Women in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice Essay

Women in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice - Essay Example Undoubtedly, Shakespeare is the most famous and well known playwright of the English language and Merchant of Venice is one of his most performed plays even though the focus of the play is often the character of Shylock, the character of Portia remains quite important since she represents the highest values that Christian virtue could appeal to during the times. In this manner, the female characters become significantly more important than their male counterparts who may show weakness and even a defeatist attitude (Sanders, 1968). Portia outshines the men in the play particularly with regard to virtue since she remains dutiful to the orders of her dead father even though her heart tells her to do otherwise. She is divinely rewarded when the man she loves makes the right choice with regard to the lead, silver and gold boxes. Like many other Shakespearean women, Portia becomes an important character despite the presence of other strong characters such as Anotnio and Shylock. Even though the position of women in shakespeare’s times was not one which could have made this a realistic play, the approach taken by Shakespeare certainly makes Portia the strongest character. Interestingly, Shakespeare was living at a time when the most powerful ruler in Europe was a lady who founded the British Empire as it took shape for centuries to come. While the Christian dogma at the time may have seen women to be fickle, fragile and weak, a ruler as a woman meant that the qualities of Portia were completely natural since she certainly displays kingly virtues of intelligence and mercy. There is certainly some social hypocrisy in this situation since women had little rights in society at the time and even Portia was not the mistress of her own destiny, yet she saves Antonio and even ‘forgives’ Shylock after she has won her case. Portia eloquently describes the qualities of mercy which is a Christian ideal and is something heroes would show to their

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - The Influences Parents Have On Th

Throughout our lives we're influenced by many. It can have an effect on the way we view issues within societal boundaries. One of the major influences children have in their lives comes from their parents. The parents of a child can have both a positive and a negative influence on their lives. In the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird", there are two excellent examples of how parents can be a major influence on their children. Atticus Finch, father of Jem and Scout Finch, plays the loving, kind and knowledgeable father. He is an example of how parents can have a positive influence on their children. Bob Ewell, father of Mayella Ewell, plays the drunken, abusive, and neglectful father. He is an example of how a parent can be a negative influence on their children's lives. Both fathers are very influential on the psychological development of their children. Parents can influence how their children behave, feel, and act towards the outside world. If a child is brought up with hatred and anger, they can learn to view the world in a very negative way, by being critical and prejudice towards other people. However if a child is brought up with caring and nourishment, they can learn to see the world from all different angles. Atticus Finch raises his children with love and care, and teaches them to consider all angles of a situation before you judge someone; "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view"... "Until you clim...

Giordano’s current positioning strategy Essay

Giordano’s current positioning strategy is value for money or quality merchandise at affordable prices. That’s differentiating their products compare to other rivals. Moreover they put their service different with high level of service provided to customer, their sales staff is dedicated, ever smiling, well mannered and helpful. Those positioning strategies were success due to filling a gap in the market for trendy, yet reasonably priced unisex apparel, reinforcing the positioning with the appropriate marketing communications and the delivery of quality service. Giordano reposition itself against its competitors in its current and new markets: The possibility of changing current positioning in the light of developments in the industry, particularly with respect to consumers’ desire for trendier fashion, as well as the increase in the number and strength of competitors should also be discussed. For instance, students could critique the firm’s interpretation of these trends and its subsequent decision to upgrade its image and capture the up-scale segment. Obviously, this move may cause problems with its current core target segments. This was apparent from the failure of its Giordano Ladies’ venture, because the positioning strategy failed to differentiate the up-scale segment from the value-conscious segment. Giordano has fought hard to establish its brand name for its value-for-money proposition, but it is also because of its established branding that Giordano cannot easily change its positioning. However, it can be seen that Giordano took measures to avoid the problems of brand dilution, and to overcome its apparent difficulty in moving consumers’ perception of Giordano towards a high-end positioning. For instance, it established a new product line, Bluestar Exchange, to cater to the needs of its existing value-for-money segment and revamped the core brand with extensive marketing communications and gave its stores a new look. Giordano initially tried to acquire Theme International in November 1999 to carry its line of up-market ladies apparel, but its take-over bid was rejected by Theme’s management and stockholders. Instead of giving up entering the up-market segment, it re-launched Giordano Ladies and Giordano Junior to carry a trendier line of apparel, with encouraging results. We may conclude that, Giordano should not lose its focus on customer services as one of its core differentiating factors. Should it have different positioning strategies for different markets? There are possible problems with having different positioning strategies in different markets. For instance, the recent slight shift towards a higher end from the current low-end value-for-money positioning in Hong Kong was not fully executed in its other markets. Customers in these markets may become confused as to what Giordano stands for, and this inconsistency makes effective service strategy implementation difficult, particularly as consumers are becoming increasingly mobile and travel more frequently between Giordano’s core markets. In addition, economies of scale in apparel purchase, design and market communications may be diluted, if different strategies are followed across markets. If this trend persisted, Giordano may dilute its brand name and possibly might weaken its competitive advantage in other areas as well. Probably, Giordano would do better to keep a consistent positioning, keep its management focused on its core strengths, and send a clear message to all its staff and customers. Giordano are slowly and gradually moved its positioning upwards to meet the rising affluence, and hence the resulting desire for high end apparel, of its core target segment. As Giordano enters into new markets and face strong and similarly positioned competitors in these markets (The Gap in the US, Japan and most European markets), the pressure to adopt a slightly different position that suits the unique market situation of a particular country may increase. In this case, students could suggest that Giordano acquire another existing brand or start-up a new business entity under a different brand, with its own positioning strategy. In fact, this is illustrated by Giordano’s recent venture, Bluestar Exchange, which catered to amore price-conscious, mass-market segment. However, this strategy is extremely risky due to the costs involved in building a new marketing strategy and brand, and students may come to the conclusion that having a consistent positioning may be the etter option even if it means competing head-on with established brands. In conclusion, a potential strategy for Giordano could be to maintain its positioning in Hong Kong and over time slowly and gradually shift its position in its other markets slightly more up-market to follow its Hong Kong positioning. This strategy would have the added advantage that it would move upwards together with its core target segments, which is also developing upwards in terms of education and increasing disposable income due to most of Giordano’s Asian markets are developing fast. We believe that in the balance, it would be better for Giordano to maintain a consistent positioning across all markets, even when Giordano decides to enter countries with entrenched competitors with similar positioning. Should these competitors be too strong, we feel that it would be better not to enter this market rather than try to establish a new brand and strategy. The main reason is that this would be expensive and high risk as less of Giordano’s core strengths could be transferred to this new market, and benefits from economies of scale could not fully be reaped like in terms of manufacturing volumes, marketing and training.

Similarities And Differences Between Jazz And Ragtime

Ragtime and Blues are two different styles of music that came together to make what is known as jazz music. Ragtime was more about freedom, fun, and giving the listener an elated feeling while Blue’s intent was to appeal to the listeners emotions and make them feel better about the troubles in their life. The way Jazz came about was the collaboration of these 2 very different styles of music. Due to very influential people in the music world like Jelly Role Morton, Joe Oliver, Louis armstrong, just to name a few, Jazz has flourished into the music known all over the world. Although Jazz and Ragtime have many differences, they also had many similarities and each style is significant to the amercement of jazz. â€Å"For some this has been, at least partially, a nostalgic trip to the â€Å"simplistic and charm† of the past(...)ragtime’s direct melodic and harmonic message, its irresistible, foot-tapping, rhythmic impulse.† (Berlin) Ragtime was the type of music that was intended to evoke happiness and joy using instruments like piano, guitar, and drums. Through the genre of Ragtime, many popular dances of the late 1900s became prominent like the â€Å"cake walk†, â€Å"ragtime marches†, â€Å"two-steps†, and many more. (Berlin) One of the most prominent characteristics of Ragtime is the fact that it has syncopation which was fairly new at the time. Syncopation is the emphasis of notes that are played in the off beats. Irving Berlin describes the relationship between syncopation and ragtime asShow MoreRelatedEssay on Ragtime and Blues Influence on Jazz1377 Words   |  6 Pages 803-672-412 October 14, 2011 Seeing Ragtime and Blues as Parents of Jazz Jazz is a music genre that has complex characteristics and history of development and thus many musicians and scholars face troubles in defining what jazz is. In general, jazz is believed to have born in New Orleans. Jazz developed for the pleasure of the social dancers. According to the â€Å"Understanding Jazz: What Is Jazz?† of John F. Kennedy center for the Performing Arts, Jazz was created mainly by Afro-Americans, andRead MoreRagtime And Blues : The History And Their Influence On Jazz1581 Words   |  7 PagesRagtime and Blues: The History and Their Influence on Jazz In the city of New Orleans, from parades to clubs and from weddings to funerals, one element usually remained constant throughout all these events: the music that permeated the air. At most of these occasions, a band often performed as entertainment, providing many opportunities for musicians in the area to work. By the early 20th century, due to various factors such as mix of ethnicities and cultures with syncopated musical styles influencedRead MoreThe Ragtime And The Blues1184 Words   |  5 PagesBoth ragtime and the blues were essential and influential in their contributions to the development of jazz. Together, they served as the primary predecessors to the later, more complicated genre. Key elements from each brand are incorporated and mixed to create jazz. Without the creative geniuses of ragtime such as Scott Jopin and James Reese Europe and Blues propagators W.C. Hady and Robert Johnson, the distinctive genre of jazz would not have emerged. Ragtime and blues are both uniq ue in theirRead MoreMusic, Blues And Ragtime1337 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Jazz is the first true art form to come from the soil of America†, Winton Marsalis made this claim in the film Jazz by Ken Burns. Jazz would be born here in America after the fall of slavery. The interactions between previously enslaved peoples and the rest of society gave the breeding ground for a mixture of cultures and music styles. The city which was most clearly known for the mixing of cultures after the Civil war was New Orleans. In New Orleans the primary cultures and ethnicities seen included:Read More The Similarities Between Classical Music and Ellingtons Jazz2414 Words   |  10 Pagesdebasing of the Jazz genre as a unworthy equal to it’s predecessor, European Classical music. This can be seen in various statements about Jazz, such as Boris Gibalin commit, â€Å"The â€Å"Jazz Mania† has taken on the character of a lingering illness and must be cured by means of forceful in tervention.†1 This conflict can be traced through out the history of Jazz, as Classical composers have relatively disregarded this new type of music. Before Duke Ellington’s Cotton Club performances, Jazz play on the radioRead MoreThe Similarities Between Classical Music and Ellingtons Jazz2455 Words   |  10 Pagesdebasing of the Jazz genre as a unworthy equal to its predecessor, European Classical music. This can be seen in various statements about Jazz, such as Boris Gibalin commit, The Jazz Mania has taken on the character of a lingering illness and must be cured by means of forceful intervention.1 This conflict can be traced through out the history of Jazz, as Classical composers have relatively disregarded this new type of music. Before Duke Ellingtons Cotton Club performances, Jazz play on the radioRead MoreEssay on Compare and Contrast the Baroque Music and Jazz1848 Words   |  8 PagesIt is difficult to define Jazz music, as there are many different style s and movements. A brief definition of Jazz would be: American music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, improvisatory, virtuosic solos, melodic freedom, and a harmonic idiom ranging from simple diatonicism through chromaticism to atonality. 1 But this does not tell everything about Jazz. Jazz developed from Ragtime around 1900 and about 20Read MoreEssay on Comparing Jazz and Hip-hop1457 Words   |  6 PagesComparing Jazz and Hip-hop Throughout the history of this country, the music of African-Americans has remained a strong influence upon our society and culture. Beginning with the music carried over from Africa with the slaves, up until now, with the new styles created by urban youth today, African-Americans have retained certain elements within their music which makes it unique from any other musical form. Some of the musical forms which were created from, and/or were strongly influenced byRead MoreEssay on African American Representation in Show Boat1972 Words   |  8 Pagesin blackface. Eventually creating their own form of theater, African-American musical theater flourished between the 1890s and the first decade of the twentieth century. But it wasn’t until Shuffle Along, in 1920, that the color barrier on Broadway was truly broken. Creating a new model for the productions that followed, Shuffle Along incorporated new musical genres such as jazz and ragtime; typically associated with African-A mericans. Integrating these musical stylizations into musical theaterRead MoreElements of Postmodernism in Ishmael Reeds Mumbo Jumbo, Don Delillos White Noise, Toni Morrisons Beloved and Thomas Pynchons the Crying of Lot 496348 Words   |  26 PagesIntroduction Postmodernism as a term and a philosophy represents a wide range of various concepts and ideas. Perhaps the central achievement of postmodernism is the consideration of difference, an insistent attention to the local cultures and undervalued constituencies that modernisms exaltation of unity and grand narrative often obscured, which can easily be observed by reading and analyzing some of the most important works of American postmodern fiction. Works such as Ishmael Reeds