EasyCar com Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

EasyCar com - Case Study Example Avis, Europcar, and Hertz were very prominent across Europe. However, each region had a prominent domestic player in the market as well and these attracted about half of the crowd for the simple reason of familiarity. These top firms were aware of their place in the market and the reason for their being there. They targeted both business and leisure segments and offered them the services they required most by offering a wide range of vehicles. This meant that the leisure or tourist class could opt to use a lower end vehicle and save on cost and the business segment could choose the best and optimize their experience. The rental car scenario also comprised of a few smaller players who operated out of a few locations only and focused mainly on the tourist crowd, and brokers who did not own a fleet of vehicles of their own but had tie-ups with various players in the market and earned via commission from them. It can be said that the car rental industry was at the time very stable in Wes tern Europe. Service delivery was monotonous and there was huge scope for the revolution to occur in the segment. Reducing the operating costs is a key strategy to survive and succeed in any industrial sector, with the rental car industry being no exception to it. EasyCar undertook various measures to keep their operating costs down. EasyCar’s mission was to provide rental cars at low prices so that these could prove to be competition for public modes of transport as well as even owning one’s own vehicles. They followed many simple strategies such as keeping only one type of vehicle at one venue. This worked out well for them as maintenance charges would be uniform. Even when they decided to use different vehicles, they always ensured that there was only one class of vehicles at one location. The reason for choosing to introduce a different class of vehicles was that newer vehicles were costing them lower to maintain on a daily basis and so they could charge.

Analysing The Performance Of Aegon Group Business Essay

Analysing The Performance Of Aegon Group Business Essay AEGON Group is world leader in financial services business which provides life insurance, pensions, long term savings funds and investment services and products. AEGON Group has 30000 employees and serving over 40 million customers globally. AEGON Group provides services and products over twenty five countries globally United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. By 1994 AEGON started relationship with Scottish Equitable, which was very popular and well known name in the United Kingdom as a financial service industry. Scottish Equitable founded in 1831. By 1998 AEGON had taken complete control of Scottish Equitable and Scottish Equitable was rebranded as AEGON Scottish Equitable in 2006. After two years the Group extended its businesses in the United Kingdom and bought life insurance operations of Guardian Royal Exchange. AEGON main customers are United States, United Kingdom and Netherland. AEGON withdrew some business from Belgium and Greece, also general insurance from the Unit ed Kingdom market and healthcare sector from Netherland. The Group also sold its stake in FGH Bank and merchant bank Labouchere. The result was a more efficient and better concentrated organization. AEGON playing very important role in its markets just not in United Sates, Netherlands and United Kingdom but also in new markets of Asia, and central part of the Eastern Europe as well. AEGON is listed on the stock exchanges of Amsterdam, London, New York and Tokyo. Task -1: Explore the background to change affecting the current organization. P -1.1 Discuss the background to change that exists in today economy. Change is a powerful force or an engine that drives many segments of our economy. Mostly forces of change provide us as contractors with new projects to build and older buildings to modify or amend. Changing is truly the lifeblood of our businesses and our economy. The forces of change are also more subtle and pervasive as its affect our economy, our businesses, our jobs and even our daily lives as well. We might easily recognize changes as progress in physical world of production, but maybe we fail to recognize other forces in our economy, our businesses, our jobs and even our personal lives. Failure to recognize force of change can only lead in downward spiral to lower efficiency, lower profitability, lower productivity and lower personal in-effectiveness. Change is continuous adoption of organization strategies and structures to changing external environment. Today change is ongoing process in our economies, our businesses, and our lives. Change that exists in todays economy The competitive pressure forced the changes bring into our economy. There are several major forces for changes that exist in today economy and financial sectors. These forces are: Bureaucracy Environment changes Climate change Economics changes Political changes Technological changes Personal behaviours changes Changes in turn started the industry globalization We can see incidents in past changes the businesses and economic environment which is responsible for changes exist in current economy. Bureaucracy effect in our organization and economy because management were use resources to person needs rather than organization goals. Max Weber saw bureaucracy as the most rational and effective mode of organizing the activities of large numbers of people because it ensured decision-making according to general rules rather than the whims of officials, cultivated trained experts, and reduced the possibilities of corruption and nepotism. Weber, M., (1979): Economy and Society, in: Journal of an Outline of Interpretive Sociology, Volume 2 The global economic crisis that started in the US in 2007 and spread around the world in 2008 was preceded by large imbalances in global capital flows. The economic crisis has changed world economy during the past year alone, slowdowns economic growth. The IMF says this represents By far the deepest post-World War II recession with an actual decline in output in countries making up 75% of the world economy BBC News. (April22, 2009): (Online). Available at: www.bcc.co.uk The evidence shows that ignoring climate change will eventually damage economic growth. Our actions over the coming few decades could create risks of major disruption to economic and social activity, later in this century and in the next, on a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century. And it will be difficult or impossible to reverse these changes. Tackling climate change is the pro-growth strategy for the longer term, and it can be done in a way that does not cap the aspirations for growth of rich or poor countries. The earlier effective action is taken, the less costly it will be. NICHOLAS STERN, STERN REVIEW: THE ECONOMICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE LONG EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ii (2006) Economy growth slowdown, unemployment is up, house price fall down and these changes, changed people mindsets and their spending habits in order to survive this difficult time. Managers across the UK, meanwhile, have accepted their own redundancy as inevitable, according to the Chartered Management Institute. Those factors are cause to a lot of stress for us all our society and individually. There also In near past the world economy was not good even before September 11.Synchronized growth slowdowns and in the case of recession in Japan were already under Way in the US, Europe and Japan, while developing countries were facing weaker export demand and increasingly difficult financing conditions. After the shock of September 11 have changed the picture, increasing the already significant downside risks to world growth Fischer, S., October 18, 2001: International Monetary Fund. 32nd IAFEI World Congress, Cancun, Mexico The Changes in the political environment is also one factor to change in today economy. It is difficult to say that these changes are simply short-term reactions to a major shock or amount to new and worrisome trends. At the very least, the balance between political and economic forces has been significantly altered. Because political support for globalization was at best shallow while the global economy was in a buoyant state, this suggests the pendulum is now swinging in the opposite direction. Against this background, two lessons from history are worth keeping in mind. One, dismantling protections takes time. It took several decades for many of the trade barriers erected during the interwar period to be brought down. Second, even if a important part of the progress in liberalizing trade in recent times has been institutionalized and strong reversals à   la 1930s are not likely, the downward spiral of protectionism acts fast. Ferry.P.J Santos.I, (March2009). FD: Volume46, Number1 The technology is posing major challenge to todays economy that is information technology. The information technology of the computer and internet services has and will continue to changes the economy. In the world of economics, globalization is reflected in the increasing the acceptance of free markets and private enterprise as the principal mechanisms for promoting economic activities. Its growing importance is captured in such indices as trade in goods and services, private capital flows in different forms, foreign investment, information technology transfers, operations of transnational enterprises, business travel and communication, and migration and remittances Dunning, J. H. (1993): The Globalisation of Business. Routledge, London. As Labovitz Rosansky point out personal behaviour Psychologists have long recognized that human beings like people who are like themselves and tend to reject people who are different from them. So far organizations continue to create changes between people interest of efficiency. Line versus staff, management versus labour, field versus corporate, internal versus domestic, East versus West, accounting versus sales- the list goes on. No wonder it so hard to focus people around familiar goals when they are so different from each other simply by virtue of what they do and where they do it. Specialization and knowledge can be a wedge that drives people future apart and makes it difficult for them to work together Price, A., (2007): Human Resource Management. 3rd Ed, p281 Several commentators have drawn attention to the analogy with the effects of natural disasters like the Kobe earthquake in Japan that barely show up in the national accounts. It is the indirect effects that will matter most, in particular, in the short-term much depends on the effects on consumer and investor confidence and spending, which were already under strain and have been strained further by the attacks Fischer, S., October 18, 2001: IMF, 32nd IAFEI World Congress, Mexico. AEGON UK chief executive Otto Thoresen says The economic environment is challenging but we have a strong team to take us forward through the next phase of our development Many changes affected the AEGON, UK environment in recent years. These are few changes; External factors In the UK, life expectancy has increased in recent years hence people can expect to be retired for longer. In many cases, individuals have not planned properly for retirement and there may be a shortfall in the amount of money available. AEGON UK have introduced new less expensive pension schemes or insisted on employee pension contributions where they did not in the past. In an economy closed to external equity investors, such as the UK before 1979, the decline of defined benefit pensions would have been a disaster. The cost and availability of equity capital would have reflected the reduced flow of funds into the equity market. This potential concern became irrelevant as a consequence of the lifting of exchange controls and the globalisation of capital flows, which made the market more efficient while putting downward pressure on the cost of capital. Plender, J., (2010): The pensions shake-up heralds equity demand change. The Financial Times Private pensions The government pensions were very small and also government want to decrease the dependency on the state in old age. The government also have introduced private pension schemes to deceased the dependency on the state. Pension funds are increasingly being asked by politicians, non-governmental organizations, campaigners, and pressure groups to mobilize their financial clout more actively and to take their responsibilities as corporate owners more seriously. The chances are it could change from being asked to being required. Fraser, I., (2010): Pension funds search for climate change risks and opportunities Falling vales of shares The current economic downturn situation affected the company shares values, which reduce the returns on the customers investment. Customers getting less than they were expected for their investment, also people had a negative impact on pensions as well. Competition AEGON is in competition with other organisations which are selling directly to customers and those competitors also well known in United Kingdom. Also AEGON has had very poor reputation in the insurance and pensions industry in recent years. P -1.2 Evaluate the strengths and weakness of the organization. Strengths The strengths of an organization are those things that it does particularly well, especially when viewed against the operations of its competitors and also its weakness areas in which it is less strong than the competition.  ¨ AEGON had historically been successful AEGON had historically been successful but government imposed price controls had reduced profitability. Compared to its competitors, AEGON was not well known by consumers. It had developed good products and services and had a good reputation with distributors, particularly in the area of pensions which were a key strength of Scottish Equitable.  ¨ Developed good products/services AEGON developed a range of products and services to individuals, corporations and institutions. Most of these products and services fall into one of the following three categories: Life insurance Pensions Long-term savings and investments products  ¨ Good reputation with distributors Compared to its competitors, AEGON is well known and had a good reputation with distributors, particularly in the area of pensions which were a key strength of Scottish Equitable.  ¨ Customer focused organisation AEGON UK is a customer focused organization as AEGON CEO (Otto Thoresen, 2009) pointed out that We work to help keep customers needs /wants at the heart of all developments and to make sure that financial service industry works with customers to give them what they want/need and we offer the best products and services from their point of view.  ¨ Reflecting local knowledge and global power Scottish Equitable is now AEGON Scottish Equitable reflecting both local knowledge and global power. All the brands now bring a new common look which is refreshing and different.  ¨ AEGON provide the levels of return promised AEGON UK Ltd is also providing the levels of return promised and being responsible for any risks associated with doing so.  ¨ Provide products/services different levels of income for the consumers AEGON Ltd have contractual measures in place to help those customers who find themselves on low incomes and, often through no fault of their own, are unable to maintain premium payments. These measures include introducing lower premium payments, grace periods and loans or, in some cases, reducing the coverage offered by a particular policy. Weaknesses The weaknesses of the organisation are matched to the opportunities and threats that may affect the organisation and which come from the external environment.  ¨ Not well known by consumers in the UK AEGON was not well known by consumers. It had developed good products and services and had a good reputation with distributors, particularly in the area of pensions but not well known directly by consumers.  ¨ Had poor reputation in life insurance and pensions industry The insurance and pensions industry, in which AEGON operates, has had very poor reputation in recent years.  ¨ Not providing consumers with best products for their needs The AEGON Ltd is not providing the products and services in a way that genuinely meets consumer needs/wants, and also not regulator by government.  ¨ Difficult to understand financial services products Financial services/products are hardly to understand. People do not always feel which range of financial products/services they need and also are not sure where to seek support and advice.  ¨ Wide problems to remain competitive The insurance and pensions industry have been characterised by intense competition. AEGON is in competition with other organisations which are selling directly to consumers and which are also better known in the UK.  ¨ Not selling directly to customers AEGON Ltd not sells product direct to consumers, they sells products/services via salesmen, agents or brokers which sometime involves mis-selling of its products/services. P -1.3 Compare alternative forms of organizational development. When we promote the idea of making consumer aware of the organizational change, it becomes organizational development. Generally, the organizational development is considered as a method of arrangement, suitable with the contemporary requirements of the organization and also being able to fulfil the future requirements that cannot be distinguish. After reading the case study of the AEGON Ltd, The plan appears to be the organizational efficiency and effectiveness from top to bottom level. The company led by its new CEO has new objectives such as: Defining the view of where company stand. Defining how the company will stand in the future. Defining the policies and standards to reach the future goals and objectives. The purpose of the company was self analysis by defining goals, targets and objectives, how to reach them and what the management is doing to achieve these goals and objectives. AEGON took a brand audit to find out the answers of these questions and the result of the audit reveals two steps How was the company positioned? How was the competitor of the company positioned? By the audit, the new CEO came to know that there is a need for formation of the new approach (play in the market). The staffs were adopted with the innovation and well organized communication system. Additionally, self analysis has helped new CEO to position a fresh plan to craft progress. The new plans resulted for the organization to involve in the following strategy steps: Simplify financial service and provide more focus. It was important that consumers understood more precisely what they were buying as well as the benefits and services they received. By making products and services clear to the consumers, to many of goal organization achieved and too many very important stakeholders introduced to the change. Both of the stakeholders (government and consumers) are aware and happy, because of services provided by AEGON, these steps were taken for the customer to make them aware and solve problems. Develop the workforce. The objective was to develop the skills, needed within the business and to involve the stakeholders in process of change, by providing them training and skills. Therefore, AEGON also created new opportunities for stakeholder to progress from one job to another job by developing and promoting the careers of work force. This helps AEGON to attract more customers and have competition. Organizational culture may include such things as, confidence to innovation, decisions and trust for production and quality. The model, implemented by new CEO of the AEGON, brought positive change in the organization and gave new direction to the company. Fundamentally, representation of simplify system with regard to the AEGON can be evaluated as follows; Analysing the factor affect the organization Organizational performance and future plans are constantly affected by the external and internal environmental factors. For success in the present world, one need to consider not only the internal environment of the organization consisting of its resources and employees, but needs to consider the external factors as well. These facts cannot be stopped but can adjust accordingly as per the changes in the political, economical or social pressures. These are the external aspects which consist of: Competitors or Opponents The change in the economic structure The Impact of the society/culture Financial agreements Political or Legal system Impact of the environment Analysing the weakness and strength of the organization A range of organization functions which determine an organization strength and weaknesses include production function, management function, Research and Development, marketing function, sales function, HR function, procurement function, logistics function, and various other departments within the organization. For example, organization strength can be derived from the excellence human resource in the organization which might not be present in some of the competitors in the insurance and pensions industry. One more example includes marketing function i.e. if an organization is not effective in marketing efforts, competitors may take advantage of the firms weakness. So AEGON Ltd need highly competent in achieving competences in all these areas of business in order to be successful in the business environment. Determine the goals and objectives of the organization It aims to boost organizational performance by aligning goals and objectives throughout the organization. Ideally, employees get key input to identify their objectives, time lines for completion etc. Management by objectives to be effective, individual managers must understand the specific objectives of their job and how those objectives fit in with the overall organizational objectives set by the board of directors. Involving the stakeholder to process of change Involving the stakeholder, how well does the organization Involve stakeholders in problem solving? Keep stakeholders informed of status towards organizational objectives? Act on feedback from stakeholders? Mobilize the right resources at the right time to adopt the implementation initiative? Create a critical mass of effort by impacted groups to propel the change? Strength Risk Dr. Baba, M., (2005): Change Management. The Defence Logistics Enterprise. Transforming Organizations in the Information Era. Enterprise Integration Group Creating new culture in organization Changing culture in organization helps to improvement organizational objects. Changing culture involves changing the basic values, beliefs, norms, etc., with the individuals of the organization in order to improve overall organization performance. Whether or not it is possible to fully manage change, we believe that being very clear about what changes are required and being very intentional about building a culture that supports the new mission, goals, strategies and practices increases the probability of success exponentially. This necessarily involves a large cross section of the organization in assessing the current system of norms and beliefs, determining what changes are needed, and designing an implementation plan ( Shorb, J.K and Jones, M.D. 2009 ). The result of the change was increase in the efficiency and effectiveness, the company improve its strengths and over comes its weaknesses, the pattern of the behaviours and business culture was developed in the organization and base of the organization to learn from its experiences was forms. Task -2 Develop systems for understanding and involving others in the process of change. P-2.1 Identify systems to involved appropriate stakeholders in the introduction of change. Stakeholder is someone who has some stake or interest in the changes and development of the organization, such as share holders, employees, government and customers. The new CEO consulted with different stakeholders of the company and then formulates a plan of action which includes following aspects: Simplify to financial services and customer focus It was important that consumers understood more specifically what they were buying, as well as the benefits and services they received. The new CEO make understandable to customers, what were company services and products, and what we going to invest and also what will possible to investment returns. Both of the stakeholders and government were unhappy because services and products were not good but after this step taken by new CEO to clarify methods and they become more aware to this regard and problem has been solved. Developing the workforce The purpose was to develop the  skills  needed within the company to help it change. AEGON also created opportunities for progression from one job to another job and usually one service to another service. Creating a distinct market place for the organization Create a more different presence within the marketplace. This involved refreshing the AEGON  brand in a means that made it more distinctive from its competitors and more attractive to his  consumers. The new CEO has taken some steps in following ways. External promotional: External promotional campaigns emphasised the relationship between Scottish Equitable and AEGON. This helped to support the local familiarity and the global power of the Organization in UK. The CEO talked to media: The new CEO talked to media about the refreshing of the brand internally and externally resulted in strong positive response. AEGON has launched new and innovative products: AEGON has launched new product e.g. the five for life pension has helped to change the way in which consumers can look at their retirement income. AEGON provide more certainty about the levels of income for customer, with providing the levels of return promised. P-2.2 Analyse and evaluate these systems. The change in the system of the organization brought positive influence internally and externally. The big challenge was to convince the stakeholders, the importance of the change in the organization. For the achievement of this objective, new CEO manoeuvre from improving skills of the workforce, he linked this growth to certain behaviours: These eight behaviours are; Think customer Embrace change Encourage excellence Act with integrity Decisive action Work together Learn and grow Relate and communicate Customers less awareness is one another reason of the change in the organization, this was also reason of the government increased tax impositions. As result of this, the company was losing customers. Knowledge of the service and product was made available through AEGON information system. Training and retraining of the employees was another aspect of the change. Finally, the company has to regain its reputation and built a brand name for its stakeholders, and the CEO responded to this challenge by bringing well known brand shares which recognise AEGON in front of its stakeholders. Furthermore, AEGON moreover revive its brand name to hold its market position though merger with Scottish Equitable (now known as AEGON Scottish Equitable), which gave company a new look. Task- 3 What were the models implemented for ensuring ongoing change. P-3.1 Adapt an appropriate model for change. The model, implemented by new CEO, brought positive and contrastive change and gave company new direction. The CEO already mentioned the performance of company through reforms in culture. As mentioned previously, both of the stakeholders (government and consumers) are aware and happy because of services provided by AEGON. These steps were taken for the customer to make them aware and solve problems. With regard to AEGON model, implementation will bring some changes which can be categorised: Analysing the factor affecting the organization. Analysing the weaknesses and strengths of the organization. Determine the goals and objectives of the organization. Involving the stakeholder to process of change. Creating new culture in organization. As Kotter, (1995) describe in Leading Change helpful model outlines an eight step process with suggestions to help organizations transform. Kotter model is useful in understanding that the change process takes time and is not something that happens immediately. It is important for program leaders and communications staff to understand that the steps needed to support any transformation plan takes place during all stages of project. Each step acknowledges a key principle identified and people can see changes, feel the changes. These eight steps: Increase Urgency AEGON pensions provider has suggested that the issue of the government helping public to put money away for retirement is of greater urgency now than it ever has been. (AEGON UK chief executive Otto Thoresen. 2010) Build the Guiding Team Get the guiding team to create the right vision and strategies to guide action in all of the remaining stages of change. This is a difficult and increasingly complex market in which AEGON Ltd is committed to offering adviser partners the ongoing help they require. We are confident that we have developed an investment proposition that meets the needs of advisers and their clients now and in a post RDR world. (Andy Marchant., 2009. Life and Pensions Marketing Director at AEGON) Get the Vision Right A shared sense of urgency for change may push people into action, but it is the vision that taking them in the right direction. A good vision offers a compelling, motivating the picture of the future and serves several important purposes. Communicate for Buy In Communicate changing vision and strategies to create understanding and buy-in Keeping communication uncomplicated and heartfelt not complex and technical Know what your individuals are feeling Speak to anxieties, confusion, anger, fear Empower Action Empower action mean is a deal effectively with obstacles that block action, especially disempowering bosses, the wrong performance measurement and reward systems, lack of information, and lack of self confidence. Create Short Term wins A short term win boosts employees confidence in the process, helping to make their efforts seem worthwhile, and gives the people responsible a chance to relax and enjoy their achievements and also link achievements back to the original vision, quieten the cynics and resisters and strengthen support from organization. Consolidating achievements and progressing Continuing with wave after wave of change, not stopping until the clear vision is a reality no matter how big the obstacles. Make Change Stick Change simply sticks when the people it affects are involved. All change is either rejected or embraced by the employees who have to live with its outcome. So its always better to involve those people in the process of change and pay close attention to their hopes and fears. P -3.2 How was the plan implemented, its process and outcomes. For successfully manage change processes, it is required to analyze the phases of the process. Managers want to know in which phase they have to anticipate and what types of problems. Most successful organizations are able to adjust themselves to new conditions quickly. This needs to learn planning processes that lead to improved organizational values. Consumers were confused before the model implemented what AEGON was. The outcome of model implement for change was extremely positive and successful. It helps to recognise the company strength and weakness and its also shows that global scale was important and local brand expertise as well. AEGON brand was not promoted alongside the Scottish Equitable and not well known in financial service industry. With a new Chief Executive of UK in place 2005 of AEGON put a new plan (model). The purpose of this model implement was to meet the CEO objectives and goals. Before implement to change AEGON was unknown in the United Kingdom, much less popular in consumers and product or services offer by the company not good enough. But after the implementation of changes AEGON became very popular brand in the United Kingdom and business started growing as well. Now the alliance with AEGON is much stronger. E.g. Scottish Equitable is now AEGON Scottish Equitable thus reflecting local knowledge and also global power. In order

The Importance of Education :: The Importance of Education

Education holds the key to your child's future. Education can help your child reach his/her life goals and dreams. Education will help your child choose what he/she wants in life. Here are 10 key reasons why going to college is important for your child: †¢ Education opens up doors. The more education your child gets, the more choices and opportunities he/she will have. With an education, your child has more options, which often lead to greater success and happiness in life. †¢ Education allows your child to choose his/her career. By going to college, your child can choose what he/she wants to do in life. Your student will be able to choose a career that interests him/her and that will enable him/her to achieve his/her dreams. †¢ Education increases the amount of money your child may be able to make. The more education your child receives, the more money he/she may be able to earn. On average, a person with a four-year college degree earns twice as much money as a person who graduated from high school but did not attend college. †¢ Education determines your child's lifestyle. By going to college, your child will likely have more flexibility to choose what type of house he/she lives in, what type of car he/she drives, what places he/she will visit during vacations, and many other things. †¢ Education expands your child's mind. The more educational opportunities your child is exposed to, the more knowledge and skills he/she will obtain. Education will expose your child to a variety of people, topics, and experiences. Your student will learn about things that interest him/her. Growth and development will occur in many areas, including decision-making, analytical awareness, reasoning, creative expression, verbal expression, and more. †¢ Education can help your child improve the community. Going to college will help to teach your child how to make a difference in his/her community. During college, he/she can learn about laws and resources that affect the community. After graduating from college, your child can come home and apply his/her knowledge and skills to better the neighborhood and the people who live there. As a college graduate, your child will also serve as a role model for other children in the community.

The Elegy in Thomas Gray and Shelley

LYRIC AND THE INNER LIFE COURSEWORK ‘Elegy is about mourning for one’s own condition’ Stuart Curran, ‘Romantic Elegiac Hybridity’, in The Oxford Handbook to Elegy (Oxford, 2010), ed. Karen Weisman, p. 249 Discuss Curran’s comment in relation to the work of Thomas Gray and Percy Bysshe Shelley. ‘One of the major tasks of the work of mourning and of the work of the elegy is to repair the mourner's damaged narcissism'[1]. This quote by literary critic Peter Sacks, flourishes from Sigmund Freud's model of primary narcissism which suggests that ‘we love others less for their uniqueness and separateness, and more for their ability to contract our own abundance, that is, to embody and reflect back that part of ourselves that we have invested in them'[2]. Sacks expands this coalescence in his criticism of elegies such as Milton's Lycidas and Tennyson's In Memoriam. Using this model of narcissism and literary mourning along with key aspects of history, language and critical reviews, I will explicate how an ‘elegy is about mourning for one's own condition[3] in Thomas Grays' Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard and Percy Shelley's Adonais, Before delving straight into how the poems serve as elegies to the poets themselves, I will first discuss how the poems appear and attempt in their best capacity not to do so. Samuel Johnson famously commented on Gray's Elegy saying that ‘The Churchyard abounds with images which find a mirror in every mind, and with sentiments to which every bosom returns an echo'[4]. The portrayal of such a literary universality springs from the poem's apparent mourning of the common man. Gray laments a ubiquitous sense of mortality, paying homage to the archetypical ‘weary plowman'[5] who falls prey to ‘dumb Forgetfulness' (85) and lies forgotten in his ‘lowly bed' (20). This notion that the poem ‘is life in its most general form, reinterpreted so as to speak to mankind generally, where all men are comparable and consciousness seeks a universal voice'[6] can be understandably gathered from a superficial analysis of the poem. The poem is not just an elegy, but a pastoral elegy, a literary form that encompasses idyllic rustic life with death, a technique employed by Gray to enhance his mournful depiction of the common, simple man who labours away unfulfilled only to die unremembered. Phrases such as ‘mopeing owls' (10), ‘twitt'ring swallows' (18) and ‘ecchoing horns' (19) create the image of a bucolic and generic place, one where villagers engage in rural and generic activities – ‘oft did the harvest to their sickle yield' (25) and ‘how bow'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke' (28) The constant use of third person plural pronouns such as ‘they', ‘their' and ‘them' allow the reader to merge these villagers into one, once again echoing the universality of the poem. Although the title tries to deliver a place for the poem, ambiguous descriptions such as ‘the glimmering landscape' (5), ‘the distant folds' (8), ‘the upland lawn' (100) and the ‘custom'd hill' (109), accentuate the poem's attempt to be nowhere and everywhere. Marshall Brown in his essay Gray's Churchyard Space' suggests that â€Å"everything and nothing is shared with all and none in a world that is nowhere and everywhere†[7]. This displacement coupled with the fact that the poem refers to no one in particular, creates a sense of timelessness in keeping with it's universality, thereby supporting Johnson's credo that ‘The Churchyard finds a mirror in every mind'[8]. Marshall Brown further reveals that the ‘poem evokes the possibility of a language and a consciousness beyond station, beyond definition and beyond identity'[9]. Gray accomplishes this by the illustration of an all-encompassing world. The poem drifts from a ‘solemn stillness' (6) to the ‘cock's shrill clarion' (19), from a ‘blazing hearth' (21) to a ‘frozen soul' (52), from ‘parting day' (1) to the ‘incense-breathing morn' (16), from the ‘desert air' (56) to the ‘smiling land' (63), etc; creating an image of the world that comprises all heights, weather, feelings and time. Gray's exploration of the opposite poles of class, the ‘pomp of pow'r' (33) and ‘simple annals of the poor' (32), and his empathy for the poor rather than the rich – ‘nor you, ye Proud, impute to These the fault, if Mem'ry o'er their Tomb no Trophies raise' (37-38), heightens this indiscriminate sense of inclusion and the all-embracing voice of his elegy. Thus we see how Gray tries to attribute a sensitivity that amplifies the appeal of his apparently universal elegy, as seen by this uote from Stephen Cox's essay, Contexts of Significance: Thomas Gray – that ‘the individual self [in the Elegy] is significant even when it lacks any visible signs of significance, such as power, wealth, or social recognition'[10]. Thus, we see how it can be interpreted that Thomas Gray's elegy focuses on a common condition rather than his own, but a closer analysis reveals that the all-embracing attempts made by Gray in the poem is part of a manipulation to create a n image that adequately appeases his own narcissism. Firstly, although he paints a generic and timeless world he also places himself far away from it. The poem is seeped in an isolation that springs from Gray's differentiation of himself from the world he's creating – ‘The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, the lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea, the plowman homeward plods his weary way, and leaves the world to darkness and to me' (1-4). From the start of the poem itself we are plummeted into the poet's segregation from the rural, rustic all encompassing world, and into the image he creates of himself as the poetic lonely outsider. Wallace Jackson in his essay Thomas Gray and the Dedicatory Muse, supports this when he says that ‘Gray's ideal self is situated like a melancholic outcast and the village oddity. He is constellated in a poetic heaven, in any event, alone'[11]. While Gray spends the first 23 stanzas expounding his sensitivity for the ‘unhonored Dead' (93), the next 9 stanzas are wholly based on him and the image he tries to further enhance of his ‘mindful' (93) and ‘lonely' (95) self. Howard Weinbrot in his essay Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, points out that ‘no one in particular is being mourned as the elegy opens, but it soon become clear that the speaker is mourning his own repressed potential'[12]. The shift between referring to himself as ‘me' (4) in the 1st stanza to ‘thee' (93) at the start of the 23rd stanza, elucidates a respect he demands for his shallow efforts to praise the common man. Andrew Dillon in his essay Depression and Release, includes a reference by Ketton-Cremer, Gray's biographer – ‘the man of reading and reflection often feels an envious admiration for the man of physical skill'[13], and this is seen in the parallels Gray draws between himself and the villagers, who in death resemble the same ‘fame and fortune unknown' (118) of Gray. However, he shatters this connection through his elaborate and verbose epitaph for himself. While the simple ‘bones' (77) of the forgotten ‘plowman' (3) rests beneath ‘some frail memorial erected nigh' (78), Gray's memorial is far from ‘frail' – ‘Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere' (121). Jackson confirms this in his essay, when he says that the poem's ‘motive is grounded in a further, yet concealed, rendering of the self-image, present especially at the close of The Elegy'[14]. Freud's belief that melancholia is a consistent form of mourning can be seen in his epitaph for himself – ‘melancholy marked him for her own' (120) and ‘he gave to misery all he had' (123). This coupled with the undercurrent of still sadness that permeates the poem places Gray in a constant state of mourning. On a simplistic level, the epitaph echoes his application of a universal mortality unto others and himself, but what is more haunting is the thread of fatalism that laces these last few stanzas. Dillon writes, ‘the Elegy can be read as a journey of recognition conceived in dusk and worked out – not in a miasma of depression – but in the light of symbolic self-destruction'[15]. The quiet acceptance Gray achieves seems to transcend the idea of everyman's mortality, and is rather an active realisation of his own. In the line ‘Ev'n from the tombs the voice of Nature cries, ev'n in our Ashes live their wonted Fires' (91-92), Gray moves away from the constant grouping of the villagers (they, their and them) to include himself (‘in our ashes') tilting the poem towards his own self-destruction. Dillon explores this in his essay when he contemplates ‘whose ashes are these? They are those of the safe dead, yet they also form a melancholic, personal estimation of the poet – alive but in the ashes of an entombed self'[16]. Thus we see that Gray is aware of the image he is creating of his own condition. His reference to himself in third person in the words of the Swain divulges his yearning for a posthumous sympathy. This along with his concern with the way he is perceived, his reconstruction of himself in death and his self-appointed social position in his glorious epitaph, all seal the idea that in fact he is trying to repair a ‘damaged narcissism'[17] and in doing so is ‘mourning his own condition'[18]. Unlike Gray, whose poem appears to mourn the common man, Shelley's Adonais remembers one man in particular – John Keats. However, this specificity does not detract from the idea that, similar to Gray, Shelley's elegy is intwined ith his own condition as well. The disquieting refrain ‘weep for Adonais – he is dead! ‘[19] is instrumental in diverting the readers attention from Shelley onto Keats, constantly reiterating the idea that the elegy is about Adonais – a name he assigned to Keats that amalgamates the Greek myth of Adoni, and Adon ai, the Hebrew word for God. However, our first instinct that the poem isn't just about Keats springs from its historical background. Shelley, upon hearing of Keats death, was convinced that Keats was killed by the envenomed reviews of Keats' longest poem, Endymion. This belief is reflected in the classical allusion to Adoni, a youthful man who met an early and untimely death when he was killed by a wild boar, an event symbolic of Keats' apparent death by cruel reviews. In Nicholas Roe's Keats and History, he reveals that on the 8th of June 1821, Shelley requested his publisher Charles Ollier to ask Keats' friends the exact circumstances of his death, and ‘transmit to me any information you may be able to collect and especially as to the degree in which, as I am assured, the brutal attack in the Quarterly Review excited the disease by which he perished'[20]. Roe uses this letter to suggest that although this request ‘may arise from Shelley's characteristic attention to historical detail', it also reflects something else: an appetite for a history already conceived, a history the outlines of which applied to Shelley himself, for the Quarterly had also taken aim at his poetry and character'[21], thus proposing that Shelley's own wounded narcissism is tied to his portrayal of Keats' death. Stanza 37 of Adonais reveals this bitterness towards the critics – ‘And ever at thy season be thou free to spill the venom when thy fangs o'erflow: remorse and contempt shall cling to thee! ‘ (329-31). Shelley, who even now is closely associated with Keats, was an avid admirer of Keats' work. The godly portrayal of Keats in his poem reveals this reverence – Shelley calls him a ‘star' (494) and places him in league with Thomas Chatterton, Sir Philip Sidney and Marcus Lucan, poets who died young and never received the chance to flourish to the maximum of their literary prowess. Though Shelley considered himself a lesser poet, he felt they shared a common thread. In regard to Adonais, he is known to have written, ‘the total neglect and obscurity in which the astonishing remnants of his mind lie, was hardly to be dissipated by a writer, who, however he may differ with Keats in more important qualities, at least resembles him in that accidental one, the want of popularity'[22]. This connection that Shelley felt they had explains his outrage at the critics' reviews, as they dashed the growing popularity of Keats and Shelley many a time. Eleanor Hutchens in her essay Cold and Heat in Adonais says ‘the earlier part of Adonais suffers from an artificial chill, cast over perhaps by Shelley's primary intention not of mourning Keats but of using a fellow poets death as an occasion for expressing certain attitudes of his own'[23]. This belief isn't entirely true; although it is certain that Shelley uses Keats' death to battle the critics that scorned them, there is a significant difference in the two acts – that of mourning and that of expressing his opinions – as they are inevitably and exclusively related with each other, as seen in Clewell's credo that ‘By resuscitating the other in memory, the mourner attempts to reclaim a part of the self that has been reflected on to the other'[24]. To Shelley, Keats is a part of him and he is a part of Keats, as seen when he says ‘I have lately been composing a poem on Keats, it is better than anything I have yet written, and worthy both of him and of me'[25]. Shelley believes that in writing the elegy and in mourning Keats they are both experiencing a sense of liberation and resolution. This idea is seen in the first stanza itself when Shelley says ‘with me died Adonais' (6-7) and recurs throughout the poem, especially in stanza 34 when Shelley describes one of the mourners at Keats' grave – ‘All stand aloof, and at his partial moan smiled through their tears; well knew that gentle band who in another's fate now wept his own' (300). In the case of Shelley's elegy, the major disquietude of its reflection on his own condition lies in the fact that it acts as elegy for him without meaning to. It transcends Shelley's narcissistic intentions, echoing beyond even the time of composition. In Roe's Keats and History he says that ‘Indeed one of the posthumous fates of Adonais itself was its retrospective (or uncannily prophetic) application to Shelley'[26]. Adonais was an elegy for Shelley himself in that it foreshadowed his own early and untimely death. Peter Sacks stated that ‘Shelley's conclusion to the poem is ‘profoundly disturbing' when we remember, as we must, that Shelley died a year later at sea'[27]. Some believe his death wasn't accidental and a product of years of depression that lead to his eventual self-destruction, a theory perhaps encouraged by the suicidal tone in the last stanzas of Adonais – ‘What Adonais is, why fear we to become? ‘ (459). But whether this is true or not, Shelley's association with Keats is undeniable, especially considering that a book of Keats' poems was found in the pocket of Shelley's jacket that confirmed the corpse was his. After Shelley's death, his wife Mary is known to have said ‘Adonais is not Keats's, it is his own elegy'[28] and his dear friend Leigh Hunt confirmed that Shelley himself said the poem was ‘more an elegy on himself than the subject of it'[29]. Shelley's cousin, Thomas Medwin beautifully wrote in Memoir that ‘there was, unhappily, too much similarity in the destinies of Keats and Shelley: both were victims of persecution, both were marked out by the envenomed shafts of invidious critics, and both now sleep together in a foreign land'[30]. Thus, we see how both poems reflect a situation stemming from the poet's own condition. While Andrew Dillon believed that ‘the Elegy works because of the exquisite beauty of its language and the psychic complicity of the minds of readers with that of Thomas Gray'[31], critic Katherine Duncan-Jones felt that ‘Adonais is fundamentally an elegy on one poet by another, a poem whose force comes more from the problems and concerns of the living poet, than from the precise character and circumstance of the dead one'[32]. Both poems exhibit a damaged narcissism that the poets try to appease or console through the act of mourning, whether it is Gray's desire to be remembered in a perfect melancholic image of himself, or Shelley's to chastise the embittered critical reviews that plagued his career and Keats'. However, the sense of isolation, fatalism and admiration in their poems evokes a posthumous and timeless sympathy in readers that cannot be disregarded, particularly in the case of Shelley, even if we are aware that they mourn themselves. Bibliography: Bieri, James, Percy Bysshe Shelley: a Biography (Massachusetts: Rosemont Publishing, 2005) Brown, Marshall, â€Å"Gray's Churchyard Space†, in Preromanticism (California: Stanford University Press, 1991), pp. 42-8. Clewell, Tammy, ‘Mourning Beyond Melancholia: Freud's Psychoanalysis on Loss', Journal of the American Psychoanalytical Association, 52. 1(2004), p. 46-48. Cox, Stephen, â€Å"Contexts of Significance: Thomas Gray†, in The Stranger within Thee: Concepts of Self in Late-Eighteenth Century Literature (Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh University Press, 1980), pp. 2-98. Curran, Stuart, ‘Romantic Elegiac Hybridity', Oxford Handbook to Elegy (Oxford: Oxford Printing Press, 2010) Dillon, Andrew, â€Å"Depression and Release†, North Dakota Quarterly, 60. 4 (1992), pp. 128-34. Duncan-Jones, Katherine, â€Å"The Review of English Studies†, New Series, 22. 86 (1971), p. 75-171. Gray, Thomas, Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard: with the complete works of Thomas Gray (Virginia: Peter Pauper Press, 1947) Hutchens, Eleanor, â€Å"Cold and Heat in Adonais†, Modern Language Notes, 76. 2 (1961), p. 24. Hurtz, Neil, The End of the Line (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009) Jackson, Wallace, â€Å"Thomas Gray and the Dedicatory Muse†, ELH, 54. 2 (1987), pp. 277-98. Roe, Nicholas, Keats and History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995) Shelley, Percy Bysshe, The Selected Prose and Poetry of Shelley (Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1994) Weinbrot, Howard, â€Å"Restoration and the Eighteenth Century†, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 18. 3 (1978), pp. 537-551. ———————– 1]Tammy Clewell, ‘Mourning Beyond Melancholia: Freud's Psychoanalysis on Loss', Journal of the American Psychoanalytical Association, 52. 1(2004), p. 48. [2]Clewell, p. 46. [3]Stuart Curran, ‘Romantic Elegiac Hybridity', Oxford Handbook to Elegy (Oxford : Oxford Printing Press, 2010), p. 249. [4]Neil Hurtz, The End of the Line (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), p. 73. [5]Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard: with the complete works of Thomas Gray (Virginia: Peter Pauper Press, 1947), line 3 (all subsequent references will be made in the body of the text). 6]Marshall Brown, â€Å"Gray's Churchyard Space†, in Preromanticism (California: Stanford University Press, 1991), pp. 42-8. [7]Brown, pp. 42-8. [8]Hurtz, p. 73. [9]Brown, pp. 42-8. [10]Stephen Cox, â€Å"Contexts of Significance: Thomas Gray†, in The Stranger within Thee: Concepts of Self in Late-Eighteenth Century Literature (Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh University Press, 1980), pp. 82-98. [11]Wallace Jackson, â€Å"Thomas Gray and the Dedicatory Muse†, ELH, 54. 2 (1987), pp. 277-98. 12]Howard Weinbrot, â€Å"Restoration and the Eighteenth Century†, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 18. 3 (1978), pp. 537-551. [13]Andrew Dillo n, â€Å"Depression and Release†, North Dakota Quarterly, 60. 4 (1992), pp. 128-34. [14]Jackson, pp. 277-98. [15]Dillon, pp. 128-34. [16]Dillon, pp. 128-34 [17]Clewell, p. 48. [18]Curran, p. 249. [19]Percy Shelley, The Selected Prose and Poetry of Shelley (Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1994), line 1 (all subsequent references will be made in the body of the text). 20]Nicholas Roe, Keats and History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 23. [21]Roe, p. 23. [22]Roe, p. 33. [23]Eleanor Hutchens, Cold and Heat in Adonais, Modern Language Notes, 76. 2 (1961), p. 124. [24]Clewell, p. 47. [25]Roe, p. 33. [26]Roe, p. 36. [27]Katherine Duncan-Jones, â€Å"The Review of English Studies†, New Series, 22. 86 (1971), p. 75. [28]James Bieri, Percy Bysshe Shelley: a Biography (Massachusetts: Rosemont Publishing, 2005), p. 239. [29]Bieri, p. 239. [30]Roe, p. 36. [31]Dillon, p. 128-34. [32]Jones, p. 171.

“The Scarlet Letter” Chapters 1-3 Review Essay

1. As the story opens a throng is gathered. Who are these people? Where and why are they gathered? Men with beards in sad-colored garments and crowned hats, there are also a few women. They are citizens and they are gathered outside, around the marketplace, to view Hester Prynne on a platform, with her scarlet letter. 2. The description in Chapter One of the people’s dress, the prison, and the surrounding vegetation serves to establish certain important impressions of Puritan society at the time of the story. What impressions of this society do you get from the opening chapter? It can be inferred that the timeline is in the seventeenth century due to the description of the area and the way it is referenced, such as the â€Å"market place.† I feel that the community is very strict Puritan. As it was mentioned in the Hawthorne biography lecture, his writing was influenced by a strict Puritan background. Puritans took sin very seriously, which included being very strict with punishments. In the first chapter, the details of Hester’s punishment are not in vivid detail; however, her sin is not just taken with a â€Å"grain of salt,† so to say, because she is put on display in front of the entire community. 3. The story itself begins with the punishment of Hester Prynne. a. What early hints do you get in Chapter Two about the nature of her crime? A group of women are discussing Hester at the market-place and the women agreed that the women who are mature and good church members should be allowed to deal with such â€Å"malefactresses as this Hester Prynne.† The women also refer to Hester as a â€Å"hussy.† It is also mentioned that Dimmesdale is upset about such a scandal. One woman suggests that Hester should be branded upon her forehead and another woman declares that Hester has â€Å"brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.† The women’s remarks suggest that â€Å"Mistress Prynne† has committed a woman’s crime, one that brings them all shame. So,  from the language of the group of women and the terms â€Å"mistress† and â€Å"scandal,† it can best be inferred that she committed a crime that looks bad amongst women and her being referred to as a mistress (one who partakes in sexual acts without relationship bounds) gives hints to her crime. b. What more definite information about her crime do you get in Chapter Three? While standing on the platform, Hester recognizes a man in the crowd who is accompanied by an Indian. This man inquires about her and why she is there. This is where we learn that she has committed adultery (the scarlet letter â€Å"A† is for adultery). 4. What two punishments have been assigned to Hester Prynne? One is that her sin ousts her from society. The other is that she must wear an â€Å"A,† the scarlet letter, especially for public humiliation, which marks that she committed adultery. 5. Standing on the scaffold, Hester envisions her earlier life. What facts do you learn about her previous life? What was her relationship with the man â€Å"well stricken in years†? We learn that she grew up in England, and her house, which was a decayed, poverty-stricken house of gray stone. Her mother had passed away and it was inferred that she also left her home to go to a city because she imagines a continental city with narrow streets, huge cathedrals; and ancient public buildings. While mentioning the city, the book also mentions the man â€Å"well stricken in his years.† It is said that she imagines a man whose years had worn on him, his right shoulder a bit deformed because the left shoulder is higher, the weary face and bleary eyes of a scholar who had read many books. In the third chapter, Hester sees a man in the crowd that matches the description of her imagination and he immediately catches her gaze. It is later revealed in the chapter that the man is her husband. 6. One man in the surrounding crowd is singled out. He is described as â€Å"clad in a strange disarray of civilized and savage costume.† a. What effect does his presence have on Hester?   Her intensive awareness of the public’s attention was relieved when she saw an Indian with a white man in the crowd. It is said that when Hester saw the man, she clutched her baby to her chest so hard that it cried; however, she did not even realize or hear her baby cry. She could not stop staring at him. b. What is the significance of his laying his finger on his lips when Hester fastens her eyes on him? He had noticed that she was watching him and she must’ve been confused by his presence. When he caught her gaze, he pressed his finger to his lips to signal to her to not say a word. c. What clues are there to his identity? When Hester was on the scaffold imagining her past, she imagined a man with deformed shoulders, his left shoulder higher than his right, she imagined a weary face and bleary ices with a penetrating power. The first clue is when Hester first sees the man and she notices his â€Å"intelligence† features, she also notices his shoulders and more into the details, it is revealed through the expressive descriptions of his eyes and his gaze that the man she sees in the crowd is the man she imagined. 7. While on the scaffold, Hester is subjected to a kind of interrogation. a. What important question related to her crime remains unanswered? Who the father of Hester’s baby is/who tempted Hester. b. What plea do the two ministers make in regard to this question? To reveal the man who is the baby’s father/tempted Hester into adultery. c. Who else besides the 2 clergymen questions her in this matter? It was Governor Bellingham. d. What is Hester’s response? That her child must seek a heavenly father, for her child will never have an earthly one. 8. Based on the reading you have done in these chapters, do you have a theory about the answer to the question which the ministers have put to Hester? If you do, explain what you have noticed in your reading that might support  your theory. During the questioning, Dimmesdale has a much stronger plea than Mr. Wilson, but prior to his questioning, he takes a moment to say a silent prayer, which Mr. Wilson did not, which gives a bit of a suspicion. Dimmesdale’s voice trembles and is quite broken when he speaks to Hester; he even mentions that even if the man who tempted her had to step down from his position of high power/authority, that it would be better than living a life of sin. When Mr. Wilson asked Hester to speak, her gaze never broke Dimmesdale, especially with she said that she would never tell. â€Å"She will not speak!,† murmured Dimmesdale, as he was leaning over the balcony with his hand over his heart as he had waited to see how Hester would respond. From Dimmesdale’s strong plea, his emotions and actions during the plea, and the way he reacts when Hester is asked to speak gives off hints that there may be a connection between Hester and Dimmesdale.