Administration loan. The department also provides guarantee for home improvement, home repair, and for building a home. Special Grant is provided to veterans and military personnel who are handicapped or disabled. They can receive a grant to acquire a house that is suitable in their needs. Veterans Administration is offering different kinds of life insurance depending on the extent of the disability of an individual. Eligibility would range from $10,000 up to $400,000. VA provides certain burial benefits to eligible VA members like making a monument to mark the grave of a veteran, provides presidential memorial certificates, burial in a VA national cemetery, Burial flag or even a reimbursement of burial expenses. A veteran who was disabled because of his service will be able to avail this type of service from VA. This helps eligible veterans in finding, preparing and keeping an employment that is suitable with their current capabilities. For individuals who have serious disability because of his service are offered services improving their ability to live independently. Pat Tillmann, whose almost all of his family served the military not to mention his great grandfather who was assigned in Pearl Harbor, provided the different benefits this type of service can offer. He said that vocational Evaluation is being offered to eligible veterans who are evaluated in terms of their abilities, skills, needs and interests. Vocational Training for non-paid work and on the job training is conducted if it is necessary. Eligible veterans are undergoing vocational planning and counseling. A veteran is eligible either for the full benefits or just a potion depending on the length of military service and discharge or release from active service under different conditions except dishonorable. According to statistics in 1995, VA has met its targeted performance of its service by showing the increased statistical records of veterans with special needs to have improved their health of which includes those members who are considered handicapped and disabled. It was recorded that in 2005 VA have exceeded the 79 percent target to 82 percent in the goal of improving VA members’ social well being, mental functions as well as their ability to function independently. This increased have placed veteran members to have a quality life. The Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 has increased significantly both the complexity and length of claims development. VA’s notification and development duties increased, adding more steps to the claims process and lengthening the time it takes to develop and decide a claim. Mustering-out payment act is a federal law that was passed in 1994. This legislation provided military service men that are returning from the Second World War then were provided with money to start again with their life as a regular citizen. G. I. Bill of Rights was passed on the same year, which is in favor to military service men that returned from a service military duty. They are being offered for a vocational education and a one-year unemployment compensation. It also provides home loans to eligible veterans to start their own business and buy homes. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 1988 provided a new name to Veteran Administration. The law made a major reorganization to VA.

Sample Outline of Persuasive Speech Essay Example for Free

Sample Outline of Persuasive Speech Essay The Situation. As a project for a community education class, you decide to work with the recreation and education center at a local elderly housing project. The center is woefully short of educational materials, and the only teachers who show up are offering crafts classes. You figure out that here’s a group of less-mobile people who are ripe for Internet educational experiences. Specific Purpose明ç ¡ ®Ã§Å¡â€žÃ£â‚¬ Ã¥â€¦ ·Ã¤ ½â€œÃ§Å¡â€ž. To persuade people sttending the education center to take seriously Web-based classes from around the country. Attention Step I. It’s too easy to assume that older adults only want to play checkers and make Christmas presents our of plastic milk jugs. II. In fact, retirees haven’t given up living and learning. They’re still curious, and now they have time for a broad range of educational experience. Work against stereotypesæˆ Ã¨ §  of the elderly’s lifestyle. Engage them and improve your credibility (trustworthiness). Need Step I. Cognitive psychologyè ® ¤Ã§Å¸ ¥Ã¥ ¿Æ'ç â€ Ã¥ ­ ¦ has shown us that exercising the brain keeps it alive and active longer. A. Mental activity—especially structured activity, such as formal learning—helps to prevent cognitive deterioration.è ® ¤Ã§Å¸ ¥Ã§Å¡â€žÃ©â‚¬â‚¬Ã¥Å'â€" B. Yet the elderly often have trouble traveling to three-times-a-week classes at a local college to get that stimulation. II. Today’s retirees are going to live longer than ever and so must keep learning to keep from falling significantly far behind the rest of society. Work with power motives (especially defense and fear) to make them want to hear more. I. Need Step II. The Internet and the growing number of high-quality World Wide Web-based classes—more than 500,000 now available online—create great opportunities for people living at this housing project. A. You have plenty of computer terminalsè ® ¡Ã§ ®â€"æÅ" ºÃ§ »Ë†Ã§ « ¯ with browers.æ µ Ã¨ §Ë†Ã¥â„¢ ¨ B. Because Internet courses often cost much less than bricks-and-mortar ä ¼  Ã§ »Å¸Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¥ ®Å¾Ã¤ ½â€œÃ¤ ¼ Ã¤ ¸Å¡classes—most classes run $300-500—you can afford college-level schooling. C. You’re chatter—good conversationalists—which is just what makes a good Web-based class into a rewarding experience. III. I will spend this semester as a resource person and tutor for you. A. I’ll provide technical help for any of you who’re new to computer work. B. I’ll help you surf the Internet to find a course that is to your liking. C. I’ll be your tutor as well, even setting up some study groups for people who are studying similar kinds of things. Tie your proposal to environmental elements in the center as well as to achievement motives (pride, success, and adventure). Visualizing Step I. Think of what you have available on the Internet A. The California Virtual Campus has over 2000 courses available online. B. Indiana University will let you learn a bachelor’s degree in General Studies electronically. C. The Rochester Intstitute of Technology has serious science and technology courses available to those of you who come out of techinical background. D. The University of California at Berkeley lets you start courses anytime. E. Western Governor’s University will even give you credit for life experience. II. While virtual connections with faculty and fellow students are not as good as face-to-face contact in most people’s opinions, they can be very rewarding. A. Think of the pleasure you can have in chatting about Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist in an Introduction To Victorian Literature course offered by an urban Eastern university. B. Just consider what your life will be like when you can tune into a lecture by a professor working in Cairo while you stay home but are listening alongside a fellow classmate living in Tokyo. C. Because you no longer have to worry about everything you learn being practical, you can take a course in World Politics from the New School for Social Research in New York, and a course in drawing design from the University of Washington. Blend appeals to achievement (prestige, creativity, curiosity and personal enjoyment) and to power (autonomy/independence), using lifestyle characterizers sensitive to some of the usual interest of active elderly people. Action Step I. You all know the value of education; otherwise, you wouldn’t have come to this meeting. A. You all know the value of thinking and understanding and evaluating for your own enjoyment and mental health. B. You all know that these computers would be doing a lot more good around here if they were being used more productively. II. And you all know, I hope, that my commitment to your personal and collective development means that today’s the day to sign up for the virtual ride of your lifetime down the Information Highway. Final appeals to self-achievement and the credibility of the speaker.

Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss

Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss An Analysis of Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss This second novel by Kiran Desai drips with the theme of colonial mentality of ignoring ones cultural roots and looking over the fence to seemingly greener pastures of other cultures. This is a story of exiles at home and abroad, of families broken and fixed, of love both bitter and bittersweet. Desais characters effectively depict varying kinds and levels of discontent at their own personhoods. It is a mix of pathetic illusions of being part of a culture that does not acknowledge them, hypocritical snubbing of ones own culture and journeying into knowing ones real self and true roots. Jemubhai Patel is an embittered judge, wounded by his past, which holds both hurtful and glorious memories. It is ironic how much love he can shower on an animal, his pet dog, while he regards other people with distrust. He has shut himself off from all human contact. Sai is the youthful granddaughter who somehow tames Patels otherwise dark persona with her feistiness and curiosity. She reminds him of himself when he was a youth. Sai is one person who gives hope that her grandfather will ultimately come out of the tough shell he has built around himself. Biju is the pathetic illegal worker disillusioned in America. He came there with great hopes and dreams but came home with a lot of frustrations and a renewed passion for his homeland. Gyan, Sais idealistic suitor is torn between his loyalty to his ethnic origins and his infatuation for his beautiful and intelligent tutee, Sai. The cook, Bijus father is the traditional, superstitious and chatty helper awed by the allures of modernization and is bent on his son to realize the American dream. It is through this cooks voice that the reader learns a parallel story about love and loss. Patels neighbors, Lola and Noni are Anglophiles who might be savvy readers of V.S. Naipaul but who are, perhaps, less aware of how fragile their own social standing isat least until a surge of unrest disturbs the region. The title of the book is so intriguing. When one hears of an inheritance, it is usually something so precious, so cherished that the next generation anticipates it to be bequeathed with pride and honor. Desais Inheritance of Loss truly reflects her adeptness for irony. True, the pathetic state of loss can be inherited and may be passed on to future generations, but how can anyone anticipate such a dreadful fate?   The story is delivered in such a compelling way that the reader understands the process of loss of cultural identity being passed on from the elders to the young. The book tells of different stories but anchors its base on Kalimpong in the at the foothills of Mount Kanchenjunga in the northern Himalayas, specifically in the decaying cottage named Cho Oyu, the household of Jemubhai Patel, who lives with his granddaughter, Sai and his beloved dog, Mutt. The once-magnificent home has vestiges of its splendor with its lacelike gates that hang from two stone pillars, high, gorgeous ceilings, windows that show a picturesque view of the mountains, Owing to neglect and apathy, its once beautiful wooden floors are rotted, mice run about freely, and extreme cold permeates everything. Termites are steadily chewing at the cottages wooden frame, furniture, and floors. Patel is not blind to its pathetic disintegration, and somehow embraces it. It may be reflective of how he feels inside. Patel is a retired judge from the prestigious Indian Civil Service, the British Empires old steel frame: a few hundred white civil servants who had administered the subcontinent with the help of a handful of Indians, recruited starting in 1879. Patel relishes his glory days and is embittered by a painful past and of being an Indian himself. The narrative shifts from this native setting to the grubby kitchens of New York restaurants where illegal foreigners hide from the authorities out to deport them to their countries of origin. Desai expertly presents ironies in vivid detail that at times, it seems hilarious. The strange and creative interplay of the image projected and the message delivered makes the readers ponder on the depth of the authors points. One example is the supposedly elitist upbringing of Sai, but in reality, she lives in poverty. She has never mastered her native tongue, as it is assumed by her grandfather, Patel to devalue her person. She projects the image of being a part of a rather genteel class, but at the end of the day, she literally sleeps under a table cloth!   Such a pity for a young lady to be surrounded by such manly mess! Another is the status of having a hired cook, but in truth, makes this employee live on meager wages and in a battered hut in the periphery of his masters house. Patel has lived a wretched family life filled with broken relationships inflicting cruelty to his wife, indirectly causing her death, and abandoning his daughter in a convent boarding school and then cutting her off when she marries a Parsi. He has likewise estranged himself from his parents, extended family and all the Patels when they gladly sent him off to Cambridge University, pinning their hopes on him for a better future. In England, he realized how inferior he and his compatriots were to the whites, and wanted desperately to be identified as one. He would put powder on his too brown skin to somehow attain a fairer complexion. As his Indian classmates celebrated their cultural roots, and fought for independence, Patel remained in awe of the English and abandoned his inferior race. Patel has chosen to live in Kalimpong not only because of its temperate climate but also to distance himself from the more tropical, mainstream India. He emulates the British who built cottages at the hill stations and give vent to their gardening skills. They also needed to be near bakeries that produced the cakes, breads and biscuits they need at tea time. Two elderly Indian ladies, very much like Patel in terms of their obsession with the English culture, take Sai under their wings to groom her to be a proper English lady. Lola, a widow, and her sister, Noni, live in a cottage they call Mon Ami, set apart by its own unique broccoli patch. They live like Englishwomen, listening to BBC on the radio at night, drinking cherry brandy. They read British novels from the nineteenth century, and not those of a younger breed, because they would like to keep their perception of England static. They avoid books written by Indian writers. Lola hoards English products every time she visits England every two years. She stocks up on Knorr packet soups, Oxo stock cubes and underwear from Marks and Spencer. She was ecstatic when her daughter, Pixie, officially became the wife of an Englishman. The sisters are conscious of their class perceive themselves as superior to their Anglophile neighbor Mrs. Sen, and affiliated with Father Booty of the Swiss dairy, which makes real cheese and not the processed ones eaten by most Indians. Young Sai, who is orphaned when her parents were killed in an accident in the Soviet Union, came to live with her grandfather when she was nine. His grandfather never knew she existed, as he banished his mother from his home when she married a man he did not approve of. Sai is very westernized and her grandfather tolerates it. She speaks broken Hindi, as she has been exposed to a fabricated English culture, brainwashed by the people around her that it is a far better one than the Indian roots she has sprung forth from. Sai is an avid reader. She immerses herself in literature that brings her to many worlds she has only journeyed in her rich imagination. She reads To Kill a Mockingbird, Cider with Rosie, Life with Father, and National Geographic. Desai says of her, She was inside the narrative and the narrative inside her, the pages going by so fast, her heart in her chest, she couldnt stop. Sai falls in love with her Nepalese Math and Science tutor, Gyan, a college student who was mutually attracted to her. Globalization, fundamentalism and sectarian and terrorist violence unravel Sais passion for Gyan. Her adolescent passion is intertwined with a sense of danger and tinged with both wonder and darkness. Unknown to both, their romance will greatly be affected by their differences in worldviews concerning their heritage. Another important character in the book is Biju, Sais friend and their cooks son. Biju, on the persistent machinations of his father, illegally entered the United States and does menial jobs in New York restaurants. Biju lives like a fugitive, fearing the INS to discover and deport him back to India. The book illustrates the sorry state of foreign immigrants who had flocked to the land of milk and honey seeking better lives than what they had in their own homelands. They accept the sufferings and abuse of their white superiors than facing the shame of going back home. All they need is to secure the elusive green card to ensure their prolonged stay in America. One can just imagine the stressed lives of these foreigners, exiled from their own countries and treated as low-lives. They desperately hold on to their idealistic perception of America, however stripped of their dignity and pride. Back home, they would have been treated more humanely, despite their poverty and sense of hopelessness. Instead of conquering another world outside the sphere of the familiar, they are enslaved by the whims and discriminatory treatment of the natives. This book eventually gives an unflattering view of the First World in the eyes of the inhabitants of the Third World. Biju encounters other Indians and gets surprised at how they totally adapt to the American culture. He is shocked to see Hindu Indians eating beef. He took on a sneering look. But they could afford not to notice.    It is this numbing hypocrisy that disillusions the underdogs like Biju those who completely turn away from their roots and fully embrace the culture of another, to the point of forsaking the long-held sanctity of their value systems. Bijus unfortunate life in America brings him to work for co-Indians who take advantage the illegal aliens desperation. These Indian restaurant owners cut the pay to a quarter of the minimum wage, reclaim the tips, keep an eye on the workers and drive them to work fifteen-,sixteen-, seventeen-hour donkey days.    It is pitiful to realize that illegals are treated like dirt, devoid of rights, and made to suffer for their sin of being in a place they should not be for want of a better life. This irony resounds through and through in Desais book. Desais vivid narratives bring to readers crisp images the effective contrast between rustic, lush Kalimpong in its natural glory and the ultra-sophistication of fast-paced New York -along with it, the description of the lives of the inhabitants of both settings. When Biju calls home from New York City, the reader can smell the humid air over the telephone line, and can picture the green-black lushness, the plumage of banana, the stark spear of the cactus, the delicate gestures of ferns; he could hear the croak trrrr whonk, wee wee butt ock butt ock of frogs in the spinach, the rising note welding imperceptibly with the evening. One can feel the emotions running through the characters, and it is palpable how one pines for anothers life. It also shows stark contrasts between two worlds that the readers have the luxury of shuttling to. Back in Kalimpong, the budding romance of Sai and Gyan is disrupted by Nepalese insurgency of which Gyan was a part of. The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) agitates for rights and justice for the majority Nepalese. Pushed by his loyalty to his culture, Gyan tips off GNLF guerillas about Sais grandfather, and they raid Patels estate, robbing him of his guns, properties and food supply. The rebels shake up the otherwise peaceful existence of the main characters. They feel as if they were living out action movies, being unleashed Bruce Lee fans. The intimidating strike lasted for days, with electricity and water cut off and roads blocked by the government to prevent food from coming into the area. Lola and Noni were left with no choice but to shelter the followers of the GNLF who in turn, take advantage of their kindness, as they ravage their carefully accumulated stock of cold meat and sausages, and squatting on their large, beautiful, bountiful garden. Pradhan, their leader, pirate-looking in his outfit, insults Lola when she complains to him about his people. His degratory remarks of implying Lola to be one of his many wives, as he distastefully run his malicious eyes on her adds insult to injury, as Lola is further spiraled downwards in her humiliation. Such an attack on their person and status brings them down to reality that indeed, they are Indians, no matter how estranged and foreign they wish to be. The envy of the Nepalese rebels drastically shatter their illusions of grandeur and the pathetic circumstance evens them all out as mere people instead of demi-gods. The story gets grimmer as Patels beloved dog, Mutt gets stolen, pushing his owner into depths of despair. A bloody encounter in the insurgency situation kills some people. Sai and Gyans love affair becomes reduced to recriminations, highlighted by Gyans spiel, Whats fair? Do you have any idea of the world? Do you bother to look? Do you have any understanding of how justice operates or, rather, does NOT operate?   Such verbalization from the youth wakes one up to realize that the world is not to be seen with rose-colored lenses. Sai learns that class envy and jealousy always overpower love. It is a totally human reaction. Upon hearing the unrest in his homeland, Biju comes home in the knowledge that his father needs him. Biju undergoes an illuminating transformation. His emotional connection to his father and the significant people in his life inspire him to appreciate his roots and enliven his loyalty to India. Enough is enough!   He has suffered enough in a foreign land, enslaved by whites, and worse, compatriots, who treat him so very badly. His spirit and pride beaten up, he ironically comes home as a whole person. He had shed the unbearable arrogance and shame of the immigrant. . . For the first time in God knows how long, his vision unblurred and he found he could see clearly.    He realizes that he can choose the kind of inheritance he can get in terms of keeping close to his roots, literally and figuratively. The same realizations were stumbled upon by the other characters in the story, knowingly or not. The wealth and gentility prided by sisters Lola and Noni and retired judge, Patel were the very things that exposed them, making them targets of rebels. Having been humble, low-key, and basically, being just themselves instead of desperately putting on the identity of a foreigner could have spared them form the unfortunate circumstance they got themselves into. All of a sudden, all that they had claimed innocent, fun, funny, not really to matter was proven wrong. It did matter, buying tinned ham roll in a rice and dal country; it did matter to live in a big house and sit beside a heater in the evening, even one that sparked and shocked; it did matter to fly to London and to return with chocolates filled with kirsch; it did matter that others could not. . . The wealth that seemed to protect them like a blanket was the very thing that left them exposed. They, amid extreme poverty, were bald ly richer, and the statistics of difference were being broadcast . . .they would pay the debt that should be shared with others over many generations. The book is effective in evoking painfully shelved emotions to come to surface. Everyone, at one time or another feels the pain of loss. As mentioned earlier, title itself makes one ponder if it can be inherited and passed down from one generation to the next as what was attempted by Patel to his granddaughter, Sai. The feeling of losing out on something merely by being born inferior was expertly shown in the book to be all-consuming to the characters. The inheritance of loss may have well been an inheritance of the mentality that colonizers of ages past were mightily superior. They, from the first world, are the first exposed to the boon of modernization, leaving the colonized to covet such sophistication. Attention is too focused on their adventures with the evolution of their culture, while native culture, with all its richness and beauty is ignored and concealed with shame. If only they can revisit it with fresh perspective, they would know that they possess wealth and class, not necessarily translated to monetary and material possessions, but more profoundly, a great contribution of culture, ideology and tradition. The Indian concept of Karma could have caught up with the hypocrites as a more passionate ethnic class shakes them up from their illusions. They are pulled down to the reality that ones wealth and pride is anothers poverty. It is a reality that living decently is difficult amidst all the injustices that exist around us. However, the fulfillment of being empowered to be ones own true self gives a liberating feeling and confidence to exist authentically. The reader is tempted to coach the characters into doing so, just so they can foresee a happy ending to their pathetic existence. It is no secret that one needs to hide behind some untruths to survive some delicate situations. However, being enmeshed with lies may have a debilitating effect on ones psyche. The illegal foreigners living like scurrying mice at the threat of being caught proves to be an example of such. How dreadful it is to continue living that way!   It is as if it is difficult to exhale, as one might fall into the trap of revealing his truths. Again, Desai plays with the readers mind when this happens the paradox of the truth not setting you free! and in fact, imprisoning you in the safety of lies!   However, this is a painful reality that needs to be accepted. Acknowledging ones origins helps an individual gain full understanding of oneself. It gives him a choice of either opening his arms to receive his inheritance of loss/ fulfillment or of politely declining and moving on with his chosen path. Kiran Desai may well be instrumental in poking at the consciences of inauthentic, hypocritical show-offs to shed their cloak of fabricated class and reveal their true selves. Painful though it may be, there is no substitute to honest living and upholding ones cultural values, which, in the first place, were customized in accordance with ones true roots.

Reticence :: essays research papers

Reticence THIS MORNING there was a dead cat in the harbor, a black cat that was floating on the surface of the water. It was straight and stiff and was drifting slowly along the side of a boat. From its mouth dangled a decomposed fish head with a piece of broken line about two inches long coming out of it. At the time I had simply imagined that this fish head was what remained of the bait from a discarded fishing line. The cat must have leaned into the water to catch the fish and, as he grabbed it, the hook caught in his mouth and he lost his balance and fell. The water of the harbor was very dark where I was standing, but from time to time I suspected there was a procession of fish, mullets and wrasse, passing silently below my eyes, while on the bottom, among the pebbles and algae, thousands of wriggling fry worked over the gutted remains of a decomposing eel. Before setting off again, I lingered a moment longer on the pier staring at the dead cat still drifting in the harbor in a very slow back and forth movement, first to the left, then to the right, following the imperceptible ebb and flow of the current at the surface of the water. I had arrived in Sasuelo at the end of October. It was already autumn and the tourist season was coming to an end. A taxi dropped me off one morning, bag and baggage, on the village square. The driver helped me undo my son's stroller from the roof-rack of the car, an old 504 diesel that he left running and that continued to hum slowly in place. Then he pointed in the direction of the only hotel in the area, that I was familiar with since I had already stayed there. I left my bags near a bench and set off in the direction of the hotel with my son who was installed in his stroller in front of me and paying no attention to anything around him, absorbed as he was in the contemplation of a toy seal that he turned over and over in his hands examining all its seams and releasing for the occasion an imperturbable burp as naturally as a prince. At the entrance of the hotel flowers lined a little flight of steps at the top of which opened double French doors, and I took the stroller in my arms to climb the steps. Reticence :: essays research papers Reticence THIS MORNING there was a dead cat in the harbor, a black cat that was floating on the surface of the water. It was straight and stiff and was drifting slowly along the side of a boat. From its mouth dangled a decomposed fish head with a piece of broken line about two inches long coming out of it. At the time I had simply imagined that this fish head was what remained of the bait from a discarded fishing line. The cat must have leaned into the water to catch the fish and, as he grabbed it, the hook caught in his mouth and he lost his balance and fell. The water of the harbor was very dark where I was standing, but from time to time I suspected there was a procession of fish, mullets and wrasse, passing silently below my eyes, while on the bottom, among the pebbles and algae, thousands of wriggling fry worked over the gutted remains of a decomposing eel. Before setting off again, I lingered a moment longer on the pier staring at the dead cat still drifting in the harbor in a very slow back and forth movement, first to the left, then to the right, following the imperceptible ebb and flow of the current at the surface of the water. I had arrived in Sasuelo at the end of October. It was already autumn and the tourist season was coming to an end. A taxi dropped me off one morning, bag and baggage, on the village square. The driver helped me undo my son's stroller from the roof-rack of the car, an old 504 diesel that he left running and that continued to hum slowly in place. Then he pointed in the direction of the only hotel in the area, that I was familiar with since I had already stayed there. I left my bags near a bench and set off in the direction of the hotel with my son who was installed in his stroller in front of me and paying no attention to anything around him, absorbed as he was in the contemplation of a toy seal that he turned over and over in his hands examining all its seams and releasing for the occasion an imperturbable burp as naturally as a prince. At the entrance of the hotel flowers lined a little flight of steps at the top of which opened double French doors, and I took the stroller in my arms to climb the steps.

The Scarlet Letter - Roger Chi :: essays research papers

Imagine a man having insecurities of his own, with a somewhat deformed and unpretentious appearance, finding that his spouse had betrayed him. For Roger Chillingworth, it was a completely heart-breaking devastation. In The Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth is the husband of Hester Prynne. When they married, he knew that she didn't love him, but still proceeded to commit the rest of his life to her. Consequently, a story of forbidden passion, hatred, and jealousy unfolds. Starting off as a scholar, Roger Chillingworth finds himself in a doctor's position later in the book. His back is deformed, and one shoulder is higher than the other, giving him a hunchbacked appearance. Chillingworth is not physically attractive and very slender. His eyes have a 'strong, penetrating power,'; (Chpt. 10, p. 157) and he is a loner. 'Old Roger Chillingworth, throughout life, had been calm in temperament, kindly, though not of warm affections, but ever, and in all his relations with the world, a pure and upright man.'; (p. 157, Chpt. 10) He enjoys studying and the pursuit of knowledge. When Chillingworth finds out that Hester cheated on him, he cannot be blamed for being dismayed and livid. He feels betrayed, and calls Hester's sin unpardonable. His rage quickly becomes resentment, and he develops a strong desire to find out with whom Hester had an affair with. Chillingworth seeks nothing but revenge. When Arthur Dimmesdale defends Hester and her actions, Chillingworth begins his suspicion. Chillingworth quickly becomes determined to withdraw the truth from Dimmesdale, who in fact was the man for whom Hester had betrayed him. The spite Chillingworth feels towards Dimmesdale grows stronger as his suspicion about Hester and Dimmesdale seems more and more likely. Chillingworth plans his vengeance during all of his waking hours. He becomes close to Dimmesdale, hoping maybe he would get a confession, but it didn't happen. The two soon lived together, while Chillingworth still prodded. From then on, Dimmesdale's life became miserable. 'Roger Chillingworth's aspect had undergone a remarkable change while he had dwelt in town, and especially since his abode with Mr. Dimmesdale. At first his expression had been calm, meditative, and scholar-like. "Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they [people of the town] had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight the oftener they looked upon him.'; (Chpt. 9, p. 155) While pretending to be Dimmesdale's trusted confidant and physician, Chillingworth is actually slaying him by means of medicine and mental torture.