A Streetcar Named Desire - Commentary Essay Example for Free

A Streetcar Named Desire Commentary Essay In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams, Blanche the protagonist who is mentally fragile and depends on her sister’s help to overcome various adversities as her husband’s passing away and her paying many debts decides to move to New Orleans, where her sister lives. Throughout the play, Blanche, who is from a southern part called Laurel, strives to conform to society’s norms and attempts to ï ¬ nd a man to marry her; but she is incapable of feeling involved in the scenery and as a consequence of that, she loses her mentality at the end of the play. In this speciï ¬ c passage, Blanche returns from a date with the character Mitch who desires to marry her to please his ill mother. Through this particular scene, Williams initiates to develop the relationship between the aforementioned characters to reveal that their relationship depends merely on mutual beneï ¬ ts rather than feelings. In this particular scene, Williams establishes the codependent relationship between Mitch and Blanche, which is founded on mutual loneliness and the desire to be with anyone, to demonstrate that society employs pressure on each and every individual to conform to its norms. Initially, Williams assigns the elements of punctuation to highlight that the characters Blanche and Mitch are forced to have a relationship that only depends on the desire to be with anyone because of gender stereotypes that society puts forth. For instance, the playwright utilizes the element dash to demonstrate that Mitch and Blanche awkwardly hesitate to approach each other. Mitch states the line â€Å"Can I uh kiss you good-night?†, and Blanche states the line â€Å"The one that says the lady must entertain the gentleman or no dice!†. The dashes in these two quotes convey that both Mitch and Blanche appear to be hesitant and forced to be in this relationship. They tend to be indecisive about whether to ï ¬ nish their sentences or not. The characters’ uncertainty draws a conclusion that they feel irresolute about whether they should comply with gender stereotypes of society or not. Additionally, Williams supports the aforementioned claim by utilizing another element of punctuation called ellipsis. Blanche states the line â€Å"I liked the kiss very much. It was the other little familiarity that I felt obliged to discourage†. The utilization of ellipsis in this sentence once again proves that the characters constantly complete their sentences with hesitation and that they are uncomfortable talking to each other. Their constantly hesitating shown by these elements is due to the fact that in this particular setting, gender stereotypes are put forth by society which commands individuals to marry anyone to be regarded as â€Å"normal† by the others. Blanche and Mitch, who do not actually bear feelings for each other, choose each other to comply with these rules, but as a consequence of this situation, they appear to be forced to have this relationship in order to conform to gender stereotypes in society. Through the elements of punctuation, Williams remarks that Blanche and Mitch are forced to be together and that their co-dependent relationship is founded on the pressure that the norms of society exert. Furthermore, the playwright utilizes the elements of characterization to reveal that the relationship between Blanche and Mitch depends rather on the pressure exerted by society than on emotions. Williams depicts Blanche’s state in this scene through employing direct and indirect characterization which put forth the conclusion that Blanche feels compelled and exhausted to have her relationship with Mitch. For instance, the playwright employs direct characterization in the stage direction to depict that Blanche has â€Å"utter exhaustion† in her â€Å"voice and manner†. This direct characterization reveals that Blanche becomes disappointed in the quality of the date that she and Mitch return from. As a result of this disappointment, she reï ¬â€šects her exhaustion in her voice regarding that Mitch is not similar with the man whom she desires to have. Williams additionally utilizes direct characterization to regard Blanche’s personality as â€Å"neurasthenic†. This description conveys that Mitch’s manners aggravate her due to the fact that his manners are inadequate compared to those of the man whom Blanche desires. Hence, these examples of direct characterization prove that Blanche, who becomes dissatisï ¬ ed with Mitch’s qualities feels obliged and compelled to have a relationship with Mitch because the norms of society force her to marry anyone to be regarded as â€Å"normal†. Moreover, Williams employs indirect characterization to indicate that Blanche strives to conform to the norms of society through having a relationship with Mitch. For example, Blanche states the line â€Å"The one that says the lady must entertain the gentleman or no dice!†. Through this instance, the playwright highlights that women in society are regarded as â€Å"worthless† without conforming to gender stereotypes. Blanche states that if she does not â€Å"entertain† her â€Å"gentleman†, she will have â€Å"no dice†. The conclusion drawn from this point is that women in society cannot endure unless they satisfy their men. Hence, Blanche regards Mitch as her last option and conforms to gender stereotypes of society through having a relationship deprived of emotions. Through the elements of characterization, Williams conveys that Blanche and Mitch has an artiï ¬ cial relationship on behalf of complying with gender stereotypes of society. Subsequently, Williams accounts the elements of ï ¬ gurative language to mention that Blanche and Mitch are coerced to be in a co-dependent relationship because of the constraint that gender stereotypes of society apply. Williams implements the element of allusion to address the aforementioned message. For instance, Mitch bears, upside down, â€Å"a plaster statuette of Mae West†. In this example, the statuette of Mae West is an allusion to the sexual desire between the couple regarding that Mae West is known as a sex symbol. However, since Mitch carries the statuette â€Å"upside down†, this signiï ¬ es that there is something wrong with the sexual connection between Mitch and Blanche. Indeed, the statuette refers to the lack of sexual tension between the couple due the fact that their relationship depends only on a mutual beneï ¬ t which is to be accepted by society. The playwright employs the allusion of â€Å"Mae West† to illustrate that there is not any sexual desire between the couple regarding that their relationship does not harbor any emotion. In addition, the playwright employs the allusion of â€Å"the Seven Sisters† to remark Blanche’s loneliness. â€Å"The Seven Sisters, also referred as the Pleiades, were the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas. They became a group of stars.† Although Blanche has a sister, she is indeed mentally unsupported because of her sister’s lack of consideration. Being compared to the Seven Sisters, she adores â€Å"the Seven Sisters† for their unity, feels lonely and seeks to be with anyone to comply with the rules of society. Hence, she decides to rely on Mitch who is her last option. This allusion once again proves that Stella and Mitch build up an unnatural relationship deprived of feelings in order to conform to the norms of society. Williams implements the elements of ï ¬ gurative language to establish the relationship between Blanche and Mitch which merely depends on the desire to be with anyone and the pressure put forth by society. In summation, Tennessee Williams applies the elements punctuation, characterization and ï ¬ gurative language to develop the artiï ¬ cial relationship between Blanche and Mitch, which originates from the desire to be with anyone, in order to illustrate that society compels each and every individual to obey its norms. Through these elements, Williams eventually clariï ¬ es that this imitated relationship arises from the enforcement exerted by the gender stereotypes of society.

French Revolution Essay -- essays research papers

ON 9th JULY 1797 the statesman and the philosopher Edmund Burke died, after having contracted stomach cancer. He was buried in Beaconsfield Church near his Buckinghamshire home. Burke had been a distinguished Member of Parliament but never attained high office. His political career must be judged a failure. However, Edmund Burke's true legacy was contained in his extensive writings. In letters,pamphlets and books he expounded a coherent system of ideas about human nature;the organic state; the benefits of prejudice;the dangers of government by secret consensus and the role of political parties. Two hundred years on, most scholars would agree that Burke had a gift for deep analysis conveyed in stylish English prose.Yet the content of his work though remains controversial. Supporters included the poet William Wordsworth, who called Burke: "the most sagacious politician of his age". Karl Marx, on the other hand, complained in Das Kapital that Burke was a bourgeois stooge of the English ruling class. Marxists took particular offence at Burke's critique of egalitarianism, perhaps realising the radical threat which this presented to their own vision of a future society. Modern liberals and conservatives still acclaim some of Burke's ideas, but their interest is largely rhetorical. Burke's liberal tendencies would almost certainly not go far enough for today's liberals. His support for the abolition of slavery was only gradualist, his religious toleration did not extend to atheists (whom he saw as dangerous criminals) and, whilst in favour of curbing royal patronage, Burke supported monarchy and aristocracy. Meanwhile, his conservative defence of Parliament, the nation and the Anglican Church would presumably be a sheer embarrassment to today's Conservative Party, which has embraced European Union and a secular, free market ideology. This two-part article will outline some of Edmund Burke's key ideas and assess their relevance to nationalism. His contribution is an important one. Sadly, Burke's clarity and complete lack of political correctness must limit his appeal in the modern age. In 1997 and beyond Burke seems destined to become a forgotten prophet except to those who challenge the prevailing orthodoxy. 1.THE NATURE OF MAN All societies are based on a particular view of human nature. Today's view, springing from Enlightenment philosophy, is that peo... ...ng nature is unworkable, equality is "a monstrous fiction" (7). At worst, ambitious elites use equality as a pretext to reallocate resources to themselves. At best,well-intentioned people see equality as no more than a benign aspiration. They think it would be just in theory but of course not when applied to themselves in practice, lest this endanger their own privileges. This is perhaps the greater error. "Abstract principles,however appealing, cannot be applied directly to solve real political problems. Any attempt to do so will have futile or harmful results. There is no such thing as a political principle which is good in itself, but not practicable. If it is not practicable then it is not good. In Part II of `Edmund Burke's Legacy' the focus will be on other pertinent aspects of Burke's thought. These include his views on:prejudice as being a form of wisdom; "human rights" as being rooted in a specific culture rather than inherited by all people; the dangers of a dual system of government (open and secret) and Burke's belief that political parties should be ideological and that their ideologies should involved "pursuing the national interest'.

Off Balance Sheet Financing Practices Essay

OBSF is most of the times used by business enterprises to maintain their leverage or gearing positions in such a way which would not have any negative implications on the company. In the business world of today, OBSF is recognized as an important means for raising finance by means of operating leases, joint venture and collaborations with respect to R&D. Following Off Balance Sheet Financing method results in significant variations in the overall financial reporting of an entity. Considering the changes in accounting and financial reporting requirements, it is generally expected that the companies using these technique will be more able to run their operations efficiently. However, keeping in view the case of off balance sheet financing and accounting in this respect, it is argued that while using OBSF companies are able to not disclose entirely the financing of their capital expenditures and thus the information required to be disclosed in this respect is not made available to the interested parties (Tyrrell 1986). This report discusses this area of accounting and explains how OBSF is actually promoted by the market economies and the expectations of increased profits from the companies. The usage of off balance sheet accounting and financing is not new. In the beginning of 20th century, this concept of managing a company’s balance sheet gained fame and the banking and other corporate sector applied this technique in their best possible interest with the main objective of keeping their balance sheets light weighted. Apart from a benefiting role played by the off balance sheet ccounting techniques, there are some serious consequences which are often associated with the application of this concept. As for instance, it is argued that among many other reasons, the practices of off balance financing and accounting also had a significant share in the recent financial downturn (Allen, et al. 2002). In this regard, Enron would be a good example to look upon. While striving for a healthy outlook o f Enron’s balance sheet, the management made use of special purpose entities with the objective of making large transactions which would not appear on the balance sheet of the company. This resulted in a healthy balance sheet outlook with huge of amounts of capital inflows but at the expense of nothing. However, this bubble of progress did not last long as the company’s stock prices started fluctuating sharply and consistently. These events created a sense of being not informed entirely about the company’s operations among the investors and after the Enron’s climax, the regulators jumped in with Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002. The Act was aimed at securing the investments of investors and introducing regulations with respect to corporate social responsibility. But these checks proved to be ineffective upon the emergence of the financial crisis in 2008 (Hall and Liedtka 2007). Increase in the global competition and more expectations from the investors and shareholders to maximize their value of investments are regarded as the driving forces in the market which influence management to improve the financial picture of a company. In addition, these expectations pose pressure on the management to find ways which may result in better presentation of the financial statements and improved earnings (Boot and Thakor 1991). The Banking sector in particular and other sectors in general are mostly seen following this approach. As for instance, there has been observed a trend of investing in such portfolios and instruments which are regarded as high risk investments. But the intention behind this is to improve or strictly stating ‘inflate’ the earnings of an enterprise without having regard to the riskiness of such investment decisions and the fact that the stakeholders of the business need justification of such improvements in the performance in the form of financial statements disclosures. For the purposes of obtaining security on the risky investments, corporations tend to enter into complex third party arrangements which cannot be disclosed in the financial statements. Apart from this, one other motivating factor which is regarded as the major reason behind this approach of management is that they have their own interests and objectives. As for instance, managers are better off in their performance appraisals when the company is showing profits consistently (Boone and Raman 2001). The practices of off balance sheet financing and accounting, as stated earlier, comprise of operating leases, joint venture and collaborations with respect to R&D. Among these options, operating lease holds special importance and is given more consideration by the management due to the fact that they require minimum disclosures in the financial statements and are usually for a long term. Lease accounting is covered by IAS 17, SSAP 21 (UK) and FAS 13 (USA) (McGerty 2004, Lim, Mann and Mihov 2005). Prior to the formulation of these accounting standards, there were no obligations on the companies to disclose in their financial statements the future payments related to lease and therefore leasing was recognized as an off balance sheet financing technique. Apart from leasing techniques, there are various other methods being employed by different companies to move certain items off the balance sheet of the company. The use of off balance sheet techniques has been used to manipulate things. The most commonly used techniques to manipulate the financial information presented in the balance sheet of a company include swaps, variable interest entities (VIEs) and Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) (Ketz 2003). Although these tools have been used by companies around the world for different purposes which are mostly disclosed and transparent but the misuse of these tools has been also observed frequently by way of not disclosing the true facts. This practice has caused major setbacks to the global economy and also shattered the confidence of shareholders and investors (Hall and Liedtka 2007). As for instance, the collapse of Lehman Brothers is argued to have resulted due to off balance sheet approach followed by the company. In order to narrow down its balance sheet, Lehman Brothers moved its assets worth US dollar 50 billion from its balance sheet with the objective of portraying less amount of debt in the balance sheet (Rezny 2010). Keeping in view the above discussion and the facts stated related to the real world cases, it can be said that it is high time for the respective authorities to take measures in relation to this area of financial reporting. It is recommended that the governmental authorities and other financial reporting standards issuing bodies shall intervene appropriately through the right channels to ensure transparency in the financial reporting. Apart from this, the board of directors of corporations shall standardize the decision making processes and perform an effective oversight duty. In addition, it shall be made obligatory for business enterprises notwithstanding the sectors into which they fall, that every transaction shall be disclosed appropriately in the financial statements. Furthermore, the managers shall be motivated not pressurized to perform in the best interest of the organizations (Adams 1998). While concluding this report, it can be said that applying off balance sheet accounting and financing, whether for a good or evil purpose, has become necessary due to the increased expectations of the investors and shareholders related to the profitability of a business concern and also for the purposes of improving the financial statements overlook. Moreover, the lack of regulatory measures in this respect also has its share in promoting the adoption of this approach. Apart from this, it can also be stated that the benefits resulting from off balance sheet accounting are also considered as a means of attaining hidden objectives by managers which in turn motivates them to misuse the concept and benefit from the regulatory loopholes. For the purposes of addressing these issues, it is pertinent that the regulatory authorities who are responsible shall make such arrangements which may promote such financial reporting practices which are more representative of the facts. In addition to this, the disclosure requirements related to off balance sheet accounting and financing activities are required to be revisited.

Improving Mother/Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan’s Joy...

Improving Mother/Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club One day everything is going great, in fact things could not be better and then you say something and your friend turns to you and says â€Å"oh my god, you sounded just like your mother†. That is when you freak out and think to yourself it is true I am turning into my mother. This is every daughters worst nightmare come true. When a young girl is growing up her mother always says and does things that the girl vows she will never say and do but she does. Very rarely do we see cases of women wanted to be like their mother but it usually happens even if they do not want it to. In the book The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan tells stories of four Chinese immigrant mothers and†¦show more content†¦In the chapter Best Quality we Jing-Mei begins to see she is like her mother. The reader can see that she has the same qualities as her mother at the crab dinner. Jing-Mei takes the bad crab and immediately her mother trades with her. After dinner Suyuan says to her â€Å"only you pick that crab. Nobody else take it. I already know this. Everybody else want best quality. You think differently†(Tan 234). This shows that both mother and daughter think alike taking the bad crab and the mother sees the goodness in Jing-Mei’s heart and is very pleased but says so in her own way. Mothers and daughters possess qualities,(Good Mothers/Bad Mothers) mothers really want their daughters to be like them but do not always say it. Mothers also hide things from their daughters like Suyuan did because she was afraid of hurting Jing-Mei but when she found out that she had two older sisters she was thrilled. Not only was she thrilled about having sisters but by finding them and seeing them she was living her mothers dream. The minute she leaves for China to see her sisters Jing-Mei says â€Å"I feel different. I can feel the skin on my forehead tingling, my blood rushing through a new course, my bones aching with a familiar old pain. And I think, my mother was right. I am becoming Chinese†(Tan