Greenblatt Guru of New Historicism

Greenblatt Guru of New Historicism According to M.A.R Habib, New Historicism has become a literary term closely associated with Greenblatt, who is generally regarded as the guru of New Historicism and, as a predictable result of his sudden prominence, the focus of much criticism. By breaking disciplinary boundaries between the text and history, and between fiction and reality, New Historicism, eventually and inevitably, has now come to terms with the decision to set up its priority in a place between textualism and contextualism. In other words Karbe believes that text or phenomena cannot be somehow torn from history and analyzed in isolation outside of the historical process (401). Against the traditional view to history as Tyson says history is a matter of interpretations, not facts, and that interpretations always occur within a framework of social conventions(289),so the new historicist critics believes that all historical analysis is unavoidably subjective. Historians must therefore reveal the ways in which they know they have been positioned, by their own cultural experience, to interpret history (290). In order to know the rule of literature in new historicism and the relation between the society and environment of the time or generally the role of history of time and place to create a literary work, it would be highly important to explain some details to understand this notion better. Like the other new historicist critics Tyson believes that for new historical critics, a literary text doesnt embody the authors intention or illustrate the spirit of the age that produced it, as traditional literary historians asserted. In continues he assert that: Nor are literary texts self-sufficient art objects that transcend the time and place in which they were written, as New Critics believed. Rather, literary texts are cultural artifacts that can tell us something about the interplay of discourses, the web of social meanings, operating in the time and place in which the text was written. And they can do so because the literary text is itself part of the interplay of discourses, a thread in the dynamic web of social meaning. For new historicism, the literary text and the historical situation from which it emerged are equally important because text (the literary work) and context (the historical conditions that produced it) are mutually constitutive: they create each other (291-2). Like the dynamic interplay between individual identity and society, literary texts shape and are shaped by their historical contexts. Michael Payne asserts; new historicism is a collection of practices rather than school or a method (2), so thats why flourishing in the 80s, New Historicism mainly based on French philosopher Michel Foucaults theories offered just such a critique of history, and the dominant new historicist theories which have been used in this study would be according to the Foucaults definitions of this term. The new historicism explores the place of literature in an ongoing contest of power within society which has been defined widely latter by Foucault whose ideas have strongly influenced the development of new historicism, power circulates in all directions, to and from all social levels, at all times(Tyson 284). The others notions which are directly related to the new historicism are discourse, identity and the episteme of the time. Dr. Chung Hsiung Lai in his es say Limits and Beyond: Greenblatt, New Historicism and a Feminist Genealogy says that language is bound up with questions of identity because it is through language that we speak of ourselves and interact with others (4). We can promote the role of language in a new historicist reading to discursive power or social self fashioning force which Foucault explain them later fully. New historicist reading of the literary work according to Foucault, could be reading it according to dominant discourse and episteme of the time of the writer which could help the researcher to comprehend the identity of the creative characters of the selected works better and also helps to understand the intention of the author to create this imaginative world. Accordingly it is beyond argument that notwithstanding Greenblatt as a dominant figure in new historicism, Foucaults theories as a new historicist author have been concerned largely with the concepts of power, knowledge and discourse, These concepts alongside of the other concepts like identity and episteme are those which could applied in the text of so many literary works in a new historicist reading of them; but the author that has been selected for this study is Margaret Atwood who the notion of new historicism is highly applicable in her novels especially the selected ones The Handmaids Tale and Edible Woman. Atwood has created a stunning Orwellian vision of the near future in The Handmaids Tale. This is the story of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order who have only one purpose: to breed. In Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading and forming friendships, Offreds persistent memories of life in the time before and will to survive are acts of rebellion. According to Dr. Chung Hsiung Lai Greenblatt evokes the traditional privileging of speech over writing, where meaning are thought to be somehow less ambiguous as the speaker consciously aims at reducing the chances of misinterpretation (5).Howells in her essay Margaret Atwoods Dystopian Vision: The Handmaids Tale and Oryx and Crake asserts that this novel might usefully begin with this statement, for Offreds fictive autobiography come to us as a written text, and only at the end do we discover that, what we have been reading was actually a spoken narrative which has been transcribed from the old caste types and reconstructed for publication long after the narrator is dead(165). The second novel which has been analyzed in this study is Edible Woman, The edible woman of the novels title is, most obviously, a doll shape cake cooked and consumed in the novels conclusion. However the title also refers to the novels main character, Marian MacAlpin, who is so preoccupied with food that she interprets life around her in terms of food consumption, eventually come to identify with food, and develops a serious eating disorder as well as some romantic relations, love affairs, a broken marital engagement, a planned pregnancy and birth. The concept of body is what Atwood use widely, during the plotline of these two novels, and Foucault in Discipline and Punishment and also History of Sexuality use and explain this notion which would be highly useful in this study and At the centre of the study is a triangulated set of concepts concerning the body and its articulation with relations of power and knowledge. Barry Smart asserts that Genealogical analysis reveals the body as an object of knowledge and as a target for the exercise of power. The body is shown to be located in a political field, invested with power relations which render it docile and productive, and thus politically and economically useful (69) Thus the exercise of power necessarily puts into circulation apparatuses of knowledge, that is creates sites where knowledge is formed. Foucault himself in Discipline and Punishment asserts that a knowledge of the body that is not exactly the science of its functioning, and a mastery of its forces that is more than the ability to conquer them(26). and also Bartky believes that Both [feminism and Foucault] identify the body as the site of the power (102).Thus this analysis of power has set in motion an entirely new way of examining power relations in society, focusing more on resistance than simple passive oppression. Foucault also interested in the way that power operates through different forms of regime at particular historical period , Foucaults genealogical analyses begin with an examination of the character of modern power relations literally with the question of how power is exercised and the associated issue of the relationships between power and knowledge(Smart p. 69), and also Mills declares that For Foucault, discipline is a set of strategies, procedures and ways of behaving which are associated with certain institutional contexts and which then permeate ways of thinking and behaving in general(44). History is the other word, plays a dominant role in Foucaults ideas. Sara Mills explains that for Foucault the past is not seen as inevitably leading up to the present, a view of history which renders the past banal; it is very strangeness of the past which makes us able to see clearly the strangeness of the present(24). Then in The Archaeology of Knowledge Foucault develops the term episteme that is the body of knowledge and the ways of knowing which are in circulation at the particular moment. This study has been circulated around those Foucaults ideas which are relevant to analysis of selected novels. Argument David Staines in his essay Margaret Atwood in Her Canadian Context introduces Atwood as a prolific writer and a hit with literary critics, who became internationally famous after the popular and critical success of her 1984 novel, The Handmaids Tale. Atwood began her career in the 1960s, teaching English and at first publishing poetry, short stories and literary criticism. Her other novels include Surfacing (1972), Cats Eye (1988), Alias Grace (1996) and the 2000 Booker Prize winner, The Blind Assassin. About the concept of history Atwood in one of her lectures on her first historical novel asked a fundamental question which she tries to answers in her later novels, she asked What does the past tell us?Then she answered, In and of itself, it tells us nothing. We have to be listening first, before it will say a word; and even so, listening is telling and then retelling( Coomi S. Vevaina 86. ) . Coomi S. Vevaina tries to explain how far Atwood believe the concept of history and how far she used this concept in her Novels; he declares that in all her [Atwoods] works, Atwood reveals a distinctly postmodern engagement with history(87). He then continues that by recording some tapes Offred becomes an elocutionary act and her narrative(87); or better to say her story status warning against moral dictatorship and atrocity is summarily dismissed in an editorial aside by the male professional historian how is interested in reconstructing his grand impersonal narrative of a vanished nations hi story(87). Howells in her essay regarding the dystopian vision in Margaret Atwoods Handmaids tale asserts that this novel might usefully begin with this statement, for Offreds fictive autobiography come to us as a written text, and only at the end do we discover that, what we have been reading was actually a spoken narrative which has been transcribe from the old caste types and reconstruct for publication ling after the narrator is dead(165). Thus by help of this story we recognize the episteme of the time which Atwood tries to criticize, episteme according to Foucault is: the total set of relations that unite, at a given period, the discursive practices that give rise to epistemological figures, sciences, and possibly formalized systemsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The episteme is not a form of knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦or type of rationality which, crossing the boundaries of the most varied sciences, manifests the sovereign unity of a subject, a spirit, or a period; it is the totality of relations that can be discovered for a given period, between the sciences when one analyses them at the level of discursive regularities(191). Moreover Howells believes that the issue of language and power has always been crucial in construction of dystopias:throughout the history of dystopian fiction the conflict of the text has often turned on the control of language (166). and it is Offreds attempt to seize it [the language] to make it hers (Cixous, Medusa. 343), which gives her narrative its appeal as one woman story of resistance against patriarchal tyranny. In both Edible woman and Handmaids Tale the efforts of heroin for resistance is obvious because both of them revolt against something and someone, Such revolts about conditions, staff, practices, and treatments have at root been resistances against the very materiality of the prison and punishment as instruments of power, resistances against a particular technology of power exercised over both the mind and body of the individual (Smart 74). Identity is the matter which Atwoods protagonist deals with and the great impact of society on them is not deniable, they are what the society likes to be, thats why they are looking for a way to resistance. As the case in point Goldblatt in Reconstructing Margaret Atwoods Protagonists asserts that in The Edible Woman Marians body is also a battlefield. Unable to cope with her impending marriage to Peter, Marian finds herself unable to ingest any food that was once alive. Repulsed by her societys attitude of consumerism (275), On the other hand the story of Offred in Gilead society is the same, Goldblatt continues Offreds identity and value as a child bearer as well in The Handmaids Tale, are proclaimed by her clothes in her totalitarian city of Gilead, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ she is no longer owns a name; she if Of Fred, the concubine named for the man who will impregnate her(276). Considering the new historicist approach according to Foucaults ideas (especially those which are fit to selected novels) the researcher wants to proof that, the purpose of present study is to trace the fundamental and substantial elements of new historicism in Atwoods Handmaids Tale and The Edible Woman. In order to gain the purpose the researcher tries to answer the following questions: Upon what social understanding do these works depends? What other cultural events occurred surrounding the original production of these texts? How may these events be relevant to the text under investigation? Why might reader at a particular time and place find these works compelling? Do contemporary issues and cultural milieu of the time of the author operate together to create her novels? Significance of the study There are two main reasons, which make doing this research important. The first reason is the author herself who is the contemporary leading novelist. And the second one is that this research gives a chance to know how Foucault ideas as an approach applicable on Atwoods selected novels. What makes this research significant is that up to the present time there are so many researches and studies on Atwoods short stories, poem or novels but in none of the researches deal with new historical approach. The present study wants to show, against so many critics who place Atwood in the list of feminist critics, there are others aspects rather than feminism in Atwoods works that could be noticeable. Sawicki asserts that Foucault emphasis on the sexual body as a target and vehicle of this new form of power / knowledge is reproduced in feminist analyses of modern form patriarchal control over womens mind and bodies in the context of the emergence of the sciences of medicine, social work, and psychology(290). From this stand point which most of the protagonist of Atwoods Novels are women, to look at the overall pattern it is generally accepted these heroines are in search of knowledge in order to gain power for resistance but in contrast to the traditional definition of power, the power which Foucault talks about is totally different. Mark Robson in Routledge Critical Thinkers: Stephen Greenblatt indicates that: Central to Foucaults work is the notion that knowledge is always a form of power. Thus advances in psychiatry or in the treatment of illnesses also lead to new ways of controlling the people who are mad or ill. Such control tends to reinforce the power of those in a position to impose the categories. But this does not mean that power is simply exercised from the top down. As Foucault puts it:power is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere ( 55). To sum up, the present study tries to insist on the element of new historicism specially Foucaltian approach on Atwoods selected novels which are believed that would be fully applicable. Review of Literature This study is a library research and all the information is obtain through different books, whether directly or indirectly discussing the materials, essays, electronic sources and many other possible sources in which the related materials can be found. This research is mainly focused on the original text of selected novels which are published, and also secondary sources, which explain and criticized these Novels, are used in order to help elaboration of the novels. The primarily concentration is on those studies which are related to the conception of new Historicism. Coral Ann Howells in The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood tries to gather essays by Twelve leading international Atwood critics, provides the most comprehensive and up to date account of Atwoods novels. These essays consider Atwood theme, language, humor and narrative techniques. As a case in point Somacarreras essayPower politics: power and identity or Vevainas Margaret Atwood and history with many other essay from this book could help this study to move up in a better way. The Greenblatt Readers which is edited by Michael Payne makes available in one volume Greenblatts most important writing on culture, Renaissance studies and Shakespeare. It also features occasional pieces on subjects as diverse as storytelling and medicals, demonstrating the range of his cultural interests. Taken together, the text collected here dispel the idea that new historicism is antithetical to literary and aesthetic value. By the help of this book the researcher would like to reveal the progressive process of new historicism from Greenblatt to Foucault. Especially part one of this book which dedicate to culture and new historicism, could be highly useful for present study. Rutledge Critical Thinkers are some books which offer introductions to major critical thinkers who have influenced literary studies and humanities. Each book will equip the reader to approach these thinkers original text by explaining their key ideas, showing the reader why they are considered to be significant; Stephen Greenblatt by Mark Robson is the one of these series which not only introduce Greenblatt as a leading figure of new historicism but also ties to explain exactly what new historicism means and the relevance of new historicism to all aspects of literary criticism this book will help the researcher to find the dominant similarity and contrast between Greenbelts new historicism and Foucaltian new historicism. Various articles which make use of the theories of Foucault are referred to, such as Saundra lee Bartkys Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power, in which the author exclusively examines the discursive pressures upon the female body. In The History of Sexuality, Volume I: an Introduction Foucault provides much useful information on the origin, definition, and the treatment of the sexual body. This information is also useful in discussions concerning body and resistance. Gary Gutting in The Cambridge Companion to Foucault tryes to present a systematic and comprehensive overview of Foucaults major theme and texts from his early works on madness through his history of sexuality, and relates his work to significant contemporary movements such as critical theory and feminism. This book consist of several articles by different thinkers such as Foucault mapping of history by Thomas Flynn , Power/Knowledge by Joseph Rouse and Foucault feminism and question of identity by Jana Sawicki, which help the researcher in this study. Lisa Downing is Professor of French Discourses of Sexuality and Director of the Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Sexuality and Gender in Europe at the University of Exeter. her book The Cambridge Introduction to Michel Foucault provides ways in to understanding Foucaults key concepts of subjectivity, discourse and power. The book also explores the critical reception of Foucaults works and acquaints the reader with the afterlives of some of his theories, particularly his influence on feminist and queer studies. Each of these books represents fully the term of new Historicism which can be good theoretical bases for present study. Methodology New historicism study is a divergent field with numerous ideas, theoreticians, articles, and branches. One prominent flow of this kind of criticism is limited to Foucaults Ideas regarding power, identity, episteme, history, sexuality, knowledge, discourse and culture. According to Gearhart in Cultural Analysis and Its Discontents The issue of culture has been at the center of critical and literary-critical studies for quite some time now, and nowhere has it been more prominent than in the influential form of literary criticism that has come to be known as the new historicism. Colebrook in his book New literary Histories: New Historicism and Contemporary Criticism asserts that new historicism, a term applied to a trend in American academic literary studies in the 1980s that emphasized the historical nature of literary texts and at the same time (in contrast with older historicisms) the textual nature of history. As part of a wider reaction against purely formal or linguistic critical approaches such as the new criticism and deconstruction, the new historicists, led by Stephen Greenblatt, drew new connections between literary and nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ literary texts, breaking down the familiar distinctions between a text and its historical background as conceived in established historical forms of criticism. Inspired by Michel Foucaults concepts of discourse and power, they attempted to show how literary works are implicated in the power relations of their time, not as secondary reflections of any coherent world view but as active participants in the continual remaking of meanings(Baldick 227). New historicism is less a system of interpretation than a set of shared assumptions about the relationship between literature and history, and an essayistic style that often develops general reflections from a startling historical or anthropological anecdote. The framework of this study is Foucault ideas but before that the reader should become familiar with the concept of new historicism form Greenblatt to Foucault in order to understand its process and changes; so the chapter two has been devoted to this notion. Therefore, one principle aim is to know how literature of the specific time could be read according to new historicism. Following this new historicism methodology, chapters three and four argue the dominant concepts of new historicism according to Foucaults definition of this notion and their application to selected novels. These concepts could be the episteme of the time of the author which influence her work of art, power circulation and the role of body in this circulation, challenges of protagonist for gaining knowledge and identity and so on. And chapter five could be a conclusion and sum up of this study. Limitation and delimitation of study The present study is concerned only with Margarets two selected Novels, rather than her poetries or short stories. The choice of novels was also difficult because Margaret Atwood has variety of novels which more or less deal with different subject matters, therefore it is not possible to cover all of them in this study. As a result, the researcher concentrates only two novels which are most famous ones and suit the capacity of the content of the study. These selective novels can be studied from different approaches but the researcher is not going to say what other have said, so she chooses to examine the notion of new historicism according to Foucault definition of this term because this notion has variety sub branches. According to present study the new historicist elements such as Apparatus, Discipline, Discursive Practice, Episteme, Ethics, Identity and Power will be discuss fully in the shadow of Michel Foucault definition of these terms. In this study, the researcher will use the philosophers and theories which are related to her discussion and help its progress. Tentative outline The Concepts of Identity, Power and Knowledge: A Foucaltian Study of Margaret Atwoods Handmaids Tale and Edible Woman. Abstract Acknowledgements Chapter I. Introduction General Background The Argument Literature Review Thesis Outline Approach and Methodology New Historicism Definition of Terms Chapter 2. New Historicism from Foucault to Greenblatt Chapter 3. Foucaltian study of Handmaids Tale Chapter 4. Foucaltian study of Edible Woman Chapter 5. Conclusion Summing up Findings and implications Suggestion for farther reading Bibliography Definition of the Key Terms The below key terms are among many which may use in the present study: Andocentric: centered on the male. The term has been coined by feminist theorist wishing to describe a habit of mind and set of attitudes which are based upon a male perspective and which ignore female experience and interest (Hawthorn 10). Apparatus: Foucault generally uses this term to indicate the various institutional, physical and administrative mechanism and knowledge structure, which enhance and maintain the exercise of power within the social body (Hawthorn 12). Bio-power: Numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugation of bodies and the control of populations (History of Sexuality, Foucault 77). Confession: an important component of bio-power. People are taught that their liberation requires them to tell the truth, to confess it to someone who is more powerful and this truth telling will somehow set them free (Dreyfus and Rabinow p. 141, History of Sexuality, 58-65). Discipline: The methods, which make possible the meticulous control of the operation of the body, which assure the constant subjection of its forces and impose upon it a relation of docility-utility (Discipline and Punishment, Foucault 137). Episteme: a term coin by Foucault and widely used by Derrida, to indicate the totality of relations and laws of transformations uniting all discursive practice at any moment of time. Episteme established rules by the dominant power in a social body that effect individual and their knowledge of true or false (Mills 28). Historicism: a means of working with the problem that all history is history from the perspective of the historian. Historicism is a means of validating for itself the perpetual critical relation at play between history and human sciences (The Order of Things, Foucault 372).all knowledge is rooted in the life, a society and a language that have a history; and it is in that very history that knowledge finds the element enabling with other form of life (The Order of Things, Foucault 372-3) Language or discursive practice: this term refer to historically and culturally specific set of rules for organizing and producing different form of knowledge. It is a matter of rules, which, a bit kind the grammar of language, allow certain statement to be made (Mills 53). Power: power is not a thing but relation, it is not simply repressive but productive, and also it is not simply a property of the state, but exercise throughout the social body (Mills 34). Subject: Foucault uses the term subject in place of the individual, which is structuralisms preferred term for the self, in two ways: He uses the subject as both the grammatical subject, and subject as a verb (Mills 1617).

How Tim O’Brien Shows the Negative Side of Vietnam Essay

In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, O’Brien talks about all the parts of the Vietnam War. It shows all the horrors and negative sides of the war and what it can do to men. Many men lose their lives as well as their best friends and comrades. War also changes the soldiers into something else that’s not themselves, something evil. The Things They Carried shows the negative side of war through the imagery of the shitfield, the mental affects of the war, the hatred that can be shown by each person, the way war changes people, and the loss of companions. In the shitfield one sees everything that is bad about the war. It’s dirty and mucky and it’s just depressing all around. While in the field the soldiers are bombarded my artillery fire so they have to sink into the muck to hide themselves. One of the soldiers, Kiowa, gets hit with one of the shells. Norman Bowker tries to pull him out of the muck but he cannot. All the men try to pull him out but they cannot. They lose a friend in Kiowa, who is lost and buried in the field, and it scars all the men for life especially when they try to pull him out of the muck. The loss of a good friend stings for O’Brien. O’Brien even says that he went down with Kiowa that day and he lost a part of himself in that field. Everyone lost a part of themselves there. O’Brien describes what he saw of Kiowa as he was going down under the muck. â€Å"Kiowa was almost completely under. There was a knee. There was an arm and a gold wristwatch and part of a boot†¦. There were bubbles where Kiowa’s head should’ve been† (O’Brien 168). O’Brien going down with Kiowa shows that there are other negative effects such as mental ones. The mental effects of the war are also very negative in The Things They Carried. War messes with people’s heads and Tim O’Brien shows it in his book. â€Å"I couldn’t sleep; I couldn’t lie still† (Chen 77). This is a cause of all the blood and gore the soldier has seen. And this doesn’t just speak for the one soldier who said it, it speaks for all the soldiers. The first stage is not being able to sleep, the next stage is losing your composure. Then men start to become paranoid during the war and some go crazy. Rat Kiley is a good example of this. He is a medic and he starts to go crazy. He says he hears noises in the night that aren’t there. He says that he hears the voices of the people dying at night. O’Brien thinks its from all the gore and blood he sees day in and day out and its just getting to him but either way he loses it. Rat tells someone he is going to shoot himself so he can get out of there because of an injury. â€Å"The next morning he shot himself† (O’Brien 223). Rat Kiley’s plan works and he gets to leave, but he apologizes to all the men for losing it and in turn they don’t rat him out for what he did. Not only does the war mess with people’s heads during the war but also at other times. The mental effects also extend to after the war. The awful memories of war stick with some of the men long after they return home from the war. The post war stress is too much for Norman Bowker. He finds that when he returns home that it’s not the same to him and he cannot find his place in society. He feels empty inside and ever since the shitfield he feels incomplete. The lingering memory of not being able to pull Kiowa out of the muck sticks with him. He feels that he died there with Kiowa and this causes him to be depressed. He often talks about it with his dad saying that he wishes he could have pulled harder to get Kiowa out but he just couldn’t because of the smell. Norman wrote Tim O’Brien a letter about his last book. He said it was very good book but that he should have put a chapter in about the shitfield. O’Brien finds out that eight months later Norman killed himself. Normans writes O’Brien a letter saying there was no letter and he hung himself with a jump rope. Tim O’Brien kills a man while he’s in Vietnam. He still feels the effects of killing the man and the guilt years later. He remembers it very well when his daughter asks him a question. The question was if he had ever killed someone. â€Å"O’Brien’s guilt over the man he kills comes from questions his daughter asks him about the war. He feels the sting years later† (Martin 2). O’Brien also revisits the site of the shitfield with his daughter. He starts to remember all the bad things that happened and it hurts him. O’Brien hates the bad memories; he hates a lot of things. Some of the men start to show hatred toward people who usually aren’t hateful. The men start to turn on each other in stressful situations when they would have never done it before. â€Å"Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen got into a fistfight. It was about something stupid, a missing jackknife, but even so the fight was vicious†¦. Strunk’s nose made a sharp snapping sound, like a firecracker† (O’Brien 62). The men show hatred in the fight and over nothing important at all. â€Å"In other circumstances it might’ve ended there. But this was Vietnam, where guys carried guns, and Dave Jensen started to worry. It was mostly in his head† (O’Brien 62-63). Dave Jensen starts to get paranoid and he hates Strunk for it. â€Å"One afternoon he began firing his weapon into the air, yelling Strunk’s name†¦. late that same night he borrowed a pistol, gripped it by the barrel, and used it like a hammer to break his own nose† (Oâ€⠄¢Brien 63). This just shows how hate is a part of Vietnam. O’Brien also shows hate toward some of his comrades. In a firefight O’Brien gets shot and needs help from the new medic Bobby Jorgenson, but Jorgenson freezes because he’s too afraid and forgets to treat O’Brien for shock. This causes him much more pain over the months because the wound wasn’t treated right and in time. O’Brien hates Jorgenson for it. â€Å"I wanted to hurt Bobby Jorgenson the way he’d hurt me† (O’Brien 200). Months later O’Brien and Jorgenson talk. O’Brien realizes that Jorgenson is really sorry and he can’t bring himself to say how he feels about it and just says its ok. â€Å"I hated him for making me stop hating him† (O’Brien 200). This isn’t like O’Brien to be hateful. He has become something he’s not. The war changes the men into bad things, things that aren’t themselves. O’Brien talk about how the war changes himself and his personality at times. â€Å"I’d come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person†¦. I’d turned mean inside. Even a little cruel at times†¦. It’s a hard thing to admit, even to myself, but I was capable of evil† (O’Brien 200). O’Brien also talks about how one comes over innocent and but one leaves with a different identity. â€Å"You come over clean and you get dirty and then afterwards it’s never the same† (O’Brien 114). Other authors talk about how O’Brien shows the physical and mental devastation caused by the war. â€Å"Nowhere in The Things They Carried does O’Brien explain more clearly the psychic devastation wrought by wartime trauma† (Neilson 193). One sees the effect of the trauma even if the characters previous personalities aren’t kn own. The killing also has a big affect on O’Brien. O’Brien also talks about how the man he kills changes him because it is such a big deal to take a life. The author describes the soldier he kills. He describes everything from his wounds to his figure. He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man of about twenty. He lay at the center of the red clay trail near the village of My Khe. His jaw was in his throat. His eye was shut, the other eye was a star shaped hole. I killed him. (O’Brien 203). Once O’Brien killed this man he was â€Å"broken in† to Vietnam. He no longer was clean, he was now dirty. â€Å"His first kill hastens his loss of innocence† (Herzog 133). The soldiers in the war aren’t the only ones who were changed by Vietnam. One soldier brings his girlfriend from the states to visit him in Vietnam. He has her flown in through cargo planes and brought to his camp. At first she is glad to see her boyfriend and one can tell they are in love because they spend every minute together. She begins to get curious though and wonders off camp many times to explore. Then one night she goes missing and she is gone for a couple of days. She returns with the â€Å"Greenies† or Green Berets. She tells him not to ask and not to worry about it and acts like she has done nothing wrong. This happens many other times and the soldier can tell that he is beginning to lose her. â€Å"When she begins disappearing with the ‘greenies’ and taking part in the night ambushes, she melts into ‘a small, soft shadow'† (Chen 90). She becomes something she originally wasn’t. Mary Anne starts to become one with Vietnam and she totally forgets about her boyfriend. In the end she is lost forever to Vietnam. â€Å"It becomes impossible to distinguish between Mary Anne and Vietnam† (Chen 91). Her boyfriend loses her and she is lost to Vietnam. Just one of many casualties of the war. â€Å"But in his final story O’Brien moves from his concern with moral corruption and war to one even more universally human: death† (O’Gorman 306). O’Brien also loses many things in the war. The worst part of the Vietnam War that O’Brien shows is his loss of companions and friends. The author talks many times about his comrades throughout the book. He loses many people close to him personally and physically. â€Å"There are five deaths in the novel†¦. Ted Lavender, Curt Lemon, Kiowa, Linda, and the slim Vietcong soldier† (Martin 1). The worst is the loss of his good friend. O’Brien loses his good and best friend there, Kiowa, in the shitfield. This death is the most devastating to him because of how it happened in the muck and because he was a good friend. â€Å"Kiowa was gone. He was under the mud and water, folded in with the war: Kiowa’s death actually makes him a part of the shitfield† (Chen 93). It is also very devastating because all of the men feel guilt about it because they couldn’t pull him out in time to possibly save him. Kiowa’s death is also pointless and has no purpose except to cause pain to his friends. â€Å"In the story of Kiowa’s death, we find a combination of senselessness of war with the guilt that must be carried by other† (Martin 2). This death affects everyone in the platoon but not all deaths are gruesome and ugly. An accident kills one of the young men, named Curt Lemon, and it’s described by O’Brien as an almost beautiful death. They were just goofing. There was a noise, I supposed, which must’ve been the detonator, so I glanced behind me and watched Lemon step from the shade into bright sunlight†¦.when he died it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and lifted him up and sucked him high into a tree full of moss and vines and white blossoms. (O’Brien 70) The two soldiers are just playing a simple game and it all ends so suddenly. â€Å"He is playing a game with another soldier, a game of toss with a smoke grenade, when he accidentally steps on a landmine† (Martin 2). Lemon and O’Brien weren’t as good as friends as him and Kiowa but it was a bothersome death because Lemon was so young. â€Å"O’Brien speaks of him stepping into the light, and then the blast sucks him up into the trees†¦.what bothers O’Brien is that Curt Lemon is just a kid† (Martin 2). The death isn’t all-beautiful. O’Brien describes the mess that is made by the accident. â€Å"The white bone of an arm†¦.pieces of skin and something wet and yellow that must’ve been the intestines† (O’Brien 89). Another casualty happens because of bad luck. Lee Strunk dies in battle during a firefight. O’Brien describes the wound that Strunk gets. â€Å"In October Lee Strunk stepped on a rigged mortar round. It took off his right leg at the knee†¦.then he panicked. He tried to get up and run, but there was nothing left to run on† (O’Brien 65). Strunk didn’t die right away but not all death occur right after the accident happens. â€Å"Later we heard that Strunk died somewhere over Chu Lai† (O’Brien 66). The last death happens because of carelessness. Ted Lavender was always doped up and this in the end leads to his death. While going to the bathroom in the woods Lieutenant Cross is daydreaming and not keeping watch for enemy soldiers. While coming back from his bathroom break Lavender is shot in the head and killed on the spot. Cross never forgives himself for his death because he was daydreaming about girls and one of his men was killed. â€Å"Several incidents in The Things They Carried reveal moments when the male soldiers cannot communicate with one another† (Vernon 171). Death is only a small part of the whole picture. Tim O’Brien shows many of the negative sides of the war to the reader in ways that the reader can see how bad war is. He uses the examples of his friends dying, the whole ordeal in the shitfield, how war changes the men including the mental effects, and by showing how hateful one can become because of the stressful situations and the things one sees. O’Brien feels that he has to show all the negative sides of the war because he never wanted to go to war in the first place. Men go to war to fight battle that could be worked out peacefully and they fight and die for no reason. He feels that war is a bad thing and wants to show the reader that it’s a terrible thing and he does this very well. Even today war is a problem. Many young men are dying for no reason and it needs to stop. Works Cited Chen, Tina. â€Å"Unraveling the Deeper Meaning: Exile and the Embodied poetics of Displacement in Tim O’Briens The Things They Carried.† Contemporary Literature 29.1 (spring 1998): 77-98. Herzog, Tobey C. Vietnam War Stories Innocence Lost. London: Routledge, 1992. Martin, Paul L. 24 March, 2008. http://plmartinwrite.blogspot.com/2007/11/things-they-carried.html Neilson, Jim. Warring Fictions. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1998 O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990. O’Gorman, Farrel. â€Å"The Things They Carried as a Composite Novel.† War, Lit, and the Arts. Vernon, Alex. â€Å"Salvation, Storytelling and Pilgrimage in Tim O’Brien’s the Things They Carried.† Mosaic (Winnipeg) 36.4 (2003): 171+. Questia. 19 Mar. 2008 .

Whispered Fsu College Essay Samples Secrets

Whispered Fsu College Essay Samples Secrets The Nuiances of Fsu College Essay Samples At the exact same time, you will impress the college admissions folks greatly if it is possible to present your capacity to learn from your failures and mistakes. This essay would like to know whether this mindset of out-of-the-box-ness is something you're already comfortable with. Even more than knowing that you had the ability to correct the issue, colleges wish to observe how you approached the circumstance. To discover what has to be finished, you ought to take a look at an excellent deal of other essay examples. Two new essay options are added, and a number of the previous questions are revised. As you know what it should say, it's simple to trick yourself into believing the essay says something it doesn't. The essay is intended to be a revealing look within your ideas and feelings. What You Should Do to Find Out About Fsu College Essay Samples Before You're Left Behind Professor Mi tchell obtained a grant to have a category of students to Belgium as a way to study the EU. Florida State University College is among the most prestigious colleges in the nation. Thus, it is not just the perfect place for me, it is the only place for me. On top of its growing cultural and ethnic diversity, it is becoming a master at creating a niche for every student. The Secret to Fsu College Essay Samples Developing an excellent college essay may lose its purpose in the event the content of what you've written is not what the university is asking for. Your list will just supply you with a headache if you don't locate a remedy to end your problems. More frequently than not, deadlines for submitting applications are almost always short which makes many prospective applicants worry they will be unable to to submit their sample essay for MBA application in time. Community is a rather important issue to colleges. Colleges are interested in finding a feeling of maturity and introspectionpinpoint the transformation and demonstrate your private growth. They are more likely to admit students who can articulate specific reasons why the school is a good fit for them beyond its reputation or ranking on any list. Top Fsu College Essay Samples Secrets When you start to compose your college application essay, think about all the things which make you the person which you are. You're attempting to show colleges your very best self, therefore it might appear counterintuitive to willingly acknowledge a time you struggled. The huge pothole on Elm Street that my mother was able to hit each and every day on the best way to school would be filled-in. Ask a teacher to assist you on the way. The Key to Successful Fsu College Essay Samples Employing a writing service is the best method to have a well-written essay to use as a guideline to guarantee the essays you write are hitting each of the important points and are at the appropriate depth necessary for your academic grade. After you locate a service you want, don't neglect to look at my review of it. It's crucial that the service you select knows for sure they're only choosing the ideal essay writers. In a nutshell, the service exists, so should you want to use it in order to find a top essay, that's reason enough. New Questions About Fsu College Essay Samples For a beginning, the typical application essay topics need you to use language that's absolutely free from language flaws and grammatical mistakes. Don't forget, an admission essay sample may be a good way to find out more about the writing procedure and understand the task better. Thus, the essay is supposed to coincide with the applicant's qualities and interests in order for it to boost the possibilities of admission. The essay for Florida state university isn't required, but it's highly suggested. Individual schools sometimes need supplemental essays. College admissions essays demand a tremendous quantity of work. Do not write what you believe the admission committee would like to hear. The students shouldn't copy an application essay from different students. Oftentimes, the most effective essay topic is one which lets a few of your imperfections seep through. Or you'll be able to view 18 essays all on a single page. An essay can be wholly heartfeltand terrible. If you are in need of a well-crafted essay, then you can count on us to deliver. The second portion of this essay would like you to examine the present instead. Bridget's essay is quite strong, but there continue to be a couple little things that could be made better. Stephen's essay is quite effective. The very first portion of this essay is all about problem-solving. A normal essay includes various information that's often located at specific portions of the essay. Possessing good essay examples provides the reader an in-depth and on-the-court idea about what a well structured and coherent essay appears like. To submit an application for RU, you should hand in an essay.

Essay on “Mergers and Acquisitions Factors Determining Success and Failure”

Essay on â€Å"Mergers and Acquisitions: Factors Determining Success and Failure† Abstract This report looks at mergers and acquisitions globally and considers why so many fail. Despite this scenario, management decision-makers still continue to look for opportunities. This study researches both successful and unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions in order to determine the reasons for both successes and failures. Perhaps, historically mergers have occurred between companies that are similar in size and also have similar interests , yet acquisitions tend to facilitate larger organizations and companies acquiring smaller businesses. It is now common for mergers and acquisitions to be enacted across borders, often providing solutions for corporates to extend their influence from national into international markets. However, despite the financial expertize available to ascertain the viability of such business transactions, many of these business ventures fail, or at best do not perform according to expectation; reflected in adversely affected share prices. This report seeks t o understand the motivating factors behind the continuing drive by many boards of directors to pursue this type of business transaction, and how this trend of failures can be reversed. Introduction In recent times, global competition and the drive to leverage advantage, has resulted in both small and larger companies combining resources. Consolidations of markets are one of the main reasons for MAs. Corporates possessing similar products and services are looking to both consolidate and expand; thereby utilizing joint interests to further their goals. Despite extensive ‘due diligence’ and research, there have been and still are many risks to venture into such business transactions. Although mergers and acquisitions are motivated by different requirements, the end result is to increase their size and capacity for growth. Due to the increasing development of business systems and ‘know how’ coupled with advances in communication technology, speed of growth and efficiency of operational function have become essential to ensuring survival and continued sustainability. Today’s investors often look for quicker returns on investment due to global economic volatility; thereby driving the search for ways to extract optimal profitability. In theory, mergers and acquisitions can assist businesses to increase efficiency by the lowering of overall costs per unit, known as economies of scale. A combination of joint corporate interests should enable greater revenue, with a lower ‘cost of sale’. However, factors such as differences in management styles and continually changing market conditions can negatively impact projected profitability and growth trends; thereby negating the perceived benefits of mergers and acquisitions. This report now turns to the methodology that is utilized in order to conduct the research needed, following which the causation of successes and failures in these business transactions can be determined. Methodology The information and data was sourced online looking at auditing company reports, independent articles and dissertations, management consulting firms and media organizations such as ‘Business Week’. Attention was specifically given to motivating factors driving mergers and acquisitions at the beginning of the century to more recent corporate transactions. In addition, a perspective was sought from sources regarding the varying reasons for such transactions being subject to successes and failures. Notwithstanding a significant failure rate, this research looked at the reasons why shareholders and company directors continued to drive the enactment of such business transactions. Motivating Factors Behind Mergers and Acquisitions In researching the motivation behind the above mentioned mergers and acquisitions an article published in 2003, ‘Why do firms carry out mergers and acquisitions, and how can the difficulties involved be overcome?’, stated that even in 1998 the â€Å"total worldwide value† of â€Å"mergers and acquisitions was $2.4 trillion† (Gray 2003, p.1). It was also noted that in 61% of acquisitions â€Å"buyers destroyed their own shareholders wealth†. Despite this high failure rate back in 1998, consideration is given to why shareholders and corporate management still persist in directing their attention to business transactions of this nature. Assuming that profit and growth are primary considerations when planning such moves, it would seem that the lessons of history have not been learned. According to Gray, a perception by some business analysts is the belief that â€Å"One of the most common arguments for mergers and acquisitions are the belief that synergies may exist between different companies; thereby enabling more efficiency than if they operated independently. These synergies can materialize in the form of removing the duplication of operational functions, and additionally sharing management expertise. Added to this is a stronger and larger financial base from which to access more capital resources. However, this scenario is valid providing the different management structures can integrate not only their day to day operational functions, but also by merging different human resources invariably endowed with different company cultures and practices. In an article sourced from Business Week titled, ‘Mergers: Why Most Big Deals Dont Pay Off’, it was suggested that a driving force behind mergers and acquisitions was ‘an affliction known by many financial economists as the â€Å"winners curse† (Henry 2002, p. 2). This suggests a mindset that incorporates a ‘safety in numbers’ thinking or possibly the fear of ‘losing out’. Resulting from this perhaps irrational pursuit of thinking is the ignoring of basic business considerations that are normal in any such transactions; proactive actions such as due diligence and factoring in differences of corporate cultures and ideologies. Another motive behind mergers and acquisitions is regarding increased market share and penetration into new markets. According to a study ‘Motives and Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions’ it was noted that â€Å"market power can help companies compete more effectively and revenue growth can be achieved by lowering the prices of products which are highly price sensitive† (Wang 2007, p.21). The study goes on further to provide other motives such the combining of resources thereby enabling the creation of new product lines, technologies and opening up additional markets. Increased market share combined with the creation of innovative products and services can enable two companies to exploit opportunities within the marketplace. Factors Behind the Failures of Mergers and Acquisitions There are many factors that may be viewed as causation for mergers and acquisitions failures, however simply put, (Henry 2002, p. 2) suggest that it is often because â€Å"primarily because the bidders paid too much†. Notwithstanding, if this was the only primary reason, then financial expertize would have determined systems or methodology in order to prevent the re-occurrence of such failures. However, the merging or takeover of companies is both complex and fraught with risks, both tangible and perhaps less able to predict or evaluate. One these less tangible risks is an unexpected traumatic event as experienced in 9/11, 2001, or a natural disaster such as the recent tsunami in Japan; seriously affecting and disrupting their economy. Of course, current global political and economic uncertainty adds the possibility of further risk to any financial transaction; however history has shown that mergers and acquisitions have failed in large numbers even during times of prosperity and global economic growth. In addition to the above noted global political and economic uncertainties, a study conducted in 2008, suggested that three primary causes are responsible for merger and take-over failures. It first listed a cause in that â€Å"too many executives do not understand the importance of achieving appropriate levels of commonality in their processes and systems† (Duncan 2008, p. 1). This further confirms the above previously discussed theory regarding the relevance of merging or blending two existing cultures and ideologies together, and the inherent risks pertaining to cultural and ideological diversity. Duncan also suggests that another primary causation of these transactional failures relates to a scenario in which â€Å"many company leaders do not know how to go about achieving commonality in their processes and systems† (p. 3). Here an organization’s internal functions including the utilization of technical and administrative systems are deemed to include the ab ility to communicate and translate into â€Å"divisional goals and objectives†. He notes that this process of achieving commonality starts at the top of the management structure and flows down throughout the entire corporate infrastructure. To achieve this objective, a common and shared implemented. According to Duncan, a third primary reason for failure is that many mergers and acquisitions do not achieve expected performance levels due to â€Å"executives are frequently unable to follow through on the difficult decisions related to post-acquisition and post-merger consolidation† (p. 3). Perhaps in the euphoria and excitement of such corporate transactions, attention is diverted from streamlining the combined infrastructures and resources, and in addition ignoring the necessity of effecting efficiency and the integration of both systems and human resources. In another sourced article commissioned by a daily newspaper, The Telegraph (U.K.) it was clearly stated that, â€Å"Poor governance Lack of clarity as to who decides what, and no clear issue resolution process† (Siegenthaler 2010, p. 1). This statement further justifies and confirms Duncan’s third referenced theory regarding the ability of key management personnel to enact decisions in order to resolve issues pertaining to a merger or take-over. He goes on to specify communication issues specifically relating to the receiver of information and data. This is due to most of the communication by key management strategists being focused and targeted at decision-makers on an equal or similar management level rather than allocating attention to those personnel further down the chain of command. Furthermore, failure to communicate the rationale behind the merger or acquisition, leads a breakdown in the free flow of valuable information throughout the corporate structure. He maintains that all personnel want to know why the business transaction took place and in addition, what improvements are planned, how the company will be more viable after the transaction. Included was the ability for the key management personnel to convey or communicate how the new business structure would â€Å"feel†, and how the merger or acquisition would change the nature of their work environment; thereby necessitating the need for support during a period of integration and perhaps, a breakdown of operational and administrative functions. Finally, in a study conducted in 2007, ‘Mergers and Acquisitions A Case of System Failure’, it was pointed out that when considering an acquisition, it is important to focus on â€Å"how it will create value for shareholders and not on how it will increase the size of the company† (Virani 2007, p. 5). Perhaps by key management decision-makers directing their attention more on growth and infrastructural capacity, key investment requirements including enabling a viable return on investment are ignored; thereby leading to the increased risk of the unsustainability of such an acquisition. Factors Behind the Successes of Mergers and Acquisitions This study has already found that factors attributing to merger and acquisition losses are not by chance or luck, but rather by failing to allocate close attention to the many necessities needed within all aspects of combining and integrating two business structures. It has also been interesting to note that little reference was given in any of the previously sourced information laying blame on adverse external influences such as political and economic uncertainty. Likewise, it is found that factors attributed to the success of mergers and acquisitions are enabled due to sound business strategies; to which this report now turns. A study conducted titled ‘Why Mergers Fail and How to Prevent It’, pointed out that mergers and acquisition outcomes are â€Å"linked closely to the extent to which management is able to integrate members of organizations and their cultures† (Cartwright 2012, p. 2). This observation is closely parallel to sourced information previously discussed regarding the integration of personnel and cultures by different organizations. However, she also points out the relevance of sensitively addressing ‘individual’ concerns, minimizing the impact on all employees when integrating two different corporate entities into a single cohesive infrastructure. Logic suggests that the ‘human factor’ plays a significant role in the enablement of a successful ‘marriage’ of two companies. Regarding another factor that can contribute to the successful outcome of a merger or acquisition, a study titled ‘Why Do Mergers Fail? What Can Be Done to Improve their Chances of Success?’ suggest that â€Å"one way of ensuring that post-merger integration will run smoothly is to set up a postmerger integration team in all the critical areas of the organization† (Salame 2006, p. 18). Following this suggestion, it would be prudent to not only to enable pre-merger investigation such as due diligence, but also by planning prior to the merger, a task force dedicated to integrating all operational functions within both business entities; including administrative functions, marketing systems and plans, financial systems and human resources. Moreover, attention has been drawn above to the ‘human factor’, so when considering the employees, further attention should be allocated by this postmerger integration team to look at cultural diversity and issues pertaining to local communities. Such issues can include perceived inequalities of minority and disadvantaged population groups. Acceptance of cultural diversity and minorities can enable a smoother integration of two companies. This is especially applicable in the event that such integration takes place across international borders. Additionally, according to ‘Excellence in Financial Management’, it is suggested that many entrepreneurs do not acquire and plan long-term growth; thereby building companies â€Å"for the short-term, hoping to sell the company for huge profits† (Evan 2000, p. 1). Perhaps this may be perceived by some to be ‘short-sighted’; however, the result can often be the streamlining the companies into an efficient cohesive operation; thereby enabling profitability and perhaps growth so as to add perceived value. A question is raised whether such a short term viewpoint is arguably conducive to long term sustainability. However, by enabling quick solutions to integration challenges, savings and financial viability may be found. In a report published in 2008, ‘Mergers and acquisitions: opportunities for global growth’, it was noted that more companies are now â€Å"recognizing the growing importance of emerging markets† (Grant Thornton 2008, p. 4). This allows a company previously restricted by local or national competition, to combine resources with companies in areas where the return on investment may be higher. Furthermore, growth in many emerging markets such China, India and Brazil has been relatively strong when compared to the stagnant economies of more established major powers. Furthermore, Grant Thornton’s IBR survey has shown that shareholders and corporate decision-makers in the fast growing BRIC economies are now enthusiastically embracing MA† (p. 6). This paper suggests that perhaps accessing emerging markets via mergers and acquisitions may be a key strategy for future sustainable growth. Recognizing the energy and vitality of emerging markets can stimulate more established companies and organizations based in ‘Western’ economies that have been subjected to defensive and perhaps negative outlook based on poor economic outlook. In considering all these factors inherent to the implementation of successful mergers and acquisitions, a report ‘Mergers Acquisitions: A Global Research Report’ clearly stated that â€Å"As ever, it is the delicate balance between financial drivers and people aspects which underpins success. Neither is sufficient in itself to deliver the benefits† (Kelly, Cook Spitzer 1999, p. 2). Underscoring the importance of both financial expertise and the ability to recognize the validity of the ‘human factor, perhaps encapsulates what this investigation has sourced and evaluated. Conclusions and Recommendations Perhaps the measure of why shareholders and directors of companies are still pursuing mergers and acquisitions despite a global trend of a significant failure rate, can be attributed to the motivation for businesses to combine forces and resources so as to ensure sustainability. Notwithstanding the many failures, the economic downturn has perhaps highlighted the need to diversify resources into foreign and emerging markets; thereby potentially enabling higher levels of growth. Henry reasoned that a measurement of successful mergers can be enacted by evaluating stock market returns, one year after a merger (Henry 2002). Perhaps investors and shareholders should be able to influence such future business transactions so that an investment viewpoint incorporating ‘return on investment’ should be equally, or more weighted when evaluating such strategies.