Imprisonment in Shakespeares King Lear Essay -- King Lear essays

Imprisonment in King Lear      Ã‚   In the play King Lear, by William Shakespeare, the idea of imprisonment is fundamental to the plot and central ideas. All characters are imprisoned, whether it is physically, socially or psychologically. Each character suffers 'imprisonment' in some form.    King Lear is one of the more caged characters of the play, he suffers both social and psychological incarceration and this is one the chief reasons for his descent into mental hell and inevitable downfall. Lear is imprisoned by the role he must play in society and by his own internal shackles. The abdication of the throne initiates the action in the play, through the consequent chain of events. However this indicates that Lear is imprisoned by his responsibility to society, a social harness binds him. He renounces the throne to lead the rest of his life in pleasure and in doing so he disrupts the Great Chain of Being, he challenges the position that he has been given and thus his family and indeed the entire nation, descend into disorder and chaos. The storm is symbolic of this occurrence; the weather imitates the state of men. "One minded like the weather," the gentle man recognizes the disquiet and unrest of the storm, as a manifestation of the turbulence in Society at the time. He is not only responsible for the harmony of a nation, it is also his duty to maintain harmony in his house. This he does with little success when "bribes" his daughters to fuel his own ego. "Which of you shall we say doth love us most,/That we our largest bounty extend," Lear is requesting his daughters to compete in a "game" of words, he does not really wish to know who loves him the most, he simply wishes to be flattered, through this he is rashly aba... ...    Bevington, David, "Introduction to King Lear."   The Complete Works of William   Shakespeare.   New York:   HarperCollins, 1992.    Elton, William R. King Lear and the Gods.   San Marino, California: The Huntington Library, 1966.    Halio, Jay.   " King Lear's Imprisonment." Shakespeare Quarterly 67 (1999):   221-3.      Hoover, Claudette.   "Women, Centaurs, and Devils in King Lear."   Women's Studies 16 (1989):   349-59.    Jackson, Ken. "Review of Judy Kronenfeld, King Lear and the Naked Truth." Early Modern Literary Studies 6.2 (September, 2000): 10.1-5 <URL: http://purl.oclc.org/emls/06-2/jackrev.htm>.    Leggattt, Alexander.   King Lear.   Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1988.    Shakespeare, William.   King Lear.   The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David   Bevington.   New York:   HarperCollins, 1999

Critical Appreciation of Audens Funeral Blues :: essays research papers

Although it is not seen at first, Funeral blues can be portrayed and understood in many different ways. Auden could be writing about the death of a public figure, as he writes about 'white necks of the public doves' and the 'traffic policemen'. Another interpretation is that Auden wrote this poem about his loss of faith in God. This would explain the use of a capital H is ?He Is Dead?. A reference to God could also be found in the line 'my Sunday rest' (Sunday being the Sabbath day). Although these ideas could be equally argued, I still believe that Auden wrote this poem while mourning the loss of his lover. It carries a sad and heartbreaking tone that puts Auden as the speaker. Being a homosexual would explain why the subject of his poem is a man. The title of the poem includes the word ?funeral?, immediately indicating death or loss. In the first stanza Auden makes use of works like stop, cut, prevent and silence ? these words all signify ending. ?Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephones?, this describes how Auden wanted to be excluded from the world while he was mourning his loss. ?Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead / Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead?. Auden uses personification in these first two lines of the second stanza by giving the aeroplanes human characteristics to inform everyone that ?He Is Dead?. This man meant so much to Auden that he wanted his death to be recognized and written in the sky for all to see. In the third stanza, Auden writes: 'He was my North, my South, my East and West'. This man was everything to Auden, he was Auden's world. It is written in the third stanza: ?I thought love would last for ever: I was wrong?. This demonstrates that even though love is meant to last forever, it can only be carried to the grave and no farther.

The Host Chapter 41: Vanished

Ian sat with me for three days in the darkness. He left for only a few short minutes at a time, to get us food and water. At first, Ian ate, though I did not. Then, as he realized that it wasn't a loss of appetite that left my tray full, he stopped eating, too. I used his brief absences to deal with the physical needs that I could not ignore, thankful for the proximity of the odorous stream. As my fast lengthened, those needs vanished. I couldn't keep from sleeping, but I did not make myself comfortable. The first day, I woke to find my head and shoulders cradled on his lap. I recoiled from him, shuddering so violently that he did not repeat the gesture. After that, I slumped against the stones where I was, and when I woke, I would curl back up into my silent ball at once. â€Å"Please,† Ian whispered on the third day-at least I thought it was the third day; there was no way to be sure of the passing time in this dark, silent place. It was the first time he'd spoken. I knew a tray of food was in front of me. He pushed it closer, till it touched my leg. I cringed away. â€Å"Please, Wanda. Please eat something.† He put his hand on my arm but moved away quickly when I flinched out from under it. â€Å"Please don't hate me. I'm so sorry. If I'd known†¦ I would have stopped them. I won't let it happen again.† He would never stop them. He was just one among many. And, as Jared had said, he'd had no objections before. I was the enemy. Even in the most compassionate, humankind's limited scope of mercy was reserved for their own. I knew Doc could never intentionally inflict pain on another person. I doubted he would even be capable of watching such a thing, tender as his feelings were. But a worm, a centipede? Why would he care about the agony of a strange alien creature? Why would it bother him to murder a baby-slowly, slicing it apart piece by piece-if it had no human mouth to scream with? â€Å"I should have told you,† Ian whispered. Would it have mattered if I'd simply been told rather than having seen the tortured remains for myself? Would the pain be less strong? â€Å"Please eat.† The silence returned. We sat in it for a while, maybe another hour. Ian got up and walked quietly away. I could make no sense of my emotions. In that moment, I hated the body I was bound to. How did it make sense that his going depressed me? Why should it pain me to have the solitude I craved? I wanted the monster back, and that was plainly wrong. I wasn't alone for long. I didn't know if Ian had gone to get him or if he'd been waiting for Ian to leave, but I recognized Jeb's contemplative whistle as it approached in the darkness. The whistling stopped a few feet from me, and there was a loud click. A beam of yellow light burned my eyes. I blinked against it. Jeb set the flashlight down, bulb up. It threw a circle of light on the low ceiling and made a wider, more diffuse sphere of light around us. Jeb settled himself against the wall beside me. â€Å"Gonna starve yourself, then? Is that the plan?† I glared at the stone floor. If I was being honest with myself, I knew that my mourning was over. I had grieved. I hadn't known the child or the other soul in the cave of horrors. I could not grieve for strangers forever. No, now I was angry. â€Å"You wanna die, there are easier and faster ways.† As if I wasn't aware of that. â€Å"So give me to Doc, then,† I croaked. Jeb wasn't surprised to hear me speak. He nodded to himself, as if this was exactly what he'd known would come out of my mouth. â€Å"Did you expect us to just give up, Wanderer?† Jeb's voice was stern and more serious than I had ever heard it before. â€Å"We have a stronger survival instinct than that. Of course we want to find a way to get our minds back. It could be any one of us someday. So many people we love are already lost. â€Å"It isn't easy. It nearly kills Doc each time he fails-you've seen that. But this is our reality, Wanda. This is our world. We've lost a war. We are about to be extinct. We're trying to find ways to save ourselves.† For the first time, Jeb spoke to me as if I were a soul and not a human. I had a sense that the distinction had always been clear to him, though. He was just a courteous monster. I couldn't deny the truth of what he was saying, or the sense of it. The shock had worn off, and I was myself again. It was in my nature to be fair. Some few of these humans could see my side of things; Ian, at least. Then I, too, could consider their perspective. They were monsters, but maybe monsters who were justified in what they were doing. Of course they would think violence was the answer. They wouldn't be able to imagine any other solution. Could I blame them that their genetic programming restricted their problem-solving abilities in this way? I cleared my throat, but my voice was still hoarse with disuse. â€Å"Hacking up babies won't save anyone, Jeb. Now they're all dead.† He was quiet for a moment. â€Å"We can't tell your young from your old.† â€Å"No, I know that.† â€Å"Your kind don't spare our babies.† â€Å"We don't torture them, though. We never intentionally cause anyone pain.† â€Å"You do worse than that. You erase them.† â€Å"You do both.† â€Å"We do, yes-because we have to try. We have to keep fighting. It's the only way we know. It's keep trying or turn our faces to the wall and die.† He raised one eyebrow at me. That must have been what it looked like I was doing. I sighed and took the water bottle Ian had left close to my foot. I drained it in one long pull, and then cleared my throat again. â€Å"It will never work, Jeb. You can keep cutting us out in pieces, but you'll just murder more and more sentient creatures of both species. We do not willingly kill, but our bodies are not weak, either. Our attachments may look like soft silver hair, but they're stronger than your organs. That's what's happening, isn't it? Doc slices up my family, and their limbs shred through the brains of yours.† â€Å"Like cottage cheese,† he agreed. I gagged and then shuddered at the image. â€Å"It makes me sick, too,† he admitted. â€Å"Doc gets real bent out of shape. Every time he thinks he's got it cracked, it goes south again. He's tried everything he can think of, but he can't save them from getting turned into oatmeal. Your souls don't respond to injected sedation†¦ or poison.† My voice came out rough with new horror. â€Å"Of course not. Our chemical makeup is completely different.† â€Å"Once, one of yours seemed to guess what was going to happen. Before Doc could knock the human out, the silver thingy tore up his brain from the inside. Course, we didn't know that until Doc opened him up. The guy just collapsed.† I was surprised, strangely impressed. That soul must have been very brave. I had not had the courage to take that step, even in the beginning when I was sure they were going to try to torture this very information from me. I didn't imagine they would try to slash the answer out for themselves; that course was so obviously doomed to failure, it had never occurred to me. â€Å"Jeb, we are relatively tiny creatures, utterly dependent on unwilling hosts. We wouldn't have lasted very long if we didn't have some defenses.† â€Å"I'm not denying that your kind have a right to those defenses. I'm just telling you that we're gonna keep fighting back, however we can. We don't mean to cause anyone pain. We're makin' this up as we go. But we will keep fighting.† We looked at each other. â€Å"Then maybe you should have Doc slice me up. What else am I good for?† â€Å"Now, now. Don't be silly, Wanda. We humans aren't so logical as all that. We have a greater range of good and bad in us than you do. Well, maybe mostly the bad.† I nodded at that, but he kept going, ignoring me. â€Å"We value the individual. We probably put too much emphasis on the individual, if it comes right down to it. How many people, in the abstract, would†¦ let's say Paige†¦ how many people would she sacrifice to keep Andy alive? The answer wouldn't make any sense if you were looking at the whole of humanity as equals. â€Å"The way you are valued here†¦ Well, that don't make much sense when you look at it from humanity's perspective, either. But there's some who would value you above a human stranger. Have to admit, I put myself in that group. I count you as a friend, Wanda. Course, that's not gonna work well if you hate me.† â€Å"I don't hate you, Jeb. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"I just don't see how I can live here anymore. Not if you're going to be slaughtering my family in the other room. And I can't leave, obviously. So you see what I mean? What else is there for me but Doc's pointless cutting?† I shuddered. He nodded seriously. â€Å"Now, that's a real valid point. It's not fair to ask you to live with that.† My stomach dropped. â€Å"If I get a choice, I'd rather you shot me, actually,† I whispered. Jeb laughed. â€Å"Slow down there, honey. Nobody's shooting my friends, or hackin' ‘ em up. I know you're not lying, Wanda. If you say doing it our way isn't going to work, then we're going to have to rethink things. I'll tell the boys they're not to bring any more souls back for now. Besides, I think Doc's nerves are toast. He can't take much more of this.† â€Å"You could be lying to me,† I reminded him. â€Å"I probably couldn't tell.† â€Å"You'll have to trust me, then. Because I'm not going to shoot you. And I'm not going to let you starve yourself, either. Eat something, kid. That's an order.† I took a deep breath, trying to think. I wasn't sure if we'd come to an accommodation or not. Nothing made sense in this body. I liked the people here too much. They were friends. Monstrous friends that I couldn't see in the proper light while sunk in emotion. Jeb picked up a thick square of cornbread soaked through with stolen honey and shoved it into my hand. It made a mess there, crumbling into gluey morsels that stuck to my fingers. I sighed again and started cleaning them off with my tongue. â€Å"That's a girl! We'll get over this rough spot. Things are gonna work out here, you'll see. Try to think positive.† â€Å"Think positive,† I mumbled around a mouthful of food, shaking my head with disbelief. Only Jeb†¦ Ian came back then. When he walked into our circle of light and saw the food in my hand, the look that spread across his face filled me with guilt. It was a look of joyous relief. No, I had never intentionally caused anyone physical pain, but I had hurt Ian deeply enough just by hurting myself. Human lives were so impossibly tangled. What a mess. â€Å"Here you are, Jeb,† he said in a subdued voice as he sat down across from us, just slightly closer to Jeb. â€Å"Jared guessed you might be here.† I dragged myself half a foot toward him, my arms aching from being motionless so long, and put my hand on his. â€Å"Sorry,† I whispered. He turned his hand up to hold mine. â€Å"Don't apologize to me.† â€Å"I should have known. Jeb's right. Of course you fight back. How can I blame you for that?† â€Å"It's different with you here. It should have stopped.† But my being here had only made it that much more important to solve the problem. How to rip me out and keep Melanie here. How to erase me to bring her back. â€Å"All's fair in war,† I murmured, trying to smile. He grinned weakly back. â€Å"And love. You forgot that part.† â€Å"Okay, break it up,† Jeb mumbled. â€Å"I'm not done here.† I looked at him curiously. What more was there? â€Å"Now.† He took a deep breath. â€Å"Try not to freak out again, okay?† he asked, looking at me. I froze, gripping Ian's hand tighter. Ian threw an anxious glance at Jeb. â€Å"You're going to tell her?† Ian asked. â€Å"What now?† I gasped. â€Å"What is it now?† Jeb had his poker face on. â€Å"It's Jamie.† Those two words turned the world upside down again. For three long days, I'd been Wanderer, a soul among humans. I was suddenly Wanda again, a very confused soul with human emotions that were too powerful to control. I jumped to my feet-yanking Ian up with me, my hand locked on his like a vise-and then swayed, my head spinning. â€Å"Sheesh. I said don't freak out, Wanda. Jamie's okay. He's just really anxious about you. He heard what happened, and he's been asking for you-worried out of his mind, that kid is-and I don't think it's good for him. I came down here to ask you to go see him. But you can't go like this. You look horrible. It will just upset him for no good reason. Sit down and eat some more food.† â€Å"His leg?† I demanded. â€Å"There's a little infection,† Ian murmured. â€Å"Doc wants him to stay down or he'd have come to get you a long time ago. If Jared wasn't practically pinning him to the bed, he would have come anyway.† Jeb nodded. â€Å"Jared almost came here and carried you out by force, but I told him to let me speak to you first. It wouldn't do the kid any good to see you catatonic.† My blood felt as though it had changed into ice water. Surely just my imagination. â€Å"What's being done?† Jeb shrugged. â€Å"Nothin' to do. Kid's strong; he'll fight it off.† â€Å"Nothing to do? What do you mean?† â€Å"It's a bacterial infection,† Ian said. â€Å"We don't have antibiotics anymore.† â€Å"Because they don't work-the bacteria are smarter than your medicines. There has to be something better, something else.† â€Å"Well, we don't have anything else,† Jeb said. â€Å"He's a healthy kid. It just has to run its course.† â€Å"Run†¦ its†¦ course.† I murmured the words in a daze. â€Å"Eat something,† Ian urged. â€Å"You'll worry him if he sees you like this.† I rubbed my eyes, trying to think straight. Jamie was sick. There was nothing to treat him with here. No options but waiting to see if his body could heal itself. And if it couldn't†¦ â€Å"No,† I gasped. I felt as if I were standing on the edge of Walter's grave again, listening to the sound of sand falling into the darkness. â€Å"No,† I moaned, fighting against the memory. I turned mechanically and started walking with stiff strides toward the exit. â€Å"Wait,† Ian said, but he didn't pull against the hand he still held. He kept pace with me. Jeb caught up to me on the other side and shoved more food into my free hand. â€Å"Eat for the kid's sake,† he said. I bit into it without tasting, chewed without thinking, swallowed without feeling the food go down. â€Å"Knew she was gonna overreact,† Jeb grumbled. â€Å"So why did you tell her?† Ian asked, frustrated. Jeb didn't answer. I wondered why he didn't. Was this worse even than I imagined? â€Å"Is he in the hospital?† I asked in an emotionless, inflectionless voice. â€Å"No, no,† Ian assured me quickly. â€Å"He's in your room.† I didn't even feel relief. Too numb for that. I would have gone into that room again for Jamie, even if it was still reeking of blood. I didn't see the familiar caves I walked through. I barely noticed that it was day. I couldn't meet the eyes of any of the humans who stopped to stare at me. I could only put one foot in front of the other until I finally reached the hallway. There were a few people clustered in front of the seventh cave. The silk screen was pushed far aside, and they craned their necks to see into Jared's room. They were all familiar, people I'd considered friends. Jamie's friends, too. Why were they here? Was his condition so unstable that they needed to check on him often? â€Å"Wanda,† someone said. Heidi. â€Å"Wanda's here.† â€Å"Let her through,† Wes said. He slapped Jeb on the back. â€Å"Good job.† I walked through the little group without looking at them. They parted for me; I might have walked right into them if they hadn't. I couldn't concentrate on anything but moving myself forward. It was bright in the high-ceilinged room. The room itself was not crowded. Doc or Jared had kept everyone out. I was vaguely aware of Jared, leaning against the far wall with his hands clasped behind him-a posture he assumed only when he was really worried. Doc knelt beside the big bed where Jamie lay, just where I had left him. Why had I left him? Jamie's face was red and sweaty. The right leg of his jeans had been cut away, and the bandage was peeled back from his wound. It wasn't as big as I'd expected. Not as horrible as I would have imagined. Just a two-inch gash with smooth edges. But the edges were a frightening shade of red, and the skin around the cut was swollen and shiny. â€Å"Wanda,† Jamie exhaled when he saw me. â€Å"Oh, you're okay. Oh.† He took a deep breath. I stumbled and fell to my knees beside him, dragging Ian down with me. I touched Jamie's face and felt the skin burn under my hand. My elbow brushed Doc's, but I barely noticed. He scooted away, but I didn't look to see what emotion was on his face, whether it was aversion or guilt. â€Å"Jamie, baby, how are you?† â€Å"Stupid,† he said, grinning. â€Å"Just plain stupid. Can you believe this?† He gestured to his leg. â€Å"Of all the luck.† I found a wet rag on his pillow and wiped it across his forehead. â€Å"You're going to be fine,† I promised. I was surprised at how fierce my voice sounded. â€Å"Of course. It's nothing. But Jared wouldn't let me come talk to you.† His face was suddenly anxious. â€Å"I heard about†¦ and Wanda, you know I -â€Å" â€Å"Shh. Don't even think of it. If I'd had any idea you were sick I would have been here sooner.† â€Å"I'm not really sick. Just a stupid infection. I'm glad you're here, though. I hated not knowing how you were.† I couldn't swallow down the lump in my throat. Monster? My Jamie? Never. â€Å"So I heard you schooled Wes the day we got back,† Jamie said, changing the subject with a wide grin. â€Å"Man, I wish I could have seen that! I bet Melanie loved it.† â€Å"Yes, she did.† â€Å"She okay? Not too worried?† â€Å"Of course she's worried,† I murmured, watching the cloth travel across his forehead as if it were someone else's hand moving it. Melanie. Where was she? I searched through my head for her familiar voice. There was nothing but silence. Why wasn't she here? Jamie's skin was burning where my fingers brushed it. The feel of it-that unwholesome heat-should have had her in the same panic I was feeling. â€Å"You okay?† Jamie asked. â€Å"Wanda?† â€Å"I'm†¦ tired. Jamie, I'm sorry. I'm just†¦ out of it.† He eyed me carefully. â€Å"You don't look so good.† What had I done? â€Å"I haven't cleaned up in a while.† â€Å"I'm fine, you know. You should go eat or something. You're pale.† â€Å"Don't worry about me.† â€Å"I'll get you some food,† Ian said. â€Å"You hungry, kid?† â€Å"Ah†¦ no, not really.† My eyes flashed back to Jamie. Jamie was always hungry. â€Å"Send someone else,† I told Ian, gripping his hand tighter. â€Å"Sure.† His face was smooth, but I could sense both surprise and worry. â€Å"Wes, could you get some food? Something for Jamie, too. I'm sure he'll find that appetite by the time you get back.† I measured Jamie's face. He was flushed, but his eyes were bright. He would be okay for a few minutes if I left him here. â€Å"Jamie, do you mind if I go wash my face? I feel sort of†¦ grimy.† He frowned at the false note in my voice. â€Å"Course not.† I pulled Ian up with me again as I rose. â€Å"I'll be right back. I mean it this time.† He smiled at my weak joke. I felt someone's eyes on me as I left the room. Jared's or Doc's, I didn't know. I didn't care. Only Jeb still stood in the hallway now; the others had gone, reassured, perhaps, that Jamie was doing okay. Jeb's head tilted to the side, curious, as he tried to figure out what I was doing. He was surprised to see me leave Jamie's side so soon and so abruptly. He, too, had heard the sham in my excuse. I hurried past his inquisitive gaze, towing Ian with me. I dragged Ian back through the room where the tunnels to all the living quarters met in a big tangle of openings. Instead of keeping on toward the main plaza, I pulled him into one of the dark corridors, picking at random. It was deserted. â€Å"Wanda, what -â€Å" â€Å"I need you to help me, Ian.† My voice was strained, frantic. â€Å"Whatever you need. You know that.† I put my hands on either side of his face, staring into his eyes. I could barely see a glint of their blue in the darkness. â€Å"I need you to kiss me, Ian. Now. Please.†

John Updike`s A&P Essay

â€Å"A & P† is first-person narrative revealing the delusively ordinary story related by the checkout boy in the grocery store named in the title. In â€Å"A & P† the first-person narrator is defined largely by his tone and vocabulary. Updike molds his protagonist through the use of specific writing style, thus Sammy is casual and colloquial. The customers in his grocery are referred to as â€Å"the sheep† the commonness of which has been one day disturbed by the appearance of a sexually uninhibited, young ladies in bathing suits. Surveying the three girls as they wander the aisles, Sammy describes the girls, and here Updike’s style is prolifically intoxicated with the description of the girls with the flights of slang language, trying to show why these teenagers deserve the sacrifice: chunky with â€Å"a sweet broad soft-looking can†, breasts, on the other hand, become â€Å"two smooth scoops of vanilla†, the shoulder bones become â€Å"dented sheet of metal tilted in the light†. Besides, Sammy’s narration is lard with the discourse markers that make his flow of narration softer and folksy: â€Å"kind of jerk†; â€Å"she kind of led them†; â€Å"she had sort of oaky hair† The colloquial style is expressed not only in the vocabulary of the protagonist but in the violated sentence structures. Updike’s uniqueness lies in his process of detachment. Coming in adjective or adverb modifiers rather than main sentence elements, the ironic posture emerges without affecting plot: â€Å"and a tall one, with black hair that hadn’t quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes, and a chin that was too long–you know, the kind of girl other girls think is very â€Å"striking† and â€Å"attractive† but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much† Not rare are also broken structures like: â€Å"She had on a kind of dirty-pink–beige maybe, I don’t know–bathing suit†, or â€Å"The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle–the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or anything)–were pretty hilarious. † The story is presented through the present-tense narration. Such choice of grammar technique imparts narration the sense of immediacy, makes it a chronicle of one event, so that reader feels as if he himself is a witness of that event. â€Å"IN WALKS these three girls in nothing but bathing suits†, â€Å"The girls, and who’d blame them, are in a hurry to get out, †¦ †, â€Å"Lengel sighs and begins to look very patient and old and gray. † Updike’s striking adjectives appear often: â€Å"kind of dirty-pink–beige maybe†, â€Å"chubby berry-face†, â€Å"long white prima-donna legs†, â€Å"the cat-and-dog-food-breakfastcereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreadsspaghetti-soft-drinks-crackers-and-cookies aisle†; Their intrusiveness increases and besides literary irony, they produce an ambiguity of intent or author’s attitude (hence diction) in his story, which is matched somewhat by unexpected metaphors or visual comparisons, like â€Å"two smoothest scoops of vanilla†, â€Å"outside the sunshine is skating around on the asphalt outside the sunshine is skating around on the asphalt†, â€Å"his back [was] stiff, as if he’d just had an injection of iron†. All of these figures, although appropriate functionally to the text, often call attention to themselves and piece out Updike’s style. Updike, John (1962) Pigeon Feathers, and Other Stories. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

A Project Report On Marketing Plan For Kudu is a Saudi Arabia

Kudu is a Saudi Arabia based restaurant chain with over 327 store outlets across the country (Kudu, 2017). The restaurant was established with the aim to offer a unique dining experience for the people of Saudi Arabia. The restaurant has a highly trained staff along with great infrastructure to maintain the standard of services in terms of quality, efficiency and reliability. The restaurant has received ISO and HACCP SQF recognition for its consistency of service standards (Kudu, 2017). The customers can watch their orders being processed and rest assured that the food is being prepared in a neat, clean and hygienic manner. The goal of the company is to â€Å"offer a unique dining experience to the customers through quality and fresh food of restaurant† (Kudu, 2017). The restaurant has excelled in its services by maintaining its service standard and procuring fresh and quality food ingredients on daily basis. Thus, the restaurant has developed a sustainable business model that would ensure the longevity of the business and assist to reach its goals. Kudu has strategically positioned itself as a restaurant that offers fresh food to its customers through its open kitchen tradition where customers can watch the preparation of the recipes being cooked and packed (Kudu, 2017). The restaurant has adopted various marketing strategies to promote its products in the market of Saudi Arabia. The restaurant has a dedicated website through which customers can access all the detailed information on Kudu related to its menu, products, stores, quality services and required details. The restaurant also displays its latest products and offers through its website. The customers can choose from a wide range of offers such as combo offers, meal offers and the festive offers that are being served during an occasion. The core focus of the company is quality, reliable and efficient services and it has been able to maintain it over a long period of time (Kudu, 2017).   The targeted customers of Kudu include men & women, students & executives, youth an d adults, friends & families, who can enjoy the delicious breakfasts, lunch and dinner at the restaurant (Kudu, 2017). Kudu may have been able to create a trust among the customers through its quality and reliable services, yet it needs to expand its market in order to grow its revenue and profitability. The restaurant targets diversified customers including men & women, students & executives, youth and adults, friends & families. The restaurant also offers home delivery to the customers to increase its reach ability and overall sales revenue. The restaurant has great opportunity to target offices in the country. Another identified opportunity for the restaurant is introducing meal campaign for the professionals and executives. The plan proposes to offer meal for the executives and professionals at their doorsteps during their lunch time. After studying the marketing strategies of Kudu, it was identified that the company has a great opportunity to target the market of corporate and professionals (Egan, 2007). The executives and professionals are busy people who do not have time to go out for their meals during lunch hours. Since Kudu has established its restaurant store outlets across the country that serves a diversified range of customers, therefore, it is not able to serve the needs of these busy professionals. In order to offer great services, a brand must take care the needs and wants of its customers (Luther, 2011). Thus, a marketing plan would be developed that would aim to target this group of people. Marketing mix element is one of the concepts of marketing that is being mostly used by the company to develop their marketing plan by analyzing product, price, promotion and place (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2008). Product: The product comprises of two components that includes meal combo and doorstep services at the offices of the professionals. The meal would comprise of three components including one main course (burger/sandwich/rice beef), one drink (Coke/fanta/sprite) and any one out of salad/fries/sweet dish. The menu would be different for every day so that the customers do not get bored of eating the same food. Now the meal would be served during the lunch hours of the professionals at the doorstep of their offices so that they do not have to travel to the restaurant. This would save their order time and travelling time. Thus, the concept of innovation is being applied to create reliable, consistent and efficient services. Price: Pricing strategy depends upon the paying capacity of the consumers (Kubicki, 2015)). In this situation economy pricing strategy would be appropriate so that executives can easily avail this service (Schindler and Schindler, 2011). Since a large group of people would be availing this service, therefore, the cost of the product would also reduce and the economies of scale would be easily achieved. Promotion: In the changing business environment context, digital marketing has become a popular marketing strategy and is being commonly deployed by the companies. Kudu could also use this strategy to reach its target audience. Social media marketing, email marketing and search engine marketing are the most commonly used approaches for this marketing. In this scenario, Kudu could utilize email marketing tactics in order to reach a larger market share. Further, in order to attract larger number of audience, the restaurant could offer discounts and offers to the executives (McDonald, 2007). Place: Since the plan has proposed office delivery of meal orders for the executives, therefore, importance must be given to timely delivery of the services. The delay would cause trouble for the customers as their lunch hours are fixed and they cannot afford to waste their time. In order to implement the plan, the company must develop effective marketing strategies to attract the customers (Percy, 2008). The product has already been developed comprising of executive meal for the customers. Now communicating about this service to the target customer is an important aspect of the plan (Shimp, 2008). Email marketing is one of the most effective strategies that is used to directly reach the potential customers. The data of the potential customers could be collected through various methods. After the email ids have been collected, an appropriate email needs to be developed that highlights the core message of the campaign. Subject of Email: The subject of the email must be able to capture the attention of the user so that the reader is compelled to open the mail. The subject line would be â€Å"Enjoy your meal comfortably at your office†. This is more likely to attract the attention of the reader. Message Strategy: The image below effectively communicates the subject of the campaign. Introducing Executive Platter Services for Executives and Professional! Save Your Travelling Time and Order Placement Time By Subscribing To Our Services. Enjoy our Scrumptious Meal with varieties and flavors. For more details, contact Kudu Restaurant team: Phone: 966 (1) 419 – 1440, Email: info@kudu.com.sa Forecasting is an important element of a marketing plan that helps to project the future trends in the market. It assists to analyze the future market conditions and how would the market respond to the marketing campaign. The marketing plan targets the market segment of commercial office that are located in the centre region of Riyadh. Initially, the targeted offices include the region of Bahrain Tower, Commercial Business District and Olaya Towers so as to deliver effective services. The target group comprises of around one thousand customers and around 20% of them are likely to respond to the advertisement. Thus, the team must prepare to be able to serve to around two hundred customers. There are several methods to measure and control the marketing campaign and include the following: Egan, J. (2007). Marketing Communication. UK: Cengage Learning EMEA. Kubicki, M. (2015). The Marketing Mix:  Master the 4 Ps of marketing. US: 50 Minutes. Kudu. (2017). Heritage. Kudu. Available at: https://www.en.kudu.com.sa/heritage [Accessed Online 5 May 2017]. Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F., and McDaniel, C. (2008). Essential of Marketing. Cengage Learning. Luther, W.M. (2011). The Marketing Plan:  How to Prepare and Implement it. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. McDonald, M. (2007). Marketing Plans:  How to Prepare Them, how to Use Them. US: Butterworth-Heinemann. Percy, L. (2008). Strategic Integrated Marketing Communication:  Theory and Practice. US: Routledge. Schindler, R.M., and Schindler, R. (2011). Pricing Strategies:  A Marketing Approach. California: SAGE. Shimp, T.A. (2008). Advertising Promotion and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications. US: Cengage Learning. Yeshin, T. (2012). Integrated Marketing Communications. US: Routledge.

Electronic Health Records in the UK Research Paper

Electronic Health Records in the UK - Research Paper Example This is in part informed on the fact policy debates are fueled by bogus, self-defeating attitudes. One of such thinking is that the United States is incapable of affording to cover the uninsured, when in real sense a synchronized monetary system is the chief instrument for cutting cost down, and there relatively inexpensive ways to do it. Even more, the biggest viewpoint, seized by many medical specialists, is that they would be unable to find more authority than they have before now under commercial managed care. Nevertheless, health care systems elsewhere grant medical specialists superior institutional muscle (James, 2005). In the fall of June 1941, a British civil servant, radio personality and educator Sir William Beveridge was requested to execute social modernization after World War II. He had previously worked as a civil servant whereby he interacted with the impoverished in the East of London. At this time, Beveridge observed the numerous paradoxical, biased programs for une mployment, housing, child support, amid other programs run by various departments under conflicting doctrines. As a result, Sir William Beveridge concluded that the only crucial approach was to deal with all the programs at once, in a manner that would form affiliations among the individual and state. The Beveridge account Social Insurance and Allied Services, advocated for all-inclusive health care as an element of a postwar government grand plan endorsing employment, housing, education and social security. However the Beveridge preparation provided just a preface and faltering sketch, it recognized an important vision and became an instant success. The Beveridge report for tax-based state health service as a communal good provided a rudimentary alternative to the existing Bismarck plan of National Health Service (Polly, 2003). Waiting records are a universal pressure valve in numerous systems that cut back on far too much spending. In the National Health System, the standard waiti ng time for discretionary hospital-based care is 46 days. The distinction by social status in seeking services, and admittance are nominal by international standards, though more affluent people are always adept at maneuvering any public service. The British system has been privileged to have private sector for the rich who want faster and plusher optional care. This quarter clinical value is not superior by a margin of 9 percent. The formulated policies favor a duplicative coverage for voluntary dealings for which medical professionals charge very abnormal fees. Private care is intense in the larger London quarter and other cities. Currently, all private admittance and day cases total more than 2%. The world and International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization have played a crucial role in the transformation of British Health sector (Scott, Randall & Vogt 2007). The existing design for the new NHS by the current British government is even more determined than the transf ormation shaped by Margaret Thatcher. The NHS was largely criticized as no longer affordable and or sustainable. Restraining it to an emergency and benefit service would have been glaringly politically practicable and would have been received well by the public-private joint venture premises of

Managing Decision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Decision - Essay Example As such, it requires a certain kind of a person to make such major decisions which will make the business successful. It is imperative to note that the whole process of starting a business requires an ardent decision maker who can sacrifice the safety of his comfort zone for the good of the business (Teale, 2003). Good decision making is necessary because a new venture is very risky and makes heavy demands on professionalism, resources, personal time and funds. With a strong inner drive to reap good fruits from the business that is just started, the entrepreneur needs to take control and make plausible decisions. This report will consider techniques to a business opportunity- a coffee shop. The business opportunity chosen is Luna coffee shop. The business seeks to provide beverage products near the hospital located at the city center of Atlanta. When analyzing the market, it was clear there was a gap as most of the patients, nurses, doctors and workers in the hospital preferred to have their tea, coffee and other beverages delivered to them from outside the hospital. This coffee shop will offer the proximity and comfort of delivering coffee near the hospital while at the same time giving the customers their convenience. Furthermore, the coffee shop seeks to tap into a new medical college that has nearly been opened near the hospital. The mission statement is â€Å"Fresh, revitalizing and nourishing†. This shows that the beverages are unique, fresh and packed with natural ingredients to give the customer that nourishing and revitalizing feeling. The business wishes to work with direct suppliers of natural herbs such as cinnamon, ginger, garlic and other therapeutic herbs which are key to making our coffee unique and attractive. The coffee shop will start at a twenty person sitting capacity but will soon be expanded as the number of customers increase. Luna coffee shop wishes to make their approach