Waiting For Godot Essays (671 words) - Theatre Of The Absurd

Waiting For Godot The Play about Nothing Waiting for Godot has been a subject of my thoughts for about two weeks now. While considering the work, its author, and the comments I have found about the play, I have come up with three hypotheses as to the meaning and overall theme. Either it is about Humanity waiting for a savior that does exist to return; or it could be about the hopelessness of Humanity waiting for a savior that doesnt exist, and therefore will never come; or, the easiest of possibilities, that Waiting really has no theme at all. This last theory is the one that I most readily accept, and the answer that Samuel Beckett, the author of the play, put forth when questioned about the meaning of his strange little piece. Many critics put the first theory forth as the true meaning of Waiting, and there are many aspects of it by which they can make their point. The most obvious is the title character, Godot, because the root word of the name is God. The many references to Christianity also create a close connection between the storyline and many important stories from the Bible. From the very beginning Vladimir and Estragon ponder their salvation, consider death, and draw a parallel between themselves and the two thieves that were crucified along with Jesus, according to the Gospels. Vladimir: One of the thieves was saved. Its a reasonable percentage. Gogo. Estragon: What? Vladimir: Suppose we repented. Estragon: Repented what? Vladimir: Ohwe wouldnt have to go into the details. Estragon: Our being born? (Beckett, p.8) The general attitude expressed throughout is the hopelessness, or possibly the meaningless-ness of life. Humanitys purpose is simply to wait out its existence until the Second Coming. Everything we do, say, feel, experience, etc., is just passing the time until our lives come to an end. Vladimir: That passed the time. Estragon: It would have passed in any case. Vladimir: Yes, but not so rapidly. (Beckett, p.31) Let us assume that Godot does symbolize God. He is someone who will come to make a great change in the Vladimir and Estragons lives, a great change for the better. But Godot, and whatever that change may be, does not come throughout the length of the play. They mistake Pozzo for Godot, and they mistake the messenger for Godot, because they do not know what Godot looks like or what manner of person he may be. Likewise, through our lives we mistake people and occurrences for Christ. And that helps us to pass the time until we die. The fact that Godot never comes also helps to prove the second theory about the meaning of Waiting. What if God and the afterlife do not exist? What then? We spend our entire lives waiting, biding our time in anticipation of our great reward. But when our lives end, thats it. All the preparation, all our good intentions, are useless and meaningless because there was no meaning in the first place. Beckett may have used the play to illustrate how pathetic Humanity seems as it strives toward a nonexistent goal. He also made great fun of all those philosophers that ponder on the meaning of our existence using the character of Lucky. When Lucky makes his lengthy oration of nonsense, it is illustrating what nonsense everything that all the great thinkers have said on the meaning of life. For if life has no meaning, then it is all gibberish, and Lucky makes just as much sense as Voltaire. The third and final theory about the meaning of Waiting for Godot is that it has no meaning. When questioned repeatedly on the matter, Beckett was quoted in the New York Times as saying, I know no more of this play than anyone who manages to read it attentively, and, I do not know who Godot is. I do not even know if he exists. Book Reports

The History, Aspects, and Impact of Computer Technology essays

The History, Aspects, and Impact of Computer Technology essays Computer users of today probably think computers have been developed within the 20th century. Surprisingly, computers originated before the birth of Jesus Christ. Computers are an essential part of each and every day in our modern life. They entertain, educate, assist in daily tasks and in many instances, fascinate us with their capabilities. They can be found almost everywhere. Computers are the basis for PDAs, which are used by many busy people to schedule their work and life appointments; air traffic control systems, that direct airplanes in their movement; satellites, that keep us in communication with the rest of the world; information systems which aid manufacturing, and in the systems which aid in health care. Computer technology has made rapid advances within the last seventy-five years. Lets examine the development of computers throughout history. A computer is a machine that performs rational calculations. A computer may be able to process information to perform repetitive tasks, as well as store information. Computers can be as simple as pebbles, systematically placed on stones, to as complex as massive machines, processing and storing large amounts of data. Computers may require many operators or operate without human intervention. Utilizing complex programs, computers can perform unimaginable tasks or perform large amounts of work in record speed. Throughout history, there have been many events that have influenced the development of computers. As early as 3000 B.C., clay tablets, holding pebbles in grooves for counting, were introduced within the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. In all essence, this was the first computer. Other historians argue that the first computer was the abacus, a counting tool. It originated in Egypt in 2000 B.C., approximately a millennium previous to reaching the Orient. Around this same time, Stonehenge observatory was constructed in England. All these wer...

Coke going Green Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Coke going Green - Term Paper Example The earlier intention of manufacturing Coke was not to vend it as a soft drink but as a form of medicine. Ironically, the opening year of its sale saw Pemberton incur a loss of $20. He never perceived that his inventiveness would be celebrated globally. Later, Pemberton sold his invented Coke formula as a Chandler in the late 1880s (Chisholm-Burns, Vaillancourt and Shepherd, 84). Using his entrepreneurial and marketing skills, Chandler made the trademark a nearly global over a remarkably short time (Chisholm-Burns, Vaillancourt and Shepherd, 84). His relentless advertising popularized the drink in nearly the whole of US in its early years of invention. The initial Coke was not bottled. It was Thomas and Whitehead who came with the idea of bottling the soft drink. They approached Chandler and proposed on bottling the drink (Chisholm-Burns, Vaillancourt and Shepherd, 84). However, Chandler disregarded their idea, but gave them the right to bottle the drink for only $1. It later came out that the populace preferred the bottled drink to the earlier container edition. Coca cola has expanded thus turning out to be the foremost trademark in the globe. Though the brand has become popular globally, its ingredients formula remains a mystery. Besides, the Coke Company is popular for its munificence, since it funded the foundation of the University of Emory, among other charitable

Disneyland Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Disneyland - Assignment Example It is located conveniently and easily approachable. Spread over an area of 310 acres, it includes a number of theme parks and also two theme hotels. (http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com). The eight success factors which have been identified for Disneyland will be observed with reference to Disneyland, Hong Kong as follows:- (a) Originality of Concept. Originality of concept implies providing novelty to the visitors at all times. Disney has continuously strived to provide original concepts and ideas. To boost up its summer visitors, the summer pass concept has been introduced by Disney Land Hong Kong; in addition it has continuously innovated to provide new rides, new plans for passes and also added environmental friendly attractions such as the Autopia electric car in collaboration with Honda the Japanese car manufacturer. (b) Geographic Location. Geographic location would imply locating the park near a city with well off people which is also a major tourist destination. Disney Land Hong Kong is ideally achieving this as it is an affluent location with a large number of tourists including those going to and coming from Main land China. Hong Kong is one of the most prosperous cities in the area. Over the years it has become the hub of business as well as tourism. The opening of main land China has implied that it is the gateway as well as outlet to it. Thus there are a large number of visitors to Hong Kong due to its geographic location which in turn benefits, Disney Land Hong Kong. Similarly Disneyland is located in the most affluent locations in the World, California, Paris, Tokyo and others. (c) Integrated Services. This implies a multiplicity of services as food, boutiques, parades, rides and so on are combined so that the customer gets the benefit of all these at one location. Disney's integrated services are its key asset. It integrated services in Hong Kong include, hotels, weddings, meetings and other events. (http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com). The hotels provide dining, guest rooms and other facilities. (d) International Expansion. International expansion entails gradual growth of the company to increase the number of destinations, a strategy which has been successfully followed by Disney land. Thus its destinations are spread across all continents. (destinations.disney.go.com). Disney Land Hong Kong is a part of this overall international expansion plan of Disney company and has well fitted in its globalisation scheme. (e) Innovation. Innovation implies constantly creating new ideas and exploiting new concepts to develop new theme parks adapting to the requirements of time and situation to attract more number of people. Disney is the epitome of innovation. Disney Hong Kong has introduced Autopia, a car ride attraction which is powered by electricity the first of its kind in all the Disney Lands, as other parks have been using gas powered cars. It has also introduced Stitch Encounter based on 2002 Walt Disney animated Lilo and Stitch show. This is an interactive show offered in multiple languages, English, Cantonese and Putonghua and the film characters are said to talk back to the audience members immediately on response. It has also introduced the UFO Zone which uses water jets, mist machines to create a overall water theme.(f) Partnerships. Partnerships, implies

Beer industry Essay Example for Free

Beer industry Essay This case is centred on the European brewing industry and examines how the increasingly competitive pressure of operating within global markets is causing consolidation through acquisitions, alliances and c/osures within the industry. This has resulted in the growth of the brewers reliance upon super brands. ln the first decade of the twenty-first century, European brewers faced a surprising paradox. The traditional centre of the beer industry worldwide, and still the largest regional market, Europe, was turning off beer. Beer consumption was falling in the largest markets of Germany and the United Kingdom, while burgeoning in emerging markets around the world. China, with 7 per cent annual growth, had become the largest single market by volume, while Brazilian volumes had overtaken Germany in 2005 (Euromonitor, 2006). Table 1 details the overall decline of European beer consumption. Decline in traditional to several factors. Governments key markets is due such as Tesco or Carrefour, which often use eut-priee offers on beer in order to lure people into their shops. are campaigning strongly against drunken driving, affecting the More th an one-fifth of beer volume is now sold propensity through supermarkets. to drink beer in restaurants, pubs and German retailers such as bars. There is increasing awareness of the effects of Aldi and Lidl have had considerable alcohol on health and fitness. Particularly ln the United their own private-Iabel Kingdom, there is growing hostility towards so-called beers. However, although on-trade volumes are fallin_ binge drinking, in Europe, the sales values are rising, as brewers excessive alcohol consumption in pubs and clubs. Wines have also become increasingly introduce higher-priced success with (rather th an brewery-branded premium products such popular in Northern European markets. However, as extra-cold beer consumption other hand, a good deal of this increasing demand per capita varies wic;lely between lagers or fruit-flavoured beers. On the countries, being four times higher in Germany than for premium products is being satisfied by the in Italy, for example. Some traditionally import of apparently exotic beers from overseas consumption low- European markets have been (see Table 2). showing good growth. Brewers main purchasing The drive against drunken driving and binge (accounting costs are packaging for around half of non-labour costs), ra drinking has helped shift sales from the on-trade material such as barley, and energy. The European (beer consumed on the premises, as in pubs or packaging restaurants) to the off-trade (retail). Worldwide, the industry is highly concentrated, by international companies off-trade increased from 63 per cent of volume in and Owens-Illinois 2000 to 66 per cent in 2005. The off-trade is Dutch brewer Heineken complained increasingly dominated by large supermarket chains dominat such as Crown in cans in glass bottles. During 2006, rise in packaging costs. of an 11 per c GLOBAL FORCES AND THE EUROPEAN BREWIN (JY European beer consumption by country and year (000 hectolitres) 1980 2001 2000 2002 2003 \~ 2004 7651 8627 8734 8979 8881 8970 12945 10064 5452 4024 9703 5202 4136 20629 100385 4247 5536 9935 5181 4179 21420 103105 4288 5594 9986 5282 4085 21331 100904 4181 5625 9901. NIA NIA NIA NIA 4174 9539 417 8762 16289 472 16694 445 16340 440 12213 7651 3534 20065 3935 13129 2327 6453 29151 5011 4194 57007 12922 2290 6276 31126 4932 11985 2420 5948 30715 4998 4127 59384 6698 2738 23745 89820 land =-ance 3ennanyt NIA 3reece ay* :::ortugal ::Jain : eden : vitzerland 4433 65490 -~ n-EU countries; t1980 excludes 4141 58234 4862 4370 20200 95639 21168 97107 3905 5315 17452 94994 NIA NIA NIA 5~6 17194 17340 NIA NIA 12687 2490 6266 373 12771. 2270 6008 33451 4969 4334 60302 12747 NIA 6224 NIA NIA 4635 4262 59195 4566 NIA NIA GOR. Figures adjusted. rce: www. Brewersofeurope. org. able 2 Imports of beer by country Acquisition, tria = =elf1ce 3ennany .. 5reece _and Imports 2004 (% of consumption or production » =algium ~:; mark and Imports 2002 (% of consumption untry or production) 5. 1 4. 74 2. 6 2. 3 23 3. 1 4. 1 NIA 27. 15 NIA 3. 2 5. 4 :oain 1. 1 11. 7 : eden NIA : 15. 4 10. 9 titzerland 3 licensing and strategie alliances have ail occurred as the leading brewers battle ta control the market. There are global pressures for consolidation due ta overcapacity within the industry, the need ta contain costs and benefits of leveraging 6. 4 strong brands. For example, Belgian brewer Interbrew 10. 2 NIA purchased parts of the old Bass Empire, Becks and 7. 3 31 Whitbread in 2001 and in 2004 announced a merger with Am Bev, the Brazilian brewery group, ta create 4 the largest brewer in the world, InBev. The second NIA NIA largest brewer, the American Anheuser-Busch, 37 38. 4 14. 4 2002, South African Breweries acquired the Miller has been investing in China, Mexico and Europe. ln Group (USA) and Pilsner Urquell in the Czech NIA NIA NIA Republic, becoming fast-growing SABMilier. Sm aller players in Chinese and South American markets are being snapped up by the large international 18 15. 6 12. 3 brewers tao. Medium-sized is withdrawing Australian brewer Fosters from direct participation in many international . port figures do not include beers brewed under licence in home ntry; countries vary in measuring 3ource: www. brewersofeurope. org. % of production or consumption. markets, for example selling its European brand-rights ta Scottish Newcastle. Table 3 lists the worlds top 10 brewing companies, accounted which for around half of world beer volumes. There remain many small specialist and regionalca ~ CH APTER 2 THE ENVIRONMENT Table 3 The worlds top 10 brewery companies by volume: 2005 Company Share global Country of origin volume (%) sales in 2005 of â‚ ¬313m, it is less than a twentieth of the size of Heineken. Its key products include Grolsch premium lager and new flavoured beers (Grolsch lemon and Grolsch pink grapefruit). ln The Netherlands InBev 10. 8 Brazil-Belgium Anheuser-Busch 9. 4 USA SABMilier. 7. 3 South Africa (relocated to UK) Grolsch holds the rights for the sale and distribution of the valued US Miller brand. About half its sales are obtained overseas, either through export or licensing of production: the United Kingdom is its Heineken 5. 7 Netherlands second largest market. ln 2005, Grolsch centralised Morelo 2. 9 Mexico its own production Carlsberg 2. 9 Oenmark to increase efficiency and volume, and opened a Coors 2. 6 USA sm ail additional TsingTao. 2. 4 China Baltic Brewery Holdings 2. 2 Oenmark/UK Asahi 2. 1 Japan on a single new Dutch brewery trial brewery in order to support innovation. Innovation and branding are core to the companys strategy. The company believes that its strong and Source: Euromonitor International, The World Brewing Industry. distinctive beers can succeed in a market of increased homogenisation. Brewers, such as the Dutch company Grolsch (see below) or the British Cobra Beer, originating in the Indian restaurant market. Its brand is reinforced by its striking green bottles and its unique swing-tops. InBev (Belgium/Brazil) InBev was created in 2004 from the merger of Belgian InterBrew and Brazilian AmBev. With a turnover of Four brewing companies â‚ ¬13. 3bn in 2006, it is the largest brewer in the world, Heineken (The Netherlands) different countries. Heineken is the biggest of the European brewery include Becks and Stella Artois. Through a series of businesses, and has three-quarters acquisitions, holding number one or number two positions in 20 of its sales in the region. Total sales in 2006 were â‚ ¬11. 8bn (EBbn). About 5 per cent of sales are in Asia-Pacific and Its well-known international brands InBev has become the second largest brewer in China. The company is frank about its strategy: to 17 per cent of sales are in the Americas. The transform companys the world to the best. It aims to do this by building biggest brands are Heineken itself and Amstel. The company remains a family-controlled itself from the biggest brewing company in strong global brands and increasing efficiency. business, which it claims gives it the stability and Efficiency gains will come from more central independence coordination to pursue steady growth internationally. Heinekens strategy overseas is to use locally acquired comparues as a means of introducing of purchasing, from the optimisation the including media and IT; of its inherited network of breweries; and from the sharing of best practice Heineken brand to new markets. It aims to strengthen across sites internationally. local companies continue, InBev is now emphasising technology. by transferring expertise and The result is to create economies of scale Although acquisitions organic growth and improved margins from its existing businesses. for both the local beers and K~ineken. Heinekens four priorities for action are to accelerate revenue growth, Scottish and Newcastle (UK) to improve efficiency and cost reduction, to speed Scottish and Newcastle is a European-focused up strategy implementation and to focus on those markets where the company believes it can win. brewing group based in Edinburgh. ln 2005, its turnover was f:3. 9bn (â‚ ¬5. 5bn). Its key brands include John Smiths, Kronenbourg, Grolsch (The Netherlands) Royal Grolsch NV is a medium-size brewing group, established Kanterbrau, Baltika and (in Europe) Fosters. It is the fourth largest brewer in international in 1615. With overall Europe in volume terms, and market leader in the UK, France and Russia. The company has made many GLOBAL FORCES AND THE EUROPEAN BREWING INDUSTRY . ions in the UK (including Bulmers eider), . Greece and Finland. The groups 50 per cent ent in Baltic Beverages has given it exposure fast-growing ic countries. markets of Russia, Ukraine and ln China, Scottish and Newcastle a 20 per cent stake in CBC, the countrys brewery. ln India, the companys les is the countrys fifth United largest brewer, with the _- her brand. ln the USA, Scottish and Newcastle second largest importer of foreign beers. The , -r-,ny emphasises the development of innovative emium beers, and is closing down its more rent breweries. Questions 1 Using the data from the case (and any other sources available), carry out for the European brewing industry (i) a PESTEL analysis and (ii) a five forces analysis. What do you conclude? 2 For the four breweries outlined above (or breweries of your own choice) explain: (a) how these trends will impact differently on these different companies; and (b) the relative strengths and weaknesses of each company.

the outsiders :: essays research papers

"The Outsiders" is a story that deals with a conflict between two gangs, the "Greasers" from the East Side of town and the "Socs" from the West-side of town. This is a story that is told in the first person. This book took place in the early 1960’s.The mood of the story, in my point of view, was pretty misfortunate and is a tragedy, because when you think that it couldn’t get worse, it just did. Ponyboy Curtis is the one telling the story. The novel starts off, one day, as Ponyboy is walking home from a movie, he was about to get jumped and beaten by a gang of Socs, but at the last minute, his gang of greasers that includes his brothers Darry and Sodapop, who raise Ponyboy now that their parents have past away, the big tuff Dally Winston, innocent Johnny, and the loud and wise-cracking Two-Bit, show up to save him. The night after Jonny and Ponyboy went to the movies with Dally. They sat behind a pair of attractive Soc girls, whom Dally hits on very obnoxiously. After Johnny tells him to stop, Johnny and Ponyboy sit with the girls, Cherry and Marcia, and Ponyboy and Cherry finds out that they both have a lot in common. Ponyboy and Jonny sees Two-Bit there so they all sat together. As they are walking back to Two-Bit’s house so he could drive the girls home, they run into the girls’ drunk boyfriends. Cherry and Marcia agree to leave and go home with their boyfriends to prevent a big fight. Ponyboy got home very late, which made Darry very angry, but most of all worried. So sick and tired of having his brother critisizing and inspecting every little thing that he does, Ponyboy yells at Darry, which caused them to get in a bad argument. Being so furious Darry slaps Ponyboy across the face! In shock that his brother had slapped him, he ran out the door and meet up with Jonny, they left for the park. At the park Ponyboy and Jonny sees Bob and Randy, Cherry and Marcia’s boyfriends, with some of their Soc friends. One of the Socs held Ponyboy's head under the water of the fountain, and Ponyboy blacks out. When Ponyboy finally woke up he was lying next to Jonny. He looks to the side and sees a bloody corpse, it was Bob. To save Ponyboy, Johnny had to killed Bob. In the second third of the novel, so terrified, the only person that they thought that could help them was Dallas Winston.

A Movie Review

This film has a compelling story that has various characters that come from different races and background whose lives are intertwined with each other and set in the city of Los Angeles.It shows the racial disrespect and contempt in the city as well as the drug culture. It is a contemporary film that characterizes a group of racially diverse individuals where one will see whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics. Each character is portrayed in different racial discrimination situations as an offender at one point in the story and a victim in another.A movie so full of strong racist language and intense confrontations where everyone seems angry and scared of being blatantly discriminated because of their color, yet at the same time each has their own narrow-mindedness that moves them to do the same.The utterances of uncouth words were seemingly done recklessly, inconsiderately or deliberately which somehow leads to violence and crimes.   Anyone, in whichever part of the world, who will watch this movie, can somehow relate to at least one character wherein one shares the same fears, hopes and at times feels impelled to retaliate when pushed to a corner.In one scene, the character named Ria, the Latina detective, had a vehicular mishap with an Asian woman (who mispronounced the word brake as blake) whom she told sarcastically, â€Å"†¦you don’t see my blake lights. See, I stop when I see a long line of cars stopped in front of me. Maybe you see over the steering wheel, you’ll blake too†.   That coming from Ria’s mouth who was also racially discriminated by his own black boyfriend.Several movie reviews has rated this movie with four stars or more.   These movie reviews influence the in some ways help in the success or the failure of a particular movie.   It aids the moviegoers decide whether it is worthy of our time and money to watch or not.   There are reviews that are either made objectively and subjectively.According to Am ber Deggans, who writes for the reel reviews, watching the film is like watching a documentary. The rawness of the emotions of the characters touches us deeply.The portrayal of the abusive and racist cop named Officer John Ryan impels us to hate him for his attitude towards the black community yet seeing him comforting his sick father is so contradictory which just shows us that there is always a good side to people. Film makers usually do their utmost to reach the audience and impart to them that there is a need to stop the anger among us but not many were successful in doing this except for this movie.The characterization of each role was ultimately conveyed to the audience.   The performance of the actors was exceptionally done resulting for the film’s message to be thoroughly communicated. Scenes were sometimes so poignant that it becomes hard for the viewer not to be moved especially if at some point in our lives, we may have encountered a relatively similar if not the exact situation as shown in the movie.  Roger Ebert, who is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic and screen writer rated this movie with four stars. As conclusion to his review, Ebert mentioned, â€Å"I don't expect â€Å"Crash† to work any miracles, but I believe anyone seeing it is likely to be moved to have a little more sympathy for people not like themselves. The movie contains hurt, coldness and cruelty, but is it without hope? Not at all.†Some scenes from this movie give us surprisingly unexpected but realistic glimpses of certain inequities that real people also come across. For a movie that didn’t have ample budget for its production, parts of the movie were quite represented realistically and naturally. Crash strongly depicts a reality that none of us can refute and forces us to face the truth, that each of us carry our own prejudice regardless of which race we belong to.   The social impact of this movie would hopefully lead to a realiza tion of a racist-free community.WORKS CITEDCrash. Dir. Paul Haggis. Perfs. Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito,Brendan Fraser, Thandie Newton, Terence Howard, Ryan Philippe. DVD. Lions Gate Production. 2005.Deggans, Amber. â€Å"MovieReview†. Frank’s Reel Reviews. 2005.4 December 2007.