Rip’s Dependence on Society for Self-Identity Essay -- Rip Van Winkle

Rip’s Dependence on Society for Self-Identity    Rip Van Winkle   Ã‚  After falling asleep in the forest, a man returns to find his house abandoned, his town transformed his friends dead or missing and his own identity in serious doubt. Suddenly he recognizes his exact likeness walking down the street and for a moment he loses his identity. This is not a science fiction piece but rather the well known tale of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving. In the moment when Van Winkle sees his exact likeness walking up the mountain, he let's out an anguished cry, ". . .I can't tell what's my name, or who I am I am!" (Page 410) With that one statement we understand Van Winkle's predicament. Without his community to define him Van Winkle is lost, for he only exists through the eyes of others. To understand better Van Winkle's predicament we must first understand his character and how he was viewed by his community. Examining the text we find ample examples of both. Irving describes his main character as an amiable fool. As stated in the text Van Winkle is ". . . one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, which ever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound." (Page 404) He is also said to be a man who, "If left to himself would whistle his life away . . . " (Page 404) Clearly Van Winkle has little concern for the matters of getting ahead. Yet one has to look at how he fits into his rustic community to get a clearer impression of him. Although much satire is made of Van Winkle being a "henpecked husband", the story al... ...n to an "old woman" who finally comes forward and proclaims, "Sure enough! it is Rip Van Winkle -- it is himself." (Page 411) After her identification is corroborated by the elderly Peter Vanderdonk, Van Winkle is Van Winkle once more. Once he is identified, Van Winkle's place in the community is reinstated. In fact his status even improves to the point where he is considered, "one of the patriarchs of the village", for in their eyes he is now a town historian. The story of Van Winkle shows us how dependent he was on the community, without which he could not exist. His place within the society and the acknowledgment of others were crucial to how he defined himself. Works Cited: Irving, Washington. "Rip Van Winkle." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

Vershire Company

Though Vershire Company does not have explicit problems, it has a number of weaknesses in its systems. First is in the style of their budget preparation. Their sales budget preparation had little flexibility when it was already approved before the start of the year and were already fixed objectives. This kind of system has an advantage of pushing its managers to strive and meet the objective budgets. However, it is a disadvantage when there are unforeseen relevant costs that are inevitable and must be incurred during the year since there is a meticulous process in covering these costs, which also requires an explanation to the bosses why the budgets have not been met. Second is how the company treats its Plant/Manufacturing Department – being a Profit Center. This department only accomplishes orders that the Sales Department dictate, manufacturing the quality products at the lowest reasonable cost possible considering the nature of the competitive industry. However, their performance is evaluated through the profits that the department generates via its cost standards and cost reduction targets which is determined by the Industrial Engineering department. The assignment of the department as a cost center may be inconsistent with its objectives since the department itself is not the one determining the price and selling the products. Third is how the performance of the plant managers are evaluated. Since the Plant Department is treated as a profit center, the plant managers’ promotion and compensation is based on their profit performance. There can be a misalignment in the objectives in this setup because while the plant managers strive to put down the cost to achieve higher profits given the price set, they may sacrifice quality by choosing the lowest cost of materials or labor for production. In essence, the cost can be varied based on the price. Moreover, the performance of the plants are compared to each other regardless of their differences in their production. This is an inappropriate method of comparison and evaluation since one cannot totally compare plants with different objectives and environment operating in because there is no basis or a standard performance. Options and Recommendation Vershire Company can revise its budgeting system to an Incremental Budgeting System wherein an initial estimated budget is presented at the start of the year and can be flexible enough to accommodate changes within the year if necessary. Another option is to continue on the current budgeting system, however make necessary adjustments such as providing allocation or an allowance for contingency costs and allowing proposals for changes in the budgets for the next period to be presented during regular performance reports/reviews. This is a better option since it will still motivate the managers to adhere to the budget while allowing for some flexibility for unforeseen changes in the budget. Another action that Vershire Company could take is changing how the Plant Department is treated, from being a Profit Center to an Expense Center to more appropriately match its objectives in lowering the company’s expenses as the product quality allows. Measurement of performance is not anymore how much profit the plant generates but how fast it manufactures the products, how low the cost of the materials and labor are, and the quality of its products. Treating the Plant Department as an Expense Center can give way to the Sales Department to be treated as a Profit Center wherein they can price the product in accordance to the costs set by the plant. Incentives along with this are the promotion and compensation of the sales managers tied with their profit performance. Such can align each department in its appropriate objectives and will be motivated to achieve it, having their goals congruent to that of the company’s.

Use of Imagery in Chopin’s The Awakening Essay - 749 Words

Use of Imagery in Chopin’s The Awakening Several passages in The Awakening struck me because of their similar imagery—a bird, wings, and nudity. The first passage I looked at is in Chapter 9 where Edna Pontellier has a vision of a naked man â€Å"standing beside a desolate rock† (47) on a beach who is watching a bird fly away. This image was evoked by a one particular piece that Mme Ratignolle plays which Edna significantly calls â€Å"Solitude. † Apparently Edna frequently envisions certain images while listening to music: â€Å"Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking pictures in her mind† (47). Listening to this piece Edna envisions a solitary, naked man with an â€Å"attitude [†¦] of hopeless resignation† (47). This scene presents solitude†¦show more content†¦We find the same imagery of somebody standing solitary and naked on a beach. Throughout the novel Edna has searched for someone to be close to and the only one she thought she could find that closeness w ith was Robert Lebrun. The words of his note â€Å"Good-by—-because I love you† (139) are still on her mind when she is swimming out into the ocean. She has finally accepted that there will not be a union of souls for her with anybody and that everybody is alone in the end. In the scene Edna had envisioned earlier the man was watching a bird flying away. At the end of he novel there is a bird as well, however, here it has a broken wing and is â€Å"beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water† (138). This passage reminded me of a scene earlier in the novel where Edna tells Arobin about her last encounter with Mademoiselle Reisz that has left her thinking about something the pianist had said to her: â€Å"She says queer things sometimes in a bantering way that you don’t notice at the time and you find yourself thinking about afterward.† Edna tells Arobin: â€Å"[S]he put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong, she said. ‘The bird that would sour above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see weaklingsShow MoreRelatedThe Unique Style Of Kate Chopin s Writing1603 Words   |  7 PagesThe unique style of Kate Chopin’s writing has influenced and paved the way for many female authors. Although not verbally, Kate Chopin aired political and social issues affecting women and challenging the validity of such restrictions through fiction. 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