Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme Case - Essay Example The fraud caused investors to lose billions of dollars, and gave rise to a crisis of confidence in the capital markets. In reality, Madoff’s funds had no investment strategy to provide â€Å"hedges† against the usual forms of risk. For over a decade, there had not even been any trading of stock. In Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, the early investors were bought off with the money from the later investors; additionally, the payouts to the early investors were used as proof of profitability, to thereby convince later investors that the returns were legitimate. The bankruptcy trustee is implementing remedial measures including a â€Å"clawback† action for the later investors to recover the profits of the early investors. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme Case, examine the reasons for the fraud to take place over several years, identify the warning red flags missed by the investors, and the preventive and reco very measures to be adopted in Ponzi cases, besides other related aspects. Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi Investment Scheme The investment operation of Bernard Madoff was exposed in December 2008 as an extensive Ponzi scheme. The term is derived from Charles Ponzi who organized such a scam in 1919, and it denotes a fraudulent investment arrangement in which investors give cash and property to the main individual in the arrangement. While misappropriating some or all of the funds, the investment operator reports to the investors that the funds made profits. These professed amounts, and those actually paid to earlier investors are funds received from later investors. The fraud is revealed usually when a large number of investors wish to withdraw their investments at the same time, particularly when there is insufficient in-flow of money from new investors. Thus, Bernard Madoff duped investors of an estimated amount of more than $50 billion, by the time the fraudulent scheme was uncover ed (Mannino, 2010). Madoff’s alleged Ponzi had a reach across the globe of more than $50 billion. The sustained durability of the fraud for nearly two decades is considered to be due to Jewish money managers, severe regulatory shortcomings including ineptitude, and probable conflicts of interest by Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other regulators and auditors. Madoff appears to have taken actions that reveal him as an equal opportunity thief, who unashamedly misappropriated funds from close relatives and charities in his scheme (Vinod, 2009). One of the main reasons for Madoff’s attracting a wide following was that he â€Å"delivered consistently high returns with very low volatility over a long period† (Bernard & Boyle, 2009, p.3). His technique to obtain these low risk returns was to use a split-strike conversion strategy. This requires taking a long position in equities together with a short call, and a l ong put on equity index to lower the volatility of the position. It was eventually revealed that these returns were false. The Madoff case raises obvious questions on why it was not discovered earlier, and the reasons for investors and regulators to miss the various red flags. The need for risk management and regulation through improved capital requirements for operational risk, is evident from the implications of

Film and Popular Cinema Essay Example for Free

Film and Popular Cinema Essay After reading this week’s assignment and researching different types of film and popular cinema, I have realized some of the differences between the two. I always thought they were the same thing but found that to be far from the truth. Film is a way of putting art into motion. I viewed several pieces on different websites, in particular, on YouTube. I watched one called White Noise. It had no plot or storyline, but showed very interesting art concepts and pieces. Many artists made work addressing social, sexual and racial issues, renewing links with what survived of the ‘community video’ movement of the 1970s. By 1990 video installations had featured in several large international exhibitions and were a familiar presence in galleries and museums, assuming fresh authority through the work of such artists as Gary Hill and Marie-Jo Lafontaine. Read more:  Philippine Cinema Analysis Essay Artists making single-screen work exhibited increasingly on television, and the medium of video was merging with that of the computer. Film, no longer novel nor wholly dependent on a gallery context, had become part of an increasingly elaborate network of electronic communication (Mick Hartney, 2009). Popular cinema is designed around selling tickets and making money at the expense of catering to the demands of global audiences. An example of popular cinema is any of the Twilight movies. They are movies produced from the novels written by Stephanie Meyer. The first movie was a huge success, making audience demand for a sequel a high priority of the producers and distribution companies. The same result came of the sequel and they made the third. Originally, the deal was to make a movie for each book, but if the movies did not succeed in the box office the projects would have been terminated. As, a matter of fact, it is so successful that the last movie based on the last book has been split in half to make two more subsequent movies instead of one. I find myself appreciating both of these forms of art. I have opened up when it comes to  the appreciation of art because I have learned the subtle, and some not so subtle differences between different art forms. References Hartney, M. (2009). Video Art. Retrieved from http://www.moma.org/collection/details.php?theme_id=10215 Sayre, H. M. (2010). A World of Art (6th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

The Performance Appraisal Process Management Essay

The Performance Appraisal Process Management Essay The essence of the concept of the HRM is that people working in the organization are viewed as a valuable resource. If these people are managed properly, they can boost productivity through commitment and capability. HRM lays emphasis on the importance of integrating personnel functions (recruitment, selection, appraisal, reward, development, industrial relations, grievance and discipline, retirement, redundancy, dismissal) into the overall strategic management of the organization. All organizations evaluate the performance of their employees to find out their relative worth for the job they are doing. Performance is being related to the productivity, it is crucial for the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Effective performance for the organization means that output can be maintained with fewer numbers of employees. Performing effectively is also of crucial importance to the employee because organizations can no longer tolerate poor performance, they (employees) are m ore likely to be dismissed. The effective management performance, therefore, is not only vital for the long-term survival of the organizations but is also a moral obligation on the employees. Performance appraisal is considered as the systematic evaluation of individuals to their performance on the job and their potentials for development (Dale S. Beach, 1980: 290). Wendell French has defined performance appraisal as a systematic and periodic assessment of how employees are doing their jobs in relation to established norms and the communication of that kind of assessment to employees. It is a process of evaluation an employees job performance with respect to its requirements. A systematic performance appraisal provides information for making decisions about various issues such as promotions, pay increases, layoffs, training and development and transfers. It is managements powerful tool in controlling human resource and productivity. Managers can improve an employees job performance through clarifying expectations and evaluating performance. Employees also, in general, prefer having some kind of appraisal to develop an appropriate vision of their own effectiveness and opportunities (Wood, 1988). Formal performance appraisal can meet the three needs, one of the organization and the other two of the individuals within the organization: It provides systematic judgments to back up salary increase, transfer, demotion or termination. It is the means of communicating to subordinates the behavior, attitudes, skills or job knowledge and let him know where he stands. It is used as a base for coaching and counseling the individual by his superior. The effective management of performance is not only vital for the survival of the organization but is also in the best interest of the employees. The underlying assumption of performance management is that the individual employees can satisfy their needs and objectives by contributing to the attainment of the organizations objectives. This may result in employees motivation and greater job-satisfaction which is at the core of HRM (Foot and Hook 2008). The performance appraisal process generally consists of the following six steps as depicted in Figure 1 (Decenzo and Robbins, 1998). Figure 1. The Performance Appraisal Process Establishment of performance standards Communicate the performance expectations to employees Measure actual amount of performance Compare the actual performance with standards Discuss appraisal with the employee If necessary, take corrective action Performance appraisal begins with the establishment of clear and objective standards of performance evolved out of job analysis and job description. These standards need to be communicated to the employees. Subordinates have to receive and understand the information properly. The third step is the measurement of the actual performance. For this, four measures can be utilized by managers, namely, personal observation, satisfied reports, oval reports and written reports. The fourth step is the comparing of the actual performance with standards. If any deviations are found between standards and actual performance, the manager may proceed to the fifth step to discuss the appraisal with the employees. Final step of appraisal is taking corrective action when it requires The objectives of performance appraisal can be classified by different ways but according to (Harrison, 1995) to the objectives of performance appraisal are i. administrative: which determine orderly way of promotion, transfers and increase of payment. ii. Informative: supplying the relevant data to management team according to performance of subordinates and weakness and strengths of individual. iii. Motivational: create good environment to employee which motivate staff to develop themselves and to improve their performance According to (Randell, et al. 1972) the main purpose of staff appraisal is to evaluate, auditing, constructing succession plans, motivating staff, developing individuals and checking. Similarly according to (Lefton, 1997 ) performance appraisal can be defined by mainly four characteristics a. its formal b. it tries to find out why and how a subordinates is doing the job c. it tries to explore how subordinate can do better way in a job d.it always tries to produce benefits for subordinate, the organization and the superior. Performance evaluation systems in Nepalese organizations are mandatory. The results of performance appraisal are not used in terms of career development, reward management and employee training and development. The results are mostly used to decide whether to promote employees or not (Adhikari, 2006). The main purpose of performance evaluation in government and public enterprises is the promotion of employees. It is not used for performance feedback to employees, reward management and identifying the needs of training and development. In civil service, 40 percent of performance appraisal is confidential and thus non transparent to employee (Agrawal, 2001). Three different approaches exist for doing appraisals. Employees can be appraised against (i) absolute standards, (ii) relative standards, or (iii) objectives (MBO). However, no one approach is always best. Absolute standards are individual oriented whereas relative standards rank individuals. Management by objectives facilitates continuous improvement of performance results. Most of the private sector enterprises in Nepal lack systematic performance appraisal system. Personal judgment and subjective assessment of owner-manager serves as the key criteria for performance appraisal (Agrawal, 1982). Formal and systematic performance appraisal system was non-existent in tea industry of Nepal. Promotion is the vertical movement of an individual in an organizations hierarchy, enhanced status, accompanied by increased responsibilities, and usually with increased income, though it is not always so (Monappa and Engineer, 1999). It is the advancement of an employee to a higher job-rank in the organizational hierarchy accompanied by a pay rise (Pigors and Myers, 1981: 303). Employees consider their ultimate success of their career and performance in terms of the number and frequency of promotion they get during their service. Yoder et al observed that promotion gives incentive to initiative, ambition and enterprise, unrest and minimizes discontent, attracts capable personalities, appropriate logical training of advancement, and forms and effective reward for cooperation and loyalty, long term service, etc. (Yoder,1979). It increases satisfaction in the employees that their talents and capabilities are being recognized. In turn, they trust the organization and devote for the acco mplishment of organizational goals and objectives. In Nepal, the Civil Service Act was promulgated in 1956 which stated that promotion should be given to civil service personnel on the basis of work efficiency (Civil Service rule, 1993). Many changes have been done in the promotion system of the employee in the government organization since that time. The Administrative Reform Commission formed under the chairmanship of Mr. Vedananda Jha suggested that the promotion criteria for civil service personnel should include (a) seniority, (b) experience, (c) academic qualification and training, and (d) departmental performance report including co-operative attitude. Another Administration Reform Commission formed under the chairmanship of Mr. B.B. Thapa noted as promotion occupied special importance in the career development of employees, so capability to hold higher promotion and the capacity to perform the work satisfactory in the present position were the main criteria of promotion (Government of Nepal, 1996, Report of Commission). Amend ments were done in the Civil Service Rules in 1978 and 1983. Similarly the Administrative Reform Committee formed under the chairmanship of the then prime-minister Mr. G.P. Koirala in 1991 emphasized performance oriented promotion system. The new Civil Service Act, 1993 laid stress on performance ability with criteria such as past performance, seniority, work experience of remote area, and academic qualification. Similarly, the comparative weight-ages of promotion criteria of civil service employees were changed after 1992. NASCs study on promotion system of civil services stated that there was lack of clarity in its purpose and no consistency in the average promotion period between level and services. The risk of subjectivity in merit rating was a major apprehension in the minds of civil servants for giving more weight to merit rating. Even the performance evaluators views were in favor of no link of the promotion with the performance. Basic perquisites for sound performance appraisal practices, such as clear organizational and sectional objectives, individual job descriptions, adequate and reliable information system etc. were not properly provided in the civil service. Majorities were in favor of number allotting 50 percent of seats to the promotion by competitive examination as compared to the exiting 25 percent, in some cases even less. Williams (1972) ascertained that managers lacked adequate means or determination to control the motivation and productivity of their workforce. Job description, performance appraisal and output indicators were non-existent; rewards and sanctions were irrationally applied; salaries were not genuinely related to knowledge and or effort requirements; offices had inadequate facilities; poor co-operation and limited delegation. The top of the decision making level was congested by trivialities while middle-level staff were in a soporific frenzy over the responsibilities for complex planning and fiscal matter. The review presented above fairly indicates that the limited attempts have been made to study personnel / HR management practices in public and private enterprises of Nepal. Those studies have shed light on some aspects of personnel / HR management, however, the concluding remark indicates that personnel /HR management in the past remained neglected areas of management. This review also indicates that no systematic attempts have been made to study HRM practices in tea industry of Nepal. This knowledge gap has called for a systematic study which could bridge up such a gap. The present study is an attempt in that direction. Tea industry which is leading position in the national economy is growing extensively mainly in the eastern region of Nepal. It is, being one of the most labor intensive, agro-based industries; it involves a great deal of workforce, which provides direct employment to about 41000 workforces. After the privatization of Nepal Tea Development Corporation in 2000, the change in ownership is also accompanied by deep changes in organizational procedures and culture that could have a profound effect on enterprise behavior and performance (Manandhar, 1998). There have been only a few research studies in the field of human resource management in private enterprises of Nepal. And there has not yet been any specific research conducted in HRM in tea industry of Nepal. So, in view of the poor research-based on HRM and the lack of knowledge existing in this field, the research work is virtually called for the streamlining of HRM practices. Research can lead to an increased understanding of an improvement in HRM practices. It can provide insights for managers as they attempt to increase employee productivity and satisfaction while reducing absences and turnover. Research can also identify potential problem areas related to HRM. Industry background The golden beginning of tea plantation in Nepal dates back to the year 1863, with the first tea processing factory was established in the year 1878, in Ilam Tea Estate. In 1959 Budhkaran Tea Estate was established at Jhapa which was the first tea estate in private sector. Soon after this venture, Satighatta, Nakkalbanda, Mittal, Giribandhu Tea Estates and Himalaya Tea Garden were established. The establishment of Nepal Tea Development Corporation (NTDC) in 1966 is considered to be a landmark to augment the tea cultivation. Generally, two types of tea orthodox and CTC (Crush, tear and curl) are produced in Nepal. At present, there are 128 tea estates and 45 tea processing factories as registered in NTCDB. Basing on the previous statistical figure of total tea plantation area of 16420 hectares, and multiplying by 2.47 persons per hectare, it is estimated that about 41000 people are employed in tea industry of Nepal Tea industry which is considered as the backbone of national economy of Nepal but there has not yet been any specific research conducted in HRM in tea industry of Nepal. So, in view of the poor research-based on HRM and the lack of knowledge existing in this field, the research work is virtually called for the streamlining of HRM practices. Research can lead to an increased understanding of an improvement in HRM practices. It will provide insights for managers as they attempt to increase employee productivity and satisfaction while reducing absences and turnover. Research aim, research questions or hypothesis and objectives Research aim: The research aims is to investigate the employee performance appraisal system in an organization. Research question Is the performance appraisal practice key to pay rise, training and development, promotion or termination of the employee in the tea industry of Nepal? Research objectives The specific objectives of this study are: 1. To examine how employee performance is appraised in an organization. 2. To evaluate the effectiveness of performance appraisal system in the organization. 3. To analyze the relationship between performance appraisal and the factors like pay rise, training and development, promotion or termination of employee in an organization. Research Methodology The research philosophy applied for this research project will be phenomenological instead of positivist philosophy and the researcher will analyse and explain the purpose of research through the qualitative methods. 4.1. Research Philosophies: Positivism and Phenomenology Phenomenology as a philosophy, propounded by Edmund Husserl in the 20th century which is concerned with the systematic analyses and reflection of consciousness, structures and phenomena as it approaches in the act of consciousness. The reflection in the phenomenological philosophy is to be done through the first person viewpoint which is highly modified first person. According to Saunders et al. (2000) explained the significant differences between these two approaches of research which is very useful for this study to make concise choice. Regarding the worldview Saunders et al say that phenomenology describes world is subjective which is socially constructed whereas Positivism philosophy says that the world is objective and external. In terms of their basic beliefs they further say that positivism define that the observer is independent in his or her observation, converse to this, phenomenological view says that the observer cant be isolated from what is being observed rather than th e observer is a part of what is being observed. In positivism Science is taken as free of value contrary phenomenological philosophy takes the human interest in science. Phenomenology view says that human interest is to colour the science. Taking into consideration of research nature the research the researcher finds phenomenological philosophy opt for this study. Collis and Hussey (2003) says that phenomenological research provides qualitative data which is well matched with this research, as the qualitative data by its nature is subjective and rich because there is a significant level of participation of the researcher. Besides these facts, the research setting is the commercial organization which is natural setting rather than laboratory setting of the positivistic philosophy. 4.2. Qualitative and Quantitative Research Mainly there are mainly two kinds of research where researcher can apply any one of them or mix both qualitative and quantitative as per their demand of the research topic. In this study, researcher will use qualitative approach with the definition of Collis and Hussey (2003) who says, qualitative research as an approach of study which is subjective and tries to explore and understand the social and human activities which includes reflection and examination on perceptions. Performance appraisal as such is a subjective in nature which is related to the study of human behaviour with a fixed organizational setting. Inductive and Deductive Research The choice between two methods of research as inductive and deductive is also depends on the nature of the study. The deductive research which begins with theory and later tested through empirical observation. In this study, inductive approach will be used where researcher moves from the particular to general. 4.4 Source of Data In the initial phase of investigation, a comprehensive study of various relevant materials books, reports, research works etc. will be done. Both the primary sources and secondary sources of data collection tools will be applied. While collecting data from primary sources, multi-data collecting method i.e. triangulation method will be applied. The researcher will prepare the questionnaires that elicit the facts regarding the personal appraisal system in the organization. In the second phase, the researcher will visit the different tea states with semi structure interview schedules, design to get information on what was being done and how was it being done relating to various aspects of employee performance and appraisal process. Then after first field study, he will construct some research questions regarding to structure interview for pilot study. So, at last with the help of pilot study he will fully prepare research question for structure interview for different employee as worke rs, managers and assistant. The researcher thinks that collecting data from different methods helps the researcher understand the phenomenon more deeply and increases the reliability and validity of the data. The secondary data will be collected from various published and unpublished reports, records and documents of Central Bureau of Statistics, Labor Department / Office, Center for Economic Development and Administration of TU, Nepal Tea and Coffee Development Board, Agro Enterprise Center under Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Data will also be collected from publications of different national and international institutions, research works, books and relevant articles published in different journals, magazines and newspapers etc. and will review for obtaining necessary information. 4.5. Sampling Procedure: The sampling method for selecting the tea estates will be judgmental sampling. The tea estates for this study will select mainly on the basis of their size of plantation, number of employees, and production performance of the companies representing both corporate and private sector, and hilly as well as Terai region. For this study, five leading tea estates having their own processing factories will be selected comprising two tea estates from corporate sector, namely Kanyam tea state from hilly area of Ilam and Tokala from Jhapa district. On the other hand three tea estates from the private sector, namely, Budhkaran, Satighatta and Giribhandhu will be chosen from Jhapa district. Five employees from different level of each estate will be considered as a sample. So sample of this study will be 30. Analysis of Data: After the collection of data from both primary and secondary sources most of the processing work, tabulation and calculations will be conducted manually in the beginning. Data will classify into different groups and finally they will be presented in tabular forms. Similarly, the respondents views and opinions will be analyzed in terms of different levels of employees such as managers / officers, assistants and laborers. The analyses of data will be made with the help of relevant statistical tools such as simple average, percentage and chi-square tests. For computation and statistical analysis electronic scientific calculator and computer will be used. Research ethics While conducting the research we requires certain disciplines .It embodies certain goals and norms which the researcher need to maintain coordination between the actions or activities they applied and maintain which establish the public trust of the discipline. Ethical standard helps the researcher to maintain knowledge and truth to minimise the error. It is essential to avoid misrepresentation, fabrication, and falsification of data. Some ethical issues as honesty, integrity, objectivity, carefulness, openness will be carefully considered while conducting the research. . This study will reveal a clear picture about the existing state of HRM practices in tea industry. The outcome of the study may serve as a research infrastructure on which further researches can be built. And the information and conclusions derived from this study may be useful and helpful for practicing managers, as well as planners, policy makers and other agencies concerned, through better understanding of HRM practices relating to tea industry. Thus, it is a modest attempt towards examining and understanding HRM practices in tea industry of Nepal. Also, researcher has a good taste of knowledge and highly interested about tea industry of Nepal from the very beginning. So the research topic will be significance for researcher. Human resource is the most important resource in an underdeveloped country like Nepal which can be mobilized or managed for the overall development of the country. But in practice, very little attention has been given to the management of human resources in any organizational setting. Consequently Nepalese industries have been facing various HR problems such as low employee-morale, low productivity and greater tension between labor and management. Timescale After the proposal has been accepted by the University of Wales the following time line will be followed to complete the research work: Figure 2. Gantt chart: Months and weeks→ Activities ↓ April Weeks↓ May Weeks↓ June Weeks↓ July Weeks↓ 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Read literature Conform objectives Draft literature review Field survey with semi structure interview schedule Research question for structure interview for pilot study Pilot study of interview Prepare research question for final interview Conduct final interview with employee and fill up questionnaire Tabulation of raw data Analysis . Writing thesis Deadline à ¢Ã…’Å ¡ Resources Both primary and secondary sources will be used in the study. In the initial phase of investigation, a comprehensive study of various relevant materials books, reports, research works etc. will be done. The secondary data for this study will be used from previous research works, books and relevant articles published in different journals, magazines and newspapers etc. In the first stage of primary data , the tea estates were visited with the semi-structured interview schedules design to get information on what was being done and how was it being done. With that information from first visit, more reliable semi structure interview will be designed and piloted with 7 non-sampled employees of different levels such as managers, assistants and workers. Finally, revise structure interview schedules will be construct and administer to the 25 sample employees with different level.

The End of the World Essay -- Movies Films Science Fiction Essays

The End of the World In writing definitively about American films of the nineteen fifties, Douglas Brode refers to the societal hysteria resulting from fear of both the communist threat and the possibility of nuclear war. Accompanying this general state of mind was the emergence of the science fiction film as a major genre. Titles in the genre dealt with fantasy topics ranging from alien invasion (The Thing, 1951, or Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956), to biologial "missing links" (The Creature from the Black Lagoon, 1954), to the bizarre side-effects of nuclear contamination (The Incredible Shrinking Man, 1957), or to actual nuclear war (The World, the Flesh and The Devil, 1959). Another interesting example of this last category is Stanley Kramer's On the Beach, released in the last month of a decade which would be remembered for its omnipresent bomb culture. As the turn of the decade approached, some changes were apparent. At the same time that exchanges between Eisenhower and Khrushchev were bringing new, less frightening discourses to the political arena, Kramer's film in the bomb culture tradition negotiated new approaches to the depiction of the nuclear threat. As is so often the case in genre studies, On the Beach should be considered in terms of how it is representative of the context from which it emerged, but also in terms of what makes it unique. Through such an examination, as well as a survey of the impact that the film had upon its audiences, I hope to discuss On the Beach as integral in a culture of the bomb which spoke proactively and unequivocally against nuclear armament. Bomb Culture & Science Fiction in the Fifties "As the notion of an all-out nuclear confrontation became a viable possibility, w... ...reatly changed from Arnold's day) for their evocation of some part of each of us which reaches toward others in defense against a world which can be truly frightening. On the Beach is much the same. Aesthetically and narratively, it is impressive; it would be difficult not to be moved by the final honest exchange between Admiral Bridie and Lieut. Hosgood; the reflection of the young husband and wife as they recall their first meeting; or the chilling void of a grey, white and black world in which people used to live. Produced as part of the culture under- the-bomb, On the Beach speaks memorably of that specific context; produced as a carefully planned passionate requiem on the potency and vulnerability of human existence, it transcends this context, and reminds us today that no matter what the threat, as long as there is the human spirit, there is "still time."

Detroitism

Historical Oblivion John Patrick Leary’s essay, Detroitism  explores the most common rhetoric that Detroit as a city and a symbol often falls  victim  to the validity of ‘ruin porn’ which attempts to document but often exploits its history. Leary is an  American literature teacher  at Wayne State University in Detroit. His essay explores in-depth the shallowness of popular ruin pornographers, Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, photographs from their book, The Ruins of Detroit,  as well as other popular photographers.He also  outlines the three â€Å"Detroit Stories,† which are typical  attitudes  regarding Detroit news and media discussion. He intends to reveal a point he thinks is of reasonable importance to readers’. His essay is one with a valid message. However it can be difficult to understand exactly what he means at times as he shifts from criticism to defence of the photographers he mentions, which can sometime confuse them in to getting to different conclusions. Nevertheless, he does eventually secure a crucial point that stands out to most readers.According to John Patrick Leary, â€Å"Detroit remains the Mecca of urban ruins. † Leary notes that ruin photography is often deemed â€Å"pornographic,† and questions how photographs of a crumbling city can really tell us why that city crumbles. Where ruin photography succeeds is â€Å"in compelling us† to ask the questions necessary to put this story together—Detroit’s story, but also the increasingly familiar story of urban America in an era of prolonged economic crisis. He adjusts his writing in an effort to unveil a different view of Detroit’s past to the readers.In Leary’s view, most people are completely blinded by the fascination conveyed in the photographs and are unaware of the events that actually took place in the city. One example of ruin-porn Leary chooses to criticize is an extract from The Britis h filmmaker Julien Temple’s   Ã¢â‚¬ËœDetroit: The Last Days’: â€Å"In their shadows, the glazed eyes of the street zombies slide into view, stumbling in front of the car. Our excitement at driving into what feels like a man-made hurricane Katrina is matched only by sheer disbelief that what was once the fourth-largest city in the U. S. ould actually be in the process of disappearing from the face of the earth. † Leary describes this style as the locally denounced â€Å"ruin porn,† as all the elements are present: the exuberant connoisseurship of dereliction; the unembarrassed rejoicing at the â€Å"excitement† of it all, hastily balanced by the liberal posturing of sympathy for a â€Å"man-made Katrina;† and most importantly, the absence of people other than those he calls, cruelly, â€Å"street zombies. † Leary’s point is that the city and its people aren’t properly mentioned for they mean nothing to Detroit authors; their only interest is to come up with something readers find fascinating.This is exactly what Leary disapproves of and is the main purpose of his essay. According to Leary, no photograph can adequately identify the origins for Detroit’s contemporary ruination; all it can represent is the spectacular wreckage left behind in the present, after decades of deindustrialization, housing discrimination, suburbanization, drug violence, municipal corruption and incompetence, highway construction, and other forms of urban renewal that have taken their terrible tolls.The point behind his writing is to, at which to some extent he succeeds, change the reader’s view of Detroit by explaining the reality of the city’s past and allowing readers to imagine themselves in the past citizens’ unpleasant positions, at the time of the city’s downfall. John mentions what is most unsettling to him—but also most troubling—in Moore’s photos is their res istance to any narrative content or explication.For example, he describes Moore’s shot of a grove of birch trees growing out of rotting books in a warehouse as being a sign of Detroit’s stubborn persistence, and that it could easily be a visual joke on the city’s supposed intellectual and physical decrepitude, a bad joke that does not need repeating. Leary seems to disapprove of every photographer he mentions but only to some extent. What he thinks makes this subgenre of urban expose particularly contemporary, though, is the historical and economic phenomenon it struggles to represent, a phenomenon the newness of which few of us can adequately comprehend.He tries to break things down to make it easier to understand his reasoning. Another issue Leary discusses is how the city fascinates as it is a condensed, emphatic example of the trials of so many American cities in an era of globalization, which has brought with it intensified economic instability and seemingl y intractable joblessness. The implied message here is that people don’t realize that they themselves are at risk of sharing Detroit’s fate caused by economic struggles we face today. It’s a clear example of how that term, these days at least, increasingly looks like an optimistic delusion.Leary thinks it may have always been this way, and shows that he’s not satisfied. In viewing  Detroit Disassembled  and  The Ruins of Detroit, according to Leary, one is conscious of nothing so much as failure of the city itself. Neither do the photographs communicate anything more than that self-evident fact. It is difficult to see through the pictures to discover the past. This is the meta-irony of these often ironic pictures: Though they trade on the peculiarity of Detroit as living ruin, these are pictures of historical oblivion.Leary emphasizes that Detroit figures as either a nightmare image of the American Dream, where equal opportunity and abundance came t o die, or as an updated image of it, where people from expansive coastal cities can have the one-hundred-dollar house and community garden of their dreams. Although not directly mentioned, it is clear that this essay was not written only for the sake of Detroit, but rather to introduce a more realistic view of the world, one that Leary thinks the most people misunderstand.Leary tries to support his personal perspective with examples of situations that seem almost identical, providing more opportunities for readers to grab his ideas. It seems he’s so determined to making sure the reader grabs the accurate idea of the events in his writing that he, although it’s not very noticeable, uses guilt to persuade the reader about what he considers to be wrong views of Detroit’s past, which does not work in every approach.This may be due to the drawn conclusion of Leary trying to change the reader, which is understandably taken in disapproval, as readers like to have their own thoughts on implied matters in a reading. Most readers like to be entertained instead of being informed, although it is those readers who need to be informed. This doesn’t mean that his writing is offensive; it just isn’t balanced in a way that makes sense to everyone. At the end of his essay, Leary lessens his criticism about the photography and actually states what they do right. He starts to show a bit of appreciation as well.At that point, he starts to explain his analysis of the photographers’ work as incomplete. He mentions how Photographers like Moore, Marchand, and Meffre succeed in compelling us to ask the questions necessary to put this story together, Detroit’s story, but also the increasingly-familiar story of urban America in an era of prolonged economic crisis. He believes that the fact that they themselves fail to do so testifies not only to the limitations of any still image, but our collective failure to imagine what Detroit’s future, our collective urban future, holds for us all.The decontextualized aesthetics of ruin make them pictures of nothing and no place in particular. Detroit in these artists’ work is a mass of unique details that fails to tell a complete story. â€Å"But it’s a bit more than that,† Leary says, as he tries to explain that their photographs aren’t necessarily wrong, but rather that they are missing an important side of Detroit’s history, one that is crucial to our understanding of its future.

Explain the Relation between Trade and World Output

World output or global output represents the sum of the entire amount of goods and services produced by all the countries of the world for a certain period of time. In simple terms, if each country produces a pair of shoes, a computer and a sack of coffee, multiply that by the total number of countries in the world to get global output. On the other hand trade, or more correctly international trade, is the exchange of goods and services across international borders. Since it is impossible for all the countries to produce similar products, trade allows countries to focus on products that they have an advantage in producing over other countries. A classic example is crude oil. Not all countries have an abundant supply of oil – the reason why Middle East countries sell their excess oil to countries that need them. Trade encourages effective and efficient use of a country’s resources. A country that is more proficient in growing coffee could forgo the manufacture of computers and shoes and increase their yield of coffee to ten sacks of coffee and trade some of these excess coffee to a country that has an advantage at making shoes and computers. Following the logic of this interaction, as a country becomes more efficient in producing goods and services its total output also increases. And, as all the other countries increase their total output, world output ultimately increases. Describe the broad pattern of international trade International trade has been evolving at a much faster pace after World War II. Much of the evolution of trade in present times is attributed to rapid advancements in technology. Production of goods is now done at a much faster and more efficient rate – lowering overall manufacturing cost and doubling-up output. At the same time, it is now faster to ship goods to any point in the globe and attendant support communication facilities have improved tremendously. According to statistics from the World Trade Organization (the organization tasked to oversee international trade): –   75 percent of the global exports come from developed countries, while only 25 percent are from developing ones. – 83 percent of exports from developed countries are manufactured goods, accounting for 62 percent of total world exports. – Manufactured goods from developing countries are growing – now registered at 56 percent of their total exports — and account 14 percent of the world total. – Today, more primary products are being exported by developed countries than by developing countries: 14% of world exports, compared with 11% by developing countries. If the nations of the world were to suddenly cut off all trade with one another,  what products might you no longer be able to obtain in your country? An obvious answer is oil since it is one of the top imports of the country. Still, other items would be woodcrafts and furniture and certain agricultural products like rubber and natural oils. If the other trading country is China, products that will no longer be available here are office equipment, shoes and other articles of apparel, telecom and sound equipment, and, professional and scientific equipment. Choose one other country and identify the products it would need to do without In the case of China, products that would no longer be available in that country are electrical and heavy machineries, mineral fuel, oil, seeds and fruits, organic chemicals, iron and steel, aircraft and spacecraft, and cotton, yarn and fabrics. Discuss trade patterns Trade patterns deal with what goods and services a country trades, with whom, and in what direction. Trade patterns are studied in two ways: through the pattern of movement in commodities like oil, capital and raw materials, and, through factor contents or the amounts of primary factors used in the production of goods. Trade patterns reveal the current state of international trade, the direction it is heading and its effect on overall global output. Trade patterns also reveal emerging markets as well as markets that are on the decline. Trade patterns also influenced by global events that do not deal directly with international trade. These events include the September 11 attacks, SARS and the war in the Middle East. The current trade pattern reveals an interesting trend: prior to World War II, primary commodities came mostly from developing countries whereas manufactured products came mostly from developed countries. After the WW II, the trend has reversed and that reversal continues up to the present. Explain the methods governments use to promote and restrict international trade International trade is generally regulated and controlled via imposition of tariffs. Nations carry out such measures in three ways: on their own (unilateral); in agreement with another country (bilateral); or, in agreement with several other countries (multilateral). Non-tariff measures include imposition of quotas and voluntary export restraints (VERs) – a restriction on a country's imports that is achieved by negotiating with the foreign exporting country for it to restrict its exports. To promote international trade, countries give concessions like preferential trading agreements (PTAs), custom unions and common markets. Custom unions are groups of countries that who adopt zero tariffs and no other restrictions on trade when trading among them. Common markets on the other hand, are groups of countries, who choose to eliminate all barriers to movement of both goods and factors among themselves. References World Trade Report: 2006 (2006). World Trade Organization. Retrieved October 30, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/world_trade_report_e.htm Deardorff, A. (2001). Deardorff's Glossary of International Economics. Retrieved October 30, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/glossary/    Morrison, W. (2007). China-US Trade Issues. Retrieved October 30, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33536.pdf    Wild, J. Wild, K., & Han J. (2006). International Business. Prentice Hall   

The Right to Baptize Essay

The Right to Baptize Essay The Right to Baptize Essay THE RIGHT TO BAPTIZE A sixteenth century radical group of believers, who became known as the Anabaptists, greatly influenced modern day Baptists by their faith and sacrifice. The Anabaptists, along with many other believers who were frustrated with Roman Catholic rule, took part in the Reformation that birthed the Protestantism which so many Christians can appreciate today. The freedom that we experience today as American Protestants was merely a dream to the Anabaptists. They were martyred by the thousands for their unwavering beliefs. In fact, during the reformation years 4000-5000 Anabaptists were executed by fire, water, or sword.[1] Keith L. Sprunger gave a great description of their faith and zeal when he wrote, â€Å"To their fellow believers, the Anabaptist martyrs were spiritual heroes. Through the speaking and singing with Christlike demeanor in the hour of death, the martyrs acted out ‘effectual sermons’ which touched the hearts and eyes of all who watched them.†[2] One would be inclined to believe that modern day Baptists, along with all other American Protestant Christians, could never properly process this scene, as we ha ve never been faced with such persecution nor had to display our faith to this degree. To question whether or not modern Christians would be willing to die over issues such as infant baptism would only reveal a far less zealous conviction in the present. The Anabaptists played a major role in the birth of Protestantism, in which Baptists represent a large number. Shelly wrote, â€Å"In their belief in the separation of church and state the Anabaptists proved to be forerunners of practically all modern Protestants.†[3]After the Second Diet of Worms in 1529, the Anabaptists were part of the evangelical minority, which included the Sacramentarians, who could only offer a protest against their eradication. The word ‘Protestant’ was a result of this protest.[4] The Anabaptists did not actually like the name they were given, which means rebaptizer. In fact, they much preferred the name Baptist. Although, their fundamental view was not Baptism, â€Å"it was the nature of the church and its relation to civil governments.† [5] Perhaps the Anabaptists largest contribution was their zeal for the separation of church and state. The Anabaptists’ reasoning for rebellion may be best described in this paragraph read out of the book titled, â€Å"The Free Church.† Further it was declared that it was not fitting for a Christian to be a member of the Government. Reason? The worldly government is according to the flesh, but the Christian according to the spirit. Their house and dwelling is fleshly in this world, the Christian’s in heaven†¦. Their strife and weapons of war are fleshly and against flesh alone; but the Christian weapons are spiritual, against the fortress of the devil. The worldly are equipped with armor only against the flesh but the Christians are equipped with the armor of God- truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God.[6] The Mennonites are considered to be modern day Anabaptists. In the book, Christ and Culture, the author states that, â€Å"the Mennonites best represent Protestant Sectarianism, since they not only renounce all participation in politics and refuse to be drawn into military service, but follow their own distinctive customs and regulations in economics and education.† [7] The Mennonites are their direct descendants when one considers their defiance to government rule. However, they are the extreme when considering the beginning goal of the Anabaptist movement. The reason in which the Anabaptists defied the government in the beginning was their disagreement in infant baptism, due to their strong belief in believer baptism. This caused a conflict with the government because infant baptism was a way the government was able to keep census. Their strong beliefs regarding believer baptism set them in the direction of the yet to be formed Baptist Church.

The Eichmann Trial

The Eichmann Trial After being found and captured in Argentina, Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann, known as the architect of the Final Solution, was put on trial in Israel in 1961. Eichmann was found guilty and sentenced to death. At midnight between May 31 and June 1, 1962, Eichmann was executed by hanging. The Capture of Eichmann At the end of World War II, Adolf Eichmann, like many top Nazi leaders, attempted to flee defeated Germany. After hiding in various locations within Europe and the Middle East, Eichmann eventually managed to escape to Argentina, where he lived for a number of years with his family under an assumed name. In the years after World War II, Eichmann, whose name had come up numerous times during the Nuremberg Trials, had become one of the most wanted Nazi war criminals. Unfortunately, for many years, no one knew where in the world Eichmann was hiding. Then, in 1957, the Mossad (the Israeli secret service) received a tip: Eichmann may be living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After several years of unsuccessful searches, Mossad received another tip: Eichmann was most likely living under the name of Ricardo Klement. This time, a team of secret Mossad agents was sent to Argentina to find Eichmann. On March 21, 1960, the agents had not only found Klement, they were certain he was the Eichmann they had been hunting for years. On May 11, 1960, the Mossad agents captured Eichmann while he was walking from a bus stop to his home. They then took Eichmann to a secret location until they were able to smuggle him out of Argentina nine days later. On May 23, 1960, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion made the surprise announcement to the Knesset (Israels parliament) that Adolf Eichmann was under arrest in Israel and was soon to be put on trial. The Trial of Eichmann Adolf Eichmanns trial began on April 11, 1961 in Jerusalem, Israel. Eichmann was charged with 15 counts of crimes against the Jewish people, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and membership in a hostile organization. Specifically, the charges accused Eichmann of being responsible for the enslavement, starvation, persecution, transportation and murder of millions of Jews as well as the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Poles and Gypsies. The trial was to be a showcase of the horrors of the Holocaust. Press from around the world followed the details, which helped educate the world about what really happened under the Third Reich. As Eichmann sat behind a specially made bullet-proof glass cage, 112 witnesses told their story, in specific detail, of the horrors they experienced. This, plus 1,600 documents recording the implementation of the Final Solution were submitted against Eichmann. Eichmanns main line of defense was that he was just following orders and that he just played a small role in the killing process. Three judges heard the evidence. The world waited for their decision. The court found Eichmann guilty on all 15 counts and on December 15, 1961 sentenced Eichmann to death. Eichmann appealed the verdict to Israels supreme court but on May 29, 1962 his appeal was rejected. Near midnight between May 31 and June 1, 1962, Eichmann was executed by hanging. His body was then cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.

IS Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IS Security - Essay Example Therefore, manufacturers have come up with security systems that protect the operating system and application from attackers, but this system do not ensure 100 percent security guarantee. However, those produced for operating system are proving more effective than those developed for application due to various factors addressed in this paper. This has made most people come to a conclusion that there is less attention to applications compared to the operating system, which is not the case. Why a good level of security is achieved in operating systems than applications The frequent patching and updating of operating system limits the chances of attackers from attacking the system. On the contrary, it appears that operating systems get more attention than applications. This section provides information on why there is a perception that operating systems have higher levels of security than applications. ... On2 the same note, other types of threats that should be considered are interceptions, modification, fabrication and interruptions, which are similar to the threats experienced in computer applications.2 Applications run on the operating systems. Therefore, it is easy for an attacker to use the application file or vulnerability to attack the operating system either through one application or by infecting other applications. This enables the user or system administrator to detect the attack before affecting the operating system, hence the misconception that security threats are more prevalent in applications than operating systems. One difference between operating system security issue and application is file permissions. An example of this is when an application misunderstands the semantics of an operating system file or totally omits a check. This problem does not occur in operating systems; this stems from the fact that any attempt to open a given file will prompt a permission chec k as the file permissions link to individual files.2 On the other hand, some operating systems mechanisms result to complex security issues for the applications used today. Operating systems are not flexible in offering support, resulting to a compromised security issue. An example of such operating system is that of UNIX, which violates some privileges by only supporting a two level privilege that includes root and user. To limit these 3limitations, it introduces â€Å"set user id†, â€Å"set group id† and â€Å"chroot (2)† that are particularly limiting and inadequate. These applications aim to become responsible for granting permissions, accepting requests, and managing resources, which

Digital Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Digital Marketing - Essay Example is a private organization of US that has its business in the industry of men’s clothing. The company is widely known for its Denim brand of jeans sold across the globe. Levi Strauss & Co. received its first US patent of manufacturing denim jeans or blue jeans in the year of 1873. The company was founded by Levi Strauss and is being controlled by the private owners or descendants of the company and headquartered in San Francisco in USA. Over the years, the company has expanded its operations and sales in Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia Pacific and several other parts of the world. The company employs around 10,500 people all over the world. In order to expand its operations both in US as well as in the overseas markets, the company increased its manufacturing units. The number of manufacturing plants increased from 16 plants in 1964 to 63 plants in 1974. Apart from this, 23 overseas plants were set up by the company. Between 1980s and the 1990s, the use of jeans by societies across the world increased rapidly. The company followed the market trend to increase its operations. Riding on the high rate of growth of revenues and profits earned over the years, the company offered to pay unusual dividend of $750 million to their workers over a period of six years. The company earned revenues of $4.4 billion in 2010 with a net operating income of $381 million. Market, products & services, customers, digital presence The Levis brand of men’s clothing is a pioneer in the sale of jeans and other fashionable wear for men. Levis capitalized on the emerging trend of fashion and the increasing taste of blue jeans by the greater part of the population. The company acquired Great Western Garment Co. in order to increase its offering of jeans to its customers. Apart from blue jeans, the company also started to offer stone-washed jeans in order to tap the market potentials. The products offered by the company are mainly jeans. The denim jeans are the core product o f the company. Over the year the years, the company has expanded its operation by riding the trend of the mainly young generation who has got inclinations towards wearing jeans. Variations in the different categories of jeans were included in the gamut of product offerings. The stone-washed jeans also became popular with the blue jeans sold by the company. The young generation is the target market segment of the company. The company has adapted to the emerging lifestyle in order to increase base of customers. The spread of the brand name across the world has led to increase in customer base. In the age of globalization, the physical existence of shopping stores has started to become irrelevant. The change in the lifestyle, availability of time, speed of livelihood and the changing tastes of the customers have led to the advent of online shopping (Smith and Chaffey, 2013, p.79). The company have also resorted to the online marketing tools and increased its digital presence in the bus iness world. Levis brands of men’s clothing capitalized on the online marketing tools that increased revenue earnings of the company through e-commerce. The use of social media platforms enhanced the prospective of marketing its products and services. The increase in digital presence increased the access of the products and services of the company to a wide range of customers. The customers could sit in a position and exchange information or share experiences on the Levis clothes for men (Straus and Frost, 2011, p.49). The customers also had the option of use electronic devices like mobile, laptops, etc and use internet for shopping of menswear offered by

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

Counselling - Essay Example This approach is not a formal exalted theory, but as the name says, a different approach that has proved to be useful and more effective. It honours the need to talk, communicate and understand self of the individual in need of therapy and stands on the basis that individual's need is more important than that of the counsellor, because counsellor, after all, is a mere supporter, or a prop up, and not the main hero of the drama. It establishes the human trust in basic values, principles and desire to improve in harmony with the rest of the world. "Rogers is holistic in his thinking, tending to look at the complete organism in order to understand and explain behaviour. He believes that humans are innately good and that they are growth orientated. Phenomenological understands individual perception of reality. Determinism, cause and effect relationships in having freedom, the organism has an actualising tendency" This approach depends on the assumption that given the proper circumstances and understanding, a person is capable of finding solutions for his inner problems and nothing could be a longer lasting cure. The main theory under which the Person centred counselling works is that the patient is fully capable of handling his problems and monitoring his future growth. It believes that the main authority here is not the psychologist, but the patient himself and counselling goes on according to the patient's observations about himself. It believes that all people might not have had a highly favourable condition to develop, grow and manage their lives and might feel stifled, or might have developed a very difficult, punishing self identity that might not be easy to maintain at all times and under all circumstances. When personal experiences are not conducive with the self identity of the person, psychological problems occur because the individual is unable to cope with the experiences and sti ll maintain the personal identity to which he has become accustomed to, or of which he had a certain self confidence and pride. The self-concept of the person clashes with the experiences he is going through and this might make the self-worth plummet down in his opinion and acceptance might become difficult. His judgement of his self-worth gets shaken because he cannot feel comfortable with it any more, as its fundamental base has not been firm recently. Explaining his Theory of Personality, Carl Rogers says: "In endeavouring to order our perceptions of the individual as he appears in therapy, a theory of the development of personality, and of the dynamics of behaviour, has been constructed," (Kirschenbaum and Henderson, 1990. p.244). The essence of person centred counselling is the meeting and understanding between counsellor and his patient. Undoubtedly, it is very hard to establish a complete and unquestionable understanding and this is considered to be one of the most difficult types of counselling, but with perhaps the best results. It forces the counsellor to be authentic, supportive, empathic and mainly non-judgemental. It has three core conditions that would contribute a lot to the therapeutic change: 1. Unconditional positive regard. 2. Empathic Understanding. 3. Congruence. With

Training and Development in Small Businesses Research Paper - 1

Training and Development in Small Businesses - Research Paper Example The entrepreneur should know the all the key sections within the technology supply chain. After understanding this, the entrepreneur should determine the appropriate equipment or services to expand the energy business. As an entrepreneur, you should determine the following Product and service; do you aim at providing products only, services related to your products or both? What will be the uses of the products and services you will provide? Will you provide a wider range of products or related services that will enable the sustainability of your business? For instance, providing repair and maintenance services, supplying complimentary products, providing training for use and maintenance of your products and giving credits to your consumers. It is also important to establish a good and working supply chain (Sahlin A). As an entrepreneur you should know how and where to obtain products and provide them to your consumers. For the company to flourish well in the competitive market there is need to understand the markets. The company should identify potential segments that will provide a ready market for the products. The company must understand the ability of consumers to pay for the services and products (Sahlin A). The company needs to have a better understanding of the end user of their products, the levels of spending on energy needs of the product in the target market and the socio-economic strata of the society. Human labor is so important in any enterprise, each and every employee should be treated in the best way possible, and employees should undergo a comprehensive orientation program to familiarize them with the new trends in the markets. Orientation will ensure that new employees familiarize themselves with the structure of the business and will help them cooperate with the existing staff members (Goldstein, 1989). It is important and efficient for employees to receive information concerning the company’s

Autobiography of Malcolm X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Autobiography of Malcolm X - Essay Example Malcolm X was born, Malcom Little to Earl Little and Louise Helen Norton. His father was an outspoken Baptist lay preacher and supporter of Marcus Garvey. Malcom described his father as a big black man who had lost one eye. According to Malcom, three of Earl Little’s brothers died violently at the hands of white men, and one of his Uncles had been lynched. Malcom’s life was one of hardships, and disappointments, (Malcom graduated from junior high school at the top of his class, but dropped out soon after an admired teacher told him that his aspirations of being a lawyer was not a realistic goal for a nigger) He had many misadventures and skirmishes with the American legal system. On January 12, 1946 shortly after his return to Boston, he was arrested for burglary after trying to steal back a stolen watch he had left for repairs at a jewelry shop. Two days later, Malcom was indicted once again for carrying firearms. On January 16th, Malcom was charged with Grand Larceny and Breaking and Entering. Malcom was sentenced to eight to ten years in Massachusetts State Prison. It was while he was serving time for Burglary, when Malcom began to study the teachings of the honorable Elijah Mohammed, the leader of the Nation of Islam. The â€Å"Black Muslim† doctrine as espoused by Elijah Mohammed placed a premium on Black unity; Mohammed emphasized how critically important it was for all black people to unite under the nation to improve their position in life. ... from serving his prison term, Malcom joined the nation of Islam and adopted the name Malcolm X. Malcom explained the name by saying the "X" is meant to symbolize the rejection of "slave names" and the absence of an inherited African name to take its place. The "X" is also the brand that many slaves received on their upper arm. This rationale led many members of the Nation of Islam to change their surnames to X. The press treated Malcolm X with disdain and labeled him a troublemaker. Due to the media coverage and his unwitting and tenacious will to call them as he saw them, he became persona non grata to some, hated by others (blacks and whites) and distrusted by those who had no idea of a black man's plight in America. Yet, he was heralded by many as a champion of civil rights which went beyond constructive engagement. In 1953 Malcom went to live with Elijah Mohammed in Chicago. He soon returned to Boston and became the minister of the Nation of Islam Temple number eleven. In 1954, Malcom was selected to lead the Nation of Islam mosque #7 on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, and he rapidly expanded its membership. Malcom was a compelling public speaker, and he became known to a wider audience after a local television broadcast in New York City about the Nation of Islam, which was not very well known at the time. Malcom was aware that his fame was a cause of much envy in the nation, and he became careful in his public appearances not to irritate them. Malcom was soon seen as the second most influential leader after Elijah Mohammed himself. He opened additional Temples, including one in Philadelphia, and was largely credited with increasing the Nation of Islam membership from 500 in

American Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American Government - Essay Example Ferguson. The Brown v. Board of Education decision, however, found the unconstitutionality of Plessy v. Ferguson as praxis for racial segregation within the public education; the Opinion of the Court reversed the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine on the principle prominent in the Fourth Amendment. By and large, the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case significantly ruled in favor of the African American plaintiffs, arguing that racial segregation practiced by Plessy v. Ferguson is fundamentally unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren’s ruling concerning the Brown v. Board of Education is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court; such ruling is notably important especially in its social and historical contexts. In social purview, the decision made in Brown was essential considering the widespread racial discrimination against the African American or the â€Å"Negro† (in Warren’s word) prominent in the United States. Before the Brown ruling, many white Americans believed, consciously or not, that their race was superior to other races, which include the black race.

Training and Development in Small Businesses Research Paper - 1

Training and Development in Small Businesses - Research Paper Example The entrepreneur should know the all the key sections within the technology supply chain. After understanding this, the entrepreneur should determine the appropriate equipment or services to expand the energy business. As an entrepreneur, you should determine the following Product and service; do you aim at providing products only, services related to your products or both? What will be the uses of the products and services you will provide? Will you provide a wider range of products or related services that will enable the sustainability of your business? For instance, providing repair and maintenance services, supplying complimentary products, providing training for use and maintenance of your products and giving credits to your consumers. It is also important to establish a good and working supply chain (Sahlin A). As an entrepreneur you should know how and where to obtain products and provide them to your consumers. For the company to flourish well in the competitive market there is need to understand the markets. The company should identify potential segments that will provide a ready market for the products. The company must understand the ability of consumers to pay for the services and products (Sahlin A). The company needs to have a better understanding of the end user of their products, the levels of spending on energy needs of the product in the target market and the socio-economic strata of the society. Human labor is so important in any enterprise, each and every employee should be treated in the best way possible, and employees should undergo a comprehensive orientation program to familiarize them with the new trends in the markets. Orientation will ensure that new employees familiarize themselves with the structure of the business and will help them cooperate with the existing staff members (Goldstein, 1989). It is important and efficient for employees to receive information concerning the company’s

American Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American Government - Essay Example Ferguson. The Brown v. Board of Education decision, however, found the unconstitutionality of Plessy v. Ferguson as praxis for racial segregation within the public education; the Opinion of the Court reversed the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine on the principle prominent in the Fourth Amendment. By and large, the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case significantly ruled in favor of the African American plaintiffs, arguing that racial segregation practiced by Plessy v. Ferguson is fundamentally unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren’s ruling concerning the Brown v. Board of Education is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court; such ruling is notably important especially in its social and historical contexts. In social purview, the decision made in Brown was essential considering the widespread racial discrimination against the African American or the â€Å"Negro† (in Warren’s word) prominent in the United States. Before the Brown ruling, many white Americans believed, consciously or not, that their race was superior to other races, which include the black race.

History - bisness plan Essay Example for Free

History bisness plan Essay The owners of Excel Hygiene have been colleagues in a company which operated on a national scale, converting urban organic waste in to natural fertilizers for crop production in farms. This company has decided to focus on the rural sector and does not wish to expand its urban operations. Its major customer group is of farmers and owners of plantations. It has considered and rejected plans to enter health care lines. The agriculture and rural marketing business, while voluminous, is subject to the vagaries of nature. It is also intensely competitive, with narrow margins and uncertain demand levels. The bio-medical waste sector, on the other hand, is a rapidly rising star on the economic horizon. Demand for health care services is growing and assured. The number of competitors, as seen earlier, is limited, and consequently the margins are relatively attractive. The sector demands very high levels of service, but pay-offs are matching. Biotechnology is versatile with many future sectors which Excel Hygiene can address. There are many useful microbes in nature and their isolation and culture is relatively easy for those in the know. The owners of Excel Hygiene have succeeded in preparing and agreeing on a business plan. The latter has found favor with venture capitalists looking for biotech opportunities, so the company could be funded without denting the personal savings of the promoters too seriously. A crucial factor has been the timeliness of the new enterprise, though its aggression in bidding for a substantial price premium from the beginning is founded more on technical considerations of the safety advantage than any standard financial or economic wisdom. Market Definition Excel Hygiene plans to be a niche player with a very conservative market share target of just 1%. The first reason for this is the high premium the company wishes to charge for its differentiated products and services. It is possible that hospitals and doctors who do not attach much value to safety will not be willing to pay the higher prices. Further, health care institutions are conservative customers, and will take time to accept services from a new provider. The financiers behind the new enterprise also prefer quick and assured payback with high percentage returns to large volumes and top line growth. The entry strategy of Excel Hygiene is to secure contracts in relatively low-risk units of top quality institutions. Word of mouth promotion is very important in the health care community, so the new enterprise has to ensure that the most prestigious customers join its ranks first. The risks of switching to a new service provider are daunting in life saving units, but it is much easier to induce switches in routine areas. Excel hygiene will target waiting areas, food preparation zones, and general wards for its entry, staying away from competitive strongholds in Intensive Care and Casualty units. Excel Hygiene plans to hold seminars and to participate in scientific meetings on infection control to ensure word of mouth promotion of its services and image. Special efforts will be made to make spokespeople out of the best known doctors, surgeons, and para-medical workers, so that branding has a firm and stable base. The financial plans provide for this first phase to last the first full year of operations, and the second year will be used to leverage the accumulated goodwill by tripling the relatively small revenues of the first year. Excel Hygiene will invest in free demonstrations of its services for the first 6 months, backed by microbiology tests. This is to establish the reliability of the company’s services and to prove the efficacies of its novel range of biological products. The company will aim to have the results of these trials published, so that the investment can result in high growth during the second year of operations. A final element of strategy will be to liaise with regulatory authorities for endorsement of the company’s novel products. This approach will help to consolidate the small market share that the company hopes to forge within 2 years, and to protect its revenues during the subsequent years. The company hopes to excel by defining its business scope, territorial spread, and customer definition very tightly, seeking to specialize in a niche area. The emphasis is also on reassuring financiers since the company does not have a prior establishment in the market of substantial fixed asset covers. This conservative approach may be reviewed once the company has achieved its targets for the first five years. Quantitatively, Excel Hygiene targets net revenues of $500 thousand in the first year, rising to over $2 million by year 5. However, the major growth is expected during the second year itself. The infrastructure which has been planned will not allow full service coverage of more than 500 client units at a time within the designated territory. Hence, growth from the third year onwards will be marginal. It is typical in this business to suffer some client turnover, though it is equally possible to canvass for new contracts. Incineration and treatment capacities are other constraints to bear in mind.

Proposal for Health Promotion Framework

Proposal for Health Promotion Framework Topic: Alcohol The purpose is to propose a health promotion framework Background of the program: Alcohol is one of the topics covered by the health promotion agency. The health promotion agency runs programs like no beersies, say yeah, nah, levy on alcohol ,dont know? dont drink.these programs have recognized the adverse effects on consumption of alcohol and therefore promote reduction or complete stoppage on its intake . Dont know? Dont drink, focuses on pregnant women or women who have the slightest doubt of being pregnant. There is no known safe limit or known safe time which would allow the women to have alcohol without causing harm to the developing fetus. Alcohol crosses the blood brain barrier causing a number of birth defects like low birth weight, distinctive facial features, heart defects, behavior problems, intellectual disability . Dont know? Dont drink is an evidence based program which works in all sectors adding to health and well being of the population. This program works by promoting health and well being, enabling health promoting initiatives and environments, informing health promoting policy and practice. Similarly the other programs like no beersies and say yeah, nah,are giving their contribution towards the reduction of consumption of alcohol. Description The intervention recognizes alcohol consumption as a community problem. According to Ottawa charter, strengthening community actions is defined as expanding the resources and capacities of community to make decision and take collective action to increase their control over determinants of their health.(D.Fry and A.Zak.2016). it gives opportunities to bring the people together of the community. This can be done by providing resources by which the people can take decisions and participate collectively. Te pa mahutonga is a health promotion model , promoting the health of maori. It promotes healthy lifestyles for the maori population. Alcohol is a risk factor and risk factors impose threat to a healthy lifestyle. A large number of maori population whether young or old is surrounded by the risk laden life style. In order to reduce the risk and to lead a healthy lifestyle, the harm should be minimized, the interventions should be targeted, management of risk, relevance of culture and positive development.(m.durie,1999) This program gives an equal amount of chance of participation and is based on the equity principle whose goal is to create an environment where everyone like people coming from all income group, ethnicity have access to good health.( Tones, K., Tilford, S. 2001) This program gives an individual an option of participation thus giving him empowerment, and allowing the individual to take their own decision. The general and the maori population will be equally benefited if there is equal amount of participation and equal amount of opportunity. This is based on the equity principle of health promotion ..( Tones, K., Tilford, S. 2001) The targeted population is based on equity principle Question 9 is also based on te pae mahutongas principle of healthy lifestyles. Ottawa charter explains the principle of Building healthy public policy which that means advocating for, establishing and/or implementing explicit actions by government (international ,national ,state or local). According to Geoffrey Rose, population based interventions have the ability detect the determents of health on a large scale.(2001). Te pae mahutongas principles of healthy lifestyle is also applicable. Question 11 relates to creating supportive environment from ottwa charter, by creating ways and means through which health is supports and protected from any social or environmental hazards. Approach to community falls under the principle of developing personal skills and criteria on lessons for program effectiveness of ottawa charter. Application: 1) yes. This intervention brings the community together through run a promotion and helps the individual in takeing decisions. 2) yes. The program does help maori population for better health care but more focus is needed to be given on this as it specifically does not do so. 3) yes. The program gives opportunity to general as well as maori to participate actively . There are equal opportunities for general and maori population but still more focus is to be added on to the maori population considering them as the minority. 4) yes 5) may be. it will depend on the amount of participation. 6) the general population is more benefited since their involvement is more. Also the promotion strategies used does not show maori involvement, which could be a reason as they cannot relate to it. 7) the targeted population, in this case the pregnant women will be benefited since they will be aware and avoid consumption of alcohol after knowing its ill effects. Dont know? dont drink program focuses on women who are pregnant or other women who have the smallest chance of being pregnant. So this program will indeed benefit the targeted population of women. 8) yes. 9) yes. Programs like no beersies, say yeah,nah, focus on the lifestyle in which people are living. It gives ways and means by which we can avoid having alcohol and still be surrounded by the same peers Programs like no beersies and say yeah, nah campaign for the reduction in consumption of alcohol in such a way that they stay in their group and can still avoid drinking alcohol. So a person need not necessarily drink just for being with his mates 10) yes. By reducing the intake of alcohol, the amount of drink and drive cases will be reduced thus saving lives. 11) yes. 12) the program address the people by promoting, enabling and informing 13) yes. 14) yes. there are on researches which are then later implemented. 15) no Conclusion: Overall it can be seen that most of the programs satisfy the health promotion models of Ottawa charter and te pae mahutonga as well as the principles of health promotion however, there should still be emphasis on maori health approach and on building healthy public health policy. Reference: D. Fry and A. Zack, (may 19,2016). applying the Ottawa charter to inform health promotion programme design.health promotion international, daw022. Durie, M. (1999, December). Te Pae Mahutonga: A model for Maori health promotion. In Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand Newsletter (Vol. 49, No. 2-5). Tones, K., Tilford, S. (2001). Health promotion: effectiveness, efficiency and equity. Nelson Thornes. Rose, G. (2001). Sick individuals and sick populations. International journal of epidemiology, 30(3), 427-432. Appendix Does this intervention bring the community together? Does this intervention help the maori population to better health care? Does this program give an equal opportunity of chance to all for participation? Does this intervention give choices to the population? Are the general population and maori population equally benefited? Who is most benefited? How will this intervention benefit the targeted population? Is this intervention accessible? Does this intervention focus on altering the lifestyle in which people are living? Does the aim of the program help in protecting against any hazards? Does the motivated persons behavior influence others as well? By what means does the program approach to the community? Are the programs carried out by this intervention based on any evidence? Is the intervention supported by any government policy? Does the intervention focus on building healthy public health policy?

Strong Women in my Life :: essays papers

Strong Women in my Life Demi Moore can pull off a shaved head with grace and beauty. I can’t do that. If I were to shave my head, I would slightly resemble a cantaloupe. I get that, and the rest of my physical characteristics, from my mother. Short and ample do not make for a graceful bald-headed woman. Martha Stewart can make a soufflà © from an egg, some tree bark, and a cup of sugar. I can’t do that either. My inability to just â€Å"wing† recipes comes directly from my grandmother. If it’s written down, I can do it, but from there it can get a little scary. Hillary Clinton is a hard-working, respectable woman with an Ivy League education. Now THAT I can handle. My dedication, determination and independence come from the array of women who have guided me through life thus far. Inspiring me to find a career that I thoroughly enjoy, no matter the costs, these women have lit my path. Every piece of me has seemed to come from an inspirational woman who has somehow graced my life. Whether for a second or for a decade, they have made imprints on my soul. To limit myself to describe the one person who has given me the most inspiration would be virtually unfeasible. I am a collage of influence and choice made by those with whom I have interacted. My strongest qualities, determination and independence, are deeply rooted in my family. Coming from an extremely tight-knit family all living within 30 minutes of each other, we bring new meaning to the clichà ©, â€Å"It takes a village.† My Aunt Betty is CEO of two corporations and taught me to sacrifice nothing for my dreams. My Grandmother, having borne seven children of her own and cared for twenty-one grandchildren while working with her husband in the family business, taught me that I do not have to sacrifice one for the other- prosperity comes in the balance. My strength comes from my mother. Having overcome obstacles and making immeasurable sacrifices, she lives her dreams through her three daughters. She never accepts anything from the best from me and I do my best not to disappoint her. She instilled in me the strength to have MY OWN dreams and to never be afraid of them. Individuality emanates from my Aunt Kathy, as she has always encouraged me to break the conve ntional molds of femininity and go after what I desire.

The Eucharist Essay -- essays research papers fc

Eucharist is the central rite of the Christian religion, in which bread and wine are consecrated by an ordained minister and consumed by the minister and members of the congregation in obedience to Jesus' command at the Last Supper, â€Å"Do this in remembrance of me.† In the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, and in the Anglican, Lutheran, and many other Protestant churches, it is regarded as a sacrament, which both symbolizes and effects the union of Christ with the faithful. Baptists and others refer to Holy Communion as an â€Å"institution,† rather than a sacrament, emphasizing obedience to a commandment. Traditionally, Jesus' command to his disciples at the Last Supper to eat the bread and drink the wine â€Å"in remembrance of me† constitutes the institution of the Eucharist. This specific command occurs in two New Testament accounts of the Last Supper, Luke 22:17-20 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-25. Older theology asserts that Jesus gave this command on this occasion to ensure that Christians would break bread and drink wine in his memory as long as the church endured. A critical approach to the Gospel texts, however, has made this conclusion less certain. The command â€Å"Do this in remembrance of me† does not appear in either Matthew's or Mark's account of the Last Supper. Consequently, a number of scholars have supposed that the undoubted experience of communion with the risen Christ at meals in the days after Easter inspired in some later traditions the understanding that such communion had been foreseen and commanded by Jesus at the Last Supper. The matter can probabl y never be resolved with complete satisfaction. In any case, the practice of eating meals in remembrance of the Lord and the belief in the presence of Christ in the â€Å"breaking of the bread† clearly were universal in the early church. The Didache, an early Christian document, refers to the Eucharist twice at some length. The Didache and the New Testament together indicate considerable diversity in both the practice and the understanding of the Eucharist, but no evidence exists of any Christian church in which the sacrament was not celebrated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The development of Eucharistic doctrine centers on two ideas: presence and sacrifice. In the New Testament, no attempt is made to explain Christ's presence at the Eucharist. The theologians of the early church tended to accept Jesus' wo... ...s of Scripture readings, a sermon, and prayers. This part of the Eucharist, apparently adapted from Jewish synagogue worship, has been prefixed to the service of bread and wine at least since the middle of the 2nd century. The second part of the service, the â€Å"service of the Upper Room,† consists typically of an offering of bread and wine; the central Eucharistic prayer; the distribution of the consecrated elements to worshipers; and a final blessing and dismissal. This particular part of the service has its roots in the ancient traditional table prayers said at Jewish meals. The central Eucharistic prayer, the Anaphora, which is Greek for â€Å"offering†, typically contains a prayer of thanksgiving for the creation of the world and its redemption in Christ; an account of the institution of the Last Supper; the oblation, or Anamnesis—the offering of the bread and wine in thankful remembrance of Christ; the Epiclesis, or invocation of the Holy Spirit on the bread and wine and on the congregation; and prayers of intercession.Bibliography Underwood, Karen. The Eucharistic Prayer. New York: Dodd, Mead, & Co., 1985 â€Å"Eucharist,† World Book Encyclopedia (1999 edition), IV, 290-92.

An Analysis of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood Context Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on November 18, 1939. She published her first book of poetry in 1961 while attending the University of Toronto. She later received degrees from both Radcliffe College and Harvard University, and pursued a career in teaching at the university level. Her first novel, The Edible Woman, was published in 1969 to wide acclaim. Atwood continued teaching as her literary career blossomed. She has lectured widely and has served as a writer-in–residence at colleges ranging from the University of Toronto to Macquarie University in Australia.Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale in West Berlin and Alabama in the mid-1980s. The novel, published in 1986, quickly became a best-seller. The Handmaid’s Tale falls squarely within the twentieth-century tradition of anti-utopian, or â€Å"dystopian† novels, exemplified by classics like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orw ell’s 1984. Novels in this genre present imagined worlds and societies that are not ideals, but instead are terrifying or restrictive. Atwood’s novel offers a strongly feminist vision of dystopia.She wrote it shortly after the elections of Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain, during a period of conservative revival in the West partly fueled by a strong, well-organized movement of religious conservatives who criticized what they perceived as the excesses of the â€Å"sexual revolution† of the 1960s and 1970s. The growing power of this â€Å"religious right† heightened feminist fears that the gains women had made in previous decades would be reversed. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood explores the consequences of a reversal of women’s rights.In the novel’s nightmare world of Gilead, a group of conservative religious extremists has taken power and turned the sexual revolution on its head. Feminists argu ed for liberation from traditional gender roles, but Gilead is a society founded on a â€Å"return to traditional values† and gender roles, and on the subjugation of women by men. What feminists considered the great triumphs of the 1970s—namely, widespread access to contraception, the legalization of abortion, and the increasing political influence of female voters—have all been undone. Women in Gilead are not only forbidden to vote, they are forbidden to read or write.Atwood’s novel also paints a picture of a world undone by pollution and infertility, reflecting 1980s fears about declining birthrates, the dangers of nuclear power, and -environmental degradation. Some of the novel’s concerns seem dated today, and its implicit condemnation of the political goals of America’s religious conservatives has been criticized as unfair and overly paranoid. Nonetheless, The Handmaid’s Tale remains one of the most powerful recent portrayals of a totalitarian society, and one of the few dystopian novels to examine in detail the intersection of politics and sexuality.The novel’s exploration of the controversial politics of reproduction seems likely to guarantee Atwood’s novel a readership well into the twenty-first century. Atwood lives in Toronto with novelist Graeme Gibson and their daughter, Jess. Her most recent novel, The Blind Assassin, won Great Britain’s Booker Prize for literature in 2000. Plot Overview Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian and theocratic state that has replaced the United States of America. Because of dangerously low reproduction rates, Handmaids are assigned to bear children for elite couples that have trouble conceiving.Offred serves the Commander and his wife, Serena Joy, a former gospel singer and advocate for â€Å"traditional values. † Offred is not the narrator’s real name—Handmaid names consist of the word â€Å"of† f ollowed by the name of the Handmaid’s Commander. Every month, when Offred is at the right point in her menstrual cycle, she must have impersonal, wordless sex with the Commander while Serena sits behind her, holding her hands. Offred’s freedom, like the freedom of all women, is completely restricted.She can leave the house only on shopping trips, the door to her room cannot be completely shut, and the Eyes, Gilead’s secret police force, watch her every public move. As Offred tells the story of her daily life, she frequently slips into flashbacks, from which the reader can reconstruct the events leading up to the beginning of the novel. In the old world, before Gilead, Offred had an affair with Luke, a married man. He divorced his wife and married Offred, and they had a child together. Offred’s mother was a single mother and feminist activist. Offred’s best friend, Moira, was fiercely independent.The architects of Gilead began their rise to power in an age of readily available pornography, prostitution, and violence against women—when pollution and chemical spills led to declining fertility rates. Using the military, they assassinated the president and members of Congress and launched a coup, claiming that they were taking power temporarily. They cracked down on women’s rights, forbidding women to hold property or jobs. Offred and Luke took their daughter and attempted to flee across the border into Canada, but they were caught and separated from one another, and Offred has seen neither her husband nor her daughter since.After her capture, Offred’s marriage was voided (because Luke had been divorced), and she was sent to the Rachel and Leah Re-education Center, called the Red Center by its inhabitants. At the center, women were indoctrinated into Gilead’s ideology in preparation for becoming Handmaids. Aunt Lydia supervised the women, giving speeches extolling Gilead’s beliefs that women shou ld be subservient to men and solely concerned with bearing children. Aunt Lydia also argued that such a social order ultimately offers women more respect and safety than the old, pre-Gilead society offered them.Moira is brought to the Red Center, but she escapes, and Offred does not know what becomes of her. Once assigned to the Commander’s house, Offred’s life settles into a restrictive routine. She takes shopping trips with Ofglen, another Handmaid, and they visit the Wall outside what used to be Harvard University, where the bodies of rebels hang. She must visit the doctor frequently to be checked for disease and other complications, and she must endure the â€Å"Ceremony,† in which the Commander reads to the household from the Bible, then goes to the bedroom, where his Wife and Offred wait for him, and has sex with Offred.The first break from her routine occurs when she visits the doctor and he offers to have sex with her to get her pregnant, suggesting that her Commander is probably infertile. She refuses. The doctor makes her uneasy, but his proposition is too risky—she could be sent away if caught. After a Ceremony, the Commander sends his gardener and chauffeur, Nick, to ask Offred to come see him in his study the following night. She begins visiting him regularly. They play Scrabble (which is forbidden, since women are not allowed to read), and he lets her look at old magazines like Vogue.At the end of these secret meetings, he asks her to kiss him. During one of their shopping trips, Ofglen reveals to Offred that she is a member of â€Å"Mayday,† an underground organization dedicated to overthrowing Gilead. Meanwhile, Offred begins to find that the Ceremony feels different and less impersonal now that she knows the Commander. Their nighttime conversations begin to touch on the new order that the Commander and his fellow leaders have created in Gilead. When Offred admits how unhappy she is, the Commander remarks, â⠂¬Å"[Y]ou can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. †After some time has gone by without Offred becoming pregnant, Serena suggests that Offred have sex with Nick secretly and pass the child off as the Commander’s. Serena promises to bring Offred a picture of her daughter if she sleeps with Nick, and Offred realizes that Serena has always known the whereabouts of Offred’s daughter. The same night that Offred is to sleep with Nick, the Commander secretly takes her out to a club called Jezebel’s, where the Commanders mingle with prostitutes. Offred sees Moira working there. The two women meet in a bathroom, and Offred learns that Moira was captured just before she crossed the border.She chose life in Jezebel’s over being sent to the Colonies, where most political prisoners and dangerous people are sent. After that night at Jezebel’s, Offred says, she never sees Moira again. The Commander takes Offred upstairs after a few hours, and th ey have sex in what used to be a hotel room. She tries to feign passion. Soon after Offred returns from Jezebel’s, late at night, Serena arrives and tells Offred to go to Nick’s room. Offred and Nick have sex. Soon they begin to sleep together frequently, without anyone’s knowledge.Offred becomes caught up in the affair and ignores Ofglen’s requests that she gather information from the Commander for Mayday. One day, all the Handmaids take part in a group execution of a supposed rapist, supervised by Aunt Lydia. Ofglen strikes the first blow. Later, she tells Offred that the so-called rapist was a member of Mayday and that she hit him to put him out of his misery. Shortly thereafter, Offred goes out shopping, and a new Ofglen meets her. This new woman is not part of Mayday, and she tells Offred that the old Ofglen hanged herself when she saw the secret police coming for her.At home, Serena has found out about Offred’s trip to Jezebel’s, and s he sends her to her room, promising punishment. Offred waits there, and she sees a black van from the Eyes approach. Then Nick comes in and tells her that the Eyes are really Mayday members who have come to save her. Offred leaves with them, over the Commander’s futile objections, on her way either to prison or to freedom—she does not know which. The novel closes with an epilogue from 2195, after Gilead has fallen, written in the form of a lecture given by Professor Pieixoto. He explains the formation and customs of Gilead in objective, analytical language.He discusses the significance of Offred’s story, which has turned up on cassette tapes in Bangor, Maine. He suggests that Nick arranged Offred’s escape but that her fate after that is unknown. She could have escaped to Canada or England, or she could have been recaptured. Character List Offred – The narrator and protagonist of The Handmaid’s Tale. Offred belongs to the class of Handmaids, fertile women forced to bear children for elite, barren couples. Handmaids show which Commander owns them by adopting their Commanders’ names, such as Fred, and preceding them with â€Å"Of. Offred remembers her real name but never reveals it. She no longer has family or friends, though she has flashbacks to a time in which she had a daughter and a husband named Luke. The cruel physical and psychological burdens of her daily life in Gilead torment her and pervade her narrative. Read an in-depth analysis of Offred. The Commander – The Commander is the head of the household where Offred works as a Handmaid. He initiates an unorthodox relationship with Offred, secretly playing Scrabble with her in his study at night.He often seems a decent, well-meaning man, and Offred sometimes finds that she likes him in spite of herself. He almost seems a victim of Gilead, making the best of a society he opposes. However, we learn from various clues and from the epilogue that the Comm ander was actually involved in designing and establishing Gilead. Read an in-depth analysis of The Commander. Serena Joy – The Commander’s Wife, Serena worked in pre-Gilead days as a gospel singer, then as an anti-feminist activist and crusader for â€Å"traditional values. In Gilead, she sits at the top of the female social ladder, yet she is desperately unhappy. Serena’s unhappiness shows that her restrictive, male-dominated society cannot bring happiness even to its most pampered and powerful women. Serena jealously guards her claims to status and behaves cruelly toward the Handmaids in her household. Read an in-depth analysis of Serena Joy. Moira – Offred’s best friend from college, Moira is a lesbian and a staunch feminist; she embodies female resourcefulness and independence. Her defiant nature contrasts starkly with the behavior of the other women in the novel.Rather than passively accept her fate as a Handmaid, she makes several escape att empts and finally manages to get away from the Red Center. However, she is caught before she can get out of Gilead. Later, Offred encounters Moira working as a prostitute in a club for the Commanders. At the club, Moira seems resigned to her fate, which suggests that a totalitarian society can grind down and crush even the most resourceful and independent people. Read an in-depth analysis of Moira. Aunt Lydia – The Aunts are the class of women assigned to indoctrinate the Handmaids with the beliefs of the new society and make them accept their fates.Aunt Lydia works at the â€Å"Red Center,† the re? education center where Offred and other women go for instruction before becoming Handmaids. Although she appears only in Offred’s flashbacks, Aunt Lydia and her instructions haunt Offred in her daily life. Aunt Lydia’s slogans and maxims drum the ideology of the new society into heads of the women, until even those like Offred, women who do not truly believe i n the ideology, hear Gilead’s words echoing in their heads. Nick – Nick is a Guardian, a low-level officer of Gilead assigned to the Commander’s home, where he works as a gardener and chauffeur.He and Offred have a sexual chemistry that they get to satisfy when Serena Joy orchestrates an encounter between them in an effort to get Offred pregnant. After sleeping together once, they begin a covert sexual affair. Nick is not just a Guardian; he may work either as a member of the Eyes, Gilead’s secret police, or as a member of the underground Mayday resistance, or both. At the end of the novel, Nick orchestrates Offred’s escape from the Commander’s home, but we do not know whether he puts her into the hands of the Eyes or the resistance.Ofglen – Another Handmaid who is Offred’s shopping partner and a member of the subversive â€Å"Mayday† underground. At the end of the novel, Ofglen is found out, and she hangs herself rather than face torture and reveal the names of her co-conspirators. Cora – Cora works as a servant in the Commander’s household. She belongs to the class of Marthas, infertile women who do not qualify for the high status of Wives and so work in domestic roles. Cora seems more content with her role than her fellow Martha, Rita.She hopes that Offred will be able to conceive, because then she will have a hand in raising a child. Janine – Offred knows Janine from their time at the Red Center. After Janine becomes a Handmaid, she takes the name Ofwarren. She has a baby, which makes her the envy of all the other Handmaids in the area, but the baby later turns out to be deformed—an â€Å"Unbaby†Ã¢â‚¬â€and there are rumors that her doctor fathered the child. Janine is a conformist, always ready to go along with what Gilead demands of her, and so she endears herself to the Aunts and to all authority figures.Offred holds Janine in contempt for taking the easy w ay out. Luke – In the days before Gilead, Luke had an affair with Offred while he was married to another woman, then got a divorce and became Offred’s husband. When Gilead comes to power, he attempts to escape to Canada with Offred and their daughter, but they are captured. He is separated from Offred, and the couple never see one another again. The kind of love they shared is prohibited in Gilead, and Offred’s memories of Luke contrast with the regimented, passionless state of male-female relations in the new society.Offred’s mother – Offred remembers her mother in flashbacks to her pre-Gilead world—she was a single parent and a feminist activist. One day during her education at the Red Center, Offred sees a video of her mother as a young woman, yelling and carrying a banner in an anti-rape march called Take Back the Night. She embodies everything the architects of Gilead want to stamp out. Aunt Elizabeth – Aunt Elizabeth is one of t he Aunts at the Red Center. Moira attacks her and steals her Aunt’s uniform during her escape from the Red Center. Rita – A Martha, or domestic servant, in the Commander’s household.She seems less content with her lot than Cora, the other Martha working there. Professor Pieixoto – The guest speaker at the symposium that takes place in the epilogue to The Handmaid’s Tale. He and another academic, working at a university in the year 2195, transcribed Offred’s recorded narrative; his lecture details the historical significance of the story that we have just read. Analysis of Major Characters Offred Offred is the narrator and the protagonist of the novel, and we are told the entire story from her point of view, experiencing events and memories as vividly as she does.She tells the story as it happens, and shows us the travels of her mind through asides, flashbacks, and digressions. Offred is intelligent, perceptive, and kind. She possesses enough faults to make her human, but not so many that she becomes an unsympathetic figure. She also possesses a dark sense of humor—a graveyard wit that makes her descriptions of the bleak horrors of Gilead bearable, even enjoyable. Like most of the women in Gilead, she is an ordinary woman placed in an extraordinary situation. Offred is not a hero. Although she resists Gilead inwardly, once her attempt at escape fails, she submits outwardly.She is hardly a feminist champion; she had always felt uncomfortable with her mother’s activism, and her pre-Gilead relationship with Luke began when she became his mistress, meeting him in cheap hotels for sex. Although friends with Ofglen, a member of the resistance, she is never bold enough to join up herself. Indeed, after she begins her affair with Nick, she seems to lose sight of escape entirely and suddenly feels that life in Gilead is almost bearable. If she does finally escape, it is because of Nick, not because of anything she does -herself.Offred is a mostly passive character, good-hearted but complacent. Like her peers, she took for granted the freedoms feminism won and now pays the price. The Commander The Commander poses an ethical problem for Offred, and consequently for us. First, he is Offred’s Commander and the immediate agent of her oppression. As a founder of Gilead, he also bears responsibility for the entire totalitarian society. In person, he is far more sympathetic and friendly toward Offred than most other people, and Offred’s evenings with the Commander in his study offer her a small respite from the wasteland of her life.At times, his unhappiness and need for companionship make him seem as much a prisoner of Gilead’s strictures as anyone else. Offred finds herself feeling sympathy for this man. Ultimately, Offred and the reader recognize that if the Commander is a prisoner, the prison is one that he himself helped construct and that his prison is heaven compared to th e prison he created for women. As the novel progresses, we come to realize that his visits with Offred are selfish rather than charitable.They satisfy his need for companionship, but he doesn’t seem to care that they put Offred at terrible risk, a fact of which he must be aware, given that the previous Handmaid hanged herself when her visits to the Commander were discovered. The Commander’s moral blindness, apparent in his attempts to explain the virtues of Gilead, are highlighted by his and Offred’s visit to Jezebel’s. The club, a place where the elite men of the society can engage in recreational extramarital sex, reveals the rank hypocrisy that runs through Gileadean society.Offred’s relationship with the Commander is best represented by a situation she remembers from a documentary on the Holocaust. In the film, the mistress of a brutal death camp guard defended the man she loved, claiming that he was not a monster. â€Å"How easy it is to inve nt a humanity,† Offred thinks. In other words, anyone can seem human, and even likable, given the right set of circumstances. But even if the Commander is likable and can be kind or considerate, his responsibility for the creation of Gilead and his callousness to the hell he created for women means that he, like the Nazi guard, is a monster. Serena JoyThough Serena had been an advocate for traditional values and the establishment of the Gileadean state, her bitterness at the outcome—being confined to the home and having to see her husband copulating with a Handmaid—suggests that spokeswomen for anti-feminist causes might not enjoy getting their way as much as they believe they would. Serena’s obvious unhappiness means that she teeters on the edge of inspiring our sympathy, but she forfeits that sympathy by taking out her frustration on Offred. She seems to possess no compassion for Offred. She can see the difficulty of her own life, but not that of another woman.The climactic moment in Serena’s interaction with Offred comes when she arranges for Offred to sleep with Nick. It seems that Serena makes these plans out of a desire to help Offred get pregnant, but Serena gets an equal reward from Offred’s pregnancy: she gets to raise the baby. Furthermore, Serena’s offer to show Offred a picture of her lost daughter if she sleeps with Nick reveals that Serena has always known of Offred’s daughter’s whereabouts. Not only has she cruelly concealed this knowledge, she is willing to exploit Offred’s loss of a child in order to get an infant of her own.Serena’s lack of sympathy makes her the perfect tool for Gilead’s social order, which relies on the willingness of women to oppress other women. She is a cruel, selfish woman, and Atwood implies that such women are the glue that binds Gilead. Moira Throughout the novel, Moira’s relationship with Offred epitomizes female friendship. Gi lead claims to promote solidarity between women, but in fact it only produces suspicion, hostility, and petty tyranny. The kind of relationship that Moira and Offred maintain from college onward does not exist in Gilead. In Offred’s flashbacks, Moira also embodies female resistance to Gilead.She is a lesbian, which means that she rejects male-female sexual interactions, the only kind that Gilead values. More than that, she is the only character who stands up to authority directly by make two escape attempts, one successful, from the Red Center. The manner in which she escapes—taking off her clothes and putting on the uniform of an Aunt—symbolizes her rejection of Gilead’s attempt to define her identity. From then on, until Offred meets up with her again, Moira represents an alternative to the meek subservience and acceptance of one’s fate that most of the Handmaids adopt.When Offred runs into Moira, Moira has been recaptured and is working as a pro stitute at Jezebel’s, servicing the Commanders. Her fighting spirit seems broken, and she has become resigned to her fate. After embodying resistance for most of the novel, Moira comes to exemplify the way a totalitarian state can crush even the most independent spirit. Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Women’s Bodies as Political Instruments Because Gilead was formed in response to the crisis caused by dramatically ecreased birthrates, the state’s entire structure, with its religious trappings and rigid political hierarchy, is built around a single goal: control of reproduction. The state tackles the problem head-on by assuming complete control of women’s bodies through their political subjugation. Women cannot vote, hold property or jobs, read, or do anything else that might allow them to become subversive or independent and thereby undermine their husbands or the state. Des pite all of Gilead’s pro-women rhetoric, such subjugation creates a society in which women are treated as subhuman.They are reduced to their fertility, treated as nothing more than a set of ovaries and a womb. In one of the novel’s key scenes, Offred lies in the bath and reflects that, before Gilead, she considered her body an instrument of her desires; now, she is just a mound of flesh surrounding a womb that must be filled in order to make her useful. Gilead seeks to deprive women of their individuality in order to make them docile carriers of the next generation. Language as a Tool of Power Gilead creates an official vocabulary that ignores and warps reality in order to serve the needs of the new society’s elite.Having made it illegal for women to hold jobs, Gilead creates a system of titles. Whereas men are defined by their military rank, women are defined solely by their gender roles as Wives, Handmaids, or Marthas. Stripping them of permanent individual na mes strips them of their individuality, or tries to. Feminists and deformed babies are treated as subhuman, denoted by the terms â€Å"Unwomen† and â€Å"Unbabies. † Blacks and Jews are defined by biblical terms (â€Å"Children of Ham† and â€Å"Sons of Jacob,† respectively) that set them apart from the rest of society, making their persecution easier.There are prescribed greetings for personal encounters, and to fail to offer the correct greetings is to fall under suspicion of disloyalty. Specially created terms define the rituals of Gilead, such as â€Å"Prayvaganzas,† â€Å"Salvagings,† and â€Å"Particicutions. † Dystopian novels about the dangers of totalitarian society frequently explore the connection between a state’s repression of its subjects and its perversion of language (â€Å"Newspeak† in George Orwell’s 1984 is the most famous example), and The Handmaid’s Tale carries on this tradition. Gilea d maintains its control over women’s bodies by maintaining control over names.The Causes of Complacency In a totalitarian state, Atwood suggests, people will endure oppression willingly as long as they receive some slight amount of power or freedom. Offred remembers her mother saying that it is â€Å"truly amazing, what people can get used to, as long as there are a few compensations. † Offred’s complacency after she begins her relationship with Nick shows the truth of this insight. Her situation restricts her horribly compared to the freedom her former life allowed, but her relationship with Nick allows her to reclaim the tiniest fragment of her former existence.The physical affection and companionship become compensation that make the restrictions almost bearable. Offred seems suddenly so content that she does not say yes when Ofglen asks her to gather information about the Commander. Women in general support Gilead’s existence by willingly participatin g in it, serving as agents of the totalitarian state. While a woman like Serena Joy has no power in the world of men, she exercises authority within her own household and seems to delight in her tyranny over Offred. She jealously guards what little power she has and wields it eagerly.In a similar way, the women known as Aunts, especially Aunt Lydia, act as willing agents of the Gileadean state. They indoctrinate other women into the ruling ideology, keep a close eye out for rebellion, and generally serve the same function for Gilead that the Jewish police did under Nazi rule. Atwood’s message is bleak. At the same time as she condemns Offred, Serena Joy, the Aunts, and even Moira for their complacency, she suggests that even if those women mustered strength and stopped complying, they would likely fail to make a difference.In Gilead the tiny rebellions of resistances do not necessarily matter. In the end, Offred escapes because of luck rather than resistance. Motifs Motifs ar e recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Rape and Sexual Violence Sexual violence, particularly against women, pervades The Handmaid’s Tale. The prevalence of rape and pornography in the pre-Gilead world justified to the founders their establishment of the new order.The Commander and the Aunts claim that women are better protected in Gilead, that they are treated with respect and kept safe from violence. Certainly, the official penalty for rape is terrible: in one scene, the Handmaids tear apart with their bare hands a supposed rapist (actually a member of the resistance). Yet, while Gilead claims to suppress sexual violence, it actually institutionalizes it, as we see at Jezebel’s, the club that provides the Commanders with a ready stable of prostitutes to service the male elite.Most important, sexual violence is apparent in the central institution of the novel, the Ceremony, which compe ls Handmaids to have sex with their Commanders. Religious Terms Used for Political Purposes Gilead is a theocracy—a government in which there is no separation between state and religion—and its official vocabulary incorporates religious terminology and biblical references. Domestic servants are called â€Å"Marthas† in reference to a domestic character in the New Testament; the local police are â€Å"Guardians of the Faith†; soldiers are â€Å"Angels†; and the Commanders are officially â€Å"Commanders of the Faithful. All the stores have biblical names: Loaves and Fishes, All Flesh, Milk and Honey. Even the automobiles have biblical names like Behemoth, Whirlwind, and Chariot. Using religious terminology to describe people, ranks, and businesses whitewashes political skullduggery in pious language. It provides an ever-present reminder that the founders of Gilead insist they act on the authority of the Bible itself. Politics and religion sleep in the same bed in Gilead, where the slogan â€Å"God is a National Resource† predominates. Similarities between Reactionary and Feminist IdeologiesAlthough The Handmaid’s Tale offers a specifically feminist critique of the reactionary attitudes toward women that hold sway in Gilead, Atwood occasionally draws similarities between the architects of Gilead and radical feminists such as Offred’s mother. Both groups claim to protect women from sexual violence, and both show themselves willing to restrict free speech in order to accomplish this goal. Offred recalls a scene in which her mother and other feminists burn porn magazines. Like the founders of Gilead, these feminists ban some expressions of sexuality.Gilead also uses the feminist rhetoric of female solidarity and â€Å"sisterhood† to its own advantage. These points of similarity imply the existence of a dark side of feminist rhetoric. Despite Atwood’s gentle criticism of the feminist left, her re al target is the religious right. Symbols Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. Cambridge, Massachusetts The center of Gilead’s power, where Offred lives, is never explicitly identified, but a number of clues mark it as the town of Cambridge.Cambridge, its neighboring city of Boston, and Massachusetts as a whole were centers for America’s first religious and intolerant society—the Puritan New England of the seventeenth century. Atwood reminds us of this history with the ancient Puritan church that Offred and Ofglen visit early in the novel, which Gilead has turned into a museum. The choice of Cambridge as a setting symbolizes the direct link between the Puritans and their spiritual heirs in Gilead. Both groups dealt harshly with religious, sexual, or political deviation. Harvard UniversityGilead has transformed Harvard’s buildings into a detention center run by the Eyes, Gilead’s secret po lice. Bodies of executed dissidents hang from the Wall that runs around the college, and Salvagings (mass executions) take place in Harvard Yard, on the steps of the library. Harvard becomes a symbol of the inverted world that Gilead has created: a place that was founded to pursue knowledge and truth becomes a seat of oppression, torture, and the denial of every principle for which a university is supposed to stand. The Handmaids’ Red HabitsThe red color of the costumes worn by the Handmaids symbolizes fertility, which is the caste’s primary function. Red suggests the blood of the menstrual cycle and of childbirth. At the same time, however, red is also a traditional marker of sexual sin, hearkening back to the scarlet letter worn by the adulterous Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale of Puritan ideology. While the Handmaids’ reproductive role supposedly finds its justification in the Bible, in some sense they commit adultery by having sex with the ir Commanders, who are married men. The wives, who often call the Handmaids sluts, feel the pain of this sanctioned adultery.The Handmaids’ red garments, then, also symbolize the ambiguous sinfulness of the Handmaids’ position in Gilead. A Palimpsest A palimpsest is a document on which old writing has been scratched out, often leaving traces, and new writing put in its place; it can also be a document consisting of many layers of writing simply piled one on top of another. Offred describes the Red Center as a palimpsest, but the word actually symbolizes all of Gilead. The old world has been erased and replaced, but only partially, by a new order. Remnants of the pre-Gilead days continue to infuse the new world.The Eyes The Eyes of God are Gilead’s secret police. Both their name and their insignia, a winged eye, symbolize the eternal watchfulness of God and the totalitarian state. In Gilead’s theocracy, the eye of God and of the state are assumed to be one and the same. Chapters 1–3 Summary: Chapter 1 The narrator, whose name we learn later is Offred, describes how she and other women slept on army cots in a gymnasium. Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth patrol with electric cattle prods hanging from their leather belts, and the women, forbidden to speak aloud, whisper without attracting attention.Twice daily, the women walk in the former football field, which is surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Armed guards called Angels patrol outside. While the women take their walks, the Angels stand outside the fence with their backs to the women. The women long for the Angels to turn and see them. They imagine that if the men looked at them or talked to them, they could use their bodies to make a deal. The narrator describes lying in bed at night, quietly exchanging names with the other women. Summary: Chapter 2The scene changes, and the story shifts from the past to the present tense. Offred now lives in a room fitted out with curtains, a pillow, a framed picture, and a braided rug. There is no glass in the room, not even over the framed picture. The window does not open completely, and the windowpane is shatterproof. There is nothing in the room from which one could hang a rope, and the door does not lock or even shut completely. Looking around, Offred remembers how Aunt Lydia told her to consider her circumstances a privilege, not a prison.Handmaids, to which group the narrator belongs, dress entirely in red, except for the white wings framing their faces. Household servants, called â€Å"Marthas,† wear green uniforms. â€Å"Wives† wear blue uniforms. Offred often secretly listens to Rita and Cora, the Marthas who work in the house where she lives. Once, she hears Rita state that she would never debase herself as someone in Offred’s position must. Cora replies that Offred works for all the women, and that if she (Cora) were younger and had not gotten her tubes tied, she cou ld have been in Offred’s situation. Offred wishes she could alk to them, but Marthas are not supposed to develop relationships with Handmaids. She wishes that she could share gossip like they do—gossip about how one Handmaid gave birth to a stillborn, how a Wife stabbed a Handmaid with a knitting needle out of jealousy, how someone poisoned her Commander with toilet cleaner. Offred dresses for a shopping trip. She collects from Rita the tokens that serve as currency. Each token bears an image of what it will purchase: twelve eggs, cheese, and a steak. Summary: Chapter 3 On her way out, Offred looks around for the Commander’s Wife but does not see her.The Commander’s Wife has a garden, and she knits constantly. All the Wives knit scarves â€Å"for the Angels at the front lines,† but the Commander’s Wife is a particularly skilled knitter. Offred wonders if the scarves actually get used, or if they just give the Wives something to do. She remem bers arriving at the Commander’s house for the first time, after the two couples to which she was previously assigned â€Å"didn’t work out. † One of the Wives in an earlier posting secluded herself in the bedroom, purportedly drinking, and Offred hoped the new Commander’s Wife would be different.On the first day, her new mistress told her to stay out of her sight as much as possible, and to avoid making trouble. As she talked, the Wife smoked a cigarette, a black-market item. Handmaids, Offred notes, are forbidden coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol. Then the Wife reminded Offred that the Commander is her husband, permanently and forever. â€Å"It’s one of the things we fought for,† she said, looking away. Suddenly, Offred recognized her mistress as Serena Joy, the lead soprano from Growing Souls Gospel Hour, a Sunday-morning religious program that aired when Offred was a child. Analysis: Chapters 1–5The Handmaid’s Tale plunges im mediately into an unfamiliar, unexplained world, using unfamiliar terms like â€Å"Handmaid,† â€Å"Angel,† and â€Å"Commander† that only come to make sense as the story progresses. Offred gradually delivers information about her past and the world in which she lives, often narrating through flashbacks. She narrates these flashbacks in the past tense, which distinguishes them from the main body of the story, which she tells in the present tense. The first scene, in the gymnasium, is a flashback, as are Offred’s memories of the Marthas’ gossip and her first meeting with the Commander’s Wife.Although at this point we do not know what the gymnasium signifies, or why the narrator and other women lived there, we do gather some information from the brief first chapter. The women in the gymnasium live under the constant surveillance of the Angels and the Aunts, and they cannot interact with one another. They seem to inhabit a kind of prison. Offre d likens the gym to a palimpsest, a parchment either erased and written on again or layered with multiple writings. In the gym palimpsest, Offred sees multiple layers of history: high school girls going to basketball games and dances wearing miniskirts, then pants, then green hair.Likening the gym to a palimpsest also suggests that the society Offred now inhabits has been superimposed on a previous society, and traces of the old linger beneath the new. In Chapter 2, Offred sits in a room that seems at first like a pleasant change from harsh atmosphere of the gymnasium. However, her description of her room demonstrates that the same rigid, controlling structures that ruled the gym continue to constrict her in this house. The room is like a prison in which all means of defense, or escape by suicide or flight, have been removed.She wonders if women everywhere get issued exactly the same sheets and curtains, which underlines the idea that the room is like a government-ordered prison. We do not know yet what purpose Offred serves in the house, although it seems to be sexual—Cora comments that she could have done Offred’s work if she hadn’t gotten her tubes tied, which implies that Offred’s function is reproductive. Serena Joy’s coldness to Offred makes it plain that she considers Offred a threat, or at least an annoyance. We do know from Offred’s name that she, like all Handmaids, is considered state property.Handmaids’ names simply reflect which Commander owns them. â€Å"Of Fred,† â€Å"Of Warren,† and â€Å"Of Glen† get collapsed into â€Å"Offred,† â€Å"Ofwarren,† and â€Å"Ofglen. † The names make more sense when preceded by the word â€Å"Property†: â€Å"Property Offred,† for example. Thus, every time the women hear their names, they are reminded that they are no more than property. These early chapters establish the novel’s style, which is charac terized by considerable physical description. The narrator devotes attention to the features of the gym, the Commander’s house, and Serena Joy’s pinched face.Offred tells the story in nonlinear fashion, following the temporal leaps of her own mind. The narrative goes where her thoughts take it—one moment to the present, in the Commander’s house, and the next back in the gymnasium, or in the old world, the United States as it exists in Offred’s memory. We do not have the sense, as in some first-person narratives, that Offred is composing this story from a distanced vantage point, reflecting back on her past. Rather, all of her thoughts have a quality of immediacy. We are there with Offred as she goes about her daily life, and as she slips out of the present and thinks about her past.Chapters 4–6 Summary: Chapter 4 As she leaves the house to go shopping, Offred notices Nick, a Guardian of the Faith, washing the Commander’s car. Nick liv es above the garage. He winks at Offred—an offense against -decorum— but she ignores him, fearing that he may be an Eye, a spy assigned to test her. She waits at the corner for Ofglen, another Handmaid with whom Offred will do her shopping. The Handmaids always travel in pairs when outside. Ofglen arrives, and they exchange greetings, careful not to say anything that isn’t strictly orthodox.Ofglen says that she has heard the war is going well, and that the army recently defeated a group of Baptist rebels. â€Å"Praise be,† Offred responds. They reach a checkpoint manned by two young Guardians. The Guardians serve as a routine police force and do menial labor. They are men too young, too old, or just generally unfit for the army. Young Guardians, such as these, can be dangerous because they are frequently more fanatical or nervous than older guards. These young Guardians recently shot a Martha as she fumbled for her pass, because they thought she was a man in disguise carrying a bomb.Offred heard Rita and Cora talking about the shooting. Rita was angry, but Cora seemed to accept the shooting as the price one pays for safety. At the checkpoint, Offred subtly flirts with one of the Guardians by making eye contact, cherishing this small infraction against the rules. She considers how sex-starved the young men must be, since they cannot marry without permission, masturbation is a sin, and pornographic magazines and films are now forbidden. The Guardians can only hope to become Angels, when they will be allowed to take a wife and perhaps eventually get a Handmaid.This marks the first time in the novel we hear the word â€Å"Handmaid† used. Summary: Chapter 5 In town, Ofglen and Offred wait in line at the shops. We learn the name of this new society: â€Å"The Republic of Gilead. † Offred remembers the pre-Gilead days, when women were not protected: they had to keep their doors closed to strangers and ignore catcalls on the s treet. Now no one whistles at women as they walk; no one touches them or talks to them. She remembers Aunt Lydia explaining that more than one kind of freedom exists, and that â€Å"[i]n the days of anarchy, it was freedom to.Now you are being given freedom from. † The women shop at stores known by names like All Flesh and Milk and Honey. Pictures of meat or fruit mark the stores, rather than lettered signs, because â€Å"they decided that even the names of shops were too much temptation for us. † A Handmaid in the late stages of pregnancy enters the store and raises a flurry of excitement. Offred recognizes her from the Red Center. She used to be known as Janine, and she was one of Aunt Lydia’s favorites. Now her name is Ofwarren. Offred senses that Janine went shopping just so she could show off her pregnancy.Offred thinks of her husband, Luke, and their daughter, and the life they led before Gilead existed. She remembers a prosaic detail from their everyday l ife together: she used to store plastic shopping bags under the sink, which annoyed Luke, who worried that their daughter would get one of the bags caught over her head. She remembers feeling guilty for her carelessness. Offred and Ofglen finish their shopping and go out to the sidewalk, where they encounter a group of Japanese tourists and their interpreter. The tourists want to take a photograph, but Offred says no.Many of the interpreters are Eyes, and Handmaids must not appear immodest. Offred and Ofglen marvel at the women’s exposed legs, high heels, and polished toenails. The tourists ask if they are happy, and since Ofglen does not answer, Offred replies that they are very happy. Summary: Chapter 6 This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary. (See Important Quotations Explained) As they return from shopping, Ofglen suggests they take the long way and pass by the church. It is an old building, decorated inside with paintings of what seem to be Puritans from the colonial era.Now the former church is kept as a museum. Offred describes a nearby boathouse, old dormitories, a football stadium, and redbrick sidewalks. Atwood implies that Offred is walking across what used to be the campus of Harvard University. Across the street from the church sits the Wall, where the authorities hang the bodies of executed criminals as examples to the rest of the Republic of Gilead. The authorities cover the men’s heads with bags. One of the bags looks painted with a red smile where the blood has seeped through.All of the six corpses wear signs around their necks picturing fetuses, signaling that they were executed for performing abortions before Gilead came into existence. Although their actions were legal at the time, their crimes are being punished retroactively. Offred feels relieved that none of the bodies could be Luke’s, since he was not a doctor. As she stares at the bodies, Offred thinks of Aunt Lydia telling them that soon their new life would seem ordinary. Analysis: Chapters 4–6 The theocratic nature of Offred’s society, the name of which we learn for the first time in these chapters, becomes clear during her shopping trip.A theocracy exists when there is no separation between church and state, and a single religion dominates all aspects of life. In Gilead, state and religion are inseparable. The official language of Gilead uses many biblical terms, from the various ranks that men hold (Angels, Guardians of the Faith, Commanders of the Faith, the Eyes of God), to the stores where Offred and Ofglen shop (Milk and Honey, All Flesh, Loaves and Fishes), to the names of automobiles (Behemoth, Whirlwind, Chariot). The very name â€Å"Gilead† refers to a location in ancient Israel. The name also recalls a line from the Book of Psalms: â€Å"there is a balm in Gilead. This phrase, we realize later, has been transformed into a kind of national motto. Atwood does not describe the exact details of Gilead’s state religion. In Chapter 2, Offred describes her room as â€Å"a return to traditional values. † The religious right in America uses the phrase â€Å"traditional values,† so Atwood seems to link the values of this dystopic society to the values of the Protestant Christian religious right in America. Gilead seems more Protestant than anything else, but its brand of Christianity pays far more attention to the Old Testament than the New Testament.The religious justification for having Handmaids, for instance, is taken from the Book of Genesis. We learn that neither Catholics nor Jews are welcome in Gilead. The former must convert, while the latter must emigrate to Israel or renounce their Judaism. Atwood seems less interested in religion than in the intersection between religion, politics, and sex. The Handmaid’s Tale explores the political oppression of women, carried out in the name of God but in large part moti vated by a desire to control women’s bodies.Gilead sees women’s sexuality as dangerous: women must cover themselves from head to toe, for example, and not reveal their sexual attractions. When Offred attracts the Guardians, she feels this ability to inspire sexual attraction is the only power she retains. Every other privilege is stripped away, down to the very act of reading, which is forbidden. Women are not even allowed to read store signs. By controlling women’s minds, by not allowing them to read, the authorities more easily control women’s bodies. The patriarchs of Gilead want to control women’s bodies, their sex lives, and their reproductive rights.The bodies of slain abortionists on the Wall hammer home the point: feminists believe that women must have abortion rights in order to control their own bodies, and in Gilead, giving women control of their bodies is a horrifying crime. When Offred and Ofglen go to town to shop, geographical clues and street names suggest that they live in what was once Cambridge, Massachusetts, and that their walk takes them near what used to be the campus of Harvard University. The choice of Cambridge for the setting of The Handmaid’s Tale is significant, since Massachusetts was a Puritan stronghold during the colonial period of the United States.The Puritans were a persecuted minority in England, but when they fled to New England, they re-created the repression they suffered at home, this time casting themselves as the repressors rather than the repressed. They established an intolerant religious society in some ways similar to Gilead. Atwood locates her fictional intolerant society in a place founded by intolerant people. By turning the old church into a museum, and leaving untouched portraits of Puritan forebears, the founders of Gilead suggest their admiration for the old Puritan society. Chapters 7–9 Summary: Chapter 7I would like to believe this is a story I’m tel ling. I need to believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance. (See Important Quotations Explained) At night, Offred likes to remember her former life. She recalls talking to her college friend, Moira, in her dorm room. She remembers being a child and going to a park with her mother, where they saw a group of women and a few men burning pornographic magazines. Offred has forgotten a large chunk of time, which she thinks might be the fault of an injection or pill the authorities gave her.She remembers waking up somewhere and screaming, demanding to know what they had done with her daughter. The authorities told Offred she was unfit, and her daughter was with those fit to care for her. They showed her a photograph of her child wearing a white dress, holding the hand of a strange woman. As she recounts these events, Offred imagines she is telling her story to someone, telling things that she cannot write down, because writi ng is forbidden. Summary: Chapter 8 Returning from another shopping trip, Ofglen and Offred notice three new bodies on the Wall.One is a Catholic priest and two are Guardians who bear placards around their necks that read â€Å"Gender Treachery. † This means they were hanged for committing homosexual acts. After looking at the bodies for a while, Offred tells Ofglen that they should continue walking home. They meet a funeral procession of Econowives, the wives of poorer men. One Econowife carries a small black jar. From the size of the jar, Offred can tell that it contains a dead embryo from an early miscarriage—one that came too early to know whether it was an â€Å"Unbaby. † The Econowives do not like the Handmaids.One woman scowls, and another spits at the Handmaids as they pass. At the corner near the Commander’s home, Ofglen says â€Å"Under His Eye,† the orthodox good-bye, hesitating as if she wants to say more but then continuing on her way. When Offred reaches the Commander’s driveway she passes Nick, who breaks the rules by asking her about her walk. She says nothing and goes into the house. She sees Serena Joy out in the garden and recalls how after Serena’s singing career ended, she became a spokesperson for respecting the â€Å"sanctity of the home† and for women staying at home instead of working.Serena herself never stayed at home, because she was always out giving speeches. Once, Offred remembers, someone tried to assassinate Serena but killed her secretary instead. Offred wonders if Serena is angry that she can no longer be a public figure, now that what she advocated has come to pass and all women, including her, are confined to the home. In the kitchen, Rita fusses over the quality of the purchases as she always does. Offred retreats upstairs and notices the Commander standing outside her room. He is not supposed to be there. He nods at her and retreats. Summary: Chapter 9Offred remember s renting hotel rooms and waiting for Luke to meet her, before they were married, when he was cheating on his first wife. She regrets that she did not fully appreciate the freedom to have her own space when she wanted it. Thinking of the problems she and Luke thought they had, she realizes they were truly happy, although they did not know it. She remembers examining her room in the Commander’s house little by little after she first arrived. She saw stains on the mattress, left over from long-ago sex, and she discovered a Latin phrase freshly scratched into the floor of the closet: Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.Offred does not understand Latin. It pleases her to imagine that this message allows her to commune with the woman who wrote it. She pictures this woman as freckly and irreverent, someone like Moira. Later, she asks Rita who stayed in her room before her. Rita tells her to specify which one, implying that there were a number of Handmaids before her. Offred says, gue ssing, â€Å"[t]he lively one . . . with freckles. † Rita asks how Offred knew about her, but she refuses to tell Offred anything about the previous Handmaid beyond a vague statement that she did not work out. Analysis: Chapter 7–9Atwood suggests that those who seek to restrict sexual expression, whether they are feminists or religious conservatives, ultimately share the same goal—the control of sexuality, particularly women’s sexuality. In the flashback to the scene from Offred’s childhood in which women burn pornographic magazines, Atwood shows the similarity between the extremism of the left and the extremism of the right. The people burning magazines are feminists, not religious conservatives like the leaders of Gilead, yet their goal is the same: to crack down on certain kinds of sexual freedom.In other words, the desire for control over sexuality is not unique to the religious totalitarians of Gilead; it also existed in the feminist anti-porn ography crusades that preceded the fall of the United States. Gilead actually appropriates some of the rhetoric of women’s liberation in its attempt to control women. Gilead also uses the Aunts and the Aunts’ rhetoric, forcing women to control other women. Again and again in the novel, the voice of Aunt Lydia rings in Offred’s head, insisting that women are better off in Gilead, free from exploitation and violence, than they were in the dangerous freedom of pre-Gilead times.In Chapter 7, Offred relates some of the details of how she lost her child. This loss is the central wound on Offred’s psyche throughout the novel, and the novel’s great source of emotional power. The loss of her child is so painful to Offred that she can only relate the story in fits and starts; so far the details of what happened have been murky. When telling stories from her past, like the story of her daughter’s disappearance, Offred often seems to draw on a partial o r foggy memory. It almost seems as if she is remembering details from hundreds of years ago, when we know these things happened a few years before the narrative.Partly this distance is the product of emotional trauma—thinking of the past is painful for Offred. But in Chapter 7, Offred offers her own explanation for these gaps: she thinks it possible that the authorities gave her a pill or injection that harmed her memory. Immediately after remembering her daughter, Offred addresses someone she calls â€Å"you. † She could be talking to God, Luke, or an imaginary future reader. â€Å"I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling,† Offred says. â€Å"Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance . . A story is a letter. Dear You, I’ll say. † In the act of telling her imagined audience about her life, Offred reduces her life’s horror and makes its oppressive weight endurable. Also, if she can think o f her life as a story and herself as the writer, she can think of her life as controllable, fictional, something not terrifying because not real. We learn in Chapter 8 that Serena used to campaign against women’s rights. This makes her a figure worthy of pity, in a way; she supported the anti-woman principles on which Gilead was founded, but once they were mplemented, she found that they affected her as well as other women. She now lives deprived of freedom and saddled with a Handmaid who has sex with her husband. Yet Serena forfeits what pity we might feel for her by her callous, petty behavior toward Offred. Powerless in the world of men, Serena can only take out her frustration on the women under her thumb by making their lives miserable. In many ways, she treats Offred far worse than the Commander does, which suggests that Gilead’s oppressive power structure succeeds not just because men created it, but because women like Serena sustain it.Nolite te bastardes carbo rundorum—the Latin phrase scrawled in Offred’s closet by a previous Handmaid—takes on a magical importance for Offred even before she knows what it means. It symbolizes her inner resistance to Gilead’s tyranny and makes her feel like she can communicate with other strong women, like the woman who wrote the message. In Chapter 29 we learn what the phrase means, and its role in sustaining Offred’s resistance comes to seem perfectly appropriate. Chapters 10–12 Summary: Chapter 10 Offred often sings songs in her head—â€Å"Amazing Grace† or songs by Elvis.Most music is forbidden in Gilead, and there is little of it in the Commander’s home. Sometimes she hears Serena humming and listening to a recording of herself from the time when she was a famous gospel singer. Summer is approaching, and the house grows hot. Soon the Handmaids will be allowed to wear their summer dresses. Offred thinks about how Aunt Lydia would describe t he terrible things that used to happen to women in the old days, before Gilead, when they sunbathed wearing next to nothing. Offred remembers Moira throwing an â€Å"underwhore† party to sell sexy lingerie.She remembers reading stories in the papers about women who were murdered and raped, but even in the old days it seemed distant from her life and unrelated to her. Offred sits at the window, beside a cushion embroidered with the word Faith. It is the only word they have given her to read, and she spends many minutes looking at it. From her window, she watches the Commander get into his car and drive away. Summary: Chapter 11 Offred says that yesterday she went to the doctor. Every month, a Guardian accompanies Offred to a doctor, who tests her for pregnancy and disease.At the doctor’s office, Offred undresses, pulling a sheet over her body. A sheet hangs down from the ceiling, cutting off the doctor’s view of her face. The doctor is not supposed to see her fac e or speak to her if he can help it. On this visit, though, he chatters cheerfully and then offers to help her. He says many of the Commanders are either too old to produce a child or are sterile, and he suggests that he could have sex with her and impregnate her. His use of the word â€Å"sterile† shocks Offred, for officially sterile men no longer exist. In Gilead, there are only fruitful women and barren women.Offred thinks him genuinely sympathetic to her plight, but she also realizes he enjoys his own empathy and his position of power. After a moment, she declines, saying it is too dangerous. If they are caught, they will both receive the death penalty. She tries to sound casual and grateful as she refuses, but she feels frightened. To revenge her refusal, the doctor could falsely report that she has a health problem, and then she would be sent to the Colonies with the â€Å"Unwomen. † Offred also feels frightened, she realizes, because she has been given a way ou t. Summary: Chapter 12It is one of Offred’s required bath days. The bathroom has no mirror, no razors, and no lock on the door. Cora sits outside, waiting for Offred. Offred’s own naked body seems strange to her, and she finds it hard to believe that she once wore bathing suits, letting people see her thighs and arms, her breasts and buttocks. Lying in the bath, she thinks of her daughter and remembers the time when a crazy woman tried to kidnap the little girl in the supermarket. The authorities in Gilead took Offred’s then-five-year-old child from her, and three years have passed since then.Offred has no mementos of her daughter. She remember