My Antonia by Willa Cather Essay Example for Free

My Antonia by Willa Cather Essay Based on the novel, Jim Burden’s observation of Antonia and even the way he looks at her and interacts with her, it seems clear that he loved Antonia. He did not pursue her, however. Jim spent his childhood in his grandfather’s house in the prairie and spent a lot of time with Antonia. Eventually, in the second book, he spends more time with Antonia and also with the girls working in town. It is at this time that he notices the sexuality of Antonia. Hence, his descriptions of Antonia, and later of Lena, become charged with sexuality. Jim Burden’s relationship with Antonia remained platonic first, because Antonia put emphasis on the four years difference they had and looked down at Jim as her junior. Hence, Jim felt that Antonia looked down on him as a child. When he turned his attention to Lena Lingard, she decided to toy with the young man’s feelings. Antonia had to intervene to prevent Jim from being heartbroken. The relationship between Antonia and Jim remained platonic, at least on the surface. Jim did not see through the defenses set up by Antonia to prevent their being linked romantically together. But since Jim turned his attention to Lena, Antonia felt that she should protect the emotions of Jim. Jim and Antonia are connected with the threads of childhood and of the friendship of growing up together. But Jim, being an orphan and a man, has to study and pursue his dreams for himself. His education and the very act of pursuing his dreams stand in the way between him and Antonia. Years later when he goes back and finds Antonia with her husband and her ten children, he feels affectionate to them yet he adds a wistful longing by saying that Antonia and he â€Å"possessed together the precious, the incommunicable past. † In the end, that was what they shared together. Works Cited Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954.

Essay --

George Bilgere, an American Poet writes a touching but sad poem about his personal life. Bilgere who is the main character in the poem takes his readers on a journey about the survival of his struggles in life. Coming from a family with divorced parents, alcoholic father and mother who passed away lead him to be more open with his poetry. In the poem â€Å" Like Riding a Bicycle† Bilgere informs his readers about the struggles he had to face throughout his childhood due to not having a mother or father figure around at a young age. Throughout the poem, Bilgere shows that even though you struggle in life, there is alway a way to find yourself as a successful individual. Bilgere was a young boy who suffered from alcohol abuse. The first few stanzas of the poem started off showing happiness when describing his father teaching him how to ride a bicycle. Getting deeper into the poem, it turns to a rough point when Bilgere compares the push while riding a bike to his own marriage. For instance â€Å" As I make some perilous adult launch / like pulling away from my wife.† (462) Knowing that his father and mother split up when Bilgere was a young child, shows that the divorce affected his future. Bilgere’s father alcohol problem destroyed their family. The line â€Å" On their own divorce, their balance / long gone and the hard ground already / rising up to smite them† ( 462) shows the feeling of being abandoned and left alone. His father's alcoholism caused his actions to become violent. For instance â€Å" He swore and stomped off.† (462) which demonstrates to the reader that the father had trouble controlling his temper towar ds his son and wife. Throughout the entire poem, it shows that Bilgere had strong anger towards his father but learns to appreciate ... ...er evening† (463) gives us the thought of him remembering it all, but â€Å" the pacific shoreline† (463) which proves that the bicycle ride was representing a new life. Bilgere gives his readers the conclusion to never give up even when life turns upside down. Bilgere was a young boy who survived a tough childhood and grew up to be a successful man. Even though he didn't have the childhood most children have shows that anything is possible. We shouldn't give up on anything when life gets difficult for us. Bilgere proves to his reader that giving up doesn't get you anywhere; doing something about it does. Knowing that Bilgere was about to find happiness and be confident in the person he had became gives me the hope of a better future. Life will through some tough punches but better to take the pain than to give up because god has something better stored for the future.

What is meant by financial services

Financial services in today’s society has become more than what a high street bank can offer you from behind a counter. It has become a diverse functional area within any economically adequate society. Throughout this essay I have tried to grasp the main concepts concerning Financial Services and condense them into an essay of relatively minor proportions in comparison to the subject matter. I hope I can give you, the reader an insight into the world of financial services in all its diversity. So what is meant by â€Å"financial services†. To be honest there is no straightforward definition such is the spread of financial services across the business spectrum. We can however dam different organisation under the heading of financial services to give you an idea of what financial service intails. Financial service is understood to include â€Å"banking, insurance, building societies, stock brooking and investment services†. These are the 5 main areas described by Brian Anderton in his 1995 book â€Å"current issues in financial services†. Brian also found it difficult to pinpoint a definitive meaning and found it easier to list organisation associated. Going in to detail when concerning the institution aids in creating a further understanding of financial services yourself. Of the main financial institutions banks are the most common. Banks can be either â€Å"commercial† or â€Å"merchant†. Dealing with retail and investment respectively. Commercial banks are easily found on the high street and rely on deposits from ordinary people. There is very little interest paid to their savings accounts however savers can borrow sums of money from the banks from which the banks make profit from interest on the loan. Merchant banking is slightly more complicated when dealing with finances and in my opinion is more exciting. Merchant banks arrange finance deals and charge for this service. This investing is slightly risky and less straightforward. However the profit rewards outweigh the timescale and effort needed to invest. Investment institutions such as pensions and insurance companies again take the liquid earnings of their clients and invest them in a wide range of profit making investments. Payment to these companies often takes the form of monthly payments taken by debit from wages. These companies give clients a sense of security, and in the claim free years to come, the chance of a large windfall payment. Large investment institution deals with modern day trading, the trading of assets and debt. It is not fast companies that trade but individual people. In this hectic rat race people and institutions stand to loose and gain huge amounts of money. Due to the uncertain nature of this trade, people and institutions are extremely keen to lend as this is seen as a stable funds reclaim if it becomes necessary to do so. The textbook definition for GDP- across domestic product is the total value of all the goods and services produced by the residents in this country. The fact that the financial sector and service sectors are growing is in no doubt, neither is the quite mind blowing increase in gross domestic product from years 1952 – 1992. An overall increase of 21% of EDP from ?381m in 1952 to ?121704m in 1992 this growth is nothing less than remarkable. This forty-year spell has seen such a huge financial success in terms of the sheer man of profit gain that the reasons for FS contributing so greatly to the GDP must be assessed. In the past Britain could be seen as a true industrialist profits made and traded through visible earnings such as machinery and farm produce. However the rise in strength of nation such as the US and major Asian powers, with their seemingly endless resources has seen the death of Britain the industrial workhorse. On this level Britain could have remained at a financial and trading standstill. Not so however Britain has found its new market – the financial market. And with an educational population Britain set about resurrecting the countries profit making ability through invisible earning of finance matters. The idea of visible and invisible earnings is extremely important to Britains economy. So let me explain that apart from obvious differences between visible and invisible.

Ikea Operations Management - 2832 Words

Operations Management:IKEA IKEA’s BUSINESS IDEA (www.ikea.com): â€Å"We shall offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. Introduction At the outset, it may be useful to characterise IKEA in terms of the characteristics of demand (also known as the four Vs, see Slack et al. p 20). First, IKEA is clearly a high volume operation – as indeed most international retailers are – which lends to systematising operations but which implies capital intensive processes and therefore cost considerations will be crucial. Second, IKEA offers a large number of products (up to 14000 depending on the country/store) so there is high variety in the†¦show more content†¦The company offers value for money furnishing with a wide range of choice. Many of its products are designed to be modular / stackable which assists in multi-usage and personalisation of its products. Clearly its product offering is â€Å"no frills†. In line with the Scandinavian idea of minimalism, IKEA seeks to eliminate the unnecessary in its prouducts but it makes a point out of not compromising on function or technical quality. IKEA focuses on the use of raw materials but much of its product range uses board-on-frame construction - layering of sheets of wood over a honeycomb core that gives a strong, lightweight structure with a minimal wood content. The IKEA website sets out a principled approach in terms of product safety, in particular in relation to the use of chemicals and other potentially hazardous substances. Particular attention is placed on children’s products which IKEA holds to a â€Å"particularly high quality and safety requirements†. Products are tested at various accredited laboratories across the world while children’s products are submitted to testing at an IKEA third-party accredited test laboratory in Almhult, Sweden. While IKEA states not to compromise on technical quality, clearly their focus is not on using top of the range materials, e.g. high quality solid wood. This allows the company to present its value proposition of affordable design products. Quality is not a factor on which IKEA aims to be market leader. Customers areShow MoreRelatedOperation Management on Ikea1851 Words   |  8 Pagesobjective of writing this report is to identity and analyzes operation system applied in IKEA, the well-known low cost yet high quality home of furnishing. Function, process and strategy of IKEA operation system will be accessed to identity the core competency that lead to the successfulness of IKEA in the world. Besides, other purpose in complete this report is to analyze the strength and weakness of operation system in IKEA. 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