Swot Pest Analysis on Hotel Industry Essay Example For Students

Swot Pest Analysis on Hotel Industry Essay INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW OF HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Hospitality is considered as a service industry, serving the guests with feel-good-effect. Athithi devo bhavha (Guest is God) has been one of the major trends followed in Indian culture since decades. In India, the guest is treated with utmost warmth, full respect and providing the best services. The industry trend shows, that Hospitality is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. It is expected to grow at the rate of 8% between 2007 and 2016. Many international hotels including Sheraton, Hyatt, Radisson, Meridian, Four Seasons Regent, and Marriott International are already established in the Indian markets and are still planning to expand more. Scope of the Report †¢Provides the top players in the market with their market share, profitability, segments they focus which is required for business and competitor intelligence needs †¢Contains a brief study of the major internal and external factors affecting Hotels in the form of a SWOT analysis as well as analysis the PEST analysis and Porters 5 force analysis to understand the criticality of the business. We will write a custom essay on Swot Pest Analysis on Hotel Industry specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now MAJOR PLAYERS The major players in the Indian hotel industry can be broadly divided into private sector players and the public sector players. The Top Players in Hospitality Sector Public Sector Players: †¢ITDC hotels †¢Hotel Corporation of India Private Sector Players: †¢ITC Welcome Group of Hotels †¢Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (The Taj Group of Hotels Resorts Palaces) †¢Oberoi Group of Hotels(East India Hotels) †¢Hotel Leela Venture †¢Asian Hotels Ltd. †¢Radisson hotels Resorts †¢Le Meridien Group of Hotels †¢The Park Group of Hotels †¢Welcome Heritage Group of Hotels INDUSTRIAL HIGHLIGHTS Structure of the organization, partnerships, mergers acquisitions and recent trends are examined which explains that the business segment of the company have been exploring and experimenting along with the analysis of key products and services. †¢Business and marketing strategies are increasing the earnings brand equity. †¢Key fi nancial indicators have to be analyses time-to-time which is helpful in expansion. †¢Competitive positioning of an organization has been calculated in terms of sales, profitability and stock performance, which can be easily compared with its competitors. Corporate analysis- Hotel industry is considered as premium service oriented sector offering an unmatched depth and breadth of content. †¢Communicating the Hotel’s marketing strategies to general public is a waste of time. Therefore, Smart hotel marketers use segmentation and profiling to reach a specific customer segment who can buy their product. ENVIRONMENTAL TREND †¢India is expected to see an influx of 10 Million international tourists by 2010, up from just 5 Million in 2007. †¢Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan are the favorite tourism destinations in India in terms of total tourist arrivals. India has been promoting its healthcare tourism by providing the visitors wit h private healthcare facilities like recreational spas. It is expected that the total market for medical tourism will reach US$ 2 Billion by 2012, representing a CAGR of 60. 69%. †¢Personal disposable income during 2002-2007 grew at a CAGR of 14. 16%, thereby driving domestic as well as outbound tourism. †¢Indian outbound tourist flow is expected to increase at a CAGR of 13. 30% over the five-year period between the years 2008 to 2012. †¢India’s share in the global tourism is expected to reach 1. 5% by 2010. †¢The growth in India’s ourism market is driving the growth of several associated industries, including hotel industry, medical tourism industry and aviation industry. COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES †¢Market analysis is critical for all hotels because it enables the hotels to tap the market potential and also helps them to identify the optimal deployment of resources. †¢All hotels irrespective of their categories test the waters to know their catchment areas, their occupancy rate and their brand significance. †¢Creative planning considers effective marketing strategies as supported by the view of 90hotels out of 180 hotels focusing on new plans and new customers. The STAR Hotels in the category of 3 Star and above, focus on their efforts of promoting their brand globally through ads and other promotions. †¢Ad focus of all the hotels is mainly on attracting new and retaining the repeat customers leading to 98% of the ad direction and only 2% aim at new clientele. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT Analysis helps to understand the company’s key business structure and operations, history and products, and provides a brief analysis of its key revenue operations and strategic approach. STRENGTHS †¢A very wide variety of hotels is present in the country. There are international players such as Taj Group and Oberoi Group operating their chain of Hotels in the Market †¢A manpower cost in the Indian hotel industry is o ne of the lowest in the world. †¢India offers a readymade tourist destination with the resources †¢Natural and cultural diversity †¢Demand-supply gap †¢Government support WEAKNESSES †¢Hotel Industry is heavily staffed in India †¢Slow Implementation †¢Only limited Value Added Services †¢High Tax structure in India †¢Prone to security and social unrest issues †¢Only 97,000 hotel rooms are available in India today †¢Environmental or Seasonal Issues Industry Regulations OPPORTUNITIES †¢As per long-term prospects, the hotel industry in India has potential for growth †¢Rising income †¢Service preferences †¢Bring uniqueness in services and experience provided, especially in Heritage Hotels THREATS †¢Guest houses can replace the hotels †¢Fluctuations due to International Tourists †¢Increasing Competition †¢The economic climate of a country have a direct impact on the revenue earned by hotel indust ry †¢Political turbulence in the area can affect the tourist traffic †¢Lack of training man power PEST ANALYSIS Political/ Legal factors †¢Industry specific taxes, Eg: Bed tax Current situation â€Å"war on terror† may result in the decrease number of travellers which will create a negative impact on the hotel industry †¢Strict labor laws, Eg: Minimum wages †¢To avoid the negative impact on the environment and the marketplace due to the operations of a hotel, it is necessary to impose the Environment related regulations Economic factors †¢Due to the seasonal change in demand, income and room occupancy rate can vary significantly during peak and non-peak periods †¢The salaries are not that much competitive as compare to other industries. Therefore, it is ifficult to attract employees for critical positions †¢Industries like Hotel are considered as the non-essential type of services for the customers, therefore, this is one of the first a reas that would be affected at the time of recession or economic downturn †¢ Strategy to focus on the market segmentation for generating profit, Eg: higher end of the hotels would essentially focus on the higher end of the market which is relatively small in number but high margins can be earned †¢Diversification of services or business model requires huge investments †¢Regular modifications to attract the customers Cost incurred on maintaining the infrastructure Social/ Cultural factors †¢Social cultural factors are one of the major issues to look into for hotel industry because it deals with a large segment of customers who have different demographic profile and cultural background. .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 , .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .postImageUrl , .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 , .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8:hover , .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8:visited , .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8:active { border:0!important; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8:active , .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8 .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub727390705a08ede261112f0ec153be8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: John Deere and Complex Parts EssayTo serve each customer with customized services will increase the chances of hotel industry to expand more †¢The facilities like Spas, provided by the hotels are considered as a lifestyle change which is expanding in certain sections of middle class as well as upper class †¢India is slowly adapting the culture of vacation or holiday system for taking rest from work, which is benefiting the tourism industry in turn affecting the hotel industry as well †¢Because of the changing trend, celebrating occasion or special days in hotels has become popular as the end to end services are provided by the hotels in terms of arranging re sources making things similar for people and for some it is more like a prestigious issue Technological factors The hotel industry has started utilizing the increasing amount of technologies for achieving greater customer satisfaction (Online feedbacks) †¢With the use of technologies and other advance techniques, hotels can make use of the resources which are extensively used in the industry, Eg: Recycling water †¢The potential customers can also make use of the technology like internet in order to get the information about a hotel or their charges, etc. This will help in making their choices about a holiday stay or places to visit †¢With the help of technologies, the availability of information and strategic decision making has become more easier which allows the organizations to plan its future activities and events in advance in an efficient manner Porters Five Forces Model THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS The competition in an industry easily increases by the entry of othe r companies in the market. In a situation like this, few changes done by new entrants (like prices, customer loyalty) can create a pressure for existing players in this industry. Foreign hotel chains are tied up with some Indian hotels to decrease the initial cost and increase the brand name †¢Customers brand loyalty like TAJ, ITC THE LEELA PALACE, also affects the new entrants †¢The raw material and distribution channels are established controlled by existing players which is one of the reasons to avoid the new entrants †¢The cost of land in India is 50% more from the total project cost as compared to abroad which is 15%. This is also curtailing the opportunities for the new entrants †¢The amount of taxes such as expenditure tax, luxury tax and sales tax inflate the hotel bill by over 30% †¢Fixed investment is huge and also the location could be a trouble for the new entrants THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES Such threats exists, if there are alternate products with suitably lower prices are available for the same purpose for better performance. This can attract a proportion of market volume and also reduce the profit margins for the existing players. †¢Only the brand loyalty of the customers can dominate such substitutes †¢The prices and the customer relationship with hotels can also be the reason for switching to substitutes †¢Difference in the services price of the same class hotel from various brand †¢The effect of substitution can also be seen because of the present demand and supply of hotel rooms †¢Majorly, fixed cost and switching costs affects the operations of the business †¢Service apartments, private rental rooms, and budgeted hotel resorts can be a substitute for the price sensitive customers BARGAINING POWER OF CUSTOMERS The hotel prices are not changing frequently because it will have a direct effect on the price sensitive customers †¢During the unseasoned timings, hotels are introducing discounts and promotions in order to attract the customers as they are the ones having t he bargaining power †¢To diversify, hotels has introduced other services like Conferences, Spas, etc. to attract the customers †¢As there is no industry specific rates and tariff, hotels like TAJ, ITC Oberoi use their own tariff plan because of their brand value †¢Hotel should consider reducing the bargaining power because the customer segment is completely fragmented BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS The word ‘suppliers’ means all the possible inputs required or needed in order to provide goods and services to the end customers. †¢As the high class hotels have their hotel chains for operating like TAJ, ITC, THE LEELA PALACE, etc. they are the ones who have the bargaining power and control over the industry †¢Five Star Hotels which are known for their brand, they don’t frequently change their product and services. It is almost the same only provided with some innovations. COMPETATIVE POWER OF RIVAL PLAYERS This force explains the intensity o f the competition between the existing players in the marketplace. A relatively high competitive pressure results in increase in competing prices, margins, and majorly on the profitability for every organization in the industry. †¢The top players in the hotel industry are having the same kind of services like Spas, Party Halls, Boatels and Motels, etc. This healthy competition among the players also results in the increase in industry expansion †¢Intense competition in the metro cities, and slowly picking up in secondary cities †¢Diversification in terms of services can also affect the competition †¢Mid-price hotels, recreational centers, etc. can create a competition threat. ? CONCLUSION Promotional strategies can be used, apart from the regular advertisements are used to attract the customers and also ensuring the best Customer Relation Retention for increasing the revenue targets. The study reveals that the increase of profit margins due to efficient marketin g strategies is in the range of 0-20% for 29% respondent hotels. In 71% hotels, the increases in revenues are expected around 20-40% due to advertisements and restaurant promotions. .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d , .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .postImageUrl , .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d , .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d:hover , .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d:visited , .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d:active { border:0!important; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d:active , .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc1a177933c3da2e5f8d86fcbcdc5c70d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Memory Essay PaperThe visible trend shows that in the hotel sector indicates that the Indian hotels are preferred by the overseas visitor because of several reasons. The hotel industry is positively considering the strategic marketing alliances and brand treaties for expanding and establishing global brands. ? Bibliography http://www. marketresearch. com/product/display. asp? productid=2182281, referred on 28th March ‘2010 http://www. researchandmarkets. com/reports/556321, referred on 28th March ‘2010 http://www. naukrihub. com/india/hospitality/, referred on 28th March ‘2010 http://community. boredofstudies. org/229/hospitality/43780/factors-affecting-h ospitality. tml, referred on 22nd March ‘2010 http://www. scribd. com/doc/26045363/Indian-Hotel-Industry-Analysis, referred on 30th March ‘2010 topcimatutor. com/2008-may/PEST_Analysis-Solberi-Hotels. doc, referred on 30th March ‘2010 http://www. entrepreneur. com/tradejournals/article/101938461_3. html, referred on 30th March ‘2010 http://www. indianmba. com/Articles_on_Management/AOM9/aom9. html, referred on 30th March ‘2010 http://www. bharatbook. com/detail. asp? id=50060rt=Indian-Tourism-Industry-A nalysis. html, referred on 30th March ‘2010 www. ishc. com/uploadedFiles/PublicSite/ /custbehavior. doc, referred on 30th March ‘2010 Images are taken from Google Image

Causes of mental retardation essays

Causes of mental retardation essays In order to be considered mentally retarded, you must have an IQ below 75, have significant limitations in two or more adaptive skill areas, and the condition is present from childhood (defined as age 18 or younger). People can be mentally retarded as all different levels. About 78% of mentally retarded people will only be a little slower than the average person, while in others it is very apparent (Arc of New Jersey). There are many causes of mental retardation. One cause of mental retardation is of genetic conditions. That includes; abnormal gene mixes from parents, errors when genes combine, overexposure to x-rays, and many more reasons. More than 500 genetic diseases are associated with mental retardation. Down Syndrome is an example of a chromosomal disorder (Mental Retardation Issues). Chromosomal disorders occur every once in a while, and are caused by too many or too few chromosomes in the restructure of the chromosomes (The Arc of New Jersey). Another cause is problems during pregnancy. It could happen if the mother drinks or does drugs while pregnant with the baby. Other risks include malnutrition, certain environmental contaminants, and the mother could get ill during the pregnancy. Pregnant women who are infected with HIV may pass it on to their child. Also very stressful and physical pregnancies and births can cause damage to a childs brain (Introduction to Mental Retardation). Mental Retardation also occurs frequently after birth. Childhood diseases such as big coughs, chicken pox, measles, and hip disease, which may lead to meningitis and encephalitis, can damage the brain, as can accidents such as being hit in the head, near drowning situations, and most other accidents involving the head. Another that can be harmful to a child mentally is environmental fumes, lead, mercury, and other dangerous toxins (Introduction to An American ...

How the New Deal altered the role of the national government Essay

How the New Deal altered the role of the national government - Essay Example Majority of its legislation followed these purposes (Bryant). The New Deal changed the role of the national government, by expanding the power of the Federal Government and making it more responsible for the general welfare of the states. Since the U.S. became â€Å"united,† states enjoyed latitude in making laws and programs for their specific state needs and concerns. The Great Depression showed, however, that each state, or more so, a few ones, can generally impact the whole nation’s economic conditions. As a result, Roosevelt and his allies are convinced that they must change the national government from being a passive parent to a more aggressive parent handling the economy as a whole. After all, the Constitution states that the federal government has the power to regulate commerce between states and international trade and that it is authorized to generate laws that support the Constitution. Though the New Deal has been criticized as unconstitutional, it proved to greatly enhance the powers of the national government. During the New Deal of the Roosevelt administration, from 1933 to early 1935, the main goals were recovery and relief. The president and his advisers stressed the importance of the national government in creating laws that will stimulate the economy and provide new jobs. Roosevelt expressed to the American public about the alliances among â€Å"business and banking, agriculture and industry, and labor and capital,† in order to enlist them to the causes of the government (Bryant). On March 5, the president closed all the banks and called it a â€Å"bank holiday.† He influenced the Congress to pass a bill that helped the banks. That bill became law a few days later and the President asked the people to trust banks again and deposit their money once more into them. The banks reopened on Monday March 13th and Americans deposited their money again and the total effect was that they

Certified fitness trainer (Question5) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Certified fitness trainer (Question5) - Essay Example Secondly, you must also work out the core and abdominal muscles to strengthen them up. The media and magazines are pushing these myths because over a period of time people have become accustomed to taking it for absolute truth. They continue exercising in the same way and get the same result. Also so that people don’t fall prey to these myths and their efforts are not wasted or worse still detrimental to their health. Let us analyze the first fallacy - a result is no guarantee that it is beneficial to a person in the long run. For instance, if we perform countless sit-ups every day we will see a difference at the end of the period. So we assume that the exercise works since we can see a result, but do we really benefit from having stronger, tightened abdominal muscles? Or have we just got tightened muscles that will put Das 2 undue stress on our frame? Will it make any difference to our performance? Are we feeling stronger or are we just feeling tightness in an over-active mus cle? This is the second fallacy. Therefore, articles and advertisements on the internet and in magazines should depict different health and exercise myths and provide factually accurate fitness and health advice based on scientific reasoning to spread the awareness and to enhance performance. It should tell us the right way of exercising and its effect. Das 3 Works Cited Busy Woman’s Guide To Health & Fitness.

Thoreau, Henry D, Walden Essay Example for Free

Thoreau, Henry D, Walden Essay Henry David Thoreau, who deals with nature, remains to this day something of a mystery. He was an American essayist, poet, and sensible philosopher, best known for his autobiographical story of life in the woods, WALDEN (1854). Thoreau became one of the leading personalities in New England Transcendentalism. Thoreaus primary genre was essay, and his fascination with his natural surroundings is reflected in many of his writings dealing with totally different subjects. Natural History of Massachusetts includes poetry, describes the Merrimack River, and discusses the best technique for spear fishing. Although he has had more interpreters than any of our other writers on nature, his complex personality has eluded an ever-gathering host of sentimental disciples, whom he would have been the first to spurn , and nearly all his ingenious critics from Lowell and Stevenson to those of his centenary in 1917. He has been regarded as an American Diogenes and a rural Barnum; as a narrow Puritan, as a rebel against Puritanism, as a German-Puritan romanticist; as a sentimentalist; as a poet-naturalist; as a hermit worshiping Nature; as an anarchistic dreamer; as a loafer, Where, amid these bewildering and often equally plausible interpretations, are we to find what he himself called his true centre, if indeed he has one? Obviously, the answer should lie within the twenty volumes of his collected writings; in part, however, it should be revealed by an examination of the influences that were most important in making him what he was. John Thoreau-one of Carlyles sincere, silent fathers of genius, who, in his manufacture of pencils and plumbago, was more intent on excellence than on pecuniary gain-and of Cynthia Dunbar, handsome and spirited, one of the most unceasing talkers ever seen in Concord, whom her staid community was inclined not altogether to approve. His love of nature seems to have been adumbrated in his mother; certainly it was evoked very early, since he tells of the keen impression produced on his imagination, when he was only four or five years old, by the sight of Waldens fair waters and woods, which, he says, for a long time made the drapery of my dreams. Early, too, came the tendency to reverie and the love of solitude, although for some years he lived, like Wordsworth, mainly the life of glad animal movements, wandering over the countryside, to woods, lakes, and rivers-hunting, fishing, berry-picking, boating, swimming. Thoreau was associating with men on other grounds than the raptures of youth in contact with nature; and this habit grew until, at Harvard College, he paid little heed to the curriculum, and He embarked upon a long voyage of unchartered reading that profoundly influenced his outlook on nature and on human life . For the field observations of a student of nature Thoreau was admirably endowed. There was a wonderful fitness, said Emerson, of body and mind. He had in high degree a species of dexterity not uncommon in the Yankee. He understood the relation between sensuous vigour and subtlety and the life of a naturalist: The true man of science, he wrote in the Journal, will know nature better by his finer organization; he will smell, taste, see, hear, feel, better than other men. Accurate perception in the metaphysical as well as the physical sphere he believed to be dependent on a fit body. The whole duty of man is to make to oneself a perfect body, a fit companion for the soul, since the bodily senses are channels through which we may receive ineffable messages-subservient still to moral purposes, auxiliar to divine. This relation between body and soul he was almost incessantly conscious of; certainly he never cultivated body for the sake of body, and, being a good New Englander, had no erotic strain. Nothing was more foreign to his nature than the sensuality of a certain type of vigorous masculinity to be found in all ages, notably in the Renaissance, when poet and painter, as well as philosopher, had ground for saying that not all the snows of Caucasus could avail to allay the fires within me. Driven to choose between body and soul, Thoreau would have had no hesitation: I must confess there is nothing so strange to me as my own body, he wrote in his Journal. I love any other piece of nature, almost, better. That is his view of body as body, but body as minister of the divine he could not value too highly, and, if not of the Renaissance, he was equally not of the Middle Ages. He was indeed all- sentient. Other poets of nature have not been so fortunate. Thoreaus Taking nature as his province, Thoreau studied her faithfully, acquainting himself with her multitudinous facts, her exact rules and laws, her endless diversity and loveliness of form and movement, till he was prone to forget that knowledge of the part was but a means to knowledge of the whole. Yet inwardly he knew and remembered that to attain the true end, to penetrate to the reality beneath the show, he must stir the deeper currents of his own being, rouse himself out of that somnambulism which, according to Carlyle, is what we please to call life. How could he hope to read rightly the holy book of nature if he brought to it nothing better than the unreal light of the dream world in which the ordinary man lives without knowing it-that ordinary man of whom Plato says, dreaming and slumbering in this life, before he will awake here he arrives at the world below, and has his final quietus . Thoreaus subtle and ambiguous synthesis is founded on a fiction. His account of his tax resistance in the essay revises his tax resistance in the world, in his community of Concord. Thoreau tells us he finds in himself an instinct toward the higher, or spiritual, life, and another toward a primitive and savage one. He reverences them both: ‘I love the wild no less than the good. ’ For wildness and goodness must ever be separate. Thoreau repudiates the physical life with the astounding statement— in Walden of all books—‘Nature is hard to be overcome but she must be overcome. ’ In this new context it appears that Nature is abruptly aligned with the feminine, the carnivorous, and the carnal; though a mans spiritual life is ‘startlingly moral’ one is nonetheless susceptible to temptations from the merely physical, or feminine; urges to indulge in a ‘slimy beastly life’ of eating, drinking, and undifferentiated sensuality. Thoreau speaks as a man to other men, in the hectoring tone of a Puritan preacher, warning his readers not against damnation (in which he cannot believe-he is too canny, too Yankee) but against succumbing to their own lower natures: ‘We are conscious of an animal in us, which awakens in proportion as our higher nature slumbers. ’ Sensuality takes many forms but it is all one-one vice. All purity is one. Though sexuality of any kind is foreign to Walden, chastity is evoked as a value, and a chapter which began with an extravagant paean to wildness concludes with a denunciation of the unnamed sexual instincts. ‘I hesitate to say these things, but it is not because of the subject, I care not how obscene my words are, but because I cannot speak of them without betraying my impurity Thoreaus extensive accounts of his house in Walden demonstrate a lively appreciation of issues in current architectural thought. Pinning down his intellectual sources, however, often proves difficult, and it is uncertain whether or not he knew the villa books firsthand. There is some evidence that he was familiar with Downing, albeit at a later date than the Walden experiment. He mentions Downings A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1841) and The Fruits and Fruit Trees of North America (1845) in a brief enumeration of books on a friends shelf in 1857, and in a journal entry of 1852, he critiques the notion that one should take up a handful of the earth at your feet paint your house that colour, a conceit that had appeared in Downings writings in 1846 and 1850. Joseph J.  Moldenhauer argues, however, that Thoreaus source was instead William Wordsworths Guide to the Lakes (1810), a copy of which Thoreau owned (the fifth edition, of 1835, is an American compilation), in which the handful of the earth conceit is attributed to Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) in conversation. Moldenhauer stresses that Thoreaus knowledge of Downing is circumstantial rather than documentary; nonetheless, the circumstantial evidence seems strong, given that Downing was at the height of his popularity and influence at the very moment of Thoreaus 1852 remarks . Elsewhere Thoreaus Nature is unsentimental, existentialist. In ‘Brute Neighbours,’ for instance, Thoreau observes an ant war of nearly Homeric proportions and examines two maimed soldier ants under a microscope; the analogue with the human world is too obvious to be emphasized . Although Thoreau introduces the irreconcilability of man and Nature in Walden, in The Maine Woods (1864) he gives the inscrutability of Nature its fullest treatment. In each of Thoreaus three quests into the forest of Maine he foregrounds an epistemological crisis which ultimately reveals the inscrutability of Nature, and the inability of man, as Melville might suggest, to pierce through the pasteboard mask of Nature. In Ktaadn, Thoreau introduces the epistemological themes that he will develop further in Chesuncook and Allegash and East Branch. Each of these three excursions is an extravagant wandering from civilization out into the wild interior of Maine, and then back to civilization (although it must be noted that none of the three excursions is completely circular: in the first and third journeys. Thoreau and his companions leave from Boston, but only return as far as Bangor; in the second journey Thoreau leaves from Boston and returns to Oldtown, just a bit past Bangor). The central opposition at work in all three excursions is the contrast between civilization and Nature, the tamed and the primitive. The hallmarks of civilization are money, property, politics, and machines, such as the railroad and steamboat; the wilderness features wild animals, tangled plants, bugs, mountains, rivers, and Mount Ktaadn. Ktaadn, the first excursion, takes place in 1846. The themes of Ktaadn are grounded in the relationship between civilized man and primitive Nature. Thoreau sets out from Boston into the wilderness of Maine in order to ascend Mount Ktaadn in an effort to re-establish an original relation with Nature, to push beyond boundaries into the realm of the Indian storm-bird Pomolawho, according to Penobscot legend, lives on Mount Ktaadn-where man and Nature unite and ultimate truths are revealed. He never reaches the summit of Mount Ktaadn, however, and Thoreau makes it clear that Nature remains ultimately inscrutable. Speaking of Ktaadn, Thoreau writes: It was vast, Titanic, and such as man never inhabits. Some part of the beholder, even some vital part, seems to escape through the loose grating of his ribs as he ascends. He is more alone than you can imagine. There is less of substantial thought and fair understanding in him than in the plains where men inhabit. His reason is dispersed and shadowy, more thin and subtle, like the air. Vast, Titanic, inhuman. Nature has got him at disadvantage, caught him alone and pilfers him of some of his divine faculty. She does not smile on him as in the plains. She seems to say sternly, Why came here before your time. This ground is not prepared for you. Thoreau writes: Talk of mysteries! Think of our life in nature, daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks. Having sought the unification of man and Nature, and failed. But, just as Thoreau fails to reach the top of Ktaadn, none have gone high enough up the mountain to find the origin of the spring. Thoreaus second journey into the wilderness of Maine occurs in 1853. Thoreau more fully develops a series of oppositions introduced in Ktaadn. In Chesuncook Thoreau explores the contrast between civilization and wilderness, the civilized and the primitive, the present and the past, lower uses of Nature and higher laws, the indiscriminate hunter and the poet, and commodity and discipline. In his excursion, Thoreau wishes to recapture the past-to relive what the Jesuit missionaries experienced when travelling through the primitive wilderness untouched by civilized man-but he is unable to: he is tainted by the corrosive effect of civilization. Thoreau makes this clear central crisis: the destruction of the moose by Thoreaus band of indiscriminate hunters. Framed by suggestive allusions to Mount Ktaadn, Thoreaus participation in the killing of the moose provokes the wrath of Nature against Thoreau, thereby cutting off any chance. Thoreau may have had of succeeding where he failed in Ktaadn: to establish an original relation with Nature, to go beyond boundaries and express truth . In Chesuncook Thoreau laments his only half-willed participation in the destruction of Nature; in A Minor Bird the narrator tries to understand what there is within man that would cause him to silence any song of Nature, whether that song be in-or-out of key. The suggestion in A Minor Bird is that there is some mysterious separation between man and Nature, a disharmony. Thoreau reflects on the relentless, inevitable advance of civilization, and the destruction of Nature, which this advance brings with it. This poses a serious problem, for the Poet, notes Thoreau, and draws power and inspiration from contact with primitive Nature. In the end Thoreau suggests that perhaps man can preserve some of the raw wilderness left in America (through some form of park system or similar venture). This solution is Thoreaus problematic attempt at a mediating compromise between the relentless progress of civilization and the need of the Poet to tap into the inscrutable power within Nature, the Poets muse. In the past, Nature was untouched and available to the Poet; in the present, Nature is quickly receding. Thoreau introduces the idea of Nature as Muse in Chesuncook. Thoreau is doubly-damned: the mythological tablets that only the poet can read are being destroyed by civilization, and the poet himself has been so corrupted by civilization that even he can no longer read the few glowing wood chips that remain. The poet yearns for communication with Nature, but he cannot bridge the gulf, which separates them. In the end, Thoreau symbolically resigns himself to his fate: when hop and Indian Joe pass by Ktaadn on their way back home, they do not even attempt to climb. Thoreau complains testily in his Journal (1852). One needs distance to be able to focus his vision. One needs space and freedom of movement to refocus his vision, keep it unconstrained by familiarity, habit and custom. In Thoreaus view, lack of originality and morning freshness amounts to near blindness. What makes nature nonhuman, but, for that very reason, also a perfect conversationalist is that nature is ever original, lacking intention and memory. Both, in Thoreaus eyes, are socially conditioned and therefore suspect, the first associated with private interest, the second, with the bonds of tradition. Natural existence, on the other hand, is superior to petty concerns and designs, it unfolds spontaneously moment-by-moment, offering itself to man as a pure tonic. Vista and novelty are what Thoreau treasures most in relationships and communication, and these natures would provide amply . Until recently, Thoreaus scientific interests and pursuits were dismissed by critics as amateur and sloppy science coupled with a declined prose style. Only recently, with the 1993 publication of Faith in a Seed—a collection of not just his late natural history essays but also including the first publicat ion of his unfinished manuscripts—has it become apparent that Thoreau had accomplished something important. In Faith, he demonstrated by observation, experimentation and analysis, how 99 percent of forest seeds are dispersed; and how forests change over time, and regenerate after fire or human destruction. Thoreau worked at his familys pencil factory in 1837-38, 1844, and 1849-50. He had a natural gift for mechanics. According to Henry Petroski, Thoreau discovered how to make a good pencil out of inferior graphite by using clay as the binder; this invention improved upon graphite found in New Hampshire in 1821 by Charles Dunbar. Later, Thoreau converted the factory to producing plumbago, used to ink typesetting machines. Frequent contact with minute particles of graphite may have weakened his lungs. He travelled to Quebec once, Cape Cod twice, and Maine three times; these landscapes inspired his excursion essays, A Yankee in Canada, Cape Cod, and The Maine Woods, in which travel intineraries frame his thoughts about geography, history and philosophy. Thoreau was not without his critics. Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson judged Thoreaus endorsement of living alone in natural simplicity, apart from modern society to be a mark of effeminacy: Thoreaus content and ecstasy in living was, we may say, like a plant that he had watered and tended with womanish solicitude; for there is apt to be something unmanly, something almost dastardly, in a life that does not move with dash and freedom, and that fears the bracing contact of the world. In one word, Thoreau was a skulker. He did not wish virtue to go out of him among his fellow-men, but slunk into a corner to hoard it for himself. He left all for the sake of certain virtuous self-indulgences. Stevenson was sickly much of his life, bed-ridden and cared for by his mother and wife, but craved a life of adventure and travel. However, English novelist George Eliot, writing in the Westminster Review, characterized such critics as uninspired and narrow-minded: People—very wise in their own eyes—who would have every mans life ordered according to a particular pattern, and who are intolerant of every existence the utility of which is not palpable to them, may discourage Mr. Thoreau and this episode in his history, as unpractical and dreamy. Throughout the 19th century, Thoreau was dismissed as a cranky provincial, hostile to material progress. In a later era, his devotion to the causes of abolition, Native Americans, and wilderness preservation have marked him as a visionary.

Camera Tricks :: essays research papers

Camera Tricks   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The box office movie Spiderman 2 is playing in theater now. The story is about a nerdy American teenager who later becomes an ultimate superhero, bestowed with incredible powers and lots of cool features. It seems childish right; we as adults have watched these types of movies since we were kids. Don’t people ever get bored with it? Probably not - that movie still reached the highest income compared to other movies that are also playing currently on cinemas. And what do you think the cause of that? It is because of people now have becoming so attached to the Media, movies and television especially, to identify themselves with. Neal Gabler once wrote, â€Å"Whatever else American films do, the most popular ones are almost always about wish fulfillment, and the great stars are the ones with whom viewers can identify and through whom they can transcend themselves. They empower the audience.† It is a fact then that the Media tries to portray and characterize the perfect characters in the society through movie screens. â€Å"The movies hit them where they live – in their own state of desperation and doubt. Movies don’t just provide them with escape, as the conventional wisdom would have it. They give teenagers the exhilaration of hope through the illusion of power.† People are being deluded by these so called perfect characters that they have adapted from action figures, super heroes, celebrities and all other glamorous individualities. But are they really so great and perfect after all? Those characters are not even real; they are just illusions that the Media have created. There is a big difference between characters on screens and on reality where people should be aware; whether you like it or not, it will affect you inevitably.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Media has so many tricks in the matter of creating perfect role models. It illustrates the fancy lifestyle of rock and movie stars; the life of young, rich and famous persons on television as great examples of a perfect life. Most TV shows would picture famous artists and models managed themselves with lots of money, plenty of girl or boy friends, luxurious cars, castled housed and all others magnificent things. Media tries to teach people how money and famous can buy you the high status and power, thus, give everything you want. It seems like a dream come true, right? On the contrary, they seldom show programs picturing the negative side of those glamorous lifestyles.

Of Mice and Men Essay

The American dream was almost impossible in the 1930’s to achieve due to the Wall Street crash in 1929. This then started of the American depression throughout the 1930’s. I believe that John Steinbeck might have chosen to write of mice and men during this time to show what life was like for the last few migrant ranch workers travelling the country from job to job looking for work. Steinbeck would have been able to do this as he himself had grown up in the same area on a ranch that his father owned, he had also worked on the ranch so he would know what the ranch hands were like, what they dreamed of achieving, how they treated each other and acted towards one another. Steinbeck would have been able to describe in detail what the area and the ranches would have looked like, and also what the workers would have been like he might have used descriptions of actual workers that worked on his father’s ranch. The novel it’s self is written like a theatre play as it is only a short novel but it gives the reader great detail in its descriptions of how the scenery would have been set. â€Å"For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool†. The second scene in the book is when they arrive at the ranch and go into the bunk house â€Å"against the walls, were eight beds, five of them made up with blankets and the other three showing their burlap ticking†. There is also a lot descriptive detail of the characters. Curley’s wife in particular has an in depth character description which I believe will make up for her having no name. There are no chapter numbers in the novel but the novel is structured like acts in a play with each act having scenes of rising and falling tension at the beginning and end to entice the reader to read on. There are a limited number of characters in the novel which are all based in one place in the novel rather than spread out over several locations all over the Salinas River. The plot structure used for this novel is a classic linear quest narrative structure and is a very common way of western story telling. This type writing is where the main character of the story usually sets out to fulfil a dream. The dream in this novel for George is of buying his own land and being his own boss but it ends up with the George main character righting a wrong that Lennie has committed. The story usually ends up following a straight line from beginning to end following a line of causes and events throughout the novel. The story starts of with the initial situation where we meet the main characters and learn about their characteristics. The story continues onto the inciting incident where we meet Curley’s wife, and then follows onto the problem phase where we learn of any obstacles that the characters need to over come. The climax comes next where the protagonist must overcome the antagonist in order to achieve their goal; this then leads to the resolution of events where everything settles down in preparation for the end of the novel. Steinbeck introduces his characters George and Lennie as the two main who has to overcome the antagonist character which is Lennie. The readers will most relate to the character of George because he appears to the reader to be kind gentle hard working. You can tell these traits about him with the way he looks after Lennie and the fact that they move all over the country together, where as most farm hands travel on there own â€Å"guys like us quote†. Lennie is the antagonist of the story he is the character that is stopping the protagonist from succeeding at their dream. Lennie is a child like character who likes to pet nice things and this results in him attacking and killing. We see evidence of this throughout the novel when carry’s a dead mouse round at the beginning which he says he has accidentally killed and then when he kills the puppy given to him by the character Slim. This all ends with him killing Curley’s wife in the barn. This results in George final ly overcoming Lennie by killing him. The character that I have chosen is Curley’s wife she is portrayed as a femme fatale where as I see the character as being more than that. I see that she is a lonely woman looking for attention and someone to talk to as her husband Curley doesn’t speak to her. â€Å"Well I ain’t giving you no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time†. We here about the character before we actually meet her when Candy is gossiping to George and Lennie about her just after they have met curly he says she is pretty and gives everyone the eye also that she is blamed for everything that goes wrong on the ranch, leading the reader to see her a tart â€Å"Well, I think Curley’s married†¦.. a tart† when we do meet her later on in that scene she is given an in depth character description. She is described as a girl who is heavily made up full lips, red nails, hair hung in clusters. After George and Lennie have met her George refers to her as jail bait and warns Lennie to stay away from her. This is where we are first given the impression that the dream is going to fail to become reality. Lennie can’t stop starring at her and she leans against the door frame pushing her body forward flirting with them. She says she is looking for Curley which is what she always says. I would say out of all the characters in the book she relates best to slim as he is the only person who doesn’t think that she is a tart. We meet her three times in total in the novel the third time ending in her death thus ending the dream for George and Lennie. The second time we meet her is in crooks room where I she is also heavily made up again she is mean to the guys that are left behind she calls them all a name â€Å"nigger, an’ a dum dum, and a lousy ol’ sheep†. The dialogue that is used after the scene is set is used to help move the story forward and develop the characters. The dialogue used is quite simple to start off with at the beginning and developing into more detailed and heavy the further through the scene we go. The dialogue is also very descriptive of what the character that is being spoken to is doing at that particular moment. Curley’s wife dialogue is mostly I would say heavy to give the indication that she is a complex character in the story â€Å"sure I gotta husban’. You all seen him. Swell guy, ain’t he? Spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guys he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody. Think I’m gonna stay in that two-by- four house and listen how Curley’s gonna lead with his left twice, and then bring in the ol’ right cross† the main function of that quote is to say what she thinks of the life that she has got and how she is treated by her husband. The dialogue used by Curley’s wife is mostly about her being a lonely character â€Å"I get lonely, you can talk to people but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody†. She is also sympathetic to Lennie when she learns he has killed his puppy â€Å"don’t you worry none. He was jus’ a mutt. You can get another one easy. The whole country is full of mutts†. The main function of this dialogue is that you see she found someone who wants to talk back to her and someone she can talk to who isn’t scared of Curley but Curley is scared of them. Steinbeck has structured the whole story so that it leads the reader to the expectation of the dream failing for George and Lennie. The novel title is the first clue that we get of this idea as it is taken from the poem to a mouse by Robert burns â€Å"But, mousie, thou art not alone, improving foresight may be in vain, the best laid schemes of mice and men, go oft astray and leave us nought but grief and pain, to rend our day†. The next one is what we learn about Lennie liking to stroke and pet nice things, and finding out what happened in weed their last place of employment. Lennie is the character who is the most dedicated to the dream and he is also the one who expresses it the most, George however supports him. We then find out about the mice that Lennie keeps on accidentally killing before he progresses up to the killing of the puppy in the barn, this leads to the accidental killing of Curley’s wife also in the barn. There is also when Carlson shots Candy’s dog in the back of the head which is setting us up for George killing Lennie which is does in exactly the same way. When George is telling slim why they left weed he says â€Å"if I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I’d have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringin’ in my own crops, ‘stead of doin’ all the work and not what comes up outta the ground† I think means that George does not realty think the dream will ever become reality. I believe that Steinbeck may well have chosen to write Of Mice and Men at the time he did in 1937 as it was a time when both the story and the reality would have been very similar, as all over America migrant workers were being replaced by machines and it will show what life was like for the remaining migrant workers on ranches. He made the story a tragedy to show that all people dream and that sometimes their dreams will fail. Steinbeck wanted the reader to understand what it was like being a migrant worker on a ranch during the depression and to show how they were treated by the owners. He also wanted the reader to know that everyone dreams of a better life for themselves and that they will strive hard to try achieve it. The story its self does still have some relevance today as there are not enough jobs and so people are still continuing to rely on agencies where they will travel from job to job