Family relationships Essay

Mary Shelley, the author of ‘Frankenstein’ portrays a resurrected creature as either a victim or a monster depending on the reader’s response. In the following essay I am going to explore whether Frankenstein’s creature is a victim or monster; how Mary Shelley put this across in the novel and how Mary has created complicated complex characters. A victim is considered to be someone or something that is: â€Å"harmed or killed by another†; â€Å"harmed by or made to suffer from an act or circumstance† or â€Å"A person who is tricked, swindled taken advantage of†. The word originates from Latin, ‘Victima’, which is defined as â€Å"a person or animal sacrificed to a god†. These definitions link to Frankenstein’s creature because he is sacrificed to knowledge and science; injured emotionally and because of Victor’s obsessions is made to suffer. Also William, Justine, Elizabeth, Victor and the other characters who are harmed, killed and made to suffer would be considered a victim. A monster as defined in the dictionary is: â€Å"legendary animal combining features of animal and human form†; â€Å"any creature so ugly as to frighten people†; â€Å"a person who excites horror by wickedness, cruelty, etc†; â€Å"Any animal or thing huge in size†; â€Å"an animal or plant of abnormal form or the absence of certain parts or organs†. The Story of Frankenstein is extremely famous and Frankenstein’s creature has become a legendary ‘monster’ because of the popular novel: he could be described as legendary and combining animal and human forms due to his mannerisms. Mary Shelley describes the creature as monstrous because he frightens people with his ugliness; becomes cruel and perform horrendous acts. Dr Frankenstein would describe the creature as a cruel and wicked person for killing his family so is therefore monstrous. Theses monstrous actions are counteracted by Dr Frankenstein’s actions because he abandons his ‘son’. Mary Shelley makes links between her life and the novel. This could be to make the novel more original and personal to her and gives a more realistic setting and set of events to novel. Examples of this are: in August 1797 Mary was born and her parents had an ethical opposition to marriage but in March, 5 months earlier to her birth, they married to give their daughter ‘social respectability’. This relates to ‘Frankenstein’ because marriage is portrayed as negative when Elizabeth gets killed after her and Victor marries. On the 10th of September, 1797 Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary’s mother dies 10 days after her birth. This links with Victor’s life because his mother dies of Scarlet fever after nursing Justine, being close to his mother this makes him think about reviving people from the dead. Having an interesting but ‘unusual’ childhood in the novel she describes Victor’s childhood as perfect in contrast to her own. We know this in the following ways: Victor’s parents had a happy marriage. Evidence of this is ‘there was a considerable difference between the ages of my parents, but this circumstance seemed to unite them, only closer in bond of devoted affection. ‘ This shows us that Victor has a strong parent relationship as his parent’s age difference seemed to unite them we also know that Victor’s parents loved him because Mary Shelley wrote ‘my mother’s tender caresses and my father’s smile of benevolent pleasure while regarding me are my first recollections’. This emphasises the strong family bond the Frankenstein family have and shows his fist memories are positive and of his parents love for him. This links with Mary Shelley’s family relationships because in contrast to Victor’s parents, her mother and father were ’emotionally distant’ like Victor and the creature. The Greek myth of Prometheus is said to be linked in to Frankenstein because Shelley wrote a second title to the novel, ‘the Modern Prometheus’. This is because in the story of Prometheus in order to help people Prometheus stole Zeus’s fire from the sun so people would have an advantage over animals since they were given the ability to make weapons and tools. As punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock where eagles ate his liver when night fell. But when day broke the next day his liver grew back for the eagle to eat again. This torture was to last for an eternity. Eventually, Hercules slew the eagles and released Prometheus. This was to counterbalance the gift of fire the Zeus sent Pandora to earth with her box of evils. Dr Frankenstein wanted to help people by giving them an advantage over animals by resurrecting the dead and stealing people’s peaceful resting. As a punishment, his creation destroyed: his mental well being by obsession to make it; his family by killing them and his life. Overall the myth of Prometheus and the modern Prometheus are about good intentions leading to negative things and life changing experience. In 1817, Percy Shelley (Mary Shelley’s husband) and Byron discussed galvanism which is the idea of reanimating things using electricity. An Italian physicist, Lugi Galvani demonstrated what we now know to be the electrical basis of nerve impulses. Mary Shelley included these ideas in the novel and took scientific experiments to the extreme. Mary Shelley uses different narrators’ point of view in a ‘Russian doll’ narrative structure which changes the narrators as another character tells a different side of the story. She uses different people to help the reader feel like they are going deeper into the story. The different characters have their own different opinions of Frankenstein’s creature just like the reader so our opinions change as we read/hear the story through a different pair of eyes. The three different narrators are: Walton, a sea captain who writes to his sister who tells her about Victor. Victor is the second narrator who tells Walton about his life which comes to the meeting of his creature who then becomes the third narrator. The different perspectives and angles are each biased and as a result the reader sympathises with Victor when he’s telling the story and the ‘monster’ when he narrates. Mary Shelley originally wrote ‘Frankenstein’ beginning from the resurrecting the creature but later added Walton’s narrative. Captain Walton, a sea captain, venturing out to the Artic gives a similar plot to Victor Frankenstein’s. This added section seemed to be slightly random but links as the story unfolds when Victor is found. Walton gives the reader a first impression on Victor, whom he rescues from the harsh bitterly cold of the Artic. Walton description of Victor makes the reader sympathise with his appearance. Walton describes him as ‘his limbs were nearly frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering’ Mary Shelley includes this because it provides a comparison when Walton describes his admiration to Victor. We know he admires Victor because he writes to his sister ‘he is so gentle, yet so wise; his mind is so cultivated, and when he speaks although his words are culled with choicest art, yet they flow with rapidity and unparallel eloquence. ‘ Walton’s admiration to Victor makes the reader also admire him so therefore is more likely to believe the positive recollection of Victor’s story because two opinions support it. Lost, Victor confides in his saviour as he tells Walton the story of how obsession led to death and this also is a warning to Walton’s obsession for fame and glory. Frankenstein begins with his childhood where Mary Shelley describes this as perfect we know this when she writes; ‘My mother’s tender caresses and my father’s smile of benevolent pleasure while regarding me are my first recollections’. This shows Shelley has made a contrast with Victor’s childhood and later on in his life. This also emphasises his parent’s love, his perfect life and his fond memories of his childhood. This also provides dissimilarity with that of the creature. Frankenstein’s creature never has a perfect life, fatherly love and fond memories. At the beginning the reader does not sympathise with Victor’s privileged background until his mother dies of Scarlet fever: Shelley included this effect to get Victor thinking about life and death and gives an emotionally felt reason to unearth and discover the secret of immorality.

Gerrymandering: United States and Congressional Apportionment Essay

Congressional Apportionment is the process by which the United States House of Representatives are redistricted the fifty states following each constitutionally mandated decennial census. Each state is guaranteed at least one seat and all the other seats are divided among the rest of the states based on their population. Congressional Apportionment is important to the states because the more representatives a state has the more influence they have in the House and vice versa the states do not want to lose seats in the House. Congressional redistricting is the process of redrawing district boundaries when a state has more representatives than districts. The Senate does not take part in the redistricting process. Redistricting occurs every ten years, with the national census. Gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular political party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts. In order to protect incumbents and to discourage challengers by creating a district that is more populated with a certain political ideology over another to insure a politician’s chance of winning. Gerrymandering is also used in order, to enhance a political party’s strength by having a certain political parties in a district to ensure that the Democrats or Republicans win every election. The Supreme Court has placed limits on racial gerrymandering and ensuring that the districts are equally populated. Racial gerrymandering is the drawing of a district to favor one racial group over another. The Supreme Court outlawed racial gerrymandering, which prevented Southern African Americans from voting and becoming the majority. The Supreme Court also disallows majority-minority districts. The Supreme Court has also ruled that the districts must be equally populated; the districts are required to have the same number of people, so each state takes the number of people they found in the census and divides that by the number of districts.

Creative writing – Birth

Steve sat next to Tim with a small, permanent grin on his face. His life was finally back on track. Three months and he had managed to stay clean. It was a real achievement, something to be proud of. Not to mention the fact that he was waiting for his fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e to give birth to his first child. If he wasn't so thrilled with himself, Steven might have noticed that there had been no communication with any of his girlfriend's doctors of midwives for at least two hours. It wasn't something you paid attention to when you were glowing with joy at your own accomplishments. Steve and Katie's friend Tim, however, was not drunk on his own pride. He had noticed that the sun was rapidly setting, and the new addition to the Davies family hadn't yet made their grand-entrance to the world. The pair were not left on their own for much longer, however. A solemn-looking doctor flung the swinging doors at the other end of the corridor open infront of him and, in giant strides, approached the pair hurriedly. He was clutching a brown clipboard in his hand, his knuckles white and his brow furrowed. â€Å"Mr. Davies?† The doctor stopped infront of Steve and took a step back, inviting him to stand. â€Å"Yes,† admitted Steve with a smile, â€Å"what's the news?† The doctor clenched his jaw and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. â€Å"I'm afraid it's not good.† At this point Tim's eyes widened. The grin hadn't left Steven's face yet, and he stood with one hand on his hip. Met with a wall of silence the doctor, though unnerved, carried on with his explanation. â€Å"I'm afraid your partner has abnormally high blood pressure and, at this moment, we cannot assure her or your child's lives.† Steven's face fell slowly, and he slumped back into his seat, burying his head in his hands. â€Å"I'm sorry,† garbled the doctor, â€Å"you will be informed of any developments†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He turned on his heel and briskly strode for the double-doors. Tim stood up and put a hand on his best friend's shoulder reassuringly. â€Å"Don't worry, Steve†¦ They always say that. Get you expecting the worse, y'know? Katie and the baby will be just fine, trust me.† He looked down at his friend's head. His dark hair had matted as a result of Steve's nervous sweating. â€Å"Look†¦Ã¢â‚¬  began Tim, scratching the back of his neck uneasily, â€Å"I'll go and get us both a coffee. I'll get you a magazine, if you like?† He bent to Steve's level. â€Å"Mmm, sure.† Came the husky reply. â€Å"Okay†¦ I'll be back in five minutes. Chin up, Steven.† Tim flashed a weak grin as he too disappeared through the double doors. It took Steve twenty seconds to work out what he was going to do. His coat wrapped around him, collar covering up most of his face, Steve stalked along a dark road on a familiar course. In the cold night air his tears froze on his face. He had counted how many alleys he has passed. He pivoted on his heel at the entrance to the sixth. Stopping for a second, he nodded slowly to himself and pressed on. Tim McKee finally returned with two steaming decaf coffees in hand. He didn't think much of Steven's absence, assuming he had left to use the bathroom or in pursuit of food. He began to sip one cup while, non-blinking, watched steam rise from the other. Steven James Davies stood in front of the dark, derelict house. That is, if you could call it a house. It served its owner, Tom Campbell, as an office of sorts. Despite losing one of his favourite customers a few months earlier, there was no shortage of junkies to help Campbell pay the bills. Steven had been so happy when he realised he no longer needed Thomas Campbell and the substance he sold. But now there was nothing to be happy about. There was no reason for him to be alive anyway; Katie was the only reason he hadn't taken his life a year before, and now she had gone. Together they were going to raise their baby, together they were going to help people like Steven when they had no one left to turn to. He couldn't take the pressure. Leaning heavily against a damp alleyway wall, Steve began to cry. He had been there for ten minutes, shaking with sorrow. He had made up his mind though. He wasn't going to go back to the way things were. He was going to make Katie proud of him; he was going to be strong. Just as he turned away, Thomas Campbell flung open the door of his ‘house' and beckoned Steve inside with a sickening smile. Tim was starting to get worried. It had been almost an hour now. Sure, his friend was famed for his huge appetite, but surely he wouldn't be able to eat that much at a time like this. Suddenly it dawned on him. He was at Thomas's. He stood up quickly, knocking the stone cold cup of coffee all over the floor. As he strode towards the doors the doctor appeared once again. â€Å"Are you with the Davies's?† The doctor was wearing a grin not unlike the one that had been wiped off Steven's face hours before. Tim nodded, and the doctor couldn't hide his happiness any longer. â€Å"They're going to be fine,† he smiled, â€Å"Katie's blood pressure is back down and her waters just broke. She's fine†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The doctor looked slightly perplexed as McKee pushed through the doors, rounded a corner and began to sprint towards the exit of the hospital. He had to find Steve. He stumbled out of Thomas Campbell's house just ten minutes after entering it. It hadn't changed a bit in those three short months. There was still a ‘waiting room'. The smoke from cigarettes hung low in the air, and people that looked without souls stared blankly at the walls or floor. The stained wallpaper curled at the ceiling, exposing the plaster underneath. There was still the muffled sound of coughing and the awful smell. Urine, sick, the smell of rotting food†¦ It was all encapsulated in the nauseating thick air of Thomas Campbell's home. Tom had assured Steven that he was expecting him. He told him that he was weak, and that they all come back. Steve had put up with the sneering, paid and had left. He was now stumbling back down the alley, grinning manically and zigzagging from wall to wall. He bent down and let out a series of jagged, croaking laughs before carrying on towards the main road. â€Å"Watch where you're going!† Steve had bumped into an elderly man. The citizens of Steve's town had seen anything. During his life the man had become cold and harsh, and was extremely opinionated. Instead of bending down to check if Steve, now lying on the floor in a foetal position, was breathing or conscious, the man spat on him. â€Å"Damn druggies†¦ You should all go to hell, you know that?† He carried on muttering to himself as he sauntered down the road. Tim was also muttering under his breath. He couldn't believe he had left Steve on his own. He was so irresponsible. It was entirely his fault. â€Å"Steve!† He called into the dark, turning down streets he didn't know in the hope of finding his friend. â€Å"Steven!† He didn't know where he was. He had no clue where to find Steve. He had to keep searching. After a problem-free labour, Katie Winters had given birth to a healthy baby boy. â€Å"Can you send my fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ through, please?† It felt as though he had searched down every street in the city. Panting, Tim leant against a car to try and catch his breath. It was then he saw him. â€Å"STEVEN!† He called, running towards the shadowy figure that was crouching on the other side of the road. â€Å"Steven! You idiot! Katie's fine! She was going in to labour when I left!† Steve struggled to his feet. He could just make out what Tim was saying. He broke from his stupor and began to amble across the road towards his friend. He reached halfway before there was a flash of white light. A speeding car had just turned down the quiet street. Steve turned towards it and froze. There was a screech of brakes and then nothing. He was thrown into the air and rolled off the bonnet of the car, which sped away as quickly as it had come. Tim rushed to the middle of the road and knelt by his Steven's side. â€Å"Somebody called an ambulance!† He screamed, though he couldn't hear himself. Steve reached out for Tim's gloved hand and squeezed it. The faint call of ambulance sirens rang out through the night. Steven looked up at Tim, smiled, and fell back to the ground.

Capabilities and Resources of Westfield

Capabilities of Westfield include their global operation. This is due to the reason that according to the reports, Westfield is having their operations in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Croatia and the United States. Thus, they are already having the experience of entering and operating in new countries. It will be beneficial for them to use these experiences in entering in other foreign markets. Moreover, they are listed under the Australian stock exchange and are publicly traded company. Thus, they are having huge access to the financial resources. Their capabilities also include diverse product areas. According to the reports, Westfield is mainly having their business growth in the fashion and leisure sector. Thus, these sectors will also help them in having their market growth in the proposed host country. One of the major strengths for Westfield is the positive brand image and established market in Australia. This will help them to take more risks in the host country. The positive brand image of them will help in pushing their brand in the new markets. Another strength of them is having diverse business presence. Thus, it will help them to cater to different business sectors in the target market. This will also reduce their risk in entering in the new markets. Westfield is already having their presence in different countries and thus it will be easier for them to target the new market more effectively. Entering in the emerging countries will have more business potentiality for Westfield due to the reason that in the current time, developing economies are witnessing more growth compared to the developed countries. Another probable opportunity for Westfield will be lower cost of operation in the developing countries. This is due to the reason that Westfield will find cheaper resources for their business operation in the developing countries. Thus, the profitability of them will get increased. China is a highly populated nation in the world. The huge lucrative market of China is great for business opportunity. With the GDP rate of 6.8% in 2017, it is expected to be the fastest growing economies in the coming years (Festing & Schà ¤fer, 2014). China is always perceived as market growth to provide cheap labor and facilitates in low manufacturing costs.   Westfield Group has to bring something unique in the Chinese market otherwise the company will land itself in a passive position. While entering the market with new resources and productivity would lead to provide a major threat to the existing companies (Andersà ©n, Jansson & Ljungkvist, 2016). The regulatory bodies of China mostly operate in an opaque way that makes the country too difficult to forecast the regulatory changes. Joint venture is beneficial as the low risk market strategy. The GDP rate of China has been growing recently since the past few years and the growth rate is at 6.8%. (Kozlenkova, Samaha & Palmatier, 2014). The existing population of the region also provides a great opportunity for the multinational companies to establish business. This facilitates in providing abundant of human resources to the firm. Westfield Group can enter the Chinese market and expand its business as the China has a favorable business market environment. Cross border economic activities has also increased to a great extent. The literacy rate in China has also increased and majority of the people within the country is literate. Joint Venture will be more beneficial to do business in China (Nyberg et al., 2014). It is the most effective way to enter in the emerging market. The cultural differences between the two countries should be ascertained to maximize profit in the overseas target market. Though the common business language is English still there can be language issue in the market of China. Moreover, legislation policy also varies worldwide, hence Westfield need to investigate the legal policies and adhered to the local laws. Andersà ©n, J., Jansson, C., &Ljungkvist, T. (2016). Resource Immobility and Sustained Performance: A Systematic Assessment of How Immobility Has Been Considered in Empirical Resource?based Studies.  International Journal of   Management Reviews,  18(4), 371-396. Brandon?Jones, E., Squire, B., Autry, C. W., & Petersen, K. J. (2014). A contingent resource?based perspective of supply chain resilience and robustness.  Journal of Supply Chain Management ,  50(3), 55-73. Festing, M., &Schà ¤fer, L. (2014). Generational challenges to talent management : A framework for talent retention based on the psychological-contract perspective.  Journal of World Business,  49(2), 262-271. Kozlenkova, I. V., Samaha, S. A., &Palmatier, R. W. (2014). Resource-based theory in marketing.  Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,  42(1), 1-21. Lin, Y., & Wu, L. Y. (2014). Exploring the role of dynamic capabilities in firm performance under the resource-based view framework.  Journal of business research,  67(3), 407-413. Nyberg, A. J., Moliterno, T. P., Hale Jr, D., &Lepak, D. P. (2014). Resource-based perspectives on unit-level human capital: A review and integration.  Journal of Management,  40(1), 316-346. www.theaustralian.com.au. (2018).  Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 12 April 2018, from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/westfield-corporation-to-navigate-retail-storm/news-story/498245965eb0a4e94f61b855d718c8bb

Project Finance, Accounting and Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project Finance, Accounting and Control - Essay Example Weaknesses of the Annual Budget The approach of annual budgeting, with the inclusion of multi variables and numerous factors, emerge as a complex process. Consequently, the approach involves many advantages along with few major drawbacks. For instance, there are many shortcomings in the annual budget preparation irrespective to different budgeting approaches. The inherited weaknesses which can be by far identified in the annual budget are discussed below: Weak Forecasting Capabilities The most critical step in the budgeting process is related to the forecasting capabilities regarding the financial resources that will be available in the future course of business operations. Immense technical expertises are required in order to forecast the revenue collection and expenses with high level of accuracy (Martinez-Vazquez, 1997). The level at which the forecasting will be made is a decisive consideration. To initiate the process of budget forecasting there are certain considerations that s hould be adhered by the executors, i.e. industry-level forecasting, corporate forecasting, product forecasting and product-line forecasting. During the process of budget forecasting, inclusion of all these factors are not considered to be complex, but in turn evolves as a time-consuming process. Consequently, the lack of forecasting capabilities makes the budget risky in executing. In addition to that, different types of problems occur that make the budget restructuring essential and therefore increases the cost (Mentzer & Gomes, n.d.). Insufficient Budget Control of Certain Funds There is lack of control over the budget in regard to certain funds that are variable in nature depending upon the period of operation. The budgeting officer needs to contact each department and analyze the debit and credits of the department in order to find out the funds’ leverage upon the department. Although incorporating this intensive technique, the budget does not have sufficient control over certain funds (New York University, 2007). These funds vary in nature and controlling them within the budgeting process limits is somewhat impossible. This tends to change the overall financial funding. Inclusively, the fund might be internal or external. Pulling the funds for the specified fund option is often misinterpreted as budgeting, which ultimately results to ineffective budget planning. Therefore, the overall planning needs to be re-planed due to the ineffective balance of the funds in the budget. Contextually, the level of control in the fund management in budgeting becomes difficult while drafting the budget for an accounting period (Flexstudy, n.d.). Profitability Index In order to forecast the profitability index, an estimation of the cost of capital is required. But this can not provide the corrective decision when applied to compute mutually exclusive projects (Peterson-Drake, n.d.). The decision may be incorrect while computing and this will result in failure of the budget of the project. The budget model is not capable of determining the profitability index to ensure the effectiveness of the financial status of the company

Critical thinking assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical thinking assignment - Essay Example Conversely, soil in front of laboratory might have been used in forensic testing. The soil texture is compacted, which means that the soil has purity. The permeability of the soil could be measured during the chemical process. Basing on the soil’s texture, one can make conclusions concerning its composition (Orthmann and Hess 4). The physical properties to be assessed can also include weight, color, boiling point, and melting point of the soil. Compaction can be instrumental in determining the consistency in soil samples of the same origin. Observation of color change is necessary in an experiment that measures consistency in the samples of soils. The density gradient method assists in identifying an element found in the soil. In the experiment, a soil sample is placed in a cylinder containing solutions of varying densities. A band on the surface of the cylinder signifies the presence of elements in a soil sample. As such, the particles are suspended in between the solutions of different densities. Observation method can also be instrumental in detecting elements in the soil when the sample is dissolved in a solution. This information can be useful during a criminal investigation, as it assists in analyzing evidence in a crime

Introduction to Forensic Archaeology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Introduction to Forensic Archaeology - Essay Example To succeed, the archaeological techniques used had to meet the requirements of forensic exhumation. The Sri Lankan and the Rwandese cases are just a few of the cases in which the importance of archaeological methods in mass grave excavation and exhumation are confirmed. It is clearly evident that forensic investigations of mass graves largely benefits from archaeology and soil studies (Aldenderfer & Maschner, 1996). Archaeological knowledge has been identified to be particularly useful in the identification and location of mass graves as well as in the collection of human remains (Lieberman, 1991). In all these processes, keenness is highly valued so that artifacts are clearly collected and recorded without damages (Barker, 1993). Essentially, forensic archaeology refers to the use of archaeological tools, methods and techniques in identifying, gathering, synthesizing and analysing evidences for legal and investigation purposes (Connor, 2007). In most cases, archaeologists are hired to help investigators identify potential or suspected mass graves. In this identification of mass grave sites, geophysical and geological techniques are often applied in the assessing, documenting, mapping of scenes, excavation of artefacts and remains and in the reporting of findings (Gifford-Gonzalez, 1985). The key targeted areas in which forensic archaeology is applied include clandestine burial sites and buried artefacts, which help be useful in criminal investigations (Canter, 1994). These items could be victims’ personal belongings or murder weapons (Westman, 1994). There are several detection and excavation techniques that forensic archaeology applies in locating burial mass graves and other sites of interest (Hunte r & Cox, 2005). There are two main reasons mass grave excavation is normally done; to provide information for human rights work and for forensic medico-legal investigations (Pedeli