Evaluation Of Business And Strategy Analysis Burberry Group Marketing Essay

Evaluation Of Business And scheme Analysis Burberry Group Marketing EssayINTRODUCTIONBURBERRYS STRATEGYThe groups strategy is label by leading grocery store position combined with concentrated franchise in established countries along with usage of emerging countries curriculums to drive earnings app shuttingage and volumes. The group also focuses on meeting ever changing consumer demands done continuous innovation and expand the product portfolio, directly operated stores network, selective sweepings distribution carry and enhance operational capabilities, which resulted in healthy stupefying in the recent age. Groups is in a better position to optimize the mel confused growth prospects in Asian regions for that reason Group announced an amendment to its app atomic number 18l licence in Japan. Group is continued to evolve and enhance its products and chump span over all in all consumer-facing platforms. In stores, the Group continued to roll out the Burberry Experience, a comprehensive sales and service programme. Group strategy is to bring greater clarity to the brands sectionalization and focus on operational improvements, which has allowed greater speed and responsiveness in delivering products to consumers, pointing the way to a further evolution of the Burberry business model that will cater fresh merchandise to stores and online with greater frequency. Groups strategy to involve in digital and web founding resembling live streaming and social media where its gets social platform, success totaly creating the new communities of interest. The core purpose of the Burberry brand is to protect, explore and inspire which ar at the heart of Burberry, its culture and behaviour as a company. Group is like a shot Shift company culture and processes from a static wholesale model to a dynamic retail model. Retail-led growth refers not completely to the operation of Burberrys proclaim stores, but also to a fundamental shift in the Groups operatio nal structure.Burberrys strategy formulation under Resource Based TheoryThe resource ground theory advocates the efficient and effective use of resources and capabilities. One of many facets of this view is the acquisition of already working entities in the regions in which the company is planning to submit (Jay B. Barney, 2007).In a resource-based view, Burberry has strong excellent world-class talented people worldwide. As the business grows and the demand for expertise and ability across the organization growths, Burberry is ensuring that it develops a robust pipeline of talent throughout the Group. Burberry unique brand name more than 150 years history which broad consumer solicitation across genders and generations a unique demographic positioning within the luxury argonna and broad global reach that allow Burberry to charge premium prices gives Burberry a competitive advantage. Burberry uplifted-flown activities which doesnt follow by their competitor is e actuallythin g the consumer sees is developed centrally under Chief Creative Officer, Christopher Baile. It is actively embracing digital and social media to extend the reach and appeal of the brand, especially to the luxury customer of the future.Besides resource based theory, the strategic capabilities of Coca Cola Hellenic whitethorn also be evaluated through chap analysis.PEST analysis of Burberry to evaluate strategic capabilitiesThe PEST analysis looks into the Burberrys exposure to Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors, which may affect its strategy formulation capabilities. The following factors may be considered in this regard (Wetfeet, 2008)Political(Kluyver, 2010)The Group operates in many countries including the emerging grocery stores. These countries subject to changes in laws and regulations, including accounting standards, taxation, (tax rates, new and tax laws) and environmental laws in domestic or foreign jurisdictions factly in times when public sector de bt is high and tax revenues argon falling.Burberry faces intense competition from developing countries collect equal to(p) to cheap copies of his brand where no copyright law exist.Political conditions like civil unrest, unstable governments historically and have been subject to political instability and restrictions on the ability to transfer capital across borders.Ability to penetrate developing and emerging countries, which also depends on economic and political conditions, and how well they atomic number 18 able to acquire or form strategic business alliances with local fashion trends and make necessary changes which also affects the luxury brand of BurberryThe Burberry has strong luxury brand, which is only feasible in some geographical environments and demographics.Economical(Griffin, 2006)The global economic downturn affected the level of consumer spending on discretionary luxury items.increase regional competition by other international as well as local brands.Customers ( in particular Middle Eastern, Russian, Japanese, Chinese and other Asian customers) who bargain for products while travelling either overseas or domestically generate a significant proportion of the Groups sales. As a result, shifts in travel patterns or a decline in travel volumes could materially affect trading results.As economies develop, is for staple items such as food and clothing to lose their comparative importance in the typical household.Social(Grant, 2005)Social environment of countries also affect the Burberry because different cultures, different lifestyles.Dress codes have reflected social attitudes of people .Dress are integral to how they regard themselves.Technological(W. Glenn Rowe, 2010)The effectiveness of company is advertising and marketing is crucially changed imputable to latest technological trends in advertising. New uses of internet and television system that incorporates special effects for advertising may make some products look more attractive to co nsumers.Introduction of digital world and web in the world effect the way of doing business. Burberry live streaming allowed consumers to purchase runway items for expedited delivery -another first for the luxury sectorThrough use of technology Burberry, creating a platform of social media, which seconds in, opens new ship canal of communities of interest.Group also diped artofthetrench.com a social media website that introduces the iconic trench coat to the digital generation and is attracting the new, younger luxury customer to the brand may give a competitive advantage.SWOT analysis of Coca Cola HellenicStrengths(Bohm, 2009)Strong brand Burberry has iconic of trench coat, which tie in to Authentic British heritage and its Unique democratic positioning within the luxury arena .This gives the company a strong brand standing.Globally recognized icon portfolio the trench coat, trademark check and Prorsum horse logo.Burberry stores are among the best vehicles to communicate the fu ll brand message to consumers.Global Reach Burberry has broad geographic portfolio including Europe including Spain accounted for 44% of sales, Americas 27% and Asia Pacic 24%. Emerging Markets, which spans across all regions and includes chinaware, India, Russia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, contributed 10% to retail and wholesale revenue.Multi- year qualification womenswear, menswear,non-apparel and childrenswear with innovative outerwear as the foundation.Channel expertise in retail (including e-commerce),wholesale and licensing.Burberry as the leading employer in the luxury sectorWeaknesses(Fine, 2009)Lack of expertise in the field of supply chain in the target marketLocal competition and lack presence in particular areas of the world.High luxury brandThe product segmentation of Burberry is weak between men,s and womens appral lines.Opportunities(Fine, 2009)Group has the opportunity to amend its largest license agreement in Japan market where challenging consumers condi tions available.There are opportunities for Burberry group in the heritage menswear business the young children swear division, or quickly developing shoe category. While emerging markets such as China offer great excitement, excellent potential remains in all geographic regions.Burberry have opportunity in Spain integrating the market with global Burberry is in the long-term best interests of the brand.Non-apparel continues to be a key driver of growth for the Group and have more potential to grow.Strengthening of brand image through advertising.Threats(Nadine Pahl, 2009)Competition from local brands.Imitation Cheap copies of brand are available in the developing countries.In developing countries where customers are getting more civilize and price conscious. This may shift the demand from luxury products to cheap products, which is not the core product of Burberry.Politics and economies are primary sources of threats to a brand in the fashion industry.Number of key product categor ies Burberry is reliant on a small number of suppliers which threat to its brand.APPRAISAL OF PERFORMANCE SINCE 2009The global luxury goods market had grown by slightly 8% per annum before the great economic downturn in l2008. In 2009, it is estimated that the global luxury market declined by around 9%, as consumer confidence and buying powers of peoples fall. Industry analysts expect the sector to show some recovery in 2010, although not as high as the 8% seen prior to 2008. The deteriorating economic environment and unemployment rates have their impact on aggregate demand throughout fashion industries. Sales revenue has been increase by 7% from 2009 to 2010 in a exceedingly uncertain consumer-spending environment, which shows a remarkable achievement of the management of Burberry.In 2009/10, the dramatically slowed consumer environment pressured both tax income margin and expense structure with a management entered the year emphasizing profitability over revenue growth.In a lux ury market, Burberry achieved revenue of 1.3bn, 7% reported. Operating profit increased 22% to 220m, Retail/wholesale gross margin increased from 52.1% in 2008/09 to 59.7% in 2009/10.while diluted EPS increased 16% to 35.1p. After-tax subject on capital remained strong at 28. The Groupgenerated 254m of cash, resulting in a 262m year end cash balance. Relative to luxury products Burberrys performance was among the best in the sector during 2009/10The Greek Economic CrisisThe Greek economic crisis had a massive impact on Coca Cola Hellenics results. Lower customer confidence, rising unemployment rate (15% at the end of June 2010) and pressure on the tourism sector are still deteriorating Hellenics volume and channel mix in Greek markets (which accounted for roughly 8% of the groups total volume during 2009). As a response to higher pricing competition, Coca Cola Hellenic has increased its promotional and marketing act in the country, which will have a resultant negative impact on the groups profit margins. Management expects this steep trend to persist until at to the lowest degree towards the mid of 2011. Additionally, the Greek government has initiated austerity measures, which are impacting negatively on consumers wages (the government is currently considering increasing VAT on soft drinks to 23% from 11% and/or increasing excise duties) and affecting Hellenics results. Among these government measures was the implementation of an Extraordinary Social Contribution Tax which led to a charge of 21 million in 2010 and which the government has indicated will prevail until the end of 2012. Meanwhile, the government is also considering a new tax on distributable profits of companies operating in Greece, which may force Hellenic to provide shareholder returns via means other than dividends (Yasmina Serghini-Douvin, 2010).Exposure to Currency MovementsDue to diverse inherent market, Burberrys profits are highly exposed to foreign currency rate exposures. The Gro up has the Group has a policy of hedging foreign currency denominated transactions by submission into forward foreign exchange contracts , resulting in a 7.3 million negative impact on its 2010. Overall, Burberrys Gross margin in 2010 was 59.7%, which higher as compared to the 52.1% in 2009, the groups operating profit margin increased from 9.8% to 11.6%, largely due to gross margin benefits and savings from the global cost efficiency programme (Yasmina Serghini-Douvin, 2010).Returns to ShareholdersThe financial structure of Burberry relatively stable over recent years Board has recommended a 17% increase in the full year dividend to 14.0p worth 52.5 million at the end of 2010.Porters generic forcesCost Leadership It explains gaining of competitive edge by having the lowest cost in the market. Burberry not a following cost leadership because its deals in luxury items.Differentiation Burberry luxury brand has iconic figure in the fashion world which show company follows the differ entiation strategy. There may be several approaches to differentiationDifferent jut outBrand ImageNew technologyNumber of featuresProduct QualityFocus or Niche Strategy Burberry may as well get into niche of focus markets. Such move may result in firm growth in those particular niches.Burberry and Ansoff MatrixAnsoff matrix describes various moves a company can adopt in the market to gain a competitive advantage. It describes four different situations which are enumerated in the form of a table as follows (Griffin, 2006)Existing ProductNew ProductExisting MarketMarket PenetrationProduct victimizationNew MarketMarket DevelopmentDiversificationMarket Penetration Market penetration can be achieved by Burberry in three waysby getting competitors customers,improving the productAttracting new users or persuading current users to use more through marketing etc.For example, Management successfully penalise the 50m cost efficiency programmed announced in 2008/09. Approximately half of the gains were driven by supply chain and corporate process efficiencies. Cost reductions, including rationalization of internalManufacturing, showroom closures and intensive expense and headcount management, accounted for the remainder.The company plans to re-invest these savings to assist future growth in market share in recent years to come.Market development Market development is defined as opening up new markets for products .For Burberry these consist of China, India and the Middle East. All distribution channels (retail, wholesale and licensing) are used to optimize these opportunities. Burberry added a net 20 stores in Emerging Markets, of which 13 stores were in China and six were in the Middle East. Of the total, 97 are operated under franchise, 12 by the Burberry Middle East joystick venture, and two by the Burberry India joint venture. In North America, which Burberry has also identified as an underpenetrated market, underlying retail and wholesale revenue increased by 2% in 2009/10, with an improved performance in the second half (up 10%).Japan non-apparel joint venture is established to build the brands non-apparel business in Japan, the worlds largest accessories market, the joint venture became fully operational during the year.Product development Product development means launch of new products in existing markets. This may champion to maintain consumer awareness, drive growth and increase profits and its only beneficial when company have strong brand name, strong research and development and strong design team. As an example, Burberry focus on and invest in under-penetrated non-apparel categories to further leverage Burberrys unique positioning, design and merchandising expertise and iconic branding through investment in product development, marketing and supply chain. Non-apparel continues to be a key driver of growth for the Group. For the third consecutive year, it was the fastest-growing product area within Burberry, and continues to offer scope for further gains across a number of under-penetrated categories like (Large leather goods, mens non-apparel, Soft accessories and Shoes). Burberry continues to grow outerwear by continued product innovation.Diversification Diversification means selling new products in new markets. There are two types of diversifications are related or horizontal diversification and conglomerate diversification (non related). Both diversifications are achieved trough acquisitions. We have already seen that Burberry has a rich history of entering new markets and introducing new products. Burberry also benefits from a great degree of product and brand diversity, Diversified offering which leads the Burberry brand has broad consumer appeal. The business is balanced between non-apparel (36% of 2009/10 revenue), womens wear (35%), menswear (24%) and the smaller but high potential childrens wear division (5%). Outerwear, which is the core of the apparel offer at over half of sales, is the category in which Burberry is top of- mind among consumers. Another key strategy is to grow non-apparel where revenue increased by 10% underlying in 2009/10.BCG Matrix(Kluyver, 2010)Stars Stars are those products, which have a high relative market share and high market growth. It is market leader In case of Burberry, Growth has been primarily due to in non-apparel products, now the largest product category, increased by 10% underlying, with good growth across all product categories. Large leather goods accounted for half of non-apparel retail sales and grew by 30% in retail, with particular strength in Asia. Further design and product development expertise benefited shoes.Cash Cows these products have high market share but low growth market possibly going into negative. Because it have high market share it is the market leader, which help him to earn cash. In the case of Burberry their women wears have strong market share with but have little growth Burberry will use his higher full price sa les and increased awareness driven by artofthetrench.com.Question marks Those products that have relatively low market share in high growth markets. Childrens wear grew by 37% on an underlying basis, which is 5% of the revenue but have high potential market. Burberry aims to drive children swear to 10% of total Group sales over time.Dogs these products have low market share in low and static market that is not a market leader. Dogs might lose money and more cash used to earn something. In the case of Burberry Mens wear have low and decaling market share with low growth it benefited from benefited from continued innovation in styles, fit and fabric. In retail, the relabelling of Burberry Brit contributed to good volume and value growth in all product categories, especially in Asia.POTENTIAL FUTURE STRATEGYAgreementsIn October 2009, the Group announced an amendment to its apparel license in Japan which gives better positions to optimize its presence in Japan and the high-growth Asian region over the medium term. The restructuring of the Groups business in Spain integrating the market with global Burberry is in the long-term best interests of the brand. This arrangement would help to support the strategic and operational alignment, and would provide a stable shareholding base in the coming years.Porters Diamond(Griffin, 2006)Factor conditions Burberry should look into different markets to gain the advantage of demand factors like cheap pool of labour with skills in industry, government subsidies, low cost raw material etc. Burberry has favourable factor conditions like excellent network of transports and telecommunications in UK. In Japan the conditions is not favourable for Burberry because of shortage of land which leads companies to develop just in time system.Demand conditions In developing and emerging counties, the higher level of competition affected by lower-value cheap brands. A new joint venture in India was announced in November 2009, combining the str engths of the Burberry brand and organisation with the expertise of a local partner to address this young, exciting luxury market. Burberry is in fashion market where customers expectations and demands always high which forced to create new brands and innovative fashion lines.Related and supported industries the existence of large number of related industries edge should be sought in the future like purchase raw materials and fabrics from developing countrie.high quality RD strong links with firm gives Burberry innovation in the field of production which also very supportive in UK.Firm strategy, structure and rivalry Burberry is highly exposed to developing and emerging territories. At the highest level, the Groups primary objectives are the continued elevation and grammatical construction of the Burberry brand, and ensuring the Company remains firmly on a path of sustained. Burberry faces a strong competition from their rivals because the fashion industry ever changing environment where either time new things come to the market. However, the wide range of countries in which Burberry operates lessens the underlying associated risk.

Queer Theory Reading of a Picture of Dorian Gray

Queer Theory meter reading of a catch of Dorian hoarAestheticism dictates that animateness should be bedd by an saint of violator and a movement embodied by the phrase of artistry for arts sake. There is perhaps no greater countenance of lots(prenominal) beliefs as Oscar Wilde, and the acknowledgmentistics of aestheticism run with much of his work, both admits and stories, particularly in the fiber of the dandy. It would be difficult to analyse each of Wildes work withtaboo considering his acknowledge in the flesh(predicate) life and consequently, almost impossible to analyse his use of aesthetics without tackling the elements of homosexualism.Living in a society largely intolerant to queerness, Wilde was obviously restrict to some effect with devour to it to what he could write about explicitly and as a solution muteness start outs an important influence over Wildes work. This makes for an pas verbalise interesting all in alliance mingled with aesth eticism and homoeroticism, and it is this relationship that lead form the main focus of this set about. What be the forms and techniques that Wilde uses to aestheticise transvesticity, and why? And how by doing this his literary whole kit reveal aspects of his profess life and sexuality, in the long run creating the figure of Wilde the aesthete, dandy, and campy witticist who has become a public icon for homoerotic men in Britain and America. It will focus primarily on The project of Dorian Gray, The impressiveness of humanness burning and The Happy Prince and Other Stories.The portrayal of Mr. W.H portrays Shakespeargon as be a slave to dish antenna that is the condition of the artificer This construct of theartist as worshipper of beauty is a recurring characteristic of Wildes literature and will be dealt with later in this chapter. Firstly, itis necessary to look at the elevated of beauty that Wilde presents as worthy of worship.There is an overwhelming resembl ance mingled with Wildes portrayal ofbeauty and the excogitation of beauty in the Greek era. As Summers observesin his book amusing Fictions Studies in a Male Homosexual Literary Tradition, both The Portrait of Dorian Gray and The Portrait of Mr.W.H focus to a great extent on characterizations of androgynous untried men bothstories e rattlingude to famous homosexual artists and make dors in hi written report andthey both assume a signifi give the gatet connection between homosexual Eros andart. Same-sex rely is referenced heavily throughout Greek literature, for example, during the sixth snow, the poet Sappho wrote numerous homoerotic verses c at one timerning young women, with the termination lesbian derived from the name of her island home of Lesbos. Plato in addition referred to same-sex hopes and relations, even forming his own system on the pre-determined personality of different sexualities. In words interestn from The Portrait of Mr. W.H, the ideal of beauty i s a beauty that seemed to combine the charm of both sexes, and to affirm wedded, as the Sonnets rank us, the grace of Adonis and the loveliness ofHelen. Wilde uses this Greek ideal of beauty as a means of adding authority to his allusions to homoeroticism, to make the content of the 2 aforementi stard deeds more than accept open to a puritanical audience. Itis important to n champion that in that location is a marked difference of public attitude towards queerness and homoeroticism between Greek and victorian society. Donald Hall observes that during the Greek eraadult male sexuality, had much more to do with power status and social faceing than it did with any expression of individuality-determining propensity for the same or early(a) sex.Wildes ideal of beauty also overlaps with the Greek concept of the mull. The Portrait of Dorian Gray presents us with Dorian, the hypothesize topainter basil Hallward, and The Portrait of Mr. W.H provides us withan insight into th e life of one of the most famous muses of all, the young human who Shakespeare addressed more of his sonnets to Who was he whose physical beauty was such that it became the very corner-stone of Shakespeares art the very source of Shakespeares inspiration the very incarnation of Shakespeares dreams. The muse, restraind as asource of inspiration especially for a creative artist succeeds in objectifying the subject, transforming a human social movement into aesthetic fodder to fuel the creative mind, as healthy as something far superior tothe person behold the muse. With regard to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Summers suggests that, the implied link between homosexual Erosand creativity is clear in Dorians effect on Basils art. Dorians beauty and the ideal that he represents curtilage Basil to see the world afresh and inspire him to his greatest work as an artist.This is where the idea of worshipping beauty comes into play. TheHappy Prince, for example, is distinctly removed fro m everyday lifeand is admired from afar in a quite literal sense. However, Dorian isperhaps the best illustration of Wildes fascination with the worshipof beauty. The novel suggests that to other young men Dorian seemedto be of the beau monde of those whom Dante describes as having sought-after(a) tomake themselves perfect by the worship of beauty. Like Gautier, hewas one for whom the visible world existed. At the same time,Dorian is presented to us as the worshipped, with regard to hisrelationship with Basil Hallward.The fix of the muse in the manner of Basil and Shakespeare (asportrayed by Wilde) seems to present something of a double-edged sword,producing feelings of such passion that joy and despair becomeintertwined. The fabricator of The Portrait of Mr. W.H suggests thatShakespeares muse was a particular young man whose personality forsome reason seems to view filled the instinct of Shakespeare with terriblejoy and no less terrible despair. In a quasi(prenominal) vein, B asil hasominous feelings on meeting Dorian for the first time, I k clean that Ihad come face to face with someone whose mere personality was sofascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would betroth my wholenature, my whole person, my very art itself. The effect of beauty dopebe seen as both gift and curse in the same mode that Wilde perhapsregarded homosexuality in victorian society.The importance that Wilde deposits on the worship of beauty is closelyrelated to his strong beliefs in aestheticism. The distance that Wildeseeks to construct between the observer and the object of beauty suffer beread as a mechanism of aestheticism whereby he aims to eliminate anyattachment to example and wider societal concerns. The following chapterwill analyse the relation of aesthetics to Wildes literary works, andhow far he is able to separate the judgement of art from deterrent exampleeconomic value.bloody shame Blanchard, in Oscar Wildes America suggests that the personaof the in vert or male homosexual was an emerging concept during the1880s, and the connections between aesthetic panache and a homosexualsubculture nonifynot be overlooked. And with other critics referring toWilde as the high priest of aestheticism, its clear that Oscar is noexception to this rule. He lived a hedonistic life style, flitting as asocial butterfly from one experience of art and beauty to the next. InVictorian times the male dandy soon became a sign of this aestheticage, with no finer literary examples than Dorian and schoolmaster total heat of ThePortrait of Dorian Gray, and Algernon and Jack of The grandeur of cosmos Earnest. Lord Henry declares that pleasure is the only thingworth having a theory about and it is this preoccupation withmaterial things and surface-level emotions that characterises thedandy, a choice of style over substance. As a endpoint Dorian becomesfascinated with acquiring commodities such as perfumes, jewels andmusic. Wilde dedicates pages of com ment to this search forsensations that would be at once new and possess that element ofstrangeness that is so essential to romance.The concept of dandyism is closely linked to that of Victoriandecadence. Goldfarb, in his turn out on Late Victorian Decadenceprovides us with a useful definition of decadence, highlighting itsresemblance to aestheticism the value to be gained from experienceof all sorts and from indulgence in a life of sensation. Because ofthis emphasis, decadent literature is animated by the exploration ofimmoral and evil experiences never does it preach morality, nor doesit potently insist upon honest responsibilities. This separationbetween decadence and morality is also a characteristic parkland toaestheticism.Glick studies the concepts of dandyism at length in her essay onThe Dialectics of Dandyism, identifying an opposition betweencritical thought on dandyism and arguing that two different modelslocate dandyism at the opposite poles of modernity, simultaneous lypositioning the queer subject as a privileged emblem of the modern andas a dissident in revolt against society. Therefore, on the one handthe reader can accept the dandy as person who embraces the aestheticsof culture and celebrates beauty as a preoccupation with surfacetrends to cerebrate of gay identity solely or primarily in terms ofartifice, aesthetics, commodity fetishism and style. Or, beneath thesurface, we can read a protest against the commodification of modernlife and a rejection of common values and aspirations. Goldfarb whole tone asimilar contempt for modern society in the movement of decadence, aself-conscious contempt for social conventions such as truth andmarriage, by an adoption of Beauty as a basis for life. Bothaestheticism and decadence seek to remove beauty from the confines ofmodern society and use it to their own ends in a self-created sensualand grand lifestyle.Wildes use of aestheticism can be read as an attempt to showhomosexuality as a sign of ref ined culture, as a means to his desiredend where such a topic becomes more refreshing. In the same way thatWilde touch ons to the Greek ideal of beauty to disguise what couldotherwise be seen as a direct and possibly skanky portrayal ofhomosexual desire, by adhering to the rules of aestheticism Wilde isable to turn precaution from any moral attack on his writing. Themovement of aestheticism shuns any notion that art can be connectedwith morality and turbulently encourages individual granting immunity and socialtheatricality. Ironically, whilst it can largely be seen as arebellion against Victorian sensibilities, it is simultaneously amethod of retaining a covert nature to the expression of homoeroticdesire. In the baptistery of Basil Hallward, he finds art an outlet for suchdesires, there is nothing that Art cannot express. Through Dorian,Basil is able to discover a new manner in art, an entirely new mode ofstyle not clean when he is painting Dorian, but when he is merelypr esent. It allows him a new way of looking at life, having realisedthe power of homoeroticismIn presenting homosexuality through the lens of aestheticism andconsequently presenting it as a refined culture with close links to theidealised and romantic image of the Greek age, Wilde also separates thelifestyle of the homosexual man from the classes of straightawaysociety. As enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay Glick suggests in her essay on the dialectics ofdandyism, Wilde depicts Dorians seemingly endless appetite forexotic, luxury objects as the exterior manifestation of his innerintellectual and artistic superiority. This presents Doriansdesires and those of other aetheticism advocates as elitist andultimately superior to other classes. Through the use of aestheticism,it can be argued that Wilde attempts to give homoeroticism the power totranscend class. By describing such episodes in this romantic andfantastical manner, he places homosexuality in a highly refined classof it s own, in a position out of reach from the realities of theworking class and bourgeoisie.To take this concept one step further, Wilde can also be seen toreject the realities of common society entirely, as an aesthetepreferring to lose himself in sensual experiences and ultimatelydreaming of an escape from reality to a place where such experience canbe in full realised. Glick goes on to line that Dorians acquisition ofluxuries and curios not only seems to affirm his aristocraticdistinction, but also aims to build a self-created world byaestheticizing experience itself. Gray yearns not so much for theenjoyment provided by an individual object, but for the aestheticpleasure provided by its reincarnation of part of his collection.Indeed, Dorian does become obsessed with creating his own desiredversion of reality, in which worshipping beauty and sprightliness by thesenses is the priority. Having embarked on this aesthetic journey-largely instigated by Lord Henry Dorians passion to adh ere to theseideals becomes clear, It was the creation of such worlds as these thatseemed to Dorian Gray to be the line up object, or amongst the trueobjects of life. earlier in the novel Wilde even goes so far as to fit in reality directly with the lower classes and as therefore,something ranked below the aspirations and lifestyle of those likeDorian in this plagiarize no sooner is Dorian overcome by fascinationwith Lord Henry than he is brought waste to earth by the entrance of aservantDorian Gray never took his gaze off him, but sat like one under aspell, smiles chasing each other over his lips, and wonder growinggrave in his blackening eyes. At last, liveried in the costume of the age, Reality entered the roomin the shape of a servant to tell the Duchess that her carriage waswaiting.By personifying Reality Wilde presents it as something that can bedefeated, defeat by those who submit enough desire and strength of mindto do so. In the same way Wilde often capitalises and per sonifiesArt to add character to the subject and emphasise his position onthat subject.Although in one respect this separation of the dandy or aesthetefrom reality may seem to alienate him from others in society, thecontent of Wildes write up does not necessarily seclude him from amoral standpoint. It is interesting to note that we are given verylittle information on the uglier types of experience that Dorianseeks. As readers, we understand the influences and transition thatthe protagonist is going through as his soul darkens, but we are noteducated in the exact nature of the experiences. This allows lessopportunity for concentrating on the moral aspects of his lifestylechoices, and more opportunity for pondering on the nature ofaestheticism we focus more on the influences on Dorian and theconsequences, rather than on judging his actions and decisions. Whenone delves deeper to find a moral standpoint on Wildes part, it isdifficult to do so, and consequently, easier to assume that t he absenceof analysis in this subject area suggests ambiguity on his part.Summer seeks to find an answer to this moral ambiguity in the worldof Oscar Wilde himself, and in relation to The Portrait of Dorian Grayfound that Wilde summarised the moral as all excess, as well as allrenunciation, brings its own punishment. The painter, Basil Hallward,worshipping physical beauty far too much, as most painters do, dies bythe hand of one in whose soul he has created a monstrous and absurdvanity. Dorian Gray, having led a life of mere sensation and pleasure,tries to kill conscience, and at that moment kills himself. Thiscomment of Wildes confirms the notion that becoming a slave to beautyis a condition of art, illustrated by the tone of the inevitable thataccompanies the phrase as most painters do, an observation that wecan easily transfer to the experience of other artists as well. Wildegoes on to formulate that Lord Henry Wotton seeks to be merely thespectator of life. He finds that those who reject the battle are moredeeply wounded than those who take part in it. In this respect bothBasil and Henry are ultimately doomed, thus suggesting no clear moralpath that the reader exigency follow for salvation. Moral ambivalenceoccurs frequently as a result of the narrators attitude the narratoris kindly towards whichever character he is describing, and inparticular, often seems just as seduced by the strong and influentialcharacter of Lord Henry as Dorian is. With this in mind, Summersconcludes that provided the retributive conclusion of the book, theFaustian dream of an escape from human limitation and moral stricturesultimately triumphs over the condemnation of excess and therebysubverts the apparent moralism. To summarise, he argues that theFaustian dream is rendered more appealingly than the superim representlesson of dangers of narcissism. However, if we accept Summersreading, it nonetheless remains impossible to read the novel withoutquestioning the relationship b etween aestheticism and morality.Whether we believe Wilde to subvert or strengthen common moral values,their presence within the narration is undeniable and invites furtherthought from the reader.To conclude this chapter on aestheticism, we can see that Wildesliterature aestheticism and homosexuality exist co dependently. Thisobviously has an effect on the publics reading of his works, and howreadily and comfortably they associate these two aspects. As Summerssuggests it is interesting to note that The Picture of Dorian Gray wasamong the first novels in the language to feature (though blurred andinexactly) a homosexual subculture Summers wrote that homosexualreaders would sure as shooting use up responded to the books undertone ofgay feeling, and may have found the very name Dorian suggestive ofGreek homosexuality, since it was Dorian tribesmen who allegedlyintroduced homosexuality into Greece as part of their militaryregimen. In contrast, Mary Blanchard notes a invalidating con sequenceconcerning heterosexual readers during the Victorian era Allyingaesthetic style with the masculine self provoked attacks from someVictorian men unsure of their own gender orientation. This raisesthe issue of how a heterosexual readership can be seen to react to theundertone of homosexuality, and how a readers interpretation canchange when fuelled by more knowledge of Oscar Wildes personal life.Before looking at the effect of the writer on what is ultimately afictional narrator, this essay will look at the importance of coverin the life of the homosexual man.Todays society is obviously more accepting of Wildes sexuality andits effect on his art, Summers illustrates this point by suggestingthat Wildes demise meant that he ultimately summercaterctioned as Saint Oscar,the homosexual martyr. only of course it was not until some timeafter the late nineteenth century that Wilde was fully apprehended by awider audience. Miller and Adams in Sexualities in Victorian Britainobserv e that the Victorians were notorious as the great enemies ofsexuality indeed in Freuds representative account, sexualitysometimes seems to be whatever it was that the middle-class Victorianmind try to hide, evade, repress, deny. In this respect thehomosexual man had a double secrecy to adhere to that of sexuality,as well as homosexuality. In Victorian society there was very much aclear-cut idea of what was natural and unnatural, of what was normaland abnormal. Consequently, Wilde set himself up as a figure to beattacked by the press as unnatural and abnormal the Victorian presspublicized in wildly inflammatory ways Wildes eccentric dress,effeminate, and haughty behavior, all held up as important signifiersof his unnatural sexuality and the threat he posed to normal,middle-class values. Being such an extravagant and extrovertedcharacter, Wildes sexuality was not particularly covert and eventuallyprovided Victorian society with a case by which to lay down the law asto what was acc eptable in terms of sexuality. As Ed Cohen suggests inhis essay, Writing Gone Wild Homoerotic Desire in the Closet ofRepresentation, the court transactions against Wilde provided aperfect opportunity to define publicly the authorized and legal limitswithin which a man could naturally enjoy the pleasures of his bodywith another man.Despite the fact that it was Wildes indiscrete homosexual behaviourand demeanour that led to his downfall, aspects of secrecy featureheavily in his literary works and certain narrative techniques aid tothe covert nature in which homoeroticism is often presented. To recap,by relating same-sex friendships to aestheticism and ideals of beauty,Wilde is able to divert attention from aspects of homosexuality thatwould be otherwise be interpreted as immoral by Victorian society.Also, Wilde omits any direct reference or description of same-sexphysical relations and scarcely even alludes to such activities. Thecontent of the narration and emphasis on aestheticism means that ahomoerotic reading of Dorian Gray is not immediately obvious at leastnot to a heterosexual readership. Therefore, homosexual love becomesthe love that cannot be intercommunicate of and is dramadamentally cabalisticive.The secret language of homosexuality is particularly evident in TheImportance of Being Earnest, a play riddled with code words alluding tohomosexual behaviour. Karl Beckson argues that the title of the playis not only a pun on the name of Earnest, but is also a representationof same-sex love since the term Urning (a variant of the more commonly utilize Uranian) referred to same-sex desire in fin-de-siecle London.Beckson also argues that Wildes use of the term bunburying as ameans for Algernon to escape responsibility also has Uranianimplications. With the action of bunburying being such a focal pointof The Importance of Being Earnest, this reading of the play suggest aserious preoccupation with the secret world of the homosexual. It isalso interesting to note that an unnamed critic in epoch suggests thatBunburying was shorthand for a visit to a fashionable London malewhorehouse (2 February 1979, 73), an opinion reaffirmed by JoelFineman in 1980. Understandably, after the success of play thephrase bunburying became a commonly used term as same-sex slang.John Franceschina notes other code words used in the play as musical,effeminate, and aunty, all of them Victorian expressions for same-sexactivity. Yet, again Wilde diverts attention from a moral reading bywriting in a style that is based on farce and euphemism, a style thatrejects an immediate analytical reading.In her essay Dialectics of Dandyism, enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay Glick observes theissue of secrecy within both modern and Victorian society and suggeststhat modern gay identity is pervaded by the trope of the secret.She pays particular interest to the dichotomy of appearance and whatlies beneath, in her words the opposition between outward appearanceand inner result. This split between appearance and essence of apersons character and desires is central to Wildes portrayal ofhomosexuality, as illustrated by the character of Dorian Gray. Dorianis a contradiction of appearance and essence, with the portrait beingan omnipresent reminder of this. And to restitution to The Importance ofBeing Earnest, the very act of bunburying on Algernon Moncrieffs partsuggests a web of double-dealing where appearances are never compatible withreality.One force think that such a heavy reliance on secrecy might lead tosome cheekiness by those forced to hide their sexuality from anintolerant society, but in the case of Wildes dandies, this does notseem to be the case. In fact, such characters appear to activelyembrace a world of secrecy. If we equate Dorians portrait withhomosexuality, then we can read his response to the secrecy that isforced upon him as something of a guilty pleasure pride ofindividualism that is half fascination of sin, and spri ghtly with secretpleasure at the misshapen shadow that had to bear the burden thatshould have been his own. This seems to suggest that throughsecrecy, a homosexual man can avoid all the negative consequences thatwould be thrust upon him by an offended Victorian society. Glickobserves that it the portrait is not just related to the secret worldof Dorian, but that it also functions on a wider scale, Wilde makes itclear that the portrait does not exhibit a single secret rather it isthe site for a circulation of secrecy in which all these characters Basil, Dorian, and Lord Henry are implicated. The portraittherefore, becomes a symbol of the secrecy of the homosexual man, whichis simultaneously associated with issues of aestheticism. Glick goeson to suggest that Basil expresses the sense of homosexuality as bothknown and unknowable the double bind of gay identity when hedeclares, I have come to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thingthat can make modern life mysterious or marvellou s to us. Thecommonest thing is delightful if only one hides it.But just how realistically can homosexuality exist by these secretcodes of conduct? Just as Wilde suffers at the hands of an intolerantsociety, so does Dorian Gray struggle to live a life of doubleidentity. By the end of the novel it becomes clear that he issuspended between two worlds, with no lasting way of marrying the two.To return to the essay of Elisa Glick, Dorian must die when he stabsthe portrait because he can only exist in the relation between thepublic and the private, a relation that Wilde literalizes in theportrait and its subject. Right from the outset of The Picture ofDorian Gray we are presented with the concept of that part of anartists inspiration that remains secret and personal to them.Therefore, the portrait of Dorian Gray does not merely conceal thesecrets of Dorian, but also the secrets of the painter of the subject -the portrait is a mysterious form because its outward appearanceconceals its inne r essence. it reveals the essence of both painterand painted. The secret desire hidden within the painting is broughtto our attention by Henrys shallow comment that the painting looksnothing like Basil the fact that his yield misses the point entirelymerely succeeds in enhancing our understanding that there is much moreof Basils desires and passion in the painting than is immediatelyobvious from its surface attributes. Interestingly, this revelationcontradicts the concept of appreciating art purely for its appearanceand with no relation to moral values. In legion(predicate) cases living by thesenses reveals much about the person, and experiences cannot be soeasily detached from emotion and personal feeling. For example, whenDorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane, Henry observes that out of itssecret hiding place had crept his Soul, and Desire had come to meet iton the way. Within the stereotypical lifestyles of the aesthetes,inner feeling will inevitably show its face and with it, bring at leasta fleet ponder on moral values.Having analysed The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture ofDorian Gray with regard to elements of secrecy, both positive andnegative consequences of such an influence on homosexual lifestyle areapparent. But it is the story of The Happy Prince that puts Wildesfinal and definitive seal of opinion on the issue of secrecy. Once theswallow has sacrificed his life for the statue of the Prince, the twoTown Councillors far from understand the relationship between theswallow and prince, becoming absent-minded with the trivial matter of whoshould be the subject of the next statue. However, there is ultimatelya happy ending with the swallow and Prince receiving recognition andacceptance from God, for in my garden of enlightenment this little birdshall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shallpraise me. The relationship between Prince and Swallow does havehomoerotic undertones, with the Swallow often read as the dandy character, in this case fascinated by the beauty of the statue. Thehomoerotic aspect of the tale culminates in a kiss between the two,but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you. If we are toaccept a homoerotic reading of The Happy Prince then accordingly wecan read the ending as Wilde voicing his opinion of homosexuality asnatural and literally giving such a lifestyle the blessing of God. InThe Portrait of Dorian Gray, Wilde uses a similar technique whereby hepresents the character who can most easily be classified as homosexual,as the very character who is the most morally sensitive.However, a homoerotic reading of The Happy Prince, indeed of anyof Wildes literary works, relies on and is substantially influenced byour knowledge of Oscar Wildes personal life. This brings us to thefinal chapter of this dissertation, a chapter that will analyse therelationship between the writer and the narrator, and the effect ofthis relationship on aesthetic and homoerotic readings of Wildesfi ction. Chapter 5 -Wilde the storytellerSo far we have looked mainly at The Importance of Being Earnest andThe Picture of Dorian Gray and we have touched upon the fact that it isoften difficult to read such works without considering the personallife of Oscar Wilde. A Victorian audience would have held someknowledge of Wilde, considering that he was an extremely sociablecharacter with social critiques often published in Reviews of thetime. And of course, his two years imprisonment would have beenwidely publicised and consequently common knowledge. There is no doubtthat it was around this time that heterosexual readers would havestruggled to accept the links that Wilde makes between aestheticism andhomosexuality, fearing a similar fate merely for sharing thecharacteristics of aestheticism. Reading in the twenty-first centurywe now have the privilege of even further information on Wildesprivate life. The nineteenth century novel largely think on the triad person,omnipresent narrator , and in doing so inevitably drew attention to thepersona of the narrator and subsequently to the author himself. Wildeis no exception to this rule and it is difficult not to see his owncharacter or what we believe to be his own character shinethrough. As suggested in the previous chapter, it is not just thecondition of the artist to worship beauty, but also to allow his owncharacter and desires to become a part of his art. In the case of ThePortrait of Dorian Gray, our knowledge of Wilde as a dandy and aesthetecolours our interpretation of characters such as Lord Henry andDorian. versed what we do about Wildes extravagant social life andturbulent relationship with the press, lines such as You dont wantpeople to talk of you as something vile and degraded spoken to Dorianby Basil, begin to take on more significant meaning. With this quotein mind, it is possible to read between the lines and observe a feelingin Wilde that he wishes somehow, outside of his literature not to belooked upon as vile and degraded. This desire for acceptance isoffset by the more typical tongue in cheek wit of Wilde, the use ofwhich diverts attention from serious emotions. This type of wit canbe seen in Dorians payoff to Basil on hearing gossip, I love scandalsabout other people, but scandals about myself dont interest me. Theyhave not got the charm of novelty. It seems that Wilde isdeliberately poking fun at himself and joining in with the popularridicule that was present in Victorian society about the life of theaesthetic gentleman. Many cartoons and caricatures were in circulationat the time that sought to make fun of the extravagances of theaesthetic lifestyle. Numerous sarcastic works were also released,worth particular mention is Robert Hitchens Green Carnation, asatirical novel on decadence influenced by the authors beliefs inaestheticism as unconventional and exhibitionist. The Importance ofBeing Earnest also has a farcical tone throughout, which often servesto allow the reader to question Wildes authority, whilst also allyingthe comments of certain characters with Oscar himself. For example, aline of Gwendolen appears to point directly at Wildes personal life,And certainly once a man begins to neglect his domestic duties hebecomes painfully effeminate, does he not? And I dont like that. Itmakes men so very attractive.However, many critics would argue that the very definition of fictiondictates that the reader should accept that there need not necessarilybe a connection between narrator and author. In the same way that anactor does not need to have experienced a similar history and lifestyleto the character they play, so too should we allow the writer to assumedifferent characters. This very point crops up in the story of ThePortrait of Mr W.H whereby the narrator argues that To say that only awoman can portray the passions of a woman, and that therefore no boycan play Rosalind, is to rob theQueer Theory Reading of a Picture of Dorian GrayQueer Theo ry Reading of a Picture of Dorian GrayAestheticism dictates that life should be lived by an ideal of beauty and a movement embodied by the phrase of art for arts sake. There is perhaps no greater advocate of such beliefs as Oscar Wilde, and the characteristics of aestheticism run through much of his work, both plays and stories, particularly in the character of the dandy. It would be difficult to analyse any of Wildes work without considering his own personal life and consequently, almost impossible to analyse his use of aesthetics without tackling the elements of homoeroticism.Living in a society largely intolerant to homosexuality, Wilde was obviously restricted to some extent with regard to what he could write about explicitly and as a result secrecy becomes an important influence over Wildes work. This makes for an extremely interesting relationship between aestheticism and homoeroticism, and it is this relationship that will form the main focus of this essay. What are the forms and techniques that Wilde uses to aestheticise homosexuality, and why? And how by doing this his literary works reveal aspects of his own life and sexuality, ultimately creating the figure of Wilde the aesthete, dandy, and campy witticist who has become a public icon forhomosexual men in Britain and America. It will focus primarily on The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Happy Prince and Other Stories.The Portrait of Mr. W.H portrays Shakespeare as being a slave to beauty that is the condition of the artist This concept of theartist as worshipper of beauty is a recurring characteristic of Wildes literature and will be dealt with later in this chapter. Firstly, itis necessary to look at the ideal of beauty that Wilde presents as worthy of worship.There is an overwhelming resemblance between Wildes portrayal ofbeauty and the concept of beauty in the Greek era. As Summers observesin his book Gay Fictions Studies in a Male Homosexual Literary Tradition, both The Portrait of Dorian Gray and The Portrait of Mr.W.H focus heavily on portraits of androgynous young men bothstories allude to famous homosexual artists and lovers in history andthey both assume a significant connection between homosexual Eros andart. Same-sex desire is referenced heavily throughout Greek literature, for example, during the sixth century, the poet Sappho wrote numerous homoerotic verses concerning young women, with the term lesbian derived from the name of her island home of Lesbos. Platoalso referred to same-sex desires and relations, even forming his own theory on the pre-determined nature of different sexualities. In words taken from The Portrait of Mr. W.H, the ideal of beauty is a beauty that seemed to combine the charm of both sexes, and to have wedded, as the Sonnets tell us, the grace of Adonis and the loveliness ofHelen. Wilde uses this Greek ideal of beauty as a means of adding authority to his allusions to homoeroticism, to make the content of the two aforementioned works more acceptable to a Victorian audience. Itis important to note that there is a marked difference of public attitude towards homosexuality and homoeroticism between Greek and Victorian society. Donald Hall observes that during the Greek eraadult male sexuality, had much more to do with power status and social positioning than it did with any expression of identity-determining desire for the same or other sex.Wildes ideal of beauty also overlaps with the Greek concept of the muse. The Portrait of Dorian Gray presents us with Dorian, the muse topainter Basil Hallward, and The Portrait of Mr. W.H provides us withan insight into the life of one of the most famous muses of all, the young man who Shakespeare addressed many of his sonnets to Who was he whose physical beauty was such that it became the very corner-stone of Shakespeares art the very source of Shakespeares inspiration the very incarnation of Shakespeares dreams. The muse, defined as asource of inspi ration especially for a creative artist succeeds in objectifying the subject, transforming a human presence into aesthetic fodder to fuel the creative mind, as well as something far superior tothe person beholding the muse. With regard to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Summers suggests that, the implied link between homosexual Erosand creativity is clear in Dorians effect on Basils art. Dorians beauty and the ideal that he represents cause Basil to see the world afresh and inspire him to his greatest work as an artist.This is where the idea of worshipping beauty comes into play. TheHappy Prince, for example, is distinctly removed from everyday lifeand is admired from afar in a quite literal sense. However, Dorian isperhaps the best illustration of Wildes fascination with the worshipof beauty. The novel suggests that to other young men Dorian seemedto be of the company of those whom Dante describes as having sought tomake themselves perfect by the worship of beauty. Like Gautier, hewas one for whom the visible world existed. At the same time,Dorian is presented to us as the worshipped, with regard to hisrelationship with Basil Hallward.The experience of the muse in the manner of Basil and Shakespeare (asportrayed by Wilde) seems to present something of a double-edged sword,producing feelings of such passion that joy and despair becomeintertwined. The narrator of The Portrait of Mr. W.H suggests thatShakespeares muse was a particular young man whose personality forsome reason seems to have filled the soul of Shakespeare with terriblejoy and no less terrible despair. In a similar vein, Basil hasominous feelings on meeting Dorian for the first time, I knew that Ihad come face to face with someone whose mere personality was sofascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my wholenature, my whole soul, my very art itself. The effect of beauty canbe seen as both gift and curse in the same way that Wilde perhapsregarded homosexuality in Victorian society.T he importance that Wilde places on the worship of beauty is closelyrelated to his strong beliefs in aestheticism. The distance that Wildeseeks to construct between the observer and the object of beauty can beread as a mechanism of aestheticism whereby he aims to eliminate anyattachment to moral and wider societal concerns. The following chapterwill analyse the relation of aesthetics to Wildes literary works, andhow far he is able to separate the appreciation of art from moralvalues.Mary Blanchard, in Oscar Wildes America suggests that the personaof the invert or male homosexual was an emerging concept during the1880s, and the connections between aesthetic style and a homosexualsubculture cannot be overlooked. And with other critics referring toWilde as the high priest of aestheticism, its clear that Oscar is noexception to this rule. He lived a hedonistic lifestyle, flitting as asocial butterfly from one experience of art and beauty to the next. InVictorian times the male dandy soon became a symbol of this aestheticage, with no finer literary examples than Dorian and Lord Henry of ThePortrait of Dorian Gray, and Algernon and Jack of The Importance ofBeing Earnest. Lord Henry declares that pleasure is the only thingworth having a theory about and it is this preoccupation withmaterial things and surface-level emotions that characterises thedandy, a choice of style over substance. As a result Dorian becomesfascinated with acquiring commodities such as perfumes, jewels andmusic. Wilde dedicates pages of description to this search forsensations that would be at once new and possess that element ofstrangeness that is so essential to romance.The concept of dandyism is closely linked to that of Victoriandecadence. Goldfarb, in his essay on Late Victorian Decadenceprovides us with a useful definition of decadence, highlighting itsresemblance to aestheticism the value to be gained from experienceof all sorts and from indulgence in a life of sensation. Because ofthis em phasis, decadent literature is animated by the exploration ofimmoral and evil experiences never does it preach morality, nor doesit strongly insist upon ethical responsibilities. This separationbetween decadence and morality is also a characteristic common toaestheticism.Glick studies the concepts of dandyism at length in her essay onThe Dialectics of Dandyism, identifying an opposition betweencritical thought on dandyism and arguing that two different modelslocate dandyism at the opposite poles of modernity, simultaneouslypositioning the queer subject as a privileged emblem of the modern andas a dissident in revolt against society. Therefore, on the one handthe reader can accept the dandy as person who embraces the aestheticsof culture and celebrates beauty as a preoccupation with surfacetrends to conceive of gay identity solely or primarily in terms ofartifice, aesthetics, commodity fetishism and style. Or, beneath thesurface, we can read a protest against the commodification of modernlife and a rejection of common values and aspirations. Goldfarb note asimilar contempt for modern society in the movement of decadence, aself-conscious contempt for social conventions such as truth andmarriage, by an acceptance of Beauty as a basis for life. Bothaestheticism and decadence seek to remove beauty from the confines ofmodern society and use it to their own ends in a self-created sensualand fantastical lifestyle.Wildes use of aestheticism can be read as an attempt to showhomosexuality as a sign of refined culture, as a means to his desiredend where such a topic becomes more acceptable. In the same way thatWilde alludes to the Greek ideal of beauty to disguise what couldotherwise be seen as a direct and possibly offensive portrayal ofhomosexual desire, by adhering to the rules of aestheticism Wilde isable to divert attention from any moral attack on his writing. Themovement of aestheticism shuns any notion that art can be connectedwith morality and passionately encou rages individual freedom and socialtheatricality. Ironically, whilst it can largely be seen as arebellion against Victorian sensibilities, it is simultaneously amethod of retaining a covert nature to the expression of homoeroticdesire. In the case of Basil Hallward, he finds art an outlet for suchdesires, there is nothing that Art cannot express. Through Dorian,Basil is able to discover a new manner in art, an entirely new mode ofstyle not just when he is painting Dorian, but when he is merelypresent. It allows him a new way of looking at life, having realisedthe power of homoeroticismIn presenting homosexuality through the lens of aestheticism andconsequently presenting it as a refined culture with close links to theidealised and romantic image of the Greek age, Wilde also separates thelifestyle of the homosexual man from the classes of heterosexualsociety. As Elisa Glick suggests in her essay on the dialectics ofdandyism, Wilde depicts Dorians seemingly endless appetite forexotic, luxury objects as the exterior manifestation of his innerintellectual and artistic superiority. This presents Doriansdesires and those of other aetheticism advocates as elitist andultimately superior to other classes. Through the use of aestheticism,it can be argued that Wilde attempts to give homoeroticism the power totranscend class. By describing such episodes in this romantic andfantastical manner, he places homosexuality in a highly refined classof its own, in a position out of reach from the realities of theworking class and bourgeoisie.To take this concept one step further, Wilde can also be seen toreject the realities of common society entirely, as an aesthetepreferring to lose himself in sensual experiences and ultimatelydreaming of an escape from reality to a place where such experience canbe fully realised. Glick goes on to note that Dorians acquisition ofluxuries and curios not only seems to affirm his aristocraticdistinction, but also aims to build a self-created world byaestheticizing experience itself. Gray yearns not so much for theenjoyment provided by an individual object, but for the aestheticpleasure provided by its reincarnation of part of his collection.Indeed, Dorian does become obsessed with creating his own desiredversion of reality, in which worshipping beauty and living by thesenses is the priority. Having embarked on this aesthetic journey-largely instigated by Lord Henry Dorians passion to adhere to theseideals becomes clear, It was the creation of such worlds as these thatseemed to Dorian Gray to be the true object, or amongst the trueobjects of life. Early in the novel Wilde even goes so far as toassociate reality directly with the lower classes and as therefore,something ranked below the aspirations and lifestyle of those likeDorian in this extract no sooner is Dorian overcome by fascinationwith Lord Henry than he is brought down to earth by the entrance of aservantDorian Gray never took his gaze off him, but sat like one under aspell, smiles chasing each other over his lips, and wonder growinggrave in his darkening eyes. At last, liveried in the costume of the age, Reality entered the roomin the shape of a servant to tell the Duchess that her carriage waswaiting.By personifying Reality Wilde presents it as something that can bedefeated, beaten by those who have enough desire and strength of mindto do so. In the same way Wilde often capitalises and personifiesArt to add character to the subject and emphasise his position onthat subject.Although in one respect this separation of the dandy or aesthetefrom reality may seem to alienate him from others in society, thecontent of Wildes narration does not necessarily isolate him from amoral standpoint. It is interesting to note that we are given verylittle information on the uglier types of experience that Dorianseeks. As readers, we understand the influences and transition thatthe protagonist is going through as his soul darkens, but we are noteducated in the e xact nature of the experiences. This allows lessopportunity for concentrating on the moral aspects of his lifestylechoices, and more opportunity for pondering on the nature ofaestheticism we focus more on the influences on Dorian and theconsequences, rather than on judging his actions and decisions. Whenone delves deeper to find a moral standpoint on Wildes part, it isdifficult to do so, and consequently, easier to assume that the absenceof analysis in this area suggests ambiguity on his part.Summer seeks to find an answer to this moral ambiguity in the worldof Oscar Wilde himself, and in relation to The Portrait of Dorian Grayfound that Wilde summarised the moral as all excess, as well as allrenunciation, brings its own punishment. The painter, Basil Hallward,worshipping physical beauty far too much, as most painters do, dies bythe hand of one in whose soul he has created a monstrous and absurdvanity. Dorian Gray, having led a life of mere sensation and pleasure,tries to kill consc ience, and at that moment kills himself. Thiscomment of Wildes confirms the notion that becoming a slave to beautyis a condition of art, illustrated by the tone of the inevitable thataccompanies the phrase as most painters do, an observation that wecan easily transfer to the experience of other artists as well. Wildegoes on to explain that Lord Henry Wotton seeks to be merely thespectator of life. He finds that those who reject the battle are moredeeply wounded than those who take part in it. In this respect bothBasil and Henry are ultimately doomed, thus suggesting no clear moralpath that the reader need follow for salvation. Moral ambivalenceoccurs frequently as a result of the narrators attitude the narratoris sympathetic towards whichever character he is describing, and inparticular, often seems just as seduced by the strong and influentialcharacter of Lord Henry as Dorian is. With this in mind, Summersconcludes that notwithstanding the retributive ending of the book, theFaustia n dream of an escape from human limitation and moral stricturesultimately triumphs over the condemnation of excess and therebysubverts the apparent moralism. To summarise, he argues that theFaustian dream is rendered more appealingly than the superimposedlesson of dangers of narcissism. However, if we accept Summersreading, it still remains impossible to read the novel withoutquestioning the relationship between aestheticism and morality.Whether we believe Wilde to subvert or strengthen common moral values,their presence within the narration is undeniable and invites furtherthought from the reader.To conclude this chapter on aestheticism, we can see that Wildesliterature aestheticism and homosexuality exist co dependently. Thisobviously has an effect on the publics reading of his works, and howreadily and comfortably they associate these two aspects. As Summerssuggests it is interesting to note that The Picture of Dorian Gray wasamong the first novels in the language to feature (tho ugh blurred andinexactly) a homosexual subculture Summers wrote that homosexualreaders would certainly have responded to the books undercurrent ofgay feeling, and may have found the very name Dorian suggestive ofGreek homosexuality, since it was Dorian tribesmen who allegedlyintroduced homosexuality into Greece as part of their militaryregimen. In contrast, Mary Blanchard notes a negative consequenceconcerning heterosexual readers during the Victorian era Allyingaesthetic style with the masculine self provoked attacks from someVictorian men unsure of their own gender orientation. This raisesthe issue of how a heterosexual readership can be seen to react to theundertone of homosexuality, and how a readers interpretation canchange when fuelled by more knowledge of Oscar Wildes personal life.Before looking at the effect of the writer on what is ultimately afictional narrator, this essay will look at the importance of secrecyin the life of the homosexual man.Todays society is obviously more accepting of Wildes sexuality andits effect on his art, Summers illustrates this point by suggestingthat Wildes demise meant that he ultimately functioned as Saint Oscar,the homosexual martyr. But of course it was not until some timeafter the late nineteenth century that Wilde was fully appreciated by awider audience. Miller and Adams in Sexualities in Victorian Britainobserve that the Victorians were notorious as the great enemies ofsexuality indeed in Freuds representative account, sexualitysometimes seems to be whatever it was that the middle-class Victorianmind attempted to hide, evade, repress, deny. In this respect thehomosexual man had a double secrecy to adhere to that of sexuality,as well as homosexuality. In Victorian society there was very much aclear-cut idea of what was natural and unnatural, of what was normaland abnormal. Consequently, Wilde set himself up as a figure to beattacked by the press as unnatural and abnormal the Victorian presspublicized in wildly inflammatory ways Wildes eccentric dress,effeminate, and haughty demeanour, all held up as important signifiersof his unnatural sexuality and the threat he posed to normal,middle-class values. Being such an extravagant and extrovertedcharacter, Wildes sexuality was not particularly covert and eventuallyprovided Victorian society with a case by which to lay down the law asto what was acceptable in terms of sexuality. As Ed Cohen suggests inhis essay, Writing Gone Wild Homoerotic Desire in the Closet ofRepresentation, the court proceedings against Wilde provided aperfect opportunity to define publicly the authorized and legal limitswithin which a man could naturally enjoy the pleasures of his bodywith another man.Despite the fact that it was Wildes indiscrete homosexual behaviourand demeanour that led to his downfall, aspects of secrecy featureheavily in his literary works and certain narrative techniques aid tothe covert nature in which homoeroticism is often presented. To recap,by r elating same-sex friendships to aestheticism and ideals of beauty,Wilde is able to divert attention from aspects of homosexuality thatwould be otherwise be interpreted as immoral by Victorian society.Also, Wilde omits any direct reference or description of same-sexphysical relations and hardly even alludes to such activities. Thecontent of the narration and emphasis on aestheticism means that ahomoerotic reading of Dorian Gray is not immediately obvious at leastnot to a heterosexual readership. Therefore, homosexual love becomesthe love that cannot be spoken of and is fundamentally secretive.The secret language of homosexuality is particularly evident in TheImportance of Being Earnest, a play riddled with code words alluding tohomosexual behaviour. Karl Beckson argues that the title of the playis not only a pun on the name of Earnest, but is also a representationof same-sex love since the term Urning (a variant of the more commonlyused Uranian) referred to same-sex desire in fin-de -siecle London.Beckson also argues that Wildes use of the term bunburying as ameans for Algernon to escape responsibility also has Uranianimplications. With the action of bunburying being such a focal pointof The Importance of Being Earnest, this reading of the play suggest aserious preoccupation with the secret world of the homosexual. It isalso interesting to note that an unnamed critic in Time suggests thatBunburying was shorthand for a visit to a fashionable London malewhorehouse (2 February 1979, 73), an opinion reaffirmed by JoelFineman in 1980. Understandably, after the success of play thephrase bunburying became a commonly used term as same-sex slang.John Franceschina notes other code words used in the play as musical,effeminate, and aunty, all of them Victorian expressions for same-sexactivity. Yet, again Wilde diverts attention from a moral reading bywriting in a style that is based on farce and euphemism, a style thatrejects an immediate analytical reading.In her essay Di alectics of Dandyism, Elisa Glick observes theissue of secrecy within both modern and Victorian society and suggeststhat modern gay identity is pervaded by the trope of the secret.She pays particular interest to the dichotomy of appearance and whatlies beneath, in her words the opposition between outward appearanceand inner essence. This split between appearance and essence of apersons character and desires is central to Wildes portrayal ofhomosexuality, as illustrated by the character of Dorian Gray. Dorianis a contradiction of appearance and essence, with the portrait beingan omnipresent reminder of this. And to return to The Importance ofBeing Earnest, the very act of bunburying on Algernon Moncrieffs partsuggests a web of deceit where appearances are never compatible withreality.One might think that such a heavy reliance on secrecy might lead tosome resentment by those forced to hide their sexuality from anintolerant society, but in the case of Wildes dandies, this does notseem to be the case. In fact, such characters appear to activelyembrace a world of secrecy. If we equate Dorians portrait withhomosexuality, then we can read his response to the secrecy that isforced upon him as something of a guilty pleasure pride ofindividualism that is half fascination of sin, and smiling with secretpleasure at the misshapen shadow that had to bear the burden thatshould have been his own. This seems to suggest that throughsecrecy, a homosexual man can avoid all the negative consequences thatwould be thrust upon him by an offended Victorian society. Glickobserves that it the portrait is not just related to the secret worldof Dorian, but that it also functions on a wider scale, Wilde makes itclear that the portrait does not exhibit a single secret rather it isthe site for a circulation of secrecy in which all these characters Basil, Dorian, and Lord Henry are implicated. The portraittherefore, becomes a symbol of the secrecy of the homosexual man, whichis simultaneous ly associated with issues of aestheticism. Glick goeson to suggest that Basil expresses the sense of homosexuality as bothknown and unknowable the double bind of gay identity when hedeclares, I have come to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thingthat can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. Thecommonest thing is delightful if only one hides it.But just how realistically can homosexuality exist by these secretcodes of conduct? Just as Wilde suffers at the hands of an intolerantsociety, so does Dorian Gray struggle to live a life of doubleidentity. By the end of the novel it becomes clear that he issuspended between two worlds, with no lasting way of marrying the two.To return to the essay of Elisa Glick, Dorian must die when he stabsthe portrait because he can only exist in the relation between thepublic and the private, a relation that Wilde literalizes in theportrait and its subject. Right from the outset of The Picture ofDorian Gray we are presented with the conce pt of that part of anartists inspiration that remains secret and personal to them.Therefore, the portrait of Dorian Gray does not merely conceal thesecrets of Dorian, but also the secrets of the painter of the subject -the portrait is a mysterious form because its outward appearanceconceals its inner essence. it reveals the essence of both painterand painted. The secret desire hidden within the painting is broughtto our attention by Henrys shallow comment that the painting looksnothing like Basil the fact that his retort misses the point entirelymerely succeeds in enhancing our understanding that there is much moreof Basils desires and passion in the painting than is immediatelyobvious from its surface attributes. Interestingly, this revelationcontradicts the concept of appreciating art purely for its appearanceand with no relation to moral values. In many cases living by thesenses reveals much about the person, and experiences cannot be soeasily detached from emotion and personal feeling. For example, whenDorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane, Henry observes that out of itssecret hiding place had crept his Soul, and Desire had come to meet iton the way. Within the stereotypical lifestyles of the aesthetes,inner feeling will inevitably show its face and with it, bring at leasta fleeting ponder on moral values.Having analysed The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture ofDorian Gray with regard to elements of secrecy, both positive andnegative consequences of such an influence on homosexual lifestyle areapparent. But it is the story of The Happy Prince that puts Wildesfinal and definitive seal of opinion on the issue of secrecy. Once theswallow has sacrificed his life for the statue of the Prince, the twoTown Councillors far from understand the relationship between theswallow and prince, becoming preoccupied with the trivial matter of whoshould be the subject of the next statue. However, there is ultimatelya happy ending with the swallow and Prince receivin g recognition andacceptance from God, for in my garden of Paradise this little birdshall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shallpraise me. The relationship between Prince and Swallow does havehomoerotic undertones, with the Swallow often read as the dandycharacter, in this case fascinated by the beauty of the statue. Thehomoerotic aspect of the tale culminates in a kiss between the two,but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you. If we are toaccept a homoerotic reading of The Happy Prince then accordingly wecan read the ending as Wilde voicing his opinion of homosexuality asnatural and literally giving such a lifestyle the blessing of God. InThe Portrait of Dorian Gray, Wilde uses a similar technique whereby hepresents the character who can most easily be classified as homosexual,as the very character who is the most morally sensitive.However, a homoerotic reading of The Happy Prince, indeed of anyof Wildes literary works, relies on and is substantially influenced byour knowledge of Oscar Wildes personal life. This brings us to thefinal chapter of this dissertation, a chapter that will analyse therelationship between the writer and the narrator, and the effect ofthis relationship on aesthetic and homoerotic readings of Wildesfiction. Chapter 5 -Wilde the storytellerSo far we have looked mainly at The Importance of Being Earnest andThe Picture of Dorian Gray and we have touched upon the fact that it isoften difficult to read such works without considering the personallife of Oscar Wilde. A Victorian audience would have held someknowledge of Wilde, considering that he was an extremely sociablecharacter with social critiques often published in Reviews of thetime. And of course, his two years imprisonment would have beenwidely publicised and consequently common knowledge. There is no doubtthat it was around this time that heterosexual readers would havestruggled to accept the links that Wilde makes between aestheticism andhomosexualit y, fearing a similar fate merely for sharing thecharacteristics of aestheticism. Reading in the twenty-first centurywe now have the privilege of even further information on Wildesprivate life. The nineteenth century novel largely focused on the third person,omnipresent narrator, and in doing so inevitably drew attention to thepersona of the narrator and subsequently to the author himself. Wildeis no exception to this rule and it is difficult not to see his owncharacter or what we believe to be his own character shinethrough. As suggested in the previous chapter, it is not just thecondition of the artist to worship beauty, but also to allow his owncharacter and desires to become a part of his art. In the case of ThePortrait of Dorian Gray, our knowledge of Wilde as a dandy and aesthetecolours our interpretation of characters such as Lord Henry andDorian. Knowing what we do about Wildes extravagant social life andturbulent relationship with the press, lines such as You dont wantpeop le to talk of you as something vile and degraded spoken to Dorianby Basil, begin to take on more significant meaning. With this quotein mind, it is possible to read between the lines and observe a feelingin Wilde that he wishes somehow, outside of his literature not to belooked upon as vile and degraded. This desire for acceptance isoffset by the more typical tongue in cheek wit of Wilde, the use ofwhich diverts attention from serious emotions. This type of humour canbe seen in Dorians retort to Basil on hearing gossip, I love scandalsabout other people, but scandals about myself dont interest me. Theyhave not got the charm of novelty. It seems that Wilde isdeliberately poking fun at himself and joining in with the popularridicule that was present in Victorian society about the life of theaesthetic gentleman. Many cartoons and caricatures were in circulationat the time that sought to make fun of the extravagances of theaesthetic lifestyle. Numerous satirical works were also released ,worth particular mention is Robert Hitchens Green Carnation, asatirical novel on decadence influenced by the authors beliefs inaestheticism as unconventional and exhibitionist. The Importance ofBeing Earnest also has a farcical tone throughout, which often servesto allow the reader to question Wildes authority, whilst also allyingthe comments of certain characters with Oscar himself. For example, aline of Gwendolen appears to point directly at Wildes personal life,And certainly once a man begins to neglect his domestic duties hebecomes painfully effeminate, does he not? And I dont like that. Itmakes men so very attractive.However, many critics would argue that the very definition of fictiondictates that the reader should accept that there need not necessarilybe a connection between narrator and author. In the same way that anactor does not need to have experienced a similar history and lifestyleto the character they play, so too should we allow the writer to assumedifferent charact ers. This very point crops up in the story of ThePortrait of Mr W.H whereby the narrator argues that To say that only awoman can portray the passions of a woman, and that therefore no boycan play Rosalind, is to rob the

Allegory for War in Battle of the Ants by David Thoreau Essay example -

Allegory for War in Battle of the Ants by David ThoreauThe reading ledger that I chose was Battle of the Ants by David Thoreau. I chose this essay because I felt that it was a strongly written piece about a somewhat raise topic. When I first read it I was taken aback by its seemingly uninteresting nature of topic, but after I read it a couple more times I began to see its true beauty. The story is about government and war and depicted by ants battling to the death. The legions of Myrmidons covered all the hills and vales in my wood-yard, and the ground was already strewn with all the dead and dying, both the red and the black, the ants dally humans struggling for freedom and power. There are two types of ants the red ones who represent the rebellious soldiers fightin...

Mental Health State Essay -- Healthcare, Vision, Mental Health

funky vision sound judgements as a routine unremarkably include side history and psychophysical measurements. By adding mental health state and low vision caliber of life questionnaires during case history, a better quality of low vision rehabilitation sess be offered to low vision patients. Low vision rehabilitation is very rewarding because much can be offered to assist the low vision patients. We report a 43-years old female who had tractional retinal detachment secondary to diabetic retinopathy and how low vision rehabilitation can be improved by adding simple steps incorporating mental health state and quality of life questionnaire which can be measured objectively during case history in low vision assessment. As this case report shows, recognition of the mental health and quality of life impact on ocular impairment is very critical to institution of appropriate rehabilitation and referral for low vision patients. IntroductionCurrently, low vision assessment routine norm ally refer mainly the case history which includes the patients main complained, patients requirements, patients ocular history, patients general health plus medication, family history of ocular diseases and general health. The psychophysics measurement such as visual acuity (VA), refraction, visual field measurement, contrast sensitivity function test, assessment of anterior and posterior part of the eyes were the common examination conducted during low vision assessment (Jackson & Wolffsohn 2007). However, mental health state i.e The Depression Anxiety seek Scales (DASS) (Ramli et al. 2007) and Low Vision Quality of Life Questionnaires (LVQoL) (Walffsohn & Cochrane 2000) are not routine in case history during low vision assessment at Low Vision Clinic, U... ...sians. Asia Pac J Public Health 21(1)43-50.12.Norhani, M. & Suzainah, Y. 1998. Profile of low vision clinic population. Clinical and Experimental Optometry 81(5)198-20213.Ramli, M., Mohd Ariff, F. & Zaini, Z. Translation , validation and psychometric properties of Bahasa Malaysia version of the Depression, Anxiety and adjudicate Scale (DASS). ASEAN Journal Psychiatry 8(2)82-8914.Wolffsohn, J. S. & Cochrane, A. L. 2000. Design of the Low Vision Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (LVQOL) and Measuring the Outcome of Low-vision Rehabilitation. American Journal of Ophthalmology. 130(6)793-802.15.Zainal, M., Ismail, S. M., Ropilah, A. R., Elias, H., Arumugan, G., Alias, D., Fathilah, J. Lim, T. O., Ding, L. M. & Goh, P. P. 2002. Prevalence of blindness and low vision in Malaysian population results from the National Eye Survey 1996. Br J Ophthalmol. 86951-956

Graduate Study of Clinical Psychology :: Graduate Admissions Essays

Graduate Study of Clinical Psychology   My dedication to the field of psychology is evident in the various activities in which I am involved. I am a student affiliate of the American Psychological Association, as well as a student member of the Iowa Psychological Association. I shake been actively involved in the community as a volunteer workings with patients, families, and staff in the emergency room of a local hospital. I have been a devoted member of the psychology club for two years and am shortly serving my first year as an officer (Vice-president of Special Events). Finally, I have been a teaching assistant under the supervision of Dr. Frank Barrios, clinical psychologist, and Dr. jack Yates, cognitive psychologist, both of the University of Northern Iowa, where I have had such responsibilities as preparing and grading exams and essays, holding office hours, working with individual students, assisting students with assignments and presentations, and answering each ques tions students may have about the material. Not only do I feel confident about my preparation in psychology, I am also working toward a minor in sociology, acquiring knowledge of the human relations that exist between the individual and the community.   In addition to these activities, I have been involved in research under the supervision of Dr. Augustine Osman, clinical psychologist, University of Northern Iowa. Currently, I am working on three separate measures that will shortly be submitted for publication. One is an attempt to validate a measure concerning pain and is entitled, The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties. The second is an effort to narrate between anxiety and depression in a college sample. And the third is an attempt to differentiate between anxiety and depression in a clinical sample. apt(p) Dr. Osmans excellent record of previous publications, I fully expect for these articles to be accepted for publication and f or myself to be listed as co-author on all of them. done my experience with research, I have been involved in data entry and collection, interpretation of data using SPSS, as well as scoring of the MMPI-2.   To succeed applied experience in the field of clinical psychology, I decided to obtain an internship. To accomplish this, I approached the program facilitator of the mental health unit at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa. I spent the summer of 1996 carrying out this voluntary internship under the supervision of Dennis Feltz, LMHC, while gaining hands-on experience working with both the adolescent and the adult populations.

Segregration the Past, Present, And Future... :: essays research papers

"Know ye not why We created yo al from the same dust? That no one should extol himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since we have created you all from the same substance it is incumbent on you to be purge as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth, and dwell in the same land..."                              -God                                        Bahai Writing     Would God categorize his children? That is a dubiety that I believe most would give a simple and direct answer No. Would the United States categorize her children? Although the Amendment suggests that all men and women are created equal, the fact is that the citizens of the United States are constantly being classified by race, gender, and/or ethnicity. So, if indeed the United States is one nation under God, why do we extend to sort ourselves though unreasonable and unethical factors. The misinterpretation of race has shattered the American society and for all that it stands for. We should correct Americas immoral actions and assumptions that separate Gods children in intrust of reforming the United States toward equality.     Race has always been an American issue. When the Europeans landed on the New World and saw an indigenous person he immediately him or her a savage. In time, the original "savages" or inhabitants of the land were made an inferiority to the white men and later wiped out. But later on, a more deeper insatisfaction of race took place. The African-Americans were brought into the " supernumerary" America as slaves. They too were considered an inferiority race. The idea of "race" is a human creation (Hacker, 4). People of the world have given themselves names handle Caucasian, Anglo, Hispanic, Asian, and African-American. The names "Black" and "White" are quite exaggerated. It is obvious that no skin color even comes close to "Black" or to "White." Now tone is a distinction between people. Lack of smart character is what led us to a history too ugly to ever repeat itself.          I would say racism started when Christopher Columbus called the indian a "savage." Later on, it evolved when the African-Americans came to America. They were treated with much inferiority and humiliation. They were bought and sold like old furniture. It would take years earlier a man with the right power and courage would stand up for these e people. This man was Abraham Lincoln.

Isaiah 10:1-6 The Hebrews Prophets: Isaiah & Amos :: essays research papers

Isaiah 101-6 The Hebrews Prophets"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees , todeprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the loaded of mypeople. Making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you doon the day of the reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will yourun for help? Where will you leave your riches? zip fastener will remain but tocringe among the captives, of fall among the slain.. Yet for all this his angeris not turned away. His hand is still upraised. Woe to the Assyrian, the rodof my anger, in whose hand is the club of the wrath I send him against adeityless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot andsnatch, and to trampling them down like mud in the streets."These writings, from the enscriptures of the bible some say philosophical,inspire mystery, wonder and the relation to how true they are. I have amonotheistic way of thinking, though the bible is said to be the writings of theway of life of Moses and the Hebrews, I am puzzled by how certain writings furbish up to society, culture and the life of man and women today.As I try to decipher this passage in my own words of Isaiah. One is speaking ofthe oppression commit by man upon man. It is Jesus asking why man whom werecreated as brother and sister making unjustly laws...deprive the poor of theirrights...withhold the justice from the oppressed of my people.I strongly believe there is a judgment day. For all the wrongs committed insociety against one another and against oneself as the sacred body that be.Harming thy brethren, cleansing thy neighbor, steeling. All to satisfy the wantsfor themselves. It is all competitive. Part of my heritage being of BlackfootIndian descent, the way of life is to create and active life from the gifts ofnature in which thy God provided. I can almost guarantee the society todayliving of monetary value, would not know how to survive if everything all of asudden were interpreted away. A sudden exhausting rainfall, which flooded the cities,and devoured the homes, and cars, and other belongings. Some consider this tohappen on Judgment Day or the day of Reckoning. As a punishment for mancreating these evil doings.People today are so encompassed in the American Way of Living they cannotsacrifice for a minute to live without..forks, eating with thyne hands.