Federalism in India Essay

India is a big country characterized by cultural, regional, linguistic and geographical diversities. Such a diverse and vast country cannot be administered and ruled from a single centre. Historically, though India was not a federal state, its various regions enjoyed adequate autonomy from central rule. Keeping in view these factors in mind, the Constitution makers of India opted for the federal form of government. Though, the Government of India Act 1935 envisaged a federal set-up for India; federal provisions of the Act were not enforced. Thus, India became a federal polity with the Constitution of India. Federalism is a system of governance in which the powers to legislate is in two levels as Central and subordinate levels. Features of Federalism Federalism in India has a strong bias towards the Union Government. Some unique features of federalism in India are: * There is no equality of state representation. Representation in the Parliament can vary widely from one state to another depending on a number of factors including demography and total land area. * No double citizenship, i.e. no separate citizenship for country and state. * The consent of a state is not required by the Parliament to alter its boundaries. * No state, except Jammu and Kashmir, can draw its own Constitution. * No state has the right to secede. * No division of public services. The main features of Federalism * Provision for more than one form or government to act simultaneously on the same territory and on the same time. * Each government must have their own authority and spheres of power, though they may overlap. * Neither level of government, state or national can abolished the other. Why Federalism is Important? Federalism is important because of the following reasons: * Because of diversity, there is a division in the power of federalism (to legislate in better manner). * For better Administration. * Economic development in cultural diversity, linguistic groups, traditions, customs, natural resources. The concept is taken from U.S.A. in 1776 and at the time of U.S. government independence. How Democracy is linked with Federalism? In a democracy, the involvement of people at state level is more, as the people are free to choose their own representatives, for the people, of the people, by the people. What makes India a Federal Country? India is a vast country with numerous languages, religions and regions. The concept of federalism plays a vital role and the power sharing arrangements plays a crucial role in maintaining unity and harmony in the country. India got its independence in 1947 but it also resulted in painful partition that paved way to the formation of Pakistan. After independence, several princely states became a part of the country and the constitution declared India as a Union States. Despite the fact that the word federalism is not used or implied with Indian Union but it is largely based on the principles of federalism. All the above key features of federalism are well suited to the provisions of the Indian Constitution. The constitution of India provided two tiers of levels of governments â€Å"Central or Union Governments representing the Union of India and the state governments. Later, a third tier or level of federalism was formed and added in the forms of Panchayats and Municipalities. These three different tiers of governments enjoy separate jurisdictions and the constitution provides a three- fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union governments and the state governments. It comprises of three major lists and they are as follows: – 1. Union List: – This list includes subjects of national importance such as defence, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They form as the part of Union list as we need a uniform policy on these important matters throughout the country. Union or Central government can only make laws relating to these above mentioned important subjects. 2. State List: – This list contains subjects of state and local significance and state governments alone can make laws relating to subjects like police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. 3. Concurrent List: – It can also be termed as co-existing list and includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government as well as the State Governments. It includes subjects like education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession. Both levels of government (Union and State governments) can make laws on these subjects. If their laws conflict with each other then the law made by the Union Government will reign and succeed. How is Federalism practiced? The success of federalism in India cannot be merely attributed to constitutional provisions but to the nature of democratic politics in our country. It ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together became a common goal in our country. The major reasons in which federalism has succeeded in our country are as follows: – 1. Linguistic states: – The formation of linguistic states was the first major test for democratic politics in India. There were lots of changes in democratic politics of our country from 1947 to 2006. In India, many old states have vanished while many states have been created. Even the names of areas, boundaries and states were changed during this period. In 1947, the year of independence, the boundaries of many old states were changed in order to create new states. It was done to ensure that the people speaking same language should reside in same state. It led to formation of some states that were created not on the basis of language but to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography. It includes states like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. There was fear of disintegration by some national leaders in our country when there was demand for the formation of states on the basis of language was raised. Earlier central government resisted linguistic states but the experience has shown that their formation has made country more united and integrated. It made administration procedure easier and opened doors of opportunities for everybody. 2. Language policy: – Our constitution has not given the status of national language to any one language. Language policy proved second major test for India federation and finally Hindi was identified as the official language of the country. Hindi, the official language of country proved to be mother tongue of only 40 percent of India and therefore there were many safeguards to protect other languages. Besides Hindi, constitution recognized 21 another languages as scheduled languages. All the states had their own official language and much of government work took place in the official language of the concerned states. Our leaders adopted a cautious and vigilant attitude in spreading the use of Hindi in India. According to Indian constitution, the usage of English for official use has to be stopped by 1965 but many non-Hindi speaking states resented it violently and wanted to continue with English. In Tamil Nadu, the movement took ugly turn as it turned into violent agitation. Thereafter, Central government responded positively and agreed to continue with usage of English along with Hindi for official purposes. But still Government of India continues to have encouraged the promotion of Hindi in their official policy. It does not mean that central government can impose Hindi on states where people speaks their own regional languages. 3. Centre State Relations: – The concept of federalism was strengthened to large extent by restructuring of centre and state governments relationships. It also largely depends on how the leaders of ruling party follow these arrangements. In India, the same party ruled both at the centre and at the most of the states. It means that the state governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units. There were occasions where the parties at centre and state were different and in such cases central government tried to undermine the powers of state government. In those days, central government misused the constitution to dismiss the state governments that were governed by opposition parties. It undermined the spirit of federalism to large extent. After 1990, there was significant changes as the country saw the rise of regional parties in many states of the country. It was the arrival of the era of coalition governments at the centre. It led to new culture of power sharing and created a respect for the autonomy of state governments. This new trend was supported by a major judgment of Supreme Court that made difficult for Central government to dismiss state governments in an illogical manner. Federal power sharing holds more significance in today’s time than in early years when constitution came into force. Conclusion There are still other subjects that don’t fall in any of these lists. These subjects are computer software that came much after the formation of constitution in India. According to our constitution, Union government has the power to legislate on these left over or untapped subjects. Generally, it is learnt that holding together federations do not give equal power to its constituents so all states in Indian Union does not have identical powers. Jammu and Kashmir has its own constitution and enjoys special status and many provisions of Indian constitution are not applicable in this state. There are some units of Indian Union that enjoys very little power and these are areas which are too small to be recognized as an Independent state and could not merged with any other states. They are referred to as Union Territories and include areas like Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Delhi, capital city of India. These territories do not have the powers of the state as Union or Central Government runs these areas with their special powers. It is not easy to make changes to the power sharing arrangements of Union and state governments as it has to be passed with both the houses of parliament with at least two-third majority. After its approval from both the houses of parliament, it has to be authorized or ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total seats. In case of disputes about the division of powers, the High court and Supreme Court makes the decisive decision. Both Union and State governments have the power to raise resources by imposing taxes in order to carry on the government and the tasks allocated to them.

Attitude Towards Women Fathers and Sons Essay

To analyze the attitudes towards the women question and the most useful starting point would be to look at the representation of the liberated woman, Yevdoxia Kukshina, which can be contrasted with the representation of Bazarov’s mother or Nikolai Kirsanov’s wife, the women ideals of the older generation. Kukshina is clearly meant to the representative of the radicalism of the 1850s to1860s, â€Å"the progressive, advanced or educated woman : nigilistka or nihilist woman† (Richard Stites). She has ‘vowed to defend the rights of women to the last drop of my blood’ and is scornful of Sand ‘an out of date woman’. She has separated from her husband and plans to go abroad to study in Paris and Heildelberg. She thus, personifies the emergence of new objectives and tactics among the Russian emancipees of the early 1860s. However, it is also quite obvious that while much has been written about Turgenev’s attitude towards his nihilist hero, there is no doubt that the female nihilist Kukshina is an unflattering caricature and as Walter Smyrniw quotes â€Å"Turgenev has deliberately portrayed Kukshina as a ludicrous and repulsive emancipee.† Walter goes on to argue that in his portrayal of Kukshina, Turgenev lampooned only certain undesirable tendencies generated by Russian emancipees. The worst among them was a lack of genuine involvement, an inadequate commitment to the movement itself. Some merely assumed the roles of the emancipated women and hence their behaviour was both contrived and unnatural. Although many critics have argued along the same lines of Turgenev’s portrayal of Kukshina as a device for irony â€Å"the progressive louse which Turgenev combed out of Russian reality† (Dostoevsky) and that he has assumed the same sentiment in respect to Russian men who merely assumed the pose of materialists and nihilists (eg. Sitnikov), it is hard to escape that in the description of her person and household we find some of the stereotyping of radical women found in most conservative writing. He did not hesitate in expressing value judgments when ridiculing the pretentiousness and hypocrisy of Russian women who merely played the role of emancipees. She is dirty and slovenly in her habits and person, her room is scattered and dusty, her hair disheveled and her dress crumpled. Moreover, her conversation and behaviour is meant to ‘show’ us that her radicalism is shallow and unaffected. The narrator ‘tells’ us that she greets her guests with a string of questions without waiting for answers. It is important to notice here the narrator’s generalization here, which would seem to impute lack of serious concern (feminine casualness) to all women as part of their feminine nature and not to Kukshina as an individual. The narrator draws repeated attention to Kukshina’s unattractive physical appearance almost as if that were partly her fault. Kukshina is unfortunate enough to show her gums above her top teeth when she laughs and her piano playing revels her flat-cut fingernails. However, what is most significant in terms of the dominant patriarchal ideology of the mid-nineteenth century Russia is her declaration, â€Å"I’m free, I have no children.† From a conservative perspective, this would count as near sacrilegious statement. Though Bazarov himself is a serious character, it’s possible to read Sitnikov as a parody of the younger generation. At Madame Kukshin’s, the narrator tells us â€Å"To Sitnikov the chance to be scathing and express contempt was the most agreeable of sensations† (13.44).

Case Study of an Ethical Dilemma

Case Study of an Ethical Dilemma Introduction An ethical dilemma arises when the clients and health care providers differ in their understanding of what is right or wrong (Narrigan, 2004). As nurses we often deal with ethical dilemmas in our everyday clinical practice; and as professionals we have the responsibility to analyse and examine any ethical problems that may arise. Any decision should be based on ethical principle that protects the best interest of both the patient and the health care provider. This paper will outline a critical incident which occurred in one of my clinical experience in intensive care unit (ICU).It presents the clinical case, identifies the ethical dilemma, and discusses the principles that apply to this situation. The Case Mrs G was a 76-year old woman who was brought to emergency department (ED) after her carer found her in respiratory distress. The ED doctor noted that the patient was minimally responsive to verbal stimuli, afebrile, normotensive, tachycardic to 130 bpm, and tachypnei c to 30 breaths/min.A chest radiograph revealed a right lower lobe consolidation. Based on her old notes it was found out that she had been recently admitted for investigation of significant weight loss and it was found to be a result of advanced bowel cancer ,with lungs, bone and brain metastases. While in ED Mrs G’s respiratory functions deteriorated and a referral for ICU was made. She was then seen and reviewed by our junior registrar and after discussion from the ICU consultant, Mrs G was admitted to ICU for closer observation. I was then tasked to look after this patient for that shift. After knowing the brief history of the patient from my team leader, I was then asking the doctor of what do we do for this coming admission? Are we going to intubate and ventilate this patient in case she developed respiratory failure? And what are the chances of her recovery from this critical illness? Has it been discussed to the next of kin before the plan for ICU admission? The docto r then replied that it was his consultant’s decision, and so we will just have to wait when this patient will arrive in the unit. . Within 24 hours of being transferred to the ICU, Mrs G’s condition deteriorated rapidly and a decision was made to talk with the family of what we should do in the event of cardiac arrest. Relatives need to be involved in discussions about end-of life issues so that they are fully aware of the appropriate decisions to be made; and that all parties involved understand the situation (McDermott, 2002).The son was immediately informed about his mother’s condition and it was revealed that Mrs G had previously stated to him that she does not want any heroic measures in the event of cardiac arrest. The conversation with Mrs G’s son over the phone resulted in the decision to initiate a not for resuscitation (NFR) order. The purpose of the NFR order is to deliberately withhold life-saving measures when the patient’s respiratory or cardiac function suddenly stops (Costello, 2002).

Discuss the success of UK supermarkets. Should supermarkets promote Essay

Discuss the success of UK supermarkets. Should supermarkets promote healthy eating - Essay Example Supermarkets are typically supplied by distribution centers of their parent companies in the areas largest city. Supermarkets sell products at a low price by decreasing their economic margin. In early days, retail products were fetched by an assistant and pass them to the customer for payment. This process proved to be tiresome, tedious, ineffective, and unsatisfying to customer needs. With these many advantages, this essay discusses the success of UK supermarkets, emphasizing on the fact that supermarkets should promote health feeding (Cheverton, 2004:34). Currently, United Kingdom supermarkets have accomplished a milestone in growth and development. Many supermarkets have taken an interest in showcasing advances that have already been taken in growth and development. Some companies have digitalized supermarkets development in United Kingdom. The coverage ranges right from construction stage to a full operative supermarket (Henry, 2008:61). For instance, Sainsbury unveiled its website aimed at its St Johns development in Worcester. This site had detailed information about the supermarket project including, store details, new jobs opportunities offered at the supermarket, information about community benefits and coming live webcam. Supermarkets are coming under more pressure in promoting healthy eating and providing customers with information of what is bad or what is good with about their products on their shelves. Some supermarkets are taking it further by providing their own diet program programs. Some others provide some healthy eating advice in their websites. Sainsbury’s categorically tackles what a healthy diet is. They give a definition that, when it comes to healthy eating, the important thing to remember is that there are no bad and good foods. A food substance here and there is just not going to harm anyone if

Analyse how an organisation can remain competitive and still implement Research Paper

Analyse how an organisation can remain competitive and still implement WLB(Work -Life-Balance)practices - Research Paper Example As a result, the issue of parental leave has received a lot of attention within the Australian society and work environments. In the light of these reflections it is therefore evident that an organization or a company would adopt ad implement attractive parental leave agreements with their employees as a way of promoting the company image in the market. This will consequently lead to a competitive advantage of such companies over their business rivals. In accordance to Shortland and Cummins (2007, p. 28), there are several costs which are associated with work places which are less flexible. For example when employees are not provided with parental leave, they often get disengaged and distracted. This leads to demotivation and attrition of a company’s employees and the resulted drop in the productivity (Guthrie, 2001, p. 180). Reduction of employee productivity also causes overall poor performance of a company within its market of operation. This reflects that the company loses its competitive advantage (Holland, Pyman, Cooper and Teicher, 2011, p. 98). Therefore, flexibility of work environment through WLB practices which are designed to offer parental leave causes companies to be more competitive. The legal system in Australia protects the rights of employees including their rights for parental leave. However, the laws as postulated by the legal system have not been enforced effectively which leads to companies failing to implement parental leave in their work agreements (De Cieri, Holmes, Abbott and Pettit, 2008, p. 98). A competitive advantage strategy can therefore be employed by a company through the parental leave employment agreement which leads to highly productive, creative and motivated workforce. This would however be achieved if a paid parental leave is provided to employees as an employee benefits form of motivation. The implementation of WLB

Sentencing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sentencing - Essay Example They lower down the judge shopping culture, by getting rid of illogical and disparate sentencing practices. The sentence for a crime should be in the hands of legislature so that they may determine the crime through sentencing guidelines making the common people more confident that the falcons (many of whom are involved in the illegal business of narcotics) will meet the harsher punishment as they deserve. The uncertain condition that the judges may narrate severe sentence or be lenient becomes out of question by the establishment of sentencing guidelines. At the same time, this approach has some shortcomings. The sentencing guidelines lead to the loss of good judgment to formulate a criminal sentence that is suitable to the individual because the guidelines inflict mathematical formulae that do not match with the human ideas. The judges instead of working mathematically go through the circumstances of the case and the individuals and then decide according to the human conditions. So , I think the judges should have more control over the sentences. The guidelines reflect political concerns while the judges are away from this.

Political Science Middle Eastern Politics Essay

Political Science Middle Eastern Politics - Essay Example Whatever the reasons, the establishment of Israel infuriated the Palestinians who deemed the Jewish state as occupation of their homeland including that of their second most important place of worship, the Aqsa Mosque. The most revered place of Muslim worship is the Ka'aba in Saudi Arabia. The Palestinians and Arabs felt that it was a total injustice to ignore the rights of the majority of the population of Palestine. The Arab League and Palestinian institutions rejected the UN partition plan supported by the United States, and formed volunteer armies that infiltrated into Palestine beginning in December of 1947. Thus the formation of Israel in 1948, laid the foundations of a conflict which took the lives of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis but even more devastating was the diaspora of Palestinians who took refuge in neighboring Arab countries fleeing the conflict and the associated socio-economic problems. While Israel was recognized by the United Nations as a sovereign state with rights to self-determination, the Palestinians remained a tribe without any rights. "The Arab-Israeli conflict has been a persistent source of tension for decades, for example, but it has taken on new dimensions in the aftermath of the failed Oslo process and the recent explosion of violence that shows no signs of abating." (Bensahel et al, 2003) In fact, no sooner was the Jewish state announced that the region was engulfed in a war: as the British left Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia declared war on Israel. Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian began to invade the newly declared country. An armistice was soon reached with the mediation of the UN, but as the dust settled, Israel had conquered double the land it was originally allowed under the UN Partition Plan. In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed under the leadership of hardliner Yasser Arafat with the aim of destroying Israel. The Palestinian National Charter called for the liquidation of Israel. Three years later, Israel conquered the West Bank from Jordan and Golan Heights from Syria. UN Resolution 242 called for Israeli withdrawal. This was followed sooner by the Yom Kippur war involving the Egyptians, Syrians and Israel. The signing of a peace accord between Israel and Egypt in 1979 ushered in an era of relative peace . But three years into this era, Israel attacked neighboring Lebanon and conquered most of its land in pursuit of wiping out PLO fighters. In 1993, the Oslo Declaration signed by Israel and the PLO called for mutual recognition. Two years later, the Palestine Authority was established. In 2005, Israel evacuated Gaza and parts of West Bank occupied in 1949. In the wake of the September 11 attack, Israel and Palestine Authority reached a peace accord but it was never implemented. The Arab countries as well as the former Soviet Bloc, the Non-Aligned

Detailed Implementation of BHDs Goals and Objectives Research Paper

Detailed Implementation of BHDs Goals and Objectives - Research Paper Example The gun and firearms retail store catering to the customer’s penchant to learn to shoot prior to buying their preferred firearm choices. Second, the sports complex has a paintball shooting area. Projected Operational Income Statement. The operational plan’s projected income statement is based on Dickie’s actual performance. Appendix A shows the BHD’s projected income statement. The projection is based on Hillsboro’s 42,000 target age group market segment. The same projected annual income statement incorporates the target market’s 15 per cent buyers. The computation is grounded on Dickie’s quarterly income statement (http://www.google.com/finance?fstype=ii&q=NYSE:DKS). Four P’s of the company’s operational Marketing Plan (Habiyaremye, 2011). Product. The BHD entity sells diverse products. The products are guns and ammunition for the sports buffs, sports equipment, firing range services, and paintball game services. BHD com plies with all gun law requirements, including the Gun Control Act (18 U.S. C. Chapter 44) as well as the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. Chapter 53) (http://www.atf.gov/regulations-rulings/laws/). The BHD Corporation’s paintball sports arena complies with Oregon’s safety, environment, and other legal requirements. Price. The prices of BHD’s products are similar to the average competitors’ selling prices.  Ã‚   Demographical data shows that Oregon has 3.8 million residents. Within the Oregon States, Washington County has 530 thousand residents. In addition, Washington County’s Hillsboro City has 92 thousand residents.  

In-depth Economic Analysis of Brazil, Russia, India and China Essay

In-depth Economic Analysis of Brazil, Russia, India and China - Essay Example The term BRIC was in a way, created in the year 2001 by Jim O’Neill. Since then, the term BRIC has rather evolved into a concept which refers to economic growth. Each of the four emerging nations owns most of the components required to attain superior economic development in the world of today (â€Å"EconomyWatch†, 2010). Country Profiles Brazil In terms of country area, Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world with the country size being 8,514,877 sq km. The estimated population of Brazil in 2012 is 205,716,890; which is also fifth largest in the world. The rate of population growth hovers around 1.1% while 87% of the country’s population resides in urban areas. The age structure of Brazil illustrates that 67% of the inhabitants lie in the age bracket of 15-64 years, which is a healthy sign for any growing economy. The literacy rate, which stands at 88.6%, is pretty encouraging. Portuguese is the state’s official language. As far as the division o f population on the basis of religion is concerned, 73.6% of the population is Roman Catholic while 15.4% is Protestant. Brazil achieved independence in the year 1822, after more than three hundred years of Portuguese rule. The country continued with a monarchical government system up till the abandonment of slavery in 1888, followed by a declaration of a republic in 1889. The coffee exporters used to politically control the country until Getulio Vargas assumed power in 1930. In the year 1985, Brazil acquired freedom from military and populist rule. Ever since, it has set itself on the expedition of industrial and agricultural development. Economy Review The economy of Brazil revolves around hefty and well-managed sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, mining and services; which have made Brazil an economic leader in South America. Since the year 2003, Brazil has gained strength on a macro-economic basis, with the piling up of foreign reserves in addition to betterment of debt posit ion. Brazil has been one of the initial economies to demonstrate a recovery after the 2008 recession. By securing the position of the world’s seventh biggest economy in 2011, Brazil has been able to comfortably outshine United Kingdom (â€Å"CIA†, 2012). Russia Russia enjoys the first position with respect to country size in the world, as it has a total area of 17,098,242 sq km. The country’s estimated population in 2012 is 138,082,178, which is ninth highest among all countries. The rate of population growth has been a negative 0.48%. 73% population is located in urban areas. With reference to economic standpoint, the age structure is a promising one with almost 71% of the country’s people in the age category of 15-64. The literacy rate is very high at 99.4%. With respect to religion, 15-20% of the population is Russian Orthodox while around 10-15% is Muslim. However, Russia is known for a large number of nonbelievers primarily because of the legacy left by the Soviet era. Russian has always been the official language of the country. After 2 centuries of Mongol rule, the Principality of Muscovy was established in the 12th century. Up till the 19th century, numerous territorial acquisitions were undertaken

Study Guide Essay Example for Free

Study Guide Essay What is the amount of the firms operating cash flow if the tax rate is 35 percent? a. $46,605 b. $52,030 c. $71,700 D. $134,630 e. $105,720 BLOOMS TAXONOMY QUESTION TYPE: APPLICATION LEARNING OBJECTIVE NUMBER: 4 LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE Ross Chapter 002 #83 SECTION: 2. 4 TOPIC: OPERATING CASH FLOW TYPE: PROBLEMS 3. Which one of the following statements is correct? A. The NYSE has the most stringent listing requirements. b. The trading floor for NASDAQ is located in Chicago. c. The majority of the publicly traded firms in the U. S. are listed on the NYSE. d. NASDAQ is an auction market. e. The NYSE is a dealer market. SECTION: 1. 2 TOPIC: CAPITAL BUDGETING TYPE: DEFINITIONS 47. Baldwin, Inc. paid $18,500 in dividends and $44,600 in interest over the past year while net working capital increased from $10,200 to $28,200. The company purchased $30,000 in net new fixed assets and had depreciation expenses of $15,700. During the year, the firm issued $45,000 in net new equity and paid off $16,000 in long-term debt. What is the amount of Baldwins cash flow from assets? a. $48,000 b. $3,700 c. $30,200 D. $34,100 e. $18,000 BLOOMS TAXONOMY QUESTION TYPE: APPLICATION LEARNING OBJECTIVE NUMBER: 4 LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE Ross Chapter 002 #82

History Of Entrepreneurship In Mauritius Business Essay

History Of Entrepreneurship In Mauritius Business Essay Several measures and policies have been implemented since independence regarding SMEs, the priority of the government of maximizing social welfare has been considered through the creation and promotion of entrepreneurial businesses. The origins of SMEs in Mauritius begins in the 1960s when Mauritius was experiencing a timid industrialization change-over with the main objective of supplying the local market with imported goods and helping the country to gain a certain autonomy. At that time, the government was encouraging the production of different types of commodities such as manufacturing of blades, electrical bulbs, batteries, soap, welding and steel work for construction, refining edible oils, plastic industry, food canning, industrial poultry breeding, yogurt manufacturing, biscuits, shoes and so on for the domestic market. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry established the Small Scale Industry Unit (SSIU) in 1976 which in 1983 became the Small Industry Development Organizati on (SIDO), the primary aim of such company was to provide general advice and guidance to small businesses and in 1988, the Small Scale Industry (SSI) experienced a true change-over through the presentation of the Small Scale Industries Act. This act promoted the development of the SSI by adopting a legal definition of SSI, voluntary registration of SSI, duty exemption on production equipment and the setting up of an advisory board. The Industrial Expansion Act 1993 consisted of the SMIDO Act which was considered as the next landmark in promoting entrepreneurship in Mauritius, the idea was to establish a framework for consolidating, expanding and enhancing the competitiveness and developing a SME sector. The government implemented a Ministry of SMEs in December 2003 and two years after the Small Enterprises and Handicraft Development Authority (SEHDA) was created following the union of the SMIDO and the National Handicraft Promotion Agency (NHPA). The SEHDA main objective was to prom ote a more effective and efficient use of available resources allocated to the entrepreneurial sector in Mauritius. The SEHDA Act 2010 was replaced by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development (SMEDA) Act and this was the latest development with regards to the SME policy framework in Mauritius. The SMEDA nowadays works under the aegis of the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives and represent one of the most well-known organizations promoting entrepreneurship in the Mauritian economy. Definition of entrepreneur and entrepreneurship Who is an entrepreneur? The term entrepreneur has been defined in various forms over the past years based on professional experience of individuals or based on observations and researches made to understand what an entrepreneur is. According to the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon (1725), an entrepreneur is someone who accepts to pay a certain price for a commodity (for instance materials) and to resell it at another price thus deciding about the practical use of resources while consequently admitting the risk of enterprise. The French economist Jean-Baptiste Say (1803) stated that a business person is an economic agent who regroups all factors of production- land, labor, and capital and produces a product as such shifting economic resources out of an area of lower productivity to a higher one. The American management consultant Peter Drucker (1964) stated that an entrepreneur is one who looks for and respond to change, thus enjoying opportunities by converting a source into resource. Another defini tion implied that an entrepreneur is an individual starting a new business in a new market where no one before has started business, this was stated by W.B. Gartner in 1985. Thus it can be seen that the definition of an entrepreneur varies according to time and according to observations and perceptions of people who considers it as mainly individual making money by accepting to take risks to achieve his/her goal. But in order to understand clearly the concept, a simpler but direct definition should be considered and as such, an entrepreneur is an individual who decides to take the risks of managing a business and especially manipulating factors of production such as land, labor and capital for the sake of making profit. The main characteristics that an entrepreneur should possess are enthusiasm, intelligence, creativity, determination, courage to take risks, communication skills, human relation abilities, business secrecy, administrative ability, ability to manage pressure, leading skills, technical knowledge, problem-solving skills and so on. Entrepreneurs are classified based mainly on Functional characteristics being innovative, imitative, skeptical, cautious, or resistant to change. Development angle- being eager for expansion, survival, efficient, or concentrated only on local trading. Types of entrepreneurial business- manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, or service business. Nine personality types of entrepreneurs- being an improver, advisor, highly qualified, highly creative, visionary, analyst, optimistic, leader, determined. Types of motivation- motivated by profit, rewards, and self-fulfillment. Types of area- urban or rural entrepreneurs Types of gender- male or women entrepreneurs. What is entrepreneurship? The term entrepreneurship has also been defined by some researchers, economist and consultants where different meanings have been developed in order to clarify what it is really. According to the economist Joseph Schumpeter in the 1930s, entrepreneurship employs the concept of gale of creative destruction where past innovations on the market are replaced by new ideas thus implementing new concepts for boosting economic growth. The two American economists Peter Drucker (1970) and Frank H Knight (1921) stated that entrepreneurship deals with taking risks for the sake of making money , the acts of free enterprise is often subjected to no guarantee that the individual will be able to challenges the market uncertainties. Entrepreneurship is considered to be a major driver of economic growth for a country according to the American economist David B. Audretsch, in Mauritius for instance, SMEs re greatly participating in the development of the country, especially in reducing poverty and unem ployment. But for now, let us define what entrepreneurship is really. It is the process of increasing business interests by adopting creativity and innovation in a way to set up an enterprise. It is the action of an individual involve in minimizing the use of resources and taking risks in order to generate profits. In Mauritius, free enterprise is usually referred to as Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) where a small enterprise is defined as a business generating an annual turnover of around 10 million rupees and medium enterprise is defined as a business having an annual turnover of not more than 50 million rupees. The SMEDA in collaboration with the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives aims at promoting emergence and competitiveness of SMEs, advising the Ministry regarding how to control the SMEs sector and implementing support programmes. http://www.sbmgroup.mu/images/653_200_sme.gif Incentives for entrepreneurship For the past decades, there have been many incentives and supports given to enterprises for the promotion of the SME sector in Mauritius. The Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperative has been working with different institutions to be able to provide the most services possible to small and medium enterprises, the budget 2012-2013 has considered financial services which include the release of Rs 3bn of loans from the banking sector to SMEs till 2014 at an interest rate of 3% above the repo rate that is 8.5 % and processing costs and related charges will be renounced. Here is a list of the different institutions and support schemes given to entrepreneurs. Small and Medium Industries Development Organization (SMIDO) Export Credit Guarantee Insurance Scheme: Joint effort of SMIDO and SICOM Ltd Protects the exporting SME against failure of buyer to pay all export transactions after shipment Pays 85% of the invoice value to the policyholder in cases of default Export Assistance Scheme Financial support to enable SMEs forward samples of their products abroad to prospective buyers 50% refund on airfreight subject to a maximum of Rs. 2000 twice a year Start-Up Scheme Financial support of up to a maximum of Rs. 100,000 to entrepreneurs to set up their enterprise Prospective recipients have to enter Business Plan Competition Training, Consultancy and Benchmarking Impart new and develop latent Skills, and Knowledge of entrepreneurs in various areas/fields through Training programmes, workshops and seminars Company analysis and guidance Business Counseling and Information Information and guidance to potential and existing entrepreneurs Assist entrepreneurs to prepare or update a comprehensive business plan Monitoring of business and advice Feasibility Study Grant Scheme Grant equivalent to 50% of the costs of a feasibility study for a viable project Max. amount granted Rs. 75,000 Study is to be undertaken by an approved consultant/consultancy firm Mauritius Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) Export Business Support Scheme Financial support for participation in trade missions organized by MIDA funding of up to 75% of cost of stand and 25% refund on the cost of air tickets Financial support for participation in other trade shows funding of up to 60% of cost of stand and 25% refund on the cost of air tickets International Credit Checking Service 50% refund on the cost of each search effected, subject to a max. of 5 company checks per annum SME Exhibition Centre Virtual Exhibition Centre Showcase and Communicate products of SMEs to both local and foreign buyers. Industrial Buildings/ Estates Rental of industrial buildings tailor-made for SMEs Overseas Market Testing Free testing of products in selected markets Assistance, Advice and Information Advice on Development of Promotional Tools Advice on Export Documentation Product Information in selected markets Assistance in Market Research Trade Information Centre Assistance and guidance for marketing trips Loans offered by the Development Bank of Mauritius (DBM Ltd) Scheme Max. Quantum Allocated Max. Loan Amount Interest Rate   (per annum) Term   (years) Start-ups 90% of cost of project Rs 200 000 8% 4 Financing of Production Equipment 70% of cost of equipment Rs 3 m 10 11% 5 Technology Improvement Scheme 60% of cost of project Rs 1 m 9% 6 Working Capital 70% of cost of stock Rs 400 000 to Rs 1 m 10 12% 4 Business Sector 70% of project costs Rs 3 m 12% 5 Construction of Office Commercial Space 70% of project cost Rs 3 m 12% 7 Construction of Industrial Building 60% to 90% of project costs Rs 3 m 11.5% to 12% 10 Printing Publishing 60% of cost of new equipment Rs 3 m 10% 5 Local Newspaper 60% of the cost modernization Rs 2 m 8% 5 General Service 70% of cost of project Rs 3 m 12% 5 Freeport Sector 75% of working capital requirements Rs 1 m 12% 5 ICT Sector 75% of cost of project Rs 1 to 5 m 8% 5 Joint Venture with Overseas Partners Rs 1 m 10% 6 Export Development Fund (for Overseas Market Surveys and Participation in Trade Fairs) 70% of project cost Rs 100 000 3% 3 Selected Investment Schemes Scheme/Certificate Qualifying Activities Key Incentives Export Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifManufacture of goods principally for exports No customs duty or VAT on raw materials and equipment Corporate tax of 15% No tax on dividends and capital gains 60% remission of customs duties on buses of 15-25 seats 50% exemption on the normal registration fee for the purchase of land and buildings 50% relief on personal income tax for 2 expatriate staff Pioneer Status Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifActivities involving above average technology and skills   http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifActivities likely to enhance industrial and technological development No customs duty on raw materials and equipment as per schedule list Corporate tax of 15% No tax on dividends Strategic Local Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifManufacture of goods for local market http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifActivity likely to further economic, industrial and technological development Corporate tax of 15% No tax on dividends Small and Medium Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifManufacturing activity subject to an investment in production equipment not exceeding Rs 10m No customs duty on production equipment and raw materials as per schedule list Corporate tax of 15% Freeport Enterprise http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifOperations in the Freeport   http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifGoods for export only http://smido.intnet.mu/images/bullet.gifStorage, assembly, redistribution and logistics No Corporate tax No tax on dividends No customs duty on raw materials, goods and production equipment Reduced port handling charges for all goods destined for re-export Barriers to entrepreneurship in Mauritius Development of entrepreneurs in Mauritius List of organizations engaged in promoting entrepreneurship Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) Mauritius Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) Development Bank of Mauritius ( DBM) Board of Investment (BOI) Mauritius Freeport Authority (MFA) Association Of Mauritian Entrepreneurs ( AME) Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) Conclusion

Comparing Nothings Changed and Charlotte ONeils Song :: Farrel Afrika Poetry Poems Culture Essays

Comparing Nothing's Changed and Charlotte O'Neil's Song Both poets are protesting about the injustices and inequalities of their own respective cultures. In "Nothing's Changed" Afrika protests about the differences in the way that black and white people are treated in South Africa. The poem illustrates how, although the South African apartheid system was abolished in the early 1990s nothing had really changed beyond paperwork. Afrika was once quoted in an interview as saying "We may have a new constitution, we may have on the face of it all a beautiful democracy, but the racism in this country is widespread. We try to pretend to the world that it does not exist but it most certainly does, all day long, every day, shocking and saddening and terrible." He reinforces these feelings in his poem. He begins the poem in a calm mood. He describes his walk down the path towards district six in a calm, almost leisurely way. When he reaches district six the sense of calm leaves and the anger in the poem starts to become apparent. He talks about how there is no sign to show the name of the area but he can feel it. "No board says it is: But my feet know, And my hands, And the skin about my bones, And the soft labouring of my lungs, And the hot, white, inwards turning Anger of my eyes." It would seem that he does not have good memories of this place. His immediate change of mood as he nears district six seems to show his feelings towards the area. We start to get the feeling that whatever has happened here has affected him deeply and personally. Afrika is outraged by the hidden racism in his country. Even though by law black, white and coloured people are considered equal in practise quite the reverse is true. In the poem he describes a white's only inn. He uses quite harsh language in his description. "Brash with glass, Name flaring like a flag, It squats, In the grass and the weeds Incipient Port Jackson trees: New, up-market, haute cuisine, Guard at the gate post, Whites only inn" There is a lot of personification in this description. The word brash suggests the arrogance of the place. The name flaring like a flag is suggestive of the inn displaying its conquest of the area. Simply by being there Afrika feels that the inn has committed a great atrocity as it is a place where a coloured man would obviously not be welcome even in the absence of apartheid. The word squats I think is not as though it were sitting but as though it were occupying the land illegally. Incipient literally means imported.

Telecommunications Reform :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

In the past, it has been shown that with each new wave of breakthroughs of communications technology, there has been a trend towards a change throughout the entire communications industry. Telecommunications is getting more personal, affecting the way that we view the world around us. As a result, the telecommunications industry has fragmented into specialized areas, each being better suited to providing certain services. This is a far cry from the time when foreboding monopolies with names like BT, ATT, and NTT ruled the industry. Now there are players such as GTE, Orbcomm, and Lucent. The playing field has become crowded, with many corporations vying for the space once occupied by only a chosen few. The term deregulation is invoked when a communications market that has been traditionally closed to outside competitors is opened for competition. Deregulation can also correspond to the loosening of controls on a particular communications product or service, or of the introduction of a new product or service into a traditionally closed market. Deregulation of the communications industry has been the language of the last fifteen years in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, and there are no signs that this trend will change or subside. If the past is any indicator, advances in communications technology will inevitably lead to continued deregulation of global telecommunications. One may wonder why deregulation of the telcom industry is such a good thing. In the early days of modern telecommunications, many countries around the world would have not had any access at all to telephones if it weren't for a governmental monopoly on the industry. Governments of various countries involved themselves with local telecommunications to ensure that the development of the system was uniform, and that calls could be placed from one area of the country to another over reliable connections. Having communications regulations in place could be important to a nation trying to prevent a "bleed" of its technology to other nations around the world. For example, until recently, most computers over a certain speed that had to be shipped out of the country to a nation such as the former Soviet Union needed an export license. This regulation was in place in order to prevent reverse engineering of American products. This applies to the American communications industry because tight controls are kept over cryptography products in order to prevent them from being sold to nations who In turn might use our strong encryption protocols against the United States.

The Native Son-Blacks And Whites :: essays research papers

In the Native Son Wright lets us see how blacks and whites have so many problems because of racial issues. We see how blacks and whites do not see eye to eye. We also see how being black in the 1930’s was something you couldn’t control but still was looked at as being something â€Å"bad†. Color was what it was all about. Being black was seen as being lower class and also less- human than other Caucasians. We also see the fear that black families and communities had. These facts separate in details how two types of race had such an effect on each other but still did not know how much damaged they caused to each other during many, many years.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   White people in this book felt blacks were bad people who just had bad ways of doing things. Stereo type was a big issue as we see when Bigger gets caught for the murder, newspapers stated that there was a â€Å"Mass Rapist on the loose†. Since he was black they thought right away he was raped her. White people also showed that they didn’t really care about what happened to black people. Since Mary Dalton was white, Caucasians were screaming at Bigger that he was a gorilla, that he should be killed, and many other bad racist comments. There were other white people who thought equality was for every one in the world. Jan is a prime example of how some white people felt blacks were treated wrong. Blacks feared whites. Many of them had so much fear that they accepted the way they were being treated. They took it as a problem where there was no answer. When Bigger was driving back to the Dalton’s house we see how many black people were just standing in the corner. Bigger was different though. He feared whites, but he sometimes tried to find the solution. Blacks also felt that the whites should be treated with more respect. The way Bigger answers his mother and the way he answers Mr. Dalton are two different tones of voices. One is respect out of fear and the other is disrespect out of revenge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many of Bigger’s actions suggest a huge response to fear, which comes from his exposure to a harsh social climate in which a clear line between acceptable behavior for whites and blacks exists. His anger and his destructive impulses come from that fear and is seen clear in the opening scene when he attacks a huge rat.

“Death of a Salesman” Detailed Analysis Essay

ARTHUR MILLER Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953) and A View from the Bridge Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, a period during which he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Prince of Asturias Award, and was married to Marilyn Monroe. SUMMARY It is important to bear that the story is told through the mind and memory of Willy Loman and there is a constant back and forth between two periods ,1928 and 1942.The first period is one of the happiness and contentment when Willy Loman is young and dynamic and the children ,Biff and Happy are running about in shorts ;the second is one of gloom and discontent -Willy is now old and ,virtually out of a job and the children are grown up and gone their different ways. The play is thus structured in such a way to show the pleasures of the past ,the dreams and hopes the characters had and how these aspirations had turned sour. Willy Loman had built his life in such a way that he had finally trapped himself in an impossible situation. Willy Loman ,the protagonist in the play was a travelling salesman in the services of the wagnor company for 34 years. When his old boss died ,his son Howard took over the administration of the company .Willy’s family consists of three other members ,his wife Linda, Biff,the elder son and Happy, the younger son. Willy unexpectedly returned on the same day he had left for New England territory on a business tour. Linda felt that her husband is thoroughly  exhausted both physically and mentally and he has almost reached the breaking point. Willy, who is 63, has driven the car off the road twice or three times and when he reached home he was found to be panic stricken ,desolate and shattered. Willy liked his eldest son Biff,who was wellknown as a football champion. Though he is 34 , it is unfortunate that he could not settle in life. Inspite of the fact that three colleges offered him scholarship in recognition of his proficiency in football, he did not join any college . Happy, the women chaser also could not settle in life. For the next two days, immediately after his unexpected return, Willy’s mind was rather disturbed with thoughts of today’s realities inter mingled with yesterday’s half forgotten episodes. He felt that it was mistake on his part not to have followed his elder brother Ben ,who dared his way into the diamond minds of Africa and amassed fabulous wealth . Willy’s guilty consciousness pricked him at the flash back scene of Boston hotel room, when his son Biff makes a surprise visit and finds his father having an affair with a strange lady .After this episode, Biff seemed to hold a grudge against his father and could never again bring himself to trust Willy. As suggested by Linda, Willy visits Howard, the young Boss and request for a change of job in the New York City office as he is physically and mentally incapacitated as a travelling sales man. When the request was unceremoniously turned down by Howard and Willy dismissed from service he protest â€Å"You ca nnot eat orange and throw the peel away; man is not a piece of fruit†. Willy is very much frustrated and disillusioned at the behavior of capitalists who lacked the human milk of kindness, sympathy and gratitude. Biff’s attempt to raise a loan from Bill Oliver, the proprietor of sports goods company also failed. Oliver, who once liked Biff immensely, now refused to recognise him now because Biff has stolen a fountain pen, Charley ,Willy’s neighbour extended a helping hand in those days of adversity. He ,not only advanced a loan to him but also offered him a job to him. But Willy refused to accept it with a false sense of dignity. The two sons invited the father for a dinner party at a prominent restaurant in the city. But Happy picked up two call girls and left the place along with Biff,  leaving Willy alone. Willy felt humiliated and this experience was shocking and unbearable when Biff and Happy returned home, Linda ordered them out of the house by the next morning. She was planning to commit suicide on a particular night .Willy was left alone while all others went upstairs. He has insured his life for 20,000 dollars. Once he dies, the family will be entitled to receive the amount from the insurance company. So Willy got into his car and drove madly through darkness, only to kill himself. His funeral was attended only by Linda, the two sons, charley and his son Bernard. Linda could not stand the strain of separation from her beloved husband; but still she stooped down and dropped flowers on the grave of Willy. DEATH OF A SALESMAN AS A TRAGEDY: According to the traditional views based on Aristotelian cannons, the tragic hero was to be a person of high rank and status. So that his down fall could produce an inevitable emotional effect on the audience. In ancient Greek tragedies, fate or destiny is mainly responsible for the downfall of human beings. But Shakespeare and Marlow attributed human misfortune mainly to the personal draw backs of the tragic heroes themselves and hardly to the hidden forces which we describe as fate or destiny. Miller generally departs from both these concepts of tragedy as in the tragic hero in the Death of a sales man belongs to the middle class. He does not hold the view that tragic effect can be produced only by the downfall of a highly placed individual in society. It matters not at all whether hero falls from a great height or small one, whether he highly conscious or dimly aware of what is happening ,if the intensity is their ‘America grows like a giant in unimaginable proportions ‘. Willy symbolically stands for all the low men in American business community not just salesmen -who in a way sell themselves. Willy sells himself and in the process wears himself out and he is finally discarded when he is no longer useful. Willy begins as a salesman 36 years ago, opens up unheard of territories to their trade mark, but in his old age they take his salary away. It is pity that once Willy’s energy is exhausted by the work that  society has assigned to him, he is thrown aside and dismissed by the son of his old boss. Willy protests, â€Å"you cannot eat the orange and throw them peel â€Å". Man is not a piece of fruit no doubt ,Willy loman is a superannuated employee, but he is rejected and ill treated by his employer at the end of his career. Even a change of job with less travelling was denied to him. But still it may not be fully correct to say that Willy is wholly a victim of the prevailing social system. His own responsibility of his tragedy is by no means insignificant or negligible. In the first place he failed to realize his own limitations and short comings Willy has the conviction that success depends on personality, contacts and good cloths and that these will bring everything one wants in life. Obviously Willy is a prey to that magical book of Dale carnegie’s ‘How to win friends and influence people ‘ we know that mistake is that Willy had chosen a wrong profession for himself under the impression that the selling profession is the best in the world. Secondly the sense of guilt which he carries with him due to his past infidelity to his wife has also serious repercussions in his mental stability .His affair with the woman in the hotel when he was visited by Biff hangs on his conscience. Biff’s discovery of Willy’s infidelity marks the crucial turning point in the relationship between the father and the son .There after Biff no longer believes Willy . Another point to be noted is Willy’s incurable optimism .He has had higher expectation about the future of his elder son Biff who looks so charming as the Adonise in Greek mythology and who has earned high reputation as a good football champion. Biff has become disillusioned .For Biff ,life came to be an end with his match. He could neither make a mark in business nor could he go back to school to finish his course. Ironically Bernard who never represented University of Virginia, Bernard who pleaded to carry Biff’s helmet or shoulder guards , prospered. Bernard wins glory by pleading before the supreme court ,but he does this without any pushing from his father. According to Willy, they ought to be success at all; for both Charley and Bernard were not well liked. These tragic experiences shatter Willy’s conception of American dreams. No human or super natural agency interfered his life .The sense of frustration and psychological neurosis upsets his  mental equi librium and shatters him to pieces. CHARACTER LIST WILLY LOMAN: An insecure, self-deluded traveling salesman. Willy believes wholeheartedly in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, but he never achieves it. Nor do his sons fulfill his hope that they will succeed where he has failed. When Willy’s illusions begin to fail under the pressing realities of his life, his mental health begins to unravel. The overwhelming tensions caused by this disparity, as well as those caused by the societal imperatives that drive Willy, form the essential conflict of Death of a Salesman. BIFF LOMAN: Willy’s thirty-four-year-old elder son. Biff led a charmed life in high school as a football star with scholarship prospects, good male friends, and fawning female admirers. He failed math, however, and did not have enough credits to graduate. Since then, his kleptomania has gotten him fired from every job that he has held. Biff represents Willy’s vulnerable, poetic, tragic side. He cannot ignore his instincts, which tell him to abandon Willy’s paralyzing dreams and move out West to work with his hands. He ultimately fails to reconcile his life with Willy’s expectations of him. LINDA LOMAN: Willy’s loyal, loving wife. Linda suffers through Willy’s grandiose dreams and self-delusions. Occasionally, she seems to be taken in by Willy’s self-deluded hopes for future glory and success, but at other times, she seems far more realistic and less fragile than her husband. She has nurtured the family through all of Willy’s misguided attempts at success, and her emotional strength and perseverance support Willy until his collapse. HAPPY LOMAN: Willy’s thirty-two-year-old younger son. Happy has lived in Biffs shadow all of his life, but he compensates by nurturing his relentless sex drive and professional ambition. Happy represents Willy’s sense of self-importance, ambition, and blind servitude to societal expectations. Although he works as an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department  store, Happy presents himself as supremely important. Additionally, he practices bad business ethics and sleeps with the girlfriends of his superiors. CHARLEY- Willy’s next – door neighbor. Charley owns a successful business and his son, Bernard, is a wealthy, important lawyer. Willy is jealous of Charley’s success. Charley gives Willy money to pay his bills, and Willy reveals at one point, choking back tears, that Charley is his only friend. BERNARD – Bernard is Charley’s son and an important, successful lawyer. Although Willy used to mock Bernard for studying hard, Bernard always loved Willy’s sons dearly and regarded Biff as a hero. Bernard’s success is difficult for Willy to accept because his own sons’ lives do not measure up. BEN – Willy’s wealthy older brother. Ben has recently died and appears only in Willy’s â€Å"daydreams.† Willy regards Ben as a symbol of the success that he so desperately craves for himself and his sons. THE WOMAN – Willy’s mistress when Happy and Biff were in high school. The Woman’s attention and admiration boost Willy’s fragile ego. When Biff catches Willy in his hotel room with The Woman, he loses faith in his father, and his dream of passing math and going to college dies. HOWARD WAGNER – Willy’s boss. Howard inherited the company from his father, whom Willy regarded as â€Å"a masterful man† and â€Å"a prince.† Though much younger than Willy, Howard treats Willy with condescension and eventually fires him, despite Willy’s wounded assertions that he named Howard at his birth. STANLEY – A waiter at Frank’s Chop House. Stanley and Happy seem to be friends, or at least acquaintances, and they banter about and ogle Miss Forsythe together before Biff and Willy arrive at the restaurant. MISS FORSYTHE AND LETTA – Two young women whom Happy and Biff meet at Frank’s Chop House. It seems likely that Miss Forsythe and Letta are prostitutes, judging from Happy’s repeated comments about their moral character and the  fact that they are â€Å"on call.† JENNY – Charley’s secretary THEMES, MOTIFS & SYMBOLS THEMES Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. THE AMERICAN DREAM Willy believes wholeheartedly in what he considers the promise of the American Dream- that a â€Å"well liked† and â€Å"personally attractive† man in business will indubitably and deservedly acquire the material comforts offered by modern American life. Oddly, his fixation with the superficial qualities of attractiveness and likeability is at odds with a more gritty, more rewarding understanding of the American Dream that identifies hard work without complaint as the key to success. Willy’s interpretation of likeability is superficial-he childishly dislikes Bernard because he considers Bernard a nerd. Willy’s blind faith in his stunted version of the American Dream leads to his rapid psychological decline when he is unable to accept the disparity between the Dream and his own life. ABANDONMENT Willy’s life charts a course from one abandonment to the next, leaving him in greater despair each time. Willy’s father leaves him and Ben when Willy is very young, leaving Willy neither a tangible (money) nor an intangible (history) legacy. Ben eventually departs for Alaska, leaving Willy to lose himself in a warped vision of the American Dream. Likely a result of these early experiences, Willy develops a fear of abandonment, which makes him want his family to conform to the American Dream. His efforts to raise perfect sons, however, reflect his inability to understand reality. The  young Biff, whom Willy considers the embodiment of promise, drops Willy and Willy’s zealous ambitions for him when he finds out about Willy’s adultery. Biff’s ongoing inability to succeed in business furthers his estrangement from Willy. When, at Frank’s Chop House, Willy finally believes that Biff is on the cups of greatness, Biff shatters Willy’s illus ions and, along with Happy, abandons the deluded, babbling Willy in the washroom. BETRAYAL Willy’s primary obsession throughout the play is what he considers to be Biff’s betrayal of his ambitions for him. Willy believes that he has every right to expect Biff to fulfill the promise inherent in him. When Biff walks out on Willy’s ambitions for him, Willy takes this rejection as a personal affront (he associates it with â€Å"insult† and â€Å"spite†). Willy, after all, is a salesman, and Biff’s ego-crushing rebuff ultimately reflects Willy’s inability to sell him on the American Dream-the product in which Willy himself believes most faithfully. Willy assumes that Biff’s betrayal stems from Biff’s discovery of Willy’s affair with The Woman-a betrayal of Linda’s love. Whereas Willy feels that Biff has betrayed him, Biff feels that Willy, a â€Å"phony little fake,† has betrayed him with his unending stream of ego-stroking lies. MOTIFS Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. MYTHIC FIGURES Willy’s tendency to mythologize people contributes to his deluded understanding of the world. He speaks of Dave Singleman as a legend and imagines that his death must have been beautifully noble. Willy compares Biff and Happy to the mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he believes that his sons are pinnacles of â€Å"personal attractiveness† and power through â€Å"well liked†-ness; to him, they seem the very incarnation of the  American Dream. Willy’s mythologizing proves quite nearsighted, however. Willy fails to realize the hopelessness of Singleman’s lonely, on-the-job, on-the-road death. Trying to achieve what he considers to be Singleman’s heroic status, Willy commits himself to a pathetic death and meaningless legacy (even if Willy’s life insurance policy ends up paying off, Biff wants nothing to do with Willy’s ambition for him). THE AMERICAN WEST, ALASKA, AND THE AFRICAN JUNGLE These regions represent the potential of instinct to Biff and Willy. Willy’s father found success in Alaska and his brother, Ben, became rich in Africa; these exotic locales, especially when compared to Willy’s banal Brooklyn neighborhood, crystallize how Willy’s obsession with the commercial world of the city has trapped him in an unpleasant reality. Whereas Alaska and the African jungle symbolize Willy’s failure, the American West, on the other hand, symbolizes Biff’s potential. Biff realizes that he has been content only when working on farms, out in the open. His westward escape from both Willy’s delusions and the commercial world of the eastern United States suggests a nineteenth-century pioneer mentality-Biff, unlike Willy, recognizes the importance of the individual. SYMBOLS Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. SEEDS Seeds represent for Willy the opportunity to prove the worth of his labor, both as a salesman and a father. His desperate, nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables signifies his shame about barely being able to put food on the table and having nothing to leave his children when he passes. Willy feels that he has worked hard but fears that he will not be able to help his  offspring any more than his own abandoning father helped him. The seeds also symbolize Willy’s sense of failure with Biff. Despite the American Dream’s formula for success, which Willy considers infallible, Willy’s efforts to cultivate and nurture Biff went awry. Realizing that his all-American football star has turned into a lazy bum, Willy takes Biff’s failure and lack of ambition as a reflection of his abilities as a father. DIAMONDS To Willy, diamonds represent tangible wealth and, hence, both validation of one’s labor (and life) and the ability to pass material goods on to one’s offspring, two things that Willy desperately craves. Correlatively, diamonds, the discovery of which made Ben a fortune, symbolize Willy’s failure as a salesman. Despite Willy’s belief in the American Dream, a belief unwavering to the extent that he passed up the opportunity to go with Ben to Alaska, the Dream’s promise of financial security has eluded Willy. At the end of the play, Ben encourages Willy to enter the â€Å"jungle† finally and retrieve this elusive diamond-that is, to kill himself for insurance money in order to make his life meaningful. LINDA’S AND THE WOMAN’S STOCKINGS Willy’s strange obsession with the condition of Linda’s stockings foreshadows his later flashback to Biff’s discovery of him and The Woman in their Boston hotel room. The teenage Biff accuses Willy of giving away Linda’s stockings to The Woman. Stockings assume a metaphorical weight as the symbol of betrayal and sexual infidelity. New stockings are important for both Willy’s pride in being financially successful and thus able to provide for his family and for Willy’s ability to ease his guilt about, and suppress the memory of, his betrayal of Linda and Biff. THE RUBBER HOSE The rubber hose is a stage prop that reminds the audience of Willy’s desperate attempts at suicide. He has apparently attempted to kill himself  by inhaling gas, which is, ironically, the very substance essential to one of the most basic elements with which he must equip his home for his family’s health and comfort-heat. Literal death by inhaling gas parallels the metaphorical death that Willy feels in his struggle to afford such a basic necessity. QUESTIONS The play ‘Death of a Salesman’ revolves mainly around a conflict between ? What are the reasons for Willy’s failure as a business man? American dream in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. What is the central theme of the play ‘Death of a salesman’. The father son conflict in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. The hotel scene in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. The role of mother Linda Loman in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. Why did Biff Loman leave the school? The significance of the title’Death of a salesman’. Why did Willy commit suicide? The flash back scene in the play ‘Death of a salesman’. Miller’s play as a critique of the American way of life.

Television: the Downfall of American Society

Sean Conway Professor Stevens WRT 102 Essay #2 Television: The Downfall of American Society Televisions have only been around since their debut in the middle of the 20th century and have since become a huge part of everyday life here in America. Originally having good intentions, the television and watching of television in the last couple of decades has changed greatly. The amount of time people spend watching their televisions has also changed in the sense that people spend much more time in front of the television than they used to.Some argue that television has had a huge negative effect on American families. In her essay, â€Å"Television: The Plug-In-Drug,† Marie Winn explores the ways in which television has lowered the quality of family life, rituals, and values. She recognizes that there is a problem with our society and the way in which it is consistently influenced by television. She shows this when she says, â€Å"Television’s contribution to family life ha s been an equivocal one,† (Winn 353).Winn is true in saying this because television has caused children across America to have undeveloped intelligence, creativity, and imagination. TV is also detrimental to family life, family relationships, and outside relationships as well. When the television made its first debut in the early to mid 20th century it came with good intentions. This idea of good intention however did not last long with the critics. As early as 1961 the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission referred to television as a â€Å"Vast Wasteland,† (351).Many other critics would come to share in his beliefs about television. There have been numerous books, articles, essays, and research done on the subject of television and its negative effects on children in particular. Marie Winn’s article is just one of many. The amount of time America’s youth spends watching television can be correlated to a decrease in the quality of the lives of children across this nation. As a result of watching too much television, children lack the proper development of intelligence, creativity, and imagination. Parents re so used to the idea of television that they do not think to link it to their family’s problems or issues. Winn mentions a few examples of this issue in her text, one of which being a family of two boys, ages three and seven. The boy’s entire evening after school revolves around their television shows. This same situation appears countless times in households across America. The reason that this is so bad is because when young children are spending all of their free time watching television they do not develop certain characteristics that they should be developing at this age.The children who spend more time in front of the television do not gain the experience that comes from playing sports, being part of a team/club, or getting to have a large group of friends to play and explore new things with. This i s why they do not develop certain characteristics which are all important traits to develop, especially at this young age. I know that when I was young, and still to this day, I always loved being outside and playing sports or other activities.I am so thankful for this because I now realize that by spending less time in front of the television I was able to learn so many more useful traits for life. Another aspect of life that television has a negative effect on in this country is family rituals. Family rituals are defined as â€Å"The part of family life that the families like about itself, is proud of, and wants formally to continue,† (354). Family rituals are extremely important because they are unique for the family and in most cases are what keeps a family together and close throughout years and generations.Somehow television has affected these rituals in many households. Winn uses an example of a young woman from Chicago in her article to show this effect. The young wom an tells how she comes from a large family that loved getting together over holidays and had many lasting rituals that never failed to appear. Except one year when her family got a television set in their house. This particular year, instead of the usual conversations and game playing the whole family crammed in front of the television to watch a football game.This is a perfect example of family rituals going down the drain due to television. Instead of interacting and having face-to-face conversations, everyone just stared at e screen without conversing at all. This validates Winn’s argument of television having a negative effect across the nation. Television also has a huge effect on not only family relationships but others outside relationships as well. Watching television causes people to get a false sense of reality and when presented with a real world situation do not know what to do or how to act.Winn states that, â€Å"The hours children spend in a one way relationsh ip with television people, an involvement that allows with no communication or interaction, must have some effect with their relationship with real-life people,† (Winn 355). Winn is correct in saying this and in fact she proves it when she supports it with examples. She writes about a teacher who says she has trouble interacting with people after watching television for a few hours. The teacher says that because there was no necessary effort while watching, it was hard to deal with real people who require effort to talk to.Also, â€Å"Studies have been done to show the importance of eye- to-eye contact in real-life relationships,† (355) says Winn, something not required while watching television. This is more evidence to further validate Winn’s argument against television. I was lucky enough to be very involved in sports and other activities to steer me away from television. I noticed from an early age that the children in school who were not athletic and had pro blems interacting with the other children were also the ones who spent many hours a day watching television or playing games on the television.Thankfully my group of friends were always active and outdoors. Swimming also took up a lot of my time. I still swim today at the collegiate level and I still do not have time for much television. People need to learn that although television is entertaining, there is almost always something better they could be doing. Most of the people living in this nation today were born into television and watching television has been irreplaceably drilled into the minds of Americans and some people would not know how to live a life without it.The reality of television is that it has severely negative effects on people, especially America’s youth who tend to spend way too much time sitting in front of television sets. Marie Winn was able to see the significance in this and writes about it in her article, â€Å"Television: The Plug-In-Drug. † The title speaks for itself; she believes that television has a huge negative effect on quality of life including family life, real-world relationships, character development and many other things as well.She proves her believes true throughout her work and shows the reader just how important it is to limit television viewing, especially for children who are watching more and more television each year. Without these limitations and more face-to-face interactions, this nation’s future may not be a bright one.Work Cited Winn, Marie. â€Å"Television: The Plug in Drug. † Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. 10th edition. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. New York: Bedford, 2007.

Johannes Brahms symphony no. 4

Johannes Brahms symphony no. 4, opus 98, is a masterpiece that stays in the annals of history of music and the history of symphony. Completed in the 19-th century, it had such glorious predecessors as Beethoven’s symphonies. Therefore, in the times of Brahms, the symphony was considered the proper of great Beethoven and anybody who had courage to compose in this genre would inevitably face the possibility to be compared with Beethoven.Johannes Brahms worried that he was not worthy of the musical tradition set by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. One of the most unfortunate effects of his lack of confidence was expressed in an unwillingness to compose a symphony because he was afraid of being compared unfavourably to those masters, waiting until he was 43 years old to complete his First Symphony. However, once he had completed that initial symphony, he quickly adapted to the form, producing his remaining three symphonies in the space of only nine years.Each seemed to be more succes sful than its predecessors were; each introduced more depth and innovation from the most complex of the 19-th century composers. Just as Brahms's First and Second symphonies appeared in rapid succession as a contrasting pair, so did the Third and Fourth. The Third was finished in the summer of 1883 and the Fourth was begun the following summer. The first mention of the Fourth Symphony is in a letter dated 19 August 1884 from Brahms to his publisher, Fritz Simrock; the work was completed about a year later at Miirzzuschlag in Styria.In October 1885 Brahms and Ignaz Briill gave a two-piano reading of it for a small group of friends including the critic Eduard Hanslick, the surgeon Theodor Billroth, and the historian and Haydn scholar C. F. Pohl. Brahms conducted the first orchestral performance at Meiningen on 25 October 1885 . It is very interesting to observe Brahms's progress as a symphonist. He lived in the time of romanticism in music, when considerations of form gave place to su bjective expression. F.Liszt was then creating his symphonic poems and R. Wagner produced his amazing music dramas – all works strongly colored by literary and poetic ideas, and by a very personal attitude on the part of the composer. Brahms, in his First symphony, if not an outright romanticist, is yet â€Å"romantic† in his attitude, just as Beethoven in his Fifth symphony. Later we see Brahms's progression backward – from the â€Å"romantic† to the â€Å"classic† stress. The Fourth symphony is a pure classic masterpiece.However, the symphony is not only a work of design; it has a subjective undercurrent behind itself. It is perhaps significant that Brahms, ordinarily certain of himself and his work, had misgivings and questionings about this symphony. Some find the symphony an expression of pessimism. They say that it is bitter, that it drips melancholy like the yew tree, that its thoughts are of death. In fact, by that time Brahms had lost his mother who died of a heart attack. He devoted this symphony to the memory of his mother. But pessimism is not despair.At the time when Brahms wrote this symphony, his thoughts were turning towards his own end which was near, and death must have appeared as it should appear to all of us, as a tender friend and a supreme consoler. Brahms's symphonic work embraces all that is tragic and glorious in his music. There is tragedy even in the most wonderful of these movements, where we hear yearning for things gone beyond recall, but more especially in those where he strives to renew the traditions of the classics and proves splendidly that inherited forms may be filled with new matter .Nevertheless, one may safely predict that those portions of his work which show a master's discipline and noble intention as perhaps the most impressive marks of his character, will not be held in so great and lasting an affection as those where he is wholly himself, and where only his pure and great heart, so full of riches and yet so closely guarded, is heard to beat. He deliberately took a path that led him away from the land of romance to seek the land of Bach and Beethoven with all the ardor of his soul.But the spell of the blue flower was stronger. He fancied that he had eschewed the enchantment, but this was a delusion, for he remained a romantic all his life, a dreamy enthusiast, a deep feeling recluse, who clothed in new magical sounds the voices of rustling woodlands, the radiant eyes of virginal queens, the scattered tones of lost love-songs–all this, and his own life, blessed by sorrows and raptures. It is there that he is irresistible and unforgettable.Where he played the part of â€Å"heir† he had too little to squander, though he won and consolidated precious treasure enough. Only as the eternal youth, as one wrestling and longing and drinking from abundant wellsprings, as one of the beloved fairy-tale princes of music who ever and again awaken to deliver s leeping princesses, did he in truth find the land of Bach and of Beethoven. To many listeners, the Third Symphony might have seemed like the natural goal of Brahms's development as a symphonist because it combined the simple characters of folksong and romantic.It added an intense instrumental idiom and deep sense of coherence and overall structure, resolving its tensions at the close in a manner increasingly characteristic of the expression of his most profound songs. Yet any such impression would soon have been dispelled by the symphony, which followed shortly after in 1885, for here he recalls the wealth of ideas, which characterize the Second Symphony and the earnestness, and sense of structural culmination of the First Symphony. Yet here the drama is of a different kind.It is not the classic nineteenth-century struggle from minor to major, in Brahms's case full of romantic symbols in its final stages, but rather an abstract drama, which reaches its climax through the sheer intel lectual rigor and energy of its finale rather than through any conventional symbols. It ends securely in the key in which it began, E minor. And if the Third Symphony had gained something of the personal quality of its opening from the memories of Schubert and Schumann, this goes back to memories of Beethoven and Bach.For, not only does the finale take Bach as its starting point, but the first movement takes Beethoven. As has been noted, the first subject clearly draws on the slow movement of the ‘Hammerklavier' Sonata (bars 78-86) where an identical outline appears as a consequence of the evolving influence of the interval of the third. Yet it comes through an entirely Brahms’ mediation. The setting is very close to the somber opening in which he was soon to place the first of the Motets op.110, the same key and broad shape expressing the text ‘Ich aber bin elend' – ‘But Lord, I am wretched'. Yet the symphony's is a more animated, complex type of exp ression whose distinctive two-note phrasing actually finds its closest parallel in a piece in total stylistic contrast to the motet -the Waltz in D minor, op. 39 no. 9. From this very personal stylistic chemistry, Brahms builds a movement and a work whose lofty style is closest to the Tragic Overture, a greater example of the ‘sublime style' noted in the great choral works with orchestra.And from them it takes much of its orchestral character, especially the fullness of Brahms' scoring, and the telling use of the flute, especially at bar 128 of the finale – surely a Grecian symbol. While Brahms has long since parted company with the storm and stress of the First symphony, the accents of the Fourth are in the highest degree charged with the resignation and the profound understanding that his own earnest nature and the passage of the years had brought him, and the nobility that existed under his crusty exterior.In viewing the work as a whole, its background again provides a key to its special nature and sense of direction. Indeed, it may well reveal the reverse case to that of the First Symphony, for even if it seems clear that it was the resolution of the first movement's implications that provided the compositional problem of the earlier work, it appears likely that the finale was here the starting point and thus determinant of the work's structural nature. And even if other ideas existed at this earlier stage, the special nature of the finale provided the dominant focus for their working and shape.Much of the Fourth symphony is melancholy and lamentful, but it is relieved by the consolatory beatitude of the andante and the elevating stateliness of the conclusion. The austerity with which the composer has been reproached—in many instances unjustly—is here pronounced. The solidity of the structure may be admired, but the structure itself is granitic and unrelieved. The symphony has not the epic grandeur of the first, the geniality of the second, the wealth of varied beauty that distinguishes the third.Although the precise date is not known, Brahms had shown interest in the chaconne bass of the finale of Bach's Cantata No. 150 â€Å"Nach Dir, Herr Verlanget mich† some time before the symphony's appearance. The conductor Siegfried Ochs recalls him demonstrating to Hans von Bulow the structure of the Bach movement, to which von Bulow responded coolly, arguing that it needed more than voices. Brahms agreed, commenting: â€Å"What would you say to a symphonic movement written on this theme one day? But it is too lumpish, too straightforward. It would have to be chromatically altered in some way.† Just how the alteration was effected is clear from the work, where Brahms extends the model from its five-bar length to eight bars, substituting equal dotted minims for its minim-crotchet pattern and creating a climax in the chromatic alteration of A sharp. Now it appears as leading note to the dominant, B. But how the work as a whole stood in his mind at this earlier stage is not clear. Brahms was aware of the possibility that a variation finale can be assumed from the model of Beethoven, and the St Antoni Variations had already presented a basso ostinato variation finale.Yet the precise nature of a finale, which reflected both stimuli – that of a symphonic design in a harmonically restricted form – must have occupied him for long before a solution became clear. In considering the problems, Brahms drew on a considerable knowledge of the form of the chaconne and passacaglia, as has earlier been shown. In the actual period of the work's completion, he acknowledged special interest in the Organ Passacaglia in G minor by Georg Muffat, describing it to Elizabeth von Herzogenberg in 1883 as very fine and acknowledging possession of a copy.His work on the Couperin Edition for Chrysander also gave him an acquaintance with an example from the very different tradition of the French c lavecinists through the form of the Rondeau Passacaille. But the movement for which he had the deepest feeling was the Bach Chaconne for unaccompanied violin. He wrote to Clara Schumann, to whom the arrangement for the piano, left hand, was dedicated, in the following terms: For me the Chaconne is one of the most incredible pieces of music. Using a single system for a little instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest and most powerful expression.If I ask myself if I had written this piece – been able to conceive it – I know for certain the emotions excited would have driven me mad. If one does not have a great violinist at hand, the most exquisite of joys is surely simply to let the Chaconne ring in one's mind. But the piece certainly entices one to occupy oneself with it somehow. From this, he concludes that the only comparable experience is to play it with the parallel restrictions of left hand alone. It seems interesting that in referring to the other w ays of imagining the work recreated he mentions the orchestra.It is not difficult to see the manner and structure of this Chaconne, which he knew so intimately, mixing with his transformation of the Bach cantata bass to provide the foundations of a movement through which both vocal and instrumental limitations are transcended in his most powerful variation structure. Heinrich Reimann gives a short description of the symphony: â€Å"A theme of the second movement constantly returns in varied form, from which the chief theme, the staccato figure given to the wind, and the melodious song of the violoncellos are derived.The third movement, allegro giocoso, sports with old-fashioned harmonies, which should not be taken too seriously† . Seen against the background of Brahms's earlier variations, this movement is unique in its observation of a clear A B A – Coda form. The contrast is provided by changes in dynamics, frequently in mode, and partly in meter. The return of the o pening introduces variation both thematically and in the scope of harmonic movement within the tight restriction of the model, taken even further in the coda.All the previous variations are continuous, though the contrast of mode to major is established from the Variation on an Original Theme. The Bach Chaconne therefore assumes great interest in its adoption of a ternary outline through contrast of mode, in its variation of harmony at the reprise (though the theme is not recalled) and in its length – both movements building to thirty variations from an eight-bar model. The form of the Chaconne is also crucial to understanding Brahms's harmonic methods.Although elements of passacaglia are used in this movement – that is of a repeated ground bass ostinato – the chief spirit of the movement is that of harmonic retention, from which the composer can dramatically move for effect. The model is compounded of Bach's bass in modified form as upper part with a Brahmsâ₠¬â„¢ bass in which descending thirds are prominent. This provides the model for the first four variations and the background to the reprise, with its increasingly free harmonic working until Brahms breaks completely away from the previous patterns in the coda, loosening the original phrasing.The intervening harmony is built either on the ground (variations 4-11, 14-16), or on pedal variants, as in the central part, variations 12-13. Thus, as in earlier variation movements, there are two harmonic models with other freer types, though it is the first, with the theme in the upper part, which has the role of articulating the large structure. This represents, therefore, a considerably more complex form than its immediate predecessor, the ostinato variations of the St Antoni Variations.In fact, Brahms brings to fulfillment the inherent influence of the chaconne, noted as early as the variations of the B flat Sextet though with the added aspect of the passacaglia reflected in the Second Se renade and the St Antoni Variations, together with the outline of sonata form. It is the latter aspect that creates the variation of the reprise, since development cannot be used in the subdued central section. Clearly, such a distinctive structure could not have provided the symphonic climax without intimate relations with the other movements.The observation of the contrapuntal connection between the descending thirds of variation 30 and the first subject of the first movement is only one of many which could be made, for this work is perhaps more subtly and comprehensively integrated than any other. Not only are thirds omnipresent in the work's thematic material – as in the bass of the model – but many other links exist, including the anticipation of the ground in the first subject (bars 9-15). Most impressive, however, is the special harmonic language of the work, which is drawn from the harmony of the model.Both plagal and Phrygian progressions contribute further to the deeply archaic quality of much of the music. For example, the first subject is built on plagal progressions and the movement ends with a very impressive plagal cadence enhanced by pedal. The harmonic language of the second movement is even more special in its modal associations, as will be shown. All these features serve to support the more obvious surface function of variation. For the principle of successive variation, which dominates the finale also, soaks the work as a whole.The links are clearest in the first movement for two principal reasons: the structure of the movement as a whole and, directly related to it, the nature of the first subject. Brahms's tendency to recall the opening material after the recapitulation where no repeat is incorporated finds a particularly plain expression in this movement, which brings an approach associated with finales – those of the First and Third Symphonies and of the Piano Quintet into the context of a symphonic first movement.Y et the method is here different, for this is no conflated development/recapitulation structure, but rather a modification of the conventional scheme, since the recapitulation follows the third tonic statement of the idea at bar 246. The special form arises from the special nature of the main subject itself, a lyric paragraph whose essential sixteen bar structure is extended by internal variation to create a sectional impression – the sense of a model which demands repetition in a way quite unlike the main subjects of the other symphonies. Thus, the movement assumes a variation-aspect at two levels.Viewed most broadly, it falls into three sections, closely related by their presentation of the same passage. Although the third statement is made more elusive by the recall of its opening phrases in augmentation, linked by figuration in the strings, the overall effect is clear when the theme resumes at bar 246. As far as the sections themselves are concerned, they also appear stron gly variational through the immediate repetition of the first theme, that of the development offering an alternative to that of the exposition, bars 145-152 comparing with bars 1-7.Thus, Brahms draws on his earlier tendency to construct the transition by variation of the first subject (compare with the Second Symphony) into a much broader context. In the sections of passing variation, which have become so characteristic, although never with the clarity and deep thematicism of, for example, bars 80-6 or 95-8, the development draws so often on variation that it directly recalls the finale.Thus, after the varied repeat of the opening of the development, bars 169-84 present another section of clear variational identity, here through motive variation of the preceding bars treated in a stretto which quickly removes the sense of accentual identity, offering yet a further example of how Brahms learned from Beethoven the art of displacing the beat through the relentless repetition of a simpl e figure. This passage is complemented at bar 192 by a more direct variation of the opening subject, the section again alternating with the marcato figure of the transition, which serves to direct and articulate the music's progress.At bar 119, the finale is even more clearly foreshadowed, mediating between the variation and the work's first subject, which it clearly outlines, drawing particularly on the original flute parts to ensure connection. In turn, the following passage from bar 237 varies the following bars, focusing on a one-bar figure, whilst recalling the color-contrast of the variations, which lead to the reprise of the finale. It is inherent in such a structure that radical alterations of the recapitulation would have disturbed the variational relationship of the first three parts.Rather, as in the finale, it is the coda, which exhibits the development quality with the most rapid modulations and intense treatment of ideas. Yet variation remains the chief model. The powe rful statement of the first subject at bar 394 is remarkable in its transformation. The theme appears in canon between the outer parts, actually retaining its identity for far longer than the ear might suggest (14 bars in all) before a bridge to an intense treatment of the transition idea of bar 414.This remarkable intensity is achieved through a use of stretto, in which Brahms seems to press to extremes the possible relationship between the harmonies permissible in his style and the logic of the contrapuntal movement, a quality that he shared to a remarkable degree with Mozart. In a period, which includes some of Brahms's most powerful first-movement codas, this is surely the most impressive in its nature and its structural function. Of the impressive central movements with which Brahms completes his overall scheme, the second relates most clearly to the principles outlined.Indeed, its leisurely first section from bar 5 parallels that of the first in its relation to earlier works. An eight-bar theme of the simplest phrasing returns after a nine-bar digression to complete an exposition in simple A B A form. The following transition proceeds again by simple variation to establish, through ideas, which relate to the parallel part of the first movement. The dominant of B for the second subject, after which there is a further variation of the first theme with descending wind figures reflects the first subject of the work and strings employ pizzicato.Bar 74 initiates an imitative development very much in the spirit of that of the finale of op. 18, after which the second subject completes the conflated scheme: 1 – tr 2 – 1 – dev – 2 – coda. Yet its straightforwardness comes into a completely different perspective when set in its harmonic context. It can be seen as perhaps the boldest and most far-reaching of Brahms's experiments with modal effects. For, the opening partly suggests a tonic C despite the preceding cadence, one interp rets the unison opening as rooted in the lower mediant of E minor.Yet at the end of the phrase, Brahms turns the closing E into the tonic of a modified sonata movement, which makes a conventional contrast (though now unusual for Brahms) with the dominant, B, for its second subject. Such an opening must have a consequence in a Brahms’ movement and the key of C returns in the closing bars as an alternate harmonization of the opening theme in succession to the chromatic harmonization of the theme in E. Thus, Brahms juxtaposes the keys of E and C through a common theme.The ‘framing' effect of the C tonality and its final resolution is evident. Whilst this passage can be seen as simply one of effect, the suggestion of a Phrygian tonality, it may also be seen in more far-reaching terms. For, unlike the other authentic modes, the dominant of the Phrygian is not on B, but on C, since it cannot form a perfect fifth from B to F sharp. Thus, though Brahms may well begin with a mer e ‘effect', the harmonic implications are readily grasped and he, though very briefly, actually contrives to close with a Phrygian aspect.The Austrian theorist Heinrich Schenker once stated that the capacity to write in the modes lay even beyond a genius like Beethoven, that the Lydian movement of op. 132 simply used modern tonality to suggest a mode through the omission of any B flat and other means. Is it not possible that Brahms's deep interest in the issue led him to go a little further in the attempt to unite modern tonality and the principles of modality in one movement? After such tonal stress, the key of the third movement appears inevitable.Yet in its manner, the movement stands in strong contrast to the parallel movements of the later works. As is often pointed out, Brahms avoids the scherzo-substitutes of his maturity for a scherzo of an individual nature -not a 6/8, but a driving 2/4 movement. Yet its character is surely not without precedent. Just as Brahms had dr awn on the ‘Hammerklavier' Sonata as the starting point for a reinterpretation of a powerful idea, so the deep historical background to this work leads him to draw on the second movement of the late Piano Sonata in A flat op.110 whose thematic outline complements its metrical character in providing his basis. Yet in no other sense does the form relate to tradition, for Brahms constructs a continuous movement, sustained by variation in which the Trio contrast is limited to a very brief passage from bar 178 to bar 198, which simply transforms the character of the opening, to play a part in the broader scheme. And now we are going to make a profound emotional analysis of the symphony.Let us take take the opening. The violins play a melody that starts as a series of two-note sighs, each sigh consisting either of a descending third (for example, B to G) or of the same interval inverted into an ascending sixth (for example, E to C, but going up to the next-highest C rather than down ). Woodwinds echo these figures, but as chords, with the two notes played simultaneously.It is hard for us to think of a lovelier, more inviting opening to a symphony – of course, its familiarity help. Something preparatory, even if it were only two measures of unison B, would help listeners find their way in. This opening is immediately followed by a second statement of the melody, this time in broken octaves and in dialogue between first and second violins, with elaborate decorative material in violas and cellos. This was thought exceedingly difficult to unravel.