Boosting the Economy: 0% Financing on New Cars :: Market Economics 9/11 Essays

Boosting the Economy: 0% Financing on New Cars The economy had been moving in slow motion for the last year and the dreaded "R" word, recession, had been put into circulation by the media and consumer analysts. Then, of course, the events of September 11th occurred and the economic slow down sounded just fine as opposed to the economic standstill that many feared. Staring into the face of recession and contemplating the national tragedy, corporate America was desperate to find a way out. Not that they were alone, but Joe Schmoe, a blue-collar worker, couldn't do much to change nation's economic dilemma. And good old Uncle Sam hand his hands tied with the terrorist problems. Even so, saying that the government was going to take action is just to say that the government would help corporate America take action. Of course the answer was to get and keep America spending; keep money circulating. But how was the question that loomed. As we know, many of the major automobile companies decided that they would offer 0% financing on new cars in order to lure Americans to spend money. At this point we don't know what the final effects will be, whether this action will actually stimulate the economy and keep America from a recession. However, there is much to speculate on concerning the possible effects. And it is interesting to consider exactly who might be reaping the benefits from this action. In addition, this type of economic action seems to have elements that fall into a category of similar capitalistic avenues that many authors read this semester have analyzed in the past. Benefits Now, why should we think that this action will benefit the economy? Again, in the face of recession the goal is always to get people spending and keep money flowing. New automobiles are a high dollar item that can get money circulating in a hurry. New automobiles are also an item that the majority of the population cannot afford without financing. This makes the idea of buying an automobile with no finance charges very appealing. From the big picture perspective, the idea is that enough automobiles would be sold to keep money circulating and to keep consumer confidence high so that we could talk ourselves out of a recession. Basically, the remedy for recession is keeping people believing that the economy will be okay, consumer confidence, and therefore they will not be reluctant to spend and money will circulate.

Plato’s Republic Essay

Plato’s Republic is a book in which Socrates, as a character, explores the nature of poetry. Although Socrates completely supports everyone’s obligation to explore various notions, (leading to his being charged with â€Å"corrupting the youth,†) the idea that poetry can be detrimental, as it may influence the minds of the youth is also proposed. This means that certain fictional readings, which would install themselves into the minds of their believers as delusions were likely to result from the reading of certain fantastic poems. In Cervantes’ Don Quixote, access to unlimited writings, however, corrupted the mind of the novel’s protagonist, who became quite crazy, as his mind became filled with ideas of the business of knights, which occurred as he read books that, according to other characters of the book, should have been banned. Plato’s Socrates was often engaged in the business of encouraging people to challenge accepted notions, and explore other ones. But poetry, when it relates fictional stories, would have had the potential to negatively influence the malleable minds of a younger audience. â€Å"Plato was concerned with the ability of a text to convince in the face of its fictionality,† Frederick de Armas wrote in Cascardi’s novel, The Cambridge Companion to Cervantes. And Plato’s concern was not without merit, when applied to the story of the man from La Mancha, who is driven insane by the fictional stories that he enjoyed. Unfortunately for Don Quixada of La Mancha, fantastic books and stories of chivalry and â€Å"knight-errantry† were permitted in Spain, and he got his hands on a great many of these stories. Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote is the story of a man, who, accompanied by his loyal squire, participate in activities based on the delusions inspired by the books that he read. Don Quixote was at first a normal, honorable man, but after reading a great many books and stories about the chivalrous and challenging adventures of knights, he became of the opinion that he was indeed a knight himself, and that the stories he had read were actually incorporated into the whole world. He would produce such beliefs, based on the readings that he had scoured, that simple objects and people of the world were actually characters present in the adventures of the greatest knight who ever was, as he often thought of himself. Every belief that he had throughout the body of the book was tied to the stories of the chivalrous activities of knights that he had read. And these stories prompted him to dress in Medieval military attire (such as chain mail, accompanied by a helmet with a visor, a lance, and a shield), and partake in the activities of the extinct knights that he had read about. The books, which captivated his mind, led Don Quixote de La Mancha to believe notions as preposterous as windmills being giants, and every woman around being damsels in distress. His faithful squire, Sancho Panza was captivated by the stories that his master told him of knight-errantry, and it helped to corrupt, or make him delusional as well. The books, stories, and poetry on the subject of knight errantry were completely to blame for the downfall of Don Quixote’s mind, which in turn, dragged down that of Sancho Panza’s. But there were character from Quixotes hometown, such as his niece, housekeeper, and a man of the church who recognized that it was the fictional adventure books that caused a once respected man to go insane. His niece and housekeeper had noticed that the books were corrupting him from the start. â€Å"‘Senor Licentiate Pero Perez,’ that was the curate’s name, â€Å"some misfortune must certainly have happened to my master; for six days, both he and his horse, together with the target, lance, and armour, have been missing; as I am a sinner, it is just come into my head, and it is certainly as true as that everyone is born to die, those hellish books of knight-errantry, which he used to read with so much pleasure, have turned his brain: for, now I remember to have heard him say to himself more than once, that he longed to be a knight-errant, and stroll about in quest of adventures. May Satan and Barrabas lay hold of such legends, which have perverted one of the finest minds in all La Mancha,† the housekeeper of the illustrious knight, Don Quixote remarked after her master returned from his very first enterprise in the field of knight-errantry (Cervantes, Part 1, Chapter V). It is very straightforward, from the words of his housekeeper, that Don Quixote’s intense readings about the stories of knights and chivalry were very detrimental to his mind. Indulging in these stories over, and over, he went mad, and believed himself a universal character of the topics on which he read. Plato may have held that expression of fictional ideas had the ability to be completely detrimental to the youthful minds that absorbed various notions, and that is why (in Don Quixote) the man of the church, the barber, and Don Quixote’s niece and housekeeper set to burn (except for a few books, which they themselves prized) all of Don Quixotes library, which was filled with books on the subject of knight-errantry. In the writings of Plato, poetry had the unfortunate ability to do to young, easily-influenced people what the books of knight-errantry did to Don Quixote. This was the ability to propose delusions that would survive alongside actual beliefs which were based on true phenomena. Poets had the ability to harm the minds of the youth who indulged in their poems, just as did the writers of the chivalrous stories in Don Quixote. If it had not been for the fictional stories that Don Quixote read over and over, he would likely have not held that he himself was a character of the genre, which, at the time, was represented only in fiction. The various authors’ narrations on the fictional activities of knights were indeed what captivated the mind of Don Quixote, and caused him to go insane. Early in his adventures, his squire, Sancho Panza was bewildered by some of the delusional and fictional properties that Don Quixote extended to various environmental phenomena. His readings had him believe that a row of windmills were giants that served to hinder his own progress. â€Å" ‘Fly not, ye base and cowardly miscreants, for, he is but a single knight who attacks you,’† Don Quixote yelled at the windmills, which were, due to his mental captivation by the activities of knight-errantry, on which he had read, not windmills, but giants. This was his final warning to the giants before he charged, and rammed his lance into the propeller of a mill, shattering it, and falling to the ground, along with his trusty steed, Rocinante (Cervantes, Part I Chapter VIII). Plato’s theory, expressed in The Republic, about the detrimental and negatively influential properties of poetry are undermined in Spain at the time of the story of the knight from La Mancha. The people who collected in Don Quixote’s house, following his very first adventure (which left him immobilized, and without a weapon after he attacked a group of merchants who he perceived to be evil) were of the opinion that Plato proposes in The Republic, which is that fictional stories can be dangerous when imposed upon malleable minds, like those of the youth (or those of unstable characters, such as the prime one seen in Cervantes’ work). Although it is quite likely that the novel was composed because of its entertaining qualities, Cervantes certainly wanted to parallel the story of Don Quixote to the warnings of Plato in his views on poetry. â€Å"In this work, Plato argues that poetry inspires undesirable emotions in society and should be censored from adults and especially children for fear of lasting detrimental consequences,† Schatzie Speaks writes in her article, entitled Aristotle vs. Plato on the Dangers of Poetry. â€Å"Plato believes that since children have not yet acquired proper formation of character and knowledge of the world around them, every new experience makes a profound impact upon them. Children have no ability to know what emotions should be tempered and which should be expressed, and certain expressed emotions can have lasting consequences later in life. Plato finds it necessary to limit the types of poetry, works which he deems induce profound emotions in individuals, to protect children and future society. † Poetry, unfortunately for the knight in Cervantes’ novel, and many of those whom he encountered, was not limited, but embraced by the knight himself, and it had the very effect that Plato warned that it might. â€Å"He states that scary stories,† Speaks continues, â€Å"such as gods coming to the world in disguise and harming people, must be avoided to eliminate timidity, as such tales will induce profound fear. Furthermore, children must not be told tales detailing the horrors of death for they will then grow up to fear death and lack courage. † Plato’s critique of poetry is justified in Cervantes’ story of Don Quixote, who found himself fully subjected to the negative aspects of poetry (such as its ability to conjure up thoughts and delusions that may not actually exist). It was because fictional tails of such fantastic adventures of knights were allowed in Spain that Don Quixote was able to get his hands on these books, and fall under their spell. They inspired vast delusions in him, just as Plato said such writings could if they were not censored. Works Cited De Cervantes, Miguel. Translation by Rutherford, John. Don Quixote de la Mancha. Penguin Books, New York, 2003 De Armas, Frederick A. Cervantes and the Italian Renaissance. In Cascardi, Anthony J. The Cambridge Companion to Cervantes. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Plato. Edition by Cooper, John M. The Republic. In Plato, Complete Works. Hackett Publishing, Indiana, 1997. Speaks, Schatzie. Aristotle vs. Plato on the Dangers of Poetry. Viewed 23, July, 2009. http://hubpages. com/hub/The-Emotions-Surrouding-Poetry–Aristotle-vs-Plato

Cox’s Container Company (CCC) Essay

In the modern constant changes business environment, company needs to change constantly to remain competitive in the market. If not, the company will be facing survival risk. There are no mercy and exception for Cox’s Container Company (‘CCC’). CCC faced increasing competitions over the past 5 years and profits are in declining trends due to reduce in margins. Harold Cox was clueless on how to rectify the problems. He has delegated the task to Erica Wilson to review CCC’s operations and oversee organization changes. Under her control and management, new central administration department was formed to implement budgeting system and company-wide information system. First time in the history of CCC, Wilson recruited external appointees to hold managerial post in the new central administration department. However, no one seemed very keen on the new system and encountered strong resistance from Abdul Aziz, manager of production department who incharged 2/3 of CC C’s total staffs. After so many years since CCC was established, Harold Cox had done not much changes to CCC’s structure and culture. CCC still practicing simple structure with flat hierarchy and decision-making is highly centralized in the hand of the Cox family. This allows Cox to run the operations flexibly, direct communication to avoid message being misinterpreted and wrongly manipulated, wide span of control as all managers reporting to him and expedites the decision-making process without going through layers of people. However, simple structure is more suitable for start-up or small firms for flexibility, control early growth and developments whereas centralization discourage innovation and no creativity. As CCC grows larger in size, it also more difficult for Cox to control and coordinate them effectively. According to General Sir Iain Hamilton once said ‘No one brain cans effectively control more than 6 or 7 other brains’. Moreover, when information and data are overloaded, he may not has sufficient times to handle and analyze to make full use out of it. Culture and authority of CCC is power culture and traditional authority. With Harold, there are addition of charismatic authority found on his supports to ethnic minorities. Power culture (Handy, 1993) depends on a central power source, few rules, informal system and decision are based on a balance of power rather than logic whereas traditional authority are the ability and right to rule is being passed down, i.e. CCC being passed down to Cox family member. Similarity of those are being very dependent to a single person and capability of that person are very much to determine the direction and successfulness of the company. In the history, many of the family businesses that stagnated and were eventually annexed in Britain after the Second World War were power cultures that had die in the centre. Hence, CCC might has going concern issues if successor of Harold is not as good as him and not supportive towards ethnic minorities. Besides retirement of Harold, majority of staffs in production department have worked for CCC for more than 10 years will have similar timing of retirement. This might be a risk of CCC facing shortage of production staffs in the future and affect productivity. Internal promotions have advantages of saving in times and costs of induction program for new staffs, boost morale and motivate staffs to perform. But, all senior positions in the production department have been filled through promotion of shop floor employees with no proper evaluation on competency and professionalism will affect company performance. It is not only no new ideas being introduced, it might be challenges for them to adapt to new technologies and working practices, i.e. new system implemented by Erica. Most importantly, senior manager are the person that make decision on behalf of the company and the effect that decision outcomes have on the lives of all organization members (Henry Mintzberg, 1989 cited in Huczyns ki and Buchanan, 2013). Another areas to pay attention under Cox management will be informal group formed due to empowerment for each functional department as form of motivation to improve performance. As Aziz being the manager of production department and ethnic minorities relying much on Aziz to safeguard their interests and benefits. This dependent relationship created Aziz as transactional leader. A leader who treats relationships with followers in terms of an exchange, giving followers (ethnic minorities), what they want (safeguard their interest and benefits) in return for what the leader desires (Aziz had easily established his identity and enjoying autonomy within the production department) following prescribed tasks to pursue established goals. Indirectly, Aziz has the capability to influence his staffs’s behaviour and contribute to mutual need satisfaction. In the other hand, in the opinion of Aziz, there are informal group being formed under John Straw to run the whole company on his own interest without knowing the complexities of production which was a formal group created consciously by management to carry out a specific task (implementing new system) and accomplish CCC’s goal (improve CCC’s operations). According to Homans (1951 cited in Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013), informal group formed according to their self-interest which may not work together to achieve the common goal. As Wilson was given the authority to make changes to CCC’s operations. She has her own management style to run the whole process of changes. She is an autoratic leader by accomplished the task entirely on her own and conclusion drawn based on her own judgement with no consultation and input from anyone. Autocratic leadership will be good when time is short but lack of creativity. She also moved CCC’s structure towards mechanistic structure with standardization, many rules and little autonomy, i.e. budgeting system to replace the rather informal system and requires all departments to inform the central administration department twice daily basis of work in progress. Different structures give rise to different culture (Handy, 1993). Thus, culture also change from power culture to role culture. Role culture also emphasize on the importance of rules, procedures and its operation are driven by logic and rationality. Authority of CCC will be legitimate authority that based on formal and written rules. According to Weber (1947 cited in Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013), an organization based on legitimate authority would be more effecient than one based on either traditional or charismatic authority. This was because its continuity  was related to formal structure and the position wi th it, rather than to a particular person who might leave or die. Since Wilson is the sole decision maker on what and which area needed for change to improve CCC’s operations. She had conclusion drawn based on her own judgement and interpretation from her personal experience, expectation and belief with no feedback obtained. Feedback will be important and enable for her to complete the survey more holistic. According to John Mezias and William Starbuck (2003 cited in Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013), management perceptions are often wrong due to selection of information that fits their expectations and pay less attention to information that does not. Generally, group decision are better than individual decision. It will be more advisable to involve relevant CCC’s staffs like Aziz contributing their diverse skills, knowledge and experience in production process for Wilson to understand the situation clearly to make better decisions and more alternatives to solve problem faced by CCC. In addition, staffs particularly Aziz felt recognition and respect through participation, understand the decision better and wider acceptance of decision make by Wilson. Likewise, if CCC’s staffs knew that Harold is more interested in finding issues that fit into causing declined in profits of CCC rather than finding out the facts with no further verification of the accuracy and basis of the report and conclusion drawn as Harold also unsure how to proceed. In addition, many people believe that making the right decision late is the same as making the wrong decision as Harold is anxious to improve the profitability of CCC. CCC’s staffs will be demoralized and demotivited, then CCC is infected with destructive cynicism. Wilson also has not informing staffs on the needs, benefits and objectives of implementing the new systems. As no clear direction and understanding the  need of change, staffs were not very keen on the new system and the degree of new system would affect their current working practices. They might also felt that they are being push out of their comfort  zone and found it stressful and frustrating to cope with the new system. As a result, readiness for change from staffs will be low and leads to high in resistance to change. With no support and collaboration from staffs these make implementation more difficult. Wilson has had making it worst with the survey was being conducted in some secrecy way created negative atmosphere in the company. The intention of Wilson to recruit John Straw, Eric Long and Simon Pedder to hold managerial post in the new central administration department is to have new blood to bring in innovation and creativity. With their experienced in previous company, they will be able to contribute an effective operational and cost controls for CCC. However, due to background and experience of them have no relevancy in manufacturing or production, it may not be convincing enough for staffs to trust and follow their instruction. Later encountered strong resistance from Aziz which has worked more than 10 years in production line and very defensive of production department has no issues on getting orders out on times and achieved zero defects. They may also have different culture and shared different values as other staffs. Communication climate (Jack Gibb, 1961 cited in Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013) exercised by Cox and Wilson was one way and closed communication climate where information was withheld, no sharing of the finding of the survey, strategies and problem faced by CCC have make no awareness to staffs. Staffs might felts discrimination, distrust and doubtful on self worthiness after long services of contribution to CCC. Misunderstanding easily created between staffs and management might led to minimum staffs engagement and  supports to comply with changes implementation and making it more difficult and may not align with CCC’s objectives. During the process of implementing the new system in CCC, there are no top management briefing conducted which is considered one of the best way to encourage staff engagement especially it is from Cox as he is regarded highly within ethnic minorities. With his traditional and charismatic authority, he is able to influence staffs behavior and engageme nt to comply with the changes implementation. 5 Once there are no effective communication internally within CCC and due to differentiation in culture, perception, politic and staff’s legitimate interests. Conflict between staffs is inevitable as each attempts pursue its own objectives. A company needs conflicts as a positive forces for managers to think, critisicism for self refection and innovation for effective performance. However, if conflict do not handle properly between Aziz and Straw team under Wilson new management. As perception of Aziz towards implementation of formal system and tight reporting is form of threatenning their’s interest and change of structure also changes the balance of power and autonomy possed by Aziz. It will be turn out to be dysfunctional conflict and hinders company performance as Aziz has the ability to influence behavior of 2/3 of CCC’s total staffs on level of productivity. If failure in resolving the conflict, CCC will have survival issue in the long run due to deteriote o f company performance. Hence, changes and continuing to change within internally is a must for CCC to survive in the long run to cope with complexity and be responsive to environment uncertainty. Do nothing will not be an alternative and choice for CCC. As globalisation and expansion of CCC, simple structure with flat hierachy and power culture may not be as responsive to opportunities and challenges in the long run. Second alternative will be remain with Wilson’s coercive change strategy to  implement the change even though without support of Aziz. According to Doug Stace and Dexter Dunphy (2001, cited in Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013) , where organizational survival depends on rapid and strategic change and short of time, dictatorial transformation is appropriate. In the later or appropriate stage, Wilson may implement technology into producing containers using the techniques of mass production to standardised quality of products, elimination of waste and reduction costs which will go well with mechanistics structure. Mass production has characterics of boredom of repetitive of works and low morale led to high levels of absenteeism and complaints. The solution to boredom were job  rotation and job enlargement in term of installation of machine, enhancement, integration and inspection.  Third alternative of change management strategy will be the role of the change agent. This approach will need involvement of top senior management who are credible and acceptable. In this case, Harold Cox will be the most appropriate and suitable person. He with his power and charismatic leadership, he is able to influence and motivate ethnic minorities to support and cooperate with him for fact finding and proceed with the changes make to CCC’s operations. He may also appoint professional consultants to carry out the investigation or combination of both. The first alternative is not preferred due to successfulness and survival of CCC very dependent on one person whereas third alternative also not the most preferred but still workable but will be time consuming. If involving external consultant then Harold needs to manage the external consultant of their own commercial interest as well as costing issues. As there are no correct way or one way solution, the most preferred will be the second alternative. The second alternative will be able to achieve the company objective and long term goal as explained above. For making the transitional  more harmony and smooth, Wilson should be more sensitive on culture differences. She should educate staffs with training and practice open two ways communication as well as get more participation and encourage more involvement of staffs in carrying out the survey and implementation. Besides implementing rewards system will be able to motive staffs to performance and aligh with company to achieve comm on goal. According to Meaney and Wilson (2009 cited in Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013), the successful rate of planned change programmes is less than 40% and that estimate may be optimistic, and 2/3 fail to achieve their objectives (Gardini et al., 2001 cited in Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013). In order to meet company’s objective and successful with change. The  following plan of action is recommaned by John Kotter (2007 cited in Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013). 1. Create urgency Wilson should inform all staffs on problem faced by CCC with evidence. Developed scenarios and consequences, if no full cooperations and supports from staffs. 2. Form a powerful coalition Wilson should involved Aziz to form a coalition, for him to lead the change on his production department to achieve maximum results. 3. A clear vision †¢ A clear vision of change must be developed by Wilson with achievable  startegies and realities plans to inspire all staffs to change, to align with company’s goals. 4. Effective communication †¢ Vision must be communicable and communicating in two way and openly, this can be done through compulsory training to ensure familiarity and responsive from staffs. 5. Remove obstacle †¢ Harold and Wilson should have an honest dialogue with Aziz to problemsolved resistance from him and seek for collaboration. If not, backup plan must be in-hand for Aziz leaving for change to be implemented successfully. 6. Motivation and rewards †¢ Carry out change in stages to avoid unbearable failure. Once short term milestone has achieved, recognized and rewards those involved as motivation to more forwards. 7. Assessment †¢ Periodic assessment needed to ascertain improvement, enhancement and amendment in placed to cope with changes from environment and market to achieve company’s goal. 8. No anchoring †¢ Even though tradition is a powerful force but management should walk their talk to ensure new changes and culture are planted. Making it happen and making stick. The above should take placed in sequence and staffs need time to adopt and familiarised with the new of structure and culture. Thus, Wilson should understand that changes can only be carried out in stages and not to rush in order to change effectively and efficiently. References Handy, Charles B. (1993) Understanding Organizations, Chapter 7: On the Cultures of Organization pp180-216. London:Penguin. N. Anand and Richard L. Daft (2007) What is the Right Organization Design?. Elsevier Inc. Nigel Bassett-Jones and Geoffrey C. Lloyd (2005) Does Herzberg’s motivation theory have staying power?. The Journey of Management Development. Dexter C. Dunphy, Doug A. Stace (1988) Transformational and Coercive Strategies for Planned Organizational Change: Beyond the O.D. Model. Organization Studies. Andrzej A. Huczynski and David A. Buchanan (2013) Organizational Behaviour Eigth edition. Person Education Limited.

Heart of Darkness Active Reading Guide

Conrad1. * Fifteen days after leaving the outer station Marlow â€Å"hobble[s] into the Central Station†, which was being run by â€Å"the flabby devil†, referring to the greed of the Europeans. There he finds out that his ship had been sunk when they tried to take off before he got there. He also meets the manager of the Central Station who is only employed because he never gets sick, and the brick maker who doesn’t actually make any bricks. He overhears a conversation between the manager and his uncle, who is leading the â€Å"Eldorado Exploring Expedition† that passes through the station.They are talking about Mr. Kurtz. This all occurs two months before they reach Kurtz’s station. * Marlow then takes off in his newly repaired boat (Conrad 21). Fifty miles before Marlow reaches the Inner Station where Kurtz is, he comes across a hut on the side of the river. They approach and see a sign on a pile of wood that says â€Å"Wood for you. Hurry Up. A pproach Cautiously†. Then inside a hut, Marlow finds a book entitled An Inquiry into some Points of Seamanship inside of which are notes written in what Marlow says â€Å"looked like cipher† (38). Eight miles before Marlow and his crew reach Kurtz they get stuck in a heavy fog, and are unable to move for quite a bit of time. Then once the fog lifts they are able to proceed, but find themselves stuck once again one and a half miles before reaching Kurtz. Here they are attacked by the natives. They blow the whistle on the boat and the natives are scared away (47). * Finally, Marlow reaches the Inner Station. The first person that he meets is the Russian/Harlequin, who idolizes Kurtz. He then meets Kurtz who is taken aboard the steam boat. Kurtz dies aboard the steamboat, and Marlow returns to Europe. In Brussells, Marlow goes to visit Kurtz’s intended. She is distraught over Kurtz’s death, so Marlow lies to her about the reality of what really happened, sayi ng Kurtz was a good and honorable man (75-79). 2. * While Marlow is in the Central Station, page 23, he is required to repair his ship which had sunk before he reached the Station. Marlow says: I went to work the next day, turning, so to speak, my back on that station. In that way only could I keep my hold on the redeeming facts of life. Still, one must look about sometimes; and then I saw this station, these men strolling aimlessly about in the sunshine of the yard.In this passage, when Marlow states he is turning his â€Å"back on [the] station† he is referring to the lack of work that goes on at the Central Station, and how his hard work repairing his steam boat looks in contrast. When he says that work allows him to â€Å"keep [his] hold on the redeeming facts of life† it lets the reader know that he values work, and thinks it encourages people to become better. * Still at the Central Station, Marlow makes another comment on the work ethic of the Europeans who are at the station saying that their pretending to work was as unreal as everything else—as the philanthropic pretence of the whole concern, as their talk, as their government, as their show of work†¦They intrigued and slandered and hated each other only on that account—but as to effectually lifting a little finger—oh no† (25). His sarcastic tone toward the end of the excerpt, shows that he views their refusal to work as silly and ridiculous. The way he can so easily see through their pretence also shows how little effort they put into everything in the Congo, because they are driven by greed, and greed alone. When Marlow comes across the book in the hut on the side of the river he exclaims that it was â€Å"not a very enthralling book; but at the first glance you could see there a singleness of intention, an honest concern for the right way of going to work, which made these humble pages, thought out so many years ago, luminous with another than a profe ssional light† (39). The fact that Marlow is so impressed by the book because it appreciates hard, honest work, shows what an anomaly this outlook is down in the Congo. Marlow appreciates the book so much because the book lines up with his same views on work. On page 18, when Marlow is talking to the Chief Accountant, the Accountant mentions how he is able to keep such clean clothes saying I’ve been teaching one of the native women about the station. It was difficult. She had a distaste for the work. This is more representative of the European’s view of work than of Marlow’s. The Europeans believe that work is something for slaves and people who aren’t as privileged as they are. Overall, Marlow believes that work is highly beneficial to a person. When someone works, they are kept sane, and are kept honest.Not only are they more sensible, and productive, it makes one a better person in the long run, unlike the ridiculous Europeans overcome by greed a nd laziness. 3. * One reference to futility in the novel occurs after a fire starts in the Central Station. The people in the camp are rushing to put it out, and as one of them ran past Marlow he notices â€Å"there was a hole in the bottom of his pail† (24). This shows how ineffective much of what the Europeans were doing, as a pail with a hole is not able to transport nearly as much water as an intact bucket.This also shows how ignorant the Europeans are about matters in the Congo as the man holding the bucket is not aware of the hole in it, even though that detail is so vital to his plight. * When Marlow needs to fix his ship, he only needs one material to fix it, which would be rivets. However, there are none to be found at the Central Station. Marlow says that at the Outer station, â€Å"You could fill your pockets with rivets for the trouble of stooping down†, but â€Å"there wasn’t one rivet to be found where it was wanted†.This example shows yet a gain the ignorance of the Europeans. They have an ample amount of something that is quite unnecessary in one place, but are blind to the needs of those in other places. Just like they have an ample amount of people digging for ivory in the Congo, but they pay no attention to the needs of the natives. * Only 8 miles from the inner station, Marlow and his ship get trapped in the fog. Marlow has a conversation with his manager: â€Å"[The manager] muttered something about going on at once, I did not even take the trouble to answer him.I knew, and he knew, that it was impossible†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢I authorise you to take all the risks,’ he said, after a short silence. ‘I refuse to take any,’ I said shortly; which was just the answer he expected† (43). This conversation is an excellent example of futility, because the conversation is merely for show. There was no actual reason for the conversation to take place, because the conclusion had already been arrived at. Th is is similar to when Marlow sees the men blowing up parts of the cliff to build a train track, even though the cliff was not in the way (16). 4.When Marlow first comes to the Inner Station he describes it by saying, â€Å"Through my glasses I saw the slope of a hill interspersed with rare trees and perfectly free from undergrowth. A long decaying building on the summit was half buried in the high grass; the large holes in the peaked roof gaped black from afar; the jungle and the woods made a background. There was no enclosure or fence of any kind; but there had been one apparently, for near the house half a dozen slim posts remained in a row, roughly trimmed, and with their upper ends ornamented with round carved balls.The rails, or whatever there had been between, had disappeared. Of course the forest surrounded all that. The river-bank was clear, and on the water side I saw a white man under a hat like a cart-wheel beckoning persistently with his whole arm. Examining the edge of the forest above and below, I was almost certain I could see movements—human forms gliding here and there. I steamed past prudently, then stopped the engines and let her drift down. The man on the shore began to shout, urging us to land. ‘We have been attacked,’ screamed the manager. ‘I know—I know. It’s all right. yelled back the other, as cheerful as you please. ‘Come along. It’s all right. I am glad. ’ His aspect reminded me of something I had seen—something funny I had seen somewhere. As I maneuvered to get alongside, I was asking myself, ‘What does this fellow look like? ’ Suddenly I got it. He looked like a harlequin† (53). And then later states, â€Å"You remember I told you I had been struck at the distance by certain attempts at ornamentation, rather remarkable in the ruinous aspect of the place. Now I had suddenly a nearer view, and its first result was to make me throw my head back as if before a blow.Then I went carefully from post to post with my glass, and I saw my mistake†¦I had expected to see a knob of wood there, you know. I returned deliberately to the fist I had seen—and there it was, black, dried, sunken, with closed eyelids—a head that seemed to sleep at the top of that pole, and with the shrunken dry lips showing a narrow white line of teeth, was smiling too, smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber† (58). This passage shows excellent impressionistic style, because of the unreliability of the narrator.The scene is described exactly as it first appeared to Marlow. He first sees the heads on the poles, and thinks that they are knobs of wood so instead of saying, â€Å"I saw something on the poles that I later found out were human heads†, Conrad allows the reader to believe that they are indeed, only knobs of wood, for as long as Marlow believes that they are knobs of wood. It is also s hown in the slightly erratic narration, which doesn’t follow an exact order, but instead jumps around wherever Marlow’s mind happens to be at that exact moment in time.Another clue, would be Conrad’s use of commas. Impressionist writers tend to use a wide variety of commas, which some believe are also symbolic of the short brush strokes of impressionistic painters. 5. Kurtz shows interest in two very different women in the novel. The first we are introduced to is his native lover. she is described as being â€Å"savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent; there was something ominous and stately in her† (62). This woman is powerful and wearing â€Å"the value of several elephant tusks upon her†.She shows her emotions openly, but does not allow weakness to show through. Kurtz’s intended on the other hand is described as having â€Å"a mature capacity for fidelity, for belief for suffering†¦This fair hair, this pale visage, this pure br ow, seemed surrounded by an ashy halo from which the dark eyes looked out at me† (76). The intended is more meek, and full of suffering. She claims that she is the only one who understood Kurtz, and Marlow feels the need to protect her from the truth.With the native lover, one of the men onboard says that he would have shot her if she had intended to board the boat. One of the women inspires fear, while the other inspires pity. But they are both very similar in their fierce loyalty to the man they love, Mr. Kurtz. 6. * The first motif that I noticed was that of the â€Å"savages†. They are often referred to by names which are not usually used to describe a human, because they were not thought to be human the way the Europeans were thought of as human.The first example that I found was on page 6 when Marlow is describing what his occupation includes, â€Å"Sandbanks, marshes, forests, savages—precious little to eat fit for a civilized man†, which implies th at he believes that food that the natives find acceptable, wouldn’t be good enough for him, because he is better than the natives. The second example was on page sixteen when Marlow describes the faces of the chain gang that walks past him saying, â€Å"They passed me within six inches, without a glance, with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages. This shows the way they group all of the â€Å"savages† into one conglomerate mass, saying there is no difference between one of them, and the next. The third example was one page eighteen. Marlow walks through a group of dying natives, and picks out one in particular. â€Å"While I stood, horror-struck, one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees and went on all-fours towards the river to drink†. This sentence doesn’t refer to the native as something resembling a human. The words â€Å"creatures†, â€Å"hands and knees† and â€Å"all-fours† are phrases that are on ly used to describe animals, which reflects on the European opinion of African natives.The fourth example was a comment made by the Chief Accountant when he has a sick native recuperating inside his â€Å"office†. â€Å"When one has got to make correct entries, one comes to hate those savages—hate them to the death†. This comment puts his work, and his accounting, over the well being of human beings. Meaning he values the lives of the natives less than he values his work. The last example was on page 24 when Marlow talks of viewing the man who was beaten, when a fire starts in the Central Station.He says, â€Å"A nigger was being beaten nearby. They said he had caused the fire in some way; be that as it may, he was screeching most horribly. I saw him, later, for several days, sitting in a bit of shade looking very sick and trying to recover himself: afterwards he arose and went out—and the wilderness without a sound took him into its bosom again†. This shows the treatment of the â€Å"savages†. The fire obviously started for absolutely no reason, but still they insist on blaming the fire on the native, rather than on one of their own. The second motif that I chose, was that of the jungle. The jungle is obviously a main part of the story, because most of the land around the Congo River is jungle. The first instance that I found was on page six of the novel Marlow says â€Å"all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men. † The jungle is often referred to as wilderness, which is a good example of what it represents. The jungle is the wild aspects of the world, and the uncivilized parts of the earth. he second example was on page 23. Marlow speaks of the difference between the station and the surrounding area, â€Å"And outside, the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion. † This quote is interesting, because Marlow speaks of the Europeans in the Congo as an â€Å"invasion†. Meaning, the forest is a separate entity, and is not just there for the Europeans to take as they please.The third example is on page 24, when Marlow is talking about the native that was beat for the fire he says â€Å"the wilderness without a sound took him into its bosom again†. This shows that the wilderness is only cruel to those that aren’t used to it, meaning the Europeans. it is a kind home to the natives just as Europe is a kind home to the Europeans. The fourth example was page 27 where Marlow says, â€Å"Could we handle that dumb thing, or would it handle us? I felt how big, how confoundedly big, was that thing that couldn’t talk and perhaps was deaf as well†.Marlow usually describes the forest as being silent, which is usually associated with a sense of for eboding. This shows the unknown threats and dangers that can be found in the jungle. The last example was on page 33 where Marlow describes the silence again saying â€Å"The high stillness confronted these two figures with its ominous patience, waiting for the passing away of a fantastic invasion†. * The third motif that I chose was the river. This is the most integral part of the story, because it is the primary mode of transportation.On page five he asks, â€Å"What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unkown earth! † The river is a connection between civilization and wilderness, ancient times, and modern. The second example is on page 14 where he says, â€Å"Nature herself had tried to ward off intruders; in and out of rivers, streams of death in life, whose banks were rotting into mud, whose waters, thickened into slime, invaded the contorted mangroves, that seemed to writhe at us in the extremity of an impotent despair† . Here he is describing the rivers as the embodiment of the suffering the Europeans are causing.The third example is spoken by the unknown narrator who describes listening to Marlow, â€Å"I listened on the watch for the sentence, for the word, that would give me the clue to the faint uneasiness inspired by this narrative that seemed to shape itself without human lips in the heavy night-air of the river†. Here he uses personification, by saying that the river itself was actually the one telling Marlow’s story. The fourth example is on page 34 when he says â€Å"Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth, and the big trees were kings. This again shows the connecting power of the river from ancient times to modern. The last example was on page 35 where Marlow says, â€Å"The reaches opened before us and closed behind, as if the forest had stepped leisurely across the water to bar the way for our return†. He views the river as a one way path into â€Å"the heart of darkness†. 7. * The first example of assumptions made in the book would be Marlow’s interaction with his Aunt. Because his Aunt has only heard what the companies are telling the world, she believes that the sole purpose of expeditions to Africa is to civilize the â€Å"brutes† who live there.This is, in her mind, a worth while undertaking, so she praises Marlow for his decision. However, if she had actually understood that the reason that the Europeans were in the Congo was to destroy the country in their search for ivory, and mistreat the natives, then her reaction, may not have been as kind. * The second example would be the first interactions between Marlow and the brick maker in the Central Station. Because the brick maker believes that Marlow has connections with officials who are high up in the company, the brick maker is extremely nice to Marlow and immediately attempts to be friend him.He only does this, because he assumed that being friends with Marlow would allow him to get a boost in his standing with the company. * The third example would be the interaction between Marlow and Kurtz’s intended. Marlow who has quite a misogynistic view of women says, â€Å"It’s queer how out of touch with truth women are. They live in a world of their own, and there had never been anything like it, and never can be. It is too beautiful altogether, and if they were to set it up it would go to pieces before the first sunset. Because he has this preconceived notion of women being so fragile, he acts cautiously when he meets Kurtz’s intended, and eventually, this preconceived notion causes him to lie to her about exactly the kind of man that Kurtz really is. 8. â€Å"The horror† that Mr. Kurtz refers to would partially be his involvement in the European presence in the Congo. Unlike the other managers of stations, Kurtz is not completely detat ched from the natives. He gets to know them on a personal level, until they idolize him as a God, and I believe that eventually he began to feel remorse for the way that he was using them.He could never have a real, true relationship with them, because he still had to report to a company, so the main basis of their relationship would always be extortion. Kurtz eventually realized how wrong this was, but at that point he was so involved that there was no way he could reverse the damage he had done there. I feel that he was also, in his last dying breath, attempting to continue the legacy that he had managed to build for himself. Throughout the entire book it seems as if people idolize him for his speeches, but are never able to give real substance for why he is this fantastically, amazing person they describe him to be.This would be a great example. No one will ever be able to explain exactly what â€Å"The horror! The horror! † refers to, but the words are just haunting enoug h that Marlow will never be able to go a day without contemplating what they could possibly mean. In this way, Kurtz is ensuring that his legacy will live on. 9. I believe that the frame structure is very important, because it gives credibility, and a sense of meaning to the story. A story being relayed by the person who experienced it may or may not be interesting or of extreme importance.But, because Conrad chose to have another narrator relaying Marlow’s story, it shows that Marlow was not the only one who thought that the story was worth hearing. It lends that the narrator heard the story from Marlow, and decided it was worth while enough that other people besides those that heard it from Marlow, should hear the story. It also allows Conrad to skip over the least important parts of the story, and only leave those details that are crucial to the story line. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph, and Robert Kimbrough. Heart of Darkness: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Essays in Criticism. New York: Norton, 1971. Print.

Compare and contrast the tradional marker and new marker of liver Essay

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