Eliot Rosewater

â€Å"God bless you Mr. Rosewater† is a phrase spoken but never meant. Eliot Rosewater serves a purpose to everyone but himself within the God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater standing as a back post for the weak and merciful poor, and as an undeniable powerhouse amongst the wealthy. Eliot Rosewater is as confused about himself as all others are around him, having enough money to take care of an entire family, yet spreading the wealth amongst his community. He lives alone inside of himself, standing by the telephone day and night, waiting for a phone call. This is what makes Eliot Rosewater the unlikely hero, he is a fool and a criminal in the minds of his father and his colleagues yet he stands as a god amongst his community, the people he cares about more than life itself. Eliot Rosewater stands out to the reader and the characters within the novel due to his lack of the one trait we all share, greed. The actions of Eliot show that he is a man that has struggled to do more than is expected of him, feeling guilt; he is a character that is struggling to make things right in a world he does not understand. Eliot Rosewater inherits the Rosewater fortune after his father sees him fit to do so, leaving Eliot in charge while his father remains senator of Rosewater, Indiana. Rosewater begins as a man that’s apparently very intelligent but feels lost in the world that surrounds him. He sees no purpose for himself, as of this time he was not head of the Rosewater Foundation. Eliot attends schools such as Harvard during his young adult life. After graduating from Harvard, Eliot deems himself unfit to continue through the motions of society and instead enlists himself into the military. After returning home from the war he marries a woman named Sylvia and tries to begin a new life. However, he is plagued by his responsibility for the death of a child during the war. Rosewater begins to drink while trying to maintain a life with his new love and be the head of the Rosewater Foundation. Eventually Eliot is an alcoholic and his marriage is in pieces, the only thing thriving being his foundation. Sylvia becomes obsessed with the wealth, feeling indifferent to the struggles of those less fortunate, breaks down and is told by her doctor to divorce Eliot and leave the county. Eliot becomes a volunteer fireman and a philanthropist, struggling to help the community due to the fact that his life is in shambles. Eliot realizes that his greatest purpose in this world is to take care of his family, the community of Rosewater, Indiana. Eliot takes care of his community through actions such as donations and help money. Sleeping by a telephone, Eliot is awakened each night with a phone call from someone in distress, asking them how much it would take to keep them alive for one more week. Eliot begins to act simply for his community, often times ignoring his own needs such as hunger and thirst. Eliot’s later actions show how he has changed as a person throughout the book, beginning life lost, he maneuvered through life without meaning or purpose. Eliot enlists in the army, showing that he feels that there is something better that he could do with his life. Eliot then lives the rest of his life in regret, hating himself for what he did to that child during the war, disconnecting himself from Sylvia and his father, hating that he can have so much money with the awful thing he did while so many of the good innocent hard working people of his community have nothing. By Eliot giving money to the members of his community we can tell that he is truly sorry for what he has done and is seeking forgiveness for his actions, perhaps trying to pay a debt to God or even to that child. This changes him from an innocent man with no purpose in life, to a guilty man who has a debt to repay, therefore pushing his life in a direction, toward helping his community. His feelings and actions can be seen on page 193: â€Å"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies — â€Å"God damn it, you've got to be kind. † The significance of Eliot Rosewater is more than just a character, if you can call him that. Eliot Rosewater stands as a symbol, a purpose and an idea set in motion, a breathing thought. As Kurt Vonnegut says: â€Å"A sum of money is a leading character in this tale about people, just as a sum of honey might properly be a leading character in a tale about bees. â€Å" Money stands as a leading character in the novel; Eliot simply stands as the hands that hold it. Mr. Rosewater can’t really be put into the categories of â€Å"flat† or â€Å"static† because he simply does not act like a character within a novel should act. Eliot never shows his guilt or feelings to anyone, and instead the reader must find out about it through the narrator, Kurt Vonnegut. To the reader Eliot seems completely sane and almost appears as the hero of the tale, where as his relationship to the other characters tells a different story. Eliot stands as a radical, a man with no purpose or understanding of the cast system. Eliot Rosewater begins with a clean slate, going nowhere in his life. He ends with a few chips on his shoulder, yet with a purpose in his life more important than any of the other characters. Rosewater gives his fortune away to his community, claiming them as his children. Eliot’s characteristics stand him apart from every other character, being the only selfless character within the entire novel. His suffering leads him to completely happiness at the climax of the novel, leaving his friends and family in with misunderstanding stares.

Benetton baby Essay

Benetton baby was produced as a 1991 advertising campaign that also included images of a priest kissing a nun and coloured leaves floating in a sea of petrol. Although I would presume Benetton would be trying to show the beauty and goodness of the new born baby they claim â€Å"Benetton is not trying to emphasise the beauty a and goodness of its apparel, but rather is trying to capture the interest or people†¦ The objective is to brake through the barrier of indifference. † But I believe that the image is in anyway offensive or wrong. The image consists of a newborn baby trailing its umbilical cord, the baby is covered in blood, and two hands, presumably of a Doctor, are waiting to receive the child. This was created to appear on billboard so the shire size would make the image impossible to be missed. The background is white therefore the baby stands out. The logo is included to the left of the advertisement and is very small almost insignificant. The image is very clear and not edited in any way to make the situation more attractive I agree with the advertisement entirely. Although it is a strange way to advertise I have no objections. The image is very large and might not be what all people want to witness it but birth of babies are publicized on the television as entertainment or education in more graphic detail. Isn’t a baby being born â€Å"the most wonderful experience†? But people did however complain, the public disagreed strongly with this image â€Å"the poster†¦. Has attracted more than 800 complaints. † 800 is not a particularly large amount when in comparison with the millions that would have witness the advertisement. The complaints consisted of â€Å"the image is shocking and distasteful†¦ â€Å", â€Å"many children are reported to have found it disturbing†¦ â€Å"and objections regarding the â€Å"exploitative use of such an image to sell clothes. † All complaints where made to an advertising organisation called the ASA. The ‘Advertising Standards Authority’ began in 1962 by the advertising industry. The ASA practises a voluntary code of practice called ‘The British Code of Advertising and sales promotion practise. The code declares that all advertisements must be legal, decent honest and truthful. They must not be offensive or downgrade competitors they must not deliberately misinform. Benetton baby does break some of these rules. The first rule broken in some points of view is ‘decency’ â€Å"No advert should contain any matter that is likely to cause widespread offence†¦. â€Å"The advert may be offensive to a mother who recently had a miscarriage. As to a woman whose child has recently died or to a woman who cannot become a mother. Etc. however this information cant be held against Benetton as a second rule in the code states, â€Å"[t]he fact that a product may be found offensive by some people Is not†¦ a sufficient basis under the code for objecting an advertisement for it† therefore the advert is within its own rights. ‘Honesty’ â€Å"†¦. cause be easily grasped and clearly understood†¦ † the advertisement isn’t entirely clear. From the advertisement alone you are not able to grasp what exactly the clothing company is retailing. However the advertisement does not lead you to believe that the Benetton Company sells babies or anything else, for that matter. â€Å"Looking death in the face† An ad showing the image of a man dying of AIDS, surrounded by his family. The logo is present also but, as with the others, it is small and unimportant. The camera shot is very provocative, it is very close up. The dying man obviously and purposely is made to resemble Jesus this has been done by computer. The image almost makes you fell an intruder in the scene. This has led to furious debate about the limits of advertising. Benetton claims, â€Å"It was as if the reality of suffering only had dignity and moral value in the editorial section of a newspaper and lost all its ability to denounce and sensitize people when in `contagious’ contact with advertising. † Published by an English daily before its official presentation, the photo provoked a controversy that extended from Great Britain throughout the world. The AIDS ad may, however be seen by some as trying to profit from people’s pain rather than simply offending the more traditionalist members of society. One British AIDS charity agreed, while some American gay activists disagree, saying the advertisements gives the issue a higher public profile. The parents of the dying man may feel the same since, according to Benetton, they approved the company’s use of the photo. With this new project, Benetton has once again chosen to look reality in the face by embarking upon a social issue, as he did in previous campaigns that focused on war, Aids, discrimination and racism. Harshly attacked by some and internationally applauded by others, Benetton’s campaigns have managed to tear down the wall of indifference contributing at increasing the awareness of universal problems among world’s citizens. Both the advertisements, â€Å"Benettons baby† and â€Å"looking death in the face† Where concealed and eventually banned across the world. There is more to this than the old saying that all publicity is good publicity. Oliviero Toscani, Benetton’s â€Å"adman,† claims the campaigns are not designed to offend, but rather to â€Å"raise consciousness. † A more plausible interpretation is that Benetton is trying to sell sweaters to the young and hip and those who like to think of themselves in that way. What better means to appeal to them than by offending an older generation of their parents? 7th January 2000 – At the beginning of the new millennium, Benetton publicized the real faces of the prisoners on death row, without a future. Remorseful or unremorseful, smiling or sad, healthy or ill, they all are guilty in the eyes of the human law. Many have their arms crossed; one is shown reading the Bible. Almost all of them are looking directly at the camera, at you. These portraits of dozens of individuals sentenced to death are the results of Oliviero Toscani’s two years of work which he visited several American prisons. The campaign is about the death penalty this project aims at presentation to the public the reality of capital punishment, aiming to prevent people considering the death penalty as a distant matter, just something they might hear about on television. Toscani’s images intend to give back a human face to the prisoners on death row, to remind â€Å"respectable people who are always so sure they’re right†¦ † that these people are human Beings not virtual characters easily removed or secured with a simple click as with a game. The campaign appeared on billboards and on the pages of the major publishing companies around Europe, America and Asia in January 2000. Toscani spoke for the prisoners when he said, â€Å"that having killed has changed them forever, and for the worst. † Speedy Rice a writer, on behalf of the NACDl (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) who has contributed to the campaign by patiently contacting and negotiating with prisons’ Mr. Rice mentions that during 1999 there has been a huge rise in the number of executions in the United States. Of the 600 death sentences that were passed between 1976 and the end of the 20thcentury, approximately 100 executions were carried out in 1999. Benetton advertisements to me have a strong meaning, which differs from individual to individual. For some the adverts are merely indicating how ignorant the world is today. How people emphasise on looking a certain way and how they foresee others. To others they may be seen as a source of entertainment something to discuss on the train or to your local cab driver that will never silence. There are many other views but mine is this I agree entirely with the advertisements, although others wont. The ads are unique and contain moral issues that may keep the brain puzzled all day to find. As there has been such uproar in disagreement concerning the ads this has given Benetton a vast amount of free advertisement. I like all the adverts I have been analysing although I do prefer the â€Å"death row† images. These appeal to me a majority more as they have more of a moral message, and become challenging to comprehend the death penalty law. You are left asking yourself, â€Å"Do I agree with the death penalty? † All of the benetton advertisements caused great amounts of controversial disagreement. The three mentioned esspecialy, as to more than half the world they have no meaning, as to others they offend highly.

Nespresso Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nespresso - Essay Example The company has numerous opportunities, which range from expansion of its markets to progression of its sales as more people continue to buy its capsules. Discussion Internal Environment of Nespresso Nespresso has continued to record profits since 2001. This success is because coffee is among the most traded commodities on the world markets. Particularly, markets such as the French market are worth Billions of Euros and the country has been producing tones of the commodity. At Nespresso, the capsules segment has continued to increase as Seifert, Leleux, & Tucci (2008, p. 64) indicate that the year 2005 saw an increase by 57% and 56% in volume and value respectively. Moreover, since 2005, Nespresso’s market has grown by a wide margin annually. This progress can be partly attributed to the fact the machines used at Nespresso are capable of producing real espresso. According to Kourdi (2009, p. 79), the numerous chain outlets under Nespresso are currently competing with Italian b rands such as Segrafredo and Illy or players such as Columbus coffee and Starbucks coffee. The adoption of club Nespresso has catered for the provision of personalized advice on a 24/7 schedule with customers being informed about how to maintain the machines and use the products. Furthermore, Nespresso has adopted a sales channel, which has been widely used to order capsules, accessories and machines and guarantees delivery of Nespresso products within a few working days. Nespresso has a hotline that addresses technical issues and operates daily. Technicians at Nespresso provide assistance regarding return of machines, repairs, after-sales issues and replacement. Nespresso provides special services to companies that chose to install machines in their offices. This service is also provided to restaurants, hotels, airlines and luxury goods stores that serve customers with Nespresso. Nespresso has continued to enjoy success due to personalized services like follow-ups, which it offers to its customers. This service depends on the amount of coffee bought by the customer. Nespresso also sends reminder emails to the customer in case it thinks that the customer is about to run out of supply. Moreover, people who buy Nespresso machines automatically become members of the Nespresso club (Eigenhuis & Dijk, 2007, p. 28). Nespresso’s internal environment has also been characterized by weaknesses. Some of the weaknesses include decline in coffee consumption amongst the young population. Cronin (2010, p. 89) indicates that over the last decade coffee prices have experienced a slump. Moreover, the producers receive minimal proceeds from the sale of coffee given that intermediaries take unjustified cuts. Some of these intermediaries are infamous for their unscrupulous business practices. Furthermore, the capsule system adopted by Nespresso is unfriendly to the environment. External Environment Nespresso has numerous opportunities as coffee is among the trendiest drink in the world. According to Seifert, Leleux, & Tucci (2008, p. 60), millions of cups are drunk every day. Given the superior quality being produced by Nespresso and its marketing strategy, the company will be able to expand and gain a huge market to further its operations. It has become a modern trend for social occasions and informal meetings to be avenues for drinking coffee. This is a good opportunity for Nespresso, as it will benefit immensely

Legal History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Legal History - Essay Example The law is no longer a fabric of clearly-defined spectrums, but is rather a patchwork quilt of various shades of gray. This framework is important in that it stimulates self-interrogation. It does away with the all-too-convenient givens of a legal system - that there is but one set of "correct" rules and that legal decisions are but logical outcomes of tested principles that are empirically-replicable. This is perhaps the best frame to undertake as we wade through the murky waters of legal history - navigating through Roman and anglo-saxon law; and moving towards and studying the various subtopics such as criminal law and justice, tort and restitution law, and gender law. Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, covering more than one thousand years from the twelve tables to the Corpus Juris Civilis. Animated in large part by the great thinkers of its time, this provides ready example that the law is more a patchwork quilt of the evolving mindsets of the day, than a steady and solid rock. For example, the great thinker Cicero maintains that there was no distinction between that which was morally good and what was useful to man. To quote from Cicero, "Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason." [Rhetorical Invention (bk. II, sc. LIII)] Much of this has been influenced by Platonic philosophy which is hinged on moral virtue as practiced by just rulers. As such, the concept of government and duty has underlain much of ancient law and has aided the people of the time in charting their destiny. The interface between law and literature and the arts provides insights into how legal history was shaped during the past. Much of the law was influenced by the cultural milieu of the time. To quote from Green (1929): It is generally understood that the plays of Plautus, based on Greek models and avowedly translations of Greek comedies, have been so adapted for presentation to a Roman audience that they present a mixture of Greek and Roman elements. But the extent to which materials of each kind are used has been the subject of considerable discussion rather wide disagreement. Especially is this true as to the legal questions involved in the questions presented. The law of restitution Another field of law which would demonstrate how the law indeed is borne of subjective experiences and interpretations, rather than fixed principles is the law on restitution. The road towards accepting free acceptance as an iron-clad principle in the law of restitution may appear tantalizing to some, but as many legal scholars have pointed out, it is a road fraught with many dangers. Indeed, even the larger fulcrum on which it rests - the broad concept of unjust enrichment - has been the source of vociferous disagreement. So murky are the waters that judicial acceptance of the concept through the years has been less than overwhelming. The farthest it has reached, according to Hedley (1995) is this: a considerable number of judges now recognize that there is an important subject called restitution and that in general terms, it concerns the removal of benefits that would otherwise unjustly enrich the defendant. It is not difficult to imagine that jurisprudence surrounding the much more limited principle of free acceptance is even narrower. To aspire for universality or even, less

Two cases write up Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Two cases write up - Coursework Example The first group comprising of 12 million investors want to pass on investment decision burden on other. The next group consisting of 3 million investors are able to take their own investment decisions. The leftover 15 million investors need proper advice and education for investment proposes. The primary requirement of the customers of Schwab is price and the corresponding security of their invested money. Trust is the most important component that builds customers’ confidence, which can be achieved by providing quality services. Therefore, the customers want lower price from Schwab for the services, information and advice it provides regarding the investment. The business model for Charles Schwab Corporation is based on transaction. The core operation area of the company is to provide services to the investors. The services provided by Schwab can be termed as financial services for investment purposes. Specifically, it provides financial services related to security brokerage. In order to develop conventional business model, it has introduced several innovative technology in service model to cater to its customers. This has lead to significant growth of the company. For convenient services, it has developed ‘telebroker’, ‘Schwablink’, ‘eSchwab’ and ‘onesource’. Schwab generates its revenue from the brokerage commission paid by its client for investment transitions. With the help of its conventional business model, it has been able to offer services like brokerages at a lower commission. In 1991, it became famous as low-cost broker. It made forward integration by purchasing Mayer and Schweitzer which helped the company to reduce bid-ask spreads. The company earns around 50% of its revenue from its commissions, 13% from principle transaction and rest from mutual fund services and interest revenue. During the late 1990s, the popularity of the internet increased significantly which revolutionised

Theoretical Position. Standards for Evaluating Theories Essay

Theoretical Position. Standards for Evaluating Theories - Essay Example On the other hand, epistemology deals with the scope and nature of knowledge. Standards for Evaluating Theories There are five standards for evaluating theories and they include scope, testability, parsimony, utility and heurism. In the assessment of the scope of a theory, one has to determine how much and how good a theory defines and explains. Testability is the second standard for evaluating theories; in this aspect the theory is investigated to know whether it is correct or not, or [if it is incredible such that it does not require to be tested] (Can this be reworded without the word "incredible" and "does not require" to be tested? Our text does not cover the concept of a theory being so incredible it doesn't require testing). A third standard for evaluating theories is parsimony; parsimony can be referred to as simplicity. In this context, the theory does not have to be complex. The fourth standard is utility; many people tend to think that theory as being academic and esoteric (when it can have a functional use). The last standard in evaluating theories is heurism. What is the heuristic value of the theory? In this context, one asks himself if the theory leads to new thinking or its contribution to the knowledge of something and if it offers us with the possibility of further investigation (Wood, 2004). Some of the standards or criteria are more important than others; this is because I think they are more subjective than the others. I believe scope, parsimony, and utility to be more important than the others. In the context of scope, some of the theories claim to define and offer an explanation to almost all features of mass communication (including the medium, the recipient of the media messages, the content and the communicator). There are theories that provide an explanation and a description of only one feature of mass communication. For instance, â€Å"feminist theories which although can cover the whole domain of mass communication, often only foc us on media content and the portrayal of women in media content† (Fourie, 2001, p. 46). When considering how well a theory defines something, one has to distinguish whether the theory offers a full or partial description of all the important aspects of the phenomenon. For instance, a theory can focus on all or partial aspects of mass communications process (medium, messages, communicator and recipient) (Fourie, 2001, p. 43). In regard to parsimony, it is thought that majority of the best theories are simple and they permit sound description and explanation. For example, the Roman Jakobson’s theory of communication functions has been used in many ways by a number of researchers to investigate the components of mass communication (Jakobson, Pomorska & Rudy, 1985, p170). In the context of utility, theories are supposed to possess practical importance in terms of the individual understanding of the phenomenon with the aim of managing the phenomenon and enhancing the phenome non. A theory assisting us in understanding how mass communication operates â€Å"can lead to our control of this phenomenon to the benefit of people and society† (Fourie, 2001, p57). Ontology Ontology can be defined as the division of philosophy that deals with the organization and the nature of being (Maedche, 2002, p56). In other words, it is a branch of philosophy that explains the characteristic and organization of the being. My ontological position is that the characteristics and organization

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics - Essay Example He asserts that what we require, in order to live well, is maximum appreciation of the manner in which such goods as pleasure, friendship, virtue, wealth, and honor match together as a whole. In order to apply that general comprehension to particular situations, we must acquire, through significant habits and upbringing, the ability to view each occasion, which course of behavior or action is best backed by reason. Thus, practical wisdom and knowledge as Aristotle understands it, cannot be acquired by solely learning general rules. Human beings must acquire them through practice, social and emotional skills that ensure that we put our general comprehension of well being into practice in manners that are suitable to each occasion or situation. In his book 9 chapter eight, Aristotle explores the necessity of friendship in life of human beings. He argues that some people believe that when fortune is kind to them, they do not see the need of having friends, which according to Aristotle i s irrational thinking that expresses human selfishness. It is a disputed case whether a happy man requires friends or not. It is argued that those who are supremely self-sufficient and happy have no need of having friends for they posses things that are good and therefore being happy and self sufficient they need nothing further. On the other hand, a friend is another self which man is unable to provide by his own efforts. Aristotle argued that it seems weird when one gives all good things to a happy and self-sufficient man, not to give friends, who are viewed as the greatest of external goods. And if it is more plausible of a friend to do well by another person or man than to be well done by, and to bestow rewards is a characteristic of the good man and of virtue and it is rational and nobler to do well by friends than by unknown individuals or strangers. Therefore, the good man will need people for them to prosper and do well in their lives. This situation propels us to ask whethe r we need, friends in adversity or for success/prosperity, on the assumption that a man in adversity requires people to give rewards on him, and those who are successful need people to be more successful than they are. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics tries to explain the system of principles contained in men and how they affect the society. A dynamic debate arises with a question of whether a man has a duty to love oneself most or someone else. People criticizes those who are most lovers of themselves by calling them self-lovers and tend to consider good men who act for honor’s sake, friend’s sake and endures his own interest. But facts conflicts with these arguments where it is said by men that, one should love best one’s best friend of which man in this case, is his own best friend and ought to love himself more. It is suggested that, possibly if those self-lover would act justly and temperately in assigning themselves the great share of wealth, bodily p leasures and integrity, then no one would blame them. Such people would therefore differentiate themselves from other self-lovers by striving towards what is noble and straining to do noblest deeds. This suggestion therefore, shows that a good man ought to be a lover of self. A complex question is moved to a