A Rose For Emily A Tale Of The Clash Between Generations

A Rose for Emily: A Tale of the Clash Between Generations In the short story A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, readers are immersed in the narrative of a supposed town member who describes the impact that the recent death of an old woman has had upon their small community. In the narrative, readers are taken on a journey through the life of Miss Emily, an old, lonely woman who is seemingly frozen in her own timeframe. As the story unfolds, readers learn about the various tragedies Emily encountered in her lifetime such as the sudden death of her controlling father as well as her alienation from other family members that leaves her utterly alone following his death. Audiences also learn about events that happened throughout Emily’s life that both molded her as a person and aided in shaping her reputation around the town. From her controversial relationship with a construction worker named Homer Barron to her suspicious purchase of arsenic at the local drug store, there is no question that Emily lived under the constant scrutiny of her fellow townspeople. After reading the initial sentences, it can be concurred that this story doesn’t simply describe the life of an old, questionably insane woman, but also the story of the age-old battle between old and new. Through symbolism and an artful arrangement of the events described, Faulkner is able to meticulously weave a tale of the clash between newer and older generations’ views and standards. In theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of A Rose For Emily Essay1643 Words   |  7 PagesBeing An Outcast: Emily As Manifesting Thematic Alienation in Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† I. Introduction Being taught in high schools and universities all across the nation, William Faulkner’s short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† has achieved a great deal of both academic and mainstream respect in the United States. In being arguably one of Faulkner’s strongest stories, and since Faulkner himself has assumed the position of being one of the great masters of American fiction, â€Å"A Rose† is undoubtedlyRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesof the world’s human population for the first time in history. He gives considerable attention to changes in city planning, patterns of urban growth, and important differences between industrialized Europe and North America and the developing world, as well as the contrasts in urban design and living conditions between different sorts of political regimes— communist, capitalist, colonial, and fascist. Particularly revealing are Spodek’s discussions of the influence of prominent urban plannersRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pages. . . . . . . . . . . . 458 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 Section 7: Managing in the Twenty-First Century 20—Managers: The Next Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Managing in Today’s Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 The New Generation of Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 Deciding to Become a Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467 Skills Needed by Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Analysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved - 1434 Words

I. SUBJECT Beloved by Toni Morrison opens in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1873 set in the Reconstruction era of American history. Sethe eighteen years ago escaped slavery with her children to live with her mother-in-law, Baby Suggs, in a house on 124 Bluestone Road often referred to simply as 124. The novel unfolds on two different time periods, that of Sethe’s time at Sweet Home plantation as a slave and that of the present. Her qualities of motherhood have overtaken Sethe’s life and have driven away her two sons, left with her only surviving daughter, Denver. A ghost of her evidentially daughter, Beloved, haunts the house out of grief. Sethe considered death better than a life of slavery for her children, and Beloved then killed as result of this belief. Paul D, a former slave from Sweet Home, shows up on Sethe’s porch steps hoping to see the woman he lusted after for years. Soon the two became lovers and came to remember and reconcile their times as slaves. Upon returning from town, Sethe, Paul D, and Denver discover a wet woman later known as Beloved soaking wet on the porch. She is often referred to as the reincarnation of Sethe’s dead daughter representing death. At first she positively brings Sethe and Denver to forgive the past, but soon Beloved pulls Sethe into a possessive relationship as Sethe feels she owes an unpayable obligation to her Beloved. After seeking the help of the community to exorcise Beloved from the house, Sethe is left dying on her death bed finallyShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Morrison s Beloved, By Toni Morrison Essay941 Words   |  4 PagesMorrison and Twain each present freed slave mothers as self-sacrificing. Each woman s traumatic experiences as slaves create a deep fear of her children s enslavement. In Morrison s Beloved, Sethe is so distressed by her past; she murders her child to save her from slavery. Morrison uses Sethe s drastic sacrifice to comment on slavery s psychological effects. Meanwhile, Twain s Pudd n Head Wilson portrays Roxy as a sacrificial mother to create sympathy for black people. From a culturalRead MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved1458 Words   |  6 Pagesinequality between races, classes, and genders. Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved is a story that truly shows how oppressive slavery was during the setting of the book. Similarly to the inequality faced during the time of slavery, while Morrison was writing the her novel the issue of women’s equality was present, and being fought for. Morrison, through Beloved, is able to show the world her views on inequality, and how it is still present in life today. Morrison is African American, she was born into a familyRead MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved1615 Words   |  7 PagesIn her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison utilizes a circular narrative to emphasize the similarities, or lack thereof, between her characters. In Philip Page’s article, â€Å"Circularity in Toni Morrison’s Beloved,† he writes, â€Å"The plot is developed through repetition and variation of one or more core-images in overlapping waves... And it is developed through... the spiraling reiteration of larger, mythical acts such as birth, death, rebirth, quest-journeys, and the formation and disintegration of families†Read MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved1200 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"We’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on (Sirius Black) †. Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved dedicates her novel to the 60 million and more exposed to the darkness within the people set out to hurt them. The novel depicts how cruelty leads ex-slaves to make irrational decisions and shape the people they are at the end . The cruelty inflicted on one including but not limited to slavery causes a chain reaction of hatred, pain and suffering and theRead MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved943 Words   |  4 Pages It is within human nature to fear that which we do not understand. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, this idea is explored through the lens of racial discrimination. In this passage, Morrison uses animal imagery as a means to criticize the whites’ dehumanization and subsequent fear of the blacks. With a focus on this inherent, primal fear, this section stresses the novel’s theme of the â€Å"Other† and reinforces the existence of racial prejudice. While this piece of the narrative emphasizes that this â€Å"othering†Read MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved1547 Words   |  7 PagesToni Morrison’s Beloved extends beyond a description of individuals held captive by their past through the exploration of human responses to slavery. The manipulation of language and its controlled absence reinforces the mental enslavement that persists after individuals are freed from physical bondage. It is when language is amplified into song that an individual or community may free themselves from the constraints of mental enslavement, therefore enabling their ability to claim ownership of themselvesRead MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved Essay1634 Words   |  7 PagesBeloved is one of the best and most well-known books of writing in the African-American society published in 1987. The novel, for the most part, discusses the black community that is unwilling to incite their past and in this way, irritated by its incarnation (Abdullah 25). Toni Morrison does not dissent suppression. Rather, she is pained by its effect on the souls of the black individuals. Nevertheless, the novel approves Toni Morrison s ability in creating the free awareness of various individualsRead MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved960 Words   |  4 PagesToni Morrison, the author of the 1987 novel Beloved, once said, â€Å"If anything I do, in the way of writing novels (or whatever I write) isn’t about the village or the community or about you, then it is not about anything. I am not interested in indulging myself in some private, closed exercise of my imagination that fulfills only the obligation of my personal dreams- which is to say yes, the work must be political.† Beloved met Morrison’s political standards as the 1980s were a decade plagued by aRead MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved 1524 Words   |  7 PagesShai-Dae Alford Dr. DuBose ENG 490-02 10 April 2016 Slave Narrative: Beloved Toni Morrison conveys her strong feelings in her novel about slavery depicting the emotional impact slavery has had on individual mainly the centered character Sethe. The protagonist of the novel is unable to fully prosper in life due to resentment and the ability to move on from her past experiences. In Morrison’s story, since 1873 slavery was abolished for ten years in Cincinnati, Ohio. By the author choosing this settingRead MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Beloved920 Words   |  4 Pages1. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, she takes her audience back to a past where the oppressed (slaves) did not have a voice. How does Beloved compare to other slave narrative, and why is it important? How does memory involve itself within this concept? â€Å"A Different Remembering: Memory, History and Meaning in Beloved† is Marilyn Sanders Mobley’s attempt to distinguish the difference of Morrison’s novel from the established white literary tradition that critics were trying to place it in. Mobley argues

Mis on Travel Agency free essay sample

Involved in the line of providing superb tour packages, we have 20 years of experience acting as very best travel agents and tour operator. Their main mission is to achieve a concrete success in the Industry and build the Brand Image of the company beyond heights. They are continuously trying to achieve the goal of being one among the Fortune companies and provide the maximum customer satisfaction. We are moving ahead with our excellent services of North India Tour package, South India Tour package, India golden triangle tour that are capable of changing the trends of the life styles. Objective of the Project: The aim of this project is to study the daily business operations of a tour and travels business/ operator, examine their existing information system in detail and suggest changes/ improvements in their existing Management Information system. As part of this assignment, we chose to study the system prevailing in Kirty Tours and Travels, Nasik. Kirty tours is a fairly big tours and travels operator having 4 branches in Nasik city and provides services like bus, rail and air ticket booking, package holiday and tours and pilgrimage bookings. In this endeavour we would like to make the business ore responsive and flexible by proposing a new MIS system which can serve the overall information needs of the business. Our proposed MIS system will tightly integrate financial, booking and customer management systems. Our MIS system integrates all phases of travel management submitting initial requests, planning, online booking, and submitting and settling travel expenses. The application includes a tailored user interface for all roles involved in processes used by travel agent. The new travel Management MIS provides an end-to-end solution for managing business of a travel agent. The solution provides features and functions that allow them to Travel planning and online booking This system enables travel agent to book flights, hotels, cars, and country-specific rail options, as well as look up related information. In addition, the application fully supports communication with customer, making interactions more efficient. Travel management reporting Travel management MIS system supports decision-making and facilitates the development and implementation of new travel management strategies. Travel Management system optimizes the entire trip life cycle, from travel requests nd approvals through planning and reservations, travel bills management, policy compliance, and analytics. These are a few reasons why the management of Kirty tours and travels should look for new / proposed MIS system: End-to-end solution -Travel Management system requires no development or additional interfaces. Integration with Finance The application is completely integrated with the financials. Reduced indirect costs We can dramatically reduce indirect costs by automating your processes and workflow. Improved compliance The proposed MIS system ensures improved compliance with travel agencys policy nd negotiated travel contracts. Booking consolidation The new MIS provides a reliable analysis of travel information and costs through synchronization with reservation systems. Improved cash flow Efficient accounting cycles and up-to-date cost information result in better cash flow. O DFD OF EXISTING SYSTEM STUDY OF EXISTING SYSTEM The existing system at Kirty tours and travels is mostly based on manual operations. The daily operations of Kirty tours can be described as follows: 1 . Customers normally approach Kirty tours and travels booking office in person or over phone to book his travel needs/ requirements. . Tie-ups with prominent travel booking websites enables Kirty tours to search for the most suitable travel packages to the customer. This search is done by one of the personnels of Kirty tours online using a desktop terminal. 3. Some of the travel management companies with which Kirty has tie-ups with are 0 Beam http://travel. beam. co. in/ 0 Suvidha http:// suvidhatravels. in/ 0 Cleartrip http://www. cleartrip. com/ 0 Make My Trip http:// www. makemytrip. com/ 0 Yatra http://www. yatra. om/ 4. Commission to Kirty tours from these travel management organisations is based on number of bookings done rom their respective websites. 5. Once the booking is done from a website, billing/ invoicing takes place, again manually and the ticket is handed over to the customer. keeping work is currently happening at the Mumbai Naka branch of Kirty tours. 7. Kirty tours have 4 branches in Nasik and employs on an average 3 employees in each branch to service the customers. As evident from the existing system description, there is no linkage between the Finance team and people working in the branches who book customer orders. The functional departments are working in isolation and hence there is no linkage between the different functional teams. There is no MIS system that is currently being used in the business enterprise. Only personal computers are used by the employees booking the customer orders to find/ search for a travel package. As the current work process is completely dependent on online travel management portals, the daily operations are very arbitrary and random. Also the end of month commission owed by various online travel management companies to Kirty tours can be known only online in their respective portals. Thus the business has a high degree of dependency on these online portals. There is also a need to ntegrate all the four branches and the finance team for better communication and functioning of the business. Hence, there is enough scope for the business to improve their operations and make it more efficient by having an MIS system. As per the new information system, Kirty tours and travels instead of working with travel management companies like Make My Trip, miatra, Cleartrip, now will ave direct tie-ups with prominent domestic airlines such as Jet Airways, Kingfisher airlines, Spice Jet, Indigo, Indian and Go Air etc. For this to happen, Kirty tours has to enter into an agreement with these airline companies and can become a direct franchisee (Authorised tour operator) of these airline companies. Thus Kirty tours will now be directly working under the airlines instead of working under 3rd party travel management companies. Some of the main advantages of this direct alliance are: 0 Greater degree of transparency and flexibility in terms of ticket ooking and confirmation: Kirty tours having entered into an agreement will have greater privileges now and can offer Credit Periods to customers. Kirty tours will have quotas booked for each flight and thus will have greater visibility of flight seat status and likes. Hence, it will be highly unlikely that for a given flight, the customer will return without having booked a ticket; therefore this leads to greater customer satisfaction. Being a direct franchisee of airlines, Kirty tours will now get their total payment or commission as per their bookings and this information can be directly btained real time from the airlines application. 0 A high performance MIS system will now interact with applications of prominent airways and hence service time also reduces drastically. Thus effectively the new/ proposed MIS system will directly operations of the business i s expected to become more responsive, smooth and efficient. On similar lines, the application will interact with the IRCTC website of Indian railways to cater to customers who wish to undertake train Journeys. However for bus Journeys and travel bookings, the proposed MIS application still has to work with interfaces like Neeta Tours, RedBus. n etc. The daily operations using the new MIS system can be expected to be as given below. 1. Initially the customer approaches KIRTY TRAVELS for their customer needs. Inputs like travel mode/ stay options/ travel date are collected from the customer. 2. Kirty tours will now use their online MIS application (Instead of using the 3rd party travel management websites) and directly connect to airlines/ railways/ bus ticket booking application online. Based on the given inputs, different travel options are suggested to the customer. Upon the consent of the customer a provisional booking is made. . The customer must confirm the booking (provisional) within 3 days by sending a deposit of 10% of the total cost. On the receipt of the deposit, the reservation module sends the details from the provisional booking file to the confirmed booking file. 4. Four weeks before the departure is due, the accounts module sends an automated generated invoice to the customer for the remaining dues. 5. Once the full payment is received, accounts module sends an acknowledgement that no dues are left to the customer service module which then delivers the confirmed tickets to the customer. 6. The entire proposed MIS system will run as an online real time MIS application. Investments in terms of software application, hardware services and work stations are needed. 7. In order to achieve a higher degree of flexibility and ease of operation, the proposed application can be integrated with the currently existing auditing tool that is tally for easy auditing. 8. Also since every customer transaction is saved in the database of the proposed system. So Kirty tours and travels will now be informed to a much greater extent about the details of their travel bookings and have passenger details. This important customer data can be analysed at a later stage to make some important business decisions. Some of the drawbacks of the existing system that can be completely eliminated with the introduction of MIS system at Kirty tours are: 0 Faster processing of customer requests or orders, thus leading to higher levels of customer service. The customer satisfaction levels are surely going to increase. Enhanced reputation and thus increase in customer loyalty. Earlier because of interfaces, order processing was tedious and time consuming. 0 Having an accounts module inbuilt in the MIS system and integration with Accounts department system Tally system) will make the financial processing and audit process for the business at the end of the year easy and convenient. All the payments from the airways will directly be credited to the bank account of Kirty tours and also the proposed system will have visibility over the money transactions. Hence greater degree of financial control is being offered. 0 Integration also among the branches of Kirty tours will give them greater visibility over the business operations of their branches; which was earlier not possible because of stand-alone operations of all branches. 0 Also lesser orkload on employees because of the automated MIS system and hence greater levels of employee satisfaction. The equipments that need to be procured/ purchased and installed for the new MIS system are: 1 . Network Servers: A high performance server from either IBM or Dell is required on which the proposed online application will run. This server should also run a fast and efficient database such as SQL Server or Oracle DB. 2. The storage capacity of the database is decided to be 3 Terabytes considering the magnitude of operations of Kirty tours. Out of this capacity 1 TB is used for operational purposes, hile 2 Terabyte is used for back-ups and archiving. 3. An efficient firewall with antivirus is very essential for smooth operations of the online MIS system and protection against malicious software threats and attacks. 4. Data-cards and LAN wires for interconnectivity is necessary for interconnection of system/ workstations in the LAN. . Apart from the above mentioned hardware requirements, an online tool for managing the entire daily operations is also necessary. This will be the online software application for provisional order booking, order confirmation, order ancellation, rescheduling, ticketing and billing/ invoicing. O TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITY Feasibility study is carried out t decide whether the proposed system is feasible for the company. The feasibility study is to serve as a decision document and it must answer three key questions: 1. Is there a new and better way to do the Job that will benefit the user? 2. What are the cost and the savings of the alternative(s)? 3. What is recommended? Technical feasibility: Technical feasibility centres on the existing computer system i. e. Hardware, Software etc. Kirty tours and travels require SQLI Oracle database management that are all easily available with extensive development support through manuals and blogs. The requirements of the system for Kirty tours and travels are also quite standard and on par with what industry leaders (such as Cox and Kings, Thomas Cook, Sita tours and Travels) use. Network connection to inter-connect all the branches can be done through a common server. Thus the proposed application is technically feasible. Economic feasibility: Economical Feasibility is the most frequently used method for evaluating the effectiveness of a candidate system. More commonly known as Cost/ Benefit analysis, the procedure is to determine the benefits and savings that are expected from the candidate system and compare them with costs. If the benefits outweigh costs, then the decision is made to design and implement the system. The cost benefit analysis in qualitative and quantitative terms is done in the next section. Operation feasibility: A simple to use, user friendly system is being proposed for managing information in Kirty tours and travels. This system is definitely feasible in operational terms. PERT CHART Computing Platform 10 Begin 1 2 Installation 4 Testing 9 5 6 12 6 12 Prepare Site 3 10 35 Follow up 0 Node 0 Activity Measuring units in Weeks COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS The cost benefit analysis can be divided into 2 parts namely: Quantitative Analysis: We propose that after the introduction of MIS system in Kirty tours, business revenues are going to increase by 40% in value terms. The cost involved in setting up the MIS system is analysed below. 1. Cost incurred in setting up of the MIS 2. Cost involved in training the personals on usage of the system. 3. Cost involved in the annual or biennial maintenance of the proposed MIS system. Hardware components ike databases and databases that are used for data storage form a part of the proposed MIS system. These systems are to be maintained on a regular basis to avoid technical glitches. The system development team will thus have to gather every requirement or need of the system and should work on the design of the system. Here all the requirements will be in functional terms and this has to be converted into technical design documents for further usage. Design Specification Once the requirements for the system have been documented and are validated, software engineers design a software system to meet them. This phase is sometimes split into two sub-heads such as architectural or high level design and detailed design. The high level design deals with the overall module structure and origin rather than the details of the module. The high level design is defined by designing each module in detail known as detailed design. Separating the requirements analysis phase from the design phase is an instance of a fundamental what/how dichotomy. The general principle involves making a clear distinction between what the problem is and how to solve the problem. The purpose of the design phase is to specify the particular system, which will meet the stated requirements. The proposed system is an online MIS, design documents (both high level and low level designs) highlighting the Graphical user interfaces (GU), business logic, interfaces with other airline applications are to be designed first and should get validated from us or from Kirty tours and travels. After obtaining the consent of the client, coding and development is to be started. Coding Module Testing This is the phase, in which actual system development activities are taken up. Individual modules of the proposed system will be developed and will be tested in isolation for their functionality and logic. This phase known is known as Coding/ development and module testing phase. Integration System Testing This is the next phase in the traditional Waterfall Model. In this phase all the modules that have been developed before and tested are basically linked/ integrated together. The integrated module now forms an entire system in totality and will be tested for functionality, logic and robustness. The ystem will also be thoroughly checked for end-to-end data flow. Database entries and performance are also monitored and tested. Data-flow to Tally system will also be tested. User profiles and accounts are created and are checked for thoroughness. will be tested by the client or client team i. e. personnels of Kirty tours and travels or by us. The criteria for validation here will be Ensuring all our requirements and needs are correctly addressed in the system functionality. Ease of use/ user friendliness of the new system Performance of the system. Once the system is checked and tested for the above mentioned criteria, the system s ready for delivery and deployment. However if the client is not satisfied with the system, rework has to be done to modify the system as per clients needs. Delivery, Deployment Maintenance Once the system passes all the tests and its subsequent activities, only after that it is delivered to the customer. This phase is known as delivery stage. In our case, the system will have been tested by the client and client team for acceptance. We expect the system to be ready for deployment in this phase. In the deployment phase, the software code/ application is loaded/ deployed in the pplication server, centralised database is installed and all the branches of Kirty tours and travels will have to be interconnected through application network. The new application infrastructure is now ready for use. After the successful completion for the delivery stage the system enters into the maintenance phase. As a result of this any modifications made to the system after initial delivery is usually attributed to this particular phase. Unlike a conventional software system, this MIS system is fairly less complex and hence annual or biennial maintenance of database, server and network hardware components would suffice.

Theatre company Essay Example For Students

Theatre company Essay Thank you for accepting the role of Sheila Birling in our theatre companys version of John B Priestleys An Inspector Calls. I have enclosed the entire script to help you prepare for the role. Also, in this letter you will find some notes that I have done for you to help you play the character and also give you a little background information about when the play is set.  Your costume will obviously be a dress typical of the time 1912. It might be an evening gown, as the play is set at a celebratory dinner, so you must be dressed up and looking nice in an expensive-looking dress. I would suggest a dress in a pastel pink colour, if possible, to emphasise that at the beginning of the play Sheila is extremely innocent, as she has been shielded from unpleasant aspects of life. We will write a custom essay on Theatre company specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The play is set in the summer of 1912, in an industrial city called Brumley. This was in the Edwardian age, a few years before the First World War and in the same year as the Titanic sank. Mr. Birling refers to both of these incidents in the play, so they are relevant. Around 1912, there was a clear division between the middle class and the lower class. There were so many rules in society, telling you how to behave. The middle class also had a lot more freedom and many more luxuries than lower class people did. Society was very hypocritical in 1912. Eric mentions that the respectable men that his father knows are actually paying lower class prostitutes for their services. However, they would never dream of talking to these lower class people normally so they had many secrets. At this time, women had no equal rights they were overpowered by the men. Middle class women in particular were thought of as not being able to handle certain aspects of life, such as prostitution and politics. Women were also thought of as inferior and unintelligent. This play begins at a celebration dinner. Everybody is very happy and pleased for Sheila and Gerald Croft as they are celebrating their engagement. Arthur Birling is particularly pleased, as he believes that this engagement will cause his company Birling and Company, and Crofts Limited to become a partnership, stopping the rivalry between them. Edna, the Birlings maid, comes and interrupts the conversation between Mr. Birling, Gerald and Eric, saying that an inspector is at the door to see Mr. Birling. Thinking it is just to sort out a warrant, this does not unnerve him. The Inspector, Inspector Goole, tells them that a girl named Eva Smith died that day in the Infirmary after drinking disinfectant, and he has to come to question Mr. Birling about her. When they are piecing her tragic story together, the entire family and Gerald Croft discover that they all knew Eva, and contributed to her committing suicide. At the end, Sheila realises that Inspector Goole was not actually a real inspector and everyone except Sheila and Eric are extremely relieved, pretending that nothing wrong has happened. Then Mr. Birling gets a phone call saying that a girl has just died at the Infirmary from drinking disinfectant (like Evas story) and an inspector is coming to question them My view is that the Birlings are not a close family. Neither of the parents knew about Erics drinking. Even Sheila mentions that she and Gerald will have to start over and get to know each other again, and he is her fianc! She feels that he is a stranger, now that she knows about his relationship with Eva, and she has grown from this experience too she is a different person to the one we saw at the beginning. .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e , .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .postImageUrl , .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e , .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e:hover , .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e:visited , .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e:active { border:0!important; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e:active , .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u90bf3165b21fb6c8e59016e33a32269e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Businesss - Puma Company Brand EssayMr. and Mrs. Birling are completely wrapped up in their own lives and just care about their image and not about Eva, who suffered so much. They dont regret what they have done. The younger members of their family do, though Sheila and Eric, showing that they can grow and mature. Gerald, although he says sorry to Sheila, also carries on as if the incident with the Inspector never happened, once they all realise that Inspector Goole wasnt a real inspector, and no Eva Smith died in the Infirmary. He even asks Sheila to put the engagement ring back on after all that has happened. I feel that Gerald is exactly like Mr. and Mrs. Birling self -involved and greedy. There are several themes in this play. Mr. Birling mentions that a man has to make his own way has to look after himself. This play proves that this is not correct, with the help of the characters of the Inspector and Sheila. It teaches you that if you dont care for everyone else, horrible things can happen in their lives what you are and what you do has a knock-on, chain reaction effect on everyone else. It is saying that we are connected in one body. For example, if Mr. Birling had never fired Eva from his company, Sheila would never have got her fired from Milwards, and so on. Also, that firing Eva seemed like a small thing at a time, but it grew much bigger; so much bigger that she ended up committing suicide. Everyone in this play had something to hide, especially their involvement with Eva. In other words, respectability is only a thin veneer. Sheilas character is used as a dramatic device, to show you that people can change their attitudes and learn from their mistakes. All of the themes in his plays are universal and still apply today. In his plays, Priestley also likes to mess around with time this is how Inspector Goole fits in. Goole, sounding exactly like the word ghoul, could mean that the Inspector is a ghost from the future like the Christmas future ghost in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Sheila is a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited, especially about her marriage to Gerald Croft. Her mother brought her up the proper way of the time to believe that men sometimes had better things to do than be with their partners, and that women could not handle things like business and politics, because they were too stupid. She is extremely innocent too she has been shielded from the unpleasant aspects of life, such as prostitution, and does not appreciate or realise how hard it would be to live as a lower class citizen. She has also been brought up to be angelic and polite always saying please and thank you and never answering her parents back.

Psychological Egoism Vs Ethical Egoism

Egoism refers to a corruptive attribute of modern societies which makes people to prioritize their own self-interests more than anything else. It can also be defined as the view that human action is guided by individual human needs. A while ago, ethical egoism was considered to be a perspective that was closely related to the ideas of psychological egoism. Distinction between the two is, however, desirable in order to maintain the difference between what people do and what they should do (Maccarelli 1).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Psychological Egoism Vs Ethical Egoism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Psychological egoism shows the nature of human motivation. It states that human beings are motivated by selfish interests and that a seemingly selfless act is actually self serving. For example, if Peter buys his girlfriend a new dress, he does so selfishly because he wants to be associated with a girl who wears expensive dresses. Additionally, if Dan fails to go on a trip with his classmates in order to help a sick friend, he does so selfishly because he this is what he wants to do. He also does so in order to be recognized as a good person. Another reason for being left with his friend could be because he wants to avoid feeling guilty for leaving his sick friend alone (Weber 1). Thus being left with his friend will make him feel better. Ethical egoism has a normative perspective towards human action and it states that human actions ought to be aimed at the fulfillment of individual wants and desires. This is the case regardless of the morals of the action that is bound to fulfill the wants and desires of the individual. Thus, if Kennedy wants to lie for his benefit, this is the right action for Kennedy to take regardless of the effects that the lie will have on the other person. Additionally, if Beth wants to gain wealth and then guard her sexual morality, this is the right thing for her to do because it is what she desires. With this argument, ethical egoism promotes unethical behavior (Maccarelli 2 – 3). Ethical egoism is subjected to a lot of criticism due to its disregard of morals. As discussed, according to ethical egoism, the right thing to do is that which fulfils the desires of the doer. This is utter disregard of what is morally right in the society. Human wants and desires are normally against the moral expectations of the society and thus ethical egoism can be viewed as a drawback to the upkeep of morals. On the other hand, psychological egoism explains reasons for human actions using motivational reasoning and thus it does not conflict with norms. With this argument, therefore, psychological egoism is better than ethical egoism (Weber 1).Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The motivation of a person to act in his/her own self-interest does not mean that what they are motivated to do is what they ought to do. This is a layman explanation of the distinction between psychological and ethical egoism. The distinction makes us realize how difficult it is to do what is right. It is wrong to reject ethical conduct altogether (Maccarelli 2) due to stipulations of ethical egoism. This is shows the weakness of ethical egoism since it supports wrong action. Ethical behavior entails disregarding self interest and considering the moral rights of others. Therefore, regardless of the stipulations of human psychology, human beings should value the moral significance of others. Works Cited Maccarelli, Sarah. â€Å"Psychological Egoism Vs. Ethical Egoism.† 2006. Web. Weber, Elijah. â€Å"Ethical Vs. Psychological Egoism: The Difference and Why It Matters.† 2009. Web. This essay on Psychological Egoism Vs Ethical Egoism was written and submitted by user Isaias P. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

British terrestrial broadcasting

Since its controversial launch in March 1997 Channel 5 has been the fifth wheal upsetting the balance of British terrestrial broadcasting. With millions of videos to retune and a paltry programme budget few foresaw success, but C5 was the only mainstream broadcaster to increase its audience share last year1, and at the beginning of this year it was valued at 1.2 billion. The recent purchase of the rights to screen ITVs Australian soap opera Home and Away is a major coup, the first time it has poached from a competitor (its had to get used to the reverse). The problems C5 have had in the past C5 executives are eager to overplay recent well publicised successes, but the channel has been dogged by problems from the start, some technically unavoidable and some disputably due to managerial misjudgement. At the RTS convention in 1999 Greg Dyke, chairing a session on branding, challenged David Brook (director of marketing during C5s launch) that part of the problem with C5 was that it didnt live up to its launch. Brook disagreed saying You must remember, we had to launch a channel without any programmes and amongst all the confusion of retuning His defence cites two of the three main initial problems C5 faced 1) A budget 1/6 of the BBCs 2) The necessity to retune your TV/Video. Also hindering performance was 3) The lack of reach (still only 80% of BBC). The million pounds spent on marketing and producing the glamorous opening was supposed to tackle the first 2 problems, however critics say the reliance of style over substance faith in the power of persuasive com! munication, was short sighted. Brooks successor, Jim Hyther commented (Guardian Nov 1st, 99) Once the coffee jar is on the supermarket shelf, you cant keep pretending to the customer its premium ground when its actually instant granules. Typical schedule content (see appen...

Methodologies and Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Methodologies and Methods - Essay Example Research design defined generally is the form or framework the experimenter uses to get the results of the study. There are many different kinds of research designs, both qualitative and quantitative, and flexible designs represent qualitative for the most part, whereas fixed designs represent quantitative type studies. There are also mixed designs. Quantitative research designs such as the one proposed for the current research serve the purpose of showing causal motivations, observing present conditions and longitudinal comparisons, and establishing relationships with evidence from a sample size that is generally large or, in some cases, deferred to a larger statistical research body (Robson, 2002). Qualitative The key theories behind qualitative research involve the development of research questions, rather than the formulation of absolutes through testable hypotheses. The research instrument is definitely qualitative in nature if it represents a standardized measurement test that is predetermined before the research has even taken place, through measurements taken in other studies using the same survey instrument. This is not the type of measurement tool that is necessarily malleable to researcher interaction with the survey group or the addition of new research questions as they come up, which also makes it a less strong methodology in terms of qualitative features. The qualitative approach is perhaps less appropriate for this research because the author is assumedly examining a survey group of more than twenty individuals, and needs a standardized sort of quantitative test to keep data collection simple. In the case of the research experiment, the qualitative study will seek to find common themes and areas of possibility for further study. The descriptive phase follows, in which the demographic and statistical information on the target population and target program emulations are determined in respective forms of their completeness and efficiency as repres entative statistics and program models. Quantitative Quantitative methods are suitable for studies into social issues, despite their scientific background and trappings, because they provide demonstrable measurements which can be attributed to larger populations. Even with a relatively small sample size, quantitative research can present results and findings in a way that is verifiable, reliable, and has a degree of repeatability. In other words, a small survey can be reused with a larger population. Overall there are many different facets of methodology that can be applied to an experimental design. This is a generalization that can be made about these different types of designs, which have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Surveys and experiments are examples of fixed research designs, which are more quantitative than qualitative and have more aspects of this type of theory. Quantitative studies such as the one outlined in the current report’s proposed methodol ogy tend to rely on hard data and statistics that can provide generalizable results about a population, whereas qualitative studies could be more of a case example or subjective viewpoint. As the extant literature states about the difference between fixed and flexible designs, â€Å"Flexible research designs are much more difficult to pin down than fixed designs. This is in part because it is only in recent

Effectiveness of sc 4-k program by county Research Paper

Effectiveness of sc 4-k program by county - Research Paper Example Despite of being costly the 4K kindergarten drawing away big amount of state fund it has several advantages. The more the money spends in the program, the better the outcomes for the children. Learners who go through this form of kindergarten education tend to perform better in their both elementary and secondary level of education1. This implies that this program has much impact on learning in south Caroline. This is because it prepares the learners adequately for further education. INTRODUCTION 4K kindergarten program in South Carolina was an implemented plan for the children with the age of four years. This program was implemented by Sc general assembly. The registration of the children was free to the children who were trusted to do well in various districts of South Carolina. On top of the offering the country’s public school districts in the beginning offer guardian the chance to enroll their children with more than a hundred private and public preschool providers in the country. In this program for a child to qualify, he/she must have the age of four years, clear with free or decreased price. He or she must live in the following district in the Country, Sumter, Union, Saluda, Marion, Lee, Saluda, Florence, and Dillon among many more. This program would be extended to a full day kindergarten country wide. The total cost of the implementation of the program was a hundred million dollars upon estimation. However, this amount is only enough for one year. In the year 2010-2011, an estimated amount of $94.2 million from public money and $35. 6 million from the state was injected in the program. The program is also facilitated by the district’ parents as well as by teachers in the (P.A.T) program. This is operated through the office of parenting and family services. It hires a full time parent educator and part time parent educators in partnership with Lexington country first steps. This program seems helpful to the child’s education, throu gh enhancing and encouraging education to the young toddlers the state is not able to cater for all the districts in the country. Due to this short coming, some districts in South Carolina have been left without the benefit. This means that they are lagging behind with the old fashion of education of plain elementally education or the primary schools. More benefits have been noted since the year 2006 which has been originating from the implemented program of 4K kindergarten. These benefits are discussed by the following essay. Research aims and objectives The main purpose of this study is to find out whether the implementation of the four-year-kindergarten program in schools can have any effect of the performance of students. The specific area of research is to find out whether the South Carolina elementary schools in school districts that have implemented the â€Å"4k† kindergarten perform better than the South Carolina elementary schools that have not implemented the progra m. The research question â€Å"Do South Carolina elementary schools in school districts that have implemented the â€Å"4k† kindergarten program perform better than those South Carolina elementary schools who have not received funding to implement this program? Literature review The 4k program is very vital for children development and success in academics. Different researches have documented the benefits of an early learning program for young children, the society and the community in large. According to these researches, it is very evident that nurturing environments with the best

How to Take Notes from Reading Essay Example for Free

How to Take Notes from Reading Essay http://www.ehow.com/how_9258_reading-notes.html (retrieved on 16/06/13) The instructions that are given in that website are accurate and reliable because they provide readers with good strategies that should be followed in taking notes from reading books, articles, and so on. These strategies are commonly used among readers. Readers should read just the abstract, introduction, and conclusion to get a big picture about a book or an article’s main points. Then, they should take notes of the main ideas and record all relevant details that are related to them; also, jot down what is repeated such as concepts and formulates. In addition to that, they should date their notes, number them, and paraphrase them. Moreover, they should use abbreviations and symbols in their notes and develop an ideal organizational format such as an outline and a map. Also, they should leave room in the margin for additional questions and thoughts. http://www.ehow.com/how_9258_reading-notes.html (retrieved on 16/06/13) The instructions from this website are slightly different from the first one. Readers here are instructed to date their notes and jot down bibliographic information beside the date including the writer’s name, the title, the publication, and the date of publication Then, they should make the structure of their notes as the structure of the book or the article; in addition to that, they should write facts and opinions in a way that will make them clear when they review their notes, and they should do the same thing for writing quotations and summaries. Then, they should review their reading notes again and again. http://www.studygs.net/marking.htm (retrieved on 16/06/13) This website provides different way of taking notes from reading. First, Readers are instructed to read the first chapter of a textbook and focus on understanding the material; they should not take any notes while reading because they may take many notes without understanding them. Then, they should locate the main idea as well as the major details and paraphrase that information. In addition to that, they should summarize that data and record the source of the information.

Wal-marts foreign entry

Wal-marts foreign entry WAL-MARTS FOREIGN ENTRY IN GLOBAL MARKETS The phenomenon of globalization has determined many firms to spread out to overseas markets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the firms strategies for new market entry and the major issues they need to deal with while entering into new foreign markets and Wal-Mart is utilized as an example. During this expansion, some firms succeeded and some failed also. Wal-Marts entry into the foreign market and its operations in the China and U.K where it was successful are examined and it can be inferred that the cultural differences and the political influences play a vital role in selecting entry mode and setting operational strategies. Also, In order to understand the failure in German retail market amongst many, the following influential factors will be considered that Germany has different culture and consumer behaviour, oligopoly market environment, unfavorable legislation and influential labour union. Additionally, this entry and exit of Wal-mart affected, inevitably, other countries and most of the competitors in many aspects. In the domestic market of U.S, Wal-Mart has a considerable success. Since Wal-Mart began international operations in Mexico in 1991, it has violently expanded foreign investments all over the world, including Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Far East. Wal-Mart expanded its international operations such as in the United Kingdom, South America and China where its going highly successful, whereas in South Korea and German markets its operations were unsuccessful and it was forced to pull out of these markets mainly due to sustained losses in an incompatible culture and highly competitive market. However, Wal-mart failed to position itself when trying to penetrate the German retail market through replicating its US strategies. Initially, firms should have a clear purpose for expanding overseas. Firms tend to go international for many different reasons, for example, firms may be interested in structuring a global brand image, the home market may be saturated, external initiatives to spread the product, or grabbing more market share etc. Prior to entering a particular foreign market, firms need to look upon the consumer purchasing power, market size, entry barriers, political stability and cultural and language differences. Culture plays an essential role in shaping whether a firm can last in a foreign market. Consumers in different cultures may have different attitudes toward the same product and may value things differently. Therefore, international managers should take into account the cultural factor carefully in decision-making. Furthermore, Psychic distance also requires being carefully addressed in the market selection stage. Psychic distance is defined as factors precluding or disturbing the flows of information between firms and markets in terms of differences in culture, language, political systems, levels of industrial development, etc (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975). Theoretically, firms have a tendency to penetrate the psychically close market to moderate risk. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) is the worlds biggest American retail corporation in the world. Wal-Mart is a company which is renowned for its influence on US government. Wal-Mart has a friendly legislature and government policy in accordance to its company policies and method which indeed helps them to achieve goal such as limiting port security, the elimination of the estate tax, restricting tariff protections and obtaining lucrative subsidies. According to survey Wal-Mart has received 1.2 billion from US government in form of subsidies, grants and fund. Following are few examples that shows how US government helped Wal-Mart in US: More Than $1 Billion from tax-payer funded Subsidies. A May 2004 report analyzed how more than $1 billion from over 244 taxpayer-funded subsidies status, general grants and job training/recruiting funds is received by Wal-Mart. Millions To broaden the Street to its Headquarters. In2005, to broaden Eighth Street in Bentonville which goes to Wal-Marts corporate headquarters, a federal highway bill was signed by President Bush of $35 million. Employing Teens in Unsafe Conditions. An agreement was signed by the Wal-Mart with the Departments Wage and Hours Division about future child labor conditions that the teens aged 16 and 17 are prohibited to participate in activities Negotiating for Weak Enforcement. The conduct of an audit by the (OIG) of the child labor found an agreement among Wal-Mart and the Department of Labor that prove serious collapses in the WHD [Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division] process for approving, developing and negotiating such agreements. These consequences in the WHD gave substantial concessions to Wal-Mart, while entering into an agreement. In the early 1990s, Wal-Mart was enforced to expand its business into the new foreign market due to critical U.S market conditions. Firstly, In the US it faced market saturation. Wal-Mart comes up with 200 new stores each year and this fast expansion results in the short distance between its old stores and new stores. Further, the retail price difference between Wal-Mart and its key competitors has been lessened so consumers had little incentive to go to Wal-Mart. Therefore, rather than summing up the market share from its competitors, the new stores in fact gained the market share from its old stores. Finally, the progress in demand was declining because of the decreasing family sizes in the U.S. (Kim 2008) . Taking into account, all these factors, the international expansion appears as a prior strategy for Wal-Mart to promote its business growth. Wal-Mart initiated to expand internationally in 1991 with the creation of a joint venture with Citra, S.A. de C.V, Mexicos largest retailer. According to the Wal-Mart they promote its growth internationally because â€Å"We need to be the growth of Wal-Mart some day when the United States slows down† (as cited in Molin, 2004). The company feels the international market as a alternate when there was limited growth in the US. After creating a joint venture in 1991, Wal-Mart came out as a large international player and within one and half decade it expanded its operations in globally in many countries. Wal-Mart did not use single strategy to enter in different countries. They decide on the basis of the business, competitive and economic environments that exist in. Wal-Mart made its presence in local markets by first considering the uniqueness of each market, and then by altering its business model to suit that market. After choosing the country like China, the management makes the decision after analyzing the environment that seemed to be positive in China. The China is a country with a history of tremendous level of 1.3 billion population. In China , the governments liberalization initiative and its open policy increased disposable income of consumers because of limited competition offered by similar business models its high constant economic growth and. The retail sale in China is $1.2 trillion in 2007 and the growth of market is expected $ 2.4 trillion by 2020, which indicates that there is a big opportunity for the company. These factors attracted the Wal-Mart company to research and make their presence in China. In 1996,Wal-Mart entered China and it grew slowly. Some people pointed out on its slow growth, but according to me, the strategy of slow growth helps the Company to examine the environment in a completely different culture with regard to US. Wal-Mart had taken up those merchandising and store designs that suits the Chinese consumer requirements best. The company also tries to adopt the local culture and sourced the products from local manufactures who are familiar with the local taste of the people. Company also met the government trade and business guidelines, by adopting such type of the environment it helped the company to grow and launch its expansion plans in China. Wal-Mart is getting involved in the local community such as by participating in CSR- corporate social responsibility .It is also participating in the society by donating the funds and providing the kind support of $ 8 million over the past 13 years. All such awards achieved by the company itself show its achievement in China. Another issue that contributed to Wal-Marts success in China, was labour unionization. At first, Wal-Mart was reluctant to support the idea of unionization, but the constant efforts of All-China Federation of Trade Union led to formation of union amongst Wal-Mart employees, which has contributed positively to its success. Currently, Wal-Mart carries on 7,873 stores worldwide in 15 countries among which 3,615 stores in the foreign countries and remaining in the US. Moreover its international segment gives 24.6% of the companys total revenue in 2009 fiscal year. (Global Market Direct, 2009) However, even with such enhanced international sales, Wal-Marts international division is still far away from its one-third of total sales goal, which it was essentially expected to achieve by 2005. (1999 Annual Report) If we analyze Wal-Marts international business, we will find out a mixed story. It had substantial success in Canada, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom, but it was unsuccessful to place itself in Germany and South Korea. Wal-Mart was leading retailer and employer in US for last decade. There were more than 5000 stores in US itself. This made easier for the firm in structuring a good brand image in spite of offering cheap products. Due to its knowledge, low pricing, strategic resources, geographical presence, strategic investment, product differentiation and managerial excellence, the firm constantly had an upper edge on its competitors and generally drives them out of the business. Further reasons for Wal-Marts success was its elite relations with bureaucrats and government. Government policies usually were in harmony to Wal-Mart business and strategies. Wal-Mart had many weaknesses and pit holes also despite of being worlds no. 1 company. Wal-Mart was always criticized for poor labour practices by labour unions. In US the average salary per hour is $ 13 where as in Wal-Mart the lowest salary rate is US$ 9 per hour. Employees have prolonged working hours around ten hours a day. Further Wal-Mart is charged for adopting the tax avoidance schemes. It has also build a great reputation for destroying small and medium business. Therefore its never greeted in any society. The main weakness of Wal-Mart has been its international operation. It struggled to create a great mark in international market especially in Germany unlike America. It has been losing money from the year it penetrated German market. It has also been found that in some cases those inferior quality products are being sold because of discounted price. As a result consumers who are not price elastic have a preference over other brands. It also bears the huge labour turnover, about 44% employees leave Wal-Mart every year according to the national survey. These were some major weakness that the firm desires to come up in near future for its survival and sustenance. A number of factors that resulted Wal-Marts failure in Germany are such as different corporate culture, political influence, stiff competition and inefficient management and marketing strategies. Firstly, David Wild CEO in 2004, believed that cultural differences between American and German consumers were considerable challenges to Wal-Mart. Debby CEO in 2006 concluded that German shoppers are accustomed to shop at small scale discount stores such as Aldi and Netto that provides a limited range of products with special offers each week and no customer service, unlike US customers. In addition to different corporate culture, the competition has become gradually more intense between Wal-Mart and domestic retailers. The price difference has so lessened that sometimes even Wal-Mart had a higher price than their competitors. Consequently, consumers had little incentive to visit Wal-Mart Germany because of no obvious price advantage. Some other factors that lead to Wal-Marts failure in Germany were, their strategy of acquiring the top competitor did not work, as the German government did its best to ensure the welfare of the domestic players. Also, due to wage restrictions, Wal-Mart could not practice wage bargaining, as it did back in U.S, this was a huge, uncommon expenditure for the company. Its American strategy of restricting employee freedom and forcing them to work extra hours, brought up problems of high labour turnover and a negative image as an employer. Wal-Mart failed to have an effective management at the top level. Its CEOs changed every year,this in an obvious way effected the companys performance. Wal-Mart constantly ignored the strictness of German laws, and was charged heavy penalties for doing so. One of the most challenging thing for Wal-Mart was capturing the market- share. As per German legislation it was illegal to sell products below cost,because of which Wal-Mart could never achieve the à ¢â‚¬ËœLow price leader tag. It is impossible to smoothly run any organization, until there is co-operation between the employees and the employer. Wal-Mart faced a severe labour unrest,which hampered its brand-image. Kay Hafner,CEO of Wal-Mart reduced the wages to cut cost, this negatively influenced individual behaviour , as an anti-union decision. As suggested by Arndt and Knorr, a firm needs to understand the specifications when indulging in global expansion.Out of all the CEOs, only David Wild has been sensitive to cultural difference.He did bring about changes based on this understanding,which had some positive results,yet not profitable enough to impress investors for future investments. Moreover,as per German legislation their were some specific retail related laws,such as, limited legal working hours (80 hours/week) which were way less than the other European countries and had strict rules governing closure on Sundays and holidays. Wal-Mart repeatedly infringement German laws but were able to do away with it mainly because of global presence and influence on the government of US which played a major role in global politics. Some of incidences where the company broke few laws and was able to get away are summed up below:- ‘unfair trade practices such as selling goods below the cost price was prohibited in Germany but Wal-Mart was found violating these laws as it randomly sold some product below cost. German law required a company to disclose it financial statements annually, Wal-Mart seldom did that and was spared without any fine or legal proceedings at number of occasions. Obligatory Deposit Regulationdings law stipulated the retailer to provide deposit-refund-system on few products like metal beverages, cans etc. But Wal-Mart never followed this law. Thus from the above incidences it can be concluded that Wal-Mart used its global influence to refrain from some of the German laws. However, because German culture is quite different from American culture and because of unfamiliarity with the legislation, it would be difficult for Wal-Mart to make marketing and promotion right. And in fact these difficulties had been proved in Wal-Mart Germany. Consequently, rather than choosing Germany as the gateway to Europe, virtually after two years of operating in Germany it had entered in U.K .Even though U.K is not in the Euro zone and its geographic location is less favorable than Germany, it has a similar culture and legal environment as U.S. which makes it easier to operate the companys business and strategies. It has considerable success in the UK market which is called by as a ‘Wal-Mart-ready market[palmer 2005] .Therefore, the lessons learned from from Germany has proven useful for U.K. In the United Kingdom, Wal-Mart operates under its distinct organizational culture ‘the Wal-Mart Way, where executives act as servants and employees are known as ‘associates. Associates are empowered to adapt to local culture and are encouraged to try out new ideas. Consequently, associate cohesiveness is strengthened, and they are willing to work hard to achieve the best results. In addition, satisfying customer needs is always placed as main goal of the company. The company aims to offer British families the things they need at affordable prices, as well as providing superior customer service and convenience. Needless to say, Wal-Mart did face challenges initially even in U.K. The British Planning Policy(PPS6) has clearly limited the construction of huge retail outlets on the outskirts of a town, which was one of its most effective strategy in the U.S According to PPS6,the local governments were required to do so until there was a call for .Wal-Mart responded to this situation by protesting the restrictive policies to the top government officials. Eventually, Wal-Mart acquired an existing retail chain ASDA, and this proved to be fruitful as it served as the best strategic fit between the companies. In the UK, ASDA was the only operator with a consistent non-food offer and Wal-Marts organisational culture had already incorporated into ASDAs management principles before the acquisition taken place. Based on the above examination of Wal-Mart, it can be concluded that Wal-Mart possessed a great influence on the US government and it used its great influence to get various tax reliefs, subsidies etc and when it entered other countries like UK, China and Germany etc, it followed the same policy to influence the government and capitalize on these relationships. Besides that there were few incidences in which the US government helped Wal-Mart in its international operations and having good relations with the foreign government which brings about the companies involvement in global politics, which is the essence of the report. However,while expanding globally Wal-Mart besides carrying all these good relationships still had to confront with the cultural, political and the other economic factors when it entered in the foreign markets because Wal-Mart to be successful only transports its domestic policy to global markets. No such one strategy or model is applicable which is appropriatefor all the markets. Consequently ,Wal-Marts US model cant be consistently applied in other countries, even in UK whose culture is very alike to that of the US. Hence, adaptation to local culture and familiarity with its legislations is a crucial step for Wal-Mart or any firm while entering to the global markets. Therefore, Firms should always make cultural and political considerations as a part of strategic planning, and locating activities in countries that possess these attributes necessary for competing in these activities of foreign entry. REFERENCES IGO Retail Analysis. (2009). â€Å"Company Summary-Introduction: Wal-Mart.† [Online] Available from: http://www.igd.com/analysis/channel/profile_detail.asp?channelid=1channelitemid=27profileid=1541 [Accessedï ¼Å¡2 November 2009] John Robin, Cox Howard, Grazia Letto-Gilles, Grimwade Nigel, Allen Michael, Finn Edward (2002), Global Business strategy. Thomson Ricker (2007) â€Å"Internationalization Theory†, http://www.studentbibliotek.se/doku.php/internationalization_theory Problems in international market, patiporn kitlertphiroj, University college of denver) Landler, M. and Barbaro, M., (2006). â€Å"Wal-Mart finds that its formula doesnt fit every culture.† The New York Times, August2.2.pp.1-3[online] Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/business/worldbusiness/02walmart.html?_r=1 Wal-Mart (n.d.): 3 Basic Belief Value,[online] Available from: http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/321.aspx [Assessed: 25 October 2009] Eurofood (1999), Wal-Mart buys Asda in UK retail shock, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DQA/is_1999_June_17/ai_55041044/ Knorr, A. And Arndt, A. (2003), â€Å"Why did Wal-Mart dail in Germany†, available at: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/pdf/w024.pdf(accessed November 3, 2009). IGD Analysis (2005): Chinese Wal-Mart chant gets louder. [online] Available from http://www.igd.com/analysis/news/index.asp?nid=2094 [Accessed online: 2 November 2009] Christopherson, S. (2007). â€Å"Barrier to ‘US style lean retailing: the case of Wal-Mart failure in Germany.† Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 4, No.7, pp.1-19 http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/secret_meeting_details_confirmed_wa_mart_lobbied_uk_government/ http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/4737/ http://joeg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/7/4/451 http://walmartwatch.com/issues/political_influence/ http://www.examiner.com/x-21521-Huntington-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2009m11d28-Wal-Mart-does-again-this-time-in-Canada (http://www.themanagementor.com/kuniverse/kmailers_universe/mktg_kmailers/wal-mart.htm) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart) http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/WalMart-Stores-Inc-html)

The Lost Duke of Wyndham Chapter Twenty

Outside the carriage, the atmosphere was considerably less tense. The three men remained on horseback, never quite in a line. Every now and then one of them would increase his pace or fall behind, and one horse would pass another. Perfunctory greetings would be exchanged. Occasionally someone would comment on the weather. Lord Crowland seemed rather interested in the native birds. Thomas didn't say much, but – Jack glanced over at him – good Lord, was he whistling? â€Å"Are you happy?† Jack asked, his voice a bit short. Thomas looked back in surprise. â€Å"Me?† He frowned, thinking about it. â€Å"I suppose I am. It's a rather fine day, don't you think?† â€Å"A fine day,† Jack echoed. â€Å"None of us is trapped in the carriage with that evil old hag,† Crowland announced. â€Å"We should all be happy.† Then he added, â€Å"Pardon,† since the evil old hag was, after all, grandmother to both of his companions. â€Å"Pardons unnecessary on my account,† Thomas said. â€Å"I agree with your assessment completely.† There had to be something significant in this, Jack thought – that their conversation kept returning to how relieved they all were not to be in the dowager's presence. It was damned strange, to tell the truth, and yet, it did make one think†¦ â€Å"Will I have to live with her?† he blurted out. Thomas looked over and grinned. â€Å"The Outer Hebrides, my man, the Outer Hebrides.† â€Å"Why didn't you do it?† Jack demanded. â€Å"Oh, believe me, I will, on the off chance I still possess any power over her tomorrow. And if I don't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thomas shrugged. â€Å"I'll need some sort of employment, won't I? I always wished to travel. Perhaps I shall be your scout. I'll find the oldest, coldest place on the island. I shall have a rollicking good time.† â€Å"For God's sake,† Jack swore. â€Å"Stop talking like that.† He did not want this to be preordained. He did not want it to be understood. Thomas ought to be fighting for his place in the world, not blithely handing it over. Because he himself did not want it. He wanted Grace, and he wanted his freedom, and more than anything, right at that very moment, he wanted to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. Thomas gave him a curious look but said nothing more. And neither did Jack. Not when they reached Pollamore, or Cavan town, or even as they rode into Butlersbridge. Night had long since fallen, but Jack knew every storefront, every last signpost and tree. There was the Derragarra Inn, where he'd got himself drunk on his seventeenth birthday. There was the butcher, and the blacksmith, and ah, yes, there was the oatmeal mill, behind which he'd stolen his first kiss. Which meant that in five – no, make that four – more minutes, he would be home. Home. It was a word he had not uttered in years. It had had no meaning. He'd lived in inns and public houses and sometimes under the stars. He'd had his ragtag group of friends, but they drifted in and out of togetherness. They thieved together more by convenience than anything else. All they'd had in common was a shared past in the military, and a willingness to give a portion of their bounty to those who had returned from the war less fortunate than they. Over the years, Jack had given money to men without legs, women without husbands, children without parents. No one ever questioned where he'd got the money. He supposed his bearing and accent were those of a gentleman, and that was enough. People saw what they wanted to see, and when a former officer (who never quite got around to sharing his name) came bearing gifts†¦ No one ever wanted to question it. And through all this, he'd told no one. Who had there been to tell? Grace. Now there was Grace. He smiled. She would approve. Perhaps not of the means, but certainly of the end. The truth was, he'd never taken anything from anyone who hadn't looked as if they could afford it. And he'd always been careful to more thoroughly rob the most annoying of his victims. Such scruples would not have kept him from the gallows, but it had always made him feel a bit better about his chosen profession. He heard a horse draw up next to his, and when he turned, there was Thomas, now keeping pace beside him. â€Å"Is this the road?† he asked quietly. Jack nodded. â€Å"Just around the bend.† â€Å"They are not expecting you, are they?† â€Å"No.† Thomas had far too much tact to question him further, and indeed, he allowed his mount to fall back by half a length, granting Jack his privacy. And then there it was. Cloverhill. Just as he'd remembered it, except maybe the vines had taken over a bit more of the brick facade. The rooms were lit, and the windows shone with warmth. And even though the only sounds were those made by the traveling party, Jack could swear he could hear laughter and merriment seeping out through the walls. Dear God, he'd thought he'd missed it, but this†¦ This was something more. This was an ache, a true, pounding pain in his chest; an empty hole; a sob, forever caught in his throat. This was home. Jack wanted to stop, to take a moment to gaze at the graceful old house, but he heard the carriage drawing closer and knew that he could not keep everyone at bay while he indulged his own nostalgia. The last thing he wanted was for the dowager to barge in ahead of him (which he was quite certain she would do), so he rode up to the entrance, dismounted, and walked up the steps on his own. He closed his eyes and drew a long breath, and then, since he wasn't likely to amass any more courage in the next few minutes, he lifted the brass knocker and brought it down. There was no immediate reply. This was not a surprise. It was late. They were unexpected. The butler might have retired for the night. There were so many reasons they should have got rooms in the village and made their way to Cloverhill in the morning. He didn't want – The door opened. Jack held his hands tightly behind his back. He'd tried leaving them at his sides, but they started to shake. He saw the light of the candle first, and then the man behind it, wrinkled and stooped. â€Å"Master Jack?† Jack swallowed. â€Å"Wimpole,† he said. Good heavens, the old butler must be nearing eighty, but of course his aunt would have kept him on, for as long as he wished to work, which, knowing Wimpole, would be until the day he died. â€Å"We were not expecting you,† Wimpole said. Jack tried for a smile. â€Å"Well, you know how I like a surprise.† â€Å"Come in! Come in! Oh, Master Jack, Mrs. Audley will be so pleased to see you. As will – † Wimpole stopped, peering out the door, his wizened old eyes creasing into a squint. â€Å"I am afraid that I brought a few guests,† Jack explained. The dowager had already been helped down from the carriage, and Grace and Amelia were right behind her. Thomas had grabbed onto his grandmother's arm – hard, from the looks of it – to give Jack a few moments alone, but the dowager was already showing signs of impending outrage. â€Å"Wimpole?† came a feminine voice. â€Å"Who is here at this hour?† Jack stood stiffly, hardly able to breathe. It was his aunt Mary. She sounded exactly the same. It was as if he'd never left†¦ Except it wasn't. If he'd never left, his heart wouldn't be pounding, his mouth wouldn't be dry. And most of all, he wouldn't feel so bloody terrified. Scared spitless at seeing the one person who had loved him his entire life, with her whole heart and without condition. â€Å"Wimpole? I – † She'd rounded the corner and was staring at him like a ghost. â€Å"Jack?† â€Å"In the flesh.† He tried for a jovial tone but couldn't quite manage it, and deep inside, down where he kept his blackest moments, he wanted to cry. Right there, in front of everyone, it was twisting and writhing inside of him, bursting to get out. â€Å"Jack!† she cried out, and she hurled herself forward, throwing her arms around him. â€Å"Oh, Jack. Jack, my dear sweet boy. We've missed you so.† She was covering his face with kisses, like a mother would her son. Like she should have been able to do for Arthur. â€Å"It is good to see you, Aunt Mary,† he said. He pulled her tight then and buried his face in the crook of her neck, because she was his mother, in every way that mattered. And he'd missed her. By God, he'd missed her, and in that moment it did not matter that he'd hurt her in the worst way imaginable. He just wanted to be held. â€Å"Oh, Jack,† she said, smiling through her tears, â€Å"I ought to horsewhip you for staying away so long. Why would you do such a thing? Don't you know how worried we were? How – â€Å" â€Å"Ahem.† Mary stopped and turned, still holding Jack's face in her hands. The dowager had made her way to the front entrance and was standing behind him on the stone steps. â€Å"You must be the aunt,† she said. Mary just stared at her. â€Å"Yes,† she finally replied. â€Å"And you are†¦?† â€Å"Aunt Mary,† Jack said hastily, before the dowager could speak again, â€Å"I am afraid I must introduce you to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham.† Mary let go of him and curtsied, stepping aside as the dowager swept past her. â€Å"The Duchess of Wyndham?† she echoed, looking at Jack with palpable shock. â€Å"Good heavens, Jack, couldn't you have sent notice?† Jack smiled tightly. â€Å"It is better this way, I assure you.† The rest of the traveling party came forward at that moment, and Jack completed the introductions, trying not to notice his aunt going from paler to palest after he identified the Duke of Wyndham and the Earl of Crowland. â€Å"Jack,† she whispered frantically, â€Å"I haven't the rooms. We have nothing grand enough – â€Å" â€Å"Please, Mrs. Audley,† Thomas said with a deferential bow, â€Å"do not put yourself out on my accord. It was unforgivable for us to arrive without notice. I would not expect you to go to any great lengths. Although† – he glanced over at the dowager, who was standing in the hall with a sour look on her face – â€Å"perhaps your finest room for my grandmother. It will be easier for everyone.† â€Å"Of course,† Mary said quickly. â€Å"Please, please, it's chilly. You must all come inside. Jack, I do need to tell you – â€Å" â€Å"Where is your church?† the dowager demanded. â€Å"Our church?† Mary asked, looking to Jack in confusion. â€Å"At this hour?† â€Å"I do not intend to worship,† the dowager snapped. â€Å"I wish to inspect the records.† â€Å"Does Vicar Beveridge still preside?† Jack asked, trying to cut the dowager off. â€Å"Yes, but he will surely be abed. It's half nine, I should think, and he is an early riser. Perhaps in the morning. I – â€Å" â€Å"This is a matter of dynastic importance,† the dowager cut in. â€Å"I don't care if it's after midnight. We – â€Å" â€Å"I care,† Jack cut in, silencing her with an icy expression. â€Å"You are not going to pull the vicar out of bed. You have waited this long. You can bloody well wait until morning.† â€Å"Jack!† Mary gasped. She turned to the dowager. â€Å"I did not raise him to speak this way.† â€Å"No, you didn't,† Jack said, which was the closest he was going to come to an apology while the dowager was staring him down. â€Å"You were his mother's sister, weren't you?† the dowager said. Mary looked a bit baffled at the sudden change of topic. â€Å"I am.† â€Å"Were you present at her wedding?† â€Å"I was not.† Jack turned to her in surprise. â€Å"You weren't?† â€Å"No. I could not attend. I was in confinement.† She gave Jack a rueful look. â€Å"I never told you. It was a stillbirth.† Her face softened. â€Å"Just one of the reasons I was so happy to have you.† â€Å"We shall make for the church in the morning,† the dowager announced, uninterested in Mary's obstetrical history. â€Å"First thing. We shall find the papers and be done with it.† â€Å"The papers?† Mary echoed. â€Å"Proof of the marriage,† the dowager bit off. She looked upon Mary with icy condescension, then dismissed her with a flick of her head, adding, â€Å"Are you daft?† It was a good thing Thomas pulled her back, because Jack would have gone for her throat. â€Å"Louise was not married in the Butlersbridge church,† Mary said. â€Å"She was married at Maguiresbridge. In County Fermanagh, where we grew up.† â€Å"How far is that?† the dowager demanded, trying to yank her arm free of Thomas's grasp. â€Å"Twenty miles, your grace.† The dowager muttered something quite unpleasant. Jack could not make out the exact words, but Mary blanched. She turned to him with an expression nearing alarm. â€Å"Jack? What is this all about? Why do you need proof of your mother's marriage?† He looked at Grace, who was standing a bit behind his aunt. She offered him a tiny nod of encouragement, and he cleared his throat and said, â€Å"My father was her son.† Mary looked over at the dowager in shock. â€Å"Your father†¦John Cavendish, you mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thomas stepped forward. â€Å"May I intercede?† Jack felt exhausted. â€Å"Please do.† â€Å"Mrs. Audley,† Thomas said, with more dignity and collection than Jack could ever have imagined, â€Å"if there is proof of your sister's marriage, then your nephew is the true Duke of Wyndham.† â€Å"The true Duke of – † Mary covered her mouth in shock. â€Å"No. It's not possible. I remember him. Mr. Cavendish. He was – † She waved her arms in the air as if trying to describe him with gestures. Finally, after several attempts at a more verbal explanation, she said, â€Å"He would not have kept such a thing from us.† â€Å"He was not the heir at the time,† Thomas told her, â€Å"and had no reason to believe he would become so.† â€Å"Oh, my heavens. But if Jack is the duke, then you – â€Å" â€Å"Are not,† he finished wryly. â€Å"I am sure you can imagine our eagerness to have this settled.† Mary stared at him in shock. And then at Jack. And then looked as if she very much wanted to sit down. â€Å"I am standing in the hall,† the dowager announced haughtily. â€Å"Don't be rude,† Thomas chided. â€Å"She should have seen to – â€Å" Thomas shifted his grip on her arm and yanked her forward, brushing right past Jack and his aunt. â€Å"Mrs. Audley,† he said, â€Å"we are most grateful for your hospitality. All of us.† Mary nodded gratefully and turned to the butler. â€Å"Wimpole, would you – â€Å" â€Å"Of course, ma'am,† he said, and Jack had to smile as he moved away. No doubt he was rousing the housekeeper to have her prepare the necessary bedrooms. Wimpole had always known what Aunt Mary needed before she'd had to utter the words. â€Å"We shall have rooms readied in no time,† Mary said, turning to Grace and Amelia, who were standing off to the side. â€Å"Would the two of you mind sharing? I don't have – â€Å" â€Å"It is no trouble at all,† Grace said warmly. â€Å"We enjoy each other's company.† â€Å"Oh, thank you,† Mary said, sounding relieved. â€Å"Jack, you shall have to take your old bed in the nursery, and – oh, this is silly, I should not be wasting your time here in the hall. Let us retire to the drawing room, where you may warm yourselves by the fire until your rooms are ready.† She ushered everyone in, but when Jack made to go, she placed her hand on his arm, gently holding him back. â€Å"We missed you,† she said. He swallowed, but the lump in his throat would not dislodge. â€Å"I missed you, too,† he said. He tried to smile. â€Å"Who is home? Edward must have – â€Å" â€Å"Married,† she finished for him. â€Å"Yes. As soon as we were out of mourning for Arthur. And Margaret soon after. They both live close by, Edward just down the lane, Margaret in Belturbet.† â€Å"And Uncle William?† Jack had last seen him at Arthur's funeral. He'd looked older. Older, and tired. And stiff with grief. â€Å"He is well?† Mary was silent, and then an unbearable sorrow filled her eyes. Her lips parted but she did not speak. She did not need to. Jack stared at her in shock. â€Å"No,† he whispered, because it could not be true. He was supposed to have had a chance to say he was sorry. He'd come all the way to Ireland. He wanted to say he was sorry. â€Å"He died, Jack.† Mary blinked several times, her eyes glistening. â€Å"It was two years ago. I didn't know how to find you. You never gave us an address.† Jack turned, taking a few steps toward the rear of the house. If he stayed where he was, someone could see him. Everyone was in the drawing room. If they looked through the doorway, they would see him, struck, ready to cry, maybe ready to scream. â€Å"Jack?† It was Mary, and he could hear her steps moving cautiously toward him. He looked up at the ceiling, taking a shaky, open-mouthed breath. It didn't help, but it was all he could manage. Mary laid her hand on his arm. â€Å"He told me to tell you he loved you.† â€Å"Don't say that.† It was the one thing he couldn't hear. Not just now. â€Å"He did. He told me he knew you would come home. And that he loved you, and you were his son. In his heart, you were his son.† He covered his face with his hands and found himself pressing tight, tighter, as if he could squeeze this all away. Why was he surprised? There was no reason he should be. William was not a young man; he'd been nearly forty when he married Mary. Did he think that life would have stood still in his absence? That no one would have changed, or grown†¦or died? â€Å"I should have come back,† he said. â€Å"I should have – Oh, God, I'm such an idiot.† Mary touched his hand, pulled it gently down and held it. And then she pulled him out of the hall, into the nearest room. His uncle's study. Jack walked over to the desk. It was a hulking, behemoth of a thing, the wood dark and scuffed and smelling like the paper and ink that always lain atop it. But it had never been imposing. Funny, he'd always liked coming in here. It seemed odd, really. He'd been an out of doors sort of boy, always running and racing, and covered in mud. Even now, he hated a room with fewer than two windows. But he had always liked it here. He turned to look at his aunt. She was standing in the middle of the room. She'd closed the door most of the way and set her candle down on a shelf. She turned and looked back at him and said, very softly, â€Å"He knew you loved him.† He shook his head. â€Å"I did not deserve him. Or you.† â€Å"Stop this talk. I won't hear it.† â€Å"Aunt Mary, you know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He put his fisted hand to his mouth, biting down on his knuckle. The words were there, but they burned in his chest, and it was so damned hard to speak them. â€Å"You know that Arthur would not have gone to France if not for me.† She stared at him in bewilderment, then gasped and said, â€Å"Good heavens, Jack, you do not blame yourself for his death?† â€Å"Of course I do. He went for me. He would never have – â€Å" â€Å"He wanted to join the army. He knew it was that or the clergy, and heaven knows he did not want that. He'd always planned – â€Å" â€Å"No,† Jack cut in, with all the force and anger in his heart. â€Å"He hadn't. Maybe he told you he had, but – â€Å" â€Å"You cannot take responsibility for his death. I will not let you.† â€Å"Aunt Mary – â€Å" â€Å"Stop! Stop it!† The heels of her hands were pressed against her temples, her fingers wrapping up and over her skull. More than anything, she looked as if she were trying to shut him out, to put a stop to whatever it was he was trying to tell her. But it had to be said. It was the only way she would understand. And it would be the first time he'd uttered the words aloud. â€Å"I cannot read.† Three words. That's all it was. Three words. And a lifetime of secrets. Her brow wrinkled, and Jack could not tell – did she not believe him? Or was it simply that she thought she'd misheard? People saw what they expected to see. He'd acted like an educated man, and so that was how she'd seen him. â€Å"I can't read, Aunt Mary. I've never been able to. Arthur was the only one who ever realized.† She shook her head. â€Å"I don't understand. You were in school. You were graduated – â€Å" â€Å"By the skin of my teeth,† Jack cut in, â€Å"and only then, with Arthur's help. Why do you think I had to leave university?† â€Å"Jack†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She looked almost embarrassed. â€Å"We were told you misbehaved. You drank too much, and there was that woman, and – and – that awful prank with the pig, and – Why are you shaking your head?† â€Å"I didn't want to embarrass you.† â€Å"You think that wasn't embarrassing?† â€Å"I could not do the work without Arthur's help,† he explained. â€Å"And he was two years behind me.† â€Å"But we were told – â€Å" â€Å"I'd rather have been dismissed for bad behavior than stupidity,† he said softly. â€Å"You did it all on purpose?† He dipped his chin. â€Å"Oh, my God.† She sank into a chair. â€Å"Why didn't you say something? We could have hired a tutor.† â€Å"It wouldn't have helped.† And then, when she looked up at him in confusion he said, almost helplessly, â€Å"The letters dance. They flip about. I can never tell the difference between a d and a b, unless they are uppercase, and even then I – â€Å" â€Å"You're not stupid,† she cut in, and her voice was sharp. He stared at her. â€Å"You are not stupid. If there is a problem it is with your eyes, not your mind. I know you.† She stood, her movements shaky but determined, and then she touched his cheek with her hand. â€Å"I was there the moment you were born. I was the first to hold you. I have been with you for every scrape, every tumble. I have watched your eyes light, Jack. I have watched you think. â€Å"How clever you must have been,† she said softly, â€Å"to have fooled us all.† â€Å"Arthur helped me all through school,† he said as evenly as he was able. â€Å"I never asked him to. He said he liked – † He swallowed then, because the memory was rising in his throat like a cannonball. â€Å"He said he liked to read aloud.† â€Å"I think he did like that.† A tear began to roll down her cheek. â€Å"He idolized you, Jack.† Jack fought the sobs that were choking his throat. â€Å"I was supposed to protect him.† â€Å"Soldiers die, Jack. Arthur was not the only one. He was merely†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She closed her eyes and turned away, but not so fast that Jack didn't see the flash of pain on her face. â€Å"He was merely the only one who mattered to me,† she whispered. She looked up, straight into his eyes. â€Å"Please, Jack, I don't want to lose two sons.† She held out her arms, and before Jack knew it, he was there, in her embrace. Sobbing. He had not cried for Arthur. Not once. He'd been so full of anger – at the French, at himself – that he had not left room for grief. But now here it was, rushing in. All the sadness, all the times he'd witnessed something amusing and Arthur had not been there to share it with. All the milestones he had celebrated alone. All the milestones Arthur would never celebrate. He cried for all of that. And he cried for himself, for his lost years. He'd been running. Running from himself. And he was tired of it. He wanted to stop. To stay in one place. With Grace. He would not lose her. He did not care what he had to do to ensure their future, but ensure it he would. If Grace said that she could not marry the Duke of Wyndham, then he would not be the Duke of Wyndham. Surely there was some measure of his destiny that was still under his control. â€Å"I need to see to the guests,† Mary whispered, pulling gently away. Jack nodded, wiping the last of his tears from his eyes. â€Å"The dowager†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Good lord, what was there to say about the dowager, except: â€Å"I'm so sorry.† â€Å"She shall have my bedchamber,† Mary said. Normally Jack would have forbidden her to give up her room, but he was tired, and he suspected she was tired, and tonight seemed like the perfect time to put ease before pride. And so he nodded. â€Å"That is very kind of you.† â€Å"I suspect it's something closer to self-preservation.† He smiled at that. â€Å"Aunt Mary?† She'd reached the door, but she stopped with her hand on the knob, turning back around to face him. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Miss Eversleigh,† he said. Something lit in his aunt's eyes. Something romantic. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"I love her.† Mary's entire being seemed to warm and glow. â€Å"I am so happy to hear it.† â€Å"She loves me, too.† â€Å"Even better.† â€Å"Yes,† he murmured, â€Å"it is.† She motioned toward the hall. â€Å"Will you return with me?† Jack knew he should, but the evening's revelations had left him exhausted. And he did not want anyone to see him thus, his eyes still red and raw. â€Å"Would you mind if I remained here?† he asked. â€Å"Of course not.† She smiled wistfully and left the room. Jack turned back toward his uncle's desk, running his fingers slowly along the smooth surface. It was peaceful here, and the Lord knew, he needed a spot of peace. It was going to be a long night. He would not sleep. There was no sense in trying. But he did not want to do anything. He did not want to go anywhere, and most of all, he did not want to think. For this moment†¦for this night†¦he just wanted to be. Grace liked the Audleys' drawing room, she decided. It was quite elegant, decorated in soft tones of burgundy and cream, with two seating areas, a writing desk, and several cozy reading chairs in the corners. Signs of family life were everywhere – from the stack of letters on the desk to the embroidery Mrs. Audley must have abandoned on the sofa when she'd heard Jack at the door. On the mantel sat six miniatures in a row. Grace walked over, pretending to warm her hands by the fire. It was their family, she instantly realized, probably painted fifteen years ago. The first was surely Jack's uncle, and the next Grace recognized as Mrs. Audley. After that was†¦Good heavens, was that Jack? It had to be. How could someone change so little? He looked younger, yes, but everything else was the same – the expression, the sly smile. It nearly took her breath away. The other three miniatures were the Audley children, or so Grace assumed. Two boys and one girl. She dipped her head and said a little prayer when she reached the younger of the boys. Arthur. Jack had loved him. Was that what he was talking about with his aunt? Grace had been the last to enter the drawing room; she'd seen Mrs. Audley pull him gently through another doorway. After a few minutes the butler arrived, announcing that their rooms had been prepared, but Grace loitered near the fireplace. She was not ready to leave this room. She was not sure why. â€Å"Miss Eversleigh.† She looked up. It was Jack's aunt. â€Å"You walk softly, Mrs. Audley,† she said. â€Å"I did not hear you approach.† â€Å"That one is Jack,† Mrs. Audley said, reaching out and removing his miniature from the mantel. â€Å"I recognized him,† Grace murmured. â€Å"Yes, he is much the same. This one is my son Edward. He lives just down the lane. And this is Margaret. She has two daughters of her own now.† Grace looked at Arthur. They both did. â€Å"I am sorry for your loss,† Grace finally said. Mrs. Audley swallowed, but she did not seem to be near tears. â€Å"Thank you.† She turned then, and took Grace's hand in hers. â€Å"Jack is in his uncle's study. At the far end of the hall, on the right. Go to him.† Grace's lips parted. â€Å"Go,† Mrs. Audley said, even more softly than before. Grace felt herself nod, and before she'd had time to consider her actions, she was already in the hall, hurrying down toward the end. To the door on the right. â€Å"Jack?† she said softly, pushing the door open a few inches. He was sitting in a chair, facing the window, but he turned quickly and stood at the sound of her voice. She let herself in and closed the door gently behind her. â€Å"Your aunt said – â€Å" He was right there. Right there in front of her. And then her back was against the door, and he was kissing her, hard, fast, and – dear God – thoroughly. And then he stepped away. She couldn't breathe, she could barely stand, and she knew she could not have put together a sentence if her life had depended on it. Never in her life had she wanted anything as much as she wanted this man. â€Å"Go to bed, Grace.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"I cannot resist you,† he said, his voice soft, haggard, and everything in between. She reached toward him. She could not help it. â€Å"Not in this house,† he whispered. But his eyes burned for her. â€Å"Go,† he said hoarsely. â€Å"Please.† She did. She ran up the stairs, found her room, and crawled between her sheets. But she shivered all night. She shivered and she burned.