Literature

He woke up in the morning and instead of being a human being, he had morphed into a giant verminus bug. Metamorphosis was written by Franz Kafka in 1915.  Kafka was an existentialist at the time and it affected much of the writing that he did . Existentialism was popular during the 19th century.  His book, Metamorphosis is a literary classic. The term literary classic means that the author had something important to say about life that spoke to them when it was written and continues to speak to us now. In Metamorphosis Kafka uses symbolism and some humor to tell us that life is what we make it, it is not a destiny, it is self determined. When we spend it as others expect, we often end up confused as to who we are. This paper will discuss Metamorphosis and serve this writers opinion that this story is about this existentialist belief

Kafka was an existentialist, a philosophy that was very popular during the 19th century. In general the belief is that we choose our destiny, it is not chosen for us and how we manage our lifetime is up to us. In other words, we self determine. In doing that we sometimes make decisions that are for others and not ourselves and we may find ourselves in the end, feeling as if nothing we have done was worthwhile (Jacovidus, 2010).  Existentialism admits that stark individualism and self determination will lead to a personal anxiety . Complete and total choice can often overwhelm a person who is unhindered by any consideration for the past, for other people, or for the good of society as a whole.  This belief in Existentialism may help us to understand the kind of isolation and despair that Gregor feels throughout Metamorphosis.

Existentialist beliefs have ideas that the universe is indifferent and often hostile to all human being, that our existence on this planet are not really explainable, and that isolation, anxiety, and despair are a part of life. Gregors transformation to a new physical form is a way to develop the story and plot in a such as way that Kafka an express his ideas. He uses the way that Gregor deals with his family and the choices that he makes as well as the symbols in the book to tell the reader the important things about existentialism. The belief is centered upon the analysis of human existence and how humans find themselves existing in the world (Ray, 2010).

Each individual in life spends a lifetime changing and that change will bring them to the essence of nature. Finding ones has great meaning and the human has free will to do that, his choices are always his own. There is also the belief that all humans are at their best when they are struggling against their own individual nature (philosophy.org). Experiences always leave physical traces, so we can expect a change (metamorphosis) as we get older. All experiences have a meaning and affect our choices.

The theme of this story is about human beings and their nature, using an existentialists philosophy to tell the story. The story itself, draws you in right away.  The very first sentence, Gregor Samsa awakens one morning after having anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had changed into a monstrous verminous bug. You have to read on, to try to determine what would cause such a thing to happen. This is symbolism at its best, not only is he representing how a human might see themselves but he has used something everyone understands.  In fact, this story has much symbolism throughout. Other more complicated ideas are represented by symbols that we can understand such as being locked in our room alone and not being able to get to the door.  The one symbol that is not dealt with by the end of the story is how or why did Gregor become a bug.  You are left to determine for yourself why that might have happened.

Gregor hated what he did for a living but he supported his whole family and felt that  he was stuck doing what he was doing.  He believed that others had a better life doing other things but had only thought about breaking free and doing something else.  In the morning when he wakes up as a bug, he says, Oh God What a demanding job I have chosen. Day to day out on the road, the stresses of trade made much greater than the work in the head office, and in addition to that I have to deal with the problems of traveling, the worries about train connections, irregular bad food, temporary and constant human relations. (Kafka, 1915). Why did he not change his job and do something else He felt a duty to his family, including his parents that he was supporting. However, should he not have chosen to doing something else anyway By not doing that he has accepted this boring innocuous life that he dislikes so much. Could this be the reason he woke up as a bug  Would it be easier for him to live life that way or did he dislike himself so much that he needed to see himself as a bug  Another possibility here is that he felt so alone in life that he saw himself as being locked in that room for a lifetime.

Gregor also saw himself as the bosses slave of sorts and often throughout the book, there are examples that make you think he is right. Not only has he never before this day missed a day of work, but today his boss actually comes to his house to find out why he is so lazy that he is not out on the road like always. His further need to stop doing this job is shown in his inability to get out of bed.  He tries over and over again.  He decides he will get up at 6 then at 630, 645, 7, and then 715.  He does not get up at any of these.  At 715 his boss arrives just like he expects that he will. He also understands that if he were not suddenly transformed, he would not have the backbone to stand up to all of this and get a different job.  He uses such symbolism as the soft backbone of the bug.

There is also the dependence of his family.  There is fear projected from his family for the possibility of his illness but not because he is ill, but because he is not going to work.  This is a family that is depending on him for support.  The mother says to everyone who comes to the door, including the father, boss, and lawyer, he is not well Mr. Attorney, he is not well sir, believe me good attorney, or how would Gregor miss a train (Kafka, 1915). She wants to know how could he not go to work for any reason except he was ill. It is to be noted that during the exchange with the attorney, Gregor mentions that the attorney was a bug once. Does this mean that all people who have troubles become insects Again, it is difficult to see what he might be saying here.

The story is told in first person by Gregor who makes many small comments to himself, many of which are meant to be humorous but because of how serious the whole situation seems to the reader, it is difficult to appreciate the humor.  Gregor understands that every single thing in his life is now unimportant as he is a bug and cannot go on about life the way he always has.  He is trapped in his room because he cannot open the door.  He feels he is virtually imprisoned in this room. For the existentialist beliefs, being trapped in his room like this is a symbol of the realization that man is insignificant. He tells us that also in the beginning of the book when he is unable to get out of bed and He saw the alarm clock over there, ticking on the chest of drawers, Good God he thought. It is half past six and the hands were going quietly on.(Kafka, 1915). Life is just ticking away.

Gregor, during all of his working life has continued to get older. Many people in life feel they have wasted much of their lives, in the sense that they spent for other people instead of themselves and now they do not understand who they are. Cancer patients who are threatened with their lives often have these same feelings. They feel they should have done what they wanted to do instead of what they did because of duty. Does this transform them  This writer believes the answer is yes, not into a bug certainly, but maybe to someone who feels locked in their room. Gregor describes his transformed body as rounded, he is unable to use it the way he always has.  He might be telling the reader that he is suddenly older and all of this reevaluation is because of becoming older and not fulfilling any of his own dreams.

In essence the story is one about a man who has always been ill at ease.  One who has never found his way in life and is very disappointed as to where he has ended up. Franz Kafka believed that man was what he made himself but he had to make choices to do that. He believed there is not destiny and anxiety from making decisions was part of life.  He used symbolism to tell a story of life and at the same time the story of his beliefs.  The story was really quite interesting to read just for itself, if the reader is not trying to figure out what he said.

In conclusion, Kafkas book is full of deep symbolism as noted by the shocking opening of the story in which the main character is a bug. Each person who reads the story will understand it somewhat different based on their own life choices but based on the research done by this writer, the writer believes that Kafka is saying life is what we make it, it is not a destiny but self determined. When we spend it as others expect, we often end up confused as to who we are. This writer believes that all of the main passages in the book are saying just this.

In 1914, Franz Kafka wrote In The Penal Colony. However, it was published five years after it was written (Rubio 2005). The story In The Penal Colony is basically about a complicated machine which is used to torture and kill condemned prisoner. This machine is placed on an island which is the place for the executions. In the story, there are only four characters and they are The Officer who is the operator of the machine, the Condemned who is the prisoner due for torture and death, the Soldier who is accountable for the security of the Condemned and lastly the Traveler who is a visitor in the island. The story goes and revolves around the machine and the traveler. The Traveler who is just a new visitor in the island is surprised by the knowledge that such machine exists. Further information on the machine is explained to him by the Officer. As the story goes by the origin and the use of the machine becomes more detailed that the machine serves justice by killing.

Eventually, it was stated that the Commandant does want to use the machine anymore and the Officer whose main duty is to operate the machine felt sad about the issue. He knows that the machine delivers justice and he trusts the machine. He tried to negotiate with the Traveler to talk to the Commandant to further use the machine but the Traveler declined. The Officer then set up the machine for himself and freed the Condemned. What happens next is that the machine malfunctions and kills the officer instantly. Taking into account the summary of the story, we will analyze the In The Penal Colony for evidences and manifestations of power that Elias Canetti praised Kafka about. Elias Canetti is a Nobel Prize winning author and he praised Kafka as the greatest expert on power. We will also further analyze specific points in the book that contribute to the praise received by Kafka from Canetti.

The very first manifestation of power in Kafkas story would be the idea of the Machine. Symbolizing the meaning of the machine will lead us to the fact that since it readily imposes justice and is the ultimate punisher for all offenders  we can clearly see that the Condemned has no power to resist and only has the option to be punished by the Machine through processes that are very painful. This gives us the similar concept of the Law. The Machine is relevant to the Law that empowers justice. Power is exerted to the Condemned as an act of punishment for his sins. Kafka portrays an unceasing source of power and judgment from the point of the machine. In my opinion, this has a lot to do with our society today. The metaphor that can be derived from the Machine and the power that flows through it can be related to government and bureaucracy. The balance of power in the story of Kafka was not that evident until nearing the end (Corngold 2009). The role of the traveler also allows us to see how the idea of power is used in the story. The traveler is non-believer and has his own views about justice, human rights and of course the Machine. The Traveler exerts power in the story to project his beliefs at least explain to the Officer why the machine has a very usual way of serving justice.

In another point of view, the Officer represents the medium to which power flows. Take note that in the story of Kafka, it is the officer that is allowed to operate the machine he is the one who holds valuable information including the blueprints and he is the only one who knows how to repair machine. Based on these notions, the Machine is nothing without the Officer and the Officer and is nothing without the Machine. In truth, the Officer can choose not to operate the machine and free the Condemned (like what he did near the end) but because he believes in the power of the machine to do justice and the firm belief that the machine never makes mistakes he goes on with his function to operate the machine and torture and kill the Condemned. Relating this to the society, we can see this in the form of a judge. Most people believe in the justice system and in the end of all trials and tribulations, whatever is handed down is final. There is a lingering idea and sense of power that whatever you do, if your convicted, you done. Kafka illustrates his sympathy for justice in the society and also the imbalance of the power in relation to political leaders and bureaucrats  portrayed by the immense power in the Machine (Gray 2006).

The manifestation of power can also be analyzed with the Machine representing religion. Going back a little, it was noted that the old Commandant who created the Machine imposed a rule that the villagers and the people go out together and witness the serving of justice in the Machine. Similarly, we have compared the machine to religion which is a keeps all the followers together and intact. It also gives an idea of punishment for those followers that will disobey the rules of the religion.  Furthermore, the power of the Machine similar to religion stretches out to other followers and of course it is only logical to think that these followers believe the power of their religion as the officer believes the justice that can be served by the Machine (Corngold 2009).

Moreover, the manifestation of power also showed near the end when the machine was destroyed. As a sign of decline of power, it was portrayed that the Commandant lost his preference to use the machine and so the Officer who is dutifully maintaining and operating the machine feel sad about it and tries to rescue the Machine thereby sacrificing his own life. As manifestation of power to religion, this means that Kafka is compassionate about religion and the current status of it. It was indicated that in the 20th century, the world is losing its grip on religion which is similar to the Commandant losing its preference for the Machine. The following is a quote from the book that shows the lack of preference and resistance of the new Commandant

The officer Have I not tried for hours at a time to get the Commandant to understand that the prisoner must fast for a whole day before the execution. But our new, mild doctrine thinks otherwise. (Kafka 1919)

The power that shifted to the new Commandant made him alter the doctrines and rules for the colony similar to the power given to political leaders during elections and additionally the changes and new polices being made. In the story, the Officer has a high regard for the old Commandant and doesnt speak about breaking the policies and rules set by the former. However, at the end of the story, the shift of power proved too uncontrollable even for the Officer as the new Commandant drafted policies and altered rules set by the old commandant. The following is a quote from the book about the ideas of the Officer regarding the old and new Commandant

Have you ever heard of our former Commandant No Well, it isnt saying too much if I tell you that the organization of the penal colony is his work. We who were his friends knew even before he died that the organization of the colony was so perfect that his successor, even with a thousand new schemes in his head, would find it impossible to alter anything, at least for many years to come. (Kafka 1919)
This quote from the Officer also demonstrates faith in the old commandants ways and policies. On the other hand, the Traveler represents a person who is ignorant and new to his surroundings similar to someone who has not yet experienced having faith and belief in life.

The New commandant represents the true authority in the island. The power that he holds over the machine, whether he uses it or not is his choice and this heavily affected the Officer who sacrificed his life and ended the machine. Borrowing a quote from the renowned Thomas Hobbes, It is authority, not truth, which makes the law. This is very apparent in the story and it plays a great deal of significance on how power is transferred from on commandant to the other and how power was striped from the very creation of the old commandant which is the Machine.

Over all, there are different ways to analyze the manifestations of power in the story of Kafka. One may also put a negative connotation on these manifestations by interpreting the whole Penal Colony as government run under dictatorship or totalitarian government. We all know the facts about dictatorship and totalitarian governments and these can be related to the fact that the Condemned has no right to refuse the Machine. Similarly in a totalitarian government, a leader can put up and create policies and rules to follow in a country similar to the old Commandants policies, guides and rules in the colony. There is a high chance that the people under rule will regard the leader of the totalitarian governments as divine figures and God-like people. Similar to the story, the old Commandant sort of provided a good image to officer and he believed him all throughout (Gray 2006).

Another way of looking into these manifestations is the way the machine and the Officer overpowers the Condemned and this can be analyzed in relation to a system in a government that requires performing unconventional ways of implementing laws. In the story, it is the Officer who controls the Machine and he believes that what he and the Machine are doing is good and it serves justice. However, taking another look at this will lead us to the fact that the Officer may be  trained and controlled by the old Commandant which is similar to forced trainings and brainwashing done on governments in order to further expand their reign and power. Ultimately, the whole scenario of having a new commandant who leaves the old style of serving justice can be analyzed as progress from corruption. Corruption of power can be depicted by the Machine endlessly torturing and killing Condemned people by giving a guilty sentence.

In conclusion, Kafkas In the Penal Colony provides different angles of shifting of power from facet to another. Elias Canetti is indeed correct on praising Kafka as the greatest expert on power.

John Updike is a well-known writer in the second half of the 20th Century and early 20th Century in both short stories and novels.  His death in 2009 was the end of an era of uncanny stories about the real world for over fifty years.  They were the stories of real people and not just the made up fictional worlds of those that were rich.  His stories were of the realities of the world and the reader was always able to easily comprehend and connect with the characters. While AP is not one of the most read of his short stories, it is a very interesting and explanatory story of the times.  Within the confines of the story, the main character, Sammy, portrays the reality of the world and the feelings of the youth in the changing era of the 1960s.  He is both narrator and protagonist, and it is his words that tell the story in setting, point of view and theme.

The first aspects to be evaluated are the characters of the story.  The main character and narrator is Sammy, a 19-year-old, drop-out that works at the AP supermarket.  He shows the reader the world of the AP through his disenchanted eyes.  He has worked at the store for long enough to be able to sit at his register and still know what is going on in every aisle of the store, and out in front of the large plate glass windows (Updike 338).  However, this is not the only thing that is known about Sammy (Blodgett 236 Thompson 215).  The reader also realizes that Sammy has worked in the store for a long time by the way he explains and compares the three girls to the foods in his store.  Such comparisons are found in the chubby berry-face (Updike 338) and smoothest scoops of vanilla I had ever known (Updike 342).  He also compares the girls to dented sheet metal tilted in the light (Updike 339) which may play out to other aspects of his life.  

However, his view of the normal people in the store is quite different and calls the crowd of supermarket shoppers house slaves in pin curlers (Updike 340), or witch (Updike 338), or as women with six children and varicose veins mapping their legs (Updike 340).  He has a downward view of these sheep (Updike 342) that come to the store to buy their goods.  For Sammy, he wants out of the AP, but is unsure as to how to make it happen.  He feels trapped and needs only one good excuse to get himself out (Blodgett 236 Thompson 215 Porter 1156).

Other characters in the AP are Stokesie and McMahon, the butcher. Stokesie is a cashier like Sammy.  He, too, is stuck in the job at the AP, but because of the fact that he has two children and a wife, he accepts his fate and his responsibility and tries to make the most of it.  McMahon, the butcher, is like an elder of the store, and he will never leave.  The only other character associated with the AP is the store manager Mr. Lengel.  It is this man that holds the values of the store, and neighborhood church over the employees and customers of the store.  He is a Sunday school teacher  and in this high moral frame of mind, it is he that causes a scene with the indecently dressed young girls, telling them that they must be dressed appropriately before entering the store again (Blodgett 236 Thompson 215 Porter 1157).

This leads to the analysis of the three girls.  The girls are dressed in bathing suits, and no shoes.  Even Sammy mentions that women generally put on a shirt or shorts or something (Updike 340) before coming into the store, but these girls do not even skip a beat or think it unnatural to go to the store in their bathing suits. Therefore the entrance of these three girls is noticed by everyone.  Sammy calls the one he assumes to be the leader Queenie (Updike 340), and it is she that caught the attention of Sammy from the beginning.  Her reaction to Mr. Lengel would create a sensation that would evoke a response from Sammy that would lead to unforeseeable consequences (Blodgett 236 Thompson 216 Porter 1157).
 
The setting in which the characters meet is obviously an AP grocery store.  However, the fact that it is outside Boston and five minutes from the beach of Cape Cod needs to be understood, which could be the reasoning for the girls in their bathing suits.  However, the actual location of the AP sits in the middle of the small conservative town and is surrounded by several real estate offices, the newspaper store, two banks, and the Congregational Church ( Porter 1155 Updike 340).  Even while they are very close to the ocean, they are closer to the church and therefore, the conservative values of the church tend to spill over into the grocery store (Porter 1157).

One theme of this story is the refusal to conform to the norms of society.  The old and normal way of life is represented in the church, the middle of the conservative town, and in the character of Mr. Lengel.  Through the values of these very conservative entities, Sammy begins to lose himself.  He works at the AP because he believes there is not much out there, especially for someone like himself.  However, he wants to escape and find a different way in which to live that is loyal to his own belief system and not just like everyone else around him (Blodgett 236 Thompson 216 Porter 1158).

Another theme is the changing of the societal norms between the differing generations.  The old norms are represented in Mr. Lengel in his high brow ideal of how a woman should dress and how she should act, especially in the sense that he expected people to be completely dressed when they were only five minutes for the Oceanside and beach.  Stokesie kind of sits in the middle of the two views of the old regime and the new generation.  This fence sitting occurs because of his freedom in life and sexuality that has landed him with a wife and two children by the age of twenty-two.  He may not agree with the norms, but he does abide by them as a result of the need to be responsible.  Sammy, on the other hand, represents the new age of freedom that was found in the sixties.  It is the age where the old societal norms of the 1950s are waylaid by the hippie and flower children of the 1960s and their view of life and happiness.

Another theme could be the heroic actions of Sammy in light of the treatment of the young girls.  However, both Harriet Blodgett in her article Updikes AP (2003) and Corey Thompson in his article Updikes AP (2001) refuse to see Sammy as a hero, but more of an opportunist in the sense that he uses the girls appearance at the store as his basis for quitting his job (Harris).  He had no other real excuse, but saw this as a heroic and chivalrous way in which to stand up for the girls.  He would make himself feel important and will get out of a job he hated (Greiner 415).

Updike seems to put the chivalry back into the event, in the sense that Mr. Lengel reminds Sammy that he does not want to do this to his parents, and that this will be felt for the rest of your life (Updike 343). Sammy knows this, but follows through to stand up to Mr. Lengel, the AP, and the town in their old system of beliefs.  It is like the new generation pushing to be heard, and this was just one step in the direction and into the future of the society (Greiner 415).

There is much in the way of underlying themes and symbols in the story of the AP.  However, one must remember the time frame in which it was written.  In 1962, the generations of flower children were making statements, and while it was only the beginning, it was still being felt by all.  One could assume that Updike was using this story to show that this new freedom and system of beliefs was felt from the big cities to the little towns, and that the influence was felt all over.  Updike wrote of the reality of the world.  He used his fictions to represent the real life events that were taking place.  He was not afraid to show the ugly or the bad side of life, as long as it was for a purpose (Harris).  It was always from the outside looking in for the reader, so that the reader could evaluate the event from their own perspective, and whether conservative or liberal could see the error in the ways of the society.

The process of production or the development of matters,. Items or even services have been an enveloping activity that has assisted man towards the need to present further development in the society. For many years, human generations depended on production when it comes to measuring how much the society has actually fared when it comes to dealing with development and progress.
This is the truth that Annie Dillard wants to point put when it comes to her animated explanatory video as she discusses about production. In the same manner Edward Burtynskys work on manufactured landscape provided a more vivid and realistic presentation and analysis about the said matter. Production though involves a lot of procedures that sometimes include the manipulation of resources that are needed to produce items for mass consumption. Apparently the matters involved do not only include raw materials but also humans who are in many ways considered to have no choice, hence are taking the most crucial stage of production through being employed in factories while their endanger their own health towards producing the materials demanded by the society. In the expense of other resources, even that of the human power, the production of materials is supported for the sake of commercial development as per shown in the clip of Anne Dillard depicting the passage of toxins from production towards the consumption of materials. This has been further supported by Burtynskys clip showing the transformed resources that has been influenced by human action pertaining t increased production.

However, production is only one phase of the activity. According to Burtynsky, this particular situation intends to bring about a certain activity that is essential of following through and that is distribution and consumption. To be able to successfully undergo this process, Dillard notes the need to involve massive marketing that involves all the systems of communication possible to the human generation.  Through marketing, it could be noticed though that the competition becomes to grow which in turn controls the different possibilities of consumption success. Through this stage of material development, it has been carried into consideration by the two works cited herein that production is indeed both a crucial and implicative part of the lifecycle of material things and how it mirrors the development of the capability of humans to handle new challenges of market demand.

I come from a big family and I am the middle child among the rest of us.  I am also the
balancer from the elder brood and the younger members of our kin. It is not easy.  Looking back
to my early years, I grew up in fear. I was not aware of that since I do not have a reference to
proper growing up process.  I believe that I am also a favourite of my parents because I am an
achiever in school and I get my fair share of their attention. I wanted to please my family so that
I really worked hard to live up to their expectations. It is easy when it is about school. It is not easy when it comes to choosing sides and loyalties among my brothers and sisters. Competition is strong in our family.  My elder sisters contend to be the most popular in the social circle that our family moved in.  My father holds an important political position in our town so that there is always an abundance of invitations to parties and functions. It is in this area that my sisters compete in popularity. These competitions would sometimes lead to nasty fights and, being close to all my sisters, I become courier to their word war, more often than not, my loyalty is put in question. I did not want to offend any one of them so that I became a master of pretensions and lies. I delivered whatever demands they wanted, and told them things I believed they wanted to hear, inventing things just to satisfy them. I have lived up to their expectations at the cost of my own integrity. I learned this far too late already.

One elder sister would ask me to go to church every day. She would talk about the beauty
of the religious life.  I was too young to understand but I made myself the bell ringer of our parish church so that this responsibility would oblige me to go to church everyday. Church activities did not interest me, but to please my sister I would attend mass regularly.

In my Secondary School, the strain I felt with my family began to show in my grades, as I
began to get failing marks. I just could not concentrate well on studying and I began to withdraw
from my brood. I started to seek companionships from the outside. I could feel the disappointment that my parents felt about me and I was also feeling guilty.  To compensate, every time there were evaluation tests given in our school, I would work hard to excel. Most often, I would come up the top-notch in the whole batch. The school administrators were confused where to put me in the section assignments.  They could not put me in the honours class because I got failing grades.  They also felt uncomfortable about putting me in the lower class because of my high aptitude and scholastic rank. On my final year, I was assigned at the cream section and I got the highest average in our entrance test for college. In my mind, I made sure that those awards in my class would look dim-witted at national evaluation examination results.

When the time came when I needed to choose my course in college, I chose engineering but my parents wanted me to become a lawyer. Being a people pleaser, I consented without trying to convince them that engineering is really what I wanted to study. I enrolled in the college of pre-law and since it is a high standard university, I made it a point to have high grades in my courses. I did so and for three years in that course I have been present in a consistent list of the honoured students. During my final year at the university, I traded all my high grades with all the vices the university people have to offer and plunged down to oblivion until I finally dropped out. I lived in limbo after that.

I rebelled with everything, especially with authority.  My relationship with my family became  a silent battle.  Our communication boiled down to the basic.  I no longer share with them my life.  I become a hermit in our own house.  When I am alone, I would recall the days when I enjoyed the company of my family.  I wanted to go back to that atmosphere.  I tried so many times to join them in special occasions and even in ordinary days but every time I would clash up with someone and then everything would be spoiled. I do not want to be bossed around and an ordinary request would come up like I am judged inferior. I gave up. I just withdrew totally and left them to their own lives.

I did a lot of reflections on what happened to me, particularly my attitude in the house.  I
seem to get well with other people in fact, I did well in the job as Liaison Officer of a
construction firm.  It is easy for me to establish official relations even if the person that I need to
contact with has a reputation of being difficult. What failed at being at home, I substantially
compensated outside.  I am not happy with what happened to me as I am a stranger in my own
house.  All relationships that I have, including romantic ones, suffered the same fate. I
knew very well that I could not handle closeness.  I got fear about being rejected so I wanted to please everybody, especially the members of my family and other close relatives. My fear comes about not being able to deliver the demands that they make on me.  This fear made me withdraw.
It made me feel safe about having no responsibilities of making other people happy.  I believe that if they got no expectations from me, then I will not have any disappointments about not being able to deliver their expectations.  I felt safe in this arrangement.  I also felt miserable and
guilty.  I knew that my parents were sad too.  I was entirely different person from the one who
they knew.  My father had for many occasions tried to talk to me but every time he did, the gulf
that came between us became even wider. I knew that we do not know where to pick up the
pieces. There was no big argument that came between me and my family.  Many times I would
wish that there had been something that would allow us what to mend.  It would have been easier that way since I have no hang-ups about asking for forgiveness if I made mistakes.

The grudge had come way back since I was a child and it crept deep into my being that it changed me entirely into a different resentful person. It was resentment that made me a stranger to my family. The resentment I felt with my family comes from believing that they controlled my life.  I blamed them for all the wrong choices I made, especially with what happened to my studies. It took a long time for me to realize of my participation.  The truth is that I have made a lot of mistakes and blamed my family for that.

I got a serious talk with my father one day.  He was so honest with what he felt about me.
He blamed himself for choosing the course to study instead of asking me of what I really wanted.
His sincere apology struck the truth in the bulls eye. He felt my accusations even though I never
vocalized them.  My actions were far worse than anything that I could have done. My father could have defended himself if I accused him outright of what happened to me. I did not give him the chance because I was afraid of the truth.
       
I was so ashamed of this realization. I apologized to my father, I asked him to
forgive me.  He told me instead to forgive myself because it is the hardest thing to do. He told
me to stop looking back at the past mistakes The best thing to do is to let go and move on.

It has been a long time now since that day we talked. Forgiving and forgetting were not easy.  Opening lines with my father has done great things to me. I have a better relationship with my family now, although I need to bond more to regain that family closeness I long for. Time will tell. I trust it will come.      

With todays fast paced and dynamic environment, people often find it hard to balance their time with the activities and things that they do. More often than not, they have to settle with a huge amount of workload with little time for themselves. However, what people dont know is that even for just five to ten minutes per day they can engage in meditative practices. Seeing this, the practice of meditation not only is a viable approach in reinforcing ones personal capabilities but also a good approach in attaining inner peace even for a short period of time.

Debunking common misconceptions
Contrary to the common belief that meditation is only practiced in the Eastern world, this process has slowly been evolving within the Western mindset as an important criterion towards alleviating and addressing ones personal need for silence (Project-meditation, p.1). Since its definition corresponds with the ability to seek a calm and quiet environment, associating cultural parameters within the approach would be a wrong argument to consider. Seeing this, meditation is more of a personal dedication to find appropriate time and space to unwind and seek the tranquility amidst the current challenges of reality.

Similarly, there are also people that say meditation is only a waste of time and hinder the ability of people to get more time to sleep or rest. However, numerous research and studies have already been conducted proving the significance and value of engaging towards meditation. This not only corresponds to health associated benefits but also on other areas that also shape human development and growth (Pettinger, p.1). That is why many people even in the Western world are realizing the benefits that this practice can contribute to their lives.

Health Benefits
One important benefit that meditation provides is the associated improvements it can contribute to ones health. In particular, this practice improves the mental state of individuals by lessening the negative effects of stress, anxiety, and depression that might have been caused by internal and external factors. Many studies have provided the same conclusions and highlighted the particular dynamics that is happening within a persons body. Collin mentions that Neuroscientists have found that meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex - brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex (p.1).

Similarly, other positive effects in the body can be seen when people engage in meditation. This can be seen in the way meditation is applied. Such approach in turn creates better ways for people to breath and offers better circulation of air in the lungs and oxygen into the bloodstream (Pettinger, p.1). This then relaxes the whole body as both tension and stress levels go down significantly. Likewise, other experts have argued that with continued practice of motivation then reduce the risk of people to become affected by risk factors such as hypertension and heart attack.

Emotional and Psychological Stability
Other positive impact that meditation can bring involve its ability to nurture ones emotional and psychological stability. In essence, having the ability to achieve inner peace creates the ability to stabilize emotional hurdles and difficulties by an individual. Since meditation involves personal detachment, it is through such process that the individual regains control of their individual thoughts and feelings over certain issues that continues to bother people (Project-meditation p.1). Likewise, meditation touches the emotional sphere by its ability to induce happiness and peace of mind among individuals. This revolves around having the time to rethink experiences and helps people understand the proper attitude and perspective over things that are really important.

At the same time, the same benefit can be seen in the psychological sphere as meditation opens up the capacity to develop an understanding of the self. This then boosts one confidence in addressing the challenges of life. In addition, it caters creativity on the individual and provides the necessary confidence to achieve their corresponding purpose and goals (Pettinger, p.1). This realization then triggers the positive response and allows the person to recognize purpose and direction towards hisher individual actions or decisions.

Numerous Choices
Given its associated benefits, people who seek to engage in meditation can choose from different types. These types can coincide with the individuals preference and become an essential tool towards discovering what system is the best for each one. Project-meditation points out that various types of meditation that are recognized include transcendental meditation, prayer, Zen meditation, Taoist meditation, mindfulness meditation, and Buddhist meditation (p.1). Regardless of the styles these variations can give, it can be seen that the end-result still remains rooted in providing the person a quiet and solitary time.

In the end, regardless of whether one practices for 10 minutes or 1 hour, engaging to the process of meditation can reap positive benefits to a person. It is through this process that we gain the ability to appreciate the value of silence and rediscover our own individual purpose. Thus, allowing ourselves to become immersed in such activityhobby not only provides an opportunity to take care of our body but also continuously respond to the ever changing and dynamic world that we live in.

The most profound of all writers and a fine model of exemplary writing that has impacted generations. Shakespeare, the legends, popularity continues until today.

Born during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, he was the third child and oldest son of John and Mary Arden Shakespeare. He received good education from learned scholars educated at the Oxford University. The name Shakespeare was a common one in the old days with spelling variants Shagspere to Chacsper. However, little did anyone know that a unique characteristic was being shaped as little Shakespeare grew and that this name would stand out

Shakespeare adorned the written word with an evergreen characteristic that has tempted, especially, the entertainment industry. He gave a unique dimension to Theatre and Art a new flavor so that anyone who tasted it couldnt forget its taste. To be able to write anything and write well that was his forte, an unbeatable one

A writer who wrote from his heart, his plays were a reflection of society and what he experienced. Born during the Elizabethan Age, aka Golden Age in English history, it was time when literature flourished. The Shakespearean enigma enthralls people even today. His verses serve as important quotations to introduce a speech, paper, or as a reference to something.

Shakespeare wrote as he understood life, i.e., people, relationships, and societal nuances. That is what tugged at peoples hearts. His reflections on life infiltrated his writings
A tragic tale of love  Romeo and Juliet
Of Kings  King John and King Lear
Tale of evil  Hamlet
Of justice and strong women  Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice
He wrote in abundance and gave to each piece of writing, a unique flavor, making them a cut above the rest.

If Appearances are truly Deceptive, his was the case. His critics considered him to be a man who did not have a demeanor that was capable of such high caliber. There were efforts to prove that it wasnt Shakespeare but some other writer who wrote the plays. Some speculated it to be Sir Francis Bacon. Hence, the famous Shakespeare-Bacon argument. They also assessed him as not having the capacity to write such good plays because of little schooling.

Writing was his hallmark, an innate talent and his high calling that none could beat or defeat. He had an ability to almost surpass them all and set a high standard of writing. It is believed that the sonnets that he wrote had an element of a true story in them. Of course, when one writes, bits and pieces, if not wholes about ones personal experiences do creep in. He experimented with every dimension of writing and succeeded Shakespeares writings were a reflection of Elizabethan society as he lived and experienced the times.

A sensitive writer, he thought about every minute aspect of the theatre, and we notice that almost all aspects have been taken care of beautifully. For example, Hamlet, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. He comes across as someone who cared for his audience, giving thought to how
Each scene should begin and end
Each character will take shape
The setting and dialogues, and so on.

Although language has evolved a great deal, people still prefer to retain the old flavor when it comes to reviving or reenacting Shakespearean plays. This transports us back in time and gives us a beautiful picture of the old language. In short, nothing can supplement something that has already stood out and still stands out. Indeed, old IS gold Shakespeare was one of a kind and amazingly, his legacy continues.

He also kept in mind all the factors of a stage
Length of each scene
Stage setting
Intervals between scenes
Plot
Shakespeare was adept at donning and juggling the hats of Producer, Director, Choreographer, and Editor. Meaning to say that he painstakingly put himself into the shoes of an entire production team, including the actors What a writer His portfolio included a vast and grand collection of comedies, tragedies, histories, and romances.

To be able to satisfy all the rules of grammar, vocabulary, and rhetoric needed immense practice and for a person like Shakespeare, it would seem as if this task would be a piece of cake, considering his talent. He surely would have been someone who studied a lot  people, places, and life, along with books.

All the worlds a stage,
And all men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
Source As You Like It

How deep can anyone else get It seems as if the entire meaning of life is contained in just these five lines. And, if they were to be critically evaluated, a lot of study material on various topics would be the outcome. Such was the power of Shakespeares writing. Moreover, he also introduced an entirely new diction and populated his writings with a rich vocabulary by either borrowing terms, inventing new ones, or putting old words to new uses.

Shakespeare set the trend which many would follow. His writings exuded style, rich with imagery, seasoned heavily with a large vocabulary. He used his actors to send across varied messages by using the art of persuasion, admonishment, appeasement, and so on.

As criticism grows, so does admiration for the man.
The 20th century has made Shakespeare accessible to high school students. When, earlier, his writings only served as a means of entertainment, today, they are being studied and drawn into the halls of education.

It can only be concluded that Shakespeare is Shakespeare  a self-made man

Q. Under what set of financial reporting standards were the BP financial statements prepared and who issues these standards Describe the cost flow assumptions for inventory and COGS that are available to BP under these standards. Which cost flow assumption did BP select for 2006
The BP financial statements were presented under the International Accounting Standards, which are being supplemented by the International Financial Reporting Standards. These are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. Under these standards, BP can choose to represent its inventory using the specific identification method, the weighted average cost or through FIFO. The first two methods dont present much variation but in FIFO, the inventory is made up of goods that were purchased earlier on and thus have had less value associated with them compared to the newer goods which would be higher in value in an economy with inflation. Consequently, cost of goods sold will be higher for BP with FIFO as the newer, higher cost goods will be included in it. BP selected the FIFO assumption for the year 2006.

Q. Why did BP file financial statements with the US SEC
BP files financial statements with the SEC as it is a requirement for the company if it wants to be listed in the US stock exchanges and thus be able to access capital through equity in the country. This is required as investors and other financial experts as well as analysts will then be able to access the financial statements of BP to make decisions about whether to invest in the stock. Basic fundamental analysis takes place primarily by utilizing the information contained within these financial statements. However, foreign private issuers are required by the SEC to submit these statements with reconciliation to the US GAAP. This is useful as GAAP dictate the method of accounting to be utilized by the companies in the United States and its analysts and investors will also need to transform the IAS dictated BP statements to GAAP to be able to make meaningful comparisons with other companies in an investment decision.

Q. What cost flow assumption is Exxon using Is Exxon providing enough information to calculate ending inventory for 2006 and COGS for 2006 using an alternative method
Exxon is presenting its financial statements using the LIFO assumption. This means that the inventory at the end of the year is recorded on the balance sheet at the last prices for the goods which are higher, thus resulting in a relatively higher amount of inventory appearing on the balance sheet. Consequently, the COGS are recorded using lower costing goods which reduce the ultimate figure appearing on the income statement. To convert LIFO to FIFO requires the LIFO reserve to be mentioned. While this may not be explicitly stated, aggregate replacement costs for inventories are mentioned which basically reflect price difference between the FIFO inventory and the same inventory being bought in todays prices, which is effectively the LIFO reserve. The four figures mentioned in the footnote when added to the LIFO figures represented in the Exxon balance sheet return FIFO inventory figures equal to 26.6 billion for 2006, 24.7 billion for 2005 and 19.28 billion for 2004. Thus we can see that Exxon is providing enough information to provide for conversion of the LIFO inventory to FIFO via the LIFO reserve figures being represented in the footnotes to the financial statements. FIFO COGS can also be calculated using the COGS represented in LIFO and subtracting change in LIFO reserve from it. This requires the use of the same LIFO reserve figures mentioned above and their differences calculated. The LIFO inventory figure for 2003 is also given in the notes for this purpose as it allows the difference to be calculated with respect to the previous year in 2004 to get the FIFO COGS figure at the end of that period.

Q. Based on information in the case, are you able to compare inventory balances, COGS, inventory turnover and net profit margin for Exxon and BP in 2006
The inventory balances for BP and Exxon can be compared. Even though the former represents its inventory using FIFO and the latter with LIFO, the LIFO reserve figures that are mentioned in the notes to the financial statements by Exxon allow the LIFO inventory to be expressed in FIFO, thus allowing comparisons to be carried out between the two companies in this regard.

COGS present that same problem that both are calculated using different cost flow assumptions. However, the LIFO reserves for four years allow differences between them to be calculated which enables the FIFO COGS to be calculated for Exxon. After that, the figures of Exxon can be compared with those of BP to determine which has higher costs of goods sold.

Inventory turnover is a ratio that is basically calculated by dividing the COGS for a company with the average inventory at the years end. The denominator in this case is determined by adding the inventory figures at the start and end of the year and dividing them by 2. We have already shown that the cost flow assumption used by Exxon and the reconciliation tools provided allow it to be converted to LIFO inventory and COGS. Thus calculating the inventory turnover for both allows comparison to be made with regards to how long inventory is being kept by either company.

Net profit margin is calculated by dividing net income figure by the sales figure and deriving the percentage. The denominator is easy to acquire as the sales for both companies will be according to the prices they charge for their products and the number of products sold adjusted for discounts and returns, represented in US dollars. This will be independent of accounting standards. Net income however will be obtained after subtracting expenditures determined via different accounting standards. However, BP presents its financial statements by showing a reconciliation of its profit figure in IAS with US GAAP. This will allow similar net profit margins to be obtained and comparisons made between BP and Exxon.

Q. Which company do you think is using the better method to account for inventories Discuss in the context of an investor interested in investing in these companies. Explain clearly why you prefer one over the other

BP is using the better method to account for inventories and COGS when considering from the stand point of investors looking to make an investment decision. This has to be seen through the viewpoint of the implications for use of either assumption. For Exxon, the LIFO usage is beneficial to the extent that it results in higher COGS appearing on the income statement which leads to a lower EBIT figure and hence lower taxes. This means that cash outflow for tax expenditures would be less as compared to using FIFO which is what BP is doing. However, there are certain advantages that BP does get from this. Investors will be better able to trust BPs financial statements as representing economic reality as their accounting is done in a more conservative manner and do not look to inflate or deflate COGS. This means that for similar changes in fortunes of both companies, the BP stock may experience a better price appreciation compared to Exxon as its statements will be viewed as more fair. Since the investors do not possess private information about the firm like the management does and the managements actions are used as useful indicators of what the true fortunes of a company may be like, BPs continued use of FIFO may reflect that management views scope for the company as favorable as they are foregoing potentially favorable cash flow and tax savings by sticking to FIFO when LIFO is available if statements are filed using GAAP in the United States. This confidence is what the investor would prefer in the case of BP as the management is providing a hint for a good future for the company as opposed to Exxon which is sticking to tax savings and cash flow improvements through use of accounting tricks rather than better performance.

Introduction
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkins The Queen of Spades is fairly regarded as one of his most talented, most fascinating, and most intriguing stories. Written in accordance with the basic rules of a card game, Pushkin tries to evaluate and judge the complexity of human interrelationships and the impact of societal standards and norms on individual perceptions about reality. Lisaveta Ivanovna the representation of social loneliness and social rejection brought up by and living with an old Countess, a young woman is bound to experience a whole series of pressures and failures, unable to tame the old womans capricious nature and blind to Hermanns mercenary intentions about herself. Despite continuous social victimization and under the double pressure of the old countess and that of Hermanns mercenary plans, Lisaveta Ivanovna, nevertheless, exemplifies the triumph of her emotional power and endurance over her fate in many aspects, her obedience and submission to the rules of her destiny make the destiny more favorable toward the young woman and give her another chance to become happy.

Pushkins The Queen of Spades resembles a complex and never-ending card game, in which people, places, decisions, and actions are so closely interrelated, that it is never possible to predict what will happen next. In this complex system of interrelationships, Lisaveta Ivanovna plays a victim of her own social position she neither has a chance to become a respected member of her society, nor is she given an opportunity to find a good husband and a partner for life. You never know what youre talking about Open that small window. There as I thought windy and bitterly cold. Unharness the horses. Lisaveta, were not going out  there was no need to dress up like that (Pushkin 869). The changeable and overtly capricious nature of the old Countess creates a serious pressure on Lisaveta she cannot tame the old woman and has a bare chance to find personal happiness. Lisaveta Ivanovnas personal space is limited to the extent, which does not leave her any freedom of choice. Her life is narrowed to being a household martyr she pours out tea and is reprimanded for putting in too much sugar she reads novels aloud and is held guilty for all the authors faults she accompanies the Countess on her walks, and is made responsible for the state of weather and the pavement (Pushkin 870). The salary attached to her position is never paid, but she is expected to be dressed as everybodyelse (Pushkin 870). Pushkin is correct, when saying that Lisavetas place in society is nothing but pitiable, because she is known to everyone but is not noticed by anyone and this deceptive publicity only aggravates her feeling of loneliness and social rejection (870).

In conditions of complete loneliness, it is natural and even anticipated that Lisaveta falls in love with Hermann on the one hand, she finds it difficult to withstand his pressures on the other hand, these feelings are the only possible means for Lisaveta to use her romantic potential and to love
Nevertheless, the letter made her feel extremely uneasy. For the first time in her life she was entering into a secret and confidential relationship with a young man. His audacity shocked her. She reproached herself for her imprudent behavior, and did not know what to do. Should she stop sitting at the window and by a show of indifference cool off the young mans desire for further acquaintance Should she send the letter back to him Or answer it with cold-hearted finality (Pushkin 872).

These thoughts are running through Lisavetas mind, while she is trying to maintain a reasonable emotional balance and to conceal her feelings from everyone. Her loneliness and social rejection produce a two-fold effect she has a unique opportunity to thoroughly reconsider her actions and feelings toward Hermann and she also fails to see what stands behind his mercenary intentions toward her. Her romantic character and a natural female desire to be loved make Lisaveta virtually blind, and this blindness make her failure and the discovery of the truth even more painful Lisaveta Ivanovna listened to him with horror. So those passionate letters, those ardent demands, the whole impertinent and obstinate pursuit  all that was not love Money  that was what his soul craved for It was not she who could satisfy his desire and make him happy (Pushkin 878). However, as it often happens in a card game, destiny and luck turn their face toward Lisaveta and give her another chance to become a happy woman.

Throughout her life, Lisaveta has either been used as a unique tool of satisfying someone elses mercenary desires or had to suffer the lack of human attention and understanding. During the Ball, when Tomsky, vexed with the Princess Polina for not flirting with him as she usually did, had wished to revenge himself by a show of indifference he had therefore summoned Lisaveta Ivanovna and together they had danced an endless mazurka (Pushkin 876-7), the readers are given a unique chance to see the full picture of Lisavetas isolation and her social inferiority. However, as it often happens during card games, destiny turns toward those, who were able to submit themselves to its power. In many aspects, Lisaveta Ivanovna is the only real winner in Pushkins story that she is lucky to marry a very agreeable young man, who has a good position in the service somewhere (Pushkin 883) creates a vision of destiny as of the vicious circle of desires, in which luck and happiness return to those who have enough patience and endurance to go through the major life difficulties without losing their dignity, and being able to learn from their failures and mistakes.

Conclusion
The Queen of Spades is written in accordance with the basic rules of a card game people, places, actions, and decisions are so closely interrelated that it is virtually impossible to predict what will happen next. In his short story, Pushkin initially positions Lisaveta Ivanovna as the victim of the norms and constraints in her society she is bound to cope with the capricious nature of the old Countess and does not have a single chance to find her happiness. She is used by Hermann to satisfy his mercenary desires and does not have an opportunity to realize her inner spiritual potential. However, as it often happens in a card game, destiny turns to those who were able to submit themselves to its will as such, Lisaveta Ivanovna creates a vision of destiny as of the vicious circle of desires, in which luck and happiness turn to those who are able to go through the major life difficulties without losing their dignity.

There are different ways for a person to achieve his or her dreams by helping other people. This is a theoretic concept and the practical implementation of this theory into life will vary from person to person. In other words, this will not work in the same manner for everyone. Achieving ones dream is not an easy task as it may seem. History is rich in facts that many eminent people achieved their dreams by helping those around them. In order to achieve the dreams it is very important that one recognizes his or her own flaws and it is very important that he or she overcomes those flaws. In other words, to achieve a dream one needs to traverse through different paths, mending the shortcomings, and eschewing the adamant belief that what one thinks is always right.

In the lifes journey, a human being has to face a lot of hardships and challenges before he or she can fulfill a dream. Under this condition, when a person hopes to achieve his or her objectives while helping others, the hardships get multiplied because this individual has to take care of not just him or herself, but of others too. For example, if a person wants to fight against discrimination in the society, he or she needs to work persistently to attain the set goal. The person will also have to gain support from others, which will involve much efforts and time, because only a considerable group of people can bring changes to the society and eliminate vices from the community.

To achieve the dual objectives of attaining ones dreams and at the same time, making others happy, a person needs to have much confidence and enthusiasm besides the capacity for sustained hard work. Moreover, it calls for immense courage on the part of an individual.

Randy Pausch
Prof. Randy Pausch was an eminent US scholar in computer science and taught in Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania. Prof. Pausch was also the co-founder of the CMUs entertainment technology centre and introduced the virtual concepts and technology courses. His works include the creation of the Alice software project, cofounding virtual reality with Disney Imaginers besides delivering a lot of inspirational speeches about life. Besides, he was the author of 5 books and 70 articles.

Prof. Randy Pausch cherished several goals, including proper time management, finding the best career, working for the causes he embraced and possessing the ability to execute his tasks efficiently with his team members and peers. He was an untiring worker who would put in incessant efforts to attain his goals both in his profession as well as in life. According to him, setting the right goals is an important decision making process in the persons life and this will decide his course of destiny. To develop appropriate goals an individual needs proper planning. To attain this dream one has to execute the plan efficiently, by coordinating ones work, social and family obligations etc. However, more significant is ones contentment with his soul which will prompt him to consider the happiness of others. Its thrilling to fulfill your own childhood dreams, but as you get older you may find that enabling the dreams of others is even more fun. (Pausch and Zaslow, 117).

According to Prof Pausch the importance of time as an ultimateelement of significance and promulgated the concept that time is money. The different strategies adopted by Randy Pausch for successfully achieving his objectives are time management, self discipline and the ability to lead a balanced life. The time management emphasizes and creates the value for time, which is the chief resource man has. He gives different tips of time management in handling the phone, while speaking, while arranging the books, shopping, at work place and in personal life.

He emphasizes the fact that self-discipline is the elementary skill in the organization, and it is one of the determinants of the effectiveness of the management. This is applicable to individuals as well. It helps in the creating different kinds of tools, information and data where one is prepared in meeting with the target and the plan in achieving the projects ahead within stipulated schedule.

When an individual considers the happiness of others while pursuing his dreams, he gives leeway to them and can fetch them results besides motivating them to do so for people around them. Pauschs work will help people in numerous ways. Pausch says that achieving the childhood dreams is a significant event in a persons life and he feels that only concrete planning can make this possible.Prof. Pausch gives the utmost constructive counsel when he provides an array of tips to attain the heights of success by ardently pursuing ones dreams. Optimism and positive attitudes are two of the other traits he advocates that a person should possess, to enable him to accomplish the goals he chases. These qualities will induce in people the right attitude for adaptation, understanding of life, ignoring the invalid ideas of other people, self discipline, time management, balanced life, positive approach, reality conscious etc.

Achieving your childhood dream, was the last lecture given by Prof Randy Pausch, which received media attention globally and the performance by him was such an eye opener that it created a storming impact over the internet, which was viewed infinite times by millions in different social networking sites. He was much known for the work on time management and the tips given for the same. Besides, his popularity also stems from the keen focus that he placed on the discussion on the professional and personal goals along with the impact of his expeditions, the challenges and threats he faced etc. The sensational presentations and workshops conducted by Prof. Randy give a good message for the people to be inspired by his lecture and to be in a position to understand different objectives in accomplishing the goals.

There are various lessons to be learned from the lecture, including the accomplishing dreams and attaining success in life by overcoming different obstacles. The emphasis on time management in the day to day activities from the ignorance of time in speaking over the phone and in shopping are some strong points that he brings out from everyday life of a person. To have a plan for the execution of the dream, success should be the factor in every stage of life. Remaining honest and recognizing reality are other positive aspects that make a person worthy of success. The constraints from the lessons can be applied from the starting of the dream to the implementation in terms of money, time and other external resources.

Cora Tucker
Cora Tucker was an activist who worked for the emancipation of black laborers. She was born in 1941 in Boston, in a poor family who were laborers in the fields of white people. She also rendered her services in a factory owned by the whites. The remarkable work done by Mrs. Tucker include the Founded Citizens for a Better America in 1975, and she conducted a survey on the lack of employment opportunities and other challenges that black communities faced. She had initiated tremendous efforts to build a reputation for the black race in the Washington DC area.

The main goals of Cora Tucker include the equity, eco-racism and the environmental history. Other goals embrace the establishment of the political, economical and cultural freedom after years of rejection. The equity includes equal rights for every race in the country without any discrimination. The environment issues related to the dumping of harmful waste like the poly ethylene biphenyl (PNB) in the resident area of the black.

Different strategies applied by Cora Tucker were the racial discrimination policy that had to be overcome, employment, the formation of people for the registering and the right for voting besides generating the issues on environmental hazards that cause serious harm to the people. She also strived hard for organizing a community for the unity of black.

The movement that was made against the white for the emancipation and uplifting of the black in terms of race and apartheid had created many benefits to the African community in terms of employment opportunities, equal rights in the workplace, right for voting and it had a say in the legal issues. Cora saw it to the survey results were published in the local news paper. The next step was to act on the results. (Garland 358).

The work carried out by Mrs. Cora Tucker is worth much praise in the history ofthe black population. They had to endure severe sufferings in terms inequality, deprivation of environmental rights etc. She united the people from sharecropping. Share cropping is the form of drudgery, it is slavery really, you work on the mans farm supposedly for half the profit on the crops you grow. (Garland 354). She took voting very seriously and contested for the post of the Governor of Virginia with the main aim of the uplifting of people. By helping others Mrs. Tucker was able to fulfill her dream of an independent black in Boston. She had a dream of black liberation and despite all the hardships in her life, she had accomplished her dream.

The different lessons learnt from the life and history of Mrs. Cora Tucker are, if there is a desire and a well planned scheme for execution, obstacles can be nullified and there is nothing impossible in the destiny of humans. The barriers that Tucker faced in terms of non cooperation from the family members, racial discrimination, and poor family background etc had never hindered her pursuit of childhood dreams. The enthusiastic behavior, in spite of the yearning for aiming at the goal, bred only confidence in her. The principles in terms of the concept of hardworking, desire, planning and goals can be used in achieving dreams by any person.

Clairborne Paul Ellis
Claiborne Paul Ellis was born on January 8, 1927 in Durham, North Carolina to a very poor family and he never finished school. He was a very hard working man and never lost his personal beliefs when others tried to influence him. His father died early and hence he had to feed the family. He joined a gang which made him a somebody. C.P. Ellis is a former Ku Klux Klan member (Terkel 591). But after a while he left that group and got affiliated to another local community which beheld the concept of equal importance to all. Gradually he joined a committee with a black activist called Ann Atwater. This gave him the opportunity to know more about the blacks and their problems. He was also the organizer in janitors union. Ellis had got common concerns regarding the human beings especially for children. C.P Ellis was a hard worker and he never spent a day without doing something. In early seventies Ann Atwater and C P Ellis worked together in order to deal with racial problems in schools.

The main goal of C.P. Ellis is that everyone should get respect without any racial or other criteria and there should not be any discrimination among humans. He often wants to remain in the company of other people rather than being alone. Apart from that, he also hoped for a country where no battles, wars and conflict between people occur. To accomplish these dreams, C P Ellis followed a strategy called bringing together. This means his dream was to remove the racial discrimination that has prevailed in the society. In order to achieve this and also being an ex- Ku Klux Klan member he worked with a black lady with the intention to fulfill his dream by making changes in the society.

C.P Ellis always thought about others rather than focused on personal interests in order to make their life better. Besides, he worked in coordination with all sorts of people without putting any racial barriers between them. He and Ann Atwater met the people of each racial group and explained about the advantage in joining hands together by both black and whites.

The efforts of C P Ellis to integrate blacks and whites faced many challenges. The lessons we learned from this emerge as the concept that nothing is impossible. It is ones mind that makes everything possible, if there is a will. C P Ellis was optimistic about the fact that discrimination could be eliminated. Once he realized that what he was doing was not right, he was ready to change. Everyone thought that uniting whites and blacks was impossible. But C P Ellis, by joining hands with Ann Atwater, made this fete possible and he achieved his goal of eliminating discrimination on the basis of color.

Conclusion
To achieve a dream it is very important to work hard. Apart from that, as a more productive step, one needs to give oneself a constant thought to always remain in the positive direction. One should never give up anything in order to achieve the dream. So it is always imperative that one should overcome hardships and remove flaws from ones life and fill it with courage so that nothing would stop the person from fulfilling the dream.

In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles creates tragedy in the realization of the Oracles prophesies on the death of Laius and the origins of Sophocles, as well as the eventual  deterioration of Oedipuss power in the city of Thebes. Having arrived in the city, years before as the city still reeled from the sudden death of their beloved king, Oedipus defeats the Sphinx and her riddles. Neither knowing of his origins in Thebes or that the man Oedipus had murdered unwittingly on his road to the city was in fact their lost king. In his ascension and eventual fall from power, the tragedy of Oedipus is his destiny. Foretold as the downfall of the kingdom of Thebes, the burden of his rise and fall is a comdenation visited upon the whole of Thebes.  The complexity of the plot, with the fateful crossing of lineages and events, is the foundation for the tragedy which effects Oedipus and his family. Adding to this designation are the mechanics of the individual characters whose individual actions create a reversal of fortune, as well as the hamartia of Oedipuss pride, and spectacle of the chorus who provide insight into the broad effects of the actions of the play. Each of these components adds to the designation of Sophocles play as an Aristotelian tragedy. The cause and effect of the plot of the play, where the tragedies unfold as endings to events long forgotten, as well as the forthright characters and action show the livingbreathing nature of the tragedy of Oedipus.

When the play begins Oedipus is already king of Thebes. Having arrived a lone traveler many years prior and proven his merit in defeating the sphinx, Oedipuss ascension to the throne does not appear to be so much a matter of fate as skill. Without a king and with no way to defeat the sphinx, the people of Thebes are desperate for a  savior. The appearance of Oedipus seems an answer to their prayers. At this point in the plot, Sophocles lays the necessary groundwork for the later unraveling of this same kingdom, in developing the seemingly unrelated events which have shaped Thebes present history. When Oedipus weds Jocasta, the widowed queen, he fully assumes the role which fate has bestowed upon him because though fate was always suspected in his sudden appearance n their midst, the reversal of fortune that befalls Thebes is not the fate of the people but instead that of their king.

Further building the plot toward the eventual moment of catharsis, when all will be revealed as connected and foreseen by fate, Sophocles, through the character of Jocasta tells the story of Laius and Jocastas first born. The aversion to narrative, whereby the story of the prophesy and doom of Thebes comes to light through the recognition of individual characters and the use of the chorus, is another component which closely resembles Aristotelian tragedy. As the story is told by Jocasta, many years prior, when Laius and Jocasta were young rulers, the Oracle prophesied that Laius would eventually die at the hands of his own son. Jocastas fate was no better, finding herself doomed by the Oracle to an incestuous relationship with her then infant son. Fearful of the eventual realization of this prophesy, Jocasta takes her infant son to the wilderness and leaves him to die, his feet bound, while she returns to her husband not knowing that her actions have set in motion the fate which she fears the most..

When Laius dies, attacked by who Jocasta believes were highwaymen and not Oedipus, she does not see the wheels of fate turning against her but instead falls into the conforting arms of this new savior. The arrival and subsequent rule of Oedipus seems a God send but when we come into the play at the beginning of Sophocles tale, the city is suffering under a new threat, a plague which has brought about the need for a solution.  A good and kind ruler, Oedipus suffers the tragic flaw of pride and an inability to see past his own reality. When he asks Creon to visit the Oracle to find a solution to the current plague that grips the city, the ominous  reply,  to sever the body politic a monstrous growth that battens there. Stop feeding that which festers  (26), teamed with Oedipuss pride and belief in his ability to conquer any foe propel the actions of the plot to their eventual climax. The Oracles instructions to find the murderer of Laius reveal a divine knowledge of what the people of Thebes will soon come to realize as truth. Had the people of Thebes inquired more on the death of their king and the origins of Oedipus, all could have been avoided and the confrontation of fact would have carried less consequence.

Though fate has quietly kept to the background, as the plot progresses we can see that each circumstance is a reaction to another. Realizing he must find Laius murderer to save his city, Oedipus turns to Tiresias, the old seer. Tiresias, who understanding the full implications of the tragedy of Oedipus reign and existence, tries to shield the king from the truth. When angered by Oedipus he reveals enough to begin the unraveling of suspicion and the final climax. Refusing to understand the world in terms other than his own, Oedipus cannot see the truth in Tiresiass angry reaction which comes closest in the beginning to revealing the truth,  Im not the one who casts for your fall Apollo is enough. Its in his able hands  (39).

In his arrogance and pride, Oedipus at first judges Tiresiass words as a plot against himself, orchestrated by his brother-in-law and close friend Creon. Misguided though this assertion proves to be, this misjudgment prompts Oedipus to contemplate his own origin. As Jocasta unwittingly reveals Oedipuss guilt in the murder of Laius, the full story of Oedipuss origins and his destiny begin to unfold. Telling Oedipus the story of her abandoned child, Jocasta naively states,  So there Apollo fails to make the son ... All foreseen by fate and seers, of course, and all to be forgotten  (51). Her complete acceptance of this notion explains why, when confronted with her role in the tragedy and fulfillment of prophecy, Jocasta catharsis takes the form of suicide. Oedipus fairs the worst in many respects, unlike Jocasta he cannot bring himself to end the abomination of his life. Instead, Oedipuss fate is to live, exiled through his own choice from his children and the city he had come to love.

Viewed as the most perfect example of Aristotelian tragedy, Oedipuss as both Jocasta and Laius ill-fated son, left in the wilderness but found by a kindly couple who raised him as their own, shows perfectly the base construction of the destiny which unfolds around him. True to Aristotelian form, there is no one instance of revelation, but instead a slow unfolding of circumstance and realization as the story slowly comes together. There is a unity of action, as described by Aristotle, where the journey for the truth does in fact reveal a truth no one can accept. Oedipus is both the central character of the play and the cause of the tragedy itself, providing at once both the important notion of cause and effect at the heart of Aristotles theory and also the tragically flawed hero. The ensuing actions that take place, from the plague which has engulfed Thebes to the hunt for Laiuss murderer, the realization of the fulfillment of that early prophecy, and finally the death of Jocasta and the willing exile of the King radiate from the character of Oedipus,  My birth all sprung revealed from those it never should myself entwined with those I never could and I the killer of those I never would  (70).

Dantes work on the Divine Comedy introduces a lot of elemental factors that provide one of the most important definitions of what the poem is all about. It could be observed though that somehow, there are certain matters that provide a better sense of what the entire literature is all about. Believably, these are the elements that provide a proper definition as to what the message of Dante is all about especially when it comes to handling the different metaphoric and structural words that pertain to the proper manifestations of the actual thought that the author himself aims to pass on to the readers.
These elements include that of the music, poems and visual art that are present within the entire literary creation. How did all these elements contribute to the development of the definition of Dante with regards the implementation of the real message that he wants to provide his readers. Besides that, the existence of these elements also create a good sense of defining the context of the entire selection providing a better view of the entirety of the selection in connection with the reality that the author himself intends to present to the readers in accordance with his personal perception. The following predicaments of reality as per mentioned shall be better presented in the discussion that follows.

The Development of Dantes Pilgrimage
Dantes pilgrimage presents how he was able to journey through the different stages of understanding where inferno, purgatory and paradise. Through his journey, he was able to make a definite identification of the different elements that provide the important indications on what possible considerations are made especially when it comes to manifesting the message that each stage of the poem pertains to. These elemental factors include that of the poems that he was able to read along the way and the symbolical elements that provide a better sense of where Dante intended to go to. Surely, through the use of these factors, the process of development that took place in connection with Dantes journey has been properly cleared.

Besides these, it could also be seen that there are dreams that have been used to represent the progress of the pilgrimage that is being taken by Dante. Besides serving as lead to journey, these dreams are able to propose a particular indication on how the pilgrimage is actually able make a definite turn towards the making an impact on the life of Dante himself.

Aside from the dreams, it could be sensed that Beatrice also makes a definite effect on how she, a florentin woman, was able to serve as the primary inspiration of Dante as he tries to complete his journey. As the main reason to which the journey continues to develop, Beatrice plays a great role in helping Dante make the most important choices that he needed to understand along the way, Beatrice became the actual picture of Beatrific love that denounced the importance of pure passion and concern within the definition of the importance of care that enveloped the willingness of Dante to push forward in his journey.

The Elements of Development in the Journey

The Poems
The prayers written in form of poems are actually a definite presentation of the religious understandings of Dante. His utilization of the proper words created a better sense of what actually is able to make a good sense of what he was supposed to undergo. These prayers were able lead Dante towards his journey. It could be found that these poems are important contributors towards the understanding that needed to be cleared in order to make proper placing as to how the journey of Dante would actually take position.

The Dreams
There have actually been three particular dreams that have been featured along Dantes journey that practically provided a proper direction on the approach that Dante is taking into consideration. The first dream depicts an eagle that carries Dante towards a higher ground that serves as a prelude of the transition that he had to undergo from the time he entered towards the time he reaches his destination. The eagle further illustrates a divine picture that provides guidance and assistance to Dante. (Purgatorio, XV, line 21)

The second dream is the siren. This dream further denotes the transition of the journey from the fourth towards the fifth level of journey in the purgatory. This dream shows a definite depiction of inner beauty that describes the sin that could be covered by the beauty that could actually be used to envelope the wrongness of several matters that one needs to deal with in life.

The third dream imposes on the meeting of Dante, Leah who was carrying a flower and Rachel who was carrying a mirror. This meeting denoted the last stages of purgatory that opened up the door to paradise or the state of complete rest and satisfaction.

These dreams were able to properly create an illusion as to how the different stages of purgatory have been passed by Dante through the use of proper guidance and personal instinct and understanding of the different virtues that he already have.

The art works and symbols
The symbols and the artworks all looked practically metaphorical that transcends a good sense of making a proper indication of how the entire journey was to go through. The pointed Mosaics of the virtue of sin presented how the visualization of the sin makes a perfect indication on how the definition of proper illustration creates a better way of handling and understanding the meaning of all the symbols that were used to depict the truth behind the real situations that are all considered effective in making the journey much successful and satisfying on Dantes account. Visual descriptions were also implied as per mentioned in connection with this quote
they had their faces twisted toward their haunches
and found it necessary to walk backward,
because they could not see ahead of them.
and since he wanted so to see ahead,
he looks behind and walks a backward path
_Inferno, Canto XX, lines 1315 and 3839, Mandelbaum translation

The use of different elemental factors in literary selections such as that of the Divine comedy particularly defines the need to involve proper considerations on how or why definitive indications of development were practically used to make an indicative effect on how the divinity of the story was supposed to impose on the readers. Basically it could be managed that these elements contributed to the depth of the selection and further created an artistic approach on how Dantes journey further took place. Truthfully, it could be better manifested that somehow, there are definite factors that defined the impact of the life experiences of Dante in connection with the way the story within the poem turned out to be.

Fiction, whether it is a movie, play or a story depicts an assortment of human emotions. Although humans experience a variety of emotions, the most influential among them is the feeling of love. Love has varied forms, it can be the tenderly love of a mother, the affectionate love of a friend or the passionate love of a young person for hisher lover. Numerous stories and plays have been written depicting this passionate love. One such play which depicts the theme of passionate love is A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare. The play revolves around a pair of lovers and the confusion in their lives, which is created by the magical juice of a flower. As these lovers commit foolish acts under the influence of the magical juice of a flower, it becomes apparent that love makes an individual to believe in the existence of an illusory world and behave in a manner which defies reasoning. Even though the actions of the lovers are induced by magic, the behavior of the lovers point towards the notion that illusion is an inseparable part of love.

Illusion
The plot of the play A Midsummer Nights Dream is driven by the notion that love and illusion exist side by side. Hermias father compels her to marry Demetrius but as she is in love with Lysander, Hermia decides to flee to the forest with Lysander. Demetrius and Helena also follow them, as Demetrius loves Hermia whereas Helena loves Demetrius. In the same forest, a group of fairies with their King Oberon and Queen Titania are living. As King Oberon is enraged at Titania owing to her refusal to obey his order, he instructs Puck to bring a flower, whose juice

has a magical effect, so that he can punish Titania. This juice makes a sleeping person to fall in love with the first living being heshe sees upon waking. Oberon also orders Puck to apply the magical juice on the eyelids of sleeping Demetrius, for he has noticed that Demetrius is indifferent towards Helenas feelings. Oberon wanted Demetrius to fall in love with Helena but Puck mistakes Lysander to be Demetrius and applies the magical juice on his eyelids. Lysander sees Helena upon waking and falls in love with her. When Oberon sees Demetrius chasing Hermia, he applies the magical juice on his eyelids. Owing to the effect of magical juice, Lysander and Demetrius fall in love with the same person and fight with each other. The magic creates confusion in the minds of the lovers, as Helena thinks that Demetrius and Lysander are making a mockery of her. Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born When at your hands did I deserve this scorn (Shakespeare 46).  Hermia grows jealous of Helena, as she finds that her lover, Lysander is proposing his love to Helena. As Lysander and Demetrius are overwhelmed by the power of love, they believe that the illusion is real and act foolishly in pursuit of their desires to unite with the person they love.

Although the illusion in the play is created by the magic, the illusion brings forth the effect of love on the belief of an individual regarding the existence of an illusory world. The behavior of Lysander, Demetrius and Titania prove that the world of love is akin to the illusory world where there is lack of reasoning. The magic makes Titania to fall in love with a person who has a head of donkey. And thy fair virtues force perforce doth move me, On the first view, to say, to swear, I love thee. (Shakespeare 66). The characters of Lysander, Demetrius and Titania believe that they are love in with first living being whom they see upon waking owing to the effect of the illusion created by magic. The confusion created by the magic not only causes a

hilarious situation but also makes the lovers to fight with each other. As Lysander, Demetrius and Titania are in love, they fail to notice the flaws in the person they love. Titania dotes on a human with the head of a donkey whereas Demetrius and Lysander love the same woman, Helena in spite of the fact that she comes to regard their love as mockery. It is the feeling of love that makes Lysander, Demetrius and Titania to behave in a manner which may seem unreasonable to an individual who has not yet fallen in love. Helenas comments on love in the earlier part of the play reinforce the notion that love leads to the creation of illusions, owing to which even an ugly person appears to be beautiful to hisher lover. Through Athens I am thought as fair as she. But what of that Demetrius thinks not so. holding no quantity, Love can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.  (Shakespeare 23). The illusion created by the magic shows how love makes an individual to believe in the existence of illusions, for the feeling of love takes a person away from the real world and places himher in a world of fantasies.

Conclusion
The play A Midsummer Nights Dream depicts the relationship between love and illusion through the story of a pair of lovers. The characters of Lysander, Demetrius and Titania behave foolishly under the influence of the magical juice of a flower, as they seek to unite with their lovers. Although the illusion in the play is created by magic, the behavior of the lovers during the illusion shows that love makes an individual to believe in fantasies, and thereby proves that illusion is an inseparable part of love.