Underachievement: African Carribean

Underachievement: African Carribean Underachievement African Caribbean Abstract This study discusses various issues related to under achievement of African-Caribbean or Black boys in British schools. The study highlights the fact that there is a denial in the British educational system of race and racism and that this is reflected in the in-flexibility of many schools to consider the differential positioning of Black boys in the UK and the effect of their experiences in the school system and opportunities gained thereafter in the workplace. In sum the study shows that there is clear evidence that African-Caribbean pupils have not shared or have been received equally in the increasing rates of average educational performance at various academic platforms. Chapter 1: Introduction Boys’ underachievement has been a major concern within academic circles and among government bodies (Gorard, Gillborn) for quite a while. Ofsted 1996 highlighted the gap between the performance of boys and girls as the attainment continued to lower for boys as they move along the key stages. Coard explores some of the issues that black children faced three decades ago. Some of the abysmal failure of black children within the British school system includes: Racist policies and practices of the education authorities in the past Racism within the curriculum itself Low teacher expectation and how destructive a force this could be Inadequate black parental knowledge of and involvement in what was happening to their children (Coard 1971). According to Coard, black children were deemed as Educationally Sub-Normal (ESN) and were excluded from mainstream. This issue coupled with racist policies and curriculum and low teacher expectation caused most of these children to encounter emotional disturbances which in the long run affected their overall performance of black children in Britain. Despite the odds, in the late 1960s and 1970s some black children were able to make it academically but the majority were not so lucky (Coard 1971). Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to investigate the educational experiences of African-Caribbean boys in the UK. The main focus will be to identify the factors that have contributed to the poor academic performance of Black Boys over the years. Furthermore, this work would investigate the claim that there is a denial in the British educational system of race and racism and that this is reflected in the inflexibilityof many schools to consider the differential positioning ofBlack boys in the UK and the effect of their experiences in the school system and opportunities gained thereafter in the workplace. This work will draw on a study in which various stakeholders voice e.g. (Tony Sewell) their experiences of why Black Boys in Britain perform poorly in schools and alsoseek to identify alternative visionsof schooling to re-engage Black males thereby increasing their prospect for a successful future. Research Questions What is the relationship between under achievement and social exclusion of black boys studying in UK schools? How are schools dealing with the issue of student underachievement of black students studying in UK institutions? Are all black boys underachieving? Significance of the Study This study is quite significant as it shows that high under-achievement rates are not just an issue for black pupils. In 2005-2006 the permanent under-achievement rate for special schools was 0.54% compared with 0.34% for secondary and 0.04% for primary schools; overall, pupils with statements of special educational need were seven times more likely to be excluded from school than pupils without statements (DCSF, 2007). Other groups who are over-represented in the statistics include children looked after by local authorities and children from Gypsy and traveller families, despite the behaviour of travelling pupils being generally good (OFSTED, 2006b). Links have been made between school under-achievement and long-term social under-achievement (Blyth Milner, 2003), as have links between school under-achievement and juvenile crime (Graham Bowling, 2005; Gilbertson, 2005); these links are also recognised by government as a policy issue (Social Under-achievement Unit, 2005). For many pupils permanent under-achievement from school marks the end of their formal education: a recent report by the Audit Commission (2006) suggests that only 15% of permanently excluded secondary pupils return to mainstream schooling. Chapter 2: Literature Review A review of the literature on student under achievement highlights the fact that ethnic monitoring of under-achievement was first introduced by the DCSF in the 2004-2005 national schools census. Data from that census indicates that although `Black Caribbean pupils form only 1.1% of the school population they represented 7.3% of those excluded from school and were around six times more likely to be excluded than their White peers. The disproportionate under-achievement of black boys is a particularly serious problem because overall many more males than females are excluded: official statistics show the ratio to be 4.3 boys for each excluded girl. Nevertheless, within the female school population, girls identified as `Black Caribbean are also particularly vulnerable to under-achievement: the school census shows they accounted for 8.8% of excluded girls in 2004-2005 (DCSF, 2006) and are thus eight times more likely to be excluded than might be suggested by the ethnic composition of schools. There is also evidence that African-Caribbean pupils have not shared equally in the increasing rates of average educational performance at GCSE. An OFSTED-commissioned review of research on the achievements of ethnic minority pupils over a 10 year period up to 2005 concludes that the relatively lower exam achievements of Caribbean pupils, especially boys in a wide range of academic and LEA research studies is a cause for concern. The research evidence suggests that ‘A combination of gender and racial stereotypes may make it more difficult for young black men to avoid being caught up in cycles of increasingly severe criticism and control’ (Gillborn Gipps, 2006, pp. 29 and 58). For black families rising under-achievement rates, combined with boys relatively low levels of achievement in public examinations, amount to an educational crisis. Under-achievement and Special Educational Needs It has been suggested (for example, Norwich, 2004; Parffrey, 2004) that in some schools children may be excluded when it is required as assessment and provision for special educational needs (SEN). Analysis of permanent under-achievement from Birmingham schools during the 2006-2007 school year indicated that 53% of those excluded were on the schools special needs register. The Code of Practice relating to special educational needs (DfE, 2004a) requires schools to draw up an individual education plan (IEP) for a child identified as having SEN and outlines a series of stages in which the school is responsible, in co-operation with support agencies, for meeting these needs. It can be argued from a personal experience and evidence from an interview with a teacher that most of the black boys that are underachieving are SEN children who comes under social emotional and behavioural difficulties and probably that is why they are underachieving because the have not been diagnosed for IEP to be made on them yet. These are pupils whose learning and/or behavioural difficulties may be placing stress on teachers but for whom the amount of additional support is limited. It is possible that some of these childrens needs might have been met and under-achievement avoided if the school had been able to access appropriate additional support at an earlier stage. Although official national statistics recognise the over-representation of children with SEN among those excluded from school, these statistics only count excluded pupils with a statement of special education need and thus record pupils with SEN as a minority (17%) of all under-achievements (DCSF, 2007). Analysis of the Birmingham data, which allows us to consider all pupils on the special needs register, indicates that over half the children permanently excluded from Birmingham schools have identified special educational needs. If this pattern is replicated across the country, then it seems likely that the extent to which unmet special educational needs may be contributing to the problem of under-achievement has been under-estimated. It is possible that some LEAs with low proportions of children assessed as having special educational needs, both overall and from particular ethnic groups, may not be identifying children in need of SEN support. Where this correlates with high under-achievement rates, there is reason to suspect that neglected learning difficulties may lie behind some of the disciplinary problems. Ethnicity and Reducing Under-achievement An analysis of the number of groups under-achieving per secondary school over the three year period 2001-2003 with the number of under-achievement in the three years 2004-2006, in order to identify schools which had reduced the number of pupils permanently excluded in Birmingham, show a reduction in the number of pupils excluded over this period, from an average of 11 to an average of seven per school. Those secondary schools which had reduced their use of permanent exclusion had, overall, cut under-achievement by nearly half for all ethnic groups. This suggests that where schools had developed policies for reducing under-achievement, these had been equally effective for all ethnic groups. Nevertheless, this still left black pupils to be over-represented among the under-achievement from these schools. The evidence suggests that if the problem of over-representation of black pupils is to be addressed and racial equality achieved then strategies which specifically address the needs of these children are important. Since African-Caribbean pupils formed some 28% of excluded pupils and only 8% of the school population in Birmingham, I wished to argue whether this might be because African-Caribbean pupils are more likely to attend schools with high under-achievement rates. A total of 14 schools with high under-achievement rates, i.e. schools which had permanently excluded 30 or more pupils in the 6 year period 2001-2006, were identified (two of them grant maintained schools). Of these, 11 had an African-Caribbean population of 8% or less and the other three had higher proportions of African-Caribbean children than for the city as a whole, ranging from 11 to 33%. Sewell (1998), mentions that African-Caribbean boys were six times more likely to be excluded from school as compared to the other group. Furthermore there are argument that these black boys were seen to be conformists in that they were seen to be accepting both the means and goals of schooling but they are most likely to be excluded. There is evidence of an interview with a black boy on page 113 which goes further to prove that not all boys are the same. This particular point is important to my research as there seems to be the assertion that all black boys are underachieving and this is what this research seeks to address. Sewell unpacks some of the oversimplification that exists in the current debate about boys’ underachievement. He goes further to describe boys as ‘a tip of the iceberg in a doomsday scenario within the school’. There seems to be a link between gender identity and anti-school attitude which makes peer group pressure which is sensitive in boys to allow the generalization to be made about boys as unified lumps, in this content as underachieving academically Identifying Good Practice The study sought to understand teachers and head teachers attitudes and approaches to under-achievement and to equal opportunities. Previous research studies have tended to ignore teachers perspectives and the ways in which under-achievement merge into the lives of schools (Gillborn Gipps, 2006), although Haydens (2007) study of children excluded from primary schools does consider the perspectives of both head teachers and class teachers of excluded pupils. My study addressed schools with low or declining under-achievement rates with the aim of identifying good practice in minimising the practice of under-achievement. In particular, I wished to establish whether teachers in the case study schools felt supported in managing difficult or challenging pupil behaviour or whether a low under-achievement rate might be masking other problems and causing stress to individuals working in these schools. Where schools are able to avoid under-achievement we wished to identify the alternative strategies they adopt. Teachers Explanations of Rising Under-Achievement Rates Teachers and head teachers in the case study schools were not asked about the impact of recent educational reforms, but as they reflected on pupil behaviour and their own attitudes to excluding pupils they made regular reference to the changing social policy context in which they are working. They referred frequently to the impact which market forces in education have made on school discipline, increased teacher workloads, changed parental expectations and to how the National Curriculum had limited the scope for schools to meet individual needs and address pupils personal and social behaviour. They broadly agree with Charlton David (2003), Blyth Milner (2004), and Hevey (2004) and Hayden (2007) that increased competition between schools for pupils’ and resources is a key underlying reason for a general rise in under-achievement. As Parffrey (2004) argues, Naughty children are bad news in the market economy. No one wants them. They are bad for the image of the school, they are bad for the league tables, they are difficult and time-consuming, and they upset and stress the teachers. The teachers believed that although schools were all experiencing similar conditions, some had resisted excluding pupils who presented problems. In that have lower excluding rate such as their own, when teachers were working with numbers of children with behavioural difficulties, they argued that the costs of maintaining higher thresholds of tolerance were felt by teachers themselves, in terms of teacher stress and fatigue. Many teachers in the study, notably those in primary schools who have responsibility for the whole curriculum, believed that the National Curriculum has led schools to accept a narrow view of education and, as Gray et al. (2004) have suggested, that it has diminished the importance of personal and social education. They indicated that curriculum pressures and demands for additional record keeping leave them with little time to support a disruptive child or to develop appropriate alternative materials for children with learning difficulties. This in turn can lead to frustration and consequent disruption among such children if they are unable to succeed in the tasks set. Teachers set these difficulties within the context of wider social problems facing childrens families, notably unemployment and poverty. They suggested that pressures faced by children in school, allied to difficulties which a number of them were experiencing out of school and young peoples belief that schooling might not support them in finding future work, were having an impact on their motivation, even at primary level: We are into the second generation of children whose parents have not worked. A lot of the original reasons why people toed the line are not there any longer and I think that a lot of the children in our school are living in situations where there does not seem an awful lot of point [to education]. Everyone wants to achieve in some form, but I feel at home and at school they are not seeing opportunities for themselves as individuals. Some of the traditional motivations are not there. So weve got to look at alternatives. Where we become negative its because of tiredness, its because of workload, its because of the amount of curriculum we have to cover. Weve lost sight of making it interesting. (Primary teacher) Interestingly, none of the teachers suggested that the removal of corporal punishment as a possible disciplinary option had contributed to discipline problems, and ultimately to the increasing use of under-achievement as a sanction, as did a number of the teachers and parents in Haydens (2007) study of excluded children. Teachers Understandings of Racial Equality Some teachers also argued that pressures to meet the demands of the National Curriculum had led to an approach where teachers often fail to consider whether or not the content of lessons builds upon particular childrens experiences and cultures. This would lead some children to feel neglected or marginalised and thus more likely to become disaffected. One teacher argued that an inappropriate curriculum was part of the solution, as was inadequate teacher training, but felt that teacher expectations played a central role: The over-representation of African-Caribbeanboys (among those excluded) is a very complicated issue. However, I think expectations make a big difference, and I think we do tend, however well intentioned, to see a black boy and think they are going to be trouble. A lot of this is down to the media and how they over emphasise issues about black boys, the society in general as well as other research findings. I think that one of the problems is that after a long period of dependency (on National Curriculum requirements) and considering new teachers now, there is a whole generation of teachers who are sent into schools without the grounding of making decisions about what is appropriate for example SEN issues in the class (experience from supply teaching) These teachers comments about a generation of teachers being inadequately prepared to make decisions about appropriate curriculum content within the context of a culturally diverse classroom was supported by a number of newly qualified teachers. Such teachers reported that they wished to develop multicultural approaches but lacked training in this area and were unaware as to where they might find suitable materials. (Birmingham report 2004) Head teachers generally showed themselves to be more aware of issues relating to cultural diversity and racial equality than class teachers. Parffrey (2004) points out that schools in Canada and the USA do not exclude children since schooling is recognised as the means by which children realise their basic human right to education. According to research studies on teachers understating of racial equality none of the teachers or head teachers interviewed in the case study schools supported the abolition of permanent under-achievement, although all heads saw it as a last resort. A number characterised it as a failure on the part of the school: `I would say permanent under-achievement is a defeat (secondary head teacher). Some head teachers recalled their personal sense of failure and distress as they recounted the experience of permanently excluding a pupil. Nevertheless, all the head teachers, including the two primary headsone of whom had never excluded and the other who had excluded only two pupils in 20 years as head teacheradvocated retaining permanent under-achievement as an ultimate sanction: Behaviour Policies Most school had developed its own system of rewards and sanctions which were generally explicit in the behavioural code. The aim is to provide a structure of support for difficult pupils, with a system of rewards and a full range of lesser sanctions so that permanent under-achievement was, where possible, avoided: There is some evidence (for example, Holland Hamerton, 2004) that even within schools there can be inconsistency in the types of offence for which pupils are, and are not, excluded. Such inconsistency might, in certain circumstances, allow sanctions to be applied in a discriminatory way. However, it could be argued that policies listing particular offences as leading to under-achievement should be avoided, as they could place heads in the position of having to exclude a pupil when mitigating circumstances might make under-achievement inappropriate. While this might mean treating the same offence differently when committed by different pupils or groups of pupils, it could also reduce the rate of under-achievement. It is essential that clear explanations of school policy are made to both pupils and parents, so they can see the justice of a schools approach. In some cases of under-achievement from school, teacher inexperience or lack of skills or training in managing difficult pupil behaviour may play a part (OFSTED, 2006a). A lot of the behavioural problems that exist , and I do not think there are many, are due to the fact that the whole staff have not got together to go over the approach to aspects of misbehaviour in real depth. So what I think is happening for example, if a member of staff does something inappropriate-this is not criticise a kid gets into the situation where the school has to send them home. But I think if we could change the approach in the classroom more, this would happen less. At the moment we have to react to situations and also we are trying to send a message to the students about the standards that are required of them. Pastoral Care and Mentoring In a case study of schools, (Birmingham city council 2004) particularly in the secondary schools, they felt that school discipline was directly related to the degree of respect which was shown to them by teachers and also to the level of support they received from teachers. A number stressed the importance of giving pupils occasional opportunities for individual tutorials with a teacher at which they might raise personal or academic concerns. Effective pastoral care systems were also highlighted by a number of head teachers as contributing to good discipline and self-discipline among pupils. At some schools the behaviour policy was incorporated within the schools pastoral policy: Managing difficult behaviour and developing discipline is to do with the whole school ethos. We are in the business of caring and supporting; therefore we do whatever we can. We are in the business of being fair. Another thing looked at was how to reinforce positive behaviour. (Head teacher, secondary school) Some schools had worked hard to ensure that their Personal and Social Education curriculum allowed all pupils to reflect on issues of their personal conduct. For example, some had introduced a mentoring programme for pupils who were presenting problems or who were disaffected. In one secondary school, a group of African-Caribbean boys who had been regularly in trouble and were perceived as vulnerable to under-achievement were being informally mentored by the (white male) head teacher. On the other hand, an African-Caribbean man could be invited to lead weekly sessions with African-Caribbean boys. Another aim was to raise self-esteem, and we be bring in consultants to work with the pupils on half-day conferences, to get them thinking about Where do I want to be in three or four or five years time?. (Head teacher, Birmingham school) Equal Opportunities Policy and Practice One explanation for the over-representation of African-Caribbean pupils within the under-achievement statistics is racism. The suggestion is not that most teachers operate in overly racist ways but that deep-seated stereotypes held by teachers and school governors may lead to black children being seen as having behavioural difficulties. Bridges (2004) suggests that with additional pressures on black families from high levels of unemployment, cuts in social spending, racial harassment and social dislocation imposed on their family and community life it is hardly surprising that some black children present themselves as aggressive in school, as this is a stance that society outside has taught them is necessary for survival. Stifling (2003), in her research into the causes of under-achievement , found that race often featured as a background issue and that although schools think they treat all their pupils the same and do not exclude black pupils unfairly, they do not take into account the factors which have caused the unacceptable behaviour, particularly racial harassment by other pupils. She concludes: Throughout the course of my research I have found evidence of open racism demonstrated by staff in schools to be uncommon. Far more common is the racial harassment of a black child by a white peer group. A government-commissioned study to establish why some schools appear more effective in managing pupil behaviour and avoiding under-achievement also highlighted racism, in the area if not in the school, as one of the problems likely to be experienced by excluded pupils (OFSTED, 2006a). Community and Support Services Previous research has suggested that in many cases of under-achievement , support from outside the school has been lacking, while the support provided within school has been to help the teacher cope, rather than to help pupils overcome their problems (Abbotts Parsons, 2003). A case study schools drew on a wide range of outside support agencies, including voluntary agencies, independent consultants and LEA support services. However, they noted that resources for LEA services were often limited and that they may not always be available for all pupils who need them. One community-based initiative which has been welcomed by a number of Birmingham schools is the KWESI project (Klein, 2006), a mentoring project run by black men which targets black boys judged to be vulnerable to under-achievement . The mentors enter into a partnership with schools to support individual children and KWESI asks its volunteers and participating schools to adopt a no blame approach, so that both parties work for the best interests of the child. Although none of the case study schools was working directly with KWESI, evidence suggests that the scheme has been influential beyond the schools where volunteers are working. It has made head teachers aware of the need to address the disproportionate under-achievement of African-Caribbean boys and may have contributed to a change in the climate of opinion. The Role of the LEA There is a clear role for LEAs in providing feedback to schools on the patterns and trends in exclusions and the impact on under-achievement. Monitoring of exclusions varied considerably among schools. Some head teachers, for example, did not have the data to discuss numbers of fixed term exclusions in relation to permanent exclusions nor any evidence as to whether fixed term exclusions helped to prevent permanent exclusions. The desirability of recording and monitoring action taken to support vulnerable pupils was also stressed by a number of schools. Birmingham LEA currently provides support for schools own monitoring by analysing their records to highlight any patterns in under-achievement by ethnic group and sex. A school wishing to monitor under-achievement thoroughly would need to collect and analyse data for both fixed term and permanent exclusions by sex, ethnic group, special educational needs, socio-economic background (for example, by entitlement to free school meals) and year group. Schools can record additional data which might indicate a need for changes in practice or school policies; for example, noting the pupil’s and teachers who are involved in incidents leading to under-achievement. LEAs might provide guidance in such matters and put schools in touch with schools in similar circumstances who have found solutions to particular difficulties. Head teachers of schools with low under-achievement rates often feel penalised if they are asked to accept pupils excluded from other schools. Head teachers also suggested that the LEA might impose a ceiling on the number of previously excluded pupils a school should be expected to take within a given period, thus protecting the support and resources available for difficult pupils within any one school. According to a research a school had received a small grant from the LEA to assist with the integration of excluded pupils. Although the head argued the money had not stretched far, this was seen as a gesture of goodwill. Such funds can support an induction programme which might include additional supervision and support from outside agencies. Other support for reintegration might include allocation of a special teacher-tutor and the development of a peer group mentoring scheme. Within LEAs there is also a need for greater collaboration between those who address the needs of vulnerable children and curriculum and advisory services which have particular expertise regarding equal opportunities and race equality issues. In many LEAs responsibility for under-achievements rests with an individual or service responsible for special educational needs; in such a situation questions of structural or unintended racism or possible racial discrimination are likely to have low priority if they are on the agenda at all. The West Midlands Under-achievement Forum, set up to bring together representatives from nine LEAs to share expertise and develop policies and strategies to minimise school under-achievement, is a good example of inter-LEA co-operation. It is not just at the level of policy development that such co-operation is important. For children living in one area but attending school in a neighbouring LEA there are sometimes difficulties in the co-ordinated provision of services. Chapter 3: Methodology Research Method For this study I have utilised the qualitative research approach. Qualitative research is much more subjective than quantitative research and uses very different methods of collecting information, mainly individual, in-depth interviews and focus groups. However, since this research study is a secondary qualitative research the data that has been collected for qualitative analysis has been through an extensive review of literature that has been published in the field in the past few years. Secondary research is often less costly than surveys and is extremely effective in acquiring information about peoples communication needs and their responses to and views about specific communication. It is often the method of choice in instances where quantitative measurement is not required. For the purpose of this project the qualitative interview is the perfect approach to take using semi structured interviews. Quantitative research involves counting and measuring of events and performing the statistical analysis of a numerical data (Smith, 1988). The assumption behind this is that there is an objective truth existing that can be measured and explained significantly. The main concerns of the quantitative approach are that, their measurement is reliable, valid and generalisable in its clear prediction of cause and effect (Cassell and Symon, 1994). Primary Data was collected first through interviews. Merriam (1994) said that; Interviews are the best form of collecting evidence if the researcher wants to find out facts that cannot be observed. The student used semi-structured int

Amazon analysis Essay

1. Introduction Amazon is the world’s largest e-commerce company. It was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 (Amazon, n.d.) and the website went online on July 16, 1995 (Webley, 2010). Amazon has its headquarter in Seattle, Washington and several offices on all continents. (Amazon, n.d.) At the beginning Amazon sold only books and after a period of development they expanded into a wider range of products such as multimedia products, household items, toys, clothing, jewellery, sporting goods and grocery (Amazon, n.d.). In the following the business strategy of Amazon is analysed in regard to a theoretical background. First of all, Amazon’s strategy is examined in terms of Porter’s Five Forces and Generic Strategies. Moreover, Amazon’s internationalisation strategy is examined including the obstacles they might face in their development process and how those can be overcome. Furthermore, economic theory is used to evaluate the aspects of market power and competition. 2. Analysis of Amazon 2.1. Amazon in Porter’s frameworks 2.1.1. Porter’s Five Forces It can be recommended to organisations to analyse the environment they operate in. This can be done on several levels such as the macro-environment, industry, competitors and the organisation itself. When analysing the industry the model of Porter’s Five Forces is an appropriate tool. It includes the five competitive forces threat of entry, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers and competitive rivalry. Figure 1: The five forces framework (Tanbots, n.d.) Threat of entry describes the level of barriers that need to be overcome by new entrants in an industry. The typical barriers are (Johnson, Whittington, & Scholes, 2011): Scale and experience Access to supply and distribution channels Expected retaliation Legislation or government action Differentiation In the case of Amazon the barrier scale and experience is the most significant. Amazon is the largest online retailer (Netonomy.NET, 2013). As a consequence they operate on a very large scale which results in economies of scale and other cost advantages. For a new entrant it would be very difficult to achieve this from scratch as this would requires large amounts of investment. As a new competitor in this sector does not have those cost advantages it is very likely that they have to charge higher prices. Amazon is in business for almost 18 years now which is comparable long for any online company. During this time they were able to build up a lot of valuable experience which is likely to be reflected in their cost curve as well. â€Å"A substitute performs the same or a similar function as an industry’s product by a different means.† (Porter, The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy, 2008) The threat of a substitute is high when it offers an attractive price-perf ormance ratio and when the buyer’s switching costs are low. (Porter, The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy, 2008) Switching costs are very low because it does not make a difference to the customer where they buy their books, music downloads or kitchen appliances just to name a few. The product is either the same or very  similar. So customers have the free choice where they want to purchase their products. However, there might be high emotional switching costs as customers built up a high loyalty in the past. Amazon makes use of this with their Kindle for example. There are many e-book readers available but when a customer purchases the Kindle they are also going to purchase their e-books from Amazon because then switching costs would be high as they would need a different e-book reader. This is a mean for Amazon to counteract the threat of substitutes. Suppliers can put pressure on companies by either reducing the quality of the good or service or by raising prices. The bargaining power of suppliers is high when one or more of several key elements are given such as the industry is dominated by only a few suppliers, the product is unique or differentiated and the industry is not an important customer of the supplier. (Porter, How competitive forces shape strategy, 1979) In the case of Amazon the bargaining po wer of suppliers is limited. On the one hand the power of suppliers is high because Amazon depends from their suppliers in the sense that books for example are usually not offered by a large number of different publishing companies. The same is true for the multimedia sector. So those suppliers could increase prices. On the other hand with Amazon being the largest online retailer it is a major customer of the industry. Publishing companies for example cannot risk to lose Amazon as a customer. Customers can pressure the companies to reduce prices, increase quality of the product or service and play competitors off against each other if they have a high bargaining power. (Porter, How competitive forces shape strategy, 1979) The key issue in the case of Amazon is that most of their products are standard and undifferentiated. As a lot of competitors in the online market as well as in the high street sector offer the same or very similar products customers can easily play competitors off against each other or demand lower prices. Due to those facts customers have a fairly high bargaining power. Rivalry among existing competitors is very high as Amazon has not only to compete with other online shops but also with high street retailers. Amazon offers a wide range of products and they are faced with different competitors across their product categories. There is only one factor that differentiates Amazon from the other retailers which is that Amazon offers such an immense range of products. 2.1.2. Generic Strategies Companies can develop a competitive advantage either in having lower costs than competitors or by product differentiation so that customers are willing to pay higher prices for that unique characteristic. The strategies that are developed to achieve this can either focus on the broad or narrow scope. (Johnson, Whittington, & Scholes, 2011) Figure 2: Generic Competitive Strategies (Burgeen, 2013) With Amazon being the largest online retailing company it is clear that they focus on the broad scale and try to target as many customers as possible. The two possible strategies to develop a competitive advantage are therefore cost leadership or differentiation. Most of the goods and services that are sold by Amazon are standardised and undifferentiated. As Amazon does not produce the goods they sell it is not possible to develop a competitive advantage in terms of a differentiation strategy. As Amazon operates on such a large scale which makes it possible to achieve economies of scale and with some degree of bargaining power towards their suppliers it is quite obvious that cost leadership most likely to be the strategy that Amazon pursues that the moment. However, Amazon is always seeking to develop something unique mostly in the area of customer service. At the moment, they are developing a drone that could deliver small packages to the customers in 30 minutes or less (Amazon, n.d.). This unique service is a mean of differentiation to other online stores for which customers are certainly willing to pay a higher price. This strategy of cost leadership and developing new unique features can ensure that Amazon maintains their competitive advantage. 2.2. Modes of entry The selection of transactional corporation of entry modes was impacted by a variety of integrated factors. These multinational firms have the advantages of technology, scale and fund to entry a new market and area (Chan et al., 1992), for the party to accept, these multinational companies not only promote the development of economic and technology, but also bring a lot of employment opportunities for these new market. And at the same time, for the party of multinational companies which will extend a new area, and scale for their business, fuse with the local technology habit and culture can also  make the company become more diversified, bring more benefit for the company. Like the Amazon, which include 3 subsidiary corporations respectively are Alexa Internet, A9 and Internet Movie Database, IMDB. And its development strategy is vigorously develop enterprise diversification, make it more competitive and better integrated into the international market. In the theory of entry model, there have several points which respectively are Licensing or franchising, Joint venture, and Wholly owned subsidiary. 2.2.1. Licensing or franchising For the part of licensing or franchising, which means the franchise owners in the form of the contract, franchisees are allowed to be paid for the use of its name, trademark, proprietary technology, operational and management experience to carry out commercial activities. Since Amazon as an E-commerce sale platform and already involved with a number of product areas, then which can cooperate with other product firms, especially when they entry a new country of market, collaborate with the local enterprise and brand which was known by native is the fastest way to fit in these market, and also these Products manufacturer named amazon’s name will lead to better development. But the barrier of licensing or franchising is also exists, for example, these franchise and franchisee business ideas and products form may not conform to the principle of amazon’s brand, then these differences about management idea may be will bring conflicts and contradictions to each other. Then in order to prevent problem like this happened, Amazon on the aspect of international development should make full of investigation and examination before cooperation when they prepare to into a new market of country to avoid these problems. 2.2.2. Joint venture At the part of Joint venture, when an enterprise prepare to entry a new market, shall make a research about the condition of this industry in this market, whether have the condition for the development or already over-saturated. So how to competition with local enterprise, how to be accepted by native and how to stand out are the most important problems that Amazon should be consider, and with the object of joint venture may also produce interest on the friction. But through joint venture will save lots of cost and time on the part of adjustment period, Amazon can use a certain  technology, experience and talent which come from the object of cooperation. Reduce the risk caused by the poor preparation, distribute respective benefits at the same time, and also can draw appropriate management experience and local development, lay the foundation for the next market. 2.2.3. Wholly owned subsidiary In addition to Licensing or franchising, Joint venture, there is a better way of freedom to control which is Wholly owned subsidiary. It refers to a subsidiary fully owned or controlled by only one parent company, and there are exist two ways to set up subsidiary: first is set up a new firm from the beginning and construct a new set of production equipment; second is purchase an existing firm and its equipment. So Amazon should also develop like the other transactional corporations, through after a long period of survey and investigation about the condition of development in this area, through the acquisition of local companies or set up a new subsidiary to complete the integration with the local market, for example, amazon used to announced a $75 million deal to buy â€Å"joyo.com†, will be for amazon joyo, under a wholly owned subsidiary in China(Wang, 2012), which rely on the strong platform and group advantage of Amazon, so in the management and operational funds aspects w ithout having worry. But the through this way will spent a huge of money, then Amazon should planning in this aspect prudently, comprehensive estimation its operating situation and development prospect. Establish a wholly owned subsidiary of the company also need to take a lot of resources, so the risk what faced by Amazon may be high. One of source of risk is the target market of political or social uncertain or instability, and some risks like these may cause harm on company material property and personal safety when it become more serious, as long as fully understand the targets market of customer before they entering, the parent company will decrease these risks. 3. Individualized Pricing 3.1. Analysis of individualized pricing With the advent of online retailers and comparison sites, product price becomes more transparent for consumers. In order to effectively promote products in sales, enterprises must develop effective strategies of pricing  for the market, such as individualized pricing. In the age of electronic commerce, production can be product personalized service. So the individualized pricing also appears. Individualized pricing let consumers to choose the individualized products they wanted and pay the price. Although personalized pricing can enhance profits largely, many companies still hesitate that customers will feel the individualized pricing is unfair. There is a case about ‘Amazon’, which is an online shopping company. In 2000, customers have found that Amazon charge different prices to different people. For the some one DVD, the price to new customer is lower than that to old customers by four dollars. Amazon’s explanation is that this is a random discount for differ ent customers. Based on customer’s response to discount, company re-measures the price of products for each customer. From the result, the customer feels that they buy more frequently, the price become lower. This makes regular customers satisfied. It is obvious that the company want to compete with other opponents by using the strategy of individualized pricing. Today, customers can compare the products from different stores. Then, they can buy the necessary goods online at a lower price. In recent years, the only way to ensure efficient pricing is to use a dynamic way such as the individualized pricing. This means that retailers need to understand the value of customers and how to obtain the loyalty of customers. By analysis the situation of market and customers, the companies can make the efficient price of products to absorb consumers. Due to most retailers heavily dependent on competitive prices, they try to keep the same price or slightly lower prices than that of competitors. The companies can obtain higher market share. But some companies abuse the market power, they dominate market by reducing product’s price. This behavior will be prohibited by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which is a non-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom. It enforces both consumer protection and competition law. Therefore the individualized pricing has both advantages and disadvantages. It depends on how the companies use this method. Appropriately using of individualized pricing can promote activeness of market. If individualized pricing is excessive, it will become the abuse of market power. The OFT acts as the UK’s economic regular. 3.2. Government’s role Government has played a leading role in maintaining fair competition in the internal market of retailing sector, which requires competitors competition of fair, just, open, equal and orderly with rivals, then which means to follow the principle of fair competition, and the principle of fair competition, so follow the survival of the fittest, for the country of internal aspect, the government always played the role to maintain market fair competition, the enterprise operation and so on. But also in some other special circumstances, like in order to protect domestic industries then form a monopoly to resist the invasion of foreign industry, using economic and legal means to create condition for the internal retail enterprise in market competition, at the same time, promoting its development abroad when it has sufficient capacity. Competition on the international market, when excessive foreign enterprise brand occupies a certain market share of the product, the government should implement the corresponding protection measures to cultivate the local retail brands, this can better promote the healthy development of domestic enterprises. Government can make laws or raise taxes in order to limit the foreign-owned enterprise to enter the local market, but in taking measures should be multi-faceted and carefully implemented. Excessive restrictions could cut competition consciousness between local businesses moreover can form local monopoly enterprises, but if the limit of foreign-owned enterprise is not enough, it may only effect the resource and product flow in the market environment. EU retail and wholesale industry annual output value accounted for 11% of EU GDP, providing nearly 30 million jobs, accounting for 15% of total EU employment. Enhance the competitiveness of the retail industry is essential to ensure the European Union’s economic growth and employment, so in addition to developing their own factors of each local enterprise, the government should vigorously developing its regulation function to balance the market competitiveness and create a good market environment for each of the retail enterprise’s development. 4. Conclusion Amazon as the one of most largest and popular e-commerce should select which way of entry modes cautiously when they development internalization strategy. Fully do the preparation before entry a new market, through  authorization, the establishment of joint ventures or subsidiaries gradually penetrated into new markets. The model of future business will be global. Amazon operates in a very competitive environment as there is a high level of rivalry among competitors such as other online stores and high street shops. Additionally, there is a high threat of substitutes as well as high bargaining power of buyers. However, Amazon recognized that being the cost leader does not ensure having a competitive advantage in the future. This is why they try to develop new features in the sector of online stores in order to be able to add something unique to their mainly standardized products. This is their mean to maintain their position as the world’s leading online store. Due to the price of products has a strong influence on customers, price has become the key to ensure business and customer loyalty. Individualized pricing becomes more popular. Undoubtedly, some retail providers can establish the customer loyalty and obtain more profit. But the using of individualized pricing still needs to be supervised. Otherwise, it will cause the abuse of market power. So this is the significance of OFT and government. The government should be regulated according to different market situations, creating a fair competitive environment for the retail market and avoid vicious competition which may arise. Bibliography Amazon. (n.d.). About Amazon. Retrieved 03 18, 2014, from http://www.amazon.com/b?node=239364011 Amazon. (n.d.). Amazon Prime Air. Retrieved 03 18, 2014, from http://www.amazon.com/b?node=8037720011 Amazon. (n.d.). Global Locations. Retrieved 03 18, 2014, from http://www.amazon.com/b?node=239366011 Burgeen. (2013, 06 29). Porter’s Generic Strategies. Retrieved 03 18, 2014, from http://www.burgeen.com/main/porters-generic-strategies/ Chan, K. W., Peter, H. (1992) ‘Global Strategy and Multinationals’ Entry Mode Choice’, Journal of International Business Studies, 23(1), pp.29-53. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., & Scholes, K. (2011). Exploring Strategy. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Netonomy.NET. (2013, 01 30). TOP 5 Largest online retailers – Who are these companies and how did they make it to the top? Retrieved 03 18, 2014, from http://netonomy.net/2013/01/30/top-5-largest-online-retailers-who-companies-h

Mary Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’, and P.B. Shelly’s ‘Alastor’ Essay

The theme of suffering is best conveyed through the â€Å"solitary† aesthetic figure of the wanderer or vagrant. Romantic writers produced works revealing extremes of isolation and socialisation, creating ‘either a wild beast or a god’ and proving that although solitude can render knowledge, it can also be the cause of deep suffering. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is an account of the monstrous potentiality of human creative power when severed from moral and social concerns. Suffering is displayed through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his nameless creation, the monster or â€Å"the fallen angel† . Moreover, what is necessary to further the discussion of suffering, is the cause and indeed expression of suffering endured by the central characters. Frankenstein hopes to be the source of a new species, but ironically, his creature evolves into a self acknowledged Satan who swears eternal revenge and war on upon his creator and all the human race as a result of the misery he experiences at their hands. The Monster sees salvation only through the creation of his Eve. Both master and creature are torn by their internal conflicts from misapplied knowledge and their sense of isolation. P.B. Shelley’s Alastor; or the Spirit of Solitude, compares well to Frankenstein as there are many similarities with the poet and the character of the Monster and his creator, Frankenstein; both texts portray the themes of suffering through isolation and central to both is the desire for a companion or equal other. Alastor; or the Spirit of Solitude is a touching poem which conveys well the suffering of the individual. There is an obsession within the young poet within the poem, which leads him to express the broodings of the heart in solitude. The lonely musings of the poet are ironically soothing and create a melodious tone to the poem as he learns and strives for more knowledge to quench his young mind. As P.B.Shelley describes the character in the preface to the poem, he also draws on its moral: ‘It represents a youth of  uncorrupted feelings†¦He drinks deep of the fountains of knowledge and is still insatiate†¦ His mind is awakened and thirsts for intercourse with an intelligence similar to himself†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ He yearns as a result, for his perfect companion, but his wandering to far lands fails to find him his ideal. Shelley goes on to write that in desiring the purest being in a ‘single image’ he seeks in vain for a prototype of his conception. ‘Blasted’ by his disappointment he descends to an ‘untimely grave’. Shelley stated also in his preface that the tragic flaw of the young poet is that he is ‘deluded’ and ‘duped’ and thus ‘morally dead’. Shelley suggests, therefore that the spirit is cursed because it fails to exist with other citizens of the world. The poet chooses to wander in solitude and so suffers for existing ‘without human sympathy’. It is the ‘intensity and passion for their search’ which leads them to ‘lasting misery and loneliness in the world’. The moral is epitomized in the final lines of the preface: ‘Those who love not their fellow beings live unfruitful lives and prepare for their old age a miserable grave’. It is ironic that the poem begins exclaiming ‘Earth, Ocean, Air, beloved brotherhood!’ and yet this obsession and love for creation leads him further and further away from coexisting with all these things which he admires, leading to withdrawal and suffering. The opening verse describes romantic images of nature, typical of the period in which Shelley was writing, revealing the poets love for nature: The ‘dewy morn’ and the ‘solemn midnight’ as well as the descriptions of animal and insect life, create a tranquil atmosphere. Yet these are suddenly juxtaposed by the second verse; the poet describes suffering and disturbed sleep in ‘charnels and on coffins’ and the philosophical questions of the purpose of existence that follow create a sense of foreboding. P.B.Shelley, significantly, then describes ‘the alchemist’, implying that just as the alchemist’s quests to turn base metals into gold are an impossibility, the poets quests to wander and reject society, is equally fruitless. Parallels can be made to Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, who also is like the alchemist . The poet desires a companion, just as the Monster does in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In the poem, the longing is portrayed in the image of the  moon: ‘As oceans moon looks on the moon in heaven’ This image is significant for several reasons; the poet compares illusion and reality and therefore conveys how he pursues the dream image of the maid into the real world, but the pursuit, as the image boldly suggests, is impossible and unattainable. In addition to this, the image of the moon enhances the feelings of a vacant natural world as it seems to the poet, whose narcissist love is directed to an ideal conceived within his own mind. This can be compared to both the character of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Just like the poet in Alastor, the Monster desires in despair for an ideal which will never become a reality. Equally, the idea of narcissism is also apparent within the character of Frankenstein. In the poem, ‘Yellow flowers forever gaze on their own drooping eyes’ This image symbolises Narcissus who saw his reflection and fell in love with it, mistaking it for a Nymph, falling into the river, and dying in pursuit of his own reflection, turning into a daffodil. In the same way, Frankenstein is solipsistic and motivated by selfish desires; for him, love is narcissistic and in his pathetic attempt to make a creation in his own image, as God did with Adam, he creates instead ‘the fallen angel’, which he fails to love and nurture. Thus the novel and the poem both represent an idealistic quest, egotistical in essence- and for Frankenstein, a quest for self glorification- which gives rise to unimaginable suffering. In his poem, Shelley compares suffering and loneliness with an eagle, ‘grasped in folds of green serpent’ burning with pain, ‘Frantic with dizzying anguish’ Shelley appropriately uses the imagery of the serpent attacking a bird, drawing in Biblical parallels to the poem, just as Mary Shelley does in her novel to place importance on the Fall of Man. This theme is essential in Frankenstein as it often provides reasons for the suffering the characters experience, as Frankenstein too gains his knowledge through a forbidden act. Despite James Reiger’s 1974 criticism of the realism of the novel, it cannot be denied that Shelley knew far more about Galvanism, science and sorcery, than her critics gave her credit for. Frankenstein’s asexual creation of a ‘new species’ is actually an evolutionary regression. His ‘solitary reproduction’ is far from God-like; it is instead the beginning of terror and torment on human lives. The r eader first learns  about Frankenstein’s ill health and general condition through Robert Walter. This is an effective narrative method revealing Shelley’s exceptional style which enhances sympathy towards Frankenstein and, more importantly, serves to create suspense. He is described as being ‘dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering†¦generally melancholy and despairing’ and more significantly, ‘gnashes his teeth as if impatient of the weight of woes that oppress him’. This description also highlights that Shelley’s work has been influenced by her father, the author of Caleb Williams, William Godwin, who wrote ‘Every time the mind is invaded with anguish and gloom the frame (or physical and outward vigour) becomes disordered’ (Godwin, Political Justice, Pg 249) Walter’s description of Victor Frankenstein only creates further suspense and is heightened by Frankenstein’s answer to why he is alone and travelling in such severe conditions: â€Å"To seek one who fled from me† It is his ‘constant and deep grief’ (Walter, page 59) which instil ‘sympathy and compassion’ in both Walter and the reader. The cause to Frankenstein’s grief is then revealed to the final and only friend he will ever have, in a unique Gothic style, revealing elements of both the sensational and supernatural. What follows then is a chilling story, in which Shelley creates a brooding atmosphere or gloom and terror, mystery and suspense, revealing at first the sufferings of the creator, and then the pain and torment of the creation. Frankenstein emphasises that â€Å"No youth could have passed more happily than mine†. Shelley contrasts the description of Frankenstein’s upbringing which is both respectable and pleasant, to the ‘gloomy and narrow reflection upon self’ which Frankenstein now feels on telling his story to the lieutenant. He outlines his fascination for ‘the structure of the human frame’ (page 79) and his various advancements in his work , but what is emphasised more is his obsession with his work. When his experiment is finally complete, there is no such joy. Frankenstein describes his disappointment and disgust when the monster woke, having ‘worked hard for nearly two years, but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart’ (page 85) So sickened and repulsed by the being he has created, Victor leaves the room: ‘†¦one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped’ (page 88). Thus form the moment the Monster is created, Frankenstein rejects him. His justification for his  action is simply: ‘Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance!’ It is this fatal rejection which leads to his own downfall and proves that the suffering and solitary state of the monster is a result of Frankenstein’s irresponsibility. Victor’s suffering is caused by loss of his family and lover, and ultimately himself. Walter describes him as ‘broken in spirit’ but a ‘divine wanderer’ nevertheless. Frankenstein says ‘I have suffered great and unparallel misfortunes.’ Victor is not only referring to the murders, but also to the trial of Justice who is wrongly accused of murdering the young boy, William. Victor is aware that it was in fact the Monster who committed the murder, and when Justine’s verdict is announced, Victor can only think of his own guilt: ‘The tortures of the accused could not equal mine†¦the fangs of remorse tore at my bosom’. Victor blames himself for the deaths that occur because only he is aware of his creation and that it was he who let lose the malice of the ‘fiend’. His mental state leads to his illness, and typically in a Romantic novel, Shelley proves language cannot describe the nature of experience and is therefore limited, as Victor states: ‘†¦the sense of guilt which hurried me to hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe.’ Victor describes his own solitary state has being ‘deep, dark, death – like solitude’ and this implants bitter rage within him: ‘My abhorrence for this fiend cannot be conceived’ and so he vows to avenge the murders. The arrival of the monster reveals to the reader a different story of suffering. Shelly prepares the reader for a terrifying gothic figure, but when he finally appears before the vehement Victor, he is composed and calmly states: ‘I expected this reception†¦all men hate the wretched’. His demeanour and eloquent speeches reveal a learned individual whose rationality supersedes even Victors, furthermore, there is a tone of remorse and pain in his voice. It is certain that Victor’s creation only grows monstrous qualities through his sufferings. Victor created life and abandoned it, and the monster even states helplessly:’ No father had watched my infant days’. His creation therefore has no identity, family, society, home or companion. He recognises that he is different: ‘Who was I? What was  I? Whence did I come? What was my destination?.’ His perceptions of himself are formulated as a result of societies reactions to him. He is â₠¬Ëœhideous and gigantic’ and suffers for these reasons in solitude. He describes his initial feelings as a new creature on earth, a ‘helpless, miserable wretch; I knew and could distinguish nothing; but feelings of pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept.’ His experiences are harrowing and emotional, and yet astounding; the monster’s sensory experiences are like a small child that is abandoned and desperately trying to survive. His first encounter with mankind leaves him afraid ‘miserable†¦from the barbarity of man’ (130) However, his encounter with the cottage family reveal the real nature and characteristics of the Monster. He yearns to be part of a family unit and on seeing the family weep, he realises their pain is poverty. He realises that by stealing from them ‘inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained and satisfied myself with berries’ (141) He helps them by collecting firewood and without their knowledge tends to their crops, and his only reward is his personal satisfaction of being able to help the needed. It can be stated that at this stage, the creature is only monstrous in appearance, and his recognition of the cottagers suffering shows his astonishing empathetic qualities. His romantic descriptions of his observations of the children and the loving nature of the family, juxtapose with his solitude and his feelings of self- loathing which are epitomised in seeing his reflection in the lake: ‘I was filled with bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification.’ When the cottagers finally find him, they too react through physical violence and ultimately the monster is rejected once again only to return to his solitude and misery: ‘Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant†¦ endowed with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man†¦When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me†¦a blot upon this earth which all men fled, and whom all men disowned’ (149) The monster is visibly aware of his alienation and his reflections cause him agony and sorrow. He expresses his pain through wandering, and this is a pivotal moment which captures the transition completely: ‘I gave vent to my anguish in fearful howling. I was like a wild beast.’ His distress and agony are with a world full of prejudices where he is given no chance, and thus, he projects his rage at his surroundings tearing at branches and trees, and finally ‘sank on the damp grass in the sick impotence of fear.’ It is at this moment that he realises his goodness will never be recognised; he is grotesque but has physical strength as his only tool, hence declaring ‘everlasting war ‘ on his ‘enemies’, and above all, ‘against he who had formed me’, his creator, Victor Frankenstein, the root of his suffering. The image which follows is a hellish and ghoulish scene of the monster howling into the night and burning down the cot tage he had once loved. His stream of bad fortune is just appalling and Shelley seems to be exposing the inhumanity of humanity. The significance of the three texts which the monster encounters cannot be overlooked. The first text is Goethe’s The Sorrows Of Young Werther which enables the monster to realise his own solitary state and depression. He weeps whilst Werther suffers too as an orphan and solitary walker, and adds: ‘I applied much personally and to my own feelings and condition’ (153) He compares his Werther’s desires to become part of Charlottes family to his own which were to become part of the cottage family, the De Lacey’s. Shelley’s novel also draws from her mother’s work, such as Vindication in which the influence is apparent through the monster’s actions; he is deprived of the domesticity and affections necessary for human beings. Thus through Goethe’s text, he learns of the domestic idyll. The second text is the Volume of Plutarch’s lives which depicts the history of the origins of mankind, and from the text he learns ‘high thoughts’, and goes on to state: ‘He elevated me above the wretched sphere of my own reflection [of self- pity and gloom], to admire and love the heroes of past ages’. However it is the third text, Milton’s Paradise Lost which is most striking in its parallel towards both the Monster and Victor . The monster found a correlation between his condition and stated: ‘Like Adam, I was apparently  united by no link to any other human being†¦I was wretched, helpless and alone. Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition’ (page-136). The monster’s central complaint is that he is alone and he requests that Victor make a companion for him: ‘I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me†¦ my companion must be of the same species and have the same defects’ (Page 168) Society has rejected him because he is ‘deformed and horrible’, but this suffering leads to the monster retuning to find his creator so that loneliness can only be overcome by a companion – this is a huge realisation in the monster: and more significantly, is that this suffering caused by complete solitude, is experienced by humans too. Hence the suffering felt by the monster makes him no different to man. The monster goes on to say that a companion is ‘necessary for my being’ (Pg 168) and the only cure for his malicious behaviour and misery. When Victor refuses a ‘fiendish rage animated him as he said this; his face was wrinkled into contortions too horrible for human eyes to be hold†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Pg 169) This is his reaction to someone refusing what he desires most, what has haunted him since his creation and his rage is hardly surprising when considering the suffering he has endured. ‘Every time languor and indifference creep upon us our functions fall into decay†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This is where the monster’s argument finds its roots, for as Godwin writes in Political Justice, in order to be ‘cheerful’, we must ‘cultivate a kind and benevolent propensity†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Godwin also expressed his views on solitary confinement and these too seem to be echoed in the text :’The soul yearns, with inexpressible longings, for the society of its like.’ The monster is hence likened to the offender in solitary confinement and pleads for a companion: ‘Who can tell the suffering of him who is condemned to uninterrupted solitude? Who can tell this that this is not, to the majority of mankind the bitterest torment that human ingenuity can inflict?’ (Pg 251) Echoing Godwin, who wrote ‘A man is of more worth than a beast’, Victor disregarding the monster’s pleas, destroys the unfinished female monster. This is the penultimate event which gives rise to relentless suffering endured by the monster . The extent of his misery is epitomised with the monster questioning Victor: ‘Shall each man find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? Are you to be  happy while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness?’ (Volume 3, chapter 2) Thus there is a disastrous outcome to Victor’s reasoning. In Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel, Frankenstein hopes to be the source of new species, but ironically, his creature evolves into a self acknowledged Satan who swears eternal revenge and war upon his creator and all the human race. The monster reflects that hell is an internal condition which is produced and increased through loneliness. Both master and creature are torn by their internal conflicts from misapplied knowledge and their sense of isolation. In P.B. Shelley’s poem, the solitary walker suffers as a result of his own actions and choice to be abandon society. He suffers for having fantasies that will never be a reality. Hence his suffering is a result of his own disillusionment. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Shelley, P.B., Alastor: Or, The Spirit Of Solitude 2. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft , Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus,(D.L.Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf) 1999. 3. Duncan Wu, ed,. Romanticism: A Critical Reader, (Blackwell, 1995) 4. Butler, Marilyn, Romantics, Rebels and Revolutionaries: English Literature and its Background, 1760-1830,(Oxford University Press, 1981) 5. Goethe, J.W., The Sorrows of Young Werther(Penguin Books, 1985) 6. Furst, Lilian, European Romanticism, (Wayne State University Press, 1990).

Women Reform Dbq - 1105 Words

DBQ During the time period from the end of the American Revolution to the Civil War, American womanhood changed greatly. Due to differing beliefs during the time the American women’s ideals became to change. At the time, main beliefs were the â€Å"republican motherhood†, or the thought that women had power in the country’s politics in the sense that they raised the next generation, and the â€Å"cult of domesticity†, or the thought that women should be submissive, moral, and take care of their husbands and family. These beliefs greatly limited the power of the women in the 18th century. Due to these ideas, such as the â€Å"republican motherhood† and â€Å"cult of domesticity† during the time period from the American Revolution to the Civil War, women†¦show more content†¦Also during this time, the Panic of 1837 occurred leaving many unemployed, therefore the number of women employed during the 19th century would have been even higher. Women at this time period worked mainly in textile and clothing factories. Although many young girls worked in factories, as shown in the letter written by a factory worker, life in a factory is much different than life at home. At first the girl questioned why factories were ever made, however, with time the working life grew on her. Also, often times women were worked much harder than the men. In the letters written by a frontier woman in Iowa in 1861, the male worker worked much less than she did. She stated that â€Å"the hired man left just as the corn planting commenced† and she was left to do the hard work. This illustrates the inequality between the two genders very well. On the other hand, the national issue of slavery greatly suppressed the lower classes and races of women. As illustrated in H.L. Stephens’ The Parting, slavery split up women and families. 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