American Literary Periods

American Literary Periods American literature does not easily lend itself to classification by time period. Given the size of the United States and its varied population, there are often several literary movements happening at the same time. However, this hasnt stopped literary scholars from making an attempt. Here are some of the most commonly agreed upon periods of American literature from the colonial period to the present. The Colonial Period (1607–1775) This period encompasses the founding of Jamestown up to a decade before the Revolutionary War. The majority of writings were historical, practical, or religious in nature. Some writers not to miss from this period include Phillis Wheatley, Cotton Mather, William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet, and John Winthrop. The first Slave Narrative, A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings, and Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man, was published during this period, in 1760 Boston. The Revolutionary Age (1765–1790) Beginning a decade before the Revolutionary War and ending about 25 years later, this period includes the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. This is arguably the richest period of political writing since classical antiquity. Important works include the â€Å"Declaration of Independence,† The Federalist Papers, and the poetry of Joel Barlow and Philip Freneau. The Early National Period (1775–1828) This era in American literature is responsible for notable first works, such as the first American comedy written for the stage- The Contrast by Royall Tyler, written in 1787- and the first American Novel- The Power of Sympathy by William Hill, written in 1789. Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and Charles Brockden Brown are credited with creating distinctly American fiction, while Edgar Allan Poe and William Cullen Bryant began writing poetry that was markedly different from that of the English tradition. The American Renaissance (1828–1865) Also known as the Romantic Period in America and the Age of Transcendentalism, this period is commonly accepted to be the greatest of American literature. Major writers include Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville.  Emerson, Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller are credited with shaping the literature and ideals of many later writers. Other major contributions include the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the short stories of Melville, Poe, Hawthorne, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Additionally, this era is the inauguration point of American literary criticism, lead by Poe, James Russell Lowell, and William Gilmore Simms. The years 1853 and 1859 brought the first novels written by African-American authors, both male and female:  Clotel, by William Wells Brown  and Our Nig, by Harriet E. Wilson. The Realistic Period (1865–1900) As a result of the American Civil War, Reconstruction and the age of industrialism, American ideals and self-awareness changed in profound ways, and American literature responded.  Certain romantic notions of the American Renaissance were replaced by realistic descriptions of American life, such as those represented in the works of William Dean Howells, Henry James, and Mark Twain. This period also gave rise to regional writing, such as the works of Sarah Orne Jewett, Kate Chopin, Bret Harte, Mary Wilkins Freeman, and George W. Cable. In addition to Walt Whitman, another master poet, Emily Dickinson, appeared at this time. The Naturalist Period (1900–1914) This relatively short period is defined by its insistence on recreating life as life really is, even more so than the realists had been doing in the decades before. American Naturalist writers such as Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, and Jack London created some of the most powerfully raw novels in American literary history. Their characters are victims who fall prey to their own base instincts and to economic and sociological factors. Edith Wharton wrote some of her most beloved classics, such as The Custom of the Country (1913), Ethan Frome (1911), and The House of Mirth (1905) during this time period. The Modern Period (1914–1939) After the American Renaissance, the Modern Period is the second most influential and artistically rich age of American writing. Its major writers include such powerhouse poets as E.E. Cummings, Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, T.S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. Novelists and other prose writers of the time include Willa Cather, John Dos Passos, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, Sinclair Lewis, Thomas Wolfe, and Sherwood Anderson. The Modern Period contains within it certain major movements including the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Lost Generation. Many of these writers were influenced by World War I and the disillusionment that followed, especially the expatriates of the Lost Generation. Furthermore, the Great Depression and the New Deal resulted in some of America’s greatest social issue writing, such as t he novels of Faulkner and Steinbeck, and the drama of Eugene O’Neill. The Beat Generation (1944–1962) Beat writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, were devoted to anti-traditional literature, in poetry and prose, and anti-establishment politics. This time period saw a rise in confessional poetry and sexuality in literature, which resulted in legal challenges and debates over censorship in America. William S. Burroughs and Henry Miller are two writers whose works faced censorship challenges. These two greats, along with other writers of the time, also inspired the counterculture movements of the next two decades. The Contemporary Period (1939–Present) After World War II, American literature has become broad and varied in terms of theme, mode, and purpose. Currently, there is little consensus as to how to go about classifying the last 80 years into periods or movements- more time must pass, perhaps, before scholars can make these determinations. That being said, there are a number of important writers since 1939 whose works may already be considered â€Å"classic† and who are likely to become canonized.  Some of these very established names are:  Kurt Vonnegut, Amy Tan, John Updike, Eudora Welty, James Baldwin, Sylvia Plath, Arthur Miller, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, Joan Didion, Thomas Pynchon, Elizabeth Bishop, Tennessee Williams, Philip Roth, Sandra Cisneros, Richard Wright, Tony Kushner, Adrienne Rich, Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow, Joyce Carol Oates, Thornton Wilder, Alice Walker, Edward Albee, Norman Mailer, John Barth, Maya Angelou, and Robert Penn Warren.

Why Some Products Fail to Impact the Market Essay Example

Why Some Products Fail to Impact the Market Essay Example Why Some Products Fail to Impact the Market Essay Why Some Products Fail to Impact the Market Essay In this era of tight competition from domestic and global firms the firm who dont come out with new products are putting themselves at great risk Because their existing products are prone to changing customer needs, shorter product life cycles, new technologies and increased competition. Despite years of research and huge capital being pumped in to understanding the consumer, making a launch successful is still a difficult task. The new product largely depends on the product quality and the marketing tactics of the firm, there are many occasions were the product failed miserably even after using the best technology and quality the reason is that the new product is not worth for the customers. The prime factor for the new product success is customer value 1. Faulty product idea: The product often fail because faulty of product idea. A good idea can revolutionize the market but a bad idea may prove bitter to the firm or it may backfire Eg: Polar industries in 1991 launched COOL CATS fan decorated with cartoon characters meant primarily for children. The fan was priced at premium; the idea was that childrens were increasingly becoming influensors in purchase decisions and to attract the kids with the cartoon creatures and to position the product exclusively for kids. The product failed miserably inspite of its huge advertising budget because when the fan was put on it didnt have any colour effect and the customer did not justify its premium price. 2. Distribution related problems: The new product fails if the product is unable to meet the channel requirements. While developing the product the channel requirements must be given adequate consideration. Eg: when NESTLE launched its new chocolates the product and promotion was ok but the product failed in the distribution side because the company stipulated the product to be stored in refrigerators. The product faced two problems in the distribution side because it meant excluding a number of retail outlets as they didnt have this facility and secondly the chocolate was not picked by the customers as it was not seen upfront in the retail shops. Finally Nestle had to reformulate the product according to channel requirements. 3. Poor timing of launch: Too early or late entry into the market is a common cause of failure. Kinetic Merlin was launched in pune in 1991. It was a 3 in 1 set consisting of a colour television, a stereo with detachable speakers and a home computer. The product was targeted at the Indian consumers who are fond of sophisticated gadgets to immediately adopt such an innovative idea but in reality the idea was too advanced for the customers to digest at that time because they were not exposed to such type of products before. . Improper Positioning: Positioning means putting the product into the predetermined orbit. Improper positioning may affect the product success. Eg: Titan Tanishq introduced their 18 carat jewellery and the product was positioned at elite segment but there was a contradiction as to why these elite segment should go in for a low carat gold because the norms for gold in India at that time was 22 carat. The product failed miserably in retrospect Titan had to introduce 22-carat jewellery.

Does a Persons Own Natural Microbial Gut Flora Contribute to Obesity Research Paper

Does a Persons Own Natural Microbial Gut Flora Contribute to Obesity - Research Paper Example Numerous species of bacteria are known to have evolved, grown and lived in the human intestine. Scientist such as Delzenne and Cani argue that the human gut is a habitat for between 300 and 500 different species of bacteria (277). Other scientists ascertain that the human intestine is a microbial ecosystem that contains more than 100 trillion microorganisms (Ley, Turnbaugh, Klein and Gordon 1023). The bacteria in the human gut have been linked to obesity by many research findings. This essay will investigate and report whether a person’s own natural microbial gut flora contribute to obesity. Traditionally, the key players linked to obesity have always been diet, exercise, lifestyle and one’s genes. The less one moves, the less the calories they burn and the more they are likely to eat, hence retaining a lot of calories and increasing the chances of being obese. This equation has sometimes been influenced by one’s genes. However, Simon and Gorbach (174) argue that the above mentioned factors do not adequately explain every obesity case that is reported. Researchers are continually discovering another factor that contributes to the rapid increase in one’s body weight; the bacteria in one’s gut. Until recently, the bacteria in the human gut have been ignored as potential causes of obesity. ... Most of these microbes are scientifically proven to perform a wide range of vital bodily functions such as helping in the regulation of calories that the human body receives from food. These calories would have otherwise been stored by the body as fat; hence these microbes can simply be said to aid in the regulation of weight (Simon and Gorbach 174). According to a new study published in the International Diary Journal of Health, the particular type and balance of microbes harbored by the human body in the guts can either contribute to the body becoming lean or obese. These microbes have the capacity to manipulate themselves so as to potentially change the weight of the body (Delzenne and Cani 279). Many scientific studies conducted on mice and human volunteers have advanced the understanding of microbiomes and the effects that they have on health, obesity and metabolism. A lot of metagenomic studies have demonstrated that certain types of gut microbiota have the ability to either pr edispose or protect the host’s body from obesity (Turnbaugh, Ley, Mahowald, Magrini, Mardis and Gordon 1027). Through these studies, microbiota transplantations were done in germ-free murine models, revealing that the traits of obese-type gut flora which can efficiently extract energy are transmissible. These scientific studies have also shown that there are certain well known methods through which these microbiomes may a lead to obesity (Delzenne and Cani 280). These methods are through triggering systemic inflammation, promoting the deposition of fat and increasing the harvest of dietary energy. Tsai and Walter (307) suggest that future obesity treatments may require the use of prebiotics and

Write your own Opinion Page Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Write your own Opinion Page - Essay Example It was certainly a dark chapter in the age of enlightenment and for America itself since it was supposed to be the new world where hope and equality could exist. However, as the historical record shows us, the first individuals to be accused of practicing witchcraft were the socially and economically excluded classes of beggars, poor individuals and African American persons. Further, it seems that it was not a few people who engaged in the mass hysteria of witchcraft but the whole village of Salem, neighboring towns and even the larger cities around Salem were caught up in it (Linder, 2008). Of course even at the time there were many who thought the trials to be a farce and could not condone the use of spectral evidence in court to sent individuals to their deaths. However, just because the people were afraid and because many of them had personal motivations to hurt the individuals accused of witchcraft; the process went on unchecked. Perhaps the ones who died were better off since many more had to suffer being put in prison as their families languished for months waiting for their release (Linder, 2008). Over the years, the impact of the sense of shame, the sense of wonder and even a sense of dread associated with the trials has remained strong in American culture. While the trials have been lampooned and even used as the basis of satire by some artists, many have also taken a more serious look at them to understand what can happen when mass hysteria and fear takes over a group of people who have little or no understanding of such matters (Linder, 2008). In fact, even today such problems remain present in society since today we have a new specter to deal with. The colonial Americans had witches, the Americans in the 50s had to deal with communists and we today have to deal with terrorists. Undoubtedly, terrorism and the safety of America are much more real in terms of security concerns as compared to witchcraft but we have to be careful when

Tanglewood casebook Essay Example for Free

Tanglewood casebook Essay 1) Recruitment Guide Position: Store Associate Reports to:Shift Leader Qualifications:High school diploma or equivalent, Some college course work preferred 1 year retail experience preferred including experience in customer service Relevant Labor Market:West Washington Timeline:Week of 1/8Conduct interviews with qualified candidates 1/24Targeted hire date Activities to undertake to source well-qualified candidates: Post job opening on company website and on in store kiosks Request company referrals  Contact local colleges to notify them of available positions and see if they know of any students looking for employment Contact staffing agencies, if necessary, to fill position with temporary associate that may want to permanently work for the company Staff members involved: HR Recruiting Manager Department Managers Potential peers Budget: $3,000-$4,500 2) The store associate position is one that mainly deals with assisting customers, be it to find certain products, deal with issues, or to just make their experience a pleasant one while dealing with the daily operations of the store. The open method to recruiting means that we are casting a wide net to catch any applicants that we can and see what we get. It’s possible that we may get exactly what we are looking for, but it’s possible that it may just be wasted resources. I recommend the targeted method to recruitment, which means that we are going to go for a specific group of people with specific KSAOs. By using the targeted method we will address some of the staffs concerns about hiring new store associates. The first concern was to reduce turnover; by casting a smaller net, but getting more qualified individuals we may eliminate some of the turnover. This will also help with the lag time, which was the second issue, in that there will be less applicants to sift through, thus letting us get to the more qualified candidates more quickly. This will help us target the applicants we want, which were college to middle age individuals with at least a high school diploma, preferably some college course work, with retail and customer service experience. By getting employees that already have customer service experience, they will already know what they are getting themselves into and what the expectation may be. Hopefully this will also help to acquire people who fit into the culture and are looking for a career and not just a job. By using online applications with specific requirements we will better be able to target these applicants. The same goes for staffing agencies, though costly, we will more effectively acquire qualified individuals. Employee referrals may be a good way to keep up employee relations and morale, but it may not lead to the type of individuals we need. The same goes for open applications. 3) In Western Washington, the highest one year retention rate compared to the amount of applicants hired was by job service agency, followed by employee referrals. This seemed to be effective for them, because the most qualified individuals fell into the referral category, however the total cost was significantly higher for employee referrals at this site, though after a year of survival ended up being the most cost effective method of hiring. In Eastern Washington, the referral method came out the most effective as far as retention rates went, followed by the kiosk method. Following the same trend as the Western Washington region, these individuals seemed to be the most qualified. Again similar to the previous region it also was the most expensive as far as total cost went, but the most effective as far as cost per first year of survival. In Northern Oregon, the agency method had an extremely high retention rate after the first year of hire, followed by the kiosk method. In this region the kiosk method was the most expensive followed by hiring agencies. The hiring agency was the most effective after the first year of hire. In Southern Oregon, a similar trend happens compared to Northern Oregon. The agency method has a the highest post one year retention rate, followed by the referral method. And similar to Northern Oregon, it is the second most expensive as far as total cost goes, but the most effective as far as post first year hire cost is concerned. 4) It would be ineffective to follow the same hiring methods for all four regions in that in both Oregon based regions the best recruitment method seems to be agency based and in the Washington regions the referral method is most effective. If the company attempted to force all regions to have the same hiring standards they would incur higher cost, less effective recruitment methods, and would obtain less qualified individuals. 5) It has proven true for the company that cheaper is not always better, therefore getting the cheapest labor will not yield the most effective customer service. It would be beneficial to rate employee performance in accordance to high, middle, and low performers and to discuss with them how they feel they are doing in conjunction with suggestions on yielding better performance. Better performance should come with some type of reward, for example an extra vacation day, a more desirable assignment, or an annual pay increase. It also would be beneficial to employees to have additional training in customer service issues in order to prepare them for what issues they may run into. As far as the bottom line hiring requirements go, at least a year of customer service related experience should be required for employment. As previously stated this will ensure that these new candidates will know what to expect from their job, and what expectations an employer would have of them. (Please refer to question 2 for how managerial concerns will be addressed.) 6)  The targeted method would be aiming at a specific group of candidates. They may say that they are searching for a candidate with some completed college coursework and customer service experience looking to work as a store associate at Tanglewood. It also should state that if the associate seems promising they may be put on the fast track to management if they desire. The realistic method gives a real view of what the job would entail. It may say something like dealing with day to day store issues including customer complaints. It gives an employee a real look as to what they may be doing, but some argue that it may turn away good potential candidates before they actually have the opportunity to experience both the good and the bad. The branded recruitment strategy is searching for a candidate that will fit into your brand. They may say looking for a self starting individual who wants to be part of not just a company, but a family. By doing this employees feel a tie to the company’s brand and want to work for the company and not just the job. Work Cited Heneman III, Herbert G., Judge, Timothy A., and Kammemeyer-Mueller, John D. Staffing Organizations: 7th Edition. Middleton: Mendota House, 2012. Print. Kammemeyer-Mueller, John. Tanglewood Casebook for use with Staffing Organizations: 7th Edition. Middleton: Mendota House, 2012. Print.

Yank as a Modern Day Oedipus in O Neills Play, The Hairy Ape Essay

Yank as a Modern Day Oedipus in O' Neill's Play, The Hairy Ape The representation of tragedy today has adapted itself to more humanistic, base and symbolic concerns. Often, they are commentaries on society just as much as they are on the nature of man. Although O' Neill insists that his play "The Hairy Ape" is not a tragedy, but rather a dark comedy, the play follows the definition of a tragedy. The basic points that make up a tragedy still remain the same, even if they have to be slightly modified to be relevant to today's audience. Despite this, The Hairy Ape bears a striking resemblance to the quintessential Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex. The only direct challenge to the Aristotelian definition of tragedy is the portrayal of the tragic hero as not only not being a "noble" in the traditional sense, but usually as a working class, common man. Arthur Miller discusses this belief in his essay "Tragedy and the Common Man". In it, he insists that "we never hesitate to attribute to the well placed and the exalted the very same mental processes as the lowly" and "if the exaltation of tragic action were truly the property of the high bred character alone, it is inconceivable that the mass of mankind should cherish tragedy above all other forms, let alone be capable of understanding it"(Miller 1162). According to Aristotle, a tragedy concerns a person of noble stature. In the modern sense, as explained by Miller, "noble" does not necessarily mean royalty or upper class, merely that the tragic protagonist "is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing - his sense of personal dignity"(1162). Yank is willing to do this. His sense of justice is primitive in that he is not concerned with the consequences of his reve... ... leads him back to the realization that he was the criminal that he had been pursuing. Works Cited and Consulted Carpenter, Frederic I. Eugene O’Neill. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964. Clark, Marden J. â€Å"Tragic Effect in The Hairy Ape.† Modern Drama 10 1968 Egri, Peter. â€Å"'Belonging' Lost: Alienation and Dramatic Form in Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape† in Critical Essays on Eugene O’Neill. James J. Martine, ed. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1984. Miller, Arthur. "Tragedy and the Common Man." Weales, Gerald, ed. Death of a Salesman: Text and Criticism. New York: Penguin Books 1996 O’Neill, Eugene. â€Å"The Hairy Ape† in Four Plays by Eugene O’Neill. New York: Signet Classic, 1998. Vernant, J.-P. â€Å"Tensions and Ambiguities in Greek Tragedy.† In J.-P. Vernant and P. Vidal-Naquet, eds., Tragedy and Myth in Ancient Greece. Sussex, N. J. 1981.

Diversity talking

When we are talking In relation to diversity, we talk about the group who possess individual qualities that are diverse from our traits. Diversity is the uniqueness which every employee brings to the workplace in an organization or establishment. Examples of differences include nationality, belief, disabilities, physical appearance, race, gender, age, educational background, sexual orientation, and work experience, social and family status, At workplace, valuing diversity means creating a work environment that respects and includes variation Indlvldudl by maxlmlzlng the otential of all employees or in which every employee feels included.It means acknowledging that other people, other races, other voices, and other cultures have an equal claim on the world. Valuing diversity is the recognition that there are many ways of viewing the world, solving problems, and working together workplace diversity Is the differences people bring In an organization. It encompasses learning and Interact ing with people who share different opinions, backgrounds from us and creating an environment w†¦ _ middle of paper _ †¦ ployees should be open-minded and treat others with dignity, respect, courtesy and onsideration and not tolerate harassment or discrimination.This creates a workplace that encourages learning and associating with people from diverse groups. With a diverse working environment and an equally diverse opportunity, the sky is the limit to what you can achieve during your career. In addition to a very Important requirement when people deal with diversity Is when there Is a promotion of d â€Å"safe† place for people to communicate (Koonce, 2001 Diversity is the essence of evolution. Right from the ancient times, it has been clearly evident that various races of the world interacted and traded with each other.Calling diversity as one ot the leading survival tactics ot the human race wont be an anomaly. It opens up the mind and dlmlnlshes the boundaries d efined by set of authoritarians. Diversity Is eminent In nature. The diverse colours of Mother Nature, seasonal variations, existence of solar, lunar and planetary movements in harmony and in coordination are nothing but diverse expressions of the same. The myriad hues sync up in reverence and carve a picture so nice. Man Is a small constituent of this colossal cosmos. And as stated earller, diversity Is dn essence of the existence.Therefore It becomes Imperative to respect and greet the great variation present around. People hailing from different cultures, ethnicity, race, country or religion should be considered as a part of the ‘one society' only. and unjustified behaviour expressed by a particular race towards the others. This behaviour is a denial of the God's creation. In his infinite wisdom, he created people of all colours and creeds. On a scientific basis the colour of the skin depends upon the geographical and environmental factors. And in deeper introspection, it i s the pigment melanin that determines the colour of skin.So, the main point is that nowhere in the description lies any factor that makes a particular race better than others. The anatomy and physiology of a human body are similar all over the world. Hence discrimination on any basis is unjustified and unacceptable. There are various cultures and religions that are followed in the present society set up. Everyone has the right to follow and express his religious beliefs in solidarity. Instead of making prejudices and demeaning people, try to embrace the goodness of each. No religion spread the message of hatred or communalism.It is the followers r the conservatives who modify the teachings according to their maligned thoughts. In the modern world the international boundaries are already shrinking. The increasing trade among the countries and the outsourcing of Jobs is an example. No country can survive on its own. Mutual collaboration among all parts of the world is mandatory. Even, those who claim to belong to first world have to depend upon the third world countries for a better market and manpower. The oil and gasoline needs are satiated by the gulf countries. In turn, all the modern facilities and exposure to evelopment is best in the developed countries only.Accepting the diversity is not only an option but compulsory for the sustenance of humanity. Accepting the diversity gracefully will help in building a congenial environment. It is the imminent duty of the older generation to understand and teach their younger ones the importance and acceptance of diversity present around. The base line is to warmly embrace the diverse cultures and religions and their teachings prevalent in the world. It will help to improvise the human race as a whole and will lead towards a better future for generations to follow.